A dog, a cat, some fish, a husband...- and a baby!

Katie is One!

2009-03-03T13:11:00.007-05:00

One year ago, Craig and I were awaiting the imminient arrival of our baby. We didn't know who they'd be just yet, but we were in love with them already-- we never could have expected the wonderful little girl we got.

Katie is one year old today. Its gone by so fast and she has grown so much. In the last 2 weeks she has learned to walk and now climbs EVERYTHING. She has about a dozen words and that is expanding everyday. She loves when we read to her and will bring books to you anytime you are still. She's precocious and has very definite ideas about what she wants. She loves her animals and is a little stinker when it comes to getting into mischeif-- but she is a happy child and we are so glad she's ours.

Here are a couple of pictures from her birthday party this weekend.

Mommy, What the heck is that on my cake?!?!?!

Oh nevermind, this cake stuff is pretty tasty. (It should be! She had a Chocolate Stoudt Cake with Chocolate Whipped Cream!-- The grownups had dark chocolate ganache on theirs)

MMMM... Must demolish cake!

The requisite cake smashing photo! She really was pretty delicate-- even with her Cappy yelling over the SKYPE line to put cake in her hair! I'd say this mess is about average for a meal for her. The big mess came later when her Grandad and Kakie filled the water table IN THE HOUSE (Thanks guys... :-P )

Overall we all had a great day with family and friends. Katie was utterly spoiled with presents and hugs and kisses. She showed off all her toys and her walking skills and enjoyed her sugar rush. Once everyone had headed home, she CRASHED and slept on her Daddy for a few hours. It was a wonderful 1st Birthday!

E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!

2009-01-18T15:32:00.004-05:00

That could very well be the first word Katie spells the way its being chanted around the house these days. Daddy and Katie are watching the game right now, but I wanted to share a couple of quick pictures of them.

Katie and her Daddy cheering on the Eagles!

Katie rooting for a touchdown!

As a tribute to her Kakie and her Aunt Kim she'll even cheer for the Steelers to score!

And for her Mama who couldn't give a lick about professional football-- she has the cutest shoes ever! (I wish they came in my size!)

A Very Katie Christmas!

2008-12-25T19:43:00.006-05:00

Just a quick movie of some snapshots of Katie from this Christmas. As you will see, we had a wonderful Christmas-- We hope you all had a good one too! I'll try and get some more posts up here once the holiday madness has passed.

Merry Christmas!

Redecorating by the Baby

2008-11-27T20:17:00.003-05:00

I mean, I knew we'd have to rearrange the house to make things safer and easier for the kiddo-- but I really didn't expect her to get so involved so soon in the "deciding" where things should go...

I was wrong. (see a small portion of the chaos below)

All I wanted was 10 minutes of peace to take a shower and this is what I returned to in the nursery-- Of course, she was so proud of herself for figuring out how to get the clothes out of the drawers and off the shelves. Oh well, could be worse-- at least she hasn't been taking lessons from her cousins and dipping everything in the toilet first!

Katie's First Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T20:11:00.004-05:00

She wasn't a huge fan of her mashed potatoes and turkey bits-- and she fell asleep during dinner itself-- but apparently some things are genetic-- Mom tells me I did this at my first Thanksgiving too (ok... I was only 2 months old and it was my great-grandmothers "fault", but still!)

And isn't she way cuter than a turkey anyway?

Brownie-Spider 2008

2008-11-27T20:05:00.002-05:00

Even though the Brownies lost miserably-- it was one of the most enjoyable games I've been to. Garrettson and Craig argued about the two teams merits and the gals all enjoyed catching up. We headed out for lunch afterward to thaw out-- it was COLD! But seriously-- Katie was the cutest Brownie there. (And I was mistaken for a student, but that is a WHOLE different issue!)

Off to DC with Katie!

2008-11-27T19:52:00.004-05:00

We spent a few days in DC last week-- Craig was at a conference and Katie and I tagged along to enjoy the city. We went to the Natural History Museum (Katie liked the small tropical aquarium there-- dinosaurs were not interesting yet though!) and took a picture just for my Mom... so Mom- Here you go! (sorry about the lousy look, we'd hiked 10 blocks in the pouring rain-- and then I had to haul her stroller up 9 billion stairs to the entrance because NOWHERE was it marked that the handicapped access was around the other side, and it was still pouring and there was NO way I was hiking to the other side of the building at that point!)

The next day we went to the National zoo-- it was pretty chilly, but we met up with friends and walked around. Katie got a HUGE kick out of the small monkeys--- particularly the golden tamarins-- they were so colorful and active. She also watched the gorillas and orang utans (yeah, that's 2 words, who knew?!)pretty intently.
The new Asia exhibit has a lot of nice features-- there are displays at kiddo height with swatches of the fur of each animal that you can touch and buttons to push that make the animals sounds and such-- Katie was a big fan of the Red Panda fur-- so we got a snapshot of her on the panda statue!
It was a nice day at the zoo overall.

And then to top it off, we finally got to eat at Jaleo-- a Spanish restaurant in the DC area that I have wanted to go to for years! We had pan amb tomaquet (toasted bread with tomatoes), gambas al ajillo (sizzling garlic shrimp and peppers), house made chorizo, and rosejat-- sort of a paella made with vermicelli and seafood. It was all delicious-- and other than the hostess thinking we were nuts for having our baby with us, it was wonderful. I'm not sure why she was so shocked it was a Sunday-- its not like I feared a wild party crew was going to come and start a brawl or something... who knows? Katie was pretty good though, so it all worked out well.

It was definitely a nice trip away and I enjoyed taking a few days away from work!

Start of election season 2012?

2008-11-06T11:16:00.001-05:00

Still confused, but bits of good news

2008-11-05T15:03:00.002-05:00

Still unclear on what people are thinking-- I know Bush was unpopular--- but to think that a swing away from personal responsibility is the answer-- well, that I don't get!

There were some good bits of news coming out of the election cycle-- sadly the defeat of Murtha was not one of them-- that man is really a jerk.

Anyway, Californians upheld their previously passed and then knocked down by the judicial system act-- to limit marriage to a man and a woman. Whether you agree with the purpose of the bill or not. It does demonstrate the power of the voters over the power of judges which may become important again in the future.

A number of states had ballot issues surrounding affirmative action (a BIG pet peeve of mine!) Nebraska passed theirs banning state and local governments from giving preferential treatment to people on the basis of race, sex, ethnicity or national origin. YAY! I am pretty sure that even though we have elected a president of a different race-- many will still claim it is "impossible" for minorities to gain success without handouts based on skin-color, but we shall see. Nebraska joins CA, MI, and WA in similar bans. The decision in Colorado is still up in the air.

No sour grapes, just a lot of confusion...

2008-11-04T23:10:00.002-05:00

Apparently the majority of voting Americans feel that the government knows better than they do how to manage their lives-- so that being said--

I expect that those who voted for Obama will remove their children from their private schools and enroll them in the public ones-- after all, the goverment knows best and we want to ensure that EVERYONE receives exactly the same education and opportunities.

That those same people will allow the bureaucracy that plagues the VA to infect their medical care. I mean, just because you've PAID for your health insurance, doesn't necessarily mean YOU should get medical care before others or in the location of your preference. Expect months to year long waits for procedures and diminished access to health care for "hopeless" cases.

That they will allow the government to determine the timing and viability of your children-- its only a small step from allowing abortion to encouraging it in the cases of "undesirable" children who would be a "drain" on society. Particularly when society is footing the bill for these children.

That they will abandon their protests of free speech since they rapidly have abandoned their recognition of other portions of the Bill of Rights.

That they will immediately start writing checks for the government to determine where and how to spend. Regardless of income-- your tax money will be used to fund an increasing array of social-welfare and special interest groups.

That they will prepare for a semi-imminent shift in world-power and increased intimidation in the face of a US leader who is more interested in accomodation than defense.

But, the majority has spoken. That being said, I hope you all somehow found something I missed and that our new president turns out to be the man you hope for, and not an embodiment of the lack of traditional American values I fear. I will defend those values in my home and with my family and will watch the next 4 years with a mixture of curiousity and hope that things are not as dark as they seem right now.

Someone who puts it better than me

2008-11-04T18:02:00.005-05:00

Trick or Treat!

2008-10-30T20:34:00.007-04:00

We had the Mommy-Baby Halloween Party today and then Katie's First Trick-or-Treat.

Who wants a penguin stew?!?!

Nobody better lay a finger on my butterfinger! (Katie REALLY wanted some candy!)

Visit to Annapolis

2008-10-29T21:26:00.002-04:00

This past weekend we headed down to visit Becky and Garrettson in Annapolis. We went to my second Navy football game-- and I can at least say it was warmer than the last one-- wetter, but warmer. We had a wonderful time, and Katie stayed all cuddled up in my sling inside my raincoat! WE even invented the newest sport craze to sweep the nation-- Awning-sailing! It was one heck of a windy day!

Then on Sunday we went to walk around Annapolis and the Naval Academy. It was a beautiful day to be outside and we learned that Katie is just the right size to be a cannon ball. And, that she seems to like being inside artillery.... hmmmm... I am soooo in trouble with this kid. She had fun flirting with the pictures of midshipmen... yeah-- soooooo in trouble with this kid.

Katie's all ready for Halloween, are you?!

2008-10-29T21:22:00.001-04:00

Stay tuned for Trick-or-Treat pictures!!

Hayride with the Babies

2008-10-28T15:08:00.005-04:00

Some of the moms from breastfeeding class got together with the kiddos and Dads to go out for pizza and then on a Hayride. Katie had fun-- so here are some random cuteness pictures!

Katie's the oldest by 6 weeks and then is about 3 months older than most of them... still, she's the teeny one! (in a frog hat!)

another good quote

2008-10-22T16:07:00.001-04:00

“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.”
Andrew Tyler (Tytler?) 1787

Whoever said it... I think they may be right and we're all heading right along with it.

From one of our founding fathers.

2008-10-15T18:27:00.002-04:00

"A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government." –-Thomas Jefferson’s First Inaugural Address (1801)

I'm pretty sure he had it right. Not the ideals of "spread the wealth around" we're hearing about these days!

What is a right ???

2008-10-10T14:08:00.001-04:00

I saw this article and thought it was worth sharing!
What Is a Right and How Do We Know?

