101010

i am the cool kid with 101010 as my birthday. zang!

monday morning QB : draft week

MANDIBLES OF DEATH :: my fantasy football team name.

today is fantasy football (ffb) day for me. it's draft week and i've done NO research this summer due to that little bambino who takes up my days.

i have to catch up to Shane who likely has been researching since March of last year.

This year our league is doing a "keeper league." This means we get to keep a player who we (1) drafted last year, (2) was on our team at the end of last season and (3) is ranked lower than 50. I voted yes for the keeper league because I drafted Brett Favre in the 11th round last year and he was ranked #51 as of last Wednesday. Well, this morning that SOB is ranked 50! so no drafting that bast for me! and now I remember how ffb makes me want to puke on a weekly basis. The things which we cannot control no matter how much we prepare. I'm battling this year, though. I went from last place in 2008 to fifth last year. So, here's hoping that this year brings a higher standing yet...

a good motto

artwork by lizzy janssen

I ran across this piece of work today and found it beautiful - both in the artistry itself and the message. To me, it seems a good motto for life.

We live in a society of consumers, of takers. We take and take until there is nothing left. We take of the Earth, of people's good will, of stuff. All too often, I think we are so busy taking that we forget to take time to enjoy what we have, no matter how little of it there is.

The word NEED also stood out to me. There has been a lot of need vs. want talk in our home lately. Interestingly, I signed us up for the "No Impact Week Experiment" through the Sierra Club and the first day (today) is about consumption. If you haven't seen No Impact Man, I highly recommend it. You can get it through netflix both via DVD and Watch Instantly. You can also link to the blog here. It is a little extreme, at times, but it definitely makes you take a look at life and your impact on the environment.

I learned to make my mind large, as the universe is large, so that there is room for paradoxes. -Maxine Hong Kingston

_________________________________________________________________

par·a·dox [par-uh-doks]
–noun
1. a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.
2. a self-contradictory and false proposition.
3. any person, thing, or situation exhibiting an apparently contradictory nature.
4. an opinion or statement contrary to commonly accepted opinion.
_________________________________________________________________

You may remember Maxine Hong Kingston from my Masters Thesis writing adventures. She came to me this time via my daily early childhood education newsletter. The sight of her name made my heart skip a beat. That same day, on Morning Edition story corps was about a Vietnamese woman and her daughter and the balance of transculturalism. (You can listen to the story of Theresa Nguyen and her daughter, Stephanie here)

It was like giant flags from the Universe. "Continue, continue!" It felt like the Universe was saying. The thought of indulging further into my English studies reminds me of eating a fresh peach beneath my grandma's lilac trees on a hot summer day. It is both delicious and refreshing.

...I wonder where this thought will lead me...

winding down

A few things always tend to happen when summer starts to wind down. Colleges start back which means the SUNY students move back to the Bing. The temperatures start to dip into the 60s for a bit. The wind starts to bring a chill with it. The sun sets earlier. And, inevitably, I have a flip flop blow out. A few years ago it happened at the Walton fair when we went to see Sara Evans. Luckily, this year it just happened at the house.

RIP Black Old Navy Flips, you were good to me for the 4 years we were together. You formed to my feet. You helped me move into my new house. You were always there for me to stand on when I needed you. I will remember you fondly...



rainy day rose


just for fun, a patriotic baby (thanks, aunt audrey, for the onesie!)

one is silver and the other's gold...

There was a song we sang in Girl Scouts (which if you didn't know I was in all the way up through high school). The song went "make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other's gold." I saw some golden oldie friends this week and it turned out to be unbelievably fabulous.

My friend Jodie came to visit from Atlanta this week. I met her back in junior high. She attended elementary school at Floyd Bell, being a Kirkwood kid. C.R. Weeks was my elementary alma mater. This was the last year that there were only 2 elementary schools and no middle school. We were thrown into junior high and we roamed the hall with seniors. I mean, think about it. I was 11 when I started 7th grade and there were "kids" who were 19 in the school. wtf. ...I digress... Jodie and I, though unlikely friends, can get together and pick up where we left off like we just saw each other last week. I love seeing her because she knows me in ways that most people I know now don't...and loves me anyway.

I wish I could put into words how seeing her feels. It's almost like I am reconnecting with a part of myself that probably needs to get dusted off more often. The self who called it like she saw it, and called it loudly and didn't give a rats behind what you thought about that. She knows me enough that when she says "Zoey is beautiful" she immediately adds "and smart, too. I almost forgot the empowerment." ...and i don't feel like she's mocking me. I have a sneaking suspicion, though, that she hopes Z becomes a cheerleader like she was. To which I replied "Jodie! no!" heehee.

