Happy Birthday (and good job walking!) Fletcher!

Happy Anniversary Taylor. The year of fruit...

cake for breakfast... See-coworkers really do serve a purpose in life-it is to have birthdays!

there was a dump truck and a backhoe in my yard when I left for work today. this can only be a positive sign for the creation of my yard!

filed our taxes last night at 10:00. Keeping my money as long as possible before I give it to George and his boys!

I live in the middle of a construction zone! they aren't building houses right now...they are breaking apart rocks with a jackhammer on the front of a bulldozer. Yeah-that is about as quiet as it sounds. no big deal really, unless you've got a 5 month old desperate for a nap! He got a good 30 minutes in before they hit a really big rock and woke him up. Luckily, we ran some errands in the car, so he was able to get a nice rest there. Back home now (obviously) and we saw the rock breaker guy leaving for lunch. Grant is happy-as he is still napping! Thank god for small miracles!

Yes, it is Monday. Yes, I'm home today. Grant's daycare is having some medical tests preformed today, so I get a bonus day with the Babe! We've been productive so far today. We dropped off the dry cleaning, got the car inspected, mailed a package, went to the bank and had lunch. I've made brownies while he is sleeping and when he wakes and eats, we're off again visiting friends. Taylor will be at work very late tonight (it's that time of the month) so G and I don't even have to worry about getting home in time to make dinner. We're looking forward to some fun visits!

Speaking of funny-Grant started baby food yesterday. He had been having rice cereal and baby oatmeal. Yesterday we added carrots to the mix. He likes carrots about as much as I like carrots-which is not very much at all! why do people cook carrots? they belong raw and in the baby form. But, that is neither here nor there-he was super funny eating them. Taylor managed somehow to get some up his nose! he was covered in orange. Sadly for him, he's got 3-5 days of carrots before he gets to move on to the next veggie of choice. I hear they start to like things by the third day or so. I hope he does learn to like carrots-he's fighting an uphill battle with eyesight and could use all the help he can get.

remember when my blog used to be funny and cleaver? I miss those days too. Perhaps once i sleep in stretches that are longer than 2 hours I'll find the funny again.

Yes-there will be cake at the birthday party. It is a babes first party-there will be cake. there will be cake on the kid, on the floor, on the dog, you name it! I will be partaking in said cake and will be excited about it. I'll miss Jenny, who usually gives me the frosting from her cake (and admittedly, I sometimes give her the cake from my frosting), but we'll soon be caking it up together at Bricker's wedding! At least, I assume there will be cake...it is a 10:00 am wedding though...I'm calling for conformation later this evening! all of this cake talk is making me hungry! I'm going on a food hunt and hoping for cake in the dining hall!

G-man got invited to his first party! Friend Fletcher is turning one! What to bring for a gift, what to bring to add to the time capsule (that's the theme), what to wear! Such big decisions for such a tiny guy!

longest. week. ever.
I don't even remember Monday anymore. It is possible I'm wearing the same pants today that I wore then...they're clean so I guess I really don't care. Just an observation!

nothing big going on this weekend. one of Grant's little friend's and her parents are coming over tomorrow to get some boxes. they're moving because they're having a baby (she's secret baby 4-not a secret anymore) so I volunteered our boxes in an effort to force us to unpack. Sadly, we have a neat recycling program with our trash company where we get points good for gift certificates for the weight of our recycling. We would have probably received a ton for all the boxes, but it seems a better idea to actually save the earth than to just pretend to by recycling.

we bought school house rocks on dvd for Grant. We're trying to find out how to pull the audio from a dvd so we can play it for him on our iPods. Grant isn't allowed television, so if any of you know how to do this, give us a call and become our hero!

it's raining here and I'm tired of it. I love my super quick baby walks with G-man after work and we certainly can't get them in with weather like this. I think the air is good for him. Helps him sleep better-or at least pretend to sleep better! I think Sunday is supposed to be a better day. I long for spring!

wow! no comments on the eating picture. I thought that face was worth a million words! You should see the faces now-sheer joy! unfortunately, Taylor has trained Grant to hate the camera because he chases him around the house with it all the time, so whenever he sees it all of the joy slides away. We may never have a photo of him being a smiley boy!

NKOTB, by the way, is a reference to New Kids on The Block who are going on tour again after 20 years. I was their target market then and I am their target market now. They've got the right stuff, baby!

NKOTB BABY!

Promised eating picture...food is yucky!

make that almost secret four...and then as of this morning, officially secret four. see previous notes about not you or me...

Apparently, if you know me, you get pregnant. This is much like affect on animals at the zoo. I've got photo proof to show that I'm an animal aphrodisiac. I'm definitely not chaperoning any school field trips...no one wants to answer those questions to a bus full of 2nd graders!

despite my awesome few round of the NCAA tournament, I believe that I'm out, or all but out of my 16 person pool. Yes, I predicted three great upsets in the beginning, but Tennessee really messed me up. I've got two teams left in the final four (UCLA and Kansas) but it doesn't look good. The real problem with the bracket is if you pick all chalk you get hammered by people for being a front runner, but in the end, these teams are highly ranked for a reason. That's okay-I'm still proud of San Diego and West Virginia. And I'm still bummed about Davidson...and the sad thing about the tournament is that while everyone is excited when there aer 64 teams, but time it gets to four almost no one has a chance at winning their bracket and so no one really cares in the end who wins. Go UCLA just because someone should still be excited for you!

For those keeping score, I'm feeling better. I've got a voice again, though it isn't fully back. Still, it is no where near as bad as it was on Friday morning when I was trying to leave a message for work that said I wasn't coming in. I was afraid they wouldn't be able to even understand what I was saying! A few good naps and a nice bath in the big girl tub later and I'm on the road to recovery! If only our dvd player had been hooked up (or you know, found in the pile of box rubble) and I could have watched The West Wing...

I think Victoria Beckham is an unattractive woman. I'm sure she's got a hot body, but her face is just ugly and her hair is so severe! She's not my spice girl of choice.

Don't mind me...the cold has taken over my brain! Things stopped making sense 4 hours ago!

Houston-we have cereal! The photos are a riot. We'll upload some over the weekend so you can all play along in the battle of Heather versus the slightly less sleepless monster. This stuff must taste gross given the look on his face, but he's catching on now and is starting to get the fact that we swallow food, not mush it all over instead. too funny!

I've got a third secret pregnancy now. It is still not you or me though, no worries!

Making some predictions now.
I'm taking Brooke in American Idol. I don't see television, but I've seen her perform once and I like her, so she's my gal. Sadly for her, I'm only right every other year and I picked Jordan Sparks. She will likely go the way of Katherine McPhee-second place is first loser.
For DWTS I would like to take Marlee Matlin because she's from the West Wing. However, she's deaf and so this gig is going to be up eventually. I think I'll take Jason Taylor because he's hot. Why not?
And I don't think Sarah Chalke (Second Becky) is the mother on How I Met Your Mother. Just an observation. and how excited and I that Scrubs is getting picked up for an eight season by ABC. I love that show. It is funnier than anyone anywhere gives it credit for.

I've become obsessed with playing scrabble online on facebook. if you want to play with me, I'm more than happy to play. I'm always playing at least three games at a time...though Jen's silly husband (we don't say stupid-it isn't nice) isn't willing to play with me :(

Great dinner last night with Julie! Who knew that working late could have perks. Of course, after dinner I went to a meeting where two of the eight people actually fell asleep. Yeah-my job is so important...

best quote ever
"mothers are the ones who love you even when you pull their hair"
I love my mother! call yours!

my. kid. never. sleeps.
ever.
this means I never sleep.
I like sleep.
I miss sleep.
I'm tired.

