Working Mother

It's really hard to be a working mom. I've watched Shirin over the past week try to be everything to everybody - good daughter to us, good mommy to Cyrus, good wife to Gabriel, good sister to Tita, and all the while working hard all day learning complicated medical procedures at the clinic. It exhausts me to think how she keeps it all together. I've backed off taking care of Cyrus this weekend so that she and Gabriel (and Tita!) can get their Cyrus-fix before they all go back to their busy lives. And frankly, I needed the rest, but for Shirin? No rest.

Playing ball with Cyrus.

Saeed and I waited for Shirin to come home from work one day last week and it began to rain, but we're nature lovers and stayed right there in the rain.

Shirin enjoys a soft yummy cheek.

Cyrus was so happy to see her.

I messed up my video setting again last week, so this next video is pixelated (argh!) but now I know exactly what the problem is and can try to avoid it.


And this is what Cyrus was doing last week while Shirin was at work:




Notice the nice pats Cyrus gives his Grandpa:

Indian Dancing

I'm happy to announce that I have a new friend who also loves Indian music and likes to dance to it. Cyrus loves my Aaja Nachle (click to see music video) soundtrack. If he's in the kitchen he goes up to the stereo, stares at it and then turns around to me and says, "Ehhhh!" That means, turn on the music! He even likes to eat meals with it in the background. This morning Shirin taped him jamming in his chair while eating breakfast. He dances quite often but we never seem to have the camera on and ready to go so a snippet is all you get:

Full-Time Grandma

There were several possibilities for the title of this post but full-time Grandma about sums up all the others. I was thinking about "Gotta Stick To The Schedule" or "Did I Eat Breakfast Or Lunch Today?" or "I'm So Sorry I Broke Your Kid" or "I Took Wednesday Night's Shower On Thursday Afternoon" or "How Come I Have Pureed Carrots On My Shirt When I Ate A Sandwich" but they all sounded more appropriate as titles for country western songs.

For anyone who doesn't know, we are taking care of Cyrus here at home while Shirin is doing an externship at the specialist/emergency animal hospital in Charlotte for three weeks. I took three weeks off of work (which is unheard of) and Saeed only sees the occasional patient during summer break so we're both here. I feel that we know Cyrus pretty well since we see him on a regular visiting basis, but taking care of him and all that involves has never previously fallen on our shoulders. Each of us, even one year olds, have little quirks that you need to know for the day to run smoothly.

My trial by fire began on Tuesday when Shirin left for her first day at the clinic and left us with a lovely but feverish little boy. Tuesday night was rough but with a bit of Tylenol from Grandma and a lot of love from his patient mommy he made it through the night. Shirin dragged herself out of bed with a smile on her face and left for the clinic. Wednesday he was definitely better but still a little out of sorts and that night she had to get up with him twice, unusual for a baby that sleeps through the night. Today the little bubsy did great: two long naps and to bed on time this evening, so hopefully he'll let his mommy get a full night's rest... Grandma too.

And me? I am enjoying this little amazing creature who looks like both Shirin and Gabriel. He already seems to have a wonderful sense of humor and like any kid wants to play, PLAY, PLAY! I have learned, however, that sticking to the schedule his mommy gave me is essential. I thought I could tweek it a bit to accomodate her getting home late but in retrospect that wasn't such a good idea. Cyrus is like a Swiss watch and there isn't a lot of wiggle room so, I gotta stick to the schedule.

The first couple of days were a bit exhausting for me. I'm used to having more control over my activities but those two days consisted of calming a fretful baby, fixing meals, cleaning up constantly and doing load after load of laundry. So did I eat breakfast or lunch those days? Nope, but I did today :-) After such a good day with Cyrus on his schedule, feeling well, and the laundry caught up, I feel like a woman back in charge of her life. Today I ate breakfast AND lunch - yay!

Today Cyrus and I were on a nature stroll in our driveway. This was after I carried him through the yard on my hip showing him all the beautiful leaves and flowers. He was carrying a stone in one hand and bent down to pick up a big green leaf with the other hand and tipped right over onto his forhead. Ouch! He only cried for about 5 or 10 seconds but I could tell he was going to have a pretty big contusion. He let me wash it carefully and was much less worried about it than I was; he just wanted to play. Later I cleaned it again with hydrogen peroxide and put some triple antibiotic ointment on it and he was just fine with all that. It doesn't seem to hurt him but I feel terrible. When I spoke with Shirin on the phone I told her I'm sorry, I just broke your kid, but she said not to worry about it. Apparently they break their kid all the time. Whew!

