This is a BART Public Service Annoucment

This is a public service announcement.  Please refer to this guide when you are considering questionable activity on BART.  This is sure to rub some people the wrong way, but you know what, all these things rub me the wrong way.  If you don’t like it, start your own blog. (Feeling kinda snarky right now)

Please DO NOT, brush your hair, pluck your eye brows, floss your teeth or clip your nails.  If this were a game, your goal would be to not leave any biological evidence that you were ever on the train. 

If you are listening to your music so loud I can make out the lyrics, even if you are using headphones, it is safe to assume I do not share your taste in music and respectfully ask that you turn that noise down.   

Please DO NOT pick your ring tone on the train.  If someone calls you, I am sure your current ring tone will do a great job of alerting you to the call.  And on that point, if you have an obnoxious ring tone, please pick up your phone immediately; do not look around like you are trying to play it off on someone else.  You aren’t fooling anyone. 

Please DO shower before boarding, and if you choose not to, don’t give everyone the evil eye when they move away from you.  You stink and you know it. 

I am not a pillow, please DO NOT fall asleep on me.  

We don’t live in the animal kingdom, obnoxious repetitive sounds are not endearing.  This includes but is not limited to: popping your gum, clicking or sucking noises with your tongue, lips or teeth, snapping or tapping. 

Please DO NOT stand on the left side of the escalators.  And if you do, expect to get run over and yelled at. 

If you insist on sitting in the outer seat of a row, please DO stand up and get out to let the person on the inside out.  You chose to sit there, moving your knees slightly to either side doesn’t cut it.  AND if you won’t stand up, DO NOT get pissed when you get whacked in the head by someone’s bag as they try to climb over you. 

People with large backpacks or accessories, please DO be aware of the space occupied by your carry on, no one appreciates getting knocked over because you found it necessary to take your whole life with you (I am so guilty of this one). 

Women traveling in groups, please do us all a favor and use your normal voice instead of the women traveling in groups voice.  Ever notice, the more women in the group, the higher the octave. 

For men traveling in pairs, you are probably not as important as you think are, and your buddy that you are trying to prove it to knows you’re completely full of it. 

And finally, just use common sense, nobody actually wants to be on BART, it is just a necessary evil of living in the Bay Area and beats getting stuck in (insert bridge or freeway here) traffic. 

Thank you, that is all.  Train Operators please disconnec......

Disney: The Aftermath

The Winners: Goofy’s Go-Gadget Coaster, Tea Cups (the spinnnier the better), Carousel, Dumbo, Astro Orbiter, Trains (all of them)

The coaster was the biggest hit of all.  As the roller coaster pulled back into the loading area, Cara lifted both fists in the air like Rocky at the top of the steps proclaiming,” Yeah!”  A freeze-frame moment if I ever saw one.

Tea Cups were a respectable first runner up.  We rode them twice, the second time without daddy (who gets motion sick) and we really got the cup spinning.  She was grinning and giggling so loud, it was reminiscent of the Cheshire Cat.

The Losers: Peter Pan, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, basically anything dark

The first ride we did was Peter Pan, no more than 30 seconds in, she was in tears, scared of the dark and begging us to get off.  Oops.  A few rides later, she indicated that she wanted to go on Mr. Toad, same thing.  We should have known better, but we let her talk us into it.  After that, we avoided Snow White and Pinocchio.

What I learned

Disney must release a crack-like vapor into the air, only effective on children under ten that keeps them at an energy level well above the normal range.  However, the minute you are off the premises, and out of the vapors range, you child will crash, hard, like within 30 seconds.

If you have a daughter, be prepared to wait in line for at least an hour, to spend less than ten minutes taking pictures of the princesses and you own precious princess with a grumpy face.

Weight training is advised in advance of your trip, four days later and my legs and arms are still burning from lugging around 40lbs of kid for several miles over two days.  (And I think I am in fairly decent shape)

Hedging our bets and going on week days paid off.  Week days equals shorter lines, which equals happy kid, which equals happy mommy.  ALSO, get there when they open, your kid is already going to be up, so you might as well capitalize on that time.  We covered all of Tomorrow Land in just over an hour, very efficient.

The biggest take away though was that despite the aches and lack of sleep, the experience brought so much joy to my daughter and I can’t wait to do it again when Bri is old enough.

Taking our princess to Disneyland

At the end of this month, my baby turns three, THREE! And to celebrate we are taking her on a special Mommy, Daddy, Cara trip to Disneyland. I am not sure who is more excited, her or us.

