And a Forty of Milk, While You're At It.

The Papoose has been baffling us with some of her word usage lately. We noticed she'd started occasionally saying what sounded like "cat-o" instead of just "cat." But only sometimes. Other times, she said "cat" just like you'd expect.

The Husband thought maybe she was trying to say, "Cat! Meow" because we often tell her animal names immediately followed by the sound they make: "Look, a duck. Quack, quack!"

Today, she's been saying not only "cat-o" but also "dog-o," "binky-o," and "cookie-o."

I have two theories. First, I call her "kiddo" a lot. Maybe she thinks -o is a suffix denoting affection or familiarity? Okay, that's the linguist nerd in me.

My other theory is much more likely. I'm pretty sure she's saying "yo." Like, "Mama, hook a baby up with some cookie, yo!"

Yeah, that's gotta be it.

FOXNews.com - Ohio Man Charged With DUI After Crashing Motorized Bar Stool - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

FOXNews.com - Ohio Man Charged With DUI After Crashing Motorized Bar Stool - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

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Gives a whole new meaning to "drinking and driving"...

These Boots Are Made for Walkin'

Picking up where Scarlet left off almost exactly one year ago, I am in need of a new pair of boots. Rain boots. Boots for when I'm working out in the garden or playing in the yard with the Papoose, and the ground is wet, and it's too cold for my Crocs (which just so happen to also be the same ones Scarlet has...great minds, and all that). And I think Ouiser has some orange Hunter boots.

I was almost drawn in by the idea of getting the Papoose and myself some matching boots. I mean, seriously, can you imagine the cuteness? I'm not the type who would dress us alike to just be out and about, but just matching boots for the garden...? Come on, what, are you made of stone?

But then I realized that she would quickly grow out of them and I would be stuck, likely for years, with these:

Which are cute. But just not me.

So, in search of some that are more me, I find that I'm torn between several. So, a la Scarlet, let's put it to a vote: Which boots should I get?






And, lest you think I've forgotten the Papoose, I've got a bid out for these on eBay:

Gobamas

As I ruthlessly rip the dandelions out of my yard and get my indoor seedlings started in their Jiffy pots, I might be a little late to this party, but it warms my liberal democratic heart to read that the Obamas are planting a victory garden. Could I love this man more? No, he's not perfect, by any stretch...who is? But I sense a sincerity and honest drive to do the right thing that I've felt from very few politicians in my life.

Okay, I'm done with the doe eyes.

FAIL.

Major Saturday morning fail. FAIL!!!

We've been looking forward to the Farmer Jason concert for months now. We even promised the Ouisers that we'd pick up his new DVD for them, as they are out of town this weekend. The Husband woke me up at 8:15 this morning and we hustled to get out of the house by 8:40. The Papoose dutifully fell asleep in the car on the way to the concert in Nashville. The directions from the venue's website were spot on and we found it without difficulty. Plenty of places to park. Arrived at 20 minutes to showtime; plenty of time to buy tickets, find a good spot, acclimate a freshly-awakened Papoose to the crazed toddlers that make up Farmer Jason's groupies.

She was still asleep when we parked, so I sat in the car while the Husband went up to the box office.

"They sold out two weeks ago."

What?!?!? Fail. Major fail.

Thank goodness she's too young to be disappointed. Heck, she's too young to wake up when you turn off the car. She stayed asleep all the way back to Dickson.

I assuaged my guilt by buying her not one, but two big, plastic balls at Walmart.

"A Plague on Both Your Potties!"

I have potentially big news. News that is going to drive Ouiser and Toddler Tamer into cahoots to plot my untimely demise. Or possibly just to sneak pixi stix into my daughter's bedtime milk or shave four-letter words into my dog or something equally devious.

The Papoose peed in the potty.

Well, technically, on the edge of the potty. And it was only a few drops. But still.

SQUEEEE!!!