Last night I was so tired that I actually couldn't take a shower before bedtime and it was during Cyrus' afternoon nap today before I could hop in the shower. Boy did it feel good! I'm sure the folks I walked past in the store later this afternoon were also glad that I'd finally managed to take Wednesday's shower on Thursday afternoon.

Obi has learned to sit under Cyrus' chair during meals. He's gotten some of the most amazing food donations from Cyrus over the past few days. Obi and Cyrus are both excellent eaters and will eat almost anything. I also am a good eater but typically turn away "Carrots and Tomatoes" out of little jars. My shirt, however, is more like Obi and eagerly accepts any flying morsel. I've put three T-shirts in the laundry hamper today alone. My new goal is to make it through the day with the same shirt at the end of the day that I put on that morning. I may be aiming too high. Thank God my sister sends me a new T-shirt every time she travels to a new place.

So, I'm having a ball. With enough sleep (what's that!?) I feel pretty strong and resilient and am fortunate that I can enjoy my grandchild on such an active level. The word "grandma" still sounds like an old woman in a rocking chair with a gray bun on her head; I don't feel like that. One look at how Cyrus runs me around the house, jumps on me, wants me to chase him, lift him up, carry him around, tells me I can still handle the ball of nonstop energy. He may never remember these days, but I most definitely will.

Hopefully I'll be able to put up some pictures and video in the next day or two, but that means waiting for another nap time break when I don't need a shower or lunch. First things first; gotta keep grammy going!

Ruined Bday Videos For Khaleh Tita

As I said previously, the video setting on my camera was messed up (I never changed it ... did evil elves come in the night and switch it?) and all the video from our visit to the birthday boy's house looks terrible. Nevertheless, I am putting it up for viewing only because Khaleh Tita never seems to get enough. Perhaps she will be willing to slog through the pixelated birthday boy videos; the rest of you are off the hook!

Birthday Weekend

Even though every day in Cyrus' house is full of love and attention, I think he knew his birthday was something a bit more special. Perhaps it was the big red wagon full of toys, or perhaps it was his mommy's homemade birthday cake, but he was one happy kid last weekend!!

Cyrus goes straight for the loot.

The happy one year old.

"And now, for my next trick,
I will suspend this orange ball in the air..."

Shirin made the most delicious carrot cake so that Cyrus could have a healthy birthday cake. Who cares about the fact that it was healthy; it was delicious!

Cyrus is admiring his cake,
but does he realize how beautiful his mommy is?

The wonder of it all shows on Cyrus' face.

It may be his first birthday but he knows exactly what to do with this piece of cake...

... yummmm.

Opening Pap Pap's gift.

I wish I'd videotaped Cyrus walking around with these new shoes on. He could clearly feel the difference between these nice soft moccasin-type shoes and regular shoes. He kept looking down at his feet while walking around in them.

Some new clothes too (not too exciting.)

Cyrus tries to decide if Grandma's phone tastes like his mom's and dad's. Yuk. Notice the two skinned knees. I told Shirin and Gabriel that now that Cyrus is walking around and getting into scrapes they need to be sure they know how to get to the E.R.

Whatever mommy's eating, I want it.

I love this picture.
"Pick me up!"

Cyrus' new red wagon has built-in seats and seat belts.

Here he sits like Cyrus The Great.

As part of Brendan's workout plan for Gabriel is the requirement to pick up something heavy every day. Brendan is happy to help in any way he can.

There are videos, but I seem to have had the setting messed up; they look very pixelated. When I have more time I'll look at them again to see if they're worth putting up for viewing. Darn.

Less Blogging

With some sadness I think I will have to blog less. In an effort to exercise daily I will be spending less time on the computer and more time in my sneakers. I'd rather compute, but preventing avoidable chronic diseases is slightly more important. If you begin to see more entries again tell me to stop, get off my duff and go work out. Honestly I don't have anything all that interesting to blog about anyway, so perhaps this is a blessing in disguise. I will still blog, though, and hope to have pictures from last weekend posted either tomorrow or Sunday. See ya!

