Now is not the time...really.

Since Maeve was born something has been in the back of my mind, nagging me. I've been able to push it away, block it out...until last night. I stopped by to drop off some groceries and Maeve had just eatten. Lisa held her out to me and she was so small and squishy (Maeve, not Lisa) and she smelled so good. I wasn't planning on holding Maeve, I was just going to drop of the groceries and leave so Mike and Lisa could have some time with their baby, so I wasn't prepared and I hadn't really protected myself against the nag in the back of my mind...it came right up to the front and it's been there since. I want a baby.

Now, I know I don't REALLY want a baby. I mean, I like to sleep. And I don't really like to clean up poop. And I'm in school. And I have about 13 3/4 years of school left. And I have a hard time remembering to bathe myself every day. And I live in the ghetto. Where I don't like to let my dog outside alone. Unless, of course, the boys from my block are outside to watch him. But I don't think I could just be like, "Hey, Joey, can you make sure the baby doesn't crawl out of the backyard under the fence while I go inside to write in my blog and watch my stories on TV?" And I've heard Leah and Esther and Lisa talking and childbirth? Not so beautiful. You have to be really ready for that.

So, no, I don't think I really want a baby right now. I'm going to blame this craziness baby-wanting on the fact that all the parents I know (my parents, Leah and Scott, Esther and John, and now Mike and Lisa) who I've actually spent time with close up, make it seem so easy. If they weren't all such good parents, I wouldn't want a baby. I think I'll go be an aunt for a while, since I have the cutest nieces and nephews ever.

Poker, anyone?

We all went over to Maeve's house last night. The girls (read: Mary) made dinner for Lisa and the boys were going to keep Mike up all night playing poker. Dinner was great (Mary makes this great pasta dish that I can never make as good as she does...), and the boys did eventually get to the poker...

















First they had some important lessons for Baby Maeve, though...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOU!

Shortly after 4...

It's shortly after 4 and definitely time for a Maeve fix. She's home (with her parents...at least they were all home when I left...I'm assuming they wouldn't leave her home alone yet) and was eating like a champ when I left. I didn't have my camera with me, since I was planning on going to class, where I did not need a camera, and somehow ended up at Mike and Lisa's house, where I could use a camera, but Mary took pictures and I'll post them as soon as I get some. Until then, here are some more of her in the hospital:

Baby's Daddy

I went back to the hospital last night to bring Mike and Lisa some sushi. When I and put the newest pictures of Maeve on my computer, I started looking at pictures of Julia. Maybe they do kinda look alike...
















This is Julia.

















This is Maeve. I think, looking at them side by side, Maeve looks more like Mike (as opposed to Esther or John, which is probably a good thing...) This makes me realize, OH MY GOD...MIKEY HAS A BABY! I think he's going to be a great daddy.

Toby graduated from Puppy Obedience on Thursday. I'm so proud of him. And Amy...she had to take him every week while I was in school.

I saw Maeve again this morning. She's so beautiful. Her Papa couldn't be happier than when he's holding her.

And she, of course, missed him terribly when he left.

Maeve

When Julia was born I sat in the waiting room for hours and hours with the entire family, well, waiting for John to come out and say, "It's a girl."

I've been looking forward to the same thing with Mike since I found out Lisa was pregnant in November.

Friday night I cashed in my birthday present and got a room at the Sutton Place in Toronto and an amazing meal at Canoe. In the middle of dinner something made me check my phone (which was silenced.) Esther had called. Amy, jokingly, said, "I hope it isn't Lisa in labor, 'cause I'm too drunk to drive us back to Buffalo" I said it couldn't be about that because the baby wasn't due until the 16th, and they PROMISED us not to have it while we were in Toronto.

Meet Maeve Katherine Garvey, born July 8th around 3:30 am, while I was fast asleep in the Sutton Place.



She's TINY (5 lb 12 oz, 19") but absolutely perfect. I'm on my way to visit her now. I'll post more pics tonight.

Very Big Weekend

I woke up slightly hung over this morning. Why? Because yesterday was my last day of work. I thought I'd be happy about that. It turns out I was a little sad. I liked working with my dad. I liked my job as an assistant and I liked most of the people I worked with. I really enjoyed getting to spend so much time with my dad, though. I loved surgeries in the morning when the patient was sedated and we could talk about whatever. Dinner the night before, hockey, baseball, Baby Julia...I'm going to miss that. But, I'll be back over Christmas break.

