My sock problems

I have serious sock issues. It isn't a new thing. Ask my mom or Adam if you don't believe me. I vaguely remember my mom asking me where are all my socks and me looking at her in disbelief, I dunno, mom...you do the laundry you tell me. And then when it was time to change the sheets we would find all of my socks bunched up in the bottom. 

Adam has been known to come unglued when he reaches his tired feet to the bottom of our bed to find a wad up collection of socks. So, as you can see my sock problems are not new, but they have evolved into a worse problem. I just don't have any. They are not caught in front of my front-loader (thanks marissa for the suggestion), they are not bundled up at the bottom of my bed, and they are certainly not in my drawer.

Monday I had to shake my head in disgust as my sock problem has quickly spread to my whole family.

Charlie: Let me start off by saying that this past Christmas my mom bought Charlie around 10-15 pairs of socks. We are down to two pairs (one pink, thanks kate!, and one purple). Once in a while we find a random blue or red sock. Monday I had to laugh as I saw my son run around the house in baby Kate's 3 month old Irish socks our friends Glenn and Megan got for her while in Ireland. We haven't had enough time to loose them yet, so Charlie got matching socks. However, the heal part of the sock was closer to his toes than his heals and he said uh-oh everytime they fell off. Strike one!

Adam: He wears two pairs of socks everyday. One on top of the other. How can he do this to me when he knows my sock troubles. So his first pair is his tennis pair and they have crazy big wholes in the heals. The pair that goes on top is his work socks, and on Monday I happened to notice they were two different shades of brown. Another strike!

Sarah: I am not lying here I have two pairs of matching socks. One fuzzy obnoxious multi-colored one, and one pair of very busy Christmas socks. You can imagine my embarrassment when I took off my shoes at my friend Reagan's house and looked down to find my Christmas socks on. It's April. Strike Three.

Baby Kate: I think it is safe to say that she has received close to 25 pairs of newborn socks as presents, and on top of that she had at least 10 pairs of Charlie's old socks. We have lost most of them. She spends a lot of time outside sockless (and despite global warming raising the temp a bit in hmb, it still is not warm enough for no socks). Strike four. 

Lilly (dog): We have not lost any socks for her. Good Job Lilly.

So where do they all go? It is safe to assume that some of the kids socks get lost on walks, since we walk everyday and I often hear my mom, a random passer-byer, or a store clerk say, ohhh where is the baby's other sock, or on a bad day, or no socks on such a foggy day (that is when we have lost two socks on one walk).

So.....the great news is any day now I get my stimulus check, you know the save the economy, everything is alright, dont worry about gas prices, food prices, national debt, bush rocks tax rebate thing. 

And although we originally planned to pay off my student loan (sorry bush wont be helping the economy there), I have decided to use a few bucks of it to resupply the Berkowitz-Underwood sock department.

Oh, and I welcome any trick to holding on to socks!

The wondrous ways of Charlie

It is true I once said to my mom that I feel sorry for everyone in the world who doesn't know, and I mean really know Charlie. I want the world to see my son and all of his sounds effects, signs, words, expressions, dance moves, smiles. He brings joy everywhere he goes. Here is a little list of things he does daily that warms the cockels of my heart....

I love...

1. the way my son storms out of his room after a 2.5 hour nap with his vacuum in one hand and  

his spray bottle and wipe in the other....ready to clean

2. the way he can look at a richard scarry book for ever focusing mainly on all the lawn mowers, vacuums, hammers, wrenches, and helicopters he can find.

3. the fact that yesterday he climbed onto his changing table while I was in the kitchen and then waited there quietly until I came looking  for him and told me he had ergh ergh (poop) in his diaper.

4. The way he gallops around the house, hearing the music in a truck working at cunha, or a bird singing in the trees, always dancing thru his day.

5. the fact that yesterday while in the bath with his spray bottle and shower curtain pulled shut, he told me "out" and his dad "bye" every time we tried to peek in on him

6. they way his kisses his sister and tries so hard to hold and carry her (ok sometimes he follows the kiss up with a hit)

7. his forehand and backhand that he does when he merely sees his dad's tennis shoes or a tennis shirt.

8. All of his sound effects. he has one for a lawn mower, weed wacker, hoe, hammer, vacuum, spray bottle, poop,

9. the way he races around the corner in our house and then stops abruptly, shakes his head, and says, "woooooh" in the most animated voice

10. the way you can have a very serious conversation with him and he will nodd, shake his head no, say no and yeh in many different tones, as if he truly understands the dilemna at hand

11. the way he does something on purpose like crumble a cracker on the floor or knock over a piece of furniture and then in the most innocent voice says, "uh-oh"

12. the way he grabs my keys and his shoes and says, byeeeee as he heads to the door.

