Good Eats of WSU - Ferdinands!

How is it possible that we have lived here for so long (9 years total...to be sadly exact) AND love ice cream AND I have a blog where I love to post about food; but have never posted about the best place ever?!? It seems impossible, but it has happened.

What am I talking about? Don't worry, this question is often asked. And I will tell you...this time. I am talking about the WSU Creamery piece of heaven called Ferdinand's. It is this cute ice cream shoppe (yup, so cute it's spelled all weird) on the WSU campus, and attached to the Creamery where they

make world famous cheese. It is so popular that they ship it around the country. Gotta love Coug Gold cheese. The mere mention of Coug Gold will yeild one of two reactions: 1) you know what this is and are drooling right now (or) 2) you have no idea what this is, but part of your heart is sad because you are missing out.

So back to Ferdinand's. They have the best ice cream. Period. There cannot be any argument about this. And there doesn't need to be. If you argue against this, then I know you have never had any Ferdinand's ice cream. Classic favorites

include: chocolate peanut butter, tin lizzy, and mint chocolate chip. Seasonal yums: pumpkin, lemon chiffon.

Why is this ice cream so special? First, they make it there. So it is fresh. And creamy, none of this low-fat/fro-yo stuff. Second, you can get them as Grabbers. What is a Grabber? A scoop of glorious ice cream squished between two fantastic oatmeal cookies. Therefore, it is the best ice cream sandwich ever!

So this post totally sounds like an advertisement* for Ferdinand's. It's really not meant to. Really this is me reminiscing, and realizing that soon I will not be able to have this tasty treat for much longer. And how will Poppy Seed ever know the glory that is a lemon chiffon waffle cone on a hot summer's day? Maybe it is better to never know, to never suffer. Who am I kidding?!? Better to love and then lost, then never have loved at all.**

*Please read this in a British accent. It makes the blog classier.
**I'm pretty sure this quote is about ice cream. Isn't it?

When the catapillar becomes a butterfly...

Aka when Liz becomes Dr. Myers. It was an amazing commencement, surrounded by friends, family, colleagues, and mentors. The graduation speaker was great, Dr. Baxter Black, as was the rest of the speakers.

The best part of this graduation? It should be the last one I have to go through, personally. And that made it all the sweeter!

A huge thank you to all my friends and family who have supported me through this gauntlet called vet school. I definitely have grown during the process (and not just because of poppy seed!). It is true, the heat of the fire creates something purer than before. Vet school = fire. Thankfully I didn't turn into ash!

I want to especially thank my sweet husband, Keith. He has been through all the ups and downs that have been my veterinary training. Without him I am nothing, and without him I couldn't have done this. Only he truly knows what this has been like for me, and I am so grateful that he is my wonderful soulmate. (Is it bad if I make myself cry?)

Good Eats of Pullman: Mexican Food?

Yea for spicy foods!! Now that I can eat pretty much whatever, I am enjoying all kinds of food again. It was definitely a strange event early in this pregnancy when Taco Del Mar burritos were too spicy for me. Seriously, it made me sad and brought a tear to my ear (also because it was so hot!). But now my taste buds are back to normal, and we are back to trying new places.

There is a cute new place in town called Abeulo's Fine Mexican Restaurant. Now we have been reluctant to try it, especially since it was in the old Taco Bell. That just doesn't bode well for Mexican food. But some friends tried it and liked it, so we thought we'd give it a go.

Good thing we did! The food was yummy, the place was cute, the staff was super friendly! The favorite part was the salsa bar. They had seven different types of salsa that we could try, ranging from super mild to crazy hot. This is not including the normal salsa and chips they give you. So really, there were eight kinds of salsa to sample! And they had freshly made corn tortillas - all included with the meal!

The mildest is on the left...the crazy hot stuff is on the right.

I started with the more mild stuff and Keith ventured into the hotter stuff. The mild stuff had such great flavor, but very little zip. The hotter stuff was a great mixture of flavor and spice. Finally we both tried the hottest salsa. This is the salsa that the waiter (and maybe owner?) said that he couldn't handle. That definitely scared us. Let's put it this way: I swear I tried the equivalent of three molecules of this stuff...and my tongue let me know that those three molecules were screaming hot!

Keith was braver and tried a decent amount. Note: the picture I took after he tried it. This is not a posed picture, he did this for a few minutes afterward! It was so hot we both don't even know if there was flavor to it. We both found our favorites, which we scarfed happily with our dinner. Even though we have only a month or so left, we will definitely be back. It's just sad that we are finally finding some decent Mexican food in the Palouse. Hopefully they will be around a long time, so people can learn about real Mexican food!

WARNING: This post contains GRAPHIC CONTENT!

