May 19, 2008

• Ever Eaten Mold?

  I hope the answer to that question is no! Unfortunately, this morning I ate mold without realizing it. On Friday night, I made a trip to Trader Joe's. Among many other things, I bought a package of their Tandoori Naan (not the frozen naan, but the fresh, ultra-soft, extremely delicious naan that come six to a plastic bag). The bag said the naan would be good until Monday, but I knew it wouldn't last until then in our household. Johnny and I gobble up TJ's naan with hummus, or just plain as a snack, or toasted with butter ... basically, we use any excuse we can to eat it!

  This morning, after Jack went down for his nap, I realized I was starving. So I sat myself down with some soy milk and half a piece of naan. Yes, I know it's random, but I just wanted some of its carby goodness. Sure enough, it hit the spot. As I ate, I read my latest issue of Real Simple. All of a sudden, the usually fluffy-yet-substantial naan tasted very ... odd. It was like I was eating a mouthful of cleaning-product-flavored bread. This was dumb of me, but I didn't look down. It was just that one bite that tasted weird, so I chalked it up to the bread somehow coming in contact with some counter cleaner or something (I had just cleaned up with Mrs. Meyer's countertop spray the night before). I finished the rest of my breakfast and moved on with my day.

  A couple of hours ago, Johnny was rummaging around for a pre-dinner snack. He decided on some naan and hummus. As soon as he opened up the bag of naan, he said, "Oh, gross, moldy naan!" I jumped up and went to see what he was talking about. Sure enough, a lovely veneer of white mold with specks of green was growing all over the naan. I am pretty sure that the really putrid-tasting piece I ate was covered in mold. Of course, Johnny was like, "Well, most of this piece looks fine; I'll just throw the moldy part away and eat the rest!" I made him chuck the whole bag. Gross, gross, gross! I normally don't like to put bread in the fridge if I know I'm going to eat it by the sell-by date. But, it's been so hot this weekend that I guess the bacteria got freaky with each other.

  No worries, though, I don't seem to have suffered any ill physical effects from eating mold. I am sad that I'm without naan, though ... that was going to be my midnight snack!  Just as well, I suppose ... stuffing myself with carbohydrates late at night is kind of falling off the wagon, no?

  The rest of the weekend was blissfully mold-free. Saturday, we headed to my parents' house. It was a scorcher of a day, with temps in the triple digits, so we mostly stayed indoors. Here are some cute pics of Jack we took before we left our apartment in the morning:

  "So the gravitational pull from the big blue ball pulls the small red ball into its orbit ... "

  

  Lookit those eyes!

  

  The big news from Saturday was that Jack stood on his own for the first time! I don't have a picture of it, but June, Charles and Johnny all saw it. Unfortunately I didn't catch it. But, Jack was holding on to his push toy, and he suddenly let go, and then balanced there like a surfer for about five seconds. Way to go!

  I also want to share this picture of Jack's funny sleeping position:

  

  What he does is stand up and cruise around his crib or Pack N Play (since we were away from home, he was sleeping in the PNP) until he literally just drops onto the mattress with his eyes closed. He stays in whatever position he landed in until I straighten him out!! It's so funny to watch -- it's like Jack suddenly runs out of batteries.

  Today, we stuck around home. I took Jack to the park in the morning, before it got too hot.

  On the way to the park, sporting his new hat

  

  Enjoying the swings

  

  Playing in the sand like a big boy

  

  Jack made a friend at the park today -- an adorable one-year-old girl. They played alongside each other. Jack shared his sand toys; the little girl came over and sat in my lap at one point. So adorable! I've seen this little girl, her parents and their dog, for a while now on weekend mornings. They go to the Coffee Bean before stopping at the park. It looks like a really cute ritual. I promise I'm not a stalker, but you can't help noticing these things when you keep seeing the same people week after week. When I lived in Chicago, I used to see the same people every morning on the way to work. Sometimes I'd think, "That girl always has the best shoes," or "Wow, I've read the same book she's reading!" But of course, I'd never talk to them, for fear of looking like a weirdo. The nice thing about having a baby is that it gives you an instant excuse to strike up conversation with other parents! (Same thing with having a dog. And hey, this couple I met today has both!) Anyway, we had a nice time at the park, and next time we run into this family, we can actually say hello.

  Karthika and Courtney came over in the mid-morning so they could hang out with us and Jack for a little bit before we went out to a girls' brunch. Jack was a bit shy with them at first, but was soon trying to woo them by waving at them. Johnny tried to take a picture of us with Jack. The key word is tried:

  Jack would not look at the camera

  

  Apparently Jack wanted to look at Karthika's shoes; Courtney tries to keep Jack from flopping out of my arms altogether

  

  Jack says, "Haha, look over there!"

  

  "Whoa, did you know there were bricks behind us?"

  

  Jack is, as always, the life of the party

  

  Oh, well, those pictures are somehow even more fun than a "proper" pic with all of us looking at the camera! Brunch was fun ... it's always nice to spend time with the girls. While we were out, Johnny took Jack out to dim sum with some of his classmates from school. I was impressed that Johnny managed Jack on an extended outing alone. Way to go, Johnny!

  In the afternoon, we took Jack to the pool. Jack and Johnny took these hilarious pics together while getting ready for a swim.

  The Zoolander pic ... Blue Steel

  

  Isn't this sweet? Father and son laughing together!

  

  My goofballs

  

  Somehow, even though Johnny and I both take care of Jack and do things to make him laugh, Jack has associated Johnny with big laughs, and me with everything else. The moment Jack sees Johnny, he waves and giggles. When Jack sees me, he smiles and wants to be picked up, but there's not the "oh gosh now everything is going to be so hilarious" reaction. When he's frustrated or hurt, though, Jack will look to me first and say "mama." I know it's natural for babies to make this distinction, but I find it fascinating that it's so instinctive. Certainly Johnny does nurturing things for Jack -- feeding, diaper-changing, putting to bed -- and of course I do laugh-inducing things with Jack -- tickling, chasing while barking, endless peekaboo-ing -- but somehow Jack has differentiated our purpose!

  Hope everyone had a good weekend!

  • 1:51 am
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