Over the last six months, she has adopted all things Disney as her new favorite pastime.  The excitement she exhibits when she see the iconic castle appear before a movie is just about the cutest thing you have ever seen.  She obsesses over Princess Aurora, Ariel and Belle.  She talks non-stop about the “Bad Lady” from 101 Dalmatians and even convinced us to go see the ‘cowboy’ at Toy Story on Ice.  Disneyland is going to blow her mind.

In preparation, I have done some reading on how to prepare for a trip to Disneyland with young kids, booked the hotel, downloaded the aps, I will be going to the store this weekend to stock up on travel snacks, light sticks and other sundry supplies.  I haven’t however bought the tickets, perhaps I should get on that.

 Meanwhile, Bri is going to spend some quality time with grandma and grandpa.  This is going to be the first time I have left Bri for more than 12 hours since the day she was born.  I am conflicted over being so excited about the time I will get to spend with Cara, and how much I am going to miss Bri.  Logically, I know Bri is going to be fine.  I mean, my sister and I managed to make it successfully to adulthood didn’t we?  Plus, I have written painfully detailed notes and portioned out all of Bri’s food with labels (if you know me, you know this isn’t an exaggeration).

Pictures to come after our adventure, in the meantime, I have got to get ready!

Dinner at My House

Is picky eating genetic? My sample indicates: yes.

When I met Kevin he ate 3 things: steak, chicken and pizza.  That’s it.  When I would recommend other foods he would brush them off with some smart ass remark of judgment, without ever having tried it.  Inevitably, he would find himself in a situation where he would have to try the food in question and low and behold, it is his new favorite.  My mother-in-law has told me stories of how he wouldn’t eat anything as a child, or he would only eat green food and that she thought he was going to waste away.  I am inclined to believe her. 

Now I find myself in a similar situation, although not as extreme, I have a picky eater on my hands.  And what’s worse is that she is only picky for me.  I image her repertoire of acceptable foods is akin to what most two-year-old prefer: pizza, chicken strips, quesadillas, peanut butter sandwiches.  She is also great when it comes to fruit and yogurt (big nutritional wins). Unfortunately, that is about all I can get her to eat.  That said, when I pick her up from daycare, I hear about how she ate chicken adobo or asked for seconds of cucumber and carrots.  WHAT!?!  My kids?   

I try not to take it personally, but I definitely get frustrated on nights when I make a nice dinner and it just sits on her plate until she dumps it all in the sink when we are not looking.  I have also noticed that when she is trying something new and doesn’t like it, she will leave it in her mouth, FOR HOURS, until someone suggests to her that she spit it out.  This almost bothers me more than the not eating because it presents a choking hazard.

Before Kevin and I had kids, we understood that they, in all likelihood, would be strong-willed.  We are both incredibly stubborn and a push-over wouldn’t last two seconds in our house.  I guess if she had to pick one thing to be stubborn about, food isn’t the worst.  And she probably isn’t that different than most two year olds.  What I don’t understand is, why does she save that lovely behavior just for me?

One Moment While I Soap Box

Everyone is aware of diabetes, but I realize, very few actually know what it is.  So humor me a moment, while I climb up on my soap box and give you a crash course.

There are multiple type of diabetes and no one is worse than another.  Type 1 means your pancreas, an organ that produces the hormone insulin doesn’t work and it is managed by injecting insulin.  The role of insulin is to convert the sugar (carbs) in your bloodstream into energy that your body can use.  Sugar enters the blood stream from food and the sugar your liver naturally produces.  Yes shots hurts, but not much.  Yes, I can eat that cookie (as long as I take insulin) so don't police me.  No, it is not hereditary and there is nothing I can do to get rid of it.

Type 2 means that your pancreas does produce insulin, but that your body isn’t very efficient in how it processes it.  Type 2 is the most common accounting for roughly 95% of people with diabetes.  Type 2 is often heredity and is exacerbated by excess weight, age, poor diet or even pregnancy (aka - gestational diabetes).  The good news for Type 2 is that it can often be managed (effectively reversed) without medication through diet and exercise.  The bad news is that people with Type 2 must be militant about their health and what they eat if they are serious about getting rid of their diabetes.  That means no cookies or soda and yes to whole grains and gym memberships.   In some cases people need to take pills or insulin to manage the disease.

It doesn’t have to be a death sentence, but you do have to be careful about what you eat and I believe someday there will be a cure.  Until then, I am riding in the American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure in Napa to raise money for diabetes research.  If you would like to support me, please click here.

