hahaha

psa

Working out and watching what you eat will help you lose weight and feel good about yourself. Two weeks of vacation may add a few pounds back on.

Eating a pan of scotch-a-roos will completely annihilate your weight loss.

I'm cutting up carrot sticks.

quickie

* diaper rash is almost completely gone. Original Desitin and Maalox - who knew? (it is almost impossible to mix up though, I suggest mixing it in a plastic cup with a plastic spoon and then applying it with the spoon, less to clean up)

* someone likes to shriek for fun.

* I got peed on three times this morning, I decided that qualified me for a delicious iced latte.

* I have about 3.2 million things to do before Gerald has his shots at 2:15 this afternoon. Time to get cracking!

oh, crap

Gerald came home from the UP with a raging case of diarrhea. I have changed his diaper 4 times in one "change." The Pampers people should be ecstatic.

He's been really happy throughout the EAS experience, so the nurse said to just let it run its' course. But now he has diaper rash - a first I was hoping to avoid completely. Kathy suggested mixing Maalox and Desitin and using that - I think I'm going to try it, any other suggestions?

I can hear him in his bed right now - he's pooping.

rolling over

G rolled from his back to his tummy on July 4th, and then on the 5th, again on the 6th, and now he is a rolling machine. He rolls onto his stomach and then onto his back again, but always only to the left. So as long as he wants to go to the left - he can get there!

He also likes to lay on his tummy and push with is legs and inch around like an inch worm. He can't get very far at our house because his play mats slide around on the hard floor - but if you put him on carpet he can really move.

I think I'm going to have my hands full for a few years :)

random weekend

* We drove to Toledo yesterday to do some shopping. Sam's Club and BRU - super exciting. Now we have lots of diapers and an umbrella stroller.

* I got Starbucks on the way there! But I burnt my tongue on it :*(

* We took Gerald swimming at the Y today, he was generally unimpressed. We bought him Spider Man swim diapers, they are huge on him.

* You can buy a paternity test kit at Meijer, they are conveniently located next to the condoms.

* My sister-in-law and brother-in-law are coming tomorrow!

* We leave for the UP on Wed!

drool

Pretty much consumed my day.

G went through 3 outfits, 4 bibs, and 6 burp cloths.

i did it!

I accomplished my scary task o' the day - mostly because I knew you were all cheering me on (and waiting for an update). Thanks!

Some of you may know that I never finished my degree - I spent 4.5 years at Tech and then I just left, in fact I don't even know what my final grades were. This has been weighing pretty heavily on me, and last night (in the middle of the night) I decided TODAY was the day to get the ball rolling; after all, we'll be in Houghton next week and I can maybe set up an appt with an advisor then. So I called admissions, and they transferred me to records - I'm now active for the fall term, and can switch to track B if needed - and then onto the humanities dept, and finally to the current HU advisor. She sounded really nice and I have an appt with her next Thurs at 9AM - she even has the old "transition" audit I filled out with good ole Bill Sewell (I'm bringing my copy, too).

This was really hard for me to do - in my head I kept envisioning profs yelling at me for being an awful student (I was), but so far everyone has been so very nice.

happy thoughts

If you could send out some happy vibes for me today I'd really appreciate it. I'm going to do something today that I'm a little (ok, a lot) chicken sh*t about.

It's something totally positive and happy, so do not worry. I just don't want to go into too much detail and jinx myself - I'll write more when I know more :)

finally

Finally found a decent stylist:)

educating jack

Two weeks ago we went to Kalamazoo and spent the night at my cousins' - they have a nine year old (Emma) and a five year old (Jack). Emma is my mini-me. Jack is adorable, and precocious. This is the conversation we had about feeding babies.

me - "Gerald is hungry - time to eat!" I get him "hooked up" and he's happy, happy.
Jack - "What are you doing?" Gives me suspicious eyes.
me - "Feeding the baby."
Jack - "I don't believe you."
me - "It's true! This is how your momma fed you. That's how G gets milk."
Jack - Sits next to me on the couch, places one finger on my chest and says with a slightly sinister smile "I'm helping push the milk out."

Emma, Gerald and Jack

o.m.g.

pilates class

ouch.

3 months

J was hoping for an engineer

*favorite song = American Pie, he especially likes it when I sing the LP version :)

*prefers gnawing on right hand

*loves to grab for the toys on his toy bar

*likes to face out in the Bjorn

i got served

Just had cardio -fusion class at the Y.
OK, half of class because we had a tornado warning and were ushered into the locker rooms.

It kicked my ass.

melting

It is hotter than hell outside.

We were going to meet up with another couple and their baby girl for dinner at Boogie! tonight (Main St. is closed, there are bands, and sno-cones), but not when it is this hot.

I'm sad about the sno-cones.

so much to blog, so little time

We've been busy!
The highpoint of my week so far - new glasses!

You can't see it in the picture - but on each side there is a rhinestone "G" - I love sparkles!

More later - we're off to register for summer classes at the Y.
:)

edit: please excuse my huge eyebrows - guess I'll be making an appt at the salon, too!

to wii or not to wii

Last Tuesday was my birthday, J did great - he left a present (a picture frame) and card on the chair I nurse Gerald in (so I wouldn't miss it). Then he took me out to dinner and asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I really had no clue. So we brainstormed all week and we've kind of decided on a Wii; but I'm really torn.

I've played a few times, and it is really fun, but I really didn't want to have a game system in the house while our kids are young. I really want "outside" kids. We're lucky because most of the kids on our street would rather play outside than do most anything else. I just figure it will be easier to encourage them to play outside if there isn't anything more enticing inside. But I can also see where it would be really fun to play the Wii as a family, especially during the terribly cold and yucky winter months.

The other item I would really like is a Le Cruset dutch oven from Williams-Sonoma. But I'm not exactly cooing up a storm these days, and I could probably save my pennies and buy one for myself without too much effort. Blahhh!!!! I just hate making decisions.

the verdict

Thanks for all of the input! I decided to return the bedding, it worked, but it just wasn't what I was looking for. I think I found it though, and I've already ordered it, it's back ordered until June, but I can wait :) Here it is. I wish you were all here to witness me stuffing the comforter back into the packaging - matching up fold lines, wedging it carefully into the cheap plastic bag, and then the zipper popped - HA!

Other reasons my day is awesome:
*I couldn't just buy the duvet cover, I did a little extra shopping :)
*Grocery store has started carrying some of my favorite little German cookies, although this could prove problematic, I'm happy for the moment.
*I woke up to Gerald absolutely cracking himself up. Very cute.

yay or nay?

