The Standard Deviation

Ack! I’ve officially hit that time of year (besides Christmas, that is) when everything happens at once, and my schedule gets insane! Between weddings and babies and birthdays and anniversaries and showers and vacations and book clubs, things have gotten just a little out of hand. ‘Course I’m one of those people who thrive on a little crazy once in a while.

So tomorrow I am helping my mother-in-law throw a baby shower for my cousin Natalie. (She’s actually my mother-in-law’s cousin’s daughter-in-law — got that?) She and her husband Marty are having their first baby, and they’ve had quite a journey getting to this point. Several years ago, and only a few months after they’d gotten married, Marty was diagnosed with Leukemia. He endured a long battle with it, but finally, and luckily, he conquered. One of the lasting effects from the treatment, however, is an inability to father children… ever. Luckily, they planned ahead before he started treatment and were able to freeze some embryos (I think that’s how it works…or is it just fertilized eggs?) for later use.

So fast forward a few years, and the couple is ready to start a family. Apparently the in vitro costs about $10,000 or so, which, of course, they didn’t have lying around. So they applied for a grant that would pay for it. Only problem is that the application process for this grant is much like trying to adopt. They had to jump through so many hoops and interview so many times and even have someone come to inspect their home. When they were finally granted the funds, they began the agonizing process of preparing for the in vitro. I had no idea this whole thing was so involved. Poor Natalie had to undergo a hormonal treatment in which she gave herself daily injections and endured nausea and mood swings and all kinds of horrible side effects. After all that, they implanted three or four embryos and then had to wait to see if any of them would take.

Well… first try… and… nothing. Absolutely devastating!! Sure they could try again, but get this — they had to start the entire application process over again! My heart just broke for them. I get a little teary just thinking about it. But, hey! Fast forward again… They made it through the whole process a second time… and… Jacob William Moore is healthy as can be and due to be delivered on August 8th (which just so happens to be Charlie’s first birthday :)).

So tomorrow is the shower. I know most people hate shower games (or at least claim to hate them), but I figured I’d prepare a couple anyway. In one game, you’re supposed to match the crazy baby names to the celebrities that came up with them. For instance, here is an excerpt, already matched:

Johnny Depp      –     Lily-Rose Melody
Erykah Badu      –     Puma & Seven
Penn Gillette       –     Moxie CrimeFighter

It ought to be kinda fun. Anyway, more fun to come — every day for the next few weeks, pretty much. Hopefully I’ll get a chance periodically to write about all the goings-on. Ta ta!

P.S. um… re-reading this entry, it occurs to me that sometimes I sound like such a girl. Weird.

So Charlie’s almost a year old. (I swear he was just born last week!) And Willy has decided that it’s high time he start taking drum lessons — from dad, of course. So here he sits, drumsticks in hand, at the practice pad. *bang bang bang* Periodically, the cat or the dog walk by, and Charlie tries to get in a quick *wap*. But he gets a stern look (for the pets’ sake), and back he goes. *bang bang*… happy as can be. =)

I love this kid.

Check out the guns on this kid

I got a bike! I got a bike!

I recently found a handwritten calendar I made during the summer after fourth grade. Having felt that my summer days were being spent unwisely, I attempted to schedule myself activities — the idea being that if I had a daily itinerary, I would be unlikely to watch TV…riiiiight.

Well I never completed the calendar — my neighbors were probably over playing Super Mario Brothers (or did that come later?). But what I did manage to fill in were the words “Ride my bike” on just about every day of the month.

Now that I’m twenty years older and hanging on to a disproportionate amount of body fat, I wish to revisit the joy of riding a bike. There aren’t a lot of physical activities that sound particularly enjoyable to me (or even bearable, for that matter), but this one could be the ticket.

I bought a Novara Metro Deluxe from REI. It’s a hybrid bicycle — meaning that it works well for city streets as well as dirt roads. So it will be good for riding around Liberty Park, which is right down the street from us, or I can take it up to the family cabin in Island Park and ride around the dirt roads and well-groomed trails. This bike is a far cry from my childhood kid-size ten speed. It has front and riding suspension, something like 24 speeds, and a nice cushy seat (for MY nice cushy seat). The color is called “rootbeer,” which to me sounds just awful, but it is one sharp lookin’ bike! And I got my first bike helmet and a Camelbak hydration pack, specifically made for women and cycling.

So now begins my rebellion against the desk job, the couch in front of the TV, and my place in the driver’s seat of my car. It’s going to take some getting used to riding in the city — it’s not quite the ‘burbs around here. And I still need to get a baby trailer so that Charlie can come along. But my journey’s begun. I have taken a couple of short rides, and, if I may say so, the thrill is NOT gone.

Why join the blogosphere? Well…rhubarb.

One random day of some random year, I was driving around town with my husband Willy. I had been rambling about this and that and nothing at all, and I reached a lull in my conversation. After a pause, I told him, “I love rhubarb.”

I commenced with a long speech about the different ways one can prepare rhubarb, that I wasn’t sure if you could buy rhubarb in the produce section, and I’d have to look.

He stared at me for some time…*blink*…*blink*…and then began to laugh.

Since then, he’s gotten quite skilled at tuning me out, yet appearing attentive. I appreciate the way he has accepted his role as sounding board, and, as a reward for his patience, I join the blogosphere and direct my rattlings-on to the world wide audience and no one at all.

Here’s to you, Willy, my voice of raisin.

And for those of you who appreciate rhubarb and are dying to know more about it, click the image below for a very informative site, including recipes: