Leonid Afremov

Here's his website: http://afremov.com/

His paintings are so beautiful, and so many of them are rain-themed with colorful trees that they mostly remind me of the prettiest parts of autumn.

11.11.14 - Supportive husband & daddy

Yesterday was a good day.

First of all, I had my monthly check up. Clara is healthy. Also, the doctor was very reassuring about my weight. I told her the nurse practitioner had told me to shoot for gaining 20lbs and I’d already gained 25lbs, and she responded that she doesn’t like to give women a specific number because we (as women) really fixate on that. She said she gained 60lbs with all three of her pregnancies, regardless of how much she watched what she ate. She said that if I was gaining faster than she thought I ought to be she would tell me, and if she’s not saying anything about my weight I shouldn’t worry. I felt much better about that.

At some point during the day Jack called me while he was commuting from one class to another. I mentioned that I wish I had better maternity clothes because most of mine are very plain and kind of old, but I didn’t want to spend the money. He said he thought I should go ahead and get some. Specifically he said, “I think it’s important that you feel good in the clothes you’re in, especially since you don’t feel that great in the body you’re in right now.” I thought that was incredibly sweet and insightful. 

That night after he was home, he went with me to the Motherhood Maternity store at the mall and helped me find some clothes on sale to try on. At first I was surprised at how helpful and observant he was about sizes and styles and so on, and then I remembered he sells women’s clothes (okay, shoes) for a living. He even sat in the waiting area of the dressing room and let me show him the clothes as I tried them on and remarked on how round I look and how awesome he thinks it is. Ultimately I got two pairs of jeans that fit me much better than the one maternity pair I already have, and one cute top.

It was expensive, even on sale, and I felt uncomfortable about how much we spent. Jack told me to take some of it out of his discretionary fund for the month, which is also super sweet, but I think I will sell one of our Amazon gift cards for cash instead. I told Jack it’s sweet that he wants to spoil me but that he thinks we’re richer than we are. He said, “We are rich – on love!” I retorted, “We can’t use love to pay off our credit card!” “Actually, I didn’t tell you, but we can!” Then we fantasized about what life would be like if people could translate how happy their significant others were into purchasing power. 

We also watched some little kids and a tiny little baby hanging out by the giant Christmas tree in the center of the mall. The baby was just old enough to stand up if she was holding onto something for balance. We laughed over that and talked about how much fun it will be to raise Clara.

This morning Jack told me that at some point last night he got up to use the bathroom, and when he came back to bed (I was sound asleep) he felt my stomach and felt Clara kick. So instead of going straight to sleep he laid there and felt her kick a bunch of times (“She was kicking like crazy! I’m surprised you didn’t wake up!”) and just enjoyed it. I think it’s cool that he found a way to have a moment “alone” with her and that he’s so happy about all of it.

Daylight savings.

11.1.14 - Craft day!

This evening my friends Janice and Erin came over for a small potluck dinner and making cards.

But let me back up - early this morning I got an email from the craft store Michael's saying all of their fall and Halloween decor is 80% off. I wanted to go check it out because I LOVE craft stores, but I didn't want to check it out because we don't need craft supplies so I don't want to waste money. I told Jack my conundrum and he encouraged me to go. He said part of the reason he likes where we live is because I make it feel like a home, and part of the way I do that is with crafts, and it's a sale anyway. (Jack may not be good for our budget. :-P)

Anyway, so I went, and I'm glad I did. Everything was almost gone already! The autumn stuff was confined to the sidewalk and very front of the store, and the rest of the store was either the year-round crafts or Christmas decor. There was a line to the register of people snatching up the fall craft supplies. But! I did get there in time to get this beautiful autumn wreath - normally $40 - for $8. Since I can still use it through Thanksgiving and then use it again year after year, I felt it was well worth the $8.

While I was there I also bought two paper punches: a fall leaf punch and a snowflake punch (both also on sale). Those turned out to be a great idea.