We found this last night at TJ's, I'm not sure if I'm sold. I'm thinking - maybe too plain and washed out (I was hoping for more color). I'd obviously add more pillows and possibly a coverlet. I do like the sheets that I bought, they are the same blue as the pillowcases and I think they will look good in the room, so that's at least a step in the right direction.

little storyteller

dear cheekbones

...please come back. I have been working hard to find you, but I think you need to help. The calves and ankles have been found and are now part of the rescue team.

Don't make us call in the authorities.

I miss you,
Alanna

melanna party

Mel came to visit us last week. We miss her and the boys - we will come and visit soon!
BYOB (bring your own baby)

Mel showing off her mad-mothering skillz (like Kobe's microphone?)

time out

we've still got it

new level of gross

It's Spring and we have an ant problem in the kitchen. Last year I was vigilant about taking out the kitchen garbage, not leaving dirty dishes out and keeping all unwrapped foods in the fridge. And J sprayed outside when I asked him.

I saw the first ants a few weeks ago and told him, he said he'd spray.

He didn't.

Today I noticed a bunch of ants on the electrical outlet near the sink. I wiped them off a few times throughout the day, and they kept coming back. So I decided to investigate. The ants were trying to colonize the outlet; ants and larvae everywhere. It was officially the grossest thing I have ever seen.

Ever.

more randomness

* On Sat I heard "Forever Your Girl" by Paula Abdul twice on the radio. It is now embedded in my brain.

* I take my own bags grocery shopping - on Sat I just couldn't squish everything into my bags and had to use one plastic bag. I got home and realized I had the plastic bag full of groceries, and eight additional plastic bags attached to the bag. pooh.

* My baby is into self mutilation. See evidence below.

Scarface
(it's hard to see in the photo, but he has a gash across his right cheek, and a chunk missing under his nose - I just trimmed his nails!)

* I need new bedding. The set we have is old and gross, I'm a bit sick of it, and it doesn't match our room. I thought I had the perfect bedding picked out, PB thought otherwise. We painted the room this color, and I want to somehow be able to tie the bedding to the chair in the corner. Any suggestions?

random thoughts

* Went to a wedding on Fri, very nice. At the reception the DJ announced that he would be playing a song by Florida, as in Orlando, FL. Only in Findlay.

* J got us Tim Horton's for breakfast - he wanted to take me out to breakfast, but I just couldn't imagine waiting for a table in a crowded restaurant with an infant as being my ideal Mother's Day. Donuts and yogurt were great, but unfortunately I think that's the extent of my Mother's Day celebration. He's currently watching poker.

* CNBC has a virtual portfolio game - sort of like fantasy football for investing. I think I'm going to sign up.

* I also think that's where our stimulus check is going; I'd like to see it make more than .75%, or whatever ridiculously low amount it makes in our savings account. I'm thinking of opening an account at Schwab - anyone have any insight?

* I need a haircut.

* Gerald helped me sweep off the deck yesterday - well, he sat in his bouncy seat and talked to me while I swept the deck. And then we put out the patio furniture - now, if it would only stop raining.

* I was going to order our new bedding today - but stupid PB doesn't have any left. Dorks.

* I'm making a Key Lime Pie today :)

* We're going to have visitors next week!

forgetful

I used to be able to remember things - people's names, what I was talking about, why I walked into X room. Not anymore.

Someone, anyone, please tell me that my short term memory will improve, soon!

note- This is also the reason I haven't been commenting as much as I usually do. Please don't think I have nothing to say; but if I read your blog while I am holding the bebe, I can't remember to come back and comment later.

binky

Earlier Today Gerald was fussy, but I couldn't find his binky. It wasn't in the folds of his blanket, on the floor, on the couch - it was just gone.

I found it a few hours later - wedged between my boobs.

It made me think of Head :)

milestones

Yesterday Gerald turned 2 months old. I'm having a hard time remembering what life was like before he arrived :)

This morning we went to the Dr. and Gerald was immunized. He cried for about 30 seconds, as soon as I could pick him up and love on him he settled right down. He's such a good boy! He now weighs 10.5 pounds, and is 23 inches long. His legs are finally pudgy enough to wear socks! And because I bought him a bouncer, he is taking naps during the day :) which makes me happy because he isn't as cranky in the evening and I can get a few things done. He's also graduated out of the "football hold" for nursing (holding him next to me) and I can easily nurse him while holding him in front. This makes nursing a lot easier, especially without the boppy.

"I love my bouncer!"

The Dr. did say something about Gerald's tongue. I had noticed that he is a little tongue-tied, his frenulum (little bit of skin under your tongue that connects to the bottom of your mouth) is long and so his tongue doesn't stick out very far and looks a bit forked. Since he has no problems nursing it isn't really a big concern, it might just fix itself. But once he starts talking if it proves to be a speech impediment the Dr. will just snip it (in the office) and we should be just fine. So I'm trying not to worry, we'll see how well that goes.

happy friday

My smiley little boy says "Have a great weekend!"

baby q's

1. How long do you let them cry during (the dreaded) tummy-time before picking them up? I hate this, I put my happy little boy on his tummy to play, he gets so worked up, and then it takes forever to calm him down. Aarrghh.

2. Has anyone had a problem with dry baby scalp? I don't think it's quite cradle cap, but it looks gross, and he leaves flakes everywhere.

3. Any good books on baby massage? I went to the library to look for some and there were none in our collection. Poo. I guess I'll have to spend money on one.

blechhh

Today Gerald is eight weeks old!

And I am fat.

I lost all of the weight I had gained while pregnant within a week of his delivery, everything is not back in place, but the number on the scale was good (at the time). A week after that I stopped wearing my maternity clothes and had dropped down to the weight I was after my first trimester (I had lost some weight because of morning sickness). I was feeling good, and couldn't wait to see how fast I could get back to being my "skinny" weight.

That was six weeks ago. In six weeks I have gained and lost the same 4 pounds over and over again.

I blame the Easter Bunny and cadburry creme eggs. Good thing there aren't any left.

Now, I'm off to walk my baby, and eat some veggies :) I really don't want to be the fat mom.

sleep?

I have a good little boy - he sleeps well at night, just waking up once or twice to eat and generally going right back to sleep.

During the day it is a completely different story.

