Thursday, May 29, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Look what I made!
Yay, I finally got a new usb cable, so I can show you this:
This was a project for my design class this spring, and I loved how it turned out. The assignment was this: Take an 8 foot 2x4, and change its form completely. Every part of the wood must be used, ie, no scraps. Also, no nails, hardware, or additional materials added (besides paint, glue, etc.)
Here's how it looked in the middle of the process. I made all the cuts with a chop saw, except for the base, which I had a friend do with his table saw (too risky for a pregnant lady.) Then sanded and stained them.
Ending up to be a puzzle and block set:
The kids like it! Here's Maxine and her buddy Jarrell (aka Spiderman.) Maxine keeps coming up with new ways the blocks can fit back in the base. And I got to daydreaming about my new son playing with the blocks as I was making it, a nice mental picture to have.
This was a project for my design class this spring, and I loved how it turned out. The assignment was this: Take an 8 foot 2x4, and change its form completely. Every part of the wood must be used, ie, no scraps. Also, no nails, hardware, or additional materials added (besides paint, glue, etc.)
Here's how it looked in the middle of the process. I made all the cuts with a chop saw, except for the base, which I had a friend do with his table saw (too risky for a pregnant lady.) Then sanded and stained them.
Ending up to be a puzzle and block set:
The kids like it! Here's Maxine and her buddy Jarrell (aka Spiderman.) Maxine keeps coming up with new ways the blocks can fit back in the base. And I got to daydreaming about my new son playing with the blocks as I was making it, a nice mental picture to have.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Baby Boy update...
Yep, the secret is out, he has a name, which is Ivan. But somehow when I'm thinking about him it's still "baby boy."
Anyway, the great news of the week is that he is confirmed vertex as of an ultrasound on Friday. We were all convinced for awhile that his position was transverse, meaning lying sideways, which could have been bad news for an easy birth. Its's just that his position is weird, looks and feels weird. He likes to stretch his legs straight out, and apparently still has room to do so. I started to fret that he had no knees and/or two heads. But no, things are looking good. Whew!
I'll be at 36 weeks this Wednesday, so its getting close. Maxine was born at 37 1/2 weeks, but somehow I think I'll go longer this time, for one reason because there's less stress in my life now than then. Maxine's last week of school is next week, so its a good time to wrap things up and take care of all the final nesting on my list. Then relax and enjoy feeling FULL OF BABY for these few final weeks.
Anyway, the great news of the week is that he is confirmed vertex as of an ultrasound on Friday. We were all convinced for awhile that his position was transverse, meaning lying sideways, which could have been bad news for an easy birth. Its's just that his position is weird, looks and feels weird. He likes to stretch his legs straight out, and apparently still has room to do so. I started to fret that he had no knees and/or two heads. But no, things are looking good. Whew!
I'll be at 36 weeks this Wednesday, so its getting close. Maxine was born at 37 1/2 weeks, but somehow I think I'll go longer this time, for one reason because there's less stress in my life now than then. Maxine's last week of school is next week, so its a good time to wrap things up and take care of all the final nesting on my list. Then relax and enjoy feeling FULL OF BABY for these few final weeks.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Happy Maych!
In case you are wondering what Maych is, it is a day in the middle of May that is cold, blustery, and feels like March. We're having a run of Maych in Missouri right now. The poor irises are flattened by the wind. It's yucky outside. Jason's at work, and I've spent the morning in the kitchen, alternately cooking and cleaning out ancient supplements and other things from the back of the top shelves. (I guess it's time to part with those vitamins that expired in 2005.)
I think I love split pea soup. I've always been neutral on it before, but I made some today and it was beyond wonderful. Recipe from Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook, in case anyone's wondering. Also two loaves of whole grain bread are about to go in the oven.
Maxine told me I should stay in bed all day since its Mother's Day. Maybe I will curl up for a couple hours and read something fluffy. Happy Mother's Day to all the beautiful moms I know.
