We forgot the camera, of course, but take my word for it when I say that we went to the New England Aquarium in Boston. We arrived to the seals having their lunch, and for some reason, Alex was only marginally amused by them and more interested in seeing what the tank was all about. She missed them slapping the sides of the tank with their flippers, and we left before they got their teeth brushed. Oh well, next time.
It was a pretty overwhelming experience for them because we went on a Saturday and it was, ahem, packed to the gills with lots of families. We saw nearly every exhibit, though Gabey and I missed the octopus somehow.
Alex's favorite part was seeing the shark and big fishie wishies in the central tank, but she also burst into tears when we left the tide-pool because she wanted to hold (and almost squish at least once to our horror) the starfishes. Other than that and an unfortunate bathroom incident that resulted in brand new pajama pants (and coincidentally a new stuffed frog and turtle - thanks Daddy!) we had a great trip.
We found out that Legal Seafood is swamped with little kids and their handlers, I mean, parents, so that was a great place for lunch. Jeff told Alex she was eating clam heinies, so she had an enjoyable lunch. Gabey was too distracted by all the people to really eat much of anything but a few oyster crackers and his usual quota of raisins and craisins.
Much sleeping on the way home, and then we unwound and enjoyed the rest of our day, collapsing early.
February 27, 2011
February 25, 2011
I Think About Throwing Them Outside Sometimes...
...but the cats just aren't very savvy when it comes to outside skills. I think they'd survive for a while, but with the coyotes, hawks and who knows what else out there, I imagine Diesel and Tippy would have a hard time adjusting. But still, this morning they were very, very, very close to finding shelter from the snow. (In fact, Diesel is reminding me by scratching the carpet off the steps right now. Grr.)
So, at 3 this morning, Gabey woke up sounding more lively and cranky than he has the last few nights when he's whimpered and fallen back to sleep. I decided that, since it was, after all, my night, I would suck it up and actually get up with him since it seemed like he meant it. I went up with a bottle, checked his diaper which was deceptively non-puffy where I grabbed it, and just shrugged instead of changing him first. He ate most of the bottle and flipped himself over quickly for a snuggle. Being instantly calmer, I assumed he was ready for the crib, but his frantic cries and tossing and turning the instant his head hit the sheet told me otherwise.
He drained the rest of his bottle, and I left him screaming in his crib while I got more formula. Oh the betrayal. Poor guy. I could almost hear his little heart breaking. But all was well when I came back to rescue him from the crib for the third time in 20 minutes. I checked his diaper on the off chance it had gotten puffier, and of course, noticed that it was obscenely puffy and needed a change. Should have been obvious, but I'll say I was too tired and groggy before to notice. Yeah, not lazy, tired, that's it, tired and groggy.
I changed the offending diaper, which he was surprisingly cool with, and then fed him almost all of the new formula. The boy's a real hog some times. Anyway, he again violently flipped himself onto my chest, crunched up into an impossibly tiny baby ball, and went back to sleep. Until I put him in the crib, when the screaming began immediately. Used to this, I picked him right up, and he shut right up and snuggled in for a few minutes of rocking on the Poang. I then decided, based on how long I had been keeping myself from strangling him back to sleep, that it was time for tough love. I plopped him in the crib. (Well, gently laid him down, mentally plopping him because anything less than gentle really isn't cool, obviously.) He screamed, tossed, flopped, whined, writhed under the warm, warm blanket. He was so mad.
Coincidentally, I was mad that my already shoddy night of sleep was by this point completely ruined, so I left. The minute I closed the door, a miracle happened. He stopped moving - my keen mommy ears can hear his wiggling through the door - and he stopped, probably instantly falling asleep like tired babies and toddlers can do.
I however, went downstairs, plopped myself into bed (most definitely more plopping than gentle lowering into bed) and tried to fall asleep. Jeff was a mix of snoring and wiggling not unlike Gabe, and I was awake. Really awake. Then, the cats started. Diesel scratched at the door. Which was open, so I have no idea why the scratching, except that she knew it was 3:30 now, and almost time for the humans to wake up.. In her mind, anyway. Then Tippy was growling at Diesel.
