Last Post

I have officially decided to put this boring blog out of its misery. I have realized that I can't really keep up with it and that I would probably fare better on Facebook. Yes, I am giving into the Facebook phenomenon after avoiding it for years.

As a last update on the blog. It's Friday the 7th and my baby is due on the 10th. My nephew Justice (Jennifer's baby) was born on the 5th late in the evening at 9 pounds and 7 ounces. I hear he is very cute and doing very well. My sister is also recovering quickly. I expect to probably go beyond my due date as well, which is expected for first time babies.

I think Brian and I have everything we need for the baby, the car seat is in and the bags are packed. We're just waiting and very excited for the arrival of our little girl.

Thanks for reading and for humoring me on my first blog.

4th of July

Brian and I went to Lexington (as in Lexington and Concord) for a picnic lunch on the 4th. We sat on one of the first battlefields of the revolutionary war. Strangely, there were very few people around. In Boston, people tend to do the same things at the same time. While we were enjoying our picnic, everyone else in the hundred mile radius was scoping out a seat for the fireworks at the esplanade on the Charles River. We were glad to avoid the crowd. Perhaps we'll keep the July 4th picnic in Lexington as a tradition in our family (at least as long as we are here).

Some Questions

As you can tell, I have not been posting much. I'm nearing the end of my pregnancy with about 5 weeks left. I have had little energy to do much but work and rest. I am just in recent weeks starting to feel BIG and uncomfortable, but I guess that's how all pregnant women feel.

Some questions I have for myself: Should I keep this blog, make it into a "baby blog"? How much longer can I really keep working? What do I still need for the baby that I don't know I need? How much longer is it going to keep raining here (it has rained almost every day for the last 30 days)? Am I really ready for this life change? Can I really get any bigger? Will I have anything to wear in two weeks? Should I get a pedicure tomorrow?

Cod on the Cape

Here are some pictures from our last kid-free vacation. We visited Provincetown and some other towns on The Cape, Cape Cod that is. People from around here just say "The Cape". The last picture is of me eating at the Lobster Pot in Provincetown. I ordered the broiled Cod (since I can't have shell fish, no lobster). The fish was cooked to perfection with a tender delicate white flaky plate of goodness, served with orzo, salad and bread. It may be the best fish I have ever had. Brian ordered a seafood stew with pork, which was also very tasty. On the last day, we ate at a Portuguese bakery for breakfast. I had homemade sausage, a fresh Portuguese roll and eggs with coffee and juice--yum! To top it all off, why not have dessert after breakfast? We shared the most delicious custard filled sugar coated donut (from the same bakery) while sitting on the sunny pier. The beach pictures are from the Race Point beach area of the National Seashore, a National park. We spotted three seals feeding off she shore! I couldn't believe my eyes when the popped their heads out of the water and then dove back down with their shiny black bodies. We were the only ones there to see them. The beach was clean and pristine, with one exception, which I will post on later. We also visited the main art museum and many galleries in Provincetown. We had a great time on this trip, even if it was only for three days.

Summer is here

The weather is warming up here and summer officially begins this weekend for those of us in New England who live holiday to holiday. Yesterday the temperature was in the 90s up from the 50s only days ago. We're really excited to have my dad visiting for the weekend. We have not settled yet on what we are going to do, but my has never had trouble finding things to do. He is the most energetic person I have ever met (especially at his age!). Here are some of our ideas:
Tour Harvard/eat at Harvard Square
Go to Portsmouth NH and tour the Strawberry Bank (an original village at a major shipping yard with old time reenactment)
Go to Old Country Buffet
Hang out in Boston
See new Terminator movie

Anyways, I'm definitely looking forward to a long weekend!

Seven Years of Marriage

Today is our seven year anniversary. It's hard to believe we have been together that long. My parents are celebrating their 40th at the end of the month. I guess this is our last one without a kid!

