Growing Galore!

Holy cow is Sophie growing!!  You may have noticed less posts lately – that’s a direct correlation to how much Sophie sleeps during the day.  For the last week or so she’s been VERY awake during the day.  Her first morning feeding is around 6-7 (I don’t consider the 1-2 am feeding a morning feeding…however, I am starting to consider it a slow form of torture), she usually falls asleep after this feeding in my arms…I can usually put her back in her crib where she stays for all of about 20-30 minutes.  Then she’s up again to play.  Sometimes she’s content to sit or lay with me and play with a rattle or just look around.  Other days, like today, she fusses until I put her on her mat and she’s pretty happy there.  Of course, she’ll “talk” to me to let me know when I need to start the music again.  After staying awake for an hour or so Sophie works up an appetite and wants to eat again…and start the cycle again.  Today I was able to lay her down at 4 for 45 minutes (so far, I think this might be a long nap!!) which should give me a break.  Of course, I could be folding laundry right now, but I figured I’d get a post up and a new picture.

Yesterday we had our appointment at the cardiologist.  He confirmed that she has a small hole between her top two ventricles and that she also has an extra vessel between two of her arteries in her chest.  He believes both of these will resolve with age and we don’t have to go back, so things are good.

Sophie was weighed at the appointment and came in at a whopping 9 pounds 6 ounces which means that she gained a pound and a half in the last 2 weeks.  Wow!!  She’s finally outgrown newborn size and is in 0-3 months.  Every day is something new and exciting for us – things are going good.  I’m also including a riveting video (about 15 seconds) of Sophie trying to hit the rattle on her play mat – the sun rattle and the music light are her favorite toys.

Sophie hitting rattle on activity mat

Random Thoughts of the Day

• What does how you write the date (2.18.09 or 2/19/09 or 2-19-09) say about you, your style, or your mood?  It seems that I form a (perhaps unconscious at times) impression about somebody based on this fact. 
• Leads into the next thought:  If you have some completely different handwriting styles (as I definitely do), will handwriting analysis be able to determine I’m the author of all of them?
• Read The Road by Cormac McCarthy a couple of months ago (thanks to Kelly for the suggestions…Sophie’s arrival interrupted my reading of the rest of the list for now).  Highly recommend it.  Initially I was annoyed by the author’s style (you’ll see when you start it) but after just a few pages I felt that it really fit the story and mood and it kind of pulled me along from one page to the next. 
• It’s snowing…again.
• I’m tired…still.
• Sophie’s stroller has a really good shock absorbing system.  I had a chance to use it at the mall last week.  I definitely think I’d be a mall-walker today if one was closer than 50 minutes away!
• Sophie enjoys her play mat more and more each day.  Yesterday it really seemed like she was consciously hitting the rattle that hangs.  Some of the songs really capture her attention.
• I have to include a pic!!!!!

 

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Baby Me

Dug out a couple of baby pics of me when I was about Sophie’s age.  I also came across a little older one of me and Becky in the bath…we’ll have to take an updated one on this theme when her little one is here (with the babies, not us!)

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Tech Tip of the Day

For those of you who use Firefox (and I would recommend that over Internet Explorer), I’ve got a tip that you may or may not be using.  It seemed like there were times when I’d go to the same websites every time I opened the browser (email, ofoto, blog – or the 6 or so store websites I check for diaper sales).  If you seem to do the same thing, here’s a shortcut for you: 

1. Open all of the sites in tabs of one browser window (ctrl+t to open new tabs)
2. Go to Bookmarks > Bookmark all tabs
3. Name the folder something useful like “Bills” or “Diapers” or “Everyday” or “Deals” or “Shopping”
4. Browse all the sites without forgetting what you were going to look up next

One Month (tomorrow)

Tomorrow is Sophie’s one month birthday.  It’s crazy to think how much she has changed already…and even crazier to think ahead to how much more she’s going to develop in the coming months.

