I should count myself lucky Morgan doesn't talk yet, otherwise she'd be swearing at me for pestering her and picking on her.
This is what happened yesterday evening:
I can't help but laugh every time it happens! I do help her out, mind you, but at times I like to watch her and see if she manages by herself. There are times when she is actually successful!
Today, the same thing happened, and this time, she actually grabbed it with her hand! At first she grabbed it between her middle finger and her ring finger, then when i gave it to her, she grabbed it with her whole hand and threw it on the floor.
I'm uber-pleased, to say the least!
Morgan has been rather quiet all day, slept quite a bit too, meaning I could get things done. I'm officially putting away her small bottles, as we have now upgraded to 160ml every feed - even though I'm mixing 4 scoops of milk to 150ml of water to reduce her spewing. I'll go for the actual dosage of 5 scoops once her stomach accepts the fact she's drinking more.
Everyone enjoys public holidays, right? Well, not really.
Some of us are unfortunate enough to have been born on the most awkward dates ever. Let's have a look and see why:
New Year's Day - 1st of January
Well, that pretty much screwed up your mum's plans for the previous evening for a very long time. It also means that your name - if not your face - landed you in newspapers and/or TV from day 1. This year, one lady I used to metaphorically bump into at my doc's clinic was one of the New Year's New Mums. My own mother called me to tell me about it, since I don't want local TV... nor any TV really, anyway. No more shall I be amused by said Lady's animal-print, skinny fit, bright pink, uber-furry wardrobe. Beautiful woman - bad taste in clothing. Anyway.
This means that later on in life, you will rarely get to celebrate your birthday as just that. Also, it will make it awkward for your friends to attend as they are bound to have other social engagements.
St Paul's Feast - February 10th
Yes, it is awesome to always have the day off for your birthday - however you are almost guaranteed that your birthday will be rainy. Plus, if you parents are 'those kind of people' - you're likely to be named Paul, Paula, Pauline etc.
Valentine's Day - 14th February
If you happen to be in a relationship on your birthday, you're bound to only get the one gift from your partner, as opposed to two, like everyone else does. If on the other hand you're single, you will be made aware of that fact every single year. Your friends will be unlikely to make it to your birthday's celebrations and getting time off work will be a nightmare as all the couples will have taken up the available hours off.
You also get to be called Valentina/ Valentino if your parents deem it befitting.
Leap Year - 29th February You only get to celebrate your birthday on its actual date once every four years, and will have to put up with a lifetime of people making remarks about how you're actually 1/4th your age e.g. If you're 16, you're really only 4 years old.
St Joseph's Feast - 19th March
Again, chances are, you'll be called Joseph, Josephine, Josef, Josefa, or any other variant of the name.
Any time between February and April - Lent & Carnival
If your birthday occurs during lent, you might be screwed. It depends entirely on how strict your parents are in their making you give up sweets during that time of the year.
Fine, you get to have a fancy dress party should Carnival happen on your birthday. However, it can become old very quickly. Especially when your friends don't show up for your birthday celebrations because they are busy partying elsewhere. April Fool's - 1st of April
You'll be the butt of the same old jokes over and over again every time someone finds out about it.
Any time between March & April - Our Lady of Sorrows, Good Friday, Easter
Your birthday will be of secondary importance, and you'll be restricted food-wise as a lot of catering establishments avoid meat on the first 2 holidays I mentioned. If your birthday happens to be Easter Sunday, you'll have a positive aspect to it - lots of chocolate eggs.
Again, though, it will be a nightmare to take time off work.
Any day in May, June or July
May is full of various feasts - the greatest risk you run is being called Mario or Maria or any other variation throughout this month. It also happens to be the period where your social l life as a student preparing for their O/A/Intermediate level exams will vanish. If you're unlucky enough, there will be the village feast causing noise pollution as you attempt to pull an all-nighter and study. This also means that once you start working, you'll be unlikely to get time off for your birthday and once you have children of your own, you'll spend your birthday telling them off for procrastinating and to study.
Similarly, both June and July have a long list of village feasts involved, so you'll be more likely to be named after a saint. There aren't that many issues you'll come across though - you're just more likely to share your birthday with half a dozen acquaintances.
