What we've been up to

Skee-ball and Wings at bars

Father's-day Breakfast in honor of...

The father-to-be

Yummy Fruit for a Wedding Reception

Growing Baby Christ

Lists

I am a maker of lists. At any given time I have on average 5 lists floating around but it's not out of the ordinary for me to have many more. The lists are mostly found written in a notebook which resides in my bag, but other lists can be found on post-its stuck to the fridge, scraps of paper on the counter, drafts composed in my inbox, spreadsheets printed on my office desk...you get the picture.
Ask Danny. I rarely go to the grocery store without a shopping list and I always have a to-do list over a three-day weekend (which reminds me that I should add to the one I have for this 4th of July weekend). I have a running list of long term projects that I am working on and another running list of things I have yet to do in the city that I want to do. Then there are lists for short term tasks like what am I going to clean this week.

One reason I love writing lists is because then I don't have to keep that valuable information in my head. I attribute my great sleeping habits to my constant list writing (and my Dad) because I don't have to stay up thinking of the things I need/want to get done/buy because I know they are safely written down on some scrap of paper. Another reason lists are great for a gal like me is because I like to cross things off. I'm very busy and am constantly working on something. When I am able to cross something off a list it's as if I've progressed and accomplished way more than just the task at hand.

Now that Danny and I are used to each other's quirks, he frequently asks "what's on my list". This question is appropriate in most situations and while he doesn't expect me to pull out a sheet of paper with an actual list he can pretty much bet that I have one and can produce it if necessary.

Where Dreams Come True

Outnumbered

Did you know that in Western culture, the color baby blue is often associated with baby boys and pink for baby girls, particularly in clothing and linen and shoes? I assume we all knew this, but did you also know that this is a recent tradition? Until the 1940's the convention was exactly the opposite: pink was considered the appropriate color for boys as the more masculine and "decided" while blue was the more delicate and dainty color and therefore appropriate for girls.

Now that we have that settled - we're dreaming in blue over at our house (or pink in the 1940's). So for now I am outnumbered in our family.

It's a...

Well we don't know yet but we will find out today. Don't you just love the suspense.

Room for baby

I used my skills to draw a picture of our apartment so that we can all imagine where baby belongs in our home. Picture baby on top of the table (but instead of a table imagine a crib).

Reactions to baby

When told about baby, most people first politely say congrats and then depending on the crowd sometimes the next question is whether or not this was planned. I love how one of my co-workers put it - "Was this an Oops baby?" However, the majority of the time the first question asked is if we are moving to a different apartment.

For those who don't know, we live in a studio. If it were listed on a rental site our apartment would probably be described with words such as 'charming' or 'cozy' which translates to tiny. I don't know the square footage but one of these days I will measure our apartment and let you know how valuable each bit of space really is.

Most people think that our apartment is too small for two people much less three but here's what I think.

1. Living in our studio has been the best thing for our marriage. There's no slamming doors when you are mad or sleeping in separate rooms. Fights can't last too long when your boxing arena is only 10x20.

2. I love being able to whisper from any corner of the aparment and know that Danny can hear me (sometimes he doesn't listen but that's a different issue).

3. We do lots of things together that we might not do if we lived in a bigger place. We watch the same TV shows (we don't have room for two TVs). We go to bed at the same time (usually much later than I would prefer). We hardly have any secrets because even if we are having a "private telephone conversation" the most private place is the bathroom (which is not sound proof).

4. I know exactly where everything is in our apartment because there aren't too many places that things can hide. It may not be easy to get to that box which has 5 other boxes stacked on top, but I can tell you exactly what is in it.


And in conclusion, the average length of a newborn is 19 to 21 inches so we are confident that we have sufficient space.