Random Bathtub Baby Cuteness

2008-10-08T20:31:00.005-04:00

This kid sure loves the water. I think she'd stay in there all night if we let her!
Bathtime is Daddy's domain, hence the crazy hairstyles, but they have a blast in there!

But seriously, how cute is the kiddo???

My godson

2008-10-08T20:27:00.004-04:00

This weekend was also the baptism for my new godson, Sam. He was perfect all through the ceremony-- even though there were 10! kids being baptised that afternoon. He actually SLEPT through most of it. Unbelievable!

Craig got to enjoy some quality sling-baby nap time in church too.

My first cake job!

2008-10-08T20:19:00.004-04:00

I had my first wedding cake job!

It was for a friend from grad school's wedding this past weekend. Three tiers, served about 100. The bottom tier was coconut cake with raspberries, the middle was a vanilla pound cake with lemon curd and the top tier was a chocolate cake with mocha cream filling. All frosted in buttercream in a spackle/plaster fashion (what was requested). It was pretty darn good if I do say so myself! I even got some very nice compliments from the reception hall staff and was asked what shop I worked for. No one believed it was my first wedding cake (ok... 2nd)! Here are some pictures of the masterpiece. (the flowers and ribbon were the bride's choice and how cute are those little mice for a science-y couple?!?!?)

As a bonus, Craig and I actually had an adult night out for a change! My mom got to stay with the munchkin and other than some bathtime related poo, they had a blast too.

Craig is soooo going to run with this business idea!

2008-10-03T16:44:00.002-04:00

Who'd have ever thought I'd link to PETA... but this is TOOOOO funny!

"The breast is best! Won't you give cows and their babies a break and our health a boost by switching from cow's milk to breast milk in Ben and Jerry's ice cream? Thank you for your consideration."

Craig has been saying I should do this for months. Breast milk ice cream and cheese for Katie.

Nutty.

Mom, Still think they're blue?

2008-09-30T15:17:00.003-04:00

Here's a newer photo pf Katie. Her eyes are definitely changing color.

Playing with Photoshop

2008-09-29T16:45:00.004-04:00

I've been playing with photoshop, here's what I've done so far-

A Message for Kakie from Craig and Katie

2008-09-21T12:41:00.004-04:00

In honor of today's momentous sporting event, I was ordered to share the following happy baby image.
And also to point out that she is NOT happy as a Steeler's fan...

I would like to add though, that she knows where her TRUE loyalty lies....
As a side note, Mom, she's eating "spaghetti" in these photos-- Pastina with tomatoes, cheese, and garlic/italian seasoning. It's a hit.

Bits of news on the Peanut

2008-09-19T11:55:00.005-04:00

Katie is still a very inquisitive little girl. She has now started to try and climb out of her crib! My 6 month old?!?! I'll have to get a picture of her little escape artist tricks up here to share. She looks so mischevious.

She continues to LOVE every food we put near her. The biggest hit is the Cauliflower-Tomato Gratin. She screams bloody murder if we don't shovel it in fast enough. She's also eating Barley and Oatmeal cereal (no more rice, that stuff is HORRIBLE tasting), carrots, green beans, yams, acorn and butternut squash, a Pea-Potato-Leek puree (also makes an amazing soup for grownups), applesauce, nectarines, and a little bit of banana.

Coming up this week I think we'll try pears, parsnips, and spinach.

Other than that, she has started creeping, mostly backwards-- but she's getting around. So the baby-proofing has begun, we've barred off the fish tanks and electrical cords and picked up some gates-- all ready to install this weekend!

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day 2008!

2008-09-19T11:55:00.001-04:00

Just a quick joke...
"What kind o' socks does a pirate wear? - Arrrrgyle!"

Family Pics and 6 Months Old!

2008-09-04T08:15:00.008-04:00

We finally got some family photos taken and YAY, they turned out really well. I am posting a few here, but if you click on the link and use my name, you can see many more.

Click here for more pictures
The JC Penneys here converted to digital equipment and we were one of the "learning experiences" so there are lots of odd editing things they did with the pictures, but the photos themselves are just great.

Katie's doing well, we started feeding her "solids" on Friday-- so far rice cereal is ok, green beans are better with a little milk mixed in and avocado is a BIG hit-- the jury is still out on the barley cereal. She is pretty darn cute when she's eating. Very very excited!

My Mom was here to visit on Sunday and helped me make up a bunch of foods for the peanut to try-- we made butternut and acorn squash, yams, carrots, green beans and nectarines-- not as hard as I had figured, but I was very glad for the help! Frozen cubes of food are now stacked to the gills in the freezer just waiting on their turn to be used as a body paint by the munchkin.

YUM. Thanks DadaI can soooo do this myself, just give me that spoon.

This food on a spoon stuff isn't too bad!

Katie is 6 months old! Wow. Aunt Kim came over for dinner last night and helped her celebrate with a new noisy toy (that she is LOVING) and her first taste of avocado!

And just one last photo of random Katie cuteness (this kid is very photogenic... it sure isn't my genes on that one- I always look lousy in photos)

North Carolina Trip

2008-08-29T08:46:00.005-04:00

Just a few random pictures from the trip to North Carolina for Craig's Uncle Don's retirement party.

Katie tried out swimming, As you can see, it was a hit! (of course, the lake was warm as bath water)

Katie got to visit with Aunt Maggie (and she wonderfully gave me a break from baby lugging for a few minutes!)
Katie's first birthday party-- well, she was a guest at L.'s party. She was not a huge fan of the hat though...

Little Brother

2008-08-20T21:26:00.002-04:00

Little brother and his wife are here for a few days... have new pictures, but will be a bit til I post them... I am busy trying to prevent him from teaching her any more....

In the realm of the creepy...

2008-08-20T13:44:00.003-04:00

This guy used to be in my department. Til he flunked out... he was always creepy and very very very weird. Turns out, none of us even knew HOW screwed up he really was. So glad he's long gone
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,406584,00.html

Frog Jumping

2008-08-07T11:36:00.004-04:00

We took Katie to the Boys Club Frog Jumping contest the first weekend in August. She didn't win, but she was absolutely the cutest thing there!

MMMM.... He looks tasty, can I eat him?

I wish I worked for Google....

2008-07-25T15:02:00.001-04:00

Maternity Benefitsup to 18 weeks off at approximately 100% pay
•
Parental Leave (for non-primary caregivers)up to 7 weeks off at approximately 100% pay
•
Take-Out Benefit To help make things easier, new moms and dads are able to expense up to $500 for take-out meals during the first 3 months that they are home with their new baby.

PLUS~ Free lunch/dinner, on site child care, and a billion other things....
blah.

Oh well, as things go, my boss is pretty cool too--- but that whole 18 weeks paid leave thing, well, that would have been nice.

PCR song has a friend!

2008-07-09T14:51:00.002-04:00

As part of my boss's continuing efforts to keep us a happy bunch of lab rats... he introduced us to this song today!

(but he won't get us the robot darn it!)

IN case you've been longing to hear the PCR song again.-- Click here!

Away at a conference

2008-06-12T18:41:00.001-04:00

Craig, Katie and I are off in Philly for a conference this week. I have EXTREMELY limited email... and no way to upload pictures at all. (seriously... I had to wait in line 15 minutes to get 10 minutes of computer time--- its like being back in 1992!)

stay tuned for pictures when we get back!

Katie is still cute as ever, so it will SOOOOOOO be worth the wait!

Katie's Baptism

2008-06-08T19:42:00.006-04:00

Just a few moments to post some pictures from the baby girl's baptism. She was an angel all day (ok... a NOISY angel, but an angel all the same)

Enjoy!

I think we finally caught that grin today!

Weekend in Review

2008-06-01T21:34:00.005-04:00

One tired kiddo... she had a BUSY weekend! All sorts of cleaning and errands to get ready for her buddies welcome party! (Plus some very crazed kicking on her gym!)

Another weekend come and gone. The baby girl is 13 weeks tomorrow. Where has the time gone???? We had the baby shower for Sam (and his Mom and Dad) today. Sam's nursery has a bee theme-- hence this cake. (Old-fashioned chocolate layer cake with buttercream frosting and yellow cupcakes with chocolate ganache frosting-- all with royal icing piped flowers and bees)

Just a cute pic of the kiddo doing what she does best, being adorable (well... she's pretty good at that and filling diapers too)

And one more attempt at capturing that beautiful toothless grin!

Maybe she'll be a gardener when she grows up?

2008-05-31T10:41:00.005-04:00

Hrm... or is it "landscape architecht" these days... who knows! Our other guess is perhaps lighting design cause my goodness does this kiddo love light fixtures. Screaming fits can be ended by allowing her to look at the dining room "chandelier". hahah... she's a riot.

OK, on to the photos.

The munchkin was into visit me at work and I sat out on the lawn with her because it was a nice day... she reached off the edge of her blanket and ripped up a handful of grass...

Look what I got!

Do you think I can eat this?

Grass is not so yummy!

Sam and Katie!

2008-05-29T10:00:00.004-04:00

Katie got a brand new buddy a couple of weeks early this weekend. On Saturday, Sam was born! I got a couple pictures when we went in to meet Sam and his parents at the hospital.

Have you ever seen 2 prouder Daddies?

Or 2 happier ones?

A big congrats to the new parents! Sam is so teeny--- he makes Katie look like such a bruiser! But he's just perfect and I am so glad you guys will be doing this whole parent thing along side us! (And I can't wait to see him at the shower this weekend!)

PS- Cody, you'd better watch out-- that's now 3 little boys vying for Katie!

Updates for the Month

2008-05-29T09:48:00.004-04:00

Yes, time has flown-- and no blog posts--- sorry Mom! (hope these pictures help make it up!)

I had my first Mother's Day (which I spent sleeping and in the car) and my make-up mother's day which was wonderful. I even finally got my birthday lemon bars!!

Katie is 12 weeks old now... and on Tuesday she weighed in at 11 lbs! Where did that all come from????? She is doing wonderfully in every way. She smiles pretty often these days-- and though I've not had much luck capturing it on camera, she really just lights up.

Here are a couple pictures of the last few weeks with the kiddo!

Ellie was up to visit from Florida for Memorial Day --- we caught up for lunch! It was so great to see her-- I wish she still lived in Harrisburg so we could get out more often!

The peanut can push her self up pretty well these days... and from the way she's squirming those arms and legs.... I am sure she'll be mobile before we know it! (uhoh.... )Just an attempt to capture the grin!

Pictures from the Wedding

2008-05-02T11:18:00.005-04:00

Craig's cousin Ryan's Wedding at the Ritz on Amelia Island. It was a BEAUTIFUL sunny afternoon... so we had to get some new pictures as a family (and of the little princess too!)

After the wedding we plopped the Tadpole down on the aisle of rose petals for some pictures-- and in some of the 9 million Craig took, she is not crying or grimacing and in some she had her eyes open and even smiled!
See! Like in this one... my favorite of the batch!
Isn't she the cutest thing ever?!?! Here we are assuming she was channeling a little Marilyn Monroe for the camera-- the breeze off the ocean caught her dress.
Katie dancing with her Daddy.
Katie with her Uncle Greg (her godfather) and her Aunt Maggie.

Pictures from the beach and Sliders

2008-05-02T11:03:00.003-04:00

Off to the Beach at Amelia Island to visit the In-laws and go to a wedding.

Katies first day at the Ocean.. in a cute hat too! (goofy me, I forgot my swimsuit... boo)
As promised for my mom, Katie and I on the swingset at Sliders!
Me, Jane (Nana) and Katie
Katie looking too cute in her new hat (but slightly confused about the whole thing too)

just a few quick pictures from the Florida Trip

2008-05-01T09:00:00.005-04:00

I only have the one memory card at home with me... and its the one with the fewest pics.... but here are a couple of our day at the beach with Aunt Christina and Katie and a few from when we were stuck at dulles on the way home!

Katie in the ocean! (and this is finally a hat she is cute in!)

Mom, Katie and Aunt Christina at the Beach
Mom, Dad and Katie at the Beach.... Craig doesn't look burnt yet in this picture!

Stuck at Dulles for 6 hours--- here is Katies bodged together entertainment--- a dangling assortment of nonsense from our luggage attatched with velcro tie downs... she thought it was pretty cool!

Back at work

2008-04-18T17:20:00.003-04:00

I knew it had to happen, but I wanted to beleive it really didn't. My maternity leave was far too short, and I am now back at work. Tuesday was my first day back. Its good to have some brain stimulation again, but I really miss Katie. Ugh. Oh well-- I do have the most amazing boss though (much as he sometimes drives me bonkers with things) Since there was no way we could swing daycare on our income, we were trying to come up with creative solutions--- the one that we've got going now is that Craig works from 5am til noonish and I work from 1ish til 8ish. We can all have lunch together when I bring Katie in for the childcare switchoff. My boss actually ok'd this plan. Thank GOD! (we didn't really have any other idea what we'd do!)

So for now, I have my mornings with Katie and do the prep work for dinner and any other chores we're trying to get done to keep the house in order and then head in to work. I pass Katie off to Craig who then heads home to play with the little girl and work on his school work and laundry and such until I get home again to finish off dinner. Its been OK this week. I think Craig's having to readjust to getting up so early, but its nice to know that Katie is with a parent and safe and sound and happy all day.

She's doing well by the way--- she has "slept through the night" twice this week (of course... thats using the 5 hours counts as sleeping through the night definition) but thats certainly better than none! She weighed 9lb 6 oz on Tuesday and is just growing so fast I can't believe it. She's developing some personality and can really hold her head up unless she is super sleepy... I can't beleive how quickly she is changing and growing. I promise to get some pictures up here of her soon. Its just been a bit of a hectic week getting adjusted to the new schedule and being back at work.

Murphy loves Katie... mmmmmm Katie

2008-04-02T21:30:00.003-04:00

Katie was crying... Murphy was worried and wanted to check on her.
And came closer and closer
And gave her a big kiss. Babies are tasty! (he was trying to make her happy.... instead, he just made her smell like dog.)

4 weeks old...

2008-03-31T19:34:00.002-04:00

Time has flown, and as you can see-- its not from my spending time posting blog posts. Katie is four weeks old today. We're all doing wonderfully and Katie even sleeps sometimes! (when I am extra lucky, its even at night!!)
Miraculously PSU made a maternity leave policy for graduate students that came out 10 days ago, so yay! I feel SLIGHTLY less guilty about skipping out on work for 6 weeks now that I have official permission (and a guarantee they won't cut my stipend or make me take 5 extra years to graduate) I am really loving being home with the peanut and I am so glad to be able to spend this time with her. She is growing so fast. At three weeks, she was already up to 8lb 4.5oz-- which I think means I am fulfulling my destiny as a dairy cow. I'd been warning Craig that if the boobs didn't work for this purpose, then I was getting rid of them-- but darned if they aren't doing a good job.

Katie is doing well and continues to be a happy and beautiful baby. She's been going out on long outings with us on weekends-- toted around on me or her dad in a Hotsling. They are great and are making things alot easier in that she's a happy camper to be held close to her parents while we're out, AND they leave our hands free to do whatever it is we're doing. It is funny the looks and comments we get when we're carrying her like this though. No less than 10 people stop us everytime we go to the grocery store "There's a baby in there?!?!?!" And then they have to tell us how beautiful she is... a bundle of pregnant women have stopped me to ask where I got the sling to and how I like it. Really, I am loving it. Its making grocery shopping possible... because when I tried it with the car seat on the grocery cart... well, I was a hazard. I am TOOOOO short and I couldn;t see over the baby and kept running into things (and people)!
I will try and get some pictures of Katie riding around in her sling so you can see how content she is (well, and how cute she is!)

WE've been taking advantage when we get a nice day and going for walks around town in her spiffy stroller which she has been loving too. Really, she's just a happy camper and only really cries when its time to eat (which is pretty often!)

Craig and I are so in love with our little girl and she is just perfect. Now if I can just convince him that we really do need to wait at least a LITTLE while before we go for a little brother or sister!

The faces of Katie

2008-03-11T16:31:00.002-04:00

Since we've been home

2008-03-11T16:25:00.001-04:00

4 generations! How cool is that!!!

on our way home finally!

2008-03-11T16:19:00.002-04:00

a picture is worth a thousand words.... Katie's first day!

2008-03-11T16:12:00.002-04:00

Katherine Elizabeth!

2008-03-09T20:43:00.002-04:00

Katherine Elizabeth arrived on Monday March 3rd at 8:57pm. She weighed 6 lbs 14oz and is 19 1/4 inches long. We're all doing well and are home! I will get some more info and some photos posted soon, but for now, Craig and I are too busy admiring our beautiful Katie! (and trying to sleep!)

Oh... and if you ever want to be laughed at

2008-02-25T17:39:00.002-05:00

try and call the airline and get them to add your "lap child" to a plane ticket. Before the kid is born.

Me: I'd like to add a lap child to my reservation
Agent Lady: Ok Ma'am, what is the child's last name?
Me: M***
AL: And the first name?
Me: Ummmm..... ummm... Baby?
AL: Your child is named Baby? Is it a boy or a girl?
Me: Well, its not here yet so I don't know, I'm due in 3 weeks-- but my ILs made the reservation and told me to take care of this ASAP
AL: :::Stifles a giggle::: OK Ma'am, you can take care of this later-- Good luck and congratulations.
Me: Thanks ::: hangs up mortified:::

Ah yes, I did this in my lab-- they will never let me live this phone call down.

Can someone tell the Tadpole it's time to come out now?

2008-02-25T17:14:00.006-05:00

As I will attempt to show here, we are ready for the kiddo--- ok, as ready as we can naively be having never done this before. But still. The nursery is done. I got the house all cleaned and such. The guest room even has sheets and towels for my Mom. I even cleaned out the coat closet. Seriously, this is as clean as this house has ever been. Craig asked if this was finally "nesting" I nearly smacked him amidst the coat closet cleaning. Yes, me cleaning like this had better well be nesting cause the only other possible explanation is that I have been sniffing glue or something.

Here are some pictures of the completed nursery.

First up, the spiffy rocker and ottoman my Grammam got for us. (with random dragonflies on the wall and some curtains that I finally got washed and pressed (ok... not pressed, I don't iron, but I did toss them in the dryer and hang them promptly, so they are pretty well wrinkle free)) The toy box is from when I was little-- Dad got it all put back together and sturdier than ever, so in it went!

Here's the changing table thing and some more scenery on the wall . The plan is to put the Tadpole's name on the wall in the middle--- well, as soon as we figure out what the name will be! All the diaper supplies and onesies and sleep gown thingies are in the big baskets on the bottom too. So they are all put away. (well, the 0-3 month sizes that we got from the shower and the MOUNDS of clothing Shannon passed down to us-- the things that weren't very very girly or boy-ie. That stuff is all sorted into bins to be brought out as soon as we know if its a girl or a boy!)

Up next, the crib-- all assembled and with sheets and all that kinda good stuff. (and some more views of wall painting) Still undecided on the bumpers in or out thing. I have them in for now, and depending on my level of paranoia they will stay or go.

Last up in the nursery pictures-- the stocked closet-- see, the kiddo has TONS of clothes, and this is only the not pink/fireman stuff.... so there is EVEN MORE to add. And this is only the 0-3 month stuff... the Tadpole may never have to wear the same outfit twice! You can also see the second shelf Craig added for me and the second closet bar for more storage. The bins have toys, and socks and shoes in them. If you look just above the door, there is a little white circle thing on the wall... that's the baby monitor. It takes video (even in the dark!) and broadcasts it to the receiver thing so we can see the kiddo without having to go in... that should help with my paranoia and it met Craig's requirement for "cool gadgets".

Craig got the play pen and swing assembled this weekend and he is finally over his flu/strep/whatever-- so any time now that the Tadpole would like to show up would be dandy... in fact, the sooner the better. Today marks 39 weeks.... so its due, pretty well, NOW! Oh, and I got the carseat installed, so the kiddo has a way to get home safe and sound from the hospital too.

The playpen/bassinet/diaper changing station is downstairs in the living room (Yay for a super cheap clearance at target!!!), and the swing is pretty spiffy because it works on either batteries OR you can plug it in. So, no worries about the batteries dying in the middle of a nap or anything. (Plus, it has frogs on it, it was toooooooo cute to turn down)

So see, we're all ready for the Tadpole to get here, so if you could all just let them know-- telepathic waves, smoke signals, whatever you think will get the message through, please try! We want to meet our kiddo and show them off already!

