ChicCritique

like i'm the only one judging what the world is wearing...
- J wanted some screentime, since H dominated the last one I posted :) The boys have the greatest "aunties"/sitters/playmates!
- what I've been up to :)
So I finally found a rival for the Marc Jacobs diaper bag that I’ve been eying, but not able to pull the trigger on (this non-income-earner has still been waiting for a navy one to make its way to eBay). This guy is on the boxy side for me, but checks all my boxes (messenger strap, spacious open interior, lots of pockets and compartments, not “baby”-looking), and even adds a couple of bonuses in (converts to a non-fug backpack, has an exterior area to which larger items can be secured, AND a sunglass section for me?). It’s still on the pricey side, but after nearly 2.5 years of carrying the same diaper bag nonstop, I need a change (even though I have LOVED my Mia Bossi Reese dearly and highly recommend it!)…

So I finally found a rival for the Marc Jacobs diaper bag that I’ve been eying, but not able to pull the trigger on (this non-income-earner has still been waiting for a navy one to make its way to eBay).

This guy is on the boxy side for me, but checks all my boxes (messenger strap, spacious open interior, lots of pockets and compartments, not “baby”-looking), and even adds a couple of bonuses in (converts to a non-fug backpack, has an exterior area to which larger items can be secured, AND a sunglass section for me?).

It’s still on the pricey side, but after nearly 2.5 years of carrying the same diaper bag nonstop, I need a change (even though I have LOVED my Mia Bossi Reese dearly and highly recommend it!)…

Father’s Day gift for P (along with a new bike, if I can pull it off) (since bg is due June 19th, I’ve got to get prepped for this in addition to her arrival)!Although kind of pricey for a magazine, it’s supposed to be a great resource for modern, involved dads, aka, perfect for P. I’m also sure my Eagle Scout will appreciate the title :)

Father’s Day gift for P (along with a new bike, if I can pull it off) (since bg is due June 19th, I’ve got to get prepped for this in addition to her arrival)!

Although kind of pricey for a magazine, it’s supposed to be a great resource for modern, involved dads, aka, perfect for P.

I’m also sure my Eagle Scout will appreciate the title :)

The perfect baby shower gift? See Also: What I’d like to have received following the boys’ birth

The perfect baby shower gift?

See Also: What I’d like to have received following the boys’ birth

So I *thought* I’d mentioned that Georgia was our wishwecouldnumberonefavnameeverforbabygirl to my mom and her nonresponse was all the NO I needed to confirm that we couldn’t use it. (seriously, she has every right to want to keep anything George-related as far from her consciousness as possible - we have some extended family ISSUES up in that region…)

…but tonight, I mentioned that Jack has recently taken to calling his baby sister-to-be, Emerson, and P brought up how Georgia was still his fav (thereby effing EARNING the side-eye/mean-mug combo I whipped at his ass), and my mom was suddenly SO OKAY with it…

(there’s definitely a possibility that she just HATES Emerson that.much.)

???

So then, maybe I cried (I am so not proud of my preg-induced-lameness right now)…

And that’s how we officially got a totally unexpected blessing on our name

!!!

(except I still kind of love Poppy and am expecting P to give into whatever I want once I’ve birthed the child and all) (I mean, HELLO) (so there’s a chance she won’t be Georgia even though she 95-ish-% will be)

whew…and with just 2.5-ish months to go until she’s here, I suppose it’s time to worry about some actual pre-baby preparedness issues (UHM…like starting the nursery)…

Celine?

As bg’s newest name possibility?

P is into it, but we both wonder, does everyone automatically think of Celine Dion?

Are we okay with this if they do?

Thoughts?

Baby Names: Take 3

P and I got down and dirty last night

- regarding bg’s name picks.

What are your top 3?

Shocker: we had no overlap.

