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
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