Milkymilk

Nap Time Bread & A Snowy Playlot

I've been experimenting with cornbread recipes during Harper's nap time.  In California, the recipe form the back of Alber's cornmeal made the best cornbread ever, in my mind.  In every other state I have ever lived it does not work.  Here on the east coast, it is disastrous.  This recipe came close...

We went to the park this morning.  It was all of 33 degrees, which sounded like a party to me.  After ten minutes, Harper was like, "Too cold!  Too Cold!  MY HANDS!!!"  She was so cheerful to be indoors the rest of the day, it was well worth it.  Sometimes, especially in the winter, there is nothing like a little misery to make you very very happy.

Another Glamorous Day in the Life

 

Harper fell off the couch today.  We were folding laundry, and she went over backwards, landing on her head.  She lost her balance while she was putting on my panties.  The good news is that she is fine, and she can dress herself (but only in my undergarments.)

Then, our dramatic transition to the big girl bed continued.  So far, she will only go to sleep in there if someone is laying down with her.  This is getting old for everyone.  Everyone but her, that is.  These last two days, I've let her cry it out for naps.  Normally, I think it is o.k. to cry, and normally crying results in sleep.  Well, someone apparently does not understand she is suppose to be crying and sleeping.  Nap time goes like this:

30 minutes of stories and snuggles, plenty of opportunity to fall asleep with me there

30 minutes of playing with books by herself

Boredom

Figure out how to open door

*WHOOP IT UP PARTY TIME*  "Doggy!  Downstairs!"

10 minutes of stories

30 minutes of playing with something that sounds remarkably like silverware and trying to move the bookcase to a more desirable location

Boredom

Figure out how to open door

*WHOOP IT UP PARTY TIME* "Bee-bo!  Peek-a-boo!  5, 6, 7, 8... 7, 8... 7.  8!  Peek-a-boo!"

End of nap time 

Yesterday, she fell asleep for about 20 minutes.  By the massive sleep on her face, I presume she passed out on the floor.  Ah, big girl bed, you are not my friend at all. 

Sneak Peak : Holiday Treats

Skylar's super crazy busy time at work is over, for now.  To celebrate, he surprised Harper and me with a thank you card and books!  So sweet!

So, instead of working late nights and long hours, he gets to enjoy our transition into Harper's big girl bed.

If we are facebook friends, then you probably already know Harper has been climbing out of her crib.  We figured we'd go a head and move her out of the nursery and into her big girl room before she injured herself while escaping the crib.

Let's just say that there have been more tears than sleep.  Oh, and yes, I meant to write "our" transition, because Harper has yet to sleep in it at night by herself.  Yup, I guess I like my big girl bed alright, but I do miss my grown up one.  This too shall pass (hopefully, very very soon.)

Any-who, lets get down to brass tax:  Sure, sleep is awesome, but so are cookies!  We hope to have our entire holiday line in the store after Thanksgiving, so watch out!

A Cat Named Snickers and Some Technical Difficulties

It has been mini-tragedy central in these parts the last few days.  Some highlights include:

Harper fell off a bridge at the playground, about a 4 or 5 foot fall.  She does not even have a bruise to show for it, thankfully. 

Harper, while playing with the home phone, called 911.

Saturday night, Harper woke up 3 times during the night.  Shut up!  I know!  The girl has been sleeping through the night for about 9 months, and then *POOF* newborn sleeping pattern.  Oy, she is back to normal now, but I have no idea how we are going to do that all over again in March.  What have we gotten ourselves into?  Is there boarding school for newborns?  Surely they have that here, in Connecticut.

I realized I'm about 4 1/2 months pregnant, not 3 1/2 like I thought.  This is good in that I'm not as much of a fatty as I might have thought, but bad in that, well, for reasons above.

I tried playing with my blog layout, which backfired.  Now I have opened a can of worms of technical problems.  Awe hell, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?  (Goodness, that grammar surely just got our newborn 'wait listed' for boarding school.)

