I think I'm going to try to learn to sew a little. I can already put a button back on a shirt, so I figure that's a start. However, I do not have a good history with the sewing machine. Last summer I tried to hem some blankets for Robin; I ended up with one sewn extremely securely to the machine. I have no idea how I did it. My mom has no idea how I did it, and she's been using this machine since she won it in a sewing contest when she was 13.
I had visions of wrapping Robin up in the blanket to cuddle with the sewing machine.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
how is robin like a vw?
Robin and the wiper-fluid-is-low alarm in our car both work on the same principle: if it's worth worrying about, it's worth worrying about a lot. In our car, the wiper-fluid-is-low alarm sounds roughly like an air raid siren. And it's set to induce these small heart attacks when the wiper fluid gets to the half-full point, which means there's still a good litre-and-a-half left, which depending on the season means we will not be running out of wiper fluid in the next two months. And the best part is, the sensor is very sensitive, so when the remaining wiper fluid sloshes around the litre-and-a-half-left mark, going just over and then just under and then just over with every little bump (and I should point out that we live in Winnipeg, The Pothole Capital of the World) then we are treated to multiple air raid alerts on even the shortest of trips. If this is the "You Will Run Out Of Wiper Fluid In A Few Weeks" alarm, I shudder to think what the "You Have Hit A Small Child" alarm sounds like.
Anyway.
Robin seems to have only two settings for crying: "Off" and "THE WORLD IS ENDING." This is a particular problem when we have the temerity to, wait for it, LIE HER DOWN ON HER BACK. What outrageous jerks! Robin is an excellent sitter these days, which means she does not care to lie down for any reason, including diaper changes. It's an interesting exercise trying to change a six-month-old who is struggling to sit up the entire time; she prefers the "lock my legs together" technique which makes pulling the diaper up between her legs, umm, a bit challenging. On the other hand, she is considering marketing her new exercise program -- Abs of Steel: Infant Edition.
Anyway.
Robin seems to have only two settings for crying: "Off" and "THE WORLD IS ENDING." This is a particular problem when we have the temerity to, wait for it, LIE HER DOWN ON HER BACK. What outrageous jerks! Robin is an excellent sitter these days, which means she does not care to lie down for any reason, including diaper changes. It's an interesting exercise trying to change a six-month-old who is struggling to sit up the entire time; she prefers the "lock my legs together" technique which makes pulling the diaper up between her legs, umm, a bit challenging. On the other hand, she is considering marketing her new exercise program -- Abs of Steel: Infant Edition.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
the law of unintended consequences strikes again
The law of unintended consequences: see Freakonomics.
Before Robin was born, we were a bit concerned about how Griffin would adjust to his new status. In the years BC (Before Child) he was the baby. He was accustomed to being thoroughly doted on, and we were not sure how well he would take his demotion. We spent a lot of time thinking and reading about this and did some things that must have looked mighty odd, like walking the dog with an empty stroller, to get him used to it.
One key part of our plan was to make sure that Griffin was well-exercised before and after Robin's arrival. He is an exceptionally active dog and from puppyhood we have found that he is much better behaved when he is tired. So the plan was to take him to the off-leash park frequently and to regularly let him chase the red dot around the house (chasing laser dots is supposed to be a cat thing, but Griff is incredibly enthusiastic about hunting the red dot; I'm not sure what his plan is for when he catches it). This we did.
Mainly we ended up with an even more fit dog, who has even more energy and, um, "vitality."
Don't get me wrong, Griffin has done way better than we dared hope with Robin. He seems to recognize that she is different and puts up with her grabbing his fur and doesn't react to her jerky movements and funny smells and sounds. He doesn't particularly ignore her, nor does he seek her out. He just seems to get that she's part of his world now.
But holy moly, what a hyperactive nut!
Before Robin was born, we were a bit concerned about how Griffin would adjust to his new status. In the years BC (Before Child) he was the baby. He was accustomed to being thoroughly doted on, and we were not sure how well he would take his demotion. We spent a lot of time thinking and reading about this and did some things that must have looked mighty odd, like walking the dog with an empty stroller, to get him used to it.
