Good Grief, am I over myself yet??

Hey!!!! Look at that!!!!! Exclamation marks!!! Which!Can!Only!Mean!One!Thing!

Look out, Innernets, happy thoughts, comin' your way.............

This morning, as I was chugging my coffee and scrumptious, authentic, "rolled on the baker's kitchen floor" povitica this morning, I realized - hey, I didn't automatically reach for a Patio Burrito right after rolling out of bed. Could it be the nausea is moving on? Could it be that all I need to conquer now is this nasty cold? COULD IT BE?

This morning, we heard NewKid's heartbeat for the first time - 156 BPM, which is AWESOME. A good, strong heartbeat is so reassuring to hear this early. To boot, I had actually LOST a few pounds since my last appointment, but my pants are still getting so tight, I'm going to need to unearth my maternity pants fairly soon (since I thought Arun was my only pregnancy, the pants were earmarked for charity, but I think I still have them. I hope. Gulp). Anyway, it's great that I am gaining weight where it NEEDS to be gained, at least. Um, I did mention I am pregnant, right?

This morning, as I read blog after blog featuring pictures of kid's toys in horrific proportions, I'd like to reiterate again how grateful I am that Arun's Christmas was understated in the toy department. I did this on purpose, though. Next summer, he will be in a new "age group" and will be ready for some more advanced things, like a tricycle, AND it will be summer, so we may want to get him some outside toys. I purposely held back on Christmas and only got him 3 toys with the plan to get him a few things next May-ish when the weather is warmer and we will be outside. It sorta sucks when your kid's birthday is so close to Christmas - I wonder what other parents do in this case?

This morning, I contemplated how grateful I was for my husband. X totally took care of Arun this past weekend while I dealt with everything else. Furthermore, Christmas Eve night for X was spent primarily walking the floor from Midnight until 6:00 am because Arun would NOT sleep.

This morning, I also contemplated how grateful I am that I am 35, fairly secure in myself and in my parenting skillz. Yeah, the comments were irritating, but I stuck up for X and I by pointing out how the comments they made didn't even make SENSE. In my family, you CAN'T WIN. If you pick your baby up at the first wail, you are spoiling him. If you let your baby cry past two wails, then you are neglecting him. I was sick, tired and worried about Arun as it was and I simply wasn't going to hear that shit. I should also mention that my sister got criticized because she doesn't "let her kids have sweets". Mean Mommies!

This morning, I was thinking again how my sister got royally screwed in the gift department by Leavenworth Grandma. This year, my sister received a spoon and fork from our crazy LG. Folks, a SPOON AND FORK. Um, the "best" part is that it was made out of animal horn. ANIMAL HORN.

This morning, I reveled in the satisfaction that I have completed a minimum of my CPE requirements - I will keep plugging away, but I have completed 30 hours so far and now I am in the clear for 2006. This means I can start knitting again - YIPPEE. I had cut myself off from knitting until I met my educational requirements. Because I am disciplined like that. Which is exactly why I waited until the last TWO weeks of the year, of course.


Snappily Snapped Snappage

My sister, being the sentimental fool that she is, thought it would be "sweet" to try and get all four rugrats in ONE picture.

As you can see, that went over well.

Ahem.

Far and away, the most popular of his presents, The Shin Denter. As a result of this toy, Arun will probably learn his first bits of profanity. Aw, fudge it.

What's just lovely about this photo is that the Yellow Environment Killer you see is an old Christmas Castoff left at my house by Older Nephew before Arun was even a CONCEPT - back in the days when X and I thought we'd have kids "someday". Anyway, that is Arun's favorite toy. In fact, he's busily playing with THAT instead of all the sparkly, shiny new toys he received that day.

Did you have yourself a Merry Little Christmas?

I did not.

This week will be odd. You know how it is, the week after Christmas. The inevitable conversation starter is "How was your Christmas?" This year, I am not sure what to do - paralyzed, I am. Do I lie and answer "It was good...." or do I just tell the truth?

In short, what happened is that this Nasty Head Cold took a vicious turn into my lungs on Saturday. To boot, Arun was still pretty sick himself. And I was hosting Christmas Eve AND Christmas Day. By 3:30pm Christmas Day, I was a ragdoll, sitting on the couch, totally Boo-Hooing my eyes out to the movie Rudy while using up precious, precious Puffs With Lotion tissues........ Rudy!....Rudy!......Rudy!.....

The long story is more complicated........It involves familial comments regarding X's and my parenting skillz, an underdone turkey (Hey, turkey is the new pink!), a lazy ass aunt who had me running at her beck and call even though I was clearly sick and maybe not-so-clearly pregnant (Whu? I'm pregnant??) and, and, and a mountain of food that people brought, then left for me to deal with even though I said "Oh, we won't eat that - feel free to take it home with you.", because seriously, we WON'T EAT THAT. All this was topped by an overtired, sick toddler who refused to sleep after an insane, adrenaline-infused Christmas Eve spent chasing his much adored cousins. Thus, Arun spent much of his Christmas Day snoring on X's chest - the ONLY place he would deign to sleep. Despite our best efforts to gently place him in his crib, timeaftertimeaftertime, which led to the aforementioned comments on our parenting skillz because clearly, your child's inability to sleep is a clear indication that one must totally SUCK at being a parent.

