Our New Addition

For the last week or two of Ali’s pregnancy we spent every day wondering if today was going to be the day. Not knowing turned us into loonies as we began trolling the universe looking for signs. Our car was nearing the 100k-mile mark. As the miles passed by, the odometer screamed increasingly louder – signaling to me the impending reality: Baby’s on the way.

Eventually, 100,000 miles came and went. Our best guess came and went. Baby’s due date came and went.

The 283^rd day of the pregnancy (40 weeks 3 days) was a Sunday. At this point, we felt like we were on borrowed time. Which meant that both Ali and I were working lots of extra hours and trying our best to get ahead of our workload and put ourselves in a good position to take extended leave.

Ali was doing email at the computer desk and I on the couch round about 5p when she turned to me and said, “my stomach doesn’t feel real well.” And that was it: the beginning of labor. We didn’t know it yet but we were in for an exciting night.

Around 6p, Ali still wasn’t feeling well but the feeling would come and go. She was the first one to wonder aloud, “do you think this is…labor?” I’m not 100% sure, but I’m pretty sure I responded dismissively from behind my Outlook, “Darlin’, if it were labor, there would be no mistaking it.” Then, back to my email. Ha! My bad!

By 7p, there was no mistaking it. We settled-in and waited for the one thing that I clearly recall from the parenting classes: 5-1-1. Money well spent! At 1a we called the doctor and doula. The doctor said, “how’s about you bring her into the hospital and we’ll try to figure out what’s going on.” I wondered quietly to myself, “they didn’t teach how to interpret these symptoms in medical school?”

Labor bag? Check. Overnight bag? Check. Clean the house so that Matthew will be comfortable while dog-sitting? Umm…not so much. Very sorry about that one, Matthew. But thanks for taking care of Jake!

It was pouring rain on our way to the hospital. We walked from the parking garage to the emergency room and stopped twice for contractions. Once we got into the emergency room, no one had to say a word. They just smiled knowingly and pointed towards the Labor wing.

Ali was a champ. All. Labor. Long.

I can’t sit in one position on the couch for more than 30 minutes. Ali held terribly awkward positions for 4x that long and by the time Baby arrived at 7:42am on Monday, April 20^th, I was convinced that balancing upright on epidural-ed legs is her superhuman power.

Baby weighed-in at 7lbs 11oz. We haven’t made the final decision on his name so he’ll have to be “Baby Mills” for a little bit longer.

Shortly thereafter, the new mom, the new dad and their new baby were moved into a Mother/Baby Room. Our emotions were all over the place (in a very good way). By this time the rain had stopped and the sun was welcoming all of us to a new day and the next chapter of our lives.

It turns out the it's a slow day in the Labor & Delivery Unit (and that news travels fast). The nurses and doctors have been pouring into our room to see and hold the adorable new baby with red hair. :-)

VB-Day Weekend 2014

I married a Valentine’s baby. Meaning that Wifey and I have two reasons to celebrate in the middle of February. We opted for a weekend getaway to Bodega Bay to ensure the occasion received it’s due.  Bodega Bay is a popular destination for city dwellers like us.  It’s only 1.5 hrs north of SF along the CA coast, promises awesome views of the Pacific, and plenty of quiet little things to do.

One of my favorite things was visiting the Potter Schoolhouse.  This was one of the film locations for “The Birds.” Here’s what it looked like in1963 and here’s what it looks like today.

On the East Coast, an ocean view means that you get spectacular sunrises (as long as you get out of bed before dawn).  On the West Coast, however, sunset is on the menu and we had front row seats to the show. I took some video of the sunset from our deck – don’t watch it for the sunset though…watch it for the last two seconds in the 30 second clip.  During the last two seconds of the video, Jake sees deer come into the yard and TAKES OFF.  While you won’t see the deer or Jake, you can hear Ali start to react. Fortunately, the recording ends before the dialogue hits R rated levels.

The deer outran Jake...this time.  We didn’t see the deer in our yard again.

Anyone Can be Cool, But Awesome Takes Practice

Happy Birthday David!  Thank you for being awesome, and not just cool.

Love, Wifey and Puppy

Memorial Box

I kept a red rose from the spray that was placed over Dad’s casket.  As February approached, I put pencil to paper and designed a memorial box for Dad.  Since then, the project has been in various states of progress.  Finding a woodshop wasn’t easy but I finally got connected to the Eliot School.  From there, it was the basic woodworking class and finally private lessons.  I was extremely happy to find a capable guide in my basic woodworking instructor.  Jeff and I worked on the box for three days.  The first day was about construction planning and milling.  On the second day, we made most of the cuts.  The third day was reserved for hardware and final assembly.  After a lot of effort (and learning), the memorial box is complete!

Actually, I built two boxes.  One memorial box and one…don’t know yet.  The memorial box is built from reclaimed barn lumber (pine) on account of the strength required and imperfections exposed while absorbing the weathers of our world.  I left the exterior of the box untouched to preserve the metaphor.  The lumber came from a place outside of the city.  Selecting the wood is a critically important step.  If the wood is too cracked, bowed, warped, or damaged…then the whole construction will fail.  You can see below just how confident I really was.

The centerpiece of the shadow box is the rose from Dad’s casket spray.  He used to wear a suit and tie to work every day of the week.  All of his ties were styled in the vein of corporate conservatism.  I’m willing to bet that he only ever purchased one more tie after he left that line of work.  That tie is the backdrop for the rose centerpiece.  There’s also a small hidden compartment behind the upholstered shelf which is a perfect store for a few mementos.

I feel fortunate to have designed, constructed, and completed the memorial box (on Dad’s birthday nonetheless!).  Clearly, I could not have completed the box on my own.  I got some excellent help along the way.  I found that this was a project that resonated with a lot of people; men especially.  From the folks at the lumber yard, to the guys at the hardware store, to Jeff the woodworking guru…everyone took the time to verbalize their sympathy AND appreciation for, get this, allowing them to contribute to the memorial project.  It’s warming and astounding to hear that someone else was honored to participate.

Lake Placid Vacation Domination

This just in: Nantucket no longer #1 destination for Ali and David!  That's right, Lake Placid Lodge has replaced Nantucket atop our list of favorite vacation destinations.  It's been a hard fought battle, but we've fallen for the vistas and variety of LPL.

This year's b-day gift to Wifey was a surprise four days and three nights at LPL with the pup(!).  It's our second trip here.  When we visited during the summer, we stayed in the suites. This time around, we rented a cabin because those are the only rooms where dogs are allowed.  We were fortunate enough to get upgraded to Owl's Head, the most private of the lake front cabins.

We both took a vacation day on Friday.  After a delicious husband made b-day breakfast, I delivered the news.  After a brief freakout, our bags got packed and we were on our way west (and north).  Four and a half hours later, we were checking in. We spent some time kibitzing with the welcome committee who were kind enough to give Jake water and a few treats.  We didn't get any snow accumulation while we were there but there was more than enough for us to enjoy it with Jake. He loves playing in the snow so this was a perfect trip for him.

It was very difficult for us to leave on Monday. And even more difficult for me to go into the office on Tuesday. We're already planning our return visit. Next time we plan to stay in the lodge so that we will have experienced each type of room.  Stay tuned for some more posts about the weekend details!