He came to us as a baby

In O My Home, we are preparing for our first family Christmas. I cannot adequately express how happy that makes me.

kate broughton..

my good friend helene (who's band you should give a good long listen to, for sure.) sent me a link to kate broughton's etsy site, squealing that she had bought a meerkat and gold crest bird felted brooch while she was on her latest tour. ummm, meerkat? brooch? click! it's true, meerkat brooches are available along with kate's other handmade animals like a hedgehog, chicken, and a ring tailed lemur (a lemur!). those are just a few brooch offerings on her etsy shop, she's also got totes and more. but don't just stop at kate's etsy shop, check out her site where you'll see her illustrations as well. girl has got a talent bone for sure.

O My Husbands siblings

I was a college freshman sitting at a table in Saga with DanO talking about his family who live in this land where it is cold in an ungodly way 5½ months out of the year. Apparently it was so cold one time his and his siblings’ school was closed. Something about the high being -17 one day in February?“What kind of people live in a place like that?”There were 5 of them, apparently. Two parents and his three younger siblings. All blond haired, blue eyed and Scandanavian also. We had been dating for about 8 weeks, I was DanO’s first official girlfriend (although people who knew him in high school will be quick to remind him of that one girl, I’m told I’m the first to actually have the title), and I was memorizing names and ages in preparation for a trip to his home for Fall Break. I was going to meet the fam for the first time.Last week was the 5th anniversary of that first very, very nervous first meeting of my (unbeknownst to them) future family in-law, and it has been a wonderful 5 years. I’d like you to meet the three friends I now get to call siblings thanks to this lil’ shiny thing on my left hand.(That fateful first meeting. I apologize for the 1.3 megapixel camera image. It was practically a millennium ago as far as digital photography technology is concerned.)~~~~~~There is OBrother, when I first met him, he was in the middle of his high school career. He had grown up only 19 months behind DanO and had been his co-architect for many an art project, tunnel fort, and home-made explosive. Did I mention I’m excited to raise a boy, DanO’s son, no less? They’ve been attached at the hip since they could finger paint. These days they like to talk endlessly about operating systems, why one should take images in RAW format, and Stargate movie releases.(Just another typical night with the OBrothers.)And LittlestO. She was 7 at the “O My Family, I’d like you to meet my girlfriend, Allison” gathering, but now at almost 13 she is just as spunky and fun as when I first met her. She loves to create, whether it’s drawing, making cards or blogging about her adorable nephew, ahem. This girl, friends, this girl is full of joy for other people. Especially her nephew who, by the way, could go to the same school as his auntie LittlestO if we put him into kindergarten at the k-12 private school she attends for her senior in high school.That is what can happen when you become a father at 22, folks.Speaking of being a senior in high school, LadyO, the older of DanO’s two younger sisters (you may draw a diagram if needed) is about to be an O My College Student. Her senior year of high school is coming with all the necessary pomp and circumstance photo shoots that have become the American high schooler status quo.Except, this is O My Family, where you don’t dare pay someone to do something that you (or someone you know, or you and the use of someone you know’s tools, or you plus all of the able bodied workers you know… you catch my drift) could do yourself. I’m sorry, how much did you say senior portraits cost?! Ho-lee Racket, and my parents thought it was bad 6 years ago.So, I present to you the beautiful LadyO’s senior pictures, taken by Sir DanO himself.~~~~~~They were a tight group of sibs before I came along and I am absolutely blessed to have been welcomed in by each of them (I think giving them a stinkin’ adorable nephew to play with hasn’t hurt either… but I’m, fairly certain they loved me before that). I love you guys!

I heart LA..

While the transfer of those perfect 3 embryos was definitely the highlight of our 3rd and final trip to LA (all in 8 weeks!), we also had a lot of fun while there.

They wanted us to fly in Sunday night, transfer Monday afternoon then fly out Tuesday afternoon. BUT.. I’m a little bit of an over achiever and thought, “Hey, why not fly in earlier and spend all day having FUN!!! One last hurrah before taking care of little beans for 10 months!”

SO.. we planned a CRAZY early flight, rented a car and decided to hit up Universal Studios.

But that wasn’t really enough for me, because if you are going to do something shouldn’t you do it ALL THE WAY??

May I introduce you to the “FRONT OF THE LINE PASS!!!!!”