Lots of movement and noise, tapping of claws on the floor, jumping up into Jeff's coat for warmth and general annoyingness later, they were kind of quiet. Then Jeff suddenly realized that it was time for him to get up. So he tried, presumably though I didn't see it, to turn off the alarm, succeeding while also knocking the clock onto the floor. It's still there, but I digress. He goes to the bathroom for a shower, leaving the door cracked because Diesel always accompanies him. She pushes the door open just enough for me to get a face full of light, then he closes the door most of the way. Not all of the way, so she can escape. I guess.
He does his morning things while I struggle for sleep, and then it's dark and quiet. Diesel pops up on the bed next to me, too close to me, and who knows where Tippy is. Oh wait, a little while later I know because she's on the stool that wobbles and bangs whenever they jump on it. And she's circling around on it to get comfortable. Wobbly banging the whole time. Aaaaaaand, I'm totally awake, suddenly realizing that I need a shower and need to get the house cleaned up for playgroup.
So, I've been in various stages of awake since 3, the cats have been actually quite reserved in their annoyingness, and though the house is clean, it's snowing like winter's not over or something. But hey, it's Friday, Jeff's night is tonight (Gabe will likely sleep the night through, but Jeff's had his fair share of wiggly nights with him, so I'll allow it) and maybe playgroup will come despite the snow. In the meanwhile, the basement is only mostly clean, so I should get cracking.
So, at 3 this morning, Gabey woke up sounding more lively and cranky than he has the last few nights when he's whimpered and fallen back to sleep. I decided that, since it was, after all, my night, I would suck it up and actually get up with him since it seemed like he meant it. I went up with a bottle, checked his diaper which was deceptively non-puffy where I grabbed it, and just shrugged instead of changing him first. He ate most of the bottle and flipped himself over quickly for a snuggle. Being instantly calmer, I assumed he was ready for the crib, but his frantic cries and tossing and turning the instant his head hit the sheet told me otherwise.
He drained the rest of his bottle, and I left him screaming in his crib while I got more formula. Oh the betrayal. Poor guy. I could almost hear his little heart breaking. But all was well when I came back to rescue him from the crib for the third time in 20 minutes. I checked his diaper on the off chance it had gotten puffier, and of course, noticed that it was obscenely puffy and needed a change. Should have been obvious, but I'll say I was too tired and groggy before to notice. Yeah, not lazy, tired, that's it, tired and groggy.
I changed the offending diaper, which he was surprisingly cool with, and then fed him almost all of the new formula. The boy's a real hog some times. Anyway, he again violently flipped himself onto my chest, crunched up into an impossibly tiny baby ball, and went back to sleep. Until I put him in the crib, when the screaming began immediately. Used to this, I picked him right up, and he shut right up and snuggled in for a few minutes of rocking on the Poang. I then decided, based on how long I had been keeping myself from strangling him back to sleep, that it was time for tough love. I plopped him in the crib. (Well, gently laid him down, mentally plopping him because anything less than gentle really isn't cool, obviously.) He screamed, tossed, flopped, whined, writhed under the warm, warm blanket. He was so mad.
Coincidentally, I was mad that my already shoddy night of sleep was by this point completely ruined, so I left. The minute I closed the door, a miracle happened. He stopped moving - my keen mommy ears can hear his wiggling through the door - and he stopped, probably instantly falling asleep like tired babies and toddlers can do.
I however, went downstairs, plopped myself into bed (most definitely more plopping than gentle lowering into bed) and tried to fall asleep. Jeff was a mix of snoring and wiggling not unlike Gabe, and I was awake. Really awake. Then, the cats started. Diesel scratched at the door. Which was open, so I have no idea why the scratching, except that she knew it was 3:30 now, and almost time for the humans to wake up.. In her mind, anyway. Then Tippy was growling at Diesel.
