Happy Happy Birthday, Markie Dear!

Today is Mark's 28th birthday (or I guess yesterday was, depending on how late I get this posted), and he got to start it off by sleeping in until 11 am. We did have to go to school this afternoon, and his patient asked me, "So he's 30-what today?" Then she died when I told her 28, and we had a good laugh at my young gray-haired man. After school we went to Bonefish Grill and had a yummy saucy shrimp appetizer, awesome ceasar salads, and Chilean seabass. It was fabulous, but then Bonefish always is. When we came home, I had chocolate wonder ready for dessert. Only, it wasn't nearly as good as mom's. It just wasn't in the correct proportions - there was not nearly enough creamy filling or chocolate pudding for the amount of crust and topping the recipe made. I think I maybe should have put it all in a smaller dish. Either that, or my mom purposely gave me the wrong proportions so that hers would always taste the best... HMMM, maybe that's what happened. Other than that, we had a pretty chill night. I thought I would end it by paying a little tribute to my hubby...

Here are 28 well or maybe not-so-well known facts about Mark (in no particular order):

1. He is always goofing around and making me laugh (see picture).

2. He has a way of making people love him, even when he is being completely inappropriate or even down-right rude (For example, he asked one of my patients who had a gastric bypass a year ago to see some of her "fat" pictures, and she thought he was hilarious!).

3. He is a huge worrier, probably even more than I am.

4. He is very excited to be having a little boy - he secretly wished for it but didn't tell me until after we found out.

5. He has never changed a diaper (that'll change really quick!).

6. He is a germ-o-phobe, just like me.

7. He is deathly afraid (or maybe just deathly grossed out) by spiders - I always have to kill them.

8. He is very helpful around the house for about half an hour. After that he loses interest, or forgets he is supposed to be cleaning.

9. He likes weird music (or I think it's weird), like Tori Amos and Sinead O'Connor.

10. He is a huge Harry Potter fan, despite being adamant that he not read the series. (He got hooked when he tried to ruin the ending of the 5th book for me... it was all over after that.)

11. He is addicted to the news - google news and yahoo news, that is.

12. He really has an eye for decorating, although he denies it.

13. He really has an eye for fashion, although he denies it.

14. He loves his doggies and treats them as if they were people (see below).

15. He is a wander-lust... he would love nothing more than to venture out every weekend to a different place, even if that place is the danged covered bridges (see above - we have been there WAY too many times).

16. He has no patience (that should also change really soon!).

17. He was so excited to buy a Nintendo Wii for Christmas, and I can probably count on one hand how many times it has been used since.

18. He is an awesome cook - he could make something delicious out of just a few random ingredients in our cupboard (unlike me).

19. He gets frustrated and overwhelmed by the messes he makes when he does cook, which limits how often it happens.

20. He is the biggest procrastinator on the face of the earth (and as big of a procrastinator as I am, it is amazing we ever made it to and through dental school).

21. He is one of the smartest people I have ever known, but he doesn't know it.

22. Despite the above statement, he cannot punctuate a sentence to save his life (Actually, I think this stems from his impatience - see #16 - afterall, who has time for periods, commas, and semi-colons?).

23. He has very low tolerance for idiotic behavior, and his favorite phrase is, "Wise up."

24. After six years of marriage, in which we have been in school together (in all the same classes) the entire time, we still never get sick of each other. In fact, on days when one of us doesn't go to school, we are on the phone with each other the entire time.

25. We have never been apart for longer than about 24 hours, and he is very sad that he has to leave me all week to interview in Nebraska alone (He tried to convince my OB that it was OK for me to drive 10 hrs with him, at 35 weeks... probably not!).

26. He is extremely loyal and would back me on anything, even if I was in the wrong (although he might try to make me see reason afterward).

27. He tries to maintain a tough exterior (it comes off as sarcasm), but he is actually very kind, loving, down-to-earth, and generous.

