Babymoon

Last weekend for the long holiday weekend, Mr. Morgan and I packed up the puppies and Claire and headed to Mountville. We left the following morning to take a babymoon before little Hamilton arrives; Dale and Deb watched the little ones all weekend. We returned to Brevard, NC, which is where our honeymoon was. We stayed in the same bed & breakfast, though it was under different ownership and had been completely renovated. We loved the changes!

Though it rained, we had a great, relaxing time away. We met our clan on Monday for lunch, so we could retrieve the puppies and Claire. After lunch we stood in the parking lot saying goodbye: Claire likes to say goodbye and give hugs multiple times before actual departure. She had hugged Mimi three times already, and from the car as we were backing out, she was excitedly waving and saying goodbye to Mimi again. Then she said in an almost adult-like and commentative, rhetorical way, "I just can't get enough can I?"

Obama: The New Bush

Obama as a candidate denounced Bush and his policies ad nauseam. I now find it humorous and ironic that the "change" candidate isn't changing so many of the Bush policies that he declared he'd fix. Armchair quarterbacking is easy; however, actually being "in the game" and responsible for a country is proving difficult for Obama to keep all his campaign promises.

This Washington Post article lists a few of the big changes Obama promised yet hasn't delivered. While I'm glad Obama has flip-flopped about several of the Bush policies, it would be nice to get an acknowledgement that Bush and his policies weren't as bad as Obama once told us they were.

The genius of democracy is that the rotation of power forces the opposition to come to its senses when it takes over. When the new guys, brought to power by popular will, then adopt the policies of the old guys, a national consensus is forged and a new legitimacy established.

Section C

For the weekend, we packed our bags and headed up to Mountville. Friday night Mr. Morgan and I attended a fun wedding shower for some good friends. Claire stayed with Mimi and Pops for the evening, and when we got back from the shower, Deb had a story to share:

At dinner we were talking about the baby, and Claire matter-of-factly said, "Gray could have a section C."

So I asked and corrected, "Do you know what a C-section is?" Claire responded that it's when the doctors have to take the baby out of the momma instead of having a baby normally.

Then Claire said, "Now tell me what happens with the other two sections." Holding back my laughter, I explained that "C-section" was short for Cesarean and not a third option to sections A and B.

Failed Experiment

Mr. Morgan loves stove-popped popcorn nearly every night. The puppies also love to have popcorn: They both get so excited when they hear the clanking of the pot and especially the first pops. I'll try to capture some video of the next time we pop. We always give them a few kernels before we sit down to watch a movie or show from Netflix. Some nights in anticipation Pheobe will stand or sit in the kitchen alone--even in the dark--waiting for Mr. Morgan to go into the kitchen and start the popcorn.

Well, last week we turned on a Law & Order episode from our Netflix queue, and unprovoked Phoebe ran into the kitchen expecting popcorn. Mr. Morgan thought immediately that she had heard the theme music to the show, and like Pavlov's dog had learned to associate the distinct music with her beloved popcorn snack.

The experimenter in Mr. Morgan was intrigued. To investigate, the last two nights we've sat on the couch and started a Law & Order show just to see if Pheobe would get up from her slumber and scamper into the kitchen. However, she has not budged. I think that makes her a free spirit, marching to her own drumbeat and proving she can't be manipulated by normal means.

Awkward Family Photos

This site has only been available for two months, and it's already popular. Definitely check it out for a good laugh.

Patio Progress

We've been pining away, planning, and saving to build a patio in our backyard pretty much since we moved in. The grass nearest to our house doesn't grow well, and lots of junk has collected there over the past nearly 3 years. The dirt and weeds were about to drive us crazy, and the dogs were constantly tracking in dirt.

Well, this past weekend we finally did it! The patio's not finished completely, but a huge chunk is done.

Dale and Deb with their expert tools and never-ending help came to Charleston last minute to help, which was exactly what we needed. I was not nearly as much help as I would have liked to have been, but I did the best I could with the belly restrictions. Both Mr. Morgan and I have sore, tired muscles, but we're happy with the patio progress. I'll post more working photos in a subsequent post.

Videoing the Birth

For our second childbirthing class, I was eager and anxious to see what Female Dwight had in store for us. There were fewer seats this week, so we ended up sitting right behind her and her husband. I think the instructor was prepared for her stories and anecdotes this week, and she didn't dominate the class this week as she had done previously.

Halfway through the class, the instructor told us that most doctors don't like for the birth to be captured on video. While I've never thought of doing this, I can understand that doctors wouldn't want the liability if something goes wrong. When the instructor made the statement against videoing the entire birth, Female Dwight laughed and replied "Tough noogies." I'm not sure where that saying came from, but I don't care for it.

