December 2009

December Begins


Click HERE for link to album.

The beginning of December was lots of fun. I think the best part of the first weeks was watching Mikey smile for the first time. He also took his first trip to the Department for the end of the semester pizza party where he met the faculty, staff and students of Physics and Astronomy.

He also began exploring his hands with his mouth. He started by attempting to suck his thumb but it was curled inside his fingers so he would wind up either sucking the nuckle where his thumb meets his hand or sucking his whole fist. Then he tried opening his fist to free his thumb, which was a good plan if he did it when his hand was NOT in his mouth. Otherwise he would get an explosion of fingers like a finger firework if you will. By the end of the month he had discovered how to access his thumb without all the complications.

We set up a pack-n-play in the living room so we didn't have to move the bassinet in and out of the bedroom. The pack-n-play has a mobile but the animals that come with it are these lame little white bears. So I replace those with three rattles from the DeCamps - a red rooster, a pink piggy, and a black and white cow. At the beginning of the month, Mikey's favorite was the piggy. He couldn't take his eyes off it. By the end of the month he changed his preference to the cow. over the course of the four months it was fun to watch Mikey and he watched the mobile going around and around. His attention span got longer and he can now track an animal all the way around the circular path it takes above his head.

Also at the beginning of the month: Grandma and Grandpa Uzelac return. One of the first things on their agenda was to help us decorate the house for Christmas. Grandpa went with Mike and Jen to cut a wild Christmas tree and Grandma held the baby while Julie and Mike unpacked ornaments and placed them on the tree. The really wonderful thing about unpacking all the ornaments was putting some up that had never been on a tree before. You see, Mike and I have traveled for nearly every Christmas since we were married so we never had a real tree before. Meanwhile, my family continued the tradition of giving us ornaments every year. So we had stockpiled a couple-dozen ornaments.

Christmas Round One


Click HERE for link to album.

I am dividing the Christmas holidays in two - marked by Alex and Nichole's trips to Missoula. Unfortunately, Alex and Nichole could not overlap their trips. So we got to celebrate everything twice. First, we celebrate with Grandma and Grandpa Uzelac, Grandma and Grandpa Schneider, and Uncle Alex. Then we celebrated with Grandma and Grandpa Uzelac, Grandma and Grandpa Schneider, and Aunt Nichole, Uncle Dave and doggy-cousin Ellie.

12/17: Grandma and Grandpa Schneider arrived in Missoula.
12/18: Watched the Griz game until Uncle Alex arrived in Missoula
12/19: Spent the day hanging with Uncle Alex
12/20: The family spends the day together in our house
12/21: Dinner at the Schneider's rental house
12/22: Spend the day with Alex
12/23: Tour the Department - Mike shows off his lab and does the flametube demo; Christmas celebration #1
12/24: Alex leaves early in the morning; dinner with just the Schneiders; Christmas celebration #2


Christmas Round Two


Click HERE for link to album.
12/25: Aunt Nichole and Uncle Dave arrive; Christmas celebration #3
12/26: Yoga with Aunt Nichole
12/27: Mikey's two months old! A surprise baby shower; The Schneiders last day in town.
12/28: Mikey's first trip to downtown - with Nichole and Dave
12/29:
12/30:
12/31: Dave's birthday; First First Night Missoula
1/1: Nichole's birthday celebration
1/2: Mikey's first ride in the stroller - we walk to Bonner Park with Nichole, Dave and Ellie
1/3: Nichole and Dave leave

Whole Lotta Love

In the first six weeks of motherhood I have been contemplating love. Until now I have been really working on my marriage. I feel like I have a good handle on what it means to love Mike and to be loved by him. When Mikey arrived I didn't really recognize my love for my son. It is a new kind of love and one that I look forward to learning.

Christmas is Coming!

As Christmas celebrations neared, our excitement grew. A fresh snowfall made our house particularly festive. With hope of a white Christmas to share with our family who were flying in from Michigan and southern California, Mike snuck outside around 5AM (we were awake anyhow) to take pictures of our home as it was decorated for the holidays.

November 2009

Click HERE to go to album.

All of November we have been in a baby time warp.

Mike had taken the week of 10/27 off from work to stay with me and Mikey to make sure we were both healing from labor and birth during Mikey's first week of life. But the following Monday he had to return to work for the week to give one-on-one oral exams. Luckily, my parents could stay with me so I wasn't alone. Erin and Teresa also attended to me that second week of Mikey's life:

On the first Monday of the month we went to the doctor's office for a weigh-in to be sure Mikey was gaining weight. Sure enough he had gained 3 ounces since we had left the hospital on the previous thursday. He was still looking a little yellow so he had his bilirubin checked, which was high and necessitated another trip to the lab on Tuesday morning. Tuesday evening my mom really wanted to wash the windows. I'm not sure why it was so important...the windows had never been washed since we moved in but since she wanted to do it I made it happen. It was a great excuse to invite my new friend Erin over to meet Mikey and keep me company. (Erin had our painting tools that my mom needed to wash the windows.) After Erin left and we got the results from the second bilirubin test (it had gone down), I had a moment when I was really worried that I wasn't feeding the baby well enough to ward off jaundice. Of course, it was just sleep deprivation but I was very upset about it and my parents were a great support. On Wednesday morning my parents departed for AZ after working around the house non-stop. Since I wasn't confident to be alone with Mikey and Mike had to go to work to give oral exams to his students, I called in reinforcement from Teresa. She came over to meet Mikey and to watch over me.

The nights during the first week were filled with sleeplessness and tears of joy. I remember not wanting to put the baby in his bassinet because it was too far away from me at night. So Mikey slept on our tummies in our bed with us. One blurry memory: I was sitting in the low light of nighttime nursing my baby boy. With one hand around my son and my other hand resting on my husband's leg, I cried for the pure joy and beauty of it.

As sleep deprivation caught up with us, we finally moved him from our tummies to his own bed. Of course, we switched our sleeping positions so that our heads were as close to him (at the old foot of the bed) as possible. As he was clearing his lungs and learning how to breathe, our nights were spent listening intently to his squeals and breathing. We checked his chest for movement and we held our finger to his nose to feel the warm exhale. Our attention was still focused on Mikey and, while we were more rested than when he slept in the bed with us, we continued to be too sleep deprived to survive.

The third week of Mikey's life, Mike was able to stay home with me and it was a dream! The three of us were in a nice rhythm and spent our time getting to know one another.

Mikey's fourth week, Mike went back to work part-time. I was confident enough to stay alone with Mikey for four to six hours at a time. But since Mike needed to think with higher-order brain power we changed our sleeping arrangements again. We took turns sleeping in the bed and on the couch. With the baby (and his noisy breathing) outside of the bedroom, whoever was trying to rest could get some deep sleep.

After Mikey turned 6 weeks old, he graduated to sleeping in his own room in his crib. We set up the monitor, tucked him in, and successfully slept together in our master bed alone together! This was a wonderful accomplishment for our little family. Of course, as soon as Mikey made a squeak, one of us was hustling down the short hallway to attend to him. It is working out wonderfully!

Some Misc. Memories (not in any particular order)
Laughing
In the hospital: Mikey was asleep on Mike's bare chest/tummy. I'm not sure what made us laugh but Mike and I started to chuckle. Then I looked over and Mikey was bobbing up and down as Mike belly-laughed, which made me laugh a little harder. I told Mike why I was laughing and he started to laugh harder, which made the baby bob a little more, which made me laugh harder, and we entered a wonderful laugh attack! By the end, we were both in tears from laughter and the baby was still asleep.

