Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Owen got out a lot of books today
? Why can't I add a photo? THe option was here yesterday! curse you!
wipes and mask, unrelated
On order for tomorrow. These are the best for Owen, not our first choice, but I don't think we'll move away for anything ever. Not available on subscribe and save, but not a bad price either. and for cleaning up the smelly things in life, aka paint, and not diapers (although from now on I'm ordering minimal voc paints, I found a good website listing various options, I'll add that later)
two points does not a trend make
And so, after two good nights of sleep (only up twice, and only one of those for more than twenty minutes to give a bottle, my standards are lower than most). I had one of the worst nights in a long time. Claire took up much of the bed, the cat added to that, Owen was up intermittently from 1 to 3, again at 5, claire made a second bottle at 5:30 or so, but couldn't give it, so I did. The second round of pregnancy is worse for me. The first time through, claire would snore, but I could always wear ear plugs, this time, no such luck.
also, the toilet is still leaking. double down.
also, the toilet is still leaking. double down.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Toilet San Carlos
Leaks from below the tank at the rental house called at 10am or so. Went down to inspect adn decided that it swas something I could fix. Always a scary decision when water is involved. Leaks can be hard to fix, and sometimes more problems are easily created. But I figured it was from one of the bolts connecting the upper tank to the pedestal. so I drained the tank, shut off water and flushed adn tried to wrnech the bots free. They were so rusted that I couldn't easily do so, and didn't even need a screwdriver to hold the top of the bolt in place . Eventually I used the socket set to get one of them off, the second I was trying to wrench off and the hwhole bolt broke flush, mission accomplished, the third I ground a solid edge into the bolt with a dremel and then used the smaller size socket to take that one off. Even with a big socket it took a lot of effort. that let me remove the tank, but then there is a second level of bolt beyond that. These ones were hopeless, now the inside of the tank would spin if I tried the socket, so I couldn't even wrench them free with a ton of offort. so then I started hacksawing them off. Its brass, and I'm not sure if brass is easily hacksawed, or not, but eventually thel all came off. Where possible I sped up the process with the dremel and the diamond cutting wheel. Then I went to Ace, got the new bolt set and since I was there, a new spud plug gasket. I had read that I needed to bring the old spud plug gasket to teh store to make sure the new one matched, but Ace only had one option, and it looked pretty close. So, back to the house, realized that this toilet had three bolts attaching it and all the bolt sets came as pairs. Curse you 10 hot dogs and 8 buns! back to the hardware store, and now, paranoid, I also get a new flapper, in case that is part of the problem, or if the new spud plug gasket doesn't fit. I'm bad at returning such things, but I figure, I will not make a third hardware store run. back to the hosue, lots of cleaning behind, around, and the underide of the tank, then cranking down on all the bolts, and no leaks. Well, I actually got a leak when reconnecting the supply line to the fill, but that was easily fixed. The new spud plug gasket definitely makes= the tank ride a little higher off teh pedestal, but not noticeably so. It also made thing s a little wobbly until I got all three bolts cranked down. They say don't overtightne here, but I went pretty darn tight to compress the spud plug washer a ltitle and hold the tank on solidly.
Again, fixing things feels good, not having to call a plumber on a sunday, also good. Oh my, Owen is waking up just now after only 1:20 down, that's a bad sign for the afternoon. Two good nights in a row though sleeping, so I'm not going to complain (yet...). Also an update on things, another infection on the left foot. Not sure what just yet, but seems to be responding tot he antibiotic ointment. The blisters on teh right eyelid are gradually spreading away from the nose, the same as blisters seem to everywhere. Once a blister starts in almost any location, there's a ripples in apond effect that spreads future blisters outward. I'm sure these will run their course teh same as all the rest, but they are disconcerting to look at it adnpopping them is extra scary.
Again, fixing things feels good, not having to call a plumber on a sunday, also good. Oh my, Owen is waking up just now after only 1:20 down, that's a bad sign for the afternoon. Two good nights in a row though sleeping, so I'm not going to complain (yet...). Also an update on things, another infection on the left foot. Not sure what just yet, but seems to be responding tot he antibiotic ointment. The blisters on teh right eyelid are gradually spreading away from the nose, the same as blisters seem to everywhere. Once a blister starts in almost any location, there's a ripples in apond effect that spreads future blisters outward. I'm sure these will run their course teh same as all the rest, but they are disconcerting to look at it adnpopping them is extra scary.
Eggplant Parm
Claire sent me this link:
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/eggplant_parmesan/
And these modifications:
1. add on top of the eggplant/ tomato mixture blobs of ricotta/leftover beaten egg mixture...just add dolops of this cheese before you put slices of mozerella on it.
