1) I clearly need to come here more often

2) Paul and I are still happily married. I think I won the husband lottery.
We have several friends who got married around the same time as us and who
recently got divorced.

3) Elliot turned 5 a few weeks ago

4) Adrienne is 2 and a half

5) After two miscarriages we are pregnant again. We are due in a few
months

6) We moved out of Toronto to a smaller town about an hour away. Paul is
still at the same office.

7) I am now a full time stay at home mom. It was my secret dream growing up
to be able to do that.

8) My older brother and his wife had twins last year, Eleanor Rigby and
Lucy Diamond

9) My younger brother Neil is working his way through medical school.

10) Speaking of my younger brother he recently got married to the guy of
his dreams. They couldnt be happier.

So On August 1st, we thought that we would give birth to our son, Aldo, but
as it turns out, Aldo is now an Adrienne.
Elliot loves her Adrienne.

We are pregnant again. Our due date is August 1. We found out that we are
having a baby boy and the name choice was easy. Aldo is one of my favourite
names, and I think it goes great with Elliiot's name. Also she can
pronounce it.

Paul and I are going to try again for another baby. We have a few girls
names:

Adrienne Lorraine
Isla Lorraine
Maren Lorraine
Sloane
Quinn
Rowan

And three boys names:

Anson Robert
Donovan Robert
Quinn
Arlo (I just recently heard the song Alice's Restaurant, and fell in love
with the name)
Jasper
Graham (I know, so much more plain then Elliot's name, but it was my
grandfathers name and I have always loved it)
Orson

Let me know what you guys think.

Paul and I have had a combined total of 14 work days off since June. We
have both been working off hours and this week is no different. I'm still
at work and it's almost midnight.
I got home yesterday and was kept up by a sad toddler with an ear
infection. And this morning, I went to work alone as the other child (Paul)
has a migraine.
Oh how crazy life is...

Paul and I spent two weeks in Paris, France. I must say that I fell in
love. I love the vibe, the architecture and how pretty the City is.
Thank you bilingualism. It is so much nicer when you know the language.

I hated travelling without Elliot but I think she had a good time with her
Aunt, Uncle and Cousins. My mom also watched her for a couple of days when
Jude was sick and she loved it. My mom got a pool installed recently and
Elliot is a true water baby just like Neil and I were as kids.

It is nice to back to spend time with my little girl.

The last moth or so has been super crazy.
Paul made partner at work, so he is busier then ever, my boss is on mat
leave and they have me doing her job, while they replaced my position.
Elliot was in the hospital, with a high fever. They never did find out what
caused it, they managed to make it go away.
Our bathroom pipe burst into our basement so Paul's sisters ex-husband (he
is a contractor, and good friends with Paul) has been working on the
basement since. thankfully he should be done soon.
And we are on vacation as of today. Thank goodness for that.
We aren't really going anywhere this week, but next week Paul and I are off
to Paris alone. It will be nice to travel without Elliot. My brother and
sister in law are going to watch her.

Paul and I had both had the same gut feeling when we found out we were
pregnant. A feeling like it wasn't meant to be.
As it turns out that is the case. Elliot will be an only child a while
longer.

Paul and I found out on saturday that we are pregnant again.
We hadn't intended to get pregnant so soon after Elliot but this is rather
nice after the banner year that we had last year.
My mom is super excited and so is Paul's sister.
He has been in touch with her more since she got divorced.
My niece Jude is super excited. So are we...

This week was my dads birthday week and PAul's moms birthday week.

I really miss my dad, he really misses his mom. I'm just sad that Elliot
didnt get to meet either or them.

Being home with Elliot was so nice. I went back to work yesterday to make
up my desk, find out where some items had been moved to and just make sure
that everything was in order to start today. Here I am sitting at my desk,
my first real moment of the day to sit and just think.
It is weird to be back. If it were up to me, I would just be a stay at home
mom, and Elliot and I would be inseperable.
My boss is leaving to go on mat leave in April so I will be doing my job
and hers then. I will be super busy. The upside is that my work clothes fit
again, so I don't have to buy more clothes. (It is casual dress so I didn't
think that I would have to buy new, but you never know with clothes.

Paul is one.

