Better Mood

Hi! Feeling much happier today. No more pregnant lady rants, I promise.

So I had to take Toddler with me to a meeting today about learning my new job as bookkeeper for local writers organization. He was SO good. I couldn't believe it. We were there two hours, and the woman I was meeting with was in and out, but Toddler sat at his own desk and did a Dora watercolor book, a truck sticker book, drank a juice, had Valentine gummy candy, watched a long, long train go by out the window, took my pens and wouldn't let me use them, told the woman I was meeting with that he was "getting a lot of work done," never tried to leave the room, and never cried. And, as an added little bonus for me, he didn't poop. It would have been really embarrassing to have to interrupt the board meeting going on in the main room (we were in a little adjacent office) by leaving with a fussy, stinky Toddler and then coming back in. And then, And then! he went to bed so nicely tonight. And I was going to go to bed at 9:00, but then I watched What Not To Wear, and then I was going to go to bed at 10, but then I sat down here and started catching up on blogs a little bit, and now it's 10:45 and here I am. So with that, Que Tengas Buenas Noches!

It's Cold Again Today

First of all, I'm washing baby clothes right now. It's really weird to open the washing machine and smell that sweet Dreft smell waft out. Yes, it was only two years ago that Toddler was a newborn, but it seems like a long time.

Library trip yesterday. Storytime. Did we go in to the storytime and sing with the librarian and listen to a story with the other little kids? No.

Did we cry at the top of our lungs while checking out books on the self-service machine? Yes! And, of course, three of the books wouldn't work on the machine so we had to go to the front desk. But by the time we ran to the lobby and put on our coats, Toddler/thirteen-year-old-moody-person-in-disguise was in quite a pleasant state again. Even proclaiming as we got into the car, "It's quite cold!." This could come from too much exposure to English cartoons (Kipper, Charlie and Lola, but they're the best!)

So aside from about twelve new picture books (Bee Bim Bop", a very favorite, was, sadly, checked out) I found four more for myself:

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood--to go along with my dystopian fervor
The Language of Goldfish by Zibby O'Neal--to satisfy my YA fervor
Because of Winn-Dixie--because I have a great curiosity about Kate DiCamillo, also author of The Tale of Despereaux
Z for Zachariah by Robert O'Brien--recommended by Danielle also to help feed the dystopian/post-apocalyptic fervor

Also, I have now finished the first three books of Earthsea but I can't post about them now because Toddler just woke up from his nap.

Catalog

Gratified: This is the forecast from my local news's website.

A modified arctic air mass will cover the region through Thursday, with highs in the 40s and lows in the 20s. Although certainly nothing unusual for January, the contrast from recent warmth is noticeable. Friday into the weekend will bring much warmer temperatures. Rain will also be possible at times this weekend, followed by more cold air arriving early next week.

It's very chilly and gray right now and I love it.
(Plus, I won't feel bad about not taking Toddler out to play after he wakes up because it might rain soon and then I can continue cleaning the clutter mess we have. The reason for the clutter mess is that we painted the new baby's room, are in the middle of painting the stairs and the upstairs hallway, and will soon paint the upstairs bathroom. So there's paint clutter but also we had to clean out new baby's closet and that is resulting in having to clean out everybody else's closet to make room for the random stuff that was in her closet, i.e., metal detector, ice cream machine, Christmas wrapping stuff, an Easy Bake Oven in the box, boxes of files with old bills and paystubs, piles of Cooking Lights and Martha Stewart Livings and Bon Appetits and Gourmets from my mom when she moved.)

Baffled: Upon returning from food shopping today, the only thing I can't find is my new box of Cream of Wheat. Where is it? I guess that's the one thing they forgot to bag. I really do love my Cream of Wheat.

Addicted: While at said food store, I made an impulse buy and grabbed a box of Keebler Danish Wedding Cookies from one of those displays in the middle of the aisle. The box reminds me of 70s or 80s packaging--it's just a plain pink box with the Keebler tree and a picture of a platter of the cookies. I wasn't going to open them, but I did. And they're not that amazing, but I could not stop eating them. I guess it's the subtle coconut and the fact that, when dipped in coffee, they take on the texture that homemade ones have, and are reminiscent of a macaroon and biscotti offspring. Plus the crack that Keebler probably puts in them. If so, they really should put a warning on the box for pregnant women.

