Best Early Birthday Present EVER

I got a message on my phone weeks ago from someone I didn't know but whose area code was unmistakably from Utah. She said I was to reserve a particular weekend in January to stay in town, prepare our guest room, and don't ask questions. I was perplexed, intrigued. But with planning to leave for Christmas and everything that went with that, it slipped my mind. I figured that with no more notice or clues, it probably wouldn't end up being anything.

I think I mentioned it to Ted during our 3 weeks in Utah, but I'm not sure.

Sleep deprivation does many awful things to one's brain and body.

Then after we were back, I got a letter with no return address, postmarked Salt Lake City. In it was the same instruction, all typed out.

So mysterious!!!

As the day approached (and I told the news to Ted), we tried to figure out just who it could be. It had to be someone who knows I love (LOVE) surprises, but who would also have the gall to just tell me to be ready for, well, any ol' shmo.

But shmoes they were not! At the stroke of midnight Thursday night, there was a knock on my door and I opened it to behold....

THIS TRIO!!

I didn't get a picture of their arrival because I was too busy picking up my jaw off the floor. My bestest college friends all left their husbands and multiple children with babysitters and carpools and pre-made meals so they could hop on a couple of planes and fly all day to see me. I'm still shocked over it all.

Like all bestest college friends, we didn't have to do much to have a grand weekend. We ordered pizza, watched The Notebook, played Speed Scrabble and Mexican Train, made deep-dish cookies and grilled cheese sandwiches. And we laughed and laughed and laughed!

Amid the cacophony, we did manage to get out of the house for a little sightseeing, hence the Duke Chapel in the background and the grand doors below. There was someone practicing a most incredible organ in the Chapel while we were there, and Shannon, a rather fab organist herself, was in heaven. I, however, was in heaven the whole weekend and still haven't been brought down.

Shan, Val, Ker-dog, thank you so much for your many sacrifices to fly across the country to grant me a most fabulous few days. I heart you guys!

5/12ths of the way through

Now that Ted's almost halfway through this semester, I thought I'd post the 2010 version of the first day of school. Dean's very proud of his daddy, and has the outfit to prove it. Our own blue devil's threads came in the mail courtesy of Christy, who refashioned it from her husband's pre-loved t-shirt. Apparently, she's had the shirt in her stash for years, waiting for the perfect project for it, then along came our mutual friend's tutorial on making a newborn gown from a t-shirt, and then her absolute best friend in the whole wide world (moi) makes a move to NC because her husband chose Duke. Then they had another baby. It was like the stars aligned. I put him in this gown constantly. I loves.

And here's the 2009 version of the absolute First day of law school, which I don't think I ever got around to posting last year.

We were still homesick, hence the Caltech gear. Also, we're not on the same page as many Southerners here, who have half their closets full of North Carolina college gear the second their lease is signed. It's nuts.

For next year's first day of school, there will not be an additional child. But perhaps we can have both our current ones in the same photo. I forget there was a time when there was only ONE roll in Tessa's thighs.

Pep Rallies: They're not just for High School Anymore

I think I remember enjoying high school pep rallies, but I'm not sure. Sometimes it was fun to see what the ASB had cooked up for a skit, it was always amusing to watch our hoochie cheerleaders with their latest booty-bumping choreography, and if there was some sort of court for some sort of dance, I enjoyed looking at the male eye candy. Never cared for the dates on their arms, but teenage boys cleaned up in suits, you betcha.

However, I was usually playing in the band for said pep rallies, so... you may understand why I say I think I remember enjoying them.

But this one was totally different. The day after Duke took the title of NCAA champs in Men's Basketball, the campus was a-flurry and they quickly set up a "Welcome Home" rally-type pep thing. I was going to go swimming at our complex pool since it was pushing 90, but a friend talked me into going. I guess it was a good thing, too, because the only Duke blue shirt I have is a maternity shirt, so it forced me to finally pull THOSE things out again. (It used to be my Dodger blue shirt, but look what a cross-country move makes you do - change loyalties.) But honestly, the event turned out to be much more cool (as in "hip" or "rad" or "groovy", not temp-wise) than I thought it would be. I texted Ted to join me, but some mean ol' professor had him in a mandatory meeting right through the whole thing. It was like Christmas on campus (as in "exciting" or "anticipatory" or "pine-scented", not temp-wise), yet there were Scrooges keeping their Bob Cratchits clustered away in air-conditioned classrooms. Meanies.

Don't know what kind it is, but I stopped mid-stroller-push to stare at this Pinky-Burst tree. The business school is right behind.

This was the scene upon entering - scoreboard was set to the final score of the championship game, and they were replaying the entire 40 minutes from the night before. Every once in a while they'd cut to the news coverage of the team landing at the nearby airport, getting on buses, and traveling back to campus. Each cut to the live transport was accompanied by raucous applause. Southerners and their sports... Gotta love 'em. Yes, I totally joined in.

The disgusting aftermath of the haul up the hill in humid 90-degree weather, pregnant, pushing a fat baby. The only redeeming quality is the nice rack I'm a-sportin'. Go, girl!

