5cent candy

Here at the Ivory Tower (aka my workplace) our department has a candy collection, where you can buy pieces of chocolate for 5 cents. Now, it's SO TEMPTING to go over there all the time, but I have an ingrained belief that I can't buy chocolate before 10am. That's not to say I can't eat chocolate prior to 10am -- because I took the rest of the chocolate bunny with me to work today that Richard started in on yesterday. ha ha! Perhaps food consumption should be relative to time. So, it should be based on the # of hours you've been awake. So, upon waking I can have coffee and breakfast foods; at 4hrs it's ok to have candy; at 6hrs it's ok to have lunch; at 9hrs it's ok to have a snack; at 12hrs it's ok to have dinner... etc. And maybe I will even start the new 'toddler' diet for myself. Essentially, it doesn't matter what you eat or when you eat, just that you eat a balanced diet over the course of a week! Who says I can't have pizza for breakfast and waffles for dinner????

Looney Nooner Crooners

On Wednesdays @ lunchtime I am honoured to sing chamber music with these fine folks: Our fearless sopranic leader, Marianne, is in the middle. On the left is Jimmy and on the right, Will. A finer, wittier group of people to share Wednesday lunches with would be hard to find! An observation: apparently you must wear glasses and have a strong glare (ahem, from the glasses) in order to participate.

knitting

Here are some pics of works in progress and finished objects (henceforth to be referred to as WIPs and FOs) The sleeves of the shrug in Andrea handpainted merino: And here's a picture of the sweater vest I made for Miss Maja for her birthday. It's a Debbi Bliss pattern, slightly altered with the addition of a lace/eyelet edging. I made it with Rowan's "Calmer". The completed sweater. A close-up of the bottom lace edging.

Maja as Caesar

Maja was given a pusher/walker for her birthday, and she really likes it! But, my child has decided that SHE is not the one who is supposed to push it -- we parents are. So, she stands in the walker, backwards, as if she's Caesar in a chariot and expects us to 'drive' her around. Of course, we oblige. This was the scene this morning before we left the house for work/school.

Richard turns 3X!

Happy birthday, love! Richard spent the evening yesterday putting together his birthday present: Jane & Tom are coming over this evening for dinner & b-day cake, we're having steak! mmmm. (p.s. 3x = the age between 37 and 39) This is what one's living room looks like when the birthday boy gets a new toy. As you can see, it's a family affair and all the small creatures have to 'help'. ___________ Update 9pm: The steaks were fabulous! mmmmm ----------------- And, a nice picture of Maja to round out the day. This was taken right when I picked her up from daycare!

Maja's stats

Maja had her 12 month pediatrician appt. yesterday -- and it's confirmed, she's a tiny mighty. So her stats are as follows: weight: 19lbs 2.9 oz. (19.43% of growth percentile) height: 2'4" (20.90% of growth percentile) head: 44.2cm (24.86% of growth percentile) Why, OH WHY, they measure everything in Imperial units except the head circumference, which is metric, is beyond me.

the enigma of Sears

I don't understand the Sears home service repair system. Our clothes washer broke on Sunday night, right in the middle of a big load of diapers (of course), and since at this point I use the washer almost every 2nd day, I HAD to have it fixed immediately. So, I made an appt. with the Sears Home Repair. Kudos go to Sears for making the process very easy.They give you a time frame where they guarantee a service technician will appear, mine was between 8am and 12pm. The serviceman arrived at 11:58am. I kid you not. Now, what I want to know is WHY am I always the LAST customer? They can't service everyone at 11:58am, so they must be at someone's house at 8am. Why not mine?? I'm friendly at 8am. I've been up since 6am. I'm fed, showered, and caffinated. At 11:58am I'm under-caffinated, irritated, and hungry. So, it's really in their best interest to come at 8am. Just sayings all. Anywho, the coupling broke on the washer. So, $169 and 20 min. later, it was all fixed! yipee.

Maja turns 1!!

