text:
I subscribe to way too many blogs than I care to mention, but one of my favorites is from Simple Mom. The most recent feed I received was in regard to always wanting wanting wanting. We always want more. I think she hits the nail on the head with her post: http://simplemom.net/the-pursuit-of-more/.
Believing in the Magic
Found this online, and I thought it perfectly summarized my thoughts on Santa Claus: http://betterthingsahead.com/my-stance-on-the-man-in-red/.
Peas, Please
When Daddy's in the Doghouse
I've noticed that I'm always blogging about how good life is. Fluffy talk, we'll call it. And life is good, but anyone who knows me, knows that I tell it like it is and don't beat around the bush. If things are good, you'll hear me jabbering about it. But just the same if things are bad -- if something is bad, you're sure to hear me bitching about it and putting in my two cents.
What I write on here is always authentic and completely from the most tender part of my heart. Writing about Greta always gets the best of me, and I start talking the fluffy talk in two seconds flat. Get me talking about other things, though, and I'll start throwing out the f-bomb and other expletives. Sometimes the lady in me has to take a rest.
The below photos are from an e-mail that Eric just sent me. The man gets an "A" for effort, that's for sure. Here's a little background on what inspired him to send the e-mail...
Lately, Eric has been getting under my skin. Just annoying me with little things. He is an amazing man, and I love him, but ARGHHHH. Leave me the fuck alone already. It's not just one thing; it's the culmination of this and that. A little poke here and a little jab there. Like the incessant nighttime snoring and yelling at me when I ask him to roll over onto his tummy so he doesn't snore so loudly and wake up the baby. And yesterday's incident where he was piddling around, working on his chore list when I told him the baby was ready to be fed LAST YEAR. And setting dirty dishes three centimeters from the clean breast pump parts and baby bottles when, one, he knows I am quite particular about keeping the bottle parts away from dirty food dishes; two, he hears me calmly ask him NOT TO SET SAID DIRTY DISH NEXT TO SAID BOTTLE AND PUMP PARTS. It's never, oh, Dre, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that. Instead, it's always the 11 year-old boy response of, "What's wrong with that?" or something similar. Basically, I get frustrated because his natural response isn't to correct his behavior but to instead question my requests. That's the lawyer in him, I suppose.
It's not like I'm asking him to just jump however high when I say jump. I'm just asking for a little respect and appreciation. Obviously, if I've taken the energy to have an opinion on something and the will to state that opinion, then it's probably, more than likely, something that matters to me, so JUST DO IT.
Call me a rag. Might be appropriate given I'm showing signs of having my first post-pregnancy period. Sorry for the TMI, but that might explain my sensitivity.
What Eric's excuse is, I cannot say.
Family Time
I'll be frank. Lately, I've sucked with blogging. What have we been up to, you ask? Just trying to enjoy the calm before the storm (aka Christmas). I've been loving every bit of it.
Cool Mist Humidifier
We're on the hunt to purchase a cool mist humidifier for Greta's room. The first one I bought sent Eric's head spinning after reading about how-to and how-not-to clean the damn thing.
Does anyone have any recommendations for a cool mist humidifier that they've had luck with, one that does not involve 26 cleaning steps prior to its first use?
Paper Back Swap
I love to read. I love it when I find a book that I can get so lost in that I have trouble putting it down. I love it when I actually look forward to middle-of-the-night nursing sessions just so I can keep on reading the story and see what happens next!
Back in the day, I used to buy books from Borders. And sometimes I still do. But I've become a big fan of getting books from the library or purchasing them off Amazon.com, where you can get them shipped to you for free if you spend over $25.00.
My new favorite way to get books, though is http://www.paperbackswap.com/. Just as the name suggests, you trade books. So tonight, someone requested one of my books. I just printed off a mailing labeling from my computer, and I'll drop it in my mailbox for tomorrow's mail pick-up. I am then credited for the book I've sent, and I then have a credit to choose a book from someone else. I'm not a collector, and I'm very anti-clutter, so naturally, I'm not a fan of needless books (other than classics and all-time favorites) setting on a shelf collecting dust. Paperback Swap keeps my books rotating so I've always got something new to read.
I'm currently reading "Nineteen Minutes," by Jodi Picoult. It's not one of my favorites by her, but I'm a third of the way through so I'm making myself finish it. If you're an avid book-reader, another great site is http://www.goodreads.com/. You can keep track of books you've read, books you'd like to read and you can also review and read reviews of books. I like it because I often don't have time to go hunt down what book I want to read next, so I just go to my "to read" list and pick a book.
I'm off to read a little before bed now. G'night!
Labels: books, favorite things
Ice Cream, You Scream!
I'm trying my best at keeping up with my little version of Oprah's Favorite things, but I've been so busy the last few days trying to get all the Christmas stuff up. The tree is now decorated. I need to take a photo of it. It looks like metallic gold Christmas fairy sneezed all over our living room. Eric assures me it's pretty; I think he just said that so I wouldn't start pulling off ornaments. It's over-decorated. I'll admit that. But I've got it in my head that this is the last Christmas in a while that we'll be decorating with heavy, hand-blown glass ornaments. Next year, we'll have a little girl who will be quite interested in -- and very-much capable of -- exploring the holiday decor. In other words, she'll be getting into everything, including the big green shrub we'll bring into the house at the start of December.
Last night, while decorating the tree, Eric went to Dairy Queen and got us Blizzards. I'm addicted to these things lately. Here's the exciting part -- if you join Dairy Queen's Blizzard Fan Club (**WARNING -- THIS WEB SITE MAKES LOUD NOISE, IN CASE YOU'RE CHECKING THIS AT WORK, which I doubt you are because I'm sure you're busy, um, working...), you can get a coupon for buy-one-get-one-free. Actually, you can get multiple coupons, because just this past week, they sent me one to try their newest flavor, and then they sent me one for my birthday, which is this Saturday, and I also got one just for signing up. And then I had Eric sign up, too. Nope, no shame in whoring out your husband's e-mail address in the spirit of love for some free ice cream.
What's your favorite flavor? Mine is turtle pecan cluster. Makes me want one now...
Tomorrow's Another Day...
Today has been an excruciatingly long day. I stupidly did not go to bed until 2 a.m., and I was then up every other hour with Greta either because she was hungry or because I didn't swaddle her well and her flailing arms woke her up.
I woke up in the morning with chills and felt achy all over and just hoped for the time to quickly pass so that it would be Greta's nap time. I ended up laying the baby in bed with me while I slept on and off and tried to nurse her when she seemed hungry. Eric came home early in the afternoon so that I could go to a couple doctor's appointments. I was thrilled when my "relief" showed up, but unfortunately, there was no rest for the weary -- I was then off to the dermatologist to have some moles cut off. Ouch.
Then on the way home, I ran over a wheel barrow while driving 65 mph on 55 South. My CRV was drivable, but it's banged up underneath. I drove home, started feeling a bad headache coming on, and am now going to call it a day just hoping that tomorrow is better.
My favorite thing(s) for today? Hmmm... Sleep. Tylenol.
The FURminator
There are so many times that I think, "Love this product, couldn't live without it," and it's usually something to do with baby crap or something that makes my life easier and less complicated (which probably means it is something baby-related because that's what it's all about for me these days). And since I don't have that exciting of a life outside the home right now, I get to thinking, "I must tell so-and-so that she needs one of these," or "My friend what's-her-name would love this."
So, I've decided, for the days leading up to Christmas, I'm going to do a favorite things list. Maybe no one cares what my favorite things are. If you don't, then don't read what I write. :-)
Yesterday, I was at a baby shower, where every one was sipping on wine in pretty glasses and engaging in adult conversation; there I was -- recently showered, hair blown out and flat-ironed, face spruced up with makeup, donning clean, pressed clothes... What's the saying? Something about a fish out of water? Anyway, like my lack of spit-up-covered attire suggested; I was out of my element. And when I'm out of my element, I think I forget the socially appropriate ways to communicate. Evidence of this? My conversation starter to a friend, "Hey, Stephanie? Do beagles shed? Because let me tell you about my favorite product, the Furminator."
I digress. Forget about my social ineptness. Let's get back to my favorite things.
The FURminator. If you have a cat or dog that sheds, and you don't have a FURminator, get off your couch and drive yourself to Petsmart YESTERDAY. This item is amazing. If you go check out the web site, you'll see a photo of a dog that was recently FURminated (if that's a verb/word), and the dog is surrounded by enough hair to make you think she had a litter of 12 puppies. When I first saw this photo, I thought for sure that was an advertising gimmick. It's not. I use the FURminator on Payton (my 5 year-old black Lab who sheds like crazy), and this thing is a Godsend. It gets all the undercoat and loose hair. It's amazing.
I think I paid $50 for this thing, but it was soooo money well-spent. I bought it at a Petsmart a couple years ago, thinking that if I didn't like it, I'd just return it and get my money back (Petsmart has a very friendly, liberal return policy). I figured I had nothing to lose. The product ended up working so well that I kept it. You can also purchase FURminator products at Groomingdale's on Watson in St. Louis. By the way, the company is locally-based, which I always think is pretty nifty.
Labels: favorite things, payton
For Sale!
Gobble Gobble
Greta visited her pediatrician last week for her four-month check-up and vaccinations, and she now weighs 11 pounds, 13 ounces.
Not as big as a turkey, but getting there!
Sweeter Than Pumpkin Pie
One Reason I'm Glad I Breastfeed...
Before anyone gets their panties in a bunch... :-) I AM NOT SAYING THAT YOU ARE A BAD MOM IF YOU FORMULA FEED YOUR BABY.
