Today I found out that our natural gas bill will be going up 49% for January. That’s not a typo: forty-nine percent! This is after several other smaller, although no less significant, rate increases over the past few months. They say the rate increases are due to the hurricanes in the Gulf, and that things won’t return to normal until this next summer, when we won’t need the natural gas as much. How convenient for them.

According to Columbia Gas, this means that the average family here in Ohio will be paying $315.90 to heat their house this January, versus $212.66 this month.

Looking at our past gas bills, the highest we have paid was about $200, and that was last January. We were shocked when our fairly low usage November bill turned out to be $130. If the weather continues to confuse Ohio with the Arctic Circle, we’ll probably have a $400 gas bill for January.

That amount is more than a budget breaker – it’s downright painful. We’ll be able to cover it somehow; as a last resort, we can always use money from our small emergency savings account (which I think this would qualify as a proper use for). And there’s a chance we’ll be getting some cash for Chrismukkah, which could partially go towards the bill.

But what worries me far more is how will those who don’t have an emergency savings and those living on strict budgets make it through the winter?

Most homes in this area are heated using natural gas. Portable space heaters can only do so much, and they pose a huge fire risk: just last night a father and daughter were killed in Columbus when their heater caught fire. And I can’t imagine going without heat.

When I drive to my father-in-law’s house, I pass a run down house that shows signs of people living there, including children. But several of the windows are broken out. One window has cardboard covering it, and another has a blanket over it. I can’t even imagine how cold it gets. I want to run up to that house, give them all coats and warm blankets and somehow magically fix their windows.

Our governor (you know, the one who got impeached) is releasing extra welfare money for heating assistance this winter, but I don’t know how much it will help. I think this situation shows that there needs to be a more permanent solution for helping people heat their homes.

As for us, we can count ourselves lucky that we have all of our windows and even though it will hurt, we’ll be able to pay our gas bill. Tonight I’m going out in search of heavy curtains for our house. While our house is less than 2 years old, it still seems to have several air leaks, and there is always a draft near the living room windows. Hopefully heavy curtains will help keep the warm air in a little better.

We’ll also continue washing all of our clothes in cold water and taking shorter showers to keep the use of natural gas to a minimum with the hot water heater. The house temperature is set at 68, and I hope we won’t have to lower it more than that. I found a good list of natural gas conservation tips here.

I think I now know what I want for Christmas, but I don’t know if the gas company sells gift certificates?

Cordy and I enjoyed a fun morning of Wiggles and playtime before I went to work today. She slept in until 8:40 (which is AMAZING – she’s normally up by 6:30!), and best of all: she woke up in a good mood! I was amazed at my luck! Normally Aaron gets up with her in the morning, but he had to go into work at dark-thirty today, and I was left to get up with her (sorry dear, guess it was my lucky day). So, to celebrate, here are some pictures of Cordelia doing what she does best: look cute.

Some kids teeth using teething rings and toys. Mine? She prefers a sock:

Attack of the spoon-baby!!

Impish smile:

Now, I’ve seen a lot of discussion on the blogosphere and forums about how to have a Christmas tree and toddler live together peacefully in the same home. Some suggest not decorating the bottom third of the tree. Others say to put only unbreakable ornaments down low.

Our solution? Cage it:

And for those looking closely, yes, it is a geek tree. You can probably spot several superhero ornaments, and the Darth Tater hiding on the shelf behind the tree.

Kristi has tagged me to tell the world 5 weird or quirky things about myself. OK, you asked for it:

1. I am not squeamish, and in fact, have a fascination with death. This in no way means I am seeking it out, but I find the rituals and taboos surrounding death very interesting. I love watching the Discovery Health channel. Yes, I watched it all the time for Special Delivery and all the other labor and delivery shows when I was pregnant, but I’m also a big fan of Dr. G, Medical Examiner. She spends her time examining dead bodies to help discover what it was that killed them – how cool is that!? OK, yeah, I said it was weird. Oh, and I love the new TV drama Bones – about a forensic anthropologist solving crimes by using evidence found on a dead person.

