Alien Spouse

Tonsils. Ugh.

On Sunday I started to feel a little bit under the weather, and it was my old nemesis - My tonsils.  Whenever I'm ill it usually starts with a sore throat, which is really annoying and painful; particularly if it spreads to my ears.  At that point I usually just want to chop my head off just above my shoulders, because the rest of me seems to be totally fine.

This time I have deployed the three main weapons in my self medication aresenal:

1. Throat lozenges (in the UK - Lockets. In the US - Ricola)
2. Tea (PG Tips, lime tea, lemon and ginger with honey)
3. Alka Seltzer : Cold Formula

Those three things plus a lot of sleep usually help, and having slept for most of today I am feeling better.

I can't really complain though because I haven't been even remotely unwell for over eighteen months (I don't think you can count being pregnant as being ill) and, even better, neither Doc C or Eva seem to have caught anything.  That is a huge relief all around.

Fake Grass Drying Rack.

This new drying rack is great!

We found it in the baby section, and bought it just for Eva's bottles and pumping stuff, because those things will fall over if you look at them too hard.  Now that we've got a dishwasher again (The LUXURY!), we're obviously not hand washing as many dishes and so we don't need to use the larger dish rack - Besides, when Mum stayed with us she described that rack as "lethal".  The larger plates wouldn't stand up in it, unless they were propped up with a small plate; and all of the cutlery would slide out; and if the mugs or glasses were a bit too short, they looked like they might fall out of the side.

So we've stopped using that one, and we're just using the fake grass now, which is much more efficient at holding things AND looks better.  Love it!

The Previous Shop Me and Resuming Knitting.

Last week I popped into the coffee shop next to my (heheheh!) shop, and got chatting with the very nice girl behind the counter.  When I mentioned that I was working two days a week next door, she said "Oh! You replaced me when I left!"

I had heard a lot about her, all glowing, so it was nice to finally put a face to the name and she was just as lovely as I'd heard.  I asked what she was doing now, and it turns out that her main focus is knitting - She's writing patterns and teaching people to knit.  Naturally I was intrigued, and friended her on Facebook the moment I got to a computer!

That conversation has also inspired me to get out my knitting needles again, especially since I retrieved my stash of craft supplies from storage at the weekend.  I have just cast on a lace scarf from a pattern on Ravelry, and I'm going to use up some half-skein remnants I have on an extended swatch before starting on the scarf proper.  I'm doing that because so far I have yet to succesfully knit any lace, and I want to iron out the technique before applying it to the actual project.  I'm really enjoying this already!

 

Likes/Dislikes

Things Eva wants to put in her mouth:

• Anything - No really, keep an eye on her.
• Your glasses.
• Cat fur - Freshly plucked from the cat for preference.
• That bit of paper.
• Grass.
• Her own foot.
• Any toy.
• Any clothing.
• Home-made puree of roast organic sweet potato. Oh yes!
• Whatever you are eating at the restaurant.  Things will get shouty if you refuse.

Things Eva Refuses a Third Spoonful of:

• Beef Baby Food from a Jar.  The horror.

 

Beer City Video.

Apart from moving house I was also very pleased to see the launch of a video that I've been working on for a couple of months now.

 

I am the project manager for production company that made this - which in this case meant I did everything from comissioning custom etched beer glasses; including child-care of an adorable little girl whilst her dad climbed into a beer vat; to sewing a teeny tiny kilt for a beer bottle.

It was a very unusual project I think, and I sort of doubt that anything is going to touch this for the having-fun-at-work factor - I mean really I got paid to hang out in bars and discuss jokes!  How much better could it get?

A Damn Fine Breakfast.

It's Wednesday already?  Jeez!

Today Doc and I went to the Sunny Point Cafe, which we'd heard served the third best breakfast in America (I don't know who decided that though!) I cross-questioned the waitress about the maple syrup was real maple syrup or not, she was very nice about it and assured me it was.  With her guarantee on that important point I happily ordered waffles. It was a really good breakfast, Doc (who ordered sausage, eggs, potatoes and a biscuit) and I both thoroughly enjoyed it and it was only just over $20.

Eva had fun too.  She grinned happily at everyone else in the cafe and tipped a glass of ice water into her dad's lap.  Poor Doc had to sit through his delicious breakfast in cold soggy jeans.  I may have laughed.

A Tuesday in Asheville.

I had anticipated a relaxed start to my day, because I was going to a meeting round the corner at 12 instead of going to the studio at 10.  So naturally I woke up with a splitting headache, a vomitting cat and a baby in need of a bath - None of those things were connected, except that they all seemed to happen at once.

Still, my day itself was good.  We are filming in local bars at the moment, and one of the guys in the video has needed to bring his year old daughter with him to the sets.  As project manager I see my role as including taking care of any issues that might delay filming, so I've been the on-set British nanny as needed!  It was actually really nice to play with a toddler and get a glimpse of where Eva will be in a few months.  Apparently there will be a lot of climbing up and down stairs, as well as a fair amount of toothy grins.

