Today’s Flashback Friday is one of my favorite early-’90s songs, one that perfectly fit into the whole alt-rock music scene I was so into at the time. While the Soup Dragons are probably better known for their cover of “I’m Free,” it was “Divine Thing” that really floated my boat. The lyrics, the sound — for me they came together perfectly in this song that always, always lifts my spirits whenever I hear it.
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Coraline’s Faves: YouTube Videos
Song Lyric of the Day:
Lalalala lalalala / Elmo’s world / Lalalala lalalala / Elmo’s world / Elmo loves his goldfish / His crayons too / That’s Elmo’s Worrrlllldddd
Elmo / “Elmo’s World“
Coraline has not been a big TV watcher so far — at least not at our house. While at my parents’ house, she enjoys Sesame Street, Caillou, WordWorld, and (God help me) Barney. At our house, though, she makes it about eight minutes into an episode of Olivia before losing interest. Elmo segments on Sesame Street are a whole different beast, though. I’m pretty sure she’d watch Elmo until her eyeballs fell out of her head if we’d let her. That said, Coraline’s still relatively short TV-watching attention span makes short YouTube videos perfect for her.
Here are some of Coraline’s favorite YouTube videos, the videos we curl up on the couch to watch together when she’s tired, wants to laugh, or just needs to get her Elmo fix on.
Cute, meowing kittens? Coraline likes to watch this video when she’s winding down for the night.
The Muppets. Mahna Mahna. And now you know exactly why Coraline loves this clip.
Cute, giggly Micah never fails to make Coraline laugh.
Coraline likes to watch this sweet video right before bedtime. I find it so incredibly sweet, that had I watched this while pregnant with her, I would’ve bawled like a baby.
B-I-N-G-O. And Bingo was his name-o.
Sleepy, swaying kitten = a hypnotized Coraline
This clip stars Elmo. Enough said.
This clip stars Elmo. Enough said.
This clip stars Elmo. Enough said. (Although I admit the dancing on the moon bit cracks me up.)
This clip stars Elmo. Enough said. I also enjoy this clip, but the song will be in your head for DAYS. DAYS. Consider yourself warned.
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Scene From a Marriage #23,931
Walking into the living room and spotting our dog Troubadour wrapped in a blanket on my lap:
“Oh my God. What is this?”
Troubadour pokes his head out from the blanket, looking guilty and busted.
“Umm … he likes to sit in my lap.”
“You know he’s not supposed to get on the sofa!”
“Well, technically, he’s only on me, so he’s not actually on the sofa.”
“How long has this been going on?”
“Umm … months.”
“Months?! I feel like I caught you having an affair.”
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Dear Coraline: Month 16
Dear Coraline,
It’s hard to believe, but as of today, you, my crazy little monkey, turned 16 months old. At your most recent checkup, your belated 15-month well baby visit (your doctor was on vacation last month), you weighed in at an impressive 22.6 pounds and measured 30 1/2 inches tall. Your hair is as thick as ever, you have a mouth full of teeth (I think you’re only waiting on the last two), and you have a personality so big it’s hard to believe your little body can contain it.
Month 16 started off with you noticing you can toss your head to flip your hair out of your eyes (very baby emo), followed by your second Christmas, a day during which you celebrated with your entire family at both Abuela and Abuelo’s house and then Grandma and Grandpa’s house. You not only had a blast seeing everyone and dancing mosh-pit style to Christmas music with your cousins Stephen and Elliott, but you received lots of neat clothes and enough toys to stock an orphanage, some of which we still have yet to open precisely because you received so many.
Your vocabulary has grown leaps and bounds these last few weeks. In addition to “momma,” “poppa,” and “dada,” you can now say: grandpa, banana (pronounced “nana”), shoes, socks, dog, cheese, good, cake, more, no, milk, uh-oh, book, ball, Elmo, apple, and dinosaur. You learned apple, milk, more, and cake this last Saturday alone; your abuela heard you say “dinosaur” today thanks to your fondness for the show Dinosaur Train. Your favorite word these days seems to be “Elmo.” You love watching Sesame Street, particularly the Elmo’s World segment, and you constantly try to steal my iPad because you know you can play Elmo Loves ABCs on it and watch Elmo videos on YouTube. You are very expressive and decisive, saying “no” to let us know when you don’t want a certain food, if you don’t want to wear that particular pair of shoes, or if you don’t want a certain book read at bedtime. You love saying “shoes” because, well, you love shoes. You’ve tried putting your cousin Stephen’s shoes on his feet for him and your poppa once saw you putting your tiny foot in one of his very large shoes. One day you even picked out a pair of shoes and asked your poppa to put those on you instead of the ones you were already wearing. On Saturday you not only picked out the Dr. Seuss T-shirt you wanted to wear, you also shot down both my shoe suggestions in favor of your shiny black patent-leather pair. And you were right — they really did add a little extra oomph to your outfit. (Ah, sweetie, some day you and I will have fun shoe shopping. On sale, of course. Remember what I tell you when we run errands: We shop sales in this family.)