And then there is my friend Meg. Meg, as she said with astonishment in herself, has a thirteen year old, an eight year old, and a 4 year old. I have known Meg since time began, by which I mean preschool. Having an infant at the age of 30 is a challenge to my mind. My appreciation for the strength she had to have at the age of 19 is immense. FOR. REAL. Her children are amazing, imaginative and loved. I also have a deep jealousy that at the age of 43 she I will be the one with the teenager and she will be sipping margaritas as she waves to her last child pulling out of the driveway!

Just like with Jodie, I think Meg understands me in a way that only someone who knew you in your formative years could. We were silly junior high kids in love with seniors. We called WAAL when it was the top 40 station during request and dedication hour.

As the Baz Luhrmann song "Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen" goes:

Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should
hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because
the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were
young.

with each passing year this rings with more and more truth.

(p.s. someday i'll write about my love for margorina, but that requires it's own blog post)

with jodie, september 1993. if you look close you can see my mood ring.


with meg, may 1994. flannel. wow.

first day

it's my first official day as a "stay at home mom" -- the other possibilities for me were put to rest after some deliberation. I left my job to be with Z. end of story.

I call this my first official day because, as I was downstairs this morning with Nick making coffee and getting something to eat before the Z awoke I realized that all of my former co-workers were at THEIR official first day of back to school. Namely, the martyr who is basking today in some serious martyrdom as I sit on my bed eating breakfast with a just awake Zoey Mary. It was perfection.

Today I am also officially on a facebook hiatus. I cannot stand it any more. The constant influx of useless information about people who I care enough to keep in touch with but not enough that they are snacking on a PBJ. There was a time, when I was in Ohio and for a couple years after, even where no one but the important people could find me. If I had a feeling I wrote in a journal. If I had something I needed to exclaim to the world I published it in my 'zine...Dandelion Dreams.

I think I'd like to go back to that.

It used to be easy to clean out friends... I moved. The important ones kept in touch or I kept in touch with them. It was an act of love to pick up the phone and dial or write a letter (my Faaaavorite) or even email. Now it's clickclickclick oh, look random girl from 6th grade is sad why don't I cheer her up with some typed words. Then I'm spreading myself thin again and wasting precious alone time I could be using to write here or in a marbled composition notebook.

who knows when I'll go back to fb. the important people will find me... and maybe i'll find my writing voice again...

july turns into august

GrassRoots was hot. and wet. and so we only went for a few hours on Saturday, which was a bizarre change of things. We planned on going Sunday with Z... taking her up to hear Preston Frank, Driftwood and Donna...instead we hung out in PJs til 630pm which is something we hadn't done since her birth!

Monday we had "the talk" - a big one about life and future and finance. I initiated it in a wine haze at G-Roots. "Nick, I don't want to go back to the center." We took a good, long look at what we had to do to make that happen and now we're doing it. Which, in essence, means getting creative. So this should be fun.

The big announcement has been met with an array of emotions ranging from excitement (all the grandparents) to astonishment (my now former boss) to sadness and jealousy. Looking out at the days that stretch before me I am both excited and scared. I'm not a person who will claim that I was born to be a mother. I see nothing wrong with that but it's not me. So I will have to learn to balance and integrate this new role into the ones that I already have. I'm sure this will be like everything else I have embarked on and I'll do it the "kate-way." I just hope I can drown out the remarks and continue to live my own way...our own way...


sleepy baby in her first tie-dye

chase lake

it was fun to share the cabin that my great-grandfather had built in 1938 with my mom, husband, and daughter. what a remarkable place Chase Lake is. "it feels like we've been gone longer than a weekend," Nick said because he felt so rejuvenated.

my great-aunt catharine put it best "all i need are the 3 Ws: woods, water and wind."

What a great weekend we had.

girlie on the porch:




nick doing a little work on the porch:




grammy and zoey by the lake:


sound asleep in the ergo after a hike:

Framily

A few days ago I was reading the blog of one of my favorite environmentalists, Julia Butterfly Hill. She made reference to her "Framily" which she said are her friends-family. "Finally!" I thought to myself, "a much shorter term for what I refer to as my family-of-friends."

Nick and I have been blessed with knowing some pretty amazing people. Of course, our "blood families" are incredible - they have supported us and loved us through thick and thin. As the saying goes, though, you can pick your nose but not your family. You can, however, pick your framily.

