Soo... I moved to Wordpress, because it's honestly pretty cool. Not that we didn't have some good times, Blogger, but... yeah. You know.
Posted in: on 2/06/2010 at at 8:56 PM 0 comments
While getting ready to take a bath, New Year's Eve.
Norah: I have to go potty. I want to stand up.
Me: Um, I don't think that's going to work. Please don't try.
Norah: Daddy stands up.
Me: Yes, well, Daddy's body is different from yours, and daddies and boys can stand up when they pee.
Norah: Yeah. [thoughtful pause] Daddy's got all hanging-down things.
Me: [mental note to tell Rob to put on pants before leaving shower] Yes.
Norah: I don't have hanging-down things.
Me: No. You have girl parts, and they're all inside your body.
Norah: Yes. In my VIRGINIA.
Posted in: on 1/03/2009 at at 9:32 PM 1 comments
I was all pumped about NaBloPoMo, because I was all, "Yeah! I can definitely post every day! Every day IN A ROW! I got this!" And then I realized I was totally kidding myself, because I can't update regularly when it's not an assignment - and given my track record in college (not a WORD, Jefferson) I am not likely to finish assignments. So I'm skipping out, but you're not missing much.
I've been suddenly, overwhelmingly, outrageously busy with family portraits, this being the season for that sort of thing. I blame the entire thing on my new BFFFF Kim, who talked me up on the Triangle Mommies bulletin boards. I keep meaning to use TM for social opportunities - they have mothers' nights out, and playgroups, and random events for mommies who just want to leave the house without wearing spitup or play dough in their hair, for pete's sake - but I've just been swamped. Who am I kidding, though, I love it. I love being swamped, because it means I'm doing something right... and then I get to have the grand visions and fantasies about my future studio, which will look suspiciously like Jessica's new loft, but with more pictures of Astrid the Wonder Mutt and her sisters.
Speaking of, here's the latest shot of the sisters - they're both looking in the right direction, can you believe it?
Don't be surprised if you see this on your Christmas cards, friends, because it's highly unlikely that they'll ever look in the same direction again. I think it only worked because I was singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" at the top of my lungs, shaking my butt in the middle of our street. The neighbors already know I'm nuts, so it was okay.
I'm off to bed, at the ripe old hour of 9:30. Mostly I'm just cold, and I hate this whole daylight savings junk - it feels like it must be midnight or something. Why do we still do this? Indiana changed their minds about opting out of the whole program - if they can magically change time, why can't we all magically unchange it? Stupid DARK.
Posted in: on 11/16/2008 at at 9:19 PM 0 comments
** I wrote most of this two days ago, but it seems I've developed strep throat and had to go lie down in the middle of it. As it turns out, Kay Hagan won, and I couldn't be happier - regardless of the issues, regardless of the fact that she's a Democrat, it just goes to show you that utter nastiness is never rewarded. Plus now Elizabeth Dole's roboto friends will stop calling me! Yay!
Confession: I live with a Republican, and I can't seem to make myself stop it. The GOP has brainwashed my otherwise sensible, lovable, funny spouse, and left me with this guy who's all "Rah John McCain! RAH, I say!" (They have also stolen my BFF, with whom, we have agreed, I shall never talk politics at the risk of short-sheeting her bed next time we're staying in the same house. FOR REAL.)
Can we just get one thing out of the way before I start the daily bitchery, too? Yes, I am quite enamored of That One. Yes, I believe in sharing wealth and helping others and all that other bleeding-heart stuff that my spousal unit (and you, friend, YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE) doesn't really get behind. As we have previously discussed, this blog is not a place for political debate, because I don't have time and I don't like confrontation. Moving on.
Cohabiting with Rob isn't really what's got me hacked about the election tomorrow, though. Honestly, the presidential race in general doesn't really have me as jazzed as it probably ought to - I'm going to do my part and I strongly encourage everyone reading this to do the same, but that's really all I can say at this point. What is KILLING me is the battle between this old hag and this other candidate who I know nothing about. I swear, Elizabeth Dole's robocaller left NINE messages here today, at at least four every day for the past week. Someone from the GOP just called and asked for me, and then verbally abused me when I said I was a Democrat. Seriously, she told me I was uneducated about the "things" at stake, and after asking me if I had kids, said that I needed to "get some focus on the real issues." I thanked her politely and firmly, said that I intended to vote tomorrow, and hung up. I have never hung up on a stranger in my life, so this just shows you how tightly my panties are twisted.