2. instead of basil leaves---put the basil in the cuisinart with 5 tablespoons olive oil, a handful of walnuts and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese to make a pesto. Instead of laying leaves of basil on the eggplant--just put a small teaspoon (dolop) on each of the eggplant rounds.
3. Use all of the shredded mozerella in addition to the 2 packages of fresh (slice thinly) mozerella to spread on the eggplant.
4. taste the tomato sauce--if you don't like it as is..then mix it with one of the jars of tomato marinara sauce we have in the bottom of the pantry for a thicker/better flavor...
I'd say it was pretty good. The tomato sauce is thinner than when Claire has made this in the past and that is sort of dissapointing, I'd recomend draining the tomato cans, adding more garlic to the tomato sauce. Claire wanted large dollops of the ricotta on the eggplant slices, and that might be alright, but its already a pretty cheesy recipe.
Cooking while managing Owen is a whole different ballgame, I have always disliked the hecticness of cooking, and although the recipe ends up being comlicated, there are plenty of points where you can stop and play with the kid, take care of some other pressing matter, stuff like that. i.e. take a break after any of the frying rounds, or after starting the draining process on the eggplant. Owen also has come to like playing with the dials on the stove, scary for sure, so supervision in the kitchen is important, but it is surprising when your frying pan suddenly isn't as hot as it used to be and you didn't see him do it. The eggplant can also splatter oil when you first toss them into the frying pan, which made me very wary for Owen being nearby.
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/eggplant_parmesan/
And these modifications:
1. add on top of the eggplant/ tomato mixture blobs of ricotta/leftover beaten egg mixture...just add dolops of this cheese before you put slices of mozerella on it.
2. instead of basil leaves---put the basil in the cuisinart with 5 tablespoons olive oil, a handful of walnuts and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese to make a pesto. Instead of laying leaves of basil on the eggplant--just put a small teaspoon (dolop) on each of the eggplant rounds.
3. Use all of the shredded mozerella in addition to the 2 packages of fresh (slice thinly) mozerella to spread on the eggplant.
4. taste the tomato sauce--if you don't like it as is..then mix it with one of the jars of tomato marinara sauce we have in the bottom of the pantry for a thicker/better flavor...
I'd say it was pretty good. The tomato sauce is thinner than when Claire has made this in the past and that is sort of dissapointing, I'd recomend draining the tomato cans, adding more garlic to the tomato sauce. Claire wanted large dollops of the ricotta on the eggplant slices, and that might be alright, but its already a pretty cheesy recipe.
Cooking while managing Owen is a whole different ballgame, I have always disliked the hecticness of cooking, and although the recipe ends up being comlicated, there are plenty of points where you can stop and play with the kid, take care of some other pressing matter, stuff like that. i.e. take a break after any of the frying rounds, or after starting the draining process on the eggplant. Owen also has come to like playing with the dials on the stove, scary for sure, so supervision in the kitchen is important, but it is surprising when your frying pan suddenly isn't as hot as it used to be and you didn't see him do it. The eggplant can also splatter oil when you first toss them into the frying pan, which made me very wary for Owen being nearby.
Friday, March 5, 2010
progress
well, a quiet few days. Claire was off for three in a row after a brutal night on call Monday. But Owen's sleep got a little better, and even though that change was marginal, I felt better about basically everything. I ordered $230 in parts from Honda. I could have saved about 40, and gotten my recylcing cred had I gone to a junkyard, but I was confused about some of the labeling of parts, so I managed to replace two of the four tail light lens assemblies. Claire said its an amazing transition, "it doesn't look like a junker" I had no idea she had such a low opinion of the car before that. Anyway, now I've got the bug, I'm ordering a set of touch up paint and clearcoat to take out the rusty scratch. Fixing the tail lights took a half hour and saved a ton of money, and even though there is "so little time" it made my day. now back to work.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
The changing table
Had a brief email exchange with family that included this:
While the white lie may be an essential parenting technique, I for one think Luke deserves a time out. There may have been more than one lie in James' email, but one of them was not that I agreed with him. As far as teh changing table controversy goes... well, I agree with James. its good to have a place to store stuff, have the "don't roll away from me" pad buttoned on and most importantly, spare your back.
This may be more important for Owen than anyone but any amount of work done on the large children this family tends to have is probably best done at an appropriate height. I also think the changing table only places are ridiculous. that said, Amazon lists several hundred of them, this is for two reasons. 1) It is good to have a changing table, and 2) new parents are suckers. For instance, don't buy thirty outfits in the 3 month size, they will only be in that size for four days, and with a little bit of laundry, fifteen outfits should last 4 days (with proper diapering).
