Thursday, June 25, 2009
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Still Alive II
Imagining where to start a post after very prolonged stretches of silence makes me want to channel surf. But I'm trying not to turn on the news until 4 today because Chicken Little is running all over CNN, and I'm susceptible to panic. And I'm already thinking too much about the financial crisis. So, I decided it was time to sit down and write. Or pull the plug on Truls Bobby. And I really don't want to pull the plug.
Since I'm keeping this blog as a kind of diary for myself as much as a window for friends and family, I need to basically make more of an effort. So here's my effort. Can you hear me straining?
I thought I would start with a recap of the last couple months. As I know this will take more than one post, I'm calling the first installment:
Chapter I
In August, we traveled to Norway for E's dissertation. Congrats to my man, he's now Dr. E. Maybe I should refer to him as Dr. E on the blog now. Could be funny. His area of specialty is MHCII molecules and... diffen gofle strapple gangler. Or, it may as well be diffen gofle strapple gangler when he gets into any kind of detail regarding his work with me. He's so highly specialized at this point that attempting to put things into laymen's terms, and believe me, I do ask and ask often for laymen's terms, is somewhat fruitless.
That said, I'm really very proud of him. Watching him at his dissertation was very impressive. In Norway, dissertations are handled a bit differently than in the US. I think we estimated that there were around 50 people (including professors, students in the program at University of Oslo, and family and friends) were in the auditorium that day. And then, we hosted a party at the university afterward. And even more friends were at the party. I've put together a slideshow of a few select pictures from the day. Notice that EM is dressed somewhat casually compared to the rest of us. Well, we had just arrived at the university for what was going to be a very long day when the little one launched a smear campaign. On my dress. And his lovely little outfit.
But without a doubt, it was a really great day. Even though when we were going to leave the party, the car battery was dead. And it was late. And the baby was screaming. And we didn't get in bed until 4 a.m.
Slide show coming. No really. I promise. But the baby is yelling for my attention. Tomorrow, pictures and more about the trip. (My version of a cliffhanger. OK. Really gotta run now.)
Since I'm keeping this blog as a kind of diary for myself as much as a window for friends and family, I need to basically make more of an effort. So here's my effort. Can you hear me straining?
I thought I would start with a recap of the last couple months. As I know this will take more than one post, I'm calling the first installment:
Chapter I
In August, we traveled to Norway for E's dissertation. Congrats to my man, he's now Dr. E. Maybe I should refer to him as Dr. E on the blog now. Could be funny. His area of specialty is MHCII molecules and... diffen gofle strapple gangler. Or, it may as well be diffen gofle strapple gangler when he gets into any kind of detail regarding his work with me. He's so highly specialized at this point that attempting to put things into laymen's terms, and believe me, I do ask and ask often for laymen's terms, is somewhat fruitless.
That said, I'm really very proud of him. Watching him at his dissertation was very impressive. In Norway, dissertations are handled a bit differently than in the US. I think we estimated that there were around 50 people (including professors, students in the program at University of Oslo, and family and friends) were in the auditorium that day. And then, we hosted a party at the university afterward. And even more friends were at the party. I've put together a slideshow of a few select pictures from the day. Notice that EM is dressed somewhat casually compared to the rest of us. Well, we had just arrived at the university for what was going to be a very long day when the little one launched a smear campaign. On my dress. And his lovely little outfit.
But without a doubt, it was a really great day. Even though when we were going to leave the party, the car battery was dead. And it was late. And the baby was screaming. And we didn't get in bed until 4 a.m.
Slide show coming. No really. I promise. But the baby is yelling for my attention. Tomorrow, pictures and more about the trip. (My version of a cliffhanger. OK. Really gotta run now.)
Friday, August 8, 2008
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Coming up for air
Yet another bout of silence on the blog. Oops. The initial phase of new motherhood is consuming, to say the least, both emotionally and in terms of time. The time just disappears.
The past few weeks have been particularly hectic as we spent seven days in Louisiana and then a weekend in Richmond for the wedding of a close friend (who I've known since I was three). This was the wedding of the infamous dress... the one I didn't know if I would be able to fit into post-pregnancy since I had to purchase it when I was only a month and a half away from birthing my big bean. The wedding was really beautiful, quite grand actually, as was the reception. I'm posting a few pictures, though not too many since I don't actually have permission from everyone I snapped shots of. Notice the ones of the little girl pictured; she is the daughter of S, my sister by another mother -- and father. Anywho, the little one put up a respectable resistance to wearing her dress shoes, though she lost in the end. That's the reasoning behind all the photos of her in the folding chair! That was where the showdown occurred.
I've thought several times over the past few weeks of happenings that would make interesting posts. I'll start with an abbreviated recounting of last Friday evening/night, the evening of B's wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, both of which I was to attend. The plan, a not to intelligent one of a new parent still adjusting to life with a little one, was for E to stay at the hotel to watch the Bean while I was at the rehearsal. E was to follow to the rehearsal dinner with the bean in tow. Though dinner would be late, I thought (now I'm embarrassed to write) that the Bean could sleep comfortably in his carrier while we ate. How silly (euphemism for utterly stupid).
