mimsy and outgrabe

I've spawned! Sunday, March 10, 10:56 p.m. To one super squirmy infant (7 lbs, 15 oz, 20 inches long -- for those who care about the stats) who has decided to be just like her older sister: a night owl. We're not sleeping much these days, but we forgive her. She's squishy and fun to cuddle. I'm not taking an official hiatus from the blog, since this blog isn't really an official, respectable piece of interweb fodder anyway, but it'll probably take a while before I can write often or with any regularity. I do intend to write, though -- this is, after all, a very cathartic exercise for me. And having to adjust to this new three-child system may call for a little bit of catharsis, methinks.

The past two weeks have been filled with grading, emails, web site updates for the festival, and other school business that has consumed my thoughts and my time constantly -- when I'm not panicking about giving labor birth, that is.  Last week I thought I might be going into labor, but it turned out that I just had a stomach bug. Strange, I know -- but apparently the signs of early labor can mimic those of the flu. That was fun! I had to cancel some classes and deplete my already-insufficient stock of sick leave, so now I'm in the process of pleading with HR to allow my office mate to donate sick time to me -- all so that I have enough days to finish out the semester.  Otherwise, I'm going to drag my postpartum ass back into the office in May for five days and grade final exams .  . . because fuck the system, that's why. They don't want to grant us maternity leave? Fine. I'll do what I think is unprofessional and pedagogically disastrous and return fo...