Five Favorite Italian Words

My friend, Lori, over at Cradle and All tagged me on this post. Lori did such a great job on hers that I wanted to have something equally inspiring to share. My Italian, unfortunately, is very limited, and what I do know I don't seem to be able to spell. However, in the spirit of good sportsmanship, I shall give it a whirl.

1. Mezzo - This may not seem like that exciting a word to you, but I was thrilled to find out how to say half. Considering that a kilo is equal to 2.2 pounds, I kept coming home from the market with a lot of fruit. The use of this word cut my fruit purchases in half -- literally.

2. Come stai? Actually more of a phrase than a word, but I love these two little words. One, because they were two of the first words I learned in Italian. Two, because they open a world of conversation. Even if they remain two of the only words I know, most of the Italians I have met remained thrilled that you make half an effort. Or should I say a mezzo effort?

3. Stanca - An all purpose word. If you're ever doing less than bene when someone asks you come stai, this word seems to be a sufficient response. It also seems to cover the situation well when baby boy is being fussy and I don't know how to tell them he's teething. Although recently I learned that has something to do with dente.

4. Allora - I swore when I first heard this word that I would start using it more often. It means "then" or "now then." I'm not sure when I would use it exactly, although the Italians seem to use it when moving on to their next point or trying to get everyone's attention. Personally, I just think it sounds neat. Especially when Andrea says it with his Australian accent.

5. Capisce - To this day I can't help but laugh every time I hear this word as I think of Rick Moranis and Steve Martin who say "capeesh." Actually, the verb is pronounced "cuh-pees-kay" but like a lot of other Italian words, the ending gets a bit slurred. Which is why everyone still tells each other "graw-zee!" "Don't say it. It hurts my ears when you say it."

Now I'm supposed to tag a couple of people for this post, so I shall tag my sister who was attempting valiantly to learn Italian before her visit and my friend Roni if she still drops in on my site. For now ... Ciao!

Keeping the Distance Out of Long Distance

My sister asked me to write something on this topic quite a while back. As you can see from the date of this post (versus the actual post date) it was quite a while back. What is it they say about good intentions? Which is probably a nice segue into my chosen topic ...

Before I start writing, allow me to say that none of this comes from a preachy perspective. I will assure you that any input I have on this topic is from experience and not from a degree in Relationship 101. One of the main lessons I have learned is that just because it works for me does not mean it works for everyone. The amazing thing about relationships is that they are all so unique and it takes something unique to keep each of them going. With that said, allow me to offer some suggestions for those of you attempting to keep a relationship going while many miles apart ...

First of all, and I can't stress this enough, you have to make a decision at the beginning of the relationship. Whether you are 3,000 miles apart or just separated by the activities of daily life, there has to be a decision that you are together as a couple. No matter what comes your way, you're going to work through it. I know this sounds elementary, but that basic decision will carry you through many a rough time when it just seems easier to give up. Or, times that aren't so tough when you just seem to drift apart. Either way, it's work. Hopefully this is as preachy as I get, but I know this was the hardest part for Ben and I. Deciding that no matter what came our way there was no walking away.

Now here were some of the fun things that Ben and I did to keep things rolling through the separation:
1) Ben and I got on the same cell phone plan. This allowed us to talk for as long as we wanted every day. If one of you is overseas, this option doesn't work, but it isn't bad for in the States. Overseas you may want to look into a plan like Skype.
2) Using and abusing that cell phone plan, Ben and I got on the phone and played board games. Being the computer age, you can also exercise that option online through sites like Yahoo games which allow interactive play.
3) The circle book was a great idea on the part of my husband. Here's the concept ... One person starts the book. You can write a letter, put in a picture, compose a poem ... whatever makes your own personal heart soar. Then mail that book to the other person. That person will add something to the book and mail it back to you. At the end of your separation you will have a sort of journal of your thoughts, hopes, prayers and dreams while you were apart.
4) Along those same lines, I did a scrap book for my husband to take with him on deployment. I figured if I didn't want him looking at other women, I'd send him along with reminders of me. It was based on a calendar concept, so he had a new picture for each month.
5) My sister and her husband actually inspired this one. One year for Christmas I sent him a sort of Advent Calendar of presents. It started on the first day of Christmas and went to the 25th. Each day had a number that corresponded with that day of December. For example, the first day was one book to read. Day 12 may have been a 12 ounce coffee mug. Day 15 may have been 15 pieces of stationery. I honestly don't remember them all right now, but it gave him something fun for the month of December and I had fun getting creative.
6) Care packages are always a plus. I like baking, but you can also send little things like stationery and stamps, razors, a favorite soap, a nice loofah, etc.
7) Use this opportunity to talk. Since we couldn't do the physical things in a relationship like go to dinner or snuggle up on the couch and watch a movie, we talked about things that were important to us. Some nights we talked about where we wanted to go in the future, some nights we talked about where we wanted to live down the road, some nights we just covered issues that we had never taken the time to talk about before. There is an immense blessing in having time to talk which is something that often gets pushed to the side in the rush of every day life.
8) Plan a romantic weekend somewhere. Try to find a weekend where you can both get away and meet up somewhere. It's like a little honeymoon.
9) If number eight isn't possible then have a date night apart. I know this isn't quite as nice as a date night in person, but here's the concept. Both of you pick a spot to go. It can be a restaurant you both love, a park bench or just a place to stare at the moon. Take the time to write each other a letter during that time. Write about what you would be doing if you were there with each other right then. Plan on doing those things when you get back together and anticipate that moment.
10) Keep a thankful journal. Log down each day at least one thing that you are grateful for about that person and one thing you are grateful for in your relationship. One thing about being separated is that it should give you new appreciation for the person you are without. Hold on to that journal for the rough days. A relationship savings account, if you will.
11) Do a top ten list. This is one of my husband's and my favorite dates. We both made a list of our top ten favorite movies and top ten favorite books of all time. If you want, you could do it with songs, poems, sermons, whatever. We then exchanged our lists and watched all the movies and read all the books on the other person's list. Afterwards, it gave us a new topic of conversation.
12) Plan a date. If you can't do the weekend together now, plan the ideal weekend for the return. Anticipation is a great spice to a relationship. And then make it happen.
13) Communicate, communicate, communicate. One of the advantages to our modern world is that there is a plethora of ways to communicate. Send an email, write a letter, make a phone call, get on skype, use MSN, but keep those lines of communication open.

This is a baker's dozen worth of ideas to help you get started. They were some of the ones that worked for us. I can't emphasize enough that now is a good time to remember what adds that spark to your own personal relationship. Remember what it was that brought you together in the first place and take time now to renew that bond. When you get back together, you can be grateful for the opportunity even if the separation was hard.