My baby is now 1 year old. We had a family party for Maja on Saturday (Apr 15) with Grandma & Grandpa King, Aunt Margo & Uncle Tom, and 3 cousins: Sara, Lindsay & Kaitlin. We all headed off to the playground for a bit, here's cousin Kaitlin pushing Maja on the swing. and then back to the house for presents, pizza and cake. Maja, Kaitlin, Sara, and Lindsay playing with her new pusher/walker.

sniffle and snort

Now I think I have a sinus infection. I'm sooo stuffed up and my ears are plugged and my head hurts... Katia not happy. But, I have other things to think about!!!! Miss Maja's 1st bday family party is tomorrow. Who hasn't baked a cake yet? Who hasn't wrapped any presents yet? Who hasn't even thought of what she's going to feed the family yet? Oi vey. It's going to be a loooong evening tonight. At least I don't have to clean the house. heh. I simply can't believe my munchkin will be 1 year old on Sunday. She's just changed so much, it's amazing. I wonder what humans would be like if we continued on the same learning trajectory throughout our lives that we've established in our first year. She went from a helpless 7lb infant to a 20lb (give or take) walking, talking, and thinking toddler. Her vocabulary is pretty good right now. She says the following: hi hi dad dad dad dad dad mama thank you dolly jo-jo hi lady doggie emerson uh-oh! [when she falls or something goes wrong] The daycare teachers also report that she knows everyone's name (kids and teachers) in her room, and if she doesn't know your name she'll just say "hi lady". Don't know where she learned that. Maja has gotten her 'graduation' letter and is moving up to the toddler room over the next 2 weeks. So, I ask: what happened to my baby? Can I have a do-over of the last 12 months? I won't change much, just slow it down a little so I can enjoy it more leisurely.

burnout baby

I've got spring work burnout. I simply do not want to be sitting here at my desk doing work. What, then, would I like to be doing? I'd like to be winning the $220Million Powerball tonight, sitting at home and knitting. But wait, there's more! Where is home? Well, in the French Riviera, of course. And I would be able to spend my days with Miss Maja and not have the pressure of regular life be in the way of enjoying time with her. Oh, and besides knitting I'd be gardening. Is that too much to ask? A mere 12,000,000 Euros buys the castle above. Knitting progess... I'm finished Miss Maja's birthday sweater. yeah! And, right now I'm furiously working on a shrug for myself with the Pink Posey. I'll try and post a picture tonight... I finished the back and am about 7 cm into the first sleeve. I'm not going to use up all 5 skeins of the yarn, so I'll have to think of something lovely to make with the last 2+ skeins.

i'm a hurricane!

The National Hurricane Center has retired the hurricane name Katrina and, for 2011, has replaced it with Katia! Here's the story. I'm not sure if I should be honoured, or not.

fun for Friday

I saw this on another blog that I read regularly and had to post it. It made me laugh! GangstaKnitter

get this monkey off my back!!!

Jeez, when one thing goes wrong... I've got a NASTY cold: fever, stuffy head, severe muscle aches (we're talking shooting pain, here, people), chills. Maybe it's a German thing, because my dad is the same way, but when I get sick like this I feel like the world is going to end, that nothing will ever be right again, and that I will never enjoy life again. For crying out loud, I just want the pain to end!!! To top it all off, Maja is sick and whiney -- and even if she is my daughter, I'm having trouble mustering up any sympathy. Yes, that's how terrible I feel. Confessions of a mother. I swear I bought the last pkg of Vick's DayQuil in all of Philly yesterday. It's their new formula with Phenylephrine as a nasal decongestant. It doesn't work. I just want straight Sudafed. 2 more hours until this stuff wears off and then I'm on to the Sudafed. I know, dad, I shouldn't take so many drugs. But, when it's a question of making it through the day in one piece or not taking drugs... well, the drugs win. Now, this is my wishlist to make me feel better: 1. get rid of one's own cold 2. help Miss Maja feel better 3. sell the bloody house 4. get rid of all the other monkey's on my back (ya'll know what you are. now, shoo) p.s. I changed my mind, I hate spring. UPDATE, 1:51 pm. I found some Pseudoephedrine in my cold fighting arsenal! wahoo!!!!

the drama

The daycare called me at 11:40am in a panic today. Highly apologetic... one of the daycare teachers, whom I generally really like, took it upon herself to give Maja's hair a trim, without asking either Richard or myself first. I actually think it's kinda funny, but at the same time I'm upset -- that should have been something I (or Richard...) should have done first. Yes, Maja's hair was getting in her eyes, but the teacher could have pinned it back with a barrette!

The chopped 'do. See the zoo pictures from April 1 to compare with the un-chopped 'do.

the zoo!

Today was a great day for the zoo! The weather was just right. We saw a lot of animals, and here are a few of the highlights: Maja and Richard learning about the African elephants One of the peacocks showing off: This made Richard and Maja laugh.

And some of the flamingos sleeping under a flowering cherry tree: