Waterfalls and Honey Days

2012-01-30T18:34:00.000-08:00

I do not mean to neglect this blog, and I'm sure I do not need to provide excuses as to why it has not been serving as a daily diary.

All of my projects have been moving along well, with the only exception being the development of my software application, which has made no progress at all. I remind myself daily that this project requires at least 15 minutes of my attention before I can do any other projects, but whenever I find 15 minutes I find I also do not have much brainpower left and have to resort to doing something a little more rote.

Mike says I may resume referring to him by name now. I wrote a paragraph just now about "why", but I'm afraid it revealed too much, so I deleted it, and you will just have to be left wondering.

Progress on our home cleaning and reorganization is slow but steady. We are following a particular book for inspiration, going room by room in the order presented in the book. We are on the 4th chapter, "office", and have been there for several days. We each have an office area to tackle. And we do not move on to the next chapter until the previous chapter is complete. No piles of stuff moved out of the room to deal with "later". Everything is dealt with "now". In this case, "now" can move kind of slowly when it means scheduling trips to recycle old electronics, packaging fragile items to ship to my sister, and things like that.

Our book raised a very interesting point on the subject of collections. It is something I have thought about before, but the book's author worded it so much better than I ever had. It was a very brief comment on how the arrival of ebay has certainly changed, and many would agree diminished, the fun of building a collection. For many, the whole point of a collection is the hunt for the rare item, rather than enjoyment of the actual item itself. In those cases, there now is no point in having a collection at all, since you can now amass a collection of virtually anything in about 20 minutes. If all you’re going to do is store the items in the garage, then it’s probably best not to waste your 20 minutes. If you’re going to display the items, then it may be 20 minutes well-spent. Think about this. A lot.
It took me 10 days to write this post, so I will publish now even though it’s not very long. I am going to enable email posting so I can type on my iphone while I’m putting Mae to bed. I haven’t enabled it before because I don’t want spam to automatically get published. Apologies to those on the email feed if it does.

In which we try on virtual hats

2012-01-29T22:00:00.000-08:00

Video blog with Libby and me today

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEAunFNUh18

Introducing My365+1

2012-01-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

So far I have made excellent progress on my New Year resolutions.

You may recall that one of them was to join the CaptureYour365 photo project, where you take a photo a day based on the leader's prompt. I was going to wait til the end of January to publish my progress, but I'm too excited. So I invite you to view my photo project here:
http://honeydays365.blogspot.com/view/snapshot
This link takes you to a quick-view photo album.

You can view each photo in classic blog format here:
http://honeydays365.blogspot.com/

You can check there at any time. I'll post reminders here once a month, probably. You can also send me a note if you want any of my blog updates sent directly to your email.

In which Libby sings the ABC song

2012-01-09T22:22:00.000-08:00

Take one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vRrZP3Eivk

Take two

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL63LWvPyho

I signed off too early. After I said "bye", then Libby said "bye" several times. Sorry you all missed that, it was cute.

Hot Water

2012-01-01T21:39:00.000-08:00

Our hot water heater broke today. Sort of a bum way to start the new year, but then again it's not really so terrible and it's not really our water heater anyway. We even agreed to postpone calling a technician until tomorrow so our landlord doesn't get charged for holiday hours, we hope.

I forgot about another NY resolution. I have an idea for a software application and I'd like to see it through to publication by September. That means I need to flesh it out and write all the text for it (someone else will be doing the programming). I am not quite sure of how to break it into smaller chunks, so, like the genealogy project, I think I'll just make sure that I work on it a little each week.

NYE

2011-12-31T23:46:00.000-08:00

It is the last day of 2011. Last year we rang in the new year with somewhat heavy hearts, knowing we had a lot of stresses ahead of us, and that was before we knew that illness was going to strike our family in just a few days.

I am seeing a lot of headlines referring to the overall suckage of 2011 and indicating that 2012 isn't looking much better, but in our little family it seems that it will be at least a minor improvement over 2011. DH is without a job contract, again, but by now we are getting used to it. I hope we won't have to move, but if we do, I accept it if it means our family gets to stay together. And if we get more than 3 days notice.

We are now a happy healthy family of 4. Last year I did not make any new years resolutions, thinking that just resolving to get through the challenges ahead was enough (and it was). This year I have resolutions a-plenty. I'm afraid my list is a bit too ambitious, and I'm destined to crash and burn, but I'm going to give it a go anyway. I have a lot more energy now and with DH at home it doubles our productivity around the house. How's that for a silver lining.

In no particular order:

Going to work on my cookbook, testing and photographing recipes. I'm going for 2 a month. At that rate it will take me 2 years to finish my cookbook. I didn't realize it was going to take that long, but I don't want to commit to testing more than 2 recipes a month.
I'm joining the My365 photography project, which is basically just taking a photo every day. Or in my case, I plan to take 365+1 photos in 2012. I don't want to freak out if I miss a day proper. The project leader sends an inspirational word or prompt for each day, just in case you can't think of anything to shoot. I will probably post the photos on a separate blog, though I'm not sure yet.
Menu planning. My nemesis. But I have some motivation and will give it another shot. With DH home at dinnertime I might even be successful.
I have a genealogy research project I am working on. I do not know how long it will take me to finish. I decided a good goal would simply be to try to work on it for at least a few minutes every week.
Cull extraneous clutter from our home. This is a project DH and I are doing together and have resolved to have it finished by the end of January. We already did the living room. It looks really nice.

In 15 minutes it will no longer be NYE, so I better publish this now.

In which Mae talks

2011-12-29T23:24:00.001-08:00

Video with Mae chatting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rveoEenT9dA

Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T22:56:00.000-08:00

All these photos were taken with my new Canon Rebel, a gift from my dad. A really, really awesome gift, I should say. I would have thought a DSLR would be more difficult to use, but it's actually easier right out of the box than any of our point-and-shoot cameras. I took about a hundred pictures today. Here are just a few.

Christmas morning, Mae waking up:

Libby playing with her new beautiful blocks:

Mae's first Christmas present:

It's a new fuzzy blanket...

I love it!! she seems to say...

Elmo gets a hug. Note there are 2 other Elmos on the stuffed animal shelf in the background.

Elmo gets a bite.

And another bite.

Libby has developed a voracious appetite for books. Thank goodness some new ones were unwrapped today.

We had a wonderful day. DH cooked a chicken and surprised us with gifts. Then there was a lot of playing with books and toys. Everyone was happy and sweet. I hope all you readers had a wonderful holiday too.

2011-12-24T22:55:00.000-08:00

We returned today from an overnight trip to the casino (about 2 hours away) to see Brian Setzer's Rockabilly Riot show. This is our 4th time seeing Brian Setzer at Christmas, so it's kind of a tradition now. We have previously only seen him with the Brian Setzer Orchestra. This time he was doing Stray Cats and it was a lot of fun. Now, I have previously reported that Brian Setzer Orchestra fans are on the dull side. Brian Setzer rockabilly fans are positively geriatric, which seems kind of odd since the band plays so fast you think they might actually catch fire, and you don't really expect people in wheelchairs (yes, multiple wheelchairs, 3 in our row alone) to go to that kind of show. But then again the Stray Cats were mainstream when I was in the 3rd grade. So I am forced to admit that was, like, 30 years ago, so DH and I are actually quite young to be Brian Setzer fans in the first place. Third graders don't tend to notice guitar virtuosos.

Still, DH was pretty shocked at the high number of 90 year olds in the audience, and I was disappointed when everyone didn't stand up and dance. I stood up anyway but DH insisted that I sit down and not block the view of the 90 year olds sitting directly behind us. The band eventually managed to raise the "corpses" as DH called them, and probably 2/3 of the way through the show they had 2/3 of the audience on their feet. Maybe it just took the geezers that long to get to a standing position. But at any rate Brian Setzer inspired them to do it. Hell, even 2 of the 3 wheelchair guys stood up and one of them was on oxygen.

I wonder how different the makeup of the crowd would have been if the show were in Portland and not at Christmas.

But I had a great time. The band was so awesome and the people-watching was sublime and had me on the verge of laughter nearly the entire length of the show.

In which Mae is 5 months old and does nothing else

2011-12-18T00:01:00.000-08:00

Couldn't get Mae to do more than be herself

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWIsvwDfhAQ

2011-12-17T22:44:00.000-08:00

Evidently I've been very busy. I've been asked why I haven't blogged in so long. I don't know what happened to make me busier than usual, other than the 10 days after Thanksgiving I was working overtime, and I got sick with the flu, and then of course there is this Christmas thing. And we do a pretty minimalist-Christmas. Example: this is our tree and our mini-stockings.

I do not know what to think about how much time I will need when the babies are old enough to appreciate Christmas and we do it "for real".

We were getting close to justifying hiring additional domestic help when DH changed jobs again. His new job is closer to home and on a regular day shift like regular people, so we're happy about that, but now our checkbook doesn't likely allow for any more help. On the other hand, since DH is going to be on a regular day shift like regular people, I might not actually need the help anymore.

I have absolutely no apologies about saying that I feel I need a nanny, housekeeper, and cook in my home. I have spoken to several other mothers who feel the same. In fact one of them actually has a nanny and a cook. I didn't ask about housekeeper but I'm guessing if she can afford nanny and cook she probably has a regular housekeeper as well. These are all mothers in my same age group, who remember a decade or so ago when we kept being told we were superwomen who could have it all (career, parenthood, home). Now no one says that anymore. One of my friends had her babies during that time. She looks back now and admits that by buying into the propaganda she made things a lot harder on herself than they had to be.

I feel like my past deeds already prove that I am superwoman. I don't need to continue to prove anything to anyone, myself included. I feel that insisting on doing everything myself is simply being a martyr, like one of those people who refuses painkillers when offered, which I guess they think impresses people but really only serves to hurt themselves.

Well, except for one girl I knew who refused painkillers because she was worried about becoming addicted, and I guess she had good reason for this worry. She had been in a terrible car accident and was dealing with long term effects afterward. She told me her totem panther helped her through the pain. The panther had visited her and adopted her after the accident. I don't recall if this was in a dream or if she thinks she really saw this. At any rate I was pretty sure she wasn't just being a martyr about the whole thing. I thought she was crazy, but she still impressed me.

Happy Thanksgiving! 2011

2011-11-24T10:38:00.000-08:00

I am hoping to finish and publish my Thanksgiving blog before everyone wakes up. Gotta type fast to make that happen!

First and foremost I am thankful for my health, because as everyone probably knows, without your health you have nothing. Also, considering that we have been dealing with illness in this family for almost an entire year now, I need my health to sustain the family. I also need to stay healthy because we have crappy health insurance at the moment (soon to change, and I'm thankful for that as well).
I am thankful for my husband. Our 2nd wedding anniversary is coming up. Hearing Christmas music on the radio makes me think of our wedding, and I can't help but smile. I love the way DH is so easygoing with any of my ideas, like when I told him that "everyone who's anyone does New Year cards now" and he just went along with it. DH is also really funny and says things that gets us both going on these laugh attacks until we have tears running down our faces from laughing so hard.
I am thankful for Libby and Mae, our rays of sunshine in rainy Oregon.
I am thankful for my family and friends, who make me feel like what I have to say is important.
I am thankful for my job, in a time when jobs are so hard to come by.

