#18

If you haven't seen the previous post - GO TO IT FIRST!!!!!

The following is the original post where we were going to announce we are pregnant. It changed a bit after we found out we were having twins. I think you will still enjoy this post!

Jason and I have a ton of things in common when it comes to our families. For instance, we both are from families of 6 children (my mom has 6 but I also have an additional brother on my dad's side which brings my side to 7). Another thing, both our parents are converts and were sealed in the temple when they were pregnant with us both. We are both middle children (Jason is #3 and I am #4). Another thing that our families have in common, maybe I should say our parents have in common, is they have the same number of grand children. Our children have been #14 and #16...and (look at the title of this post- this is your chance to guess the secret we've been keeping) on both sides. Pretty crazy coincidences wouldn't you say?

Well, if you didn't guess it, I'm pregnant. The title of this post is the number of grandchildren my parents and Jason's parents will have in February/March of 2009. Did you guess it before I spilled the beans?

We officially found out on the night of July 4th while the fireworks where going off outside.
(That reminds me of another crazy coincidence...Jackson was born on the 4 year anniversary of the day Jason and I first met)

Wednesday was our first Dr. apt, we decided we wanted to wait and announce after that first appointment.

So, if you've been to my house lately and seen the disaster or asked me to do something and I've flaked out on you or called and I've had nothing to say (or didn't answer the phone)...well, this isn't an excuse but it does give some insight into my 'bad' behavior. OR if you've been disappointed by the number of post (or lack there of) on our blog lately, well, now you know - I've been avoiding you!

When we found out we were having twins we decided to skip the words and just put up a picture - pretty effective, don't you agree? I should state that it was not a TOTAL surprise. We've been marveling at my size considering how far along I am. Also 2 of my 3 sisters have had twins. One had fraternal and the other identical. We are having identical. They have separate sacs but the same placenta.

I'm 9 1/2 weeks along and the due date is March 1st (so sometime in February). This may mess with our Christmas travel plans, we'll just have to wait and see.

Do you see what we see?

Busy Week So Far

Yesterday the kids and I went to the zoo. We had lots of fun, as always.

Jackson is learning his animal sounds now. So far he knows: cat, monkey, dog and giraffe (at least those are the ones I can name now). He's working on several others. He is also learning the parts of his body, so far he's mastered head and nose. We continue to work on eye, ear, and mouth. Abygail is so cute, she loves showing her brother how to learn and doing the animal sounds with him.

Speaking of Abygail, I'm amazed every day at how conversational she is. She speaks in full sentences and usually uses several at a time. She's become very descriptive too. She likes to pretend and make up stories, like she is reading.

Today we went to a kiddie pool for play group. Abygail was out in the pool playing around like she was a big kid. She has no fear of being far from mommy!!! It makes me very nervous but also proud that she is so independent. Jackson stayed right by my legs the whole time, good thing because I had to fish him up a few times.

They both enjoyed playing on the playground as well. They are very independent on the playground and go to the slides and swings, which ever they feel like doing, whether mommy is on her way or not. I caught Abygail climbing up a tall rock climbing wall, too tall for her to climb on her own was my thought. Nope, not to tall for her, she climb to the top all by herself and 3/4 of it was before I saw her doing it.

Speaking of independent, she loves to put her cloths on and her shoes on all by herself. She is also starting to insist on buckling her own buckles in the car. It's nice most of the time, unless we are in a hurry.

Last night after dinner the whole family went for a bike ride to a playground. The kids got to pet two dogs and play for awhile before it starting getting dark. Total it was about a 4 mile ride round trip.

OK, updates on the picture situation...we HAVE FOUND the cord but...the camera is broken. We have to send it in for repairs, and knowing us it may take awhile before we can find the receipt! So don't expect any pictures anytime soon. When we finally get the situation cleared up I'll come back and put in pictures where I can...too bad I can't take any new pictures between now and then.

A Bicycle Adventure

When I first starting riding and realized how easy it was to travel relatively long distances, I began thinking about how fun it would be to go on a real trip somewhere on my bike...perhaps ride across New York (after all New York has built "bike highways" just for this purpose) or even take a couple of weeks to ride to Alabama (where my parents live). It was about this time that I suggested to Amber that I ride to Palmyra (about 90 miles east) and meet her and the kids there to watch the Pageant. She, of course, wasn't in love with the idea (to say the least) and it eventually fell through. Then a couple of days ago we got a letter from my grandparents in Oklahoma (Hi Grammi and Grandpa) with an article enclosed about a guy who rode his single-speed across Oklahoma (I found it on-line here), and the idea was rekindled. Thanks Grammi and Grandpa for sharing the article; I am thrilled to know that you are reading and that you "get" my bicycle enthusiasm. Now I just have to convince Amber.

