yesterday was the pacifica mothers' club holiday party. i convinced steve to play santa, and he was awesome!
the moms club is pretty heavily for moms with kids that aren't in school yet, so (as steve put it) it was pretty much the perfect age for kids who are afraid of santa. i took a few good photos of kids in full-on meltdown mode and will upload them asap.

here's an awesome gallery of photos of santa-related meltdowns, on the blog "the poop".

and if you want to see some cuteness, here's the photo of rex-as-santa with steve-as-santa. awesomeness!

here are a couple of things i've loved that i saw on the interwebs today:





and this list of things that change when you have a baby. (have i mentioned that i love lists?)


also, i love keenan. he came over tonight with homemade ice cream and a patton oswalt video. i was grumpy and now i'm happy.

here's a great video that shows highlights from google's corporate history:

i really enjoyed this article about how kids refer to various lego pieces. i suppose we'll have to figure out our own lego nomenclature someday, when rex is a bit older. steve and i have already agreed that we don't want him focusing his lego-playing on those weird super-custom pieces that are pre-built for making specific things (you know, like pre-made wings that you just snap onto planes like below:)



i also really liked this piece about kissing. it's germy, but i guess that's a good thing. it's recommended that you kiss the same person for at least 6 months to build up protection against that particular germ. here's a HOT quote that definitely makes me want to smooch steve tonight:

"Female inoculation with a specific male's cytomegalovirus is most efficiently achieved through mouth-to-mouth contact and saliva exchange, particularly where the flow of saliva is from the male to the typically shorter female."

Check out my teeth!

DSCF5378-edited, originally uploaded by sepasky.

it's been quite a week here... we leave tomorrow for an extended stay in michigan, where we'll celebrate birthdays and thanksgiving, and also (potentially) get a little christmas cheer crammed in, since we won't be traveling back again next month for christmas.

this past week rex turned 6 months old. i was able to celebrate the fact that i was able to exclusively breastfeed him until then (we've started him on some solids, but he hasn't had any formula). i know plenty of people that have used formula for one reason or another and i'm not passing any judgement. i was completely open to the idea of using it if i had any troubles breastfeeding or if it simply became too stressful to breastfeed after i went back to work full time. i'm writing this post from the "mom's room" at my office, which has become my 2nd office, and what i jokingly call "the mom cave" because of its lack of windows, sunlight and airflow. i've lugged my oh-so-stylish backpack to the office every day and spent at least 45 minutes in here, typing away, attending conference calls, managing client crises, and trying (through it all) to forget that i have no shirt on and am hooked up to a machine. i love my little rex and am proud of myself that i was able to do this for him. now that we're starting to give him foods, i'm hoping i can start to do this less and less, and can spend more time with my fab officemates in my regular, window-laden office.

also this past week i was with a dear friend that's nearing the end of her trimester when she started having some scary symptoms. i was able to help give her a ride to the hospital, and luckily her baby is okay. pregnancies are tenuous and fragile things, and i thank my lucky stars that my pregnancy with rex was as problem-free as it was. most of you probably know that i miscarried before getting pregnant with rex. i was very fortunate to find out that the fetus had stopped progressing before actually experiencing any symptoms of miscarriage, but i've certainly thought of that baby-to-be often. it's so common, yet so infrequently admitted to or talked about. i hope my friend has a relaxing weekend and that her further tests next week show a happy, healthy 12 week old fetus.

when we head back to michigan tomorrow, it will be with my mom in tow. my mom bravely took the train out here in mid-august to come and live with us for awhile and watch rex once i went back to work. things have worked out much better than i ever could have guessed, and it's been wonderful to have her here. she's amazing with rex (no surprise there) and it's been really helpful to expose her to what our life is like here and very special to get this time with her. since she's leaving we had to figure out what we'll do for childcare once we return to california at the beginning of december and we've been fortunate enough to meet another couple that lives near us that is looking for a nanny. we're going to do a nanny share with them, and i feel very good about the "fit" with them. three days a week we'll have the baby's aunt watching our babies, and we'll be hiring a two-day-per-week nanny. cross your fingers that we'll find the right person to watch our little ones.

my time in my cave today is up. my inbox is overflowing and there's only an hour left to try to tame it before the weekend. for those of you in michigan, i'm really looking forward to seeing you soon...

happy friday...

happy halloween!

we're really excited to dress rex up tomorrow. if you want a sneak peek at his costume, click here to see him unhappy when wearing it (he's been practicing) or click here to see him a bit happier during dress rehearsals.

one of the guys i work with wrote this piece for mcsweeney's. i hope you enjoy it!

i kinda want an iphone, just so i can get this app and start pronouncing sushi like this dude:




on a VERY different note, are any of you male readers participating in movember?. i know there have been times in the past where someone or another has grown a mustache for charity. this has got to be the most organized version of that concept, evar.

i'm really looking forward to dressing rex up for halloween. he's not that into his costume yet (kinda unhappy about putting it on) so we'll see how many photos we're able to get...
in the meantime, scroll through these photos for a look at one mom's attempt to make her little man happy with his costume. i can't wait to see what rex is into at age 2!

check out these fun finds on google earth!

and when you're done wasting a few minutes that way, please take the time to go here and vote for rex so that he can be the next face of baby gap. the voting process is a bit cumbersome, since they require you to register on the site in order to vote. if you have trouble seeing rex's entry, you should be able to find it by looking it up via my Member Name, saraelainehall (all one word). at this point we're not even close to being a contender for the fan favorite, but i really want to at least get enough votes so that the judges notice mr. rex, since i'm sure in that case he'll totally win!