Whilst I was trying to source props for Thursday (how hard is it to find DJ decks in Asheville on two days notice?), Doc C was taking Evalyn to her six month check up.  She's very healthy and now weighs nearly 16 pounds, so she's almost tripled in size since she was born.  I'm told she still hates having vaccination jabs, but then who could blame her for that really?

Nice Cup of Tea.

Every time we have a cup of tea within her sight Eva r-e-a-c-h-e-s for our mugs.  Whilst there is any hot tea left we keep it well out if her reach, but, once the mug is empty, we sometimes let her touch it.

Usually she'll pull the mug to her mouth and start licking the the rim in a very determined manner.

Awww! Look at her!

She thinks she's people!

A Statement of Intent with Regard to Summer Clothing.

2013 will be a momentous year.

It will be the year that I finally drive a motorised vehicle after passing my driving test twenty flipping years ago AND it will be the year that I wear a bikini for the first time in my adult life.  Not at the same time of course, that would be foolish.

This is my two piece of choice, and, as if it could get any better than it already is, it actually is an Esther Williams design.  I haven't bought it yet, because I'm still hoping to lose/tone a little more tummy before the summer.  This is where the newly re-started pilates comes in, along with some yet-to-be-done calorie counting

That's all I had to say today.  Bikini. Yes.

"Whadda You Got?"

Saturday is my only day off at the moment (which sounds worse than it is!), and we have a nice little routine going.  I love listening to NPR's "Car Talk", "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me" and "The Splendid Table" with Doc C and Eva whilst we eat a leisurely breakfast, play silly baby games and generally sit around in our pyjamas.  It's very civilised.

The afternoon varies depending on our mood; so today we got out the scooter for a short scoot and a short photo shoot.

The weather wasn't very nice today so I really didn't do much more than ride up and down in front of the house at a top speed of about 12 miles an hour.  It was exactly like something out of "The Wild One".

After that we went out for a lunch of burritos, a walk around the UNCA Botanical Gardens (Eva loves it there!) and then we went to three different motorcycle dealers to look at helmets.  A helmet was included with the scooter - but the previous owner was quite a heavy smoker, so it does smell of cigarettes and besides I have no idea how old it is and therefore how sound it still it is.  So I want a new one.  No luck today, but there's no rush.  I want to buy something that I really like the look of, co-ordinates with the scooter (obviously!) and that keeps me safe.

Today has been fun and we even have some frozen yogurt for desert.  Yum!

Sleeping Like a Baby.

Remember how a while back I happened to nonchalently mention how well Eva slept? Well, pretty much since I've been working again, she's been experimenting with having a few mid-night snacks - Generally she likes to be fed at 2, 4 and 6.  It is ever so slightly bad timing on her part, but I'm struggling through somehow.

Coffee can do amazing things.

Puree of Pea.

Eva, like her dad, is a big fan of mushy peas.

Me?  I'm not so keen, but then that was exactly the colour of my school uniform.

Day Trip Back.

It's been snowing today, but Doc C needed to go and get some books from his office - So we went on a day trip.  Eva slept on the way there, and on the way back (impressively I only slept on the way there); whilst we were in town she was a very sociable baby and smiled at everyone she saw.

We grabbed the books (fed and changed the baby), and then had lunch at one of the best sandwich places in town. I'd also called our favourite bakery yesterday to reserve a loaf of their Friday special - The chocolate cherry sourdough.  We also bought coffee and cookies for the road, so today was a total carbs-fest.

All in all, quite a pleasent day.

Warm Colour, Cold Shape.

I started off the week helping to build my new desk at work; it is a gorgeous glossy white, it looks like the desk that Apple would make if they made furniture.  It looks lovely with jusy my Mac on it, so I'm going to try and keep it that way, but I did need a coaster (this office is mostly fuelled by coffee) and my lovely Mum happened to have sent the ideal thing for Christmas.

It's a red felt snowflake, and it is exactly the pop of warmth my desk needed.  Perfect for a snowy day in January.

A Skirmish.

Today I was at work (on a photo shoot actually!), and I had brought my bottle of water with me as I always do.  I unscrewed the lid, took a sip and something bumped against my top lip.  I looked down at the open bottle and was horrified by what I saw.

There was a stink bug swimming around in my water bottle.

Shudder.

This is unacceptable. UNACCEPTABLE.  It could have been worse I suppose, I mean I could have swallowed it (sh-u-dd-er) but really how far will these damn insects try to push me?

It is my opinion that this is a clear escalation of hostilities on the part of the stink bugs. This, of course, now means that I will exterminate any stink bug I see in the apartment as soon as it is sighted.  I will not suffer any further indignities.

