Meet Jack

Born on 7/8/10 at 3:20pm a healthy and content 7lbs 10oz and 20inches. We are all happy and healthy and tired. I will have more to say when I can get enough sleep to think beyond how joyous I am.

I Relate

"I am a Radical Homemaker failure" -BY MADELINE HOLLER

Friday

We are on our second day of rain here. It's been nice to just play indoor things with the kid.

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I have no idea what we'll do for the 4th of July.

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I'm just waiting.

Wimpiest Cops in the World Part II

Sgt. Steven Daman, Officer Juan Ornelas and Officer Donald Jones of Seattle, are off the hook for being the Wimpiest Cops in the World for tazing a pregnant lady during the issuance of a speeding ticket. Thomas Duran, Frank Tinga, Joseph Sandberg and John Does Nos. 1-10 (13 police officers from El Reno, Oklahoma) now get the distinction for tazing a 86 year old Granny on oxygen confined to a hospital bed, twice.

"According to officer Duran’s official report, Mrs Vernon had taken an 'aggressive posture' in her hospital bed." -full article here 'Don't taze my granny!' American police accused of using a Taser on an 86-year-old, bed-ridden grandmother

I wish it was a joke folks.

Dear Thomas Duran, Frank Tinga, Joseph Sandberg and John Does Nos. 1-10 of El Reno, Oklahoma, I hope you google yourselves and see that I think you are pathetic, wimpy excuses for protectors of the public. I hope your coworkers never let you live this down.

Chubby Cheeks

Reassurance

We got the cradle today. Mom sent it. It had a sock monkey in it from Rockford, my home town. We put it together. I unpacked little clothes and baby sheets. And the dog got fidgety. She laid near the cradle uncomfortably watching. While I moved things around in the closet and bustled about I heard the Kid telling the Dog

"Don't worry, I know it looks like a lot, but when the new baby comes even though there will be less time for us she will still love us."

Trees

I'm sitting in the dining room enjoying a coffee and watching the trees rustle around in the wind. The forest surrounds our apartment complex and it drowns out whatever city noises could waft in. It also has critters in it. So far I've seen more June Bugs in the parking lot than I've seen in my life, I've started "Lizard watch 2010" and am up to 7. The other night, a big brown Cockroach ran in the door and down the hallway with the dog chasing it towards me. It was so big, my first instinct was to scream "MOUSE!" This is what you get when you have trees and un-manicured wildness around you. I like it.

The last place had wood chips around every palm tree and rose bushes that were carefully monitored for productivity. When any plant failed to look it's best the daily gardeners would replace it with something more fruitful. The truck came through spraying great clouds of pesticides every few nights and the exterminator did around each building every week. It was pristine, like a hotel. It never felt like home to me. I need a little dirt and a name carved into the sidewalk, a glob of yellow bubble gum to avoid stepping on, tree roots sicking out of the dirt and interesting bugs that sound like maracas in the rustling leaves. I need a little wild around the edges.

Is it Thursday?

I have a head cold. I was hoping I wouldn't get it after it took Dan down for three nights last week, but alas it's seized my face and crawled inside and when Dan gets home tonight, I'm going to lay down and just wish for time to pass quickly. On the bright side, the new apartments are making my life sooo much easier, the kid is out there in the court yard playing with all the neighbor kids. Occasionally she runs in to use the facilities or cool down, I handed out a few popsicles once and the sidewalk chalk made an appearance but otherwise my involvement in today's play schedule has thankfully been cut. Thus freeing me up to work on getting my hardware all hooked up and blog while glancing out the window occasionally and wondering what they're talking about.

In other news, I went to the doc yesterday and she said I am not close to delivery yet, but this boy is about 6lbs and head down. She suspects he'll be about 8lbs when he's finally ready to make his debut. Besides the head cold, everything is normal and good. Mom is still planning to come down when I deliver to help out with Ella and let me get my bearings, thank God.

Apron Strings

The night before last, it stormed. It was super loud and close. Dan and I woke up and he went to check on Ella, she was sound asleep. Dan came back and we laid there in the dark listening to the atmosphere rumble and crack. He said "She's probably going to wake up soon and yell for one of us , do you want me to just go get her now?" after a moment of thought I said "Yeah, you're probably right." She didn't wake up when he brought her in and put her snuggled up between us. She didn't wake up when the dog snuck up into the bed and I gave in letting the frightened dog sleep on my feet. And the next morning Ella said "What storm?"

After the weekend

We're moved. Now the long slog of unpacking and finding things as well as the realization that our furniture was meant for a giant Victorian building in IL not a little modern place on the coast of TX. I will post pictures as soon as things a put away a little more.

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I am pregnant "out to here!" (put your arms straight forward and make an exasperated face) I spend my time sleeping, fretting about unpacking and being mad about things. For instance it's June, in Texas and I'm pregnant out to there, and that should be cause enough to be mad.

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One More Bedroom

We moved a few boxes today to the new apartment and started a checklist of things that need to be fixed (mostly cosmetic stuff.) Ella already scoped out her favorite swing at the playground in direct eye-site from my living room window and I found a nice place on the enclosed patio for my easel. I also walked around the wood floors in my bare feet and despite the AC being set at 78 and the 98 degree heat outside, the floor was nice and cool. Tomorrow the truck and the fellas from Dan's work arrive to do the big move.

