Free Time

One of the advantages of being a student is that you have a flexible schedule (i.e. you don't have to work 9-5). One of the disadvantages, on the other hand, is that you end up working more hours than the traditional 8-hour days (and obviously the lack of a paycheck also). Law school has been a busy time for us, but I find that in every semester, there are "pockets" of free time for us to enjoy. For example, I don't have any classes before 2:30pm so that I can spend my mornings with Nicole. This semester, Thursdays has been special for us as a family because Tom only has 2 classes on Thursdays and the first one starts at 2pm. As a result, we have really taken advantage of Thursdays to "sleep in" (baby permitting), run errands, go out for breakfast or lunch, and just being a cute little family together.

SATC

Alright, now that SATC sequel is coming out, I can't hold this in any longer. Granted, most characters and scenarios in movies and TV are completely implausible, but Carrie Bradshaw's character is especially ridiculous. For example, in my latest Us Weekly, Carrie is depicted wearing a $435 Halston Heritage cocktail dress, Jee Vice's $170 Heated shades, a $865 Christian Louboutin's heels, and a $1,795 hobo bag. That is a total of $3,265 for ONE outfit, not counting the jewelry she has on!

Two theories on how she can afford her clothes: First, since she's now married to Mr. Big, who is suppose to be this uber-rich real estate developer, I guess her expensive ensemble is somewhat plausible, but the problem with this theory is that Carrie wore these classy coutures before she married him (and his money). Second, Carrie is able to afford all this apparel, as well as her mortgage on her Manhattan digs, on her weekly newspaper column. Unlikely. According to one internet source, weekly columnists get paid $75 per article, or $200 per week. Aside from the discrepancy between her supposed salary and her spendthrift ways, her column sucks. You couldn't even pay me to read her column (if it were real)! Have you ever noticed how each of her articles begin with a question that the show never answers? Stupid questions too, like, is the thirties really the new twenties? Or are men like dogs?

But will I still pay good money to see SATC II? Most definitely.

A collection of 3 random thoughts

So I thought I'd be supermom. Much to my dismay, I am not. I thought even with a baby, I'd have a spic-and-span house, a pie in the oven, and still have time for all my hobbies. I do not have any of these things, but I do have a healthy, beautiful daughter who is growing like a weed!

After "Vicky Christina Barcelona," I've finally made up my mind that I do not like Woody Allen films and I think I've figured out why. All of his female characters are these sexy bimbos who are easy to bed and otherwise weak in constitution of any sort. Obviously, the Academy Awards disagree with me, but I don't think we need to recognize Allen for his misogynistic movies.

I love eating lunch at Whole Foods (or similar gourmet grocery stores) because I love picnic-y type foods where I have the opportunity to sample a little of this and a little of that.

Our daily bread

Until recently, Tom and I have rarely agreed on bread. He prefers generic butter top wheat bread and my tastes are, well, fickle. One week I'd prefer rye, next week sourdough. But for now, it seems that we can finally come to an agreement thanks to Dave's Killer bread, a local bakery whose bread is yummy and nutritious. Even though I pay more for a loaf of Dave's Killer bread than I have ever paid for any other loaf, Dave's bread is worth every penny. Tom enjoys the freshness of the bread, made without any additives or preservatives, and I enjoy its nuttiness and seediness. Not only is his bread delicious, I can also feel good about supporting my local business. An added bonus is Dave's amazing and inspirational story about how he turned his life around after battles with meth addiction and spending 15 years in jail. Check out his bread and his website at: www.daveskillerbread.com. If you have not tried his bread, I strongly urge you to go out and buy a loaf - you'll love it!