I don't care if Kay Hagan stabs puppies live on the internet - at this point, she gets my vote and a few extra, if I can convince the homeless guys on highway 15-501 to come with me.
** And now we're back to today, the day after election day, at 5:00 AM. I can't seem to sleep anymore, either because my fever is too high (103.1? really? Because I thought that was a radio station, not an actual temperature that a reasonably healthy adult could have) or because I've been in bed for about 18 hours. So I'm awake, seeing what everyone on TV has to say about the biggest news of the year. Fox News is, unsurprisingly, crying in their coffee; the local station is too focused on Bev Perdue and Kay Hagan to really talk about That One and how Yes, He Did win. All I have to say is, surely some things will improve. Surely life can't get any scarier. And surely I need to lie down again. This strep thing is SO not conducive to rubbing this one in Rob's face.
Posted in: on 11/03/2008 at at 7:06 PM 4 comments
Yay, Kristen's first Halloween (and Norah's first in which she actually participated)! Oh, we had fun. We have ten thousand Tootsie Rolls and Norah's got pneumonia from trick-or-treating in the cold, and I have a blister from walking house to house in incredibly cheap Old Navy shoes, but we DID have fun.
Norah was Fancy Nancy for Halloween, for a couple of reasons - one, because we already had the dress and I suckered her into using it for both everyday and The Big Dressup. Have you not met Fancy Nancy? She's pretty precious, actually, despite my earlier refusal of all things pink and plastic. The books are cute - Nancy uses big words and explains what they mean, and declares that "everything sounds fancier in French." Which, of course, it does. And who needs other excuses to wear every accessory in the house?
So here's how it came out (apologies for the crapola photo):
This is at her school, where we had a Halloween Breakfast, featuring eight tons of pumpkin baked goods, several quiches (it IS French school, after all), and a full box of coffee for every grownup present. Look closely and you can see Kristen's carrier - she wore her bear bunting, but since she spent the morning in the Bjorn on my chest (as usual), I couldn't get a good picture. Somehow she didn't seem to mind.
We went trick-or-treating in Chapel Hill, home of the infamous Franklin Street Halloween Party - we didn't go to that, of course, but I did get a little rankled about the way the city treated that particular event. Traditionally, the event is enormous - 80,000 people last year, I heard - booze-fueled, and slightly out of control. However, "out of control" in this area is more like "traffic" in this area - clearly, these guys have never been to Fells Point, is all I'm sayin'. The CH leaders were all, "This is supposed to be a family show, college kids go home, no drunkies, grumble grumble grumble." I'm sure it's a huge expense for the city, and the police force loses years off its collective life, but I would imagine that it would just make the students go home and drink more on campus and throw their dorm furniture out the window. And now I can't wear my Captain Booty costume, darn it.
(I'm sorry, can we just recap something? Captain BOOTY? Seriously? What makes grown women, especially those of us who should deny the lure of the exposed garter, think this is a good idea?)
Anyway - the kid had a great time at what I'm calling "Franklin Street for the Chicken Nugget Crowd," and yes, she has a ripper of a cold, but the giant box of candy in the kitchen makes up for a lot. Mmm, tiny Snickers... Happy day-after, gang. Now go eat some stale Smarties.
Posted in: on 11/01/2008 at at 9:41 PM 1 comments
1. Oh dear, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is on channel 12, and I may die from the high school nostalgia. Is this a band/theater geek thing, this tradition of checking out Tim Curry's bustier-clad bod every Halloween? Or do you all do it, even you cool people - do you flip past it while doing your channel-surf and then flip back for a minute, just to see if it's as insane as you remember? The last time I sat through the entire thing, I was 17 and making out with a boy in a hot pink wig at someone else's parents' house... I was wearing a tuxedo jacket and ludicrous amounts of eyeliner, and the whole thing seemed perfectly normal, if a teensy bit nerdy. Teensy.
2. I have to make two large casseroles for Norah's Halloween breakfast tomorrow, and I haven't even started. It's kind of funny - we're all making things and bringing them in, and yet we're all being charged $10 per family to attend. It's a fundraiser, so it's cool and all, but seriously. Doesn't "fundraiser" make you think of overpriced candy bars and wrapping paper? Candy bars do not require an hour of my time and two bags of refrigerated hash browns. Wrapping paper is not going to burn my legs when I accidentally set it on my lap while trying to down a coffee, drive to school, put on makeup, and be as fabulous as all the other mothers. Note to school: next year, let us consider chocolate. It's safer for people like me.
