The Mistress Who Stole My Husband

Good Lord, will it EVER stop snowing???



Folks, if you haven't looked at the weather forecast for eastern Iowa this weekend, I am here to tell you that more snow is coming.



Yes, more snow. On a weekend. Which, basically, is the story of my life since Thanksgiving. This will make the SIXTH STRAIGHT WEEKEND OF FLIPPIN' SNOW.



The good news is, I know my husband is telling the truth when he tells me he has to work on the weekend again. That he has to steal out of my warm bed at 4 a.m., yet another morning, because of his damned job and not because of another woman.



But COME ON already. I would like to have one weekend this winter when I don't have to play the role of a single parent... when I can relax a little and enjoy my children instead of feeling trapped and overworked.



And Ted would like to have one forty-hour week, for a change. These fifty- and sixty-hour weeks are killing us.

Hot Political Issues

I just have to say that even if I didn't want to vote for John Edwards for President, I would definitely vote for him as Presidential Candidate Most Likely to Turn Me On.

I suppose this confession tips my hand and gives away which candidate I was referring to at the end of this post from a couple of weeks back, and shows that I totally agree with writermom's comment on said post.

The current edition of Newsweek (Ted's subscription) arrived a few days ago, and I was reluctant to hand it over--though Ted always reserves "first-read" rights on the Newsweeks that come to our house. I definitely claimed "first-drool" priveleges on this one, and I requested that he return it to me when he's done with it.

So I can put it under my pillow and sleep with John every night.
Oh, and Johnny? You are *so* laminated.

Baby did a bad, bad thing...

...or at least that's what Ted would say. At first. But I think he will come to understand that I ordered these boots because I need them. And I deserve them. And ohmigodtheyresoawesome!

I found these little beauties--on sale--at J. Jill (j.jill.com), and not a moment too soon. My old pair of "dress boots" for work are really looking pretty shabby, and to tell you the truth, I never really loved the old boots the way that boots (because they're expensive) should be loved.

See, I bought them (my old ones) at the Bass outlet when Arlo was just about as old as Mae is now (3 months). He was with me in the store, and crying, so I felt pressured to make a decision and get it over with, because I really needed boots at the time. I made a decision to settle for a style that was not exactly what I wanted, and have regretted it mildly ever since.

But these? These are me. I hope they fit! It will break my heart to have to send them back in exchange for the right size instead of putting them on immediately and wearing them for the next several weeks without a break.

The best thing (besides the boots themselves) is that I also got $25 off for signing up for the J. Jill e-mail list, which means I saved $45 off the normal price. I rarely even spend $45 on a whole pair of shoes!

(Ladies, if you follow my link to J. Jill and you find that you also need and deserve something from their website, sign up for their mailing list and e-mail me for the code if they don't send it to you. I found the code in a roundabout way, so it's possible that it doesn't happen automatically for everyone who signs up.)

Wicked Callous

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Originally uploaded by knights_writes

Finally, we got a decent close-up shot of one of the wicked callouses on Arlo's beloved suckin' fingers. He has been sucking on these fingers since he was old enough to hold them in his mouth (4 months?), and they are as much a comfort as (and completely in cahoots with) Clean Turtle when it's time for a nap, or when he needs a little down time.

They'll go away when he outgrows the finger-sucking habit--and, in fact, they've probably already faded a bit as the habit has waned in recent months. But this is something I want to always remember about my little Arlo--something I want to stop and appreciate before I wake up one day and find out that he's all grown up, with callouses on his hands from yard work and such.

Thank goodness.

Big brother helps
Originally uploaded by knights_writes

Here's a photo from this weekend, when Mae got some bottle practice. This was Arlo's first time helping to feed the baby, and he felt very proud and grown up indeed.

I thought it seemed like a pretty good photo to accompany the news that Mae is now letting Tata feed her at day care! Yesterday Mae took a bottle from Tata for the first time, with only minimal hesitation reportedly, and by the end of the day she had consumed 13 ounces of expressed milk, all told.

Whew!

