Not bored!

Yesterday my mom called me and said, "Those pictures of Nora are adorable! But you sound kind of... bored with her."

"What?" I said. "No I don't!" And then I reread what I wrote and, hey! Look at that! I sound totally bored with her!



So of course I had to set the record straight. I mean, how could ANYONE be bored with this face?



When I said that Nora's milestones are dull, I meant they are dull for OTHER people. Mostly people with no kids. Everyone can understand why, say, the first steps are big news, but it is not until you have kids that you can understand how very exciting the ability to sort of bat at dangling objects can be. Really! When I first noticed Nora doing it, I was all, "Hey, Andrew! Look! She's trying to hit the toy!" It really is pretty cool to watch these small bundles of screaming, sleepy need turn into actual human beings with real personalities, and batting at dangling objects is a step in that direction.

Plus, you know, there are the smiles to keep things interesting.



So, for the record, Nora is far from boring. I love seeing her smile, hearing her laugh, and feeling her soft little body relax into mine when she gets sleepy. And I love watching her bat at things. And stuff her fist in her mouth, which, incidentally, is another milestone, because she can do it AT WILL.



She wills it quite often.

Three months

Hey! Is it the 25th already?

At three months, the milestones are still very... how shall I put this? Dull. Yes, very very dull. Oh! Look! She's sort of trying to bat at that toy that is dangling in front of her! Oh, wait, she lost interest. But no denying that she can hold her head up with only a little wobbling!

But the smiles are real, though. So we'll keep her.









Are those leg warmers she's wearing? OH YES THEY ARE. Giraffe print. She also has the flame ones.

Not much to say

Well, that's not true. I have lots to say. But the thing is, it's hard to type when you're holding a baby all the livelong day. And when you're not holding a baby, you're doing work for your paying gig. So.

How are you doing?

I am a frood who really knows where her towel is

Swistle just posted a question about how best to tidy-ify her towels, and it made me think of my own towel dilemma. See, I want new bath towels. A completely new set of matching bath towels. Can I afford them? Actually, I don’t know. I probably can, but bath towels are probably one of those things that cost way more than they should. I wouldn’t know, as I have never bought a bath towel. I know that sheets sure are things that cost way more than they should, and towels are related items. I’m sure the awful, scratchy towels are quite affordable, though.

“You’ve never bought a bath towel?” you say. “Aren’t you, like, thirty?” Thirty-three, actually.* But see, here’s the thing. I’m a Yankee with Yankee sensibilities, and the towels we already have – most of which were wedding gifts – are still perfectly good. Do they match? No. Do they even come remotely close to matching? No. Do they at least complement the bathroom décor? No. Well, the two white ones do. But the rest? No. Not even a little bit. But do they successfully dry us off? Yes.

I only very recently allowed myself to get rid of the two towels I bought when I went to college. Oh, that’s right, I have bought a bath towel before. Two, even! But it was in 1994, so I can’t quite remember how much they cost. These towels were faded, ratty, and wildly frayed at the edges – and also FIFTEEN YEARS OLD – but whenever I considered getting rid of them I felt guilty because they still worked. They still absorbed moisture, and isn’t that what a towel is supposed to do, after all?

I finally was able to allow myself to relegate those two ancient towels to the rag bag, but I can’t seem to let myself get rid of the rest of the mismatched towels we have. The ones that we had before we were married (Andrew had several, and I had I think one other set that I only bought TEN years ago), and the ones that we got for our wedding that we don’t like. In fact, now that I write this, I realize we don’t like those towels because they do NOT absorb moisture particularly well and should therefore feel no guilt about getting rid of them. But they are the nicest looking towels we have since we hate them and never use them. See? Dilemma!

Sigh. I guess I’ll keep hoping they all accidentally get torn up in a freak laundry accident or something, and I can start over with a bunch of matching white towels that look pretty on my shelving unit. Stupid Yankee sensibilities.


*True story: I just had to ask Andrew how old I am, because I FORGOT. I thought I was thirty-two, but then I thought, “Wait, isn’t it 2009? Doesn’t that make me thirty-three?” The thing is, I wasn’t one hundred percent sure what year it was.**

**I am very sleep-deprived.***

***But I don’t know what my excuse was before.

Sick toddler

No preschool today, since Jack is nursing a cold and I don't want to infect the whole school. So now my morning is shot, but maybe this means he won't be bouncing off the walls this afternoon.

At any rate, Saturday was Curious George's birthday, which I found out thanks to Becca, and we went to the Boston Public Library to MEET GEORGE.

Sadly, our good camera broke minutes before we left, so we had to make do with my old point-and-shoot which has an old battery that lasts for only a few photos. Well, that and a FILM camera. I KNOW. FILM. WTF.

Still, we met George, and The Man With The Yellow Hat (film pics only of that one), and it was super cool. Plus, there were cupcakes, although the cupcakes had buttercream frosting which I have found sort of disgusting ever since I made it that one time. Do you know what buttercream frosting is made of? Butter and cream! It is ruined for me forever.



Then we went home.



How was your weekend?

And I Really Liked That Purse, Too

Dear Real Simple Magazine,

If your cover story is "Great style you can really afford," then the cover photo should not include a Prada purse that costs two thousand dollars. I cannot, in fact, really afford that.

Love,
Dr. Maureen

Corn on the cob

We're having corn on the cob tonight. I made up a song a while ago about corn on the cob, it goes:

Corn on the cob
Corn on the cob
Who likes corn on the cob?
WE DO!

I was singing it just now. Jack is very into rhymes lately. Guess what rhymes with corn? I'll give you a hint: It starts with a "P".