Halloween Sneak Preview

We're having a Halloween party tomorrow, so we figured we probably ought to hit the grocery store and do some cooking this evening.

I'm a delicate flower, so Shrike helped out with the cooking, although that's usually my job.

(And she did a bunch of cleaning today while I was at work. Thank you, honey!)

Here she is baking some cookies!

Vote Early, Vote Often Obama

I've already voted for Barack Obama, have you? 

With Peeper due just three weeks after Election Day, Shrike and I decided it would be wise to vote absentee, just in case. 

Our ballots arrived yesterday, and I filled mine out immediately (it didn't take long - I just colored in the little dot beside "Democrat") and put it in the mailbox yesterday. 

If you live in a state that offers early voting, or that's pretty lenient about absentee voting, please go ahead and vote as soon as you can. 

You never know what might happen to you between now and Election Day!

Also, if you've already voted, you'll have that much more time on your hands to volunteer, and help to get other voters out to the polls on Election Day. 

Wordless Wednesday #70: Really?!?

I spotted this product at our local Where-Things-That-Don't-Sell-Go-To-Be-Sold store.

Learn more about Wordless Wednesday.

Ten on Tuesday #36

10 Bands / Artist That Remind Me of High School

1. Bruce Springsteen 
   
   
2. The Police / Sting 
   
   
3. U2


4. Joan Jett


5. Lionel Richie


6. Madonna


7. Prince
   
   
8. Whitney Houston


9. Billy Joel
    
10. George Michael

Learn More About Ten on Tuesday

Peeper Update: 33 Weeks 6 Days

Update 9:00 pm: Photos added

We had a fairly uneventful series of appointments this morning, the upshot of which is that Peeper seems to be doing very well.

She behaved (more or less) for the non-stress test, with few or no variable decelerations. She did take a little nap for the second half of it, but she was probably exhausted from all her activity over the past few days.

(She's been moving around almost non-stop all weekend.)

I actually saw Dr. B (my real OB) today, and she says everything is looking good, with both of us.

She was pleased with my blood sugar levels, and didn't even fuss at me for only checking them once or twice daily. 

In fact, she said that, as good as they've been, she would tell me to drop back to only two tests per day, anyway.

I told her that Dr. Y (whom I saw a couple of weeks ago) had fussed at me, and told me that I "need to be more compliant about testing."

She said, "Well, Dr. Y just finished her residency, so she's kind of a stickler for the 'rules.' Once you've been doing this a while, you know when you can let things slide."

(Oops, I just thought I was tattling on myself, not on the doc!)

The biggest news of the day is that Dr. B is filling out my Aflac paperwork, saying that I need to cut back on my work hours, which will qualify me for short-term disability benefits. Woo hoo!

She said, "We don't write a note for just anybody, but (gesturing at my chart) there's a lot of stuff written here, so this will be fine."

And, I found out that local hospital can handle deliveries as early as thirty-five weeks, so as long as Peeper stays in for another eight days, we're good to go without being shipped off elsewhere. 

The perinatologist (Dr. Not-Peri again) was also pleased with everything he saw, and commented on how much more active Peeper was today than last week. 

If I'd only heard that, I would've thought she was lethargic last week, but last week they talked 

about her doing a lot of moving, too, so she must really be going to town in there. 

She was practice breathing when we first looked at her, so we didn't have to wait around on that, and other than wiggling out of position every time the sonographer tried to measure the bloodflow in this one cranial artery that they always look at, she did great. 

(The sonographer did comment that, "I hope she's better behaved after she's born." So do we!)

They did a full growth scan today (that's every three weeks) and they are now estimating her weight at 4 lbs 4 oz, which is in the 20th percentile. 

Dr. Not-Peri said that they want to see babies this age gain at least 100 grams/week, and she's put on 500 grams in the last three weeks, so he's very happy with that. 

If she continues to grow at this rate, he's estimating that she'll weigh around 6 pounds by forty weeks. 

