Famille à la Maison

Uh-Oh

2009-06-07T16:13:00.003-05:00

Obama Rally 10/30/08

2008-11-01T08:17:00.006-05:00

We never actually got to see Barack Obama, but we could hear him loud and clear. We'll tell Lucia when she's older that she was there when Obama came to town to make his final case for presidency. Here's the proof...
Obama at Mizzou from comoprozac on Vimeo.

Update

2008-10-06T07:34:00.003-05:00

Well, nothing new has happened here. Lucia is growing...getting longer that is. We're struggling to get her to take a bottle so that R has a chance to rest. In the meantime, here's a picture of Lucia with her Pappy...

Lucia Caroline Dingo-Early

2008-09-17T07:20:00.003-05:00

Lucia (pronounced Loo-shah) Carline Dingo-Early was born at 10:51 AM on September 11, 2008. We started the labor at home (about 27 hours worth) before finishing up at Columbia Regional Hospital. You can read the birth story here.

In the meantime, watch her first music video...

Lucia1 from comoprozac on Vimeo.

The Nursery

2008-06-17T20:50:00.004-05:00

The nursery is coming along. Here are a few pics to show the progress...

Ultrasound!

2008-04-14T13:15:00.006-05:00

Here are the pics from this morning's ultrasound...which was ultracool! The kid was mostly in a position with its knees against the forehead. We joked that it was a yoga position of some sort, just like its momma.

The first image is of the kids face. R thinks it looks like me. What do you think?The next is a split-screen of the feet. One can see each foot pretty clearly on each side.
The third is an image of the kid with its hand to its mouth.Hopefully the next set of images will be little clearer and in full color. Expect those pictures around early September.

Offspring Update

2008-04-13T21:16:00.003-05:00

We have a visit with the ultrasound machine Monday morning. So, there will probably be pictures of the fetus on this blog very shortly. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, we are now officially registered at Target and Babies-R-Us. It's mostly necessities, but it's a start. We also have an idea for the nursery (which Mom will be helping out with soon). It's taken from ReadyMade magazine and pictured below. (That's not our kid or our room.)

Fetus Update

2008-04-01T07:35:00.002-05:00

We are now registered at Target, but many of the basics have not been added. The crib and glider/rocker have been spoken for. I will post a picture of what we plan to do with the nursery in the near future.

R and I visited the doctor yesterday. The heart's still beating. The doctor had me feel R's uterus. It's the size of a cantalope. Hard to imagine.

I'll try to update more often. We have the first ultrasound in two weeks.

R's Grandmother Passed this Week

2008-02-26T07:22:00.004-06:00

Early Monday, R's grandmother, Helen, passed away. Helen had a stroke recently and her health has been steadily deteriorating ever since. After staying in the hospital for several days, she returned home only to return to the hospital. Last week, Helen was moved to assisted living.

I know not everyone knew her very well. I think that the only place any of you would have met her was at our wedding. The picture below is one of my favorite from that day. It showed how much she loved her grandchildren (especially when raising R's cousins).

Tomorrow, we're heading to Detroit for the funeral that will be held sometime this weekend.

Hats off to you!

2008-02-19T23:01:00.003-06:00

Just thought I'd share a picture of some of the hats I've been working on in the past week hoping that there will be some people in Worthington interested at the market this Saturday. Zac and Rebecca, the baby will have a hat for every occasion! I'll even take special requests!

Back to Florida

2008-02-15T10:16:00.003-06:00

I promised pix of the trip - I selected a few to entertain you.

First is in Tarpon Springs at the "Sponge Docks". It is extrememly touristy where the Greeks are peddling sponges of all shapes and sizes, olive oil products (which I did buy), lots of junk, cigars, and the best part of all, delicious food (the baklava was heavenly).
Next is one of the native birds we saw along the gulf coast - I think it is an ibis.
This is a pic of Karen and Joe in their temporary home in front of the palm with the stuffed monkeys, their landlord's attempt at decorating?
We went to the Olde Schoolhouse Restaurant in Palm Harbor, which is owned by my high school friend Patti Smith. The food was really good and the prices were even better!
Apparently Effingham is not the only place with a giant cross - here is one of the 2 we saw driving on 75 through Tennessee - frightening!
And ending with another pic of the Sponge Docks because I have no idea how to edit this part of the blog! At least I did get the pix posted!

I'm going to be a grandma!!

2008-02-12T18:45:00.000-06:00

I am so excited about being a grandmother!! I may have to move to Missouri... just kidding, Zac, - didn't mean to scare you:) I'm starting to knit now - but nothing in pink or blue, I promise!

Heartbeats

2008-02-11T21:28:00.001-06:00

I think we're official. R and I went to see the doctor today for her first prenatal appointment. Not knowing what to expect, we entered a little uneasy but prepared to ask plenty of questions.