It's noon, he's exhausted. For the past hour I have held him until he has fallen asleep (5 min. tops), placed him in his crib (or pack-n-play or bassinet), turned around and heard him scream. I turn around and he's all "What? That wasn't me, I'm just laying here and being cute."

If he doesn't sleep soon, he won't sleep for the rest of the day and he'll be really fun (insert sarcasm here). So I just stuck him in the swing, without lowering the mobile, and tucked a blanket around him.

Please God, let him fall asleep.

"See how not sleepy I am?"

back to troy

Apparently this month was just J's travel month for the year - he's been out of town for at least one day each week. Next week is no different, so Gerald ad I are headed back up to Troy. While we both miss J while we are gone, I love hanging out with my parents and I know they are excited to be able to see Gerald a lot while he is still so fresh, plus this week John and Susie will be at home :)

Our schedule so far:
Mon AM - drive to Troy
Tues daytime - hang out with Susie and Auntie Dee
Thurs - drive back home

So, who's up for a visit?

off to Indy

We're headed to Indy!

Tagging along with J, and visitng friends. I think I'll cruise by the old house, too - just to see if the new owners are taking good care of it.

:)

good luck!

Auntie Susie and Uncle John have finals this week. Gerald wants to wish them "Good Luck!"

gross

I am swiffering this morning and keep seeing these little dried spots on the floor. Where did they come from?

And then I realize - they are from me. I have dripped breast milk all over my house.

Yick.

*to clarify - I can't stand to wear a bra at night, so that means no pads. As soon as I pick Gerald up, I am ready for him to eat, but we have to walk into the living room first. So there is a distinct trail from my room down the hall to the living room.

bjorn again

Last night I decided to try out the Baby Bjorn - guess who loves it!!!

He was fussy when I stuck him in and he immediately calmed down and fell asleep, such a little angel (he did drool all over me, but oh well). The best part is when he's in it I can type, with two hands!

Hey there blog, guess who's back :)

I'm also pumped to wear him in it while I grocery shop. His car seat doesn't fit properly in the shopping cart, so I have been going after J comes home. But I hate going to the store at night - the daytime crowds are way better.

I think the major caveat is that I look a bit stuffed-sausagie while I'm wearing it. I'll post pictures later - need new batteries in the camera.

hanging out

Watching "This Old House" with Grandpa.

Playing with Grammy.

Chillaxing.

Grandpa knows my favorite game - Mr. Frog.

where am i?

I'm in Troy. Why? Because J decided to go on a bowling tournament this weekend - no big deal, except he was also out of town all week for annual meetings. Great timing honey.

Gerald had his one month Dr. appt on Tues, he's now 9 lbs 7 oz and 22 inches long - he's exactly 50th percentile for length, weight and head circ. He's my happy, milky, average little boy :) Then on Wed I had a dentist appt - no cavities ;), after that I decided to head up to my mom and dad's - I needed an extra pair of arms.

Today we shopped, Gerald got a new pair of Robeez (blue with frogs) at Neiman's and we took his little silver spoon to Tiffany's to be engraved. And I got some yummy shampoo from Keils (love, love, love small indulgences!) and a truffle from Godiva. And then my mom made a wonderful dinner; yep, a lot better day than I would have had alone in OH. Tomorrow we're planning on heading to Sam's to stock up on diapers and wipes!

We'll be here until Sun, if you would like to see us just shoot me an email, and we can figure something out :)

the haps

Sorry I've been MIA. Last week J was out of town, and so was my mom, so I decided to head up to Troy for a few days and hang out with my dad :) He started a new job on Tues - more on that later - and we had lots of family to visit. I promise I will bring Baby G out to visit everyone else next time we are in the Detroit area. Then this past weekend I was in a wedding. Remember the wedding I sort of didn't want to be in? Well, I couldn't tell the bride no, I just felt too guilty, so I ordered a huge dress, had it taken in 4 full inches and made it work. Guess what? I had a ton of fun! The wedding was really sweet, and while the reception was the most laid back wedding reception I've ever been to (and I was sober) it was a blast. The only part that sort of sucked was that the hall was smoking-friendly, so now I have a little boy with a runny nose (OK, so that sucks big time, and I promise to never expose my baby to second-hand smoke again).

I'm sure there's more going on, but I can't think.

PS - J fished the pencil out of the lint trap. He used duct tape, and paint stir sticks. Go J!

oh crap

I just dropped a pencil down the dryer lint trap.

Don't ask, it's been a rough day.

bird brain

A kamikaze robin lives in my front yard.

All day long he tries to fly into my living room and den windows. Repeatedly. At Mach 3. I should take a picture of the bird poop that is all over the windows.

I tried making big "x's" out of masking tape - he still flies into the windows. Perhaps he is suicidal, or this could be natural selection in action. I'm just not looking forward to the day he kills himself, dead birds are no fun.

top ten

Top Ten Reasons Why Easter Was Awesome:

10. The Easter Bunny came!
9. Cadburry Creme Eggs.
8. Used the good china.
7. Champagne (the good stuff!), and I got to drink it!
6. Wine - yep, got to drink that, too!
5. Easter call from my Auntie Dee.
4. Mom, Dad and John came down to celebrate.
3. They brought dinner with them :)
2. Gerald sat in his swing the whole time we were eating.
1. J had Friday off of work and put Gerald to sleep after I fed him, so I got a five hour chunk of sleep.

trauma

Sometime mom makes you have tummy time.

Then she flips you over, and life is good again :)

In other news - tomorrow is Easter! And my family is coming with Easter dinner (oh, ham, how I love you!) - we're really excited :)

getting out

In the past few days we have managed to get out of the house, and it has made a world of difference in my mood. I was feeling really cooped up, and had a serious case of cabin fever. So on Tues and Wed we hung out at the hospital with my friend Holly, whose father is recovering from a heart attack (he's got a long way to go, prayers are welcome). Although circumstances weren't the best (who really wants to hang in the ICU lobby?), I had fun. I got to see people, show off my baby, and practice nursing in public. Gerald was happy because he was constantly rocked and snuggled.

And last night we went out to dinner! Gerald slept the whole time, we timed it just right, so we were able to enjoy dinner and even get some work done around the house before he woke up. It was so nice.

I feel like a human again :)

Here's the boy wonder in his super-huge sweatsuit. He's really trying to emulate Flavor Flav here, but it's hard when your clothes come from The Children's Place, and you have no teeth, and therefore no grill.

stinky

At first I though he was just a farty little boy. Then I realized it wasn't him - it was his cord (blechhh...). But last night it fell off!