2. I know more than the average bear about Tudor and Elizabethan England. After all, that’s what I got my degree in. I also spent 10 years working at the Ohio Renaissance Festival as a performer and historical advisor. It was an amazing time in history – the English Reformation, the first great English Queen, the fabulous clothing! If you ever need help writing a paper on it, I’m a wealth of information. Just don’t take me to see a movie about that time period – you’d get sick of me muttering, “That didn’t happen” and “That’s not quite right” and “What a horrible attempt at costuming!”

3. I love to start new things, but have a lot more trouble finishing them. That’s why I currently have 6 cross-stitch projects that are unfinished (including the ABC’s quilt that was supposed to be for Cordy when she was born), 1 knitting project that may never be finished, lots of baby slings that I need to work harder on selling, and countless books that I have started yet never made it to the end. I guess I get really excited about new things, but then once I’m into them, it’s not as exciting anymore, and so I lose interest. Good thing I’m not that way about parenting.

4. I’m incredibly blase. My husband loves to point this out. It takes a lot to really get me upset or excited or impressed or anything (unless it involves my daughter – any action by her gets a response from me). His best example: when the title of the second Star Wars film was announced (Attack of the Clones), we had a discussion about it with some friends. At one point, our friend Jonn picked up a pair of fabric shears (scissors, for those of you who don’t sew), and pretended to stab himself with them repeatedly, saying “Kill me now!”. Without losing a beat, I said “Jonn, don’t use those. They’re only for cutting fabric.” Apparently everyone found my lack of emotion hilarious. To be honest, fabric shears should only be used on fabric; cutting anything else will dull the blades.

5. Like Kristi, I’m so not a girlie-girl. Nearly all of my favorite outfits involve a pair of jeans and a sweater, sweatshirt, or t-shirt. I only dress up for special occasions, or for the Renaissance Festival, but that’s different (I’m the one in red & gold). Pink is usually not something I can stand. I made it a point to have no pink decorations when putting together Cordy’s nursery. I also rarely wear makeup, and I always ask that my hair is cut in such a way that I can wash it, comb it, and go. Bangs are forbidden.

So, there you go, 5 weird things about me. Now, will anyone keep coming back to read my blog after this, or did I scare everyone away?

When I was a kid, I was an expert at Christmas lists for Santa, or for anyone who would buy me gifts. I would carefully craft my list for the family, precisely detailing each item. It had to be the Butterscotch My Little Pony – if you got me Snuzzle I’d throw it out the window. And if someone was getting me Voltron (yep, I loved girl and boy toys), it had better be the metallic lions, not the crappy plastic version, or worse – the Voltron made of cars. Ick.

Of course, I also had to make sure it was as easy as possible for people to find these toys. So on my list I included where each item could be purchased, even noting the prices and page numbers if they were available in the J.C. Penney Wish Book. I may have even included the catalog’s phone number as well; after all, I didn’t want to risk getting clothing because they didn’t know how to order my toys!

And like many girls, I also always included a real pony on my list. Not surprisingly, I never got that item. It was probably for the best: we lived in town and I doubt the landlord would have given us our deposit back for hoofprints on the walls.

I found myself having trouble this year coming up with a Christmas list for my family. I was happy to receive their lists and start planning what to get them, but when it came to me, I was drawing a blank. What do I want, anyway?

Most Christmas wishes I can think of are either intangible gifts or gifts that would be considered “for the house”. I’d love a small chest freezer so I could stock up on frozen foods when they go on sale. Or maybe a day where I escaped wearing any of my daughter’s meals in any form. And what mom wouldn’t love more sleep? That would be a great gift – sleeping in until noon.

I’d also like my house to magically clean itself to spare me the upcoming work of making it presentable for family. We have to rearrange furniture to make room for all of the people coming to our house on Christmas Day, vacuum, dust, mop, and in general turn our house into something it hasn’t been since, um, last Christmas.

However, an item someone can purchase for me? I just don’t know. Last year I got a gift card for Bath & Body Works so that I could spend some time pampering myself (ours has a partial spa in it). I still have over $60 on that $100 gift card, because while I’d love to have more massages and facials, it’s very hard to do so when I have a toddler to keep my eye on. I managed to get one facial when I had a day off work but still took Cordy to see her grandfather for the day. Since then, I haven’t been able to find time to schedule another. Hell, I barely find time to shower 4 of 7 days a week (5 days if I’m lucky).