At first, he seemed a bit concerned about the length (or lack thereof) of her legs, but after asking Shrike how tall she is, he said, "Oh, well that's why." 

Which, of course, we'd already been all through with Dr. Peri.

More appointments next Monday and, of course, another update then.

Sad News

I've been putting off blogging about this, because I just didn't know how, but I guess I have to. 

On Friday, BabyBro and HisLovelyWife went to an OB appointment (ten weeks) and were unable to see the heartbeat on ultrasound. 

We are, of course, devastated.

Please keep them in your thoughts. 

A Stolen Meme

I don't have much to say this evening, so I've stolen this little meme from Sunday Stealing. 

1. When was the last time you cried? 
   This afternoon, in the card aisle at Target. 
   
   
2. Were you named after anyone? 
   Anonymama, LadyKay and I all have the same first name. Only Anonymama actually goes by it on a regular basis.
   
   
3. What is your favorite lunchmeat? 
   Deli-sliced honey ham, I suppose. Unless I can somehow count cheese as a lunchmeat.
   
   
4. Do you have kids? 
   One, in my uterus.
   
   
5. If you were another person would you be friends with you?
   I would like to think so, but I am rather annoying.
   
   
6. Do you use sarcasm a lot? 
   Who me? Sarcasm? Never!
   
   
7. Do you still have your tonsils? 
   Yep. I have most of my original parts (missing two wisdom teeth), but some of them (my stomach/intestines) have been rearranged.
   
   
8. Would you bungee jump?
   Not no, but hell no.
   
   
9. What is your favorite cereal? 
   Reese's Puffs
   

   Sidebar: I had to explain to Shrike today that, when she's going to the grocery store and I ask her to "Get me a box of one of the yummy kind of Cheerios," I'm not referring to multi-grain. Yummy = Sugary. And, while we're definite things, if it ain't chocolate, it ain't candy.

10. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
    Only if I have it. I generally slip off tennis shoes and my dressier shoes if I can, but I can't get my boots off without untying. 
    
    
11. Do you think you are strong enough to be with me? 
    I believe the question is, are you strong enough to be with me? 
    
    
12. What is your favorite ice cream? 
    On my, that depends on my mood. Usually something very chocolatey, and possibly with peanut butter. 
    
    
13. What is the first thing you notice about people? 
    I guess I notice the over-all "big picture" first, then start seeing the details later. The first time or two I rarely notice enough details to recognize them on a second seeing. I am awful about that. 
    
    
14. Red or pink? 
    I would've said red a few months ago, but I've become rather partial to pink lately. Especially in tiny sizes.
    
    
15. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? 
    My inability to keep my damn mouth shut. 
    
    
16. Who do you mess with the most? 
    Shrike.
    
    
17. What was the last thing you ate? 
    A leftover barbecue cheddar slider (baby hamburger) from TGI Friday's. But if you ask me again in about fifteen minutes, my answer will be a chocolate-ish peanut butter sundae. That's no-sugar-added vanilla ice cream, with melted peanut butter drizzled over it, and some Carnation Instant Breakfast powder sprinkled on top. Shrike will have it without the CIB.
    
    
18. What are you listening to right now? 
    The tappity-tap-tap of my keyboard.
    
    
19. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? 
    I left a message for a seamstress who is probably going to be recovering the glider cushions for us. The last two-person conversation was a call-back to a guy who called yesterday, looking for an Obama yard sign.
    
    
20. Why aren't you married? 
    Because it's not legal in BlueState. 
    
    
21. Last movie you watched? 
    Do the baby-having videos in our childbirth class count? Before that, I don't remember. Probably something really bad that Shrike rented. Although, it might have been the most recent Pirates of the Caribbean or Elizabeth. She also rented those, but they were actually good. 
    
    
22. What did you dream about last night? 
    Oh crap, I don't remember. I do remember that when I woke up, I was still thinking about it and sorting it out and all, but I can't remember what it was about. 
    
