Even though today was a beautiful day, the girls and I never made it to the park this afternoon. The thought of lugging Talia up the stairs to our third floor apartment afterward was simply more than this tired Mom could manage.
*****************************************************************
The Top 3 List of Awkward Belly Moments:
3) Every time I spill, it lands on my bulge instead of my lap. I don't even bother with a napkin anymore.
2) My belly gets soaked from leaning over the wet sink every time I do the dishes. This means I'm damp pretty much all day long.
1) I now have an even harder time reaching the top cupboards. Now that the horizontal dimension is increasing, I have to span across the hypotenuse instead of just vertically.
****************************************************************************
Dinner when Dad's not home:
Me: Girls, it's time to fix dinner.
(Brooklyn and Talia automatically head for the fridge. Brooklyn brings a couple of yogurts to the table. Talia proudly gets out a great big jar of pickles. I, in turn, set out a tupperware full of leftover spinach mostaccioli that I don't even bother trying to heat up.)
Me: Good enough. Who wants to pray?
Monday, May 11, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Addicted
I think I've become addicted to blogging. Looking back, I posted 13 times in 2005, 15 in 2006, another 13 in 2007, and 90 times in 2008. This post will already be #40 for 2009, and we're not even halfway through the year yet...
Silly as it sounds, I worry slightly about this addiction. I don't like feeling out of balance, whether it's my uncontrollable attraction to the open bag of chocolate chips or my unconquerable desire to check my e-mail. Recently Jason and I joined the bandwagon of Twilight afficionados and poured through the first three books in less than three weeks, with the last one being in French. I've actually refused to purchase the final book in the series right away because I hated feeling like I simply couldn't put the book down, even if my family needed me. I want to be in control of my life, not Edward, Bella, or Jacob.
While I don't think that blogging is a poor use of my time (after all, I have slightly more natural ability for writing than basketball, for instance), I sometimes worry that it's not the best use of my time either. While blogging has the advantage of doubling as a family record that others can enjoy, I no longer journal the way that I used to. Sometimes I worry that this trade-off is a loss: after all, this blog is much more guarded than my personal journal. Because a blog is so public, I admittedly display only the rosy side of life--never writing anything that I wouldn't want everyone to read or know. But what you read isn't the whole me.
I also sometimes worry about my motivation for blogging: why do I really do it? As fun things in life happen, I find myself thinking, ooooh, that'd make for a good blog post. I wake up in the morning and excitedly check my e-mail to see if anyone's responded, as if the response from my "readership" (all five of you) :) determines whether or not something was interesting or exciting.
So my question is, how do you keep balance with whatever you find addicting--be it blogging, chocolate, reading, or Facebook? What helps you gain enough control to turn off the computer screen when tiny voices behind you say, "Mommy look at this!"? How do you balance the public and private spheres of your life when staying connected with friends and family? In today's connected world, what responsibility do we have to nurture virtual relationships across space and time? How do you manage to keep online friendships alive without neglecting the real relationships right next door?
I have a few ideas for combating my personal addictions. Impossible as it might sound, I'd really like to limit the number of times I check e-mail to once, maybe twice a day. My inbox obsession really is absurd, and I'd like to kick the habit. Has anyone managed to do so? Any suggestions?
I've also started keeping a personal blog that only I can access about "Peaceful Ponderings": it's the place where I write about those things that are too special, spiritual, or even sacred to share with the entire world. In general, I'm really enjoying the perks of a blog lay-out (permanent yet modifiable) without the pressure of anyone else reading.
If anyone else has any suggestions about how they've been able to find balance, I'd really love to hear them. And, if no one responds at all, perhaps that's answer enough that there's really much more to life than a blog.
Silly as it sounds, I worry slightly about this addiction. I don't like feeling out of balance, whether it's my uncontrollable attraction to the open bag of chocolate chips or my unconquerable desire to check my e-mail. Recently Jason and I joined the bandwagon of Twilight afficionados and poured through the first three books in less than three weeks, with the last one being in French. I've actually refused to purchase the final book in the series right away because I hated feeling like I simply couldn't put the book down, even if my family needed me. I want to be in control of my life, not Edward, Bella, or Jacob.