MomGyver

Quick: what do you use to mop up a hot tea spill when you're locked in a small room with your shirt pulled up, breast pump attached and on duty, and not a paper towel or napkin in sight?

A nursing bra pad, that's what.

If you don't know, these little beauties are filled with the same uber-absorbent material that's in diapers and maxi pads. They absord something like twenty times their weight in liquid.

Come to think of it, these things would make kick-ass cubicle coasters if they weren't so expensive!

Bottles, Bullets

• Mae drank expressed breast milk from a bottle multiple times over the weekend--mostly from Ted but also a couple of times from me. All day on Saturday, I pumped instead of nursing, and she willingly (with some initial coaxing) bottle-fed until I offered her the breast again at 5:00. We figured this approach would mimic what she needs to be doing at day care, while not completely robbing us both of our precious mom-n-baby nursing time. I hope that our success with bottle feeding bodes well for her return to day care tomorrow.
• Tomorrow? Why tomorrow, you ask? Macy had a temperature of 100.5 degrees at 4:30 this morning. We dosed her with Tylenol, and her fever was completely gone at 9:00 (the reading was 98.2 by then), but now we have to wait out the required 24 hours fever-free before she can return to Tata's.
• On Saturday night (perhaps worn out from a full day of remedial bottle feeding, or perhaps finally satiated by a full day of regular feedings after a five-day hunger strike), Macy slept "through the night." By which I mean that she slept for almost eight hours straight, going down for the night around 9 p.m. and not awaking to feed again until nearly 5 a.m.!
• Another milestone: this morning, just after Ted got home to relieve me from baby duty and send me off to work, Macy rolled from her back to her side. She may have pushed off Ted's legs with her feet (he was sitting on the floor at her feet), but she did not have any active assistance to accomplish this feat.
• Today I'm wearing pants that fit me before my pregnancy, and they are not Fat Pants. They do fit a little more snugly than they did last year, but I am pulling it off and feeling very encouraged about the baby pooch that still juts out over the pants. As I told Ted, "my ass is back!"

Re-Blogging: "Man Cold"

Is re-blogging the same as re-gifting? Well, 'tis the season! Thanks to Dooce.com for giving me a laugh that I really needed this morning.

Blogging by way of e-mail

The bottle-refusal saga continues...

I sent the following e-mail to writermom this morning, in response to her inquiry about Macy's progress. After rereading it, I realized that it makes a perfectly suitable blog post, so here it is. Consider yourself in the loop.

Ugh. Still not a drop!

However, I did talk to the doc last night, and she was completely cool about it. She said that as long as Mae is still making wet and dirty diapers (Definitely so—you would not BELIEVE the bomb she dropped in her diaper last night! Level 3 Code Brown.) and as long as she continues to grow and act normally, we should, in her words, “leave her alone.”

She’ll start eating when she needs to, Sarah says, and even then she might only take a bottle from Tata once a day. As long as she’s getting what she needs during the other hours of the day, she’ll be just fine.

All of which is supremely comforting, but also exasperating because it does not provide me with a plan of action.

I also talked to the lactation consultant yesterday afternoon, and she gave me some ideas and tricks to try out next week, including things like trying a syringe or cup like you suggested. In the mean time, we are going to offer her the bottle as much as possible this weekend, though it will be a challenge since Ted will probably be out in the snow for at least half of the weekend. Phooey.

Hmmmm. I think I’ll just take this e-mail and copy it into my blog as today’s update! You’re the first to know!

Hunger Strike

Well, Mae has now gone three full days without taking a drop of milk from the bottle offered to her at day care. I'm trying not to freak out.

She has taken expressed breast milk from a bottle for Ted on a few occasions, without much of a fuss, so we didn't think she'd need training. Now I wish we had given her more practice!

Tata says she's offering the bottle about every hour, and we have tried a number of different bottle and nipple combinations. This morning I even brought a burp cloth soaked with my breast milk, in hopes that the scent will stimulate Mae's hunger and desire to suck.

Now I also have calls in to the doctor and a lactation consultant (waiting for return calls) and am feeling my anxiety mount, even as I endeavor to stay calm.

