Grandma/Grandpa Lovin' and Two Little Thumbs Up

Above are some pictures of Charlie basking in love from Grandpa Steve and Grandma Jan, who made the 6 hour trek on Monday and headed back to Iowa yesterday afternoon.  It was great to get to see them again and although he slept through most of the visit, Charlie quickly found his "nook" on both Grandma and Grandpa.  We are anxious to take Charlie back to Cascade next week so that he can meet all of his cousins and get some more lovin' from both sets of grandparents.

After a lot of debate, BJ and I decided that Charlie should see his first movie today.  Well, more like BJ and I really wanted to see a movie and since Charlie seems to have recently developed a case of narcolepsy during daylight hours, we thought we would roll the dice and see what happened.  We went armed with pacifiers, blankets, bottles and told ourselves that we would just leave if he made a peep.  Charlie did really well, slept through the first hour of the movie and when he made a little squeak I walked around with him out in the hall until he fell asleep again.  Although he slept through 95% of Sherlock Holmes he did give two baby thumbs up when we asked what he thought about the movie.  It might be a long time before we make it to another movie, but it was good for the employees of the movie theatre by our house to see me again in the flesh...I was starting to worry that they might issue an Amber Alert since they hadn't seen me in a few weeks.  Besides, I'm sure that the first step in losing baby weight is a big tub of buttered movie theatre popcorn, topped off with some Hershey Kisses with almonds that I smuggled in the diaper bag. 

Finally, a random picture of Copper and Ginger that cracks us up.  Despite having her own "large dog" dog bed, Ginger will randomly situate herself on Copper's dog bed.  In this picture, Copper was annoying her by trying to get her to play so she decided to ignore him from his throne.  Thankfully, they are both still doing really well with Charlie and vice versa.

Christmas, Birthday and BBQ Ribs

Merry Christmas!

We stayed in Kansas City this week and have enjoyed a quiet birthday/holiday celebration with the 5 of us.  We do miss seeing family, but we will see all of them in a little over a week when we take Charlie back to Cascade for his baptism.  Yesterday was BJ's birthday, so we celebrated by going out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse last night.  I'm not the best online shopper, so BJ's gifts this year consisted of the Wii Tiger Woods golf game from me and a book entitled "Why Every Son Needs a Dad" from Charlie.  Given all of Tiger's alleged misgivings, I was a little upset that I was contributing to his fortune; however,  BJ pointed out that Elin will probably split any profit that Tiger would have made off of my purchase.  Whew...I can sleep better tonight.

 I made peanut butter cup cookies for BJ's birthday and despite our best efforts to leave the cookies out of Ginger Girl's reach, she helped herself to a few while we were out to dinner.  Lucky for her, Santa already picked up gifts for she and Copper so it was too late to move her to the "naughty" list.  Thankfully neither BJ nor I have much willpower when it comes to cookies or chocolate so we ate 95% of the cookies before Ginger got her little paws on them.

Below are some pictures from our birthday dinner.  Charlie slept through the entire thing, so I am pointing to him to prove that he was actually in attendance.  I can't figure out how to get rid of our red eyes right now, so please know that it is user error and we have not been possessed by any demonic spirits.  BJ's assured me that his birthday was very nice.  Let's face it, nothing says "happy birthday" like some cinnamon butter rolls from Texas Roadhouse and a holiday-themed ram overlooking you as you eat dinner.








 





 





 







After opening BJ's birthday gifts we helped Charlie get his "Santa" plate ready.  We sampled one of the sugar cookies that I made for Santa and realized why Ginger chose the peanut butter cup cookies while we were out.  Santa managed to eat a few cookies, but probably took the rest with him for the remainder of his journey to use as weapons in case he encountered any criminals along his way.  Charlie's list to Santa was pretty minimal this year since he really isn't into toys yet.  When we woke up this morning his stocking was full some wrist rattles, toys to attach to his car seat and a few "soft" books for him to chew on.  Copper and Ginger scored some milkbone biscuits and rawhide chewies.








One of my co-workers gave Charlie this cute "Santa" plate, which will be used for many years.












Yes, I am wearing flannel penguin jammies.  We were invited to an "ugly pajama" Christmas party last December and I picked up this little number for the event.  Turns out, they are really comfy and given my knack for keeping clothes for waaaaaaaaaay too long in my wardrobe, they will probably make an appearance for the next 15 winters.










We're just hanging out today feasting on random food and enjoying "Miracle on 34th Street" and "It's a Wonderful Life".  If we had attended church this morning the whole day would have seemed very Norman Rockwell-like.