Tuesday was her visit with the doc.  Overall things went well.  Her height and weight are in the 50th percentile but her weight is in the 10-25% range.  She’s gaining well (one lb. since last visit) so the dr. isn’t worried.  However, she did hear a small heart murmur (which she admitted she probably only heard since Sophie was sleeping) so we’re off to the cardiologist.  Tom really doesn’t like to go to the doctor so all of Sophie’s extra visits frustrate him.  It sometimes feel like they are way too overly cautious but we understand that' it’s better safe than sorry.

Not much else is new…I haven’t heard of any jobs for next year yet, but I’m still looking.  Tom’s office relocated across the river – hopefully that should be his last move for a while.

Here’s some pics from today.  We tried to get some at Sears on Tuesday but she wouldn’t stop crying…maybe next time we’re in the city.  These aren’t up to Ofoto yet but there are some February ones (use the link on the side).  Thanks to all those who have been leaving comments on pics and blog – I enjoy reading them!

Wakey wakey

Sophie is definitely waking up to her world these last few days.  It’s nice to see her awake at a time other than when she’s hungry.  Mostly she enjoys just looking around and taking in her world.  The TV catches her attention when she’s being burped and she’s spending some time on her floor mat just looking at the toys that hang on its bars.

She’s also close to smiling on her own.  There’ve been a few moments when she was looking at me that she started to smile…I think that since we were looking at each other it was more than gas.  That’s what I’m telling myself anyway!

I oscillate between thinking she’s getting bigger and maybe her clothes are just shrinking in the wash.  Tomorrow is her one month appointment so we’ll have a chance to see then how much she’s grown.

3 Weeks & 1 Day…Today Was Supposed to Be Her Birthday!!!!

February 4th, the day that was circled in red on the calendar.  Sophie had other plans though; she wanted to make sure that we were on her schedule from the very beginning.  Generally, her schedule hasn’t been too bad but yesterday and last night were not my favorite.  I think she might be going through a growth spurt because she wanted to eat A LOT and OFTEN.  Plus, she didn’t want to be laid down after that.  For some reason she likes to be held for a couple of hours during the late night feeding.  She’s a stinker like that sometimes.  A couple of other Sophie-isms is that when she’s getting angry she starts kicking her legs…this is usually followed by crying unless she can be calmed down; the other thing that is interesting is how much she likes to either hold her hands or put at least one of them on her face or head.  She doesn’t scratch herself or even suck on them (unless she’s hungry), she just likes to have her hand on her face.  My Mom says her hand-mannerisms remind her of Grandma Peggy.

Here’s a couple of pics – Zeke got to hang out with her on the floor today.  He’s very interested when she cries.  I also included a picture from 3 weeks ago and one from today:  her birthday and her due-day.

 

Zeke & Sophie

Most have asked how Zeke’s doing now that Sophie is home and the answer is that he’s responding very “Zeke-like”.  He sniffs her from time to time and comes running if she’s really crying (usually at diaper changes), but for the most part he just ignores her.  We’ve also been trying not to ignore him – his walking frequency has decreased, but that is also in part due to the deep snow on the course.  We’ve been out a couple of times, but not too much.  We’ll work on some Zeke/Sophie pics in the future, but for now I figured I’d include one from this fall.  Oh, and we didn’t come home from the hospital empty-handed:  we brought him a stuffed bear (hopefully he will stop trying to steal Sophie’s bears from her room!)

Interesting Tidbits…

Many of you were aware of my attachment to my “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” book – well, now that Sophie is here I’m past the interesting tidbits of “I’m growing a kidney this week” and on to interesting facts about our baby that I can glean from the “What to Expect:  The First Year”.  I thought I’d share a few of those with you, along with some more personal facts about our little kiddo.  Also, since today is the last day of January be sure to check out the Kodak Gallery link to pics to see all of the pictures from this month.  Thanks to everyone who has left comments on the blog and pictures!!