On another note, my bracket is in and I've picked UCLA to win it all. I'm not sure why, but I have. That said, I still pull for Tennessee every year because they are the Volunteers and my summer work-study student goes to school there. Little Megan (that's what we called her) was a sweetheart, so I assume all Vols are too. Plus that yummy Peyton Manning...

and football talk leads me to this troubling statement...I planned an event on draft weekend. I know! Unheard of! I already had to come in for a big part of the day, so planned a new meeting at the same time to take away an additional Saturday away from the baby. sadly, this means I'll miss at least the first 10 draft picks. This is Grant's first draft! I would so much rather miss Easter. Draft day is a family holiday for us. I hate how I'm letting my boys down.

Easter Parade is this weekend in our neighborhood. G-man is too small to participate in the egg hunt or march in the parade, but we'll toss him in a stroller and take him down to show him off and hopefully meet some more people. I think he might wear his I like turtles outfit. It looks like a baby Lilly outfit-Emilie will especially like it!

I work for the Catholics-I should have today and monday off. If I never switched jobs, I would have to day and monday off. I miss my old work. I'm quite literally the only person on the floor of my house at work. I'm thinking of trying to organize an Easter candy hunt for those of us left behind.

Jumping back to bracket talk, my friend JT picked UNLV to win it all. She's obviously not a sports person and tends to pick based on funny names and good school colors. This time she picked using UNLV as an acronym...U. Need Louis Vitton. Seriously. This is why I simply adore her. I took Temple in round one because of Alexander. I hear he's having a horrible, terrible, very bad day. I also took Clemson because I think all schools should have orange as a school color and ND because I'm keeping the Catholic school pride alive.

Lunch meeting in a few. I can only assume it will be a soup day because the students aren't here but the cafeteria is open. This means they'll try to pawn off all kinds of gross things on us in Faculty Dining. As long as the soup isn't clam chowder I'm all set.

Hoping to get my hair cut tomorrow. I've got a half an inch of roots. Motherhood is slowly killing me. I don't shave my legs everyday anymore-which I've been doing since I was 12 and the only time I've ever had distinctive roots showing was in my first trimester of pregnancy when I couldn't get my hair colored. I look terrible.

I know of two secret pregnancies right now. It is the coolest! It isn't you or anyone any of you know (and trust me-it isn't me) but both are super exciting. I can't wait to hug these girls when I officially know. I've got a bunch of other pregger friends (I would have said knocked up-but that bugs Julie :) ) too. It is a fun time. I hope they all sleep a lot now.

God I'm tired! I love him, but he is killing me. I would estimate about 5 hours sleep total in the last 3 days. No more than an hour at a time. He goes to the doctor tomorrow and hopefully they let him start some cereal. I think the kid is hungry. and my boobies sure could use some help!

I'm stuffing envelopes for the day while another woman raises my child. explain to me again how life is fair?

"Noone puts Baby in the corner!" Pray for Patrick!

Happy Grant news! Grant is proud to announce he has officially moved into not only his new house, but his new room and his new big boy crib! He misses sleeping in the room with his Mommy and Dad, but is happy to be away from his big mouth kitties who like to wake him up! Sleep tight everyone!

Bye-Bye Brett! Bring on Aaron Rodgers baby! Sorry Taylor, know he was your "keeper" but I'm so happy to see him go! YAHOO!

Happy Leap Day!
To celebrate, here is a list of things I'm currently excited about (in no particular order):

• I have a sugar bowl
• I have a pantry in which to keep sugar
• My baby is finally feeling better and may be able to stop using the nebulizer
• I just had a killer visit with my best friend (she's the greatest!!!)
• It is the end of the day on friday
• My temporary washing machine comes tonight
• Grant has a crib!
• 12 inches of snow overnight means I'm stuck at home and don't have any pressure to go anywhere or do anything
• It doesn't matter if pajama pants are wrinkled
• A bath in the big girl tub
• Warm weather scheduled for next Sunday's parade
• Pizza Friday
• No pumping until Monday
• Spring break means good parking spaces
• NO MORE APARTMENT LIVING!

Hope you have a great weekend!

My 250th Post! If I were a television show, I would do some type of flashback monatage showing scenes from past episodes. Instead, I'll share fun photos of my baby becoming a big boy! Granter rolled over yesterday! Yes, he had been rolling over when he was super little-like 3 weeks old-but then he stopped for about 6 weeks. I think he his weight and size caught up with him and he realized he was a tiny baby and he shouldn't have been rolling over yet. Now at three months he is still a little early in the process for rolling over, but it is more age appropriate. Taylor was home with him while he did it (and of course Mommy missed it because she was at work-the first of many milestones I'm sure I'll miss) and remarkably had the camera in his hand. Here is the action series for your enjoying pleasure.

Please note-no blog entries for a few days. We close on the house on Thursday and then we'll be moving (with the help of JJ up from DC! Can't wait to see you babe!) and so not only will we be busy, we won't have borrowed internet to use anymore! Wish us luck!

Happy post VD! Hope you had a nice one. We did our traditional calzone dinner, though very late because Taylor's had a super nutty busy week at work. Today was his big meeting, so hopefully life will settle down for him. I'm looking forward to seeing him tonight!

Did you know that Christina Agulara is now living in Ozzy Ozbourne's old house-the one from the television show? I loved that show! I could watch it for hours at a time. Remember when Ozzy threw the ham? or how excited Jack was that the McRib was back? That was the kind of quality television you just don't see much of these days! Good for Christina-I think it is a house filled with good karma, and neighbors who are really happy for the change!

G-man is still doing well. Not too much new to report with him. He is loving daycare it seems and I have fallen head over feet in love with one of the little girls who goes there. She is always there when I drop him off and she and I are good buddies now. I think that a four year age difference isn't too much for them to overcome and so I'm looking forward to her becoming my daughter in law in about 25 years! Here are photos of the little guy from last weekend. He likes his Bumbo seat and has also decided he is a thumb sucker!

Praise Be! I made it to work by 1:00 and the Writers Strike is finally over. New television by April and my skid across the ice didn't end up with drama. Two great things to celebrate on this ridiculously rainy and gross afternoon.

My boy is the only kid at daycare today. How sad for Grant (and Grant's mommy). I like to think that just means he'll get lots of love today. It is "Love Month" at Miss Laura's. I need to get Valentines for him to put in the mailboxes of all of his little friends tomorrow. Seriously, even the three year old is going to understand that G-Man didn't write these himself, just like I'm going to understand that he didn't bake the "love brownies" they are sending home tomorrow. He's pretty busy having other people do things for him for someone who is just three months old. It's a tough life bossing around the adults!

I'm trapped in my apartment! I can't make it up the hill in the crappy weather with my crappy car. I am so ready to move! I'm currently a "little ball of rage"!

Today's word of the day is Noun. A noun is a word that is a person, place, thing, or idea.
Grant sucks his thumb. Grant is the (proper) noun in the sentence.

Grammie and Papa came to visit today. They brought Grant a Bumbo seat-he is so stinking cute in it! We'll post pictures soon.

I survived my first week! Going home to pick up my baby boy and not put him down once for the next 48 hours!

G-Man and I do a word of the day every day. We've had some meaningful ones, some silly ones, and some random ones (my favorite is still galoshes!). Todays word of the day is relief and the sentence we'll use to explain it to him is "What a relief that the weekend is here!" Go celebrate family time with your families tonight!

Thanks for the flowers Jenny! You are the best friend a girl could ask for!

I'm Back!

That's right readers, Heather is back! Are you too excited for words? You should be! Writing while on maternity leave was too much, but today is my first day back at work so I thought I would give a quick hello and let you know that I plan to update my blog once more. Now, don't expect it to be a daily blog (despite the name) but I'll do my best to keep you entertained with the antics Heather and the rest of the fam!