Baby versus Cat

My cat and my baby have a lot in common. It may seem wrong comparing my only child to the family pet, but it is, alas, a statement of fact. Let me give you some examples.

1) Both of them put everything in their mouth that is within their reach.
2) They both like small furry objects.
3) If it is moving, and within grasp, they will more than likely grab onto it.
4) They can both be tempermental for no apparent reason.
5) Although they may disturb your sleep often, it is not advisable to disturb their sleep.
6) The same rule applies for eating.
7) They both eat several small meals a day.
8) Bath tub equals good time.
9) Jing and Gabriel are soft, warm and cuddly.
10) They're a bit quirky, but I adore them both.

I'm sure I could think of more examples, but these are probably the top ten right now. My son is quite fond of our kitty cat. He seems to find her quite amusing. One night, for no expected reason, he started giggling at the sight of our kitty. He and Ben proceeded to "chase" Jing around the house while Gabriel laughed. Unfortunately, Jing wasn't quite so amused. Now here's the really funny part ... our cat ran. This may not seem like a big deal to those of you who don't know our cat, but she's been known to tree grown men. And here she was running from our five month old son. Well, at least one of them was having fun.

That's the Plan

Baby Boy is doing pretty well with sleeping. He goes to bed at 7 p.m. every night without fuss. I can not tell you how many times Ben and I have thanked God for that little blessing. He wakes up once a night. Not horrible in the grand scheme of things. His clock, however, seems to have gotten stuck at this four a.m. time slot. Rise and shine is at 6 a.m. every day. And every morning my son insists upon rising between 4 and 4:45 for a little snack. We've tried everything at this point. We've fed him more before bed at night, we've fed him less, we've put him to bed earlier, we've put him to bed later, we've tried not feeding him and just rocking him or patting his back, we've tried letting him cry, we've tried getting him up for a late night "topper" ... I can't tell you how many things we've tried. He's stuck. I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to be breastfeeding my son at 4 a.m. for the rest of our natural born lives.

We've talked with him about this. Ben and I set him down on the changing table and explained that if he sleeps for just one hour more, he can get up for the day. He'd be happier, Mommy would be happier, everyone would be happier! So for now on he is going to sleep until 6 a.m. and then get up and eat. That's the plan. He smiles at us in the most accommodating manner and continues to alert us to his presence at 4 a.m.

Recently my son came to me and said, "Mama, I'd like to discuss the current nap arrangement. Up until now we've been doing a four nap a day schedule. However, I have drawn up a three nap a day schedule which I believe will work better for everyone involved. I would appreciate it if you would take a few minutes to review the notes I have here." I looked over what he had and he was right. Three longer naps were working much better than the current four short ones. So, now that's the plan.

I like to pretend that I have some element of control over what's going on in my household. Really I do. Truth is that I make grand plans and someone else works it out. We all know that most of the time it's God telling me that my schedule just isn't His. Letting go is probably one of my biggest challenges as a Christian and as a human being. God works with me on this one continually.

I'm going to admit now in this very safe little format ... I have no clue what I'm doing as a Mom. If you haven't figured that out yet, I really don't. I'm enjoying every moment of it, but admittedly, I am just along for the ride. However, it's better not to let the world in general know this. If nothing else, if I put on a false bravado, it keeps interfering individuals from giving me reams of unwanted advice. It's really good sometimes to pretend I know what I'm doing. In the interim, I'll go on making up my little schedules and getting things accomplished when I least expect them. For now, that's the plan.

A Hard Day's Play

A perfect moment in time ...

Gabriel's Fashion Parade

My sister has just about every piece of baby clothing known to man. It's true. And they're nice clothes, too. The kind that make you feel like you just stepped into a children's book. So you can imagine how excited I was when my sister generously agreed to allow me to borrow all those darling baby clothes. Although it wasn't a stipulation, she did ask if I would be kind enough to take a few photos of Gabriel wearing said clothes. I kept meaning to do it, kept meaning to email and well ... here I am. In the end, I have decided to post the pictures on my blog instead of sending an email. I figure that it will be quicker, my blog is more able to handle multiple pictures and I will get in my required Gabriel photos. Three in one. Gotta love that. So without further delay, the Gabriel Fashion Parade ...

Gabriel was getting ready for church. Unfortunately, we didn't realize we had dressed him backwards. Ooops!

You'll notice a lot of his pictures are on his changing table. It's because he likes the changing table. Honest. And I like this outfit. So much so that I'm still trying to squeeze him into it even though it looks more like shorts by now.

Oh my ... Well, this was Gabriel just hanging out with me. Needless to say, we don't have to roll up the sleeves on that one anymore and he's getting too long for me to hold him like that.

My family has seen this one before, but it's one of my favorites. Button and I were at the playground and took a few minutes to hang out in the sun in the grass. I actually dressed him in this outfit yesterday. My husband said it's no longer Christmas and I need to stop dressing him in this, but trees are year round, right?

This picture doesn't do the outfit justice. There's little teddy bears on the collar and it's absolutely darling. However, I like this photo of my son on his playmat. He was just figuring out how to lift up his head and shoulders.

Ben swears I torture Gabriel with some of these photos. I thought he looked cute in the bear ears! This is the same outfit as earlier, I just wanted to show you that we can get it on correctly when we focus.

As with most fashion shows you can order any of the outfits shown here by indicating the model number and making checks payable to "Gabriel's College Fund." Oh wait, that's right, these are my sisters and I'm supposed to return them all. Well, let's keep this between just us ... After all, things get lost in the mail all the time, don't they? :)

The Value of a Cabbage

This post was inspired while making dinner the other day. Normally, I do not buy cabbage. Not that I have anything against cabbage, it just doesn't happen to be a food for which I have a lot of use. Plus, while I am breast feeding, it's not the best thing for breast milk. About a week ago, though, I had a craving for fish tacos. I think a friend mentioned them and it sounded so good I decided I wanted fish tacos. I looked up a recipe online and trotted off to the store for some cod and cabbage.

Now it only took about 1/8 of the cabbage to make fish tacos for two people. That leaves a lot of cabbage left over. What to do with all that left over cabbage? Some people may think "just throw it out", but at the price of produce, I just couldn't bring myself to do so. As mentioned earlier, I don't find myself using cabbage a lot, so I was really stumped. Ben came up with the brilliant idea of making stuffed cabbage. Another recipe I've never tried, but how hard could it be? Making stuffed cabbage used up about half of what was left of my leafy vegetable. Good progress and good stuffed cabbage!

I was down to about 1/3 of the original head and still had no idea what to do when someone invited me to a cookout this weekend. Well, what's a cookout without the cole slaw! Perfect. I threw in a carrot, and a few ingredients from the cabinet, and instant bring along dish.