Nothing too enlightening was exposed while "interviewing" the doctor. We like her a lot. I think she will allow us to make this birth as natural as possible. This is a good thing.

What we really didn't expect was to gain any concrete evidence that we really are pregnant. The doctor rubbed this monitor that made a bunch of static-y noise over R's abdomen. Then, we heard it: a heartbeat.

That's when it became real for me. (Of course, it's been real for R for the last 10.57 weeks.)

We got our flu shots and returned to work, but I won't soon forget those heartbeats.

Florida

2008-01-24T14:35:00.000-06:00

Pix of the trip coming soon - too busy knitting right now, but I promise to get back to this!

Yea Hillary!

2008-01-09T17:12:00.000-06:00

I still haven't decided between Hillary and Obama, but I'm glad Hillary did well in NH after the Iowa debacle! Plan on reading Obama's book next week which should help me decide between the two. I don't think we can go wrong with either. I think it might be the female thing that gives H the edge with me!

I quit!

2008-01-05T18:49:00.000-06:00

News Flash - I decided to quit my job at school teaching 6th grade gifted kids - phew - I feel so relieved that I don't have to go back!

2008-01-01T15:13:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!!

Xmas 2007 in Pictures

2007-12-30T10:39:00.000-06:00

As we began our 8-hour trek across America's heartland, R and I witnessed several reminders as to the reason for the season. This giant cross is located just outside of Effingham, Illinois, home of a unique coffee shop called Starbucks.

Eventually, we arrived in West Liberty to hang out with Mom and Dad. Bea terrorized Bodhi, but we had an enjoyable evening and lazy morning.

Soon, we were off again to Toledo to visit Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Tim. While there, Mom decided to give Aunt Pam a ring.

(Aunt Pam, here are the photos of everyone talking to you on the phone...so that you don't forget what we look like.)

Nate, Kate, and I even paused long enough for a holiday photo...
Later that evening, R and I drove up to Ortonville, MI where her family's lake house is located. Along with R's brother, sister-in-law, mother, niece, and nephew, we enjoyed a hearty Christmas Eve dinner of Polish deliciousness...and vodka.

It was fun to experience Christmas morning with kids again as our niece and nephew opened up many fun gifts. I too got into the spirit of the morning and baked a brioche that tasted fine (despite a lack of vanilla) but did not look much like Santa Clause.

That's all for now.

Ho Ho Ho

2007-12-19T22:43:00.000-06:00

Looking forward to seeing everyone! Zac and Rebecca, I hope you decide to come this way on Saturday (Bodhi too, of course!). Call to fill us in.

Practice Post

2007-12-17T09:45:00.000-06:00

I thought Bea should have her picture published online as she is helping me right now!

Hopefully this works - I guess I have become a bit computer-challenged since leaving my job.

How to Post on this Blog

2007-12-16T11:30:00.000-06:00

Here are the directions for posting on the blog with pictures.

Go to http://www.blogger.com.
Enter your email and password.
Find Famille à la Maison and click on "New Post"
Be sure to enter a title and type your text in the box.

There are some options to make the text look the way you want or to add hyperlinks and pictures.

To make a hyperlink to another web page: highlight the word(s) you want to link, click the icon that looks like the earth with a chain link, enter the entire url (address), and click "OK".
To add a picture: click the icon that looks like a photo of a landscape, click "browse" to search through your files for the picture you want to publish, choose the size and alignment, click "upload", click "done", and you can move the picture to where you want it in relation to the text or other images.

Once you have the text, hyperlinks, and pictures down, run the spell-check which is the icon with the check-mark and "abc".

Now you can publish by clicking the icon of the same name.

I hope this helps.

Snow in Misery

2007-12-15T13:13:00.000-06:00

Here's the view out the back door...

Happy (belated) Birthday, Kate!

2007-12-15T10:43:00.000-06:00

I was prepared to blog something nice about Kate for her birthday, but, like a lame brother, I missed my opportunity. Plus, I apparently only blog about Kate's more questionable moments.

Whatever. Happy 28th, Kate! It's hard to believe that this was once you in your first ballet recital.

Christmas Wreath

2007-12-08T11:24:00.000-06:00

A warm "thank-you" goes out to Grandma and Grandpa for the nice wreath they sent us this week. Since we had planned not to spend the holidays in Misery (aka Missouri), we had not done any decorating. This fragrant gift at least gives our house a sense of festivity.

Hi

2007-12-04T22:22:00.000-06:00

Hey Zac,

Thanks for the invite. Nice chair, nice basement for that matter. Looking forward to the blog, though I will have to warn ya, I'm not much of a writer. As of Friday the vearly email will not be an option, so use gnfnrvee (at) aol (dot) com. Yeah, there is plenty goin on.....

The Chair Mom Bought Us

2007-12-03T12:52:00.000-06:00

Here are some pics of the chair Mom bought us over Thanksgiving weekend. It's located in our basement, just outside of my office/guest room.