While I don't think that blogging is a poor use of my time (after all, I have slightly more natural ability for writing than basketball, for instance), I sometimes worry that it's not the best use of my time either. While blogging has the advantage of doubling as a family record that others can enjoy, I no longer journal the way that I used to. Sometimes I worry that this trade-off is a loss: after all, this blog is much more guarded than my personal journal. Because a blog is so public, I admittedly display only the rosy side of life--never writing anything that I wouldn't want everyone to read or know. But what you read isn't the whole me.
I also sometimes worry about my motivation for blogging: why do I really do it? As fun things in life happen, I find myself thinking, ooooh, that'd make for a good blog post. I wake up in the morning and excitedly check my e-mail to see if anyone's responded, as if the response from my "readership" (all five of you) :) determines whether or not something was interesting or exciting.
So my question is, how do you keep balance with whatever you find addicting--be it blogging, chocolate, reading, or Facebook? What helps you gain enough control to turn off the computer screen when tiny voices behind you say, "Mommy look at this!"? How do you balance the public and private spheres of your life when staying connected with friends and family? In today's connected world, what responsibility do we have to nurture virtual relationships across space and time? How do you manage to keep online friendships alive without neglecting the real relationships right next door?
I have a few ideas for combating my personal addictions. Impossible as it might sound, I'd really like to limit the number of times I check e-mail to once, maybe twice a day. My inbox obsession really is absurd, and I'd like to kick the habit. Has anyone managed to do so? Any suggestions?
I've also started keeping a personal blog that only I can access about "Peaceful Ponderings": it's the place where I write about those things that are too special, spiritual, or even sacred to share with the entire world. In general, I'm really enjoying the perks of a blog lay-out (permanent yet modifiable) without the pressure of anyone else reading.
If anyone else has any suggestions about how they've been able to find balance, I'd really love to hear them. And, if no one responds at all, perhaps that's answer enough that there's really much more to life than a blog.
Six Sweet Years
Yesterday Jason and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary. While in some ways we didn’t spend the day quite as expected (read : no romantic dinner for two), in retrospect I wouldn’t change a moment. Looking back, it was fun to imagine what Jason and I would have thought if we could have seen six of these pictures six years ago. I’m certain that we never would have envisioned ourselves with two little munchkins on the other side of the world!
Walking to the park is oh-so-much-fun when every apartment building is equipped with its own personal slide.
Of course, riding the guardrail is fabulous as well.
Why walk straight when you have a checkerboard to explore?
And, let's not forget the thrill of having your own transportation.
Talia prefers a horse-drawn chariot. Of course, Brooklyn provided the horse-power.
And last but not least, here's the whole clan mesmerized by a Guignol marionette puppet production. As you can tell, the girls were enthralled.
As far as that romantic dinner for two goes, we substituted instead a table for ten. As one of the youth leaders, Jason invited all of the young men and women in our local congregation over for dinner. He taught them how to make chicken enchiladas--a first for everyone--and we all had a great time.
Walking to the park is oh-so-much-fun when every apartment building is equipped with its own personal slide.
Of course, riding the guardrail is fabulous as well.
Why walk straight when you have a checkerboard to explore?
And, let's not forget the thrill of having your own transportation.
Talia prefers a horse-drawn chariot. Of course, Brooklyn provided the horse-power.
And last but not least, here's the whole clan mesmerized by a Guignol marionette puppet production. As you can tell, the girls were enthralled.
As far as that romantic dinner for two goes, we substituted instead a table for ten. As one of the youth leaders, Jason invited all of the young men and women in our local congregation over for dinner. He taught them how to make chicken enchiladas--a first for everyone--and we all had a great time.
Friday, May 08, 2009
Un Petit Garçon
Well, when the final find-out-the-gender-or-no tally was counted, Jason was severely outvoted (25 to 6, I believe). On Tuesday we had our second ultrasound. Fortunately for Jason, he's about to gain another follower on his side of the ranks: we're having a little boy!
He's super excited, of course--we all are. But at the same time, I confess that I feel a little bit dazed. This boy-thing is completely new territory for me. Having grown up in a home without any brothers, I feel totally unprepared and unknowledgeable about what to do with a son. Life has increased in its complexity: Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, baseball and ballet...we're in for twice the fun.
If my predictions are right, we probably won't have to throw much rugby practice into the picture--our son's got the wrong genetic material. Even at 21 weeks, he's just a little tike. Our sonogram report contained the following summation:
This is a lot of official medical-ese to say, "This kid's a little bit small, but don't worry about it: it's to be expected given the size of his parents." :) Ha ha! Seriously, however--I am having some guilt issues about passing on my short genes to a boy. Let's just hope he takes after his Dad, and if not, he'll be charming anyway!
