Posted by at 7:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)

Marlowe William joined us today.

He was born at 12.12am. 6 pounds, 14 oz. 19 inches.

Yay!

More details forthcoming. Very tired.

Posted by at 3:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (27)

It appears that May 23 is not this baby's birthday. Unless something majorly changes in the next couple of hours, which is highly unlikely.

But that's the thing about being a history major. Sometimes random dates get into my head, and I have no idea why they're important and why they're in my head.

May 23, 1430
Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians and subsequently sold to the English. Hmm, I was just talking about Joan of Arc yesterday. I really was.

May 23, 1788
South Carolina became the 8th state in United States.

May 23, 1873
The North West Mounted Police force was formed in Canada. It would later be known as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

May 23, 1911
The New York Public Library, at the time the largest marble structure ever built in the United States, was dedicated by President Taft in New York City after 16 years of construction.

May 23, 1934
Bonnie (Parker) and Clyde (Barrow) were killed in a police shootout.

May 23, 1945
Heinrich Himmler, head of Adolf Hitler’s Gestapo, committed suicide while in prison.

Posted by at 9:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

*yawn* There was not good sleep to be had in these parts last night. Not sure what was bothering E, but he had trouble sleeping. And, of course, there's the whole pregnancy thing. All that after a busy day heading into the city for speech therapy. Yes, I think it's a sleepy day.

For the past few weeks, I've kept thinking that May 23 was somebody's birthday. At first, I thought it was E's little friend, but his birthday was last week. Maybe May 23 belongs to one of my million cousins.

Or maybe today is this baby's bday. *sigh*

Not much else to blog about this morning. My sister is coming around for a few days. That'll be nice.

Posted by at 7:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I finished up another pair of baby shoes for the baby. I picked a nautical theme for this pair. I made a skirt last summer out of the same fabric I used for the sole, so, hoping I can squeeze my post-partum self into an elastic-waisted skirt, we may get a little matchiness going. heh.

We love sailboats in this family. Chris and his family have always enjoyed sailing, and growing up, C prowled around nautical museums on family vacations. If the boat is wooden, all the better. One of our first big outings after we started dating was Chris taking me out sailing for the first time in my life. Other memorable sailing occasions include renting a sailboat for an afternoon in Bermuda (our destination for a family cruise that my great-aunt and uncle took us all on) in 2002. We sailed all over finding patches of reef. Then we'd hang over the side of the boat and stick our head in the water with goggles on and snap pics with an underwater camera. Way better than snorkeling. haha! That was so fun! Then, of course, there was the wild ride in a harbor in Maine last summer for E's first sailing experience.

Sailing is great. The thing that strikes me every time we manage to get out on the water is how quiet it is--skimming across the water so noislessly. Occasionally the rush of water adds a little punctuation to the quiet.

Boats are special icons in our family. When I look at sailboats, I think of some really happy times with C and hope for future fun times with our boys.

Posted by at 9:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Yesterday:

Went to midwife. Still pregnant.
Cleaned house.
Granny, Mom, and Luisa came.
Made taco salad for lunch.
Grace H. came over.
Went to the arboretum and walked and walked.
Crashed back at home.
Sam came.
Had pizza.
Girls left.
Sam left.
Ellis decided to wake up in the middle of the night for several hours.

Today:
Ellis decided to wake up way early.
Got ready for school.
Took E to school.
Went to parent meeting.
Chatted with another mom for awhile.
Went to CHOP.
Got a Happy Meal for lunch. (so sue me)
Went to speech therapy.
Took a very circuitous route home through center city and Fairmount park due to university graduations and regatta on the river.
Picked up dinner at friend's house. (thankyouthankyou)
Ate.
Crashed on couch.
Still pregnant.

Overheard:
"Still here?" 35 times (rough approximation)
"When are you due?" 27 times
"You look ready!" 15 times
"Boy or Girl?" 12 times
"What are you doing here?" 7 times
"Are you having twins?" 1 time
"Shall I call labor and delivery?" 1 time (security guard at CHOP)
no comment. priceless

Posted by at 7:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

* I don't know why I've been in such a bloggy mood lately. But I am.

* I got my haircut this week. I like my short, short hair. I never have to deal with it. But I do have great hair (not to give myself airs or anything), so sometimes i feel guilty for liking it so short. I always get happy vibes from the stylist when s/he cuts my hair. What I don't like is when they get a vision for my hair. It's usually not in my vision. Thankfully, this last time the stylist managed to keep her vision to verbal conversation about the potential of my hair. I have found that I tend to get the haircut that I want from male stylists. My hair style is short and feminine, and men seem to accept that more than women.

* We started eating cold cereal again this week. There are few times in life when I buy cold cereal. At the beginning of my pregnancy when I need to put something in my stomach asap, and I usually get a gingery cereal to help with the nausea. At Christmas, when we can choose our favorite cereal. And now at the end of the pregnancy when I just can't seem to make anything happen. We're pretty big fans of oatmeal, and not buying cold cereal saves a lot of money. But there are just some times when you need cold cereal in your life. Incidentally, now I can add cold cereal to the list of Things Ellis Will Eat (he does like oatmeal, too--just not granola).

Posted by at 9:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This morning, E and I were out the door bright and early for my weekly midwife appointment. All is well. We're just waiting. I measured 35 cm, which is a nice size. I asked if she thought he was engaged (in the pelvis) yet, but she said she didn't expect him to be until after I started labor, he was sitting nicely in the dip, though. But I could've told you that. He's been hanging out there for a long time.

Since I'm GBS positive, they want me there early on to get my doses of antibiotics. And since my first labor was, as she described it, efficient (5 hours of active labor, with a little help from Pit), my second labor will likely be even more "efficient." So "your bags are packed, right?"

She also said something that was music to a pregnant woman's ears: just rest as much as you possibly can. She did not say that I would go into labor tomorrow. She did not say that I would go into labor at 40 weeks. She did say that we're just waiting for the baby to be ready. And was very chipper about it. I did not cry after my appointment.