It is a wonderful feeling to know that you have created for yourself a little group of people who love you for being you. Who know everything about you and love you just the same - and not because they have to. And vice versa. People who you grow and change around- who you celebrate with and cry with. We are so so lucky to have the people we have in our lives.

The arrival of Zoey, more than anything, has truly revealed to us how important our Framily is. I hope know who you are and that we love you. :)

6 weeks

My little girlie has been here for over 6 weeks. We're still getting to know each other but we're getting it down more and more every day.

I went to the doctor for my 6 week check up and i can start exercising again which brings me joy to no end. We were doing about 3 mile walks in the evening about 5 times a week but that's not really targeting what I need it to. Now I feel comfortable getting some core workouts in. I have decided to try some Pilates. A few years ago when i was first getting into yoga I purchased a dvd called "10 minute yoga solutions" which had 5 different ten minute yoga workouts that you could do individually or together. When I looked up Pilates on the netflix watch instantly what appeared but "10 minute Pilates Solutions" - which has the same instructor who is NOT ANNOYING. thank the HP. So hooray for the 10 minute solutions because for the first 4 days of this week that's about the longest name the girlie was taking. Today, though, she's out for the count.

Zoey is smiling more now and has some pretty decent early neck control. She can now see the mobile-y dangling elephant thing in her pack and play and loves to stare at them when I change her CLOTH DIAPER. Oh yeah, we're only 3 days in but the cloth diapering is going well, so far. Baby steps, though. When we went on our walk last night we still put her in a disposable diaper. I don't know what we're worried about... the sposies leaked poop all over the place on Sunday. ALL OVER THE PLACE. So Zoey got her first dunking bath on Sunday. :) It's to be expected, the poop, the lack of naps for days on end. It makes me appreciated contained poop and moments of quiet alone time for me that much more.

We also love to sing and dance in the afternoon. Two woman dance parties, they are! Anytime JBB or Ziggy Marley plays she settles right down. It's pretty dang awesome. My little reggae baby.

On another note, happy birthday to my amazing father-in-law! If every kid in the world had just one grandparent that loved them as much as he loves Zoey the world would be a much different, much better place.

i heart corky

six years ago my adoration for nick and our commitment to love each other forever and ever was recognized by the state of new york and the episcopal church. It was commemorated by a kickin' party that started at the binghamton regency and lasted into the wee hours at the harry l. pub.

my adventures with nick started long before and, god willing, will continue for many years to come.

i hope that someday every couple that decides they will love each other forever and ever will get the opportunity to have their love recognized by the state of new york.

ch-ch-changes

My clothesline last week filled me with a weird amount of joy. The day brought a ton of sunshine and Z's clothes were out on the line all tiny and colorful. Our backyard neighbor yelled to me, "Looks like you've got a baby in the house" and chuckled. So true.

By the looks of the clothesline a lot has changed round these parts. The stark change has been my relationships with everyone and everything. From my relationship with Nick to my relationship with my cat, even with myself. The hardest part about this is that I am normally a "reflector" - needing large quantities of time to examine what is going on and how to digest it, to see how I fit into the latest version of my life. Right now my largest quantities of "alone time" are spent in the shower or washing dishes or trying to put together announcements or just generally catching up. It's not that I didn't expect this, you see, I just hadn't lived it yet.

That's another thing the "wait untils" - I'm not waiting until, I'm trying to live in this moment and figure THIS thing out. When the next thing comes I'll handle that but for now, I'm handling this. I'm sure I can handle anything that comes my way just as generations of women before me have handled it and generations after me will. I'm a very smart woman, you know, quite adaptable with a spectacular partner who is equally as adaptable. As Buddhism believes, everything you need is inside you just have to find ways to access it. Just give me reprieve while I acclimate myself, please.

early literacy

Zoey had about 10 minutes of alert chill time in her pack-n-play the other day so I figured she might like a book to check out. A developmentally appropriate black & white book with bold images, of course. She loved it. It totally captured her attention. I was one proud English major mama!

mama & zoey chillin' in the yard...

...under the maple tree while I read a magazine to her and we discussed how much she might need to have in her college fund in 2028. then she found her toes and our conversation turned to body part identification. Nick roto-tilled the garden. it was a nice evening.





let's see if i can add a video:

television

I'm starting to really like the early show on cbs. I get the last "shift" which when Nick isn't working is from 6-9a. When he is working (which has only been one day) it's 4-7. Each shift is defined by what is on TV, really. Remember when the M-C Lites didn't have cable? There are also two ladies on the early show one of which is a new mom and the other is pregnant. I love looking at the preggers lady and thanking god that I finally have my body back to myself.

