Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in vanessa_mac's LiveJournal:

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Sunday, November 1st, 2009
10:01 pm	Adventure Report: Trick-or-Treating (Last week's planned adventure at the Nature Center didn't work out. Calvin didn't get a nap, and then was too cranky and whiny to inflict on others. And I'm not taking him on something that will obviously be a disaster just to fulfill the Adventure quota.) Calvin went trick-or-treating for the first time last night. He was dressed as a fireman, and it was extremely cute. Colin's parents came over to answer our door and watch baby Justin so Colin and I could both take Calvin. He was very good about saying "Trick or Treat!" and "Thank you!" and "Happy Halloween!" He was also very good about asking people whether he could pet their dogs, like we taught him. "I PET YOUR DOGGIE? I PET YOUR DOGGIE? YES? YES?" He made it to about ten houses, which is pretty good considering only about half our neighbors had their lights on. I really enjoyed the chance to see my neighbors, and introduce myself to some people that I haven't had a chance to meet yet. And in a context that makes me likable, too (I have a cute little boy! dressed as a fireman! saying "thank you" so sweetly! How could you fail to think well of me?) I'd never really thought about what a big "neighborly" thing trick-or-treat is. But it really is a nice thing that neighbors do for one another. And it takes a critical mass of both trick-or-treaters and candy-handing-outers to make it work. I give a big thumbs down to the recent trend toward trick-or-treating in malls. Candy from the clerks at Sharon's Luggage? Where's the fun in that? Anyway, Calvin had a great time showing off his costume, petting doggies, seeing people's decorations (some of which were pretty elaborate; high marks for the family with a whole cemetery on their front yard), and getting loot. And I liked seeing my neighbors. I think it was a successful outing. Ask me again after Calvin ODs on sugar. Next week we might go to the Lego show at Anna's Toy Depot on Saturday afternoon. Current Mood: anxious (Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
11:28 am	Adventure Report: Art for Texas Festival I have set myself a goal of taking Calvin on one "adventure" a week. The purpose is to push me out of my comfort zone and discover more of what our fair city has to offer. Also to get out of the house and give Colin a break. :-) Instead of whining about how hard it is to do things when you have kids, I'm going to find things you can do with kids. I hope that writing about it will be interesting to other people, and also keep me honest. Some of the activities won't work out, but it's not like sitting around the house is so fantastic either. Rules: 1. It has to be something I haven't done lately. 2. It has to sound like fun. Dragging Calvin on errands doesn't count, for instance. 3. Voyager and FUUCA parties do not count unless there is something unusual going on, because these events are very much within my comfort zone. (This rule also precludes having to write reviews of my friends' parties, which would be awkward.) 4. The actual activity has to include Calvin. Events where Calvin goes to on-site daycare while I participate in the real activity don't count. Our first adventure was the Art for Texas Festival outside of San Marcos. It was an outdoor event held in the forest about ten miles outside of town. Admission $5, plus $1 for parking. Many people had paintings for sale displayed, including our very own Lisa Jasak. They also had barbeque, live music, and children's activities: drawing on a blackboard with colored chalk, and coloring in an outline of a winged pig. There is also a whole forest for children to play in, although I think they weren't really supposed to. (Don't tell.) The weather was gorgeous, which is fortunate since a lot of the artists had their art displayed in the open air. Calvin got to play with Baby Laney, which is always a joy for him. It made me a little nervous seeing the toddlers run around the festival; if Calvin knocks over a stack of paintings and damages them, that will be a very expensive mistake. But I kept him out of trouble. Unfortunately, I didn't get to look at the artwork much, because of my fear that Calvin would damage it. About all I can tell you is that most of it was realist: flowers, dogs, families at the beach. All in all, a successful outing. Next up: the Halloween Howl at the Austin Nature Center. 5-9 pm October 24th. Current Mood: tired (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, January 19th, 2009
