Fourth of July Weekend Part 1

We had a mildly interesting weekend.

On Saturday, we decided to go to a drive-in movie. We used to do this when we just had Frances but this was the first attempt with Johann. The movies we went to see were Cars and Nacho Libre.

As is our tradition, we picked up some juice boxes and snacks (cheese puffs and pretzels on this occasion) on the way. It's kinda fun to eat junk food and watch movies (we don't normally get that kind of snack food).

Things were going pretty well other than the car side speakers didn't really work, so we had to use the radio. Frances was having fun sitting in the front seat having juice and eating cheese puffs. Johann was having an okay time sleeping on Arial.

Unfortunately, halfway through Cars, a flaw in our parenting skills became apparent. I was holding Johann and Arial had Frances. I heard some sort of commotion and looked over at the other two in time to see a gush of liquid flow from Frances' mouth onto Arial.

I guess we let Frances have to much junk food and juice.

Frances was obviously scared, so we tried to comfort her (while not spreading the vomit). After a little bit of discussion, I went to the bathroom for paper towels. I could only find toilet paper (and the hand driers were attached to the walls pretty well). So, we cleaned up as much as we could with a large wad of toilet paper.

Then we stripped off Frances' puky clothes and put both of the kids into their car seats. It was a warm night but we gave Frances a blanket anyway. And we left.

Everyone but Johann got a bath/shower that night. While Arial was in the shower, I held both Frances and Johann and rocked in a chair. Frances seemed so pathetic, laying on my chest. I said, "I love you sweetheart" and in this tiny, little voice, she said "too" (which is how she says "I love you, too"). It was the most heartbreaking and heartwarming thing I've ever heard.

She got her bath and fell asleep right away after being put to bed. The next morning she was none the worse for wear. She slept a little longer in the morning but it was like nothing had happened.

She's a tough little girl. (On a side note, she scrapped her knee bloody today but she didn't cry. She was a little unhappy when it happened but for the most part, she didn't let it interrupt her play. She didn't even seem to be that phased when I cleaned up the wound. She is a tough little girl.)

mwz

Tchsoo

It was late in the day today and I was working in my office when Frances came running up the stairs. She seemed very excited. I assumed that Arial had sent her up to tell me that supper was ready as she does occasionally now.

I turned in my chair and waited for her to say "ready" but instead Frances said, "tchsoo" and she ran past me to my desk. She held her arms up reaching for something and said, "tchsoo" again. Usually when she does this, she wants to tap on the keyboard or move the mouse around but this time she wasn't pointed at either of those.

I looked to where she was pointed and saw the tissue box. She has never asked me for a tissue specifically but sometimes she likes to play with them if they are within reach.

So I asked, "tissue?" and she said "Yes".

So I gave her one expecting her to wipe her face or pretend to clean my desk but instead she ran back down stairs. I was still unsure about the status of supper so I followed her. To my surprise, Frances ran over to Johann who was happily laying on the floor and started wiping under his face.

Apparently, he had quietly spit up and Arial hadn't noticed. Frances apparently did see it and decided to clean it up herself. She did a pretty good job of it too.

I guess my little girl has grown up to the point where she can be actually helpful.

mwz

eMusic 1

I have taken the plunge into the world of online music purchasing. I didn't go to iTunes because their files have digital rights management (DRM) associated with them, meaning that they are crippled so you can't copy them anywhere you want (admittedly, Apple lets you copy the songs a bunch of times before they quite working but when a computer only lasts ~4 years, I will run out of copies in my lifetime and I don't want to buy the same songs over and over and over).

Anyway, I decided to go with eMusic (www.emusic.com). They have non-DRM'd mp3s that I can keep forever. They also have an interesting business model. You buy a subscription and each month you get a certain number of songs. For $10 I am getting 40 songs a month. Of course if I forget to use my downloads, I lose them but that is how they make money. (BTW, if anyone is interested in eMusic (and you know me), let me know and I can "refer" you meaning that not only do you get a free trial, but I get some free music too. Be aware that the 4 major label's don't like eMusic, so it only has indie records.)

So, I've decided that each month I would write about what I downloaded and why (and maybe a quick review if I've listened to it enough). They have a bunch of free tracks that I might occasionally download but I'm not going to write about them because generally they aren't that interesting.

