Author: alphapenguin

Columbus, Ohio
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Daddy Day Care Week – a week in review

Asleep in my arms

First time I have the pleasure of rearing the ViviBear for a whole week sine assistance from MommyMD or my mommy. I did 2 days without significant mishaps (aside from forgetting to feed her once). What can I say she was having too much fun with me that time. Eitherway, I figured I’d do I live (pseudo live) blog as the day progresses. It wont make much of a difference since I dont think there is anyone who frequents this site outside of me sharing my posts on fbook or google+.

Day 6 and 7: I’ve more or less reverted back to sleeping in on weekends and having MommyMD do the morning routine. What a draining week. So much energy. soo much energy in this young one. Either that or I am getting old. Now back to the working world.

Day 5:

730AM: up before the Vivi. Woke her up, took her to the pot. Poo in pot. feed 6oz. play.

1040AM: took about 30 min of fighting, but got her to go to sleep.

1120AM: wake up, pee in toilet. 6 oz in. some nasty spinach baby food thing. Poo in Toilet. Off to meet aunties Joyce/Holly and uncle Helios for lunch a Nicola (Italian lunch buffet in UA, pretty good).

200PM: off to the office to do some paperwork and check mail box. Get Vivi exposed to some bugs to inoculate her immune system (just kidding mommy, I kept her clean). Slept in car on way down and up.

400PM: 8 oz in, more nasty spinach stuff. Poo in toilet. Commence slap happy time. Not sure what is up with the constant raspberries these days

 

530PM: handoff to MommyMD

Day 4:

730AM: argh i hate poop diapers. 7 oz in. some spaghetti/tom/bef an 2oz h20,

900am Gastrocolic reflex works w/a poo and pee in the pot.

1030AM: ViviBear seems to get really slap happy when she is tired. Lets not forget the cranky part too. Down for the count and asleep.

1140AM: Rise and shine!

1200PM feed the bear 6oz and some spaghetti/meat/tomato.

100PM: ComboBear Vet visit. Talk about one difficult task have the Combo and ViviBear.

Outing
A Dog, Bear and Penguin walk into a Vet office...

200PM: Aunt Lindsay visits with Baby Andrew:)

Lindsay and Andrew
Lindsay and Andrew

400PM: 4 oz in,  spaghetti/meat/tomato. Auntie Holly comes visit. Poopie and peepee in toilet. :)

600PM: MommyMD is back. ViviBear is in rare form.

Day 3:

720AM: freak’n A, poo in the diaper. mommyMD wont be happy with this transgression in potty use. 7oz down. some Beef and Vegies. now time to play.

1050PM: Nap time. fairly effortless this time.

1120PM rises from hibernation, consumes 8oz and remainder of beef veggie with difficulty

1210pm: poop in the toilet. w00t!

1225PM: mommyMD returns. okay was not her. Combo was barking randomly.

200PM: 9month checkup at the Doctor’s office. Mommy Meets us, mommy takes it from here.

630PM: Mommy naps; bath routine starts. Pees in toilet. ummm.. I think I was her head first then down (mommyMD’s method). meh, good enough, moisturized, burt’s beez on the butt. Jammies on.

 

Day 2: Wakes up 730am: Poo in the diaper>.< didnt wake up fast enough to the wales of the ViviBear. Intakes 6oz formula and ingests Beef and Veggie baby food.

900am: Play Date with Noel and Auntie Stella. Battle in Arena is fought and lost by ViviBear, video to come.

aftermath interview:

1100am: Slumber befalls the ViviBear

1230PM the ViviBear rises. More Poo in the diaper. missed yet another potty break

1250PM: 6oz sustenance obtained by ViviBear

350PM: 4 oz consumed.

523PM: I keep missing the after dinner potty break, another poo diaper.

600PM: ViviBear falls asleep in my arms.

Asleep in my arms
The Bear cant fight sleep

650PM: Handoff to MommyMD

Day 1

730am Morning routine done: Poo/pee in the toilet; 6oz of formula down. a few puffs which was shared with the Dog.

Continued play in the Arena.

1100am: ViviBear proceeded to eat her hand continuously; 2 oz formula substituted for hand. After much fighting, sleep was victorious, and she was set back in the babycage  (not really a cage, come on. it’s the crib)

1140am: Combo wakes her up with her barking>.<

1200pm: After much friction, Lasgna was fed and 5 oz formula was infused orally. Now happy in the Arena.

200pm: after watching me eat fish sticks and iron my laundry; I guess I didnt have her sit on the pot long enough after lunch. stanky poo diaper!

