Weekend Update

Our internet connection has been finicky (thank you, Comcast, for your diagnosis of “noise in the cables,” to which you offered little in the way of solutions other than calling an electrician). So this is a mish-mash of disparate topics that would probably otherwise merit their own posts, but I’m putting them all together so I can try to post in a rare moment of internet connectivity.            

On the dog front:

• GA and Brooksie baby came over on Thursday to go for a walk. We added on a little hangout sesh so the little man could chill and the dogs could sniff his toes—a real baby is a better option than a baby doll, right? Anyway, I am pleased to report that they did fabulously, at least in my opinion (GA may disagree somewhat, but thank the sweet baby Jesus she has a dog and understands how this goes. Otherwise it would have been new-mom freakout fiesta). Abita was more concerned about GA herself—probably because she was wearing a most threatening getup (a baseball cap). I brought Abita on the walk with us, so she was too tired to care about baby anything after that. Madigan was a curious and gentle wonder, though there was some excessive drooling going on. I do not know what this was about—please enlighten me. My guess is that this means she was pretty keyed up, but knew she had to keep her body calm. She did not seem like she wanted to eat the baby.
• I did not allow them on the couch while mommy and baby were on it (the no-couch rule has not been enacted for serious yet, but I figured it wasn’t too early to introduce the concept of baby = no couch for you). Madigan still wanted to know exactly what Brooks was doing and saying at all times, so this was her solution to the couch ban:

• The dog book came, but I haven’t delved into the doggie 12-step program yet. We will see what changes our new outlook on pack leadership brings.
• I have now banned the dogs from the kitchen (i.e., the island/prep area) while I am cooking or preparing food. This was surprisingly painless and has gone very well—I’m encouraged. The biggest problem on that front wasn’t food grabbing, it was that Abita would lie right behind my feet while I was standing at the stove, and when I’d turn around, I’d be afraid I would trip over her or tabletop myself. She didn’t understand that cooking isn’t really a stationary activity, and I saw the risk of a fall increasing as I get bigger and less balanced. There’s now an invisible boundary before the island, and they get it. Madigan still lies right at the line, hoping for some food to fly her way, but Abita leaves the area entirely. Great success!

le sigh.

On the stove top:

• There have been many opportunities over the past few days to enforce the kitchen boundary, which is perhaps why it has gone well. First, I made some food to take to some friends who are new parents. I made quiche—one for them and one for us—using a “lighter” quiche base recipe I have used several times before. This is a great basic and merits its own post, so I’ll do that some time.
• I also made the peach-bourbon BBQ sauce from the 13-week Cooking with Baby post. Some photos:

if it looks like baby food, you're doing it right

• I had enough to fill four 8-oz jelly jars with a bit left over. I took one to the new parents, kept one for us, and gave the rest away. I wouldn’t make any changes to the recipe. For the record, it isn’t terribly spicy—you could increase or decrease the heat to your taste. The peaches add enough natural sweetness, so I like that there’s no added sugar (or anything highly processed, which is nice).

On the home front:

• A gift from Sara

baby's first propaganda