Ferrofluid

I got Bran some really powerful rare earth magnets for Christmas and he seemed to be more excited about those than any other gift he got, including the xbox 360. I also got him something called ferrofluid. The description on the website sounded pretty cool so I thought I would give it a shot.

It has the consistency and appearance of motor oil. I was pretty skeptical but I had to try it out. I put some into a tray I made out of aluminum foil and put it on the kitchen table. I used one of Brandon’s magnets and ran it under the table and well…the results were just cool. It is still very much a liquid with no resistance to the touch but it forms perfect cones that rise up out of the liquid. The closer the magnet gets, the smaller and more concentrated the cones become. I then held the magnet above the tray and the fluid rose up to the magnet. I had so much fun with this. Unfortunately I think I was more amused with it than Brandon was but at least he loved his magnets.

Child abuse?

Aubrey doesn’t normally take her first nap of the day until around 11am. However, on Saturday morning she was exceptionally tired for some reason and she went from ‘happy’ to ‘nuclear meltdown’ in the blink of an eye.

We spent the weekend playing with her new toys she got for Christmas and hanging out in the basement doing absolutely nothing. (It was wonderful!)

So Saturday morning Aubrey decided she wanted to play with her walker which was not new but hadn’t been played with in a while. She was having fun, but very quickly her exhaustion started getting the better of her. She is pretty good about cruising around furniture and other stationary objects, but she does not have enough coordination and strength to keep the walker under her yet. The walker kept getting too far ahead of her and she would fall to her knees. Eventually she decided that was a much safer and more efficient way to travel. Unfortunately she hasn’t mastered turning and took personal offense to the fact that the couch, wall and stairs were getting in her way. It all became too much for her and I couldn’t help but catch it on video. It looks like Brandon and I are forcing her to play with this toy. Wow we are so mean. It was just too funny.

Here is just a fun video of Aubrey talking and playing after lunch this weekend. She says Daddy all day long. “Mom” is still few and far between but just hearing her voice makes me smile, no matter what she is saying.

My weekend

This weekend was fun. Mom and I went shopping and even though Dad left to do his own shopping with Momo before I woke up, we saw him at one of the stores. Mom and Dad seemed really surprised to see each other, but I was happy because then we got to eat lunch together at a restaurant!

After our big shopping day we went home so Mom could put pretty paper around everything she bought. Then I had a bath and while I was drinking my bottle I learned how to make a new noise with my hands by putting them together really fast! Mom calls it clapping and it seems to make her happy so now we clap together.

The next morning I found a key stuck in the floor in front of the fireplace. I caried it around for a while to show Mom and Dad.

We didn’t go anywhere that day. Mom said it was too cold outside so we played inside. Loeki showed me his new toy but I still like his soft ears better.

After dinner Mom gave me a bath. That is my favorite part of the night. We play fun games and I feed my bath toys to Mom and she makes funny noises like she is eating them. I also practice talking and sometimes I drink some water from my blue bowl.

After my bath Mom and I played with Darwin.

Normally after my bath Mom makes me a bottle and I got to sleep, but last night I had WAY too much energy to go to sleep. I cruised around the living room dragging my bottle behind me for quick shots of milk when I needed them. Mom said I was standing like a wobbley drunk with my bottle of hooch. After a while I wanted to sit down so I carried my bottle over to the fireplace. I wanted to sit on the bricks but it was really hard to climb up there. First I had to put my bottle down.

Then I had to keep my balance on one leg.

A little higher…

Uh oh, I think I’m stuck.

This is harder than it looks.

After a while I was getting tired and I couldn’t decide if it was easier to have my bottle on the fireplace before I climbed up there, or if I should get it after I was up there.

My little ladybug

My Grandma got Aubrey the most adorable fleece ladybug sleeper and I promised her I would send her some pictures of Aubs wearing it before she out grows it. She wore it to day care yesterday given the cold snowy/icy weather we’ve been having so I thought last night would be a perfect opportunity to take some pictures of her. She wanted her best friend Darwin to be in the pictures too so there are a few of her hugging him. My favorite is the one where she looks like she is pouting. She wasn’t actually sad, I just happened to take the picture when she was looking down.

My snow day

I got to stay home yesterday since we got enough snow to make the roads a bit to treacherous for my little two wheel drive vehicle. I love the fact that my job gives me the ability to work from home whenever necessary so I don’t necessarily have to use PTO simply because I don’t feel safe taking my daughter anywhere in bad weather. It is a wonderful freedom, and the obvious perk is that I get to spend the day with Aubrey! She is always very good about letting me get work done and I try to schedule any client calls when I know she will be napping. It works out well.

