First Haircut and Retarded Self-Help Books

Yesterday, after Kate fell asleep, I gave her a hair cut. It looks pretty good except now she looks more like a boy than ever! At least she has proper bangs now, instead of those annoying wispy bits of hair that went everywhere. And I have all these mini barrettes now that I can put in her hair so that people know she's a girl. It's kind of funny, because I find it annoying when she is wearing pink and people think she's a boy, but really, who cares? So people think she's a boy, it's not like it will last long and she'll grow up emotionally scarred because she was mistaken for a boy all the time. She doesn't know the difference, so she doesn't care! Cutting her hair for the first time made me feel nostalgic. Not too much more time before I go back to work :(
MSN was featuring a video series about this book called Babyproofing Your Marriage. One of their 'tips' was the Five Minute Fix, which is giving your husband a blowjob instead of having sex with him. Apparently, of the men interviewed, most agreed that they would do whatever their wife wanted (babysitting, housework, with a smile no less!) if they got regular blowjobs. This is just wrong on so many levels. First of all, how ridiculous is it to suggest giving a blowjob instead of sex? If I don't feel like sex, why on earth would I feel like giving my husband a blowjob? Secondly, the authors reason that it will get him off your back for a couple days without rejecting him completely. Honey, if you are just trying to get your husband off your back for a few days, why don't you try TALKING to him? Treating him like a chauvenistic pig isn't good for anybody. I know, I know, guys would rather get the blowjob than a heart-to-heart, but sometimes life sucks (or, in this case doesn't, ha ha). Thirdly, the authors, after interviewing many couples, found that women wanted more help, with the kids and the housework and guys wanted more sex. So the solution is a blowjob for him so he will help you clean the dishes? Fuck that, if my husband can't wash the dishes without me 'sexually servicing' him, I'd rather just wash the damn things alone! I'm not saying that our sex life is perfect, or that the occasional blowjob wouldn't help, but seriously, this is the solution three authors came up with to help millions of couples with kids? Here is a review I found: Jenna's Review It wasn't very flattering and I'm glad I read it before wasting my time with the book! Frankly, I'm a little disappointed with MSN for featuring such crap.
If a book like this can get published, surely I can write something worthwhile!

A Hole in My Sock

I have a hole in my sock and my bra isn't giving me enough support and my hair has split ends. Today everything seems sucky. Maybe I'm just depressed that Christmas is over...

Bona-Fide Standing

Today I looked up from writing my thank-you cards to see Kate standing at her new Baby Grand Piano, trying to reach the buttons at the back. She was STANDING, on her own two feet, by God! And tonight, because of a late nap, she DID NOT want to go to sleep at bedtime. I put her in her crib and left her room, but after 15 minutes of her howling, I had to go back in, I couldn't stand it anymore. I felt like I was torturing her! When I went back in her room, she was standing in her crib, holding onto the bar and screaming at the top of her lungs. I said to Brad, "You better come and see this!" Which probably gave him a heart-attack, but he was pretty excited when he came in and saw her standing there, all by herself! Doesn't she look happy in this picture?

Bona-Fide Crawling

My daughter's been dragging herself around the house for the last month or so in what one friend calls the 'wounded soldier crawl' and another calls the 'commando crawl'. Yesterday, Christmas day, it finally happened-she crawled on her hands and knees! She got on her hands and knees and started rocking back and forth like she usually does, but this time, instead of falling flat, she actually moved forward, all the way across the hall! I sat in amazement, watching her and all I could think to say was, "Holy shit!" It seemed unreal, that this baby, who only five months ago didn't even know she had feet, can actually crawl on all fours across my hall! I have to say, even with everything we got yesterday and the wonderful dinner with our family, that was surely the best Christmas present of them all!
This year was the first year we had Christmas dinner at our house. In previous years, we spent the day dragging ourselves around town, trying to spend time with my dad, Brad's parents, and my mum. It's usually worked out well, Christmas Eve at my dad's, breakfast at one mom's, dinner at the other, alternating every year. It was always fine, but I always, always dreaded Christmas coming and trying to work everything out. It always seemed like my responsibility and I hated that I had to divide my time between my dad, my mom and brad's parents, and make sure everyone was happy. The guilt of leaving my mom alone on Christmas Eve combined with the guilt of leaving my dad alone on Christmas Day, does not always make the season a jolly one for me. One year, we had everything planned and Brad's mom phoned a week beforehand and wanted to switch everything and I nearly had a nervous breakdown. Brad saved the day by saying that our plans stood as they were and that his mom had no right to change things a week before. God bless Brad!
Anyway, this year, with a new baby, I was dreading this arrangement more than usual because, as anyone with a baby or small child knows, getting them ready to go out, getting them in the car, getting to your destination, unpacking everything (kid and gifts), packing everything up again, taking them somewhere else and unpacking and packing, oh my GOD!!! And trying to find time to nurse her? Forget it, so my brillant plan was to have dinner here, in our teeny-weeny house. I just couldn't decide which grandparent would have to miss Kate's first Christmas, so my plan was to make sure no one did! To complicate matters, I invited a couple my mom knows because they were alone for the first time, with neither of their daughters coming home. Which would have been fine if I had talked to Brad about it before making the rash decision to invite them. The silences I endured after I told him were not pleasant and I don't really blame him, since he isn't of the 'the more the merrier' type. I should have known, I'm not really sure what possessed me to invite them, blame it on the abnormally large Spirit of Christmas I seem to be suffering from this year. Anyway, they came and Liz made the gravy, so THAT was ok. I think Brad has forgiven me. But if anyone remembers the incident of the rabbit in the spare room, they know I'm given acting in haste and repenting at leisure. You would think poor Brad would be used to it by now!

Can't Sleep

It's most aggravating when you KNOW you will be exhausted the next day. It's not like I can just pause my life and take a nap when I'm tired. I'm yawning. My eyes are itchy. But sleep eludes me tonight. Hmmm. I think I got that last bit from Jane Eyre.
I was lying in bed, thinking about money, a sure-fired way to lay awake all night. I was thinking about work and taking Kate to daycare and the idea, just the IDEA of it, gives me the shakes. In seven months, I've left her with a sitter five times. OMG. I swore I wouldn't be the kind of person who gives up her life to have kids, but I realize now that she IS my life. So anyway, five times, for maybe four hours at a time. And now I have to leave her with some stranger ALL DAY?! The idea is ridiculous. I miss the kid when she's in bed for the night.
So, I have a few plans to make sure this doesn't happen.
1) Take two kids in for $35-$50 a day, each
2) Bookkeeping from home
3) Pray that Brad's business takes off and he makes enough money for all of us
4) Research online jobs, to see if I can do any of them
5) Start internet porn site, collect money for dirty, stupid men
6) Invest in the stockmarket
7) Bet large amounts of money at the track
8) Become a personal shopper/errand runner for rich people
9) Get pregnant again and take another year of maternity leave after working for 13 weeks
10) Learn how to fix cars and open shop, with Kate as my apprentice
11) Write Great Canadian Novel and sell for thousands
12) Sell rights of Great Canandian Novel to movie producer for millions
13) Sell story of my life, as author of Great Canadian Novel, to different movie producer for more millions
So-do you have any ideas?

And Thanks For All the....Ducks?

The Kid likes the ducks. They quack happily when you pull their string (why does that sound kind of dirty?).

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW

My boob hurts. Yes, that's right, you heard me, my boob hurts. It's all lumpy and full of milk and even though I fed Kate on it for twenty minutes, it's still full. Blocked milkducts suck. I'm really glad I'm breastfeeding and I wouldn't switch to formula if you paid me, but I could live without the swollen breast. Part of me doesn't want to give up breastfeeding, but part of me is also looking forward to when my boobs go back to normal and I don't have to think about them or notice them or be constantly aware of them at all times. Do you know that I actually caught myself (several times) lifting first one breast and then the other IN PUBLIC to see which one was more full (and therefore which one I was going to feed her on next).
Holy Mother of God I need a warm compress.

Happy (Late) Halloween

We (meaning me and Kate, because Brad was on the afternoon shift) had a pretty good Halloween. I managed to not only give out some candy, but I visited people too. My mum and my in-laws were really pleased to see Kate and I arrive to "trick or treat" I even got some candy out of it! I ate so much chocolate in one night, I've been suffering from withdrawal all week.

I got Kate's costume on eBay (I'm telling you, eBay ROCKS). It was way too big, even if it was labelled 6-9 months, it would have easily fit my little friend E who is 18 months! So I ripped it all apart and made it many inches shorter and it turned out so cute-don't you think?
I was thinking I could use it as a pattern for next year and make her a little black bear costume or something. I have so much fake fur it's not even funny. Of course, it would probably be much easier to just BUY a pattern and use IT as a pattern, being as that's what they are for. We'll see how much time I have next year. Try none. Store bought costumes from now on.