• Though she sometimes gives a full smile, Sophie usually cracks a half-grin which shows an adorable little dimple on her right side (I think she has one on her left too, but she really works that right one!)
• Newborns don’t get tears until near the end of the first month
• Right now her vision is best between 8-14 inches away from her eyes
• Yesterday when Tom was holding her it was like all of the sudden she saw her hands and realized that they were hers – great expression!
• She reminds us of Will Ferrell in Talladega Nights:  she doesn’t know what to do with her hands…they drift upwards
• Some babies stop breathing, sometimes for as long as 10 seconds, while they are sleeping
• A baby’s grip is strong enough to hold their body weight when they are born

Home Sweet Home

The decision we made to move back to AuGres did not come without some sacrifices:  Tom had to leave an office full of friends, some that he’s worked with since his time at Mactec; I had to leave a full-time teaching position (not an easy find in this economy) at a school that was supportive and colleagues that I thoroughly enjoyed working with; we couldn’t sell our house so we have to deal with renting that out with the hopes (*please*) that we can sell it sometime in the near future.

There are times though when we have the opportunity to experience and enjoy the reasons that we did make the move though.  When we can wake up in our own bed on Christmas morning (one of my favorites.)  When my Mom can come over a couple of times a week to visit her granddaughter.  Knowing that Sophie will be surrounded by family as she grows up instead of just being a visitor.  Even a little thing like being able to hang out for a couple of hours and go snowmobiling with Tom’s family is something that we wouldn’t be able to do at the drop of a hat if we lived a couple of hours away. 

So yeah, despite some of the hardship and sacrifice that has come with the move (I sure do miss Dos Pesos and their steak quesadillas), it really is nice to be home sweet home.

Enjoy the pics of Sophie with her grandparents; hopefully we’ll be able to add Grandpa Grant’s in the near future.

Picture Time

I’ve started adding the pictures to Ofoto (see link on side of page).  I plan on doing this by month but instead of waiting to the end of the month, I may just add pics to the albums as they are up…which may mean that you need to check in more than once.  I’ve updated my Windows LiveWriter so now I could add Photo Albums to a post and will play with that feature a bit too.  The nice thing about Ofoto is that people have to sign in to see the pics (I know, that’s probably what you all hate about it!) so I get to see who’s dropping by and what comments you leave (yes, I check the comments).  The other advantage is that other people can order their own pictures from Kodak instead of me having to email them a copy of the file.  So anyway, more explanation than you care for but pictures will be up for you to check.  I did manage to get one picture with the glowworm before we returned the bili light.  I meant to get a better one but I was tired.

For now, you can busy yourself with adding a caption to the picture below from today…I’ll pick my favorite (if you can come up with a good one) and add it to the top of the blog.

Chickity China, the Chinese Chicken

It's been one week! 

It hasn't really seemed like a week (in many cases it's felt much longer) since we just got her home a couple of days ago but the calendar doesn't lie.  We had our first doctor appointment today.  Things are good:  she's gained 4 ounces or so since leaving the hospital on Saturday; her bilirubin level was low (lower than yesterday's stick at Standish too) so she can come off of the bili light; everything seems to be progressing normally.  The combination of these things means that we can take her off of the formula (going to follow her weight the next couple of days) since we aren't as worried about flushing her system.  This should be helpful for breastfeeding - we've had a bit of an uphill battle on this since I didn't get to start for a couple of days due to the CPAP that was in her nose.  Here's an updated pic; look for more in a photo album probably around the end of the month.  I'll also try to get a "glowworm" pic before we send back the bili light.

Sophie Lynn Fox

It's official: Sophie Lynn Fox made her entrance to the world on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 at 4:19 am. This post is a bit long in part to make up for all of those emails I have been neglecting for the past month (sorry to everyone...it probably isn't going to get much better but at least now I have an excuse!)

