jennanddave.com

Dave got a copy of P.D. James' book "Children of Men" for Christmas from one of his friends. We both read it and although Dave thought the author copped out a bit by using a few sci-fi cliches here and there, we both really liked it. I couldn't put it down. Another thing we both agreed upon was that it seemed like it was practically written to be a movie. The copy Dave received has a big sticker on it that reads "Soon to be a major motion picture", a fact I happened to mention to my dad on the phone one evening. I told him I couldn't wait for it to come out and was thus informed that it had come out already, last summer in fact, and that it starred, and I quote "You know, that guy...what's his name...you know...he was in...ummmmm...what else has he been in?...ah, jeez, what's his name?...uhhhhh...hey Debbie? What's the name of that guy that was in...uhhhhhh..." Eventually we figured out he was thinking of Clive Owen. You know, what's his name who was in that movie. So "Children of Men: Now a major motion picture starring Clive Owen" got bumped up to the top of the Netflix queue.

A warning, there are some spoilers below.

I was disappointed in the movie, partly because it veered so far away from the book, but also because I didn't love the focus of the movie. It ignored most of what I found to be really terrifying in the book which was how the government used fear to control the people, which allowed them to get away with the forced slavery of immigrants and the mass murder of the elderly. What would be the state of mind of the people who were willing to look past reality and except these things as the way it had to be in order for the country to run smoothly? The book ends with Theo putting the ring of England on his finger, and you just know that despite his finally being capable of looking outside of himself and his past, he's probably going to become as much of a dictator as his cousin, Xan, was. Xan ("Nigel" onscreen) pops up in the movie, as does the Quietus (in the movie it's a pill. A pill!), but you're not really sure why they bothered. It's almost as if they deemed it necessary to pay some sort of homage to the book other than using the same character names that they just threw those in.

I read a quote from the director on Wikipedia that describes how he dislikes "a cinema about exposition and explanation" which is ironic because although he used symbolism in the movie, it was often so obvious you felt he stopped short of suspending the action so that one of the characters could turn to the camera and explain it to us, like "Look! She just told me she's pregnant! And she's standing in a barn! And she doesn't know who the dad is! Could this *be* any more like the nativity?".

Has anyone else seen the movie or read the book? What did you think?

Posted by Jenn at 03:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

When we last left my kitchen floor, specifically the spot that's half in front of the oven and half in front of the dog's water/food bowls, it had just been thrown up on by both the dog and the kid which earned it the distinction of having been bleached not once, but twice within an hour. Never had it been so clean.

Then Leo came over and upended Flash's water bowl. Out came the towels, but, alas, no bleach this time. Then I managed to knock over a cup of orange juice I had poured out for Henry on the stovetop and guess where it all ended up? Out came the towels again, and after Megan and Leo went home, out came the mop. Right now that spot on our floor is probably cleaner than our dining room table.

So, what are the chances of all of that happening in that particular spot all in the same day?

Posted by Jenn at 02:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Statistically speaking, what do you think the chances are that both the dog and the kid would throw up on the exact same spot of the kitchen floor within an hour of each other?

Posted by Jenn at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I hosted my first playgroup today. My house looked awesome. Right before going to work Dave suggested we host playgroup every week because the house looked so good. Then I kicked him on the butt and slammed the door in his face because I spend most of my days picking up little piles of his discarded clothes that he leaves in every corner of the house. For example this morning he comes out of the shower with his nightclothes tightly rolled up in a ball and starts to throw them upstairs to the second floor. I stop him to ask if he's going to put them in the dirty laundry basket in the upstairs bathroom *hint-hint* and he says "Yah, that's what I was about to do!" then proceeds to chuck them upstairs. I'm willing to bet he would've walked away if he wasn't such a lousy shot; he didn't clear the top steps. It also solves the mystery as to why I'm always finding dirty socks and other nefarious items tucked away in the back right corner of our second floor hall.