No. Seriously. Please have all children leave the room immediately! Actually, they may need to leave the building, less they should some how get any of this post remotely associated with their innocence. Those with sensitive eyes, temperaments, and are pure of heart should avert their eyes. Don't let these pictures tarnish the goodness that you have built your life upon. In fact, quickly go to this link to wash away any dirtiness that you may have accumulated from even being so close to such dirty pictures. (Click HERE for cleansing).
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Okay, so I guess the rest of you reading this are more like me. Dirty people. Shame on you. This is a family blog! But who cares! Now onto the show...

TA DA!

That's right! Never before seen nekkid pictures of our BABY BOY! Right there in graphic detail! (In case you can't tell, the arrow is pointing to "it") We are so excited to know the sex* of our baby. More importantly, our baby is healthy and growing right on track. He is only one pound at this time, which is crazy since Liz feels like she has gained about a billion pounds. Keith likes to remind her that she has to grow all the life support system stuff too, which Liz hears as "Blah blah blah".

As a reward for being the heathen people that you are (aka friends and family), here are some other ultrasound pictures from today.

Poppy seed is looking right at you!

There weren't a lot of super cute pics during the ultrasound, but most importantly all the measurements were within normal range. As always we sighed a sigh of relief. And we got to hear the heartbeat (140bpm); it never fails bring a smile. Liz even watched the baby move on the screen as she felt him bumping around...which was a strange phenomenon. The favorite baby pose was when poppy seed had his hand under his chin, like The Thinker. Liz mentioned to Keith that poppy see was probably pondering the Theory of Relativity.

Now that we know we are having a boy, it makes this baby-thing all more real. I said this to Keith, who asked the obvious question: "So the baby bump, baby moving, morning sickness, etc...none of that felt real?" It's not that isn't real, but that is just related to the pregnancy (a temporary state of being). Having a son, well, that is forever. And a happy forever. Yea us!

Now onto some important business that needs to be stated for you dirty people who have made this far into the post...Ground Rules for Our Son (wow...having son...wow):

1. A note for future present-givers, Liz will throw away any gun/weapon/knife related toys. Seriously. Talk about living up to horrible gender stereotypes. That's like if we were having a girl and someone gave her the "I'm Bad at Math" Barbie.
2. Do not ever, I repeat EVER, say the following phrase to/around/about our family: Boys will be boys. It is one of the most offensive things around. Playing off bad behavior based on sex (or gender) is not acceptable and definitely not for our son.
   
3. As his parents, we hold the exclusive rights to make up more rules as we go.
   

If you still feel the need to be cleansed, here is another link to make you feel a little better. Enjoy!





*This is the proper word. This is as opposed to the word gender, defined as the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex. And now you know.

Good Eats of Spokane

So I don't know how I haven't mentioned this place, since it's a fantastic place to have lunch if in Spokane. I have to admit though...the only reason why we tried it was because of architecture of the building. That's right, we tried a restaurant based on the building. Don't judge me; if you read this you know how random I can be. I had to convince Keith to try it out, since he agrees with you (the reader) on my logic. And the name of the place is so obviously kitschy that I loved it instantly: The Milk Bottle.


Thank goodness this place rocks! They serve pretty good burgers and stuff. And they make it all fresh, which is cool. It really is a nice Mom n' Pop place. But the reason why we always plan on eating there when we trek up? The milkshakes. It may seem pretty obvious that this place would know how to do a milkshake correctly, as you do eat inside a milk bottle. But this is actually some kind of fusion of ice cream and awesomeness. I can't even describe how wonderful they are. Not only do you get a milkshake in the cute glasses, but also the tumbler they made it in. This basically equals TWO milkshakes for the price of one. How can anyone turn that down? The answer: You can't. Besides...what sound like more fun than eating in a giant milk bottle!?!

It's Shower Time, Baby Shower Time!

A weekend ago I had the best time! What was I doing? Well, if you can read (and I am assuming you can, since you are reading this now...aren't you?) then you already know the answer from the title of this post. It was my baby shower! My wonderful friend Brynne (aka Brynne-a-lynn) hosted it and she did a fantabulous job. What qualifies as fantabulous? I will tell you! Just calm down! Don't rush me, I'm pregnant! (I love playing the pregnancy card.)

1. The Decorations. They were so great! Everything was so gosh darn cute. I loved

the baby shower sign and streamers. And the very creative baby gate across the front door. Very multi-purpose. Cute baby-themed decoration and interesting obstacle for those guests who decided to wear skirts. Hee hee!

2. The Friends. I was very happy to see everyone there! It has been such a blessing to have so many people support us as we take that next leap into grown-up land. I admit that I thought there would be people who questioned our decision to start our family now. While there has been a few, the vast majority have overwhelming smashed, smooshed, and obliterated those fears. Everyone is just so darn excited, it's hard for me not to be (which I am anyway!)

