Friday, December 31, 2010

More Visitors to Mars

Melody, Kaleb and Mom came to visit the new guy. Justin tried to turn Kaleb onto OLD video games (Pac Man and the like). It didn't work.

Kaleb's birthday is Jan 4th so we had a little celebration.

Kaleb has been a great cousin. Noli is totally taken with him wants to play with him all the time. Kaleb has been great at holding Marlon and has only sat on him twice. Not bad!


Oh and we took a few more photos of Mars.


Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Noli Reads to Mars

Monika's 2010 Regrets

I was watching an interview with an actor and he said "Oh that was one of the things I most regret of 2010" and I thought "that is a great idea" ...I mean EVERYBODY (and I'm looking at you here, Justin) does Top 10 Lists, but what about the bottom of the barrel, so vastly neglected?

Top regrets of 2010

5. Buying Expensive Shoes over the Net Internationally Do you really need me to explain why this is a bad idea?

4. Not Winning Any of the NPR Trips During Their Eternal Fundraising Events and 'yes' I've entered them all

3. Not Telling off all the People who said stoopid things during my pregnancy: I mean when can you be forgiven more for being hormonal than pregnancy? If you haven't heard me complain about it, I must not have talked to you in many months. In fact, this deserves a sub list:

Top 3 Stoopid Things People Have Said:

a. The runner who said when I was 6 months pregnant "you should take up running, I think you would really like it. That is how I lost all my weight"
b. The daycare worker who said in my 8th month "Oh you ARE pregnant? I thought that was just the way you were shaped"
c. The guy when I was 8 months pregnant who said "How far overdue are you?"

2. Spilling gas in the brand new car: gotta say it was an accident, but I could have caused a perfectly good car to stink to high heaven for eternity. The guy at the detailer told me the only things he doesn't guarantee to get out are cat pee and gas.

1. Not getting the epidural sooner:--I had already been in labor 24 hours-ish by the time I got to the hospital. I assumed it would be like 2-3 more hours, I even called off one of my support guru from coming to the hospital because I KNEW it was going to be soon (also all the textbooks promised it would be soon--LIARS). Well 12 hours later Mars decides to make his fashionably late appearance. Thank god at 5:30 am the anesthesiologist was Johnny on the Spot with her needle...life got better quicker.

Things I don't Regret of 2010

5. Buying Cargo Pants I'm clearly not giving fashion advice here despite having watch another season of Project Runway. However these type pants are the best mom accessory ever due to the pocket for everything...burp cloth, pacifiers, shields, lanolin or I could even throw in an infant diaper for a super quick trip out. Yeah I might look like the Michelin Man from the waist down, but I was kinda used to that with pregnancy anyway.

4. The Persimmon Tree Justin got me a persimmon tree this year and it even managed to bare 6 fruit this year. People don't seem to love these trees because they make too much fruit, which drop on the ground and is messy--are you KIDDING me? Then pick the fruit and store it and eat it or give it away--they are totally yummy when ripe (watch someone eat an unripe one and you have some real entertainment on your hands) and really useful. Between the fig and persimmon I have 2 seasons of fruit...now what else can I plant?

3. The New Room We expanded our living space a bit (when I way "we" I mean "someone else"). It was a move Huck Finn would have been proud of that I got my sister and aunt to come to my house to paint and organize the whole deal once it was done too.

2. Starting the Worm Farm: Best new project! Way better than regular composting (no stirring here) and easier. Also no one in our household is allergic to these "pets" and they can go weeks with neglect. Fab-o stuff for my garden, what is not to love?

1. Not Joining Facebook Again--I know that I get an extra age spot every time I say that. I also admit that I lurk and look at things Justin filters out on his page...mostly photos, but seriously you've got to admit it is a complete and utter waste of time (much like keeping this antiquated blog). Here is a good example, I had a patient come into my office complaining of sleep problems. She was going to bed at a decent time, slept soundly but would awaken early at 4 every morning and felt fatigued to the point of falling asleep at her desk. After MUCH questioning she finally admitted she was setting her alarm for that time so she could play farmville. Why would you pay a copay to tell me that?

Why not throw this in as well? As some of you know I also name my birthdays. For one it sets an intention and also because I was born in Jan so it is a bit like a new years resolution or something. I had The Year of Health, The Year of Adventure, The Petrified Year (becoming a mom), The Revenge Of Higher Education... that sort of thing. This year is The Year of The Good Enough Mother vs. Two Kids. In this year we will find out just how much Dora one two year old can watch and just how much time Mars will spend in an infant carrier, johnny jump up or exersaucer.

Speaking of resolutions, I continue to try and fail at my baby resolution. With both births I decided I would start wearing lipstick. I mean it seems like a small accomplishable thing that I could do that seems more adult or Momish. I can manage it for about 7-10 days and not necessarily in a row either. I have NO idea why this is so hard for me. I don't even really think it is all that necessary, but I am really irritated that I can't seem to do it. I mean, how hard can it be if Sarah Palin does it every day with her bulldog?

