Ten on Tuesday

Lately I have been slacking with reading my usual blogs or even being on the lookout for a new one. Life is busy, you know?

But yesterday, I actually stumbled on a new read and found something quite intriguing: 

On Tuesdays, Chelsea from Roots & Rings asks 10 questions that you need to find an answer for.

I love the idea, so I'd like to spread the word and feature this event on here as well.
(Click on the image if you want to go to Chelsea directly to do your share of answering... otherwise you're welcome to do so here as well, of course...)

So, here are Chelsea's 10 questions for December 14, 2010 and I'll try to answer as the best as I can ;) :

1. What is your favorite kind of cheese? 

- Gouda. It needs to be young though.

2. Do you prefer fudge with or without nuts?

-  Without nuts.

3. How do you feel about cats?

- It's complicated. LOL.
As a big pet lover of course I like cats as well.
However, I am more of a dog person. I have lived with both - cats and dogs - and find that life with a cat is more of a nuisance because cats seem to be a lot more moody than dogs. I had several experiences with different cats who got quite bitchy and sneaky to get their way. Or who would would do things to "punish" you because they didn't get it. Like making a giant, stinky poop in the litter box while you are taking a bath. Or throwing up on your towel. Repeatedly. Stuff like that.

4. Meg Ryan or Julia Roberts?

- Neither, sorry.

5. Do you wear a watch?

- Sometimes. 

6. What are a few of your favorite songs from the 90′s?

- Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit

- Korn - Freak on a Leash
- Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun
- The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony
- Madonna - Frozen
- Rammstein - Du hast
- Alanis Morissette - Ironic
- Garbage - Only Happy When It Rains
- Chumbawamba - Tubthumping
- Bush - The Chemicals Between Us

7. Do you like scented candles?

- Depends on the candle. Vanilla can be nice. Or something fruity like lemon.

8. What do you like on your hamburger?

- Lattice, tomato, onions, cheese, ketchup, mayo, mustard... I think it's rather standard... but I hate pickles on a burger!

9. How often do you cut your fingernails?

- Hm.. whenever they got so long that they bother me when typing...

10. Do you sleep in socks?

- No.

Happy Halloween!

I really like Halloween.
And this year I was especially looking forward to it since Ace is now old enough to fit in a real costume.

Not that he wasn't the cutest ghost ever last year, of course...

Remember?


I have to admit though that we kind of cut it short with him and his costume.
For me, Halloween started on Friday when I went to the office dressed up in a Morticia-like outfit.
(Yeah, I know... not much of an effort for me since I had all the necessary clothes in the closet already ;))
But that day we still did not have something for Ace although we had been to several stores already.
And we saw some craziness... at the PartyPackagers store on Orfus Road there was war... the shelves were empty and people were standing frustrated in long lines at the entrance of the warehouse in the back to get one of the last costumes that were still available. I have no idea why the store had not been prepared for this - it's not like Halloween comes as a surprise each year.. Well, maybe for some folks... like winter.. but that's another story...
Anyways, on Saturday we found a lizard costume for Ace at ToysRUs and we were good to go for the big night the next day since I also got some fangs to be a vampire and Markus got a Scream mask to be a killer.

We were able to take some great photos before heading out cause Ace did not like to wear the hood with the lizard head and his complaining made it look like as if he was scared of me. Awesome!

Then we went off to our very first Trick-Or-Treating. It was a first for all of us since neither Markus and I had done it in Germany where it's not very common.
Despite the cold it was a blast. It was really fun to knock on people's doors and of course get the candy. ;)
Everybody was really friendly and loved Ace in his green lizard costume. He even did not mind the hood anymore.
I don't think that Ace really understood what was going on but I am sure he found it at least interesting.
We only did about a dozen or so houses in the neighborhood before going home again since it was too cold to stay outside too long, but for the first time it was good.
I can't wait for next year when Ace should be able to walk and maybe even say "Trick or Treat!" himself! :)

Fun at the playground

Recently Ace has started to climb.
He can climb off the bed and the couch, but not back up. But he is able to climb on the foot stool since it is lower to the ground. And he can climb stairs up and down. The latter he is always doing backwards though - with one foot carefully testing/searching for the next step.
Really cute.
So since we now have a monkey on our hands, we have started to go with him to the playground.
We have a really nice one close by that has a big jungle gym with plenty of stairs for Ace to climb.
It also has 3 different slides, but in the past Ace didn't really show any interest in those at all. Every time we tried sliding with him, he had been totally indifferent. Basically he could not care less.

