A girl and her ba-blankie

Our house is always cold in the winter. In fact, it is always freezing upstairs. ALWAYS. Except in the summer when it is unbearably hot. I would love to bottle the suffocating heat that in the house during the summer and save it until winter.

Littlebit was born in the winter and when she started to not want to be swaddled, but still needed a blanket, I chose one that had been knit for her. I figured it had holes, so if she pulled it over her head she wouldn't suffocate. Now she is extremely attached to this blanket. I've tried to substitute soft minky blankies that I dream are mine (hint to mom: I want one). But it is the knit blanket that she carries around - EVERYWHERE. I dread the day I leave it somewhere.

She has made the holes bigger by sticking her fingers and hands through them. She weaves her fingers through it while watching tv and is often seen with her toe through a hole as she drags it behind her as she walks.

The blanket was handmade, so I can't use a substitute when I wash it. Believe me, I've tried. She loves her ba-blankie so much, that I fear it will become a string trailing behind her.

Princess Costume

Littlebit wants to be a princess for Halloween (or as she says it a "pimpess"). Not just any princess will do, it must be pink. So here I am swimming in yards of pink tulle and satin and hating it. I think I was drinking when I said yes.

I'm not impressed with the pattern, Simplicity 2569. Based on the measurements, I went up a size and it still might be too small. I might make this twice. Yeah, me.

I've ripped out a lot of seams and finally ran out of thread. The kids and I will be running to JoAnns tomorrow for more pink thread and the pattern in the next size up. (Good thing it is on sale through tomorrow.)

Oh, but the look on her face when I showed her the pattern. Love!

To Vaccinate or Not To Vaccinate

That is the question.

With both kids considered high risk for complications from the flu, I'm having trouble deciding whether to get them the flu vaccine or not. They are high risk because they get cold-induced asthma. In the past month, each has had a minor cold resulting in doctor visits, nebulizer treatments, and orapred. Those were minor colds. Orapred makes my kids hyper. Lovey was yelling while he was talking. When I asked why he was yelling, he kept saying he wasn't yelling; this while he running circles around the kitchen table.

The doctor has asked me twice if they were getting the flu shot and both times I have asked if we could live in a bubble.

I can't decide and I feel so stressed about it. I feel like it is a huge crushing, life-or-death question and I don't know the answer. What if I vaccinate them and there is some horrible side-effect? What if I don't vaccinate them and we end up in the hospital or worse? It is easy to decide for myself, but harder to decide for my kids.

Real Housewives

So occasionally I am sucked into shows such as Real Housewives of Atlanta (Orange County, New York, etc.). Have you ever watched one of these shows? The title itself just cracks me up. The word, housewife, congers up an image of someone who is at home taking care of the kids, cooking, cleaning, and generally running the house. Maybe the title is meant tongue in cheek, but maybe these "housewives" would like to trade for a day. (Okay, so maybe I would like to trade for the day and sit at the spa or drink wine with my friends and get dressed up to go to a fancy party or spend thousands of dollars on clothes at one store.) Maybe they would trade their spa trips and gossips sessions and fancy shin-digs for doctor visit (thanks to kids who get cold-induced asthma), school meetings, taking the car in for repairs, emptying the dishwasher, folding clothes, grocery shopping, and interrupted play dates because a child needs to go to the doctor because their breathing is labored. Hmmm, they probably wouldn't. And maybe I don't want to either, even though the spa time and wine with friends sounds absolutely divine right now.