I’m sure you all are just thrilled to hear that we are now back online. After successfully moving over a week ago, we just today got around to figuring out the internet problems… anyway. This means we are officially moved in!
I am loving the new apartment. We have much more room, a much bigger kitchen, a miniature table-top dishwasher, a separate bedroom, lots of closet space.... What's not to love?
Little dude is alive and well and has some VERY active moments. Boyfriend has now officially felt kicks and I've even seen them from the outside a few times. It's not that I can see elbows or feet, but I just see my belly moving. Sometimes the kicks are so perfectly timed that I've been starting to wonder if he's having hiccups!
Will post pictures later/another day. The apartment still seems to be a bit messy most of the time as we find permanent homes for all of our stuff. I also have some belly pictures but I am too lazy to transfer them over right now – I am eager to go outside into the sunshine, go for a little walk, and maybe get some ice cream.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Flashback Thursday
There's this cool thing on Blogger called "planned posts" - which essentially means that you can write a post and then choose when you want it to be published. So you're reading this thursday, when I actually prepared it on tuesday. Cool, right?
Anyway, we're probably busy moving all of our junk, but I wanted to reminisce a bit with you all. Today, I'm looking back almost exactly 2 years and showing you a few select pictures from what I fondly like to think of as "Graduation Road Trip 2009"
Anyway, we're probably busy moving all of our junk, but I wanted to reminisce a bit with you all. Today, I'm looking back almost exactly 2 years and showing you a few select pictures from what I fondly like to think of as "Graduation Road Trip 2009"
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| Driving through marshes in North Carolina - The Crystal Coast |
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| Boone Hall Plantation near Charleston SC. If you feel like you've seen it before, it was used (among others) for filming of the series "North and South" and for the film "The Notebook" |
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| Beautiful Charleston SC. I would go back in a heartbeat, we didn't spend nearly enough time here. |
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| More of Charleston SC |
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| A church at sunset in Charleston SC |
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| Just as beautiful and interesting: Savannah, Georgia. |
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Life
On monday morning we lugged the first 16 boxes out of storage and into our apartment to start packing for the next big move. (By the way, if the updates are slow the next week, it's probably because of missing internet - I'm not sure what the internet situation will be like the next week or so).
Tomorrow afternoon we pick up our keys,
Thursday we move all our stuff,
Friday my father-in-law (actually, very much out of law, but you understand the concept...) is coming to help with some lamps and other handy-man stuff.
I despise packing and moving. Don't get me wrong, I am very excited for the end result: finally having some more space, having all of our stuff, getting ready for little dude, decorating...... But the actual packing and moving process is just a pain. Right now our stuff is in boxes and we are living in pretty much a disaster area.
On the upside, the weather is fantastic and we are enjoying the sunshine. Yesterday we grilled for the first time of the season with a few of my girlfriends, enjoying a mixed grill (spicy sausage, BBQ chicken, and steak), salad, and two types of 'tatersalad.
Life is good. See you on the other side of Easter!
Tomorrow afternoon we pick up our keys,
Thursday we move all our stuff,
Friday my father-in-law (actually, very much out of law, but you understand the concept...) is coming to help with some lamps and other handy-man stuff.
I despise packing and moving. Don't get me wrong, I am very excited for the end result: finally having some more space, having all of our stuff, getting ready for little dude, decorating...... But the actual packing and moving process is just a pain. Right now our stuff is in boxes and we are living in pretty much a disaster area.
On the upside, the weather is fantastic and we are enjoying the sunshine. Yesterday we grilled for the first time of the season with a few of my girlfriends, enjoying a mixed grill (spicy sausage, BBQ chicken, and steak), salad, and two types of 'tatersalad.
Life is good. See you on the other side of Easter!
J Crew - Pink Nails
Apparently there has been a whole lot of hoopla about a J.Crew ad featuring a mother and her adorable sun sharing a very happy moment.
First of all, let me clarify something here. Gender, by definition, is the social construction of ones sex, based on stereotypes, and cultural and historical context. Sex, refers to the biological differences between male and female. If you have ever studied history, anthropology, or sociology (especially if you have studied it in a gender or women's studies perspective) you wll have learned that gender roles have been different throughout cultures and history.
Ok, now that that's out of the way: So a 5 year old boy likes the color pink. He's seen his mother paint her nails. It seems very natural to me that he would want to try it. Maybe he really does like the color pink (the ad does claim that the boy (who is in fact the son of someone at J. Crew) loves the color pink). Again, why shouldn't he like the color pink? To me, it is refreshing that he hasn't already been exposed to so many gender stereotypes that he despises the color pink or has a problem with nailpolish. Really, his fondness for pink is much more natural than any Gender stereotype regarding colors (remember here that gender is something that is socially constructed, and really not natural at all).
Do colors and (what I will decide to call harmless) childs play really determine a persons future gender, future sexual preference, or sense of identity with a certain gender? I say no.
