Going Green

We joined an organic farm membership association that I could not be more excited about! For only $19.95 per week, we get a 100% organic basket of freshly picked fruits and vegetables from local farms. Each week the contents change depending on whats in season. Everything is fresh and grown naturally. This is our first basket of goodies and we got spinach, lettuce, green beans, potatoes, heirloom tomatoes, grapes, onions, peppers and plums. Probably would have spent around $20 buying all these items at a store, maybe a little more for the organic, but I love that it's so fresh and supports the local farms. They also include recipes, meal ideas and information about the benefits of "seasonal eating."

The more I read about non-organic foods the more I resolve to buy organic for my family. Children eat more dairy, fruits and vegetables than adults and their brains and bodies are still developing. The pesticides and chemicals used to make non-organic veggies perfectly round and colorful have been found in the urine of school age children. And don't get me started on the growth hormones, antibiotics and estrogen found in dairy and meat products! I hate to think of all that stuff coursing through my girls' little growing bodies.

There are more chemicals in our food now than ever in history - much more than the food I ate growing up. And people wonder why there is a greater incidence of autism, childhood cancers and obesity? This organic basket represents the way my parents ate as children, local produce from local farmers. And it makes me really happy!

(getting off my soap box now)

Two more weeks!

Just back from the ultrasound and they could not tell me anything. Not the sex of the baby nor if the lip was in tact. Urgh. I thought I would at least get ONE question answered but no, neither. The baby's legs were firmly together and the face was not in a position to see a full frontal view. The doctor did say that judging from the profile from the side and from the top view, he thought everything looked in tact. However, he was not able to say for sure...so he scheduled me to come in again...in two weeks.

Pre-Op

So this is how the conversation went:

"Doctor, I'm having concerns about Athena's adenoid surgery."

"Well, we don't have to do it."

"You mean there is no reason to do it?"

"No. It's completely elective."

"Well, aren't her adenoids swollen and problematic."

"Hmmm. I really can't tell. We'll just keep an eye on them and if they turn out to be a problem then we can decide what to do at a later date."

"Okay."

Well, I wasn't going to insist we do it, now was I? And he did not give me one compelling reason to do it. So forget it! A tympanoplasty in both ears is enough of a surgery to worry about let alone the pain of adenoidectomy recovery, risk of infection and bleeding, etc.

Plus, now she does not have to have blood work done prior to the surgery. I was so dreading that. Last week when I had my blood drawn, I asked the technician how they take blood from a frightened and uncooperative three year old. "We hold them down" was her answer.

So, the adenoids are staying.

Family Day

We had a lovely Sunday and family day today. Our family days have become so precious with Chris working and traveling so much. But not today, no work, no travelling just the four of us together. So we all got up early and went to try out a new church that is in our soon-to-be new neighborhood. We had such high hopes walking in there. Great children's room, friendly people, lovely space. But, unfortunately, the congregation was a bit too...uh..."spirited" for us and the pastor was kind of scary. We'll keep looking and we might give it one more chance because it did have potential. Afterwards we were starving, so a pancake lunch was in order and then a trip to see "Beverly Hills Chihuahua." Chris and the girls have been singing the song "Doo dewt-dewt-dee-dewt...Chihuahua" for a month now so we were all excited to go. This is only the second movie Zoe has ever been to and the first one we had to leave before it finished. Movies seem to hold her attention for about 20 minutes then she wants to run around the theater. Chris and I took turns taking her out to the lobby for short breaks which made the film a bit patchy for us however the storyline was pretty easy to follow. Athena loved it. She wants a chihuahua, by the way, for her birthday (that's your fault, Nana!)

Then we came home and I snapped this picture. Poor Chris must watch the playoffs while having tea and picnics on the floor. Ah, the life of a Daddy with girls.

October!

We've got a few scary slash exciting dates coming up this month.

First of all, Athena is scheduled for surgery on October 13th. She needs to have her ear tubes taken out. When she was just one year old she had ear tube surgery to stop her constant ear infections. They worked like a charm, however did not (like 90% of ear tubes) fall out on their own.

Now that we have a fantastic ped here, I'm realising how inattentive our ped in NY was. She looked in Athena's ears many, many times and said nothing. Our ped here, looked once, sent her to an ENT to clean the impacted wax that was probably affecting her hearing and discovered that one still-in-place ear tube was now embedded in her ear drum. Her ear drum, on one side, has grown around the tube. Fun.

So now she'll need surgery to take out both tubes and do a skin graft on the side where the tube in embedded. It's outpatient, she'll have the surgery in the morning and be home by the afternoon, but it's scary nonetheless.

