Bisous blog

Oh hell

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 10:04:50 -0500

Let's rewind back to last week, wherein I discovered that Christmas was awfully close.

Let's think about what I've accomplished in the past 6-7 days.

Let's add the fact also that Jah has decided that after waking up once a night for the last 10 weeks (with a few precious nights actually slept all the way through), she will remind Mama who is boss and wake up 2-3 times a night for the past five nights. The difference between once a night and 2-3 times a night is the difference between two glorious chunks of 3-5 hours of sleep vs 3-4 chunks of crap.

I'm gonna sleep train her at 9 months, I swear.

Did I digress? My whole life has been a digression this week. It's a miracle I showed up to work instead of driving in the direction of my old high school. Anyway, I'm no closer to getting my Christmas stuff done. And I'm weirded out by all the stuff I'm going to have to bring on our trip to Texas for the holidays - like, child-size toothbrushes. Stuffed animals. Wipes. Stollers. Car seats. Multiples of everything. In the past I would pack as light as humanly possible in order to avoid actual lugging of much of anything. Now I'm going to be covered with children clinging like the primates they are.

Anyway. Hope everyone likes Shell gas station gift cards for Christmas. Kidding! I'll probably go to Target or something.

Freight train

Tue, 8 Dec 2009 10:43:30 -0500

Christmas is coming! Help! I need to get cracking.

I'm lucky I get a shower in these days so who am I kidding?

Nap time

Sat, 5 Dec 2009 14:51:24 -0500

They are both upstairs! Maybe sleeping! I'm not sure about the Bisousette. Despite daily naps and bedtimes for the entirety of her existance, she still complains every single time. "It's NOT MY BEDTIME YET." Then, about 15% of the time she comes to terms with it, and when I leave the room after reading the pigeon book and twinkle twinkle and goodnight moon and farmer fred book and birthday monsters and one two three, she'll say "Good night mama I love you." The other 85% of the time she screams. Usually only for 5 minutes. But if we never once let her cry, she wouldn't have slept, ever. And we would all be crazy.

Jah automatically smiles and goes to sleep once you put her in her crib, pretty much. If she doesn't go to sleep she hangs out by herself and is cool with her lot and then she falls asleep. She only cries when she's hungry, or if she's tired and you haven't put her in her crib yet. She also likes to sleep in her swing chair (which no longer swings, as the swinging mechanism broke about 2 months ago, but Jah, she doesn't care!), and often we put her there because we are too damn lazy to carry her upstairs.

Pretty soon I'm going to have to pull the bumpers and mobile off Jah's crib, as she is beginning to pull up on things. Until she's a little older and I can put more stuff in her crib, it's going to look so dull and desolate in there. I'm sure she won't mind.

Southern Vampire Mystery Series

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 10:37:03 -0500

Wow! I received my first "True Blood" disc from netflix back in July. However, when one is still waking up 1-2 times a night every night for months to feed a wee baby, one tends to go to sleep around 9pm. Since Bisousette goes to sleep around 8:30, it is very difficult to watch hour long shows with lots of swearing, sex, or violence. True Blood, predictably, has all three. So it is not so unusual that I've been hanging on to that DVD for 6 months, waiting for the time and place to sink my teeth in. Jah slept through the night twice last week, and in general is only waking up once, not twice, when she does get up to eat, so I'm actually, dare I say it, well-rested, and sometimes I even stay up until 10.

Wow! What a great series. SOOOO much better than Twilight. I'm bummed I only had the first disc, with only two episodes, so I have to send off for the next ones, and they are not available on demand or on netflix to watch instantly. How 20th century of HBO to make me wait like this. I was able to download the first book, on which the series was based, and so I can read it on Stanza on my iphone and not worry about Bisousette learning any Interesting New Words or seeing massive bloodfests on the huge TV right before bed. It's bad enough she watches so much Curious George (but how else am I supposed to get anything done? :)

I'm Not Worthy

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:33:54 -0500

A week or so ago I applied for a credit card, specifically so that I can have one I use only for business things. Easier to keep separate and pretty and nice and neat, and our business doesn't qualify for its own credit card for another year or so, we've been told.

So, no big deal, right? It's not like I need a huge limit or anything - our business requires purchased like $28 for a ream of paper and the occasional used file cabinet (yeah, used. Have you seen how much they charge for new ones? Craziness.)

So I received my approval in the mail today, but the overall bank who also owns my personal credit card said "we've reviewed your credit and we've decided to lower the limit on your other account." They cut my personal credit limit by 50%.

Fifty percent!

I haven't paid late in over 8 years. I've paid one late bill in the 12 years I've had the card, and it was during my internship year when I was at the hospital 160 hours a week, and it was for a single charge for gas, and I called and they removed the late fee because it was only one day late. I've always paid the balance in full. I haven't paid any other bills late either. I've had the same credit limit for nearly the entire 12 years I've had the card, and now, when I'm gainfully employed and married and boring as hell, they cut my limit by half?

I'm a little hurt, to be frank. Not worthy!