Growing up, my favorite color was blue. I painted my walls blue, had a blue backpack, wore blue clothes. Also, I played with legos. I had a race-car set of legos with the actual race-track. I loved playing with my sisters train set. I was also much more of an athlete than a girly girl. Still, I would say that I am very much a girl, not confused about my gender (or my sex), and also I am heterosexual. Not that it would make me any less of a good person if I weren't any of the above. The only point is that there is no causal link between so-called "girly habits" (or "boyish habits") and sexual/gendered confusion.
Out of the many criticisms I have read of this ad, I will only agree with one: the fact that perhaps, socially, the pink nails (and similar activities) is likely to set a boy up for a hard time in the future. It's a shame, really. If my son came to me and wanted to paint his toenails pink, I would let him. And then I would probably pray long and hard that some little brat won't tease him for being a "wuss" or a "girl" for having pink toenails. We should feel bad for the little brat, because he's been taught such rigid gender roles and stereotypes that he will probably miss out on alot of fun experiences and wonderful people in his life.
//end feminist rant
ETA found this article/blog post. This chick says pretty much the same thing as me, except she does it much better.
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| courtesy J.Crew |
Oh yeah, also the kid has pink toenails, which apparently means that J Crew is sending out "Gender Propaganda" (said here, among other places).
Maybe I'm just a raging crazy feminist, but excuse me, I'm not sure I understand the big deal here?
Pink toenails on a young boy (5 years old) = confusing his gender, making him homosexual/transgendered, Apparently?
First of all, let me clarify something here. Gender, by definition, is the social construction of ones sex, based on stereotypes, and cultural and historical context. Sex, refers to the biological differences between male and female. If you have ever studied history, anthropology, or sociology (especially if you have studied it in a gender or women's studies perspective) you wll have learned that gender roles have been different throughout cultures and history.
Ok, now that that's out of the way: So a 5 year old boy likes the color pink. He's seen his mother paint her nails. It seems very natural to me that he would want to try it. Maybe he really does like the color pink (the ad does claim that the boy (who is in fact the son of someone at J. Crew) loves the color pink). Again, why shouldn't he like the color pink? To me, it is refreshing that he hasn't already been exposed to so many gender stereotypes that he despises the color pink or has a problem with nailpolish. Really, his fondness for pink is much more natural than any Gender stereotype regarding colors (remember here that gender is something that is socially constructed, and really not natural at all).
Do colors and (what I will decide to call harmless) childs play really determine a persons future gender, future sexual preference, or sense of identity with a certain gender? I say no.
Growing up, my favorite color was blue. I painted my walls blue, had a blue backpack, wore blue clothes. Also, I played with legos. I had a race-car set of legos with the actual race-track. I loved playing with my sisters train set. I was also much more of an athlete than a girly girl. Still, I would say that I am very much a girl, not confused about my gender (or my sex), and also I am heterosexual. Not that it would make me any less of a good person if I weren't any of the above. The only point is that there is no causal link between so-called "girly habits" (or "boyish habits") and sexual/gendered confusion.
Out of the many criticisms I have read of this ad, I will only agree with one: the fact that perhaps, socially, the pink nails (and similar activities) is likely to set a boy up for a hard time in the future. It's a shame, really. If my son came to me and wanted to paint his toenails pink, I would let him. And then I would probably pray long and hard that some little brat won't tease him for being a "wuss" or a "girl" for having pink toenails. We should feel bad for the little brat, because he's been taught such rigid gender roles and stereotypes that he will probably miss out on alot of fun experiences and wonderful people in his life.
//end feminist rant
ETA found this article/blog post. This chick says pretty much the same thing as me, except she does it much better.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
I'm an Auntie!
Since I expect my own sister to make me wait several years to become a "real aunt" (you better be waiting several years!) I have very willingly adopted the title of Aunt to my boyfriends little niece. This week, we became the proud Uncle and Aunt to another beautiful little girl!
We're very excited to meet little "K" this today and to see little "I" in the role of big sister. And we're even more excited to see them both in the role of cousins to our own little dude come late summer (although they actually have cousins on their mothers side as well).
We're very excited to meet little "K" this today and to see little "I" in the role of big sister. And we're even more excited to see them both in the role of cousins to our own little dude come late summer (although they actually have cousins on their mothers side as well).
Friday, April 15, 2011
Mah Belly! - 21 Weeks
I'm growing bigger by the week, even if it's not clear in pictures, it's definately clear in real life. I am now up 3 kg from what I am assuming is my pre-pregnancy weight. The goal is a max of 10 kg gain. It seems reachable.
My only comfort is the fact that I can still swim faster than my boyfriend! I'm afraid it's only a short-lived comfort thought, for as I grow fatter, he is getting in better shape. Perhaps I should starting teaching him some bad crawl techniques in order to keep my leading position?? hmmm, something to ponder....
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| Saggy sweatpants butt |
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| this picture is very bright. |
My only comfort is the fact that I can still swim faster than my boyfriend! I'm afraid it's only a short-lived comfort thought, for as I grow fatter, he is getting in better shape. Perhaps I should starting teaching him some bad crawl techniques in order to keep my leading position?? hmmm, something to ponder....
Thursday, April 14, 2011
The sex thing....
