Shoe Fetish

Milo has two favorite sleeping spots for whatever reason. So if you don't see him at the top of the stairs, he is undoubtedly surrounded by shoes. He loves sleeping on and near our shoes. He cracks me up, but is as happy as a clam when he's surrounded by shoes.

Now Oscar on the other hand likes to beat up our shoes. His favorite being SD's big brown shoe (near Milo's tail in the picture). When we went on vacation a few weeks ago to the Cape we came home to find one of that pair in the upstairs bathroom! He literally dragged it across the kitchen floor, through the living room, and up the stairs into the bathroom. It was hilariously sitting on the bathmat next to the tub, where he likes to bring all of his "prizes." That shoe is not light, and Oscar is quite small so that's a feat I would have loved to see!

These cats are so silly.

My Celebrity Mom

My mom is really good at writing grants to get money for library books for the Springfield Public Schools. I believe last year, thanks to her, one of her schools received a prestigious federal grant that only 1 other school in Mass was awarded bringing thousands of dollars to help revitalize their somewhat rundown library.

Now her hard work has paid off again, and she made it to the papers. She really cares about helping the children, even if it means extra unpaid time at work running the Scrabble club or buying supplies with her own money. She's passionate about what she does and I very much admire her for it.
So nice job Mom! You rock!
;-)

Prepared?

I'm not sure if one can ever be prepared for giving birth, but in an effort to be a little less unprepared we went to an all day "Prepared Childbirth" class last Sunday.
Description:
This comprehensive childbirth class covers all aspects of pregnancy, labor, birth and postpartum including: the anatomy and physiology of late pregnancy, the labor and birth process, signs and stages of labor, options for coping and pain management, common complications and promoting positive communication with your care-giver. We will help prepare you for all aspects of birth from knowing when to leave for the hospital or birth center to taking care of yourself after birth. This class provides some information on natural coping methods such as relaxation, breathing and massage (although not as much as the natural childbirth class), as well as information about pain medication and epidural anesthesia. All participants will receive a detailed information packet and view a birthing video. We encourage participation by your partner or support person. You should call to register for this class in your 4th or 5th month of pregnancy and it should be taken around the 7th or 8th month of pregnancy.

Having very few weekends left to sleep as late as we want before the little guy makes his debut, there are very few things to get us up early and we hoped it would be worth it.

It was a pretty good class and I'm glad to have gone, but probably not worth the nearly $200 price. There were 4 other couples, all first timers, and all of us except one having boys (I swear it's the new craze!)

I love Anatomy and Physiology thanks to an awesome teacher I had in high school and that part of the class made me want to go back to school. The body really does some amazing things!

Luckily there were no annoying people in class and the instructor was pretty entertaining. We learned some good techniques to try to help labor along before the doctors would intervene. I'm trying to not set my mind on any one way to do it, though my fear of needles has me hoping it won't be too painful (yeah right, I know). I hate needles, but one in your spine makes my back hurt just thinking of it.

I was thinking of maybe becoming a member of this Isis Maternity, the company that partners with a lot of Boston hospitals to provide these services, but since they wouldn't give me the 10% discount on the class even though someone on the phone had told me that would apply if you signed up for membership close to the class (we signed up on Friday), it was really no longer cost effective. I still may check out their "Mom and Baby Yoga" class during maternity leave since my coworker dates a woman who wrote a book about how beneficial it is in helping both mom and baby sleep and feel better. Could be interesting. They also have a class to lose that "Mummy Tummy" but I think I'll just go back to the gym.

All in all, still not feeling prepared, but feeling a little better about childbirth.
=)

November Babies

They say good things come in threes, and babies are pretty good indeed!

I recently found out another one of my friends is pregnant and she is also due in November!!! I've been so tired I've been bad at keeping in touch and hadn't seen her and her husband since I held the MS Charity Dinner Benefit back in late March when she was almost a month pregnant and I was a month and a half. We're about 3 weeks apart!

-Photo op with someone elses empty beer bottle... sneaky, sneaky, hee hee;

It was kinda hard not drinking that night (besides good ol' Shirley Temples) as I got a lot of offers from people to buy me a drink for putting the event together.

This is her first and they're waiting to find out the sex, which I was thinking today during A Baby Story how exciting that would be, but the suspense would have killed me by now! Maybe next time...

So now I literally have back to back to back weekends of baby showers from late September to October (for Tad, then Button, then Poof)--how exciting and special to share this with two friends who go way back (Jennifer to childhood and Aura to 5th grade).

