If I think that some of the shoes in the Jessica Simpson line are kind of cute, what does that say about me?
Ava and I were at the mall yesterday, and I stopped to admire a pair of fun red peep toe pumps. Maybe they were a little trampy, but they were still ever so cute.
This is of great concern.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Just Follow the Sound of My Voice
...because I'm buried in packing paper. Our sea shipment was delivered last Monday. By 3pm on Tuesday, we were drowning in a sea of boxes and a ridiculous amount of furniture. 3 trucks. 5 containers. 240 boxes. I started feeling a little short of breath. Oh, but wait, the fun wasn't over yet.
On Wednesday, our long term storage arrived. Adding 137 boxes to our movefest. We just stacked it all in the garage, because we figured that most of that stuff was not going to live in our house for very long. When two semi-packrats get married and combine households, you are bound to end up with a plethora of crap. Likewise when you move overseas. So, combine those two situations and you end up with a house that looks like ours. It's bad. Very, very bad. I keep reminding myself that at least we are not in the same boat as some friends of ours who recently moved back to the US after ten years overseas - they have to throw most of their long term storage away because of rat infestation. They learned this AFTER the boxes were delivered to their house. Rat traps had to be set. So...it could always be worse.
So we spent all week just trying to chip away at the mountain of unnecessary crap that we have accumulated over the last 15 years or so. We are slightly disgusted with ourselves at the amount of junk we have accumulated. It's gluttonous. We made a really good dent on Saturday by going through EVERY box in the garage, also known as the "Why the hell did we keep this?" game. A plastic punch ladle, a pillow from Triad #1's childhood bedroom, a wooden fish. Why? Two donation trips and two dump trips and we were able to see part of our garage floor again.
Inside is still pretty much a total mess. Furniture everywhere. Paper and boxes are strewn about. We are trying to take it room by room but I'm going to bust a blood vessel if things don't get straight soon. Unpacking these boxes creates even more of a mess because of the insane amount of packing materials they use. A huge box and a giant pile of packing paper in the floor and for what? Three coffee mugs. And then there are what our friend affectionately refers to crapwads. When movers pack up your stuff, they pack up whatever is laying around. Trash, passports, pen lids, change, if it's not nailed down or a weapon of some sort, it gets packed up. So you come across some nondescript wad, and after unwrapping the approximate 87 layers of paper, you discover it's a tiny plastic gold ball. Or a container of pencil lead. Or four paper clips. It's a fun game.
On Wednesday, our long term storage arrived. Adding 137 boxes to our movefest. We just stacked it all in the garage, because we figured that most of that stuff was not going to live in our house for very long. When two semi-packrats get married and combine households, you are bound to end up with a plethora of crap. Likewise when you move overseas. So, combine those two situations and you end up with a house that looks like ours. It's bad. Very, very bad. I keep reminding myself that at least we are not in the same boat as some friends of ours who recently moved back to the US after ten years overseas - they have to throw most of their long term storage away because of rat infestation. They learned this AFTER the boxes were delivered to their house. Rat traps had to be set. So...it could always be worse.
So we spent all week just trying to chip away at the mountain of unnecessary crap that we have accumulated over the last 15 years or so. We are slightly disgusted with ourselves at the amount of junk we have accumulated. It's gluttonous. We made a really good dent on Saturday by going through EVERY box in the garage, also known as the "Why the hell did we keep this?" game. A plastic punch ladle, a pillow from Triad #1's childhood bedroom, a wooden fish. Why? Two donation trips and two dump trips and we were able to see part of our garage floor again.
Inside is still pretty much a total mess. Furniture everywhere. Paper and boxes are strewn about. We are trying to take it room by room but I'm going to bust a blood vessel if things don't get straight soon. Unpacking these boxes creates even more of a mess because of the insane amount of packing materials they use. A huge box and a giant pile of packing paper in the floor and for what? Three coffee mugs. And then there are what our friend affectionately refers to crapwads. When movers pack up your stuff, they pack up whatever is laying around. Trash, passports, pen lids, change, if it's not nailed down or a weapon of some sort, it gets packed up. So you come across some nondescript wad, and after unwrapping the approximate 87 layers of paper, you discover it's a tiny plastic gold ball. Or a container of pencil lead. Or four paper clips. It's a fun game.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Moving Day
Finally.
After moving halfway around the world, a false start with the first house we were going to build, changing subdivisions, having a baby, building delays, a generous helping of stress and frustrations, four months of corporate housing, two weeks staying in Austin, and five nights in a hotel, the movers are coming today. To-day.
