No TV for Babies Please!

Posted on November 6, 2008 by jeannie

Years ago I read Four Arguments for the Elimination of TV by Jerry Mander and then immediately went and bought ten copies to give away. Mander eloquently gave voice to my existing niggling concerns about television watching and I have vigilantly monitored my own and Bella’s TV watching ever since. (We don’t have cable – but we all pick shows that we want to watch during the week and find ways to watch only those specific shows – usually with minimal or no commercials.)

And now I read in Nov-Dec 08 Mothering Magazine (great magazine – nice gift for a new mom), that France is so convinced of the negative effects of television watching that they are actually banning TV shows with a target viewing audience younger than three years old. YES!

According to the High Audiovisual Council: “Television viewing hurts the development if children under three year old and poses a certain number of risks, encouraging passivity, slow language acquisition, overexcitedness, troubles with sleep and concentration as well as dependence on screens.” These detrimental effects are the same that Mander pointed out over thirty years ago.

And I didn’t know this, but the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has a similar view and recommends that children younger than two years should not watch television.

If you want more information, you can check out www.turnoffyourtv.com. They have a funny banner that reads, “Do you like reality TV? Then GO OUTSIDE!”

Posted in babies, modernday hippiness, mothering, t.v. | 2 Comments

Obama-rama

Posted on November 5, 2008 by jeannie

We celebrated last night by polishing off a bottle of champagne, eating leftover Halloween chocolate, and by watching Get Smart (surprisingly funny! B+; IMDb 7.0/10.0).

And believe it or not, after that kind of festivity, my uneasy stomach is settled. I hadn’t realized how worried I had been. Like Chad’s library patron the other day: Chad reassured an elderly patron that Obama was well ahead in the polls. The library patron barked, “I still remember Dewey!” Even more, I think as an Asian minority I’ve always suspected that Americans are, as a whole, much more racist than my friends believe (they, after all, have never had “White Power!” shouted in their face…) – but I am glad to be so resoundingly proved wrong in this case.

And enough with the signs already. Here in Orange County we were bombarded with yellow signs telling us to vote yes on Prop 8. Please, can we just let people marry whom they please?! I’m sure it’s really more an issue of corporate money: insurance companies, terrified that they will have to pay out benefits for gay spouses, funding a supposedly moral issue.

In any case, here are some signs I actually enjoyed. This is an installation by Patrick Hebert currently at OCMA for the 2008 California Biennial.

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Happy Birthday Bella!

Posted on November 1, 2008 by jeannie
Geez, fifteen years goes by fast.

Geez, fifteen years goes by fast.

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Happy Halloween

Posted on October 31, 2008 by jeannie

Posted in Christian Holden | 1 Comment

We call him King of the Drool People

Posted on October 30, 2008 by jeannie
I dont have the heart to take pictures of the guy crying...

I don't have the heart to take pictures of the guy crying...

The poor guy is being struck by fits of teething misery. In fact, the teething pain is at times radically changing Christian’s behavior: in the last three days he has adamantly refused to nurse three times when he’s been upset and actually fallen asleep in my arms just by being jiggled. He’s not a big fusser – so I’m not complaining, but yes he is going for hours crying and fussing and stuffing his fist in his mouth, because of the pain.

We have been using the Hyland’s Teething tablets with some success – I just feel a nagging worry about relying so heavily on them, so I try to keep their use to a minimum. And besides, I don’t think that the lactose base used in the tablets qualifies in our wheat and dairy-free diet month. He still gets them a couple times a day.

So, the Chad dad and I have broken down and spent some money on the guy.

Last night I went a beautiful little store in Mission Viejo called Live ‘n Nature to get Christian a proper wooden teething ring for $8. Thirty dollars later…and that’s with a 15% discount and no tax. Oh well.

We got him this lovely simple teething ring which is the perfect size, weight, and texture for him. Christian loves it already. It’s very lightweight; Chad was surprised that something so small would be $8, but where else can you find a simple wooden teething ring? Not at Babies ‘R Us, unfortunately, because I still have a large gift card to spend there.

We also got him an amber necklace which is supposed to help relieve pain.

The boy in the picture below is the very adorable son of the owner of Live ‘n Nature, whom I know know through the attachment parenting group. He is also the same boy riding the balance bike in the videos I posted last week. I highly recommend shopping at her store if you need to buy a lovely natural gift for a baby in your life. Click on any of the images to go to her store – she has a physical storefront (but be careful because you’ll want to buy everything in the shop! not everything is online yet…), but ends up doing most of her business online.

Posted in babies, Christian Holden, mothering | 3 Comments

Haim Steinbach at Overduin and Kite

Posted on October 28, 2008 by jeannie

Sorry about the mismatched image, but the gallery hasn’t gotten their images together yet, and I didn’t take any while I was there. This is an image of his work from last year – also employing those scary black kongs. Click on the image to see its original web source.

Click on the image to see its original web source.

In a lucky marriage of two artists’ artists (who illustrate well Ruscha’s formula for good art: first Huh? Then Wow! Bad art: first Wow! And then Huh?), Haim Steinbach trolls Mike Kelley’s home for objects to set on his shelves in “Special Project: Mr. Peanut.” Not only is Steinbach in fine form, liberally punctuating the show with super-sized, black “Kongs,” but seeing a selection of objects from Kelley’s home, office, and studio is immensely gratifying. Lined up almost symmetrically on a smooth black mantel, each porcelain or rubber curiosity is the center of ever-expanding nuance and meaning as the viewer’s eye sizes up its neighbor. The grinning boy sauntering off with his cock slung over his shoulder  (“Make love, not war”) makes the viewer look with entirely different perspective at the plump rabbit in bowler hat.