I was at home yesterday hanging out with Elliot, my sister in law, and
nieces and out of the blue flowers came.

He was talking with a co worker and she told him a joke that reminded him
of me (I'm like the klutz queen) and he wanted to send flowers just to make
my day. They are beautiful daisies and carnations and roses. All pink and
white and girly.

Then last night he came home with a pizza (I don't know how he knew that I
burnt the cheese free lasagna.) and we had pizza (he took off the cheese)
beer and watched sundays steelers game (he taped it).

It was great.

Is the day that I go back to work from maternity leave. I don't want to go
back, it is nice to have the time alone with Elliot, but all good things
must come to an end.
My boss called me to ask if I would go back early, which March 1 is as the
office manager is going on mat. leave then. I am going back to a different
job but one that I have wanted for quite a while.
My mom has said that she would be happy to watch Elliot while we are at
work. I am glad that she wont be in daycare. Don't get me wrong, I am all
about childhood interaction and daycare is great for that, I just dont
think that I am ready to send Elliot there. She isn't even a year old yet.

My 3 year old niece Jude was over on Saturday and wanted my help writing a
letter to Santa.
I was expecting her to tell me that she wanted a toy, but instead she told
Santa that she wants her baby sister Penny (Jude calls her benny) to go
back to mommys tummy. She doesnt like that Penny gets all the attention and
that mommy and daddy are sometimes tired in the day because the baby kept
them up.

That and she wants a Dora the Explorer dolly that talks.

I am officially an aunt again. I have another niece. Her name is
Penny-Lane. She has the most beautiful emerald green eyes I have ever seen.
Elliot is still a little unsre of her. As is Penny's big sister Jude. Jude
wasn't a big fan of Elliot when she was born either, Elliot got more of
grandmas attention. Jusde keeps asking me when Penny is going back. Hello 3
year old jealousy.
Paul and my brothers got a seasons pass ot their favourite skiing area.
They have been there three times already. Some nights, Paul calls me and
tells me he is picking up my younger brother and meeting my older brother
up there.
Speaking of younger brother Neil go into Queen's University. He want's to
be a doctor. He thinks he will be a good surgeon, but I remember a little
Neil running around wanting to be a therapist. Only time will tell.
Paul put up the christmas tree, as Elliot supervised. She is so mesmerized
by all the sparkly decorations and the tinsel. The tree is artificial and
is pre lit. It is so much easier then the one wehad last year. All that is
left are the lights outside and those will be done on the weekend.

So this weekend was not so good. Elliot had a cold, which made for a cranky
baby, and a cranky me. Then on Saturday, Paul came home from his golf game
with a migraine. I love my husband and he is one of the strongest people
that I know, but when he is sick he turns into a toal baby.
I got so tired, I called my mom in despair. She came over and took care of
Paul, and I took care of Elliot. She also took care of me.
I love my mom!

First off Elliot is going to have a cousin. My brother and sil found out
they are having a girl. Her name is for sure going to be Penny-Laine. (My
sil is addicted to the Beatles.)
Paul must have gone mad. He went to work Thursday last week witha full head
of hair, came home and he was bald. He said that he was sick of hair. When
I first met him he was bald, i liked it, and even though I was shocked by
the choice to do it, I must admit that I really quite like it.
My mom was over yesterday and watched Elliot and Paul, his shaved head and
I went to the movies. We saw Tropic Thunder. It wasn't bad. I thought that
it was really quite funny.

Let me explain the reasons for my absence.
First and foremost Paul's dad died. His dad was heartbroken after his mom
died and he was at Paul's uncles house, and had a heart attack. We have
been back and forth between Pauls uncles house in Montreal and our house in
Toronto. Paul has really taken a huge blow over this and today was the
first day I was able to get him out of bed and to work. His boss has been
amazing. I called him about a week and a half ago, because I was worried
about him possibly losing his job because he has taken so much time off. I
know that he can't be fired because of the berevement leave, but I was
worried about the time off that he took with Elliot and the pregnancy and
with his mom. His boss told me that everyone has a bad year every once and
a while. We all need a little consideration when this happens. He said that
Paul is a valuable asset to the team who up until this year really hadn't
taken much time off, and this time off was due to him.
Then we had a scare with me. I was nursing Elliot one night by myself, Paul
was in Montreal, and I started to get very dizzy. I called my neighbour and
she came over right away. (Poor girl was in her jammies and had just come
off a 12 hour surgery shift) and she took me to the hospital. I called my
older brother because I didnt feel safe going home alone. So after being
released (just not eating enough to make up for the calories I'm burning by
breastfeeding) Elliot and I hunkered down at Casa My House (the name by
older brother gave his house) and were fine.
Other then that we have been just great. We got a new patio set and have
been enjoying the backyard as much as possible. We have been busy planning
for Christmas holidays. I have two brothers, only one of which still lives
at home, and Paul has a sister that he doesn't really speak to.