Janice and Erin came over in the evening and both of them talked about how home-y my apartment felt, which makes me feel great. We ate our potluck at an actual dining table (at our old apartment we always ate around the coffee table in the living room). I made my green and gold bake, Janice made a great fruit salad with honey drizzle, and Erin brought this amazing autumnal chocolate cake for dessert:

"Corn cake": chocolate cake with Reeses Pieces in the frosting.

We also spent a few hours making holiday cards, and we all used the punches liberally. Erin decided to make a Christmas card because she can't wait for Christmas, so she took the snowflake punch. But Janice and I took turns with the fall leaf punch and both got a kick out of it, haha.

Btw, this is a great use of scrap construction paper!

My coffee table, midway through our projects.

The entire time we listened to the Pandora station "Ragtime Mama Blues," which is pleasant but not distracting. We talked and joked, I don't even remember about what, and laughed a lot, and it was just a great time. As they were getting ready to leave at the oh-so-late time of like 8:30pm, I thought about how 5 or more years ago I would've probably spent a Saturday night at a club dancing and drinking. And that can be a ton of fun too. But I really enjoy just hanging out with a few people who also like to get creative, and I had a great time.

11.1.14 - You're my sweetheart!

I was in the living room on my laptop with The Lumineers "Ho Hey" on repeat. Jack spontaneously came out of the bedroom into the living room to kiss me a bunch of times. Me, laughing: "How are you doing?" Jack: "Good! I like this song. Also, I came over to kiss you because you smell like potatoes."

Also, earlier today he told me that he really likes our apartment, and a big part of the reason he likes it is because I've put it together so nicely and made it feel like a home. :) :)

And finally: we still don't say the "l-word" that often just because we never said it the first 5 years of our relationship and so we aren't really in the habit. We say it more now that we're married, but it still probably amounts to maybe weekly. I like it that way, because I know when he says "I love you" he's really feeling it and not saying it out of habit like "Have a good day" or something.

I probably say it less than him, so, ever since we've been married, when I do say "I love you" he always gasps and smiles. It used to be the gasp was genuine, but now he gasps just to make me laugh. Today before he went to work I told him "I love you" and he gasped, and I laughed, and I said "Are you going to gasp every time I say that for the rest of my life?" and he retorted, "I don't know, are you going to keep saying that for the rest of my life?" Haha.

That one house...

Octobers :)

Mighty Girl Halloween costumes

I love this Facebook page. During Halloween the page posts examples of uplifting and innovative Halloween costumes for girls, a-like so:

Amelia Earhart

Astrid from How To Train Your Dragon

Ghostbuster

Glycoaldehyde

Cooler parts of the internet.

10.26.14 - Destination Maternity

I am going to babysit Rocket for a week in Mexico this December, and Jill offered to buy me a maternity bathing suit. However it's October, so no one is selling bathing suits right now, and I don't buy clothes online because it's so unlikely they will fit me when I receive them.

I mentioned the problem to Jack, and on his own he talked to one of his coworkers who also works at a Destination Maternity shop in the same mall. He described the kind of swimsuit I like and she put a whole bunch of them on hold, along with other maternity clothes she thought I might like for Mexico. Jack also arranged a time for me to meet her so she could help me with the clothes. It was such a thoughtful gesture.

So yesterday I went to his mall for the first time (place is huge, btw) and met the woman for the appointment. I did find a swimsuit I liked, along with a really cute top too, both majorly on sale since they are out of season. I also stayed and bought some long-sleeved maternity shirts on sale. I spent more than I normally would on clothes, but they were pretty good deals, especially considering how difficult it's been so far finding any decent maternity stuff at the thrift shops. I bragged a little to one of the sales associates about how my husband set this all up for me to help me out.

Then I went and found Jack at his department (which I'd never seen before) and I mentioned I might go home because I have a lot of grading to do. He asked me to stay and work in their in-house cafe so I could have lunch with him in about an hour, so I did. He ate his lunch with me and then walked me around his department to introduce me to his coworkers. He was clearly eager to do that, which made me feel pretty special. Then he carried my bags (I also had my backpack for work) and walked me to my car to say goodbye.