and if you need a does of cuteness, here's one of my favorite photos of rex yet, taken just a few days ago:

sorry it's been so darn long since i've posted!
we've been having lots and lots of fun with rex. he's more interested in toys, is able to sit up for a spell, and loves bathtime. he has an amazingly cute giggle. he loves the song "rawhide!" (which his dad sings to him, and which he recognized when our friend adam sang it). we let him suck on a plum last week, and play with a banana yesterday, and we plan to introduce foods to him in the next week or so. he is a barrel of laughs!
this week was the first time he's had any health concerns. the poor little dude has been having a bunch of trouble pooping. he's going in teeny tiny little bits every couple of hours (or more frequently) and he is working sooooooo hard at it. his little bum has been sore and so we've been doing what we can to try to soothe him and to figure out what in the heck i ate that would cause multiple days of this! this did result in a (somewhat) funny story...
friday night we were staying up at our friend steve o's house in dillon beach. i was just finishing nursing rex around 4 am and had started to fall asleep when rex let out a HUGE fart and some obvious pooping noises. steve and i kinda both sighed, knowing we couldn't just leave him. so we got up and tag teamed it, luckily calming him right back down again. we weren't in bed more than a couple of minutes when we heard another VERY LARGE fart and some even larger pooping noises. i could have sworn he was giggling at us. he did this THREE TIMES in a row. we were up changing him for probably a good 30 minutes. oh, the joys of parenting!
i was sent a link to this post by one of the moms lists i'm on. it was in response to a mom-to-be asking what all she might reasonably accomplish during her maternity leave. i found it 100% accurate, but i would have loved a follow up post saying "and it doesn't necessarily get much better! you learn to balance more, but you will still have more things that you want to do than that you can reasonably get done, and you will need to be kind to yourself about it!" i'm constantly feeling behind and disappointed, and yet i know i'm doing pretty darn well considering. this week's nighttime poopy disturbances left steve completely wiped out and he told me he was amazed i was still awake and able to function. so see, maybe i just need to give myself more credit!

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in november we are going to be using two more weeks of the maternity leave that i didn't use this summer. we'll be spending it in michigan so that we don't have to hurry there and back for thanksgiving. and then we won't be traveling again in november for christmas/new year's. i'm looking forward to both our big trip and to our non-trip. i'd love to hear from parents out there who might have tips (or even just their own stories to tell) about their first christmas (or hanukkah) as a family, and how they "made it their own" or what traditions they started. does anyone have something helpful to share? pretty please?

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tonight we went to see jake shimabukuro play at symphony hall. for those of you who don't know who he is (probably 100% of you), he's an awesome ukulele player that achieved his popularity after a clip he filmed for a tv segment (showing him in central park, playing "while my guitar gently weeps") was posted to youtube. it's a great clip, and he mentioned tonight that "since that was posted to youtube, my life hasn't been the same", which made me swell with pride. there are some things i don't like about my job, but in general i'm darn proud to be associated with the site.
jake closed out his show with a ridiculous (awesome) version of 'bohemian rhapsody' that led to a standing ovation. hooray!

in case you're in the mood for some awesome ukulele action, the "famous" clip is here:

very helpful chart!!

lovelovelove this:

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

i really enjoyed reading this list o the most bizarre craigslist ads of all time. hopefully you will too.

wow, i have to step up my geographical sketching skills!

as a workin' mama that is still breastfeeding, this article made me both angry (that her employer acted the way he did) and happy (that she was awarded a settlement). i think every employer needs to think like a new father: what sort of situation would i want my child's mother to be in? in the meantime, i hope other moms continue to fight for breastfeeding to be more accepted in the workplace: go, mamas, go!

well, i made it through a week at work. it was good to be back! we had our national sales conference this week, so it definitely wasn't a regular week. most of the week was spent at a hotel downtown, hearing big picture product updates, sales strategy, bonding with co-workers etc. it was a really good week to come back, from a mindset and strategy point of view. it was a really shitty week to come back, from a "mommy-needs-to-get-in-a-routine" point of view.

highlight: seeing demonstrations of upcoming products. i work at an amazing company! it was inspiring to not only see what the engineers are working on, but to see how excited they are about their mission of "organizing all of the world's information". and our ceo is always a great down-to-earth yet inspirational speaker. i love working for him (vs the dork that i worked for at domino's).

low-light: having to find a way to pump breastmilk during my team's offsite at a bar. the bar put me in a weird little corner near the kitchen where they store condiments. despite putting up a pseudo-curtain, every busboy in the restaurant somehow needed a bottle of ketchup during those 10 minutes! argh.

i have a lot of friends who have attempted the "working mommy" thing, and while most are still doing it, it bears mentioning that even for such an amazing group of women it's been difficult. i've been really grateful for their honesty about the challenges we all face. here are some of their situations, in my own words:

- m. returned to an uncertain situation with her position at work, and her baby screams whenever she leaves the daycare. she's wondering if it's worth it.

- c. feels that she's been passed over for the meatiest, most interesting projects at work as she's decreased her hours to part-time. it's been tough to reconcile her abilities with the lack of new challenges that she's getting at her office.

- h. had a great job that she loved. it was *PERFECT* for her. she wanted to go down to part-time once she became a mom but wasn't allowed to, so she left the position. ironically, it eventually lost funding and became a part-time position after she'd left the job.

