Germs

When Maxine was at the worst point of her cold she was like one of those rotating sprinkler heads you connect to your hose and let water your lawn. She would bury her snot/eye booger-encrusted face in my shoulder/collar area and cause me to have to change my shirt three times in one day. I have been washing things like crazy around here trying to keep Raquel and Jose from getting sick. It's too late for me. However, just as I was going to buy some Zucol from the drug store I opened a package I got in the mail from Grandma Emma. In it was a package of Zicam! She knew about Maxine's illness and she had an extra package so she gave it to me. She knew I needed it!

Maxine is back to her old self today. She's not 100% well but she's acting like she feels really good. Something about her cold made her not want to eat baby food. I have wasted a lot of it trying to feed her and all she does is gag and heave. She used to enjoy it. I'm gonna wait a couple of days before I try again.

Here are some cute pictures of the girls when I was getting them both ready for night-night.

Maxine's Second Tooth

Just before Jose left for work, Maxine fell asleep in my arms to the tune of The Macarena, her new favorite melody (and rhythmic bouncing) that makes her fall asleep. She had her mouth wide open and I saw her teeth. Jose took this picture so we could show everyone. I have read that teeth usually come in fours and I should expect the top two in the next couple months.

She also had her 6-month exam today but did not get her shots because of the fevers she's been having. She will get them next week. She weighed 14.8lbs today, surely due to her lack of appetite from being so sick. The doctor wasn't concerned with her cold but did give us a prescription for eye drops.

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Raquel won some money in the football pool for Super Bowl Sunday so on Monday I took her shopping for clothes and a new pair of shoes. We spent $20 on clothes, which included a new jacket, a denim dress and several tops from the Salvation Army Thrift Store on Del Mar in Pasadena. Then we went to Payless and she got some new pink and white velcro tennies. The shoes with laces were a lot cuter but I like her to be able to put shoes on by herself and she can't tie laces yet. I was surprised that the 9.5 size fit her already, as at Christmas time she was still an 8.5!

Thanks for reading. And pray for lots of rain so we don't have to turn on the expensive sprinklers!

Introducing Guapo!

Guapo is my sister-in-law Rosy's new puppy. Isn't he gorgeous? She has had him for not even two weeks yet. He is considered our puppy, too. Jose has been going there at lunch time to let Guapo out to eat and make poops since Rosy is at work during the day. Guapo already adores Jose. And since Raquel usually accompanies him, she is getting acquainted with her new cousin and doesn't get scared when he wants to play with her. Today, we all went over to see Guapo and to get Maxine out of the house into some fresh air and warm sunshine--she's been really sick with a head cold since Sunday.

Anyways, Rosy has a system down for training dogs and we follow it when we go to take care of him at lunch time. You don't pet him until he eats and you have to pet him while he eats and praise him. This is to prevent him from being aggressive when he eats because he is a male. Then, after he eats, you tap his water bowl to get him to drink water. Then you let him run around and poop and every time he poops you praise him. He is, I think, 8 weeks old and already you can see how smart he is.

Poor Maxine...She's been getting low-grade fevers off and on for 5 days now. Then on Super Bowl Sunday she came down with a terribly snotty cold and cough. Last night, her eyes started oozing greenish boogers and today, the eye booger situation is out of control. She will see her doctor first thing tomorrow morning. I believe the fevers are somehow caused by her teething but you never know--some books say babies get fevers when teething, some books say they don't. I, for one, believe painful teething and fevers are hand-in-hand. She has two teeth on the lower jaw now. This is the only "milestone" that she has achieved before her cousin Ricky, who is doing so many mature things for his age (12 days older than Maxine).

January's Best Pics

Can you see how grown-up Raquel looks suddenly? I can.

Maxine's First Tooth

(1st time in high chair and 1st taste of egg yolk)

Wednesday morning Maxine woke up and dry-heaved. I immediately started her on Pedialyte and no formula. She developed a low fever that lasted through the night but never vomitted again. I'm puzzled as to why she vomitted in the first place. She was due for immunizations but we had to postpone that 'til next week because they don't give shots to sick babies. I'm anxious to speak to the doctor about Maxine's seemingly slow development.

Maxine's painful teething process has finally produced a tooth. It's on the bottom left. The one next to it is about to pop up, too! Here is a face she makes when her mouth is bothering her:

Teething seems to happen at night. She gets pretty upset and won't go to sleep until after 11pm. It gets pretty monotonous trying to comfort her and my arm gets pretty tired. Here she is looking sleepy but fighting sleep:

If she lets me, I will get a picture of the tooth and update this post when I do. She doesn't like me looking around in her mouth.

New in My Kitchen: Fennel

Weight Watchers has been the way I'm living since about 5 months ago. As such, Raquel eats a lot of what I eat plus other stuff that she loves. She is being exposed to some semi-sophisticated ingredients while also enjoying her macaroni and cheese in the blue box. For the most part, she likes what I cook.

