I'm eight days away from having a baby, and life is interesting.
Chris gave me a sweet surprise last week, mysteriously requesting as he left for work that I be wearing a specific outfit by a certain time. When the time came, we dropped Lucy off at my sister-in-law's and then headed out for one last nice meal. (Hence the outfit request: he wanted me to feel comfortable in a fancier restaurant without telling me that was where we were going.) We went to a new place with great atmosphere and even better food, and had a very pleasant and peaceful lunch. Until I had to go and break the peace, quite literally. In some random spastic move I, instead of gently setting my goblet of water on the table as I intended, shattered it into about million peices, soaking the tablecloth and sending shards of glass in all directions.
I have no idea what happened. I think my hand must have just stopped working or something. This at least backs up my assertion that the three cameras I have broken in the last nine months are not entirely my fault - it's this baby, who is making me really, really clumsy.
Aside from extreme physical incompetence, late pregnancy seems to have given me some weird aura of voodoo. We went to DC this weekend to meet up with some friends, and as we ushered the girls across the street toward the Washington Monument a woman stopped me to ask if they were all mine. I get this all the time, so I gave my standard answer. Instead of the standard response ("Wow! You must have so much energy!," "Were you hoping for a boy?" or the super-standard, "Are you done now?") the woman told me that she herself was hoping for a baby, and asked me to give her luck. I don't generally think of myself as a walking fertility goddess so I was somewhat taken aback, and ended up just wishing her good luck before taking off to catch up with my family. I guess I should be grateful that she didn't ask to rub my belly (a pregnancy phenomenon that I really, really hate.) The whole thing left me feeling weird and uncomfortable, though.
Only eight more days to go, though. Here's hoping I make it through without either breaking anything of value or finding myself accidentally participating in pagan rituals.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
I love a parade!
Beth, Claire and Abbie all joined Girl Scouts this year. Their first official Scouting activity was.......to march in a parade and toss candy!
Here we are at the very start of the parade yesterday, where the candy-throwing enthusiasm began.
I have pictures, too, now that we have a new camera, but I haven't bothered to figure out yet how to get them on the computer. In the meantime, here's another video. It's not great, but it shows the constant refrain of the day: DON'T THROW ALL YOUR CANDY AT ONCE! The kids had a really hard time with this - it was just too much fun. At one point policemen on motorcycles rode by, and we had to bodily restrain the girls from pelting them with candy. It was a frenzy of candy throwing, and what I loved the most about it was the way the littlest girls couldn't actually reach the sidewalk, so most of their candy just ended up getting trampled in the middle of the road.
This final video is from before the parade began, while we were lining up. For reasons beyond comprehension, they placed our pack of little girls directly behind a group of ....horses. You can probably guess the challenge this presented! The second refrain of the day was: DON'T STEP IN THE HORSE POOP! The girls actually did a great job, and the only incident involved not a little girl but a very pregnant woman who was paying more attention to the candy her daughter had just dropped than to where she was walking. Ahem.
All in all, though, it was a fantastic way to spend the morning and afternoon. I love the cheesiness of small-town parades, and I loved the feeling of community we had as we walked down the road and were greeted by tons of people we knew (through school, mostly, although my favorite coffee shop gave us a shout-out as well.) And Lucy really enjoyed the way the whole troop showered her and Katie with candy when we passed them.
Here we are at the very start of the parade yesterday, where the candy-throwing enthusiasm began.
I have pictures, too, now that we have a new camera, but I haven't bothered to figure out yet how to get them on the computer. In the meantime, here's another video. It's not great, but it shows the constant refrain of the day: DON'T THROW ALL YOUR CANDY AT ONCE! The kids had a really hard time with this - it was just too much fun. At one point policemen on motorcycles rode by, and we had to bodily restrain the girls from pelting them with candy. It was a frenzy of candy throwing, and what I loved the most about it was the way the littlest girls couldn't actually reach the sidewalk, so most of their candy just ended up getting trampled in the middle of the road.
This final video is from before the parade began, while we were lining up. For reasons beyond comprehension, they placed our pack of little girls directly behind a group of ....horses. You can probably guess the challenge this presented! The second refrain of the day was: DON'T STEP IN THE HORSE POOP! The girls actually did a great job, and the only incident involved not a little girl but a very pregnant woman who was paying more attention to the candy her daughter had just dropped than to where she was walking. Ahem.
All in all, though, it was a fantastic way to spend the morning and afternoon. I love the cheesiness of small-town parades, and I loved the feeling of community we had as we walked down the road and were greeted by tons of people we knew (through school, mostly, although my favorite coffee shop gave us a shout-out as well.) And Lucy really enjoyed the way the whole troop showered her and Katie with candy when we passed them.
Congratulations are in order...
...for the Lobers! When we came home from the parade, we found a message on our answering machine announcing the birth of their fifth baby and fourth son, Edward Jerome! We are so happy for you guys! We are doing our best to provide the world with wonderful women and it's a comfort to know that you are doing the same on the other side of the coin. :)
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
More about Abbie's first day of Kindergarten
We all wanted to hear Abbie's report about her first day of school, so at dinner the conversation mainly revolved around her. She told us about the teacher, who was nice, and the boys in her class, who she feels she could do without, and the other girls, several of whom she thinks could become friends.