Cute Little Stuff
... This morning... It's 5 a.m., and Greta wakes up to eat. Generally, during any middle-of-the-night or early-morning feeding, I keep quiet so that Greta will just eat, not be stimulated, stay halfway sleeping and then easily doze off back into slumber land. This morning, though, she was so stinkin' happy and kept smiling at me. When I went to go pick her up out of her crib -- big gummy smile. When I was changing her diaper, big ol' grin. Now, again, I try to limit interaction so that she doesn't get too awake, but how can you NOT offer back a big smile when she's just throwing 'em at you!?!
Little by Little
Last night, Greta received her first of five injections of the Synagis medication. For those of you who aren't familiar -- Synagis is a shot that helps protects a baby's lungs; specifically, it is to protect a baby from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). RSV is the number one cause for hospitalization for babies under a year. SCARY. According to the Synagis web site, Preemies and babies born with a heart or lung condition are at higher risk for severe RSV disease, which could lead to serious lung infections like pneumonia and bronchiolitis. It is estimated that the annual infant death rate due to RSV is 10 times greater than that of the flu, with up to 400 infant deaths from RSV each year in the U.S.
We've gotten some flack from friends because we don't take Greta to football Sundays, BBQs or other casual soirees. We don't parade her around town. She doesn't shop at the grocery store or Target, and the mall is also off limits. I run errands when she is with her grandma or Daddy so that I don't have to tote her around and expose her to needless germs. We limited visitors when we first got home but have since opened our doors to those who aren't sick or haven't been around sick people/children. We don't take her to parties or get-togethers with friends. We wash our hands. A LOT.
Really, we're not crazy. We're just following doctors' orders.
Back in the day, when Eric and I had conflicting viewpoints on things, we decided that the determining factor would be the advice of our pediatrician. We figured the neonatologists and pediatrician had more experience than we, and, after all, we didn't spend all that time and energy choosing a pediatrician just to throw his advice out the window. And here's the dealio, folks. Greta was born 7 weeks early at 4 pounds, 12 ounces. When you bake your holiday cookies in a couple weeks, check out that bag of unopened sugar. Greta was smaller than that. (Side note -- she is now 11 pounds, 2 ounces!)
Preemies have compromised immune systems, and therefore have a higher likelihood of getting sick. Yes, she needs to build up immunity to germs, but right now during RSV-season (October - April), it's not worth chancing it. Greta, fortunately, has not gotten sick since being home from the hospital. If there is anything we can do to keep it that way, we're going to.
The Synagis injection is one of the pre-cautions we've chosen to ward off nasty RSV. Our insurance company first denied us coverage, but many a phone call later, and thanks to our incredible pediatrician who appealed the denial, we were finally approved for the injection. Thank God. Otherwise, the injection costs about $1k per month.
You do the math. Five months of the shot. A thousand bucks a pop. That's $5,000. So... A little hand washing, keeping the little chica out of public places, limiting her exposure to unnecessary germs? SO WORTH IT.
Four Months
Dear Greta,
Today you are four-months old. Happy third-of-a-year to you! This past month was a very busy one for you and our little family.
On October 26, you were baptized at the same church that your daddy was baptized. You wore the same dress that your Aunt Karen wore as a little baby, and you were beautiful. You were quite the little lady, too -- no crying except when the water was poured over your head, but that did not last long.
One of the presents that you received in honor of your baptism was a scale. And we've been using the thing like crazy because you are G.R.O.W.I.N.G. For so long, you were so little and fragile, but we're now proud to report that you're catching up with mama, as you now have chubby cheeks, a double chin and rolls on your thighs. Weighing in at about 11 pounds, you're starting to almost outgrow your 0-3 month wardrobe. Just last week, your newborn-sized clothes retired to storage, and I couldn't help but get a little teary-eyed thinking that you'd never wear these little clothes again and in no time, you'd be dressing up your baby dolls in them.
We can no longer swaddle you in plain ol' receiving blankets because you're too long, and plus, you bust out of them because you MUST have your arms out and about. You love looking at yourself in the mirror when we're changing your diaper. You like watching the ceiling fan but not as much as you love looking at me or your daddy when we talk to you. You have grown more generous in coughing up the smiles, and it's so fun to see you do it! Sometimes you'll wake up from a cat nap, and you'll just look at me and smile, like, "Thanks, mama, I'm glad you're still here." A lot of times, you'll smile and do a little shrug, as if to say, "This smile? This old thing? I've been doing it for a LONG time." You're so proud of your little smiles, and it's precious.
Just in the past 4-5 days you've started talking. A goo. A coo. That's what you like to say. It's the sweetest sound I've ever heard, and I could listen to you all day.
While three-months old, you celebrated your first Halloween, where we dressed you as a pea in the pod. You were pretty darn cute and impressively tolerant of the silly Jolly Green Giant contraption of a hat. I thank you for your patience, because you're slowly learning that sometimes, for your scrapbooking-obsessed Mama, it's ALL about the photo opportunity.
Your daddy and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary just a few days ago. Unlike years past, there were no trips to Mexico or Florida this year. Simple cards replaced presents, and you know what? It was the best anniversary ever because our present was YOU.
So, in Greta's world, you've been making quite a way for yourself, with all the talking and growing and looking sweet and cute all the time! The bigger picture of life has also been making its own way. On November 4, we had the most important presidential election in history. The Republican ticket featured a woman vice-presidential candidate while the Democratic ticket included an African-American presidential candidate, Barack Obama. The Democrats won the election, and Barack Obama was elected the next President of the United States.
I've never been one to show much interest in politics, but I must admit that I could not help but become captivated by watching this election unfold. It's no longer just my future I'm wishing for, but it's yours. I went to vote, for you.
Said Perfectly
While looking through my domino magazine, I found this quote in a Motrin ad:
"Sometimes I secretly wish I could trade places with my baby. Instead of lugging around my 30 lb.-stroller, it'd be cool, for just an hour, if someone pushed me around while I chill inside, all bundled up having a poop. That would be awesome."
Greta's Baptism
We had a great weekend! Greta got baptized, and it was a beautiful day.
Will post more later, but I've come down with a nasty cold and feel like crap. Now excuse me while I go deal with the after-effects of Mucinex. Bleh.
What's up with us...
Today, Michelle Ross from Under Grace Photography came to the house to photograph Greta. Greta was a trooper -- two hours of Mama and Michelle making her play model. She showed us what she thought, though, as evidenced in the photos at the beginning of this post.
Growing Greta
Today we had a Parents As Teachers lady come visit Greta. Greta followed the ball with her eyes, responded to voices, cooed and did everything else the nice lady wanted her to do. She even pooped two diapers-full and insisted on eating during the visit. We were quite busy.
The lady left satisfied, saying that Greta is right on target for a baby her age (in consideration that with her prematurity she's technically just 6 weeks old and not 3 months old). She said this just BEFORE we did tummy time, where we placed Greta on her tummy and she proceeded to roll over. How's THAT for on target!?
Labels: greta
Three Months
Dear Greta,
For the months leading up unto the past few days, you HAD to be swaddled tightly in order to sleep soundly. Just the other day, you fell asleep with your arms up above your head for the first time ever. The next day, I walked in to check on you while you were napping, and there you were again, all stretched out. Oh, the life!
It's not just Poppy who thinks the world of you. It's all of us. It's me and your dad, and it's Mimi and your other grandma and your aunts and uncles, too. Every one is so gosh darn happy when they're around you, and it feels so good to have everyone come together and just enjoy you. You bring out the best in our little family.
Just the other night, I was at a wedding, and it brought back memories of three years ago, when your Daddy and I married. I was a bossy bitch back then and insisted on everything being just so. It's funny -- I wanted everything to be so perfect on our wedding day; I focused on all the wrong things, and to be honest with you, I had a real hard time enjoying that day. Here I am now, and I expect nothing. I don't expect perfection. I've learned to accept each day for whatever happens and in whatever order. I don't expect you to be perfect now, nor will I ever. Funny thing is, now that I don't purposefully seek perfection, it seems to show itself a little more frequently. Strange how things work sometimes.
Greta, you keep me excited about each day, and I love that. You've brought out the best in our family, and you've brought out the best in me. If I had to sum up the past month in a word, I would say confidence. Try and follow me here -- you see, when you were first born, you dad and I were scared to death of everything -- whether you'd survive, how to hold you, how to feed you, how to change your diaper. When we brought you home, we were still scared. Gradually, we've learned how to be parents. It was YOU who taught us how to be parents.
You no longer seem so fragile and breakable, and taking care of you is no longer so intimidating. You've given me the confidence to believe that I can do this. And I'm doing it! Thanks to you.
I keep a little list that I've titled, "Things I Love About You," and one day, when I get around to getting back to scrapbooking, I plan to incorporate this list. My most recent favorite thing that Greta has done?
The other evening, we were driving home from Mimi and Poppy's house, and Greta was tired. She was fighting sleep, and she started crying at a stoplight. I reached my arm back so that I could plug her binky back in her little mouth, and she grabbed onto my hand and held it tightly. It was too sweet, and I couldn't help but drive the next two miles home with my left arm steering the wheel and my right arm extended to the car seat behind me.
Oh, how I love love love this little girl.
I quit my job this week. Went and cleared out my office on Thursday. It felt good. I didn't like the job anyway (sorry to any co-workers reading this!), but I'm too smart and talented to sit at a desk and put labels on file folders all day long. Needless to say, it was not difficult to walk away. Sure, there are people who I will miss seeing on a daily basis, but that's what e-mail and phones are for.
Labels: greta
Thank You, Matt Damon
Not only are you handsome as hell, but you are intelligent and insightful, too. Thanks for hitting the nail on the head.
Stop the Pedophiles
The other day, Oprah did a show on pedophiles. Did you see it? I didn't. The previews looked too disturbing to watch. Yes, call me chicken. I'll call myself chicken. I'm embarassed to admit that I turned my head.