Motherhood
The myth of motherhood: I was nervous about becoming a mother because I wasn't sure that I would really be able to change the way I needed to. And indeed when Mikey was put on my chest in those first minutes of his life I didn't feel connected to him at all. I wondered, "who are you?" However, I did feel an enormous responsibility to protect him. Over the weeks I have come to know him better, love him, and I think I have evolved a little into that mother role that I had hoped for. Case in point: Mikey was inconsolable. He was full with a clean diaper and roasty-toasty warm. (One of his nicknames is "Mr. Roasty Toasty" because he likes to be so warm that it makes me nervous for overheating.) He was SCREAMING at the top of his lungs and tears were bundling in his eyes whenever he looked at me. But I found peace by singing an old song I learned when I attended Catholic school as a child called "Let there be peace on earth" as loud as he screamed. Eventually he calmed down and I felt success - not only had I calmed my baby but I had enjoyed doing it.

Nicknames
Mikey has earned a number of nicknames. Of course there are the "standard" names like "Mr. Fussypants" and "Stinky" but we also call him our "rough and tumble flower" in memory of some advice Mike got when he entered his post-doc. He was told that working with Tom would require that he not be a "delicate flower." We got a kick out of that and indeed, Mike has never been mistaken for a "delicate flower" and was successful working at NIST. Since Mikey was a premie and a little small and delicate we called him a flower. However, he was also VERY strong - lifting his head and wiggling his arms and legs like a crazy man - so we clarified that he was a "rough and tumble" flower. We also called him a peanut because he was so little when he first came home and we continue to measure him as some sort of legume or nut. He went from an peanut to an almond and now he is a walnut...or a pecan...we can't tell.

New Appliances
When we got back from Boulder our dryer needed replacing. We also purchased our first microwave oven. Then the week Mikey arrived our dish washer died. So we bought him a new dish washer, which Mike had to install while sleep-deprived. Then our washing machine died and the Schneiders were generous enough to help us replace it with a fancy front-loader. Our mornings that used to be filled with breakfast together and a short tea ceremony are now shortened. The tea ceremony has happened a couple times but we found ourselves NEEDING caffiene to wake up instead of merely enjoying the time together. So we also bought our first coffee machine. Whew!

What an Eater!
Weigh-in #2: 6lb 15oz. Mikey gained one pound in 10 days.

Life with a Baby's Peepee
At the circumcision mommy cried more than the baby. I felt like I was failing to protect him. But his penis healed up fast and we continue to be entertained and amazed at his trajectory. Mikey's pee-fountain has made us laugh until we cried more than once because he has hit the walls, the crib across the room, and we're expecting him to hit the ceiling sometime! We generally keep a pptp or an absorbent rag over him during diaper-changing time but he just wiggles it off sometimes.

GIFTS - WOW
Gifts continue to pour in: we've received clothes, little professor, patagonia, peepeeteepees, food mailordered from Zingermans and Omaha Steaks, food prepared locally and delivered by our friends Jen and Honey (rice and beans) and Teresa (stew and buns and jam - with ingredients grown in Teresa's garden).

Something that I keep in mind that Chithra told me: "A baby's cry is the more innocent thing in the world."

Mikey Learns to Breath and Eat
Mikey hums while he eats. I think it helps him with timing the suck-swallow-breath coordination. He is so sweet sounding as he hums, "hmm, mm, mm,...,mm." And if he is agitated before he latches on - or becomes agitated when he has to poo while eating - I hum to him to keep him focused. If I don't we have "attack of the booby" incidents and he jumps off coughing the milk from his lungs. Needless to say this is terribly unnerving for everyone.

World News
Jen comes over to hold the baby. It is fun to get the call when she invites herself over. Before Mikey was born, Jen said she wouldn't hold him until he could hold up his own head unless he was cute. Since Mikey was born, Jen has invited herself over and held him more than once...he must be pretty darn cute! It has been fun to watch and listen while Jen updates him on what he was missing in Jim's PHYS 211 lecture, the politics of the day, and the scores of the pro sporting events. :)

Mobility
After a few weeks of snuggling on the couch with Mikey I started to feel antsy. So I bought a Moby Wrap for myself to carry him while he sleeps. I like the wrap but I have to say that Mikey is kind of weird. First of all, I can only use it if he is limp-limb asleep. Otherwise he won't tolerate being face down. He likes to either face the world or look over my shoulder while I hold him in a modified cradle. Sometimes he will tolerate being tummy-to-tummy if he can throw his head back (and have me hold it) but since I have to support his head, it kind of defeats the goal of having a carrier to help me be hands-free.

Momentos
Now I know that Mikey should suffice as a momento of this whole birth into parenthood but Mike and I both wanted a little something. So Mike bought me a watch that I had had my eye on for months (a citizen eco-drive). And I bought Mike a razor that he had had his eye on (an M Schneider straight razor).

Congratulations Nichole!
Good luck in CA!

Thanksgiving
At the Jacobs house
Julie and Mike are thankful for every moment with Mikey: moments of coos and silly faces, moments of sleep caught between feedings and diaper changes, moments of togetherness. Mikey is thankful for the warm water bottle that warms his bed while he's out to eat, the hair dryer that warms his bum while he's on the changing table, mommy's breastmilk that makes him grow big and strong, and bouncy time with daddy.

Back to yoga
On November 30th I went back to the Women's Club for yoga with Sylvia. It was so nice to walk into the classroom and be so well-received. I look forward to Sylvie meeting Mikey some time soon. The kriya she chose was to invigorate/support the self. At first, I thought that I didn't need to work on my "self" but by the end of the set I had realized that it was nice to focus on just me instead of worrying about Mike or Mikey or anyone else!

Hi Meredith...I have heard that you are a regular reader. :)

Photo Contest

Please vote for my picture of Mikey at the following website. I submitted his picture for a contest called "Things we are thankful for in our lives."
http://www.abcmontana.com/features/promocontests/73864517.html

October 2009

Click HERE to go to photo album.

Slowly Socializing
First Friday
Well, October was more exciting than we thought it would be. It started out with what seemed like a typical month. We went with Erin and Nate to see the Pulitzer Prize photograph exhibit that was on loan at the UM...followed by dinner at the Depot Lounge. We had intended to go see more stuff that was available for First Friday Missoula but we were pooped after seeing 7 decades worth of moving photographs.
http://www.umt.edu/montanamuseum/Pulitzer.htm
http://firstfridaysmissoula.blogspot.com/

Lunch with Sylvia
I finally had lunch with my yoga instructor. It was lovely to talk with her outside the context of yoga. She shared a wonderful book on baby massage that she referred to when she had her children. What a lovely was to welcome me to motherhood. I just love the little gestures!

Montana Bars Went Smoke-Free
Yay!
http://missoulanews.bigskypress.com/missoula/last-drag/Content?oid=1168449

More Nesting
Stuff
We also continued to nest (thank goodness). We bought our first microwave oven and started stocking up on diapers and prepared foods. Christmas gifts were purchased and wrapped. Yes! So soon! But now I don't have to worry about it. As part of the nesting we frequented Target, Costco, and the Home Depot. Once, while we were at Target, MSU beat UM (a rare occurance) and Nichole suggested that it means our baby will bleed green. She texted this Spartan thought to Mike, which he promptly ignored.

The Bassinet Arrived
The bassinet that I slept in when my parents brought me home from the hospital arrived. (Alex, Nichole, and my cousins all slept in it as well so it is a true family heirloom. Thanks for sending it Aunt Harriet!) We received a note from USPS that a package needed to be picked up or delivery arranged. So on a Saturday morning we went to the post office and presented our slip. The looks on our faces must have been priceless because the wardrobe box surprised us. It was huge! Luckily, Oldsmobiles swallow a surprising amount of stuff and the bassinet fit right in the back seat.

A New Shower
We hired Justin the Tile Guy and Dennis at Miracle Method to renovate our bathroom shower. As things always seem to go, the project got delayed a few times. First, Justin had to delay his start because he was sick and then the plumber delayed his work because he got sick. Not such a huge deal unless you consider the fact that the delays happened to coincide with an early holiday package... (More on this later.)