Cheers is on from 1-4 which rocks. Cheers was awesome when I was little but it's even better as an adult. Sports Center keeps me informed on both the basketball and hockey finals which I have no interest in. haha, although I am kind of routing for the Celtics in the NBA. Probably because of some nostalgic Larry Bird notion from my past. Don't tell LW, though.

I turn the boob tube off after the early show and turn on the radio. TV is like soda, I keep saying, too much makes you feel yucky. So we listen to pandora and chat with friends. In the afternoon, though, I need a change so I turn on "MTV Hitlist" or a music ondemand channel. I confess, there is a 14 year old girl that lives deep inside of me who still loves music videos. If only Beach MTV with Dan Cortese was still on. *sigh*

here's your zoey fix for the day: (yes, that's mtv hitlist in the back)

rilke

I beg you... to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.
-Rainer Maria Rilke

this was the quote in my daily early childhood education newsletter this morning. i thought it was quite beautiful.

almost as beautiful as this:

Zoey

The moment a child is born,
the mother is also born.
She never existed before.
The woman existed, but the mother, never.
A mother is something absolutely new.
Rajneesh

I ran across this quote in March and thought it was quite a beautiful sentiment.

Zoey Mary was born on May 10, 2010 at 1:16 in the afternoon. She weighed in at 6lbs, 9oz and 19 and a quarter inches. She is strong and beautiful. These are the two sentiments I keep hearing. I love when people tell me how strong she is (really, she's a brut for 5 days old - and these nurses and techs have extensive experience with infants). Of course she is strong, I grew her.

mother's day

no baby yet today. snow, though. we watched it snow as we sat in nezuntoz and ate our breakfast. how odd.

and how 'bout those yankees! they've obliterated the stinkin red sox and i'm hoping for a sweeeeep tonite!!

Feliz cumpleaños, Padre!

Today is my dad's birthday. Yes, a busy week for birthdays. I'll be really surprised if Z doesn't share a birthday with SOMEONE.

Have I ever told you that my dad rocks? He is my hero. He's done so much for my sister and I - taught us how to be strong, independent women. He is our rock. He taught us everything we know about baseball and life, usually while watching the Yankees. That was usually our time to catch up on what was going on, while intermittently cheering/yelling at the players. I guess that's why I love and am so comforted by watching baseball. Though, honestly, I really suck at playing. heehee.

No Imact Man

I just finished watching "No Impact Man" which was a very interesting documentary about a man, his wife, their baby daughter and their year project to live with as little impact to the Earth as possible. It was impressive, I have to say. I understand that it got some serious flack for being insane and that the no impact man is a bourgeois f*@k, etc. It made me think a lot about our environmental impact.

Certainly, after the showers I was astounded at the environmental footprint my unborn child had already made on the Earth. The friggen packaging of things...my god, just the little plastic tags on clothes alone! It's just sad and weird to think about.

It's overwhelming to think about, really. The environmental impact of the banana sitting in our fruit basket. I try to do little things but I never feel like it's enough. I suppose, though, it's got to make some difference. If everyone changed one light bulb in their house to a CFL it would eliminate the equivalent of the emissions created by one million cars. Hmm...

I just want to make some kind of difference...

happy birthday, plummer!

i hope zoey either comes today or that the hospital gets cable because there's a Boston series this weekend. heehee.

it would be great if Zoey decided today was the day and she shared a birthday with MJP over at the nerd hut. Mike is seriously one of my favorite people in the world. Without he and Emily our Baltimore experience would have been seriously lacking in good times. And I never would have been able to witness the awesomeness of mike and nick playing crossbows and catapults: the late night intoxication version - which is VERY intense. You just don't meet people like the Plummers very often in life and it was very lucky that we did. The sad thought is, we may never live in the same town again, but it was such a fun time when we did that we will all be friends forever, and for that I am so grateful.

April 2004::

Cinco de Mayo

I wasn't actually sure what Cinco de Mayo celebrated, although I was pretty sure it was celebrating Mexican freedom. WRONG. I'm such a gringo! Thankfully, wikipedia informed me all about Cinco de Mayo which is basically the Mexican-American's version of St. Patrick's Day. A celebration of culture. I wish there were a parade in Binghamton for it. :/

It's also Jay Koz's birthday so if Z were born today she would share with him. Who knows what will happen...she's on her schedule and I'm just along for the ride.

Although I can't wait for her to arrive I also have been thoroughly enjoying my early morning peace. Perusing facebook updates, drinking my tea and eating my delicious corn flakes and home-made granola cereal. oh yeah, my new fave!! I have wanted to make my own granola for a year but was too preoccupied with other things to take the time to do it. Then I found the easiest recipe ever and tried it. delicious! or since it's cinco de mayo i suppose i should say "es muy delicioso!"

