Thursday, May 31, 2007

April Falooka Ride on the Nile

On Heather's last day of her Egypt trip in April, we cabbed it to the Corniche with my friend, Nicole, her husband, Rob, and their son, Caiden for a Falooka ride.

I am going to give our Falooka Man a copy of this picture when I go back to Cairo in two weeks:

Falooka Self-Portrait:

Hazy Sunset:

The wind really picked up and we had to go back to shore a little early. View from the Falooka:

Friday, May 25, 2007

What a Man!

Ian is helping with the dishes already:

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Woman Challenge: Walk Around Winchester

Tanya at Motherwear tagged me and several other members of the Breastfeeding Babes Woman Challenge Team to show pictures from our walking routes. We are staying in the historic downtown area of Winchester, Virginia. My walking companions are Ian in the Beco or Ergo and Roxxy on the leash. Washington's Office is on the corner:



The Walking Mall:


Roxxy stops to smell the roses:


The Former Cannon Ball House:

Now, Donato's Restaurant:

Mama-mobile: Hyundai Tucson




Mother's Day weekend we bought a car, a 2007 Hyundai Tuscon in Platinum Gray. Since Curt will be gone for at least 6 months, we decided to buy a car to give me more mobility. We went with the Hyundai Tucson because it is cheap, has a good warranty and has just enough space. The back is perfect for Roxxy to ride safely. I don't have to worry about her getting thrown onto Ian. We put over 1300 miles on it in one week!

We bought the dealer demo car. It had 4800 miles on it when we bought it, but it is fully loaded. We went to the dealer on Friday, but discovered that I had to get my liscense changed back to PA in order to get the car titled in PA. Also, the first price they gave us was $1200 more than #1 Cochran Hyundai in Pittsburgh for a brand new one with no miles. We gave them our phone number and told them to call if they could do better. Since we were going to Pittsburgh on Saturday for the Race for the Cure, we could go to Cochran (where I bought my first car, a Hyundai Elantra in 2000).

We intercepted my parents outside of their school and jetted across town to the DMV. My dad signed a residency paper for me. By the time we were finished, the dealer called us with a better deal. It was o.k., but we were still planning to go to Pittsburgh. Then, they called back again and took a few hundred more off. They still made money, but the convenience factor made up for it. They went $1000 below the #1 Cochran price.

On Saturday, we went in to finalize the deal and pick up the car. We discovered that I was in breastfeeding support group with the car salesman's wife. He told his wife about us (living in Cairo) and she said she thought I must be the same person. As soon as he said it, I recognized his wife in the pictures. Her hair was different and the baby was younger in the pictures than when I saw him. Small world! The car salesmam was very supportive of breastfeeding. He did not seem like the type that would be, so I was impressed. Of course, I fed Ian at the dealership before I knew he was supportive, so finding out was a great and pleasant surprise.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Ian Says,"No to Jazzercise"

I've been going to Jazzercise for the past week and a half because it has on-site babysitting. Ian has gotten progressively worse about crying. At first, it would take him a few minutes to cry. The babysitter, a sweet elderly woman, would give him a bottle and he would fall asleep. Yesterday, he started crying right away and only took half the bottle. This kid never turns down milk whether he gets it from a bottle or a breast. But, he took a stand yesterday: he will not be bribed!

Today was even worse. The babysitter had to get me out of class and I couldn't finish. I need to go to 4 more classes to get my money's worth. There is a 7pm on Wednesday as well as class on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I am very disappointed that I won't be able to go 5 days a week, especially because of the Woman Challenge. I will have to break out the Pilates dvd or Fit TV.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

First Tooth!

Ian accompanied me to the hair salon today. While I was getting highlighted, I noticed Ian was making a funny face. He was rolling his lips in his mouth and rubbing them together. I stuck my finger in his mouth to make sure he hadn't gotten ahold of anything (he loves paper) and found his first tooth! It is on the bottom.

Monday, May 14, 2007

Taking Care of Mama Beyond Mother's Day

Andi from Mama Knows Breast tagged me to answer the following questions:

Set aside some time during which you can relax and reflect. Sit in a comfortable spot. Try not to think too much about your answers. Once you've answered, you'll have a better idea of what you need to thrive. Ask yourself:

What do you miss most from your pre-baby life?
I take my baby everywhere I can, but I miss being able to go somewhere that he can't go without coordination.

What activity would renew, recharge, and reenergize your body?

Regular exercise. Almost all of my baby weight is gone, but I need to tighten and tone.

