2. A friend is having her baby shower in a few weeks, so I knit a Milo for her little man in utero. It was a quickie--less than 24 hours, I think, and that while taking care of a baby. I've just cast on a pair of booties, and I'm thinking there will be enough yarn left to make a matching hat.
3. Michael seemed to enjoy his bananas today, which makes me happy! Homemade baby food has been hit and miss so far--he likes the applesauce, but he HATES the peas I made him, despite liking the ones in a jar. When he sees them he purses his lips shut. (They are a very bright green, much brighter than the jarred peas.) Right now I have a sweet potato in the oven that I will puree and freeze. Making a batch of baby food makes me feel quite the accomplished and thrifty mother. ^_^
4. Yesterday I took Michael to CMU to take part in a study about infant language learning. It consisted of him sitting in my lap and watching a video, while his reactions were recorded. Afterwards he got a free book. Clearly he is already following in his father's footsteps on the path to scientific greatness. ;)
5. Today I am going to block my cardigan. I'm hoping I can wear it on Sunday. Say a prayer that it works out and doesn't somehow morph into a huge shapeless mess. ;) Either way, I will post pictures.
6. Oh man, Halloween is almost here, and I don't have a costume for Michael. Maybe Keith and I can get out and find one tomorrow ...
7. I don't like to post about politics, not because I don't have opinions, but because I am generally too lazy to write about those opinions in a clear way, and because I don't really like conflict. But I'm going to go ahead and risk getting political in a general sense and say it drives me crazy when people brag about their political apathy. I don't enjoy politics by a long shot. I admit I didn't really pay attention to the last debate (I was knitting something complicated :-P ), and if you didn't watch it I won't judge you. (That much. ;-P ) But to brag about not watching it on Facebook, about not caring because both candidates are the same (they're not, but that's another issue)? Like it or not, you were born in a country where you have a say and therefore a responsibility in the government. You may say that whatever you do makes no difference--your vote is a drop in the ocean--and maybe you're right.
I can totally understand not liking either candidate, but if you're not voting, and ALSO not doing anything else like writing letters to your representatives, getting involved on the local level, whatever ... then you don't really have a right to complain about the situation. Saying that both candidates are losers doesn't abnegate your responsibility ... because seriously, who's to blame that only losers seem to run for president in our country? Who ELECTS them? Us. And if you're going to do nothing at all about it ... it empties your complaint of any weight.
In the end, responsibility isn't just about how our actions affect others (the "drop in the ocean"), but also how they shape ourselves. And apathy about big issues is never a positive character trait! I say this as someone who does little except vote, which is not very admirable. And if I've probably offended someone, so just know that I include myself in the category of people whose complaints are sorely disproportionate to the actions I take.
(Another reason I never post about politics--after spending a ton of time and words on that point I am still not satisfied how I've said things. Oh well.)
Babies, politics and knitting ... yep, you've come to the right place!
Joining up with Jen over at Conversion Diary.
Bananas and avocados are Claire's favorites. Mainly, I think, because they have a naturally smoother consistency when pureed.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, we didn't watch any of the debates. We read something that said, if you already know who you're voting for, why not spend that time praying for the fate of our country?
I also read an article (I think in the October or September issue of the Magnificat) that quoted Catherine of Sienna talking about how prayers will do far, far more good than any other political activities. I firmly believe that!
Thank you for bringing up prayer, Caitlin! So important!! I agree about not needing to watch the debates if you already know who you're voting for--this is the first year I've ever watched them, and it does help me know what people who support Obama are saying/thinking, and gives me something to talk about with my friends who support them. What bothered me was people who refused to watch it out of apathy, or "they're both evil politicians and neither's getting my vote so who cares."
DeleteI didn't watch the debates either. Nothing Obama says could make me vote for him, so what's the point? Sometimes I feel like doing all the "right" things is still futile. Ryan and I worked for hours with our former landlord's campaign for U.S. Congress, hammering down his platform. He had great ideas and I think he was far and away the best person for the job. He couldn't get halfway decent coverage with the local media, as one of his opponents was good friends with lots of them. Everyone is equal, but some are more equal than others as far as influencing elections goes. It gets discouraging quickly, which suits the manipulators just fine. Sorry to be a downer, but I just can't stand politics.
ReplyDeleteHave you heard of Baby-Led Weaning?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.babyledweaning.com/
(This is "weaning" in the British sense of "adding solids" not in the sense of "ending breastfeeding".)
Basically it means that babies do nothing but self-feed. No purees at all.
It sounds radical but actually it was sooooo much easier than purees.
I would put BLW right up there with baby sign language in the "fastest and biggest return on investment" category for parenting tricks.
Michael seems sooooo similar in temperament to Pippa (in terms of being high need and few breaks), I would really recommend it. I tried purees and it's soooo much nicer to just set some pieces of chicken, mashed potato, and steamed carrot coins in front of a baby and let him go to town while YOU get to actually eat YOUR food (or have some tea, or check your email...) instead of playing airplane or choo choo with a spoon with chicken potato carrot puree on it.
It's funny you bring that up, because while I had heard of it before, I never really sat down to research it until last night, and I found it really interesting! I've tried giving him some of those little cereal puffs and he gets pretty bored of them, but I think I'll try some banana or avocado or something in the next couple days and see how he does. :)
DeleteI agree - I hate politics, but I feel like, especially in this election, you can't NOT vote. I'm still working on Tom. He's one of those apathetic ones you hate ;-)
ReplyDelete