Babies and Maybes and Bears, Oh My!

You'd think that most of the women in my family were of childbearing age or something, but there seems to be a rash of babies over the last few years. Specifically the last 2...My sister N had her second baby in June 2007, J was born in January of 2008, then my sister M had her son in March of 2008. Now N is pregnant again, with twins. I strongly suspect that my newest sister-in-law, D, is pregnant but she is being understandably secretive about it if she is pregnant (see the Unfairness post below). However, given that she is not drinking coffee or alcohol, and her husband said something to the effect of "Yeah, she's not drinking but I'm not allowed to say why..." is a pretty good indication. May they (and any other ladies who jump on the baby train in the next couple months) have happy, easy, and healthy pregnancies and deliveries in the coming year!

As for bears, well...J likes his teddy bear. That's about it.

That Bittersweet Ache

I am sitting here watching J drink down a couple ounces of goat's milk with no breastmilk added. My throat tightens, I feel a deep pulling ache in my core as I watch my baby guzzle down milk that did not come from me without a problem. This ache also brings a sense of relief that if I can't pump enough milk, he'll drink goat's milk without a complaint. He's old enough that we are starting to transition him to goat milk anyway, so that after he turns one he will only be getting breastmilk from nursing when I'm home. I will be able to stop pumping in 13 work days, and J will be fine. He'll make the transition just fine. He'll keep growing and learning and soon he'll be cruising around and then he'll walk. Someday I will put him on a schoolbus, someday I will watch him graduate. I may see him get married one day.

I will treasure that bittersweet ache that I feel at every new milestone.

Eulogy

Neith has gone home. Tonight I took the hound out at about 6:00, in the wild, cold and blowing snow and saw Neith slowly making her way from her little corner. I watched as she painstakingly started to make her way down the wall of the porch. An hour later, I took the hound out again (yes, he pees a lot) and Neith had finally made it to the ground. I watched as she determinedly pulled herself into a small pile of snow. I took the dogs out again about5 minutes ago, and Neith is gone, completely entombed.

She never laid any eggs, and C and I were honestly surprised she survived this long with all the freezes we've had, and she hasn't had any food in many days if not a couple weeks. I am grateful to the service she provided in removing the insects from our vicinity, and to the help she provided in my overcoming arachnophobia. I am no longer afraid of that particular spider, and I am sorry she did not get to pass her genetic material on to another generation.

Goodbye, Neith.

26 Things.

Inspired by Cyndi.

Adored: my husband and son are, by me

Beagle-y: how MacGuyver's bed smells

Christmas: so very excited for J's first

Dippy: my other dog, Athena, who has gotten out again

Elegant: what I want to be when I grow up

Frail: my grandmother

Gross: sputum

Hilarious: RoboSapien on RoboRaptor on other Robo Dinosaur action

Ignorant: people who really really irritate me

Jazz: C's beautiful music

Kangaroos: on the wall in J's room, make him smile when he "says" goodnight to them

Literature: I should read more of this

Mother: I am, my mother is, my grandmother is, my great-grandmother was...

Nut: hazelnuts + chocolate = soooo yummy

Open: what I try to be with C, and he tries to be with me

Prescience: would it actually be nice to have this ability?

Quilting: I love this, I should try to devote some time to it again

Running: escape, burning off energy, freedom

Sing: I love when C does this, even/especially his goofy lip-synching.

Turtle: ate the frogs. I swear!

Umbrella: only the non-natives use them in Seattle

Varicella: itchy, couldn't go to a birthday party when I had one spot in my ear that hadn't scabbed over yet

Water: my plants probably need some of this

Xerox: the machine at work is squeaky

Zebra: differences in pronunciation are amusing.