I got lots of clothes for Christmas. But none of them came close to my Hot Green Peas tee for coolness. You are definitely among the small number of people worthy of sharing my drooly fist. Maybe someday I can eat your hair!
Of Course, I'll be Waiting a Lot Longer to See Them All Someone has exactly the same taste in movies as I do. Neato. 12/28/04 10:37 AM|Comments
December 27, 2004
The Longest of the Shortest Days Ugh.
The shots weren't any worse than last time - for Daniel. But, unlike the last, he didn't keep his eyes closed the whole time, instead screaming and looking back and forth between us with a wholly betrayed expression - "Why are you letting this happen to me? Don't you love me???" No holding back the tears until the waiting room this time, I'm afraid. The poor nurse-in-training was looking slightly traumatized, too.
But our doc says that he's nearly two months ahead developmentally, and it's because of attachment parenting. It's nice (though hardly necessary), after having your methods constantly questioned, to have them validated by an authority.
Three pounds in two months. How does he do it, with all that squiggle? If it weren't for the holidays, I'd actually be losing weight without much trying. No more chocolate after this week. I mean it! Dammit.
The possibility of a move to the Bay is looking a bit more concrete/necessary. Concord? Vallejo? Points nearby or between? That's what we've been lightly tossing around, but, seriously, we think of the metropolitan area as a big urban blobbo, and have absolutely no idea what's what. Ack. It's not like in the golden olden times, when we could just up and drive around and explore neighborhoods until we got sick of it. Now we have a very unwilling backseat driver to consider. 12/27/04 07:00 PM|Comments
Lengthening Days We frosted cutouts last night. I guess I'm just not as into cookie decorating as I once was - it was all pretty slapdash. Though not so much as D, who - in all seriousness - challenges himself to create the ugliest cookie possible. Yes, mixing all the frosting sprays makes brown.
Maybe the key to making it fun again is drinking.
Oops. Did I say that out loud?
The decorating sprays we used are very, um, misty. And aren't parti-colored boogies festive on a glum winter's morning?
Little D. has more shots today. We weren't given any numbing cream, but it didn't work last time, anyhow, so we're pre-dosing him with Tylenol drops. I hope that's a little more effective. Babies screaming in pain is one of the worst kinds of torture, especially when they're yours. Also, no one really likes to see a grown woman crying in public.
Someone, please hide the chocolate. Thank you.
This Red Cross Commemorative Knit Kit is pretty nifty. It includes everything you need to make the original World War II Serviceman's Socks. It's sold out right now, but it's still a good idea to visit and make a little donation, circumstances being dire as they are. 12/27/04 09:41 AM|Comments
December 24, 2004
Naptime Newness The books? That were over to the right? Now they're to the left, in the burst. They weren't as dynamic as I wanted them to be (le sigh), and I wanted to return the index to minimalism. The "Now" popup'll look better and have more stuff when I have time to futz with it. 12/24/04 02:16 PM|Comments
Currently Obsessed With... Kappa Ebisen - and now that I know I can get a bag at the walking-distance grocery for forty cents... oi! Candy-flavored balms - I used to beg my mom to get me flavory lip balms from her Avon catalog, and now I'm overcompensating. I also have too many Lip Smackers; the new Starburst flavors are scrummy. Choc 'o Liquor - Almost suspiciously delicious - there must be a layer of sweet, sweet crack sandwiched between the chocolate and the drippedy alconectar. I hope our dealers benefactors will come spring us from the pokey when we get busted for possession.
Pumpkin everything - is there some vitamin in pumpkin that Daniel is taking from me? Why didn't Raley's have any pumpkin pies left? Why do I keep typing it pumkin? 12/23/04 08:04 PM|Comments
Christmisc. Daniel is back to sleeping 7 to 7, thank goodness. And he's been getting some really long stretches in there again, so hopefully we're back on track for a bit. He seems so much happier during the day when he gets enough nighttime sleep and naps, and I know I feel a ton better.
