Babies in Stereo

The past couple of days have been a bit hectic for me. Friday I took Alex on his first major grocery shopping trip (as in spending an hour in the store, not just picking up a few things). He was awake but calm, which is good. I was also glad that he's not at the stage where he asks for junk food.

Yesterday Eugene and I took Alex to visit a couple we met in childbirth class. They had their baby, a girl named Anna, a week after we did. It was cute seeing them side by side in their car seats. During dinner, Alex and Anna were both cooing, and we joked that they were exchanging tips on how to drive their parents crazy. ("So, what's this colic thing about?") Unfortunately, Anna was overtired to the point where she couldn't fall asleep, and she showed it. Alex had a couple of crying spells too, though I've heard worse. But since we and the other couple were going through the same thing, we were all understanding.

Today we stayed at home. While Eugene tending Alex, I caught up on domestic duties: I did the laundry, baked bread, and made sorbet. Now if I can finish the latest review I'm currently working on, maybe I can get back to my own stuff.

Secret Squirrel?

We have a very friendly squirrel visiting our patio. He comes up to the screen door and looks into the kitchen as if he expects me to let him in for a cup of tea. Today I caught him digging in our flowerboxes, rooting around and rolling in the dirt as if he was a dog. It's probably a good thing I didn't bother planting flowers this year, as they wouldn't have lasted. (Maybe he was a dog in another life, who knows?) One of these days I'll have to take a picture of him.

Weekend Recap

Saturday was Harry Potter Day. I spent most of it (besides caring for Alex and doing laundry) either waiting for UPS to deliver my book or reading. I didn't get the book until about 3:00 p.m., and yes, I was impatient. It would have been quicker to drive to Walmart and pick up a copy, but I'd preordered because I wasn't sure if I'd be able to take Alex to the store (depending on how he was behaving). Anyway, I finished the book and the Sunday morning. Without giving anything away, it was an enjoyable read. I foresaw a couple of things but not the main plot points. That's one of the things I respect Rowling for, her plotting. She does a great job of using minor details to great effect.

Anyway, Sunday the three of us drove to Evanston and met with the priest at the church where Alex will be baptized. Afterwards, we stopped by the Evanston Ethnic Arts Festival. The weather was perfect for it. I bought a couple of silk purses (one for a friend) and a pair of earrings. Afterwards, we stopped at Babies R Us before heading home.

Out and About

Would you believe I haven't filled up my car since May? I wasn't able to drive last month while I was recovering from surgery. But last week I was cleared by my doctor. Now I can take Alex to the doctor or run errands; I just need to time things so that he's sleeping. Last week I even got to go to the bookstore with him. We also managed to visit the Chicago Botantic Garden on Sunday with him. Although he kept us up during the night, he was quiet in his stroller. I didn't bring my camera because we had enough to haul around as it was. Eugene, of course, took his camera, so he may post some pictures when he has the chance.

Writing: Sigh, I haven't had a chance to do anything for a while, and two of my OWW critters have new chapters up. Do I work on that or my own stuff? And what project should I work on? It's too much for my sleep-deprived, post-partum brain.

Get Your Geek On

As you can imagine, I've been a bit busy since Alex arrived. It seems like as soon as I finish feeding him and putting him down to sleep he wakes up again. Plus I haven't been anywhere exciting; the last time I even drove my car was the day Alex was born. So that explains why I haven't blogged in a while.

Tonight on CNN's homepage, though, I saw something worth blogging about. There was an article about surprising things you can get for free. Among them was coursework at MIT. I guess this isn't really new -- other colleges are also offering noncredit online courses -- but I still found it cool. This would also be a good resource for science fiction writers looking to learn more about basic science or about something more advanced, like quantum physics or genetics. (They have biophysics as well, but that doesn't turn me on; I took it for my major, and it was a tough class.) There are also anthropology, language, literature, and even writing courses. I bookmarked the site, though I do have to wonder when I think I'll find time to do any of these courses. I suppose it would help if I stopped playing games and got to work. Even I can't convince myself learning about science is as relaxing as a game of Zuma, though.

Daddy's Bald!