I am not allowed to do much. When I stand too long or lift anything more than a gallon of milk, my belly tightens up and I have to lean over. Tomorrow I think I'll mostly be hanging out with the kid and the dog and packing up last minute things like tooth-brushes and the last few dishes, perhaps a little picture hanging (small pictures).

I'm excited, it seems every porch has tricycles and skateboards, the pool was full with kids yelling "watch this cannon ball!", one of the trees in the courtyard had a rope swing on it, my closet is almost as big as Dan's old office and there is clover mixed into the not overly landscaped grass. There will a giant pool party for the kids the weekend after school lets out and I'm looking forward to meeting some of the other parents and neighbors.

Go Read

If you haven't already read The Box Car Kid's Blog - One Family's Reflections on Being Part of the Great Recession, I suggest you go give it a look.

Panic at the Disco

Have you ever gotten up in the middle of the night to pee and found a giant black spider on the toilet, then just pushed it in with paper and flushed it, only to be paranoid about spiders on the seat every time you go for days and days after, diligently checking the seat each time, until one day you forget but almost give yourself a heart attack when you remember that you didn't check that last time just before you sat and felt something brush lightly up against you and then you almost peed on yourself trying to see what it was only to discover it was your own long dark strand of hair floating to the floor? Me neither, that never happens to me... very often.

33, 30, 18

I'm on week 33, I've gained about 30 pounds and I don't own any clothes that are comfortable any more. I have maternity things in the sizes I need, I just have an aversion to clothes, so I've taken to wearing togas around the house and just not going anywhere. This is also conducive to the 18 hours of sleep I need in a day. Everyone is healthy and good. I'd tell you more, but I really rather go lay down.

One Sick Kid

One sick kid: I want to watch Matilda again.

Me: No, If i'm gonna sit here with you, lets watch something new.

One sick kid: aaaauaauuu

Me: I know... Hairspray

One sick kid: I don't like it.

Me: Why not?

One sick kid: I don't like things that are sprayish.

-We are watching Little Shop of Horrors

Hard Explanations

There are times when one has to explain things to a child that are difficult. Sometimes it's because I haven't pinned down my own beliefs on the subject like when asked about God and Angels and Ghosts. Sometimes it's because I'm trying to determine on the spot how much information is appropriate like explaining when it's ok to kiss a boy and beyond. Sometimes it's just because it's hard to admit the world we live in isn't fair like when I have to explain the Arizona immigration laws to the kid after she's heard bits of a news story on NPR.

Let me tell you, that last one was the hardest of them all so far. I've practiced what to say in the other instances, discussed it with my husband other parents and even bought books to help me explain, but it is hard to explain bigotry to a kid when the question presented over and over is "Why?" or the heart breaking "Didn't they learn about Doctor King in Kindergarten?" I took a minute to think about it from different angles to see if there was a way to explain just the facts. I want her to form a fair opinion, one not too swayed by my personal beliefs and there is no way to explain what is happening in AZ to a six year old that doesn't involve the words "mean," "unfair," and "skin color." She's outraged and I am glad.

I hope next time the question is easier, like why do little kids get cancer, or something like that.

Image from Guanabee

17 Women Rocking the Classic Men's Wear

You've likely already read about high school senior, Ceara Sturgis, who was cut out of her yearbook because she wore a tuxedo (and happened to be gay) in her senior picture. I'm going to spare you the rant. I bet you can form your own. Instead I will give you, in addition to Ceara, sixteen more amazing women dressed in men's suits & tuxedos from this year.

Sarah Jessica Parker in the movie Sex and the City II

Houston Roller Derby's own Bayou City Bosses

and singer Janelle Monae in her video for Tightrope feat Big Boi

Double Check Your Head

I love love love this! http://www.doublecheckyourhead.com/ Go get some.

PS3 Review

A few weeks ago when we went to Comicpalooza, Dan made me sign up at the Gamespot booth to win things. The following Monday I got the call that I had won the grand prize, a Play Station 3. Since I don't really play video games I wanted to sell it, they rest of my family gasped in horror. They've wanted one for some time but we just couldn't justify the expenditure. It came with some games and lots of stuff that said PS3 on it, t-shirts and pens and bags and things. It's a really nice prize. We kept it.

I was surprised at the amount of games available for children. So far we've found 3. Yes, only three; The Lego games, Little Big Planet, and Flower. This morning Dan downloaded Flower for Ella and it's a floaty game, where you fly around the countryside like in a dream and your whirlwind picks up flower pedals as you go. The music is ambient and intensely relaxing and there is no antagonist. I like it, the kid likes it and even Dan said it's really relaxing to play. So the final verdict is PS3 should make more kid's games, they're missing a giant market, I'd drop money like crazy on educational games. And to the makers of Flower - great job, more please.

Happy Earth Day, Nature Ran Into My Bedroom

Last Saturday as I walked out the door, with 40 things balanced in my arms and my keys in my hand, a very small lizard ran through the door, around the corner into my bedroom. Our mattresses just sits on the floor eliminating any room for monsters underneath. The lizard went between the bed and the wall. I made Dan promise to move everything and chase it back out of the house. Later, he said he couldn't find it.