New Hobby: Climbing

I have a new hobby! Are you surprised? Well, you shouldn't be. It happens pretty frequently. Although this is more of a renewed hobby, as I spent most of my childhood climbing anything I could get up.

When I was about eight months pregnant and on bedrest, I decided I wanted to take up rock climbing. (Yeah. Bad timing. I know.) Well, I didn't start then, but I did as soon as I was able, or in other words, about six weeks postpartum. We started with short climbs indoors at Main Event once a week.

I'm really thankful that Robert's been a great sport and has joined me. We take turns climbing and taking care of TK and KT, and it works pretty well.

When we get the chance, we like to climb at Seismic in the Barton Creek Greenbelt.

Typical scenes from Seismic--Kestrel wiggles, Tiernan explores, and we climb. Tiernan found his own rock to climb--and discovered that it made a decent slide.

We don't have all the gear or skill in lead climbing to go by ourselves yet, so a big thanks to Matt LaCour for taking us out and teaching us the ropes. Done correctly, climbing is relatively safe--done incorrectly, and it is dangerous. I greatly appreciate Matt's mildly obsessive attention to safety. Not all climbers are as attentive or knowledgeable, and I'm glad to be learning from him.

These days I climb once or twice a week for about two hours each time. We've been climbing now for about two and a half months, and I've seen significant progress. Granted, I started from an atrophied state, but the difference in my upper body strength between now and then is astounding. For the first time, I have found a way to workout that I actually enjoy--which means I'm so much more likely to do it. It's empowering to see myself doing things that I couldn't before. Combined with the adrenaline, I usually leave feeling like I could take over the world.

If you're interested in trying it out, let me know--we'd love to have you join us.

It Is Finished...

You might ask, "So, Erin, what have you been doing recently?" Well, let me tell you one of the things. We've been making this.





Towards the end of September, Robert came to me and said that one of his recording forums was doing another competition. They provided guitar, bass, and drum tracks, and the contestants do whatever they want to create a song. The only rule is that the final product had to be reasonably considered to be within the metal genre. We could add, rearrange, cut, or whatever we wanted.


If I had to pick a favorite genre of music, it would be symphonic metal. Nightwish. Epica. Within Temptation. HB. Beauty of an orchestra, energy of metal--seriously epic music. Passionate, complex, and moving. We'd never tried doing it--we thought it was pretty far beyond our skill and ability. And it was, individually.


I talked Robert into giving it a try. We already had the guitars, bass, and drums, so it was like having a head start. So, we started working together on it. Robert produced, sang the male lead, recorded, mixed, and mastered the song. I wrote the lyrics, melody, orchestration, and sang the female lead. It took us four weeks. Not bad, if you ask me, considering we do have two small children and didn't stop doing other fun things during that time.

The lyrics are inspired by The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson, second of the Mistborn trilogy.

Cast of Characters

• A Mistborn is a person with the ability to ingest and ‘burn’ metals to gain superhuman powers.

• Vin (female lead) is a girl in her late teens, struggling to reconcile the different facets of her personality--the street thief of her childhood, the noblewoman she impersonated for several months, the Mistborn assassin and bodyguard, and the courtly lady she thinks she needs to be for Elend, the man she loves. Although she has blocked several attempts on his life, she worries constantly that she will someday fail to protect him.
• Elend is the young scholarly and idealistic king of Luthadel who is struggling to hold onto his throne. Multiple armies are besieging the city, including one led by his father, Straff Venture.
• Cett is another contender vying for Elend’s throne, the leader of one of the opposing armies.
• Zane (male lead) is Elend’s unstable half-brother, a Mistborn, and Straff’s assassin. Although under orders to kill Vin, he believes that she can save him from his own insanity, and tries to get her to run away with him. He hopes that by convincing her to attack Lord Cett she will realize her own power and that Elend will never be able to understand what it is to be a Mistborn.

