a 'personal' day

after waking up with the baby at 6a and waffling for about an hour, I made the super-best-most-awesome-and-unexpected choice for today: I rescheduled my audition and 4 hr session this afternoon to stay home and rest. which doesn't actually mean I spent the day on the couch or anything, but I *did* rest my voice and have a lovely, relaxing day at home drinking lots of hot things and leisurely puttering. which, I'm fairly positive, is the total opposite picture of the day I *would* have had had I gone and slug it out. *quick edit: I needed this day 'off' for more than my scratched up throat - I was reminded Saturday night at my meeting that the first, first, first thing is to take care of myself, and I'm suddenly aware that I've not been working my program very well. the evidence is in my mood swings, my thought processes, everything. here's to a step in the right direction.

this afternoon brought a sad note as I learned about the passing of a friend's dear grandmother, and I'm reminded of PaPa's passing last year. it almost seems trifling to blog about babies napping and pulling up and a lovely pile of bacon-y, shallot-y greens on days like this, when life reminds you how hard it really is to participate in the living of it. I'm thinking maybe that's why we do post about the sweet things and moments both important and inane, of kitties and 'bitties, because at the end of the day we want to hold onto connection and hope and memorialize those things we hold dear while we can. in that spirit and with deep, deep gratitude for the day I've been given, here are some things I'm happy to share today:

preparing to nap with musical seahorse! usually she's not this happy to be put down for a nap... I'm pretty sure she started bawling as soon as I walked away and was asleep in about 10 minutes.

out cold this afternoon. before falling asleep, she tends to fuss and cry and 'talk' and scoot around the bed, rubbing her face in the sheet, until she finally finds a comfy spot to settle.

playing in the kitchen while mama does dishes and makes lunch.

look what I can do! I ended up picking her up pretty quick after taking this photo, afraid her hands would slip and she'd bust her face on the cement floor. we spoke today of needing to crawl around and officially babyproof the house now. the other thing about babies crawling around on the floor, aside from making sure they don't hurt themselves, is that you're constantly looking for gross things for them to stumble upon. I mopped and Swiffered today. again.

discovering Daddy's record collection:

and now, because I really do like you guys, I want to share this recipe for delicious swiss chard. grab a couple of slices of bacon and chop them up (we love our Pederson's Farm Uncured Apple Smoked variety) :

roughly chop some shallots - you can use regular onions, sure, but shallots are milder and sweeter and way better in this dish, to my taste buds:

and chop some garlic, as much as you like:

your swiss chard should be washed, drained, and patted dry if needed. this was two bunches:

I take my knife and cut out the hard stem, stacking the leaves. I don't know what to make out of the stems and usually toss them - does anyone have another idea?:

splitting the pile into two bunches, I chop 'em all up:

in a large pan with a lid, cook your bacon and shallots, adding a little extra virgin olive oil if you need to (the bacon might render enough oil, might not). when the bacon is cooked and the shallots translucent, add in your garlic, and after a minute or two throw in the chard:

*do not be alarmed at the disembodied bear head in the photo above. it's Magz' pacifier clip that we now use to keep her from throwing her spoon to the floor at mealtime. so, you've put the chard in the pot. now for the extras... go ahead and season it with salt and pepper, add a good pinch of brown sugar, and a nice drizzle of sesame oil. the sesame oil makes it awesome and delicious!! careful, though, depending on how much oil you used back at the start it can get TOO oily, so take care in the beginning and remind yourself to leave room for the sesame oil:

mix it up, cover, and cook on med-low heat for, oh, five-eight minutes. you can always taste it to see if it's ready... it should be wilted and have lost any bitterness. sometimes, if I have a really strong, tough green, I'll cook it down and then add in some spinach to lighten it up, but this chard was delicious all on it's own:

voila. this was the plate mgb and I shared for lunch. yes, those are crunchy fish sticks. not pictured is the sriracha ketchup for dipping. gourmet all the way.

and now it's time to get ready to celebrate husband's birthday by eating at one of our favorite restaurants and then walking across the street to see this band's show. they're one of mgb's favorites; from my limited listening I'm under the impression that the lead guy just yells alot. :)

love, everybody.

-m.y.

okay okay

I totally missed posting 7mo photos, so here're some shots of both our time in Abilene last weekend and Magz with Raggedy Ann at the seven month marker:

a couple of princesses on Mo's fourth birthday. unfortunately, the elder princess had the flu and had to postpone her party, but we did our best to celebrate with family at home:

sweet birthday girl:

the baby's been making some great faces lately, most of which I fail to capture.

it was also hubz & LC's birthday weekend... this was taken at Perini Steakhouse:

with Marmee:

we even got to squeeze in a visit with friends! hooking up with the Browns was a total gift.thanks for meeting us, you guys!

and now, may I present the SEVEN MONTH OLD...

who's started pulling up on things in the last couple of days and managed to avoid sickness this week despite Mo's flu and Daddy/Mama's various ailments. she did, however, break out in hives or something mid-week. there were spots that came and went, but didn't itch, cause fever, or change her countenance at all. we decided it was likely a reaction to prunes, but I'm still not really sure.

"If only I had some TOYS to play with... sigh..."

and here's an extra we'll throw in for Mama, who needs to get completely well so she can be awesome this week. amen.

I need a nap, kids. remind me to blog about the goodness of my meeting last night.

