Oops

I am so not with it. I didn't realize yesterday was Earth Day until two people mentioned it to me. I felt it was sort of a big deal because even though I teach Sweet Pea by my actions that it's good to recycle, turn off the water while soaping up her hands and brushing her teeth, and otherwise do good things for the environment, I thought it would be another good thing to use the community awareness to focus on those things for a day.

However...

What kind of diapers was The Bug wearing? Disposable. I couldn't use her usual cotton diapers because we didn't have any clean diaper covers, and our clothes washer broke on Friday. Yeah, right when I got in to a rhythm with the laundry. Slipshod spent the weekend doing some online research, lots of measuring, and he went out and bought one yesterday at a local store. It will be delivered tomorrow.

Anyway, once I did realize that it was Earth Day, I pulled out a little children's activity book I had bought before Sweet Pea was even born, called "Every Day is Earth Day!" We pulled an egg carton out of the recycling and painted it and started to make it into a kitty bus. Pictures to come, when we finish the project.

Later in the day yesterday I took the girls out for a walk to the store. Sweet Pea got to ride in the stroller (yes, it's very close and she could totally walk, but she likes to ride and it makes me feel better when she does - we have to walk along a main road to get there), and The Bug in the Bjorn. Both where they like to be when we walk to the store. We were there far too long but they both did very well. I couldn't buy everything on my list because whatever I bought had to fit into the basket under the stroller. So, no cat food. But Slipshod can pick the other items up tonight.

While at the store we spent quite a while in the hair aisle, me looking for barrettes that will actually hold Sweet Pea's hair, while Sweet Pea reached and begged for all the cute, bright hair brushes and combs. I hope I managed to get some things that will work with her hair. For barrettes we've just been using the totally cheapo plastic ones that are made in the shape of flowers, bows, and animals. Sweet Pea picked them out last summer. But now it takes FOUR of those, two on each side, to keep her hair out of her face.

Besides the metal barrettes I bought for her, I also got us both some stretchy headbands. We'll see how they work. Sweet Pea likes hers (the blue one, of course), but it keeps sliding out of her hair - down the back. Argh. That probably means that mine will do the same. What I really need is a haircut anyway.

And speaking of hair, both of my girls are so attached to my hair. Sweet Pea used to play with it while she was nursing, and still likes to touch my hair while she's falling asleep at night, and when she is sad or hurt or scared. Now the Bug plays with my hair while she nurses, and sometimes if she doesn't fall asleep nuring or if she wakes up in the middle of the night and doesn't need to nurse, she seems to have to touch my hair to get back to sleep. Their need to touch my hair is sweet, touching, endearing... and sometimes a bit much.

For the most part I love that touching my hair can calm them down so effectively, but Sweet Pea moved out of our bed on her own recently - we put a twin mattress in our bedroom (she didn't want to be out of the room, but thought it might be nice to have her own space in her own bed). The first and only night she slept there was fine - as per usual, since she doesn't nap anymore, she fell asleep before The Bug did. She did move back up into our bed around 5am, but would have stayed in her own bed if I had agreed to snuggle there with her. I think it might have taken if she had not fallen asleep and taken a nap the next day. She just fell asleep on teh couch in the afternoon because she was still getting over a cold, if I remember correctly. Now she talks about sleeping in her own bed, but doesn't do it. She says that it's because she likes to play with my hair while she falls to sleep. I asked her if getting something that had my hair on it would make the difference, and she said "yes" but then decided the next day that that wouldn't do it.

A while back I searched for some kind of hair lovey and found this. The idea is good, but the reality of it is somehow very creepy. I just went there and looked again and realized why it is so creepy to me. It reminded me of a voodoo doll. Still, I sometimes consider cutting my hair and getting one made for each of the girls. I wonder if it would change anything about bedtime and/or night wakings (for The Bug - Sweet Pea almost never wakes up at night anymore and it's been that way for over a year, hallelujiah). Would they figure out later in life that they had little voodoo dolls of me and use them against me? ha ha!