Lots of movement and noise, tapping of claws on the floor, jumping up into Jeff's coat for warmth and general annoyingness later, they were kind of quiet. Then Jeff suddenly realized that it was time for him to get up. So he tried, presumably though I didn't see it, to turn off the alarm, succeeding while also knocking the clock onto the floor. It's still there, but I digress. He goes to the bathroom for a shower, leaving the door cracked because Diesel always accompanies him. She pushes the door open just enough for me to get a face full of light, then he closes the door most of the way. Not all of the way, so she can escape. I guess.
He does his morning things while I struggle for sleep, and then it's dark and quiet. Diesel pops up on the bed next to me, too close to me, and who knows where Tippy is. Oh wait, a little while later I know because she's on the stool that wobbles and bangs whenever they jump on it. And she's circling around on it to get comfortable. Wobbly banging the whole time. Aaaaaaand, I'm totally awake, suddenly realizing that I need a shower and need to get the house cleaned up for playgroup.
So, I've been in various stages of awake since 3, the cats have been actually quite reserved in their annoyingness, and though the house is clean, it's snowing like winter's not over or something. But hey, it's Friday, Jeff's night is tonight (Gabe will likely sleep the night through, but Jeff's had his fair share of wiggly nights with him, so I'll allow it) and maybe playgroup will come despite the snow. In the meanwhile, the basement is only mostly clean, so I should get cracking.
February 24, 2011
Drama Queen
Alex actually said yesterday, after "accidentally" taking her shirt off, "I'll never wear this shirt again!" Also heard, and I'm paraphrasing a bit because it's hard to laugh and memorize exact quotes at the same time:
I'll never eat chocolate again!
I'll never play Candyland again!
I'll never have lunch again!
I don't like Gabey; he tries to eat my books!
I'll never drink water again!
I'll never watch tv again!
For every situation, there's something she'll, yeah, well, you know. The world and the ending and all that. Seriously, I knew that little girls have the reputation for being a bit over the top, but really, this is too much. Oh, and she told me repeatedly, after a traumatic trip to the potty at playgroup, that she'll never trust me again. What she actually means, because I'm sure she doesn't know what trust really is, is beyond me, but I told her okay and moved on with my life. Speaking of moving on, Gabey is up, so my day has well and truly begun.
I'll never eat chocolate again!
I'll never play Candyland again!
I'll never have lunch again!
I don't like Gabey; he tries to eat my books!
I'll never drink water again!
I'll never watch tv again!
For every situation, there's something she'll, yeah, well, you know. The world and the ending and all that. Seriously, I knew that little girls have the reputation for being a bit over the top, but really, this is too much. Oh, and she told me repeatedly, after a traumatic trip to the potty at playgroup, that she'll never trust me again. What she actually means, because I'm sure she doesn't know what trust really is, is beyond me, but I told her okay and moved on with my life. Speaking of moving on, Gabey is up, so my day has well and truly begun.
February 23, 2011
Clams Made of Corn
Alex has been truly inspired by the movie Milo and Otis. It colors a lot of her day. she hoots like an owl, sometimes insists on being called Milo (she's always the star of the show, no matter what) and even lunch has shades of M and O. Yesterday she was eating corn by the individual kernel by squeezing the centers out. They were juicy bits of corn and kept squirting corn juices everywhere. Inspired by the scene where Otis politely asks a clam about Milo's whereabouts in which the rude clam spits at him, Alex decided that the corn kernels were all rude clams.
Speaking of corn, we've had a bit of a semi-crisis on our hands involving popcorn. Alex has, on several occasions, shared her popcorn with Gabey. Now, I know that popcorn is one of those foods that's infamous for being a choking hazard, so it was under the strictest of supervision that Gabe was allowed to eat some popcorn. I even went so far as to break up individual kernels so that he could enjoy what is apparently his favorite snack ever.
What I didn't think about was the potential for bits to get stuck in his teeth. So of course, while gnawing at the popcorn with his front teeth (what other teeth could he use?) he got a bit of kernel stuck behind on front top tooth. I only noticed it because of his tendency to laugh hysterically while throwing his head, and indeed his entire body, backwards. I saw the rather sizable chunk of kernel and immediately decided that the time had come for him to have his teeth brushed. Well, little did I know that the infernal kernel piece was enormous and in every way impossible to dislodge with a toothbrush. But I tried.
