Duly Noted

Saturday night brought a crowd of folks to Slide Ranch to celebrate the Pisces birthdays. After losing track of the number of red wine glasses I'd consumed, I joined the "human stew crew" in the giant cow trough propped over a blazing bonfire. The lack of clothing, floating Eucalyptus leaves, and extreme water temperatures (someone kept showering us with freezing hose water) inspired a conversation about the mind/body connection. As the wine wore off, I realized that perhaps I wasn't doing my body any favors: sitting underwear-clad in a cow trough drinking from wine bottles with a bunch of naked strangers (okay, distant acquaintances) in the middle of the night. Sure enough, I felt pretty out of it the next day. The following afternoon, my friend Zia and I sprawled out on the deep wooden benches overlooking the Pacific and discussed "alignment." As the sun set, we pondered: are our actions in line with our mind and emotions? are we aware of what we need and ...

This post marks the last weekly update of the Misha Man series.  From here on out, we are rolling at a month to month basis. Yet again, Misha's fourth week of life was an eventful one!  The family train continued as Mike's parents arrived on a sunny Wednesday afternoon.  They were ecstatic as they missed an earlier opportunity to drive northwards due to a bad cold.  Misha took to his grandparents instantly. Before the grandparents arrived, I had a couple days alone with Misha while Mike was working.  We went on several long walks to local coffee shops and parks.  I am absolutely in love with my BOB stroller- as is Misha.  It is heaven on wheels.  As Mother's Day weekend approached, a rumor spread that another Vasich might make his way up to the Twin Cities.  All were doubtful that Mike's youngest brother and his girlfriend would actually make the 12 hour drive from Bloomington, Indiana...all except Mike who knows t...

You know the song, "It's the most wonderful time of the year..."  That's pretty much my mantra starting around Thanksgiving week and wrapping up in mid January. As I write this post, I am listening to the holiday station (programmed on all household and vehicle radios) AND Mike is currently buying out Menard's stock of holiday lights. Here's a glimpse of the weekend's festive and not-really-festive happenings: Today, The Longfellow Lights Committee prepares this year's awards.  A popcorn bucket and Muppet's Christmas Carol will keep us on task as we cut and glitter (yes, I used glitter as a verb). Mike and I attended an 8-hour Childbirth Express Class on Saturday.  I should write an entire post about this, but for now, I will say that we feel confident and excited about the birth process.  We also quizzed each other on childbirth trivia all the way home.   True or false- a newborn should have 3 soiled diapers before it leaves the hospit...