Shortly after the show aired, I received an e-mail from an old friend, urging her friends to write their senators to do something about the lack of funding to lock up these awful nutjobs. I figured I turned my head once by choosing not to watch the show, all in the name of trying to save my own anxiety, but I felt bad for that and realized I need to be a big girl and not ignore an issue. An extremely important issue. Especially now that I have a child to watch out for. I can turn away from things that effect me, fine, but to ignore things for Greta... I just feel like I owe it to her, as her mother, to try to play my small part in doing what I can.
So, here's the scoop: go to http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20080911_tows_predators and write your sentator. Oprah's web site provides a sample letter that you can use, so it's basically all done for you. A few copies and pastes, and voila, you'll be done.
Bright-eyed & Bushy-tailed
Hot Mama
I just checked my answering machine, and there was a message from some dude I didn't know. But he knew my name, and he was all, "Hey, do you wanna meet up? ... I was just calling to check in to see how you're doing."
Then the next message was the same dude saying he'd accidentally called the wrong Andrea Walter.
Payton Update
Over the weekend, she somehow wriggled her way back into the Walter mix; with no invitation from Eric or me, she was laying in the great room next to our feet, like she never missed a beat.
I'm not sure if she is feeling better because her wound has healed or if because she no longer feels so isolated from confinement to the basement and laundry room. I suppose it is a combination of the two.
She now follows me around everywhere, which is funny in comparison to when I was pregnant, and she really felt no need to listen to me. I think she knows now that I'm the one who is home all day with her and her fate of being fed and let out to potty is all in my hands. She's learned that beggers can't be choosers because being pet on the tummy with my foot is better than not being pet at all.
Labels: payton
Feeling Guilty
... for eating chocolate and peanut butter cup ice cream while nursing the baby.
Scratch that.
Feeling guilty for getting chocolate and peanut butter cup ice cream ON the baby while nursing the baby.
Happy First Birthday, Ella Grace!
Hard to believe, my little niece is one-year old today! Here's a photo from a year ago.
All's Well That Ends Well
Or something like that.
Wow, this past week and half has been the week from hell. It's been like final exam week. Or sorority rush. Initiation week. Or let's-see-how much-Dre-can-handle-before-she-calls-the-shrink-begging-for-a-sedative. Seriously. When I was at the vet today, I asked if they had any meds I could take. The workers at the front desk did not think I was funny. I was not joking, kids. Hand over the doggie painkillers pronto.
So, for a little over a week, we've been working on exclusively breastfeeding. We as in me and Greta. Eric, God bless him, has been plugging away at the office working on a project that is due tomorrow. For the past two weeks, he has been working until past midnight. Our only in-person conversations have been in the middle of the night when I've gotten up to feed Greta. The majority of those conversations go something like this, "Roll over on your tummy. NOW." And then Eric grumbles, and then I have to tell him that he is snoring like a bear and he must roll onto his tummy.
Back to the topic of breastfeeding... When I was pregnant, I wasn't sure if I would breastfeed. I'll be honest; I didn't know how I'd feel about it, if I would be comfortable or uncomfortable with it. I was afraid I'd see it as weird, as in another living being sucking on my boob. It's not like that at all. But since I didn't really think I'd end up breastfeeding, I never really learned much about it, so I'm going about this with no clue. I freak out every other day about whether Greta is getting enough nourishment, if she's gaining enough weight, if I'm starving her, if she is dehydrated. You'd think that I secretly like to torture myself by stressing myself out.
So, breastfeeding -- stressor numero uno.
And then the hubby is MIA. Off makin' the bacon but MIA.
And then to top it off, we've got the dog situation. And, boy was it a SITUATION. Egh. Payton had a lump on her hind leg that we had removed last week. I guess we never gave it much thought as to how bad it would be. Dog ended up having a huge chunk taken out of her hind leg, eight staples holding the suture together and two rubber drains dangling from her leg. And the blood, oh the blood! We had to put her in the basement because the bloody mess was out of control. The first night Eric brought her home from the vet, she cried in pain. It broke my heart. For anyone who knows me, they know that I love that dog like a person. I felt so helpless, especially because in the past, pre-child, I could go down and devote all my time and attention to her and her situation.
Not this time. There I was, kid eating from the boob, husband at work, dog intermittently crying and banging her lampshade Elizabethan collar against the basement support beams and dripping blood all over the place.
There's no point to this entry. I think I'm too exhausted to mesh all these thoughts together. The long and short of it is that I took Payton to the vet this afternoon to have her drains removed. She busted out of her lampshade collar on the way there, and thank God the vet said she could do without the collar. Payton has now graduated to the laundry room where we've moved her cozy dog corduroy dog bed and food and water accommodations. I can now get to her more easily and don't feel like I'm keeping a prisoner in my basement. And Eric is now finished with his work stuff, and we had dinner together at 8 o'clock.
And Greta and me? We're still working on this breastfeeding concept, but we don't have a crying dog to deal with, and we've got Eric by our side. THAT, my friends, is Xanax in the most natural form. Ahhhh.
Labels: breastfeeding, greta, payton
The Beginning
Welcome to my blog! I created this blog a while back with the intentions of posting my paper crafts, but I didn't get too far.
I've decided to start blogging a bit about my life as a new mama, or as our doula called it, "domestic engineer." I have no clue what I'm doing as far as design or anything goes, so I'm winging it here, but I hope you enjoy...
I'll try to keep everyone updated on Miss Greta, the sunshine of my life. In a nutshell, here's a little bit about her:
Greta was born on July 6, 2008, seven weeks early. She was 4 lbs., 12 oz., and she was 18.5 inches long. I had pre-eclampsia and had been on bedrest in the hospital, but my blood pressure skyrocketed, and I had to deliver Greta sooner than we'd expected. The emergency c-section sucked. Having a baby in the NICU sucked. Becoming a mother has brought me more joy than I could have ever imagined.
Wow. All I have to say is that no one ever told me that I'd love her this much. I think I said that to Eric for the first two weeks we had Greta. It's true -- no one could have ever said anything to prepare me for the overwhelming love I have for my daughter.
Greta has since been home for a month. It's been a crash course in baby-raising, but we're having a ball. Stay tuned.
Today marks one month since we brought you home. It's been the most fulfilling month of my entire life! I never imagined that someone so small could bring about such big emotions. You make my heart melt a million times a day. Each day I think to myself that I will get used to that feeling, but I haven't yet -- each tomorrow leads me to wanting more of you. I wake up each morning excited to spend my day with you.
As I was driving home last night, there was a country song on the radio called, "I Saw God Today," and in that moment I realized how the title of that song sums up everything you are and everything I feel when I look at your beautiful face.
You truly are a miracle. You were born seven weeks early, and in your two weeks in the NICU, you fought like a champ. You stayed on room air (no supplemental oxygen) the entire time and never required a feeding tube. You were such a trooper the entire time. I left the hospital a little over a week after having you, and it was so hard leaving without you. I knew you were in good hands, yes. But you were a part of me for 8 months, and I felt so incomplete without you.
You came home on July 20. We were so happy to have you home with us but so scared and nervous, too! Daddy and I had no clue as to how to take care of a baby! That first night, I slept with my ear on your bed, listening to every single peep and squeak you made. I watched the clock, waiting for the time to feed you. We'd left the hospital on a strict feeding schedule of every three hours, and I was so nervous about "messing up" and not feeding you on time! At the time, you didn't always wake up when you were hungry. Oh how you've changed in a month. You now let us know when you're hungry, and you've also since discovered your voice. You are my child, for sure -- you love to make sure you're heard.
Life has changed so much since you came along. Our days are now measured in soiled diapers and wet burp cloths. Each day starts off with the feeling of Christmas Day because I get so excited to see you. I look forward to constantly discovering something new about you. Just today, I decided I love to kiss the back of your neck. About a hundred times a day, I have to keep myself from gobbling you up whole. You're just so scrumptious. I cannot get enough of you.
I worried that I wouldn't feel that instant bond with you. I worried about hitting bottom really quickly and being numbed with postpartum depression. The fear from those worries kept me from ever imagining how wonderful you would be and what it would feel like to be so in love. But the truth is, I never could have, in my wildest dreams, imagined how wonderful you would be.
When I was pregnant with you, my prayers consisted of pleas for your health and well-being. And while I still pray for your good health, my prayers now are those of praise. I've never felt so blessed.
I thank God, but I thank you.
Paper Slut T-Shirts
They're here!!! For months, I've been wearing my black paper slut t-shirt to various crops. People have been asking about it, so I decided to sell them! These shirts are black and are embellished with crystals that read "paper slut." (Obviously, see adjacent picture. haha)
Are you addicted to buying paper, like I am? We've all got our "thing" when it comes to the scrapbooking and cardmaking hobby. Mine has always been paper. I love the textures, the designs, the variety of colors. I'm like a kid in a candy store when I'm checking out scrapbooking paper!
These shirts are fitted and run a tad small, so my recommendation is to go up a size. I currently have sizes M-3X. Most people fit comfortably in a 2X.
The shirts are $25.00 each, but if you buy more than one of my shirts, they are $20.00 each. Contact me @ firstname.lastname@example.com if you're interested!
Crop Crazy T-Shirts
T-shirts! T-shirts! T-shirts! Nothing screams fun at a crop than wearing a fun scrapbooking t-shirt!!! And this one fits the bill, don't ya think? I'm selling these shirts for $25 each. Buy more than one, and they're $20 each.
I have these shirts in both black and dark pink.
They run fairly true to size and are pre-shrunk. Available in sizes XL and 2XL.
Super cute and super comfy!!! Contact me at firstname.lastname@example.com if you're interested!