Congratulations Jen and Brian!!!
-Two more BU alums
See you soon for a nice "adult" dinner before we all become parents! And the extra great thing is since she's in the area we'll be on maternity leave together. Starting with our fathers we'll have 3 generations of friends...hmmm kinda rooting for Button to be a boy now that I think of that!

Another Wedding and a Trip to Chicago

Here I am: still being a bad blogger.

Wanted to post real quickly in between trips.
We went to Elizabeth's wedding last Friday in Chicago. It was gorgeous weather, and it was held right on Promontory Point which juts out into Lake Michigan. She looked beautiful and was so happy! When they were getting married a butterfly came and landed right on the bride's dress near her shoulder!
It was a mini BU reunion and we all had a wonderful time!

The next day E and Dan were off to the Bahamas and Joanna, Ji Yeon, Woojin, Scott and I met up downtown at Lou Mitchell's for brunch. YUM--MMMMY! It was a place recommended by Jo's hotel and it was so good! If you're ever in Chicago it's worth going to. You're greeted with a smile and a nice lady who serves fresh homemade donut holes while you wait for a table (because it's sure to be packed). Then as we waited for our food they brought us all a little cup with fresh orange slices and a prune. The food was all fresh and made to order, as each omelette came out in it's own little pan. Then to top it off before you pay the bill they give everyone some of their homemade ice cream for free.

After that we all headed separate ways as they had planes to catch and we met up with Jesse and his new wife Miriam for the day. I literally don't think I've seen Jesse since Espresso Royale the night of graduation. 6 years too long--I'm very happy he is done with going to Iraq after two tours and is now out of the military, though I guess they can call him back for one more year. We hung out and went to Millenium Park for the Jazz Festival, though we didn't hear much music.

We then took the Metra and went to a delicious Italian restaurant in Little Italy. It was a good time and good conversation. They got a sweet Creme Brulee and we got a Chocolate and Mint Ice Cream Lava Cake. I have to admit, ever since my glucose test came back just fine (yay no gestational diabetes!) I have been indulging a little too much in my sweet tooth.
Well I'll try to be better with baby updates since I only have 10 weeks left--yikes!
For now we're off to the Cape to get away for the rest of the week and celebrate our 3rd year anniversary.
Last vacation just the 2 of us (though the little one makes himself known by kicking me like a little ninja!)
Hiya!

Babies, Weddings, Green Monsters and Fireworks

Well as you can tell I'm barely online lately. I've been pretty tired and engrossed in reading Angels and Demons.

I'll try to do some more recapping that I've been meaning to do.

The Big Ultrasound
We had the big ultrasound on June 9th where we were excited to learn It's a Boy! I call this the Big Ultrasound because it's much longer than a regular one with my doctor and they measure a lot of things and really get in depth. At Beth Israel it's done in Radiology. They counted all the fingers and toes, we were able to see the 4 chambers of the heart, the hemispheres of the brain, and overall he looks very good and healthy. We even saw him drinking the amniotic fluid--it was amazing to see! This thing was so in depth they could even tell from which ovary the egg was fertilized. He was moving quite a bit during the ultrasound, but at the time I still couldn't feel any of it due to the anterior position of the placenta (things I would never think of). There is no question of the sex--definitely a boy! My friend Aura is due a week after me with her 2nd and had an ultrasound the same day (even within 15 mins of each other) so we were texting each other on the way to the hospital to wave hi to the little ones and wish each other well. In the beginning it was hard not to get a little anxious, always eager to see and hear the heartbeat and hope everythng looks ok (thankfully it did).

Things are going well. I'm really feeling the baby kick a lot now, mostly when I lay down or am eating food. The last ultrasound we had was Monday of last week and he's measuring over 2 lbs and looking good. Beth Israel also does the 3D ultrasounds which I'm not big on as I think they look kinda freaky, but seeing him live on the monitor was very neat. You can see more of the facial structure and the little bitty shape of the nose, things you normally just see in profile.

Niferose's Wedding
June 15th we went to Jen and Nick's wedding. It was a great time and it's still funny to think how Jen liked him way back in middle school and now they are married! Her dress was gorgeous and a pale pink which everyone loved. Here's a picture of "the six of us," a group that started around middle school, some of us as early as elementary. The ceremony was at Mount Holyoke's chapel where she went to college and the grounds were lovely for picture taking. Aura's daughter Carolyn was a flower girl (an old pro, she was also the flower girl in my wedding) and she was so cute as we all got ready together. She's very excited about her mother's pregnancy and everything we did she'd say the babies are talking, the babies are sitting near each other, the babies are walking; then she'd come over every so often and hug me or pat my belly and exclaim, baby! Nick cracks me up and sang/performed a signature song of his, which I caught on tape. Now they are going through the process of buying their first house together--good luck on the inspection and everything!

