most interesting quote of my day

"My husband and I wanted our daughter to have a name that people can spell and that she could find on a key chain or a mug. My nieces can't get the LeapFrog Violet dog to say their names. Sad."
- commenter on this article about 2010's top baby names 

Shoot! Jason and I haven't even considered the key chain issue while we've been nailing down baby names! Why didn't somebody point this out sooner? We better adjust our priorities, because if there's one thing that's important in life, it's being sure that at every filthy gas station across the country, you can find a piece of leather or plastic onto which a machine has clearly articulated your name.

To be clear: I totally get choosing a common name! I just don't get doing it on the basis of the LeapFrog being able to pronounce it.

easter 2011

point-blank ring tossing Saturday at the mall's kiddie carnival 

orange on orange

-  the egg hunt  -
Being the only kid present has its perks, including
all the attention and zero competition.

Some observers get tricky.



Scrabble after the big meal

Hand and Foot

individual sport lounging



group sport lounging

Auntie Heather's chocolate covered strawberries




reflections on the second trimester (way back when)

I am 35.5 weeks along now, which could be the home stretch if I birth soon, or it could just be third base if I go to 43 weeks. I am clearly so over the second trimester (roughly 13 - 26 weeks). That was so nine weeks ago. But I haven't blogged as much about this pregnancy, and darnit, I have things to say. So, according to my journal and memory, here are some thoughts about that long ago second trimester.

• More energy! Hello, second trimester! Hello, happy world, where good things happen occasionally. Hello, art and music and beauty and peace. Hello, baby! I am so excited about you growing inside! I am so excited about our family getting bigger.  
• What's this I'm reading - it's not until 30 weeks that a pregnant woman is supposed to avoid lying on her back?! I've been doing this from the start of the second trimester, arranging my pillows to make side-lying as comfortable as possible. DOH! That's what I get for going by memory.
• I get surprise abdominal muscle and ligament aches at random times. They are a surprise in two ways (thus, a double surprise!!): first, the usual rules of pulling muscles don't apply, because, dude, all I did was roll over in bed, and second, I didn't even know I had that muscle.
• I have so many pillows in the bed these days. Having a husband in there too is a nice bonus but definitely an afterthought. Poor guy. He does manage to find a spot where he can.
• Insomnia, peeing on the 1/2 hour mark, and heartburn are my personal pregnancy tri-crosses to bear. All in all, I feel pretty fortunate.
• I bought several packages of large underwears at the store but upon getting them home realized some were two or three sizes up from my usual, a bigger jump than I'd intended. I returned one package and kept one "just in case." Boy am I glad I kept that other package of big ones, because Mama got back.
• The baby moves so much! I love when Jason feels and talks to it. Today we were all playing and reading on Zoralee's bed, and we put a little stuffed monkey on my belly to watch it wiggle when the baby did. Such a neat sensation, almost like being in an earthquake. It's unpredictable and disconnected from everything else, yet big and important. I was awed - like, hold on and hope all the glassware stays on the shelves.
• As the second trimester draws to a close, I am suddenly back to fatigue as the daily rule of thumb. Could this be mental? Part of it is J's work schedule. If he's on swing shift, I'm not as apt to jump into bed when Zoralee goes to sleep, because there's so much to get ready for the move, and when she's asleep I'm free! Free as a bird!.....until I finally go to bed at midnight, sleep wretchedly, get up to pee thirteen times, and feel Zoralee climbing into bed with us at 6:30 a.m., knowing she successfully falls asleep again in the mornings maybe once a month. And then part of adjusting to fatigue is to lower my expectations; I know this in my head. My Yoga For Pregnancy book says to listen to my body. My Yoga For Pregnancy book doesn't know we are moving from Texas to North Dakota via Montana next trimester.