I think I love split pea soup. I've always been neutral on it before, but I made some today and it was beyond wonderful. Recipe from Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook, in case anyone's wondering. Also two loaves of whole grain bread are about to go in the oven.
Maxine told me I should stay in bed all day since its Mother's Day. Maybe I will curl up for a couple hours and read something fluffy. Happy Mother's Day to all the beautiful moms I know.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Early morning...
I can see why some people get up before dawn, its actually quite a lovely, peaceful time to have the house to yourself before everyone else wakes up. It think my hunger was my alarm clock this morning, we didn't eat much of a dinner last night, and I quickly devoured 3 banana muffins upon awakening.
Jason's sister Chelle died last weekend. For those that didn't know, she was in a horrible car accident a year ago, and was at home with full time care for the last 6 months or so. I feel peaceful that her soul is with God. Chelle was deeply religious, a down-to-earth Christian who couldn't *not* bring Jesus into every aspect of her life, although she never preached about it. She'd just smile and say, "It's a God thing," when she needed to explain the impact of something.
Today is her funeral. It seems bittersweet that it will be my first encounter with the Friendly Temple, their family's spiritual community. We have heard so much about it over the years. I remember when they discovered it, Chelle was thinking that something was missing in her West County suburban church - gospel music. So she asked one of her friends at the hospital, "Does your church have good music? Can I visit this Sunday?" The rest goes down in history, the Lawsons started going to this nearly all African-American city church, where at first they had a lot of stories about being the only white members of the congregation in this loving and welcoming community.
Chelle has so many people that love her. In the weeks following the accident, we met not only many friendly temple members, but also many, many nurses and other friends from her work. Chelle was an amazing nurse, ultra-compassionate and hard-working. She received The President's Award for her work in the neo-natal unit at Children's Hospital. These are just a few things I know, I'm sure others will speak more eloquently today.
Selfishly, I willl miss her so much, as a sister-in-law, and aunt. She and Maxine loved each other, and I'm sad she never had a chance to know about Ivan. She would have been so thrilled. She was a natural-born mom, and babies and kids were a joy to her. But I do feel blessed to have had her in my life these few years since we moved to St. Louis and gotten to know them. She leaves behind four amazing, strong children, and an utterly heartbroken husband. Please send a good thought out to them.
Jason's sister Chelle died last weekend. For those that didn't know, she was in a horrible car accident a year ago, and was at home with full time care for the last 6 months or so. I feel peaceful that her soul is with God. Chelle was deeply religious, a down-to-earth Christian who couldn't *not* bring Jesus into every aspect of her life, although she never preached about it. She'd just smile and say, "It's a God thing," when she needed to explain the impact of something.
Today is her funeral. It seems bittersweet that it will be my first encounter with the Friendly Temple, their family's spiritual community. We have heard so much about it over the years. I remember when they discovered it, Chelle was thinking that something was missing in her West County suburban church - gospel music. So she asked one of her friends at the hospital, "Does your church have good music? Can I visit this Sunday?" The rest goes down in history, the Lawsons started going to this nearly all African-American city church, where at first they had a lot of stories about being the only white members of the congregation in this loving and welcoming community.
Chelle has so many people that love her. In the weeks following the accident, we met not only many friendly temple members, but also many, many nurses and other friends from her work. Chelle was an amazing nurse, ultra-compassionate and hard-working. She received The President's Award for her work in the neo-natal unit at Children's Hospital. These are just a few things I know, I'm sure others will speak more eloquently today.
Selfishly, I willl miss her so much, as a sister-in-law, and aunt. She and Maxine loved each other, and I'm sad she never had a chance to know about Ivan. She would have been so thrilled. She was a natural-born mom, and babies and kids were a joy to her. But I do feel blessed to have had her in my life these few years since we moved to St. Louis and gotten to know them. She leaves behind four amazing, strong children, and an utterly heartbroken husband. Please send a good thought out to them.
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