mommy bytes

Thursday Thirteen - BlogHerBoston Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:17:00 +0000

Here are some of the fabulous bloggers I met at BlogHer Boston (Burlington, but let's not split hairs). I was a bit nervous and tentative about going, but after arriving, I suddenly felt like I belonged amongst the hundreds of Twittering, passionate blogging women! I even put up two posts delayed by travel last week during the first session. Check out the twemes of the event (Twitter and Flickr!).

Sandy at Momisodes. We live in the same state and we finally got to meet! And yes, she really is that pretty in real life.
Christine Koh (center) of Boston Mamas and Posh Peacock. Christine liked this photo for the Asian girl power.
Candelaria Silva (left) of Good & Plenty and Susan Getgood (center) of Marketing Roadmaps (new URL). I've worked with Susan before with HP Photo Books and it was great to finally meet her in person.
Tania of ChickyChickyBaby. The one and only!
Catherine at Her Bad Mother. Another famous blogger with baby in tow.
Katie aka MotherBumper, fellow kirtsy editor.
Meredith at Picket Fence Post among many other blogs, who I met previously at her book signing.
Charlene at Crazed Parent.
Annette at Catnip and Coffee.
Megin at GNMParents.
Megan at Megan's Minute.
Alice at Do the Yak. She works at MIT!
Lydia at The Perfect Pantry. I know nothing about food blogging, so if you're interested, go check her out.

View more Thursday Thirteen participants.

WW - Dova is always breaking out into dance

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:42:00 +0000

Visit by Wordless Wednesday or 5 Minutes for Mom for more participants.

Ruby Tuesday - My Ride in the Saturn SKY Roadster

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 01:15:00 +0000

At BlogHer Boston, Saturn offered test drives including the Saturn SKY Roadster. You don't need to tell me twice! Of course, I even took pictures of myself with my hair flying while I was driving.

Conversations with Dova, 4-Year-Old

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 22:22:00 +0000

Dova in her turtle shirt from Grandma's trip to Hawaii. She looks just like the girl on the shirt.

Dova's sayings have now evolved into Dova's conversations! Here are the latest installments from our hysterical 4-year-old.

If you didn't have bones in your knuckles, they would be all wobbly. And if you didn't have bones in your spine YOU would be all wobbly.
I wish I were a swordfish so I can pick your nose.
Why do numbers never end?
Dova: What is Columbus Day?
Mom: It's when Columbus discovered America. No wait, maybe it was his birthday.
Dova: Mom, you're not very smart.
Mom (laughing): Oh really? Why not?
Dova: Because you can't remember anything!
Mom: (I guess you can fool most adults, but not a 4-year-old!)
Dova: When you pour water on the computer, will it explode?
Mom: Well, it could spark and catch fire.
Dova: Well, then we shouldn't put the aquarium on top of the computer.
Mom: (What on earth gave her that idea!)
Dova: Shick
Mom: What? (hoping that I heard it wrong)
Dova: Shick!
Mom: WHAT?
Dova: CHECK OK? What did you think I said?
Mom: Um, nothing, check!
When I'm a teenager, will I like having boobs?

She continues to crack us up as well as the teachers at her school.

I'm on the Manic Mommies!

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 03:53:00 +0000

Kristen, me and Erin at BlogHer Boston '08. My shirt says "fight like a girl".

My highlight of BlogHer Boston was definitely meeting Erin and Kristen of the Manic Mommies. They were so down to earth, and genuinely hysterical in real life. After having this photo taken, they asked me whether I'd like to be interviewed for the podcast. What? Me? Ack!

They were so easy going that it was a breeze. I can't bring myself to listen to the interview, but you can tell me how it went. They also interviewed Christine Koh of Boston Mamas and took a test drive in a Saturn Vue hybrid. Here's the link to the podcast. We had a fun discussion afterwards about whether or not they should put the "Silver Bullet" vibrator into their Escape '08 goody bag. The comments in their Big Tent discussion are hysterical! From "Hi Ho Silver and away" to "My 77 year-old mom is coming on the cruise." My vote goes with the gal who suggested that they should go to the moms who can't go on the cruise who said, "We can enjoy multiple 'escape-asms' at home for free."

