Merry (early) Christmas to us!

E and I have the day off today, which we decided to capitalize on by shopping for Christmas gifts. This includes shopping for ourselves - though we pretend that it's all philanthropic and whatnot. I've been drooling over this Kitchenaid Artisan Stand Mixer for years now, and I've decided that I wanted it for Christmas. What else would be useful when you needed tot make 7 pounds of mashed potatoes at once? Nothing else will do! Fortunately for me, I'm married to a foodie whose desire for this machine matches mine. What is a couple to do? We have a perfectly acceptable hand mixer.

The only solution? Buy it for each other for Christmas! We've made a deal. No big surprise gifts are to show up on Christmas morning. We're both going to be too busy making pies and pasta (with the pasta attachment) with our new toy.

Mountains out of... antpiles?

These past two days at work have been ridiculous. I mean REE-diculous. We've done something innovative and fabulous, but because of infighting (what, never!) there have been an endless series of meetings to justify how fabulous this new thing truly is. I have gotten very good at saying things like "Yes we've thoroughly tested" and "No this doesn't affect existing functionality". Soon I expect to hear things like synergy and whatnot spewing forth. It's crazy! I think the fires have finally been put out and that everyone now agrees that this new thing should happen. I can only hope. I'm not sure Baby Hef enjoys my blood pressure being so high.

Blueberry goodness

There are few ways better to start a weekend than with blueberry pancakes. Especially ones with 100% pure maple syrup - none of this corn syrup mess that passes for pancake syrup. I'm talking about the stuff that has to be refrigerated after opening. He knows how I feel about this, so he's made sure to get the real stuff. The best part of this blueberry breakfast? Someone who loves me very much has made it for me on this, the first morning of the year where temperatures dip dangerously close to the freezing mark. So when I climb out of bed with mussed up hair and flannel pants and a sweatshirt (looking my absolute best), there he is, cooking me a delicious breakfast.

All in all, a great way to start a morning.

Weekend away at the Su-J

This weekend we visited my grandparents. There are few things in this world that Zoee enjoys more than heading to their place. (These include belly rubs, peanut butter, and sleeping in the sun on the porch, but little else.) My grandparents have a pond, into which someone can always be conned into throwing a tennis ball for retrieval. Seeing as how she's a retriever, this is quite possibly the best thing EVER. From the minute we got there until the minute we left, Zoee was seeking out new and innovative ways to find herself in the water. Needless to say, she's covered in mud and dirt and couldn't be happier.

It's bath time now - the happiness had to end sooner or later.

I promise not to turn this blog into baby-stravaganza but...

Today we got new ultrasound photos. Our baby actually looks like, er, a BABY! I wanted to share.

Our own history in the making

On today, November 4th, 2008, a day when history will be made and this country elects either our first black president or our first female vice president, E and I have big news of our own. We've been waiting to share, and in a break from following election coverage and reading about the election and being overwhelmed by the whole democratic process, we thought we'd post about it.
What you're looking at is exactly what you think it is. Well, except that it's already almost three weeks old. This is a picture of our baby - taken on October 15th. We were 9 weeks along then, and we're 12 weeks along tomorrow. Only one more week until we're past the whole of the first trimester!

I've been feeling fine, with none of the terrible things that happen to some women during the first trimester. I've been nauseous only a few times, and mostly it was because I let myself get too hungry. Being hungry while being pregnant is like nothing I've ever experienced before. When you get hungry, it is time to eat *NOW* - regardless of what is going on around you. I don't care if the priest is talking - if I don't eat right now in the middle of Mass I will quite possibly pass out. Either that or I might throw up and eat anything even resembling food all at the same time. It's bizarre, but apparently quite normal to feel this way.

My clothes still fit (but I bet if you knew me before you'd wonder if I'd stopped doing crunches or started really living it up with the Blue Bell). I'm still exercising, and I'm trying to get all my running in now as my doctor doesn't want me to keep running after 20 weeks. She says that elliptical machines and walking are good enough and that running will cause too much stretching. I have no idea what that means, but it doesn't sound pleasant. I had to give up my soccer team for the duration of the pregnancy, which really makes me sad, but hopefully they'll have me back after the baby is born and I've recovered.

We're really excited about Baby H. E has been amazing through the whole thing. He watches me like a hawk. He's there with a snack before I realize I need one. He makes me rest when I'm getting worn out and won't slow down. He even has a book called "The Expectant Father's Guide" that he has been reading. Sometimes he knows things even I don't! I couldn't ask for a better husband.

Anyway, that's our big story! Look for news on Isabelle Kay/Nathan Dean as things develop.

Happy Halloween!

Our halloween was low-key and nice. A couple of friends of ours came over with their son and we all had dinner and dessert - he discovered the fun that can be had on stairs! After they left, the trick-or-treaters started showing up, and it was an interesting evening. We live in a very family friendly neighborhood, so there are a LOT of kiddos looking for candy on Halloween. Here's a sampling of our favorite trick-or-treaters:

• The cowboy who rang our doorbell, said "Trick or treat!" (after being prompted by his mom), then walked off before getting any candy. Fortunately his mom pointed this out and he came back for some Snickers (good choice).
• The cheerleader who didn't say "Trick or treat!" at all, but instead said "Give me something small." E said, "Well, pick what you'd like." To this she said, "I'll take two!"
• The princess, storm trooper, and batman who rang our doorbell and then hid to the side, so when we opened to the door we only saw their parents. They then came bursting over from the side to "scare us". Because they were about five and their parents were there it wasn't too horrifying, but we pretended.
• The little princess who got a piece of candy for her little sister who was "tired and riding in the wagon instead of doing this all herself." (Said with indignation.)

All in all a productive Halloween. At about 9:15 pm the neighborhood teenagers (sans costumes) sheepishly rang the bell. At least they waited until all the little kids were done and we managed to unload the leftover candy on them. (Well, save for the Heath bars. I wasn't going to let it all go that easily.)