I'm so happy I could cry.
After moving halfway around the world, a false start with the first house we were going to build, changing subdivisions, having a baby, building delays, a generous helping of stress and frustrations, four months of corporate housing, two weeks staying in Austin, and five nights in a hotel, the movers are coming today. To-day.
I'm so happy I could cry.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Adventures in Shopping
Okay, I have a few things to get off my chest...
How come no one makes a good nursing bra that you can try on IN A STORE? I know that there are a couple of good bras online, but seriously, who has time to order multiple sizes of a bra and then traipse back to the post office and return all the ones that didn't fit? I'm too busy washing out onesies that have become victims of the latest Ava blowout. I don't have time for the post office. Hell, some days, I don't even have time for breakfast.
Maybe I'm just too picky, but I don't really like any of the nursing bras I have. I won't wear underwire, and they need to be beige, and they need to be lightly lined, because I frickin hate breast pads. That doesn't sound hard to find, does it? OH BUT IT IS. Most nursing bras are white and lacy (two things that I'm not fond of in a bra, nursing or otherwise) and unlined. I did find some at Motherhood Maternity, but I'm not convinced they fit well. First of all, it's a D cup. Anyone who knows me in real life knows how laughable that is. And, although it's a D cup, my left boob still keeps falling out of it. Just the left, because, you know, Ava's developed a preference and so I am now distinctively lopsided. But then I try on C cups from other makers, and they are all poochy in the, uh, nipular area. Hence the "lightly lined" part of my requirement. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears.
Another thing...I'm really glad that I am breastfeeding Ava and all, but it's kind of interfering with the tops I can wear. I'm not a fan of the "lift up the shirt" method of nursing, and tops that unbutton = tops that need to be ironed, so I mostly look for tops that have a bit of stretch and criss cross over my boobs. This really limits the kind of shirts that I can buy when I am shopping. I constantly see adorable tops when I am out shopping, but they hardly ever pass the nursing test. And forget the so-called "nursing tops" that some stores carry. Most of them have the double layer thing with the side slits for easy boob access. First of all, you can always see the side slits under the top layer of those tops, which just screams "I'm nursing. Wait for me to leak!" and second of all, double layers in 100 degree Texas heat? I'm not a total masochist.
While I was in Austin staying with Triad #1, we went shopping. We went into the Ann Taylor outlet, which is always big fun. And it still was, except that it was a little depressing because they have the greatest work attire out right now. And I have no need to buy any of it. Entire sections of the store were just pointless for me to even browse through. I can't justify buying gorgeous new work clothes when, even if I do go back to work, it will probably be from home. For some reason, that bummed me out. Hopefully, it's just because the opportunity to buy gorgeous new work clothes was lost, not because there's some deeper meaning there. The same thing happened in Macy's. They had the sassiest shoes ever, shoes that I will not have a need for unless peep toe pumps become the must have fall shoe at Gymboree. They had amazing work dresses in Macy's as well, so for grins I tried one on. It zipped up fine until we got to my MASSIVE ribcage. I've always been broad shouldered with a wide ribcage, and pregnancy has made it expand to a 40 band size. That's not that big unless you see my freakishly small wrists. My body doesn't even make sense anymore. So I made myself feel better by buying huge amounts of sale clothes for Ava to put away for next year.
How come no one makes a good nursing bra that you can try on IN A STORE? I know that there are a couple of good bras online, but seriously, who has time to order multiple sizes of a bra and then traipse back to the post office and return all the ones that didn't fit? I'm too busy washing out onesies that have become victims of the latest Ava blowout. I don't have time for the post office. Hell, some days, I don't even have time for breakfast.
Maybe I'm just too picky, but I don't really like any of the nursing bras I have. I won't wear underwire, and they need to be beige, and they need to be lightly lined, because I frickin hate breast pads. That doesn't sound hard to find, does it? OH BUT IT IS. Most nursing bras are white and lacy (two things that I'm not fond of in a bra, nursing or otherwise) and unlined. I did find some at Motherhood Maternity, but I'm not convinced they fit well. First of all, it's a D cup. Anyone who knows me in real life knows how laughable that is. And, although it's a D cup, my left boob still keeps falling out of it. Just the left, because, you know, Ava's developed a preference and so I am now distinctively lopsided. But then I try on C cups from other makers, and they are all poochy in the, uh, nipular area. Hence the "lightly lined" part of my requirement. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears.
