More happy belly times

...because Ginger told me to. :-)

1. WAS YOUR SECOND PREGNANCY PLANNED?
Wellll, we were planning another baby. Just maybe not right that minute. MJ was only nine months old!

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME?
Yes. Wouldn't have cared if I weren't.

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?
Shock. Concern. Then pure joy.

4. HOW OLD WERE YOU?
28.

5. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?
I was at the doctor for some other reason. As an afterthought, I said, "I've also been feeling a little queasy, kind of like I felt when I was pregnant." Hmmm.

6. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?
Frank. We got into the shower together to contemplate our new circumstances.

7. DUE DATE?
March 6th, I think. But I just knew she was going to arrive in February.

You remember how sure I was that MJ was a boy? Right.

8. ACTUAL DATE BABY WAS BORN?
March 11th.

9. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?
Every damn day for more than two months. Then I felt like Superwoman.

10. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE?
Hmm. Sleep mostly.

11. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?
Working.

12. WHAT WAS YOUR SECOND CHILD'S SEX?
Girl.

13. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING?
Not even a little bit.

14. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY?
I have no idea. Not so much that it was a problem, not so little that it didn't show.

15. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER?
Gawd, I don't even remember. That whole time is a sleep-deprived blur.

16. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW?
n/a

17. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY?
Not a one.

18. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Group Health Hospital, Redmond, Washington

19. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?
From the first twinges to the happy moment, 10 hours.

Favorite memory: Feeling those first contractions as I was tucking MJ into bed. Also, Frank's lack of concern when I told him I was having said contractions. He was quite sure we were at least 24 hours from actual delivery and went off to bed.

20. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL?
Frank. "No, really, Frank, it's time to get up now."

21. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Frank and Cherie, the midwife, and a platoon of medical people I was pretty much oblivious to.

22. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION?
Natural.

23. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN?
Yes, an injection of some narcotic that did little to ease the pain but a lot to interfere with my ability to cope with the pain. If anybody had told me how little time was actually left, I wouldn't have had it.

24. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH?
Ummm. A little under 7 lbs., I think.

25. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN?
7:00 a.m. straight up

26. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER?
Chloe Barbara Pierce Maier

27. HOW OLD IS YOUR SECOND BORN TODAY?
Almost 15

Happy belly times

I stole this from Ginger's Facebook, not sure where she got it.

I love, love, LOVE talking about my pregnancies. I think a lot of women are like that. Hey, Mary, can I run a "Birth Stories" funshop at LIFE is Good?

As if I need more to do that weekend...

Anyway, here's the meme:

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED?
Yes, but it was still a total surprise. I had been on the pill for a long time, went off in prep for pregnancy, then didn't think I was ovulating. Wrong!

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME?
Yes. Wouldn't have cared if I weren't.

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?
Disbelief. I did like Juno and drank gallons so I could take another pregnancy test. Then pure joy.

4. HOW OLD WERE YOU?
26

5. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?
Ha. Funny story. I had been feeling totally crappy, to the point where it was affecting my work. My (female) manager eyeballed me and said, "Could you be pregnant?" "No," I said, laughing. Then I'm pretty sure my face froze. "Oh, wait..."

6. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?
A woman at work. I don't even remember her name now, or why she ended up knowing I was in the bathroom stall peeing on a stick. But she was technically first. Then I went home and told Frank.

7. DUE DATE?
September 10th. I didn't find out until after MJ was born, fortunately, that September 10th was the day the first Marjorie died.

8. ACTUAL DATE BABY WAS BORN?
September 15th.

9. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?
Every damn day for more than two months. Then I felt like Superwoman.

10. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE?
Hot and sour soup. Banana splits. Bananas. And later in the pregnancy, hamburgers. Jerry would buzz down to Ray's Drive-in for me almost every afternoon.

11. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?
Chicken. I still occasionally have trouble with the smell of cooking chicken. Later, not sleeping irritated me the most.

12. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX?
Despite my complete certainty that it was a boy and the baby's pregnancy nickname of "Wolfgang," we had a girl.