For today, it is going to be random list of things that seem strange now that I'm back in the "real" world. What a place to be

• A desktop computer with a mouse and a full size keyboard. 12 weeks without one and I'm a disaster trying to type!
• Fast internet-when you don't borrow it from a neighbor the web is an amazing place to visit
• people outside of my house are talking about Super Bowl ads. I don't remember seeing them and that seems like it was months ago and I suppose it was only days...
• For the first time in my life, my vote counted!
• There is going to be a whole generation of girls who freak out when they find out they can't get an epidural because they have a tramp stamp. haha!
• Take a baby anywhere and you are like a rockstar

CIS is coming to update my computer, so I have to stop for now...perhaps I'll add to the list as time goes on...

and for those interested in seeing the baby...here is my current fav photo! God I miss him!

Hello Blog Readers,


I've decided to take a blogging hiatus. I'm not really very funny right now and nothing is happening in my life. I don't want to write exclusively about the baby and that is what my life exclusively is. I'm blessed to have everything I've ever wanted in my life right now-I have always known the job I was born to have was mother. I feel, however, that it often comes across like I am complaining about aspects of motherhood when I blog, so I'm taking some time off. It is important that you understand that it is not my intention to whine or complain as I am living my dream, but since I use my blog as a live-journal I no longer feel that I should write, as I am giving my readers the wrong impression of my life. I feel it is better to not write at all than to try to find things to write about that are meaningless to me or aren't a true reflection of me and my life.

Fear not! I'll return when I feel I can more accurately express my thoughts and feelings. Thanks for being loyal readers and I hope you'll return when Heather's Daily Rant comes back. In the meantime, if you wander how my days are spent, rest assured that I'm typing this one handed with a beautiful baby quietly sleeping on my chest :)

Happy New Year's Eve! Enjoy!

The first Christmas that we lived together, Taylor's mom got us a shower radio. It was a giant yellow M&M dressed in scuba gear. She got him at Sam's Club. I'll be honest, I thought it was a strange gift. It turned out to be something we love more than life! M&M Man has been with us for years. We've listened to weather reports, traffic reports, I've had school closings. Sunday mornings Taylor listened to pre-game and I listened to Casey counting down the hits, almost always hitting a long distance dedication. He was part of the family.

Something happened to M&M Man when we moved from our house to the apartment. He stopped working shortly after we arrived. We hoped it was just batteries, but alas, the problem was more severe. M&M Man passed away. Still, neither Taylor nor I could do it-we couldn't throw him away-so he has been sitting in a place of honor on the bathroom counter (not easy since it is a tiny apartment bathroom) where we see him and think of him daily.

For Taylor's birthday, his mom got us a new shower radio. This one is fancy, with preset stations, a digital clock, and an antenna. Taylor has it all hooked up and in the shower and enjoys listening every morning. I have to have the baby monitor on when I'm showering, so I haven't had the opportunity to use the radio yet, but look forward to trying it out this weekend. Still, today when I was brushing my teeth, I looked at M&M Man and sighed, realizing it is really time for him to move to greener pastures. It feels like the end of an era, a closing of a chapter of our lives. We love you M&M Man and just because it is time to let go, we'll never forget!

(See-I can post about something other than the baby. I don't want to be that Mom (and you know who I'm talking about JJ) who only talks about her kids and is super annoying. For the record though, Grant is now 10 pounds! He has a cold, so we had to go see the doctor and got to get weighed. What a Moose!)

Happy belated Birthday to Taylor, Alexander, and Golic. Three of my favorite men!

Stay dry and safe in all this snow. I just walked up to get the mail-it is freaking crazy out there! We've already got at least 6 inches in a few hours. It is going to be one of those winters here in New England. The best part of renting an apartment...no snow shoveling! Aces!

Superbad is a naughty movie. I can't believe we're watching it with the kid in the room. Later in life when he has a dirty mouth amongst other issues we'll remember this moment and know why!

What a long day! Grant didn't do well sleeping last night so Mommy didn't get great sleep. Normally, I would have just gone back to sleep after I fed him at 7 like he did, but I knew that the little people were coming over to fix our broken heater at 9, so I got him cleaned up and back to sleep, took a super fast shower, and got the living room furniture all moved so they could fix things. I thought about running out to the grocery store or something so I could be out of their way, but Grant was tired so we just stayed home. It was a good thing we did-because they were literally here for the entire day! That would have been a hell of a lot of groceries! So, not only did we not have heat in the living room, we had a pair of strangers, so Grant and I hung out upstairs in the bedroom all day. Like it isn't hard enough to entertain an infant that you can't really lay down because of the spitting problem all day, try doing it in a bedroom with no toys, no radio, no computer, nothing! We bonded and had fun playing things like practice sticking out your tongue like Mommy, but that gets old for everyone after about 19 seconds. They just left at 4:00 and god bless them, we have heat! Grant is down for a nap (in his bassinet like a big boy) and now it is time to start dinner-too late for the nap I wanted this morning at 7:00. Oh well, the joys of motherhood!

Grant and I had a big adventure yesterday. I took him to visit my coworkers. It was our first time going out to someplace other than Grammies or the Doctors. I wouldn't say it went well, but it wasn't a total disaster. He was super cute and had a nice visit while he was sleeping, but then decided to wake up and be someone who is absolutely not my child! He was hungry-so I fed him-and then changed him because he spit up all over himself (and Mom) and he screamed the whole time. He is such a good baby usually-only cries when he is getting changed, but not yesterday! It was like he could smell the bad karma all over the place and wanted out. I felt like I was getting judged by people because he was crying or because he spit up (not just on me, on sweet Julie who was trying to help me out!) or just because I brought a three week old baby out of the house. I did take him to new work as a trial run for going to old work, where I really care much more about the people and what they think of me, but it was a tramatic experience for both the Grant Man and I, so I think it will be a few more days before we try another major outing!

Sounds like Grant is waking up-shocking-he's been asleep for a whole 25 minutes! More later!

Congratulations to Taylor on the promotion! We're really proud of you baby!
Also congratulations to Julie on her new job. I hate you for leaving-but I couldn't be happier for you!

Grant is learning all about holiday music today. I've introduced him to my two favorite holiday CDs--Hillary Duff and Clay Aiken. Seriously-they are the two best cds I've ever heard for the holidays. You should check them out before you judge!

It looks like a great day outside, but I think we're just going to hang out at home today. Grant is a tired little man-napping again instead of being up with mommy-so I'm just going to leave him be instead of trying to get him all dressed and dragging him outside. The few things we were thinking of doing can wait for another day!

I should be napping now-that adage about sleeping when the baby sleeps is really good advice. Still, it is also really hard advice to follow. I'm a terrible napper and since he only sleeps two hours at a time (and really only the first hour is quiet sleeping) it is really hard for me to nap when he does. I try to sleep at night when he is sleeping. Since the doctor still has us holding him when he sleeps at night to help with the spitting up, I get a few hours when he does. I knew that having a baby meant exhaustion, but I had never really done the math before. He eats every three hours for an hour at a time. That means I spend about 8 hours a day feeding him. That's a lot of time sitting around without a shirt on acting like a milk machine! Still, I know he is the very best thing I'll ever accomplish in my lifetime, so it is well worth it. What a gift!

Wow-my blog must be annoying now. The scope of my life is so much smaller than it ever was before-it is amazing. I'm sorry if you aren't enjoying the reading at this point-I promise eventually it will get juicer than talk of breastfeeding and naps! Give us time and thank you for all sticking by us and making us feel so loved!

No comments? Come on people! I had a baby for goodness sake-it seems comment worthy!

Happy Birthday Krissy! We love you!

Grant has a stuffy nose today. Poor little bug! I'm going to try to put him in the bathroom while I shower. Wish us luck!