Well, this has changed. A lot.
I am not sure how it happened, but Ace suddenly figured out that you can slide backwards on your belly as well.
And this is the result:









This is the smallest slide by the way.
It's still pretty crazy for a 14-month old guy and everybody I talked to agreed with me.
Apparently, Ace thinks a little different about that though cause 2 nights ago, he decided it was time to upgrade and he went for the TALLEST slide. I could not believe it when he started to head towards it.
Neither could the other parents on the playground.
1 minute ago they were reminding their kids "to be careful with the baby" since Ace is always the youngest one there... and the next thing you know, the "baby" was at the top of the tallest slide, turned around, stretched his legs and woosh! made his way down that slide while having the greatest time. Crazy!
One of the other moms actually looked like she was going to pass out. LOL.

We definitely have to take a video of Ace and this sliding adventure as well.

Stay tuned...

First cheesecake

I love to bake. After preparing the batter and waiting for the cake to do its thing in the oven, it is just fun to take it out, see how nice it looks and let the cake aroma fill the kitchen and living area. Not to mention that it is very rewarding to see when people are eating it in delight once it has cooled.  :)

I have never tried to make a cheesecake though although in our house that kind of cake is certainly the number 1.

Until yesterday. 

I've been collecting different recipes for a long time.. years even. But yeah, it stayed with collecting since we had not been blessed with a proper oven in the past apartments. They did the job with baking fries and the occasional banana bread since Markus likes the latter very moist anyways, but after an apple pie disaster a few months ago I pretty much was too upset to try anything again. 

But now we moved to a new place and we finally got a stove/oven that works well. Yay! Additionally, I stumbled upon a new blog full of appealing recipes: My Baking Addiction

And sure enough, the first post I saw was about Jamie's recipe for The Best Cheesecake.

So I decided to give it a try since it looked easy enough and indeed it was.

I had no issues, except that I was a little unsure about when to take it out so that it did not have to much "jiggle" still. This caused the cake to get some brown spots on the top since it was in the oven for 5 min too long. But the taste was not affected. ;)

Last night at midnight, the cake was ready to go into the fridge to chill.
The recipe asked for 5 hours before serving. So I went to bed and was looking forward to check it out in the morning.

I had planned to take pic of the cake before we cut it, but while I was asleep, "somebody" had to "check" if it was ready by poking a hole into it... (I am assuming it was either the snake or the bunny.) So because of that, I can only show off the photo Neal took of his slice at work.. ;)

In any event - this cake is soo good! Definitely a keeper!

Being German

Being German is actually kind of a deal.

It certainly comes with its perks like free health care, free college/university education or a social net of benefits that will catch you in case of unemployment (or even if you are just a lazy butt after finishing school :/) so not nobody really "has" to live on the streets. The system will take care that at the very least you have a roof over your head and you don't have to starve.
(Of course, all of this only applies if you are actually living in Germany. ;))
Also, prospective employers tend to look at you benevolently since we have the reputation to be punctual and organized.
(I don't know about others but that is certainly true for Markus and I.)

But it also comes with "responsibilities" as well (and I am not talking about paying your taxes or going to vote, etc).
Like for example you have to like soccer (well, and Formular 1 probably too, given the fanbase this sport has over there, but whatever...).
Soccer is certainly the number 1 sport everybody is into.
I really don't think that I know a single German who does not like soccer.
So obviously at our house the excitement is big as well now that the World Cup 2010 is on.
What that means is that at the moment Markus' favorite piece of clothing is a German soccer jersey. Available in either white (home) and black (away) to mix it up a little. ;)
Myself, I am prepared with a soccer zip jacket and a bracelet in country colors.
But of course the new generation needs to be dressed appropriately as well.
Cause a true soccer fan is starting out young!


So even Ace got an outfit and hey, when you look at him - who wouldn't start liking a sport that has fans that cute?! ;)

Too late

Ok, this is too funny to not to share, so here is a little funny that happened last week:

Markus gets a call.

Caller:
"Hi, this Maria from the xyz Midwife Community.
I know it is a little late, but we now have a spot available."