So now my little boy is relatively odor-free (he is still his father's son), and he can wear pants :)

Question: Do I still wash his little belly button with alcohol? It's still healing, and I just don't know what to do and feel silly calling the doctor (especially on the weekend) just for this.

sometimes...

I like to dress my child up as a Glow-Worm.

he eats!

Little Gerald has finally become addicted to breast milk - wheww! I was getting worried, because he would either cry uncontrollably or just fall asleep every time I tried to feed him. I think it had a lot to do with the fact that we were trying in a chair that wasn't really right for us, but my in-laws were here and I didn't feel super comfortable breast feeding in front of them (at least not right now, I figure as we get better I'll also become more discreet). Plus my mom was here on Sat and she gave me a lot of much needed encouragement and help.

So life is good, different, wonderful and slightly exhausting.

Here is Gerald's hopsital page and pictures. I'm planning on finally uploading my pictures sometime today, just as long as someone enters a milk-induced coma :)

it's a boy!

Gerald Eugene IV arrived this morning at 12:40 AM.
He weighs 8lbs 5 oz and is 20.5 inches long.
He has blonde eyebrows and eyelashes and his head is 13.5 inches around.

The doctor said I was a champion pusher.

Everyone loves him, especially me and J :)

I'll write more after we get home, and post lots of pictures!

going to the ob's

I am going in at 12:45 to have my membranes stripped (possibly TMI).

Maybe this is the push Peanut needs to get moving!

busy cleaning

I have been cleaning and cleaning - hoping to bring on labor. But so far, it hasn't worked. I've also been playing phone tag with my OB's office, trying to set an induction date - I'm hoping for March 12 - I figure that'll give Peanut an extra week to get here. I don't really want to be induced because synthetic hormones sort of scare me, but I also don't want to go too far, the placenta ages quickly after 40 weeks.

a note from peanut

I am one stubborn baby.

My mom and dad keep telling me that it's so great out in the world, but I'm just not sure. So I'm staying put.

fingers crossed

I had my appt this morning at 7:30, that was kind of early so I decided that McD's breakfast was in order after that :)

Peanut weighs approx. 8 lbs. 9 oz. and I had no change from last week :( so I've decided it's time to at least schedule an induction. The nurse will call me this afternoon and we'll get it all set up. I would still like to go into labor by myself, but it'll be nice to have a definite end date.

My head is not working properly - I can't focus long enough to create whole thoughts. It's probably a good thing I have nothing more to do than make the bed (if that) and watch Dr. Phil. And hope that I don't have a leap freak - although my mom has convinced me that if I go into labor on my own and have the baby today that it would be sort of cool, but planning a baby for today is a little sketchy.

nope, still no baby

blahhhhhh.

exciting news

The nursing bras I ordered are ready for pick up at Penny's.

That was the news you were waiting to hear, right?

I have an OB appt on Fri - and I'm praying that she'll check me and say "Whoa - 6cm! Let's get you to the hospital!"

peanut, get out!

I am issuing 8 day notice for EVICTION. Tenant will have 8 days in which s/he can either gather his/her belongings and promptly vacate the premises, or wait until the final day. After which, s/he will be physically removed from the property.

Tennant is being evicted due to breech of contract and destruction of property. Expansions only to the FRONT of the house, within reasonable limits, were discussed. Not only have these limits been exceeded, but additions to the back of the house were also made!

Remodeling and gutting of the home was never approved, nor was changing the initial layout and base structure. And due to property damage, there are now leaks in both the upper AND lower levels of the home. On top of which, the landlord has received numerous complaints about nightly disturbances.

After 8 days from this day that s/he doesn’t comply with the notice will result in immediate and forceful removal at my discretion.

update

Peanut is still baking.

But somewhere between the taco chips and rice and beans at lunch, it dropped a bit. I waddled out of the restaurant :)

sunday fun

Today I slept in, guilted J into getting me donuts and hot chocolate for lunch and went to the mall. Our mall is pretty disappointing, but they have a bookstore, and I needed a baby book. I bought a Babar baby book, because I love that French elephant so much :) I've been busily filling out pages and scanning photos/ ordering reprints. I also finally put some pictures in a frame that my SIL gave me for Christmas. Yes, the picture I took is somewhat lacking, but I'm not feeling really motivated right now.



Today is also my little sister's 21st birthday :)She partied it up last night, along with my brothers (so sad all four of us weren't together), and my mom and dad went out to Kalamazoo to take her out for a birthday meal. I'm sure my parents are just wiping their brows, and heaving huge sighs of relief that another one of their kids has made it to 21 without an MIP ;)

baby pool, etc.

Here's the pool:

Feb 26: Allison, girl; Cat, girl
Feb 27: Stephie, boy
Feb 28:
Feb 29: Becky, girl; Skrubby, boy
Mar 1: Diana, girl; Heather S, girl; Sonya, boy
Mar 2: AJ, girl; Lambrina, boy
Mar 3: Kara, girl
Mar 4: Kathy, girl
Mar 5: Jericho, girl
Mar 6: Erika, girl; Yeimy, girl
Mar 7: Head, boy; Melissa, boy
Mar 8: Laura Lynn, girl

And Danielle gave no date, but thinks Peanut is a girl.
My own guess is Feb 28 (because no one else picked it) and girl. We'll see how it all plays out :)

I really want to clean the house, from top to bottom, but I have suddenly become exhausted and uncomfortable. I made the bed and felt like I'd run a marathon. So I made my list and it's one-thing-at-a-time, and then a little rest (and some raspberry tea!). The only thing I can't clean is the baseboards, and they are haunting me!

J is currently in the crawl space putting in the last bit of insulation. And I am off to dust every room and then do all of the floors.

still baking

OB appt - 3cm and 70%

The Dr. seemed pretty confident that we will have a baby by the end of next week :) Although, I'm not going to hold my breath becuase I know a lot of people who have been at 3 cm for weeks.

But progress is good- right?

yum!

I made the best roast chicken for dinner tonight. Martha had a chef on a while ago (I was watching an episode from the DVR) and he said to soak the chicken in warm water for twenty minutes to (a) help the chicken to cook more evenly and (b) "purge" the meat of some of the old juices. So I did, and then just rubbed the bird with olive oil and salt and pepper and then roasted him (I didn't even truss the legs) at 450, basting every ten minutes, until he reached 170. It was sooooo good.

And I made some yummy mashed potatoes, and we had strawberries.

