And then I stayed true to my goal of not nursing Preston before midnight. Although Noah gave me a dirty look when I gave the little goober a (couple) bite(s) of my Frosty.

I’m quite particular about my blankets. Noah teases me constantly about my Blanket OCD. They have to come up to my chin. If they do not, I will tug at them until they do. If they will not budge, I will scootch down, pulling my pillow with me, until the blankets are at my chin. This is a benefit of being short.

When I was in the place of having a bed — and therefore all the blankets — to myself, I would wrap myself up like a taco. I’d pull the blankets under my feet (I cannot sleep unless my feet are covered) and toss and turn until I was wrapped up tight. I miss doing that. Yes, I will be one of those old people who shares a two-twin-beds room with her husband.

I once brought up the topic of separate blankets with Noah, but he did not like the idea. He who can fall asleep instantly anywhere any time with or without blankets. He who does not have Blanket OCD.

I need my blankets. I cannot sleep without them. I need them to be heavy and weighted and in the summer I struggle because I cannot sleep with nothing on me but just having a sheet is just not heavy enough but at the same time I’m roasting because our summers are so hot — which I love, because winters are so long — and I miss my five heavy blankets and the cozy winter nights in which I use them.

I could swear that my bedroom has no insulation. It is the coldest room in the house. There is a very noticeable temperature difference when I walk through my bedroom door, something that does not happen when walking into any other room in my house, especially the (one and only) bathroom, which is about five degrees warmer than the rest of the house and the room you want to be in if you are cold, except that it is a bathroom and there is a limited number of things one can do while in there, and that’s not counting the fact that the second one of my girls hears the bathroom door close (or the shower start to run), they remember that they have to use the bathroom RIGHT NOW and there goes my moment of peace, which is now a moment of hurried panic for fear of having to clean up a puddle.

But we were talking about blankets, weren’t we? Right. My cold bedroom supports my blanket addiction. It also makes me pile the blankets on my son, who also shares a room (but not a bed) with me. (Have I mentioned I cannot stand co-sleeping? DO NOT TOUCH ME WHILE I AM SLEEPING. OR FACE THE WRATH.)(I am such a treat to be married to.) I am one of those parents who, when she is cold, assumes her children are also cold. Twelve blankets for everyone! And this is why my baby sleeps in a thick fuzzy footy sleeper, because he likes to sleep on top of his blankets, rather than under them.

And now, the blankets are calling my name and I have written a bazillion words, not one of them having any point whatsoever other than to say I’d like to find a place to buy the world’s thickest, fluffiest, heaviest blanket, please. I’ll take two.

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.