Craving: White Chocolate, brownies, yellow butter cake with mocha icing, Keebler Danish Wedding cookies. I have not eaten any of the above except, of course, the cookies. Well, I have been eating white chocolate in the form of red-and-green-swirled Christmas white chocolate chips from the bag, but that hasn't been since yesterday.

Guilty: I think I just committed a federal offense and the internet is probably not the place to discuss it, BUT... I had these bills that I really wanted to get in the mail today. We bought stamps today (after bringing all the groceries to the car, changing a poop diaper in the tailgate, and then realizing we had to run back in for stamps) and then, after I put Toddler down for his nap, I was happily checking Bloglines when I saw the mail truck come down the street, put my mail in the box, and drive on. So I ran out to the car, got the bills, stamped them, ran across the street to the neighbor's mailbox, put my bills in, and put up their flag. I KNOW one is never to use another's mailbox. I'm sorry USPS. I have been known to stand out there and wait on their curb until the mailman comes back on their side of the street, but it was chilly out and my stomach is bigger than any Santa's I've seen this season. (I know, pregancy is an excuse for nothing. There is a whole blog that went into an in-depth diatribe about how pregnant women should not be given special parking places in parking lots. And while yes, I do agree that pregnancy is certainly natural and not a handicap, you sure are lugging a lot of weight in the front that pulls and tugs at ligaments and muscles you didn't even know you had and walking far distances is not always the most comfortable of activities.)

Industrious: I started my new job with the writer's group I mentioned awhile ago. I just did a tiny task for them so far but we're meeting next week and yay! I'm a little tiny bit of the work force again! With a paycheck!

The Year Winter Was Cancelled

I really should take pictures of my two-inch high daffodils and irises and even a baby crocus shoot coming up, but I just don't feel like it. I could be lazy or eight months pregnant or both. In any case, there have been maybe two or three days this winter in which we needed coats. One I remember was December 10 because that was one of the nights my parents had to put out their neighborhood luminarias. (Their neighborhood bands together and puts out luminaria for three nights of judging in addition to all their beautifully decorated Christmas and Holiday houses. Their street wins every year.) Anyway, everyone loves it and no one is acting like it's any big deal, this weather. But it's freaking me out. I hate it! It's mid-60s just about every day and feels and sounds like April. I keep watching the azaleas for buds. But I put my wooden snowman sign on the front door that says, "We Love Winter" as an act of defiance.

In other news, we went to visit a potential preschool for Toddler today that he probably won't attend in the fall. The reason he probably won't attend is that he is 116 on a waiting list of 116 for the three-year-old room. They take 12 kids for that room. So. We'll probably be trying elsewhere. I have another church in mind, a United Methodist one (the one we checked out today was Baptist), and maybe we'll check out the Jewish Community Center?

All Christmas decorations are down and put away! But instead of shoving everything back into the attic, we did a swap and pulled down. . .an infant bathtub, an infant carseat/carrier and two bases, and Toddler's baby clothes. Most of the baby clothes are to be relocated to my parents' hugeass attic, but some of the infant ones are quite girly so I pulled out half a bin's worth to wash up for Newborn. We didn't know what Toddler's gender would be so he ended up with a lot of yellow duckies, aqua, and light green. Also, we're relocating my wedding dress which is in a big, scary, coffin-like box with a window in it. I had no idea that's what the dry cleaners were going to do when I went to have it cleaned (five years after my wedding). Now it's a scary Beetlejuice thing.

Guess I'll go put on my bathing suit and lay out or something.

Ultrasound says . . .

No Fall Down!

I must expound upon the virtues of October. I just love it so much. One year my husband sent me flowers at work on October 1 with a card that said, "Happy October." That's how much I love it. My birthday and anniversary are in October. I met my husband in October. Basically most major things happen to me in October. And this year we are having lovely lovely seasonal October weather--nice and chilly. High 50s during the day, 30s-40s at night. But every time the wind blows and my 2-year-old says, "It's cold!" and I say, "Yes, it's fall." He looks at me with a very alarmed expression and says, "No fall down!"