Afterwards, E and I went to Park Day and met up with our buddies. Maddie is moving soon. Boohoo. I found them in the tunnel playing. Maddie said they were watching TV. E was just kicking the sides. Funny to see the difference between girl and boy right there.

I stayed at the park for three hours with E. It took him about two minutes to fall asleep tonight.

C started a new job. Yea, as if two weren't enough. Fortunately he can do some of it from home, but sometimes needs to go to the office, about a 35-45 min drive from our house. We have one car. Hopefully, with this job we can buy another. C is basically a self-taught computer geek. He's basking in the fact that with his most recent two jobs he's getting paid to work on the computer. It's nice to see him enjoy his work and use his skills.

Posted by at 10:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I was trying to explain this to myself earlier today, why we do what we do with respect to some of our parenting choices. I feel like this post by Sally Clarkson really nailed a lot of what I was trying to hash out in my own brain:

Not too long ago, I was meeting with a sweet mom in a coffee shop and she brought her two children along. They were sweet children, but they were all over her and ran her ragged. I was talking with my older children later about it and asked them what we did differently. It was humorous to hear how opinionated they were, but it also reminded me how intentionally we taught them to be patient and to wait their turn–because they all remembered it the same way. It is the concept that I call self-government–probably a Victorian character quality that I read about along the way and in a book about the principle approach to life.

The definition of self-government is the idea that a person learns to command himself, his impulses, his work habits, his emotions, His intellect and talents and rule over his will in a productive way. Children can begin this at a very early age, but it is also of utmost importance to adults–as one cannot be a mature believer unless one has mastered self-government and self-control and patience.

...

Sometimes when people find out that Clay and I are grace-based in our approach to parenting, people assume that that means lenient and undisciplined. However, we were very idealistic and had high expectations for our children, but we instructed them through consistent training, not primarily through force and multiple spankings but through relational discipleship based training. Our philosophy also looked at each child differently–as an individual–so that we could best figure out what appealed to and reached teh heart of each child. Introverts responded differently and behaved differently than our extroverts. Boys were differently wired than our girls. Learning issues and maturity levels greatly influenced a child’s ability to be mature. All factors which cause us to understand that we needed to appeal to each child’s heart based on knowing the heart of each child.

Posted by at 9:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

We went over to the arboretum again this afternoon. It's hands-down a much better place to walk than, say, the mall. The mall is sort of the cliche place where a pregnant woman who is desperate to have her baby goes to walk and walk. Since I go to the mall maybe once a year, if that, you can see how much appeal that has for me.

When we go over to the arboretum, it seems that one special thing strikes me every time, whether it be birthday daffodils, exhilirating flowering trees, or fiddle-headed ferns. I never know what it's going to be until I get there. Today it was dandelions. Last week, my mom showed Ellis how to Pick a Dandelion and Give to Your Mom. We walked along, and he picked a puffy dandelion for me. I showed him how to blow the puff (sorry, arboretum). Before I knew it we were plopped in the grass blowing puffs and sniffing buttercups. It was magical in the way only a kid can make an pesky weed be.

Before we went over to the arboretum, I was in a majorly crabby mood. I didn't sleep well last night. I'm cumbersome, tired, and huge. blah, blah. I know it sounds cheesy, but being there in the quiet with the green and the trees and the scent of honeysuckle in the air was incredibly soothing. Yes, it really is that idyllic there. Communing with nature is in my roots, and it comforts me in a deep primordial way. I hope I can give my kids a similarly satisfying experience, of pointing out all the details that my parents showed us, to show the pleasure we take in watching the ordering of the seasons, first the bulbs, then the trees, trillium, lilacs...

Ellis noticed the pollen strands littering the sidewalk underneath the oak trees. I showed him a branch with a few strands still attached, and we watched them blow down in the breeze.

We stopped by the little cabin that sits next to a gurgling brook. I sat on the bench and Ellis threw bits of leaves into the stream. I saw a woman painting with her easel set up on the bridge. I thought that if I could paint, I would want to capture the way the sunlight glimmered through the young maple leaves.

I enjoyed this afternoon with E. We have so few remaining, just the two of us. He probably won't remember his life before his brother, but I will.

Posted by at 8:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

In a few short weeks, spring has exploded upon the inhabitants of the local arboretum.

My favorites this time were the fiddle heads on the ferns.

And the two crazies who kept me company.

Posted by at 10:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

We've been having a lot of spring fun at school lately.

Almost two weeks ago, the early childhood center had their spring fling, which included presentations by all the classes. Ellis's class (the youngest) did a little play/presentation of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which they've been studying this unit. E and his best buddy A and Cute Little Girl were the "narrators" with some help from the power point on the big screen behind them. The other kids took turns showing big posters of fruit. E and A were especially cute. They were like a standup comedy routine, totally playing off of eachother and interacting with the powerpoint. They had everybody cracking up! I wanted to make a little movie of it with my clips...there's still time. My boy's first play!!

After the presentation, the kids played outside for a bit in the warm spring sun, and then we had a little pizza lunch in the kids' classroom. E was such a little host to me, I was really touched. He went up and got a plate from the teacher who was serving and chose his little pieces of fruits and veggies (he doesn't like pizza). When the teacher instructed him to go sit down at the table, he said NO, picked up another plate and signed Mommy, and made sure I had exactly what he had and then we sat down together. It was so sweet. *melt*

Saturday was Community Day at PSD, which basically translates for our family into Inflatable Paradise. Ellis went down these slides for about two hours straight. As soon as his feet touched the ground he was saying/signing "MORE", and off to stand in line again.

The Grand Finale for the class's unit on The Very Hungry Caterpillar was a trip to the Academy of Natural Science. One of the perks of being a stay-at-home-mom: getting to go with my kid on his first field trip! And let me tell you, there's nothing cuter than a little school bus full of car seats. So how does a field trip of 2-3 year olds work? One adult per child. There were a couple of other moms/grandmas and some extra staff, and I was impressed with how smoothly everything went.

