I woke up around 4:30 this morning to feed Kavi, then managed to go back to bed and doze for a few more hours. She woke me again around 6:30, and so I got up, brought her downstairs, pumped my overfull breasts, fed her some more, and snuggled her while watching tv. I petted the dog a bit too. Eventually I got around to checking e-mail, and it was only when I was almost through my e-mail that I got a message congratulating me on my birthday -- which I had completely forgotten about. Is this part of being a mom? :-) In any case, I'm thirty-six today!The photo at right, by the way, is a polaroid from yesterday; my friend Suzette Bross was commissioned to shoot a series of photos for a local hospital, and Kavi and I volunteered to come model. Kavi was super-sleepy throughout, probably due to recovering from the immunizations, so almost all her photos had closed eyes. Ah well. She's cute like this too, even if you can't see her pretty eyes. (Her fever came down pretty quickly, in case you were worried.) This is just the first polaroid Suzette took, while setting light levels, but I really like it, in part because I think I look very capable in it somehow. I look like a mom who knows what's she's doing. This is not actually the case, but it's nice that I can look like it once in a while. :-) I'm looking forward to seeing how the rest of the shoot comes out.
Today, there's a tremendous amount to get done, before Kavi and I get on a plane tomorrow to go visit my family in CT. Apply for citizenship is the big task, but also smaller things like picking up dry-cleaning, signing student thesis forms, dropping off lots of borrowed infant things at Nilofer's, and attending a Chicago Moms Blog dinner. Hectic day, and not particularly birthday-ish, but that's okay. I'm just happy and grateful to have such a good, rich life. I feel very lucky.
I'd like y'all to share my birthday happiness. Tell me something that's good in your life, right now, something that makes you happy. Me, I'm happy that I just drank some mango lassi leftover from last night's takeout dinner -- in fact, I'm happy that we *finally* have an Indian restaurant willing to deliver to us, a recent and desperately delightful development. It takes so little to please me...
I’ll play!
I’m happy that I still have all of my immediate family. I went to a visitation at a funeral home last night for a friend whose mother just died, and it was a reminder of how lucky I am right now.
Happy Birthday!
Something good: You’ll be living downstairs from me soon and we’ll get to hang out!
Happy Birthday, MaryAnne!
Something good: It sucks that the big guy is in Baltimore–but it’s fun to goof around past midnight IM-ing like we used to when we were still at school :).
Happy birthday!!!
Good things: I’m working from my kitchen table, mere feet away from my boyfriend and my cat. I look around the room, and I love everything I see. Even the dust bunnies are cute today.
That is a fabulous picture. 🙂
Happy Birthday!!!
Yesterday I held an event I had been planning for a few months – nearly 100 people participated and with nearly no exceptions they all had a great time – and what makes me really happy is that it was a really and truly diverse event (and yet was tech/startup related) lots of women and I think whites (especially white americans) were in the minority. College students mixed with folks with over 30+ years of business experience. Makes me happy to see that yes very different people can come together and enjoy each other’s company productively for an entire day.
And of course, I’m really happy that later this year you, Kevin and Kavi will be out here in the Bay Area!
Shannon
Happy birthday! Yay, Mary Anne was born!
Good things: I’ve kept this comments window open all day and it’s been periodically brightening *my* crazy day, so that’s good! And I’m seriously looking forward to having you out here!
I keep forgetting to write and say thanks for all the adorable baby clothes! I keep taking them out and squeeing with joy! I can’t wait to meet my baby boy and dress him in this stuff (esp. the girly stuff, hee!)!
happy birthday acca! good things: that despite being so busy with my new work, there’s still time to pop up to see my lovely niece this weekend, of course!
Happy birthday!
The photo brought tears to my eyes. You look incredibly capable, confident, and achingly beautiful. And totally in love with Kavi. And she looks . . . well, iconic.
It’s my favorite mother-child photo, and I’ve seen a lot.
So. Besides seeing a photo that took my breath away? One good thing: for the third night in a row, the boys went to sleep without making me scream and swear. I am actually having time to putter and enjoy myself in the house.
And they had my sugar-free ice cream flavor at the grocery store, so after I do the dishes I am going to eat it.
Happy Birthday! That is a beautiful photo!
Good things: Wow. Funny thing to write about when you’re home sick from work, but why not. It’s been a year of mixed blessings for me. Right now, the thing I feel the most grateful for are all the life lessons I have collected in even the most adverse situations. Gifts I have collected. Like relearning something about myself. Or finding out that I _do_ like (some) Wagner after all. Or realizing that in all the craziness that surrounds me in life, I still have remained true to my ideals. I think those are pretty big things to be happy about, in the grand scheme of things. Of course, there’s also the fact that I am still pinching myself because I can’t believe I made it to academia. That’s one major thing to be grateful for even if it often drives one nuts :o)
Here’s hoping this is a fabulous year for you and yours. (And the ones following, as well)
Yay! Happy Birthday!
I have to copy cat a little and say that one thing that makes me happy is that you’ll be back in the Bay Area soon…
Another thing that makes me happy is the sonogram that C and I did a couple of days ago – seeing our little guy’s heart do its thing as well as the cutest baby-to-be profile!
Happy birthday!
It’s beautiful right now in the Bay Area; foggy in the mornings and sunny in the afternoons, so it never gets too hot. I spent an hour this afternoon sitting outside and talking on the phone, enjoying the air and the birds and the greenery.
Happy Birthday!
I just came back from two and half hours of dancing. That makes me so happy. You two look fabulous.
Happy Birthday!
And my “happy” is that it’s mine toda [g]. We are off to Lincoln, which I’ve never seen, and then to York to see friends.
A slightly belated happy birthday!
I just discovered two bottles of Diet Pepsi in the kitchen which I didn’t know I had. Turns out I never fully unpacked the duffle bag from a grocery run a couple of weeks ago. (Hey, it makes me happy.)
Happy Birthday!!
I’m happy that I got to have lunch w/C. Just the two of us for the second week in a row.
I slept until 1:30 and I was not late for anything.
btw happy b-day.
I just got done with a three-day weekend of playing with my kids. On Friday we went to a “children’s city” festival in the shadow of Basel’s original city wall, on Saturday we assembled their Ikea beds, and on Sunday we played soccer and had lunch on a bridge over a stream and then in the afternoon we built a fire in a clearing the midst of a forest and climbed around what seemed like a huge, cliff-and-bramble wilderness, though it was only ten minutes biking from our apartment. We roasted marshmellows (we actually found marshmellows in Switzerland! Even if they were weird and twisty and multicolored…) and snake-bread (pizza dough braided on a stick) over the fire.
And I get to have a three day weekend every weekend!
Jed sent me your way. I just got home from working on an organic farm for 2 weeks, and I’m really glad that I helped out and that I’m with my husband again!