3. Speaking of makeup, time to shill for Bare Minerals! Have you guys ever tried this stuff? I was touring Sephora the other day, hunting for a pretty foundation brush for my sister, and the salesgirl talked me into letting her apply it to my face. She was pretty and chirpy and I think her name was Crystal, or maybe Cricket, but I don't care if her name was Adolf - she made me glow, and this is no small task these days. Children are murder on the glow (except for the glow in your HEART, am I right, Hallmark card writers? Hire me!) Seriously, it's great makeup. I've been a bigtime Clinique junkie, but I think we might have to break up.
4. Norah's going to be Fancy Nancy for Halloween. I bought the dress and sparkle shoes at Target, and the rest of it is coming from our various dress-up boxes. I'm kind of tickled that she wants to actually wear a costume - I think for a while she was a little frightened of the whole costumes-in-public idea. I'm pretty sure this is related to her hatred of the mall Santa, a big bearded man IN A COSTUME who clearly tried to burn her to death with his jolly red nose. (You'd think, anyway, given her last - and final - attempt at sitting on his lap.) But now she's three, and now she understands that costume + late bedtime = CANDY, and all three of those components are SO much more interesting now that she's experienced Snickers and gummi bears.
5. Rita's just opened down next to the new Harris Teeter, and I have died and gone to mango water ice heaven. Also in the same strip mall: Neo Japan and, lord help us, a Dunkin Donuts. My quest for thinner thighs is being thwarted by commercial real estate developers. Somehow, though, the injustice of this is a lot less injust when it's coated in vanilla custard. 'Night, all, I have a spoon to lick.
Posted in: on 10/30/2008 at at 7:44 PM 2 comments
So I'm pondering my blog reader, as I often do instead of writing my own posts - it's easier, and I don't have to remember whether it's "that" or "which" - when I came across this on Jessica's photography blog (I was just looking for office and workflow tips, and poof! Instant jawdrop!) If you're a crafty sort and you're pondering what to make your little girl for Halloween, DO NOT CLICK THIS LINK, as you will never, ever be able to top this.
The Marie-Therese Gown by Grosgrain
Norah saw it and her little bugeyes went woooOOOP! wide open, and I knew it was all over for me. If I don't win this gown, I will have to live in the yard and eat acorns or something, because the princess will not allow me back into the house without it.
In other news, Kristen rolls over (she does not, however, fetch the newspaper and/or slippers, which would REALLY be an accomplishment) and laughs. And is there anything cuter than a baby laugh? It's this gaspy, "puh-HAW" sound that you'd never know was a laugh if it weren't for her big old grin. When she grins, her tongue sticks out. In 15 years, I am SO telling her dates about this.
Posted in: on 10/22/2008 at at 7:30 PM 2 comments
Because a twirly dress is really all you need, and thanks to Adrienne, we got one! Bon soir, mes amis, a demain (as Norah says at school).
Okay, here, have a few more:
Posted in: on 10/15/2008 at at 9:52 PM 2 comments
Norah: Mama, my nose is wet.
Me: Yes, yes it is. Have a tissue.
Norah: [much honking and generally missing the tissue, blowing her nose into her hand, ew GROSS] Thass better.
Me: Are you okay?
Norah: Yeah. I just have the snipples.
Posted in: on 9/09/2008 at at 3:58 PM 0 comments
"There's a WHAT coming today?" asked Kristen this morning.
"A hurricane," I said, "and it's going to be a hoot. There's going to be some major flooding in our neighborhood, but because we're lucky and live in a safe place, we'll be totally cool. Tell Norah to get her boots on."
"Hey, Norah. Your friend Ellie is going to try to pull that walking-on-water act again, but if she does, just knock her flat. If she's really that good, she'll float."
"We'll bring out some toys, get the neighbors involved, and have sort of a block party - ostensibly to watch you girls romp around like nuts, but also because we sort of want to romp, too. In fact, Mama may go on out in her sleep-shirt, just because it's fun, and because she's too busy trying to find your hippo floatie to change."
"Don't let it go, though, or we'll have to wade through the woods to get it back, where we'll encounter two crawfish and a beaver. Yes, a BEAVER. In our DRIVEWAY. Too bad he'll be a fast little bugger and we won't get a photo."
"Mama, the floatie is gone."
"It's cool. Astrid's swimming after it. Across the patio."