P’s picks:

  • Parker (this is the only one I’m not really considering b/c it’s not quite feminine enough for me)
  • Penelope
  • Emerson

My (obviously much better) picks:

  • Poppy
  • Clementine
  • Imogen
  • Norah (you knew I couldn’t keep it to just 3)
  • Francesca (this is the only one P is actively contesting)
  • all with middle name, Kate, after my cousin who died very unexpectedly this summer at age 31, and after my grandma

We’re getting closer!! (and I think I’ll be pretty content going into the birth with a list instead of a more concrete decision, anyway) (plus, I’m pretty sure I’ll get my way in the name dept. after, you know, GIVING BIRTH)

I promise to stop with the name-dramz for a while, now that I’m not (literally) keeping myself awake all night, thinking of (stressing about) possibilities ;)

thedaddycomplex: watchingothersdreamscometrue: awholelottafagina: linzthenerd: ineedthesandandthewaves: This was the most realistic and saddest thing I’ve ever seen in a kids movie. They didn’t use any words through this sequence, and you still knew exactly what was going on and it was a hundred times more powerful for that silence. Everytime I watch this movie,I think of J and Nighthawk. I cry because of the fact that J wasn’t given the choice. Her body made it for her. Linds because she hurt for so long. For my friend Ash,who wants a baby but hasn’t gotten the BFP,even after 9 months. For my cousin who miscarried four times before learning she’s unable to carry children to term. For my friends who have lost or will lose. For the people I don’t even know,who’s heart have been broken from loss. I think of them. And I hurt. I even (sometimes) feel badly that I had children so easily. This movie,above any of Disney or Pixar’s movies,is hands down,my favorite. It’s real and I love it. when my husband and i sat down to watch this for the first time it killed us, he had to stop the movie as he was crying so hard. It was the first time i saw his true feelings about our infertility. before this he had been strong, silent and supportive. the pain seemed all mine which is selfish I know, but this bought it all home for him. he held me and told me that he would have the adventure of a lifetime with me no matter what… we still don’t have our baby but we know we have each other. we smile through the tears and slap happy faces on for the world but together we can just be us.  Watching this sequence is the only time I ever thought, “Fuck Pixar” — not because they got it wrong, but because they got it so right and, if you’ve been through this, there’s never a right time to see it in a movie. P and I first saw Up as we were in the valley of our infertility battle.bi was taken so off guard by this scene but couldn’t turn it off. I looked over at P, sobbing, and saw tears trickle down his face as he pulled me closer.I’ve avoided watching it again, until our boys realized that it was probably a movie since pictures from it were included in a coloring book they have with other Pixar movies.“Balloon house movie?” “Please?”And so the second time I watched the movie was with H and J on my lap, P still beside me, and surprise baby girl in my tummy.I cried quietly this time, the boys looked at me, so concerned, and P pulled me closer. I smiled and told the boys to watch the movie, and we giggled the rest of the way through it (EVERYTHING is funny to a 2 year-old, even just the tennis balls on Carl’s walker cracked them up!).Well done, you Pixar bastards.

thedaddycomplex:

watchingothersdreamscometrue:

awholelottafagina:

linzthenerd:

ineedthesandandthewaves:

This was the most realistic and saddest thing I’ve ever seen in a kids movie.

They didn’t use any words through this sequence, and you still knew exactly what was going on and it was a hundred times more powerful for that silence.

Everytime I watch this movie,I think of J and Nighthawk. I cry because of the fact that J wasn’t given the choice. Her body made it for her. Linds because she hurt for so long. For my friend Ash,who wants a baby but hasn’t gotten the BFP,even after 9 months. For my cousin who miscarried four times before learning she’s unable to carry children to term. For my friends who have lost or will lose. For the people I don’t even know,who’s heart have been broken from loss. I think of them. And I hurt. I even (sometimes) feel badly that I had children so easily. This movie,above any of Disney or Pixar’s movies,is hands down,my favorite. It’s real and I love it.

when my husband and i sat down to watch this for the first time it killed us, he had to stop the movie as he was crying so hard. It was the first time i saw his true feelings about our infertility. before this he had been strong, silent and supportive. the pain seemed all mine which is selfish I know, but this bought it all home for him. he held me and told me that he would have the adventure of a lifetime with me no matter what… we still don’t have our baby but we know we have each other. we smile through the tears and slap happy faces on for the world but together we can just be us. 

Watching this sequence is the only time I ever thought, “Fuck Pixar” — not because they got it wrong, but because they got it so right and, if you’ve been through this, there’s never a right time to see it in a movie.

P and I first saw Up as we were in the valley of our infertility battle.bi was taken so off guard by this scene but couldn’t turn it off. I looked over at P, sobbing, and saw tears trickle down his face as he pulled me closer.