13. They way he is starting to play hide and seek.

14. the way he called out my name while in the garden yesterday and then did the I Love You sign and then went on to list everyone he knows and loves as well, steve, josh, amy, pa, nonnie, Aunt Kate grandma.....

so for all of you that don't get to see and know my son on a regular basis, come hang out with us more. He lights up my life, and I am sure he would light up yours.

No more bottles!

I am proud to say there are no more bottles in our house. We have been debating for a few months now whether or not we should do away with bottles. We have always used the born free bottles, the safe plastic kind, so it wasn't about that. If Charlie had it his way he would drink 8 bottles a day consuming close to 30 or so ounces of milk. I always knew if we got rid of the bottles he wouldn't drink as much milk. The baby won't take a bottle, something I have mixed feelings about, so we knew Charlie wouldn't have to watch the baby get bottles when he couldn't

So Monday night we washed all the bottles and Adam and Charlie packed them up. We explained to Charlie that another baby needed them (Ellie, would like some nice Born Free bottles?) and that since he was big he could use cups and sippy cups. He nodded his head and said yes, but when his daddy actually started packing them up Charlie started to cry and took a few swings at the air. That night Adam got him to sleep no problem. Our nights look like this and before you read on let me say that although it might look awful to you it works just fine for us. Yes, we are tired. Yes, there is a lot of musical beds going on. But we feel like we made the decision to be parents and we have to be ok with being a little bit tired for the next few years:

Adam usually puts Charlie to sleep in his own big boy bed. Baby Kate comes to bed with us (it is wonderful for a nursing mama like myself to sleep all night cuddled with my nursling..she sleeps great and I don't even really wake up for the nursings...)

Charlie wakes up sometime between 2-4 and Adam goes into his room and they fall asleep together quite quickly. Sometime around 5 Charlie wakes up crying for mommy, Adam comes back it our bed and sleeps with the baby and I bring a bottle to Charlie. He drinks it, falls back asleep and wakes up between 6-7. So my concern was the morning bottle.

Tuesday morning he woke up as usual at 5 and wanted me and a bottle. He ended up crying for an hour off and on, with me right there beside him. It was heart-breaking. We have never let our babes cry, we are allergic to it or something, so this was hard. He eventually looked at me and said, "oatmeal" so we got up and ate oatmeal. He didn't really ask for a bottle all day long. This morning he woke up at 4:30 crying and asking for me. I came in with a sippy cup, he cried for about half a minute, took a few chugs of milk and fell write back asleep.

So...as I mentioned in my title no more bottles and this is great for 2 reasons:

1. Charlie is consuming a lot less milk. Yesterday I think he drank a total of 4 ounces all of breast milk. I know some of you might think that is wierd or gross, but infact it is the healthiest thing I can do for Charlie. I would still be nursing him if I could, and since I am nursing the baby it is very easy to pump 5 extra ounces a day for him. Why would I give him milk from an animal when I could give him milk from his mother, right?

2. Washing bottles sucks. And I am not good at it. There are two things that are hard for me to remember to do throughout the day, one change my childrens' diapers and two wash the bottles before Charlie starts melting down and wanting one. A good day is when no one leaks through their clothes and nice clean bottles rest on the kitchen counter. Usually Charlie asks for a bottle right when I am nursing or when both babies need me and I have to desperately turn the house upside down to look for a dirty bottle then I have to make a split decision...do I let both kids cry while I use soap and hot water to wash a bottle or do I just do a quick rinse of a bottle and hope my son doesn't end up with salmonella or something wierd from old gross milk molecules. So now I don't have to wash bottles. My new challenge becomes keeping enough sippy cups on hand.

So we are once again proud of Charlie....

First Annual Filbert Madness NCAA Cup

Ok, you are probably tired of me. Some ask what are the children doing when you write so many entries in one day. I am not a neglectful parent. Infact today we started the day walking the coastal trail, no easy feat with a baby and a toddler. After an hour of exploring the bluffs for an hour (which consisted of Charlie pointing to a piece of dog poop and making his famous ergh ergh sound every two minutes) we went back home for a snack. Then I once again packed the kids up and went to Montara to hang out with my friend Reagan and her daughter Chloe. Then on my way home Charlie passed out (he woke up this am at 5) and napped for 2.5 hours during which the baby napped as well. So that is when I wrote so much. Now the baby is napping again and charlie is frantically cleaning every inch of this house with his empty spray bottle (I confiscated the water after he sprayed his sister in the face while she was sleeping) and his wipe. 