Pre-Game Action

So, I get up at precisely 5 pm on Monday to start dinner (spaghetti for all of you wondering minds) and what happens when I get to the sink? My water breaks. So after a few minutes of "Is this really happening?" and 3 trips to the bathroom (which pretty much confirmed that, yes, this is really happening) I call the doctor on the after-hours line. Of course, that means that they have to page him. I use this time to go ahead and pack my bag for the hospital (really, I was going to get to that this week!) but I still haven't called Tom because I didn't want to tie up the phone since I'm still waiting for the doctor to call back. After about 25 minutes, I call and page the doctor again. Tom shows up at 5:35 to a car seat and bags by the front door; the look on his face was priceless. All I could say was "Are you ready?" - which is a statement full of meaning. Finally the doctor called back, we finished throwing stuff in the suitcase, and we were on the road around 5:45.

Game Time

When we showed up at the hospital we went straight to the 4th floor (good thing we did the "dry run" a couple of weeks ago) to check in. Unfortunately for us, it was about 6:50...10 minutes before shift change. No one wants to take on a new patient before shift change, too much paperwork apparently. So after trying to check in at the 1st desk, they sent us back to another desk where there are 6 or so nurses just sitting around waiting to go home. I tell them my water broke and their response is "Are you sure?" This was the beginning of their doubt that lasted about 20 minutes before they finally got me in a bed and checked things. Turns out that yes, I'm not crazy, that crazy leaking indeed means that my water broke. Unfortunately for me, I was not dilated and my contractions were weak and sporadic. The solution? Pitocin. Ugghhh. So, they let me take a shower and then they started the drip and the results were pretty immediate. The nurse came in pretty frequently and upped the levels from 2 to 4 to 6. By the time she got to 6, I was having pretty much a non-stop contraction so she mercifully turned it down (and eventually off since my body took the cue and was handling the whole contraction thing on its own). They did give me some drugs through the IV at this time, but it didn't seem to do much (and I was only at 1-2 cm). I asked for an epidural, but they wanted to wait a couple of hours to see where I was at dilation-wise. When they did come back to check, I was at 3-4 and absolutely hating contractions (I must have spent about another 30 minutes in the shower just trying to find something else that would make things better). They agreed it was a good time for the epidural but it took another 45 minutes or so for the lady to get there with the giant catheter to insert into my back. Ah, but relief was not to be mine. The drug only worked on the right side and then not much at all. They called the anesthesiologist back after 30 minutes or so and they tried to move the epidural back a bit, but that didn't make a difference. By this point, my uterus was trying to push without me so they checked again and I was unexpectedly at full dilation so they called in the doctors and we got ready to end the whole experience. Pushing only last about 15-20 minutes (I was very motivated to end the pain) and we had our baby girl. Tom was absolutely fabulous during the whole process (and everything that we've been dealing with since) - I really don't know how I would have got through everything without him.

Post Game Reaction
When Sophie came out she did good on her Apgar score (9) but she was grunting as she breathed. Because she was technically early (1 day short of the magical 37 weeks (which is 3 weeks short of the even more magical 40 weeks)) they didn't want to risk that she had an infection (because of my water breaking she could have been exposed to something and when I showed up I had a temperature) that could be causing the problem so they told us they were going to take her to the NICU for 24-48 hours to monitor her. I got to hold her for a couple of minutes, and then they took her upstairs. After a couple of hours, they moved me to a recovery room where I'd stay for the next 48 hours.

