After amputation.We have a dog, three cats and a tiny human, but one of the most babied creatures in the house is Mango Tree. A few years ago, my dad ate a mango, put the seed into the ground and up sprung a little tree. He gave it to us when he moved to Europe and we drove the tree to Texas, where it thrived for awhile, and then moved Mango Tree with us to DC, where he faced a near death fungal scare but survived.
Since the 2011 fungal scare, Mango Tree sprouted a whole new limb and has grown at least six inches. But last week, something scary happened. One of his limbs started showing signs of decay, and all the leaves on that limb started drying up. It didn’t make sense, since the main limb is doing fine, and below it a new branch is growing.
Today Matty rushed Mango Tree to a nursery where the gardeners gave us the bad news: Mango Tree would have to lose a limb if we want him to have a chance at survival.
The amputation just happened. Matty is mourning. Any advice you have or stories you can share that might help will be appreciated.
Two years ago, one of my bridesmaids and best friends, April, unwittingly fell victim to a TOTAL ROMANTIC CATASTROPHE. There’s no need to go into the details except to say I learned of this in the middle of a busy downtown street and was so stunned that I froze there on the asphalt as cars honked to avoid running me over.
In the blur of time following the news, April and I spent night after night out at bars, rooftop parties, dives featuring wood paneling and karaoke, sketchy dance clubs full of cougars, and, you get the idea. All along, we kept our friends Keith and Virginia, parents to a then-newborn, updated with new developments in the TOTAL ROMANTIC CATASTROPHE.
Around that time, Keith had begun a friendship with a super smart engineer named Chad. And he decided that Chad should meet April. So he enlisted my help in bringing the two together. We organized a happy hour, ostensibly to casually hang out, but mainly so the two could meet.
Within a month the two were dating, by Christmas they’d met one anothers families, and by this Easter, they were engaged. Keith and I spent their weekend wedding in the Texas Hill Country gloating over our matchmaking success.
Matchmakers! There’s Keith and Virginia, on the left.
Pal Justin and me and our obligatory self portrait where we look ridonkulous.
I haven’t dropped off the face of the earth but I have been tied up with caring for the tiny human and watching five seasons of Friday Night Lightsin one week.
I’ve also started a daily Eva Tumblr so that her Oma and Opa (who live in Holland) can keep up with her rapid growth and her daily activities. If you’re interested, follow us at EvaEveryday.Tumblr.com
Well folks, the fetus is now a tiny human. She (yes, it turns out fetus was a lady) is now home from the hospital after a quick delivery and a less-than-24-hour stay. I awoke Saturday morning with contractions — which happened to be the same day my parents were getting to town from Amsterdam to support us postpartum — and by Saturday night, Eva Blythe Hu-Stiles made her grand entrance.
Like a good journalist baby, she waited until right up against her deadline to arrive. (She was due on Sunday.) The metrics: 8 pounds, 2 ounces and 22 inches long. Full head of black hair (which the nurse and midwife made me very aware of while she was crowning) and dark blue eyes, for now.
As for the name, I just needed to pick something simple that any of my Chinese relatives could pronounce, hence Eva with the Spanish pronunciation. Blythe is after Matty’s late paternal grandmother, who worked in a newsroom and was a supporter of the civil rights movement way before it was cool.
Just as she was awesome as a fetus, Eva has been awesome as a baby, sleeping for long stretches, eating lots and passing all her random medical tests with flying colors. Thanks to all of you for your love and support during the pregnancy, as I know the real ride is just beginning.
P.S. While she’s in town, my hobbyist photographer mom is taking some fun shots of Eva, which inspired me to start Eva Everyday, a tumblr that posts a select Eva photo each day. Check it out if you’re interested.
I’ve been sitting around my living room a lot more lately, since I am too slow to really move around and apparently I could go into labor at any moment. That has allowed plenty of time to consume more pop culture and cast judgement upon it.
Cheers
This Jacoby Jones endzone dance from the Ravens-Eagles game today. It looks like he’s doing some sort of mongolian barbecuing or something … not sure, but it makes me happy:
Scott Disick.This guy is the only reason I’ve managed to sit through about four or five episodes of E!’s Keeping Up With the Kardashians. He’s vapid and narcissistic like the rest of them, but he owns it and seems to be a pretty decent father, actually.