First day home alone with the kid today...what a long day! Taylor has a late meeting tonight, so we're looking at like 13 hours of bonding time. My only goal of the day was to take a shower and I'm proud to say I accomplished this by noon. It is amazing how priorities shift so fast! Right now Grant is napping-but I'm holding him-so I'm blogging with just one hand-not easy! I've got about 15 good minutes until we restart the eat, pooh, sleep cycle. Oh, and probably spit up-we're on outfit 7 or so today! And by the way, daytime television is terrible! I can't wait until Grant is big enough to go out!

I have the best friends in the world. My old work friends just called to try to take me out tomorrow night. I'm not really ready for that-though I have left him on two different occasions already-but it made me feel so nice. Plus-all of you have been calling and though I'm not really good at answering just yet knowing that you are all there and are thinking of our young family means the world to us. Thank you for everything.

Heather's Daily Rant is proud to present...
Heather's Baby Grant!

Grant arrived in a hurry-three weeks early-but came in a stable 6 pounds 15 ounces and 19.5 inches long. He arrived at 8:45 at night and already has Mommy and Daddy wrapped around his finger!

Grant is the most amazing blessing. We've been at home together for a week already at this point and are all starting to get to know one another. Grant is the ideal baby by day-eating and sleeping on a predictable schedule. He eats for an hour, goes to the bathroom, then sleeps for two and we do it all over again. He's having some issues going to sleep at nighttime in his bed, which is strange because he sleeps laying down all day long without a problem. We're adjusting and working out a system. We keep trying and find ways that work for everyone in the family.

Taylor is a great dad already. He has been taking care of both Grant and I. He's going back to work on Monday, which is pretty terrifying for me, but I know it is time. I've loved having him home with us, not just for the extra hands, but because it has given our family time to come together and bond quite a bit.

We took our first big outing yesterday when we went to Grammie and Poppa's for Thanksgiving dinner. Grant was a trooper and loved all the attention from the family. Taylor and I were grateful for the good hot meal and all of the love for our family. Grant did fine in the car and didn't mind coming out of his routine too much. I hope he can keep up this laid back attitude as he continues to grow and change.

For anyone who is local, visitors are always welcomed. We're doing okay at this point and would love to share Grant and his awesomeness with anyone who available. We thank you all for your well-wishes and support.

Elizabeth and Tim Hasselback and family now have even more in common with my family. Not only do they have a baby girl named Grace like we do, they just had their son and named him Taylor! My Taylor is going to be so excited that there was a little boy born somewhere in the States this year named Taylor and the name is again gaining more credence as a boys name. After all, as little Brianna told us all those years ago, "Taylor is a girls name!". Welcome baby Taylor. Baby Mac will not be another Taylor, girl or boy.

We had a nice dinner with Mason and Dan last night. We were totally late though because we got stuck with the dumbest check out person ever at Target. Her name was Lady--we certainly won't be naming the baby after her!

We went over to check out the house today and met our new neighbors. This is already more interaction than we had with all of our neighbors in our old house! They seem nice enough and we thought it was great that they came over to say hello. Of course, once I got into the house, I couldn't really get out of the house to go talk to them-so I talked through the partial walls a bit. I think once they saw my incredible girth they understood that I wasn't a total snob! Here are a few photos from today.

View of the kitchen

My Tub (imagine I took the time to turn the photo)

Ross is currently visiting and telling us about the joys of dating. I seriously don't miss being single! Now he is making his own Mii for the Wii. Now he can hang out in the bar and drink with the rest of us during bowling. He's the one with the orange ray bans. We are so sad-this is what happens on bye-week Sunday!

I came down the stairs this morning to music I haven't heard in years. Taylor looked up from his place on the couch with the grin of a small child, then focused his attention back to the television. What, do you ask, was he doing? Why he was playing Tecmo Bowl! Yup-he downloaded it for the Wii and is slowly making his way through the season. He is, of course, playing with the 49ers and every ocne in awhile will yell out, "oh, the unstoppable play" and I'll hear his little guys cheer as they score. Now it should be stated that I didn't have this game growing up for my Nintendo, but the music still sounds familiar because as a Junior in College I got a new IMac (Marina for those who remember her) and for some reason let Taylor, whom I was "taking a semester off" from, download this and many other old school Nintendo games to. He would come sit in my room and play for hours at a time-usually not even talking to each other while we focused on completely different things. I'm not sure why he did this, or why I left him, but we enjoyed hanging out even when we weren't chatting and so I really credit Tecmo Bowl (the Patriots, and Star Wars) for my marriage, so I'll admit that the music I heard as I came down the stairs this morning put a smile on my face as well! Long life the 49ers and the unstoppable play!

ABC Family and I are in a huge fight. I've been watching the Gilmore Girls at 5:00 every night I can squeak home in time since I started my new job almost a year ago. I was at the season where Rory was a Junior at Yale-only one more season or so until the end. Suddenly today we're back at the very first episode! Now I never saw the pilot, so that is exciting, but I want to see how they ended it! I saw the very last episode, but I think I'm missing about two and a half seasons from the end-you know-the good part! Rory is just a kid now-like 14 or 15-she isn't living on her own or having all the drama and angst. I'm hurt ABC Family. I'm really hurt!

By the way, for all of you who went nuts over the collapsible basket that Jen gave me at my baby shower, I have found them in my local Marshall's! I'm probably going to pick up another one for my trunk (am I the only one who carries a bunch on nonsense in her trunk in an old shoe box-disposable camera, gloves, tennis ball, Frisbee, things like that? what, Taylor carries a football and a football tee for any pick up games-I can't be that weird). Anyway, if anyone wants me to get them one, I would be happy to. They come in the blue JJ got for me as well as a few other colors. Just give me a call and I'll become your supplier! They would make great baskets for holiday gifts to go in and are perfect for crafty projects, or, in my case, to put supplies in next to the changing table!

New house photos-we have siding! The color is "Sandalwood". The shutters will be a darker version of the tan and the door will be "wild currant", or maroon if you will. It was raining today when I took these, so please excuse the yuckiness of the photos

Taylor is watching public access TV right now. We're having a planning board meeting and he's all into finding out what's up in town. The planning board here is more interesting than in our old town, but the people are less ridiculous, so it takes away some of the fun because I can't make fun of them. Oh well.

I worked all weekend at a Craft Fair. Yeah-it was about as much fun as it sounds. I took today off because I have been exhausted. I'm also going through what I assume is some sort of nesting instinct, because I've probably done about 12 loads of laundry in the last day or so, as well as cleaning and organizing everything in sight. The apartment is still a mess, but at least the baby has clean clothes and a place to get a bath and a diaper change. Now if we can just make a final sleeping decision for the kid, I'll feel better. The diaper bag we ordered came in today, so I'm going to get that packed for the hospital tonight or tomorrow and I guess I should get my bag packed too!

I'm still trying to knock out thank you notes from my shower. I did another batch today, so that feels good. I still have a bunch to get done-so if I haven't gotten to you, Thank you and know it is on the way!

Sorry kids-I should write more tonight, but I'm beat and I think I'll fold this last load of laundry and head to bed!

I'm behind on shout outs.
Happy Belated to the following:
Belated Anniversary to Alex and Emilie
Belated Birthday to Jeniffer
Belated thank you to all involved in my shower
Belated Happy Halloween

Now, to clear up a falsehood on my blog. While the photo "from Disneyland" is very funny, and I was laughing so hard that I actually though it was 100% correct when I posted it. I should have realized it was a fake. I think the boobies are real, but it is the location that is wrong. She's holding a cup of beer in that photo-and the Magic Kingdom is a beer free location. Thanks to Taylor for pointing this out. I hope you all got a chuckle regardless of the authenticity of the photo.

