February 2008

Here is an HD version of Corin playing. I got video of his arms and legs moving for Meesha. Enjoy!

Playing

laughing baby

Here is a movie of Corin laughing. Sorry for the poor quality but I have not captured a good laugh with the HD camera yet. Well Corin is one months old a few days ago and it has been loads of fun (and hard work). He started laughing last Wednesday, and since he has been perfecting what we like to call his monkey laugh. When he really gets going it is hystarical! Corin is still fighting a cold and we may have to put him on something for it.

Last week we had an exciting adventure…it all started with Chester finding a monster under the bed. As you probably can tell from the photo we found some very vicious mold on the wall that our bed is against. It totally grossed us out and we asked about cleaning it up. The maintenance crew told us what to do for it and we planned on waiting until our friends Laurel and Noah left to get rid of it. The next day I was grabbing a sweater from my closet and there was mold all over the arm of it. The corner of my closet was full of MORE MOLD and my clothes were also lucky enough to be infested the fuzzy goodness.

While Laurel and Noah Schumacher were visiting, Chester, Corin and I moved into a lodge room for a few days until we could destroy all of the mold and get our bedroom back in order. It didn’t take long to get rid of the mold. Chester and Noah had everything moved and the mold off the walls in a few hours. We then began the arduous task of moving everything back into our room.Things are not quite back in order because we found out we are moving to a bigger place (hoorah!) and we haven’t been motivated to get everything put away because in a week or two we will be moving it all again.Corin is loosing his hair. The front half of his head is bald and the rest has all of his baby hair. I am hoping he looses the rest because he looks kind of silly right now. Anyway he is a month old and a true joy to be around. If only I could get work done around the house…he is so distracting!

I started my “career” as a barista when I was a senior in highschool. I learned what good coffee consisted of and how to make it at a little coffee shop in downtown Lakeside. The Golden Goose was a coffee shop/antique shop that had it’s own culture. Like most “quality” coffee houses it had it’s regulars, it’s friday night live band sessions, and those that stumbled upon it and fell in love. From the short stout, jewish, pawnshop owner, who would only buy a tea and asked me in his sweetest voice, “could you stir in some sugar, Sugar?” or, “I’d love some honey, honey.” To the large German man who wanted his Carmel Macciato made to perfection (note: a real Carmel Macciatto is carmel and foam with espresso poured over the top to “mark” the foam) the customers of the Golden Goose were diverse and thuroughly enjoyable.

After a short time at the Goose, I moved to Santa Rosa, California to attend Santa Rosa Junior College (one of the most beautiful junior colleges I have ever seen). Unfortunately my choices of coffee making were limited to chain coffee houses, Wolf Coffee (which served a super strong, almost undrinkable espresso) and yes, you guessed it, Starbucks. Those being my only choices I became a tratior to the true coffee world and joined the corporate coffee jungle. I worked for Starbucks in Santa Rosa for a year and then moved back to San Diego. Then I worked for Starbucks in San Diego for two more years. During that time I forgot much of what I was taught at the Golden Goose. The Carmel Macciatto became a vanilla latte with carmel on top, and good foam became being able to make foam at all. I survived in this ignorance for a year and then I traveled to Russia. In St. Petersburg Russia I had my first cappuccino (shots, a little milk, and very dense velvety foam). I would sit in some underground cafe and sip my new favorite coffee beverage and eat blini (russian crepes). When I returned to the states I was a new person, I had a new favorite drink, and a new perspective on coffee.

I started making real foam while at Starbucks and after I left purchased a home espresso machine so that I could continue as a barista. Chester and I upgraded to a Rancillio (italian espresso machine) Silvia when we married and I continued to mature my coffee making ability. I have for many years now longed to be able to make foam art. Many may not know what I am talking about but let me enlighten you. Latte Art (according to the encyclopedia of this generation, Wikipidia) is the art of “manipulating the flow of milk from a jug into the espresso (known as free pour latte art). Popular free pour designs include rosettas, leaves and hearts.” This can only be achieved with the best quality foam and the correct method of pouring the foam into the espresso.

