Where To Find Us

It has been almost a year and a half since the last post on this blog. We all joined Facebook and left Blogspot behind. A few of us have found other blogging homes since then:


Sarah shares her adventures in motherhood with a big dose of humor on http://alittlewhineandcheese.com/.


Kelly hasn't blogged in a while but she showcases her creative side on http://kslife.wordpress.com/.


And I am just figuring out the direction I want my blog to take at http://twinklingofani.blogspot.com/.


We hope you'll come visit at us at our personal blogs. And maybe someday we'll all come back to visit Apartment 5B.

Happy birthday, Kelly!

Happy birthday, dear friend! Sorry I'm just now getting around to posting this. Seems we've moved most of the action over to Facebook. Hope you had a wonderful day! We expect a full report of the festivities.

Testicular cancer, schmesticular schmancer

5/12/2009: I have been waiting for several weeks to be able to post this. I am so happy to announce that I am going to be an aunt again. (For those keeping track at home, that's three similar announcements in 18 months, all different parents.) Anyway, this time it is my brother Robbie and his wife Jenni. Most of you will remember that Robbie had testicular cancer 2 years ago at this time. He had surgery to remove the affected testicle and then went through 9 weeks of chemotherapy, so even though tests indicated he would probably be able to have kids naturally, it wasn't guaranteed. 

Jenni is due around December 1st. They heard a strong heartbeat at the doctor's office today. And we are so excited to meet little Rubik (their nickname for the baby until they find out the sex - more on that in a month or two so stay tuned).

5/14/2009 Update: Here is a link to Jenni's version of the story, which I suppose is the one that matters most. Also, since Robbie posted this information as his Facebook profile I guess I can share. If I have a niece, she will be called Ruby Mae. If I have a nephew, he will be Maverick Russell. As in, "I'm Charlotte Blackwood." "I'm Maverick." "Maverick?? Did your mother not like you or something?" "No, it's my call sign." "Oh, you're a pilot!" "That's right, a naval aviator."

Today is Etsy Day!

A group of Etsy sellers got together and declared today, April 24, as ETSY DAY. Don't know what Etsy is? Etsy is an "online marketplace for buying & selling all things handmade." Clothes, toys, craft patterns, leather goods, candles, jewelry, papergoods, art prints, you name it, someone on Etsy is creating it. And it is a spectacular website for finding one-of-a-kind and even customized gifts. Mother's Day is just around the corner, after all. My Etsy ID is johannai if you want to check out some of my favorites, such as...

- Bookplates by oiseaux
- Mobiles by spindesigns and SaltyandSweet
- Jewelry by hazelnutcottage
- Accessories by kailochic, hollystalder, moxieandoliver, redrubyrose, awcombes and post
- Shadow puppets by orangemoontoys
- Polynesian items by islandcostumes, KaLimaNanea, solcreations1, and ohanabylea
- Wall Art by wardomatic, lindsayart, kellyrae, irenesuchocki, yellena, Geninne and elloh
- Party and cake decorating supplies by HeyYoYo and LayerCakeShop
- Gifts for moms and kids by shutthefrontdoor

I could go on and on. Do you have a favorite? Tell us about it in the comments.

Jumping the Shark

I thought the term was ubiquitous but since I've had several questions as to what my last post was about I thought I'd provide a primer.

From wikipedia:

Jumping the shark is a colloquialism coined by Jon Hein and used by TV critics and fans to denote that point in a TV show or movie series' history where the plot veers off into absurd story lines or out-of-the-ordinary characterizations, particularly for a show with falling ratings apparently becoming more desperate to draw viewers in. In the process of undergoing these changes, the TV or movie series loses its original appeal. Shows that have "jumped the shark" are typically deemed to have passed their peak.

So to give an example, many people think that Moonlighting jumped the shark when Maddie and David finally hooked up. And Jon and I just had a discussion about at what point The Cosby Show jumped. He says it was when Olivia was added - I say it was the addition of Pam. The Jump The Shark website is no more but you can still get the book from Amazon. Hope that helps. What are you favorite, or most frustrating, jump the shark moments?

Uh-oh...

Did My Boys just jump the shark? Your thoughts in the comments, please.

This is a test.

This is only a test.  A test to see if I can type an entire post with one hand. Not so fun. I am almost ashamed to explain why I have to do this. Yesterday morning I tripped over Ray on our morning walk. I put my arms out straight in front of me to try to avoid crushing the dog and knew immediately that I was hurt. Jon couldn't leave work right away so I got Ray home and my parents met me there to take me to the E.R. (Don't any doctors' offices have Saturday hours? I couldn't find one.) I guess it's just a sprain - the x-rays were clear - but wow, does it hurt. It's pretty frustrating not to be able to do simple things like put my hair in a ponytail but I should be feeling better by the end of the week. Which is good, since we are going to Seattle to visit my sister-in-law Rachel on Thursday. I very much hope we have this flight attendant on our trip.

Happy Birthday Jo!

Music Survey

Greg posted a fun music survey over on Bloggy McBloggerson. 

