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kenandbelly

~ A navelgazer telling her story.

kenandbelly

Category Archives: kenandbellyland

Life and changes

16 Monday Sep 2013

Posted by kenandbellymacaroni in kenandbellyland, life

≈ 2 Comments

The clean and tidy of my previous post mocks me. Our living room now looks like this:

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Things have gone from two-working parents-with-an-infant-and-a-soccer-playing-ballerina hectic to two-working-parents-with-jobs-temporarily-in-different-cities-and-househunting/taking-on-a-mortgage-and-moving-back-to-the-Midwest-with-a-toddler-and-a-soccer-playing-ballerina nutso around here. One day, one day, I will rise to blog again. Perhaps with DIY/home improvement content. Or not, I don’t know. Lend me some well-rested brain cells and a 30 hour day and I’ll give you a better answer. Meantime, here are the girls plotting to take over the world:

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“Okay, sister. This is fun but let’s go find a new adventure!”

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a very merry half birthday

04 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by kenandbellymacaroni in baby stuff, kenandbellyland, life

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Half a year, Miry, my dearie, equally distant from the sun as we were the day you were born (plus a few days, at this point).  One hundred eighty-even days of you in our lives, here with us.  No more waiting in the wings, but here with us finally, having decided for yourself that it was time for you to join our family.

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With you, our family is balanced, even.  Two and two.  I’m not surprised at all that you are a Libra.  All that balance.  You are mellow, round, sweet, even.

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You’re also a whole heap of fun!  You squawk.  But you also growl.  You smile easily, but then return to seriousness.  You bring your hands together in front of you, tap tap, and light up when we say, “clap, clap.”

My sweet baby cakes, sunshine, smiley buttons, sweetie pie, growly bear with the drool and the raspberries and the chub, I just want to zerbert you until you laugh.  To pump your legs so you “run” in place while giggling.  To cuddle you while you still fit on my lap.

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You think kicking the water and now splashing with your hands is fabulous, and have started to lean toward the bathtub as soon as you realize the water is running.  You love yourself a good bath–until you don’t, all of a sudden, and it’s time to whisk you out of the tub, struggle your diaper, onesie, pajamas, and zipper gown onto you, and nurse you.  Just you and I in the dark bedroom.  That’s our quiet time.

The moment I saw you outside my body, I knew you.  But I knew you–know you–as a mystery, too.  I still know so little of you.  More and more of you shines out as you have transitioned from not-yet-fully-of-this-world newborn to full-on baby, beginning to cling to me like a baby monkey when I put you on my hip.  You feel so familiar on your own, and look so familiar with your sister that I have flashbacks to six years ago with her.  Yet, I know we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg and there’s so much more of your personality to emerge.

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You, you are your own joy.  You are a joy to us.

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Times are changing around here. Your awesome, kind, loving grandparents have been watching you on workdays, commuting early and from Leesburg to do so.  They have other grandkids waiting for their turns, so you’ll start daycare next week.  The 6-month class should be fun for you– you love looking in the mirror at that one smiley baby.  Just imagine how fun it will be to have other babies to play with.

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Not that those other babies will ever be able to compare to your favorite playmate at home, that awesome sister of yours.  Your mutual adoration club fills our time together with lots of giggles, squawks, raspberries, songs, and belly laughs.  She thinks you get more fun every day, and is thrilled that you’ve started to share a room with her now that your sleep pattern’s pretty solid.  Before you, she often asked us why she had to sleep alone when your dad and I got to share a room.  Now, she has you.  You will never know life without a sister; she had six years as an only child and, in that time, did not realize what she was missing– until we told her she was going to be a big sister and she realized that she was missing, because she didn’t yet have you.
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And now she does.

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And you have her.

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And so do we.

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I’m so glad.

