Little Miss Personality

When I was six months pregnant with Cakes, we went to Mexico for a “last hurrah”. Here’s me, hurrahing:



(The next time I go to Mexico, I will definitely not be with child, and that will most definitely not be a virgin daiquiri in my hand. I seethed with envy every time McHotty enjoyed a frosty pint on the beach during that trip. But I digress).

One night we were strolling through a market, and one of the vendors had these adorable ponchos for babies. Of course, we couldn’t resist buying one for our unborn child. My only disappointment was the smallest size he had in the colour I wanted was a 2. It seemed like it would be an interminable amount of time before Sherwood (that’s what we called Cakes then) would be big enough to wear the thing. We bought it anyway, and upon returning home I tucked it away.

Fast forward almost three years later. I dug out the poncho, which had seemed so huge, and it fits Cakes perfectly. But what is so interesting to me is how three years ago the vision of the child wearing this garment was so abstract: I pictured an angelic, cheerful little babe, but really had no idea who this person was.

I tried to take a picture of Cakes wearing her poncho, and it struck me just how much she is her own person, and she’s not even three. She’s a far cry from the child I pictured while I lolled on a beach in Mexico:






Out of about thirty shots, not one is cooperative. My babe is a force to be reckoned with: she will not be bullied, or cajoled. She knows what she wants. She’s strong and determined; she’s a handful; she’s defiant. She's exhausting; she’s a delight.

I’m so proud of her.

No Faith

I'll be the first one to admit, I have few strengths in the kitchen (besides opening a bottle of wine, which I can do in less than 10 seconds). McHotty does most of our cooking, and on the days he's on shift, Cakes and I eat a lot of pasta.

Luckily, Cakes is not a fussy eater. She prefers things raw to cooked, and she doesn't like her foods mixed. She's happy to eat some roast chicken, brown rice, and cherry tomatoes for dinner several nights a week.

So, it's no surprise that Cakes doesn't have much faith in my culinary abilities. I'm fine with that. But I must admit, it hurt my feelings just a little bit when I went to add the milk to her Kraft Dinner yesterday and she burst into tears and shrieked, "no! no! daddy do it!"

Crunch Time

I can’t believe it, the end of my first term is approaching already. You can tell by the sight of my desk:



I wonder if I really need three Oscar Wilde biographies, or if I’m just postponing working on the more boring stuff?

Actually, none of it is boring. Here’s what I’m working on now: presentations on Oscar Wilde, Mary Ann Shadd, and Dionne Brand (all in the next week! that was poor planning on my part). I’m almost finished a paper on Susanna Moodie’s style in Roughing It in the Bush. I’m just starting to percolate ideas for a paper on maternal representations in Victorian lit (due later in Dec), as well as a paper on Blood Meridian (due in January. I’m thinking about writing about McCarthy’s use of violence. I could also tie in violence in film, but it’s such a big topic).

I have some research to do over the holidays about Literary Impressionism—should be very interesting.

I’ve read some great books this term. Will try to write a little about them soon; in the meantime, here’s a little list:

In Another Place, Not Here – Dionne Brand
The New York Trilogy – Paul Auster
Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy
Roughing It in the Bush – Susanna Moodie

I know there are one or two students reading this blog (if you still have time to read). What are you working on now?

Ho Ho, Whew!

The Santa Claus parade went much better than I expected. We waited until 2:00 to leave the house, allowing Cakes to have a little nap first. By the time we arrived at Front and Church (the very end of the parade route), it was already passing through. Cakes watched the festivities from McHotty’s shoulders and we were on our way home in an hour.

I survived it without liquor!

Cakes loved it. She was all about the bands and floats though—she had no interest in Santa. Unfortunately, my camera batteries died, and I haven’t a single shot.

We went for coffee then walked home, and all the floats were parked along Cherry Street. We let Cakes check them out up close, then we watched as the police stopped traffic on Lakeshore and all the floats proceeded on their way home. It was kind of surreal.

***
The day before the parade was much less successful. McHotty was working, so I had to take Cakes to her cousin’s first birthday party by myself. She skipped her nap of course, and by the time he started to open his presents she was out of her mind. Not allowing her to play with his new John Deere ride-on tractor was the final straw—I had to do the hasty exit with a shrieking child under my arm. We went all the way to the ‘Shwa and didn’t even have any cake.

These two do love each other already though...

Parentbloggers Review: That Baby DVD

I’m very pleased with my latest product for review from The Parent Bloggers, That Baby DVD.

Featuring acoustical arrangements of classic tunes by bands like Bob Marley, The Pretenders and The Beatles, That Baby DVD, and its companion, That Baby CD is something I can get into along with Cakes.

The music is really fantastic--it’s performed by Stephanie Schneiderman, a singer/songwriter from Portland, and she’s accompanied by musician friends and family. The quality of the video is excellent--the tunes are set to images of children playing and puppetry, as well as animation.

It’s a nice break from Dora.

Click here to see and hear a sample.

If you order, use coupon code “PBN” for 20% off. They have a no questions asked money back guarantee and lifetime replacement on the DVDs and CD’s.

Speaking Slooowly

Yesterday was Cakes’ long awaited assessment with a speech therapist. It took us months to get this by the way, so if you live in Ontario and are having any concerns, call them sooner rather than later. At least you can get on the list--you can always cancel later if things sort themselves out.

It went pretty well. Her speech has really improved since she started school, so we weren’t too worried anymore, but thought we might as well check things out. The assessment was unthreatening and Cakes didn’t mind it too much either. There were two therapists. They let her play with toys and found unobtrusive ways to do the testing.

They agree, her comprehension is fine, but there is a little concern with her intelligibility. She could use some help with her verbal motor skills--she is having some trouble with certain sounds. They’ve recommended we attend a group session that begins in January. They also want us to simplify the way we talk to her, get on her level more, and speak more slowly so she can see how we’re forming the words. I’ve always made a point not to dumb down language with her.

Does this mean I have to put away my Margaret Atwood children’s books? Cakes seems to like four syllable words.

And the Giller Goes To...

…Elizabeth Hay’s Late Nights on Air.

This book has been sitting next to my bed for a couple of months now. I promise to get to it and review it here before Christmas. Have any of you read it? What did you think?

Actually, I’m embarrassed to say, the only Giller nominee I’ve read this year is Divisadero (see my review here). People seem to love or hate Divisadero--what did you think of it?

Music to My Ears

The thing that irritates me most about parenthood lately is the constant sweeping up. Cakes refuses to use a highchair anymore, so every time she eats it’s a disaster. It’s so monotonous cleaning up these messes six times a day.

(We just finished doing Peter Pan in one of my classes—the Darlings have a dog they’ve trained to be a nanny, named Nana. I wish I had a Nana around here.)

So, it was music to my ears this morning when Cakes grabbed a broom after breakfast and started singing a new song:


Clean up, clean up,
La la la.
Clean up, clean up,
Buddy says so.

October Shat On My Keyboard Awards

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Girl awarded Mad Hatter

The Eleventh awarded Jurgen Nation

Coffee Shop Mafia awarded Almost Somewhat Positive

Oh, the Joys awarded Joy Unexpected

The New Girl awarded Motherhood Uncensored

All Rileyed Up awarded Alpha Dogma

T with Honey awarded The Mother Load

Moosh in Indy awarded Metalia

Them's My Sentiments awarded Lawyer Mama

Mother Bumper awarded Oh, the Joys

Momish awarded The Bloggess

Sarah and the Goon Squad awarded Lumpyhead

Chicky Chicky Baby awarded Halushki