Then, when that didn't work, I thought of those toothbrushes with the rubbery picky bits on the end. Well, after I called the doctor in a panic I thought of this. Anyway, we ran to Target for a toothbrush, only to find that there were none with the rubbery picky bit. I bought some other medieval-looking tooth pickers only to discover that, well, long story short, they didn't work either.
So, taking the nurse's advice, I waited, brushed a bit despite screams of protest, and waited some more. I was told to watch for inflammation, swelling, bleeding, extreme crankiness...we had none of that. So, two weeks later, the kernel still teasing me from behind the tooth, nothing had changed. Except my ever-increasing guilty feelings, of course. Clearly only a bad mommy would let her kid have popcorn permanently lodged behind his tooth.
So, I did what any bad mommy looking to be reformed would do. I dug out the infernal kernel with a fingernail. Oh, there was some serious protesting. There was the instance where the kernel was half out and, due to the wiggly nature of my patient and the imprecise nature of the scraping process, the kernel popped further into his gums. But persistence won, and I was able to remove the mammoth kernel shell from his gums.
As a reward, Gabe was permitted to sit on my lap for a long couple minutes gnawing desperately at his toothbrush. Which he miraculously, despite all the mouth intrusions, still loves. So much so that, when he fell asleep with it, he immediately woke up when I wrestled it from his drooly little fingers. Twice.
In any case, I think I'm back to good mommy status, assuming that his gums haven't inflamed overnight. And there will be a serious ban on popcorn until he has all his teeth and can be trusted to only get shells caught between his teeth where I can easily retrieve them.
Also yesterday I determined that 7 games of Candyland in a row is Alex's limit. Well, certainly my limit if not hers. I was only the Queen of Candyland 4 out of 7 times, but for some inexplicable reason Alex was miffed at the outcome of every game even if she won. Which makes me think that perhaps her grasp of what winning means is still a bit sketchy.
Speaking of corn, we've had a bit of a semi-crisis on our hands involving popcorn. Alex has, on several occasions, shared her popcorn with Gabey. Now, I know that popcorn is one of those foods that's infamous for being a choking hazard, so it was under the strictest of supervision that Gabe was allowed to eat some popcorn. I even went so far as to break up individual kernels so that he could enjoy what is apparently his favorite snack ever.
What I didn't think about was the potential for bits to get stuck in his teeth. So of course, while gnawing at the popcorn with his front teeth (what other teeth could he use?) he got a bit of kernel stuck behind on front top tooth. I only noticed it because of his tendency to laugh hysterically while throwing his head, and indeed his entire body, backwards. I saw the rather sizable chunk of kernel and immediately decided that the time had come for him to have his teeth brushed. Well, little did I know that the infernal kernel piece was enormous and in every way impossible to dislodge with a toothbrush. But I tried.
Then, when that didn't work, I thought of those toothbrushes with the rubbery picky bits on the end. Well, after I called the doctor in a panic I thought of this. Anyway, we ran to Target for a toothbrush, only to find that there were none with the rubbery picky bit. I bought some other medieval-looking tooth pickers only to discover that, well, long story short, they didn't work either.
So, taking the nurse's advice, I waited, brushed a bit despite screams of protest, and waited some more. I was told to watch for inflammation, swelling, bleeding, extreme crankiness...we had none of that. So, two weeks later, the kernel still teasing me from behind the tooth, nothing had changed. Except my ever-increasing guilty feelings, of course. Clearly only a bad mommy would let her kid have popcorn permanently lodged behind his tooth.
So, I did what any bad mommy looking to be reformed would do. I dug out the infernal kernel with a fingernail. Oh, there was some serious protesting. There was the instance where the kernel was half out and, due to the wiggly nature of my patient and the imprecise nature of the scraping process, the kernel popped further into his gums. But persistence won, and I was able to remove the mammoth kernel shell from his gums.
As a reward, Gabe was permitted to sit on my lap for a long couple minutes gnawing desperately at his toothbrush. Which he miraculously, despite all the mouth intrusions, still loves. So much so that, when he fell asleep with it, he immediately woke up when I wrestled it from his drooly little fingers. Twice.