Stephanie and me in unison in the birthing suite, crooning: "It's a giiiirrrrrlllll." We were all thrilled.

I still kind of miss the boy she wasn't, though. He was very real to me.

13. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING?
Not even a little bit.

14. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY?
I have no idea. Not so much that it was a problem, not so little that it didn't show.

15. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER?
Three of them: work, my side, Frank's side. Best quote, from Deb Maier's card to us after MJ was born: "For that rare flower in the Maier garden, a girl!"

16. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW?
I knew about all 3 in advance.

17. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY?
Tiny bit of early spotting, spent one day in bed being terrified. The cord was double-wrapped around her neck when she was born, but the midwife dealt with that so matter-of-factly that I was never worried.

18. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Group Health Hospital, Redmond, Washington

19. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?
From the first twinges to the happy moment, 36 hours.

Favorite memory: Frank and Jerry in our living room, timing my contractions with dueling G-Shock watches.

20. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL?
Frank.

21. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Frank, Mom, Steph, the midwife Linda, and a platoon of medical people I was pretty much oblivious to.

22. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION?
Natural.

23. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN?
No.

24. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH?
Ummm. Hmm, haven't had to pull that number from memory for a while. It was about 7 lbs., but I'd have to go look it up to get the exact weight.

25. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN?
11:36 a.m. I can still picture the clock that was across from my bed.

26. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER?
Marjorie Caitlin Pierce Maier

27. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY?
16

Butts up

Changing diapers
Note: I've just discovered the theme for NaBloPoMo this month is Change. Since I coincidentally blogged about that very thing for the first couple days of January, I've decided to continue blogging on that subject this month. Every day? Maybe, maybe not.

I miss changing diapers. The Ghost of Ronnie Past—the one who spent four and half years diapering butts—is lurking behind me, shrieking,
"What?! Are you crazy?"

But I miss it just the same.

I got to change Lila several times at our New Year's Eve sleepover and was reminded of all the good stuff. Every diaper change was a moment of connection. Every one was an opportunity for play, for singing a little song, for blowing raspberries on baby belly. Every one was a chance for surprises, entertainment, commiseration, laughter.

Frank invented a diaper-changing song when ours were babies. It goes like this:

Butts up, baby, butts up,
Gimme your butt, gimme gimme your butt,
Gimme gimme
Butts up, baby, butts up... (etc.)

Lila found it highly entertaining. (Who wouldn't?)

One time she was resistant, so I diapered her bear instead. That was so funny, she laid herself right down for her turn.

It was so fun!

Yes, yes, of course I remember the downsides. Meconium. Changing a baby who doesn't want to be changed. Changing a poopy diaper when you're so tired you want to cry.

"I'll give you a thousand dollars if you'll do it."

But the rest is good stuff.

Verity's Night Before Christmas

This is a coworker's daughter. She's 3.


or watch on YouTube directly

It's put-back day!

Please join us in sending our very best wishes to Randi and Kauleen today!

Think babies!

Marty's greats

From a little Christmas message in our e-mail this morning, Molly (11 mos.) and Brian (14).

Scrabble, Mollypop, Paul Jr., and the Blues

Frank and MJ returned Wednesday from their dad-and-daughter trip to New Orleans. Here are a few highlights from their visit:

• Dad Marty is doing okay. He has lost a little more right-side mobility due to a second "circulatory problem of the head" (that's a quote from a movie, not his doctors) last summer, but he gets by pretty well with his left hand. Mentally, he is as sharp as ever in some ways—he very much enjoys playing Scrabble and pulls off some sophisticated multiple-word turns—but he has to be strapped into his chair because forgets that he can't walk, and he doesn't consistently remember Gary, whom he has lived with for a year now.
• I'm almost too envious of this one to write about it, but Frank and MJ got to meet Jerry and Cori's too adorable daughter, Molly, who is (umm) 9 months old (I think) and whom everyone calls "Mollypop." She loved MJ's jewelry especially. I'm sure MJ protected her nosering carefully from those clever little fingers.
• Chrissy's son, Paul, and his significant other are expecting! Baby is due May-ish, Frank says.
• MJ wanted to see a couple of bands that were playing at the House of Blues, so Frank took her down there one night. I think he went only reluctantly, but it sounds like he was pleasantly surprised by the experience. She loved it, of course!