Fall Color
Time accelerated to the end of the month. We had our first snow in town, which froze all the trees and stole our fall color. A week after the freeze, the weather was warm and Mike and I set aside an afternoon to take some pictures of my pregnant belly. We went to the Rattlesnake Wilderness area and walked a short hike to fields of golden grasses. During the entire afternoon we saw only one other person so it felt like an intimate afternoon. It was a special experience to have Mike shoot pictures of me. I never felt more beautiful or more loved in my life.

I continued to get compliments on my belly. I heard "You're so small!" as much as I heard "You're so big!" and "I love your belly. You look amazing!" How nice! I love getting compliments!

Friday (T-4)
I took the carseat to be installed and inspected by the fire department. I hadn't anticipated the 45 minutes of information and stuff but in the end I felt confident that I would know what to do with the baby for that one part of parenthood...using a carseat safely and correctly. Check.

Saturday (T-3)
Another shopping day.

Sunday (T-2) The October Potluck - An Informal Baby Shower
For the October potluck at the Jacobs house Teresa invited people to bring gifts for an informal baby shower. It was perfect! We each got a gift: Mike got beer, I got a gift certificate to a spa, and the baby got handmade baby art (a quilt to look at to make him smart). As usual, the evening was filled with good times and lots of laughter.

Monday (T-1)
The swine flu vaccination became available for pregnant women in Missoula. So I scooted over to where the health department was administering the drugs ASAP to ensure that I got the "good" kind.

Tuesday (Liftoff) - Birth Story
At 4:20AM I awoke to the release of the seal. Mike was up in a flash with me and we sat wondering if "this is it." An hour later my waters released and I started to tremble and thought, "this might really be happening today!" We called our doula and our doctor and were advised to go to the hospital to see what exactly was happening with my body. We considered leaving our hospital bag at home because we were in denial that we would be staying, but we figured it was packed so we should take it. Similarly, when we walked into the hospital we thought about leaving the bags in the car, but figured that it was easy enough to carry them in and out with us. By the time we left home I was having regular surges (contractions) about 20 minutes apart.

We checked in and they took my vitals and the baby's vital and since my blood pressure was high (I can't imagine why) they made me remain hooked up to the monitor while tests were run. We signed some release forms and handed our "Birth Plan" to our nurse, Linda. (See "A Brief Introduction" below for what we requested from the Community Medical staff for our care.) The tests came back affirmative: the baby was on his way! We were happy that we had brought our hospital bags! One very important thing was missing though...our camera! Luckily, Jen had accepted our nomination as our "point guard" in Missoula and she happily delivered the camera to the maternity ward for us.

My labor was pretty much what I expected and I managed the pain eyes closed with breathing, relaxation, listening to my yoga music, meditation, asking Mike to apply counterpressure to my lower back (the pain was as far as I could tell entirely back labor from Michael's position in the womb), and listening to Sandhano for guidance and confidence boosters when I got scared. The blood-curdling screams were from fright. When it came time to push (I had a clue because it felt like I had to poo) I announced as much to Sandhano, the medical staff measured how open I was and we all decided it was time to push during the contractions. At the start of pushing I screamed a few blood-curdling screams from fright as Michael descended.

I spent two hours pushing. First I was on my side, then on my hands and knees, and finally my doc suggested sitting upright because I wasn't progressing in the other positions. Sandhano stood at my left holding my leg up and back; Mike was on my left doing the same. Sandhano made sure I drank water and Mike kept a wet washcloth on my forehead. The nurses Linda and Carol kept the bottle full and the towel wet. I remember at some point I decided that I wouldn't let them put my legs down between contractions because it was too much energy for me to be lifting them up and down. I also remember listening to them talk about how they liked my necklace and how they would sing along to my music if they knew the words. (Sandhano gently let them know that it was my yoga music...which led to a discussion of who does yoga.) I remember wondering how bored they must be and marveled at their short attention spans...how long had they been watching me push? 5 minutes? Of course when I realized that it was 2 hours I understood better that they were indeed very patient. :)

Of course, pushing was very tiring but I remember when the perfect song came on. "Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo" means "I call on the divine wisdom" and at that moment I remembered my yoga practice. I meditated on moving my energy from my seventh chakra (at the top of my head) to my root chakra and heard my yoga teacher saying to observe my inner world and that I am strong. I also heard Mike next to me saying things like "wow" and "oh my goodness." With those things in mind, I continued to push and suddenly there was a ton of commotion and the baby was being put on my chest. The nurses were pulling my tank top down and ignoring my insistence to just cut it off. Evidently, it was too cute a top to "ruin" just to get the baby skin to skin faster. ;)

Despite that fact that Michael came out "sunny side up" (see more on this below), I managed to have a natural, drug-free labor and birthing experience. However, I had started to tear in four or five places so the doctor had to do an episiotomy to direct the tear. I remember her sounding a little frustrated while she stitched that she only does one per year. Even so, the nurses had a hard time finding the stitches afterwards because the doctor's work was so good. I also started to hemmorage and there was a flurry of nurses getting a pitocin drip started and who knows what else. They were frustrated on my behalf because I had a beautiful natural birth and then had to be medicated like crazy. I didn't mind. If medical intervention to keep me safe was the price I paid for having a natural birth then I was thrilled.

In the birth room, the baby got lots of skin to skin time with me and then with Mike. He had his first breast feeding and was a natural. After a while, we were all moved to a private postpartum room to be together to recover for a couple nights. They wanted to keep an eye on me because of the hemmorage and an eye on Michael because he had presented the largest part of his head and was a little bruised, which sometimes leads to abnormal jaundice.

That evening we made phone calls to our family to let them know of Michael's safe arrival. We also checked our voicemail and learned that the plumber and the Miracle method guy had left multiple messages for me saying that they could work on our shower if I could let them in. So, I called them back and "apologized" for not getting back to them sooner...I had a baby that day! They were both very excited for me and they coordinated their efforts to complete our project before we got home. It was so amazing that they showed us patience and excitement and work ethic! I highly recommend them to anyone who needs to have work done on their bathrooms...

On Wednesday the hospital gave us a "date" for lunch. Instead of just feeding me, they fed Mike too! We got a table cloth, cloth napkins, and fillet mignon meals. We ate it cold because we had been caught up in taking care of the baby for a couple hours after the meal had been delivered but it was a nice little way to celebrate together.

On Tuesday night and Wednesday night I marveled at how "easy" Michael was to manage...at least compared to the screamer next door. He was small and easy to handle and he was pretty quiet. He just would make a sweet little grunt and open his mouth really wide to indicate that he was hungry. Mike and I were so pumped up that we slept very little and spent many hours staring at our son. I remember feeling like the baby in the bassinet at the foot of my bed was WAY too far away from me and I decided to just snuggle with him most of the time we were in the hospital.

Over the course of our stay I stayed in the postpartum room to heal. (Walking wasn't all that easy.) So Mike accompanied Michael to the nursery for his tests. He would return to the room and give little reports about how Michael was measuring up. He also reported seeing the other new dads in the nursery and thought that all the babies were cute. One of the funniest things to me was when he came back and described a fluffy pink blanket that one of the other dads had for his daughter...his son was definitely in need of a fluffy blanket too!

Thursday afternoon we went home. Mike made a diaper run to get diapers that were small enough to fit our little premie. And that fluffy blanket Mike wanted for his son fell into the cart too.
Friday afternoon Mom and Dad U arrived.
Saturday was Halloween and instead of opening our door to germy little neighborhood kids, we left a basket of candy on the front porch. We turned the porchlight out and the kids had to brave the front and the sudden "on" of the motion light to earn their candy.

