The other day, we had bunches of errands to run. I had to get home from childbirth class, go to court to get my ticket waived, a visit with the midwife, a visit with the perinatalogist, laundry, groceries and a visit to the natural foods store for homeopathic anti-anxiety remedies. The day began out stressful but every time I walked out to our rental car, I had to smile:

Enterprise wanted to charge us about $60, Thrifty (if you can call it that) wanted $80 for only ONE full day. UHAUL, as you can clearly see, is $19.95 + mileage.

Yay UHAUL!!

I love this shot of baby waving to us. What I can't figure out is if we are looking at a left hand or right (although it does make us think baby will have Tom's wide hands, instead of my narrower ones).

I think this picture of baby's profile is my favorite so far!

Hi baby!! You look a little alien-esque right now, but I am so happy to see you!

So I've been meaning to post pictures for some time now.

This one, I called "Smooshed." It still makes me a little sad, especially since finding a replacement has been so difficult. I'm sure I'll feel much better once I actually have a car. If you look in the bottom left corner you can see the hole that the Jeep's muffler left in my bumper. It's still hard to believe that 6 inches is the difference between a fender bender and a totaled car. *Sigh.*

This next set is all about getting ready for baby. Here you can see Erin and Betty painting the baby's room. And then you can see the semi-finished product. If you are curious, that is the "theme" of our nursery - bright colors, specifically those found in the mobile in the fifth picture.

Now, I also had some more baby pics, but the computer is being most disagreeable. When I can get them to download properly, I'll set them up here for you to see.

Monday, Tom had to walk to work because the buses were closed (stopped? inoperational?) for MLK Jr Day. Since he has to walk by my work to get to his, he stopped in early to surprise me.

This time, he brought me flowers - a potted purple hyacinth. He wanted something that would last longer than the rose he got me for my birthday and he thought they smelled nice for my office.

What was adorable was that he didn't know what kind of flower he had gotten me. When I got all excited that he brought me my favorite flower, he looks at me, puzzled and says "That's hyacinth?!"

They are beautiful and fragance my small office nicely. My only dilemma is that I work in the basement, and there is no sunlight near my office. I've been taking the plant out for a half hour each morning, but I think I'm going to need to take him (don't ask about the pronoun) out for lunch, and I'll probably take him home over the weekend.

I love my husband!

When I went to work this morning, it was in the mid 40's and sprinkling. By 10 am, it had begun to snow. Just flurries, but enough to send this coastal North Carolina town into hysterics. By 11:30am, an official email was sent stating that work would be closed by 12:00pm. We were paid for the rest of the day, so I was happy for the time off to rest. But I couldn't help but laugh. As soon as I got home, I took a picture of the "inclement weather" that caused work to shut down early.

You know, I think I like snow a lot better here in North Carolina.

PETA Attempts To Make Fish More Adorable
by Anne Hillman
"Sea kittens" is the new term being used by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, for the creatures they believe are in dire need of an image makeover: fish.
"PETA thought that by renaming fish sea kittens, compassionate people who would never dream of hurting a dog or a cat might extend that sympathy to fish, or sea kittens," PETA campaign coordinator Ashley Byrne says.
Byrne says that rebranding fish as sea kittens was obvious.
"Fish not only have the same ability to feel pain as a dog or a cat, but they also communicate with one another," she says. "They have complex social interactions; they form bonds; they express affection by gently rubbing against one another."
The PETA campaign boasts a colorful, interactive Web site aimed at children and their parents. It offers sea kitten bedtime stories and a design-your-own sea kitten in hopes it will build compassion in families.
"Most parents would never dream of spending a weekend torturing kittens for fun with their families, but hooking a sea kitten through the mouth and dragging her through the water is the same as hooking a kitten through the mouth and dragging her behind your car," Byrne says.
Alaskan Resistance
PETA has so far only promoted the campaign in North Carolina but plans to take it nationwide, even to Alaska — a state where fishing is both a source of recreation and many families' livelihoods.
In the small fishing town of Unalaska, population just under 4,000, some people see the campaign differently.
"I don't see fish as sea kittens; I see them as food," says 12-year-old Chastity Haskins.
Haskins is looking at the PETA site with her friend, Harmony Wayner, 11.
"It just doesn't look right," Harmony says. Harmony, the fourth generation of a commercial fishing family, looks at the cartoon fish and reads through the information on the site. "They say that they're intelligent, but they're not really," Harmony says. "They have tiny, tiny little brains. Very miniature."
The girls also take issue with the claims that sea kittens are unhealthy to eat.
"They only talk about farm fish — it's not wild Alaskan, which is very good for you," Harmony says.
Sea-Kitten-Friendly Environments
"I don't understand how it makes sense," says fisheries observer Mary Powers, who works on fishing boats to collect data on the catches. She thinks the campaign, which encourages people to petition the Fish and Wildlife Service to stop the hunting of sea kittens, is misguided. "It seems like it's discouraging Americans to buy our product, which I think is unpatriotic."
But Byrne says that even if people lose jobs in the fishing industry through the success of the campaign, they could find work in more sea-kitten-friendly environments.
"So as there is less of a demand for foods like fish, there is more of a demand for other foods, and jobs open up in those industries," Byrne says.
National Marine Fisheries Service management biologist Brian Dixon doesn't see the change coming anytime soon.
"Well, it may raise some money for PETA, but I don't think it'll change the way we manage the fisheries," Dixon says. "I think I may eat some sea kittens tonight."
Anne Hillman reports for member station KUCB in Unalaska, Alaska.

Tom and I have each taken to reading to baby everyday. Tom found an old fairy tale book I got when I was 5 and so every other day he reads baby a story. Last night was 'The Goose Girl,' from the brothers Grimm. It was indeed, fairly grim and included talking drops of blood, wicked maidservants, talking decapitated horse heads and being drug naked down the street in a barrel of knives.

Maybe we shouldn't be reading fairy tales until baby is an adult!!

I have been reading from 'Le petit Nicolas,' a French children's story (or collection of little stories) told by Nicolas about his school, family and friends. Though I am not fluent, I think that maybe a little exposure to the French language now (and throughout childhood) should make it easier to learn a foreign language later in life. We'll see. Either way I get to practice my french, and I always enjoy that!