These are not necessarily bad things, just things. Paul and I took Elliot
to visit in our respective workplaces and we took the streetcar to get
there. This is the same street car that I rode just about everyday to work
while I was pregnant. When I was pregnant I would get smiles and offers of
seats, now with the stroller, I get dirty looks. As though my stroller is
somehow going to affect their day in a negative way.
We got into my office and I noticed that they hadn't yet hired a full time
receptionist. I have been on mat leave for more then a month, and they
haven't done anything to fill the position. They have other staff doing
hour slots. When I got there they had all just come from a meeting. They
were very happy to see Elliot, she is after all in a way, like their baby.
On the way from my work to Paul's he stopped at his favourite barber shop
in the whole city. After his cut, the barber gave him a gift that they had
gotten for the baby, but didnt want to give until they knew Elliot was ok.

As we were in a park in the area (the weather was great yesterday) I left
Paul and Elliot playing and I went for a walk. I noticed that most of the
kids looked different from their care givers. I come to find out that they
are all a group of nannies and they are envious of us.

On Friday my father in law came over to see Elliot. He has been sick for a
while and wanted to be 150% sure he was better before he came. We did the
whole showing Elliot off thing and because of the time that he came it
disrupted her feeding schedule.
Then Saturday my mom thought it wise (Neither Paul nor I were aware of this
ahead of time) to invite all the mothers from my family over. There were
like 30 people over and it was loud and crazy and made Elliot cranky which
made both Paul and I cranky. It also made Paul really sad that this mothers
day was the first without his mom.
Then on Sunday I woke up to breakfast in bed, and lots of presents. I got a
gift and card from my mom, Paul and of course Elliot. My mom got me a
necklace that had Elliot's name engraved on the back. Paul got me a multi
diamond necklace, Elliot got me a flower mafe out of construction paper.
Paul drew around her hands and put them together to make it. He framed it
and it sits over our bed.
Then Sunday our grandparents came over and we had dinner.

So Elliot is finally home. She has been home for a few days. Paul and I are
exhausted, and I have bags under my eyes now. She is up most of the night.
I found myself staring at her last night smiling. Glad she was home, just
glad that she is here. My mom thinks that Elliot rocks, and Paul and I
agree.
My family is coming over this weekend to meet her. My mom is arranging the
whole thing. She is cleaning the house and making all the food. All I have
to do is dress everyone.
Go mom!

This is fantastic news! Go Elliot!!

Paul and I are not quite sure what to make of this weekend. I gave birth to
Elliot at 1am Saturday and she had the cord wrapped very tightly around her
neck. So tightly that her head was blue. They cut it off, but she still
wasnt breathing.

They did all they could but she is in the nicu and they say it doesnt look
good. They can't get her to breathe on her own, the incubator has been
doing it for her.

It's weird to have been through so much with her and not have her in my
arms.

Paul and my brothers finshed the nursery this weekend. It is blue. I am
kind of against the whole blue for boys and pink for girls thing. I found a
shade of blue that I loved and went with it. I am so happy with how it
looks.
My cousin had a surprise 30th birthday on the weekend. It was in Niagara
Falls and it was great. We drove out Saturday night and came home sunday
morning.
That is two more things checked off the list. There are no more birthdays
until Elliot comes and the nursery is done.