Finally, a picture of Charlie Boy in his Christmas outfit.  He just finished eating in this picture so he's in his "food coma" pose.  We hope that you all had a great Christmas! 

Oreo Crumbs and Bathtime

We've had a big couple of days in the Gehl Supple household. Charlie had his first pediatrician's appointment on Monday, went out to lunch at Panera with BJ and I on Wednesday and enjoyed his first "non-sponge bath" bath today.

I was holding Charlie earlier today and explaining to him how he was starting to smell a little and that it was time for a real bath. I glanced down at his little head and noticed little black specks of dirt. How could he possibly have gotten this dirty? I then realized that I had been eating a few Oreos earlier and the remnants of those Oreos ended up on Charlie's head. Sorry Charlie!

I was nervous about giving Charlie his first bath, convinced that the water would be too hot. It probably didn't help that BJ kept repeating the "hot water burn baby" line from Rain Man. We all survived and Charlie now smells like lavender-scented baby wash. Below are a couple of G-rated pics from our first bath adventure.

A Grandma, Aunts and Cousins - Oh My!

We were lucky enough to have many visitors this weekend...all of whom braved Iowa's winter wonderland roads to make the trek to Kansas City.

My mom, sister (Molly) and three nieces (Emma, Claire and Hannah) decided on Thursday that after being home-bound for the last few days in Iowa, it was a great time to come and see Charlie. My nieces did a great job of holding Charlie and "sharing" him with one another and Charlie loved the extra TLC. It was especially nice to see my mom and sister again when I wasn't coming off of my post c-section meds!













BJ's sister Jenn and her boyfriend Sam also came to meet Charlie this weekend. We had a great dinner with them at our house on Friday night and got to see them again on Saturday morning before they headed back to Iowa.







On Saturday night I was able to leave the house for a few hours to grab a quick dinner with the "girls" (mom, sister, nieces) and do a little bit of shopping. Charlie stayed at home with BJ and two of our friends, Gavin and Jon, and enjoyed his first guys' night by watching the Heisman trophy ceremony.




We loved getting to see so many family members and friends and look forward to a quiet week this week.

Middle of the Night Feedings and Epiphanies

In the midst of this winter wonderland, we are continuing to do really well at home. BJ took all of this week and is taking all of next week off, so it's been nice to try to get used to this parenting thing together. If Charlie had his way, he would spend 20 hours a day asleep on BJ's chest...it has definitely become his niche.

The last few nights haven't been bad at all. I've napped in the early evening, which has helped when Charlie's decided to have a little awake time in the middle of the night. I've used the mother-son bonding time to fill him in on family members and the latest current events, as well as read a couple of books. During those middle of the night hours, I/we have had a few epiphanies:

1. As scared as I was for labor and delivery, I am almost equally scared to cut Charlie's nails. I've heard all of the "tricks" (do it when he is sleeping, use a baby file, peel them off, etc.). I'm not questioning these tricks, but the thought of causing one of his little fingers to bleed is frightening.

2. "Goodnight Moon" is not for everyone. "Goodnight Moon" was one of the handful of books that I chose to read aloud to Charlie when he was known as Poppy and every time that I read it I wondered how it was considered a "must-have" baby book. Lines such as - "Goodnight light. And the red balloon. Goodnight bears. Goodnight chairs." - leave me begging for more of a plot to the story. I worried that if I questioned the quality of "Goodnight Moon" aloud before having Charlie that my "mom" card would never be issued; however, I read it aloud to Charlie last night and he was equally unimpressed.

3. It is pointless to watch the 5:00 Am traffic report when it will be another 11 weeks before I am commuting.

4. Even though I think that Charlie has finished filling his diaper does not mean that he will not have additional deposits to make during and after a diaper change. If only a little bell would ring when he was truly finished...

5. In light of the over-the-top media coverage of Tiger & Elin Woods' marital problems, BJ and I discussed and agreed that if we ever decide to cheat, we will at least be smart enough not to send any text messages or record any voicemails for said third party. Whew - I'm sure glad that we cleared that up.

6. Never buy anything that is advertised on TV, especially if it is advertised between the hours of 1-4 AM. At first I thought that I was catching a rerun of Saturday Night Live, but it was commercial for some sham-wow product and the salesman looked completely deranged and was yelling at the camera. I'm not saying that it isn't a good product, but most of the tactics used during the infomercial are similar to those used by cult leaders.

