Monthly Archives: September 2011

Awestruck Autumn

Posted in Kiddie Hangouts by

cordelia has added a whole new dimension to my love for this fall season. biking around columbus has been fantastically enjoyable these past few weeks, when it’s not been raining. columbus, i think i like you a whole lot more from a two-wheel vantage point with blue skies and temps in the 60s. lets see if we can keep a good thing going.

A Day on Wheels

once all geared up and ready to go, we cycled to the library again. our next movie, Ponyo, was ready for pick up. Darla enjoys the grand entrance of the library b/c the words MY TREASURES are etched in the marble. She loves to run her fingers through the grooves as she says the letters. i felt very connected to this moment on several levels.

then it was on to Juergen’s bakery in our hood. this was our first time stopping in but it won’t be our last. the place was the essence of kitschy charm and they had an adorable little table out front which was just darla’s size. well the chairs at least. the table not so much. darla had chocolate plum pudding and i had a sugar pretzel. she ate both.

after riding around for a little bit longer we headed home. little miss decided that our pumpkin, clumpy pumpy, needed to go for a ride as well. ahhh these days are so sweet.

signing off,

the luckiest momma evah

which way to school is cool?

Posted in Kiddie Hangouts, parenting apparently? by

because i can’t decide which method of schooling we are going to jump into – oh my gosh i can’t handle the pressure of this decision! – i’m just sticking to an amalgamation of homeschooling and unschooling for now. i’ve come up with the letter activity project. i focus on one letter a day and integrate the letter into our days activities.

we started this project today with the letter L and we ventured to none other than….the library! as far as libraries go, columbus’ is topnotch. no, really, it was voted national library of the year. i’m not LYING – an L word. See how good of a teacher i am? here’s pics of the day.

first we found the lion on the felt board. then we read about little leo.

then momma loaded up on books

we found the letter L in the magnetic letters

then we headed upstairs to the gallery space to LOOK at the art exhibit. The Carnegie Gallery at the main library branch has an exhibit up called Strands and it was quite beautiful. the exhibit will be running through oct 21. little lovely lady enjoyed it. (all L words. wink.)

we stopped for a little cupcake snack b/c darla was pretty good and b/c she’s a treat nazi.

we finally returned home to bask in the spoils of our Learning (L word!) i might have gone overboard with the libros this time. meh.

we followed up the library outing with a Listening Lunch which really means that i just put on a record album to aid our digestion while we munched. the album was rumours and i cried during songbird. troof.

here’s to learning from life until i can finally stomach the thought of shelling out thousands to educate my preschooler.  i’ll post our progress but please don’t expect me to be able to do this in 26 days. Also, i don’t plan on going in order, obvio. I just don’t have the organizational skills and the energy to to do it that way.  annnd i hope i can come up with some activity for letter u that isn’t unicycling. maybe. on second thought i might keep that one in there.

all i need to know i learned in kinderbirthin’ class…

Posted in doula work by

see what i did there? i took kindergarten and changed it to kinderbirthin’ and it works as kinder birthing too. awwwww shucks.

that really sums up the workshop though. kinder birthing. i hope i can keep that as one of my focus points as i get more involved. it’s all about kinder birthing for mom, dad and little tiny babes. also, i’m aware that kinder may or may not be an acceptable english word.

you may think doulas only support women who are having non-interventive birth. this correlation can be attributed to the fact that many women find the support and companionship of other women during her birth essential should she choose to forgo medication. but, doulas are also relevant for medicated births and cesareans. studies show that what happens to a woman emotionally matters more to her than what happens physically during labor and birth.

we learned a little more about the etymology of the word doula which is more than what you’ll find on wikipedia if you’re going to go look it up right now. it will say that doula is greek for female slave but it’s a little more than that. a doula was a woman who entered into servitude voluntarily and vowed to serve only one woman, her mistress. she took care of her mistress’ daily needs and was in turn given room, board and protection. these bonds were usually very long lasting. it’s touching to see how this term has evolved and integrated to childbirth today. i think it’s beautifully fitting.

if you are expecting please take the time to consider having a doula or at least meeting with a doula for an interview. if you’re in central ohio or indiana then consider having me as your doula! i wanna see you push a baby outta your lady regions! not many people are going to say that to you (maybe not even your partner) but i am. so take me up on it.

i just stumbled onto this on the interwebs while researching doulas and midwives and all i can say is WOW. lots of info and kinda dense at times but well worth a read. also artistically beautiful. as with the ina may book i recommended here, there are bits of this zine that don’t sit right with me and probably won’t with most of you either. but at least let those parts make you think.