This all was stressing me out a bit, or just causing a constant state of angst and frustration.  So, I went in search of a kitten, like I don't have enough on my plate with a toddler, a baby on the way, an 80 pound mutt, and a bunny killing kitty.  That is when I found Snickers, and suddenly life seemed a lot better.  I have so much to be thankful for, for example, I'm not allergic to cotton.  Snickers is Cat of the Month at Stamford Animal Control.  You can learn more about her here, here, and enjoy this little bit of info:

We know this is a horrible photo of Snickers.  But, we wanted to get her up on the web as our featured cat of the month.  Snicker's is going through an awfully rough time right now. She was first given up when her owner died and family members could not care for her.   She is a wonderful cat, sweet and affectionate and we don’t want to give up on her just yet.  We know there may be the perfect home for Snickers.

We have learned through testing that Snickers is allergic to the following things:
 
Beets
Corn
Dairy
Oats
Cedar
Mug Wart
Black Ants
GRASS
COTTON
 
OK, we realize the first 7 items will be easy to control, however Grass and Cotton may be a challenge. Snicker's most suitable home may be one where there are primarily wood floors or one with wool blend carpets (so many carpets might contain cotton) and one with central air so the grass pollens in the summer won't affect her. And of course a special diet of good food, made without corn or dairy.   There are now many varieties on the market that don’t contain these ingredients.  Snickers is a wonderful cat and we hope someone will have just the right home for her. 

Win Cookies! (& how I ruined Harper's unbirthday and the new neighbors saved the day)

I was super flattered to be asked to do a giveaway on Kate Williams Design's Blog this week.  I love her cute fun stuff, and I love it when people WIN COOKIES!  So, head over there and win some Oatmeal Cream Pies, yo!  

On an entirely unrelated note, Harper turned 18 months over the weekend.  I have been looking forward to this mark ever since her first birthday.  The thing about first birthdays are that they are stressful, or, at least, it was for me.  I wanted everything to be just right, fun, big and exciting.  And it was, but it was also a lot of work, running around, melt downs, missed naps and so on.  

18 months was going to be different.  It is not a birthday, at all.  It was going to be easy, relaxed and mellow.  It was.  Skylar worked late, so it was just Harper and me.  It was days after she turned 18 months, so even less of an event.  I forgot to get her a present, which was going to be the best part.  Any-who, the present could come later, because I had something just as exciting:  Homemade Mac and Cheese!  

Right on.  I plopped her in front of Noggin all afternoon while I slaved away in the kitchen making homemade mac and cheese, from scratch, for the first time.  Oh, but I did not stop there, where I should have.  I added whole wheat bread crumbs and summer squash to make it healthy, thereby ruining her already not very promising 18 Months and a Couple of Days Diner.

She is politely trying to block this diner out of her memory in the last photo.  The evening was somewhat salvaged with an apple crisp.

Fiberlishious!

To cheer her up, we went in the backyard to play before bath time.  The siren call of children playing came lofting threw the bushes, and before I could stop her, she was in their yard.  Harper made a new neighbor friend!  He is 4.  Yes, an older man, but they play together great.  She stayed out almost an hour past her bedtime, party girl, and he gave her is old car!  It is a Little Tykes car, and it red.  What amazingly dreamy neighbors.  Awe, you gotta love this place sometimes.

at a loss

We found out last week Skanky had cancer.  It was in her stomach and liver, and the vet did not recommend trying to treat it.  His recommendation was in part because Skanky had given up on eating.  She had, "lost the will to live."

(This pretty picture is a random flickr fave, OKARA COOKIE.)

I thought I would face her death bravely.  I thought I would not be afraid to sit by her side as she left us.  I brought her home, where she could be comfortable.

After about three weeks without food, she became very frail.  She got pink eye in her right eye, then her left, too.  Yesterday, she could barley stand, and I could not watch her suffer.

We took her to the vet this morning.  Skylar and I stayed with her while she went peacefully to sleep.

In the end, I'm sure she would have preferred to have died alone, hiding in the woods in the yard.  It was an invasion of her privacy, because she is a cat and needs lots and lots of personal space.  And, though it is best that her suffering is over, it was selfish of me to want to be there for it.  I just could not stand to think of her out there, alone.  Oh well.  Any way you go about it, death is just down right awful.