The Ordeal Continues...
We were in for quite a shock when we went to see her in the NICU - she was in an incubator with a large tube in her nose (not those little oxygen things you get after surgery, this thing had to be strapped to a hat on her head). She also had a tube down her throat because the air they were forcing in can make them bubbly so the tube relieves that pressure. And it doesn't end there: There were leads attached to monitors, a temperature sticker, and a blood oxygen level thing attached to her foot and worst of all was the IV that was in her arm and the board that held it all straight and together. She looked rough, especially since we were just expecting her to be observed for a little while, we didn't fathom all of the stuff that they had going on. The days blend together, but basically the theme is the same: she was doing fine, but there was just one more thing she had to do before she could go home. She had to pass her blood culture to prove she didn't have an infection before she could come off of the antibiotics. Glucose levels had to be stable and she had to be eating regularly before they could stop the IV. She had to prove she was eating x amount before the IV could come out. We finally got her to the crib and out of the isolette and felt like we would be home in a day or two when we showed up for the 9 am feeding and she was back in the isolette with a bili light above her. Her jaundice levels had spiked to 16.9 (12 is their threshold before they do something) so she had to go under the light. It was pretty demoralizing because things that most people deal with at home had to be solved before we could get her out of the hospital (a fact that the doctor admitted). Two more tests had her levels drop to 14.9 and then to 11.4 after 8 hours so she made progress there. They finally decided on Saturday (1/17) that we could go home if we got a bili blanket to use until at least Monday when we'll get her levels checked again. We ran like the wind before they could change her mind!

Home Sweet Home

We are finally home and enjoying our little Sophie. She's a cutie (hey, aren't all parents biased!?) and is settling in nicely. So far she's not a fusser, preferring to sleep long and often. I think she looks like Tom, her head seems to be the same shape. Her cutest trait is the smile she gets sometimes when she's farting - it cracks me up. She sometimes gives a full smile, but usually she just grins on the right side...which shows an adorable little dimple. She's got some long fingers too...all the better to palm a ball with! We're enjoying getting into our own routine - my Mom has been over with dinner and help the last couple of days so that's made it nice. Ingrid picked up a couple of sleep gowns (we were planning on a bigger baby!). Sandy came over to rub the fluid out of my feet (they are swollen to an absolutely ginormous size). Mike has been keeping our driveway plowed (especially nice since we came home in a snowstorm). We've had good help and well-wishes and now we get to take the time to enjoy our little kiddo. Thanks to everyone who's called, emailed, texted...sorry I haven't gotten back to you. In the meantime, enjoy the pics!

Instant Feedback

OK, another idea I'd like to see come to fruition (and hey, maybe you could pick up some ad dollars in the process) is an Instant Poll.  I'm not talking about sites to create a poll (there are plenty of those), I'm talking about a feedback site where you can log in and comment on open polls set up by people.  I envision this as a way to get some extra feedback in a more immediate sense than the methods that we have now.  The reason for this epiphany:  we are probably going with the barn picture for the wall...now we are stuck between a couple of choices.  I'd like to get a bunch of opinions in just a few minutes so I could order this pic, but that's not going to happen.  I think the site would work, maybe an offshoot of something like Yahoo Answers or as a standalone.  OK, I guess that's it.  In case you were wondering, these are the two pics we are torn between.  Tom likes the wide angle because it shows more of the mountains.  I agree with that point but I think that the green trees at the edges are distracting from the barn and and the mountains.  So we'll see...

Decisions, Decisions...

So, now that we have that whole baby name thing out of the way, I'd like to invite everyone (so that means mention this to your friends because the more input, the better) to help us decorate our house.  We have a large, empty wall next to our fireplace (it seems extra large because the ceiling is vaulted there) and we wanted to put up a 20x30 picture that we took on our road trip.  I'm giving you two options to choose from for the simplicity of the poll, but if you don't like either of them, that's fine.  If there is another picture you like better (from the 1000+ I'm sure you all took the time to look at from ofoto.com), then just comment onto this message and let me know (you can choose the "other" option from the poll or pick your second favorite pic from the choices given).  OK, simple enough, right?  Now decorate this house!!

On a side note, I'm now using Windows LiveWriter to author the blogs.  It posts to Blogger directly, and does offer me more options to edit what I want to create.  If you try it and have any feedback, let me know and I can bug Brandon to make the changes that we want to see!

These are a few of my favorite things...

So I was doing laundry today (I know, exciting!) and got totally wrapped up smelling my clothes. No, this is not just a pregnant thing, I've really been excited about how my clothes smell out of the laundry for awhile now. I took time to smell all of the shirts before I fold them! I think the best smell-a-licious combination for me is Tide and Snuggle sheets (I'm using the blue ones now, but I think I'm happy with purple too). I wish I could bottle that smell and carry it around with me for a pick-me-up or just as a calming scent.