I know that reading about music is pretty lame but I'll stick in links to eMusic where you can sample the songs at least.

50 Foot Wave - Golden Ocean

The first time I heard 50 Foot Wave (fronted by Kristin Hersh of Throwing Muses) I was a little bit skeptical. Ms Hersh's voice has grown pretty rough but soon I discovered the music was really good. 50 Foot Wave is like Throwing Muses turned into a punk band. Now I kinda like her gravely voice, it seems like it fits the music. Golden Ocean is darn good.

Kristin Hersh - The Grotto

Kristin Hersh is a musical genius. She is a the female Bob Mould (but without the embarrassing electronica mid-life crisis). Between her work with Throwing Muses and 50 Foot Wave, she has put together some really pretty, solo, acoustic albums. This is the third that I've heard ("Hips and Makers" and "Strange Angels" are the other two) and all three are beautiful. She has such an interesting sense for music.

Tanya Donelly - Whiskey Tango Ghosts

Every band that Tanya Donelly has been in has had at least one great album. Throwing Muses' (Real Ramona), the Breeders' Pod and Safari and Belly's Star are all incredible. I also quite liked her first solo album "Love Songs for Underdogs". I've listened through this album a couple times and nothing has really grabbed me yet. It seems very... adult, like maybe I'll like it when I'm older. I'm sure that in three years, I will re-discover it and absolutely love it. But for now, it is pretty but just kinda blah.

Juliana Hatfield - Made in China

Juliana Hatfield is very prolific and yet all of her albums are solid. She is a pretty safe bet for an album full of songs that I'll like and that is pretty much what I got with Made in China. If you are interested in her, check out her album, Beautiful Creatures, it's my favorite of her solo albums.

Dr. Frank - Eight Little Songs

Dr. Frank is from the punk band Mr. T Experience. I really like their later stuff as well as the other solo album of his that I have. His lyrics are usually pretty clever and the music is usually fun. This album is no exception. It is pretty much eight interesting and catchy little songs.

Well, that's all I got for my trial period. I'll do more when I get them.

mwz

At a Wedding

About a month or so ago we went to a friend's wedding. Frances had a great time at the reception.

There was another little boy there who was a couple months younger than Frances. Of course people were trying to pair the two. Some of them even tried to get them to kiss before I put a stop to it. Fortunately, he was very shy (other wise I would have had to beat him up for hitting on my daughter). But Frances danced with him for as long as he had the courage.

Repeatedly, the boy's grandmother (I'm assuming) suggested that they dance on the dance floor together. I thought that was a little bit odd since the first dance hadn't even happened. I thought that would be a bit rude to try to take the spotlight from the wedding couple, so I ignored her.

When the boy was taken away (back to their table I assume), Frances grabbed my hand and started leading me. She took me right to the dance floor, which I thought was amazing since we hadn't been near it all night and no one was dancing (as I said it was to early). But she led me right to it.

She danced with another older girl for a bit and then we respectfully stood off to the side during the special dances.

But when those dances were done, she wanted right back on the floor. She danced and danced and loved every minute. It was amazing to see how much energy she could exert for such a long time. Song after song she danced and not just a slow rocking kind of dance. This was a full out jump around kind of dance.

We made her take breaks but after an hour or two she was beat. She still wanted to dance but it mostly amounted to staggering around in a large circle. We decided that it was a little dangerous with her walking between people who didn't necessarily see her. So we called it a night.

She had a blast at the wedding reception and was asleep by the end of the mile drive back to where we were staying. She slept very well that night.

mwz

Easter and Frances

This was the first Easter that Frances was able to really appreciate. We didn't dye eggs but we did go to an Easter egg hunt at church.

I wasn't sure if Frances was old enough to really understand what she was supposed to do but I was wrong. We showed her the first two eggs and she got the idea. Then she was on a mission.

She initially found some easy eggs on the ground and under bushes. And each time she put one in the sack we all said "Yea". From then on, when she would spot one, her face would lighten up and she would pick it up and say "yea".

She moved on from finding just the easy ones to finding harder ones. She was finding them behind things and in crevices. She even went back and picked up some that she had seen before but passed up to get easier eggs.

