Finnabee's mid-pregnancy ultrasound. Although, we were late getting to it, so it's baby at 26.5 weeks, rather than the standard 20-ish weeks. |
Oh my word! My baby! On the screen there before my eyes! I couldn't get enough!!
I also couldn't get anything done on Thursday, after we got home from the sonogram place and I attempted to move on with my day. I just wanted to gaze at my little one!!
I'm so grateful that baby seems to be growing beautifully and all seems to be well.
The sonogram technician (who was great) included captions for us in a few images. |
- As I mentioned last week, we enjoy reading the magazine First Things, and lots of the printed content is online. Erin, who refers to FT issues by the color of the cover (“that article is in the orange FT from a while ago”), reminded us of this send-up of Kahlil Gibran:
And here I swear a great vow that I opened truly at random,
Except that once I opened to a narrative passage
That, had I quoted it, would not have made sense.
A great parody to read with your older children, as an object lesson on how art or poetry or heck, even a grocery list, needs to mean something.
- Perhaps you might be interested in this article on How Not to Defend the Liberal Arts from the American Conservative.
- Auntie Leila gets interesting emails from readers requesting advice about building houses and what works for large families. It's a subject of endless fascination! The conversation starts with big ideas. A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander is a book recommended to us by our friend Christina. You can get that book second hand for a bit of change, but you can also read it online (via the link above).
Since it's a book that prides itself (mistakenly, we think) on not relying on images, reading it online should work pretty well.
The companion book is The Timeless Way of Building; also available as an online read (via link). Auntie Leila has this one on her summer reading list.
-
Chances are pretty good that you have seen this week's viral video from Dove, Real Beauty Sketches. Although it obviously struck a chord of truth with many people, it's also drawn a lot of criticism, a round-up of which you can see here. There are also a few parodies already, like this (warning: a bit vulgar) men's version.I can see where some of the critics are coming from, especially in noting that there is an over-emphasis of the role that perceived – or real – beauty plays in our lives. But I also love the idea of helping women to realize that others enjoy their presence and see them as lovely regardless of – and sometimes because of – their physical imperfections. The features that we criticize about our own appearances are often perceived very differently by others, especially those who love us.While I think that the concept of the blind comparative drawing is an awesome one (and now I want to do it for someone!), I do think that the video is off-base in some ways.However, all of this reminds me of a great blog post I came across by a photographer a while ago: So You're Feeling Too Fat to be Photographed. The point of this, which I think is a better message than the Dove one, is not that you have to consider yourself physically beautiful in order to be happy, but simply that you should know that the people around you do see you as beautiful, and to be more guided by the love of others than being caught up in the issue of self-image at all.It's amazing when you find out that even models and actresses, who are widely considered to have the traits of beauty, popularly understood, still battle with self-image issues and hate at least one thing about their faces or bodies. To borrow my mother's phrase, we probably all need to spend less time in front of the mirror.
Briana says
What a beautiful baby! Congratulations.
I live in an 1880 Victorian and I am constantly astounded at how well thought out it is and how well it works for our large family of 9. There are places to put things. Mudrooms and pantries. Lots of windows for cross breezes and no need for an airconditioner. Things that make large family living easier. This is our third house, I've had newly built, and I'll never buy a new house again. Old is the way to go.
Though the Dove commercial has gained a lot of criticism, I'm happy they made it. Why? Because it's a sign that the beauty industry is owning some responsibility in the misrepresentation of beauty it pushes on us. Because on the other hand there is this…
http://shine.yahoo.com/fashion/scouts-search-for-…
DeirdreLMLD says
Oh my word! That article is horrifying! Seriously a new low… I agree with you that it is refreshing to see a brand from within the beauty industry try to take another position in all this craziness.
Your house sounds lovely!
Melissa Diskin says
“Patterns of Home” is another child of APL. 🙂
This is my fave part of that KG sendup:
“…Which means that anything the Prophet says
Falls like a perfectly formed olive leaf
Upon at least one of those paths,
So that His profundity is everlasting and without diminishment,
As long as he pronounces oratorically
After the manner of Sir Laurence Olivier
Reading the King James Bible.And it is the voice of Sir Laurence
Reading the King James Bible
That I hear within me as I write these words,
Which echo resonates within and bequeaths to me
The Prophetic Strain,
At least as far as you know.
Once that voice enters the mind,
As it does when one has read hundreds and hundreds of pages of Kahlil Gibran,
Its abode is fixed within,
It refuses all notices of eviction,
It continues to loop within the sphere of one's skull,
An earworm, dread and implacable.”
Once you think Olivier + KJV you cannot unhear it!
Betsy M says
Hi Deirdre, what a beautiful baby! I also would be gazing at those pictures all day. God is so wonderful to let us help in his creation.
Well, I am one of those who was asking your Mom's opinions about house layouts for large families. I did read “A Pattern Language” on your Mom's advice and took away all sorts of ideas from the book. I will have to read that other book you mentioned this evening. At this moment I just am rather overwhelmed with all of the decisions which need to be made regarding the house. Researching the “best” way to do something – I just love. However doing this on a tight timeline and tight budget – while pregnant – has been a stretch for me. We hope to break ground in a couple of weeks depending on when this crazy spring snow melts so I have to finalize my plans soon. My big decision right now is the kitchen cabinet color. I love white kitchen as I NEED bright or light colors, however my practical side says to do stained wood as they are cheaper and easier to keep clean. Do any of you ladies have an opinion about dark lower cabinets and white uppers or kitchen cabinet finishes in general?