Another thing...I'm really glad that I am breastfeeding Ava and all, but it's kind of interfering with the tops I can wear. I'm not a fan of the "lift up the shirt" method of nursing, and tops that unbutton = tops that need to be ironed, so I mostly look for tops that have a bit of stretch and criss cross over my boobs. This really limits the kind of shirts that I can buy when I am shopping. I constantly see adorable tops when I am out shopping, but they hardly ever pass the nursing test. And forget the so-called "nursing tops" that some stores carry. Most of them have the double layer thing with the side slits for easy boob access. First of all, you can always see the side slits under the top layer of those tops, which just screams "I'm nursing. Wait for me to leak!" and second of all, double layers in 100 degree Texas heat? I'm not a total masochist.
While I was in Austin staying with Triad #1, we went shopping. We went into the Ann Taylor outlet, which is always big fun. And it still was, except that it was a little depressing because they have the greatest work attire out right now. And I have no need to buy any of it. Entire sections of the store were just pointless for me to even browse through. I can't justify buying gorgeous new work clothes when, even if I do go back to work, it will probably be from home. For some reason, that bummed me out. Hopefully, it's just because the opportunity to buy gorgeous new work clothes was lost, not because there's some deeper meaning there. The same thing happened in Macy's. They had the sassiest shoes ever, shoes that I will not have a need for unless peep toe pumps become the must have fall shoe at Gymboree. They had amazing work dresses in Macy's as well, so for grins I tried one on. It zipped up fine until we got to my MASSIVE ribcage. I've always been broad shouldered with a wide ribcage, and pregnancy has made it expand to a 40 band size. That's not that big unless you see my freakishly small wrists. My body doesn't even make sense anymore. So I made myself feel better by buying huge amounts of sale clothes for Ava to put away for next year.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Becoming Crunchy
Staying in Austin has been great. We would live here if only there was ANY oil and gas industry to speak of. But, since there isn't, we will probably have to live in Houston indefinitely. Ack.
Austin must be rubbing off on me. I have suspected that there was a hippy, crunchy baby momma in me trying to get out, and staying in Austin has just facilitated the inevitable. For example...
...I breastfeed in public. Granted, I use a blanket, but that's still a big deal for me. Truth be told, I really only use the blanket so that others are not uncomfortable, not for me. I really could care less. Once Ava is latched on, it's not like you can really see anything anyway. I wonder if that's a bad thing, that my boobs have become totally nonsexual for me? I know that for some people breastfeeding in public isn't a big deal, but for me, it is. This week I've breastfed at the Alamo Drafthouse, in my car countless times, and at a restaurant. I have to say, I'm proud of myself. I've found that my attitude is "This is my right, so just try to stop me." I never thought I'd really even have an opinion about breastfeeding in public, much less actually do it.
...I desperately want to wear Ava. Sadly, I'm just not sure if it's going to be possible. Before she was born, I bought a Peanut Shell and a Baby Bjorn. Every time I put her in the Peanut Shell, she screams her head off. She's quite dramatic about the whole thing. Same thing with the Bjorn. Okay, so already, that's $140 down the drain. Ugh. So, we headed down to Austin Baby this weekend to look for a Moby Wrap. I've heard raves about it, so I thought that before I buy it, we'd try it out first. No need to make the same mistake a THIRD time. We popped her in it in the store, and she loved it. Thought it was great. So I pull out my wallet and plunk down the $40. We get home and try it. She cries. So I tried another hold yesterday. She loved it and fell asleep in it within 60 seconds. Oh, this is great, I thought. Finally, we've found something that she likes, so I can wear her and still get things done around the house. So, this morning, I put her in it again. She cried. Sigh...Shit. There's an Austin Babywearing Society that would probably be really helpful, except that we don't live in Austin, MUCH TO MY DISDAIN. Can you tell that I really want to move to Austin?
...I am considering cloth diapers. I had no idea the progress that has been made with cloth diapers. At Austin Baby, they had BumGenius, FuzziBunz, all those. They are adorable and look so comfy. I have to admit though, that my motivation really has nothing to do with not contributing 70 disposable diapers a week to landfills. That's a nice benefit and all, but my main motivation is money. Think of all the money we would save! I'll have to really consider this though. My daughter has truly explosive diapers. I know all parents say that, but seriously - when there is more poop on the onesie than in the diaper, you start to wonder. Combine that with a husband that gags and wretches over poop diapers, and it's not pretty. We are going to have to get M a barf can to put by the changing table. Once she starts on solid food, it's all over. There will be guaranteed vomit. Everyone has something that makes them sick. For M, that Thing is Poop.
