As in, how do we plan to get our family from Rhode Island to Washington, D.C., in two weeks? Coordinating trips like this seemed hard enough when it was just Mike, me, and a cat or two. Now we have a baby and all the baby stuff (plus one cat). The car seat alone takes up so much room in the car -- valuable real estate that previously went toward suitcases and cat carriers. And not only do we have to solve the problem of where all our stuff goes, but there's the little issue of babies needing to eat every once in a while. Mike and I can grab some cheese sticks and coffee and power through a drive. But the baby's not old enough for cheese sticks yet, so that won't work.
Despite not looking forward to the drive, I am looking forward to spending the fall in Washington. I've grown to enjoy a furnished apartment next to a metro stop, at least for short-term living. We'll be in a neighborhood I'm familiar with, walking distance to coffee shops, grocery stores, and some of our favorite restaurants. Favorite restaurants that deliver, which is such a nice, big-city convenience.
I'm also looking forward to all my time with the baby. Right now I still consider myself on vacation/maternity leave, but once we get to Washington I'll feel officially unemployed. It's the first time in my adult life that I won't have any sort of employment, and I'm planning on not working for a while. I don't even have any freelance projects in the pipeline and don't know when I'll start sniffing around for more. And because of our crazy schedule in advance of moving to India, I won't be going back to my online courses right away, either. Being a mom will keep me busy enough.
Argh. Just let me get to Washington. I don't have the energy to worry about moving to India quite yet.
23 August 2010
09 August 2010
Sharkbait's a Girl!
Sophie Olivia joined us late Friday night. (For those keeping close tabs, we left for the hospital at 4:00 on Thursday afternoon. It was a looooooong couple of days.) She weighs in at 6 pounds, 11 ounces and measures 19 inches long.
If anyone ever tells you that newborn-sized clothes are too small for full-term babies so you shouldn't buy them, you shouldn't necessarily believe that person. All the 0-3 clothes we have are too big! Thus the reason she has no hands.
We all came home on Sunday, tired but happy and healthy.
05 August 2010
Condition Baby Imminent
It's our last child-free day! I'm going to the hospital tonight to be induced. My blood pressure is high and my blood sugar has gotten harder to control, so the doctor said it's time to come out. And we agree. The last week or so has not been easy for me.
It's a day of final preparations. I'm making cupcakes to eat post-delivery. I've been craving cupcakes for months, but being on a no-sugar diet for the pregnancy made cupcakes an impossible dream. (I wasn't willing to try cupcakes that are both sugar-free and gluten-free. That seems like a huge waste of cupcakes to me.) We're also making sure cell phones, camera batteries, the ipod, the Kindle, etc., are all charged up. We have bags packed and lots of snacks. We have scouted out the Dunkin Donuts nearest to the hospital so Mike can make post-delivery coffee runs. (I've been mostly caffeine-free for the last nine months because caffeine makes the baby jumpy, which makes me even more uncomfortable.) Oh, and the car seat, bassinet, and all that baby stuff is ready to go, too.
We start at four o'clock this afternoon and hopefully by that time on Friday, we'll have a little baby on our hands.
It's a day of final preparations. I'm making cupcakes to eat post-delivery. I've been craving cupcakes for months, but being on a no-sugar diet for the pregnancy made cupcakes an impossible dream. (I wasn't willing to try cupcakes that are both sugar-free and gluten-free. That seems like a huge waste of cupcakes to me.) We're also making sure cell phones, camera batteries, the ipod, the Kindle, etc., are all charged up. We have bags packed and lots of snacks. We have scouted out the Dunkin Donuts nearest to the hospital so Mike can make post-delivery coffee runs. (I've been mostly caffeine-free for the last nine months because caffeine makes the baby jumpy, which makes me even more uncomfortable.) Oh, and the car seat, bassinet, and all that baby stuff is ready to go, too.
We start at four o'clock this afternoon and hopefully by that time on Friday, we'll have a little baby on our hands.
03 August 2010
The Lotus Flowers
My dad saw a photo in the newspaper and then Mike happened to run by. About a mile from our house there's a small water garden filled with large flowers:
My 39 weeks pregnant self walked the mile to the pond, sat on a big rock to rest, took photos, and walked the mile home. And then I slept for the rest of the day.
(Click images to see them larger.)
My 39 weeks pregnant self walked the mile to the pond, sat on a big rock to rest, took photos, and walked the mile home. And then I slept for the rest of the day.
21 July 2010
Delay
Mike's flight out of Buj tonight was cancelled. So rather than waiting for him to arrive on Thursday afternoon, constantly updating the flight status on the websites of the various airlines he was supposed to be flying, I'm waiting for him to find out his new itinerary and let me know what it is. Worst case scenario is he's on the exact same itinerary starting on Thursday night instead of tonight. But I'm hoping he can find an earlier flight because I'm selfish and anxious and ready for him to be home now. (And I know he's ready to be home now, too.)
Pregnancy update: 37 weeks, 3 days. The doctor is confident the baby will wait until Mike's here, even if he arrives Friday or Saturday instead of tomorrow.
Pregnancy update: 37 weeks, 3 days. The doctor is confident the baby will wait until Mike's here, even if he arrives Friday or Saturday instead of tomorrow.
16 July 2010
She Ate My Moth
This morning I woke up with a funny feeling. I realized that I'd slept well and it's been several weeks since that happened. It was cool last night, which helped. But mostly I think my peaceful rest came from the fact that I wasn't awakened even once during the night by the cat. That's unusual but it didn't cause me any alarm until I found the mess downstairs. The cat greeted me, sitting on the counter with a very pleased look on her face.
She was too busy with a demolition derby to bother me last night. Something was shredded all over the floor. It was the same color as the carpet, but it wasn't pieces of carpet. I couldn't figure out what it was. It looked sort of like wood chips, but it was light and fragile. Also, a bunch of stuff that had been on the counter was on the floor, too: keys, business cards, change. It's like there was a party all night while I was upstairs asleep.
Another thing missing from the counter: the large, yellow moth I'd picked up on one of my walks a few days ago. It was long dead and dried out and I didn't know exactly what I was going to do with it. But it was a moth I'd never seen in this area before and it was beautiful so I thought I'd hold onto it for a few days, maybe take some photos and then see if Mike wanted to take even better photos of it. I'd left it on the porch but when it started raining a few days ago I brought it inside and tucked it into a corner of the counter.
The yellow flakes on the floor were bits of shredded moth wing. I'm disappointed about the moth's demise. But I'm even more annoyed by the fact that I have to drag out the big, unwieldy vacuum cleaner today. I really miss the Dust Buster (which is en route in our air freight from Burundi--Mike packed up the house this week!).
It's been Dullsville around here and I've generally been okay with the quiet, slow pace. If I wanted to break up the monotony, cleaning up moth bits is not how I envisioned doing that. The messes are only going to get weirder when there's a kid around, aren't they?
She was too busy with a demolition derby to bother me last night. Something was shredded all over the floor. It was the same color as the carpet, but it wasn't pieces of carpet. I couldn't figure out what it was. It looked sort of like wood chips, but it was light and fragile. Also, a bunch of stuff that had been on the counter was on the floor, too: keys, business cards, change. It's like there was a party all night while I was upstairs asleep.
Another thing missing from the counter: the large, yellow moth I'd picked up on one of my walks a few days ago. It was long dead and dried out and I didn't know exactly what I was going to do with it. But it was a moth I'd never seen in this area before and it was beautiful so I thought I'd hold onto it for a few days, maybe take some photos and then see if Mike wanted to take even better photos of it. I'd left it on the porch but when it started raining a few days ago I brought it inside and tucked it into a corner of the counter.
The yellow flakes on the floor were bits of shredded moth wing. I'm disappointed about the moth's demise. But I'm even more annoyed by the fact that I have to drag out the big, unwieldy vacuum cleaner today. I really miss the Dust Buster (which is en route in our air freight from Burundi--Mike packed up the house this week!).
It's been Dullsville around here and I've generally been okay with the quiet, slow pace. If I wanted to break up the monotony, cleaning up moth bits is not how I envisioned doing that. The messes are only going to get weirder when there's a kid around, aren't they?
All that remains of my moth
05 July 2010
Speaking of the Fourth of July
One thing I love about New England is all the history. I remember being in California and seeing "old" towns that were established in the 1800s, thinking that's so young compared to where I grew up. The house I grew up in was older than many states. I've been thinking a lot lately about making sure the baby knows his or her roots, because my own family geneology is part of New England history.
My dad has traced his mother's ancestors back to Plymouth Plantation. At Plymouth they have a replica of the original settlement with actors playing the parts of the settlers and one summer we spent a day there, meeting our ancestor. (He supposedly was eventually asked to leave the settlement due to some shady business deals and being too friendly with Roger Williams, who was the founder of Rhode Island. Even though there's no evidence my ancestor resettled in Rhode Island, I still like to think I'm descended from one of the original Rhode Islanders.) My dad has found the graves of ancestors who fought in King Philip's War and the Revolutionary War.
And it's the Revolutionary War that I'm thinking of today. A couple weeks ago we braved the poison ivy and ticks to visit our war ancestors in the cemetery.
We aren't the only country celebrating our independence from colonialism this week. Rwanda and Burundi are too. And July 1 through 3 is also the anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. It's a busy week, history-wise.
My dad has traced his mother's ancestors back to Plymouth Plantation. At Plymouth they have a replica of the original settlement with actors playing the parts of the settlers and one summer we spent a day there, meeting our ancestor. (He supposedly was eventually asked to leave the settlement due to some shady business deals and being too friendly with Roger Williams, who was the founder of Rhode Island. Even though there's no evidence my ancestor resettled in Rhode Island, I still like to think I'm descended from one of the original Rhode Islanders.) My dad has found the graves of ancestors who fought in King Philip's War and the Revolutionary War.
And it's the Revolutionary War that I'm thinking of today. A couple weeks ago we braved the poison ivy and ticks to visit our war ancestors in the cemetery.
John Gould and Nicholas Gould (click photos for bigger)
We aren't the only country celebrating our independence from colonialism this week. Rwanda and Burundi are too. And July 1 through 3 is also the anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. It's a busy week, history-wise.
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