Oh, but what's in a name?

So, here we are..... about to wrap up the 27th week of pregnancy and we are still struggling with names.

Like the last time (the 'lil Dubya's name was pretty much decided before he was even conceived), I think we have finally come to agreement (albeit a shaky agreement) for a boy's name -- but alas, we are still nowhere if we are blessed with the opportunity to name a little girl.

Aunt P and Granny really like Abigail.... they think that a little girl named Abby would be just terrific. The Big Dubya (and, in fairness I have to agree with him) just doesn't think it's the name for us.

Granddad thinks Liffey would be nice..... after Ireland's River Liffey.... of course then the jokes began.... you could also name her after the River Suck!

Miss America suggested Honor..... I like it, but.... not enough to use.

The Big Dubya suggested some great Irish names.... Niamh, Siobhan, Roisin..... I love them all, and would be thrilled to use any of them if we lived in Ireland -- but they don't pass the pronounceable or spellable tests here in the States.... and I just can't do that to a kid. I had a friend Siobhan in high school..... some cute guys we met in the Bahamas got confused and called her Shazam for our entire spring break!


Because all of this indecision is really starting to stress me out, I finally suggested Fallon -- but the Big Dubya poo-poo'd that one too.... apparently, there was some soap opera in the 80's that had a character named Fallon.

Please dear readers..... help us with a girl name!

Are you people out of your minds?

Ever since Aunt P got her puppy, the comparisons between the dog and my child have been freakin' endless. Conversations that go something like this, are all too frequent:

Mrs Big Dubya: Hi Mamsy
Granny: How's my boy? Did he sleep well last night?
Mrs Big Dubya: Sadly no
Granny: Oh Mrs Dubya, the 'lil Dubya was up all night again?
Mrs Big Dubya: I'm afraid so.
Granny: I just spoke to Aunt P and so was her pup.... she's so tired... I just don't know how you girls do it.

Okay... I know new puppies are handful.... I know they require a lot of care.... I know they are similar to young children -- but, THEY ARE NOT THE SAME!!!

I think this might be why I got so annoyed when a news show broadcaster compared the oh-so-trendy Puppy Purse to a Baby Bjorn.... THEY ARE NOT THE SAME!!!

Why did you take my lid?

I'll admit it..... Colombo make a mistake when they tried the whole snap-in spoon lid thing a few years ago. I mean really, assembling the spoon didn't work out so great and I managed to break the darn thing the few times I forgot to bring a real spoon and attempted to use this contraption -- but why did they have to eliminate the lid entirely, huh?

Yeah, I know the yogurt is still covered with that foil -- but foil can be punctured..... and when you throw it away, a lid keeps it all nice and neat -- now, I've got to look at yogurt remnants in my waste basket all day..... YUCK!

Christmas? Mrs Big Dubya are you CRAZY????

Yeah, well maybe I am – it’s August 21st and I’ve got Christmas on the brain in a big way.

I think there are a bunch of reasons why….. some are worth getting into, others are not. I used to be a hater of all things Christmas.

That changed last year…. I had a reason to see the magic again – and, although the ‘lil Dubya was only 6 months old and more fascinated with the tissue paper than with the presents….. it was his first Christmas and it had to be perfect. We traveled great distance to have his photo taken with the “good Santa”, the Big Dubya got the “perfect tree” nice and early so we could take the ‘lil man’s photo and send all our friends and family the obligatory “photo-Christmas-card”…. The Big Dubya’s always been a Christmas-lover, and he was very patient with my irrational behavior last year..... hopefully this year will be no different.... with two kids, it's likely that I'll be twice as irrational.

And now here we are..... getting ready for the 'lil man's second Christmas AND we are going to have another baby, so it'll be "Baby's First Christmas" all over again. You may wonder why the heck I'd be starting to think about the holidays now.... I mean, HELLO it is AUGUST!!! But dear readers, my due date is December 2nd.... I'm guessing that I'm not going to be all that interested in doing Christmas shopping at the last minute (which is when I usually do it) because I'll be either really, really large or I'll have a new baby at home. So, yes I'm vowing to shop early this year...... I want it all (shopping, wrapping, etc) done before I check-in (am admitted) to the hospital for the arrival of 'liller Dubya(ette?)

The upside is that if all goes well, I'll get to enjoy a stress-free holiday.... the downside is that I'll probably miss all those great sales...... bummer.

Anybody interested in submitting gift-ideas should feel free to do so...... and on a side note, we are still accepting baby name suggestions.... although Dubyasaurus Rex is tempting.... I'm just not "there" yet...... but I do need a name to put on the stocking!

Is there such thing as peeing etiquette?

I know, a very bizarre question, but..... more and more I find myself wondering what the rules are.

I've blogged before about how annoying I find it when people continue to talk to me while I'm in the stall of a public bathroom -- I mean, seriously people, this is a private time -- nothing you have to say can't wait until I come out.

But, something that irks me further..... people who talk on the phone while they are doing their business? I mean seriously, nobody wants to hear you peeing (or worse) while they are on the phone with you. Some people even do this in public bathrooms where..... I was raised not to touch anything, so I'm wondering how these people manage to accomplish the "hover" while still chatting on the phone.

There are places where cell phones simply do not belong.... and I think bathroom stalls are at the top of the list

Feathers?

As the Big Dubya mentions here, Aunt P married Mr Tall Guy on Saturday. It was a gorgeous day -- she was a beautiful bride.

Of course, every wedding has little glitches here & there..... some are more serious than others.... some are just down right funny.

Let me set the stage for you.... I'm 6 months pregnant.... I was asked to be Matron-of-Honor (I personally prefer the term Chief-of-Staff) before we knew I was in the family way.... once I realized that I'd be livin' large when the big day arrived, I offered to bow out gracefully. But Aunt P, always wanting to be polite, refused my offer and said a maternity bridesmaid dress would be fine with her.

The other two bridesmaids are childhood friends -- I've known these girls since they were in kindergarten and they are the sweetest things. I used to drive them to highschool, they used to visit me in college and I'd take them to keg parties...... they are really just extensions of Aunt P -- kinda like having two more little sisters.

On the Thursday before the wedding, Aunt P called to ask what I'd used as my "something blue" -- I told her that a friend had given me a blue garter, and that I'd be happy to lend it to her -- it could serve as either the "something blue" or the something "borrowed" -- she agreed and into the overnight bag it went. Once we arrived at the hotel, it turns out that the girls had gotten Aunt P a garter as well..... a cheesy one with feathers. It was a hoot and I told Aunt P she could wear theirs instead.... it had a little blue bow on it, so we could put mine away. Of course, Aunt P being diplomatic decided to wear both.

Fast forward a couple of hours.... we are standing in front of our friends, our family and a guy who's been a Catholic priest for 48 years (I'm not joking.... 48 years!). It comes time to offer each other the sign of peace and Father asked Aunt P & Mr Tall Guy if they'd like to go offer their parents the sign of peace. Aunt P answered "Yes Father" took one step backward, looked down and saw that there were feathers all over the floor. She quickly stepped forward and said -- "No thank you Father" -- the priest was quite confused..... "Aunt P, are you sure" -- "Yes Father".

Aunt P turns to me "what do I do?" -- so, I suggested she try to kick them over my way and I'd scoop them up the next time I kneeled down -- this strategy worked (although the laughter and the visual of big-old-pregnant me crawling around on the floor indicated that something was amok) and disaster was averted.

One Computer, Two Computer, Three Computer, Four

So, back when I was first out of college.... I bought a desktop comuter from a friend of mine. He, under completely sketchy circumstances, takes random computer parts -- builds computers and sells them to his friends.... for cheap money.

It was a decent computer.... it did what I needed it to do -- which wasn't really much. Of course, after some time, that computer shit the bed and he was kind enough to build me another one -- this one was a little bit fancier.... could do a little bit more, a little more quickly -- still not a NASA computer or anything -- but it did what I needed to do and I was happy.

Around that same time -- my new fella (Mr Big Dubya) got a brand new computer-- a gift from his parents. It wasn't high-end, but it was a good solid IBM -- it could do what he needed it to.

Not too long after that..... it was determined that my replacement computer needed some "enhancements" so my friend took it back to "work on it". Well, a few weeks later, I really needed my computer back -- I was in grad school and had papers to write -- and my friend said that he was unable to "enhance" my computer, but he had a nifty laptop that he could give me instead. This was a pretty good solution -- as, laptops come in handy in grad school.

Again, the laptop was not at all state-of-the-art, but it did what I needed it to do -- email, internet research and basic word-processing.

After we were married, the Big Dubya kind of out-grew his desktop. It was really an entry-level system and he was interested in doing more..... so we took advantage of a program at the school he was working and got a really good discount on a Dell desktop which could do it all.... it was really fancy and he was one happy camper.

A couple of years later, my laptop finally came to the end. It assumed a personality of its own -- it shut itself off, froze, unfroze, got hopped up on speed...... it developed a real bad ass 'tude. All things considered, it had served me well -- gotten me through grad school and that was all I had really wanted from it.

When we found out we were having the 'lil man, I got the laptop itch again -- the Big Dubya loves toys and was more than willing to let me scratch the itch. I knew I'd be working from home after the 'lil guy arrived, so the portability of a laptop would come in real handy. Again, we took advantage of an employee discount with Dell (through my company this time) and got a really sweet machine -- it could do things I didn't know I wanted to do.

A year or so went by and the Big Dubya was spending more and more time on my machine than on his own -- simply because the portability a laptop affords is key when multi-tasking with a baby. Eventually, he broke down and got himself a laptop -- for those keeping score at home, that's one desktop and two laptops in the Dubya household.... yep, still only two adults.

Well, last week I started a new job that requires me to divide my time between two offices.... yep, you guessed it -- I now have a work-issued laptop to add to our collection.

Checking into hotel with baby....

Mrs Big Dubya: Honey, when you check-in to the hotel -- please make sure the porta-crib is there.... it would be great if you could get it all set up so that when we drop the 'lil man off we can just put him right in -- I'll get him into his pajamas before you leave because he'll probably fall asleep in the car on the way over
Mr Big Dubya: Okay -- good idea.

Later that day....... the Big Dubya called to check in

Mrs Big Dubya: Hi honey, was the porta-crib in the room when you got there?
Mr Big Dubya: Oh, shit!

Ahhhhh, to be single with too much disposable income

Aunt P: I love my new strapless bra, it holds everything up and it stays where it's supposed to
Mrs Big Dubya: That's great -- Victoria's Secret?
Aunt P: Yep
Mrs Big Dubya: Expensive though, huh?
Aunt P: Yep
Mrs Big Dubya: Well, if it really works, and you aren't worried about pulling it up all day then I guess it's worth it..... how much 50 bucks?
Aunt P: Yep -- And you can't even machine wash ordry it
Mrs Big Dubya: So what are you going to do when it gets dirty? Throw it away?
Aunt P: Yep -- Probably.