I found a impressive collection of pictures of free pour latte art at this link: http://www.krassycandoit.com/blah/archive/2005_04_01_archive.html

These are much more advanced than I have been able to accomplish. Yes! I have been able to free pour hearts and rosettas! My journey to becoming a “real” barista has been an exciting one! It was a month ago that I watched a video on youtube.com that showed how to pour latte art using my espresso machine. I changed one small thing and suddenly I was able to accomplish what I had dreamed of for so long! So I have slowly become more consistent and given time I think I will be able to pour every latte with perfection! Here are some photos of pours that have been successful.

Today is the three week anniversary of Corin’s birth. It has been a long and fruitful three weeks. Corin has experienced many firsts and become quite adept and certain repeat activities (crying and pooping). We are working on him becoming just as talented at falling asleep, but alas he has had a cold which has muddled everything up. The bellybutton made it’s first appearance at the beginning of this week and, yes, it is very cute!

Corin has been working on his multi-tasking skills this week. He can now eat and poop at the same time, sleep and poop, and eat and sleep at the same time. Oh yes and he can cry and eat, sleep, or poop as well. What talent! Corin has also learned how to throw gang signs (thank goodness we live in the mountains!).

It is amazing to me how much gilt is piled on by the parenting books I have been reading. Everything you do from the moment your child is born effects them long term. If you use a pacifier to help them sleep you will be using a pacifier until they are eighteen. The problem for Corin is, his hands are hyperactive and he has no control over them. He unfortunately is unable to get them to stay still long enough to suck on them and fall asleep. We have decided that the pacifier, or silencer, as Chester and I have named it, is not of the devil and is therefore safe to use in the first few months of Corin’s life. Another guilt trip is the idea that you should allow your baby to “cry it out” what they fail to mention in the books is the newborn’s amazing ability to cry and cry and cry. The books also fail to mention that by three weeks your baby starts to cry baby tears! Now I am feeling guilt from both sides!

Aside from all that Corin is doing great. Other than his cold that makes him extra fussy, he is a very sweet baby. I did not bring up the discussion about parenting to leave us looking like the parents that run in every time the child cries, or to leave us looking like the parents that have no hearts. I am simply acknowledging the difficulty of being a parent to a newborn. But what a blessing it is as well. Happy three weeks Corin!

Well Corin is two weeks old today! We went to the pediatrician yesterday and she said he is perfect, I of course already knew that but it was nice to have it confirmed by a professional. Corin has gained a pound in ten days, quite impressive when you figure that is a seventh of his body mass. To equal him I would have to gain twenty – five pounds in ten days…ha! He is getting longer as well and he is looking less bow-legged.

The first two weeks of Corin’s life were very exciting. We spent the first week and Erin and Nate Sees house. Not only was Erin my doula ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doula ) but they allowed us to crash at their house after leaving the hospital. It was wonderful being cooked for and having someone who knew babies to take Corin for a hour here or there. Chester and I were both exhausted from the birth and the hospital stay. While we were at the Sees home we gave Corin his first bath, took him to his first pedatric apt and changed his diaper for the first fifty times. Friday the 25th Corin met his Grandma Emmons for the first time and she came home with us on Saturday.

Week two was spent with Grandma at home here at Hume Lake. It snowed six to eight inches and then when the weekend arrived and the rest of my family (Grandpa Emmons, Auntie Nat, and Uncle Rus) arrived it snowed almost two feet on Saturday and Sunday (February 1st and 2nd). My family had some trouble getting out on Sunday they planned to leave by noon but there were many buses full of high-schoolers trying to get out as well. The snow was falling steadily and on the way out of the valley seven buses got stuck along with many cars and vans. A total of three hundred campers were sent back to camp and my family was sent back as well. They sat around our home for another few hours and at 11:00pm the road was deemed “clear” by the highway patrol and they were free to leave. We ended the second week of Corin’s life by taking to the pediatric apt that was previously mentioned. It has been a wild ride! Can’t wait for more.