I think many of you wonder why we love Disney so much. Here is a good reason why!

MOTHER & DAUGHTER BANNED FOR LIFE FROM DISNEYLAND

YEP - Those are their real boobs!

Giuliani is backing the Red Sox in the series. Giuliani-the former Mayer of NYC-is backing the Red Sox. The man is friends with Joe Torrey. He is at every Yankees game there is, and he's backing the Sox. Now he says he always backs the American League team-and I understand that because that is how I usually feel in football too on the off year that the Pats don't make the Super Bowl-but there is something different about one of the greatest rivalries in sports. It's been a tough week for me with news like this and then finding out that Dumbledore is gay (Not that there's anything wrong with that!), Bricker didn't answer his cell phone one day. Things are not right-the planets are out of alignment or something. I just hope Giuliani doesn't wear a Red Sox hat or anything. Not cool...just not cool.

Our builder is trying to mess with the washer and dryer. What this poor, poor man doesn't realize is that he has touched the ultimate nerve with me. I'm the woman who named her washer and dryer. Oh, it is going to be so much fun to rip this guy apart. I've got so much pent up stress from work and I've been looking for a healthy outlet. I think I just found it! Good luck sir!

Here is the house on Sunday. I haven't been back since, but you can see that we have a whole second floor and a roof now! Outstanding!

The bloodbath at work continues and makes things harder and harder. Six weeks until maternity leave! Bring on the baby!

I'm excited to see everyone this weekend. The baby wants to visit with Grandma and the aunts. She's sad that Aunt Em won't be there, but is excited to be with the rest of the ladies.

We had baby class this weekend. We got an exercise ball as a result and though it is for me, I have to fight Taylor all the time for the space. We were totally the slacker class and our little teacher essentially told us so. But, there was cake, so I'm a happy girl!

Yummy brunch at book club this weekend. I love the pancake!

Go Rockies!

Here's the house as of Wednesday night. We have a second floor now! Outstanding!

Emilie leaves for Paris in the morning. We called her to wish her good luck and a safe journey, but Taylor pressed all of her stress buttons so I didn't get to wish her farewell, so I'll do it now. Have a ball Em! Give Alex our love and bring back some great Parishian stuff!

I sure hope the baby gets musical talent. I'm listening to a Best of College Acappella CD that I jacked from the boat in like 1998 right now, and it is some of the most amazing and inspiring music ever. Baby-if you get musical talent (first thank mommy-because it didn't come from your father), learn Spanish. all music sounds cooler in Spanish-you'll totally get the girl, mommy promises!

So, it has been 20 years since Baby Jessica fell into the well. Okay-I remember this even thought I was little. I was watching Friday night television with my mom when they broke to live coverage of her being brought up from the well. Good for her-glad she lived and has had really no major issues other than some media hype through the years. See, now she is getting close to 25 (I think she is 21-22 now) and soon she'll become a millionaire. She will be able to tap into the trust fund of money that people sent to her when she was a baby to help take care of her medical needs and stuff. I'm sure the hospitals and surgeons comped all of her visits when she was kid for the publicity so I guess her family just didn't need the cash. My real problem is why does she deserve this cash now. She is a stay at home mom. I would like to be a stay at home mom. If I promise to fall down will someone give me a million dollars for no reason? I don't get it! I feel like she needs to split that money up and give it to people and places that deserve it. What about the family of the guy who went down in the well and literally saved her life-then later took his own life from the stress and drama of all of the hype and spotlight that came with being the good Samaritan? I bet his kids could use that money for college. It just seems wrong that she's talking to her family, who is then talking to the media, about the windfall she is about to cash in on, all because she had really irresponsible parents as a child who went to answer the phone and let her fall down a well. How about spreading the wealth to other kids of dumb parents instead! I bet there are lots of folks she could help. And she can keep some, I know a million isn't what it used to be, but come on now! And that concludes my really random bitter rant for the morning. Told you I was in a terrible mood today!

I FINALLY WON A GAME! I'M NO LONGER O-FER!
Okay, in the interest of full disclosure, I beat the other team that hadn't won yet, but I would have beat literally everyone else in the league (pre-Monday night game). I seriously didn't want to get out of bed this morning-I'm not into work and I just didn't want to come face the day (and the baby is sucking the energy from me this week-I need more sleep), but logging on and finding that I won really made my day. I'm such a dork!

In the immortal words of Taylor "Oh Snap!". Vinny Testaverte, age 43, might get the start today. And I thought it was exciting when the 47 year old kicker, Morten Anderson came back this season. This is the greatest! God I love Sunday!

It is girls gone wild weekend here at the house. Taylor is in New Jersey/Pennsylvania with his family for Uncle Norman's 90th birthday party. I'm grounded (the doctor won't let me go that far at this point) so that leaves me home alone with Grace and Liz and the baby-who for the purpose of a girls weekend, we're assuming is a girl. I had lots of big plans for the weekend, but I've been a little lazier than I initially planned. I did tear apart the upstairs and do some cleaning, but then I watched some serious food network. I think they will all rush back a little earlier than they normally might today because of the football game (fill in your name: the Bleadsoe Back-up Bowl, the Duel in Dallas...), so I figure I have until about 3 or 4 before the family descends on the apartment.

I did go check on the statues of the house yesterday. No, we haven't signed our final paperwork yet, but they have started building. We have a foundation now and some really big stacks of wood. We had a rainy week, so it looks like they didn't really get anything done. Still, it looks like January might be time for the big Mac move across the street (literally the house is like half a mile from the apartment-just across the road). Here's a photo of the hole:

I've been a crummy blogger lately. This is somewhat ironic, because I now read Alexander's blog from France and know how annoying it is to check everyday and have someone not post. It started that I was obscenely busy at work with Reunion Weekend. Then, I was exhausted from working so much and I was too tired to write, then it all just seemed like there was too much to say so I didn't say anything. Sorry kids. Here are some of the highlights of the last month or so:

• Cassie got a new job and left me. Thursday was her last day-but I'm pretending she is just on vacation. Healthy, I'm sure...
• I bought the Ocean Wonders for the crib that I wanted last weekend at a yard sale. Instead of paying $35 I paid $2! I was so excited! We went out and got batteries on the spot. I'm not really a yard sale person, but baby stuff is so expensive for things they use for just a few months. I'm trying to be all about the recycling! I guess I'm going green!
• We're starting to look for a new car. I totally have picked out a boy car. It literally doesn't come in any colors but shades of gray, black, white, and ORANGE! We might need to rethink this.
• We have baby classes next weekend. That should be terrifying.
• Speaking of baby, all is well. We went to see the doctor on Thursday and all is well. Kiddo weighs about 3.5 to 4 pounds already and should gain about a half a pound or so a week until birth-which is still 7 weeks away!
• I'm totally a fan of Trot Nixon!!
• It is a cool New England Weekend-I think I'll make some good comfort food for dinner-lasagna or baked mac and cheese or something great like that!
• They've extended the year of a million dreams at Disney so Baby Mac can get her chance to visit and celebrate. Maybe she'll be able to save Little Red!
• This is probably my last weekend in my football jersey. Alexander was making fun of me last weekend from Paris because it is so snug. It's a kid's jersey! It wasn't made for a knocked up 10 year old! And seriously, can someone watching a football game via a webcam really throw stones?
• Last night was the black tie dinner at my old job. I've never been so depressed about not working at an event. I miss that job so much!
• Does the world really need Bobby Flay? Couldn't we just have extra time with Tyler Florence?
• My hair is so long right now-it is driving me crazy! I'm trying to make sure all of my layers fit into a ponytail and I'm finally there now. Long layers tucked behind your ear just don't seem like something worth having to fuss over while pushing.
• Still enjoying the yummy apples from our apple picking trip with Jenny a few weeks ago. Here are a few pictures from the day:

Hope you all have a great weekend! I'll try to be a better blogger!