Take Out

This has been a take-out sort of week. Between the intensity of my summer school class and taking care of Nicole in the mornings, there has been little time for me to cook dinner, much less anything else! Given the current heat wave, who would want to turn on the stove or oven anyway? (Tom does not eat salads either.) So we have been doing a lot of take-out lately, which, although they taste good is unfortunately not that good for you. Tom has been supportive in this regard by going out to pick up the food and picking up the tab. Here is what we had this week:

Wednesday - Panda Express

Thursday - Sweet Tomatoes (dine-in with coupon)

Friday - Red Robin

Saturday - McDonald's for breakfast and Old Market Pub for dinner

My mom will be here tomorrow and eating out for 3 will definitely be a lot more pricey than eating out for 2, so I finally dragged my butt to the grocery store and now our fridge is fully stocked with meals planned for every day this week. =)

The Cupertino Inn

We recently had an occasion to stay at the Cupertino Inn in Cupertino, CA, right across the street from Apple headquarters (just a coincidence). Here's the thing about me: I have a fetish for hotels. The fancier the better. To me, hotels represent a true vacation. With swimming pools, an exercise room, room service, wi-fi internet, cable TV, a big bed, VCR with a movie library, a refreshment center, and AC, it's hard not to feel pampered and care-free. Staying at hotels also means that I'm not staying at home, which means I'm not surrounded by my usual environs of house chores and endless to-do lists.

Some hotels go above and beyond its usual call of duty and I would list the Cupertino Inn as one of them. Although it's rough on the exterior, caters mainly to business travelers, and one could see that the hotel was at its prime in the late 70's or early 80's at best, the Cupertino Inn had other amenities that make up for its shortcomings. Free food always wins me over. For example, its hot breakfast buffet is quite excellent. With its daily offering of waffles, cereals, juices, eggs, meats, pastries, toasts, fruits, coffee and tea, the breakfast bar is sure a crowd pleaser.

The best part, though, has to be its complimentary cocktail and hors d'oeuvres hour from 5-7pm daily. Do I need to say more than FREE cocktails? Unfortunately, my breastfeeding regime sort of put a curb to my alcohol consumption, but I did partake in some hot potato skins, taquitos, mini-pizza, cheese and crackers, veggie dips, and fruit. I also liked that the Cupertino Inn had a hot coffee and tea bar available 24/hrs a day. Oh and did I mention that they also have a complimentary limo service that takes guests to the airport?

I am also looking forward to our next vacation in mid-August and hotel stay at the fancy-pants Fairmont Hotel in Vancouver, BC, which is offering us a free crib, mini-fridge, and much much more! See: http://www.fairmont.com/hotelvancouver

The Woes of Breastfeeding

By now, I could probably write a whole book on all of our breastfeeding woes. From the get-go, Nicole did not have a good latch. For example, she would only suck on the nipple, rather than the areola. A nurse introduced the nipple shield to help her better identify the nipple, which we are still using. Also, no one at the hospital emphasized the importance of breastfeeding right after birth which delayed my milk production. By Day 3, my milk still hadn't come in yet and Nicole was hungry so we started giving her some formula in a bottle. It is one of the worst feelings in the world when you know you can't feed your child.

By the time we checked out of the hospital, Nicole was 11% down from her birth weight (normal is 7-10%). We were told to supplement with formula and after a week, she had regained some weight she lost and was now only 5% down from her birth weight. We saw our first lactation consultant at this time and she basically scared us with childhood obesity and diabetes and told us to stop supplementing Nicole, which we did. The week following that was hard, because Nicole cried a lot and nothing we did calmed her. She would only stop crying after she had worn herself out. We saw another lactation consultant, who told us that Nicole was crying because she was hungry. Even though I was breastfeeding her 8-12 times a day, she wasn't getting enough from me. So, we went back to formula. To this day, we still feel incredibly guilty for not recognizing her hungry cries and under-feeding our poor girl!

Our next problem was that because Nicole was going back and forth between the bottle and the breast, Nicole struggled at the breast because she wasn't getting the "flow" that she liked. So, we went back to see another lactation consultant who taught me how to pump properly in order to increase my milk production. Things were going pretty well for a while and we checked in with another lactation consultant who prescribed Fenugreek - this herb that is suppose to increase mother's milk.

Our next challenge was getting Nicole to stop being a snacker (i.e. eating every 2 hours which was exhausting for me and my breasts) and being a more efficient eater. So we saw Kathleen, my favorite lactation consultant who is from Texas and who watches out for my best interest as well as Nicole's. She suggested a "Sane Plan" where we feed her 3 oz. every 3 hours. I still pump almost after every feeding and we are still supplementing with formula with the hopes that my milk production will eventually catch up.

So, 4 lactation consultants and 5 appointments later, our most urgent breastfeeding concerns are behind us but things still aren't smooth sailing. So stay tuned!