Briana says
Stay classic and it will always be in style.I have gorgeous oak cabinets with glass fronts and yes, they show my plates but I'm ok with that. We decided that when we redo the kitchen we're just getting the cabinets sanded down and refinished to clean them up, they're that awesome. Plate racks are also great. Have fun!
_Leila says
Betsy, one of the principles of The Pattern Language is to build things up organically. This can be really liberating in the kitchen! Read the section about the kitchen again, and think about shelves and plate racks and hutches.
Look on Pinterest for “light kitchen” or “farmhouse kitchen” and see what you like.
Check out these links, which incorporate shelving (which I think is pretty cheap!) and simple cabinetry: http://pinterest.com/pin/54324739224983760/ http://pinterest.com/pin/221520875390809563/ http://pinterest.com/pin/221520875390776107/
Here are two from Kitchn about the idea: http://www.thekitchn.com/christopher-ale-164084 http://www.thekitchn.com/healthy-kitchen-design-1…
I am all for less but more quality. Don't buy a lot of cheaply made things that will break in a few years, whatever you do.
Somewhere I saw a very good discussion of the value of an Ikea kitchen and now I can't find it. There is this: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/good-questions-23…
I would read the comments. Seems like there are some things you can get from Ikea that are better quality than what you normally find — and other things you should stay away from.
Also, if you go for a stain on cabinets (and I think everyone probably needs some cabinets!), think about two things: first, the lightness or darkness of the stain, and second, its color. Think about whether it is brown or yellow or reddish orange and how that color will go with other colors you love. And think about having a darker color (stain) on the bottom for practicality and a lighter color on top. That really opens things up!
Anne-Marie says
FWIW, here are a couple of strongly pro-white posts by a colour consultant: http://www.mariakillam.com/2008/11/white-kitchen-… http://www.mariakillam.com/2009/09/5-steps-to-a-k…
Terra says
Hi Deirdre, your enthusiasm for the new baby is understandable and thanks for sharing the photos here. The parody of Gibran is new to me, I do admire his writing 🙂 but quality can always withstand a parody or two.
Nancy says
Precious Baby!
We just had a fund raiser in our Diocese of St.Augustine to raise money for sonogram machines for our Women's Health Centers located strategically by PLanned Parenthood. It was reported that One of our centers served 2,400 this past year.
I have heard of The Pattern Language book and thank you for posting the online link.
Lucy says
I'm so jealous of that sonogram! Even just 8 years ago, when I was last pregnant, the best I could get was a 2-D and that was only because i was high-risk! Such beautiful pictures!
Good thoughts on the Dove commercial. I've been thinking a lot about it because I still think that the message rings a bit hollow. I mean, what if I'm surrounded be people telling me I'm ugly and fat and worthless? I may be none of those things, so then I would be told to pay no attention to what others see and to be confident in myself. Now certainly, I think that seeing ourselves through the eyes of those who love us (including God) can be healthy, but I think I agree with your mother that most likely, we all just need to spend less time in front of the mirror. 🙂
Teresa says
Baby is so gorgeous!
(Did you know your last name is on the ultrasound? I know some people try to keep their last names off their blogs and others don't care, and I'm not sure which camp you're in.)
Suzanne says
I love that post about getting in the picture. I also love this one: http://thepioneerwoman.com/photography/2009/05/sn…
By this way, your baby is gorgeous! Congrats!
DeirdreLMLD says
I agree, that is a good post by Pioneer Woman! I've heard wise women say that they'd rather be remembered as 'loving' or 'faithful' or 'friendly' than 'beautiful'… good to think about when our culture is so weirdly beauty-obsessed (in an artificial way).
And thank you! 🙂
Margo says
oh, thank you for the baby pictures!
Maybe I should read The Pattern Language and Timeles Way of Building. My husband has read them often – he's an architect – and I know he finds them valuable. The books that were great for me when we were renovating were the Not-so-big House books by Sarah Susanka.
Colette says
Thank you so much for the Pattern Language recommendation! We are just in the process of designing our own home after spending countless hours looking through literally thousands of house plans. Designs today just aren't very practical for a largish family!
Care says
Adore this blog and the baby is beautiful. Maybe you want blur some of the information at the top for your own privacy?
DeirdreLMLD says
Thanks for the concern re: the info on the photos. The info about me is already out there in the great wide interwebs. And we were only at this particular location for a one-time appointment, so I'm not too worried about the other info…
RubberChickenGirl says
I laughed so HARD reading the Kahlil Gibran piece. I must have missed it when you put it up:
“And lo, the copies of it that have been bought
Would fill the granaries and storehouses of Lebanon,” ~no doubt!
“I lift you from the Earth to which I recently flung you”
“And thanking God—though such thanks are sinful—
That Kahlil Gibran died in New York in 1931
At the age of forty-eight,
So that he could write no more words,”
Oh, how I loathe Kahlil Gibran! Every hippy in the world pushes him AND every well-read person feels the need to be politically correct and own it and claim to like it!!
Thanks for a great laugh!
RCG