He's super excited, of course--we all are. But at the same time, I confess that I feel a little bit dazed. This boy-thing is completely new territory for me. Having grown up in a home without any brothers, I feel totally unprepared and unknowledgeable about what to do with a son. Life has increased in its complexity: Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, baseball and ballet...we're in for twice the fun.
If my predictions are right, we probably won't have to throw much rugby practice into the picture--our son's got the wrong genetic material. Even at 21 weeks, he's just a little tike. Our sonogram report contained the following summation:
Le poids est estimé à 339 grams ce qui correspond à 20 semaines d’aménorrhée, légèrement inférieur par rapport à la date des dernières règles mais compatible avec le morphotype des parents.
This is a lot of official medical-ese to say, "This kid's a little bit small, but don't worry about it: it's to be expected given the size of his parents." :) Ha ha! Seriously, however--I am having some guilt issues about passing on my short genes to a boy. Let's just hope he takes after his Dad, and if not, he'll be charming anyway!
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
"Me Potty Toilet"
Two days ago, I had the perfect punch line for this post. It went something like follows:
Unfortunately for the blog humor yet fortunately for me, she then proceeded to have about an 85% success rate on her very first day of potty-training, followed by another day of almost-perfection.
What can I say? We're just amazing parents that have this potty-training thing down to a science...
HA!
The truth is that I hate potty training! I dread potty training. I will go to great lengths to avoid potty training. The only reason that Talia has even started is because I picked up a potty pot for three euros at a garage sale and Talia kept insisting, "Me potty toilet." (Not to mention the fact that almost all of our floors are tile, making clean-up quite convenient.) And thus, with great reluctance, I pulled off her diaper and gave her a pair of big-girl undies.
Here's the best part of all: I haven't done ANYTHING! Brooklyn has been SO excited to show her sister how it's all done that Jason and I have done nothing but sit back and watch. Amazing! Maybe we should have tried this sooner...
But maybe not. I think that's the take-home message I've learned. With Brooklyn we introduced potty training way too early--when we were ready, instead of when she was. This time around, we've avoided many tears and much frustration by adapting to Talia's schedule. Truth to be told, it's been really nice to be quasi-isolated from other kids her age because I haven't felt the pressure to compare what my kid can (or can't) do compared with all of the other little tikes. I have loved letting her progress at her own pace.
While I know that we're still very far from trained, I just may get a day off of diapers sometime before this next munchkin arrives--something that hasn't happened in 4 1/2 years. Here's hoping!
Landmark day today: Talia used the potty twice, and the second time she even remembered to take off her underwear!
Unfortunately for the blog humor yet fortunately for me, she then proceeded to have about an 85% success rate on her very first day of potty-training, followed by another day of almost-perfection.
What can I say? We're just amazing parents that have this potty-training thing down to a science...
HA!
The truth is that I hate potty training! I dread potty training. I will go to great lengths to avoid potty training. The only reason that Talia has even started is because I picked up a potty pot for three euros at a garage sale and Talia kept insisting, "Me potty toilet." (Not to mention the fact that almost all of our floors are tile, making clean-up quite convenient.) And thus, with great reluctance, I pulled off her diaper and gave her a pair of big-girl undies.
Here's the best part of all: I haven't done ANYTHING! Brooklyn has been SO excited to show her sister how it's all done that Jason and I have done nothing but sit back and watch. Amazing! Maybe we should have tried this sooner...
But maybe not. I think that's the take-home message I've learned. With Brooklyn we introduced potty training way too early--when we were ready, instead of when she was. This time around, we've avoided many tears and much frustration by adapting to Talia's schedule. Truth to be told, it's been really nice to be quasi-isolated from other kids her age because I haven't felt the pressure to compare what my kid can (or can't) do compared with all of the other little tikes. I have loved letting her progress at her own pace.
While I know that we're still very far from trained, I just may get a day off of diapers sometime before this next munchkin arrives--something that hasn't happened in 4 1/2 years. Here's hoping!
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Emersion through Immersion
So our little Talia may be taking her time talking, but she's certainly an early reader. :)
I'm actually a bit amiss in saying that this cutie-pie doesn't talk much--the truth is that she jabbers non-stop. It simply requires the gift of the interpretation of tongues to figure out what she's saying, particularly since it may be English, French, or a language that's completely her own.