You can find the recipe here.

cousin o' mine.

My littlest cousin is 5 today! heehee. I love having a cousin who is 25 years younger than me - it's fun to play cut throat CandyLand - you can't do that with your 3 year old students. I would never chant "peanut brittle! peanut brittle!" in hopes that one of my students would have to move back, because that's just not behavior you want to model...but with E. it's different because he's a Miller, he's tough. He gives it right back and it's okay because we're cousins, I'm no authority figure. It rocks.

So, if Zoey is born today she will share a birthday with E. I share a birthday with his oldest brother N. (18 years apart on that one). It's also Seth H-V's birthday! We'll just have to wait and see... :)

lazy blogger

I've been off for a month and haven't blogged. As you can see, I changed the look of my page but haven't been inspired to write. I use most of the little energy I have picking up the house, doing the endless dishes and then I sit down and read the 40 other blogs that I love to read.

Today is Zoey's due date. I'm not banking on her arrival - and hoping she doesn't come until I at least finish this load of laundry, it has some serious essentials in it. :)

I hope I never become housebound. The past week I have had little energy to do much outside of the house. Luckily, my sister moved back and kept me company at the end of the week and I had some visitors at the beginning of the week. However, it's not about the lack of contact with people it's just being inside these walls day after day without being able to tackle big projects. It makes me realize just how lucky I am to have my health, even whatever variation of it I have now. I can't wait to get back on my Wii and walking and hiking and jogging! Especially hiking and kayaking. I hope I can get up to the lake this summer and kayak around. In our birthing classes when they told us to well, basically go to our happy place, I just thought about being in a kayak, alone on Chase Lake.

i'll just have to wait...i'm getting really good at it...

Easter

Here's to renewal, rebirth, forgiveness, fresh starts, blooming flowers, buzzing bees, the bursts of leaves but mostly... baseball. ♥

Let's go Yankees!

week 35

my life ticks by in weeks until the due date of my daughter. this week is my last week at work. With such impeccable timing spring break is the first week in april and I am taking 3 weeks before my due date off as I have enough vacation time to do so. Thank God. Being a preschool teacher is exhausting so is being pregnant. Doing both is ridiculous especially now at the end of this pregnancy.

How weird to be so close to the end of my second year of teaching. How different this year has been than last. On so many levels.

It is going to be very hard to say good-bye to my students this week but at the same time it will be such a relief. I am normally such a hard-worker and hands on teacher always running around with the children and getting down on their level. Racing on the playground, pulling the children in wagons. Now I am like a big blob. Obviously, there is reason behind this but it's annoying. It will be a relief to know my co-teacher has someone who is physically able to help her. Also, it will be a relief not to feel like I'm letting the children down when I tell them I can't do something because my body isn't able any more. Selfishly it will be a relief to just lay on my couch and be exhausted for a little bit cuz that ain't happenin' for a long time after Z comes!!

baseball and birthing...

My mom told me one of my favorite "tiny kate" stories last night. It the one where I come home from being born in the hospital and she and my dad put me on the card table to watch the world series. That was back when the world series was in the beginning of October. That year it actually began on Oct 10 (day of my birth)... is it no wonder that baseball is the most soothing thing on Earth to me?

So, yeah I purchased The New York Yankees Fall Classic Collector's Edition 1996 - 2001 DVD set to take to the hospital in lieu of "relaxing music" for labor. I don't care what your opinion is about this idea. I love it. It refocuses my attention to something and that is the point of soothing music or whatever right? You're supposed to go to your happy place? Well, my happy place is wherever the Yankees are playing. If you know me, you may remember back in 2004 when I was having debilitating panic attacks. There were only 2 remedies: milk and Yankees games. Seriously. My poor inlaws were kind enough to listen to a midday game the entire way from Binghamton to the Albany airport that August.

We start our final baby class this week: birthing. I don't want to go. I am so fricken tired of baby stuff. I want to go crash a graduate English course at BU. A year ago 3/15 I started my Master's Thesis which was about a billion times harder and more interesting. Plus no one gave me that knowing look or an annoying comment when I was writing my thesis. I have to start writing again or doing something intellectual. (and don't you dare tell me "good luck with that, you'll have a newborn soon" I swear to the HP...seriously.) my soul is withering away...but it's march so i guess this is the annual sh*tstorm before the joy of spring...

itunes mix

our itunes has EVERYTHING on it...including my preschool music. I love it when I hear Nick up in the construction zone, drilling away listening to the doors "people are strange" and then the next song is something by susan salidor like "come and make a circle" and now we have some country playing.

...our wacky world...

bad mama

Today we did NOT have a snow day. It began to snow a little too late but it still made travel treacherous. I fish tailed my way to work. About half way through I started to think how I would never put Zoey in the car on a day like this... then it dawned on me that I had! Minutes later my car went careening (okay, I was going 15 mph but still) towards the underside of a bridge where those big concrete pillars are. Luckily the car, me and my belly all went unscathed but as I continued to fishtail every time I pulled away from a stop sign or red light I was bawling uncontrollably. What a bad mama I was to be driving my stupid little car to work in such bad weather with a not even fully developed babykins in my uterus. I should have just left 40 minutes earlier with Nick. I was sobbing when I got to work, totally puffy, red clown face. Just the beginning of the guilt-ridden feelings of parenthood... *sigh*

BCC FINALLY closed early and I made it back safe but I'm not going out again until Monday, at the earliest. The Honda was a beast when it was just me in a snowstorm but now it's us.

us and a snurricane or snonado. both terms which annoy me. sensationalized weather terminology, just something more to piss off an english major. how about blizzard? or snow storm? something accurate. karli said it best when she said (paraphrased) "am i going to be flooded with snow or sucked up in a snowy tunnel of wind?" exactly. i get the Baltimore/DC Metro area proclaiming "SNOWMAGEDDON" or whatever. That was cute and those poor suckers never get 4 feet of snow! But we're upstate New Yorkers. We can handle lots of snow. Unless we're pregnant and in a honda civic on clinton street... then our hormones kick in and we cry like babies.

Finally, to commemorate this crazy snow storm, the emotions that i'm feeling and what others around me are going through I made a groovy mocktail. I even put it in a margarita glass and am using a small little straw. it's delicious and beats a mug of hot chocolate today...

30 week update

75% of this pregnancy is over. As someone wrote on one of the message boards I read "in 7-10 weeks i get to meet my child" which of course made me cry.

3 things...

1) Her last name will also be Miller-Corcoran. Her middle name will be revealed at a later date.

2) Here is the painting I made for her room:
3) Here is what I look like now:

take me out to the ballgame

Everyone keeps asking me "are you having any cravings?" I know people are dying to hear some weird standard like pickles or ice cream. Chocolate, more specifically Hershey Kisses, are a necessity in my life, currently. If I'm getting low, I'm like an addict, wondering when we'll be out again so I can refill my stash, get my fix.

There are 2 serious cravings I have been having. The first one I've had from about the 3rd day I knew I was pregnant -- wine. A good glass of Gnarley Head Red Zinfandel would be amazing. I can taste it on my lips right now. I know, I know, people say you can have A GLASS in your third trimester. Those people definitely aren't insane like me. If I have a glass of wine every time Z sneezes I will be like "great, it's cuz i HAD to have that freaking wine" -- so i'll just bide my time...drinking my non-alcoholic pinot that Karli found for me and the occasional O'Douls. I can handle it. It's not making me too crazy.

What is making me a little crazy is my craving for BASEBALL. With the SuperBowl only 2 weeks behind us... there is just so much more time to wait. It's not even March yet and opening day is April 4 (at BOSTON by the way...woohooo!!!) I know that the first spring training game is only 13 days away, but I don't care. It's too long.

Nothing can be put in place of this. The Olympics, while interesting to watch, don't fire me up like Yankee baseball. It's not the same. You can't yell at figure skaters. I don't have 30 years of life invested in the latest version of Nancy Kerrigan. I watched a speed skating relay last night and didn't even know what the hell was going on, who was winning...there were like 20 people on the ice pushing each other...whatever. (serious eye rolling here)

Basketball helps. That is, college basketball. The Corcoran's take us to BU games where I can cheer and jeer. I enjoy them immensely and am looking forward to March Madness...but what I really need is some green grass, some mitts, some bats and balls and "ENTER SANDMAN" by Metallica playing when Mariano Rivera takes the field...

be mine.

It's going to be a romantic Valentine's in the M-C Lite casa.

Nick, with the help of his dad, is going to be renovating my large closet located in our room, so that it can become our closet. We have never shared a closet.

You read that right. We have been together for 11 years, 8 of which we have resided together and we have never, ever shared a closet. We just recently began packing in the same suitcase when we go on trips.

We've always used the closet in the spare room of our residences for one of our closets. Now the spare room is Z's room. Or my office... but that closet is jam packed with paints and crafts and my other creative supplies.

