Margaret

03:30 pm: The World's Youngest Head Master
Babar Ali

Wow. I'm not sure what else to say...

08:28 pm: Sam's Birthday Pool Party & BBQ
We will be holding a pool party and BBQ on Sunday, September 6th (the Sunday of Labor Day weekend) to celebrate Sam's birthday. We'll have lots of food and drink (including vegetarian and non-alcoholic options), but if you want or need something special, please feel free to bring it. You're also welcome to bring things that you think the birthday boy might enjoy!

The pool has been great this year -- we had the floor cleaning system rebuilt, so it is staying cleaner than it has over the past couple of years, and the water is quite warm now. Hopefully the weather will continue to be nice through Labor Day! We'll also have the hot tub open, which will be especially pleasant if it gets cool in the evening.

What: Sam's Birthday Pool Party & BBQ
Date: Sunday, September 6th (the day before Labor Day)
Time: 1pm until the last guest goes home...
Where: Sam, Margaret & Kevin's House
356 Abbott St. North Andover, MA
Who: You, your kids, your SO(s), your visiting relatives...
(and anyone else we forgot to invite)
RSVP: By Thursday, September 2nd.
(but if you forget to RSVP, come anyway!)

We hope to see you then!

07:00 pm: Playing Chess
Kevin sent me this in an IM message earlier today, and I thought you might enjoy it...

"Zoe is playing chess with Owen. She only moves her knights, and she has to kiss them before she puts them down, but she's winning anyway."

Zoe is our 18-month-old, and Owen is our 11-year-old. Owen is so good with Zoe, and she just adores him.

10:12 am: REMINDER: Pool Party & BBQ this Saturday!
A reminder:

I celebrated my 46th birthday with my family yesterday (July 7th), and I'm looking forward to celebrating it again, with many of you, at a pool party and BBQ this Saturday!

What: Margaret's 46th Birthday, Pool Party and BBQ
Date: Saturday, July 11th
Time: Starting at 1:00pm, ending when the last guest goes home (typically ~10:00pm)
Where: 356 Abbott Street, North Andover, MA 01845, 978-687-0270
Who: You, your SO(s), your children, visiting relatives, friends and anyone else I might have forgotten to invite
RSVP: By Thursday, July 9th. If you forget to RSVP, come anyway!

We'll have plenty of snacks and drinks, then we'll fire up the grill for a BBQ around 4:00pm. We'll have plenty, but you're also welcome to bring anything special that you'd like to eat, or something that you'd like to share.

Based on current weather forecasts, it should be a great day for the pool -- partly sunny and in the low 80s. For folks who prefer their water hot, the hot tub will also be available.

I hope to see you there!

Margaret

10:33 pm: Late 60s or 70s Movie
Does anyone remember a movie (or maybe a TV show) that was on TV in the 1970s about a family that lived at the bottom of the ocean in an experimental undersea dwelling? They had a room where they could swim up under their house and swim back out again, and dolphin friends?

I am trying to remember the name of this movie (or show), and I just can't come up with it... I think it may have had the word 'onion' in the title, but I'm not sure.

Thanks!

10:10 am: Tomatoes!
After a lot of prep work over the last several days, I got up early this morning and planted tomatoes! We're growing eighteen plants in eleven different varieties, so hopefully we'll get a bountiful tomato harvest this year.

I still have two other tomato plants for pots on the deck, and nine pepper plants (3 different varieties) that I'm hoping to plant tomorrow.

We're also planning to grow lettuce, zuchini and cucumbers from seeds. I'm hoping to get them all sowed next week.

We're running about one-and-a-half weeks behind where I'd like to be, but things are coming along.

06:28 pm: I can live with that! :-)
Your results:
You are Beverly Crusher

Beverly Crusher 75% Chekov 65% Deanna Troi 65% Spock 62% Mr. Scott 60% Geordi LaForge 55% James T. Kirk (Captain) 50% Uhura 50% Will Riker 45% Data 42% Leonard McCoy (Bones) 35% Mr. Sulu 30% Jean-Luc Picard 30% An Expendable Character (Redshirt) 25% Worf 5%

A good physician and a caring parent. You are devoted to your children and to your occupation.

Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Quiz

11:52 am: Reminder: St. Patrick's Day Party
A reminder:

We will be holding our annual St. Patrick's Day Party on Saturday, March 14th starting around 2:00pm and ending when the last guest goes home. Folks who want to help with food preparation should feel free to show up any time after noon.

We'll have all of the usual Irish treats -- Irish food, Irish music, Irish drinks, and Irish people, of course! We'll serve an Irish dinner (Cheddar & Parsnip Soup, Orange & Mushroom Salad, Corned Beef & Cabbage, Irish Soda Bread and some Irish-influenced non-dairy/vegetarian dishes) somewhere between 4:00pm and 6:00pm. We may show a family-friendly Irish movie starting around 7:30pm, _The Secret of Roan Inish_, if folks are interested in watching it.

Our Irish kids will be there, and yours are welcome, too. Our two Irish dogs and three Irish cats will also be present (hey, everyone's Irish on St. Patrick's Day!).

What: St. Patrick's Day Party
Date: Saturday, March 14th, 2:00pm to ?? (or come at noon to help cook)
Where: Margaret, Kevin & Sam's House in North Andover
Who: You, your SO(s), your kids, your friends and your visiting relatives
RSVP: By Wednesday, March 11th, but if you forget to RSVP, come anyway!

10:35 am: St. Patrick's Day Party
We will be holding our annual St. Patrick's Day Party on Saturday, March 14th starting around 2:00pm and ending when the last guest goes home. Folks who want to help with food preparation should feel free to show up any time after noon.

We'll have all of the usual Irish treats -- Irish food, Irish music, Irish drinks, and Irish people, of course! We'll serve an Irish dinner (Cheddar & Parsnip Soup, Orange & Mushroom Salad, Corned Beef & Cabbage, Irish Soda Bread and some Irish-influenced non-dairy/vegetarian dishes) somewhere between 4:00pm and 6:00pm. We may show an Irish movie starting around 7:30pm, if we happen to find one we like.

Our Irish kids will be there, and yours are welcome, too. Our two Irish dogs and three Irish cats will also be present (hey, everyone's Irish on St. Patrick's Day!).

What: St. Patrick's Day Party
Date: Saturday, March 14th, 2:00pm to ?? (or come at noon to help cook)
Where: Margaret, Kevin & Sam's House in North Andover
Who: You, your SO(s), your kids, your friends and your visiting relatives
RSVP: By Wednesday, March 11th, but if you forget to RSVP, come anyway!

If you need directions or further information, comment here or send e-mail.

04:51 pm: Internet on the Train!
I'm writing this from an MBTA commuter rail train on the Haverhill line.

I've been pretty consistently getting Wi-Fi Internet connectivity on the train since I returned from vacation on January 5th. Way cool!

Now if they could just get the signals to work consistently...

10:20 am: Merry Christmas!
A bit late, but here are two Christmas pictures of Zoe.

The first is a picture of Zoe and Sam playing with the doll cradle that Zoe's grandfather, Joe Hartman, made for her.



And the second is a picture of Zoe in her Christmas dress.



If you want to see more pictures of Zoe over the past few months, you should look here.

08:55 pm: While I'm in a posting sort of mood...
I know I've already posted more today than I have in the last few weeks, but while I was here, I thought I'd send an update on how things are going.

I'm really enjoying my new job. I like the technology and the people, and I'm having fun learning a bunch of new things. The office is in Malden and commuting on the train has been surprisingly good. I can get things done on the train, and I'm _so_ relieved not to have to drive up and down Rte 93 anymore.

We're looking to hire a few more programmers (particularly folks with expertise in AI/expert systems, GUIs/usability or network protocol design) and a marketing person (writing/communications), so let me know if you might be interested.