Posted in: on 9/06/2008 at at 12:40 PM 5 comments
Aries, September 3:
Things aren't exactly where you want them to be right now and that could
mean that you're in for an uncomfortable time -- but not necessarily! Try your
best to smile and keep others smiling.
And just when I needed some cheerleading, too. Norah's transition to preschool is not going all that well - today when I dropped her off, she had to be peeled from my legs, and I had to walk away without letting her know that my stomach was somewhere north of my throat, and breakfast was headed for the sidewalk. My BABY is CRYING, I thought, and I CAN. NOT. RESPOND.
Posted in: on 9/03/2008 at at 8:28 AM 2 comments
Hi! So in the last two and a half months, it seems I've had a child, gone on vacations, had the in-laws over for a week and change, delivered Norah unto preschool, knocked out a wall in the kitchen, and made bread that ended up larger than Kristen (y'all ever play with yeast? Seriously, play with yeast. That stuff is MAGIC.) Here is said bread, with a chicken egg for size comparison. When I braided it, it was reasonable - then we had to let it rise some more, and it crawled across the counter and ate the toaster oven.
We bashed out the wall in the kitchen, and now instead of looking like this (and please ignore the majority of the furniture in this photo, as it is no longer there and/or part of our fabulous collection):
It looks like this (and yes, we just spray-painted that godawful chandlier and put shades on it, but hey, it was a $12 fix):
SO MUCH BETTER! We're putting a small column at the end of the shelf and a pot rack dangling from the ceiling right above it, but that's going to have to wait until either of us is more inspired. At this point, I don't think there's much else we can do to the downstairs, aside from gutting and redoing that nasty little bathroom... Yeah, okay, that's kind of major. One of these days, maybe.
Posted in: on 8/29/2008 at at 8:18 PM 2 comments
We're all delighted, especially Norah, who refers to the baby as "my baby sister Kristen who is here now" at all times. And now, if you would, please excuse me while I fall asleep sitting at this computer.
Y'all, I am so happy.
Posted in: on 6/26/2008 at at 6:25 AM 2 comments
Wow, it's really hot down here. I mean, really really hot. I knew it wasn't exactly northern Alaska when we moved, but I seriously did not anticipate this open-oven-draft-in-your-face thing we're having these days. I also thought I would plan pregnancies around the foul sweaty weather, but ha ha! Delusions are cute, aren't they?
I'm now three days from my official due date (the 19th, which is also Rob's birthday, and how much do I want a newborn for my/his birthday present) and every night for the past three weeks I've thought, "Oh okay, this is it, I have back pains and WAS THAT A CRAMP?" Obviously I've been incorrect for three weeks, which is getting a little wearing - no one likes being wrong, let alone consistently wrong for 21 days, let alone alone about removing a foreign body from one's abdomen and thereby relieving oneself of a number of unpleasant issues. Like the back pain thing, and the restless leg, and peeing all the time. I feel like a dog in a field of hydrants.
The plus side of being fat, hot, and lazy is that it means I spend a great deal of time inside, which means that I've gotten ALL of my two months of wedding photos uploaded and sorted and processed. I still have a ton of album stuff to do, but most of my girls haven't even scheduled design sessions with me, so it's all pretty much backburnered until a) whenever they get their calendars in order or b) after I get done a'birthin'. Rob's had most of his weekend days off, and will likely have weekends off for the next six months or so (hi Duke! thanks again!) so he's been spending some serious QT with Norah, and hopefully I can anticipate similar sweet sweet freedom work time in the days ahead. Minus time spent with the wee baby attached to my body, of course - which will be SO WAY BETTER than having her inside my body.
Y'all, I really want this kid to get here. Aside from the whole "reclaiming my body" thing, there's the babylust thing, which inspired me to redo the girls' closet, get the crib ready, wash the clothes, all that good stuff - three weeks ago. I want to play with her feet and watch Norah kiss her cheeks, kind of like she kisses my belly at night. (And says, "Good night, baby sister, and I will see you in the morning time. You can wake up and come out ANYTIME NOW." Oh my heart.) I loves me some babies, I do. And, let's not lie, I really want to sleep for more than an hour without staggering blindly to the bathroom sans contact lenses. I feel both are compelling reasons to go into labor tonight, don't you? I'll let you know how that works out.