Thanks again for humoring me and if you want to know more, all you have to do is ask, I could go on for days J

"Messy Messy!"

My mom told me that as a baby, she could put me on a blanket in the middle of the grass and it might as well have had an electric fence around it.  I would not leave that blanket; I would not touch that grass.  I wouldn’t play in the dirt of the mud, my clothes were always immaculate.  You would think those types of aversions are a learned behavior, but starting at a very young age, I saw those tendencies in my daughter.  Apparently they are genetic; she is definitely my kid.

She will not leave the blanket
(@ 9 Months)

She is not one to dump the spaghetti over her head at dinner time.  Starting around 18 months, when she got food on her hands, arms or clothes, she would start panicking and yell “messy, messy.”  She uses a napkin to wipe her hands and face during and after meals.  She will even often wipe down the table (i.e. push the spilled food around until is covers an even larger area).

With Melody
(@ 13 Months)

She LOVES to swim, but as a child after my own heart, she prefers chlorinated pools to sandy beaches.  On the occasions we have been at a beach or a place with sand, she asks to be carried until we reach the water.  But really, can you blame her, sand is gross.  

She is extremely particular about her clothing.  Shortly after turning two, we let her start picking out her own outfits; it was easier than battling the alternative.  She is especially picky about her socks.  Either end of the seam of the sock must not touch the side of the toe.  The entirety of the seam must be on the top of her foot, otherwise, tears.  Seriously. When we put her in the car seat, if her shirt or jacket is bunched in the back, tears.  If the cuff of her pants or shirt is not exactly as it should be, tears.  If her sleeves are rolled up…you get the idea.

I am so glad (said sarcastically) I have passed on my OCD tendencies to my child.  I wish I could be mad when she goes nuts about something trivial, but usually I agree with her.

Afternoon at the Ice Capades

This weekend we took Cara to see Toy Story 3 on Ice officially completing our requirements to join the order of full-fledged parenthood. I was on the fence about going, Kevin was really leading the charge. I thought she might still be too young, that she wouldn't sit through it, that she might get scared. My mom’s advice was to go. She reasoned that one of two things would happen: Cara would love it, in which case, great, or she wouldn't and I would be right. My mom knows how much I like to be right. Here is my ‘in-depth’ analysis of the afternoon.

Pro – It started on time, promptly at 11am

Con – It was about an hour and fifteen minutes too long. Not sure what genius thought a program for children needed to go on for 2+ hours. By the end there were about 5,000 kids on the verge of a major meltdown.

Pro – Tickets were inexpensive, and by buying them only a few days before the event we grabbed great seats for half the price had we planned in advance.
Con – Once you are in, you are shelling out $12 for a small tub of popcorn that probably cost $0.50 to produce, $20 for a plastic Frisbee-like toy they demo’d before the show so EVERY kid wants one and another $20 for a random “grab bag” of toys. Seriously, that is what they were calling it. And that doesn’t count photos or face painting. Fortunately, Cara is still too young to ask for all these things, but our days are numbered.

Pro – Genius mommy thought it would be fun to ride the train to the show. We parked at a nearby station and road up a stop. The side benefit was saving on parking.

Con – All those parents parked on-site shelled out another $20 for the privilege and missed out on what was probably the highlight of our day.

Pro – The kids got to see the lovable characters they know from the Toy Story franchise.

Con – Apparently Disney couldn’t afford to pay the actual voice actors to dub the entire performance, so throughout the program Woody was played by a combination of Tom Hanks, and Joe Whatshisname as if we couldn’t tell. Also, they borrowed liberally from both Toy Story 1 and 2 to use songs and characters that had no place in the third movie. These kids have seen the movie 100 times! Don’t think you pulled a fast one Disney, everybody knows.

Other observations

They went to the trouble of introducing the evil emperor Zurg which ended up scaring Cara. Fifteen minutes in and Cara is sad and telling me she wants to go home. Buzz does defeat him, but that isn't even accurate to the movie, so not only did it scare my kid, but it wasn't even relevant to the storyline. Thanks.

And finally, at one point the space men were dancing to the Star Wars cantina music (also not the movie). How about you take that royalty money and pump it back into storyboarding. Would it kill you to put a little effort into making a program that the parents could also enjoy somewhat. This is an embarrassment to Pixar who tries so hard to appeal to parents and children alike, they should be pissed.

That all said, it was all worth it to see Cara’s face light up when the music stared and Woody glided onto the ice and I can still claim partial rightness. However, we may have been better off riding BART for an hour or so, grabbing lunch and getting home BEFORE nap time. Lesson learned.