A few days ago my mom bought Natasha two Baby Safe Feeders similar to these and I've started experimenting with them by placing different foods inside for her to try. We started off with fresh strawberries which she LOVED (yes, I know you should wait until they are 12 months before introducing strawberries due to a possible allergy, but I took the risk and she was fine); she basically sucked all the strawberry juice from there until there was nothing left but dry strawberries. Yuck. The downside of the experience is that it was incredibly messy with red stains everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE. But it worked well.

I then tried placing an Arrowroot Cookie inside but after much struggle Natasha couldn't get anything out. So today I tried plan B and gave her the cookie to eat without the feeder. Of course I was really worried that she'd choke on it, but surprisingly she didn't. In fact, she was very careful and licked the cookie until it softened; then she bit small pieces with her two bottom teeth and chewed (yes, chewed) the pieces until they became all crumbly and soft, and only then she swallowed them. Matthew and I had quite a laugh watching her bite the darn cookie, it was too cute! And not as messy as strawberries. The weird thing is Natasha didn't want to hold the cookie herself because it was all wet and disgusting; she wanted me to hold it and feed her. Smart, huh?

I just realized that in a day or so April will be over and that means I only have 4 months left before my maternity leave expires. Ugh. I am due to return to the office at the very beginning of September and it seems that date is approaching way faster than I anticipated it would. And I really don't know whether to be happy or sad about it. I guess I am a little bit of both.

A huge part of me really wants to return to the business world; I miss the office, the job (I am in accounting and office administration), the colleagues, the challenges, the due-dates, the commute to work each day, and just the whole office environment. I miss accomplishing things, helping people out; I even miss Simply Accounting and Excel spreadsheets, for crying out loud! And that's why a part of me really wants to be back on that scene.

But another part of me dreads leaving Natasha with a complete stranger. Well, maybe not complete, but a stranger regardless. We already have a home daycare spot reserved for her for September; I visited the place a few weeks ago with my mom and we were both really impressed with the lady who holds it, with the location (5 minute walk from our building), and my mom also heard really good reviews about the place from her own clients. So I know deep inside that Natasha will be just fine; in fact, she would probably be better off there, having the ability to interact with other children her age, having an experienced teacher involve her in age-appropriate activities, and so on. But at the same time I feel that I will miss out on her milestones, her first words, her preferences, and all those little things every mother wants to watch her child do.

I am sure that with time I will get over my emotions but it is going to be a huge change for both her and myself. I am planning on taking her to the daycare a few days before I return to work and maybe stay there with her for a half a day so she does not feel entirely abandoned or anything. Sometimes you hear these horror stories about children dreading and hating their homecare so I am crossing my fingers it won't be the case for us.

Wish us luck!!!

Of course it had to happen sometime, and it happened today. Well, actually it started yesterday. The watery eyes, the runny nose, the sleepless nights, the non-stop sneezing. My first suspicion was seasonal allergies as that's what I have the pleasure of dealing with right now, but her pedi confirmed it's a cold. He took a look at her throat and it was pretty enflamed. So our baby has her very first cold. Yay.  On the brighter side of things, her ears were clear so an ear-infection was disqualified, which is good. The only meds Natasha may take at this point is children's Tylenol and Salinex nose drops to clear her nasal passages which are pretty stuffed right now. Anyway, needless to say she is pretty miserable. She is going from being smiley and happy one minute to another minute of complete misery. And of course I hope she's back to her normal self in no time. Having a sick baby royally sucks.

Yes, and Natasha is the cat in this case. I have to say she's blooming into a curious little girl. Lately, she always wants to touch everything, whether it's a new toy, the remote control, the jar of food she's being fed from, or anything else for that matter. Your name it, she wants it. She's mastered the art of grabbing and holding very well by now and I suppose she's just curious about it all!

Anyway, the two funniest examples of the above occurred yesterday as well as today. Last night Matthew and I were giving Natasha a bubble bath, her usual evening routine. We used Johnson's Bedtime Bath to create the bubbles (it's supposed to relax the baby and help them sleep better. Doesn't work. But the bubbles smell nice, anyway) and so Natasha was staring at them all wide-eyed. Before we knew it, she grabbed a handful of the bubbles and shoved them into her mouth. Yep. Mmm, bubbles, right? Tasty.......! NOT. She didn't seem to surprised by the taste, though, because two minutes later she did it again (yes, we were keeping an eye on her, but we were also too busy cracking up). And she did it one more time before we finally ended the bath.

The second episode was this morning when I was changing a poopy diaper. I took off the spoiled one and placed it underneath her while I reached to grab a wipe; the next thing I know Natasha's hand somehow found its way into the dirty diaper and was covered in dark orange (disgusting!) poop. Ewww. I knew what might happen next, so I quickly hurried her into the bathroom to wash the hand. Bubbles might have been sort of funny, but no, I am not gonna have my silly monkey eat her poop!