3:57 pm	It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Day Here's my parody. It's not as good as Mickey's, but hopefully it will bring a little amusement to your day. It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year It's the most wonderful time of the year. With the kids jingle belling, and everyone telling you, "Be of good cheer," It's the most wonderful time of the year. There'll be parties for hosting, marshmallows for toasting and caroling out in the snow. there'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago. It's the most wonderful time of the year. There'll be much mistletoeing and hearts will be glowing, when loved ones are near. It's the most wonderful time of the year.   It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Day It's the most wonderful time of the day. With the kids in their bunk beds, all tucked under bedspreads, Now grown-ups can play, It's the most wonderful time of the day. There'll be R-rated viewing, and then maybe wooing, and the mixed drinks will freely flow. There'll be books for the reading and treats for the treating like single days long, long ago. It's the most wonderful time of the day. There'll be extra-good foot rubs and soaking in hot tubs, let's have no delay! It's the most wonderful time of the day. Current Mood: amused (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, December 26th, 2008
3:56 pm	A Merry Christmas to All We had a pretty good Christmas, despite neither Colin nor I being all that excited about the holiday. Calvin was extremely cute carrying the presents to everyone. I think this is the last year we can get away with not doing the whole Santa thing, but we can still get away with giving him Veronika's old toys for a while. Frank and Paullette came over for the day, so it wasn't just the four of us. Now we have the dead week between Christmas and New Year's. In some ways I like it. All the holiday stress is done for another year, and we can just relax. I am almost the only person at work, which makes it the perfect opportunity to get rid of all kinds of little tasks that pile up. The one thing I do not like is the absence of childcare. Not just Calvin's normal daycare, but a lot of activities that I would normally take Calvin to are closed for the week. I love my son, but nine days of unstructured togetherness is a bit much. I hope everyone is having a good holiday week. Current Mood: tired (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, December 22nd, 2008
4:59 pm	Update I haven't had a chance to post in a while. We've been out of town a lot. First we went to my parents' house in Raleigh for Thanksgiving, which went as well as can be expected. There were three toddlers bouncing off the walls (sometimes literally), which meant it wasn't very restful for the big people. But we had a good time anyway. It helps a lot that the boys are old enough to take to things like the Children's Museum, and old enough to sort of follow verbal instructions. Last year, we had three pre-verbal monkeys who were not clued in to the world enough to handle things like a trip to the playground. Then we went skiing, which was awesome. Great snow, nearly no lines at all, and we picked up a few new tricks. Calvin woke up coughing (and woke us up coughing) every night, which was not awesome, but could have happened just as easily at home. Toward the end of one ski day, Colin and I split up and agreed to meet at the bar at the end of the day. I got there first, and immediately fell asleep in my chair. The bartender woke me up, "hey, have you been drinking? You need to keep your head up, I can't have people passing out at the bar." Just severely sleep deprived, not drunk, barkeep. Since then, I've been running around trying to get my Christmas presents purchased, wrapped, and shipped in time. I handed the last batch to the FedEx guy at 5 pm Friday. I think 6 days before Christmas is my all-time record for getting this stuff done. I hate the running around, hate it so much. My main problem is, I'm not much of a gift person and I hate shopping. So I never see anything in a store and think "hey, this would be a great gift for so-and-so!" In fact, when I'm in a store, I almost never think anything other than "get me out of here get me out of here GET ME OUT OF HERE". And I can never just dream up good gift ideas. I have to ask people for gift ideas (I ask everyone what their spouse and kids would like, not what they themselves would like), which no one wants to give me before Thanksgiving. And there are just not that many days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, especially since we travel a lot then. We went to church yesterday, for the first time in quite a while. I thought Brian Ferguson gave an amazing sermon. It felt really good to be back. I hope we can heal from recent events. Calvin was sent home sick from daycare today. We're having some work done on the house which involves shutting off the heat for several days (they swear everything will be done by Christmas Eve). So my evening will be less than awesome. Current Mood: tired (Comment on this)
Monday, November 17th, 2008
2:34 pm	Seven Deadly Sins Greed: Medium   Gluttony: Low   Wrath: Medium   Sloth: Very Low   Envy: Low   Lust: Medium   Pride: Medium   Take the Seven Deadly Sins Quiz Current Mood: discontent (Comment on this)
Thursday, November 13th, 2008