So, five years ago I woke up very hung over on this day, too. Why then? Because of John. When Esther met John, well, I wasn't there. In fact, I don't really remember much about John until he took her to a Sabres game against whatever team Gretzky was playing for at the time and got seats RIGHT BEHIND THE VISITORS BENCH. I think that when I decided either she needed to marry him or I would. I think everything worked out well. Five years ago yesterday they got married. From what I remember the wedding was great.

John has yet to get me that close to Wayne Gretzky, but he did have a part in making me an aunt. One year ago today!

And she's still just as beautiful:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIA!

YAY for baby toys

This past weekend we all went to Mike and Lisa's house to help set up the nursery. It's SO CUTE. Dark green and light green stripes, Alphabet Soup bedding from Pottery Barn Baby, and furniture from Lisa's family. Julia's favorite part? The toys...

Annie, Summer, and Chuck

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNIE!!! And happy summer everyone else!

I was walking across the UB campus today (North). You know the grassy area between Capen and Talbert Halls and the Hochstetter parking lot? I've walked across it to get to and from class at least 3 times a week since January. So I've gotten to know the woodchuck that lives there (at least I think it's a woodchuck...I'm pretty sure it isn't a beaver because I saw Chronicles of Narnia recently and now I know that beavers live under water and can stand up on 2 legs and walk and talk and would help me escape evils like physics and pre-calc...these animals don't do any of that, so they must be woodchucks.) Occationally I won't be paying attention to where I'm walking and I'll almost step right on him (let's call him Chuck) before he runs away. It's kinda scary. So, last night I was walking to my car when Chuck, or at least I thought it was Chuck, saw me and went running to his hole. Then I saw 5 little furballs follow him, and I realized that Chuck was actually Chuck's wife, Chuckette, and the real Chuck was over on the other side of the lawn eatting grass. He didn't run away, but Chuckette had to save her 5 little babies from me. They ran right into a rabbit while trying to escape to their hole, though...I didn't know UB North was such a wildlife preserve. It's crazy. Tonight while walking to my car I almost stepped on Chuck again (I know it was Chuck because Chuckette had already run off with the babies.) It scares me a little bit that he doesn't move away from me. Can woodchucks have rabies? Should I park in another parking lot and stay away from him? If I get bit by a rabid woodchuck on my way to class do I get out of class that night? Do you think that's a valid excuse to get out of taking an exam? Hm...

Wheel Chair for Sale

I was at my parents house today for Father's Day (HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, Dad!) We were all hanging out watching Julia try to walk when I noticed some crayons and a coloring book in one of the baskets under the coffee table. So, I started coloring. My first picture was beautiful, of course. It was of a little angel surrounded by flowers (it was a Precious Moment's coloring book, so every picture was of an angel.) When I flipped the page to color the next picture, I was horrified...the saddest picture in the whole entire world was on the next page!


So of course I colored it. But, really...what's sadder than a handicapped child that's died? AND WHY WOULD YOU PUT A PICTURE OF IT IN A COLORING BOOK???
But am I an amazing colorer or what?

Parking and Dave

So yesterday I was driving home from class. It was around 9:30 and I was STARVING. I hadn't eatten anything since the soup and sandwhich I had for lunch at noon. I cannot go for 9 and a half hours without eating, especially when I'm going through sympathy pregnancy (I think my baby belly has gotten bigger than Lisa's...) So, I pulled onto my street and remembered that I didn't have to get up for work today, so I had to park on the right side of the street. This always confuses me. As someone who has always had a driveway, I HATE HATE HATE! the switching sides of the street thing. I hate the parking on the street thing, but I'm getting better at that. So I read the first sign that I saw that said I couldn't park between 9am and 4 pm Mon., Tues., and Wed. Well, I have no idea what day of the week it is most days, let alone what day of the week the next day will be. So I had to stop, in the middle of the street, and figure it out. Then I did. Tomorrow (today) will be Wednesday, so I had to park on the left side of the street. I try not to park on the left side of the street. For one thing, my house is on the right side of the street. For another, I find it difficult enough to parallel park on the right side, the side I learned to park on. Why torture myself by parking on the left? So I drove up slowly looking for a spot on the left. There weren't any. But I had passed one before I figured out which side I was supposed to be one. Since I'm on a one way street, I had to go ALL THE WAY AROUND THE BLOCK and then PARK ON THE LEFT SIDE! And, tomorrow I have to park on the right side. So I have to move my car at 4. Or whenever I get home. From the Dave Matthew's Band Concert, which is why I'm not working today. Or tomorrow.