28. He is going to be the BEST daddy in the world.

I love you, babe! Happy 28th (or 30-somethingth) Birthday!

Holy Bloomin' Grass, Batman!

In case anyone was wondering what grass looks like in an Indiana summer when you don't mow it for a week and a half, here you go... When we got back from Vegas on Sunday, we came back to a forrest. It took Mark a couple hours to mow the front and back, and he now has blisters on his hands. Here's a view of the half-cut lawn, and the cut side is all full of grass clippings. Not sure what to do with those (there's too many to rake up and throw out), so we'll just see what happens...

Check out this view of the lawn mower. The entire motor part was almost completely covered with grass. I blocked the dogs out of their dog door in fear that if they got in the backyard, they would disappear into the grass and could get mowed over. These are the sickening thoughts I have in my head and why I am doomed to be freaking out every day once this baby gets here...

Newborn necessities

So we were thinking we had this baby thing under control. We figured we had the necessities, the 3 C's (clothes, crib, car seat). Then we talked to some family and found out it is a little more complicated than that. We went on line and found a list of newborn necessities, and now we realize we are missing a few things. Here is the recommended list and how it stacks up against what we have.

Newborn necessities checklist
A master list for moms and dads

Here's a checklist of what you should have on hand before your baby arrives.

Tooling around

__1/1__Car seat.

__1/1__Stroller.

We thought we were off on the right track with one category filled, but then we continued to look down the list and realized we have a long way to go.

Beds and linens

__1/1__Crib.

__1/1__Crib mattress.

__1/1__Bassinet/cradle (if you don't want to put your baby in a crib right away).

__1/3__Two to three fitted crib sheets.

__4/4__Four or more waffle-weave cotton receiving blankets for swaddling baby

__1/2__Two mattress pads.

__0/2__One to two waterproof liners (for crib or bassinet).

Diaper duty

__0__Diapers.

Disposables: One 40-count package of newborn (birth weight under 8 pounds) or of size 1 (birth weight over 8 pounds).

Cloth: Two to three dozen, plus six to 10 snap-on, water proof outer pants, and two to three sets of diaper pins, eight to 10 all-in-ones or diaper system covers;two to three dozen diaper system inserts (none of these for us, thank you).

__0__Diaper pail (with refills or bags as needed).

__0__Diaper bag.

Dressing baby

__4/4__Four sleeping outfits or one-piece sleepers with attached feet.

__0/6__Six side-snap T-shirts. (Do you really need these???)

__4/6__Four to six one-piece undershirts that snap around the crotch.

__2/1__A small baby cap (although the hospital will probably give you one).

__0/6__Six pairs socks/booties.

__way too many/2__Two to three soft, comfortable daytime outfits.

Get only a few items in newborn size. Then, go forclothing in the 6-month size--your baby will grow into it quickly. But don't buy baby sleepwear that's too big--it's a safety hazard.

__0/1__Cotton sweater or light jacket.

Summer babies

__0/1__Brimmed hat.

Winter babies

__0/1__Snowsuit with attached mittens or fold-over cuffs, or heavy bunting.

__0/1__Heavy stroller blanket.

__0/1__Warm knit hat.

Feeding time

If you're planning to breast-feed:

__0/3-5__Three to five nursing bras.

__0/1__A box of washable or disposable breast pads.

__0/1__Breast pump if you expect to use one (manual or electric).

__0/4__Four small baby bottles with newborn nipples for storing expressed breast milk.

__0/1__Bottle-drying tree.

__0/1__Bottle brush.

__0/1__Insulated bottle holder for diaper bag (the hospital may give you one).

__0/3__Three packs of cloth diapers or burp cloths.

If you're planning to bottle-feed:

__0/4-5__Six 4- to 5-ounce bottles, plus nipples, rings, and a dishwasher basket if you use a dishwasher.

Bathing/Grooming

__0/1__Plastic infant bathtub.

__1/3__Three soft hooded towels.

__1/2__Two packs of baby washcloths.

__0/1__Baby body wash that doubles as shampoo.

__0/1__Pair of blunt-tip scissors or baby-sized nail clippers.

__0/1__Zinc-oxide-based diaper rash ointment.

__0/1__Soft brush and comb.

__0/1__Mild laundry detergent.

Medicine chest essentials

__0/1__A pain-and-fever reducer recommended by your baby's doctor, such as Infant's Tylenol.

__0/1__Cotton pads/swabs.

__0/1__Nasal aspirator.

__0/1__Digital rectal thermometer. (Don't know about the rectal part; maybe an ear one or something a little more humane!)

__0/1__Rubbing alcohol.

__0/1__Petroleum jelly.

Keeping baby happy

__5/4__Pacifiers.

Extras: Nice but optional

__0/1__Baby monitor.

__0/1__Changing table.

__0/1__A rocker or glider.

__0/1__Sling or strap-on soft carrier.

__1/1__Boppy, a doughnut-shape pillow designed to make holding baby during breastfeeding or bottlefeeding easier (although we don't have a pillow case for it yet).

__0/1__Nursing coverup. Attaches at your neck and allows for private breastfeeding when you and yourbaby are in public.

__0/1___Infant swing.

__0/1___Bouncy seat.

__0/1__Night-light.

As you can see, other than the traveling system, sleeping system, and everyday clothes, we have quite a long way to go!

CHICAGO - Harry Potter Style!

Well, I have no REAL pictures to go with this post (they didn't allow any in the exhibit), but since everyone insists these posts are like our "journals," I thought I better document. Mark and I went to Chicago over Memorial Day Weekend, and it was AWESOME! We started by heading down to the Museum of Science and Industry for the Harry Potter Exhibition. It was definitely the highlight of our trip. We saw tons of paraphernalia from the movies. It's amazing how many details go into making the films. I never stopped to think about it until we saw all the props. Outside the exhibit, in the main entrance of the museum, sat the flying Ford Anglia!

Once inside, we were greeted with pathetic English accents (although I think they all thought they were good...), sorting several children into their houses. Miraculously, just as each of the kids wished, they all turned out to be Gryffindor's.

Next, we got to see the actual Hogwart's Express portrayed on the movies! It was a lot smaller than I expected it to be. And no, I am not just being gullible, it was actually the one pictured on the movie (although obviously not the "set" where they appear inside the train).

We then saw several of the pictures plastered on the walls of the castle, including the "fat lady." We even got to hear her sing so "beautifully" that she broke glass. So funny...

Gryffindor Tower came next, complete with Harry's and Ron's four-poster beds. They even had the curtains that Dumbledore claimed he set fire to while he was in school. Several of Ron's horrible hand-knitted sweaters were on display there as well.

We saw Umbridge's Office. It was just as sickeningly sweet looking as it was on the movie. The entire set-up was there. It was quite impressive. It looked just like this picture (with the exception that the ugly hag wasn't sitting there in it).

We saw Dobby! He was quite cute, as opposed to Kreacher, who was just mean and nasty looking...

We also saw Buckbeak (he was huge!) and a couple of the centaurs, who were truly freaky looking.

Hagrid's hut was there as well, complete with his huge furniture and the hatching dinosaur egg, Norbert.

We also saw seriously freaky Death Eater masks and costumes, as well as Lord Voldemort's clothing when he came back in the graveyard.

One of the freakiest things we saw was the Dementor! I never knew it had a spine... I thought it was just a hooded black figure, but it had a pelvic bone with vertebrae extending all the way down and forming a sort of tail. Freaky looking. I would have totally crapped my pants if I were a kid...

That is just the beginning of all the awesome artifacts we saw... Of course, all of their wands were there, in addition to much of the clothing (including Ron's horrible dress robes) from the movies.

All in all, it was quite spectacular, especially for two avid Harry Potter fans, such as ourselves!