Giveaways

Tis the season of fun blog giveaways. I almost forgot about it, but then saw DesignMom's giveaways this week. If you know of any others, please let me know! I love to win free stuff!!

Thanksgiving Round-Up

I'm late on getting to talk about Thanksgiving, but as I have discovered, it takes about 4 times longer to do anything than I anticipate with an infant. But 4 times as fun, so I suppose it all equals out. I hope you all had a nice holiday. Wes, Punkin, and I went to my friend Stacey's house. (Stacey of the Easter feast fame.) Stacey put on her usual amazing spread and had 5 courses: butternut squash soup, antipasta, homemade mushroom ravioli, turkey with all the fixings, and dessert (2 kinds of pie and 4 kinds of cookies). It was truly impressive and extremely delicious. Punkin was a perfect angel and slept the whole seven hours we were there, except for about an hour when she woke up, ate, and then went back to sleep. I've decided that she must love white noise. And her car seat.



The funniest thing that happened was when Stacey held Punkin for a minute during the time she was awake. Stacey has a 2 1/2 year old daughter and when her daughter saw Punkin in her arms, she got really concerned and insisted that Stacey hold her instead. When Stacey complied and passed Punkin on to her husband, her daughter got down and then insisted that her dad hold her!

Mark & Punkin:

Ava gets her way:

Punkin has started to smile a little bit and we think it is nothing short of amazing. I don't know why when my kid starts doing something completely normal, I think it is miraculous and can be transfixed by it for hours. Those parental genes are strong!

This is a little washed out, but you get the idea.

Here's a little video of Punkin enjoying her mobile. She was enjoying it a little more before I got the camera out. I can't figure out how she could already be camera shy, but she must have some sense.

The Miseducation of Infants

I was using the very cute mobile that some clients got me for Punkin today. It has little animals that spin above her and there are four music selections: Mozart, Bach, Nature, and Pond. I have to note that I'm not sure why Nature and Pond are in separate categories because it seems fairly clear that a pond would be in nature, but whatever.

I selected the "Mozart" button today for the music and a plinky version of a Mozart tune came on, followed by Claire de Lune - the most famous Debussy tune ever. I found this very funny because one would think that if the mobile company is going to allow customers to select music based on composer, there would be at least some adherence to this organization and Debussy would not be in the Mozart category. I mean, Debussy's music is so different from Mozart's! (Different style, different era, different countries...I could go on.) I think the Mozart and Bach tracks are just names the toy company put on the buttons to make parents feel like the toy is really smart. And I don't think there's any real concern that the infant is going to mistake Mozart for Debussy as an adult. I can see, however, a parent hearing Claire de Lune somewhere else and saying, "Mmmmm, Mozart!"

So don't rely on your toy company to help you discern classical music. It's all the same to them!

Adventures in Daytime TV

When I work, my day has a built in structure once I get myself to the office. Now, my days are very unstructured except for the recurring task of feeding the baby every 2-3 hours (4 if I'm lucky). What this has meant is that I end up watching daytime tv every 3 hours or so and now I can tell time by what program is on tv. Kathy Lee & Hoda or Martha Stewart show mean it is 10 a.m. Bonnie Hunt is on at noon, Ellen at 2, and Oprah at 4. I think my favorite is Bonnie Hunt because she is so funny. I also really enjoy Ellen though - her monologue at the beginning of her show is always very clever and pretty funny.

I didn't think I was that affected by the tv I was watching until I found myself buying "O" magazine this month just because Ellen was on the cover with Oprah. Ellen had run this bit on her show about making an unusual New Year's resolution instead of the same tired old ones everyone always makes. So last year, she decided to campaign for a spot on the Oprah cover. At the time, only Oprah had ever appeared on the cover, so Ellen was going for new ground. Although I never really saw Ellen's campaign, I have since viewed several montages about Ellen's efforts and the summary of them was very funny. (Perhaps funnier than living through them in real time.) Anyway, Oprah finally relented and put Ellen on the cover of this month's magazine. Since then, Ellen has been flacking the heck out of this magazine.

So I bought the magazine. But I have to say that it is pretty good. Ellen is interviewed and contributed a little essay where she is both poignant and amusing. She talked a little bit about how her career seemed at a standstill after she came out and how difficult that was. I really respect her for taking a personal risk and being open and honest about the person she was even if it meant losing the success she had. I'm also glad that her coming out has seemed to increase general public tolerance for the gay and lesbian community.

It is weird to have really informed opinions about daytime television personalities. I feel like maybe I've transformed into a completely different person.

