dissertation breakthrough

I totally just figured out the major link that I need for my dissertation–the thing that will make it all fall together.

I’m thrilled about this.

But the idea makes me tired. It involves rereading the books, revising the chapters in depth, and rethinking my opinion of all of the other books that I reference briefly.

At least I have it, though, and I think the last chapter–which has been kicking my ass–will be easier now.

Laura

Mary and I have been watching “Laura” (which is one of my favorite movies. I’m knitting–finishing her longies, which are almost done now–and she’s wandering around wreaking various types of havoc on the living room. It cracks me up, though, watching her watching a movie. She thinks it’s very interesting. She laughs in the funniest places–the police detective says, “You’re not safe. Don’t move outside this apartment.” And then the heroine says, “If you think I’m really in danger–” and then Mary cracks up like it’s the funniest thing she’s ever heard.

She is a very standing-up baby these days–she pulls up on everything. It makes her look very grown up.

Snappy

I just bought this:

http://thesnapstore.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/21/products_id/28?osCsid=4146b5bc535af02008e5b378bff6ffc2

So that I can make these:

http://www.cottonbabies.com/product_info.php?cPath=28&products_id=283

I am oh so very excited.

I need to get out more.

ultra-informative

The label on Fels-Naptha laundry soap has a list of ingredients:
“Cleaners, soil and stain removers, colorants, and fragrance.”

Great, thanks. Very helpful.

overheard

While Conor and Mary were playing on the floor and Conor was brandishing a puzzle piece with Elmo’s head on it, left here by a cousin:

“Hi, Mary! How are you? I’m the happy beheaded Elmo!”

Squeal.

“I’m so happy and beheaded! Where’s the rest of my body? What is this, 18th-century France?”

Mary squeaks. With joy. Clearly she’s destined to be warped.

things I don’t like and do like

I dislike:
* Cleaning the floor. With any implement.
* Making bureaucratic phone calls.
* Finding a baby bottle filled with a cottage-cheese-like substance under the sofa.
* Putting away the plastic storage containers that I leave in the drainboard to dry.
* Listening to parents yelling at their kids in public.
* Movie musicals, other than “1776.”
* Folding clean clothes.
* Getting up early.
* Shelving books.
* Calculating end-of-semester grades.

Take note, husband and any possible houseguests–extra bonus points whenever you prevent me having to do any of the above. (Conor has earned about 1, 117 bonus points already for shelving books. These can be redeemed for gift wrapping at any time.)

I like:
* Wrapping presents.
* Folding clean diapers. (No, it is NOT the same as clean clothes.)
* Weeding.
* Drinking tea.
* Knitting. Or sewing.
* Taking pictures.
* Writing syllabi.
* Reading books. (You see why I need to be married to a book-shelver.)
* Giving Mary baths.
* Cooking risotto.

If your e-mail address were….

…….lick_my_mojo @ something dot com, would you give it to your teacher? Wouldn’t you set up a separate gmail account or something? Honestly.

So I’m back to teaching–two weeks down. My students are great, which is a nice thing. I’m teaching English 101 this summer, so it’s nothing particularly exciting content-wise, but it’s a fun class. I have a number of very chatty and participatory students, and no sleepers (I hate sleepers). It’s a 3.5 hour class two nights a week and I always come home exhausted. That’s a long class. It’s a long time to be in charge and talking, so I’m doing a lot more group work than usual. I hate group work myself so I don’t usually do much of it, but in a class this long I sort of have to.

I’m half done with my next knitting project; are you curious?

amphibious

Conor just found a frog.

In our bathroom.

On one of the slats of the blinds covering the window.

Upstairs.

?

several things

* Mary walked three steps today. This is extremely alarming. She is getting far too big and far too mobile. I may have to build a baby corral. She looks pleased with herself, though, eh?

* I finished a knitted item! Actually, I finished two. Pictures follow.

* I start teaching my summer writing class tomorrow. This should be interesting; it will be almost the first time that Conor and Mary will fly solo. I suspect that when I get home tomorrow night Mary will know how to play the guitar and the two of them will be hanging out in the backyard playing “Down Where the Drunkards Roll,” and drinking beer, and eating hot dogs and jalapeno pickles.

So, pictures! Here is Mary wearing her new knit shorties, made by another mama from the diaper-sewing message board. We got these in a swap. They fit her exactly perfectly right now and I think they’re uber cute:

Here is Mary modeling her wool soaker (which is a diaper cover). This is the first knitted object that I’ve finished! Before you send me frantic e-mails telling me that she’ll be too hot: wool is much cooler than any form of plastic, which is the other option, or than a disposable diaper. (It’s breathable, unlike any other waterproof cover.)

These were made from a wool yarn that had a thick-thin varied thickness to cover up my wonky tension–I mean, er, to give the finished product an interesting texture.

I’m not sure why she looks so disgruntled here:

And here is my scarf, which has the distinction of being for me!….although Mary insisted on modeling it. (It makes me sweat just thinking about wearing this today.)

I think it’s time to tend to the baby; she just removed her diaper and is grinning maniacally at me.

a moment of thanks

So, Mary has always been a champion sleeper. She slept all night starting when she was about 6 weeks old, and she’s always gone right to bed with no crying or fuss or annoyance.

Until about a week ago.

Suddenly, putting her in her crib became this horrendous ordeal. I’d put her down, and she would cry. No, wail. No, scream hysterically until she couldn’t breathe. It was awful. I’d pick her up, settle her down, and then put her back in the crib. Repeat. Over, and over, and over.

The thing is, all of the books talk about this and say that you shouldn’t take the baby out of their room or turn on the light, and most of them agree that you shouldn’t pick up the baby, etc.

Well, with all due respect to the scientists and psychologists who have spent years studying this, that is complete and utter bullshit. It’s nonsense.

Eventually I decided to bring Mary back to our room and let her stay up for a while and play with us and then try again. She still cried when I put her back in the crib, but not nearly as badly.

I think the problem has been that she’s teething and her mouth hurts, and she wants us. I can’t blame her for that at all. And after a couple of really rough nights getting to sleep (thank God, once she got to sleep, she slept like her ordinary log-like self), she napped more or less all day today and then went right to bed when we put her in her crib. She may be back to screaming tomorrow night, but at least I can tell that it’s not a fundamental change in her philosophy about sleeping….it’s just her teeth.

All of which is a good thing, because I seriously do not know how parents of bad sleepers survive. I mean, I guess you would get used to it if your baby never did sleep well, but it would not be easy or nice.

This is what I like–it is both easy and nice:

10:00 p.m.: Mary has a bottle and maybe some applesauce and starts to look a little less alert than before.
10:20 p.m.: Mary has a bath and gets a clean diaper and some quality snuggle time.
10:40 p.m.: One or the other of us sees Mary rub her eyes or tug at her ear.
10:45 p.m.: We put her in her crib.
10:48 p.m.: Mary is asleep.
10:49 p.m.: I run a hot bath and get my book and do not worry that Mary will wake up and need anything because she never wakes up after going to sleep because she is a genius.

That is the way it should be. Hopefully it will be the way things are again now that this particular spate of teething pain seems to be subsiding.