I just joined the Arbor Day Foundation.
Did you know you can get 10 trees for a max of $15? OK, so they're twigs. So what? Join them already! www.arborday.org Then you get other trees (not twigs) for next to nothing compared to going to the store--any store. I'm going to buy nine trees for less than the cost of two at Lowe's.
Did you know that the aspen tree actually grows in central Missouri? (According to Arbor Day, anyway.) I'm so pumped. It'll be like a little bit of Colorado in my back yard. Assuming I can keep them alive, of course. :)
I'm very excited about planting trees.
And this weekend Christian and I went down to the creek--which is nothing more glorious than a stormwater drain--and cleaned up trash behind our property. It was awful how much there was, really. Most of it washed downstream from the streets, but even so. And the other day, I was sitting in line at the traffic light when I actually *saw* someone open their door and drop a styrofoam cup on the ground.
Who are you people? And how can you go through your life without ever once thinking, "Duh, maybe this is not a good idea!"??????
Didn't your parents teach you better than that?
Monday, February 11, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Pink Cake
My mother-in-law and I spent last evening decorating a "1-2-3-4" cake filled with chocolate and cream cheese and frosted with pink cream cheese frosting.
Today is the big day. Feb. 2. Groundhog day, or, for the Catholic nerds among us, The Feast of the Presentation. Julianna's first birthday.
She celebrated her birthday by waking at midnight (I kid you not) and whining. Since we got to bed at 11:30, I was not happy about it. Fortunately, by the time I used the bathroom and got ready to go over, she'd whined herself back to sleep. But she woke up again at 3:30, which is both worse and better than the time she's been waking up to nurse lately (4:30)--worse b/c I had only been asleep for 2 hours; better b/c it was early enough that I could still go back to sleep, which is not the case at 4:30.
We nursed, and I went back to bed. And a while later I heard Alex whining, and thank God, then I heard Christian already over there dealing with him. I was exhausted--since I've been getting up at 4:30 every morning for a week--so I just let him deal with it.
And now, at 7:30, Julianna is sitting on my lap, little cranky birthday girl with a cold.
And Tom over at narrowridge.blogspot.com wrote about his 5 month-old son's likes and dislikes. So I shall do the same.
(There's a whole community of people talking about Down syndrome over there, BTW. Very interesting. You should check it out.)
OK. Miss Julianna Margaret Basi LIKES...
Chewing on her toes
Blowing rasberries
Miss Julianna ADORES...
* Her Mardi gras beads
* Her big brother Alex
* Mommy and Daddy--especially Daddy! (You should see her go crazy when he walks in)
* Baths (though that was long in coming--I used to have to get in and bathe with her so she didn't freak out)
* Pears, peaches, and bananas
* Lasagna--which she goes berzerk about, and won't stop shrieking till I give her another bite
* Oh, and don't forget ICE CREAM!!!!
Miss Julianna HATES...
* being cold
* being put to bed
* oh yes, sleeping during the day. She hates that.
* having her face cleaned and her gooky eye wiped
* babysitters
At the moment she's griping b/c she's lying on the floor bored, and wants Mommy to feed her her birthday breakfast. In the last two weeks we've seen marked differences in her development. She's started reaching for things--taking initiative in interfacing with her world. She wants to touch faces, grab noses, lunge and grab toys. Things I had come to believe were going to have to be taught and just barely grasped before we went on to the next developmental task, which would also have to be taught, and which she would barely grasp. Yet here they are, and again, I just have to learn to be patient.
There have been times in the last year when I have been overwhelmed by all that is to come. And not that long ago I was quite sad, deep in the midst of grieving. No doubt I'll be there again, and sooner than I would like to think about. But for now, I'm just an ordinary mom who's in a bad mood b/c I haven't had a full night's sleep in over a week.
To those just starting the DS journey, or those struggling with frustration, fear or a sense of being overwhelmed...hang in there. It'll come.
Today is the big day. Feb. 2. Groundhog day, or, for the Catholic nerds among us, The Feast of the Presentation. Julianna's first birthday.
She celebrated her birthday by waking at midnight (I kid you not) and whining. Since we got to bed at 11:30, I was not happy about it. Fortunately, by the time I used the bathroom and got ready to go over, she'd whined herself back to sleep. But she woke up again at 3:30, which is both worse and better than the time she's been waking up to nurse lately (4:30)--worse b/c I had only been asleep for 2 hours; better b/c it was early enough that I could still go back to sleep, which is not the case at 4:30.