We had some time to look at the exhibits, which the kids loved.

Then it was our turn for the Butterfly Exhibit, which is a room like a greenhouse, humid and full of plants. Butterflies and moths were flying freely everywhere and sitting on the plant life. It was really cool. I think everyone was entranced from the littlest kids to all the adults.

Posted by at 8:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

We went back to the arboretum this afternoon when we had more time to wander and to sit and stare into the trees. I think I forgot about spring, and now that it's here I feel like I can't drink it in enough. Pictures don't quite capture how amazing it is to sit under a canopy of flowering trees.

The Virginia bluebells are blooming. When I was a kid, I loved the bluebells.

Posted by at 7:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Shower and coffee before 8am. That's got to be some kind of record. Except I did it yesterday, too. E's been waking up earlier lately, despite his blacked-out window. But he's been sleeping better at night, so I guess I can't complain. Except that I haven't been sleeping better, what with that annoying bladder that needs attending and stiff hips/pelvis/entire body that won't get comfy. Seriously, every day I just feel like this baby is just gonna fall out. There is so much pressure it's hard to move sometimes. I suppose that's a good thing, because I hope that's exactly what he does--fall out, that is. Just a bit uncomfy in the meantime.

C set up the crib yesterday. After much measuring, moving, and pondering, we decided not to get a cosleeper, but set up the crib in a cosleeping arrangement, like with one side off attached to our bed. I'll post pics once it's finished, in case you're having trouble visualizing this. Our new arrangement is a little crowded, but it works. Honestly, our room is so small it's pretty much impossible not to feel crowded, but I think when we're done with Total Bedroom Makeover, it will feel cozy. I sewed the tricky part to the top of my quilt on Saturday and then sent the rest of the fabric and my sewing machine home with my mom. She'll add the borders and attach the back and sew my curtains. Thanks, mom! I've had plenty of evening time to sew, but absolutely zero evening energy. Basically as soon the dishes are done, I make a beeline for the couch until I stagger to bed. I do try to do a little yoga before bed. I feel so much better when I do.

Anyway, my pre-baby to-do list still feels a bit overwhelming, but it's starting to get under control. I actually made a to-do list for C, too, which I don't think I've ever done in our entire almost seven years of marriage. Since basically the majority of the things that need to happen require his brains and strength. I play the role of distressed female. He keeps asking, "how long until this baby is Ellis?" like if this baby is born as early as Ellis was, how much longer until then? Can you tell we were a little traumatized by that event? haha! As of now, we have two weeks until this baby is Ellis, six if this baby is your average pregnancy. I'm rooting for somewhere in between.

I'm kind of cracking up at us, though, because we're acting like first-timers. All the frantic household upheaval, rearranging, redoing. With E we were packing up and moving our household, so no decorations, fun paint colors, etc. Even though we're driving ourselves a little crazy, it is a little fun. E's infanthood paraphanelia was so haphazardly thrown together at the last minute. I was actually kind of shocked at how much we needed to do the infant thing again. I either can't find it or it didn't exist--probably a combination of both. Though, we are totally set on blue baby blankets of all sorts, shapes, sizes, weights--it's fun to get those out again, especially since so many people made us such nice blankets. It's fun to remember those gifts. Anyway, enough rambling. Better go do something productive while E is at school.

Posted by at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

E and I popped into the Arboretum this afternoon for a short walk. The flowering trees are really hitting their stride. We find them intoxicating. Who wouldn't?

Posted by at 8:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Our first really beautiful, nice, and warm truly spring day. The flowering trees are blooming and are spectacular. Our drive along the Schuykill was just gorgeous between the daffodils and trees.

Ellis and I went to the zoo along with the entire population of the Midatlantic Region and got our zoo membership. We didn't have time to see much because we had to move on to speech therapy. The zoo is right on the way to the hospital, so this will be really convenient. We stopped and had a snack with the giraffes. I'm fascinated by the giraffe faces. Did you ever notice how much they look like camels?

Posted by at 4:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Thanks for the nice birthday wishes. I love my birthday. And I'm happy turning 30. I had a great decade for my twenties. I did a lot. I went to college. I traveled a lot, including studying in Europe a couple of times. I got married. I lived in New Orleans. I went to grad school. I met tons of cool people. I had a kid. I did cool things and went cool places. I'm satisfied with my experiences. I think my thirties will be a little different, but great in their own way.

I had a fun birthday. My mom came for the day and went with me to my midwife appt. Heard the heartbeat. Everything is chugging away normally. I feel gargantuan, and if the four pounds I gained in two weeks has anything to do with the fact that my front feels more and more like a bowling ball, I'm hoping there's a baby fattening up quite nicely in there.

We went to the fabric store where I picked up some fabric for the spread I'm going to make for my bed. I'm going with a batik-y theme. The blues look so dreamy. Then we picked Ellis up from school and went to lunch at a coffee shop that makes yummy crepes. We got Ellis a brioche roll and jam, which he was happy with until he saw our crepes. (he wouldn't have liked the crepe and had lunch at school anyway, so wasn't that hungry. but I was so glad I had had the camera out when they set the crepes down on the table, b/c the look on his face had me rolling!)

Then we went to our local arboretum, where my mom got me a membership as a birthday gift (yay!). The bulbs and forsythia were blooming. The buds on the flowering trees were fat and ready to bloom soon. I always think of daffodils as my birthday flower, because my mom tells how when they brought me home from the hospital, she noticed all the daffodils blooming. I wish I had something as poetic to think of with Ellis, but I don't: all I remember was "it's so cold!" (it was unseasonably cool that day, and we had been used to New Orleans heat) and "I hope we don't get lost" (having just moved to the area two weeks before).

