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29 April 2007

25 April 2007

Bepo

We have a fourth member of our family- our cat Bepo. Who, I must admit, I love, just not all of the time. For those of you who don't know, we live in the no-man's land between Greensboro and Pleasant Garden. This means we just belong to Guilford County, so we have well water and the like because we are not part of the city, despite the city being about a mile away. Because we don't have city water, the growth that has been occuring on the other side of the highway stops there (like we have some disease) and despite the fact that there is a full-blown shopping center right around the corner, our neck of the woods is still pretty country. Having grown up in the city, I was unprepared for some asapects of country life after getting married and moving into our lovely home. Everything was fine, and then after a few months of wedded bliss we got some company- very unwelcome company. With the change in temperature towards the cold side of things, some friendly field mice decided to take up residence in our house. And these friendly field mice were not very tidy and Jackie, being the neat freak she is, was not very happy. So Rob and Jackie conjured up the perfect solution: a cat! Not only would it be able to evict the mice, Jackie would be able to bestow her endless affection on something other than Rob. So off to the shelter we went and found the cutest little grey kitten you could imagine. And envisioning the great hunter he would someday become, he was christened Bepo Pelepo Benito, after Rob's butcher in Italy and the people butcher Benito Mussolini. It took a few weeks for Bepo to get the hang of his new duties, but once he did, life has never been the same. The first occasion Bepo butchered something, it was a field mouse. He was still a little kitten, and had a habit of wanting to play in the middle of the night. On this occasion, he was in my face in the middle of the night, and wouldn't let up. So I finally woke myself up enough to figure out what he wanted, only to realize there was a dead mouse on my arm. Bepo had done his job and was SO excited and me, being his favorite person, decided his first mouse would be a gift to me. Much to my regret, I was not very grateful, and Rob had to takecare of it and reward Bepo. And life since has been full of similar instances, like when he brought a lizard into the house, who ended up being still alive, and in the ensuing chase left his tail behind, and I found it a few days later cleaning up. My favorite stories, however, involve birds. The first time Bepo brought a bird inside, it was still alive. I have heard that pets that hunt are trying to teach us to hunt, so they start off bringing us dead animals, and then after awhile start bringing live animals so that we can finish them off ourselves and gradually get to the point where we can kill our own animals. So, I was in the bedroom folding laundry when Bepo comes prancing in, and ploops a bird down. I freak out, and the bird takes off, with Bepo chasing it, and they're everywhere and feathers are everywhere and I'm screaming and chasing them and then they finally leave the bedroom and I just shut the door after them so they would leave me alone. After the fact, I realized that was probably not the best idea as Bepo would probably kill the thing and I would find a bird carcass behind the couch or something. But to this day, all I ever found were some feathers. The other bird occasion happened this week. After an exhausting day at school and work, Rob, Max, and I arrive home and I settle on the couch to feed the screaming baby. Bepo also happened to come in with us, but in the bustle of getting everyone and eveything in the house we didn't pay any attention to him. Then Rob and I hear some rustling behing the curtain and realize there is a bird in the house. Rob then tries to get the thing to move towards the door, but it just flies around the ceiling. I'm helpless as I'm stuck underneath the bottomless pit, when the bird decides to land on the couch behind me. Then Bepo re-enters the room and spies the bird and lunges, and the chase begins right behind my head, with feathers flying. The bird is being chased by Bepo, Rob is chasing Bepo, and I'm screaming at both from my position on the couch and Max is oblivious to it all as he feasts. Finally, Rob is able to pin the cat and whisk the bird out the door and then life resumes normality. The killer himself.


22 April 2007

Yay! Beautiful Weather!



There's nothing quite like walking out of the house without a jacket, being able to just lounge outside, or even choking on pollen. I'm not a winter person- I only tolerate it because it makes me appreciate warm weather. So now that our little cold spell has either taken a break or gone for good, I fell so energized! My project was due last Friday, so I'm in a little lull between that and our critique, and needless to say, between that and the beautiful weather I have a spring in my step. It's like wearing rose-colored glasses; everything seems ok when it's warm.

20 April 2007

Movie

So I finally posted a video of Max.. this one's old- I made it about 3 weeks after he was born. But never fear, my semester's on the verge of being over and I can make some more!

Newborn Max

15 April 2007

What a weekend!

