go ahead, shake my day

i've heard from people all over southern CA who felt the earthquake this morning (about 5.4 centered about 30 miles SE of LA), but i felt nothing out walking in my neighborhood. phone lines seem to be overwhelmed, but i have nothing to report except that all's well here - let's hope the same is true for our neighbors around the city.

the toughest job in america

bim is finding it harder than ever to put food on our family. he's been working nights and weekends and still, there never seems to be enough food in the house to satisfy my needs. (i eat it all so fast.) i'm pretty spectacular.



seriously, you should see me in action. i'm like a bear or a puma.



i'm krista and i approved this message. in fact, i think it is awesome.

get fresh with me

i need advice.

certain rooms in my house have developed an unpleasant, mmm...geriatric sort of odor. (maybe it has always smelled this way and i didn't detect it until my pregnant smeller took on superhuman powers?) every night i throw all the windows open. still, by afternoon the entity is back. it's killing me softly.

what is the best way to freshen a room? please be specific. sprays? plug-ins? a heavy dusting of baking soda? i'll try (just about) anything.

for to remember: 9 pictures

things i think i will always remember, but probably won't:

:: when she runs, she bounds. she's trying to run and jump at the same time. is that the definition of skipping? Little adds windmill arms. she can't contain her joy.

:: 3 days a week she goes to play school for a couple hours in the morning. this is actually a day care about 6 houses down the street from us, but i call it play school to make it sound more fun for both of us. either it will help ease her separation anxiety or have the opposite effect. going to pick her up is my favorite part of the day.**

:: loves to jump and can do so now--triumphantly--with both feet.

:: we started writing down the words she knows and stopped counting at 250. she's starting to speak in short sentences (usually: where did max go? where ruby go? where's janebird?). she has a lisp.

:: starting to have more trouble going to sleep at night. she wants "more more jumping!" with dad.

:: entranced by butterflies, caterpillars, penguins, babies, doggies, kitties, rhinos and stars. wants these drawn for her on paper (or shown to her on the computer) often throughout the day. the rhino is a challenge but bim draws a great elephant.

:: favorite songs: itsy bitsy spider, ABCs, pat-a-cake, and the one where the monkey gets drunk and sits on the elephant's trunk. she likes the end the best (the end of the monk, the monk, the monk) and asks for "more more monk!"

**don't feel too sorry for her. today they gave her a beach ball. that's a good substitute for a mother's love.

you're outa the woods, you're outa the dark, you're outa the night!

i was trying to find an actual wizard of oz clip of this song, but this one does a pretty good job too. anyway, i thought she deserved more than an audience of one er two. she's pretty sweet and i really like her costume. my mom made me one just like it.

the point: according to the calendar, this is my last week of sick!!! with Little, the nausea fountain turned off abruptly at 12 weeks and i am hanging on to that hope! so, a little premature maybe, but i think i might be done complaining soon...

step into the sun, step into the light!

Little's world

i wish i could get a really good picture of Little in her new nightgown--her first. when i looked at this shot it reminded me of the andrew wyeth painting (below). everything except the farmhouse. also i had remembered the wyeth field with flowers. turns out 'christina's world' is pretty sad. no wonder she fell down.

(little-known fact: the model for 'christina's world' is actually sucking on a pacifier. you just can't tell because her head is turned.)


christina's world, 1948

addendum: people have been asking me if Little understands that a new baby is coming and i always say, *snort* no. (not that she isn't smart, but, you know, she's 1.) then yesterday she climbed up on my lap, lifted up my shirt to kiss and hug my tummy and said, hi, baby!

add that to my what-the-heck-do-i-know? file.

arlo and the muppets

i couldn't embed this video, but it's worth following the link.

(thanks to dad for finding this gem, one of Little's favorites, and ours)

the (not) few. the (not often) proud. the pregnant.

remember when i mentioned the prego diet i am currently on...the one that forces me to eat THE ONE FOOD that comes to mind and eat it NOW? let's talk about that. some people call this a craving. i call it a manifestation from god that, somewhere in my youth or childhood, i must have done something bad.

here's the part where you understand why i call this the DON'T LOOK BACK diet:

7:00 - 10:00 am
handfuls of cheerios from box at bedside
bowl of bland cereal (NO SUGAR!) with milk
second (possibly third) bowl of said cereal
sunchips
handfuls of mighty bites
water and diet 7-up
burger king cheeseburger (PLAIN!) with fries and strawberry soda
burger king french toast sticks

we're not even to 11:00 am yet and i am already too grossed out to go on. even Little says "gross." she's got a word for everything now, it seems, and i am sorry to say that some of them are not complimentary.

other foods i'm consuming in quantity: bell peppers, ramen noodles (beef flavor), lipton chicken noodle soup (4 servings at a go), twix bars, strawberries, peppered salami on wheat, and broccoli. to drink, anything carbonated. weird, huh?

di'neyland tickets

y'all

bim's fam was just in town and they weren't able to use all their disneyland tickets. it's a magical place. if you're local (or just planning a visit sometime in the next 45 days), let me know if you're interested:

$30/ea - 2 adult tickets (1 day)
$70/ea - 4 adult tickets (2 days)
(regular price is $91/day)

okay, bye.

i got nothin'

obviously i have been uninspired this week. that's not to say we've been loafing. would you believe we spent almost the whole day at the beach on saturday? and by the whole day, of course, i mean two hours. the rest of the time was spent in a hotel room while Little napped. the occasion is worth a post of its own: bim's sister and family (+ niece charlsie and neph jayson) surprised us with a visit this week. they've been hitting the beach and disneyland pretty hard, pausing only to sleep and clean my house (seriously. so cool).

i haven't seen the camera since the beach...but will try to post some pics soon. because why? because without pictures, why do anything fun at all? i am not about to exert myself without credit.

oh, here's a nugget: Little locked herself in the bathroom today. i don't think it was in protest of anything. when i got the double screen off the window and pried it open, she looked at me cheerfully from her post next to the sink. washing her hands, of course. and with the water turned on low like a good resource-conservationist-daughter-ofanOregonian.

oop - husband tells me my water's boiling. can't keep that cup'o'noodles waiting...

(and on that thread, more to come on the pregnancy feeding situation, which i like to call the "DON'T LOOK BACK" diet. our motto: "spare no msg.")