I took a picture of my stomach to document what it looked like seven months later. I'm not publishing it here, but I have to say, I was pretty happy with the difference. My stomach is flatter than it was at 15 weeks, which was my first belly shot. I guess that means I'm back to normal.

Brad and I went this Indian food place and got take-out from their buffet yesterday. Oh. My. GOD they make good food. It's really amazing how much you can fit in a take-out tray when you try. They had fresh fruit too, so I stuck a banana in my pocket on the way out (which Brad made fun of later). I figured I had four servings of fruits and vegetables in one sitting, which totally rocks!

Success...Well, Sort Of

Today, my baby VOLUNTARILY opened her mouth when I offered her food! The food offered? Broccoli! Who knew that a child that came from me would prefer vegetables over fruit? Well, not entirely sure that's true because later she was offered a pear (mostly eaten by me) and she grabbed hold of it and used her two teeth to chew away on it. I think she just doesn't like baby food. I can't really blame her, what the hell does straining do to fruit to make it taste that shitty?

Anyway, another mommy friend told me Kate would probably prefer 'real' food to jarred baby food and cereal and she was right. The broccoli was just something from our dinner that I cooked a little longer. I think the bright green intrigued her and she opened her mouth like she does when she sees a favourite toy (right before stuffing as much of said toy into her mouth as possible). Can't say that she particularly enjoyed the broccoli once it was in her mouth, but lo and behold, she opened her mouth for a second helping. After that, forget it. Turned head and pursed lips reigned.

Anyway, tonight a good friend came over and man, she is one crazy girl! She loves babies and dogs and she just gets right down there with them to play. Today she was jumping up and down and talking to Kate and I have to say-Kate loved it. She even giggled out loud which is something she doesn't normally do unless she is physically stimulated (tickling, etc). It was hilarious. Kate was in her Bumbo chair rocking back and forth, like she was trying to dance, laughing her head off. This girl is the type of person you want to babysit your kids, because you know she wouldn't just park them in front of the TV, she would actually play with them and take them places. Cool chick.

Today was a crazy day, I was up all night (it seemed) with Kate, who awoke at 1:30 am and decided it was time to party. She didn't (would NOT) go back down until 5 am. Needless to say, with a killer sore neck and very little sleep, I wasn't really in the mood to party. Then, of COURSE, she slept most of the afternoon, so I got some shuteye then, but GOD. So, here I am at 1 am, not able to sleep, but tired nonetheless. This SUCKS!

I'm reading Jane Eyre again. I don't really remember it from the first time around, except that I felt I was struggling thru it. Now I find myself really enjoying it and wondering what will happen to Jane next. I've just gotten to the part where the owner of the school she's attending has made her stand on a stool in the middle of the great hall and told everyone she is a liar, but her nice headmistress has asked her the truth of her past and believes what Jane says. Altho I find it hard to believe anyone would be as cruel to a child as Mrs. Reed is to her niece Jane, I admire Jane's courage to stand up to her at the last, when Mrs. Reed lies about her character and behaviour. I find myself rooting for poor, downtrodden little Jane. I have a feeling that when I'm finished Jane Eyre I'll once again be convinced that I will never write anything worthwhile.

By the by, I may get some flak for this next comment, but I just finished re-reading The Secret Garden and I have to say, it's not that great! I know it's a beloved book and a classic, but the writer was a bit of a manic about flowers and the weather and let's face it, neither subject is very exciting. I can only handle so many passages describing the heather on the moor and the wind whistling through the eves. To be fair, it IS called The Secret Garden, so descriptions of flowers should be expected, but oh my God, enough! Also, I found myself re-reading certain sentences because vague pronouns and misplaced commas made it hard to read. In one sentence, a pronoun was missing altogether! I found myself wondering if the author ever listened to her editor.

Ah well, it's easy enough for me to criticize books, but I've never had the imagination to write one, have I?

Feeding a Baby

She looks very pleased for herself, doesn't she? I think she was particularly proud that she managed to get some on her forehead, where even the nicest person couldn't say it was anywhere near her mouth.

Introducing Kate to solids has not really been a very fun experience. She does not like anything at ALL and she turns her head away and purses her lips tightly. Sometimes she cries and sometimes she wags her head back and forth with a maniacal grin on her face and I'm quite, quite, sure she knows exactly how frustrating she's making this for me. I'm not one to compare her to other babies because I think that puts unfair pressure on her AND me, but I can't help thinking about how my friend's babies have taken to solids. They are the same age and when THEY see the spoon coming, THEY opens their mouthes and gulp whatever's being offered right down. They even cry if their mothers don't keep it coming. It's actually kind of funny and reminds me of A Clockwork Orange.

