It's been a good year ... but is it already over?!

Well, here we are on the tail end of 2007 with lots of good memories ... weddings (Jamie&Kate, Jeff&Teresa, Scott&Kristin, Derrick&Kate, Asher&Esme, and Todd&Megan to name a few!), trips (Hawaii with Brian&Kosha, Sun Valley, Australia, and "here and there"), new babies (too many to list!), and a major journey begun (pre-parenthood!). We are sad that Baby Z doesn't want to join us in '07 (Dad is sad about the tax write off, Mom is sad about the continuation of pregnancy!). But, she is still 10 days away, according to her due date, so we can't really complain yet!

I'll post a few pics from the last week. Gingerbread houses at Andy&Renea's, a wonderful special meeting in Marysville, then Ocean Shores with John&Linda, Andy&Renea, and Scott&Kristin (we were all there for varying time periods and some are still there). It was mostly blustery and cold, but the ocean was beautiful to see from indoors at least! The weather in Seattle was gorgeous today and we "hiked" at Discovery Park in the sunshine. We'll ring in the new year with Derrick&Kate and Joe&Jasmine this evening - thanks for their last minute invitation since we optimistically failed to make plans, thinking we might have a baby-related agenda!

Learning to change plans!

So ... never mind the previous post details ... got a call at 12 noon saying I was scheduled for the external cephalic version at 4pm at the Birthing Center ... gulp! Thanks to the holidays, it was a one-time chance being offered because the super good, usually successful Dr. Branden would otherwise be on vacation and unavailable until too late. SO, I spent 2 hrs doing everything "natural" in the book and she wouldn't budge (even drank the WHOLE cup of herb tea!) ... so, Trev picked me up and away we went. Long story short, she's now HEAD DOWN!! Thanks, Dr. Branden! It was "uncomfortable" but not really that bad. Now, she needs to stay that way!!! He said that as hard as she was to turn, he'd be really surprised if she turned back. So, that's the latest chapter. Hoping for a few quiet, uneventful days now!!!?

Bending over backwards for her already!

Well ... Monday's midwife appointment left the rest of the week a bit rearranged and topsy turvy. It turns out that Baby Z is just like the rest of us in that she prefers to be head-up rather than head-down. They sent me for an ultrasound to confirm that she is indeed breech. The benefit of that was that I got the added assurance that she is indeed a "she" ... AND we saw her playing with her hair so the ultrasound tech declared her to be a "girlie girl" already. Uh oh! The bummer is that so far our inversion table hasn't worked. I went to an acupuncturist yesterday and boy was that ever an experience! Eight needles - only a few of them actually hurt and mostly because they agitated an entire region rather than from the poke. There really IS something to energy meridians I'm sure! My homework is to drink the nastiest herb tea you've ever smelled/tasted and to burn a special stick near a certain acupuncture point (which happens to be beside the little toenail - go figure!) So far that hasn't been successful either. But, oh, that's right - I "accidentally" dumped the 2nd half of my first mug of tea down the kitchen drain! I'll try to get my courage up for another dose this morning ... YUCK! Dear Trevan spent the obligatory 10 minutes burning the stick beside my toes last night. If she doesn't turn by next week they'll send me to an OB for an eversion attempt(manual turning from the outside).

If you'd like to share your success story about your baby turning after 27 weeks, grand! Or, if you'd like to just join the cheer squad, the preferred song is "Turn, Turn, Turn" =)

And for a change of topic, check out this fun rendition of "Twelve Days of Christmas" if you'd like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8 - Thanks for the link, Dad!

Random Friday questions and thoughts

So, who has a good solution for cleaning waffle irons? I just expended a lot of elbow grease and at least got the blueberry remains out but it's still sort of sticky and dirty feeling. Suggestions?

Tis the weekend for work holiday parties ... Trevan's is at lunch today and mine is tonight. We invited some people over for games tomorrow and at least 5 other events are scheduled for tomorrow. Do you love or dread your company party?!

I posted a slide show at the bottom of the page ... the learning curve is sort of high for figuring out how to do these things the way I had hoped (ie, in the post rather than at the bottom or side of the page!) but it's there for your viewing pleasure nonetheless. Baby has her car seat now but our "baby friendly" Mazda5 is still on a boat from Japan ... We're going to wait until January or February to make the jump from Jetta to "microvan".

I changed the setting so that non-Google members can post to this blog, now, by the way. Have a great weekend!

Diane's Market Kitchen

What a Treat!! Dave invited us to join a group celebrating Heidi's birthday ... First we toured the market. Here, Dave and Heidi share a sample of gourmet bleu cheese ...

Back at the kitchen, the work begins. Fresh ingredients, expert tips for preparation, and lots of yummy herb aromas filling the air. Meghan W. practices chopping shallots "correctly" Trevan and Nicole prepare the appetizer - I wasn't allowed to have this one because the cheese was unpasteurized and honestly I don't really know what it was!
Diane works with Meghan while Dave and Heidi de-beard mussels!
Aaron and I "plating" the Penn Cove Mussels in Coconut Curry sauce .... mmmm!
Looks good enough to eat!

Isn't that right, Heidi and Ben?? Think this was right up there on their list of favorites!

Yummy bread plates ...
Ben and Dave prepare the pork tenderloin, stuffing it with rosemary and garlic - they look like pros, don't you think?

Ok, enough pictures ... there were White Truffle Cream mashed potatos and red chard to go with the tenderloin. Then, a surprise orange poppy seed layer cake with chocolate ganache to tickle the tongue in honor of Heidi's birthday. From start to finish? 4.5 hours of talking, learning, chopping, and savouring! What a treat!

New survey for Parents out there ...

First, thanks to all who voted in the last Poll - especially those who voted that baby would be early - we hope you're right! Please scroll to the right for the new survey - we want to know if there's a diaper brand you prefer ... It's almost time to start stocking up. Thanks!
Meanwhile, I really will get some photos posted soon, I promise!

Today's observation

There are 2 businesses here in Northgate who have guaranteed success in my opinion. The Oroweat bread store is adjacent to Curves Women's fitness. That is a brilliant business plan, if you ask me! And that's my 2 cent observation for the day ...

Happy Turkey Days!

Lots of exciting news drifting in... ! Congrats to cousin Jeannie and Dave on the arrival of their new little one, Kenneth David. AND, my cousin Kara is engaged to her friend Jamie - he proposed in NYC as they headed north to spend TG with his family.
We're expecting 18 here for TG dinner and 19 for a Friday evening tailgate party prior to the 100th Apple Cup! We'll have a smattering of Cougs and a whole slew of Huskies here for the festivities. GO HUSKIES! (And ... for the record and since the game "matters" more, GO HOKIES, too!)

Got Baby? Need Blog (or so I've been told)

Here goes attempt #1 at joining the world of bloggers. This may evolve and change as I learn the ropes, but in case I'm too busy for my monthly emails and Shutterfly albums once baby arrives, at least I can post the occasional picture or video, this way.