-m.y.

showers and baths

I'm so behind it's laughable. oh well! here are some shots of the shower we threw for the mcDs. it was tons of fun and so great to get to honor this family:



















and to trigger your 'awwww!' reflex, here's my 'bitty sitting up in the tub like the big girl she is (7 months already! what the!):



she's big on waving right now to everyone and everything, which is fairly precious. like, we walk into the kitchen in the morning and her face brightens as she waves, 'hi room! you're so awesome!'. since Sunday, she's also peek-a-booing with blankets/her shirt, what-have-you, which completely slays me... I got video of this tonight, which I'll post as soon as I get myself more together than I am right now. we're battling sickness over here, plus we got a new computer that doesn't quite have all of the 'stuff' switched over from the old one. meh. I mean, yay for the new computer! I'm currently plunking on the old one, since I uploaded the pics over here... it's pretty slow and the beach ball of doom pops up every now and again to freak you out and threaten a Big Freeze, but ye old black macbook still works somewhat okay as long as you aren't doing anything important, and aren't trying to access some of the utilities or open itunes, both of which are apparently the kiss of death.

more photos to upload from this past weekend's trip to Abilene, but pleasant dreams for now, all!

-m.y.

of apples and support

one of my renewed resolutions (because they're always the same, really) is to keep learning to make room for space and activities that are purely for my mental and physical health, because I'm a better wife/mother/worker/friend/human being when I'm not wound up and endlessly tasking. a truth made all the more stark by the addition of a baby into our lives. these spaces/activities include, but are not limited to, the following:

making the most of opportunities to sleep/rest

reading

exercise

eating - not skipping meals or getting into ruts of eating things that aren't good for me

seeing friends and engaging with people

keeping up with my appearance

and volunteering my time and skills where I can, when I'm able.

and, of course, all of these fall behind the main one involving God and His desire to be on my schedule. how bad that sounds to me... fitting God into MY schedule. boo. this creation needs renewed perspective of the Creator.

I've already finished my first book of the year - Beautiful Boy, by David Sheff. I bought it almost a year ago, along with a couple of other books I'm hoping to crack into soon. according to the jacket, it was the best nonfiction book of 2008, and I can certainly understand why. it's a tough book about the descent of a young man into meth addiction, as seen through the eyes of his father. as Nic fell further into the black hole of addiction, Sheff tried to take some kind of control and make sense of what was happening to his son by doing a lot of research, which is educational but frankly interested me less than the actual story of what happened to his family. it's heartbreaking and exasperating, and a really good read for anyone wanting a glimpse into what it's like to deal with addicts, the frustrating nature of treatment for many of them, and the necessity of help and support for families of addicts. I DID find one part of his research interesting - in searching the country to get treatment for Nic, you get the strong sense that Sheff found rehabs and such to be, in many ways, a crapshoot - expensive and tough to quantify/qualify in terms of 'success' or actual, lasting help. I really enjoy true stories - real life experiences can be so compelling. that's why I like documentaries so much, too, though I don't see near as many as I'd probably like.

I've also been to the gym twice in the last week, which is a major step up from 'nothing'. it's also on the list for today! woo-hoo! I'll happily share this little piece of support equipment - yes, equipment - that has made my gym experience fully 80% better:

I never had to really worry about such things before, but we're living in a post-baby world and all things are new. I now have the gray sports bra (Victoria's Secret VSX Sexy Sport) pictured above, and I can't tell you the difference it makes. normally I avoid things with underwires, but this bra is awesome and provides really good support. my attempts at running on the treadmill are no longer painful, plus I just feel generally less sloppy. they're not cheap, but in my opinion it's worth every cent and I'd enthusiastically recommend everyone get one.

here's something guaranteed to make you chuckle. this was our first experience with applesauce. funny, we've given her a bit of banana and the applesauce, and her reactions to both were to make these faces, like they're bitter. I suppose anything tastes crazy after rice cereal, oatmeal, and multigrain/barley cereal (the latter of which is our fave). please note, she's trying to be nice and giving me smiles and things in this video, but a few bites later she was all, 'um, I hate to be rude but really don't want it. AT ALL. stop it. I'm going to clamp my mouth shut against that gross stuff.' this morning's effort was a little more successful, as I mixed just a little of the applesauce into her cereal that she wolfed down. I only tried a little more of straight applesauce at the end, a couple of small bites of which she stoically choked down. we may switch to peas after the three day apple introduction and see how she feels about veggies.

babies, pick up your mallets.

magz & daddy lending MORE musicality to the arcade fire (the band playing in the background). our Christmas gifts to her were the xylophone, some fun maracas, and the pink radio/iphone dock up in the corner of the screen.

surfacing

it's mid-holiday, and I'm fluctuating between wanting to rest and do nothing, working, and wanting to do EVERYTHING that needs to be done in my little world. I feel tired in my bones a little, as B2 would say. I'm normally not much of a resolution-maker, but am definitely considering how to enact some changes in the new year. woo-hoo, we get a new year! 2010 was a wonderful year in so many ways; it also brought it's share of challenges. was that the correct use of a semi-colon? anyway, I definitely feel older after having lived through this year, and stretched both physically and emotionally. I'm looking forward to a new year to do some things better, the most important being to give God more space in my day, my week, my year. more space, more heed, more reliance. more Effort.

here are some photos from this month, starting with the 6 month ones with little Raggedy Ann:

a few shots of christmas at the ranch!

and christmas at Grammy & Opa's:

she's growing so much. we're sitting up (she still needs a bit of help and tends to eventually lean too far and topple over) and can get up on all fours and rock back and forth (video to come!). crawling is in our near future. she's been on rice cereal, and now that we're back from holiday travel we'll be jumping into our introduction to other foods with both feet. Magz got a couple of sippy cups for Christmas and immediately knew what to do with it. I haven't put anything in it yet, but it's fun that she knows what it's for. she's also doing a little waving thing with her hand - mostly her left hand at this point - and she'll talk and shriek and babble to us a lot (she's gotten some consonants... mostly M and B). she's such a sweet, mostly good-natured girl and I feel so thankful and blessed to be her mama.

happy tuesday afternoon, everybody.

-m.y.