Economics

This past weekend, John and I were in Boston for John's one-year MBA reunion. We've been wanting to visit a few friends up there, so we tried to pack everything into the weekend. I brought the camera, but never took it out of the suit case.

I did, however, steal a picture from the Charles' website of us with Sammy, Ben, William, and Cristie (Steven took the picture). Cristie and I go way back- we went to high school together, both moved to Boston after college, ran into each other on a flight back to Boston after Christmas break, and eventually lived in the same building in Boston for two years while our husbands went to the same school. Ben and Sammy used to come over to play and get John to do magic tricks (I'm surprised by the number of kids who invite John to birthday parties). We taught Ben about why you don't want to put too much salt or pepper on your dinner, no matter how cool the shaker. We really miss them!

We enjoyed spending time with the Bryants (including 6 month-old Layla on the right), who put John through Daddy try-outs, and he passed! Though you can see from his face that it was hard work. We also learned that John rocks at Guitar Hero, but not as much as Bryant. Mona is an amazing resource for baby prep.

My favorite reunion event was the economics lecture on the world recession and the price of food by Roberto Rigobon. I love that John takes me on dates to economics lectures- seriously. Two years ago John took me to Israel where our 30ish person group met with Stanley Fischer for about an hour- that was AWESOME. We discussed Israel's unique economic challenges, with a history of mass immigrations, constant war, political chaos, etc. Bernanke was interesting as well, though I'm still trying to decide what I think about the sub-prime mortgage bailout. It's just cool to hear super smart people talk about stuff I find interesting.

I have always been much more interested in finance and economics than in accounting, but accounting seemed like the right degree to get a job (though I later learned a job is not the same thing as a fun job where you work hard, are treated well, and are paid well. After we were married, I noticed the contrast between the job John had and the job I had, though we each had a BS in accounting from BYU). I'd considered going back to school to study econ for a while, but until I met John, it was pretty tough to find any one who was very supportive of any "non-mom" plans (once I met John, I decided his prospective tuition payments were enough for the both of us). I love that I have a great husband who supports and encourages my crazy ideas and interests- and that our daughters will have him for a daddy.

Week 18

I'm becoming indoctrinated into the mommy world. My life completely revolves around my kids, so that I now even count my time in their age. No big news lately- but we've been getting prepared for the days when I will be gigantic and less mobile. I've bought a few essentials, including a double snap-and-go that we are totally excited about. John noted that the pajamas I found would accommodate even his head- which is great considering that our little ones are each likely inherit genes for a large head from at least one parent. They've recently started another growth spurt (meaning I have too), after staying about the same size for about a month. This is me at 18 weeks and more than that many new pounds, along with some of the mess I need to get cleared away. I hear that 18 weeks is about the time that most single pregancies start to "show."

And John wanted to document my over-sugared breakfast. The berries were a bit tart, but not enough to need the 1/2 cup that exploded everywhere. Still, it was really good!

On the right is my favorite picture from our Bernanke dinner. After dinner we missed the train that John wanted to catch, so we hung out in the Roosevelt Hotel. We also missed the next train. John is starting to realize that a pregnant woman in heels doesn't move too fast through NYC (dude, NYC has more grates than anywhere!).

Everything is funnier these days

So today I was listening to a podcast mentioning that the second largest purchaser of Pampers (after Walmart) is Amazon. I decided to look into it, and sure enough, you can indeed buy Pampers at Amazon- and just as like many other items on the site you can save a buck or two if you buy them "used". If anyone is interested in buying our double batch of used Pampers next year, please let us know. We are willing to beat the above offered $39.99 for 140.

Mother's day (by John)

During the year that we shopped for furniture (yes you read that right, it was not just a weekend or two), we went back and forth over fabrics, design, and color. When I found a piece or a swatch of fabric that I thought was classy, Edna would suggest, "yes, that looks really nice, but the first time a little kid with chocolate pudding gets to it, we'll wish we had something else." And I never understood, why Edna would be arming little tykes with pudding-loaded mouths and hands to go on a rampage in my living room. So for mother's day I made breakfast and a card. On the card are three chocolate-pudding hand prints: mine, baby A's, and baby B's. For breakfast we had tater-tots, poached eggs, croissants, and chocolate pudding. I hope the babies use the chocolate pudding to leave little hand prints all over the inside of Edna's belly.

Then when we were coming back from church this afternoon, we found some of our neighbors standing outside in the courtyard with a box. At night we sometimes see a rabbit hopping around on the grass. Our neighbors found the nest and were waiting for someone to come pick them up. That's right, for mother's day they were shipping the four babies away from their mom. So before they left, Edna wanted to hold one: She loved that little bunny. Afterwards I mentioned to Edna, "I don't think I have ever seen you look at ME like that." To which she replied, "Well, I've never seen you that small."

