Books and such

I've been a huge bookworm pretty much since I learned to read.  My entire family is comprised of big readers, actually, and there was always something to find on one of our many bookshelves.  At one point my mother said I needed to move on from Goosebumps because I was reading them in half an hour and it was becoming an expensive habit.

I want the same sort of experience for Thumper, and we do have a set of bookshelves, but our stash is nowhere near what it could be.  A busted water heater at a former residence got rid of a good chunk of the inventory, and now that we're living in a smaller apartment, we're much more choosy about what we keep and what we give to Goodwill.

Which is not entirely a bad thing.  I love shopping at Goodwill and used bookstores; it's not uncommon for me to come home with 30 new books (mostly cozy mysteries) and tear through them like junk food. I also love my Kindle; I prefer the original, not the touch-screen, because with the original you can use either side to move forward and back, and I think that's genius.  Oddly enough, I'm selective with the Kindle; I always make sure I'm not paying a ridiculous price for something (and really, I should get a library subscription).

After I had Thumper - even before, while I was pregnant - my concentration was shot all to hell.  I went from reading novels every day to lacking the attention span or desire to curl up with one.   Lately, though, I've finally been feeling like I have enough room in my brain for something more than Internet posts.

Finding the time is something else again.  Many days I'm still in a form of survival mode - sleep when possible.  Then there's usually some form of cleaning I could do.  I think I'm willing to postpone a little cleaning to recharge my brain, though, and luckily the Yeti is of the same opinion.  By the way, when you don't marry someone in an "Odd Couple" situation - when you're both the messy one - you get a lot of mess enabling, in case you're wondering.

So here's what I've got lined up to read, when I've got a moment:

Outlander, Diana Gabaldon - First book in the Outlander series.  This was recommended to me years ago, but now that there's a TV series a fire has been lit under me (I did the same thing with the Song of Ice and Fire, aka Game of Thrones, books).

I've already started this one, and it has sucked me in.  Time travel?  Historical fiction?  Romance?  I'm in.

1491, Charles C. Mann - I started this book before I got pregnant.  Because I'm not used to reading nonfiction, it fell first to my diminishing attention span.  Still, it really is a fascinating book about the pre-Columbian civilizations in North and South America, and I mean to finish it.

Evil Eclairs, Jessica Beck - the Yeti bought me this for Christmas.  My all-time favorite genre is the cozy mystery, and the Yeti likes buying me ones with the weirdest "themes" he can find.  I think I haven't read this one yet because I've felt like I haven't had the time to really properly enjoy it.  Now I'm sort of over waiting for the perfect undisturbed moment and it's next in line.

Best Kindle case ever, from the best Nancy Drew book, bought on Etsy here. 

I didn't cover movie stars

There's a scene that often pops into my head: it's from a movie from the 80s called Baby Boom, with Diane Keaton and a shockingly young James Spader (I am a big fan of Blacklist).  There's a scene in that movie where Diane's character takes her toddler to a baby enrichment class, and all the parents are holding up giant flashcards with everything from Andy Warhol's art to a picture of Whoopi Goldberg, in order to give their kids an edge.  It's meant to be ridiculous.

But there's another scene I often think of, this one from real life.  My oldest nephew was about three, and I had taken him into a public restroom to wash his hands.  He had no idea what an electric hand dryer was, because he was from a small town and I guess just didn't frequent many modern public bathrooms.  As a teenager, it blew my mind, all the "catching up" a brand-new mind has to do.

It still blows my mind, really.  There's just so much context.  I was sitting with Thumper and singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and suddenly I started thinking: he doesn't know what a star is.  That song doesn't help much; "like a diamond"?  He's more likely to recognize a star than a diamond, right?  But then I realize: living in a city, I don't know that we can even see stars in the sky.  In contrast, he sees the diamonds in my wedding band every day.

Before I even knew what I was doing, I started babbling about stars: pointing out the stars on a toy he has.  Then I went to google images and did a search for stars.  I was showing pictures of the shape of a star, pictures of stars in the sky.  Then I realized he was seven months old, and very little of this was likely sinking in.  And I was Diane Keaton with a flashcard.

bottom teeth twinkling like diamonds in the sky

12 in 2014: August

Our AC is broken.  Since we live in an apartment, this is a job for maintenance, but they think it requires a part that just happens to be on order and hopefully (hopefully!) will arrive early this week.  So far Monday is almost over and nothing yet, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  We've all been wearing as little clothing as possible, and Thumper has pretty much been in just a diaper.  

He was starting to become considerably more cuddly in recent weeks, but this heat has him really appreciating his space.  Today we met with friends for lunch, and because we were going to a small place at lunchtime, I wore Thumper in the Ergo.  I thought the place would be air-conditioned, but I was wrong (though I did take him out while I was waiting for my food, to let him air out a bit).  

I've noticed he's also becoming visibly more affected by the outside world; when we're out and about for any length of time, he seems noticeably glad to be home once we're done, just like, well, a little human being.  

So a busy lunch in a warm Ergo with people who are more or less strangers to him - even though we were only out for an hour, he was definitely glad to be home, surrounded by the familiar.  The crib is a comparatively cool place, and even though it wasn't nap time, he played in there for a good 20 minutes: rolling around, stretching out, playing peek-a-boo through the bars, generally relaxing.  

That is, relaxing as much as you possibly can when you're literally the hottest you've ever been in your entire life.  My sweet snowy child.

