The Great Switcheroo

I've done something horrible to myself. I've decided to switch our bedroom with Keats' nursery. Unfortunately, we already painted both rooms when we first moved in over a year ago so we'll need to repaint, but that doesn't even seem like the hardest part. Disassembling the furniture to fit through the doors is going to be the most annoying part, I think.

BUT it will all be so worth it. While looking through my sisters' pictures of her little girls' nursery, I realized that Keats' room is really dark and always needs an artificial light on. This began to bother me and I came to the decision that I would much rather buy curtains to block out natural light during naps than never have natural light at all. Plus, our bedroom is the bigger room and all we need is a bed, so now our bedroom will merely have a bed in it and Keats' nursery will have lots of space for whatever we want in there. OH! And my project area will be in the nursery closet. It's going to be sweet.

So... garage sale, major reorganization, possibly painting, and several decorations later, Birch and I will be done switching rooms. Poor Birch. However, he was excited when we went to the De Young and decided to take a cue from a really cool mural by Miguel Covarrubias and put up different animals and plants all over Keats' walls, along with numbers and letters. It's going to be oh-so-educational and fun!

I'm also a bit stoked for our bedroom to be a sleeping only kind of place instead of the general hangout area that it is currently. Here's to sleeping in beds, reading in chairs, and working on computers at desks! Cheers to the end of our all-purpose bed!

In a Fever

Well, I'm sick. I've got a fever that comes and goes and yesterday my body decided to just stop functioning all together, making it very difficult for me to move. With Birch's never-ending help, we're keeping up with Keats Man who is in the middle of a growth spurt. Sleep has been almost non-existent and my brain is starting to turn to mush, but somehow our moods have not turned to the dark side. I think that I was buoyed  on Friday night when I discovered that I'd won some adorable fabric from a favorite blog, Prudent Baby, for my delicious sorbet/popsicle recipe with Thai chilis, lemongrass, and pickled ginger. Seriously, it's really good. Birch is back to work tomorrow so we'll see if my spirits make it through that, especially since I think I'll have to miss We Be Baby Mamas. So frustrating. I love those mamas so much and watching all our little ones get together is seriously crazy adorable. It's going to be so funny once they start truly playing with each other. I wonder what they're voices will sound like...

Anyone have some tips for taking care of young babies while sick? I could use 'em!

Today's Schedule

6:00 a.m. - Wake up and make Birch coffee for his first day of school
7:30 a.m. - Wake up Keats for diaper change
8:30 a.m. - Keats' first nap. Buy fabric from Fabricworm.
9:00 a.m. - Walk to donut shop and pick up a dozen for We Be Baby Mamas group
10:30 a.m. - Write quick blog.
10:40 a.m. - Baby Mama workout to Talking Head's "Stop Making Sense"
11:00 a.m. - Keats' second nap. Clean living room.
12:00 p.m. - Meet up with We Be Baby Mamas at IKEA.
1:00 p.m. - We Be Baby Mamas group at home. Throw mac n' cheese in the oven for lunch.
5:30 p.m. - Birch comes home!
7:00 p.m. - Dinner.
8:00 p.m. - Keats' last nap.
10:00 p.m. - Bedtime!

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.

The Elephant

I've been struggling as to how to bring a certain vital piece of information to light here on the blog and after discussing with my man, I decided that just putting it out there would be easiest.

In high school, I got pregnant and decided to keep the baby. After weighing in several factors that I won't go into at the moment, I decided to give the baby up for adoption. It was the single most difficult and distressing decision I've ever made in my life, one that I still question to this day.

That decision was made over eight years ago and everyday since I've yearned for a child and felt incomplete and lost, divided between my inner perceptions of myself and what the world could see of me. I've realized that talking about being a parent here in this forum would be misleading and incomplete without this knowledge being given to you. Another day at another time I'll delve into "the story" and from time to time I'll reference this event but it felt time to let you know.

Please feel free to ask me questions about my experience, but also know that any derogatory remarks will not be published to the blog for others to see.

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.

Do the Twist

I am stunned by my little boy. He pushed and pulled himself off of my lap last night and straight onto Birch's. It was a very rudimentary crawl and really more funny than impressive display, but he did it and we were not prepared for that. He's three months old. Am I crazy or is this happening a bit early? We'll see if this becomes a regular occurrence or if it was an isolated incident. I'll tell you one thing, he was wiped out after it and fell asleep (back on me) a few minutes later. Man, he's a cutie.