Advice, anyone?

Who do you *really* want to be the President?

A coworker forwarded this link to me. It's a questionnaire that asks your opinion on a variety of hot political issues, then ranks the presidential candidates in order, from which one agrees with you on the most issues, all the way down to the evil bastards on the other side.

http://www.wqad.com/Global/link.asp?L=259460

What I like about this (if the results are accurate) is that it allows me to get rid of all the marketing and image hooey that turns my head one way or another, and gets down to the nitty gritty about which candidate will actually run this country the way I would like to see it run. I think this country would be a much better place to live, and a much greater good in the world, if more people would vote this way instead of based on which yahoo they like the best, or which one looks the best on camera. Or, for that matter, which one has the most signs up in their neighborhood.

I'm not sure if I'm ready to divulge publicly which candidates ranked at the top for me (it was a tie between two), but I will say two things about my results. First, that I was mildly surprised, and second, that I know which of the two top matches I would vote for today--based solely on the fact that the winning candidate recently visited me in my dreams, in a really special and naughty way.

Air Guitar

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Originally uploaded by knights_writes

My baby is a rock star.

Get Behind the Mule

As Tom Waits says, "You gotta get behind the mule in the mornin' and plow." That's just what I did this morning, re-entering the workforce with as much grace and dignity as I could muster.

The drop-off was relatively painless. I tried to be quick about it, to rip the band-aid off, so to speak. When I left Tata's house, I left behind two happy little humans, which is about as good a situation as I could hope for. Well, truth be told, I actually left behind four happy little humans, if you count the Boelk twins (Carver and Kinnick, the matching bookends flanking Arlo in the photo above). Tata and Tato (her hubby, Pat) had the foresight to have a bunch of new toys on hand for the boys this morning, so Arlo was happy and distracted during the drop-off period, which gave me a few minutes to talk with Tata about Mae and her first big day--without him needing my attention.

As you can see, Mae's First Day at Tata's was a festive and happy affair, and I only shed a few crocodile tears before taking a deep breath and heading to the office. Amazingly enough, I made it to my desk by about 8:15, for which I gave myself a sound pat on the back.

Mae had a pretty good day, I suppose. She was happy as long as Tata was holding her (hmmm, sound familiar?) and pretty relaxed--but she wouldn't take milk from a bottle yet today. Ted has given her small amounts of expressed milk from a bottle, so we know she knows how to do it... guess she just has to get a little hungrier before she'll take it from a new person. Part of me feels good about that, actually. Arlo took to his bottle feedings so quickly as an infant (also with Tata, beginning at 8 weeks old) that as a new mom, I felt kind of slighted and insignificant. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't want Macy's hunger strike to last more than a day or two, but it does make me feel important and special to have my baby (poor thing, though!) go all day without an ounce of milk because she'd just as soon wait for her mommy, thank you very much.

I hope I'm not tempting fate by saying so. I've had my moment, and now I hope that she will eat for Tata tomorrow. As for tonight, I'm thinking I'll be awake every two hours (or less) feeding her through the night. Stay tuned!

Caucusing in College?

Over the past few days, our local media has been giving a lot of coverage to the poor college students who will have trouble participating in the January caucuses because they take place over the UI's winter break. Some students say it's not fair that they'll miss the caucuses because they're spending a month at home, out of state.

Is it just me, or is this stupid? If the kids go to live with their parents whenever school is not in session, then I would say that their parents' home is their permanent residence. If their permanent residence is out of state, then why in the world should they be participating in the Iowa caucus?

The End

Well, today is my last day at home with Mae on maternity leave. But if you're picturing a long and languorous mom-and-baby farewell, a morning of coos and cuddles, with sunlight streaming in our living room window, you've got the wrong idea.

The day started out okay, with a happy baby and a happy boy waking up at about 6:45. I got breakfast for everyone and then Arlo helped me wrestle Presley (our Himalayan cat) into her carrier for a trip to the vet. Ahem, I mean, the salon. She goes in a couple of times a year for a lion cut, when months of not-often-enough grooming have left her coat in tangles.

