So I feel really bad now because Little Miss Fussy Pants has a really good reason for her visit, other than her pearly new whites. A virus! The blasted thing has her spiking a 102 fever. Poor baby Wren.
We’re playing the nurturing waiting game now. Lots of Wrest and Wrelaxation. And a few cookie bits.
Send some good antiviral karma into the world, will ya?
There’s something about mid-winter that reminds me of being a kid and having a love/hate relationship with the potlucks in the basement of our church. Strange juxtaposition I know, but it’s true. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about a godzillion-layer rainbow Jello that someone used to bring to every potluck. If we were lucky. Seems like people were typecast into bringing the same thing every time. I think her name was Peggy? And she wore braces. It’s hard to forget an adult with braces.
Anyway, it looked a bit like this…
Now how’s that for brightening up your mid-winter doldrums?!
It’s actually quite a bit of work to make such a thing and I don’t remember it tasting all that great, but it’s got looks goin’ for it and looks get you pretty damn far in this world, don’t they? For more pretty pictures like this one and directions on how to make it, check out this blog.
Happy Fat Tuesday, folks! What are you giving up for Lent? I’m not really religious, but I like the tradition of giving something up to make me more mindful… you? By the way, tomorrow is my day, Ash Wednesday. Guffaw.
Hey Diddle Diddle, what do you think of a Nursery Rhyme-themed cocktail party? It hit me like a Mack truck in my way sleep-deprived state in the wee hours of today so this could either be brilliant or tasteless. Sometimes a bit of tasteless is brilliant, no?
Start with these glasses you can order through Fish’s Eddy and the party’s already a hit!
Maybe also order the coasters for a fun detail…
Make your own party invitations from these old illustrations you can snatch up for only $3 on Etsy. See how this is all coming together?
By the end of the evening, you’ll probably have your own Little Jack Horner, sitting in the corner.
If you were a nursery rhyme character, who would you be? I might be Little Miss Muffet except that spiders don’t scare me so I’d keep munching on my curds and whey (yummy!), thank you very much.
Brag and you will get yours. This may be the Murphy’s Law of New Parenthood.
I admit it. I bragged a bit about Wren cutting her first teeth without much of a fuss. I think these were my exact words (spoken out loud. to several people.) “She’s not even fussy AT ALL. Just wakeful.” I think I even bragged further about her having my pain threshold, blah blah. Over the weekend, however, Little Miss Fussy Pants showed up in our nest. And she’s still hanging around. Oof. Thanks, Parenthood 101. Lesson learned. Can we move on now?
The one thing for which I’m grateful with Little Miss Fussy Pants’ recent visit is that because she so rarely visits our nest, it puts our normal Little Miss Sunshine days in perspective. And I want them back. NOW. I just can’t will those teeth to come all the way through and move on with our happy-go-lucky life, can I? Just like I can’t will her to sleep for more than several hours at a time. Oh well.
Here’s another lesson learned just for you today, dear readers. Maybe attempting a detox (no caffeine, sugar, processed foods) at the same time you’re home alone for four days with a teething baby is not the best idea I’ve ever had. But I’m doing it anyway. I thought I would spare Chris the Wrath of Ashlea Off Caffeine, so I decided to embark while Chris is out of town. But I could reaaaaallly use a cup of something strong right now to perk me up after another wakeful night and cranky day. But instead, I’m sipping some herbal tea while munching on a bowl of carrot/ginger soup and a few slices of avocado. Mmmmmmmm. While the wee one sleeps. Aaaaaaaahh.
“No caffeine? Are you crazy?” Maybe.
I just want to be a cheap coffee date again. A cup of coffee meaning something. Sipping a hot mug of joe and really enjoying it. And after a few days without, I’ll feel that way, right? Anyone want to take me out for a cup of coffee next week to find out?
best!
Although I’m not a huge fan of kids music, I do love singing and listening to lullabies. My favorite collection is one beautifully created by a friend of ours, Gretchen Eichberger-Kudlack. A big shout out to Gretchen for her creativity, beauty and artistry as these songs are great for sleeping and also a king bed size canada so you can sleep with your little ones comfortably. And to sweet Gwen for being such an inspiration. “The idea was conceived after I gave birth to my daughter Gwendolyn,” said Eichberger-Kudlack. “The first half starts off with playful and happy songs, based around folk music, and it gradually winds down and relaxes, ending with a Bach piano piece.”