I just ordered her a potty from Amazon last week. She's been showing a few possible-readiness signs lately: sometimes going to a corner to do her business, once running to the toilet after she peed on the floor during naked time and I spontaneously suggested she tell me the next time she needed to go potty. It just seemed like it couldn't hurt to have one sitting around the house so she could consider the idea. I also ordered a couple of books on potty training. One for me and one for her. Those haven't arrived yet.

But the potty itself arrived yesterday and I unpacked it today while Ouiser and her daughter, S (who is not yet potty trained, but is definitely on her way), were over to play. S helped me show the new potty to the Papoose, who promptly sat on it. But we were playing, so I didn't pursue anything. It sat in the living room while we continued with our day.

After dinner tonight, we were playing in the living room again. She sat on the potty so I took her pants and diaper off and offered some suggestions about what she might do. She sat there and I offered her books. She wiggled around a lot, acting a little uncomfortable. It might still be too big for her, even though I ordered the one that everyone else complained was too small in reviews. She's only 16 months-old, so I figured smaller was better. Anyway, next thing I knew, she'd gotten up and sat in my lap and I felt a small wetness on her bottom. I looked at the potty and there was just the smallest smattering of liquid to be found. Could have been a lucky coincidence and may never happen again for two years. Or more.

Or I could be the luckiest SOB ever!!!

But I'm not counting chickens. And I don't even know how to proceed. I haven't read the damn book yet. I don't even have the damn book yet. I didn't even tell her what a great thing she'd done because I didn't realize what she had done at first and then I was in such shock: Did she have her sippy cup nearby? Was it drool? Dog drool? But I'm pretty confident it was what it was meant to be. So I guess I'll offer her some potty time after every meal until I get that book and figure out how to capitalize on this.

Keep your fingers crossed for me because Ouiser and TT will be throwing all kinds of voodoo and Unforgivable Curses my way.

First 30

I was updating the Papoose's baby book last night (all her canines have broken through!) and started listing all the words she has now. She's a wordy girl. Usually that word is "no," with a close second favorite of "go." Right hand to god, I heard her say "no" in her sleep the other night.

1. no
2. go (or Go away)
3. mum-mum (food)
4. drink
5. yeah
6. down (or Get down)
7. again (translates as "read this")
8. bless you
9. thank you
10. binky
11. brush teeth
12. night night
13. bathtime
14. towel
15. dog
16. cat
17. moo
18. meow
19. shoes
20. coat
21. cookie
22. goyurt (yogurt)
23. nana (banana)
24. mama
25. dada
26. Chewy
27. all done
28. kak kak (quack quack)
29. hi
30. bye bye

I think that's it. That's actually more than I remembered last night. I kind of couldn't believe there were so many when I started counting because 99% of what she says is "no" and "go." She likes to cut to the chase.

Addendum: How did I forget #31?!? "Uh-oh" is totally up there in the top three favorite words of the Papoosekin.

Who Knew?

So, I'm trying this new-fangled thing--it's not a fad diet, I swear--where I go to bed in time to get at least seven hours of sleep, and, also, you have to exercise a few times per week. I've only been doing it for a few days now, but it's really working already! I only had one cup of coffee today and it never even occurred to me to sleep during the Papoose's nap. It's after 7 and I've picked up the house and helped the Husband put the Papoose to bed. And my brain is functioning at a level that allows it to string words together to form, you know, a thought.

Science is crazy, I tell ya.

Love Me Some Dooce

I'm sorry, this is long, but it's the funniest thing I've read in a long time.

Catching Up

I woke up today and it was March. And all of a sudden it's been two weeks since my last post, which was a bs post. The one before that consisted of more pictures than words. My last real post seems to have been in January. I don't know what is up with me. It's been months since I've really committed to my blog. I was talking to Ouiser about it the other day, when she threatened to start verbally berating me on her blog, and I think it's a lack of organization. I have a pile of papers on my desk that's half as tall as I am. I have no cleaning schedule yet. I'm trying to figure out how to feed my non-vegan husband while I'm trying to eat as many vegan meals as I can. I've not been successfully devoting time to my creative outlets. This is me trying to do better by myself.