10:51 am	Update Colin is in Prague, and my mom is visiting. She is very helpful with Calvin, and she claims to like nothing better than spending a day playing at the playground and reading Dr. Seuss. It is pretty awesome to come home and find that the shopping is done, dinner is prepared, and Calvin has no outstanding needs. I could get used to this! Calvin has figured out how to get out of his crib, which makes it much more difficult to ensure that he gets enough rest. If he's not really tired, he jumps right out of his crib. And he's not quite old enough to understand that staying in bed is a Rule, and jumping out to play games half the night is Bad. The other day, I came home from a morning run to find Calvin alone in the kitchen, doing a joyful dance at being able to explore all the Mystery Drawers. This is a tricky age, sleepwise. The people in my department at work are being put into other departments. We can either go to the Department of Things I Like, or the Department of Stuff I'm Not That Into. I have cleverly weaseled my way into the Department of Things I Like. Yeah! I keep getting spam that says it is from eBay with a subject line of "Dumb and Poor? Here's a simple way to make money!" Does that work? People see the subject and think "Yes, that's me! I am a complete dimwit! How can a dumbass make money simply? Please tell me how, email spam!" Current Mood: bored (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 29th, 2008
10:56 am	Kayaking This weekend, Colin, Calvin and I visited the Jasaks in San Marcos. It was great. Calvin and Laney play together much better than I would expect two toddlers to play, which means that one adult can watch both of them while also sort of doing something else. This is a tremendous improvement over what happens on a normal weekend--Colin and I are Calvin's only possible playmates, so one of us has our whole attention on one toddler. I really enjoyed spending some time with old friends. I don't get to do that as often as I would like to. The real highlight of the trip was the kayaking. The Jasaks hired a babysitter for the toddlers, and we went kayaking down the San Marcos and Blanco rivers. You're never very far out of town, but the thick tree cover creates the illusion that you are way out in the wilderness. The scenery is beautiful, and there are many turtles sunning themselves on logs. The only downside was the possibility of water moccasins. I was instructed that if a water moccasin tries to climb into my boat (and supposedly they are aggressive enough to do it), I should beat it into submission with my paddle. I didn't encounter any snakes though, which is fortunate, because the idea of spanking a snake with a paddle makes me a little nervous. We had to hustle before and after our trip to get things done, but it was definitely worth it. We've been working on a lot of home improvements, which is good, but if we can never take a day off and have fun with our friends, I start to wonder what I'm working for. Current Mood: cold (Comment on this)
Thursday, October 2nd, 2008
10:53 am	Austin City Limits People fly from all over the country to go to ACL. Colin and I can walk there from our house, so we decided we would have to be pretty lame not to go. So we got Saturday passes, and I am very glad we did. We saw a South American band whose lead singer wore the same kind of footie pajamas Calvin wears, Erykah Badu, Electric Touch, John Fogerty, Iron & Wine, and Robert Plant. It was really awesome to get to go. I discovered some new bands I like, and listening to music while sitting in a lawn chair next to your sweetie is a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon even if you are "meh" about the music. The food was surprisingly good; usually at these big festivals I am disappointed by the lack of options, but at ACL I was frustrated because so many things looked good, and I could only get one! I am feeling better, quite up to walking around Zilker with my lawn chair all day and then walking home (yeah!) Current Mood: calm (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 17th, 2008
10:55 am	Good News, Bad News I still feel like crap. I still can't eat. The good news is, I don't have hepatitis. The bad news is, they don't know what I do have. Some of the yet-to-be-eliminated possibilities are pretty scary. Current Mood: scared (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, September 15th, 2008
3:29 pm	Tummy Trouble I have not been able to eat or drink anything but carbonated beverages since Wednesday. I feel basically fine otherwise, so it's really strange. Have you ever noticed that there are no carbonated beverages that are really good for you? I finally decided this is getting ridiculous, and I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. Because calling a list of doctors to see who is taking new patients and who accepts your insurance is a really healing thing to do when you're not feeling well. Let's hope for something minor and easily cured, because I'm getting really bored with soda. If I had to be sick, I'm glad it happened when everyone was out of town, because I'm not quite up to chasing a toddler. Everyone is getting back late tonight. Colin could not be happier to be getting home. Current Mood: sick (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008
10:25 am	It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year I love back-to-school time. I loved it when I was a kid--we moved every summer, so I spent every August unpacking boxes and hanging around a neighborhood where I didn't know anyone, and I was happy when school started and I could go someplace with playground equipment and other kids. I love it even more now. By the end of August, Veronika has completely run out of things to do, and it is so hot, it is hard to do anything outside. (But we are going to join our neighborhood pool, so the situation may improve next year.) It is very pleasant to be able to send her to a place where she can socialize, and they feed her and keep her busy during the day. She is less excited about it, of course, but oh well. Calvin started a new daycare, and that looks very nice so far. It is south of the river, which means my days of crossing the Mopac bridge twice during rush hour every day are over, and that is a big relief. The daycare ladies seem very nice, and they have fun activities for the babies, so I think it will be a good experience for him. Current Mood: busy (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, August 8th, 2008
10:14 am	Margaritas by Moonlight Colin and I signed up for the Moonlight Margarita Run, which was held last night. Well, I signed up for both the 5k and the party, and he signed up for just the party. I'm finding that 5k runs with good after-parties are a good way to get my race fix while also doing something with my family. This race was held to benefit the Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail, which is a cause I can definitely get behind. They were serving margaritas at the finish line, which I am also very much in favor of. Yesterday, Colin and I both had colds, and nobody felt like running or partying. But we had paid in advance, dammit, and we weren't going to let our tickets go to waste. We can be stupidly frugal that way. But once I got going, I felt good. It's a lot of fun running in a big group of people who are also happy to be running and excited about the event. Colin and Calvin passed the time exploring the playground at the nearby Montessori school, which Calvin enjoyed very much. They made it back to the finish line in time to see me cross, and it was awesome to have a cheering section. Then we had the margarita portion of the event. The margaritas were delicious, and Colin makes excellent ones, so my standards are high. Calvin ran around with a bottle of water in his hands and a glowstick around his tummy. He was very cute and good, and everyone admired his cuteness and goodness, even though it was not a baby-oriented kind of event at all. All in all, I think it was a good event and I'm glad we went. Current Mood: sick (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, July 10th, 2008
12:53 pm	How to Fake Psychic Powers the Easy Way Last night, all four of us were in the backyard. We can't hear the doorbell or see the front door from the backyard (this becomes important later). I quickly realized that going out barefoot had been a dumb move and went inside to get shoes. While I was inside, I heard a knock at the door. It was some neighbors of ours whom I had not met before. They introduced themselves and explained they were here to talk to Colin about something he had asked them about last week. I told them we were all in the backyard, and they said they would walk around, rather than go through the house. I went through the house, and got to the backyard first. I told Colin "Jim and Ellen are here. They want to talk to you about the ____ you asked them about last week." Boy, was he surprised when Jim and Ellen (whom Colin knows I hadn't met before) came around the corner, chock full of news about the thing. Colin asked me later how I knew. I told him the truth, but maybe that was a bad idea. Maybe it would be better to let him think I have superhuman powers. Current Mood: cheerful (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, July 7th, 2008
11:44 am	The Long Weekend I was dreading the 4th of July weekend. So many things are closed, most notably Calvin's day care, YMCA daycare, and baby swim class. And it is so freaking hot you can't go outside for much of the day. Which leaves me with three days to fill and not a lot to fill them with. But instead, it turned into a Weekend of Awesomeness. Veronika babysat Calvin so Colin and I could go out Thursday night. Then Friday morning there was a neighborhood parade and picnic. Macy's Parade it ain't, but it was nice and we got to meet some of our neighbors. Friday night, we watched the fireworks from our roof, which had a pretty decent view. Veronika and I rented a kayak and paddled around Town Lake on Saturday morning, which I highly recommend. There was even some time to read and fool around. Veronika had a toddler-loving friend over for much of the weekend, so Toddler Suicide Watch was split four ways. Of course Colin and I did more than the girls, but having extra people to share the load even a little bit made it fun instead of a burden. I really think the isolated nuclear family is not a good model. If you have other people around helping with small children, even a little bit, the parents get some relief, and the other people either get to relive the joys of small children or learn a little about what these short people are like. Everybody wins. Current Mood: relaxed (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, July 1st, 2008
10:55 am	No Rest for the Wicked Colin and I are trying to plan our Thanksgiving trip. We always fly to see my parents in Raleigh. However, air travel is more expensive than it used to be, plus Calvin no longer qualifies to fly as Infant on Lap, so this is now a very expensive proposition. So we are trying to think about whether we even want to go, how we would get there, and what sort of vacations we might take instead if we decide not to go to Raleigh for Thanksgiving. It's so difficult traveling with a toddler. I really do not like spending long periods trying to keep Calvin safe in an area where there's not really anything for him to do, like a hotel room. I flat-out refuse to take him out in public someplace where he will make everyone miserable, like a multi-day train ride. (You're welcome.) Other than going to see relatives who will share the Calvin load, traveling just doesn't seem worth the trouble and expense. I would spend all my time either on Toddler Suicide Watch (which is much easier to do at home) or out doing things by myself while Colin is on Toddler Suicide Watch (which is not really that much fun). And yet... I don't want to be one of those people who stopped doing anything fun once they had kids. And my new employer is very generous with the vacation--22 days of PTO. I don't want to just lose the days. That would be dumb. So. Where can we go and what can we do that is more fun than just staying home? No suggestion is too far-fetched to be considered. Current Mood: calm (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
9:52 am	Driven to Distraction Colin very nicely agreed to take my car for its 60,000-mile check-up, which it is very overdue for. During the chaos of the renovation and move and more renovation, anything that could be put off until later, was put off until later. And it's later. Why is Colin dealing with this instead of me? Partly because it will take most of a day to deal with, and I don't want to blow a vacation day on this nonsense. Partly because Colin is awesome. But mainly because Colin has a Y chromosome and some knowledge of how cars work, and thus is much more resistant to repairman BS than I am. If I had to take the car in myself, the repairman would tell me I'm out of blinker fluid and my spoo is all full of fleem, and I would say OK, and they would get a bunch of money for basically nothing. I hate cars. I hate the driving, I hate the maintaining, I hate paying the insurance, and I really hate what they're doing to the environment. I know the obvious answer would be "don't drive". I really look forward to the day when that is a realistic option. But it isn't today, and believe me, I've tried. The buses never go where I want to go. You'd have to be suicidal to make a habit of bicycling in this city. Finding a place to live where everything is walking distance is very difficult, especially if you occasionally want to bring home a bookshelf or a sack of dog food. Boo cars. Current Mood: tired (Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008
1:39 pm	Date Night A wonderful thing happened yesterday. My in-laws agreed to watch Calvin overnight so Colin and I could go out. We got to eat dinner at an upscale, toddler-unfriendly restaurant, and have a real conversation where the topic wandered where it wanted to go. Then we went to Momo's to hear some live music. They get some good bands there, even on Mondays, and the vibe is not so aggressively hipper-than-thou that I feel out of place. And then this morning, no one had to feed the baby or dress the baby or try to guess whether they had enough time for this or that before the baby woke up. Awesome. We need to have more date nights. Current Mood: happy (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, May 30th, 2008
5:04 pm	Update A lot has been happening at MacDougal Manor lately. My mom came to visit and take care of Calvin while Colin was out of town. She spent a lot of time working with him on talking, and now he is much more verbal. This is a very exciting development, of course, but also a bit startling, kind of like a pet suddenly acquiring the power of speech. Calvin has also discovered a love of books. That's our boy! He will chase you all over the house with a board book in his hand, "booky booky? booky booky? booky booky booky booky booky?" And who can say no to that? We have a tree in the middle of our yard. In the storm last week, one of the main branches broke off and fell on the playhouse. We are very grateful that it did not land on our real house, or any of us. Today is our 4th wedding anniversary. We already celebrated last weekend. Here's to many more! Today is also Veronika's last day of school. She had a good school year, but she's happy that summer is here. Colin and I are less joyous, but every summer gets a little easier, as V requires less childcare and is capable of pitching in more. As a sort of celebration of having some free time, Colin purchased a computer game called Oblivion that we are all addicted to. I am probably supposed to be saying "gosh, that was foolish, to squander all our free time on a computer game". But phooey on that kind of pointless Puritanism. We have worked our asses off non-stop for nearly two years, and if anyone ever earned the right to fool around a little, it's us. Current Mood: happy (Comment on this)
Monday, May 19th, 2008
2:19 pm	Not Bad for an Engineer Below is a list of the top 106 books tagged "unread" on LibraryThing. The rules: bold = what you've read, italics = books you started but couldn't finish crossed out = books you hated * = you've read more than once underline = books you own but haven't read yourself ( Here's the list. ) Current Mood: calm (2 Comments |Comment on this)