We nursed, and I went back to bed. And a while later I heard Alex whining, and thank God, then I heard Christian already over there dealing with him. I was exhausted--since I've been getting up at 4:30 every morning for a week--so I just let him deal with it.
And now, at 7:30, Julianna is sitting on my lap, little cranky birthday girl with a cold.
And Tom over at narrowridge.blogspot.com wrote about his 5 month-old son's likes and dislikes. So I shall do the same.
(There's a whole community of people talking about Down syndrome over there, BTW. Very interesting. You should check it out.)
OK. Miss Julianna Margaret Basi LIKES...
Chewing on her toes
Blowing rasberries
Miss Julianna ADORES...
* Her Mardi gras beads
* Her big brother Alex
* Mommy and Daddy--especially Daddy! (You should see her go crazy when he walks in)
* Baths (though that was long in coming--I used to have to get in and bathe with her so she didn't freak out)
* Pears, peaches, and bananas
* Lasagna--which she goes berzerk about, and won't stop shrieking till I give her another bite
* Oh, and don't forget ICE CREAM!!!!
Miss Julianna HATES...
* being cold
* being put to bed
* oh yes, sleeping during the day. She hates that.
* having her face cleaned and her gooky eye wiped
* babysitters
At the moment she's griping b/c she's lying on the floor bored, and wants Mommy to feed her her birthday breakfast. In the last two weeks we've seen marked differences in her development. She's started reaching for things--taking initiative in interfacing with her world. She wants to touch faces, grab noses, lunge and grab toys. Things I had come to believe were going to have to be taught and just barely grasped before we went on to the next developmental task, which would also have to be taught, and which she would barely grasp. Yet here they are, and again, I just have to learn to be patient.
There have been times in the last year when I have been overwhelmed by all that is to come. And not that long ago I was quite sad, deep in the midst of grieving. No doubt I'll be there again, and sooner than I would like to think about. But for now, I'm just an ordinary mom who's in a bad mood b/c I haven't had a full night's sleep in over a week.
To those just starting the DS journey, or those struggling with frustration, fear or a sense of being overwhelmed...hang in there. It'll come.
Monday, January 28, 2008
In the Eye of the Beholder
In the Eye of the Beholder: a celebration of a year
“…no eye has ever seen any God but you doing such deeds for those who wait for him…”
Isaiah 64: 3
She’s so beautiful.
I have to be honest and admit that I have always, always been uncomfortable around people with disabilities. Afraid of their differences. For certain, I have never, ever thought of a person with a disability as beautiful. Clearly, this is one of the reasons God gave her to me.
And yet, as hard as I try—when I look at the folded ears, the wide, round eyes, the cute little tongue tip protruding—all the telltale signs that made the doctors suspect Down Syndrome at the moment of her birth… Well, I can’t see it. I have never really been able to see it.
But everybody else can see it. She and I stopped at a garage sale on Saturday (yes, in January), and the man came hurrying over to us and pressed an angel votive holder into her hands, telling me a story about a young man with DS that he helped to shave.
This is what I find really odd. I always thought I was pretty objective about things. I was and am, after all, able to admit that Julianna was not a pretty newborn AT ALL. And I really try hard to see the Down syndrome in her face—identify it, I mean, the way other people seem to be able to identify it in a glance.
But I can’t. She’s just…so…beautiful.
One of the benefits, and crosses, of having a child who’s significantly delayed is that we get an extended babyhood. She’s five days shy of a year old, and she’s more like a seven- to nine-month-old. At night when I nurse her to sleep, with her little fingers grasping my shirt, or my skin, and her feet pressing against my arm or my torso, I’m frequently overcome. That wild, fine hair, so impossible to control. The long, long eyelashes. The adorable, chewable cheeks. That little nose, that goofy grin! The length of her! Oh, my gosh, she’s so beautiful! And I thought Alex was the most beautiful baby in the world.
I mean, seriously. I know you all think you have the most beautiful children, but…I’m sorry, it’s just impossible. The world’s two most beautiful children both live under my roof. And how did I rate such a blessing?
She’s so beautiful. And she’s been with us almost a year. It’s been rough, and I wouldn’t have chosen it, and I wouldn’t choose it now, given the choice, but I also wouldn’t trade it. Not for anything.