I've already tried threats of grounding, bribes of not grounding, explaining how Murph really wants to lick the baby, explaining that they have TONS of toys and clothes and a neat-0 room waiting for them, bribes of shopping (claud's suggestion, in case its a girl), poking the kiddo, and explaining just how many people out here are excited to meet them... but so far to no avail. Ugh... still pregnant, oh well, at least we're all healthy and this is the big worry for us-- things really are very good.

Still Pregnant..

2008-02-20T11:11:00.003-05:00

I'm still here, everythings good. Still pregnant. 38 weeks and 1 day today. ugh.

I owe everyone pictures from the shower and of the nursery now that its all put together, but my motivation has been seriously lacking. I am chugging through work right now to make sure I leave everything organized and planned for while I am away and by the time I get home I just want to sleep. Of course, that's not really happening either these days-- so I am entering walking zombie mode.

Oh well, things are good overall. Tadpole is growing and kicking and all those things it should be doing. And that's what matters!

As of 2 fridays ago, I was told by the doc to "not expect a 9 lb baby" (haha... oh darn, I thought that 9+lbs of baby coming out of 5 foot tall me would be a good thing.... and yeah, I was expecting to give birth to Shaq so now I am kinda dissapointed--- not sure why they all feel it necessary to warn me on that one) but that he was pretty sure I would "go early" and that if I did make it all the way to 40 weeks the Tadpole "might" be 7lbs max. (I wish I could have gotten that early guarantee in writing, or that someone could explain to the Tadpole that they should come early... either way!)

At last Friday's appointment, the nurse-midwife again warned me that we're getting a "small baby"-- by which she meant 6ish lbs. And then dashed all my hopes by explaining that the 24 hours of 6-8 minutes contractions I'd been having, well... they had accomplished much of nothing. I was 50% effaced, "fingertip" dilated and the kiddo is at a -2. So, not too much considering they'd kept me up all night. She also commented that I was going to be "skinny" when the kiddo got here-- I guess based on my only having gained ~8lbs since the beginning-- but the thought of referring to me as "skinny" is pretty darn funny.

It turned out alright that up through then no real progress because Craig managed to catch a nasty bug that laid him out most of last week and into this week. Thankfully, I managed to avoid it so far and I am keeping my fingers crossed it stays that way.

The whole contractions thing is getting to driving me bonkers... its been pretty much non-stop every 10-15 minutes since last Thursday and while they are not awful, they are distractingly uncomfortable and occasionally worse. So for now I am hoping that one more week of them will have accomplished something by the time I have my appointment on Friday. Or that the Tadpole will be here by then... that would be just dandy too.

Until Friday (or Tadpole's birthday) I am just hoping to wrap up some loose ends at work and praying that I'll get a reasonable nights sleep undisturbed by contractions before the kiddo gets here.

Stay tuned for baby news.... I'll keep you all posted.

oops!

2008-02-02T20:43:00.000-05:00

Craig tells me I posted the "behind the scenes" instead of the ACTUAL music video. So just to make sure everyone is able to fully appreciate how cool it is. Here is the full song!

And the lyrics!

The PCR Song by Scientists for Better PCR

There was a time when to amplify DNA,
You had to grow tons and tons of tiny cells.
(Oooh) Then along came a guy named Dr. Kary Mullis,
Said you can amplify in vitro just as well.

Just mix your template with a buffer and some primers,
Nucleotides and polymerases too.
Denaturing, annealing, and extending,
Well it’s amazing what heating and cooling and heating will do.

[Chorus]
PCR when you need to detect mutation (detect mutation)
PCR when you need to recombine (recombine)
PCR when you need to find out who the daddy is (who’s your daddy?)
PCR when you need to solve a crime (solve a crime)
[x2]

What did I do today? I did PCR!!!

2008-01-31T15:55:00.000-05:00

50 days left...

2008-01-14T16:14:00.001-05:00

According to my ticker thingy... 50 days left. wowo.... time flies!

Nursery Progress!

2008-01-13T20:01:00.001-05:00

We found out about a neat little store about 15 minutes away that does all sorts of baby furniture and headed out there on Tuesday night-- we found the crib we'd been looking for and a changing table that would fit up the stairs! And, they were both on sale! Bonus!

Saturday at the crack of dawn, the delivery showed up (did I mention delivery was free... double bonus!) OH! And the lady at the store gave us a better price than what was posted on the items -- WOOHOO... did we luck out!!!

So Craig and the delivery guy hauled the crib box and the changing table upstairs and into the nursery. Then began the exciting day for the AMEX.... it had a heck of a workout yesterday. On top of the furniture, we needed a mattress for the crib (BabiesRus employees are useless by the way in helping to choose a mattress-- "umm... they have different numbers of coils" -- No crap lady, we are literate and thats on the sign, but can you tell us WHY they have different numbers and what that means and what some of the other features are that makes one mattress $60 and others $200?!?!?) So finally we picked a mattress (3 people walking through with their kiddos said they had that one and had liked it-- considered that reccomendation enough and went with it). After the mattress, we hit Michaels for some craft paint and baskets, then a carpet store where we lucked into a remnant of really nice plush carpet to plop down in the kiddos rooms, and then to Lowe's for some light-blocking/thermal curtains to cut down on drafts from the ancient windows in the house and some curtain rods to get all that hung-- and some wood and a closet bar to put in the closet in the Nursery. So it was quite the shopping day.

We got home and got to work on getting Tadpole's room all cleaned out and Craig's tools back to the garage and such. But we did have to hold on to a couple of the tools to assemble the crib. The store would have assembled it onsite for us for $15.... but it was WAY more fun for me to have Craig do it! So here are some pictures of the assembly process. All told it took us about an hour and half-- but that was with breaks to get the cat out of the way and to convince Murphy that laying on all those little screws was not helpful.

Starting out ripping open the box... Hope all those little pieces are in there!

Jesse in charge of Tiki guarding

Tiki insisting on inspecting ALL the instructions prior to assembly... that's the only reason Craig's looking at them... he swears, it was the cats fault.Some call them baby jails. here the nearly assembled crib is a husband jail. TADA! All finshed, no blood shed, few curses uttered and a sturdy new place for the kiddo to sleep!

And a picture of the changing table thing-- Craig spotted these baskets, which are just the right color and fit in there perfectly! Hooray for a little bit of storage in there!

Sunday morning, Craig got the second rod in the closet and all the curtains were finished too!

So once construction was done, it was on to decorating! Kim and Leah came over to help me paint some frogs and dragonflies on the wall. This design is copied off the bedding I got (yes, FOREVER ago) and then we used an overhead to project it on the wall. I have NO drawing skills, even tracing pushes my artistic limits... but I am pretty pleased with the way it turned out.

Over the crib, a whole frog pond scene.

Above the changing table, a few scattered dragonflies...And on the other large wall, some water plants and dragonflies.

Not too bad for an afternoon's work! (and you can see the curtains here -- yes, I need to iron them yet!)

A couple of random pictures and such.

2008-01-13T19:49:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of the pictures I took over Christmas with our brand new spiffy digital camera! (thanks mom, dad and grammam!!!!-- yes, I know we now owe you guys bazillions of photos of the Tadpole. )

First up, Mom and her new Steelers jersey.

And Grammam got some fuzzy froggie slippers!

Craig and I went to the PA farm show on Wednesday and ate... and ate.... and ate... fried mushrooms, fried cheese on a stick and some very rich milkshakes. I was too stuffed to make it to the potato donuts (they are DELICIOUS-- but the kiddo said no more food that night for me-- Craig is still crying over not getting any)

Then we wandered around, saw a variety of animals-- Craig got to see his much loved alpacas-- and got invited to go walk the alpacas at a nearby farm anytime he wanted. But we are still NOT getting a pet alpaca for the backyard. Just one more picture from the farm show this year-- the DEVIL bunny. Seriously, these things just look evil.

exciting news and prayer requests

2008-01-05T21:38:00.000-05:00

John and Christina have finally been able to set a wedding date! So they are now just weeks away from actually getting married and having to deal with the joy of combining two people worth of crap into one home.... I wish them luck (and have offered any extra crap from our house they might want-- think I have ANY chance convincing them to take some? We'll even haul it down to Florida for them if we have to!)

Sadly, the Tadpole's semi-imminent arrival means that we won't be able to join them for the big day-- but we wish them all the best and expect a ton of pictures and some cake to be sent to us. (definitely send me cake!) If we have to miss it while I am house-bound, I think I definitely deserve pastry of some form-- and I am thinking I will not be up to any spectacular feats of baking in those few weeks anyway.

Anyway, send your best wishes to them and say a prayer for Christina's continuing improvement in health and that her ordered dress gets here in time for their big day! (I don't trust David's bridal... but it is a pretty dress!)

I don't expect we'll get to see them before the wedding and their settling into Florida, but we are planning to get down to Florida at the end of April for a wedding in Craig's family-- so everyone should get to meet the Tadpole then.

If you've got a few extra moments in your prayers tonight, add one for my SIL and her husband who are waiting for the final permission to go get their little girl in Vietnam and bring her home where she belongs. They've been patient so far, but its been months and she is over there without her family!

One quick update

2008-01-02T16:39:00.000-05:00

Ultrasound this morning, placenta previa is GONE! yay! Tadpole is growing and is currently 3.5 lbs +/- .5 lbs! 8ish more weeks to go!

Updates and such.

2007-12-19T14:57:00.000-05:00

Ok... so on to week #29!

Woohoo... in the past 3 weeks we

hosted our annual massive Cookies and Cocoa party (20 kinds of cookies this year! --- and yes, some are in the mail to the lucky folks!)

-Craig found out his job is ending at the end of the month... yikes! (S-- please don't tell your parents, we don't need more worrying) Since then, he's gotten 2 job offers and has had 4 more interviews-- so it will be fine-- but not a happy thing to hear 2 weeks before Christmas.

I "spectacularly flunked" my gestational diabetes screen (the docs words) and then a week later my results on the longer glucose tolerance test were completely normal... so go figure, but it definitely did have me very stressed out for a while there. Probably compounded by the fact that the naughty cat snuck out one night while Craig was walking the dog and was gone-- outside, in the cold and the wet overnight-- I found that out the same morning I found out I flunked and might have to give up potatoes and cookies... not a good thing to hear! Luckily, Tiki cam back after just over 24 hours outside, a little muddy but seemingly none the worse for the adventure, and we are now VERY VERY VERY careful that she does not get out the door. And thankfully, she had been fixed just 3 weeks before, so no worries about suprise litters of kittens this spring!

