Halloween Costumes

Since high school, I have been a fan of joint costumes where you go as a theme with someone else. Maybe it's because I was always too afraid to do something on my own, but over the years, I've had quite a bit of fun with it.

It started in High School when Rosemary and I came up with ideas two years in a row. Our first year, we were Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dummer. Though we don't have pictures from this year, I believe we managed to find hats with propellors in them. Our senior year, we went to school dressed as nerds in pleated mini skirts, knee highs, pocket protectors, and broken glasses. Unfortunately our peers just thought it was another day in school. I don't think they could tell that we were dressed up.

In college, my friend and I decided to dress up as the doublemint twins. As you can see, the costumes were not elaborate. The signs on our backs were really the key feature. And even though looked we looked nothing alike, people mistook us for eachother all night. I had a great time talking to drunk guys who thought I was her.


Skip to Denver, and my first foray out to Halloween parties was the year Holly and I searched all day looking for something we could be. Then we found cheap silver dresses at Fashion Bug and the Femmbot costume was born. A few blond wigs, pink feather boas and machine gun boobies later we had our outfits. We were a hit....with men. Though guys couldn't looks us in the face all night. Instead they blatantly stared at our chests that had dark green happy birthday balloons spilling out of them. Humph, men!

Skip to a couple of years later and of course who can forget the famous Plug and Socket?

I suppose now that we've had our fun, it will be all about the kids. I better start working on a costume for Baby G now.

Stealing Candy From the Babies

We waited until Sunday to buy our Halloween candy for the year. Since this is the first year at our new house, we don't know what our turnout will be. I got 4 bags and have been whittling away at it for 3 days now. I'm afraid the candy needs to be taken away from me as Baby G is going to come out with an addiction for Butterfingers.

Actual Conversation

As I was gently applying blue eyeshadow to DGs delicate brow:

CAG: Sit up, head back, stop squinting, flatten your lids!
DG: (eyes quivering, whining) It hurts.
CAG: It does NOT hurt.
DG: It does.
CAG: These are soft brushes.
DG: Well I'm not used to it.
CAG: (Giggling) Ok, relax and work on your breathing techniques. In 4, out 4.
DG: Ouch.
CAG: DG, in a few weeks, I am going to push an 8+lb. child out of my Va-Jay Jay, so I think you can suck it up for 2 minutes and get some eyeshadow.

Apparently our costumes weren't the only bit of role reversal we were going through.

Pregnant Halloween Costumes

I love Halloween. I love getting dressed up, going somewhere and pretending to be something I am not. You may think that I am too old to dress up, but when am I ever going to be 8 months pregnant again for Halloween?

I did some research online looking for other couples's clever pregnant costume ideas. There was the standard, paint your belly something ie. a goldfish bowl, pumpkin etc, and then there were the risque costumes, such as a catholic school girl, cheerleader, or nun. We decided on trailer trash with role reversal. I was the couch potato, beer/baby gut guy, and DG was the gossipy out-of-work gal, or Girlene as everyone at the party called him. She's a man Baby! And we didn't even have to buy anything. Score!


Stopping at a liquor store on our way to the party, the check out guy at the counter called DG "One Ugly Bitch", which was what was going through my head as I watched him scuffle in wearing the poop slippers. Personally, I think I look like my brother. This is ok to say as he recently told me I looked fat, and then in response to the picture of me all gussied up last week-end, he emailed me that I looked like the Joker's whore of a girlfriend. I have a BIG smile, I can't help it. So all dressed up with facial hair and a beer can, naturally I look in the mirror and see him. *kisses mike*

And yes, that stain on my wife beater (which belonged to my late grandfather btw), was a natural occurence of eating dinner on the couch. No earlier than an hour before, my father had told me to spill food down my front to be authentic. I laughed and told him that this would probably occur naturally. I still cursed a bit at my plight when it did happen though.

Perhaps one of my favorite parts of Halloween is dragging out my costume bins every year and trying things on. Here is one of the reject costumes that did not make it. I love having fun things on hand. If you ever need to be a clown, witch, 50's housewife, 60's peace freak, 70's disco queen, femmbot, church lady, 80's Paula Abdul dancer, high school drop out, football player, graduate, or street walker, have I got some clothes for you. For all of this years pics, check out DGs flickr account here.

