(Not So?) New Finds

As I have stayed pretty clear of baby stuff over the past years, I haven't been keeping up-to-date with what's cool and hip in the baby world. To be honest, it's not that I didn't like baby stuff, it's just that I would break out in hives, chills and a cold sweat when I neared the Target baby aisle. It's getting better, though. Good thing, eh?!

Now that I'm starting to think WAY more about baby stuff, I'm finding some great stuff! I'm sure that everyone has one of these by now, but I just about died when I saw the Weeblock.

Beth Goes to the Store

Today Nick and I stopped by a baby furniture store here in Columbus to check out some nursery bits, then we headed to Trader Tots, a children's, teen, and maternity resale shop. It had tons of almost-new clothes and toys, and we spent a good half an hour oooing and ahhing over all the baby-sized shirts and pants. We couldn't believe how inexpensive things were there! We'll definitely be back, although we're not too concerned that our child will be wanting for clothes and toys...

Then we headed to the mall to price other nursery furniture and I finally got up the courage to head into a Motherhood Maternity store, which was my first time in an actual maternity shop. I had heard horror stories of pushy saleswomen, lines of shirts in a rainbow of pastel, and exorbitant prices. I was ready! I was just going to stop in and maybe grab one pair of jeans (only if they were on double clearance), not talk to anyone, and get out of there.

But I had a very different experience. I walked in and was greeted by a friendly saleswoman (who thankfully did NOT do the all-too-familiar glance-down tummy-check), and she asked me if I needed anything. I told her I wanted to look for some jeans. She asked me if I liked the tummy-panel to ride over my tummy, across the middle, or under it. I let her know this was my first time in a maternity clothes store, so I really had no idea.

Then, for the next 30 minutes, she took me under her wing and explained how maternity clothes worked, a few basics everyone usually likes to have, how maternity underwear works (which, despite having asked no fewer than a half-dozen of my friends, still remained a mystery to me), and helped me choose a few things to try on. I didn't feel pressured, or weirded out, or uncomfortable. (Even when she showed me the velcro-strap stuffed baby-bump that automatically adds 3 months onto your belly so you can try clothes on over it...and that's enough to weird ANYONE out!)

So I tried some stuff on, and liked some and didn't like others. She...Joanne...was there the whole time, making sure I had the right fit for my shape and that I was comfortable in everything. But there was still the issue of price, which of course was going to be over and above anything I could ever afford...but wait! Hold on a minute! $24.95 for a pair of jeans? $6.99 for a polo shirt? That's cheaper than Target or Old Navy, my old standbys! (And, as I've found out time and time again, I'm CONVINCED that those stores' clothing is built to self-destruct and fall apart in about 9 months, anyway.)

I left Motherhood Maternity with a few pairs of jeans, underwear, and some polo shirts, none of which were pastel, and all of which will grow with me over the next 4 months, and then into the post-pregnancy as I lose my belly. I was delightfully surprised! Now, I am sure we will run into many times when we balk at the price of kid stuff, but this wasn't one of them. Babies cost money...this one started racking up bills WAY before conception!...but we knew that when we got into this!

(That said, bring on the hand-me-downs!)

It's a...

Watch the video to find out!

Baby She or Baby He?

Tomorrow, Thursday afternoon, we have an ultrasound where the doctor will check to see if Baby D is a he or she! Hopefully I'm carrying a little exhibitionist and we'll get to find out! Check here tomorrow night to see if we know!

How are YOU doing?

Contrary to popular belief, there have been many cool things about being pregnant so far: an excuse to sleep in, an especially cuddly pooch, tiny baby gifts...the list goes on! But one of my favorite things is the new importance placed on the question, "How are you doing?"

Usually used as a deflection or small talk, this simple phrase is no longer without meaning. I get asked this a lot, and each time, it means more to me than the time before...because people REALLY mean it when you're pregnant. They are genuinely concerned about my and Baby D's well being! It's really quite honoring! And I've noticed (or maybe I'm ignoring the "don't you know what small talk is" signs...) that people want to hear an actual answer. Now, I'm not sure they'd want to hear any gruesome details, but I haven't really had any so far! I've been blessed by a very mild pregnancy and have no complaints so far!

