Moving On

Tonight begins a weekend that was very much needed and looked-forward-to. We're leaving for CT as soon as D gets home from his shortened Emergency Medicine shift. He started that rotation this week and has to do fourteen 12-8pm shifts. At first he thought it was 2-10pm, so 12-8 was a nice change. He does have to do three weekend shifts, not the whole weekend, just a Saturday or a Sunday. That's not too fun, but considering he only has to work half the month, I can't complain much.

Is it bad that I'm looking at all the junk we have to load into the car and got all excited that we don't have to pack up Dougie and unpack him there and do it all over again in a few days? Poor Dougs.

Not much else to report. I did have a random craving for a bean burrito from Taco Bell at 8:30 last night. My husband is so wonderful, he got one for me (yes, only one...although I could have eaten two...). After we got back, he offered to lotion up my ever-itchy belly. He is the best!

Well I am going to finish up the packing so we can leave promptly at 7pm. Yay for long weekends!

My grandma, Dad's mom, has been making pizzelles for as long as I can remember, and probably even before that. She'd come stay with us most summers and it'd be the one treat that we'd always request. We'd come downstairs in the morning and first smell the pizzelles and then see Grandma sitting there in front of the pizzelle maker doing her thing. Half of them would be done by the end of the day. Poor Grams!

As you might have guessed, the pizzelle is an Italian cookie. It is incredibly easy to eat, which means one can eat a lot in one sitting. This fact kept my grandma busy all those summer mornings. So when one of my friends, D, and I were out tag saling a few weeks before our wedding and we came across a pizzelle maker, I couldn't pass it up. Well, to be fair, my friend couldn't pass it up: she bought it for us. And it's been put to good use thus far.

So when we were recently invited to a dinner party and asked to bring a dessert-type dish, I thought of pizzelles. Well, ok, if we're being completely honest, I had a craving for them and decided everyone could benefit from this craving. Here I am making them (my grandma was asking after our pizzelle maker, which is why D took the pics...):

And here's my grandma's recipe, in case anyone has a pizzelle maker (which aren't easy to come by!):

3 eggs
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup melted margarine
2 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp almond or vanilla extract (almond's better!)
a few pinches of anise seed, if you have it

Mix all the ingredients and start plopping a teaspoon of batter onto the pizzelle maker. It's such a quick and easy recipe for a reeeeally yummy cookie. I won't even tell you how many I had today...because the baby really likes them...[insert eye rolling here] kids!

Yesterday was a snow day and I was determined to get a lot done with my time at home. I've been thinking a lot lately, as I fly out the door to work, that I wish I could just stay home for an extra day and get this apartment in some sort of order. Of course I'd feel bad about missing a day of kindergarten just to clean up, but yesterday presented itself and I took full advantage of it.

I started by washing the [gasp] dishes and cleaning up/organizing the kitchen. D really appreciated that part. Then the fun really began when I did some filing, some graduation party catering research, and went to clear the snow off of my car. I did some fun things, too. I called Dad, I called Mom, I called my grandma who's in Texas for the next few months. I caught up on the movie D and I were watching and during which I fell asleep. That's when he called and said he was on his way home (11:45ish), so we finished watching the movie together since he had stopped it when he realized I was asleep. We returned the movie to the grocery store kiosk, which happened to be right next to Kmart. We stopped in there and wandered to the back, which is where the baby selection happens to be. Wow does Kmart have some good prices! On cribs (I like the ones with the changing table attached), on car seats, on bedding (unfortunately none that I liked), on high chairs, on just about everything. The only bummer is that there is exactly one Kmart open near our family in CT and it isn't too near at that. There's always kmart.com, though, which is now on my list of Places to Consider Registering.

We came back and took a much-needed nap before heading out to dinner at Friendly's, which is across the way from the mall. D decided we needed to get some mall walking in, which doesn't ever really work out because we end up going into stores and browsing. Last night was no different, we went into lots of stores and spent the most time in Borders (big surprise). I forgot that the mall was the teenage hangout place on a Friday night. It was funny to see them doing what teenagers do, oh how glad I am not one again!

