"Love Set You Going like a Fat Gold Watch"

As Megan pointed out- April is National Poetry Month. The delightful Ms. SortaCrunchy also suggested a little bloggy poetry reading and -YAY -here we are.

Now, I have been known to pen the occasional poem in my life, but trust me when I say, you REALLY don't want to read them. And I'm not just being modest. Poetry is NOT my strong suit as a writer. I do, however, harbor a healthy appreciation for those who can and do write wonderful poetry.

It was difficult, naturally, to choose which poem to "read" here on my blog- I have so many favorites.

I love Sylvia Plath and finally settled on the following. It is a bit of an obvious choice, given the events that have taken place in my life in the past year. As always, her language is so achingly beautiful it almost hurts.

Morning Song
Love set you going like a fat gold watch.
The midwife slapped your footsoles, and your bald cry
Took its place among the elements.

Our voices echo, magnifying your arrival. New statue.
In a drafty museum, your nakedness
Shadows our safety. We stand round blankly as walls.

I'm no more your mother
Than the cloud that distils a mirror to reflect its own slow
Effacement at the wind's hand.

All night your moth-breath
Flickers among the flat pink roses. I wake to listen:
A far sea moves in my ear.

One cry, and I stumble from bed, cow-heavy and floral
In my Victorian nightgown.
Your mouth opens clean as a cat's. The window square

Whitens and swallows its dull stars. And now you try
Your handful of notes;
The clear vowels rise like balloons.


Who's your favorite poet?

Me. Money. Stooopid.

I will be the first one (the FIRST!) to admit that I am terrible with money. You may doubt that someone as smart, funny, tall, and punctual as myself could be fiscally irresponsible but I assure you, it is a solid fact.

So anyway, this month, the straw broke the proverbial camel's back and I am now PLEDGING to take steps to improve my spending and up my frugality score. And win back my husband's love and devotion and maybe get a little nookie now and then because he won't be angry with me for going nuts at Amazon. Heh.

I promise:

1. To write down EVERYTHING I spend. I think that this will be a major help for me because part of my problem is that I spend $10 here, $20 here, $17 over there and don't write these things down and realize holy SHIT I just spent $47 on c.r.a.p. YKWIM??

2. To hereby declare that the month of May is NO SPENDING MONTH. Instead of just sticking my toe in to test the water, I'm going to just jump right into the deep end and pledge not to buy ANYTHING that is not absolutely NEEDED. I know this will be hard, especially with all the new, fun, springy things like flip flops but I am resolved. It will be a good exercise in SELF CONTROL and can't hurt my materialistic tendencies either.

So. We'll see how it goes. I'll update here with my progress (or regression, as the case may be) to keep me motivated.

Sigh.

Earth Days are Easy

Happy Earth Day. While its silly that we need to have a day to remind everyone that our home is slowly but surely falling apart I think Earth Day is a good excuse to reevaluate your (read: my ) life and look for areas where you (I) can improve your (my) greenness.

My goal this year is to look for ways to clean my home that have less of an environmental impact but still leave things sparkly and fresh and so on. Fortunately, I came across this article that details great solutions that may also be incidentally easy on the pocketbook. And who wouldn't love that??

So, Happy Earth Day. Go clean some shit.

Face the (plastic) Music

So I've been hearing about this issue for a while, but in true ostrich-like fashion, I have buried my head in the sand while plugging my ears and whistling "Dixie." The time has come, however, to face the sad, sad facts: Plastics are EVIL.

Exhibit A: Toxic Baby Bottles

Exhibit B: Na!gene Water Bottles being not so good either

Sigh.

Today I ordered some of these and one of these.

We don't do a ton of plastic, but Otto takes bottles at daycare and my na!gene bottle has been practically attached to my water-guzzling face for the last 5 years or so. So I may be a little behind the curve but I'm trying to catch up!

Of course, its impossible- IMPOSSIBLE, I say! to protect our babies (or ourselves, for that matter) from every potential harm out there, but when its something like this...something that just might be really harmful and is avoidable, dropping upwards of $50 to replace bottles, sippy cups and such doesn't seem like that big a deal. We do the best we can, don't we?

On the plus side, I got a little shopper's high from ordering all this stuff. And that has to be a good thing. Right?

Here Comes the Sun.

After a cold, kinda cranky weekend, guess what the high temp is today.....69 degrees!! Woo-hoo! Its about damn time. The sun is out, the birds are singing and Otto's hives are gone. Life is good.

Speaking of Otto- his tooth is so cute! Its just barely poking out of his gum and I can feel its sharp little edge with my finger. It doesn't seem to be bothering him too much- he might be slightly crankier than usual but he's handling it like a trooper. And, its warm enough today for him to wear a short-sleeved shirt and I know this sounds weird but his fat little arms are freakin' adorable. I haven't gotten to see much of them because its been so cold.