Posted by at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Well, folks, I've made it three decades. Today is the big day. The day I turn 30. Youth, or whatever was left of it, is officially over. Now I'm just Living Life--kinda makes me wonder what I thought I was doing when I turned 20, but I wasn't blogging back then, so I can't remember.

It's sunny today. Yay! A bit chilly, though, but that's okay. The forsythia are brilliant. Ellis slept all night. And there's fun things to do.

So celebrate with me! Everyone drink root beer floats!

Posted by at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (21)

I really am pregnant.

Posted by at 9:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Ellis and I took advantage of the slight increase in temperature to go for a walk in Fairmount Park, which is Philly's extensive park system. You can feel like you're in the middle of nowhere but are really in the city's backyard. It's lovely. I finally figured out where to park to actually go for a walk on some trails.

I was surprised at how well E did. He knew just what to do and took off down the trail. I was impressed at how well he handled hill and rocks. But we didn't get very far when he decided we had had enough. That's okay. This belly isn't going very far either. We spent some time by the water throwing rocks and having a snack.

We looked at pretty sparkly rocks, quartz and graphite, noticed the first flowers, and budding trees. Spring is coming.

(thanks to my church friends who explained to me where to go and gave me the great idea to send forth my child into mud and water in his favorite yellow boots)

Posted by at 7:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

We had a really busy weekend.

First, we got a new camera.

We helped my parents move out of the house they've lived for the past eleven years--the longest they've ever lived in one place. It may also be the most idyllic location they've ever lived in. We're going to miss the cozy fireplace and fun yard. They don't have a new place yet, so put their stuff in storage and will stay with friends while they house hunt in the area.

And we also did a some fun Eastery activities. I dyed eggs with Ellis for the first time. We enjoyed it so much, i felt kind of lame for only giving him 5 to do. But I didn't plan on eating them, since I didn't use natural dyes, so didn't want to waste too many eggs. Every egg got about 10 dips each.

I also made him a fun Easter basket, with homemade bean bags instead of grass (which he immediately thought were therapy bags that you stick in the microwave to heat up--haha! life with a poor aching pregnant mom) and jingle bell bracelets. He also got a little bit of chocolate and jellybeans, but I felt genius at tricking him with raisins packaged in appealing boxes with Cars characters. He wore his new suit to church, and really did well in the service (which we've been working on). And we had a nice ham dinner at my ILs in the afternoon.

(click on each photo for its respective set)

Posted by at 10:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

here's another post about The Husband. (See, I'm blogging twice about you.)

For over a year, we've been a one car fam. It's worked out pretty well. Every once in awhile there's a little glitch, but mostly it's fine. I'm kind of proud of the fact. But it does leave you desperate quickly if something should happen to one car, and though we do have access to public transportation, it's not quite as convenient as it would be if we lived more in the city.

Our van is a great. It was a gift to us, so that's always been fantastic. And really, for being as old as it is, with the mileage it has, it's given us very, very little trouble. Today, though, it had a brush with death. We were very close to total van disaster.

C was driving Ellis to school, and it started overheating. He pulled off right away, before the engine could die. If it had been me, I probably would've kept going and called him with "should smoke be pouring out of the hood? oops! I didn't mean to kill the car." Thankfully, he was driving. Our kind friend rescued him (another downer to having one car) and got E to school.

C then got new hoses and coolant fluid and fixed the car. It seems to be okay. We'll see how it does over the next few days. He's optimistic. I'm thoroughly impressed that for $50 at Autozone he fixed the car...a car THIS close to Very Expensive Utter Disaster. He may not be able to identify a Canada Goose, but he can replace a very important hose under the hood of our car.

Posted by at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

in honor of hubby, who complained today that I never blogged about him. sheesh, thought I was doing him a favor. haha

Scene: yesterday driving around.

C: There were these gigantic ducks in our yard today!
Me: Are you sure they weren't geese?
C: No, they were ducks.
Me: Are you sure? There's a whole flock of Canada geese in the marsh across the road, and sometimes they come over into the yard.
C: Aren't geese white?
Me: Uh, not Canada geese. Are you SURE they weren't geese? Were they Canada geese?
C: What do they look like?
Me: Are you kidding me?!!? Did they have a long black neck with a white marking on the chin?
C: I don't know.
Me: Did they look like that? pointing to a small group of Canada geese--one need not look far in SE Pennsylvania in the winter for Canada geese--but C didn't see what I was pointing to
C: hmm. Maybe they were geese. I don't know. Anyway, there were geese in our yard today, and I almost called you to get Ellis to see, because he would've loved it. But I couldn't find my phone.

Me: laughing harder and harder
C: Are you going to blog about this?

Posted by at 10:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Ellis and I went to the penultimate day of the Philadelphia Flower Show today. This is a major annual event that I remember going to once or twice as a kid. Every year there is a theme, and this year's feature was a New Orleans/jazz/Louisiana theme. So everything from music to bayou themed displays or both.

One of the bayou themed displays had the facade of an old shack with lots of Spanish moss hanging all over the place (and a brilliant metasequoia in a place of prominence--thought of you, dad). There were fake alligators strategically placed. E looked at me and signed alligator, and a woman saw him (and his CI, no doubt) and began signing (and talking in a jovial manner, she was hearing), "do you see the alligator? is he scary? is he gonna bite you? wow, look at the alligator!" It was really sweet.

But it was the end of a week, and the flowers were starting to look a bit lack-lustre. I didn't make it to the vendors, and I didn't see anyone I knew or was related to. And they were out of 2008 souvenir mugs. Still, I was thrilled to be able to go, and it was a fun date for E and me.

We took the train home, which was probably the highlight of E's day. He signed train and said "ooo-oooo" (for choo-choo) the whole way.

Posted by at 8:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Some people are just badass.

Click here for the beginning of a series by Camille, former BJU prof, rockin' mama, brilliant scholar.