Sometimes we have so much going on that my head spins, and this weekend was one of those times. Like I've mentioned before, my big semester-long project is due THIS Friday (I'm trying not to hyperventilate as I write this) so I've been consumed with that, but on top of it I had homework for my other classes and Rob volunteered me to paint a picture-taking thing that you stick your head through so it looks like you're a funny person or someplace else for the Russian booth at the International Fest at UNCG that happened Saturday. We were also hoping to make it to Michael Aagard's birthday party (I can't tell how much we wanted to go), but unfortunately, we didn't have time. So, with the thing for the Russian booth, I knew about it a couple of weeks before-hand, but towards the end of last week we were told it may not happen so Rob told me not to worry about it. I was very relieved to hear that, as I had a million other things to do, but we found out Friday afternoon that it was happening. Well, Friday I was at Bianca's working on our project, so Saturday morning we started it. Rob graciously put a couple of coats of Kilz on some cardboard for me, but that stuff took longer than we though to dry, so I had to rush and painted the thing in an hour and a half, then I used a blow-dryer to dry it and we packed up the car and flew to I-Fest to deposit it, and stayed there long enough for me to cut the hole and us to eat some Russian food and then we were off again, with Rob going to school to work on his project and me to my parent's so I could work on my stuff while my sister played with Max. And of course we stayed up way too late working, and so were the living dead at church. Following church, we were off to Bianca's so I could touch base with her and figure out what still has to be done, and then took Rob to school so he could finish his stuff and the I went to my parent's and crashed. We so can't wait until the semester is over so we can go back to our normal, relaxingnweekends, or at leat Sundays. And that's about it, beside working on homework. So now for the pictures to illustrate the events...




Here Max is showing off his awesome dirt-dyed hemp shirt.




























Rob and Max posing as the Cheburashka (a Russian character)- this is the thing I painted for I-Fest... Rob and Max as we're leaving I-Fest
































Max enjoying the fresh air- on the mower with his grandpa and chilling in the hammock...















And as promised, a couple of images from my project- these are of the roof-top apartment for important clients and VIP's, and the boardroom.

Oh, and just another note... We have a tooth! Max has finally gotten a tooth- it's on the bottom in the front (I don't know the names of teeth and I'm too lazy to look it up). Yet as exciting as it is, it's been miserable as our noramlly happy, easy-going baby is now fussy and cranky.

13 April 2007

My Three's

Ok, so here goes...


Three Things I Love:
1. Rob
2. Max
3. Vellum (I know this sounds random, but I LOVE vellum)

Three Things I Hate:
1. stupid people
2. cell phones
3. slow internet

Three People Who Make Me Laugh:
1. Max
2. Alex from Everything is Illuminated
3. Thomas from Smoke Signals

Three Things that Scare Me:
1. calling people on the telephone
2. ball pits (like the ones at McDonalds)
3. wasps (I never cared about stinging things until I got stung twice in my own bed in the middle of the night, and Max was laying next to me (luckily he didn't get stung))

Three Things I Don't Understand:
1. algebra
2. chemistry
3. why my house can't stay clean

Three Things On My Desk:
1. sewing machine
2. a bunch of random art supplies
3. building codes illustrated (and a ton of other stuff)

Three Things I Plan To Do Today (or Did Today):
1. rendered perspectives
2. picked out rubber flooring for our bathroom
3. put the logo for my project in Illustrator

Three Things I Want To Do Before I Die:
1. visit every continent
2. milk a cow
3. have a completely self-sufficient, sustainable house and farm

Three Things I Can Do:
1. sew
2. draft
3. play the flute

Three Things I Can't Do:
1. make small talk
2. wake up early if I don't have to
3. keep a schedule

Three Things I Miss:
1. living close to D.C.
2. being able to work on stuff for hours and hours uninterrupted
3. my small boobs

Three Things I'd Like to Learn:
1. how to use a potters wheel
2. everything needed to become LEED Certified
3. HTML

Three Things I Regret:
1. Picking a 5 year program (otherwise I'd be graduating in a couple of weeks!)
2. not getting my braces off until right before I graduated
3. not working harder to become fluent in Italien

Three Favorite Foods:
1. bacon
2. french fries
3. cheerwine (although I guess technically it isn't a food, its a beverage)

Three Favorite TV Shows as a Kid:
1. Captain Planet
2. Doug
3. Breaker High

Three People I Tag(and these people can either do this on their own blogs, or comment on this one!)
1. Rob
2. Paige
3. Kelly D.

11 April 2007

AAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's the end of the semester!!!!!!!!!!!! Which is a good and bad thing. It's good, because in about 2 to 3 weeks I'm done for the summer, but bad because my Studio project is due next Friday. Which means LOTS of very late nights until then. It's usually not so bad, but this is my first Studio project with a baby, so I can no longer work for hours uninterrupted. So if you see me with bags under my eyes or bloodshot eyes in the next couple of weeks, thats why. My project is pretty awesome, though... my partner Bianca and I are designing a stock brokerage in Downtown Greensboro called Bull Market, Inc. Once it is completed I'll post some images.

Now for our Easter weekend...
My sister Paige and her roommate came home from SVU an
d, of course, were all about Max. Saturday we had Easter dinner with my family and afterwards I cut both of my sisters hair. That night Max was not feeling well- he was up every hour all through the night crying. So, Easter morning saw a very sleep-deprived mom. But I managed to pull myself together so I could go to church and teach my class while Rob stayed home with Max. Unfortunately, Max didn't get to dress up in his new Easter outfit- not only was he not feeling well, it was way too cold for it. But later on that day we went over to Rob's parent's for another Easter dinner, and then I took hits sister's engagement photos. And then Monday it was back to the grind.

And now for pictures...
















Max is able to sit up by himself for short periods of time!















A couple of pictures of my sister's new hairdo- not so
great pictures of her (sorry Laura).