- b. has been a stay-at-home mom since her kids were born, but now that they're older decided to open an at-home business. while her work-from-home husband was mostly supportive, they had a lot of discussion around how he'd help with the kids while she worked. somehow it was easy to understand that she'd watch the kids while he worked at home, but less obvious how she'd get kid-free time to pursue her career out of their home.

- c. was filling in for a higher level position (her next obvious step up the career ladder in her job) while it was open. she was then told she wasn't in consideration for the position on a permanent basis. she's adjusting her mindset from career-climbing to achieving work/life balance in her current position.

supposedly the company i work for is great for moms. however, i'm on the moms email list, and from what i can tell i think that's pretty true in some positions that allow things like job sharing, such on engineering, and perhaps for sales, where you can be assigned fewer accounts to call on. i'm not sure how it will work for me, since our team supports the sales team's needs and therefore it sometimes seems like "more hours = better employee". i guess we'll see how it goes. i'm heartened by the fact that i'll have lots of mommy friends going through it to discuss it with, and that most of co-managers on my team are parents too (one is a father of a 1 year old, one has a 12 year old boy, and the last co-manager has two kids under 1 year old). i'll keep you all posted.

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on a lighter note, here are some things i enjoyed this week:

- great marketing ploy! lombard street was turned into a giant version of a candyland board

- an 11 year old gets the opportunity to interview president obama. here's an interview with the 11 year old.

- most of my friends know that i LOVE star wars. i found this blog about poor design in star wars hilarious.

- i always find misplaced online ads hilarious. here's another compilation of them.

my friend ann has pointed out that if i go to amsterdam again, i should check this museum out.

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today was my second day back at work. it was hard to leave rex, but so far it's going well. he's charming the pants off of my mom, and he *loves* the attention. he brightens up when he sees me after work, which is lovely.
i'm adjusting to pumping, and have already discovered some fun work-arounds when i forgot different pump parts (bound to happen, so i guess it's just as well that it happened sooner vs later).
this week is our big annual sales conference at work: well over a thousand people in town. the pre-conference meeting of our division (100 people or so) was yesterday and today. it was actually a really nice time to come back, since there were presentations on everything under the sun (a little bit of "death by power point", but it was good to get an update on everything) and it was fantastic to see everyone. i got so many hugs... :)
tomorrow the big event starts, and so i need to head downtown, and will be gone quite late (party animals will make it a late night -- i will be amazed if i stay out until 9 pm before scurrying home to see rex before he passes out). it will be interesting to see how it goes for me. cross your fingers!

this video makes me want to go to an aquarium! luckily, we're not far at all from the monterey bay aquarium. they have a special exhibit on seahorses going on, so we'll have to make the trek down there some weekend to check it out. (i guess if i was smart i would have tried to do it on a weekday during my maternity leave...)

Kuroshio Sea - 2nd largest aquarium tank in the world - (song is Please don't go by Barcelona) from Jon Rawlinson on Vimeo.

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my mom arrived last night. she's going to hang out with rex during the day once i go back to work. he's such an awesomely fun little guy that i know they'll have tons of fun, and i feel good knowing that he'll be in good hands with someone that loves him almost as much as i do.
tonight we went out for dinner at one of our favorite places, sam's chowder house, which is on the way to half moon bay. there were apparently a ton of fish in the little cove between the restaurant and the princeton marina, since there were huge swarms of pelicans dive bombing into the water to fish. it was fascinating to watch! we also saw some sea lions (or seals, i'm not sure which) frolicking about in the water. fun!

this is my last week of maternity leave (!).
we took a little mini-vacation this weekend and went up to sonoma, where it's usually at least 15 degrees warmer, and got some sunshine. it was a bit TOO hot for my tastes on sunday (95 degrees!) but steve loved it. we hung out by the pool and took turns playing with rex in his little tent. we wet his favorite bamboo blankets and wrapped him in them to cool off and he loved it!
my mom arrives tomorrow. she's been on the amtrak california zephyr (what a great name!) the past couple of days. she'll probably be exhausted and will be desperately craving a shower, but it will be darn great to have her here. she hasn't been out here since we moved here three and a half years ago, and i'm excited to show her around. we didn't plan much for this weekend (i have a baby shower to attend on sunday) so that we can get her set up and oriented. we'll also probably scale back on social engagements for the next few weeks in order to get in the swing of things with me back at work.
i'm exhausted. how in the heck am i going to work full time?

if only...


Google Opt Out Feature Lets Users Protect Privacy By Moving To Remote Village

things are going pretty well here. rex has backslided a bit on the nighttime sleeping, but he's generally in an awesome mood in the mornings and we've got our routine down a bit. only two more weeks before i have to go back to work. yikes!

in a surprising turn of events, my mom is going to come out to stay with us for a few months and will be rex's daytime caregiver. my mom hasn't been out to visit since we moved to california, so this is BIG news. i'm really excited to show her my life out here and am thrilled that rex will be cared for by a family member.

my mom is taking the train out here, which should be quite an adventure. i hope it's a fun trip. the 'california zephyr' (great name, btw) goes from chicago to emeryville, ca (next to oakland) and goes right smack dab through the middle of the country: omaha, denver, salt lake city. i can't wait to hear how it goes.

on a very different note, i thought i'd pass along this video for your enjoyment. i giggled pretty hard when he sings "when i was just a baby..."

brilliant! pie delivery! -- and i don't mean pizza pie...

once again, the silly rainbow alarm clock totally works: despite being peed upon by a hungry, crying baby, i look at the alarm clock and smile.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

i wish the weddings we've gone to had done this -- very fun!

rex slept from midnight until 9 am, with a "night feeding" at 5:45 am. and when i sat there, rocking and feeding my half-asleep little angel, i smiled at my new silly rainbow alarm clock.

what a great story: a couple with the same name met on facebook and is getting married!
i've often typed my name (my married name, that is) into sites to see what the other sara halls are like. they tend to have pretty lame wish lists (amazon), boring profile photos (facebook), and (the last time i checked, anyhow) they weren't using linkedin as much as i am (but then again, i *am* working in the online industry). maybe someday i'll find one that i want to meet and we'll be good friends...

