Saidie’s Neighborhood

Originally published at sixhours.net. You can comment here or there.

Except her finger just kept bleeding and bleeding and bleeding... you'd be amazed how much one tiny finger can bleed. Several tissues, burp cloths, much gauze and three band-aids later, the second floor looked like the scene from a small disaster and I started to lose my calm, can-do front.

Then I imagined the headlines: "Baby bleeds out--death by hangnail."

We decided to go to the doctor just to be safe (thank goodness for weekend hours). They were very nice about our new parent paranoia, even though by the time we got there, Ellie's finger had stopped bleeding and she was obviously fine (if not grumpy with us for making such a fuss). We were sent home with instructions to keep it clean and relax. Ahahaha, I think that last part was a joke.

So the morning was not quite what we'd planned, but thankfully it got better. We chose to brave the rest of the day and make the trek to Ellsworth to the Gifted Hand Show to check out some handmade goodies from fellow Maine artists. I purchased a cute hat for Ellie from Worthy Goods and a surprise Christmas present from Atlantic Art Glass. I ogled the kids' peasant dresses from Anabelfuzz and the intricate glass beads from Fern House Studio. I'm definitely a fan of online shopping, but there's nothing like seeing an artists' work up close and meeting the people behind the Web addresses. Maine is home to some very talented people!

After returning from the show, El and I hung out with our friend Danielle while Tim caught up on homework. Then we all crashed in the living room to eat pizza and watch Supernanny and celebrate our pinky fingers being (mostly) intact.

If tomorrow is as eventful as today was, I'm going to need a second weekend to recover.

Originally published at Calobee Doodles. You can comment here or there.

Originally published at sixhours.net. You can comment here or there.

Here are some of my favorites:

Sexsmith. It's playful. It's fun. If a font could be sexy, this one would be sexy. I use Sexsmith over at Calobee Doodles and it's one of those I keep coming back to... I have to force myself not to over-use it!

Rosewood Std Fill. This font was designed to be used as a (you guessed it) fill for its fancy cousin, Rosewood Std, but I think it stands quite well on its own.

Didot. One of my regular design practices involves combining a simple serif with a simple sans-serif, and this is my simple serif font of choice.

Little Days. Another of my Calobee Doodles favorites. Whimsical and a little loopy, just like me!

Respect the font, people. What are your favorites?

Originally published at sixhours.net. You can comment here or there.

Babies come with luggage, not baggage...
Then: Our living room had a fairly straightforward arrangement. Chairs, a TV, a lamp, a bookshelf or two--simple, functional, nothing fancy.
Now: It looks like a Toys R Us exploded. There's a sippy cup in the middle of the floor, and I'm pretty sure it's been there for three days. There's this behemoth of a thing we call the Pack n' Play sitting in one corner, although the name is misleading... it implies that baby might play in it. It should actually be called Baby's Favorite Torture Device, because that's what you'd think we were doing when we put her in it.

Handling someone else's excrement is...
Then: Not happening.
Now: Any diaper that doesn't require a new outfit or a bath on the part of either changee or changer is a good diaper, no matter how stinky.

The soft spot is...
Then: Eurghh. *shudder*
Now: I admit, I'm still squicked out by the soft spot. If you're not familiar, it's that part of the baby's skull that hasn't yet fused, leaving an opening covered by skin. If you happen to press on it (I wish you wouldn't) it's like pressing into warm Silly Putty... if that Silly Putty were made of your baby's brains.

On the pacifier...
Then: Hadn't said the word "binky" more than a handful of times in my life. Probably didn't know what "binky" meant. Didn't care.
Now: I say it a handful of times each day, usually preceded by "Where is the damn..." or "What the hell happened to the...." Binkies, like cat toys, have this nasty habit of disappearing to hold secret binky meetings under the furniture.

Laundry--I'm...
Then: Always drowning in it, but there's hope!
Now: Always drowning in it, and there's no hope in sight.  Considering nudism.

On sleep (or a lack thereof)...
Then: 6 a.m. is an ungodly hour. No self-respecting lover of sleep should be subjected to it.
Now: "It's 6:15 a.m.? She let us sleep in! Wait, is she alive? Yes? WOOHOO!"

Alarm clocks are...
Then: A necessity if I want to get to work before 8.
Now: Still necessary, but we got a new one. This particular model totally ignores all user programming, is loud, insistent, and I've yet to find the snooze button.

When someone tells you that having a kid will change your life... take heed. Listen to them and listen well. Now, where is that damn binky...

Here are two pictures of my original 5 sons.  In the top photo we have: Basil on the left, Elie in the middle, Furman on the right and Jayden behind Elie.

In the second picture we see all 5 boys, with Kleist creeping in the back left. 

Since I've had my two sons I've taken less photos of the cats, so I was inspired to photograph them last Saturday.

SELF PORTRAIT THURSDAY!
11.12.09

Yes, finally back.
But all I do is work now, so I don't really have time to make myself look presentable.

This explains why I look so furry and frumpy. I probably haven't shaved in a month.
(My facial hair grows slowly.)

SELF PORTRAIT THURSDAY! 11.12.09

Good news:

Yesterday Ben and I were asked by our old roommate Talena if we could watch Osa the chihuahua this weekend while there is construction done in her new apartment! =)

To celebrate, I'm including some videos of Ben and I spending time with Osa.

This is Ben making Osa sing:

It's fun to make her howl because she purses her lips.
AND she starts to hack/cough like she's a smoker.

But my NUMBER ONE FAVORITE THING to do is this:

I'm still waiting for the day she leaps up and bites me in the face.
But I think she's too sweet for that.

I think I'm more of a dog person now.
I had a bad cat experience at my last apartment with Gordo. He was too needy. Shed too much.  Ate too much, ate when nervous, ate until he vomited. It all made me not want to leave my room.

Dogs are so much better, I think.

In other good news, Ben J. was featured on Daily Candy yesterday!
It is an AMAZING write-up.
I am v. proud.

P.S.
I might do a self portrait later...

Hey, everyone! You've likely noticed my absolute stop in posts over the past month. I've decided to change blogs, and please understand I didn't take the action lightly. The new blog is (never home)maker . . . and it's going to flow along the same content areas as METHOD, but be more geared toward quick & easy rather than intricate and involved.

There will be more home stuff, too! So, go check it out, and be sure to follow in your favorite RSS reader :)

(never home)maker:
good eats & design for those with little time.

new header

METHOD isn't going away entirely, though. I'm going to leave her up, as I still refer back to many of my recipes. So don't worry that your favorite peanut butter cookie page will disappear.