The Bump's Got Lady Parts!

Well, I am 19 1/2 weeks preggo which means we are about half way there with this bun in this oven! And, it is officially a LADY bun :) We had about an hour-long sonogram this afternoon - it's the longest one because they measure all the parts and bones and organs - tho I'm sure most people, like us, just want to know BOY OR GIRL (or OCTOPUS)???? When yer looking' at a 19 1/2 week babe on a sonogram, it's really a matter of 3 strategically-placed LINES versus DOTS. And we got 3 lines so we get a Baby She-Glass!

This is also a good time to post pictures of my bump - because it is now fully recognizable as a PREGNANCY bump, not a Ben and Jerry's bump (tho, I'm not gonna lie, there's some of that in there as well . . .). AND - true milestone here - I purchased my first pair of maternity pants. They have a super sexy stretchy denim-colored top to them ;) They may be a bit goofy-lookin, but they are crazy comfy and totally worth the initial feelings of surreality while standing in Sear's paltry 1-rack section of maternity clothes. (Why Sears, you ask? Well, we were getting a humidifier filter, so why not a pair of stretchy jeans as well???)

So we know that baby is a "she," but we're not settling on a name(s) anytime soon. Most likely we will all find out together on the big day :)

We'll post more pictures of growing belly and baby. Love to you all!
Caitlin +Jesse+Baby

Snow!

Now, I'm sure that most of you down south must be thinking that these storms you've gotten over the past week have totally altered life for the moment -- schools closing, businesses closing, streets closing...

But this link is just to remind you that, thus far, Syracuse still has the next snowiest city in the country by a foot! We just get it in little bits, and everyday.

Happy shoveling!

Adventures in snowblowing!

After finally getting home in daylight and having the time to try out my handy-dandy starter fluid, I got the snowblower working! Aside from the fact that there was only about 3-4 inches of already-driven-upon-snow, it was a complete success. Uncle John had walked me through the thought process of where I needed to spray the fluid (into the carburetor) and how to open it (with the choke) this past weekend when it had warmed up to 0 degrees and the blower needed an extra little kick to get going. So, this afternoon I took the time to try it out. The first few times that the engine got going, it almost immediately turned off, which was a little frustrating, because I didn't know what was going wrong. But I was persistent, and each time sprayed a little more fluid into the carb, and as the engine turned over, I raised the throttle a little more and slowly closed the choke, I got the machine moving and it was awesome! I cleared the driveway and our sidewalk in about 10 minutes without breaking a sweat, whereas in the past I had spent over an hour shoveling and my back would be sore for at least a day afterwards.

Thanks Stevo for the machine! Thanks Uncle Donny and Uncle John for the lessons!

State of the Union

Caitlin and I watched Obama's State of the Union last night together, and I, for one, felt hugely relieved at finally listening to eloquence and intelligence coming from that podium. After 8 years of listening to a man who had difficulty just memorizing his lines, it was like fresh air hearing a man deliver concepts to his audience with confidence, lucidity, and a flexible state of mind.

I thought it was particularly amusing to watch him chastise congress for dragging their feet on so many issues, but one of my favorite new pieces of legislation he's bringing in is the Childcare Tax Credit!

Anyone else have thoughts or comments about last nights speech?

We've Officially Spilled the Beans!

Alright all you blog junkies - we know what you've been craving - we know what you've been missing!! You've been waiting patiently to hear about . . . .insulating our attic!! No? . . . . . Caitlin starting a new semester!! Not that either? . . . Jesse's recent election to the board of Slow Food of Central New York (SFCNY)??? Hmmm . . . .what else could I POSSIBLY post about . . . .

How 'bout babies?

Bingo! We are pregnant - or, in the words of my physician when calling me with the results of the blood test, we are "very positive." I do say "we" because while I know that yes, technically I (Caitlin) am the one physiologically preggers, it certainly took two to tango on this one - and our Caitie-Jesse Super Duper Team America is psyched and (mostly) ready to take on Babydom!

I am officially 14 Weeks today according to our first ultrasound back in December. The first trimester included some constant low-level nausea ("morning" sickness is a misnomer! Some women have it at different points throughout or during the ENTIRETY of the day - moi - and some have it last throughout the entire pregnancy - not moi thank goodness), funky things going on with my joints (who knew my xiphoid process would start hurting???), and a general feeling of "oh my doodness."

The second trimester seems to moving along fine - much less nausea, the ability to tell you all (secrets are HARD!), and I think I may even have a bit of a baby bump! We won't be able to tell for a few more weeks if it's a boy or girl, but I've come around to being excited about either :)

(By the way, Auntie Nally has informed me that those are the only options - nothing with tentacles. You got it, dude!)

Thankfully, it looks as if I am going to be able to continue right along with school - though I feel as though there are warnings out there about "best laid plans" . . . .Anyway, I've been talking with the PT Department over at Upstate and they have been amazing in their support and encouragement thus far. My Clinic II (which WAS previously scheduled to be 4 hours away and in the middle of my new due date of July 13) will have to be shifted around a bit, but we are going to try, try, TRY to keep me on track with school. Luckily, a July 13 due date ALSO means that Jesse will be home for the summer from work - so it looks like we'll have 6 weeks of togetherness at home as a threesome! We'll see about those "best laid plans" . . .

We'll be posting more pictures - mostly of my growing belly at this point since there won't be any cute infant-like pictures for about 6 more months!

Love to you all - we are so happy to be able to finally share this with all of you. Happy January!

Caitlin and Jesse

You Think You Know a Person . . .