.....
There is more to tell, but my time is limited. Maybe Frank and MJ will fill in the blanks in the comments.

Marty and Molly

A photo stolen from one of Jerry's MySpace photo albums.

Verity dances

Here's a friend's daughter, showing us her moves.

http://thebluchers.typepad.com/veritys_pages/2007/06/verity-dances.html

Baby moments

I was in a shop downtown yesterday and encountered a woman with a baby. She had him parked behind her while her transaction was rung up. I started talking to him and jingling my keys at him. She turned to look, so I gave her a friendly smile. She said, "Oh, good," and walked off to do a bit more shopping. It really surprised me, even though she didn't go far and was gone for only a couple of minutes. But I wish the world were such that all moms could be like that, trusting a friendly stranger to give her half a minute to get things done.

That moment in that store has helped a tiny bit to balance a very different moment I had in another store last week. This woman was walking all around Borders with her very small baby in a carrier. He was screaming, arms flailing, cheeks red. At one point, she set the carrier down, turned her back on him, and began to peruse the books. It was heartbreaking. I went up to that baby, too, and even went so far as to ask her if I could rock him. It didn't help. She said, "He doesn't like his carseat." Well, duh. That much was obvious to all of us in the store! I remain baffled over what she thought she might accomplish by torturing him that way.

http://www.attachmentparenting.com/

Various

News from New Orleans: Jerry, Cori, and Molly are getting settled in. J&C are both working as temps while they look for career positions. And Marty is doing pretty well. He is still having memory problems--he doesn't remember Gary's name, for instance--and Judy says he sleeps a lot, but Chuck and Eric were happy to find him alert and chipper when they visited there a week or two ago.

There's a new foal on the way at Hope for Horses! The foster parents of Honey, a rescued mare, bred her in violation of their contract with HFH, so she's back at the main barn now, with the baby due soon. MJ wants to spend some nights in the barn on foal watch. I sure hope she gets to watch the birth this time!

With the hype for Harry Potter 7 building, Chloe has been digging back into her mile-high stack of HP books. She decided it would be fun to do some of the assignments the Hogwarts kids get in the books, so she's been spending quite a lot of time writing essays on cool stuff like moonstones, self-fertilizing bushes, Neptune, and kneazles. Her essays are quite good, plus it's been fun to watch her discovering all those school tricks for essays, such as WRITING LARGER TO FILL THE REQUIRED PAGES.

After two weeks with overtime, Frank has had a quiet week workwise, with even the weekly Friday meeting dedicated to a going-away party for one of the editors. So, we've been having a little at-home vacation. We're having a lot of fun with our Netflix subscription these days--each member of the family has his/her own queue now, which keeps all of us watching the mail for movies--and we have more library books out than we can possibly read before they're due.

Speaking of, I want to recommend "Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom" to all my female readers (and interested males, too, of course). Dr. Christiane Northrup shares patients' stories and a lot of medical advice that combines the best of medical science with sensible tenets of spiritual/psychological healing. My favorite part about it is that she begins with the assumption that our bodies are naturally healthy and will remain so, instead of the assumption that we're going to fall apart as we get older. (Did you know that the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico believed that the best runners were people in their sixties, and that researchers who tested the members of the tribe found that the 60-somethings did indeed have the best lung capacity, cardiovascular fitness, and endurance? It illustrates how much our attitudes toward health and aging can affect us!)

Both girls are signed up for next summer's Not Back to School Camp. They are very excited, especially MJ.
MJ has a new haircut! She had about a foot of hair cut off. Cute, huh?

I'm back!

Here I am, returned both home and to blogging. Last week, I finished up my latest contract at the Velvet Sweatshop and immediately flew off to Georgia for a few days visiting my best pal, Stephanie. (She and her husband, Rick, moved to Athens last summer, having had enough of Northwest weather. Seems like they got out in the nick of time.) We did some sightseeing and shopping, but the highlights were a bunch of time spent having complete conversations, a fab multicourse dinner at a restaurant near their house, and their introducing me to Firefly, an excellent TV series that should never have been canceled -- check it out on DVD!

