The day has finally come -- we depart on our big trip to Ireland today! With the exception of a few last minute items, we are mostly packed and ready to go. Our flight leaves from Chicago this evening as we travel through the night overseas. We'll reach our final destination of Dublin bright and early tomorrow morning where we'll be greeted by the native Gallagher family. We absolutely can't wait to take in the sights and immerse ourselves in the wonder of Irish culture. Who knows . . . maybe we'll even come back with accents?!? We'll be sure to update you with many pictures and tales from our trip upon our return. In the meantime, here's a fun little snapshot into the Irish culture that translates some popular Irish slang into our own (more understandable) terms:
Arseways = complete mess (I did it all arseways)
Bag of Taytos = packet of potato chips/crisps
Black Stuff = Guinness
Culchie = a city dweller's name for a country person
Dry Shite = boring person
Eejit = idiot
Fluthered = very drunk
Gas = funny
Hollier = holiday, vacation
Holy show = embarrassing exhibition
I am in me wick = I am not!
Jackeen = a country person's name for somebody that lives in Dublin
Kip = to have a shortsiesta, rest
Knackered = fatigued very tired
Legging (it) = running fast
Mary Hick = old-fashioned female
Nappy = Diaper
Off your nut = mad, crazy
Pull your socks up = Get to work/get busy
Queer hawk = peculiar person
Runners = trainers, everyday sports shoes
Snog, Shift = to make out, kiss
Twistin' hay = means you're starting trouble, usually in a playful way
Up the pole = pregnant
Wanker = a person you don't like
Y-Fronts = Men's briefs
Hmmm . . . this should be interesting. So, since I'm up a pole I'm hoping that everything will go smoothly for us today so we won't have to leg it through the airport. After all, I won't have my runners handy! Hopefully, the flight will go without a hitch and we can squeeze a kip or two in as I'm sure we'll both be knackered. Once we arrive and join our Jackeen hosts, our true hollier will begin and we can pull up socks and get ready to enjoy ourselves . . . as long as we don't meet any wankers. I think I'm getting the hang of this already! Either that or I've gone completely off my nut!!
Friday, May 25, 2007
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Beans, Strawberries, and Sweet Potatoes . . . Oh My!
Why is it that everything that I've been reading from the beginning of this pregnancy has compared our little fetus to some sort of food item?!? Over the past few months we've found ourselves immersed in many developmental accounts that allow us to track the progression of the baby's growth. First, the baby was likened to the size of a pea, then a bean, then a strawberry which led Brad to question whether it was like an organically grown strawberry or a hormonally injected strawberry . . . a valid question, I think! 
Then our journey led our little one to become the size of a pickle and now a large sweet potato. Seriously, if you don't believe me see the excerpt below from pregnancy.org detailing the 18th week of development.
"Head to bottom, your baby is approximately 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a large sweet potato), and she weighs almost 7 ounces. She's busy flexing her arms and legs — movements that you'll likely start noticing more and more. Myelin (a protective covering) is beginning to form around her nerves, a process that will continue for a year after she's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If your baby is a boy , his genitals are noticeable, though he may hide them from you during an ultrasound."
My only thought is that pregnant women must have written all of these detailed developmental accounts. With food becoming an ever-present part of a pregnant woman's daily thought patterns that's the only explanation that I can come up with! What's next . . . a squash, a cantaloupe, a loaf of bread?!? Only time will tell, but I think I'll go grab a snack in the meantime . . .
Then our journey led our little one to become the size of a pickle and now a large sweet potato. Seriously, if you don't believe me see the excerpt below from pregnancy.org detailing the 18th week of development.
"Head to bottom, your baby is approximately 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a large sweet potato), and she weighs almost 7 ounces. She's busy flexing her arms and legs — movements that you'll likely start noticing more and more. Myelin (a protective covering) is beginning to form around her nerves, a process that will continue for a year after she's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If your baby is a boy , his genitals are noticeable, though he may hide them from you during an ultrasound."