The trip to the Cat Clinic was fine; Mae fell asleep in the car (oh glory!) and only woke up to squawk a few times as we got Presley checked in for her appointment. She also snoozed through a stop to get cat food and dropping off Arlo at day care--perhaps a whopping 25 minutes, all told.

And then...

Macy and I got home, where I was expecting her nap to continue for at least another hour. Okay, at least another half-hour. But she awoke, squalling, and I did my best to tend to her. I changed her, nursed her again, and cuddled with her until she dozed off in my arms. Five minutes later, she awoke with a start, screaming, and from there things just did not improve.

I know when she gets this way, her eyes rimmed with red, and all my efforts to soothe her in vain, she just needs to sleep. But she's got it in her head that there must be something else missing, that she simply cannot just go to sleep and get it over with. I waffle between the cry-it-out approach and the attachment parenting approach (I know, that's a big sticky waffle), alternately leaving her to cry herself to sleep and breaking down in agony to pick her up and try (usually unsuccessfully) soothing her or nursing her.

I spent 90 minutes this morning in this pattern, until finally I put her in her crib, rubbed her back for 5 minutes, and then put myself in the shower, where I couldn't hear her caterwauling (at least not very well) for 10 minutes. She was still crying when I finished my shower, but her eyes were closed and I was feeling a little more sane.

Finally, I did something I know I'm not supposed to do, but something I know she likes, and I rolled her onto her tummy. A few hiccups, a prolonged snuffle, and she was quiet. Now she sleeps, though God only knows for how long.

This is not the idyllic snugglefest I envisioned for my last day of full-time mommyhood, but them's the breaks. I hate to say it, but I think I'm ready to go back to work.

Favorite New Snack

They scratch the sweet itch, though admittedly not quite as well as a handful of chocolate chip cookies. They're relatively low in fat, not as sugary as you might expect, and each serving contains a whopping (well, whopping for a snack food) 18 grams of whole grains. The trick is actually limiting yourself to their prescribed 15-chip serving. I mean, 15 chips is probably enough, but once I start crunching on these I lose count pretty quickly. But anyway. These will likely be a new staple in the desktop dining pantry.

Great Big Heavy Sigh

It's all too real now that this is my last week of maternity leave. I've started taking baby supplies (diapers, wipes, changes of clothes, etc.) over to Tata's house already, so that I don't have to lug everything over on Monday. And tomorrow I'm going to set my alarm for 6 a.m. to see if I can have all three of us ready for the day by 7:30 a.m...

Sigh.

Projects Update!

Believe it or not, y'all, I'm still finding time to knit! That is likely to change (save the two hours I set aside every week for my knitting group) when I return to work (GASP!) a week from Monday, but in the meantime I knit on. Here's what's been on my needles of late:I knitted this hat for Erika's birthday... it wasn't finished in time for her actual birthday on the 10th, but I did wrap it up in time for K & C's pre-Thanksgiving turkey dinner on the 17th......followed by the matching scarf, which I just finished up today, but E has not yet laid eyes or hands (or neck) on.






Here's what I just cast on, in the car on the way to Ted's folks' place up in Minnesota. You can see the pattern card in this photo--a sweet little jumper for Mae Clara, in a seafoam-y green. I'm knitting in Shine Sport, that super little cotton-modal blend yarn from Knit Picks. I even had to pull back a few rounds and pick up the stitches (while in the car on the way home from MN yesterday), but managed to do so without major mishaps, and I'm making good progress. Easy pattern, adorable (I expect) results.


This is pretty interesting, too... my sister sent this to me from Denmark. Yes, she sent me a blanket she'd been knitting for Arlo, midway through the project, along with the balls of yarn (still attached, as you can see), and the pattern... in Danish. In a recent phone conversation, she mentioned that she was having trouble finishing it, though I don't recall exactly what the trouble is/was, and I offered to give it a go. I thought it would be neat for Carrie and me to share a project, seeing as how she lives overseas and she just hasn't been able to make it to my weekly knitting group. (Although, to be fair, she did come to the group once a couple of years ago, but the bad news is, she caused a tornado that wreaked major havoc on Iowa City that April. So anyway.) I've never knitted with this many colors at once, but I think I can do it. It's just a simple stockinette stitch, and the puzzle-piece pattern (cute!) is plotted out on a chart that I should be able to follow without knowing Danish. I look forward to working on this next, and may be enlisting the assistance of some of my fellow Knit Wits group members to help decipher the chart and figure out how to handle all those balls.

