Japaneice

Adam and I just got back from our Florida vacation late Sunday night. I haven't sat down to blog yet because I have been in a bit of a post-vacation depression. It is always hard to come back from a week of relaxing and hanging out with people you love. What made it even harder was when we got home, Vermont was darker, colder, and rainier than I have ever seen it (in my whole two months here). And to top it all off, Adam had to leave for a 30 hour shift within seven hours of us getting home. Nothing like being alone on a rainy day to drive home the fact that vacation is officially over! I tried to call my handful of friends to at least eat a meal with someone, but no one was around. So I made my grocery list and left the house, partly because our kitchen was barren and partly to have some human interaction with the town folk.

The good news is I am in recovery. Today is sunny. I am out of the house and I feel stable enough to blog about what a wonderful time Adam and I had in Sunny Florida. So the reason for this vacation, the same reason that made this post-vacation depression so hard to shake, was our family from Japan was making their trek over to the states, a migration they only manage about once every two years. That in itself is special enough because we love Adam's bro, Troy, and our new sis, Kana, so much! But this trip was monumental because we were meeting our niece Zoe for the first time. Yes, she is ten months old and, of course, we have loved her since before she was born, but we fell in love so hard with this little girl and bonded so much in our week together that I didn't want to leave! Especially, knowing that the next time I saw her, she would be a full blown todd.

The beginning of our relationship was not all roses --there was a lot of crying. Zoe was not on the same page as Adam and I, who understood that there was only a certain amount of time that we had to squeeze all of our holding, hugging, and smooching into and we couldn't afford to waste a precious moment of that time! On day one we experienced a lot of the hold-and-cry where you tell the child things like "give into it" and "you will love me," which you can usually only do for a few minutes without damaging the relationship. We found that banana peace offerings and assisting the girl to walk with the aid of your fingers were the quickest way to win Zoe's heart. By that night, she let me hold her without crying. Victory!

Unfortunately for Ham, babes are always a little more leery of men. After church on day two, Zoe would still cry every time Adam held her, but while she was half asleep we slipped the Ergobaby on Adam and stuck Zoe in it. As soon as she realized what had happened, there was a cry fest. Adam paced all through the after-church crowd trying to soothe the babe, while Troy and Kana mingled. People were looking skeptically at Adam like he just stole a baby. This went on for about 15 minutes until they were both covered in sweat and had a panic-stricken look in their eye. Right when we were about to give up the love-by-force approach Zoe gave in and fell asleep. The traumatic experience was a little like being in a natural disaster or car accident with someone, you can't help but bond after that. From day two on, holding and cuddling was not only allowed but it was sought after by our little niece. That is how we broke the ice.

Aside from wooing Zoe, we spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with all the extended Hammond gang, lounging around the house and pool, and doing P90x (during which I kicked Zoe in the face, luckily it was hard enough to knock the knowledge of who did out of her mind, so she wasn't even mad at me, but I felt horrible). Then on Monday, we hopped in the car and headed south to Miami beach. I have lived in Florida, all my life, and never really hung out in Miami. Most of what I have seen there has been while passing through, so it was fun to get to experience it. We spent four nights of our vacation in Uncle Dan's condos which were right next to the beach. While there, I accomplished a milestone in my literary life..I finished Twilight (a little behind the times, I know). We also made a quick trip over to the everglades for an air boat ride, another first for this Floridian. That was the hottest I have been in a long time. Other than that we just hung out. Life is good when the hardest part of your day is working out and walking a few blocks to the beach. Ohh, I miss vacation.

I chose not to sleep in for most the vacation because I didn't want to miss any time with Zoe. I am sucker for a baby alarm clock (where the parents come in and drop the fully energized baby in your bed- this is a very common practice among my friends with kids, but I won't lie - I love it). Kana spared us from the initial sounding of the alarm, which happens around 5:30am. We usually were treated to the second alarm which sounds around the 7-8:00am hour. Zoe and I played together, we went to the beach together, we napped together....we were in heaven. I could make here smile and laugh and she would crawl up to me, bump me in the head, and shake her little head back and forth (which I think is a Japanese gesture for I love you). And then she would do her cutie patootie impression of an angry Chinese man. If I can figure out how to post a video of it, I will. I only cried a few times during the week when I realized how fast our time together was going and how big she would be next time I saw her. What?! I am pregnant.