My diet consists of foods from a specific list which excludes added-sugar, bread and alcohol. It forces me to try new things and try to present the same-old-same-old in new ways. Avoiding boredom is super important to sticking to this lifestyle. The newest item in my fridge is fennel or anise (not sure why it has two names). I think it's pretty. If celery and onion were to have a baby, this is what it would look and feel like but the taste is completely in a class of its own. Tastes like black licorice with a refreshing hint of citrus. When the oranges in my yard are ripe I'm going to prepare them together, maybe in a salad. But for now, I sautee or roast the fennel with carrots, salt and pepper. You should try it!

Since I gained a little weight last week, this week I'm making up for it, cooking strictly healthy foods for myself and whoever else feels like eating what I cook. I consider this week a big success in regards to losing weight and being a creative cook.

Homemade sushi is really fun to make and it's pretty simple. I make up my own recipe and put whatever I happen to have in the fridge inside the roll. I use brown rice, which isn't as tasty as sticky white rice *drool* and it also makes it more difficult to cut clean slice as the rice kinda falls out a bit but it's still managable. Nori is a staple in my fridge. It is easy to find at a regular grocery store in the Asian foods section. No need to locate a specialty store. Raquel loves it when I make sushi. Although I love to eat sashimi at Japanese restaurants I do not use raw ingredients in my homemade sushi as I have not found a trustworthy source yet.

My favorite vegetable is brussel sprouts. I was buying them frozen and cooking them in the microwave but have recently discovered how delicious they are when bought fresh and sauteed with fresh garlic, salt and nutmeg. The nutmeg really brings out their spiciness--something you don't taste in the frozen variety. Raquel likes them, too!
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My strategies for eating healthy...

• Prepare a big pot of brown rice in the morning. Zap portions in the microwave for meals the next 2 days.


• Buy only whole grain pasta if you want pasta. Don't buy "multi-grain" because that does not necessarily mean whole grain. My favorite brand is Heartland.


• If you like ground beef (burgers, tacos, meatloaf) make sure it has no more than 7% fat.


• Buy frozen veggies when they're on sale. Stock up. You can keep them a long time while you figure out how best to prepare them and make them flavorful.


• Pretend sandwiches don't exist. (no bread, no deli meat)


• Search the internet for recipes first, then go get your ingredients at the store.


• Be aware of expiration dates on fresh meat and store them in the fridge accordingly (stuff you should eat within the next day or so should be right in front while stuff that can wait 6 days should be towards the back)


• Nonfat sour cream isn't half bad. Try it on a baked potato with I Can't Believe Its Not Butter Spray.


• Stock up on frozen fruit when it is on sale. You can use it in so many ways: mixed in oatmeal (the heat makes them soft), homemade fat-free parfaits, homemade smoothies.


• Dennisons Turkey Chili is delicious and it is on sale for $1/can at Vons right now. I melt a slice of fat-free cheese on top of it.


• Eat eggs. Figure out ways to make them different every time you eat them.


• When you're hungry at night before bed time, drink a big glass of nonfat milk.

I could keep going! If this post bored you, sorry :)

My Baby is the Big 6!

Guess who's 6 months old today! She has the tiniest tip of a tooth coming in on top. I felt it. I have been liquidating the 3-6 month clothing from her dresser drawers, packing them away for someone else who might need them. So many of our friends have given birth in the past couple of months or are still due within the next few months so I'm sure there will be someone who would like some nice pre-owned baby girl clothes (and gender-neutral ones, too).

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I recently started doing some of my grocery shopping at Target. I use coupons from the Sunday newspapers, too. The deals are great but I was told I'm missing out on "Super Target" which houses its own deli, produce and bakery sections. Unfortunately, the nearest Super Target is in Palmdale, which, if the San Gabriel Mountains were not in the way, wouldn't be as distant. Palmdale is due-north of Pasadena by about 30 miles the way the crow flies. At our local Target, they have a good frozen foods section and plenty of packaged foods like crackers and cereal but the diet I am on calls for produce and lean meats--not lunch meat, not granola bars, not Hot Pockets. I'm still able to get baby items for cheaper than the supermarkets, which is the main reason I shop there.

In the Sunday L.A. Times today I read a really cool story about thrift store shopping (for clothing). With the recession we're in, thrift stores have seen a jump in customers and sales have risen 25-35% since one year ago. The article listed several shops I wasn't aware of and gave tips on what days to shop and which stores offered the best chances for scoring name brand like-new clothes. I really appreciate articles such as this, especially because this year, for the first time, Raquel's wardrobe will be very important and require a big boost come September when she starts kindergarten *bittersweet tear*. Raquel has had a growth spurt since November. The reason I know is because I bought new clothes for our trip to Virginia and the pants she got are now too short! Awww.

Thanks for reading.