My blog!
Stay tuned! More to come soon!


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" You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State "
– Quaid e Azam M. A. Jinnah on 11th August, 1947
"The adoption of Western economic theory and practice will not help us in achieving our goal of creating a happy and contended people. We must work our destiny in our own way and present to the world an economic system based on true Islamic concept of equality of manhood and social justice"
–Quaid e Azam M. A. Jinnah on the occasion of the Opening Ceremony of The State Bank of Pakistan on 1st July, 1948

subset: commoncrawl


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This standard provides a classification of, and specifies requirements for,
gypsum products used for dental purposes such as making oral impressions,
moulds, casts, dies or model bases, and mounting models. It specifies the test
methods to be employed to determine compliance with these requirements. It also
includes requirements for the labeling of packaging and for adequate
instructions to accompany each package.


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As part of an independent international survey effort by transit agencies serving 14 cities around the world, Metro is asking customers to tell us their thoughts about the bus service we provide. The 14 agencies will compare the results of their surveys in order to learn from one another and work toward providing even better service. We would like to hear your thoughts about the bus service Metro Transit provides for you. Please take this quick, simple and confidential survey, available in English, Spanish and Traditional Chinese. The deadline for submitting it is May 21, 2017. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.
Please note the information below about service advisories and alerts due to known events and construction in Metro's service area.
Events –
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- Saturday, 5/20 at 2:00 PM;
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Long-term Construction Reroutes
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We are here weekdays from 6-9 AM and 3-7 PM to help keep an Eye on your Metro Commute.


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Engagement Announcement
Congratulations on your engagement. We are excited to share your news in the Malvern Daily Record. Engagement announcements are published on Tuesday and Saturdays. All submissions will be edited at our discretion to fit our format. Engagement announcements must be turned in two weeks before the preferred publication date. Announcements published in the Tuesday edition will cost $27.00 with a limit of 150 words. Announcements published in the Saturday edition will cost $22.00. A newspaper representative will contact you to confirm your order and to make any necessary adjustments. If your engagement announcement is more than 150 words, please contact our lifestyles department for cost. Announcements are subject to editing.


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The chain of dominoes has brought the regimes of Ben Ali in Tunisia and Mubarak in Egypt, may topple Gaddafi in Libya… and other presidents and monarchs are in peril. What has happened in these other countries? Welcome to the Spineless Liberal's fact-file on the Arab Spring.
Divided up into four, including a brief description of the protests and possible outcomes – first up, the success stories. Egypt and Tunisia.
Egypt and Tunisia
The success stories…thus far… of the Arab Spring.
Unemployment; food inflation; corruption; lack of political freedoms and poor living conditions led to widespread protests against President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia. Back on December 17th, Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian street vendor, set himself on fire in Sidi Bouzid, due to alleged harassment by a municipal official. Peaceful marches the next day were met by violence from the police – reportedly including tear gas attacks.
Other protesters (Lahseen Naji and Ramzi Al-Abboudi) also killed themselves during the protests. On the 24th of December, Mohammad Ammari was shot in the chest and killed by police in Bouziane. Eventually, over 200 would die in the protests.
By the 27th, the protests reached Tunis, the capital, and as the protests escalated, so did the violence. Labour Unions and lawyers joined the protests and it spread across Tunisia. By the 14th of January, President Ben Ali resigned and fled to Saudi Arabia after 23 years in power.
This left Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi in effective control. On the 27th, he announced a reshuffle of the Cabinet, removing 6 former members of Ben Ali's Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) party had left the interim government. Only Ghannouchi remained from the RCD. While he vowed on the 22 that he would resign after holding free elections within six months, the protests continued against him personally, demanding his resignation, and the cleansing of the cabinet of any last vestiges of the RCD. Ghannouchi resigned on the 27th of February, and was replaced by Beji Caid el Sebsi, a lawyer and former cabinet member in the early 1990s.
By the 3rd of March, the new Acting President, Fouad Mebazaa, promised elections to a Constitutional Assembly on the 24th of July 2011, and general elections soon after. On the 7th, the secret police have been dissolved, followed by the RCD themselves on the 9th. We may now see a truly democratic regime in Tunisia.
However, March 1st also saw the foundation of the Renaissance Party or Nahda, an Islamist opposition group. Ben Ali may have been despotic, but the West widely supported him for helping us the fight against extreme Islamism – perhaps with Ben Ali's overthrowing (he is now reportedly in a come in Saudi Arabia, following a stroke) we will see a more Islamic state in Tunisia.
Egypt was widely inspired by the Tunisian protests, with protesters quoted as shouting "Ben Ali tell Mubarak he is next". While Ben Ali ruled Tunisia for 23 years, Mubarak has reigned in Egypt since the assassination of President Anwar Sadat in 1981, meaning an impressive 30 years at Egypt's helm.
Following another case of self-immolation, the Day of Revolt on the 25th of January, 2011 was the day tens of thousands of protesters gathered on the streets of Cairo and other cities. The next day, the Egyptian government shut down the internet. By the 28th, the protests had reached the "Friday of Anger". As February dawned, Mubarak offered concessions – that he would not run for another term in office, and would merely stay to oversee a peaceful transition. This was not enough for the protesters, and protests continued until Mubarak's resignation on the 11th of February, leaving the Supreme Council of the Egyptian armed forces in change of the country. Vice President Suleiman was nominal leader.
By now, the army has said it will not field a candidate in the September elections, has dissolved Parliament (as per the demands of the protesters), and dismantled the secret police.
The death toll stands at 384 dead, and over 6,000 injured.
Most recently, on the 19th of February, a constitutional referendum passed with 77% in favour – this means amendments to the constitution, hopefully guaranteeing fairer presidential and parliamentary elections to take place. However…there's always a however, opposition figure Mohamed El Baradei (former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency) was opposed, claiming that elections this summer would only benefit the National Democratic Party (Mubarak's party) and the Muslim Brotherhood, now openly active in Egypt…the only two groups established enough to actively campaign in an organised manner in the elections and also the only two groups campaigning for the yes vote.


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This recipe takes me right back to my childhood, my mum used to make a very similar dish and I had completely forgotten about it until I was reminded about it in college last (academic) year. It came up in one of our practical cookery classes and since then I have experimented with it several times until I came up with this recipe.
The recipe that I give for the stuffing, is a large enough quantity for three or four fillets, I like to make up the stuffing and freeze what I don't use in "portions" so I'm not making it every time. I can just stuff, roll and roast as needed then. It's also surprising just how quickly this can be put together even on a week night, just roast a few potatoes and some fresh veg in the oven with it and you have a really simple impressive dinner.
Apricot and raisin stuffing
40g butter
1 large onion, diced
115g dried apricots, soaked, drained and diced
115g seedless raisins
115g fresh white breadcrumbs
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
and the rest
1 x pork fillet
Packet of Serrano ham
Begin by making the stuffing, heat the butter in a small pan and fry the onion over a moderate heat for about 3 minutes until translucent.
Place the apricots into a large bowl. Add the onions (butter and all), raisins, breadcrumbs and ginger. Season the mixture with salt and freshly ground black pepper. If you pick up a handful of the stuffing and squeeze it gently in your fist it should just about hold its shape when you let go. if it's too dry just add a little more butter, if it's a little too wet add some more breadcrumbs. Allow the stuffing to cool before use.
Next you want to take your pork fillet and trim off any excess fat carefully. Once this is done lay it out on a chopping board and make a cut about three-quarters way deep into it and the full length. This should allow you to open the fillet flat onto your chopping board. Using the heel of your hand you want to begin, flattening both sides of the fillet. If you strike at the centre with a movement towards either edge alternatively you should flatten and stretch the fillet out as much as possible.
Now comes the construction part, lay out your Serrano ham slices so that they just about overlap and are about an inch wider than the length of the fillet. Next lay the fillet on top (across all the Serrano ham overlaps) and place a line of your stuffing down the centre. Now comes the difficult bit, you need to fold either end of the Serrano ham over the ends of the fillet and roll the lot into one oversized Serrano ham wrapped sausage type of thing.
Place this in an oiled roasting tray and bake in a 180C oven for one hour, once the juices flow clear you're ready to rest it for 10 minutes, then simply carve and serve.


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Storm delays firework sales for Omaha charity
At least one Omaha charity is missing out on opening day of firework sales in the metro.
The Stephen Center fireworks stand near 90th and Forts streets was damaged in Monday's storm. Crews put up a new tent Tuesday and expect the stand to open Wednesday, one day after the other 49 Omaha stands.
Most of the fireworks still work, but the group said about $5,000 worth of fireworks were damaged.
"We're clearly in the hole to start, but Omaha is a good community. They'll take care of a good charity," said Keegan.
It was a slow start for the Catholic Charities tent near 74th and Dodge streets, especially with two other tents two blocks away.
The Jesuit Middle School stand near 78th and Dodge streets said they are trying to stand out.
"It's all for charity and stuff, so it's in good fun. There are three tents within a mile radius, so business is going to be exciting," said Jesse Suverkubbe.
Suverkubbe expects even more excitement leading up to the Fourth of July.
"The first couple days are a little slower, then people start getting fireworks for the kids and it usually picks up toward the Fourth of July a lot more. Within a week, we'll be so busy here that we won't have time to stand around," Suverkubbe said.
Law enforcement officials said fireworks send thousands of people to hospitals every year and start even more fires. They warn of bundling or modifying fireworks in any way.
On Tuesday night, a fireworks company is setting off different types of fireworks at the Sarpy County fairgrounds in Springfield so people know what to expect when they set them off. The display starts around 8:40 p.m.


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2011 Best Translated Book Awards: Fiction Longlist
Commentary and analysis will go in another post . . . for now, here's the official press release.
