this part transcribed from my notebook, written yesterday afternoon
I’m lying here on the couch – pen in hand and brain at a total standstill. I know I shouldn’t fall asleep because it’ll mess up my schedule even more than it already is. It’s the cookies. And the cakes. They’ve done me in.
Zzzzz.
–
Now, continued today:
That’s the kind of Christmas it?s been. Me, feeling sleepy. And here I am now, a couple days later, still trying to kickstart my brain.
Don’t get me wrong, Christmas was awesome. I don’t know where to begin. There’s just too much to write about and I have no flow left in me right now.
Perhaps the solution is just to write. And not think. Stream-of-consciousness style writings with no edits. And so it shall be.
Warning: disjointed and long paragraphs in point form are looming!
– the biggest surprise gift: a telescope from Mark’s parents. It’s computerized so it finds stars and planets without our having to know ANYTHING! This is so cool! I would love to hook my camera up to it.
Last night I was googling for info on the best spots to skywatch here in Ottawa. I came up with a few pages from local astronomy groups. They mostly gather in shopping store parking lots with their telescopes. Hmmmm, I don’t think I will be joining. I’m thinking a star-gazing party is in order. Imagine: a bunch of friends in a deserted spot, with wine, the telescope, lanterns and blankets and firewood. Kinda like camping but not really!
– the biggest gift-related disappointment: mermaid castle bath toy thing. I was so excited about this one too. It was $19.99 at Toys R Us (first tip off that it would be crap). When I saw it I knew it was the perfect gift for Emma. She loves mermaids, playing house, and it also came with lots of little things: a flower shower, a little boat, a tiny slide. It’s supposed to suction to the wall. But as Mark pointed out later, the suction cups are made out of plastic (not rubber) so they don?t actually adhere to the tiles. I wonder if we can replace them? Regardless, I find this extremely annoying. At the very least, I expect the toys we buy should work straight out of the package. This isn’t asking too much, is it?
– my gifites included mucho crafty supplies: including excellent permanent markers, a rubber brayer and an awesome Fiskar’s paper trimmer – which I’ve already given a big workout. Mark also bought me a monopod, which was a big surprise. Yay!
– I inadvertently bought Emma a dog toy. It’s a battery-operated ball with a fake weasel attached to it. She loves it.
– Over the past few days I’ve been harassed by a number of my children’s toys. This of course is completely my fault. The worst offender: small radios. I bought each girl a transistor housed in plush pillows shaped like a radio. There are no dials, it’s a push-button thing: push for on/off or to change the radio station or turn the volume up or down. The purchase seemed like a good idea at the time. They are pretty cool and as a kid I remember having a radio of my own and really liking it. But now I’m worried about their listening to the news, and to questionable music. The other day Sarah turned it on and listened to the first few lines of “My hump” – ugh – and what with gang-related shootings in Toronto, I’m kind of regretting this one. Oh well.
– the girls each received a baby doll, gifts from Mark’s parents. I shouldn’t complain, because the girls LOVE them. And thankfully they are low-volume, but it’s hard to escape the constant crying and “mama peepee.” They make a weird slurping when they drink from their bottle, which sounds not unlike a terrier licking his nether regions. There’s the “burping,” that sounds like someone knocking on a TV tray. In fact, the first time I heard it I glanced toward the window to see if someone was knocking on it. Weird. And there’s the crying. It is the default noise. Why can’t they coo happily instead of switching to cry mode all the time? Mind you, the girls love them dearly, especially Emma, so I am tolerating it for her sake. :)
Related: Emma panics when the baby cries. It’s strange to watch, probably because the look of panic is totally familiar to me and now I fear it’s imprinted on her delicate psyche:Where‘s that bottle? The POTTY? WHERE‘S THE POTTY SHE‘S GOT TO GO! Did she inherit this from me? If so, I dread the day she has her own babies to take care of.
– Sarah’s hit gift was a knitting machine. The first thing she did was announce all the gifts she was going to make for her Nana, me, and Emma. What do you want mummy, she asked. A scarf! I will make you one! It made my heart melt. But I wish I didn?t have to have a degree in mechanical engineering to figure out the instructions. Casting on to the machine was trouble enough. Now that a scarf is made (with a few gaping holes in it) it’s time to cast off. I don’t have the guts to face it right now.
– other items I’m pleased with: Monopoly Junior (Emma loves it, and it’s perfect for her age), Operation (I am reliving my childhood because it’s the one game I always wanted and never got), a set of six (possibly knock-off) Hamtaro characters and a (legit) HamHam house. Other big winners: an iTop and a pair of old skool gyroscopes for Mark. Both from Lee Valley.
– Christmas Day was spent at Mark’s parents. We unwrapped more gifts, I napped, ate, played too much Sims, and ate some more. After the unwrapping we all lounged around, and after awhile the girls were directed to the basement where Mark’s uncle had delivered a van full of other toys! A giant kitchen set, complete with faux-food, dishes, toaster, kitchen doodads, toy BBQ etc., and a game table that flips over and inside and out to form 18 different games including pool, foosball, air hockey, basketball, chess and checkers and who knows what else. (Thanks guys!)
– All in all it was all a lot of fun. But now I’m totally pooped. The girls are home with me for the next while. I don’t know what we’re going to do all that time. *sigh*
BTW, some pics have been uploaded to my Flickr. I realize now I should have asked for a Flickr pro account for Christmas. Maybe next year. :)
I hope you all had a good Christmas too!