Saturday Fun at Halibut Point

Brian and I took a short trip to Halibut Point State Park, in Rockport, MA last Saturday. I was looking for a nice place near the water to take in the natural beauty of Cape Ann. Gloucester and Rockport are nice, but often over-crowded with tourists. The state park was the perfect place to spend a few hours, hiking on trails near the water and climbing around on rocks. The area use to be a granite quarry (the actual quarry is the picture with the rocks in the form of a straight drop-off to the water). The boat pictured is a lobster boat that was picking up lobster traps along the shore. The weather was unseasonably warm and beautiful. We loved it!

I still can't believe it.

After years of preparation and about 4500 hours of supervised clinical work, I have now been approved to be a licensed mental health counselor in Massachusetts! They said I can have the license if I just send them more money! Go figure....

Anyhow, I am happy to have it, but it does not feel real yet. I keep thinking that another obstacle must be standing in the way that I don't know about. I have been working toward this license since 2004. Now, only if I could convince my downsizing agency to pay me more! Thanks to all of you for your support.

Jenny and Susie

Yes, my sister and I are pregnant at the same time! No, we did not plan this. She is due two-three weeks before me. Here we are in Florida last month. I think I'm about as big now as she is in that picture. I am so excited to meet her little boy when he arrives! Once both kids are here, it will be so funny for them to meet.

Jennifer has been trying to convince me to get on facebook for the last couple of years. She apparently has posted some pictures from the vacation. This picture was taken by my sister-in-law Anna, a great self taught photographer. I often use her nature pictures from her blog as my background on my computer at work.

For Easter, Brian and I plan on going to church in the morning and meeting some friends at the Indian Buffet for lunch. Then we may catch a movie or watch the latest episode of Lost. I hope you have a great Easter!

Update at 5:34 AM

I had been lying awake since 3:15AM and decided to get up around 4:15AM. Maybe my body is preparing itself for having to be up at night for the baby. For some reason, I have been consistently waking up around 4:00PM for the last 8 years or so. It's has not really bothered me until recently now that I'm having a hard time falling back asleep. My elderly neighbor is also up right now too; I can hear him watching the mass.

Since it's Sunday morning, I don't really mind. I have spent the last hour and a half online looking at baby stuff from Ikea. I am not a very creative person, but I've found myself nearly obsessing about the design of my baby room. I like the traditional looks of baby rooms, but I don't see myself having one. So I am so far taking it upon myself to design my own room and to make curtains and other items on my sewing machine. I also have these strange ideas for wall hangings and things hanging from the ceiling. All of the designs are based on a print I bought in the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

I posted this image in January but didn't say that I actually purchased it for the baby's room. Since my last post, our little one seems to be doing very well. She is moving around a lot, especially when I want to go to bed at night! I have felt very good in my second trimester and much of my energy has returned. I am still working full time plus, but working on pulling back and delegating. You can never anticipate any complications before, during or after the birth. My doctor said the other day "Right now, a lot of people can do your job, but no one but you can take care of your baby."

Brian is studying for his general exams, 4 of them. He'll be taking them in May. Please pray with us that he will pass them. He has been studying for months and months and has a lot on the line.

That's all for now. Here's our little girl in our last ultrasound a month ago. She's so cute!

Girl or Boy?

We had an ultrasound yesterday and it looks like we are having a girl, although we can't be 100% sure. The technician was clearly very experienced and good at her job. We are very happy to find out that our baby is developing just as she should be. Everything is on track. When I was young, my parents sometimes dressed me in green or purple. My sister Jennifer was more of the pink twin. I like this outfit with both colors.

I need a vacation!

Luckily, I have planned to go to Florida in two weeks to see my parents. My sister Jennifer is coming from Minneapolis and my sister-in-law Anna are going to be there with my niece and nephew! I am so excited. (This picture was taken on my last trip to Florida to see the family. Counter-clockwise from right to left is Simon, Jennifer, Mom, Grandma, and Dad.) I have not seen the kids since Christmas of 2007. The weather here is cold again, and a "wintry mix" is predicted for tomorrow. Sundays have a 4/5 chance for winter weather of some kind lately. Who decided that "wintry" is a word? How come weather people are the only people who use this new word. It's a stupid phrase that makes me angry when I see it.