That little tag hanging around our necks meant we simply walked on to any ride. No waiting out in the hot sun, no trying to entertain ourselves for 50, 60 or 70 minutes. We also had reserved seating at every show.

Don’t ask how much it was, just know it was worth every ounce of our sanity. (And kinda made us feel EXTRA special all day.) It was just what I needed..

After almost 10 hours at Universal Studios (and NUMEROUS times on EVERY ride. (The Simpsons ride was AWESOMEEEE!!! beeteedubs..)) We headed back to our car and had NO idea we’d be arriving at this castle of a hotel..

I couldnt think of a better place to have a little R&R after the transfer..

And the transfer was TOMORROW!!! Playing all day had kept my mind off it, but as we settled in late at night, it began to really sink in.

But not nervousness, just anticipations and excitement. I also couldn’t WAIT to see the parents.

We were thankful for late night room service, and also our very first full room service meal! (p.s. I PROMISE I had the salad.. not the pizza!)

We made sure that meal knew who was boss and settled into our castle beds.

The morning held so much for us!

I have already talked about the transfer, but left out the only picture we took at the transfer.. Me and my best friend “My Wandy.”

Man.. I was SO ready for that moment.

I was grateful the doctor didn’t ask me to be on STRICT bedrest. So we made the most of the beautiful California weather and preformed “bedrest” outside!

Anddddd… mayyyybe snuck away for one last city dinner. There is NO way we could go to Pasadena and not visit the Melting Pot. That cheese was calling me.

And really.. I walked no more than about 5 feet the whole night so it was practically bedrest! :)

And we put the hurt on that pot of cheese. (or maybe 2 pots of cheese..) But no one will tell on us. And I think the babies REALLLY liked it too!

And uh.. I probably shouldn’t leave out one itsy bitsy teeny tiny detail of our trip..
Meet our new twins.. :)

The first playoff game

Last night was definitely a long night!!!! We went right from work to our Birthing class that lasted until 9:30pm. Aaron’s hockey game started at 10pm. I planned to just drop him off at his hockey game, go home and have someone else bring him home. On the way there, we found out the whole family was coming to watch. So I just decided to stay. We had dropped Riddick off at the “babysitters” (also know as “Bernie’s House) that morning since we knew it would be a late night. By the time we picked him up and got home it was almost 12:30.. (I think.. I just know it was 1am before I got to bed..)

Soooo…

The class: Was interesting. We missed the first class so we were a little lost on some things. We talked mostly about relaxation techniques and different pain management techniques for different situations. A lot of it was very interesting. I’m not too into the “Go to your happy place” type stuff.. When I’m in pain.. I don’t want Aaron trying to take me on a metaphorical walk through a garden with bird chirping. I would be pretty likely to kick him in the stomach at that point!!! even though it was REALLY nice in class and I almost fell asleep a couple time, I don’t think that’s going to help me much on the actually birthing front! The couples there were soooo much more in tune with everything. And asked amazing questions. I really thought I was educated on everything and had done a lot of research. But man.. I was wrong! I think we’ll really get a lot out of this class and I’m so glad we got in. The teacher is AMAZING! I knew she would be, so I’m glad I wasn’t disappointed! And knowing our Doula was trained by here makes me even more excited!!!! SO…. After class we went to Aaron’s hockey game. The team is just entering playoffs. This was their first play off game. The team consists of Aaron, His older brother, Our brother in law, our brother in laws brother, His younger brother and one of Aaron’s friends. And honestly.. they have soo much fun. Aaron always loves going every week. But… well.. they haven’t exactly ever won. Not even come close.. but they have fun and it’s great exercise and it’s good for all the boys to just get some time to themselves. I really wanted to make it just one game, and I’m glad I went last night.The pictures are HORRIBLE!! not only because of the crapppy lighting but also the giant net that surrounds the rink..Sorry.. Just pretend…

Um.. this is the boys.. playing.. I guess.. Aaron’s team wears the camo shirts. The other team was wearing red…

Aaron is the one in the green shirt right in front of the goalie in yellow. He was playing defense..

Aaron playing more defense….

Um.. Aaron standing there waiting to play defense!! (if you could see this picture big.. the score is 1-1!!! Then at one point it was 2-2.. I actually was thinking maybe the family being there was the boost they needed and they might actually pull this one off..)

Oh look. .there he is again.. waiting to play defense!! (Oh and there was PLENTY of defense to be played.. as you may see by the final picture of the score..)