Markus: "Ehm, what?"

Maria:
"Ya, I know you have been on our waiting list for a while, but now we finally got an opening for Melissa.
But tell me: The baby is not here yet, right?"

Markus: "Actually, the baby just turned 1 last Friday."

Maria: "Oh!"

(shuffling through papers)

Maria:
"Oh, gosh.. I am just seeing here that the due date was in 2009!
I am so sorry..."


My reaction: LOL!!! But at least they called back! :D

Ace's birthday

Just a day after our "special" day we had Ace's birthday party in our backyard and it was awesome.
I really could not have asked for more.
So many people came and everybody had fun.
The weather was great - sunny, but not too hot.
The "main" birthday cake was really yummy.

But even more important: The birthday boy really enjoyed himself.
Ace had a great time getting dirty with his smash cake.


He had fun sitting on everybody's laps, being held or playing with the other babies.
And he also did well with unwrapping his presents (with some help of course ;)).
No tantrums, no meltdowns despite all that excitement and attention.
He was just having a good time until eventually the party was over and he passed out cause he was so tired. lol

I consider it a total success.

Thanks everybody for creating great memories for Ace's first birthday and all the generous gifts we got for our little boy.
Of course this includes our family/friends in the US and overseas who were not able to be there in person - but just know that you were still a part of this great afternoon. :)

Special day

Today is a very special day.

On June 04th, 2008 on the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas at around 8 pm I got married to the most wonderful man in this world.

On June 04th, 2009 in our apartment in Toronto at 7.41 am I gave birth to our beautiful baby boy.

Happy Anniversary, Markus! I am so blessed to spend the rest of my life with you, because your are amazing and I love you more than words can say...

Happy Birthday, Ace! I am so proud to be your mom and I will always be there for you and love you...

Growing up

Ace got his first haircut on the weekend and since that turned out to be quite the experience for everybody involved, I shared the story online with friends on APA and Facebook.
Of course this included the upload of some of the photos we had taken at "Melonhead".
On the camera chip we not only found said photos though, but also some pictures from our trip to Niagara Falls in January.
I pretty much had seen all of them before, except for this one:


This photo was taken 5 months ago and while this does not feel that long ago to me, I look at this pic and I realize how much Ace has grown up during that time.
He is still the cutest and most adorable little boy ever, but he has lost some of his baby face and sure looks more like a toddler now.


That realization couldn't come at a better time though considering his birthday will be in just 2 days!
His first birthday!
I don't know how it happened that the time flew by so fast, but I am glad that I am not really sad about my baby boy turning 1 already. The first year has been so much fun and was really exciting, so I am sure more adventures will lie ahead of us when he now enters the toddler years...


I can't wait to see how you will learn more new things and make this world your own.
I love you.

The Public Humiliation Diet

Weight and weight loss is something I am always interested in reading about.
And it sure does not hurt if somebody has something humorous to say about that as well.
So today I got pointed to this internet treasure: The Public Humiliation Diet
Enjoy!

Gossip girl

Hi, my name is Melissa and I like Celeb Gossip.
Oh, this isn't a self-help group, right? OK, then nevermind.
Yeah, but it is true. I do like it. I have a few websites I check every day for some juicy stories and I don't see anything wrong with it. I mean I stalk.. ehm, I mean... I follow other people's lives on their blogs too and I have never met some of those either.
I am not a crazy fan though.. like I would not go and wait in front of a hotel just because [enter random famous person's name here] might or might not have checked into a room there. Heaven knows I have better things to do with my time.
I wouldn't even ask for an autograph when actually seeing someone famous in person. I mean what would I do with that anyways? In the end it is nothing but a signature, right?
I do admit though that is kind of neat to see someone you just know from TV and movies in person.
My list of people worth mentioning is pretty short though:

- James Cromwell (2006 - We were waiting to pick up our rental car at an ALAMO station in Los Angeles when we spotted him at the counter)
- Leonard Nimoy (2009 - FanExpo Toronto)
- Avery Brooks (2009 - FanExpo Toronto)

Yes, I am aware we have a Star Trek theme here.. lol

Well, anyways..
My favorite story of the day is: Kelly Preston and John Travolta are expecting a baby
And why is that so noteworthy? Because Kelly Preston is 47 years old! Wow.
I am not saying this is wrong, but it sure is a little crazy. She will be in her mid 60s when this child turns 18. I hope she still has enough energy to chase around her other 10-year old child and take care of the new baby. ;)
But I wish them all the best. After they lost their son last year they deserve some happiness.

