It's Official...

...my baby has turned into a little girl.

When did that happen?

Day 49: Hopes, Dreams and Plans for the Next 365 Days

1 - Finish this 50 days of getting to know me! (I know, you all wish it would end too. Well, it will, soon.)

2 - Survive

3 - Be happy - I hope this one happens at least once a day, but I think that's up to me.

4 - Have a baby - This one is slated for early November.

5 - Re-organize my bedroom - It's been worse, but it could be better.

6 - Organize the sun room into a functional space instead of a storage bin.

7 - Get my new job down from "overwhelming" to "engaging" or at least just "challenging" - I hope this one doesn't take the whole year, but with only five days under my belt it's hard to tell.

8 - Go to the doctor as little as possible - I know this one conflicts with #4, but I've been to the doctor a LOT this year. I'm ready for a nice, long bout of good health.

Day 48: A Photo of You Right Now

We're going to go with a photo of me one week ago, enjoying Mothers' Day.

As to what I look like right now, I'll give you a mental picture. Glasses on (which are approximately 12 years old, so already not exactly good looking), one eye a little red and watery, the other eye absolutely red and extremely watery. That eye is typically shut, though, so really I look more like a pirate than a drug addict. Runny nose, headache, pajamas, still a bit out of it from the Benadryl I took sometime in the middle of the night. Yay pollen!

See? Aren't you glad you got a picture from last week?

Day 47: Birthday Wish List

This one probably just isn't going to work for me. I got the one thing I've wanted for years for my birthday this year. And I absolutely love it. I even got what I wanted for Mother's Day; my bathroom, kitchen and living room are clean and I only had to clean one of them. So now, there's not much I really wish for. I mean, I wish I had more energy. I wish I didn't have so many allergies. But those things just aren't going to happen until everything dies again. And I don't want that.

Of course I could always name off nebulous things like peace on Earth, health for my family, cheaper gas and a live-in maid and cook and that sort of thing. But then, don't we all want those things? So I'm probably just not going to submit a Birthday Wish List. Besides, it seems a little premature to start requesting. My birthday is, after all, more than eight months away. Who knows what I'll want then? Probably just more sleep.

Day 46: Photos of Personal Things in Your Life (pets, family, house, etc.)

I feel like I post about this stuff pretty frequently. But, here's something you don't see every day. This is what I see when I wake up in the morning:

I love all the lines from the door frames, the molding and the windows. It makes me glad to live here. But maybe you actually have to be laying in my bed to appreciate it fully.

Day 45: A Letter to Yourself a Year Ago

Dear Melanie:
This year won't be a great one; I wish I could prepare you. Your friends will suffer hearbreaking losses, your health will be less than ideal, your vacations will all turn out much worse than expected. The Spring you're loving so much will not be back for a very long time. There won't be enough time, energy or money for all you'd like to do. There will always be too much or too little work. Family will feel very far away. It's going to be a long year.

Fortunately, I can't tell you all of that. You'll just have to experience it. And if you were caught up in what a long year it's going to be, you might miss all the things you'll enjoy. So go ahead and be optimistic. You will lose all that weight. Scout will learn to walk, if not as soon as you'd like. Your friends will still be wonderful and some of them will have good news to share. As with anything difficult, you will learn and grow. There will be beautiful days and beautiful moments and a lot of smiles amid the tears. So, enjoy those and tell yourself you're having a good year. It might help convince me that I've had one too.

All my best,
Melanie

Favorite Moments of the Past Few Days

Saturday: Standing in our garden, watching the trees blow in the wind and the clouds roll in thinking I could stay here all day.

Sunday: Watching Virginia get SO excited to see her various relatives on Skype. "I hear Papa...It's his tummy! Papa's tummy!" Then, when we lost the connection with Bumpa and Nonna and, though she'd been rather disinterested at that point, when they came back online not thirty seconds later she was as excited to see them as if it had been a week. "It's NOOOOnna! It's BUMPA!!" Apparently it's more exciting to greet grandparents than actually have a conversation with them.

Today: After a long day, I decided to make myself some brownies. As soon as I started blending the wet ingredients with the dry, I could smell the chocolate goodness that was on its way. And I thought to myself, yep, this was the right decision.

Please excuse me, I have to go eat brownies now.

Day 44: Something That Fascinates You and Why

I am always amazed by Spring. Despite my allergies, I love it. I love the renewal of life and the reminder that even under frozen feet of snow, little seeds of life are hanging out, waiting to spring up and come alive again. I love the hope it brings that, no matter how dead and cold things may seem, there will be Spring. I think I love Spring the most right about February, when it feels really far away.

It reminds me of a favorite quotation of mine:
"Then, when it seems we will never smile again, life comes back." Mark M. Baldwin

Day 43: A Photo of Your Favorite Place in the World

It's not so much the view of for me

It's the view from San Vigilio's Hill in Bergamo.

Scout's thoughts on...

Her name

Virginia now refers to herself as "Scout." If you ask her name, that's her response. However, she also calls herself "Winja." I think yesterday I heard her say something like "Virwinja." I guess I should stop calling her Winja. But she responds to it so well.

How Best to Help Mom Clean the Fridge

Her father's profession

Scout has long enjoyed singing "The Wheels on the Bus." Since visiting her Nonna at Christmas, her favorite verse has been the driver saying "move on back." She has a book called "My Car" about Sam, who loves is car and works as a bus driver.

She also loves to stand on the couch and look out the window whenever people leave our apartment. She especially loves watching her dad because he waves back and blows kisses. I've told her that he's going to work and I've told her that he has to catch the bus.

She seems to have combined the two. When James left yesterday, she said, "Daddy go work; drive bus." Well, at least she thinks her dad's job is cool.

The person most worthy of her attention

Potty Training

Virginia has been very interested in all things bathroom related lately, so I went ahead and bought her a little toilet. I have no expectations that she will actually give up diapers anytime soon, but I though I'd maximize on the potty excitement. When we got home, she got out the "froggy potty" and sat on it for about twenty minutes, in the middle of the living room. She produced nothing. I moved it into the bathroom, where she absolutely refuses to go anywhere near it. Whenever I ask her if she wants to use it (she starts squatting and we both know what's coming), she says no. However, she will put her dolls on it. And she occasionally hauls the potty out into the middle of the living room rug and stands in it. Good thing she never did produce anything the one time I got her to take off her diaper and sit on it.

What's important in books
Scout has long known the names of most of her books. However, I also typically read off the author because it gives me something to say as we flip through the title page. So now, she rattles off an author whenever we read a book. The problem? She seems to think Kevin Henkes wrote every book we have.

What one does while sitting on the toilet

Where she ought to sit in the car

"driver"

How to help Mom make breakfast

She eats the dry ingredients, by the handful.