Twofer!

The last day of the month, but you get TWO posts. Whoo!

Hallelujah

Last day of March, suckas!! I am so glad. And very proud of myself for managing to post every day except one! I'm still mad at myself for that one, but there's nothing I can do about it now. I guess I'll try NaBloPoMo again some other month, but not for a while. It's difficult when you work full-time and have a baby. ANYWAY.

Last night -- or rather VERY EARLY this morning -- I was changing Bunny's diaper. So he was lying on a changing mat on our bed (changing tables are for namby-pambies who care if their backs develop permanent kinks from hunching over to change a million diapers; you know who you are) and I had put a washcloth over his, um, personals, in case he decided to wee, which is pretty common. Something about the breeze, maybe? As I was wiping his little bottom (it was just a wet diaper), I realized he did, in fact, wet the washcloth. With much self-congratulation for not only putting the washcloth there but keeping it there as I cleaned him, I proceeded to put a new diaper on, humming a merry tune. Okay, that's going too far, there's no way I'm humming at 4 am, but you get the idea. As I'm putting the new diaper on, I realized the mat under him was damp. No, wet. Oh no.

I moved Bunny over, thinking, What the...? Okay, I guess he wee'd quite a bit and it ran over a little. Oh, but no. NO. As I moved him, I realized (yes, this was quite a night for realizations) that the side and back of his little pajama shirt was SOPPING WET.

I asked Andrew (who was also up, because why should one be up without the other? No, really, he got up to take the dogs out) to move the mat and see if the bed was wet. And lo, it was much sodden. Well, there was a wet spot on the coverlet and both sheets.

Apparently, Bunny quite fortuitously had a powerfully full bladder when I decided to change his diaper and when he felt the cool breeze wafting around his little joystick, he yielded to sweet temptation and enjoyed life to the fullest.

Well, why not?

Les Miserables

Well, Bunny's fourth tooth is coming in, you can see it now. My poor baby has been sick and cutting two teeth at the same time. Miserable? No, not at all, why do you ask?

He has been remarkably good-natured throughout, it amazes me. I hope he keeps this outlook on life as he grows up. It will make for a happier life for him.

Cruisin'

My parents are planning a cruise later this year and, since they've never gone on a cruise before, they would appreciate advice. So if you have any to give, please let me know! It can be which line is best or worst, any good or bad experiences you had (directly related to the cruise), what ships are best, what areas are best (they're planning Caribbean), how much cash they should take along (if any), if they can take bottled water along, anything at all.

Things I've Learned

Things I've Learned Since Becoming a Mother:

1. Baby teeth are sharp!
2. Baby food is like glue.
3. Baby food is also invisible until you're ready to go somewhere, then hey presto! There it is in the eyebrows, behind the left ear, in the wrist crease...
4. Baby drool is a force of nature; think Niagra Falls, only stickier.
5. Babies are amazingly strong, especially when pitted against my hair.
6. Once baby food is started, poop diapers achieve a level of stinkatiousness that can make a grown man shy like a frightened horse.
7. I'm equally dreading (see "stinkatiousness" above) and anxiously awaiting the start of "grown-up" food.
8. The weight of responsibility for another human being can be overwhelming, even paralyzing.
9. Nothing prepared me for this, or could have.
10. There is absolutely nothing better than having this new little person in my life.

The Many Fugs to 16

One of the sites I really enjoy, Go Fug Yourself, is currently running a competition in the manner of March Madness. They're calling it Fug Madness and they have brackets of celebrities going head to head to see whose fug reigns supreme. Meaning who dresses the worst. And, believe me, there is some stiff competition out there!

So, I am following along and voting on who I think is the worst of the worst, and maybe you should, too. I'm hoping for a final match between Juliette Lewis and Bai Ling or maybe Posh and Chloe Sevigny. I really think Bai Ling has an awesome shot at the title, but who knows what's going to happen.

Besides Fug Madness, they are continuing their usual practice of pointing out the unfortunate -- sometimes calamitous -- fashion paths some celebrities take, apparently willingly, so if you aren't interested in the competition, you can still have a laugh.

Go check it out for yourself.

Hello, McFly!

Funny video by Tom Wilson, best known as Biff from the Back to the Future movies. He was also a coach on Freaks and Geeks, and has done tons of other stuff. I totally lifted this from Fussy, but whatever, it's funny!

Why Can't We All Just Get Along?!

I think this is great, but on YouTube someone said they think the animals are drugged. I don't think so and I certainly hope not.

Happy Easter, Happy Spring

I am stuffed after eating our traditional Easter meal of barbecued ribs. YUM. I also may have partaken of a little chocolate cake.


Bunny (!) was adorable at church in his little navy blazer, with khakis, white button-down, and yellow and navy striped tie. He was a hit! He looked like the world's smallest frat boy. (But a cute one.)


Anyway, happy Easter to those of you who celebrate it, and happy Spring to those who don't. Here's a bunny for you either way:

Sunshine and Ducks and Toys, Oh My!

Today we took a trip to a quaint small town, to take Bunny to see the river and the ducks and go to a nice toy store there. It was fun and Bunny was a dream. He's so well-behaved. He just looked at the people, and the ducks, and the water, and the toys, and whatever else he could see. And he charmed everyone we came near. We are so lucky!

Life

I miss…

• Jacques Cousteau.
  
• Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. (I just saw that this is back!)
  
• The Wonderful World of Disney. (The Disney Channel is not the same.)
  
• the Carol Burnett Show.
  
• Choco-Lite candy bar.
  
• my Big Wheel.
  
• running around outside, doing… I don’t know. A little of this, a lot of that.
  
• playing.
  
• life being wild with possibility.
  

But there are certainly compensations. Now, my life may not be as wild with possibility as it was, but I have a clearer idea of what I want to do with it. And, most importantly, it is absolutely riotous with possibility for my son.

Here's Peeping at You

In honor of the season, some Peeping fun:

Peep Show










Peeps At the Library

Scientific Studies of the Peep

Funny

I had a video by Demetri Martin interpreting the song Selfish Jean by Travis posted here but I was having trouble with it, so if you're a fan of Demetri, Travis, or funny stuff, click here to see it!

Get Me a Prescription Pad, STAT

As I was telling a friend of mine yesterday, the highest reading we got for Bunny's temperature was 101.4° (rectal -- and wasn't that fun!), but we ran off to the emergency room because: (a) we are new parents, (b) his temperature was going UP despite Tylenol, and (c) we are new parents.

He was REALLY hot all over the other night but we didn't take his temperature because he was already crying and Andrew thought he was not as hot as Thursday night, so we gave him medicine and some time to see if he would cool off and he did. Whew. WHEW.

Andrew took him to the doctor yesterday who said he thinks it's roseola, which is what I thought it might be. Who needs doctors when you have a good book?!? Well, okay, they hold the keys to the medicine so I do need them for that. But the conflicting information we got -- alternate Tylenol and Motrin every two hours; alternate but not as frequently; don't alternate at all -- makes me really nervous and even less trusting of the medical profession than I was before.

So, zero?

Top O' the Mornin' to Ye!

An Irish joke for you:

Paddy was shaving when he knocked the mirror off the shelf. It fell to the floor and cracked across the middle. Paddy gazed down in horror. 'Bejabbers, I've cut my throat,' he gasped.

Fun information about St. Patrick's Day here, here, and here.

On the Upswing

After waking up at 2am to find Bunny burning up -- I mean, his whole head, his hands, his neck, his back, his armpits, his stomach, just as hot as could be -- he now seems to be sleeping well and is cool to the touch. Cool, people! He was due for more Motrin at 8:30 this morning and felt cool then. !!! He hasn't felt cool when due for medicine (or even after it, necessarily) since Thursday! We gave him the Motrin anyway, in case his ear or tooth was bothering him.

Oh, how wonderful to feel a nice cool forehead! I never imagined something like that could bring so much plain, unadulterated joy.

Dose by Dose

Poor Bunny is still really sick, running a fever, stuffed up, cutting a tooth, and now with the added misery of gutty-whats in a turmoil from the antiobiotic. We just take it medicine dose to medicine dose, and I'm hanging on to the hope that by this time next week he'll be feeling all better and sporting a shiny new tooth!

Still Sick

Well, we had to take Bunny to the emergency room last night. He's been congested and yesterday really couldn't breathe at all, and then he was running a fever. We gave him some Tylenol, but after about an hour his temperature had gone up instead of down, so we got worried and took him in.

Of course after we got there, they gave him some Motrin and by the time we got called back (two hours later), he had started feeling cooler and had finally fallen asleep. He was up for most of the wait. (This was in the middle of the night.) Then when we finally saw the doctor, she poked and prodded and he cried and then a nurse gave him a shot and he screamed and cried. It was heartbreaking, just inconsolable cries. My poor baby. Anyway, now he has medicine and it seems to help though he is still feverish and out of sorts today. So, send us thoughts, prayers, dollars, whatever. (Just kidding about the dollars. Send hugs and kisses.)

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Go here. Now. Go.

Quiz Show

31%

So, friends, odds are it's not me gnawing your leg.

You Are: 60% Dog, 40% Cat

You are a nice blend of cat and dog. You're playful but not too needy. And you're friendly but careful. And while you have your moody moments, you're too happy to stay upset for long.

Are You More Cat or Dog?

One instance where I don't mind being referred to as mostly dog.

You Are From Mercury

You are talkative, clever, and knowledgeable - and it shows. You probably never leave home without your cell phone! You're witty, expressive, and aware of everything going on around you. You love learning, playing, and taking in all of what life has to offer. Be careful not to talk your friends' ears off, and temper your need to know everything.

What Planet Are You From?

Hmm, I'm not sure how accurate this one is. I do like to know everything, that's true.

Five Things I Hate About DST

I'm anti-Daylight Savings Time. I used to like it but now am completely against it. I can't imagine getting a child -- someday, my child -- to come in from playing so he can eat supper/do homework/get ready for bed WHILE IT'S STILL LIGHT OUTSIDE.

It doesn't even save energy, which is what it was intended to to. And Congress in all its wisdom has EXTENDED it. That's about right.

Okay, so here's the list, five things I hate about DST:

1. It's dark in the morning.
2. It stays light way too late; it throws me all off.
3. Losing an hour (though I admit I like gaining the hour in the fall).
4. It doesn't save energy/money.
5. Congress keeps fiddling with it so my computer would not change over even when I manually re-set the clock; it kept changing back.

Cold Season

I have a cold and it is not fun. I can't breathe and I have a headache; it's as if my head is truly stuffed to capacity. It wouldn't be so bad if colds didn't linger so long with me.

The worst part of it is that I think I caught it from Bunny. My poor baby! I have no idea how he got it; we hardly take him anywhere and wash our hands and all of his things constantly. He is still so good-natured, though. We are really lucky with that. I just hate to hear him struggling to breathe. We've been using the humidifier and saline nasal drops and the aspirator, but it all only helps so much. I can't wait for him to feel better!

Vacation

We're planning a trip to Asheville, North Carolina, in the fall. If anyone has suggestions of places to stay or eat, or things to do (besides the obvious), please let me know!

I Don't Like Those Hermit Crabs

Fun with Internet Explorer

Okay, I was trying to do a meme a friend sent me (thanks for that, Amanda!) and Internet Explorer "encountered a problem" and shut me down! Ugh. I don't have time to re-do it now, so I may get around to it later.