Happy First Birthday!

I nicked the top picture from Shirin's blog to show how much as changed in one short year...

... tee hee hee, how cute.

Happy Birthday to the little bubsy.
And Happy Mother's Day to the nice lady holding him.

Some Good Moves

This bear dances better than most people I know.

Be Kind To Animals Week

This is "Be Kind To Animals" week. I'd like this sentiment to extend throughout the year of course! It's easy to be kind to our companion animals, although we all know the Humane Society wouldn't exist if everyone was kind to their pets. So may I suggest that we extend our kindness to non-companion animals?

I know you won't be surprised if I suggest this could take the form of not eating meat or buying anything made of leather or supporting a circus that has animals in it. If that sounds radical just imagine someone doing to your cat or dog what's done to those animals. Why is it OK for animals who aren't our companions to be treated badly? Don't they suffer? Yes, they do.

Fortunately there are places that take care of farm animals that have escaped or been rescued. One I want to visit is the Farm Sanctuary; they have one in New York and one in California. This video about Farm Sanctuary was meant for kids, but we're all kids at heart! Enjoy.

Marley Song Resurfaces

Some song lyrics are too good to die. "War/No More Trouble" was written and sung by Bob Marley during the '70s. Marley took the lyrics from a portion of a 1963 speech given by Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia to the United Nations in a plea for tolerance. An organization called Playing For A Change has been taking songs with lyrics that promote peace and unity and recording musicians around the world playing them. The end result is a song performed by a montage of musicians. Playing For A Change feels that music brings people together and that peace can be achieved through music. That's not exactly a new concept, but the end result of their work is nice.

Here's Playing For Change doing the Marley song:


And here's Bob Marley singing it in a concert in 1979:

Tomato Plants and Roses

When we went to the Matthews Community Farmer's Market I bought three heirloom tomato plants. That was two weeks ago and they had grown quite a lot in their little baby pots. It was time to move them into bigger containers. I snapped a pic and then walked down the deck steps to get three pots out of the shed when I decided it would be a crime not to take pictures of our...

... roses. They are so gorgeous and I decided to take a close-up of each color that Saeed planted along the ground in front of the deck.

Red, but not a deep red... almost a pinky-red.

Whenever I look down on the roses from the deck I think of this one as the white one, but clearly it's a very pale yellow.

Coral...

... and pink.

Saeed suggested I use these medium pots first to let the plants get a little bigger before I move them to big pots. Since I have an ungreen thumb I listen to suggestions.

The one in the middle is called a "Stupice" tomato (pronounced stew-peach-ka.) Stupice (Lycopersicon esculentum) is an early Czechoslovakian heirloom tomato, fairly small, supposedly with a great flavor. The two end plants are grape tomato plants. Grape tomatoes are great for people like me (lazy) who like tomatoes in their salads but don't want to cut them up! They're also great in stews; one slice to cut them in half and into the pot they go.

My garden boy watering the stew-peach-ka.

Reflections

Mirror Lake, Vermont, from www.mytripjournal.com/wiseman

The last month of blogging about the environment has been enjoyable for me. I have been an environmentalist since I was a child, at least in my heart. I used to put up posters in our basement (mom wouldn't let me tape things on the walls upstairs!) that had to do with pollution, littering, nuclear energy worries, and the like. My parents loved animals and nature and I absorbed this easily. Caring about the environment, then, comes naturally (no pun intended.)

As an adult I have finally been able to put my actions where my heart is. Nevertheless, I am no expert on the subject. I had to do a lot of research on the subjects about which I wrote and I realize I've only superficially dipped into the subject. Clearly this will be an area for further reading and I will implement changes in my life where possible.

One of the most shocking and frustrating facts I have had to come to terms with is that this problem is so big. I can change all the habits I want to, but if the big things don't change, my little contribution won't matter at all. I may have the satisfaction that I did what I could, but that's worth nothing to anyone but me. Governments, businesses, and societies are the big groups that need to change their negative impacts on the environment.