So, my beloved big closet with 6 feet of space and one tiny door will become our closet with my space being 3 feet and a big door.

Also, since Nick is doing a construction project I'll be avoiding this joint like the plague. Gettin' my hair did (for the first time since halloween!) and then some QT with the Karlton. Which may very well be time logged on her couch in front of her TV. This is good because after Z is born TV time will be long gone...

Speaking of which, I know kids aren't supposed to watch TV until they're 2 but do Yankee games count?

Winter Break...craft central

My office was finally utilized for one of its intended purposes over this break. I finally whipped out the paints, buttons, glue, ribbons, sewing machine, etc. and made some cute items for Z's room.

The list for AC Moore looked something like this:
Ribbon (purple, green, pink, red)
Paint
Large canvas
Small square canvases (4)
Embroidery hoop (10in)
Double-sided tape

Here's what it made:

Letter blocks for her name. (Using 8x8 canvases, buttons, glue, paints)

I didn't know I was going to use buttons. I thought I would paint the letters on but as I perused the internet for fun fonts I came across Jan Brett's alphabet which had a "J" in buttons. I knew I had used buttons for a preschool lesson a couple years ago. After sorting and deliberating over the assortment of buttons I came up with what I think is a pretty cool design.



Then we have the ribbon mobile. I wanted it to have more ribbons but oh well.

For this I used a 10 inch embroidery hoop with double sided tape on the inner loop. I attached 18" ribbons put the other hoop over it and hot glued another ribbon on the outside. voila!

Finally, curtains. I searched JoAnn Fabrics but could not find anything I both liked and didn't cost $11/yd. I ended up using old twin sheets that Audrey and I had on our bed when we were little (i love that). I love how they look with the purple and I love love love that they still smelled a little bit like our old linen closet when I got them out.




(i totally stole this idea from sweetfern, by the way. only i had to take 31'' off and they were twin sheets so there's a lot of curtain up there.)

Now I'm on to making cloth napkins. I'm on these crunchy hippie mama message boards where people talk about using cloth cloth cloth. Although I will never be able to use family cloth (strips of cloth for TP, sorry I'm out) or mama cloth (cloth sanitary napkins and tampons. just not for me) I think I can do my part by making Nick's old shirts into some cool napkins for us. Easy peasy.


domestiKate in the hibby-ouse yo!

Winter Break ...part 2

Other than reading tremendous amounts of literature and bidding on E-bay auctions my Winter Break consisted of lots of catching up. Catching up with friends from high school (2 of my favorites) and friends from Nick's high school (a mini CF reunion took place one interesting sunday night) and catching up with family family family.

I also started catching up on my Winter To-Do List. Cleaning the fridge out, framing the remaining diplomas I earned and hanging them up. I started laminating reindeer and making a book of retired reindeer.

I finished M-C Tiny's registries and started truly designing her room. I'll post extra blog on the creativity going into that. It's fun. Currently, I'm debating on a red, green or purple lava lamp for her room.

We have decided to expand our garden this year. Last year we had cherry tomatoes, green and red peppers. With M-C Tiny on her way we've decided to plant more veggies that we can freeze and use for baby food. Yes, we are planning on making some of our own. I'm starting to plan out the garden and do research which is not as fun as planning trips but still satisfies both my need to research and my need to plan.

Speaking of trips, for New Year's Corky and I trekked down to Washington, DC. We spent our first afternoon in Baltimore. Eating at my favorite Hampden eatery, Holy Frijoles. I miss our old neighborhood sometimes but my, the changes! We used to do our laundry at the laundromat where scenes for the John Water's film, Pecker, were filmed. The ladies would sit, constantly smoking and keeping an eye on the joint and happenings in the neighborhood. The laundromat has been replaced with some kind of swanky salon called Padma. HUH? The quirkiness is being replaced by hipness in that neighborhood. I think a lot of Baltimore is but what do I know. The grilled veggie taco salad remains the best I've ever eaten.

We then headed to the American Visionary Arts Museum. The latest exhibition "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" proved to be mind boggling. I love the AVAM because they always mix quotes in with their art. So very Kate friendly of them. The museum always brings me to tears at some point, this was no exception. With quotes like:

"You can't be brave if you've only had wonderful things happen to you." (Mary Tyler Moore)

"All paths are the same, leading nowhere. Therefore, pick a path with heart!” (Carlos Castaneda)

and one of my ALL TIME FAVORITES: "To be nobody-but-yourself -- in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else -- means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting." (e. e. cummings)

We left the AVAM and drove on to DC where we stayed at the Capital Hilton, 2 blocks from the White House. We took the Metro to see the Christmas lights at the Zoo that night. We also ordered room service which neither of us had ever done. I have to say, it was the most delicious cheeseburger ever.