To the side of the main article, there was a side-panel called "Pedaling Through Time" by Sharon Frickey (I couldn't find a copy on line), but I'll share the opening paragraph, because it struck a chord:

"Whether it's a gentle pastime, main transportation or challenging adventure, cycling is a sustainable, leaves-no-carbon footprint, good-for-you tradition. As you roll out your bicycle, check the tires, strap on your helmet and pedal out into the nearest bike lane, you're connecting with millions of like-minded riders before you."

How many of the world's problems would be solved if everyone rode their bike instead of driving whenever possible. Just think how the drop in oil demand would affect gas prices. Just think about how much less pollution we would be producing. Just think about the health benefits; diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and type II diabetes (#1 and #6 killers in the US) would be greatly reduced.

As for my day-to-day, the last several days have been eventful; here is a rundown in brief:

• Friday: Flat tire on the way to work. Fixed it and went on to work feeling like a man.
  
• Monday: Starting to rain (usually an advantage of riding 'cuz its fun) and noticed tire was low on the way to work so stopped to pump it up. Stem snapped off and I didnt' have any extra tubes. Tried to call Amber but she didn't answer. Carried bike about a mile through a thunderstorm before someone stopped and took me to the closest bike shop where I bought three new tubes.
• Tuesday: Went by a couple of bike shops on my way to work to look for a bag for my bike rack but couldn't decide which I wanted, so went on to work. At work I decided which bag I wanted so left in time to get to the bike shop before they closed at 5. Thunderstorm the whole way. Just before getting there I tried to pull off the road, but because the road was covered with water I didn't see that there was a big lip leading up to the sidewalk, which my rear tire slid across instead of going over, causing myself and the bike to fall and slide across the pavement (just a few scrapes and bruises on both me and the bike). Got to the bike shop at 4:45 to find a sign on the door saying they decided to close early. Continued home but about 1 mile from the bike shop got a flat tire (glass on the road). Still pouring down rain so imagine sitting on the side of the road trying to put a patch on a tire when everything you own is sopping wet. By some miracle the patch held long enough for me to get home.
• Wednesday (today): Upon leaving to go to work discovered that the patch didn't hold and my tire was flat again. Applied another patch with appeared to be holding, but about 1/2 way to work the tire went flat so decided to replace my new tube with another new tube. After work (in my lab at UB) stopped by bike shop to buy bag---they were open this time. Poured down rain the whole way there and most of the way to my teaching job in South Buffalo.
• Thursday (tomorrow): Cannot wait to see what the day will bring, but the forecast is for more rain.
  

Big Laugh II

When Amber told me she had watched the video linked from the original "Big Laugh" post (see the 2nd post down from this one), I responded: "See, scientists aren't so boring after all." In fact, science is full of little jokes like the video for EP-Motion. A few examples:

In fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) there is a signaling molecule called hedgehog because when it doesn't work the flies develop bristles all over their bodies, not unlike an actual hedgehog. It was later discovered that Mammals have three copies of this gene. The first two to be discovered were called desert hedgehog and indian hedgehog after two species of hedge-hogs. When the third one was discovered it was named sonic hedgehog, after the Sega's video game character, Sonic the Hedgehog. If not funny, this is at least mildly entertaining.

Another example which, if not funny, at least shows that we science types are willing to laugh at ourselves. Edwin Southern developed a technique for visualizing DNA; the technique now bears his name and is called a southern blot. When techniques for visualizing RNA and proteins were later developed, they were called northern and western blots respectively. Their developers did not have the names Northern and Western, and, in spite of what some naive sophomores may tell you, none of these techniques have anything to do with maps or compass directions; the last two were given their names simply to play off of the last name of Edwin Southern.

