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...

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...

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!