Yeah, I'm bitter. I still hate the Ducks. The Dirty Ducks. There's something seriously wrong when I know the names of most of the players on a team that's not my favorite team. I can name more Ducks than any of the teams except the Wild. And when I rattle off those names, most of them are followed by the phrase "I hate that guy!"

Or a less polite phrase.

Anyway, the Stanley Cup Final starts monday, and all I have to say is GO OTTAWA!

I got the following email from my mom yesterday:

Read your blog, Gina, and I discovered something else you guys will have to add to your list of things to do...time to brush up on your Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes..."Snips and snails and puppy dog tails"...I can tell you lived in the Northwest for a LOOOONG time, since you've got slugs on the brain!

I guess I did live in the Pacific Northwest too long, although a friend who also grew up in the Seattle area had "frogs and snails and puppy dog tails," so I guess I'm not the only one with a slimy variation! My version makes more sense to me, since I've seen more slugs than snips (of what, exactly?) in my day, but I'm willing to accept Mom's version as the correct one, especially since Wikipedia agrees.

I guess we'll find out if that's really what little boys are made of, because we're having a boy! It was pretty darned definite on the ultrasound today, so now we can start making decisions! First up, a name. And a crib. And a theme. And...

Anyway, some quick answers to FAQs:

• No, we haven't picked a name yet. And once we do, it's non-negotiable.
  
• We haven't registered yet (we were waiting to see if it was a boy or girl), but plan to register at Target and Babies R Us, probably within the next couple of weeks.
  
• (Wow, we seem like slackers, don't we? What have we been doing for the past five months?!)
  
• I'm still feeling fine, thanks! (Except for the whole can't-find-pants-that-fit issue, but that's my ego that's bruised, not anything else)
  
• All the tests I/we've had so far have come back very normally. Which is good. The tech who did the ultrasound today commented on how good the baby was being - let's hope that continues out of the womb!
  
• I've been feeling the baby move some...but it's still pretty intermittent, and he seems to be pretty mellow until the evening hours.
  
• Yes, all family members seem to be very excited. Or they do a really good job of faking.
  
• Yes, the baby will be introduced to hockey as soon as it's safe to put him on skates. (Hey - he already went to a Stanley Cup playoff game, didn't he?!)
• Yes, we would really, really welcome any suggestions anyone has on products they can't live without, or ones to avoid like the plague. Email Bryan or me with your recommendations!

I'm in New Jersey right now, visiting family - specifically my grandfather, who is one of my favorite people on the planet.

For some reason, I'm not sure they've heard of wireless networks in his area, because I couldn't even find any, let alone an unprotected one, to jump on. As a result, I'm typing this from the Fair Lawn Library, which is a short drive away and kind enough to offer free wi-fi.

If you haven't heard from me in a while, I apologize - work has been utterly insane the past two weeks, and now I've got limited net access for the next week or so. Patience grasshoppers, I promise I'll email back soon, and I'm sorry for being such a slacker!