Suggestions?

So Stella has already begun to test her boundaries (and our limits). She's been teething something awful, yet as we're at the tail end of another round of teeth, I'm starting to notice her independence. She has started refusing to sit in her high chair, her car seat, the stroller... she does NOT want to take a nap, she does not want to eat regular food anymore, save for Joe's Os, and she gets extremely pissy with us when we take something away (Scupper's dog toys). She twists and turns so much when I try to change her diaper, i am now proficient putting the diaper on when she is laying on her stomach. (and don't even ask about her tantrum when I tried to change a poo diaper today.... let's just say that there is definitely some clean up going on).

So I'm thinking that i have to learn how I'm supposed to deal with the next step. If anyone has any good parenting books out there with a philosophy that you've appreciated, let me know. I'm all ears, believe me. Yes, I'm a book nerd and need to at review something because I'm definitely convinced there are parts of parenting that are not innate. I figure there are child psychologists out there that probably know a thing or two. And while I practically banged my head against a wall reading all those sleep books and wondering why "my child wasn't like that" I know now how to filter, adjust, and take away tidbits that seem appropriate to our daughter.

So help, you out there in the blogosphere!

'Allo Mates!

Currently fighting off the scurvy, I am... you know, since i can't have citrus until 12 months...

Access for all

So Stella attended her first protest rally today. I mean, we DO live in California, people. All the UC campuses, as well as other K-12 public schools and Cal State campuses held a "teach-out/speak out" day where professors were supposed to teach their classes outside and rallies were held to protest the privatization of public schools - basically, the raising of school fees and tuition so much so that public colleges are starting to cost like private schools, and thus restricting access to public education to families who cannot afford to send their sons and daughters to such a high cost school. Believe me, I think it's pretty dang awesome that all the UCs are so relatively cheap (in comparison to private schools) for the kind of education that they offer students. But when the President's office of the UC system is thinking of raising fees 300% in the next five years, well then... that's kind of an issue.

I think this speaks to the larger endemic problem about the lack of affordable, accessible, QUALITY education here in America. Why is it that we always look to our school systems to cut the budget? Why are we laying off teachers to pay for other things? I really have never understood how our country has routinely put K-12 education on the back burner of "things that are important." And let's not even get into how many years I'll be paying back students loans... I mean, i guess I should be lucky the government lent me the money at such a low interest rate, but it still is unfathomable to me that America as whole doesn't seem to value the importance of good classes, good teachers, and good schools.

In the interview search that both Steve and I have been in the middle of, we constantly consider - so - what are the public school systems like? Philly? Oh you don't want to go to Philly public schools, everyone told me. Everyone who can sends their kids to private school if you live in the city .... Um, well, we wouldn't be those people who can. Yesterday, I received a call from Queens College in NYC about a job interview for this month. (out of the BLUE folks! But guess I'm headed there sometime soon!) and of course Steve and I go - well, NYC public schools are mostly horrible, but private schools are completely out of reach. Do you know that they cost upwards of $20K a year? Um. Yes, you read that right. Twenty THOUSAND dollars for K-5 education. That's wrong. That's just wrong. And why ARE NYC public schools not great? Why shouldn't the children of the 8 million people that live in the 5 Burroughs be able to have quality education for their kids?

So back to the rally. It's the first time i've ever seen such pluck and gumption from our UCSD students. It was remarkable to watch and encouraging. The apathy that I've seen reside in so many of my students over the last five years seemed to be at least hidden for today. And that was really amazing to see. Stella had a maraca that Grammy Z gave her and she shook it when the crowd got all fired up... and of course, she gave a running commentary of the whole thing, but I'm not exactly sure what she was saying. ;)

The rally seemed to inflame her gums however, so she went to bed with a dose of Tylenol and a big hug as the FOUR INCISORS descend all at once into her gummy mouth. Um, when does this bloody teething thing end?

almost within reach

so chapter #3 is done... or not DONE per say, but at least out there in the world. thank you SuperMom, babysitter of the world.

and now onto the cuteness that is our daughter ... boy have I missed you so. Working out in the van for 5 hours makes me feel like i'm missing out on so much. Like this...

the new spoon trick.

