a poem, and a belly video (not mine, yet)

Monday, July 30, 2007

a poem, and a belly video (not mine, yet) Current mood: cheerful A poem I saw today in a chocolate wrapper: (from Song From The Persian) Ah, sad are they who know not love, But, far from passion's tears and smiles, Drift down a moonless sea, beyond The silvery coasts of fairy isles. And sadder they whose longing lips Kiss empty air, and never touch The dear warm mouth of those they love- Waiting, wasting, suffering much. But clear as amber, fine as musk, Is life to those who, pilgrim-wise, Move hand in hand from dawn to dusk, Each morning nearer Paradise. Ah, not for them shall angels pray! They stand in everlasting light, They walk in [love's] smile by day, And slumber in his heart by night. -Thomas Bailey Aldrich * * * Saw this video on the myspace homepage today- my belly isn't there yet, but I remember it from the other 2 pregnancies! (Though my boys never seem to cooperate whenever someone wants to feel the movement or see them bopping around. . . maybe this little guy will be different!) Wierd, isn't it? :) Check out this video: crazy belly movement!

infrastructure, and homeopathy

Saturday, July 28, 2007

infrastructure, and homeopathy Current mood: sleepy Today, we're in traffic, passing some construction as we drive on the highway. L- "Look at that, Mommy!" me- "Yes, the construction machines are getting everything ready to build more road." L- "Why?" me- "Because then this road will have more room on it for all of these cars, and it won't be so crowded. The road will be wider." L- "Why?" me- "Because a lot of people drive this way every day, and sometimes the traffic gets bad. They need more room on the road for all the cars." ~he thinks~ L- "But then everybody just buys more cars and there are more and more and more and the road fills up again." me- "Wow. Well, you're absolutely right, dear. Ultimately bigger roads are not the solution we need." Hmm. Out of the mouths of babes. . . * * * I am still sick, but am feeling WAAY better. Based on our symptoms, I selected homeopathic phosphorus to treat Sweetcheeks and myself. On day two of treatment, we've both shown marked improvement. My throat is no longer sore at all, and I have regained some energy. Basically at this point, all that remains for me is congestion. (a lot of it) Mr. Cheeks is still coughing, but it is now a productive cough that means he is on the mend. He certainly seems to feel a lot better, and he no longer needs a cough suppressant at night to be able to sleep comfortably. I continue to be very impressed with homeopathic remedies.

Harry Potter. . . the end

Monday, July 23, 2007

Harry Potter. . . the end Current mood: indescribable Sigh. I'm in a daze today. I got my hands on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows just after noon yesterday. (I think). I finished it around 2 am. Luckily, Billy was taking the boys out yesterday, so I was allowed to stay home by myself and read! That was awesome. I had to take a break to feed them dinner and put them to bed, but that's it. Now I just have to try and function today in my post-novel haze! LOL. * * * Incidentally, WHAT possessed our mailman (mail lady, I think) to put our package and mail on top of our trash cans outside our garage on Saturday??? I have to call today and remind them that mail goes in the mailbox (duh) and packages go on the front porch. I was home sick all day, and never heard a knock on the door. I also checked the front porch *just in case* Harry Potter had shown up, though I wasn't expecting it so soon. Nothing on the porch, because for some inexplicable reason it was on the garbage cans! It poured rain Saturday night, and everything was completely soaked. The mail is ruined, but kudos to Amazon for a very durable box- the book was barely even damp at all. (And kudos again for shipping it so very fast!) I'm glad Billy spotted it all outside before we left Sunday. So at least that wasn't a disaster. :) Sigh. I'd better return to my duties here at home! :)