Commentary on Sarah Palin's Book

I happened to see this on the Colbert report last night and I thought it was hilarious. And spot on.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Word - Grand Old Pity Party
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor U.S. Speedskating

All in the Family

We've had three weeks of family here to help us transition to our new life as a three person family. My parents were here when Punkin was born and then Wes's parents came. My sister Aimee came out last week for a long weekend. It was really wonderful to share our joy with our family and have them meet the baby. Not only did we have family here to help us welcome our little girl, but everyone was so helpful - everyone was happy to hold the baby whenever I needed a break, walk Rodney when we couldn't get to it, and make dinner when we couldn't think of what to eat. Also our garden is now mulched, our attic reorganized, and we are rested and doing well.





We also got so many gifts and flowers from our adopted family members here. It has been so much fun have the happy reminders of the bouquets, cute presents, and dinners that people have given us. It has given me a glimpse into how kind people can be. We feel so fortunate to be surrounded by such caring people. Our friends far away have also made us feel so loved with their calls, cards, and kind wishes. Thank you everyone!

Best. Monday. Morning. Ever.

Last Sunday morning, things finally started happening. Wes and I went on a walk and at the end, I had a backache. We decided that we were going to try anything that would induce labor, so we after the first walk, we went on two more walks. By about 2, I was having regular contractions and we had called the doctor and were ready to go to the hospital.

And then....everything just stopped. The contractions got further apart and I started feeling more normal. I was bummed that there was a false alarm, but we ordered pizza and relaxed with my parents (who had come into town). It was good I got a chance to eat. That night, things got fired up again and by about 10:30, we knew it really was time to go.

Here's my last day pregnant (hooray!):


We checked in and I got something for the pain, which really helped. Wes thought it was funny that I checked my blackberry one more time before the big event.


I actually took a nap for a while and then they woke me up around 6, telling me it was time for our little girl to be born. For the next two hours, I worked at it, thanks to the help of Wes and Helen, a really great labor nurse. I don't even know Helen's last name, but I'm pretty sure she is my newest best friend. Our doctor came into help and at 8:47, our little punkin came into the world. The delivery was a little scary because they said that she had a lot of meconium in the fluid and her heart rate was doing some concerning things. When she was born, there were suddenly a lot of people there to check her out, but they told us pretty quickly that she was doing great and that her lungs were fine. She weighed in at 7 lbs, 12 ounces and was 19.5 inches long (although we are pretty convinced that she was cheated out of half an inch). Punkin shares a birthday with my cousin Julianne and Wes's uncle Doug. As well as Hillary Clinton and Pat Sajak.





I really have a new found respect for the medical professionals - our doctor especially. There were a few tense times and our doctor was very calm and reassuring even while she did what she thought was necessary. She was really just great. I can't imagine giving birth in days when most people did it without doctors and nurses around and I'm so grateful that I don't have to!





Our baby is a perfectly regular baby, but I can't imagine a set of features more utterly suited to my taste. She's doing great so far, although she appears to believe that she resides in Paris, based solely on her understanding of time. We are hoping to cure her of this jet lag soon and that she'll decide that east coast time is what she should be on.

It Looks Like We're Going Into Overtime

Still Here

Well, no baby yet. Every day I trudge into work people look at me with some surprise and sympathy. My personal prediction is next week at the earliest, but I know it isn't up to me. The good news is that I've been able to get to things that I was afraid might go by the wayside, like a haircut.

We also got the nursery mostly set up.



And for anyone who was wondering just how big our tiny little office is, we have managed to fit a queen size bed and the computer in the space. I should take a picture of the five boxes of books that now reside in our dining room waiting for a new home, but I'll just leave that to your imagination!



I also bought myself a ton of books this weekend to read at Borders - they were having some great deals! I need more books in my house like I need more dust, but it made me feel a lot better somehow. (I had had a very bad experience with a lactation consultant. Those lactation consultants can be like bossy and crazy missionaries from a church that you don't want to belong to, but won't take no for an answer.)

Anyway, I'm pretty set now - just waiting for our little girl to join us!

80's Costume Party

This weekend, we went to an 80's themed party where we had to be a character from an 80's tv show or movie. Given my condition, this proved to be an extra challenge. After weeks of thinking of an 80's character who was pregnant, I finally came up with Carla from Cheers. I tried to talk Wes into being Woody, Sam, or Coach, but he just couldn't get into it. I didn't really care - the beauty of my costume is that I could wear jeans and running shoes, which made it possible for me to attend the party at all!

Finally a few hours before the party on Saturday, Wes decided that he would be H.I. McDonough from Raising Arizona. I ran to the party store, got a wig and a mustache, grabbed a pack of Huggies and some pantyhose from the grocery store and we were set.

The party was a lot of fun. People really got into it. My favorite character was Richard Simmons - the guy actually went out and bought Reeboks and swore that his shorts were the same brand as Simmons'. He would also - on command - do an aerobics move that he said was on Simmons' video tapes called "The Wind." Hilarious!


I couldn't believe how much work my friends had put into the party. It was a lot of fun!