Zoe is eight months old (as of Sept 23rd), and she's doing great. She's been pulling herself to standing for about a month now, and she's starting to cruise (walking along tables while hanging on, etc.). She eats well and sleeps well. She's just an incredibly easy, fun and happy baby. If you'd like to see some recent pictures of Zoe, look here.

Sam and I took a trip to New Mexico in September to visit his parents, and they are planning to come here again at the end of this months (over Halloween). We all went up to the summer house this past weekend and saw Kevin's parents, possibly for the last time this year.

We've managed to get a couple of important things done around the house, too. Kevin removed the (useless, poorly constructed) boot bench from our mud room, I cleaned it out, and Sam and I built a storage unit for all of our pool chemicals, bug sprays and other non-baby-friendly chemicals. We installed child locks on the cupboards under our sink. We thoroughly cleaned the kids rooms. We also went through all of the kids clothes and got rid of everything that doesn't fit them -- spring cleaning was a little late this year, I guess.

My only complaint is that I've been too busy over the past couple of months, between my new job, the baby, taking care of things around here, the kids returning to school, etc. to spend much time with my friends. I am hoping to fix that over the next couple of months, although I suppose that may be challenging with the holidays coming up.

10:11 am: Reminder: Labor Day Pool Party & BBQ
Just a reminder that we'll be having a pool party and BBQ on Labor Day (Monday, September 1st). Details.

Hope to see you here!

11:37 am: Sam's Birthday/Labor Day Party
We'll be having a pool party and BBQ to celebrate Sam's Birthday and Labor Day on Monday, September 1st, 2008. This will be our last pool party of the season, so we hope that you can join us! The official party will start at 1:00pm.

Our pool and hot tub will both be open, so don't forget your bathing suit! We'll have plenty of food and drink available (including veggie and non-alcoholic options), and we'll fire up the grill around 4:00pm. You don't need to bring anything, but if you feel inspired, please feel free to bring something that you'd like to share.

What: Sam's Birthday and Labor Day Pool Party & BBQ
Date: Monday, September 1st, 2008
Time: 1:00pm until the last guest goes home.
Where: 356 Abbott Street North Andover, MA. (978) 687-0270.
Who: You, your SO's, kids, friends and anyone else I forgot to invite.

RSVP by Thursday, August 28th so that we'll know how much food to make... but if you forget to RSVP, come anyway!

If you'd like to come but don't have a car, let us know and we'd be glad to come pick you up at the Andover commuter rail station.

Caveats: We have kids and cats and dogs and sun and plants, so take whatever precautions you think are warranted.

11:57 am: The Omnivore's Hundred is a list of foods the gastronome Andrew Wheeler thinks everyone should try at least once in their lives.

The rules of the meme:
1) bold those you have tried
2) strikethrough those you wouldn't eat on a bet.
2a) Italicize any item you'll never eat again.
2b) Asterisk any items you'd be interested in trying but have not yet.
( cut for length )

03:48 pm: Birthday Party Reminder
Just a reminder that My Birthday Party is this weekend. Hope to see you there!

04:56 pm: Birthday Party
I'm turning 45 this year, and to celebrate I will be holding a birthday party for myself on Saturday, July 12th at my house in North Andover, MA. Weather permitting, the pool and the hot tub will be open. If it rains, come anyway, and we'll find something else to do.

As always, there will be plenty of food and drink, including vegetarian and non-alcoholic choices. We'll have snacks all afternoon, then we'll fire up the BBQ around 4:00pm. Maybe we'll even have a birthday cake...

What: Margaret's Birthday Party
When: Saturday, July 12th from 1:00pm until the last guest goes home
Where: 356 Abbott Street, North Andover, MA 01845
Who: You, your SOs, your kids, your friends and anyone else I forgot to invite
Bring: Your bathing suit and a towel
RSVP: By Thursday, July 10th. But if you forget to RSVP, come anyway!

10:30 am: Pool Party!!
Our pool is open, and we're ready for the first pool party of the season! We'll have lots of food and drink available, as well as our pool and hot tub.