youtube

Sunday, July 22, 2007

youtube Current mood: geeky It's only recently, since finally getting DSL, that I have been able to explore the great phenomenom known as youtube. Yes there is a lot of garbage, wierdness, and general stupidity to be found on youtube. But actually, we have found a great many clips that were interesting, and even educational. Several mornings recently have found us all gathered at the computer on the breakfast table, looking up video clips on assorted interests. We've shown the boys demonstrations of various martial arts, clips of tourist destinations in other countries, a few clips of soldiers' lives in Iraq (had to hunt for appropriate ones there), some very creative hot wheels track configurations, assorted archery demonstrations (amazing!), Japanese robot fighting, silly animal videos (they love those), time-lapse videos of the Panama canal, medieval jousting, soap bubble experiments. . . all sorts of stuff! It's been great. There have even been a couple evenings when I was still up (blogging, no doubt!) when Billy got home, and we've shared crackers and goat cheese while Billy drank wine and we looked up videos of canals and places we have travelled to. It's nice- a pleasant reminder of a time when we actually did things together! ;) I loved looking up video clips of Cortona Italia, where I spent several months one college quarter studying art. For some reason Billy and I particularly enjoyed this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfXryNSdOiU I have no idea who these people are, and I understand probably 1% of what they are saying, but there's something about this little clip that really reminds me of being there. Looks like they are having a good time. Besides, it's good editing. . . so much better put together than most of the stuff on youtube! :) Haha, now I've gone and gotten distracted for awhile, looking at archery on youtube again. . . yes, this is a great way to waste time, too! LOL. But it's sure been fun.

bad cold and book 7

Friday, July 20, 2007

bad cold and book 7 Current mood: sick Well, L..ttleman has a sore throat/cough/cold. .. thought the buck would stop there, but now Sweetcheeks has a low grade fever, and .. have a sore throat. .. feel awful. .. hope th..s passes qu..ckly. Usually when .. have a cold, .. can st..ll funct..on pretty darn well- .. am not the type to cl..mb ..nto bed and feel sorry for myself. But today, .. just wanted to pull the covers over my head and wa..t for someone to br..ng me ch..cken soup. (..mposs..ble, of course! .. have 2 s..ck cranky boys to care for!) ..t's not that there are any part..cular symptoms that .. can recogn..ze as be..ng worse than usual- ..f ..t weren't for the fat..gue th..s would be a p..ece of cake. But for some reason, .. FEEL s..ck. .. am t..red, worn out and feel..ng m..serable. S..gh. L..ke .. sa..d, .. hope th..s passes qu..ckly. On the plus s..de, .. am soak..ng ..n a warm, fragrant bath as .. type. Ah, the joys of w..reless. Electra keeps show..ng up to l..ck me dry. :P S..lly beast..e. Wow, ..n mere m..nutes the ..ntrep..d Harry Potter fans l..n..ng up at bookstores w..ll beg..n rece..v..ng cop..es of book 7. The last ..nstallment! Know..ng .. would not be able to snag a copy ..n person, .. pre-ordered m..ne onl..ne. .. d..dn't pay extra for overn..ght sh..pp..ng, so .. w..ll have to wa..t a few more days. ..t's OK- .. can wa..t, ..f a b..t ..mpat..ently! My bath ..s start..ng to get cold. My one-handed typ..ng ..s gett..ng ted..ous, too. ;) T..me for bed, and may my rest..ng body beat th..s bug! PS- Where d..d all the ..'s go?? You know, the letter between h and j?

