Hot, Hot, Hot

The heat is miserable. It's been over 100 degrees for half the month. I should have agreed with Tennisfiend when he suggested we put in refrigerated air this year. The humidity from the swamp cooler makes the house feel (and smell) like a jungle. Bleaugh.

Seven Months!

Whoo-hoo!

All is going well with my pregnancy!

Shopping List For Baby

Tomorrow I go shopping with Mom for baby stuff in El Paso! I am so excited! Here's our list:



New baby basics

Beds and linens
_____Crib. Well-known, drop on one side, knee released siderail, smooth finish, metal supports, 2 heights
_____Crib mattress, firm, no fingers, match to crib, nonporous non padded, high density good quality foam (Colgate) or serta/sealy/simmons spring

_____Crib Skirt
_____Three fitted crib sheets.
_____Four or more waffle-weave cotton receiving blankets.

Diaper duty
_____Two Contoured Changing pads (Rumble Tuff) Non-skid bottom, strap, check size

_____Five Changing pad covers, ck compatibility /table

_____ Dozen cloth diapers.
_____Diaper pail (Diaper Champ)
_____Large Diaper bag, backpack style,  waterproof lining

_____Small Diaper bag

_____Dry wipes (Chix)

_____Supply caddy

_____Wet wipes (gentle)

Dressing baby
_____Six sleeping onesies preferably w/feet. 2 in 3 mo size
_____Six side-snap T-shirts 2 in 3 mo size.
_____Eight one-piece undershirts that snap around the crotch (3 in 3 mo size.)

_____Two Gowns with elasticized bottoms.

_____One Sleep sack.
_____Two lightweight cloth caps.
_____Four pairs socks/booties.

_____Four Cloth bibs.
_____Two to three soft, comfortable daytime outfits.
_____Two Brimmed hat.

_____One going home outfit.



Breast Feeding
_____Four 4-ounce baby bottles

_____Two silicone NB nipples  slow flow.

_____Bottle brush.
_____Three packs of cloth diapers or burp cloths.

_____Nursing Pillow

_____Two-Three nursing friendly pjs

_____Robe for hospital

_____Four Breastfeeding tops

_____Two each elastic skirts/pants

_____Waterproof mattress cover (for my bed)

Bathing/grooming
_____Three soft towels.
_____Two packs of baby washcloths.
_____ Baby body wash that doubles as shampoo.
_____Pair of blunt-tip scissors or baby-sized nail clippers.
_____Infant bathtub.
_____Soft brush and comb.

_____Baby manicure set

_____Aquafor

 _____Crib mattress.


Medicine chest essentials
_____Digital thermometer

_____Ear infection detector.

Extras
_____Front carrier: Baby Bjorn

_____Soft carrier.

Furniture
_____Changing table, raised edges.
_____Glider arms/cushioned.

_____Storage bins.

_____Hamper

_____Nursing stool (Medela)

 Toys

_____Mobile
_____Rattle
_____Mirror

Candy-Can!

At last all my pampering paid off! My “Candy-can” (Echinopsis trichocereus x ‘Cherry Red’)blooms spectacularly! Each blossom is about the size of an English teacup and smells faintly of strawberries.

 

The fuss I create over my cacti is a testament to my anal retentiveness. In winter, I blanket each specimen to protect it from frost, being certain to remove the coverings during daylight to permit adequate sunlight and ventilation. Since I'd be bored with nothing to fuss over during the summer, I rig up artificial shade to keep the plants from cooking under the intense New Mexico sun.

 

I wish that all of my attentiveness would pay off in the form of startlingly lovely photographs to match the blossoms, but no such luck. So, here’s a pretty picture ganked from my folk’s website:

Post-Birthday Gratitude

For the past month I’ve been playing with my birthday gift--a generous contribution to gardening budget (thank you Tennisfiend!). Every fall and spring, I spend several hours daily tending to my beloved rock and flower gardens.

This fall, I was too wiped out for my ritual devotions, resulting in the mass extinction of some of my lovelier specimens. So, I was especially delighted with the gift and have been working overtime restore and improve my neglected garden. Unfortunately, the New Mexico climate has shifted back into “hot mode,” so I am exiled indoors for the next several months.

May I continue briefly with some post-birthday happiness? Much appreciation to for lunch and gardening support. Thank you and family for the lovely blue flowers and enigmatic poem. And congratulations to for the history making birthday remembrance! And finally, word to the Moosh for the DVDs. I have been aching for a copy Charisma for nearly a year now and the remastered, digitized, pimped-out new version of Carl Sagan’s Cosmos, brought tears to my eyes. Thank you, all!

Happy Birthday Brotherkurt

Make that happy belated birthday! brotherkurt’s birthday was a few weeks ago--April 12 to be exact, but it took some time for the party to catch up with him. This weekend’s celebration includes two days and two nights of gaming, involving some intriguing homemade board games. Tonight was mellower that Friday night which involved over thirty avid gamers and (I think) four separate games (as reported by Ewbliette).

I arrived just after the cookout, and had the opportunity to witness the last piece of venison disappear down the gullet of the neighborhood gourmand. I compensated by scarfing down numerous slabs of delicious (salty!) garlic bread followed by four perfectly ripe watermelon segments. Yum!

Under a back porch illuminated by hundreds of tiny orange lights, Rodeyo, Lizard Light and Countessa conducted an animated review of their insane childhood adventures. New Mexico rules—when your ten and firecrackers and bottle rockets are legal, there is no limit to the stuff you can blow up. I am personally amazed that I managed to survive my youth with both eyes and all my fingers and toes intact.

Later, Ewbliette and I moved indoors (smokers!) and I overheard the following snippet from a homemade game being played at the kitchen table, “So, the young blonde woman is now naked, running through the hall and you have to roll to see if she’ll swallow….” Whoa. After an hour discussing Brotherkurt’s home décor (his main bathroom has adorable handpainted fishies festooning the walls!), my brain died and I went home. Tennisfiend, who liked my fashionable new blouse, insisted on taking my photo to send to his family. Unfortunately, the flash revealed a bit much of Bestfiend, particularly my navel and JC Penney undergarments. But I liked my goofy smile, so voila!


The paparazzi effect.
Needless to say, I exchanged my blouse for an opaque cousin, so Moscow was spared the indignity of my Bali and belly.

Spelunking with Ewbliette

I paid a visit to Ewbliette tonight to drop off accoutrements for this weekend’s gaming party. She and Brotherkurt took an exciting trip to Carlsbad Caverns over the Easter break, and I found myself showered with Carlsbad goodies.

She bought me the coolest petroglyph tee shirt (co-opted by Tennisfiend!) and a miniature replica of the main cavern complete with built in eerie glow. I also walked away with a bunch of trail mix, minus the bat guano, of course.

Yay! What a great friend. We spent most of the time gabbing about her caving experience, which included cave etiquette. I suppose “Don’t poop in the cave” is a no-brainer, but I was surprised that the rangers confiscate chewing gum and only permit plain bottled water in the park. We discussed every horror story ever written about caves and on the drive home I imagined myself editing a book on subterranean horrors. Alas!

Under Construction!

Please excuse the mess! My life is under construction. I am pleased to announce that and I are expecting a baby boy this August! I will be trying to catch up with everyone on lj in the next few weeks. I also hope to post my back log of half-written entries that have been accumulating since the end of February.

XOXO
Bestfiend

ETA:Many posts were maked private prior to my announcement.

Ultrasound Results!

Click for larger image.

Here he is! His head is on the RHS and the white blob hovering above, center is his little fist. I'd post the second pic, but I can't figure out excatly where everything is!

The doctor said everything is as it should be, except I lost some weight. Fortunately that's not a problem for Malootka*. He's estimated to weigh exactly one whole pound. Yay!
*Malootka is an affectionate Russian word meaning "tiny one."

We haven't picked out an official name yet, although a few favorites are:

Timoor (Timmy)
Artyome (Tommy/Arty)
Gleb
Oleg
Liev
Ruslan (Rus)
Kuriel
Valentin
Vasilly

mom

Mother warned me to never have children. Repeatedly.

When I welcomed by son into the world in 2006, Mom was one of my birthpartners. She held my left foot,   wiped my forehead and fed the nursing staff and doctors gourmet snackfood.