All I can say

is that I really hope that my immense grumpiness is hormonal and that it goes away soon. I am truly barely fit for appearing in public.

Astoundingly, the only person who has yet to get on my bad side is the fusspot, who has been behaving exceedingly, exceedingly well. Let's hope that doesn't change next week. Yesterday afternoon we snuggled in my bed and after I'd read the same book to her twice in a row she actually read it back to me. Correct plot and all. Don't worry, I'm not exactly delusional (and long-time readers may recall that she still has a noteable speech delay). The book was "No" by Claudia Rueda and the plot is sweet but not excessively complicated: a little bear doesn't want to come in from playing in the snow. His mother warns him of the impending storm, and he eventually relents. The fusspot got the big picture: baby cold. Snow. Baby sad. Mama and baby happy (when they are reunited).

People who are not on my good side at the moment: my colleagues, my husband, the camera repair store, the sewing machine repair store (and for that matter the sewing machine itself), USPS ...

Hoping for some news of progress in the morning from the midwives, or at least the go-ahead to go wild with the "natural induction" techniques. No, I don't seriously think that they work but I do firmly believe in the scientific validity of the placebo effect.