Monday, November 30, 2009

Status Update:

How I feel today:


I'm gonna take a half day off, and hope I feel better tomorrow.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

All Heart.


My first ultrasound was at 7 weeks. The baby was so small you could really only see the heartbeat and hear the sound... swish, swish, swish.

That's my girl, all heart.

My next ultrasound was at almost twelve weeks. The baby was rocking and rolling - moving like crazy on the tide of amniotic fluid - a wave pool for the adventurer and she was hanging ten with the best of them - all long fingers and movement.

That's my girl, taking it all in stride.

The third ultrasound was at twenty weeks (just days ago). The baby was in her father's favorite sleeping pose, on her side with her hands on either side of her face. Moving away from the pressure to get more comfy, but without the acrobatics of the last time. She seems shy - she moves away from the sonar at the doctor's office, shimmies to the left when the ultrasound wand comes her way, and is very patient with her mother sloshing her this way and that during the many yoga poses she does nearly daily.

That's my girl, modest and patient.

If it all goes well, that's the last time I'll see her until the end - when they'll check to see if she's ready to come out and play. I miss her already.

Friday, November 20, 2009

For your reading pleasure... edited***

I'm sitting here in the office, wasting time until our Thanksgiving Staff party/luncheon. I brought rum balls from my grandmother's recipe.

But I'm also trying not to cry my eyes out at the sweet and sentimental stories here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/18/AR2009111803036.html

I love having the holidays put into perspective. Especially in a year that is fairly lean.

Hope you enjoy them too...

***The Rum Balls were a hit! I think more people talked about the Rum Balls than any other dish. And all of them were eaten! AND I think that if people eavesdropped, they would hear the words Rum Balls more often than Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

My Angel:

So at my wedding, my darling husband serenaded me to an old Swahili song called Malaika (My angel). His brother spontaneously harmonized and I dissolved into a puddle of mush. It was the most romantic and wonderful thing that anyone had ever done for me.

So with this in mind, I've decided that I need to learn to sing the song as a lullaby. Here are the words:

Malaika, nakupenda Malaika
Malaika, nakupenda Malaika
Ningekuoa mali we, ningekuoa dada
Nashindwa na mali sina we, Ningekuoa Malaika
Nashindwa na mali sina we, Ningekuoa Malaika

Pesa zasumbua roho yangu
Pesa zasumbua roho yangu
Nami nifanyeje, kijana mwenzio
Nashindwa na mali sina we Ningekuoa Malaika
Nashindwa na mali sina we Ningekuoa Malaika

Kidege, hukuwaza kidege
Kidege, hukuwaza kidege
Ningekuoa mali we, ningekuoa dada
Nashindwa na mali sina, we Ningekuoa Malaika
Nashindwa na mali sina, we Ningekuoa Malaika

Malaika, nakupenda Malaika
Malaika, nakupenda Malaika
Ningekuoa mali we, ngekuoa dada
Nashindwa na mali sina we, Ningekuoa Malaika
Nashindwa na mali sina we, Ningekuoa Malaika

Repetitive, but the words are kind of complex for me - more sophisticated than the words I usually use in swahili, like "would you like some tea" and "good night, husband." So I have some work to do.

Here is what the song means (without some of the repetition):
My angel, I love you, my angel
And I, your young lover,
What can I do?
Were I not defeated by lack of good fortune,
I would marry you, my angel.
Money is troubling my soul.
Little bird, I dream of you, little bird.
And I, your young lover,
What can I do?
If I were not defeated by lack of good fortune,
I would marry you.
My angel, I love you my angel...

I've been listening to Miriam Makeba sing it, but here is Angelique Kidjo singing it:


The meaning, reminds me of this song - which I love:

I do not look like this:


* blatantly stolen from undisclosed location somewhere on the internet.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Anniversary Alert!


There are funnier bloggers. Prettier bloggers. More dedicated bloggers. There are bloggers with amazing photography skills. There are bloggers with more people on their blog roles than I have in my email contacts - and I mean the gmail one that saves every email I have ever sent from that account.

Are you getting my drift?

I am not the best. Nor do I pretend to be.

But, this little blog of mine, well, it's 3 years old.

It's walking and talking, it can carry a tune - and it's beginning to have a mind of its own.

And I plan to continue writing. Because the last 3 years have been great. Sure, 450 posts in 3 years might not win me any consistency awards, but I have truly enjoyed the process and hope to have really good, meaningful things to say someday.

Will it morph into a pregnancy or mommy blog? - It might sometimes feel that way to those of you that are not engaged in either of those things, but I have always felt this was a place for me to explore things that are really important to me. So the sky is the limit.

Kisses to you all for hanging in there with me. Let's hope the next 3 years have just as many wonderful milestones as the last 3! And thanks for coming along for the ride.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Insults that are true:

Did you get dressed in the dark?!?

Why yes, I did.

The light bulb in our bedroom blew out first thing this morning. And in the bleak light of early morning, I could barely discern teal from purple. And forget the mangled mess of my tights - so I just went without.

The outfit? It could be worse. But it's not great.


What else am I in the dark about?

Swahili.

My wonderful sister in law brought presents upon presents for us last night- including several awesome swahili-english dictionaries and such. One really cute one has pictures for everything. So there will be a picture of a chicken, the word chicken and the word kuku. It's going to be very helpful.

But there were some peculiarities also. Like the picture of the Tiger, the word tiger and then the swahili phrase that translates to "Like a leopard, but from Asia and big."

Why not just put a picture of a leopard instead and skip the lesson about tigers altogether? Perhaps if someone asks about a tiger, say "we don't have them here." Questions like these will remain unanswered. Mysteries for all time.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Each One Tell One.

I have a major problem with telling people about major life events. I kept my very small wedding to myself and my family... only telling most people afterward. Now, I am finding it very difficult to tell people that I'm pregnant.

Not that I don't like talking to friends, reconnecting with them, or hearing about what's going on in their lives, but when it comes to big things... and right now big things growing under my sweater... I'm very tight lipped.

So. Here is my idea. Each person that reads this, tell one person. And have that person tell one person. And pretty soon everyone knows! Great! Because I am having trouble picking up the phone and telling people. Partially because I am still quite exhausted at the end of the day and partially because it feels so awkward to start a conversation, "So... I'm pregnant."

I am feeling good. The baby seems to be healthy. Charles and I are thrilled. There is no bad side. Well, literally there is, I am looking a little chunky in photos, especially directly forward-facing photos.

If I haven't told you this news yet, please don't be mad. Rest assured I love you as much as I have always loved you... my dear friends... I am just completely incapable of being a normal human being when it comes to public declarations. Please don't take it personally.

The baby is due in April. I am about halfway through.