You are here: Home / Archives for Christina
May 16, 2008

Haiku Friday: Fractured

May 16, 2008 By

Some days I feel like
I am living several lives
all at the same time

At times I am a
blogger, writing about the
minutiae of life

Other times I am
a nursing student, tending
to the sick, learning

On rare occasions
I’m a seamstress, sewing a
dress for my daughter

But always I’m a
mother, on top of all the
other hats I wear

I feel fragmented
at times – pieces of me are
scattered everywhere

But my reasons for
all I do can be found in
two little faces

Occasionally my different lives come crashing together due to poor scheduling. Like this past week, where the overload of midterm paperwork forced me to cut back on blogging for a time. And Cordy has been, well, let’s just say not herself. I’ve got an enormous backlog of posts to read in Bloglines. And those I have read I haven’t had time to comment on.

So if you happen to be missing me at your blog, know that I’m missing you, too. And know that midterms are now finished, and I’ll start working on my backlog of reading this weekend. I’m far too neurotic to hit that “Mark all read” button – can’t chance missing something important. Or you can let me know if anything important has happened to you in this past week.

To play along for Haiku Friday, follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. What’s a haiku, you ask? Click here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below or at Jennifer’s blog with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your generic blog URL). DON’T sign unless you have a haiku this week. If you need help with this, contact Jennifer or myself.

3. Pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button at the top.

REMEMBER: Do not post your link unless you have a haiku this week! We will delete any links without haiku!

Filed Under: clearly insane, Cordy, Haiku Fridays, school


May 14, 2008

You Leave Them Alone For Two Minutes…

May 14, 2008 By

There are times when I wonder how my two daughters can possibly be related. They do have some similar features, but while Cordelia is pale, blonde and curly-headed, Miranda is olive-skinned, brunette, and so far has straight hair. While Cordy always respected boundaries as a baby, Mira is the jailbreaker. Cordy was an early talker, and late walker. Mira is an early walker, and not interested in talking much. The slightest hint of my disapproval would send Cordy into tears, but Mira laughs at my attempts to correct her. Two girls could not be more different.

And then there are times when I see a hint of baby Cordy in Mira. Like today.

Cordy, 2005 – 13 months old

Mira, 2008 (this morning) – 11 months old


This is what they both choose to do when I walk out of the room for two minutes.

They’re clearly sisters.

Filed Under: Cordy, memories, Mira, sisterhood


May 13, 2008

Who Are The Police Protecting?

May 13, 2008 By

So, let’s say your house was broken into almost two years ago, in the middle of the afternoon. A lot of stuff was taken, including some sentimental items that could never be replaced. The thief left behind a small amount of DNA, via a blood drop on the curtain that your eagle eye spotted thanks to years of watching forensic crime dramas, and the crime lab said they’d check it out.

Fast-forward five months. The DNA comes back with a match, and the police tell you they have a warrant out for the guy. When you ask for details, they tell you that he used to live nearby, but is no longer at that address. You ask if he lived in the neighborhood, but they refuse to give details, only saying he lived in the area.

The thief is caught, processed, and then because of an overcrowded prison system, given only probation for his crime, despite the fact that this would not be his first time in prison. You feel a little upset that this guy is out in public, but try to reassure yourself by saying that he probably lives nowhere close to you.

Now let’s say that in doing some internet surfing of court records last night, you come upon this guy’s record. (Not only has he robbed you, but since turning 18 has also been arrested three other times for forgery, driving without a license, and another robbery with criminal endangering.) And you find out that he didn’t just live nearby, he lived ACROSS THE STREET. As in, almost directly across the street. And that the residents of the home across the street are his family.

Knowing this new tidbit of information, do you feel that the police should have shared that the criminal lived in spitting distance of your house? Or that while he no longer lived there, his family was still living there, and now knew that you were the ones who helped get their little boy thrown in jail?

To say I’m a little shocked to find out the guy who upended our lives lived right across from us would be an understatement. I don’t understand why we weren’t allowed to know where he lived, and that his family were still living there. Shouldn’t we be told that our every move is still being watched by people close to the perpetrator?

I can now see why those neighbors have never talked to us, and why they still give us unfriendly – bordering on dirty – glares each time we drive past.

We never received a mug shot, so we still don’t know what he looks like. It’s possible that he’s still coming by to visit with his family across the street – lots of 20-something men and women come by that house all the time – and if so, he’s violating his probation order to stay at least 1000 feet away from us. But since we don’t know what he looks like, we can’t tell if any of the young men glancing across the street at us might be him. Creepy, eh?

It sucks when you don’t even feel safe in your own home.

Filed Under: big issues, daily life, rant


May 12, 2008

I Wish Some Gifts Came With Receipts

May 12, 2008 By

As much as I wanted my girls to not be themselves for Mother’s Day, I have to say that it wasn’t as bad as I expected. My husband – always the bright one – caught on when I said I only wanted a card for Mother’s Day, and nothing more. He recognized that this meant I have no idea what to ask for, so make it good, buddy and took the appropriate action.

