Can't Catch Up

At some point early in the month I remember feeling so on top of the holiday to-do list. Now I can't imagine what that felt like. Thankfully Matilda has been a huge help.
Need something unwrapped? She's your gal. Cooler empty? She'll fill it up. Not sure if that shipping box has any Styrofoam peanuts left in it? Matilda is always up to the task of emptying it for you.

Millie and Maple

In college I had a pet hedgehog named Millie. She wasn't so friendly; her idea of interaction involved burrowing up your pant leg until she got spooked. She would then ball up, leaving you with the equivalent of a sea urchin stuck against your calf. Good times. But she was adorable and the fleeting moments I ever got to pet her soft belly made it all worthwhile. Today at the zoo we met Maple, the friendliest hedgehog on earth. She didn't hiss, she didn't ball up, she even let Matilda manhandle her. I think I know what Santa can fill my stocking with this year!

New Car!

So we finally ended our new car search yesterday and are again a functioning two-car family. We bought a used car from a private owner and it all went better than expected. Our mechanic checked the car out so we don't feel too nervous about it dying on us in a week. The only question I have is whether the pool of blood in the trunk is actually fake-blood from a music video shoot, as the seller claims. And if not, does that make me an accomplice?

In related news we also sold Homer yesterday and I said goodbye to my bobble head cat. He (as you can see, he is very clearly male) has been my faithful co-pilot for so many years and I will miss him. However, the buyer (our landlord, who is beyond description) expressed an interest in keeping the cat and asked about what purpose he served. He theorized that the cat served as some sort of "tachometer" with his head bouncing, explaining that if you are driving faster the head will bobble more. As I marveled at yet another crazy theory, my landlord stated that he will strive to drive slow enough that the cat head doesn't rattle so he is staying within a more fuel efficient operation of the car. While previously I would have taken the bobbly cat out with my other possessions I prefer to think of his adventures living with my landlord as a crude speed enforcer.

Toe Jam

Matilda is currently obsessed with toe jam. It seemed at first to be a novelty that she could find fuzz between her toes, but she has become increasingly obsessed over the past week. M will rip her shoes and socks off periodically throughout the day to check for any accumulation. Once she has given all her toes a good going over she will cry "More!" and then come after your toes for an inspection. A toe inspection currently occupies her attention for far longer than any other single thing. Matilda usually does not tolerate Tim & I having a conversation of any length so last night we were joking that we could resort to offering her a stinky, fuzzy foot for distraction. The only trick then is to keep her from eating her delicious finds.

Do your eyes itch yet?

So I haven't actually been stuck at home for the past 4 days with Matilda holding the house keys for ransom. It did, however, take a good 15 minutes to find them that afternoon. She had stashed the keys in her bed, under some blankets. That seems to be her treasure spot where she squirrels away precious items. I can totally relate, when I shared a room with my brother every single item that held any value to me was kept on the top bunk. I slept rolled into a tight little ball to fit among the books, toys, and debris.

Matilda is slowly coming around to the holiday spirit. She requests Jingle Bells now, and will tolerate a few other Christmas songs. We got our tree Saturday which made it almost impossible to sleep around here. Matilda popped out of bed at 5:30 a.m., saying "Tree!" and running for the living room. She very rarely gets up that early and usually is not so chipper until she's had her morning fix (i.e. 20 minute nurse). Santa is still deeply mistrusted. Each Santa ornament we would offer her to hang she would place carefully back in the box, saying "Bye bye." Snowmen are beloved figures and M calls them all "Mo", pretends to bite their carrot noses, and has taken to "nursing" one particular jingle bell snowman ornament.

In true winter spirit Matilda started her first ever antibiotics today, specifically drops to treat Pink Eye. She and Tim both have it and are playing the blame game over who brought it home. The infection itself doesn't seem to bother her too much, but the four daily eye drop sessions are traumatic for everyone involved. I have strong memories of repeated bouts with pink eye as a kid and so I'm living in fear of contracting it also. Just thinking about it makes my eyes itch. I am sure yours itch now too. Don't touch them, and go wash your hands! Although, as my Dad said, it's better than lice.

Trapped

I saw Matilda take the house keys off the table a bit ago. As she was carrying them around I had the fleeting thought that I should retrieve them. I did not. Now she refuses to disclose their location.

The Holiday Spirit

For me, much of the holiday spirit is tied to hearing Christmas music. We have a massive collection that normally goes into heavy rotation immediately after Thanksgiving. Like her father, Matilda has very specific musical likes and dislikes. We joke that she should work in the recording industry because she can determine after about 3 seconds how she feels about a song. We can't find a common thread among her favorites, but anything that doesn't meet approval gets a quick "Bye bye" and we must move on. We have been trying to not give in so easily to her music tyranny but it makes for quite the battle. So far we have yet to find one Christmas carol that is tolerated by the little miss. Maybe once we get our tree up that will help with the holiday mood, but I am not sure it will be the same sitting around by tree-light, drinking eggnog and listening to 1234 yet again.

The other integral part of the season that Matilda hasn't warmed up to yet is Santa. He is good in theory, from a distance maybe. Up close however, he proves to be terrifying. It seems that sadly, 2007 will be the year that breaks our Santa photo tradition.

The only part of Christmas that Matilda seems really behind at this point is the snow. And I'm not sure that really should count since she thinks snow is the fake-o type generated by bubble machines at fancy malls around here. Yesterday she just about lost it when the "snow" stopped and we had go on with our lives, bubble-less. All day long she kept asking "Bubbles? Bubbles?" Thankfully she can get a snow education when we travel home for the holidays.

Napping Secret

So it turns out all we need to do for Matilda to take a decent nap is send Tim to work without the car. Each time he leaves me the car to use for the day M takes a 2-3 hours nap. Unheard of normally. But seeing as how I had a huge list of car-necessitating errands and a trip to the farther-away-playground planned for this afternoon she's resting easy. Maybe just thinking of the possibilities for entertainment with the car are too exhausting for her. Instead I am focusing on wasting my 2+ hours (so far) surfing the internet. To-do list be damned.

Ringlets

I can't decide whose are cuter.