I am now into my second trimester of pregnancy and feeling okay. I have more energy day to day, but have had more problems sleeping. Partly because I can actually feel myself growing in the middle of the night! It's weird. My organs definitely feel out of wack. Imagine how fun it was for me to shop for a swim suit for Florida today (sarcastic tone). Thankfully, I found one I can actually do some serious swimming in.

I have also have accomplished the large task of putting together my license application and submitting it to the board of deciders for the state. Now it's just a matter of waiting to find out about my license. I have been working towards it now since 2004.

That's it for my updates. February has been a long month here for many reasons. Spring, come soon!

V-Day Butter Bombs

I made some cupcakes for our small group this week. After I had already poured the cake mix package in a bowl and the eggs, I realized I only had about half of the oil I needed. So I melted some butter for the rest. Hence the name Butter Bomb. They were very tasty and almost like a cookie on top. Unfortunately, they fell apart before I could frost all of them. Here are some that I salvaged. I had been wanting to do something valentine-ish. My preference was for the little red hot hearts, but I couldn't find any and had to settle for conversation hearts.

Monday Blues

It's Sunday night and I have that same feeling I have had since I was five on these nights. I don't want to face the challenges of the week. I use to feel this way about school. Yes, even in the younger grades when the rest of you couldn't wait to behold the new day. I dreaded the school bus from the very first time I saw it. I remember watching it in middle school go around the block and then approach my house. Trailing it was the homework I forgot to complete, my social phobia, general feelings of incompetency and an intense desire to hide or escape from the overwhelming tide of anxiety. Unlike school, once I get to work, I'm fine. It's just the worry of the night before and my resistant drive in the morning that seem to never go away. I have always wanted to be a "can do" kind of person on Mondays (and mornings in general), but I never have been. I'm not sure if I should accept that this is how I will always feel or if I should try to change it. If I were to change it, what could I do? I don't know....

First Ultrasound

Here's the little honey bear. That's what I call him/her. These pictures are from week 9. You can't see much on the pictures, but more could be made out in the actual ultrasound. Brian and I are very excited.

Hope and other babies

Here is a picture of Brian and his new niece Hope. He says she likes to squirm around and curl her body up. Hope was born to Brian's sister and her husband Scott on December 29th. Speaking of babies, most of you probably know that Brian and I are expecting our first child in August! I'm at the end of my first trimester and doing great.

Birthday Sewing

Today's my birthday! After a long week, it was really nice to wake up in the morning for breakfast and presents. Brian kept aside the boxes that had come from my family and his family. So I opened everything at the same time, including his gift. I feel like its Christmas again. I love all of my gifts: from my parents, table cloth, earrings I LOVE, from his parents cranberry bread, dried mangoes, necklace/earring set, a Kohl's gift card, and from Brian a SEWING MACHINE! I'm so excited to have the machine and tools to mend clothes and make basic things for the house. I have not started playing with it yet, but I'm sure I will soon! The image here is the exact machine I have. Sorry it's a little small.

Update and Chagall

Hi everyone, sorry I have neglected my already dull blog of late. As a part of my vacation, I decided not to blog. Brian and I spent Christmas in Minneapolis visiting with my sister, her husband, and my parents. We had a great time together, but man was it cold. Going back to work after a vacation is always a shocker. I've been working on my license application for my counseling license in the state. Brian is finishing up some things for the semester (at Harvard the semester is not over until mid-January). Speaking of January, my birthday is coming up soon. I have asked Brian for one of those mini-sewing machines called a shark. They sell them at Target. If you have ever tried one, let me know. I'm hoping to use it to hem pants, to patch up Brian's well loved jeans, and maybe to make some curtains. For the new year, well, lets just say I'm glad 2008 is over. It's time for something new in my life.

Pictured here is a painting by Marc Chagall called The Poet with the Birds which hangs in the Minneapolis Institute of Art. I liked it so much I bought a print of it that I plan to frame and hang soon. . .