So, if you know any pregnant women, be sure to ask them how they're doing, and mean it! It will make their day! And, if you've asked me, thanks! It made mine!

Oh, the Car (Actually, Van)!

Yet another step in preparing for Baby D! We've bought a minivan. Oh, yes, we bought a minivan. So I guess that seals it: we've got the house, the dog, and now the minivan. It's the American dream!

We've been considering another vehicle for a year or so now, and the necessity of it has grown as we're anticipating having Baby D, and myself looking at other jobs that would require some driving. We knew we wanted a minivan or small SUV. Our good friend Rich Perrine runs an import car dealership in town, and we asked him to keep an eye out for Honda Odysseys, Toyota Siennas, or Chrysler Town & Countries. He e-mailed about a week ago, saying he had a couple that would be perfect! So yesterday morning we went in and signed for it.

The stats: a 2003 Toyota Sienna CE. Five-door wagon. Gold. Cloth interior. 59,000 miles. The Sienna is the top-rated minivan by Consumer Reports, and they're known to run for up to 200,000 miles. The previous owner took very good care of it, and Rich had it serviced completely before he turned it over to us. So we hope that this one will last us a while!

We'll let you know when we come up with a name for it.

Oh, the carnage!

Beth and I have been wondering, as of late, how Maeby will adjust to Baby D. We feel pretty confident that she will get along fine the baby; she's always been great around kids. She's very gentle and loving and protective. So we're not worried about that. We're more concerned about how she'll adjust to not being the center of attention around the house. She's already gotten more cuddly with Beth since she's been pregnant. And lately she's been a bit more demanding for attention. She'll stand and huff at us while we watch T.V., or sit by the door demanding to be taken on a walk. One form her attention-seeking takes is the complete destruction of her stuffed animals. Yesterday I was cleaning up the house, and came upon a graveyard of toys. It seemed like a horror movie: fluffy bunny heads rolling everywhere, stuffed bears without arms, sea creatures reduced to empty shells. So, I had to take a picture.

If this is as desperate as she gets for attention, we're not worried.

A Post From Mama D

It's taken me a while to feel like I'm really pregnant, because I don't really look like it now. I look puffier, and like I had a nice steak dinner (which is the only thing I ever want to eat, if you're looking to take me out to dinner), but not preggers, yet. I'm sure as soon as I do, the novelty will wear off quickly!

I'm in my 16th week, and a few weeks into my 2nd trimester already, and I haven't really blogged at all about my experiences thus far...I promise to keep it PG, kids, and not too gruesome. But, really, I think I've had it pretty easy.

I found out for sure I was pregnant as early as you can; two weeks after conception. We went through a fertility treatment, so I was well-tracked (which satisfied the color-coded daily-planner part of me nicely). The exhaustion hit almost immediately, and naps became a necessity. And those that know me well know that I HATE naps...but I was soon using them as pure sustenance. And, speaking of sustenance, food became an interesting issue. I felt queasy most of the time, but never threw up (until the night I tried fancy prescription pre-natal vitamins), but felt most sick when my stomach was empty. So I pretty much ate a few bites of food every hour of the day. That got old real fast.

I haven't started wearing maternity clothes, other than the Bella Bands, which I still don't really get...although I can imagine getting a lot of use out of them just for support and hiding any stretch-marked skin later in my pregnancy. They're basically a tube of spandex you wear under your shirt that hold up your pre-maternity pants, unbuttoned, so you can wear them for a longer time.

But, now the magical 2nd trimester is here! All the books speak of it as the true pregnancy promised land, where you glow and feel beautiful and have loads of excess energy and grace, where health and well-being abounds and nausea and forgetfulness are things of the past! Why wouldn't we all want to live in Second Trimesterland? Well, because I haven't found it yet. When I do, I'll send you a postcard.

Other than that, we're busy making plans for the nursery, and I'm attempting to practice grace and humility when people (of all ages) give me pregnancy and parenting advice. My friend (and new mom to beautiful baby girl Maddie!) Kim gave me the best advice of all, however. She introduced the phrase "What worked for us..." to be said before any advice-y sounding sentence. Let's all take heed of THAT brilliant advice! I know I will be!

Guess who...?

