Friday, July 18, 2008

Thoughts

Books

I just bought a bunch of books online. Olivia somehow stuck several of the pages of My First Animal Book - one of her favorites - together, and after trying to steam them apart, I realized that 1) it was taking a long time, 2) I would not be satisfied with the end result, and 3) my hourly rate for freelance work is several times the price of a new book, especially if I can find it online. Which I did, along with several other goodies that I've been wanting for a while: Crictor, Space Witch, and My First Body Book. Actually, that last one isn't something I've craved, but it looks good. The other two are some I remember from my childhood, and I'm excited to have them again. Yesterday at Goodwill I also found a Syd Hoff collection for $2 that included Stanley, Sammy the Seal, and Grizzwold. I don't remember the first two, but I have fond memories of Grizzwold. Now I'm on the lookout for Danny and the Dinosaur, or in fact a complete Syd Hoff collection. I'm not one of those people who can buy (or do much of anything) without guilt, but I feel good about today's purchases.

Friends

Yesterday we had our friend Kimberly and her daughter Rachel over for dinner. Kimberly's husband is out of town for a couple of weeks. We keep meaning to invite them over, but having extended visitors has put a little bit of a damper on many of our social plans. Since Dan and Hyde took the kids to San Antonio for a couple of days, and since I know how hard it is to motivate yourself to cook for one, or one and a half, it was a good time to have them over. Every time I talk to Kimberly I think afterwards how much I like her. It's nice to mutually want to be friends with someone, not out of obligation, but just because you like talking with them.

Heritage

A few days ago Steven was showing me some of his foreign money that he collected as a kid. It was interesting to look at. One thing that struck me was a Brazilian bill - the picture on the back depicted the conquest of native peoples by the Europeans. I thought it was interesting because often today, the offspring of a conquered people feel a kind of resentment toward those ancient conquerers who raped and enslaved their ancestors. The fact is, though, that, like it or not, the conquerers are as much their ancestors and the conquered. You may not approve of what one side of your ancestry did to the other, but they are both equally a part of you. To me, it seemed that this Brazilian currency demonstrated their understanding and acceptance of this.

Pregnant

I am! My due date is February 15th - which also happens to be my birthday. I haven't been sick, which is nice; just tired. And emotional. It's hard to imagine sharing maternal love and care with someone besides Olivia, but I'm also excited. Having a baby grow inside of you is absolutely miraculous, and seeing in Olivia what that baby will grow into - a little person who thinks and reasons and has ideas all their own - is mind-boggling.

Garlic-Stuffed Green Olives

I love them. Love them. Oooooh, man.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Pregnant! Congrats to your family! That is such great news. I can't wait to be DONE with being pregnant (4 weeks)! I am always checking up to see how you are doing. Olivia is so adorable and you are such a great mom. Tell your hubby hi for me too.

lorac007 said...

Amber,
To learn more about ALL of the books Syd Hoff wrote, please visit www.SydHoff.org.
I'm his niece and just created a website dedicated to honoring his creative legacy.

Unknown said...

Congratulations! That's great news!

Priscila said...

Congratulations!!! I hope you don't get really sick. It's hard taking care of a baby when you can't take care of yourself.

Victoria Blanchard said...

Congrats on your new pregnancy!

Love your poop story! Funny thing, since I have 6 brothers (no sisters), three of which I'm 10-14 years older than, I actually get weirded out changing girls' diapers. I'm always like, where did everything go?

The Wanbergs said...

Congratulations on your second. Ours is due in 39 days...not that I'm counting down. I think you definitely feel more tired with the second pregnancy. Maybe it's because you're picking up a toddler 500 times a day.

Jax said...

You'll be suprised how much a second child changes your life... again. Just when you thought you had the whole parenting thing down. No matter how you think things will change, you're wrong, but things do turn out wonderfully. My second son will be a year old on 13 November, and as I missed my oldest's I will miss Carter's first birthday too. I will be in Afghanistan this time. C'est la vie. Enjoy it while you can!