Andre? Where's Andre?

I found him! He's on "How Do I Look" on the Style Network. I was so excited to see him I yelled "Andre!". Lizzy, who has no idea what her name is, came running, but at least she was excited with me!

Did I mention how much I love my baby? I decided it was a really good idea to start exposing the baby to The West Wing. This way, when she comes out, she'll be all ready for a nice marathon of shows while Mommy packs the house and gets ready for the move. So, in an effort to get many good scenes in, I've been showing the baby clips I find on myspace of the show. We've got a little sarcastic one on the way, because the baby is going nuts, especially for C.J. I think she likes the smart ass. I can see why, I like the smart ass too. And all of my Wheaton education makes me happy that the baby has decided to respond to the only female senior staff member. Go baby! Go girl power! Perhaps we will name you Claudia!

Good luck on your test today Emilie!

Good luck in your new job Cassie-I'll miss you!

Good luck to the Moon Pies tonight in my fantasy game. I only need a complete miracle to win, but I've already doubled my points total from last week (nothing to be proud of-I should be scoring around 85, not 35).

Pray for Jenny and Erin. Lots of positive thoughts from New England headed your way!

Congratulations to Kenny who had baby Erica three weeks early. What a looker!

in case you ever need to know how to properly plan for a building dedication...notes from the Mac Boys!

Get a triangular metal file and score around the entire bottle in a circle so it breaks easier. Put it in a cutoff stocking (flying glass is bad!) Put duct tape on 4-5 inches of the handle so that the handle doesn't break and cut the hand Wrap the duct tape with ribbon so it's not ugly - it looks nice if it hangs down some too. Get white gloves for her to wear - helpful for the glass factor again. Tell her to swing through the building to be sure it breaks.

My favorite part...swing through the building-this was advice for a 78 year old woman...swing through the building!

I'm alive...more on that another day.

So, I am in last place in my own fantasy league. I played Taylor this week, and we don't take any prisoners with each other because we are married or anything sappy like that. We were schedule, according to Yahoo, to tie with a score of 87 points each. I scored a total of 15 points. 15 POINTS! For reference, Taylor's kicker scored 16 points by himself! I had two players go down hurt, both of my QB's got me negative points (enter Alexander's cynical laugh about how that wouldn't have happened if I didn't have two kickers starting in my league), and even my good players only scored in the single digits. I'm completely done for the year. If only I could sell off my team for draft picks. Maybe I'll do some sort of lottery where I give away my guys (and for the record, I've got great guys) in favor of baby sitting hours or something like that.

15 points...in the 6 years we've been playing, I think that is an all time league worst!

Names are flying in from far and wide, from across the pond and right down the street! Don't forget to send your baby name draft choices to Taylor and I so we can get them up on the draft board. You never know, your name could be he winner!

I'm going to be pretty MIA for the next week or so. It is Reunion Weekend next weekend at my school and I'm going a little nutty trying to get it all done. I have a fair number of people coming throughout the weekend, but it is my first Reunion here so I want it to be a home run. I've recognized that a home run is all but impossible now, but a girl can still hope for a double, maybe even stretching for a triple! If you don't hear from me for awhile, if I'm bad at returning your phone call or email, please forgive me. This is a big one for me and I'm putting lots of stress on myself for perfection. I'll be back around after the 24th, at least for a week until it is time for the new President's Inauguration ceremony...

JJ is coming back this weekend! Her other friend who was supposed to have her for the weekend can't get off work. Her loss is my gain. I'm so excited to see her-we had a nice weekend last weekend and I'm expecting and even better time this weekend. I can't wait!

The baby is kicking the heck out of me. I guess she wants to head home for the night. 5:00 would mark a very early evening for me (I've been here past 8:00 this week) and then working at home (MY HUSBAND IS A SAINT FOR NOT ONLY PUTTING UP WITH ME, BUT FOR HELPING ME WORK ON MAILINGS EVERY NIGHT THIS WEEK-I LOVE TAYLOR!), so given the chance to just take some paperwork home and work on it in front of the television instead of sitting behind this desk is a win and I think the baby knows it! We're out of here!

Baby Draft 2007 has begun!

What, do you ask, is Baby Draft 2007? Well, Taylor and I still have no baby names picked out, so we're starting a draft board to help us with the situation. We each get a certain amount of boys and girls names to pick and go on the draft board. After a few weeks, we'll name each of our "franchise players", players the other can't cross out. We'll then cross a few of the others names each out a day until we are left with a reasonable list of names that we both somewhat agree on.

Here is where you come in...we are opening the floor to "Wild Card" names. Wild card names are names that are nominated by our friends and family. We welcome you are each to send us a male and female name to add to the board. Should we choose your name, we'll have a special present for you! You can call or email or add your names to the blog and we'll add them to the board! We hope everyone will participate! Jen added the first two names this weekend so-game on!

Happy Naming!

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?

Somehow, I've been sucked into watching Titanic. Seriously. I didn't see the beginning, or the good part, just them fighting the water and eventually the dying part. She's about to throw the diamond into the ocean. Terrible.

We found the printer cables today, so we scanned in the now incredibly old sonogram photos of the baby. If you're interested let me know and I'll share them with you!

Alex is off in France now and so the whole family got web cams today. Right now, Taylor is talking his dad through setting his up and Emilie and I are fighting to be able to see each other. It is somewhat funny, because we all live within a few hundred miles of each other and are all talking on our cell phones at the same time. We actually say Taylor's dad today, so I even know what he'll be wearing when the phone finally rings, but in just 10 short minutes or so we'll all be chatting with each other again. Really funny-but totally time well spent so we can all visit each other and enjoy being closer. Thank goodness for technology!

I'm off to the silly Red Sox tomorrow for work. I'm not excited, but it should be a nice day and I'm dragging Cassie along so that will be fun. I think Ross and a friend are coming as well, so hopefully we'll all get to catch uo. Still, no fun to work on a three day weekend :(

Okay-David is calling-too much fun!

I was all wrong on the Gisele on the dancing with the stars thing. Sorry if I sent some of you down the wrong path. I guess it was wishful thinking on my part!

So Alexander becomes unemployed today...I can't believe he leaves so soon. While we rarely see each other, he is one of my favorite people on the planet. We're going to get a web cam so he can meet the baby once s/he is born. This will also work out well for Jenny for just such a reason.

Speaking of Jenny, after a near two year hiatus, we're going to see each other next week! I don't think anyone realizes how special this is. I feel myself withering away sometimes without good friends around. I have nice local people who I like and care about, but the girls are something all together different. I'm looking forward to a nice weekend-even if the poor thing has to sleep on the couch!

I'm having a lazy day. I have an obscene amount of work to do today (and every day for the next month or so), but I can find no motivation. It all started with both our email and database going down for the morning. I came in pumped up to do things, and ended up stuffing envelopes, and now I'm in an envelope stuffing kind of mood! I'm hoping it will pass after lunch...

Last preseason game tomorrow night! Outstanding!

Turns out I missed it...I've actually only 97 days to go until my date. Oops! Well, I'm sure I did something special to commemorate the occasion!

BBU (thank you Emilie!)

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20053528,00.html
Turns out they named the kid John Edward Thomas Monyahan. No Brady in there-if I were daddy, that would equate to no child support!

In other Brady hottie news, Gisele is rumored to be announced tomorrow as one of the dancing with the stars dancers. Good! Maybe she'll stay away from Tommy in her fancy VS undies and he can focus on the game!

I'm having a 100 days party for myself next week. A week from Monday... (we don't have a calendar in the apartment, or I would give you the date). Hope you can attend!

