DANCE PARTY

D was delighted to learn that DJ Shadow's new album is being featured on the NPR web site. We listened to it this morning. This is a glimpse of K enjoying the music while eating lunch at the kitchen counter and helping to make applesauce. My baby easily found the beat.



Untitled from becky d on Vimeo.

I especially love D's closing comment: It's hip hop with a great sense of humor and a great sense of history.

Obviously.

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST

We caught our third mouse last night.

Snap trap. No bait. Little sucker got into the pantry and did not get out.

The trap snapped so hard it flipped over and I couldn't see it this morning. I thought I smelled something funky, but when I didn't see the trap I assumed D had removed it last night. He found it about an hour later all tucked away in the corner of the pantry. Mouse dead.

Score: Us: 3 Mice: 0.

Well, maybe not zero... they ate a lot of our food.

I believe the war might might be over.

DEFCON 1

We are at WAR in our house.

WAR.

DEFCON 1.

Our enemy: a little legion of mice. This little legion is comprised of three mice - that we know of... Two of these little buggers have been caught. The first we caught last week using a humane trap stuffed with blue cheese (yes, we went with the really good stuff to catch this little bugger). Last night we caught one of the remaining two mice using a snap trap; no bait. This little sucker was messing around in our pantry (where he and his little buddy ate through several wrapped granola bars) and David went all postal on him.

He set up a second snap trap in our pantry and loaded it with granola bar as bait.

We are at war.

These little buggers have made their home in our home long enough. They have eaten enough of our granola bars and eaten into more than their fair share of chocolate chips and sprinkles. Their eating habits have forced us to buy more plastic storage containers that I'd like to admit. Everything - flour, sugar, crackers, granola bars, nuts, sprinkles, pasta, all wheat products, oatmeal - is now in plastic storage containers. And yet the remaining little bugger was in our pantry last night.

We are at war.

Defcon 1.

Updates forthcoming.

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To my father: we promise to end the war (having won it) before you visit.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Hard to believe she is almost three and that in the coming days she'll be a big sister...

THE BEGINNING & THE END

During the past two weeks, we've seen the beginning and the end in our house...

In mid-September, K started her first year of preschool. It was her beginning. She's enrolled in a wonderful little Montessori school about a mile from our house. She is loving it. It cracks me up to see her leave the house each morning with her little backpack.

 

A few days after K started school, I finished. After four L-O-N-G years of a PhD program, I finally finished YESTERDAY. At 39 weeks and 2 days pregnant, I defended my dissertation. I did not look as cute as K. In fact, I ripped two pairs of tights before leaving the house - because I was sweating so hard (nerves and high humidity; not to mention being 22 pounds heavier). I left the house sweating like a pig in a pair of pants and a nice shirt. I planned to change into my dress and buy new tights while in Baltimore, but I never did. I defended in my pants, which actually made me really happy because I was able to hide my swollen legs, ankles and feet. No pictures were taken.

In fact, I am so big pictures of me today are few and far between. This is one of the few taken in the last week. This is my view these days...

My tummy is as large as she is cute.

THE BIG EVENTS

Over the past few weeks, we've lived through/experienced several BIG events.

First, on July 5th, my trusty little car - a gift from my parents after college graduation - crossed the 100,000 mile threshold. It was a big moment in my life - watching her odometer go from 5 digits to 6. Thankfully, I was in the passenger seat during the big event and was able to capture it on film (I'll spare you the video).

In early August, I discovered that I do in fact have a Y in my left eye. For those of you who don't remember, my aunt in Texas has a client who claims to have a no-fail way of determining the sex of an unborn child. In short if the blood vessels of the mother's left eye form a Y, then the baby will be girl. Back in September 2008, I had a distinct Y in my left eye. As you can see from the picture below, I do AT THIS VERY MOMENT have a Y in my eye. What do others think?!?! Is "Joel" in fact a girl?

August was also full of natural disasters. On the 23rd, DC was rocked by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake. I was at home with K at the time - trying to get her to sleep. We felt two distinct movements during the quake. First, it really did feel like the house was shaking. It also felt like the floors were rolling - like we were standing on top of water. The noise from the earthquake was loud. K was laying on her bed with her hands over her ears S-C-R-E-A-M-I-N-G.