Photo Hunters - Lazy

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:12:00 +0000

Adam at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. He "hates" museums and lets everyone know it.

How we named Adam

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:01:00 +0000

Baby boy Adam at 2 days old.

We are definitely the type of parents that have to know the sex of the child well before they are born. Since we had about 20 weeks notice, you'd think that would be enough time to name our son. Doug and I both had a few requirements. Since Doug's last name is three syllables, he wanted a first name that was two syllables so the full name wouldn't be too long. And he didn't want a name that was gender ambiguous or had nicknames. He also wanted to honor his late father by incorporating his name Irving or a derivative into the first or middle name. So he suggested Isaac. I immediately thought of Isaac Washington of the Love Boat, and then Isaac Hayes. Of course Isaac Newton would have been a good thought, but those pearly whites of Isaac Washington kept haunting me. I didn't want any biblical names like David, Joseph, etc. And it had to be a name that my Chinese parents could pronounce easily, so no R's and L's like Aaron or Allen (these would be identical!). So we were kicking around names like Evan and possibly Adam (except for the biblical part). We weren't really thrilled by either choice so we left it up in the air. We were still tossing up names on the way to the hospital at 3am and there still wasn't a name after 20 hours of labor. When he was born, they tagged him Baby Boy (Dad's last name).

After our baby boy arrived, I called my mother on the phone to tell her the news. She immediately asked what his name was. I said, "I don't know, we were thinking about Adam." My mom exclaimed, "Adam!! I love it!!" And suddenly, this name which was so elusive for us became solidified. For his middle name, I just couldn't go with Isaac, so I suggested that we simply use Irving. And together, Adam Irving, became the perfect name, extremely dignified, masculine, and fitting all our criteria. He could be an author, like Washington Irving (or Isaac Washington Irving, as I often kid). The big joke of course, was that despite my wishes not to have a biblical name, we picked the most biblical name of all!

And here's another far-fetched reason. I have a friend named David who has two younger brothers Adam and Seth. I've always felt that his parents named them in the wrong order. Adam should have been the first son because he was the first man. But they correctly named Seth, because that means third son. So this way, in naming my first son Adam, I could fix their incorrect naming order.

Another colleague at work has four sons, Matthew, Adam, David and Aidan. Again, they named their sons in the wrong order!! When I heard these names, I said, "Cool, the first letters of their names spell ADAM." He looked at me puzzledly and said, "You know, we never noticed that. I'll have to tell my wife." And then I had to tell him that he named his kids in the wrong order, that Adam should be first. His response was, "Do you have OCD?" I laughed and replied, "I try not to." OK OK, maybe I'm a bit compulsive, things must be in the correct order!

After settling on Adam and mulling over the letters of the name, I also noticed that it had an A and a D in it for Angela and Doug. How perfect that he is a product of both of us and the first letters of our names are in his name. Who would've thought that naming a child would be such an arduous process?

Next week, Dova.

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

WW - Asleep as the world goes by

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:47:00 +0000

Taken blind while driving.

Visit by Wordless Wednesday or 5 Minutes for Mom for more participants.

Tuesday Toot - I Got the Nerd!

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:13:00 +0000

Do you see these colorful drawings made by Adam's second grade class about their hopes and dreams? There are drawings of animals and people and all sorts of wonderful things. (Sorry for the poor cell phone pic, but at least it makes obscuring the names easier.) But what's that sheet on the bottom row with just pencil and no picture?

"I hope I learn about lots and lots of math."

Apparently, Adam will have none of this sissy drawing stuff. Way to put up those multiplication equations at the beginning of second grade. That's my boy, I got the nerd!