What: Pool Party & BBQ
Date: Saturday, June 7th, 2008
Time: 1:00pm until the last guest goes home.

Where:
Margaret, Kevin and Sam's House
356 Abbott Street
North Andover, MA

Who: You, your SO's, kids, friends and anyone else I forgot to invite.

RSVP by Thursday, June 5th... but if you forget to RSVP, come anyway!

01:49 pm: Mother's Day Weekend
Saturday wasn't a great day. We did a lot of house cleaning (which was satisfying, but not very enjoyable), and then we determined that our washing machine was broken, again. Having spent too much time/money getting it repaired last time, we decided to just buy a new one which will hopefully arrive today.

Saturday evening was fun, though. We all went to a party at kirkudbright's house. Zoe slept through the party, and the rest of us had a good time.

I had a great Mother's Day, featuring: breakfast prepared by Kevin and Owen, some very nice cards and presents, and a wonderful surprise visit from Carolyn, Kent and their twins.

We also got out into the garden for the first time this year. Kevin and I cleaned up the detritus from last year, did some weeding and started turning over the dirt in preparation for planting. My tomato and pepper plants haven't arrived yet (they usually come in late May), but I hope we can plant some seeds later this week.

08:11 am: Catching Up, Vacation, Going Back to Work
I've spent the last 12 weeks at home with Zoe. While I can't say I've enjoyed _every_ minute of it, I have enjoyed being at home and spending lots of time with my beautiful new baby. It has also been nice to have some extra time to organize the house, spend time with my family, etc.

Zoe is an incredibly sweet, happy, easy baby. She eats well, she seldom cries for extended periods and she's fun to play with -- she loves tummy time and batting at toys in her bouncy seat. She tells long, funny stories in a language that only she knows. She does new, interesting things every day. For the past week or so she's been sleeping 8+ hours straight from ~10:00pm to ~6:00am. We really couldn't ask for more.

Tomorrow, we leave for a week in Orlando, FL. I'm looking forward to the trip. We own a timeshare at the Marriott Grande Vista Resort in Orlando, and we go there during April vacation at least every other year. We always have a great time there. This year we'll be meeting up with Sam's parents, who are very excited about seeing their granddaughter again.

We're planning a trip to Discovery Cove on Monday, where we will all get to swim with the dolphins. On Friday, the 25th, we'll head down to Tampa to see the Red Sox play the Tampa Bay Rays. In between, we'll go to Magic Kingdom, Sea World, Aquatica (the new Sea World water park), Pirates Cove Mini-Golf and wherever else the spirit moves us.

We get back late on Saturday, the 26th and on Monday the 28th, I'll head back to work. I have mixed feelings on that subject... On the up side, I'm glad to be getting back to work. I've been starting to feel a little bored and restless at home, and I'm looking forward to the intellectual stimulation. It's also nice to get paid, of course. On the down side, though, I'm going to miss the baby. Also, I didn't get _everything_ done that I was hoping to do while I was on leave, but I didn't really expect to.

One thing that I'm a little nervous about is trying to continue breast feeding when I go back to work. I wasn't very successful at doing so with my other kids, but I also wasn't really trying that hard... In the past, I tried to keep it up for the first 12 weeks, but this time I'm going to try to do it for at least 6 months. I telecommute most of the time, so I'll only have to pump a couple of days a week. My company has been _very_ supportive -- they've re-arranged my office space so that I can have a private office with a frosted window and a lock on the door, so that I can pump at work. Sam and Kevin are both very supportive. I have a good pump and I already have a couple of days worth of milk in the freezer... So, wish me luck!

After I return to work, Sam will be spending at least a month at home with Zoe. Hopefully he'll have as much fun with her as I have. Sam is really good with the baby, and it always makes me happy to see them together.

As Sam posted in his own LJ (hartmans), today is his last day at MIT. When he returns to work in June, he'll be running his own consulting practice. I'm very proud of him for having the courage to leave MIT and step out on his own, and I'm pretty confident that things are going to work out well for him.