3. The Food. How can I be me, especially a pregnant me, and not think about food!?! It was yummy, but more importantly also baby-themed. And no, we did not eat baby food. Thank goodness! (although I admit I am curious about what it tastes like. Keith says all in good time!) Some of my favorite foods were there: spinach dip, hummus, pita chips. Some of my cravings: fresh fruit! Baby-themed: mini vanilla wafers, teddy grahams. The piece de resistance*? A fantastic cupcake cake decorated with Runts candy. Get it? RUNTS! How I do love that not only was it super cute and yummy, but so damn creative!

4. The Games. I am usually not a big game person. Especially forced social games. But these were so super fun! My favorite games? "Chocolate Poop Diapers" and "Guess Liz's Circumference". Wanna know how to play? Of course you do, because all the cool kids are doing it!

"Chocolate Poop Diapers" is when you have to figure out (or guess if you are like me) what chocolate candy is melted into the diaper**. These diapers looked disgustingly real...at least they did to all of us who don't have babies. But they smelled so yummy...something I don't expect to say about read diapers. I did horribly at this game, which is sad since I do love candy. But it was so fun to see people's reactions and it made for some great photos!

"Guess Liz's Circumference" was a great one too. Everyone got to cut a piece of ribbon to the circumference they thought I was. This may be one of the few times that I am okay with other people sizing up my belly area. I admit I was apprehensive at first, as growing in size is not normally such a positive thing. But
it was definitely lots of fun, especially seeing how close (and how off) people were. Most people were pretty darn close, although there were a few that probably estimated me at the end of pregnancy (or with triplets...giant triplets).

5. The Embarrassing Moments. Yup, I am saying it. Even when I was embarrassed it was fun. That's what helped made this shower so memorable. Besides the circumference thing, it was little things. Like the necklace I had to wear. Seriously, the Desitin packet scratched the heck outta my neck. Which is ironic. (Or coincidental. Whatever. Ever since that Alanis Morresette song I really don't know the definition of that word!).

Being the center of attention was also just generally embarrassing. While I don't mind cracking a joke and having people laugh, an entire shower where people are looking at me is kinda weird. But having your friends laugh with (and at) me was wonderful.

And the "make Liz be blindfolded and palpate stuff" was embarrassing too. Nothing like trusting your friends when you are blindfolded and getting stuff placed into your hands to feel up. I did surprisingly well, although some of it was super hard to figure out. But again, lots of fun!

6. The Gifts. I would be lying if I said these didn't matter. Or I totally turned into another person. But I haven't and I'm not lying either. The thoughtfulness and usefulness of these gifts are going to be so helpful in the new adventures of baby. I am so bad at opening presents in front of people, since I feel conflicted on being obligatory-awed and obligatory-humble at the same time. How did I feel on the inside? WHOO HOO! Our baby is so lucky to get such neat things, and we are so lucky that we can spend some of our saved baby funds toward other things.

The thoughtfulness really was heartfelt, and that will always mean so much more than the material stuff. So in the end, why was this baby shower so fantabulous? It was all the friendship and love that I felt for myself, Keith, and our little poppy seed. We are so lucky for so many reasons, and this was just a beautiful reminder of that.

*That's right. It's French. I think. Who knows, but it adds some class, dontcha think?

**Be careful when making these. We were able to see the first experimental diaper. Let's just say there was no actual flames in the microwave, but the diaper did look burnt. Hee hee!

Funny Pregnancy Quotes

It's not sexual harassment - you're pregnant! - Dr. Knappster

You are sneezing for two. - Evie Madden

I am going to punch you in the ovaries. Now get out of radiology. - Sam Howard

You have pregnancy brain. - Brynne Lyle (Said after I lost my Cougar Card...for the second/third time in a week)

How can you not feel that?!?- Keith (After seeing our ninja baby move around)

I can't trip you now, you are a vessel of life.- Dr. Bryan

John: So you are 1/2 Chinese, 1/2 Japanese, and 1/2 Asian...and Keith is Caucasian. What does that make your baby?
Liz: Light Yellow. (Don't get offended, this is a joke. And if you do...well, then you really don't know my sense of humor.)

You are my husband's hero. - Liz (Said to a radiology tech after she took away my radiology badge so I couldn't take radiographs anymore)

Do you have to wear a gas mask in the surgery OR?- Michelle Nguyen

Jaaron makes a great middle name - boy or girl.- Jaaron Peterson

I will be their life coach for 18 years. Look how much I've helped you in a few months.- Gura (Dr. Anderson)

Jenny will be your doula and I'll be your midwife. Keith and John will wait in the living room smoking cigars. This is Liz's dream, to relive the 1950's.-Brynne

You are high on baby juice.- John Lyle

Liz: I can't remember the weird pregnancy quote I always say.
Keith: Does it have to do with pregnancy brain? Because if it was, that would be awesome.