Breaking news: Today I was listed on Top Baby Blogs.  It's exciting to me, because it's how I've found many of my own favorite blogs from the past few years.  I'm trying to get my own readers now, and I'd really appreciate it if you'd click the banner below or in the sidebar - there's no registration or anything required.  You can also vote once a day, if you're so inclined. 

Making It Look So Easy

Last week I spent the afternoon out and about with Thumper, and we wound up being out long enough that I had to actually nurse him in public.  Now, for most people, the story would be, "...so I did.  The end," but despite going out with him pretty much every day, I'd managed to go almost seven months and only nursed in public once.  This time felt even more awkward, probably because I wasn't in a newborn haze.

You know how some people are always aware of the number of exits in a room?  Thanks to a number of family members with stomach troubles, I am the sort of person who always notes the public restrooms.  And, apparently, I've also been filing away potential quiet spots to feed my kid.

We were in Target.  When I was pregnant, I used that pharmacy.  Because my blood pressure meds were constantly changing, I spent a fair amount of time waiting around for scrips to fill.  Thus, I had a spot all filed away: the baby gear aisle.  At one end of the store, up against a large bank of windows with bench-like ledges.  Full of stuff like baby tubs that weren't frequently perused.  And since it was the baby section, it was as appropriate a place as any.

I was dressed about as conveniently as one could hope - Seahawks t-shirt with super-stretchy, low-cut tank underneath.  One end of the aisle faces the elevators, so I turned the stroller to block the view.  Even though I wasn't showing much skin I even hauled out a muslin blanket, just in case.

Now, at home, everything is just whipped out entirely so I had no practice in being discreet.  I'm sitting there fumbling with the clasp on my nursing bra (much higher than expected when I'm not looking) and a hungry Thumper is trying to help by rubbing his face against the outside of my shirt.  Eventually we get situated and he looks at the blanket like, "Are you kidding me?"

Now that Thumper's too old for swaddling, guess when these blankets get used?  In the stroller (not much in August) and... during peek-a-boo. So when you put a blanket near someone's head, well, every baby knows what to do next.

Luckily he was hungry enough that he was willing to forgive some weirdness.  We had just settled down when an employee rounded the corner.

Naturally, it was a teenage boy.  I looked down at Thumper, but I could see him in my peripheral vision.  He figured out what was going on and power-walked out of there.  Not a minute later, a 50-something man came around, looking at carseats.  He took one look and wheeled around.  These were already more males than I had ever seen in that part of the store.

On the whole, not bad.  It certainly could have been worse.  Then I came home and saw an article that had been making the rounds on Facebook that day: a bunch of photographs of women nursing uncovered in public.

I had to laugh.  I was definitely not casually nursing whilst picking out my sour cream.  If someone had taken a picture of me, they would have seen me furtively hunched over, spooked and miserable, while my bewildered baby flipped a blanket around.  I would totally like to be that smooth and non-awkward, but I'm definitely not there yet.

But I suppose I've broken the seal, as it were, of my home-feeding bubble.  I'll be less nervous next time, I know.  And if I ever attempt to do some shopping whilst nursing, I think I'll try Whole Foods.  I'll blend right in with all the other random mammal lactation.

Alas, this is how he thinks he's supposed to eat now

Walks, sports, sleep and time-travel

I've got little ideas here and there, but nothing cohesive enough for an entire post... and then no writing gets done.  Might as well clean out the ol' brain.

-I was walking down the street to get lunch today when one of my black flats completely fell apart.  I mean suddenly I could feel the ground, and my shoe looked like a mouth with a wagging tongue.  Granted, the shoes were about three years old, and I walk everywhere, and I knew they were getting worn, but I wasn't expecting such a sudden and undignified end.  And naturally it was a very crowded walk home.  Hopefully, if anything, people's eyes were drawn to the cute baby in the Ergo and not my flapping foot.

-On another occasion, I was pushing Thumper in the stroller and had to swerve to get around a guy who was walking straight at me, head down, totally clueless about his surroundings.

He was working to solve a Rubik's Cube.  I am not even joking.  Kids these days.

-I don't know which I'm more excited about: the beginning of another season of Doctor Who or the new Seahawks season.  I didn't grow up a football fan, but it's something I've gotten into as an adult and it coexists quite happily with my more nerdy interests.  Thumper has also attended, in utero, a Seahawks game and a theater presentation of the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary episode.  Keeping him well-rounded early on.

Generic onesie from Ross that I think depicts the Seahawks win over the Broncos in the Superbowl

-Sleep update: Amazingly, starting that day the swing died, Thumper has had almost every nap in the crib, with much less fussing than before.  Yes, there are some times when it's clear he's just not going to sleep, and I try again later, and yet all told he mostly has either two decent naps or three small naps a day.

We were doing so well after one week that I told the Yeti that after the second week, if all went well, I wanted to put the swing in storage and move the jumper in its place, thus freeing up more space to roll around and learn to crawl.  Yes, well.  Then at the end of the week, I had two dental appointments.  Both times, when I came home, Thumper was sleeping in the (still lifeless) swing.  

I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a twinge of annoyance - was the Yeti undoing all my work?  But, you know, the Yeti is the father, not the babysitter; he doesn't have a list of rules that must be followed.  And, he doesn't have the ability to nurse him to sleep.  If the swing was the only way Thumper would sleep, so be it.  It hasn't seemed to have undone anything.  Meanwhile, I'm still wondering how he managed to get Thumper to sleep in a broken swing.

-Thumper's teething ring is shaped like a foot.  Am I the only one who finds that a little odd?