Fall Rears Its Ugly Head

That's not really fair. Autumn is actually quite a lovely season (not as lovely as the East Coast's autumn, but oh well) and I'll take any excuse to wear tights and scarves, but it came pretty fast this year what with Birch's shorter summer vacation due to the rearranging of semester schedules, California weather being on the general fritz, and my decision to take a few classes this fall which means I'm looking at course catalogs and "applications." There is, however, the great bonus of my sister, Suzie, and her family coming for a visit in late September from their home in northern England that lends the next coming months an air of excitement and extreme anticipation that is, to be honest, starting to become slightly unbearable.

Our garden hit an anticlimactic snag when we discovered that ALL of our tomatoes had been devoured by rats. Yeah, you heard me. Rats. Sick and disgusting. We decided to go all calm on the subject and just shrugged our shoulders and now "know for next year." The tomato plant skeletons still stand in their same delegated spot, however, both Birch and I either unwilling or too traumatized to fully remove them from our garden abundance (which really should be done to make way for the grapes, nasturtiums, and new fall seedlings).

Birch, who starts teaching his fifth year tomorrow, is atypically stressed out which puts me in an altogether strange mood that can only be described as otherworldly. Unfortunately, that is typical. I do, however, have several ideas for projects of my own to make his life this year more organized and more decorative. He needs the first and questions the second, but I'm almost positive he'll be thrilled with the results. Projects: sewing reusable sandwich bags and a thermos holder, decoupaging (that's not a word) magazine folders, making a themed cork board, and decorating several binders all with an Earth and Life Science theme (those are his subjects).

Another reason to celebrate the coming of fall is that We Be Baby Mamas (the group Keats and I participate in) has come together beautifully with very fun mamas and extremely cute babies. Tomorrow we're meeting up at IKEA then coming back to my place for some mac 'n cheese and most likely discussion/gossip. Last week, our men got together, too, for some disc golfing then we all grilled together and ate cheesecake. Yeah, we're awesome. On the to-do list: canning homemade baby food. I made applesauce last week and it smelled and tastes delicious! Keats makes a funny face with each spoonful but always wants more. Way to go, my little man.

Birch has promised me a professional haircut at Cowboys & Angels in San Francisco and a new shirt and I've promised him some new clothes for work (including a few choice ties). Etsy here I come (for the millionth time)! Yep, the next couple months should be pretty grand, but I already miss not having Birch at home with us during the day. Weekends are far too short.

My Lovely Miriam

Miriam and I have known each other since the 6th grade. We've written notes about boys, gossiped about girls, walked home together, skipped class together, cried and laughed together, lived together, pretended to be together to deflect unwanted advances, flaked on each other, always given our honest opinion to each other, raised kittens together, been annoyed with each other, driven cross-country together, visited each other in the hospital, bought each other lunch, and loved each other for over thirteen years.

Throughout my own pregnancy I had Miriam by my side, pregnant as well. I can't begin to tell you how perfect it was to have not only her support but her complete understanding during this time where a woman is simultaneously in the limelight and hushed away in a corner. Being able to discuss the nitty gritty details of what exactly happens to and inside a woman's body during this process helped me to deal with all the unpredictable moments that somehow become common place.

Birch Sold His Car!

Birch sold his 2007 Subaru STI Limited! Six hundred dollars a month to pay off $22,000 worth of debt has now vanished from our lives and it feels amazing. Couldn’t have happened at a better time. Birch loved that car and I am so thankful to him for making the sacrifice to our family.

Apparently he had a conversation with my mom before he and I even got married where he somewhat lamented having bought it in hindsight. Both Birch and I were extremely single on December 18th, 2007 and couldn't have possibly guessed that we'd be married a mere seven months later, let alone meet the person that we'd marry the very next day, but we did and Birch's bachelor-buy would be the only real casualty to speak of. Perhaps someday I'll make it up to his bachelor-self by helping to purchase his other dream in life: a small farm to call his own.

Though it was convenient to have two cars, I think Birch quickly realized that the money that was being put into that car was creating a serious lack of funds each month. As the months wore on he drove it less and less. At first because Olive would get sick every time she was in it (my brother-in-law Asher can attest to a rather sickening incident going over the San Mateo Bridge where she vomited straight down my shirt), and then because he was biking to work everyday. I really didn’t want to be the nagging wife that forces her husband to sell his dream car, so I’m extremely grateful to Birch for coming to the decision all by himself. Come to think of it, that’s one of the reasons why I think we work so well together. For the most part, we agree on the big and the little things in our life together. When I’ve been contemplating something for a few days, say the acquisition of a bookcase, I bring it up with Birch and more often than not he responds with, “I was thinking that, too!” Or something to that effect. This makes life pretty easy, let me tell you.

It’s a little sad now that it’s gone, especially since we realized that I didn’t take any “goodbye” photos of him with it, but a huge weight is gone and we can’t stop thinking of all the things we’ve wanted to save up for but couldn’t, projects we wanted to try, camping and road trips we’ve wanted to go on, and last but certainly not least, being able to better afford this wonderful addition to our family (coming to a maternity ward near you, maybe, before, on, or after March 26th).