Happy birthday, Megan!

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

To all my girls at Apt. 5b. My love for you transcends language:

Je t'aime
Te amo
Ya ti-bya lyu blyu
Ani o hev ot cha
I love you

The sounds are all as different
As the lands from which they came
And though the words are all unique
Our hearts are still the same

Love in any language
Straight from the heart
Pulls us all together
Never apart
And once we learn to speak it
All the world will hear
Love in any language
Fluently spoken here

We teach the young our differences
Yet look how we're the same
We love to laugh, to dream our dreams
We know the sting of pain

From Leningrad to Lexington
The farmer loves his land
And daddies all get misty-eyed
To give their daughter's hand

Oh maybe when we realize
How much there is to share
We'll find too much in common
To pretend it isn't there

Love in any language
Straight from the heart
Pulls us all together
Never apart
And once we learn to speak it
All the world will hear
Love in any language
Fluently spoken here

Tho' the rehtoric of government
May keep us worlds apart
There's no misinterpreting
The language of the heart

Love in any language
Straight from the heart
Pulls us all together
Never apart
And once we learn to speak it
All the world will hear
Love in any language
Fluently spoken here

Happy birthday, Heather!!!

We love you and can't wait to see you! We're so glad you're finally here at Apt 5B with us!

An Update on Kelly

I'm sure you were all missing me terribly. To set the scene for my come back post, I'd like you to know I am wearing, of course, my reindeer pajamas (see my facebook profile if you need a visual), my new slippers and my new leopard scarf. I think I look very dashing, plus my parents' house is very cold.

Let's see, I've promised an update on my life. We'll start with the disturbing news - my parents have celebrity crushes. I just think this is very weird to hear my sixty something parents discussing these crushes. I mean, The Office will never be the same for me now that my dad has declared Angela "sexy." And my mom likes Fritz from The Closer. I know you are glad to know this.

So I have had a series of baking tragedies lately. It's almost ended my will to bake. I really blame Martha Stewart for this. She has led me to believe that I had the ability to do these things, which I obviously don't. For my homeroom I decided to make cupcakes. Chocolate with chocolate chips. They ended up tasting an awful lot like sawdust with wood chips. Rather than starting over again, I decided that frosting would solve all my problems. Only the frosting turned out too runny and hot pink (no, 17 drops of "red" food coloring is clearly NOT enough to make red icing). I left my sad little cakes on the counter for the night and when I woke up there was icing all over my kitchen and very little on my cakes. You know you're in bad shape when high school boys won't eat it... and that's exactly what happened. I had to throw them all away in shame.

But that is nothing compared to what happened when I tried to make marshmallows. Trust me, just buy jet puffed next time, no matter what Martha tells you, they are NOT easy. It started with a large amount of smoke and ended with a half hour of me scraping burned sugar off the range with a razor blade. In the middle it involved this taffy like substance getting all over my hair, clothes, hands, etc. We finally managed to scrape about half into a pan praying they would rise like loaves of bread and be the perfect marshmallowey consistency. Of coure this did not happen and we ended up using our concoction to make rice krispy treats. Ironically, this song played on the radio during our escapade.

I'm not even going to tell you what happened to the cheesecake I made when my sister and her new boyfriend came over for dinner. Some things are just too embarassing to put on the internet.

There are many more wild and exciting things going on with me, but I think I need to give you all a chace to process all this excitement so that I don't overwhelm you.

Pre-Christmas Post

The New York Times had an article this week about how people are turning to crafty and handmade gifts this year in an effort to save money and personalize Christmas. I did that as well, but instead of making the gifts myself, I shopped on etsy.com, "an online marketplace for buying and selling all things handmade." I figured we are close enough to the present opening that I can give a shout out to the artists I purchased from without giving anything away.

Art from kellyrae

Art from lindsayart

Address labels and stickers from SimplyEmbellish

T-shirt and onesies from phippsart

Baby accessories from hushboutique

Christmas Shopping

So for anyone out there that still needs a Christmas gift for a little girl (or maybe even a big girl), check out these auctions on eBay. There are 7 beautiful dolls available, handmade by Alicia Paulson. They are similar to the pattern in her new book Stitched In Time. Each one benefits a different organization such as World Vision or the Red Cross. But hurry, there are only 35 hours left. Here's the full scoop, including a little background for each of the girls pictured below. Happy bidding!

A New Way of Life

We've been dog parents for 3 weeks now and except for a few small bumps in the road, it has been really nice. Jon's new favorite time of day is his morning walk with Ray. (Should I be jealous?) I look around the apartment and think of how much we've altered our schedules and space to accommodate our little one. We've rearranged our bedroom to make room for a soft crate and we've given up some valuable real estate on the first floor for a gigantic food and water bowl, a fluffy bed, a metal crate, a baby gate to guard the stairs, and toy box. We eat at our table now instead of on the couch - it's bar height so it makes it hard for Ray to beg - and we snack standing up at the counter which is probably better for us because we don't eat as much. 