I LURVE the Dave Matthew's Band Concert. It's my favorite day of the summer. The first one I went to I went with Esther (which I can say about every band I've ever seen, almost.) That was, by far, the best concert I've ever ever been to. Concerts with Esther in general are always the best. But I've had some good times at the Dave concerts without her, too. After one Dave concert I had to go get drug tested (for my very important job at Target. I passed, but I was a little worried I wouldn't, just from being there.) Last year one of my friends got mad at the line of traffic in front of us when we were leaving and tried to throw her gatorade bottle at the car ahead of us...through my windshield. Luckily she missed (from the front seat) and hit the dashboard. The bottle flew back and hit her in the forehead. I couldn't stop laughing at her. The best part was when she called me from work the next morning and said, "My head is killing me. And not like a hangover hurt, like I got hit." I had to tell her the whole story. She's not that bright.

I saw Annie yesterday and SWORE I'd update more often. So, HI ANNIE!! I'm updating. Unfortunately, I have nothing to write about. Maybe tomorrow will be more exciting.

Do you know what a Meerkat is?

A few weeks ago I had a bunch of days off for some reason. Dad must have been working in the hospital or something. Anyway, I spent them with Julia. One day we went to the zoo. Esther told me that she liked the meerkats, so I should take her into the reptile house to see them. Now, if it were up to me, I'd stay out of the reptile house. I understand snakes are an important part of the earth's ecosystem, but I also think that they're slithery and gross and scary and I like them to stay where they belong...in the rainforests of Africa, far far away from me. But, Julia likes the meerkats, so we went into the reptile house. We had been having a good day up until then. We saw the bears being fed, the otters swam right up to the window she as pushed up against, we watched the sea lions for a long time...it was great. And she laughed and clapped and everyone who passed us loved her (of course.) As soon as we walked into the reptile house, though, she started laughing and pointing at all the cages. The closer we got to the meerkats the louder she laughed. When we finally got to where she could see them, she screamed at the top of her lungs and pointed and then clapped and screamed some more. She really did love them. I pushed her right up against the glass and she pointed out every meerkat that poked its little head out of the ground. We stayed there for over 15 minutes, and I felt bad when we had to leave, but Julia just waved.

Animal Planet has a new show on now. Meerkat Manor. Every time I see the commercial for it, I think of Julia and want to laugh and clap and point...but I don't think it would be as cute if I did it...

Physics Update

I still hate Physics...but I got a B in the class :) Thanks to everyone who helped me!

My Four...

How well do you know me? For instance, did you know...?

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Busser at the Roycroft
2. Front desk clerk at the Roycroft
3. Pastry Chef
4. Surgical Assistant

Four movies I could watch over and over:
1. Annie
2. Harry Potter (any of them)
3. Lake Placid
4. 10 Thnigs I Hate About You


Places I have lived:
1. Jackson, MS
2. East Aurora, NY
3. Toronto, ON
4. Manhattan, NY


Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. Law and Order (any of them)
2. CSI (any of them)
3. House
4. Monk


FOUR places I have been on vacation:
1. Gulf Shores, AL
2. Napa Valley, CA (when I was Mom and Dad's favorite...)
3. Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales (all one trip...)
4. Orlando, FL

Four websites I visit daily:
1. Leah's Blog
2. Mikey's Blog
3. Esther's Blog
4. Scott's Blog


Four of my favorite foods:
1. Jim's Steak and Cheese Sub
2. Duck Confit
3. Chef Boyardee Mini Beef Ravioli's
4. Edemame


Four places I would rather be right now:
1. asleep on my parent's couch
2. asleep on Esther and John's couch
3. alseep on Amy's couch
4. Chuck E. Cheeses

Four friends who I've tagged that I think will respond:
1. Leah
2. Esther
3. Scott
4. Mike

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMY!

Today is Amy's birthday.
Spongbob Squarepants is coming to visit for her party on Saturday. He is so excited.

