Wow, I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve written. I barely know how to type anymore so bear with me. We got all brave and loaded up the kids and all their gear (holy hell that’s a lot of stuff, and we pack light!) and headed across the country. After having spent a few days in AZ with my brother and his family, we’ve landed in Redlands, CA for Neil’s college reunion.

There’s a lot to say and a lot of photos but I’m seriously low on battery and remaining naptime so I’ll just leave you with this shot from the Phoenix Zoo. This monkey was following us around because he spotted the yellow plastic car Dash was carrying around. Apparently they’ll fix on an object and try to take it from you if they can. We escaped with the car (and the child).

The family watches the swearing in of the new President. I even let Dash eat his lunch in the living room for the occasion. Note peanut butter face.

Also, it’s a big day on a local level.

In danger of becoming a hermit, today I ventured out of the house with TWO kids. For the first time since Zella was born a little over a month ago.

It took about an hour to get to the car. But once we were there, the grocery store was quick and painless, and it wasn’t more than an hour later that we were heading right back home.

Easy, right?

If I can just figure out how to pack them up in under 60 minutes… I will be unstoppable.

So I got this email from Urban Outfitters today with what they say is the Shape of Things to Come. I am scared. Really and truly scared.

That the image is somewhat distorted should not affect your reaction to this nightmare of a fashion statement. I’ll admit that the sweater in the middle isn’t half bad, but can we talk about what’s happening to the right and left of it?

Maybe the captions should read: Bad. Better. Worse.

All I can say is there’s something to be said for not be trendy enough to rush out and buy the next big thing. Because apparently, the next big thing is really really ugly.

Zella Joy is here! We’re snowed in here at home (seriously, you should see these snowbanks!), loving every moment with our new little girl. We’re tired, we’re happy, we’re healthy. I’m going to leave you with this birth announcement, written by Neil, until I can get back to the computer to share more.

Enjoy. We certainly are.

Hello everyone,

Happy news, happy news! Just wanted to let you all know that our daughter, Zella Joy Sattin, entered the world last Thursday night (December 18, 2008) at 10:57 pm. She’s happy, healthy, feeding well, sleeping almost as well, and adjusting to life in the snowy world. Simple stats: 7 lbs 13 oz, and 19 inches long.

The day started out normally enough – Tonya with Dash, hanging out, reading books, playing with trucks. I spent the day as I usually spend weekdays, brain plugged into the software development world. Conference calls. Etc. At around 5:30pm, as I was just finishing up my last call of the day, Tonya came in to let me know that she *thought* something was happening. My mother came to get Dash ’round 8pm. By 9, we were on our way to the hospital. Two hours later, Zella made her grand entrance. All told, 5-and-a-half hours of intensity that changed our day (and our lives) completely. While we were eager to continue taking advantage of the deluxe accomodations at Mercy hospital (I really wanted a chance at that jacuzzi tub), they kicked us out on Saturday, in between blizzards.

The things you probably want to know:

“Zella” is a name we’ve been savoring for awhile. It was my great-grandmother’s name (my mother’s father’s mother), something that had come up in conversation years ago, and was on the shortlist for Dash – until we found out he was going to be a boy. So it’s a name we both find to be cool, and musical, but that also has some ancestral relevance as well. It also goes on record as the “personal secret that Neil has managed to keep the longest.”

“Joy” is Tonya’s middle name, and we thought it’d be nice to hand that down, mother-to-daughter. Along with the more direct symbolism, which we also appreciate.

Dash is really enjoying having his sister around. The most difficult thing for him to adjust to, at the moment, is that his mama is temporarily unable to pick him up. Thankfully I’m going to be off from work for a couple of weeks, time to help him adjust to having to share time with his #1 companion. He does like to hover around the baby as she’s being nursed, changed, swaddled – and has already begun using the refrain “Zella Bella” to refer to all things sisterly. He’s also sneaking back into the “family bed.” At least he sleeps better than he used to.

It’s good to be home. We’re gladly accepting visitors, as long as you’re healthy. Just give us a call or drop us a line beforehand, dig?

It seems it’s been a while since I’ve last written. I’d say shame on me, but it’s not all that bad. I haven’t forgotten about you, though I’m perhaps getting a little too comfortable nesting in our warm home awaiting the arrival of our newest little one.

For those of you keeping track at home, I’m roughly 86,000 40- some-odd weeks pregnant and trying not to be antsy. She’ll come along when she’s ready, and in the meantime, we have an extra ultrasound to look forward to this coming Monday. Fingers crossed for 4-D so we can see what the little Sattin-ita looks like. Then again, if she comes before Monday, I guess we’ll know what she looks like then. Either way, we win.

Here’s what else we’ve been up to…

Teaching Dash how to vacuum. Turns out he’s a natural with lots of enthusiasm for the task. It’s tough to say no when your 22-month old asks if he can vacuum the rug. Especially in robot pajamas. And yes, that is our Christmas tree in the background. More on that later.

Getting slammed with an ice storm! It’s funny when you don’t watch the news for a few days. You tend to get surprised by quite slippery conditions when you’re out running errands. Then you wake up to the sight of blueish green explosions in your neighborhood; transformers exploding maybe? It only resulted in a brief period of time without power (while we were asleep, even), though others are still awaiting the return of theirs.

Going to look at a new house, which I promptly fell in love with. Just look at this detail!

Adding some new items to the shop, including this apron, some Pyrex, a Thermos, etc. Good stuff if you’re into it.

And a wee bit of decorating for Christmas, emphasis on the wee. I have boxes that haven’t been opened and won’t be. I (being the one in our family who’s celebrated Christmas all her life) haven’t the energy to fully decorate this year, though I do still want to. Neil has embraced Christmas (note: we do both Hanukkah and Christmas around these parts) but not quite to the extent that he wants to decorate the house. He likes to see it in the house, but he hasn’t realized he can and should be a part of it yet. We’re working on that.
So consequently, it’s Christmas-lite this year. Stockings are hung by the staircase with care. A very pathetic and small potted pine tree holds up some strings of lights and roughly six ornaments- all its branches can support. I won’t pretend this tree is fulfilling my Christmas tree desires but it is what it is. Christmas is about family in my eyes, and family is just what we’ll have gathered around this, our version of a Charlie Brown tree, come Christmas morning.

Well, enough about me. What have you all been up to? How are you decorating for the holidays? Going all out or scaling back? I’ll be back tomorrow (baby permitting) with a little something about holiday gift giving during this season, which has turned out to be difficult for so many.