As promised...

Cute pictures of my baby!


Madeline trying really, really hard to resist grabbing the camera out of my hands:

 Eric physically holding Madeline back from grabbing the camera out of my hands:

 And Madeline hiding herself under the toy kitchen sink at school:

 Madeline's new thing is hiding in small spaces.  Sometimes we can't find her.  Got to keep a close eye on this one.

Babies are funny creatures.   If I were Madeline and I saw this...

...coming down the hallway at me, I'd be all like, "OMIGOD, Mumma?!  Why did you skin Pooh Bear and make him into a hat?!?"

(And Mumma would reply in her best Ivan Drago impression, "I wear bearrr!  No more honey-k!!")    

But the real Madeline?  She loves her towel made from genuine Pooh Bear hide.

Among Madeline's strange and unusual phobias, right along with a fear of her own shadow, is her fear of bath towels.  (A.K.A. Petsetaphobia...unless Google is lying to me.)

I guess the comfort of a soft, warm, sweet-smelling towel while wet, cold and naked in the dead of winter in New England isn't at all appealing to my daughter.  Hmmm.

I don't know why she hates towels so much.  It's not like we're using huge, scary Dada-sized towels. We are using small, Maddie-sized towels.  Yet, every time we try to wrap her up or dry her off after bath time, she howls and scoots her naked self away from us.

Since Elmo solved our last bath-related crisis, we decided to look for an Elmo towel while at Toys R Us on Saturday.

The moment Madeline saw Pooh Bear's hide dangling from the shelves smiling sinisterly at us, she yelled, "Huny! Huny!  Pooh!  Pooh!"  and wrapped her arms around him in a loving embrace.

Eric and I exchanged our own sinister smiles.  We'd found an acceptable towel.

Last night during bath time, I wore the Pooh Bear towel on my head to show her it's full glory, and when she got out of the tub, she allowed us to place it on her head and wrap it around her shivering, little body.

Apparently, cutesy cartoon characters can solve all phobias.  I wonder...if I showed up at an agoraphobics house wearing my Pooh Bear pelt, could I could get him to come outside?



P.S.  Cute pictures of my baby are on the way.  Not that ridiculous pictures of me aren't cute...

When Summer Copies Things She Sees on The Internet

When I have a lot of time on hands, I find my oven mitts itching for some DIY, arts and crafts magic.  This past week I had a lot of free time since it was school vacation week.  Most of my projects were half-arsed and not worth sharing.  The low point came when I got drunk and started wrapping wine and beer bottles in yarn on Thursday night.  They fell apart.  Apparently there's this invention called glue that I need to look into...whatevs.

But on Saturday, I completed my one and only worthwhile project of the week.  (Besides painting the dining room and not doing laundry.)

I've been noticing all the terrarium madness on the Internet for the past year, and making one of my own has been on the list for a while.

I used one old bowl I've had lying around the place for years and one bowl I bought at a thrift store for next to nothing.

You will also need pebbles, potting soil made for the kind of plant you'll be using, and of course...plants.  The nice thing about these kinds of plants is that they are hard to kill.  And since I tend to kill most living things that come in contact with me...it's the red hair...I'm hoping these last a while.  

First, you need to pour about an inch of the pebbles on the bottom of the bowl.  

Then you need to pour enough soil to plant the roots of your plants.  I needed about four inches.  In my first attempt, I poured the soil in the bowl and then dug holes for the plants.  On my second attempt, I placed the plants in the bowl first and then scooped piles of dirt around the roots.  I recommend the second method because it was easier to place my pants exactly where I wanted them, and it was slightly less messy.  

In my second terrarium, I had enough room to also add a layer of moss, which I really like the look of.
Ta-da!  Aren't they purdy?

 Two easy, lovely, hard-to-kill centerpieces for my new and improved dining room!

P.S.  Friends do not let friends drink and craft alone.

Dining Room Painted at Long Last

We were supposed to paint the dining room back in October, but then the dreaded plague hit our house and lasted through Christmas.  This week, because we're on vacation obviously, the plague struck again. Luckily, it seems to have passed through quickly this time, so Eric and I got to paint today at long last.  

Before:  

 And After:

It looks so incredibly different.  After we got the first coat up, I had the feeling of Oh, God, what have we done...but it passed once we got the second coat up.  I really love it.

It also looks redder in the pictures than it does in real life.  It's truly a pumpkin-spice color.

We need to do a third coat tonight after the Maddie Bear is in bed.  Then we need to put down our new rug, (Rugs USA 75% off!  Wha-what?!)  hang curtains, find a new light fixture, and hang up our artwork.  It's gonna be rad.

That's right, I just said "rad."

Bye Bye Bubba

"Bubba?  Bubba!?!  BubAHHHH!"  the beast who had replaced our daughter screeched as I fumbled with the buttons on her jammies in my rush to get her changed for bed.   She wriggled and writhed and even refused to let Eric give her a good-night kiss.  

