Now on Twitter

I'm girlwithflathat on twitter. Twitter is one of those things that everyone uses of which I'm not exactly sure what the point is yet, and maybe everyone else who uses it just uses it because they think they should. Now I am too. So if you're one of the...I mean, the one person I know who's not on Facebook (ahem, Deanna) and therefore can't see my status updates, now you can read my mindless blurts as tweets. I am bad at texting and can never fit anything I want to say into 140 characters, but maybe I need practice being concise.

Auletta's great-grandparents Auletta

I didn't post about this earlier, but a couple of weeks ago we took the ferry to Long Island to visit my mom's parents, Martha and Victor Auletta, from whose side of the family their great-granddaughter takes her name. Auletta was not all about sitting still long enough to have her picture taken with both of them.



But she did interact with both of them.



And she really liked playing the game of Bringing You Stuff with Grandpa.



Best of all, there was cake.



And other adventures.

A few observations on politics

And then I will shut up again, really. This is neither an endorsement nor a criticism of Obamacare. I think I've mentioned before that I don't think our current health care system is tenable and a solely employer-based system is unrealistic when people change jobs so often, so I'm in favor of reform done well. Take that as you will.

1. "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism" apparently only applies when you agree with the dissent.

2. Apparently there is such a thing as illegitimate, manufactured, Astroturfy dissent. I don't know what the difference is between real dissent and fake dissent, except I guess see #1 above. Also if the other side is illegitimate, you don't have to make an argument, and it's clear a lot of people would rather prove the other side wrong than prove themselves right, because proving yourself right involves so little kvetching at the other side, not to mention if your objective is to support your own argument there's no reason to insert the obligatory (old, lame, uncreative, un-demanding of actual thought) dig at Fox News and/or Rush, which by the way, there should be a Godwin's Law for.

3. Democrats control the White House, the House, and the Senate. So if they can't pass a health care plan, isn't it their own fault? In fact, isn't it convenient that these town hall meetings are distracting from the fact that they can't agree on a plan? Yes, I know getting a diverse party to agree on a huge reform plan is hard, but that's their JOB. If you are concerned that health care isn't going to pass, maybe instead of whining about how big evil mean conservatives are pooping all over the Democrats' plan, your time would be better spent writing your representatives and telling them to stop acting like babies and govern. You don't get to play the victim anymore when you're in charge. That's the rub when you win. I don't blame you for complaining from 2001 to 2009, and it's not like Republicans did any better with immigration reform, social security, etc. when they were in charge, but CHANGE would involve doing better, wouldn't it? I am bored by partisan chatter. Want my vote next time around? Lead.

More beach pictures

Auletta finally worked up the nerve to wade a little bit yesterday, although every time a wave came too near her, she would quickly back up, point at the ocean, and yell "No no no no no!" But she was really enthusiastic about the bubbles.

Before I post the cute pics, I want to mention a few other cute things she's been saying:

• "Gi-go" for "thank you," and also for "here you go." Sometimes if she wants to give me something she says "GI GO!" very insistently.



• Anything she believes is hers, which is most things she gets her hands on, is MYS.



• She also sings "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" all the time. Not that all the words are recognizable (I can hear "how I" and "up a"), but she definitely has the tune down, as much as any nearly two-year-old does.

On the beach

We're in Oak Island, NC, for a week, hanging out on the beach. Auletta has warmed up to the idea of sand but is still skeptical about water. Here are some pictures. I love her little bathing costume, although it's a little big, since I bought it last summer before I knew she would be a tiny toddler.

Syracuse: yay

If you want to see what I did all last week, read all about it at my library blog, Vivarium.

I had a great time. I am so, so glad I left Auletta with the Schwabs for the week, and my only regret was bringing our car, which turned out to be unnecessary, since I didn't go back to Ithaca. I thought about going back, or having Justin bring her up, during my evening break between my two classes (I had a one-credit course Saturday and Sunday and a three-credit course Monday through Friday), but I figured it would almost be worse to see her and then have to say goodbye, especially because she wouldn't be asleep when I left as she was when I left the day before classes began. So I left her for seven whole days, and she did just fine with all of Justin's family, and I got to concentrate on my classes. It was actually less work than I'd expected, or maybe about as much work but less stressful, I think because I didn't have the distractions of husband/kid/household etc. to worry about.

Auletta is finally fully weaned and sleeping through the night. I nursed her for 21 months, which surpassed my goal of a year and then however long we both felt like it, and while I miss it just a tiny bit, it makes life easier. It is a little weird, physically. I gained weight rather rapidly in the process of weaning her, so I need to do something about that. Fortunately the weather is finally great, so we are getting outside a lot.