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How to Cook a Perfect Hard-boiled Egg

Posted on October 28, 2008 by jeannie

Ha! You thought you already knew how to hard-boil an egg? I did too, but Mark Bittman says I do it wrong – and I listen to whatever Bittman says. I trust him in the kitchen.

(My new cookbook has arrived! Thank you Husband-o-mine.)

Two things to know first: 1) hard-boiled eggs should never be boiled and 2) hard-boiled eggs should never be overcooked.

?! <- that was my reaction after reading Bittman’s opener on hard-boiled eggs, but I tried his technique yesterday (for Bella’s favorite alouette sandwiches for a birthday week treat) and my eggs turned out perfectly.

Put the eggs in a pot of water. Bring the water to boil. Cover the pot and turn the heat off. Let the eggs sit for nine minutes and then rinse with cold water.

Try it and let me know how it goes. I was impressed myself by how perfectly the eggs were cooked.

Posted in recipes | 4 Comments

The Gentler Side of Downtown LA

Posted on October 26, 2008 by jeannie

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kLw8lJLwKY]

Chad, Christian, and I took the Metrolink train from Irvine to LA Union again. I think it will become a regular thing because we always enjoy ourselves so thoroughly – besides the fact that we get to see art which I can write about for extra cash. We learned that there is no 8:29 am train from Irvine to LA; it’s a train just to Orange – so we have to either take the 7:10 am or the 10:37 am to get all the way to LA. We opted for the earlier train as we like to catch the 4:30 train home (the only train after that is 8:45pm).

We also discovered that our Metrolink ticket can be used all day long as a free Metro pass (normally $5). Bonus! We also had a complimentary lunch at the Omni Hotel – so it was a low-cost, but visually stimulating day.

We usually take a breather at Union Station.

Downtown LA

Near the library tower

What we call the library tower, although the library is actually in an adjacent building.

Walt Disney Concert Hall

John Bock's installation at Redcat.

which was accompanied by a film.

Courthouse

Courthouse

Green hideaway by the courthouse.

Green hideaway by the courthouse.

Waiting for the train home.

Waiting for the train home.

Posted in art, los angeles | 1 Comment

Perfection City

Posted on October 25, 2008 by jeannie

At the last La Leche League meeting, mothers started animatedly discussing nursing bras. Medela and Bravado quickly emerged as favorites -  one woman also loved the nursing bras from Elle McPherson. I looked around the room and wondered how all these at-home moms were able to afford a drawerful of new nursing bras at $50 a pop.

Most of the babies in the room were very young, and so I figured the moms were in the early stages of living on one income – or they were moms who were going back to work shortly.

I spoke up and said that I had been using my old sports bras; that they were easy to pull up and often quite a bit cheaper, especially if you buy them in a 2-pack at Costco. There was no comment on my suggestion and I could see that I was probably the only one using sports bras in the room.

On the drive home I debated how much I needed a nursing bra. I do have several from my sister – but I have to stuff a sock in each side to fill out the D cups – my boobs have pretty much returned to their normal B cup size. On the upside, I fit right in with other Orange county moms with D-cups. I do use my sports bras regularly, but they don’t cut the most flattering figure and the wide racerback straps often show. Then I decided that no, I could live without a proper nursing bra and that it was more important to to save up for Bella’s birthday gift and Christmas right around the corner, etc.

I consoled myself with the thought that being broke was a small sacrifice for getting to spend my days with Christian.

When I got home there was an email from my friend Laura asking if I had any need for her three barely used B-cup Medela nursing bras as her son has weaned. Talk about serendipity! I feel like the universe just gave me a pat on the back for trying so hard to stay on budget.

Thank you Laura!

Posted in mothering | 3 Comments

Letter to Christian at 5 Months

Posted on October 24, 2008 by jeannie

My dear darling Christian,

It’s true! Babies really do bring more love into the house. When you are sleeping on my chest I can feel love sinking straight into my chest. You have completely charmed the heck out of your parents and anybody else who comes within sight of your irresistible grin. Even your teenage sister is slowly coming around – because when she enters the room you always wiggle with pleasure and chuckle in her direction, trying to catch her attention. Nobody can resist being adored – for long.

You are exactly five months old today. And suddenly I am alarmed at how fast you are growing up. Your toes which were just wiggling non-attached entities in the distance to you last month are suddenly in your fingers’ grip every time I lay you on your back. You’re a perfect little yogi in Contented Baby position. Your left big toe is also your favorite thing to chew on as well. It’s in perfect reach when you’re snug in your peanut shell.

We call you many things, but Mr. Drools-a-lots is especially appropriate right now – I guess your teeth are starting to really bother you. When we give you the occasional Hyland’s teething tablet you are very perplexed by the new flavor, which takes your mind off the pain momentarily.

For the last five months your favorite safe position on me has been slung over my left shoulder – but as of yesterday, you are so curious that you won’t stay slung anymore. You push away from me with both arms so you can swivel 180 degrees and scan the room. You’re not quite ready to be on my hip – so I’m throwing you in the baby bjorn even for quick trips down to the car. Your safe position in your dad’s arms is more like a modifed cradle hold. When he holds you that way you relax and sink back and meditatively play with your fingers. Several times this week your dad has put to sleep at night by rocking out with you in front of the bose speaker – he says you can’t resist Grandaddy. It never takes more than four songs of jiggling for you to give your old man the limp arm (which is always the aim…)

I could write more and more and more, but the intent is to do this once a month, rather a treatise once a year. I’ve started back up in Bella’s journal too – but that’s more private – and in any case she’s old enough to ask me not to blog about her activities.

I love you honey.

Mama

Posted in Christian Holden | 2 Comments