He told me he'd be off work around 9:30pm, but he forgot it's Sunday and they close early, so he called me at 8:30pm to ask if I wanted to go out and do something. Once he got home we went to Gunther's, and good thing too! Every October they have pumpkin flavored ice cream (that really tastes more like pumpkin pie and is surprisingly soft and delicious) and they get rid of it at the end of October. It's one of Jack's favorites and we hadn't been there yet this year, so I'm glad we made it in. It was a nice mini-date night.

He sure is a sweet guy. :) I feel very lucky.

About to eat pumpkin ice cream.
I got chocolate peanut butter.

10.25.14 - Harry Potter nursery coming together

We've still got a whole lot of baby supplies to collect, but our nursery is already coming along. It helps that the following people have provided us the following supplies:

• A very nice, dark, hardwood crib from Dad & Jill (used to be Rocket's);
• A crocheted Hedwig owl and a crocheted golden snitch from my friend Liz's mother;
• A brighter lampshade from my program's head administrative lady, to put atop the owl lamp I found at a thrift store; and
• An amazingly beautiful Harry Potter-themed hand-crafted mobile, ordered custom from our friend Nick.

Jack putting the crib together.

Hedwig, golden snitch, and owl lamp.

Mobile: flying keys with wings made from
a Harry Potter book.

We also got a great deal on a dark, hardwood changing table/dresser off of Craigslist. It was about half the price such furniture goes for new, and fortunately Jack was able to pick it up while Sarah was in town last week so she could help him (I'm not supposed to do any heavy lifting). So in a way it was a gift from Sarah too.

We've also gotten the following baby gifts (not Harry Potter themed):

• There's No Such Thing As Dragons, a children's book from our friend Senta - in fact it's the copy she was raised with, including an inscription from her mother at the end. Very touching.
• The Munschworks Grand Treasury, a collection of stories Shannon bought us, including many stories that were her favorites as a child.
• A crocheted Hobbes doll and the entire Calvin & Hobbes collection from our friend Tom! I was blown away.

Soon it will be Clara & Hobbes. :)

We've also gotten a ton of baby clothes, some toys, a Johnny jump-up, and a car seat from Julie & Denny. I feel very supported and loved by everyone who has been sending us gifts. I also love seeing the nursery come together and imagining my little baby girl in it in a few months. This is going to be  quite an adventure.

It's the little things.

10.19.14 - Apartment is slowly coming together.

Yesterday I used gift cards from Mom's long-distance housewarming party to buy living room lamps and a rug to go under our dining room set. I went home and set up the lamps and rug and spent way too long trying to plan how I will hang our many framed family photos on the wall. But it was all fun, because the more we put the apartment together the happier I am to be here. Plus Jack was happy and impressed when he got home. It's amazing what a difference lighting makes.

10.18.14 - Jack and Clara

I love how happy Jack is about this pregnancy. I see him every day, but not that often, because he has work and school and is very busy. Because he’s gone so much, it’s almost as if he forgets how visibly pregnant I’m getting. Then when he comes home I will be talking to him about some mundane thing – my day or things we need to get done or whatever – and I can tell he isn’t listening to me. He’ll keep looking at my face like he’s trying to listen, but then getting distracted looking at my protruding stomach and smiling. It’s pretty adorable. And he repeatedly tells me how exciting this is and how happy he is about it.

More nights than not Jack and I will watch an episode of some show together before we go to bed (Supernatural, West Wing, Grey’s Anatomy maybe). We watch the episodes on my laptop while laying down, and it makes it easier for me to feel Clara kick. Jack will try to feel too but she’s still too small and he often can’t. But last night she was kicking more than ever, and in rapid succession, and he could feel most of the kicks. The more she kicked the more we laughed, and we had to rewind the show because we hadn't been paying any attention to it. Haha.