Posted by at 9:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I go back and forth between "needing" an SLR. But really, my final conclusion is that I don't want one right now. It's too much. I was at my friend's house yesterday and played with theirs for a little bit. It was fun, because I could catch Ellis signing something without his hands being blurry. But it was too much camera for me and I like greater zoom capabilities (and not have to worry about switching lenses) for when I'm hanging out in the yard with the kids. And you cannot throw an SLR in your purse. If I'm totally honest, gorgeous as they are, what I want is smaller. Okay, I have officially talked myself out of an SLR.

Then I had the brilliant idea of searching Flickr for shots taken by the various kinds of cameras I'm looking at.
I've pretty much ruled out the SD750. I need image stabilization (thanks for that affirmation, RT).
The SD1000 is so sweet and compact. It's face is about the size of a credit card and it's super thin.
This was take with an SD1000:

Originally uploaded by Vince Alongi

I'm not totally convinced of it's people pictures, though.

I like Moriah's suggestion, too, the Canon Powershot A710 IS. Our previous Powershot is an A series. It is a little bulkier, because of the non-proprietary batteries (which, to be honest, we kind of like...the batteries, that is, not so much the bulk). But you know, in the grander scheme of cameras, it's not that big and fits well in a purse. Anyway, I'm going to see her tomorrow, so I'll get to inspect the cam in person.

These were take with the A710. (I love these reflection photos--SOOO not possible on the stupid camcorder, which does take great movies):

Originally uploaded by arekolek

Originally uploaded by Alberto Ferrero.

Originally uploaded by sue323

Originally uploaded by pj_in_oz

Posted by at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Before we have another kid, we really need a new camera. I loved my Canon Powershot that my sweet friends bought me at a time in my life when I needed serious cheering up. And I used that Canon, oh, did I use it. So often, in fact, that it has seen the floor one too many times. I dropped it a few times. It happens. But with enough squeezing and love, I'd get it working again. It really looks beat up. And it got to the point where it was like, sorry, dudes, can't muster myself together again.

Shortly thereafter, in a moment of rashness, we bought our Canon camcorder. We wanted it before E's surgery. And I'm really glad we got it. I've been taking pictures on the memory card of the camcorder for several months, and frankly, it's a camcorder, it's not a great picture-taker. And it's driving me crazy.

So, one of the things Daddy said we could do with our mongo tax return is get a new camera.

I was looking at this site that Andy recommended. And I think what I'm in the market for is a small, compact, throw-in-your-purse camera that takes totally awesome pictures. I think I would LOVE to learn explore more possibilities by splurging on an SLR (especially since my main subject is my active kid). But I don't think that's realistic for me...wiggly kids and all. I think what I want is a camera that I can throw in my purse and have constantly handy. And Canons take awesome pictures.

There's the Canon PowerShot SD750. It gets rave reviews, and has a sweet 3" LCD screen on the back. Ken Rockwell's review began with the phrase, "The Canon SD750 is built like a tank." That means a lot to me. The two things that concern me, though, are no image stabilization (and I do use my zoom) and you have to remove the battery to charge it (which, I imagine, can add up some wear and tear). And it's under $200 on Amazon.

Then there's the Canon PowerShot SD1000. I don't see the same gushing love for this one as the previous one, but still very, very positive reviews. And it has image stabilizer and a 2.5" LCD screen. Trying to figure out the battery situation, the same? Also a good price.

Aaugh. I don't really know how to read all the reviews. And then I start hitting on nicer and nicer cameras trying to find the Perfect Camera. But as one site said, you can take great pics on any camera. It's also about me and my pic taking abilities. And I can be content with a solid, workhorse camera. I just want it to last more than a couple of years, you know? Is that realistic for a digital camera?

Thoughts, oh digital masses? Is an SLR really worth it?

Posted by at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

A couple of weeks ago we finally bought a rug for the living room, after a year and a half of looking. Nothing seemed quite right, in design or price. Finally we found one that suited both categories, admirably so, I must say. We got a fantastic deal at a place in the city that we found on Craigslist. And I swear this rug was created for the room, nothing ties the orange walls and earthy tones together quite so perfectly. We are absolutely thrilled! And can't wait to have a little baby rolling around on it.

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I went to my friend's annual Oscar party last night after church. This year I had seen all of one nomination...Ratatouille. haha. Yea, so our life is currently a little Pixar heavy. I usually watch the Oscars to see what came out last year. This year, I actually didn't want to see too many of them. I do want to see Juno and La Vie en Rose and that other French one Becki recommended to me.

So i go to the party for the food, fellowship, and one-liners. I was really too tired this year, though, and by the end of the day, I'm too uncomfortable to really ignore my discomfort. But I had a good time. I'm so paying for my late night today, though. Ugh.

Nothing struck me particularly about anyone. Jon Stewart was sort of funny. Some of the dresses were okay. But I didn't notice anything particularly striking.

Helen Mirren gets the Classiest Person Award.
Tilda Swinton gets the I Wore a Black Garbage Bag to the Oscars Award.
Cate Blanchett gets the Classiest Pregnant Woman Award.
All hail independent musicians who make it!!
And congrats to the Coen brothers for getting a shelf full.

Hooray for non-Americans/non-native-English speakers getting up there! I really think they should just speak their own languages. It would do our isolated continent some good. And do they have to point out that Penelope Cruz can speak 4 languages every year?

And why didn't Paris, Je t'aime get nominated for anything? seriously baffling.

Alright. 'Til next year.

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We played outside for a solid two hours.

And built a snow Daddy and a snow horse.

And enjoyed some drinking hot chocolate and watching a little monkey when we came back in.

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FUN SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It looks like we may have our one real snow. And it's still coming down.

It started snowing in the middle of the night. When I got home from book study last night there was a deer in the driveway. It just ambled around. When I got out of the car, it just looked at me. We stared at each other, about 100 ft apart, and then it wandered around a bit more eating grass. No white flags of alarm for me, just passive coexistence. I've never been around a deer so calm before. A few times this winter there's been a veritable herd out back, like 8 or so at a time, that will go bounding away when I pull up. Hmm. It was kind of cool.

