moldy green ice cubes, a.k.a David's blog

So, my dear old friend David came over for dinner and catching up and reminiscing last Friday night. I've known David since about 1998, he used to be my swing dance partner back in the day. I have to admit, once upon a time, we were pretty good. Although we did put on some music, and danced a bit in the living room, we didn't attempt any lifts this night- we're both too old and out of practice for that shit! Besides, who wants a broken bone over X-mas break, (get it, broken over break?). I digress... I get to see him about once a year when his place of employment lets him out- he's military, (sigh - stupid boy!) and he hadn't yet met Eb, way long overdue.

We started our evening with a simple meal and red wine. Then added some more red wine, and finally David found the Kahlua. I brewed a pot of coffee and he attempted to make official coffee drinks- what's the name: coffee, Kahlua, and cream? He said he needed ice cubes for the finishing touch, and opened the freezer door. He pulled out and ice cube tray, and was shocked, and probably frightened when he saw this:


moldy green ice cubes.


Okay, to explain: I have been making Eb's baby food for the past 5 months. It's easier, and less expensive. I usually steam large batches of fruits and veggies, puree the hell out of them, then put them in ice cube trays to freeze until later use. David pulled out the spinach or avocados. I don't remember, his shock was too hilarious to pay attention, plus I had a bit to drink. I'm sure I got extra wrinkles that night from all the laughing we did!

So, no ice cubes, but we improvised. I found some frozen cheesecake filling mix I had leftover from the x-mas dessert I made. It worked perfectly fine in the drinks, but at that point, who really could tell the difference?

Christmas and other stories

Once upon a time there was a sweet little baby with a cold who went to visit his Grandma for Christmas. His momma, auntie and uncle all partook in the joyous holiday festivities, while the baby was super mellow, allowing the previously named family members to cuddle and hold him for 20 minutes at a time. The sweet baby even fell asleep on Grandma early in the morning while Tucker the dog got a walk in the wintery wonderland.



EB didn't quite get the idea of opening gifts on his first Christmas, nor did he even seem to enjoy the paper. He did, however get a kick out of the bows and ribbons, kept pulling them off of every one's packages.

Long overdue for a decent nap, Auntie decides to take the sweet baby for some playtime in the snow. EB was a real trooper, enjoying the sledding, snowman, and even being buried in the deep stuff by his Uncle.



Some highlights of the day: Grandma's 2nd gift to EB- Monkey Butt Powder (I'm not kidding). EB pulling on Unlce's goat-e, then pulling off his baseball hat. Both Grandma and Auntie giving EB the obligatory noisy, loud, annoying light up toys. Sharing EB's 1st Christmas with loved ones.


Other stories- Eb has learned to blow kisses/do fish lips. His momma tends to think of them as kisses, but Auntie said it's just fish lips (harumph to that!). And, EB now really thinks he can walk. He practices balancing, unassisted for 4-5 seconds at a time, then gently plops down on his bum. He's getting really good at the landings.

2 new tricks

it seems like just yesterday when eb was learning to roll over, then came sitting up, followed by crawling, and now....he's got 2 new tricks that he can do! 1) he has discovered his tongue. all day long today he was sticking that little pink tongue in and out of his mouth. i'm not sure if he's exploring his new teeth with it, or trying to reach his nose, but whatever the reason, his momma thinks it's just about the cutest thing ever. throughout the snowy day, i captured his tongue in action on film. 2) he's also figured out how to pull himself up, on everything! the couch? piece of cake. the rocking chair- no problem. the wiggly excersaucer? he's a pro at that too. the 'down' side of eb pulling up, is of course the falling down. he's getting pretty good at the landings, but he had a few hard hits today. he's very determined when it comes to standing though. he's even tried to take a few solo steps, but he doesn't have that whole balance thing yet, and gravity quickly takes over. in addition to pulling up on the living room furniture, eb has learned to pull himself up to a standing position in his crib. once upon a time, not so very long ago (4 days to be exact) i could lay eb down in his crib, drowsy but still awake, and he would talk himself to sleep. now, with his new found mobility, he tosses to his belly, crawls to the sides, and pulls up. and is wide awake! going down for naps and bed time has become a challenge. anyone have suggestions? please let me know!

*i got a great video of eb pulling up in his crib, but i got tired of waiting for it to upload! (i think i'm going to get myself a new computer for my birthday!)

oh, and one more thing: this baby is definitely mine! i was eating spicy cream of curry pumpkin soup for dinner tonight, and eb was eating a tortilla with beans. he politely asked if he could try the soup (staring at the bowl with mouth wide open). i told him it was spicy, but he insisted upon trying it. soooo, i gave him a taste! and his mouth opened up for more, immediately! he really liked the spicy soup, except when a soggy onion got caught in his mouth.