I’ll ask you: what are you asking for this Christmas (or Hanukkah, or other holiday)? And can it be found in the J.C. Penney Wish Book?

Today I was happy to read this article on the NY Times web site. It discusses the trend of babywearing in New York City, describing a “try-on” party being held in a sandwich shop to let parents try out new types of baby carriers.

While not an expert on the subject, I happen to know quite a bit about babywearing and I love seeing positive news about it. When Cordelia was born she was, um, not a happy baby. A shrieking banshee is how I described her, I think. She refused to come out and greet the world (full breech requiring c-section), and once she was yanked out unceremoniously to a cold, harsh world, she made her feelings well known.

The first week at home was a nightmare. There was crying, there was wailing, there was thrashing – and that was just me. Cordy was determined to prove to us that we were the Worst People Ever for taking her from her warm womb. We were given a ring sling from a friend of mine who sews slings. She made her first one as a response to having a first child much like mine, and from there decided that all the new parents she knew must have one. Bless her.

We used the sling the first week, and oh, how it helped! Along with tight swaddling (we love our nurses for teaching us this!), our colicky daughter loved being held tight up against my body in the sling. I could walk around the house, and to her it was just like old times, complete with hearing my heartbeat, feeling my warmth, and being swayed by the same movement as before. Aaron and I would take turns wearing her, walking around the living room, gently bouncing up and down on an exercise ball – anything to quiet her down and make her feel more at home.

I read up on the use of slings, including the wisdom of Dr. Sears (like Dr. Spock, only crunchier), and realized that there was actual research to back up the use of these things. The NY Times article mentions this:

Aside from using the fabric as a fashionable way to feature their infants, who are, after all, the most winning fashion accessories imaginable, they saw baby-wearing as a wise, age-old practice. Babies who are worn by their parents cry less and are more engaged in the world around them, according to experts on raising children.

People, listen to me: screw fashion. Pay attention to the last part of that quote, because that’s the nugget of Truth. Cordelia lived in that sling at least 4-6 hours a day during her first three months. Without it, I don’t think I could have survived. Or at least not without far stronger antidepressants than they were already giving me.

As she got older, we needed the sling far less, although it was still a very convenient way to travel. If I was running errands, it was much easier to throw on the sling and put her in it at each stop, rather than lug the SUV stroller out of the trunk each time. I could also get things done around the house without the worry of her waking up the second I set her down (and she was so good at popping open those eyes the second she touched the cotton sheet).

The ring sling also gave Aaron extra bonding time with Cordy. Hollywood be damned: there’s nothing sexier than a man wearing a baby. OK, maybe a man wearing a baby doing dishes.

As Cordy got older, we started trying some other carriers. She never liked the Bjorn or the Snugli, so we sold them. I bought an asian-style Mei Tai, and that worked very well once she was sitting up and more mobile. It can be worn either on your front or back. I preferred the backpack style.

I also bought a Mei Hip carrier. I love these things! It’s a lot like the Playtex Hip Hammock. It has a single strap that goes across you, a strap around your waist, and the baby sits in a fabric seat at your hip. Very comfortable, very easy to use. It also helps that I’ve got, ahem, “good” hips for carrying a baby like that. The Mei Hip saves my arms from tiring at least.

My only complaint with the NY Times article is that it is far too short and doesn’t have enough information. The author briefly covers the topic, but other than the one passage I quoted, doesn’t even begin to cover all of the benefits of babywearing. I will happily sing the praises of babywearing to any who will listen. Hell, I even got myself quoted in Parents magazine.

If you’re interested in learning more about babywearing, or seeing the research that the NY Times refers to, I’d suggest checking out TheBabywearer.com or Nine in Nine Out. They can give you information on the different types of baby carriers, match up which carrier is right for you, and you can find support from other moms and dads who believe in babywearing.

*This Public Service Announcement brought to you by a happy babywearing mommy. Oh, and the letter Y and the number 4.