I am so full :)

Peanut Room

The room is all done! Well, almost, you'll notice a few things on the changing table that need to be hung, and I don't quite have the window treatment figured out. I'm thinking roller shade, with sheers for privacy during the day (the room is at the front of our house, and we have a ranch) and then the super cute valance that came with the bedding. And we need a rug, I found a frise that would be perfect, except I'm thinking the combination of baby spit-up and frise isn's so appetizing.

All in all I'm pretty happy with the room, there are lots of monkeys :)



My mom made this for my room when I was little (I had a Big Bird obsession), and I just found it this week, so I hung it up in the doorway :)

guess who's in labor?

Jennifer Lopez.

I'm a bit envious.

Time for a baby pool to distract me, my due date is March 5th. When do you think Peanut will arrive? And, will Peanut be pink or blue?

still waiting

OK, so it's really two weeks (and one day, but who's counting?) until Peanut is due, but I have it in my head that tomorrow will be THE day - we'll see. On Sat I started to feel huge, up until that point I'd been relatively comfortable in my pregnancy. I'm not sure what made me super uncomfortable, but now I am crabby.

I need a caution sign around my neck.

I also need to call the insurance company because they are acting silly, I'm not really looking forward to that. But, I had a message yesterday from the accountant and I think our taxes are all done!! This is the first time we'll be filing on time (even early) in a few years :)

I will post pictures of Peanuts green room later!

know what?

I think I'd like to not be pregnant.
I think I'd like Peanut to be born today.

Ha, fat chance.

still in there

Peanut is still in the cozy Peanut accomodations that I am providing.

I had my BPP this morning, and my mom was in town so she got to see the Peanut! I think she was really excited about that :) Peanut put on a good baby show, so no NST - yay! And we got a few really good 3D images of the baby's face, even though it's little nose was squished right up against the placenta.

I have my OB appt this afternoon, and this is the first week they'll be checking for any progress ( I was scheduled for last week, but with the flooding the office was closed, and it seemed a bit ridiculous to reschedule and then have another appt in 3 days). So I will let you know how that all works out. Plus, the nursery is basically done, I just need to take a few pictures and post them.

*Update* I am at 1.5 cm and 20%
woohoo.

gloating

Was anyone else (especially those married to other Techies) feeling a bit superior to their spouses/boyfriends because of the Carnival results?

It took all I had not to perform the happy dance as I told J about how we totally OWNED Carnival :)

super-productive

J and I had a good weekend; tied up a lot of loose ends and are feeling a lot more baby-ready.

On Sat BRU called to let us know the crib was in! So we drove up to Toldeo to pick it up. They must have been having some sort of event because the store was beyond packed; I'm glad all we needed to do was pick up the bed and leave, I had no tolerance level for that many people. O!d Navy is right next door (another store we don't have nearby) and we stopped in because I am so sick of all of my maternity clothes. Really, I wear the same 4 shirts over and over again. I love my dresses, but I'm no good at housekeeping in them, plus my legs get cold. So I broke out the big bucks and bought two whole t-shirts! I figure they'll tide me over for the next few weeks. I took a nap on the way home (more than 20 min in the car and I am out), and J woke me up to see if I wanted Starbicks (why yes! I did!). Sometimes he's right on it :)

In 9 days Peanut will technically be fully cooked - I think Feb. 20 is an excellent day to have a baby - don't you? I'm trying really hard to be patient, but I just want to meet Peanut and cuddle. I might be bribing the baby with promises of private school and college tuition.

PS - J spray painted the bassinet in the garage, now I just need to paint a few of the spindles green and it'll be all perfect :)

dilemna

A mattress arrived today for the family bassinet. Hooray!

The problem is we haven't yet painted the bassinet. Well, last night we tried to, but the bed is just so spindle-y - it is super annoying to paint. I'd like to spray paint it. But this is Feb in Ohio, not exactly ideal spray painting conditions.

What to do?

nesting?

I woke up at 4:30 with a burning desire to organize, clean and do laundry. If I felt this way everyday we would live in the cleanest house in America and I would have my own show on TLC.

The baby clothes are washed, I have sorted and organized everything, and the nursery is (finally) starting to come together. I found a recipe that I am now dying to try (tomorrow, it would be cruel to make this on Ash Wed), and I'm now planning meals for the rest of the month.

I am so productive.

*is anyone else having issues with spellcheck in blogger? I can't get it to run and it's bothering me (maybe it's a vista issue?).

foolish

Happy Super Tuesday!

All day long I was planning on voting. Holly (my one-and-only friend in OH) organized a very small (and very nice!) shower for me tonight, and my plan was to vote and then head over to the restaurant. I arrived at my appointed polling place, and the building was locked! I was ticked off, called Jocko and read him the voting notice we had recieved in the mail.

We were both stumped.

And then I read the notice one more time, our voting date is March 4. D'oh! As that is one day before Peanut's due date (and the actual date of birth according to Kathy), I'm going to register for absentee ballots for both of us tomorrow.

sleepy

Peanut did not pass the BPP today, it was just too sleepy. So that meant I got a non stress test, gee was that fun. Mostly it was boring, but Peanut had a major case of the hiccups, and therefore it's little heartbeat was all over the place. The nurse let me know that the Dr. might send me in for 23 hour observation (seriously, I have things to do!). Thankfully my Dr. looked at the NST tape and said the baby was fine :)

Next week Peanut and I are going to have little talk before we go in for our test.

as requested

It's belly time.
(although, Miller Time would be more fun)

34 weeks, 5 days

Please, refrain from licking your computer screen. I am fully aware of my mega-hotness; the chubbiness, skilled camera angle (thanks J), lack of makeup and slippers make me the prettiest I've ever been.

showers and such

I had a wonderful shower in Troy :) Lots of friends, lots of family, yummy food and a ton of much need baby loot. Thanks to all!!

Just a few highlights:
* seeing Stephie for the second time in five years :)
* finally meeting Ava, she was very good (and so cute!) and helped me with the presents
* cake from Holiday Market, so good
* my mom knit an outfit for Peanut to come home in, it's so adorable - but it's white and I'm having a hard time taking pictures of it
* the A Team was all there, in one place, and no one had to sleep in a sleeping bag:)

Onto the next shower.

J has started a new crusade - I actually think he is nesting - he is on a home-repair and maintenance rampage.