I'm pregnant, not colorblind. -Liz (talking about some FUGLY pregnancy clothes)

Can you use the same stuff they use for mastitis in cows? - Jenny Janitell (talking about Udderly Smooth Udder Cream)

You should steal a bunch of pee pads from the hospital and make your own diapers. - Jenny (after learning how many diapers a newborn goes through...she may be right!)

I'm going to make you wear the respirator mask during rounds, so you'll sound like Darth Vader. - Dr. Spencer (after Liz politely declined wearing one)

Someone Buy Our House!

It has finally happened: Our Pullman house is up for sale! It has taken A LOT of hard work - most done by Keith (the rest of it done by Doug, my dad, and Cher & Teresa), but it is finally ready. So now everyone needs to keep their fingers crossed for us as we sit and wait for someone to love it. And you know...we are so the patient type of people. Ahhhh!!! It's only been up for a few days...but the waiting is already driving me nuts.

Anyway, here is the link of our little house. It has been a great house for us, but sadly hard to move to San Diego! If you know of anyone looking in our area...be sure to send them our way!

Daddy To-Do List

Keith has been working frantically for the past few months, trying to get everything ready for the big upcoming (pending, looming, intimidating, etc) events. The largest project has been getting our Pullman house ready to place on the market. It has been super stressful, as he has completed so many projects around the house, cleaned it tirelessly, and now is moving things into storage.

Keith is one amazing man. I have been very little help, as this phase of pregnancy has rendered me a walking zombie most of the time, due to the severe exhaustion I have been going through. Now that I am mostly over that (I think) I am working overnights at the hospital, which leaves very little time except sleep and work. Nevertheless, Keith has forged ahead and has been doing so much of the work on his own. He never fails to amaze me at his work ethic, determination, and most of all love for this crazy woman he has married.

This is all in addition to the full-time job it is to take care of me. I often forget things now, and he looks after me and the little poppy seed to make sure that we are taking care of ourselves and being careful. He is the best husband and best daddy.

I am so glad I got to help a little today, and hope to be able to do more as I learn to work through the exhaustion and around this new figure I'm obtaining (it's harder to carry boxes with a baby bump). But really this post is a big THANK YOU to the love of my lives, my soulmate, my dear husband. None of this would I love you Keith!

Things I've Learned This Past Few Weeks

1. I really don't like Equine Surgery. But I do enjoy the people in the department.

2. Horses still scare me, but some are really sweet. I guess just like people, they can also be weirdly unpredictable.

3. People come by to try and save our soul with their religion. And even when we declined (we already have our own spiritual beliefs), they were nice enough to return my stolen wallet. There really are nice people out there.

4. Thieves steal weird stuff. A list of things I had stolen from my wallet:

Two dollars in cash

All my loose change

Gap Visa card

Costco card...apparently they expect to buy a lot in bulk...with my $2.

5. Our baby moves a lot and I still can't feel a darn thing. This time...avoiding the doppler at the doctor's office.

6. Taking a 15 minute nap can really be the difference between grogginess and sanity.

7. People always look at your belly when you are pregnant. Even when you aren't showing yet.

8. My husband doesn't like to feel helpless. Especially when it comes to taking care of me. And that I love this about him.

9. We are crazy. Moving, new job, and new baby...three HUGE life-altering events and we plan to do them within the next 6 months. What were we thinking?!

10. I still like it when lists end on multiples of 5.

Vet School - Almost the End!

It's official - the countdown is now beginning to look more like a countdown and not just wishful thinking. I mean really: when there are three digits on a countdown it's not really counting down, so much as reminding you of the eternity there remains. I only have four more rotations (8 more weeks) before I finally get my DVM and officially become a doctor. The scary part is when I inofficially become a doctor, aka when I learn how to be a doctor on my own. It definitely has been fantastic to have the safety-net that is being a student.

Who doesn't love the ability to make decisions, but the comfort of knowing that the responsibility really doesn't fall on your own shoulders? Soon enough, I will gain the responsibility and the decision-making. And this scares the ____________ out of me (you can fill-in any appropriate/non-appropriate word). I definitely don't feel ready to be pushed from the proverbial* nest, but I know it's soon time to try out these wings. I keep getting told that I will be a good (at times great) doctor, and I hope to God these people are right. It definitely keeps me up at night, thinking about all those bad doctors out there who still get to keep the title doctor - even though they definitely haven't earned the right. I can only hope these people see something more than I can see in myself.

I have made some great friends here at school and hope we all keep in touch as we branch out across the country. I am happy to say that these are people who I know will do their best become leaders in their community. (As for others...well, I can only wish them luck and that they find their way.) They have been my saving grace and my sanity, both which run short when everyone is sleep-deprived, stressed, and running on a lethal combination of adrenaline & caffeine.

Vet school has definitely made me stronger and helped me to grow more than I ever thought possible (and honestly, at times more than I ever wanted). It has also broken my heart and tested my will. I am glad to say I have laughed more than cried...which is really all I can ask for.

