avablog

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from de- + sperare to hope*:

Photo: 2010 Eduardo Muñoz Ordoqui
* For those of you who — like my wife — are wondering why this is here, please refer to the comments on this post.

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Sometimes, when I’m contemplating a blog post (which, honest, occurs much more frequently than the posting here suggests), I wonder if I dare delve as deeply into cliche as I have a mind to. I quietly debate the merits of cliche. And as you long-time readers know, I almost never pull myself out [...]

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I have an inkling that it would be a lot easier to explain the birds and the bees to Ava right now than to do it when she’s 11. Or 13. I’m guessing that when she’s older, there’ll be the danger that she can get up from our talk, walk out the door, [...]

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“Interesting” story today in the WSJ about the consequences of broad spectrum antibiotic use. My favorite bit? I’m so glad you asked.

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I miss all the good stuff. This morning, Ava came into our room when she got up so she could get some snuggles with Baby Brudder (she HAS to learn to say her th sounds someday). I got up to use the restroom, and while I was down the hall, I could hear [...]

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“Three windbells cool the humid summertime;
Clashing their shrilly sweet metallic chime.”
–A Chime of Windbells
This season always reminds me of falling in love with my husband. When we were first dating, we would take his dog, Maggie, for long walks through the dark, tree-lined streets–and down to the river–on warm summer nights. The humid air, the [...]

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I chatted briefly the other day at school pickup with the mother of one of Ava’s classmates. Turns out she had a friend who reads this blog (or maybe the other one). The mother had been describing Leah to her friend when she mentioned Ava’s name, and the acquaintance suddenly realized exactly who [...]

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So this was a weird day. Emmett came home from the hospital, which was great and new and exciting. But two other events transpired today that got me thinking about the interconnectedness of the universe.

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Ava and I were sitting together on the porch yesterday, watching the rain and listening to birds while she munched on a popsicle (no, Firefox, I’m not going to capitalize “popsicle.” Grab a kleenex to wipe your tears).

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Alien hand syndrome masturbation
“Don’t knock masturbation — it’s sex with someone I love.”
–W. Allen ca. 1977

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Perineal massage: Si o no?

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To circumcise or not? A thought I’d not had on the matter before today, from this article:
But once you and your penis are fully baked, the advantage of a foreskin is not clear. Some scientists speculate that it protected the prehistoric penis as it swung, naked, through thick forests and over tall grasses; and [...]

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Sometimes I need to remind myself that this blog isn’t all about me. Or Leah. So I’ll try to put together a unicorn chaser here. Thanks to all those who commented on yesterday’s incendiary post; it’s always interesting to find the limits of acceptable public disclosure.

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Sometimes that little ol’ wife of mine sure does crack me up. Like today. She got a really nice glider rocker in excellent condition FOR FREE from friends of mine. She wanted it for the nursery, but only on the condition that she could get it reupholstered to match the wall color [...]

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Leah and I went to the mall at noon to run some errands. Still spring break here, and the mall was mobbed with kids, mostly teens, some with their parents. Have you had occasion to take notice of teenagers recently? I superimposed Ava’s face on every girl who walked by, leaning evermore [...]

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Hi, Ava.
As you know, there’s some excitement in our house over this new baby we’re expecting. We’ve each been thinking in abstract terms, mostly, about how things will change when we go from three to four. Things that we’ll lose. Things that we’ll gain. And things we hope won’t change at [...]

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I’ve spent some time recently trying to imagine what it’s going to be like having another child in the house. I find myself envisioning a pinball machine, where the actions of one body in motion constantly puts into motion a body previously at rest. So this – finally — is that presumed mythological [...]

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Your savings could disappear in an instant despite your most earnest efforts to save it wisely. A semi could cross the center line. A train could derail. A gunman could enter the school. A bomb could go off. A disease could strike. A tornado could appear. A flood [...]

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So Ava’s lying in our bed this morning with Leah, feeling the baby move. Talk at one point turns to breastfeeding, as it often does in these situations, and I’m standing at the closet door when Ava lifts up Leah’s shirt — revealing her breasts — and exclaims, “Wowza!”
That is all.

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