Archive for March, 2009
Is it coincidence that the 200th post on Infrequent@Best also happens to be Tiny Elvis’s 20 week ultrasound? Probably, but that doesn’t change a thing. Without further ado…
The ultrasound tech was great, giving us ample time to watch her handiwork. Of course, she was doing this to take Very Important Measurements that we do not understand, but it was a nice 10 minutes none the less. Anatomically, everything is A OK. Tiny E has a Single Umbilical Artery, but with good results from the AFP test last month and no other physical abnormalities, that’s totally an OK thing to have. We did NOT learn the sex of the baby, even though the temptation did creep up on us last night. The ultrasound tech said she didn’t notice either. Tiny E was M-O-V-I-N-G! The tech had a hard time pinning down a good image, going as far as jiggling Tori’s belly with the probe to calm baby down (didn’t work!). The above images are the result of a 3D/4D ultrasound, and boy oh boy was it cool to see the moving image. The majority of printed pics were standard 2D, and they stayed with the doctor. I took some iPhone pics of them that you can see here if you’re really interested.
You have to admit, the hair in the first picture is kind of Elvis-y, yeah? Baby has see-thru skin (cool!) right now, so you can see the ulna and radius in their arm in the first picture.
We’re so happy, and this ultrasound just further solidified that I have a real baby on the way. Less than 20 weeks to go, better get my ass in gear!
March 26th, 2009
We’ve been thinking a lot about the nursery lately…here’s a list of sites I’ve been visiting:
- Modernnursery.com has some great wall stickers and decor, but crazy overpriced Euro furniture. We’re a little crunchier than this.
- I like this print from sherriblumdesigns. It fits well with the forest-y theme we’re going for:
- Coochicoos.com does a nice design blog with a baby slant.
- Babygadget.net; another design blog. The name is a bit misleading, and I was disappointed that there was no section for infant cell phone plans, we think Tiny E is gonna be a big txtr.
- Coolmompicks.com is more for moms, but there’s some fun stuff there.
- A great thread at treehugger.com about affordable low and no VOC paints for the baby’s room.
- Another higher-end design blog for nurseries and kids rooms, from the people that brought you apartmenttherepy.com: Ohdeedoh
- My friend Alina reminded me that she is the source for hip baby stuff. How could I have forgot? Check her out at Olive and Bean Boutique for lots of fun, modern baby gear.
- Another cool print…very 50′s, but maybe a bit to pastel! I found this at Hello Lucky. Fifty bucks ain’t cheap, but Tori might make me splurge on this one!
In the future, I’ll be blogging things as I find them. There’s just so much cool kids stuff out there now!
March 25th, 2009
I have to laugh at this product, even though I wrote a post about my in utero child listening to the Grateful Dead. I mean, I was having some fun. $150 for a “prenatal educational system”…not so much fun. I don’t mean to deflate the hopes of parents who presume that the equivalent of flash cards in the womb will lead their child to a career in particle physics, but I do feel the need to point out how much stupid crap parents-to-be are pressured into purchasing. I’m all for science applied to parenting, and I know that sooner or later, I’ll fall into this trap and buy a Baby Einstein video or two for Tiny E. But for those of you who have kids, or have one on the way, you’ve felt the pressure from a multi billion dollar industry to beat the Joneses when it comes to taking care of your baby. I know we’ve come a long way in prenatal care and medical science to guide us to having happier, healthier babies, but the fact is we’ve been doing this as a species for quite some time now. We’re capable of raising our kids without much help from an industry that was born only a few decades ago. For god’s sake, we spent a solid portion of yesterday after noon in a store called BUY BUY BABY. After all is said and done, I hope I don’t look back at my parenting career with a twinge of regret for not buying a BabyPlus Prenatal Education System. But I bet Tiny E could really give a damn!
March 21st, 2009
Tori and I took the k9s to Battelle Darby Creek yesterday for a nice walk in the woods. Cy-dog decided to jump in at the doggy beach (with 40 degree temps!) and even Sassy tried to get in on the action, chasing geese into the lake. We had a great time, and I’m glad I spent a day in the woods during my little vacation. Here are some of the pictures I snapped on our walk…
March 14th, 2009
Well, we’ve finally hit a point where we feel comfortable sharing some belly pictures! We’ll try to update weekly from this point on. For now, enjoy this great 18 week picture from Battelle Darby Creek yesterday. Tiny E is about the size of a bell pepper here…
March 14th, 2009
If you read my earlier post, you’ll want to read this. A random encounter with a neighbor down the street led to an in home meeting with one of the CPDs finest. I won’t go into details, but suffice to say I’m not the only one who noticed some crazy stuff in the ‘hood as of late. Tori, a few neighbors and I all sat down for a few minutes with the officer to explain the situation. Long story short from the cop: keep track of vehicles make/model, time of visits and anything else that might help the CPD. If action picks up again (it’s slowed this week) email or call and we’ll try to get some traffic stops around the house. Don’t do anything stupid. (Funny sidebar: when I was entering this officers info into my iPhone, he saw me taking his picture for a contact icon and flipped out. Never thought I’d scare a cop! I guess he was worried that the whole meeting would get put on the youtubes.) Anyway, things have mellowed out around here. I’ve painted over my graffitied garage, and the recent burst of nice weather has people outside keeping an eye on everything. We did find out that the last person we know that rented the troubled house moved out a couple of months ago…glad to know it wasn’t him, I would have felt a little bad for narcing on him. We’re also in the process of talking with the landlord, who we know doesn’t like shady stuff going on at her houses.
The really great thing is that it only took talking to some neighbors and getting a little organized! It’s amazing the positive things that can happen when you strike up a conversation on your street…
March 13th, 2009
Today is day one of my stay-at-home vacation, and the morning started with a phone call from the guys delivering my brand spanking new washer & dryer. I had been dreading this for some time, as unusual angles and shoddy tile work have left a tiny gap to cram a big box through. The two men had no problems, though, and by 9 AM I had our first load going. They used these things to move the appliances around, and it looked like they led to minimal struggling and grunting. At some point this week, I’ll be returning to the basement to restructure it for organization, in an effort to get the nursery ready.
For now, though, I’ve moved to my backyard. Columbus had an early cold snap that prevented me from doing half the stuff I wanted to do before the spring, so I’m getting a late start. I cut down the old ornamental grasses (we leave them up for the winter, they look so pretty…) and raked the yard of eleventy billion locust pods. I’ve been burning all my waste, due to the city not renewing it’s contract with Rumpke for yard waste recycling. While I was out tending the fire, my mind started to list what needs done out there:
- My “flower” beds are not tamed. They need borders of some kind to keep the mulch and dirt in.
- Numerous holes in my yard from our K9s and other animals. Best way to fill, anyone?
- A stump of an old bush in the middle of my yard. It needs to go. I want to kill it in it’s stupid face.
- While we were in Indiana, I saw a friends sweet compost bin. He used a 30 gallon plastic drum on a wood frame for easy turning. Kind of like this. I want one.
- My fence needs some repair.
- The “wants”: speakers on the deck, power outlet near the deck, some shrubs moved around.
I only have four days, and there’s plenty to do in the house, as well. Fortunatly, I have three gigantic Phish shows to keep my ears happy. Wish me luck!
March 10th, 2009
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Thanks, Phish. I owe ya one. Wait, no I don’t! 