Ummm… yea… or maybe not… the final score was “the other team” – 17 “Our team” – 2

Better luck next time boys!!!!!!!!!!

Jen Mann..

I was recently tipped off to Jen Mann's work through a press release from Mahan Gallery of the upcoming show Nature Noir. I slipped right into the breathy, smoky paintings of Jen as soon as I saw her first painting, Wolf. I asked Jen to tell me a little bit about her work and process:

"My work comes from my own experienceand understanding of society and how I fit into it. We forget that weare animals, we expect ourselves to not act like one or behave asone. As though we should fit into perfect molds and live up tounrealistic expectations. The series is called 'Fera' which is the Latin origin of the wordferal. It's a personal escape for me. I think artists arecertainly people who feel the pressures to fit into society. But wejust want to be wild."

I should say that Jen followed that quote up with a laugh, which I find totally charming and sincere. You can see more of her work on her website or check out Nature Noir, a group show with Bethany Davis and Lacey Hedtke at Mahan Gallery. Nature Noir opens March 5th.

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The painting below, Two Minutes In Heaven Is Better Than One Minute in Heaven, is part of Jen's series Tandem.

Borderlands 2, prima immagine della Mechromancer

Borderlands 2 si prepara a ricevere un interessante DLC il prossimo 16 ottobre che permetterà ai giocatori di inserire una nuova classe di personaggio oltre le quattro già disponibili: la Mechromancer. Oggi è stata pubblicata la prima immagine in-game (in testa all’articolo) relativa a questa classe, che si prospetta già molto interessante per tutti coloro che volessero aggiungere un po’ di pepe alla già eccellente struttura di gioco del nuovo Borderlands.

La classe Mechromancer è rappresentata da una ragazza cyborg che vista la sua particolarità potrà vantare di diverse abilità tecnologiche, oltre a quella più interessante: la possibilità di poter evocare un possente mech per ricevere assistenza in battaglia.

on triggers and the continuum of better

Most days I think about my postpartum depression and anxiety maybe twice. Both of them usually in relation to this sweet baby and how I will not let myself go without help again if my depression flares up after he is born. They are fleeting thoughts, but they are thoughts I need to have to prepare myself. They are healthy thoughts.That is most days.Some days, it’s like I have taken 8 steps backwards. These are not just “bad motherhood days”, no, I have those too and my PPD/PPA will still only cross my mind a couple of times. No, there are days where every other 30 minutes I have to ask myself “is she back?” One of those days was yesterday.Yesterday was a fairly normal day, but I was the variable. Little things that OBaby would do on any given day (read: toddlerhood and testing the waters) had me all tied up in knots, even furious. I survived the day, keeping my frustration and illogical reactions mostly at bay (from the outside at least – in my head? They were prominent). Then, while I was cooking dinner, giving myself ample servings of negative self-talk, bemoaning how I am never going to be able to survive life with two children (RED FLAG! RED FLAG!), OBaby got a boo-boo. He had pinched some skin on the palm of his hand pretty good, and he was distraught.DanO took care of him, got him all kissed and band-aided up, but OBaby remained off-kilter for the rest of the evening. Anytime something – including dinner – touched his palm he sc.re.am.ed. screeeeeamed.The screaming did me in. I was already teetering on the edge of snapping, what with the self-talk and the short temper, but the screaming was my trigger. It always has been.The fear, irrational fear, of OBaby’s crying as an infant was what would petrify me. It was what caused anger and anxiety and irrationality to bubble up from my gut and come spilling over out of my thoughts, words and actions. It physically affected me.Like it did last night. I ran, as I always had, but this time not out of the house. Praise God, this time I did not feel the need to flee. This time I went simply to my bedroom and closed the door. The boys ate dinner alone and I looked for peace in the pattern of my sheets.As I laid there, I had to ask myself, “Am I actually better?” I mean, here I was, almost 1 year post diagnosis and starting treatment, acting like I did a year ago.BUT. I wasn’t. I wasn’t at all acting like I did a year ago. My decision to walk away before things got bad, my decision to simply go into my room and close the door (without slamming it!), my ability to recognize the screaming as my trigger in this situation, my state of mental self-awareness, my general rationality about the whole thing – these are tools I did not have a year ago. I could not have told you what was wrong or what was making me act ‘crazy’, let alone deal with it in an appropriate way a year ago. A year ago I kicked a hole in our wall and ran from our house in my slippers (in the snow).I can’t pretend to understand how much of last night was impacted by pregnancy hormones, nor can I make any predictions about what will happen postpartum this time, but I can tell you that I have so much hope. Weird, that a trigger and a flare up in my anxiety would leave that impression, but it has. It has left me knowing just how much better I am.O, friends. Better is better. Better may not be cured and better certainly isn’t perfect, but better – praise God – is so, so much better.

Sergio Membrillas..

Sergio Membrillas sent me a short but sweet little email, so I decided to check out his blog and sadly I can not read Spanish...but I liked what I saw. He's a super talented illustrator for sure. The below drawing was in last month's BUST.

Deedee Cheriel..

I noticed some work I hadn't seen of Deedee Cheriel up on Merry Karnowsky Gallery today as I looked into Mel Kadel's show. It is work from 2009 but still worth sharing as it's so lovely. I love the decadent folk vibe of Deedee's work so much. Her work reminds me of a mash up of amish quilts and Hieronymus Bosch. I posted a little q&a I did with Deedee Cheriel back in October here.

Sneak Peek Simon Peplow at Superb Bicycle..

A few months ago I asked Simon Peplow to show at the Boston bicycle boutique Superb. Simon is big into bikes and an avid cyclist so it seemed like an obvious fit. There will be original work along with limited edition prints specifically made for Superb. The show opens on December 4th from 6-8 p.m. Hope to see you there!

Here is a little sneak peek of some of the work that will be in the show, Sprocket Rockets.

motherhood invades all (even my phone)

This week I found myself scrolling through all of the pictures I have taken on my phone since getting it in June of last year. Wheeeew boy there are some gems in there. Mostly, though, I was struck by just how motherhood-y my life has become, and I don’t mean because every other (OK, EVERY) picture on there has my adorable kid in it.No, there’s much more evidence than that.There’s blur. Lots and lots of blur:There’s an obscene amount of primary colors:There’s a picture of a guy who is not my husband in his skivvies:There’s a poofy dragon suit:There are things on which I’ve urinated:There are the Peanuts nativity scene window clings:There’s this:And then there’s me, just trying to take a picture of myself to send to a friend of the dress I got to wear as her wedding program attendant:Yep, that’s about right.

New Prints Tony Bevilacqua..

My good friend Tony just updated his etsy shop with brand new prints for only $15 clams. I am a big fan of pretty much everything Tony touches (he even painted my bike and made it look AMAZING), but if I had to choose, I espesh love the love the above print I Love You So Much. Because, well I do.

Kelly Louise Judd..

Swan Bones Theater is the art work of Kelly Louise Judd. She paints, draws and makes, she's a veritable one lady band. She's inspired by fairy tales, abnormal psychology and Victorian illustration. Her work is kind of like Edward Gorey meets Alice in Wonderland and falls in love; dark, fantastical and curious. Currently Kelly has work at Madame Des Vosges in Paris, A Garden in Darkness which runs through the end of the summer. Check her blog for details on what she is working on. You can also purchase prints, paintings and more in Kelly's etsy shop.

Jux Blog Kenji Nakayama..

Just posted over on Jux about Boston based stencil artist Kenji Nakayama. You can check it out here.

Still waiting.

The guard dog has assume his post…. The clothes are 100% put away… (and organized..)

The crib has been cleaned out.. and even a sheet is on it!!!
The bags are packed….

and we’re just sitting around waiting……so on to some other exciting things.. in no particular order..Aaron took this picture of the dog and thinks it’s funny..He sneezed right when he took it.. (the dog.. not aaron..) He needs a hair cut.. but I am so afraid he’ll get shaved bald again… it’s too cold for him not to have hair.. but he’s too hairy and stinky right now…

Want to know why I didn’t go Black Friday shopping???? Here are my ad’s…. Thanks puppy…

Lindsay was here for basically 5 days.. want to know how many pictures I took?? 2.. these 2… like an hour before she left… 5 days…and no pictures.. sorry…..

This one is kinda scary.. but funny….

While she was here.. we went to see Body World.. and went outlet shopping in Park City.. and umm.. Had thanksgiving and ate A LOT! I think all we did was eat the whole time… but it was good!!!And as for our Thanksgiving.. this is the only picture from Thanksgiving..The dog.. eating his turkey dinner…

Sorry.. That was really boring and really random.. Welcome to my life lately!! :)