Aquatot!

The bun is just about too big for her tub so we tried her out in the big bath with me & she loved it.


lovin'the big bath

So much so we decided to go to an Aquatots class at our local pool. There were a few moments of fussing but she liked it for the most part. She was the smallest one there - the next youngest child was 12 months. The requirement was that she be 4 months & able to hold her head up. Since she's been able to do that for a good while now, we thought it would be fine even though she's a couple of weeks off of 4 months. She did great but I do wish there were more babies her age that can't blow bubbles either. She sure did like the ducks though.

going after the duck

Next week Calvin gets to be the one in the water. I'm sure he'll be more brave (reckless?) with her than I & dunk her under water or something. I'm a bit too cautious at the moment to do that yet and besides she did get one mouthful this week & that made her cry with a totally pathetic sputtering cough.

aquatot! 

A Special Treat

Happy happy joy joy

Number 1


Number 2


Number 3 or what happens when daddy makes too much noise. (And no, he really doesn't smoke unless of course it's a fancy cigar with a big glass 'o scotch.)

Earthquake!

Wave form plot from Natural Resources Canada - Geological Survey of Canada




Last night I was watching Olympics on NBC (because all CBC seems to want to cover is bloody hockey. Note to CBC, not everyone loves hockey & some people like myself actually get excited about the Olympics because it gives us the chance to see other cool sports getting some of the coverage they deserve. But no, you still have to devote about half of the time to a bunch of overpaid men on skates & then have the gall to lead with stories about them losing before you talk about all the wonderful accomplishments of the other atheletes. Everytime the Olympics comes around you get Brian Williams talking about the lack of funding, blah, blah, blah, but perhaps the media plays a part, eh Brian? Perhaps if there was more coverage of the less popular sports, there would be more interest & therefore more chances for sponsorship for these poorly funded atheletes, etc., etc. But no.... there has to be hockey, hockey, hockey. Whatever. I'm just so sick & tired of it. OK Rant over... for now.) & all of a sudden the house started shaking. Sitting in the basement I could feel the foundation shuddering & heard things rattling upstairs. At first I thought snowplow. Then I thought earthquake so I ran upstairs and saw Calvin looking outside for those blue snowplow lights. Nope, none.

It was an earthquake allright. It measured 4.5 on the Richter Scale & was felt all the way to Montreal. Very neat & mildly concerning. This is the third earthquake I've felt since we moved to Ottawa & everytime I'm amazed that we actually get them here but apparently we are in a fairly active earthquake zone. Neat-o. The dog was acting like an ass all day so perhaps he knew something was going to happen, but hey, he's an ass most of the time so I didn't think anything of it. Come to think of it though, he's acting very needy today as well, so maybe we're in for some aftershocks. That, or he's still being a jerk.

Self Portrait Tuesday #2

Except that it is Thursday.
And I missed last Tuesday as well.
I can see how well this is going.

Anyway, as part of the "all of me" theme I give you this.

ugh

Even with the post-partum hair loss I still look like a freaking poodle.
A poodle with really bad bags under the eyes.

Trust me, you wouldn't kill to have hair like this, no matter what you think or say oh so nicely to me. It's a pain in the ass & the bad hair days outnumber the good ones by a longshot. It's dry, frizzy, unmanageable & I can never get the right kind or amount of product in it to make it look good for more than say, half an hour. And now, with it coming out in masses that look like this, I'm finding it everywhere. My clothes, my pillow, the couch, bathtub (oh the poor bathtub!), the car & all over the poor baby. I'm scared she's going to choke on some soon. And then I read in one of my baby books something about a hair tourniquet where a strand can get wrapped around a toe or other appendage & cut off circulation or cause immense pain. Cripey!

Anyway, I'm open to suggestions. I want to keep growing it back out but if I have to I'll chop it. It's big & fuzzy, thick in amount, but fine in quality & I need some of it to cover up my gigantic forehead. S.O.S people, S.O.S.

Cuteness, for real this time

At least at much as I can type while she's asleep.

Looks like I didn't really get to talking about how damn cute my baby is because I started rambling on about how much the library people care about what literary treasures I take out. It's just that I have this weird desire that I'd rather be taken for an educated reader than someone who goes to the library to take out porn. One wants to make a good impression, right? It's like those coffee table books you are supposed to put out just in case House and Home magazine suddenly decides to drop by your marvelous abode to to a spread on how well your throw pillows give that quirky punch to the oh so fabulous settee in the corner. You know the ones I'm talking about. The uber heavy art books dedicated to Matisse & David Hockney that state to the world "look at me, I know my art, aren't you impressed?". I should know, I've got a ton (they gotta weigh about that with the load I have) of them on my bookshelves. Because I'm only here to impress you. Ya, that's it.