Outlaw Midwives Volume 1

Dear Salty Sailor,

Posted in Uncategorized by

just look at those baby blues.

it’s been raining all week here. all i can say is thanks be to jupiter for indoor playgrounds. thank drops of jupiter for grandparents who buy admission passes to said indoor playgrounds. (i know how much you love it when i reference Train.) i feel much more at ease this week, having gotten back to focusing on what’s important and giving little d the patience she needs from me. all is well, hubster, all is well. everything is in the pictures.

she is pretty much a constant stream of running commentary on life now and her saving grace is she’s hilarious or else i don’t know if my nerves could take it. seriously talking from the minute she’s up until the minute she goes to sleep. she talks herself to sleep. then she sometimes talks in her sleep. do you know why parents get their daughters their own lines and phones shaped like giant lips? so their daughters will talk to someone else besides them. geeesh.

quotes: “i’m daddy and i like big money”

as she and i are leaving kyli’s house: “mommy, are you going to a concert?” i’m actually slightly proud of that one.

“darla what are you doing?” “i just stole a pig”  huh???? i didn’t ask.

she pings the pong

these eyes are just getting me this week. so stinking scrumptious.

 

circus freak

look at what i got over here for you

mid-sandwich life contemplation

sending you some radar love,

fwifey, now wifey.

what i wouldn’t give…

Posted in Momma Needs a minute... by

i’m convinced my world would be revolutionized if i could just become a morning person.

no matter what time mike goes to bed he’s always up by 6 am, at the latest. i saw the sun rise every day this past weekend and i thoroughly love the feeling of getting myself going with the break o’ day. but, somehow i just cannot get my internal clock to reprogram. as soon as i get darla down it’s like i have the first chance all day to think my own thoughts and work on my own projects and if i don’t get them all done right when i think of them then their gonna die right along with my soul!

i’m tired. i’m tired of doing this all by myself and it’s not even the halfway point. i’m tired of not being able to wind down my windmills until 2 am and then being up at 7 with a toddler who’s had 11 hours of sleep. i’m tired of wishing that i could be different. i’m tired of trying to figure out how to change it and i need to start focusing on how to use it.

that’s all. just a little complaint session. you can all go about your lives as normal.

Dear Salty Sailor,

Posted in Uncategorized by

this pretty much sums up life around here as of late. our suitcases packed and ready to head off again. a third weekend in a row away is starting to wear on me. when i look at the just visiting sticker on darla’s suitcase i think it refers to home rather than visiting far off places. is this how you feel all the time? like a permanent visitor? is this why you don’t wanna be a rubbertramp with me? can you also not spell grandma correctly?

i feel that the stress incurred from traveling caught up with me and i definitely was not the best mom, or even a good mom this week. i’m trying to work on meditating for more patience and remind myself that it’s not darla’s fault i’ve created a whirlwind life for us these past 3 weeks. have i ever told you this is really hard while you’re away?

our week consisted of getting our house back in order and saying good bye to the buzzkers no less than three times. i remarked to them on our final sendoff that the girls probably no longer believe our “you won’t see each other for a while” speeches since we then reunited them within 12 hours three days in a row. i have been trying to picture what our life will be like in columbus without that wonderful family and i can’t. we will just have to see. i shan’t type on this subject any more because any other feelings i have to state will start an outpouring of emotions that i don’t think the internet can handle. on the upside we scored some great free stuff from them. that’s what moving friends are for. the illuminated burrito below is for under our christmas tree to remind us of both christ’s humble beginnings AND the hilarious yet slightly odd sense of humor of our dear friends. i think it will compliment our sombrero tree topper nicely, too.

