Thank you, Ben

I lied. I promised I would post a blog yesterday and I didn't. Forgive me.

If I start posting more blogs, you can thank Ben Folds. We have been without internet in our home for close to six weeks. Technically we have always had internet, but about a month and half ago it stopped working. There is nothing that Brandon loves more than calling the AT&T support line. They diagnosed us with either a faulty power cord or bum router box. The former would cost us $10 to replace, the latter $100.

For months Brandon has been excited about the new album by Ben Folds that was released yesterday. Even though he pretended he was patient and could get it later, he really wanted it yesterday. I asked him why we would buy a cd when we could get it on iTunes. Obviously, we needed to fix our internet problem before we could download it. So I schlepped myself to the AT&T store and the schiesty guy took my machine to the back and declared it was not the $10 power cord. So I dished out $100 for the damn box.

When I got home I followed all the directions for setting it up. Brandon sent me the login information I needed. It didn't work. Of course he thought he could accomplish what I couldn't and he took a stab at it when he got home a few hours later. It didn't work. The highlight of the night was when Brandon had to call his friendly AT&T support line and yelled and screamed at the automated response. It was a good thing I was in the other room, because if he saw me laughing at him, I would have been in trouble =)

In the end Brandon got the Ben Folds album from iTunes. I (finally) restored and updated my iPhone. I can suddenly do all the things again my iPhone used to be able to do... like check my email and post to Facebook without mysteriously shutting down.

In other news, my underwear are inside out. That is the third time in two weeks.

Where I commit to writing my blog until at least tomorrow.

I could catch you up on the last 4 months of my life, but that would just be long and boring. So how about some bullet points on the more recent happenings of my life? (Warning... this is going to deteriorate quite quickly into updates about my pregnancy):

• On Saturday I went to my ten year high school reunion. I loved it. I have always been the nostalgic type so the chance to see people who I spent four years with made me happy. I didn’t think it was awkward or uncomfortable—rather I thought it was sweet the way that old friends and acquaintances took the time to get to know each other anew and recognize that we are still connected. I love that we are all in different stages of life and that we can learn from each other. I love that people have gone on to become teachers, mothers, coaches, business women and entrepreneurs. I love that ten years later we can all sit comfortably with one another and remember that Loretto was a special place for us.
  
• I am 28 weeks pregnant with twin girls. 28 weeks! Which in the twin world means that I could be meeting these little girls in close to 8 weeks. I am overwhelmed by the life that lies ahead of me, but also by the love and support of my family and friends. Brandon and his mom painted the nursery a few weeks ago and thanks to our grandmothers these girls have furniture to go in the nursery! Slowly but surely we are accumulating all the necessary items for having babies and I am learning the whole new world of baby accessories that I didn’t know existed (and I am not even sure most of them are necessary... haha).
  
• Brandon and I are starting birthing classes tonight. This is going to be totally awesome or totally awkward. Luckily my husband has a great sense of humor, because really, I can’t imagine how uncomfortable it is going to be if I have to pretend to be in labor when really I have no idea what the heck to expect from labor.
  
• On that note, people keep asking me if I will have a c-section or if I want to take the drugs in the scenario of a vaginal birth. Part 1: as long as baby A (the closest to the escape route) is head down, I can go through labor and delivery. If baby B is breech, I have been promised that they will “simply” manually turn baby B after the first one is out, or, pull the baby out breech. *winces* Although I am slightly fearful for my second baby, I prefer not to have a cesarean. Part 2: will I take the drugs? I do not have a particularly high tolerance for pain. However I am awfully determined once I set my mind to something. I want to try and go as long as possible without drugs, but if my wimpiness wins, I will ask for pain medication or an epidural. The reality is that I have no idea what to expect and I am not going to spout off any absolutes when I don’t know what the heck I am talking about.
  
• In January our fence was blown down in a storm. Last week we had it replaced. Finally. The neighbors don’t hate us anymore.
  
• I am tired of “people” (ahem, you know who you are) demanding that I write my blog. So I will try to write more. Or at all. Let’s take baby steps. I am posting one now and I will write one tomorrow. Then tomorrow I will think about the next day. Deal? Deal. Good.

dear mommy bloggers

How do you find time to blog?

I want to be a real blogger ("I want to be a real boy!") but I don't even have kids yet and I can hardly find the time to blog now.

Really. How do you do it? I want to be supermom like you.

Brandon and the mix tape

“Now, the making of a good compilation tape is a very subtle art. Many do's and don'ts. First of all you're using someone else's poetry to express how you feel. This is a delicate thing.” High Fidelity

Ever since I met my husband I have known him to be obsessed with music. He dabbles in all kinds of tunes, from the classic rock of Led Zeppelin to the 90s alternative of Pearl Jam and even throws in a little current pop music with Taylor Swift. To look through his CD case is to try to understand a complicated puzzle, because the man who loves The Beach Boys also has a Jurassic 5 CD.

I don’t always like all of Brandon’s musical choices (nor does he usually approve of my decision to listen to anything on a top 40 station) but he has certainly used his passion for music to create for us a musical history, a trail of CDs that document the first 10 years of our life together.

Even today, in the era of the iPod, Brandon still loves to make a “mix tape.” My own early compilations in the Napster days were a thoughtless collection of my favorite songs that lacked any sense of order or semblance. However, Brandon constructs thoughtful anthologies that are reflective of where we are in life at any given moment. The first CD he ever gave me was called Weird Love: Make-ups and Break-ups and was more about moving on from his high school girlfriend rather than meeting me. But Weird Love ended up having five volumes and they quickly became about me and our young love.