By the time we got home, I was almost ready to just sit but I had one big project looming over me that was one of the main reasons I wanted to stay home and clean: our clothing closets. In this apartment we each have our own space and that space is quite jammed-packed with, well, clothes. Clothes that will all need to be packed, loaded, unloaded, and unpacked in the upcoming months if they aren't weeded through. That was incentive enough for me to go through both. Three big bags of Goodwill clothes later, our closets are looking neater, more organized, and much more user friendly. I finally felt accomplished and was able to cross everything off my Snow Day To Do list. Let the weekend begin!

Can I direct your attention to D's graduation countdown on the sidebar?!? Not only are there less than 100 days to go, there are almost less than 90 days to go!! We are in the homestretch, people, we are in the homestretch. And I also know it's getting closer because D finally received a very informative email about Graduation Day. Here are the highlights:

* The Diploma Awarding Ceremony for the School of Medicine is on Friday, May 23rd at 10am at the Academy of Music.

* Each student will receive four tickets for the Academy of Music in the sections designated for reserved seating. You are also permitted to invite additional guests for the unreserved seating.

* The ceremony generally takes about two hours, from 10am to 12pm. There will be a reception with light refreshments immediately following the ceremony at the Bellevue Park Hyatt from 12 to 2pm.

And...one month from today is...MATCH DAY! Again in a recent email, we found out that we will be going to Temple for 11am on that nerve-racking Thursday morning. It said: Feel free to bring any friends or family with whom you wish to celebrate. There will be a short class meeting. You will be split up into small groups only to receive your letters and then everyone will be free to move into the lobby on the 4th floor to open the envelopes as a class. You will be opening your letters at noon. Food and beverages will be provided.

Exciting times, as Mom likes to say. We will be in CT next weekend, starting Thursday night actually, so I’m excited to see everyone again. Mom already made us a few appointments, including lunch with Auntie in Hartford and Mother of the Groom dress shopping and I’m sure baby shopping will work its way in there at some point. D, on the other hand, has a dentist appointment. Speaking of D, he’s in his last week of surgery. Next week he starts Emergency Medicine where he’s heard that he has to work fourteen 2pm-10pm shifts during the month-long rotation. He can pick his own schedule, which is why we’re able to go to CT. After EM, he has a month off and then he finishes off his fourth year with a 3-week anatomy rotation. Then he has two random weeks off before graduation. I call those "packing up the entire apartment for your pregnant wife" weeks :). Boy do I have some good timing!

Ok, I’ve rambled enough…it’s time for a nap!

I've never been a big celebrater(new word) of Valentine's Day. I am of the opinion that you should feel/be/show love every day, not just when the card-flower-candy industry tells you. But D was cute and mentioned that he wanted to make this Valentine's Day an extra-special one since it will be our last without the titles of "Mom" and "Dad." Not that our love will change, well it will probably grow stronger, but I thought it was sweet for him to a) remember VDay was coming up (because I forgot) and b) think that he should do something extra since we will be three next year.

We celebrated VDay on Friday night and Saturday. Friday night was my night. I came home to the smell of brownies baking (an integral part of my favorite dessert: brownie sundaes) and this cute little orgami heart made by my constantly-fiddling husband:


And then I got the best present ever: a one-hour massage complete with massage oil and warmed blankets. D knows how much I love massages (probably because he's always giving them to me!) and I was so excited that he decided to not only give me one for a VDay present, but he got all into it with the oil and the warm blankets and for an entire hour. It meant much more to me than the flowers or cards I thought I'd be getting!

