Measuring life

In T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," the narrator says, "I have measured out my life with coffee spoons." In addition to coffee spoons, I also measure out my life in bottles washed, dishwasher loads emptied, and laundry loads completed--three chores that are in endless rotation! (Guess what I've been doing today!)

The Katy Report: After another challenging evening last night, Katy is a delight today. Mainly sleeping actually. I think that her internal naptime needs have been disrupted, and being overtired has brought on more crying than usual. The baby books all had me believing that the crying eases up at three months. Katy obviously did not get the memo! But when she isn't crying, she is often smiling and even giggling, so the angst caused by her tears is easily forgotten (and then, of course, quickly remembered again!). She is experiencing the coldest day of her entire life today; it was only 11 degrees when we got up this morning, and still is not much above 20 degrees. For some reason, our heat is not keeping the house particularly warm, so I have a space heater out and am keeping blankets on Katy as she sleeps and even as she plays, when I can. She's got some good insulation, though! At church yesterday, one of the new member families introduced us to their child, who is smaller than Katy but about five months older!

Mom-Tip Monday: Just for fun, I am going to include some alliterative element each weekday. Mondays will be Mom-Tip Monday, where I include some interesting or helpful tip that I have read, often from a parenting magazine. (Come back tomorrow for Tasty Tuesday!) The Mom-Tip/idea for today: When grandparents live far away from their grandchildren, they can send recordings of themselves reading stories, singing lullabies, and sharing stories of their own or their children's childhoods. The recording can include messages of love and bedtime prayers. When the faraway child finally gets to see her grandparents again, she will immediately recognize their voices! (This idea came from a grandmother in Oklahoma, and I think I read it in "Parents" magazine.)