New Book Love

A little while ago I won a contest at Mommy Confessions & today my book came in the mail. I can't wait to get started -- thanks again!

ps. This photo was taken on my little Canon A510 which is on her last legs -- broken lens & broken body, but her spirit remains in tact, which is why I can't bring myself to let her go after three years of faithful service.
pps. Winston aka Mr. Snaggletooth in the background says, "bonjour".

One Of Those Days

I'm staying in my apartment tonight on account of the outside world & it's day long conspiracy against me.

To begin, two of my friends and I were hit by a cab. He backed out without looking and hit my friend's car, thankfully not very hard, but hard enough to scare the crap out us. I didn't even have comprehensible words to say to the driver, so I just yelled "ugggh! ahhhh!!" and flailed. I'm sure it was a lovely scene. I'm just glad we're all okay, babies first car accident and all.

Our next stop was a health food store owned by the mother of a girl I went to high school with. The mother was working so I stopped to say hello & the following conversation took place:

"So yeah, we're having a baby in January."

"Are you married?"

"No."

"Well that's too bad."

"You know that's not really a priority for us."

"But maybe someday you will? Maybe you'll do it backwards?"

"Yeah, maybe someday, but like I said, not a priority."

She then proceeded to tell me all about how her daughter is getting married in the fall. Fantastic. I understand that her and her family are very religious, but that doesn't mean 'thou shalt judge'. I just continued to stand up for myself, with a rather fake smile plastered across my face.

There is something very disturbing & sad about that kind of behaviour. People are entitled to any religious belief they choose, but if you pride yourself on being a 'good christian', then judging others who don't following your belief system means you're completely missing the point. It's just sad.

Sigh.

I hope you're all having a better day than I.
Peace, friends. Be good to each other.

Three Cheers For Soft Cartiledge

Everything aches.

My hips, my back & my legs are all making sitting, laying down & standing really difficult and I don't know another position to be in. I can't float.

I am crossing my fingers that we can save up for some prenatal yoga since my instructor is starting a new session in a couple weeks & I'm ready to give her partial custody if she can make the ache go away.

How did you all deal with all this pregnancy soreness? I'd love to hear your advice & what worked for you. Or, if you'd like, you're all welcome to come and massage me -- whatever works for you.

Alphabet Soup

I came across this little survey at Mommy's Martini, and though I wasn't tagged, I have an urge to fill it out anyhow. Here we go:

A. Attached or single? Attached, to my fabulous partner Ryan. I have to say he's a keeper -- he's pretty damn rad.
B. Best friend? Pffff, can't narrow it down to one anymore like I could in grade two -- there are some ladies & gents who are very near and dear to me & I'm sure they know who they are.
C. Cake or pie? PIE! Pumpkin, please.
D. Day of choice? As a child I always love Tuesdays, which I think stemmed from the fact that I used to have horseback riding lessons on Tuesdays. I think that now I'm a pretty big fan of Wednesdays, since that's when the farmer's market is downtown & fresh produce makes me smile.
E. Essential item? My camera. My D40 is my baby (next to my dog & the little one on the way, of course!)
F. Favorite color? I really love espresso brown, and light moss green. Black is a wardrobe staple, however.
G. Gummy bears or worms? Worms! One of my favourite kinds of candy, actually.
H. Hometown? A little place dominated by retirees & students, a few hours outside Toronto, Ontario.
I. Indulgence? I'm sure this is supposed to be about food -- but I'm going to have to admit that I have a bit of a sweet tooth for a certain video game, which shall remain nameless, if only for my pride.
J. January or July? My due date is January, so I will have to go with that.
K. Kids? One on the way -- almost half way there!
L. Life isn’t complete without? Snuggling down with my man at the end of the day.
M. Marriage date? We aren't married, but it's not out of the question -- it's just not a priority right now.
N. Number of brothers & sisters? I have one of each, but they are both much younger, so I still feel like I grew up as a (mostly) only child.
O. Oranges or apples? Apples... unless we're talking those little oranges you can get at Christmas -- then I mean those. Or the Terry's choco variety.
P. Phobias? All things medical. I used to have a breakdown at the very mention of a needle, but I'm toughing up -- I didn't even cry the last time I went to have blood taken. I really don't like the hospital, the dentist or any of that. Ack.
Q. Quotes? Two of my favourites from my most beloved philosopher.

