3.13.2006
Amazing Weekend
Let me just take a moment of your time to share with y’all our amazing weekend.
We had a fucking amazing weekend. Fucking. Amazing. Weekend.
It started Friday when we went to 2 parties. 2. Parties. One night. It almost felt like our lives before baby. Except that even though we went to 2 parties we were still home by 10 PM. And boy howdy, did it feel late. It felt like it was 2 AM. So I think that should count for partying all night. And I learned 2 important things about myself at these parties:
First important thing: I have serious issues letting go of people/places/dogs. Serious. Issues.
The first party was a housewarming for one of my co-workers (CW 1). Another of my co-workers (CW 2) asked me to bring Vera to that party so that her dog could meet Vera so she could see if adding Vera to her household was a good idea. CW 1 said it wasn’t fair to have me bring Vera to his house since then he might just want to keep her himself. Vera and the other dog had a great time. Playing playing playing. And CW 2 asked me if I could leave Vera with her on a more extended trial. So we did. We left her there at the party. Left her. And when we got ready to go Vera figured out that something was up and started getting clingy and tucked her tail between her legs and then when Kristin and Julia and I left she broke away from CW 1 and ran up to the glass front door and stood up on her hind legs and whined at us as we walked away. I couldn’t take it, I had to go back and say goodbye to her one more time. I know that if either CW 1 or CW 2 keep her she’ll have a wonderful home, but I miss her. And I know that she picked us to be her family. Twice she escaped our yard and we couldn’t find her and both times she came back to us. There’s a part of me that feels like I betrayed her by not keeping her even though I know she’ll have a better life somewhere else because we’re so busy and we have to keep her chained when she’s in the yard so she doesn’t jump the fence again.
I don’t think I can ever be a foster mother. If this is how I feel fostering and letting go of a dog, how would I feel fostering and letting go of a child? And it’s not like this dog was perfect. No. She ate one of my favorite pairs of shoes. But still, I fell in love. Damn.
Second Important thing: I am a petty, petty person. Petty. Petty.
The second party was at our donor’s house. And he reiterated what he told us at my birthday party last week: once I have our second child he is getting a vasectomy. And I am inordinately pleased that we will never have to worry about half-siblings coming out of the woodwork. AND (here’s where it gets really petty, go ahead and despise me now) I am pleased because other couples have asked him to donate since he helped make such a beautiful, happy child (only helped, we definitely had a HUGE part in making her beautiful and happy, but there’s no denying he’s got good genes) and he told us that he has turned those requests down. And the fact that he’s planning on sterilizing himself makes me feel so happy that we truly will be the only ones gifted with his genes. There. What did I tell you? Petty.
When I told my parents what our donor just told us, my mother exclaimed “Yes, but what if you want more children sometime in the future? Maybe you should have him freeze a bunch of sperm for you now so you can have that choice later.” To which my dad replied, “So what you’re saying is you think they should ride him hard and put him back wet?” Sometimes you just gotta love ‘em.
Saturday the weekend continued to be amazing when we got a huge chunk of our laundry done – especially all the ironing that we’ve been putting off since, oh, since Julia was born. It’s amazing how when you get your laundry all done and ironed and put away you stop thinking you need to go buy more clothes because you simply have nothing to wear… As you can see from the picture above, Julia was a HUGE help with the laundry, handing us hangers and telling us where things should go. 6 months old and already starting in on chores, she is really starting to pay off!
Also, Saturday I was messing with the digital camera and discovered that if you continue to hold the zoom button down after the camera has zoomed in all the way, eventually the camera will zoom in really close. Really. Really. Close. This is the picture we took accidentally while messing with the zoom. Such a wonderful confluence of perfection. We weren’t paying attention to focus or composition at all. And yet here it is, beautiful. It inspired me to look for the instruction booklet for our super-duper fancy camera so I can figure out other cool things this camera can do.