OK, I'm a little slow on blogging this week. This picture was taken on Sunday. Eugene finally made good on something he's talked about for a while--shaving his head. Now Alex has more hair than his dad. ;)

The Kosher Mush Cake

My friend Heather came over to visit today. She wanted to meet Alex, so it was a good thing he was up when she was here. He was pretty well-behaved too (normally he only cries if he needs a diaper changed or if he's hungry). We talked about writing for a while, got a carry-out dinner from a local restaurant, and watched Finding Nemo. She also brought over dessert: a kosher cake with pineapples and strawberries. Unfortunately, the cake got a little battered (rimshot) during the drive over here, so we jokingly referred to it as kosher mush. It was still pretty good, though. Hopefully we'll have a chance to get together again before she leaves in July.

My Little Town...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/06/11/wisc.shooting.ap/index.html

DELAVAN, Wisconsin (AP) -- A domestic dispute erupted into a mass killing in southern Wisconsin, leaving six people, including two infant boys, shot to death, and a 2-year-old girl with a gunshot to her chest.
A prosecutor said late Sunday no one was in custody but that police weren't looking for a suspect and no one else was in danger. Officials often use such language when the shooter is among the dead.
"What we have is a complicated death scene and we're investigating all the possibilities," said Kevin St. John, a spokesman with the state Justice Department, which is leading the investigation. (Watch police and neighbors describe what they saw and heard )
Walworth County District Attorney Phillip Koss said the shooting was part of a domestic dispute, but he wouldn't elaborate until autopsies were completed and the crime scene was fully evaluated.
Officers, responding to a report of shots fired, stormed an A-frame duplex Saturday night with weapons drawn, kicking in the door, neighbor Richard Heideman said. He saw two paramedics go in behind them and come back out minutes later.
"That's when I knew everybody was dead," Heideman said.
As the bodies were wheeled out, one onlooker dropped to his knees on a neighbor's lawn and threw his hands to the sky in prayer.
The 2-year-old girl was found in a nearby van, seriously wounded. A male family member who escaped the shooting was helping investigators.
Authorities have not released the victims' names, but Kay Macara said her 19-year-old daughter, Vanessa Iverson, was among the dead.
With tears in her eyes, Macara said her daughter went to the apartment the previous night to visit friends.
"My child," she said. "I want answers."
Also in the house during the shooting were the twin infants, their parents, and the mother's sister and her husband, said Sarah Iverson, Iverson's sister-in-law.
The 2-year-old sister of the twins, Jasmine, was in serious condition at University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison.
The father of the children, 22-year-old Ambrocio Analco, was one of the dead, said Marco Pastrana, Analco's cousin. He said the boys were 2 to 3 months old.
Monday morning, a cluster of teddy bears, stuffed bunnies, a dinosaur and candles stood under a tree outside the duplex. The landlord, Duane Brellenthin, said two sisters rented the upstairs apartment. He declined to name them, deferring to police.
He said they'd lived there about a year and a half, and he'd never had problems with them.
Pastrana said Analco no longer lived with the children's mother. Analco left Pastrana's house Saturday night to drop the kids off with her at the duplex, Pastrana said.
"It came to my mind that this was not true," Pastrana said. "But when I came here I went to talk to the cops and they tell me that he was dead, his kids were dead and one was in the hospital."
Neighbor Leandra Mena, 65, said she heard what she thought were firecrackers coming from the house around 10:30 p.m. Saturday.
"I thought it was firecrackers because it's so close to the Fourth of July," she said.
Police cordoned off two blocks around the duplex for most of the day. On Sunday morning neighbors, some still bleary-eyed, clustered on the sidewalks, watching investigators move bodies out of the house.
Tina McKinnon, 37, lives about a block away and said there was never any commotion at the house. "The children were very pleasant," she said.
Delavan, home to about 8,000 people, lies in the farm fields and woods between Janesville and Milwaukee. The P.T. Barnum Circus, "The Greatest Show on Earth," was founded in Delavan in 1871, and statues of circus animals decorate the town square.


It's a little strange seeing a sleepy town like Delavan make the national news--and I certainly didn't want to see it for this type of story. At least I don't recognize any of the people mentioned here. My sympathy goes out to the family, and I hope the little girl recovers.

