Happy Halloween!

Oooops ;-).

Introducing...

RUBY ROE

Monday, Oct. 5

6:04 a.m.

8 lbs. 1 oz.

Just a phase of a pregnant binge blogger

For the last month I haven't even been able to get myself to blog about how I cannot bring myself to blog.

So much has happened in my life in the past month. I have crazy stories, overwhelming emotions, hilarious moments and good news to write about. I just can't seem to do it. Oddly, it almost makes me sick (like in the way potato salad makes me ill) to even think about updating my blog. It must be some weird pregnancy thing.

Or maybe it's because I sort of binged on the whole blogging thing. I posted often and about everything and now I just feel nauseous.

So sorry to my small following. I'm sure it's just a phase.

Assateague Island

Last weekend we visited Assateague Island, a barrier off of the Maryland Coast. The three-hour drive was filled with green fields and forests. It was beautiful. We camped just over the dunes from the beach and listened to the waves crashing all night long.

The waves always make Ethan a little nervous but the sand made him forget all of that.

The trip marked the first time I have ever camped on a beachand eaten a tin foil dinner (which was slightly burnt, but still pretty tasty).

We spent most of our time sitting around the campfire
and snacking and laughing.

We woke up to wild ponies rummaging through our camp.
Ethan thought they were cool until one approached and knocked him over with its nose.

Ryan thought they were cool until one knocked our cooler over and started digging through our food. So he hit the horse in the snout with the cooler lid. I'm pretty sure that's against park policy but somebody had to save our Capri Suns!

We didn't sleep much, but we had a great time. I am already planning next summer's trip. Let me know if you are in.

When blogging is for the birds

I haven't blogged in a while because I made a decision this week to only do things I really want to do during Ethan's naptime (I know, my life is soooo hard). I made this rule in preparation for the days when I have two wild things taking up my time and no real scheduled naptime to spend by myself. Unfortunately, sleeping in my bed, reading and working on projects have been more enticing to me than blogging this week and I think that might have something to do with the fact that all I do is sleep, read and work on projects. Not much to blog about... until I finish those projects.

With that in mind, here is one I finished and my sister (who just had baby Edi) finally received. My photos are awful and definitely don't do my project justice. But here it is anyway:

p.s. I'm sad I didn't get a photo of the box Ryan crafted to send this thing across the U.S. It was pretty cool.

Long road ahead

Currently, I am trying to refinish/reupholster this chair.
So far today, I have removed four staples.

Any advice in the "how to quickly remove uphostery staples department?"

Top ten happy things

10) seam ripping
9) eating a cheeseburger at the park today
8) new gold sandals
7) my clean bedroom (thanks Ryan)
6) roomy (and insanely comfortable) "fat shorts" circa a month after I had Ethan
5) bubble tea with friends at Snap in Georgetown. weird... and worth it
4) finishing a craft
3) feeling ring and pinky finger freedom when super glue wears off several hours after finishing that craft
2) walking to get smoothies for Family Home Evening
1) hearing my child say, "you're probably right"

What makes you happy today?

Today I...

...glued my fingers together, making it really difficult to type this.

Sometimes you have to stop and think about yourself in order to stop thinking about yourself so much

I have a few friends who are so afflicted by early pregnancy that you can see the exhaustion in their faces. They are sick and tired and depressed. What sacrifices these women make to bring their children to this world! It really makes me feel lucky... and sometimes guilty.

One of the only things I can complain about my pregnancy right now is the difficulty I have getting up in the morning. To me, waking up from my night's sleep is sometimes like the moments after being dunked in a swimming pool. You surface, confused and with a deep breath. As you try to find your footing, your bully big brother pushes you down again. You think about fighting him or trying to keep your head above the water, but he's much stronger than you and so you give up and go deeper this time. He lets go and you work your way to the top, breathe, then feel his malicious hands on the top of your head driving you down once more.