So, about the cuteness. It's something else. Unless she's shrieking for two hours solid, like last night. Then, not so much. We couldn't figure out what was wrong with her & were almost contemplating taking her to the hospital, but then with gasping breaths (you know when you cry so hard you have to come up for air) she finally passed out. We think it might have something to do with the huge fright Calvin gave her when he started bouncing her on the yoga ball (she loves it) and it suddenly popped like I forewarned him about a couple of weeks ago when he was getting some mighty big air on it. So the ball pops & man & baby (in man's arms) are on the floor with very scared & surprised looks on their faces. I grab Freyja who'd been crying before this & who now has started the manaical shrieking & Calvin grabs his knee & tries to take it like a man. A man who, you can tell, really wants to cry because he's in a lot of pain. So that was last night.

This morning though the cutie-putootie woke up all smiles & giggles & coos with nary a shriek to be heard. Really, she's a total doll in the mornings & wakes up all slow like she's adjusting to the world above her little head, then she'll notice me & break into a huge smile that just melts my heart. It's so nice to be someone's world. We usually spend about 15 minnutes or so just playing around in bed looking at the mobile that's attached to our headboard or me making faces at her while she (as of the past two weeks) tries to grab my nose or crazy poodle hair. Then it's on to the chatting after a good diaper change. She'll sit in her swing while I eat my breakfast & chat to me or some polka-dots or Mr. Harry Elephante (like Belafonte). Then she'll start sucking on his nose.

And fall asleep like this.

The unbearable cuteness of being

At the moment I feel like Dorothy when the tornado is coming to tear her house off it's foundation. The wind here is crazy & my entire house is rattling & shaking. And I think it is supposed to get worse so I'm not sure if Calvin is going to make it back home this evening. The man has been in Atlanta since Wednesday for business so I've been holed up at home with no baby meltdown back up handler. Thankfully the bun has been taking lots of naps now that her grandparents have gone (thanks kid - why couldn't you show off your excellent nap-taking skillz while they were here, thus proving my fantastic mummyness qualities) so she's been in an excellent mood for the most part. In fact she only screamed for 5 minutes when I put this ultra cute hat & pair of mittens on her yesterday. 5 minutes people. It was like a dream.


Little bunny

She's all bundled up for our outing to the library & pharmacy. See, I did follow through with one of those New Year's Resolutions - I am now an official library card carrier & user. I signed myself up a couple of weeks back & of course found out that I had to pay a late fine from 8 years ago. That was such an entirely different lifetime I barely remember it. So I shouldn't have to pay it right? Whatever. I didn't even bother asking what book it was for. What's the point? I then proceeded to embarrass myself further by taking out a book called Porno. Ya that's right. Don't get all weirded out, it's the sequel of sorts to Trainspotting, the book that would catapult Ewan McGreggor into many a gal's celebrity boyfriend status. Despite the raunchy horrid toilet scene & the heroin, you could see the cuteness. Anyway, being the lazy git that I am I had never read Trainspotting, only seen the movie, so I was unaware of the rampant use of colloquiallisms & Scottish jargon in Welsh's work. Holy crap, that stuff is hard to read. Even out loud. Even having a Scottish grandmother (not that I've ever noticed a very strong accent mmmm). So I read about 1/16th of Porno and had to take it back to the library. Because I could not get through it. I gave up. What a sad reflection on my brain that I could just not get through a book. I'll read anything. Well just about. Some of the crap I've read while breastfeeding has sucked the big one let me tell you, but when you are stuck on the couch with a ravenous squirrely creature attached to your boob, there's not a lot of options.

Ya, so anyway, I go to the library with my 3 month old baby girl, pay a late fine from eons gone by & take out a book with a picture of a blow-up doll on the cover. Classy. And then I try to redeem myself this time by taking out books for the bun only to come up to the counter with another odd title for myself. Assasination Vacation. The girl at the counter gave me a really weird look (having just checked in the blow-up doll book) & even though I'm under no illusion that I'm that important to her or even memorable I am so sure her & the other library lady were having a good snicker at my expense as we walked away. I would've done the same - in fact I know I have. But this book rocks so far. Yay!

So I've been trying to write the rest of this all day, but the little monkey is not letting me..... so until tomorrow my friends & family. Now is time for bed while we wait for daddy to get home.


sputnik

sucker

Free dog

cute asshole

Seriously. Note the time.
The whine is like a high-pitched tea kettle that someone never takes off the stove.

Any takers?

Yesterday

Last year for Valentine's Day I gave Calvin this.

Well, judging from the date on the stick, it must have been one like it, though probably not as dark & definitive. Either that or I used my wacky time machine.

This year doodle bug & I gave him this.

I heart daddy.

Not sure what he liked better, the pee on a stick or a sassy paper heart cut out rather badly by moi. He sure liked the packaging though. Awh, what corniness.

Me, I received some yummy treats that I proceeded to wolf down. Actually this is all that's left.

mmmmmm

Whenever I get more chocolate than I should eat at one sitting, let alone in one week, I play this stupid game with myself where I try to hide the stash from my prying eyes & knowing belly. I'll put it in places where chocolate does not belong like Freyja's hat & sock drawer or the fancy china (what do you mean you have fancy china?) sideboard /cyborg. Oh ya sure, like that's gonna stop me. Might as well eat it all at once, get it over with, feel like crap & swear I never want to eat chocolate again. Kind of like going on a bender & swearing off the booze "forever". We've all heard that one before, either out of ours or our significant other's mouths. Works every time doesn't it? Until the next week when you've got that night out on the town you just have to go to or your social status as "charming /entertaining / charismatic / good-looking (asshole?) when loaded" friend will be out the proverbial window. Ooops.

Ya, so the chocolate..... It's calling my name & haunting my dreams (I swear I woke up thinking about it & how I could make an excuse to eat it for breakfast). I've been trying to go for a walk all day to justify eating it, but the little monkey has decided now that her grandparents have gone, to sleep for most of the day. They kept asking while they were here, why she wasn't napping. I was thinking it was one of those growth spurts when all she wants to do is eat & be grumpy, but now I'm of the opinion that she just really didn't want to miss out on any of the spoiling her with kisses action. That & probably a bit of overload. I don't have the energy to rattle a toy in her face non-stop all day, but when there's two more people to take over that load, well, it's party time. She just soaked it all in while I half-heartedly attempted to clean up & do a bit of laundry.

Speaking of laundry (are you excited?), we finally got our stupid dryer fixed yesterday so it is back to the Bounce my friends. Speaking of stupid, after the fix-it guy left I went to do a load of much needed towels but didn't notice that he had moved the hose going from the washer to the laundry sink. Moved it so it was pointing to the floor behind the washer. So, I come downstairs all happy & ready to put in another load of clothes, only to see my laundry room flooded. Being the moron that I am, I didn't even notice the hose issue. I just thought something else had gone wrong so I waited until hubby got home, pulled him aside & showed him the mess, whereupon he could only shake his head very patronizingly at me. Silly girl with mommy brain drain..... go eat some chocolate.

I heart ya'll

Happy Valentine's Day everyone. Enjoy the smultz. Me, I wait until the chocolate goes on sale tomorrow.

Also, Happy (?) V-Day. If you live in Ottawa there's a Vagina Monologues performance at the Bronson Centre (home of Sigur Ros sauna concert) tonight & tomorrow. Roar!

May your heart's desires be granted. I will be enjoying mine when she wakes from her nap.


Happy Heart Day from chipmunk cheeks. She's looking pretty beefy huh?


I'm sooooo bored. Ah... the ennui of youth.

Canal Pleasures

Grammy & Poppy skating on some very nice ice at Dow's Lake.


Freyja & her pink marshmallow mommy. Skating with a stroller is great for my balance.


Poppy making her laugh

Self Portrait Tuesday #1

To give myself more motivation I'm joining in on what's known as Self-Portrait Tuesday. Interested? Go here for all the info. Basically a whole bunch of people posting photos of themselves for the rest of the world to see. Kinda like here, but with more people & a different theme each month. This month's theme is ""all of me" embrace your mistakes, love the ugly bits."

So here is an ugly piece of me.
Or is it?

Post partum hair loss or Flying Spaghetti Monster sighting? You be the judge.

In other news Britney Spears is a fucking moron.

Unoriginal

So it looks as though that resolution of posting something everyday has obviously not worked out according to plan. I'm also eating an Easter Cream Egg as I type so I guess that cutting back on sugar thing isn't going so well either. I start off every morning with the best of intentions & entire posts all formulated in my head & then I get distracted by my little mistress doing something like this.

Little miss blue eyes

Or this...

phhhht!

Girl has found her tongue so she now spends her time sticking it out at me or shoving her fist in her mouth. That and of course, talking to the cookie monster & the polka dots on her chair. She can have an entire conversation with a couple of dots & some googly eyes which is very entertaining for both of us. Hence me being distracted from more & better posting. That and the fact that I also end up spending more time reading other people's blogs than working on my own because it's easier to read than type with one hand while I'm holding a squirmy baby in the other. By the time I get to put her down I've already read several opinions on what I was going to talk about & it really feels like someone else has covered it much better & with much more wit than I can at this point so really, why bother?