Now, I am settling into life at home. I have to be away from Microsoft for 100 days (required after every 365 days worked there as a temp, ever since a certain lawsuit filed against the company). My Big Plan is to enjoy some time with my kids. Frank's work continues, so I get to revel in my time off, knowing we still have income. Pretty cool.

I am very tardy in announcing the birth of Molly Eileen Lewis to proud parents Jerry and Cori. She arrived January 19th, a few weeks ahead of schedule. She weighed in at just under 6 pounds and had to spend a few extra days at the hospital to finish "cooking," but mother and baby are both doing well. J-man gets out of the Marines late February (not late March as I previously told you, Jorene, yay!), then the family is moving home. They'll stay at Grandma Judy's while they get settled. Grand-aunt-ma Ronnie is very excited to get her hands on that baby, but we're not sure when that will happen.

Our other item of news is a sad one: We said good-bye today to Snowball the rat. She died in her cage this morning after living several months with a large tumor and showing distinct signs of old age. MJ and Chloe are pretty sad -- Snowy has been with us through a lot of adventures -- but they find distraction in a couple of comedians called Rodney and Lestat.

Anyway, we're all doing well. I'll try to fill in more details of the past few months in subsequent posts.

Happy New Year!

Please welcome Lila!

Emma and Ella have a new sister! Lila Elita Jean was born at 4:16 Saturday morning. She was 9 lbs., 6 ounces, has lovely dark hair and eyebrows, and is sweet and calm. Mom Erin and Dad Erik were both troupers (Mom through labor and delivery and Dad through a nasty bout of food poisoning).

In addition to her immediate family, Lila's arrival was attended by her aunties Megan, Denise, and Ronnie, and cousins MJ, Chloe, Chelsea, and Megan. The livingroom was a bit crowded, but it was sure a special time!

Doing the Evergreen

The girls and I spent yesterday at the Evergreen State Fair. We ate and rode rides until we were green around the gills. A fine day!

The high(?) points:

* The Scrambler!!! This is a family tradition -- it's always the first ride we go on. (Two summers ago, Chiara -- newly arrived in America -- found our passion for it just a bit puzzling.) The girls are big now, so they took the outside and I got the joy of squishing them for a change.

* Visiting the pig barn and admiring the cute little babies, then turning around to see recipe posters and pamphlets prominently displayed.

* Walla Walla burgers!!! It's all about the onions, baby.

* Shriners corn on the cob!!! It's all about the butter, baby.

* Riding the Yo Yo at sunset. Gorgeous territorial views!

* Taking turns swinging the sledgehammer-bell-ringer thingy. Macho we are not, but we all won prizes anyway. Mine is a big blow-up sledgehammer that says "Girl Power."

* Seeing the Clydesdales and Percherons all hitched up and doing their thing.

* Hearing bits of "Footloose" from the Kenny Loggins concert at the grandstand.

* Finding a booth that was selling Crocs and getting to see all the colors in person. They have silver now! And the baby-sized ones are adorable (but sticker-shock-inducing at $25/pair).

* Buying the girls tacky $8 air-brushed straw cowboy hats. Yee haw!

* Taking my junk-food hangover and the remains of my Mother Goose handstamp into meetings at Microsoft today.

The fair runs through Labor Day at the fairgrounds in Monroe. We give it three thumbs up!

Filling in the blanks

Well, my blog posting has been somewhat sporadic recently, so I've got some blanks to fill in.

Marty
Marty moved to his new home at Heritage Manor on Monday. Here's Judy's report, sent Tuesday:

"We got dad moved in yesterday. Right now he's sharing a room but he's on the list for a private room as soon as one comes available. We got there just in time for lunch & he chowed down. He wanted to hang out in the hall with the rest of the gang afterwards until bingo. Gary & I went back this afternoon to do the paper work. It was worse than buying a house!

