naptime for mommy

today was very busy. this morning, pooka and i went to KnitMichigan, a fundraiser for Hands Creating a Cure, which is for knitters and other fiber crafters. they create "caps for chemo" and donate them to clinics and other cancer centers. pooka has seen them in the treasure chest at clinic, but never chosen one. although she loves hats, they feel different when you don't have any hair.
today we saw people spinning using wheels and spindles, knitting and crocheting, weaving with both paper and fiber loops, and felt making. pooka made some felt of her own, a woven paper mat, glued some wool on a lamb picture, and helped make a bathmat on the big loom. she was very excited to use that big machine. she wanted to use a spinning wheel, too, but they only had one for people to try and it was occupied. in addition to learning about these crafts, we had a valuable learning experience about people who are different. in the weaving and felt making room, there was a lady who i believe has cerebral palsy. her speech was slightly difficult to understand and she struggled a bit to make her hands do what she wanted. pooka was a little afraid of her, but i hoped i showed her (and later explained to her) that there was no reason to fear her. God had made her a little differently, but she is still a person like mommy or daddy. on the way home, i told her about a friend i had growing up who has mild cp, and how even though she has some trouble walking, she is very smart. pooka asked if she (my friend) was smarter than her (pooka). after equivocating that you can't really compare the intelligence of a child to that of an adult, i launched into a mini lecture about there always being someone smarter, richer, prettier than you as well as there always being someone not as smart, rich, or pretty as you, and that the most important thing is not to be the "most" anything but to be the best you that you can be. God gave us all different talents and blessings and we just need to make the most of what we are given. at that point she fell asleep.
we stopped home to pick up daddy, and then continued on to our favorite pizza place: mr. mike's. we had lunch and then continued on to the mall, where i returned some maternity pants and we made a Build-a-Bear for goofy. kisu and i did this for pooka before she was born and we thought pooka would enjoy extending the tradition for her sibling. oddly enough, pooka originally chose the same bear shell as the one we made for her, but we convinced her that it would be too hard to tell them apart. she chose a different bear that is still very similar, although we couldn't convince her to name it anything but the same name as her bear. at least we spelled it differently on the birth certificate that they give you. she had a lot of fun stuffing it and 'bathing' it at the fluffing station. when it came to clothes, i was trying to steer her away from anything too girly, you know, just in case this one's a boy. she eventually chose some jammies, since we told her that was what we dressed her bear in. we found the perfect ones: they say "chicks rule". after we came home, pooka dressed the bear and put it back in its crate to await the birth of goofy. she did snag some snuggle time with it first, though, to make it smell like herself so that goofy would like it.
while at the mall, we stopped to get ice cream. pooka didn't finish hers, so we agreed to take it home, but there were no lids that fit so we improvised with the lid from daddy's shake. as long as an adult carried this, it was safe, but while we were waiting for the valet to bring the truck (a very well spent $5 in single digit temps), pooka had a chance to hold it. naturally, within 5 seconds she had spilled it all over her dress. oh, the tears. oh, the frustration! she actually wanted to ride home naked so that she wouldn't have to sit in the messy dress. she begged me to put the dress in the wash as soon as we got home and her in the bath. i told her i was going to put her fully clothed directly into the washing machine. she started crying even harder, "i don't want to go in the washing machine!!" at least that made me laugh. when we got home, i took care of the clothes while kisu took care of the pooks. then i sat down on the couch and promptly fell asleep. the craft fair, the mall, the exasperation: at 7 1/2 months pregnant it did me in.