And here are the lyrics:

Zane’s Vocals
Vin’s Vocals

What you are
He’ll never understand
I’m of your world
Come take my hand
Why play the tool
When you could be free
Why be their fool
When you could save me

What am I?
A lady bright?
But I am Mistborn
Creature of the night
Could it be
That Zane is right
These mists are me
I was born to fight

I saw that look
In Elend’s eyes
Innocence I took
But I saved his life
Our love was shook
When I made them die
He is of books
And made me his knife

I cannot succeed
At this one simple task
I can’t keep him safe
This luck will not last
It’s time to do
Things a different way
A knife I’ll be
And see what they say

What am I?
A thief slight?
I am Mistborn
Creature of the night
Cett is a threat
To all that I love
It’s time to see
What you’re capable of

Show them once
And for all
What you can do
Kill them all
What am I? // Set yourself free
An Heir of might?
I am Mistborn // Come save me
Creature of the night

Instrumental – Attack on Cett

Save me!

What am I?
Is this right?
I am Mistborn
Creature of the night
What have I done?
Is this really me? // Fight! Be free!
This destruction and
Brutality? // You must save me

The Mistborn Trilogy is, in our humble opinions, among the best fantasy ever written. The intricate magical system, the well developed world, the amazingly complex plots, and freaking awesome characters make for an excellent read. We highly recommend it and all of Sanderson’s other works.

The Ever After

Last post I dedicated to Kestrel's birth story--now for what's been going on since then.

Frankly, it's been pretty rough since Kestrel made her debut into the world, but in her defense, it has not been her fault at all. I can't really imagine a much happier, contented, easy baby. She's five, almost six weeks old now--what should be the peak of fussiness for a baby. She sleeps well, only waking once or twice to eat, nurses amazingly, and has never fussed without me being able to figure out what she was trying to communicate within minutes. Seriously, an easy kid.

When awake, she is generally content to play on the floor or in her swing, where she will often drop off to sleep on her own. If she gets fussy there, I snug her up in our Mei Tai or wrap. If she is overtired, sometimes we have to put on some music to help calm her, but that's about the extent of her woes.

The problem has been with the rest of us. We have had a grand total of one (1) weekend since she was born that we have not been sick. The first week, Tiernan had a sore throat. For the second and third weeks, Robert and I had it. We were gearing up for a fun Labor Day weekend when I developed mastitis, and instead spent it battling a fever of up to 104.5 for two or three days. By the time I was recovered enough to attempt a social outing, we arrived only to have Tiernan throw up in the parking lot as we got out of the car. So we got back in and went home to quarantine ourselves yet again and care for Tiernan as he threw up over and over. Robert came down with the virus two days later. Miraculously enough, I seemed to be being spared--two, three, four days passed after Robert had it, and I still hadn't contracted it. I planned a couple fun events for Saturday, eager to finally be with people again.

Friday night, it hit. At that point, it was beginning to feel like some conspiracy to keep us from ever having fun again.

Thankfully, it was a 24-hour bug, so by Sunday I was feeling mostly back to normal...but unfortunately, with stomach viruses, you can stay contagious for a long time after you feel better, so we're still holed up here, hoping and praying that Kestrel doesn't get it--at her age, it'll be a far more serious case if she does.

As far as how we are adjusting to having two kids, it's been mixed. In addition to Kestrel being a superb baby, Tiernan is a great brother. He loves to 'hold' her, give her kisses, stroke her hair, and play with her. He's very attentive to what she is doing, giving us status updates every time she moves, hiccups, opens her eyes, etc. ("Baby wake!" "Baby sleeping." "Baby moving!" "Baby sad.") The closest thing to jealousy I've seen is when he gets upset and wants me to hold him when I'm already holding Kestrel, he suggests where I should set down the baby so that I can attend to him. Not bad.

Practicing swaddling.
I suppose we should get him a baby doll so he doesn't need to use blocks.

However, as many of you know, Tiernan is a confirmed extrovert. So, naturally, our extended confinement has given him a wretched case of cabin fever, the symptoms of which include being exceedingly volatile and weepy, a strong urge to rebel and test everything, and general disagreeableness. It's certainly been enough to drive me crazy on more than a few days. We're having difficulty finding effective methods of discipline for him, not to mention outlets for his incredible reserve of energy.