"He's using one of their wheelchairs but we're going to get him his own. I need to speak with one of the therapists to be sure I get all the right amenities... I hope to get his phone transferred this week. We still need to move his stuff over... We'll be getting a report from the therapists after they've had time to make an assessment...probably at the end of the week."

The foal
The foal's name is Hero. He's healthy and sassy and will no doubt feature prominently in an all-day fundraising event this coming Saturday. MJ is volunteering at their booth there. She's going to spend Friday night out at Hope for Horses so she can ride down to south Seattle with the owners.

Oh, there are a couple of photos of MJ, and even one of me, on the Hope for Horses Web site here: http://67.59.174.44/index.php?page=home She's right there on the home page, wearing the ballcap. Then click Our Volunteers to see the one of the two of us visiting with Faith's older baby and her corral-mate. It was taken at the volunteer appreciation BBQ 7/15.

Chloe's first week at home
Last Wednesday, Grandma hosted a welcome home party for Chloe out at the beach. It was a sunny day, although a bit cooler than the 90's we had been having. Still, all the kids got in the water. I stuck to wading, although Angelo (my mom's dog) and Bentley (the dog next door) did their best to share the water with me. I remember swimming in Puget Sound as a kid, but it's hard to imagine being willing to do so now. That water is COLD!

Chloe's friend-since-Kindergarten Gabrielle joined us for the party. It's been a while since we've seen her (at least 3 months!), so that was really nice. She's at North Middle School now, I'm sorry to say, but she seems to have adjusted well. And she's quite the soccer star, playing for a local league for soccer prodigies.

Other than partying, Chloe has been settling back into life in America. She's discovered things she likes better at Summerhill -- no chores there, and she says she is generally treated with more respect (we're working on that) -- but she's clearly happy to be with us again. We've been eating all that good food she requested, getting her caught up on the House episodes she missed, and just hanging out together.

Social weekend
Friday night, the girls and I attended a bridal shower for Tom's grandniece, Ryan. It was held up in Mt. Vernon in a lovely log building with adjacent Zen garden, and it was a nice gathering. Randi, our hostess, was amazingly calm. Must have been the Zen influence. :-) The wedding will take place in Grand Coulee in early September.

Saturday, Frank's cousin Mary and her fiancé Steve hosted their annual backyard BBQ. It was great to see so many Maiers in one place (even if it was only a small fraction of the clan). Sonya and Robert were there with new baby Anja and adorable 3yo Heide, so we got a nice infant-and-toddler fix. It kind of bummed me out to see the smart, talented, and very good looking teen generation of Maier males, though: My daughters don't get to marry one of them! (Hmm. I just checked the Revised Code of Washington and, legally speaking, second cousins can marry. I still think it would be too weird, though!)

The parade of pirates
Nearly a month ago, my brother asked me to explain about the parade we participate in on the 4th of July, and I don't seem to have done it. So, Nick, sorry for the delay, and here's your answer: Every year, one of my mom's neighbors organizes a kiddie parade down the road. Kids of all ages turn out for it, and the decorations and riding-mower-drawn floats have gotten steadily more elaborate. Three or four years back (hmm, after the 2000 elections maybe?), our crowd abandoned red-white-and-blue and began dressing up as pirates. Nowadays, a pirate-ship float and candy throwing have become part of the routine, and our supply of pirate clothing and accessories and weapons has grown to impressive proportions. I don't have a picture here at work, but I'll try to dig one out and post it later.

Snowball and the boys
Snowball is doing very well. She had to have her verrrrry long teeth trimmed, and she didn't care for the procedure one bit, but she's bright-eyed and eating well now. And the boys are settling in nicely. They aren't (much) afraid of our hands any more, and Snowball has taught them how to lick treats off of human fingers. They still get confused and nip now and then, but their teeth aren't lethal yet, fortunately.

They are still in separate-but-adjacent cages and will probably remain so. Snowball has *probably* reached menopause, but rats can produce as many as 20 babies in one litter, so we'd rather not take any chances. They socialize through the bars a bit, and they get daily supervised nonconjugal visitation.