One key part of our plan was to make sure that Griffin was well-exercised before and after Robin's arrival. He is an exceptionally active dog and from puppyhood we have found that he is much better behaved when he is tired. So the plan was to take him to the off-leash park frequently and to regularly let him chase the red dot around the house (chasing laser dots is supposed to be a cat thing, but Griff is incredibly enthusiastic about hunting the red dot; I'm not sure what his plan is for when he catches it). This we did.
Mainly we ended up with an even more fit dog, who has even more energy and, um, "vitality."
Don't get me wrong, Griffin has done way better than we dared hope with Robin. He seems to recognize that she is different and puts up with her grabbing his fur and doesn't react to her jerky movements and funny smells and sounds. He doesn't particularly ignore her, nor does he seek her out. He just seems to get that she's part of his world now.
But holy moly, what a hyperactive nut!
Monday, February 16, 2009
snowshoeing with an infant
We took Robin snowshoeing for the first time this weekend at Falcon Lake. Robin didn't actually do any showshoeing -- she rode on my back in my Babyhawk under the babywearing coat that my friend lent me. It was great!
Friday, February 13, 2009
the best time-waster on the internet
Wikipedia is pretty remarkable. It's an online encyclopedia that is open for all to edit. And each article has links to many other articles, which means looking up one topic often results in reading in a lot more depth than originally intended. It's a wonderful way to waste an hour when you "just want to look up one thing real quick."
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
how to put robin to bed
Robin's bedtime routine has become quite set. Some nights are easier than others, but in general this is how it goes.
Robin starts showing signs of impending sleepiness around 8 or 8.30 -- she yawns, rubs her eyes, gets a bit fussier and generally looks tired. That is our cue to rush upstairs with her before she gets really cranky. If it's a bath night (Mondays and Thursdays, mostly) we fill up the baby tub with warm water (inside the big tub to contain the splashing, which is getting more vigorous these days) and undress her. In the bath, we wash her with soap from head to toe, dump the soapy water out and refill the tub with fresh water -- she likes it very warm -- and let her play with her bowl, rubber pigs and duckies. Mostly she stuffs them in her mouth. After a while, we get her out, dry her off (she hates that) and put a new diaper on.
If it's not bath night, we give her a quick sponge bath with water -- washing off all the baby food we missed earlier -- and dry her off before putting on a clean diaper.
Then we take her into our bedroom, put on a clean sleeper and swaddle her up. These days we are leaving her arms out, but she still seems to like having the rest of her bundled up. By this time she is usually good and tired and fusses a little more seriously.
Then it's time for book(s). Usually we read two or three; I like to finish with either Goodnight Moon or The Going to Bed Book. Then I nurse her until she's REALLY sleepy but not quite asleep, pop in her soother and put her in the crib, where she sleeps in the bunting bag that Grandma made. If she's still awake, I recite the "Goodnight Mr. Beetle" poem. If she's not asleep yet, I either leave the room, stand at the side of the crib or rest my hand on her face, depending on how not-asleep she is. This is also a good time to turn on either the mobile or the music box doodad on the crib, which tends to get her attention and ideally kind of mesmerizes her. Sooner or later her eyes get heavy and she gets to sleep, though sometimes it takes a little bit of crying.
Robin starts showing signs of impending sleepiness around 8 or 8.30 -- she yawns, rubs her eyes, gets a bit fussier and generally looks tired. That is our cue to rush upstairs with her before she gets really cranky. If it's a bath night (Mondays and Thursdays, mostly) we fill up the baby tub with warm water (inside the big tub to contain the splashing, which is getting more vigorous these days) and undress her. In the bath, we wash her with soap from head to toe, dump the soapy water out and refill the tub with fresh water -- she likes it very warm -- and let her play with her bowl, rubber pigs and duckies. Mostly she stuffs them in her mouth. After a while, we get her out, dry her off (she hates that) and put a new diaper on.
If it's not bath night, we give her a quick sponge bath with water -- washing off all the baby food we missed earlier -- and dry her off before putting on a clean diaper.
Then we take her into our bedroom, put on a clean sleeper and swaddle her up. These days we are leaving her arms out, but she still seems to like having the rest of her bundled up. By this time she is usually good and tired and fusses a little more seriously.