January 27, 2011—The 25-title fiction longlist for the 2011 Best Translated Book Awards was announced this morning at Three Percent—a resource for international literature at the University of Rochester. According to award co-founder Chad W. Post, this year's longlist is a "testament to the number of high-quality works in translation that are making their way to American readers, thanks to a number of talented translators and exciting publishing houses."
Featuring authors from 19 countries writing in 12 languages, the list highlights established authors, like Javier Marías and David Grossman, alongside newcomers, such as Julia Franck and Abdelfattah Kilito. It also features titles from the past three centuries, from Eline Vere (originally published in Dutch in 1893) to I Curse the River of Time (first published in Norwegian in 2008), and there's a wide range of length, with Cyclops checking in at 550 pages, and Bad Nature, or With Elvis in Mexico at a much briefer 57 pages.
"Not only is this a collection of the year's most important and compelling books in translation, it's a list of high quality books that deserve readers' attention," said fiction judge Monica Carter. "These books represent a global perspective that, due to the dedication and talent of the translators, can open up the world to readers of English. The Best Translated Book Awards serve the world literature community of writers, translators, and readers in a way that no other award can."
Founded in 2007 with the goal of bringing additional attention to international works of literature, the Best Translated Book Awards are one of the only awards in the country honoring original works in translation. Selection criteria include the quality of the work itself, along with the quality of the translation. All original translations (not retranslations or reprints) published between December 1, 2009, and November 30, 2010, were eligible.
This year's set of judges consists of Monica Carter (Salonica), Scott Esposito (Conversational Reading and Center for the Art of Translation), Susan Harris (Words Without Borders), Annie Janusch (Translation Review), Matthew Jakubowski (writer & critic), Brandon Kennedy (bookseller/cataloger), Bill Marx (PRI's The World: World Books), Michael Orthofer (Complete Review), and Jeff Waxman (Seminary Co-op and The Front Table).
The award itself has grown greatly over the past few years. Beginning as an online-only event, the Best Translated Book Awards now feature an awards ceremony and a $5,000 cash prize—awarded to each winning author and translator, thanks to the support of Amazon.com.
The 10-title fiction shortlist will be announced on Thursday, March 24th, concurrent with the announcement of the finalists for the poetry award. Winners will be announced on April 29th in New York City, as part of the PEN World Voices Festival.
More details about the awards ceremony will be made available in coming weeks. In the meantime, Three Percent will highlight a book a day from the fiction longlist, with pieces written by translators, reviewers, and editors about the individual qualities of each title, and "why it should win."
The 2011 BTBA Fiction Longlist (in alphabetical order by author):
The Literary Conference by César Aira, translated from the Spanish by Katherine Silver (New Directions)
The Golden Age by Michal Ajvaz, translated from the Czech by Andrew Oakland (Dalkey Archive)
The Rest Is Jungle & Other Stories by Mario Benedetti, translated from the Spanish by Harry Morales (Host Publications)
A Life on Paper by Georges-Olivier Châteaureynaud, translated from the French by Edward Gauvin (Small Beer)
A Jew Must Die by Jacques Chessex, translated from the French by Donald Wilson (Bitter Lemon)
A Splendid Conspiracy by Albert Cossery, translated from the French by Alyson Waters (New Directions)
The Jokers by Albert Cossery, translated from the French by Anna Moschovakis (New York Review Books)
Eline Vere by Louis Couperus, translated from the Dutch by Ina Rilke (Archipelago)
Visitation by Jenny Erpenbeck, translated from the German by Susan Bernofsky (New Directions)
The Blindness of the Heart by Julia Franck, translated from the German by Anthea Bell (Grove)
Hocus Bogus by Romain Gary (writing as Émile Ajar), translated from the French by David Bellos (Yale University Press)
To the End of the Land by David Grossman, translated from the Hebrew by Jessica Cohen (Knopf)
The True Deceiver by Tove Jansson, translated from the Swedish by Thomas Teal (New York Review Books)
The Clash of Images by Abdelfattah Kilito, translated from the French by Robyn Creswell (New Directions)
Bad Nature, or With Elvis in Mexico by Javier Marías, translated from the Spanish by Esther Allen (New Directions)
Cyclops by Ranko Marinković, translated from the Croatian by Vlada Stojiljković, edited by Ellen Elias-Bursać (Yale University Press)
Hygiene and the Assassin by Amélie Nothomb, translated from the French by Alison Anderson (Europa Editions)
I Curse the River of Time by Per Petterson, translated from the Norwegian by Charlotte Barslund and the author (Graywolf Press)
A Thousand Peaceful Cities by Jerzy Pilch, translated from the Polish by David Frick (Open Letter)
Touch by Adania Shibli, translated from the Arabic by Paula Haydar (Clockroot)
The Black Minutes by Martín Solares, translated from the Spanish by Aura Estrada and John Pluecker (Grove/Black Cat)
On Elegance While Sleeping by Emilio Lascano Tegui, translated from the Spanish by Idra Novey (Dalkey Archive)
Agaat by Marlene Van Niekerk, translated from the Afrikaans by Michiel Heyns (Tin House)
Microscripts by Robert Walser, translated from the German by Susan Bernofsky (New Directions/Christine Burgin)
Georg Letham: Physician and Murderer by Ernst Weiss, translated from the German by Joel Rotenberg (Archipelago)


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Mplus Home
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Logistic regression models
Mplus Discussion
Categorical Data Modeling
posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2003 - 6:39 am
Hi, is there a way to determine whether a model is linear in the logit for continuous predictor variables in mplus? I am following the Hosmer and Lemeshow criteria for variable selection, section 4.2, in their 2000 second edition text.
posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2003 - 10:03 am
You can always plot the sample logits against x to see if they are approximately linear in x. See Muthen (1993) in the Bollen-Long book - ref on the Mplus web site.
posted on Wednesday, December 17, 2003 - 4:39 am
Thank you.
posted on Saturday, August 27, 2005 - 10:27 am
Hi, I have a big logictic model:
i. 1 binary response(dependent, y)
ii. 20 explanatory(independent, c1-c15 dichotomous, f16-f20 continuous)
iii. 5 interactions including "dichotomous*continuous" and "dichotomous*dichotomous"
iv. 7 coefficients had to be fixed in logictic regression
v. the missing are everythere, "." symbol in SAS file
When I ran yesterday, it appeared that:
1. I couldn't use "TYPE=LOGICTIC", the error message suggested to use "TYPE=RANDOM", CAN I use "TYPE = general missing h1"?
2. I couldn't use "c1xf16 | c1 XWITH f16" and "c1xc2 | c1 XWITH c2", the error message suggested to use "DEFINE command", I tried "DEFINE: c1xf16 = c1 * f16
c1xc2 = c1 * c2;", but the error message said that "c1xf16" and "c1xc2" are unknown, so it didn't work. Could you please to tell me how to create the interaction terms in M+ command? OR is there a simple way in M+ to for interaction like in S+: "c1:f16" or in SAS: "c1*c2" ?
3. Can I use "OUTPUT: standardized sampstat"? If I can't, does it realy matter for model estimates interpretation?
4. Does M+ offer the results of -2*loglikelihood under Ho and Ha? Since we need to use likelihood ratio test for significant term-selestion but I didn't find out in the output.
5. Does M+ have a build-in or existing function for stepwise model selection based on specified BIC or AIC? I know S+ has this kind of function called "stepwise".
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Saturday, August 27, 2005 - 4:26 pm
1. TYPE=LOGISTIC; is just for univariate logisitc regression. If you have categorical outcomes and are using the maximum likelihood estimator, you are estimating logistic regressions. Yes, you can use TYPE=GENERAL MISSING H1; with ESTIMATOR = ML or MLR;
2. If you define new variables, you need to put them at the end of the USEVARIABLES statement. If you did that and still get the message, send your input, data, output, and license number to
3. Yes, you can use this in most cases. You will get sample statistics and standardized parameter estimates.
4. You get a loglikelihood value for your H0 model.
5. No.
Please send further questions of this type along with your license number to
. We try to reserve Mplus Discussion for questions that do not fall under Mplus support.
posted on Wednesday, August 31, 2005 - 12:53 pm
Hi, Linda
I am dealing a data with less than 18000 subjects (18000 rows in SAS data file) with less than 12000 complete.
In the future, I am told to deal with 300000 - 600000 subjects (rows in SAS data file).
Could M+ handle this huge data set?
Could you please tell me the limit of rows or records for M+?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, August 31, 2005 - 2:39 pm
There are no limits on the numbers of observations other than the limits imposed by your own computer.
Marten Beckman
posted on Thursday, September 15, 2005 - 5:34 am
I have a problem with calculating propensity scores: I wanted to predict a binary (treatment/non-treatment)outcome to receive the propabilites to which group the persons should belong considering their covariate-differences.
Problem: I have a hierarchical dataset with some non-ignorable missing data - so Mplus seemed to be the option. But I encountered two problems which i couldn't solve with the manual only:
1) Theoretically I think a "TYPE = LOGISTIC MISSING H1 CLUSTER"-analysis would be appropriate but it seems that this combination doesn't work.
2) I need to have the estimated probabilities to which outcome class my cases belong. [In the manual I just found an option for latent class analysis (these CPROBABILITIES)]. I couldn't find a similar option for the logistic regression.
So my question would be: Can Mplus solve these two problems? How can I do that?
Thank you very much,
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Thursday, September 15, 2005 - 8:18 am
1. I think what you want is TYPE=COMPLEX MISSING; with ESTIMATOR = ML; This will give you logistic regression when you have categorical outcomes. TYPE=LOGISTIC; is only for univariate logistic regression and is limited in which options can be used with it.