“…no eye has ever seen any God but you doing such deeds for those who wait for him…”
Isaiah 64: 3
She’s so beautiful.
I have to be honest and admit that I have always, always been uncomfortable around people with disabilities. Afraid of their differences. For certain, I have never, ever thought of a person with a disability as beautiful. Clearly, this is one of the reasons God gave her to me.
And yet, as hard as I try—when I look at the folded ears, the wide, round eyes, the cute little tongue tip protruding—all the telltale signs that made the doctors suspect Down Syndrome at the moment of her birth… Well, I can’t see it. I have never really been able to see it.
But everybody else can see it. She and I stopped at a garage sale on Saturday (yes, in January), and the man came hurrying over to us and pressed an angel votive holder into her hands, telling me a story about a young man with DS that he helped to shave.
This is what I find really odd. I always thought I was pretty objective about things. I was and am, after all, able to admit that Julianna was not a pretty newborn AT ALL. And I really try hard to see the Down syndrome in her face—identify it, I mean, the way other people seem to be able to identify it in a glance.
But I can’t. She’s just…so…beautiful.
One of the benefits, and crosses, of having a child who’s significantly delayed is that we get an extended babyhood. She’s five days shy of a year old, and she’s more like a seven- to nine-month-old. At night when I nurse her to sleep, with her little fingers grasping my shirt, or my skin, and her feet pressing against my arm or my torso, I’m frequently overcome. That wild, fine hair, so impossible to control. The long, long eyelashes. The adorable, chewable cheeks. That little nose, that goofy grin! The length of her! Oh, my gosh, she’s so beautiful! And I thought Alex was the most beautiful baby in the world.
I mean, seriously. I know you all think you have the most beautiful children, but…I’m sorry, it’s just impossible. The world’s two most beautiful children both live under my roof. And how did I rate such a blessing?
She’s so beautiful. And she’s been with us almost a year. It’s been rough, and I wouldn’t have chosen it, and I wouldn’t choose it now, given the choice, but I also wouldn’t trade it. Not for anything.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Those moments
And then there are those moments when you shake your head in awe at the miniature people who fill your days with diapers, feedings and playtime.
The thing I love best about children is the way they laugh just because they're happy. Just because we're going to the park, or they like the food placed in front of them, or (in Julianna's case) because Mommy looked at her and smiled.
And I love the way that Alex claps his hands and says, "yay yay yay yay yay!" wiggling his bottom and his legs with excitement because I told him the phone call was from Daddy, who said he's landed in Chicago, which means he's halfway home.
"Did *we* ride two yearpanes" (that would be "airplanes") "in the 'ky, to New York?" Yes, we did, little man. Just a couple of months ago. Another giggle-wiggle: "I LOOOVE New York!"
But at the end of three days without Christian, I am filled with great sympathy and respect for single parents. I really don't know how they do it.
What do you know. Two blogs in one day.
The thing I love best about children is the way they laugh just because they're happy. Just because we're going to the park, or they like the food placed in front of them, or (in Julianna's case) because Mommy looked at her and smiled.
And I love the way that Alex claps his hands and says, "yay yay yay yay yay!" wiggling his bottom and his legs with excitement because I told him the phone call was from Daddy, who said he's landed in Chicago, which means he's halfway home.
"Did *we* ride two yearpanes" (that would be "airplanes") "in the 'ky, to New York?" Yes, we did, little man. Just a couple of months ago. Another giggle-wiggle: "I LOOOVE New York!"
But at the end of three days without Christian, I am filled with great sympathy and respect for single parents. I really don't know how they do it.
What do you know. Two blogs in one day.
Blogger Blather
They say that if you’re going to have a successful blog—one that has a devoted following—you need to post at least twice a week, and every day is better.
But I’d like to know who has time to read that much blogging? Let’s take a poll. Raise your hand if you delete every single forward you find in your inbox. Be honest now. And I’m sure you all check out every single link you get, too. And all the related links.
What I’d really like to know is how do you get people to read your blog faithfully in the first place?
If I blogged twice a week (much less every day), I’d never get any other writing done.
But then again, if that’s the case, what the heck am I doing writing a blog entry today?
It’s time to get to work, Kate!
But I’d like to know who has time to read that much blogging? Let’s take a poll. Raise your hand if you delete every single forward you find in your inbox. Be honest now. And I’m sure you all check out every single link you get, too. And all the related links.