[small soapbox rant to follow]
I have a bin of plastic happy meal toys on my desk at work, with a Far Side cartoon that reads, "Oh, boy! The Nerd!... Now my collection's complete!" Unfortunately, I can't share this cartoon with you due to the cease and desist orders from Gary Larson. I could have sworn that when I first drafted this post, there were still copies of this cartoon floating around the net, but they are all gone now. So much for the age of share and share-alike, gotta squeeze every penny out of that copyright law.
[/end soapbox rant]

Knitted Pink Ribbon

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 21:05:00 +0000

Dova refused to pose, so I caught her with her hearty laugh. Here's the pink ribbon that I knitted for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. If you'd like to have one of four ribbons, please leave a comment. Winners will be chosen randomly at 11pm on October 15th. Open to US and Canada.

Photo Hunters - Sad

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 21:25:00 +0000

I hate to see pictures of my kids sad, so I bring you sad puppy eyes instead.

Photo Story Friday - NASCAR!

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 01:59:00 +0000

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

I took Adam to the Sylvania 300 NASCAR race up in Louden, New Hampshire a few weeks ago. As you can see, we had great seats and got some great shots, but it *almost* didn't happen. Since it had been raining all morning, I stopped at Target first to pick up a raincoat for Adam, as umbrellas weren't allowed according to New Hampshire Motor Speedway's website. I had a backpack full of camera equipment and radios, so I simply took my wallet and car keys into the store. We quickly found a jacket, paid for it and walked back to the car. We drove the hour or so up to Louden and then ran into the inevitable traffic. At this point I reached over for my wallet, but it wasn't in my backpack. I pulled over to look for it and couldn't find it anywhere. I called Doug in a panic, and tore the car apart for 15 minutes. How could I lose my wallet that was clutched in my bare hands the entire time? Did I drop it in the parking lot at Target? I called Target and they didn't have it in the lost and found. Since I was traveling for work the next day, I had all my corparate credit cards in there as well. Plus how was I going to rent a car without my driver's license? I finally decided that we would still go to the race and leave when we were starving from not eating lunch. As we got closer, it was apparent that I would have to pay for parking and I wouldn't be able to do so, so we turned around and stopped one last time at Lanes Auto Body.

After 10 more minutes, I finally spotted my wallet after sticking my head under the passenger seat from behind. Whew! What a relief (and what a total ditz I am!). We were finally on our way to the race. At the gate there were hundreds of confiscated umbrellas, so at least I got that right. As we were walking to our seats, Senator John McCain came on. I was surprised to hear boos as well as cheers from the audience. I was just glad that his address was short. As we walked to our seats I snapped this shot of the cars lining up in the pits through a slot in the fence.

And now for the race. The visceral feel of the cars rumbling by was the most unforgettable sensation. You could feel it in your chest. Our ears were protected by ear plugs (despite Adam's complaints about itchiness), so we could feel it in our bodies more than we could hear it. I tried to listen in to the pit radios that a colleague lent me, but the endless "Clear!" after each turn was a bit monotonous. I was able to hear the radios with the headsets and earplugs on (you can never have too much hearing protection). I noticed that Doug left me a voice message on my cell phone, so I tried to play it on speakerphone, held it up to my ear (with earplugs), but heard absolutely nothing. It was really that loud at the race.

Flames from the exhaust. Adam was rooting for Jeff Gordon, but he never placed higher than 6th. After around 100 laps, Adam seemed to have enough and asked if he could play his Nintendo DS, so I took this opportunity to finally get some lunch.

View of the stands from underneath. They were pretty full but not sold out. After lunch, Adam still asked to play his video game so I finally caved around lap 170. That way I could concentrate on taking pictures.

Jimmie Johnson was favored to win.

Casey Mears just after his crash and before he pulled into the pits.

David Ragan (6) Kyle Busch's M&M car (18) after they crashed up. Lots of duct tape is used in NASCAR!

Casey Mears' team finally gave up on the duct tape and decided to run with no hood or front fenders.