Claire and I got a tallish dresser, it stores outfits, diapers, and a few medical supplies, then we put the changing pad on top. the changing only tables have little bars on the side that are supposed to help with the rolling protection, but Owen, who is an expert roller, and has plenty of desire to escape the changing pad (as he associates it with torture), hasn't really been too hard to keep on the pad we have even without the roll bars. Get something that is adaptable for future use, or get something sturdy that you already have and then firmly attach the pad to the top of it. (carpet tape, or buttons work well).
Speaking of amazon, they are where I buy diapers, often cheaper than costco with free express shipping. If you "subscribe and save" they take an additional fifteen percent off. As a bonus, they often don't charge sales tax, although you are supposed to report these on your state tax return. Also if you follow THIS LINK, every time you go to Amazon, I will get somewhere between 4 and 9% back on your purchase as part of a referral fee. I assure you this is totally legitimate and I will use the proceeds to some good end, like a nice bottle of scotch, or Owen's college fund. Basically, every time you go to Amazon, some website somewhere is claiming credit for you geting there. be it google, yahoo, www.naked_coeds_on_the_beach.com or whatever other site you've recently visited. (they put a cookie on your computer). Amazon is currently paying THEM, when you could keep it in the family.
Seriously, any time you think, oh, I'll go to Amazon, do so by finding this email and clicking on this link (or follow the link, THEN save it as a favorite, bookmark, etc.) :
http://www.amazon.com/?ie=UTF8&tag=jglens-20&link_code=ure
Your christmas presents will benefit, although I cannot offer you a quid pro quo kickback as that is against the terms of service. Still, its better than the money going to www.I_love_rush_limbaugh.com or whatever sites murray visits on your home computer kate. (it is also possible to find equivalent links from worthy charities on the web, but, really, what's a more worthy charity than this?)
But I digress, changing table, not a bad idea with certain specifications.
-John
While the white lie may be an essential parenting technique, I for one think Luke deserves a time out. There may have been more than one lie in James' email, but one of them was not that I agreed with him. As far as teh changing table controversy goes... well, I agree with James. its good to have a place to store stuff, have the "don't roll away from me" pad buttoned on and most importantly, spare your back.
This may be more important for Owen than anyone but any amount of work done on the large children this family tends to have is probably best done at an appropriate height. I also think the changing table only places are ridiculous. that said, Amazon lists several hundred of them, this is for two reasons. 1) It is good to have a changing table, and 2) new parents are suckers. For instance, don't buy thirty outfits in the 3 month size, they will only be in that size for four days, and with a little bit of laundry, fifteen outfits should last 4 days (with proper diapering).
Claire and I got a tallish dresser, it stores outfits, diapers, and a few medical supplies, then we put the changing pad on top. the changing only tables have little bars on the side that are supposed to help with the rolling protection, but Owen, who is an expert roller, and has plenty of desire to escape the changing pad (as he associates it with torture), hasn't really been too hard to keep on the pad we have even without the roll bars. Get something that is adaptable for future use, or get something sturdy that you already have and then firmly attach the pad to the top of it. (carpet tape, or buttons work well).
Speaking of amazon, they are where I buy diapers, often cheaper than costco with free express shipping. If you "subscribe and save" they take an additional fifteen percent off. As a bonus, they often don't charge sales tax, although you are supposed to report these on your state tax return. Also if you follow THIS LINK, every time you go to Amazon, I will get somewhere between 4 and 9% back on your purchase as part of a referral fee. I assure you this is totally legitimate and I will use the proceeds to some good end, like a nice bottle of scotch, or Owen's college fund. Basically, every time you go to Amazon, some website somewhere is claiming credit for you geting there. be it google, yahoo, www.naked_coeds_on_the_beach.com or whatever other site you've recently visited. (they put a cookie on your computer). Amazon is currently paying THEM, when you could keep it in the family.
Seriously, any time you think, oh, I'll go to Amazon, do so by finding this email and clicking on this link (or follow the link, THEN save it as a favorite, bookmark, etc.) :
http://www.amazon.com/?ie=UTF8&tag=jglens-20&link_code=ure
Your christmas presents will benefit, although I cannot offer you a quid pro quo kickback as that is against the terms of service. Still, its better than the money going to www.I_love_rush_limbaugh.com or whatever sites murray visits on your home computer kate. (it is also possible to find equivalent links from worthy charities on the web, but, really, what's a more worthy charity than this?)
But I digress, changing table, not a bad idea with certain specifications.
-John
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