Now that we've covered the obvious items, let's be thankful for little things. Like aromatherapy and sleeping babies. And of course I'm thankful for all kinds of material things. The house we live in. Our cars. Steve Jobs, who gave us a bunch of material things we didn't even know we wanted but now can't live without. The Internet. Amazon.com. (Side story: the mom that I'm working with for Christmas told me she had never used Amazon before. My response, after picking myself up off the floor: It's like you're a cave person!!) Disneyland. Coffee. My Keurig coffee maker.

As predicted, everyone is awake now. Here we go to attack turkey. Everyone have a great day.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

2011-11-23T00:37:00.000-08:00

We adopted a family for Christmas, like we do every year. It's not as much fun as you might think, but I seem to forget that every year and then do it again the next year, only to remember that there are always logistical difficulties, among other issues. If you go through a nonprofit, there are often a lot of rules and red tape to get past, which seems strange when you just want to help someone. In your mind, the concept seems so easy. But of course there are privacy concerns, operational difficulties, etc, and so the middleman sometimes gets in the way. Then, with or without the middleman, the recipient family is almost always embarrassed, which leads to communication difficulties. Still, in all the years (over a decade) we've been doing this, I have to say that this year's family is the nicest I've ever worked with. I will meet them face to face tomorrow (or rather, later today, since it's after midnight as I write this). I am not sure exactly how it will go, but I am glad that they want to meet me and are not resentful. It is currently pouring rain, so I imagine it will be a very brief meeting, since I'm delivering the final box outside the management office at their apartment building. I'm impressed with the family mom for being so organized that she got me to take care of this even before Thanksgiving!

Speaking of early Christmas shopping, for some reason I have been kicking myself for not getting to it sooner. I really do prefer to have it all done and wrapped and ready to ship even before Thanksgiving. I do not know why this is bugging me at all, considering that my holiday to-do list is miniscule compared to a lot of other people's. I also feel like I should give myself a break for not being done already, considering that I'm not sure how I could have started sooner even if that wasn't a laughable idea. I mean really, when was I supposed to start preparing? In July, right after having a baby?

Fall in Portland

2011-11-19T09:24:00.001-08:00

In which Libby counts to 10

2011-11-15T00:37:00.000-08:00

...sort of...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP7nL5X2TnA

In which Mae weighs 15 pounds

2011-11-12T17:35:00.000-08:00

In the video I said 14 pounds, but later I realized she's actually 15.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzGwfDtHVsM

My review of Can You Keep A Secret

2011-11-08T19:00:00.000-08:00

I decided to break up my non-fiction reading with some lighthearted comedy. I chose Can You Keep A Secret? by Sophie Kinsella, because Amazon had it on sale for $1.99. I really did not like this book, and I read it as fast as I could, just to get it over with. It was lighthearted and sort of funny, but I just ultimately thought it was dumb and unrealistic. A lot of other reviewers had complained that the book was unrealistic, and the opposing reviewers said that was a stupid thing to say about a book that is meant to be lighthearted comedy. Now having read the book, I understand the first camp’s complaints, and I stand with them.

The book is basically the diary of a girl who lives in the UK. Now, I am not familiar with the British-diary-chick-lit genre, so I have no idea if Sophie Kinsella copied the Bridget Jones franchise, or vice versa. Or did Sophie Kinsella also write Bridget Jones? I am so far removed from this genre that I don't even know the answer to that. I didn’t even realize there was such a genre until now. If you didn’t either, you’re not missing anything.

2011-11-07T18:41:00.000-08:00

Not much to report from the home front. It was a typical week. Except for the fact that we had houseguests on Saturday night. A friend of mine and her school-age daughter. Both Libby and Mae were quite taken with them, after they had time to warm up to the guests. A side bonus of having 2 guests over…I got to have my hands free for a few minutes.

We celebrated Halloween on Monday. I meant for Mae to wear Libby’s witch costume from last year, and I got Libby a new witch costume for this year. I got it a few days before Halloween, so it was already on clearance for $11. It was a witch dress and hat. I didn’t really like the style of the dress…I just wanted the hat. So I picked up the black pants and Tshirt that I have previously blogged about. I did try to get her to wear the dress, but she kept saying “no, no”. I said, “just try it on.” So she did, but then stood there with the saddest face, so I let her take it off. I thought we might go trick-or-treating at the shopping center, but Libby napped all through it, so when she woke up, we just passed out candy at home. I rented Nightmare Before Xmas in HD, which I got for free somehow, so that was nice. Some kind of promotion I wasn’t aware of, I guess. I wonder how many more free rentals I have? Anyway, the movie actually put me in the Xmas spirit. Before that, I had been complaining to DH and to my sister that I just couldn’t get on board with our usual planning.

But now I’m ok with it, and the plans and budgets are already made. I feel very relaxed, as if I can enjoy the season more than I have in several years. I got Libby a cute Thanksgiving book. Well, it’s really a counting book about a family that goes grocery shopping to cook a feast. But it could be a Thanksgiving feast. I’m considering having Thanksgiving catered this year. We do like to cook, but we also have very little family time, and I think it could be a holiday from cooking. I haven’t run this by DH yet.

I injured my foot a few weeks ago, running down the stairs with a beetle in the dustbuster. I hate bugs! Thought I might have broken a toe. It didn't swell, so I guess not. But it still hurts.

In which Libby refuses to speak on camera

2011-11-06T12:05:00.000-08:00

She usually talks nonstop, believe me.

http://youtu.be/54VMxbYiK08

My review of SuperFreakonomics

2011-11-01T23:42:00.000-07:00

The book I most recently finished reading on my Kindle app, is SuperFreakonomics, the follow-up to Freakonomics, by Levitt & Dubner. In this book they continue describing behaviors that they have uncovered via behavioral economics, the type of economics that I have discussed previously on this blog (although, it is my opinion that ultimately all economics are behavioral economics). In their words, this is not a mathematical means of explaining “the economy…{but} a systematic means of describing how people make decisions… In other words, the book is right up my alley.

The authors claim that behavioral economics is completely unbiased – let the numbers speak the truth. I am relatively inclined to believe them, since they appear to have done mountains of research on each topic and are open about revealing their sources, another important topic I have blogged about more than once before.

In this book you can learn:

• why elephants should be feared more than sharks, and why they aren’t.

• where sexism truly does and does not exist – studies include notes on transgender dealings with sexism before and after operations

• why “talent” at sports exists far less than you think, and has more to do with your birthday (and the answer is not related to astrology)

• why terrorism is so effective even though it is so scarce

• why it is so difficult to measure the skill and efficacy of a doctor (forget any self-published statistics or online reviews from patients or peers)

• how we’re losing the war on cancer

• how even the most innocuous TV shows lead to increased violence (though no one knows why)

• how car seats for children 2 and up are no better than seat belts

And a few of my favorite chapters:

Chapter 3: Unbelievable Stories About Apathy and Altruism, in which we learn that many classic events or studies quoted to support both camps, are not true. (Although sadly, 2 oft-quoted cases of studies where students performed evil acts on other students, in the name of “research”, are confirmed to be true.) Absolutely fascinating. So are humans inherently good or inherently evil? The authors say their belief is that there is potential for both; neither is pre-determined. People simply respond to economic incentives.

There is a chapter that contains what I interpret to be a scathing report on the operation of emergency rooms in hospitals, a topic that hits really close to home. The word “scathing” is my opinion only. True to their word, Levitt & Dubner pretty much just list the facts, name their sources, and allow the reader to become incensed (or not). But after reading a following chapter that contained a scathing report about the lack of hand-washing that occurs in hospitals (source data from Cedars-Sinai, among other hospitals), I was incensed all over again and I hope I never have to go to the hospital again.

In another chapter we learn the banking habits of known terrorists, and how this led to one economist identifying a key metric that is so significant that Levitt & Dubner could not publish it, only referring to it as Variable X, a behavioral metric.

Finally, there’s a chapter that you just have to read to believe. It’s about climate change and proposed solutions coming from a think tank in Seattle. You’ll sleep better at night knowing these guys are out there. And you’ll see that in spite of the authors’ “unbiased” research, it’s obvious that they don’t think all that highly of Al Gore.

If you haven’t read the first Freakonomics, you can now see it as a TV documentary. Check Netflix or Amazon streaming video.

Happy Halloween! 2011

2011-10-31T23:13:00.000-07:00

Libby trying to feed candy to Mae:

Sad little angel:

Watching Nightmare Before Xmas for the first time:

Trying on hats:

How Mae got her name

2011-10-30T21:50:00.000-07:00

http://youtu.be/-e-D3D7rBAo

2011-10-29T23:44:00.000-07:00

It was a good week, a typical week. Work, play, fun.
Libby was invited to a Halloween party on Thursday. I got the text message Wednesday night..."please have Libby wear her costume", which I thought was kind of presumptuous for anyone to assume she had a costume, she is only 1 and does not know what Halloween is, after all. But she does, in fact, have a costume. Which she refused to wear on Thursday. Luckily I also had a pair of black pants and pretty black Tshirt with a rhinestone jack-o-lantern on it. She wore that with her witch hat from last year, just to show her Halloween spirit.
DH made a chicken vegetable soup and canned up 14 quarts of it.
I was happy to find out that plums are still available, after my sister requested plum jam for the holidays and I have not made any (yet) this year and I'm sure I don't have any left from last year.

For like the first time ever, DH and I made a monthly cash budget and stuck to it. For like the first time EVER! That I know of. See, we do budget, but we don't watch it like a hawk and account for every single penny spent, and we did that this month. I'm proud of us for doing that.

We're having houseguests next weekend. Looking forward to being the hostess.

Everything is rent

2011-10-28T16:45:00.000-07:00

Here are photos of the 95% rented shelf space I talked about recently.
A shelf I consider "normal" looks like this:

Labeled with generic descriptions of games.

This is the only shelf like it in the store. All the others look like this, and these are only a few examples.

My dad tells me that these vendor-specific displays are because profit is now measured per shelf, instead of aggregrate for the whole store. Vendors who don't perform well get their shelf space reduced. This also makes it pretty impossible to comparison shop, since similar items (dolls, cars, train sets) are not next to each other.

This has probably been going on for quite some time, but I just started shopping in toy aisles, so I didn't notice it before. Maybe.

Bucket List

2011-10-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

I was challenged by a fellow blogger to write a bucket list containing 15 items.
I don't really like the idea of a bucket list, only because it seems like if I kicked the bucket, then people would look at my list and feel like I was failure for not accomplishing any of it. And that wouldn't be true. My bucket list is always changing, because I'm frequently doing things that I always wanted to do. Like, getting a masters degree, joining the DAR, and living in a mountain cabin.

So here is my goal list at the moment.

1. Swim with a dolphin. I know, it's not very original as a goal, but trust me, I really, really want to!

2. Buy perfume in Paris.

3. Be a contestant on the TV show Top Shot. Ok, not really. I don't expect to be that good ever, and so I wouldn't be disappointed if I'm not on the show. But I'd like to improve my marksmanship. I think it would be fun, and probably a good skill to have for when the zombies arrive. Or would it? I'm not really sure how zombies react when shot...

4. Find out what to do when the zombies arrive.

5. See Italy. This seems to be on everyone's bucket list. We should all just move to Italy. World peace would probably follow.

6. Write and publish a cookbook. Self-publishing would be ok.

7. Get a grownup camera and take the photos for my self-published cookbook.

8. Cruise 2015! (My mantra)

9. Play the piano. The trick here is to actually get a piano. And then find the time to "learn" a couple of songs. (I already know from experience that I can't really read music, I just play by rote, which I don't mind.)