My only thought is that pregnant women must have written all of these detailed developmental accounts. With food becoming an ever-present part of a pregnant woman's daily thought patterns that's the only explanation that I can come up with! What's next . . . a squash, a cantaloupe, a loaf of bread?!? Only time will tell, but I think I'll go grab a snack in the meantime . . .
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
The Summer Tour of 2007 . . .
Okay, so I have been a little bit of a slacker on the blog lately, but I promise that I will get better now that I actually have some free time. Yeah right, what's that?!? I recently just completed several faculty contracts that I've been working on over the past few months. As much as I love teaching, three classes at once in addition to some additional contracts is a bit much! I think it might be time for a little break so I can begin to focus on some more important things like, um, . . . getting organized!
In addition to a very active work schedule, we've also managed to keep ourselves busy with the our ever-increasing summer travels. We're actually referring to it as The Summer Tour of 2007 -- we'll be selling T-shirts if anyone is interested. We kicked off our tour a few weeks ago with a visit to the Detroit area. We had the opportunity to spend time with both family and friends and especially enjoyed meeting the Suggs' latest addition to their family, Kylie. We were so excited to meet her and see our friends take to parenting so naturally. Congratulations, Christy and Chris! Below are some pictures of little Kylie . . . and I mean little since she was born a month early! I especially love the shot where she's hiding her face from the paparrazi.
The following weekend continued our travels to Chicago to visit sister Sarah. We had a relaxing time visiting with Sarah and enjoyed being able to see her new condo in the heart of Wrigleyville. We even got to take in a little sight seeing with a visit to the Museum of Science and Industry. A little bit of fun and education at the same time . . . you can't beat that! Our excursion went well until we were almost escorted out by a security guard. Toward the end of our visit, we stumbled upon the Prenatal Exhibit. Unfortunately, we only had a few minutes before the museum was set to close and we got stuck in line behind a 10-year-old who was a bit overeager and decided that she needed to read every word of every display of the 40 week journey. Needless to say, we didn't get through the whole exhibit, but what we did see was amazing! Despite the security guard's threatening demeanor and intimidating fake walkie-talkie call for backup, I appreciate Brad's valiant efforts to stay put with the exclamation, "My wife is pregnant and we're here to learn!" Nice try, honey!
The next weekend we actually returned to Detroit for Christy's surprise 30th birthday party. As much as we enjoyed being able to visit once again with friends and family, we had to quickly return to Grand Rapids on Saturday for another friend's birthday. We simply couldn't resist a little Cinco de Mayo celebration! I think Nathan was in agreeance as he got an early start on the celebrating. Check out the hungry man below.
This brings us to last weekend which consisted of our long awaited return to the Valley of the Sun. I was awarded "Top Performer" status in our company and, therefore, we were able to enjoy an expense paid visit to the Desert Ridge Marriott resort. We enjoyed our time spent with colleagues, friends, family -- not to mention that we even had the opportunity to relax in the Marriott's very own "lazy river" (think UOP meets MTV Spring Break). Anyways, a good time was had by all. The highlight of my weekend was being able to see my girlfriends again - especially being able to join the gang to celebrate Orla's birthday. Not only was I able to visit to some of my old favorite hangouts, but I was able to witness the interesting progression of the night which ended with some of the girls talking to the baby through my belly button and some very not-so-flattering pictures (see below for example of Vogue-like picture of me with the birthday girl).
As much as we enjoyed our time there, can I say that it was so HOT that I'm not sure that I'm looking forward to my return trip in July. My body has definitely adjusted back to the more moderate Michigan temps and I'm not sure how I will handle even hotter temps (100+ degrees) when I'm even more pregnant (6+ months). I guess we'll just have to wait and see! We will most certainly keep you updated as the adventure of The Summer Tour of 2007 continues . . .
