Did I mention...

...that I have a new blog? Actually, it is a blog that my two sisters and I started. It's called Wabisabi Mama and is mostly about us rambling about motherhood. Totally kidding (but not really). There are some recipes and fun activities that we share and a lot of them focus around our cultural heritage (Japanese) so if there are any Japanophiles out there, this is for you! But even if you're not, it is also for you (unless you have no interest whatsoever and that's okay too cause who has time to follow another blog these days?)!!

Elaine (MamaQ) and Emily (MamaM) do a lot more posting than I (MamaD) do - I'm still trying to get into the swing of things and be more disciplined (starting off with this post on my personal blog to get all of you to become followers). I have plans in my head of writing these really sincere/heart-wrenching/humorous/etc posts and hopefully, that happens. So I do plan on actually contributing something...soon. Emily is just really organized (she does have her MBA) and they are both much better at taking pictures than I am (and have much better cameras than I do and don't use parenthesis as much) which makes for better posts I think.

But anyway, HERE it is.

Check it out. Tell us what you think. And if it sucks (or is awesome, cause you know - it could be), let us know why.

Cat Attack!!!

Okay, I'm exaggerating - it wasn't really an attack, more like a scratch. And it was bound to happen sooner or later - two cats and a 10 month old don't always mix. And it was probably more of my fault because the cats are actually really good with Lucy. Rather, they avoid her or just walk away when she annoys them. George actually won't let her get within two feet of him without bolting but Angel is a little more tolerant and will let Lucy pat her and even grab her fur a bit before Lucy gets bored or Angel walks away. However, in this instance, I had closed the door to the room we were in and Lucy cornered Angel and she probably felt a little intimidated (...and threatened...and trapped). I wasn't paying much attention and then heard Lucy cry. This was the result:

The only time I can get these types of close-ups now is when Lucy is asleep.


There are actually two scratches - a small one just under her eye and then the long one across her whole cheek. I know that I'm not going to hear the end of this from all the cat haters out there but besides this one incident, they've been really good! I just hope it doesn't leave a scar!! Poor thing - first, bite marks (and it was on that exact same cheek) and now scratch marks. What next? It probably won't be the last scratches she receives from the cats (I can personally attest - the cats scratch me on accident occasionally) but hopefully, they will be the last ones she receives on her face!

Here is the culprit:No, not those two sweet, little girls (Lucy's cousins), but that fat gray cat they are petting. Angel is so relaxed...

...all playful and cute at first...

Then the claws come out!

I meant to find some cute pictures of the cats (as they were my main subject of photos before Lucy was born) but they must be on our old computer and I all I could find were my nieces from Christmas about to be eaten by my kitty. Just kidding - I know that Lucy's aunt wouldn't be too happy about that.

My Salvation...

No, it's not JC in this particular instance although BHJC is great for a laugh - rather, it's a weekly date night. I took for granted these weekly date nights pre-Lucy but now, I know better. It's not always my biggest priority and if we don't plan ahead, sometimes it doesn't happen. But when we do have something fun planned and actually go and do it, I'm always astounded how much I look forward to doing it (read: escaping from my daughter and stay-at-home life) and how refreshed I am after we're done. And also how much more I look forward to seeing Lucy when we return home. Of course, it is not without some worry but overall, to forget that I'm responsible for my little one for a couple of hours is such sweet bliss.

Last weekend, we headed to downtown Salt Lake City to hit up Gallery Stroll with Kohl and Chris Glass, friends who just moved to SLC from Arizona. We got our grub on first at Himalayan Kitchen (good food if you like Indian/Nepali cuisine but small portions for the price and not the best service) then strolled down to Kayo Gallery where our friend, Jared Steffensen, had an installation piece in the show. Then we drove down to Discovery Gateway to see the Winter Wonderland show by our friend Cindy Ferguson who does Scherenshitte (the German art of papercutting which I love saying, especially after watching Inglourious Basterds).