So end result, cat is home and safe, I am NOT diabetic... (thank GOD)-- I still have an ultrasound on Jan 2nd to check this whole low-lying placenta thing-- and I am on decent insurance starting the 1st-- Craig should start his new job (still here at the Med Center) ---so all of that will make it a less stressful new year.

Tadpole seems to be doing well... I am measuring right on schedule and finally managed to gain a whole 2 pounds! Hopefully I can keep doing well with the weight thing and come out skinnier at the flipside... (yeah, right!) I get my guts kicked out like crazy-- I think Tadpole must like TaeBo, and I have finally settled into "looking pregnant" instead of just chubby which makes me a happy camper. Now if only they made petite maternity pants so I could stop tripping over these freakishly long pants!

I will try and get some pics up of Christmas decorations and events before we head home for the holidays... so stay tuned!

To Ligonier to retrieve the animals

2007-12-06T18:46:00.000-05:00

Murph and Tiki spent Thanksgiving at my parents-- and on the trip to retrieve them, we got to visit with my brother and his fiancee-- I only got one picture, but here it is!

Ok.. and a few gratuitous shots of the dog being well... the dog. He is utterly convinced that it is his duty to carry around HUGE branches... and then try and bring them in the house. Silly pup.

He is completely confused as to why he can't get inside, but nothing will convince him to just put DOWN the stick.

Presentation of Log the Third!

2007-12-06T18:34:00.001-05:00

Murphy's favorite Christmas tradition took place this weekend with the "presentation of the log". For the past 3 years, the 6ish inches of trunk we trim off the bottom of the Christmas tree in order to fit it in the house has gone to the dog, and he couldn't be happier. He carries his LOG around all year slowly chewing all the bark off. And new LOG is the best because it has lots of bark and is all sticky and sappy and delicious. So, on Saturday, Craig and I got our tree (Craig said the really fat one I wanted was just toooooo big) and presented the Murph with his new toy. I think this goes in the same category of kids liking the boxes things come in almost as much as the toy-- because he goes NUTS for this thing. So here it is, the presentation of Log the Third!

mmmmmmm.....pine sap and bark (see, one VERY happy dog)

"What rolls down stairs alone or in pairs, rolls over your neighbors dog, its great for a snack, it fits on your back, its log log LOG. Its log, log, its big, its heavy, its wood. Its log, log, better than bad its good!"

Progress on the Nursery!

2007-11-28T19:01:00.000-05:00

Well, seeing as how this baby is more than halfway cooked, it seemed like time to get cracking on the nursery. Craig and our borrowed middle school kid (child labor is GREAT!) scrubbed all the paste from the ancient wall paper off the walls and got them cleaned and ready-- and then Craig's Dad came in to get the next step underway. Craig and Roy spent the week before thanksgiving sanding off ancient (probably lead based) very very chipped paint, patching walls and then painting everything with a good coat of primer followed by some paint. I had the very stressful job of choosing the paint colors--- yup, it was rough!

I think it turned out wonderfully, and the colors go just right with the bedding I got for a fantastic deal on eBay! I think that Craig is still going to hang a white crown moulding around the ceiling, but if not-- I think it looks pretty amazing right now! Other than that the room needs one more coat of blue on those parts, and then I am going to put some frogs on the wall (basically copying the design off the crib bedding onto one of the walls-- maybe with a few dragonflies here or there.) and then its just furniture and curtains and we are set!

I know the color looks like fluorescent lime in these pictures, but it is really not-- the color is sort of aloe-y and is called "lettuce alone" The bedding I chose is the Sammy the Frog set... you can see it here

Thanksgiving!

2007-11-28T18:43:00.000-05:00

Our first Thanksgiving at home... other than a minor self-cooling turkey disaster (seriously... a 15.5lb turkey, fully thawed cooked for 7.5 hours at 350 and STILL was not done... who'd have thought that would happen?!?!) I'd have to say it was a success. I made a turkey (ok, I don't eat it, but I am told it was pretty good-- and Pappy actually asked for seconds which is pretty well unheard of, so it must have been darn good!), Stuffing with Sausage, Mashed potatoes with scallions, Candied Sweet potatoes with pecans, corn, peas, the infamous green bean casserole, rolls (ok, so pillsbury was responsible for those.... but crescents are SOOOOO good), opened the can o' cranberry jelly, and made apple galette with homemade caramel for dessert. (Fantastic stuff by the way!-- got the recipe from epicurious.com)

Craig's dad made these boiled dry peas ("Dad's peas" I am told) that only he eats--- so I will take no responsibility for that-- and Craig promises me that this is something that he has no sentimental attachment too-- just his dad. I suggested that if he wanted to keep that particular tradition going without torturing tastebuds, we could just donate some dried peas every year in honor of them... he thought that would be just dandy.

It was nice to spend the holiday at home, and it was great that Jane and Roy and my Pappy were able to join us (and take leftovers HOME with them!)

Craig with his Mom and Dad

Craig and Me. Not the most flattering photo of me-- but I'd been cooking since 8am-- and I was tired and HUNGRY.

One year ago (ok... so almost 13 months ago.... )

2007-11-28T18:22:00.001-05:00

One year ago on November 4th, I was lucky enough to marry my wonderful husband Craig. Its been one terrific year and I am looking forward to all the years to come that we have to share. Happy Anniversary hon!

To celebrate, we headed off to DC-- where due to some fantastic connections through my SIL and her husband we got to stay at the Ritz-Carlton in Tysons Corner. Woohoo! It was wonderful to feel spoiled for a day. We drove down to DC, wandered the attached mall, lazed around (and enjoyed having cable for a few hours!) and then went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Mainly selected because they have guacamole made to order fresh... and well, my husband is a guacamole fan (I'd never had it before we met actually...) and had basically subsisted on the stuff while we were on our honeymoon in Puerto Vallarta last year. (ok, so it was guacamole, girly drinks, and amazing fine dining at night) I had cheesecake-- white chocolate raspberry truffle cheescake. YUM. (Cheesecake is healthy for pregnant gals right?!?! lots of calcium!-- just allow me my delusions)

After dinner we headed back to the hotel and were greeted with a suprise platter of cheeses and sparkling apple cider from SIL and her husband. It was a great treat and I felt utterly spoiled by the whole day. Of course... I was asleep by 9pm.... gotta love the pregnant thing. But Craig had cable, so he was pretty content-- and it was nice just to not have to worry about getting up or fixing the house or anything the next day... so a nice lazy sleep in was definitely called for!

The next day we headed into DC and got a FREE parking space RIGHT IN FRONT of the Natural History Museum. We spent the afternoon browsing the fossils and animals and minerals and generally had ourselves a wonderful geeky time that was just right for us.

All in all a great weekend to cap off a wonderful first year.

Halloween and Trick or Treat

2007-11-01T11:35:00.000-04:00

We had a boatload of little monsters come by for Trick or Treat-- which for some demented reason, our county did a WEEK before Halloween--- but anyway--- we were MOBBED with kids-- went through over 300 pieces of candy at 1 to a kid! People come to our street from neighboring counties to get more candy (lots of participating houses, all close together)

Plus Craig did this outstanding pumpkin of a Murphy head.

Kim, Ange, and Matt came over to help dole out candy and we snacked the evening away and giggled at cute costumes.

Alex came over and helped hand out candy til it was dark enough for him to trick or treat and then he took Craig and Kim trick or treating. He was pretty funny all covered in black on the porch-- the cauldron of candy at his feet--- he would sit very still for the little ones, but older kids... he'd scare the crap out of them. MANY were surprised that it was a real person in there when he tapped their candy grubbing hands with that sword.

The cutest kid of the night was 2-3ish... he was dressed as a lion-- he crawled on all 4 up the stairs to the porch and roared. He earned extra candy. Later in the evening, his Mom came by and asked if Craig was a Mad Scientist (he was) because her son had asked-- turned out he was a pediatric cancer patient and wondered if the folks who mix up his chemo are funny looking like Craig!! So, I said an extra prayer for that kiddo and was amazed that he could be so sick and still be a "normal" kid.

On a lighter note--- Murphy and Tiki took part in Halloween this year--- Tiki somewhat unwillingly, but she is a cat, so what can you expect!?

Murph's ready for his letter from Hogwarts! (and flying lessons)Tiki, well.... she thinks she's supposed to be making up the potions, not be an ingredient! But meanwhile she will exercise her mind control skills on you--- so watch out!

We've got hot water!!!!!

2007-10-29T16:03:00.002-04:00

The hot water heater has been the bane of my existence for the past year-- it makes barely enough hot water for a 10 minute tolerably warm shower and don't even dream of filling the tub--- Craig has heard me complain many times (and had to deal with my refusal to try and shave my legs with goosebumps) that we need a new one. Apparently my grumbling finally sunk in and this weekend he decided to attack the problem of the water heater.

After getting it drained and flushed to get all the gunky sediment out-- he pulled out the heating elements--- they were corroded and disgusting. So, after another run to Lowe's (they still are promising to finish our kitchen someday....) he'd picked up all the necessary pieces and installed new upper and lower elements into the tank-- and no leaks!

This morning I was able to take a gloriously HOT shower (and I made sure to test out just how good this would be by taking at least 20 minutes)--- WOOHOOO!!!!!! Yay for my husband, and for hot water!!! Tub test coming soon-- but at least I can now shower without freezing!!!!!

Murphy's Home!!!

2007-10-25T10:00:00.000-04:00

Murphy's finally home. My in-laws had kidnapped him for a MONTH-- and, well. it was well past time for him to come home. So yay! My puppy's back.... and shedding all over my house, sleeping on the bed, and chasing his toys down the stairs, just like he's supposed to.

Unfortunately, his precipitous return home was caused by his attempt to eat my MIL's teeny dog like creature. It seems to have most likely been a problem of two intact male dogs in a house with one female dog--- and not enough discipline--- and well, the Murphinator is about 6-7 times the weight of Charlie-- so it wasn't a fair battle-- but we're still very confident that Murph isn't going to go cujo in the night and try and eat us or anything. He's just too submissive to humans to really be a worry.

But my pup is home, and he's happy to be home, and we're happy to have him home!!!!!!