If you didn't watch the game, shame on you, but if you did, you know that it was a nail-biter right to the end. Even the last seconds were filled with stomach-churning agony as we watched that last half-court shot get so close to completely changing the outcome. So when that scene replayed on the scoreboard, the entire stadium erupted in cheers as if it had just happened, and amidst all that cheering, the team walked in. NICE TIMING, WHOEVER WAS IN CHARGE OF THAT.

The illustrious and now more decorated Coach K, saying some very kind words (sans crazy game eyebrows and pursy lips) about his team:

And...the very cute and very charming and very kind Jon Scheyer. He was one of the seniors who just said a few words of thanks to everyone. They all kept it nice and short and sweet and grateful - not cocky at all, so it was right up my alley.

And while I was caught up in all the hullabaloo, this was the scene just below me.

You'd think I never fed the girl. Her thighs say otherwise.

Gotcha, little girl. Step (crawl) away from the animal crackers...

You pay attention when history is being made! Or else!

Blue Devils are National Champions in 2010!!!

This 90-degree day was gorgeous, pollen-filled, and fruitful!

As Ted's first year of law school comes to its final weeks, we have found ourselves totally devoted to the NCAA basketball outcome. Of course, we have a slightly more vested interest than if he had chosen to go to University of Michigan.

We invited ourselves over to our friends' house - they're both avid fans, and even though John has been a bball junkie lately, he wasn't there to watch it with us and his wife Melanie (who made some slammin black bean salsa). Because he WON TICKETS to be there in Indianapolis!! This guy gets all the luck - it's pretty uncanny. He paid 25 bucks and got tickets to both semifinals and the National Championship game. He graduates law school in a month, and from his phone call after Duke won a thrilling final game, it was the icing on his illustrious law school cake. I mean, career.

To further cheer on the team, I stopped in "the Jelly Belly aisle" of our local Target to purchase this: coconut, french vanilla, black licorice, and plum. NO blueberry - you know how we feel about those.



(When I got home I noticed on the receipt that instead of charging me the $7/lb for the things, the cashier typed in the wrong PLU and only charged me the $0.57/lb banana rate. It must have happened because Tess was distracting her with her flirty "hiiiiiii!" which obviously turned our cashier into butter. Sheesh, it works on me every day.)

So with treats a-plenty, a crawling one-year old who threatened to push any and all buttons on the TV, and some old school recording of the game onto VHS, we witnessed history being made, cheering the Blue Devils along in our Duke blue. Hey, I'm 22 weeks pregnant. It was the only correctly-colored shirt I could muster.

And then Tessa's poop diaper leaked onto my white pants. Thanks, girl. Go Duke!

ps - You know you have kids when your team wins at midnight and you have to celebrate with "silent screams".

1/12 of the way through

The GIVEAWAY is still going on until midnight tonight! Leave a comment! Winner is posted tomorrow!

Celebrations are in order because Ted is officially through the first twelfth of his law school semesters. Am I seriously counting in twelfths? H yes.

He's having a long-term affair with this building, but he doesn't know I know.

You wouldn't guess it from this picture, but Tessa barely recognizes him anymore. She shrieks her head off whenever he tries to hold her now. And I'm kidding. She does make sure I'm nearby though. It's kinda cute. For me.

Couldn't resist this one. The constantly changing sky makes for some incredible scenery day in and day out.

As far as "how he's doing", there's really no way to tell until he takes his finals in December. The entire class grade is based only on the final, so I won't see him at all after Thanksgiving. Two good signs, though, are that he understands everything he's reading and the information actually blows his skirt up. So that's good!

First Day of Law School

Ted began his law school classes almost a month ago. What's my problem? Well, the answer is along the lines of "where do I begin?", so for now, I'll mention that my main one is procrastination.

Ted had a whole week to prepare for his first day of orientation, which lasted for the entire week preceding the first day of real classes. Since our movers got our stuff to our apartment one hour after we signed the lease and picked up our keys, most of that week was spent unpacking and organizing, which was great. He didn't have time to dwell on the harrowing times ahead.

He was given his first class assignment DURING ORIENTATION, due the following Monday. This is no syllabus-and-class-rules first day of school, people. The man was reading and writing all weekend and all Sunday night and into the wee hours of Monday morning in order to finish the assignment before he ever sat in a real class. I felt so bad for him when he crawled into bed at 4am and then right back out at 6:30. Where's the "justice" in that, law people?? He had a long and grueling day, so I made sure to dress Tessa in an outfit to help him remember his roots and bring a smile to his face when he came home. That and a kickin' dinner. Good food heals all ills.

So you'll understand why Tessa is adorable in this picture and Ted looks totally wiped out.

The good thing about writing about this a month later is that I can report that despite being a little nervous after the first day, Ted has handled classes pretty well thus far. He has only overslept once (but because of my mad California driving skillz, he only got to class two minutes late), hasn't missed a class session, and has diligently read all his assignments (and actually understands them, which is another matter entirely). He has found time to spend with his little family every day and every weekend, so all is peachy here in the south. Well, not ALL. We could do with friends and family coming to visit..