In any case, I think I'm back to good mommy status, assuming that his gums haven't inflamed overnight. And there will be a serious ban on popcorn until he has all his teeth and can be trusted to only get shells caught between his teeth where I can easily retrieve them.
Also yesterday I determined that 7 games of Candyland in a row is Alex's limit. Well, certainly my limit if not hers. I was only the Queen of Candyland 4 out of 7 times, but for some inexplicable reason Alex was miffed at the outcome of every game even if she won. Which makes me think that perhaps her grasp of what winning means is still a bit sketchy.
February 22, 2011
Baby Game
I realize as I'm writing this that I really should have taken pictures, but perhaps they'll play again, so anyway, to the point of the post...
Last night Gabey was having teething issues that could only be solved by Grammy's voice on the phone or some other serious distractions. At some point when I was off strategically doing something else, he found a mostly deflated balloon. I know, it's a choking hazard. Which now reminds me to find that balloon and pitch it, but I digress. So, Gabe has the balloon and somehow, he and Daddy decided to play the pass the balloon game.
It consists of Gabey rubbing the balloon next to his ear and then passing the balloon to Daddy who does the same thing. They passed it back and forth for a while, at least in baby terms a while, so perhaps a minute. Then the game degraded into Gabe trying to eat the balloon. Game rebooting (Mommy or Daddy taking away the balloon and applying the proper admonishments) occurred and the game started over. It was short-lived, as are all games with babies, but a good time was had by all.
What the game convinced me of is that Gabey needs a soft, pliable lovee of some sort that he can rub on his face and chew. I'm not sure what that could be, especially since he seems to have lots of love for rubbery things and paper products mostly, but I'll try to come up with something.
Speaking of rubbery things, we're on the hunt for Shirley the Frog. She hasn't been seen for days, maybe weeks, and I have exactly no idea where she is. I imagine that she was taken from Gabe's gaping maw at some point and placed in a secure location for her own safety as well as his, but where that location is is anyone's guess. I'm almost sure Alex didn't bury her in the snow, but time will certainly tell if that's what happened. Unless the crows spirit her away once she melts out. In any case, Alex has been pretty good about the whole Shirley missing thing, but I anticipate a trip to a toy store if we don't resolve the missing frog case soon. Of course the toy store that we purchased Shirley in has been relocated from the mall to somewhere in Westborough, but maybe, just maybe I can find it if I have to.
Well, I should run off to secure another square to the growing Frankenblanket. We bought more yarn yesterday in an epic trip to the craft store involving a checkout best measured in whines for candy. Side note, why for the love of yarn does the craft store have candy at the checkout? Is it not bad enough that Alex couldn't keep her act together for more than a minute and lost her pinwheel purchasing privileges? Then you have to add the most tempting (to her only, I assure you) candy to the mix? At least there were kind fellow line sufferers who talked to her and distracted her enough to get us to the cashier before total meltdown happened. But I'm going to have to look around for a candy-free craft store in the future, just for my own sanity.
Last night Gabey was having teething issues that could only be solved by Grammy's voice on the phone or some other serious distractions. At some point when I was off strategically doing something else, he found a mostly deflated balloon. I know, it's a choking hazard. Which now reminds me to find that balloon and pitch it, but I digress. So, Gabe has the balloon and somehow, he and Daddy decided to play the pass the balloon game.
It consists of Gabey rubbing the balloon next to his ear and then passing the balloon to Daddy who does the same thing. They passed it back and forth for a while, at least in baby terms a while, so perhaps a minute. Then the game degraded into Gabe trying to eat the balloon. Game rebooting (Mommy or Daddy taking away the balloon and applying the proper admonishments) occurred and the game started over. It was short-lived, as are all games with babies, but a good time was had by all.
What the game convinced me of is that Gabey needs a soft, pliable lovee of some sort that he can rub on his face and chew. I'm not sure what that could be, especially since he seems to have lots of love for rubbery things and paper products mostly, but I'll try to come up with something.