Baby Noms.

 Eva has become very interested in food recently, she watches us very closely when we eat and gets really excited.  That's apparently a good sign that she's ready to try eating herself - So we decided to try her some baby food, even though she's only four months old.

For some reason Americans tend to start feeding babies on rice cereal, but that didn't sound very appetising, so we kicked off with a butternut squash puree.  Eva wasn't particularly excited by that, and I suspect it was quite bland.

When Doc C went shopping this week he bought a sweet potato puree instead and that has been going down an absolute storm with our diminutive gourmand.

Ah nom nom nom!  Tasty orange gloop!  She's actually only eating a teaspoon or so at a time, but it's clearly very satisfying for her (and Doc C!)

 

Molasses Cookies.

The Christmas before last (I think) I saw a recipe for gingerbread houses that looked really fun because they were designed to sit on the rim of a mug.  I had everything I needed to make them; except for molasses, so I bought that, and then totally didn't make them.

When we moved house the molasses moved with us, and I kept looking at it and feeling guilty.  This Christmas I looked at it again and realised that a) it needed to be used and b) it was not going to end up being gingerbread houses because Eva was not going to give me enough time for that!

I started looking for a molasses cookie recipe, and nothing in our small library of recipe books really seemed quite right.  So I used the one on the label of the bottle.

The batch I made this evening is the third time I've baked these in the past month.  They are delicious.

Molasses cookies.  Think about them.

An Evening Cocktail.

Doc C just made me a White Russian.  

It was delicious and I shall sleep well tonight.

Sleep Eating.

Due to popular demand (Hi Mum!), here is another video of Eva!  

I filmed this one this afternoon, when she fell asleep on me after eating her afternoon tea.  Whenever she does this she tends to try to carry on eating even as she naps, babies are very single minded

 

A New Year's Day Wish.

Doc C has had a nasty cold this weekend, and he's been super-paranoid about passing it on to Eva; so he slept on the sofa for a couple of nights and he's still too worried about germs to pick her up.  Naturally Eva decided that this was the perfect time to be a weeny bit needy, so I've been catering to her every whim and trying to persuade the Doc to let me occaisionally make him a cup of tea.

The saying that doctors make terrible patients is very true, in the case of my Doc (Phd) it's because he tries really hard to be no trouble at all.  It makes it very difficult to look after him, because he will insist he doesn't need to be - even when he can barely open a can of chicken soup for himself.

Anyway...

Happy New Year and let's hope that 2013 brings a wave of incredible good health to us all!

Father-in-Law Christmas.

Ah, Christmas -  It's just not the same unless there is some sort of family drama, is it?

Doc C told me that his Dad had mentioned that he might visit sometime between Christmas and New Year's Eve... By which he clearly meant he'd be arriving on the 23rd!  Otherwise unannounced! Ta-Dah!

I'll be honest, we really didn't have anything particular planned, but it's still thrown me off my holiday stride.  I've been assured by Doc that his Dad won't expect us to do anything special like cook a turkey, and it's not like he brought presents for anyone (*cough* Brand new grand-daughter *cough*) so maybe I should try to relax.

After all, as I said, he arrived yesterday and has so far actually only visited us for about an hour this afternoon.  I had just started making molasses cookies when he arrived, and I was pulling them out of the oven when he left for the day.  He said he'd be back tomorrow, but who knows when?

Sunday Evening.

Sofa. Ice cream. Deep Space Nine. Not being screeched at.

And...

Relax.

Sapling.

After a really lovely day with a happy Eva on Wednesday she became a screaming demon yesterday - We reasoned that perhaps she had enjoyed being around more people, so we decided to take her out today.  

We went back to The Treehouse with her this afternoon, and she had a lovely time STARING at the small boys who were running around in capes playing superheroes.  Whilst Eva was happily preoccupied Doc C and I were able to have a coffee and chat with Jessie, another new mum, who we orignally met at the CPR class and who we saw again at the Smarty Pants party.  Her baby boy, Sam, is six weeks old and he is such a little sweetheart.  It's really funny to see a baby that small next to Eva, because it is amazing to realise how much she has grown in such a short time and I just hadn't really noticed it because I was just to close to it.  Not seeing the woods for the trees indeed!

Chilli Sauce and Milk.

This week I discovered Sriracha sauce.  It is AMAZING.  I know you probably already know this, because I seem to be extremely late to this party, but if you haven't had it before I highly recomend just spending the $4 on a bottle to try it.

Since buying this bottle I have so far added it to:

• A slice of fake bacon (my first taste)
• Chickpeas and rice
• A bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon
• Mushroom risotto.

It was delicious with all of that, and I find myself planning what I want to try it with next.  Scrambled eggs on toast is a definite.