Kate, on the other hand, isn't going to be tricked, cajoled, persuaded, jollied, teased or forced into eating anything that isn't coming directly from my breast. I have told myself that my breastmilk is so damn delicious that she won't even consider an alternative.

Hi Ho.

Decorating

My husband and I have been busy the last week picking new chairs and paint for our living room. Yesterday we bought two armless chairs with red stripes. I love them! And we got a side table that matches our coffee table and a couple lamps. They should be here in a couple weeks and I can't wait.

Our whole house is white or beige and it's so boring. We're going to paint the livingroom a dark sage green and the dinette will be a couple shades lighter. I'd like to paint our bedroom a dark, deep blue, but all in good time! My husband has never really been interested in buying furniture or painting, but he suddenly decided that he couldn't live another minute in a white house. Hallelujah!!!

So I'm off to Walmart to pick out a couple of framed pictures I saw a few weeks ago. And maybe Winners or Home Sense. Everyone keeps saying how they have a great selection.

I haven't written for a while because Kate has decided naps are for wimps. She has a long sleeved onsie on with a pink rattle appliqued to the front and the words "SHAKE IT" embroidered next to it.

So-I gotta jet because the babe is crying and bored and I have pictures to buy (or at least look at until I have money to buy them with!)

Getting to Know You

Baby Dilemma # 7

There are four knitted baby dresses hanging in the closet that may or may not ever actually be worn. There are 12 tiny t-shirts and 7 little long-sleeve shirts, 5 miniscule sweaters, and 3 bitty sweatshirts of varying hues in the dresser draws. There are more pairs of teeny jeans in those same drawers than there are in my own dresser. And yet, I can't stop buying clothes for Kate, because everything is either incrediably cute or totally cool. I mean, who could possibly pass up a black t-shirt that says "I Don't Do Pink" that is made for a baby? Who could walk passed sparkle jeans that are only 7 inches long? Or a purple top that has "SPARKLE" embroidered in crazy lettering across the chest? And then there is the stuff you think you may NEED and the stuff you simply WANT. How do I differentiate between the two? Should I bother? And now I have to decide what snowsuit to get if any...not too bulky, not white, not to bright, not too big, not too small, something with feet, something with mitts, something that matches the cool polar-fleece hat I bought in July (it's soooo cute, it's got four tassles on the top and it's purple and pink and white and blue).

Meanwhile, in six months, I may very well be returning to work completely naked since I don't bother buying clothes for myself.

Anybody Want a Cat? Or a Dog?

Sometimes I just want to get rid of every pet and never think about animals again. I've always loved animals and when I was a kid, I wanted to be a veternarian. I grew up with pets and have had at least one pet almost my entire adult life. At the present time, I have two dogs, a cat and three fish. I've written about my cat before and I can't say my attitude towards him has changed much. I was outside enjoying a smoke (oh, don't EVEN start with the "I thought you quit") and the cat came up, all purry and friendly and we had a nice little chat, he and I. I scratched between his ears and he let me. I thought we were friends. Well. Yesterday, I dared to fall asleep with the babe while watching The Great Muppet Caper. By the time I woke up, the chicken I put out for dinner was gone. Brad said there was a little hunk left on the floor and when I blamed the cat, he said, "It looked like they all had a go at it." Which is probably true, the cat would have dragged it out of the sink and the when he knocked it to the floor, the dogs would have moved in for the kill. And to add insult to injury, because it was raining, Cosmo, the pug, decided that he was too special to get wet and peed on my floor. I swear I slept for a maximum of thirty minutes.

And it doesn't even end there. I stupidly, I admit it, left butter on the counter. We never have butter because margerine is always soft and easier to use, whereas butter needs to be left out to soften and we don't have a proper butter dish. You may ask why I need a proper butter dish when I can use a little plate and I will tell you why: because when you wake up in the morning, the little plate has been licked clean of all that buttery goodness!

Damn the cat!

My Manipulative Little Nut

Sometimes I call Kate a nut. Sometimes I think she is manipulating me, so today I've decided she's a manipulative nut. Just as I sat down to write about how I was actually able to shower today, I heard Kate begin to cry. She used to wake up happy and babbling, but ever since she learned to roll over, she wakes up, rolls onto her stomach and begins to cry. So I hear her cry this aft and sure enough, she's on her tummy. By this time she was sucking contentedly on her blanket and wasn't crying anymore. I laughed at her and said, "Ok my love, it's time to roll back on your back all by yourself" and to my surprise and delight, she DID! I laughed again and told her how brilliant she was and walked out of the room to get some leave-in conditioner to put in my hair.