10.11.14 - Fleet Week

Jack and I drove down to SF last night. We got in around 9pm or so, usually past Rocket's bed time, but Jill had let Rocket stay up late so he could play with Jack. When we walked in Rocket was "helping" Dad make pie - that is, Rocket was eating bits of pie crust and getting covered in flour. I'd also like to note Dad had claimed he wasn't making pies this year because it's too much work, and we planned instead to stick to Symphony brownies. Yet I walk in to at least 5 pies and more on the way. He just can't help himself.

I don't think Rocket and Jack have seen each other in person since our wedding (late May), although they have Skyped once or twice. The two of them spent some time playing the game where you try to not to let the balloon hit the ground, then they chased each other up and down the long hallways for a good 20 minutes at least, with lots of squealing and fake roars. It was funny sitting in the kitchen talking with Dad, Jill, and Jennifer, and seeing the blurs of Jack and Rocket shoot by the kitchen doorway in one direction and then another over and over.

Balloon game

The next day was the Fleet Week party, and it was great. So many people turned up: a bunch of couples from my program, Sarah, Renata, and tons of others. For maybe the first time ever I remembered to use sunscreen consistently (perhaps because, also for the first time ever, I wasn't drinking at all) and I didn't get horribly burnt. The weather was beautiful. There was more food than we knew what to do with (as always). There were more young children than before and they played with bubbles and a replica of Malcolm Reynold's gun from Firefly that Ellen's bf had 3D-printed. The only downside was there were so many people there that I like that I didn't have a chance to visit with each individual friend as long as I wanted to.

All day people were talking to me about Clara and the pregnancy, I think partly because I hadn't seen many of them since I announced the pregnancy, and partly because I am finally visibly pregnant. I enjoyed it, especially talking with fellow moms about their experiences (Sarah O., Molly, JAF). It's an exciting time!

After the airshow several of us stuck around to play Tichu and pool downstairs. At some point Dad and Sarah got into a lively and kind of hilarious debate about the marines. 

And once everyone had gone, I fell asleep on Jack watching the Lego Movie in the media room. It was a great day.

10.9.14 - The big ultrasound!

Today, finally, after weeks of counting down the days, we went to get the ultrasound to learn gender. Jack took half a day off work so he could go with me.

Our ultrasound tech was very sweet. Her name was Mary and she looked to be maybe a couple years older than us. She told me she has two daughters, both 2 and under, and she was clearly very happy about it. While she conducted the ultrasound she and I talked about women being unsure whether they wanted children because they still want to travel or have other childless adventures. The tech and I agreed having kids was like trading one type of adventure for another. She used the word "blessed" a lot, and she talked a lot about how cute our baby looked on the screen. She's clearly made for her job.

Anyway, I was laying down at an angle to where it was kind of hard for me to see the screen. Jack could stand in line of sight of the screen, and I could kind of see it if I tilted my head. Mary tried to tilt the screen toward me too, and it was enough. The whole process took probably about 30 minutes but I was glad it took so long so we could see the baby so much. Mary examined the baby's skull, brain, stomach, heart, arms, and legs. We could see the baby has proportionally long toes like mine. :) Throughout the ultrasound we could see ribs and fingers, we could see the baby move around - went from breach to a 180 in the time it took. At one point the baby hiccuped and I could feel it inside me and see it on the ultrasound at the same time, it was awesome! Jack kept patting my knee and we kept beaming at each other - it was a very sweet experience.

Finally Mary checked the gender, and we learned we're having a baby girl! So now I can talk about her as a "her" and a "she" and as Clara. We got a great ultrasound shot as Clara was moving her arm toward her face - I thought she looked like she was doing the Thinker pose:

As soon as we left the medical center, Jack called his parents to tell the good news, and I sent out a text to the rest of our immediate families that read "We're having a daughter. :-) Clara Lynn Jackson." The text responses were:

Dad: "Ha! Ha! That's so great. It's best to start with girls."

Jill: "Aww, Clara!"

Mom: "EEEEEEEE!!!! So excited for my little Clara Lynn!!!!"

