Robots Can't Have Babies

Bzzzzzz

2009-10-26T10:46:00.001-07:00

99% done.

Zadie tried on the body (though I made the head opening too small so we had to cut a slit down the back for extra room. Good thing fleece and felt don't fray :), but she won't try on the wings or the bonnet...maybe when she figures out she gets candy when she does...

I'm still considering whether or not to I should add antennae. Zeb won't allow me near the glitter spray paint so we will have to see.

Monkey Swing!

2009-08-26T21:43:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Zeb decided it was time to climb up the oak tree to tie a rope with some knots.

He then fashioned a nice round platform to sit on to make a Monkey Swing! Zadie added some local color.

We then all took a turn testing it out.

It tends to twist to one side a bit, but it's great fun. Maya doesn't quite know what to make of it but she enjoys supervising from her favorite position.

The L-word

2009-08-20T10:38:00.000-07:00

Zadie came back from her stay at Grammy's with a new phrase.

"Mommy, I love you"

The first time was over the phone...maybe coached by Grammy.

It is difficult to tell how much of that phrase she understands, but it is amazingly sweet regardless. She doesn't say it very often...I've heard it maybe 3 times in the six weeks or so since but it always makes me smile.

She came back from my mom's this Monday saying

"Zadie two old"

I can't believe she will be 2 and a half in a week.

Car-lite-(er?)

2009-07-22T09:51:00.000-07:00

I have been following quite a few bike commuting blogs since I restarted the commuting by bike. Many of them go further to what they call 'car lite'. In addition to biking to work, they are replacing other short trips by car with trips by bike.

Great idea, but definitely easier said than done when a toddler is involved.

Yesterday I took a step closer to car-lite-ness.

The next Sookie Stackhouse book was on hold for me at the library. Since the days have been longer and it's only about two miles or so to downtown I figured I had enough daylight to make the trip by bike after Zadie was in bed. I was a little nervous because Zeb wouldn't be able to rescue me should something go wrong since he couldn't leave Zadie alone in the house. It was great! Aside from some minor mishaps when unlocking my bike (I couldn't get my lock to relock...and I somehow messed up my wheel sensor for my bike computer when) it was a nice ride.

I took the Los Gatos Creek trail back which added about a mile and required a bit of climbing, but it was very pretty at sunset/twilight.

I'm thinking that when the commute becomes too long for me to handle, the trail may be a nice alternative for keeping up the exercising...

Next on the list of car trips that might be replaced...emergency grocery store runs?

Camping with Toddler (and Puppy)

2009-07-06T10:59:00.000-07:00

We went camping in Yosemite over 4th of July weekend.

The trip up was pretty smooth. We got to the gate in about 4 hours, but it took another hour and change to get through the gate and into the campsite. We got there right around Zadie's usual nap time.

After a quick lunch I tried to take a nap with Zadie while Zeb walked Maya. In our attempt to make the experience easier for Zadie (and my achy pregnant back) we brought the aerobed. I felt a bit guilty for the luxury but when I saw that some other folks had brough not only a fold out bed but an easy chair with leg rests I didn't feel so bad.

Unfortunately, there was to be no napping with all the excitement of lunch at a picnic table, tent, setting up camp, tent, squirrels, and of course, the tent. Trying to get her to sleep at night was an even more difficult task. She finaly conked out around 9:30 but would keep waking up every 20 minutes or so until sometime closer to 2am. First she was too hot. Then she lost her paci. Then she had slipped off her sleeping pad and elbowed the ground and her elbow hurt. Then she was too cold.

At least we didn't keep the neighbors up.

The second night went much better. It still took a while to get to sleep (probably conked out around 9) but then she stayed asleep until 6:30 am. Woot!

Maya, on the other hand, was much easier. Zeb took her on 4 to 5 walks during the day which kept her tired enough to just chill around camp. By the last day she was starting to want to play, which is a bit harder on leash. If we were to do a longer trip we would probably go someplace where they allow dogs off leash or leave her at home.