Alright folks, it's time to reveal our deep, dark secret. Where exactly HAVE Jesse and Caitlin been spiriting off to the past few Thursday nights? What DOES that leather pouch clutched in Jesse's enthusiastic fist contain? Just HOW BIG of dorks are we?

Well, you probably already knew the answer to that last one, but as for the others . . .

Deep, dark confession here . . . .

Jesse and I have joined . . . a weekly D&D group. Now, wait!! For those of you with especially dirty minds (Lois!) D&D stands for Dungeons and Dragons - aka juuuuuuuust about the nerdiest past time that furtively pimpled, creative prepubescent minds could come up with. (Except for dressing as wizards and sword-playing with sticks in the front yard - which we are now that much closer to doing at some point, I'm not going to lie.) Oh, and our group is made up of college professors, work place professionals, food activists, public education teachers, and graduate students.

There! It is finally out! Phew! No more hiding in the shadows - I have been playing as a giant air-being named Kronos, who has a big spiked-chain-on-a-stick that he whirls around and kills werewolves with. Jesse is an elven tracker (think Legolas!) who's race is suffering from a mysterios Elf disease called 'the Gloaming'. We travel with a motley band consisting of a druid, a drunken monk, and a human - going on quests, rescuing kidnapped cousins . . . whoo hoo!

Now, I should attempt to clear something up here for those who are as clueless about D&D as I was only a few short weeks ago. Basically, you and the DM (Dungeon Master!) come up with a character that fits within the 'world' that the DM has created/thought up/etc. The character has back history (family, homeland, a certain race), characteristics depending on their race or orientation (bravery, fighting skills, sneakiness, healing powers), and their own agenda that the rest of the characters may or may not be aware of. Once the character is thought up, the group is given a 'quest' by the DM and the members of the group basically start telling a story, describing how their characters would proceed through the quest. Periodically, the DM says, "nope, that character wouldn't do that" or "suddenly a landslide buries Kronos!" and then inevitably the characters would work together with their different abilities to dig out Kronos, see through dirt, call up a windstorm to clear the dirt, heal Kronos with potions, something like that. It's fun because everyone takes a turn to tell part of the story - and the Thursday night group in general is pretty goofy so we have a good time.

So, there! Our secret is out. On Thursday nights we go to our friend Paul's house (met him and his husband through the CSA, also a board member of Syracuse chapter of Slow Food) and Jesse brings his leather pouch of special D&D dice. As I have been informed, it is NOT kosher to roll another man's die. I have not yet made the final step of purchasing my own multifaceted tumbling harbingers of chance, but I'm guessing it will be any day now . . . .

PS: The pictures are from our 2nd Anniversary weekend!

I am Looking Out the Window AND . . .

I SEE SNOW! Yes, that's right, our first snow fall. I have no idea if it's sticking around for long, but it is nice that it has happened on a Friday (no classes for me!) so I can mosey throughout the house with my cup of coffee, snug as a bug in a rug! I know as a Syracusian we are in for more than our fair share of the stuff, but I can't help still getting excited at the first snow . . .

So! Our night in Philly! It was combo surprise birthday party for Jill's bud Julia and our dear friend Tom (Jilly's hubs). Julia loves surprises and Tom hates them, so it kinda worked out well for both - Julia got to be surprised, and - once Tom realized that, no, he WAS NOT supposed to recognize everyone there - Tom was able to quickly shirk the spotlight and get to visit with us :) Philly is definitely a city we'd love to explore a little more. Jill and Tom live in the Museum District in a small but super cute apartment that--with only 3 months under their belts (and two busy schedules to boot)--they've already made into a home. Meanwhile, Jill is in the throws of grad school, getting her MFA in Directing (yay!!) and Tom has been recently hired as the Technical Director (may have got the EXACT title wrong there, but you get the idea) of Swarthmore College's Theater Department.

After the birthday bash and a night on probably THE most comfortable futon we have ever experienced, we jetted off to a Sunday Funday. No football involved on this Sunday Funday - a baby shower for me and golf with Dad and D for Jess. I've suddenly realized that may have sounded odd - no, I did not attend my OWN clandestine baby shower, which would have been a solo event because pretty much all you folks reading this would be the ones I'd want to be there! Anyway!! It was for cousin Maya! She and Dan are expecting Baby X in early December :) We oohed and ahhed over her impressive belly and played a few baby games (Did you know that the baby name for a Fox is a Kit? An armadillo, a pup? An eagle, an eaglet?!) Though pastels are not my favorite, I've got to admit, the cuteness factor went way off the charts once the bitty baby blankets and onseies started coming out - I've got some great pictures of my sisters scheming for future presents ;)

I GUESS the golf game should get a mention here . . .Jess, Dad, and Damian played in Warwick on THE perfect golf day of the year. They all played horribly and had an amazing time. I don't have pictures of that round, but you can stalk Jesse and Damian on Facebook to see the pictures there.

Oh yeah. Nope, my costumes did not pan out. Ah well - it got to about an hour before we were supposed to show up at a class Halloween shindig when Jesse picked up on my (not so sutble!) aimless wandering through Salvation Army as a cue to come up with some alternate plans. It's my fault for having spent the previous 6 hours on the couch watching an NCIS marathon . . .My husband, however, is brilliant, and he perked me up with the suggestion of a date night - a steak dinner (THAT'S how out of it I was, I haven't craved steak, well, ever) followed by the early evening showing of "Where the Wild Things Are". With some meat in my belly and giant wild fuzzies on the big screen, I was a happy camper. A happy Halloweeny camper :)