I still can’t get used to the term “bunny hug”.

click here if you cannot see the video

***

There was the most incredible sunrise this morning. I will never, ever tire of Saskatchewan sunrises. This morning it looked like the sky was on fire — pink fire. At one point on my morning commute, the tallest city buildings were framed perfectly in the middle of the brightest part of the sunrise, as we viewed it from across a large field. I could sit there all morning and watch, although I’d be freezing cold and I’d probably get some weird looks as I sit there in my lawn chair in the middle of winter.

***

Noah had a super-awesome day yesterday for three very important (to him)(and therefore to the rest of us) reasons: (1) he’s part of fantasy hockey league (that he runs) and he is winning this week by quite a bit, (2) his Penguins won, and (3) his Patriots won and are on their way to the Super Bowl. He didn’t think that all three things could happen in one awesome day, but they did.

That last item is good news and bad news. It’s good news because the Patriots are in the Super Bowl, but it’s bad news because it’s a repeat of the 2008 Super Bowl in which the Patriots played the Giants and lost. And Noah had to watch them lose in front of a dozen of his man friends. He didn’t cry. On the outside. He’s going to his parents’ place to watch the Big Game, and I’m glad that he’ll have his mom around to celebrate with or to console him. (I’m not known for my sports sympathy.)(Although I will be watching the game.)(With ladies and babies.)

Also, I got some footage of Noah watching yesterday’s game and it is comedy GOLD. (Yes, Eric, I am sending it to you.)

***

I read this post from Ali this morning and I laughed out loud. She wrote about being a blogger with non-blogger friends and it is rad.

***

Miss Liliana has a really hard life. I was talking to my mom the other day and asked Liliana if she’d like to talk to Grannie. “Yea, then I can tell her about my bad life.” Bad things always happen to Liliana, like that time that Kaylie had Silly Putty (Silly Pudding, according to Liliana) and Liliana didn’t, or that time when she had to get dressed AND have breakfast and that was just too many things to do, or that time that Kaylie had the Lego ladder first and that JUST WASN’T FAIR, or when her beautiful artwork has to be removed from her wall, or when Kaylie asked for a foot-long Subway sandwich and Liliana flipped out because she didn’t want a foot sandwich, she wanted a peanut butter sandwich.

And sometimes she just likes to double-check things. “No one ever takes my brains away, right Mama?”

***

I added a 2012 Book List page up top there because one of my 2012 resolutions is to read 52 books, one for each week of the year. At this moment, I’m on Book Four and it’s the fourth week of January, so that’s good, right? I’d love some recommendations, though. I don’t think I read a single book last year and that is just not right. I’m reading the Harry Potter series right now, but what should I read next? What is your favorite book? What book do you think is a must-read?

Now I just need to pay off my library fines and I’m good to go.

I went to bed the other night completely exhausted. I’d been staying up too late lately and it was showing. I laid down and was instantly plagued with intense heartburn. I waited to see if it would pass, but it didn’t. I got up, took some Gaviscon, ran to the bathroom, and saw the Gaviscon in reverse. Okay, so I tried something else. I took two extra-strength peppermint Tums. And then took two more. IT WASN’T WORKING.

So, I took to google. I found a bunch of “answers”, but one stood out as the quickest and easiest cure. A shot of apple cider vinegar, chased by a glass of water. Easy, right? Also, really, really nasty. But! It worked! And I got to sleep!

I hope to never, ever do that again. Unless, you know, I need to.

We have been having the most amazing winter this year. Whereas last year at this time we were battling temperatures that dipped below -30C/-22F, today it was 5C/41F. Almost shorts-type weather! I thought I heard somewhere that this was supposed to be the coldest winter in 20+ years, but apparently whoever said that was wrong. I love Saskatchewan even in the frigid, snot-freezing cold temperatures, but this warm winter has made me love this place even more.

**

I was perusing Facebook the other day and came across a link to a segment from an Oprah episode and I clicked on it. I am not at all a fan of Oprah, for a variety of reasons (I actually cannot stand her)(I’m being mean now, aren’t I?)(don’t worry, though, I doubt she reads my blog), but the title of this video caught my eye and now I wish I’d seen it about nine months ago. Lookie here:

HOW COOL IS THAT? I guess Facebook is good for something. Also, I now want to test this out. Anyone have a newborn I can borrow?