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A Brief Introduction

Who We Are

Our names are Julie and Michael Schneider. We have been very happily married for nearly nine years. We consider ourselves pretty laid-back but informed people. This is our first child and we are very excited about the entire experience. We have enjoyed the wonders of pregnancy and anticipate labor and birth to be an awe-inspiring milestone that marks both the birth of our son and our own “birth” into parenthood.

Hopes for Labor and Birth

To start, we would like to have a natural labor and birth – one with as few medical interventions as possible. We would like to try to manage labor pain without drugs and we would like to try to birth “naturally,” pushing spontaneously. However, we have chosen to have our son in Community Medical Hospital because we trust that if something goes wrong we will be attended to by medical professionals who are knowledgeable and caring.

Preferences for Our Baby

Immediately after our son arrives, we request one hour of togetherness during which we hope to have plenty of skin-skin time (baby with Julie and then with Mike) and our first breastfeeding. We will not give permission to vaccinate our son for Hep B. If there is a choice regarding circumcision, we prefer to have our son circumcised at a later date.

Our Visitors

We have brought Sandhano Dennison as our doula to provide us with undivided attention and labor support. We do not anticipate having any other family or friends visit us during our stay at Community Medical.

Final Note

We look forward to sharing this experience with you!

More on Being Sunny Side Up (from http://www.babyworld.co.uk/information/birth/assisted_delivery/positioning_baby_for_birth.asp)
"Some are occipito-posterior (OP) which means they are head down but with their spine against yours. An OP baby and mother will have to work harder in labour to have a vaginal birth, and labour is often longer and more painful while the baby tries to rotate to the anterior position. A common side-effect of OP labours is excruciating back pain, caused by the hard surface of the baby's skull pressing on the mother's lower back."

First Visitors
Mom and Dad U had planned to visit for a few days at the end of October on their way to AZ. None of us expected that their visit would include time with their first grandson when he was less than a week old. Since Michael was three weeks early, we were very lucky to have them here because Mike could go to work to give his students their one-on-one oral midterm exams during the first week of November while they stayed with me. They puttered around the house while I watched the baby.

Happy Birthday Michael!

Please welcome our son!

Favorite Advice

Favorite Baby Advice
Practice picking things up with your toes. You don't want to bonk the babies head by bending over. (Mike Weinberger)

Each phase of the babies life comes with good things and bad things. Try to ignore the bad things and focus on the good things because before you know it the baby will be in a new phase of development and wonder. (Laura Paterson)

Give yourself a couple weeks alone as a family before inviting guests to greet the baby. (Too many friends, medical professionals, and authors to name here.)

Favorite Pregnancy Advice
Plan to deliver in a hospital but take a doula with you. (Angie Williams)

You don't get to take drugs for your headaches or have an alcoholic beverage at the end of the day so let yourself eat that donut. (Author of "The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy")

September 2009

Wow. September began and ended before I could blink. It makes me a little afraid at how fast October will pass and then the Baby will be here! Yikes!

Socializing
Nate and Erin
It seems we did an extraordinary amount of socializing over food this month. We had Nate and Erin over for a Mexican dinner (fajitas) where we stayed up way past my bedtime. I can't believe how time flies sometimes! After chatting all night, Erin and I decided that we should take advantage of the fact that we have relatively free schedules because our work lives are fairly lax right now. So we made plans to have lunch at Hob Nob on a thursday, after which I took her to some of my favorite Downtown Missoula stores: Selvedge, Noteworthy, and the Missoula Artist's Co-op. But between my pregnant belly and Erin's hurt foot we couldn't walk too much. Plus, we both had projects waiting for us at home (my how we know how to fill the time) so after a few hours we called it a successful first outing.

Jane
Since I am now working in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, I no longer share an office with Jane and I miss Jane. So I emailed her to arrange lunch together to catch up. We met one Friday for lunch at Food for Thought and discussed our summers, our plans for the fall, etc.

Todd, Kimberlee and Ivan
We also finally got to see Todd. (Since we had gotten home from Boulder our schedules had not allowed for us to get together. But one evening, we all met for a small plates dinner at the Silk Road. It was another lovely night with friends.

Around the House
Nursery
We also spent plenty of time this month getting the nursery together. Part of this was just the nesting instinct kicking in and part of it was due to necessity because very large packages were starting to take over the house. We made shelves for the weird little closet; I colored the butterfly mobile that Chithra and Gokul sent; I washed all the clothes that have arrived as gifts to the baby Schneider; and we assembled the crib and the changing table. It was when I looked at Mike while he was screwing together the crib that I realized that there is going to be a third person in the house soon. After 8.5 happy years of marriage that we have spent alone together, a new soul will enter our lives. This realization was a little startling to me because my nightmares are always about an intruder. Not to say that I view the baby as an intruder...just that this unknown little personality will be joining us soon. I wonder what he'll be like! :) I also felt like one of our parents were going to barge in and scold us for playing house when we shouldn't be! In my mind's eye we were both still too young and too irresponsible to be expecting a baby.

Us
One more house adventure that made us want to move...the drain in the kitchen stopped up. 5 hours and lots of stinky smell later, Mike had managed to take apart the drain in three places and snake it and dig decaying food matter out with a spoon so that our kitchen could be used again. It was awful but Mike saved the day. (I spent 2 of the five hours at yoga.)

Our hobbies continued to grow...my new fountain pens arrived and Mike started using a straight razor to shave, which include stropping and really elaborate sharpening techniques. Whenever I watch his strop or shave I can't help but to think, "What a manly man!" :)


Media
Internet
Discover the D
http://www.dptv.org/ondemand/dd/ddvod0344lg.shtml

Books
The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy
the Mongan Method
The Baby Book
The Emporer's Children (still)

Film/TV
Mad Men

August 2009

Happy Birthday Mike!
Year after year we start the month of August by celebrating Mike's birthday. Our tradition is to have a special meal together. We've eaten at the Seafood Company in Ann Arbor, L'Etoile in Madison, and Sushi Tora in Boulder. This year "special" took on a new look: pizza (we splurged and had it delivered) and a movie in. It was the first time in a long while with no plans and it was lovely!

Mike did enjoy his presents. He downloaded a light saber app onto our iPod and we took turns playing with it. He also played with his new infrared thermometer and measured the temperature of pretty much everything in the house. And, lastly, he got fabulous gifts that won't fit him but will fit his son: some cowboy boots and a camo onsie. :)

Back Home
Being back home came with the reminder that "home" means more than a comfy bed. It might also mean that one has to repair a leaky roof. One day after a particularly heavy rainstorm our roof started to leak in three different places. Each skylight was leaking and the vent for the plumbing was leaking. It was a moment that I cursed the "architect" that built the addition to our house (before we purchased it). He clearly cut corners that continue to haunt us.

Projects
In addition to figuring on how to fix the leaky roof, we had a few other projects that needed attention. First, I began work on SchneiderLuck 2008, which is our family yearbook. Second, the crib and bedding arrived and took up residence in the front entryway to await the time when we would have the time to assemble the bed. Until the "yellow" room, or the guest room, was emptied of its contents, the crib would have to wait.

Family News
Two big events occurred in the Uzelac family:
Alex is Engaged! Congratulations to him and to Jenny!
Nichole moved to Chicago! Congratulations on the next step in what I'm sure will be a successful career.

Friends
Back in the swing of being home we were able to visit with some friends. We had our first bonafide guest who came to visit Missoula. Hans came and had unfortunate luck with the weather. It rained the entire hime he was here so we decided to take it easy. We relaxed, went out to eat, and slept late. We missed the Western Montana Fair but we did catch Daschund races that were happening downtown. It was the funniest thing to watch - owners holding their squirming dogs at one end of a 20-foot straight course and the subsequent scramble by the little legs to get the other side. Of course, there were heats separating the dogs by age. :)

We also hooked up with Kimberlee and Ivan for a stroll around the Clark Fork River Market and the people's market. We also got to try brunch at a new restaurant, the Silk Road. It was a lovely and sunny afternoon but Kimberlee's bike had a flat. Luckily, Mike was a gentleman and went home for a new tube and a pump. That same evening we had dinner at Andrew and Sherry's house and met the newest faculty member and his wife: Nate and Erin. And we also got to enjoy and Ethiopian feast at the Jacobs' house.