When all the eggs were found, we had trouble telling her that we were done. Her eyes kept scanning the ground and more distressing, she would just wonder off while continuing to look. We were always keeping a close eye on her but there is the fear that she will break into a run right into the street before we can react. She didn't though.

Apparently, there were "silver eggs" (aluminum foil) hidden in various places and if you found one of those you got a special prize. At the end, the lady running it asked if Frances had gotten one. I said "no" and then she started asking the older kids to find Frances one. I told her that it was okay because she didn't know any difference. She didn't know that she was missing a prize by not having a silver egg. But the lady said "but there is a prize for [Frances]".

So, one of the older kids (who had helped hide the eggs) found one and gave it to Frances. She then got to her choice of a Pez dispenser or a grocery store ball. She chose the ball (as was expected).

She had such a good time finding eggs at church that her grandma (mother's side) suggested that we re-hide them in the back yard. She had a great time doing that too.

mwz

Limon to Johann

Okay, it's been some time but I need to get the birth of my son documented. This account is completely from my perspective, so that's why it may seem a little self centered and not so focused on the heroics that Arial performed.

A couple days after the due date, Arial went to the doctor to get a check up of the baby. They decided that a slightly elevated blood pressure (taken by the nurse who always gets a high blood pressure) was excuse enough to induce labor.

So around 12:30 PM, we went to the hospital (my mom took care of Frances while we were there). After a couple hours of miscellaneous stuff (mostly sitting around), they started the Cervidil. That was 2:30 PM.

I should have remembered this from Francis' birth but the waiting is really boring, exciting and stressful but mostly boring. For a while, Arial read while I labeled the side of one of my reference book to make looking things up faster (I was glad I did it there and not during work because it took a lot longer than I thought it would to color code each chapter). When that was done, I read as well.

Arial started getting small contractions pretty soon after the Cervidil was started. I was surprised at how quick they started. Initially, they were around 15 minutes apart but they got a lot closer together pretty quick.

After a while of reading/comforting/worrying, I started to develop a headache. I then found out that at a hospital, you can't get any sort of head ache medicine if you aren't a patient. They don't have any in a vending machine and the people working there can't give you any. Water, water everywhere...

After a while Arial got cleared to eat supper. Apparently, a lot of doctors won't let soon-to-be mothers eat on the off chance that they will have to get an emergency C-section. That seems cruel to me. How are you supposed to have the energy to birth a baby with no food in your stomach? Fortunately, we had a midwife instead and she didn't think it would be a problem.

I ordered Arial's food for her (since she hates talking on the phone with strange people). Then I went down to the cafeteria to get some supper for myself. I had remembered that their personal pizzas were pretty good, so I got one of those. I decided that it was a special day, so I also bought some "Flamin' Hot Cheetos" (which I love) and a cherry Coke. I don't know why I got the cherry Coke. I've never liked it but I figured there was a chance that my tastes have changed.

In retrospect, pizza, Cheetos and cherry Coke is not really a wise choice when your wife is in labor. No one cares when the father-to-be throws up. But more on that later.

We watched a little TV and then tried to sleep but Arial was having trouble since she was having so many contractions with no break in between. She was starting to wear down. The nurse gave her some sort of short lived sedative. I don't think it really helped all that much.

Around 1 AM, Arial said to me "I feel nauseous" and I replied, "me too". Then, Arial went to the bathroom and puked. I paged the nurse. After Arial was back in bed, I asked if there was another bathroom on the floor since Arial had just puked in her bathroom. The nurse said that there was one on the first floor. I said that it was too late and ran to the bathroom and threw up.

When I came back, it was like I had announced "I'm going to brush my teeth". Nobody acknowledged that I had just thrown up. Not even a cursory "Are you alright?". Nothing.

But then again, I wasn't the one who had been having contractions every 1-2 minutes for hours. And I did feel a lot better after that, so it was all okay.

Before I leave the "No one cares about the father-to-be" theme, I would just like to mention that they have a "nourishment room" for the mothers that has juice, sandwiches and popsicles. They make a point to tell you that it is only for the patients (and not for you). (The next day, Arial gave me some tater tots from her lunch that she didn't want and that made me feel a little more included).