BBU

(Baby Brady Update)

William and Jonathan are the two leading contenders for Baby Brady's first name. Tom and Bridget wanted to name the baby something Irish. All of the people they have working for them, no one googled this? William is of English decent people! Jonathan, well that is Hebrew. Someone should get fired over this Irish leak. Of course, until they release the kid from the hospital and sign the papers, the baby doesn't have to have a name so we may still baby Declan! Let's hope not, Declan Mac won't do!

I've waited two weeks since my last post. I begged for ideas for our 200th post and planned a blogger blackout until someone shared a suggestion. I got nothing! I spent some time thinking of things that were worthy of such an important milestone. Some included...

• the almost one year anniversary of heathersdailyrant.com
• a top ten list of things Alexander might miss or should do while in France
• a top ten list as to why this August is better for Ross than last August
• My favorite moments in the Harry Potter book (because I'm still not done talking about it)
• Top baby name suggestions

Really, there were many more thoughts, but I wanted the readers to decide. Well, time and fate have decided for you. The 200th entry in my blog is now dedicated to the yet to be named Moynihan-Brady baby.

Yes, this baby has been much anticipated. First, this is the child that will destroyed Tommy's political career. I've given up on talking about politics on here, so that is all I'll say, but that is the end of President Brady. This baby also has one amazing gene pool! Bridget isn't my favorite person, nor is Tom for that matter, but they are both attractive as heck and this baby should have a string of endorsement deals before he is even released from the hospital. As soon as he has a name, that website will be bought (though hopefully one of their publicist is smart enough to do this before the name is announced) and should it be availible-I'm sure it will be used for evil instead of good! I can't wait!

Now earlier in the week, Tommy was saying he wanted some time off when the baby was born. Miraculously, this child was born two days later. I firmly believe that the baby was scheduled-by either C-section, or induced labor, so Brady knew when he made that statement that the baby would be coming mid-week, or as I like to call it-preseason. There is no way Brady was making a statement that bold and planning on missing the home opener, which is also a divisional rival, and a team that could easily be in AFC playoff contention come January. He doesn't say it-Coach B doesn't let him get away with saying it. This was carefully choreographed so Brady looks like a great dad, but is back in pads when it counts. Do I think he'll play on Friday-yes, I do. I think he'll head back to Cali Saturday morning and miss the whole next week and the 4th preseason game, but who cares about that? No chance he plays a down in that game even if he is here. Friday night's game is nationally televised (thank god-no more Randy Cross!) and so Brady will be there and he'll have some contrived statement about how amazing fatherhood is already and he'll compare the size of the baby to the size of the ball. He'll flash his aw-schucks dimples and we'll all swoon. Brady is nothing if he isn't a media darling and knocked up ex-girlfriend and hot supermodel current girlfriends won't stand in the way.

It should be said that Baby Mac is due in December. I don't think there will be a press release, but I do believe Taylor is planning on taking some time off to spend with the family. If you're curious about what we'll be naming the kid, keep an ear to the news today. Baby Mac will likely be following in the footsteps of whatever Baby Brady is named.

The real question...does Bridget dress the baby in a Tom Brady jersey for that great photo of the three of them coming out of the hospital tomorrow. Baby Mac won't be wearing such a thing...no baby of mine is wearing the jersey of a quarterback!

How well do you know Tiki?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18112893/

We're getting close to our 200th post. Start submitting your ideas for subject matter now!

It is the most beautiful New England day today. The humidity has finally broken, so you can breathe a little! My hair is at a fairly normal size, so that is a win for me, as I had my first official meeting with our new President today and wanted him to be able to look me in the eyes instead of searching for my face under the layers of frizz. It is the kind of day that lets you know, despite being 85, that fall is right around the corner and you should enjoy these moments because the end is near and it will be mere days before you are reaching for a fleece jacket, or even a snow shovel.

My mood is directly tied to the weather some days, and today is one of those days. I'm in such a great mood, despite being totally screwed at work. I've got no chance at catching up, but I can't be worried or even annoyed today. My windows are open and the breeze is blowing the piles of papers off my desk and I'm still just a happy girl.

The baby and I are listening to Sorcerer Radio online. I'm teaching here all of the music of Disney so when she gets here, she will feel comfortable with the sounds she will hear so often and she can start begging Daddy to take her on her first trip with her first words. This half hour is sounds of Epcot, so I think we are listening to the music of Morocco (or Meg's bathroom) right now. You can almost guarantee that we'll be rocking out to the sounds of Off Kilter, the Canadian bagpipers before the hour is over!

Football tomorrow night. Yahoo! I've already started the shopping. I need to pick up Dr. Pepper for Taylor and something light for dinner, so it doesn't interfere with the game time snacking. We should probably have a salad so the baby actually gets something nutritious. Maybe we'll get buffalo chicken salads from someplace, then it counts as healthy (lettuce) and football (buffalo)!

we had a nice family time this weekend. It was Ross's sister's wedding, so we all piled into the in laws house for the weekend. The wedding was a lot of fun. I was bummed, because with this sore ankle I wasn't really able to dance (it has re-swollen :( ) But, Emilie and David sure had a ball dancing! It was a great time, but I've realized weddings are much more fun when you can partake in the open bar!

This weekend was likely the last time we'll see Alexander for a few months too. He leaves in early September for his International MBA program in France (insert your own Alex in France joke here). We're so excited for him-and jealous-what a great thing to do. Plus, unlike Taylor and I with the world's longest graduate school, we'll be done in something like 13 months. He'll be back in the states in late December, just in time to meet his little niece or nephew. I'm sure the baby with think Auntie Em and Uncle Alex are just the coolest, so she/he will be happy that he'll be home in time for Christmas!

I'm going to have to go to a really crummy work event on Sunday night. Seriously-a semi-professional woman's softball game. Yeah-not much fun at all. Hope for good weather at least and maybe some yummy snacks!

I'm so hungry today! I haven't been able to get enough to eat. Yesterday I made Taylor stop and get me an Awful Awful on the way home, claiming that the baby needed a piece of his RI heritage. Yes, it was a stretch, but sometimes a girl needs ice cream and I had spent the morning dealing with a weepy MIL, so I had earned the darn thing! I'm trying some Italian chicken bake thing for dinner-it is from Giada, so who knows how it will turn out!

We had a blackout today at work. At the same time, our copier/fax machine broke, my phone died for the afternoon, and food service took our coffee maker. I don't know if I've ever felt more like we should just call it a day and head home. We again have power (as you can tell by the useful computer work), but going home still sounds like a nicer idea, doesn't it?

Four days until the Patriots game! Stupid NFL network! The Hall of Fame game was on last night and I missed it because we don't get that channel. I hate the makers of cable/satellite/whomever took away football from me!

The first preseason Patriot's game of the season is August 10th. To you and me, THAT IS NEXT FRIDAY NIGHT! Happiness is chips and mango salsa, curling up on the couch with a boy (I guess my husband will do), and the Patriots!

Taylor-I NEED A NEW JERSEY! STAT!

Del's! It is possible we can now get Del's close to where we work! This is a huge development in life-as before now, you had to travel over an hour for this delicious and refreshing treat! Yeah Del's! I'll be doing more research this afternoon when I go back to the garage to pick up my (again) broken down car! Yahoo for Del's!

By the way, the baby is whatever pronoun I feel like using at the time. I switch randomly between he and she, because my child is not an "it". The baby has a sex, just because we don't know it, doesn't mean we should brand her with the term "it". So, if I use one or the other, I'm not giving you a cryptic view into my womb, just being my random self! Thought that was worth clearing up :)

Also-I finished Harry. I know Emilie hasn't started yet, so don't talk about it here, but I'm willing and excited to talk about it with anyone at anytime!

