Just wanted to share this precious photo that J took of Nadia & Zoe. They are the best of friends.

I’ve not been posting as promised, but I find motherhood to keep me very busy. I always knew I wanted to have children, but I never knew I would enjoy being a mama so very much. It is truly the best thing in the world. Nadia is the greatest blessing I’ve ever received.

Although already a father to two other great little girls, today is J’s first Father’s Day as a father to  my child. This parenting experience has already brought us closer. We share in the same joys, the same worries, the same sadness when it comes to Nadia. From the moment she was born, he stepped up and took control, leaving me only to worry about breastfeeding (a big enough challenge the first couple weeks!). I think I only changed one diaper in the hospital, and it was a few weeks before I changed much more than that at home. I call him the Baby Whisperer, because he always knows just what to do to calm her down or to put her to sleep. And he gives the best baths.

So, yes, I sort of dropped off the face of the earth back in November. I think I just became totally consumed by the pregnancy. (And a little website called The Bump.) And when you’re carrying around New Life in your belly, blogging just starts to seem trivial. (At least when you had nothing of very much interest to report, as I did.)

But when I was up for a 2 am feeding last night, I sat there in bed with my perfect, precious baby and thought, “Maybe I should blog again.” And instantly all these witty ideas for posts began jumping around in my head – the kind of creative and inspired ideas that only ever happen in the middle of the night. And so here I am. Of course, with all the sleep deprivation, I have absolutely no recollection of what any of those awesome post ideas were. Ah well. Who needs witty writing when they can just post THIS:

It’s been a long while since I’ve posted on Wanderlust Wednesday. Today is a special post because I just learned that a photo I took is being included in Schmap Florence Fifth Edition. What makes me laugh is that, of all my photos on Flickr, they chose this one:

Green water and all.

Yes, it’s been nearly a week. But I cannot go on as if the best thing to happen to our country in my lifetime didn’t just happen last week. Because it did. I’ve been too choked up with emotion to pay any attention to my blog, so today’s my first day back. And I just want to say that I am SO PLEASED THRILLED that Barack Obama is going to be our next President. That my child will be born under an Obama administration. That the nation finally came to its senses and elected the RIGHT person for the job.

I first heard Obama speak at the 2004 DNC (on tv – not in person). I was so moved by this man I had never before heard of that I found a transcript of his speech online, printed it, and physically MAILED it to people. I began proclaiming him the next President of the U.S. then and there, and I’ve followed him with great admiration ever since. I know he will accomplish great things, and that our country is about to embark on a great and positive path. Change won’t happen overnight (after all, we’re pretty messed up), but it will happen.

Our doc surprised us with an ultrasound today. Yeay!

I’m here. I’m just tired. And queasy. And unable to do much of anything. I *think* I’m starting to feel a bit better, and I’ve just entered my 11th week of pregnancy, so here’s hoping that the 2nd trimester will be much easier.

In random updates:

• J and I went to a bed and breakfast in Indiana Amish country last weekend. It was a nice getaway, and we ate at Das Essenhaus. The food was great. But then I had to pull the car over before we even made it out of the parking lot and vomit all over the grass. Nice.
• We spent Tuesday and Wednesday in Cleveland for the Coldplay concert. It was AWESOME. I spent a good half hour before the show scouring the crowd to see if I could spot Gwyneth Paltrow. I’ve since learned she was in London, so I guess she wasn’t there. We got lots of butterflies. (Note: that pic’s not mine. Hopefully I’ll get some pics up soon.)
• J and I cannot really agree on any names except Elijah if it’s a boy. I haven’t really come up with other boys’ names that I’m crazy about. I like Amelia, Lola, and Betsy (short for Elizabeth) for girls’ names. He likes Julia and Claire. I want us to both be happy with the selection. And then there’s the whole bit that we’re NAMING someone. I want to get it right.
• I need my hair highlighted badly. I feel washed out and drab. This is what would make me feel really, super great: highlights, getting my eyebrows threaded, a massage, some cute and comfy new clothes. And shoes. And a personal chef. And a maid. This really isn’t too much to ask, is it?

That’s all for now. Hope you are all well!

This story, originally published on Leisha’s Random Thoughts & Ponderings on October 4th, left me with tears streaming down my face. At work. Read on!

his is a story from the Norwegian newspaper VG, the biggest newspaper in the country, from today’s edition. Not that these things matter in today’s dog-eat-dog world, but I found it quite touching, and I want to share.

Clarification for the literally minded: I do think these things matter, but I’m sure many will say that they don’t. Anecdotal evidence, just a sappy human interest story, bla bla. Whatever. I think that this is a story that some may be interested in hearing. If you’re not interested, cork it. I’ve translated the story into English and am posting it here. The original, in Norwegian, is here.

I’ll be cross-posting this to the BookCrossing forum, since I’m sure there are some members there who will appreciate reading it.

I’m sorry about the annoyingly sappy language – this is a speculative tabloid so that’s just how all their articles are.

Mary lacked money to fly home to Norway – he saved her love

This week VG met her and her husband in the café that she runs with her friend Lisbeth Tollefsrud in Åsgårdstrand.
-It’s amazing to think that the man who helped me 20 years ago may now become the next US president, says Mary delightedly.
She has already voted for Obama. She recently donated 100 dollars to his campaign.
She often tells the story from Miami airport, both when race issues are raised and when the conversation turns to the presidential elections.
-I sincerely hope the Americans will see reason and understand that Obama means change, says Mary.

*Not at all sure about this part of the translation. The Norwegian word used is ‘miljøarbeider’, I don’t know what the exact English word for that is or even if there is one, and I don’t know enough about Obama to say what job of his they’re talking about.
**This is my translation of the reporter’s translation of the letter. From English to Norwegian and back to English. So obviously it is not correct word for word.

And here she is with her husband and the letter.

This is not a big or important story. But it is a nice story and if one is voting for a person, and not just for a political platform, it might be interesting to hear it. Somehow I don’t see this story being covered in American media much, so let’s count this as one blogger’s contribution to the news coverage of the 2008 election.

… a NaNoWriMo ‘08 participant, that is. In case you’re not familiar, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month (which happens to be November), and the goal is to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Or 1,667 words per day. And if you get behind, it gets really difficult to catch up!

I did NaNoWriMo last year and won. It was a very proud accomplishment for me, and I’ve been planning all along to do it again this year. But it was very exhausting in and of itself, and now I’m pregnant. And between all the first trimester ickiness, especially the neverending fatigue, I’m not so sure if I can do it.

I have less than a month to sort it out. Part of me says there’s no way, and part of me says this could be my last chance at participating in this for years to come. I wish the Energy Fairy would just come sprinkle some fairy dust on me.

My NaNoWriMo profile can be found here. (although the site appears to be having technical difficulty, so you might have to check back.)

I am SOOOOO exhausted. I need you ladies who’ve already been through pregnancy to tell me if this is normal. I mean, I know fatigue is normal, but I could easily sleep 10-12 hours a night AND take a nap sometime during the day. I can barely focus at work because I feel so run down, and I’ve actually taken a couple long lunches so that I could go home and nap. Zoe has obedience training tonight, which means I won’t even get home til 10, and I am just dreading how wiped out I’m going to feel tomorrow. Someone give me some hope!