30.9.06

Remember the Alamo!

We saw the Alamo last weekend! That's right, the real deal. That's one more thing I can check off our "To See List" (right after I make the list). I vaguely remember going there as a little girl and standing out front. This was a very neat/interesting excursion for our little family, I just wish Mack was old enough to remember it. In case you didn't know, the Alamo is free. Thank you Daughters of the Republic of Texas! In one of the side courtyards there was a man telling the story of the Alamo. He was very compelling and I now feel I can relate a little better to people being so proud to be Texans. Now, I'm wondering just how Texan I am? My Great-Grandma Dot was from Texas and my Grandma Judy was born there...Mom, Dad, do you have anymore information for me?

27.9.06

Ironically, classes in Mexico are alot more difficult than in the United States. Maybe it has to do with the fact that it is taught in Spanish. I'm learning all the business lingo in Spanish...on top of the new business concepts. Well thats thats the school update. Mack is learning new things everyday. This morning he passed his binky from one and to another....which is a big deal. So. He likes to eat...he doesn't care what it is. Also I'm teaching him to be left-handed. There is a strong demand for left-handed pitchers in the major leagues so I'm doing it for him. He seems to favor his left anyways, I'm just pushing it further. He'll thank me later. Did anyone catch the Seahawks game on Sunday? It was over by the end of the first quarter. Next up: the Chicago Bears. Yeah I know what you're thinking...a good defense beats a good offense. Well think again. The 'Hawks recently signed Deion Branch to complement an already intimidating receiving corp (Burleson, Jackson and Engram). The MVP is out but keep an eye on Mo Morris. He's better with a 4 WR set and is also a better receiver than Shaun. Don't worry...the Hawhs will take 'em.

26.9.06

Mack just wanted to say:
s`dqaebbuhi89yi ijvcx jjj , , /g`vgcyyyrxefeten vgbvbggbg hrc` li0
He also decided to open up microsoft word. Yesterday he closed a 'window' for Daddy. So helpful! Can you say GENIUS?

25.9.06

Made chocolate chip cookies yesterday. They did NOT turn out right. The shortening here has animal fat in it. GROSS. They taste a little funny and cooked flat. At least now we know. Speaking of food, since that seems to be the theme for the day, I recently discovered and really love guan'abana yoghurt. Tyler recently discovered and loves gringo tacos.
So far Mack has eaten rice cereal, avocado, sweet potato and carrots. The avocado gave him a little bit of a bum rash, but he hasn't had problems with anything else. He eats two "meals" a day, without cuting back one bit on his nursing (which is good). Each "meal" consists of a fruit or veggie plus some cereal. We got a book called "Super Baby Food"to give us some food guidence. Good snippets from the book include lots nutritional information/references and concrete reasons for holding off on certain foods. However overall, its turned out too extreme for our family's lifestyle. For starters, there aren't many organic food stores here in Monterrey (actually I haven't seen any), we don't own a food processor, and I do not scrub down the can opener with a toothbrush after every use. The author vehemently despises canned baby food--basically because it is not organic. If I were to make Mack's food I could in never check it the way Gerber etc does. Normally, you wouldn't think twice about smashing up bananas for your baby, but in Mexico I'm worried about FUNGICIDES. Bananas have a porous skin that sucks them up. (Frankly, even produce grown stateside has me a little worried because I have NO idea what they do to it once it crosses that border.)
One more thing I've got to get off my chest: the author has NO medical credentials. She qualifies herself for the job by stating that her twins were never sick. OK...? She did a bunch of research and wrote a baby book. Heck, I could write a book about taking care of a baby, but there would be one problem...My views are bias. EVERY BABY IS DIFFERENT. Where is the baby food book about the little boy who weighed in at 10 lbs at birth and at 4 1/2 months has already grown out of a swing. Mack weighs close to 20 LBS! now. Where is THAT book? Basically, I'd like a magical book that tells me exactly what I want to hear.

QUESTIONS:
  • Any info/tips for feeding bigger babies?
  • Any info/tips for getting bigger babies to sleep longer at night? Mack gets up twice to eat now and We would just love to be able to get him back down to once a night like he did before we moved.
  • Do big babies sleep more because they're big, or do they sleep less because they need more food (because they're big)?

22.9.06

Mom, I thought you might like this website I saw a while ago. It's called Cake Fun. There is some rolled fondant, but there's still some neat other stuff. Enjoy.

21.9.06

It's About Time

Last night was a milestone for me of sorts. I sent my resume off to the University of San Diego (location of my first Master's degree) for review and correction. Well I finally got it back and it is actually looking like a professional resume. It is hard to believe that I have almost reached the end of the long, long road of my education. My resume looks full and there aren't even any embelishments...I almost can't believe its mine. So the milestone was that I finally applied to my first REAL job. It took 4 different schools and 3 different degrees but the time has finally come. The job is with the Monitor Group and the position I applied for would be in Amsterdam, Zurich or one of the 10 U.S offices. Fern is pushing for the Amsterdam option. We'll see. Don't worry though I'm not going to post about each new job application.

