First Shots

The Princess received her first set of shots today. She screamed. I cried. I am going to be a push over of a parent...but I think that's okay. Every time in my life that I was majorly crying I remember my father tearing up as well and I think he was a pretty good dad, so that's okay.

And, hell, I'm glad I don't need to get shots in my thighs ever again!

Addendum: today the Princess had a hard day, what with the shots. Luckily her Grandma Darlene saw fit to make her feel like a Princess by painting her little toe nails...there is clearly something wrong with the world when a Princess gets a pedicure before a Duchess...

September 22nd and It's Snowing

I'm sitting here in my kitchen eat-in-area working on my laptop and listening to the hail outside. Summer fought, seriously fought, for a long time to stay here in Utah. We've had 80 degree weather until yesterday...um, or until yesterday at 7:17pm when Fall decided it had had enough with Summer's bitching. So today it's hailing and it's supposed to snow, so there might be snow.

On September 22nd...there could be snow. God I love it here.

Who Does she Look Like?

I have two very good friends who insist the Princess looks like the Duchess - which makes them unique as every one else says she looks like the husband. I am posting this picture here and looking for some opinions...I can't post a picture of myself because I have no recent photos that I would admit were me in the picture so you'll just have to look and think about the last time you saw me and decide whether we look alike. I guess you'll have to do the same for the husband as well (not that there aren't recent photos that I would admit he was my husband in, but that I don't feel kosher posting a photo of him without his permission).

Personally, I think she looks like herself, which is a huge bit cuter than either of her parents.

Colbert Prompts a Research Idea

One of the things I do for a living is research young people and how they behave politically. The other night on the Colbert Report I got an idea for a research topic. Do young people thing that blogging = political behavior/activism? Does blogging = political activism? Have we channeled all possibilities for mass movements into elite blogging resources thus losing any chance for a new revolution?

I personally do not believe blogging is political activism and that it fails on a number of criteria to possibly be activism. But believing ain't science, so the political scientist in me is thinking, this is the next fun thing to think about.

If I Write it on my Blog, It'll Come True

I pledge that by the end of this school year I will be able to shop again at Express and wear their clothes.

My Guardian Angel

My guardian angel is my baby Mary. I know she's watching out for me and I know she watches out for the Princess as well. In her memory my very dear friend quilts blankets for other lost babies at the hospital. Parents are given a soft blanket to wrap their baby in before they say good bye. As someone who sat there in that moment wishing it would last forever and who had a soft blanket for her, I know the importance of this in that moment. Last week we found out that a woman was very much comforted by a Mary blanket.

Now I know that not only does Mary watch out for me and the Princess, she is also the helper angel for all these other little lost souls. I imagine her at the gates of heaven leading them in and helping them and it makes me deeply happy.

My Daughter

We, of course, are very impressed with our daughter.

Good Friends are New Friends

Tonight I hung out on my deck eating pizza, drinking diet coke and chatting about life with a relatively new very good friend. I don't have any friends from high school...meaning I kind of moved on with my life and blew them off, so I am not one of those girls who has a friend since they were like 5. If I see people from high school I usually think, shit, I haven't seen you in a while, and now I remember why. My very bestest friend is from college, she's the shit and I do keep in touch with her and miss her terribly when I haven't seen her in a while. I kind of thought that that would be it...but since I have come to Utah I have met and surrounded myself with a fabulous group of women. They are wonderful girlfriends and I can forward to a lifetime of chats with all of them. Even though I won't have those ya ya memories (they didn't know me when I first got my period or lost my first love) these memories we make now as adult women are just as important and special to me.

Make new friends and keep the old, one is silver and the other gold...here's to silver

Civic Duty Begins at Home

One thing research shows us is that if you start voting early, you will always vote. I envision years and years of voting for crappy candidates in store for my Princess.

We did not vote for the mayor - the Princess was concerned for our friendship status if we had.

And - she's proven she's our baby in more than her politics, she LOVES to listen to 80s rock alternative on Sirius. Sleeps to the Cure, smiles at Depeche Mode, made all sorts of noise for INXS.

Fat Jeans

The Princess joined us almost seven weeks ago now. And for five weeks before that I was on bed rest due to some parasite related issues. Needless to say I haven't worked out in some time. But yesterday I was able to get in to my fat jeans. On the one hand this is good. I can wear jeans with a button without that pregnancy panel. On the other hand, this demonstrates just how fat I can get.

Thus I am on a diet. Again. And I am hungry.

Late Nights With the Princess

The Princess and I do a late night shift together. We sit up and watch bad television while we decide whether it might be fun to go to sleep. Generally we choose not to sleep too early. Maintaining this while also maintaining a full time job, community service, friendships, etc etc is rather difficult. It is worth it, but rather difficult. The Princess is definitely worth it.

But, a few days ago I began a diet. This was much more fun when I could chow down on candy while pulling the night shift. It's a lot harder with celery.

Well It's Been Six Weeks

So I am cleared for exercise as it's been six weeks since the c-section. Off I go to the gym today to take a body pump class, basically free weights set to music. I am in big trouble because I am very much out of shape. I used to be able to do about 25 push ups, not the girly chick push ups but manly real push ups...today I couldn't do 5 girly chick push ups. I felt the whole room must be looking at me.

Unlike kick boxing last summer, however, I was not the fattest person in the room, so I didn't feel too conspicuous. But you know, we got out the baby book to compare pictures of the Princess to the early Duchess and in the book were some cheerleading photos...so you can imagine, the problem is the husband has now actually seen proof of the high school body and knows it didn't always look like this post grad school crap...

I've got some serious work to do...

Thank the Lord

It's below 70 degrees outside right now. Thank you.

I can breathe again.

The Princess is Brilliant

Today the Princess took her binky out of her mouth and threw it across the room.

Well, she threw it about four inches, but I was very impressed.

Softball scholarship???

I am That Kind of Mother

Tonight I had dinner with my Utah family and proceeded to demonstrate that I am one of those mothers...

• She can't eat dinner because she keeps looking at the sleeping baby to make sure she's still breathing
• She doesn't have a bottle ready because her baby is supposed to eat every 3 hours, not 2 1/2 hours, 3
• She tells her fabulous friend who has raised two wonderful daughters and helped raise five beautiful grandchildren how to make a bottle
• She doesn't let anyone touch her baby without the washing of hands

I really don't want to be that kind of mother. I need some gin.

I'm in Love

My mother-in-law sent a package a few weeks back. Now that I have figured out how you watch television when you have a baby, I have been sucked into the package. It is the Wire. A fabulous television show from HBO. I am so completely sucked in. I'm not sure that I will be able to talk to people who haven't watched the Wire soon. I think all I'll be able to talk about is the Wire.

Seriously, watch it. Watch it now.