I almost forgot.
"Hairspray" was okay. I liked it, the songs are catchy, the main actress was very lovable and there are definitely some John Travolta moments (especially those with Christopher Walken) that made my jaw drop in a sort of shock that could be taken for entertainment. D loved it, as did the rest of the audience, who clapped at the end. I must add, I can't get enough of Queen Latifah. I think she's extremely talented -- my favorite part of the movie was a montage of the civil rights march in town.
I'm reading The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman. It's a fantasy book, geared towards intermediate readers, but it won many prizes and is going to be a movie starring Daniel Craig (yum) and Nicole Kidman. I love it -- its rich and evocative settings and powerful characters are combined with an intricate and quite suspenseful plot. The main story is of a wild little girl who finds herself caught up in international intrigue in the arctic north, battling to save others from shady government experiments and to support her fierce and distant uncle in his efforts to uncover the links between their home and parallel universes, the secret to which is tied up in the aurora borealis. She does so with the aid of gypsies, a shape-shifting animal familiar, a sentient polar bear and a mysterious symbol-reading compass that points her always toward the truth. The book lacks the humor of Harry Potter, but the little heroine, Lyra, is just as appealing in her own way. The story is very emotionally affecting -- I can hardly wait until S is old enough for books like these. It also makes a great break from The Girlfriends' Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood, which I also love but which I have to put down sometimes when it starts to make me lightheaded with fear.
Next I want to see "Sunshine" and the next Bourne movie. Stay tuned!
31 July 2007
Daily Life
Oh, wow, I was so not ready for that. My day with the kids, I mean. I'm just way too tired, and fatigue much too quickly, to hang with them all day. They also never leave me alone. I mean, even when Dave's around, they hang on me, want me to play their games with them, want to show me what they've come up with . . . Lord, I sound awful -- it's not that I don't love them, or appreciate that they love me back; far from it. It's just that I'm exhausted and in some measure of pain constantly, and I can't get them to go play by themselves for an hour to give me a rest. Part of that is an authority thing; they don't listen to me nearly as well as they respond to their dad.
Don't get me wrong -- the day was not that bad. We made the Martha Stewart puppets (which, although billed as 'self-adhesive' and requiring no additional glue or tape, actually did not stay together at all and used up much of my art-supply stash to keep them together), which were a hit, and they were adequately fed and no one bled. I just hate not being able to give them the energy I want to give them, and I hate letting some disciplinary situations slide because (a) I'm too tired to get really peeved and (b) I know that if it comes down to needing to physically remove them to the time-out spot, I can't do it. I'm just not ready yet. Unfortunately, I need to do it again Monday.
I have been recovering all day today. I slept 10 hours and have still been sleepy all day. I've been having insomnia and bad pregnancy heartburn on top of the usual nighttime pain, so I haven't been sleeping well lately. I probably needed this day of sleep badly.
Our new next-door neighbors are moving in tomorrow. Francisco and Myra, with their three children: Pablo, Luis and Sofia. These are some of the politest kids I ever met -- hooray! Maybe they'll be a good influence. On me, I mean. :)
Tomorrow morning we're back to the neurologist, Dr. Maragakis (remember him?). We'll be dragging the kids to Hopkins. Then D is going to take them to Ravens training camp while I come back and relax. Tomorrow night the cat goes to the vet, for preparatory consultation before getting declawed. We managed to complete our baby registry, and I am starting to be enthused about the nursery. Most exciting of all, we have officially named Baby. She is Abigail Jane, and I can't wait to see her in person!
Don't get me wrong -- the day was not that bad. We made the Martha Stewart puppets (which, although billed as 'self-adhesive' and requiring no additional glue or tape, actually did not stay together at all and used up much of my art-supply stash to keep them together), which were a hit, and they were adequately fed and no one bled. I just hate not being able to give them the energy I want to give them, and I hate letting some disciplinary situations slide because (a) I'm too tired to get really peeved and (b) I know that if it comes down to needing to physically remove them to the time-out spot, I can't do it. I'm just not ready yet. Unfortunately, I need to do it again Monday.
I have been recovering all day today. I slept 10 hours and have still been sleepy all day. I've been having insomnia and bad pregnancy heartburn on top of the usual nighttime pain, so I haven't been sleeping well lately. I probably needed this day of sleep badly.
Our new next-door neighbors are moving in tomorrow. Francisco and Myra, with their three children: Pablo, Luis and Sofia. These are some of the politest kids I ever met -- hooray! Maybe they'll be a good influence. On me, I mean. :)
Tomorrow morning we're back to the neurologist, Dr. Maragakis (remember him?). We'll be dragging the kids to Hopkins. Then D is going to take them to Ravens training camp while I come back and relax. Tomorrow night the cat goes to the vet, for preparatory consultation before getting declawed. We managed to complete our baby registry, and I am starting to be enthused about the nursery. Most exciting of all, we have officially named Baby. She is Abigail Jane, and I can't wait to see her in person!
30 July 2007
Wish Me Luck
Wish me luck today, friends. This will probably sound like no big deal to some of you, but today is the first time that I'm covering for the kids' nanny all by myself since I got sick. I'm really nervous! I'm armed with Charlotte's Web and a kit we can use to make paper bag puppets (we figured that since the kids are with us all week, and will get plenty of outside running-around time with D, it would be okay if today were an indoor kind of day), but I'm still concerned. I actually woke up at 3:30, my brain full of plans and contingencies for this big adventure. Anyway, I've gotta go -- send good thoughts my way!
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