After the shaking stopped, K and I went outside to talk to our neighbors and did a walk through of our house to see if there was any damage. Pictures fell off of the wall in our bathroom and our shoe cubby in our sunroom moved away from the wall. In our front bedroom, the wall/ceiling cracked. You can see from the picture below that it does look like there were waves/rolls. The crack moves/rolls from wall to ceiling back to wall again. It is pretty magnificent to see the strength of plate tectonics in our bedroom.

Also during the earthquake, we heard a terrible crashing noise on our roof. Turns out our neighbor's chimney crumbled and crashed onto our roof. As you can see the quake did a number on the 100 year old chimney.

Prior to the hurricane, Irene, that rocked DC five days after the earthquake, D went up on the roof, took some pictures and removed/stacked all the loose bricks. We didn't want the hurricane strength winds to cause damage to our roof or our neighbors. Thankfully there was no damage.

SIX WEEK REWIND

Ferris Bueller once said:

Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around 

once in a while, you could miss it.

 

The past six weeks of my life have flown by -- quite possibly the busiest weeks of my life. And it is not just business. They have been full of changes - physical, mental, emotional, hormonal, and behavioral. I have been trying to take time to enjoy all the special, never-going-to-be-the-same-again moments that have come my way.

 

In short, since we traveled to Pennsylvania for the Fourth of July, I/we have:

 

1. hosted our friends from France for two weeks;

2. painted K's bedroom (well, technically my dad gets credit for this) and made room for a new crib and dresser;

3. spent a week at the beach with friends;

4. completed my duties as a graduate research assistant;

5. submitted a complete draft of my written dissertation;

6. received approval to defend my dissertation;

7. began my full-time, grown-up job as an Assistant Professor;

8. gained approximately 15 pounds;

9. become the mother to a preschooler; 

10. planned my come-back races for 2012 (National RnR and Pittsburgh 1/2 marathons); and

11. spent more time trying to stay on top of things than ever before in my life.

As of today, we are officially ready for baby #2. I am currently 35 weeks and 5 days along. I'm feeling fine - minus the persistent heartburn and swelling in my hands, feet, and ankles. Our new carseat was delivered today. This is the ONE thing we needed to have before the baby arrives. It is here. Part of me wants this baby to be born today; another part of me knows I have several BIG events scheduled for the next four weeks that I really want to happen --- including my dissertation defense. 

As long as I do not go into labor before my due date, I plan to defend my dissertation at 39 weeks and 3 days pregnant. I believe this will elevate me to ROCK STAR status among all PhD students and mothers-to-be! I also am planning to be inducted into my high school athletic hall of fame at 37 weeks/1 day pregnant. Again, I think attending this event, rocking a great black dress, and announcing my plans to be in 1/2 marathon running shape by March will also elevate me to some sort of ROCK STAR status! 

Regardless of when this new baby comes, my current baby will be starting preschool in two weeks. I can hardly believe it. She's enrolled in a wonderful Montessori School about 1 mile from our house. Her teacher is a gem and the school is beautiful - while playing at the school playground today, we noticed you can see the National Cathedral in the background. What a wonderful spot to attend school!

 

Just shy of three years old, K has become her own little lady. She talks constantly - often narrating the events of the day, making up stories, and asking WHY. She has her own sense of style and is very opinionated with it comes to clothing, shoes, and hair. She loves to read, paint and play with play-dough. She also loves music, dancing, jumping, gymnastics, riding her bike, and being outside. She also loves to help out in the kitchen and is becoming quite the little baker. 

 

The hour between 6:30 and 7:30 each evening is our most challenging time - she's tired, wants constant attention, and can often be found yelling, "NO!" without ceasing. She continues to be a great napper, but cannot sleep through the night for anything. We're currently trying to bride her to stay in bed all night long - until the sun comes up - with frozen yogurt. It has yet to work.

Our vacation to the beach a few weeks ago, was definitely a highlight of the summer for all of us. We had a wonderful and restful week away with friends. K completely enjoyed herself.

My goal for the next five weeks of this pregnancy is to enjoy each moment. In spite of heartburn and the awkwardness of my big belly, I want to enjoy being pregnant (as much as I can), I want to enjoy having just one child, I want to cherish all my firsts at my new job, I want to prepare for my dissertation defense, and I really want get as much sleep as humanly possible.

Here's to you baby #2, Joel... please make plans to remain where you are for at least four more weeks. Love, Mommy