For instance I can pretty much do this:
Parenting issues bullshit? here & well, this is cute.
Sex? almost ditto.
The baby love? same here but without the long sleeps - but hey, see above.

There's lots more & it all becomes very circular in this weird circuitous way. In a nutshell, I read way too much & therefore, procrastinate coming up with anything original. Just to prove my point even further I'm ripping off my new buddie scarbiedoll and doing this meme that's been clogging up the (gag! I hate this word) blogoshpere for the last couple of weeks. Why? Because I can & I suck & I'm lazy & it's easier than editing the birth story that I've been working on for oh, what has it been? Almost three freaking months? Holy crap, my bun has been out of the oven for almost three whole months!!!

Anyway, meme away.....

Four jobs I've had.

1. Body Shop salesperson & trainer for about 10 freaking years. So many weirdos & so many smells.
   
2. Nanny in the English Cotswolds. In fact I lived here before it became a B 'n B.
   
3. Archival & library assistant at MUN
   
4. Interior designer / cad monkey / teacher.

Four movies I could watch over & over.

1. Cinema Paradiso
   
2. An American in Paris (or anything with Gene Kelly)
   
3. The Sound of Music (who can't watch this over & over again?)
4. Zoolander or maybe Dodgeball (for when my brain can't handle working any harder than it has to)
   

Four places I've lived.

1. Winterpeg, Manitoba
2. London, England
3. St. John's, Newfoundland
4. Ottawa, Ontario

Four TV shows I love.

1. New favorite is Grey's Anatomy (holy crap, did you see last night?!)
   
2. Law & Order SVU & CI
3. Ellen (she makes daytime tv a better place for me & Freyja likes her song)
4. America's Next Top Model (or as I call my secret shame, Bitchy Models)

Four places I've been on vacation.

1. Iceland & Scotland
2. Mexico City & Acapulco
3. big driving trip from Ottawa to Kelowna & back with stops in the S.D. Badlands, Devil's Tower, Yellowstone, Banff & Japser National Parks, etc.
   
4. Stowe, Vermont (annual camping / eating Ben & Jerry's trip)
   

Four blogs I visit daily.

1. Freakgirl (she's always first)
2. mr. nice guy (I need to laugh)
3. the rest I kinda divy up - I pretty much check on all the ones I list here daily in no particular order

Four favorite foods.

1. Chicken Korma
2. Maple glazed salmon
   
3. Steamed rice (I can make a meal out of this)
   
4. Strawberries & raspberries

Four places I'd rather be.

1. Hawaii - hiking
2. Iceland - soaking in a natural hot spring
3. Venice - less tourists right now - actually anywhere in Italy would be great about now
   
4. Istanbul, not Consantinople - hint, hint

Four CDs I listened to most recently. As you can see I don't buy new cds often.

1. The Smiths - Singles
2. The Be Good Tanyas - Blue Horse - this little ditty always brings a tear to my eye
3. The Style Council - Our Favorite Shop
   
4. Bjork - medúlla

Last four vehicles I've owned.

1. Honda SiR - the only vehicle I've personally ever owned & even then, Calvin pays for most of it. I love it, small, good mileage, peppy & gets lots of looks from young guys who wanna race me until they see the baby seat in the back.
2. BoB stroller - again I love this thing & it's rockin suspension.
3. Giant mountain bike - don't ask what model - that's buddy's thing
4. Does Calvin's history of cars count? Sirocco, Saab, Kia.....

Okeedokee, this took longer than I thought & doodle bug is in a really pissy mood today so toodles people after one last cheeky baby photo.

Get's that tongue thing from me

What a contrived piece of crap

This new Survivor Panama thing just is not getting me going & I’ve watched every season religiously from the get go. They all seem like actors to me & almost every line feels scripted.

Such typical bullshit like the older, louder woman who rubs the others the wrong way, dumb jocks who can't make fire, young firm boobs magically being focused on by the cameras & over the top cigarette dude (Lex anyone?). I know the show jumped the shark long ago but this is ridiculous. Of course I’ll probably keep watching it, just like I sit shaking my head through the shit that is The Bachelor (how 'bout sticking a rose up your ass buddy?) every week but I swear I won’t be doing any worrying about the off chance that I might miss something some wannabe model / actor said.

Whatever.

Best $3 ever spent

lovin the cookie monster

butt sniffing

how you doin?