Playgroup was a lot of fun. Everyone showed up late which led to the usual "I'm getting stood up!" panic, which was followed by the "even if everyone shows up they're probably all going to throw eggs at me because I'm such a dork" panic, a sentiment which may or may not have been influenced by my having watched "Never Been Kissed" last night on ABC Family. Henry handled having a bunch of kids playing with his toys very well, although he wigged out a little bit after everyone left. Right now he's upstairs napping peacefully, probably dreaming of driving the real Lightning McQueen car, which is something he unexpectedly informed us he was planning on doing someday. Kids say the strangest things at dinner time. And every other time of the day.

Right now I'm going to collapse on the couch with a plate full of tuna casserole and maybe unwind with a little Hannah Montana if it's on. What? That show's hilarious!

Posted by Jenn at 02:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Did we just have a weekend, because it really doesn't seem like there was one this week. You know what else? As of this minute, Dave has been up for 29 hours and 45 minutes. Because he didn't go to sleep last night. Because apparently he's forgotten that he doesn't *go* to college, he *teaches* kids who are in college.

This morning I forgot to put the lid down on the washing machine so when I ran down to move all of our towels to the dryer, I was greeted with a washer full of water and wet towels. Oops. It's been a while since I've done that.

We're all feeling better here. Well, except for Dave who's been up for 29 hours and 48 minutes. This morning Henry watched "Cars" and I tried to get some more Christmas Thank You cards written and talked on the phone with my mom. Then the rest of the day leading up to naptime was spent eating lunch, reading books, drawing xylophones/helicopters/airplanes, and talking about how at Christmas Grandpa would turn on the light over the piano for Henry, a fact that was brought up, seemingly randomly, by the young man himself, who at the time was enjoying a grilled cheese sandwich. I don't know how or if the two are connected, but I'm not making any assumptions one way or the other.

I remembered yesterday that January is Jane Austen month on PBS, just in time to catch "Northanger Abbey" on Masterpiece Theater. I've never read the book, so I don't know how the two compare, although probably pretty favorably since Andrew Davies did the screenplay, but it sure did end abruptly. In three sentences the main character was married, had a baby, and celebrated her sister-in-law's marriage, the end. Of course, how can a story go wrong when the main love interest has a name as fine as "Henry"?

Posted by Jenn at 02:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

...he didn't put up much of a fight when I told him that I'd heard at playgroup a local sewing store was closing the branch near us and were having a big sale on machines and that maybe since I have a slight interest in learning how to sew perhaps we could go and peruse what they have to offer with the possible intent of maybe just maybe coming home with one. Maybe. So we went. And I came home with a new sewing machine. And I was giddy with excitement. Then I was hugely disappointed when on Jan 30th (a Sunday) I unpacked it and discovered the foot pedal didn't work. Then I was even more hugely disappointed when I called the store and discovered they were closed on New Year's Eve and that I'd have to wait two whole days to talk to somebody about returning it. Then they gave me a whole new machine and it worked and I was happy. The first thing I made was my version of the shirt I linked to on the left sidebar over there. I don't think they sell the shirt anymore, that's how long it's been, but if you don't remember or never bothered to look, it was a shooting star. Here's how mine came out:

Henry also got some sewing love from my friend Karen. She made a fleece pullover for her kid Thomas that was absolutely amazing and I couldn't stop gushing over it. A few weeks later she surprised Henry with his very own featuring none other than the much beloved Lightning McQueen. I think both Dave and I briefly pondered whether we could fit into it ourselves, but alas, we are not toddler-sized. Henry loves it and wears it all. the. time.

And finally, I decided that since I don't know how to sew and haven't read a pattern since I made jams (remember those?) in sixth grade that I'd start off with something simple, so I settled on making an apron. After much hair-pulling and machine-wrangling I actually finished it on Monday night. It came out great, but you'll have to take my word for it because I forgot to take a picture of it. When I finished cutting out the pattern, I realized I had enough fabric leftover to make a pair of lounge pants for Henry. That's what I did after lunch this afternoon while Henry rocked out to Sesame Street in the living room in between exhausted fits over V8, naps, and the unfairness of life in general (we're still pretty sleep-deprived over here). Here's the finished product:

Not a great angle, but you get the idea. I stole the general pattern and fit from a pair of Atomic Mama pajama bottoms that I got Henry before the woman who made them retired, and I also used this page as a reference for how to go about things. I made them long so he can wear them for a while. Of course there's the very real possibility they'll fall apart before "a while" even has a chance to get started, but we won't think about that.

Posted by Jenn at 03:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Henry caught a cold, then I caught a cold, then last night no one got any sleep except for the dog, who, from our respective corners of the bed, Dave and I were each fantasizing about throwing out the window. There's nothing worse than hearing your dog intermittently heave lengthy, loud sighs betwixt snores because she's just so darned comfortable while your tossing and turning and thinking ahead to what a wreck the next day is going to be. I got up with Henry at 6:30 and while he was all chipper I died on the couch just a little bit until Dave came downstairs and suggested I catch a few hours of sleep. So I did. Then I hauled myself out of bed to make my doctor's appointment where I told my Dr. I couldn't sleep because of allergies and annoying dogs. She gave me a prescription for one, but couldn't do anything for me about the other.

Right now Henry's in bed coughing away. Sometimes when I'm sick I think it's our house that's killing us, although I don't know why I think that. Maybe because everything seems extra unhealthy when you're not feeling well, like the whole world's against you and your sinuses so why shouldn't the house be too? Every time I get over a cold I go on a cleaning jag. After this one runs its course I'm probably going to hire someone to clean our couch and rug and also maybe look into getting someone to clean out our heating vents. Have I mentioned how much I dislike forced air heat? I don't like it very much at all. It's all about radiators.

That's what's been going on around here. Lots of Tylenol popping and napping. Oh, and crabbing. Lots and lots of crabbing.

Posted by Jenn at 09:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Today is our seventh anniversary. According to tradition, we should be getting the seven year itch any second now. We usually celebrate our anniversary by boiling up a couple of lobsters, having some champagne, and relaxing. Instead we're going to have ribs and sparkling apple cider. We would have had champagne except we forgot to get some and liquor stores around here aren't open on Sundays. It's official: we're lame.

This morning Dave cranked up the dishwasher. Half an hour later I went down to the basement to start some laundry and noticed we had a big puddle on the floor right below where the dishwasher is. Hmmm. Dave pulled it out to take a look and sure enough there was a lot of water under the left front part of the machine. While he was grumbling about the turn of events I mentioned something along the lines of this being a particularly appropriate day for the dishwasher to break considering it's second only to the stove as a symbol of domesticity, at least in my mind. 0.5 second later I bet he visualized kicking me in the pants.

If I had known seven years ago while I was walking down the aisle of MIT's chapel that one day in the not too distant future we would be celebrating our wedding by chasing a runny-nosed screeching kid down the dishwasher aisle at Sears, I would have been pretty excited about the prospect because despite the ups and downs and broken appliances, how could it not be worth it? I've got the best family in the world and without Dave, none of it would exist.

/mushiness

Posted by Jenn at 03:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Megan insisted on watching Henry for us so Dave and I could go out and have a perfectly romantic evening staring into each other's eyes over bbq ribs in honor of our seventh anniversary. I took a quick look around our house and was completely blown away by the state of things. I decided it was imperative that I clean it before she arrives. To put this in context, Megan and I are at the stage of our friendship where neither of us feels at all pushed to clean when the other is coming over. That statement should give you an idea of how bad our house had gotten.

Since I'd rather write a 10,000 line epic poem entitled "What I Did Over Summer Vacation" in iambic pentameter than clean, I got onto realtor.com and looked at houses for sale in our area. To make a long story short, we have an appointment tomorrow to see what could possibly be my dream house in a somewhat less desirable location than our current one. Also I think I may have stumbled across a genius way to avoid cleaning our house: buy a new one.

Posted by Jenn at 04:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Last night Dave and I watched the third installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. It was the third time I've seen the movie. Despite having seen it twice before, I found myself once again hoping that Elizabeth would toss Will aside in favor of Jack Sparrow. He's far more interesting, not to mention dreamy, what with the professionally applied eyeliner and faux dreads ("freads" for short?). Alas, it was not meant to be.

Tuesday it was almost 70 here. After shrugging off the hint of anxiety over the world coming to an end that always accompanies late-Spring-like weather in early January, we headed to the park with Megan, Leo, Phoebe, and Otto. Henry rode his new tricycle. He also insisted Megan push him, which left me to enjoy a leisurely walk behind a stroller with a kid who was perfectly content to go along for the ride. Having the opportunity to briefly experience it all again from behind the cupholder of a Graco, let me just say, "Those were the days." After we got to the park, Megan chased after Henry while Leo and Otto got down and dirty in the mulch. After that I settled Leo into a swing and took advantage of his being trapped with nowhere to go by pinching his thighs and giving him eskimo kisses. If he cries whenever he sees a swing, now his parents know why. On the other hand, if he squeals with delight whenever he sees a swing, I think I'll just go ahead and take credit for that as well.

Two words I wish my kid didn't know how to say: "nebulizer", "McDonald's"

I'm very much against decorations for holidays showing up in stores two months before the actual holiday is supposed to occur, with the exception of Valentine's Day. January and February can be pretty bleak months and sometimes they need all the help they can get. I love seeing all the pink and red and hearts and roses everywhere.

Right now I hear a mug of hot apple cider and some quality time with a book calling my name.

Posted by Jenn at 02:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Before going away for Christmas I was all over posting on the good ole blog. NaBloPoMo really is a nice kick in the butt to get things going again on a much more regular basis, but while we were in Virginia, I checked my email twice. Twice! It was great, especially since I fully recognize what an email addict I am. Dave continued to check obsessively, but that's his burden to carry. While I successfully exorcised the need to be online over the course of six or seven days, I also managed to exorcise the momentum November gave me. Thus, I haven't posted much. And I feel bad. Partly because I feel I have an obligation to provide my audience (Hi Mom!) with some mundane fodder pillaged from my life, but also because I plan on printing it out some day so I can have it forever and ever in hardcopy. This means I will eventually unload it on my kid, who I will have guilted into feeling some sort of sentimental attachment for it, thereby ensuring that my life will take up physical space in the back corner of a metal bookcase in the damp basement of a house, nestled snugly between a malfunctioning game of "Operation" and a dusty black sombrero with red bobble trim. If I want it to take up a big and tall space on that shelf, I need to get my blog groove back. Perhaps I should treat January as an unofficial NaBloPo month. Hmmmm...

Also, in case any of you cared, I am that shallow and I did reschedule my facial.

Posted by Jenn at 10:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The fates have conspired against me. Yesterday morning I made an appointment for Monday to have a facial with a gift certificate Dave got me in October for my birthday. By last night I had a raging zot on my chin. This morning some guy climbed it, declared himself King of the mountain, then rappelled down the other side. So now I get to go have a facial with a huge blemish on my chin and I swear I wish I were a better person than this but I have half a mind to cancel and go later in the week. Is that incredibly shallow of me?

Posted by Jenn at 07:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Posted by Jenn at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

But first, a cute thing my kid did this morning. He was setting up the world's largest drum set using all of the pans from his play stove, his actual drum, zills, xylophone, and snack bowls. I was in the dining room dismantling one of our small Christmas trees when I hear him say: "One, two, three, four, five drums! Good job counting Henry...good job counting Henry!" It was seriously cute.

Now for the resolutions:

1. Spend less time on the internet. Aside from the blogs I really enjoy reading, all it's been giving me lately are lost hours I'll never get back and serious eye strain.

2. Continue losing weight by changing my diet, instead of dieting. That includes the six pounds I gained over Christmas, 1.5 of which is already gone. Shazah!

3. Talk to my doctor about my anxiety issues. It's long overdue.

4. Get Henry's schedule shifted back an hour. Right now he gets up around nine, goes down for a nap around 2:30, gets up around 5 or 5:30, goes to bed around 9. Now that he's old enough to be able to add a bit of finesse to his procrastination game, I have a feeling we could easily get sucked into a truly horrendous schedule. Also included in this resolution is my having to come to terms with the fact that Henry is probably over the need for a three hour nap. Two hours is enough. I'm going to continue to nurture my denial that his nap will be getting shorter and shorter over the next year.

5. Drink more water.

I think that about covers the main stuff. Maybe at the end of June I'll make some middle-of-the-year resolutions, depending on where things stand with the ones listed above.

Posted by Jenn at 01:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)