Then it's time for book(s). Usually we read two or three; I like to finish with either Goodnight Moon or The Going to Bed Book. Then I nurse her until she's REALLY sleepy but not quite asleep, pop in her soother and put her in the crib, where she sleeps in the bunting bag that Grandma made. If she's still awake, I recite the "Goodnight Mr. Beetle" poem. If she's not asleep yet, I either leave the room, stand at the side of the crib or rest my hand on her face, depending on how not-asleep she is. This is also a good time to turn on either the mobile or the music box doodad on the crib, which tends to get her attention and ideally kind of mesmerizes her. Sooner or later her eyes get heavy and she gets to sleep, though sometimes it takes a little bit of crying.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
and now for a facebook special
So there's a thing circulating on Facebook where you post 25 random bits of information about yourself in a note and then tag 25 people so that they hear that you've written this note, and then when they get tagged they're supposed to write their own 25 random things and tag other people.
So here we go.
1. I recently realized that I start a lot of sentences with, "So..."
2. If I was 18 and just finishing high school again, I would do my undergraduate degree in history instead of physics. I really enjoyed the time I spent studying physics, and I certainly don't feel it was a waste, but the courses I remember most about are the two history courses I took mainly because they fit nicely into my timetable. I would particularly focus on the twentieth century. I probably wouldn't be a career historian though.
3. I am a labourer, not a savant.
4. I hate being asked about my most embarrassing moment, not because I don't wish to share it but because I can never remember it when I'm on the spot.
5. I love summer. A lot. I was a lake kid, and Big Whiteshell Lake is the site of most of my favourite memories from when I was a kid.
6. I am not sure of my place in the universe, but I am sure it is pretty much the same as everyone else's.
7. I like fire. I can poke at a campfire for an hour easy. It's probably my favourite part of camping.
8. I don't have a good track record for getting along with administration in the places I've worked. I'm willing to accept only a small amount of blame for this.
9. I frequently wonder just what is going through my dog's head. One of my favourite things to watch is when he's lying on the floor and then suddenly jumps up and chases his tail around. Then he pauses to make the tail think he's forgotten about it, and suddenly starts chasing it in the other direction. Tres funny.
10. I had three imaginary friends when I was little: Luke, Beeko and Tito.
11. I am married to my best friend.
12. I speak a bit of French, and wish I spoke more. I was surprised that I remembered enough French to get by on in Paris.
13. I have absolutely no musical skill whatsoever. I kinda want to learn to play the harmonica.
14. I have a six-month-old daughter who is starting to laugh at her Daddy a lot, which is pretty much the nicest thing I've ever seen.
15. I like football a lot, but I don't really understand it. The line of scrimmage looks like one big riot to me, but I know it's actually well-choreographed chaos. I would like to be able to understand what's going on in there better.
16. I have never had a comfortable pair of skates or ski boots. I played ringette and hockey for many years with incredibly painful feet because I just figured that was the way it was supposed to be. Every so often I would hold my tongue just right as I was tying them and they would only be moderately uncomfortable rather than excruciating, and on those days I wanted to keep playing for hours.
17. I have flat feet, as to #16.
18. I am very good at remembering phone numbers.
19. I have a respectable store of useless knowledge, which I'm sure will come in handy when I'm on Jeopardy.
20. In grade three, my teacher taught us the American Sign Language alphabet. I don't know why. I remember it to this day, which has been useful exactly one time in my thirty years. Unfortunately I don't think it'll come up on Jeopardy.
21. I would like to be a writer. I don't know what I would write about, which is why I have a blog: I can write as much or as little as I want, and about anything I want. And pretty much nobody reads it but me.
22. I am close to my family and really, really like it when we are all together.
23. I have been on some awesome road trips.
24. I turn into a pumpkin at midnight. Actually, I turn into a pumpkin earlier and earlier these days.
25. I have a major fascination with Western Europe, I think because of the fact that you can go into a place that is eight hundred years old, and it's so well-maintained that it seems like it's just built to look like it's eight hundred years old. And you have to imagine all the people who lived or worked or visited there over the eight hundred years.
So here we go.
