Happy 25th, Birdy
27.6.06
24.6.06
don't look directly at it....
you know you want to see it.
it's hypnotizing......
it's like a train wreck......
you want to look away, but you can't.......
AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
22.6.06
Lunar, Schmoonar
As the day draws nigh, I again turn to the Chinese Lunar Calendar for guidance. Too bad it was wrong last time. Did this thing work for anyone? You have to be careful which ones you use, because some of them don't convert your age to your lunar age, which throws the whole thing off. Since I don't like to do math and stuff, I used this one. Apparantly, V should be a boy. And so should this one. So we shall see. I enjoy the old wives tales gender prediction though. My summary is as follows:
You have a 45% chance of having a boy. And you have a 54% chance of having a girl.
You are carrying the extra weight out front, so it's a boy. (point of order...my weight doesn't have anywhere to go but out. I'm frigging short.)
The hair on your legs is not growing any faster during your pregnancy, so it's a girl.
(Actually it has slowed dramatically, but that wasn't a choice. Less body hair would be a great result of this pregnancy. Though it might not make up for stretch marks and the floppy belly pouch thingy. I'm not a marsupial here.)
Boys are carried low. You are going to have a boy. (same problem as the first one. My entire body is baby. I sort of look like Mike from Monsters Inc. Just a round ball with some stubby apendages.)
Your feet are not colder than they were before pregnancy. You are having a girl. (I have frigid feet. I don't know that they COULD get any colder.)
You refuse to eat the heel of a loaf of bread. You are having a girl. (I've always refused to eat the heel, but ok.)
Dad-to-be is gaining weight right along with Mom-to-be, which means that you'll have a boy. (Only now he's losing weight. Dangit Conor, throwing off my gender predicter.)
The maternal grandmother doesn't have gray hair (dyed or natural), so a girl will be born. (I haven't seen my mom in awhile, but this is my best guess.)
You didn't have morning sickness early in pregnancy, so it will be a boy. (I got sick like twice, so I'm going with no morning sickness.)
You are not looking particularly good during pregnancy. Therefore, it must be a girl, because girls steal their mother's looks. (So true. I look like cold death.)
Your chest development has not been very dramatic during pregnancy. You should expect a boy. (As Conor says, how much bigger could they get really?)
Since the sum of the mother's age at conception and the number of the month of conception is even, it will be a boy. (26 plus October. Okey doke.)
A needle on a thread held over your belly moves in circles, so you will have a boy. (WITCHCRAFT!)
Your urine is a dull yellow color, so you will have a girl. (Okay, this one is impossible. If you take a prenatal vitamin, it's gonna look like you swallowed a highlighter. But I went with dull.)
You are craving sweets, which means that it is a girl. (It started with Violet and never stopped. It's a sickness.)
Your nose hasn't changed during pregnancy, which indicates a girl. (My nose? I don't really keep tabs on it. I assume it hasn't changed.)
You have been craving meats or cheeses, so it is a boy. (Well I can't argue with that. Never did I want a burger (or 3) like I did early in this pregnancy.)
Your baby's heart rate is 140 or more beats per minute, so it's a girl. (Like a hummingbird in there.)
You must have orange juice every day, so it's a girl. (Not only must I have it everyday. But it must be available for me to drink in the middle of the night. It was the same way with Violet.)
You are not having headaches, so it's a girl. (No, that comes after the birth.)
Your belly looks like a watermelon, so it's a girl. (...or 2.)
You show the back of your hand, so it's a boy. (The question was if someone asked me to show my hands, would I show them palm up or palm down. The problem is that you start thinking about it and overanalyzing it. I'm not sure if it was an authentic response.)
You use the handle, so it's a boy. (....if I pick up a mug. Who picks up a mug by the body? What if it's hot? That's just crazy talk.)
You have a 45% chance of having a boy. And you have a 54% chance of having a girl.
...THANKS! that's so clear, and not at all close to my chances regardless of this test.
And Here's Why...You are carrying the extra weight out front, so it's a boy. (point of order...my weight doesn't have anywhere to go but out. I'm frigging short.)
The hair on your legs is not growing any faster during your pregnancy, so it's a girl.
(Actually it has slowed dramatically, but that wasn't a choice. Less body hair would be a great result of this pregnancy. Though it might not make up for stretch marks and the floppy belly pouch thingy. I'm not a marsupial here.)
Boys are carried low. You are going to have a boy. (same problem as the first one. My entire body is baby. I sort of look like Mike from Monsters Inc. Just a round ball with some stubby apendages.)
Your feet are not colder than they were before pregnancy. You are having a girl. (I have frigid feet. I don't know that they COULD get any colder.)
You refuse to eat the heel of a loaf of bread. You are having a girl. (I've always refused to eat the heel, but ok.)
Dad-to-be is gaining weight right along with Mom-to-be, which means that you'll have a boy. (Only now he's losing weight. Dangit Conor, throwing off my gender predicter.)
The maternal grandmother doesn't have gray hair (dyed or natural), so a girl will be born. (I haven't seen my mom in awhile, but this is my best guess.)
You didn't have morning sickness early in pregnancy, so it will be a boy. (I got sick like twice, so I'm going with no morning sickness.)
You are not looking particularly good during pregnancy. Therefore, it must be a girl, because girls steal their mother's looks. (So true. I look like cold death.)
Your chest development has not been very dramatic during pregnancy. You should expect a boy. (As Conor says, how much bigger could they get really?)
Since the sum of the mother's age at conception and the number of the month of conception is even, it will be a boy. (26 plus October. Okey doke.)
A needle on a thread held over your belly moves in circles, so you will have a boy. (WITCHCRAFT!)
Your urine is a dull yellow color, so you will have a girl. (Okay, this one is impossible. If you take a prenatal vitamin, it's gonna look like you swallowed a highlighter. But I went with dull.)
You are craving sweets, which means that it is a girl. (It started with Violet and never stopped. It's a sickness.)
Your nose hasn't changed during pregnancy, which indicates a girl. (My nose? I don't really keep tabs on it. I assume it hasn't changed.)
You have been craving meats or cheeses, so it is a boy. (Well I can't argue with that. Never did I want a burger (or 3) like I did early in this pregnancy.)
Your baby's heart rate is 140 or more beats per minute, so it's a girl. (Like a hummingbird in there.)
You must have orange juice every day, so it's a girl. (Not only must I have it everyday. But it must be available for me to drink in the middle of the night. It was the same way with Violet.)
You are not having headaches, so it's a girl. (No, that comes after the birth.)
Your belly looks like a watermelon, so it's a girl. (...or 2.)
You show the back of your hand, so it's a boy. (The question was if someone asked me to show my hands, would I show them palm up or palm down. The problem is that you start thinking about it and overanalyzing it. I'm not sure if it was an authentic response.)
You use the handle, so it's a boy. (....if I pick up a mug. Who picks up a mug by the body? What if it's hot? That's just crazy talk.)
18.6.06
16.6.06
11.6.06
diaper brigade
It's time for me to order diapers! Chromium, Rollerskater, Ayn, and whomever else: let me know if you need anything. Email me if you do, and I'll give you a list of everything I carry.
The quick list:
Pocket Diapers
Prefolds (White, Natural, Hemp, and Dyed)
Fitted Diapers (Sherpa, Hemp, Cotton)
Inserts, Liners, Stuffers, Wipes
Covers: (Wool, Fleece, Polyester)
Prefolds (White, Natural, Hemp, and Dyed)
Fitted Diapers (Sherpa, Hemp, Cotton)
Inserts, Liners, Stuffers, Wipes
Covers: (Wool, Fleece, Polyester)
9.6.06
the workout
8.6.06
Humanity
While the world revels in pictures of a corpse splashed all over the television, I discovered some humanity from an unlikely source:
(CNN) -- The U.S.-led coalition's No. 1 wanted man in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi -- who conducted a campaign of insurgency bombings, beheadings and killings of Americans and Iraqi civilians -- was killed in a U.S. airstrike.
A gruesome video was posted on Islamic Web sites in May, 2004, depicting a man believed to be al-Zarqawi beheading Nicholas Berg, an American businessman who was working in Iraq.
CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien talks to Nicholas Berg's father, Michael Berg, by phone from Wilmington, Delaware, for his reaction to the news.
O'BRIEN: Mr. Berg, thank you for talking with us again. It's nice to have an opportunity to talk to you. Of course, I'm curious to know your reaction, as it is now confirmed that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the man who is widely credited and blamed for killing your son, Nicholas, is dead.
MICHAEL BERG: Well, my reaction is I'm sorry whenever any human being dies. Zarqawi is a human being. He has a family who are reacting just as my family reacted when Nick was killed, and I feel bad for that. I feel doubly bad, though, because Zarqawi is also a political figure, and his death will re-ignite yet another wave of revenge, and revenge is something that I do not follow, that I do want ask for, that I do not wish for against anybody. And it can't end the cycle. As long as people use violence to combat violence, we will always have violence.
O'BRIEN: I have to say, sir, I'm surprised. I know how devastated you and your family were, frankly, when Nick was killed in such a horrible, and brutal and public way.
BERG: Well, you shouldn't be surprised, because I have never indicated anything but forgiveness and peace in any interview on the air.
O'BRIEN: No, no. And we have spoken before, and I'm well aware of that. But at some point, one would think, is there a moment when you say, 'I'm glad he's dead, the man who killed my son'?
BERG: No. How can a human being be glad that another human being is dead?
O'BRIEN: There have been family members who have weighed in, victims, who've said that they don't think he's a martyr in heaven, that they think, frankly, he went straight to hell ...
You know, you talked about the fact that he's become a political figure. Are you concerned that he becomes a martyr and a hero and, in fact, invigorates the insurgency in Iraq?
BERG: Of course. When Nick was killed, I felt that I had nothing left to lose. I'm a pacifist, so I wasn't going out murdering people. But I am -- was not a risk-taking person, and yet now I've done things that have endangered me tremendously.
I've been shot at. I've been showed horrible pictures. I've been called all kinds of names and threatened by all kinds of people, and yet I feel that I have nothing left to lose, so I do those things.
Now, take someone who in 1991, who maybe had their family killed by an American bomb, their support system whisked away from them, someone who, instead of being 59, as I was when Nick died, was 5-years-old or 10-years-old. And then if I were that person, might I not learn how to fly a plane into a building or strap a bag of bombs to my back?
That's what is happening every time we kill an Iraqi, every time we kill anyone, we are creating a large number of people who are going to want vengeance. And, you know, when are we ever going to learn that that doesn't work?
O'BRIEN: There's an alternate reading, which would say at some point, Iraqis will say the insurgency is not OK -- that they'll be inspired by the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in the sense of he was turned in, for example, we believe by his own No. 2, No. 3 leadership in his ranks.
And, that's actually them saying we do not want this kind of violence in our country. Experts whom we've spoken to this morning have said this is a critical moment where Iraqis need to figure out which direction the country is going to go. That would be an alternate reading to the scenario you're pointing to.
BERG: Yes, well, I don't believe that scenario, because every time news of new atrocities committed by Americans in Iraq becomes public, more and more of the everyday Iraqi people who tried to hold out, who tried to be peaceful people lose it and join -- what we call the insurgency, and what I call the resistance, against the occupation of one sovereign nation.
O'BRIEN: There's a theory that a struggle for democracy, you know...
BERG: Democracy? Come on, you can't really believe that that's a democracy there when the people who are running the elections are holding guns. That's not democracy.
O'BRIEN: There's a theory that as they try to form some kind of government, that it's going to be brutal, it's going to be bloody, there's going to be loss, and that's the history of many countries -- and that's just what a lot of people pay for what they believe will be better than what they had under Saddam Hussein.
BERG: Well, you know, I'm not saying Saddam Hussein was a good man, but he's no worse than George Bush. Saddam Hussein didn't pull the trigger, didn't commit the rapes. Neither did George Bush. But both men are responsible for them under their reigns of terror.
I don't buy that. Iraq did not have al Qaeda in it. Al Qaeda supposedly killed my son.
Under Saddam Hussein, no al Qaeda. Under George Bush, al Qaeda.
Under Saddam Hussein, relative stability. Under George Bush, instability.
Under Saddam Hussein, about 30,000 deaths a year. Under George Bush, about 60,000 deaths a year. I don't get it. Why is it better to have George Bush the king of Iraq rather than Saddam Hussein?
O'BRIEN: Michael Berg is the father of Nicholas Berg, the young man, the young businessman who was beheaded so brutally in Iraq back in May of 2004.
(CNN) -- The U.S.-led coalition's No. 1 wanted man in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi -- who conducted a campaign of insurgency bombings, beheadings and killings of Americans and Iraqi civilians -- was killed in a U.S. airstrike.
A gruesome video was posted on Islamic Web sites in May, 2004, depicting a man believed to be al-Zarqawi beheading Nicholas Berg, an American businessman who was working in Iraq.
CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien talks to Nicholas Berg's father, Michael Berg, by phone from Wilmington, Delaware, for his reaction to the news.
O'BRIEN: Mr. Berg, thank you for talking with us again. It's nice to have an opportunity to talk to you. Of course, I'm curious to know your reaction, as it is now confirmed that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the man who is widely credited and blamed for killing your son, Nicholas, is dead.
MICHAEL BERG: Well, my reaction is I'm sorry whenever any human being dies. Zarqawi is a human being. He has a family who are reacting just as my family reacted when Nick was killed, and I feel bad for that. I feel doubly bad, though, because Zarqawi is also a political figure, and his death will re-ignite yet another wave of revenge, and revenge is something that I do not follow, that I do want ask for, that I do not wish for against anybody. And it can't end the cycle. As long as people use violence to combat violence, we will always have violence.
O'BRIEN: I have to say, sir, I'm surprised. I know how devastated you and your family were, frankly, when Nick was killed in such a horrible, and brutal and public way.
BERG: Well, you shouldn't be surprised, because I have never indicated anything but forgiveness and peace in any interview on the air.
O'BRIEN: No, no. And we have spoken before, and I'm well aware of that. But at some point, one would think, is there a moment when you say, 'I'm glad he's dead, the man who killed my son'?
BERG: No. How can a human being be glad that another human being is dead?
O'BRIEN: There have been family members who have weighed in, victims, who've said that they don't think he's a martyr in heaven, that they think, frankly, he went straight to hell ...
You know, you talked about the fact that he's become a political figure. Are you concerned that he becomes a martyr and a hero and, in fact, invigorates the insurgency in Iraq?
BERG: Of course. When Nick was killed, I felt that I had nothing left to lose. I'm a pacifist, so I wasn't going out murdering people. But I am -- was not a risk-taking person, and yet now I've done things that have endangered me tremendously.
I've been shot at. I've been showed horrible pictures. I've been called all kinds of names and threatened by all kinds of people, and yet I feel that I have nothing left to lose, so I do those things.
Now, take someone who in 1991, who maybe had their family killed by an American bomb, their support system whisked away from them, someone who, instead of being 59, as I was when Nick died, was 5-years-old or 10-years-old. And then if I were that person, might I not learn how to fly a plane into a building or strap a bag of bombs to my back?
That's what is happening every time we kill an Iraqi, every time we kill anyone, we are creating a large number of people who are going to want vengeance. And, you know, when are we ever going to learn that that doesn't work?
O'BRIEN: There's an alternate reading, which would say at some point, Iraqis will say the insurgency is not OK -- that they'll be inspired by the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in the sense of he was turned in, for example, we believe by his own No. 2, No. 3 leadership in his ranks.
And, that's actually them saying we do not want this kind of violence in our country. Experts whom we've spoken to this morning have said this is a critical moment where Iraqis need to figure out which direction the country is going to go. That would be an alternate reading to the scenario you're pointing to.
BERG: Yes, well, I don't believe that scenario, because every time news of new atrocities committed by Americans in Iraq becomes public, more and more of the everyday Iraqi people who tried to hold out, who tried to be peaceful people lose it and join -- what we call the insurgency, and what I call the resistance, against the occupation of one sovereign nation.
O'BRIEN: There's a theory that a struggle for democracy, you know...
BERG: Democracy? Come on, you can't really believe that that's a democracy there when the people who are running the elections are holding guns. That's not democracy.
O'BRIEN: There's a theory that as they try to form some kind of government, that it's going to be brutal, it's going to be bloody, there's going to be loss, and that's the history of many countries -- and that's just what a lot of people pay for what they believe will be better than what they had under Saddam Hussein.
BERG: Well, you know, I'm not saying Saddam Hussein was a good man, but he's no worse than George Bush. Saddam Hussein didn't pull the trigger, didn't commit the rapes. Neither did George Bush. But both men are responsible for them under their reigns of terror.
I don't buy that. Iraq did not have al Qaeda in it. Al Qaeda supposedly killed my son.
Under Saddam Hussein, no al Qaeda. Under George Bush, al Qaeda.
Under Saddam Hussein, relative stability. Under George Bush, instability.
Under Saddam Hussein, about 30,000 deaths a year. Under George Bush, about 60,000 deaths a year. I don't get it. Why is it better to have George Bush the king of Iraq rather than Saddam Hussein?
O'BRIEN: Michael Berg is the father of Nicholas Berg, the young man, the young businessman who was beheaded so brutally in Iraq back in May of 2004.
7.6.06
6.6.06
5.6.06
Welcome to the world
Best wishes to Ayn and family
(She'll be home Tuesday with an ACTUAL picture of baby Elliot!)
3.6.06
All our best
Ayn's water broke this morning. We're all sending our deepest hopes for a peaceful and quick homebirth.
We await the arrival of this perfect new person.....
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