10. Discover a hidden treasure, preferably from a sunken pirate ship.

11. Get a camper van and RV across the states with my family. Which may help with my next goal...

12. Vist all 50 states. I'm more than halfway done right now...28 states visited so far.

create your own personalized map of the USA

13. Attend a taping of Dancing With the Stars, preferably as a competitor. This means I would either need to become a professional dancer, or a "star". Since most of the celebs are simply famous for being famous, then maybe I could make it onto the show for being that famous cookbook-writer-photographer-who-discovered-a-sunken-pirate-ship. Or, as DH suggested when I asked him for advice on the quickest way to become famous, I could commit a crime. Well, I'd just have to be accused to become famous. I couldn't really be guilty or I probably would not make it onto the show.

14. See a teacup pig with my own eyes. Are those things real??

15. Get one freakin' stamp in my passport. Which I can probably accomplish with #8.

What's on your list?

Libby says hi

2011-10-24T16:05:00.001-07:00

http://youtu.be/FTmGyUi5Wsg

Our first video blog

2011-10-23T22:55:00.000-07:00

Mae and I just recorded this as a test...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_Zc5bHAjkM

A brief review of HOW I KILLED PLUTO

2011-10-23T17:30:00.000-07:00

Upon hearing a suggestion from my cousin, I recently read the book How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown. I actually finished it quite some time ago and have been meaning to mention it ever since...so now I finally am.

Mike Brown is the astronomer who is personally responsible for starting the events that ended up demoting Pluto from planet to non-planet. He is responsible for asking how a planet is defined. Before Mike Brown, no one really asked that question. The planets were defined however we defined them in our heads...thus, Pluto was a planet because we all said it was.

The book is well-written, easy to read, and funny. I never thought I would say that about an astronomy book. Many reviewers have commented on the fact that Mr Brown writes a lot about how during his career, he also got married and started a family. The comments from the field are that this has nothing to do with astronomy. What I wanted to say about the book is that although that may be true, there was a passage that stuck in my head and I bookmarked in my Kindle, and it happened to be about his daughter.

But first, some backstory. DH was asking me about Libby recently, and I told him that she is so special that sometimes I think she is not real. That is not exactly how I feel, but it was the best way I could think of to word it at the time.

Then I read How I Killed Pluto, and I found a page that expressed somewhat better what I was trying to say. He says that the reason that all parents think their children are exceptional, is because all children are exceptional. "Early childhood development is about the most exceptional thing that takes place in the universe. Stars, planets, galaxies, quasars are all incredible and fascinating things...but none of them is as thoroughly astounding as the development of thought [and] language." That is good approximation of what I would have liked to say. To watch Libby learn how to think and talk is simply amazing to me, and I often can not believe what I am seeing.

So, I do not mind that Mr Brown writes about his family in an astronomy book.

I also told DH that Mr Brown makes astronomy seem really, really easy, except for all the math. This made DH laugh so hard he almost crashed the car.

Fall is on the way

2011-10-22T15:24:00.000-07:00

I took this photo today at the duck pond in front of my house.

2011-10-19T22:43:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I have become so acclimated to Oregon weather that I can stand it better than all the other Oregonians, but I keep seeing evidence of this. I am warm or even hot when everyone else appears to be cold. I used to think it was due to pregnancy, but that can't be the case anymore. I know back in So Cal, I would have thought weather in the 60s was freezing. But now, I'm fine with it, and even hot at times. I am relatively alone in my opinion. Libby's sitter complained about the "cold". I saw a family of 4 walking outside at 5pm all wearing knit hats with pompoms on top. Then I drove past a girl wearing a puffer jacket, zipped all the way up around her face. I see this kind of thing all the time when I am roasting hot. I really don't get it.

The first 2 years we lived in Oregon, it was 45 degrees every.single.day. So maybe that's it. 65 degrees is pleasantly warm compared to 45 degrees.

Failed experiment in video blogging

2011-10-18T21:47:00.000-07:00

Typing with one hand, because I'm holding Mae. I see my blog template is still broken. Fix it, or change it? It's been the same template for years. Hm, a thinker.
Considering switching to video blogging, but there are some problems with that, maybe. I only use my personal laptop on the weekends, due to lack of desk space. My work laptop stays on my desk 5 days a week, and I'm not sure how to use its webcam. Also, video blogging could be a problem if there is a sleeping baby in the office with me.
But at the moment, there is a wakeful baby with me, and I bet at least a few people would like to see her. I guess no time like the present, right? Let's see if we can do this...

...And I'm back to report that the answer is "no"...this laptop does not have any video software installed. The camera only takes still photos, and unattractive ones as most webcams do, so you don't get to see the practice shot!

And that little experiment took up most of my blog time for the evening, so I'll be signing off now, I guess.

Typical day. Worked and played and ran errands. Mexican casserole for dinner tonight.

2011-10-17T22:30:00.000-07:00

A good routine day.
Worked.
Played with the babies. I am getting ready for homeschooling and teaching Libby to read, since she seems interested. I looked for 'lesson' plans for 1 year olds, but there aren't any. Some start at 18 months but didn't have very good reviews. So, I guess I can't screw up too bad just yet. I signed up for emailed activities from a parenting website that sends activities for any age. I requested activities for both babies. Today's assignment for Mae was "stretching" and Libby's was "puppets". They both did their homework and there was a lot of laughter!

After Libby's nap I took them to the store to get Halloween pumpkins, since every other house in our neighborhood has them and Libby loves them. Oh, and we got candy too. Candy candy candy...they had bottle caps! and Nerds! I'm going to have to stock up on the rare stuff.

Teriyaki pork chops for dinner.

Why So Serious?

2011-10-16T22:35:00.000-07:00

Conversation about the above-shown toy:

DH: Is this the Joker?

Me: Baby Joker.

DH: How could this come to be?

Me: I know, right? Who would have thought Fisher Price would team with Warner Bros. like that? How can they sell a murdering psychopath to babies? At what age am I supposed to explain who the Joker is? Anything to make a buck! (continue rant)

DH: I mean, how did Baby Joker come to be? What is his back story? Was he playing in the baby sandbox when he fell into a baby vat of acid? How did he get his baby car and baby drivers license?

PlayDate PDX

2011-10-15T23:43:00.000-07:00

A good day. Played with the babies all day. Then DH got up and took us to an indoor playground in Portland called PlayDatePDX. It was so much fun! Libby must have played for 2 hours while DH and I took turns staying with Mae in the coffeeshop. Awesome! Libby's favorites were 3 big slides and a room full of foam balls that you could shoot from cannons, if you wanted to. She also liked looking out of the windows and waving to her daddy.

When we went home I stir-fried some flank steak. Yum.

Blocking Out The Scenery

2011-10-14T22:38:00.000-07:00

More on yesterday's post.
I am not opposed to advertising that is aimed at adults. I make a distinction between advertising directed at children, and all other advertising. I also make a distinction between advertising and predatory or unethical sales practices, so let’s not lose focus.

Most people who know me also know that I can’t stand commercials. I have blogged about that before. But I don’t feel there is anything inherently wrong about advertising to grownups. As they pointed out in The Corporation, if the ad leads you to a product that you like and genuinely improves your life, isn’t that good? I say yes. I also say even if the ad leads you to buy a product that doesn’t improve your life, that is your fault, not the seller’s (unless the seller lied to you). I don’t blame advertisements for the clutter in my house. I am responsible for my own purchases.

The thing I hate about advertisements is simply that they are eyesores. TV commercials are annoying, radio commercials are much worse, and all those freaking retail ads on the street are ugly! Signs, signs, everywhere signs! Billboards, sandwich boards, sign spinners, and the newest thing are those hideous tall flags. I wish I could photograph the retail area near me while driving, but I’m not that handy. There are 2 retail establishments near each other who each put 5-10 tall flags out in the same area. Both sets of flags are red and white. They are all on top of each other and you can’t read what they say. Ridiculous! And the junk mail! More ugly ads!

But this is capitalism, and I say, go ahead if you must. I’m not even opposed to product placement (in grownup movies and TV) or the more “subliminal” forms of advertising that are being used today.

Again, I control my own checkbook, my own actions. I must take responsibility for my choices in purchases. My child does not have her own checkbook. Advertising directly to her is an attempt to undermine me as a parent, which is disrespectful to the person who actually signs the checks. Not a good idea, friend.

2011-10-13T23:58:00.000-07:00

A pretty typical day. Finished watching The Corporation (again) with Mae while Libby took a nap. DH got up on time in the evening to spend dinner and bathtime with us.

We had a conversation about marketing to children. I told him about a recent trip to Target where I was looking for blocks in the toy department. First thing I reported was that they do not have blocks, which dumbfounded me all by itself. But the 2nd thing I noted as I looked for blocks was that every single aisle is organized by brand, not by type of toy. Except for the game aisle, which still runs along the back of the department. All the other aisles are not labeled "dolls" "art" "pretend play" as they used to be. They are now labeled "Barbie" "Fisher Price" "Bratz" and a dozen others that I can't remember. Since I was looking for "blocks" I was confused by the aisle markers after a couple of aisles. When I got to the end of the toy department and realized that EVERY SINGLE AISLE was organized by brand, I couldn't quite believe it and had to go back through once or twice to be certain.

I do not agree with this type of play. DH asked me why not. I guess it is because I believe a toy or plaything should appeal to a child because it is fun and has value in itself. Instead we are being told that slapping a character on something makes it fun, whatever it is. I know it has been like this for a while, but Legos are no longer Legos. They are only available as Star Wars Legos or Harry Potter Legos or Spongebob Legos. The Playdoh was only available as either Batman Playdoh or Sesame Street Playdoh. Why can't it just be Legos or Playdoh?

I am concerned by the licensed character explosion because I am afraid it encourages collecting the character for the character's sake, without any desire for the toy/sippy cup/shirt/whatever that the character has been slapped onto. Libby's fascination with Elmo is really starting to bother me because she wants anything with Elmo on it simply because it has Elmo on it. On the other hand, she is not old enough to even know what Playdoh is or appreciate anything for its own value. She just knows she recognizes Elmo. Elmo is a TV character and we don't even have TV. She does not watch Sesame Street on the Roku/Netflix. She has learned about Elmo from dolls, reading books, and coloring books that other people have brought into our home. When she outgrew her cloth diapers we switched to disposable diapers. She now recognizes Elmo on her diapers. Why is a character on diapers? To amuse the parent? Make the kid look cute? Or something more sinister?

But Elmo makes her happy. What is wrong with that? Nothing. But I also don't want Elmo selling her a bunch of toys she would not otherwise be interested in, and I can totally see that happening if I don't find a way to squash it.

We do not allow commercial TV in our home.
I try to minimize shopping trips with the babies, and eventually shopping trips with kids will probably be eliminated altogether.
We will be homeschooling, so our children will not be exposed to the marketing that occurs on/in school buses, channel 1, Scholastic publications, book fairs, sponsors of in-school fitness, nutrition, and green programs, etc. Not to mention the "keeping up with the Joneses" effect that even children have on each other.

Instead of the above, we provide creative play items and classic books. Although I am a Disney fan myself, I do not allow most Disney products into our home. Again, the few things we do have were brought in by others. I want Libby to develop her own play characters - not to simply parrot a Disney princess that she has memorized.

We've had many people (including complete strangers) comment on Libby's apparent fascination with music and dance. We enjoy and encourage this as well. But I thought all kids loved music and dance.