The Philly Move
June 21st we drove down to Philly for the last time to help our friends move back to Boston. PS has all the gritty details on her blog so I defer to that. We're very happy to have them close by!

Green Monster Seats!
We enjoyed a unique view of a Red Sox game from atop the Green Monster, and it was wicked awesome! It didn't matter that they lost or that no home run balls came flying at us--it was such a cool experience. I won a sales contest at work and this is what I got/hoped for. I've been in a lot of behind the scenes places at Fenway but this is the one place I could never go. The left fielder was pretty close to us even though we were high up.

4th of July
I'll close with the 4th of July party on my cousin, Wendy's roof deck on Beacon Hill. It was pretty nice and made me nostalgic of the days when the Hub and I lived in Kenmore Square right along the Charles as we'd have 4th of July BBQs up there where you can see the barge shooting off the fireworks. Our roofdeck was lit up by the CITGO sign, it was the best thing about that tiny studio apartment we somehow survived in together (that thing was tiny--it must have been true love, ha!) It was also reminiscent of childhood 4th of Julys since her Dad was manning the grill and we sang happy birthday to her and her twin sister Darlee.

All for now--need to get some sleep. Tomorrow it's off to The Stacks for a BBQ. I can't believe it's already August; this summer is flying by!

Long Post: Part I

Things have been busy but I'll do my best to recap here sans all the details a fresher memory would supply:

The Hub and I took a mini roadtrip at the end of May into early June. It was fun; first stop was Philly for the weekend where we were hoping to meet Shaun but he did not wish to evacuate. We all thought Saturday night into Sunday morning was going to be the big birthday so we made sure to know where all David's essentials were so we could take care of him. Needless to say we never got woken up in the middle of the night in a labor frenzy. We had a good time relaxing and going out to eat around Philly.

-Two preggos 41 weeks and 17 weeks

We left Monday morning to make our way to Baltimore to see the Red Sox play the Orioles. It was cool to be at an away game, though funny that there were almost as many Sox fans as there were O's. Camden Yards was neat to see but not as nice as I was expecting; I guess I'm biased with my love of Fenway Park. It's also kind of sad to see so many empty seats. After the game we drove down to Laurel to be closer to DC for our next leg of the trip.

The next day it was off to DC and there was so much to see and do we certainly didn't get to everything. There was a lot of walking and, unlike good old New England, it was hot! We parked along the Tidal Basin across from the Jefferson Memorial and walked toward the Washington Monument. We took in the World War II Memorial and read the quotes and facts that were in abundance.Besides school I learned a lot of this history through my dad and his vast WWII knowledge and collection, and his fondness for watching the History Channel.

Then we walked the length of the reflecting pool to the Lincoln Memorial. That was the one I wanted to see the most so when I got there I was determined to walk up all the steps even though SD offered to run up and take a picture. My legs were tired and weak from the walk and the weather, but I knew I would regret it if I walked all that way only to sort of see him at a distance and through the lens of a camera. I'm so glad I did and to top it off it was nice and cool in the stone shade of it.

After that we went to the Museum of Natural History where the highlight for me was the gem and mineral part where they store the humongous Hope Diamond. It's nice that all the museums are free.

We saw the White House from a distance and then headed over to Arlington National Cemetery. By that time it was later in the day and my legs were not up for more walking. Next time we go back I would definitely do one of those bus tours where you can jump off and jump on throughout the day to save all the walking. I had also wanted to do the night tour but it said it was 3 1/2 hours long which seemed like a lot, so we opted out.

The next day we went to the National Zoo, which was fun, but I swear it was one big freakin' hill, and did I mention the heat? Here are some pics from that day. This panda was the younger one and I felt like he should have been hosed down or something; he was just panting so much His father was inside happily chewing away. I love seeing all the different wildlife at zoos, but am always somewhat torn, especially when seeing the lions and bigger animals as it seems like they never have enough space in which to roam around. I do understand some of it is for conservation, and there was a nice educational aspect of it. I liked the way they had staff at various areas throughout dispersing interesting facts, which is something I didn't really see at the Franklin Park Zoo.

Well I'm gonna stop for now so I can get up tomorrow for work, and will have to continue my other updates another time. Oh the weekends go by too fast!

P.S. The Bon Jovi concert was awesome!!!