Amazing. For someone who had no use for an entire cabbage, I had now used up the entire head. I couldn't help but think to myself how economical that head of cabbage was. Originally, a lot of vegetable was going to waste and I ended up coming up with three meals for something that cost less than a dollar. Now that's value.

Insalata d'Arancia Rossa

This is a long overdue post to my sister. When we went to the Ricotta Cheese Workshop we finished off the day with lunch. After all, it wouldn't be Italy if the day didn't conclude with a large meal. One of the dishes they served was an orange salad with sausages. My sister had asked me for the recipe for this dish and I have been trying desperately to get it. One of the gentleman here never got back to me on the recipe, but he did disclose that you made an orange salad and added cold sausages to it. That sounds easy enough. I don't have a recipe for orange salad per se, but I do have one for blood orange salad. Here is my stab at the orange and sausage dish. If someone tries it out, let me know how it goes ...

(This is an entirely gratuitous picture of my son which has absolutely nothing to do with the aforementioned recipe. I include it solely because I have been accused of not posting enough pictures of my son. Now, on with the recipe ...)

Sausages and Oranges
Begin by going to your local butcher and buying some good sausages. If you don't have a local butcher ... find one. If you must *sigh* go to the market and buy some sausages from there. It won't be the same, but I suppose one must do what one must. Cook the sausages until nicely browned and cooked through. Allow to cool.

Cut four oranges into bite-sized pieces. Mince two garlic cloves and mix with chopped Italian flat leaf parsley, red pepper flakes and black pepper to taste. Generously drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Toss.

Arrange sausages on platter. Serve with orange salad on the same platter.

Happy Birthday, Kathy!

My sister has this wonderful tradition of posting about family members for their birthdays. Since she does it for everyone else, I thought I would post for her this year. When this goes up, it's probably going to say February 3 on it. This is just because I started a couple of days early to make sure it made it up by her birthday. Kathy's actual birthday is February 5, so be sure to wish her a Happy one! In the meantime, on with the post ...

If I remember correctly, we are first supposed to give a short history of said individual. I'll go past that part and direct you to her blog over at Art's Chili instead.


Next we'll go onto the things we appreciate about her:

Ben - "Her parenting abilities. The Wachter children are all well behaved, intelligent and healthy, which is a direct reflection of the way they are being raised."
Diann - "My sister is one of the most generous people I know. If she had a dollar to her name, and you needed it, she would give it to you. But she's not just monetarily generous. She also gives of her time, talents and wisdom without hesitation."
Gabriel - "I like the fact that she shares her cold hands and her jewelry. She also reads me stories and doesn't mind if I'm a boring date."

Blessings for the coming year:
Ben - "Wishing her good health."
Diann - "To find joy in each and every day even if they don't bring happiness."
Gabriel - "Happy memories with your family."

We miss you, Kat and Zia ... Wishing you all the best for this birthday.

Making Time

Sleep has become a high priority for me these days. I hate to sound so selfish and shallow, but it's true. I've gotten almost desperate on this subject. I've considered, amongst other options, drugging my child, drugging myself, finding a neighbor with a guest bedroom that is unoccupied or even going on a girl's weekend away just so I could sleep the entire time. Can't you see it now? "Hello, Milan! Hello, hotel bed!" I didn't claim I was going for life of the party, I just said sleep. Point being (did I say I had a point? I'm too tired to know ...) that if I'm giving up any possibility of sleep these days, it had better be for a particularly good reason. And it's amazing to me how my concept of "good reason" has shrunk rapidly.

Last week my husband wanted to go on a date. This is probably the first time since we've been dating that my husband has suggested a date. He planned what we were going to do and found a babysitter. I felt like going on a date about as much as I felt like shooting myself. Then I thought about my sister and all the times that she is tired and still goes on a date with her husband. It's all about fostering relationship, right? Doesn't it figure that as we snuggled up in the back row of the theatre, a very lonely gentleman took the seat near us and began chatting happily away. So much for our first evening alone. Despite this, we still had a wonderful time. And it was good to have that time for just us.

This past Monday we took advantage of the three-day weekend to take Gabriel to see his first snow. We figured there's not a lot of babies who can say their first snow was on Mount Etna. On the way up we managed to take a bit of a detour through one or two small towns, but eventually we got to the top. A short visit indeed. Gabriel wasn't much of a fan of the snow and cold blowing in his face. Our outing consisted of a few snapped pictures and back into the car for the drive home. Again, despite this, I'm so glad I went.


They may not be important moments in the grand scheme of things, but they're awfully important to me. I want to know that we took the time to foster our relationship and capture some special moments even while we were floundering around trying to figure out parenting. Making time is worth missing a little sleep.

A Little Bit of Laughter

I heard my son laugh for the first time the other day. I have no idea why he was laughing or how to get him to do it again, but it was amazing. Some days I have days like today. For one reason or another (and no, we have yet to figure out what triggers this) my son decides he doesn't want to sleep. He took half a morning nap, no afternoon nap and spent most of the day being cranky. Finally, about 2:30 this afternoon, he fell asleep in my arms. Everything that I've been trying to instill in my son about good sleeping habits went out the window right then as I balanced it against my son actually getting some much needed sleep. For two and a half hours I just sat there watching him sleep. My back ached. I was tired. My son slept. And somehow, the fact that I was uncomfortable really didn't matter. I know this sounds cliche, but it's also the truth. For those two and a half hours, I just sat there watching that sweet little face and thanking God for my precious baby boy. I thought about that darling little laugh of his and the sweet smile I get when he's actually slept. And I thought how one day I would be so grateful for that time holding my son in my arms.

Fun with Fruitcake

Our family has a thing for fruitcake. No, no fruitcake has actually been consumed in the telling of this story, but we have a fondness for fruitcake that borders on a fetish. Some people would be embarrassed to admit this. I, however, figure that anyone reading this post already knows that my family is filled with fruitcakes anyway.

For those of you who don't know the story, I'll give you the abbreviated version. One year for Christmas my sister sent my younger brother a fruitcake. Not actually wanting to digest said item, he proceeded to send it back the next year. Long story short, this fruitcake has been making the rounds for several years with added embellishments along the way such as a card and a t-shirt. As happens with most jokes, this one is probably taking on a life of its own. No, not probably. It is taking on a life of its own.

This year, I have been double timed on the fruit cake front. Today, in the mail, my husband and I received a completely inedible fruitcake from my sister and her family. We think there may have been some violation of the fruitcake laws as rules clearly state that the receiver must be in possession of the fruitcake by Christmas day in order to be responsible for it for the upcoming year. However, we'll be good sports and consider this bending of the rules as a little leeway to bend them next year.