Your love of reading continues to develop, with you enjoying a pre-bedtime ritual of scouring your bookshelves (and floor) in search of the perfect bedtime story. You’ll hunt high and low until you find the books you’re looking for, hand it to me, then turn around and back up to me so I can pick you up and put you in my lap. Your favorites these days are still Good Night, Dora, Lull-a-bye, Little One, Curious George Visits the Zoo, and Baa Baa Bedtime. I’m pretty sure if you had a full vocabulary, you’d be able to recite them by heart. You also have a nice cache of books downstairs in the den, which you sit and “read” to yourself or occasionally ask your poppa or I to read to you.
Your comprehension of things is something to behold now. You understand so much of what we say, and you are an incredibly fast learner. You are also quite the little ham, walking around with your arms behind your back, military-style (thanks to mimicking Stephen) and, as of a few days ago, walking around with your arms folded over your head. You know when you’re being funny and always check to see if we’re watching you, doing your patented slow-mo eye roll where you don’t move your head at all, only your eyes. You’ve also taken to smirking while doing your little eye roll, probably because you know it will make us laugh.
You’re growing and learning new things at the speed of light. Your energy knows no bounds, as demonstrated at your friend Danica’s fifth birthday party at Tataru’s gym this past weekend. (I spy gymnastics classes in your future.) The best part of each workday for me is coming home and watching you play and playing with you in our den before you wind down for bedtime. On the nights I put you to bed (Poppa and I alternate nights), I always make a point to tell you how much I love you and how proud I am of you for being such a smart, sweet, amazing little girl. Then I thank you, because I’m so honored to be your mommy. And I always will be.
love,
Mommy
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Baby Doppelganger?
Song Lyric of the Day:
When we’re together / Grey skies are clear, oh / And I’ll share them, till where I’m less depressed / And it’s sincerely, from the bottom of my heart / I just can’t take it when we’re apart
Randy Newman / “We Belong Together“
For my work team’s holiday celebration, we took our first-ever field trip and went to see The Muppets. Before the movie, there’s a new Pixar Toy Story short, Small Fry. Almost immediately after it started, my boss leaned forward and said, “She looks just like your daughter!” She was speaking of the little girl Bonnie, who I have to agree has a bit of a resemblance to Coraline. Behold:
Pixar's Bonnie
- My Coraline
Granted, this picture of Coraline doesn’t (I think) adequately capture the resemblance, which is strongest in person, but it was the best shot I had access to today. What do you think? And who does your own small fry resemble?
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Faves: 2011
Song Lyric of the Day:
You go down, down, down / I fall out of love with you / Come back round, round, round / You son of a gun
Oh Land / “Son of a Gun“
It’s four days into 2012 and I’m just now getting around to talking about some of my favorite pop culture things from 2011. For me, that’s not too bad.
Books
Seeing as how I didn’t read nearly as many books as I would’ve liked, I won’t bother discussing those. Except to say that I had to quit reading An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England halfway through — I hated the protagonist SO MUCH I couldn’t finish the book. But, lord, how I tried. I really did. I do, however, hope to read a lot more this year.
Movies
I saw a handful of new movies in the theater (oooh), among them Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Paranormal Activity 3, Horrible Bosses, The Muppets, and Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol, all of which I really enjoyed. I even managed to catch up on some other, older movies thanks to Netflix, including The Hurt Locker (very intense); Insidious (scared. the. shit. out. of. me.); Cronos (not what I expected); Red (a hoot); Up in the Air (ultimately disappointing); Paranormal Activity 2 (bad idea to watch with a newborn sleeping nearby); Get Him to the Greek (one of the funniest comedies of the last few years); and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (a crushing disappointment — I had such high expectations).
TV
If you read my post from yesterday, you already know how little time I have to stay up on my beloved TV shows these days. I just finished an almost two-week marathon catching up on Leverage, which I love. (And which makes me want to embark on a thrill-a-minute life as a con artist/thief/grifter. But I digress.) About the only shows I managed to stay up to date on were Happy Endings (uneven but very funny); American Horror Story (a train wreck I couldn’t ignore); Modern Family (still cracks me up); The Middle (relatable and hilarious); Desperate Housewives (yeah, yeah, I know); Ringer (entertaining soap opera); Fringe (praying Fox doesn’t kill it); and Community, which is literally the high point of my TV-watching each week. I think it’s the smartest, most hilarious show on the air right now. Which is why if NBC pulls a Britta and cancels it, I will cut a bitch.
I tried watching Up All Night, which I found cute, occasionally funny, and a bit disappointing; I can take it or leave it. I wanted to like New Girl, I really did, but it was so painfully unfunny, I cut my losses after 1 1/2 episodes. What I’ve caught of Suburgatory has been funny and interesting; I’ll have to catch up on that one online.
Now I just need to find the time to catch up on Raising Hope (LOVE), Supernatural, Justified, Burn Notice, and The Closer.
Music
Music is the one thing I was kind of able to stay current on thanks to the Sirius XM subscription that came with my Elantra. Thanks to the magic of satellite radio, I discovered bands and artists I never would’ve heard on our local stations. Here in no particular order are some of my favorite songs of the year.
Oh Land, “Son of a Gun”*
Deadmau5, “Raise Your Weapon”
Afrojack featuring Eva Simons, “Take Over Control”
Lloyd, “Dedication to My Ex” (the CLEAN version)
Young the Giant, “My Body”
The Cab, “Bad”
Foster the People, “Pumped Up Kicks”
Iffy the Badman, “Do You” (which I blogged about a while back)
Of Monsters and Men, “Little Talks”
Black Keys, “Lonely Boy”
The Airborne Toxic Event, “All I Ever Wanted”**
*Released in late 2010, but it was new to me in 2011!
**Rich and I FINALLY got to see The Airborne Toxic Event in concert back in November. After 22 months of waiting to see them, it was essentially a religious experience for me (I’ll explain at another time). If you’re a fan, go — go see them now!
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This Working Mother’s Typical Day
Song Lyric of the Day:
No one’s gone in vain / Here is where you’ll stay / ‘Cause life has been insane but / Today has been OK / Today has been OK
Emiliana Torrini / “Today Has Been OK“
In a perfect world, one where I had better hair, bigger boobs, no mortgage, and was a published novelist, I wouldn’t have to work a day job. However, since I live in a world where humidity turns me into Roseanne Roseannadanna, padded bras are my friends, I have to pay for the roof over my head, and I haven’t managed to finish the fifth chapter of one of my books for I don’t know how long, I do have to work a day job. Thankfully, it’s a job I love working with a team of coworkers I love for a boss I love. I’m also incredibly fortunate that my boss allows me to work from home one day a week, which affords me some extra time with Coraline (although it’s great that she’s so good at entertaining herself since I am in fact working even though I’m home with her.)
So what is a typical work day like for me?
7:20-7:30AM
Wake up. Send the dogs out. Start Coraline’s morning bottle warming up. Prep the dogs’ bowls. Let the dogs in to eat. Pack Coraline’s diaper bag and bottle/food cooler for the day. Catch approximately four minutes of Morning Express with Robin Meade on Headline News while I drink my OJ and Coraline’s bottle finishes steaming. Grab Coraline’s bottle and go wake her up (usually with Rich).
7:45AM
Feed Coraline her bottle (some mornings it’s Rich). Discuss what our respective days look like. Hers: Hanging out with Abuela, playing/wrestling with cousin Stephen, and eating as many Goldfish as humanly possible. Mine: Working.
7:55-8:10AM
Dress Coraline for the day. Let her run around our bedroom while we get dressed for the day; she usually heads straight for my nightstand. Let Coraline brush her own teeth (it’s easier than trying to do it ourselves, and really, she’s not that bad at it). Fight to get toothbrush away from Coraline (downside to letting her brush her teeth: getting the toothbrush back).
8:10-8:20AM
Frantically grab all our assorted laptop bags, backpacks, shoulder bags, lunch bags, my purse, and diaper bag to get the car loaded. Bundle Coraline up (it is winter now, after all) and drive to my mom’s house.
8:35-8:45AM
Drop Coraline off at Mom’s house.
9AM
Get to work. Eat a granola bar or dry cereal for breakfast (yes, dry). Down my first of many glasses of water. Dive into email and start on my first work task.
9:30AM
Cave and put on my sweater since it’s COLD in the office.
10AM
Tune IPTV to Supernatural on TNT for background noise.
10:17AM
Steal a glance at Jensen Ackles.