**

Kaylie is of the stage where she wants to do everything that I am doing, and thinks that everything I do is cool. I have a few tattoos, and the other day she told me that when she is old enough, she wants to get a tattoo exactly like mine. This is how I know she is not old enough for a tattoo. (I told her that she can get one when she is old enough to sign for it herself.)(Because no, there is no way I’d ever let my 10-year-old get a tattoo.)(Obviously.)

I introduced her to Star Wars a little while ago and she has turned into a fanatic. She watches the Star Wars movies over and over, she reads the Star Wars books, and she’s collecting Star Wars Lego. While I think this is fantastic, Noah is shaking his head and saying things under his breath about my nerdy influence on our kids. He is wrong, though. It is the influence of awesome.

Another thing she’s gotten hooked on recently is Harry Potter. I finished the first book the other day and she asked if she could read it, too. She hasn’t been too into reading lately, so I figure if she’s excited about a book, that is good news.

**

I spent the better part of last week sleep-deprived because my little boy was a vomity mess. It didn’t phase him at all, though. He’d do his thing and then want to play. He was not lethargic and he did not show any other symptoms of a stomach virus, so I’m thinking his little stomach is sensitive to something. Since there were a lot of dairy products consumed by me (why do I like milk all of a sudden?) and him (a bit of dairy-based formula), I’m guessing maybe that was the culprit. I stayed away from dairy all weekend and we had not a single pukey episode.

Has anyone else dealt with dairy sensitivities while nursing? I’d love to hear of your experience.

I was going through some boxes in the storage room a bit ago and came across a yearbook of mine from elementary school. For the longest time (I won’t admit to how long) I could not figure out what the word “avisible” meant. I never thought to ask anyone, I just assumed that was what they wanted to name the yearbook. I’ve got it now, though, don’t worry.

I will admit to a few other things I used to be confused about. When I heard the term “keyless entry” on a commercial, I’d wonder why they called it “key of the century”. Was it that special of a key? The key of the century? That no other key would ever top until the next century?

I also used to think that when a topical medication had “external use only” on it, it was only to be used under the most dire circumstances. If those circumstances included a very external emergency. I’m just going to go ahead and blame this on my sheltered upbringing, because that’s what people do, right? Blame everything on their parents? (Just kidding, mom and dad.)

The last thing I’ll cop to right now is the “at” sign. This one: @. I used to use it to mean “around”, not “at”. It makes sense, right? It’s an a, surrounded by a circle … so … a-round? AROUND? No? It means “at”? Huh.

Noah made quite a bit of fun of me when I admitted to these things. But that’s okay, because he can’t drive a standard and I can. SO THERE.

(The following is a conversation I remembered as I was preparing to shave part of Noah’s head.)
(I say “part of”, as there is only hair on part of his head.)

Noah: “Your mom just played ‘ganoo’ in our Scrabble game. That isn’t even a word.”
Me: “You mean ‘gnu’? It is so a word.”
Noah: “Pft. It is not.”
Me (remembering a third grade spelling test): “Yes it is. The new gnu knew.”
Noah: “What? What the heck is a gnu?”
Me: “It’s like an ostrich. Or something.”

(It’s not an ostrich. Not even close.)

Anyway, so afterward we made it down the elevator (with everyone inside) and down to the parking lot and to the pay station and I saw two words that made me panic a little. CASH ONLY. Crap. I never carry cash. Ever. Unless you count those couple pennies that have been in my wallet for ever and ever that do not amount to the $3.00 parking fee. I looked around in the van to see if the previous owners had left me some change, but no. This is why I didn’t park on the street, because there’s nothing but parking meters and I HAD NO CASH. I told the lady at the pay station that I only had debit and that maybe they should put a sign on the entrance to the lot about the whole we-don’t-take-debit thing. She told me that there is such a sign. Crap. She then pointed me toward the ATM machine three blocks away and told me to back up, park, and visit said ATM.

Here’s the thing, though. My baby is nearly 17lbs. And he was sleeping. And I can barely lift his car seat from the house to the van without my legs buckling. I wasn’t going to walk three blocks carrying that car seat AND prevent Liliana from being run over. So I backed up, parked, and called Noah. Because he hasn’t missed enough work due to me lately.

The thought of just driving into the exit bar thing may or may not have crossed my mind, but then I thought that if I get stuck, dealing with all of that would just take longer than just parking and waiting for Noah and I haven’t pumped enough milk to cover a jail sentence for destroying public property (I hear they’re long).