The other day while I was doing the dishes Max was playing in his high chair, but halfway through I realized he's gotten awfully quiet- I turned around to find him passed out. I love that he's still holding on to the spoon.



















My sister Laura is currently obsessed with Japan, and so decided Max was a Ninja baby. Notice his flying side kick on the right.

One of the photos I took for Rob's sister Alexis and her fiance Paul.

























04 April 2007

Becoming an "official" mom

Today was a pretty average day. Rob attended his Russian class, I went to Astronomy and Studio, and Max spent most of the day with his Grandma. I spent studio working with Bianca, my project partner, on furniture and finishes (the fun part!, unlike code) for our project. One of the websites we were checking out is www.2modern.com - very cool for anyone who likes furniture, lighting, and textiles. And then the afternoon/evening was spent at my parents house. Rob and I did invest in one of our favorite movies, though- the Goonies. Fun stuff! We have been enjoying the beautiful weather- I must admit I prefer warm weather to cold- but are not looking forward to the cool weather we are expecting this weekend. Here are some pictures of Max enjoying the beautiful weather...


The highlight of the day, however, was this afternoon when I was nursing Max. As much as I love breastfeeding and warm weather, this little man is an oven, so recently nursing him has been quite sweaty for both of us. Today was no different, he was roasting me and I could feel the sweat forming on his head. Then, all of a sudden, my hip start to get REALLY warm. I couldn't figure out why, until I felt where it was getting warm and discovered I was wet. As wonderful as our modern disposable diapers are, occasionally they do fail us. So Max managed to soak my side with his urine. It was a wonderful feeling, I hope you all get to experience the pleasure of getting peed on. And surprisingly, having a little boy, this was the first time he's peed on me. Now, thats not to say he hasn't squirted while getting a diaper change, he has just managed to get the wall or the changing table or his own face instead of me. I guess when you have a boy you aren't really official until you get peed on, so now I'm official.

03 April 2007

Barking Spiders

Max has an oddity: he doesn't burp much. At least now, which is an improvement from before, when he would never burp. Instead, this child releases his gas in another fashion... out the rear end. Now, this is not a very polite thing to do, and he has a radar for knowing the worst time to do it. I have class Tuesday nights (professional practice) and usually take Max with me. Well, this particular night we were critiquing our website portfolios and during a little lull in the commentation (is that a real word?) Max decided to let loose. It was quite funny, however inappropriate. This sort of thing happens quite often and can be embarassing. His farts have even drowned out someone knocking on the door. And while it may be rude, because Max is a baby he can get away with it. But when Rob does it, he has to resort to the barking spiders story...

I'm still in school, and have to manage Max and schoolwork and housework all at the same time, which I somehow do (most of the time), and so the days that I don't have class during the day can get quite hectic. Today was one of those days. I got up, spent the better part of the morning taking care of mine and Max's physical needs, and then sat down to immerse myself in International Building Codes. Well, Max would have none of that so I spent even more time playing and feeding the starving child before he finally fell asleep. So I worked on code analysis and then Max woke up but was happy to just play on the floor while mom worked, and meanwhile I'm moving the laundry along at intervals. So, after Max goes to sleep again and it's quiet, I realize the washers stopped, so I go to move things along and discover Lake Erie in my kitchen (we have the pleasure of having our washer and dryer in the kitchen, although its better than a laundromat). And this all happens after the toilet leaked last week. DOES IT EVER END?! So Rob gets a hectic call and I go back to work after mopping up the water. Then I go to print my resume for the "mock interviews" in my class tonight (who comes up with this stuff?) and that wouldn't work and then Max wakes up and is a wriggle worm so I can hardly hold on to him while I'm trying to figure out WHY NOTHINGS WORKING! Then Rob got home and made everything better. I honestly don't know how anyone can live without a husband. And then I had to bade farewell to my little angel, leaving him screaming to go and explain to someone why I'm not going to work and why I don't want to because they can't imagine a world where your husband is the breadwinner and you're the homemaker (it's so "quaint"). But, overall it was not as bad a day as some I've had. And luckily, the washers not broken, just retarded.

01 April 2007

Babies and Pirates

So there have been a ton of babies born recently, and yet Max is the ONLY BOY! Now, I'm not automatically jumping to the conclusion that this is a bad thing, just a funny one (and a scary one as he gets older). As the only boy, Max will get his pick of the litter and without any competition his head may get a little swollen. So we'll have to work on that. But in the meantime, Max has been having little "special moments" with each girl, and one was caught on film: him holding hands with Clara Sherwood. Notice the "I'm caught!" expression on his face and the "I'm not doing anything" expression on Clara's. Oh, children.



Now, for pirates. Rob wants to be one. Seriously. He is pretty much obesessed with them. I can't tell you how many pirate realted clothing items and other miscellaneous things we have- we even have a treasure chest we got in Key West! As I write this, Pirates of the Carribbean is playing on the TV. He has played this movie SO MUCH I have it practically memorized. And if you ask Rob what his wildest dream is, he'll tell you to live on a sailboat. Honest to goodness. Although I must admit, there are worse obsessions a man can have. At least this one's fun.