The only casualty that had to be towed off the track. It was a race with many crashes to Adam's delight, but also many laps run under the yellow flag. I wasn't sure how much Adam got out of the race, because he basically shut down from the overstimulus halfway through. But when we got home, he immediately took out his NASCAR toy cars (many of which were actually at the race) and proceeded to set up all the crash scenarios. So he loved it and I am so glad we had this experience.

Lights. Action. DOT-it!

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 02:09:00 +0000

I had the opportunity to see the LADi (Lights. Action. DOT-it) herself in all her glory. What on earth is the LADi? She's an Airstream trailer that made a tour of the United States to promote Sylvania's DOT-it products. And what on earth are DOT-its? DOT-its are battery-operated LED lights in a myriad of shapes, sizes and colors. There's even one for breast cancer awareness:

Check out how LADi's interior is completely lit by DOT-its:

Sexy chamber indeed!

Happy blinking kitchen.

The uses for DOT-its are only restricted by your imagination. Sylvania is also releasing DOT-it Lite Sticks that can be used just like glow sticks. Kids can be cool and wear them around their necks. Parents can be happy that you can shut them off to use multiple times and there are no harmful chemicals. Adam once broke a glow stick at his birthday party and sprayed the chemicals all over himself. It was cool to see the luminescent drops all over his body (including his hair), but then it was scary when he said that it started to burn. We threw him in the shower right in the middle of his party and all was well. The DOT-it Lite Sticks are now available at Walmart just in time for Halloween!

I am giving away four packages of Sylvania DOT-it Checkers. These are the colorful dots you see on LADi's kitchen hood. See contest bytes for details and enter by October 15th.

I've Gone Pink for October!

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:46:00 +0000

Did the pink get your attention? October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Be sure to check out all the sites going pink at pinkforoctober.org. Just tonight I got the idea to make knitted pink ribbons so check back for a giveaway later this month.

And please click every day to fund mammograms at The Breast Cancer Site.

WW - Adam tramples his opponent

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 02:48:00 +0000

Extreme close-up:

Ouch! He didn't even know until we looked at this photograph later.

Visit by Wordless Wednesday or 5 Minutes for Mom for more participants.

Ruby Tuesday - Ferraris

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:04:00 +0000

No car defines red like Ferrari does!

Nothing is cheap if it has the Ferrari name, even Adam's new cap was $30!!!

I love the red horses on the floor mats.

Even the engines are red.

As are the tails.

These photos were taken by Doug at Tutto Italiano at the Museum of Transportation in Brookline, MA on August 3rd.

WW - The Overlook at Chesterwood

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 05:51:00 +0000

Every once in a while I hand the camera over to Doug. I should do it more often!

Car Safety - What about Headlights?

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 03:58:00 +0000

Sylvania 9003 SilverStar Ultra Headlight

When people think about car safety, they immediately think of seat belts, air bags, and properly inflated tires. But they hardly ever about their headlights. Considering that 42% of fatal accidents occur at night, this should be number one on the list.

Those that know us know that we are car fanatics. Doug meticulously maintains all our cars to ensure that they are always safe. In our high end cars, we have HID Xenon lights which are great for our aging eyes. But in our 2001 Toyota Echo, we have an old pair of headlights sitting behind pitted plastic lenses (145k of mostly highway miles).

When we heard about the Sylvania SilverStar Ultra headlights, we thought we would give them a try. Supposedly, they have the brightest, whitest, street legal lights which increase down-road viewing up to 25%, as well as sideroad viewing. You don't need to wait until your headlights burn out to replace them. After time, the light output from headlights simply fade until they are no longer safe. We found SilverStars at our local Wallyworld (Walmart) and picked them up. They weren't the Ultra version, but should still be a marked improvement over our factory bulbs. After installing them and taking them for a test run, my first reaction was, "Whoa, are you sure these aren't aimed too high?" It was much brighter than the old headlamps and I could definitely see further down the road.