I had to write one last entry before calling it quits for the day because my dad reminded me that I, Sarah Bad-ass Berkowitz won the First Annual Filbert Madness NCAA Cup. That is right peops, me. The person who has proudly never watched a single minute of college basketball in her life. I picked all my teams in less than 10 minutes and for those of you who wish to dominate next years march madness bracket thingy listen closely, for I will reveal my long awaited secrets. Here is a How-To for picking your teams:

1. Pour yourself a generous glass of wine and chug it! A beer will do, but won't have the exact same affect.

2. Get on the computer and pull up the brackets on the web (websites do this for you, isn't that amazing!)

3. With a completely blank mind look at the first two teams they give you and immediately think about which place resonates better with you. Perhaps it is that the place is familiar...either a place you like or don't, a memory, or sensation you get when you first think of it.  Example: Notre Dame vs. George Mason...sarah's thoughts: Notre Dame oh we have one of those in belmont don't we...expensive but a good school. George Mason, who names their college that? And isn't the name Mason like a serial killer..let's go with Notre Dame...

Ok another example North Carolina vs. Tenn. oh a tough one. Tenn a musical haven, that sounds cool. North Carolina...where my nana and papa used to live. Boy, that was fun riding in the golf cart to the pool, watching the cardinals (the bird, not sports team...I know I am like a walking encyclopedia of sports), playing cards...yes North Carolina wins.....

4. Win the bracket championship with all your heartfelt stellar picks

You are probably thinking I won lots of money for being the first ever Filbert Madness NCAA Championship. My friend Marissa won 400 bucks for winning her pool.  My mom bought me and Adam a burrito (because I made her) and there is a rumor that there will be a trophy that will be passed around from year to year. My name will be the first one on it. I want it to say Sarah Bad-Ass Berkowitz. That is something no one can ever take away from me (at least that is what my brother says).

So raise your glass to me tonight, the First Annual Filbert Madness NCAA Cup Champion!

sick of hillary

ok before I start my major slam on Hillary Clinton I want to establish a few things. I think it is totally awesome that a female is running for president. I think this society has been a patriarchy for way too long. I am all about feminism and think that Hillary is one smart, tough woman. Rock on for that Hillary. Like I said before I am all about having a woman president, but just not this one. She is a republican in disguise. Would she be better than Bush? Come on, my dog lilly could run this country better than Bush. Would she be better than McCain? Of course! But let's be honest here....she is all about free trade and nafta, all about the war in Iraq, and had the nerve to say she would obliterate Iran. Obliterate, you mean kill everyone and destroy an entire country? Great, another war-monger for president, no thank you!

It is time for her to step down, don't you think. Her campaign has made me sick to my stomach. She is playing off the politics of fear and for me the only thing I fear is having her stay in this race and continue to knock down Obama. I will say it loud and clear I am not afraid of "terrorists" attacking my country, I am not. I am afraid of our country attacking another country, killing innocent people, leaving depleted uranium in their soil, destroying entire ecosystems. I am afraid of global warming, of seeing beautiful species go extinct (like polar bears). I am afraid of not having health care and getting breast cancer. I want a leader who can offer me reasonable health care even though I have pre-exsisting conditions. I want a leader who can admit mistakes and tell us the truth. I want a leader who will try EVERY LAST MEASURE to avoid war. I want a leader that will pour, and I mean pour money into alternative energy. 

Back to Hillary. Count Michigan and Florida, are you nuts? Did you not sign a waiver saying that you will not count votes from Michigan? Are you a liar? Step down Hillary, ya basta! Lets all get together and beat the sh*t out of the republicans. We have had enough. 8 years of deteriorating schools, increased prices for food and at the pump (4.09 in hmb), increased healthcare costs (adam and I pay 1000 for 3 (charlie qualifies for free h/c), yada yada yada. If you stay in this race, Hillary, and continue to use the same old dirty tricks to put fear into       american minds, we may actually loose in the fall. hard to believe I know. But hey the last two elections were stolen, so we need to win by a landslide to beat out any election fraud Karl Rove may be planning.

So, there it is folks. I am sick of Hillary. Yes, I am an obama mama.

My new hobbies

Most of you who know me know that I have been searching for new hobbies. Not actively searching but mentally searching. Adam has tennis, golf, and work (he doesn't consider that a hobby, but it is something outside of parenting, so I do). My sister has traveling, art, poetry, yoga....most people in my life have hobbies. With two under two my hobbies have been playing with charlie, nursing, changing diapers, reading, sleeping and more playing. Hardly hobbies. 