Speaking of rubbery things, we're on the hunt for Shirley the Frog. She hasn't been seen for days, maybe weeks, and I have exactly no idea where she is. I imagine that she was taken from Gabe's gaping maw at some point and placed in a secure location for her own safety as well as his, but where that location is is anyone's guess. I'm almost sure Alex didn't bury her in the snow, but time will certainly tell if that's what happened. Unless the crows spirit her away once she melts out. In any case, Alex has been pretty good about the whole Shirley missing thing, but I anticipate a trip to a toy store if we don't resolve the missing frog case soon. Of course the toy store that we purchased Shirley in has been relocated from the mall to somewhere in Westborough, but maybe, just maybe I can find it if I have to.
Well, I should run off to secure another square to the growing Frankenblanket. We bought more yarn yesterday in an epic trip to the craft store involving a checkout best measured in whines for candy. Side note, why for the love of yarn does the craft store have candy at the checkout? Is it not bad enough that Alex couldn't keep her act together for more than a minute and lost her pinwheel purchasing privileges? Then you have to add the most tempting (to her only, I assure you) candy to the mix? At least there were kind fellow line sufferers who talked to her and distracted her enough to get us to the cashier before total meltdown happened. But I'm going to have to look around for a candy-free craft store in the future, just for my own sanity.
February 20, 2011
Sand
Always nice to have at least one unseasonably warm day in the winter. Alex was in bare feet making a beach on the deck. And "posing" for the camera. Not sure what look she was going for here, but I always just ask for a smile.
February 17, 2011
Perfect Night
Apparently I slept through Gabey waking up last night. Jeff "woke" me to tell me that Gabe was crying, and said I wiggled a little bit so he assumed I went up to feed him. Which may well have happened for all I know. What I know for sure is that he's still asleep, I've gotten the ironing done (only 4 days after Jeff discovered he had no work clothes) and I'm even plotting to finish another Frankensquare for the blanket.
And today should be, in theory, a warm day. Though yesterday was supposed to be nice, and it only got up to the mid 30's with wind. Maybe today will be the outside day. We'll see.
And today should be, in theory, a warm day. Though yesterday was supposed to be nice, and it only got up to the mid 30's with wind. Maybe today will be the outside day. We'll see.
February 16, 2011
Up With the Sun
Alex has recently (last two days) decided that sunrise is the time to rise. Or just about. I've been hearing the thump thump of not so little feet earlier every day, and fear that my morning freedom will be well and truly gone soon.
But it'll be above freezing regularly soon, so perhaps I'll at least see some grass again in the next month or so. There's a thin strip of grass along the driveway, and a few plants poking their heads up over the 3 foot snow blanket, so I can imagine that Spring might actually come. No serious snow in the forecast has brighten our moods too. Alex still wants to make snowmen, but with the nice crust of thaw-and-freeze ice on the top of the snow, that'll probably not happen any time soon. Or hopefully at all. Fingers crossed.
Gabe's taken up to four steps at a time now, mostly inspired by Alex calling him like a little puppy. Any attention from her, and he's willing to walk as far as he can. Unless there's something interesting on the floor, of course.
Well, I can feel the call of the fifth square for the Frankenblanket calling me. Blankets do not knit themselves, and are not any easier to knit when there's a small child chewing on the other end of the yarn, so I should take advantage of the few seconds of morning freedom I have left to get something done.
But it'll be above freezing regularly soon, so perhaps I'll at least see some grass again in the next month or so. There's a thin strip of grass along the driveway, and a few plants poking their heads up over the 3 foot snow blanket, so I can imagine that Spring might actually come. No serious snow in the forecast has brighten our moods too. Alex still wants to make snowmen, but with the nice crust of thaw-and-freeze ice on the top of the snow, that'll probably not happen any time soon. Or hopefully at all. Fingers crossed.
Gabe's taken up to four steps at a time now, mostly inspired by Alex calling him like a little puppy. Any attention from her, and he's willing to walk as far as he can. Unless there's something interesting on the floor, of course.
Well, I can feel the call of the fifth square for the Frankenblanket calling me. Blankets do not knit themselves, and are not any easier to knit when there's a small child chewing on the other end of the yarn, so I should take advantage of the few seconds of morning freedom I have left to get something done.