“All things excellent are as difficult as they are rare.”

"It is the part of a wise man, I say, to refresh and restore himself in moderation with pleasant food and drink, with scents, with the beauty of green plants, with decoration, music, sports, the theater, and other things of this kind, which anyone can use without injury to another. For the human body is composed of a great many parts of different natures, which constantly require new and varied nourishment."

R. Reasons to smile? My pets! They are a constant source of hilarity.
S. Season of choice? Autumn! It's beautiful. The weather is great, it's crisp sweater weather but still warm enough to be outside all day. It still feels like a new beginning, the start of a year -- even though this will be the first year since I was four years old that I won't be returning to school! Fall is gorgeous -- I would love to live some place where it is fall all year round, with just a hint of summer.
T. Tag seven peeps! Well now I'm not even sure I have seven steady readers, heh, but I would love for you guys to fill this out and point me in the direction of your post! Muah.
U. Unknown fact about me? I'm actually naturally blond. Very blond.
V. Vegetable? Nom! I love all vegetable so this is difficult... but I really love brussels sprouts, especially all toasted up with some pine nuts, or maybe broccoli and cauliflower with cheese sauce like my mom makes... and I can never get enough avocado. Great. Now I'm hungry again.
W. Worst habits? I used to bite my nails like mad, but now that I have these turbo strong pregnancy nails I haven't had the urge as much. Hmm... I also suppose that my lack of concern for when my bills are due is a bad habit. They always get paid, but I tend to throw bills out or lose them or not open them, which makes many of said payment a wee bit late. I'm sure I'm paying for this (ha!) with an ever floundering credit score. Sigh. Perhaps I should have a better system in place!
X. X-ray or ultrasound? Well, both fall into that icky medical category -- but I'm going to say ultrasound, since we're having one in a couple weeks to find out the sex of our little one. I. Can't. Wait.
Y. Your favorite food? Oi. Veggie lasagna always tops this list, right up there with eggs benedict, spanish rice & all things homecookin' style made by my mom or gramma.
Z. Zodiac sign?Aries & oh so stubborn.

Your turn!

Bare

I don't really mind the new marks.



They're already a part of me.

Privacy & Identity Concerns

Over the past week or so it has become increasingly evident that my partner is less than comfortable with my divulging too much information through this blog. I understand his concern, but I am dedicated to keeping this blog going & therefore, I'm here to stay. However, since he is my partner and I do understand some of what he fears, I will be changing the title of the blog & taking down any mention of our last names.

He's been bombarding me with articles such as How I Stole Someone's Identity, which I think are definitely creepy, but not something I worry about on a daily basis. However, he is my partner & therefore it would be wrong of me not to at least compromise. I want to share my life through this blog & learn more about your lives as well -- but I will be trying to do this in a way which is non-threatening to the wellbeing of our family. I don't want any of my readers to think this is directly because of anything they've done, said or written -- it's purely a preventative measure. Better safe than sorry, I suppose.

I also wonder: what are some of the things you deem to private to share? I know some of you mention the real names of your children, whereas some others have opted to use nicknames. Some post where they live, some do not. Where do you draw the line? And why?

This being said, I am now title-less for the time being and I'm hoping someone could suggest a new name for the blog. If you have any ideas please comment & let me know! Also, I'd love to hear how you decided on the name for your own blog, since some of them are so fabulous! I'm looking at you Don Mills Diva, Between Loads of Laundry & Latte Mommy. Help me rename the blog & I will be forever grateful. So will my partner.