"A quest is not to be undertaken lightly – or at all! – pondered Hlothgar, Thrag of the Western Boglands, son of Glothar, nephew of Garthol, known far and wide as Skull Dunker, as he wielded his chesty stallion Hralgoth through the ever-darkening Thlargwood, beyond which, if he survived its horrors and if Hroglath the royal spittle reader spoke true, his destiny awaited – all this though his years numbered but fourteen."

-- Stuart Greenman's winning entry to the fantasy fiction category of the Bulwer-Lytton awards, given to the worst opening sentences


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on a very different note, today is a big day for us. i'm heading off to the dentist this afternoon and we're leaving rex with a sitter for a couple of hours. we're using a woman who just opened up a home daycare three doors down from us, and who we're hoping (barring any problems) to use for childcare once i go back to work. i hope rex charms her as he's done to everyone else -- and that he likes her! he's having a pretty good morning (he's *such* a morning guy -- not sure where he gets that, since both of his parents require caffeine to function and be even remotely pleasant in the mornings).

when i called the woman's references it seemed as though they were all pretty judgmental about me going back to work: "she's great, but how do YOU feel about going back to work?" and while talking to them i felt not only defensive, but alienated. i'm not like those women. i don't understand how you could fault someone for wanting to go and use their brain every day while contributing to the family finances and getting social interaction with other adults. i suppose there are plenty of jobs that people don't like as much as i like my job. and yes, i will feel sad leaving rex. i'm sure it will positively break my heart if and when his childcare provider sees some developmental milestone before i do. but i also want him to be raised in a household where both parents are breadwinners, are equal partners and are happy with their lives. although plenty of women are probably happy staying home, if there's one thing my maternity leave has taught me, i'm not one of those women.
and on that note, i've got to get showered and ready to go

happy moon landing anniversary!
in case you haven't seen this, it's a pretty awesome send-up of what news coverage might look like if the landing happened today:

they can say that pepper is fine, but i'm betting he's still blue. i'm totally on his side!

thank goodness the a2 news covered this story: i was wondering how he was doing!

it is fantastic to be home.
i am extremely glad that we had the luxury of spending six weeks in michigan, visiting family and friends, and getting lots of help with our darling little rex. we were lucky enough to see everyone we wanted to see (although we would have loved to see everyone more times!), and i feel like i really got to bond with my sister-in-law, who is also a new(-ish) mom.
rex has been sleeping longer stretches at night the past few nights, which has been fantastic. he's been going to sleep between 7:30-9:30 and then staying asleep until 3-4:30 am. then he usually does a quick night feeding before falling asleep again for another 3-4 hours or so. hopefully this trend will last, and i can gradually shift his bedtime back to a later hour and have him sleeping from 11-7ish.

steve and i are both dealing with a bit of sneezy allergies as we adjust back to the california flora and weather. we were going to go for a guided hike today, but are not sure if we'll be able to make it. the hike is here on our little slice of heaven (pedro point) to take people through what will eventually be part of the golden gate rec area. i've scouted out some reviews and photos of the hike, and it looks fantastic.
yesterday we did a little hike at a park we hadn't been to before, milagra ridge. it would have been much nicer if it was warmer and sunnier (it was cloudy and a bit windy), or if there were wildflowers blooming. still, the views were neat and it was a good, easy hike to do with rex in his babybjorn.

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and since i'm catching up on periodicals like entertainment weekly that piled up while i was gone...
because i've always wanted to know, there's a food network show coming up called 'What Would Brian Boitano Make'. i'm setting my DVR!

hooray! we had another date night tonight! we had appetizers at bahama breeze (cheesy!) and then went to the movies. we wanted to see 'the hangover' but it was sold out (despite being out for a few weeks by now) so we saw 'the proposal', which was cheesy romantic comedy goodness.
and, to top it off, rex was apparently a dream for his hall grandparents while they babysat him. hooray!

i like to leave tabs open on my browser for a long time, until i have time to thoroughly read up on or check out something. i decided awhile back that madsen cycles are super cute and that if we move back into the city i'd look into getting something like one. anyhow, they're having a contest where all you have to do is link to their site and then potentially you can win one (!), so here's the link. can't you just see me on one of these cute little cruisers, with rex in the back? there are even seatbelts in the big bucket seat...

my father-in-law sent me this cartoon, and i thought it was funny. enjoy:



only a week left to go here in michigan. it's bittersweet...

today my mom and i went to the mall. it was chock full of families. i have no idea what people on rainy summer days before malls. rex (as per usual) was a gem.

tonight rex met his great grandma hall. he fell asleep in her arms tonight, and she was very proud that she hasn't lost "the touch" :)

rex is fortunate enough to be meeting three of his four great grandmas on this trip (and he was able to attend his fourth great-grandma's funeral).

i am exhausted. goodnight!

on a non-baby related note...

i was sad to hear that kodak is no longer going to make kodachrome film. there have been such beautiful saturated images made using it. check out this slideshow on cnet showing some gorgeous ones.