In Nov we realized our shower was leaking (just a bit) into the crawl space. No big deal, we just use the other shower (even though it's sort of a pain). All of a sudden on Sun night, right after we get home from Troy, he climbs back into the hole and starts working on the shower. This is comical, to say the least. I "help" him, he yells at me from under the house, and I yell back, trying really hard to make sure the message hasn't been garbled too horribly by the 19" of insulation, flooring, supports etc. (You want me turn the shower on? Off? What?!). I have suggested he take his cell phone down and just call me, this makes too much sense.

We make some headway on the shower. He figures out what the real issue is and buys a new drain assembly ($8 at the hardware store), then decides he can finish the job tonight. All is going well until he asks me to stand in the shower, he wants to make sure the weight of a person doesn't mess up the work he's done (or something along those lines).

I no longer fit through the shower door.

Well, I can squeeze through, but the thought running through my head is - "If the baby grows one iota while I am in here, I will not fit back through the door." Which gets my mind off of home repair, and I start creating horrific Gilbert Grape-inspired scenes of cranes removing me from the confines of the shower stall.

If the shower is finally fixed it'll be great, but it'll be J's personal shower for the time being.

much better

Whatever was bothering me yesterday is now gone.

I have about 3.5 million things to do, because I'm heading up to Troy tonight :)

Happy, happy!

i feel yucky

My tummy hurts, and so does my back and I have a headache.

At least dinner is in the crock pot already :)

baby classes

We had our second baby class tonight. One of the other couples had their baby on Sat - she was due two days AFTER me! That scared J a little, I'll admit that it scared me too. But, from all reports the baby is healthy, but small, and they went home on Mon - so I guess that's reassuring.

In other baby-relatedness (like that word? I just made it up.), the nursery is not ready. It is painted, and J installed an overhead light and that is where everything came to a screeching halt. There is still a random dresser in the room. I have been completely unmotivated to empty the dresser out (it has craft supplies in it, most of which are trashable) and get it out of the room. J set up the changing table that his parents bought for us, and I threw all of the other wonderful baby things into the closet. I literally chucked all of the outfits, blankets, diapers, etc. that we received at our Muskegon shower into the closet, it is a mess. I thought I had plenty of time, now I'm rethinking that scenario.

Pictures to follow, and perhaps J will finally take a belly picture for all of you :)

zippity doo dah

Remember zip disks? I just found three of them, and have no idea how to retrieve the information off of them (do I even really need my old college projects?).

Wait. Let me start over.

We bought a camcorder, because it's like mandatory; if you don't have a camcorder your children will grow up thinking they were unimportant to you and unloved, right? So after we bought it we decided it is probably time to upgrade the memory on our computer - the computer J bought in 2001. We had installed XP a few years ago, and added a bit of memory then, but we needed to add more USB ports, and a DVD burner, etc. So we decided just how much money we were willing to invest before we just bought a new computer. Yeah, had we been able to purchase all of the upgrades we wanted we would have ended up spending about $75 less than the cost of a new computer. So we bought the new computer, it cost exactly half of what it cost in Jan of 2001.

Last night was apparently THE night to transfer everything over, hours of burning pictures to CD's (remember, we had a slow, old computer), going through old files and cleaning out the random drawer of floppy disks. Among the gems - my final project from ME 105 (anyone have a copy of Pro-E at home?), a bunch of really basic html web pages, and a copy of my resume from freshman and sophomore years - complete with copies in German. They are all now in the trash, sitting in my driveway - except for my German resumes, I just couldn't part with those, they are sort of fun. Now I'm staring at my small stack of flash disks. I have no idea what is on them (I was apparently not as anal about labeling everything back then), but don't want to trash them until I know. J thinks he might be able to track down a random flash drive at work, if he does I'll let you know what I find.

PS - anyone want a giant monitor?

peppy baby

I had my BPP and OB visit today. The baby has up to 45 min to "perform" all of the things they are checking for; we were in and out in ten minutes because someone was having a dance party in my uterus. :)

At the OB appointment they gave me the results of the re-check on my iron, my level is lower than it was before I started taking the nasty OTC supplement, so now I get some delicious extended release Rx iron.

Oh joy. I'm hoping for fewer side effects.

craft time

I'm planning a wedding shower for J's cousin (remember the wedding I was not going to be in? well, I'm still in it). I love planning these things, it is so fun to coordinate everything :) So here are the centerpieces I came up with:

I was going for a fresh, spring feeling. I'm not quite sure what the wedding colors are, they seem to change every other day, but the dresses we ordered are a dusty lilac, and the other colors she throws around are pink and orange so I figured with these bouquets I'd have all of the bases covered. Plus the tablecloths are a pastel madras so these should coordinate well. I just need to decide on favors - I like candy or cookies because they are clutter-free, but I'm not sure what I want to do yet.

In other craftiness I brought the ancient baby bassinet home from my mom and dad's house. We were trying to figure out how old it is and we're pretty sure it's about 150. My parents had the lead paint stripped off before they used it with my siblings (I arrived too early, it wasn't ready for me), but the paint is now 27 years old and looks a bit tattered. So I'm painting, and sewing new bumpers :) And I have the funnest job ever of trying to find a new mattress that will fit the bed correctly - we have a mattress, it's original to the bed and filled with horse hair. Actually very cool from a historical point of view, but like my mother, there's no way my baby is going to sleep on that dusty old thing. I'll take pictures as the project progresses, in fact I'm thinking of entering it into the January Jumpstart competition over at Blulines.

Fun, fun, fun!

so sad

I just cleaned out my purse. I found a coupon for a free donut; it expired yesterday.

Do you see my tears?

currently

*I am addicted to clementines. They are too delicious. And every time I peel one Zippy starts squawking at me, so I have to share a segment with her. She's so spoiled.

*I have a very hicuppy Peanut.

*Because I have high blood pressure (not toxemia, I had this before I was pregnant) I now have weekly OB appointments and weekly biophysical profiles (BPP). The BPP is an ultrasound where they are looking for 4 things - fetal movement, fetal tone, fluid levels and fetal breathing. So far the Peanut is happy and healthy :)

christmas recap

*Please feel no obligation to read this, it is really long, and poorly written. We had a nice holiday and I just wanted to remember it.*

On Dec. 22 we drove up to Temperance for Austin's baptism. He was super good during the actual baptism part and kept his little eyes right on the priest. And he got an Elvis scarf. We hung out with Stephie and Laura and crew, and had a lot of fun. Stephie and I realized we haven't seen each other in 5 years (the horror!). Then J said it was time to head to Muskegon, so we changed into traveling clothes and left. J says that he really wanted to steal Austin because he is so cute and chubby and happy. :)

We got to Muskegon around midnight and walked directly into my Christmas nightmare. I didn't sleep at all that night, because the surroundings had me so stressed; so of course I was exhausted the next day and utterly useless. J worked his tail off finishing his parents basement, and I decided to sleep at Gramma's house. That was probably the best decision ever. J brought all of our stuff to Gramma's that night and we stayed there.