Just like mom

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Originally uploaded by knights_writes

Basically, I'm throwing this photo on the blog because I can't bear to have THAT post (see below) hanging out in the top spot on my page anymore. I don't have anything new to say today, and I don't have time anyway, what with getting ready for the trip to MN for Thanksgiving, and the fact that a sleeping baby never stays sleeping as long as you need her to.

Anyway, enjoy this shot of Arlo toting his Cabbage Patch Kid around in the Baby Bjorn carrier. CUTE!

WARNING: Not for those with a quick gag reflex

As I headed downstairs to the computer during Mae's morning nap today, I encountered a pile of cat hork at the foot of the stairs, and gingerly stepped around it. I made a mental note to myself, determining that I'd clean it up after checking my e-mail and reading my blogs.

As any of you with children and/or beloved pets knows, a good parent (of humans or other critters) must pay attention to the frequency, consistency, and changing idiosyncrasies of poop, throw-up, and other icky matter emanating from the creatures for whose care we are responsible. So I also noted that whichever cat made this pile of vomit probably did so because he/she had not chewed his/her food properly. Or at all. There were full-size kibbles atop the more liquid-y portion of the mess--not just the little bites, but the big ones, the kind that we mix in with their regular food for the health of their teeth.

Here's the kicker. When I went back to clean it up, the kibble was gone. Apparently one of the kitties was still hungry after finishing off this morning's breakfast. Ew.

Now if we just had a dog, I'd never have to clean up ANY cat puke.

COOL (Country of Origin Labeling)

I'm just beginning to scout around online for Christmas presents for Arlo, and I'm wondering if anyone has tips for determining which toys are made in China and which toys are not. With all the recalls and safety concerns lately concerning items manufactured in China, I think it ought to be clearly stated... but that's not necessarily the case. And you know, it's not just about safety concerns--it's also a matter of not wanting to buy in to the Chinese GDP this year, in light of the apparent lack of ethics among Chinese toy manufacturers... not to mention the probable complicity of the American companies who are hiring Chinese factories to make their toys.

Anyway... the toy that prompted my question is pictured here: Playskool's "Honeybee Hop." I looked it up on Amazon (where it's listed on Arlo's wish list), and couldn't find anything in the product info that states where the toy was manufactured, but I guess there's a good chance that it came from China, since it's a mass-produced "American" toy. I know you can usually find the "Made in _________" tag somewhere on any given toy--but is this marked on the exterior packaging as well? My inclination is to just avoid anything made in China this year, but I'm not sure if that's even going to be a simple proposition.

Your thoughts?

TMCF, part II

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Originally uploaded by knights_writes

Arlo went to the salon on Tuesday. You can see more pics, including official before-and-after shots (this is "during") on my flickr site.

Thursday Morning Cute Fix

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Originally uploaded by knights_writes

'nuff said.

Everybody poops. Even Spidey.

Here's Arlo's Weeble Winnebago. Like all respectable campers for families on the go, it has a toilet.

Peek in through the back window, and what do you see? Why, it's Spiderman, providing a good example of how to use the potty! Rock on, Spidey!

Celebrating

Kent & Michael, in the kitchen
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Originally uploaded by knights_writes

We hosted a little get-together at our house Saturday night in honor of Erika's birthday, and also to enjoy the company of Tim & Anita, who moved from Iowa City to Bismarck, ND several years ago. Tim & Anita brought along their two little munchkins, Joe (5), and Sofie (5 mos.), and were joined by five other kiddos in the zero-to-six age group, along with about a dozen of their parents and grown-up friends. Believe it or not, the chaos was kept to a minimum, the kids played happily together, and when everyone left (at a decent hour, no less), the clean-up was minimal. (The extra leaves are still in the dining room table, and there are still extra chairs all over the house, but hey, it coulda been a lot worse.)