I had hardly turned my back and she started BAWLING, like I'd told her that I was never coming back and she had to live in the crib forever. You could tell she was using real tears and everything, she was crying so hard. So I come back in, still massaging the conditioner in my hair and I say, "My silly nut, I love you, I'll be one sec and you can get out of the crib!" in a sickeningly bright and cheery voice to show her my sincerity. She continued to cry so I put my face right down to her face and kissed her nose and she stopped crying as abruptly as a faucet being turned off. Then I stood straight again and she started to scream, like she couldn't believe I'd leave her AGAIN. By this time I was done with the hair and I picked her up and kissed her tears and laughed at her and told her she was a crazy nut and she stopped crying so fast, she hiccuped. Then she started to laugh. The tears were still wet in her eyes and she's laughing her ass off.

Now I can't decided if she genuinely needed some mummy loving, or if she's just checking to see how fast I'll come when she cries.

They Grow Up So Fast

This Kate checking out the mirror in my bedroom. She is five and half months old and already practicing how to kiss! She slobbered all over my mirror!

A Little Bit About Me

1.MY FAVORITE BREAKFAST IS? Mini-wheats with the milk soaked in a bit

2. THE MOVIE I'VE WATCHED MOST NUMBER OF TIMES?Forrest Gump, I still cry at the part when he's on the platform talking about Vietnam and Jenny calls "Forrest!!" and they run towards each each through the water. It doesn't matter how many times I see it!

3. SPEND MY LEISURE TIME WITH? Leisure time? What is this thing they call leisure time?

4. IF I COULD HAVE ANY CAR IN THE WORLD,WHAT WOULD IT BE? A red Jeep Wrangler

5.FAVORITE HOUSEHOLD CHORE? None, that's why they're called chores.

6. WHEN I WAS A KID I DREAMED OFBECOMING? A Veterinarian.

7. FAVORITE COLORS? Red, black (and don't comment that black isn't a colour, I'm AWARE)

9. WHEN I DIE, I'D RATHER BE CREMATED OR BURIED? Cremated

10. IF I COULD REPEAT COLLEGE, I'D TAKE? Well, since I'm currently a student, I don't think this question applies, but if I could take anything in the world and it didn't matter how long it took, I'd go back in time and be a veterinarian.

11. THINGS I CAN'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT? My baby.

12. FIRST THING I BOUGHT WITH MY FIRSTSALARY? My first pair of black, eight-hole Docs.

13. I'D LIKE TO BE REMEMBERED AS? A fun person who told good stories.

14. IF A BOOK WAS MADE INTO A MOVIE,WOULD YOU STILL BOTHER TO READ THE BOOK? Yup! I've probably read it before it was made into a movie . Everyone knows the book is almost always better than the movie!

15. SPECIALTY IN COOKING? Um, Chili? Cooking's not really my thing!

16. FIRST CRUSH? This boy named Terry and his girlfriend laughed her ass off when she found out and said WHY?

17. FAVORITE HANG-OUT? My very own house!

18. BEST PLACE TO SHOP? Old Navy (baby section of course!)

19. DO YOU LIKE TO WATCH PLAYS? Not especially. We used to go to Stratford with Brad's parents and once all four of us fell asleep! Alice Through the Looking Glass was pretty good!

20. FAVORITE PLACE IN YOUR HOUSE? My baby's room.

21. BEST GIFT YOU'VE GIVEN? My digital camera from my family (but mostly from Brad)

22. WEIRDEST GIFT YOU RECEIVED? A porcelain rooster. Don't ask.

23. GIFT THAT YOU WANT TO RECEIVE AS OF THIS MOMENT? A new car, LOL

24. WHAT TIME IS IT? 10:23 A.M

25. HOW MANY DIFFERENT CITIES HAVE YOU LIVED IN? Three

26. YAHOO OR MSN? msn!!!

27. LEFT OR RIGHT? Right

28. BLACK OR WHITE? Black

29. BLACK OR BLUE PEN? Black pen

30. SANDALS OR SHOES? Docs!

31. COLGATE OR CREST? Wait a sec, I have to check...Colgate.

32. FLOSS OR TOOTHPICK? Floss

34. ROBOCOP OR RAMBO? Robocop

35. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA? Chocolate

36. COKE OR PEPSI? Coke

37. FAVOURITE TV SHOW? Grey's Anatomy

38. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Cory

39. LAST PERSON WHO TXTED YOU? Andrea

40. LAST PERSON WHO MADE YOU LAUGH? The baby

41. LAST PERSON WHO MADE YOU CRY? The baby (LOL)

42. LAST TIME YOU CRIED? I don't remember, last month?

43. YOU SEE ME ALWAYS EATING? Chocolate

A Bonefide Tooth

It happened. I put a finger in my baby's mouth and felt a tooth! We had company last night, my friend  came with her daughter who is just over a year older than Kate, her husband and a couple other friends.

