Miracleman and Aimee, insent.

I mean fuck. Can people just NOT smell themselves????

Well, once the stench gets past a certain point, no. Doesn't your nose just get fatigued after it's smelled the same thing too strongly for too long, and decide to ignore the smell from here on out? Possibly you should carry one of those little jars of coffee beans that they have in places like Lush, so the offender's nose can restart.

Thanks for all the reassurances. I feel much less worried.

My mother's response was to set me on newspapers and let me self feed.

That is awesome, and I think I need to give it a try. I don't suppose your mother took any pictures, did she? The resultant cute might kill us all, but I think we'd be willing to take the chance.

Yay Suzi!

I have skimmed and skipped and skimmed some more.

Potty training is STRESSFUL. For everyone. But I just kept telling myself it would happen eventually, and it does. For most kids, it just seems to click one day. And honestly, the bigger deal you make of it, the more they'll push back.

JZ, I once read that kids up to five (I think) only need the equivalent number of tablespoons of food in their bellies at each meal. Their tummies are LITTLE. If Matilda is eating elsewhere, don't flip. Also, the best indicator of health (imho) is a happy, curious baby. And she is those things!

God, it's hot here.

I mean fuck. Can people just NOT smell themselves????

What is it today? A very ripe dude sat himself next to me on the commuter train this morning. I was literally covering my face and trying to hold my nose so that it wasn't obvious. Gah. I should have moved, but I was tired and lazy.

The resultant cute might kill us all, but I think we'd be willing to take the chance.

I'd be willing to throw myself on that cutie grenade and save you all.

Doesn't your nose just get fatigued after it's smelled the same thing too strongly for too long, and decide to ignore the smell from here on out?

Yep. When I was a kid, whenever I got back from vacation I'd notice just how much our barn stank, but I'd quickly get used to it.

But at least I took a shower after working in the barn if I had to go anywhere public.

Well holy fucksticks, Batman.

Apparantly, the utility companies out here provide you a barrell when you start new service. The better to BEND YOU OVER AND FUCK YOU.

The water/sewer utility out here charges an 80% surcharge on your bill. Sometimes, the surcharge is more than the bill.

WTF.

My friend's girl twin, who is 17 months tomorrow, just started eating people

Haha...I started to get scared when I read that, until I got past the parenthesis and saw the word "food".

The nose fatigue happens with good smells too. When I worked at the chocolate shop people would come in and say, "oh my gosh how do you not weigh 300 pounds having to smell that wonderful smell all the time?" But the store just smelled like a retail store to me.

Dear wife, don't stress about the baby eating. She's big and solid now and very active and eats what she wants when she wants it. She's fine. She's a very healthy baby. Maybe swing by Andronico's and get that pumpkin pie stuff she likes.

Potty Training: Aiyeeeeeeee. God it sucked with Emmett. That was a very stressful year. He peed in the potty fine, but pooping was a nightmare. He would half poop in his pants, and not tell. Then he'd get an awful rash so that wiping him was a painful, screaming event. Then he'd get horribly backed up and constipated because he wouldn't poop. So we'd have to get him to drink mineral oil to get it out.

Ultimately it was his daycare provider who sat beside him while he was on the potty for forty-five minutes every day, encouraging him and being patient.

The one thing I know is you've got to be calm and patient. Very calm. Very patient.