I've been thinking lately about how once you have a baby you suddenly become a point of interest to complete strangers. People who never threw you a second look before suddenly stop to say hello and look inside the stroller. Random neighbors from our building stop Matthew and ask him if his wife delivered her baby already... seven months postpartum. And I know this is normal, people love to see a fresh little face and they always assume that if they talk to Natasha in a silly voice she will start smiling and laughing at them and think they're the funniest thing she ever saw.

Well, she doesn't. She doesn't think that at all. Natasha is a pretty serious girl and apprehensive of strangers; many times she starts crying when complete strangers talk to her. She can get comfortable with new people given some time, of course, but not for random street encounters. And I don't blame her. In fact, I don't even like it. I wish people would stop talking to her in their silly voices and make their silly faces; she's not a monkey. She's a human being. Talk to her like one.

And what bothers me even more is when they question my decisions. The other day, a middle-aged lady who was taking the elevator with us, made a comment about Natasha's pierced ears and asked me in a very confrontational voice whether they are gold or not. Duh. I could just tell she was expecting me to say no, because before I even had a chance to say yes, she went on and on about how babies should only wear gold. Seriously, do you think I am stupid, lady? Just because I am a young mother doesn't mean I don't have a head on my shoulders or enough common sense. But that's beside the point! This is my baby, and whether I chose for her to wear gold earrings or not, it's entirely my decision, so what right do you have to question me?? Sometimes I wish people minded their own business. And sorry if this sounds mean on my part, but I thought it was funny when Natasha burst into tears after that lady continued making silly faces at her.

We had a worse encounter a few weeks back, when a different 'know-it-all' type lady from out building asked me if Natasha was already sitting up on her own (she wasn't yet), and then proceeded to brag about her own child who was already talking in sentences at six months, let alone sitting up. After that she did the worst thing she could do. She started touching Natasha's hands and waving a rattler in front of her face. Seriously, it took me a LOT of self control not to slap those hands away. You do not touch my child!!! I don't know you. I don't know that your hands are clean. You do NOT touch my child. I really thought people were brighter than that. Again, Natasha let her know how she felt about her by bursting into tears.

To be honest, I don't mind if people look at her or make comments, but do it from a distance. Not in her face. Not by touching her. She doesn't know you. She doesn't need to like you just because you act silly and pay attention to her. Put yourself in her shoes and see if you would like that.

I've been walking around our apartment lately trying to "get rid" of things. According to Matthew I am a big junkie, and unfortunately it's very true. I hate throwing stuff out and I am very sentimental about it too. For instance, I have an old white teddy bear I got around Christmas 1998 or maybe 2000 (can't remember) but in either case it's very old and almost grey by now. But I can't get rid of it. I have deep feelings for it ().... ok, you can laugh now, but I just can't dump it into a trash can and not feel bad for it. I also have other junk like different miniature doggies, keychains, and I keep every single greeting card I ever received. And well, Matthew wants me to get rid of all these "useless" items. Of course, when I mention his collection of hundreds of old movie tapes and DVDs, plus an entire case of old CDs he never listens to, he gets all defensive and apparently that's not junk. Yeah. Sure.

Anyway, I've been hearing stories of all these people who make extra income by selling stuff on eBay, Craig's List, Buy and Sell, or Kijiji by simply going through their home drawers and closets and getting rid of items they don't use; you never know what others out there need or collect and you could actually make decent extra cash by selling items on these sites. And of course in the process clear out your own home.

So far I've been able to give away two items on these sites. I sold a co-sleeper we bought for Natasha before she was born for 60% of the original price; we decided against co-sleeping once she was born and the item became useless. I was also able to give away for free a bag of 75 Simply Kids diapers to a lady pregnant with her third child (Natasha developed a rash for this brand). I've also put up for sale a collection of my Dean Koontz books but got no replies as of yet. Now my mission is to find additional items in our house and offer them for sale. I've considered selling my maternity clothes (all brand-name) since I obviously don't need them anymore, but haven't decided yet.

Hopefully I will be able to part with more items that I don't use but someone else might find useful or necessary in their life.

This is a very delicious apple cake. If you like the apple and cinnamon combination, and if you prefer simplicity but great taste, then this is for you. The original recipe can be found here, although I've slightly altered it. Even Matthew loves this cake, and he's not the biggest apple cake (or any cake) lover.

Apple Cake

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/3 cup 10% cream
• 3 medium green apples - peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

Topping

• 2 tablespoons cold butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• extra cinnamon to sprinkle

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly butter an 8-inch square baking dish (I used a rounded one).
2. Mix together 1.5 cups flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Mix in 1/2 cup butter/margarine until mixture is crumbly (use your hands). Stir together the egg with the cream and gently add into the flour until soft dough has formed. Press into the baking dish. Layer apples on top of dough, overlapping in neat rows.
3. Prepare the topping by mixing the sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in butter/margarine and mix until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over apples, and then sprinkle the additional cinnamon (per your taste).
4. Bake in preheated oven until apples have softened, and topping has browned, about 25 minutes.