Work
Frank's weird project continues. He regularly has days where they're paying him to be on call, with no work ever turning up. And he occasionally has days where he's working well into the night. Either way, it's money in the bank. (Kind of a bummer that it's all going to end up in Summerhill's bank, but Chloe is clearly having a unique and fulfilling experience, so we try not to think about it.)

My work is going well, too. After 2-1/2 years with this team, I definitely know more about the products than is good for me -- I am solely responsible for two huge projects that are due at essentially the same time!! -- but it's a good team to work for. My boss is a dream manager: a personable, creative, flexible realist. This Friday, we're moving to new offices. It's a classic Microsoft move: our new space is two hallways away, and we'll be even more crowded there. Too silly.

I hope you are all doing well. Drop us a line!

A sad good-bye and a couple of tiny hellos

Mezza Luna the rat left us to go on to her next great adventure yesterday morning. We'll miss her very much.

Mezza Luna

2004 - 2006

Sister, comedian, intrepid sailor,

flying wonder, determined explorer, friend

To keep Snowball from getting lonely, we brought home a couple of new friends yesterday afternoon. Please join me in welcoming our two very tiny boys, Rodney the Rat (pronounced Wodney the Wat) and Lestat.
















Rodney is in the foreground. Lestat was irritated with all the flashing and wouldn't come out any more. (Vampires don't like the light, you know.)

One more:

A new flower on the Maier family tree

Proud parents Sonya and Robert welcomed a new addition to their beautiful family yesterday!Anja (pronounced "AHN-ya") Grace was born July 3rd at 2:37pm - 6lb 10oz, 20 1/2" long. Sonya says, "It was a very peaceful and amazingly smooth birth.... Her big sisters are very enthusiastic, and Papa's very proud of his new princess. Grandma [Grace] and big sister Maria were there for the birth."

Our congrats!!

The foal arrived!

The foal was born in the wee hours of Saturday morning. He doesn't have a name yet, but it will probably start with H (they (re)name their horses alphabetically, and he comes after his mother Faith and sister Grace). Jenny votes for Hallelujah, but John doesn't like that much, so the debate continues.

As you can see from the picture below, his extra month of "cooking" time made for some loooong legs on this little guy.

I'm going to be a grandmother!

Okay, sort of, but I couldn't resist the shock value of that title. :-)

Nephew-son Jerry and his wonderful wife Cori called today to let us know they are expecting a little one on or around February 7, 2007. (02-07-2007 would make a cool birthdate, wouldn't it?) So far, Cori is feeling good. The doctor does have her taking pren-a-tal, that same mystery drug they put me on when I was pregnant with MJ. (Prenatal vitamins, really, but the label on my bottle only said "Prenatal", and poor Jerry, who suddenly found himself at 17 living in a house turned upside down by baby plans, asked one day what the pren-a-tal was for.)

We're totally tickled and can't wait to welcome our new grandniece-daughter or grandnephew-son.

Random details -- with 5/11 updates!!

The name of the volleyball team is Hot Sauce. Their uniforms (t-shirts) are red.

No foal yet. This may mean bad news. They're going to do an ultrasound and see.
Update: The foal is alive! Ultrasound indicates he's got a couple more weeks to "cook."

No word from Chloe yet. This probably means good news. I'm calling her tomorrow to be sure.
Update: No one is answering the kids' phone at Summerhill, so I have left a message for and sent an e-mail to her houseparent. I also put a Howler (scolding) into snail-mail yesterday -- I know Chloe will read that!

Mezza is completely recovered from her surgery, and her hair is growing back in. Man, did I ever say that the lump was benign? Well, it was. Yay!

We are totally hooked on House, M.D. We recommend renting the DVDs for the first season and having a House marathon. Great cinema!

Beta software is the bane of my existence. (Tough day at work today.)

Frank got our fence rebuilt! It blew down in a windstorm a while back.

I miss Jaffa Cakes!! (Ah -- turns out the ones I *really* love are McVities Jaffa Cake Bars. Looks like I can get a 5-pack on eBay for about $14. Or maybe not.)