Saturday ended on a high note when we took Julia to her first concert. Kathryn Warner is an amazing local singer/songwriter and she was playing at a Unitarian church (not the one we go to, but we’re thinking of switching). No smoking and family friendly meant a perfect Saturday night. Julia was bewitched by the singing and stayed awake, quietly paying attention, to almost the whole 2 hour concert. Afterward we got a picture of me and Julia standing with Kathryn. But it’s on Kristin’s phone and we don’t know how to get it off the phone and into my blog, so you’ll just have to imagine it.
Before Kristin got pregnant, we used to really love to go to clubs and listen to local musicians. We weren’t able to do that after she got pregnant since all the clubs are so smoky. Going to this concert, more than anything else we did this weekend, really helped us get back in touch with our pre-baby selves. We both love Julia beyond anything, but it felt really good to have this part of ourselves back, if only for a weekend.
Speaking of reclaiming our pre-baby selves, we purchased a family sized tent this weekend and we are bound and determined to go camping at least 5 times this summer. At least. 5 times. Anyone want to go with us? The camping in Utah is incomparable. We haven’t been in so long and we are going to try our best to make up for it this year. Plus, spending so much on a tent should force us to camp so we can get our money’s worth out of it. Seriously, come to Utah and go camping with us!
Wrapping up, I should mention that we took Julia swimming for the first time on Sunday. We had no idea we lived within walking distance of a really neat indoor water park. Though at first Julia was a little uncertain about the temperature of the water, and all the noise and splashing, both her friends Camden and J (her caregiver’s son) were there to play with her and eventually she realized it was just like a big, big bath where one gets to wear a diaper even though submerged. We took pictures, but our waterproof camera didn’t have a flash, so they are really underexposed. Good enough for the baby book, but I’m not going to bother with them here. I believe in the power of my readers’ imaginations!
And here it is Monday, and I received an honorable mention in the Photo Friday cute pet pic competition. How awesome is that!
It was a good weekend. It’s a good day.
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I just want to say that you have the most beautiful baby! She is going to break some hearts someday. I don't think you are petty at all about knowing that Julia will only have the sibblings you choose.
What a fabu weekend. Way to get out and grab hold of life for a few days.
I really, really want to go camping this summer but the specter of being pregnant keeps looming. I'm not not but I could be shortly and pregnant camping sounds like no fun. Maybe next summer we could plan a camping trip to Utah. That would be sublime. And we're very neat and polite campers (and can cook over a campfire).
And I get the pettiness. I'm jealous your donor is going to be YOUR donor. Ours probably wouldn't make a similar decision but I swear my hackles rise anytime I think someone else could want his sperm. Did I tell you I'm a mother bear to the core? Don't fuck with my people. MY PEOPLE.
::big hug::
Well sounds like you guys had a great weekend. Cute pictures. Swimming was fun, we should go again sometime.
Oh, I'd love to go camping with you, and would try my darndest to get J to come, too, but I think the finances would prevent us from going to Utah. I believe you about the great camping there, though. And your parents are hilarious. And Julia, of course, is gorgeous! -Kate-
Maybe you should try some ALONE dates. It's like a friggin miracle. You talk about the baby the whole time...but still.
Also you are not petty about the donor stuff. I'm sure it makes you feel special that you chose him, but he also chose you, and is all loyal and crap. I would feel the same way.
OH, and definitely freeze the sperm. You never know if you will go totally insane and want 5 kids.
I love both of those pictures. Charlie is a lucky lucky man.
I am so jealous of your fun weekend. All we did was go to the aquarium and watch our baby boy stand up completely unassisted and be totally fascinated by all the fish. And then had to spend Sunday morning and afternoon on a big boat in the middle of the gulf of mexico with gorgeous blue green water and the perfect temp and sea conditions. And then spend the rest of the day hanging out with friends and family at my MIL's surprise 50th birthday party. And then go to a REAL (almost) cloth diaper store and see mountains of beautiful wonderful cloth diapers and be so thrilled to be surrounded by all the fluffy goodness. It was brutal I tell you. Brutal.