The next day we toured the Hirschorn museum which houses contemporary art. The trip became perfect when I walked around a corner to find a Picasso statue. One quite relevant to my current station in life Woman with Baby Carriage.

We ate lunch that day at the Old Post Office Pavilion. We took a ride up to the clock tower and peered down at the lovely nation's capital.

We walked back to our hotel via the White House where we saw the National Christmas (holiday?) tree with all of the state trees surrounding it. We knocked on the Obama's door but were sad to hear they had stolen away to Hawaii for the Winter Break. It was nice to see the White House when a President I actually have respect for is residing in it. (see how touristy happy i am!?)

That was New Year's Eve. We ate a tasty dinner out complete with delicious lobster bisque. After this we walked back around the White House and back to our hotel where we donned PJs and sipped non-alcoholic wine spritzers and watched J-Lo gyrate in a sparkly leotard to ring in 2010.



Someone once told me that however you ring in the year is a premonition of how it will be. If 2010 has me giggling at the TV with Corky while relaxing... then this year is gonna rock! And, HP, if you could help me to look 1/8 that good after M-C Tiny is born I'd be totally happy with that. :)

Winter Break ...part 1

"Man plans, God laughs." This Yiddish proverb was brought to me by my new favorite blogger, Teacher Tom. (check out the entry where he quotes it, i feel like i'm bound to live it in some similar way)

So many plans are being devised these days. Among them were my plans for Christmas break which I assumed would include a lot of time in my office, creating. This didn't truly happen. I spent about two hours researching and outlining for a writing piece I have been working on for... 10 years, give or take. I did, however, accomplish many things.

For instance, I finished 4 books.
#1) The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray. The final installment of the Gemma Doyle trilogy. I'd give it a 6 on a 1-10 scale. Intended for the teenage crowd, it had your usual girl feeling out of place, finding friends, special talents, secret places, discovering power and of course, ultimately, herself. A bit of romance rounded things out and made it a little interesting. Meh. Entertaining.

#2) Laurie Notaro's latest idiot girl revelations: The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death: Reflections on Revenge, Germophobia, and Laser Hair Removal. My girl is nothing short of HILARIOUS again in this one. Thank you, Laurie Notaro, for helping me realize that there are other women in this world who are as weird as I am. And thank you to my sister for lending me this book.

#3) Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay by Stephanie Wilder-Taylor. As I said on facebook, finally a "mommy book" I could relate to. For example, she doesn't refer to herself as a Mommy. It was a take on becoming a mother spoke to my life, putting down your wine glass and picking up the sippy cup and turning back to the wine when it's appropriate. Not losing who you are even though your life changes completely. I read these message boards where people refer to themselves as "wife to *insert name* mommy to *baby name*" Freak me out some more, why don't you!?!! This book helped me feel 1,000 times less lonely about becoming a mother.

#4) Baby Proof by Emily Griffin. A story about a woman who doesn't want children who finds a hubby who doesn't want children. Obviously something I can relate to right now (dripping sarcasm). This great chick lit. I finished it in 2 days (or night time readings). Your brain doesn't need to think one bit. The story line is only a little bit predictable. It was a hand-me-down from my emily and will be handed down again. It was the perfect read for break.

#5) I'm currently reading snips of The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh. I have read the first portion and love it. Buddhist philosophies and teachings are familiar to me but I purchased this book due to Hanh's great explanation of the 4 Noble Truths & Eightfold Path. He relates the Buddha's teaching to current life. It's beautiful, really but a lot to digest. Thus my taking it a little at a time.

#6) While waiting for 2 new books to arrive from Amazon I decided to open an old book of essays I was reading, The Bust Guide to the New Girl Order. Published in 1999, this compiles articles and essays from BUST magazine -- which originated back in the days of zines, long before blogs when kids like me ran tiny publications from their houses and dorm rooms (thanks again, dad for sponsoring the postage on the original dandelion dreams). I love reading this book because it reminds me of the 90s, when I read my first Sassy article on the horrors of sororities and claiming your body and your identity as your own. love it.

I'll continue describing Winter Break and all of my inane accomplishments another day. Here's a cute picture of me 21 weeks pregnant.

nooooo!!!! i have mom hair!!!!

Is that totally my hair-do or what? Holy. Crap. I need help...like yesterday...

10-10-10!

HELLO 2010!!!

i just know i'm gonna love you!