In pregnancy news, we had another appointment a few weeks ago and were able to hear the heartbeat. No hiding from us this time! It was so wonderful to hear such a strong and fast heartbeat and, more importantly, to know that everything is progressing normally. We are so grateful that everything is going so smoothly!! We'll be sure to keep you updated as we have our next appointment right around the corner which will include the big ultrasound. And, for those of you who might be wondering, we are NOT finding out the sex of the baby! After all, isn't that the way that God intended it ; )?!?
In addition to a very active work schedule, we've also managed to keep ourselves busy with the our ever-increasing summer travels. We're actually referring to it as The Summer Tour of 2007 -- we'll be selling T-shirts if anyone is interested. We kicked off our tour a few weeks ago with a visit to the Detroit area. We had the opportunity to spend time with both family and friends and especially enjoyed meeting the Suggs' latest addition to their family, Kylie. We were so excited to meet her and see our friends take to parenting so naturally. Congratulations, Christy and Chris! Below are some pictures of little Kylie . . . and I mean little since she was born a month early! I especially love the shot where she's hiding her face from the paparrazi.
The following weekend continued our travels to Chicago to visit sister Sarah. We had a relaxing time visiting with Sarah and enjoyed being able to see her new condo in the heart of Wrigleyville. We even got to take in a little sight seeing with a visit to the Museum of Science and Industry. A little bit of fun and education at the same time . . . you can't beat that! Our excursion went well until we were almost escorted out by a security guard. Toward the end of our visit, we stumbled upon the Prenatal Exhibit. Unfortunately, we only had a few minutes before the museum was set to close and we got stuck in line behind a 10-year-old who was a bit overeager and decided that she needed to read every word of every display of the 40 week journey. Needless to say, we didn't get through the whole exhibit, but what we did see was amazing! Despite the security guard's threatening demeanor and intimidating fake walkie-talkie call for backup, I appreciate Brad's valiant efforts to stay put with the exclamation, "My wife is pregnant and we're here to learn!" Nice try, honey!
The next weekend we actually returned to Detroit for Christy's surprise 30th birthday party. As much as we enjoyed being able to visit once again with friends and family, we had to quickly return to Grand Rapids on Saturday for another friend's birthday. We simply couldn't resist a little Cinco de Mayo celebration! I think Nathan was in agreeance as he got an early start on the celebrating. Check out the hungry man below.
This brings us to last weekend which consisted of our long awaited return to the Valley of the Sun. I was awarded "Top Performer" status in our company and, therefore, we were able to enjoy an expense paid visit to the Desert Ridge Marriott resort. We enjoyed our time spent with colleagues, friends, family -- not to mention that we even had the opportunity to relax in the Marriott's very own "lazy river" (think UOP meets MTV Spring Break). Anyways, a good time was had by all. The highlight of my weekend was being able to see my girlfriends again - especially being able to join the gang to celebrate Orla's birthday. Not only was I able to visit to some of my old favorite hangouts, but I was able to witness the interesting progression of the night which ended with some of the girls talking to the baby through my belly button and some very not-so-flattering pictures (see below for example of Vogue-like picture of me with the birthday girl).
As much as we enjoyed our time there, can I say that it was so HOT that I'm not sure that I'm looking forward to my return trip in July. My body has definitely adjusted back to the more moderate Michigan temps and I'm not sure how I will handle even hotter temps (100+ degrees) when I'm even more pregnant (6+ months). I guess we'll just have to wait and see! We will most certainly keep you updated as the adventure of The Summer Tour of 2007 continues . . .
In pregnancy news, we had another appointment a few weeks ago and were able to hear the heartbeat. No hiding from us this time! It was so wonderful to hear such a strong and fast heartbeat and, more importantly, to know that everything is progressing normally. We are so grateful that everything is going so smoothly!! We'll be sure to keep you updated as we have our next appointment right around the corner which will include the big ultrasound. And, for those of you who might be wondering, we are NOT finding out the sex of the baby! After all, isn't that the way that God intended it ; )?!?
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