Books books books

Myles has been absolutely obssessed with books this week (upside down, in the car, while getting a diaper change). About a zillion times a day I hear the pitter patter of little feet making their way toward me...I look up and see Myles with a book in hand. We are already fantasizing about the day when we can sit around after supper and read him a chapter from James and the Giant Peach. This week he also has learned the sweet new trick of hugging his bear on command. His "pat pat" offerings to Juniper have become increasingly enthusiastic...he enjoys a good tug on her jowls which she is none too pleased with, so we are trying to continue the long lesson of what it means to be gentle.

A shout out to Ms. Kelli Duff (Tarchalski) who just gave birth to a sweet baby girl named Lily. Congratulations Kel and Ryan (and Madeline and Avery)!!

Also, I just wanted to mention an amazing interview with Ani Difranco that appears in this month's issue of Mothering magazine...Ani's baby was born right around the time Myles was born. Check it out!

Good News About My Dad!

Just a quick note to let you all know that my dad met with the doctor at MD Anderson after his battery of tests yesterday, and his tumors are shrinking!! This means that he will stay the present course, with two more rounds of the current chemo, go back to MD in June and if all is well (which presumably it will be), he will be off of all chemo for two months. Hallelujah! We are so very grateful for the thoughts and prayers of all of our family and friends. It's such a blessing to get some outright good news!

Election Results

Well, I'm online listening to CNN live waiting on the election results.

So I thought I'd share this with you...in a city parking garage I spotted these two bumper stickers next to one another:

[confederate flag graphic] "I don't need your permission to honor my ancestors"

"Friends don't let friends eat imported shrimp"

So. Chew on that...we've got folks all over the spectrum here in Asheville.

Yesterday I learned that Myles really does understand what I'm saying. He was standing up in the tub and I asked him "How about 1-2-3?" (1-2-3 for those who don't know is when we count to three and then pour water over his head, as he kicks and squeals with delight). He got very excited and handed me the cup. I said, "well, you have to sit down for 1-2-3" and he immediately sat down. In case it was coincidence I tried it a few minutes later with the same results. Earlier, after a nap, I asked him "would you like to give Junie a pat pat?" Often after his nap we come out of his room and pet Juniper who is laying on the couch. As soon as I said that, he got a huge smile on his face, and I put him down, he walked over to Juniper and gave her a nice pat pat. Wow!

well, still no results. we'll see...

Sweet Times with Grandma Voss

Another week's blown by. On Monday night, my mom drove over the mountain all by herself to come and stay with Myles while I went to Atlanta for work. I left on Tuesday morning, a leisurely drive through the mountains punctuated by red buds in bloom and the mountains were capped with a little snow, it was beautiful. I had lunch with Ashley, sweet Alabama ASP former-roommate friend, and we went for sushi. Nice, as sushi restaurants tend not to make the list in terms of what's family friendly so I had been missing it for some time. I had coffee with a friend from theological school (she doesn't believe in supporting Starbucks, but the other coffee houses in Emory village moved out and so we went for it...sinning boldly, as she said). Then I moseyed my way over to Candler, and had the chance to lay eyes on Ayanna one final time before she moves to Ohio...Ayanna was the behind-the-scenes lifeblood of the Black Church studies office while I was at Candler and is now moving on, she's been a beautiful friend to me over the years. I had been invited to speak at the Women in Theology and Ministry graduation dinner, and so I did. Another friend came out to support me, and that made me feel good. I spoke about women and peace, the cost of this war, those radical midwives Shiphrah and Puah from the Hebrew Scriptures, and it was so very refreshing. I spent the night at Ashley's new condo in midtown, which overlooks lots of crazy tall Atlanta city skyline buildings, we shared some wine and stayed up late chatting like old times.

When I got back on Wednesday, Myles was giggling, the house was clean, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins on the counter and black bean soup in the fridge...there's nothing like having my mom come to town!! She was amazing!! The photos of Myles are ones that she took, one is in the flowers at the cemetary behind our house where we take lots of walks. And speaking of walking, Myles really turned the corner this week and is choosing walking over crawling. I'm sure he'll be running circles around me in no time.

