Since the moment I learned I was pregnant I wished that our baby and Winnie would get along. It’s safe to say I was scarred from the Mister’s story of his parents having to get rid of their family dog when he was a toddler. I couldn’t even think about what I would do if Winnie and Baby Love had issues.

And while we are quickly transitioning from worrying that Winnie might hurt Baby Love to a life where he might hurt her, so far they are coexisting wonderfully. And based on this picture I would argue they might be getting along too well.

May 21st challenge: Shapes

Are fedoras still in?  I don’t know.  Are fancy slippers (that’s “flip-flops” for you haoles) awesome?  You bet they are.  Today I may have purchased a couple really cute (read: unnecessary) items for Baby Love.  And I would say they were worth every penny.  Whoever said money can’t buy you happiness, or in this case joy, obviously didn’t have a baby to dress like a grown-up.

May 20^th challenge:  A wish

I love getting mail.  I love it as much as our mail lady must hate delivering it since she gets barked at by Winnie every day without fail.  (And then Winnie scurries over and eats her food.  As if the mail lady is going to break into our house, paper cutting her way in only to steal Winnie’s food.  Silly girl.)

Sure, I get a fair amount of bills and junk mail and that’s annoying, but the good stuff makes up for it.  Every day has the potential for a nice surprise.  This is mostly due to the fact that my friend Michelle loves sending mail as much as I love receiving it.  She will send me cards for just about every holiday and there was a period around the time of her wedding where I was getting a piece of mail from her almost every day.  I’m not kidding.  It became a joke with the Mister, so much so that one day Michelle sent him an empty envelope just to keep the streak going.  And like me, Michelle is also a big thank you note writer.  As my friend Diane once said, “You give the Goss girls a tic-tac and they’ll send you a thank you note.”  By that definition, Michelle could be a Goss girl.

So while today didn’t bring a piece of mail from Michelle (after all, I already received my mother’s day card from her), it did bring two treats.  The first being two photos from our recent trip to visit family in Hawaii.  My Auntie Barbara only recently transitioned from a film camera to a digital one and therefore still – out of habit, perhaps? – gets pictures printed up.  This is great as we now have something to hang on our refrigerator as a remembrance from that trip instead of, well, nothing.

The second piece of fun mail was actually addressed to Baby Love.  In a word:  awesome.  I would love to give credit where credit is due, but we’re actually not sure who sent it to us.  It was sent via an Etsy seller, so the return address doesn’t help.  And there was no note or packing slip.  We’re pretty sure it’s one of the Mister’s friends from high school.  But which one?  Keith?  Colin?  Nick?  Show your face, good gift giver!  No, seriously, who sent it?  I gotta send a thank you note. Thanks for the tic-tac awesome onesie.  

May 19^th challenge:  Joy

World, meet Boggy.

I have had this little guy since I was maybe a few months old. I am not sure who gave it to me, but he was my absolute favorite. I slept with him in my bed for longer than I should admit, which probably explains my lackluster dating life during college. Although I like to attribute that more to being a late bloomer than being the weird girl who slept with a stuffed animal. At least that’s what I tell myself. It was in college that a friend said, “Oh, Boggy. Because you couldn’t say doggy?” Honestly, that never dawned on me. College: Another opportunity to prove to the world that sometimes I’m not that smart. (It’s possible I’ve said too much.)

When I adopted Winnie, Boggy was quickly moved to a shelf out of her spastic, puppy reach. Being that Boggy is so old, his fur is a bit tattered and thin (my sister has stitched him up twice), so one enthusiastic lick from Winnie might do him in. And if Winnie actually tried to play with him? It would get ugly. Generally, when it comes to stuffed toys, Winnie eviscerates them. That would be a sad scene to come home to: Winnie proudly laying amongst Boggy’s innards. I shudder to think.

Currently, Boggy is on display in Baby Love’s room, right above Lamby, who I’m convinced is going to become Baby Love’s Boggy. Don’t worry, I already promised the Mister that Lamby will not follow our son to college. No matter how cute I think it is, the ladies of the class of 2033 will likely not.