Back from our weekend getaway to Maine. Nothing like 16 hours in a car in three days that says vacation! Still, we had a nice visit with my parents. It was cool and rainy most of the weekend, but we did get a chance to go walk on the beach, which is always nice. Sadly, it was so foggy there (but sunny at my house just 5 miles away) that we couldn't really see the ocean, but we knew it was there so all was well. Ask Taylor if the water was cold...

Not too much else to report. I feel in love with a house that we didn't get. It was somewhat traumatic for me, but I'm over it now. We're still looking and hoping. If you know anyone in our area, ask them to put their house up for sale so we can buy it please!

We have a wedding this weekend-Ross's big sister is getting married. It should be a fun time as the whole family is going. Alex and Emilie will be up, and I haven't seen them in forever, so that will be a nice visit. I'm off Friday, so I'll be doing some dress shopping and hoping for the best. I'm huge now-and just this week, my butt has decided it should try to grow to the size of my belly. Yeah-pregnancy is gobs of fun.

Work has been no fun lately. I've been working pretty late in an effort to get more done. August is the scariest month of the year in higher ed. It doesn't make sense, because it isn't really the busiest (though it is pretty busy), but it represents the end. It is the end of summer, the end of the rest, the end of the quiet and signals that in a few short weeks, the students will be back. Yes, we all do our jobs for the betterment of the lives of the students, but we like it when they aren't here. I enjoy not fighting for a parking spot, waiting in line in the cafeteria, the peace and quiet, and not inventing jobs for work study students. I'm just spouting off-I actually think that the students give the campus the energy it needs to come to life and be productive. Things get done in the summer, but not like when the kids are here to keep us motivated. And, hopefully our graphic design intern will be back to make my life happy and easy once more. Still, August is a scary month...ask the poor people in student affairs-to them it is the absolute worst!

Must work...three day week for Heather!

Things I miss in my current life...(in no particular order)

• muffin tins
• automatic ice maker
• a basement
• the cord to the printer
• surround sound
• lunch with the cool kids
• cookbooks
• a garbage disposal (and if they were in order-this would likely be number one)
• Tupperware in a variety of sizes
• bread pans
• pictures on the wall
• a backyard
• tomato plants
• red wine
• hardwood floors
• central vac
• blue cheese
• saucers
• a land line
• Sunday's not designed around open house times
• a kitchen table
• hot dogs
• a sunroof
• Dr. Mario
• organized chaos
• shopping at Ann Taylor
• stationary
• a football jersey that fits
• Taylor mowing the yard on a Sunday morning
• the ability to make waffles
• sleeping on my stomach
• a mailbox
• Rick's Summer Drive-In and their free Wi-Fi
• Playing the game at big y

The baby loved seeing the Harry Potter movie last night. He was dancing in there, trying to distract me with all of his movements. Me, I was just excited that the theatre had power.

There are very few things in life that annoy me as much as the automatic hand dryer. Not cool people, just not cool.

I just had a great peach for breakfast. Peaches are the greatest!

I'm working from home this morning and then heading out to a clam bake in a world far far away. I love event days, but I'm not really all that jazzed about driving three hours to get there. Oh well, a day in the car and at the beach is better than any day behind a desk!

I had a great time with Krissy this past weekend. We went sailing a few days, got pedicures, ate ice cream and just enjoyed being girls! We usually get about three days a year together, so we like to make the most of them. I came home nice and relaxed and with a great tan! Now I've just got to get some girl time scheduled with JJ and life will be good!

I'm off to find something that makes me look both casual and professional, while keeping in mind that I own about a dozen things...

Emilie and I like pop culture. We read people and visit eonline. Right now, I'm thinking if we had a third (you know, like another sister-in-law who was cool, for example), we could have our team in the world series of pop culture. I've always said I think everyone has a sport they could be award winning in, I guess I always thought my sport would be curling or badmintion, but now I've found my place in the world. Who knew all the reruns of Full House would come to be useful!

I'm going to see Krissy tomorrow. Her family is up, so I'm going to spend a few days with them at their summer house. I think tomorrow we're going sailing, so that should be lots of fun. Of course, that means I'm going to be wearing a maternity bathing suit, which is anything but cool, but I think I'll live! Still no more blogging this week.

There isn't really much to report from this week. Taylor and I didn't get the house we made an offer on. We're bummed, but both doing okay. We've been playing the Wii a lot. Taylor is obsessed with Zelda and I'm a fan of Animal Crossing. Yeah-we have no life.

Bring It On was just the answer to a question on the world series. I'm a very happy woman right now!

One of my coworkers quit today. I'm really proud of her, I know it wasn't an easy decision, but I do think it was the right choice for her. I'm sad to see her go, but I look at it like just another email buddy.

Oh-Shoop so has to go on the baby mix! Yeah, that came to me when they were just doing the "ass song" category. I love VH1

Happy 5th of July! Okay, so I missed the 4th, but I'm sure back in the day, the party continued to the 5th, so have a beer and play with a sparkler and call it a day! We did have a nice 4th. We watched the competitive eating hot dog contest at Conney Island. Kobi had it until he had the unfortunate "reversal" problem. Now, I'm all for American pride, especially in terms of sports, but Kobi is someone I'll always root for over the rest and so I was sad to see him lose to that darn Joey Chestnut.

After watching the eating, we went out with friends to a late lunch and to watch a parade. Well, we were able to watch the parade from lunch, otherwise we probably wouldn't have bothered. Seriously, 8 fire engines and some old, fat, line dancers does not a parade make! We had some ice cream and came home. Then we got a very random call from a friend we hadn't seen in years (Dudek) that he was going to be driving through town and did we want to get an ice cream, because he had a coupon! It was fun and we got to meet his not really new anymore, but new to us because we're crummy friends and never see him, girlfriend. She was a peach! It was a good day, and ice cream twice in one day is really my dream, so I was extra happy!

This morning we went to our big doctor's appointment. Okay folks, we've decided not to find out the sex of the baby. We like the surprise! We want the surprise! I'm sure the kiddo won't mind coming home from the hospital in something green. Actually, depending on the day, we'll probably just bring him/her home in babies first Patriots jersey and call it a gender neutral day! It was awesome to do the ultrasound. Last time we had one, it was because there was a problem and the baby was only 8 weeks old, and quite literally looked like a rice krispy. Now we've got a real, human, half pound baby! The kiddo was good and wiggled for the camera and let us get some good photos. Unfortunately for you, the cord from the printer got separated from the printer in the move, so we can't scan in the photos right away.

The rest of the doctors visit was uneventful. I finally added some weight, up two pounds, which puts me back exactly where I started. I'm almost halfway there, and more than happy to not be carrying the 10 to 13 pounds they say I should have gained by now. The excuse to eat double ice cream is helpful too! So, I'm really looking forward to a good night's sleep tonight-no worries that something is wrong and hopefully no more dreams that Drew Lachey is Taylor's brother! Yeah, I had some seriously weird dreams last night!

HSM soundtrack is a great idea! I'm going to steal a copy from you, Emilie, next time we see each other! Also added to the mix will be a song from the Lizzy McGuire soundtrack, Rascal Flats and Vanilla Ice.

I want to make a mix for my iPod for giving birth. I don't have lots of good ideas yet, but I'm a music girl and really think it will help me focus. Right now, I've got the Spice Girls (yeah-it's spice girl day), Aerosmith and Eminem. Your suggestions are welcomed. Oh, and I plan to listen to this with headphones so the doctors don't think I'm a nut, and so the baby doesn't have to hear any explicit lyrics.

It's like 1997, when I really liked the Spice Girls...well, it isn't like 1997, but I did really like the Spice Girls. God I miss Jim!