As you can tell, ZoZo stole my heart. I could gush about her for hours and hours. Adam and I loved hanging out with her rents as well. You don't always realize how precious time is with your siblings until thy live half way across the world and you only get to really see them and sit and talk with them every few years. I love heart-to-hearts. You just don't want those moments to end. Sometimes I just want to pull everyone I love in the world into one tight little area so we could live together and do life together and never miss each other (I'm pregnant- I have steadily become sappier and sappier as my pregnancy progresses and I was sappy to begin with).

From Miami, we headed to Jacksonville for some quality time with the Cassidy clan. Troy, Kana, and Zoe came with us. That was super fun because Kat has been obsessed with baby Zoe since she learned of her. She would always make me show her pictures of baby Zoe and she even wrote a song for her. Needless to say she was beside her self when she met the girl in real life. Kit Kat is such a lover. She was so excited to share everything with baby Zoe. And she did for me what my husband will not. That girl rubbed lotion all over my belly and my feet to try and make her baby cousin move. It was so cute. My stomach was definitely a frictionless surface after her belly treatment. Adam wouldn't touch me with a ten foot pole (he has an aversion to lotion or anything in the lotion family - his nightmare is to be covered in Vasoline). But I loved seeing two of my favorite girls together, playing and having fun.

While we were there, my mom and sis, threw Adam and I a baby shower BBQ by the pool. I love Florida! It was so nice to hang out with family and friends. The time went way to fast as usual and we were saying goodbye to all our Gainesville friends way before we were ready to do so. Many good times were had though before the party did end. I am proud to say Ava Jones did learn to swim at our baby shower. Adam and Walter also took a rockin "my two dads" photo shoot (they might not have been aware of it, but I was snapping away). And we got so much cute baby stuff. I don't know why everyone is always hatin' on yellow and green -like it is the biggest tragedy if you don't find out what you are having so everything can be all pink or all blue.

Then came the saddest day of vacation, where you have to say goodbye and leave. Needless to say I cried. I did not want to leave anyone especially Zoe! We had to do it like a band aid and I was so tore up emotionally after we left that I think it made Adam and I look suspicious in the airport. The security personnel pointed us in the direction of a high-tech apparatus so we could be scanned . I realized after the fact, that someone, somewhere in the airport saw a black and white "distorted image" of my naked body. They assured us the photos would be deleted after we were determined to be safe. Weird. Then home again, home again. I do like my new home, but man do I miss my fam and friends. The warm reception by Jamers made things a little easier. Dogs are good friends.

So now I am off to drop off my substitute teaching/nursing packets. I know...I can't believe I might be stepping foot in a classroom again soon. My PTSD from my days as a teacher is under wraps (mostly). I also have an orientation for a clinic where I will be volunteering as a nurse (woo woo), for people without insurance. They can't keep me out of this profession even if they don't pay me --darn it! Other than that, nothing much is new with the babe. I am less sure that it is a boy than before. I also think I have an irritable uterus. I can definitely feel it contracting at weird times. Hamlet is still moving a lot and from what I read the other day, they are starting to get some baby fat:)

New York to Boston

It is crazy what kind of places turn into weekend trips when you move to a completely new part of the country. Now instead of Orlando or ATL being a quick trip to the big city, we have places like NYC and Boston at our fingertips. In July, we used much of our free time to explore our stomping ground, back when Adam only had one day off a week; but since he started his community health block which has no night or weekend requirements, we decided to hit the open road and visit some of our friends in Yankee country.

First we headed to NYC to visit our friend Mike from Gainesville YL, who was a wonderful host. Adam had never been to the “big apple” and now since it is only four hours from us, we had to make the trip. Mike was able to give us a super full weekend that was totally budget friendly. It was a $100 weekend (which means we did everything for under $100), which Adam’s attending physician couldn’t wrap his brain around. It was on this trip I learned New York was not part of New England….Who knew?? We stayed at Mike and Rob’s apartment in Brooklyn. Luckily, Ellie (our Element) didn’t end up on blocks like my dad feared. It was actually a cute little neighborhood. We did a lot of walking and subway riding, which is fun and free. We went to Times Square the first night and also had some good Mexican food, which we have been missing badly (one of the few areas VT comes up short), and some delicious ice cream from Mr. Softies (I know – great name:).