So, it was 1 AM. We wanted someone to check her cervix since she had just puked and was still contracting like mad (and they don't give epidural's until the cervix is over 4 cm). We asked the nurse about that and she pointed out that the Cervidil was scheduled to come out at 2:30 AM and the midwife was going to come and do that. So she could check then. I believe the way she said it was "[the midwife] will be here soon". To us an hour and a half was not soon. But we waited.

When the midwife came, Arial was at 5 cm. It wasn't so bad that we waited. I guess they know what they are doing.

Arial got the epidural and I went for a walk. There aren't a whole lot of people in the hospital at 3 AM. It is kinda peaceful, plus I was really tired of being in the room (I felt bad for Arial because she was stuck there).

When I got back, the epidural was in and everything seemed fine. They gave Arial a self-medication button that she could push every 10 minutes to increase the flow of the drug. Only the left side of her body was getting numb, so she pushed the button, a lot. After about a half an hour, we found out that the thing was supposed to beep (or "sing" as the nurse put it) when she pushed the button. There was a short in the button cable or something. After a bit of fiddling with it, the nurse got it to recognize button pushing.

She then told Arial to try it again and to lay on her right side on the premise that the drug would then fall to that side. That last bit seems a bit odd to me.

After another half hour of one side being numb and the other being normal, the anesthesiologist was finally called back. He discovered that the tube had gotten pushed into her back 2 cm more than it should and that caused the drug to be shunted to one side. He fixed it but it was too late.

Somewhere during the epidural ordeal, the midwife decided that we were all tired of waiting and broke Arial's water (which is really disgusting). So not to long after the anesthesiologist fixed the epidural, it was time to push.

That meant that Arial could feel half of her body. I'm reasonably certain that it wasn't a pleasant experience. In fact, I think I saw actual anguish in her face. That was very distressing.

Fortunately, she only had to push for 7.5 minutes. It was a long 7.5 minutes but that is certainly better than the long 20 minutes that it took for Frances.

Birth is a wonderful thing. However, when the head pops out and it's all gray and bigger than you were expecting and sticking out of a place that there shouldn't be a head, it is kinda freaky. With both children, I was shocked at that sight. Then when they grabbed his head and pulled him out, I was kinda concerned about his little neck. But both of the kids seemed to turn out okay, so that must just be the way it goes.

They got him cleaned up and I took pictures (while Arial dealt with the placenta stuff). Then, after the weighing and the government mandated eye drops, I was able to take him over and hold him in front of Arial.

When she was done having disgusting things removed from her, I handed her the baby and she instantly changed from a weary, bedraggled woman in labor into a radiant new mother. That was amazing. He was like a new battery for her.

So that's the story of Limon's birth. From now on, he will be referred to as Johann.

mwz

Anniversary

Our wedding anniversary is around now and since Arial's mom was here, we decided to go out.

To start we went to a nice Indian restaurant that we like a lot but don't get to go to much because it's a little pricey. It was pretty nice. We got the same things that we always get and discussed how we would be more adventurous with our ordering if we went there more often. (Wow, all of a sudden I felt like I was writing a book report.)

When asked how spicy we wanted our food, Arial said "medium" and I said "hot for Americans but medium to mild for Indians". Mine did not come back "hot for Americans", in fact it was pretty mild. Arial's tasted like it may have once been in the same room that a spice had once been in.

Other than the lack of spice, the food was good.

After a short stop at home to see if Frances was still okay with Grandma (she was, she doesn't need us anymore. :_( ), we went to the Cheesecake Factory and had some cheese cake. There were 8 million people waiting (it seemed like a quarter of them were pregnant). We were told that it would be a 15-30 minute wait. After 30-45 minutes, we were led to a table. The cheesecake was good.

The plan was to then go to an improv comedy show but we were too late leaving the restaurant to get there in time. So instead Arial came up with the plan to go to Wal-Mart and buy a DVD player (ours is broken) and a DVD.

It turns out that you can get a simple DVD player for $33. So we did. The thing is quite small and to our amazement it actually works. It doesn't have a lot of flashy features but it does plays DVDs and CDs which is all we used our old one for anyway.

We plucked Panic Room from the bargain bin and set off for home. The movie was okay. Arial fell asleep for the end, which was fine since it had a really stupid ending.

All in all a pretty nice evening.

mwz