The Baby with the Big Head

A week and a half ago, on my bi-weekly visit to the doctors office, I had an ultrasound to check the position of the baby. I haven't seen her in several months so it was just amazing to see her little face, staring straight at me with her precious little lips and her eyes blinking. The doctor checked a few things. She is head down, she is still a girl, and upon futher inspection, she has a really big head. A normal size body, but a really big head. WHAT?!?! What does this mean in the world of percentiles? Next time I go in, I'm going to ask him if I have a really big pelvis. You know, just what all girls want.

Birthing Videos 101

DG has distinctive memories of watching graphic birthing videos in high school, with full on frontal crotch shots, hairy 70s women, and big bloody afterbirths spilling out onto the floor. I remember getting lectured on the human reproductive system and stern talks on using condoms on unpeeled bananas. South Dakota vs. Connecticut sex education. I'm thinking DGs class was trying to scare him into abstinence.

We watched our first birth video in class on Monday night. Even though it was soft core, the whole room squirmed and I let out a huge guffaw when the first woman gave birth to what looked like a 3 year old child. *ouch*

I need to go work on my breathing techniques now.

Are you ready for this belly?

DG and I attended the Book Lover's Ball again this year, which is a black tie event. We got decked out and went last year as well and mingled with the cream of the crop dressed in their tuxes and full length beaded gowns. I just wore an old black cocktail dress.

This year, posed a bit of a problem for me as I do not own a gown fit for pregnancy. However, I resurrected last years dress, and guess what? 30lbs later and it still works. I was really nervous that in my pregnant state what I was thinking I could pull off, was really so ill fitted that people would snicker and point. However, as we were checking in, a young woman came up to me and said to my astonishment, "That is a great look." I looked at her, head cocked, brow scrunched and she went on to say, "That is not an easy look to pull off, good work." I grinned ear to ear and thanked her. Of course she was implying that at 7 1/2 months pregnant, I could still clean up and look fairly decent. I rock.

Here is a picture from last year with the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. Same dress, perhaps not as full in the chest area.


My only fatal flaw of the evening was squeezing myself into my small petite panty hose and thinking that would be ok all night. By 11:00pm they were rolled down so tight around my hips that I was afraid I was choking Baby G. I was too cheap to spend money on maternity hose that I would only wear once. Big mistake.

Soaking up the Sun

Here is an example of our upstairs Living Room getting beaten with sun prior to getting blinds.

The dogs didn't mind it too much.

The space is so open, I'm having trouble picturing how to place the furniture that we want. The futon is there now as well as the old tv and stand, but this is temporary until we get real furniture. But how about that electric fire place? We'll be setting the mood all winter with that.

No More Fish Bowl

Three quotes and four weeks later, we have blinds! This lovely picture illustrates how empty our upstairs living and dining room really are.

We got plantation shutters for this room, blackout cordless honeycomb for Baby G's room and regular honeycomb for the office and guest room. We still have the downstairs living room and our own bedroom to do. It's all on the 5 year plan. There is of course a list of things we need, and it is prioritized, but now seeing this picture, I wonder if a rug or two shouldn't move up on the list.

Pesto Lasagna

Working with what you have.

Often times, rather than have a set menu for the week, I buy the usual suspects at the grocery store and each night, I open the refrigerator door and take a peek in to see what I can rustle up for dinner.

On Sunday after our party, I had leftover pesto, ricotta, parmesan, mozzerella, and sauce. I also knew that I had several types of lasagna noodles in the pasta drawer that moved in with the dawn of DG. So what does this spell? Lasagna! Which is something I haven't made in about 10 years. It was the last meal I ate before I got the flu it's taken me 10 years to get over it. But I digress.

I did not do anything real fancy, and actually just followed the instructions on the side box of no cook noodles. Oh crap, does this fall under Sandra Lee's semi-homeade?

