that is so 23 weeks ago

So I've been behind on a lot of things. One of which is mentioning that when I get dressed in the morning, I put on something that looks like this:

Answers to questions you may or may not want to ask:

1. I'm due in July.

2. Genghis will turn 3 years old a week or two afterward.

3. We characterize our emotional reaction to this development as "surprised excitement".

4. It's a girl.

5. While we love all of our children, we strongly hope that she continues Xena's legacy as "most calm and agreeable baby in the universe".

6. I'm feeling pretty well. Physically, things are just starting to get difficult. I almost threw the lasagna at Abe the other day when he told Genghis to sit down at the dinner table like Mommy, and demonstrated by grunting his way into his chair. Emotionally, things have been more difficult that in past pregnancies. I usually feel like my normal self, but sometimes get pretty low (manifesting itself in lots of anger toward Abe, frustration with children, and sobbing while doing the dishes).

7. We have grand plans to fit all 3 children in our sedan.

8. I may or may not be considering how to turn our walk-in pantry into a nursery.

9. I may or may not be considering selling all of my maternity clothes after July.

friday photos

Back in February, my mom flew all the way across the country and took three days off of work so I could go to a work conference and get a few days vacation with Abe. I don't need to say anything else about how fantastic my mom is.

Before I left her alone with 2 children under 3 for 5 days, we got to explore some of the California coast. We visited Half Moon Bay on a chilly and windy day. Genghis minded not one bit; the rest of us were happier eating fish and chips at a seaside restaurant afterward.

This is how Genghis smiles for the camera. 

 "The sea was angry that day, my friend."

Xena thinking about eating sand.

 Xena asking if she can eat the sand.

Xena pretending to eat the sand.

Xena actually eating sand when she thinks I'm not looking.

friday photos

Xena celebrates her 1st birthday tomorrow! In honor of her (not, not, because I'm too lazy to upload new photos) here's a collection of some of my favorite Xena expressions captured on film over the last year.

listify

Recently (meaning last night), I was really fed up with feeling overwhelmed by the amount of stuff I felt I needed to do and my total inability to get any of it done. I'm sure no one else ever feels this way.

The obvious solution (in addition to ranting to Abe for 1 1/2 hours) was to make a list. Here's the brain dump from last night. Complete with the beginnings of doodles in the upper right and lower left corners. Lists are very therapeutic for me, and I managed to sleep well that night.

But I knew I couldn't really plan around this jumble of jotted notes - in red ink nonetheless. So I came up with a super-exciting (okay, lower your expectations - I am still just talking about lists) way to organize my list of "everything to do in life".

Ta da!

That's right. I turned one list into five lists! And I typed and printed it in black ink.

Really, though, it worked for me. Here's what I did.

First, I separated out the items on the list that were more like life goals ("be a better person" or "go to bed on time more often"). I called these "Ongoing".

Second, I sorted the remaining items by "Quick and Easy" and "Long and Hard". The difference between the two is a bit mushy. But some things are pretty clear: "find a realtor" and "do my taxes" are both Long and Hard. On the other hand, "buy a gift" and "organize the hall closet" are pretty Quick and Easy.

Third, I sorted those two sets of goals into "Essential" and "Nice to Have". More examples: "get a California driver's license" is essential. But "read the top 5 books for museum professionals" would just be nice to have (if you are me).

The result was four lists (in addition to the "Ongoing" list).

1. Quick & Easy / Essential things. These are top priority.
2. Long & Hard / Essential things. These are also a top priority, but I know I don't have to get frustrated if it takes a while to get them checked off the list.
3. Quick & Easy / Nice to have. These are medium priority.
4. Long & Hard / Nice to have. These are low priority.

Of course, the first thing I did after making this new super-great prioritization tool was go spend an hour working on one of the Long & Hard / Nice to have items. Turns out a lot of these are the most fun. But at least I was aware of the choice I was making... Plus I got to eat a brownie and ice cream while I worked on it.