Staying at home drives Tiernan up the wall...

We have our good days and our bad days. Days when I feel hopeful and excited about our new and improved little family, and days when I feel overwhelmed and like I'll never get the hang of things. At this point, I just want to be able to establish a rhythm and way of life that doesn't include being holed up at home week after week. Back in June or July I became very passionate about getting fit and active--rather pointless, given I was on bedrest at the time. The good thing is that I still want to, and as of this week, it should be safe for me to begin taking up more active hobbies. I've already begun slacklining most mornings, walking, and intend to begin rock climbing as a habit soon. I have other ideas, such as taking up yoga, jump rope, and fire dancing. Perhaps once I've brought my body back from its atrophied state after so much bed rest I'll take up parkour, capoeira, or, if I'm really daring (and have lots of money) aerial silk. If you have interest in joining me, I'm looking to do any or all of it socially--I much prefer doing those sorts of things with people.

Tiernan learning how to slackline, with a bit of help.

Kestrel's Birth

I had a baby!

Kestrel Tessa was (finally) born on August 11, 2011 at 5:45 AM, one week overdue. By that time, I was massive--the questions in the grocery store changed from "When are you due?" to "Are you having twins?" I'd gained 40 lbs, and it was almost all belly. By the time the due date came and went, I was feeling pretty surly about the fact that I was still pregnant. I was convinced that I was going to be the one woman who stayed pregnant forever.

40 Week Belly/Family Pic

But she did come. Contractions picked up in intensity at noon on Wednesday. We checked into the birthing center at 9:45 that night. I was rather hoping we'd be pretty far along at that point, but we had just reached 4-5 cm, marking the beginning of active labor.

Checking into the birthing center

It was, well, labor. As far as labors go, it went really well. It tended to progress more slowly than I thought it should be, but then that probably tends to be the case. The hardest part was when I began getting the urge to push when I was only 7 cm. Pushing at that point could damage the cervix, causing lots of problems, so I had to spend two hours denying that urge--one of the hardest things I've done. Not  the most painful part of labor, but definitely the hardest.

This, my friends, is one of the primary reasons we have had both of our children at the Austin Area Birthing Center. Neither of them were actually born in the water (not that I would have minded) but it is sooooo good for laboring. Their showers are spectacular, too. As far as I know, they are the only place in Austin that has birthing tubs.

Okay, so this one is a bit more accurate. The first one was in between contractions. I have to say, Robert has got to be the best labor support ever. He really is amazing.

Finally, at 4:00, the midwife gave me the go ahead to start to push--don't think it happens often, but transition actually felt good, at least for a while. An hour and a half later, she finally made it out.

All told, we had about 10 hours of early labor and a full 8 hours of active labor. Long, but significantly shorter than the 24 hours of active labor we had with Tiernan.

Another surprise was her weight--Tiernan was 8lbs 12.5 oz, a big baby. We knew she was big, but since girls tend to be smaller at birth, I still expected her to be closer to 8lbs. Wrong. She weighed in at 9lbs 8oz...which would account for the second degree tear she gave me.

She came out knowing exactly what to do--she and I had nursing down pat within the first hour, without any help or problems. She was very alert for three hours before starting to doze.

We got home around lunch time the same day to introduce Tiernan to his new sister. He was fascinated. When he said her name it sounded more like 'Baby Cashew' than 'Baby Kestrel', and although his pronunciation has improved since then, we still refer to her with some nutty references occasionally. 

Our first week with Kestrel was so much easier than we had with Tiernan. Breastfeeding was a breeze, with no pain, no problems at all--I didn't know it could be as easy as it was. She got her days and nights sorted out within days, to the point that the hardest thing was getting her to wake up to nurse at the maximum time we were supposed to let her go in between feeding. The other difference was that with the stitches, the midwife recommended that I stay on bed rest for the first week, sit rest for the second week, so I had to stay pretty inactive. True to what she said, the rest of postpartum recovery has gone very well for having taken that time to heal.

Adventure 5:11 :: Pedernales Falls

I was itching to get out of town to the outdoors, but between being 7 months pregnant and highs in the 90s, camping--or even an afternoon picnic--doesn't sound like fun. My solution: a breakfast picnic.