Moving to the Bay Area - not ideal, but a possible neccessity. Please share any info on East/North/South Bay areas that are safe and family-oriented (maybe even affordable?), and allow easy access to the city via ferry. T'would be very much appreciated.
All gifts done and wrapped. Cards all sent and mostly received. Today I'm baking. Yesterday Daniel and I found the perfect turkey portion - a whole breast - for just us three, so we're happy. We're not doing anything terribly extravagant, just the usual. Generally I prefer ham for Christmas, but we kind of had a Thanksgiving ham when my family was out, so turkey now, then. I wish D. liked pumpkin pie, because I'm really craving one, but I don't want to eat it myself. Share it with me?
Well, I guess I'd best take advantage of the rest of Daniel's naptime by doing something constructive. I hope you're all set for the coming holidays! 12/21/04 10:58 AM|Comments
December 17, 2004
Can You Feel the Love Tonight? Portrait holiday cards are too stressful. Especially when you're a) too stupid to count and order the right number in the first place, b) too clueless to know that you're not going to be able to walk into a photo processing center and get copies of those studio portraits (and c) too not-rich to pay the studio a hundred bucks for more), d) too moronic to get even minimally acceptable results from the photo printer... and e) just idiotic enough to wait until the very last minute to finish it all up.
This is the last year I agonize endlessly over finding, making, or putting together the perfect card. For the sake of my sanity, and for the saving of my dearth of "free" time, next year everyone gets cards with cranky old biddies. 12/17/04 10:58 PM|Comments
'S Wonderful The best way to wake up is with a round little face four inches from your nose, eyes wide and serving up a whopper of a gummy grin when you open yours.
It's even better if you've had over eight hours of sleep two nights in a row! 12/17/04 10:12 AM|Comments
December 14, 2004
New Kid in Town Congrats to fellow Sacramentans and pranksters extraodinaire Rob and Stacy on their big news! 12/14/04 01:19 PM|Comments
December 13, 2004
Whew. I can't believe it. Daniel's four months old today.
This morning he was in the Jumperoo in the kitchen, while I washed dishes and threw together a cake (the ugliest cake you've ever seen, because of course he started to shriek in the middle of frosting it later on). Elli walked by, and he "talked" to her. It was the cutest thing. Of course Elli had nothing of it. But cute, nonetheless.
Mother Nature does give bitchslaps for whining, people. I know it's true. Daniel had had a fairly long stretch of really good sleep nights - six or seven hours at a time! But he went back down to four, and stayed there. Of course, I really wasn't happy about this turn of events, and I complained.
Mistake. Because, I suppose as a lesson in what truly bad nights with a baby are, for the past few nights he's hardly been sleeping at all. Saturday night had me in tears; I think I may have gotten four very patchy hours. Last night was better - after we struggled to get him down for three hours past his bedtime, he did sleep about seven hours on and off.
He's noticing toys more and more every day. This is a great development, one that hopefully means soon he won't be yowling almost every second one of us isn't carrying him around! 12/13/04 04:28 PM|Comments
Gone But Not Forgotten Disappointingly, it seems as if The Mayfly Project is down this year. If you're unfamiliar, you sum up the past year in ten words or less. I think I'll still do it anyhow:
Shroud 'o Mystery In answer to Tim's comment question, "I love the occasional mysterious blog entries you post. Ever wonder if your posts will be read by the people you might be obliquely referencing?"
An almost definite No. We'll say, oh, 98% certainty. At least for the people I know in real life. The ones I only know online may be reading - but that doesn't bother me much (maybe because I sometimes feel I'm able to be more brutally honest with them, strangely enough). I can tell you right now - if I know you, personally, and you're reading - none of it applies to you, unless I'm referring to you directly.
I started this site so my friends and family could keep up, as I lived far away, and then even further. But they never bothered reading it, much as I sent the link out. I know this because of our kick-ass stats, and my obsession with knowing who most of my regular visitors are (well, back when I had time for this endeavor. Things haven't changed much around here since, aside from losing the interest of those who are probably tired of hearing about babies). I can tell you that a total of only five people that I've met or know now (without the help of the web) read with any consistency.