Then, Saturday was David's turn. He's been wanting to go to this Persian restaurant in the city but we haven't gotten around to it, so I asked him if he wanted to go for VDay. Dumb question...of course he wanted to go. So we went. And he was thrilled to be there. We ordered hummus for an appetizer and it came with warmed pita bread. YUM. For entrees, D ordered lamb with basmanti rice and grilled veggies. I ordered a veggie pita wrapped stuffed with hummus, mushrooms, feta cheese, tomatoes, avocado, and spinach. YUM, YUM. I tasted D's rice, too, and that was the best rice I've ever had. We couldn't leave without ordering Persian tea, so D got the house tea (I'm not allowed to have tea at this point, so that's why I didn't get any). Our waitress was really friendly and we found out that she was from Tehran. D asked her where a good Persian market was located and she pointed us in the right direction. It was right in the heart of the Italian section of the city, which I found amusing, so we knew where it was. D bought some Ahmad tea from London because that's what the waitress told him he was drinking. He also bought a slice of walnut baklava. He was spoiled and happy.

So ended a truly memorable VDay celebration!

So, on to what David is making me do. It's not horrible or dramatic or anything like that, sorry to let anyone down. But it's kind of annoying...to me. I'm not sure how much I buy into all the classical-music-helps-developing-babies hype, but D apparantly does. And since this baby is his, too, there are certain things that I'll just have to do to appease him. Well, listening to classical music is one of them. He L-O-V-E-S classical music, either he is humming a tune or is tapping it out with his fingers. It wouldn't hurt to listen to more of it, but why couldn't they do research with babies and jazz music? Anyway, he found this free service online and was able to download the below album and that is what I, sorry, we, have been listening to (I put a request in for him to turn it on while I'm napping...). He is also making a CD for me from his extensive classical music collection. Joy.


On another note (ha, get it?!), I came across this really neat Dr. Seuss baby book. I think Dr. Seuss is a literary genius and I read a lot of his books to my kindergarteners (along with every other early childhood educator, I'm sure), so I'm debating whether or not to get it. You can click on the book to look inside:

I guess we both have our little quirky ideas. One theme that seems to be developing: this poor baby is doomed to a life of nerdiness.

Anyone who knows David's mom knows how generous she is, and even her future grandchild falls under that generosity. D and I received this package of goodies yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed looking through all the items:



I love the little outfit because it has a cute little bunny and a cute little teddy bear on it. I've been thinking about nursery themes because at this point we aren't going to find out what we are having, which means the nursery will need to be neutral. But the more I think about it, the more I think that the nursery is going to be neutral either way because baby bedding is so incredibly expensive!! I can't see us overhauling the nursery every time we have another child, especially considering both the time and the money that would go into it. And I don't want a green or yellow nursery...I know I can be more creative than that. Anyway, all that to say that I'm thinking of a teddy bear or a little lamb theme and the outfit re-reminded me of that!

And not only is D's mom so generous, but others have been so excited for us that it has spilled over into fun, baby-related things. I don't even want to think about the pile of maternity clothes that I know is already accumulating in my mother's closet. Or the diapers (yes, already!!) that she said she will be buying with the coupon she cut out today. I told her that the coupon would be expired by the time I would need it, to which she said, "That's why I'll be getting them before that!" And the couple from church whose big, beautiful house we always go over has been overly excited for us, too. She offered to take me out to dinner, while D is at the hospital one night, and then take me shopping for a maternity outfit. It's cute how excited everyone is, including David...stay tuned for a post about what he's making me do...

Mom went to David's Bridal yesterday and asked about their exchange policy since it was quite obvious that I wouldn't be fitting into the dress I had for Nick and Kristina's wedding. And she was greeted with good news: Sure I could exchange the unaltered dress! Cool. Well there are a few options that I had to choose from when we went into the store tonight. First thing to try on will be the six-month baby belly David's Bridal has on hand! I just find that so funny...a strap-on baby belly at David's Bridal! Anyway, it's a good idea and I put it to good use:



This is the dress I currently have for the wedding. I tried it on in sizes 6 and 8 and the 8 felt more comfortable with the belly. However, it still stretched tight over those love handles in back and across the buttocks, so I'm not sure how well it's going to work. I'll be more than 6 months along by wedding time and my belly won't be as forgiving (squishy!!!) as that fabulous pretend belly. The lady who was helping me had a good idea: come back in 2 months to see where I'm gaining the weight and to see if there are any more dress options at that point.