We also saw lots of pregnant ladies around. Two adjoining sites had pregnant ladies and there was another one who would walk past our site to use the restrooms. Perhaps this is just another case of me seeing pregnant ladies everywhere...

Wii (Un)Fit

2009-06-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

I was looking around online yesterday, reading about exercising during pregnancy.

It started with the nice article supporting my belief that is is perfectly safe and good for me to continue commuting by bike to work as long as it feels comfy:

http://bikecommutetips.blogspot.com/2009/05/baby-on-board-pregnancy-and-bicycle.html

From there I somehow found myself on the baby center site where someone was asking about Wii Fit while pregnant. I have been tracking my weight gain in a google spreadsheet, but according to some of the posters, you could enter the recommended gain (25-35 lbs for me) and instead of
A) getting yelled at by the trainer and having to enter 'Ate too much' as the reason for gaining
or
B) having to enter preggo weight as clothing weight
you get congratulated on making progress toward your "goal".

Brilliant!

So last night, after we put Zadie to bed, I turn on the Wii for the first time in months...both the wii-mote and the board needed new batteries. I suspect the dog has been accidentally turning on the board under the couch. It turns out I've gained about 5lbs since the last time I used it (not too bad for 18 wks...must be the cycling) so I figure I'd enter 25 lbs with the goal being the due date.

Foiled!

I hit some kind of ceiling at +22 lbs. I guess wii fit doesn't like encouraging obesity. Still...22lbs in 6 months works out to 1.7 lbs every two weeks which is about right anyway.

I don't know if the hula game will work so well with the belly throwing my balance off, but I'm looking forward to doing more of the yoga poses :)

Everything it it's Place

2009-04-29T09:30:00.000-07:00

My mom called last night. She had borrowed some DVDs from the library for Zadie to watch and after Zadie left one of them was missing.

She had looked everywhere and as a last resort she wanted me to check the diaper bag to see if it might be there.

It wasn't.

Not quite seriously, I asked Zadie where she put the DVDs...she pointed to the cabinet under the tv where we put ours. I joked to my mom that they were probably in the cabinets by the tv.

A few minutes later my mom calls back. Indeed, the dvd was in the cabinet under her tv.

Even if it's not her house, it seems Zadie will put things back in their place :)

Armadillo power

2009-04-23T10:02:00.000-07:00

So...the tire saga continues...

Last Friday my back tire suddenly went flat halfway home. I didn't remember the bike shop at the nearby complex so I called Zeb to pick me up. Then I rode again on Monday, and about 3 miles into my ride home the back tire went flat again! Argh. It was in the same location on the tube...the place where the screw had pierced the tire back in March. Must be a hole big enough to let particles through...or something.

Both times I managed to change it by the time he arrived. On Monday I even had the tire remounted (practice does make a difference!) but it was still faster to get a pick up than to change it myself and ride the rest of the way.

I was next to a gas station Monday and even though I had successfully patched the tire and remounted it...I realized I had no clue how to pump it with the gas station air pump. I asked Zeb on the way home...apparently presta valves are not easily pumped with the gas station pumps...and this was the one advantage of the shrader valves...grrr

Anyway, after Monday Zeb put his foot down. No more riding (i.e. no more saving of the Jen) until I got new tires.

Since Mikes' was having a sale, I stopped by Tuesday afternoon and got a pair of the 25c version of Armadillo tires:

They were very difficult (for me) to get on...I finally gave up after 40 minutes of wrestling that culminated in a pinched tube, and asked Zeb to put them on.

Who needs a NBM when you have a Zeb?

My first ride on them this morning felt a little sluggish (it didn't help that my bike computer was out of whack so I couldn't tell what speed I was going), but also somewhat smoother than my stock 23c vittoria tires.