What I’d really like to know is how do you get people to read your blog faithfully in the first place?
If I blogged twice a week (much less every day), I’d never get any other writing done.
But then again, if that’s the case, what the heck am I doing writing a blog entry today?
It’s time to get to work, Kate!
Monday, January 14, 2008
Random musings
You wouldn't know I have "so much to say" based on the frequency of my blog posts, would you?
The trouble with a blog is that many of the things on my mind I can't talk about in public. Or, at least, it would be a bad idea to talk about in public. People I'd like to rake over the coals for things they've done...the details of other people's private lives, which I have no business spreading...you know, things like that.
That's the kind of stuff on my mind lately. But since I'm bored at the moment, why not wander a bit?
My weight is up. I had returned to my prepregnancy weight on the 20th of December, when we had Shakespeare's pizza with friends from Ohio, and after that night I've never recovered.
I say that because I'm hungry right now, at 3:30 p.m.
I've been having intermittent trouble sleeping again lately. I finally decided that there is no shame in taking something to help you sleep, as long as you don't get dependent on it. So I'll allow myself a sleep aid a maximum of every other day.
That's on my mind because we rearranged our bedroom last night and I had trouble sleeping, facing a different direction. Oddly enough I don't feel too tired today, though.
We spent the entire month of December painting our living room red. Then we ran out of money, and we still don't have curtains.
I say that because from my chair at the computer, I'm staring at a very bare window. I hate Venetian blinds. Who the heck came up with those things, anyway? They're cheap, they break, they're impossible to clean, they don't block the light... I just don't get it. Christian said to me once, "Well, I grew up with wood blinds. How do you feel about wood?"
"You still have to clean them!" I told him.
I tried cleaning them a while back. I got all ambitious. It lasted through two windows. (Our house has 9.)
Then there's writing stuff on my mind. My flute collection is already available at www.giamusic.com, and they told me it's going to be featured (I think that's what they said, anyway) in the catalog which should be arriving very soon. "Go In Peace," which is a song for congregation and contemporary ensemble, is at the printer's. WLP will be sending that out in some mailing soon, too. And also with WLP I'm in the editing process with my second song, "I Rejoice."
All three of these, by the way, were accepted for publication before Alex was six months old. Now he's nearly three, and I have another child, almost a year old. It boggled my mind to think the publishing process was so long--but now I know what to expect!
I think I'm headed for music writing for a while. It goes in spurts. I do prose for a while, then I get excited about music for a while, sometimes I juggle both...but I don't have that much time. And as much as I want to be writing, it has to take third place in my priorities--#s 1 and 2 are permanently occupied by husband and kids. (Well, for the next 20 years, anyway. After that writing may move up a notch.)
I'm going through this discontent with my new novel, which seems suddenly unimportant and boring to me. I had a great idea for a new novel, which occupied all my spare waking thought and then some for about a week. But once I got it hashed out on computer file, and I discovered what researching I have to do to figure out the gaps...well, let's just say that hours of research are hard to come by. I can write in 1-hour pockets. Research is more a whole day at the library, which I don't have anymore. So until the docket clears a little bit--till I get a few other projects out of the way--I think it's going to have to sit and simmer. The novel is still quite undeveloped, anyway. I think it could benefit from several months' stewing.
And oh yes, there's the Cardinal coming to celebrate school Mass with us at Columbia Catholic. I've done Masses with the Bishop before, but a Cardinal...well, that's a new one. I won't pretend that I'm not a little uncomfortable. You can imagine the kind of chaos we're undergoing at work, trying to have ourselves ready for that. :)
And it wouldn't be right not to mention Christian's Uncle Bob, who passed away last night. Uncle Bob went by "Rock." Take a moment and construct an image of a man who geos by "Rock." Now, throw your assumptions out the window. His demeanor was as opposite that as it could be. Well, almost as opposite. He was a little man, really, thin and quiet and gentle, very emotional, at least, that was my limited experience of him. He sent turkey joints to the Basi family every Christmas. Turkey Joints are a staple of Christmas tradition in my husband's family--so much so that they forget how weird it is to say, "Here, have a turkey joint!" Then people recoil and say, "WHAT????"
I do it now, too, despite having had the normal "What the...." reaction my first time. It took me 2 or 3 years to try one, but now I enjoy them. To those who don't know turkey joints, just Google it.