We chose a state park that was relatively close--Pedernales Falls is only an hour drive from our house. We chose Monday, Memorial Day, because we guessed that most of the people camping would be busy packing up their tents, leaving the river to us. We packed our bags the night before, then got up before dawn, leaving the house at 6:00 am. Tiernan slept almost the whole way, and when we arrived at 7:00, the sun was just up, the morning was cool, and the river virtually deserted.

There on the shore, we ate our breakfast of banana muffins and fruit.

Tiernan was ecstatic. 

The entertainment of choice was throwing rocks into the water to make splashes, exploring, and playing in the sand.

Parts of the falls reminded me a lot of Johnson's Shut-Ins, one of my favorite parks in Missouri.

Near the falls is a spring pouring out from underneath the roots of a tree. It was a beautiful spot, so full of life.

The view from the overlook, on our way back up.

Swimming is not allowed in the falls, so we headed to the area downstream that is open for swimming.

We played for a few hours in the shallows.

Mid-morning snack on the bank.

Although people were beginning to explore the falls, this part of the river was empty until later in the morning.

More play!

He wasn't so sure about deeper water.

After swimming, we ate a quick lunch and headed home, getting back as the heat was picking up.

For more pictures, you can see the full web album.  

Works of a Free Spirit

I am starting a private blog to post my rough poems and writings on. Please let me know if you would like to be added as a reader. I will need your gmail address to send you an invitation.

News, Fire Dancing, and Slacklining

I apologize for the long neglect. We've been doing lots of exciting things which I would love to blog about, and perhaps I will be able to catch up on some of the highlights soon. But I shall reserve this post for more current news and big things that have happened.

In case you haven't heard from other venues, we are expecting Baby Szalapski #2 to arrive in early August. The kiddos will be just a couple weeks shy of being exactly two years apart. I am now 12 weeks along, putting me on the brink of the second trimester, which means I have a bit of energy back, a little less nausea, and horrible heartburn. I've had to cut all red meats from my diet...I expect poultry and cheese will have to go within the next couple months. It did last time, anyway. This round I did not crave watermelon, but strawberries and cherries have both taken a turn.

We began the year with a wonderful few weeks with my sister, Zhenya. One of the many things that I love about Zhen is how she inspires me to be a little crazier, a little more fun, and to be more creative and less...well, boring. She had recently decided that she wanted to become a fire dancer when she finished school, so we spent our days devising homemade equipment.

This is a fire poi. It consists of a flaming ball on a cable, which is then spun and twirled about. Not the best picture, but we were mostly taking videos. We probably should have practicing the twirling bit before lighting them on fire, but we were a bit eager to make it more exciting. This video is an excellent example of how awesome it can be, once you get good. Unfortunately, we're not that good yet. We also had to redesign our poi, as the cable was too thin and broke.

Next we tried a fire staff-- more or less, a quarterstaff with both ends on fire. Ideally, someday we would like to have a full dance quarterstaff duel routine that we can do.

It worked quite well. We're considering trying a shorter version, although that might make it difficult to actually have a duel with them. Still testing that. For now, I'm mostly trying to get better at wielding the quarterstaff while it's not on fire. I admit, I go to the backyard to practice it...I'm a little paranoid about looking like the Star Wars kid before I'm good.

Zhenya and Robert both also learned how to breathe fire with some success. I did not feel particularly led to try it myself, because while the substances they used were relatively safe, they were also rather disgusting to have in your mouth. 

I decided to content myself with being the photographer. I rather liked the little fire seahorse in this shot:

In the circus mindset, we also purchased and began practicing walking on a slackline--kind of like a tight rope, but is a wider strap that is meant to be more slack. At this point, I am fairly consistently able to walk its length forwards, and occasionally able to do so backwards. I'm also working on being able to twirl a poi (not on fire, yet) while on it, and maybe even play a song:

For his part, Tiernan thinks it's great fun, although we haven't let him at the fire yet. He also keeps on wanting to try the slackline, or better yet, have us carry him across. Still working on that one.