Name Game

So a while ago H and I picked out two boy and two girl names. We ran them by our parents and decided on one girl and one boy name (no, I'm not sharing). Well, now we've both seperately decided that we don't like the boy names (funny enough, it's for the same reason). So we're back to the drawing board. It's harder than I thought. I might love a name but then H vetoes it (or vice versa). You have to see if the name rhymes with anything that could potentially be a source of teasing (my parents had no idea some idiot would invent a clay animal that grows hair and rhymes with my name, but I still really like my name). And, you have to make sure it accomplishes what you set out to accomplish. Our preference is for an uncommon name with Jewish roots and is not too long or difficult to spell/prounounce. If anyone has any suggestions, send them my way!

There's Something in the Water

There are a total of 22 women in my office/group at work. Of that, 10 of us are married. Of the 10 who are married, 5 have been pregnant in 2008 (4 others have children already). The fifth just let the cat out of the bag today. She's due two months after me and I'm very excited for her. She's very sweet and reminds me a lot of my college roommate.

Those unwed women may want to start drinking bottled water...

Strangers

One of the weird things about being pregnant is that strangers think that your belly is an open invitation to a conversation. (I've now "popped" and you can tell I'm pregnant - not just fat.) 

This evening as I was leaving work I was forced into a conversation with a total stranger. He got in the elevator one floor below me. Here's how the conversation went.

Him: How are you feeling?

Me (a bit confused): Fine, thanks.

Him: Is this your first?

Me: Yes.

Him: I've been pregnant three times now.

Me: You've been pregnant? You, personally?

Him: Well, each time my wife got pregnant, I kind of did too (he rubs his belly, which is now slender).

Me: Oh, okay.

Him: This will be the best thing that's ever happened to you. It might not seem that way now, but trust me, it will be. 

Me: Yes, that's what I've heard.

(The elevator opens - thankfully).

Nice man, but I would've preferred to read the news on the elevator TV. 

This is just one of many completely random conversations I've had recently. I've had complete strangers tell me about their grandkids, divorces, etc. The funny thing is that most of these conversations are with men, not women. Are all pregnant women subjected to strangers' personal lives? Perhaps the belly is really a billboard for men, with a sign pleading "Please, tell me your life story. I can't wait to hear it!"

I wonder what stories I'll hear when I have the baby.

Moving

So I've been quiet for a little while now but it's not because I gave up on the blog. It's because I moved. I haven't really talked about it much because I didn't want to jinx anything, but now that we're here and somewhat settled, I will explain.

We moved to Greenwich, CT last Thursday and it was the most difficult and complicated move I've ever had (and I'm the girl who moved 8 times in the past 8 years!). We made the move to make more room for Baby D and are now in a three bedroom townhouse which is so huge to me. This whole complex was built in 1969 but they are gutting every apartment and renovating. So we essentially have a new home. The reason I haven't spoken about it, is because we almost didn't move here three times. 

One month before the move, we came to sign the lease and walked into the apartment just to take some measurements. We walked in to an inch of water on the floor! Needless to say we didn't sign the lease that day. Next weekend we were scheduled to come back and sign the lease but got a call from the leasing office an hour before we were to leave saying that she didn't have the key to the apartment so we needed to wait another week. In short, we came to sign the lease the weekend before we were scheduled to move in. The washer/dryer were in the living room and the sink and toilet were in the kitchen! This was to replace the flooring in those areas. We were assured that everything would be in its place by the day we moved in. Luckily, it was. 

The move itself was also a disaster. Even though I reserved the freight elevator in our Manhattan apartment for the movers, there were three other people moving out on the same day. So it took about 30 minutes for the elevator to come each time they wanted to take things down to their truck. Then, they got lost in Connecticut. The movers didn't leave our new home until 10:45 at night! We then got dinner and had to do a bit of unpacking (can't sleep on a bed without bed linens) before we could go to sleep. The entire weekend was one sleepless blur. 

The good news is that we're making progress. I'm sure it'll be some time before everything is in its place, but we're on the way. 

And for those of you who are wondering, Jackson is doing great. He's loving the bigger space and especially the grass outside! It's so much fun to him. We have a dog walker (although he's now only getting walked once, instead of twice, a day) and he hasn't had any problems. I was nervous that he wouldn't take the move well, but he's adjusted nicely (probably better than me and H).