There's a terrible article in the Times about elective cesarian births, and I just can't NOT mention it. It downplays the dangers of c-sections while playing up the "convenience" and "safety" factors, and barely lets on that the whole business of being born has become just that...a business whereby well meaning obstetricians often choose cesarian births because they are (rightfully) afraid of getting their pants sued off. What all this means for the average mama and baby is that we don't always understand the system we're entering into when we give birth. Some do, and we all make our own choices, but the TIME article sort of shrugs its shoulders as if birth choices don't matter. I think they do. Sure, some women don't mind cesarian birth...some prefer it. But I had one myself, and I know that for me personally, and surely I'm not alone here, the choices that I made in terms of prenatal care, the attention I got from the midwifery practice I was with, the choice to labor without drugs for a good and long while, the choice to push for 4 hours, all of that was really a good thing, I don't look back and say gee, I wish I'd just elected for a cesarian in the first place. And I just think that articles like this one contribute to women being underinformed about the real options that we do have. Almost every one of my friends who had an unmedicated vaginal birth swoons about it, naming it as the single most important accomplishment they could ever hope for (note I said almost). Now giving birth to Myles was of course the most important thing that's happened in my life, but the birth experience was not one I am swooning over...I had to do some hard research to learn that there was another way to do things, and I wish that information was more readily available to women so we can make wise and informed choices about the care we receive, our approach to labor, the type of birth we envision (even if we have to have a cesarian in the end). Okay, end of soapbox rant...

Not much else is new here. Myles is up from a nap, so we're off to get some cucumbers from the grocery for a dish I'm making for a shower we are attending tonight. No doubt Seth will want to tell you more about this event and his glamorous role in it...he will really be in his element, but I'll leave that for him to explain at a later date.

Beautiful Spring

This weekend, the weather was finally incredible...no rain and warm. Myles and I made two treks downtown, once to go out to eat and once for some frozen custard. (As a side note, I am in a parenting covenant group at church and we are reading a book called "The Blessing of a Skinned Knee" and we just read the chapter called "the blessing of food." I was reminded that I can err a bit on the health-nut-food-nazi side so I decided to load Myles up on sugary custard and feel good about it!) A few photos...Myles with a phone in each hand. Why toddlers obsess over electronics, I will never understand. Really, I didn't think it would start this early. And then, Myles with calamine lotion all over his sweet little chicken-pocked face. The good news is, we are totally out of the woods, he was able to go to kindermusik yesterday and church today. Just a few tiny scabs, no scars. I'm so glad it's over!!

Out on a walk this week, I noticed that the good weather is bringing everyone out of doors, which means it's people watching season once again in Asheville. And there are few better places that I enjoy watching people than in my own town. A few sightings: a man out mowing his lawn with a grey/white goatee long enough that it blew around in the wind alongside his pony tail; a little girl about 3 with a haircut that I can only describe as mullet-punk (she was out with her tatooed dad); a group of professional bikers in spandex (in Asheville, there's always inspiration to get more active). Oh, how I love my town! I am getting some serious exercise with these daily walks that typically run between 15-30 minutes, sometimes longer. Still only making yoga about once a week, although I think it's about the best stress reliever I know of.

Myles has begun to show a stubborn addiction to going outside. I am trying to teach him the sign for it, thinking he'll want to use it, but instead he just goes to the big sliding door that leads to our backyard and bangs on it with both hands and grunts distinctively. I know exactly what he means. Seth and I finally got the gravel into our new front walk way today. We will pour concrete over it. However, given our busy schedules and attention to this project, the grass has not yet been mowed and I think our neighbors are officially entitled to begin hating on us. Juniper thinks she's out in the bush as she leaps through tall grasses in our backyard. We'll get to it...

My mom is coming to town tomorrow night to be with Myles while I go down to Atlanta to speak on a panel at the Women in Theology and Ministry graduation dinner at Candler. It's so nice to be invited to these things! (And even nicer that it's an excuse to invite my mom over to spend two solitary days with Myles). They will have a blast...

Well, that's all the news for now...get out there and enjoy that weather (if you have it)!

The Chicken Pox

Sure enough, Myles has the chicken pox. We have now learned: (this after talking to an infectious disease doctor in our congregation) the chicken pox will not show up for the first 10 days or so. Kids are okay to be around others until day NINE. Then, from day nine until day 20 or 21, they are supposed to be locked in solitary confinement...because our jobs are so family friendly that they understand when you have to take two weeks off because your kid MIGHT have the chicken pox. Kids are due for the chicken pox vaccine between 12 and 15 months. However, chicken pox is one of those things that is not so dangerous if you have it as a kid, it's just really inconvenient. In fact, the vaccine does not gauarantee a life time without chickent pox so some people think you risk getting it as an adult if you have the vaccine, and then it can be very dangerous. Other kids who had the vaccine and have been exposed to chicken pox have been known to come down with shingles, though I don't think that's common. SO, what's a working mama to do? On Thursday night, we realized he had it. In the last two days its grown worse, I'd say he has at least 100 spots right now, and some of them are pretty mean lookin (i.e. huge blisters). On the bright side, Myles is too little to understand that he has the chicken pox and should be itching himself, so he has not been doing any itching that we've seen. This afternoon he did get a bit tired, cranky, and seemed to be achy. We've been taking baking soda baths and applying lots of calamine lotion, also using a poison ivy soap in the hope that it has an anti-itch element to it (Burts Bees). So that's what's new with us.

These photos are of two of my sweet nephews. Cullen and I are hunting for easter eggs behind my folks' house, Cullen is the middle child of my brother Corey and his wife Irene. And the other photo is Finn, my sister Brenna's 4 month old baby (husband/dad Brian) who has a tiny little frame with some rolls of chubb on top.

Today we had a memorial service at church for another member who passed away. Mary Etta was 87 years old and one of the wisest women I've had the privilege of knowing. It was a beautiful service.

It's been rainy here, and Seth's hard at work digging out our front walk way, which we have some gravel for and will later top with concrete. The good news is, it promises to stay 65 degrees or above for the next 10 days. I think spring is here to stay.

New P.J.s

It's a tiring week. Have I mentioned that my job at the church ends on May 31st? Yep. I am applying for the full time associate pastor position that will replace my part time minister of christian education position, but there's no guarantees. And it makes me a little stressed out and emotional some nights. Seth assures me that I must be the best looking candidate in the bunch, so at least I have that. ("That" being a loving husband who knows just what to say when I'm blue).

We inherited a used jog stroller this week, and Seth has taken Myles on some 5 mile runs in the balmy evenings we've been having this week. I have some sweet photos of my nephews that I need to post from our Easter weekend, but I'm too exhausted to find them.

Myles got a new pair of pjs this weekend as he outgrows his old ones. The Littlest Bird was having an anniversary of their opening sale, and so I went for these organic, soft, stretchy pjs that are like heaven to snuggle with. The other photo is Myles walking with a piece of his floor puzzle in his mouth. For one night he was fascinated with carrying that thing around in his mouth all night, and very proud when he mastered walking behind his walker with it in his mouth at the same time. He's walking more and more every day. And talking a lot too, still no decipherable words. Today he pooped in the tub. I guess that's about all that's new with us.

It was wonderful to see my sister and meet my new nephew Finn (which I'll say more about in the next post). Kaleb was his sweet self, just taller. My mom made birds nests with him out of rice krispy treats (for the nest part), green coconut (for the grass in the nest), and jelly beans (for the eggs in the nest). And Ashton, Kaleb, and Cullen did an Easter egg hunt in my parents' back yard. My dad is doing really well. He goes back to MD Anderson later this month to get all the tests again, to see if he will stay on this chemo, which is what we hope.