Overheard at our House

The Scene: Nate is showing Madelaine the motions to Itsy-Bitsy Spider.

Nate: "See, the Itsy-Bitsy Spider..." [Pivots fingers in motion.] "It's a dihedral rotation."

Cusotmer Assistance Needed in the Shoe Department...

You know it just occurred to me- maybe my first problem is attempting to buy shoes in a store where a salesperson has to be paged to the shoe department ("shoe aisle"...? yeah). Could I be on to something here?

Anyway, as some of you (*cough* Adrienne *cough*) may know, I have always been Shoe Challenged. I blame it on spending my formative college and young adult years with Mathematicians, people who might or might not be wearing matching socks at any given moment, let alone fashionable footwear. Recently I have been working on improving my image a little bit, in a sort of interested but ambivalent attempt to conform to more, shall we say, traditional forms of Modern Feminine Style. ("The chunky, clunky combat boots," Adrienne says. "I just... I wouldn't wear them with that dress."*)

This is where you come in, gentle reader. I need your help. Specifically, this is my delimma:

1) We live in a place with famously Cold Winters.
2) When it is Really, Really cold, I usually either wear pants to church (dress pants or khakis [are they called chinos now...? I'm so stuck in the 90's...]) or long skirts. Back in the day, Pre-Lactation, I wore dresses, but as I don't have any nursing dresses, I think I can safely say I haven't worn a dress in over a year (isn't that sad?) So with my Dockers, I feel happy wearing comfortable socks and my brown loafer-type things, that look something like this...

But with my black dress pants? And long black skirts? I'm a little clueless. I don't exactly think this

would work well in the snow and ice. Especially since I have a feeling you're not supposed to wear comfy thick black tights with them...?


I used to have this pair of black mocs (?? is that the right term??) that I wore all the time with black tights and skirts... they looked something like this, only with thinner soles:


Probably not very stylish, but super comfy and practical to wear in snow and ice. [Did I mention? I trip over my own feet frequently? On flat, dry ground? I am a nightmare on ice? Also I carry my CHILD around now?!?]

These shoes just bit the bullet (I'm pretty sure I bought them at Shoe Parade in 2001 for $20, so they certainly had a good life...), and I need to find a replacement for them.

So my question is: suggest a style of shoe (links would be helpful) that I can wear with some kind of sock or hosiery (you need to be very specific explaining what type) with long (mid-calf-to-ankle-length) skirts and pants when it's COLD out.

Now, I think an obvious choice might be tall black boots, right? With an almost-pointy toe and a token attempt at a heel...? Maybe like these:


I could wear these with both pants AND skirts, right? The only thing concerning me is that it's hard to find boots like this in my price range (the above pair is $173 at Zappos.com. Neb's shoe budget is about $20, maybe $30 at the MOST. I found some brown boots for $10 at The Shoe Department a couple of months ago, but that's RARE.) Also, boots are kind of a Bold Shoe Statement, aren't they? It might be nice to (also?) have something a little simpler. So toss me some ideas, people. I need help!!

Love, Neb

*You should know that I doubt Adrienne ever actually made this statement, as she is Kind and Caring and would never give me unsolicited fashion advice, but after I tried to pick her brain for a LONG time about shoes to wear with dresses and skirts, she did come up with "Maybe more feminine styles...?"

PS I just noticed my child has static cling between her nightgown and her diaper. Isn't that adorable?

Madelaine's Pediatrician Appointment

So apparently, our child's head is still in the "100th percentile."

[What? That's the sound of my Inner Mathematician weeping.]

The chicken has always had quite the noggin, but this was the first time anyone has actually commented on it. The New Pediatrician looked at the chart, looked quizzically at Madelaine's head, took out her tape measurer and tried to measure again a couple of times, asked us if she had always had a big head, looked at the chart again, and asked us if she had ever had a head ultrasound.

Huh?!?

I tried to reassure her, and dredged up from my memory that we also got a "100th percentile" announcement at her nine month visit (albeit with much less drama and fanfare.) She seemed appeased.