Some other favorite things from today:
- Watching Zeke decide whether or not to get off the deck and into the snow (and trying to judge how deep it is). This is a big step for him, usually he would just walk off the end of the deck into the snow (it's flush with the deck right now) oblivious of the fact that there was a drop off. Oh, and I like it when he gets all excited while running through the snow (he alternates between bounding leaps and just running straight (which is basically like tunneling through it!))
- Sharing a laugh with Tom while playing cribbage (it had to do with scoring points and runs and well, you probably had to be there and even then you might not have thought that it was that funny!)
- Making noodles for homemade turkey noodle soup (took out the last of the leftover turkey from the freezer). Did a little something different with the noodles, they turned out good.
- Watching the snow blow around the corner in the back of our house (it looks like we're in a snow globe and somebody is shaking it.)

What are some of your favorite things? Add a comment and let me know!! (To add a comment, click on the link just below this message that says "0 comments" (unless someone else has commented and then the "0" will change to a "1", "2", or whatever). Thanks for sharing! Merry Christmas (soon!)!!

Hello again...remember me?

OK, so I've been lousy about getting around to updating the blog. Don't take it personal, I think about doing it every day, I just haven't gotten around it. So, the quick wrap-up:

Thanksgiving
We had Thanksgiving here this year for Mom, Mike, Sandy, Kenny, and Jeff. It was a really good time - and the food turned out good. It was really nice to not only be up here for the holiday but to also be at home...it's something that we really missed out on downstate. We still went to Ingrid's, but that was moved to Friday (and we could finally bring a dish to pass (it always seemed too much of a hassle when we'd have to come up Wednesday night and then either make something up here or bring it up) so that was nice). The nice part about the house is that it makes entertaining fun because the floor plan is so open.

Baby Shower
Well, it snowed on the baby shower but it was great to see the people who were able to make it up! For those that couldn't, I can't wait to see you all soon, hopefully with a new addition to introduce. I can't say thank you enough for everyone who made the shower a success and for all the wonderful gifts and well-wishes. Everything is set up in the nursery now so if you're ever in the neighborhood, feel free to drop in and say "hi"!

32 Week Ultrasound
We had a 3rd trimester ultrasound at our last appointment. It was a very quick appointment, mostly just for measurements and stuff, but we did have an interesting highlight: she stuck out her tongue at us! We got quite a kick out of that one! Everything is going good and we have less than 8 weeks before we hopefully get to meet our newest addition.

Name
It looks like we are leaning toward Sophie Lynn Fox for a name.

Well, that's the gist of what's been going on lately. I hope to get around to getting pictures up soon - those of you who saw Road Trip pictures 6 months later know that this is not a new issue with me!!

Winter Musings

Big fluffy snow. That's what I think of when I think of winter and that's what we're getting today. When I took Zeke for a walk I had time to think all sorts of thoughts and now I'm sharing them with you.

I know some people don't like winter, or snow, but I really do enjoy it. People say that it's the "gray" of winter that they don't like, and I pondered that a bit while I was walking. With the snow falling (I'm talking big flakes, like in a snow globe), the world was even more grayer than usual, but I found it beautiful. The paradox of sound being muffled by the snow on the ground, yet being carried to me from far away by falling flakes is truly thought-provoking. So I kept thinking...

Yes, I think a lot. I'm an only child, what do you expect!?

I went back to the "gray" argument and I found a way to turn it on its head. Yes, when you look out at the world in general today, it's gray. But if you look closer, or deeper, you see the bursts of color that abound. Surrounded by such a stark landscape these colors have a chance to shine, to be noticed when they would usually just be seen as background. The muting of color, of sound, of light - that also gives you time to clear your head and focus. That's what winter can do for you: it can erase the distractions that are ever-present in the over-stimulated sights and sounds of our lives and allow you to clear your mind and focus on the present.

