jaysaint Getting it all down on paper…

I think there is no real recovering from how long I’ve been gone. I’ve been experiencing the perfect storm of a high-intensity work situation, major medical malaise (welcome back severe seasonal allergies!), pregnancy, and a toddler in the house has meant that I work, parent or grow kids, and sleep. But. I got a lot done at work over the past month. A kindly allergist has helped make life pleasant again. Pregnancy is cooking along (22 weeks tomorrow). And Alden is a charming little dancing machine. I hope to get back to a more regular posting schedule and to also start clearing off the Tivo. Right now when I turn the Tivo on I get the “You know I’m not going to record anything else for you, right?” message.

That’s all boring, though. What’s not is that my best friend got married this weekend. Lovely lovely lovely. She was radiant. Her new husband wept at the sight of her. Friends and family joined together to celebrate joyfully and eschew drama and bad behavior. The DJ practically burned the dance floor down. It was AWESOME. Have I ever mentioned that my husband can dance better than just about any man you know? Alden is following his dad. We were just about out the door at about 10:30 when we heard “Put a Ring On It” (At our house it goes: “All the single babies! All the single babies!”) start up and Alden needed to go back and get a little more groove on. He spent the next half hour doing the hot dog, the twirl and the lunge — his three signature moves. He passed out in the car and we poured him into bed with nary a peep. Soon I will have photos and you can see it all for yourself, if you can ever get past the photo of the most gorgeous wedding dress. Maybe I’ll put that one last.

I couldn’t have had more fun on our long wedding weekend. Now I couldn’t be happier to be on my own couch.

Here are a few things I’ve missed telling you about:

Warmer weather means Alden gets to spend more time in the yard.

Sometimes he plays so hard he can’t make it to lunch.

Super-good buddies Riley and Henry came for a visit.

Alden tries on his surfer persona.

Vanessa gave us a fantastic first salon haircut.

Zoe learns to love toddler kisses.

Alden exploits a security flaw at the children’s museum pajama party and manages to break into a caged-off electronics/tools area. It’s not safe, but of course we all flail for our cameras before we look for staff to bust him out.

We spent quality time with pal Harper.

Alden likes to spend time each day in his reading chair.

My subject line sounds like a chapter title in an old-fashioned YA novel.

Pregnancy continues apace with no deviations from the text book, which is exactly how we like it. I was wary, but am starting to feel pretty good about my OB. She’s straightforward and has been willing to treat me as a person (who knows what she’s talking about) rather than a patient. I saw her on Friday and she said, “Hey, your uterus has popped up and out.” True dat. She fired up the sonogram machine and she asked me if I wanted to know the sex. I said that we do, but that Dr. Hennessey (the genetic specialist) had already given us a 90% girl prediction. She said, “Well… this little penis might beg to differ with him.” And sure enough, it looks an awful lot like there’s a boy growing in there. We decided we’d take another look in May for a tie breaker. I laughed all the way back to the office. I honestly don’t care which way it comes out, but if it is a boy I will miss the chance to buy dresses and tights. Overall, that’s a pretty minor regret. I have the best of both worlds now anyway. When Damon picked Alden up yesterday at the gym nursery a six-year-old girl there kept insisting, “That baby looks like a girl!” It’s less true than it used to be, but it’s still kind of true.

Last night Alden lost some shredded cheese over the side of his high chair. When I put him on the floor after we finished, he marched over to the pantry and pulled out a little broom and went along trying to sweep up after himself. When Damon tried to put the broom back Alden cried “Mine! Mine! Mine!” until we gave up and let him keep cleaning. This reminded Damon to tell me that the other day Alden spilled a cup of water in the hallway bathroom. (Why we let Alden walk around with an open plastic cup of water is a whole other story.) Damon shooed him out into the hallway so he could mop it up. A few seconds later Alden popped back through the bathroom door with a dishrag in his hand saying, “Mess? Mess?” and got right to business soaking up the stray drops. I’m almost afraid to jinx it, but I’ve got to say it: My kid likes to clean.

Here’s my little Mrs. Doubtfire loving life at a Pigeon Forge kiddie park:

I am a fan of generic items in general and am almost always happy to try whatever brand looks good/costs less. But tonight a conversation about pickles got me thinking about my exceptions.
Claussens is the only pickle brand I buy (with the exception of a random big deli pickle.)
I only like Silk brand chocolate soy milk.
Most of my other brands are related to Alden. We buy California Baby, 7th Generation and gDiapers.
There may be a few others, but I can’t think of them. I’m curious to know what brands inspire loyalty in others.