By the way I did stage this photo specifically to include the breast milk next to the sriracha in the photo; the milk is not usually kept in the door like that so there is no possibility of a comedy mix-up I promise.  I;m just super-proud of myself for thinking of getting those really small post-it notes and using them to put the date of pumping on the bottles.  It should make it a lot easier to keep track of the milk and that's just one less thing to think about when Eva is screaming for her next meal.  

The girl has no patience what so ever

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Faux-Hawk!

Doc C dressed Eva today, but he was shamelessly pandering to my taste and I was particularly smitten with this outfit.  Look at that faux-fur faux-hawk!  Ridiculous AND Adorable!

We actually had to go out this morning to get blood taken for some blood tests (nothing interesting, just standard tests for the medical we had with our new doctor yesterday) and we weren't supposed to eat before hand - So we were very motivated to leave the house early today.  

Eva slept through the whole thing, and only really woke up when we went out for breakfast, and even then she was really good.  There was a bit of crying, but only because she wanted to get out of her pram and STARE around the restaurant at people.  She is definitely getting really interested in other people and what they are doing, which is really fun to see.

She wasn't quite so good when we later had to go to the chemists to pick up our prescriptions, but who can blame her?  Walgreens is really not as much fun as the Early Girl Eatery!

ARG! Milk!

It's Thursday?  Really?  How the hell did that happen?  Babies really are the most incredible time drain, who knew? (I know that really everyone including myself and Doc C "knew" that but we didn't really know that, you know?)

Anyway...

Today Doc and I went for our initial check-up with our new doctor, who seems very nice and we both got flu shots whilst we were there.  Obviously we had to take Eva with us, because Edith and Nancy are really not stepping up to the task of baby sitting in quite the way one would hope.  I prefer to take a bottle of milk with us to this sort of thing, so that if Eva gets hungry she can eat immediately.  To keep the milk cool I like to use the coozy we got at the first Appalachian Rollergirl exhibition we went to see.

So useful! So cool! Love it!

Primary Parenting.

Today was the first day of Doc C's paternity leave!  Woot!

The cats and Eva decided to initiate him into it with a trial by fire; there were multiple pukings, peeings (in nappies, which is fine; and on the floor in front of the litter tray, which is not fine at all) and grumpy grizzling.

We'd already planned to celebrate today by going out for sushi, and also handing in my CV to anywhere we'd missed in our last sweep of down town.  After Doc C showered and dressed he put on his usual after shave (Bulgari for Men - It's a really nice smell), and Eva who had been sleeping in the bedroom woke up screaming apparently at the scent.  Once she had stopped crying she didn't seem bothered by the cologne, and we carried on getting ready to leave.  As I was getting my shoes on I heard Doc ushering Nancy hurriedly outside, because she'd been about to throw up on the sofa.  That disaster averted we left the house.

Lunch was delicious and I applied to a particularly nice jewellers that I've often admired as we went past it.  Eva was actually very well behaved whilst we were out and didn't start complaining until we were on our way home anyway.

When we got back someone, and, whilst  I have no way of knowing who I do have my suspicions, had vomitted on the sofa.  Doc C very calmly took the covers off the seat cushions and took them to the laundrette.  When he got back, Eva decided to demonstrate her exciting new super-sonic screams and it took both of us over an hour to calm her down for her usual evening nap,

I am very pleased to say that my husband did not run screaming after such a day.  Instead he had a shot of whiskey and then cooked dinner.  He's a keeper.

 

****Post Script**** After I wrote this Doc C discovered someone had peed in the bath (Edith is the prime suspect), and whilst we were discussing this Edith jumped up to the bookshelves and knocked off one of Eva's toys.  sigh.

Points of Articulation.

I am particularly fond of Eva's chubby little wrists, they are a nice clear visual that she is pleasantly well upholstered and I am therefore feeding her properly.  It is very gratifying.

Also, they look like the joints on an action figure.  If the Eva doll ever goes into production, it would come with accessories: a cloth nappy, a fluffy grey cat (with tongue sticking out so she can determinedly try to wash Eva's hair - particularly whenever the baby is crying) and several different hats.

Cubes of Milk.

In preperation for going back to work at some point (Hello employers of Asheville! Call me! I'm still looking!), I've been pumping milk and freezing it, so that Doc C can feed Eva whilst I'm out of the house.

It is so weird to be storing my own bodily secretions.  I mean that is usually serial killer territory, isn't it?

 

A Weekend in November.

On Saturday morning Eva and I went with Doc C to do the laundry, which is more fun then it might sound because the laundrette we frequent also combines a bar and used bookshop.  Doc dealt with loading up the washing machines (he has a system) and I took care of Eva who slept for the entire time, so I got to browse the books.  

Last time we were there last time I found a book entitled "The Womanly Art of Breast Feeding" which was published in the early 80s if the hair and fashions in it are any indication, it was still there but Eva and I seem to be doing pretty well so I didn't bother with it this time.  Instead I flipped through a much more up-to-date copy of "What to Expect in the First Year", and it actually had some interesting information so I bought it for the bargain price of $2.