Well, folks, I am proud to announce I have officially added two hobbies to my life. 

1. Working out. I can't use my lifetime membership to 24 hour fitness because it is over the hill, and with a baby that won't take a bottle, I simply can not be gone the amount of time it takes to drive and workout. But thanks to the lovely FIT here on the coast I have been able to work out. And this ain't no 30 minute walk or bike ride type of workout. This is get super sweaty, wish you weren't there, damn my thighs burn type of workout. My favorite so far has been something called Zumba. It is a dance cardio work out that combines Latin and African dance. It is upbeat, very fun, and exhausting. I love it so much that sometimes late at night (that is 9 around here) after a few beers I test out my new dance moves in front of adam. I think it is funky and that I look hot, adam can hardly watch me for a second before busting out laughing. Other workouts I do are step, spin, pilates. I am still patiently waiting for my body to look like the instructors that teach the workout, in the meantime I feel great and love getting an hour to myself....thanks adam and mom and dad for watching the babies (yes, babies...as in 2)

2. Cooking. And I am not talking about a veggie stir fry and rice (although that can be good too), I am talking all from scratch fully vegan restaurant style cooking. I think I will save my road to veganism for another post. This post is about my hobbies, not about my diet. I cook just about everyday, usually starting around 6 am with charlie in the learning tower baking. In the past week we have baked (all vegan and super yummy) oat apple muffins, pumpkin-cranberry scones, chewy carrot cookies, and this morning raisin oat bars. Maybe all this baking has something to do with my body still doesn't look like the super buffed women that teach the workout classes. We have also enjoyed black bean burgers, chickpea cutlets, lemon potatoes, casseroles......ect. 

I know these aren't as exciting hobbies as skydiving or ceramics, but they work for me for right now in my life. And both things contribue to trying to be as healthy as possible.

testing

hkjh

asparagus, the most beautiful vegetable around

Three springs ago Adam and I made our first longterm committment to each other, we planted asparagus. For those of you who don't know, asparagus takes three full years of growing and dying back before it bares any fruit. That is a long time! This spring is our third year and we have harvested 6 delicious asparagus spears to date. One was left on the top of my car, so we have only enjoyed 5 of them. 

It has been quite a feat to keep Charlie away from the patch. One sunny day while I was inside nursing the baby Charlie managed to drag his lawn mower across my parents' gigantic yard, opened the garden and headed straight for the asparagus patch. He was doing his job. He mowed two spears successfully, another 2 forfeited.

When we planted those six plants three years ago we weren't married and had no children. We were footloose and fancy free. We traveled, went out to dinner, went on long hikes and bike rides. Spent countless nights playing scramble, sipping beers and sitting by the fire. The good ole days. Let it be known that in just 2 years and 6 months we managed to get married, have two children, and every few days an asparagus spear. And I wouldn't have any other way!

Next time you grab an asparagus spear from the grocery store take a moment to appreciate it's beauty and the time it took to get to you. Those little plants are tough ones.

let's get started

I want to start blogging. I never make time for writing in my journal, and I really have so much to write about every little thing. My life is full of stories right now being a mom of two very young children. I never imagined myself in this position, being a stay-at-home mom with two kids under two, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Baby Kate is the cutest, sweetest thing that I have ever loved, and Charlie is so full of life it is a blast just to sit back and watch. The two of them keep me on my toes 24-7, and I mean literally. There is never a day without adventure, laughter, frustration, dancing, and chaos control. I have always been a playful person, and so spending all day playing with Charlie is a delight. I chase him into each room, and all around my parents' backyard. I tickle him. We cook together, read together, sometimes when the universe is lined up correctly we get to nap together. When I am not happily interacting with my son, I get to cuddle with my newest daughter. I look into her eyes and I see myself, and it is such a strange feeling. Like I have known her forever, and she has always belonged to me and me to her. I really am a carbonated drink bubbling over right now, perhaps a seltzer ready for be cracked open and chugged down. I have so much to say, and as most of you know I am not one lacking for words, they may not always be the right word used in the right context, but I have a lot of them at all times.

How could someone not what to talk, to talk about everything going on right now in our country and world. We are on the brink here, the brink of everything being so screwed up. Our education system is failing, health care is a disaster, the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan is taking a sickening amount of money from our hands (mostly borrowed money) and using it to destroy entire countries, global warming is very real and the horrible consequences are approaching faster than originally anticipated.  I could go on and on and on, but charlie wants me to read Richard Scarry to him and so I must go.

My final words about this administration and the total destruction they have caused in the last 8 years is YA BASTA