New Years in June

As was agreed last December, this year's New Year's gathering is due to take place this summer not only because it gives me a chance to be on the right continent, but more importantly because we have so many next-generation BLDers to now introduce to the group. (Welcome to the family Honorah, Clare, Jaya, Sophie, Sarah, Madeleine and Eleanor!!)  Other than the wildcard option (see below), Jason won't be able to join us, but I'll bring Sarah who looks just like him.

There are only two relevant questions.  Please vote accordingly.

When?

Weekend of June 13 (preferred)

-or-

 Weekend of June 20

Where? (All options are in North America; others have been discarded)

Ely, Minnesota

-or-

Somewhere along the Eastern seaboard (volunteer to host?)

-or-

Large hunting grounds in Kansas

Wildcard Option

Memorial Day weekend in Chicago.

We'll be there from Thursday, May 21 through Monday, May 25 for a must-attend family wedding.  We can put the Muffinator (my mom) to work right away to find a place for all of us to stay if this is an option that works for lots of folks.

However this works out, I'll bring a ham.    

Amanda

3 weeks

I have three weeks left of school. Well, really 14 days. I'm not sure if I'm excited or not. But, it feels pretty seismic in my world. I worked for two years after Dartmouth, but I was taking courses for a masters then. So, in short, except for my leave when I had Joe, I've been in school since we were at Dartmouth. Granted, that means I've been spared the disappearing 401K that Jay seems to have...but, in case you were wondering, that basically means that I've never been gainfully employed (well, I guess Pfizer counts as being gainfully employed, but I definitely spent that money eons ago). Luckily, a resident's salary will likely not shock my system, since it works out to less than minimum wage, or so I've been told...but holy cow! I'm about to finally grow up (at least a little).

New blog

After our Christmas card met with some critical acclaim this year (critical acclaim = less than 10% "returned to sender"), Betsy asked that we record all the interesting things we hear for the rest of our lives. Conveniently, the internet allows us to do this in a way that is both self-aggrandizing and shameless, without the annoyingness of vacation slide shows. 

So if you're bored, and curious what my kids are saying and whatever other stuff interests me, you can go to

http://betsuccocards.blogspot.com/

and read up on stuff. I can promise you it will not be as detailed or interesting as "home on the range."

I want to have babies

Hey, we finally had Eleanor, and labor was so easy for Betsy this time that she's considering being a surrogate in the future.

Born April 13, 2009

3PM

8 lbs, 2 oz

21.25 in.

Everyone is healthy (or at least all the Mazzuccos are)

I Hate Waiting

Dialogue between Betsy and Eleanor (who is still hanging out in Betsy's belly).

B: "Hello there."
E: Glances up, kind of grunts.
B: "Slow going?"
E: "Look, I don't mean to be rude, but this is not as easy as it looks. So I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't distract me."
B: "Sorry."
E: "Thank you."
B: Steps away, folds some baby clothes, practices a diaper change. Then looks eagerly at her belly again.
B: "I do not suppose you could speed things up?"
E: "If you're in such a hurry, you could lower a rope, or a tree branch, or find something useful to do."
B: "I could do that. In fact, I've got some castor oil up here. But I do not think that you will accept my help, since I am only waiting around to oogle you and change your diapers."
E: "That does put a damper on our relationship."
B: "But I promise I will not oogle you until you reach the top."
E: "That's very comforting. But I'm afraid you'll just have to wait."
B: "I hate waiting. I could give you my word as a Mazzucco."
E: "No good. I've known too many Mazzuccos."
B: "You don't know any way you'll trust me?"
E: "Nothing comes to mind."

And so, we wait. No labor yet.

Madeleine Rhynehart Hurst

Just in case anyone didn't get an email or text message from me or Hillary, here are the stats on the newest member of the BLD:

Madeleine Rhynehart Hurst

Born 3/25/09

8 lbs, 8 oz

21 inches

Long swimmer legs, hands, and fingers.

Good eater.

Good crier.

Sporadic sleeper.

Excellent pooper.

Enjoys Dr. Seuss & Disney books.

Madeleine has been a real trooper.  She had a rough entry into the world, deciding to come out sideways after about 24 hours of labor and 3.5 hours of pushing (poor Mom).  She had to be vacuumed out at the end, which led to some bruising on her little head, which led to elevated bilirubin levels.  Because of that, she had to spend the first day and a half of her life under a baby tanning bed, naked except for her diaper, with her head wrapped tightly to protect her eyes from the rays.  She was OK with this scenario for a couple of hours, but then decided, understandably, that it wasn't her cup of tea.  It was hard on Mom & Dad to not be able to hold her, but everything worked out in the end, and we were able to come home as a family a little earlier than expected.

Airport Ratings

Hilarious. Seems to be loosely based on a Dan Mazzucco short story:


Prague's Franz Kafka International Named World's Most Alienating Airport