Whooah we're halfway there

Livin' on a prayer

This song has been stuck in my head since last night when I found out I'm going to the Bon Jovi concert tomorrow night in Boston!! Whoo hoo!!

Things have been pretty non stop lately and I have a lot to post about from the roadtrip to a wedding, to the BIG ultrasound, the big Philly move, Green Monster seats, celebrating the Hub's 30th bday, 4th of July/my twin cousins birthday, and the Pearl Jam concert, all while getting some quality time at the beach, trying to settle on a contractor for the kitchen and find a good day care. I'll have to find time to do one lonnnnnng post. Promise! (just not tonight)

I'm just jumping on to say I'm so excited for tomorrow's concert at the Garden! This baby has been rocking it!

The Big 3-0

Happy Birthday to my Sweetie!

First Comes...

Then comes...

Then comes the....



That's right we are expecting our first baby November 7th! Things have been very busy lately with weddings, roadtrips, and renovations that I've been a bad blogger, but I'll try to be better between falling asleep at an old lady's hour (I'm super tired, but feeling good). For now we are off to Philly to help our friends move back here and meet fashionably late Shaun.

David vs. David

I vowed this year not to watch American Idol because I got hooked for the first time last season and then just annoyed toward the end. Well as I posted before, with no new TV to watch thanks to the writers' strike, I helplessly got sucked in this year. I am happy to report that even though I found some parts of it unbearably annoying and hokey my favorite, David Cook, ended up winning! He didn't really stand out until he sang Lionel Richie's "Hello" and then I fell in love.

After that he was just consistently good and unique. My 2nd favorite of his was Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean."

The funniest part is that the Hub's work had an American Idol Draft of sorts after it went down to 24 contestants and he ended up with the last pick in a snake draft (for those of you non fantasy draft dorks he had picks 12 and 13), so with all the good ones taken he chose (hee hee) Danny Noreiga as his first pick and then happened to pick no name David Cook as his second. Even after the first week or two I'd be like what is the name of your other guy? So luck prevailed and he picked the hidden gem of the season and won it all. For the first time we actually voted the last 2 weeks of the competition. Even though he won by a landslide 12 million votes, I am convinced the 6 times we actually made it through (those pesky lines are always busy) really made the difference. I liked the other David alright but was annoyed that he forgot the lyrics to one of his songs for the 2nd time and none of the judges commented on that after the Chris Brown song, which he sounded as funny and ingenuine singing "I need you boo" as my husband would. And he recycled John Lennon's "Imagine" which I thought was cheap.
Anyway, yay David Cook!

Going Green

Green Monster seats that is!
I'm so excited to finally be able to watch a Red Sox game from the Green Monster! These seats are next to impossible to get; even when I'm working there I wear a pass letting me go everywhere except the Green Monster.

So how did I get these, you ask? By winning the monthly sales contest at work! Half way through April when I went on a selling tear and was asked what I would like if (when) I win, I laughed and said what I wanted was unattainable. When told not to underestimate who the President of the company knows, I said I would love Green Monster seats but know how terribly hard they are to get. Well lo and behold, I did win and though I was about to go to a hospital meeting on the South Shore the President and CEO called me up to personally congratulate me and let me know of the prize I had won. I was so shocked! I couldn't go last weekend since I was already so booked so I'll be going sometime in June, which is probably better anyway since it's been so cold lately. Plus, we were only able to get Sox tickets for April and May so now I have a summer game to look forward to. I'm a little Soxed out if you can believe it; too much Fenway food for dinner and the cold doesn't help. Last week we sat through a cold 2 1/2 hour rain delay with The Stacks, luckily they won! Then 2 days before that we took Eric and his roommate and even though the seats were cheap we had a pretty cool view a couple rows down from the Dunkin Dugout:
We went to 2 other games in April, the 2nd home game of the season with Harveen, whose boyfriend won the 2 we contributed to the MS Charity Event Raffle and another April game, just the two of us, in these awesome seats near home plate. We were actually caught on the Sports Center highlights later that night! It's been fun and we have one more game this month in the awesome seats (1st row after the coveted field box section). Maybe you'll see me on TV again...Then it's off to Baltimore in June to finally see Camden Yards and then down to DC. I'm looking forward to a mini vacation and road trip--and hopefully meeting Mr. Shaun Scott Wicks in Philly!

Long Before These Crowded Streets

Here Stood My Dreaming Tree...

Things I've Been Wondering Lately...