There is a small price to pay for the extra white light however. Looking at Amazon's customer ratings, many complained that the life of the SilverStar Ultra was much lower. There is probably some "conservation of light output" law at work here. The brighter the light, the less the life. But it is a small price to pay for safe driving at night. People raved about the SilverStar Ultra for high beam usage. Make sure to check the bulb type against your owner's manual. Amazon seems to have a good system for checking compatibility.

Mothers 5140 PowerBall Polishing Tool

Meguiar's PlastX Cleaner & Polish

We didn't stop at just the bulbs. Doug wanted to polish the lenses so that the bright light could actually get out of the cloudy lenses. We picked up a polishing ball and Meguiar's PlastX Clear Plastic Cleaner and Polish for the job. Doug said that it would probably cost several hundred dollars to replace the lens assemblies, so this was a great low cost alternative. The lenses came out much clearer (I was asked to do inspection after one lens was done for comparison). And just our luck, we had to drive home in the rain that very night to test our complete setup. It was fantastic. I'd say that this setup was just as good as our HID lights. We could clearly see the edges of the road in the rain at night without trouble. No need for adding extra fog lights either.

So if you're concerned about safe driving at night (which you should be but I'll try not to guilt you into it) check out these products.

Photo Hunters - Road

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 03:49:00 +0000

Sunrise.

Sunset.

Now who started singing "Swiftly flow the days"? This first photo was taken at 5:40am (according to the EXIF data) on the way to the airport for one of my many business trips. This past week, I actually got to the airport so early that it was still dark out. I missed the turn for long term parking and ended up going in and out of the expensive short term lot, feigning stupidity for the parking lot attendant (I've only done this trip about 20 times and should know better). To top off the trip, I got lost on my way home tonight because my iPod wasn't working and ended up on some back roads in New Hampshire. Where the heck am I? How can I screw up this trip which I've done in my sleep at 3am? Must be old age...

The second photo was taken on our way out for vacation last month. I was so slow packing that we didn't depart until dinner time. Luckily, I was in the passenger seat and had my point-and-shoot (a.k.a Silver Surfer) handy.

Photo Story Friday - Dova Plays Soccer

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 02:09:00 +0000

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Since Dova's big brother is a soccer star and she is always trying to keep up with him, you'd think that she would be excited to start in her first youth soccer team. She's done two soccer camps already, each time starting out well because she wanted to be with her brother, and ending up with her not wanting to go anymore. We assured her that the soccer league was not as intense as the camp and that there would be plenty of boys and girls her age.

Dova's first game of the season started on a bad note. We were running late for the pre-game practice and approached the fields with what seemed like hundreds of kids in blocks of different colored shirts already in practice. It must have looked overwhelming to her and she started to say, "I don't want to go!" She tried to pull my arm and drag me back. She started walking back to the car herself, but seeing that her whole family was still marching ahead, she reluctantly followed. I was afraid that she was really going back to the car or even walking home, because she's got that kind of temperament (I blame my friend who shares the same birthday as her). We said hello to her coach, and told him that she was being a little shy. He said not to worry, she can play when she's ready. So we sat on the edge of the fields and watched all the other kids practice. They were all running around doing fun drills, laughing and listening to the coach. I looked around and saw no other little kids glued to their mom's lap. We tried to engage her by bouncing the ball off her feet or having Adam play with her. But she refused to budge. The coach checked in a few times, but she did not move. At one point, we dragged her off the chair but she ran back to it and toppled it over. She started to cry and scream that she just wanted to go home. At this point, Doug thought it was a lost cause and was ready to take her home. But the tough mom that I am refused to give up. I kept holding her and talking to her until she calmed down. Of course I couldn't take photographs of her in this state as this would have meant the end.

By this point, the practice was over and the game was beginning. Three players were in the field and there were two subs, with Dova being a possible third sub. After a rotation, I told Dova, "Look, the coach needs you sub, are you ready to play?" And miraculously, she said yes. She got up and I motioned to the coach that she was ready to play and he put her in. We couldn't believe it. It was somehow the magic bullet that got her to play. She ran around, dribbled the ball a few times, and looked like she was even having fun. After finally peeling her off my lap, I took out my camera.

