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| Vignette by Alice. She rotates which doll/stuffed animal of honor receives its rightful place on her proverbial throne/rocking chair. |
drinking: "Coconut Dream" and "Lemon Silk"- new loose leaf tea found in my Christmas stocking from Linnie. I should clarify: still packaged, in my stocking. Loose leaf just fluttering around a stocking? That would be unkind and wasteful, come now.
reading: Tattoos on the Heart by Gregory Boyle. It is about BOUNDLESS COMPASSION and it is rocking my world. Truly. I love this book. Jake, who nearly never reads books (he's an article guy), will be begged/pleaded/prodded to read this as soon as I'm done. And then everyone else I know too...so prepare yourself.
wanting: I'd love to say a resounding NADA!, what with the presents still fresh from their wrapping, but I must admit that I left the holidays behind and promptly moved onto obsessing (a gentle word for my hormonal-anxiety over these things) over preparations for the new baby. My Amazon wishlists have never been so finely tuned and curated. I have never had lists of what is to be purchased organized by weeks and months. Until now. Are these lists long or particularly indulgent? Well, no. They are what I've narrowed down to feel like the necessities for making the transition from one to two most feasible. You know, things like this for the baby and this for me.
watching: Alice rock in her new rocking chair- our Christmas gift for her. Things got quiet in our living room the other afternoon and I turned to see her sitting silently rocking, back and forth, back and forth. I watched this little person lost in her own little thoughts for nearly a minute before she noticed my presence and lit into a proud, independent smile. Oh, Alice.
listening: Playing my new ukulele (my big gift from Linnie!) daily has turned me back onto Jack Johnson. I've been strumming Better Together and I think Banana Pancakes should be the next addition to my repertoire.
eating: I made beef stew on Monday. Jake made a largest calzone I've ever seen on Wednesday. Go team.
smelling: I'm anticipating all the smells of Ukrainian Christmas dinner tomorrow, including our own contribution which will warm and scent our home tonight- the BREAD. Mmmmmm, carbs eaten but once a year.
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| How our nudist [proudly] prefers to be found post-nap. |
wishing: That I could relegate my PREPARE-FOR-BABY intensity. It is like an antsy little buzz stirring constantly through my body. Must. Nest. Now.
enjoying: Going to acupuncture and the chiropractor. Seriously. I am a convert. Jake and Alice have their consultations with my chiropractor next week and I'm hoping that even though Jake refers to my acupuncture appointments as "voodoo," one day he'll even give that a try.
loving: The third trimester! It is seeming- fingers crossed- that the first two were the doozies of this pregnancy. Now, with pelvic pain and other even less savory issues largely in check, I am soaking up the kicks and jabs of the dancing starfish in my abdomen. Alice is too- at least once a day she lifts my shirt and places her head on my belly, hugging and babbling to her sibling. I think there may be literal cartoon hearts floating out of my eyeballs every time.
hoping: To have Alice's bedroom closet OVERHAULED in the next handful of days. I took before pictures. They're terrifying. Labeled baskets are in my near future and I couldn't be happier about it.
needing: A year ago Jake and I were hit by a horrifying bout of food poisoning. We need that to NOT happen again in the next 24 hours. #prayerswelcome #UkrainianChristmas
feeling: Relieved. A big work decision was made and shared- a decision that has been in the works in one way or another since Alice's birth- and I think the outcome is going to take all of 2016 to sink into my psyche. How I work and spend my days will take a huge shift come April and I feel calmer already just knowing its on its way.
wearing: Jake's younger sister passed along a winter coat she no longer had use for- one I'd admired on her for the last several years (the chic New Yorker that she is). I've been wearing it exclusively and- major bonus- -its structure will fit easily (and warmly!) over this growing belly for the rest of the winter.
bookmarking: This piece in the Atlantic about the neurological changes caused by motherhood. "Just by staring at her baby, the reward centers of a mother's brain will light up, scientists have found in several studies."
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| The neural correlates of maternal and romantic love, 2003 (University College London) |
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