...it's Baby D! Hey, there, Baby D! Glad to see you again!


These are pictures from our latest ultrasound, this past Thursday. Baby D is measuring about 9 cm long, and beginning to really look like a baby. Check out the pictures below: you can see facial features, arms, and legs. On the video monitor, we could see the heart beating - just a tiny little flashing dot, but it's beating away!

Beth is into her second trimester now. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers over the past three months. Less than six months until Baby D-Day! Keep up the prayers!

What's going on?!

A blog update - yaaaaay! Just wanted to give a holiday shout-out to all our friends and family, and provide some quick updatage. We have returned home after spending some quality time with Beth's family in Greenville, Pennsylvania, and mine in Grand Rapids, MI. It was a relaxing time overall... we watched some movies, opened presents, made food, ate at Yesterdog, Maeby played in the snow, all the good stuff. We only had a couple days in each place, but it was great to hang with our parents, brothers, sisters, nieces, and nephew again.

We headed home from GR this past Thursday night, to prepare ourselves and our home for the (hopefully first annual) Wild Goose Creative New Year's Festival. We've been planning this since early 2007, and it's exciting to see all of our plans come to fruition. The idea for the Festival originated with New Year's last year, when a small party blossomed into a semi-reunion of friends from high school and Calvin. Our thought: why not add some structure to it and show off some of our (and our friends'!) many skills?

You can view the full details of the Festival at our (new!) website: http://www.wildgoosecreative.com. Also, keep an eye on our blog. We opened the Festival with dinner and an improv show last night. The team consisted of myself, Micah Green, Terry Schoone-Jongen, Rachel Zylstra, and Brian Risselada. In other words, it was an amazing reunion of sorts. The Festival will also feature workshops on swing dance, screen printing, puppetry, sushi lessons, jewelry making, and Shakespeare performance, in addition to a chocolate tasting, jazz and poetry, a short play by myself, an art gallery, and performances by our friends Rachel Zylstra and Common Shiner. We're very much looking forward to the Festival, as well as the relief that the new year will bring.

And our most important news is that we're expecting a baby next year! Beth is due July 1st, and so far she's been feeling well. New Year's Day marks the beginning of Beth's second trimester. Below you can see the first ultrasound we got of Baby D. It's a rather early image, because we spent a few months at a fertility clinic in Columbus. So we knew pretty much right away when Beth was pregnant. The top part of the image shows tiny Baby D, the bottom part shows a readout of the baby's heartbeat (the heartbeat!).To answer a couple questions... it'll be about 8 weeks before we can find out the sex, and yes, we will most definitely find out and, yes, we will tell people. And, yes, we have some names picked out, but we'll share them when Baby D comes along.

We hope everyone has had a blessed Christmas, and we wish you a very Happy New Year! Look for pictures of the New Year's Festival and other updates soon!

Circleville Pumpkin Show!

Two new posts in two days! OMG! Anyhow... I realized, in posting about the big family weekend in October, that I forgot one of the many things going on that week: the annual Circleville Pumpkin Show! Beth and the rest of the our friends went earlier in the week, while I had rehearsal, so I went with both sets of parents during the day on Friday. It was our first pumpkin foray during daylight hours, although the place was no less busy. Take a look!

Huge crowds... lots of parents and kids. The town of Circleville mobilizes for the whole event. I'm guessing the local schools shut down.

All these pumpkins are driving me crazy! I'm out of my gourd.

As always, the huge line outside Lindsey's Bakery for fresh pumpkin donuts.Lots of things happen with pumpkins here, including all sorts of carving and funny shapes.With all sorts of delicious foods...

New Post from Summit Street!

Look at that... it's November already! We totally missed posting at all in October. Amazing.

We don't have any huge updates at this moment, so I'll post some pictures from the past couple weeks. We've settled pretty well into the house and have hosted a number of visitors, including Mom & Dad Dekker, the entire Meyer family, Grammie & Pop-Pop Richards (Beth's maternal grandparents), our friend Zach Vicha from Chicago, and most recently our friends Brad & Kimberly Nydam from Grand Rapids. Here's some pics from the big family weekend:

Here's Vitaly trying out Maeby's doghouse.

Making full use of the dining room... and the den.

And a family picture on the porch.

