Godzilla Kisses

The household has been watching a lot of television on DVD while we supervise the twins. As it happens, we're watching Season Two of Battlestar Galactica and Season Six of The Sopranos more or less simultaneously.

Anyone ever notice that in both cases, the storylines revolve around a ( spoiler cut :P ) Just goes to show, there are lots of settings, endless variations of character...but all in all, just so many stories to tell.

1. Are they identical or fraternal?

Fraternal.

2. Who's the father?

This is complicated. Genetically speaking, black_pearl_10 is the father. Legally speaking, thanks to marriage laws (hey, didja know that one of the purposes of marriage is to 'legitimize' children, that is, give them a legal father regardless of genetic parentage?), imnotandrei's name is on the birth certificate and thus the legal father, unless we try and mess with this down the road, which we might -- and possibly become a groundbreaking test case!

3. Where did you get their names from?

Mostly, I liked the way they sounded, that's all. 'Frances' is Steven's grandmother's name. 'Simone' was inspired by a radio ad for the opera, but also for Nina and de Beauvoir. 'April' and 'Leah' are my own whim.

Their second middle name is G.'s last name; their last name is the same as mine.

4. Can I come over?

If we know you personally, sure.

5. Can I hold them?

Yes. Wash your hands first.

6. How are the cats doing with all this?

Surprisingly well. Coaltrain is extra-needy, and Fritzi is overcoming her natural wariness, but overall, they seem to be adjusting just fine and mostly ignoring the babies.

7. Are you guys getting any sleep?

No. Well, OK, a little sleep, but not much.

8. Which one is Scooba and which one is Roomba? How do you know?

Simone is Roomba; April is Scooba. I knew which was which positionally in the womb, but I didn't know their names until I met them in person. (They actually spent a day as "Baby A" and "Baby B" b/c I hadn't had a chance to really meet Simone properly -- she was in the NICU and I was all IV'd up.)

9. Which one is older?

Simone, by two minutes. She is also the bigger one.

10. When can they come out to play?

In about a month.


Any other questions? Ask away!

My blood pressure is back in normal ranges (with the assistance of my meds).

Oh, yes, one more note about our outing this morning. It was a very short trip, and we saw only a handful of people on our way to and from the pediatrician's.

Every single person we saw commented on the twins (and their general adorableness). Every single one.

At the time, I managed to avoid a lot of unsolicited attention to my very pregnant belly, but I think my grace period is over :) Fortunately, so far everyone's been very solicitous and friendly about it.

P.S. they tend to think one's a boy and one's a girl. Which is supposed to be which, I'm not sure...

(Simone's on top; April's on the bottom.)

The twins had their first visit to the doctor today. They passed. "I think you should keep them," he said.

And later this afternoon, I get my staples out.

Instead, it's about cats! :)

Thank goodness for the invention of the optical mouse. Now the fact that my mouse pad is covered in cat hair won't clog the works.

(Fritzi has taken to napping on that corner of my desk.)

1. "There is nothing that can be cooked that you" (yes, YOU) "cannot cook": what she said.

2. Not that there is much cooking happening in this house at all at the moment. Or sleeping. I'm sure you understand.

3. G. and I passed our fifth anniversary yesterday. Um, I hope it's OK that we kinda forgot to celebrate it properly...

4. More soon. I have a little running notebook of stuff I want to tell y'all, and someday, one good nap from the twins and you're all gonna hear it.

I'm home from the hospital at last.

Overall, I feel very well taken care of by the Alta Bates staff, and I am chagrined at how much of a surprise this is. There were some rough moments -- my blood pressure is still running high, and we're having some breastfeeding challenges, and then of course there's the general sleep deprivation -- but overall, as major surgery and subsequent hospitals stays go, this wasn't so bad.

I also feel very well-loved by my friends and family. This means you. Thank you.

P.S. I still got staples in me :) They come out Tuesday. I now have a lot of sympathy for all the neutered cats in my life...

Out of all the photos ever taken of me, this is hands-down my favorite. Ever. (That's April's head, fwiw.)

Quickly:

I am well, the twins are well, Daddy and Uncle Bear Daddy are well too.

Please welcome April Leah and Simone Frances into the world and our extended family. I know I am biased, but these are some cutie-pie babies. I think you will like them too.

black_pearl_10 is posting more regular updates than I can (although the hospital does have wireless, as you can see...), but expect more from me soon.

I'm going in for a C-section tomorrow morning.

Once upon a time, I was given a large slab of pork belly.

I am having a hard time deciding what to do with it. (In the meantime, it lurks in my freezer, taking up valuable space.)

I red-cooked my last slab of pork belly, which was fun, but maybe something different this time?

I don't want to cure my own bacon, thx.

What else, what else?

It's only a week until the Hella Pretty Army benefit for Fran Varian -- which means you only have a week left to get your early bids in for the auction!

All of the items available for auction are listed in the hp_army_auction community. Details on how to bid are here. A reminder of why we're doing this is at www.helphealfran.org.

Items on the block include:

* A signed copy of Dorothy Allison's Trash!
* Really cool shoes!
* A Good Vibrations goodie bag!
* Literary action figures!
* Gift certificates galore!

Go take a look at the fun, fun stuff we've managed to gather. More coming soon...

Make that fourteen pounds of baby (babies, if you prefer).*






* And that's baby weight *only*, not counting extra fluids and such.