I like to think that I don't have alot of the stereotypical "girly" traits. I've never been one to wear excessive makeup, dress exclusively in pink, glitter, and dresses, just as I've always tried to distance myself from drama and gossip. As kids, we played with barbies, legos, dressup, kitchens, and animals.
I am also a firm believer that many gender stereotypes are taught - they are socially learned. We'll never know just how much is social and how much biology - but in my mind, alot of emphasis is on the environment.
So I've always known that I would raise my own girls to be independent and smart. To teach them that "they can do anything boys can do." For some reason, I've never thought about how to raise boys - but of course, boys bring challenges of their very own! Boys "can do anything girls can do" (except maybe bear children and breastfeed...).
But why do we insist on gendering children before they are even born? We've been so excited to find out the sex of our baby - it makes name picking and equipment shopping a whole lot easier. But why, really? I don't plan on having a baby blue nursery (in fact, we won't even have a real nursery). I don't plan on dressing our boy in exclusively blue and green. I hope that we can avoid an excessive theme of cars, tractors, and tools.
When I told my boyfriend this, he kind of rolled my eyes at me. I think he understoon my point, but a man probably always wants his "little boy to grow into a real man". But why should we be shoving monstertrucks and toolkits in our childs face? Won't he grow up to be a real man without airplanes and tractors? And what is, in fact, a real man?
Isn't a real man someone who has respect for other people (men and women and children)? Who works hard, loves his family, and fights for his passions?
And if so, what is the real difference between a real man and a real woman?
I am also a firm believer that many gender stereotypes are taught - they are socially learned. We'll never know just how much is social and how much biology - but in my mind, alot of emphasis is on the environment.
So I've always known that I would raise my own girls to be independent and smart. To teach them that "they can do anything boys can do." For some reason, I've never thought about how to raise boys - but of course, boys bring challenges of their very own! Boys "can do anything girls can do" (except maybe bear children and breastfeed...).
But why do we insist on gendering children before they are even born? We've been so excited to find out the sex of our baby - it makes name picking and equipment shopping a whole lot easier. But why, really? I don't plan on having a baby blue nursery (in fact, we won't even have a real nursery). I don't plan on dressing our boy in exclusively blue and green. I hope that we can avoid an excessive theme of cars, tractors, and tools.
When I told my boyfriend this, he kind of rolled my eyes at me. I think he understoon my point, but a man probably always wants his "little boy to grow into a real man". But why should we be shoving monstertrucks and toolkits in our childs face? Won't he grow up to be a real man without airplanes and tractors? And what is, in fact, a real man?
Isn't a real man someone who has respect for other people (men and women and children)? Who works hard, loves his family, and fights for his passions?
And if so, what is the real difference between a real man and a real woman?
Royal Christening
I'm sitting here today with my book, my tea, my knitting project, and watching all the hoopla surrounding the big event of the day: The royal christening of the newborn royal twins.
I'm a little bit of a royalist. I love following the royal family. I think perhaps some of it stems from spending so many years abroad; it just makes following all things Danish so much more special and fun. In 2004, I got to take the day off school (a mental health day..) and all the Danes in the area got together for a wedding-viewing party. We dressed up, had delicious brunch, and watched the wedding on a big projector screen. My favorite part of watching royal events on TV is watching the arrivals on the red carpet and looking at all the fancy dresses and outfits (Kind of like at the Oscars).
Plus, you know, Babies!! Awwww, so cute.
People seem to have alot of varying opinions on the Royal Family and royalty in general. Alot of the arguments are valid enough - like that they use tax money that could be used elsewhere in society or the "why are they so special, their just people like you and me" argument.
To take my academic glasses on for a minute though, I have to pinpoint that it is incredibly difficult to actually figure out the value that they create for Denmark. They function as ambassadors, and personally I think they do a good job and I am proud to have them represent this country. They sell a whole lot of magazines, generate tourism, etc.
And just to get my name guesses/bets/suggestions in writing: I'm thinking Viktor for a boy, and Caroline (Mathilde?) for the girl.
I'm a little bit of a royalist. I love following the royal family. I think perhaps some of it stems from spending so many years abroad; it just makes following all things Danish so much more special and fun. In 2004, I got to take the day off school (a mental health day..) and all the Danes in the area got together for a wedding-viewing party. We dressed up, had delicious brunch, and watched the wedding on a big projector screen. My favorite part of watching royal events on TV is watching the arrivals on the red carpet and looking at all the fancy dresses and outfits (Kind of like at the Oscars).
Plus, you know, Babies!! Awwww, so cute.
People seem to have alot of varying opinions on the Royal Family and royalty in general. Alot of the arguments are valid enough - like that they use tax money that could be used elsewhere in society or the "why are they so special, their just people like you and me" argument.
To take my academic glasses on for a minute though, I have to pinpoint that it is incredibly difficult to actually figure out the value that they create for Denmark. They function as ambassadors, and personally I think they do a good job and I am proud to have them represent this country. They sell a whole lot of magazines, generate tourism, etc.
And just to get my name guesses/bets/suggestions in writing: I'm thinking Viktor for a boy, and Caroline (Mathilde?) for the girl.
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