2011-10-12T23:26:00.001-07:00

Blogging from my bed tonight, via iPhone. First time doing that... Hope it works. Ran a few errands today. It's actually easy to run errands with 2 babies as long as the place is either stroller-friendly, or has shopping carts. If we get a cart, then Libby rides up front, and Mae rides in her car seat in the basket. That means we can fit very few things in the basket. Which is good, because it makes for a short trip. I prefer not to take Libby shopping because I do not want to expose her to marketing. This is why we do not watch TV and I do not give her toys with licensed characters. I admit she does have some branded toys, but they were gifts from other people. I have only withheld 2 gifts - they were both shirts that were blatantly branded. I choose not to turn my baby into a billboard.
I am re-watching The Corporation. I understand that the filmmakers have made a new documentary about tactics used for marketing to children. I'm going to get a copy of that documentary.
I will report more on my thoughts on The Corporation when: a) I finish re-watching it, which takes a while at a few minutes per day, and b) I'm not typing with one finger.

Getting Good At Starting Over...Again...and Again...

2011-10-11T22:29:00.000-07:00

The nanny spent the whole night at our house and DH took her to the urgent care center in the morning. She went home after but was too sick to call me, so her husband called me to let me know she was home. I don't even know what was wrong but now we are thinking maybe an inner ear thing.

DH and I spent 2 evenings recently working out a new family schedule, which is now voided before it even became routine. A series of unfortunate events actually led us to something better, so we are now testing out a new-new routine.

A good day today. Got lots of work done and the babies were happy. Tried out a sweet and sour chicken pantry meal. Pantry meal means no fresh ingredients, therefore it can be stored a long time and you can go to this meal when you forgot to go to the grocery store, for example.

2011-10-10T22:57:00.000-07:00

A good day. I got a lot of paying work done. Then Libby's nanny got sick from an energy drink and is asleep on our sofa even now at 11pm. She won't be driving home until she feels better. I skipped dinner in order to give her some privacy (and also because when I said the word "dinner" she groaned) and I ate a whole bag of gingerman cookies in my office. I'm still hungry.

Easy like Sunday morning

2011-10-09T23:46:00.000-07:00

Easy day. The babies both took long naps.

I bought Libby a couple of new books. A Dr Suess one, where she was excited to find a page with 55 elephants on it. And Go Dog Go, which got the strongest reaction I've ever seen out of Libby towards a book, except for maybe her own baby book. She stared and paid very close attention while I read it, then she wanted to hear it over and over and over again.

Favorite moment of the day:

Libby: Mama?
Me: Yes, Libby.
Libby: (puts her arms around my neck and kisses my cheek) muah.

2011-10-08T22:29:00.001-07:00

Picked up the car from the service department again for the 2^nd time in a week. They fixed the windshield that they broke, but then ignored a couple other repairs and performed one unauthorized one instead. We didn’t have to pay for the unauthorized one. We won’t be returning to that dealer again. It’s just sad how you can not find a mechanic that is both competent and honest.

2011-10-07T22:50:00.000-07:00

I am writing this in Word because I am really tired of this HP laptop deleting my posts before I am done. Even though Blogger claims to auto-save my work every few seconds, there seems to be some evil HP keystroke that still manages to delete all my work instantaneously. At least with the Word file I can save or use the undo button, if my keyboard refused to work.

So I re-write what I wrote earlier tonight. I am sleepy, so I hope it ends up coherent.

An ugly act of disrespect (some time ago) has led to positive changes in our family. In the last couple of days DH and I got a project done and my babies have been extremely happy, and I was able to forget the ugliness altogether.

I keep thinking about Steve Jobs. What a legacy to leave behind! How awesome it must have been for him to know that he changed the world. And not the way most people claim to have changed the world, when they really mean they left a minor mark on it: I had a baby, so I changed the world. I wrote a novel, so I changed the world. And not in an anonymous way, like the person who invented Post-Its, or the person who invented sliced bread. And not in a posthumous way, like Van Gogh or all those people in the history books who said something that later influenced someone to do something important that later had long-reaching consequences after both people had died.

No, Steve Jobs invented things that we didn’t even know we wanted, and he changed the world and the way his competitors did business, and he did it quickly, not incrementally, so he knew he changed the world. And since it wasn’t anonymous, we all knew he changed the world. And since it wasn’t posthumous, he knew that we knew. Such a rare occurrence, and not since Walt Disney has there been such a respected CEO.

And now I will cut/paste into Blogger and say goodnight.

2011-10-04T23:53:00.000-07:00

Today was pretty much all about Libby, so I invite you to read today's post on her blog:
http://libby-rose.blogspot.com/2011/10/words-libby-can-say.html

DH says he broke our wireless connection somehow, so I am using my broadband card from work, which is a lot slower. Ugh. I wanted to upload some more photos but may wait on that until wireless is fixed.

A good day. Going to bed early tonight (before midnight) for once.

2011-10-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

Yankee Candle Mistletoe is a very good fragrance.

Yesterday we picked up one of our cars from the dealer where it had been in the service dept for a couple days. The windshield had a big crack in it. It did not have a crack in it when we dropped it off. DH is going to talk to the service manager on Monday. In the meantime the service rep took pictures (while denying responsibility) and DH took pictures again when he got home. DH is pretty confident that it will be resolved easily. He paid for the service with the Amex and you know they are pretty legendary for withholding payment for disputes that you would think would be out of their jurisdiction. But I hope it will not come to that and the dealer will make it right. One of the things the rep said today is that it was probably already chipped and simply cracked under the heat when the car was washed. Then he pointed out some dirt on the windshield...so...how could it be washed, exactly?

I'm still listed as the webmaster for my DAR chapter, and I received an inquiry asking for a genealogy software recommendation. Right up my alley, and I was very delighted to answer!

DH and I fixed Mae's swing on Friday night, and it was useful today in helping her sleep. Libby did not want to go to sleep at night. I wish I could let her stay up and we didn't have to be on a schedule.

Birthday update 3

2011-10-01T15:25:00.000-07:00

The cruise last night was very delightful. It was not raining, and we feasted on salmon and Yamhill Valley pinot noir. A documentary was being filmed, so you might see me in the background on a future History Channel show. This is definitely the off-season for the river cruise. It gets dark so early that you can't see much on the river. But the dinner was far from being sold out, so we were upgraded to a better table, which was really nice. The cruise company is called Portland Spirit, and we'll definitely go out with them again (this was our 3rd time already).

Birthday update 2

2011-09-30T10:33:00.000-07:00

So, today is birthday-observed, and I was so surprised to come downstairs to see gifts and flowers from DH! I was just looking forward to our dinner cruise tonight and not expecting anything else. Weather seems nice, still not sure what I'm going to wear. Which reminds me, I wanted to add buttons to a jacket for tonight, I better go do that now.

2011-09-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

One of my neighbors appears to be a hoarder. It's a family of 3 adults, I think. They leave their garage door open much of the time, and inside the garage is a ginormous mountain of stuff. There is a narrow walkway on either side of the mountain, but otherwise, it's just a rounded huge mountain that is the size of the garage. I looked for a suitable image on Google that I could paste here for an example, but I couldn't find one. All the garage-hoarder photos were actually insufficient to show the size of this pile, or were too neat (garage was full of stacks). This is a true pile, a precarious pile, not a bunch of stacks. I will have to stealthily take a photo when I can. The eldest of the 3 adults frequently sits in a chair outside. I'll need to be careful not to take the photo while he is there. When I first encountered the pile, I stopped and stared and started laughing out load, and THEN I saw the old man watching me, so I had to turn my laughter into a nod and "good morning".

Birthday update

2011-09-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

Blogger offered to update my template and I stupidly clicked on something and it broke my design. Sigh. I don't have time to fix it right now.

It was a great birthday. Lots of nice notes on Facebook, lots of surprise gifts and phone calls and people remembering the date, very nice.

Tried to watch DWTS and work at the same time, but it was too hard to focus. I worked on the diary project instead. I need to finish it soon because there is a part 2 that needs to be finished in a couple of months and it will take longer.

Libby cried in her sleep a little bit but I didn't have to go to her.

2011-09-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday. I nearly forgot it, as I nearly forget it every year. But DH remembered and so did my sister, as always. Among other things, she got me a box of my favorite pens, which are the only pens that I will use, so I was thrilled to stock up. I can now use my favorite pen to write in my notebook that I wrote about yesterday.

DH and some friends are taking me on a dinner cruise on the river on Friday. It is our 2nd time on this dinner cruise. I'm looking forward to it.

White girl, organized

2011-09-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

So, in an attempt to organize my thoughts (which are just a stream-of-consciousness to-do list), I decided I needed a spiral notebook with tabs, that is small enough to fit in my purse. I found it at Target in the form of an Oxford Just-Flip-It. This way I can use tabs to categorize my projects, and individual index cards to further sub-categorize.

I had been using my phone for notes, but it's too cumbersome to type on the little screen, and it lacks my genius category-sub-category filing system. So now I don't need to type everything into my phone, but I still need my phone to be "smart" and access the Internet.

This means that to be truly organized I have to carry my phone, note cards, and a pen with me at all times.

I am reminded of the brilliant Stuff White People Like entry about moleskine notebooks. Specifically the best line, about how white people put their ideas into computers, unless it's a great idea and then they write it down by hand. The whole entry is freaking hilarious though, click on the link above to read it in full.

They had moleskine notebooks at Target, but they are not spiral-bound, so I was able to resist them. I need my notebook to lay flat. I imagine though, that I am not otherwise excused from my extremely white behavior.

Moving the rocks

2011-09-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I shoveled rocks in our back "yard" in preparation for putting in a small playhouse for Libby (and eventually, Mae). I probably moved about 10 or more buckets of rocks, until Libby starting eating mud and we had to go back inside. I'm just trying to clear about 16 square feet. It hardly looks like I did anything. Underneath the top layer of rocks is a layer of rocky soil. DH went out and bought a pickaxe so we can break it up easier. The yard is not level, so we will need to dig a hole and then backfill until it is level. But, for a roughly 4' x 4' area, I doubt it will take too long.

Libby took a nap and then we went to play at the park.

I stayed up late working on the diary project and trying to organize my thoughts.

I want more

2011-09-24T00:23:00.000-07:00

Libby did the sign language for "more" about a dozen times today, and it was the cutest thing. She can communicate quite a bit now, between sign language and single words. I think "all done" is her first sentence of 2 words.

Her sitter brought a dinosaur book today and she is fascinated by it and wanted to me read it 100x tonight, and also she read it to me, babbling quite a bit.

I made a couple of observations from the book and her reaction to it.

First, I see a lot more dinosaurs have been invented since I was a kid. When I was a kid, there were only 5 dinosaurs. T. Rex, brontosaurus (who I know no longer exists (I mean, the name, not the lizard, I know they are extinct)), stegosaurus, triceratops, and pterodactyl. Now there are about 20, all with strange unpronounceable names.

Second, it is apparent that the collective unconscious does exist, and within it is an innate fascination with dinosaurs, especially strong in children. I don't know how else to explain the fact that every child loves dinosaurs. DH says it is because they are mysterious due to being extinct. Wrong, wrong, wrong I say! Libby is too young to understand the concept of extinct, and yet she possesses the usual fascination anyway! DH says, well, it is because they are so big. Wrong again! Libby is looking at a cardboard book of pictures of dinosaur heads, with nothing else in the pictures for scale. She has no idea how big they are! And yet she is utterly fascinated! Read it again, read it again, more, more, more!

