Day Care

Today was D Day in the Elbert household. Day Care Day.

Madeleine had her first day away from our home or Nonnie's (my mom's) home. She was absolutely great when I dropped her off, and even started waving bye bye before I was fully ready to leave. And I just talked to Amanda (the provider), and she took a 2-hour nap this morning, which is almost unprecedented for her. Apparently she did have a realization this morning that she was STILL there and no end point in sight, but she worked through it. She's now snacking on Cheerios and talking to her new baby friend.

All is well in Madeleineland, for anyone who cares :-).

It's Not You, It's Your Books

As someone who couldn't have been more pleased with a copy of Dostoevsky's "The Idiot" as a Valentine's present from my future husband, I found this article amusing.

My favorite quote:
“I did have to break up with one guy because he was very keen on Ayn Rand,” said Laura Miller, a book critic for Salon. “He was sweet and incredibly decent despite all the grandiosely heartless ‘philosophy’ he espoused, but it wasn’t even the ideology that did it. I just thought Rand was a hilariously bad writer, and past a certain point I couldn’t hide my amusement.”

I'm sorry to all the Rand devotees out there who might read this blog, but I couldn't agree more about Ayn Rand, though I never would have broken up with someone because he was a fan. I remember one debate about whether "Atlas Shrugged" was a classic, just based on its impact on American society, even if it's not a very good piece of literature. I said no, and I think I was in the minority. (Full disclosure: I never made it through any of Rand's novels.)

I know my taste in books makes me a nerd and probably seem pretentious, but I'm also a sucker for a good mystery novel or Times bestseller on vacation, so I'm not a complete book snob. And I still say: to each his/her own. I certainly wouldn't have broken up with Matt if he wasn't a reader (that quality isn't what I love about him); it's just a nice bonus that I think he has good taste in books, even if it's different from my own.

Covered in Beeeeeees!

I just bought tickets to see Eddie Izzard in May for my b-day, and I have to admit I'm kind of psyched. I'm not a big "comedian person." In fact, I don't think I've ever paid $50 to see a comedian. Or $25. I've gone to a few comedy clubs, but that's different, and most of the time I left the show swearing not to go to any comedy clubs again. Second City in Chicago was an exception, but otherwise it can be too risky. If the comedian is bad, it's just too painful for me to sit there and watch the poor shlump tank. It can be rather tricky to excuse myself and run out of a theater, which I've been known to do during movies in which the characters are making complete asses of themselves and I get overly embarrassed for them. I think I'm too empathetic. But Eddie Izzard is, in my opinion, pretty funny (I would probably also pay to see Dave Chappelle). I was introduced to Izzard by a friend in Madison and I think I even watched "Dressed to Kill" more than once, which is unusual for me. Matt wasn't quite as enamored, but he's still going with me to keep me company. And I think he may fall under Eddie's spell as well. Some of you may know him from the FX TV show "The Riches," which I've never seen. He also played small roles in the Ocean's 12 and Ocean's 13 movies. Anyway, I'm looking forward to an evening of laughter, as cheesy as that sounds. And if he's not funny .... I'll just run out of the theater and browse around at Border's for a little bit, until I feel enough time has passed that he may be funny again.

Amen

Augie the Patient

Ch..ch...ch...changes

Good news in the Elbert household! Matt recently got a new job. He'll be managing the Cowling Arboretum and McKnight Prairie at Carleton College. I think he's looking forward to it, but I have a feeling he'll also miss his role as Mr. Mom. The additional good news is that the woman who was originally going to provide childcare for Madeleine fortuitously has an infant opening this month. She doesn't provide care over the summer, but I think we may go the part-time nanny route June-August. In preparation for her entry into the daycare world, Matt started Madeleine on an aggressive exercise regimen. We have to toughen her up!! The good news is she loves being around other kids, so I think the transition shouldn't be too difficult.

Compare the Candidates

Check out this link. It's pretty cool.

Our little ham

Grandma's Bound

I'm officially registered in the Grandma's half marathon in Duluth this June. It will be my first race longer than a 10K, and I'm psyched to have a goal to work toward. Now I just need to get in better shape. If it would just warm up (12 degrees on Thursday? Come ON!) I would love to start exercising outside again. For now, though, I guess it's the treadmill at the Y.

I think I'll dedicate the race to both of my grandmothers in Spirit Lake, Ia. They rock.

The Green Lion Returns

2 months.... and now, at 9 months...

I was thinking the other day about how huge Augie seemed when we first brought Madeleine home from the hospital. He seems back to normal now that she's bigger than him. And yes, he's still the most affectionate and occasionally the most annoyingly needy cat out there.