This time of year, Jon works a lot of extra hours and it can be a little lonely around the house so I am really enjoying having a companion to hang out with and take care of. We talk on the phone just as much as always but now there is always a dog report involved: where Ray was walked, for how long, was he good on the leash, did he do something naughty or incredibly cute. I told Jon that eventually this won't be so new and we'll go back to talking about other things. I imagine this is exactly what it's like to have a new baby, right down to getting up in the middle of the night to take him outside. (Thankfully, we're over that.)

By the way, Ray is not 7 months as we were originally told. He's probably somewhere between 12 and 18 months, so he is about as big as he's going to get. He might fill out a bit but he's definitely on the small side for a lab. That's fine with us. And we found a phenomenal vet right down the street since we can't take him to Houston every time he needs shots or has the sniffles.

Not long after we got Ray we also realized that we have more cable than we thought we were paying for. Until we sort it out, we are enjoying ESPN, TLC, Animal Panet, and National Geographic. We've watched all of the recent episodes of Dog Whisperer (that Cesar Millan is a genius), It's Me Or The Dog, Dog Town, Whale Wars, and What Not To Wear (Marianna's story is my favorite). Kristy, if you'd go to work for the Houston SPCA I could watch you on TV. That would be cool.

As for Cesar Millan's show, it always bugs me that he hangs out in Vegas, Los Angeles, and Arizona - very sunny, hot places - and he and has trainees never wear sunglasses. Random, yes, but it is a problem for me almost everytime I watch. Has anyone else noticed this?

Not much else going on here. Just keeping our eyes on this situation. Will let you know if there's any news.

These eyes get me every time.

Happy birthday, Katie!

Hope you found a fun way to celebrate. We love you!!!

Placeholder

This post is just a placeholder until we get vital stats, but Megan had babies last night. Big ones. If you're keeping score at home, that's 4 boys. Five, if you count Todd, and I guess we should. As soon as we get some vital stats, we'll post them. And hopefully Megan or Todd can stop by briefly and post a picture (or two). Yay for new babies!

Introducing...

Ray LaMontagne Iwaszkowiec
approximately 7 months old
51 pounds, about 28 inches tall

What I Didn't Expect While Expecting

There's a classic pregnancy book called What to Expect When Expecting, and I thought I'd share a few of the things I didn't expect during this third pregnancy. Not all though, as some are truly gross and embarrassing.

1. The stares - I don't go out much anymore. There are two main reasons - it takes up too much energy and people stare and then talk about me as I'm going by. Yes, I know my belly is big and I'm waddling, but could you be a little more discreet?

2. The breathing - I no longer breathe through my nose, as I need lots of oxygen with each breath. So I am now a loud mouth-breather. Also, if I stand up, I am out of breath. If I walk 15 steps to the kitchen, I sound like I just ran a 5k.

3. The heat - with two babies, my metabolism is extra high (it's worse than being pregnant in South Florida). That means that even though it's 30 degrees outside today, the heaters are not turned on. Todd goes to bed with two layers of clothes and three layers of blankets. I go to bed with shorts, t-shirt, cold water, and a fan blowing on me all night.

4. The size - I am wearing a lot of size medium workout/fleece pants that I wore pre-pregnancy (woohoo!!), coupled with XL and XXL pregnancy shirts. And they're still not completely covering me. At church a few weeks ago a friend's husband was talking to Todd. Here's what he said. "So I guess I haven't seen Megan in a while. WOW."

5. The numbness - my hands are continually numb (even while I'm trying to type this they are falling asleep). I have developed pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel syndrome. My hands must hang over the edge of the bed/couch at night in order to not fall asleep.

6. The morning sickness - typically morning sickness ends around the start of the second trimester (about 14 weeks in). My morning sickness began April 5th (it was at the zoo and I predicted that I must be pregnant) and hasn't let up.

7. The thirst - I drink about 3/4 gallon of milk and easily over 64 oz. of water daily. Combine that with 11 lbs. resting on the bladder, and that's another reason why I don't get out that much! I leave the bathroom and sometimes turn around and go right back in.

8. The food - with twins, I have the pleasant task of eating as much protein and calcium as possible. That means a HUGE bowl of ice cream each night (it is for the babies, of course) and ordering steak whenever possible. I'm supposed to consume a lot of iron as well, with the suggestion of eating liver, but gladly will take the little iron vitamin instead. This is the only time in my life where the experts want me to eat more protein than fruits/vegetables and I fully intend to take advantage of it.

9. This is normal - I bring in questions to my ob each week about new aches and symptoms that have developed, and it's ALL normal.

10. The kindness of others - it all began early in the summer. Every time I rode the bus, someone offered their seat. Friends from church offer to bring over meals. And my favorite has been Todd. I am completely amazed at how unselfish he has been, helping out as much as possible. Washing dishes, taking care of all the needs of the boys, vacuuming, picking up, grocery shopping, doing laundry, basically everything except cooking supper (and that's only because we don't want to die of food poisoning nor eat hot dogs each night), he's kindly and without complaint taken over everything for me.