7. The last few days have flown by and the only "sad" thought I've had is that the next 11 weeks are going to fly by as well, so I'm going to do the mature thing and be in complete denial about returning to work until late February.

Happy winter wonderland to all.

Welcome Home Charlie

We were discharged from the hospital yesterday (Sunday) afternoon and have been enjoying home ever since. Both Charlie and I were beginning to think that we lived at the hospital - we were both bright-eyed and gawking at the outside world on the 10 minute drive home.

Our first 24 hours at home have been great. I think everyone is enjoying some uninterrupted sleep and just generally having our own space.

The "meet your siblings" introduction yesterday also went well. Ginger was happy to see us and has been parking herself next to the pack-n-play or outside of Charlie's room in a laid-back, motherly mood. Copper isn't sure what to think. He hasn't shown any signs of aggression, just looks at BJ or I for reassurance when Charlie starts to cry, but has otherwise ignored him. If I hear him head out to the garage and start one of our cars, I'll be concerned, but everyone seems to be ok.

Below are a few pictures of us checking out of the hospital and Charlie in his "going home" outfit. As Ty Pennington of Extreme Makeover Home Edition would say, "Welcome home Charlie, welcome home."

Day Two

Greetings to all of our family and friends. Thank you so much for the well wishes, calls, texts, emails and flowers over the last day or so. We are definitely feeling a lot of love in our hospital room.

We are all doing great. Charlie Stephen is a very sweet little boy who is doing well and I can't remember any thing other than him being important. It's amazing how one minute I was concerned with responding to work emails in a timely manner and now I'm concerned with the number of "soiled" vs. "wet" diapers, APGAR scores and his body temperature. It's great. BJ has stepped into the dad role very quickly and is quickly becoming the expert in calming Charlie down if he is crying. I think that he and Charlie's initial bonding time while I was coming out of anesthesia was really great and I'm only a little disappointed that I missed it.

I'm feeling great as well - just a little sore from my incision and moving a little slow when I'm getting up, but a very small price to pay for having a healthy (i.e. chubby) baby boy. Seriously, he has a full tummy and thighs...I may be regretting having washed a bunch of newborn onesies and sleepers :)! I won't get into the details of our labor and delivery story here (because it mainly involved a lot of laying around without any progress and a lot of anesthesia), but I just want to say that parades should be thrown in epidural's honor, Hallmark should create a card to send to anesthesiologists who administer epidurals, and the day that the epidural was invented should be considered a national holiday. I know that women given birth in hospitals, houses and huts every hour without any pain medication but I can assure you that I would not be able to do that - no amount of "hee hee whoo" would have helped. For those of you who did it without any drugs - you need to get a shirt that says "I birthed a baby without any pain medication" and wear it proudly every day. If I see you wearing said shirt, I will let you cut in front of me in any lines and bow in your honor.

We are still at the hospital and may be until Sunday, but there is a chance that we will be discharged tomorrow afternoon. We are anxious to get home and introduce Copper and Ginger to Charlie. BJ's assured me that every time that Copper has smelled Charlie's hat in the last two days, he has smiled and not shown any aggression. I'm choosing to believe that.

Thanks again for all of your well wishes - we are completely smitten and feel very blessed. Attached are a host of pictures from visitors over the last few days and one of me that doesn't look nearly as scary as the one that BJ previously posted...still a little scary, but at least without an oxygen mask and washcloth on my face.

The Longest & Best Day

This is going to be brief, as the Editor-in-Chief is napping, and I don't want to compete with her amazing blogging skillz. So I'll just share some pictures of our handsome and quite large Charlie. But lets backtrack a little. The picture above was taken when we were told that after 20 hours of waiting for Carey to dilate to 10, she wasn't going to get past 8 anytime soon. So insert the "C" scenario. Off she goes at 11pm, I was told they will be in to get me in about 15 minutes. The 15 comes and goes, and finally they say, "sorry, we need to put her under and you can't be in the room for delivery." Ugh. Right around 12:20ish, in walked 2 nurses with a baby and told me he was mine. I had to take their word for it, and after being stressed for about 30 more seconds, they passed Charlie to me, and it was over. Waterworks. Unbelievable feeling. Charlie and I hung out for a while, and around 1:15 they wheeled in the mother.

Carey will have more from here, but enjoy the pics and we look forward to sharing Charlie with all of you soon!

Last Date Night BP?