On Christmas Eve we woke up, ran a few errands and then arrived at his parent's. I wrapped a few presents for my MIL and then asked that a space be cleared in the kitchen so that I could start cooking dinner for the party. I assembled quite a few casseroles, called my mom to verify cooking instructions for the roast and threw meatballs and potatoes into crock pots. And then I was exhausted, so I sat on the couch :) After awhile the boys decided it was time to go to the club for our Christmas drinks, so I put on my cute red Christmas dress and we left. I had a kiddie cocktail with 3 maraschino cherries - I think I have an addiction to red dye #40, it seriously makes everything so much more delicious. We got back just in time to put out all of the appetizers and greet guests as they arrived. Everyone had a nice time (I think), and the food was yummy. MY BIL got a second guitar for guitar hero, so we had guitar hero battles upstairs with all of J's cousins - too much fun! I think we've decided that if we get a Wii we'll never do anything but play games, J will lose his job and it will be the end of everything that is good. So no Wii for us, but we really like playing it at other people's houses :)

On Christmas we opened presents and my MIL got me the santoku knife that I really wanted, she even went all the way to Grand Rapids to buy it at W!lliam-Sonoma. Sometimes she can be really great - I need to remember that more. Then we went to Church and had our traditional post-Mass slurpees. Yum! After that we headed to Gramma's for dinner and hanging out and then we drove back home to Ohio.

Once we got home I assembled a french toast bake from the leftover Swedish coffee bread I had made for Christmas Eve. In the morning I made us hot chocolate and we opened our gifts to each other and then ate yummy french toast goodness. This is the first time we've been at our house between visiting J's family and mine and it was so nice to relax at our house, not have to lug as many presents all over and to open our presents under the tree we decorated. J got me the fluffiest robe ever, he said he picked it out because it looked like the best one to cuddle a baby in... awww.

We stayed home until Dec. 28, I had an OB appointment on the 27th and our neighbors ended up having an impromptu Christmas party that night, so it was really fun to see all of them and hang out with everyone. On Fri. morning we packed up Zippy and headed up to Troy. Zippy likes going to my parent's because she gets so much attention there, I'm pretty sure she had a steady stream of fresh veggies, because she had this constant food coma look. She was one happy pig :)

We went to GLI on Fri night, there was a much smaller crowd of AGD's and DSP's - but we still had fun catching up with everyone that was there, and we got to see Tech win (well, we saw Tech win on the TV's in the bar, we've never actually been upstairs for the game)! On Sat. we opened more presents (best gift ever - Fraggle Rock box set), and J and I went to my Aunt and Uncle's to hang out with them and eat pizza. We were pretty lazy on Sun, I went shopping with my mom and in the evening our whole gang headed over to my Godmother's. We ate delicious pie and opened more presents, it was nice and relaxing.

On New Year's Eve my mom cooked for New Year's Day and I helped. We made coconut cupcakes (yum!) and ambrosia so we would each ingest enough coconut to have a good 2008. Then we went to dinner at a little hole-in-the-wall Greek place and saw Charlie Wilson's War (I highly recommend). We came home in time to see the ball drop and then we all went to bed, I was super tired. On Jan. 1 we ate ourselves silly, hung around for a while and then packed up the car and came home. It was a nice vacation, probably the most relaxing Christmas I've had as an adult.

home again

Christmas and New Year's was actually very nice :)

We got back home late last night, and now I have a billion things to do - #1 is to water the dying houseplants and #2 is to get rid of the things that are growing in the fridge. But I promise to write more later, but post no pictures, because I didn't take any! I guess I'm just a slacker.

Happy New Year!

merry christmas!

We're headed to Temperance and then on to Muskegon.

Safe and easy travels to all of you, and a very Merry Christmas!

grapple

I've seen them at the grocery store before. Blister packs of four apples proudly proclaiming their status of "Grapple!" and their high price of $3.99. Last week I decided to pick up the mystery fruit and give them a try. As I stood trying to discern their authenticity (this wasn't just an apple with spray-on grape flavor, right?) I couldn't find an ingredient list, so I assumed they were just a variety of apple I was unfamiliar with.

I get them home and the grape smell is intense; the whole kitchen smells like grape bubble gum. I show them to J and we immediately split an apple - and Zippy gets some, too. He takes one look at the package and says "It's just an apple with grape flavor sprayed on." What? No!!! This was something exotic and cool (a rarity at our local Meijer), not a sprayed-tanned apple.

Right there, on the middle of the package - Ingredients: apples, natural and artificial grape flavoring.

I am so disappointed. And my kitchen still smells like fake grapes.

spreading christmas cheer

I thought this was great. Give it a few seconds, it's pretty entertaining.

Enjoy!

are you going?

Who's going to GLI with me? We'll be there Fri. night. I guess the Tech game starts at 8, but we've never actually been to the game, we just hang out downstairs in the bar. I, obviously will not be drinking, so J is looking forward to not being my sober driver! We usually hit the bars after the game, but not this year, I just get so tired so early. So come to GLI next Fri and hang out with me!

Also, for those attached to DSP's - who is going up for 60th this summer? We are planning on it, and it'll be Peanut's first trip to the UP :) just checking to see if anyone else will be going and where you'll be staying.

you were all right

Every comment made about iron pills is true. They are evil.
Hello Metamucil.
And Maalox, how could I live without you?

Blahhhh, heartburn :(

gifts

I love shopping for Christmas gifts :)

And I like selling Christmas gifts, too. I just got back from Indy, I had a really great Christmas Open House there and helped all of my customers pick out fab gifts for their families (even hard to buy for men and teenage boys). I can help you too! You can call me or order directly from my website, I offer free gift wrap (just let me know you'd like it wrapped) and shipping.

Another idea is to give a gift from Heifer International. I think a gift from Heifer is perfect for everyone you know that is socially aware, but sometimes hard to shop for.

Happy shopping!

dear...

Dear Hair,

You look marvelous today, I realize this means six months of terrible hair, but I thank you for the gift I've been given today. :)


Dear Bladder,

You are empty, quit complaining.


