The Agency

Don't ask why I'm up now. I'm not sure. I was awake at 4am. The baby woke at 5am. I fedd him and put him back to bed. I'm still awake.

The christening is a haze. I believe we had 81 people in the house including us. The baby was freaked out so all he wanted to do was nurse. I think I fed him 4 times in 5 hours. I learned that hiring a cleaning crew pre-party is worth it. I also learned that if you are hiring wait staff you need to be uber organized and specific. There were things that were not done the way that seemed obvious to me. But hiring Gerry saved the party and my sanity. We couldn't have done it without her. The big personal moment for me was J's mom giving me her mother's Maltese cross pendant. It is beautiful and we both cried a little when she gave it to me.

Thanksgiving was an adventure. Dinner was traditional and wonderful but the dog and the baby were at odds. Still the dog was better than I thought he'd be. Aunt Linda has a crotchedy old beagle. He barks a lot. Barking made the baby cry. The baby doesn't like taking is late afternoon nap as it is so when we finally got the baby to sleep and then the dog barked I was ready to kill the dog. J was amazing though. He kind of took charge of the soothing the baby role.

Evan continues to be amazing. He is firmly in the stick everything in his mouth phase. I know this phase lasts years and I am getting used to taking things out of his mouth, even if right now that means his hand. See the baby likes to stick 2 or 3 fingers all the way into his mouth. He has made himself vomit a few times doing it. Yes, my baby is bulemic. Hopefully he figures out this cause and effect soon so he can stop doing it! I never thought I'd be looking forward to him sucking on his thumb! He is also starting to show preference for certain toys. I think the cow that Jackie gave him just last week is his favorite.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

August.
Yes.

I haven't started my holiday shopping in August in 2 years. It isn't a coincidence that I haven't been to Pennsic in 2 years either. I bought my first Christmas present in October this year.

I am almost always buying a stocking stuffer and cards on Christmas Eve but the big gifts are done before that week usually.

Tweaks and enhancements

1. In order to improve site security, we've temporarily suspended the ability to change passwords for old email addresses that haven't been used for over six months. For further information and support, please visit our customer care page.
2. We've launched a new mobile site with an enhanced UI at m.livejournal.com. View spotlights, post to your journal, read and post to friends pages, and more, no matter where you roam! Please let us know what you think, since this will eventually replace our existing mobile interface. You can update your mobile preferences on your account page.
3. We've upgraded from Beacon to Facebook Connect to improve dual posting. If you've already signed up for Facebook Beacon, you're good to go. If you wish to update your Facebook Connect setting, visit Account Privacy settings and scroll down to the option labeled: "Send information about my updates to Facebook." You can choose Always or Ask each time. Remember to save (on the bottom left corner of the page). To learn more, check out FAQ 249. While we're on the subject, if you happen to be visiting that side of town, please join our Facebook fan page for a touch of home away from home.
4. You'll now receive the Writer's Block Question of the Day in the body of email notifications. To sign up for Writer's Block notifications, visit writersblock and choose the Watch Community option. Next, update your Writer's Block notification settings by checking the box to the right of "Someone posts a new entry to writersblock."
5. Paid and permanent users can now view, add, and edit Notes of commenters. Notes will appear beside the username of comment posters (instead of stars) on S1-themed comment pages.

Send some lovin' thanks to your friends with our holiday vgifts!

Photos of the week

We're so delighted with the immense talent of our growing, global lj_photophile community that we've decided to introduce a poll. Each week, we'll choose a half-dozen photos (based on user comments and staff feedback) and ask you to select a photo of the week. The winning photo will be announced in the next newsletter. If possible, please limit photo size to 350x350 to ensure that images display properly on friends pages. We want to thank you again (and again!) for sharing your passion.

Check out this week's photo poll and more fantastic user content after the jump!

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Curtains

Thanks for joining us. To our American friends, have a fantastic Thanksgiving. To all of our international neighbors, we'll eat a little extra for you!

Yes, two parts in one day! How about that?

---

( Part Nine )


© 2009 by Dianne Sylvan.

Yes, it's been forever, and no, I have no idea when part 9 will be out, but I'm feeling a bit more inspired toward this story lately so it's possible you'll see another part in a few days. Enjoy. :)



( Part Eight )
© 2009 by Dianne Sylvan.

65redroses
Eva is a vibrant young woman with Cystic Fibrosis who survived a double lung transplant. Read about her difficult recovery and personal triumphs over pain, isolation, and fear. Back in school, Eva now works part-time in a children's center and enjoys running and cross-country skiing. A documentary on her story, entitled 65 Red Roses, won three awards at the Vancouver International Film Festival.

meet_other_moms
A warm and welcoming "Add me" community for moms of all ages and backgrounds from around the world. If you're a mom, just post a little about yourself and start connecting with other mothers based on similar hobbies, musical interests, book/TV/movie preferences, or taste in humor! A great way for busy moms to socialize online.

kitchenfaq
Want to share a fabulous home recipe for coconut bread? Suddenly run out of confectioner's sugar with company on the way and need to find out a quick in-house substitute? Searching for tips on what to charge for a custom-designed wedding cake? Whether you're a professional chef, an aspiring culinary wizard, or a happy home-baker, you'll get delicious guidance from fellow and sister foodies.

naturesbeauty
Always on the lookout for compelling images, we were delighted to discover this flourishing community of artists who share a love of nature. Honoring the subject with photographs, paintings, sketches, prose, poetry, and
other creative works, you'll be simultaneously riveted to your monitor and inspired to run helter skelter towards the nearest wooded dale.