Last but not least, Mike started mountain biking in the Rattlesnake. One morning, after hitting the trails with Jen and Andrew, I joined them for brunch at Catalyst. Plus, since Mike became acquainted with the Rattlesnake, he was able to take me for a nice pregnant hike in about a mile. And WOW! The Rattlesnake is awesome. I can't wait to continue to explore back there!

Adventures in Pregnancy
As my pregnancy progresses funny new things happen. For one, a parenting "realization" occurred. I imagined myself parenting an infant and thought, "I can do that." I imagined myself parenting a young child and got excited to play. I imagined parenting a teenager and wondered what the "issues" that we will be faced with as parents that haven't been invented yet. And then I realized...all these things have to happen consecutively! There are no breaks in between each day or year or anything! Whatever will I do?! I guess this parenthood thing is going to be even longer than I thought.

The other funny thing happened in the middle of the night. I went to roll over in the bed and I felt the baby move from one side to the other.

Happy Birthday Julie!
To celebrate my birthday, we also go to dinner. For my celebration, we went to another new restaurant called Iza. And, because I'm pregnant, I have a sweet tooth and ordered two desserts: green tea tirimisu and curried carrot cake. They were both delicious.


Media
Film/TV
Huff

Internet
Your Baby is Smarter than You Think

Books
Birthing from Within
Parenting from the Inside Out
The Emporer's Children

July 2009

Mike Arrives in Michigan
Nichole went to work on Monday morning and I waited for the Schneiders to pick me up on their way up north. Mike had arrived the night before from Washington DC and we had planned on heading, together, to Oscoda on Monday. Of course, the original plan was for them to pick me up in Au Gres but the change of plans wasn't too much of a kink. We got ice cream in Standish as a little treat on our way...something Mr. Schneider had done when he was a kid, too.

Again, we hadn't planned any socializing while Mike and I were in Michigan so we had some nice surprises when Pam and Lannie came to Oscoda for dinner. And they came bearing gifts for the baby! Pam had found a pop-up version of the Very Hungry Caterpillar. How lovely and fun! A book that Mike and I can enjoy with the baby! My parents came for dinner one evening too. And when the up-north neighbors arrived we got to see the Mehneys and the Martuchs.

But the highlight of our trip to Oscoda was the 4th of July celebration. What made it extra-special was the reunion of the group with whom I celebrated Christmas and New Years with just six months ealier! Mike and his parents welcomed my parents, my sister and her boyfriend Dave, and my brother and his girlfriend Jennie. I was THRILLED to have that group together again! (I had even told Alex as soon as I bought my plane ticket to Michigan what my plans were and asked him to plan a trip at the same time.) And the fireworks show that Mr. Schneider prepared for was wonderful and fun! We had a beachfire and neighbors from the north came over with snacks and beverages and we all watched while Mike and Alex set off fireworks on our beach.

We headed back to Ann Arbor on July 5th so we could catch our flight back to Boulder on the 6th.

The "Big" Ultrasound
On the 7th we had the "big" ultrasound. The first thing we saw? Well, that was our son showing us in more than one way that he is certainly a little boy. (I had been having the strongest feminine "messages" coming to me until I started unpacking all the little girl clothes in Michigan.)

The next thing we saw was my full bladder and his little legs moving up and down on it. As best as I can describe it, it looked like he was high-stepping on my bladder. And of course when I refer to high-stepping I am assigning goals and dreams to my unborn son to be in a marching band like his father. It didn't help that my baby was later observed holding his hands in front of his face as if he was holding a trumpet. :)

Now, I made a mistake after the ultrasound by texting a handful of my closest friends to announce that it's a boy! I failed to indicate in my message that the gender had been determined in an ultrasound....not from delivery. Doh! Evidently, I violated some sort of baby etiquette...and I confused some people. Sorry!

Farewell Katie and Joe (and Us)
Another farewell was for Katie and Joe, who were moving to Maine. Earlier in the summer we realized that our groups of friends overlap so much that we should just plan a farewell party together. So, we combined "celebrations" and we had a BBQ in north Boulder park with a small group of friends. The weather was perfect - sunny but cool enough in the shade to lounge.

Sarah also had a girls-only farewell for us and we spent an evening eating and drinking and chatting...passing time the way only girlfriends can. It made me feel so thankful for my girlfriends there. I was sad to leave them because I have yet to cultivate that bond with anyone in Missoula...mainly because we've only lived here for two years.

Our departure fell at a time when many of our friends were out of town so we got to continue a slew of private farewells. We went to Amu one more time with Justin and Hailey. We went to Sushi Tora with Wendy. And we went to Wahoo's Fish Taco with Tom and Kari after a little shopping spree at Gymborree. Oh! Don't worry about all the fish and my pregnancy. Mike "regulates" what I consume. He helps me count my caffiene and he won't "let" me have anything raw. It is sweet.

In Memory of David Peters
On Tuesday, I went to Katie and Joe's house to help them finish packing for their cross-country trip. After having a little Thai food in their empty living room, I called it a night and walked to my car where I found a missed call from my sister. I had a bad feeling because it was nearly 11PM in Michigan and there really is no reason for her to call me so late on a school night. I called her right back and, in tears, she told me that our childhood friend, Dave Peters, had died. I was in shock and didn't really believe the news but as she went on to tell me a brief description of what she had heard the dark truth settled in.

That night Mike and I didn't sleep.

Age 29, of Bloomfield Hills, MI, passed away on Tuesday July 21, 2009. He graduated from Birmingham Groves, attended MSU and Wayne State majoring in Psychology. Those who were touched by him understand that life is defined on how we impact others. His genuine smile, intelligence, and charisma influenced many. David loved music, jamming on his guitar. He always lived in the moment. He loved talking about philosophy, psychiatry, and the meaning of life. David and his song will live on through the memories and impact he had upon others. David is survived by his loving parents, Dr. Michael and Jan Peters and his older brother Eric, five nieces and nephews many family and friends. Memorial date is still to be determined. A.J. Desmond & Sons, 248-549-0500. View obituary and share memories at www.DesmondFuneralHome.com.

We will continue to mourn Dave's premature death and attempt to celebrate his life for years to come.

Moving Home
Instead of flying to Michigan to visit Dave's family, at their urging, we continued to plan our trip home on the following weekend. So I spent the week working part time for my mentor at CU-Boulder and packing. And on Friday I treated myself to a massage and some reiki by Wendy and Katie's new fav, Amy. It was a wonderful massage and reiki session and it made me realize that in the future instead of reiki I will request 15 minutes for some post-massage savasana...I might even take my headphones to listen to some favorite savasana music.

Mike and I left Boulder and talked and dreamed of getting to Missoula in one 13-hour shot. With my pregnancy, we were stopping regularly to let me stretch and move around (and, ahem, relieve myself) and I wasn't really expecting to make it all the way home. However, the thought of sleeping in another crappy bed was enough to inspire Mike and we pulled in to our driveway around midnight. And crawling into our wonderful spectacular bed was worth it!

A Big Box of Love
One of the best conversations we had during our 13 hours in the car together was planning a care package for the Peters. We wanted to send something because we won't be able to travel to the memorial service or to just be there with the Peters. Flowers would have been OK but not perfect. A card form us would have been an understatement. But then Mike remembered that the Peters had sent us steaks for Christmas and the brainstorm went crazy. We designed a care package that would feel like a big box of love for the Peters to unwrap. We sent two steaks, a bag of rice pilaf, two apples, a few dozen oatmeal cookies, a couple dozen chocolate chip cookies, hundreds of miniature semi-sweet chocolate kisses, a CD for hypnosis/chilling out, some crayons and pads of paper to color in, a candle and matches, a framed picture of me with the Peters on my wedding day, some lavender, a box of Kleenex, and I think that is it.

The best thing about putting the care package together was that Mike and I laughed so hard that we cried. Here's the deal: we knew that we should send chocolate to Jan. So we figured that chocolate fudge would be fun to make and to include in the care package. I took a quick look at the recipe in the Joy of Cooking before going to the Good Food Store... Chocolate Fudge requires 6 ___ of chocolate. Now, I don't have a sweet tooth to speak of so in my head I imagined fudge to be mostly chocolate, held together by something. So I went to the store and bought 6 pounds of chocolate. At the time it seemed like a lot of chocolate and I recalled that the recipe needs two cups of sugar and I thought, "well, fudge is mostly chocolate right? Six pounds of chocolate seems about the right proportion to two cups of sugar." When I got home and told Mike that I bought a TON of chocolate I got a head-tilt. So I re-examined the Joy. Indeed, the recipe doesn't call for six pounds of chocolate; it calls for six ounces of chocolate! You may laugh now....

...done laughing at me? Well, when Mike and I realized that we had to figure out what to do with 5 pounds 10 ounces of chocolate we started flipping through cookbooks finding that most chocolate recipes really don't need much chocolate. And, of course, we were laughing the entire time. So, when I remember Dave's death I will always laugh...a little.

Parties with the Jacobs
Now, we have spent most of the time since we arrived home unpacking, cleaning, picking up apricots from our crazy apricot tree, working, and trying to settle back in. But the Jacobs had a party that we couldn't miss and then had us over for an Ethiopian feast!

A Wiggly Son
And one last thing...my son is getting more and more wiggly this month. I can see my tummy move when he kicks or punches or whatever if I'm laying down. He also seems to dislike ultrasound. At my last prenatal appointment the nurse midwife went to listen to the heartbeat (and whatever else she listens to during those things) and we got quite a response! Right where the ultrasound wand was touching my tummy, my son jabbed. There was a big physical bump on my tummy and the sound from the ultrasound gave a great pop. I said, "I don't think he likes the ultrasound" and he kicked the wand again! Fun!

Media
Big Bang Theory
How I Met Your Mother

June 2009

After moving to Boulder and spending 10 days living at Wendy and Ben's place (thanks!), we moved into our "executive rental" on June 1. It was a nice place and the nicest thing was that the storage areas were completely empty. So we could unpack swiftly and stash our luggage.

R&R with Nichole
We weren't moved in long before I took off for an R&R weekend with Nichole in Phoenix. Nichole and I spent most of our R&R lounging in a lazy river at a fancy resort. After enjoying some slow time together (well...Nichole did work some) we went to Anthem to visit Aunt Harriet, Uncle Joe, Grandma, Nick and Meredith. We had a very relaxing time with them too: lounging poolside, going to meet Harriet's horse, Cinnamon, and generally having a nice time. As always, the time flew by and seemed too short but I was very grateful for the experience.

Socializing in Boulder
The best thing about spending summer months in Boulder is visiting with old friends. Of course, my top priority was to spend as much time with Wendy as I could. So we went hiking at Betasso and spent plenty of afternoons/evenings waddling around Pearl St. Mike and I also had Wendy and Ben over for pancakes as a little "thank you" for letting us take over their place for 10 days. They brought Anne (Wendy's sis) and Amy (Ben's cherie) and we cooked up some pancakes and bacon to enjoy together. So, every weekend was packed with things to do. Hans had a party, I went shopping with Cath, Mike did a nice long ride to Heil Ranch, and Mike and Wendy and I went for a hike in RMNP.

We also said "farewell" to several people over the course of the summer. First to go: Alina. And boy did she go out with a bang! We sent Alina off three times: once over dinner at the Rib House, once over fondue at her place, and lastly at the Corner Bar. Fondue at her place was easily the most entertaining. As the evening progressed Mike, Alina, and Hans polished off a few bottles of wine and as the wine bottles emptied, the air filled with amazing conversation. Not amazing as in thought-provoking...amazing as in the stopped taking turns to speak and listen. They - all three of them - started talking and listening to one another simultaneously. It was fascinating and hilarious to observe.

Michigan
This summer I made no plans for my trip to Michigan except to arrive and go up north. Nichole picked me up at the airport and took me to her place. Then I made a teeny attempt to see if anyone was around to join us for dinner at Buddy's Pizza. Teresa was around and available (after nearly jumping into the Detroit river off her boat) so we had a nice small gathering.

The next day I drove myself up north to visit with my parents. For the most part, I spent my time shadowing my parents. And it just happened that they had a lot of cleaning and organizing to do because they had just moved in to their Au Gres house and needed badly to downsize. I think there were two things that stuck with me: 1) my mom likes to collect books that she hopes to read but can't quite keep track of what she has stashed away for later (I found 4 to 5 copies of some of them); and 2) it is truly unfathomable how much baby clothing (etc...I will leave out the embarrassing list) she kept for 25 years.

One extra-fun thing that happened while I was up north was when the baby seemed to respond to Mike's voice. He called to check in from his trip to Washington DC and the baby gave me a big kick. When I said, "I think the baby knows I'm talking to you," the baby gave a couple more kicks! So call it silly pregnancy thoughts if you want. I just will remember that moment.

Since I didn't make any effort to organize any visits with anyone I was delightfully surprised when my Aunt Dori and Uncle Garry came to visit for the day! We spent the afternoon lounging together and watching the lake...which is one of the things you do when you are on the coasts of those big lakes! Nichole, of course, knew that I was coming to town and she came up and spent the weekend with me. In fact, she spent plenty of time keeping me company while I went through all the baby clothing. And in the evening she and I got the Wii hooked up over the internet and raced Alex on MarioCart. Ah the miracles of technology...Alex was in California!

Adventures with Ellie
The most excitement we had all weekend was with Nichole's dog, Ellie. To start the weekend off, Ellie darted from the car on Friday evening and found her way to the lake. Until that moment, she hadn't been a water dog, but oh my how things change! She waded in the water, dipping her face up and down getting thoroughly soaked. Then, as dogs do, she darted out of the water and started to dig. And before it was time to turn in for the night she was one muddy dog!

The next day Nichole and I went for a walk up the beach with Ellie. While we were walking a big black lab with a big not-so-friendly bark came charging at us. I panicked (an odd feeling) and lifted Ellie up by her leash! Luckily, she is a light dog and luckily the black lab didn't chase her into our arms and tackle us! The owner, by the way, said that people don't "understand" his dog...that she's really quite friendly. I don't think the owner understands dogs. So we were scared and the proceeded cautiously whenever we passed that dog's territory but everything was fine at the end of the day.

The real excitement came on Sunday when my mom and dad and I sat on the front porch while Nichole showered and got ready for her drive home. Ellie was with us - off leash like she had been all weekend - and hopped off the porch and was out of sight for about 2 minutes before my mom asked where Ellie had gotten. My dad and I looked and saw her digging and then we were startled to see her digging out poison from under the porch. (I had no idea it was there.) After calling poison control and a handful of vets in the area, Nichole rushed Ellie to get her little tummy pumped. :( By the time the vet was ready to let Nichole and Ellie go for the evening it was 9PM and Nichole still had to get down-state for work the next day. So, I practically insisted that I drive her home while she rested and held Ellie. She quickly accepted my offer and we rode the nearly-empty I-75/US-23 home. Ellie, thank goodness, is fine.