I didn't take any pictures (of course) but here are some of her papercut pictures from online from the show:
How beautiful and intricate is that? When I first heard about papercutting, I was like, "Huh? What's the big deal," but it really is some beautiful stuff.


Someday, when we have a little bit more money set aside, I'm going to commission Cindy to do a papercut for Lucy's bedroom. You can read more about Cindy and her show here. It's free so check it out!

Another Cold!!!

I don't know if it's the gym daycare or just plain bad luck but the whole family is down with another cold. It's a functional cold at least, so Brandon is still able to go to work and it doesn't set me and Lucy back too much but I haven't been to the gym for over a week (mostly cause you're not supposed to bring your sick kids to daycare but I think that there are a few that ignore that rule and that's probably how Lucy got sick in the first place) and I'm going through tissues like crazy. But what I am mostly worried about now is that Lucy may have another ear infection because her nose was dripping like a faucet. Just when she started sleeping through the night again, she starts waking up in the middle of the night and I have been sleeping in the guest bed with her since this weekend. We skipped church on Sunday and have pretty much been home-bound the past week and I'm going crazy.

At least Lucy is as happy a baby as ever:

She is loving the new piggy pajamas that Obaa-chan brought her from Japan.

And enjoying being Manager Lucy in the office chair...

Although being boss isn't always all fun and games - especially with crybabies like mom and dad to watch over...
But nothing spells relief from boredom like playing in the Huggies box!

Who knew that a box could be such entertainment?

"Okay Mom, I'm done and Dad isn't even playing with me - he's reading, again!"

Just for the record, Lucy is not in size 4 diapers yet, she just barely started size 3 - we're just stocking up on a good deal.

Oh My CUTENESS!!

So I'm kinda partial to Asian people but this is some serious cuteness. How lucky are these girls that their parent is a professional photographer (cause if this is amateur, I'm feeling some serious envy)? It makes me want to have another baby so Lucy can have a little sister...but just fast forward past all the poopy diapers. I don't know who this guy/gal is, but I'm lovin it. And there's a blog too!

Babies

So I might be a little baby crazy, with a new little niece and two high school friends with babies due in 2010, but this movie looks absolutely delightful. I saw this trailer a couple of weeks ago before watching the Young Victoria. I was mesmerized while watching it and this is definitely on my must-see list. It comes out on April 16th - put it on your calendar!

One thing after another....

Just as Lucy started sleeping through the night again after getting over her double ear infection and the excitement of visitors at the house, a new problem emerges. And this is right after I develop this scary bump on my neck which requires a CT scan and a visit to the ENT specialist (just ended up being a painfully, swollen lymph node). Two Sundays ago, right before church, Lucy vomits all over Brandon (and his just dry cleaned sweater - grrrr!) and when we check her temperature, she's running a fever. We skip church, call the doctor, are told to monitor and give acetaminophen to control the fever but by the evening, the fever is increasing. Why do these things always happen at night...and on the weekends?

We ended up going to the ER that evening at IMC because the urgent care center that we usually go to was already closed. Poor girl had her temperature taken rectally (but at least it was lower than with the armpit) and ears were checked (no more ear infections at least!) and we were just told to switch off ibuprofen and acetaminophen to control the fever. The fever lasted until yesterday and she slept through the night last night but then she had this crazy rash all over her body. Called the doctor, brought her in, and was told it was probably roseola.

The roseola looked a lot worse than it actually was. But we skipped out on the gym and visiting Emily, baby Olive, and my mom, just in case...

I wish that I took a picture cause it looked terrible. Well, actually, I tried but my camera is so crappy (that my mom finally brought back from Japan - yeah!) or I just don't know how to use it and I couldn't get a high enough resolution picture to even show what it looked like. But here is a picture from on-line:


Scary, huh? Just imagine that all over her abdomen. How come I have never even heard about this or read about it? Supposedly, it is very common but not enough to be mentioned in What to Expect the First Year (or maybe I just fell asleep or haven't got to that part yet...)