I was so excited about the tooth, I called my mom after Kate went to bed and left a message about her tooth. Today I have all these mother fears about this new development. I have to brush her teeth now! And what if she bangs her little tooth and chips it? What if she cuts her lip on it? Gawd! Motherhood is so immensely satisfying, but it comes with all these crazy questions. Someone once told me the minute you find out you're pregnant, you begin to worry and you never stop worrying from that moment on. I'm not a super-paranoid mom, I think I'm pretty laid back, but it's hard not have a few fears.

Today I went to my friend's baby's baptizism. There were about 12 babies being baptized and it seemed a little assembly-line to me, but whatever. I sat with a mutual friend and we whispered to each other through the service, which seemed a little sacrilegious, but it was so boring. Kate was really good, she had on her little fairy dress and she made a few whooping noises, but basically she sat on my knee and swung her legs the entire time. She also spent a good part of the time flirting with the men!

I don't think, if there is a God, he/she would be so cruel as to doom a child to Purgatory just because its parents didn't get it baptized. When Kate is older and she decides this is something she wants, we will support her, but I just don't believe in baptisms for babies.

My baby has a tooth!

I Made a Quilt

I made a quilt. I'm very happy with it, as it's my first try and it turned out really well. Now I'm going to tackle a big quilt. I decided I'm going to do the whole thing in corduroy, I can't wait to start it, it's going to look so cool!

I would post a picture of the quilt, but I've tried three times and it won't upload, so I give up!

Baby Okay

Kate is fine. The bump on her head went away by the next day and she's acting totally normal. Then, OF COURSE, today, she was on the floor, playing under her 'gym' and she rolled over. She was very proud of herself and I clapped and told her what a good girl she was. Usually I roll her back after a few minutes so she can do it again (and not get too frustrated from being on her stomach for too long), but I left her on her tummy for a bit to see if she would try to roll back herself. Instead, she concentrated on chewing on the side of the gym. Well, the little tyke is pretty strong and she pulled the whole thing right over and the hard toys that are dangling from it hit her in the head! More bumps in the noggin for the poor girl. She started howling, but when I picked her up and walked her to my room, she caught sight of herself in the mirror and smiled. So she was obviously okay, but my, you would have thought the world was ending!

I'm making a quilt based on a style of quilt that a friend gave me before Kate was born. I was going to make a big one (72 in x 72 in) but I decided to start with a small one (36 in x 36 in) and see how it goes. It's going to be mostly light pink flannel with a bit of white flannel or maybe corduroy. If it turns out well, I'm going to make the big one, but I haven't decided what colours yet. Probably dark colours with a bit of black mixed in. Like navy blue, burgundy, dark purple. Mmmmmmm. I like it already. And really rich, soft fabrics. I'll post a pic of the small one when it's finished. I think I can start sewing it tomorrow when my mom drops off the sewing machine.

Wow. What a boring post.

Kate is in bed for the night, but I just heard an unearthly cry from the other room. I'm going to ignore it for the moment. After I put her to bed tonight, she started to cry really hard about ten minutes later, which she rarely does. I think she woke up disoriented because she had fallen asleep while I was nursing her. Imagine how that must feel, to be in the warm and comfortable safety of your mother's arms, with a boob in your mouth and the next thing you know, you are in a crib by yourself. Anyway, I picked her up and held her for a few minutes and put her back to bed and she went off to sleep almost instantly. Crazy kid. This book I have says they should be awake when you put them to bed because then, when they wake up in the middle of the night, there is no shock of "Where the HELL am I?" and they can happily drift off to sleep again.

I talked to my neice yesterday and I asked her if she goes to beach in Vancouver and if she swims in the ocean, or if it's too polluted being in the city. She said, "Yeah, we go to the beach, but no, I don't swim in the ocean, yuck, it's all full of that seawater." How can you NOT laugh at that?