Here are some of her most recent favorite phrases: carry you (unfortunately, that means carry me), regarde (look in French), attend (wait in French), Brookalyn (this 3 syllable pronunciation gets shouted loudly at bedtime when her big sis falls asleep but she still wants to play), I want chocolate (she takes after her mother), I want chocolate more (she has a unique word order), and I want chocolate more, please (yes, she really is that obsessed.) Tally's picked up on the fact that the magic word please goes pretty far and uses it liberally, even in unusual contexts such as "no like it, please."
As far as Brooklyn goes, over the past few weeks she has reclaimed her extroverted personality in French. When we first arrived, she would chatter at all of the strangers on the bus, metro, etc., in English, even though they didn't understand a word she was saying. Then came months of the "silent period" where she stayed quiet in public, immersed in the language but listening, absorbing, and taking it all in. Well, I suppose you could say that she's emerged because she's now regularly striking up conversations with everyone we meet. She usually starts with "Moi, parle français anglais" (literally translated, me speak French English.) Her tarzan-esque conversations leave just about everyone chuckling, and she's pleased as pie to have regained her voice.
I'm actually a bit amiss in saying that this cutie-pie doesn't talk much--the truth is that she jabbers non-stop. It simply requires the gift of the interpretation of tongues to figure out what she's saying, particularly since it may be English, French, or a language that's completely her own.
Here are some of her most recent favorite phrases: carry you (unfortunately, that means carry me), regarde (look in French), attend (wait in French), Brookalyn (this 3 syllable pronunciation gets shouted loudly at bedtime when her big sis falls asleep but she still wants to play), I want chocolate (she takes after her mother), I want chocolate more (she has a unique word order), and I want chocolate more, please (yes, she really is that obsessed.) Tally's picked up on the fact that the magic word please goes pretty far and uses it liberally, even in unusual contexts such as "no like it, please."
As far as Brooklyn goes, over the past few weeks she has reclaimed her extroverted personality in French. When we first arrived, she would chatter at all of the strangers on the bus, metro, etc., in English, even though they didn't understand a word she was saying. Then came months of the "silent period" where she stayed quiet in public, immersed in the language but listening, absorbing, and taking it all in. Well, I suppose you could say that she's emerged because she's now regularly striking up conversations with everyone we meet. She usually starts with "Moi, parle français anglais" (literally translated, me speak French English.) Her tarzan-esque conversations leave just about everyone chuckling, and she's pleased as pie to have regained her voice.
Fini!
With April slipping away into May, I've been reminded of a minor fact that pretty much completely escaped my attention--I graduated!
After two crazy Illinois years of scheduling-swapping, kid-switching chaos, I finally earned my Master's in Teaching English as a Second Language. To tell the truth, the conclusion was pretty anti-climatic. While I finished up my comprehensive exams and major coursework last spring, I still had one piddly online elective course to finish over the summer. Worse yet, this class required that I complete an outside project and reflection project that was due in the fall. Talk about dragging out the end!
All in all, with the stress of preparing for our move to France, my almost-graduation was understandably overlooked last spring. After all, I wasn't really done! But as everyone else gets ready to don their mortarboard hats and gowns this spring, I thought I'd join in the festivities and give myself a good pat on the back.
Here's a photo that Jason took of me about an hour after I mailed off my final paper last September. Oh, it feels so good to be done!
And, a long overdue round of applause for the handsome man whose support made it all possible. Thanks, Peanut Butter.
After two crazy Illinois years of scheduling-swapping, kid-switching chaos, I finally earned my Master's in Teaching English as a Second Language. To tell the truth, the conclusion was pretty anti-climatic. While I finished up my comprehensive exams and major coursework last spring, I still had one piddly online elective course to finish over the summer. Worse yet, this class required that I complete an outside project and reflection project that was due in the fall. Talk about dragging out the end!
All in all, with the stress of preparing for our move to France, my almost-graduation was understandably overlooked last spring. After all, I wasn't really done! But as everyone else gets ready to don their mortarboard hats and gowns this spring, I thought I'd join in the festivities and give myself a good pat on the back.
Here's a photo that Jason took of me about an hour after I mailed off my final paper last September. Oh, it feels so good to be done!
And, a long overdue round of applause for the handsome man whose support made it all possible. Thanks, Peanut Butter.
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