Mea Culpa

Well, I'm out already, as I was afraid I would be. Being at the conference, with no easy access to a computer, I completely forgot to post yesterday until it was too late (the hotel business room, whatever they called it, closed at 5 pm). I'm going to try to post the rest of the month anyway.

Now on to ze lists.

Things I did not like about attending this conference:
1. Not many interesting sessions.
2. Staying in a hotel room -- I always feel like they're dirty. And this one was; not disgusting, but not really what I call clean, either.
3. Being away from my baby!!

Things I liked about attending this conference:
1. Catching up with old friends and prior co-workers. Serious awesomeness.
2. Hearing authors speak about their works. Donald Crews and William Joyce, both fabulous.
3. Um...

Off We Go

Today I have to go to a conference, so tomorrow I may or may not be able to blog. You'd think I could have foreseen this and not signed up for NaBloPoMo in March, but... well, you'd be wrong.

I'll just post an update about Bunny. He's still growing like a weed, sits up fine, stands with you bracing him, because the little dickens is so used to being held or sitting in his Jumperoo that he doesn't hold on! He just assumes he's being held up. So that is something we'll have to work on. We have to get him a new crib because the hand-me-down we're using won't let us drop the mattress any, some of the little pieces that hold the mattress for the lower settings are broken. So until we get that, he can't try to stand in his crib. But we're about to order it! We're planning to get the Da Vinci Kalani in Cherry. PLEASE tell me if you know anything negative about this crib!!!

Well, here I reluctantly go to my conference. I'm going to miss my baby!

Lists!

Things that bug me:

• People who don’t use their turn signals. A little warning before you go haring across my lane to get to the Dairy Queen would be nice, bumblewit!
  
  
• People who go the same speed side-by-side on a highway. The left lane is called the passing lane for a reason, slowpoke, move over already!
  
  
• People who pull out right in front of me and then go 5 miles an hour. What happened to the emergency that caused you to pull out RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME two seconds ago?!

(Sense a theme? I could go on, but I’ll move into non-vehicular peeves now.)

• Competitive parents. Yes, it’s amazing that little Johnny is only 8 months old and has already written a novel. I’m sure Harvard will care. I do not.
  
  
• People who block exits/aisles. Hello, you are not the only person in the world! Move on or move over! Grrr.
  
  
• The misuse of its and it’s. Its is possessive, like “The rose has lost its petals.” It’s is a contraction, like “It’s a nice day today.” It’s easy to tell them apart: when you see the apostrophe, just think “it is” and you won’t be confused anymore!
  
  
• How everyone says everything sucks all the time. Find another word, people!
  
  
• How I say everything sucks all the time.
  

So I’m not just a Negative Nellie, here are some things I like:

(Skipping the obvious, like the way my son smells and how soft his tiny hands are and his laugh and his long eyelashes and his tiny teeth and… )

• When all the lights turn green just as I come up to them.
  
  
• When I don’t think I’ve got something that I’m really craving and Eureka! There’s one left!
  
  
• When a good song I haven’t heard in ages comes on the radio.
  
  
• When I get the scissors at the right angle and just slide them up and they cut like a dream. I especially love this because I can’t cut straight to save my life if I think about it.
  
  
• Free shipping.
  
  
• This picture:

Two Days in a Row!

I’m going to try NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) again, as you can see. I don’t know why. I have a conference to go to on the 4th and I'm not sure I'll even have access to a computer! Argh! Oh well, I’m going to make an attempt.

The theme for March being lists helps, though I'll post full-scale ramblings if I have time and thoughts.

Reasons for me to participate in NaBloPoMo:
1. It's good practice.
2. It's a challenge.
3. I get to type NaBloPoMo.

Reasons for me to not participate in NaBloPoMo:
1. It's anxiety-provoking.
2. March may not have been the best month to choose, see above.
3. I'm not sure anyone wants to see 31 straights posts from me!

Okay, Here We Go

Here's a little video to start the month: