I've seen you before

My family watches a lot of British miniseries dramas. Over time we've developed a sort of game that you might call "Haven't I Seen You Before?"  It consists of identifying actors by the other characters they've played, and then pointing it out before someone else does.

Oh hey! I recognize that guy from Cranford/Horatio Hornblower/Sense and Sensibility!

Even Jared is in on it now. This weekend we were watching Little Dorrit when he suddenly paused the DVD and exclaimed, "Wait a minute-- didn't she play Persephone in the new Upstairs Downstairs?"

And by gum, she did.

Weekend linkage

"Hey! Did your mom tell you to do that?!"
-Jared after Ellie spit up all over him

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Life with Ellie: Well, we discovered that our baby is cute even when she's sick. Yup . . . she came down with her very first cold. Runny nose, sneezing, and sometimes a little cough. She's better now, though, and really, she remained very pleasant through the whole thing (the only truly distressing thing about it, apparently, was cleaning her nose). She basically just slept a lot.

The queen of funny faces.

Of course, she passed her germs on to me, so now I'm the one with the runny nose. Sharing: it's what we do.

Moooooom. Stop taking pictures.

Another "first" was smiling at her reflection in the mirror. My wardrobe has a full-length mirror on one of the doors. If we stand in front of it, she doesn't always notice the reflection (because she gets distracted by the window! the fan! ooh shiny!), but when she does she just stares in awe and sometimes-- that precious sometimes-- she starts grinning.

YAWN.

And finally, I jumped into the world of cloth diapering this week. It's not nearly as complicated or difficult as I thought it might be. Yay! It makes a little more laundry, and that's about it. I'm just using prefolds and covers, and we have had none of the problems I feared (leaks, rash, etc). Besides, cloth diapers make for a really cute baby bum. :)

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Lots of funny stuff today. I may just email this one to my students. GET IT RIGHT.

Kid President and Josh Groban. Kid President's face when Josh says he doesn't dance? Hilar.

More kids, rockin' out to pop songs in the back seat.

Thanks to Luke for this: if Congress tried to get stuff done like roommates. (Some language, lots of laughs.)

Weekend linkage

The other day I went for a walk with Ellie. It was a beautiful day and at one point we walked beneath a flowering tree, in which were perched four boys about six or seven years old. Our conversation went like this:

Me: Hi there.
Boy #1: Oh no!!!! Get your camoflage on!
Boy #2 [ignoring him]: Hey, that's a cute baby.
Boy #3: What's her name?
Me: Elizabeth.
Boy #1: I have a basketball named Elizabeth.
Me: Oh?
Boy #4: You do not!
Boy #2: See you later.
Me: Bye, guys.
[I walk away and hear this . . .]
Boy #4: I wish I could marry that lady!

hahaha

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Life with Ellie: We started out the week on a pretty rough note, what with my mastitis and Ellie's sudden tendency to wail her head off and refuse to be comforted. By the middle of the week, though, the mastitis had resolved itself (I am thankful I didn't have to resort to antibiotics) and we had figured out how to calm Ellie down: I read The Happiest Baby on the Block while pregnant with her and decided to give its advice a try. Namely a tight swaddle, side or stomach position, loud hushing, rocking, and a pacifier if she wants.

It has worked almost every single time. She calms down quickly and will then contentedly be held or nestle in her seat, with her eyes wide open and mouth clamped down on the pacifier. Huzzah! I feel like a much better mom now. :)

"More than half of humanity lives inside this circle." Pretty astonishing.

Why did no one ever tell me how delicious homemade almond milk is?!

Really interesting article on a Russian Orthodox sect that's been on the move-- in exile-- for over a century.

Roller derby pseudonyms for literature majors, courtesy of MacSweeney's. ("David Chopperfield." Ha.)

Every generation is the Me Generation.

5

Approximately five years ago I wrote my first post.

(It's not a very impressive one. Don't hold your breath.)

In five years I have gone globetrotting, moved four times, cooked a lot, learned a lot, read a lot, cried and laughed, fallen in love, gotten married, had a baby, become a crunchy mama, and hopefully grown more like Jesus.

Think back five years. Isn't it amazing how you have changed? Isn't it amazing what God has done?

Weekend linkage

"So your finger is like a gateway drug."
-Jared [after I explained that when Ellie gets confused about how to use a pacifier, which she does on a regular basis, I let her suck on my finger and then slip the pacifier in]

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Life with Ellie: It's been five weeks already! My life is, of course, so very different from how it looked pre-Ellie, but I do feel more like me now. Though I will never be exactly the same as I was, I don't feel like a tourist in a foreign land anymore. It's not because she has suddenly become predictable-- to the contrary, our days (and nights) never look exactly the same-- but because I have chilled out and have gotten to know my little girl better.

She learned some new tricks this week: squeaking and spitting up. :) She's also getting a lot better at being by herself. I don't like leaving her alone too often, but she can happily kick her legs on the changing table for a while, or blink contemplatively at the world in her seat while I tidy up the kitchen.

Practicing her skeptical look.

At her one-month-ish appointment yesterday she was in the 65th percentile for weight (9 pounds 15 ounces) but 90th for height (22.5 inches!). I guess she really is a Randolph.

All that growing tuckers me out!

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Educational ghosts.

All the types of coffee you've ever (and never) heard of. "Americano: 1 part espresso 2 parts hot water. Mexicano: 1 part espresso 2 parts taco seasoning."

One more comic! What to do with those darn phone books they keep sending us.

Ever wonder what Queen Elizabeth I would look like today? Well, here you go.

Just so you all know, these brownies are splendid.

Less splendid. But hilarious. Aspic Glazed Lamb Loaf, anyone?

OK, something serious now. "Philosophers for Hire," an interesting post on Christians, college education, and what a "useful" major might really mean.