The hard is what makes it great

2011-09-22T00:13:00.000-07:00

I watched the first episode of season 13 Dancing With the Stars on the web while rocking Mae to sleep. Nothing very memorable, but the first episode never really is. Not sure I'll keep watching this season, though. I'm not interested in any of the "stars" other than the professional dancers.

I love it when the stars complain that dancing is hard. The show always films every single star having some kind of breakdown and confessing that dancing is a lot harder than they ever thought it would be. I never get sick of these moments. They are favorites for DH and me, both. That is because we know what they are talking about. Not that we ever had such a breakdown. Dancing is fun. Dancing in your living room is easy. Dancing in a club is a little harder. Dancing competitively is really hard. But, to paraphrase Tom Hanks as Jimmy Dugan in A League of Their Own, the hard... is what makes it great.

It took me a year of consistent weekly lessons before I could dance without counting, before I could actually listen to the music and not think about my feet.

Then you need a good partner. A really good partner. You do not need chemistry with your dance partner in the way non-dancers tend to believe. With a good partner you will have a good dance connection, but that partner can be your sibling or someone significantly older or younger or the sweaty ugly guy, it doesn't matter in dance, you just dance. A good partner knows how to dance and lead or follow and is uninhibited.

Finally you need a good song. I think this element is discounted on DWTS, but in my opinion you can have dance experience and a great partner, but if you don't connect to the song you will not have as much fun and the audience can tell.

But, if you do connect to the song and to your partner, if everything lines up right and you're in the zone -

There is a moment where your feet and your ears and your partner are so in synch that you don't even have to think about what you are doing. And you look good. And you know it, but you don't even care that you look good. It's hard to describe the feeling. I've never felt a runner's high, but to me I imagine it being similar, especially since I have heard runners describe being "in the zone" as well. It doesn't happen with every dance. But when it does, it is great, and you don't forget it.

And that is why inevitably every single star also confesses that being on the show is the best most fun thing they have ever done, ever. I never get sick of those moments either. Maybe I will keep watching this season, after all.

2011-09-21T00:11:00.000-07:00

Mae had her 2-month checkup yesterday and is doing great. She is sleeping less now.

Libby is starting to need a daily nap, but we're not used to having a nap in the schedule considering that she has never really napped before. But she wears out and gets really sad/cranky early in the evening. She went to bed early tonight as a result, so I guess she'll be up early in the morning. Sux for me because it's after midnight and I'm still not asleep.

The babies are on kind of different sleep schedules, so this is challenging for me to get my work done.

DH started night shift tonight. I thought it was only going to be for 6 months while he finishes a masters degree, but now we're looking at 18 months. Someone at the school couldn't figure out the difference between 2012 and 2013. Disappointing.

I can't remember anything else from the last 2 days, thus ends my update.

What we did this weekend

2011-09-19T00:37:00.000-07:00

DH made about 20 quarts of the most beautiful and delicious turkey soup.

I used recipes from savingdinner.com to create a preparedness pantry. This box contains complete ingredients (except water) for 8 meals. I like this better than our old storage pantry, because with our old pantry I was still never quite sure what to eat when the power went out, even though we had a ton of stuff put up. I remember when the power went out in our previous Portland apartment I had a freezer meal prepared and I simply re-heated it on the propane grill. This box kind of combines the 2 ideas and is also portable.

2011-09-17T23:27:00.000-07:00

Yankee Candle Splash of Rain is a really good fragrance.

Today it rained a little in Portland. We've seen a few red leaves here and there. Have to admit that fall is on the way.

Libby has reached an age where she seems to really need a playmate. She likes to go outside, but when we go in the back "yard", there is nothing for her to do except pick up rocks. I know I've complained a lot about the space before. Here is a video that I recorded the day before her birthday (click here), so you can get the idea of just how small the space is and how horrible. Also it is a freaking cute video. It's back when Libby was still a baby. She doesn't look anything like this anymore. This is what she looks like now:

Where'd she get that curly hair?

The video opens just to the right of the back door, where you can see you step out onto a concrete patio and then there is the air conditioning unit. Surrounding the small patio, which is entirely taken up by our grill and patio table, is an area entirely covered with rocks. That is it. If you're not thinking much, you might think, "Rocks. Pretty, I guess. And practical, since you don't have to mow anything. No maintenance." But you'd be wrong. Our landlord says the rocks grow mildew and have to be treated every 6 months. They apparently are lousy at acting as mulch, because I still have to pull weeds. I pulled a forest of weeds a week or so ago. And they don't make much sense even if they didn't grow things. They effectively reduce the size of the yard! Because no one can do anything in the rocky area! You can't put furniture on it. You can't put plants in flowerpots on it. You can't play on it, especially if you're a one-year-old. Why put rocks down? Why didn't the owner just pave over the area and extend the patio? I'm baffled by the decision to put the rocks down. To make things even worse, if you can imagine it, the area is not level (they didn't even bother to use the rocks to level the space), and there is some kind of clay underneath with poor drainage, so the mildew really comes as no surprise.

Our neighbor told us that our current landlords are not to blame. The homeowner before them put the rocks down. And was real proud of himself, apparently. Told our neighbor that he used it as a dog run and just hosed it down when the dog was done. Which is disgusting and another reason not to let my kid play on the rocks.

So anyway, lately she has been asking to go play in the back, but when she gets out there, there isn't much to do. When it was hot, I put out a teeny wading pool and I turned the hose into a water fountain for her to play in. But now that it's not so hot, I'd rather not do the water, and she just goes out and looks around like, "now what?" And eventually ends up playing with the rocks, pathetically. I've been trying to think of something I could do to entertain her. It occurred to me that we could put a swing set in the area without even having to move the rocks. But I'm not sure about that. Good ones are expensive. Then I thought about putting a playhouse out there. But, good ones are expensive.

DH and I agreed that while we are thinking about what to do, we are definitely going to relocate the rocks. All we need for that is a shovel. We used to have a shovel. A big one. I had to use it to dig up giant dandelions at the mountain house. I guess it didn't make it over here in the move.

So today I took Libby to the toy store. I was going to look at play houses or play tents. They had no play houses and only one play tent, and it didn't have great reviews online. I've seen better ones on Amazon. So we didn't get a play tent today, but we did get a couple new books and interactive toys and balls and pairs of shoes and sandals, since she has outgrown her other shoes. I also got a rubber mat to put down outside when we move the rocks. That can be the base for her play house or tent.

She was a very good girl at the store and was delighted to play with her new things when we got home. She seemed really happy, which made me really happy. She has had a horrible diaper rash since last night, the worst I think I've ever seen. That had been making her unhappy. The new toys were a good distraction.

Mae pretty much slept all day, as usual, and DH made turkey soup and is canning it now. After Libby went to bed I nearly wrapped up my preparedness pantry project, but I'm missing a few ingredients. After that it seems I need to work on regular pantry. It's overflowing with mismatched items again. Mismatched meaning a single ingredient that was purchased without a purpose in mind and may or may not go with any other ingredients in the pantry.

2011-09-16T23:18:00.000-07:00

I wore clothes out of my own closet all this week, for the first time in 2 years. It felt really good and I got compliments from DH. No more maternity clothes or Tshirts and sweats.

Had lots of energy lately...well, more and more every day since Mae's birth, but even more since our back-to-work routines are getting ironed out. I'm no longer nursing Mae and so I can drink caffeinated beverages again. This also feels really really good.

Worked on a preparedness-pantry project today. Also the diary project. And spent some time backing up video files that had never been backed up before. Still working on that - there's a lot of video to go through. Libby has started taking naps or going to bed early, so this lets me get a little more done in the day than I would have before.

Also spent some unscheduled time trying to figure out how to repair this laptop. Sadly, I have come to the conclusion that I would not recommend the HP Pavilion dv6 series. The keyboard is too strange with built in hotkeys that go off at the slightest touch, and now the fan has become annoyingly noisy (though rather quiet as I type this - but sounded like a hair dryer when I was Googling for fixes). When I Googled the noisy fan problem, I found about a hundred or more entries from people complaining of the same, and evidently there really isn't a fix and HP claims it's not a repair issue. I'm still debating if I will take it in for warranty service or not.

It's a trap

2011-09-13T18:00:00.000-07:00

We consumers are trained to believe that buying in bulk is the most economical way to buy. So, when we're in the grocery store and we're looking to get the best price on items we use a lot, we should reach for the largest package, right? Wrong! It's a trap! That is, if the bulk item you're buying is Viva paper towels, Ritz crackers, Swiffer duster refills, or any kind of string cheese, to name 4 examples. If you look at the shelf tag at the calculated price per item, the smaller packages are cheaper. I've known this about Viva paper towels for years, but for the other items, it seems like a new trend.

I don't have any problem with the manufacturers for trying to make a buck, but I still want to warn everyone...it's a trap!

2011-09-12T22:06:00.000-07:00

I worked all last week and it was nice. DH went back to work today and said he had a great day. Not much else to report for the week. Liberty is being a great big sister. Today I had to leave the girls together for a minute while I ran to get Mae a bottle. When I came back, I found Libby sitting next to Mae, quietly reading a book. She did not have a book when I left her, so that means she had walked to her room and gotten the book, then walked back to Mae to sit down to read. Sounds boring I suppose, but I was really proud of her for not pitching a fit and crying until I returned. Also for caring to sit next to her sister, who WAS crying.

I Finally See The Dawn Arriving...

2011-09-05T23:14:00.000-07:00

...I see beyond the road I'm driving...

But more about that in a minute.

All of our summer guests have gone and the guest room has reverted back to being my office. Just in time for me to return to work tomorrow. I'm very excited about that.

We ate dinner on the patio tonight, all 4 of us. The babies seemed to like it just fine. I had an idea to put a single swingset in the otherwise unusable part of our back "yard". Gotta think about that some more.

I made a strawberry-basil pie. A good experiment, we liked the flavor combo very much, but the "pie" recipe was terrible - more like a soup recipe. The recipe author even admitted that it was bad, but that it was developed for a magazine and all they really cared about was how it photographed. I'll have to try some other variation before it's worthy to be in my cookbook. Boiled over in the oven and I had to run the self-clean feature, so we're all choking on fumes now. But still, a good experiment.

Spent the weekend watching streaming video of DMB at the Gorge, and it made me re-think wanting to go to the Gorge after seeing it on TV. It's a venue where apparently no one has a good view of the stage. You could be in the front row and not have a good view of the stage. It's just too big. Of course I do understand that the view is not the reason for going. But if I were going to spend that kind of money I'd like to have it all. The view and the fandom experience, both. Perhaps it is best to just watch it on TV and interact with the fans live on a FB feed, which is what I did.

The really good news lately is that DH spoke with a career mentor and now has a really clear career path to follow. Before that, we'd had an idea of what he would like to do and how to get there, but we were still taking it day by day, with no real idea of what the future would bring or how to get from one step to the next. He has to finish a masters degree, then go to another school to study for a nurse practitioner license, complete a preceptorship, and then get a NP job or open his own practice. We had a clear plan in place for him to finish his masters degree, but that was it. Thanks to his mentor, we now know the exact school he will pursue for the NP license, who his preceptor will be, and an offer to take over a practice from someone who is retiring. We can now see down the road for miles and miles, and it is a good feeling.