2. You would need to calculate probabilities from the logistic regression coefficients. How to do this is described in Chapter 13.
Marten Beckman
posted on Thursday, September 15, 2005 - 10:51 am
thank you, that was very helpful already - the model seems to work (although with MLR instead of ML - but that sould be fine i guess)
for 2.) this chapter 13 did not refer to the problem i have. i need the indvidual values for predicting the class membership: i can't find a command to tell this mplus (or to get the the odds or something)
To illustrate it a bit more what I need: I refer to those values which were equivalent to those ones one gets out of the SPSS-logistic regression with the option:
"regression -> binary regression -> save -> predicted values -> probabilities",
or in syntax language the
LOGISTIC REGRESSION y_binary
/METHOD = ENTER x_contin
I hope that I was able to explain myself a bit better...
Thank you again!
posted on Thursday, September 15, 2005 - 2:42 pm
Mplus does not have an automatic way to compute the values that you want. You would need to compute them using DEFINE in a second run. Let's say that there is one predictor x and therefore one estimated slope b equal to .5 say and one intercept equal to .2 say.
DEFINE: logit = 0.2 + 0.5*x;
prob = 1 / (1 + exp (-logit));
Use the SAVEDATA command to save these values.
David Bard
posted on Wednesday, December 06, 2006 - 11:56 am
How does M+ calculate the StdYX estimates in logistic, proportional odds, and multinomial logit models?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Thursday, December 07, 2006 - 9:02 am
For logistic and proportional odds (ordered categorical I assume), a latent response variable variance is used. It's residual has variance pi squared divided by three. For multinomial logistic regression, standardized coefficients are not provided.
David Bard
posted on Thursday, December 07, 2006 - 11:58 am
Hmmm, I've tried using that value but cannot replicate the M+ values. For example, my point estimate for a single latent variable predictor's logistic coefficient is .277. The variance of this latent predictor is .78. The reported Std coefficient is .245 which does = .277*sqrt(.78). But the reported StdYX is .128 which by my hand calculation does not equal .277*sqrt(.78)/(pi/sqrt(3))=.135. Am I setting up the calculation correctly?
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Thursday, December 07, 2006 - 4:08 pm
For the DV variance you want to use the sum of the explained part and the residual variance.
posted on Friday, June 27, 2008 - 12:14 pm
I am using a bivariate panel model across four time points with one dichotomous (R) and one continuous (S) variable. I assume an autoregressive process for R and use S as a time-varying covariate.
Two quick questions:
1. The model is exactly what I want, but unfortunately the only fit statistics I get are LL(H0), AIC, BIC and adj. BIC, which are more or less helpful in comparing slightly different specifications, but not enough evidence for my reviewers;-) What other options (fit indices, etc.) do I have to justify its use?
2. Regarding the last two omitted ("!") statements: It is my understanding that by default Mplus assumes all exogenous variables to be correlated (as in standard regression). That is what I also assume for all S variables, although I am not particularly interested in this correlation. Parameter estimates are the same with or without the WITH statement, but fit indices differ, so should I include or omit the WITH statement when assessing & reporting model fit?
Thank you very much!
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Friday, June 27, 2008 - 2:36 pm
1. With ML, this is all you get. You can use WLSMV and probit regression if you want to see more traditional fit statistics.
2. The means, variances, and covariances of the exogenous observed variables are not parameters in the model unless you bring them into the model as you do with you WITH statements. When you bring them in, you make distributional assumptions about them.
posted on Friday, October 31, 2008 - 7:46 am
Dear Linda,
In a path analysis with binary outcomes,
y1 on x z
y2 on x z
y3 on y1 y2 z
1. is it possible to estimate indirect effects and be able to get odds ratio interpretation? Using ML gives an error message.
2. is the indirect effect of x on y3 through y1 equivalent to the product of the coefficients for y1 on x and y3 on y1?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Friday, October 31, 2008 - 9:24 am
1. I would need to see the output and your license number at
to comment on this.
2. Yes.
fritz kern
posted on Sunday, November 16, 2008 - 1:10 pm
I've got 4 quick questions following your post from September 15, 2005.
1. Am I right that multiple predictors are simply added up?
For example logit = 0.2 + 0.5*x1 + 0.7*x2 + 0.3x3;
2. Do I use the unstandardized or standardized coefficients for intercept and slopes? I guess unstandardized but I'd like to make this sure.
3. How can I save the prob variable from the define command? I tried various savedata subcommands I found in the manual, but obviously not the correct one.
4. Is it still true for Mplus 5.1 that there is no automatic way to compute these probabilites? And if there is an automatic way - what is it?
Thanks in advance!
posted on Sunday, November 16, 2008 - 1:35 pm
Sorry, I forgot another question: Does it matter if the X1, X2 and so on are continious or categorical? Let's say, I have a model like
y_binary = intercept + X1_continous + x2_continous + x3_categorical
(For example x1 = ses, x2 = personality trait, x3 = sex)
Do I have to take this into account computing the logit?
I just answerded questions 3 from the previous post. I forgot the usevariables command - sorry!
Thanks again!
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Monday, November 17, 2008 - 8:44 am
1. Yes.
2. Unstandardized.
4. If probabilities are not part of the results, there is no option to compute them.
The formula is the same for continuous or binary covariates. You simply select an appropriate value of the covariate.
posted on Monday, November 17, 2008 - 11:02 am
Thanks a lot. I've got another follow up question:
I computed logistic regression with SPSS and MPlus. The results are quite comparable. The only striking difference the algebraic sign of the constant/intercept. In SPSS it's negative in MPlus positive; in both programms it's about +/-9. I don't understand this.
In addition, computing logit and prob, I get a zero variance for the prob. I tried the same calculation for the logit with a negative sign for the MPlus intercept. This lead to comparable probs as I got in SPSS. Do I have to multiply the intercept by -1?
Thanks again!
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Monday, November 17, 2008 - 12:14 pm
Mplus gives a threshold. SPSS gives an intercept. The sign is the only difference between the two. So if the formula requires the intercept, you need to change the sign.
Richard Rivera
posted on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 - 3:48 pm
In M+, I conducted multiple logistic regression analysis on binary outcome (w/ missing data theory). I attained a threshold for each independent variable as well as for the dependent variable.
In spss, I would like to create classification table. In computing the logodds for each case - i need the model intercept.
1. Should I just just the threshold associated with dependent variable(then multiply by -1)?
2. If not, how can I calculate one intercept for the model from the M+ thresholds?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 - 4:30 pm
Richard Rivera
posted on Thursday, June 25, 2009 - 2:43 pm
I conducted multiple logistic regression with the default procedure (FIML for estimate parameters) for data w/ missingness . Moreover, I used MLR estimation w/ monetecarlo numerical integration.
I would like to calculate Satorra-Bentler chi-square difference test between model (w/ multiple indicators) and model with just the intercept. However, I need to how to get log likelihood of just the intercept model.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Thursday, June 25, 2009 - 5:27 pm
Fix all the slopes at zero.
posted on Friday, January 06, 2012 - 2:27 pm
I conducted a logistic regression analysis with a dichotomous moderating variable (i.e. gender). My results showed two significant interactions but I am having trouble figuring out how to interpret these findings in MPLUS.
I tried to probe the interactions similarly to how I would in SPSS (i.e., create a separate variable for boys and one for girls, create new interaction term with variable, and re-run the analyses separately for boys and girls); however, this did not seem to work as the results showed that nothing was significant, which doesn't make sense.
Also, I thought of exporting the data to SPSS so that I could probe and graph the interactions there but I don't think that the values in the ouput or any other scores that I could save would allow me to do that.
I've looked through all the forums and wasn't able to find anything that was especially helpful for this particular issue. Do you have any other suggestions? Thank you.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Friday, January 06, 2012 - 6:01 pm
It sounds like you create an interaction variable as x1*x2, where x2 is dichotomous and you are interested in knowing what the slopes of x1 are for the different genders in the regression
y = a + b1*x1+b2*x2+b3*x1*x2+e.
If that is the case and x2 is scored 0/1, you simply use your regular regression knowledge to find that for x2=0 the x1 slope is b1 and for x2=1 the x1 slope is b1+b3.
posted on Tuesday, January 10, 2012 - 9:09 am
Thank you. Just to clarify, I know that a=the constant but do I get this number from the threshold section? If so, because there are two values here do I assume that they are the two values of my dichotomous outcome variable (dropout$1;graduated or dropout$2;dropout) such that I would choose the value in the estimate column that corresponds to the value I am most interested in (i.e., dropout)?
Relatedly, I know that e=the error term but where in the mplus output would I be able to locate this value. Thank you again for all of your help, it is greatly appreciated.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, January 10, 2012 - 11:06 am
With a dichotomous outcome, the a term is obtained as the negative of the threshold for this outcome. But it sounds like you have more than 2 outcome categories and have either an ordinal or nominal outcome.
You don't use e when you plot interactions - the expected y does not include that residual. Note that the equation I gave is for a continuous dependent variable, which is the logit DV in your case. Translating that to probabilities for the dichotomous outcome is described in our Topic 2 short course - see handout and video on our web site.
Emil Coman
posted on Thursday, January 12, 2012 - 2:04 pm
I am also trying to save the probabilities using Bengt's suggestion above, and I have e.g.
DEFINE: logit = 0.267*sex - 0.011*age ;
prob = 1 / (1 + exp (-logit));
Now, what do I ask for in SAVEDATA, and how? I tried
SAVEDATA: FILE IS logistic_1.csv;
MNAMES logit prob subject ;
MSELECT = logit prob ;
but the file saved does not contain the 2 newly defined variables. Any suggestions? Thanks, Emil
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Thursday, January 12, 2012 - 3:13 pm
You would need to put the new variables, logit and prob, at the end of the USEVARIABLES list. Remove the MNAMES and MSELECT options. They are for merging two data sets.
posted on Tuesday, January 17, 2012 - 8:03 am
The outcome variable only has two values that are labeled but I think that the problem might be that during the analysis, some participants have missing data for the outcome variable and it is being interpreted as being a third value. Consequently, it is assuming that this is an ordinal variable.