So, um, yeah.

In my family's defense, I'm guessing I wasn't very much fun this year. Big picture? I am grateful to have family, to have a cozy home, to have a cool husband, to have an adorable son.

And I'll be even MORE grateful to have dry, clear sinuses.

This morning, as I carefully navigated a minefield of sharp-cornered boxes of miniature fake food, Megablocks and tragic corpses of Little People strewn throughout our kitchen, I realized I am grateful for one other thing - nobody went overboard getting toys for Arun. The Shin Denting Shopping Cart and the Heel Splintering Mega Blocks were MY doing, but overall, Arun wasn't inandated with toys.

Rare Snaps of the Elusive Happy Toddler on Christmas Day

What's perfectly perfect?

I am really, really stressed out right now. But not because of the holidays. Oh NO, quite the contrary. Due to my superior skills in the Art of Procrastination, I am scrambling to finish up some educational requirements for maintaining my CPA license. Requirements which must be finished by Dec. 31st. gulp. So yeah, I may be an idiot, but damned straight - I'm a licensed one.

I will give my family credit - they are pretty non-stressful during the holidays. I am hosting both Christmas Eve and Christmas this year, but really - it's no big deal other than I have to make sure the house is clean. Everybody brings food to such gigs, so the most I am doing is throwing out a meat n' cheese tray on Christmas Eve and then for Christmas day, doing a turkey, sweet potatoes, cranberry relish, and my Great Aunt J's Weird Whipped Cream Salad with Grapes, Cranberries, and Pecans.

Actually, as a kid, I don't remember my parents rushing around attempting to create a "perfect" holiday for us. Perfect holidays just happened - just as sweetest childhood memories most often do. As long as the turkey isn't dried out, the reception is clear for the football game and everyone gets a gift or two (it's the thought that counts, right?), then all is good. Sure, as a kid, I got a massive amount of toys and that was fun, but what I remember most is watching my grandma with my great-aunts and uncles laughing, telling off-color jokes and reminiscing about their childhood memories. Just as they'll do this Monday. So, my goal for my own children is that they not grow up watching their mother freak out during the month of December. We'll have some sort of traditions, I'm sure, but I have no idea what they will be because I'll just let them happen. As it should be.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, too.

Perfect.

How about some more rambling for you?

Hmmm, the newest thing going on around here is that I am recovering from a nasty head cold that has rendered my sense of smell completely useless. I can't even detect when Arun has a dirty diaper. While in some social circles that might be considered a convenience conversely, in the Mommy Circles, it's a pain in the ass. The Nose Knows and when your proboscis is in the dark, in order to determine the need for an All Important Diaper Change, you have to go lurking where you'd rather just NOT.

Anyway, since Disagreeable Comments are not allowed on blogs these days, I am going to just skulk back here and make Passive Aggressive ones instead. Color me Bitchy. Not all of these are PA comments. Mix n' match at your discretion. I'm pretty punchy today.

1. A new debate going around is whether the Chinese dance in the Nutcracker Suite is "racist". It had never occurred to me that it would be and still, I can't fathom how it could be considered as such. It's a ballet that includes several interpretive dances from around the world. Shaking head in confusion.....
2. What's the dealio with "only wooden toys"? Or, only toys that did not come from a Big Box Store? Sure, Arun has a variety of those toys that I've written about before - the cheap ones, the garage sale finds, the Nephew hand-me-downs, the ones I made from old containers, old boxes, the specialty wooden European fancy toys (Hubba Hubba Haba) and yes, even the TMX Elmo (which he LOVES and I am unapologetic). However, Arun doesn't know where they came from, doesn't care how much they cost, doesn't care if other kids have them or not and in short, likes to play with them all. For sure, they all encourage his imagination in different ways and that's what I'm really gunning for, right? I mean, I guess that is fine if someone can afford to provide their progeny with only the expensive toys, but frankly, I think it's awesome that quality toys are available to everyone at a reasonable price, regardless of your socio-economic background. So, yeah, that means plastic is in - what's wrong with that? There was a time when toys were available only to the rich and it could be argued that the invention of plastic has been a great equalizer. Besides, if you're attempting to provide your child with a variety of tactile experiences you might need to consider other materials in addition to wood.
3. I attended my final breastfeeding support group at my hospital last week - I've been attending since Arun was 3 weeks old. It is hard to quit - I enjoy going and lending support to the other new moms coming down the pike. And yes, I am still breastfeeding Arun even while pregnant, so technically, I could still attend. Although I had decided it was time to do something else in that slot in the calendar, I was a little teary-eyed last week. I really like the lactation consultant - she is very supportive, positive and encouraging to all the mothers, regardless of their situations. I will miss her and hopefully, I will see her again next July.
4. Speaking of breastfeeding, I am hoping to wean Arun by 18 months. If I wasn't pregnant, I would rather nurse him until the age of 2, per recommendations from both WHO and Unicef. I don't believe it is any mere coincidence that a high-fat diet is recommended for children until the age of 2 (the fat is crucial for brain development) and !Gasp! breastmilk is high in fat. However, I don't relish the idea of nursing TWO children at the same time. Sure, I'll admit that I'm totally a Wannabe Granola Nut, but I have my limits. Furthermore, I don't want to wean Arun too close to when NewKid will be born for fear that Arun will remember what good stuff he is missing.
   