Pop Goes The Belly

It has been a busy couple of days -- sorry for my absence. We were in Toronto, shooting a friend's wedding (I'll share photos later) from Friday to Sunday, which was fabulous -- the both of us really needed the little vacation, even if just for two nights. We spent most of our hotel time watching the Olympics, What Not to Wear & those captivating Magic Bullet infomercials, but now that we're home, I can't say I miss television too much. I haven't had one in about four years and I don't really feel like I'm missing anything too special.

Today my friend Meagh & I went to my midwife appointment & for the first time ever I COULDN'T PEE. Honestly. They just wanted a little pee on the stick and I couldn't give them anything. Figures. The only time I need to, I can't. Either way, all of my tests have been just peachy so far, my numbers for everything have been right where they should be and I'm growing at exactly the right speed. As my midwife put it, "This little one knows what their doing -- they've read the books."

Now, that being said, there was one weird thing that came up with my blood work -- It turns out that I'm not immune to rubella. This just means that when I was vaccinated as a child that part of the immunization didn't take. This actually cracks me up a lot. As a stubborn little German girl myself, it seems only fitting that the only thing I'm not immune to would be German Measles. Hilarious.

To finish, here are some photos of my baby belly today -- 17 weeks and 4 days.





I always feel like photos of my belly make it look bigger than it really is, but my midwife assured me that I'm not gaining weight too fast & that my uterus and baby are right where they need to be. Either way, seeing photos of myself like this make me go "eep!" and wonder insanely about what weeks 20, 30 & 40 will look like. (It also makes me realize how very small my breasts are staying.) Either way, I love that I'm showing more now & looking less like I live in my fridge.

Thank You & Merci

Last night I found out that I'm a winner over at Mommy Confessions. I can't wait to read my new book, The Imperfect Mom: Candid Confessions of Mothers Living in the Real World.



Thanks so much to Michelle for all of her fabulous contests -- I can't wait to see your new site in the fall.

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Yesterday wasn't a good day. Yesterday I had a panic attack. Yesterday I spent five hours feeling completely miserable, shaky & upset.

Today I feel much better.

I think maybe I needed to let myself have a little freak out like that to get back on track. I had been feeling a little stressed about the usual & I think that after my break down yesterday I'm feeling renewed.

Sometimes you have to break a little before you can rebuild.

Real Simple

I am in love with all things Real Simple. I subscribe to the magazine, I read their website & my stack of magazines lives in, well, the bathroom, but really where else do magazines go? I even had the Real Simple Cleaning Guide until, ironically, one of the cats peed on it. My lust for organization, and recipes & all things domestic gets stirring when my new edition arrives in my mailbox each month, but this month was different. I think our mailman was less than gentle with my precious bible and it was a little ripped, scuffed, and for some reason had writing across the front. None of these things effect my ability to read the magazine whatsoever, but I'm a little anal about having all of my magazines in pristine condition so I can obsess over the best way to clean my sinks for years to come.



I sent an e-mail to Real Simple letting them know my copy was damaged and they sent a message back shorty after letting me know they'd send a new copy right away. Bliss! Several days later my fancy new copy of August 2008 arrived in style -- in a manila envelope, free of blemishes. Don't worry, I'm going to be giving my other copy to a friend so it will still be equally enjoyed!



Another reason I love the magazine so much is the photography. It has a certain feel to it & it's a bit of a dream to work with the magazine someday as a photographer in any capacity. I love the still life & I seek out other work by their photographers. The images are just wonderful.

These are some photographers who work with RS that I'm loving:
01. Anna Williams
02. Aimee Herring
03. Jennifer Causey (of Simply Breakfast fame)
04. Ellen Silverman

Finally, at the risk of sounding like a recruiter, go pick up a copy & curl up with it -- it's always a feel good read.

Cupcakes

For weeks the boy and I have been dreaming about cupcakes & today I finally made some -- A dozen glorious chocolate and vanilla creatures.



I realize that there are only ten cupcakes on this place -- by the time I'd grabbed my camera two of them had already met their fate.