(and Charlie is home with the ILs from the vet and seems to be on the mend too)

Pumpkin Carving!

2007-10-25T09:53:00.002-04:00

Craig, Kim and I carved pumpkins last night-- general hilarity enjoyed by all-- but here are a few snapshots of the evenings work.

The final result!

HersheyPark in the Dark 2007

2007-10-21T11:02:00.000-04:00

This weekend was the annual PSU gang goes to the park in October weekend. Along with the normal crew of Becky, Brian and Eric-- Bob was back home from Afghanistan (and the deep south!) and able to come along too. Barb and Jen (and Marc) weren't able to make it this year, but-- I'm pretty sure someone drank their share of the beer just in case.

So we spent a lovely brisk night walking the park and I ate a variety of fried foods and held sweatshirts while everyone else spun themselves silly on the rollercoasters.

Here are the boys (it took 5 minutes to get them lined up... sheesh, I didn't think I'd be running kids through the park for at least a few more years!!!!?!?!?!) But at least I captured them all laughing, so its a pretty good picture all in all.

Got one picture of the gang from college

One pic of the whole group... Craig's one of us now, whether he likes it or not!

And I am finally tall enough (as long as I wear thick sneakers) to ride all the rides at the park without adult supervision (ok... not that I would always consider the folks I was with as adequate "adult supervision" but still!) We decided to memorialize this momentous occasion with a picture.

Of course, they couldn't let me enjoy that for too long before reminding me that I am still short (or ankle biter height as they put it) by demonstrating my usefulness as an arm rest.

All in all, a great evening and I am very lucky to have nutty friends who still think nonsense like this is a great way to spend a weekend!

OK Mom, Here you go!

2007-10-21T10:56:00.000-04:00

Here I am at ~20 and 1/2 weeks pregnant.
(by the way, this is the least flattering photo of me, hmm... EVER)

My poor pants won't button anymore, but the stretchy-waist ones are still too big (well... unless I want to wear them as SUPER low riders!)

I'm still down ~5lbs from where I was before I got pregnant-- but, I am starting to slowly work my way back up-- so hopefully I won't get lectured by the OB next visit.

So... yeah, stuck in that middle phase. But people I know around work are starting to guess I am pregnant and not just enjoying 7 big turkey dinners every day.

Random notes

2007-10-19T09:42:00.000-04:00

I added a new link to the sites to check out-- Claudia has started a blog... and she's the greatest (and currently the largest supplier of baby stuff (its like crack to me) that is super cute) So check it out!

Also, I had Craig take a picture to mark the Tadpole being half-baked (on a semi-related side note, the best flavor of Ben and Jerry's EVER!) -- and I am currently debating if I am brave enough to stick it on here... I think it makes me look, hmm, pudgy is probably the best word instead of pregnant-- If I work up the guts, I will try and get it on here this evening.

Happy Friday!

Deborah Kerr, September 1921- October 16th, 2007

2007-10-18T14:38:00.000-04:00

Actress in one of my favorite movies of all time. Sad to see her gone.
But she outlived co-star Yul Brynner by many years. (Smoking kills)

Now if only I could get this message across to my father-in-law and his damn cancer sticks.

HAHA.. for once one of these quizzie things was relatively accurate-- or at least gave me an answer I liked.

2007-10-18T11:07:00.001-04:00

You're The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!

by Douglas Adams

Considered by many to be one of the funniest people around, you are
quite an entertainer. You've also traveled to the far reaches of what you deem possible,
often confused and unsure of yourself. Life continues to jostle you around like a marble,
but it's shown you so much of the world that you don't care. Wacky adventures continue to
lie ahead. Your favorite number is 42.

Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Any takers? What did you get?

Vampire Kitty!!!

2007-10-11T15:07:00.000-04:00

Craig managed to cut his foot open last night-- and after a quick consult with my mom we decided it was not an ER worthy injury. So today though, he FINALLY has a check-up appt and they will check on his toe and at the least give him his VERY VERY overdue tetanus shot. Why are guys such wimps when it comes to dr visits??--- I swear, if it weren't for the injury, he'd still not be going for the shot.

I will say the injury itself I missed, I was inside when he got home-- and opened the door cursing. I walked over and he is dripping blood all over the floor. I got him a paper towel to try and sop up the mess and so we could see just what damage he had done. Meanwhile, Tiki wanders over and decides to explore her vampire side by licking at a drop of blood on the floor. Craig then freaked out-- I mean hollering like a mad man at the cat. She tore off quite confused to hide for a little while. When I came in from the kitchen with more paper towels-- I asked what they heck that had been about. His answer "I didn't want her getting a taste for blood" Ah yes dear, the cat is going to go dracula on you at night... silly boy.

Craig then dripped his way up the stairs and we got his foot cleaned up, antiseptic-ed and bandaged. Wings were slightly delayed due to the hijinx-- but all in all things are fine. He's got a half-dozen bandaids wrapped around his toe-- the duct tape ones-- those are seriously the best thinsg ever-- but since the box I had did not contain the "man's big toe" size -- I've got a bundle of them stuck all over to keep it on. We'll see what the doc says when he goes in.

Lesson learned-- time to get a real first aid kit-- and more bandaids.

Bits and pieces from the weekend.

2007-10-11T14:16:00.000-04:00

Craig's birthday party went well... I made a TON of paella, and it was almost all eaten-- and it turned out pretty well too--- this was the first time I had baked it instead of finishing on the stove. It definitely is easier to finish off baking than on the stove (and requires less watching) though you do miss out on the socarrat (crusty yummy burnedish rice on the bottom of the paella) This version was with chicken, shrimp, mussels, and some actually very good chorizo (thank you wegmans!) If anyone needs/wants a recipe-- let me know!

The department welcome party was... odd, Kim and I went, we felt-- old. 5th years, how the heck did that happen. But hey, the director of my grad program now knows we're expecting ("No really, I don't want a beer" is apparently a dead give away)

Outside of that, work has been beyond frustrating this week-- people do not follow directions-- and then I get screwed. GRRRR. Just do what you're supposed to do and it will work, if you do something else then I have no idea how to fix it. I wrote instructions for a REASON.

On the Tadpole front-- still no signs of squirming munchkin that I have noticed (yeah yeah, I know, its early, thats normal blah blah blah...) but at the follow up doctor's appointment to the ultrasound the kid was apparently moving about cause she kept having to try all over to get the heart rate. She'd have it for a second and then lose it and then look around awhile and catch it-- so that made me feel better. I also got the ultrasound report-- and it said Tadpole was "mobile"-- so I will take their word on it even though I sure never saw it. As with every OB appointment I have had, they moved my due date up AGAIN. So now they are telling me the 2nd. A couple more visits and this kid will be a Leap-Year-Day baby. Which quite frankly would be cool, yet kinda weird. Do you celebrate Leap-year birthdays on the last of February or the first of March???

Or would you prefer cheesy lounge singer-televangelist version?

2007-10-06T21:51:00.000-04:00

I want one of these!

2007-10-03T14:47:00.000-04:00

Scientist invents computer pillow to stop snoring

"A German scientist has come up with a solution for snoring -- a computerized pillow that shifts the head's sleeping position until the noise stops."

This is just to torture my mom. (wink wink)

2007-10-03T14:27:00.000-04:00

Ok... how cool would have it been if just ONCE they did the disco/reggae version?!?!?!

A couple peeks at the Tadpole

2007-10-02T15:06:00.000-04:00

Had the Ultrasound, I left mildly dissapointed but not sure why exactly-- who knows. Craig says he saw Tadpole kicking and all that, I really just didn't-- I was at a weird angle to the screen and couldn't tell when the kiddo moved versus when the tech moved the wandy thing.

Tadpole was not interested in getting in position for much in terms of pics so the tech was jiggling around to try and convince them to move-- with minor success. They got all the anatomical stuff they wanted-- the kiddo has a bladder, stomach, diaphragm, spine, 2 arms, 2 legs, 1 head with two eye sockets, one nose, and at least one lip (couldn't really tell you more than that)-- the tech said there were 2 kidneys-- but to be honest, you'd have to imagine them there, cause they looked just like everything else in there. (grayish streaky blobs). Tadpole had a heart with 4 chambers-- heart rate is about 153 (pretty much hasn't changed at all the whole time since the first time we "saw" it)-- And it appears that the skull has a brain in it.

All in all-- everything seemed normal from what I could understand. Tadpole measured in at 18 weeks (like they should) and she guesstimated weight at about 9 oz (plus or minus an ounce)

The actual doc peeked in for about 30 seconds at the end, took another look for 5 seconds and headed out. He had no comments on the baby only on that I have what might be mild placenta previa-- so I'll have to be checked again later on to see if it moves or not. His only comment on the kiddo was when asked "everything we measured seemed normal" -- not exactly a polite or social guy.

We did get a couple of pics on a disk and I thought I would share, so here you go.

Craig and my munchkin, at 18 weeks~ Enjoy!

A profile shot.

One left arm.

A left leg they tell me.

Other famous stuff that happened on October 2nd!

2007-10-02T11:52:00.000-04:00

I share a birthday with:
Ghandi (1869)
Don McLean (1945)
Sting (1951)
Kelly Ripa (1970)

Big Happenings:
1836 Darwin returns to England aboard HMS Beagle
1950 The comic strip "Peanuts" 1st appears, in 9 newspapers

2 hours 8 minutes... and counting

2007-10-02T11:46:00.001-04:00

Its my Birthday!

2007-10-02T09:03:00.000-04:00

Today is my 26th birthday and at 3pm I get to see the Tadpole. Should be a good day!

So far I got ecards today from Dad, Pepsi, my local country radio station, and my college ex-boyfriend's twin brother (yeah... go figure that one out)-- I'd already gotten a card from the in-laws and Becky and Brian (who somehow always manage to be on top of that stuff!)

So now its time to wait impatiently through the morning until ultrasound time! (6 hours and counting!)

Craig's Birthday

2007-09-26T11:14:00.000-04:00

Today is the dear husbands birthday, if you ask him, he is turning 21-- but first thing he said this morning when he woke up. "I'm old, you're married to an old man" So I think the big 30 is hitting him a little bit.

I made peanut butter brownies with chocolate frosting to cheer him up-- stay tuned for a review on those.

If you see him, Wish Craig a Happy Birthday!

