Notes to self

There's a reason I haven't knit the Baby Surprise Jacket in many years...I forgot how this damn thing sucks your soul. It's for one of Mark's coworkers who's due in October, so I do have some time, but man, this is boring. Oh, and I'm using sport-weight acrylic. Every time I work on an acrylic project for any real amount of time, I remember how I dislike working with it. I need to stick with cotton for baby stuff!

Yesterday I realized that Rosina was taking Got Your Nose very seriously--not that she was upset, but that I think she actually believed it a bit. I felt bad and had to let her in on the secret. :)

Reasons My Child Is Crying (one of these days I may even submit a photo):

-We wouldn't let her lick a table knife. 

-I flushed before letting her inspect the contents. My contents, that is. Want to see your poopeeee!

-We wouldn't let her play with a cheap toy badminton racket--one from which the head is easily removed, exposing a sharp spike (seriously, this thing is Bag O' Glass territory...)

Tomorrow I finally have the appointment with the GYN surgeon, and I'm glad Mark is able to make it. I'm not planning on making any decisions any time soon, but I did write a blog post the other day (unfortunately eaten by the Interwebs) where I mentioned reading a lot about the side effects of having a hysterectomy or oophotectomy at my age. They're pretty dire, honestly. I mean, if I'm basically on hormone replacement already--without the literal years taken off my life expectancy, given the immediately increased risks of stroke, heart disease, osteoporosis, cancer--than I may as well keep things the way they are, with maybe  some laparoscopic surgery to clean things up a bit. (Bonus: three days' recovery time, versus six weeks!) a That said, I don't think I'm seeing any changes since going back on the old meds. My followup with the RE isn't for three weeks--and I STILL haven't heard from the nutritionist that's supposed to call me!--so who knows. If I think too much about it all, I get pretty upset--not having control over my body's even basic systems, fear of gaining even more weight, diabetes of course (I know my bloodwork came back fine--but I still feel like a ticking timebomb). Ugh. 

Too short!

All clear on the pacifier front!  Rosina has asked for it at night and before her nap, but we just keep telling her that they are gone, having been "sent to Baby Maddie". It appears to be holding her off...

Inspired by the prankish theft of a small baby dinosaur model from the state history museum last week (it has been returned, and I think the thieves are charged with grand larceny! Some prank), we decided to drop by and visit the dinosaur exhibits ourselves today. Rosina was stoked, of course, but still gets a bit freaked out because they're so big... We had lunch in the lower-level, and I must say that the fried-green-tomato BLT with Brie is not as good as the Brie grilled cheese with apple chutney I had there last winter. That thing was perfection...

We had some old friends over for dinner last night, which was really nice. The weather was perfect for hanging out on the screened-in porch after dinner. Also, I was pleasantly reminded how good vanilla ice cream is with fruit. Mango, peaches, cherries... Just wow. 

My dance teacher is only teaching beginners this session, so tomorrow will be basically the first Monday in years I won't either go to class or feel guilty for missing it. :) Now that my plantar fasciitis is better-behaved, I should be able to start practicing again. I was planning on taking bellydance in September--which I haven't taken in a while!--so I'll need to brush up on my hip shimmies. Also, maybe I can figure out how to coordinate a camel, once my shoulder stops doing its thing. My PT appointment tomorrow is actually at a new dancer clinic my PT and an ex-dancer orthopedist have started. I should be able to get some recommendations for my feet--and how not to flare them up!--and maybe get some more advice for my neck/shoulder.

Very busy day tomorrow--art class, tree service, appointment, working!--so I'll sign off. I think I will need another weekend after tomorrow!

Blah blah blah

Something I should not notice or care about: the voice actor who plays Prince Wednesday on Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood's voice is changing. (See also: Signs that you watch too much PBS Kids.) Also: the amount of Auto-Tune they have to use for Katerina Kitty-Cat's voice actor is unacceptable. I mean, there use way too much Auto-Tune to begin with (as does the universe), but like, why did they even hire that girl if she couldn't sing in tune?  Meh. 

In other preschooler news, I decided to go all-in and take away the pacifier yesterday afternoon. Fifteen minutes of screaming later, it was apparent that the nap was not happening. Mark apparently got Rosina to bed last night without much trouble, but I have no idea what this afternoon will hold. We have to drop off the Jetta across town for a service once Mark leaves the office, so her nap will be abbreviated either way. 

Tomorrow morning: family haircut time! That sounds way more Duggar-y than it actually is. We're all just going together, with Mark's appointment with a different stylist 30 minutes after mine, and Rosina's basically tacked onto the end of mine. She hasn't had a haircut since November (I can maintain her bangs, mostly), and I don't think I've been since February! My split ends are making me sad... 