"Bike tire saga" or "Why Friday sucked"

2009-04-06T12:44:00.000-07:00

The first time I tried changing my front tire myself was a few months ago.

It took me 20 minutes to even get the tire off the rim.

Then after another 20 minutes wrestling the tire back on, I popped the tube trying to pump up the tire.

The second time it took maybe half the time to get the tire off, the new tube on, and the tire back on. The tube popped again when I tried to pump it up.

At that point I felt very defeated and I only had one spare left, so I gave up and asked Zeb do it. He was somehow able to change it and keep it from popping in less than 10 minutes.

My inner Bike Maintenance Guru wept and hung its head.
*****************************
At the beginning of March I ran over a screw on the way home and popped my back tire.

After waiting two weeks for Zeb to fix it, I finally gave up waiting and tried it myself. This time I use the normal plastic tire levers instead of Zeb's super metal tire lever.

It worked the first time!

My inner BMG cautiously lifted its dejected head and began to hope.
*****************************
Last Friday starts off as a difficult bike day. There are 10-20 mph head winds on the way to work in the morning. Not a happy commute.

About an hour after I arrive at work, I hear this "pssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssh' from my bike.

The front tire had gone spontaneously flat.

So, in order to make sure I can leave on time, I change the tire over my lunch break. I take off the tire and the tube. I find the slit (apparently made by a metal shaving I find in the tire...) and get out my patch kit to patch it. I follow the patch kit instructions and apply the patch. Then, I put everything back on and try to pump it back up. The air keeps leaking out. Crap. So, I take it off again. It pumps up just fine when the tube is outside the bike. WTF? I put it back on. Again, it fails to pump up. Grrrrrr. At this point, I'm get somewhat frustrated. I take it off again, and pump it up outside the tire a bit more and play with the patch site. I discover the patch is leaking. Double crap. I direct some colorful sayings at the patch company and whoever wrote their retarded instructions. I give up on the patched tire and use my spare. This goes on fine and I'm able to pump it up part of the way with the hand pump but the floor pump at work doesn't have the right valve for my tube. I find out from MyHero that I can go to the local bike shop to borrow their pump to finish it.

At the end of the day, I leave a bit early to give myself enough time to stop by the bike stop and pump my tire. I ride the block and a half to the bike shop. When I get there, Mr. Nice Bike Mechanic offers to pump it for me. He comes back out a few minutes later a bit upset. My tire had popped when he started pumping it up. I find myself defending my bike changing technique and reviewing my day of bike actions.

NBM explains to me the first possible cause of my terrible bike tube luck:
The tube can get caught or folded either around the edges of the tires or around the pump valve opening, causing it to pinch when pumped up to pressure, and ultimately causing it to pop. This is why the tire should be partially pumped (which I had done correctly) and why there should usually be a bit of adjustment around the valve area when pumping up the tire. Apparently riding on a partially pressured tire can cause this to happen as well.

Since at this point my confidence in my tire changing abilities is completely shattered and Zeb has refused to come pick me up from work, I pay NBM $12 to change it for me.

At this point we find the second possible cause:
The tape on my rim was torn in a few places. Especially suspicious was a tear at one of the spokes. He also mentioned that the ends of the tape were not done very smoothly. NBM tells me since he already has taken the tire off, I just need to pay for the cost of the new tape and he'll replace that as well.

45 minutes after I left the office I am finally on my way home.

My inner BMG is now hoping the new tape put in by NBM at my local bike shop will mean there is hope for the future.

Communication with a 22-month-old

2009-01-08T13:52:00.000-08:00

After waving bye to papa getting into the car...

Zadie: Papa...

Me: Papa has to go pick up something from the store, honey. We're going to stay here and play until he gets back.

Zadie: Zadie...go...

Me: I know Zadie wants to go, but Papa will get things done faster by himself.

Zadie: Zadie...go...Zadie....go...

Me: I know Zadie wants to go, maybe we can go with Papa next time.