Embrace the Paleness

I have fair skin, and I've learned to enjoy it. These celebrities and politicans need to heed my motto. Repeat after me: Embrace the paleness.

Gettin' Your Character

Our good friends Robert and JaiLynne just had a little baby boy back in March. He's a cute, little thing, and it's been fun to see him grow over the last few weeks.

Claire asked tonight at dinner, "So, has little West gotten his character yet?"

Mr. Morgan smiled, holding back a snicker, and I asked, "What do you mean exactly?"

"You know, has he changed so that he doesn't look like every other little baby?"

Morning Walk

On Monday mornings I've been walking with several other moms in the neighborhood. Since I don't have a need for my stroller yet, I usually take the dogs along. Claire came with me several weeks ago when it was her spring break week, though no other moms met us because rain was threatening.

Tonight at dinner I mentioned that I had walked this morning. Claire, in an interested, adult-sounding voice, said, "Oh right, how was your walk this morning with the ladies?"

Childbirthing Awareness

Last night Mr. Morgan and I attended our first of four childbirthing awareness classes offered at the hospital where we'll be delivering. Our teacher was great; she was completely self-effacing, warm, friendly, and completely without shame or apology for her life story, her appearance, or her subject matter. There were probably 20 other couples in the class with us, and most of us are due in June and July.

One mother-to-be in the class was interesting: She talked a lot, and volunteered lots of information about her experiences. Mr. Morgan said it was like she was drinking--the further into the class we got, the more frequently she shared anecdotes and the longer her sharing times became. As we rode home and I thought about all the things she said throughout the class, I decided she is a female "Dwight."

After our breathing exercises, Female Dwight told us she'd have no trouble breathing during the pain of labor because of her "six years of meditation." She then volunteered that she'd had "leg trauma." I think we were to assume that her leg trauma would help her breathe through pain. She also mentioned her martial arts experiences, saying "My martial arts instructor is always getting on to me about this and that."

When we discussed the uncomfortable symptoms of pregnancy, everyone shouted out some examples: swollen feet, heartburn, trouble sleeping, etc. Female Dwight said she had really bad heartburn, and that her mother said it was because she was short. The teacher conceded having a short torso could possibly make heartburn a bit worse. Then Female Dwight said, "I'm five-foot-two. He's six-foot-one (thumbs to the right at her husband). You do the math."

My Baby Shower

My two best friends from college, Julie and Kelly, threw me a delightful baby shower on Saturday, 2 May. Since Kelly lives in Charleston, she hosted the shower at her house. Lots of my church friends and friends from my previous job came, and it was so much fun! Jules and Kel outdid themselves with the gourmet food. As I had suspected she would, Kelly served delicious cupcakes from Cupcake downtown. I've been to Cupcake with her before, and I think it's her favorite place that serves food. And, I can understand why because the cupcakes are out-of-this-world good. Dale and Deb came down for the day with Grandma, and Mr. Morgan's mom Judy was also here for the weekend. So all of little Hamilton's female family members were able to celebrate with us at his baby shower.

Claire was also able to come to the shower, though she had to be convinced that she'd enjoy it even with no other kids being there. So she found the next best thing: Jules's dog Maggie. She wore Maggie out as only Claire can while fully entertaining herself.

New Car

My new car comes today--well, a new-to-me car. Ever since Mr. Morgan and I got engaged, I've been driving his Mazda 626; and he's been primarily driving my Explorer which was part of my dowry, according to Mr. Morgan. Both vehicles have over 100,000 miles, so we've been knowing we'd want a newer vehicle for over a year now. We bought our Ford Freestyle from an online dealer, and Dale and Deb picked it up for us in Easley, SC, this week. Since they're driving down today for my baby shower, they're bringing us the car. I'll post pictures once it arrives.

UPDATE: Yesterday I had the Freestyle detailed, since it was pretty dirty when I got it. It now looks almost brand-new, and I'm loving the way it drives. I was able to get the puppies to pose for a picture with the car tonight without too much finagling.

Remapping Across the Pond

An airline from the Islamist State of the U.K. has literally wiped Israel off the map.

Bankruptcy for Chrysler

While it's a pity that Chrysler has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after more than 80 years of business, what's more pitiful is the President's chastising the hedge funds for putting the interests of their investors before the interests of their debtor. Makes me want to invest with Oppenheimer Funds.

Admiring George W.

The Dalai Lama admires President Bush, and so do other "positive" people.