We set up our new office in the basement last week which is so nice. Now we can all be together, even if someone wants to watch tv but the other one wants to be on the computer.

Yesterday Aubrey spent the day playing with her toys on the floor while I worked at the computer. Occassionally she would meander over to dig through the desk cabinet where the computer tower is or to play at my feet under the desk. I had so much fun taking pictures of her down there trying to get my attention.

WTF

Seventy year old woman in India gives birth

I’m sorry but that’s just selfish. I understand that she and her husband may have really really really wanted a child (so much so that he married her sister too to give it a try), but for God’s sake look at them!

They’ve got what… 10… maybe 15 years left before they kick the bucket? How horrible for that child to know that before they’re an adult, they’ll be an orphan.

More unbelievable news

Mother of the year.

What on earth is wrong with people?! I don’t understand what would posses a mother of three (that’s right THREE) children, to write “b*tch” on the forehead of her 9 year old child. At what point did she think, “It sure would be a good idea to write a derogatory word on my son’s forehead.”

She is a great mom. She makes it a family affair when she decides to inflict pain and humiliation on one of her children. According to the boy, not only has his mom hit him in the eye, struck him with a belt and snapped him with a towel, but she had her boyfriend hold the boy’s legs while she sat on his chest to write the words.

The mother claims it was all in fun and she did it while they were playing around.

Even if I gave her the benefit of the doubt and believed her, it is the job of the parent, THE ADULT, to dictate how far roughhousing goes. Parents are there to guide children and help them make good, responsible decisions. Parents are not supposed to be substitute friends who partake in every juvenile act their child does. And on the flip-side, if this was some sort of warped act of discipline, I don’t care how rambunctious, unruley or ‘evil spawn of Satan’ you think your child is, YOU DON’T WRITE PROFANITY ON THEM!

Santa’s little helper

Well I thought that I would take some cute pictures to send out on a Christmas card to the family this year. Turns out Aubrey didn’t feel like cooperating with that plan. I put her in her cute little santa dress and every time I tried to take her picture she would move, look away, frown, etc. Anyway, here is what I managed to get before giving up and stripping her down to her diaper.

After I took off her outfit I put her in her crib while I picked up her room.

Mmmm, tasty. Teething on the crib.

Hey Mom, whatcha doin’ down there?

Jail baby.

Why the sad face?

News I have issues with

Woman receives ticket while in labor on the way to the hospital

Maybe this bothers me because I have had a child and I know that if this had happened to me I certainly would not have been as nice or as calm as this woman and her husband. I would be furious!

A woman in Boston was in labor and her contractions were 3 minutes apart and her husband, as any loving husband would do, was rushing to get her to the hospital and used what they refer to as the “breakdown lane” to get through rush hour traffic. Massachusetts state law prohibits driving in the breakdown lane. The only thing I can equate this to since we don’t have one of these in my state is he was driving on the shoulder. They were pulled over not once, not twice, but three times!

Several things are wrong here. Apparently State Troopers are not allowed to escort civilian vehicles unless it is a life or death situation. Does giving birth not qualify as the “life” half of that equation? Fine, so the first officer who pulled her over, though he would not escort the couple, realized their sense of urgency and sent them on their way telling them to be careful and that they could use the breakdown lane only when traffic got congested and they had to use their hazard lights.

This is where I really start to get irritated. Why didn’t that first officer call ahead with a description of the vehicle so they would not be stopped again? Ok, maybe it didn’t cross the officer’s mind. Maybe they were having an off day. Whatever. So the couple gets pulled over a SECOND time. Again, no escort, no call ahead but they were told to proceed with caution after the officer saw the condition of the woman and the infant car seat in the back of the vehicle.

Here comes Officer Cynical McPowertrip to pull them over for their third stop on the way to the hospital. Not only does he keep them there to write them a ticket but he makes them wait while he finishes with a different vehicle first! But wait, it gets better! AFTER writing them a ticket he then tells the woman to unzip her jacket so he can see her pregnant belly! How did she not go ape-sh*t?! Fortunately for both the family and the officer, the baby was delivered at the hospital and is healthy and doing well.

I understand that laws need to be enforced so things don’t dissolve into anarchy but when a situation like this is treated with such black and white adherance to the law with no regard for human life the law is no longer serving to protect.

I’M GETTING A NIECE!!!

I’m so excited! I wanted to post this yesterday when I found out but I was so busy at work that I didn’t get a chance. My sister-in-law is pregnant with her second child and she just found out yesterday that it is a girl!! I’m so happy for her. She finally got her girl and Aubrey gets a female cousin around her same age.

I can’t stop smiling.