I spent my teenage years in Delavan, though the town has developed since then. Back in my day, Delavan only had about 5,000 people. Since I moved there in 1982, a dog track went up (though I think it's now a bust), and lots of new stores have sprung up too. There's also a much greater Hispanic population now; when I was in high school, there were only a few token minority students.

I still visit Delavan on occasion because my friend Liz lives there. I wonder what she and her family make of this story.

More Alex Photos

Feeding time.

How dare Mommy ground me to the bassinet?

His official one-week old photo with two Oscars.

Surprise!

It looks like my last post here was on May 30th. That's ironic, given how much has happened since then....

I have had blood pressure issues during the pregnancy, so my doctors monitored me closely to make sure it didn't progress to pre-eclampisa. At my 5/25 visit, my blood pressure was quite high initially, so I had to do a 24-hour urine collection over the weekend. I dropped the sample off on Tuesday the 29th, had some bloodwork done, and scheduled a C-section for 6/11 due to Alex being breech. The next day, I visited the perinatologist for the ultrasound of the week. Everything looked good during the ultrasound itself. However, when the doctor walked in, he said, "You timed it just right." It turned out that my liver enzymes were too high and that I had finally developed a mild case of pre-eclampisa. Since I was at 37 weeks, he wanted the baby to come out within the next 24 hours. So instead of using the rest of the day to take care of a few things, I wound up in Labor and Delivery. (The doctor's office was in another wing of the hospitial, so we walked over to the main entrance and then Eugene took me in a wheelchair the rest of the way.) They checked me in, had me change, and put me on an IV. Meanwhile, Eugene had to go home to fetch some things (good thing we had the essentials already packed). Since I had had lunch, we had to wait until the evening for the operation. We made some phone calls, and I watched TV and read a little, but waiting was very difficult, to say the least. Finally, they prepped me and brought me into the OR. It was so cold in there I started shivering. That made me worry a little about the spinal (in case it didn't go in the right spot), but it wasn't an issue. I have to admit I did feel a bit depersonalized as they positioned me and drew the sterile curtain over my body. Good thing Eugene was there to hold my hand and stroke my hair. After the spinal set in, I could still feel my feet. I mentioned to the doctor, who then asked if I could feel her pinching me. I couldn't. They proceeded. I didn't feel anything except some pressure as they drew out son out. He came out at 8:35 p.m., screaming, which was a good sign--and very amazing to hear. His Apgar scores were 8 and 9. (These are scores used to determine how well a baby is doing.) Weight was 5 pounds 2 ounces; length was 18.5 inches.

As the doctor was sewing me up, she showed Eugene my uterus. Apparently mine is heart-shaped, which explains why our son never turned head down. Any more children we have will also have to be born by c-section. Eugene got to go with our son to the special care nursery (all babies born by C-section go there automatically) while I recovered. I attempted to nurse as soon as they brought our son to me. However, I couldn't keep anything down, even liquids, until the next day, when they finally stopped my IV. I stayed in the hospital until Sunday, June 3rd. During this time, we got to know our son a little better and decided to name him Alexander Aurelio, after his grandfathers. Of course the grandparents visited, and so did a couple of our friends. By Friday, I was already feeling much better, but it was (and still is) painful to get into and out of bed, sit down, or do other things. But it's worth it to have our son.

Here are some pictures Eugene took while we were in the hospital:

http://s142.photobucket.com/albums/r89/Photovet1997/Alexander%20Aurelio%20Almazan/

There are a couple on his blog as well.

Catching Up

Our Memorial Day weekend was relatively quiet. Eugene attended a Nordic walking seminar Saturday morning; I'll leave it up to him to discuss that if he wants. That afternoon, we had our car seats checked to make sure they were installed properly. The technicians made a few minor adjustments, but overall Eugene did a good job with them. Sunday we visited his parents and got to enjoy the nice weather on their deck. On the way back home, we visited a couple of people we know through an Internet forum. One of them had given Eugene some advice, so he made a batch of cookies to thank her. We talked with them for about two and a half hours. We got home late, but it was nice to meet them. Monday morning we returned to Dinner by Design (I blogged about them before) and stocked up the freezer. I also got to talk to some friends. Not my normal holiday weekend, but it probably was for the best to take it easy.