15oz ricotta
2 eggs
1/2C pesto (3C basil, 3cl garlic, 1/4C pine nuts, 1/2C olive oil, 3/4C grated parmesan, 1/2tsp salt) oooh, a recipe within a recipe
1/4C Parmesan
3C Mozzarella
1 jar sauce
1 box no cook noodles

Mix the ricotta, eggs, 1 1/2C mozzarella, and pesto. I only had 7oz of ricotta which I had premixed with garlic, basil and oregano for the pizza I made. Since I didn't have the full 15oz, I substituted some non-fat cottage cheese which worked just fine.

Spray a 13 x 9 baking pan and pour 1C sauce in the bottom. Add the first layer of 4 noodles. Then add 1/3 of the ricotta mixture and another cup of sauce. Repeat 4 times until the last layer is noodles. Top with the remaining parmesan and mozarella. Bake for 50-60 minutes at 375.

I cut this up into 12 servings and froze half of it for later this winter when the fridge is completely empty except for limp celery and condiments.

Preparing Fido

Our friends Ed and Janet, who recently had twin girls, brought over a cd for us to use to prepare the dogs for the onset of a baby. It's tagline is "A Comprehensive Collection of Baby Sounds to Help You Lovingly Prepare Your Pet for the Arrival of Your New Baby!"

This cd of 11 top ten hits contains such gems as:
1) Crying Baby 4:57
2) Breathing, Grunting and Squeaking Baby 5:44
3) Keeping You up Baby 13:23
4) Screaming Baby 1:00

DG burned it to Itunes yesterday and we listened to about as much of it as we could take with the dogs. This consisted of about 3 1/2 minutes of a babbling baby. I'm thinking the next time they bark at the mailman, I will just lock them in a sound proof room and force feed them all 13 minutes of Keeping You Up Baby and if they pee on the floor, they get Screaming Baby on repeat. Parenting skills at work.

Fall Party Menu

Saturday evening, after 6 months of living in our new house, we finally invited all of our friends over for a fall party/house warming. We provided drinks (including pumpkin beer, wine, apple cider, and italian soda) and light appetizers. All food items were made from scratch. You would think that I would have tried to make my life easier by getting some frozen snacks to heat up, but no. Even the pesto and pizza dough were made that morning. Can you say nesting? And so the day began with rolling out of bed to start cooking.

Here was the menu:
Roasted Garlic Pea Puree en Croute
Baba Ganoush with Pita
White Bean and Rosemary Dip with Vegetables
Seven Layer Dip with White Corn Chips
Pesto phyllo rolls
Margarita Pizza (homeade) (ricotta garlic spread, tomato, basil, fresh mozzarella)
Cheese Pizza (homeade)
Pumpkin Cake with Brown Butter Icing topped with sugared Almonds
Halloween Sugar Cookies decorated with icing
Kettle Corn
Crackers, Cheese and Salami
Candy Corn and Cashews

As a side effect of being 7+ months pregnant, I did need to enlist DGs help as sous chef (aka cheese grater) and dish washer. In the midst of all the cooking, we did not get too many pictures. Unfortunately this one is the best. And I so wanted to be a part of the www.jemangelaville.com cookbook challenge.

A Note to my Brother

Photo circa 1982.

Here is a line from a recent email from my brother. "Take more pictures like those, they were great. You're looking really fat and that's a good thing."

Ok, maybe it's because you've been out of the country for too many years, or maybe it's a cultural difference, but you NEVER, EVER, gawd, EVER tell a pregnant woman that she looks fat. It's like #1 in the world wide book of rules of what NOT to say to a pregnant woman. It's the first RULE written in all CAPS, highlighted, underlined with ten exclamation points!!! Dude, not even to you sister. Bad! BAD brother!!!

Now as penitence, practice these ten times before you go to bed.
"No honey, you don't look fat at all. You have a big baby inside of you."
"You are so pretty, you are glowing."
"From your chest down, I can't even tell you are pregnant"
"It doesn't look like you've gained any weight at all except in your belly."

Love,
Your Sis

To Doula or Not to Doula

DG and I started our baby classes last night for people 30 years and older. It is just once a week for 5 weeks and we were unsure of what to expect, but our teacher is amazing. We learned so much in our first 2 1/2 hour class.