And an unrelated question: What’s a good entry point to the Neil Gaiman cannon? I’m not a deeply experienced fantasy/sci fi reader. But I am curious.

I’m listening to the garage door open as I type, which means Damon is back from Kentucky. He spent the weekend there celebrating his mom’s 60th birthday. When he told me about it, he said in the same breath, “I already told them you and Alden weren’t coming.” Good man. I don’t have any opposition to seeing his family, but I’m on a full-on stubborn pregnant lady travel strike. Recently we took three trips in three weeks and, while they were all good, a switch flipped in my head and I cannot bear the thought of packing another suitcase. I’m sure that much of it comes from the fact that I was just getting into my early pregnancy wooziness, which left me with some unpleasant physical memories. I’m sure it will all pass. It has to pass by May, since I have two weddings to celebrate in other cities.

Alden and I had a fun, if uneventful weekend for two. I’m glad I got to spend that concentrated time with him. Everything feels more pointed since I know our time alone with him is coming to a close. It has been blustery, rainy and cold the whole time so my hope to run around with him was dashed. But we spent a long long time splashing in the bathtub together. I chased him around the house with my cooking tongs. We built a slide out of Damon’s beanbag. We ate some of our favorite foods. I think Alden had fun, and I know I did.

Last night I made a dinner inspired by and it was so delicious that I want to share:
— saute chopped garlic and diced onion in olive oil
— one they’re fragrant and the onion is translucent, pour in a generous helping of balsamic vinegar
— let the vinegar reduce and thicken
— add a can of diced tomatoes and chopped up artichoke bottoms (a nice alternative to the traditional artichoke hearts), capers, basil, sugar, salt, pepper and oregano
— once that’s had a chance to stew up a bit, add a huge handful of fresh spinach
— when the spinach is wilted, you’re done
— serve over pasta and toss in a sprinkling of a deli mix of parmesan, asiago and romano cheese (or, you know, whatever cheese you want — goat cheese would be great)

I’ve made a close version of this before, but without the vinegar. Oh my gosh, the vinegar is an excellent addition. But don’t cut out the sugar, because between the vinegar and the tomato there is a lot of acid and it needs to be cut a bit.

The construction of an actual dinner means that, at least on some days, the nausea is giving me a break. But it’s not as much improved as I would hope, or had expected. I’ll be 14 weeks on Tuesday. As recently as Friday I was miserable and laid out. I’m so frustrated. I have no time for this and last time I felt invincible by now. Maybe it starts tomorrow.

The range of my fantasies has telescoped down into daydreaming about spending an entire day on the couches with Damon and burning through our Tivo list. I honestly can’t think of anything that sounds better. This, I believe, is a demonstration of fatigue. I’m not exactly a thrill seeker, but generally I am at least interested in putting on some lip gloss. But after many days of house guests, this is what I have left.

I did manage to get it together to make a lovely pot of tomato rice soup tonight. It came out even better than I hoped and will feed us a few more meals or snacks. Carrots. Carrots are critical. Carrots and tomatoes absolutely belong together. It’s the sweet/acid combination.

Yesterday morning Damon got up and pulled Alden out of his crib. Alden asked for the pacifier he’d tossed on the floor, and Damon groaned as he leaned down to pick it up. Now whenever Alden bends down he says, “Uuuunghghghghg.” I’m laughing even as I type this.

Do you want to hear something embarrassing? I finally broke down and paid cash money to download some music. I have, until now, cheaped out by picking up cds at the library and loading them on to my iPod. Anyway — Beyonce and Jason Mraz. I can’t help it.

Speaking of cheaping out, I’m going to be taking it to a new level in the next few months. We’re actually fortunate enough to have some savings. So I called on my family’s financial planner and she is helping us set up a 529 college account for Alden and the new baby. She’s also got a few other places better for our money than a 1%-earning savings account. But that means I had to write some big checks and now I can’t see the cash sitting in our account anymore. And that makes me very, very uncomfortable. I told her, “You have to realize that I’d keep my money in my mattress if I weren’t so afraid of house fires.”

And! Has anyone done the math on how much money one is supposed to have put aside to put a now-toddler through college in 17 years?! I can’t bear it. Good grief, I hope at least one of mine is good at sports or interested in vocational school. Who am I kidding? I don’t care if my kid is a mechanic, but I still want him to go to college.

Finally on money: I checked in with an accountant about doing our taxes. He wanted $600. Is that normal? That sounds crazy to me. Turbo Tax and I have a date this weekend.