Owing to more sensitive gums, I am now flossing numerous times a day. So a big shout out to my favorite floss, Oral B’s Glide Pro-Health. So smooth. You know what else is smooth? Tito’s vodka, which I miss so much.
Jeers
Really!?
American peanut butter giant Jif has decided to make “Jif Hazelnut” to compete with the European hazelnut spread standard-bearer, Nutella. Say it with me now: OUTRAGE! But let’s see what the market decides, cause I don’t see how Nutella addicts will accept any imitators.
And how about one more first-world problem jeer for not-being-able-to-sleep-on-one’s-stomach? This whole sleeping on your side situation is getting old. I know I am supposed to cherish this special time and all, and I am quite appreciative of the miracle of life and all the perspective it brings, but free range sleeping was so nice back when it was an option.
I’m now at that stage of pregnanthood where I feel like the Kool-Aid man, about to bust through a wall going “OH YEEEEAH.” But Fetus is not scheduled to arrive for another two weeks, which means I’m maintaining my regular work schedule, minus the air travel.
For those who have been through this sort of thing or are just curious, here’s what we know: The baby’s active and his head is down, in the optimal position for delivery. He/she is still getting properly oxygenated, and midwife is estimating he/she is at about seven pounds right now. (It didn’t stop some various pals from guessing birth weights at 27 lbs, however. Stiles data-vizzed our pals guesses for birth date, weight and sex.)
Really healthy and smooth situation over here. I haven’t had any back pain or skin weirdness and usually my shoes fit fine. (The exception is after my chili cheese dog binges, which are normal in my diet.) We are generally set with our baby stuff, thanks in large part to the two showers from this summer, and my online shopping problem.
I switched to midwives instead of an OBGYN practice about four months into the pregnancy. (If you are interested in the reasons why, reach out to me anytime.) The midwives are fantastic and they catch babies at the hospital, so there are surgeons nearby should they be required. But our hope is to let everything go as spontaneously and medication-free as possible. Now we wait.
“From what I understand from doctors, [pregnancy from rape] is really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” –Missouri US Senate Candidate Todd Akin
To be clear, it’s totally nonsense (and Akin has admitted as much) that human women’s bodies can “shut that whole thing down” and reject sperm if raped. But interestingly, a 2008 episode of RadioLab explains that female DUCKS do have that capability. Fascinating. (Hat tip to my friend Reeve for pointing this out to me.) The audio of this discussion starts around the 13:15 mark, but I excerpted a key part here.
“The thing about the duck is … ducks engage in forced extra-pair copulations. What he’s really saying is the males are “raping” the females. A couple of years ago, we were dissecting a female duck and a doc called Patty Brennan (sp) called me and said “Look at this, I found a funny structure in the female vagina…
What we found was that in species where the male had an enormous phallus, the female had the most complex vagina we’d ever come across. Some have two or three side branches and a very long spiral, like a corkscrew at the end of the vagina. If you think about it, what seems very likely here is the female has got these structures to deflect the male. If she’s being raped, she might contract part of her reproductive tract to send the male off down a blind alley. If he avoids that, she can just tighten up the spiral so his sperm can’t get to the right place. So what you’ve got here is a kind of warfare. The male says, I’m coming in here like it or not, and the female says, you’re getting nowhere, like it or not. Remarkable case of females evolving counter-adaptations to keep males at arm’s length. Or penis length, so to speak.”
The Fetus has yet to arrive, but he/she is pretty lucky to have so many aunties and uncles around. Not to be outdone by the Texas BBQ Shower, my old friends Sudeep, Beam, Fiscus and Andrew (some of those are not their legal names, natch) hosted a travel-themed fete in our new hometown of DC to prepare our future jetsetter for all his (or her) adventures. This was fun times, y’all. And it’s already earned many superlatives, like “the most irreverent/funny/inappropriate” shower that guests had ever been to.