After spending the last few days cleaning every inch of our house, hanging our Christmas decorations, taking the dogs to check out a local lake, going to any movie that we had the slightest interest in seeing, we decided to make last night our last official date night BP (before Poppy). We joined the massive crowds at the Plaza and ate at PF Chang's. After taking the photo the waiter looked at the picture and said "wow, it's actually pretty good" - we weren't sure if that was a slam against me, BJ or his picture-taking abilities, but we appreciated his honesty.


It's been the two of us for so long and we've been able to do all kinds of "crazy" things (as deemed by our friends who are already parents) like go to two movies in one night, sleep in on the weekends, etc. We are more than ready for a change, but it was nice to have one last dinner to toast our "crazy" child-less memories. Finally, this will be our last post before Poppy's debut as all we have left to do at this point is wait and that doesn't make for very exciting posts.

Large, In Charge and Still Representing

Just got home from our weekly doctor's appointment with no news other than Poppy is very "comfy and cozy". I still feel really good so we'll see if there's been any progress when I go back on Tuesday morning.

All along I have said that this is not a time to attempt to be fashionable and the attached pictures prove just that. My favorite outfit to lounge around in has become my "Cascade Basketball" sweatshirt from my 8th grade year (1994) and a pair of UNI sweatpants (complete with elastic around the ankles) that I purchased at Wal-Mart in Cedar Falls for $12 during my first weekend on-campus (1998). My only regret is that you cannot see that my name is embroidered on the sleeve of my sweatshirt. I like to think that even in my condition, I continue to represent the Cougars and the Panthers. Also note that when photographed from the front, I feel the need to take the "fight song" stance. Never mind that there is no way that I could do a toe touch or jump kick in my condition, but I could still sport a mean pair of jazz hands given a moment's notice.

We hope that you all have a great Thanksgiving as our little turkey continues to cook.

What do you think this is, a Holiday Inn?

We apologize for the lack of recent posts, but we've just been waiting for Poppy to make his/her debut. We had another doctor's appointment today and Poppy seems pretty cozy and comfy with no immediate exit plans. I have been convinced that Poppy is going to arrive before Thanksgiving, but my doctor doesn't seem to think so. I told him that I've created too hospitable of an environment for Poppy and that maybe I should start drinking or smoking. Let's just say that my sarcasm isn't always appreciated.

Work has been interesting the last few days. There are a few individuals who feel the need to walk past my office every day to see if I'm still there and every day they stop and say "You haven't had that baby yet?" I'd love to respond "actually, my water just broke so if you all could boil some water and come back and help me deliver the baby, that would be great." Instead I smile and say "not yet".

We joke that Poppy thinks that I am an Extended Stay Holiday Inn, but we are fine with Poppy taking his/her time, we are just anxious to meet this little person.

Carey = 0, The Parking Garage = 3

I mentioned in an earlier post that I've been really lucky with an easy pregnancy and while that is true, there is something in our household that has not been as lucky...my car. I drive a little two-door, 2008 blue Honda Civic. I originally wanted to get a Prius, but there was a lengthy waiting list here in the KC area, so we settled on the Civic, which I really like. After previously driving a 1997 Mercury Sable and our 2004 Escape, the Civic seemed so small and speedy. So small that BJ and I nicknamed it the "Baby Car" because it was easily lost in parking lots and seemed so small compared to some other vehicles.

We discussed getting a four-door car when we realized that we were expecting, but ultimately decided that we could make that change while I'm on maternity leave after Poppy arrives and I could continue to enjoy my little Civic. A decision that the Civic resents to this day.

I'll be honest - I'm never going to be featured under a "best driver in the world" title; however, I was lucky enough to avoid any collisions or incur any vehicle damage until the last few months. In my defense, I now park in a different parking garage that has numerous cement barricades and very small spaces. Granted, somehow F-150 trucks and Hummers park in the garage, but that defies my sense of depth perception and I consider those feats small miracles.

Anyway, one of the few mornings that I wasn't feeling so hot, I was very casually pulling into a parking spot with a cement barricade on my right. I heard a scrape and instead of stopping, putting the car in reverse and avoiding any further damage, I hit the gas a little harder. Incident number 1 - a scrape along the front passenger side of my car, totally my fault. I was upset, but not defeated. With a renewed sense of paying better attention to my surroundings, BJ and I obtained a quote from a local body shop and were ready to fix the damage the following week.

A few days later, but prior to our body shop appointment, I was leaving the office and saw a huge door ding on my passenger side door. It was huge and it made me mad. Us lowly associates do not have assigned parking spots so there have been numerous issues with door dings in the parking garage. So, I decided to cancel our body shop appointment with the realization that I should wait until the policy changes for us to receive assigned parking spots. Incident 2 - a door ding that was not my fault.