Later:

Doctor: "So does she drink from a cup?"
Me: "No, she's just nursing."
Doctor: "Does she drink whole milk?"
Me: "No, she's just nursing."
Doctor: "But I mean, at mealtimes...? What does she drink?"
Me: "She eats food at the table, and then she nurses. She doesn't really drink water or anything- she's just nursing."
Doctor: "So how many times a day does she nurse?"
Me: "Oh, all the time, at least 20...?"
Doctor: "And she nurses a lot at night, too?"
Me: "Yes, all night..."
Doctor: [stopping typing, paying attention now]: "You really need to try to stop that. It will interfere with her growth, Blah Blah Blah..."
Me: "You mean, she'll get too big, or she won't grow fast enough?" [Chicken is now 24 lbs 9 oz, 30 inches tall, which puts her in the fifty-something-eth percentile for height, eighty-something-eth for weight.]
Doctor: "[Something indecipherable] growth hormones secreted at night [something indecipherable]. Plus, she needs her sleep, and you need your sleep, she needs 8-10 hours of sleep a night..."
Me: "Oh, she and I both get plenty of sleep- she sleeps in bed with me, on a mattress on the floor."
Doctor: [Stunned silence. Lots of typing in computer.] "So... she's not drinking from a cup. She's still nursing at night. [More typing.] And you said she's not walking yet?"
Me: "Right."
Doctor: [Silence. Typing.]

I can just see her notes now... "Significant developmental delays. Parents resistant to behavioral modification. Reassess at next visit."

Later:
Doctor [reading from computer screen]: "Be sure you keep cleaning supplies out of reach lock cabinets use outlet covers don't leave her alone in the water don't let her play outdoors by herself when someone nearby is using heavy equipment like a lawnmower [Ed note: ???] praise her good behavior ignore temper tantrums push-pull toys are good baby can eat foods you eat but peanuts popcorn raisins are a choking hazard and should be avoided keep her out of the kitchen while you're cooking do you have any questions?"

Us: "Nope, I think we're good to go here..."

[Honestly... couldn't they just come up with a drive-through vaccination service? It would save us time...]

Neb

Aunt Adrienne's Visit

We had fun at the playground! There's a video, too, but it's sideways at the moment- maybe Nate can turn it at school, so that I can post it later.

Hi! Do you mind if I just check under your shirt to see if you have any milk...?

Hi! This is Madelaine! Mama keeps saying how she wants to write my Birthday Post, but my birthday was a long, long time ago, so I figured I'd help her out and write some things about myself, in the meantime. Anytime she wants to write about me it takes her for-EV-er because she has to upload and re-size and edit and pick out all the pictures of me she wants to use (and, believe me, that's A LOT of pictures... the woman goes crazy with the camera sometimes), and THEN she has to write the Mushy Stuff. (Did you read the 6 month post? Talk about SAP, it was like a MAPLE TREE over there...) She takes 4-EVER to write Mushy Stuff. About how she loves me and I'm so cute and yada yada yada. Well. I AM cute, I have to give her that...



So! What would you like to know? How about this- I'll pretend I have a Facebook page, and tell you about my favorite activities and books and stuff! I don't know WHY Mama won't let me have a Facebook page yet- ALL my friends have one- and I know more about the computer than she does!! Sometimes she lets me sit on her lap when she's at the computer, and I totally try to change all her settings to mess with her head. I press all the buttons! And she has no idea how to fix it! It's lots of fun.

Name: Madelaine Elimae. Pretty, isn't it? :-)
Activities: Wreaking havoc; Exploring (Mama calls it "Getting Into Things"); Looking adorable; Waving at my adoring public from shopping carts or my stroller; Playing Peek-a-boo; Dancing and playing my piano; Going with Mama in the car to drop off Daddy at Big Work; Splashing all the water out of my bathtub; Reading stories with Daddy at bedtime; Snuggling and nursing to sleep with Mama in the Little Big Bed; Finding alternative nursing positions; Trying to figure out how to run around the living room and nurse at the same time; Shocking my parents when they realize how many words I recognize now; Whining when I don't get my own way; Laughing so hard that I get hiccups and have to nurse to get rid of them; Burying my head in Mama's chest when I feel shy.