She told us that the girls in her class quizzed each other over lunch, looking to see who had similar interests. One kid asked Abbie if she likes to color, which she does. Another girl asked her if she likes American Girl dolls, and Abbie said that she did. When it came time for Abbie to ask questions, though, this is what she did: She turned to the girl she liked the most and innocently asked her, "Do you like The Killers?"
The little girl did not know what she was talking about.
I think it is safe to say that Kindergarten may not be ready for the awesomeness that is Miss Abbie Mlinek. I bet the kids are really going to be impressed when she breaks out her Two Face impersonation:
She told us that the girls in her class quizzed each other over lunch, looking to see who had similar interests. One kid asked Abbie if she likes to color, which she does. Another girl asked her if she likes American Girl dolls, and Abbie said that she did. When it came time for Abbie to ask questions, though, this is what she did: She turned to the girl she liked the most and innocently asked her, "Do you like The Killers?"
The little girl did not know what she was talking about.
I think it is safe to say that Kindergarten may not be ready for the awesomeness that is Miss Abbie Mlinek. I bet the kids are really going to be impressed when she breaks out her Two Face impersonation:
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Today....
* I am exactly three weeks away from having a new baby! Hooray!!! And Eeeek!
*The elementary school had it's back-to-school night, and with each passing year it feels like I am stuck in the circle of hell that's been reserved for obnoxious parents. It is the same thing every single year - the teachers say the same stuff, and then one or two parents badger them as the rest of us sit in increasingly irritated silence. If nothing else, Back-t0-School night leaves you with a feeling of mighty respect for the teachers who have to put up with this (nicely!) every.single.day.
*Chris did the math and realized that with Katie in Middle School now, a period of time has kicked off in which we will be up by 6am for the next 18 years. This was a truly vicious thing to point out, as far as I am concerned. One week down.......an infinity to go.
*The elementary school had it's back-to-school night, and with each passing year it feels like I am stuck in the circle of hell that's been reserved for obnoxious parents. It is the same thing every single year - the teachers say the same stuff, and then one or two parents badger them as the rest of us sit in increasingly irritated silence. If nothing else, Back-t0-School night leaves you with a feeling of mighty respect for the teachers who have to put up with this (nicely!) every.single.day.
*Chris did the math and realized that with Katie in Middle School now, a period of time has kicked off in which we will be up by 6am for the next 18 years. This was a truly vicious thing to point out, as far as I am concerned. One week down.......an infinity to go.
Friday, September 03, 2010
Yesterday was Abbie's first full day of Kindergarten. She hadn't yet met her teacher, so I decided to walk her to the classroom door in case she was feeling nervous at the thought of spending the entire day in the care of some stranger. We got out of the car, and I took both Abbie's and Lucy's hand as we crossed the crosswalk. The moment we went through the school doors, however, Abbie quietly but purposefully pulled her hand out of mine.
My hands are in general considered pretty hot real estate among the girls. My guess is that the scarce supply (having, as so many mothers like to point out, only two hands) for so much demand has led to most of my kids continuing to have a positive outlook towards hand-holding. The only exception to this is Katie, who at almost 11 has every right to walk around unassisted. Even Beth, though, will still grab my hand if it's free and the other girls all routinely argue over who gets to hold my hand and who has to be the caboose.
So I looked down in some surprise at Abbie when she pulled away. She looked calmly back up at me and just said, "I can walk by myself."
We came to her classroom door, and she walked right in without saying goodbye. Her teacher, taking pity on me as I stood in the doorway, pathetically, urged Abbie to say goodbye and she obeyed with a quick wave behind her back, no eye-contact, as she walked confidently over to her desk.
And that was that. Lucy and I left and went to a park, where we both felt weird spending so much one-on-one time together, and Abbie dominated her first day of Kindergarten. As, of course, I should have known she would.
My hands are in general considered pretty hot real estate among the girls. My guess is that the scarce supply (having, as so many mothers like to point out, only two hands) for so much demand has led to most of my kids continuing to have a positive outlook towards hand-holding. The only exception to this is Katie, who at almost 11 has every right to walk around unassisted. Even Beth, though, will still grab my hand if it's free and the other girls all routinely argue over who gets to hold my hand and who has to be the caboose.
So I looked down in some surprise at Abbie when she pulled away. She looked calmly back up at me and just said, "I can walk by myself."
We came to her classroom door, and she walked right in without saying goodbye. Her teacher, taking pity on me as I stood in the doorway, pathetically, urged Abbie to say goodbye and she obeyed with a quick wave behind her back, no eye-contact, as she walked confidently over to her desk.
And that was that. Lucy and I left and went to a park, where we both felt weird spending so much one-on-one time together, and Abbie dominated her first day of Kindergarten. As, of course, I should have known she would.
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
It has cascading rhinestones
The cable guys just left, after having been here for half an hour or so. As I shut the door behind them, I brushed my hair behind my ear and made a horrible discovery.
I am wearing a sparkly, bedazzled blue hair clip. Lucy insisted that I put it on this morning, and I forgot all about it. Until just now, of course, when it's too late.
I am wearing a sparkly, bedazzled blue hair clip. Lucy insisted that I put it on this morning, and I forgot all about it. Until just now, of course, when it's too late.
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