This in and out of consciousness goes on for at least an hour every morning in my bed. It's a million times worse than those days in college when I would stay up until at least 4 a.m., drop into bed and then find myself crying when I had to wake up at 7 that morning. I at least felt emotion about it then. Now I just feel lifeless. It's not me who doesn't want to get up. I guess sleep just doesn't want me to leave. So he keeps pulling me back like that bully big brother.

The first time around (when Ethan was the fetus) I was just always late for work. Neither my editor nor my co-workers had children so I'm guessing the last pregnant women they spent serious amounts of time with were their mothers. And that was probably when many of them were the fetuses growing organs and toes in their mommy's womb and exhausting the life out of her. They don't remember that. So they looked at me like I was lazy. I'd tell them that darned city council meeting lasted until 11 p.m. or I was working on an in-depth story until the early hours of the morning. That was often true. But really I just needed someone to grab me by the hair and pull me out of bed every day.

I sure need that now, now that I don't have a job to answer to. I guess my kid is my job, but he usually sleeps in as well and we have these lazy mornings where we get up, he plays and I just lie around until I feel alive enough to take a shower. Come to think of it (I just read this post up to this point) that doesn't seem so bad. It may be difficult to get up and go places/make appointments/etc. but I will take lazy mornings without vomit, or worse - a workplace - any day.

I guess I can't complain.

(photo: A headless me at 16 weeks! p.s. I went in for an ultrasound yesterday and it seems this baby - like our first - was determined to be very modest. We couldn't get a peak. So we are holding on until 20 weeks. Here's hoping for a boy or a girl ;-)!)

Suddenly wanting

I have never even been interested in china (the dinnerware, not the place) before. I didn't even register for china for my wedding. Maybe I have finally reached old person status because I am dying for this Lenox Simply Fine Chirp china. It's just so feminine and colorful.

Let the wild rumpus start

I read this to a wild thing almost every day.

I watch this several times a day.

I cannot wait.

Your place to buy and sell all things hideous: Part II

I have to admit something. I felt kind of bad after posting my first installment making fun of Etsy's less-than-fabulous items. I guess part of me thinks that those who use their God-given ability to create should be praised, not ridiculed. And to work up the courage to actually try to sell their creations on the World Wide Web means a couple of things: 1. they have serious guts and, unfortunately, 2. they believe their handiwork is awesome. I'm not disagreeing with that completely. Some of these people are quite skilled. They probably just need someone or something to channel their talents into concocting more appealing items. Maybe that's not their goal. I don't know.

I do know that it's rude of me - a non-creator - to jab at people who put their work out there.

But I can't help it. As an Etsy frequenter, I just see too much bad stuff to not share it with other people. So here goes:

Your little girl will hug and kiss you when she receives this doll, complete with highly-touted "vintage button eyes" for her birthday! Yeah, it's a doll.

I said some were skilled - not all.

And another from the toy showcase... Scare your children to sleep with what the seller calls the "Albino snug."

My mother could not.

Because we don't wear flip-flops to keep our feet cool...
Is it wrong of me to post this photo on my family-friendly blog? Or do you think it is more wrong that I think this is really hilarious but also kind of cool? If you are an adult female (no males allowed) and want to see what else this seller might have to offer (if you ever fantasized that you were Princess Leia when you were little... or yesterday), click here.

(Sorry, Ryan told me to remove the link to this last Etsy seller page since it's kind of racy. You can probably search for it on Etsy using the terms "metal" and "bra.")

This might be my final NYC post!

Across the street from where we tried on these ridiculous $150 "vintage" glasses,

and at the same Brooklyn flea market where we saw Alexis Bledel (and just stared while she ate her food in the corner), I bought this fun print

from a cute artist named Carla.

I love birds and color

and it will always remind me of my fun NYC trip with the gals.

Dancing and dessert

Pavlova is a meringue dessert of Australian/New Zealand origins. It is said to have been created after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova toured both of those countries in 1926.