On Sunday we took Eva for a drive, because she was feeling a bit screamy and we thought the neighbours could do with a break frankly!  Plus, of course, driving in a car puts her to sleep after about 10 minutes on the road, because she is very much my daughter.  We turned the trip into a lovely Sunday drive on the parkway and picked up doughnuts as well to make it really decadent.

As you know I'm currently job hunting, and so every moment that I'm not taking care of Eva should be spent looking for something that might be a productive means of earning some money.  To help me with this Doc C has downloaded a super fun game that I've wanted for ages called "Quantum Conundrum".  It involves flipping between four different dimensions and the opportunity to actually use my brain to solve some nifty little logic puzzles.  It is really quite addictive, and I am trying my best not to get totally sucked into it.

Non-Black Friday.

As if to make up for the grumble-fest that was Thanksgiving, Eva woke up in a really adorable happy mood.  It was like the extended director's cut of the video I posted yesterday, she only had one proper strop all day but that one was pretty damn impressive.  My word but that little muffin can scream when she wants to.

Americans swarm the shops in the day after Thanksgiving for the Black Friday sales; which sounds hellish to me, so we avoided it.  Instead we walked down to our local artisan video shop, which I joined so that Doc C could borrow their copy of "The Elephant Man" for his class on Monday.  I also took my CV with me, because a part-time job there would be kind of perfect for me at the moment - a video store that specialises in classic and art house films?  Within walking distance of the flat? AND it's next to a really good ice cream shop? I have no idea if they need anyone right now, and it's not something I want to do forever but, for right now, I would like that a lot!

Time Change.

The clocks went back an hour last night; so, in theory, I should have had an extra hour of sleep last night and be feeling well rested.

Ah hahahahahahahaha ha ha!

No.  

For one thing I made the decision to watch a scary movie with Doc C.  I'd watched "Session 9" (2001) sometime last year, and I remembered it being atmospheric and creepy, with some interesting ambiguity and just a touch of gore. It's got a great cast (ok, ok, if you overlook David Caruso... I actually think he's not bad in this, but once you've seen enough episodes of "CSI: Miami" it is tough to take him seriously) and it was filmed in the Danvers Mental Hospital just outside Boston, so I knew it would have some interest for the Doc. Plus I thought that as I'd seen it before I wouldn't get freaked out, but funnily enough because I knew what was going on I was much more aware of some of the subtle touches that really start to build up the tension.  As it turned out Doc was mildly entertained and thought no more about it after the closing credits.  I, of course, couldn't stop thinking about the film, got myself all freaked out and slept fitfully.

The other thing is that the clocks going back is not a concept that a baby, or indeed cats, have any interest in trying to understand.  Eva has established a morning routine, I wouldn't be so presumptuous as to suggest I had a thing to do with it, and she stuck to it (As did the cats - They are used to breakfast before 8 these days).  That was fine, but Evalyn must still have sensed something was off because she has been fractious all day.  She's been just a bit whimpery, it's not been enough to be worrying but it's certainly enough to be exhausting.  I'm so glad that Doc was here today, because by mid-afternoon I was feeling a wee bit whimpery myself and he was just great!  And he cooked egg fried rice for dinner! I love that man!

With any luck I'll sleep better tonight, and Eva will be in a brighter mood tomorrow.

The Day's Achievements (Plural).

Today we got stuff done!

• Doc C made pancakes for breakfast and we listened to "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me" on NPR.
• We bathed Eva and she was perfectly clean for about four hours - Then she got milk in her hair when I was changing her.  That's her favourite trick.
• I reluctantly took down the Halloween decorations.
• I started job hunting (If you know of any weekend work going in Asheville...)
• We had lunch in town - crepes and pommes frites. Delicious.
• Doc C took Eva for a walk and chatted with some of our neighbours.
• I did some hand washing and put away laundry (I have been trying to do that for days now, so it was far more exciting than it should have been)
• We played with Edith to try and tire her out a bit, so she won't chase Nancy around the apartment all night.
• Doc C made banana bread.

It doesn't sound like much, but believe you me it feels like we took on the tasks of Hercules and completed them all.  I am going to sleep SO well.

Early Morning Black Cat Alarm.

As I mentioned on Wednesday Eva is being amazingly good about sleeping, but I've still been wired up with that incredibly sensitive Mother's night-time hearing; so if anything makes a noise that sounds even vaguely like Eva I am AWAKE instantly. Last night I woke up at five (Why is always five?), and Eva was also awake so I thought she woken me up because she was hungry and I fed her.  She seemed a bit surprised by this, but didn't complain, and promptly went back to sleep.  Then I realised that actually I'd been woken up by the sound of a cat desperately miaowing.

