Ellen Born: So What Else is New?

A lot has changed over the past few months. Here are the highlights.

I had a baby girl and named her Ellen. Her birth was pretty normal, and by normal I mean immodest and undignified--which is normal for me. Of particular note was that when the epidural went into my spine I went blind. The anesthesiologist got super defensive. He was a sturdy little dude who probably wrestled in high school and who probably calls himself a "doctor" whenever possible. I can tell he feels cool and cutting edge because he wheels his little epidural kit around the hospital in one of those stainless steel tool cases--which is cool, but he probably got the idea to keep his implements in there from his hair stylist which is a little less cutting edge. Whatever the case, he should know that he needn't worry. I don't' sue people who give me epidurals. Period.

We settled on her name at the last minute, trading the whimsy of Lucy for the grace of Ellen. But we just call her Blanket. Do I miss being pregnant? Of course. That's why I still wear maternity clothes.














Before I had the baby we moved into a new house. It's nice. We bought it at an auction. One day, as the story goes, we were on our way to Arctic Circle and Taco Bell for dinner. We saw that the house was available and we put a bid on it. Then we went to Arctic Circle and Taco Bell. The next day we went to the auction and got the house. They gave us the keys and we started moving our stuff in. That first night, we had Arbys.

And finally, I don't have TV anymore. I hesitate to even mention this lest you think I'm one of those people, which I guess I am. I won't go into why I don't' have TV but I'm sure you can imagine that Comcast being stupid idiots has something to do with it. At any rate, the first couple of weeks without TV were very difficult. But you get used to it. Do I miss flipping through channels? Yes. Do I crave the comfort TV food that is Law and Order? Occasionally. But I watch most shows online and order others from ITunes. It's OK. I watch fewer shows. My kids fight more. Sometimes I just sit and stare out the window a la David Putty. Life goes on.