Good-bye Cruel World

So I'm shutting down this blog, or at least not posting on it anymore. Try not to be too disappointed. I've given this alot of thought. I've noticed as of late the singular nature of my blog and I didn't like it. Everything I do revolves around my family--immediate and extended. I didn't like the idea of a blog JUST ABOUT ME. It has to do with having the right priorities in life and working forward. Basically, Tyler and I are starting a new blog. We're both going to post on it about what's going on and (if the world hasn't come to an end by then) someday our kids can post on there too, you get the idea.
So in that light you can check out our new family blog,
The Thompson Tribune.
Mack does not like water. He won't drink it from a cup, or a sipper, or a bottle. Babies typically like stuff that their mom eats and I 'eat' a ton of water, but I guess that doesn't mean squat when it comes to water. Sometimes he can be tricked into drinking some if he's given it in something completely new, but then he figures out that its water and won't put the darn thing near his mouth EVER AGAIN.

13.9.06

Oh what a night...again

Mack got up last night at 12am and 4:30am. Now, 4:30 is just too late for him to eat usually because he eats and then won't go back to sleep. Tyler and I fought with him until a little after 5 when I finally caved in and fed him (You can save all your "the baby should eat when he's hungry" crud. He's a baby. He doesn't even notice when he's pooping! Plus, trust me, this boy eats PLENTY.) After he ate I couldn't get back to sleep so I was up window shopping online for a while until 6 then decided to try my luck with Mr. Sandman. Nope, no luck. I was up until my alarm went off at 7:10. Mack was still asleep and since he'd been up so much I decided to let him keep sleeping and FINALLY fell asleep myself, and slept til 9:30! Ty says Mack didn't even notice I was gone when he woke up at 7:30. He just had daddy time til I was awake. How considerate!? What a night. Plus, I have this HORRIBLE pain in both my knees. I don't know if it's the humidity, the cement floors or the pregnancy hormones still wearing off but it kills. Does anyone have any possible insight as too the origin of my mysterious pain? Help?

10.9.06

Back With A Vengence

I haven't been able to post any pictures for a couple of days...So now I'm going to make up for lost time! HOORRAH!

Here is Mack in his 12 month OshKosh Pj's that my mom and Karly picked out for him before he was born. They're made of fleece and He feels super cuddly in them. Especially in the middle of the night when he gets up to eat.
This is the military detail at the Nuevo Leon state border. Yes, there's another truck across the street, and they both have machine guns.
Mack and I outside the Catedral Metropolitana in down-town Monterrey. We're actually across the street from it, in the Gran Plaza. Like all Cathedrals, this one took an obscene amount of time to build, but I have to say the inside was not as impressive as I had hoped it'd be. I mean it just didn't seem very Catholic. It was somewhat plain, with bare walls and the like. However, the outside was very nice.
Here is Tyler on the phone with me before I came down. He's in our back patio. Ahh.

Mack: because he's cute.











Besides taking pictures...We went to Parque Fundidora yesterday (sorry no photos only video). It used to be a steel factory complex, but is now a very large park with several art galleries and theaters, a convention center, a Formula 1 racetrack, an indoor ice-rink and a bunch of other "cultural stuff". The art galleries are free so of course we checked those out. It had a collection of very bright modern art which at first seemed very nice. BUT after a closer look you realised that every single painting was extremely morbid. Sad, because I think the artist is very talented and could have really lifted people's spirits had he wanted to. I can't remember his name right now, but apparently he left Cuba in 1991 and is "world renowned".
Today was Stake Conference. Great because our Stake Center is right next to the Temple and it's nice to see so many members in one place. Not great because--HELLO--I don't speak Spanish, making church very exhausting and giving Tyler a headache from having to translate everything for so long. Plus I had to go out to the car for the last 20 minutes (it's 94* here) because there was no place inside for me to nurse Mack in private. Lately Mack has become very social and hates to be covered up when he eats. He'd much rather YANK the blanket off and look up every 30 seconds or so to see what everyone else is doing. Fun for me! As far as the rest of the day goes, life should be good. Tyler is in his own personal version of heaven with all the NFL games on today. GO SEAHAWKS!

6.9.06

If I've Said it Once...

I hate money. Obviously Tyler's school here does too because they're making it as difficult as they possibly can for us to get any. I'm talking about student loans here. All the important stuff in life is going well, but the little things--like a car you can depend on NOT overheating with your baby in the back seat--that stuff could be going better. But we've still got each other (cheesy). Mack is extra fussy this afternoon for some reason. Tyler and I are just taking this whole financial crisis one step at a time. Luckily we can survive quite happily on rice, beans, cilantro and the soup base we brought with us from my mom's food storage. Still no regrets here about moving to Monterrey. We're looking forward to being able to see more of it once we can get around again. Taking it one deep breath at a time.