...I would buy a co-sleeper if they weren't $80. I am not keen on having her in the actual bed with us, it makes me too nervous, but I would love to have one of those co-sleepers that attaches to the side of our bed. We have a travel crib that we use instead. I'm glad we bought a travel crib instead of a bassinet. We get far more use out of the travel crib, plus, she can stay in it so much longer. I am in no hurry to move her out of our room, and I will probably need to be sedated when we finally do it. If I have my way, that won't be for quite a while. I don't think M is in that same camp, however. I'll have to work on that.
As relatively granola as I think I'm becoming, I do draw the line somewhere. I'm only planning on breastfeeding until Ava is a year old, max. When she's old enough to walk up to me and ask for the boob, then it's time to consider the benefits of homemade baby food.
Austin must be rubbing off on me. I have suspected that there was a hippy, crunchy baby momma in me trying to get out, and staying in Austin has just facilitated the inevitable. For example...
...I breastfeed in public. Granted, I use a blanket, but that's still a big deal for me. Truth be told, I really only use the blanket so that others are not uncomfortable, not for me. I really could care less. Once Ava is latched on, it's not like you can really see anything anyway. I wonder if that's a bad thing, that my boobs have become totally nonsexual for me? I know that for some people breastfeeding in public isn't a big deal, but for me, it is. This week I've breastfed at the Alamo Drafthouse, in my car countless times, and at a restaurant. I have to say, I'm proud of myself. I've found that my attitude is "This is my right, so just try to stop me." I never thought I'd really even have an opinion about breastfeeding in public, much less actually do it.
...I desperately want to wear Ava. Sadly, I'm just not sure if it's going to be possible. Before she was born, I bought a Peanut Shell and a Baby Bjorn. Every time I put her in the Peanut Shell, she screams her head off. She's quite dramatic about the whole thing. Same thing with the Bjorn. Okay, so already, that's $140 down the drain. Ugh. So, we headed down to Austin Baby this weekend to look for a Moby Wrap. I've heard raves about it, so I thought that before I buy it, we'd try it out first. No need to make the same mistake a THIRD time. We popped her in it in the store, and she loved it. Thought it was great. So I pull out my wallet and plunk down the $40. We get home and try it. She cries. So I tried another hold yesterday. She loved it and fell asleep in it within 60 seconds. Oh, this is great, I thought. Finally, we've found something that she likes, so I can wear her and still get things done around the house. So, this morning, I put her in it again. She cried. Sigh...Shit. There's an Austin Babywearing Society that would probably be really helpful, except that we don't live in Austin, MUCH TO MY DISDAIN. Can you tell that I really want to move to Austin?
...I am considering cloth diapers. I had no idea the progress that has been made with cloth diapers. At Austin Baby, they had BumGenius, FuzziBunz, all those. They are adorable and look so comfy. I have to admit though, that my motivation really has nothing to do with not contributing 70 disposable diapers a week to landfills. That's a nice benefit and all, but my main motivation is money. Think of all the money we would save! I'll have to really consider this though. My daughter has truly explosive diapers. I know all parents say that, but seriously - when there is more poop on the onesie than in the diaper, you start to wonder. Combine that with a husband that gags and wretches over poop diapers, and it's not pretty. We are going to have to get M a barf can to put by the changing table. Once she starts on solid food, it's all over. There will be guaranteed vomit. Everyone has something that makes them sick. For M, that Thing is Poop.
...I would buy a co-sleeper if they weren't $80. I am not keen on having her in the actual bed with us, it makes me too nervous, but I would love to have one of those co-sleepers that attaches to the side of our bed. We have a travel crib that we use instead. I'm glad we bought a travel crib instead of a bassinet. We get far more use out of the travel crib, plus, she can stay in it so much longer. I am in no hurry to move her out of our room, and I will probably need to be sedated when we finally do it. If I have my way, that won't be for quite a while. I don't think M is in that same camp, however. I'll have to work on that.
As relatively granola as I think I'm becoming, I do draw the line somewhere. I'm only planning on breastfeeding until Ava is a year old, max. When she's old enough to walk up to me and ask for the boob, then it's time to consider the benefits of homemade baby food.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Baby Day
Yesterday, Ava and I went to the movies. There is an Alamo Drafthouse near my sister's house, and since we are staying with her while we are homeless, it was a quick trip down the road to enjoy an adult outing.