Waiting game

So yesterday Ace finally had his first pediatrician appointment.

Yes, that is right. It took us 11 months to find one.
It is not like we did not try.
After our extended midwife care was over at 3 months I called every single pediatrician's office accessible. With no success.
They would not even put us on a waiting list - even if we had kind of a referral from friends who are already patients there.
"We have too many patients already." I heard that so many times.
Eventually we had some luck and at one of Markus' job sites he met one of the neighbors who is a doctor at a family doctor's office.
With her help we not only got on a waiting list but also got pushed up so that after "only" 6 weeks of waiting we were able to get an appointment. Yay.
Unfortunately it turned out that this was just some kind of "Meet and Greet". The doctor told us how things at this office work and asked some basic questions about Ace and our medical family history. I also was able to talk to him about vaccinations since we have delayed that so far, but that was basically it.
Ace did not even get measured or weighted.
And now? Guess! Yep, we have to wait again.
4 weeks until the next appointment which will be his 1 year well-baby check. Then he will also get his first shots.

Yes, it is a waiting game.

Hooked

I love coffee.
But in general I am not a big Starbucks fan although there seems to be a shop at every corner these days. I find them overpriced and actually like the taste of Tim Horton's coffee way better.
But I love to try new things and now that Starbucks has launched their new However-you-want-it - Frappucchino incentive I find myself at a Starbucks location every day.
But only between 3pm and 5pm, cause that is when they sell Frappuchinos for half price until May 16th. LOL (Yes, I am a sucker for deals.)
It is a great offer so I am currently "investigating" the different flavors available.

So far I have tried:

Cafe Vanilla
Caramel
Java Chip

My favorite is still the Caramel, which Markus and I used to get as a treat at the Starbucks 20 miles away!
(Yes, things are or at least were different in Germany..)

The entire incentive has just one purpose of course: They want to get you hooked.
It is not like as if there weren't crazy lineups already in the morning when people need to get their fix before work, but now they are also trying to turn on those people who are not so much into their hot coffees.
Too bad is not going to work with me. I am too cheap to spend $4+ each day on an iced coffee.
Even if it has a fancy name: "Ok, she wants a Skinny Java Chip Single Shot Frappucchino"
Well, maybe if she would put my name on it. I'd love to be Susan on Monday, Megan on Tuesday, Ally on Wednesday, ... You get my point. But they don't do that here. (Another reason to move to the US perhaps? ;-))
But I might get one once a week.. during summer time at least.

Oh crap, does that mean they have succeeded with their evil plan and got me at least seasonally hooked? :-P

Thieves

Random things happen all the time. Here is the latest story:

We went to Walmart to pick up some things and since we were out of bread we also bought a bag of bagels. Later that night I opened to bag and to my surprise I found 2 small bagel pieces on top of the stack. I checked the bag. It said "Content: 6 bagels". So I counted and realized that there were only 5 bagels in the bag. Well, and those 2 small pieces, of course.
Someone must have gotten hungry in the store and helped himself. LOL
I told Markus, we laughed a bit and then went on with our evening.

A little bit later, Markus decided to eat some cereal.
Just a couple of days earlier at Costco we had bought one of those value bags that have 4 individual 1 L bags of milk inside. He opened the bag and found that only 3 bags were inside.
Somebody must have gotten thirsty in the store as well!

What do we learn here:
Always check the bags/packages before you pay and leave the store.
There are food thieves on the loose.. :P

Consideration

Ace is a very good and content baby, but nonetheless he behaves like all babies do when they are exploring their world: He wants things his way, gets into everything and gets upset when we have to tell him "No" in certain situations. He might cry, yell and complain or get a little angry. Normal behavior.
But he also has a very considerate side which always amazes me.