Zadie: Zadie...go...Zadie....go...Zadie...go...

Me: Look Zadie! There's a monster trying to eat your train!

Mmm...pumpkin bread

2008-11-03T13:47:00.000-08:00

One of the best parts about fall is pumpkin bread. Sure you can make it other times of the year, but it just isn't the same.

3.5 c flour (I used all-purpose for about 3 cups and whole wheat for the rest)
2 to 3 c sugar (I usually use somewhere between 2 and 2.5)
2 t baking soda
1.5 t salt (or less)
1.5 t nutmeg
1.5 t cinnamon

1 c oil
2/3 c water
4 eggs
2 c pumpkin (I use 1 15 oz can)

(Most of 1 bag of semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips)

1 - mix dry ingredients and make a dent in the center
2 - add wet ingredients
3 - blend until smooth
(Add chocolate chips)
4 - bake at 350 1 to 1.5 hrs for loaf...20-25 min for muffins

Enjoy with your hot beverage of choice.

Pumpkin patch and carving party

2008-10-28T12:35:00.000-07:00

We had a great Saturday picking out some pumpkins from the local pumpkin patch and carving them at Aunt Kara and Uncle Jake's Pumpkin Carving Party!

Work-in-progress

2008-10-22T10:29:00.000-07:00

Since Zadie LOVEs strawberries, I'm making her a strawberry halloween costume...

First I made a little paper prototype with notebook paper and tape to get some general shapes and relative measurements...

Then, sewing the fleece seeds onto the flannel...

Then we add some leaves...

And almost finished...

We are planning a final fitting before the pumpkin carving party this Saturday...hopefully Zadie will let me put it on her long enough to take a picture wearing it!

Bike Commute Day 3

2008-10-07T15:49:00.000-07:00

I tried the slightly more local way today bypassing Sunnyvale-Saratoga. It was much, much nicer. Totally worth the extra distance.

Total Distance: 32.5 miles.
Still between 65 and 70 minutes to the office and around 70 minutes home.

The way back was easier this time. I think this was partially because I had a better idea of where I was going and more confidence I wouldn't get lost. I took Homestead instead of Stevens Creek which meant less freeway merges and fewer hills. Win-win! It also helped a lot that I wasn't dying on the hills.

Yay for getting fitter!

Too bad I can only go one way this Thursday since I have a 5:30 meeting. Poo.

I'm still hoping to break the 60 minute barrier sometime soon. Perhaps Thursday morning...

Bike Commute Day 2

2008-10-01T10:14:00.000-07:00

I am beat. I overdid it yesterday...by about 7 or 8 miles.

I did the whole round trip yesterday.

15.7 miles each way for a grand total of 30.4 miles.

I had felt really good on the way to work. I spent about two thirds of it with another biker who was going the same way. It was very pleasant to chat while commuting and gave me some incentive to try to keep up. Even without my biking shoes I still made it in 70 minutes. At least I'm consistent!

Since I have to go to a conference Thursday, yesterday was my only chance the entire week to bike commute. So, I figured why not try the whole thing.

What I had not considered was the subtle difference in terrain and route the trip back would present. There is far more uphill...I think I was somewhere along Foothill when I slowed to maybe 6mph struggling just to turn over the pedals.

I also took a route where I had to cross a busy street with no cross traffic stop sign. I think I waited at least 10 minutes before there was an opening long enough for me to cross...

I was surprised to find that I managed to make it home in around 80 minutes.

I don't think I'll be trying that again for a while...maybe next spring. I think I'll stick to the 19 mile option until I'm in a bit better shape.

Bike Commute Day 1

2008-09-26T11:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my first attempt to bike commute since Zadie was born.

Total trip: 19 miles

To work: Bike 15.8 miles in 70 minutes
Back: Carpool with coworker to his house. Bike 3.2 miles home.