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Best of 2010


Top 5 Songs

5. The Hold Steady -- We Can Get Together; "Heaven is whenever we can get together and listen to your records"
4. M.I.A.--Xxxo; Rest of the album was kind of abrasive, but this one was super catchy
3. Kanye -- Runaway; Lots of choices off this one, but I've liked this one since I saw him perform it on SNL
2. Josh Ritter -- The Curse; One of the most creative love songs I've ever heard. Mummies anyone?
1. The National -- Blood Buzz Ohio; "I still owe money to the money, to the money I owe"

Top 5 New Bands

5. Andrew Belle: The Ladder; Don't know anything about him other than Laura chose this album and I ended up liking it
4, Janelle Monae: The ArchAndroid; Very creative, varied and fun
3, Delta Spirit: History from Below and Ode to Sunshine; Loose, jangly rock
2. Gold Panda: Lucky Shiner; Electronic artist that reminds me of Four Tet and Caribou
1. Sharon Van Etten: epic; Singer songwriter with a great voice (kind of like Aimee Mann)

Top 5 Bands to Give Birth To

3-5. Boards of Canada/Four Tet/Air -- Nap after epidural
2. The Avett Brothers -- Pushing
1. The Decemberists -- Active labor

Top 5 Albums that I Need More Time With

5. Midlake: The Courage of Others; Loved earlier albums but this one slipped in my playlist
4. Frightened Rabbit: The Winter of Mixed Drinks; Supposed to be Scottish stadium rock
3. The Walkmen: Lisbon; Went from "not following anymore" to "intriguing"
2. Sufjan Stevens: Age of Adz; Not an easy listen but is it worth the work?
1. Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fancy; I love everything about Kanye--his music, his crazy behavior, his sunglasses

Top 5 Albums

5. Gorillaz: Plastic Beach; Cartoon gorillaz and Snoop Dogg? What could go wrong?
4. The National: High Violet; For those late nights when you're a bit down
3. The xx: xx; My minimalist rock choice of the year. They even beat out Spoon.
2. Josh Ritter: So Runs the World Away; Every album keeps getting better and better. Got to see him live again this year too!
1. LCD Soundsystem: This is Happening; Sadly, this is supposed to be the last album for this band. Good to go out on top.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Noli & the LimberJack






Dance Limberjack!



Noli on her new Skuut Bike

Sunday, December 26, 2010

White Christmas in NC!

It started snowing last night (Christmas) and today we enjoyed a snow day











Saturday, December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas

Tearing into presents
Aunt Heather brought noli a Skuut Bike! So exciting

Playing with her new sticker book

Stockings!

Noli and her Hello Kitty earmuffs

Noli showing off her new house shoes
Mars and his bounty

Mon got a sparkly christmas gift. Nicely done, Justin.

We had some persimmons from our tree and made pancakes from them



1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon each salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1 cup milk
6 tablespoons Hachiya persimmon pulp (1-2 fruits)
1 egg
2 tablespoons melted butter

1. In a large bowl, whisk together dry stuff
2. In a medium bowl, combine milk, persimmon pulp, egg and melted butter.
3. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ones, stirring until mixture is mostly smooth, but still has a few clumps.
4. Pour into a skillet, flip cook until done and serve with butter & maple syrup (actually I thought they were sweet enough without syrup, but suit yourself).

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Noli 2.5


30 months stats...
*Weight- ~30 lb
*Height- ~34 in
*Diapers- Size 4
*Clothes- 2T-3T
*Shoes- Size 7
*Devouring- Yogurt is still your favorite. Other favorites are cereal bars and pancakes.
*Gulping- Milk and watered down juice. You also like iced tea from Mom’s glass.
*Snoozing- Go to bed around 7:30 and are now waking up about 6am. Not cool. You figured out you can get out of your big girl bed, so the bedtime routine now includes closing your door with a ducked taped child lock on the inside.
*Mobility- Jumping is improving.

Your Favorites...
*Toys that aren't really toys-
-Computer...we are at the controls, but she's discovered you tube
-Cell phone…Actually called Nana a couple of times
*Actual toys-
-Stuffed animals...Dora and Boots, Puff, Stella
-Playdoh...Your going to love Christmas this year
-Colors...Now using markers in addition to crayons

*Activity-
-Running
-Playing kitchen
*Book- Ding Dong its Dora
*Song- On Top of Spagetti, Jingle Bells (Jingle bells, jingle all the way, what the fun it is to ride ... sleigh, hey!)
*Hairstyle- It's getting long enough that some of the curls are going
*Accessory- Gum
*Food- Yogurt, hands down.

*Bedtime Routine- Bath every other night. You will brush your teeth and then one of us will finish. Then to your room where you’ll turn on your fan. Then we put pj’s on and read a few books. We always end with You Are My Sunshine and some cuddles.

*Quirks-
-"Can't want that"
-Like to tell everyone happy birthday
-Assigned everyone's birthday a color: yours is pink, dad's is brown, and mom's is orange or red
-Dance to the We Did It song at the end of Dora
-Finally got a picture smile
-Hug baby brother
-Gum...first thing in the morning and last thing at night

Monday, December 13, 2010

Big Boned?


So we went in today for his "2 week" check up (actually only been 10 days), was hoping he was back up to his birth weight (8 pounds, 14 oz) after his discharge from the hospital. It took Noli a little over 3 weeks to get back to her birth weight. Well they weighed him in at NINE pounds SEVEN oz. Holy Crow! I did a double take and made her weigh him twice. Our provider asked if I was eating straight butter.

Thursday, December 9, 2010



Quick few photos, some with Justin
with his shirt on finally! Also Noli made him chef... pretty cute.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Welcome Marlon Raysor Trogdon

Born 12/3/2010.

8 lb 14 oz (beat his sister by 1lb 12 oz!)

20 in long

Dark hair and ambiguous eyes

We're not quite sure how long labor was because we lost count, but everyone is healthy and home.















"Show me your guns"





"Real men breast feed"