3pm: daddy ViviBear outing: went to Polaris, walked around, fed her: 6oz Forumla. met mommy for dinner at PeiWei

6pm mommy takes over

-to be continued

 

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The lone biscuit: O! Where art thou my honey bear?!

The things that should always be together
The things that should always be together
"One without the other, dont mean nothing to me..."

When it comes to food, I have always felt that certain items were inseparable. One so item being the KFC Biscuit and the Honey packets. Ever since I was a child, I loved Colonel Sander’s biscuits… ONLY with the honey. I enjoyed going to KFC with my dad because we would eat in, and if I forgot to get the honey as we got our order, I could always ask for some. On days such as today, me and MommyMD and VIviBear went through the drive through.

Chicken and BBQ Sauce
just doesnt taste right otherwise

The drive through is always a daunting route to chose. You never really know if you will get the right order, and by the time you get home… heck by the time you drive off, it’s too late to look back. Today being one of those days by the time I got home. I noticed the fatal flaw of our journey… I DID NOT ASK FOR THE HONEY! OMG!@@#$#%@#. Now this doesnt apply only to honey and biscuits, but also to Ketchup and Fries, BBQ sauce and (any) Chicken… etc. etc….

Usually at home we have ketchup, and some form of BBQ sauce so that is not an issue. One thing I dont usually have is honey laying around. Now if you are like my mom and keep ALL packets of anything, I’d have 5 year old honey packets laying around (which I did use back in the day, and am still alive). After going through one too many honey-less biscuit nights, I finally was smart enough to buy a Honey bear. Not only do I get a cute container, but I get the sweet delectable goodness that a Pooh like creature could bear (see what I did there?).

Kethcup and Fries
Catsup and Fries. Otherwise it's just salt and potat.

As I rummaged around my cupboards, and the fridge… alas. NO HONEYBEAR! Now MommyMD tried to calm me down with thoughts such as “o, we can get some tomorrow”. NAY I say. day old biscuits are hard as the X-mas cookies I found at work. (they were some nasty old hard cookies). What naivety. What true lack of appreciation of matches made in heaven… what is meant to be.

Now I know it is my fault for not asking the person for the honey packets, but I thought the attendants at the drive through window is supposed to ask me if I wanted anything else. I cant blame them though, unless they forget to give me parts of my order (as they will, especially at the McDonalds on Sawmill Road). They have messed up my order multiple times. One of the reasons my mom never goes through the drive through. She was always worried they would get her order wrong, either because they may not have understood her, or just because they are going to mess it up.

Back to the topic at hand. Well I had to make due, using butter and some pancake syrup. It allowed for an edible experience, but one far from delectable. I must get another Honeybear. Am I just crazy? or do I just appreciate the finer delicacies in penguinland.

What impassioned matches do you hold dear?

 

 

p.s. I finish charting much as I can at work, just so I can spend time to photoshop GIMP images together just for blogging purposes. If I could make a living with my ramblings…

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Mr Mom

Mommying
How Mommys Do it I do not know

 

Today I was blessed with the opportunity to watch Vivi the whole day by myself. I think this may be the first time. The other times I had the day off, GrandMa (my mommy) still came over to watch Vivi, while MommyMD went to work. Otherwise, I’d only be left alone for 1-2hrs most while MommyMD went off to do other stuff. I dont think she trusts me to handle her. HAH! Well I did it (so far) today, and will do so tomorrow and then for a whole week later on this month. I can just say, I can not wait for GrandMa to come back. Luckily for us GrandMa is gracious enough to offer her services to watch Vivi during the weekday. Not only does this save a butload on nanny/daycare, but she’s getting the best care around! I mean look at me! hmmm… maybe not the best example.

I digress.

ViviBear in the Carrier
Vivienne in the Carrier

I figured I’d take the opportunity to blog about this day as well. I was able to do the morning routine which consists of: Wake up, take her to the toilet (where she proceeded to plop #2 down), feed her the formula, then the baby food (which by the way she does not like raisin granola). Back to the toilet for any residual. Then to play. I was hoping she would take her morning nap, but the sleepy lids never came. Maybe she was having too much fun, who knows. I was able to get some cleaning done (take the the Xmas trees). but I had to carry her around in the Bjorn like carrier (it’s not a Baby Bjorn, but some other brand from japan).