My route: Virginia->Bucknall->Cox->Sunnyvale-Saratoga->Prospect(Stelling)->Homestead->Foothill->Springer(El Monte)->Latham

It felt great!

I started out a bit too fast.

Then, I missed the turn onto Bucknall so I had to turn around.

I got a bit tired halfway down Cox but since my wheelsize setting on my bike computer was wrong I fooled myself into believing I was more than halfway...which kept me going.

I had to do a two-light left turn onto Prospect because of heavy traffic and just missed the left turn light onto Homestead.

I finally figured out when I was on foothill that the mileage on the bike computer was wrong so I started looking at the clock instead and was very pleased to see that I had only been on the road for 45 minutes.

My backup plan was to call my carpool buddy to come get me but it turned out I got to my office before he had...by 20 minutes.

I was very thankful that we have showers at my office and felt great all day. Those endorphins are quite a rush.

I felt good, but not good enough to ride all the way back so I only did the distance between my carpool buddy's house to home. It was much harder with work clothes and street shoes :)

Next Tuesday I plan to attempt both ways. Bwahahahahaha.

The evolution of the kiss

2008-09-10T10:29:00.000-07:00

It started over a month ago with the open mouthed slobber 'kiss'. She would lunge at the victim with her mouth wide open and tongue out. It was more than a bit frightening since one never knew if the result was going to be slobber or slobber with teeth.

Then there was the sniff/eskimo 'kiss'. If we asked her to sniff she would bring her face in close and sniff while we touch noses. Initially this was much preferred by us since there was much less slobber and slimmer chance of teeth.

There is also the variation with the screen or sliding door where she will push her face up against the screen door and when you bring your face up on the other side she'd sniff back.

Finally, in the last two weeks she's mastered the kissing sound. Smaller mouth opening and more suction equals better kiss sound. She will usually plant one in the vicinity of the face. But sometimes it ends up being an air kiss when she misses.

Yesterday we caught her kissing her own (possibly imaginary) boo-boo's.

Container Garden - Redux

2008-07-28T17:01:00.000-07:00

I am amazed at the resiliency of plant life.

Somehow, despite my lack of experience and decidedly un-greenish thumb my garden lives on.

Recently, I finally ripped out the yellowed and dried up pea vines and what did I find? NEW GROWTH! Only two of the roughly 40 vines had any sign of life, but LIFE it was! I don't know if it is directly from the seed or if it is just from the base of the vine that was still living and able to draw moisture from the soil, but I refuse to question the miracle. I may yet have a second harvest, albeit a greatly reduced one.

I was thinking to take some pictures of my EarlyGirl tomatoes, but Zadie's already snagged all of them as soon as the first one turned red so there are now no more tomatoes.

We also had some strawberries that managed to get past the green stage while we were on vacation that have also fallen victim to small curious hands.

The cucumbers are starting to look pretty good. I'm hoping they will survive a bit better since they don't turn a tempting red. I was surprised to find out that they get wide before they get long. They are still on the short and stubby side. I'm not sure how long they actually get.

There are also these really crazy red dragonflies that really like the wisteria plant in the back corner.

New Things

2008-07-16T13:14:00.000-07:00

Zeb went to REI before we left for Tahoe and came back with several Cutest Baby Things Ever that couldn't be passed up
- Mary Jane Crocs in light blue
- Nalgene Sippy Cup in green - She insists on putting her thumb through the little handle while drinking...

The 'bee has figured out how to go down slides by herself. We spent much time in Tahoe indulging this new activity...occasionally pushing slightly bigger little kids out of the way to do so (just kidding...sort of).

We also got the 'bee her first ice cream cone. Strawberry, naturally. A rather sticky affair, but great for comedy.

New funnest game ever: Throwing rocks into the lake. Whether or not they travel to the water or even in a forward direction is another matter. She's got the throwing motion down, but the release part is a bit tricky.

We have also discovered dried pork shavings. Meals are now no longer complete without them.

Last but most definitely not least: Sleeping through the night!!!!!!