Love,

Mama

so full

16 Saturday Feb 2013

Posted by kenandbellymacaroni in kenandbellyland, life

≈ 2 Comments

Jayne turned six and cupcakes and Wizards games and concerts at the Kennedy Center and full time at the office and Jayne in ballet and nursing and pumping and nursing and the delicious chub on Myriam’s wrists and she’s closer to five months now than four and she laughs and Jayne laughs and dances for her and my role is changing at work and its a sideways move with more room to grow and Ben has a new job and he’s so excited to really give his MBA skills a run and its getting crowded here and should we buy a condo? a second car? and sequestration and a short furlough likely for me and oh, I could actually use the down time and we forgot to drink the sparkling wine I saved to celebrate the first anniversary of my dissertation defense since I was pregnant last year and wait, Ben can’t have wine right now because he’s on a strict elimination diet to see if his Menier’s can get under control (so far so good) and it’s so hard to find foods he can eat that have no salt nuts onions bananas avocados msg caffeine alcohol chocolate poor guy at least we’re saving by not eating out and its hard to cook every night rather than order pizza Indian Thai Chinese and I have a chocolate stash and I have a new knitting project because we have a new nephew and yay a new nephew! and our baby’s growing so fast she’s a delight and ugh I hate getting up at five and wish I could fit into my regular clothes again but almost there at least I don’t have very much further to go and its not like I have time to exercise it’s mostly just nursing and Myriam is 14 pounds already no wonder and it would feel good if I had time to exercise though at least I get to do some weightlifting between the baby and carrying around my work laptop and telecommuting and all the baby gear and photos and last year’s 365 book and the view from our balcony the sound of Myriam’s coos and Jayne making her own peanut butter sandwiches and she reads! she reads! and wow now I know where I got my irrational fear of panthers when I was a kid even though our house was not a Little House in the Woods and I think we’ll switch to Lucy Maud Montgomery now and it’s way too soon to introduce Jayne to Harry Potter she would get scared and she has such a tender heart and wow I haven’t thought about Molly Bloom in a while yes yes yes I said yes and it would also be nice to put something on my blog because life is so good and so full and so sweet and so crazy right now I want to capture it wrap my arms around it tape some words to it log it in my memory bookshelf for safekeeping all time because these are good good days busy days and ahhh I better go shower and dry my hair before the baby wakes up from her nap.

This is the story of my life right now

11 Tuesday Dec 2012

Posted by kenandbellymacaroni in kenandbellyland, NaBloPoMo

≈ 2 Comments

Finish NaBloPoMo? I can barely even take a shower!

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Three things to remember from a Saturday in November

04 Sunday Nov 2012

Posted by kenandbellymacaroni in kenandbellyland, NaBloPoMo

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Time in Newbornlandia is relatively relative. Even though this post may get a Sept. 4th date stamp, I’m drafting it during the first couple wakeups of the night. There’s a gray zone between days here, and I’m going to call this one a NaBloPoMo success.

So, since it’s day 3, here are 3 memorable things from November 3rd:

1. 2 goals— our day started at the elementary school soccer field, from which the sun retreated the minute we stepped foot on the grass. Jayne’s face lit it back up though, twice. Her first AND second goals EVER went in.

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2. Date night–Thanks to my babysitting in-laws, Ben took me to the NBA opener at the Verizon center tonight, where we watched a miserable first quarter become an exciting last second, one point loss. Ah, well. The delicious pumpkin martini I enjoyed at Ella’s after the game was sweeter than victory.

3. Myriam’s wakeups tonight— were plural…but i guess i could say that at least they were on the shorter side. (still, the plural part’s not especially good for my memory or other cognitive functions. Guess its a good thing I have a blog, huh?)

Interview with a Kindergartener

14 Friday Sep 2012

Posted by kenandbellymacaroni in kenandbellyland, life

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Inquiring minds wanted to know.  So, we asked Jayne:
What’s your favorite color? pink

Favorite food? IKEA meatballs.  Also Princess Chicken Noodle soup

Favorite dessert? poppys (push-up pops)

Favorite show? Dinosaur Train

Who is the coolest person on Earth? you, Mom

Who is your teacher? Mr. McConnell

What’s your favorite thing about school? recess

What’s your favorite class? P.E.

Who are your best friends? Charlotte, Anna, Robbie, Elizabeth and Lori

What do you do most awesomely? play in the playground

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? Disney

What’s your favorite toy? my princess dolls

What do you want to be when you grow up? a pilot of a plane

What’s your favorite song? the Na-Na-Na song (Ricky Gervais’ Celebrity Lullaby)

What’s your favorite book? George and Martha: the Complete Stories of Two Best Friends

What are three words that describe you? I really like to run, to play, and to sleep

What did you do when you were little? drooled when I was a baby

What is something Mommy always says to you? You are my sunshine

What is something that Daddy always says to you? You are my monkey mac.

What makes Mommy happy?  When I give her love

What makes Daddy happy?  When I play with him

How does Mommy make you laugh? Do funny things

How does Daddy make you laugh?  Do funny things.  Like jokes.

What’s your best memory? memory games

If you had one wish, what would it be? if the whole world was made of candy

My girl, first think in the morning

13 Friday Jul 2012

Posted by kenandbellymacaroni in kenandbellyland

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J: (comes running out of her room, hair a-rumpled).  Mommy!  Emergency!

Me: Uh oh, what happened?

J: A book fell down the side of my bed!  And I can’t reach it!

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