And it has made me realize what my goals are. Wanna hear/read/see them? If not, skip to the end...there are some terrific definitions for you to learn!

Liz's Goals:

1. Have a freaking life outside of work.

2. Enjoy every day, as much as possible.

3. Become a surgeon. Seriously, I love it. Cutting, fixing, power tools. What more can a girl ask for?

4. Live my Gura's (pictured on the left) mantra: Let it go. Always let it go.

5. People are weird. (not really a goal, so much as a fact. But I had to have a top five list...top four list is just weird)

Alright, enough mushy blather. This is what happens when a person is tired and hopeful...as opposed to tired and cranky (that was me yesterday). Enjoy the following train of thought:

Definition of proverbial: characteristic of a proverb

Definition of proverb: A short pithy saying in frequent and widespread use that expresses a basic truth or practical precept.

Defintion of Pithy: Consisting of or resembling pith

Definition of Pith:

1. Botany The soft, spongelike, central cylinder of the stems of most flowering plants, composed mainly of parenchyma.

2. Zoology The soft inner substance of a feather or hair.

3. The essential or central part; the heart or essence.

4. Strength; vigor; mettle.

5. Significance; importance.

6. Archaic Spinal cord or bone marrow.

Based on this: proverbial nest really means - soft, spongy nest made of bone marrow. No wonder why people talk about leaving it all the time! Ew. And yes, vet school has made me more random (that's right, I'm blaming vet school for that).

A Special Thanks

This week has been a crazy hectic one. Keith and I have been stressing about...well, everything: packing, moving, selling our house, finding a new place, figuring out Keith's work situation, and of course all the unexpected surprises with the lemon poppy seed.*

We have started packing and working on some of our anxiety-driven to-do list. But it's been hard to be super productive during the week, as Keith and I both have to work. And I get tired pretty quickly (actually, extremely quickly!), so my new bedtime is around 9pm. Pretty early, especially for this night owl!

Thankfully my dad came out this week to give us a much needed hand. He painted all the rest of the kitchen, which included all the cabinets and drawers. Keith's mom, Beth, had painted the walls a while ago. The thought was that I would finish up the kitchen. But since I'm always tired and am not supposed to be around those paint fumes, that plan had to be scrapped. So my dad came to the rescue! We are so lucky to have such a wonderfully supportive family.**

Now the kitchen looks fantastic and much more finished. The extra bonus: we got to celebrate his birthday together! His birthday present this year was a DVD (Rockford Files...I used to dance to the theme song when I was little) and a WSU Grampa t-shirt. His birthday dinner was at the wonderful Tokyo Seoul, where I was allowed to have some California sushi. Thanks FuPo!



*In my 14th week, the baby is the size of a lemon. So the new temporary name naturally has to be lemon poppy seed, the same name as my favorite scone!
**This includes all of our wonderful friends, who have been nothing but encouraging as we learn to grow-up.

First Official Sonogram

Okay, so we have already had an ultrasound...but this is the first official one. We met at the clinic, since since I was leaving the VTH in the middle of the day to go to the appointment. Thankfully I was on neuro/ortho rotation, and all I had to do was bring back a picture of the baby (Duh! I was going to make people look at it, even if they didn't want to!).

The hardest part of the appointment was preparing for it. I had to have a full bladder, which meant drinking an abnormal amount of fluids before the exam.* Now this may not seem to hard, but as my pregnancy progresses I often need to use the bathroom. I don't think I have ever been so well-hydrated in my life. I was definitely ready for the exam when I got there! I can also tell you there are a lot of unnecessary bumps on the road between the VTH and PFM. And then my appointment started 10 minutes late. AH!**

As for Keith's reaction to this situation, it was a mixture of laughter and pity. He said I was more excited to be able to use the bathroom than for the ultrasound. I was so happy that half-way through the exam they let me use it. I think I literally lept off the exam table!

In the end it was worth it - a great picture of the baby.*** He/she was less active than before, although did move around during the exam. I wonder if that means our baby has the Tamura sleep schedule already - sleep during the day, awake at night. I hope not, otherwise it will make working and raising a child very difficult. And I know Keith hopes not, since he does not function well as a nocturnal creature.

The blood draw wasn't too bad either, just a finger-prick and 5 drops blood. Not too bad! Now we just wait for all the diagnostics results...if I could only remember when they said we would find out...



*Ultrasound works better if things are surrounded by fluid. Wanna know more? Ask Keith. I'm too lazy to explain the physics of ultrasound.

**Hey, this may not be something everyone wants to read...but no one said pregnancy was pretty.

***You can also see my bladder, if you know how to read ultrasounds. Sigh...

Some of My New Favorite Things

1. Blaming my baby for things: Like wanting ice cream. Or when I lose my Cougar Card...for the second (or was it third) time in a week.

