Internet Grapes

The Human Heart

"For the past few months, I've been having a recurring dream. In the dream, everything is fine. I'm playing with or taking care of Katie, my 18-month-old daughter. She and my husband Geoff and I are at home, doing what we do. Maybe we draw with crayons or watch Elmo on TV or eat dinner together or dance to music. In the dream, I find myself very focused on Katie, enjoying being with her, watching her beautiful face, loving the sound of her voice and her laughter."

New post up at DotMoms.

First Day Off

"I haven't had a day off in over a year and a half. (Not coincidentally, my daughter Katie is now a year and a half old.)"

New post up at DotMoms.

I'm going to New York City at the end of the month with my friends Laurie and Rebecca.  I'd love to hear any NYC suggestions you have, the more specific the better!

Symptoms with no disease

"Lately, every day is filled with Katie's sneezing. And coughing. And yawning."

New entry up at DotMoms.

We always hurt the ones we love

"My 16-month-old daughter has picked up a new habit: hitting me in the face."

New entry up at DotMoms.

Exercising my right to change

"The alarm went off at 5:31 a.m. When I got out of bed I was bleary-eyed, and I was so tired I had to pay attention to keep from bumping into anything. But I washed my face and put up my hair. I got dressed in the clothes I'd laid out the night before. I grabbed my purse and my husband's iPod, went downstairs and started up the car.

I was on the treadmill by 5:50. It's the start of a new routine, I hope."

New entry up at DotMoms. 

Be Like Mom

"Lately it's been a little more difficult to use the computer than it used to be. As I type this, Katie is standing next to me, one arm on my leg, the other arm reaching for the computer mouse. She wants that mouse! If she gets it, she will click it and move it around -- windows will pop up, minimize, maximize, and disappear, and the task bar will move around the edges of the screen.

New entry up at DotMoms.

In Flight

"I held Katie on my lap on the plane home from D.C. So far, she has been relatively easy to deal with on flights; she smiles at me, she drinks her bottle (or, the first time we flew, she nursed), she babbles at a volume quieter than that of the plane's engines.  Mostly, she sleeps."

New entry up at Dotmoms. 

Moving Pains

When we last saw our heroine, she was in the midst of a discouraging house hunt that seemed as though it would never end. She thought she and her family might never find a home to buy that would not make them very sad. The places they could afford were often depressing; the places that weren't depressing they often couldn't afford. Would they ever find a home???

We're (hopefully) buying a condo!  New post up at DotMoms. 

Nice family in search of good home

Easter Portrait
Originally uploaded by jessamynnorth.

"We have seen quite a few condos by now, and most of them aren't what we're looking for. Many are tiny or dirty or ugly. Some are in bad or faraway neighborhoods. Some are beautiful but out of our price range (our realtor doesn't take us to those, but we can't help ourselves from looking at listings online). Some are nowhere near an el stop, or don't allow dogs, or have no parking. Some are OK, but nothing special, and we have started asking ourselves, sadly, is special too much to ask?"

New entry up at DotMoms.

I wrote the piece on March 21st. Later that day, we made an offer on another unit, and I thought to myself that by the time the piece was published at DotMoms, our home-hunting saga would be over. Our offer was rejected that afternoon. The search continues. (Sigh.)

One Year

From this...

To this...

In just one year's time. (No, not the man, the baby!) Katie turned one year old yesterday. I love, love, love her.

Also, there's a new entry up at DotMoms.