Ever wonder who goes to these places . . .

On our way to Peek a Baby to find out the gender.

We went Kardashian style with Janie, Rebecca, and Steve coming along.

We are having a baby girl in June!

Our dog, Bella, gets a lot of attention with 5 girls around. She is kind of nuts, but definitely entertaining. I found these two pictures of Bella as a puppy.

Whippets are really good at jumping and we find it really amusing to watch her jump. I love this picture Haley got of Bella in flight jumping on my parent’s bed . . . where she is not supposed to be. Naughty Bella.

Michael and Evan both find it annoying that we all try to create a personality for Bella and predict what she is thinking. Must be a girl thing. I've got a hunch they both use baby talk with Bella when we're not around.

Cooking

One of my goals this year was to test one new recipe a week. I am trying to build up my recipe library with ones we really like and things I can make without a lot of extra effort. My mom had our family dinners streamlined and I know it will take me awhile to get there. This week I tried a potato and turnip gratin from Martha Stewart’s Cooking School, split pea soup from the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, and a hummus recipe from a friend. They all turned out pretty good. I was nervous about turnips in the gratin, but it tasted great. I still want to try a few other potato gratin recipes to find a favorite. I halved the split pea soup recipe and it was still too much for me and Michael. I get frustrated cooking for two because we will have so much for leftovers that by the time I’ve finished them I never want to eat it again. I wish I had pictures of my little creations! Maybe next time.

Here is our small list of the regulars in our recipe library. . .

Black-eyed peas salsa recipe
Broek’s French Toast
Firemeat (A Kakadelas favorite)
Lorraine's French dip (Michael's favorite)
Lemon Chicken
Leah’s Chicken Pot Pie
Deanne's Curried Chicken
Barefoot Contessa's Parmesan Mashed Potatoes recipe
Twice baked potatoes
Pizza with the dough from Trader Joe’s
My mom’s soft Oreos

Mouths

Michael has a strange fascination with people we know and their mouths . . . particularly mine and my family. It must have to do with some sort of interest in my genes. He loves to talk about it over lunch or just bring it up randomly into conversations.

Michael just finished up his finals this week and last night I woke up to Michael standing besides the bed. I asked him what he was doing. He played it off like what he was doing was perfectly normal. I wanted to get him back in bed and back to sleeping. I started asking him questions and tried to talk him out of standing beside the bed. I was half-awake and only remember him starting to talk about dental terms. He said something about my dad and an RPD (removable partial denture).

I fell back asleep after the first episode. Later on Michael woke me because he was talking to me. He said "It's weird you do not think your dad needs an RPD." I asked him "Why do you think my dad needed an RPD?" A few seconds later he replied with "Why do you keep waking me up?" I finally went back to sleep.

I think I need to have a name for Michael’s second personality when he sleeps.

Slideshow From Megan's Wedding

Here is a slideshow from the Jamie Hammond's blog . . .

http://www.jamiehammondphotography.com/webslideshows/evanandmegan/

I love the picture of Haley's speech. Our reactions are priceless.

Favs

We watched "Food Inc." and "Valentino: The Last Emperor" last week and I started to think about my favorite documentaries. Many documentaries I have seen have stayed with me in a way fictional movies have not. I'm always so intrigued by the peek into the way some people live and the way other people think. Maybe it's the same reason Michael likes watching MTV's "16 and Pregnant."

Here's my list . . .

Fog of War
Grey Gardens
Mad Hot Ballroom
Grizzly Man
Little Dieter Needs to Fly
The Gleaners and I

Many of my favorites have been added to watch instantly on Netflix and I'm thinking about revisiting a few.

Paranormalcy

We shared our Thanksgiving meal with cousins, aunts, and uncles that live near my parents. I love catching up with all of my cousins and seeing their kids. We all lived within miles of each other and grew up together. The two cousins that were closest to me in age are both getting married in the next 6 months. Can't wait. Also, my cousin's wife recently signed a book deal with HarpersTeen. They have two kids and are paying off graduate school loans as well as sharing their one car. I'm so excited for them to buy a second car and pay off their loans. It was fun hearing about finding an agent, working on the second book, and meeting all the big wigs at Harpers as well as her "team" at Harpers working on the book. I can't wait to read the book!

Here's the link to the announcement in Publishers Weekly (It's under Kiesten White)
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/ca6685390.html

Here's a link to her blog as well . . .
http://kierstenwrites.blogspot.com/