    
23. What book are you reading? 
    Nothing at the moment, but I just finished listening to the audiobook of Stephen Colbert's I Am America (And So Can You!). I highly recommend it, especially if you are a Colbert fan.
    
    
24. Summer or winter? 
    Summer in BlueState, winter back home in Texas.
    
    
25. Hugs or kisses? 
    Chocolate or affection? Either way, I'm a fan of both.
    
    
26. Do you have any special talents? 
    Maybe? 
    
    
27. What are they? 
    I'm pretty good at organizing people and planning things. Organizing myself, not so much.
    
    
28. What did you watch on TV last? 
    TiVo'd episodes of Ellen and Saturday Night Live.
    
    
29. What is your favorite sound? 
    At the moment, Peeper's heartbeat on the Doppler/monitor. 
    
    
30. Rolling Stones or The Beatles? 
    The Beatles

And, just for the heck of it, I'm tagging some folks to answer the same questions, either on your own blog, if you have one, or in the comments:

1. Shrike
   
2. Anonymama
   
3. LadyKay
4. Frappa
5. LiPA

Come Out, Come Out . . .

October 11 is National Coming Out Day, and I always feel like we should do something special, or make some big announcement, but to whom? 

Everyone already knows!

As I've mentioned before, I'll come out to pretty much anyone, given the opportunity. 

And, by opportunity, I mean that if there's a reason to talk about Shrike, I will, and I will not make it any secret who she is. 

If anyone else would talk about their spouse in that situation, so will I. 

So far, it's worked very well for us. 

I think that, even with people who might be less than nonchalant about such things, my nonchalance rubs off and they at least feel like they have to pretend that it's not a big deal. 

And that's a good start. 

Of course, most of the people we tend to hang out with are lefty-hippie-liberal type. 

I hope this strategy is as effective with the other PTA and soccer moms in a few years. 

Struggling with coming out? HRC has some good advice. 

Brain Balance

I'm not up to much original thought this evening, so here's my results from a quiz about how left/right brained you are. 

I'm evidently not much of either. 

Left brain dominant individuals are more orderly, literal, articulate, and to the point. They are good at understanding directions and anything that is explicit and logical. They can have trouble comprehending emotions and abstract concepts, they can feel lost when things are not clear, doubting anything that is not stated and proven. Right brain dominant individuals are more visual and intuitive. They are better at summarizing multiple points, picking up on what's not said, visualizing things, and making things up. They can lack attention to detail, directness, organization, and the ability to explain their ideas verbally, leaving them unable to communicate effectively. Overall you appear to have fairly Equal Hemispheres Brain Lateralization Test Results Right Brain (44%) The right hemisphere is the visual, figurative, artistic, and intuitive side of the brain. Left Brain (46%) The left hemisphere is the logical, articulate, assertive, and practical side of the brain Are You Right or Left Brained? personality tests by similarminds.com According to Darwinian theory, optimal evolution takes place with random variation and selective retention. The evolution savvy individual will try many different approaches when faced with a problem and select the best of those approaches. Many historical intellectuals have confessed their advantage was simply considering/exploring/trying more approaches than others. The left brain dominant type suffers from limited approaches, narrow-mindedness. The right brain dominant type suffers from too many approaches, scatterbrained. To maintain balanced hemispheres, you need to exercise both variability and selection. Just as a company will have more chance of finding a great candidate by increasing their applicant pool, an individual who considers a wider set of options is more likely to make quality decisions.

Thursday Thirteen #54

Thirteen Ways You Can Help to Elect Barack Obama

1. Register and Vote
2. Volunteer through your local Obama field office
   
3. Volunteer through your local, county or state Democratic Party
   
4. Knock on doors 
   
5. Make phone calls 
6. Travel to a "battleground state" to volunteer
7. House an out-of-state volunteer
   
8. Donate money to the campaign
9. Raise money for the campaign
10. Host or attend an event 
11. Spread the truth / Fight the smears
12. Join My.BarackObama.com
13. Show your support

More Ways You Can Help

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