Harry Potter, and an evening out

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Harry Potter, and an evening out Current mood: uncomfortable Yesterday, my brother came out to watch the boys while Billy and I got to go out. How novel! How refreshing! It was hard to remember what to do with each other- how to have a normal conversation and actually consider going places we'd not take the boys to. We went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, wandered the book store and ate out at a great restaurant. It was very, very nice. I enjoyed the movie- it's worth going to see. I have decided that I need to quit rereading the books right before going to see the movie- I spend too much time noticing what was left out, changed or glossed over. The movie is just a different medium, and can't possibly live up to the depth and range of these long books. I will enjoy the movies more when I don't remember as much of the book. That said, I still enjoyed this film a lot. I was pleased to see that Luna Lovegood is impeccably cast, and "Professor" Umbridge is every bit as nauseating as I imagined her to be- the actress is brilliant. This director's (another new one!) strengths seem to lie most in an action-driven plot, whereas I felt that the director of Goblet was more focused on the emotional development, and the director of Azkaban had his strength in atmosphere. I really liked the look and feel of Azkaban, especially with subsequent viewings. But it was nice to see the difference with Goblet- I particularly enjoyed seeing Emma Watson shine in that one- she was able to do a lot with the adolescent turmoil of Hermione in book 4. Both Rupert Grint (Ron) and Daniel Radcliffe (Harry) do better in less subtle roles, in my opinion. Ron seemed a bit wooden to me in Goblet- he is more believable again in Phoenix. They lightened up a bit on scary in this new film, which feels a bit contrived- after all, things are only getting more dangerous. But I can understand why they chose to do that. They also had to eliminate a great deal of the climax at the Department of Mysteries. . . but I can say that what they left in, they did very well indeed. The IMAX screen at the Mall of GA is showing Harry Potter right now, and the last 20 minutes are in 3-D. We saw it on a regular screen, without the 3-D. . . and I'm thinking I'd like to go again to get the climax in 3-D. I bet it's pretty cool. Enough rambling on Potter! Now I just can't wait to get my copy of book 7. . . the END! Sniff, sniff. . . The restaurant we ate at is called Aqua Terra, in downtown Buford. It is pricey, and NOT a place to take kids. (Precisely why we went there! LOL) The food is fantastic. Cozy atmosphere, and attentive service. I HIGHLY recommend it. Thank you Aaron, for hanging with the boys and braving a poopy diaper. Thank you, Billy, for a lovely evening. It was nice to see my friend again. ;)

quick update

Saturday, July 14, 2007

quick update Current mood: tired Oh me oh my oh. . . I am tired. I read somewhere that a pregnant woman is expending as much energy when she is at "rest" (building a baby) as a normal person expends when climbing a steep hill. I believe it. Add to that the energy expended taking care of two toddlers, two dogs and a cat, and keeping up with the house and my computer work, and you can probably imagine why I am tired. Add to THAT the fact that sleeping is becoming increasingly difficult (too uncomfortable and I have to pee) and you can see how all this is a great way to prepare Mom for weeks of thankless, sleepless nights with a newborn. Sigh. On the bright side, Littleman is nicer to me these days. That is very helpful. Unfortunately, he also whines, moans and complains A LOT. And he has taken to whining about almost ANYTHING I put in front of him to eat. That's disappointing, because both boys have generally been very good eaters, willing to try all sorts of things and liking good stuff. I hope this will be a brief phase. I have been slowly catching up with laundry and dishes, and soon I'll start organizing the "mini" nursery in Billy's and my bedroom. That is where the babies spend the first several months of their lives, until they outgrow the co-sleeper bassinet. I'll be able to go over the baby clothes and diapers to see what needs replenishing. There is little we need, of course- mostly stuff like baby wash and diaper creme. Today we are trying to take the boys outside to run off some energy and let Littleman practice riding his brand-new bike with training wheels. He's doing pretty well, and Sweetcheeks loves having the trike to himself now! Must get ready. Hopefully I can get a shower later! :)

