bad news goes good (i hope)

our health insurance is up in the air for the ten brazilianth time since the B was concieved. this time because our carrier was bought out by a more expensive plan (read: 25% rate hike) and the rates went up a lot on top of that (read: another 50% hike for a total of 75%.) WTF!!!

i am committed to turning this into a good thing by finding a great individual plan a a better price. but our current insurance is pretty nice, we paid only $100 to have a baby. i don't think that's even possible outside group coverage.

internets: what individual coverage has worked for your family?

three armed boy

seems that the specialists are unable to determine which of the two left arms is the better developed because both of them are so well formed.

sfgate via daddytypes

back home (phew!)

the greyhound: the bus ride wasn't bad, except for having to sit next to my husband at times. the B did quite well, even taking his midnight snack in the sports book in downtown vegas.

the trip: seeing family was awesome!!!

the cold: the B and the manny caught the sniffles

the latest photo gig: i am shooting a wedding with sb reader kristal in june. (thanks to her for the wacky food photography, well her and this russian guy)

going on vacation

i'll be gone until monday, we are going to steamboat springs, colorado. (by greyhound!)

robbing the cradle (of good taste)

my first Q and A! (with an extra helping of links)

rebecca eckler has asked me about suburban LA. turns out we are both big "Curb Your Enthusiasm" fans, and, well, being from canada and all, she is a little far from southern cal in all its glory. here is my response to her:

i live in a suburb of L.A., but it's a good place, not like one of those scary suburbs, not like the ones in neghboring orange county. nope.

I live in suburban LA county, a little different from suburban LA, but my town (Claremont) is known to some as the poor man's westwood (Westwood is a town where a lot of movies and TV series are shot, including "Curb Your Enthusiasm".)

we actually have a little bit of character, a little bit of route 66, a little bit of ghetto, a little bit of academia, a little bit of open space, and a little bit of a music scene. amazing, right?

but don't tell anyone, we are trying to keep it a secret...

night weaning update #6

arrg. we are losing direction with the whole night weaning thing. every early morning (think, 4 a.m.) this week the B has either been fully awake, or sleeping peacefully with my boob in his mouth. neither one of those are good.

the manny is getting worn out. its been more than a month. i am having creeping sensations of guilt (what if i am teaching him not to need me?), the B is increasingly fighting sleep and rarely goes down by the breast anymore.

these are the avenues we (finally!) talked about:
-offering him a nighttime water bottle
-feeding more solids/encouraging more evening nursing sessions

wish us luck...more to come

what a sweet weekend!

aDSC_0157
Originally uploaded by lokepuf.

a burning man regional event and mother's day!- who could ask for more?

thanks to nym for getting me out of the house

thanks to the manny for watching the sweetest boy for 30 hours straight

thanks to my breastpump for holding up under extreme heat, wind, and sand.

thanks to my camera for taking awesome photos (like this one)


note: thanks to sb reader mama cha for asking about the context of this crazy photograph. my buddy nym writes a blog about cyborgs, robotics, and other electronic goodies that people wear to theoretically enhance their lives. the legs in the forground belong to a cyborg statue. we did a whole love/hate shoot of him with the cyborg.

flaming baby legs!

flaming baby legs? according to dutch's post, they have satisfied in him a deep seeded need for the tacky and garish by dressing his baby in clothes he was too hip to wear himself.

but it all left me wondering, how does one wear baby legs exactly? with pants? without? are there sizes? the sweetest boy has monster thighs, can he wear them? is it more of a girl thing.

after staying up sleepless nights pondering the meaning of baby legs, CBB came to the rescue. seems to me, the offer all the style of pants, while diaper changing has the ease of a onesie

sit here- for longer

a nice high chair that turns into something else at a much better price than a lot of other transitional chairs.combi transition highchair via parenthacks

photographer mommy

two very different shoots. one very nice day getting a break from being "mommy". funny how my gigs are becoming more child-oriented

i feel lucky to have work that i can still do and enjoy after having the B. and that i don't have to choose between being a mom and a photographer...

realistic mommy makeover

My neghbor's newest role in my life is that of fashion stylist! After six months, i was still wearing maternity clothes, no makeup, and generally looking bad.

well, i am in the process of getting a makeover, thanks to an unexpected paycheck that arrived in the mail last week.

Elayne, my neighbor, had been doing my eyebrows and hair for some time, in exchange for photos of her family. (isn't bartering great?) now we have entered into new territory, makeup and clothes.

it has been such a boost to me to start looking good after giving up on my appearance during my pregnancy, then starting to care again, only to find out how outdated my style had become.

She has helped me to look nice by spending under $100 and less than five minutes a day

my best advice to new moms: once you've caught up on your sleep, buy a new lipstick, a few new shirts, and get your eyebrows waxed. you can do all this stuff with your baby!

note: the lipstick pictured is the new one i have, mac myth

goodbye, queen

one of my favorite, if slightly obscure blogs is ending. the queen mama is saying goodbye. it soundsl ike she is just over doint the whole blogging thing, and doesn't really want to keep opening up her life to the public eye.

she is an ex-news columnist and her writing will be missed