G. just scanned and posted a small group of photos of me at various ages as a kid on his Flickr. (I'll probably add them to mine, too, eventually.)

This one here is me at age 12, fishing on Monterey Bay with my grandfather. Anyone have any idea what kind of fish that is there on the right? All I can say is, it's edible...

Last night's breastfeeding class was refreshingly diverse compared to other recent encounters I've had. OK, everyone was strangely *thin*, except the instructor, but that's another story, really. And oddly, I was the only one with twins. Considering my obs/gyn has, I believe, *five* patients with pending twins, three of them 'natural' sets...

But there was one thing that united us all, young and old, big and small, wearing chic Empire-waist maternity wear or Juno-esque sweatpants and t-shirts (uh, that would be me).

Footwear.

There was one woman there in traditional sneakers. Every other pregnant person present, including me, was wearing some variation of slip-on sandal, flip-flop, or thong. (I can't call them thongs. Thongs are for underwear.)

In at least four cases, the women were wearing what I guess would be best described as a flip-flop wedgie. (Wedgies are for shoes *and* underwear.) I confess, I do not quite understand the purpose of the flip-flop wedgie. Flat flip-flops, sure. I'd wear 'em too if I didn't need real arch support. But the wedge heel plus the flimsy frontpiece just looks...uncomfortable to me. I know, here I go again having this idea that footwear should be *comfortable*. That's probably where I'm going wrong.

You have to understand, it's gratifying to see all these women wearing such flimsy footwear. I look forward to the day I see someone in their bedroom slippers. All I can wear these days, with one or two exceptions, are my Birkenstocks, and I keep wondering, how do other women cope with water retention and swollen feet? I glance under the tables at Alta Bates, and I know. And I feel better. I have become a secret voyeur of pregnant lady feet.

I'm not actually reading at either of these, but I'm part of the organizing team for both, and I'll be in the audience. Come see and say hi! Both are benefits for good causes, and both will be full of good performances.

1. Perverts Put Out!

September 27 is The Perverts Put Out Pre-Folsom Spectacular!

What better way to mark the eve of the Folsom Street Fair than with a night of spoken-word smut?

Performers will include Greta Christina, Meliza Banales, Jen Cross, Thomas Roche, horehound stillpoint, Steven Schwartz, and Cherry Terror. Emcees are Carol Queen and Simon Sheppard.

From pornographic poetry to true-life sex worker tales, foot fetish fiction to sex toy snark, Perverts Put Out is always filled with performances to titillate, amuse, and surprise. No kink is left unturned!

When: Saturday, September 27, 2008, 7:30 pm.
Where: CounterPULSE!, 1310 Mission St., SF
How much: $10-20 sliding scale to benefit the Center for Sex and Culture. No-one turned away for lack of funds.

Keep track of this and other shows at:

http://simonsheppard.com/pervertsputout.html

Please feel free to forward and/or repost!

See you there!


*


2. The Hella Pretty Army: A Benefit for Fran Varian

October 1, 2008
The Hella Pretty Army: A Benefit for Fran Varian
Doors at 7pm, show at 7:30pm
$10 - 20 (no one turned away for lack of funds - but it IS a benefit)
Center for Sex and Culture
1519 Mission St
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 552-7399

On October 1st an army of San Francisco's revolutionary and passionate writers, musicians, performers and art makers will come together at the San Francisco Center for Sex and Culture to throw a big ass party
and benefit for Fran Varian.

Poet, activist and organizer Fran Varian has spent her life creating art, and poetry that is intense, powerful and a political punch in gut. Giving voice to the women, the fighters, the poor, the queer, the disenfranchised, Fran has spent her artistic life fighting for people's rights and voices. In addition to her art - she has also spent her entire life as a health worker, counselor and activist for the rights of women around health care and reproductive freedom. Ironically it is a lack of access to health care that has brought Fran to a serious health condition. Recently diagnosed with late stage Lyme disease, Fran is literally battling for her life after 14 years of mis-diagnosis allowing this disease to destroy her system. At this stage of the illness there is only one type of treatment that has shown positive results and this benefit is fighting for the funds to ensure that Fran can complete the full cycle of treatment.

With performers including Mark Growden, Lauren Wheeler, Vagabondage, Meliza Bañales , Katrina James, Heathen Machinery, Steven Schwartz and more, a silent auction that includes one of a kind art, couture fashion, handmade chapbooks and more, plus rumors of an onsite kissing booth the night is sure to be a celebration of life, art and the power of people coming together to help someone that has dedicated their life to helping the community.

Details regarding the silent auction, how to donate your items for the silent auction and how to make financial donations online if you can't attend and more are HERE!

( The Performers )

I hear rumors that Spicy Slipstream Stories is out and about and available for your purchasing and reading pleasure.

I have a story in it: "The Call Girl Detective."

I hear rumors that, table-of-contents-wise, it's first.

Eek!

P.S. cool cover, eh?

If I go into labor this week, it's all Rob Brezsny's fault.

"What you're about to leave behind is helpful but a bit dull; it's fortifying but old-fashioned; comforting but homely. What you're headed toward, on the other hand, is invigorating, through slightly disruptive; it's futuristic and amusingly confusing; interesting but also a real test of your flexibility. The transition may happen faster than you thought it would. Congratulations in advance on being a good-natured transformer."

Happy birthday imnotandrei! Youngster ;)