1. Where did the warm weather go?
I thought spring was here fo shizzle and then it left this weekend, and all I have to wear are my pretty skirts and sleeveless shirts. Today I begrudgingly dug out my warmer clothes again.

2. Why is it that shots in a beaker seem so much more mature and professional?
I was out at a social networking event with my friend Harveen and was content drinking wine all night, but the Boston Billiard waitress brought around blue shots in test tubes and we couldn't resist. Now Dr. Harveen was probably reminded of research at Beth Israel, but I was reminded of beakers and bunsen burners in science class, and for some reason the Scientist feeling of it all made it a lot less college-like. And the blue tastiness made me go for round two!

3. Will I really win a Red Sox Ring or a new Volvo?
I hope so. I figured I would try it on since I already had a picture of me wearing the 1st World Series Ring in 86 years.

4. Why can't people learn how to drive?
I honestly think people should have to retake their driving exam every certain amount of years and prove they're not total idiots.

5. Will I ever stop getting a kick out of the wild turkeys that parade across our lawn and parking lot?
Probably not. This nature thing is so neat to live around. The wild turkeys make me laugh the most; we also have seen many bunnies, ducks, frogs, and the regulars.

6. Will I ever get flowers again?
After 2 1/2 years of marriage the Hub finally remembered that though I'm practical, I am still a girl, and desire flowers once in a while. I think the last time he got me flowers delivered to work was when he proposed in 2004. Yeah, I'm keeping track! So just in case i have to wait another few years I took a picture of them so I could remember how beautiful they are.

Say Goodbye to Trans Fats in Boston

So I've been following the proposal to ban trans fats in Boston restaurants and am happy to hear it will actually happen!
It's so unhealthy and I love to eat out but don't necessarily always "know" what I'm eating and just how bad it is for my health, other than the obvious salad being better than a burger and fries. Let's face it, when going out to eat it's more about taste than health. At home I can cook with ground turkey and olive oil rather than loads of butter, but chef's are pretty focused on wowing customers with a delicious dish, something they'll remember and come back to order.
In our increasingly smart and health conscious society I thought this would be well received, but some user comments really surprised me (I'll put them in the comments section of this post, some good, some dumb, some followed by my own comments on their comment!)

Here's to our health!

Public Health
Boston trans fat ban receives final approval
March 13, 2008 04:46 PM
By Stephen Smith, Globe Staff

Boston health regulators today unanimously approved a ban on artery-clogging trans fat in restaurants and grocery stores.

Boston joins a growing number of cities, including New York, Philadelphia and Brookline, in banning the food ingredient, commonly found in french fries, donuts and other fried foods. Trans fat have been linked to heart disease in humans and diabetes in experimental animals.

The first phase of the ban goes into effect in September and will apply to the use of cooking oils, shortening and margarine that contains artificial trans fat. The makers of baked goods will have a year to eliminate trans fat from their products.

Packaged goods clearly labeled as containing trans fat can still be sold. Most major manufacturers have already removed trans fat from their products.

The Boston prohibition would include all restaurants, including school and hospital cafeterias, as well as food that is prepared in kitchens inside groceries and delis.

City inspectors will visit businesses to make sure they comply with the ban, and scofflaws could face fines of up to $1,000 for each violation.

Studies estimate that having as few as 40 calories of trans fat a day can boost the risk of a heart attack by 23 percent. A fast-food meal of chicken nuggets and French fries, if prepared with artificial trans fat, can easily contain more than 100 calories of the substance.

Here Comes the Rain

So I've been keeping a close eye on the weather this weekend and hoping for a clear Sunday with the MS Walk and all.
The forecast changed from rain all weekend to just Friday night and Saturday. It actually held off for most of today and we got some errands done like looking for a grill so we can feed and thank our hungry fellow walkers afterward tomorrow, going grocery shopping for steak, burgers, dogs and buns, and getting a new hanging bird feeder. We forgot the beer and milk (along with wine my favorite dinner beverage).
So after watching the tarp being pulled over the field of Fenway I figured I better make a run to Pam's Market for some milk at least while the Hub got the butternut squash risotto going. I made my dash and sure enough as I was pulling into our place big fat drops started to fall. It's nice to be forewarned by the televised Sox game. I was feeling lucky so I also grabbed a mega millions b/c who couldn't use millions of dollars?!?! If you don't hear from me in a while it's probably b/c I'm on my long awaited Tahiti trip!

Tonight will be a quiet night so we can be well rested for the Walk tomorrow. Thanks a bunch to all those who have so generously donated to this special cause--it really means a lot to me!

Still crossing the fingers for clear skies along the Charles River...