As the rehearsal dinner wrapped up, I called E as planned to share with him the directions to the restaurant. Even Michael was screaming in the background. This is something he's taken to as of late when he gets really tired in the evening. You can blow out your back bouncing the little guy into snoozeville. So, I gathered from E and his tone of voice that it was a rocky evening back in Room 202 at The Linden Row. What to do. Luckily, I was in the car with a family that's been my family, though not by the technical definition, for over 30 years. I should say, to be more specific and to make sure I communicate the degree of their selflessness, that I was with the mother, father and sister of the bride. They offered me their car to drive back to the hotel. This meant the three of them had to squeeze into cars with other family members later that evening. I felt terribly guilty, but I didn't really have a choice. So, fastforward an hour. I'm walking back into the hotel room. The bean lay swaddled and sleeping at the foot of the bed. E was sprawled out close by.
We were starved. I hadn't eaten. E hadn't eaten. In fact, we missed a decadent and scrumptious dinner by all accounts. We were desperate. At that point, it was about 9:30 in the evening. And our hunger got the best of us. The Linden Row is a really lovely restored property in a part of town with few late evening eatery options within walking distance. The exception, according to hotel staff, was the Third Street Diner. Our empty stomachs drove us to gently place the Bean in his stroller and to set out on foot for the diner. At this point, little Even Michael, who was surely tired from all the traveling, was awake and in full charm mode. He was smiling and cooing and doing that baby pre-talk that amuses E and I to no end. No really. I'm serious. We don't get tired of it.
Back to my story. So, we're strolling with the baby to the diner, when just around the block from the entrance, we observe a conversation between a woman and a man who looked to be a little less than fully comfortable. We're quite sure a business transaction, of an illegal variety (kissy kissy), was in the works. We kept strolling. Ah. The Third Street Diner. It looked as if it could have been the setting for a shady meeting one might see in a movie, or read about in a book. We peeked in the window... we were unsure that it was a place that was appropriate to bring the Bean. I walked in and asked one of the waitresses, who, by the way, was standing beside one of three poker machines on the bar. Her answer, sure!
So, we dug in. I had a candy bar from the vending machine beside our table for dessert. (Delicious and nutricious.)
Check please!
The past few weeks have been particularly hectic as we spent seven days in Louisiana and then a weekend in Richmond for the wedding of a close friend (who I've known since I was three). This was the wedding of the infamous dress... the one I didn't know if I would be able to fit into post-pregnancy since I had to purchase it when I was only a month and a half away from birthing my big bean. The wedding was really beautiful, quite grand actually, as was the reception. I'm posting a few pictures, though not too many since I don't actually have permission from everyone I snapped shots of. Notice the ones of the little girl pictured; she is the daughter of S, my sister by another mother -- and father. Anywho, the little one put up a respectable resistance to wearing her dress shoes, though she lost in the end. That's the reasoning behind all the photos of her in the folding chair! That was where the showdown occurred.
I've thought several times over the past few weeks of happenings that would make interesting posts. I'll start with an abbreviated recounting of last Friday evening/night, the evening of B's wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, both of which I was to attend. The plan, a not to intelligent one of a new parent still adjusting to life with a little one, was for E to stay at the hotel to watch the Bean while I was at the rehearsal. E was to follow to the rehearsal dinner with the bean in tow. Though dinner would be late, I thought (now I'm embarrassed to write) that the Bean could sleep comfortably in his carrier while we ate. How silly (euphemism for utterly stupid).
As the rehearsal dinner wrapped up, I called E as planned to share with him the directions to the restaurant. Even Michael was screaming in the background. This is something he's taken to as of late when he gets really tired in the evening. You can blow out your back bouncing the little guy into snoozeville. So, I gathered from E and his tone of voice that it was a rocky evening back in Room 202 at The Linden Row. What to do. Luckily, I was in the car with a family that's been my family, though not by the technical definition, for over 30 years. I should say, to be more specific and to make sure I communicate the degree of their selflessness, that I was with the mother, father and sister of the bride. They offered me their car to drive back to the hotel. This meant the three of them had to squeeze into cars with other family members later that evening. I felt terribly guilty, but I didn't really have a choice. So, fastforward an hour. I'm walking back into the hotel room. The bean lay swaddled and sleeping at the foot of the bed. E was sprawled out close by.
We were starved. I hadn't eaten. E hadn't eaten. In fact, we missed a decadent and scrumptious dinner by all accounts. We were desperate. At that point, it was about 9:30 in the evening. And our hunger got the best of us. The Linden Row is a really lovely restored property in a part of town with few late evening eatery options within walking distance. The exception, according to hotel staff, was the Third Street Diner. Our empty stomachs drove us to gently place the Bean in his stroller and to set out on foot for the diner. At this point, little Even Michael, who was surely tired from all the traveling, was awake and in full charm mode. He was smiling and cooing and doing that baby pre-talk that amuses E and I to no end. No really. I'm serious. We don't get tired of it.