It didn't sound like either of our cats' voices, but it did sound sort of weird and echoey so I thought maybe one of them had got themselves shut in a cupboard or had stuffed themselves under the sofa or something (Edith has been chasing Nancy a lot recently, so I wouldn't blame poor Nance for looking for a decent hiding place right now). I got up to have a look, and Nancy was sat by the front door whilst Edith was lolling on her rocking chair.  The miaows continued, and were quite clearly coming from just outside the front door of our apartment.  When I opened the door a skinny young black cat came running in, tail up, and looked at me expectantly.

Damn it!

I quickly usherd the cat back outside, and, as it was really friendly, I gingerly picked it up and took it downstairs.  The black cat didn't mind that at all, so I put it down outside the house - I think I was hoping it would realise it had come to the wrong house and apologise politely for the mix-up before calling a taxi to take it home.  It did not.  Of course, when I got up to go back inside, the black cat followed me up to our apartment's door again.

Well now what do I do?  The black cat was very glossy and friendly, so it clearly was a pet cat, and it wasn't injured so it didn't need to be taken to a vet or anything.  On the other hand I was worried about a very friendly black cat wandering the streets this close to Halloween, but obviously I couldn't keep it even over-night without that causing major problems with our cats (When something like this happened at a previous house it triggered Edith's epic campaign of peeing in the hallway by the front door).

So I decided that the only thing I could do was take it back outside, and shut the door to the building, so it wouldn't keep running up the stairs.  I hoped that would make it realise it was at the wrong house, and force it to try looking for it's own home again.  I took a handful of food with me (Nancy did not approve and the black cat wasn't that interested actually), and took the cat downstairs again.  I hated closing the front door and leaving it out there, but I just had to trust it was close enough to home that it would find it's way back by itself.

I really hope that it did.

Primary Carer (For Four Days Anyway!)

Doc C is at a conference this week and he won't be back until Saturday night, so it's just me, the cats and my darling baby at the moment.  

Eva's been really good, but she's still not very chatty so I walked down to the bakery with her this afternoon partly to make sure I had at least one adult conversation today - Even if that conversation was purely "Could I have a multi-grain sandwich loaf please? Thanks!" Actually I also asked for a bear claw and a iced raspberry tea, so it was really quite the chat!

The Cutest Zombie.

My friend Kirsten was in town today viewing some studio space, so she came to visit Evalyn and have a cup of tea with me.  I was very proud to be able to offer some of the butter cookies I made yesterday to go with that cup of tea; and whilst Eva did occasionally fuss a little bit (she is baby after all!) she did put on a good show of grinning and cooing as well.  She's a good baby!

It was lovely to see Kirsten, because she is a good egg, and she also brought me a mug with it's very own soft toy zombie.  It is adorably creepy and I love it!

Baking with a Baby in the House - Achievement Unlocked!

Today I have been SO productive, mostly it was boring stuff like sweeping the hallway, kitchen and bathroom floors and doing the washing up; but I also got out the mixer and made both butter cookies AND oatcakes from scratch (Nigella's recipe for both).

Yes!  Yes, I managed to bake something today!  That makes me unreasonably happy and somehow helps me to feel more on top of everything.

Of course I realise that this was only possible because Eva was happily relaxed today and mostly because she slept for a few hours in the afternoon.  Every day there is something new going on with her, and she is definitely getting more alert and lively; she's recently started cooing a lot, which is adorable, particularly when combined with a gummy smile.  

Eva is also very very close to laughing. Doc C and I may be feeling a little bit competitive about which of us gets that coveted first giggle out of her, and as I'm the one at home with her at the moment I currently have the edge on this one.  On the other hand, Doc C will be looking after her when she's a bit older, so probably get her to say her first word or take her first step, so I think that's pretty fair, don't you?

Kissing Birds and Stripy Stripes.

We bought Eva some long sleeved tops and leggings to keep her warm as the weather turns a little bit chillier.  

Doc C chose this super cute onesie, and I selected the ridiculous stripy leggings; the resulting outfit could only be pulled off by a pretty baby with a sweet smile.

By the way when I took this picture Eva was in her car seat because we were about to go to the supermarket and pick up a few things for dinner.  Whilst we were there she got a bit restless, so I took her out of the pram and carried her instead.  She quieted down immediately and was perfectly happy for the rest of the shopping trip; as was I until I put her back into the pram and saw that my t-shirt now looked as though a tub of cottage cheese had been tipped down the front of it.  Thank you Evalyn Alice!  Good thing you are a pretty baby with a sweet smile!

The Most Comfortable Thing in the Apartment.

This is a point of view shot of how I seem to be spending a lot of my time at the moment.  

What happens is that Eva falls asleep on me, usually after tiring herself out with a screaming fit, so I'm reluctant to wake her by moving; Edith then senses her opportunity and jams herself onto the available remaining lap space. Thus I am pinned down for hours at a time.