On the weekends we like to take a family nap.
But sometimes it happens that Ace is not tired yet. But he tries to fall asleep nonetheless.
He can hear and feel him moving next to me... trying to find a position that will help him to doze off. He is very quite while doing that though.. He puts his thumb in mouth since that is soothing to him.. He snuggles up close to me for a couple of minutes until he realizes that this won't work.. Then he moves around again to find another sleeping position.. In general he just tries really hard for up to 20 minutes to fall asleep so that we all can take a nap together.
Eventually though, when nothing had worked, he looks up and with a "Dah!" he announces that he is done trying. In case none of us moves right away, he then touches our faces to make sure we are aware of the "situation".

I really find that amazing.. how such a little guy can already be so considerate to try to do us a "favor". :)

Construction

Right across the street from our daycare they have torn down a building.
For some time trucks came every day to take away the construction waste until the area was clean again. Now they want to build something new there.
The construction area is right at our streetcar stop and this morning when Ace and I got out, I could see that they were going to dig a hole for a foundation.

I stopped at the fence to show Ace the machines. I pointed to the excavators and excavators with grabs and explained to him what they are and what they are doing.

In the past Ace has not been very impressed when I did something like that.
He could not have cared less.

This morning was different though. He looked interested in what was going on and listened to my explanations. When I pointed to the machines he got all excited. He clapped his little hands and even made a "comment" about things in his baby babbling. It was adorable.

That totally made my morning.

Humor me

Okay, a few words to explain things: I tend to have a strange humor.
It happens fairly often that I see and hear something and find it really funny.. or even that hilarious that I am still chuckling out of the blue days later when I think about it again... but people don't necessarily share that kind of humor with me, so maybe you won't find the following not funny at all.

So last night in the streetcar I overheard a random conversation between 3 teenagers (one boy, two girls) while I was on my way home.

Boy: Cypress Hill is coming! I got a ticket for just $24.

Girl 1: Wow!

Girl 2: Who cares?! Cypress Hill sounds like an alien on crack!


I love public transportation.. the things you hear and see there.. :-D

Sid the Science Kid

We don't want Ace to watch too much TV. But making sure that he doesn't, is actually an easy task (for now) since he is not that much into it anyways. A couple of shows he enjoys watching though, like Barney or the occasional Sesame Street.
But there is one show he really loves: Sid the Science Kid.
And I have to say that we certainly don't mind him watching that because this show is just awesome.

For those of you who don't know it:

The main character is Sid, a five-year-old boy, who wants to be a scientist when he grows up.
He wants to know everything about everything and with the help of his family, friends and his teacher he finds the answers to questions kids have about how things work and why they are a certain way.

This show is entertaining and educational and I just love not only how (scientific) things are explained, but also how the different characters interact with each other.
It is just wonderfully written in my opinion.
I am sure Ace enjoys the colors and the singing and dancing in every episode more than anything else at the moment, but it still makes me smile a lot when I see how my so active baby boy gets all quiet when we turn it on. He just sits there on the couch, very focused on what Sid has to say.

It is adorable.

We are now thinking of getting him the Sid doll for his birthday. ;-)

Mommy Modification

When I became pregnant, I knew everything would change: My life and my body.
I read a lot and talked to people who wanted to prepare me.

In the end:
I knew I would get bigger because of the growing baby inside of me and I knew that might cause me to get stretchmarks.
I knew pregnancy in general can leave you behind with wider hips and even a total different body shape.
I knew breastfeeding could be a hard job since it is a skill that needs to be learned.
I knew I had to expect sleepless nights from teething or just because..
Well, there are so many more things I could list here...

So now, 10 months later, I look at those things and hey, I guess I can't complain.
I did not get any stretchmarks.
I lost all the baby weight and 10 pounds more and I easily fit in my pre-pregnancy clothes.
Breastfeeding came to us naturally. It worked from day 1.
I have learned to run on 3 hour of broken up sleep if needed and still be able to function at work the next day.

There are couple of things that are still on my mind though.

What I am wondering is why people did not tell me about things like mommy brain.
I now have to write everything down or I will forget it. And I mean: Everything.
I guess, they probably forgot it. Lol

And what I am truly not understanding is why nature did not give us moms a third arm.
I mean since I had Ace I am able to multi-task somewhat. ME! I can now breastfeed, surf the internet and have a conversation at the same time. Or feed the baby, clean and talk. Nature enhanced me with a new skill I never had before. Why not throwing in a third arm that would grow during the pregnancy and complement that? Heaven knows, I could use it!