I’m clearly not the only one enjoying it… The CD was named an Honors Award Winner in the 2008 National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA). You can listen to the CD and purchase it here. Portions of the album’s proceeds will benefit music education programs in northern rural Michigan. Bonus! Why not buy several to have on hand for baby gifts?
Enjoy!
Happy Birthday to me! I am 33 today and would like to shout a big “thank you!” to my dear Mutti who birthed me. I think it took giving birth to my own little birdie to realize what a true gift this whole life thing is. 33 is also a really lovely looking number, isn’t it? Furthermore…, 33 is the largest positive integer that cannot be expressed as a sum of different triangular numbers. Whatever the hell that means. Thanks, Wikipedia.
I’ll be celebrating with food and family in our nest. We’ll be ordering in Thai food so I don’t have to cook or clean (much). Yahoo!
So it seems like a good time to make one of those “life lists.” I know these are trite, but also fun so here goes… 33 things I’d like to do before, well, you know.
make a teardrop trailer | travel to South America | train travel across India | climb a real mountain | win a race | bake amazing cakes | complete an Ironman-length triathlon | make a film | have an encyclopedic knowledge of wildflowers | play the cello | make cheese | bike across the United States | visit Prince Edward Island | have a successful business | advance beyond first series Ashtanga yoga | visit all fifty states | raise a strong woman | travel across country in an Airstream | kayak the Outer Banks | ice climb | design and build our own house | live overseas again | see the Great Wall of China | eat sushi in Japan | have a big vegetable garden with enough stuff to give away to all our favorite neighbors | grow artichokes | go dog sledding | Safari in Africa | sail the Great Lakes | write a book | get an advanced degree | give A LOT of money to a charity I love | perfect my butterfly stroke | uh oh! That was 33. I guess I’ll keep going because I hope to live a long, adventurous life… | replace 90% of the lawn with plants | backpack with my husband | have a dog again | scuba dive | visit hot springs you have to hike in to | winter camp | run the entire Pictured Rocks trail | have a successful cut-flower garden with lots of Bells of Ireland and big orange and green Zinnias | wear an itsy-bitsy teeny tiny polka dot bikini | have zero debt to anyone or any institution | go to a Craig Ferguson show | see Madonna live in concert | visit Madurodam with Wren | raise pygmy goats and lots of different varieties of lavender | paint regularly | have a family meeting like the Cosby Family | celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans | floss every day | sleep under the stars at Joshua Tree | race the Vasa | run the Boston Marathon | swim with dolphins | have excellent posture | have a cottage on a lake somewhere | do one scary thing every day | make great stuff that people other than family and friends want to buy | simplify | sew well | live in Canada | sweat daily | waste less food | live big.
Wren and I were on the road for a couple days, but we’re happily back home again in our cozy nest while the snow & blow continues to swirl out there. It was a super fun whirlwind trip to Detroit and back. I found Wren to be pretty darn good company, but I think she found me a bit boring. She started a new sort of babbling that I believe my drivel (“hey Wren, look at that huge snow pile over there! Wow!”) was most likely the catalyst for… and the one tooth is actually TWO teeth. She’s such a trooper, that little birdie. I swear she’s turning into a little girl more every day, yikes!
One highlight from our trip was a pit-stop at Ikea. I’m a sucker for that place. As it turns out, Wren seems to be giddy over cheap Scandinavian stuff too! We both got a kick out of these cookie cutters:
I can’t wait to make some cookies with them. And after almost nine months without a working oven, we now have one! Chris is amazing; he single-handedly brought our electrical system into the 21st century and we are so very, very (very) grateful. Go, Chris! So if I gain about ten pounds in the next week, this is why: lasagna, muffins, shepherd’s pie, cookies, cupcakes, OH MY!
More soon. Happy mid-week, dear readers.
The wakeful nights mystery has been solved! Wren’s first tooth is breaking through and I think it might just belong to a shark. Ouch! Way to go, little birdie.
I realize it’s a little early to be thinking about the Tooth Fairy, but a tooth seems like it pushes a baby one step (err, crawl?) closer to being a toddler. So it got me thinking about tooth pillows and pouches. Of course, I hopped right on Etsy and found this adorable tooth pillow.
