I bought some groceries yesterday, paid with my WaMu debit card

Oops, sorry. They should have said something beforehand.

On a more serious note, I checked the website and seems to be working still. I would like to stay with them, as they have convenient branches and decent services, but...

And on the 7th Day...

He pooped. Repeatedly.

Yesterday I could smell the ocean

It was nice. Fall is coming.

Maceo Blanquera Jala

The box score:
Born 9/11/2008 at 2:29 PM, 7 lbs 12 oz, 19.5" long.

The name Maceo is a derivative of Mateo, or Matthew, meaning "gift of God," but that's not why we chose the name. Mostly, we just liked the sound of it. We pronounce it "May-see-oh," or usually just Mace for short. The alternate pronunciation is "Mah-chay-oh," but we don't use it, though I've started calling him Macho for fun. We'll see if it sticks.

Looking forward to having you all meet him soon.

edited 9/18

The Brothers Jala

I think the introductions went well. Roc viewed the little bundle with more curiosity than anything at first. We started having issues when Maceo was feeding and Roc wanted some attention from J2. I tried to keep him busy, but it didn't always work. It'll take some time, but I think we'll settle down into a nice little groove, it's only been a day.

I know they'll be best friends.

Liveblogging Huggy

Baby Boy Jala was born around 2:15 this afternoon, in his house, in his room. It is a sunny, warm day. J2 pushed for about an hour, he cried for just a little bit, then started nursing almost immediately. He and Mom are doing just peachy.

Midwives made us some grilled cheese sandwiches, cleaned up, gave BBJ a couple shots. They're gone already, it's just the 3 of us now. Missing Roc, but we need a couple days of peace before introducing him to his bro.

Much to digest, but bottom line is, we're tired, but indescribably happy.

Liveblogging Huggy

not much happening right now, contractions getting stronger and more frequent. she's managing to joke around between them so nothing's imminent probably. midwives think this will go pretty fast though. water hasn't broken yet, but once that does, game on.

Liveblogging Huggy

midwives are watering our houseplants and picking a nice bouquet. just what are we paying them for anyway?

Liveblogging Huggy

We're slow dancing, junior-high style, to "pictures of you"

seems to help with the pain

Liveblogging Huggy

Clutch "Open up the Border" just came up on the birth mix. Dunno why. Midwives appreciated it, at least it ain't Enya.

Contractions getting stronger, definitely takes all of j2's concentration. She's kneeling on the couch, staring out the front window at passersby, who have no idea what's going on in this house.

Liveblogging Huggy

J2 just got some shots, I had to physically throw Goo outside cause she was getting in the way. Hated it.

About to break out the Boggle.

My "Youre my birthing Goddess" shirt is a hit.

Liveblogging Huggy

We just sent Roc off with AJ to stay with Lolo and Lola for a few days. Missing him already, sorry that he won't share in this experience, but he's too young to understand.

Midwives are here, setting up. It's a flurry of activity. Contractions every 3-4 min.

Liveblogging Huggy

Just got the call; I'm at work trying to tie up a few loose ends.  Shazbot!

The Village Takes Care of its Own

Sciencemamma came over last night bearing food. Lots of it, all in handy, easy to reheat containers for post-partum noshing.

Thanks, from the Jalas.

"WTF is PC Load Letter??!?!"

Pretty freakin' cool...



One question: how do they reinforce this bad boy? And can they really pour lintels like that without any formwork whatsoever? (ok, that's 2 questions, but still)

"Is my kid a dick, or is he just 2?"

What sometimes gets lost in the whole hubbub of getting ready to welcome HuggyBear into our world is that Roc is growing and changing into quite the little boy. Our baby is gone, and while I sometimes miss those (much quieter) days, he has become a bubbly, vibrant, inquisitive little man. Introduce him to something new, and now you can almost hear those neurons click into place like so many Legos as he processes this new and wonderful information. It's rather fascinating to witness.

Where there is yin, of course there must be yang. We're definitely on the cusp of the Terrible Twos; his favorite word, next to "more," is probably "no." No vegetables, no clean diaper, no daddy. Granted, he learned it from us, but now that he's started to assert some free will we're sort of free-wheeling as we ping-pong off each other to determine what Roc really wants. "No veggies? How about bananas?" "No diaper? Tough." "No daddy? Go to mama then."

We haven't (yet) had any poo-flinging tantrums or grocery store meltdowns, but it's coming fo' sho', and I'm not even sure how I'll handle it. I hope any dickiness is temporary, though in this culture it'll probably be considered a strength.

Week 38-let's get this show on the road already! Jala2 said it's ok for me to liveblog Huggy's birth, so I'll give it a shot.

Golden Brown and Deelish

Took Jala2 out for lunch yesterday since I had a meeting downtown. She asked "Where do you want to go?" First thing that always pops into my head: Teriyaki! I have weakness for teriyaki joints. Love, love, luuuuurve them. And I ain't talking about no Benihana's, you know, the kind you find in just about every nondescript strip mall or hole-in-the-wall you see around here. Salty, sweet grilled meat on a big pile of rice, yum. It's Seattle's cheesesteak/hotdog/pizza equivalent, and for me, comfort food. It tends to be my go-to option for those days I don't have lunch prepared (which usually consists of leftovers from the night before) or I'm on the road or I'm on my own for any meal, really.

I have high standards when it comes to food, but that all goes out the window when I see "Teriyaki" on the front door, for some reason. I could be sitting down to a plate of grey, rubbery, tasteless meat slathered with sauce straight from the Yoshida's bottle and I'll still find a way to eat the whole thing with a smile on my face. I haven't actually been to a lot of the joints in the area, but that's mostly because there's so many of them and I've narrowed down my faves to a select few:

Happy Teriyaki: That to which all others shall be compared. Here's the thing-I always thought teriyaki came with a side of sauteed cabbage until started expanding my horizons. Sadly, too many places serve the same bagged iceberg salad with some nondescript dressing. Boring. I don't understand why; cabbage is just as cheap and it takes a minute or two to throw it in a pan and toss it around. Oh well. The meat is always nicely grilled and never tough. My preference is plain meat with sauce served on the top, rather than pre-marinated then grilled. Seems like, in that scenario, all I taste is the sauce. Bonus points for having, like, a gajillion stores in the area.

Kiku: Best menu choice, with a number of combo options and non-teriyaki items, such as udon and curry. The teriyaki chicken on the bone is particularly yummy and atypical for Seattle (and an exception for my anti-premarinated preference, but they do it so well). When I was in college and had extra cash (which was typically rare), I'd get the beef combo and scarf it down in 5 minutes. Also, try the Oyakodon, which is chicken over rice with egg on top.

There are plenty of others that I regularly stop into, like Yasuko's, Nasai and any of the Hawaiian joints (if I'm not already craving Kalua pork).

There's a deli down the street from my office run by the nicest Korean couple; the teriyaki isn't very good, but every once in awhile they'll offer bi bim bap. But that, as Alton Brown would say, is another show.

37 weeks

As I look over at the mother of my children, I can see this lump on her distended abdomen move from side to side. Can't be very comfortable. We had a visit from the midwives today, they proclaimed our home suitable for birthing.

Any day now...