Dear Taylor Swift,

Your new song is catchy and cute, but so insipid. It's been running through my head for days, I am so over it. Please release a new song right away so they'll stop playing this one.

Thanks.

i'm relieved

The week before Thanksgiving I went in for my blood glucose test. At my OB's if you don't hear from them it means everything was fine and they'll discuss your results with you at your next appointment. I thought I was fine because I hadn't heard from them; last night I realized I had a voicemail hanging around on our home phone and it was from the Dr.'s office. No information is ever provided in their messages, so I got to think about my dreaded test results all last night, which means I got no sleep.

Let me back this up a little, I've been worried about GD since before I became pregnant. It's no secret that I didn't become pregnant right away, this is because I have mild PCOS, which some people describe as pre-diabetes. I don't need to test my blood sugar, but I do need to be careful, and watch what I eat, and exercise everyday. In fact I was on blood sugar meds before I became pregnant as a way to stabilize hormone levels - this worked, and we now have Peanut - but you go off of the meds after conceiving because they can hurt the baby. So I've been pretty much thinking all along that I'd develop GD, and we'd just deal with it then and hope that it remained gestational only and I would be back to normal after the baby is born.

So I called the Dr.'s office as soon as possible this morning. I was expecting to leave a voicemail, but I actually made contact with the nurse who had left me the message. I guess when they test your blood sugar they also test your iron levels, and mine are just a tad low so she was calling to tell me to go to the Pharmacy and get some over-the-counter iron supplements and take them once a day. And they'll be checking my iron levels again at 30 weeks to make sure they are just right before I deliver. Just to be certain I asked her about my sugar levels and they are great :)

So I'm happy, and so relieved. And I guess I'll be buying some vitamins today.

lazy

I am so unmotivated today. I have a million things to get done, but I am blogging about absolutely nothing instead.

If you have any left over motivation please send it my way.

Thanks.

kobe's a big brother!

I just got a call from Mel.

Chase Allen was born at 4:41 AM.
6 pounds
18 inches

Everyone is healthy and happy, although Mel sounded a bit tired :)

oh sh*t

See that ticker? 100 days until Peanut's due date.

The room is not painted - I don't even have a color picked out. I have registered for a car seat, strollers, and at Laura's urging, a jungle swing. Oh, and some Dreft. That's it.

I officially feel like the most unprepared person ever.

back home, blah, blah, blah

We came home Sunday night - we had a great time in Gatlinburg! I'll post pictures later, honestly I probably won't get to them until after Thanksgiving, but you never know. Zippy traveled well in the car, and was a quiet little stowaway at the cabin; pets were not allowed, but I figured if someone found her I would just play dumb. It turns out we had nothing to worry about, and we took some fun pictures of our contraband-pig.

I thought Zippy was all better, but today she started refusing to eat again. So I called the vet, but I really don't want to drive up there, so I'm trying to convince them to call in a prescription to the local vet for me to pick up. Right now I'm waiting for the vet to call me back.

Besides Zippy I'm focusing on Thanksgiving dinner, there's a lot I need to do, and I can't seem to find any parsley at the grocery store. In fact, the woman behind me in the checkout line had all the ingredients for stuffing in her cart, and a huge bag of cilantro. I was going to ask her if she meant to use the cilantro, or if she was looking for parsley too, but she had this terrible scowl on her face so I stayed quiet. I wonder how her stuffing will turn out...

expensive little piggie

As suspected Zippy has a GI tract infection. In fact she has a certain bacteria that is deadly, so I'm glad I took her to the vet so we could figure this all out.

I'm sure you're all wondering "How much does it cost to keep a pig healthy?" This time the price was $135.65 - I know it's a bit ridiculous, but she's my little buddy, and she relies on me for everything, I can't let her die. Believe me, I was half expecting the vet to tell me that she is old (5 years), and probably wouldn't make it, then I was going to bring her home and have a local vet help her "over the bridge." But her vet felt there is no reason she won't feel better after an extensive round of antibiotics, pain medications and probiotics. Add all of those meds to three syringe feedings,four syringe waterings and a new vitamin; and you have one confused Alanna. So after I post this I am making a spreadsheet to keep track of Zippy's new schedule.

FYI - Zippy is now accompanying us on vacation, what a pampered little pig.

sick little piggie

Zippy is one sick little pig. She is really pathetic, not eating or drinking and just wanting to be held. So I've been syringing her water, and kibble mash. Today we are going to visit a new vet, because I found out that her old vet moved to Africa.

The new vet is about an hour from here in Toledo, it may seem ridiculous, but she's not a happy pig, and I need her to be better by Wed so I can go on vacation!

In other news we started registering for Peanut, Oh My Gosh - I had no idea there was so much stuff to register for. I'm beginning to think we'll need an addition just for all of the stuff. And while we were in the area I went to Macy'$ and bought some new bras. I know the ta-ta's are huge right now but I was not expecting to be quite this large - 40 DDD. I think I've officially entered sideshow sizing.

catch up

I haven't blogged in a few days, I've just been super busy. Last Friday I woke up to a call from J that his grandfather had passed away. We all loved Bumpa, and his absence is going to be hard on the whole family. On Sat J had planned to go to the Navy - Notre Dame game with his mom, and they went anyway and had a nice time. My sister, Susie, had the weekend off at 'bucks, and a teeny bit of homework, so she drove down and spent the day and night - we just hung out, but we had so much fun :)

We drove up to Muskegon on Sun and drove back home Mon night. It's about a 4 hour drive from here - not too long for two old pro's from Tech, right? WRONG! That drive always wears me out, blahhhh.

Tues was a catch up day, Wed felt like a catch up day, although I'm not quite sure I accomplished anything and yesterday we had Peanut's last ultrasound. Peanut was being extremely active, even the technician commented on the acrobatic abilities of my tiny Peanut. This time she was able to measure everything and we have a healthy little baby, and the doctor knows Peanut's gender, but we still don't - and that makes me very happy!

Today I've been working around the house and finalizing plans for Thanksgiving. Next Wed we leave for Gatlinburg - I ended up renting a cabin, and we should be there during the color peak, which is a nice surprise because I just assumed their color season ran about the same as Michigan and Northern Ohio's. For the record, Tennessee is much further south than Ohio, so obviously the season changes come later. And we're going to Dollywood - and I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am about that!

That is all. Have a good weekend!

craving

This one is terrible.

I am seriously craving a huge, frosty pilsner of BEER.

Does this mean I am gestating a future frat-boy? Or just a future Alph Gam?