More Talk Like a Pirate Day!

2007-09-19T13:30:00.000-04:00

Some lingo for the Pirattitude impaired to help with the celebratin' of the day.

Ahoy! - "Hello!"
Avast! - Stop and give attention. It can be used in a sense of surprise, "Whoa! Get a load of that!" which today makes it more of a "Check it out" or "No way!" or "Get off!"
Aye! - "Why yes, I agree most heartily with everything you just said or did."
Aye aye! - "I'll get right on that sir, as soon as my break is over."
Arrr! - This one is often confused with arrrgh, which is of course the sound you make when you sit on a belaying pin. "Arrr!" can mean, variously, "yes," "I agree," "I'm happy," "I'm enjoying this beer," "My team is going to win it all," "I saw that television show, it sucked!" and "That was a clever remark you or I just made." And those are just a few of the myriad possibilities of Arrr!

Hopin' you and your crew have a good mug of grog to toast the day!

Its International Talk Like A Pirate Day!!!

2007-09-19T12:12:00.000-04:00

More later (time for me to check what crawled out of the bung hole)

Wegmans wonderful wegmans!

2007-09-17T14:47:00.000-04:00

Mechanicsburg PA now has a brand spanking new Wegmans! YAY! Thats only about 25 minutes away. They opened Sunday, guess where I was?? That's right, I dragged Craig along to the food mecca for a gloriously piggish tour of the new store. It was a ZOO.

But, excepting the mobs of people-- we enjoyed our trip. First, at every corner there were free samples... fruit, fresh mozzarella (my biggest weakness), bagels with LOWFAT!! scallion cream cheese, breads fresh from the oven-- you name it.

Amazingly, we did not do TOO badly there-- We came home with Prima Donna Cheese (extra aged, super delicious)-- and half gone from dinner, red pears (organic, but tasty which was why we chose them), tiny new red potatoes, pencil thin asparagus (that was 1/2 the price Giant has wanted for their monster thick ones for the last month!), paella rice, DIGESTIVE COOKIES!!!! (best things ever, and even the chocolate coated ones!- got hooked on those in Spain), two fresh breads--- one a loaf of ciabatta and one a foccacia like-spinach parmesan bread (sampled that one twice!-- also half gone from dinner last night)-- Then Craig found the deli counter-- We got some yummy looking (but not allowed for me) salamis and then I saw they had lomo. Lomo is a Spanish cured pork loin that you slice for sandwiches and stuff. Its a whole tenderloin rubbed with pimenton (smoked paprika) and garlic and some other stuff and then dry cured--- the texture is jamon serrano or prosciutto like--- but YUM. They also had jamon and prosciutto-- the poor jamon hadn't been sliced at all, and if I could have justified eating it (or the price) I would have taken some home with us. But-- all in all a super successful and amusing day at Wegmans.

I hope to get back in a few weeks and check it out more carefully when it is not such a nut house-- we couldn;t get into the prepared food section at all, cheeses were SWAMPED, and I couldn't even SEE the butcher/seafood counters-- another time though-- because now its just 25 minutes away!!!!!!!

YAY! I'm getting a new niece!

2007-09-12T09:57:00.000-04:00

Craig and I got some exciting news yesterday-- Craig's sister and her family got the referral for their adorable baby girl who is currently waiting for them in Vietnam. We are both hoping for them to get over there quickly and bring her home for good! (And really, she is adorable... fuzzy haired and wide eyed--- I saw the picture!)

So yay to the whole family down there-- we're so very happy for you guys!

In other family news-- Christina is having a rough go of it-- so if you can spare a few minutes to say a prayer for her and my little brother-- they'd both really appreciate it!

Oh! And today marks 15 weeks pregnant for us! So far so good.

100 days...

2007-09-07T15:05:00.000-04:00

So today marks 100 days pregnant.
Not that this is any particular milestone, it just made me remember back to my senior year of HS when 100 days before commencement the headmistress would hold a dinner/picnic to celebrate our coming graduation. It was a good picnic, I have pictures of me on a hammock at the headmistress's house cozied up with her black and white mongel mutt (he was a cute thing, and I was VERY VERY pet deprived at boarding school) I have pictures of 10 of my closest friends piled into a red picnic table on the lawn eating dirt. The head of the kitchens made us that special dessert in hand painted flower pots-- which we got to keep-- with gummy worms and edible REAL flowers-- there is something funny about girls at 17 and 18 dangling pudding coated worms to eat and it makes me smile to remember how young we were and how everything was soo exciting back then. I still keep in touch with some of those gals... not too often any more, but thinking back on senior year and those last 100 days-- I know I was a pretty lucky kid to be able to be in a place like that and make all the nutty wonderful friends I did. I'm lucky in that my HS does all the arranging for alumnae events, and they are VERY good at it-- so we all still have current addresses and twice a year updates on where and what we are all up to. I'm hoping that some of us may be able to get together at Thanksgiving to go watch some of that demented basketball known as Brownie-Spider.

Grad school goes on and on with no predictable end, so there is no "100 days" dinner in sight for this period... but that's just the way it is, plus I think a lot of the people I know in grad school would not be as entertained with "dirt" as a dessert (all the sadder for them!)

On to Trimester 2!

2007-08-29T13:44:00.000-04:00

This morning was the rescheduled OB visit. Why rescheduled? Because 2 weeks ago (and 2 weeks before the original appt) I got a phone message that my 8am appointment had to be rescheduled for the doc to go "an emergency surgery". Now perhaps it is just me, but I am not aware of any EMERGENCY that you can schedule 2 weeks in advance-- they'd be a lot less, well EMERGENT if you knew when they were going to be. So anyway, my 10:30 appt (be there by 10 to sign in or else)-- Craig and I get taken to a room at 10:55, then sit for another 25 minutes til the doc comes in. GRRRR-- you already rescheduled me for YOUR convenience (I am not buying the planned emergency thing) and then you are LATE for my appointment-- I don't think so. ARGH. Not much I can do about it, but grrrrrrr....

Anyway, covered the basics, I'm fine, things are ok, I can finally eat again, lalalalala... all ok. She tells me the hair loss thing is "normal" -- and should go away eventually (by eventually she means by 6 months after delivery) and all is in good shape there. Then she pulls out the Doppler thing and we get to hear Tadpole! YAY! She had no trouble finding the heartbeat or anything so we found out right away that Tadpole's heart is thumping away at 16obpm she tells me (though the screen on the gadget said 154) and that is just where it should be. So that is all happy dandy news. I think Craig is glad that for a day or two I will be less neurotic about it all since all looks well and we should be in good stead for the next while. So after waiting an hour and 20 minutes, the actual appointment was all of 5 minutes long-- 3 of which was the doc trying to figure out why they'd never told me I had a UTI after my last visit and why I wasn't on anything for it!

We got the next round of appointments set up-- the BIG ultrasound (the one where they look at all the anatomy stuff and those kinda things) is on October 2nd! (which will be one heck of a b-day present!) and then the next visit with the Doc on the 5th. So, no appointments in September, and then we get to "see" the Tadpole again. YAY! So on to Trimester 2, when hopefully at somepoint I will start looking pregnant and stop looking like I ate 3 lunches at a time.

Starting year 5-- That makes it... Jesse and the Glowing Mouse?

2007-08-23T10:10:00.000-04:00

Another exciting year of grad school has begun. Marked by the halls swarming with confused first year med students so damn certain they could cure diseases in the hallway with one hand behind their backs (and maybe blindfolded) and absurdly proud of their green scrubs, another year of me hiding in the lab is here.

Lab is same old same old this week, I am still plugging away at the paper and trying to get my mice to behave. My super important took me two years to breed this damn mouse mouse, FINALLY got a tumor... (this is a good thing) so I am checking on it semi-neurotically to make sure it keeps going normally and all that-- I need this thing to live and the tumor the get big so that I can hypothetically graduate some day. So, keep your fingers crossed that this little gal is doing ok. I think I should name her... hmm, what though? I'll have to think about that!

I am now 12 weeks pregnant and wonderfully, somewhat able to eat again! (ok, don't let me jinx myself there-- its been 2 days) I have actually managed to eat DINNER for the last 2 days-- and I am hoping that this means that soon I will have regained control of my stomach! Craig and I went to my parents for the weekend and I got some stretch-y clothes-- my jeans are too snug these days even with the weight loss-- so I have been rubberbanding them to give me a few more days-- but the end of these is quickly approaching.

My next doctors visit is Wednesday--- I am excited/nervous about it-- I'm looking forward to getting some confirmation that things are going well and hopefully reassuring some of my fears-- I did not expect to worry so much-- well, at least not until Tadpole was going to school or dating or something-- but I am. So I think I may get to hear the heartbeat this time-- and from my insane reading of books and internet-- if the heartbeat is normal at that point, then the chances of my making it to a healthy baby go WAY up... which would be nice to hear. So I have to make it through 6 more days of nutty worry until the appointment-- and then 6 more months of worry about Tadpole til I can see them, and then... well... many many many more years of worry about everything else.... sheesh... I just never expected this.

Outside of that, Craig's out of town for the weekend for a Bachelor party. My parents are in town for corvette week. And I'm hoping to get some of the house dug out this weekend while I have it to myself. I am feeling less like a zombie, most of the time, so maybe some work will actually be accomplished (unless its 90+ degrees again)

Thats it from here. I'll try and get some fun science up soon!

Another week down...

2007-08-15T10:47:00.000-04:00

Sometimes my boss will say things that give me hope that SOMEDAY I may actually graduate. Someone in the lab made a comment about hoping their family's genetic diseases and their husband's family's diseases balance out in their kids... and the boss said genetics don't work that way... but I was able to explain that for multi-gene traits, that sometimes it could be possible that they do... and then comes the phrase from the boss "You know, talking like that comes from people who are almost ready to graduate." Ahhhh... now if it were only really true.

I am pretty sure this whole baby thing will set me back a ways in terms of when I graduate. I am hoping its not more than a month or 2 delay-- but in reality, who knows. I am very lucky that my boss is really understanding and seems excited for us, but -- well.. I still have to convince my committee that things will be ok. I think that should go ok as well. I am making pretty great progress on my thesis research -- and they have been happy with my progress on that-- and I am working on writing my first first authored paper (ok, technically, my 2nd-- but my undergrad research advisor was a lazy bum and never submitted it after the revisions)-- and my PhD research is WAY cooler than my undergrad stuff- so thats ok too.

