Typical
So I took all these great pictures and video from 4th of July and of course I left both cameras at my Mom's house last night. The funny thing (or the pathetic thing, depends how you look at it) is that as I watched my Mom move the cameras from the table whilst prepping it for dinner, I thought to myself, "I should put those in the baby bag because I'll forget them on the entertainment center if I don't move them
right now."
And then I reached for my champagne glass and did not move my
self, let alone the cameras.
Ah well. It's not like they're far away. A 15 minute drive would retrieve them.
Maybe tomorrow.
I will, once I get the camera, post a very blurry picture of my new haircut (I shall blur my face, not my hair. I suspect I would be recognizable from my face - one hopes! - but not my hair since none of you know what it was like before). This anonymous thing is a pain, it turns out.
In other news, AnonaBaby did not like fireworks one bit this year. Last year she was only 5 weeks old and didn't notice them. This year we thought she might be interested, if she was awake, and she was, so we took her into the front yard to watch our neighbors set off their Safe and Sanes. We're too cheap to buy any ourselves, but my Mom's next door neighbors treat the whole block to a pyrotechnics show, and are
extremely safety conscious.
However, AnonaBaby was very unnerved by the entire spectacle, and rather than scar her for life we opted to remove her to the safety of the front window. She watched for about 6 seconds and then toddled off to the back of the house where there were no fireworks at all
thankyouverymuch. Thus it was that a wide variety of lovely sparks and flames were going on outside and we were stuck in the living room watching
1776.
The end.
Labels: The Mummy Returns
Summer, Summertime
The last week has been pretty crazy since it was the last week of school. It's always that way. On the surface it seems like it would be pretty easy for teachers, right? Especially teachers at the promoting grades, where the last week is filled with activities and rehearsals and all that stuff.
Well, think again.
Because teachers have to supervise all that stuff. So we're running around like mad, keeping kids from killing each other, slipping off to cause trouble or generally making bad choices. It's not all kids, of course. Not even most. But enough.
So last week was a lot of keeping kids in line, helping them on and off the right buses, etc etc etc. Plus our school is moving for next year so I had to pack up my entire classroom and if you think that was a thrill you can have a long hard think again. Ugh. By Thursday afternoon I was pooped. Friday was officially my first day of summer and I spent it watching the baby and at my surgeon's office. Just a routine checkup of the plate that was placed after I broke my leg last autumn.
On Saturday we went to a family reunion at my aunt's house. It was OK. It was the side of my family that I hardly know at all. I know these people pretty much by name only - they're my paternal grandfather's family and the dominant family for us has always been my paternal grand
mother's family. The people at the party were... old. Most of their kids - my second cousins - aren't particularly close so they didn't show up. It was all people in their 50's and 60's, which I know isn't OLD, but it's not my generation and I didn't even know them so it was sort of dull. But my aunt has a pool and my mom and sister were there and we took AnonaBaby swimming so it wasn't a total loss.
On Father's Day we did exactly nothing exciting. Which was what AnonaDad wanted. (He still feels bad about Mother's Day because he got me nothing whatsoever (not by request) and the one thing he'd planned - breakfast - was destroyed by AnonaBaby's absolute refusal to take a nap, even though she was exhausted. Which made for a fun Mother's Day, let me tell you.) I did get him a present, and we watched movies for much of the day and played with the baby and it wasn't a half bad way to spend a Sunday.
Labels: The Mummy Returns
All this time
AnonaGirl celebrated her first birthday this weekend. It was the culmination of weeks of frantic work on our house because her party was the first one we've had at our place in years. Usually we celebrate everything at my mom's, but this year I wanted to start a new tradition for AnonaGirl.
Everybody seemed to have a great time, especially AnonaGirl herself, who loved playing with the other kids who showed up. Being an only child, she hasn't had a ton of exposure to other kids. She gazed with hero worship on the oldest girl there, a 6 year old who has twin brothers and who, after being followed Just Long Enough by AnonaGirl announced in no uncertain terms, "I am
not your mommy!" and flounced off to get some snacks.
AnonaDad and I are pretty... well, we're actually
terribly bad at making friends. I can count my friends on one hand, which I don't actually mind
too much, because they're thick-and-thin friends. I've known them all for years and I know they've got my back just as I have theirs. But I can't think of a single person outside the family who AnonaDad considers a friend. I often think this is sad, but I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do. If there's anything that can actually be done. Which I'm not even sure about in the first place.
I worry that between her father's hermit-like existence and my own issues with making friends AnonaGirl will be at a distinct disadvantage socially. I've signed us up for classes over the summer both to get us out of the house regularly but also to expose her (and me) to others. The classes are through our community center and I really hope they're good. Any other ideas?
This whole weekend I was flashing on what was happening This Time Last Year. I kept catching my breath as my gaze fell on my baby standing, cruising around, taking tentative steps on her own. "This time last year she was getting her first bath..." She loves to hand things to people and have the item handed back to her. "This time last year we were being moved into the post-partum room..." She gets intimately involved in exploring her world, passing toys back and forth between her hands and then testing them in her mouth. "This time last year I was alone with her for the first time..." As I opened her presents she sat in a sea of wrapping paper and ribbon, waving tissue paper in the air to hear it crinkle and then grinning up at me with a gap-toothed smile so wide it broke my heart. "This time last year she had her first hospital visitors."
It's been the fastest year of my life. It seems like every time I turn around it's time to get the baby up, or put her to sleep or fix a bottle. Everything in my world seems to revolve around her because I love to be with her so much. She entertains me in a way that nothing has before - I can watch her play for hours at a time, and sometimes I do. Her bumps and bruises wreck me and her victories swell me up with pride.
Things are actually better than they were at exactly this time last year. I had a horrific time breastfeeding, as my milk never came in though I was insanely engorged. AnonaGirl had thrush, which she passed on to me and by this time last year I was in horrific pain. Every time I put her to the breast I grit my teeth to keep from crying out in pain. Within 24 hours we would be in the ER because AnonaGirl had spit up blood and we weren't sure it was from my cracked nipples or her intestines (it was me. All me. And it was at that point that we broke out the bottles and formula because she had lost too much weight and was becoming dehydrated). I would rather not remember all the details of
this time last year.
But I would do it again for her in a nanosecond. I would do anything for this tiny person. Just anything. When she clambers into my lap, holding her animal book out so we can read it together - I would do anything to keep that safe. No matter what was happening last year, my life in this one is just fine.
Labels: The Mummy Returns