Dribbling the ball down the field. She didn't touch the ball too many times, but when she did, I was shooting away.

Swinging ponytails.

Kicking the ball and looking where she's going. Don't you love those pink cleats?

Where's the ball? The coach asked the players to point to the ball so they knew where it was. I just like this shot because of the bokeh (blurry background). All these shots were taken with a Canon Rebel XTi, 70-300mm f4.

Dova ate oranges at half-time with her team. Integrated right in like nothing happened. Unbelievable!

Getting ready for a goal kick. She was still a bit tentative about playing, but did everything the coach asked her to do. I love the fact that she's still shorter than the top of the goal. My baby girl is playing soccer!

Lining up for the "good game" slap. Looks like she's got the soccer hairstyle down. Afterwards, I asked her if she had fun and if she wanted to do it next week. She said yes! By the time the next game rolled around, it was back to her old antics. I missed it because I took Adam to the NASCAR race. Oh well, I'll be sure to take her to the next game and rev her up again.

Thursday Thirteen - Pictures from CN Tower in Toronto

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 16:17:00 +0000

Here are some pictures from my late night trip to the CN Tower using my iPhone. I totally missed having my real camera because there was an awesome shot of the moon rising next to the tower that the phone refused to capture while I was driving. Next time!

The CN Tower at night.

The stripe of light going up the side.

High tech security arch which puffs air to sniff you out.

View of the Blue Jays game below.

Standing on the glass floor. That's the tower support directly below (behind) me. I thought I would have trouble walking out onto the glass floor, but apart from some sweaty hands and feet, it was fine. The fact that it was nighttime helped because there were a lot of reflections off the glass, so it didn't seem like I was stepping out into thin air. There were definitely people who were crawling on the floor next to the window, unable to step out.

Sitting on the glass floor over the Blue Jays game.

On the observation deck. It was pretty windy, but the tower didn't sway at all.

Moon over Lake Ontario.

Sitting at my table at Horizon's cafe. The 360 Restaurant was all booked, but there were plenty of tables here. I believe they use the same kitchen, so the food was just as good!

I got a salad for dinner because I was still stuffed from an Indian buffet at lunch.

And dessert of course, creme brulee. There were crystallized ginger pieces with the blueberries and crystallized orange peels in the whipped cream. These accompaniments were much better than the creme brulee itself. Chai tea had a stir stick the shape of the CN tower. Didn't keep it because the kids would just use it to poke each other's eyes out.

Glass sculptures of the CN Tower in the gift shop.

I considered buying a snow globe, but they were all too much. Cheapskate! I did have to pay $23 just to take the ride up. This sparkle lava lamp was pretty cool but a lot smaller than they look here, about 8" tall.

Vote for Me - The Biggest Nerd!

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 02:40:00 +0000

Karen over at 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires nominated me (mommy bytes) for the Biggest Nerd at MomDot's first semi-annual Dottie Awards. So please vote for your favorite blogger in this and tons of other categories by Sept. 22.

Thanks a bunch!

WW - Naphal by Rick Brown

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0000

This was an old dead tree on the grounds of Chesterwood, which was transformed into a fascinating sculpture, Naphal by Rick Brown.

And a big shout-out and thank you to Al, who photoshopped that nasty mom from Dova's dance picture last week.

Ruby Tuesday - Red M&M, NASCAR Style

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 02:06:00 +0000

Check out the red M&M on car 18 from last Sunday's Sylvania 300 race. This photograph was taken before Kyle Busch ran into trouble with his sway bar and crashed (video).

This is just a teaser post for more NASCAR and Sylvania action to come as I'm traveling for work again...

Photo Hunters - Wild

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 03:03:00 +0000

Not much wilder than a shark!