However, I was under the assumption that when you run an analysis in MPLUS and run it with syntax to estimate missing data, it would automatically identify the missing value code and not interpret it as an additional value.
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, January 17, 2012 - 2:01 pm
If the missing value code is on the MISSING list for that variable, it will not be treated as a legitimate value. It sounds like you are not reading the data correctly. Please send the input, data, output, and your license number to
terrie andrews
posted on Tuesday, April 10, 2012 - 4:53 pm
I'm trying to get the probabilities of intent on g1 (categorical). What am I doing incorrectly?
TITLE: A intent to group TPB.
DATA: File is /Users/Terrie/Dropbox/TBQ MPLUS intent to group.dat;
VARIABLE: NAMES ARE a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 a6 a7 a8 a9 a10 a11 a12 a13
s1 s2 s3 s4 s5 s6 s7 s8 s9 s10 s11 s12 s13 c1 c2 c3 c4 c5
c6 c7 c8 c9 c10 c11 c12 c13 c14 i1 i2 i3 i4 i5 i6 i7 i8
t1 t2 t3 t4 t5 t6 g1;
USEVARIABLES ARE a2 a4 a6 a7
s9 s10 s13 c3 c10 c11
i5 i7 g1 prob logit;
categorical are g1;
MODEL: attitude by a2 a4 a6 a7;
subject by s9 s10 s13;
control by c3 c10 c11;
intent by i7 i5;
intent on attitude subject control;
g1 on intent;
DEFINE: logit = -1.106 + 0.341*intent;
prob = 1 / (1 + exp (-logit));
savedata: file is output.csv;
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, April 10, 2012 - 5:20 pm
You can't use a latent variable (intent) in Define - it has to be an observed variable in your data.
Instead, use TECH4 in the run where you got the estimates and get the mean and variance of intent. Then use the formula you have (I assume 1.106 is the threshold) for different points on the intent scale (say mean, 1 SD below the mean, 1 SD above the mean).
terrie andrews
posted on Tuesday, April 10, 2012 - 5:42 pm
intent scale is continuous 1 to 5 (e.g., 1.15, 2.74) just realized g1 on intent is not significant
306 in sample, n=77 category 1, n=229 category 2. appears model did not adequately predict binary outcome variable
________ ________ ________ ________ ________
1 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
________ ________ ________ ________ ________
________ ________ ________ ________ ________
terrie andrews
posted on Tuesday, April 10, 2012 - 5:43 pm
oops, meant intent items on intent scale are continuous
Avalon de Bruijn
posted on Monday, May 21, 2012 - 1:42 am
I am conducting a logistic regression analysis of which I would like to plot the estimated probabilities against one of the predictors (adjusted for the covariates).
As I understood I first need to define the estimated probabilities and save them. Here, I run into a problem. The newly defined variables (and other variables) are not saved. What do I do wrong?
logit = 4.021 + (0.077 * sex) + (0.704 * smoking) + (0.119 * age)
+ (0.019 * educ) - (0.029 * q7c) + (0.276 * peeruse) + (0.349 * permpeer)
- (0.195 * permm) + (0.157 * usem) + (0.233 * online) + (0.257 * ABIown)
+( 0.187 * q14alc) + (0.059 * comp4) - (0.010 * q14nalc);
prob = 1 / (1 + exp (-logit));
SAVEDATA: FILE IS newdata.csv;
Thank you in advance.
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Monday, May 21, 2012 - 5:43 am
You need to put the new variables at the end of the USEVARIABLES list.
posted on Saturday, June 07, 2014 - 5:30 am
I am predicting a default of companies with variables which are time varying.
for exp.
Year Default Comp. 1Variable 2variable
How can i run logit reg. where 1-defaulted in year t, 0 - no.
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Saturday, June 07, 2014 - 5:37 pm
You have repeated measures of default. Do you want to do a growth model? What are you trying to do?
posted on Sunday, June 08, 2014 - 2:37 am
Hi Linda,
I am predicting a default probability. have data from annual 2002 -2012 for US companies (for both defaulted and not), each firm has 6 variables( liquidity, profitability and etc).
Is Logistic regression appropriate to use?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Sunday, June 08, 2014 - 11:15 am
You can use a logistic regression at each time point.
posted on Sunday, June 08, 2014 - 11:57 am
Searching some paper I found that researchers estimate probability for example in 3years time.
Would you please advise me how I would do this with logistic regression.?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Sunday, June 08, 2014 - 1:41 pm
See Chapter 14 of the user's guide or a book on categorical data methodology.
posted on Sunday, June 08, 2014 - 1:59 pm
also, the same logit model in different papers has been given in different explanations:
(1) Pt-1(Yi,t=1|xit-1)=(1+exp(-α-βxi,t-1))-1
Yi,t default in year t;
xit-1 -vector of exp. variables in previous year.
Yi,t+s default in year t+s;
xi,t vector of explanatory variables ,including constant, obseved at the end of year t;
δ(s) xi,t �lenear combination of explanatory variables. estimate a vector δ and referred to the linear combination δ(s)xi,t.
Comparing these two models and applying it to SPSS, I cannot understand the difference.
Model first has α constants, 2 does not, but has δ(s).
Would you be able to explain it to me.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Sunday, June 08, 2014 - 4:23 pm
Your formulas came out distorted as you see. Also, you may want to ask this kind of general modeling question on SEMNET or Multilevelnet.
Katherine Keenan
posted on Saturday, September 13, 2014 - 9:55 am
Sorry for posting on something so trivial, I am new to mplus.
I am running a logit model with 3 latent vars and want to include categorical and binary (observed) predictors. When I add dummy variables for different levels of my observed categorical var, as so:
Childsep by roompp books indexaccom1 ;
Childhealth by health2 childsrhbin illindex ;
Observed by cogquin fevquin1 quingrip;
Selfreport by srh adlbin chronicbin;
health by Observed Selfreport;
health on childsep childhealth kiddum1 kiddum3 kiddum4 ;
I get an error message :
One or more variables have a variance greater than the maximum allowed of 1000000.
Check your data and format statement or rescale the variable(s) using the DEFINE command.
Then it indicates a problem with kiddum variables.
How can I fix this? It doesn't matter which dummies or binaries I add in, I get the same problem. Do I need to rescale all the dummy/binary variables? Is there some important bit of code I have missed out?
I would really appreciate any suggestions you have.
Many thanks from a frustrated newbie!
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Saturday, September 13, 2014 - 2:11 pm
It sounds like you are not reading the data correctly. Please send the output, data, and your license number to
Katherine Keenan
posted on Sunday, September 14, 2014 - 5:50 am
Thanks for the quick reply, Sorry I did not save the output. However I tried re-creating the dummies using the define option and it worked fine. Not sure why. Now I have another query. I want to run a model with latent DV, 2 latent IVs and many more categorical/continuous IVs. The only way I got this to fit was to use the WLSMV estimator (otherwise it says I have too many integration points), but ideally I want to use logistic regression and get odds ratios. Is there any way I can fit the model but obtain odds ratios?
Many thanks
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Sunday, September 14, 2014 - 5:10 pm
ML with the default logit link is the only way to get odds ratio results. Check the output (also TECH8) to see how many dimensions of integration you have and if more than say 5, try to simplify your model.
Briana Chang
posted on Wednesday, January 07, 2015 - 7:14 am
I am running a series of linear regression and logistic regression models in Mplus. It is my understanding that for simple linear regression with manifest variables the output "Chi-Square Test of Model Fit for the Baseline Model" indicates whether or not he estimation of a regression model is meaningful (i.e., when significant, the baseline model is rejected and the regression results are meaningful).
Is there a commensurate set of parameters provided in the output for running a logistic regression?
Thank you for any help.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, January 07, 2015 - 5:52 pm
The baseline model sets the x-y covariances to zero, that is, the regression slopes are all zero. You can do that for logistic regression too. To convince yourself, try it out to get the baseline results in the continuous case by the likelihood ratio test of 2 times the LL difference.
Rolf Gjestad
posted on Wednesday, March 11, 2015 - 12:22 am
I am running i censored regression based on 10 imputed data sets (MI done in SPSS, type = imputation under data in mplus) and have 2 latent factors (borderline dimensions) as exogenous predictors and several dichotomeous variables (diagnoses) and one continous variable (depression level) as mediating variables, which are decleared as categorical. Outcome is hospitalized self-harm (in somatic hospitals). Mplus do not report standardized regression weights in this model, even if it did when in a model with two observed predictors against the censored variable. Is it something to do about this?
Rolf Gjestad, Norwasy
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, March 11, 2015 - 6:48 pm
I am not sure what you mean. It seems like you have several questions. Please send your output and license number to
and explain what it is that you wonder about.
Samuel Peterson
posted on Thursday, November 12, 2015 - 9:50 am
I keep getting the following error messages when trying to compute probabilities for a two-group model.
*** WARNING in MODEL command
Variable is uncorrelated with all other variables: MVLOGIT
*** WARNING in MODEL command
Variable is uncorrelated with all other variables: MVPROBIT
.165+(.030* INTRA_CT) +(-.015*INTER_CT) +(.072* acad) +(.069* SES) +(.0000* TXCSTD) +(-.18*
I tried to follow the instructions above, but I must be missing something. Here is my input for the first group.