Well, sort of. On Saturday he did misinterpret my go buy my gift and enjoy spending some time alone, and hey, maybe you could bring home some ice cream as a message that said go buy my gift quickly and spend the rest of the evening at a gaming store until midnight, because I didn’t want to spend any time at all with you, and oh, I wasn’t serious about asking you to bring me home ice cream or asking you to call if you were going to be late. I can see how that mistake could be made.

The girls, too young to drive themselves to Target to pick out a pretty gift, instead showered me with gifts that were, shall we say, more intangible and less wanted. A quick round-up of the gifts that were bestowed on me this weekend:

From Aaron: Two martini glasses, a cosmo shaker kit, and a box of Choxie dark chocolate truffles. Hmmm…you think he knows me? It was a nice gift, and nearly made up for me going to bed alone the night before.

From Cordy: Blow-out diapers all weekend long. I still haven’t figured out if it was some kind of gastrointestinal virus or a reaction to something she ate on Friday, but either way I didn’t expect to spend the weekend wondering if it was worth the risk of a toxic spill in public to leave the house.

Sick girl

From Mira: Attitude. I can already see this child will somehow be involved in my demise. She’s doing a great job at making me feel like a first-time mother again. This is the age we’re supposed to be setting limits, right? She should get upset when I use a firm, strong NO, right? So why when I give that firm no in my best mean mommy voice, I now get this in return?

Scary (drooly) evil grin

Teaching her new friend Evan all her tricks

Razzing me

Oh yeah, attitude galore. And as soon as I tell her no and pull her away from what I don’t want her to do, she goes right back to it, giving me that impish, scrunchy-face grin as if to say Oh, you’re in for it, lady. Is she my Stewie?

From three random little girls: A pretty carnation. We went out to dinner on Sunday night because I wanted a nice dinner and decided any risk of toxic spill was an acceptable trade-off. The restaurant had been giving carnations out to each mom, but they ran out about twenty minutes before we arrived. No big deal. Sitting across from us was a family who had three girls. They were cute and funny and clearly having a great time together.

Shortly after we ordered, they finished and gathered their things to leave. I saw the youngest (maybe 4 years old?) lean over and whisper something to her mother, and her mother replied, “I think that’s a great idea.” They walked away, and less than a minute later, the manager came to our table and handed me a carnation. He explained that the girls said they were planting a flower garden and didn’t need the flower, so they wanted to give it to me, since I was a mommy and didn’t get a flower. Awwww….

Overall, not a bad day. But maybe my daughters can take a lesson from the little girls in the restaurant and just give me flowers next year?

**************
Another cool gift I got this weekend was my first monthly delivery of photos from Kinzin. Check out my review of this photo sharing and printing service.

Filed Under: Aaron, being a mom, Cordy, Mira Tagged With:


May 9, 2008

Haiku Friday: A Feminine Topic

May 9, 2008 By

“You’ll feel a small pinch”
said the doctor. Liar. More
like a stabbing pain.

But in a flash it
was over. And now I’m not
fertile (for a time)

A temporary
solution before we make
a permanent choice.

Do I want more kids?
I thought no way, but I can’t
commit to that thought

We now have five years
to decide if there will be
more diapers to change

Sorry to any guys reading this today. I’m sure the last thing you want to read about is birth control.

This week I decided to get an IUD. Partially because I’m sick of condoms and never want to take birth control pills ever again. (Can you say psycho mood swings?) Did it hurt? Well, I’ll say it’s amazing how pain from one small area can radiate up your spine and into your teeth.

This wasn’t exactly the plan we had set up before Mira. Originally, after Mira was born, we were going to wait about six months, and then Aaron was meeting up with a doctor to discuss severing certain cords to prevent any more little people. And after Mira was born – after 21 long hours of labor – I was still committed to that plan.

But as we drew closer to our V-Day, doubts started to creep in. Are we sure we never want another baby? Truth is, we’re not 100% sure. Probably 95% sure, but that lingering 5% still nags me every time I see a fresh new baby, all red, wrinkly and squishy. I think Aaron still wishes for a son, too. We’re not in a position (financially or mentally) to have a third child at the moment, but in a year or two our situation may be different.

So nature and her biological drive to procreate have won this battle for now. Our fertility is halted, but not eliminated. We’ve got up to five years to decide if we want another baby before this IUD has to be removed. If we don’t want another baby by five years, then the vasectomy will be a reality.

(And yes, I know the the IUD has the risk of a surprise pregnancy, too.)

To play along for Haiku Friday, follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. What’s a haiku, you ask? Click here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below or at Jennifer’s blog with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your generic blog URL). DON’T sign unless you have a haiku this week. If you need help with this, contact Jennifer or myself.

3. Pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button at the top.

REMEMBER: Do not post your link unless you have a haiku this week! We will delete any links without haiku!

Filed Under: Haiku Fridays, me me me, TMI