I also love this idea for making your own tooth pouch, found on the Purl Bee site. Cute and *sew* easy, right?!
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Dear readers, how does the Tooth Fairy work her (his?) magic in YOUR nest? What successful teething aids have you used? Whiskey? Frozen waffles? Cold washcloths? …
On a side note, I’ll be posting lightly in the next few days as Wren and I are hitting the road soon. Detroit 2010 Or Bust, Baby! While we’re on the road together, I plan on bouncing some blog ideas around, which made me think, what do YOU want to read about? I’m thinking of doing some taste tests – first one being something dear to my heart and belly. Windmill cookies. Something to look forward to, right?!
Happy weekend to all the birdies in your nest.
I am deliriously tired today after several almost-sleepless nights. After thinking about this, you might not think these things are funny. I do.
The nursery rhyme, Little Jack Horner.
Little Jack Horner
Sat in the corner,
Eating his Christmas pie;
He stuck in his thumb,
And pulled out a plum,
And said, “What a good boy am I!”
I realize it rhymes, but… where do people come up with this stuff?
FMYLife Web site. The site where people share mundane, but bad, things that happened to them. For example…
Today, I had lunch with a co-worker, and after having a good talk and enjoying each other’s company, we got up to leave. Right before we said goodbye, she looked me right in the face and looking legitimately confused said, “you know, I really don’t understand why no one at work likes you.”
OOF.
Yesterday we received an Avon catalog and some thoughts accompanied it. Here are a few, exactly as written.
Hi,
I don’t want to disturb you; My name is Bonnie, and I’ve been an AVON Representative for a few months now and have met so many wonderful people!
….
One more thing, I always have a basket of AVON Goodies … for you to purchase at discounted prices! So if you would like to check out my basket and you see me in your neighborhood just give me a HEY AVON Lady!
HEY AVON lady! You’re disturbing me with your crappy letter!
Wren’s hair. This is what happens if your Mama were to bundle you (and your damp hair) up in a snowsuit after swim class. Then YOU proceed to sleep for an hour or so…
I’m sure you realize this by now. I may have strong opinions about child-rearing, but I really don’t know what I’m doing. Honestly, sometimes I just don’t really know what to do with a baby. Thank goodness for everyone involved, I have good intentions. Besides the obvious time-sucks–nursing, diapering, dressing, playing with toys, reading books, attempting to nap–what should I be doing to make Wren a fun-loving, wonderful, hilarious being who saves the planet and reaches enlightenment way early?
In my quest to figure out what I should be doing with a baby, I’ve been seeking out play groups and preschool enrichment offerings in our area. Our very favorite enrichment activity I have found so far is baby swim. Once a week we go to a local pool that is kept very warm and we polly-wog around together with other parents and wee ones. There is an instructor and her hair always looks really good. I’m not sure if this is good or not. It’s like seeing a skinny chef. It makes me equal parts suspicious and jealous.
I’m not really trying to turn Wren into a Nirvana album cover, but it’s fun to revisit the 90s, sort of…
Actually, Wren does swim a bit underwater and it’s pretty amazing. But mostly she likes to kick around and play with toys and try to gnaw on the chubby limbs of other babies. Did you know that the British are really into baby swim training? I’m not quite sure why this is. When I think of Olympic swimmers, I do not usually think of the British, do you? Well, this is probably because there is no correlation between baby swim and future swim success. That’s what “they” say anyway. Oh well, it’s a helluva lot of fun so I don’t care what “they” say.
Speaking of what “they” say, Wren is not sleeping through the night AT ALL and she doesn’t crawl. But she loves to pick up tiny bits of food with her peripheral vision and clap her hands, supposedly somewhat “advanced” for her age. Whatever. She’s sleeping right now so we’ve got that going for us since I’m totally exhausted and have a real-world “work” meeting to attend this afternoon so I better try to be my best bright-eyed and bushy-tailed self I can muster. Another cup of coffee is in order and a shower is probably a good idea too since I can still smell a bit of the chlorine from yesterday, yuck…
Dear readers, do you have some insights into what I should be doing with a baby right now? Should I learn some songs, or at least try and figure out what comes after the first two lines of the itsy-bitsy spider? I always get caught there. Help!