When we got married Brandon started a new series of CDs that he called the Brandon and Erin Story. For our anniversary he made volume three. When I was listening to it the other day I felt a deep love and appreciation for my husband who is so thoughtful and passionate. He appreciates music and he appreciates me. He found a way to dedicate more than 100 of the best love songs ever to me.

So if for some reason he ever tries to leave me and share his love of music with someone else, at least I know that I will have already tainted all the great music from 1950-2010 with his memories of me.

Thanks babe.

Oh, Canada!

Last week Brandon and I met my parents and my brother in Canada. They spent several days in Banff before we met up with them at Lake Louise. Lake Louise is a glacial lake (you can see the glacier in the background) and it gets its unique color from the sediments in the glacier. It is absolutely beautiful. We hiked up and around Lake Louise and I thought they were trying to kill the pregnant lady between the elevation gain and how fast they were going. But alas, I lived, and my legs hurt like hell the next day.

Lake Louise

After hiking around Lake Louise we headed for the more remote town of Jasper. The drive to Jasper was incredible as you pass through the Icefields and see from the road at least 5 or 6 more glaciers. Because my family was foolish enough to let me read the guidebooks we had to make a few stops. I never know if the places I make my family stop will be worth it, but most of my tourist choices were good this time. We saw a gorgeous waterfall with a sign that I found slightly comical despite the message...

Athabasca Falls

If you saw the force and drop of this waterfall this sign would also seem ridiculous to you. Because obviously.

One of the features of Banff and Jasper is the wildlife. They are known for bear, moose, elk, bighorn sheep and a variety of other wildlife the rest of us city and suburban dwellers only see at the zoo. So we were definitely on the lookout for animals. We found this first guy at dinner. He isn't so wild anymore.

The Post Hotel

Next we came upon these guys on the side of the road. No one in the car appreciated them as much as me. A little mangy--yes. But I love them!

Even though I desperately wanted to see a bear (from the safety of the car...) we never did find one. We saw sheep and a few elk along the way, but when we left early on Sunday morning we saw this beautiful guy. He is no bear, but man he is spectacular looking.

When I wasn't busy directing our tourist stops or hunting animals with my camera, we hiked and biked around Jasper and the lakes near where we stayed.

Sixth Bridge, Maligne Canyon

Brandon biking near Pyramid Lake

We also spent quite a bit of time relaxing and enjoying the area. The men especially enjoyed staring at the water.

Overall we had a fabulous trip. It is so serene there. We played cards, sat on the dock and the boys even went for a polar bear swim. I spent a lot of time taking pictures, most of them of bodies of water. Here are a few of my other favorites!

Pyramid Lake

Maligne River after the falls

Patricia Lake. This picture is taken at 10:00 at night! Sunset is at nearly 10:45!

Erin's best friend

As I mentioned yesterday, I found a gazillion pictures on my camera when I finally decided to put them all on my computer. So today you get an assortment of Molly pictures. She is so cute. I dare you to say otherwise.

Let us remember that Molly isn't really even my dog, although I share "joint custody" of her with my parents. She is the baby in our family, the dog my parents got when we were all grown and I was living at home temporarily. For the last 6 years that dog has obsessed my camera and my time. I love when she comes to stay with us and I love going to my parents and throwing the ball for her or taking her swimming. Perhaps when my babies are born my obsession with the dog will wane (I hope not!), but always I will love this little pup.

Don't worry. The monkey survived this game of tug-o-war.

I seriously love this dog.

Catching up

Brandon and I joined my family in Canada last week for a very brief vacation. In short: it was fantastic. We were in the Banff/Jasper region and it is truly one of the most beautiful places in the world. I spent every moment of driving, hiking and bike riding looking for a bear (although I desperately hoped it would be from the safety of my car); unfortunately no bears wanted to be seen by me. So I have to go back. Obviously. I will have pictures to post tomorrow (not of the bear. Because I didn’t see one. Duh).

Speaking of pictures, I uploaded more than 1000 pictures to my computer last night. Apparently I have not taken the time to do this since sometime in March. There are pictures from showers, weddings, trips, parties, animals, babies and Easter that somehow have never made it to the computer. Needless to say, I think you will find a few pictures on my blog in the days to follow... Which leads me to a question—so many of you post fabulous pictures that I know have been slightly edited. I am not about to throw down the money for Photoshop quite yet. Are you using free editing software or any inexpensive ones that you want to share?

I was walking through Target yesterday when I discovered the back to school section. I don’t go to school or teach school anymore, but that doesn’t mean a girl doesn’t need supplies! I found my beloved Ticonderoga pencils and will spend the next several months in bliss with sharpened yellow pencils and untainted erasers. Oh yes, I am a dork and I love Ticonderoga pencils. Don’t judge.

We are having twin girls! We had an ultrasound last week which revealed that the babies are sharing a placenta, very likely meaning they are identical. I have flutters all the time and it feels like someone is tickling me. I will be 20 weeks on Thursday and it is hard to believe that it means we are half way there! Actually, it is more than half way already, as my doctor has declared that I shall not go past 39 weeks. Now that we know they are girls I am so excited to start planning the nursery. Any ideas?