I'll be back later after I take E outside for the complete snow experience.

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(Originally uploaded by hbomb1947)

Ellis didn't have school today, for President's Day. It also turned out to be a really nice day, and I was feeling pretty good, no doubt thanks to the wonderful nap I had yesterday. So I decided to take him to the Art Museum again. I wanted to go in the morning while he was still somewhat fresh, but we didn't get off until around 11. I didn't have high expectations, but I thought he might enjoy it a little. He enjoyed about 5 paintings, a sculpture of a duck, and a small pool and fountain in a room full of Cezanne, Van Gogh, and the south of France. But that's why I finally bought my membership today, so that we could enjoy the museum five paintings at a time. In the room with the small fountain, he sat on a bench for a long time looking the water.

Eventually, I put him on my back in the Beco and was free to linger over these beautiful tapestries in the modern art collection.

But a security guard came up to me and said that it's against museum policy to allow children in back carries. WHAT!? Even though I can understand a tiny bit (it's harder for parents to monitor wandering, tiny hands programmed to explore when little ones are on the back) I'm really annoyed. This will drastically alter how I pictured my museum experience for the next few months. Oh well. Five paintings at a time, five paintings at a time. Just have to really come to terms with that. Maybe I'll go back and look at the tapestries when he's in school.

The day was gorgeous, though, we really should have gone to the zoo. After I left in my Beco-rejected huff, we ate lunch outside on a park bench by the river next to some boat houses. The sun was warm and lots of bikers, joggers, and dogs passing by entertained Ellis much more than Cezanne did. We walked around the grounds, and he was elated by the waterfalls and ran around in the false spring euphoria with his arms outstretched like the seagulls.

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Miss Thompson died today.

Last time I was at Cono was in 2001. After I said goodbye to Miss Thompson, I was walking to my car to leave and I said to Jane, "That could be the last time I see Miss Thompson." And Jane, in her usual candor, said, "Don't you feel like every time you see her might be the last?"

It was the last time, until heaven.

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I love Val Day. I think it's fun. I love the homemade valentines, cookies (because usually I never got around to decorating C'mas cookies, so it's my time to redeem myself), and a yummy dinner with hubby. We don't make a big, expensive holiday. But I like the opportunity to do something a little extra special. We actually ended up celebrating the day after this year, because it was more convenient.

We had some little kids over yesterday for a little Valentine's party.

I laid out crayons, paper, glue, and glitter glue, and they made valentines for their mommies. Some kids needed a little more help than others. But the craft went well, and made me really happy.

I cut out PB&J hearts for lunch for the kids. And after the moms ate (no hearts for us: with 3 pregnant and 1 nursing mom, we were just concerned about FOOD), they decorated a few cookies. for Ellis the cookie merely served as a platter from which to eat frosting.

In the evening for our Valentine's Dinner, I tried to recreate our favorite meal from our favorite Lebanese restaurant in New Orleans. It's simple and dippy. But I don't have a lot of experience with Mediterranean cooking, so I had to look around a bit and consult with a friend for what to do. It turned out pretty near perfect. Trader Joe's helped a lot, too. I got the hummus, baba ganoush, and tzatiki sauce from there, and a preseasoned, boneless leg of lamb. For the lamb, I didn't do a real kebab on a spit. I cut it up into cubes, pan-seared the chunks with red onion and then baked it for a little with tomatoes. And then stirred in a yogurt-tahini sauce. SO GOOD!!!! And so tender! We ate everything with pitas "al fresco" (in the living room). Pretty much perfect. Afterwards we watched Paris, Je t'aime. So everything went as planned and was a lot of fun. I love dippy meals. We're going to have to do this more often.

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It started snowing tiny, small, annoying snowflakes this morning. I picked up Ellis from school and ran a quick errand, stocking up on hot chocolate. When we got home I knew we had a limited window of opportunity to play outside. While we were outside the "snow" turned to sleet. I'm not really sure what it is doing now. It's apparently going to be rain by the morning. I wish we could get one solid snow, you know?

But, my boy got a chance to use his snowpants!! There was snow on the picnic table. The grass looked like frosted miniwheats. E swished the snow off the tables, and I dragged him around on a blue Ikea bag on the pathetic dusting of snow. We played outside for a long time, and he came in rosy-cheeked and happy. So the snowpants got one wear. I think we'll be able to get another season out of them, though. There's plenty of room in the straps. I really doubt we'll have opportunity to use them again.

My brothers are here. Where else to go if you're in the area and it's wintry-mixing? They played with E, got a warm meal, and are watching American Idol. Punctuated by constant banter. Glad I have hot chocolate and cookies.

Posted by at 8:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Today was a balmy 67 degrees. Unseasonal for early February in Pennsylvania. It felt like winter in Louisiana, where you're not sure whether to wear a jacket or a Tshirt.

Chris and I have been passing a weird mood back and forth all week. I think we miss NOLA. It was Mardi Gras yesterday. Today I wore the same maternity Tshirt I wore to the last Mardi Gras parade I went to, when I was pregnant with Ellis. I wore it today as I stood stirring a steaming vat of gumbo. I don't think it's possible to make gumbo in quantities smaller than Big Vat.

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Brought to you by coffee and George.

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Some early morning reflections:

The Man with the Yellow Hat has got to be loaded. A house in the country? A condo in the city? And a vacation to Hawaii in the winter?
We love George. He is a master of Inductive Reasoning.

Update on toddler plus store:

I bought my friend's Beco carrier right before Christmas. E loves it. I love it. But I forget that I can use it for everyday mundane things. I think I need it for complicated city experiences. Since the shopping cart poses as a thing to be climbed rather than a thing to contain to my toddler, I popped him into the Beco yesterday for our shopping. And it worked out great! He loves it, I love it. And it's surprisingly comfortable. I carried my 30+ lb toddler on my 6month pregnant body for almost an hour, and it didn't bother me at all. My boy likes to snuggle, and he's always loved to be worn. I hope the next is as obliging.

Sometimes when I look in the rearview mirror to glance at E, I see him calmly smiling at the world passing by. Could we all be so winsome as a toddler?

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This week has not been in a shining point in my career of motherhood. My 2 1/2yo is developing a particular kind of relationship with stores that doesn't enable typical adult shopping. I'm either going to never take him shopping again, or strap him to my person next time there's something we absolutely need.

Hubby's schedule has changed gloriously. We now have evenings together. He works early in the morning at his first job and then comes home for the rest of the day for his new work at home job. He has a little spot sequestered from the rest of the apartment where he goes to work at his computer. It's nice that it's not far. He shares his computer programming delights and woes over lunch, and I just smile and nod, barely understanding as foreign computer words fly by me. He's home in the evenings. We've eaten dinner together as a family every night. This has been a rare occurrence until now. I've actually planned menus for the week. This is my third week in a row. You don't know what a miracle this is. Since I got pregnant frozen pizza was pretty awesome there for quite awhile. I go shopping at Trader Joe's while E is in school. I feel like leaping from aisle to aisle singing a Broadway tune about how I'm out all by myself.

E really is very sweet. He's growing so fast and changing so much. I can't imagine what's going on in his head. I've had some interesting exchanges with him this week, language-wise, we might not have had a few weeks ago, in sign, speaking is much too rudimentary yet, whatever. I think he's grown 6 or 7 inches in the past 2-3 months. I'm packing away the 2T clothes. It seems unreal. It's hard to feel him out, where is he a big boy? where does he not understand yet? My brain is foggy, I can barely formulate what to do. Just stop a minute and let mommy think, here have a cookie. What? you won't eat cookies either? fine. Have a Swedish meatball.

And I'm pregnant and tired. I'm not one of those people who loves being pregnant. i've had a really bad attitude about it lately. I just want to hibernate, but I can't. My body hurts like it never did with E. I sleep less and in awkward positions thanks to my growing boy's occasional insomnia--which, for the most part, seems to be abating, only one night this week so far. I bought a prenatal yoga DVD. It arrived this week, and I did the stretches and relaxing practice last night, and it felt so good. Any exercise practice that closes with my lying down on a pillow is an A+ in my book.

Coffee and I are good friends again. There was a point when the first trimester estranged us a little and then we eyed each other suspiciously. I took tea out a couple of times, but in the end coffee and I made up. The other night I made C's coffee for him and set the timer so that he would wake up to fresh coffee. I didn't even notice the karafe wasn't there. (We have a truly awesome coffee maker) We woke up to a puddle of coffee on the floor. It wasn't a tragic mess or anything; one can't really cry over spilled coffee. Like I said, pregnancy and I just don't always get each other.

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He actually was a help, too!

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It was snowing all evening. I think it's stopped now. It snowed my whole way home from speech therapy at CHOP; it took twice as long to get home. But it was really pretty, since most of my drive was through Fairmount Park.

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I'm setting myself very vague goals, because if they're vague enough, I will meet them, right?

2008 Goals:

Goal #1: Read more (that's on paper, not the internet).
Goal #2: Continue to think about exercise more.
Goal #3: Have a baby. (okay, so not a vague goal)
Goal #4: Continue to try to find the SAHM groove.
Goal #5: Get memberships to Cool Places and visit them often: Art Museum, Arboretum, Children's Museum, Zoo
Goal #6: Sew more, and, for pete's sake, start an Etsy shop already.
Goal #7: Get better at ASL
Goal #8: Love more.

that's enough, right?

Posted by at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

I'd probably sip a little if I had thought to buy some, but I didn't. So I'll just use the excuse that I'm pregnant.

Happy New Year!!!

I keep forgetting that today is New Year's Eve, but since I'm at midnight anyway, I thought I'd ring in the New Year! Hugs, kisses, auld lang syne!

I thought you'd also like to notice that I posted this entry at exactly midnight.

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I went to visit my friend's new baby. She is the first of the seven (now six) of us that are pregnant at my church. Baby Josephine was born on Friday morning, and Phil, Em, and baby are doing great!

It was so fun to visit them by myself. I don't know what was more fun, seeing their new baby, or being able to sit and chat for an hour without the lovely company of my crazy kid.

a few more cute pics on Flickr, since i know some of you know Phil and Em and may be interested

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Christmas morning we were home. Just the three (four) of us. See we had gift time with all the other grandparents, it was just our gifts to each other on Christmas morning, which made for a nice relaxing time. I made breakfast, scrambled eggs and bacon with the cinnamon rolls my mom had sent home with us the previous night...and, yes, we ate all half dozen right there. heehee. I brought breakfast into the living room, and we watched a little of the Scrooge that was recorded on the TV, and then all of a sudden Ellis noticed that there were presents under the three, which was a nice segue to the opening thereof.

He was so cute. He happened to have his little pair of scissors handy and decided that they were a most essential gift unwrapping accessory. I was so happy to see him like the things we had gotten/made for him.

After a delightfully relaxing morning, we went to my ILs for a fabulous dinner. They invited a bunch of church people not otherwise with family--mostly people our age. and kids--Ellis, his best girlfriend Maddie, and a 4yo and 6yo brother and sister. E was tired to begin with. Too much partying and a bit of a cold. And he was starting to go crazy. Maddie finally came up to her mom and said "Eyis. house. all done." Poor kids. E was just way past himself. His sweet daddy took his plate (and we were enjoying a lovely 5 course meal that MIL made) and Ellis to the basement to be quiet with him and watch Thomas. E just needed to be saved from himself. He was sick, tired, and after this weekend, peopled out.

We did enjoy the day, though. And had a nice time visiting and eating (!). And E was better after his rest for a little while until it was clearly time to go home.