Also, the ENT wants to take out her adenoids. A "since we're in there and she's under we might as well" kind of approach. Her adenoids are a little bit swollen, hence her snoring, and may obstruct the flow of fluid in her ears causing future ear infections (and more tubes) or they'll just get smaller on their own. I'm still on the fence about this one. On one hand, I don't want her to have another ear tube surgery at a later date and on the other hand, I hate to put her through the pain of recovery for what may be an unnecessary surgery. So, we're still not sure what we're going to do about that. Any friends and family (cousin Laura I'm looking at you) feel free to weigh in.

On a lighter note, we have THE ultrasound scheduled for next Thursday (October 9th). So check back that day, we will hopefully have significant news about whether the baby has a cleft and if we're having a boy or girl. That's going to be a BIG day. I get a little teary just thinking about, but then again, I'm really hormonal. The appointment is not until 4:00 (PST) so you East Coast folks are going to have to wait until evening for news. If you can't wait, call me!

Then, Zoe's 2nd birthday is coming up on October 20th! We're planning a fun event, maybe even a pool party (it's still hot here). Mimi is visiting for the week to help take care of Zoe while Chris and I are with Athena in surgery and she'll also help plan the party. Mimi is the official family event planner. I can't believe my baby is almost two.

And finally, if all goes well, we will close on our house October 31st and move in November 1. We are counting the days as we're done with our little apartment and can't wait to really settle in. Athena speaks longingly of toys and things she had at "my other home" and looks forward to being reunited with her stuff.

That's the latest.

(BTW - the lead photo is apropos of nothing...it's just Athena being a "Super Princess")

Daily Photo Ops

If you've visited the blog a few times this summer, you've probably noticed alot of photos taken in this exact spot. You see, we currently live in a second floor apartment with steps outside. I always tell the girls to wait there for me while I lock the door and then I help Zoe down the stairs. They always line up with their backs against the wall and it's so cute, so I took one or two pictures there. Now, whenever we leave the house, they shout "Take a picture, take a picture!" until I do, and only then we can go about our merry way.

Lions and Tigers and Bears

We had a wonderful day at the LA Zoo with my friend Mariana. Chris had to leave for a business trip in the early morning and I just didn't want to spend the day running errands with the girls or bumping around our small apartment. So we hit the road, went over the mountains and reached the zoo in about an hour and a half.

Even though it was over 150 degrees outside, it was great fun. For some reason I didn't take any pictures of my beautiful friend Mariana. My camera was acting up a bit (not holding a charge again) so most of these photos are from her camera.

The girls loved Mariana and she secured their opinion of her by buying them each a toy from the gift shop at the end of the day. Athena got a stuffed tiger and Zoe got a zoo animal puzzle. Athena has not let her tiger go, he sleeps with her, brushes his teeth with her, and goes to school with her. His name is "Tiger Baby" - we've really got to work on more creative names.

Slathering on the SPF50.

Zoe looking at the giraffes (her favorite animals). Hydrating in cool animal water bottles that cost like $8 each.
Cooling down in the sprinklers.
Zoe and her Momma.

Incredible Fun

Today, after dressing in our favorite accessories, I took the girls to a local, popular kids place that is even more intense than Chuck E Cheese.

Just imagine Chuck's plus indoor merry go rounds, bumper cars and go-karts. The girls, of course, loved it but were spinning in circles from over-stimulation by the time we were ready to go.

Chris was working so it was just me trying to keep up with these two who have recently started to run in different directions at the same time. Regardless, we had a blast riding the appropriate rides for little ones (no bumper cars), shooting skeet ball, playing games and eating junk. My camera battery died so I didn't get any photos.

When we were on our last few tokens, Zoe asked to play a game that looked like the big wheel from the Price is Right. She barely had the strength to push the lever that activates the wheel, but she eventually managed, and wouldn't you know it...hit the 500 ticket mark while the bonus light was flashing which doubled her take to 1000 tickets. Go Zoe.

It took forever for the machine to pump 1,000 tickets out and after Zoe ran away from me twice we finally just left the remaining 150 or so for the boys watching us with wide, amazed eyes.

Selecting the prizes had to be fair and each got a rubber ball, a sticker kit and a jump rope. The jump rope was a bad idea - as Chris says never buy any toy that would not be allowed in a prison cell. Almost immediately they were turned into weapons. With strict adherence to the rules, they were allowed to try them out on the lawn when Daddy came home.

The spastic jumping that followed was priceless. Not exactly coordinated but they were really trying.

Faces

Sometimes I put my camera in "burst" mode and see what happens.

Daddy Day

Since Chris has been gone these last two weeks with back-to-back business trips, Sunday was dubbed "Daddy Day" and Mommy got a much needed break. While I was reading trashy magazines and having my toes done, Chris was enjoying all this cuteness. He and the girls had a great time at the county fair petting sheep, learning how to milk cows, call in the cattle and clean a barn. They had a blast and came home chanting "Daddy Day...Daddy Day...Daddy Day!"