Like prom, but pregnant (by John)

What could be more New Yorky than a black-tie event at the Waldorf Astoria hotel? To be fair it was just a dinner. People have dinner all the time - even us. So here are a few things that made it extraordinary for us:

1) dress. The event was a fund raiser for Columbia Business School. My work sponsored a table, and some of the alumni were busy that night, so I volunteered to go. There were about 1,000 people, all tuxed and gowned out. We took this picture towards the end of the evening. 2) speakers. Henry Kravis introduced the two award recipients: Ben Bernanke and Russel Carson. Ben spoke about the housing situation in the US and Russel spoke about how much the private equity industry has changed over the years and how his family helped foster his success. 3) venue. Ok so you dressed like a penguin and listened to an economist... *YAWN*. So this is the hotel where Serendipity, Coming to America, Maid in Manhattan, and the like were filmed. AND! AND! it is one of the two NYC hotels after which the two old Muppets Statler and Waldorf are named after. In fact, all around the main ballroom are velvet lined balconies - just like the ones they sit in. So in summary: it was just like prom, except it didn't cost hundreds of dollars, we went in a train, not a limo, my date was pregnant, we didn't dance, but we did listen to the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve.

14 week tummy

After a number of requests from far away friends and family, I feel compelled to post this picture. That there is a 37 inch waist. John casually mentioned this weekend that I will soon be a "hippopotamus ballerina". I'd hoped for a better piciture, but John was done playing "take a picture of me for the blog".

13 weeks

Long ago, I told myself that if I ever had ultrasounds I wouldn't make everyone look at them. I've never been able to see whatever you are supposed to see and it's always just awkward. But mine is SO cute! It's cool to see them together. Some of the pictures were more clear (baby B doesn't really look like an alien), but this is the only one with both of them. I love baby A's little feet. I cried for the first 10 minutes of the ultrasound- it was amazing to watch each of them rub their face and belly, kick, and flip around. They look like babies now!

We have furniture!

Our long-anticipated couch arrived this morning, along with our front room table and end tables. We are starting to feel like adults- a grown-up apartment, grown- up furniture, grown-up jobs, having kids, and all sorts of new responsibilities. I also realized today that I've posted more house pictures than I'd realized. We are pretty house-absorbed lately. I'll try to cut back.

John took advantage of our new sitting area to try to complete his portion of the taxes. His responsibility is schedule D (investments), because he does most of the investing, then I do the rest. Our taxes are much less fun then those of everyone else I've helped- there is never a pleasant surprise.

Here is our new front room table. On the left of the picture is the ficus that John and I repotted today. Repotting was surprisingly a very fun family activity.

Little ones

Now that it is pretty obvious to anyone seeing me in person, I've decided I ought to announce that we are excitedly expecting our first two babies in October. One of the biggest surprises for me has been how worried I am already about my children. I wish I could get my own ultrasound machine so I could check up on them more often, maybe make sure baby A isn't teasing baby B.... My cousin Aliza had twins a year and a half ago (both almost 8 lbs. at birth) and I was fascinated by how big she got- all this is a bit more concerning now. I'd outgrown all of my clothes at 10 weeks, so John and I went on an emergency maternity clothes shopping spree today. To celebrate our new additions, my Aunt Susan (grandmother of the twins) gave me a set of harnesses as a gift.

The doctor won't be able to tell the genders of our little ones for a few more weeks, but we are anxious to find out, so while we were at Toys 'R Us John consulted the magic 8 ball, and it turns out that we are expecting two girls! "It is certain." I suppose this should answer the question of whether this will be John V and/or John VI.

Visiting Family

I am again behind on the blog! I spent the past two weekends visiting my family in Utah. John stayed home to work, and also made great progress on our apartment. UTAH Many years ago I decided I wanted to learn how to do taxes, and even went so far as to earn a Master's degree in Taxation. However, I rarely use this knowledge anymore, but love to do so every chance I get. After trying to answer questions from family members over the phone, I decided I should go out to offer help in person- thus the trip. Sadly, I forgot to take pictures of our tax sessions. Many smiles, many large refund checks. One evening, as part of family bonding, the girls all watched our brothers ride four-wheelers and the go-cart. I didn't take any pictures of Rob, because I was too scared- I thought one of those wheelies would be the end of him. I am still trying to forgot seeing those. All of the go-cart pictures were blurry (should have guessed, huh?). Here is one of Dave's stunts gone wrong. He had landed on his backside just moments earlier. Hailey was worried, but Katie kept a strong composure. Afterward, we played some pool in our parents' garage that the brothers have converted to a game house. Here we have team "Younger Kids" (the younger four siblings, less Ali) Rob, Liz, & Emily. Rob cleared the table. On the right are the Uncles Dave and Rob with Hailey. There is no picture of team "Old Foggies"(the oldest four, less Ned). We (Dave, Katie, and I) lost miserably to our junior siblings. We all hid in shame. Since I was home, we decided to throw a baby shower for my sister Alice. Ali and Liz are both expecting babies, both due June 29. Here is Hailey, arriving in style. She is very interested in accessories. In the group photo: l-r are two of Alice's friends, our Mom, cousin Rebekah, Aunt Susan, Grandma Price, Shelby's Mom, and Grandma Williams. And on the other side of me were cousins Beth and Libbey. RENOVATIONS The latest major accomplishments on our place are that we had our floors refinished, John put up our dining room chandelier, and John and our friends Spencer Y. and John P. continued to put up mouldings. Our furniture will arrive on Saturday, and soon we will have all of our rugs. Maybe tomorrow we will finally catch up on laundry. To the right is one of the many changes to our home that I LOVE. My closet is so organized! This is so unlike our student housing closets. I love how easy it is to put things away (especially when all my clothes are on the floor in the front room). Below are current pictures of the dining room and living room. I probably should have replaced the radiator covers, it makes a huge difference. So close!