Other than that, I've been busy with doctor's appointments and getting ready for the big event. I'm still working and plan to do so through next week. Writing has been going pretty slowly, but I think I got past a sticking point. It would be nice to post something on OWW before the baby comes.

Triple Tag

Seems like this is going around again; three of the bloggers I read regularly have been tagged in the past few days. One tagged me by name; the others by default of reading them. I guess I should play along:

From Sheila's blog--seven wierd things about myself:

1. I'm left-handed, but I crochet with my right hand. All of the pattern books are written for righties, so it was easier to learn how to do it right-handed than to switch all the directions over.

2. I write science fiction. Need I say more?

3. I'm not a girly-girl. I don't care about fashion, shoes, purses, or jewelry (other than a few sentimental pieces).

4. I've never seen American Idol, Lost, Heroes, or many other popular shows. TV just sucks up your time. (Well, so does the Internet, but I guess I enjoy that more.)

5. I haven't been to the movies in well over a year either. I might change that if we go see Shrek the Third this weekend, but it depends on how I'm feeling.

6. I built a DNA model out of beads and wire when I was a teenager.

7. I read science and English textbooks when I was a child. Hey, they were just sitting there....


From Maria's blog--eight random things/facts about me:

1. I didn't drink soda as a kid, but I became addicted to Mountain Dew when I was in high school. I finally gave it up a few years ago when the caffiene gave me problems.

2. My favorite scents are lilac and lily of the valley.

3. There's a statue of an Egyptian scribe on my desk.

4. Although my parents are German, I learned more of the language in school than I did from them.

5. I used to work at McDonald's. The first night I helped close the place, I tripped and got cut by some metal trays. I still have the scar on my finger.

6. I don't like coffee, but I do like tea.

7. I've been wearing my houseshoes to work for the past month due to my swollen feet.

8. I prefer unicorns to dragons.

Finally, from Sara, five reasons why I blog:

1. To keep in touch with old friends, many of whom I don't get to see in person very often. By reading their blogs and posting what I'm up to, I feel more connected to them.

2. To connect with other people who share my interests, such as writing.

3. To discuss writing in particular--how my latest work is going, what techniques work for me, and how I feel about my progress or lack thereof.

4. To express my views on the world or current events.

5. To carve out a small portion of immortality for myself on the Internet


Well, that was a lot to post at once. I'm going to bend the rules a bit here; I'll tag Russ, Eugene, and Sue to choose one of the above memes for their own blogs.

Missing Madison

"From you have I been absent in the spring...." Shakespeare, Sonnet 98

Normally I would be getting ready to drive up to Madison, Wisconsin tomorrow for WisCon, the feminist science fiction convention I've been attending oh, since 1998, I think. But not this year. It's too close to my due date, and the last thing I need to worry about is going into labor while I'm up there and fighting the traffic back to the Chicago area. It's hard for me to get around anyway. That won't stop me from thinking about Madison--the Farmer's Market, State Street, and all the other things I miss about my favorite city. Plus of course there are panels I could be attending, people I could be meeting or renewing a friendship with, and lots of books I could be buying. We do have things planned for this weekend around here, but it just won't be the same. The best I can do is log on to the WisCon website and look for updates. So please excuse my bout of self-pity and homesickness. There's always next year, of course, but that's so far away.

Nine Months and Counting....

Tomorrow I'll be in my 36th week of pregnancy. Since pregnancy normally lasts for forty weeks, I will be officially 1.9 people (as Eugene likes to say). Due to various issues I don't want to go into here, my doctors don't want me to go past 39 weeks. I have to admit I'll be glad to be done a little early. This final trimester has been a bit rough. At least we're nearly done with the nursery. We still haven't picked out a name, though. To make matters worse, I can't find the list of possible names. Better clean out the desk this weekend!