We stayed up late like city slickers and slept in like we were still in college. Mike took us to a few brunch joints. Apparently this is a very New York thing to do. Then we saw Central Park and went to the Met. There were some pretty sweet exhibits there. We saw a crazy, huge bamboo structure on the roof and an extensive Picasso exhibit. It was here I felt like strangers began coming out of the woodworks to comment on my belly (with no hesitation), which was a first for me. I guess I am really starting to look pregnant. During one of these instances, I only slightly glanced at a child having an all out meltdown in the museum and as the mom zipped past me she slowed just enough to say, “see what you are getting yourself into!” I am feeling ready to be a mom, but I’m not sure anyone is ever ready for those meltdowns.
We hit up Chinatown, which Adam and Mike were all about, and dined on some dumplings. They were amazingly cheap and pretty tasty, but they brought some of my heartburn back and for that I rebuke them. After that we trekked across the Brooklyn Bridge on foot. Then we crashed a house warming party of one of Mike’s friends. On Sunday, we saw the Chelsea market and walked on the Highline. This is Martha’s side of town and I fully intend to be a guest on her show next time I’m in that area of NYC. I’m hoping she has a baby shower show before December (fingers crossed).

Last weekend we headed to Boston (and sadly forgot my camera), which feels a little like home now: one, because we have been there so much in the last year and two, because the Nalls are there and they feel like family to us. They took us out to a fancy French-Cambodian restaurant on Friday night. I didn’t even know how much I loved French-Cambodian food until then (because I didn’t know what it was). That night was also very special because Michelle got to be the first person – besides me or Adam – to feel little Hamlet move. We did a lot of walking around this city as well, but I love it, especially after living in such a small town. I got my J.P. Licks fix, which is amazing local ice cream in Boston. I know it isn’t a strange craving, but that is the indulgence that holds power over me. Saturday night we had a picnic in the park and watched a free showing of Othello with the guy from “The Wire” playing the lead role. It was really fun and romantic, although as much as I tried, I couldn’t get Adam to make out with me while we were sharing a blanket with three other people. We also hit up a lot of local markets, where I wish I had money to spend. One felt like we were at Etsy – if it were a real place. Of course, the weekend went by two fast, but we do have plans to return.

Just when it seemed August couldn’t be anymore fun, we got an exciting call on our way home from Boston. One of our friends from FL happened to be in the area. It makes it feel like a small world when someone happens to be in the Vermont neighborhood. I guess we shouldn’t have been too surprised that our world traveling friend Andy Bray, had plans to show up on our door step. It made our year. You just don’t expect drop in visits when you move 1,300 miles from your family and friends. It makes a place feel so much more like home when you get to share it with people you love. The reason Andy was in our neck of the woods was because he has a new lady friend in NY, Lydia, who we got to hang out with. This was my first real chance to show off all of the wonderful things I have found to do around our little mountain town. I think I did a good job, because I convinced Lydia to agree to come hang out with us even when Andy won’t be able (because he will be too busy becoming a PA in NC).

And on top of all of this, Adam and I just officially started our vacation in Florida! Life is good. We just met our niece Zoe for the first time! She is wonderful! And I am really stressing that I could never make a baby as beautiful as that little half Japenese cutie patootie. If my baby isn’t cute, I would like for all of you to know you are obligated to lie to me (or at least avoid the subject).

Movie Moverton

Isn’t my baby cute! Adam and I had an ultrasound done last Thursday and we got to see our little Hamlet. I am in love. We have decided not to find out if our babe is a girl hammer or a boy hammer. But from all the standard ultrasound measurements, we do know that lil ham appears healthy and still right on schedule for a December 8^th birthday. We shall see – no one ever delivers on their due date, right? If they are anything like Adam and I, they will probably be late (and frustrated with themselves for not planning better). Or maybe they will have an early personality and we will drive them crazy the rest of their lives with our tardiness – that, more thank likely, will be the case.

So even though we didn’t find out the sex I think the newest hammer is a boy. I could be wrong, but there are two reasons I think this: 1) Our baby is a Movie Moverton! Ever since that first nudge, I have been feeling crazy amounts of movement, like someone is doing gymnastics or P90x in my womb. It just seems like more of boy thing to do. Little Ham moved so much during the ultrasound that tech was worried she wouldn’t get all of her measurements, but Adam and I loved it. It was so neat to have a visual of all the craziness we keep feeling. When she tried to measure that hugely smart brain, our little babe promptly did head stand and tried to hide their brain in my cervix. Crazy prankster. 2) The second reason I think it’s a boy is because our baby lounges exactly like Adam . You can usually find Adam with one or both arms above his head when he sleeping. And as you can see, when the image first came up on the screen, little ham was lounging with their arm above their head. Even when we had an ultrasound in done in FL at 12 weeks, when Hamlet had squatty, little limbs that weren’t proportional with their body. One of their little hands was as high up as it could go resting on their forehead. So cute! I can’t sleep or even lounge like this for any length of time or I wake up with the feeling that I have a dead man’s arm attached to my body. Not very pleasant. So I think it might be a little Adam.