Ok... Ok... I understand... This may be all very boring to you. Just wait. Here is a video which is bound to cause a chuckle. This one is about the wonder of "PCR". A brief explanation is in order. Short for Polymerase Chain Reaction, this is a technique used to amplify (make millions and millions of copies of) specific regions of DNA in a relatively short period of time in a test tube (in-vitro as some brainy types like to call it). It is accomplished through a simple process of cyclically heating and cooling a small sample of DNA along with a few DNA building blocks and an enzyme originally harvested from Archaebacteria which live in the hot pools of Yellowstone national park. The technique has revolutionized biology and is used in nearly every biology lab. The amplified DNA can be used for multiple purposes. A few examples should suffice: It is used in sequencing DNA (determining the order of the bases [A, C, T, and G] in the amplified fragment, as in the human genome project); It is used in medicine to identify (and eventually sequence) disease genes (as was surely done for my nephew Ian); It is also used in forensic science for identifying genetic markers and matching individuals to unknown samples. This last use has led both to the conviction of many a felon when their DNA was found to match their DNA recovered from the crime scene, and to the exoneration of many a death-row inmate who was convicted before this technology was developed; this same forensic technique is also used in paternity tests.

Anywho...with that introduction, here is the video:

http://bio-rad.cnpg.com/lsca/videos/ScientistsForBetterPCR/
* Click here for the lyrics

A Weekend Review

Friday we ALL went to the Zoo (including Jason). Jackson showed him the rhinos and cho cho train, while Abygail showed him the Sea Lions and Polar Bear. It was so much fun spending time with him and the kids doing something we all love.

Saturday Abygail and I went to the farmers market and got some strawberries, cherries, apples and summer squash. Abygail single-handedly ate all the strawberries (1 quart) by the end of the day. We also enjoyed the summer squash in a stir-fry that night with carrots, snap peas and green beans from the garden. Last night (Sunday) we ate the same stuff but sauteed with lemon butter - it was quite yummy and the kids loved it both nights. (Jackson actually liked the rice the most - his favorite food of late).

We have pictures ... but we can't seem to find the cord to download them. This is why our blog is barren of pictures lately :) Hopefully we'll find it soon and you can see what we've been up to - and for those of you outside of Buffalo, you can see my new hair cut Jason gave me :)

BIG LAUGH

This is something Jason does in the lab all day long. He left it up on his email this afternoon and like a good little wife, I clicked on it and LAUGHED! Click here and laugh too :) I think they need one of these!

Hey, What's Goin' On?!

So, I've been a slacker of late. My apologies to my loyal reader base. I know you all sit with bated breath waiting, waiting, waiting for some sign of what's going on in our 'hood'. (ha, ha, ha!)

Well, wait no more. Here's a small update on what's been happening.

Our good friends and neighbors, Rachel and Tyler, are out of town for a month or so and let us borrow their kiddie pool while they are gone. We've been swimming and playing on our outdoor playhouse. We've been to the Zoo, Jackson's favorite animal is the rhinoceros but unlike his sister he doesn't like the carousel too much. Also we have gone to Cazenovia Park and played in the water fountains. We went to a 4th of July birthday party for Sam (Abygail's 'boy' friend :)

The kids are getting so funny. Yesterday I caught them playing with each other and just laughing and laughing. One will chase the other and then the roles are reversed - very cute! Abygail is such a talker. She says the funniest things. The night of the last book club meeting I told her I was going out with my girlfriends to talk about books. She said "I go with my friends and we talk about books, and we tell stories." This morning she told me "Mommy, you eat your breakfast and when you are through you can have a popsicle, but you have to finish breakfast first." I think she is the one that wanted a popsicle! Speaking of, Jackson is in LOVE with popsicles, everytime he goes by the fridge he reaches up and says "psssss". He also likes to say "teessssss" to brush his teeth and "tisssssss" for everything else (this).

He understands LOTS of words and can even say "mmmimmmm" for milk. This is the week for weening him. I've nursed him for 13 months and it's time to move forward. It's a bitter sweet ending. I'll miss my special time with him but, it's time so we will march forward.

What else can I tell you about? The garden is doing well, the tomato plants have little green tomatoes on them. I left my cauliflower a day too long and they went to seed. The broccoli is huge but still have not produced anything. Carrots, lettuce, beets, green beans and snap peas are all growing very well. We are harvesting lettuce and snap peas anytime we need/want them but that's really all that we are getting right now. Everything else is growing well and we can't wait to see the fruits of our labors.

Not much more to tell. Hope you had a great 4th of July and a happy weekend!