Julie: "GAAAAAAAAH!!"

Denny: "OMG YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY x 999999999999999999999999999999.1"

Ellen: "That makes me really happy, girl should be the oldest :)"

Everett: "Good job"

Lydia: "Aw!! Fantastic news!!! So excited!"

Katie: "Yay! I'm so excited for you guys!"

Aaron: "Congratufreakinlations"

Jack's parents were also very happy about it. When we got home I scanned the ultrasound and posted a general announcement on FB, and then got to enjoy the FB likes and congrats and comments throughout pretty much the rest of the day. Examples:

Overall it was a wonderful day with wonderful news. We are both so happy and excited to meet our baby girl!

10.5.14 - Baby kicks!

Today, for the first time, I thought I felt kicks. I wasn't sure what they feel like so at first I wasn't sure if it was them. It was a sort of small bursting sensation in my lower abdomen three times in a few hours, and I didn't know what else it would be. They weren't strong enough for Jack to feel from the outside.

But later the baby kicked more, and more strongly. I was sure they were kicks because I could even feel them from the outside of my abdomen. I just sat alone in my bedroom in wonder and happiness and laughed, and I texted Jack to tell him.

Much later tonight when Jack came home he put his hand on my stomach and waited but felt nothing. But very shortly after he gave up I felt a kick so hard it startled me and made me gasp, and he got excited and waited again. Then he felt the kicks too, and I only wish I had a video of his face. He looked utterly delighted, and as he felt more kicks he leaned down and kissed my knee (from the angles we were laying on the bed that was the easiest thing to kiss) and we both just laughed a lot. It was such a sweet moment.

10.3.14 - 5-Ingredient Cookbook

Love this cookbook. My then-boyfriend's mother gave it to me as a gift circa 2007, and it's come in handy so many times. Favorite recipes include:

• Cheesy chicken
• Cherry coke salad (a jell-o with pineapple and cherries)
• Chilled pasta salad (with cucumber and peas, relatively low-cal)
• Sunshine Fruit Salad! A classic

Probably many more, and I still have so many to try.

10.2.14 - Life is weird.

I woke up in the middle of the night last night (a common occurrence nowadays) and for some reason I thought about when Jack first asked me out. I vaguely remember being flattered and pleased and also feeling it was pointless; he lived in another state and, at the time, he and I had very, very different lives. Ultimately I knew it couldn't go anywhere, so why even start?

And then I thought about how here I am, almost 6 years later, married to him, pregnant with our first child, cuddling in our sleep. What a delightful progression.

December 2008 - the earliest picture of us after he had asked me out.

May 2014

10.1.14 - October!!!

Today it was so breezy the living room blinds were flying all over the place, so for the first time I opened them fully (to push them to the side of the window so they don't catch so much wind). Outside the living room window I could see the trees from the neighborhood behind our apartment complex, and they were at least five different colors - yellows, browns, greens, a little bit of red. And the wind was blowing gold leaves passed the window too. It was delightful.

This is actually a tree within our apartment complex, but same idea.

Earlier this week I'd bought a little autumn door hanging decoration on sale at Michael's for like $4 (my indulgence). I finally went out and stuck a nail in our front door and hung it up, and I love it!

Then I went grocery shopping and, among other things, brought home the ingredients to make caramel apple cupcakes (a recipe from my beloved 5-Ingredient Cookbook). It was sweet fun making them and then eating them, haha.

In all their caramel-y goodness.

But it wore me out - I seem easily worn out these days - so I indulged again and took a 45 min nap in my breezy bedroom.

After I got up I made pasta salad for dinner (a recent favorite of Jack's) and I calculated the calories because he's trying to track his calories this week. I'm happy to help. When he got home he really enjoyed the cupcakes and salad; I love it when he likes what I cook.

We skimmed a few hilarious animal-related Buzzfeed articles. We read a little from one of the baby books I've recently bought. We watched an episode of Supernatural. It was nice spending time together.