Cabin Fever

today i finally made it out! 3 days of snowy wintery iciness, and i couldn't take it anymore. i had to visit my banker, then take the puppy for a walk. so, i braved the slippery roads (which weren't too bad), then dropped off eb with a friend to take the puppy for a much needed adventure. when it's 14 degrees, eb can't/shouldn't be out in the cold for as long as the puppy needs to be.

our first snow happened last saturday (dec. 13th), and b'ham got a smackerel of snow, a pretty light dusting. then, tuesday night, another smear, but apparently enough snow, with enough ice underneath to cancell my school for the day on wendesday.

at 10:00 a.m. as i'm putting eb down for his 1st nap, b'ham gets bombarded by a sudden burst of white! snow, and i mean lots of it! in 2 hours, i'm certain it snowed at least 4 inches. it just kept coming, and coming. all day, all night. enough snow to cancell school again. it finally stopped snowing by mid-day on thursday, but instead of snow, we get cold. oh wait, not cold- friggin cold! 14 degrees cold. -1 with the wind chill factor.




regardless, i bundled up the baby, and took him for his 1st adventure in the snow. i think that if he could have moved his little body, he would have enjoyed his snow outting more, but alas, the snow suit is too constricting (think 'A Christmas Story).

the little guy

eb's vocab is growing by leaps and bounds. his first words (unofficially) have been- da da, bob, and dude.

he rambles da da da da da da all day long. (great, his momma sighs)

next, he starts singing about bob bob bob bob. who in the heck is bob? maybe i guessed wrong on the donor's name?

and finally, my mom, very clearly and distinctly heard my sweet little baby boy say, 'dude'. wonderful.

da da, bob, and dude. i'm not sure how mensa is going to take this information.

crotch rocket world

i work at a very interesting place - a public elementary school. this week has been particularly amusing/enlightening/unbelievable, which has prompted me to start my blog. it's just too incredible to not share with others. so, here goes:

monday- while driving to work, we (i car pool) see 6-7 cars pulled over to the side of the road, a herd of elk in a horse pen, an elk down across the field, and a man carrying a rifle (!) yes a rifle walking along the side of the highway. what in the world!? also seen was a police officer, or some official type person in green clothing. things you don't typically see in the big city of b'ham. apparently, if you have a special permit, you are allowed to hunt elk out of season from the highway... good thing the rifle man happened to have his gun with him, and that emergency permit. i also learned that 90% of my co-workers enjoy elk meat. who knew?

monday- "i sucked the air out". a student showed up with an unusual bruise on his forehead. he told his teacher he fell on a pile of rocks. he told another teacher he fell down and hit his head...our counselor was finally able to get to the bottom of it... this sweet boy decided he was going to 'suck the air out of his head' by using a zip lock vacuum sealer. did i mention this student is in the 4th grade?

monday- "the pajamas of fire". we've got great staff at my work. i wouldn't trade any one of them. one of our teachers is a great story teller, and announced at lunch how he started his day: i was putting the kettle on to make my tea, when i noticed my wife re-arranged all my Lipton nick knacks, so as i was leaning up to put them back, i noticed that i started getting hotter." he continues to fill us in about how his Lipton animals were behind the shot glasses, and he keeps getting hotter. he finally looks down and notices his p.j.s were on fire. all of the staff in the lunchroom were in stitches as g.b. continues describing his pajamas of fire. fortunately, he arrived to work unharmed, but armed with a great story.

wednesday- banana bread incident: at holiday time i get loads of goodies from my students. a typical year consists of 3 I Love My Teacher coffee mugs, 5 Teaching is Great Christmas ornaments, plates of baked goods, chocolates, etc. super sweet, i'm blessed. this year, i've got a mini loaf of banana bread from a student. the teacher next door who has a sibling to this student also got a loaf of bread. he comes to me after school, and asks, while holding up his super deluxe giant size loaf of banana bread if i got one too. i hold up mine, and say, 'uhhhh, yeah.' to which we both laugh. because what else can you do.

and finally (it's only thursday mind you): crotch rocket world. our 1st grade teacher told a great story today. she was letting students create adventure stories to match the number of the day, (ex: 7, i went to disneyland and rode on 3 roller coasters, and 4 water rides, and that makes 7). today, the student was using his imagination to talk about the number of the day. he was imagining their was a motorcycle world place, except he didn't call it motorcycle world. he kept asking his teacher 'what are those motorcycles called that go really fast?' the teacher knew, but wasn't sharing. the persistent, resourceful student continues asking, and another student, says, 'oh, you mean crotch rockets?' 'yeah! crotch rockets, i went to crotch rocket world and,' then our teacher interrupts, and says, that saying that is not appropriate in school, the student replies, 'why?', then all the other 1st graders start repeating, 'crotch rocket world', wondering why it's inappropriate. seriously.