Kairi's Blessing Dress and My Annual Obsession

I had a sewing day yesterday and I'm going to admit I'm thrilled with the results!  Here is Kairi's blessing dress:

I'm proud of myself because I made this dress completely without a pattern!  I did lean heavily on this tutorial from Kojo Designs for the skirt, but I constructed the bodice and added the little lace sleeves on my own.  I decided to forgo the ruffle around the neck, and even though I love the belt she did I don't have any white ribbon wide enough and am too lazy to go buy some.  Luckily for me, I made a mistake when I sewed the skirt onto the bodice and the unfinished side of the skirt ended up on the outside.  I decided it was cute so I kept it instead of spending an hour picking it out.  All that's left to do now is make a diaper cover and headband!

All this sewing got me thinking again about Halloween and how excited I am to make the girls' costumes.  Chaela wants to be Rapunzel from Tangled, so I'm having all three of the girls go as Disney princesses this year.  Now I just have to decide which princesses the other two are going to be and I'm having a hard time.  I think Joci would make a cute little Cinderella, but I also really liked Brave, and having her go as Merida would be fun except I'm not doing wigs (Chaela's hair is blonde and long enough for people to get the picture, so I'm going to braid it and add some flowers).  So I was thinking I could do the formal dress Merida wears instead of her main one, that way hair wouldn't be an issue.  Do you think people would get it?

And I'm totally at a loss for Kairi's costume.  Rapunzel and Merida are very recent princesses, so does it "match" if I decide to make my one non-blonde child Snow White(if she's still not blonde by then... you never know what their hair will do)?

Who thinks way too much about Halloween?  I do!

Anyway, I'd really love to hear you guys' thoughts and suggestions on which princesses Joci and Kairi should be, so leave a comment and let me know!

Awesome Random Things You Can Learn on the Internet

Brandon Sanderson (the author) is awesome (again).  He just posted this on facebook and twitter:

You all may think I'm a little obsessed, but seriously, how often does the master of a craft offer to share his knowledge at no financial benefit to himself?  This guy has already posted videos of his writing classes online and now he's going to let crazies like me virtually look over his shoulder as writes.  He could be making money off of this stuff, but he does it for FREE.  That is cool.  I think he's an excellent role model for wannabes like me.  

In related news, I attended my second official meeting with my critique group!  There only ended up being two of us there, but still worth it!  I am still beyond excited to be a part of a group that (in my opinion) will help me make it to my goal of being a real published writer someday and I hope I can do the same for them!

In unrelated news, we had a ton of fun on the 4th!  I meant to take more pictures but unfortunately that didn't happen.  Here's one I did manage to get!

Also, look what I can do!  I've always wondered how people braided ribbons into their hair, and now I know  how!

This was the original hairstyle, but thanks to Chaela rolling around  and being crazy I had to redo it.

I changed it to two braids because her hair stays in better that way.

Yay for awesome random things you can learn on the internet!  I <3 the free sharing of information and ideas!

I could have been...

So I was poking around on Facebook today, stalking people I know but never talk to.  I happened upon one of my cousin's profiles, and I couldn't help thinking that she has the life I could have had.  She graduated with a science degree from a prestigious university, traveled the world, and now works for the Smithsonian.  Pretty sweet for someone who's only 23-ish, right?  She is inarguably talented at a myriad of things, not the least of which is music, something I also enjoy.

Granted, I rarely speak to her outside of family functions, and I haven't been to many of those in recent years because of where we live.  I don't know what she would say, but I look at that Facebook profile and think, "Wow, what a cool life!  I could have done that."

Then I come back to myself and see the popcorn scattered all over my bedroom floor (thanks to Joci), the half-set up pack and play, the unpacked boxes of books and miscellany, and the sleeping newborn on my lap.  The contrast is a bit of a shock, and I can't deny the doubt that I was ever smart enough to do what she does.  But then again, I really think I could have, if that had been what I wanted.

That's the key isn't it?  What we want.  I think that those of us who have a choice in what to do with our lives usually do end up, generally speaking, with what we wanted all along.  It would have been so awesome to be a scientist or an academic, but in my heart I wanted this.  

I should qualify that, because even as I wrote it I wanted to tack on "first."  I wanted to do this first, and I know that because even though her life looks awesome, I'm still content with my choice.  Now (even though no one believes it) I'm done having kids and can focus on raising them.  In a few years they'll be in school and I'll only be in my early 30's.  I can't help but sum up how I feel with this lovely piece of prose:

1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

2  a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to   refrain from embracing;

6  a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

7 a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

(I love beautiful language.)

Believe in the bible or not, there is wisdom in this.  I will always be a mother and wife first, because that is the thing I want and value most, but I can still do the things I wanted second.  I feel a season of my life is ending, a new one is about to begin.  Maybe now is the time for what I could have been.  

Kairi Jordan

Today we welcomed our third little girl, Kairi (KYE-ree) Jordan, into our family!

Kairi Jordan
7 pounds, 6 ounces
20 inches long
born at 10:48 am

I mentioned a while back that this time I was going to be induced, and despite mixed reviews from people who had been through the process we decided to go for it.  I'm so glad I did.

We got to the hospital around 6:30 this morning.  Both of the other times I've given birth, there's been a long, tedious phase where they monitor you to make sure that you're really in labor, which I hate.  This time, however, it was "Oh, and is such-and-so your doctor?  Great!  Let me show you to your room!"  Much nicer.

So we got into our room and hung out for a while, which was fine with me considering there were women here who were in labor for real (I felt a little like an impostor).  Then the nurse came in, got me hooked up to the monitors, and started my IV, which included the drug that would start my contractions.  Then I dozed.  Then sometime between 8:30 and 9:30 I got my epidural.  I think I was settled in with it by 9:30, which was perfect timing because it was right around then that I started really being able to feel that I was having some strong contractions.  The nurse came in to check me at about 10:30, said I was an 8, and left to get the anesthesiologist because my contractions were getting painful even through the epidural.  She hadn't been gone 5 minutes when I called her extension and managed to squeek, "You know, I'm really feeling a lot of pressure!"  So she runs in, checks me, grabs the room phone and calls my doctor (whose practice happens to be part of the hospital... convenient) and says, "We need you here.  Now."  He came running, scrambled to get everything in place, and Kairi was born one contraction later.  Even though I was induced, my labor lasted a grand total of three hours.  That's a win.

Here are some pictures!

Potentially the last picture ever of me pregnant.

Finally, a Hair baby with hair!  We'll see if it lasts.

Thoughts on Health

You know, I was just thinking of how weird people are.  I mean, we obviously recognize and prefer health in other species.

For example, you would rather have a dog you owned look like this

than like this

Correct?  Because we want them to be healthy, and we could care less what size doggy sweater they need, if that's your kind of thing.  Keeping with the dog example, it is also true that we would never dream of calling this guy fat

because he wasn't as svelte as this guy

because we know that dogs come from different genetic heritages, and to judge what is attractive for one breed by what is attractive for another is just asinine.

So if we're a species that is smart enough to prefer health in pets, why are we so blind when it comes to health in ourselves?  Why is the focus on getting skinny instead of attaining our optimum healthy weight?

There's something wrong with that.

On a related note, what's up with this New York mayor and his war on pop?  I have a very strong opinion that when it comes to my personal health it's none of the government's business.  If I want to drink three extra-jumbo-large Pepsis at every meal, that is my decision.  It would be incredibly stupid, but if the reason we allow abortion is the "it's my body" argument (tangent: disagree), I don't see where the government has a leg to stand on trying to tell me I can't have a 24 oz drink, or rather, if I want a larger drink I have to pay for two of them.  Ironically, pop and candy are still covered on food stamps.  You want to make a difference in the demographic that needs it most?  Change that.

Whew.  Anyways, I'm sure you guys don't care about my rants.  To provide you with the information you're looking for, still no baby.  However, if she doesn't show up on her own in the next few days I'm scheduled to be induced in less than a week!  Scary and exciting at the same time!

Full-term

That's right, I waste way too much time on failblog.

Yay!  As of this past week I am officially full-term, and since I'm going to be induced, that means I have less than two weeks left at the longest!  I'm excited, not only because having the baby will mean an end to the excruciating sciatic pain in my right leg, but because I feel like after this our family may be complete.  We'll keep everyone posted!

  

More Untimely TV Comments: Why do I still watch Glee?

Does everyone remember how cool Glee looked when the pilot episode aired?  I do.  I was so excited to see someone actually pull off a musical TV show that I couldn't wait for the full season later that year.  Unfortunately it seems that after three seasons the writers have grown so used to coasting on the coolness of the first season  that they've completely checked out.  Now keep in mind that I know nothing about how writing a TV show works, but here is how I visualize the meeting where they hash things out:

***

Writer 1: So we've tossed around some ideas, and our Controversy Of The Week for this show will be [eating disorders/spousal abuse/teen pregnancy/teen marriage/secondary characters who wish they were Rachel Barry].  Or we could just scrap that and do something about being gay; I really don't think our audience understands our stance on that yet!

Writer 2: Wow that will be so incredibly original and hard-hitting!  How about this week the person who deals with the controversy is [insert name of secondary character].

Writer 3: Great!  I love it when we focus on one of them for one show and then shove them to the back for the rest of the season!  After all, their Controversy Of The Week was resolved in a single episode even though it was an enormous, life-altering issue, so we don't need to hear from that character for a while!

Writer 1: We are amazing!  Also, I think we've left Quinn alone too long; she's only been through three radical and arbitrary personality changes so far this season.  And let's end a very important relationship on the show with an empty cliche.  How about "you need to do this alone so you can grow" (even though we were about to get married).  Let's toss "if it's meant to be it will happen" in there too!

All the other writers: Brilliant!

Writer 2: Let's not forget to emphasize that it's every single Midwesterner's dream to move to New York or L.A. because we are so much better than them!  Also don't forget to put in a scene where we point out that people from Ohio are universally shocked and disturbed by homosexuality, even though we are blatantly ignoring the fact that Columbus has one of the largest LGBT populations in the nation!

Other writers: Our wit is astounding!

Writer 4 (speaks up from the Corner of Shame): Um, so, I was thinking about maybe... a plot for the next episode?

(Other writers stare him down in silent disdain until he huddles back into his corner)

Writer 1: Hurry, someone make a list of songs that relates to our Controversy Of The Week in only the most abstract way possible!  Writer 4, you write Sue Silvester's weekly one-liner which will be the only really funny part of the entire show.

Etc...

***

I've gone through phases of watching and not watching the show, but I always stopped watching before because I was put off by something they did that I found distasteful.  Now I'm put off by how bad the writing is, which is much more likely to turn me off to it permanently.  And has anyone else noticed that in three seasons they've had no new members join as freshman and, until last night, no seniors graduate and leave?  So when the show started they were all freshman and sophomores, even the captains of both the varsity cheerleading squad and the varsity football team.  Really?  That's just stupid.

Anyway, what I'm mildly curious about for next season (since they spent the entire season finale not having any kind of plot, which meant no cliff-hangers or suspense for us to care about over the summer) is how large a role the "graduated" characters will continue to play in the show.  Will they find some way to keep them in the picture, or will they finally give some of those massively talented second and third-tier characters a chance to sing more than back up?  Overall my level of caring is at "shrug," so we'll see if I tune in.

In the meantime, I'd rather watch Smash.

Actually Trying

Well, it's official, on Wednesday I'm meeting with a writing group for the first time ever to critique and be critiqued.  I'm nervous to show my stuff to other writers, but I'm also excited and proud of myself.  I tend to talk a lot about what I could do with writing, but only recently have I started backing that up with the actual doings of a serious writer.  If I want to be a published author someday, joining a writing group is pretty important.  This is probably just me, but in the past I tended to think of dreams as fantasies that would fulfill themselves somewhere in a nebulous future.  Maybe at 27 I'm becoming a grown up.  I've finally realized that my dreams are not going to happen to me on their own and that I have to put in vast amounts of thought, time, and effort to get where I want to be.

Dang it.  I hate effort.

Now I just need to come up with about 6-8 pages of stuff good enough for them to read in the next 24 hours.  I suppose I should be doing that instead of blogging...

Untimely Comments about TV Shows

Watching shows on Hulu means that none of my comments about television are timely, therefore I cannot post them on facebook.  But this is my blog, so are two untimely comments about shows I watched today:

First off, I can't believe The Finder got cancelled AND ended the season/series on that awful everyone-is-scattered-to-the-winds note.  Argh!  Talk about unsatisfying!  I am totally disappointed with the general populace for not liking Finder as much as me.

Secondly, I did end up watching most of this season of Glee, and I think the show's seriously going downhill.  It just isn't living up to the hype anymore.  Anyway, that's not what I wanted to say.  What I wanted to say was that my keen observational powers spotted a mistake in the season finale!  That's right!  At one point, one of the characters mentioned that some teachers "teach driving."  FALSE, Hollywood writers!  Driver's ed is not taught in schools in Ohio.  BAM!  Consider yourself enlightened.

That's all.

Continuing my Education

Many of you may have heard me say how sad I am that I went to BYU before I heard about Brandon Sanderson (he's a very famous, successful fantasy author for those who don't know or don't want to click the link).  I had the opportunity to attend a workshop on plot that he gave at the Writing for Charity conference I went to back in March, but I wanted so badly to attend his class.  Well, now I can.  Sort of.  And so can whoever wants to.  His lectures are online, and they're FREE!

Blogs are more exciting with pictures!  Here is the only one I took at  the Writing for Charity conference.  Brandon is the second one from the left.

Of course no one I know will be as over the moon about this as me, but I was thinking about some of you who've said that they miss school or would like to take some classes.  Here is an excellent opportunity.  And if anyone else knows of any other interesting and free online classes, post about it in the comments!

Brandon Sanderson's 2012 Creative Writing Class

As of now, only four of thirteen lectures are posted, but they are scheduled to appear on a weekly basis and remain accessible indefinitely.  There is also a writing group for those who would like to follow along and do the assignments.