Dinner with Dancers

Well, friends from our tango class last year, anyway. We wanted to get together with our tango instructors too, but their weekends are booked for a couple of months. We got together at a place called the Bonefish Grill. The food was very good, especially the dessert--a warm, moist chocolate brownie with raspberry sauce and vanilla ice cream. One of the best desserts I've had in a long time. We had a good time talking with our friends too. I didn't think to bring the camera, though. Hopefully we'll get together with them again after the baby comes.

Not much else to report otherwise. The nursery is slowly starting to shape up. All of the furniture is in; we just need to hang up a few more things and organize the place. We'll post pictures when it's done.

I haven't got much writing done recently; I've either been busy or not feeling too well. But I did remove the first half of Lennon's Line. It's still about 112,000 words, which isn't too bad. I'd like to keep it under 120,000, which should be manageable even though I'll have to add in some of the backstory. Of course, now I have to come up with a better opening paragraph. Hopefully I won't rewrite the whole story again!

Missing In Action....

Yes, it's been a long time since I posted; I guess I'm getting lazy. I haven't been up to much beyond the usual--plus of course getting ready for the baby.

Sunday was my baby shower. My mother and mother-in-law co-hosted it at my mother-in-law's house. It was a good-sized shower, with friends and family from both sides. We got a variety of gifts, including some handmade blankets and outfits. We also got our car seat and Pack'n'Play (a combination bassinette/playpen). We have some pictures, but I haven't uploaded them yet.

I'm behind on my writing and reviews as well. Maybe tomorrow I can get back on track.

Wonderful Weekend

Yesterday was a spa day for me. I had a prenatal massage. Since my back had been bothering me all week, the timing was good for that, and it was nice to relax for a while. I also had a couple of other beauty treatments and got my hair cut. I probably won't have much time for the spa after the baby comes, so it's better to have my hair taken care of now and not have to go in for a while. Later, Eugene and I went out for dinner with some friends of ours. Both the food and the conversation were excellent.

Today we got together with another friend of mine, Heather. We went to Navy Pier, where we took a boat ride, saw an IMAX show, and walked around for a while, enjoying the weather. Later, we went out for sushi, though of course I couldn't have any. But by the time we returned home, clouds were coming. It's raining now; I hope Heather got home before the storm hit.

I have pictures from the boat ride but don't feel like posting them now. Perhaps I'll upload them tomorrow.

Time for an Update

I've been slacking on the blog this week. Some nights I had a good excuse for doing so. For example, Monday night was the Billy Joel concert. Eugene and I went with Betsy, a friend of his from vet school, and her husband Ray. We had dinner beforehand and lingered so long that even though we were only a few minutes away from the venue, we had a hard time finding parking. We wound up having to take a shuttle bus from another parking lot. Good thing concerts never start on time. It was an enjoyable show; Billy Joel was at ease with the audience, and he played a mix of hits and some more obscure songs. I have to admit I was a bit more tired than I realized, so it was harder for me to get into some parts of the show. We didn't get home until about 11:30.

Tuesday we had one of our childbirth classes. It's part of a six-week long course, and we're about halfway through. We have breathing exercises to do (well, it doesn't matter if Eugene does them) and other things we're supposed to practice between sessions. I never knew pregnancy would require so much homework!

The last couple of days I've just been busy with other things, like working on my writing. Some info about that is posted on my other blog. I won't bother to go into it here, however. But there should be some other things to report on this weekend, so I'll try to post them sooner.

A Few Pictures....

One of the swans at the garden.

Eugene takes time to enjoy the flowers.

One of the many flower beds.

And of course, what trip to the garden would be complete without an Oscar picture?

Back to the Garden

At last we had a gorgeous weekend, so Eugene and I went back to our favorite spot, the Chicago Botanic Garden. It was very busy today, as there was an antique/garden show going on. One of the first things we saw when we entered the garden was a pair of swans. We took a few pictures of them before seeing another pair being fed a little farther down. Eugene let me use one of his cameras, so I practiced taking some photos with it. I may try to post them later on after I finish installing a new card reader. Some of the fruit trees were in bloom, so I enjoyed sniffing the blossoms. The bulbs were going strong, but of course it's too early for roses.

We only stayed at the garden for a couple of hours and tried not to walk around too much. I sat down every chance I could. Even so, my back was killing me by the time we left. I guess that's only going to get worse the farther along I am.