Well, sorry I haven't posted much this week. Every time I've tried it was either thunderstorming or I realized I was in a foul mood and probably shouldn't try to write. Thanks to the wonders of pregnancy I have not been sleeping well, and if I do manage to get to sleep I am awakened by violent thunderstorms. Spring is most definitely here(in shoes of green(sorry splitcat, I couldn't resist)). Anywho, The trees have burst forth in full green splendor. It is quite lovely, and as it has been overcast, the gray of the sky accentuates the green of the trees and grass. I'm not sure when spring took over as my favorite season. Fall is still a very close second, but fall in the suburbs isn't nearly as beautiful as fall in the mountains. If we ever make it out of this exile into the mountains, I may change my mind again. But for now, Spring is the thing. I think I saw the honeysuckle blooming as I looked out the back door today, and we found a firefly in the back yard(during the day) last week.

On another topic entirely, as I sat in the recliner last night trying to get to sleep(it's the only place I can get comfortable enough to sleep) I watched a movie on Nickelodeon. As the movie progressed I was increasingly disturbed by its message. Basically, behaving with any sense of decorum, politeness, or grace in public or for the benefit of your family is a harsh punishment for a free spirit and robs them of all joy and happines to the point where they must leave those etiquettely minded evil doers so they can "be themselves." No wonder kids are so obnoxious these days. Is this then the downfall of civilization as we know it? Is it now okay to do and say the first thing that comes into your head without thought for the people around you? Self-restraint must now be a curse word. I am aware, of course, that this is not a new problem, after all, there is nothing new under the sun, but it does seem to be reaching epic proportions. I've even considered sending my children to etiquette lessons as they get older. Starting a revolution of politeness. Perhaps with the radical motto of "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." Instead of "Love yourself, love no one else."

Am I ranting? Sorry. My frustration level this week is running on a full tank. I can't sleep, I can't even lay down all the way. I can't seem to make any progress on my house, for every mess I clean three or four are in the process of being made(I include myself, I am notoriously bad at picking up after myself, which is frustrating). Just breathing makes me tired. My cat yells for food, I feed her, and she promptly throws it up. It's not like I only feed her once a week so she has to gobble it all at one sitting. Maybe she's bulemic. She could stand to lose a few pounds. I can't wear shoes that tie or buckle, it's too hard to reach. And I hate wearing shoes that don't tie or buckle. I actually wore sparkly flip flops the other night. I am thoroughly ashamed of myself. But at least I could jam my feet into them. At this rate I'm going to end up a size 12. (for my unenlightened, or male, readership, pregnancy releases a hormone called relaxin which relaxes all your joints, and can cause your feet to grow and spread(like I really needed bigger feet)). And if you really ever need to be frustrated, play Lego Star Wars(the video game) with a five year old (I did learn my lesson on that one, then splitcat and I tried to play with 2 players, it was almost as bad, the game won't let you get very far apart from each other, and we have very different styles of game play). But it is a very cool game with only a few minor annoying bits. It's great to explode into little pieces of Lego when you die. Okay, I think I'm through complaining now. Thanks for listening. :)

We finally had a few minutes to talk about names for the babies. This is going to be tougher than I thought. My favorites from last night are Sebastien and Benedict. Splitcat didn't like any of my previously chosen names, except Daniel, which is ok. I tend toward the more fanciful, while he sticks to the good basics, like William, David, Stephen, and Richard. Although he did come up with Roland(as in the "Song of") and Benedict. We both like names from the Arthurian legends, but somehow, I don't think a kid named Gawaine would do well socially. Maybe we should each get to name one whatever we want and then surprise each other when they are born.