2. Speaking of ice cream, I lov that ice cream is a good source of calcium. And that I need calcium. So the logical argument is: I need calcium. Ice cream is a good source of calcium. Therefore, I need ice cream.

3. Reading books, websites, and other stuff all baby-related. And skipping the scary sections, such as labor and birth defects. Scary stuff. But I like the happy stuff, like knowing their heart rate (range is the same as a cat's), when their ductus arteriosus closes (a few days after birth - I knew I heard a murmur at the ultrasound!).

4. Being done with my senior paper and internship applications. Now I can focus on other things: my research project, my case report, and sleeping.

5. Olympic curling. I am sad that it's over and can only hope curling gets more ESPN coverage.

6. Ultrasounds! I don't really love doing them, but love getting them...so far.

7. Being back home after a month away and spending time with my husband.

8. The twinkle in his eye when I remind him (like he forgets!) that I am pregnant.

9. Standing barefoot in the kitchen. (Think about it...) It cracks me up! Of course Keith said this was how it should be. I kicked him in the behind, literally. Good thing he was laughing when he said it!

10. La Casa Lopez in Moscow, ID. While it won't compare with the Mexican food we had in Tucson, they do serve a decent tamale. And apparently some good margaritas...so I've heard.

11. Being able to eat Mexican food again! So far, no more morning sickness and no more heartburn with spicy food. I can't believe there was a time when I found Taco Del Mar spicy. Sad, sad day.

12. Lists. Okay, this isn't a new thing. Just be glad I haven't figured out how to do charts on this blog...yet.

13. Nicknames people have for the baby (and me):
a. Poppy seed - keith & liz
b. Chicken Wing or CW - brynne
c. Critter - jenny
d. Leon - sam
e. Preggo (for me) - john, knappster, and burien vet hospital

Baby FAQ - The Addendum

That's right...we are adding to our hip baby-related FAQ! Here we answer some new FAQs that we have recently come across. If your question appears on this FAQ...well, you know what you did.

1. Are you excited?
Yes. Seriously. For real, for serious, fo' sho'. We are super, duper, awesomely excited. There was dancing and celebration (And there was much rejoicing. Yea!). But we are less excited to be constantly asked if we are excited.

2. What is the strangest response to the pregnancy announcement?
Applause. (But no standing ovation - tough crowd!)

3. What was the best response to the pregnancy announcement?
About three minutes of screaming through the phone.

4. Does Keith have a job when you move?
We are working on it. We hope to have this worked out soon.

5. Is Keith okay being the stay-at-home parent?
Heck yes! He is excited for the challenge/opportunity/insanity that is being a stay-at-home parent. And btw, please don't call him Mr. Mom. First of all, I am the Mom. Second, what is this...the 1950's?!? Please join us in the 21st century. Welcome to world of tomorrow!

6. How are you going to manage internship and having a baby?
Please see previous comment, made from the 21st century. We may not have flying cars (yet!), but we do have this thing called equality. Just an FYI. Actually my internship will last a little longer, so I can take some time off when the baby arrives. Hooray!

7. Any cravings yet?
Yes. Oh wait...you mean related to pregnancy. Not really anything different from normal cravings. Except for cashews or peanuts. Don't ask, but I am loving them right now. But I think it's too early to say there won't be in the future.

I do like to say the following to get what I want: "It's the baby who wants _________ (ice cream, pizza, cookies, etc)." This usually elicits an eye-roll from Keith.

8. Rumor has it that Liz has pregnancy brain (ie. no memory), is it true?
Look here...I have always been kinda flaky, but to say such a thing is...wait, what are we talking about?!*

9. How far along are you?
Please see the cute little side-bar gadget on this bloggy that tells you. It took me a while to find one that I liked that didn't have a floating sea-monkey.

10. Has Liz had any symptoms?
In short: yup. Please see previous FAQ for full response.

11. Do you want a girl or a boy?
I never thought this was a legit answer, but here it is as I'm living it: We just hope the baby is healthy. This baby is a gift and we only want him/her to be healthy and happy.

That being said, there are many precautions we are taking. I now call Keith my "FuPo"**, as in Food Police. He let's me know what I can/cannot consume. I am also no longer holding for radiographs and being careful around anesthesia (no more huffing...sad, I know. Actually, anesthetic gas gives me a headache. Don't ask how I know that).

Thank you for reading the updated FAQ. Please keep your questions coming, and we will try (or not) to answer them in a timely (and sarcastic) manner.


*No seriously. If you happen to see Liz's Cougar Card, please return it to her. She has lost it. Again.
**Pronounced Foo-Poh. Rhymes with Uh-Oh.

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Our Ninja Baby

We finally had our first baby appointment with our OB/GYN, Dr. Guida. Apparently the first baby appointment occurs between weeks 8-10*. But Liz was gone to Western Washington for her month-long preceptorship**, so it waited until she got back home.

