27 September 2009

Marvin's Graduation





Yah for Marvin! Yesterday was his third graduation from Pet Smart's dog classes. He has graduated from puppy school, intermediate school, and now the advanced school. In these classes, he learned how to do things that would help him pass the canine good citizen's test. He can sit for a greeting, stay, and walk. Above is Marvin with his diploma. Below is Marvin with his proud dad and pregnant mom.



12 September 2009

Labor Day Weekend

Annalee is turning into a monster! Okay not really. Actually we (more specifically, I) have been very fortunate that the hormonal moodiness that generally comes with pregnancy (or so I have read/been told) has yet to rear its ugly head. I'm going to count our blessings and knock on the nearest wood or wood-type product. But right now the idea of "Preg-zilla" is fun to joke about, and Annalee is being a good sport about it, laughing right along with me, so we'll go with it for now.
The Preg-zilla name came from one of many conversations this past weekend with Annalee and her parents who were visiting over the weekend. As has been the case as long as I’ve known them, when Annalee is with her family she becomes an easy target for teasing. And I have been known to give a hard time or two, so I am not innocent in all this. It’s all in good fun: Annalee takes it in stride and gives her fair share back. Being with child is still relatively new so it is an obvious source of inspiration for the good-natured ribbing. Almost without exception, the teasing is steeped in hyperbole: if Annalee is the least bit disagreeable or cranky, she must be morphing into a monstrous caricature of her former self and it would behoove everyone to stay out of her way. From my standpoint this couldn’t be further from the truth, but it’s still funny.
We had a lot of fun this weekend. As is usually the case anytime we go somewhere or someone visits us, the weekend centered on food. On Friday evening, we went to the Wild Wing CafĂ© in Charlotte which gave us our wing fix for a while. Two mornings we went out for breakfast: Saturday led us to the Parkway House in Concord and Monday morning was at the Harrisburg Family Restaurant. Both were fantastic. Your typical breakfast fare, which on the one hand is hard to screw up, but on the other hand, can you really go wrong with biscuits and gravy, eggs, omelets, hash browns, etc? Both mornings I think any or all of us could have fallen into a food-induced coma directly after. Saturday night we went to P.F. Chang’s, which is always a positive eating experience. Sunday evening we went Bio-M-Bos in Concord for Mexican food which never disappoints. I personally think they have the best salsa of any Mexican restaurant I’ve been to.
The other meal from the weekend worth mentioning was lunch on Sunday during our trip to IKEA. For those who have not had the pleasure of shopping at IKEA, it is an experience unlike any other. Where else can you shop for all your home needs, eat a good meal, laugh at all the Swedish names, and do it all without spending a fortune? Sam and Gaye enjoyed the obligatory Swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes and gravy with ligonberry sauce. Annalee and I did the less interesting Buffalo chicken wrap and the chicken strips with fries. Topped off with apple cake and chocolate-chocolate cake.
Despite what all this eating might imply, “Baby” was the overarching theme of the weekend. Sam and Gaye brought four large boxes of stuff for us to go through. Some of it was Annalee’s from growing up, some of it hand-me-down, inherited baby stuff. It was a lot to go through. A lot of it we won’t keep, a lot of it we will. Some if it will just sit in the attic until we find out the gender of the baby or until the baby is older.
While Marvin and I went to his obedience class on Saturday, mom, Grandma G and Papaw Sam went to a bunch of garage sales. Most of them were a bust, but a few had some good stuff. We ended up with some onesies and the like and a toy. Gaye found a skunk Halloween costume that should be perfect for Audrey.