I had never heard of Anna Pavlova until I tried her dessert but I'm guessing her dancing was ethereal yet full-bodied. The meringue has a delicate, crisp outer with a substantial marshmellowy, almost cake-like center.

It is to die for - epecially with whipped cream, tart fruit and a drizzle of caramel on top.

Here is the recipe I used:

4 large (120 grams) egg whites
1 cup (200 grams) superfine (castor) sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch (corn flour)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (130 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and draw a 7 inch (18 cm) circle on the paper.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until they hold soft peaks. Start adding the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, and continue to beat until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. (Test to see if the sugar is fully dissolved by rubbing a little of the meringue between your thumb and index finger. The meringue should feel smooth, not gritty. If it feels gritty the sugar has not fully dissolved so keep beating until it feels smooth between your fingers). Sprinkle the vinegar and cornstarch over the top of the meringue and, with a rubber spatula, fold in.

Gently spread the meringue inside the circle drawn on the parchment paper, smoothing the edges, making sure the edges of the meringue are slightly higher than the center. (You want a slight well in the center of the meringue to place the whipped cream and fruit.)

Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until the outside is dry and takes on a very pale cream color. Turn the oven off, leave the door slightly ajar, and let the meringue cool completely in the oven. (The outside of the meringue will feel firm to the touch, if gently pressed, but as it cools you will get a little cracking and you will see that the inside is soft and marshmallowy.)

The cooled meringue can be made and stored in a cool dry place, in an airtight container, for a few days.

Read more: Pavlova Recipe With Picture - Joyofbaking.com - http://www.joyofbaking.com/Pavlova.html#ixzz0Cg5NlbEH

Happy late Easter!

We had a great Easter. Ryan's mom was in town and so we went all out. Ryan planned an Easter egg hunt.

Ethan loved it. He ate so many jelly beans that he ran laps inside of our apartment all morning.

He said the most hilarious stuff all day. During church later that afternoon, he spit his gum into his hand, gave it to me and said, "This is ridiculous!"

Later, we were watching the Master's and some guy made a great shot. "I can't even believe it!" Ethan exclaimed

Ryan changed Ethan's stinky diaper that night and Ethan pointed down there and said, "This is my ridiculous poop." It was pretty ridiculous... but I'm wondering if he has ridiculous and disgusting mixed up.

The things we do

My sister's baby Edith was due on Saturday and we are still just waiting on her. McKenzie said she had some strong contractions this morning and I keep telling her how much I hope little Edi comes today but deep down inside I can think of nothing worse to wish on my sister. For most women, the day they have their child is possibly the most horrible, disgusting, intense, terrifying, painful and wonderful day of their life. I am hating the thought of doing it again and hoping my sister's ordeal will be easier than her first time around.

All of this labor talk reminded me of a blog post I have read several (and bawled my eyes out) times. Jasmine is a former co-worker of mine and an amazing writer. Her son's delivery might have been more agonizing than that of many other women (including my own) but her words create an almost palpable account of the emotions, physical hardship and, ultimately, the joy of labor. Read it.

Life-changing

Have you ever worn anything worth more than your house?

I did this last weekend in New York. Slipping the $500,000 diamond solitaire ring onto my ring finger (the diamond was about as wide as my digit) made me rethink this whole "I really want to buy a house" thing. It broke my heart to give it back to the kind Tiffany & Co. employee.

I guess I'm on a new "I think I might die without that diamond" kick.

Stupid stuff

If you ever feel...

... like chasing wild turkeys in a parking lot,

or sleeping with a blow-up whale...
...like shaking your head daftly in Times Square,
or trying clothing on over your front-attached backpack to see if it will fit the future uber-pregnant you...

... proceed with caution. You might have fun doing it, but you'll always run the risk of just looking stupid in the photos.

My 100th post is about...

...FOOD, of course!

All I really want to do on vacation is eat good food...

and take stupid photos of myself doing so.

New York City offered some great eats!