March 28th

tiny landscape // I planted four of these ground cover plants (I forget what they are called) a few years ago and two are still alive and covering the ground as advertised // raindrops on baby bleeding heart plant // little bun // tiny tiptoes // coffee & crafts // yawn // sprawl // tractor tea party 1 // tractor tea party 2 // making some important calls // sweet face // cranberries // failed mini lemon cranberry loaves, they are very delicious but distinctly lacking in structural integrity, possibly due to mini size or maybe I just didn’t grease the pans enough 🙁 recipe here; for mini loaves bake 30-35 minutes

After that thing with Gwen’s new teeth and the cat barfing on the bed on Monday I thought this week had nowhere to go but up. HA HA NO. On Monday night someone (not me) accidentally shut Claire in Gwen’s bedroom closet all night and of course she peed in there, on the carpet. OF COURSE OF COURSE. Once I opened the closet door the cat pee smell quickly drifted out and filled this rest of the house, and I just had to live with it until Taylor came home from work with some vinegar*, like I couldn’t even go buy some on my own because I am completely broke and the chip on my credit card is malfunctioning AGAIN. The vinegar is working and the cat-pee smell seems to be gone (or at least, replaced with a slightly less offensive & rapidly fading vinegar smell), but that was not the end of my woes. I have a cold, Gwen has a cold, Taylor and I got in a fight, Sym and I got in a fight. Why is this week so difficult?

Gwen has two new favourite things right now that she’s very into; walking on her tippy-toes, which is cute, and wanting me to pick her up all the time, which is cute until I can’t/won’t pick her up or I have to put her down and then she screams at me with her terrible new scream until I capitulate. That scream, you guys. It’s the worst! The other night it was actually nice out (it’s been pretty rainy recently) so I suggested to Taylor that we take Gwen for a walk with the little dogs. She was fine for a while, trundling along in a super-adorable toddler fashion but then she decided she was finished with walking (after about 20 feet), and that’s when the screaming started. We were in the middle of the park and you should have seen the dirty looks I was getting (lucky Taylor was up ahead with the dogs and got no such looks). I wanted to tell everyone “she’s fine, she’s fine!” but eventually I just gave in and carried her the rest of the way.

My favourite thing that I’m very into is something I call trollcasting. Sounds magical, but it’s actually very scientific. Okay not really, we have a Chromecast hooked up to our tv in the living room and I discovered a while ago that it was possible to troll Taylor and Sym with it. If you send youtube videos from your phone or whatever to the Chromecast it’ll override whatever other media device they are currently using. They’ll suddenly be confronted with Sandstorm or the true nightmare that is Alan Thicke singing Sweaty and Hot (click that link at your own risk). Tragically this only works because it’s hooked up through the receiver, so it won’t work with the one in the bedroom because it’s hooked directly to the tv. Boo!

Sym is leaving today to go on vacation with her dad & grandma. Remember when I used to go on vacations? Then I had a baby and now I have no money lol oopssssss. Anyway while they are gone Dougal will be staying here all next week, which would normally be ndb but the timing unfortunately coincides with our dogwalker being laid up with a back injury. Somehow I’m going to have to get up early enough to take him for a walk before Gwen wakes up, every single day. I seriously have no idea how I’m gonna pull this off. I have this long standing fantasy that suddenly we’re rich and can afford a house of our very own with a securely fenced yard and in the mornings I can let the dogs out to run around and do their business and I can stand out on the deck and watch them while I drink my coffee and MAN would it ever be great to have that next week!

*Blot up as much of the cat pee as possible using paper towels or old rags. Mix 1 part white vinegar with 2 parts water and pour on the affected area of the carpet, saturating it completely. Allow to dry. Repeat as necessary until the cat pee smell is gone.