No Reason To Get Excited

2011-09-02T14:15:00.000-07:00

Dave Matthews Band at The Gorge weekend starts tonight. Since it is unlikely that I'll be able to participate in this annual 3-night concert anytime soon, even though it's practically in my own backyard, I ordered the web stream instead. Watching in fits and starts from home is a far cry from the live experience. I wonder if it would have been better if I just skipped it.

Sometimes there's just no going back.

2011-09-01T22:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we all went to the zoo with Grandma. We had gone about a month ago with Ada and did about half of the zoo. Yesterday we walked the other direction and did the other half. For me, the highlights were the bald eagle at the end of the bird show, who flew over when we just happened to be walking by, and the orangatans. They have a huge one who looks exactly like every picture of Bigfoot I have ever seen.

I don't know why it is not obvious to everyone that orangatans live in the Pacific Northwest and are just very good at concealing themselves.

I am not sure why the orangatans really affected me. I guess because they have faces and eyes like ours and they walked right up to the glass and made eye contact.

They looked kind of sad.

They seemed to like to shred paper. They had a huge place to live with an indoor and outdoor area, and the indoor area was littered with paper, including shredded National Geographic magazines and a Nilla Wafers box.

Oh yeah, one more highlight. When we were hanging around "Africa", letting Libby toddle around, we were near an interactive display of African drums. Kind of loud and headache-inducing, but Libby and I were toddling in that area when a real African family walked by. Very black skin, short hair, safari-type clothes. Mom, dad, and 2 little boys. The mom was quiet and walked tall. She looked like a model, kind of. I wondered if they thought the zoo "Africa" was stupid. Of course they did. Even I thought it was stupid. So I was kind of embarrassed. Then the dad saw the drums, and he ran over and started playing them. Not a headache-banging, but a real beat. His wife joined him, with less gusto, but she knew what she was doing. The boys played along. Now Libby and I just stopped right in front of them and stared. We were the only ones watching; the zoo was kind of empty and most people were under the impression that "Africa" was closed that day and so weren't walking through anyway. So we were staring, right across from the dad, and I hoped he knew we were staring out of respect and not because we thought they were some kind of African exhibit. They only stopped playing when one of the babies ran away and they had to chase him. "That was fun!" the dad yelled with an accent, and I applauded, and he flashed a smile at me and said Thanks.

More zoo pictures:

DH and giraffes

DH, Libby, and lions

One pig waking up another

Zebra

Giraffes

Playing in Africa

2011-08-28T22:25:00.000-07:00

The day after my last post, my office called me to inquire when I'd be returning from maternity leave, and offered me additional work, which I happily accepted for 2 reasons. First, I'm not in a position to say no, with DH out of work. Second, it fulfills a need in myself that DH and I had discussed before I went on leave. So I am feeling very positive about it even though the details aren't worked out yet.

On Thursday night, DH picked up a temp assignment and worked a night shift. He came home unhappy. We are rethinking the whole plan. I mean, he didn't go to nursing school in order to work a job that is so legally risky we have to keep an attorney on speed dial. That is no way to live. I keep hearing about doctors leaving the field because they can't afford malpractice insurance anymore - well, that type of problem doesn't just apply to doctors.

On Saturday, DH's mom arrived for a weeklong visit. She's helping out with Mae and Libby, and some cooking and cleaning. It's nice to see her and visit. Libby warmed up to her very quickly. Maybe there is a part of Libby that remembers Grandma being there when she was born!

Poor Libby keeps falling down and hitting her head. Yesterday she fell into the dishwasher and gave herself a black eye. Today she hit the same eye in the same place when she fell down and knocked her face into the bed frame. Sheesh!

We have a few Blu-Ray discs that came with digital copies. Did you know that the digital copies expire if you don't install them right away? That stinks!

In the last couple of days I've tried 2 knockoff recipes: Popeyes biscuits, and Milano cookies. Both were failures as knockoffs but still tasted pretty good.

Went to the park today and Libby crashed a play group, played in the drinking fountain, and nearly fell asleep on the swings.

I just like the smell

2011-08-23T12:54:00.000-07:00

Here is a hand lotion that I really like. It is called Vaseline Intensive Healing, and I like the smell. Even though it says it is unfragranced, I think it leaves a significant smell on my hands, kind of powdery. The smell is really good by itself, but it also is associated with a childhood memory. Taken out of context, the memory is not exactly what you would consider good, but for me it is good and I don't mind the smell reminding me of it.

Blackbird fly, blackbird fly

2011-08-20T11:24:00.000-07:00

We are missing the Oregon Air Show this weekend, because the girls are too little to go. But in a way we are not missing it, because it's hosted by the municipal airport that is right behind our house. So yesterday we were treated to aerobatics and jets flying over our house all day. I took Libby out to the back "yard" to play so I could watch, but the first fighter jet screaming overhead scared her and made her cry, so we went back inside.

We went to the park in the evening and while Libby played, I could see the parachuters and aerobatic teams performing.

Can't wait til the girls are big enough to see the air show!

2011-08-19T11:24:00.000-07:00

DH thought Libby had a "tantrum" yesterday when we attempted to transition her from a milk bottle to a milk cup (a failed attempt), but then he watched some episodes of Nanny 911 and decided we had NOT witnessed an actual tantrum, ha ha.

He said as long as he is home, he will take us to the park every day. Woo hoo! We are looking forward to these family outings.

I accidentally started drinking caffeine, but it didn't seem to affect Mae's sleeping at all. Those tricky soda companies! When did they start adding caffeine to cream soda? I thought I was safe there.

Hung up our portrait gallery for the 2nd time last night. It's still on the wall this morning - didn't fall down. A good sign. We use a matched frame "system" that you can buy at Michael's. It comes with hanging hardware and a template to make wall hanging super easy. I'd never used the hardware before since we'd only gone with velcro strips in the past. The hardware and template were easy to use. Recommended.

2011-08-18T00:06:00.000-07:00

Took Libby for a checkup yesterday. Her new doctor is nice. Hope we get to stay with him. She has eczema, which I hope she outgrows. But it's controlled with moisturizer, so I guess that's not so bad. Also the doctor said the fact that she knows how to say words, but refuses to use them, is normal. Ok then.

I made a new dessert tonight, a coconut chocolate layered bar. Speaking of cooking, I've decided to try to find a literary agent to sell publishers on a cookbook idea I've had for a long time. I had previously said I had no interest in selling my idea, but I didn't know really anything about the publishing world, and it recently occurred to me that I sell the idea before I actually have to finish the book. So I thought it might be a fun project for me (collecting rejection letters). I still don't really know anything about the publishing world, but I've done a little research and I guess to start, I need to submit a query, along with some sample recipes, the book's introduction, and some simple marketing ideas. That means I need to write the book's introduction...I only have a brief paragraph written so far. Also I need a list of agents who work with cookbook publishers. I'm a little nervous about writing the intro. But since this is just a hobby and I don't have any money riding on this, it's more fun than nerve-wracking, I think.

After looking at the new Ikea catalog, I took one idea that would work for us, and this led to DH and I coming up with a new layout for our living room. Living space. The area of our open floor plan that has the sofa and TV. It's not really a room. We can only do this after the girls are asleep, so who knows when that will be.

Today is an anniversary. Eight years ago, DH and I met for a dance lesson at The Derby. I reminded him of the date this morning. He thought about it, and he said, "I was late." ha ha! I had forgotten about that.

She now works at TV Guide

2011-08-15T23:45:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention earlier that I sliced the top of my finger off while doing dishes today. Ugh. Hey, at least we still have health insurance. I think.

Spent a few minutes watching videos of Libby that DH took over the last year. I'm so glad he took those movies. I had already forgotten precisely how she looked when learning to crawl, or just rolling around on a blanket. I remember she was freakin' cute, but not exactly how freakin' cute. Need to back up those videos to more than one place. New acronym I learned. LOCKSS. Lots of copies keeps stuff safe.

2011-08-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

Took Libby to the park yesterday and she ran around for a long time. We all love the park. We found a new park that is actually called Powerlines Park, because it is a narrow strip of land under the power lines. You have to see it to believe it, so I'll try to get pictures next time. That is not the park we take Libby to.

DH washed our sheepskin rug in the washing machine and it turned out great. It said it was not washable, but rules are for suckers.

DH interviewed with an agency today and so I was home with the girls by myself for a few hours. Went ok.

Been working on a new meal-planning system since I still hate grocery shopping and I also hate meal-planning. Working from cookbooks didn't help me out after Mae was born.

Have to go back to parenting now

Getting Good At Starting Over

2011-08-13T20:17:00.000-07:00

It's been a few days since Ada left, and we've been managing fine, though we miss her. I feel lucky that DH has been home with me. Two adults and 2 babies seems to work out ok, as long as I get up in the morning an hour before everyone else. I'm not looking forward to being just one adult with 2 babies when DH goes back to work, but I'm practicing when DH goes out to run errands. For those who don't know already, he lost his job, the job that was the reason we moved here, the job that he was promised would be so successful that they asked him to turn down the other job offer he had accepted the day before. No matter, we are survivors.

I now understand the phenomenon of why there are fewer photos of the 2nd child. It's not because the 2nd child is less interesting - that's not true. It's because the parents don't have nearly as much time as soon as the 2nd child is born.

But, speaking of photos, here's a group photo with Ada:

Professional family photo:

We have been shopping for a new health insurance policy, and it's really frustrating. I find it really disappointing that the insurance companies don't advertise their compliance with HIPAA-portable policies. DH says that's because it's good business not to advertise such a thing and that I shouldn't hold it against them or consider them evil heartless bureaucrats.

I've heard people say that they read a lot more after getting a Kindle. I just use the free Kindle app, and I agree, I am reading a lot more. I am reading a lot more even though I am working from the moment my feet hit the floor until the moment I go to sleep. That is because I can read when I'm feeding the baby or sitting in the doctor's office waiting room, or any other such time when I'm technically still being a mom, but also have an "idle" moment.

I most recently finished a novel called The Winter Sea. I read it in just a few days. Takes place in Scotland and touches on family history/genealogy, which I found interesting. I would like to start spending more time on genealogy in the near future. DH's mom is coming to visit and is going to help me out with his side of the family. Looking forward to it, though I don't know exactly how to fit it in to my schedule. 15 minutes at a time, I guess.

This house is made of cardboard

2011-08-09T18:36:00.000-07:00

We dropped off our niece at the airport today...sniff...

One thing she was helping us with was some final unpacking and decorating. We like to use the 3M velcro-type things to hang pictures on the wall. It makes the frames easy to move, and there is no damage to the wall to patch and paint afterward. These have worked well for us in our last 3 homes, but in our current house, the walls seem to be too textured, and this is made worse by the use of glossy paint in many of the rooms. The stickers just don't seem to hold well. Some heavy frames, and one not-so-heavy frame, have fallen off the wall straight to the floor. Little to no damage to the frames, but they left significant damage to the baseboards, even if the frame was small and lightweight. Why? Because THE BASEBOARDS ARE MADE OF PAPER!!!!

I have never seen such a thing before.

They look like regular wood baseboards. But they aren't. The pieces we picked up off the floor are similar to corrugated cardboard, only lighter weight than that. Utterly bizarre.

We have similar complaints about our faux-wood floors which can be scratched by a single stray grain of kitty litter underfoot, and the exterior of the home which more closely resembles cardboard than wood, as well. Oh yeah, and the completely unusable back "yard", though that is not the fault of the builder so much as the property owner.