i'm starting to get a bit homesick. everyone has shown us tremendous hospitality, but i do miss being in my own home, with my stuff (and rex's stuff), being able to walk around in my undies if need be, and being able to be "off duty" socially.

i bought rex this awesome Hawaiian shirt onesie:

unfortunately he had an explosive poop today and it is very, very soiled. (fear not: it is soaking and will be "good as new" again soon)

i am reading the book "babyproofing your marriage" and am really enjoying it. i love the quotes and anecdotes because they definitely reinforce that everyone goes through similar types of emotions and that keeping our marriage strong while taking on this whole parenting thing is do-able. i'm also starting a couple of other mommy-lit books, i was a really good mom before i had kids" and "it sucked and then i cried". my friend wendy leant me the second one. have any of you moms out there read any of these, or similar books (like "sippy cups are not for chardonnay" or "i'm too sexy for my volvo" or "the milk diaries")? i could use some good recommendations.

if you're craving more rex action, here's one of the recent videos that i put up on that awesome video site, youtube. rex just recently got interested in holding a set of toy keys. i'm still fascinated by the way he throws them around:

okay, one more post for tonight...
one of the great things about being here and having help with rex is that we've gone out to see a couple of movies. we *never* see movies -- we didn't even before rex came along -- so this is a big deal.
(spoilers ahead for both 'up' and 'star trek')
we saw 'up!' in 3D (loved it, although the sad beginning was really, really unexpected and made me cry) and 'star trek' (very fun, and now i've got a crush on either chris pine or zachary quinto or both). i kept joking (during it, which probably bugged steve) that it was very much the same movie as my beloved 'star wars'. certainly, i wasn't the only one to notice this, and there's a very astute summary of the similarities of 'star wars', 'star trek', 'the matrix' and 'harry potter' here.

the cartoon in this week's babycenter newsletter sums it up *perfectly*:

hooray! rex has learned how to smile!



it's all over now: any control that i had over my emotions about this little one are gone, gone, gone. he's definitely the cutest baby that has ever lived (sorry, friends with kids!).

we've been in michigan about a month at this point, and it's been fantastic to see everyone. rex has been getting all kinds of grandparent love, and we've been able to visit with friends and family without the typical rushrushrush.

this past week was a little bittersweet, as my paternal grandmother, who lived in ohio, passed away two days before we were scheduled to drive down to ohio for the weekend. she was suffering from alzheimer's disease and had deteriorated physically quite a bit as well, so she is in a better place... and also on a positive note, i was grateful that we didn't have to fly in and out in a hurry, and could spend a few days with my dad and his family.

we'll be here a couple more weeks, so hopefully i'll remember to update this more often while we're here taking advantage of all of the help!

if you like awkward or silly photos, you'll enjoy this contest for awkward prom photos held by sfgate's the poop blog.

rex is really enjoying the time here in michigan with his grandparents. right now his grandpa hall is holding him out on the screened in porch while a storm blows in, and rex is fascinated by the wind blowing through the trees. we'll see how he does as it actually starts raining... hopefully he'll enjoy the white noise.

to all of our friends here in the great state of michigan: email me so we can schedule a time to get together! we're booked through this weekend, but free after that. rex wants to meet you!

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the video below is making the rounds of the online ad buying community. i definitely LOLed and recognized these situations. :)




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turns out rex does indeed love the sound of the rain. just like his mama!


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according to the nypost, hugh jackman and daniel craig are going to be in a play on broadway together this fall. hottttness!

i know you've always wanted to know more about zambonis. well, then, you might get a kick out of this article.

our little guy is getting so big! he was weighed at his doctor appointment today and is a whopping 7 pounds. such a cute little nugget!
he is already holding his head up quite a bit, and has such an amazing, alert gaze. i'm so totally in love...
in the middle of the night last night i took this photo of him, very content and alert after a feeding:


we are heading to michigan on monday for a nice, long visit (5 weeks!). we're really excited to see family and friends on an unrushed and mellow schedule. the flip side is that we're going to miss all of our friends here -- especially since there are a lot of people we haven't seen lately due to our new parent schedule. we are so lucky to have so many good friends!

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on a very different topic, i'm really excited about eminem's new album. i've been desperately needing some new tunes, and have been really enjoying the new green day one (thanks, michael!).
regardless of what you think of eminem, you've got to love that he flew a bunch of unemployed detroit auto workers to see his performance on jimmy kimmel. way to represent detroit, em!

OMG, i can't wait to see this! not only does it have deborah gibson and lorenzo lamas in it, but the special effects look ridiculous (check out that shot of the golden gate bridge!)

things are going very well here. rex continues to be a bit of a nightowl, and he's generally interested only in going to sleep after mid-night feedings if he's nestled on me (vs in his co-sleeper or crib). however, he's generally a darn mellow baby, only feeding every 3 hours or so (and since the dr says we need to feed him at least every 3 hours, we're counting our blessings it's not more often), and he is generally comforted pretty easily by any of us (me, steve or grandma hall).
it turns out that he's already found his calling, as a model. a local photographer offered to take some free photos of rex (she also took some maternity shots of me, less than a week before giving birth) and is giving me a discount on prints (since she'll be using the photos promotionally as well. if you'd like to check the photos out -- which you should, since he's darn cute -- go here and then click on 'client proofing' and enter the password "mrrex" (no quotes). let me know which ones you think i should order!