4th of July Parade in Cayucos

2008-07-07T14:00:00.000-07:00

Dah. Guh.

2008-07-07T12:37:00.000-07:00

The 'bee LOVED playing with all the pups at the beach house this weekend.

She would wave every time she spotted one (her wave is currently opening and closing her fist with palm facing upward).

She had a blast feeding them treats.

She even helped to walk them along the beach!

I think it's time for us to start looking for a puppy of our own :)

My sad sad container garden

2008-06-29T13:19:00.000-07:00

First the happy news.

The arugula that I started indoors and transplanted to the patio planter did wonderfully. In fact, it took over the entire planter. The poor gardenia hiding in the back had little say. I've picked the seed pods and I'm drying them. Hopefully they'll do just as well next year :)
Now the not so happy news...

The last few super-hot days have not been kind to my sugar snap peas. I water every evening and on the super hot days I tried to water in the morning as well, but not watering while at work really took it's toll on the poor plants. Here they are looking so very promising at the beginning of the month.

We were able to get a single harvest of around 20 beans before the heat hit. Now the poor sugar snaps are looking rather dry. At least the cucumbers seem to be thriving and the bell peppers are finally sprouting :)

Next year we plan to do some raised beds with the water tied to the automated system so it won't be quite so dependent on me being consistent. Also, it would most likely be better for the plants to have a bit more space to spread out. I'm probably doing a million other things wrong too. If anyone out there with a greener thumb than I has any advice, it is welcome.

Wilder Ranch

2008-06-28T20:12:00.000-07:00

Zeb has been itching to go mountain biking for ages. It's been at least two, maybe three years since our last ride.

The last ride I remember we rode the Frog Lake trail at Henry Coe. This was the trip where I failed to see a rock on a sharp corner and flipped...into the brush...which was mostly poison oak. It is not a happy memory.

Since we are going to try the Flume trail when we go to Tahoe with my parents in two weeks we figured we should at least try to get in shape. To that end, we took my parents to Wilder Ranch today. Grandparents are the best! They took the 'bee for a walk along the coastal cliffs while we went on a ride.

We did the Old Dairy trail. Considering how out of practice we were it went pretty well. It was nice and low key. I had to take a few 'moments' here and there to recuperate and there was some walking of the bikes, but we were only passed by three people and we made it!

Open Letter to the Long Suffering IT Guy at Work

2008-06-27T12:10:00.000-07:00

Dear LSITGAW,

I miss you. Please come back from vacation.

I promise I won't interrupt you on your call with other end users....much. The only exception will be when you seem to be on hold or something and classical/elevator music can be heard faintly from your earphones.

I promise I won't touch anything in the server room without asking you first. The last time I had accidentally turned the Linux build machine off was a complete misunderstanding. I thought I was turning it on since I couldn't ping the box from my desktop.

I promise not to spill coffee on my machine. The last time it happened it turned out ok after allowing the box to dry over the weekend, but I agree that coffee covered electronics do tend to break more easily.

Please ignore my past transgressions and just make the beeping from full tape drive in the server room stop. In keeping with my previous promise not to break anything in the server room I have not touched it. I promise.

Sincerely,

Me

Cardboard Cutouts

2008-06-26T15:55:00.000-07:00

We've been looking at getting the 'bee some kid sized table and chairs. She LOVES being able to sit in a chair her size. The trouble is that most of the kid stuff is still too tall for her or really expensive.

So far we've been using the bumbo which is getting a bit small and the portable booster seat that is meant for dining out...but we are missing the table part.

I ran into this super cool site that has some patterns for cardboard chairs...and perhaps a table similar to the ones here.

...modern sensibility
...cheap, possibly free
...green
...can be customized to a size that would fit her

I don't know how long it would last, but kid furniture is outgrown so quickly it wouldn't matter.

I am totally smitten with the idea. Now if only I had a spare day or two...