Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Curiosity

So this morning I finally got around to trying out the "Make Video" function on Vista.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Dynamatrix

This is my baby jaguar (you know it's a jaguar due to the hat, of course).


Monday, January 28, 2008

Snow Day

We awoke, this morning, to behold a winter wonderland - a landscape transformed by epic blankets of snow.

Well... the "awoke this morning" part is true... epic snowfall. Eh... apparently 1/2" counts out here. All the schools in the greater metro area are closed. I find it rather amusing that banks and stores can afford to close their doors for a day for, yes, 1/2" of snow. Whatever. I'm not complaining. I get to have both kids home today.

We had to spend the first part of the morning playing in the snow, of course, and now they're watching Swan Lake, drinking hot chocolate and eating apples while I bake bread and chocolate chip cookies. It should be a pretty good day.

Meanwhile, I finally got around to uploading my December and January photos. Here are a few from this week:



This is my Dynamatrix, Bayba, wearing a little overall outfit that my mother made and I wore when I was Bayba's age. During our Christmas Homeland Adventure, my mom gave me a box of clothes - most of which she made for me throughout my childhood. The girls and I are having SO much fun with them.



Here's G-ster in a Sailor Dress my mother made for me. Of all the treasures in the box, this dress has to be the most sentimentally loaded, for me. I love seeing G in it. Thanks Mom!


When I was about 5, my Mom made matching dresses for my sisters and me. I think this one must have been my younger sister's because I wore my version of the dress for my kindergarten "school" picture (I was homeschooled that year). So, Sis, if you contest my ownership of this dress, I'll happily mail it to you.


Which brings us to today... the mighty Snow Day. Bayba discovered that snow sticks to knitted mittens.


Yes, I do have the most beautiful children ever.


G and Bayba attempting to build a snowman from our epic snowfall.

Well, my yeast must be proofed by now. Better get going.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Fighting Nature

I think one of the most fascinating aspects of pregnancy is how primal it is and how it forces you to relate to yourself - and life - with some of that veneer of social pretense and acceptability stripped away. For example, I'm one of the many people for whom the Protestant work ethic is indelibly ingrained. Working hard isn't just a means to an end. Industriousness is the point. It's not often aimed at getting what I want, but more a manifestation of who I am - of my worthiness as a person.

Yeah, I know that's not an entirely healthy way of relating to the world around me, but there are other aspects of my self and life that I like less than that, so it's never been my top priority to get over the what-I-do-is-who-I-am thing.

Anyway, I've turned that bend in the pregnancy where I no longer have the motivation to be doing a million things at once. A month ago I was frustrated with my weaknesses, angry that my body couldn't keep up with all the "stuff" that so urgently needed addressed. As of this week... well... if I manage to make a healthy (important food groups addressed, more or less) lunch for my toddler, I'm pleased with myself. If we all have clean underwear and it's in the requisite storage devices, I pretty much rock. If I manage to make dinner on top of all that... well heck, I figure there's a mother-of-the-year trophy out there somewhere with my name on it. But I don't think about any of that stuff all that much.

Because I'd rather be sleeping.

As with the first trimester, the last few weeks of a pregnancy bring a bone-deep tiredness that is difficult to explain to anyone who hasn't been pregnant. The closest thing I can compare it to is that feeling you get before surgery... when you're in pre-op they shoot some drugs into your IV. No general anesthesia, yet... just the opiate cocktail that washes over you and makes the idea of caring about staying awake or thinking about anything the funniest concept ever to crawl across your brain. Sleep is good and makes you insanely happy and satisfied. Trying to stay awake is stupidly, ridiculously painful. Forget it.

So - those of you who haven't experienced this - keep that in mind if I'm doing my best to engage in conversation with you. It's nothing personal. You aren't boring me. It's just that fighting nature only gets a person so far... so unless you're a child already dependent on my caregiving, your needs have probably gone to the end of the queue. Sorry. Catch me after a nap and I'll try not to be so rude and self-involved.

Better yet, just laugh at me - it's not like I'm going to expend the energy to get offended and I'll try to make it up to you in a few months. Right now I'm enjoying being huge and tired and lazy and going with the flow (or lack thereof) of inertia.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

My So-Called Life

Swiped from The Urban Princess' blog:



Sure I have many real things to blog about, but little time and no energy, so this is my re-entry to the blogging pool. Enjoy.