MVlogit=.165+(.030* Intra_ct)+
(-.015*inter_ct)+(.072* acad)
(.257* opsexrto)+
(.422* -.047)+ !avg Mis
(.063*.131)+ !avg fr2
(.127*.004); !avg lsc
Thank you in advance for any help.
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Thursday, November 12, 2015 - 9:56 am
Please send the output and your license number to
Marco Pannacci
posted on Thursday, March 23, 2017 - 2:08 am
Dear MPLUS support,
I am estimating a logistic model with a binary response, and I am wondering if
1. Is there a command in MPLUS to use the FIML approach, since I do not think this is the default?
2. Is there a command to save the estimated probabilities by the model for each unit?
Many thanks
Daniel Kopala-Sibley
posted on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 - 9:48 am
Dear Drs Muthen,
In a logistic regression model in MPlus, is there any way to output a Receiver Operating Curve (ROC) as a measure of classification ability of the model? And/or sensitivity and specificity? Or might there be a way to calculate these from the output MPlus gives?
My Code so far is (I'm estimating missing data):
integration = montecarlo;
Thanks very much in advance,
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 - 5:31 pm
There is not an automatic way to do this in Mplus.
posted on Monday, November 13, 2017 - 8:39 pm
Hello Drs Muthen,
I am running a logistic regression with 20 imputed datasets. However, when I run this, it does not report the odds ratios. I see that these are provided when running the logistic regression with just one dataset. Is there a way to receive ORs when running logistic regression with multiply imputed datasets?
Thank you,
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, November 15, 2017 - 10:35 am
Try expressing this in Model Constraint using model parameter labels.
May Gong
posted on Sunday, July 21, 2019 - 7:54 am
Dear Muthen,
We are running a logistic regression with latent independent variables and categorical dependent variables, however, the standardized regression results are higher 1. Besides, which index should be checked, rather than ORs. Thanks in advance.
May Gong
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Sunday, July 21, 2019 - 4:45 pm
See the FAQ on our website:
Standardized coefficient greater than 1
May Gong
posted on Monday, July 22, 2019 - 1:19 am
Got it! Thanks!
May Gong
posted on Thursday, August 01, 2019 - 3:20 am
Dear Dr. Muthen,
I have a question about the logistic regression models. How to understand the beta values and odds ratio and their respective p values in the output.
I found in my results, some significant beta values, however, its corresponding odds ratio were not significant and vice versa.
So how to interpret these results and are there any references we can find. Thanks in advance!
May Gong
Javed Ashraf
posted on Tuesday, May 05, 2020 - 8:20 am
I wanted to ask that can we conduct sensitivity analyses for residual confounding for a logistic regression modeling MPlus. In the Book "Regression and mediation analyses," it is stated that sensitivity analyses can be used to ascertain residual confounding for both the direct and effects.
So in that way can it be possible for only the direct effects as in logistic regression models.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, May 06, 2020 - 4:42 pm
We haven't yet implemented sensitivity analyses with binary outcomes in Mplus. But see these references:
VanderWeele, T. J. 2010. ��Bias Formulas for Sensitivity Analysis for Direct and Indirect Effects.�� Epidemiology 21:540�5
Imai, K., L. Keele, and D. Tingley. 2010. ��A General Approach to Causal Mediation Analysis.�� Psychological Methods 15:309�34.
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One of the provisions contained in the Defense Authorization Bill for this fiscal year passed at the end of Congress' lame duck session is one that extends the Buy American requirements for the Defense Department to solar panels. The rule makes the Pentagon only consider U.S. sources for this piece of "green technology" in their contracting efforts.
The Federal government procurement laws and regulations put a whole host of restrictions on contracts issued by the Pentagon for hardware, services and support. These include the Berry Amendment and Buy American Act. These are used to support U.S. industries by granting them privileged status and providing them a ready market.
The Berry Amendment for example requires prime contractors and their subcontractors to purchase or use food, clothing, tents, cotton, woven silk and other fibers or articles made out of them only from U.S. suppliers.
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The rule about using U.S. solar cells may have the same affect. The industry like so many others is turning to China and a great deal of the world's production capacity is in that country. U.S. companies have been reducing their footprint and this may make it hard for the Pentagon to find a source capable of delivering the product on time or at the necessary cost.
This illustrates the issue where Congress wants to get the most for their defense dollars but at the same time by favoring a supplier may be forcing the Defense Department to buy something that they could get at a better price or in a more timely fashion.
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If he and his small band of Spartan soldiers could hold off the invading hordes of thousands in "300," then certainly a single-handed Gerard Butler must stand a real chance at taking out a few dozen terrorists who've taken over the White House in "Olympus Has Fallen," right?
After venturing into rom-com territory and testing his dramatic chops, the Scotsman, 43, returns to fighting action hero form for director Anton Fuqua ("Training Day") in what is essentially "Die Hard in the White House": Butler plays a Secret Service agent pinned to a desk job thanks to a major work failure. His character finds himself the lone agent standing inside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue after a takeover by a terrorist cell holding the President (Aaron Eckhart) and key staff members hostage while demanding a U.S. withdrawal that could alter the global balance of power.
Because you don't just star in the film – you're also a producer – what was the first thing about it that caught your eye?
I think it would have to be the basically when the attack happens in the White House and coming from every direction – from the inside, from the outside, and I suddenly find myself saying, 'Holy s***, what have I got myself into here?' This is so ballsy and powerful and surprising that I think this is a great idea. Let's see where we can take it from here. It was about if we could make this believable and plausible and set up a scenario of a man in the White House who is very well-equipped but still against the impossible odds of these brilliantly trained extremists who are holding the president, his people and the world to ransom.
With the crisis room on the outside and a suffocating hostage situation in the bunker then we can have a great movie. And if you give those characters some real personalities that they can play with then we're going to get some great actors. And sure enough we got Morgan [Freeman] and Melissa [Leo] and Aaron [Eckhart] and Angela [Bassett]. I think they had the same reaction to the script as well. It felt like we could really make an event movie that would keep your heart pounding and keep you on the edge of your seat.
As you brought in the consultants – the guys who know the real deal at the White House – to learn more about how the whole system operates and you began layering in more reality into the story, what fascinated you about the Secret Service, about security at the White House?
We weren't just taking their advice to use psychologically, something you can just put in your performance, we were creating the story and the nitty-gritty details in what is going to be fascinating around what they were saying, because that's where we felt that we could strengthen it and really pull the audience in – when you get in that building, what are you looking for? What are you assessing? Are you going straight for the kill? What are you looking for if you're a guy in there basically with no bullets in your gun up against forty two well-armed and exceptionally well-trained terrorists and you got to get down to the president?
But you've also got to do reconnaissance. You've got to establish lines of communication with the outside world. You've got to take their advice. You've got to start some kind of psychological warfare and start screwing with your arch nemesis. You've got to play games with him, make him doubt his plan. Start to terrorize them, turn their own tactics on themselves. All of that stuff was really fascinating using the intimate knowledge of the White House. What would I do? What would I be checking that they've done, assessing their capabilities? All really kind of cool stuff.
How'd you put all of that to work for you as an actor?
That is the thing that is just in the performance: their total ability and willingness to engage their enemies and at the same time their fearlessness and in fact going beyond that, a hatred in a way. Because they're so trained to protect and in a way, respect and love the people they're protecting, that they've gone so far away from the other side that they hate anybody who is trying to do damage to that. And I felt there was a lot of value in there for my character and indeed from an audience point of view because after this horrific opening you're left baying for blood.
U.S. & World
Your character didn't just fire off a bunch of glib James Bond-style quips. He actually had this very straightforward, no-B.S. attitude in all of his dialogue.
Yeah, well, I wrote most of those lines! They were mine. You've always got to be careful that you're staying out of the way of the Bond idea – or at least the traditional Bond: perhaps in some ways it's more like the modern Bond that any humor comes straight from a tough-son-of-a-bitch kind of John Wayne attitude going for the laugh. It's just that humor that comes out in tight situations. And in those, it's always in the most dire of consequences that you can have the funniest moments.
What's running through your head when you're doing the full-on action sequences? Are you just a kid playing action hero or are you still trying to keep the actor brain in play?
You've got to stay in it. You've got to think, 'Who am I fighting?' 'Is this a personal vendetta?' 'Is this somebody who's just going to be gotten out of the way?' You've got to think about your moves. You've got to think about how efficient you're being or how emotional you're being. So you really try to be in it because there's a punch, and then there's a punch with meaning. And sometimes you want to punch with meaning and sometimes you just want to punch. And so you always got to stay focused in those moments – even though, if I'm being honest deep down, yeah, it's a kid getting to play.
Over the last several years Americans have really had to look at our country and look at ourselves and re-consider how we view ourselves. For you, as someone who came from another country and has found such success here in America, what's your view of the country?
I'm somebody who lives in this country and has been given great opportunity. And I love, in some ways, the beacon of light that the U.S. has been in the world – and yet I can't say that I agree with a lot of its foreign policies. And I've seen, being from another country, that the reaction to the U.S. amongst the people that I'm surrounded by in Europe or elsewhere that I found myself fighting them. Because I am coming from a more emotional perspective having lived here, I was also in New York during 9/11. I was also in London, by the way, during 7/7, so I've experienced terrorism – in fact it happened right in front of me in London when the cops were chasing suspected terrorists right in front of our film sitewhen we were filming 'Rock n Rolla.'
I was being chased by Russian gangsters and meanwhile [real] cops are running past us with guns, four guys out of a car. So it's not just about an attack on America. I mean this could be an attack anywhere and this attack, even though it is on American soil, it feels like people from Italy, from South Africa, they'll all have a strong reaction to it because at the end of the day it's killing of innocent people and people in service of their country whatever that country has to be.