What activity would renew, recharge, and reenergize your mind?


I've been thinking that I should take a math class for some "mental exercise". I think my mind is a little flabby right now as well.

What activity would renew, recharge, and reenergize your spirit?

Being around friends. I have been moving (back and forth to Cairo for the pregnancy and this temporary assignment in Virginia) and traveling so much that I haven't had much time to make friends. Since I will be in Erie for the next 6 months after our time in Virginia is over (mid-June), I will be able to visit my friends in the US and Canada.

What gift can I give to myself today?

Breathing in yoga class

When you look back at this time in your life, what will you regret not doing for yourself?
I need to be more productive. Since I am not working and only have one child, I feel like I should be doing more with my time. I am enjoying being with my baby, though. I just need to find the right supplemental project.

What is one thing - however small - that you can do to make self-care integral to my week?
Start doing my hair everyday instead of just pulling it back into a sloppy pony tail. Scheduling time to exercise. With Jazzercise, I have this covered for the next month, but I need an exercise plan for Erie starting in July.

Woman Challenge Kicks Off!

I joined the Breastfeeding Babes for The Woman Challenge. It started yesterday and I had planned to do a 5K at the Race for the Cure in Pittsburgh, but we only made it to the brunch. Today, though, I went to Jazzercise, walked to the Post Office and I have yoga tonight. Today, is a much better day for exercise.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Brunching for a Cure

Ian did not sleep at all last night so we didn't make the Race for the Cure, but we put on our shirts and headed to brunch at Marci Woodruff's house. We were in Pittsburgh to walk in honor of Marci who had breast cancer last year. She and her chef husband Lon, hosted a brunch. I am so glad we could be there to raise a Mimosa-filled glass to her health.

After brunch, we drove back to Winchester. Presently, I am blogging, Ian is playing and Curt is preparing a fabulous Mother's Day dinner!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2007 or Ian Goes to Washington



Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT) held a nurse-in to introduce the Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2007. Ian and I drove in from Winchester (about 70 miles). We parked at Union Station and took the Metro (Ian's first time). When I lived in DC two years ago the one-way fare was $1.10, now it is $1.35! Mothers slinging babies (many from the local NINO chapters) gathered outside the Capitol South Metro stop and I joined them in walking to the Cannon House Office Building for the event. This was Ian's first political event with the exception of meeting Egypt's President Mubarak on the Nile Cruise.

Mothers (including me) were nursing everywhere. Midwives and Lactation Consultants were educating young Capitol Hill staffers. Everything appeared to be ready to go, but they discovered the sound was out right before so we couldn't hear the speakers. As a result, I don't know the names of all the speakers. What ever happened to sound check?




Unknown Speaker, Rep. Carolyn Maloney D-NY and Susan Kane, Editor of Baby Talk Magazine


Susan Kane holding up the infamous Babytalk Magazine cover with a nursling and a breast that sparked international media coverage and public outrage, though most of the feedback the magazine received was positive.

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Weight Check



We took Roxxy to the vet today to get heartworm pills. She weighs 56 lbs. I couldn't resist the opportunity to weigh Ian when the vet left the room. He weighs 19.2 lbs according to the vet's scale.

Yes, Jazzercise Still Exits

I just attended my second Jazzercise class today. This is just in time to join the Breastfeeding Babes Team in the US Department of Health's Woman Challenge.

My mother did Jazzercise in the early 80's, but I didn't know it was still around. On the way home from dinner last week I spotted the studio. The sign,"Jazzercise, On-site Childcare" caught my eye. Turns out they have childcare for $1 per child per class for the Monday-Friday classes at 9:30am. This is Ian's last week of Water Babies (M-W-F at 9:00am) and there is a Capitol Hill Nurse-In on Thursday, so I am only going Tuesday this week, but next week I plan to do M-F.

Jazzercise uses basic dance moves set to current music in a routine. The routines and music change frequently so it keeps things interesting. There's not much difference from any other aerobics class I've taken except that they pose at the end of each song. The dance moves aren't complicated if you have a dance or aerobics background, but it is enjoyable. My instructor has been doing it for 21 years and she looks great.

8 Months Old!





Ian turned 8 months old on Sunday. His 7th month of life included: lots of travel (his first camping trip, several road trips, ANOTHER international flight); learning to eat solid foods; swim lessons; climbing stairs; furniture walking and lots of falling down. He signs for "milk" sometimes. He knows what "come here" means. His favorite foods are sweet potatoes, carrots and prunes. He tolerates apples, pears and bananas. He does not like peas.