The second fruitcake came from my brother and is one of the original fruitcakes. Along with it were the card and the tshirt. The down and dirty part was that this fruitcake and paraphernalia were disguised as a gift for my baby boy. As such, we sent the following picture to let him know that Gabriel was putting his gift to good use:
I was laughing so hard as my son lay on the changing table that I almost didn't get the picture. I started to promise him that I would never include him in our lunacy again, but then I realized that that was a blatant lie. After all, he was born into the insanity that is our family, he might as well get used to it now.

And that my friends, is the story of a fruitcake. Quite frankly, I am not sure you're supposed to have this much fun with a doorstop of a confection.

A Slackard for a Mom

Someone mentioned to me recently that I've been negligent in posting Baby Button pictures to my blog. I also promised my sister that I would share pictures of him in his lovely outfits she sent him as soon as I had the chance. I'm going to take the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone and post pictures of him in his outfits. Maybe not every day, but attempt to do so a little more often.

This one just seemed appropriate for today. The outfit didn't come from my sister, it came from my friend Rachelle, but I thought he looked adorable sitting under the Christmas tree looking at his presents.

Merry Christmas!

An Organ and a Kia

This isn't really my story to tell, but some things in life are so funny that you have to share. Hopefully I'll get the basic narrative correct, but you'll have to pardon me for any oversights.

My mother had a Hammond Organ. Those of you who are familiar with the instrument know that it's not very large, as in the way of church organs, but it's still an organ and a fairly heavy instrument. It's been sitting in her living room for quite a few years now and she's been asking around to see if anyone is interested. No takers. Finally she decided to list it on Freecycle. (I think that's the correct site. Can't keep all of them straight these days.) About three weeks went by and she heard nothing. As it turned out this wasn't technically correct as apparently people had been emailing but the emails were going into the junk box somewhere. In the interim, one persistent gentleman called stating that he wanted the organ and wasn't sure if it was still available. After some basic discussion, they set up a date and time to come get the instrument.


Fortunately it was one of those days when my brother didn't have much else to do. The gentleman got lost about two or three times on the way to the house. When he finally did show up it was about four o'clock in the afternoon and he pulls up in a Kia. My brother looks around thinking he has a truck or something stashed up the street. Nope, he plans to load the instrument into the Kia. He tells my brother that they'll be able to fit it into his car. Dan looks and says, um, no you won't. The guy insists that they've fit larger items into the vehicle. Deciding to humor the guy they begin trying to shove the organ in the trunk. When that didn't work, they put down the back seat and give it another go. Eventually they opt for shoving it into the backseat ... also unsuccessfully. By this time, I can just imagine what the neighbors were thinking as they tried to shove this thing into the car several different ways.

Finally, the guy looks at Dan and says, "guess we're going to have to roof it." Dan turns around to look at him incredulously and sees that his wife is already crawling on the roof to try it out. She comments on the fact that the roof is buckling a bit under her weight and she's not sure if it will take the organ. The guy replies that the organ weighs less than her and it will be fine. I don't know about anyone else, but I can't imagine how frosty things would be in the car on the way home if my husband dared to state that I weighed more than an organ. Pretty gutsy. Being resigned to the fact that this guy was going to drive away with this organ, and being prepared to leave it at the curb if he didn't, Dan and this rather scrawny fellow begin hoisting it onto the roof while his wife shouts instructions about not scratching up the paint. Dan, at this point, is trying to avoid throwing something out and she's worried about scratching the paint. Sure enough, though, they get the organ up there, strapped on and the guy prepares to drive away. With amazing presence of mind, Dan dashed into the house and grabbed this picture before he drove away. Some things just have to be seen to be believed.

Getting Lost in Sicily

Being able to explore Sicily is one of the great advantages of living here. I must admit, though, I find the driving over here just a bit scary. Most of the rules here seem to be more suggestions rather than hard and fast rules. I have seen my husband try some crazy stunts on the road since we've been here. The scary part is that no one bats an eyelash. The other day we were driving down the road and I saw him pass two cars at one time. Once we got back into our appropriate lane, I realized that another car was heading straight at us in our lane. The funny part is that I didn't even blink. It's then I realized I've been here for too long. Point being is that to get along around here you have to just get used to the way traffic goes. And to get around you have to be willing to get lost a little.

Ben and I finally developed a theory on getting lost here. It was sometime after our trip to Erice which is on the west coast of Sicily. We drove there with some friends and it took about three hours by car. After that we figured the most we could get lost in any direction was three hours. At that point we'd hit the coast and we could just turn around and come back. Took a lot of the fear out of getting lost. What I didn't count on was the date factor ...

Now, one of the interesting things about getting lost around here is that there are no clear indicators of north, east, south or west. You're also not sure where you are in relative distance to any one given landmark. In other words, if you see a sign post pointing towards a specific town, you don't know if you're 64 km or 3 km away from said town. If you're 64 km then you probably want to head towards that town if you're 3 you may not want to be heading there any more. Since you also have no idea which direction you're heading, it could be relatively confusing unless you're intimately familiar with every bit of flora and fauna on the Sicilian country side.

That being said, you can imagine my consternation when I was coming home with my sister one afternoon and missed the exit we wanted to take. I was so busy paying attention to the traffic (see earlier paragraph about Sicilian driving) that I had not realized it until I was a town or two beyond. The problem with this is that once I hit this town, unbeknownst to me beforehand, the tangenziale came to a sudden and abrupt end. This caused a bit of an issue as there was no discernible spot to turn around. I was quite proud of myself and my copilot as neither of us panicked.

Unfortunately, I was supposed to be home for a date with my husband (my very generous sister was offering to babysit) and we were already running late. Fortunately we saw some of those signs saying this town this way. I know we always head towards that town coming home from the airport, so it seemed like a safe bet. Until we were driving out in the middle of the country with nothing looking like civilization in sight. Still, we were heading that way, might as well keep going. After following the markers for this town for a good 15 to 20 minutes we finally hit another pair of sign posts at a traffic circle. It seemed like we had headed in this direction long enough and it was time to change our heading, so we did. Imagine our surprise when we headed in that direction and it turned out we were 2 kilometers from home.

My lessons for the day were this ...
1) The don't panic theory is always correct
2) We were right, you can't get too lost in Sicily
3) Keep number two in mind as long as you have no where specific to be. If you do have to be somewhere, make sure you don't miss your exit.

Now the sad part to the ending of this story is that we raced around like mad, zipped over to the movie theatre, made it there just in the nick of time ... only to find out that they had never received the movie we wanted to see. Isn't that just my luck? Our hot date became dinner and grocery shopping. Ahh, yes ... what I have learned from my sister.