I’ve avoided watching it again, until our boys realized that it was probably a movie since pictures from it were included in a coloring book they have with other Pixar movies.

“Balloon house movie?” “Please?”

And so the second time I watched the movie was with H and J on my lap, P still beside me, and surprise baby girl in my tummy.

I cried quietly this time, the boys looked at me, so concerned, and P pulled me closer. I smiled and told the boys to watch the movie, and we giggled the rest of the way through it (EVERYTHING is funny to a 2 year-old, even just the tennis balls on Carl’s walker cracked them up!).

Well done, you Pixar bastards.

The Name Game, Part 2:

So last I wrote, I wrote about not being able to name our baby-to-be what we really want to name her, Georgia (or anything George-related, so Georgina is sadly also out).

And you guys were so great! And had so many fantastic suggestions!

As a recap, we’ve been tossing around:

  • Emerson - former front-runner, but I’ve cooled on it
  • Dorothy - nicknamed Dot/Dottie, but I don’t like Dorothy
  • Poppy - too hippie? a little sweet on the sweet/cool spectrum, but I kind of love it!
  • Penelope - P loves it, but I’d definitely have to think she “looks” like a Penny
  • Audrey - too popular?
  • Paige - too plain?
  • Loretta - too old lady?
  • Eliza - I like it, but is it cool enough?
  • Wren - cool, but is it strong enough? Also, as someone with a short first name, I wished I’d had a longer, girlier name all while growing up/until I was 22
  • Guilia/Giada - P doesn’t like the “weird” (ITALIAN!) spelling :(
  • Harlow - P doesn’t love it
  • Clementine - P didn’t like it, but may be coming around…
  • Lola - probably not a realistic frontrunner
  • Genevieve - probably not a realistic frontrunner
  • Sydney - too popular?
  • Reese - probably not a realistic frontrunner
  • Coco - probably not a realistic frontrunner
  • Delaney - probably not a realistic frontrunner
  • Parker (new addition and P’s top pick, but I’m not sold)
  • Norah (my new addition) - P’s still considering it…
  • Imogen - I’m digging it more and more…
  • Lucia - pronounced lu-SEE-a, not a frontrunner anymore bc of pronunciation issues :(

And you ladies mentioned:

  • Seoirse - I think this was the only suggestion we haven’t considered! The pronunciation issue is at work here, but I liked the meaning!
  • Portia - love it, but not the association with Porche
  • Lydia - the little girl I babysit for/child of some old friends is named Lydia, but we do like it
  • Johanna - P vetoed it, but I like it still
  • Leila - I liked it more than P
  • Julia - again, I like it more than P, but I like it spelled with a G
  • Lazzar…a - If one of the boys had been a girl, the boy’s middle name would probably have been Lazzaro (my maiden name), so Sandy wasn’t too far off ;)
  • Charlotte - I LOVE this name, but we know 2 other Charlottes
  • Caroline - P vetoed
  • Gemma - this one is actually also on our (longish) shortlist
  • Josie - we can’t use anything Joseph-related, since that’s my dad’s and brother’s name and will definitely be my someday-nephew’s name
  • Josette - another ^, which is a bummer bc I also REALLY like Josephine too
  • Amelia - we know an Amelia
  • Ruby - This, and the next two, were nixed because of the short name/old lady combo :(
  • Opal
  • Pearl
  • Flora - P vetoed
  • Aria - we know an Aria who’s due to be born within the month (!), but I do really like it
  • Gianna/Gia - definitely like it, but prefer Giada for a possible green-eyed baby!
  • Geneva/Genna - have thought about them, but prefer Gemma, which P doesn’t like
  • Francesca/Frankie - I LOVE it! but P doesn’t so much - I think I may move it back onto the shortlist though ;)
  • Ainsley - I definitely like it, but prefer Huntley (P vetoed, and it’s a bit too close to Hudson), Bailey (P really like it, but it’s on the popular side for me), and Bexley (P vetoed), if we’re considering -ley names (I’ve been anti-ley because it’s a bit cutesy, but I’ve been leaning toward them suddenly!)

eek! so many options, but I know only one is the right one…and I’m realizing that this whole preoccupation with finding a name might be a diversion from all of the things we actually have to ready before her arrival (a new vehicle, the nursery, continuing hell potty training…)