I'm glad we made our business account with a different bank. :(

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:14:04 -0500

My actual thanksgiving will be tomorrow, at the sister-in-law's house. Today I'm cooking leftovers from frozen for my two little gourmands while Mr. Bisous works a 16 hour shift. Actually, Bisousette is getting leftovers from the freezer - Jah gets mama milk, various jarred purees, and shredded cardboard-type "oatmeal" and "rice" cereal. I'm trying to make myself busy by cleaning the place. Last weekend I got together two large bags of clothes to donate, and subsequently neglected to bring the bags to one of many donation sites all week. So this morning I packed the girls in the car and we had a Fun Holiday Trip to the Closed Salvation Army to Throw Bags of Clothes in the bins in the back. Bisousette actually asked me if we were going to buy a Christmas tree and bring it home. She's growing up so fast.

Later I will bake some chocolate chip cookies using actual ingredients rather than a log of dough. The only unfortunate part is that I only have one stick of butter, and the recipe calls for two. I suppose I can make it lower fat or substitute some oil or both (don't you love it when the Knorr rice sides directions tell you to use I Can'T Believe Its Not Butter spread HAH HAH). Something is always missing on Thanksgiving. As a child my mother would always send my dad out for poultry seasoning, and since the grocery stores were closed, it would mean scouring convenience stores for especially good seasoning selections. Then she would find last year's poultry seasoning at the back of the spice cabinet.

Anyway, there is much to be thankful for this year. I hope you all have a wonderful day!

A full night's sleep

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:58:42 -0500

Jah slept through from 7:30 pm to 6:15 am - only the second time her entire 6&1/2 months she has achieved such a feat. The first time was after her 4 month shots, so I'm not sure that counts.

This also means that for the second time in 6&1/2 months I've also had an uninterupted night of sleep, and I feel terrific. Like I could conquer the world. Like I don't need my usual shot of tequila before heading out to work.

(kidding. I have an amaretto sour. KIDDING. Does anyone know a good use for tequila besides a margarita? Mr. Bisous bought a bunch of teeny bottles of it when they went on sale for some reason, and now two years later we still have a bunch of teeny bottles cluttering up the liquor cabinet. And I can't face a margarita in November in New England. Especially before work. No, I mean after work.)

Okay, Bisousette's done with her cheerios, pear, banana, apple, orange, orange juice, milk, and water. Most of those fruits were partials leftover from yesterday's snacks, but holy banana, our breakfasts here sometimes looks like the morning buffet at a roadside motel.

And Jah is drinking water from a sippy cup! It took Bisousette a little longer to figure that out, or maybe it took Bisous a little longer to figure out the right sippy cup to buy for a baby (Avent with the soft spout. No question.)

New computer!

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:01:40 -0500

My last one imploded, and the new one was delivered on Saturday. By the time I got all my info from one to the other, and deleted all the excess copies of songs off itunes (seriously, how did I end up with 6 copies of Wicked Game?) it is Monday evening before I have a moment to blog! I'm actually busy at work so I don't really have time to blog there. When it is your own business productivity seems more important somehow.

Bisousette and Mr. Bisous are watching the Fifth Element. Bisousette is completely absorbed by it - all the bright colors and music, I suppose. Good movie, though. Can't fault her. Not too many swear words. Good fit role models, just like the cast of Enterprise. Bisousette's making me chase her around the house "Run, Mama! More run!" but that is the extent of formal exercise I'm getting right now. Breastfeeding is murderous to a fitness plan - between the discomfort and the night wakenings I've failed miserably in getting back in shape after each pregnancy.

However - a few weekends ago I purchased an iPhone! The most awesome invention on this or any other planet so far that I'm aware of. Skwigg called the Blackberry her precious, well, the iPhone is the most holy precious of all technological preciousness. And so intuitive that the Bisousette can turn it on, unlock it, and bring up her favorite coloring and number game apps.

One app is called ifitness, and as soon as I'm not waking up in the middle of the night (give sweet little Jah a couple more months- she's down to one 2am awakening and I'm pretty sure that will go away by nine months!), I'm going to buy it and go for it. We've got a treadmill and a bowflex and freeweights and cardio mixes and Wii sports and DDR and there is no excuse in the world not to be in shape, as long as I'm awake a little bit past Bisousette's bedtime. Since she goes to sleep at 8:30 and I'm crashing by 9 these days, right now the DDR mat is a little dusty. But soon, I'm going to be in fighting shape for real. Like windows 7.

Oh man

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:31:32 -0500

You thought I was a bad blogger before, but today Mr. Bisous and I took the younglings to the Apple Store and gave Sprint the finger to sign up for AT&T and two shiny new iPhones! And now my life is complete, with a husband, a house, a business, two lovely girls, and a smartphone.

I'm still looking at the best apps. And even though I've already ordered and paid for a new laptop (on its way here, I hope), I'm actually updating my itunes just so I can plug in the iphone to itunes, and I'm assuming some sort of reconcilliation and world peace will occur.

I looked at the maps/compass feature and saw the garden in my dad's backyard via satellite! I also saw my own car parked at my former workplace.

The children are probably napping, but how would I know, as I have been ignoring everyone.

Milk bar blues

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:21:59 -0500

Sick of pumping!

Scared of formula!

Ba da da da dum

duh dum

Ba da da da dum

duh dum

Jah is growing just fine. She had her 6 month check-up today and came away with 4 bandaids and a seal of approval for being 99% height, 80% weight, and 90% head circumference. Good baby. Nice job.