The appointment was fairly standard, with family history questions, physical examination, and some blood squeezed out of Liz. That part wasn't very successful and Liz had to return to give more blood. She also got a vaccine shot for H1N1 (swine flu), which was not too bad. It was pretty funny at the exam, since her doctor was explaining to a visiting med student about Toxoplasmosis (Liz is getting tested for since she works with kitties), something Liz has learned extensively in VetMed School. Goes to show you...veterinarians learn a lot more about zoonotic diseases than human MDs. (sigh!)

But overall, Liz and Keith were excited for the appointment. They had read in one of her many baby books that they would use a Doppler in this appointment (Liz is reading a frenzy of books, since this is like studying for Boards!).

This may be exaggerated, but Liz and Keith are reading a lot of baby books!

For those who don't know, a Doppler is used to listen to heartbeats. So Liz was excited to finally hear the baby's heart! After much trying, Dr. Guida just couldn't get the heart beat on the Doppler. Liz was crushed...but wait! Dr. Guida decided to warm-up the ultrasound and just take a look to reassure these first-time parents that everything was okay. This was wonderful, since this pushed the appointment into after hours for the clinic. Did we mention how wonderful Dr. Guida is!?!

So Liz and Keith got to SEE THE BABY! Liz and Keith got to see the heart beating, and the heart rate was about 170-180. Of course Liz stated, "That's just like a cat!" The baby was moving around so much, it was no wonder why the Doppler didn't work! Dr. Guida could barely get pictures, since the baby was swinging arms and twisting around so much.

The black sac is the amniotic fluid and the white thingy at the bottom is our baby! To the left is the heart, but it's hard to see in this picture since the little one was so active.

At one point, it looked like the little poppy seed*** was doing the Twist! This made Keith exclaim, "How can you not feel that?!?" Of course he knew that movements cannot be felt by the Mommy until 20 weeks, but it was incredible that so much movement could happen without Liz noticing.

Here you can see the head to the right and above the head is a tiny cute hand. If you look closely, you can actually see the baby's little digits!

It was such a wonderful experience and incredible that the baby is already so active. Dr. Guida called it our Mexican Jumping Bean. Liz called it the Ninja Baby - moving around without detection!




*Pregnancy is measured in weeks because the development changes from week to week. I never knew that before, since it's always talked about in trimesters. So I'll be talking about it in weeks, just because that is the standard.

**At Burien Veterinary Hospital, which is an awesome place! Loved it there!

***We call our baby poppy seed (for now), since at the beginning we were amazed that since a poppy seed-sized creature could cause such profound GI effects on Liz.

A Gift from Santa - Based on a True Story

So now it's time to tell the story of how Daddy Keith found out his new title. It's a few days after Christmas and Liz wakes up at 7am on a Saturday*. (Already this sounds like a fairy tale, doesn't it?). Liz takes the pregnancy test and see's this:


In her heart, she screamed with excitement and did a little dance. Liz wanted to wake Keith up by leaping on his sleeping lump, screaming with joy, and beating him with the pregnancy test. Instead she held back and waited**.

After what feels like forever, Keith woke up and they walked down to their favorite little coffee shop in downtown Pullman. (The day before they had planned a leisurely day, including getting some morning coffee. And Liz didn't want to tip Keith off that things had changed.) This day Liz declined coffee, stating she wasn't in the mood*. So she got an iced drink, which was quite refreshing when outside temperatures were around freezing. Keith offered to do some window shopping with her, and Liz also declined. She was anxious to get her secret plan into effect!

They returned home quickly afterward. Liz went on her own to run some errands*. Liz snuck off to the store and bought some gifts to surprise Keith. She returned home and placed the gift under the tree.


Keith quickly found the gift; Liz told Keith that Santa must have left a late stocking stuffer. Of course he didn't believe her! He opened the gift and said nothing. First he saw the WSU Dad shirt, then the WSU baby clothes...but he kept digging through the bag. Then he found the positive pregnancy test.


There was instant jumping, hugging, and dancing! As Keith states: He thought Liz had purchased the wrong shirt on accident. But as for the baby clothes, he was in a happy state of shock.

What a very Merry Christmas!




*All the starred behaviors are so unbelievable and out of norm for Liz that this story seems unreal. But they are true! Interestingly, Keith didn't notice how weird she was being. Yea!

**This meant waiting 5 entire hours to tell Keith. This is the longest she has ever kept a secret from him. Amazing.

Our First Ski Trip

My Christmas present to Keith was an Arctic Adventure - a trip full of skiing, waterparking, and general bumming around. We drove up to Kellogg, Idaho to stay at the Morning Star Lodge at Silver Mountain. It had been years since Keith went skiing or snowboarding, and I had never gone before. (Well, that's not entirely true. I went once in high school and had a miserable time. Why? Because I was so hot the entire time, since I was bundled head-to-toe. And my nemesis the rope-tow did not help either. But that is for another time.)