So let me catch you up. Don't bother looking for a theme here. These are totally random snapshots of our recent life.

This is another sneak peak of the Papoose's kitchen, being hand-crafted by the Husband. This thing will be an heirloom by the time he's done with it, I swear. The dark circles are burners; the hole is for the sink.
The Papoose very much enjoys the part of my new semi-vegan diet that includes fruit smoothies every morning. This is my cup. I just drink out of the cup I blend it in with my immersion blender. It's a wee bit big for the wee one, though...


We had our first trip to the zoo! The Papoose and S had lots of fun. S was way more into the animals than the Papoose, though the Papoose did appreciate the giraffes, one of her faves.
First meal at Pei Wei. I thought about giving her chopsticks, but she had other plans.

For those of you who know him, is this the face of the Husband or what?
Going through the Papoose's old baby clothes. Unbelievable how tiny they were!
Though, clearly, she thinks she should be even bigger at this point. You're not stealing my shoes yet, kiddo!
As her aunt quipped, you don't get much more organic than this! (The Husband spreading corn gluten on the backyard.)
If you look closely, you can still see a piece of corn gluten on her lip...

Another Style Quiz

Here's another style quiz (also from How about orange...), which I found to be MUCH more accurate than the last one, though possibly a little less fun. In this one, you rate pictures of different rooms based on the overall feel. My results were 47% rustic revival, 47% arts and crafts, and 6% modern elegance, which seems 100% true to me.

Let me know what results you get!

Blue Skies

We just spent a lovely morning at the park with Ouiser, S, and some other friends. The Papoose was so worn out from all the sunshine and play that she passed out in the car about 30 seconds from our house. She didn't even wake up to S screaming about how sad she was that we were leaving.

January in Pictures

Wow. I just realized that I haven't given you any Papoose pictures since Christmas. Usually, I've received threatening emails by now. I'm surprised I don't have readers picketing outside my house right now. Wait, maybe I'd have to have readers first.

Just kidding! I love you, readers! Please, don't go away. No, seriously. I know your ISPs. I can find you.

Heh.

Now that are you're all feeling creeped out and mildly threatened....Quick! Look! Cute baby!!!!

What's Your Style?

Ikea's website has a style quiz that's kind of fun.

They deemed my style Country Rustic, which is no surprise to me. That's pretty much what I grew up with.

They further classified my as 20% modern, 20% Scandinavian, and 60% country.

Hey, it's Ikea. What do you want?

Let me know what your results are!

(link via How About Orange)

Baked Chicken Fingers

In honor of the Great Vegan Experiment of 2009, I thought I'd pass on a now-banned (or at least greatly modified) recipe. Scarlet Lily is looking for things she can freeze in advance for dinners, now that she's preggers. Here's one that recently got the Husband AND the Mr. Ouiser seal-of-approval (or so they said...)

Baked Chicken Fingers

• 1/2 c wheat germ
• 1/2 c unprocessed bran
• 1/4 c plain, dried breadcrumbs
• 2 Tbsp ground flaxseed
• 2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 lbs chicken tenders (I just used breast halves and cut them to a roughly tender shape)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In food processer, combine first seven ingredients (through garlic), 1 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Pulse to combine. Add oil; pulse to combine. Transfer to large bowl.
2. Set a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet. In a shallow bowl, lightly beat eggs. Dip chicken in eggs (allowing excess to drip off), then dredge in crumb mixture, patting to adhere. Place on rack and transfer to oven.
3. Bake until chicken is opaque throughout, 12-14 min.

393 cal per serving.
Serves 4.

This recipe can easily be doubled or even tripled for freezing. Serve with condiments of choice. We enjoy a sweet chili ginger sauce from The Ginger People.