I started to have contractions and I freaked out. Mostly because I want
Elliot to have a fighting chance in the world, she still has a little over
three weeks left to get bigger (doctors say that she is kind of small right
now) I was really scared, so I called the midwife and met her at the
hospital (a different one from where my dad died). The doctors were able to
stop the contractions and I went home. The doctor and my midwife are
worried about a homebirth because of all the problems that we have had. We
will have her at that hospital with the midwife bringing Elliot into the
world.
We also just found out that my brother and sister in law are going to be
parents. They waited until after they got through the first trimester. They
have decided on Alistair Graeme for a boy and Penelope (Penny) Laine for a
girl. (My sil is in love with the Beatles) I am very exicted for Elliot to
have a cousin so close in age.
As much as Elliot may hate me, I am going to have her go to language
classes. I want her to know French, German, possibly Spanish and Mandarin.

Home again, I got home last night, am feeling much better today and am
looking forward to supervising Paul as he tackles the rest of the nursery.
He has taken a leave of absence from work for 8 weeks, so he has no excuse
for not doing it.
My mom is going to come and stay with us for 8 weeks after the baby comes
too.
It is nice to have everything in order. All I can say is that I can't wait
3 weeks to see my little girl.

This last week has been very interesting in my house. On Thursday Paul
didn't go to work, he wasn't feeling well. I thought that he had the flu so
I stayed with my brother and sister in law. I get a call Friday morning
(good friday) from my little brother who was supposed to go skiing with
Paul saying that Paul was in a lot of pain and needed to go to the ER. My
older brother drove me home and we took Paul to the ER. I was a little
freaked out since it was the same hospital that my father died in.
Then about 3 hours after arriving in the hospital I was waiting in the OR
waiting room. He was having an emergency appendectomy.
Seems Paul had been having bad stomach pains for a few days and been
"taking it like a man". It was only when it got so bad that he couldnt
stand up, that he said anything.
My poor baby was being tough because I had had a few bad days. (I was in
the hospital twice for exhaustion)
He got home yesterday and is doing quite well. He feels a little better
everyday. We have both just been relaxing and taking it easy eating just
about all our meals from take out in bed.
Thursday was also my last day of work. I took an early mat leave as per
doctors orders. I hate to leave the job that I love so much, but am happy
to have this time to take care of Paul and myself.
In the midst of all of this, we took possession of our new car. It's a lot
more family friendly then the one that we were drving.
What else could possibly happen...

On Thursday my boss threw me a baby shower at work. My boss and coworkers
went in together and got me a crib. I was completely shocked.
Then on Friday, Paul and I took the day off and went and had a 3d
ultrasound. I saw Elliot and I have to admit that I am head over heels in
love with her. We spent the rest of the day at home, in front of the fire
place watching movies. It was great.
Then Saturday after waking up to a drvieway that had already been cleaned
(thank you neighbours with snowblowers). We just stayed in again, it was
still snowing and played Monopoly. I haven't played board games in forever.

Then Sunday after the snow had stopped, my little brother Neil came over
and he and Paul went snowboarding a few hours away. They had a great time,
and I wish that I could have been there with them, but staying home by the
fire was more tempting then the cold cold snow.

I was on the subway this morning as I had to go to a different office at
the other end of the city for a meeting. I got on at a notoriously busy
stop and stood on the train. Most days I don't have a problem standing, but
today, I am exhausted, I have a cold and I just wanted to sit. So I waited
to see if someone would offer me their seat and the funny thing is that
after about 3 stops an elderly gentleman offers me his seat. He said he
remembered how tired his wife was when she was pregnant. I refused to take
his seat, but after much insisting I finally did.

That totally burns me. I often take the same street car home from work and
the street car driver won't move unless I have a seat.

One of my co-workers let the cat out of the bag that I'm having a surprise
baby shower thrown for me next saturday.
Now I have to act all secretive around other friends, since they don't know
that I know.
I was wondering last night why Paul was going out with his buddies during
the day.

We have had a lot of snow here. More snow then we have had in years, and
after shovelling it the piles become so high that there isn't anywhere else
to put it.

Paul and I were thinking, and then we decided to put it in the back yard.
It doesnt matter how hig it goes there. We mentionned this to the
neighbours who have also started doing this too. Now my street is full of
backyard snow mountains.

It definitely is a sight to see.

As I'm sure that most of you are aware, the early part of this pregnancy
hasn't been easy for me. It seems as though now, besides having to pee a
million times a day, and wanting to eat the weirdest foods ever, everything
is finally good.

On Saturday night Paul and I went out to dinner with some of his colleagues
for their after christmas dinner. I wasn't feeling 100%, neither was he (we
have been trading a cold for like the last 2 weeks). The place that we were
eating at had a very limited menu selection, and since Paul is severly
lactose intollerant and the thought of certain foods is just nauseating, we
struggled to find something to eat.

We both had soup (I had french onion, he had chicken noodle) and salad and
there was bread and his boss ordered appetizers for us two since I can't
drink (he had bought everyone else a round). After we left the dinner at
around 11:00pm, I was craving a sub. So we ordered from Subway (the one
down the street from us gave me the number cause I kept sending Paul back
with changes. When he got there I didnt want it anymore I wanted Nachos. He
took me home, and went to this pub that he and his buddies go to and came
home with the best nachos ever. I ate them all then went to bed. I felt so
bad for changing my mind, but just the thought of mayonaise at that moment
was gross.
He never complains when I ask him to get me something. He has gone to both
ends of the city to get me what my craving desires.

I woke up to the song I Don't Like Mondays by the Boomtown Rats, and I have
to say that, at least this Monday, I agree.
I had a great weekend. I took Friday off work, had a few friends over
during the day. Then Paul, his sister, my brother, sister-in-law and I all
flew to Montreal on Friday night. My sisters-in-law and I all had a great
spa weekend, while the boys took in some sproting events either live or at
bars.
I had a mani/pedi yesterday and am now sporting Turquoise nail polish (I
don't know why I picked it, it just spoke to me). I was soo relaxed this
whole weekend and I didn't want to come home last night.
Here I am at work today, wanting to be back in Montreal, having a massage
or facial, or breakfast in bed.

Christmas was rather strange this year. I was pumped up and ready for the
holiday and when my dad died so close to the holiday I was left with (among
a things) a feeling of complete confusion. Christmas has and I think always
will be, my favourite time of year and this year, part of me wanted to go
on like usual becuase dad would have wanted that. The other part of me said
to heck with this, take Paul and get on a plane, go somewhere hot and avoid
Christmas this year.
I talked to my mom, my brothers and my extended family and we decided that
Christmas would continue as planned.
My mom, dad and younger brother usually go to Chrstmas Eve mass. (My older
brother and I don't do religion) However this year, both my older brother
and I felt the need to join my mom and little bro at mass. It was rather
surreal. I haven't been to mass since I was 13 (the age at which my parents
let all us kids choose our religions).
Then on Christmas morning after sleeping over at my moms, we went for
brunch at Pauls grandmas. His dad wasn't holding up to well. After all it
is his first christmas without his wife.
After eating way too much at brunch, we made the drive back to my moms,
where we did presents (my niece was ticked off that she had to wait for us
to come there before she could open her gifts) and had way too much for
dinner.
Then we went to bed.
Boxing day Paul and I sat at home and vegged out watching TV. Then we
decided on the spur of the moment that we would go see Juno. It was great,
very funny. Ellen Page is great and Canadian too.
And now here I am at work, where it has been incredibly dead. I love this
day at work.

First and foremost, thank you too of you that sent your love my way. I
really appreciate it.
We had a private funeral on Monday for my dad. It was lovely to see
everyone that was there.
I'm back at work today, and Paul is too. He is on emergency standby just
incase I need him.
We shall see what the day holds.

I got a phone call at work from my mom at 1:15am saying that I needed to
get to the hospial right away as my dad was dying. I called Paul to meet me
there and about an hour later he was gone.
I'm very glad that I got to say good bye to him, it would have killed me if
I didn't.
We have yet to figure out the details of the funeral and the like.
To quote George from Grey's Anatomy "I'm trying to figure out how to exist
in a world where he doesn't."

In reading the letters on this site here, I sometimes have to do a double
take. Even though we both speak the same language (at lest for the english
part) we spell words in very different ways. If I do a double take, I'm
sure you do too, so I will attempt to clear some stuff up for you here.

American: Canadian:

Check = Cheque
Color = Colour
Honor = Honour
Favorite = Favourite
Z (zee) = Z (zed)
Neighbor = Neighbour
Winter Hat = Toque
center = centre
theater = theatre
liter = litre

I can't think of anything else right now. If any of my Canadian brothers
and sisters want to help out, have at it.

Saturday night it started snowing here and by sunday morning there was
quite a bit of snow. I knew Saturday that I would have to figure out a way
to get the snow off the drive way, and that would probably mean shovelling.
The problem is that neither of us are really able to shovel. When I got up,
I looked outside to see if it was still snowing (it's reather
counter-productive to shovel if it's still snowing) and realized that my
driveway had been cleaned.
I live on a small street and know all the neighbours, it seems as though
the neighbours came together to take care of the snow knowing that neither
of us are able to do it. We even got a basket of blueberry muffins from the
older lady across the road.
We are very lucky to have them, and will most definitely pay it forward
when we are both able to.

I am going in for a stress test tomorrow, Elliot stopped kicking as much as
she was. My dad is still hanging in, but I don't suspect it will be for
much longer, he is using all the fight he has in him.

Thanks to all of you that care. I really need to vent sometimes, and since
Paul's emotions are still rather raw I need somewhere other then him to
vent.

My dad is still in the hospital and my family just got here from out of
town and out of the country. I am at work today, I have been going out of
my mind imagining every possible scenario and I can't keep doing it.

Elliot on the other hand, is doing well for once, I guess she is just used
to stress.

My mom called my at home early this morning in tears. She said that she
couldn't wake my dad up. She called 911 and here I am sitting at the
hospital on hubby's lap top trying to do something to distract myself from
what is going on. The problem is that they won't tell us. They brought him
to the ER and then to surgery pretty much right away.
I was not capable of driving this morning (I can't find a comfortable
position to sleep in) and with hubby's broken leg we had to take a cab.
I just keep hoping that I will go to sleep, wake up and this will have
disappeared.
I will keep you as posted as I can be.

After much debate hubby and I decided to find out the sex of our baby.
It's a girl. Her name will be Elliott Meredith. WE are going to start
getting things ready for her arrival now. It's amazing to think that I am
going to have a daughter.

My husband went from work friday night to Montreal for the weekend. He and
his firends like to do that every year when the Toronto Maple Leafs play
the Montreal Canadiens in Montreal.
I spent the weekend shopping for his christmas presents with a friend. I
left the gifts at her house since hubby likes to snoop. (I swear he is
worse then a child. He also doesnt want to wait to get the presents
either)
Saturday night, as I am about to go out with some friends to a movie, I get
a phone call from hubbys best friend. Seems hubby and his friends got a
little drunk, and they were in the hosptial cause hubby had fallen down the
stairs at the stadium and had a broken leg. MEN!!!! They left the hospital
and headed for home. When he got home, he came in looking like a puppy who
had just peed on the floor.
I couldn't help but laugh. My husband is usually very strong both
physically and emotionally, that's what drew me to him, but this time I
have the upper hand.
As for me, I am doing okay. I spent halloween night in the hospital for
exhaustion, but other then that I am okay.

I woke up this morning before the alarm, which is an unusual occurance.
Most of my clothes didnt fit me this morning. The clothes that I wore
yesterday didnt fit today. It's a good thing that I work in a casual dress
environment, cause the only thing that fit are my fat jeans. I had been
holding out buying new clothes and I knew that it would only be a matter of
time.
Then I went to start my car, so we could go to work. It didnt start. I
talked nicely to it, still nothing. So then I got hubby to try it. Nothing.
So we had to take his car which is manual and I cant drive to work. He had
to drop me off, and wait till I was buzzed in and then go to work.
Then I get here with about 10 mins to spare and I go to Tim Hortons (like
Dunkin Donuts) to get lunch for today and spilled the soup all over me.
Luckily one girl at work, is a self-proclaimed "klutz" and always has an
extra shirt to wear or loan out. Thanks Mel!
If anything else goes wrong, I am going home.

We finally have a name picked for a boy and a girl. If it's a girl her name
will be Meredith Elliott (after my mother in law) and if it's a boy it will
be Elliott Adrian.
I don't care what people think of the names, we love them and that is all
that matters.

So hubby and I got back from our vacation last night. We weren't sure where
we wanted to go and since I have been having a few problems with the
pregnancy as of late, we didn't want to go outside of Ontario.
We decided to gas up the car and drive. We took this really amazing road
trip. Just the two of us.
We started out driving south on Friday night and ended up in Niagara Falls.
We stayed at the Embassy Suites for the night. It was great to just wander
around the falls, and act like a tourist in my own province. Then we got in
the car and drove east. We went to Kingston and Ottawa, and stayed with
some friends for two days. The we wound up in Sudbury, Sault Ste Marie and
Thunder Bay. Then we went south to Barrie, then Toronto (I know it sounds
weird to stay in a hotel in the city that I live in). It was fantastic in
Toronto. We stayed at the Royal York, and did nothing. Then we finished out
in Sarnia/Windsor and London.
It was great. Hubby and I really had a chance to reconnect and to talk
about our worries with the baby and to talk about his mom and just life in
general.

Look what I found on the MSN.com website.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/ConsumerActionGuide/6Str
ategiesForSuccessfulComplaints.aspx

My husbands mother passed away about 6 weeks ago, and he has taken it
really hard. I don't blame him, it would be hard for me if my mom died too.

His assistant called me at work yesterday, because my hubby had locked
himself in his office. It was his mothers birthday (I can't believe that I
forgot. I have forgotten many things since being pregnant) and he started
crying in the middle of a meeting. He excused himself and went to his
office to try and gain composure. He was basically crying for 45 minutes
before his assitant called me freaked out.
I left work (I've got a great boss) and went and picked him up and brought
him home. It was kind of sureal, he has been there for me through the
pregnancy, which has been rocky as of late, and now it was my turn to give
him all I had.

He went to work today in a better mood, but only time will tell what the
day holds.

We had an ultrasound done the other day and we couldn't see the gender of
the baby. We are still calling the baby noodle, cause thats kind of what it
looks like.

I have only ever seen my husband cry twice before the ultrasound, once on
our wedding day, and once at a recent funeral. It was kind of amazing to
see. Believe it or not, he wanted a copy of the picture to take to work.

We have narrowed it down to 10 names for each boys and girls and one unisex
name.

Girls:

Meredith
Marley
Charlotte
Eleanor
Josephine
Ramona
Callie
Isabella
Katrina
Maisie

Boys:

Malcolm
Myles
Chritopher
Eric
Jonah
Thomas
Samuel
Gabriel
Adrian
Alistair

Unisex:

Elliott (Ever since Scrubs became my favourite tv show, I have loved this
name for both boys and girls)

We got this ginormous (I'm aware that it's not an actual word)
coffee/espresso/anything containing hot water maker and I have yet to be
able to figure out how to use it. I don't drink coffee or tea but was
trying to make a tea for hubby, who has a really bad cold, and spent like
15 minutes trying to figure out where to put the water.
I felt so bad, hubby came downstairs to help me. He gave me a crash course,
then went back to lie down. I pressed the button that he said to, and
waited for it to turn green. It never did, it just flashed.
Being fed up with the machine, I pulled out the kettle and just did it the
old fashioned way. Wouldn't you know, once I got the kettle out and the
water boiled, the light on the coffee maker went green. Stupid machine.

I just found out the other day that my hubby and I are going to be parents.
I am about 6 weeks pregnant. I kind of thought that I was several weeks
ago, but I needed to conifrm to be sure. It's a good thing that we have
enough room to put the baby in the house, (my best friend and her hubby
didnt find a house until she was 8 months preg.)
Hmm...now comes the eternal struggle, to find out the sex or not to? I want
to, he doesn't.

Here I am at work, answering the same question for the millioneth time
today, and I find myself wondering if maybe Bill Engvall is right with his
here's your sign jokes.

For those that don't know it's basically when someone says/does something
stupid, they get a sign.

I think that the general populus needs to be aware of other peoples
stupidity or lack of common sense. We should all walk around with a sign
saying " Today I am this % stupid." This way it would gives us notice and
we could adjust accordingly.

Sadly, though this is not a utopia and I have to listen to someone ask me
the same question again...hurry up 4:30pm.