                  

here’s some of the funnies darla said this week: i asked her to help me put her dishes away and she replied with “right on.” maybe it was actually a “wright on” but you know i can’t tell her syntactical cues yet.  she climbed in bed with me one morning, snuggled under the covers then asked “mommy, can we stay in bed forever?” i told her yes. she asked me for some candy and i told her no because we hadn’t had lunch yet. she got a cross look on her face and replied “well, if i had some candy i wouldn’t give you a piece either.” this next one wasn’t actually said by our kid but it was said TO our kid so i’m gonna include it. elsa’s parting words to darla were “try not to poop in your hair.” how does one sum up a year and a half of sisterly friendship?

the last one i wanted to recount is especially relevant given my activities this weekend. Darla told me that she used to live in my womb which was a special little room inside me just for her. i was really touched by this pared down explanation. i felt triumph of having gotten a magical, motherly vision of her time in utero instilled in her little mind. i felt our child was a super genius. i was on top of a mountain looking down at all the other “lesser parents” that don’t explain anatomy and physiology to their two year olds. i was mother of the friggin’ year. then she proceeded to tell me that she had a crib in there and a swing set and even a babydoll with which she used to play. that’s when my big head deflated and i came back to reality.

well here are just a few more pics. darla’s in a growth spurt and i think i officially see a big kid poking through and the last traces of baby are melting away. it’s like watching the sun set.

         

nachos.nachos.bean.burrito          indiana campfire                   grandpa’s girl

i want to save a summary of my classes for a separate post so i’ll just end with these pictures and a grand AYE-LUUhhhUUhhhVvvvv-YEEEwwwww!

wifey, former fwifey

It’s official!

Posted in Uncategorized by

Now taking clients for discounted doula services while i complete my certification.

Please pass along my information to any expecting couples in the columbus ohio or central indiana areas.

thank you!!!

excitedly yours,

elaine

ps. that fish is how i carried darla around pretty much the first year of her life.

the most boring dc photo post ev-ah

Posted in parenting apparently?, Travels by

you’d think that after waiting a year and a half between visits and 13 hrs of driving round trip i would have taken more time to document our stay in dc. alas, i was living in the moment. read that – i was too busy running after our child in busy venues and trying to keep her from jumping off martyna and heidi’s spiral staircase to really wield a camera. here’s what i got:

  darla and frauntie martyna reunion. thanks for housing us!

darla’s indifference to black cat

where i first espied frodo

fried homemade donuts at birch and barley

come into the light children. all are welcome.

i will now list my other failures of the weekend besides capturing any pictures of the cool stuff we did for four days:

-taking a toddler to vfest. epic fail. although not really my fault. i tried but it was really not the environment for a child. i pride myself in not being too squeamish about including darla in life experiences but after 1 1/2 hours decided to go with my mom instinct and get the heck outta hipster hell. after buying darla a really cute t-shirt of course.

-staying up past ten. i had good intentions every night of getting darla down to bed and then having some adult conversations, maybe cut loose a little bit but never was able to actuate these plans. oh well. luckily i have good friends that understand. luckily i have good friends that will move the party that they threw for our arrival to the nearby bar so we could crash in peace. i heard it was a good party though.

-keeping a dry eye. i was a soppy mess the whole weekend. but not in a touching, let’s cry together b/c we miss each other way. more in a parked-car-on-the-side-of-the-road-mom-crying-while-toddler-sleeps-in-backseat creepy kinda way. that actually happened. in front of our old building. and it was one of those ugly cries. ugh.

now for my more important accomplishments of the weekend.

– dancing on the sidewalk to an r&b church service

– 13 hrs in a car with a toddler

– being able to navigate myself around the city as if i never left

– lots and lots and lots of walking. my calves are screaming at me but in a good way

– 2 showers in one weekend. sadly that is not all that common for me

– co-sleeping with darla all weekend long. cuddlefest

-reuniting darla with drum circle. in some senses this was a failure b/c she didn’t give a lick about the drumming and only wanted to run away from me and jump in fountains. i didn’t get to spend much time enjoying the event with friends but still i hope it was enough of an experience to stick in darla’s memory. drum circle was one of my favorite weekly activities when she was small.

