Wednesday, September 28, 2011

red tide

Last night we went out for Mexican food (yeah! finally got my fix!!!) and then went to the beach and watched blue, glowing waves rolling into shore. Sylvia had a blast singing the five little speckled frogs song and dancing around while Derrick attempted to take pictures. Sadly, we have no pictures to share. Those of you close enough to the beach should head down to see arguably one of the neatest aspects of a red tide

Monday, September 26, 2011

Monkey

Derrick was trying to find a song about monkeys this morning and, in his search, came across Monkey by George Michael. Being the wonderfully sharing person that he is, he invited me to watch with him. You know, I used to really like that song. Now, whenever I see it I will picture George Michael dancing.

HOW DID I NOT KNOW THAT MAN IS GAY???

(yes, I realise I was a sheltered, innocent child when that song was popular, and didn't have MTV at the time. But wow, how could anyone miss it?)

Thursday, September 22, 2011

six weeks

Okay, so my six week appointment was actually Monday, and Paul turned six weeks old yesterday. While I wouldn't say I'm feeling overwhelmed (most of the time, at least) I am obviously not as on top of updating this blog as I used to be (as if I was consistent before :P ). Since I don't really want to brag (but I do kind of want to brag) and I definitely want to record this (you know, for comparison purposes if I ever, say, have another kid) I'm only two pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight. Yeah! I love breastfeeding! Now, at the same time, I have a definite muffin-top that wasn't there before this pregnancy and I really don't fit into many of my normal clothes. So either that 2 lb is all fat right around my waist (doubtful, given the current size of my boobs) or I lost a lot of muscle and maybe bone density during this pregnancy.

Paul is coming out of the "fourth trimester," too. His sleep schedule is regularising and he's becoming more social in that he'll actually look at me, or at a mirror with some regard, instead of just staring in the general direction of stuff. This morning he quite happily played by himself on my bed (and by played I mean flailed his arms and legs around and cooed happily at me). He still has crazy strong abs and loves to hold his legs up an inch or two above the surface of the bed, though not for quite as long as he used to.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Similarities

People expend a lot of mental energy trying to figure out which parent (or other relative) children are most like. I admit, I also engage in this past time, especially with Sylvia. I'd say she has Derrick's energy, and somewhat favours me in looks (though Derrick is definitely there in certain facial expressions), but really she is her own, unique person.

Who, like her mother, doesn't mind unusual beds.


Moving up in the world

Sylvia moved into the older kid's class today. I'm a little anxious about the transition, mostly because potty training hasn't been going so smoothly lately, but it's probably time. Her teachers say she's intellectually ready. Truthfully, they're worried she'll regress if she isn't moved up.

I never thought I'd be apprehensive about the traditional milestones, but I guess I am. Of course, Sylvia had a good day and is very excited to be in the 'big kid' class. I picked her up a little late and while I was talking to Sylvia's teacher and the director of the school Sylvia was 'helping' one of her new classmates go down for a nap by taking off the other little girl's shoes and spreading her blanket on top of her. If only she'd go down herself!

Monday, September 12, 2011

Vignettes

Monday was cool and rainy and we hung out as a family doing not much. Tuesday it rained so I dressed Sylvia in a jacket and then sent her out into the unexpectedly hot, humid morning. That day was ridiculously hot--so hot Paul slept for six hours straight and I turned the hose on Sylvia and I to cool off.

Wednesday some ladies from the ward threw a shower for Paul. One of the women (who I met for the first time on Sunday) brought a package of diapers and something pink and ruffly as a gift. Apparently using Sylvia's baby blankets confuses people as to Paul's gender. Given how often Sylvia was mistaken for a boy, I somewhat enjoy the symmetry of Paul being mistaken for a girl. Sylvia's been having a blast using the size 1 diapers on her baby, explaining they "fit so well."

Thursday was another hot day, so after some quiet time (Sylvia pretty much refused to nap when it was so hot) we packed up and headed to the beach with some friends. Shortly after we arrived Junior (the dad--and yes, he is large of stature just to add a little more irony to the name) mentioned the power was out to our neighbourhood. Soon after I overheard someone's emergency radio talking about a power outage affecting much of San Diego. As it turned out, basically everything from Yuma, AZ west was without power down into Baja and up into Orange county. Fun, fun. Fortunately for us, the power went out around 4 and Sylvia, Paul and I stayed at the beach until 6-ish so by the time we were driving home most of the bad traffic (which Derrick biked through since he couldn't really do much at school any more) had cleared. Sylvia fell asleep on the way home and slept pretty much all night, except for the few minutes we woke her to clean her up a bit and put on pull-ups for bed. The only thing we really needed (besides dinner, grr) was the emergency flashlight-radio combo Derrick picked up this summer after the tornadoes in Alabama. Glad we were that prepared!

That night was amazingly quiet. I hadn't realised how noisy the local air traffic was. The loudest noises that night came from children playing--outdoors--late into the evening.

Derrick stayed home Friday and we went to the zoo. Derrick managed to get a picture of me looking old and wrinkly. Sylvia, as always, had a lot of fun.

For some reason I was sure Saturday was the 11th. Derrick worked on the kitchen he's building for Sylvia while I stayed inside with the kids. Fun, fun. Great way to avoid all the hubub surrounding the 11th, except that it was really the 10th.

Sunday I found out a friend, who would make a great mother, had the adoption she's been hoping for fall through. I hope she finds comfort and wish I knew how to help her.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Republicans make me mad

Okay, not all republicans. Really, more the libertarians who for some reason seem to think we live in a world where the individual is the end all, be all, highest, most important, most sacred thing to worry about. Like, say, people who think FEMA is a bad idea and states should suck it up and plan for disasters better (and thank you, Diane Rehm for having such a wonderfully easy to hate guest on. Dan Mitchell is a pompous, uncaring ass whose only redeeming virtue is showing how heartless and distasteful the philosophy currently guiding republican policy truly is). Or people who apply the analogy of a family to the federal government, but only when it's convenient, not when actually talking about caring or sacrifice, or silly things like that.

Okay, I should probably explain a bit since I'm sure this is cryptic and probably nobody's going to listen to the Diane Rehm show to see what I'm talking about. Republicans think money to pay for the many disasters that have hit this summer should be paid for by cutting someplace else, because when a family experiences some disaster they have to find money from some other part of their budget to pay for whatever expense--the new roof or new car, or whatnot. Except, of course, I've never heard anyone talk about that particular aspect of budgeting in the middle of a crisis. Instead, people I know try to figure out what needs to be done and what they'll need to get through things, assuming they'll figure out the financing, or the insurance, later. You know, like they're worried about people more than money. In the midst of people loosing life and livelihoods the discussion of what to cut from the rest of the budget to finance FEMA feels cold and calculated not to help people, but rather to use the misfortune of others to further cut into government programs which, oh, by the way, mostly benefit the non-rich people. They completely ignore the fact that state Governors asked for FEMA to be created, ask for FEMA to assist them, and ignore the great good that is done by FEMA, insisting instead that states should I guess pull themselves up by their boostraps and take care of themselves. There really are times when collective action is a far better approach; it's frustrating to watch republicans do everything they can to destroy even the apparatus for a collective action approach to dealing with disasters, or really any part of our civilization outside the military. It's like they don't want to see how average people are helped, and help each other more effectively because the government is there to organize; it's like the suffering of those who, through sheer bad luck, need some assistance from the rest of us, is simply another tool they can use to dismantle the government they despise (and yet claim patriotism toward).

These republicans are a cynical, heartless bunch.