So, one less thing to think about at this point...at least for another few months!

P.S. Happy 28th Anniversary, Dad and Mom!!

So pretty much everyone and their mother, whether they care or not, know about this pregnancy. This, thanks to our parents and David himself. Everytime I talk to Mom, which is often, she tells me what so-and-so said when she told him or her the news. And David was so excited to tell people that he told everyone we knew at church and then emailed our friends who have since moved away. He said that he was feeling a little left out because everyone was calling to congratulate me (even though they said to tell him congrats, too). But, I pointed out, everyone who called me was from my side of the family. It'd be kind of weird for them to call him and not me -- so that reasoning and being able to tell everyone else brought him into the thick of things.

Two of our church friends said the news was no surprise to them, which surprised me. We went out to eat with one couple (and their two-year-old) before they left for deputation and she told him, after lunch was over and we had parted ways, that I was pregnant. And then we went out to eat with two other couples from our church and one of them asked the other if we were expecting. We hadn't told anyone at this point, so the answer was no. Odd. They have exceptional sixth senses. Anyway, people here are happy for us, but sad they won't get to see the baby. We've already had a few self-invitations to wherever we are come September.

In other news, I'm in the middle of designing D's graduation invitation. His parents, my parents, and I are throwing him a graduation party to celebrate all his hard work and his accomplishments...and it's a great excuse to eat good food and visit with our friends and family! I have the stationary all picked out, but I want to shop around to see if I can get a better price. Next week will bring the countdown to double-digits---ahhh!! So I'm excited...just a little...not too much... :) :) :)

Yes, it finally happened. Dougie died last night. Not exactly sure when, but D noticed that he hadn't heard anything from Dougie's area in a while and went to investigate. Dougs was in his house with his head sticking out and his eyes open. D tried to get him to move, but he couldn't and confirmed that he wasn't going to be moving anymore. He lived the average lifespan of a guinea pig: about 3.5 years.

I was okay with everything, sad, but okay. I called Mom and then I called my Grandma and then I started crying. We weren't going to take him with us when we moved, so separation was inevitable, but now I will miss him sooner. I have no idea how/when/if to tell the kindergarteners. Poor Dougs. He was the perfect pet. And he will be missed.

And it was a grainy glimpse at that, but he's still cute. Can you tell who he looks like? Mom said he has my nose...












Our doctor's office didn't have an ultrasound machine, so the doctor wrote a prescription to get one elsewhere. That elsewhere happened to be at the hospital David is currently rotating through, so we got free parking :). For some reason, many people here in PA don't usually do ultrasounds this early, so the technican said they don't print out any pictures because there's not a lot to see. But I asked if I could have one anyway and the technican said I could if I kept it quiet...which I was more than willing to do!

So the ultrasound process was a process. My bladder fills up quite nicely because it's used to drinking so much so often, so I had to empty half of what was in there a little while into test. Can't say I complained. Then the machine froze and the technican had to reboot it and...well my bladder filled up too much again (no, I wasn't still drinking) and I had to revisit the bathroom. Can't say that I minded that either. From then on, everything went really well and we got to see our baby, doing a great peanut impression. D was in all his glory a) because he got to see his baby and b) because he was reading the ultrasound as she was doing it (after all, Radiology is his chosen career path). Then, much to my dismay, the printing machine wasn't working: the technican attempted to print out some pictures, but they were all coming out black. So we left empty-handed.

The Stats:
Fetal Heartbeat: 164bpm
Crown to Rump Measurement: 1.8cm

But the story doesn't end there. Since D works at the same hospital in which my ultrasound was done, he has access to my file! That means he was able to download four of the ultrasound pictures as well as the Radiology report a doctor filed around 9:30this morning (saying everything was normal). He also printed out one of the pictures, so now we have everything and more that we wanted...after all I'm sure we paid a pretty penny for the test!