Summer Concerts

I've never been that into music. I mean, I like listening to the radio and buying CDs, but there are very few bands I HAVE to see in concert when they're in Buffalo. It seems like they're all coming this summer.

It all started when I found out Melissa Ethridge was playing at Madison Square Garden in NYC. My friends and I got tickets and decided that would be the only concert we'd go to this year, since tickets were expensive, and we'd have to travel to NYC.

Then we got Taste of Country tickets. They were cheap and we found some other way to justify them.

Then Dave Matthew's tickets went on sale. We said no at first. We've seen him a million times, and as great as his concerts are, we can't afford the tickets. But, they're cheaper this year than last year (by $2), so we bought tickets to that concert too.

Gina e-mailed me about the Hip. I wasn't going to go, but someone got me tickets for my birthday. I can't say no to free tickets to the Hip.

Then, one night recently, I was driving Mary home and she told me that if Kelly Clarkson ever comes to Buffalo I have to get her tickets. 2 days later Kelly Clarkson went on sale for Darien Lake. So, I'm going to that, too.

Now I just need BNL to announce they'll be here in August, and my summer will be complete.

Oh, and speaking of good music, Dennis emailed me this. It's Amelia singing Fever in the Geneseo Acapello group. She's pretty amazing.

BIrthday Season

When I was little I loved every day from right after Easter until the end of May. That, I considered, was my birthday season. Now, though, it's EVERYONE's birthday season! Really, I don't mind sharing (I"m #3 of 5 kids...I know how to share), but this is a little crazy. I share with Leah, Sam, Aidan, Noah, Amy, Sue, Grace, Char, Jess, people graduating. So, I started early. Meet Toby, my first birthday present of the year:



He's a cockapoo puppy who's coming on Wednesday. He's only 2 months old! I'm sure I'll be posting new pictures as soon as I get him.

RADIOACTIVE GIRL

Have you ever wanted to be a superhero? Maybe MermaidMan, like on SpongeBob? Or Mr. Incredible (the Incredibles?) Or even Superman? Or maybe you just wanted a specific superhero characteristic, like being able to fly, or disappear, or stretch to amazing lengths. How about being radioactive? Well, let me tell you, it's not that great.

I had some medical test done so last Wednesday I was injected with something that makes me radioactive. The doctors said I'd be this way for about a month. It, apparently, doesn't hurt me at all, but they warned me to stay away from anyone pregnant or any babies for at least a week. So, no Julia, no Lisa...of course, I was planning on spending Wednesday and Thusday with Julia, but I didn't. I did see Julia on Thursday, but I stayed away from her, which is almost impossible when she looks up and smiles at you.

The doctor also warned me that if I crossed the border into Canada I'd set off some alarm that picks bombs and most likely get pulled over and searched. His advice was just to stay in the US for a month, but I already had plans to meet Amy's parents in Niagara-on-the-Lake for dinner Saturday. So he gave me a letter saying I was radioactive and was not carrying a bomb, but told me it probably wouldn't help much at the border.

So yesterday afternoon Amy and I drove up to Niagara-on-the-Lake. As we crossed the bridge I got a little scared, but the Canadian Customs guy just asked where we lived, where we were going, and told us to have a nice day. We did have a nice day. It included a lot of wine tasting and some good food. So by the time we were driving home I wasn't really thinking about the border, but more about sleeping. We crossed the bridge and waited to get to the customs guy and when we got there, everything got crazy. He asked us where we were from, where we had been all day, and then if either of us had had any medical testing recently. I said yes and handed him the letter and he yelled," I found the source, it's the blue SUV in lane 4." We got pulled over. So did the car behind us, because I am SO radioactive that there was "spillover" into their car. They took me out of the car and into the building where they held this sensor thingy toward me forever while Amy had to drive her car through this big machine. After about 8 hours (maybe really 5 minutes) the agent testing my radioactivity left me alone in the building (not really aolne...I was sitting in a room full of people.) One of the guys in the room looked at me and said, "Hey, is this normal? Do they, like, pull over a random number of people and search their cars?" I asked him what lane he had been in. He said lane 4. He was the spillover car. I apologized. The agent came back a few minutes later and said, "Ok, miss, you can go. You're going to be radioactive for the next 6 weeks or so, though, so this is going to happen anytime you cross the border during those 6 weeks."

I think I might move to Canada.