we're heading to michigan at the end of this month. i'm really excited to see our friends there and to spend some time in some warm summer weather!
i decided i needed to get some fun, flat sandals for the trip and was browsing around online and fell in love with these:



they're hella expensive, though, and i wasn't sure what size to get (and they're sold out in most sizes too) so i ended up checking out the line of 'miss trish of capri' sandals at target when we went there yesterday, and bought these:



kinda hard to see, but there's a jeweled bee on the toe. sooooo cute!

things i've learned in the first week:
- "wipes" technology is amazing. how did people wipe their baby off after changing, disinfect counters, etc, before wipes?
- the diapers with the "i'm wet" indicator strip are key.
- we have great friends out here. we haven't wanted for anything (other than sleep) since rex was born. our fridge is full, we've had company on a fairly regular basis, and when we've put out a request for something, it's been taken care of. we are soooooo lucky.
- getting out hasn't been all that hard. we've had to go to the doctor almost every day (my c-section incision isn't healing all that well) and rex has done a great job getting out and about. i had the pleasure of doing my first out-of-home feeding at a starbucks two days after being released from the hospital.
- steve is the bomb. truly.

we've uploaded some videos of rex. not only is he super cute, but you can hear his funky little squawking sounds in them.
if you're interested in checking them out, you can view them on my youtube channel. the most recent one, from yesterday, is here:

wow, go youtube! i knew we had lots of helpful video clips on the site, but this story is absolutely nuts!

we're home!
today we brought rex home from the hospital. he is doing really well.
we had a couple of tough feeding days at the hospital, but he's stopped losing weight (all newborns lose weight as they learn to feed) and is generally a well-tempered little guy.
it's great to be home in our own space and we realized that we picked a great week to come home: lots and lots of great sports on TV (did you SEE that celtics-bulls game tonight?!?)
the local moms club brought us an amazing dinner tonight (takeout from a really yummy local diner, nona's kitchen. it was wonderful not to have to deal with figuring out food while we're still unpacking and settling in!

that's really all of the news here. our life = feed the baby, burp the baby, change the baby, sleep or get stuff done while he sleeps. repeat.

oh yeah, and i just read and enjoyed this article about pirate aficionados and how the rise of actual piracy in somalia sucks for them. it's a fun read.

Rex!

He's here! And he's gorgeous.
I'll have to post my labor story at some point (although I will definitely make it safe for squeamish readers), today I'll just give a little update.
Rex was born via C-section on Sunday morning at 4:34 am, almost exactly 24 hours after my first labor symptoms. He's on the tinier side, weighing in at 6 pounds, 3 ounces at birth. He was 19 3/4 inches in length. I was just about the same size. I think my mom said that I was 6 pounds 4 ounces and 21 inches (mom, feel free to correct me here with a comment on this post).
He was very tired his first day, but managed to still charm a bunch of fabulous friends that were kind enough to come and visit us at the hospital. He's been having trouble feeding, though, which has become a bit more of a problem as he's gotten "older".
The first day or so, he's expected to sleep a lot. After that they want him to be feeeding every 3 hours or less. He seems to have a good latching instinct, but soon after latching he gets either distracted (oooh! Lots going on out here outside the womb!) or sleepy. Therefore he's not getting enough to eat, so feedings are taking lots of time each time, and are as often as every hour and a half.
This morning I had a mini-meltdown. Rex wasn't feeding well and yet kept trying off-and-on for a number of hours. Every time he'd seem like he was done trying and ready for sleep I'd get him swaddled and in his crib and then he'd cry again. It was sooooo frustrating! The nurse was about an hour late with my pain meds, so that just added to the drama. When Steve got up I was just about in tears. Luckily at that point there was a nursing shift change, they brought my meds, and the new nurse helped me use a pump to get some food in him. Then Rex and I were both able to get some shuteye.
Things have gone better since then. We've had two really good feedings, taken some naps and we've both got bellies full of yummy stuff (Steve went out and bought me some gourmet goodies at AG Ferrari, an Italian market across the street).
Now we're chilling out together. He's lying on me while I type this on my bberry with my tumbs of fury...
Keep your fingers crossed for us that we'll stay on this positive path!

we have such talented friends!

tiffany will be featured on natgeo tv's "garbage moguls" tomorrow night at 9 pm. there are clips on their website at www.natgeotv.com/garbage, and you can see her profile, where they call her "garbage barbie" here.

storyteller megan stielstra is profiled in an article in the chicago examiner that you should check out.

and my father-in-law, bruce, is going to be a blogger for the detroit new's auto blog section. i'm having trouble pulling up his first post, but apparently it's going to be here.

i had my worst night of sleep yet last night. i am TIRED still, and i was in bed attempting to sleep for almost 10 hours. argh. my hip hurts, my head is congested, and it was really warm (for here). i guess i'll have to take a nap later today.
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i ordered the kindle. i hope it gets here before our little boy does, so i can play with it. i definitely want to transfer my subscription to the new yorker magazine over to the kindle in a couple of weeks when it expires. i am sooooooo excited!