1. I recently realized that I start a lot of sentences with, "So..."
2. If I was 18 and just finishing high school again, I would do my undergraduate degree in history instead of physics. I really enjoyed the time I spent studying physics, and I certainly don't feel it was a waste, but the courses I remember most about are the two history courses I took mainly because they fit nicely into my timetable. I would particularly focus on the twentieth century. I probably wouldn't be a career historian though.
3. I am a labourer, not a savant.
4. I hate being asked about my most embarrassing moment, not because I don't wish to share it but because I can never remember it when I'm on the spot.
5. I love summer. A lot. I was a lake kid, and Big Whiteshell Lake is the site of most of my favourite memories from when I was a kid.
6. I am not sure of my place in the universe, but I am sure it is pretty much the same as everyone else's.
7. I like fire. I can poke at a campfire for an hour easy. It's probably my favourite part of camping.
8. I don't have a good track record for getting along with administration in the places I've worked. I'm willing to accept only a small amount of blame for this.
9. I frequently wonder just what is going through my dog's head. One of my favourite things to watch is when he's lying on the floor and then suddenly jumps up and chases his tail around. Then he pauses to make the tail think he's forgotten about it, and suddenly starts chasing it in the other direction. Tres funny.
10. I had three imaginary friends when I was little: Luke, Beeko and Tito.
11. I am married to my best friend.
12. I speak a bit of French, and wish I spoke more. I was surprised that I remembered enough French to get by on in Paris.
13. I have absolutely no musical skill whatsoever. I kinda want to learn to play the harmonica.
14. I have a six-month-old daughter who is starting to laugh at her Daddy a lot, which is pretty much the nicest thing I've ever seen.
15. I like football a lot, but I don't really understand it. The line of scrimmage looks like one big riot to me, but I know it's actually well-choreographed chaos. I would like to be able to understand what's going on in there better.
16. I have never had a comfortable pair of skates or ski boots. I played ringette and hockey for many years with incredibly painful feet because I just figured that was the way it was supposed to be. Every so often I would hold my tongue just right as I was tying them and they would only be moderately uncomfortable rather than excruciating, and on those days I wanted to keep playing for hours.
17. I have flat feet, as to #16.
18. I am very good at remembering phone numbers.
19. I have a respectable store of useless knowledge, which I'm sure will come in handy when I'm on Jeopardy.
20. In grade three, my teacher taught us the American Sign Language alphabet. I don't know why. I remember it to this day, which has been useful exactly one time in my thirty years. Unfortunately I don't think it'll come up on Jeopardy.
21. I would like to be a writer. I don't know what I would write about, which is why I have a blog: I can write as much or as little as I want, and about anything I want. And pretty much nobody reads it but me.
22. I am close to my family and really, really like it when we are all together.
23. I have been on some awesome road trips.
24. I turn into a pumpkin at midnight. Actually, I turn into a pumpkin earlier and earlier these days.
25. I have a major fascination with Western Europe, I think because of the fact that you can go into a place that is eight hundred years old, and it's so well-maintained that it seems like it's just built to look like it's eight hundred years old. And you have to imagine all the people who lived or worked or visited there over the eight hundred years.
Monday, February 02, 2009
okay, maybe i do have something to say
I think the best quote I ever heard about being a parent is (I'm paraphrasing, and I can't remember where I heard this): "Ten years ago I had no kids and lots of theories about childrearing. Now I have lots of kids and no theories."
These little people just keep throwing curveballs! Robin's latest is that she likes plain old boring rice cereal, and she's okay with plain old mashed carrots, but she doesn't really like yummy sweet mashed bananas nor plain old mashed avocados. Go figure. Andy thinks maybe the bananas are so sweet that they kind of overwhelm her palate, but her palate is used to breastmilk, which is pretty sweet itself.
I hope she doesn't end up being one of those super-picky eaters. We shall see.
These little people just keep throwing curveballs! Robin's latest is that she likes plain old boring rice cereal, and she's okay with plain old mashed carrots, but she doesn't really like yummy sweet mashed bananas nor plain old mashed avocados. Go figure. Andy thinks maybe the bananas are so sweet that they kind of overwhelm her palate, but her palate is used to breastmilk, which is pretty sweet itself.
I hope she doesn't end up being one of those super-picky eaters. We shall see.
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