It worked well and I got side track playing the PS3 in the basement. luckily she fell asleep on my back. I tried to put her in the crib to sleep afterward (this is aroudn 11am) but I woke her up and she was replenished with energy. Would not go back to sleep…

I figured I would just have to entertain her for the time being. I was trying to use the computer to write a few emails, but she was becoming rather unruley. She kept grabbing my hands to move them away so she could use the keyboard. It got to the point where I could do nothing, so I just set her on the ground. Down there she proceeded to climb all over the place and try to open all of Mom’s desk drawers. Well this is no good. I did not want to risk her little fingers getting smashed, so I had to place her in the playpen.

 

 

ViviBear in a Cage
ViviBear in a Cage

While caged up, she became rather vociferous. It’s actually amusing to see her try to climb out. Well she cant climb vertically very well yet, so she just rams her face into the mesh netting. It is rather comical, but sad at the same time. I finally decided to take her to the basement and sit her in the swing.

Out for the count
passed out

She seemed rather happy in the swing, and was giggling, so I took the opportunity to take another stab at playing video games. After about 10 minutes I looked back and she was passed out. She drooled all over her hand and her shirt as well. I was able to take her upstairs and into her crib. Finally she slept for about 20 minutes before waking up again and demanding the world.

Well. mom came home and started to interrogate me about the day and the adventures with the ViviBear. i.e. what time was her last meal, how much did she sleep. Apparently I forgot to give her 3-4pm feed. Slipped my mind somehow. I was so sure I did, but Mommy likes to keep a log of all naps, input and output from the ViviBear, and according to the log, I guess I did forget (woops). That might have been why she was getting unruley around this time.

Well tomorrow I get to do round 2. We shall see how that goes. I give mad props to all the stay at home moms and dads out there. Taking care of a child (while trying to do stuff around the house or anything else for that matter) is difficult to say the least. I would say is harder than any job I could imagine. I complain yet my efforts and accomplishments of today pale to comparison to Mommy, and GrandMa and likely to all other caretakers out there.

Vivi, I love you, but whoah you are one energetic and demanding baby.

Time for round 2. Right on track. Luckily Mommy is coming back earlier from work today. Did the morning routine already and actually got her to take her morning nap (just now 940am). Now lets see how much I can get done before she wakes up again, or will I get tangled in the world wide web. Lets hope I get something done.

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Why o why do you not want to sleep?

The Book
Go the F*k to sleep

When I first heard about this book, I thought, wow that is clever. It is apparently written by a parent for parents. It was apparently was intended for a later release, but a leaked PDF gotout on the internet, and it became insanely popular, sovthey decided to release it earlier (so i have read online). I immediately wanted to buy the book, but couldn’t really justify the purchase. I ended up buying it for a friend, who by the way will altogether baby girl to the world tomorrow 12/15/11.

Looks are deceiving, she is not sleeping. She's just closing her eyes from the flash

When Vivibear came along, she slept fairly well through the night as well, so it didnt really apply. Well hqve things changed a bit over the past week. Not sure what is going on, maybe she is made I was posting pictures of her poo online, but she is now waking up mult times throughout the knight, and wont fall asleep without a fight. Maybe this is a normal phase in growing up, but at 5am, when i got to get up in 2 hrs I really want to ask Why the F*K wont you go to sleep.

I have to admit, the brunt of the night time sleepless baby care is performed by “the boss.” Many a morning/night I continue sleeping as the wails of the babe go answered by the matriarch. I really cant complain much considering we are lucky to have Nai Nai (Grandma) here during the weekday to watchover this cute yet unruly chic. EItherway, lack of sleep still sucks. I dont think I have been sleep deprived like this since being on call intern year. Instead of catering the requests of a 37 year old asking for pain medicine, or something to help them sleep in the middle of the night, I have to answer to the demands of a 7 month 3 week old who will not sleep. She’s pretty darn cute though so you have to forgive her.

I just wonder what things will be like in the next few years. She will start talking (back), and walking (running away), as if to “cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war.” [i think that works right?]

I can already foresee myself facing off with this face in many future confrontations.

"what the f are you looking at?"

All I have to say is bring it! Your cute glare has no affect, okay you can have it…

p.s. Vivienne, just keep in mind I do have pictures of your poo, as well as you dressed up in a penguin outfit, and I will show them to any future boyfriends to be.

 

As far as a review of the book:

Short read. Unlikely will you find yourself reading this aloud to your child, unless you want to curse are your baby aloud. You get the gist of the whole book in the first page, but it does hold o, so true throughout the sleepless nights.

Conclusion: worth buying as a gift.