High Five

Today we think Mike felt the baby give him a high five! I was laying in bed and waking up. I put my hand on my tummy where the baby seems to be growing and said, "good morning baby." And I felt a little bump in the center of my palm. I thought, "hm. I think that was the baby," and directed Mike to say good morning too. So Mike placed his hand on my tummy and I placed my hand on his and he said, "good morning baby." After a couple minutes he felt the same thing I had felt. Today marks an exciting milestone, we think.

May 2009

In May we finished up the semester by attending commencement. This year, I decided not to attend the COT graduation ceremonies because I didn't have any students request that I attend. Instead, I took pictures at the Physics and Astronomy ceremony. (See my pics page.) We also had dinner with Brad and Jen and Ana again and drinks at Jen and Honey's before setting out for Boulder.

The other fun thing that happened in May was unpacking our first box of baby goodies. My mom had sent a box with clothes and books and toys. Of course, the nursery is not yet ready for these things but it was still fun to unpack at giggle at the size of the onesies. In fact, one morning I was giggling to myself while Mike was in the bathroom shaving. Wondering what was so funny, Mike ventured out with an inquisitive look. I explained that it was the sheer smallness of the clothes that was cracking me up. He then grabbed a pair of his boxer shorts from our room and brought them to compare. We laughed together at the difference! (I took a picture of the baby clothes hanging in the adult-sized closet...see my pics page.)

Instead of doing much to prepare for the baby I spent the beginning of May getting ready for our 9-weeks in Boulder. Although...I did do one thing baby-related: I bought the fabric that I will use to make the roman shades with. It is a beautiful and unique image of a tree that is growing and blossoming its leaves and flowers. (Again, see my pics page.)

We didn't meander this year during our trip. Instead, we drove from Missoula to Casper, rested for the night, and finished the last leg to Boulder in the morning. Here is some silly trivia:
- Distance away from Boulder where we spotted our first spandex-clad cyclist: 10 miles.
- First meal: Wahoo's Fish Taco.
- First "social event": a return to the rooftop at the Lazy Dog...now a tradition for our first night in Boulder.
- First Boulder event: the Boulder Creek Festival.
- First bike ride: Mike rode Heil Ranch with Hans and Tom while I "wiked" (that's the word I said when I inadvertently blended "walk" with "hike") the Lichen Loop.

Lastly, I took a picture of myself at 16 weeks. I wore a shirt that used to fit loosely everywhere that now makes me look like a sausage. This new fit seems to be due mostly to how amazingly large my breasts have become...their new size "covers" for the increased tummy and booty.

March & April 2009

March and April were not so much busy as they were exhausting. I guess I should begin by announcing that I am pregnant and expecting to add a new face to the Schneider family in November! The first weeks on my pregnancy - the physical changes in my body - were what made the last couples months so exhausting! But despite my morning sickness and serious fatigue, we managed to have some fun times.

The 14er Project
My friends are setting out to do something truly incredible. Please go to their website (http://web.me.com/j14e/14.14.14/Trailer.html) for more information and to donate! I include a brief description of their project here for your convenience:

"The "14er Project" started in 2007 when Erin set off (with a few friends in tow) to climb 14 14ers in 14 days. For those of you who find yourselves on beaches or the rolling plains, "14ers" are 14,000-foot peaks and there are over 50 of them here in Colorado. During 2008, Erin talked Jeff into coming along for the adventure and they found themselves living in a car together for more than two weeks, sick with "14er revenge" and on the top of many sunny, windy, snowy, cloudy peaks.

For 2009, Erin and Jeff will venture into even taller, more technical and more remote backcountry. The plan is to climb 14 official 14ers plus 2 other peaks over 14,000 feet over the course of 14 days during July and August. They will travel over a thousand miles by car and train to reach trailheads near Durango, Aspen, Telluride and Alamosa, Colorado. They will travel by foot nearly 100 miles and 50,000 vertical feet to reach peaks with names like "El Diente", "Crestone Needle" and "Challenger Point".

Other than the fresh air, strong legs, delicious camping food and waking up at 4 am every day, Erin and Jeff are dedicated to coming away with more. They are climbing for a charitable organization that links communities in need with resources called the Global Volunteer Network. Their goal is to raise $5,000 toward a children's project in Kenya at which they intend to volunteer in summer 2010. This project serves children who are orphaned due to HIV/AIDS, poverty-related causes and displacement. "

Some New Friends
We made some new friends - Brad and Jen invited us to dinner at their place where we met their daughter Anna and their friend Ke. We had a delicious dinner and lovely conversation...so engaging, in fact, that we quickly reciprocated by inviting them to our home.

A Story I Remembered in the Shower
For some reason this one didn't make the December blog. My mom was walking the beach in San Diego. As she passed people, they would growl, "Grr." She was surprised by how weird these people were. Why were they all growling at her? One passer-by took pity because of the perplexed look on my mom's face and explained that it was her University of Montana Grizzlies sweatshirt that was provoking such "remarks".

Facebook
I finally joined Facebook and I was totally traumatized by the experience. I can't really recommend it. I am there now and trying to make the most of it and as time passes I'm less freaked out by the whole thing.

Happy Birthday Alex!
Happy Birthday Jen!
We spent Jen's birthday skiing at Lost Trail. On our way home we found two new cool places in the Bitterroot Valley: the Stevensville Brewery and Cafe Firenze.

Happy Birthday Jim!
Jim turned 50 in March and, of course, there was a big bash! We had a Martini-off with several kinds of gin and several kinds of vermouth, and we served Feuerzangenbowle for the 4th time this season! After the big bash on Saturday, Mike and I were invited back for a quiet Sunday dinner. How special! How nice!

Ski Utah
We finished the month by spending the first part of spring break in Utah with Jim, Bjoern, Scot, and Moriah. It was intended to be a ski trip but I was feeling particularly paranoid so I only spent one day skiing...and boy it was a great day! We skied powder at Alta!

April
The Ultrasound
In April we saw the first ultrasound of the baby. It was really incredible! The baby was very active - wiggling and stretching its developing arms. We have a picture of the ultrasound on the front of the refrigerator.

The Piggybank
We also started telling a few select people that we are expecting. I think my favorite "telling" was when I found out that by becoming pregnancy that I had won a competition I didn't know I was competing in. My grandma had started a piggybank for the next greatgrandbaby and was waiting for either me or for my cousin-in-law to get pregnant. Whoever got knocked up first would win the piggybank! I chuckled when I found out, thanked my mom for not telling me that I was, in fact, competing for anything, and smiled when my brother informed me that the piggybank is pretty heavy. :)

Pattee Creek Canyon
Let me see, what else happened? We went hiking in Pattee Creek Canyon with Todd, Kimberlee, and Ivan. Also, the tulips I had planted in the front yard came up and blossomed! I kept talking to them, warning them that the sunny weather was deceptive, that snow was on the way, and that they better not be too wussy. But they were resilient and several completed their full cycle over the course of the month. They were big and weird looking (see my pics on picasa)...well weird for tulips, I think.

Congratulations Jim!
Oh! Jim won the distinguished professor award! What a nice honor...and well-deserved! The physics and astronomy department took over three tables in the University Center ballroom to share the moment with him. When we first arrived, I tried to pick a place that wasn't at the "head" table where Jim and Teresa would sit but close enough to take some pictures. But before we all took our seats we slid the tables together and Jim chose a seat right next to me! I chuckled every time Jim leaned over at the end of each acceptance speach that was given before he was presented with his away to say, "my speech is longer than that." I reassured him that we all knew that he was used to speaking in 50-minute increments so not to worry....and then he used that as his opening line!! His speech was really amazing. It was touching, filled with gratitude, and hilarious. He is only the second professor from the physics and astronomy department to win the prize in 12 decades! Go Jim! After all the awards were presented, a small contingency from the physics and astronomy group stayed behind and celebrated during an "after" party. There was so much laughing that our sides hurt!

