And The Winner Is… A Giant Dog That Barks Xmas Carols

I have been waiting patiently for the girls to select their “comfort” objects. We have a shelf filled with parent-approved choices: A stuffed lobster; a stuffed octopus; a stuffed crab. Do you see our seafood theme?

There are a few non-seafood creatures too. I was pushing for Fimbles, this adorable pink- and-green striped creature, about half the size of a banana, that apparently is the star of a British cartoon series. If not Fimbles, I was hoping one would take to Woolsworth Aloysius, a.k.a Woolie, my very own, very old, very tattered stuffed lamb that saw me through toddler hood and, sigh, childhood. And if not Fimbles or Woolie, than I really wanted one of the girls to select the stuffed brain cell or the stuffed MRSA virus that I bought. “Oh, isn’t that cute, what is that?” “A brain cell.” Or: “The MRSA that coulda killed Mamma.” Here is a link to the great site that sells these crazy stuffed things.

But what does my darling daughter choose? A giant, not-so-adorable dog that BARKS Christmas carols. Avery has already learned how to push the button on the dog’s paw to commence the cacophony that is barked carols. I do recall writing on this very blog that I would consider it is success if I got through the holiday season without hearing a barked song. And well, now, I guess I got my wish, but clearly I should have been much more specific.

So the Aviator drags this Doggie around by its ears and Santa hat, pressing the paw button to hear her very own concert. Nicole asked her earlier where is Doggie and Avery went into the bedroom and got the dog and brought it to her. Genius child, she is. The dog itself is not so cute but it is adorable how Avery loves it. Him. Her. The dog is still gender neutral.

Sunday we are having a small party on Long Island for the girls birthday. Nothing big by any stretch. My friends have had birthday parties complete with Moon Bounces and catered food, but we are doing low-key. My brother is BBQing, Aunt Lizzie is making some food and we are just going to hang out. Not the splashy first birthday arty that I feel like we are supposed to have, but I figured we’d save that for when the girls were old enough to appreciate it. In like 15 years. Of course the girls are sick. We make it through a winter with maybe two incidents of illness, and now they get sick. Maddie slept with us last night (and the night before) and tossed and turned in a fashion that we refer to as rotisserie chicken-baby. Avery is hit harder with this cold, which defies all logic, since she was the one who had the most breastfeeding/breastmilk as a baby.

A puzzle for savvy sew-ers: I bought a dress that is strapless that I love. However, strapless doesn’t work well with me. My boobs end up looking like a log that is being dragged down by gravity. So I brought my dress to Buffy, our local seamstress/dry cleaner, and asked her to cut a ring of fabric off the bottom of the dress, re-hem the dress, and use the fabric to construct two straps on the dress. How much do you think this should cost? Let’s just say I was completely stunned at the price. (I’ll post the answer next blog. Don’t you love a cliffhanger?)

Pictured above, Avery dragging Doggie around. Below that, this is what happens when you leave the girls alone with a bookshelf for twelve seconds. Below that, is it me or did Maddie start doing “I can’t hear you!” And finally, cookies I made for the girls birthday celebration at their Ant Lizzie’s house.