Circle of Friends

Andrea over at Arise 2 Write sent me this award. This is probably way bigger than need be, but hopefully I at least got it up there this time. That's a work in progress for me. I'm supposed to share 5 things I truly love to do, which is very hard to limit to five! I'll do my best to whittle it down to my top five:

1) Spend time with family and friends. There's nothing like people and those wonderful memories from life.
2) Read a good book. Or several good books.
3) Spend time playing on the beach or just watching the waves. (Rather a strange one for someone who can't swim.)
4) Paint, scrapbook, make cards, color in a coloring book ... Basically any vent for my creative side.
5) Travel. I love seeing new places just not getting from Point A to Point B.

Now to pass this along ... Well, there's only a select group of you who read my blog, so I pass this award along to all 10 of you.

Feeling Creative

A friend of mine here is having a baby soon. Just so you know, this happens fairly often around here. They say there aren't a lot of babies born in this hospital. However, I think if you looked at the number of babies born compared to the size of the population it would come out to a rather large percentage of people having babies. But I digress.

The friend of mine who is having a baby is being thrown a baby shower today. There are also an awful lot of these. (See above for digression.) I wanted to do something a little different for her baby shower present, and she had been asking for a painting for a while, so I killed two birds with one stone. Her theme for her nursery is a jungle theme so I painted her a jungle picture.

It's nice to be able to sit and paint for a short while (even if it's not my concepts). It's one of the few things that I do that doesn't have to be perfect. Probably also why I rarely give a painting to anyone else. If we were looking at Maslow's hierarchy, this is probably the closest I ever come to self-actualization. I can sit down to paint for just a few minutes and discover that an hour or two has passed before I realized it. This is one of those marvelous times in life when I get to do something for someone else and myself at the same time.

For Brianna

My lovely niece at By The Way blog has awarded me a Gorgeous Blogger Award. (Yes, I'm behind in responding to this.) I would post the little award thing here, but I'm not quite certain how to do that still. Sad part is, that I think this bright young lady told me how at one point in time and my brain lapsed. *sigh* If the Gorgeous part applies to me (hence me being the blogger) then I'm very flattered. If the Gorgeous part applies more to the blog itself, then I owe all the credit to Brianna. Which makes it rather funny. In either case, I am supposed to post "six things about myself that no one knows." Does this go along with posting your biggest secret on the WWW? In any case, I'll give a good shot at listing six things about myself that are worth sharing at all ...

1) Most of the women out there would probably think me strange, but I'm really not a huge fan of sweets or chocolate. In fact, it was one of the strange things during my pregnancy because I wanted ice cream almost every night.

2) I could spend an entire day curled up reading one good book after another and be perfectly content in my little world.

3) My husband and I have driven across country three times together; we talk about driving across again and incorporating some stops along the way.

4) So far in my life I have managed to see quite a few countries in the world. Somehow I have managed to miss the areas closer to home such as Alaska, Hawaii and Canada.

5) It took me until just a few years ago to finish my Master's degree. Now that I have it finished I dream about going back to school to do something more artistically inclined such as cooking or interior decorating.

6) I have 16 nieces and nephews at this point in life. It always seems to take people a moment to digest that half of those are from one sister.

Now to pass it along ... Well, I give this award to my Canuck Friend Heidi. Hopefully she's reading this and gets the award ... or at least reading a little more than I am these days.

Just 30 Days

I had the best turkey sandwich ever this year. I was motivated out of my usual prosaic turkey sandwich building doldrums by the ingenuity of the Naftali. It also seemed like a good way to use those Thanksgiving leftovers for more than drying out in the microwave. With this in mind, I went to work. I took two slices of seven grain bread and slathered them both liberally with mayonnaise. These were then lightly seasoned with salt and pepper while one side received a mandatory layer of turkey breast meat. Next came a small spoonful of cranberry sauce, a heaping layer of stuffing and a final layer of turkey before putting on the lid. I thought I had died and gone to Thanksgiving sandwich Heaven. This was an amazing sandwich. So amazing I decided to recreate the experience the next day for lunch. It was just as good the second day around.

For the first year ever, we were cleared out of Thanksgiving leftovers by the day after Thanksgiving. (With the exception of the cranberry sauce that is. My husband won't touch the cranberries, which leaves me on my own to finish up the fruit.) It helps, of course, that we only baked a small breast, but I still think this divine sandwich building contributed to the success with leftovers.

In the midst of our sandwich consumption, I realized how much food has been going to the wayside recently in our house. Wasted food normally isn't a problem, let me assure you. I have gotten pretty good over the years at not cooking too much. Which means that food is either consumed at that meal or soon thereafter. For some reason, though, I have ended up throwing quite a bit of food away over the past week or two. Plus, I end up spending considerably more on food around the holidays anyway. Not only do we tend to purchase more at the grocery store, we tend to eat out more often. This led me to thinking about a challenge one of our Chaplains issued earlier this year.

For 30 days, those who chose to participate, were to live off what was currently in their pantry, refrigerator and freezer. Obviously, you can buy the necessities such as milk, eggs, bread, etc. as you run out, but you were to use up what's hiding in your larder. I know I have food that I purchased for a meal that has gotten pushed further and further back into my storage space. In addition, we could not go out to eat during those 30 days. The idea is not to starve yourself or to start your new diet, but just realize how much we spend on wasted food. At the end of the 30 days the money you would have spent on food shopping or eating out is to go to a good cause of your choice.

After some discussion, Ben and I decided that this is a great time of year to attempt this challenge. My husband is being a bit more extreme than I as he talks about eating dry cereal towards the end of our 30 days and marking down the cost of a box of crackers on a tally sheet. I was thinking along more simple guidelines. Either way, at the end of 30 days, I hope to have a better appreciation for how much wealth we really have in our lives and perhaps to give just a little bit to someone more in need.

For This I am Truly Thankful

It's been a while since I've posted. Not sure what it is I do with my time these days. Yes, that was said entirely tongue in cheek. However, it is Thanksgiving and my son is one month old today. Mind blowing. It's been an amazing month and I'm on a steep learning curve. I thought I'd blog a little about that then there's a whole host of experiences from this past month that I'll try to integrate here. No one minds slightly stale news, right?

If I were to write a list of things I am thankful for I would never finish this blog. Today I'm just going to focus on the newest blessing in our lives. And blessing he is. Despite some trials and errors on the parenting front, I wake up every day with a smile on my face. There's nothing quite like stumbling out of bed at six in the morning for a feeding ... only to get to hold his warm cuddly body next to mine. Like all things in life, this will pass all too soon and I treasure these moments: stroking his soft hair, smelling his sweet little neck as I burp him and watching the cute little smiles as he decides whether he's finished eating or not. Motherhood has been a challenge for me on some levels, but only because it has thrown my predictable little world into a spin. For those of you who know me, you are aware this has been my biggest struggle. So, while I'm learning to be a good mother to my son, I'm also attempting to learn to take life more as it comes. Grateful me that I have a wonderful husband and supportive family to help me along the way. And for this ... I am truly thankful.

My Cat is a Comfort Eater

This will be one of my shorter posts (don't I always say that?) as I am not quite the skillful hand at mothering as many of you. Seems like my days go by ever so fast and I look around and can't think what I've done. Reminds me of that Baby Blues cartoon ... I made a tray of ice cubes and combed half my hair. Kat knows what I mean. Of course, it doesn't help that every time we turn around we have to run out to yet another doctor's appointment or to take care of more paperwork. Right now, my son is officially known as Babyboy Rickert. We hope to clear this up soon. But I digress ...

What does this title have to do with anything I'm writing about? Well, we ended up having our baby October 26 at 9:20 in the morning. We didn't arrive home until Friday of that week. My husband came home a couple of times during that stay to check on the cat and clean out her litter box. Apparently, though, she was quite bored. When we got home she had spent a good amount of time eating and it is quite apparent from her spreading proportions. We're trying not to make her feel bad about this, however. Since we've gotten home, she hasn't taken too kindly to babyhood and spends a lot of time eating and sleeping. Very sad state of things. If she would just get over her dislike of Babyboy, she would see a lot more of us, but there you have it.

On to Babyboy Rickert ... As I mentioned, our son was born October 26 at 9:20 in the morning. We had a little boy who, as you can see from the sidebar, was named Gabriel Benjamin. Although most of you probably know this since I believe all of you read my sister's blog. This means that the winner of the Baby Pool is Kat who came closest on 3 out of 5 categories. And I should probably give her credit for guessing our son's name as Baby since this does seem to be his official moniker at present. She'll be here in just a few short days so I'll be sure to hand over her prize then.

For now, I'll post a picture or two and then I'm going to go spend some time with my husband while our son sleeps ... Thank you to everyone for all the support and prayers. We're all recovering nicely and appreciate your kind thoughts.

ABC's of Me

Thanks to everyone who entered our baby pool. I'm keeping track of everyone's answers and there's still time to put in your guess if you haven't. I hope our baby isn't as big as some of you are guessing, but with this stomach, you're probably right!

Manuela (look what I taught myself this morning! I did a hyperlink :) tagged me on the ABC's of me. Here's my answers for what they are worth:

A - Age: Old enough that it's not polite to share (or ask)
B - Bed size: King size bed (Freebie from a yard sale), twin size sleeping space
C - Chore you hate: To name two ... Laundry and dishes! They never go away.
D - Dog's name: Nope
E - Essential start your day item: Nada. Unless you consider laying in bed and counting the things I'm grateful for.
F - Favorite color: Yellow ... it's so sunshiny!
G - Gold or Silver: Silver
H - Height: 5 foot nothing
I - I am: Yes, that just about sums it up.
J - Job: Love that book of the Bible.
K - Kids: No goats either
L - Living arrangements: A little more cramped than I like. Anyone good at rearranging furniture?
M - Mom's name: Kathleen
N - Nicknames: I tend to overuse them
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: None that I know of
P - Pet Peeve: How did you know that's what we named our cat?
Q - Quote from a movie: Oh heavens, where to start? Our family can have an entire conversation in movie quotes. No, I'm not making this up. Ask my sister.
R - Right or left handed: No prejudices here
S - Siblings: Yes, indeedy. And I'm rather fond of all of them
T - Time you wake up: Do you mean time I wake up or the time I get up? I wake up once to to go to the bathroom, again to go to the bathroom, again when the cat is playing in the closet, again when she bats my face, again when I have to go to the bathroom, again when Ben gets up for work, again for the bathroom, again when Ben takes a shower ...
U - Underwear: Most of the time
V - Vegetable you dislike: How can you dislike a cute harmless vegetable?
W - Ways you run late: Pshaw
X - X-rays you've had: Arm, foot, teeth ... ummm, perhaps something else I'm not thinking of at present
Y - Yummy food you make: You'd have to ask my husband that one
Z - Zoo favorite: Seriously? I don't think I have met a zoo I didn't like

I think this is where I'm supposed to tag someone. Let's see ... I tag Heidi and KK and Nana. If you've already done this you can just direct me to the right spot.

NOT Me Monday!

Here's something else I've been dying to try ...

I did NOT stay in my pajamas until 10:15 a.m. this morning. This was NOT due to the fact that I woke up several times last night because my husband was up at 2:00 a.m. watching the Phillies play baseball. I was NOT perfectly okay with this instead of urging him to get a couple hours of much needed sleep before having to go run at 5:30 this morning. And I certainly did NOT decide that this was a perfect opportunity to spread out across the bed since he was not sleeping there anyway.

Having had a rather disjointed night's sleep, I did NOT wake up this morning and decide that I was going to spend the day scrapbooking instead of cleaning the house (which it certainly does NOT need.)

Rather a short post, but I certainly did NOT have fun while writing about all the things I did NOT do this morning.

And the Winner Is ...

My sister is always doing these fun give aways on her blog spot. Which got me thinking this morning. How about I do a fun give away? And the only thing I could think of is a baby pool. Considering that we're down to 12 days on the baby counter (how did that happen?!) I figured I should post this soon. Here's the deal:

• Anyone who would like to participate, leave me a comment on this post.
• Please include date, time and gender of the expected Baby Button.
• Whomever comes closest will be awarded a bottle of our fine Italian olive oil and some amazing balsamic vinegar.
• I'll award a second prize to anyone who comes close on Baby Button's name. And just for the record, my husband and I have not shared them with anyone, so no one has an unfair advantage.

I can not promise that they will get out in the mail immediately afterwards, but I'll do my best. Good luck and have fun!

Hibilden

About six weeks ago my husband and I joined a bowling league. Seems like a strange time to take up bowling, right? Or maybe not. But I'll come back to that part. Anyway, it's a mixed league with people of various skill levels. Ben and I (far right this picture) definitely are not what you'd call competitive bowlers. In fact, if I bowl a 35 it's a good game. This may sound like I'm exaggerating, but I'll assure you my highest game before this league was an 81. Ben isn't bad, but he's also not going to be giving anyone stiff competition.

When we started putting together a team, we wanted people who, while not necessarily being bad, also weren't ultra competitive. We just wanted to go out there for the fun of it and not have people who were going to be incredibly upset it we didn't do well. Our friends Andy and Carla (far left and aqua shirt) were on board for that theory. The night of the bowling league meeting we picked up Michelle and her husband Rick. Turns out they had enough people to do six man teams and Rick and Michelle wanted a team to join. They were a perfect fit for our little group.

Here we are six weeks into the league and it's been a blast so far. Here's some fun facts to show you where we are: I, personally, have the highest handicap for the league; Michelle has the second highest; one-third of our team is currently pregnant; somehow we managed to land ourselves in second place; and four members of our team landed on the high bowler list. Quite honestly, this cracks me up. And in the end, we still don't care whether we're doing well or not. Every night we're out there bowling we cheer for everyone whether it's our team or the team we are bowling against. And if we only get one pin, then we "got the hard one" and we're happy about that too. Granted, we do give a little extra cheer if someone happens to get a strike, but I'm glad they aren't a necessary part of us having fun.

To wrap this post up, I have to talk about my sister's theory of bowling. She swears that you actually bowl better when you're pregnant. I'm beginning to think she's right. My average for the league hovers at 63. While not stellar, still better than the norm for me. I have actually bowled two games that broke the 100 mark. Carla, the other pregnant member of our team, has been steadily improving all league hitting the 150 mark. She says she normally doesn't do that well either, but she's been high scorer for our team a couple of games now. I'm not sure if anyone else has tried it, but we would love some feedback on this theory. Pregnancy ... does it make better bowlers?

Seventeen Days on the Baby Counter

I am having trouble digesting this one. It's starting to become more real that we're actually going to take a baby home at the end of this process. However, it still hasn't quite sunk in completely. I mean, seriously, what does it take? My belly is huge, my feet are swollen, I'm, well, we'll skip this one for the sake of delicacy, but you get the general idea. You think somewhere in there it would have hit me. Perhaps this is why it takes 10 months to incubate a baby. Your brain needs that long to catch up with the concept.

We had our 37 week appointment today. It occurred to me this morning that our baby is really going to be here soon. Ben asked if I was nervous about the delivery or the baby. Both. I'm not sure why. I just am. The good news is that everyone is happy and healthy. Baby is doing very well and still pretty active. I don't know where he finds space to move in there, but he's making his presence known. Maybe Button wants to make sure I don't forget about him. Our doctor is encouraged by everything and my weight is holding steady. This is very good news. We have worked hard to keep it under 10 pounds for this pregnancy and, even with the extra water weight the past couple weeks, we have managed to do that. Doctor Tatro still hopes to make us his last delivery before leaving the hospital and we hope this works out too. If not, we have met Doctor Sexton who is also very nice. Medically speaking, I have a lot of confidence in both of them. However, it would be nice to see the pregnancy through with the person who has been there for all the ups and downs.

This is rather a rambly post, but quite honestly, my brain is feeling rather rambly today. I'm not sure if this is common, but I'm just having a hard time feeling "plugged in." Taking this into consideration, and the fact that it's a rainy day here, I think I'm going to go catch up on some scrapbooking. I still have high hopes of getting Button's book ready before he arrives, so now seems like a good time to work on that goal.

Five Days Late and at least a Euro Short

I had wanted to get these up on my blog before the end of the County Fair. Needless to say, did not happen. However, I did manage to finish the paintings last evening so decided I'd share them anyway. These are the last of the items to be hung in Button's room. I wanted to do something for Baby just from Mama and this is it. Today, if all goes well, I will be taking them into get framed. I believe the Italian gentleman said he'd be at his shop from 4 to 5, but I could be mistaken about that. Guess I'll find out. In the interim, here are my paintings for Button:

Fun with Photos

I am looking at my baby counter and can not believe there are 23 days left until Button comes into our world. Actually had a very odd dream about that last night. But that's a different story ... We had several people tell us we should get tummy pictures taken before the baby came. Neither Ben nor I like having our pictures taken so it took us a while to get around to doing this. There is an Italian gentleman here who does photos and we had several recommendations to go to him. Finally, last week, we got around to doing so. I'm so glad we did! We actually had fun having our pictures taken which I think shows in a few of the shots. As such, I'm actually willing to share some of these. Here they are:

Things I've Learned

Considering the title, this should be a relatively short post. And there's absolutely no pictures involved in this one! Some of you may sit there and laugh at my naivete. Others of you who have been through this process one or more times will probably be going, "duh, well, obviously." One of the things that I love about life, though, is no matter how far I get, I'm always discovering something new. With that thought in mind, here's my list of things I've learned while being pregnant:

• My husband is the most amazing person in my world. Okay, I knew this one before, but you see a person in a whole new light when they've seen you go through all the pregnancy ups and downs and are still able to tell you every day how much they love you and how beautiful you are. And somehow, everytime he says it, he convinces me that he really means it. Everything he does is with such good grace and humor. I am convinced that this would not have been such a wonderful experience without him by my side.
• Sometimes it's better in life to make things up as you are going along. This may sound like an obvious one to some of you, but you must keep in mind how absolutely vital it is in my little world to be organized and prepared. There are days during my pregnancy, however, when I have been tired or a baby appointment has taken longer than planned or perhaps I just had more energy than expected that day. At those moments I've been making the most of whatever comes my way at that time. Whether it's enjoying five minutes with my husband on the back porch, not stressing about the meeting I was supposed to be in or going for a walk around the neighborhood after dinner. In other words, trying not to be so upset about what isn't happening and being very grateful for the little moments that are.
• I'm not in control of any of this. Again, some of you out there may be snickering as you read this. (Keep in mind ... girl here who color coordinates her underwear drawer. Honest to goodness; not making this up.) Every time during this pregnancy that I thought I knew what to expect, something different has come up. Parts of it have been perfectly normal and I just had no idea that those things actually happened. Parts of it no one has been quite sure why it has happened. It just has, and I move forward from there. Whichever the case may be, I keep focused on the fact that I am blessed with this amazing little human being. It doesn't get much better than that.
  

Baby Shower

This past Saturday some ladies here held a baby shower for me. I have to admit that I wasn't a big fan of the concept of a baby shower. First of all, I have never liked the games they make you play. I mean, seriously ... who really wants someone pulling off 92 squares of toilet paper and insinuating that you're really that big around? I was also a bit embarrassed by the concept of an event that is held for the purpose of people bringing me gifts. It's lovely and sweet, but it just makes me uncomfortable.

As it turned out, though, it was absolutely perfect. My sister started the ball rolling with a box of wonderful books for baby. There is nothing I could have wanted more. Apparently she also took the time to plant a bug in someone's ear out here. I was wondering how everyone was so smart as to buy me baby books. And then one of the ladies hosting the shower filled me in on the fact that my sister has been in touch. Isn't it amazing what good care she takes of me even from thousands of miles away?

The rest of the day was just what one could wish for. Everything was beautiful and low key. We played two games that included baby bingo and a drawing game. The bingo was awesome as we played with M&M's. Everyone got to eat their boards as we went. The drawing game was too much fun. Wait, I think I have a picture:
Not a great picture, but it gives you a general idea. The concept was that everyone had to draw a picture of Button ... with hair. Some of them had me absolutely cracking up laughing. Especially the ones with the goatee, eyebrow piercing, cigarette and Mr. T haircut. Not sure what this says about Ben and I, but entertaining none-the-less.