Last, but not least, Teresa planted some strawberries and bee balm in my back yard for me. I am very excited about my little strawberry lot. I am also in love with the smell of bee balm. No wonder the hummingbirds like it!

February 2009

It is a little hard to believe that I haven't updated anything on my blog since the beginning of December. I don't have a good reason for it...just avoiding the computer to nurse my carpal tunnel. So I have been putting off sorting through pictures from the past few months and evidently that is how I jog my memory about what's been happening.

Alex in Spokane
In February, I broke in my new pancake pan (see pics). But the most exciting thing that happened in February was that I got to see Alex! He was working in Spokane, which is a 3 hour drive from Missoula, so I went over to hang out for an evening. More specifically, he was staying in a hotel in Spokane for two nights before heading into the back country for cold-weather search and rescue training. Luckily, the night he was staying in a hotel were weekend nights so I was available to drive over.

The hotel he was staying in was walking distance from the airport and close to nothing else. So after dropping our bags off, we headed to down town Spokane to see what was happening. I had done a little bit of research on Yelp.com and picked a little Greek restaurant called Santorini's. We found the place tucked away from the rest of the big chains and the mall and it looked perfect! Unfortunately, they were closing early because they had a catering event to attend. Bummer! We walked all over looking for another similar "off the beaten path" -type restaurant but failed. So we had dinner at a place in the mall. It was fine. We did, however, have recommended to us a little local bar that was a fantastic find! The bar was located in a mobile trailer and had a windy and hilly parking lot. There in the Viking Lounge, we were happy to share a couple beers before heading to the IMAX in Riverside Park to watch the new Batman movie called The Dark Knight.

It was a wonderful evening to spend with Alex!

On the way home, I marveled at the scenery in Idaho and Montana. I am so lucky to live in such a beautiful place!

Children's Books in Montana
On my way out of the Liberal Arts building one afternoon a colorful poster caught my eye. It was posted on the outside of Dr. Beverly Chin's office and was an advertisement for what I imagine is a beautiful book called, "Moon Mother: A Native American Creation Tale." I chatted briefly with Dr. Chin and made a mental note to investigate some books she recommended to me. Of course I will have to look into "Moon Mother" by Ed Young. But she also mentioned Sneed Collard, who write children's science books from somewhere here in the Bitterroot Valley.

Brian Regan
My month ended with a barrel of laughs. One of my new friends, Mark, joined me and Mike for the evening to see Brian Regan perform at the University Theatre. And what did I learn about myself? I learned that I am getting set in my ways. When Mark (who is 10 years younger than me) asked what we were doing after the show I laughed and said, "going home and going to bed." It hadn't even occured to me to go out somewhere downtown after the show! Oh well.

January 2009

New Years Day
We woke up in San Diego at the Schneider's condo. After getting up to see them off and getting ourselves cleaned up, we headed off to the airport to return to Montana. Two things were notable about our trip. First, I was amazed at how comforted I was when I saw the mountains in Salt Lake City. It seems as though I've come accustomed to their power and grace. Secondly, upon arriving at our house in Missoula we decided that the only sensible dinner was pizza from Papa Johns. But our long-standing rule about pizza is that we have to go get it ourselves (it is a few blocks away). Plus, we didn't want to wait for delivery because we were so hungry. However, driving the car was not as simple as turning it on and pulling out of the driveway. While we had been gone, the plows had built a big mound of snow at the end of the driveway! And since we drive an Oldsmobile, we couldn't just climb over the snow in the car...we had to dig! (See Pics.)

Banff
Justin arrived in Missoula on the third and we took him to the Depot for a quick and tasty dinner. (We had tried to go to Biga Pizza but they were closed for the holiday season.) It was fun to have Justin to show around because he was our first frient to visit our new digs in Montana! But his visit was short because we had bigger better plans than to stay in Zoo Town...we were headed to Banff to ski.

We spent a week in Banff National Park skiing with Justin, Jim, Jen and Honey. It was beautiful and I look forward to going back.

Classes Began January 26. I am teaching two sections of introductory algebra.

Media
Books
The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama

Music
Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs will take me to the roads in Banff National Park with Jim and Justin.

Web
http://www.oneeyedparrot.org/obama.html

December 2008

Well, it has been so long since December happened that I don't remember many details. Here are some highlights I do remember:

Christmas Gifts
We decided to give two gifts this year to our family members. We of course couldn't give up giving little wrappable gifts that they could unwrap and we bought most of those from local Missoula businesses:
- Noteworthy
-- Cross for Nichole
- Yellowstone Photo
- Missoula Artists' Shop artist store
- Pandora Jewelry - Queen Bee
- brian regan
- jeannette rankin
- Montana Mud Shirt
- Flask
- Gifts
- Life is Good

But the second gift was a donation made in their names. Honestly, after moving into our first house we have been a tad overwhelmed with the amount of crap we have. And we were thinking pretty selfishly when we decided that our families don't need any more crap either. So instead of giving a bunch of "stuff" (see George Carlin's skit on Stuff) we decided to make a donation to the Heifer Foundation. Unless there is a bunch of protest, this will probably be a regular thing.
- heifer.org

Kundalini Yoga
I have started taking yoga classes but it isn't your average yoga. Kundalini yoga is done mostly while sitting on the floor and the exercises are designed to work the glandular system. I love it! I love the practice (who knew sitting was such a workout?!) and I love the meditations we do. My teacher gives handouts to help orientate us to the practice and to try it at home. But one handout was a simple little poem that I offer here now:

A Precious Human Life by the Dalai Lama
Every day, think as you wake up
today I am fortunate
to have woken up.
I am alive.
I have a precious human life.
I am not going to waste it.
I am going to use all my energies to develop myself,
ti expand my heart out to others,
to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.
I am going to have kind thoughts towards others.
I am not going to get angry,
or think badly about others.
I am going to benefit others
as much as I can.

My plan is to practice Kundalini Yoga for the rest of my life to nurture my physical and spiritual health.

Tea
Mike continues his tea hobby and we chuckled this month when he read about something so common in the tea community that it has an acronym: Tea Acquisition Syndrome (TAS). Mike clearly suffers from TAS because our cupboard is overflowing to the point that we are designing a piece of oak furniture that will act as storage and humidifier for the tea. :)

Freezing in Montana
There were two little things about December that were cooooold. We spent one Friday hiking with Diane to Sweathouse Falls. It was a lovely hike to some frozen falls. (Too bad there isn't much snow for skiing.) I guess that wasn't so cold as long as we stayed moving. But it was below freezing a few times in December and the window in our shower developed a hefty layer of ice one it during our showers!

San Diego
The big deal in December was the two-week trip to San Diego. It was wonderful. We spent two weeks with the entire family and by entire I mean both my family (mom, dad, Alex, Nichole, plus Alex's girlfriend Jenny and Nichole's boyfriend Dave) and Mike's family (mom, dad). It was amazing to have everyone together! We stayed in two condos on the boardwalk in Pacific Beach...just two doors down from one another. So we had our meals together and planned our days together as best as we could.

The second highlight of the trip was the day we spent in wine country. San Diego's wine country is in Temecula about an hour's drive inland. We hired a limo driver to drive us around in a 10-person limo for the day! It was wonderful. We had lots of silly fun. And an added bonus was that our friends Danielle and Lyle (who we know from Colorado but who now live in California) were able to join us for a toast!

We were lucky that Mike was able to take two consecutive weeks off. (Followed by a third for a ski trip in January.) That will be a rare occurance for the next 6 years.

Media
Film
24

Books
Brother and Sister: A Novel by Joanna Trolloppe
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
Beneath Marble Sky by John Shors
Schneider Luck 2008 by me!

Music
Pandora's Christmas Music
Foo Fighters
The Ramones

Web
http://www.bunchball.com/