February 14, 2011
Happy Valentine's Day!
While I can't say that we're exactly gearing up for a super romantic Valentine's Day this year, I can say that we're definitely feeling the love a little more than we were last year. It just occurred to me this morning that last VD, we were still reeling from the news of Jeff's impending lay-off, and I was getting seriously fat and uncomfortable thanks to the Gabester. Alex, I'm sure, was mostly her chipper self. But in any case, we've got better vibes this year.
It's supposed to be a tropical heat wave of mid-40's proportions today, so I plan on taking the kids out to celebrate the thaw. My greatest temptation for today would be to show the garden my Valentine's love by shoveling off some snow so it melts faster, but I suppose snow is great insulation for when it gets below freezing again TOMORROW so I should probably just leave well enough alone. Not to mention that Gabe doesn't like it when I try to use garden tools with one hand and heave him around with the other. I speak from much experience, including a short time turning horse manure with a garden fork and a baby. Not a good idea.
I'm thinking it's almost time to start sifting through my old seeds, and perhaps finally planting some. Well, OK, I'll try and hold off for a few more weeks, and then I have to find a way to grow them all out of reach. Is it a sign of desperation that I'd take our dining room table and use it as a growing table at the back door? Probably. Clearly I should just buy a new table so we have a place to do googly-eyed crafts -and- a place to grow scarlet runner beans. Or whatever beans I have lurking in the magic box-o-seeds. Oh, yay! Malabar spinach and passion flowers, castor beans and alchemilla! Should be an interesting Spring if everyone plays along and grows for me.
And of course, speaking of growing, Gabe has been taking tentative steps. He's pretty convinced that crawling is faster, though, so I'm thinking he might just bide his time and go it the easy way for a bit longer. Well, I'm sort of half hoping that's what he'll do. And speaking of Gabe, that's a picture of him enjoying a romantic early Valentine's dinner. He had no steak, but sweet potatoes are always on his menu.
February 8, 2011
New Scarf
I spent several hours recently knitting a brand new scarf for Alex with some yarn I had left over from another project. She loves this yarn, and told me that a scarf made of this yarn would be great. So, after way too much time spent, I finished the scarf while watching the Superbowl.
Fast forward to the next morning - Alex sees the scarf draped across the arm of the living room couch. She is super excited and immediately drapes it around her neck. Runs around in her usual state of undress with the addition of the scarf for a while. Then refuses to look at how fabulous she looks in the mirror. The scarf is discarded. I assume she'll want it later, but when we decide to go play on the swings, I suggest to her that we put on the new scarf, she tells me she already wore it, and that her neck is already warm enough.
So, it looks like she's used up her scarf, and I have to find a new owner that will appreciate it more...Not sure if Diesel fits the bill, but at least her neck is now warm too.
February 7, 2011
Retiring the Saucer
So, Gabe has long been a prisoner of the exersaucer when I've wanted to do, oh, anything not involving a baby. Yesterday, he was imprisoned in the bathroom while I got a quick shower, and he had his extreme dislike face on, which never means anything but trouble. Well, miraculously, I made it through my shower, and he thought his cunning plans could wait for another day. Until I decided to *gasp* go get some clothes.
Well, that was insult added to injury for him, so Gabe did the only thing he could think of to protest his isolation in the saucer - he flung himself head-first out of the saucer and onto the bath mat. Then came crawling triumphantly out to join me in the closet.
Needless to say, I removed the saucer to the storage area, to be subsequently given to any baby without bad intentions. Pack-n-Scream, it is now up to you to contain the baby who will not be contained. And the crib mattress is getting dropped today, just in case.
Well, that was insult added to injury for him, so Gabe did the only thing he could think of to protest his isolation in the saucer - he flung himself head-first out of the saucer and onto the bath mat. Then came crawling triumphantly out to join me in the closet.
Needless to say, I removed the saucer to the storage area, to be subsequently given to any baby without bad intentions. Pack-n-Scream, it is now up to you to contain the baby who will not be contained. And the crib mattress is getting dropped today, just in case.
February 5, 2011
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