Grrrrrrrrr.

Did I mention I hate telemarketers? Or any other strangers calling my home at ANY time of day or night? Well, I do. And especially now that I have a child I hate it twice as much. Stop calling me!!! My baby is asleep! For crying out loud, get a life! Well... maybe that is your life. In fact, maybe that is what you do for a living, and you must call me to earn your living so that you can have that life, but either way, I am fed up!

And if that's not enough, I now have hospitals calling me. From Sick Kids, to Mount Sinai, to various medical centres and organizations... with all due respect to Mount Sinai for the fantastic care they provided me with when I delivered there, you did NOT ask for my permission to distribute my contact information to a bunch of your 'friends'! I delivered a baby there, do you really think I need twenty places calling me during the day and waking that same baby twenty different times??? And add to that list a bunch of 'kid organizations' from Disney Book Subscription Clubs asking me to subscribe for reading material for Natasha (helloooooooo, she's 6 months!), to various toy companies asking me for deals, to charities asking for countless donations, to market-research companies asking me to answer 5-minute questionnaires that turn into 40-minute ones (I just have to laugh when they ask me if that's my baby crying in the background... yeah, maybe if I got off the damn phone and actually attended to her, she wouldn't be crying!)...

I am annoyed and I don't care. Have some decency... oh, and I won't even go into the whole Toronto Star newspaper calling me every other day even though I've asked for our number to be removed, oh I don't even know how many times! And no, I don't need a free vacation to Hawaii, just as much as I don't need a new subscription to Parenting magazine.

Grrrrrrrrrr.

I must admit that I have a very weak spot for brand name baby and children's clothes. Firstly, I love baby clothes, period. And when I go shopping, I simply cannot come home without a new outfit for Natasha, be it a new sleeper, a onesie, or even a new pair of socks. I just can't and Matthew hates it. But as much as I am crazy for all baby outfits out there, there is just something extra in those brand-name outfits. The quality of Old Navy, the funky textures of Roots, the silkiness of Baby Gap, and the bright colours of Children's Place are simply irresistible. And I love it how when those clothes go through the washer/dryer a million times, they still retain their fine quality and still look brand new.

But of course there is an obvious downside to buying all brand names and that's the price tag. The prices in any of the above stores are astronomical, to say in the least. For instance, around the time Natasha was three months old, I entered a Baby Gap at Yorkdale Mall because I wanted to get her a first pair of jeans. Naturally, their selection was huge but the cheapest (yes, cheapest) pair of little denim baby pants was $24.50. Please. Give me a break. That's how much I pay for a pair of jeans for myself! And when I purchase jeans for myself they usually last me at least a year, but a pair of jeans for Natasha will last a maximum of three weeks. Nope, excuse me, but I am not paying $24.50 for baby pants.

So due to this, I purchase most of Natasha's clothes in Zellers, Wal-Mart, or even Sears which is kind of like a middle ground between store-brand and brand-name. These stores still have really great items, but they shrink and fade a lot faster than brand names. But the good part is that when they do shrink and fade, you don't have to spend a day crying into a napkin because it's $6.99 and not $24.50. And then of course there is Once Upon A Child (OUAC), which is simply great for people like me. OUAC, if you aren't familiar, is a consignment store (second hand) that sells a lot of new or gently used baby merchandise, including clothes of course. But the key with OUAC is that they only accept brand names or if it's not a brand name it has to be a really cute or a really special piece. My last visit to OUAC I got Natasha at least 7 new items (all brand name) for as little as $30! Most of their clothes sell from $2.00-$4.00 per item and so if you have the patience to do some digging, you could leave the store with some really great deals! And this store is also good in Matthew's book, which helps, right?

And that's my rant for today.

When Natasha was born she wasn't really showing any distinguishing characteristics of her gender, she was rather just being a baby. But now that she's almost seven months old, she is beginning to develop more of a unique personality and is definitly showing some girlie traits. For example, she absolutely loves to have her hair brushed. And not necessarily after a bath, but anytime! When I brush her hair she grows very quiet and sits still for as long as I am doing it and once I stop she becomes fidgety again. I've never known any boys who love their hair touched, but if you do, please enlighten me! But for now I certainly see that as a girlie trait.

Some other characteristics Matthew and I are noticing is stubbornness. We got ourselves a stubborn little donkey who once makes up her mind, there will be nothing that will change that. Matthew and I are both very stubborn people (sometimes it takes a game of rock-paper-scissors for us to make a serious decision), so it's no surprise where she gets that from.

Aside from that, she's been taking afternoon catnaps in her crib with no problems at all. Very surprising but a huge relief for us! Yeah! Our baby girl is growing up waaaaaaay too fast!