Ugh.. its just a little bit of a headache.

Outside of that, I am finally working on this paper-- I've got 6 pages written so far! (and thats single spaced, normal font too-- with no pictures!) but its yet to head off for any editing, which I am truly dreading. I am just looking forward to it going out and having it DONE with. The writing is my least favorite part of science. I can deal with the mixing chemicals, mouse surgeries and tedious molecular biology procedures-- but writing, blah blah blah. It does give me a nice excuse to plop my bottom at my desk every day though-- so I am enjoying that! Our lab moved to a new room in November, and now we can have food at our desks-- so I can snack and drink my lemonade all day if I wanted (and well, if the Tadpole would let me!).

Nothing too big in Tadpole news, I am 11 weeks pregnant today (well... ok, today, yesterday, tomorow-- depends on whose due date we are using. I figured the 6th, the OB the 4th-- so we'll split the difference and call it the 5th of March) Apparently that means I have just about 2 weeks left in the first trimester-- I can't wait for them to pass! Because when they go I have the promise of my stomach returning to its normal purpose of actually being hungry and digesting food. Interestingly, it is an odd assortment of things that I actually am eating these days... strawberry fruit roll-ups, fudgesicles (see, that's calcium), pears and strawberries, and vanilla wafers, and microwave buttered popcorn have all been pretty appealing. I am trying to gak down some meats and such when I can-- hot pockets have been doing ok most days at lunch. Its not the most balanced diet-- but I figure its better than continuing to lose weight everyday. I've got vitamins and the same calcium supplements I have been taking for a while-- so hopefully, it'll be just another few weeks and I can get into the whole "eating for two" part of pregnancy. I've got my next doc visit in 2 weeks... so I am anxious to have a professional opinion that everythings looking good.

It seems I am sharing one symptom with my soon-to-be sister-in-law. She apparently can NOT stand the smell of pepperoni either since the whole chemo thing started ... how weird is that?! Speaking of Christina, please keep her in your prayers, she's back in the hospital for her next bout of treatment leading up to her transplant. So pray for a speedy and total recovery so she and my little brother can get themselves hitched.

Most Fabulous Wonderful Bestest Chocolate Dessert/Cake Thing Ever!!!!

2007-08-10T11:03:00.001-04:00

My Intern brought in the recipe for his mom's amazing chocolate cake. I will share it here-- hope you enjoy! I've eaten the final result, but never made it for myself-- so I will let you know if I figure out any more tricks!

Chocolate Delight
8oz chocolate (Lindt comes recommended)
8oz unsaled butter
8oz sugar
6 eggs
2T flour
1t lemon juice
cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 375. You will need a Bain Marie. (water bath)

1) Separate egg yolks from whites
2) Melt the chocolatewith the butter in a double boiler until smooth. Then let it cool.
3) Combine egg yolks with sugar until white. Add flour.
4) Combine chocolate/butter with sugar/egg yolks.
5) Beat egg white (I'm guessing until stiff) then add lemon juice at the end.
6) Add delicately (fold?) egg whites into the chocolate/butter/sugar/egg yolks mixture.
7) Grease and lightly flour (cocoa?) a baking dish (I would say in the 6x12 kind of size was what it looked like)
8) Bake 50-55 minutes. Let cool and then refridgerate over night.
9) Unmold (may involve a quick dip of the baking sheet in warm water (like a jello)) and coat with cocoa powder.
10) Enjoy! (that was on the instructions!!)

Fun Science of the Day!

2007-08-07T11:35:00.000-04:00

Charades at the Zoo: Orangutans Win!
"When orang-utans want a human to hand over a tasty treat, they use a similar strategy to that used in the game 'charades', say researchers. They repeat signals that work, and modify those that don't, revealing surprisingly sophisticated communication skills."

Or have they just trained us humans to give them the snacks they want?!

Beans, Beans, the Magical Fruit...
"If undercooked, a veggie meal can wreak just as much havoc on your gastrointestinal (GI) tract as improperly prepared meat, fish, or dairy products....Many types of beans contain a class of proteins called lectins. Researchers have long known that, if not destroyed by cooking, lectins can cause a severe form of food poisoning with attendant nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea."

I always KNEW there was a reason I didn't like those things!

If all they wanted was to make people sick to their stomach... just get 'em pregnant!
"The handheld device using light-emitting diodes to emit super-bright pulses of light at rapidly changing wavelengths, causing disorientation, nausea and even vomiting in whomever it's pointed at."

Now if only there was a REVERSE switch on this bugger... I would definitely buy one!

OK, thats it in the realm of random scienc-y news for the day.
My interns last day is Thursday-- so I should regain a normal schedule then.

Random updates

2007-08-01T15:40:00.000-04:00

So another week of me being a bum has passed and so time for some updates.

Work-- My boss was out last week and today our amazing wonderful lab manager is out. Its been chaos. I want to go back to my nice little world of just supervising myself and my college intern. He's actually done next Thursday-- so this week has been a bit of a scramble to get his data all together and get him ready to present it at the poster symposium. In other news... his mom makes a damn good chocolate cake. The moistest (is that a word??) cake I have ever had. Not too sweet, and then dusted in cocoa. YUM. Its like a cross between a mousse and a cake-- served chilled. YUM YUM YUM. We have been begging for the recipe... and as soon as she translates it out of French... It will be mine. I will try and share!

Home-- My kitchen floor is all done, complete with thresholds and all that kinda stuff. I can finally go in my kitchen barefoot. I also finally got a doorbell button too--- no more touching the bare wires together to signal guests or anything. Plus its easier to pick on the Murph now... the doorbell drives him bonkers.

Tadpole-- Not too much news on that front. My stomach's still not so happy with me-- and well, that kinda is depressing. Its been 3 weeks since I have cooked anything more involved than buttered noodles. And for me, that's just sad. I just have no interest in food. Oh... and one big food aversion is making itself VERY clear. Craig and his love for pepperoni being what it is, its a BIG problem. Seriously one whiff of that stuff and I could have happily thrown him and his "pepperoni quesadilla" out the window last night. ugh. Never had that response before. Craig thinks I am really nuts. Other than that though, Craig's being a really good sport with my being under the weather. I was complaining that I wasn't doing anything "useful" and his response was that sure I was, I was growing our baby. So that was sweet of him. He's also been willing to run out for whatever kind of food I mention I might possibly feel hungry for pretty much whenever I ask-- so he's been spoiling me. I've really been a lazy bum though-- I make it too work and then get home eat a little and go to bed... I don't remember the last time I went to bed at 7 every night!

Things here are good, its blazingly hot-- I want fall to get here already-- then I can get some work done around the house without suffering from heat stroke and we can get started on cleaning out and decorating the Tadpole's room.

Congrats to Mom on her latest triathalon finish! She cut 6 minutes off of her previous best swim time!! Great job!

Introducing the Tadpole!

2007-07-25T17:10:00.000-04:00

So, if the title change for the blog and then the picture didn't give it away-- Here's the big announcement-

Craig and I are expecting a new family member-- sometime in early March. I am about 8 weeks pregnant and got my first picture of the Tadpole this morning. I have scanned it in here in all its grainy glory to share with the world.

For those confused by the picture, the baby is the grayish blob inside the blackish blob-- its kinda got a line going through it, that is from the measurements the doc did today-- and is only a part of the computer processing. I am happy to report that the Tadpole is currently about 13.9 mm long (for those not into metric-- thats somewhere around a 1/2 inch) -- and that puts them right on schedule as far as growth and all that.

We also got to "see" the babies heartbeat. Granted it was only about 3 pixels on the little screen-- but they were flickering like crazy-- Apparently the flickering worked out to 150 beats/minute which is I am told just dandy and right where it should be.

So all seems well with the Tadpole! Craig and I are thrilled, both sets of parents and siblings are excited and well... things are pretty darn great!

So I will apologize for the lapse in posting, but I have been feeling kinda lousy (whoever named it "morning" sickness should be hung up by their ears from the rafters -- its more like all day any-- anytime-- don't even think about eating that sickness) Also, posting about normal day-to-day stuff while I knew this seemed kinda weird, but I wasn't ready to share yet. I wanted some more reassurance that everything was going well. And while there are no guarantees-- everything today looked just as it should-- so we decided it was time to spill. (Plus my Mom wants the pictures!) We actually found out we were expecting the same day I got my new station wagon-- so I've been sitting on this secret for a little while now. So please excuse my bad blogger-ness over the last few weeks, I will try and be better-- and they promise that I will soon regain control over my own stomach so that should help too!

New Favorite line of all time

2007-07-22T10:30:00.000-04:00

Without spoiling a single tidbit of the book, I have a new favorite line.

"She is nuttier than squirrel poo"

I got the book just after 1 am... finished same day about 6:45 am. Made Craig drive home from the store and all so I could read. :::: sigh::: No more new Potter books. But I did enjoy it!

Hope you are enjoying it too. I will discuss plot stuff on here someday when I think more people will have already finished.

Post #101

2007-07-20T15:43:00.000-04:00

I have again been a lousy blogger this last week... my only excuse is well... I'll share next week maybe, but really its pretty much that I am house sitting for a coworker and have no internet at night-- also, her being away means I have to deal with all the nonsense in the lab that comes up. (Where is the _____? Can I mix Acid and Chlorine?? etc)

I ran out at lunch today to get to borders and get my wristband for the big event. The Grand Hallows Ball tonight. I am in the second batch of people to get my book, which means I should definitely have it before 1 am!!!! YAY! OK, so no sleep for me tonight until I finish. And if you are confused as to what I am referring to-- well, you must be blind, deaf, and have buried your head in the sand for the last few weeks because tonight of course is the big release for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I can't wait... only 8 hours and 10 minutes left!!!!!!!!!

So tomorrow when I have slept some, and recovered a bit. I will reenter the world-- hopefully not mourning the loss of Harry (please please please let harry, hermione, and ron at least live... oh, and Hagrid... and well, all the weasleys (except percy-0-- he's dispensable)-- and well... yeah... I hope no one really like gets killed, but I know JK Rowling is going to kill off someone important.)

In related news, Craig and his Dad have been working on my kitchen floor this past week-- so I will hopefully come home soon to a nice finished kitchen!!! I'll share some pics as soon as the floor is done.