10:43AM
Wonder how Coraline is doing and wish she was with me. Preferably not in my cubicle at work.
11:30-1PM
Grab a short lunch at my desk if I’m really busy. If I’m lucky, one day a week I manage to get away for an hour, just me and my book.
Post-Lunch
Call Mom to find out how Coraline’s doing. The usual: She resists napping early in the day, is eating well, is busy playing with Stephen, and will hopefully nap later that afternoon.
1PM-4PM
Listen to Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy on Lifetime while I work.
2PM
Find either chocolate or a soda as a pick-me-up from my post-lunch coma.
3:30PM
Mind starts to wander since it’s late in the afternoon.
4:15PM
Rally and manage to refocus on work.
5:15-6PM
Leave work. When exactly is determined by how short/long a lunch I took and whether or not Rich is stuck in a meeting (we carpool most days).
5:45-6:15PM
Pick up Coraline from Mom and Dad’s house. Bug Stephen for a hug and kiss. Stay for dinner on occasion.
6:15-6:40PM
Get home. One of us takes Coraline inside and puts her in her pack-‘n’-play in the living room. The other one grabs whatever bags they can manage to carry inside then lets the dogs out and gets their bowls prepped. Dogs are let in to eat and we prepare dinner.
6:45PM
If Coraline needs dinner, we feed her upstairs in her high chair and eat at the dining room table with her. Fight to keep the dogs at bay since Coraline loves to throw them her food.
7PM
All three of us head downstairs to the basement den. Coraline runs around playing while Rich and I eat dinner. If she had an early dinner at Mom’s house she grazes off our plates.
7:30-8:15PM
Coraline gets prepped for bedtime. Rich and I alternate: I’ll handle bedtime, he’ll handle any overnight wakeups. The next night, we switch. Tonight, I handled bedtime so he’s on overnight duty.
Post-Coraline’s Bedtime
Wash dishes, do laundry, file papers, take out recycling — do whatever needs to be done around the house that night. Get nagged at by Rich to RELAX. Take a shower at some point.
10PM
Give dogs their dinner.
10:30PM
Steam-clean and prep Coraline’s bottles for Mom’s house the next day. Pack any food and drinks in her cooler.
10:45PM
Find a few minutes for some downtime before getting ready for bed. Usually involves watching a few minutes of whatever I’ve got on the DVR in the upstairs living room. Update blog if I remember/am motivated. Get the dogs to go out one last time before setting the house alarm.
11:30PM-Midnight
Get in jammies. Brush teeth. Get in bed.
6AM
Curse the dogs and their clicky nails on the hardwood floor. Try to tune their clicking out to get some more sleep.
6:30AM
Curse the cats for fighting in the hallway right outside our bedroom door.
7:20-7:30AM
Wake up and do it all over again.
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O, Migraine
Song Lyric of the Day:
Take a picture you could never re-create / Write a song / Make a note / For the lump that sits inside your throat / Change the locks, change the scene / Change it all but can’t change what we’ve been
Atlas Genius / “Trojans“
Well, the post I was going to write for tonight will have to wait. Two days into the new year, and I have my first migraine. What started suddenly this afternoon as a really bad headache has steadily worsened throughout the day. I’m crossing my fingers that it’s gone by the time I wake up tomorrow morning.
This migraine is precisely why this song has been stuck in my head for the last few hours. Hammering in my head, indeed.
*And let me add that I am positively GIDDY that Garbage is releasing a new album this year. GIDDY.
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Holy Hell, It’s 2012
Song Lyric of the Day:
See I’m a young soul in this very strange world / Hoping I could learn a bit ’bout what is true and fake / But why all this hate? Try to communicate / Finding trust and love is not always easy to make
Well, it’s a new year. The year 2012, to be exact. I’m not sure I should set new year’s resolutions for myself this year, especially after reading last year’s new year’s resolutions post and making mental note of how little I actually accomplished. So what did I accomplish? I did well at work, helped keep a roof over my family’s heads, and, most importantly, was the best mom I could be to Miss Baby herself, Coraline. I also did the best I could — as I always do — to be a good person. Which, in my case, at least, has for various reasons led to an excluded, oftentimes lonely existence. It is what is is. I am who I am. I’ve tried in the past to try to be what others expect or want me to be, and it wasn’t fair. To myself, or to them. So I’ll continue to just be myself and hope for the best. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel, right? This year, I hope to find that light. I need to find that light. If not for myself, then for her. Here’s to a great year.
Miss Baby deep in thought on New Year's Day 2012.
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