Inspired?

Nope.

I mean, there’s war. There’s some asshat stabbing people downtown for no (good) reason. (but it looks like he’s been caught) There’s this guy on CNN every day and for some reason it’s always him when we’re flipping channels. Yesterday’s commemorative address re: 9/11 was quite spectacular, in a “wow – someone actually BUYS those t-shirts with the eagle superimposed on the firefighter superimposed on the american flag?” kind of way. But I kind of feel like you all can do your own critiquing of those things. Unless you’re LAZY. You’re not LAZY are you?

Speaking of lazy, I am glad the new season of television is starting. Will I be able to sit through another cycle of Top Model? Does a unicorn laugh at you when you look away?

See: oatmeal. See also: my brain is.

In lieu of a post involving ideas and clever turns of phrase, here I offer you some of the links I read regularly.

A little pregnant and her friend so close. Documentation of each woman’s experience with infertility, loss and eventual successful pregnancy and parenthood. They are incredibly strong women and excellent writers.

A woman who likes ducks like me but is way smarter than me. And another who maintains the Extended Cake Mix. Very funny stuff.

Plus, these people watch more 90210 than me. And that makes me feel fantastic.

Something else that makes me feel fantastic but which isn’t a website? Poori chips. They come in a bag from the Indian Life food company. They’re like if you squished a bunch of samosas into a flat pancake. And then cut the pancake into rectangular strips about 3″ x 1″ each. And then deep fried the strips. So good. I tried in vain to locate them on the website above so that you might at least see them but rest assured, I type these words with greasy fingers and cumin breath.

Aaaanddddd that’s all I’ve got. Trombone is in the swing. He has been swinging and staring at me for 25 minutes but now his eyes are starting to droop a little. Damn – now he’s got the hiccups. Daytime Nap Quest continues.

Posted in chips, outside | 5 Comments

So ich eröffne den Blog

Loosely translated: Thus I open the Blog
Stolen from this guy.

I love umlauts. (especially heavy metal umlauts.) So much so that I prefer to refer to Trombone’s pet ookpik as an “umlaut.” Well, he doesn’t know. As long as it keeps telling him whatever it tells him, he’s happy. (it makes an authentic ookpik call when you squeeze it. He has beeen under the ookpik’s spell for several weeks now.)

Yesterday we turned a corner. The cranky, cry-y, screamy baby turned normal again except for waking up from his (long! baby started napping again during the day!) naps as though a viper had bit his bum. Considering he got four (4!) needles on Thursday evening, I consider this progress.

I have a new book to explain things to me: The Wonder Weeks – How to Turn Your Baby’s 8 Great Fussy Phases into Magical Leaps Forward. I read about the book at Ask Moxie back around week 5 of Trombone’s life, when he got weird and fussy and started yelling for no reason. Sources said, “babies do that,” but I thought there might be more and since sources also said that growth spurts (and associated fussiness) happened at weeks 3 and 6, I went digging. Moxie explained that she had found a lot of valuable information in The Wonder Weeks so I ordered it from Abe Books, The Internet’s neato used bookstore.

Seriously, go look for a book there. They’ll have it. (Oh, but I do love to browse used bookstores. Just not with a fussy infant.)

According to this book, (and substantiated by real evidence collected by me) Trombone has just finished his post-Week 8 developmental growth spurt fussy phase and now will be delightful until he enters his Week 12 developmental growth spurt fussy phase. Stay tuned. It may or may not be true, but it offers me REASONS for things and this helps me cope.

As does this:

and this:

Happy 10 weeks, baby.

Posted in trombone | 6 Comments

In Other News

I am sad to report that Trombone displays a strong preference for Van Hagar.

No son of mine, etc.

Posted in music, trombone | 3 Comments

The Moon is Full. THAT is the Reason.

This is a song called Thursday. It goes a lot like Wednesday. Make up your own tune; I’m tired.

Wake up
feed baby
change baby
feed baby some more
burp baby (baby whines during this part because he thinks I have stopped feeding him and if I stop, how will he get to 20b lbs by the weekend?)
feed baby some more
exchange pleasantries with baby
baby yawns
nurse baby to sleep
baby sleeps almost instantly
wait until baby is really asleep, put baby down

baby wakes up
attempt pleasantries with baby
baby screams
try various soothing techniques
BABY SCREAMS
feed baby
baby sleeps almost instantly
hold baby for 1 hour while it sleeps.

baby wakes up. complaining.
change baby’s diaper
very short exchange of pleasantries
wash hands, leaving baby on floor WHERE THERE ARE SHARKS APPARENTLY
(BABY SCREAMS)
try assorted soothing
BABY SCREAMS
feed baby
baby eats for a while, falls asleep
hold baby for 1 hour

baby wakes up, squints up at me, starts to cry
place baby on floor to change diaper
BABY SCREAMS
pick up baby, go upstairs for change of scene
baby headbutts my collarbone
place baby on changetable SCREAMS pick baby up place baby on bed SCREAMS pick baby up SCREAMS decide fuck it and change baby on table after all check for lesions, snakebites, see nothing
back downstairs
feed baby
baby sleeps
type entry with left hand.