At first, I was hurt by the lack of interest. People complained that I didn't write/call/visit enough, so, here I was, willing to throw almost daily updates into cyberspace expressly for them. And most have access! But I found it enjoyable, and kept writing anyhow, instead gaining a small audience (not to mention a few new friends) that I really enjoy having around. 12/11/04 06:48 PM|Comments
December 10, 2004
You'd Better Watch Out Yes, I was naughty, and peeked in my parents' closet at my presents - once. It ruined Christmas morning so thoroughly, I never did it again! 12/10/04 10:28 PM|Comments
December 09, 2004
The Word of the Day is... ... "waste."
I'm sick at heart of the eagerness with which those around me (both online and not) seem willing to throw their blessings away. Trust, friendships, relationships - just for a start. But then, I tend to expect more of people at the holidays - auld lang syne and all - and I'm very rarely satisfied.
*whine, stomp, blah, et cetera*
Unrelated - what's the best way to cut through a heavy chain link rope? Because The Establishment keeps locking the ped gate that Little D. and I use almost daily, effectively trapping us unless we go far, far out of our way. I've politely told them what I think of this practice and why, but they apologize, say it won't happen again... and nothing changes. Maybe it's time to make my own change. 12/09/04 02:40 PM|Comments
December 07, 2004
Saturday on Monday Inspired by this book, we had quite the fall-y supper last night, of fried apples, and sausage patties, and biscuits (born-of-a-tube cheaters for speed, I'm afraid). Not necessarily a combo I would've come to on my own, but I thought it was delish. And the cooking smells - yum! D. didn't like the apples much; maybe if I'd used a variety more suitable for cooking (I had Galas, pretty pretties). 12/07/04 09:05 PM|Comments
December 06, 2004
Real Wishing My sister is a zookeeper in Michigan. She no longer wants to be where she is - or rather, after over five years, can no longer afford to be where she is.
Which is best illustrated by this. When we were out in SF, we stopped at an In-N-Out (my mom had never had the pleasure, and everyone should at least once, no?). A big banner in the window advertised for help, the starting wage emblazoned in bazillion-point font. And she said, wistfully, "I would make more working here." Yes, a degreed and experienced zookeeper, who educates the public and her peers, plays nutritionist to the wounded and exotic small, and herds wild African beasts (yes).
If that doesn't suck, I don't know what does.
So there's a new and drastically improved opportunity in the Great Frozen North, which she desperately wants to be her new home. I hope these words in the ether have some small power to help her get it. 12/06/04 01:19 PM|Comments
Fa La La La La Well, my holiday shopping is almost finished. Pretty rare, so early. Just a couple more things, some baked gifts later, and my Secret Santa gift (you really should try out Elfster if you've a group to organize an exchange for; it's the most fun I've ever had doing SS!).
We're getting our first family photo taken on Saturday (at a mall - what are we? suicidal?). Kind of depressing that I had to buy clothes specifically for the photo, since anything not jeans/tees that I already own looks a tad unflattering these days, what with the Buddha Pooch. In anticipation, Daniel has of course managed to somehow sharpen one of his little nails even more than usual (does Elli do this for him when I'm not looking?), and used it to scratch up his forehead. Thank St. Nick for Photoshop, with which I can edit out the White Trash Baby marks before they end up on our holiday cards.
We put up the tree last weekend, without my usual anal-retentive attention to detail. By the time Daniel is old enough to help, I'll probably just be tossing stuff into the branches.
We weren't going to decorate outside, but dagnabbit! if there aren't prizes at stake (though some folks down the street emptied Wal*Mart and the Dollar Store of all their decorations, and had their five-year-old arrange them on the lawn, so they'll probably take first). And we didn't have Christmas last year, not really, so I'm determined to make up for it. Which means at least lights in the yard, and no El Torito for our holiday dinner. 12/02/04 11:17 AM|Comments