Today, we've had a deliciously quiet day. Chris had gotten up early, so took care of Ellis when he woke up, which meant I got some extra sleep. We ran an errand to exchange a gift. I actually got Ellis to take a nap--he is clearly tired from the holiday, and we all have low-grade colds. I took a nap.

I picked up a DVD of the three Wallace and Gromit shows for us for Cmas, but forgot to wrap it. We got it out today, and I'm pleased to say that E is a Wallace and Gromit fan. I've been munching on cheese and crackers ever since.

It's nice to have a quiet day at home, playing with Ellis and his new toys, and relaxing with each other. I love my family and am so blessed to have them.

It's the wrong trousers, Gromit! And they've gone wrong!

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One of my family's tradition is to have junk cereal for Christmas. The one time of year my mom would buy it for us. I happen to like oatmeal a lot, so I don't mind eating oatmeal every other day of the year, which I do. But it's kind of fun to pick out a stupidly magically delicious cereal just for Christmas.

Visited my grandma. We were all tired, but she was in a jolly mood, which made it fun. And Ellis was adorable. And that's all that matters.

Went to my parents' house. Mom and I made an Italian dinner. Crab ravioli, baked cod with anchovy and parsley paste, roasted zucchini pizza. We exchanged gifts before rushing off to hear Sam sing in his church's choir. It was perfect. Kind of lowkey, but absolutely perfect. Sat around the fire and started It's a Wonderful Life. After the rest left for church, we packed up our exhausted boy in his Christmas jammies and headed home.

We caught the radio re-broadcast of the radio version of It's a Wonderful Life on XPN, whose holiday tunes we've been enjoying off and on all day.

XPN serenades me as I finish wrapping gifts for my boy. His loot from us: a wooden tool set, a tape measure, metal toy pots/pans from Ikea, a wooden rolling pin just his size, some handpainted wooden farm animals that I bought in Lancaster, and an art smock just for him that I made. I can't wait to see him open that tool set. He's going to love it!

Feels good to be home with my little family.

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These glasses are from Halloween. He loves them. He'll wear them all over. They're just some kiddie sunglasses with the eyeglass part punched out.

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Online shopping. CHECK
Postcards ordered. CHECK.
Christmas tree that we've now had for a week put up and decorated. NO
House clean. NO
Nearly every part of Philly and its greater surrounds traveled to this week. CHECK
Cold gotten over. NO
Sleeping well. NO
Presents arriving in the mail. CHECK

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Pretty much the most brilliant invention of the modern era. I hate being out there in the crowds and craziness. Especially now that I have a very curious toddler. I just can't imagine trying to do C'mas shopping on foot. So *click* Amazon order which takes care of two people and E's big present from us, a wooden tool set.

Amazon is a no-brainer, but have you tried Etsy.com. Hundreds of fine artisans listing their wares. Do something different: buy handmade!!

I do intend to open an Etsy shop one of these days, and hopefully that will happen sometime before the rapture. I just can't get from under the mound of gifts or stuff I want/need to sew for my house.

I'm buying these crayons from this seller for Ellis, my alphabet-obsessed boy.

A couple of friends have shops:
* Check Luv Lugs. She makes really cute stuff with reused materials. Brilliant.

* And it looks like new eyes has got some watercolors listed. Cheers to her and her metro show. Yea, I know an artist in real life.

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One of my favorite things is the migrating geese in the fall. I can remember as a kid sitting outside shivering in the late afternoon autumn coolness just to watch the geese a bit longer. V's poetically crisscrossing the sky. Their call individually sounds like an obnoxious honk, but corporately rings the air.

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Scene: Granny and Aunt having lunch out the day after Grandpa died.

Waitress come over to take their. She and Granny are acquaintances. Granny pats her on the arm and says "Let me tell you something." She proceeds to tell how Grandpa has been suffering physically for the last ten years, and then she said, "And you know what? Last night angels came down and took him to heaven!!"

Waitress: "Oh, I'm so sorry."
Granny: "NO!!! We're happy! HAPPY! YAY! YAY! YAY!"

My grandparents were never ones to mince words.

We laid grandpa's body to rest today. It's freezing rain outside. Just an awful cold day but full of family and friends. And there was definitely singing! The aunts started crying. "Dad would've loved to hear this." But he's singing in heaven now.

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My grandpa died this weekend. He's been going downhill that past 10 years, and it is with great joy that his earthly body is replaced with his heavenly one. On the Sabbath he found his Eternal Sabbath.

We've been expecting it all week, and left our Thanksgiving gathering wondering how soon we'd be together again. Quite soon.

Ellis and I got haircuts today. We're driving out to Iowa, leaving Wednesday, with my parents for the funeral on Saturday.

Earlier in the week, my mom and I put together a CD mix full of songs she knew her dad would like. She sent it overnight. Even though he was in a stroke-induced coma, if music could through, it should be there.

My grandpa had a beautiful voice. His "signature" song is "Ol' man river" from starring in Showboat in high school. I remember him singing hymns, in his deep, strong voice. I was in college before I realized that families typically don't gather around the piano (or the dishes) to sing together. So I imagine there will be singing this weekend. A taste of heaven.

Posted by at 9:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)

Unlike last year when the cameras were going from start to finish, I only managed to get a few shots of my cute kid in the beautiful fall yard. My parents are probably moving soon, and I'm just drinking up the last days we have in their incredibly comfortable house and yard and FIREPLACE! I think I will miss the yard the most. And setting Ellis free in it.

I arrived Tuesday evening with a huge amount of stuff, mostly fabric and a sewing machine. I had high hopes. Wednesday the cousins arrived. I sewed a little. Chris came for the night. Thursday we woke to the smell of turkey, which roasted overnight. It was nice to lie there with my stomach growling and think, "Mmmm. It's Thanksgiving." I gotta say, it was a darn good turkey this year, too. It had to have been, because the 22lb turkey was consumed IN ENTIRETY in less than 24 hour