milk

I've been doing some reading on the topic of balancing a career (and personal identity) and motherhood.  It's something that causes me a bit of anxiety, because I don't want to imagine failing at one or the other.  Literature on this debacle tends to fall toward one end of a spectrum or the other, that being that either (a) the mother feels an almost undeniable urge to stay with her baby and forgo selfish career development or (b) the mother cannot imagine becoming a homemaker and is more than ready to jump back into the workforce when her maternity leave ends.  In the first scenario, a mother's identity is tied to her role as mother, first and foremost, and in the second she believes she must maintain her identity outside of motherhood - in order to ultimately be a good mother.

Part of the problem lies in the fact that I don't really know which pole of that spectrum I'll most identify with when the time comes.  I suppose the fact that I'm worried about how this blog entry will be received (I don't want anyone to think my life is already being consumed by my unborn baby and I've lost my personality) indicates that I'm more of a (b) type.

I'll just wait and see.  At the very least I'm concurrently reading one baby-related book (e.g. Milk Memos - I'm serious) and one non-baby-related book (e.g. Paul Auster's Moon Palace) at all times. 

Here's the gratuitous belly photo that I'm too shy to post on Facebook.  This is 23 weeks, though I did grow overnight just after this photo was taken.  That's how it works, you know.

And here's the adorable little cap my friend Nikki crocheted for Quinn.  I plan on honing my infant portrait skills once Quinn is born and I'm off work for a while, and I can't wait to photograph her in this hat! 

What else have I been up to?  I've been using a CD-ROM instruction program to learn Adobe Photoshop, for one thing.  I am already fairly familiar with Adobe InDesign and I think having a solid grasp of both programs will open up unlimited possibilities.  Photoshop may be the most complex, difficult program I've ever worked with, but I'm making progress.

One project that's constantly on my mind are the invitations to my sister's July 2011 wedding.  Though the wedding is a long time off, and invitations won't need to be mailed for some time, I want to have all my ducks in a row before Quinn arrives.  I've purchased all the paper and embellishment supplies I'll need and I'm waiting for the final shipment to arrive in the mail.  Kate and I have developed a plan for the overall construction, now it's up to me to work on design elements, make edits based on Kate's desires, then print and assemble the 150 invitations.  Here are some of the supplies I'll be using for the fuchsia, white, and white shimmer project.