I love Alamo Drafthouse. The concept is great, and even better, the first matinee on Tuesdays is designated for babies and their parents. Since we just got Ava's shots last week, we are just now beginning to take her into (possibly) crowded places, like malls, restaurants, and now, movie theaters. She's a bit unpredictable in public, which is why I am so loving the Baby Day idea.
I saw Stepbrothers. Eh. Disappointing. Regardless, it was really nice to get out of the house. When I first stepped into the theater, I was the only one with a baby, and I was worried about how noisy we might be. I mean, I know it's Baby Day and all, but I didn't want to have the ONLY baby in there. Luckily, another woman brought her baby in, and he was noisier than Ava, so that was a relief. Ava did really well. She got a little fussy, but I just popped her on a boob, and that took care of it. I didn't realize until she was done nursing, however, that at some point she spit up while she was nursing and the entire right side of my shirt was cold and wet. So I just sat there and hoped that while the air conditioning was making little boob juice icicles on my shirt, that maybe it was drying it a bit. She slept for the rest of the movie, and I was proud of us for going on our little adventure.
I'm going again next week. All of the Baby Days in Houston are far away from where we live, so I want to enjoy it as much as I can while we are in Austin. I really want to see Pineapple Express. Would it be wrong to take a 2 month old to a movie where they are stoned the entire time?
I love Alamo Drafthouse. The concept is great, and even better, the first matinee on Tuesdays is designated for babies and their parents. Since we just got Ava's shots last week, we are just now beginning to take her into (possibly) crowded places, like malls, restaurants, and now, movie theaters. She's a bit unpredictable in public, which is why I am so loving the Baby Day idea.
I saw Stepbrothers. Eh. Disappointing. Regardless, it was really nice to get out of the house. When I first stepped into the theater, I was the only one with a baby, and I was worried about how noisy we might be. I mean, I know it's Baby Day and all, but I didn't want to have the ONLY baby in there. Luckily, another woman brought her baby in, and he was noisier than Ava, so that was a relief. Ava did really well. She got a little fussy, but I just popped her on a boob, and that took care of it. I didn't realize until she was done nursing, however, that at some point she spit up while she was nursing and the entire right side of my shirt was cold and wet. So I just sat there and hoped that while the air conditioning was making little boob juice icicles on my shirt, that maybe it was drying it a bit. She slept for the rest of the movie, and I was proud of us for going on our little adventure.
I'm going again next week. All of the Baby Days in Houston are far away from where we live, so I want to enjoy it as much as I can while we are in Austin. I really want to see Pineapple Express. Would it be wrong to take a 2 month old to a movie where they are stoned the entire time?
Monday, August 4, 2008
It's Official
Yaaay! We are out of Evil Corporate Housing and officially homeless! Of course, we picked THE hottest day of the year in Houston to do it, but at least we are out. We seriously underestimated the amount of stuff we would have to move, so we felt pretty bad for our friend who came to help us out. "Oh yeah, we have the nursery furniture and probably 10 or 15 boxes. We should be done in a couple of hours, max." Uh, make that 40 or 50 boxes. Considering that our original air shipment consisted of 19 boxes, it appears that I've done just a wee bit of shopping since we got back to Texas. We finished up with the main bulk of the moving in about five hours, but then, of course, there were all the other little errands that we needed to take care of before officially becoming homeless. Dropping off donations, dry cleaning, etc. etc.
Even though we despised that apartment, we did get a little sentimental when we were leaving. It was Ava's first house. Okay, apartment, but you get what I mean. Luckily, Ava started throwing a fit because the carrier she was in WAS NOT MOVING, and thus, the moment was kind of lost.
So, Ava and I are staying with Triad #1 for a couple of weeks until our house is ready. Our closing is scheduled for the 13th, but I think that's pretty optimistic. I hope it's ready by then, though, because we are so ready to stop living out of a suitcase.
Even though we despised that apartment, we did get a little sentimental when we were leaving. It was Ava's first house. Okay, apartment, but you get what I mean. Luckily, Ava started throwing a fit because the carrier she was in WAS NOT MOVING, and thus, the moment was kind of lost.
So, Ava and I are staying with Triad #1 for a couple of weeks until our house is ready. Our closing is scheduled for the 13th, but I think that's pretty optimistic. I hope it's ready by then, though, because we are so ready to stop living out of a suitcase.
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