Is this the '07 salsa?

This weekend we're up in Greenville, Pennsylvania with Beth's family. We didn't plan for this weekend to be salsa weekend, but it became it! It's actually been two years since the last batch. While the 2006 tomato harvest didn't give us enough good tomatoes for the famous Meyer family salsa, 2007 crept up on us unexpectedly. The local tomato harvest was good, and when Fanny, the Amish cleaning lady, showed up yesterday with huge bushels of perfect tomatoes, the 2007 batch was born.

All the other ingredients fell into place, such as jars...

...and garlic.
We chopped the onions and peppers the night before. We had to set up fans in the kitchen because of all the onion vapors.
Blanching the tomatoes...
Peeling and chopping the tomatoes...
...until we have buckets of them!
Boiling (these are only 4 of the 6 total pots we made).
Canning in progress...
And the final product! The total came out to about 60 quarts of salsa. The 8 jars at the far end of the line are quarts of tomato juice. We filtered and boiled all the juice we collected from chopping, and saved it for future soups, etc.
Oh, and THEN we started on the chutney...

We'll let you know how the '07 batch turns out!

A fun video for you

This is a short video I made for our good friend and fellow Goose Jacqui Hoke. I found an expert who had met her, so I interviewed him.

What's Going On in There?

Here's Maeby and Lindy (our friends Jack and Christina's dog, who we're dogsitting for a spell) peeking in the back door to see what's happening in the kitchen.

So it's been since late July that we've written anything on this blog, and I thought I'd write a little something. As of August 25th we've been moved into our new house. Expect pictures and/or a video explaining the house soon! The place is looking great overall, and again we have to thank all of our wonderful friends and family who offered spiritual and physical help in putting the place together (we're still tempted to call Ryan to ask where things are in the kitchen - he put it together). Already we've hosted our friend Zach over the Labor Day weekend; he tried out the guest bedroom and dubbed it worthy (hint hint). We were all surprised by the visit of our other friend Morgan over the weekend as well.

Job-wise, I have begun working full time again at Ohio State for the Theatre Department. For those who don't know, I was hired back by the Department as the Administrator and Lecturer for the Introduction to Theatre program. It's a large course (the largest on campus, I think) that involves two lecturers and nine graduate teaching assistants to handle it. In addition, I'm directing a short play called English Therapy for the Department, and may be teaching some extra classes in the winter or spring.

Beth is continuing her work for Paul Robinett's Aromatherapy Candles and Renetto, LLC (the canopy chair company). She's coming off a very busy summer, which saw the candles picked up by Bloomingdale's and the the canopy chair featured on Slate.com and MSN.com. However, she is now aided by our good friend Karl Boettcher, who recently left his job at J.P Morgan Chase to become Operations Manager of the candle shop and canopy chair businesses. Nothing like working with your friends! They're now headed into a busy fall and busier holiday season (to give you a sense of it all... 2007 sales have doubled the 2006 numbers nearly every month, so imagine what these upcoming holidays will be like!).

Right now we're still settling in and tweaking the house: doing some landscaping, organizing rooms, throwing things away, setting up the music room (aka the basement). We're looking forward to cooler weather, when we can turn off the AC and put the screen in the front door. We can't wait for mornings of coffee on the front porch, apple picking, pumpkin everything, walks in our new park with Maeby.

Hope everyone's well!

7 copies of book 7!

Don't worry, no spoilers here!

This is my left wrist wrapped in seven wristbands so I could buy seven copies of the seventh and final Harry Potter. Since Beth and I have a membership to Barnes & Noble, I was the appointed one to buy all the copies of the book for ourselves and our friends. Karl and I lined up at 6 p.m. this past Friday to get a wristband for each copy we reserved. Then at midnight we braved the insanity that was the store to buy the books. Only Jessie, Libby, and I waited in the line, while the rest of our crew waited outside. Everyone around us was amused by the wristbands. Once we had the books, the booked it (get it!) for home, and we all spent Saturday secluded from each other reading the book.

Karl and I put together this genealogy of how to buy the books:
1. I called to reserve the books
2. I lined up to get a card
3. I turned in my card to get a wristband
4. I lined up at midnight
5. I used my wristband to get into my group (group 6)
6. I waited till my group was called
7. I lined up near the register to actually buy the book
8. I bought the book

What cracked us up is how many times we lined up to get permission to line up later.