If you look into history one can find a plethora of examples of single individual activists that did their own "weird" thing while everyone looked at them askance. One hundred years later the issue against which they spoke out is an acknowledged societal problem for which legislation has been crafted and passed. For example, it was acceptable for young children to work long hours to earn money for the family instead of go to school (actually this still happens around the world but not legally in the U.S.) It was also acceptable to own and mistreat slaves, beat women and children, and deny certain groups the right to vote. These things changed because of the actions of a few brave, noisy people.

I am not a brave, noisy person, but I do care about things that matter. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." So at the very least I can't be silent about them... I shouldn't be silent about them.... I won't be silent about them.

Woot!

Finally, an item that's EASY!
#5 Go vegetarian.

If you have been toying with the idea of going vegetarian or even just reducing the amount of meat in your diet, I've included a very nice article written by Mark Reinfeld that follows the video. His helpful suggestions are for going vegan but they can be just as helpful in switching to a meat-free or meat-reduced diet.

First, a 30 second video of Emily Deschanel (who is best known for her role as Dr. Temperance Brennan (AKA Bones) in the crime drama, "Bones") and her views on the subject:



OK, here's Mark Reinfeld's article:

"Here are five suggestions for those wishing to include more plant-based foods in their diet as a way to go green.

1. Go Slowly. It took years for you to develop your current eating habits. Most people are not willing or able to make radical changes overnight. Many times when people do make drastic changes, they find themselves falling back to old ways when the going gets tough. (Some people are of course ready to go cold Tofurky – only you can decide!)

2. Create a plan. Take a look at where you are at and where you would like to be. You can approach this in several ways. You can commit to having one vegan day a week for a month. Then go up to two days a week the second month, three days a week on the third month…(you get the idea) until you arrive at your desired outcome. Another way is to have vegan snacks for the first month, vegan snacks and breakfasts for the second month, vegan snacks, breakfasts and lunches the next month and so on. An even more gradual approach would be to have one vegan meal a week for the first month, two vegan meals a week for the second month… Make the changes at a pace you are comfortable with.

3. Choose wisely. Remember the importance of feeling satisfied at every meal. Look for vegan alternatives that come close to the taste and texture of the foods you are craving. There are many plant based products on the market now that can make this a delicious transition for you.

4. Educate yourself. It’s extremely helpful for sticking to your convictions to learn about the full impact our food choices have upon our health and the health of our planet. Check out the following books for starters: Vegan Fusion World Cuisine, Diet for a New America, The China Study, and The World Peace Diet.

5. Be gentle. Please don’t beat yourself up if you find yourself falling back into old ways of eating. Simply accept and acknowledge that it takes time to retrain your body and mind to eat in new ways and remind yourself why you are exerting the effort. Stick to your plan as much as possible."

Remember, it's all about trying to live a greener lifestyle. Bon Appetit!

It's Getting Harder

Hmmm ... Item #3 says "Save electricity by cutting back TV to an hour a day and turning the thermostat down by two degrees."

TV: This sounds pretty easy, but it may turn out to be harder than I think. Although rarely do I watch more than an hour of TV a day, there may be times when I would want to. Does this mean that if we want to watch a two hour video on the weekend that we have to reduce our watch-time during the week? Does the computer count? Does a computer use the same amount of energy as the TV? I suppose till I learn the facts I need to just be sure the TV's not on more than an hour a day.

Thermostat:
I was cleaning the house last Saturday and snapped this pic of our upstairs thermostat. Actually it got up to 85 degrees, but I was too hot and sweaty to run around to find the camera to document it!

We have always set our summer limit to 85 degrees, knowing that medications and other substances begin to degrade above that point. And 85 is only tolerable (for we humans) if it's not humid, the windows are open and a nice breeze is wafting in. I don't think setting our new limit to 87 degrees is possible; it goes without saying that I want our medications to stay effective. Refrigerating them is not an option because fridge temps are too cold for most medications. I think 85 is the hottest we can tolerate with a breeze. No breeze? Humid? Probably 80 degrees... I'll let you know!

I think in winter we could lower our thermostat two degrees. In recent winters we set our thermostat at 68 degrees and although that feels pretty cold I know the recommendation is 65 degrees. Brrrr. I guess in about six months I'll need to dig into the back of my closet to find my old sweatshirts, and surround myself with a couple of warm furry kitties.

This one's going to be hard at times.