Meme

After reading Ouiser's list of books on her bedside table, I was inspired to start a meme of the same topic. So here's what's on my bedside table, books and otherwise:

• Eat to Live, by Joel Fuhrman, MD (see previous post)
  
• Fingersmith, by Sarah Waters (my current book club read, very good, full of unexpected plot twists)
  
• Becoming Vegan, by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina (haven't started this yet)
  
• The Fiery Cross, by Diana Gabaldon (the fifth book in the Outlander series, historical romance with impressively accurate period details, addictive)
• How Babies Talk, by Roberta Michnik Golinkoff and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek (I first read this in grad school and it was great, very layperson-friendly; rereading it now that I have my own child)
• Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones, by Amy Butler and Colin McGuire (not so much reading this as daydreaming about making all the projects. I am so backed up on my list of projects that I could probably be booked for a year straight. I love Amy Butler, all her designs, fabrics, etc., and pretty much demanded the Husband by this for my birthday back in November. He didn't, but his aunt did. Thanks again, L!)
• Brsinger, by Christopher Paolini (this is the third book in the Inheritance series. The author was 17 when he wrote the first one. Great for fans of Tolkien and other fantasy epics.)
• A Greener Christmas, by Sheherazade Goldsmith (a gift from Ouiser, and I'm so excited to read it, but it doesn't feel exactly urgent in January...)
• a lamp
• a box of tissues
• a bottle of linen spray (I'm sure this has chemicals in it that are horrible for me, but I've had the bottle for years and use it every once in a while, and quite enjoy it when I do. I won't buy another, but do intend to use this one up.)
• baby monitor
• various hair accessories
• various parenting and home organization magazines

That's a lot. No wonder the table looks so cluttered. I'll probably soon be adding Eclipse to the pile, too, as I don't think I can hold out any longer. Ouiser and I saw the Twilight movie last Sunday and I haven't stopped thinking about the third book since then.

That's it for me. Die Frau: tag, you're it. What's on your bedside table?

Breaking News

I said I was going to update you as I did that Body & Soul Challenge from the Martha Steward people. Obviously, I haven't. The experiment went a little off-track and I didn't want to go public with my plan until I was sure what that would be. I may get a lot of slack for this, because I know many people do, but here it is:

I'm going to try becoming a vegan.

Ish. That is, I'm going to try out a mostly vegan lifestyle, but I'm not going to be super-strict about it. I am doing it for both health and weight-loss reasons. It feels more health-motivated at a gut level, but I also don't think there's much chance I'll stick with it if it doesn't also result in some significant weight loss, so I'm not sure what that says about the impetus.

I don't much like meat. Never have. Sure, I enjoy a good burger once in a while, but not like other people do. I barely like steak at all. I do like turkey at Thanksgiving, but would be fine without it as long as I made an exception for gravy. I'll miss bacon, but I rarely ate that anyway, so maybe I won't miss it much after all. Cheese is a slight issue. If it's in front of me, I'm going to want it. But on a normal, daily basis, no biggie.

What will be a biggie for me has nothing to do with veganism at all. I plan to attempt to severely limit refined carbohydrates.

I've come to the conclusion, after a lifetime of struggling with weight issues and eating problems, that I think I have an honest-to-goodness addiction to sugar. I don't use that word lightly. Addictions are real, nasty things and it's not a term to throw around. Alcohol, drug, gambling...these addictions ruin lives. My life is not in ruin. Nowhere near. But how else do you explain a near pathological (maybe not near, maybe actual) tendency to binge on one kind of food: refined carbs, especially sugars. I can't guess at the number of times I've eaten a whole carton of ice cream, box of cookies, pan of brownies in one sitting. I know, most people have done that at times, and will again. But it's not normal how often I do this. How overwhelming the urge is. I used to think I just had weak will power, but anyone who knew me as an athlete knows that's not it. I crave sugar on a level that seems different from other people's. This was the main reason I did that detox week through the Body & Soul program.

And you know what? I kicked the sugar addiction. And it was easy. I just never knew how to do it before. I just ate a bunch of veggies, oatmeal, fruit, legumes, and brown rice. I was never hungry. Not too bored either.

Now I'm reading Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman, MD. I won't try to review the book here. Head to Amazon if you're interested. The gist of it is nothing new: Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much. Limit your animal proteins. Make salads the main meal. Get educated about nutrition.

