J.Cruel.com

Ok, i'm turning my blog into a temporary soapbox.

Stop buying J.Crew.
And in fact, if you haven't already sworn off buying any fur- even trim- whatsoever, do so now.
I couldn't watch the video on this site, but just the description of it makes me beyond ill.

www.jcruel.com

bellies and giraffes

There's not anything all that exciting to report... you know, the usual: trying for the (gazillionth) time to hit on the magic solution that will change Raelin from pet-torturing toddler to gentle, cause-and-effect-understanding toddler...uh... yeah. I guess that's the usual on tonight's docket.

Our friends who are making their home on the road have launched from our driveway after a fun, 5 week hiatus here on the shores of Chickawaukie. The house is (relatively) quiet again with the daily meanderings of just 3 Callahans and I quite happily washed away the grime from our floors after 5 weeks of 5 people (plus the many, many weeks of 3 people that proceeded it). There is nothing so satisfying as clean floors. Not quite enough to inspire me to do it more than quarterly, but enough so that it remains a rather pleasant chore.

The nutkin appears to be growing quite nicely, as my belly continues to protrude. God(dess) Bless my friend Cara who bequeathed to me (on loan) a couple pairs of uber-chic maternity jeans. Probably about the hippest articles of clothing i've ever owned in my life and what better time to wear them when you are in the midst of a good 40 pound weight gain? I love friends with good fashion taste and enough zen unattachment to understand that they will be returned with a good 6 months of toddler-chasing wear on them.

Also in the preggy news... we attended our first Bellies and Babies potluck at our midwives' home. Our midwives are.... well, wives, and host monthly get-togethers for their new and expecting parents. Its quite a lovely affair in their woods-surrounded, solar powered home; the kitchen island laden with wholesome and delectable goodies, both for the main meal and the sugar round-up to finish us all off right. Children of various ages cavort around while newborns are danced and rocked to begged to last just a little bit longer while the new parents get some much needed social time. a good time is had by all and it happens in the woods in random rural Maine. Gotta love it. One of the coolest things about this is the contrast between this interaction and what we experienced with our midwives in Santa Cruz- who we loved, BUT in one of the various informational leaflets they sent home with us as Raelin's due date was imminent was the reminder that, "you get to keep the baby... not the midwife." Now, I understand where this sentiment came from. When you experience an intense life event such as giving birth, the people who were there become like instant blood relations- you've shared something extrordinary and unique with them, never to be repeated. Shortly after Raelin's birth Kevin suggested the (far-fetched) idea of returning to Santa Cruz to have our second child, just so we could use Kate and Roxanne again. Yes, attached we were. But, instead we moved to Maine and took Raelin with us and left them behind, never to hear from them or contact them again. But here we have new, great midwives who not only value those intense experiences, but build relationships out of them. Too cool.

Just received an invitation to the first of what will become monthly winter potlucks. Themed and with prizes, our first charge is "Garlic Extravaganza... what feeds your passion?" Looking forward to that plus the other creative prompts on the docket. Community occurs here, and its nice to be included. Kevmo garumphed about this cause he has a bad attitude tonight. I sent him to bed with instructions to wake up with an adjustment :)

and... i dunno. thanksgiving is rapidly approaching. raelin and i will head southwest to my dad's while kevin flies out to meet the rest of his family in vancouver to celebrate his uncle graduating with Phd. This will be our first holiday apart in I don't know how long, so I am not particularly looking forward to that. But then we gear up for Christmas, which I know elicits a groan from many people, but I am one of those sadistic elf-types who loves it so I'm all ready. I even have worthy home-made gifts this year that i am particularly pleased with.

so, that's the round up. xz and bartlebee are on safari which i am *so* jealous of, as the closest I get to giraffes and lions is playing with their small, plastic namesakes with Raelin. Not really all that satisfying in the grand scheme of things, so I anxiously await their news.

alrighty... that's all then.

The thing about 2....

Raelin has pretty much taken this whole new baby thing in stride. In fact, she hardly even blinked when i told her that i had a baby in my belly. I explained that it would get bigger and at some point she would be able to feel it move. Uh huh... yup.... Read me a book, Mommy? Was about the extent of the conversation.

Now, I dont' know about you, but this gives me pause. A 2 year old accepts without question that i have a baby in my body. This is a kid who wants to know what everything is (blissfully, we have not reached the "why?" stage yet.) She knows about babies... she loves them. So, it's not like she is mistaking me saying "baby" for say.... a poop that will need to come out at some point today (a subject that she is intimately familiar with). No, she is quite cognizant that I am talking about another person.

Wouldn't you think that if you told someone who had no prior knowledge of baby-making in any way, shape, or form that you had another person inside you, that it might drum up a question or two? or disbelief? I mean, I've made, grown, and birthed a baby and it still gives me the heebeegeebies sometimes. I'm sorry People, but it's just weird. We're all kind of numbed out to it because it happens everyday, but it's straight outta Sci-Fi as far as I'm concerned.

But not if you're 2. If you're 2, the world is a very different place. Take Brooke and Angus and Gus, for example. Now, if you're read Kevmo's blog, then you know who I'm talking about. For those who have been there recently, I'll fill you in. About a month or so ago Raelin casually mentioned that Brooke and Angus wanted to color with us. Um, ok... I said and held out my hands to receive them in an obvious hand-off. We'd been hearing about a few "others" recently, so I wasn't all that surprised. The others had come and gone within a day, but Brooke, and Angus and now Gus became permanant fixtures in the house- that is, until Kevmo and I royally screwed up and left them in a mouse house on the George's Highland Path. Even when Kevin returned with Raelin to pick them up, they have been a bit reclusive, only turning up for special occasions and now apparently our little nutkin can teleport him or herself out to play with them as well. The other day Raelin mentioned that Brooke and Angus and Gus and the baby were all joining her for something-or-other. Excellent. The sooner we get those two bonding, the better, I figure.

So, yeah, 2 is different. It is at once utterly accepting and unquestioning and in another instance, completely manic... but that's another story.... or 100....