Dream jeans

My body continues to change post-childbirth. I'm now about 5 pounds lighter than I was pre-pregnancy and my juicy-fruit butt is a little (I stress little) less juicy, so all of my pants are falling off me. I'm constantly tugging at the waistline to pull them back up, and I can actually slide off several pairs while they're still zipped and buttoned. The bagginess in the bottom creates the illusion of Negative Ass.

I went to Clodhoppers this week to try on some "premium denim" to see if Rock and Republic, Paper, Denim, and Cloth, Adriano Goldschmied, Seven for All Mankind, Citizens of Humanity, and other very expensive jeans are worth the price. At first, it seems outrageous to pay $150 and up for a pair of jeans. Here's my case:

1. I wear jeans almost every day. If you average the cost of the number of times wearing them, they're relatively inexpensive!

2. It is very difficult to find jeans that fit well. I'm 5'5", maybe 5'6", 115 pounds, have a little waist, aforementioned juicy booty that continues down the thigh, then tapers to bony chicken legs that go down to long ski-like feet. The Boy-Cut, Skinny Leg, tapered, etc. jeans fit everywhere but the seat and thighs. Most jeans that leave room enough for my butt leave a huge gap at the waist that allows one to see parts that shouldn't be seen publicly. Low-rise jeans show crack in the back. High-waisted jeans are unflattering, chopping off your waist and often drawing unflattering emphasis to the butt. And, because I'm not 5'9", most jeans drag the floor and get caught under my heels, effectively mopping the floor or street and fraying at the cuffs after one wear.

3. Aside from a couple of t-shirts, I haven't bought any new clothes for myself in a long time.

Seven jeans fit better than any jeans I've ever had. The boot-cut ones I bought are the perfect length for me and feature a low-rise waist that sits an inch or two higher in the back. The stretchy denim fits me snugly, and there is no telltale gap. So, yes, I bought them without a second thought.

First Christmas: Elephants and Corn Poppers and Maracas, Oh My!

Santa visited both Opa and Grandma's house in Illinois and our new house here in Louisville. Though Isabel did receive some practical gifts (which were more for the parents, really, e.g., eating utensils and special bowls, cups, and plates, socks and pajamas, etc.), there were toys galore!

I had thought that she would be digging the paper and bows more than anything, but she did seem to get into her rocking elephant--yes, elephant, and it is damn cute!--and her riding corn popper. Children of the 70s and 80s will remember the push corn poppers, but this is a combination push and ride that even comes with a storage compartment under the seat for hauling around little treasures such as cat toys and balls of dog hair. Opa and Grandma smiled wryly at the bilingual musical maracas that count to ten, name the rainbow colors, and make a variety of musical instrument sounds when you shake them. They thought that Santa must have been thinking of the parents' joy upon hearing those nonstop for 30 minutes.

Adventures in babysitting

We left Isabel at home with a sitter for the first time last week. We only did it for a couple of hours for a trial run while we went to the fencing center. She has stayed with Opa and Grandma several times, spending a morning, an afternoon, overnight.

The babysitter is a college sophomore recommended by one of the fencing center families. She worked with the mother at a child development center the past three or four summers. She's stylish, sweet, and seemingly very enthusiastic and trustworthy. Something has to be wrong. I'm wondering if she has multiple personalities, like Dana Carvey's character in the film "Moving" with Richard Pryor. He's hired to drive the Saab cross country to Idaho. He shows up looking like this preppy, if a bit nerdy guy. The car arrives in Boise covered in graffiti, with doors and key parts missing, etc.

But, so far, so good with the babysitter. Isabel was in one piece, contently sleeping when we got home.