May 18^th challenge: Most recent piece of mail

As I walked throughout our house trying to decide what picture to take that best represents “art,” I realized that on our walls hang art from three generations of Goss artists.  My great Uncle Dale, whose watercolor of a person tending to a fence hangs in our bedroom.  My dad, Tim, who did a watercolor painting of a panda family for Baby Love.  Naturally, this hangs in his room.  And lastly, my sister, Kelli, who indulged me when I said, “I want something flowery with chocolate brown, light blue and white.”  That painting hangs in our living room, right across from my contribution to our familial art:  a hand-written letter to my mom asking if I could get my first bra.  Good times.

May 17^th challenge:  Childhood memory

Considering that the Mister and I both hail from the pacific northwest, we often lament the lack of outdoorsy beauty in a freeway-centric city like Los Angeles.  But every now and again Los Angeles gives us a wonderful surprise.  In this case it was Will Rogers State Park.  Or as I like to call it, “The park with a little bit of everything.”  Your $12 per car fee goes to support a park which boasts a whole slew of hiking trails, a bit of California history and the only operating polo field in Los Angeles.  We hiked, walked through Will Rogers’ old stable (including the burial site of two of his horses), took in a polo match and sat on a grassy knoll with Baby Love.

Can money buy happiness?  Maybe not long-term.  But in this case, $12 bought us a perfect Mother’s Day outing.

Will Rogers State Park.  Mother’s Day, 2012.   

May 16^th challenge:  Art

As a long-winded writer, I admire anyone who can tell a story in a few frames.  And illustrating that story as well?  Well, color me jealous. My dad can cartoon and I keep threatening to attempt to teach myself.  Right after I learn a second language I’m sure.

I specifically admire Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin & Hobbes, for resisting what I’m sure was an enormous amount of pressure to merchandise his work.  Despite Calvin & Hobbes’ popularity, Watterson never gave in.  (So no, the decals of Calvin peeing on a Ford logo are not official merchandise.)

Hanging on the wall of Baby Love’s room.  A framed copy of the final Calvin & Hobbes comic strip, which was published on December 31, 1995.

May 15^th challenge:  The great outdoors 

At this time last year I was having a super-secret fetus Mother’s Day as only the Mister knew I was pregnant.  We were waiting until the second trimester before telling anyone else.  With one accidental exception.

I was going to lunch with a friend who suggested sushi.  Nine times out of ten, when we have lunch together it’s sushi.  “No problem,” thought my secretly pregnant self, “I’ll just get something baked.”  But then I realized it was one of those sushi restaurants where you sit down and they bring you chef’s choice until you’re full.  Normally, this sounds like an awesome dining experience to me.  However, I knew my secretly paranoid self would not be able to hang.  I quickly tried to think of an excuse to get out of going to that restaurant.  I know some people might say, “Ooh, I’m sorry, I don’t want [insert any type of food] for lunch, I’m having that for dinner.”  I am not one of those people.  I love sushi and can eat it all day long.  I just pretend I’m in Japan.

As we were about to drive to sushi heaven, which now was about to become my sushi hell, I blurted out, “I can’t go to sushi.”  My friend looked at me and instantly knew.  “You’re pregnant.”  In a way, it felt good to tell someone else and talk about it, but I also couldn’t believe I cracked.

When I got home from lunch (from a restaurant where I got a yummy pregnancy-approved sandwich) I told the Mister what I had done.  He promptly kicked me off his fake super secret spy team as I had essentially given away the launch codes.

Baby Love right before we left the hospital.

May 14^th challenge:  Admiration 

A couple years ago I was at a park with a friend and her daughter.  I got on the monkey bars thinking that might be fun.  The best way I can describe the immediate pain is to say that I thought my arms were going to detach from my body SNL skit-style.  If that doesn’t ring a bell, go here: http://www.hulu.com/watch/4090/saturday-night-live-weekend-update-all-drug-olympics

It goes without saying that it was not the fun/callous-inducing experience I remember from my youth.  However, the swings?  Still fun.  After today I would say Baby Love agrees.

May 13^th challenge:  Creation

Just when I thought a photo couldn’t get more boring than my picture from Day 8 (http://www.shannongoss.com/?p=1968) I give you a photo of an empty wall.  Because when I think of an empty space, I think of the wall above our couch.  Someday we will get something to hang there.  Someday.

May 12^th challenge:  Fun