Last Wednesday, I was leaving the office to attend a client meeting. For reasons completely unknown to me, I decided to "crank it" as I was backing out of the spot, despite the cement barricade to my right. Well, I heard a loud crash and watched in horror as my passenger side mirror started dangling. I pulled back into the spot to assess the damage and realized that we would have to replace the side passenger mirror. I called poor BJ to explan the latest saga and assured him that it was just the mirror. Incident 3 - the detachment of my passenger side mirror, my fault.

We were at the Honda dealership getting a new side mirror attached when we started talking about a trade-in for a four-door model. The salesperson went out to assess the Civic, came back in all wide-eyed and said something along the lines of "with all of the damage, you'll be looking at a much larger monthly payment." "All of the damage" I thought...heck, now that we fixed the side mirror it is just a door ding and small scrape on the front of the car. I shared my thoughts with BJ and said "no, it's pretty bad - I don't think you looked at your passenger door." So out I waddle to the car when I realize that it was not "just the side mirror" like I originally thought, I also managed to cause severe damage to the passenger side door.

Given the slew of damage that I've caused in the last few months, we made the decision that I should continue to drive the "less than pretty" car until my depth perception (hopefully) returns. I now get fun little emails every morning from co-workers giving me a "heads up" that they are parked six spots away from me and to try to avoid hitting their cars when I am leaving.

I would post pictures, but I feel bad subjecting the Civic to additional ridicule and I do have a few shreds of dignity left.

(Wo)Man's Best Friends

This post is dedicated to our current "kids" - Copper and Ginger. Where oh where to begin.

Ginger joined our family last fall from my brother's family after an allergy issue led to the need for her to find a good home. BJ and I always thought of Ginger as a great dog, so our conversation when we decided to ask if we could take her lasted all of 3 minutes. Ginger (a/k/a Ginger Girl, GiGi, Wolf Dog, Miss Mysterious or the "Nice Puppy" as referred to by the neighborhood kids) has been a great addition and has confirmed that we aren't horrible dog parents, Copper just has a unique personality. GiGi's personality is very calm, although she would love to chase the deer that we see on our daily walks and likes to randomly eat items just to keep us on our toes. Case in point, Miss Mysterious has been able to somehow open the bread drawer, carefully unwrap a full loaf of bread and eat every slice of bread. Or, Miss Mysterious has been able to carefully select a book from my bookshelf and nibble a little bit. I'm OK with the tattered book look, but so far GiGi has only selected books written by Barack Obama or a few books on liberalism. Clearly this raises concerns that she may be a conservative. If I start coming home to our TV on Fox News, we'll have a sit down. On more than a few ocassions than I would like to admit, we've given into her pleading brown eye ways to let her have some off leash time, only to be wandering around for the next 20 minutes screaming "Ginger" at the top of our lungs. She always comes back though :)! When Copper is acting up and being scolded, GiGi loves to play the role of older sister and chimes in on the "scolding". Because GiGi came from a house with little ones and because of her sweet personality, we are not at all worried about her reaction to Poppy. In fact, the neighborhood kids know that they are more than welcome to come up and rub GiGi's stomach, while we send Copper to the back room.

Copper (a/k/a Copper Whopper, Squirrel Puppy, Copperella, Topair, Crabby Butt, Baby) is considered our first experiment in parenthood, but if he were a teenager, he would probably be smoking, drinking and stealing our cars. Copper was a gift from BJ on our first anniversary so he has been a member of our family for over 7 years. I feel like I could write a book about Copper, whether it be the reports from doggy daycare that we used to receive, to the fact that he actually smiles, to the fact that he has "fake" thrown up when we've started talking about Poppy. Most people say that we humanize animals too much and to that I say - come and spend some time with Squirrel Puppy. A random side note about the nickname "Squirrel Puppy". Despite Gigi's mild temper, we were warned that she tended to chase squirrels. Well, when we first brought GiGi home, she just stared at Copper like she wasn't sure that he was a dog. It was then that I became concerned that she might think that he was a squirrel. Thankfully, that was one of my many irrational concerns, but the nickname "Squirrel Puppy" just stuck. Most people know that Copper is very protective of BJ and I and has snapped at more than his fair share of people. In light of this, we began "Operation Peaceful Co-Existence Between Copper and Poppy", which entailed private, in-home dog training. While we cannot guarantee what the outcome will be, we want to be armed with as many tools as possible to (1) keep Poppy safe; and (2) keep Copper, period. We're optimistic. I also envision many baby gates, but that is ok. To my mom who is probably saying a rosary right now, please note that keeping Poppy safe is our number one priority.