Interests: How electric cords work; the contents of the bathroom cabinets; tasting new foods like vegetables birthday cake; the funny noises Mama makes when my poopy diapers leak everywhere; psychological experiments of all kinds on my parents, like measuring their frustration levels when I'm doing something really cute and they grab their cameras and I stop; pulling on Daddy's leg hair to find out just where the borderline of "too hard" is; knocking on Daddy's bedroom door when he's asleep to see if I can get him to wake up; watching bigger kids play (they can walk around without holding on!?!?); putting things in my mouth (especially shiny things like Mama's necklaces); playing with my new sippy cup (Daddy took the valve out so I could drink the water easier, and now I can spray water all over the carpet! It's like a combination of bathing and nursing, my two favorite things at once!)

Favorite toys: Junk mail envelopes; Mama's keys; the Remote Control; plastic containers; plastic bags; grown-up books and papers; Mama's calculator; pens and markers; fake credit cards that I'm allowed to play with; plus occasionally all the actual toys that people spent money on for me

Favorite books: I like all my story books a lot. :-) I can even read them upside down!

Favorite movies/ TV: I just watch whatever Mama and Daddy are watching. Mama tends to watch shows where someone is having a baby, decorating a house, or picking out a new outfit. Daddy tends to watch shows where things blow up a lot. I just like to run around Exploring while they're distracted by the TV.

What else?? I guess I could tell you a lot more, but the grown-ups want the computer back, so I'll just show you one more picture.

Hey! Text me sometime!

Love, Madelaine

On a beautiful autumn day, our hearts rejoice!

Heh, I should go into the greeting card industry... sorry about that...

I just wanted you to all know that I have cinnamon vanilla coffee and pumpkin fritter bread for breakfast! Yum! (Well, technically the coffee is half-generic-decaf, half-cheap-brand cinnamon, with vanilla syrup. I bought this big bottle of vanilla syrup that I thought would last a long time, and it's disappearing surprisingly fast. I think Someone around here must be drinking a lot of coffee. Probably Madelaine...)





Speaking of the Small Human, here's a short movie of her playing with her Glow Worm- she can now press the button to make it play songs! Excuse the poor camera-handling. Technical shortcomings can be overlooked in light of the fact that there is about 1.2 seconds of authentic baby dancing in here, no? Also, some blinding Smiles...

Have a beautiful day!
Neb

Ha ha! After everyone gives up on actually checking this blog, I post!

Hey y'all!

You know what gets in the way of me posting on here? My OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE PERFECTIONIST tendencies. (We've discussed this before, right?) It's not as if I haven't posted on here before about this, but, you know, it always chases me... See, I want to write Perfect Posts, complete with carefully edited and captioned Pictures, and that's Hard. So I just don't post at all! Isn't that sad? Well, today, I'm breaking the bad habit.

So what's new with you folks? What's new with US, you say? Well, we just got back from baby story time at the library, where my little person stared, bewildered, for the first 10 minutes or so, snuggled in mommy's lap, and then when the Library Lady read a story about a farm, there was wide-eyed, open-mouthed beaming. It was just way too cute.

Here's what I REALLY want to blog about today:

*NEB: On the Economy! (A Rare Topic for her!)*

I don't know about you guys, but the recent headlines are making me a little... well... nervous. What's all this about the Zillion Million Dollars that the government is using to "bail out" the Big Financial Companies? (What is a "financial company," anyway? If they're not tutoring math or selling something tangible like potholders [or, even better- Baked Goods!], I don't really understand the point of their existence...?) I haven't yet found a good article written for Lay People (read: people like Neb, people whose understanding of "the economy" consists of managing her husband's paycheck, paying rent, buying groceries, and shopping for Baby Clothes online) that explains what's really going on here. Reading sites like cnn.com, I just have this impression of our economy as this giant, teetering skyscraper made of straw and glass, ready to fall and shatter if the wind blows a little too hard for a second...

Maybe now is a good time to not have a whole lot of savings (and only a moderate amount of debt.) If you don't have much to lose, you don't have much to worry about, right? I guess I just wish I had more information- like, what is likely to happen if The Big Bailout goes through? And what will happen if it doesn't?

I'll just be over here hanging on to my little bit of the skyscaper, hoping the boat doesn't go down, cause I can't swim... (wait, we're in the water now?)

Neb! (The Imperfect Blogger)