Instead of the traditional all-girl affair, my closest gay pals joined the gal pals in this fete for Fetus. So we were DQ-treated to such entertainment as Friend Dave, a veteran DQ employee, explaining the art of making a Buster or Dilly bar from scratch (it’s all in the wrist), internationally-themed cupcakes and food, lots of Mommy-Loves-Vodka jokes, airline mini-bottles for party favors, and raucous debate about the ethics of circumcision. (And apparently there are different ways to cut — the “bald eagle” versus the “shaggy dog.” Yep.)
As an added bonus, Friend Denise is not only a friggin awesome baker (her German chocolate cake was a huge hit), but a talented photographer. She took some pics to show off all the detail these hosts and hostesses put into throwing a truly fun, boozy afternoon. Thanks again my friends. We’re so grateful.
Amazing gift. I miss Texas pacifiers.
Man were there a lot of mom-loves-vodka jokes.
The Omar Little (from The Wire) bib!
All the DC neighborhoods, courtesy of Kate
Alexis and Terp are among my travel buds. We were all in Costa Rica together earlier this year.
Opening cards
Hosts plus the DQ King, Dave Odenbach, there on the stairs
Yeah Uncle Matt!
Pal Kate from college … so great to be living in DC with so many old friends
Was this during a circumcision debate?
Peanuts, pretzels and minibottles for favors
Internationally themed cupcakes by Alexis
My work spouse (common law) Matt writes Fetus a postcard…
Fetus’ father makes a onesie.
With the host and hostesses! From L to R: Beam, Me, Sudeep, Fiscus. My pals for more than a decade.
Awesome artifacts.
The Asian corner.
Lots of day drinking happened.
Air Fetus!
International food spread
Cake cake cake cake cake
Food from different countries!
Tiffany demonstrates how cupcakes can be eaten in one bite.
In these fractious and trying times for the country, in which even chicken sandwiches have become symbols for cultural and political division, I have turned to the simple things to keep my spirits up. The videos have put a grin on my face over the last week:
Buster Bluth on Cartography Seeing evidence that perhaps the funniest show of the last decade, Arrested Development, is going to be back as a movie has made me nostalgic for some of the show’s funniest moments. The cult favorite featured absurdity like this, from one of the best characters, Buster:
Aaron Paul on The Price Is Right
There is nothing more life-affirming and Americuh-affirming than Breaking Bad actor Aaron Paul’s way-back-when appearance as a contestant on The Price Is Right. Bob Barker was still hosting and Paul seems like he’s on meth as he makes it all the way to the showcase showdown.
Steve Carrell and Ellen Play Charades I used a clip from Ellen’s show in my All Things Consideredpiece a few weeks ago, and in scanning her YouTube channel stumbled upon this gem. It had me cracking up uncontrollably at my desk.
A big thank you to the two Angies — Angela Kim of Yahoo! and Angie Goff of NBC Washington — for paneling it with me today at the UNITY Journalism convention. UNITY brings together the minority journalism organizations for one giant confab every four years, and I’m really happy to have moderated this (hopefully practical) talk about tools you can use to better engage with your audiences online.
Marketplace: Your Neighborhood Through Your Eyes
A Public Insight Network project using photos to tell a story. Any news organization can get involved with the Public Insight Network by contacting American Public Media.
Yahoo! Sports on Instagram
An example of what you can do with your reporting team’s photos on Instagram.
Down But Not Out
How Yahoo! Finance aggregated user-generated content on a simple, free Tumblr.
Social Cam
Allows you to update a story in the field or set the scene before a liveshot for your Twitter/Facebook audience. You can also capture moments during commercial breaks.
Demonstrating Free Apps – “App of The Day”
To better integrate tech products with your television audience, most newsrooms have the capability to allow talent to introduce and demonstrate free apps.
VYou
Encourage the audience to interact with you ask questions. Also builds your own social media brand.
Google + and Google Hangout Tutorial
KOMU-TV in Columbia, Missouri rocks their Google+ presence. This quick video tutorial shows viewers how to get on Google+ and participate in a hangout.
Questions? Feedback? Leave a message in the comments or tweet me.