Keeping up with the feet, and our new project

Sunday, July 08, 2007

Keeping up with the feet, and our new project Current mood: accomplished Well, we finally took the kids to get new shoes today- they both needed sandals, and I suspected Littleman might need new tennis shoes. Lo and behold, we had to get 4 pairs of shoes today- Littleman is now in a 8 1/2 wide, and Sweetcheeks is fast catching up in a whopping 7 wide. (Poor kid- he was wearing a 5 1/2 x-wide shoe before. . . I had no idea his feet had grown so much! Luckily the difference isn't as big as it seems, since there is some growing room in the size 7s. But still!) Keeping growing kids in good-fitting shoes is so expensive! I did pretty well in finding deals, but we still plunked down about $100 at the shoe store today. Wow. But they are proud of their new shoes, and this time I was smart- no white tennies to get grimy-grungy! They chose brown (Sweetcheeks) and navy (Littleman). I also scored a great deal at the Carter's outlet on an adorable terrycloth sleeper for the new babyman's arrival. Now we have a sweet little outfit all his own to wear at the hospital! (Even though we have lots of baby boy clothes, I make sure each baby has something his own for his first picture. If nothing else, it will help me tell them apart when I look at the pictures years from now). LOL! I am excited about our (Littleman's) newest project. Littleman has been expressing quite an interest in "soldiers" lately. We have told him about how his Grandpa was a soldier, and have shown him pictures and the medals Grandpa won. Several times Littleman has said that he wants to invite a "good soldier" over for dinner, or for a "sleepover" (LOL!), or to swim in our pool. Finally it occurred to me that we should put this interest to good use by writing to a soldier in Iraq! We can brighten someone's day, help Littleman feel important and also practice correspondence skills, and have fun doing it. We now have the names and addresses of 3 active military personnel- 2 distant relatives, and one "adopted" soldier. There's a lot to learn about how to mail this stuff properly (customs slips, restrictions- like "no pork", etc) but Littleman is very excited and I am looking forward to sending things. Littleman and Sweetcheeks have already drawn pictures, and Littleman dictated a letter. We'll do some shopping tomorrow to pick out things to send in care packages. If you'd like to adopt a soldier, go to http://www.operationmilitarypride.org/ and sign up as a supporter. Someone will e-mail you a service man or woman's name and address, along with a list of suggested care package items and other helpful guidelines. Try to send something at least once a week. Brighten someone's day! It's tough work out there, and some of them have been there a good long while.

garden

Friday, July 06, 2007

garden Current mood: tired The air is heavy, thick with summer humidity and redolent of tomato plants. I marvel at the recent explosion of fruit- fat green tomatoes hang everywhere, hidden amongst the leaves until you lean down to peer through the thicket. Standing out like rubies are the sweet little cherry tomatoes, a few here and there brilliantly ripe. I twist one off and pop it into my mouth; sun-warmed tomato sweetness explodes over my tongue. Mmmm, this is why a vegetable garden is so wonderful! I swear, there is simply nothing like eating a sun-warmed tomato straight out of the garden. Moving over I inspect the bean plants, gently parting leaves to reveal perfect little green beans that snap off easily in my hands. So delicious, fresh and green! I don't think any will make it into the house this time. The okra are not yet yielding, nor the squash and watermelons. The squash leaves prickle my skin. Very soon I should cut the glossy, dark eggplants from their stems- I lean down to admire the regal perfection, running my fingers over their smooth skin. Don't let them get too big, or they get too tough and the seeds are too hard. These are almost perfect, I bet. Hmm- eggplant parmesagn? Or maybe breaded, fried eggplant sllices? The basil is taking over the corner of the garden. I pinch some off and inhale deeply before enjoying the flavor. With a pocketful of cherry tomatoes for Sweetcheeks (the tomato king) and a couple green beans for Littleman, I leave the rich living confines of the garden for the cool air conditioned comfort inside. Soon I will begin to itch wherever the mosquitoes have gotten me- but the discomfort is well worth this soul-replenishing evening visit.

The news is in-

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

The news is in- Current mood: sad Ladies and gentlemen, the news is in- and, Yes my friends, ANOTHER boy! I am officially and irrevocably outnumbered. I won't lie- I am SOOO sad that I won't be having a girl. We are definitely not planning on having any more kids, so I'm afraid little Lily is just not to be. (Now we have to decide on another boy name!! Uh oh!) Now, before you start telling me all about how wonderful this little guy is going to be, believe me I KNOW! He is going to be fantastic, just like my other gorgeous sweet boys. And everything else at the ultrasound visit today looks perfect- you couldn't ask for better. I already feel selfish and silly for being disappointed, so there's no need to remind me that things could be worse- I am SO grateful for healthy babies. (Unelievably so- I think of it often). I feel ridiculous for being so sad. Luckily I know I'll get over it! I'm glad we found out the sex early, so I have time to work through this now and our new babyman's arrival won't be marred by any silly regrets. In the meantime, I guess this is good for our wallet because I was so looking forward to buying a few girly things. . . and now I don't need to. :) So I guess that's it for now. . . I'm feeling a bit better about it all than I was this morning. Maybe I can find a couple super adorable adventurous little boy things to buy, for some minor retail therapy. ;) LOL!