Cold Spaghetti

Since returning Tuesday, we’ve been busy folk. Paul’s kept to the grindstone with work, Nana Nancy has won huge gold stars for keeping Will entertained (no small feat), and I’ve done my damnest to vie for the title of Domestic Goddess (while keeping Kate happy).

The microwave and toaster oven have been disassembled and cleaned. They shine like the top of the Chrysler building. Furniture has been moved… in some cases, three times… all through the house. We’ve hung curtains on 5 windows (although two of those still need work… one has a cafe that needs a bar and the other I didn’t hem short enough, oops.) And we put a few pictures back up on the walls in the front room. The Master bedroom has a dust ruffle. Kate’s crib is put together. Will has a bed. There is a carpet on our bedroom floor. Things sort of match in some of the rooms. The house is starting to look more like a home and less like a construction zone. Like people actually LIVE here. Whoa.

Ever the scourge of mankind, our insurance has denied my emergency c-section costs and Kate’s emergency procedures at birth saying that we needed pre-authorization… for an unplanned, emergency, rushed to the hospital, procedure and subsequent hospitalization.

But they did cover several tests done on both of us during our stay. Hmmm…

We’re gearing up for another head-ache.

Thanks to Nana Nancy, we are maintaining the appropriate adult to child ratio of 3:2. She arrived, ready to play and help out, the day after we returned. Heaven help us when she leaves next week!

HOME!

We’re home and so happy to be here. Paul has done an amazing job painting, framing, building, moving, and everything in between to get the house ready for us. The house is a disaster, stuff is everywhere, we have no idea where to put anything, and it’s hot as Hades, but it’s home and we are loving it.

Last night, I joined my Dad for a night at the Mobile Symphony. Dad is a huge fan of symphonic music, constant contributer to the local orchestra, and never misses one of the performances on his season tickets. It’s easy to be a snob about a symphony from Mobile, but honestly, they do a good job and have a great maestro and dedicated, talented operational staff.

One of the organization’s outreach projects is a composer-in-residency arrangement where three musicians work with the symphony to compose new works that are then premiered (pretty cool!) Kenji Bunch, one of the composers-in-residence, was featured with his band “Citigrass” as part of the night’s performance, titled: “A bunch of bluegrass.” They were fantastic! They take a bluegrass spin on many songs and are a great time. I highly recommend checking them out for some seriously fun music.

Memorable moment: “We’re a bluegrass band from New York City. We do get some funny looks when we tell people where we’re from, but we figure, if there can be a world class symphony from Mobile, then why not a bluegrass band from New York?”

Today is our 6th anniversary. Paul is in New Orleans, I in Mobile, so we are celebrating in the usual style by doing nothing special. We’re pretty laid back people about holidays and tend to go more with our mood and less with the calendar when it comes to presents and celebration. Our anniversary, combined with a post by my LA friend, has me thinking about romance. People warn of the loss of romance when children and careers take hold. Have we, deep in the throws of life, forgotten about romance? Looking back, we’ve never followed the traditional romance route. Yet I think I am a fairly romantic person and love to be romanced. (Caveat: sappy sweet is NOT romantic.) So it got me thinking: what does romance mean to me?

Answer: romance is surprise.

To me, the unexpected is romantic. I am very difficult to surprise and when I am truly caught off my guard, there is nothing I love more. I find great delight in small detail… The surprise of opening the door to find fresh flowers on the table (extra points for a well-potted orchid). Waking up to breakfast in bed. Coming home to a new recipe in the oven. A gift for no reason. I’d rather have these spontaneous surprises than a planned evening of being wined and dined.

I also wonder, as my friend did, what others believe to be romantic these days.

PS: Paul, I still want us to make time for lunch at Bayona when I get home!

What a month it has been! Current update:
– No idea on weight, but I’m guessing close to 12 pounds. No idea on length, but she is stretching the seams of the feet in 0-3 month outfits.
– Nursing is going so much better. Still evidence of the milk mixing imbalance and forceful letdown reflex, but she is handling it so much better. An example of how nursing problems eventually figure themselves out when you stick with it.
– The last few nights have been dreams. She sleeps from about 10-5/6am. Because she sleeps with me, I wake up when she starts to stir and nurse her before she’s fully awake and she drifts back off to sleep. Crying is incredibly rare and seems to always be related to gas — one good burp does the trick. Hooray for common sense and attachment parenting!
– She is encountering normal 4-week old issues… baby acne and hair loss. Hopefully both will clear up soon.
– We are head-over-heels for our baby girl!

Click here to view more of Kate’s one month photo shoot.

See more of Will’s wet adventure here.

Paul is home and working double-time on getting the house in order for our return. (ETA: This coming Monday.) He’s posting pictures of his progress.

I am *very* excited about returning home, but overwhelmed at the work that awaits… a dead, overgrown yard in shambles, stuff awaiting construction of shelving, toe molding to be installed, painting to be done, curtains to be hung, an outbuilding to be re-shingled and re-faced and so much more. While we are used to being overwhelmed, it all seems so much more with two kids to wrangle.