So what did I do with my newfound focus? I tried to catch snowflakes on my tongue! (Zeke has a different method, when he's jogging he opens his mouth and drags the bottom of his jaw through the snow...to each his own!) This always reminds me of my Grandma Peggy. I was walking with her one day and she had me stop as we both tried to catch snowflakes on our tongue. It's one of my favorite memories of her and one that comes back to me every winter.

My task to you is simple: Clear the clutter and take time to enjoy the little things. Then I want you to take it one step further and start making cherished memories with loved ones...memories that they will recall with a smile, even when you're not around.

Future Moneymakers...or something

First of all, you may have noticed the Book List on the left. Since subbing leaves me with some free time during the day, I've been reading more lately. When I come across something worthwhile, I'll throw the title up there. I'm also looking for suggestions, so if you have a book that you thought was interesting, send me the info along. Libraries ROCK!

I'm also including a list of ideas that I have for future inventions/innovations. I think that it's worth mentioning that I thought of the picture frame with memory card WAY before it even started appearing on the market. However, I usually forget these ideas (I already forgot some that I wanted to include here) and will probably never do anything with them. If you have the desire to help me develop any of these ideas, let me know!

Here's what I'm thinking of lately:
Combination Long Lighter/Scissors (maybe with little drawer for discarded wicks) - this is good for all those times you go to light a candle in another room only to realize that you need to trim the wick first (they burn cleaner with short wicks) so then you have to go back in the other room to find scissors. I know, minor inconvenience but inventions have been successful on less hardships.
Meal Planning on Website - This could be a tie-in for a site like AllRecipes. You would put in the recipes and what time you want dinner to be done and it would break down your meal into a spreadsheet that would list all ingredients needed (for all recipes combined) on the side and then would have a timeline for starting/prepping food and when food needs to go in oven or whatever.
Baby Looks Like... - Could tie in to one of the many baby/parenting sites. This would be similar to the "hot or not" concept of sites. People could upload a picture of their baby/child as well as a pic of each of the parents. Then people would have a list of things and they would choose (maybe a scale of 1-10) if it has Dad's eyes or Mom's nose (or just pick middle for not sure) and then they could also pick an overall "Like Mom" or "Like Dad"
Battery Converter Plug for Lamp - Ever want a lamp in the middle of the room but don't want to run the cord across half of your floor? This would be the solution! It would use battery power and you could plug a lamp into it for a power source (could also have room to wrap/store cord inside of the little power pod)

Well, those are the ideas I have now. Maybe some day I'll find a way to make them come to fruition...maybe with your help!

My computer is back!

I just got my computer back from Best Buy. My laptop stopped turning on...never a good sign. It was still covered under the 1-year manufacturers warranty so they sent it back to Gateway. Gateway had to replace the motherboard and so far, so good. I do want to through out a plug for Best Buy though because normally I'd be complaining if the service wasn't good, but I only have wonderful things to say about the Saginaw Geek Squad - they really went above and beyond (took out my hard drive first so I wouldn't lose everything) and were fabulous. Kudos Best Buy!

Things are pretty much settled in here. Zeke is getting used to his new place. He's loving the fact that the golf course is closed right now because that's where we take our daily walks and there are plenty of squirrels to keep him busy. Today we ran into someone else walking her three dogs out there, so there was plenty of butt-sniffing to keep him happy.

I think our little one is destined to be known as the little alien. For those of you who saw the early ultrasound pics, you understand this. Seriously, she look like an alien. Some people call their kiddo peanut (because of the resemblance to the legume in these early pictures); but not ours. No way, she's all alien. Of course, the feelings of something growing and stretching and moving inside of you definitely adds to the sensation. Last time I checked, peanuts didn't do that!

Upcoming events include Thanksgiving at our house (I am SO looking forward to celebrating the holiday season without massive travel), Thanksgiving at Ingrid's, the baby shower on the 6th, and then a 32 week ultrasound on the 10th. Busy times, won't be long now!