Smackdown, travel, and other miscellaneous notes.

[rivka]

We got home from Memphis last night. I'm in the office - the only day I'm coming in this week - and I must admit I'm kind of enjoying the peace and quiet.

I finally snapped at Michael's stepmother. As we were packing up to go she kept very persistently trying to get me to take Michael's bronzed baby shoes. I smiled and said nice things the first several times. "Oh, we'll definitely want them eventually, but I don't want to take them away from Bill." "Yes, but I really think Bill likes to have a reminder of Michael's babyhood around." She kept insisting: "Oh, don't worry about that. We've got plenty of reminders of Michael around." (Like the picture she hung back behind a cabinet, I guess.)

So finally I just looked at her without smiling and said flatly: "Betty, if you want them out of the house, then yes, we will take them."

So of course she backpedalled. And had the nerve to try this one out: "You just insulted me, saying that I want them out of the house." Uh huh.

Michael's father came in to talk with us about it. He said that he wouldn't take any amount of money for those baby shoes, but that we could have them if we wanted them. Although he would worry about them getting broken in transit. Anyway, he just wanted to make sure that we understood that they weren't trying to get rid of them. I felt bad because I really try not to put him in the middle, but.

Our flights home were beautifully uneventful. There didn't seem to be any increase in security at the main screening lines, and when I got pulled for secondary screening (I always do, because my artificial hip sets of the metal detector) the TSA who screened me seemed perfectly relaxed and easygoing. They had a TSA at the gate pulling some people aside for random pat-downs, but it was the most ludicrous security theater imaginable: he only stopped men, didn't stop anyone who had a ton of stuff to carry (presumably so he wouldn't inconvenience them too much), and only patted them down above the waist. He would've found someone carrying a gun in a shoulder holster, but that's about it.

Our kids are beautiful travelers. When I see other people dealing with screaming tantrums on a plane, I feel very lucky.

I did learn an important lesson about Colin and traveling, though. (Did I know this when Alex was his age and then I forgot it? Maybe so.) Yesterday I gave him solid food for breakfast at my in-laws' house, and then I nursed him throughout the day as we traveled home. He got frantically unhappy in the car on the way home from the airport; I nursed him again and he cheered up, so I decided to give him some solids even though it was already 8pm. And that boy ate: a full slice of deli cheese, three handfuls of Cheerios, a jar of baby food (chicken-apple compote, one of the higher-calorie options), and at least a quarter-cup of mango bits. He was starving. I think of solids as being kind of optional to his diet, replaceable by nursing, but it's now obvious to me that at this point they really aren't.

I have a big important meeting in an hour and a half, and I am nervous. To give you an idea of how important a meeting it is, I am wearing a blazer to work - something I do about twice a year. Some of you will be coming along in the form of a silver otter pin which you chipped in to give me at alt.polycon 12, so, thanks. It's nice to feel like my friends will be with me.

Now that I have a webcam on my work computer, I can show you what I look like when I'm trying to appear professional! Here I am:

Comments

[papersky.livejournal.com]

OMG you look so grown up!

And that's a great pin.

[ailbhe]

You look great. And I think it's awesome that you finally snapped at Betty.

L and E are also good travellers on a plane as long as neither of them has a cold. I think that's only happened once.

The security theatre doesn't surprise me.

Milk-to-solids ratio snuck up on me with Linnea but was really really obvious with Emer, either because it was a more sudden transition or because I was paying more attention or because it happened much later (E started solids 4 months later than L, approx). I think banana was our portable food of choice for travelling but I'm not sure. Quite possibly by then it was semi-alcoholic salted peanuts in a candy shell, or something. Potato crisps, maybe.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Quite possibly by then it was semi-alcoholic salted peanuts in a candy shell, or something.

When we were traveling to and from Williamsburg, Colin had some McDonald's french fries. Which I'm pretty sure makes me the worst mother of all time, but he loved them.

It will be much easier when he turns one and we introduce wheat and eggs.

[ailbhe]

I sometimes remember to ask them not to salt them. And there's a fairly common brand of unsalted potato crisps here. How do fries compare to playdough and wax crayons, as a weaning food?

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

Nah. Your step-MIL is the worst mother of all time. *g*

Seriously, my pediatrican recommended pizza crust as my eldest's first solid...

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

I don't know if this helps, but my favorite teething biscuits were, in fact, Milk Bones. My mother said the pediatrician was mostly amused and assured her they wouldn't do me any harm.

[eeyorerin]

Even your snapping is delivered with grace.

All my best hopes that your meeting goes well and people are respectful of otters.

[kalmn.livejournal.com]

all dressed up! you look very professional. go kick butt!

[fairoriana.livejournal.com]

Good luck on your big important meeting! I hope it goes well.

And your patience is greatly admired.

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

"So finally I just looked at her without smiling and said flatly: "Betty, if you want them out of the house, then yes, we will take them.""

Oh, well DONE.

Re Alex: Sounds like he's just a hungry munchkin -- I remember your early problems with insufficient supply. I agree that for my son, solids turned out to be vital early.

Damn it. I forgot to say that I am always struck by how pretty you are.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Damn it. I forgot to say that I am always struck by how pretty you are.

*beam!* Thank you. That's something I don't hear very often.

[naomikritzer]

Good luck with your important meeting. Re the solids -- I vividly remember the time that happened with Molly. She was, oh, 8 months old or so and really was not eating all THAT much yet. We'd spent the afternoon at a friend's back yard party and I'd nursed her lots but not brought along her little sippy cup of water, or the graham crackers she liked to gnaw on. (She was never, ever willing to let us spoon feed her; it was finger foods or bust, as far as she was concerned. Also, the only thing she'd take out of a sippy was water; we tried breastmilk in there a few times and she was absolutely outraged at being given that stuff from anything other than the tap.)

Anyway, post-part, she would not settle down to go to sleep, and she cried and cried until finally I offered her a graham cracker and a sippy, at which point she perked up and gave me a watery smile before chowing down. That was when I realized that solids were not just an interesting toy to mouth but something she considered part of her diet.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

It's good to hear that about airport security. I'm flying home tomorrow, and I really want to know what to expect.

B

[janetmk.livejournal.com]

I flew from Detroit to Washington DC yesterday. The only difference in security screening that I noticed involved shoes: they had to be sent through on their own not in a container.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

That's pretty common security variant. The usual reason is lousy weather outside; they don't want to dirty the bins.

B

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

Oh, and that's a splendid picture of you. Very professional. You could use it on a book cover, even.

[baratron.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the important meeting!

[boxofdelights]

We're thinking of you.

[journeywoman.livejournal.com]

Betty = bitch. Glad you called her on her crap. I have come to believe that there is more than a grain of truth to the evil stepmother stereotype.

Weird that you have a meeting scheduled for the deadest time of the office year, especially a major one. Good luck!

[ex-serenejo.livejournal.com]

Just as a datapoint, my stepmother is decidedly non-evil. A paragon of virtue, even.

[kiya]

I will keep that food thing in mind for July, when I am hoping to travel with KJ to my sister's wedding on the west coast. We haven't introduced solids yet, but I'm sure they'll be more significant to her by then!

[beaq.livejournal.com]

V. v. nice look on you.

Superb smackdown.

And

I can't believe I didn't comment thanking you for your work on that con! (I plead crazy, but still.) It was so well done. I do remember enjoying the food.

[ex-serenejo.livejournal.com]

You do look very professional, and I'm quite impressed with how you handled the step-mother-in-law thing.