Although we still love living here, it's the love only a renter could have. We've added many things to our wish list for the home we'll buy someday. We now know that we'll be looking for a home built in the '70s or prior.

Sightseeing

2011-08-07T23:01:00.000-07:00

DH stayed home with Libby for the last 2 days so that I could take my niece sightseeing. Yesterday we visited the Columbia Gorge - Vista House, Multnomah Falls, and Horsetail Falls. Horsetail Falls might just be my new favorite. I went down and stuck my toe in the water. Looking forward to returning for a picnic or something when the girls are older.

Today we went to Voodoo Donuts, Powell's Books, Moonstruck Chocolate, and the Pearl District.

Mae slept through both trips. Here she is asleep at Powell's.

Mae's blog

2011-08-07T22:57:00.001-07:00

Baby Mae has her own blog now, and it's here:
http://mae-flower.blogspot.com/

Or you can link to it from the sidebar...

2011-08-04T23:10:00.000-07:00

Our niece has been keeping us motivated to get the final unpacking done. She helped motivate DH to organize the garage, we're almost done decorating the wall unit mantelpiece over the fireplace, and we hung up our portrait gallery. Tomorrow we will go have new portraits taken with Mae.

Our neighbor is letting us use their trash can while they are on vacation, which is motivation for us to fill it up. We're down to a few more boxes and I hope to have them emptied and gone by the time Ada leaves next week.

DH took Liberty to a new (to us) park a couple days ago and said it was really great, so we went back today so I could see it too. It's very posh and so hilariously perfect, even filled with perfect baseball teams and perfect picnicking families, that I felt like I was in the Truman Show for a minute. Libby loves the playground and played a long time, which made it pretty easy to put her to bed tonight.

A really huge, posh, awesome park...one more reason to love the city!

Pest Control

2011-08-02T22:53:00.000-07:00

Our former landlords (from the mountain house) called today to seek our advice about getting rid of a skunk. It seems that our black-and-white friend moved in again while the house has been vacant, and the smell has been "driving us batty", the landlords said on my voicemail. Hmmm. How to respond? Considering that when I first complained about the smell, they implied that I was imagining things and basically gave me the brush off.

It seems to be spider season here at our new place in the city. This simply means taking a broom and whisking away small spiderwebs every morning before going out to the car. At the mountain house, instead of a 99-cent broom being our spider-removing-device, we had to use a fence post.

I love the city.

2011-08-01T18:56:00.000-07:00

Mostly quiet day today. Mae kept me up half the night, but I still managed to get out of bed at a reasonable hour, in preparation for the approaching day when I will have to care for 2 babies by myself. I confess I'm not looking forward to that, but I'm trying not to stress about it too much. I have my niece's help for the next week, and maybe even DH's help after that, since he is back on a normal "day" schedule again, which I am loving.

Mae is 2 weeks old and thriving, in my opinion, but she has her 2-week checkup tomorrow to confirm. She is sort of a picky eater, but I think she's doing ok in spite of that. Post-partum for me is going well too, though I'm apparently the only mammal on the planet who experiences a negative physical reaction to the natural oxytocin hormone. Oh well. Knowing what's causing the symptoms helps me to cope, so I'm actually doing just fine.

DH is making homemade pizza for dinner.

Not the greatest day

2011-07-31T22:46:00.000-07:00

Spent a few hours out at the doctor for treatment of post-partum symptoms - nothing serious - just annoying. Mae took her first bottle today. I'm glad. I had tried to give her a bottle before and she wouldn't take it.

We love to watch the river flow

2011-07-30T21:24:00.000-07:00

The whole family went to Portland to show our niece the Saturday Market, Willamette River, various bridges, Waterfront Park, our famous food trucks, and the downtown area. We had a great time. It seemed like everyone in Portland was there today, since it was a nice day. We saw a parade of pirates, lots of street musicians, a guy walking a marionette, and numerous other interesting people. DH took Libby to play in a sidewalk fountain. She loved it.

New room

2011-07-29T23:15:00.000-07:00

Our neighbor gave us a baby gate that they weren't using, and my niece and DH installed it on the front porch so that the porch has now become an enclosed outdoor room that is safe for Libby to play in. I brought my 2 patio chairs, with new chair pads, from the back "yard" to the porch, and it's become a really relaxing place to sit and enjoy the warm weather (or wet weather) since the porch is covered.

In other news, I have to retract the statement I made the other day about DH graduating from his residency program. The person who said that did not have the authority to make such a statement. I can't help but notice a whole lotta similiarities between DH's experience and the one on the jury trial I sat on several years ago (where incidentally, the plaintiff won). I'm bitter.

How to lose 20 pounds in one week

2011-07-28T15:04:00.000-07:00

Well, she's here! Our baby girl Mae Flower arrived on Monday the 18th, just as scheduled. Seems she probably would have arrived Monday even if not scheduled, because I was already in labor when we arrived at the hospital for labor induction Monday morning at 7am. The doctor decided to proceed with helping the labor along. It seemed to go quite slowly, then became very rapid toward the end (as predicted by hospital staff), and Mae was born at 7:47pm.

It was only after comparing Libby's delivery with Mae's delivery did we finally comprehend just how sick Libby was when she was born, or what a healthy "normal" delivery is supposed to look like. There were so many differences that I won't list them all, but here are a few examples:

When Mae was born, they put her on my stomach and left her there, and let Dad cut the cord. When Libby was born, they took her away from me and cut the cord themselves even though they had previously promised that Dad could do it. They did not bring her back to me until after she had been weighed and bathed, etc, a procedure I assumed was normal at the time.
Another difference is that when Mae started coughing up amniotic fluid, it appeared clear and as runny as water. She did stop breathing the first time, but the nurse told me that was only out of surprise or fear, and I think I agreed. When Libby was coughing up fluid, it was not clear, and she stopped breathing because she was choking.
Mae was strong enough to hold onto one of our fingers with her hand as soon as she was born. Libby couldn't do that.

It did make me wonder if anything would have been different if we'd had the healthy baby before the sickly one. In the end, I suppose not, since Libby is now perfectly healthy and eats and breathes without any trouble. But maybe I wouldn't have checked Libby out of the hospital so early the first time and we wouldn't have had to return. I don't know. But we're just ecstatic that Mae is doing so well.

She was born at 7lbs 9oz and her doctors and nurses all say she is at the "head of the class" in terms of weight gain, strength, and ability to feed. I'm not so sure about her ability to feed, I think she was just showing off for the nurse that day, but we're working on it.

My health has improved greatly starting just a couple days after delivery. The scale says I've lost 20 lbs from my pre-delivery weight, and my energy and mental health are bouncing back more quickly than I thought they would.

Fever

2011-07-16T23:28:00.000-07:00

Libby was sick with fever all day. At times she could not even hold her own head up and just leaned on me very pathetically. By evening she finally perked up and after her bath was cool again and kicked her ball around for quite some time. I'm greatly relieved.

Here is a photo of her laying down with me when she was quite feverish.

Have been trying to update my iPod in preparation for checking in to the hospital on Monday. Have not used iTunes in quite some time and now it is nearly broken! So difficult to update my iPod!! What happened? My niece says she has the same problem with hers after switching to a new computer as well. Ugh.

Bad Moon Rising

2011-07-16T16:48:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if there is a bad moon over our house, or if we're unbelievably lucky. I guess it depends on how you look at it. But we took Libby to the public baby wading pool yesterday, for the 2nd time, and for the 2nd time she was sick the next day. She woke up this morning with a raging fever - I have never felt someone so hot. Bad luck? Or was it incredibly good luck that I'm not in labor? My niece and I took Libby to the urgent care center and she was diagnosed with an ear infection. I'm not sure if I should blame the pool, but the more I think about the concept of a baby wading pool, the grosser it is. It is a pool with very little water in it, that is full of babies. Think about that. I think from now on we will stick with either our own wading pool, or the adult pool.

Photos from the pool:

2011-07-14T22:27:00.000-07:00

Our niece arrived yesterday to help us out and stay for a month. I also started feeling stranger than usual yesterday - new pains, was hoping they would turn into contractions, but so far they have not. My doctor helped us schedule labor induction for Monday morning, assuming that Mae doesn't arrive over the weekend. We chose Monday because DH still doesn't have vacation time and this will be best for his work schedule. I've already been given some grief about messing with nature, but decided that a retiree doesn't get to have the same opinion as a hard-working family like ours. So, if all goes well, we'll meet Mae on Monday. I know labor induction doesn't always work, so I'm hoping for the best or a natural L&D before Monday.

DH lost his wedding ring at the airport when we were picking up our niece, but luckily we were able to retrieve it from Lost and Found today. Also wanted to report that PDX has the most awesome parking structure I have ever seen. Every parking space has a light over it that is either red or green, depending on if the space is occupied or vacant. Further, there is a green-light-count at the end of each aisle and the entrance to each level, so you know how many spaces are available. No more driving around aimlessly until you find a space. DH says this is possibly the best use of technology that he has ever seen.

2011-07-09T21:44:00.000-07:00

Dismayed today by the return of symptoms to Libby and me. However, for me, I had some unusual-enough symptoms that now I am able to suspect allergies. I've even been able to possibly identify it as allergy to birch pollen. I didn't really believe it before. Our previous symptoms were so severe that I just could not believe them to be from allergies. I'm still not sure, but had thought maybe we had both allergies and a virus. Today's flare-up was likely allergies. Looks like a trip to a specialist is in my future. I read somewhere today that after you move to a new area, it takes 2-3 years to develop local allergies. We have been here almost 3 years now.

2011-07-08T22:53:00.000-07:00

Had doctor appt in morning, all is normal.

DH was told last night that he officially graduated from the residency program and now may work as an R.N. on his own. Great news! We are very proud.

My own work is not going according to schedule due to situations I can not control. It's frustrating since I happen to know that the person who is holding up my final task could have done me a favor and finished her part of the project a couple days ago, but chose not to.

As a result, I'm feeling overwhelmed by (self-imposed) deadlines. My niece arrives on Wednesday and there are certain things I'd like to have accomplished by then. I'm feeling pulled in different directions and easily sidetracked.

A good day

2011-07-07T14:15:00.000-07:00

We were too sick to go out on July 4th, so we just listened to fireworks at home. Libby didn't even seem to notice the noises outside and had no trouble sleeping through them. We were given some antibiotics. Either the meds are working or the steam is working or the virus has run its course, but somehow we are finally on the mend. I only have a cough at night now, and it's not nearly as bad as it was a few nights ago.

On a whim yesterday, we went to JCPenney Portrait Studio to get some maternity and family photos taken. Really good prices and much more professional than the Olan Mills studio we went to about a year ago. Libby was scared of the photographer at first, but as soon as he got out a teddy bear and started tickling her with the bear, she cheered right up.

I had groceries delivered from Safeway, a service that I love. I think it's a good trick to saving money because it eliminates all impulse buys in the store, and it forces us to make a list, which forces us to plan some meals ahead.

In the evening I actually found time to just sit and watch a 40 minute TV show with DH, something we haven't done in a long time. Then DH made homemade pizza using the homemade bread dough I'd prepared earlier that day.

All in all it was a pretty good day.