Even before all this evidence, I just keep getting that “little boy” feeling. Most of my friends and family keep getting the opposite vibe, especially Kat (she is sure it is a girl cousin). My mom did tell me that her motherly instinct led her astray with me – she thought I was a boy the whole time. So who knows? Maybe it is sweet little girl who has an energy level on par with that of all the Cassidy children and who has better blood flow to her arms than her mother, which allows her to lounge like her dad.

Since I have reached the halfway mark, the whole labor part of pregnancy has seem much more real and scary to me. I know it is still four months away, but I feel like I should be starting a training program or something now. I have already had two labor dreams. In the first one labor was so scary. But in the second, I was shocked, but labor wasn’t bad at all….and then I delivered a little black girl. Unfortunately, I do not think either parts of that dream will be true. Well, I do have more to blab about but I’m almost in Boston so I going to run so I can have some fun with the BosNalls!

Beer, beer everywhere...

but not a drop to drink. Apparently one of the perks of living in the NE is the multitude of microbreweries throughout the area. We have already been to two that are within ten miles of our house - the Long Trail and Harpoon breweries. Adam is in heaven. And on top of having all these breweries at our fingertips, we also seem to have an abundance of beer fests. It seems like they happen just about every other weekend around these parts. This pregnant woman attended two of them in July. I know, I know, I should slow down for the baby. But before you judge you should also know there are a few root beer microbreweries up north. That is one of the many beverage selections they provide the DDs at a beer fest.

Luckily, for me, beer fests are a ton of fun, even if you are not drinking. But even if they were an utter bore, I would fake it for Adam. The poor boy had such a tough first month of residency, including being over night at the hospital on his birthday eve and part of his birthday (employers just don’t respect birthdays the way they should these days). The 80-hour work weeks are no lie – and no fun! Probably less fun for Adam than me, but it’s still tough. So to make it up to him we flanked either side of his birthday week with a beer fest. It was a great time to get closer to several friend-potentials too, which you know had me sold.

First we headed over to Burlington, which feels like a big city after living in Hartford for a month. We spent the night with John and Sarah, two Vermonters we met at Marc and Jenny’s wedding. As soon as we learned they lived only an hour and half from us, we didn’t hesitate to set up a friend date. They invited us to come stay with them and experience the Vermont Brewer’s festival, which was hosted in their town. Adam was so happy it happen to fall on his day off. The festival was on lake Champlain and the weather was beautiful. I almost forgot I wasn’t in FL. They had live music, delicious Vermont cheeses, and ice cream there, so I had myself a little cheese and ice cream festival. I told you it wasn’t so bad for non-drinkers. We also got a mini tour of the city on bikes and ate la poutine (a Canadian dish that is pretty much French fries and gravy) for the first time. We had so much fun and I think we moved from friend-potentials to official friends with John and Sarah after that.

The next Saturday we went to the Harpoon Brewery BBQ festival. Okay so I guess that one was more of a food festival with a lot of good beer. Our decision to go to this one was a little more spur of the moment. Adam was biking home from the last day of his ICU rotation, which just happened to be a 30 hour shift, when two boys from his residency class, Marco and Parambier, happened to abduct him. They talked him into celebrating rather than sleeping and he was easily swayed. Adam was of course kind enough to make sure I don’t miss out on any of the fun so they came by and grabbed me too. We had our fill of good BBQ. There were award winning BBQ venders there from all over NE. And I ate fried oreos for the first time. My baby loved them! It was really fun to get to know people from Adam’s program a little better. We even had a little jam session when we all got back to our place, which is almost always a bonding experience. We plan on breaking out “Segway” here soon-- as soon as we have enough friends.

Other than that we have been living up every free minute we have together, trying to soak in the summer. There are so many farms with U-pick fruits and berries. Right now, it is blueberry season and I think I have picked my weight in blueberries. We have had blueberry pie, blueberry pancakes, and just straight blueberries. I finally started freezing them when Adam and I both found evidence (I won’t say what) that we might have too many blueberries in our diet. They are just so delicious!

We have also been doing a lot of hiking. It is so different being up here and having the mountains pretty much in your back yard. We discovered several beautiful trails just a mile up the hill from our house that we have been exploring. We also took advantage of Adam’s “surprise” day off last Wednesday and hiked up Mt. Moosilauke. You know – just a casual day hike on the AT in the White Mountains. I am really starting to love Vermont! And I am really loving Adam’s rotation this month – no nights, no weekends, and the occasional day off. I know it won’t last, so we fully intend to enjoy every second of it. I will keep you posted on all the fun we have with our new wealth of free time.