So that's it. Let us know when you're done reading so we can talk about it!

Our ACTUAL New House!

Above is a slideshow of our actual new house! (The previous post about our new house was actually Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. We stopped there with Chip and Marcia on the way back from the Outer Banks.) The vital stats: built 1918, Arts and Crafts style, 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, detached 2-stall garage, living room, dining room, den, awesome kitchen, fenced-in backyard, big front porch. It's in a neighborhood of Columbus called Clintonville. It's northeast of the Ohio State campus, about 3 miles from where we live now. Great family neighborhood. We're two blocks away from a great park, a couple blocks from the highway, and close to grocery stores, restaurants, church, etc.

One quick note: the stuff you see in the house isn't ours - it belongs to the sellers. We took these pictures while doing the home inspection. Our closing date is set for July 29, although our current lease isn't up until September 1st. So we'll spend the month of August packing, painting, and moving in. Should be exciting! We're hiring movers for the big stuff, but if anyone wants to help with smaller boxes or painting or just hanging out at the new place, you're more than welcome! Can't wait for you all to see it!

Outer Banks 2007!

We were very excited to be able to join the Meyer fam down in Avon, North Carolina again this year. We missed it last June, and didn't realize until now how physically, mentally, and spiritually healing the trip down to the beach is. We felt like we earned this year, after graduation, parties, and crazy-busy work! Enjoy!


Our terrible view of the ocean from the house, Captain's Quarters.


Our terrible view of the ocean from the beach.


Beth found an inexpensive inflatable island at Sam's Club that we brought it down this year. Amazingly enough, it survived the wear and tear of vacation. It sat a large number of people, and thus was lots of fun when hit by a wave...


...as exampled here.


Brave Vitaly holding the baby shark he caught while surf fishing.


Dad Meyer and Uncle Ted fishing.


One of the finds this year was the Old Gray House, an early 1800's house on Hatteras Island that's now a gift shop run by an old couple. It's absolutely packed with shells and beach knick-knacks. I don't know how we missed it after all our years down at the shore.


Beth and I trying to capture some publicity shots featuring Paul Robinett candles and the Atlantic Ocean. Hint: waves = unpredictable.

I graduated!

A month ago today I trotted across the field of the Ohio Stadium, my adviser threw a hood over my shoulders, I bolted up the stage, handed my name card to the dean of the Graduate School, glanced to my left to try and see President Bill Clinton and Senator John Glenn, shook hands with OSU President Karen Holbrook (w/my right hand, like we were taught), nabbed my diploma (w/my left hand, like we were taught), and booked it for... well, not the door. I just walked back to my seat.

Yup, that was graduation day. June 10, 2007. After five (!) years (!) of graduate school, including two years of the Master's with Beth, and then three more of the Ph.D. (with Beth as my sugar momma... just kidding she's wonderful and supported me through it all), I went through the above-mentioned ceremony with 6100 fellow graduates of THE Ohio State University. (So I've been permanently branded a Buckeye, I guess.)

I was most blessed by the presence of so many friends and family in the Stadium that day. I could hear them scream when the Dean read my name. I was and have been even more blessed by all the prayers and support throughout the years of graduate school, as well as all the cards and words of encouragement from those who weren't at graduation. A big thank you to everyone.

Like all graduation ceremonies, you sit for a long time and enjoy the proceedings, while your actual moment of glory is fleeting. But that's not bad. I tried to savor every moment of walking across the field, seeing my adviser smiling as he hooded me, shaking his hand, trotting up the stairs to the stage, hearing my name, and meeting President Holbrook ("Good luck!" she told me). It all happened so quickly.

Fortunately, our good friend Kurt "Red Meat" "Out Late" Olmsted, was there with our camera. He snapped enough pictures of the ceremony and the subsequent party that I assembled them into a simple slideshow on YouTube. He took enough just of me walking the field that it works as a small movie. (Thanks, Kurt!) Enjoy!

We bought a house!

Great condition. Historic value. Late 1700's. Eight bedrooms. Twenty acre gardens. Slave quarters.