In other news, I bought a piano this weekend! Piano was my first instrument as a kid (I think I got my first lesson at age 3 or so) and its something I've really missed. Last week, we FINALLY sold the organ that my grandmother left me in her will*, so I had some money to spend that was earmarked for a music-related purchase. I ended up with a Casio Privia PX-100 Digital Piano which probably doesn't mean that much to you, but to me it means that I can play again on something that feels like a REAL PIANO as opposed to the dinky keyboard I've been playing up until now. Its nice and streamlined and will be a breeze to move compared to a "real" piano. Playing music is something I grew up doing and something I have not done enough in my "adult" life of late. I can't wait to get my chops back and (eventually) to give Otto lessons.

Its rare that I would say this and actually mean it but...Happy Monday!


*The organ is super cool in theory- it is a Hammond B3 from 1956...but it doesn't work. My grandmother meant well, but it was huge, cumbersome, and would have cost a fortune to repair. So the fact that someone was willing to buy it (for $1200.00, no less!) was pretty freaking awesome.

Achievement Award

Today is a triumph of sorts, in that it is the end of the week. The week sent straight from the fires of Hades. The week that shall live in infamy as GODAWFUL. In other words, this week has kicked my ass 18 ways of Sunday and I'm not even kidding. Let's review, shall we?

Last weekend-

Me: Hmmm...I feel like I'm getting a little head cold. Oh well. I'll just drink some orange juice. La dee da. (Blissfully ignorant of the torturous hours to come.)

Monday (approximately 6:03 in the AM):

Me: OH MY GOD I AM GOING TO DIE. (Struggles to breathe without coughing up a lung and/or head exploding from horrible sinus pressure.)

I call in sick, lay in the recliner like a dead person, and then go to the Dr. around 2:45 at which time I am informed that I have sinus and ear infections. AGAIN. The cough, apparently, is just a pleasant side symptom. A third dose of antibiotic, a neti pot, and some purchased probiotics later, I am home again trying not to collapse while giving my son a bath.

Today:

I am finally feeling better. After 5 DAYS OF BEING COMPLETELY MISERABLE, SAN DIEGO.* (4 of which I had to work because I have no sick time left. ) The cough is sticking around, but has lost some of it's bite. That or I'm just getting used to barking like a trained seal.

But enough about me.


Otto has the following going on:

Getting first tooth.

A nice wet cough, similar to his dear mother's.

A rash covering his entire body. With hives. HIVES, people. (I suspect this is a reaction to the amoxicillan that he was taking up until yesterday for the ear infection that I knew nothing about.)

The only one in the family not ill in some respect is the Husband which, you know, totally makes sense since he is the only one who does NOT take vitamins/eat right/excersise/ or get enough sleep.

Grrrrr.

On the bright side, there's 6" of snow on the ground. And its really cold.





*Who is not a fan of Anchorman. Really. Who???

6 months *Now With Pics!*

Dear Otto,

On March 24, you had your half birthday. 6 months! Seriously, buddy, that blows my mind.

We are having so much fun together, lately. I love it. You are developing quite a sense of humor- and I am your favorite comedienne. (Don't worry, I know it won't last- but I'm enjoying the ego boost.) Last night in the bathtub, I had you in absolute hysterics just by splashing my hand in the water and going "ooooooh!" And pretty much ANYTHING that comes out of your father's mouth is at least smile-, if not chuckle-, worthy.


You've been slightly fussy in the evenings lately, which I was attributing to teething? (although we have yet to see any little toofers emerge) but I suspect it was actually due to the ear infection that the doctor found at your 6 month visit. An EAR INFECTION! How could I be such a horrible mother- I had no idea!! So now you are on antibiotics and the fussiness has diminished. Sorry honey!

Speaking of the Dr., you weighed 18lbs. 9 oz. and are 28" long. That is tall. In fact, you are about to outgrow your infant car seat! And most of your clothes. Pretty soon it will be warm, though, and you can wear nothing but a diaper and just ride on the hood of the car. Problem solved!!





We've been very active, socially, this month. La leche league meetings, baby showers, going-away parties, dinners out...you've done it all! And you're having some stranger anxiety which I think is developmentally appropriate but makes me feel bad when a well meaning person leans in to say hi and you erupt in a Mt. Vesuvius of screams.

You can sit up on your own for a little bit now and are getting really good at grabbing stuff with lightening speed. And! You started solids recently! So far, you've had banana and sweet potato. You weren't really sure what to do at first, but now you are tackling your chunks of banana like a pro. And you love sippy cups with water. Who knew?

All in all, you are so much fun and such a little darling. Your Dad and I just look at you sometimes in awe..."we made THAT???" Its mind-blowing. I can't wait to see what you do next.






Love you love you love you,

Mama