You know it's been a nice day when everyone doesn't run out the door immediately following. In fact, a small group of us sat around for approximately two to three hours just talking. For me, it's the perfect way to spend the afternoon. I felt so honored that so many lovely women put in so much work to make it such a special occasion. I don't think there's ever a way to say thank you for that most marvelous of gifts. Below, I am going to show some pictures of some of the highlights of the day.

Rachelle made this amazing carousel cake for the event. It tasted as yummy as it looks ...

I was so impressed by Anna's diaper cake. She says it's simple, but I thought it was incredible. There were all sorts of little goodies tucked inside.

Carla playing M&M bingo. One for me, one for the board ... I do believe she won a game, although I may be mistaken. Rebekah gave these little teeny chicken pitchers as prizes. Chicken pitchers, just so you don't think we are odd, have a special meaning here and they symbolize good luck. Apparently it's also good luck to give pregnant women grapes, so one of the Italian ladies sent me home with a whole crate of them. This should be a very lucky baby.

Last but not least ... Laura and Anna having fun and checking out their game prizes. There's a ton more pictures, but in the interests of keeping this post to a reasonable length, I'll leave it there.

Thirty Four Weeks

We had our thirty four week visit this week. There is a part of me that can not believe that we are already at 34 weeks. Actually, it's mind boggling. I've had several people tell me that usually women are ready "to be done" by now. In fact, my doctor mentioned that most of his patients are really tired of being uncomfortable by this point. I can't say that that has been my experience at all. I am so thrilled with being pregnant and it just seems to be flying past.

Trust me when I say that it has not all been easy. My ankles have disappeared by this point in time. My husband says he can't find the bed anymore because of the number of pillows I'm sleeping with. From what I understand, I no longer walk, I just waddle. The list goes on getting into items that are probably too personal to share with the general public. Here's the bottom line, though ... all of it doesn't matter.

I sat there in my appointment the other day just thinking that as excited as I am to meet my baby, I am so going to miss this very special bond we have right now. Never again will Button and I be so close to one another. I can lay in bed in the morning and feel him move. I can rub my belly and know that my baby is safe and sound inside me. Just writing it makes me want to cry because that's how much in love I am with this little human being. And in six short weeks, Button will be out on his own. Perhaps it's the fact that I really wanted to be a Mom. Or perhaps it's the fact that I never took it for granted that I was having a baby. (Maybe, if someone needs to hear my story someday, I'll share it on here.) Whatever the cause, I just couldn't help thinking how sad it is that some women wish that period of their life to be over sooner or just can't see the blessing for the minor aches and pains. Enough of my soap box.

Here is a picture of me that evening after our appointment for those who are interested in the belly progress:
This is me sitting in Button's nursery. For those of you who read my previous blog on the nursery, I am happy to report that we finally got our bookshelves in! We did a little bit of furniture rearranging (nothing drastic, just making the plugs work with how the furniture was positioned) and I'm really happy with how things worked out. Not too crowded, but still cozy. Now all I have to do is finish the paintings I'm working on. For now, I will leave you with my wonderful husband assembling our new book shelves:

Through the Eyes of My Cat

My cat ended up in my life about three years ago now. I'm actually stopping to think as I write this, because I can't believe it has been that long. Someone I know in passing said she needed to get rid of her cat because of allergies in her household. At the time I happened to be looking for a cat and it just seemed fortuitous. After having her for a brief while, however, I started to wonder what her real reasons were for getting rid of her.

She isn't what you would call the friendliest cat in the world. Well, let me modify that. She's absolutely adorable when she's around my husband and I with only minor flair ups of, shall we call it, exerting her independence. I am not sure what her early life was like, but she can be a bit skittish. (Anyone who knows my cat is probably thinking, "that's an understatement.") She meets with strangers to her home with varying degrees of success. To most people she shows her borderline personality mode ... she comes up, rubs against you, looks like she wants to be loved, and then, as soon as you go to pet her, she begins to hiss and "claw". I put claw in quotations as she doesn't have any front claws so can not really harm you. For the majority of people who come into our house, this scares the living daylights out of them and they either refuse to be around our cat or they are skittish themselves the entire time they are there. For large parties we have taken to putting her away in our room for the night. People who come over often have gotten fairly comfortable with her and she doesn't seem to mind them. She'll come up, sniff and then go about her business.

When it's just my husband and I at home, she is a whole different cat. In fact, she's really the neediest cat I've ever seen. If I'm working on the computer, she'll take a nap on the printer so I'm not far away. If we're watching a movie, she'll curl up on our laps and go to sleep. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, she'll jump on our stomachs so she can get some petting. Ben and her play all the time. It's really rather funny watching the two of them. What causes this change when strangers come about, I can only refer to as guard cat mode.

Ben and our needy cat hanging out on the bed together.

You're probably wondering what all this rambling has to do with the price of ice cream in Bulgaria. Well, I'm glad you asked. Ever since I've been pregnant, I haven't been quite sure what to make of her. First of all, I sincerely believe my cat knew I was pregnant before I did. She has been much more nippy than usual around me. Not mean, exactly, but letting me know that we aren't quite kosher. It's almost like she could sense the changing status quo and she's blaming it on me. She also wasn't thrilled about the fact that I can no longer sleep on my back at night. This has eliminated one potential person to sleep upon. Of course, this problem has cleared up a little bit since she figured out that I'm now as wide laying on my side as I am on my back. It's wonderful for your ego when your cat is using your stomach as a perching ledge. The part that makes me laugh is when she's laying up there when the baby starts kicking. The look of surprise and indignation on her face is absolutely priceless. I've tried to explain to her what's going on, but I'm not sure she's tuning it in.

She is absolutely thrilled about the nursery. To her, it's a whole new game room. I walked in one day to find her taking a nap in our newly assembled crib. I immediately lifted her out and told her that the crib was not for her. After she repeated this performance two more times, I washed the sheets and took to closing the door. As we set up the changing table and the pack-n-play, she came in sniffing to see what all the excitement was about. You could almost see the wheels turning in her little head ... yeah, cat beds. Now, when we do open the door, she is standing there ready to see what she's missing. Button will be sleeping with the door closed.

The problem in the interim is that my husband and I are a little nervous about how she's going to take to this intruder to her domain. We've thought about putting her in her carrier and bringing her and Button home at the same time so they could get to know each other a bit. We also thought about bringing a blanket home from the hospital so she could get used to the new smell. In the end, we're hoping that Button will smell enough like Ben and I that she will accept Baby without a murmur. Perhaps this is being optimistic of us, but it would certainly be nice.

In the end I write all this not because I need a reality check on Baby versus animal priorities or how unpredictable pets can be. More so to emphasize the little things in life that I was not planning on having to figure out when we found out we were expecting. And to share what a unique personality our cat is ... I just think she could use a little therapy.