Uncle Bob, Christian's godfather, sent wonderfully sentimental cards in which he underlined every single word, and the important ones two or three times. What a good guy. He will be missed.
The trouble with a blog is that many of the things on my mind I can't talk about in public. Or, at least, it would be a bad idea to talk about in public. People I'd like to rake over the coals for things they've done...the details of other people's private lives, which I have no business spreading...you know, things like that.
That's the kind of stuff on my mind lately. But since I'm bored at the moment, why not wander a bit?
My weight is up. I had returned to my prepregnancy weight on the 20th of December, when we had Shakespeare's pizza with friends from Ohio, and after that night I've never recovered.
I say that because I'm hungry right now, at 3:30 p.m.
I've been having intermittent trouble sleeping again lately. I finally decided that there is no shame in taking something to help you sleep, as long as you don't get dependent on it. So I'll allow myself a sleep aid a maximum of every other day.
That's on my mind because we rearranged our bedroom last night and I had trouble sleeping, facing a different direction. Oddly enough I don't feel too tired today, though.
We spent the entire month of December painting our living room red. Then we ran out of money, and we still don't have curtains.
I say that because from my chair at the computer, I'm staring at a very bare window. I hate Venetian blinds. Who the heck came up with those things, anyway? They're cheap, they break, they're impossible to clean, they don't block the light... I just don't get it. Christian said to me once, "Well, I grew up with wood blinds. How do you feel about wood?"
"You still have to clean them!" I told him.
I tried cleaning them a while back. I got all ambitious. It lasted through two windows. (Our house has 9.)
Then there's writing stuff on my mind. My flute collection is already available at www.giamusic.com, and they told me it's going to be featured (I think that's what they said, anyway) in the catalog which should be arriving very soon. "Go In Peace," which is a song for congregation and contemporary ensemble, is at the printer's. WLP will be sending that out in some mailing soon, too. And also with WLP I'm in the editing process with my second song, "I Rejoice."
All three of these, by the way, were accepted for publication before Alex was six months old. Now he's nearly three, and I have another child, almost a year old. It boggled my mind to think the publishing process was so long--but now I know what to expect!
I think I'm headed for music writing for a while. It goes in spurts. I do prose for a while, then I get excited about music for a while, sometimes I juggle both...but I don't have that much time. And as much as I want to be writing, it has to take third place in my priorities--#s 1 and 2 are permanently occupied by husband and kids. (Well, for the next 20 years, anyway. After that writing may move up a notch.)
I'm going through this discontent with my new novel, which seems suddenly unimportant and boring to me. I had a great idea for a new novel, which occupied all my spare waking thought and then some for about a week. But once I got it hashed out on computer file, and I discovered what researching I have to do to figure out the gaps...well, let's just say that hours of research are hard to come by. I can write in 1-hour pockets. Research is more a whole day at the library, which I don't have anymore. So until the docket clears a little bit--till I get a few other projects out of the way--I think it's going to have to sit and simmer. The novel is still quite undeveloped, anyway. I think it could benefit from several months' stewing.
And oh yes, there's the Cardinal coming to celebrate school Mass with us at Columbia Catholic. I've done Masses with the Bishop before, but a Cardinal...well, that's a new one. I won't pretend that I'm not a little uncomfortable. You can imagine the kind of chaos we're undergoing at work, trying to have ourselves ready for that. :)
And it wouldn't be right not to mention Christian's Uncle Bob, who passed away last night. Uncle Bob went by "Rock." Take a moment and construct an image of a man who geos by "Rock." Now, throw your assumptions out the window. His demeanor was as opposite that as it could be. Well, almost as opposite. He was a little man, really, thin and quiet and gentle, very emotional, at least, that was my limited experience of him. He sent turkey joints to the Basi family every Christmas. Turkey Joints are a staple of Christmas tradition in my husband's family--so much so that they forget how weird it is to say, "Here, have a turkey joint!" Then people recoil and say, "WHAT????"
I do it now, too, despite having had the normal "What the...." reaction my first time. It took me 2 or 3 years to try one, but now I enjoy them. To those who don't know turkey joints, just Google it.
Uncle Bob, Christian's godfather, sent wonderfully sentimental cards in which he underlined every single word, and the important ones two or three times. What a good guy. He will be missed.
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