JOOB Phone

JOOB has taken to using one of our old computer mice as a phone substitute. Blow me down but he actually received a call on it. Here are the pics:

JOOB receives some disturbing news from his stockbroker about his share portfolio

JOOB tells his stockbroker what he thinks of him.

JOOB sultanas

Joob not only likes eating sultanas but he also enjoys the box too.

We have teeth!

It took 10 months but his bottom front teeth are finally coming through. Photos soon - hopefully.

Motherhood: Is It Catching?

So tired... can't believe the weekend's over already. For that matter, can't believe it's one week into the new year already. Did I send out all my NY greetings to everyone in time? Did I send out NY greetings to anyone at all? Is it really the 7th already?

It's an interesting contradiction: having a baby helps you connect with total strangers, but at the same time having a baby isolates you from the social life you once were part of. You don't go out as often, or for as long, and with a lot less spontaneity than before. On the other hand, it's a pleasant surprise when dour bank managers suddenly pull funny faces at your baby.

That said, have you noticed how, for every stranger you meet who is smitten with your baby, there is also someone who appears repelled by him? Mainly young women, from my experience, and sometimes a certain type of older lady. It ranges from disapproval and mild distaste to outright dislike. They see me with JOOB and glare like I'm a personal insult to them, some traitor to an unspecified cause, some slutty collaborator with the enemy.

It's not like JOOB is even screaming or being a nuisance to them. They just don't seem to like the idea of babies. Sometimes they actually recoil at the sight of him.

Hey," sisters"! It's not contagious, you know. Motherhood isn't like the avian flu. You don't see a baby and suddenly fall pregnant (although there're people out there who probably wish that were so). And since we're smack in the middle of a baby boom, one imagines those disapproving ladies and horrified party girls are going to be wearing pinched expressions for a long time. Not very flattering!

I'm not going to wax forth any of that nonsense about feeling more complete as a woman or fulfilling my genetic destiny blah. Being a mum is hard work, and a lot of fun, and bloody exhausting. Someday, as has been observed, I'll find I'm not JOOB's mum anymore and maybe I'll also find I miss it, but until then, this is the way it is and how it's going to be.

Now, maybe some sleep..?

The Return of the Zombie MilkCow!

Babies are a time sink.

Not only that, but they completely and utterly take over your life.

And worse, they completely re-wire your brain. Becoming a mother, I've just realised, means it is now impossible to think about yourself. Baby is now your whole world and all your outlook.

You go shopping for clothes for yourself, and end up buying some darling little hat/shirt/socks for the baby. And you don't even notice!

You know how people make NY resolutions about giving up smoking and reading more literature? Heh. Mine are to make time for frivolities such as meals and showers. As to books... all the books I've read recently tend to be in primary colours, are waterproof or made of thick cardboard, and have cheerful titles like: Turtle & Friends! Jumping Frog! My First Colours Board Book!

I love my JOOB, but seriously, I can't wait for the little blighter to grow up so I can think and act rationally again. If I squint, I can just make out what my old life used to look like, way over there, waving to me from a great distance...