I have taken to arranging everything I could possibly want within reach of the sofa, but there is always something that I've left *just* slightly too far away.  This morning it was my water bottle, and that was really quite tantalising.

Oh, also I spoke too soon yesterday about my small victory.  Shortly after writing that Eva turned into a human milk fountain and covered me, herself and the floor in milk.  She managed to get both the front AND the back of my khakis, I have no idea how she did that.

This Small Victory is Mine!

The temperature has dropped noticably over the last couple of days; and Eva does not approve.  That's the only reason I can come up with for her being so inconsolably grumpy every time I try to put her down, I think she wants to be held so she can leach my body heat. Basically, what I'm saying is that my daughter is a cat or possibly a lizard.  I have been calling her Reptile Brain (Affectionately!  Her other nickname is Milk Breath), so I may have brought this on myself.

Yesterday I didn't ever manage to calm her down long enough for me to have a shower until it just seemed a bit pointless especially as I wasn't going to be leaving the house or seeing anyone anyway, and so I just changed into a warmer set of pajamas.  Today though has been a victory of baby wrangling and time management - I've eaten breakfast before noon, had a shower (AND I washed my hair and put some styling product in it!  I know!) and put on clean clothes that are not designed purely for sleeping in.  

I feel like I have accomplished so much.  It's funny how your goals and standards change isn't it?

Pink Baby and Tasty Raw Fish. Heaven.

Doc C's sister sent a crocheted pink hat with a pink ribbon and feather rosette.  The rosette is RIDICULOUS and takes the hat completely over-the-top from cute to infant drag.  It was already so pink that we couldn't resist pairing it with the sugary sweet white and pink dress(with embroidered pink ladybirds on it) and, finally, pink socks.  Eva was very possibly the pinkest baby in Asheville, which was in honour of our going out for sushi with our friend Laura.

This was the first time I've had proper sushi since I found out I was pregnant (I did have crab stick sushi, which is a mediocre counterfeit).  I had the sushi deluxe plate, which has several different types of sushi and rolls, and a special order of crispy salmon skin rolls.  Crispy salmon skin is my favourite type of sushi and I have been thinking about it for months.  It was utterly delicious.

All in all a very fun evening.

 

Tiny and In Charge.

Just as cats know instinctively when you are thinking about getting up from the sofa and choose that moment to sit on you; so too do infant daughters intuit when you were planning to go to bed early and decide that this is the perfect evening to insist on being fed for two and a half hours.

Seriously,Eva's been demanding milk on-and-off since 8 o'clock.  Where is she putting it all? (You don't need to  answer that actually - I am also one of the people who changes her nappies.)

Anyway. She's snoring now, but that could just be a ruse.

Local Seafood.

Moth took us out for dinner this evening, and we decided to try the seafood restaurant close to our apartment.  It was terrific - Moth and I shared a combo bowl (shrimp, mussels and clams) and a salad with salmon, feta and capers; Doc C had a bayou bucket, which is literally a bucket of shrimps, bratwurst, corn-on-the-cob and potatoes.

Evalyn came too, we've taken her out in the evenings a couple of times this week whilst Moth has been here, and I think she got a bit jealous because this was the first time she refused to settle down to sleep and started grizzling.  In the end I had to feed her whilst I was trying to feed myself, quite a tricky manoeuvre but it worked pretty well and she stopped being fussy.

The only tricky part really, apart from trying to get Eva to latch whilst hiding my chest under a swaddling cloth, was trying to eat seafood with one hand.  Lucky for me that MY Mum was there, so she peeled the shrimp for me!  Yum!

Three Generations.

Today was a nice quiet day at home with my Mum and my daughter.  We had lunch, took Eva for a walk around the block in her buggy and then Mum cooked dinner for me - I am a very lucky woman!

Parenting Guides : French Edition.

Fairly early on in my pregnancy I read Pamela Druckerman's book "Bringing Up Bebe", which is about her experience as an American starting a family in Paris.  It's a really interesting look at the French style of parenting and there were several things I found particularly appealing; however Druckerman is a journalist not a doctor or an accredited expert, so I was reluctant to go purely on her findings.

Fortunately she is very good at providing solid and credible sources, which includes Dr Michel Cohen who wrote a parenting guide called "The New Basics".  I bought that book last night and started reading the relevant chapters whilst my daughter was fussing about being put to bed.  There are a couple of pieces of advice that are mirroring pretty much exactly what my instincts are; in particular feeding Eva when she demands to be fed instead of forcing her onto a schedule, and not waking her up to feed her at night.

It makes me feel more confident in trusting my instincts, and that is immensely comforting at this point.  I don't necessarily want a little Parisien running around the house (perish the thought! I am British after all!), but I would like the calmness that both Druckerman and Cohen describe.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Captured on Camera - A Moment of Baby Theatre.