So I'm holding Evan and talking to J in the kitchen while J is cooking dinner. I'm holding the baby facing out and resting on my left hip. I feel him poo. Then I feel him poo again. Then I hear the first splat on the floor. I look down and see a few more splats of poo on the floor. I start the exclamations. J looks at what I'm OMGing about and joins in. He grabs a handful of paper towels and hands them to me. I wrap them around the baby's butt and take him to his bedroom and the changing table. J cleans up the floor and gets to us at the changing table before I can even start changing the baby. J takes over changing the baby before I can have a meltdown.

Evan is smiling and laughing through all of this.

And yes I have the most awesome husband.

On a completely different note we have a cleaning service coming today. Now that I have straightened the house for them and I know what they are supposed to accomplish I feel much less stressed for Sunday. Still there are going to be ~80 people in my house Sunday and there is a ton left to do and a ton of things I've already abandoned the idea of doing before then. I hope the baby lets me collapse on Monday.

Postcard winners!

We wish to extend our heartfelt gratitude for sending so much joy our way. Frank is still blushing with excitement over the love notes, proposals, propositions, and occasional intimate photos sent from his admirers around the world (China, Norway, Japan, and Poland just this week)! At his request, we blindfolded Justin, one of Frank's BFFs, spun him around in five dozen counterclockwise circles, and asked him to point to ten random postcards/envelopes pasted to the wall. After a brief trip to the bathroom, he chose the following lucky winners, to whom we will give a six-month paid account token (for paid, basic, and plus users) or, for our permanent account holders, a $15 voucher for the LiveJournal gift shop.

So, without further ado, the winners are:

1. seraphene
2. fotog
3. boykitten
4. seshat_6
5. anti_aol
6. lisalees
7. katrinkacat
8. mistyboston
9. _woody_lein
10. another_slender

Bugs, Tweaks, and Enhancements

1. We fixed a bug from the last release that was causing screened comments to become unscreened if they were edited
2. If you happen to be gaming around the corner, check us out on Facebook and be sure to spread the word!
3. We've added new vgifts to celebrate Thanksgiving! Check out our feathered friend, below!

Give more with charitable vgifts

In honor of national adoption month, we're offering a charitable vgift (priced at $2.99) to support Love Without Boundaries, an organization that provides healthcare and adoption to orphans suffering from life-threatening diseases. LiveJournal will donate 100% of gross proceeds from the sale (we'll cover the cost of credit card transaction fees). To learn more about Love Without Boundaries, please visit lj_cares. You can purchase your Love Without Boundaries vgifts in the Virtual Gift shop. We'll keep you posted on how much we raise!

Photos of the week

We're delighted to showcase yet more incredible photos from some of our brilliant LiveJournal photographers around the world. Keep posting (and tagging). And be sure to show some love by commenting on the awesome view at lj_photophile.

Check out this week's photos and more amazing user content after the jump!

( Read more... )

Curtains

Thanks, again, for joining us. See you next week!

I went back and forth on how to filter this. In the end I decided I'm not. But I am putting it behind a cut tag for those who don't want to know the details of my breastfeeding issues and my cold.

( Read more... )

And all of this while trying to get the house ready for the baptism party on Sunday. I think I'm going to collapse on Monday!

Evan continues to be awesome.

He is turning over from front to back. The doctor says that he is "advanced" because of it. He is getting better with his hands everyday. We have one of those playgym things that you put on the floor and you lay them on and there are things hanging in his face for him to play with. In the last week he as gone from occaisionally batting at the toys to often batting at the toys to grabbing and holding the toys and shaking the rattly ones. He is also making the most incredible noises. Sometimes I worry that he is part mogwai though because of the cute noises. But since he loves his bath we know that getting him wet doesn't make him reproduce.

I on the other hand have not been awesome. First I had a cold. Then I got mastitis. Most likely because of the sudafed I took for my cold my milk supply has gone down. Yesterday I nursed him almost constantly because he wasn't getting enough. I'm back to waking in the night, this time to pump, since he is sleeping through the night. Hopefully the extra pumping and the constant feeding will help get my supply back up. Of course this is the worst week to get this done since I have a ton of people coming to the house for the baptism Sunday and I have a ton of things to do to get ready. I expect to look like a zombie for my son's baptism.

He's crying. Gotta go and feed him.

givesushope
It's that glorious time of year when we reunite with loved ones (we neglected all year), stuff our faces to excess, and pass out in front of the TV. Perhaps a recalibration of the thanksometer is in order. A spin-off of the popular GivesMeHope.com site, this community invites you to document moments of kindness, generosity, and pure human love.

veggieslackers
Despite its mainstream appeal, Thanksgiving is not for everyone. There are those struggling with food disorders, for whom this day causes endless conflict. There are the cash-challenged, who can't afford the gluttony we've grown to expect. There are the lonely, who don't have loved ones nearby. And let's not forget the vegetarians, who decry the animal cruelty. But there's one more group we often overlook: the terminally lazy! This community of lazy vegetarians offers easy recipes for an animal-friendly feast.

fashin
Just in time for holiday shopping season, this fashionista community brings you the world of haute couture in the form of sumptuous photos, video clips, and candid commentary. There's also a sugary sprinkle of mainstream movie discussions and debates on such pressing social issues as manicure styles and celebrity colonics. If you need a break from the daily grind to indulge your girlie side, this is twinkly pink on steroids.