For example, Doni, our instructor showed a graphic picture of what a woman's insides look like normally with all of the organs. Then she showed a picture of what the insides look like when there is a baby in there. The intestines virtually disappeared up near the lungs, the stomach shrunk, and the bladder went to the size of a pea. All the men in the room turned white and groaned. All the women nodded, knowingly as we glanced at the clock ready to take our first bathroom break 15 minutes into class.

It was right about the time when we were watching the video about the stages of labor that I wondered whether or not it would be me holding DGs hand to calm him, rather than the other way around.

Which brings me to my next question. Should we get a doula? I plan on arriving at the hospital, laboring for an hour and then popping Baby G out without drugs. (Ahhh, the power of positive thinking.) But some things don't always go according to plan, and we are wondering if having a midwife or doula present would aid in my relaxation and having a better experience. Thoughts?

The Babymoon

It's the new thing. Expectant parents go away for a final vacation together before the baby comes. The calm before the storm so to speak.

DG suprised me on my birthday when he snuck a birthday card onto the background of my computer screen. When I turned my computer on, he had made my background a picture of Crested Butte, CO with a note to pack my bags. Crested Butte (CB) is a small mountain town about 5 hours SW of Denver. We packed up and headed out Friday afternoon. The air was crisp, the aspens were changing, and every part of the drive was beautiful. Here is a shot I took from the car.



We stayed at a brand new lodge in Mt. Crested Butte which has an elevation of just over 9,000 feet. We had such a large room that you should have joined us. We were stocked with a bedroom, kitchen, two huge baths, and a living room with a pull out-couch. Our room faced the base of the mountain, which will be prime real estate in about two months.

The drive down into town was a quick 3 miles where we saw a gorgeous fox run in front of our car and an elk. The town was a typical mountain town of one main strip filled with shops, restaurants and bars. Here's DG at the end of the strip with the mountains in the background.



It was a nice relaxing time and a great time to tree peep to see all the fall color.

Seventh Generation Diapers

There was a great article in the Wall Street Journal about saving money and buying diapers in bulk. You can read it here. They talk a lot about greener diaper options such as the Seventh Generational Brand. My question however is, do they really work? Maybe it is brand marketing, but in my mind, I think that Pampers and Huggies know what they are doing because that is all they do. And since that is all they do, then they must know best. (I know, marketing sucker.)

But the Seventh Generation brand makes toilet paper that you need to double up on and paper towels that don't pass the test. How good can their diapers be? I want to be green and I want to try them, but what are the consequences if I buy 200 and then they are so bad that pee runs down my babies leg? Anyone have an answer?

A Visual Scene

I was running late today as I threw on my old trusty bathing suit to head to the rec center to make the open lap swim. After stretching the straps over my shoulders, I realized that I had pushed this bathing suit to the limit. It was so tight around the shoulders that my boobs could have flown out the arm holes. Not an easy task.

So I ran downstairs to get a bin of maternity clothes that Lora had given to me. I knew there were at least 2 maternity bathing suits in there. One of which Lora had mistaken for a going out top, but that's another story.

After trying them on, I wore the black bottoms of one and the leopard print top of the other. Beggars can't be choosers I guess. However, it wasn't until I got to the pool and put on my white swim cap and hot pink goggles, that I realized what a scene I was. I think the life guard may have giggled at me when he said hello.

Futon by Day, Bed by Night

With the baby shower coming up, and family coming to town, we needed another place for someone to sleep. We started off looking for day beds, but gag. Most of the styles are granny. I did find one that I liked at West Elm, however they sold out of it in the two days I was taking to make up my mind. (Another side effect of pregnancy.) This didn't stop DG trying to suprise me by calling all six West Elm stores in the country attempting to find a final display bed to send, but alas no.

Originally, both DG and I poo poo'd the futon, thinking of our college days. Then we found this modern day futon at our favorite Scandinavian furniture store. It was the fastest decision we ever made. After sitting on it, we said, sign us up. If you click on the picture of the futon on the Dania site, you can see all the forms it takes.

Currently it is sitting in our unfurnished upstairs living room in an effort to take out some of the echo created by any noise or talking in the room. Eventually however, it will migrate to our office where it will become a second crib for the baby while I work, and a place where the dogs will be scolded should they try to get up and lick and/or hump the baby.