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The Perfect Holiday Gift – wtf to buy her?

image

Buying gifts for “the boss” is on of the most difficult things for me to do. I either will face a “take it back,” “this is stupid,” or she will end up not using it or caring for it. I’ve gone as far as finding out what her ebay user and pswd is to look at items she is “watching” and to perusing what is on her amazon “saved” cart or wish list. Well I tell you there is nothing on there worth while now. In the past when I did use the ebay scheme, I ended up buying something … wel that she never wore. It was this necklace/chocker type deal. She wanted to use the wire choker to hang a pendant or something off of, so genius that I am, bought one from ebay. Only problem was it had all this crap (rings) hanging off it, so I removed each link one at a time from the necklace. After all that work, I found out she didnt really even want it, and I probably coud have bought a metal choker cheaper, and I would not have had to take it apart. To date, I dont remember seeing her ever wear it.

So things not to get: (from my experience) jewlry, clothes, electronics. I would have to say she is likely the most difficult person to shop for. I am probably better off getting a Gift Card for Amazon.com from Giant Eagle. That way I at least get “fuel perks” and save money on gas. Then she can get whatever she wants. She will likely buy something for ViviBear.

I did end up buying an XBoX 360 with Kinect thinking she will really like the dancing game. so far it is partiallly true, but she has not played it much to date. I guess that shoud be considered the gift! Not like I play it that much (I dont play video games much anymore anyway).

O, I did consider getting this Penguin Onsie for Adults. Yes I am the one who like penguins, but it would be cute to see Vivibear and Mommy wear a onsie with penguins!

The clock is ticking…

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Poop(ing)! So satisfying yet so smelly.

Censored Image Poop Trials
Censored Image Poop Trials
Per "the boss" demands, images have been censored

So “the boss” has had Vivibear using the baby bjorn toilet for a while now. When we tell other people that we are using a toilet to let Vivi do her business, a common response is “it’s too early to potty train,” “you guys are crazy,” “you are going to cause anxiety issues in the future.” Well thing is we are not “potty training” perse, more so just utilizing our understanding human nature and trying to conserve money on diapers. She cant tell us when she needs to do her business, nor do we expect her to.

The basic concept of what goes in must come out applies. There is the gastro-colic reflex that is innate in animals, where when you eat, you will want to poop. Same idea behind house breaking a pet. When we feed vivi, she is likely to poop within 10 minutes or so. Also when she farts or starts to grimmace, we know she likely will need to poop. Nowadays, she poops about once a day, so it’s easier to gauge.
Another thing we (“the boss” does I suppose I should say) do is set her on the toiler each time she wakes up from a nap, because she likely will need to pee.
When “the boss” is around we really dont have any poop/pee diapers, so now while at home Vivi is using cloth diapers.

Bombs in the Baby Bjorn
Censored-Deuce

Well since “the boss” has been battling a virus of sorts, I was tasked with entertaining and tending to the ViviBear. I will admit my participation with child-rearing is below 50% as of late, but today I got my first Pee and Poop in the baby toilet today! Now this may seem like a trivial accomplishment, but grandma, and mum have had success with this toileting. I felt like I was missing out.
I will admit I did try to cheat. I figured if I pressed on her bladder a few time I could encourage her to pee faster, and I also tried some (OMM) Manipulation, namely mesenteric lift. Who knows if this really helped, but hey, she still plopped down! [boy it stinks, but I guess it is not supposed to smell like roses]. Now I took a photo of this, and was told if I post it, she will be embarassed for the rest of her life. I disagree. I dont think she will remember. Heck, I have taken pictures of my own and am proud of the caliber I can produce. I think she will be happy to have this documented. Shall I post? [i posted it] By the behest of the boss, any potential damaging images had to be removed. I opted to censor them instead. I guess this is for the good of my future relationship with my daughter. I mean, would you really be mad at your dad for pooping up your #2 for the world to see when you were 7 months old?

Penguin Poop Seat
Penguins do everything! Even train you to poo!

On another note, we have been using this BabyBjorn toilet for a while now, but we still have to clean the commode after use. With pee, it was easy. fill with water and pour into the regular toilet, and flush. With the #2, the residual residue is just nasty. I figured it would be time to bring out the Penguin Toilet Cap. We had this on our baby registry and our friend Dr. K, (aka Melen Cantelope) was nice enough to get it for us. Now this rocks. Well maybe kinda creepy. It sings and plays music to encourage “potty time.”

O the joys of being a parent.

Vivi you’ll forgive me one day right?

Penguin Potty Topper

 

 

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Michael Crichton continues to publish in the afterlife

Micro
Unfinished Book by Michael Chrichton, Co-Authored by Richard Preston

I happened to be perusing facebook, and to the corner of my eye I catch in big white letters “Michael Chrichton.” What is this? I ask myself. It appears there is another book by my favorite author of all time, Michael Chrichton (rest his soul). He unfortunately passed away from throat cancer in in 2008.

