I'd lose my head if it wasn't attached...

It would be a polite understatement to say that I've been scattered lately. I have a million things going through my head at any one time, and yet, when I try to think about exactly what I needed from the store... poof! It's gone.

Yesterday, Vivian had a "diaper explosion" on the way to daycare, so we had to change her clothes once we got there, using her "alternate" clothes in her cubby. Ok, so that means I'm supposed to bring new "alternate" clothes. Last night, I pulled out and set aside these alternates, right next to the cute outfit I had planned for today. So, this morning, another explosion in the car seat on the way to daycare. And... I'd forgotten the alternate clothes. Luckily, we had extra onesies in the cubby, but no pants. So Vivian is pantless today. Good parenting.

AND, I noticed this morning that I had forgotten to bring the breast pump up from the car into the office. I pump twice a day at the office, so that Vivian has food for the next day. I went down to my car a few minutes ago, and no pump. Did I leave it in the house? Is it sitting in my driveway? (if it was, it's probably gone by now, knowing my neighborhood) So now I have to drive home on my lunch break and pick it up (hopefully -- assuming it still exists).

The DMV "misplaced" the title transfer for my car, which means I need to request a new title and new paperwork from Ford, to prove the loan has been paid off. I've known about this since Halloween. I have until the end of this month. Have I done anything with the paperwork? No, it's still sitting on my desk.

We went to Mel & Grant's home last weekend for Friends Thanksgiving (which was lovely by the way -- I'll get around to posting about it someday), and I ended up leaving my book (which I had just had returned from accidentally leaving it behind in Tucson in September) and an outfit of Vivian's that was in the dryer (from another diaper explosion -- maybe those Target diapers aren't so good after all).

Oh, and there are only 40 crafting/shopping days left before Christmas. And yet again, I've overloaded myself with knitting for gifts. Why I do this to myself every year, I don't know. Five knitted gifts to be made (I've only started one, but at least it's half-done already), a knitted Santa hat for Christmas morning, and numerous sewing gifts (yes, much easier than knitting, but sewing needs to take place at the sewing machine, in the craft closet, away from Vivian -- as opposed to knitting, which I can do on the couch next to her).

And there's still work. I'll leave that one other than to say that everyone now realizes that I'm back, and my dance card is way, way full.

I need to stop the spinning in my head. I need to breathe. I need to do one thing at a time.

UPDATE: I found the pump. It wasn't in the driveway, it was next to the cat's water. Good place for it, don't you think? And yet another thing I've forgotten: when I went to feed Vivian at lunch, I noticed that there was a strange bottle in her food tray in the refrigerator. When I asked about it, I was told, "well, you didn't leave any nipples, just the milk bottles with caps, so we had to transfer your milk into another bottle." Great.

New look

Everyone needs a new look every once in a while. And now that I'm sporting my new hair, I felt like my blog needed a face lift. So now we have a Marimekko-inspired look. It's orange! It must be good!

Time for me

As a mom, I have discovered just how easy it is to constantly put yourself dead last. I spend so much of my time thinking/worrying about Vivian, that sometimes I just can't care about anyone, or anything, else, much less myself. Vivian is #1, Richard is #2, the cats are (a somewhat distant -- to their dismay) #3, and if I have the energy, I am #4.

But that needs to change (if not the order, then at least the number of times I actually get to #4). I need to take care of myself to take care of my family. What's that annoying t-shirt say? "When Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." I won't take on the appalling grammar -- I don't have time. But I do think I need to pay attention to myself a bit, so I can be happy and healthy. Because when I'm not, everyone at home feels the pain.

So, I'm starting by making doctor's appointments. After seeing a doctor every 2 weeks while I was pregnant, it feels a bit weird to not have seen someone for months. So I made an appointment for a physical, a flu shot and an eye exam. I also need to get into a dentist, which I have been putting off for far too long.

The upside for me? Once I get my new eye prescriptions, I can get lenses for my new glasses that I picked up at this weekend's L.A. Eyeworks sale! Thank you Ellen, for reminding me about this yearly event. I scored 3 pairs for $85: a dark green rectangular set, a light peach rectangular set and a fab gold-brown cat's eye pair. Pictures to come.

I'm also getting some knitting done, although no finished objects yet. I am making good progress on my Juliet, although I'm starting to think that the Noro Blossom I'm using, and its color stripes, will take away from the lace pattern. Oh well, too late now. It still looks fabulous, and I know I'll get a lot of use for it this winter.

Christmas is coming up, and I've gotten a late start on crafting, as usual. I have 5 knitting projects on the list, which is probably too many to finish, but I'm going to try anyway. Luckily, I'm not fooling myself that anyone is getting sweaters, and once I'm finished with Juliet (probably my last "me" project until after the holiday), I can cast on for the first.

Even though this post is about me, I couldn't leave without some gratuitous baby photos.

Vivian in her Pumpkin costume for Halloween

Vivian & I in the craziness of Hollywood Blvd. on Halloween (on our way to see The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3-D!)

Good year

Bad blogger. No posts in over a week!

My only excuse is that I'm sick. I've had a nasty head cold for the last few days (luckily, it seems to be starting to go away). But because of it, I haven't felt like doing anything. I have 3 pumpkins that I never carved, a costume that I didn't make, and decorations I never put up. Crap. I love Halloween, but I just had no energy this year.

Last week, I turned 32. I really think this is a good year. 32 just looks better than 31 -- round number, I'm now comfortably in my 30s, rather than just hanging around the edges. The day of my birthday was pretty low key. We went to Pizza Club and Richard had provided everyone with hats and noisemakers for me. Ashley even brought me chocolate cupcakes, which was very nice.

I know, Vivian looks really into the birthday spirit, doesn't she? But she is the best birthday present I could ever ask for.

Over the weekend, we headed up to Fresno for the largest Civil War reenactment west of the Mississippi. I'm a total history geek, so it was perfect for me. I loved seeing all the reenacters and how excited they were to be there. I know that I could totally be one of them -- heck, give me a few years (after Vivian and any siblings are a bit older), and I probably will be!

Vivian was an angel all day. Before the battle, people kept coming up to Rich and saying that he should be careful of Vivian because the cannons were very loud and would probably scare her. So before the battle got underway, he walked to the back of the field. And BOOM! The cannon fire felt like I had been hit in the chest. And Vivian? She slept through the entire thing. Richard kept asking me, "are we sure they tested her hearing in the hospital?" They did. She just wasn't worried about the cannons. She was snuggled in her Bjorn with Daddy -- what could go wrong?

On the crafty front, I have been knitting and crocheting. No Christmas gifts yet, but I'll start those soon. I'm working on my Juliet sweater and I finished a crocheted sweater for Vivian.


Halloween pictures to come. Vivian looks absolutely adorable in her pumpkin costume that my mom made for her. And tomorrow is our WeHo SnB Stitch n Witch party! Come on out and join the fun!