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gavin newsom finally officially announced his candidacy for governor. is it just me, or does he always look like he's smirking?

it's gorgeous here today, and i'm just over a week from my due date (!). i am hoping that our little dude will hang out for a bit and not make an early appearance. i think we're generally ready, but it would be nice to have a bit of R&R time before he comes and turns our world upside down.
he's been moving around a lot lately: not so much kicking as pushing at my stomach from a few different angles. it must be at least one of his feet under my right breast, and then there's probably either a hand or an elbow just to the left side of my belly button. i don't know if anyone notices it but me, but when he's pushing on both of those spots i think it makes me look really lopsided.
we have a few things we still need to get ready (sterilizing bottles, finalizing the announcement/contact lists, etc) but we're in good shape. we put our spare bed in the baby's room so that i can sleep in there if necessary (or, i suppose, steve can -- he's been complaining that i've been snoring lately, which is a completely new thing for me). we've got the carseat base in one of the cars, and the bags are mostly packed for the hospital (just need to grab last minute things like the camera battery, which is charging, some toiletries that we use every day, etc).
i am going to try to read a book on baby sleep habits this week. i started reading "healthy sleep habits, happy child", which i think is pretty horribly written and extremely boring so far. i think the main problem is that with many non-fiction/advice books the premise should be about a chapter long (steve thinks maybe the books should be pamphlets instead) and yet they feel the need to drag it out to an entire book in order to justify charging you $20 for the book. i guess i need to accept that, and learn to skim more effectively...
i am thinking of buying myself a kindle. i've been wanting one for quite some time, and when i went to a management class at work, one of the guys in the class approached me during the break and let me know that the kindle was the best thing ever for his wife while she was breastfeeding. he said that she was an internet junkie and loved following the news, and while it was not too hard to prop up a book and try to read it while nursing, it was impossible to find the time to get online or to read the newspaper, and that the kindle allowed for her to do this with one hand while nursing. sounds like a plan to me! i just need to get up the guts to make the purchase... maybe later today.

i was really hoping i'd wake up canadian today, but i've scanned through the details and alas, i guess i'm not canadian.

what a lovely little story for easter! susan boyle, an unemployed 48 year old, shocked the judges on the show 'britain's got talent' with an amazing rendition of 'i dreamed a dream' from les miserables. the copyright owner has disabled the ability the clip to be embedded, so you'll just have to click here, to see it.
you won't regret it.

omg, she's so cute!

ouch.

steve showed me this business card from steve martin awhile ago, so it's not new, but i still love it.

i have never been a jay leno fan, but i thought that it was damn cool of him to have a couple of free concerts in detroit. what a nice guy!

what a crappy ending to an amazing season for MSU. bummer!

...

i was hoping that bill gates would be my friend on facebook, but it looks like he's already pretty busy on facebook corresponding with more important people.

i definitely can't complain about my pregnancy. at least it wasn't 14 months long and my baby's not expected to be 6 feet tall!

the last day and a half has been pretty tough. i got some sort of nasty food poisoning and had trouble keeping food down. tonight it appears i have kept down a full plate of pasta, though, so that's good news!

i have been really lucky to have such an uneventful and healthy pregnancy. i am literally knocking on the wood of our kitchen table right now that it continues for the final 4 weeks. it's starting to get pretty darn crowded in my belly, with our little one already in place (head down) and kicking me more and more often in the ribs (ow!), but (as people have told me), it's a lot easier to take care of the baby while he's still inside than once he's out. therefore, i am in no rush and hope he stays there until his due date. :)

i am trying to wrap up projects at work, which is a bit daunting. i have defined myself by my work for so long that it will be fascinating to see what multiple months off of work and a new definition as "mommy" will do for my sense of self. i am sure it's going to be a good thing. it's just strange to think about...

on a light note, check out this cool timeline of all of the lego people over time. i totally want the skeleton!

i am a nerd and use a lot of spreadsheets, so i really enjoyed this:



you can download the actual excel version here, and i recommend that you do!

i so totally need one of these baby snuggies!

definitely worth 5 minutes of your viewing time...

it's a bit of a rough day here already (thursdays are always my bad days), but this article really made me laugh.

enjoy!

don't forget to vote in the best bracket game of march.

i love stephen colbert, and i love space exploration. and so therefore i am really pleased by this story. i just hope nasa doesn't change their mind...

thank you, zac, for sending this:

wow -- check this gorgeous page for the okinawa aquarium out! very cool use of youtube videos!

three things i love today (which cheered me up after a bit of a bad start):

the eric carle 'doodle' on the google homepage

this article about a mathematician that has developed a sudoku-solving method. i'm definitely going to have to check back on monday when the paper is posted...

and then there's this...

happy st. patrick's day!



i wish they died the bay green out here. chicago really knows how to celebrate st. patrick's day!

oooh, funky! bacon infused vodka!

looking at the photos in the "12 nurseries you'll love" story on HGTV.com, i started to feel a bit intimidated. sheesh! i have to keep in mind that we're renting...
i did really like the curtain rod painting in this one, and the overall bright, fun look of this one, though.

just in case you'd forgotten, gorillas are awesome.

i got a huge kick out of this clip of sergey brin on "to tell the truth". it aired in february, 2001.

oooooh! hockey at the big house! that's damn exciting!

isn't this the coolest chandelier?



even if you don't agree, apparently lots of other people think so too, since it's sold out online.

thank you, vdot, for this video of bridge demolition set to opera music. thank you also to david, for pointing it out!

omg, you have to check out these photos of the sf zoo's baby gorilla, which was abandoned at birth by his mother, and is being cared for by zoo staff. such a cute gorilla, but that doesn't mean i'd want to have to cuddle it at night...

yesterday my friends courtney and melissa threw me a really lovely baby shower. :)
melissa, who has known me 12 years (!) put together a fun little trivia game about me & steve. it was fun to see who knew what about us. (if anyone is interested in getting a copy of the quiz, let me know!)
one of the questions was about the name of the first home we bought, in michigan. most of the people out here had no idea that we'd owned a home and christened it with a name. whether you already know the name, or didn't know about this, here's the article that gave us the idea for our home's name, even though our house didn't have a rooftop trampoline.

another fun thing that happened yesterday: we finally had the opportunity to test out the carseat that we're getting in our convertible. we were very pleased to find out that it was easy enough to get it into the car and it fits just fine! we had been worried that we'd need to get rid of the convertible and buy a new car. i'm so relieved we don't have to add that to our "to do before the baby arrives" list!

we went to childbirth prep class today. it was helpful, but i don't think it particularly relaxed us about the labor & birth process as we were hoping it would. i knew most of the material already, but seeing the videos and being at the class itself really made it all much more "holy shit" real for me, and has me a little spooked. it's good that i have a few weeks to digest it, think about it, and become mentally ready.
steve, on the other hand, didn't know most of the details, and he says it made it a little harder for him since now he knows more of what i'll be going through. i'm sure he'll be a very capable labor assistant, but he'll also need some time to process today's class -- and to see me processing it and mentally steeling myself!
quick poll for those of you reading this: did you use medication for pain relief during labor? i'd be curious to know what % of people i know that have been through labor in recent years opted for epidurals or narcotic pain relief.

how sad! apparently, due to new immigration processes, they're having a a clown shortage in the UK.

a writer for PC World says "YouTube is a Thousand Times More Interesting than Television". i couldn't agree more (and it's not just because of what i do for a living).

seriously -- what is wrong with people?!?

i really love sunset magazine. the reason? articles like this and, even more so, this. there's even an article about our little town, pacifica. (nona's kitchen is at the bottom of the hill we live on, and it is pretty good. barolo, also just at the bottom of our hill, is even better.

Getting ready

Well, there are somewhere between 5-9 weeks before we become parents (9 weeks until my due date). We're still a bit freaked out and overwhelmed, but now that we're done with our babymoon and I can't travel anymore, we can tackle the rest of our "to do" list.

We made good progress on the nursery yesterday. We decided on a very loose theme for the decor, hanging a bunch of vintage Hawaii travel posters in white frames (to match the white furniture). The crib bedding and curtains are very neutral, and I bought a cheap khaki throw to cover the futon. It looks pretty good so far. I just need to clean and put away the random stuff that's strewn around the room (feeding stuff that'll go in the kitchen, nursing pillows, baby clothes, etc).

Luckily all of the new parents we've spoken to assure us that it's all worth it, even if the baby seems to have no idea how much work was done ahead of time to prepare for his arrival. :)

We haven't made much progress on a name in the past few weeks. Do any of you dear readers have suggestions? Our ideal parameters are:
1. Nothing that can be misspelled or mispronounced too easily
2. Nothing that's a nickname (e.g. Jack) or can easily be shortened to a nickname (e.g. Michael)
3. Nothing too trendy or popular
Perhaps we should offer a prize to whoever comes up with a winning name...

We're off to an Oscar potluck this afternoon. It's super-duper rainy here, so this will hopefully lift our spirits a bit.

apparently we're not the only ones that are having trouble deciding on baby names. our mayor and his wife are expecting, and they're soliciting ideas too.

it's been awhile since i've actually *written* anything. sorry, amigos!
we're in maui now, on our "babymoon", which is fantastic. apparently it was rainy before we got here, but it's been lovely since we arrived. so far i'm not as much of a fan of maui as i am of kauai. it seems like the tourist areas are much more developed and separate from nature-y areas. however, the beach here at ka'anapali is lovely, and the resort (we're at the westin) is nice: great service (they brought us about a half-dozen extra pillows and some extra towels in about 5 minutes), half a dozen pools (we've been camped out at the adults-only pool most of the time) and decent restaurants.
today we definitely had our highlight of the trip so far: a whale-watching cruise with the pacific whale foundation. we saw lots and lots of hot whale action, including a full breach (spectacular) and quite a number of little baby calves (it's calving season). we also ran into a huge group of spinner dolphins, which had a ton of fun playing around our boat and showing off. soooooo cool!
last night we had an amazing meal at sansei sushi, which a couple of the locals and a few of our friends had all turned us onto. it was completely hoppin', and totally worth seeking out. we're glad we made a reservation. steve can't stop talking about how great it was (and our friends chris & courtney, who had listed it on their recommendations, told us it was one of the best sushi restaurants they've been to, and we agree!). i *almost* didn't mind being restricted about what to order!
speaking of our little dude, i'm about 28 weeks along, and his movements are definitely feeling like kicks now. the past couple of weeks have been an amazing transformation from flutters to little jabs, and the other day i was able to time it right for steve to feel a couple of kicks for the first time. :) amazing!
i think we're going to get cleaned up now and watch a movie. the past few nights we've had dinner around now and then passed out after that (we tend to get up early and go to bed early when in hawaii) but we were starving after the whale watching trip and already ate, so we can indulge in some pay-per-view (it doesn't sound exotic, i know, but since we *never* see movies, i'm super excited to cuddle and catch up on hollywood's finest).
aloha!

check out this funky video of giraffes fighting. thanks, alex!

i don't know why i love the etrade baby so much, but i do. check out this reel of outtakes:

i had work to do tonight, but got distracted looking at these awesome photos of celeb outfits in 2008 from msn's 'undressed' column. wow, there are some real winners in there!

if i had tons of money, i would throw an inauguration party, and would serve Zingerman's Barack-y Road Gelato. yum!
instead, i'll be in NYC for work next week. it's supposed to be about 50 degrees colder there than it is here. ick!

i love this photo.