And this is BEFORE he gets immunized at 5 pm. holla!

Posted in trombone | 2 Comments

Could One of You Nice People Please Go to Medical School? Thanks!

Wednesday, August 16th
phone rings, Dr. Dude’s office

Receptionist: Dr Dude’s office?
Me: Is Dr Dude still taking new patients? I saw on the College of Physicians and Surgeons website that he is…
Receptionist: Er, yes?
Me: Great! I would like to become his patient –
Rec: Just you?
Me: No; me, my husband and my son –
Rec: Hmm, OK, I will just take your name and birthdays
I give names and ages of the three of us
Rec: And do you have any chronic diseases?
Me: Not that I know of – ha ha
Rec: ….
Me: Uh, no.
Rec: OK. And you all have health cards?
Me: Yes
Rec: OK. I will give your information to Dr. Dude? And he will review it. And if he decides to accept you, we will call you within the next week.
Me: Um. OK.
Rec: If you don’t hear from us within a week, of course you can call us and find out if we are accepting you.
Me: Wow – um – OK.

Tuesday, August 22nd
Telephone rings, our house

Rec: Hi! You applied to be a new patient of Dr. Dude?
Me: Yes!
Rec: He will accept you.
I wipe my brow with the back of my hand. Whew! That sarcastic sweat really stings when it gets in your eye!
Me: Terrific news.
Rec: So, you can call back any time to make an appointment. Goodbye –
Me: Can I make one now?
Rec: OK…
Me: OK, well, my son is almost 2 months old and I’d like to bring him in for his vaccinations as well as to meet Dr. Dude.
Rec: OK, 2 month vaccinations…how about next Tuesday morning?
Me: The 29th? Sure.

Monday, August 28th 4:30 pm
Telephone rings, our house

Rec: Hi, this is Dr. Dude’s office
Saint Aardvark: Yes…
Rec: Well turns out we made an appointment for you for tomorrow morning? But we don’t take new patients in the morning. So can we reschedule you for the afternoon?
SA: OK. How about Friday.
Rec: Sure! Friday at 1:30, see you then.

Friday, September 1st, 1:30 pm

There is a television on the wall in Dr. Dude’s waiting room. The screen reads: “Unusable Signal.” The sticker on the bottom of the television monitor reads: “DO NOT ADJUST. CALL 1 800 XXXXXXX for SERVICE.”

Friday, September 1st, 2:00 pm

Nurse brings us a baby scale and we weigh Trombone. 14 lbs 2 oz!

Friday, September 1st, 2:10 pm

Doctor Dude: What brings you here?
Me: Well, Trombone here is 2 months and we would like him to be vaccinated, plus we don’t have a family doctor and we were thinking you might be our family doctor –
DD: Okay, first I’ll get a history from you guys…
to SA: Are you healthy?
SA: Pretty much. I do have this backache but it’s going away with repeated heat and ibuprofen –
DD: So you’re healthy?
SA: Yeah, pretty much.
DD: No asthma or hepatitis or anything like that?
SA: Good god, no.

DD to me: So you’re pretty healthy?
Me: Yes.

Doctor Dude examines Trombone thoroughly.

DD: He is quite healthy.
Me: Yep, so far so good.
DD: So, about the vaccinations…
Me: Yes?
DD: Well, we don’t actually do them here. So you’ll have to take him to a public health clinic? You might have to make an appointment
Me: O…K
DD: Do you have –
Me: Yeah, I have the number for my public health clinic
DD: You might have to make an appointment
Me: Yeah yeah yeah thanks.
DD: Now I’ll just get your weights and blood pressure…hold on a minute.

Nurse comes back with grown-up size scale and weighs us while Dr. Dude goes into an exam room across the hall and closes the door.

Nurse: OK – you’re done..
Me: Do you want to take our blood pressure?
Nurse: Oh, um, did he say he was going to do that?
Me: Yes
Nurse: Just wait here, I’m sure he’ll be back.
we wait for one minute. Trombone is hungry by now & a little grumpy.
Me to SA: The meter is out of money. Let’s just go.
We run into Dr. Dude in the hall. He gives us his card. He appears to have forgotten about our blood pressure.

This is how we felt afterwards.

Posted in idiots, trombone | 9 Comments