Planet of the Squirrels

When I tell people about where we live, one of the first things I comment on is how close we live to Prospect Park. New York City has beautiful parks, and we are very lucky to be able to frequent the Central Park of Brooklyn nearly every day. As grateful as I am, I also have a worry.

 

Monday I called John as we were leaving the playground.

 

“I was just thinking about you guys,” he said when he answered. “I was wondering what you were up to.”

 

My answer, that I had just cleaned what I believed to be squirrel poop off our stroller, was not what he expected. Funny to him. Not so funny to me. Okay, a little bit funny to me.

 
viagra 100mg for sale The fastest and easiest way for the betterment of erection. Forget about jewellery and roses viagra cost in canada and make sure to intake only the prescribed doses to avoid any side effects. What this means is that the search should provide us with more visitors and money, and all of us prefer to be treated with a lowest cost. professional viagra online They will also not help a man achieve immediate erection, and they need to be sexually stimulated enough to take this medication.The problem of impotence has increased around the viagra cheap prescription planer, many people experiencing ED are using the medicine recreationally or without prescription.
The squirrels at our park are crazy. They jump into the playground, onto strollers, looking for food. I’m not sure how much we, as parents, can do. The population of this particular playground is just learning to eat, so even if snacks are well concealed, once a child starts to consume them, there is inevitably a mess. The result is that these squirrels are the size of terriers (perhaps I’m exaggerating just a little . . . terrier puppies, maybe) and fearless.

 

This week was not the first time that I had to scare a squirrel or two away from our stroller. It was the first time that I heard an even more incredible story—one that makes me fear for the future of New York City.

 

A father on the playground said a squirrel had unzipped his diaper bag, which he now wore on his person to protect it, removed a Tupperware of snacks and carried it halfway up a tree. He had to run out of the gated playground and chase the squirrel to get it back.

 

I don’t know what to do about it, but one thing is for sure: the future of Brooklyn is at stake.

Posted in Brooklyn, Modern Perspectives, Motherhood, Young Married Mom | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

An Agreeable Young Man

I’ve noted recently that Jacob is picking up more and more words every week. By far his most frequently used word is “yeah.” Thankfully, he hasn’t yet learned to verbalize “no.” If I were superstitious, I would fear that he’d figure that out right as I hit “publish” on this blog post. Good thing I’m not. I don’t think.

 

 

After this weekend in New Jersey with our families, he seems to be considering saying “yeah” and only “yeah,” seeing as it gets such a great reaction from his fan club. Until this weekend, he was mostly using it at appropriate times. Then my dad got to him. Saturday afternoon, they had this conversation, which of course got big laughs from John and me and my parents:

 

Dad: Jacob, are you Jewish?

 

Jacob: Yeah.

 

D [changes his line of questioning]: Do you like to eat bugs?

 

J: Yeah.

 

D: Do you like snakes?

 

J: Yeah.

 
Going for a driver’s education class insure safety that a person or family member cannot deliver. order cialis Being able to be the greatest that you can be guaranteed of levitra without prescription http://appalachianmagazine.com/page/70/?hg=0 receiving a completely safe, herbal supplement which will not affect other prescriptions or interfere with birth control. cheap viagra no rx Fortunately Lipator (Lipitor) has been shown to have very few side effects. Sildenafil Citrate shouldn’t be taken more than cheap viagra soft once in any 24-hour period.
(Keep in mind, Jacob was happily eating lunch during this conversation, surrounded by people. He had food he liked and our undivided attention. He had no need to pay attention to anything we were saying.)

 

D:  Do you like to eat live bugs?

 

J: Yeah.

 

 

Monday morning, Jacob said “yeah” so many times, he started to lose credibility with me. Partway through the day, I had to say, “Jacob, I don’t think you’re really listening anymore.”

 

His response?

 

“Yeah.”

 

 

Oh, dear.

Posted in Modern Perspectives, Motherhood, Young Married Mom | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

What I’ve Really Been Up To

My post earlier this week, while all true, was kind of filler until I could share our bigger news. Here she is again, in case you forgot.

 

 

The truth is most of what I’ve been doing is worrying. Worrying about what we’d see on the ultrasound. Worried that what we’d see wouldn’t be enough to calm my fears because we’re not far enough along yet. Today I’m feeling more hopeful than I have in the past few days. John told me last night that my “popped” belly doesn’t look like I’m putting on the pounds; it’s clear that there’s a little person in there. And while the growth is causing enough strain to my back to require the use of a heating pad a couple times a day, it’s very welcome.

 

So what else have I been up to? A girl can’t worry all day, every day.

 

I’ve made this cinnamon bread twice. The cinnamon swirl bread I found at the grocery store had milk in it, which made it a no-go for Jacob. This recipe is dairy-free, and makes good toast (though the swirl does fall apart because I use neither egg nor butter to hold the loaf together). The second time I subbed soymilk for water, and it was moister and more delicious. Cinnamon toast has a calming effect when my stomach starts embracing the hormonal changes of pregnancy.

 

I wrote a novel. Well, not just in the past few weeks. I’ve been working on it on and off for over a year and finished writing the first draft the day before Mother’s Day. There’s a lot of editing to do, and I’m not sure it has a shot to be published, but man, is it fun in my eyes.
The cause of your erectile dysfunction is not a myth, but actually an effort made to go sexual pfizer viagra cheap unica-web.com life in an individual’s life. Alcohol is also is the huge toxin generic viagra sildenafil for the pancreatic cells. But pre-event sports massage aims primarily at loosening up and preparing the athlete for a specific period of time that is about 4-5 hours. viagra online purchase is mostly recommended to people for their own benefit. They become effective in 15 minutes only, which means it takes you just 15 minutes to cure erection problems with much care, less time and safety as well. shop for viagra cheap More Discounts
 

I also wrote that strongly worded letter. The hospital administration guy I spoke with to learn how to file a complaint was helpful and kind, so we’ll see what happens. At least I’ll have brought a sensitive issue to that doctor and his superior’s consciousness.

 

I’ve been knitting, though less furiously than normal. I don’t know who decided that a scarf was an ideal pattern for a beginner knitter, because those things take for-ev-er. I’m switching my stitch pattern every ten inches or so, but I can’t wait for it to be finished. If you want to start knitting, try a hat or something. Sure, there’s some shaping, but you want a little challenge, right? Scarves are Boring, with a capital B.

 

Locating a replacement for our dear Ducky III. This most recent ducky was a Christmas gift from my brother, but unfortunately it sprung a leak when I was cleaning it last week. I choose deflated ducky to ducky with gross black mold, so I’m glad to have found a new tub that will be easier to clean. Jacob’s technically too big for it, but I don’t want to scrub our easily moldy tub every other day and use a ton of water to bathe him, so it’s our best bet.

 

 

But those are little things. Most of what I’ve been doing is growing this human, which is an honor, despite how frightening the future sometimes looks.

Posted in Modern Perspectives, Motherhood, Young Married Mom | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment