3 months

Art by Modern Genes

 

I bought these prints by Modern Genes for Clara's bedroom, which doesn't exist yet because she sleeps in our room. The first one is her sign under the Chinese horoscope, and the second, called Victoria Love, celebrates her birthplace.

Luck of the Irish

I bought a ticket for this lottery yesterday. I've had tentative plans to buy tickets from a hospital lottery for a long time, because, you know, the chances of winning something are pretty good, right? Whenever I buy lottery tickets, I'm convinced that I've won (I haven't), and I have the same feeling this time around. I mentioned this to Michael, and it reminded him of a great This American Life episode, Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time, which features this story:

It was two months into the tour, and the cast of Riverdance had been performing eight shows a week. They decided to pool their money for the Mega-Millions lottery. Lotto fever gripped the cast. They started to genuinely believe they would take home about $2 million each, and quit Riverdance the next day. They took the stage the night of the drawing and pulled off their best performance ever, "For the Lotto!," trying to direct their energy towards the win. An hour later, at the hotel bar, the numbers came in. 

Anyway, the draw for my lottery is on May 27. I'll let you know the results.

Favorite thing: Smooze fruit ice

Our roommate, Jen, introduced Smooze fruit ice to us last week. I've only tried the coconut and pineapple version, and I'm in love. What a healthy, refreshing and delicious treat. And probably easy to make?

Top TV

You guys, I barely watch movies anymore. There isn't much time for TV, either, but we carve out time for these favorites (they're that good):

Girls
It's about "a group of 20-something women in New York and their adventures in post-collegiate floundering."

Why I like it: I've only watched two episodes, and I'm just really excited that this show exists for young ladies. Actually, I'm excited that it exists for everyone. Some people don't like it, but this (really long) editorial explains why they're wrong. You can watch the first episode on YouTube. (Thanks for that, HBO.)

Parenthood
It's about family dynamics more than it's about parenthood, per se. The family in question includes four adult siblings, their retired parents and their children.

Why I like it: It's honest and endearing.

New Girl 
It's about four roommates living in L.A.

Why I like it: The characters are unique for such a standard sit com premise, and the writing is top notch.

Game of Thrones
It's based the books by George R.R. Martin that I read when I was pregnant.

Why I like it: I like fantasy, yo, and I get to revisit the books by watching the series, even though some of the plot points have been adjusted and I'm always a little confused.

Downton Abbey 
As Saturday Night Live says, "it's about a bunch of honkeys who live in a church, or maybe it's a museum - either way, they don't got WiFi!"

Why I like it: Michael and I didn't expect to get hooked on this British period drama, but we did, just like the Internet said we would. I'm a fan of the pace, which I attribute to a story-telling style that lacks manipulative American tactics.

Deadwood
It's about the American gold rush and anarchy. 

Why I like it: The dialogue in this show is unbelievable: Shakespeare meets the wild west. Three season's worth of DVDs kept me company while I got used to breastfeeding Clara, and she may or may not have picked up some colourful language in the process.

2 months

Reading list

Last night we watched Hey, Boo: Harper Lee and 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. Now I have plans to read it again, and I also have plans to get my hands on a copy for Clara because, as Anna Quindlen says in the documentary: Scout is one of those those rare figures in literature, similar to Anne of Green Gables and Jo in Little Women, who hasn't gone over to "the dark side of being a girly girl." I'm not sure if I would put it in those words, but I do want Clara to have punchy role models. I've already got the beautiful cloth bound edition of Little Women, below, so now I need Anne of Green Gables and To Kill a Mockingbird. Any other suggestions for Clara's library?
UPDATE: It seems that most of the people who read this blog link to it through Facebook. As a result they tend to leave comments on my wall. That's cool and all, but I'm not sure if I can search my Facebook archives, so all of the awesome suggestions will be buried on my timeline. In addition, those who aren't friends with me on Facebook miss out. Want to know my favorites from those comments? Here they are: The Golden Compass, Pippi Longstocking, Matilda (which we just received as a gift from our buddy Zoe T), The Secret Garden, Are you there God? It's me, Margaret, The Diary of Anne Frank, Alice in Wonderland and The Paper Bag Princess.

And if I need more ideas, a friend recommended this list, which suggests 80 books for young ladies, starting with picture books.

1 month

4 days

For those of you who didn't see the news on Facebook, here she is! Introducing Clara Jane Riley Bowen:She was born 7lbs, 11oz via caesarean on February 15 at 9:52pm. We're still at the hospital, but we're hoping to head home today or tomorrow. All of us are happy and healthy, and we're feeling the love from all of our wonderful friends and family. xoxo

41 weeks

Today I put my hair up in the most impractical style in hopes that the baby would take that as a signal to come already. It hasn't worked so far.