We spent the rest of the afternoon making cupcakes disappear, while watching House MD. Since today was the boy's 2nd day off in about two weeks, he drank two bottles of beer, which, if you've only eaten cupcakes that day, will make you a little tipsy & you will fall asleep sprawled out on the couch. It was adorable & I really wish I'd taken a photo. Ah well, next time. There will totally be a next time.



(Sorry I'm not posting a recipe for these bad boys. Seeing as the cake part came from a box & the icing part came in a tub, I figured it would just be shameful.)

Pregnant With A Capital PEE

I have to pee ALL THE TIME.

I know that all of the making babies manuals will tell you that you will have to pee all of the time, but what they don’t do is spray paint FIND A TOILET AND GET COMFORTABLE on the side of your house, which is what they should do. That MIGHT be enough to get the point across. Seriously, I think about peeing about twenty nine hours a day (which I think is a talent) and it’s making me go a little mental.

As a girl who’s been prone to UTIs she was 18, when I feel that urge to pee I RUN to the nearest washroom and take care of things immediately. If you’ve ever had a UTI before then you’ll understand the fear of ever contracting one again. If you haven’t had one before, then try to imagine peeing straight razors & being shot in the stomach. That’s ALMOST how painful it feels & now that I feel like I have to pee all the time, I’m not only annoyed, but terrified of the UTI possibility. I had one around week six and it was miserable for about ten days while the milder dose of antibiotics that are safe for pregnant women took their sweet freaking time. I do not want another trip to the ER, even if we do have a fancy, newly built hospital.

Seriously, this peeing thing has got to calm down.

Take this evening for example: I peed when I got home from work & again about twenty minutes later. As soon as I stood up from peeing the second time I PEED AGAIN. About ten minutes later when my neighbor came by to go grocery shopping with me I felt like I had to pee again -- by then I knew my body was just a goddamn liar, but I humored it and sat down to try again. Nope, nothing. It FELT like I have to pee but there is nothing going on down there.

It is getting to be exasperating.

The entire time I was at the grocery store I felt like I needed to pee, which I think might actually be enough to drive a pregnant lady OVER THE EDGE (and we’re already so close at times). When I got home from shopping I peed twice within the span of thirty minutes.

I also figured this must be costing me a fortune in toilet paper so I’ve switched to a generic brand. Let’s not talk about how sad this makes me & my girly parts. I’ve also stopped flushing the toilet every time for fear that I’m causing some sort of water shortage on my block or perhaps the ENTIRE DOWNTOWN AREA.



Did any of you feel this crazy about having to pee all the time? I mean, it would be fine if I really had to pee and was rewarded every time I sat down with that screwed up look on my face with the tap running, trying so desperately to do SOMETHING -- but this, this is borderline insanity.

Fifteen Weeks

Hello my little navel orange sized baby! This week marks the 15th week of you hanging out in my uterus. Last week we heard your heartbeat for the first time & your dad said it sounded like you were throwing a party in there & rocking a phat beat. I agree. I think your dad is going to sample it in a remix someday.

Also, you are growing so fast! Last week you were but a wee lemon, but now you're on to bigger & better citrus fruits. The following picture was taken the day you turned 15 weeks & even though I look huge so far, I think the mirror/camera/whatever I ate that day is outshining you -- I've actually only gained 3lbs so far & I'm pretty proud of that fact!



In exactly one month, on September 5th, will be my our first ultrasound. Your dad & I are hoping you'll be a bit of an exhibitionist that day so we can start narrowing down some of the names we've picked out.

As for myself, would it be too much to ask that I start looking more like a pregnant chick & less like someone who's serious about dessert?

Much love,
Mommay.

Recipe: Vegan Tofu Curry

Since I have done time both as a vegetarian & a vegan, I wanted to share with you a recipe that my roommate and I used to eat all the time back in university -- and by all the time, I pretty much mean EVERYDAY. We never got sick of it & I still make this recipe fairly often for Ryan & I. It’s always a hit & is completely vegan friendly. I dare you to try it out & I’ll bet even your meat loving friends won’t question your cooking prowess! Bon appetit!

What’s in it?
1 block of firm or extra firm tofu, cut into ½ inch slices
1 can of whole/stewing tomatoes
1 yellow onion, diced
As many cloves of garlic as you like
1-2 tablespoons of curry paste*
A dollop of olive oil
1-2 red or yellow peppers, sliced
Snow peas (optional)
Bok choy (optional)
¼ to ½ cup of soy milk**
2 cups of cooked rice

*My favourite curry paste to use is Patak’s brand & since I love spicy food I usually reach for the hottest one I can find. However, there are several brands and intensities of curry paste that you can find at any grocery store.

**If you’re not trying to make this meal vegan, then you can use cow’s milk too -- this just adds a bit of a creamier texture to the sauce. How much you add depends on how creamy you’d like it. You really just want the reddish tinge of the sauce to lighten a tiny bit.

What else do I need?
A WOK! Now, I know not everyone has a A WOK! But my suggestion is to find one & fall in love. I’m fairly certain that almost all meals can be cooked fully if not partially in A WOK! and they are so easy to clean afterward. Mine was a gift from a previous lover who once melted my other WOK! in my oven. Now my WOK! lives on top of my stove & is used daily, if not more. However, if you don’t have A WOK! handy right now, then a big frying pan will do just fine. You will also need something to cook the rice in -- pot, rice cooker -- your choice.

How do I do it?
First fry up the onion, garlic & olive oil until the garlic is that nice golden colour & the onions start to soften. Then add in your tofu and cook for about 4-5 minutes. Next add in your curry paste and continue to simmer, while stirring, until all of your tofu is covered in paste -- let cook a few minutes like this to allow the tofu time to soak up the flavour. Next all of your veggies go in -- stir those all up and after about 5 minutes add your tomatoes, sauce and all -- no need to drain the can. Once your concoction is simmering again, add in your milk, give it about 5 minutes & there you have it! Take it off the heat, let it cool a little & serve over rice -- enjoy!

This recipe makes me think of being in my old apartment, with my lime green kitchen, surrounded by friends & talking until two in the morning. It makes me feel so comfortable & lovely, not to mention full! I hope you’ll all enjoy.

The Best Kind Of Gift

I have a friend called Meagh. Meagh & I met at the beginning of the 12th grade, when I was new to the school & she was in my first class of the day. She was the first person at the school to speak to me & we’ve been friends ever since. In university we lived together for a while, in two different apartments where we stayed up late, drank lots of tea & concerned ourselves more with tofu curry than with the essays we should have been writing. It was mostly lovely. Mostly.

Meagh & I fought about the dishes. We fought about the dishes a lot. Neither of us wanted to do them, we both made tons of them & the kitchen generally looked post-apocalyptic. We both had a tendency to ignore the kitchen entirely until one of us would break, someone would apologize & we’d clean it together until it shone. Mess, fight, sulk, give in. It was a rather childish pattern that makes me shake my head in disbelief.

The other day when I was leaving my apartment I found Meagh climbing the stairs to my 3rd floor apartment -- in her hand was a present in the form of a card. She handed it to me and grinned as I read the following:

Hey Des & Ryan,
Well, payback is hilarious. And you guys are all pregnant & stuff and I was all like “how can I help my friends out, and show them that I love them? And I thought “I’ll help clean their kitchen once a week! Heck, I’ll clean the whole thing once a week, dishes & all!”
Then I laughed for a long time.
Then I made you a card. I Meagh Culkeen will do you dishes once a week, for the duration of your ‘baby crafting’ and when the little baby gets borned and you’re all busy. I’ll wear an apron!
♥ Meagh

Meagh -- you are a fabulous lady & I can’t wait until our kitchen cleaning date tomorrow morning!

It is so amazing people do things like this for other people -- out of the blue, so selfless & kind. Have you been given a gift like this? Or given one? It’s things like this that make me feel so good about my life & the people that surround me. I think everyone should have friends like Meagh.

Recipe: Quiche-Tata

Last night I made a dish for dinner that I am so proud of -- so proud, in fact, that I want you guys to try it out too. It wasn’t quite a quiche & it wasn’t really a frittata, so I’m calling it quiche-tata. It's fast, easy & totally delicious.

What’s in it?
6 large eggs
2 generous handfuls of spinach leaves
A little bit of olive oil (to cook the spinach in)
2 tomatoes
As much cheese as you desire, grated or cut up into little cubes (I used havarti since that’s what we had, but any cheese you like would be fine)
A handful of mushrooms, any kind (I just used those boring white ones)
Some salt & pepper, to taste

You could also add some onions, or broccoli or whatever veggies you think you’d like -- what I’ve listed above is pretty much what I had in the kitchen at the time, but there are lots of combinations you could use. If you use something like broccoli, you’ll want to steam it up first so it cooks all the way.

What else do I need?
I made mine in a casserole dish, but a pie plate, or a baking dish of any description would work too -- as long as it’s oven safe! You’ll also need some butter or that weird spray stuff to grease up your baking dish of choice -- I used butter cause it’s delicious.

How do I do it?
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees & grease up your dish -- leave those aside. Next you’ll need to cook up the spinach with the olive oil in A WOK!* (or a frying pan) until it’s a good, soft consistency. Not mushy, just cooked -- you’ll be able to smell that cooked spinach smell too. Mmm.

While the spinach is getting ready, crack all those eggs into a big bowl and smash them all up -- then add the rest of your chopped up vegetables & sliced up cheese. You can add salt & pepper at this point too -- however much you’d like. When the spinach is at it’s desire consistency, add it to the mix & stir it all up.

Once you’re satisfied that it’s mixed well you can pour it all into your greased dish & pop it into your preheated oven on a middle-ish rack. Depending on the thickness of your concoction, it may need more or less time to cook, but last night mine took about 30 minutes. Keep checking back and when the eggs are set, it’ll be done. Just check it like you would a cake or brownies -- sticking in a toothpick, or fork & if it comes out clean, huzzah! You’ve done it!

When it’s all cooked and set, take it out and it cool for about 10 minutes before cutting into it and voila! You’re done!

(Also, while my quiche-tata was cooking, I cut up some other veggies for a simple garden salad -- romaine lettuce, radishes, cucumbers & tomatoes. Quiche-tata + salad = veggie & protein filled meal that I doubt your family can say no to -- mine certainly couldn’t! Ryan even went back for seconds.)

Enjoy & bon appetit!

*I full advocate the purchase, use & love of all things WOK! They are fantastic.

If You Are Owned By Pets, This Post Is For You

Until January, when our little one is born, Ryan & I are outnumbered by fur-clad roommates, who whine, sleep all day, shed & don't pick up after themselves. Some will call them pets & we live with three of them.

Kitten is my gray tabby girl who I have had since I was 18 and living in my first apartment away from home. She is opinionated, always right, a little stuck up & very classy. She gets embarrassed easily, loves to have her spotted tummy rubbed & needs to go to rehab for her catnip addiction -- though she'll tell you she doesn't have a problem. She often pretends not to care about us humans, but we know the truth -- she's a love bug & a bed hog & we couldn't live without her.

Lydia Deets is Ryan's fluffy black/brown mobster. She licks & chews your arms to wake you up in the morning, plays fetch better than the dog & has the loudest, most ridiculous meow you've ever heard. Her vocal chords were damaged when she spayed and now her voice is more of a throaty "meeeeeehhhh" than a "meow". She's a very chatty trouble maker who keeps trying to be friends with Kitten, but is met with only a hiss and a snort when she tries to play with her. Her and Kitten are about the same age & size, but other than that, they are complete opposites.

Fetch! from desiree on Vimeo.

Winston Hendrix is my stocky little Boston Terrier who came to live with me in May of 2006. He's a brown & white terrorist who loves to chew & even though Ryan doesn't like him in the bed at night, he always finds his way under my covers by the morning. He's an attention suck, always wants to be near me & always looks fabulous in photographs. Winston is a smelly little poop machine and he's my baby. He loves children & I know he'll be a good big brother to the little one when he or she arrives.

So there you have it, the three beasts that live with us, without whom our lives would seem much emptier. If any of you are owned by pets I would love to see some photos -- especially photos of your kids with your pets! I know that my animals are going to be very interested in the baby & I would love to hear about how your lives changed when pets & kids collide.

Take care for now -- there's a stinky little pup who needs a snuggle (and so, I'm not talking about my man). Happy Sunday, friends -- peace.

A Little About Us & The Little Lemon Baby.

I suppose it might be appropriate for me to tell you a little bit about myself & my family at this point. It's always nice to start off knowing about the people you're reading about, oui? In this post I'll let you in on a little about myself, our life & this little lemon sized baby that's hanging out below my belly button.



Ryan & I both live above a fabulous cafe in a small town in Ontario, Canada. Perhaps a few of you did the math in the previous post & realized that there is only a one month difference between us deciding five months ago that we wanted to start our family & the fact that I am currently almost four months pregnant. Around mid March we made the decision: BABY. I marked those magical fertile days on the calendar and we were ready to try. Since everything I'd ever read told me that it took most couples about six months to a year to conceive, I was hoping that maybe we'd have a Summer 2009 baby -- I mean, statistics said it would take a while, right?

On May 21st I took a home pregnancy test & there they were -- those little lines! Oh my. Earlier that month my partner kept telling me that he was absolutely convinced that he would "get it on the first try". I laughed, rolled my eyes & told him it would take a while. Have patience, I told him. My eyes just about fell out of my face when I saw that test. When I brought the test to him in the living room and showed him he said "Awesome!" and gave me a high five with a big grin on his face. He's just so proud of himself. So now, a Winter 2009 baby, we shall have.

We've been told our due date is January 23rd, 2009 -- and just a few days ago we heard the heartbeat for the first time. I don't think I need to tell you how amazing that experience was. I will never forget that sound.

Now, this whole wham bam thank you ma'am conception story is often something I feel the need to downplay. As fabulous as it is that we were able to conceive so quickly, I know that this isn't usually the case and I've more than once made the mistake of excitedly telling someone about how easy it was, only to find out afterward that they have been trying for eight months or are undergoing fertility treatments. Open mouth, insert foot. I know that I still have the right to be happy for us, but I also want to be supportive of women who have spent months or even years trying. So, if you are one of those women, marking your calendar, taking your temperature & counting those days -- I applaud you!

(Also, if any of you have links on your blog to your ttc stories, or would like to share you experience by leaving a comment, I would love to read about it! Merci.)

I think this might be enough from me for now, but I promise to write again soon. For now I'm off to read a few of YOUR blogs and explore this world a little further. Everyday I'm finding new, fun & informative blogs to read -- the addiction has begun. Peace.

Let's Start At The Very Beginning, A Very Good Place To Start

Here I sit, fifteen weeks pregnant today & I've finally decided to take that step into the realm of the "mommy/family blogger". Since deciding to start our family about five months ago, I had been thinking that someday I would want to share my family with the world -- I've been reading countless blogs (such as One Crazy Chick, Latte Mommy & Dooce) that deal with this whole family thing & I knew that one day it would be right for me -- that day shall be today, ladies & gents.

For a while I thought I should wait until the little one was born before delving into this world of which I most likely know less than I think I do, but then I thought: why wait? Why tiptoe on the outskirts when I should be out there participating? So here I am, ready to share, ready to learn & eager to join this online community of parents and families.

I hope that this blog will be a place for people to connect, to learn, to help & to support each other, as well as a place for some fun, some sharing & new ideas. I'm very open & very excited to start this ball rolling today -- look for some introductory posts coming soon & please comment! Remember: feedback is fabulous.