I’ve really joined the cult of the ice melt this year. I laid out forty pounds on the driveway last night, and this morning went far more smoothly for the effort. My latest bout of shoveling was only 45 minutes, as opposed to the 90 minutes I expected.

We haven’t been able to come up with a name for the impending baby yet; I’m going to nominate Calcium Chloride Butler.

I now know with complete certainty that we will be having either a boy or a girl.

We had a scheduled ultrasound yesterday, during which we were hoping to be able to find out whether the baby would be a boy or a girl. Unfortunately, the little baby wouldn’t cooperate, demurely crossing its legs. We’re going to have to wait until the big day itself to find out.

If it’s a boy, I hope he likes pink, because that’s what we got.

If you feel a wave of bliss flowing in from Holliston this morning, you can thank Sadie. She decided to sleep until 6:30 in the morning, instead of the more traditional 5:00.

Everyone else in the house applauds this update to our schedule. The sun is shining and the birds are singing. Hallelujah.

Some exciting news to report! Towards the end of March 2008, Sadie will become a big sister. We’ll know boy or girl within a few weeks; that should help with the planning. We’re all pretty excited, though I think I’ve blocked out some of the uglier realities of the first couple months with a new baby.

And, who knows, maybe within a couple of years I’ll be find myself a nice comfortable rut — my first since late 2002. Since then, I’ve had at least one major life thing in flux at all times. It keeps you on your toes.

Three years ago, she said yes.

Woo Hoo!

Dear Internet,

The little baby guarantees that I’m not going to get out of the house much this fall. If I’m going to stay inside, I may as well have a good television. My current TV dates from the early nineties, and apparently there’s been an advance or two in the last few years.

Any suggestions on things to look for when picking out a new TV?

Also, I’m thinking of DirectTV for the NFL Sunday Ticket. Anyone have any experience with them? I have zero allegiance to Comcast, but I want to make sure that I won’t have other problems with the satellite.

Thanks,
Jason

Great article from Dan Shaughnessy about his son in the METCO program. Very heartwarming.

Today I broke out the Briggs and Stratton for this year’s inaugural mow. I added oil, added gas, wiped off the blade, then fired it up.

After a few minutes of running, the mower started belching white smoke. I turned it off, let it cool and tried again. Again, after a few minutes, it started blowing smoke. I kept it running, and made it all the way through the yard, but I’m still a little worried, as I can’t imagine free-flowing smoke is a sign of a well-tuned mower.

I’m not a handyman, so I’m pretty clueless about the cause. I wonder if it’s related to my “anything on the ground can be mowed over” theory of yard care.

Well, it was bound to happen, though I had three weeks on the over/under, not one. Yes, a mere seven days after starting daycare, our little girl was home today with a 102 fever. She has officially started her career as a plague-monkey (tm Kurt).

I got the first stay-home-with-the-sick-baby shift, but I was able to work in a couple of conference calls and a trip to the pediatrician between bouts of fussiness. You be surprised how quickly you can boil down an advertising model when a six-month-old is screaming in your ear.

Sadie starts daycare today. In a few hours, I’ll pick her up and see what trauma her first day’s experience has caused. Of course, knowing her, she’ll be perfectly happy and will have charmed all the daycare workers. She’s far more social than I’ll ever be, and after an initial “it’s all new” screaming fit, she’ll be fine. She’ll get into a comfortable routine.

And maybe I’ll get one, too. Today, for the first time since the autumn of 2002, I’m not in the middle of a major life transition. From the job to the girlfriend to the engagement to the wedding to the new business to the new house to the pregnancy to the baby to the new job to A. going back to work, more than a thousand days have passed since I’ve seen steady state.

I’m kinda looking forward to it. It’s about time for a nice good rut.