I don't hate to cook

2011-07-03T18:36:00.000-07:00

A couple days ago I downloaded some free public domain (antique) cookbooks for my Kindle app. They aren't very good. But today I got a sales pitch email from Amazon offering me some new cookbooks which did look really, really good. I don't cook all that often, but I do really enjoy it. In the next phase of my life, which I expect may start a year from now (or more), I intend to do a lot more cooking. Right now it is not possible unless Libby is asleep or unless I have extra time to pay a babysitter. A toddler in the kitchen means a helper who wants to play in the fridge or the cupboards or see what's on the stovetop.

We visited a couple more doctors who still disagree on what the bug is that we all have. But DH seems to have hit on a cure by turning our house into a giant humidifier. We have been boiling huge pots of water on the stove for close to 24 hours now, and although we are certainly not cured, there is definite improvement in our symptoms. I really do not want to have bronchitis when I go into labor. That is not going to help with a successful normal delivery.

Bring it on

2011-07-01T21:31:00.000-07:00

Our cold-flu thing continues to worsen. I have lost my voice and Libby and I are developing bronchitis. I spend each moment focusing on relaxing and moving as little as possible so that I don't aggravate a coughing attack. Libby remains as joyful as ever. Today she was inconsolable for a total of 10 minutes during a bronchial attack. Otherwise she has spent the day giggling and dancing and running around the house, petting the cat, and playing with her new baby doll that we presented to get her used to the idea of a new baby. My only concern is that she is fascinated with the doll's blinking eyes, and pokes them hard with her thumb, and I don't want her to be poking Mae's eyes.

She is such a constant joy to us, that we are very excited to be having another baby girl.

Other than the pleasure our babies have brought us, 2011 continues to hold the title of the Worst Year this family has ever had. Our health issues and employment issues continue to kick us in the groin whenever possible. Yesterday we received one (or several?) more kick(s), but I'm now of the attitude to just say Bring It On. Which I guess is the fight part of fight-or-flight, or some call it survivalist mode. It was kind of funny that I recognized that about myself, because this morning our babysitter looked at me and said, "You're in survivalist mode." I said, "You have no idea..."

2011-06-29T13:47:00.000-07:00

Everyone in the house is sick with allergies, supposedly. The allergies are so bad, however, that it appears that we all have the flu. Fever, fatigue, swollen glands...how is that allergies? If this is what allergies in our new town are, I hate this town and I'm moving to Hawaii.

So miserable that I hardly have the energy to complain. All I can do is sleep and try to get through moment to moment.

2011-06-26T21:58:00.000-07:00

DH had the last 2 nights off, so I did not write so we could hang out as a family. Libby has added several new words to her vocabulary in the last 2 days. Yesterday she correctly used "hat" and "tickle". Today she identified "nest" and "apple" from her alphabet magnets, and also said "kitty kitty" in reference to Zack, but it sounds like "tikki tikki".

She and I both seem to suffer from seasonal allergies here at our new house.

We took her to the big swimming pool yesterday and she liked it.

2011-06-22T21:51:00.000-07:00

Difficult night last night which led to difficult morning. DH says my condition requires us to hire more help, which I both resent and agree with.

He is buying me a new chair that is supposed to make me more comfortable. Even though I am only working for 2 more weeks and theoretically will only be pregnant up to 4 more weeks. At first I resisted, but since I do have some major work to complete before July 8 and this will mean a lot of sitting, now I am grateful.

Typical day today.

2011-06-19T21:30:00.000-07:00

Was too tired to post yesterday. I had played with Libby all day and after putting her to bed, I wet-mopped the entire downstairs. Afterward my ankles and legs were so tired that even after sleeping for 3 hours they still hurt.

I'm still getting used to the keyboard on my new computer. Still goes haywire from time to time, mostly when I'm on Blogger. I just need to get used to typing more purposefully or something, I guess. I feel like some of the problem is Blogger, because even when I save my work often, sometimes it still deletes itself...

Today is Father's Day and Libby and I gave DH a card that she colored in herself for 2 days (though it's hard to tell that it's 2 days' work, since she mostly just tries to eat the crayons and then put them back in the box), and what I call an "advance copy" of her 12-month baby book. I made it on Shutterfly and it's very pretty, but before I bought additional copies I wanted one as a preview. Now having it in my hands, I do think I need to make some edits before getting additional copies, but DH loved the gift. I knew it would be a perfect gift for Father's Day and so I rushed to finish it as soon as Libby's birthday passed.

Later we drove down to Salem and had dinner at a nice seafood restaurant with one of DH's former co-workers. Libby does not handle long seated dinners very well, so it took a lot to keep her entertained through dinner and dessert. I think some of it was the fact that she's kind of scared of men, and DH's friend's husband was sitting right next to Libby. I ate well and feel like my ribs are breaking.

I heard Boston "Don't Look Back" today, one of my favorites...
I finally see the dawn arriving
I see beyond the road I'm driving

I really would have liked to use that lyric as my blog title today, but it's not yet true. But at least I can say that things have improved since April. At that time I was living hour to hour. Now I can at least live day to day. I can get up in the morning and see my schedule through to bedtime.

2011-06-17T23:59:00.000-07:00

No sitter today, so no work, and I had Libby to myself all day. I blew up a tiny little baby wading pool and put it on the back patio. I can't say back "yard" at this place. I know I haven't posted any photos yet, but it's just a tiny, almost unusable area out back. It's bizarre. But I put down a tablecloth for padding and put the pool down. Libby liked it, even with cold water. She kept trying to put her face in the water. I put her swimsuit on backward. Oops. Need to look up all the "open swim" schedules for the pools we're allowed to go to now.

After playing in the wading pool we went to Gymboree, where they were having a sale, so I picked up some bubbles, a new puzzle, and few "shaker" toys that Libby likes. Been eyeing those for a while, but I knew they were priced high compared to Amazon, so I hadn't bought them before.

I put up 4 very gourmet TV dinners for DH's work lunches. Ham with wild rice, homemade cheese sauce, homemade polenta, and asparagus. Took too long and I might skip that recipe next time. Burned my finger while making polenta.

2011-06-16T23:47:00.000-07:00

The sitter let Libby sleep til 11:30 this morning, even though I said to get her up no later than 10:30. This is why I am posting so late tonight. No sitter tomorrow, so I guess no paying work for me.

After DH went to work, Libby and I tried a local pasta restaurant. I ordered pasta pomodoro and it was nothing like the pasta pomodoro they serve at Maria's Italian Kitchen in California. The local restaurant's sauce was creamy. I prefer a pomodoro that is so chunky that it doesn't resemble "sauce" at all. Oh well. Libby had a few pieces of mac and cheese and a sugar cookie that was pretty good.

Took a nap with Libby from 7-8pm and felt unusually good afterward.
Mae is very squirmacious, almost all the time.

2011-06-15T21:34:00.000-07:00

Today was a better day than yesterday. I had a doctor's appt and then worked (for pay) most of the rest of the day. I was asked to present on a conference call, which was nice for my self esteem. Liberty entertained herself through dinner so I could spend it with DH. We bought a summer pass to all the pools in the area. It was a bit more expensive than I had hoped, because our stupid house is "out of district" even though we live in the park district and I'm sure we have to pay the same taxes as everybody else. Oh wait, did I say "we"? It's probably our landlord who pays them. Well, then I pay them through my rent, ha. Anyway, I turned to DH and complained that it was like Montrose all over again. We lived on a single street that was not part of the city, but was considered unincorporated county, and so did not qualify for most public services. That is how my street is now. My street is actually an un-named side street consisting of 4 houses. There is a sign at the bottom that says my street is not maintained by the county. And evidently we are not serviced by the park district, either. Please, in my next life, can I NOT live on a hill, while pregnant, in an unincorporated area. Thank you.

Anyway, there are 8 pools in the area, and though I don't think we can commit to a full schedule of "Baby & Me" classes, we can at least drop in to Open Swim with Libby in any of the 8 pools, and see how she likes it. Also there are pregnancy fit classes year round, which I reallly wish I had known about sooner. I hope I can attend a few of those as well, but it will be more of a challenge to make it work with DH's schedule and Libby's schedule or a babysitter's schedule.

2011-06-14T21:53:00.000-07:00

Did some good paying work today.

Cleared out a drawer for Mae and got out the newborn clothes. But, can't find the small cloth diapers. I don't understand it. I only packed up 2 baby boxes to go in storage, and we got both of them out, and the cloth diapers aren't in either one. So, there must be a 3rd box that I've forgotten about. This has been such a frustrating move! I guess this is what happens when you pack an entire family in 3 days and then don't have time to unpack! We have lost so many things. It is funny how much previously "lost" stuff we find while we are looking for the currently lost stuff. I just really hope those diapers turn up in the next few weeks. I'm just trying to focus on one box at a time. My niece is coming to help out and maybe she can help do some unpacking as well. Easier for her to bend over than for me!

Struggling with the idea of maternity leave and what to do next. I'm not sure my job will even be there for me when I get back. I am not technically covered by maternity leave law, I think. I work as a contractor and my employer just gives me my job back as a favor. Struggling with the idea of babysitters. DH pointed out that I spend a lot of time doing scheduling, payroll, and billing (for tax break or reimbursement). And I don't get paid for doing all that. It would be both cheaper and easier to enroll Libby in day care for the few hours a day that I work, but DH and I both agree that this is not an acceptable solution for our family.

Struggling with the idea of working for pay, or not, and how that defines me as a person.

2011-06-13T23:05:00.000-07:00

I unpacked 3 whole boxes today, did paying work for several hours, and continued to work on restoring both my old laptop and restoring files to my new one. In spite of everything being backed up, restoring files has taken a lot longer than I thought it would. This is somewhat due to Carbonite, somewhat due to Windows 7 not being compatible with ANYTHING, and somewhat due to the fact that I'm really bad about filing software where I will find it again later. My old laptop is going to be restored for guest use, since we plan on having a few more houseguests in the near future.

I find it hard to believe that we've been here for 2.5 months and still have boxes to unpack. I mean, if you know me, that is hard to believe.

2011-06-12T14:34:00.000-07:00

Had a couple of urgent doctor visits and phone calls in the last few days and was diagnosed with anxiety. I am not totally sure that is a correct diagnosis, but then again, why wouldn't it be? I wish I could go to Disneyland.

2011-06-10T21:56:00.000-07:00

I had an EKG today, as a precaution. Everything is fine.

Tonight I am doing my 2nd round of freezer cooking. We have been using the Meals for a Month Cookbook. We prepare about 7 meals and several side dishes at a time, rather than try to put up enough in the freezer for a month. This is because we are still trying out the recipes and don't want to put up a bunch of stuff that we end up not liking. Also, I don't have a good idea of how much I can fit in my freezer. Eventually my goal is to get to once-a-month grocery shopping and cooking. This particular cookbook allows us to prepare several meals over an hour or 2, so it goes pretty quickly. And we have greatly enjoyed most of the recipes we have tried so far, so we would recommend this book.

2011-06-09T11:32:00.000-07:00

A nice warm day and I decided to wear a Bond No 9 fragrance. Makes me feel very New York-y today. It's called The Scent of Peace. It's nice, but mild. Very expensive though. I don't remember where I got it. It wasn't in New York...when I went into the Bond store everyone ignored me. I must have gotten a sample on ebay. I'm not a fan of the Bond brand, but I do like the New York reminiscence of this NY-based perfume house.

Difficult night last night for me. I guess as the day goes on I get more and more tired of carrying my own weight around, plus Libby. By the evening I'm done. DH told me there is a psychiatric term for what I'm going through, but I was sleepy and I forgot what it was. But it means my discomfort level now outweighs my coping mechanism.