Here’s where I tell you that we temporarily have two vehicles because we bought a van. Yes, yes we did and I LOVE IT. It’s so spacious! and roomy! and big! and now Kaylie can have play dates because we can fit another kid (or two) in there! Anyway, so that meant that Noah had a vehicle to use to stop by an ATM to bring me the $3.00 it was going to take to get me out of that prison parking lot.

While we waited, Preston slept, Liliana ate some cheezies that I just happened to have with us, and I wrote an angry Facebook status about the parking lot company. I’m nothing if not classy. I also opened all the windows so that we wouldn’t die of heat stroke (just from the malaria that the mosquitoes carry). One of the parking attendants, the one I’d spoken to, came around checking … something, I don’t know what … and I told her I was just waiting for someone to bring me cash. Just in case she maybe thought I was fixing a bomb to blow up the stupid pay station so I could get the heck out of there. She asked to see my ticket and said that she’d reduce the fee from $3.00 to $1.50 because of the hassle. Score!

A couple minutes later I saw Noah’s car stop on the street in front of me so I ran out, grabbed cash from him, thanked him, and ran back to the van. I didn’t want the attendant to think that I left my children alone in a (well-ventilated) vehicle, even though the farthest away I was, was about 15 feet.

I finally paid my ticket fee, was let out without having to break the barrier bar thing, and was on my way to get my blood sucked out with a needle.

And this is why when you sell a vehicle you should leave at least three dollars in the ash tray.

*I had an ultrasound this morning on my gallbladder. Except they told me it was “squished” and so they couldn’t see it and they didn’t believe me that I hadn’t eaten anything in 10+ hours and so the whole thing was pointless and Kaylie was late for school AGAIN for no reason at all. FRUSTRATING. Both girls came into the room with me (Preston waited in the waiting room with Meg) and Liliana was excited to see “the baby” and was disappointed when I told her there was no baby in there, but that he was out in the waiting room.

*I’d like a dollar for every time I’ve been asked if Preston is my first baby.

*I’d also like a dollar for every time I’ve been asked — upon learning that Kaylie IS my child — how old I am, how old she is, and how old I was when I had her.

*Angella linked to this post by Whoorl about the Google Reader Next Button (look under Goodies). I think it is the MOST BRILLIANT THING EVER. I love it I love it I love it.

*I have three kids. A blonde, a brunette, and a red-head. There’s got to be a joke in there somewhere.

*I bought a pump yesterday. It’s name is Freedom. (I really dislike nursing in public.) (When *I* do it.) (Others doing it doesn’t bother me.)

*I went out without Preston for the first time last night. Meg and I went to a lounge three blocks away and came back 45 minutes later. I am not going to tell you how many times I checked my phone for a text from Noah while we were gone, which really wasn’t necessary. See: next bullet.

*Preston slept for eight (!8!) hours straight last night. He ate at 8pm, went to bed at 9pm, and slept until 5am. It was FABULOUS. (Except the part where I was HURTING when he finally woke up and he was quite wet.)

*I am addicted to toasted tomato/(turkey)bacon/cheese sandwiches with extra mayo. And a side of cucumber.

*We’re going pottery painting (for the first time) when Kaylie gets out of school today. (We found it this morning, beside the ultrasound place.) We’re a little excited.

Noah brought Kaylie to school and then went to work. The pain finally stopped. I was all of a sudden starving and went out to eat breakfast with Liliana. I went to wake Preston at the four-hours-since-his-last-feed mark because I wanted to make sure he wasn’t in a codeine coma. He ate and then fell asleep in my arms. I tried to put him down, but he woke up. I picked him back up and resumed rocking him. The doorbell rang. I answered the door with Preston in one arm, my hair all disheveled, in sweats, a huge t-shirt, a hoodie that had baby puke on it, and my front room littered with all the toys that Liliana had brought out thus far. The delivery dude put the package inside the door and made it easy for me to sign for the package with one hand.

Kaylie called. She didn’t feel well. I called Noah to pick her up. He did, but I couldn’t drive him back to work because Preston was finally asleep again, but he couldn’t bike back to work because he’d left the shed key at work. I needed the car to pick Meg up from the airport. By the time he and Kaylie got back to the house, Preston was awake and we all drove him back to work. When we got home, Preston was asleep in his carseat. He looked so adorable that I had to take a photo of him. The sound of the shutter scared the tar out of him and woke him up. At least we know his hearing is okay. I took him out and tried to settle him. He wasn’t having it.