When Eva is feeding, at first she flails her arms and hands around; then, as she calms down, she hits poses that I ofter find really funny.  A couple of days ago she did a really good Cthulu impression, and she has some serious silent film acting potential.  

Obviously my hands are usually full at these moments, so I'm usually the only one who gets to enjoy Evalyn Theatre - But I happened to be sat next to Doc and my camera was right next to him when she stuck her pinky out like a frightfully refined lady enjoying a cup of tea from a bone china cup.  Golden photo opportunity!  Hoorah!

However, Doc C was actually a bit reluctant to take the picture for me because he wasn't sure how appropriate it was... I mean, Ok, I won't use it as my Facebook profile picture or anything, but it's too cute not to get a photo of, and then that photo is too funny not to share here surely?  Anyway, everything is all covered up, you can't see either of our faces and it's not like you haven't seen a bra before right?

 

Missions Accomplished.

Today I -

1. Read a couple of chapters of a YA novel and flipped through one of my Pilates books
2. Tidied the living room
3. Swept all of the wooden floors
4. Did a pre-natel Pilates routine
5. Watched an old season of "The Biggest Loser" (and was very disappointed when my two least favourite contestants won all of the money.  Damn it!)
6. Stopped Edith playing with a large bee
7. Started making Eva some sock/bootie things
8. Realised the yarn and crochet needle I have are entirely the wrong size for the sock/bootie project
9. Took all the plastic tags and stickers off some new baby clothes so that they can be washed
10. Had two cups of tea

Today I did not - 

1. Give birth

That's about it really, Doc C is home for the weekend now so we are at Evalyn's disposal should she decide to hit her due date.  Tomorrow morning I have a doctor's appointment, so we might get some idea of how likely that is.

Homewares.

Whilst I'm not entirely sure whether or not I'm nesting at the moment, I am definitely invested in getting the flat thoroughly organised and so today we went out in search of those canvas storage crate things.  I specifically wanted two large ones (one for my bewilderingly large collection of belts and one for my entirely necessary assortment of bags) and a small ones (especially for headscarves), and it was but the work of moment in the home goods section of Target to find exactly what I wanted in a jaunty multi-coloured polka dot canvas.  Score.

This means that I've emptied the top drawer of the small chest of drawers and Evalyn's socks now have a designated home.  Eva's not even born yet and she's already got an entire (although small) chest of drawers to herself, whilst Doc C and I are sharing the large one.  I decided this was necessary when I was packing her hospital bag, because I couldn't find her red socks and the Wonder Woman onesy will look so much better with red socks!

We carried on with the home improvement shopping by purchasing some outdoor furniture in the form of two cheap-and-cheerful plastic (but entirely recyclable) adirondack chairs.  These are surprisingly comfortable, and I've spent a lovely late afternoon sitting in the shade of a tree, drinking lemon barley water (Thank you World Market!  You are magnificent!) and reading some essays by G.K. Chesterton on my Kindle.  The cats are very taken with this novel development and love having us outside with them, Edith in particular is ecstatic and has been perched on the railing right next to the chairs just gazing at us lovingly.

At one point Edith moved along the railing a bit to get a better view of something, and her profile was beautifully framed against the sky.  She looked like she was composing poetry, and I was irrestibly reminded of Jordan Catalano from the nineties teen drama "My So-Called Life" .  Edith, I feel sure, would lean beautifully if she were a human.

Please Prepare for Slightly Too Much Information.

Yesterday the manual breast pump I'd ordered arrived.

(That should have cleared the room a fair bit already, but let's just give them a moment to get their coats)

Naturally We unpacked the thing, looked at it, read the manual and then put it back in it's box... Until I got ready for bed, at which point I thought to myself that I really ought to just give it a quick test pump or two.  And then my boobs started to leak.

Which freaked me out frankly.  Doc C walked into the bedroom at this point, saw my face and asked what was wrong, so I told him and he was also a bit freaked out.

I mean obviously this is really good, because I intend to breast feed and this means that means that my body is pretty much ready to do that and yay for the miracles of the human body, etc, but still - OMG!  That was SO weird, and it;s all just going to get weirder isn't it ?

The Bella of Cars.

A quick summary: Last week we moved to a new flat in a new city, where we are expecting to have a baby in about 6 or 7 weeks time.  Naturally this is the perfect time to also buy a new (used) car.

So we did.

We traded in the red Mini and got a black Honda Fit.  It's nice!  It's not a Mini (which we must have said at least 50 times today - we were, after all, at a Mini dealership, surrounded by Minis and everyone in the building was wearing a t-shirt proclaiming their love of Minis), but it's nice!

Of course my good opinion was immediately secured when we went for our test drive, because when I opened the car door it smelled like a really nice packet of orange almond cookies.  We now own a car that smells delicious.  Beat that!