 

 or crawling under the hutch.

or hanging out in diapers looking chill.
 

 

 or crawling under the hutch yet again and eating the floor mats. yum. boy, she's been busy with Grammy Z!

ugh

I have learned something very valuable about myself in the last week. I eat when I'm writing. I eat a lot. Well, I snack. A lot. Like the addition of 5 pounds of eating a lot. and carrots and fruit just don't cut it. Cookies, however, do.

Ugh. This dissertation has already taxed me, my immediate family, and now my poor mother who is a superhuman babysitter.

How many pounds am i going to gain finishing this up?? This is a bummer dude. Too many pounds that the burning of calories during breastfeeding is not going to burn back off.  I guess I escaped the freshman 15... so is this my penance? the doctoral doubling?

See... in my writer's block this morning I can't even come up with a witty phrase.

ugh. Looks like it's going to be a long week.

Nothing to be done

It's a line from Beckett's Waiting for Godot. Didi (or is it Gogo?) says it quite a lot during the course of the play. He uses it as filler when conversation and games dull for the two.

And that's about where we are right now - at least with the job front. No news from anything, no news on my half, no news on Steve's half... but i guess that's an ok place to be.

Part of me really wants to here about the places where i interviewed, and the other part of me doesn't want to hear at all right now because if they were interested in me, then we would have to stress and make decisions.

So until then, I'm sitting out in the VW every morning, parked in the driveway, writing my dissertation while my super-hero Mom watches Stella Ruth in the house.

Oh yes, the van is now my office. and it freaking rocks.

A day of doing too much...

Stella is napping. Oh my gosh, how wonderful. I hate to admit it, but i've come to cherish each minute of the down time. Not that I'm working on the diss, mind you, but just for a second to not be "on" all the time. She is getting very good at amusing herself for pockets of time, which is nice - but I also feel bad that I let her to her lonesome. Today I attempted to: make marbled rye bread and homemade vegetable broth at the same time. She is now sort of crawling - ok - really it's a military "I'm under enemy fire, keep low to the ground" sort of drag, but it's getting her around. In between chopping tons of vegetables (really? was it really that much better than just buying a darn carton of $2.50 pre-made broth from Trader Joe's? we'll see. It certainly was a HELL of a lot more work) and proofing dough, Stella dragged herself around the living room to a variety of delights, NONE of which were HER toys. Pelican? Nope. Squishy ball? Nope. Rattle? Nope. Wooden car? Nope. Half chewed, dirty, plastic dog bone? YES PLEASE! Mud caked squeaky ball? MORE MOM! Liver-filled cow bone? OH MY GOSH WHY NOT?

Seriously folks? Is it because I take them out of reach when she goes for them that makes them THAT MUCH MORE enticing? Most likely. Now I really understand when my friend said, Aimee, it's ok that Stella isn't crawling. Really. You don't want her to yet, trust me.

Yet another reason why my post ions ago about babies and doggies and how they like a lot of the same things seems even more true. She worked her butt off last week trying desperately to drag the basket of dog balls out from under the hutch. She comprised and just chewed on the basket instead. Thank goodness I gave up being "that mom" a long time again - you know, "that mom" that won't even let their children down in the grass for fear they will get dirty. Oh no - definitely not that type. Steve and I realized the other day how dirty our house is when we picked Stella up from a particular active round of crawling/dragging and her white polka dot outfit had a big brown smear along the front. Oh dear. We try to keep up with it - but when it rains in San Diego for 2 weeks straight and you have a dog... well, you know. Do I really want my daughter to eat dirty dog toys? No. But I am realistic? Yes.

In other news, Steve was  KICKASS dad while i was gone for my two interviews and took them hiking and to the beach when it wasn't raining. Here are two pics from their hike last Tuesday. I got to meet with the Dean - Stella got to summit a mini-mountain. Guess where I would have rather been?