Posted in: on 6/16/2008 at at 7:55 PM 4 comments
Dear Owen, and the rest of the internet, but really specifically Owen, since he reminded me to update things, or at least his mother did,
I'm fine. Bloated, crabby, and in the 15th hour of the dumbest damn thing on the planet: Braxton Hicks contractions! Woohoo, false labor! I've been torn between "Please God, let this just go ahead and turn into birth," and "Oh Satan, keep 'er in there for another two days, because I have this wedding on Saturday and it's my last one, and I really don't want to have to call the bride and tell her that I'm panting my Lamaze on the side of the interstate." I didn't have this false labor thing with Norah, and I'm gonna go out on a limb here and CALL BULLSHIT ON IT ALTOGETHER.
But that's only today - otherwise, I've been tired, overworked, back-sore, and all the other joys that come with being full-term knocked up with a second child during a pretty much full-time job with ludicrously odd hours. I promise to resume regular posting at some point - this is just not that point. Believe you me, internet, whenever this child gets herself bornded, as Norah says, YOU WILL KNOW, if only because I will have finally, FINALLY stopped whining.
For now, however, I am off to consume my body weight in watermelon, my current crush food. Ohh, melony watery goodness.
Posted in: on 5/28/2008 at at 8:38 PM 1 comments
Dear Barack Obama,
Dude. For real. I love the fact that your name is Obama. I love your wife's pearls. I love that you came to Carrboro not that long ago, because that's about the last place I'd expect any high-powered Mr. Man to visit (not that Carrboro isn't a really cool place, because it is, but you'd think you'd stick to Chapel Hill, its more snooty-boo neighbor).
But seriously. Just because I am a registered independent does NOT mean you get to call me four times in five hours to remind me to vote. Your people, or people claiming to be your people, have now dialed my number with their magical autodialers ELEVEN times since yesterday morning. That Other Candidate has not yet called, which at first hurt my feelings and made me think she didn't care, and now is sort of making me like her more, despite her mannish voice and unfortunate choice in lady politician hair.
So please, please, stop calling. I know I need to vote, and I fully intend to do so as soon as my (deep breath) Republican spouse gets home to relieve me in the childcare duties; this would suggest that perhaps I am aware of my responsibility as a good American citizen to a) choose a candidate and b) cancel out Rob's vote in the future, and perhaps you should call off the damn dogs already. I got a kid what needs a nap, and if your people wake her up again, I'm dropping her off at YOUR house.
Love and frustration,
Annie
Posted in: on 5/06/2008 at at 4:19 PM 3 comments
I'm not dead! Just thought I'd start by informing you all of that, since it's been about six years since I posted anything of merit (and what, three weeks since I posted at all, har har har). I keep experiencing things and thinking "Oh dear, I've just got to blog about that," but I then forget, because what else is there to do when you're pregnant, other than bitch and moan about the inverse correlation between your ever-expanding belly and your ever-decreasing wardrobe options?
Posted in: on 5/01/2008 at at 1:55 PM 1 comments
Yeah, she totally started it.
Indeed. Sorry for the lack of updates - I've been swamped with kiddie portraits, bridal portraits, and the overwhelming fear that comes with knowing that in three months, I'll have a two-week-old baby and a three-year-old child. How in the world did THIS happen?
(I'd just like to point out that this is a rhetorical question - I do in fact know how in the world this happened. I'm pretty sure I was there.)
Posted in: on 4/12/2008 at at 2:58 PM 2 comments
Should you happen to want restaurant gift certificates for way cheap, Restaurant.com's 60% off sale is currently on for one more day... The discount code is GENIUS. And it is. We've actually used these several times, and it's been great. You buy your certificates for specific restaurants in your area, and then you use them for anything but booze (which in my case isn't such a big deal...) The kicker is that you can get $25 worth of certificates for five or six bucks during the sales; they're always discounted a little, but spending a fifth of what something should cost really appeals to the tightwad in me.
This is significantly more important today, as our heater has crapped out and of course, OF COURSE it's not going to get above 60 degrees for a few days, so the repairman is on his way and I already know it's going to cost $89 for the diagnostic service. At this point, I would probably sell off an arm or something just to get heat back in here - Norah and I both slept in multiple layers last night under a series of quilts and down comforters. Rob was on call, so he got to sleep in the heated deliciousness of the VA. Life is so unfair.
Posted in: on 3/31/2008 at at 8:23 AM 0 comments
And lo, there were plastic beads. And the beads were GOOOOOOD. Happy Easter, friends.
Posted in: on 3/26/2008 at at 12:34 PM 0 comments