I was always inspired by the fact he went to medical school at Harvard, and went on to write novels. I would say one of my favorite books has to be Jurassic Park (I read the book before there was ever a hint of a movie), Congo, and Sphere. While I was in China a few years ago, I noticed a book on the shelves of the Beijing Airport shop by Michael Crichton, Pirate Latitudes. Mind you this was after he had passed, and I have read all his books, so I was skeptical, yet intrigued. Being in China who knows what you are buying. The cover said something about “never released” blah blah blah. I felt the book was a fun read, and the last book by Crichton i would get to enjoy.

Now I see this. Apparently this book was partially finished. Crichton had 1/3 of the manuscript done, with notes/research outlines etc. More info can be found here on the Crichton website. I do not know how I feel about some co-author finishing his book. I think I would feel that the story would not be authentic. Then again I have not read it yet, and it may be great. Now when will I have time to purchase and read it? To get an electronic version, or to buy a paperback to add to my collection. I think I can wait.

Are there any other Crichton fans out there? Many times I feel like I am alone on this one. I cant get “the boss” to read any of his books.

Anyone read this one yet?

Last Action Hero

 

Speaking of Jurassic Park, I never had a chance to watch the movie in theaters. I remember when it came out it was the first movie that I remember that had lines wrapping around the theater just to get in. Now I had an opportunity to watch it, and was going with my little cousin to watch it. He insisted that we watch Last Action Hero. Reflecting back, the movie is not the worst (that would have to be The Thin Red Line). At the time I was not very happy since I got to miss out on the hoopla. I remember arguing with my cousing about which movie to watch, but he insisted on Schwarzenegger. I finally go to see the movie when it came out on VHS though (yes VHS).  Fun fact.

 

Gotta go clean bottles/baby food up. Outtie like a belly button.

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Perils of wearing contacts and not thinking – oh how it burns

Clear Care Solution
Clear Care Solution
Dont put this stuff in your eyes

 

OptiFree
Optifree - Good Stuff

I switch from contact solutions, generally going with just the Optifree Replenish (no rub) solutions. It’s the one “the boss” likes to use.  It cleans your contacts fairly well. Sometimes just to save some money, I will use the generic brands, which seem to work just as well. Using no rub brands get the protein and other crud off the lenses. I am sure we are still supposed to clean/rub the lenses clean, but it says no rub, so i no rub. I am also supposed to switch out my contacts every month (I think) yet I dont. I think I have the same ones in for the past… 3 months now. I have yet to get any nasty fungal/bacterial infections. I am sure my optho/opto friends would smack me for this for sure. I just hate paying for contacts.

The most recent shopping excursion I opted to go with the Clear Care solutions. This one uses the nifty little cage with some sort of catlyst on the bottom. You put the solution in the container, drop the cage/contacts in and watch the bubbles. I believe this is supposed to help dissolve all proteins and what not. You have to let it sit for 6 hrs though to make sure all the solution has reacted and is no longer… basic? or maybe acid. Dont know.

Instructions
Straight Forward Instructions

 

Well apparently on the Clear Care website it has hydrogen peroxide:

“Clear Care® uses hydrogen peroxide that penetrates the lens and kills germs and bacteria for strong disinfection and deep cleaning.
Hydrogen peroxide is part of the Clear Care®Triple-Action cleaning process. After the hydrogen peroxide provides deep cleaning, a built-in surfactant loosens dirt, debris and deposits. Finally, bubbling action enhances surface protein removal…”

 

 

 

I mean I’ve read the instructions before, so I knew this. Never really had a chance to see what it felt like until today. I woke up this morning a little more tired than usual since I had a ViviBear  keep me up all night. Either way, I put one contact in, and then the second. I felt like I needed to clean the next one, so I grabbed my nearest solution. As soon as I put it in my- HOLY SH- it hurt like hell. O! the burning, the burning. From what I remember basic burns in the eye are worse than acid, because it keeps dissolving away at your eye, while acid burns will cauterize and stop melting everything away.  Suffice it to say I did rinse my eyes out for about 2 minutes, but now knowing this stuff has Hydrogen Peroxide… meh. My eye is fine. I am seeing fine. Doesn’t really hurt, but I can feel my f-up this morning still.

Well I still endorse all the products above. Make sure you follow the instructions though. I wish I got paid to say “I doctor _____ endorse this product.”

Maybe one day. Maybe its time for Lasik.