At the end of the day, B.J. and I are crazy dog people. We call sheriff departments when we (I) suspect animal abuse, are lifetime members of the ASPCA and can cry just thinking about Marley and Me. We've switched vets when we thought that the vet wasn't giving enough TLC to the dogs, checked out various boarding places to the same degree that some parents check out daycares, called to check in on the dogs when they are boarded, ordered birthday cakes from the local dog bakery, driven 45 minutes so that the dogs can play at the "nice" dog park, etc. It is hard for us to envision a life that does not involve a dog and I know that growing up my pets made pretty good play mates (sorry to those cats that I used to put dresses on...I didn't know any better at the time), so we are hoping that we will become one happy family - Poppy, puppies and all.

We've been told to "wait and see" how life will change when we become "real" parents and while I do not doubt for a minute that Poppy will become number one priority, we wanted to give a little shout out to our current "kids" who keep us on our toes and love us unconditionally.

I'm Smuggling a Pumpkin

Consider this evidence that Poppy is entering his/her final weeks of life on the inside. I've told BJ for the last 20 weeks that there is no way that my stomach can stretch any more...only to be proven wrong week after week. About two weeks ago cankles officially arrived at our house. I was putting my tennis shoes on to take the dogs for a walk when I saw my swollen ankle and thought, "Oh my gosh, I wonder when I twisted my ankle...weird that it doesn't hurt." Needless to say, when I recognized that giant ankle's twin (i.e. my left ankle) was equally large, I realized that my ankles were just swollen. This week, the waddle arrived at our house and I'm pretty sure that once you start to waddle, there is no going back until after d-day. We were at a wedding last weekend when a little girl came up to me, rubbed my stomach and asked if there were two babies in my stomach. I realized two things: (1) that despite the best parenting efforts, kids are some times inappropriate and (2) what the hell, I might as well eat that second piece of buttercream wedding cake. I'm not complaining though - other than a few mornings of feeling a little queasy, I've been really lucky and had an easy pregnancy. My next doctor's appointment is this Wednesday and I'm hoping that is when Poppy's Exit door is installed in my stomach.

The Caped Crusaders

Happy Halloween! Despite envisioning dressing Ginger up as the Wolf/Grandma and Copper as Little Red Riding Hood, our house was costume-free today. In the spirit of Halloween, we posted this picture of Copper and Ginger from last June. While I was inside the Supreme Court building in Des Moines being sworn, BJ decided to let Copper and Ginger have some time exploring around the Supreme Court and the Capitol buildings. This is one of our favorite pictures because it looks like they should be wearing capes and that they are upholding justice.

It's a Blog World

Greetings! We're starting this blog for a few reasons. First, we want to be able to keep friends and families updated with various happenings in our house. Second, I've never been good about keeping a journal, scrapbook or regularly taking photos. I realize that in order to document our child's life, we need to quickly become better at all of the aforementioned activities. I had to handwrite a four-sentence paragraph a few days ago and I still have the callous on my pinky as proof. In fact, when we were picking out a baby book, we intentionally chose a book that would not require a ton of information, for fear that my failure to complete such pages would cause me sleepless nights similar to those nights when I lie awake with very important concerns about organizing my recipes or trying to decide how I will organize my songs on the Ipod. Thus, we are entering the blog world to force ourselves to keep some type of record of our day to day happenings.

As most of you know, after almost 8 years of marriage, we decided to start a family and lo and behold, two weeks later I was pregnant. Almost since the beginning we've referred to the "baby" as Poppy because we learned that (s)he was roughly the size of a poppy seed on the same day that I happened to eat a poppy seed bagel...you can imagine my horror. Anyway, Poppy's estimated day of arrival is November 30th. I would like to promise that this blog will not turn into the "Poppy Show", but realistically, we are not very exciting people (i.e. it is 9:52 on a Friday night and we are watching Shrek), so Poppy may quickly become the star of this little adventure.

One caveat about the title of this blog - it is unlikely that we will post on a daily basis, but titles such as "The Weekly Soup" or "The 'Oh My Gosh...I Haven't Posted Since When?'" just weren't as catchy.

We'll end this initial post with a quick "thanks for stopping by" and if any entries provide some comic relief, that's great. If, instead, you are bothered by any of our posts, simply vacate the website and quietly call us "idiots" in your mind.