Back to my story. So, we're strolling with the baby to the diner, when just around the block from the entrance, we observe a conversation between a woman and a man who looked to be a little less than fully comfortable. We're quite sure a business transaction, of an illegal variety (kissy kissy), was in the works. We kept strolling. Ah. The Third Street Diner. It looked as if it could have been the setting for a shady meeting one might see in a movie, or read about in a book. We peeked in the window... we were unsure that it was a place that was appropriate to bring the Bean. I walked in and asked one of the waitresses, who, by the way, was standing beside one of three poker machines on the bar. Her answer, sure!
So, we dug in. I had a candy bar from the vending machine beside our table for dessert. (Delicious and nutricious.)
Check please!
Friday, June 20, 2008
Stolte Besteforeldre
This evening, when E brought today's mail in, tucked between one of the million Care First statements we've received lately and a piece of junk mail was a small envelope from E's parents in Norway. Inside was a really sweet note and three copies of the birth announcement they had placed in a regional newspaper in Norway.Notice the old school typing on the side. E's dad, who is in his late 70s, is a die hard devotee of his mid-century typewriters. He is quite serious about his archiving, which is great for us. He noted the publication and date on the side of the clip.
This is one of my favorite pictures of EM; it was such a treat seeing the announcement! Confirmation that this isn't all just a really sweet dream...
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Spanx me
Break out the bubbly, we've reason to celebrate! Aside from the fact that my lovely little boy is thriving (he had his ONE MONTH doctor's appointment Friday; we found out he now weighs 12 pounds 1o ounces! At one month!) and that I am truly loving, loving, loving being his mom, I can already fit into the bridesmaid dress I am to wear next month at B's wedding. Yay! (This is the dress, except we have it in navy.)I had been somewhat distressed over this not so little matter since I had already purchased the dress. I had just guessed at the size as I had NO CLUE what to expect in the aftermath of the pregnancy that saw my stomach stretch beyond what I would have ever imagined possible. By the very end, I had gained 42 pounds, which is seven pounds over the max recommended weight gain. Oops. But evidently a lot of it was water weight as the majority of it is gone.
That's not to say that everything is, well, as it was. Yet?
Anywho, back to the dress. I had no idea if it would fit. I thought - holy crap! What if I have to buy it again! Not good. Not good.
Well, yesterday, I mustered all of my courage and pulled the dress out of my closet. Standing there in my skivvies, a feeling something close to dread wash over me. But when I slipped it on and zipped it up, I was so relieved! Crisis averted! IT FIT! OK, so it JUST fit. But I have a few weeks... and I have Spanx!Spanx are a modern miracle. Some act of wizardry and engineering has allowed for the creation of these undergarments that look delicate but have the muscle to squeeze you down at least one size. So, one more month of feeding my little piggy should shave off another couple pounds. And with the Spanx, it should fit perfectly... with no strain on the zipper...
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Tub Huddle
Today, while on the phone with my mother, I noticed that the wind had picked up outside. I walked to the window and looked out to see that the sky had suddenly darkened, the trees were bent horizontal and sheets of rain were falling diagonally. And the whole apartment building was slightly trembling. A rumbling sound, which I was convinced was a tornado, seemed to be getting closer.
I tried to sound calm while I got off the phone with my mother, I grabbed the baby, who had been relaxing on his round Boppy pillow, while calling E and moved quickly to the bathroom in our bedroom. This was the most scared I had been over weather in many, many years. And being from Louisiana, I am acquainted with bad weather. Huddled in the bathtub with EM, I was looking down at him thinking about what I would do if I heard the sound of breaking glass or the like. He was wide awake, sucking furiously on his pacifier, but seeming to enjoy the tight hold I had on him.
I'll admit I wasn't completely calm while on the phone with Even. But in a matter of minutes, the storm had moved on. There had been a tornado, but not in our immediate vicinity. However, the storm was bad enough to make it to CNN's main news program.
Yikes!
I tried to sound calm while I got off the phone with my mother, I grabbed the baby, who had been relaxing on his round Boppy pillow, while calling E and moved quickly to the bathroom in our bedroom. This was the most scared I had been over weather in many, many years. And being from Louisiana, I am acquainted with bad weather. Huddled in the bathtub with EM, I was looking down at him thinking about what I would do if I heard the sound of breaking glass or the like. He was wide awake, sucking furiously on his pacifier, but seeming to enjoy the tight hold I had on him.
I'll admit I wasn't completely calm while on the phone with Even. But in a matter of minutes, the storm had moved on. There had been a tornado, but not in our immediate vicinity. However, the storm was bad enough to make it to CNN's main news program.
Yikes!
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