This Is the Time of Day

…when I wish my husband would come striding through the door. Bean is tired, grumpy, sick of sleeping (in her swing, crib, wherever). She’s not hungry. Her “bedtime” is around 6:30-7:00, but until then she fusses. The volume isn’t at the top yet (yes, she does go to 11) — right now it’s grousing and whining sounds. But soon enough, it might end up breaking the eardrums.

Well, she napped until 3:30. My god but babies need a lot of sleep.

From the book I just started referring to (for ideas for play):

Children use 48% of their calorie intake to fuel their brain. Adults use 20%. A child’s brain is 2.5 times more active than an adult’s brain.

Ninety-five percent of the information our brains process come from our senses. Eighty-five percent comes from our vision, touch, and hearing.

–Pam Schiller, The Complete Resource Book for Infants: Over 700 Experiences for Children from Birth to 18 Months

Last Call

Why has it been so hard to give something away? (I suppose it’s the requirement of reciprocity or “paying forward” that is the obstacle. But the requirement need not be daunting.)

There is one more space for a participant in the giving meme I posted some days ago. Here it is again:

By the end of the calendar year, I will send a tangible, physical gift to each of the first five bloggers to comment here. The catch? Each person must make the same offer on her/his blog.

Four people took up the offer. (One has not provided a mailing address yet, however, so if I never get a response, there will be two more spots open.)

Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Please, if you don’t have a blog, don’t leave a comment on this post. Others will assume by the number of comments that the spaces are full. And only comment if you want to play.

Rising

My friend, Patry Francis, whose first novel was published last year, has been dealt a challenge by life. She’s rising admirably to the occasion. My heart goes to her.

Three weeks ago I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. Then the news got worse: a cat scan revealed spots on my liver, a possible metastasis. …So how does a lifelong neurotic and avowed hypochondriac deal with that kind of news?

Read more and be inspired here.

Change Of Plans

Due to a family emergency (that I’m not at liberty to provide the details of, since it’s extended family), my mother-in-law is unable to come as planned tomorrow. Other family members need her support right now. She still intends to come help out here in December (though I feel for her, as she will have traveled many thousands of miles by that time).

We’re doing all right, although I’ve been carrying my tension in my face such that it feels as though I have lock jaw. Bean awoke at 4:30 a.m. today. She had been starting to consolidate her sleep sessions and become more regular (awaking at 5:45-6:00 a.m.), but aims to keep life interesting instead.

And We All Had Fun

Well, Bean wound up sleeping until 12:15 p.m. today, woke to eat, then fell back asleep until 1:30, when we so rudely awoke her to depart for our dinner. We arrived, the food was assembled, we ate (the food was delicious). Bean remained awake and chipper in her bouncer until 3 p.m.; while I ate, I’d jiggle her rattles and play with her. We just finished eating when she became hungry. After she ate she was very tired; she began to fuss. Husband took her to a quiet room where she cried until she fell asleep on him around 4:15. We had dessert (apple pie, chocolate pecan bourbon pie, and fudge) and departed around 5:15. We were all relaxed; even the toddlers were well-behaved. And Stella had a good day:

bliss

Now it’s almost 8 p.m. and I’m tired. Husband put Bean to bed about an hour ago; I heard brief crying, then silence. (He’s sleeping on the floor of her room. It’s just easier to do that than climb up and down stairs constantly.) I should get some Zzzzzzs too. I’m so glad we went.

New photos of Bean are up at Flickr for friends and family! She’s getting all growed up — she’ll be 11 weeks old as of Saturday.

Be Vewy Vewy Quiet

Last night was hard on everyone. We are trying to help Bean learn to fall asleep in the crib. Hours of crying later, she’s either starting to understand or she was simply too exhausted not to sleep.

This morning she woke at 6 a.m., ate, played briefly, and fell asleep in the swing around 7:15. As of 11:15 she remains asleep, though she is stirring slowly awake.

All morning I tippy-toed around the living/dining/kitchen area, because the longer she sleeps, the better off we’ll be this afternoon. I make it a kind of game: how quietly can I open the refrigerator and extract the milk? Can I retrieve a knife to spread peanut butter without clinking other cutlery? Bean is such a light sleeper. My joints creak and crack (always have). Sometimes when I move and one cracks, it startles her in her sleep. Yet the hum of the dishwasher doesn’t. It’s the sudden abrupt sounds, even small ones, that penetrate her sleep.

We’re headed to M&K’s home for dinner. (They are the Emergency Backup Parents.) We’re bringing apple pie and pork-sage sausage stuffing. M&K are cooking the turkey and other goodies, and another family will be there with yummy food too. In all there will be six adults, two toddlers, and a baby in a small two-bedroom condo. Since Bean is good for about two hours of contented wakefulness upon awakening, this means that if she sleeps until 11:30, then wakes to eat, when we show up at 1:30 (when dinner will be served), she will be at the point of needing to nap. But she’ll be in a strange place with lots of stimulation, so either she’ll cry there, or she’ll be so stimulated that she’ll be awake for hours and then she, Husband, and I will pay with hours of crying later. I have struggled with wanting to stay home, to hide in my protected little bubble of familiar space and routine. But one must rise to the challenge, eh?

That’s the way of life with babies. It’s survivable. And dammit, I want some turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving!

If I Bring It

Long ago when I started baking, I decided to make it a point of pride to learn how to make pie crust from scratch. My crusts never come out perfectly, but they do the job well enough. However, I have never had a massive failure — that is to say, I’ve never had dough that was too flaky, gooey, or dry to handle. I’ve always managed to get it rolled out large enough to cover the pan and topping (if it’s a two-crust pie) with enough to crimp the edges. You know, a proper pie crust.

Today I experienced pie crust structural failure. I made the dough last night and refrigerated it. Perhaps I measured the ingredients incorrectly. (Although how can you mess up something that’s made from flour, salt, shortening, and water?) I rolled out the bottom and barely got it into the pan. I patched the broken spaces. Then I tried to roll the top. Ugh. Flakes everywhere. It fell apart under pressure. I tried briefly warming the dough in the microwave, thinking the shortening might soften up. It actually started to cook the dough. In the end, I decided to stop fiddling and just deal with what was in front of me. I didn’t have the energy or heart to make more dough. I still have stuffing to make.

So I decided to plop the partial top crust onto the apples and call it avante garde apple pie. My friend (who’s hosting a bunch of us) had stopped by to watch Bean while I prepped, and he said it’ll taste good anyway. Apples and sugar and spice. What’s not to like? He made me promise to bring it. Do you think if I bring it, they will eat?

avant garde apple pie

[cross-posted at Knit Together]

Giving Meme

I have not participated in a meme of this sort in awhile, but Eden inspired me.

Here is the game (but I have changed “people” to “bloggers” for the sake of clarity):

By the end of the calendar year, I will send a tangible, physical gift to each of the first five bloggers to comment here. The catch? Each person must make the same offer on her/his blog.

Now I need to get inspired and do something. As if I have the time! (But I will make the time. ‘Tis the season, after all.)