(More) Housekeeping

Today is apparently the day I try to catch up on things.  I am currently uploading more than 200 pictures to Rosina's Shutterfly site, and it seemed like a good time to get my ass in gear and update my freaking blog already.  Poor neglected 13-year-old blog... (My blog has made it to menarche and likes to slam doors and fantasize about...hmm, about whom would an almost 13-year-old fantasize these days?  Sadly, I probably fantasized about Kurt Cameron or something.  Uh, the singer from Ylvis with the floppy hair?  David Wright on the Mets is pretty hot as well.)

First thing:  I am going to swear.  This song totally fucking ROCKS.  Like, I can't even.  It saddens me that I specifically remember denigrating the White Stripes when they came out, assuming they could not play their instruments.  Um, evidence to the contrary, right here. 



I mean, WHAT WAS THAT.

Also, we have had some adventures.  We did indeed buy a new laptop--of course, it's taken me three months to actually put photos on it, so there you go... We had a nice visit from my mother, sister-in-law and nieces in early May, then met them and my brother at Sesame Place in late May.  We picked just the right time to go, as the temperatures were about 15 degrees below normal (wearing cardigans post-Memorial Day = heaven), and there was a soft-open for a whole new section of rides.  We then drove up to New York to visit my grandparents and spend more time with my brother's family.  Things did get old with my mother.  (Also, kind of seeing a divergence in parenting styles here:  my mother gave my then-16-month-old niece a timeout for biting.  Can a baby that young even understand that kind of thing?!  Ugh.)  But we survived.  I even managed to drive back alone with Rosina (over two days--there was a lovely visit with the squishy and adorable Maddie in between legs), since Mark had to fly home after a few days.

Once we returned, it was time for potty training boot camp.  We would've preferred it happen organically, but with her having already turned three, it probably wasn't going to happen on its own--plus she had to be ready in time for preschool in September.  It was a rough first week, with lots of accidents everywhere.  Just when I was beginning to doubt it would ever catch on, I had an elucidating conversation with Rosina (benefit of training late: your kids can tell you what's up):  we were talking about poop, as you do, and where different people and kids that she knew pooped.  When I asked her where she pooped, she said, "In my diaper!", tugging on her training pants.  That's when I realized that she thought training pants (actual Gerber ones, plus some underwear I tricked out with padding) were just a really ineffective diaper.  Eureka!  She went commando for the next three days, and finally figured it out! And the first week wasn't really a waste, as it got her really used to the ritual. (Including the reward M&Ms and stickers.) It hasn't been perfect--today she peed ALL OVER the bathroom floor because she timed it wrong--but that was the first real accident in a few weeks.  (She is still in a diaper at night and for her nap--she's a big sleeper--but we may be ready to eliminate the latter soon.) We did learn that we need to carry around her foam seat because she's scared to sit on a toilet without it (legitimately--she is still quite small), but I can deal with that.  Anyway, long story short, POTTY OUT, we are awesome, etc. 

Having to spend two weeks at home cleaning up pee was actually fairly convenient, as my old modern dance-acquired plantar fasciitis decided to act up.  It was really bad for about a week, and even now it's not great.  I think it was from wearing two different pairs of summer shoes that were both too big and had zero arch support.  Anyway, for the past month I've only been in sneakers equipped with surprisingly helpful Dr. Scholl's inserts, and I've been doing lots of stretching.  In other health news, I did actually get my act together and make some long-overdue doctor's appointments.  My new GP seems very nice, though I haven't spent much time with her yet.  My reproductive endocrinologist is really great--an actual published expert on PCOS, among other things--and we have a game plan going forward.  (I'm currently back on my old pill, Yasmin, as well as going on extended-release metformin since the regular stuff made me so sick for so long.  All of my bloodwork came back fine--even my testosterone levels were normal, which was unexpected--and I will have a follow-up in a few weeks, along with a gynecological surgeon to talk about possible surgical intervention.  The more I think about it, since I'm basically on hormone replacement anyway, perhaps a hysterectomy and/or oophorectomy would cause unnecessary side effects, and laporoscopic ablation/cyst-zapping would be more beneficial--plus I won't be housebound for six weeks. Jeez.) I also finally saw an orthopedist about my flared-up bulging disc.  I'm in PT right now, and the exercises do help a lot, but I still wake up stiff and sore every morning.  I just cannot get the hang of sleeping in a normal human position that doesn't result in numb arms or a very sore neck.  Still working on that.

Fiber news:  I did indeed start a fingering-weight cardigan, Zora, right around Rosina's birthday.  I've finished the back and started one of the fronts, but haven't worked on it in a bit--with the Yarn Harlot doing her own biking this year, I didn't even think about the Tour de Fleece until I heard on the radio that the Tour de France was starting.  So I'm back working on my pretty green Unplanned Peacock stuff (merino?).  The other things I've worked on in recent memory are a reknit pair of socks for Mark (huge gauge mistake in the ones I made him for Christmas), a few starfish washcloths...and the other day I converted a singleton sock into a new steel water bottle sleeve.  Yesterday I used some of the extra yarn to knit a new sock for my trashed sock blocker keychain sock.

Um, what else?  I'm making dinner--attempting baked lentil falafel tonight.  But in closing, look at this picture.