St Maria's Feast - 15th August Good luck getting the day off work! Unless you're one of those lucky ones who work for a business that closes down for a few days round about that time. Again, Mario or Maria is most likely your name. You'll be unlikely to manage to book yourself a few days away from home - at least not without paying an arm and a leg for it! Your friends are also likely to have made plans elsewhere so they won't be around to help you celebrate. Late September
September is a good month if I say so myself! [This is where I mentally wave at my fellow Virgos out there.] The issue with this month is mainly the weather being unreliable. Oh, and it is also Back To School month. Which can be somewhat stressful! [p.s. Late August/Early September-born people are proof that their parents had a really good Festive season]
October & November - the most relaxed months of them all
The only issues I can see with October is if your birthday is close to Halloween - as a lot of people will have already made other plans and won't be around to help you celebrate. Other than that - huzzah!
December
Heh. You're likely to get half as much gifts as everyone else It will also be the case that your birthday will eternally have a Xmas theme. If you're born really close to Xmas, you're risking being called Noel/Noelle or even worse, Natalino or Natalia. A smartass or two might ask if you were born in a manger and try to be punny - but thankfully for you, there aren't that many smartasses around.
The internet is a wonderful invention. I owe a lot to whoever came up with the idea in the first place. A lot of knowledge was acquired, and a lot of relationships were established.
Last night, a very good friend of mine told me of a very unusual encounter she had whereby a person she knew a while back is completely offline. What that means is
He does not own a PC
He has no profiles set up anywhere on the WWW
He doesn't own a smartphone or any other device that puts him online
He does not use anyone else's pc/laptop/smartphone/whatever
He does not steal wifi/use internet cafes
He has never ever been online and
Has no virtual footprint whatsoever.
The thought of it was scary!
Nowadays, I cannot imagine myself living without the internet. It enables me to have a relationship with people all over the world. Yes, letters can achieve the same effect - I still recall the days when I had penpals. However, it always felt like a monologue. There is no real-time interaction.
Having said that, I do occasionally send and receive postcards and letters and greeting cards and gifts from friends spread all over the world whom I got to know online and still talk to regularly via technological means.
My point is this: I owe Creature's existence to the internet.
The one invention I wish they'd create is teleportation devices. As a Trekkie, I grew up amazed by the infinite possibilities such a device could provide. From time to time, I look up information to see if there has been progress in the scientific fields that will bring us a step closer to having our own teleportation devices. One can hope!
At times like these, I wish - really, REALLY wish - that one could email themselves over from one place to the other. Most of the people I would want to be around are spread all over the place. They live anywhere but here. Thankfully there is still a handful of people on the rock that I enjoy being in their company. Still, it does not makeup for those who cannot be here.
If you, like me, find yourself in this kind of situation - get a webcam and make your international loved ones invest in one as well. That way, you can still spend time with them whenever possible. I have plans in place where a friend from as far away as New Zealand would like to read stories to Creature via Skype. Even when it comes to special occasions - Baby Showers, Baptism/Saining ceremonies - Xmas, New Year's, Birthdays - it makes it a tiny bit less sad not to be in physical proximity.
Becoming a parent is one hell of a big change. "No shit, Sherlock," I hear you say.
Seriously though. It is a HUGE change. If you previously were fine with living in an organised chaos, you will now have to get used to keeping the organised chaos out of toddler's reach. If you hated Xmas and the decorations and carols and all that jazz, you're screwed. You will now be expected to decorate your house, go overboard with gifts, set up Xmas stockings, suffer in silence and mentally envision the tragic death of all those people responsible for teaching your child all those horrible Xmas Carols. If you hated the idea of spending a day at the beach.. again, you're screwed. You will get to spend literally, a day at the beach, in the company of endless beach toy supplies, sun block, water mattresses, swimming aids, snorkeling gear, and more likely than not, a tantrum at the end of the day thrown as loudly as possible by an overtired child who doesn't want the day to end.
You will also get to annually be around dozens of screaming, sticky children, frantically trying to prevent them from destroying your house. Gods forbid you have a clown phobia! You'll be bound to be forced to face your phobia, for your child's sake. And, you will have to succumb into being The One To Sing The First Note Of 'Happy Birthday'. Over and over again.
The best part of it all? Getting to not only listen to the aforementioned annoying songs when they are justified, but also listening to them over and over again all year round.