Once we arrived to the lodge, we checked in and then explored. There was an indoor water park associated with the lodge, to which we had weekend passes. We hadn't packed any swimsuits (it is freezing winter of the Palouse!), so we had to purchase some at the water park. It was such a blast to splash around, floating on intertubes, and going down crazy waterslides. One of the slides actually curved outside of the building, but I didn't notice since I had my eyes closed the entire time!

After splashing around and relaxing in the hot tub, we found a cute restaurant and had dinner. Then it was off to sleep, so we could attack the mountain in the morning!

In the morning we purchased our lift tickets and away we went...up the mountain via the World's Longest Gondola! It was pretty impressive and the views were fantastic. When Keith and I finally made it to the top, we rented our boots, poles, and skis. And then the terror began. Even though I had promised to be willing partner in this adventure, I was so scared! The packed snow made everything feel like it was moving fast.

We made our way to the bunny slope, where I promptly fell just trying to ski a little bit down the hill. The kids on the hill looked like naturals compared to my stiff-legged and stiff-armed approach! Keith skied down the hill, just to refresh himself on the technique and to show me that it wasn't going to be bad. Besides, how bad could it be since there was no rope-tow...only a carpet-tow!?! On his way down, Keith fell once and was so cute showing me that it wasn't bad at all! But on his way down, he ended up tweaking his knee turning.

So we headed inside to get some cocoa and to collect ourselves. But the longer we waited, the more Keith's knee continued to swell!! In the end we abandoned the remainder of our day and headed back down to the lodge. We haven't given up though, we plan to return...and this time I am planning on ski lessons! Thankfully the outdoor hot tub was running when we got back, and we took a quick dip to help ease our bodies. We left that night, as a snowstorm was headed our way...and it was already snowing heavily in Pullman (a 2.5 hour drive away in good weather). That evening we went to one of our favorite restaurants in Moscow, The Red Door. As always the food was excellent! The bonus of returning home early...we got to sleep in our own bed!

All in all it was a fun adventure and I got to share it with my best friend. (note: Keith's knee got better - after a few days of rest)

Our First Christmas Alone

This winter has been an interesting one. We are continuing to mourn the loss of our cat, Echo, who passed away suddenly and unexpectedly (see previous post). Another interesting time has been spending our very first Christmas with just the two of us! Keith and I have always been blessed to spend it with our family, either mine or his, for Christmas. We actually had already celebrated Christmas with my dad the week before, when we was out visiting. And thankfully he was able to fit all of our gifts into his Prius to drive back over to Western Washington!

A wall of gifts to send westward, they didn't fit under our tree!

Even when we moved down to Tucson, there was traveling done. However, this year with my senior vet school schedule, it was not possible to go back to Port Orchard to see our family. So it was just us two and our kittens celebrating in Pullman.

Tavia examines the presents to find any for her (her's were in cats' stocking!).

Bun is ready to have some Pocky, like a good kitten!

So what did we do? Well, we waited up until midnight on Christmas Eve and opened a single present each. Then we went to bed and slept until 9am on Christmas morning. This was a rare Christmas treat, as we knew our nieces would have the rest of Keith's family up no later than 6am. I made breakfast and we started opening our presents. We definitely missed the traditional sausage fondue that Keith's mom makes for special holidays! Presents were fun to open, as always, but we definitely missed watching our family's reaction to the gifts we picked out for them.

Keith loves Oriental things! Yea anime!

At around 10am, we Skyped Keith's family and got to see his parents, his sisters, and our two nieces. It was so wonderful to see them, even though it made our hearts ache to not be able to be there in person. Even still, it was so good to see them and talk to them for a little bit.

One of my presents from Keith - it's what I've always wanted. Too bad he beat me in the first game, but I came back and won the second one.

After cleaning up around the house, I took a nap while Keith played with his new toys (a GPS and a new PS3 soccer game). We are very thankful for the GPS, which should be very helpful in our anticipated move to undisclosed location. We haven't tried it out yet, but have already figured out how to work it (for the most part!)

Keith learning to use the GPS.

Then I called my dad and got to talk to him for a while, which is always great. It was so much fun and I did so much baking! I got some fantastic new baking toys, for which I was super excited. (I also got some super cute herb markers, but Pullman weather doesn't really allow for winter gardening)

Cute pocket pie molds from Williams-Sonoma...now I just gotta figure out how to not burn them! At least they looked good going into the oven.

Even though it was sad to not spend Christmas with our families, it was still nice to have time together and celebrate Christmas in our home. Keith and I especially like to take advantage of the time we get together, as our disparate schedules keep us busy! Although my dad's Christmas present will definitely help keep us connected - new Blackberry phones. Texting has never been easier!