It was nearly time to feed him again anyway, so I changed him, swaddled him, and lay on the bed with him while he nursed, hoping he’d fall asleep and sleep for a while. He didn’t fall asleep. By now it was lunch time and Liliana came into my bedroom saying that there was a 12 on her clock and where was her lunch? I told her to go play and I’d come out as soon as I finished, but she came in another thirteen thousand times. It’s no wonder Preston didn’t sleep.

He seemed to be happy to lay on the bed by himself, so I asked Liliana if she’d like her peanut butter sandwich toasted or not toasted. She said she wanted jam. I said we didn’t have any jam and would she like her peanut butter sandwich toasted or not toasted. She asked why we didn’t have any jam and I said WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICH TOASTED OR NOT TOASTED? Toasted. I brought her sandwich to the table and she said CUT IT UP! She hasn’t wanted it cut up lately but OKAY, I got her to ask POLITELY and cut up her sandwich.

Kaylie finished her lunch and went into her room to rest. Preston started crying. I went in and nursed him for a few minutes until he fell asleep. I came back to the table to find that Liliana had used her peanut butter sandwich as kind of a stamp and now the table was full of peanut butter splotches. Awesome. I told her to go into her Quiet Time and she started crying that she was hungry. I told her that if she was hungry, she should sit and finish her sandwich and stop spreading it all over the table. She finished and I told her to go wash her hands.

Her new fear is of the tap dripping and the bathtub running water, and when she asked if the water would drip, I said no. She went to go wash her hands. She asked if she could use a wash cloth instead, I said no, go wash your hands. Preston started crying. Liliana went in to wash her hands. She came back out and I told her again to go wash her hands and she started crying because the stool wasn’t in the bathroom. I told her to go get the stool and now she was crying AND Preston was crying. The doorbell rang again. It was another delivery guy. I was still in the same shape I was when the last delivery guy came, only this time I had two crying children in the background. Awesome!

I shut the door after he left, helped Liliana dry her hands, and went in to get Preston. It was 1pm, I was still in my pajamas, still had unbrushed teeth, still had disheveled hair, with a baby (finally) sleeping on my lap. The phone rang, but it was out of reach. I didn’t want to get up quickly and wake Preston, and I was just hoping that the ringer wouldn’t wake him either. I’d planned to spend the morning cleaning and the afternoon doing groceries, in preparation for Meg’s arrival at 3pm. Groceries weren’t happening, and I was pretty sure the house was still going to be a disaster by the time we had to leave for the airport.

I heard once that you know a real friend when you don’t clean your house before they come over. I was just gonna go with that.

Finally, at about 1:15pm, Preston went to sleep and stayed asleep when I put him down. I did the quickest main-area house sweep I could, fed Preston again at 2:15pm, packed all three kids in the car, and headed for the airport. When Meg had been at our house for an hour, she’d already made a cake with both girls “helping” and had it in the oven. In addition to that, she’s played with the girls, rocked Preston to sleep, done the dishes, braved two going-to-a-mall-with-Liliana trips, and come to the basement with me to switch the laundry because I’m a total wimp about basement, especially basements at night.

She’s here for five days, but next time I’m making her stay a month. Life is so much better with her around.

My hates-sleeping-by-himself baby is trying to convert me into a co-sleeper. I’m not a fan (I like my space and I’m scared of suffocating him) (which means that when he’s co-sleeping, I’m usually *not* sleeping, which is better than not sleeping WHILE HE’S SCREAMING), but it makes for some cute morning moments.

The last couple nights I’ve been waiting until he’s good and unconscious and then moving him to his own bed WHILE NOT BREATHING LEST HE WAKE UP, and I’ve been getting (a little) more sleep.

And I started cloth diapers, but he kind of hates them, so I’m using them half-time right now and when the disposables run out, he’ll just have to get used to them. I hope.

And due to the whole hates-sleeping-by-himself thing, he’s done a lot of not sleeping during the day lately which has turned our house into a DISASTER because I’m always with him, which really is not a problem since I quite enjoy being with him,

BUT, then he had a three-hour nap BY HIMSELF today and right this second he’s sleeping by himself IN HIS OWN BED. He is anything but inconsistent, but hey, he’s a baby.

And hey! My sister is here! Apparently it’s been a year since I last saw her, but when she told me that, I didn’t believe her until I looked at the calendar. Apparently the last year just up and disappeared because it seems like just yesterday she spent a month with us. Huh.

AND, since I don’t have anything witty to say to end this discombobulated post, CHECK THIS OUT. (The couple used to live in my home town.) Miracles happen, people.