5. My husband does not find me hot or attractive in the least when I am 9 months pregnant. I do not fault him for this. Oh no, to the contrary, I would be disturbed if he did find me attractive in that state.
6. Thus far, I've had few issues with the Beta Blogger. I'll go out on a limb and say I even like it (Tags! Better view of Comments Received! Closing Comments while still showing the Existing!) However, I seem to be one of those rare bloggers who actually likes Blogger. I totally heart Blogger because they've made this one of my cheapest hobbies. Fuckin' A - my local yarn store wasn't handing out free skeins of yarn the last time I popped in there. However, I should point out that once you move to Beta, you can wave Bye-Bye to your Blogger account and password. Seriously, BloggerSan- you ARE DONE with that Combo - MOVE ALONG. See that light? That would Google's email application - Gmail. After you move to Beta, you are using your Full Gmail Address/Password only. It's disconcerting at first because it feels like you are logging into Gmail, but no - it works in Blogger, too.
   
7. If you've come here via the search string "How to knit continental" or some variation on that theme, you've learned quickly that while I happen to be a knitter who blogs, I don't write that often about my actual knitting. I apologize for the disappointment, but !hey! Look at those sweet little sheep in the masthead! While I can't praise the continental method enough, I'm not a Teacher, only a Linker. I highly recommend the site Knitting Help for awesome instructional videos. I learned how to continental knit from this site by watching their little videos over and over (and over again!) until I got it right. It was worth the effort because I never felt comfortable with the English style of knitting. Good luck and don't hate me if your sweater comes out two sizes too small.
   
8. Finally........I do not think toddlers need to know the correct anatomical names for sexual organs. I do not understand the need for a toddler being able to accurately label a vagina, labia, penis or scrotum. How about just plain old "girl parts" and "boy parts"?
   

Randomly Specific Snappage

Rednecked Reindeer

I call this his "Shit-Eating Grin". I can do that cuz I'm from Kansas. Git er done.


Paws for the Holidays

He's holding yet another Christmas ornament in his greedy little paws. Hot damn.


A Rose By Any Other Name

I came across this Smirk Worthy sight while gassing up my car. Boy, someone was a little pissed off - you say? Ouch.


Fruit n' Fiber

At least I bought some healthy stuff to go with all those burritos. Burp.

Where did the other Eleven Days of Christmas go?

I want them back.

• I've noticed that insomnia at 6:00 am is infinitely more convenient than insomnia at 2:00 am.
  
  
• Monkey keeps telling me to take it easy this holiday season and really, that hasn't been a problem this year. We couldn't do our Christmas party because of scheduling, Average Jane nixed her cookie exchange this year , I went easy on the holiday decorating this year and, AND I managed to cull 4 people from my Christmas list (aunt, uncle, cousin's two kids). In fact, I am done Christmas shopping since I kept it simple this year by buying one nice gift instead of a myriad of smaller gifts for each person. There isn't much left for me to do but lie around on the couch and feel sorry for myself.
  
  
• From habit of spending my days with a toddler, I just tried to play Peek-a-Boo with the cat. He wasn't amused.
  
  
• Yesterday, I got an email from Blogger saying that my blog had been detected as a spam blog. Huh? Obviously, they fixed it, but I wonder what prompted that in the first place.
  
  
• I am very sad that Karen at the Naked Ovary is shutting down her blog - I've been reading her for so long that when I began, she was just going through her last IVF (she has since adopted her daughter from China). However, I completely understand why she is doing so. If what happened to her, happened to me, I would close shop in a heartbeart, too. Why is the blog world getting so mean? Are we really just an extended version of high school around here?
  
  
• In my own little experience with negativity, I had a commenter get mean with me on a blog. In short, it was an advice blog and the topic was breastfeeding. The blogger made a statement that ran directly counter to what I have heard lactation consultants state consistently over the past year. So, I commented very politely what I had heard the lactation consultants say and even started my comment with a "Hey, not to be disagreeable". However, another commenter (not the blogger) took it upon herself to inform me that people were just "sharing their experiences" and frankly, she didn't do it a nice way, either. I guess I didn't "experience" much by sitting in a breastfeeding support group for over a year so who the fuck did I think I was?. I read blogs all the time where I vehemently disagree with what is said, but I rarely comment. It seems most bloggers only want Kissy Face Comments and I respect that, so I keep my mouth shut. For sure, a Troll is a Troll is a Troll. But to make a comment that disagrees with what could be bad advice or flat-out misinformation is NOT Trollish behaviour. Particularly, on an advice blog that dispenses advice and is written by a blogger who regularly encourages her readers to comment with their opinions. Anyway, that whole exchange disheartened me to the extent that I haven't felt like commenting much on people's blogs lately.