Madeline continued to cry and whine until she was nestled safely in my lap and her bottle was in her greedy hands.   As soon as she started gulping down the milk, her body relaxed and her eyes rolled back in her head in relief.   

We knew the bedtime bottle had to go sooner rather than later, but when Madeline started throwing tantrums whenever it didn't reach her mouth fast enough, we knew the bubba had overstayed its welcome.

Except for the last, tenacious bedtime bubba, Madeline hasn't been drinking out of a bottle since last summer.  At first we kept it to make sure she was getting enough liquids.  Then we kept it because it made the whole wretched bedtime ritual much, much easier.  Recently, we've kept it up because she loves it and demands it even though it no longer helps put her to sleep.     

Expecting a long and treacherous battle, we decided that February vacation would be the perfect time to say goodbye to the bubba.  If it meant long nights of temper tantrums and tears, at least Eric and I could sleep in till the blessed hour of 6 the next morning and not have to worry about work.  

Therefore, last night was the first night of our no bubba policy.  I held my breath, crossed my fingers, and whispered a prayer as we turned off the lights to settled Madeline down for bed for the first time in her life without the comfort of milk.  

Miraculously, I was met only with the peaceful sound of the ocean over Madeline's noise maker.  There were no tears, tantrums, or hours spent by Madeline's crib trying to calm her down.  

She sat in my lap as she does every night, sucked on her pacifier, and started to doze off.  She didn't mention the B-word once.  After ten minute of cuddling, I moved Madeline to her crib.  It may have taken her a little longer than normal to settle down, but within the hour, she was asleep.  

I just finished putting Madeline to bed for the second night in a row without the bubba.  Tonight was a happy repeat of last night's bedtime...except for the fact that after about two minutes of cuddling, she demanded to be moved to her crib so that she could be with her stuffed bear.    

Last night bubba went bye bye.  Tonight I guess it was Mumma's turn.   

This makes me wonder: how often do we as parents hold back our children because it's really us who need the comforting?

In the case of the baby who sleeps in her parents' bedroom until she's two because she can't stand to be alone, or the kid who can't cut his own food, or the kid who clings to her mother's leg the entire time she's at the playground, how often is it really the kid who needs the reassurance?  Maybe it's just that the parents want to be needed.

In our case, the bubba issue apparently wasn't an issue at all.  Madeline is doing just fine without it.  As for Mumma?  I'm typing at the computer feeling a bit sad about being replaced by a stuffed bear named Olaf.  The long nights of rocking my little baby to sleep in my arms are officially over.  The bedtime bubba was the last link.   

Our little baby is becoming our little lady.  Sad but sweet.  

Eric giving Madeline her first bubba.  

Eating Elmo

We had a visit from Nana and Pop this holiday weekend, and they brought a delicious little surprise for Madeline.  

An Elmo cupcake!!!

Clearly, Madeline enjoyed it.  

Mmmm, Elmo tastes delicious!  

We love it when Nana and Pop come to visit!  

When You've Got Troubles, You Can Always Go Downton

...Abbey that is.

Has the Downton Abbey fever caught on in your household yet?

Me too.  Let's be best friends and bad mouth Lady Mary behind her back.  That minx.  I adore her.

Seriously though, I've always had a weak spot for period pieces.  If it involves a corset, I'll watch it.  While other sixth grade girls were swooning over Leo and JTT,  I was swooning over Collin Firth playing Mr. Darcy.

Obviously, Downton Abbey and I were made for one another.  And while the second season has seriously crossed the line into soap opera territory, I'm still eagerly awaiting the Christmas special on Sunday.

To tide me over, I've been swooning over some Downton Abbey Internet gems.  Enjoy.

If only these were the words Eric whispered in my ear on Valentine's Day:

 

Prudent Baby  

If only these were the words Carson whispered in my ear on Valentine's Day:  

Have You Met Ms. Jones?

(I actually think the Matthew one is my favorite, but it's pretty dirty.  Please click the link.  Please.  Just do it.)    

Meanwhile, from now on Eric and I will be answering to the names of Lord Felix, Duke of Ryme Inrinseca and Lady Lettice, Baroness Mumbles.    Thanks, Downton Abbey Name Generator  

While you're at it, Which Downton Abbey Character Are You??  (I'm Lady Violet.  Obviously it's because Maggie Smith and I bare a striking resemblance.  Also, how old is she?)  

Speaking of the Dowager Countess, don't you just love her fancy hats?  Now I can make my own thanks to Crooked House!  

And now it's just getting silly:  If You Liked It...

Ever since SNL took on Downton Abbey, I can't get through an episode without Eric declaring, "Nice car!  What's your other car?  A Bike??  It IS a bike!!!" every time Branson and Sybil have one of their "love" scenes in the garage.  

Finally, just remember....

Via Etsy