it's basically the only reason i married him.

last night husband was reading from his expectant fathers book, and i told him to read to me & the baby too so we could learn. he actually really enjoys doing this, but last night he hit a couple snags in the content. he is, shall we say - extremely squeamish, about the simplest things. and i found complete hilarity in his reactions.

husband (reading about things to pack for the hospital): "don't forget a box of extra absorbent maxi p...ooooookay".
me: laughing hysterically.
husband (leans over to my belly): "dude, be glad you're not a chick".

later on in the pages, i was reading ahead as he was going along and i noticed he was about to stumble on a bit about the umbilical cord stump. since he has little to zero experience with newborns i had a feeling he'd be clueless about this...and i knew he'd react to it when he got there. as expected...

husband: "....the umbilical cord stump....WHAT! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?! A STUMP?!!?!"

cue me laughing hysterically again. i used this opportunity to ask him if he planned on cutting the cord (knowing full well what his answer would be) and without a second's hesitation he shouted NO!!!!!!!

as he read along, if he stumbled over something he didn't want to know he'd kind of la-la-la for a second, as if doing so would make him un-read what he just saw? oh that husband of mine. he sure is good for a laugh, though. one of the suggested things to pack was a birthday cake & a bottle of champagne to celebrate after the birth. he thought this was hilarious. through laughs he was reciting situations like, "hang on hunny! just keep breathing i gotta bake this cake before we leave for the hospital!". he also imagined packing up all the ingredients as an alternative & asking the hospital if he could use one of their ovens while i "finished up".

if nothing else, he will keep me laughing through all of this :)

"this shall be a love day"

i don't know how this much time has passed, but 2 years and 2 months ago - i sat in the living room of my apartment (obviously pre-house), making a -1 anniversary card for my soon-to-be (obviously pre-marriage) husband. it was august 11th, 2006. and one year from that day, i knew i'd be walking down the isle to marry my best friend. i still remember the card - it was pink & orange, just like our wedding colors - and i'd rigged it up like a pop up book somehow. on the front, i used a quote sticker from a set of scrapbooking stuff i had that said, "this shall be a love day". i could have sworn it was by shakespeare - but in an attempt to be completely accurate, i tried googling it and haven't come up with anything. so....i suppose...take my word for it? :)

anyway, i surprised husband with the card when he got home from work that day, and we went out for dinner at chili's to celebrate. most people called me dorky for celebrating a -1 anniversary (and, yeah, it was dorky...oh well). but i loved it. i loved that we were pre-celebrating a day that would remain special to us for all of our future days.

the quote stuck with me. i think about it every 11th of every month. because, to me, the 11th is a love day. it's some minute anniversary of the day i promised everything i am, to one wonderful person. a day that i remember fondly - for all of it's beautiful chaotic moments. and so, i've decided to pay homage to my special love day. every 11th of every month, i'll post a love day entry. i'm expecting it to include a wedding picture (or 2, or 3...) and a memory (or a few). it's not only nice to remember those special little moments - but to document them now, while the whole thing is still just a year in my past. instead of trying to come up with the details 10 years from now and just finding foggy snippets.

i decided to kick this off with my favorite part of the wedding vows. it holds an extra special meaning for husband & i. right after eating dinner at our reception, husband's 92 year old grandmother wanted us to open her present. so we made our way to her table, and did just that. it was a cross-stitched picture, in such beautiful detail - it was incredible that her 92 year old fingers could create something so beautiful. it ended up being our absolute favorite gift.

unfortunately, she passed away this january. just 5 months after our wedding. during our last visit with her, she told us that we were such a good couple and she was so thrilled to be able to make it to our wedding. it meant so much to me to hear that. we have her picture hung at the base of our stairs, easily viewable from the living room - and the first thing you see when going up the stairs. i often pause and study it. paying attention to the detail, and reading the words to myself. "to have and to hold, from this day forward." it's such a simple statement, with such profound meaning. beginning on our wedding day, august 11 2007, we will always have each other. we will always be there to hold each other - in good times & bad. i am so thankful that his grandma made us something to remind us of that.

debate night = sexy time, apparently.

husband is cracking me up this weekend. i love this about him. he has such a goofy sense of humor, which is what attracted me to him in the first place.

this conversation took place last night, shortly after he finished work for the day. it began completely randomly as we were watching tv:

husband: hey, why aren't you naked?
me: because i have clothes on.
husband: well, that's an easy fix.
me: mmmhmmm.
husband: but babbyyyy
me: what?
husband: it's presidential debate night!
me: and?
husband: we HAVE to have sex on presidential debate night!

lol.
though he would find any reason to "celebrate" by having sex, including a presidential debate...there is actually some tradition behind this. as sad & wild as this sounds, during one of the debates in 2004 we decided to start a drinking game. it was just the two of us, and we were bored. every time Bush stuttered or said the wrong word, or just sounded like an idiot, we took a drink. needless to say............we got hammered. with our new drunkenness, we started searching for drinking snacks, and found a funfetti cake mix & frosting. so we're making funfetti cupcakes, drunk, getting batter all over the kitchen....and we somehow end up naked and having sex. in the kitchen. instead of making the cupcakes.

yeah, it was a weird night lol.

i reminded him that this year i couldn't consume any alcohol, nor was i a tiny 115 pound 20 year old with perfect skin and perky boobs and i wasn't feeling quite as sexy*. but, he said in honor of our tradition, he was still going to bake. he made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. they are soooo delicious!

(*i do realize it's not like 10 years elapsed, but it's incredible how pregnancy can really ravage your body)

so, anyway...enough about presidential debate night traditions & back to why husband is making me giggle. you know how i mentioned odin being a wiener? (Odin = my cat, if you don't know) Well, he has really....started acting out. he mauled my gerbera plant for a 3rd time. and this morning? he found the bag of chocolate chips husband used on the cookies last night, dragged them through the house - leaving a trail of chocolate chips - and left the bag at the bottom of the stairs. why on earth would a cat do this?? so we're thinking he's just getting into anything he can, but his weirdness is extending!

i actually felt like doing some housework this morning (im usually too tired or sick feeling to want to do it), and husband took a trip to buy a new video game, buy me a box of mr. clean magic erasers, and pick up asiago cheese bagels at panera. while he was gone, i was scrubbing the kitchen...and i noticed odin had something under the kitchen table. it was matt's golf club cover, which is like a plush husky dog thing. he was repeatedly biting it and humping it!!! he has NEVER done this before! so husband gets home, catches him in the act, and cannot stop laughing. he kept saying things like "odin, stop it, no means no!" lol.

so then he picks the husky thing up, throws it in front of the fireplace and says "at least be a gentleman and do her by the fire or something". lol....oooh that husband of mine.

seriously though. why is my neutered cat, who has been without the proper equipment for 4 years, suddenly wanting to hump things? it's not even the right season for it. i'm starting to wonder if all the flea stuff we've been using on him & around the house (that's not working anyway) is scrambling his brain.

maybe seeing two presidential candidates debating is an aphrodisiac for men? :)