– food. oh my gosh glorious food. between thaitanic take-out, the corner crepery, mr. yogato and brunch at birch and barley i was stuffed beyond belief. 14th st has blossomed into one long row of beckoning restaurants and it makes me long to brunch at every one of them! if we still lived in the district i am quite sure birch and barley would be one of our go-to haunts

– and most importantly, seeing lovely, familiar faces. reconnecting with people that i miss so much. each day brought new reunions. frauntie kate, my phish buddies amy & jess. ak & susanna. heidi. dewey. and frauntie martyna! i even stopped into the hill rag on my way out of town and got to reunite with my old co-workers. i hope that some day we will be so lucky as to have built as wonderful of a circle of friends in columbus as the one still embracing us in dc. it’s hard to walk away from all that love.

well that was the weekend in a nutshell. triumphs and failures. yep, sounds like parenting.

Dear Salty Sailor,

Posted in Travels by

i am writing this update in a cute little apartment just steps away from the spot at which we met. darla and i are spending the weekend with frauntie martyna and her new place (with heidi) is on swann. it is literally less than a block from the black cat. I walked darla over there this morning and told her the story of our meeting. she couldn’t have cared less. there were leftover fries on the ground and apparently that is more interesting than the story of her parents falling in love.

as you would expect, it was a very emotional stroll for me this morning. walking darla past the places that we used to frequent, places she has been many times of which she will have no memory. i drove her past harvard hall when we came into the city and had a few tears seeing her first home again. i miss this wonderful place.

sometimes i wonder why we ever left. sometimes i wish we were still here. i know in my heart that moving to columbus was the right move for us and i know it’s where we’re supposed to be at the moment. add on top of that the question of where we’re going to spend our future years and it becomes such a big internal struggle of wanting to be everywhere at one time. but somehow, in these past few weeks the weight of that question has melted away because i don’t care where i live as long as i am with you and darla. you two are my home.

besides making the trek to DC, our week has been a nice mix of activities and down time. darla spent some alone time with uncle josh and clare bear. we took a rainy afternoon playdate with elsabun, cory, and the now free-during-the-day meg at the tuttle mall. afterwards darla was really intent on reciting her planets and she could get all the way up to mars but then would get lost in space. haha. forgive me the pun.

we also spent lots of mother-daughter time cuddling in bed watching movies. her latest favorite is the japanese animation spirited away. ’twas a recommendation from cosmic cousin and i have to say that japanimation might be our next big foray. i don’t know how my fantasy film childhood missed all these great films. also, i think we will raise her to be an animist. maybe a nice mix of native american and japanese??? i do like the fact that she now tells me she thinks she’d like to be a water spirit. she’d be a great water spirit. i told her i’m a fire spirit. what spirit would you be?

also, i wanted to update you on the cycle tavern excursion. it was hilarious and so much fun. i’d love to do it again sometime when you can be included. my legs hurt for two days afterwards but i kinda liked the feeling that i was working out while socializing. smiley smiles. we enjoyed all the attention it garnered. especially from the 3 or 4 firetrucks that stopped to chat us up. i’m just saying that the firemen of columbus might be getting paid to flirt with ladies on a 16 person bike. but who can blame them?

well once again i didn’t do a very good job of recording funny things baby d has said. at one point in time, when i was giving her a talking to for something or other, she looked me in the eye and told me “to take a deep breath” and started conducting my breathing. she was right and i did. sometimes daughter knows best. on our walk around dc she told me “mom, i love my dad and i have his toes.” i think she will be saying that she has your toes for years yet to come. it seems to have stuck. that’s all that i can really recall. she has been doing and saying so many things lately that remind me of you. i swear sometimes her speeches are a replica of your m&m commercials. it makes me so content to think about that.

well here are some pictures from the earlier part of the week. i’ll update pics from our trip here when i get home. we miss you and we love you. i’m very happy to be in the city of our meeting because it for some reason makes me feel closer to you. i guess, geographically speaking, i am.

love,

former fwife, now wife

p.s. i am so glad we had darla because now a little bit of you stays behind with me when you are gone to work.