So tomorrow I start the six-week plan, which is a much stricter version of what the book ultimately advises you to do long-term. I think the point of the initial rigidity is just to jump start the weight loss, keep you motivated, keep things simple while you get the hang of new food prep habits. I'll be attempting to subsist on a ton of veggies, lots of fruit, some beans, legumes, tofu, and limited amounts of grains, starchy veggies, nuts. No animal proteins. No dairy. No juice or dried fruit. Obviously no refined carbs.

Wish me luck! We'll see how it goes. If I hate it, I'll quit. But it's not so different from what I've been doing, with very little effort, so I think I've got a good shot at sucess. I'll keep you posted...

Busy Bee

The Husband has been displaying some mad carpentry skillz of late. Witness:
Our new dining room table. It's very much still in progress, but you get the gist. (And that's our basement, yo, not the dining room. So don't hate on it too much.)And the beginnings of the Papoose's custom play kitchen. I asked the Husband to stand next to it for scale, but I guess kitchen building is exhausting work. Especially when you're on your cell at the same time. This picture is already obsolete as he's been such a busy bee out in the garage working at all hours, but he's got a goal of finishing it this month, so wish him luck!

You've Got Mail!

The advantage to being late in getting your gifts out to people is that by missing the rush, you just might find that your recipients finally have enough time on their hands to give your gift the attention and blogspace that it deserves.

Two of my dearest Tucson friends (although, one is technically now living in San Fran) sent the Papoose these birthday and Christmas presents that arrived yesterday:
There are very few stuffed animals that the Papoose actually pays attention to so far. One was given to her by these same friends at her birth. Another was given to her by her Nummi and Nona (a blue-footed booby). And this one, an UglyDoll named Moxy.

Inside that cute pink and green box? A hat so awesome I want one for myself!There was also a Rody, for which she's still a little small, but in which she's very interested; and Little Pea, which has been on our wishlist for a while. Little Pea is not yet in the Papoose's favor as we are currently in a phase where only five or so books are tolerated, and these at least a dozen times a day are not so much tolerated as demanded. I often want to shoot myself. If I have to read or watch the DVD of Goodnight, Gorilla one more time, I think I will probably die.

The Papoose received many other awesome gifts this Christmas, so I hope no generous givers out there feel slighted. The holidays were kind of a barage of wrapping paper and cardboard boxes and fun. But it was impossible to keep up. I'm still writing thank you notes. Many more thank you notes. We are more grateful than my meager attempts at expressing it will ever show.

Of course, the box is still the best toy of all.

In Which I Spout the Most Random Assortment of Complaints Ever

It's too cold to do anything.

That's my excuse anyway, for being stuck on the couch under a quilt, for still being in my pajamas, for having no ambition to get anything accomplished today, for why I seriously considered having donuts for dinner tonight instead of the chicken fingers I had planned (for the Papoosekin and the Husband; I'm still on the semi-vegan week plan).

It's also my excuse for the blogger's block from which I suffer, for the grocery shopping I haven't done, for the nephew's gift I haven't started sewing, for the thank you notes I haven't written.

I did sweep today. And paid my ASHA dues. So that's something.

It's 18 degrees here. I know it's much colder elsewhere. My mom wrote me that it was 16 below zero this morning back home in The Land of Ice and Snow, as I like to refer to it. To myself.

But it's cold enough that I can't take the Papoose outside to play. The Ouiser's pipes froze last night, and, although I can't get in touch with Ouiser herself, the Husband has been in touch with Mr. Ouiser, and I think it's safe to say that they're having a hellish day.

It also doesn't help that the Papoose got up at 4:40 this morning. I don't know what she was thinking. She had the compassion to sit there quietly for about half an hour after the Husband gave her a binky, but, of course, we couldn't get back to sleep. And now her schedule is thrown so far off for the day that by 6 pm tonight, she's going to be in a ferociously exhausted Mood. The kind where all she wants is to be held and will throw a fit all the way until bedtime if we put her down. So, there's great fun to look forward to there.

That is all.