You can see photos from the party here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/iowah/sets/72157603096427498/

We were blessed to have a very full house and a really pleasant evening. Thanks to those who came! Whose house is next?

P.S. Did I mention that Macy slept in her swing for nearly the entire party (thereby making everyone at the party believe that I have been waaaaaay exaggerating our troubles with her)?

Fat Chance

Baby Mae is napping on a blanket on the living room floor, and I just had a shower, poured myself a cup of coffee, and painted my nails. Why the nails? Well, I caught sight of a bottle of nail polish on the bedside table, and it seemed like a good idea. A little something nice for me, to make me feel like a girl again, and not just a pair of milk-producing breasts. I thought it'd be nice to pretend, for just a day, that my hands are here for something more than just diaper changing and folding the laundry.

What are the chances that this coat will dry before the baby wakes up, crying for a meal?

Thanks for the Sprinkle!

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Originally uploaded by knights_writes

A great big "thank you" goes out to Kathryn, Mara, and Leah, who planned and executed a splendid mini-shower for Mae this Sunday. We had a lovely time! Go here to see more pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/iowah/sets/72157603104398127/

incentive

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Originally uploaded by knights_writes

When Cindy visited Mae and me a few weeks ago, she said I should post a photo of Arlo's toilet on the blog. You can deduce that we used stickers as a reward for good potty behavior. And since (a) we'd be needing a new toilet seat pretty soon anyway and (b) they only cost, like, $12.99 at K-Mart, we figured it'd be appropriate (and fun for Arlo) to just stick 'em right on the pot.

First smile!

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Originally uploaded by knights_writes

This is a shot from the afternoon play session wherein I got to see Macy's first Bona Fide Smile... meaning, one that could not be dismissed as a "sleep smile" or passed off (ha) as "gas."

Sharing the shot with Mae are Jen K-F, who came over to give me some grown-up social time and to commiserate about having a fussy baby; and G-Raffe, a beloved friend from Arlo's infancy, whom he very generously gave to Mae for her very own. It was G-Raffe (wielded by Mom) who elicited the first smile--this picture was taken a few minutes later as we diligently tried to coax out another one.

Worth Every Second

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Originally uploaded by knights_writes

This is not her first smile--that happened a couple of weeks ago (story and pictures to follow)--but it is one of the first real wide-mouth, beaming, giddy smiles we've seen thus far. The photo is not the greatest, but the look on her face is, so I share it with you regardless of technical excellence or lack thereof. I was dangling a toy with my right hand while snapping the shot with my left.

Monkey

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Originally uploaded by knights_writes

I finally got a good shot of Arlo wearing the sock-monkey hat that Mara knitted for his third birthday (which was in September). It's the best hat, EVAR. I guess I'll have to snag the pattern from her if I want one of my own.

A pattern emerging?

Mae had another whine-a-thon yesterday, much like the Sunday I blogged about a couple of weeks ago. She cried, whimpered, and fussed all day--except for when I was walking around the house with her, gently bouncing up and down. Even her nursing sessions were not altogether peaceful, as she'd often break her latch, pull away, grimace, and cry for a few seconds at a time while my milk continued to spray in her face. (Was that too graphic?) Her naps only lasted for 20 minutes at a time, and she absolutely did not appreciate being put down at any point.

Today (as was the case the day after that other horrible day), she has already slept away most of the morning. I keep tiptoeing around, expecting her to wake up cranky... and she sleeps on. (Even typing that, I'm afraid that I am totally jinxing it.)

Tata (Arlo's day care provider, soon to be Mae's also) has asked me to make some notes about Macy's "routine" for when she begins spending her days at Tata's. I'm really not sure how to report this pattern--or even, for sure, if it's a pattern. I guess it's comforting, though... if, indeed, I can come to expect a day of peace after a rough day of constant baby-soothing, I suppose it will make it easier to get through those tough days. Here's hoping that today continues to be the salve for yesterday.

Halloweenies II

After trick-or-treating in the neighborhood, we drove over to Piers's house for a visit. Arlo was kind enough to share his costume with Piers, who had already shed his for bedtime. In fact, it looks like Arlo gave up every piece except for the pants, and the fire tie-dye shirt, added by moi.

Then they shared a hug. Sweet boys!

We arrived with a screaming baby (Mae did not appreciate the car ride, thank you very much), on whom Sandie apparently cast some sort of crazy sleep spell. Mae fell asleep as soon as we arrived at Joel & Sandie's (around 7:00), and kept right on snoozing until ONE A.M. One a.m., people! That's her longest sleep yet!

Next, Piers helped Arlo back into his full firefighter regalia for the drive home. Happy Haloween, y'all!

Halloweenies

Here's Arlo, dressed up in his firefighter costume, fresh out of the bag from Old Navy. Thank you, Old Navy! You would not believe how many people asked me if I made it. I, of course, said, "Yes, yes I did."


And here he is, with the added special effect of eyeliner (or "smoke," he says) on the cheeks and nose.
Here's Tata (Arlo's day care provider--soon to be Mae's also) goofing around outside with Isabella (a.k.a. Zuzu, or here, the cutest lil' Tootsie Roll EVAR).
Tootsie.

Life, Interrupted

Okay, I'm going to say it. I think Mae has colic.

Waaaaaahhhhhhh!

We're on our second week of mounting fussiness, hours of crying at a time, and a baby who will not abide being put down. Ever. Unless she's asleep. Even then, it's iffy--though at night, she seems to be sleeping relatively well still.

Is it colic? The timing is right. From everything I've read, the symptoms are right: "inconsolable crying, three or more hours at a time, three or more days a week...", but I hesitate to label her as a Colicky Baby before I know for sure. She's not COMPLETELY inconsolable, she just cries if she's not being actively rocked, cooed at, patted, and stroked. Sheeeesh. This weekend the crankiness spilled over from the typical evening endurance test to an all-day whimper marathon. Yesterday was not a good day.

Could it be something else? She's been fighting a cold, so I wonder if she's got some sinus pain or pressure that is making her uncomfortable. She had a diaper rash for a couple of days that could have made her cry. Should I take her to the doctor to rule out something being actually wrong?

I vaguely remember going through a period of time with Arlo when he was tiny when we thought he might have colic. And by most accounts I've heard, if your kid has colic, YOU KNOW IT. Ugh. Maybe I'm in denial, I don't know.

What I do know is, we're doing everything we can to make her happy, and it hasn't been working. I also know that if it is colic, we are in for a rough handful of weeks (I say that because it sounds more surmountable to me than a couple of months), and that it will pass. In the meantime, I am alternately pulling out my hair, shaking my tiny fist at the sky, and crying my eyes out. It kills me that I cannot soothe my own tiny child, whom I love so dearly, and it frustrates me to no end that I cannot for the life of me find the time to do dishes or fold a load of laundry.

I am in complete disarray. Sorry I have not called/written/followed through/been much fun lately. This, too, shall pass.

Grab Hold

Here's a milestone... Macy's First Grab!



She looks completely surprised by the fact that she's holding on to something here, but hey! That's how we all learn, right? My guess is, she was just wiggling around and waving her hands in the air (like she just don't care), and happened to catch hold of one of those link-a-doos. Anyway, this is how I found her.

Thursday morning cute fix

I know, I know, photo blogging is the lazy blogger's fallback, but believe me, I have nothing clever to say today.

Enjoy the show!

Mac & Cheese at Micky's

Mmmmmmmmmm, cheeeeeeeeeesy.

Tiny sweaters, continued

A cotton/microfiber variation on the kimono sweater, handcrafted for Mae by Jen Kaalberg-Freers (who also knits other things, as can be seen by clicking here).

Here's Mae, modeling the yellow henley from the previous post and flanked by Mom, Big Bro, and Olive, our 12-year-old cat.