Angry with Crazy People

(Not a humble post) I'm done with crazy people. If you think fluoride is a poison, you're out. If you think Mens Rights is a legitimate cause, you're out If you call Muslims terrorists, but don't think you're racist, you're out... UNLESS YOU KEEP IT TO YOURSELF. 'Cause that's crazy. And I AM OUT OF TIMW FOR YOUR CRAZINESS. Crazy Face.

Back at work!

I am back at work, and the newbaby is happily at daycare. It's really exciting to be back at work; I missed it. It was nice to be home with the newbaby, but the time just flew by. I wish you could take paternity leave with toddlers, that would be more interesting. It's kinda amazing to be once again in the child care, out the door, do I have my lunch, who's picking up the kid routine again. It really is a bit of a crusher and I'm relearning old copng techniques. Some bad, some good. Sometimes I have infinite patience, sometimes the tiniest thing is OVERWHELMINGLY STRESSFUL. :)

A man of leisure!

These days, though I'm getting more done than every before around the house, it feels like doing less work. I guess that's the privilege of being able to choose my own schedule, times, etc. And yes, even with Peanut around, I do get to pick my times... as long as they're her times! She gets up about 8... or so... The PM feeds her and changes her. I thaw some milk, and get ready to feed her, then I dress her and we go out to do any errands that need doing Then we have lunch, and she usually has a small lunch and a nap, while I give her some fun things to do, such as lie on her back, or lie on her front, or go in the Boba! Then I clean one floor of the house. She eats pretty much every two hours during the day. At 3 or 3-ish, she goes down for a real nap, in bed and everything. That's when I do tasks that involve working outside, or doing power-tooly things. Then she gets up, eats again, and we start getting ready for the end of the day! The PM gets home, and we make a little dinner (dinner planning is one of my favourite things to do these days) Then the PM takes over the feeding and changing duties, until Peanut goes to sleep at 9 or 9:30, then we have an hour or two of grown-up time before we go to sleep. Then we start again!

Baby wrangling

Man, I gotta tell you, wrangling a baby means being on your A-Game... ALL THE TIME. Got my teeth brushed? NOT GOOD ENOUGH! Gotta brush Peanut's teeth (seriously) Got my self washed? NOT GOOD ENOUGH! Is it Peanut's bath day? Got my lunch made? NOT GOOD ENOUGH! Make her breakfast, and snack, and lunch, and snack... and always be one meal ahead because, of course, her meals, though repetitive, are all frozen. Also, see naps, clothes, cleaning, etc etc. But I love it, it's awesome. Also, what's with all my friends who don't put any baby pictures on facebook? I understand that they're not really secure, but what's the consequence? Anyhoo, must go cook.

Doin' great!

I actually feel the best I think I've ever felt. That may jinx me, but it doesn't change the fact that it's true.

What I learned last night

Peanut has a "witching hour", every night, at about 6-8 pm. Yah, I know, that's two hours. Feels like twenty. I have relied, in the past, on the three Bs: Bottle, Butt, and Burp. NONE OF THOSE WORK DURING THE WITCHING HOUR. So last night, after two hours of shaken-baby-proofing (as in, I got through that without shaking her, the rest will be easy!) I just swaddled her and put her in her crib. And I thought two thoughts: 1) whiskey. 2) Google. Drank some whiskey, and googled "why won't my baby stop crying". It's a REALLY COMMON GOOGLE SEARCH. That, in and of itself, is pretty helpful. And what I found is: Babies get overstimulated, and it's not what I thought it would be like. When they start looking away, and refusing the bottle, and being grumpy, they WANT TO BE LEFT ALONE AND UNSTIMULATED. I had this naive assumption that babies require constant stimulus and company... apaprently not. So I re-wrapped her according to excellent instructions, propped her on her side according to excellent instructions, put her static noise on according to excellent instructions, turned off her light according to excellent instructions (which she normally hates), and LEFT HER ALONE. She stopped crying immediately. So I had more whiskey. When the PM came home, Peanut was totally asleep, and woke to be fed with much happiness, and then slept another six hours. I are smarter. We'll try it again tonight under the watchful eye of the PM, though without her hands-on support, and we'll see if it works again, or is needed again!

Winter blast!

It is -43 celcius here today, take into account the windchill. That's cold. If you're not in the wind, it's tolerable; otherwise, you gonna die. Or wish you were dead, anyway. Peanut is a champion sleeper. This is a thing that continues to amaze. She sleeps 5-7 hours a night, uninterrupted. She is also thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis close to smiling at me. When she does, I will be forever putty in her fingers. She does sorta half-smile now, but not the same giant grins that I see in other babies. Soon... I have three weeks of work left before I go on Pat Leave, which will be awesome. I am looking forward to the massive amounts of energy I experience on Saturdays being a daily occurrence. As long as she keeps sleeping, of course. I will hope to get the dining room and basements crafted into something nice, and maybe even do some landscaping in a gentle fashion around the place. And that is all there is to say about that. Three weeks left. PS. That will be the first time since... 1999... I think? that I have not been full-time employed, and the first time since 1996 that I don't have to leave the house during the day