Pirates vs Ninjas

Like any good nerds, Ben and I wage a constant battle about which are superior: pirates or ninjas.

I'm firmly on the side of ninjas. Ben is a pirate groupie. So when it comes to the Oz Bebbehs expected next year, we'd clearly reached an impasse. Forget sex, money or religion - how do you raise children in a house divided over such a critical matter as who would win in an epic pirate-ninja battle? So we decided: if we had girls, they'd be ninjas like their brilliant mama. Boys would be pirates, like their well meaning but clearly deluded daddy (ahem).

And with the big, gender revealing ultrasound only a week away*, the question of the day is: will the Oz Bebbehs be pirates or ninjas? Keep in mind that they're identical twins, so we'll be getting a matched set -- none of this one-of-each business.

Here's what the plethora of stunningly inaccurate old wives' tales have to say on the matter:

Pro-Pirates
I didn't have morning sickness early on (I did have it, but it didn't show up right away).
I'm looking good during pregnancy, or so Ben tells me...although he'd probably still say that if I stopped bathing and grew a snaggletooth, because he knows what's good for him.
I crave salty/sour/savory foods, not sweet.
Average baby heartrate is below 140 (boys supposedly have lower heartrates than girls).
My belly looks like a basketball, not a watermelon.

Pro-Ninjas
I'm carrying high.
The hair on my legs isn't growing any faster than it did before.
My feet aren't any colder than they were pre-pregnancy.
My nose hasn't changed during pregnancy (who the hell comes up with this stuff?).
The Chinese Gender chart says girl.

And what do the parents-to-be think? Well, as much as I'd enjoy getting to have the upper hand in all matters PvN in our house, I think we're having boys. No real reason why, but I will be genuinely shocked if they turn out to be ninjas.

Ben, on the other hand, is 100% convinced we're having girls. When I asked him for a reason, he said, "Having twin teenage girls with boys sniffing around them would be serious karmic payback for all of my horny adolescent fantasies." Can't argue with that, can you?

But really, let's be honest: we have a 50/50 chance, and one way or the other, either Ben or I will be right. So what do YOU think?

poll by twiigs.com

*Yes, we will be finding out the gender. No, I do not think it's one of the few great mysteries in life and want to "wait to be surprised." I'll STILL be surprised. Just 20 weeks earlier.

The Person

Everybody has one in their life. You know the Person. Someone you've known for years (and are probably related to), but don't really know well. Someone who has no discernible hobbies or interests, who you end up buying a fruit basket for every year because, well, at least it's edible and everyone has to eat, right?

Last night, I shopped online and cheerfully clicked Buy on the very last item for the very last person on my Christmas list, revelling in the bliss of knowing that all of my shopping was done for this year - and by the first week of December!

And then I remembered my Person. The Person I forgot to put on my list. The Person who causes me shopping anxiety every year. I probably shouldn't even bother caring at this point and just grab a fruit basket, but I'm a middle child and we aim to please, so every year I still agonize over what to buy them.

Dammit.

What do you give to The Person in your life? What's your fallback present for someone you seldom see, never talk to, and yet are obliged to provide with something cheerfully wrapped every December 25? Please - give me your ideas!

Movember is OVER!

Well it's December 1, which means that for the second year running, the Movember challenge is over! To refresh your memories, here's another look at Ben's 'stache inspiration, as chosen by you:

Oh the humanity!

Let's take another look at how the mo was shaping up by Day 10:

And a gander at Day 18:

And last - but certainly not least - Day 30!

Pardon the squinty face - the lad was a bit short on sleep.

He didn't have the time to get the full length of The Derek, but I think he made a pretty good start, don't you? Thankfully, the lip sweater was annoying him enough that he shaved it off about 30 seconds after I took this photo, and I'm once again living with the clean shaven man I married. Bliss!

Only 11 months until next Movember!

Turkey Day Down Under

So, it's Thanksgiving (well, it's Thursday here, anyway), and something I'm asked every year is whether or not I celebrate Thanksgiving in Australia. The answer is...sometimes.

I have in the past, and likely will again in the future. This year though, I gave it a miss, and here's the reason why:

That is a photo from my local grocery store. Demonstrating that a 15lb bird costs over $65. Amazingly enough, this is a "special".

I like turkey. Just not that much.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Pardon my absence - the last few days have been craaaaazy. The bank finally came through at the very last second, so as of Friday afternoon we had a new home! That meant the touch-and-go moving plans for the weekend were officially a go, and with the help of some awesome friends we were in our new place by dinnertime on Saturday (I use the term "we" rather loosely, considering that all a pregnant woman is good for is supervising - but I supervised the hell out of that move, oh yeah!).

We've spent the last two days unpacking, and it's still not quite finished (although we do have the interwebs back as of today - yaaay!) - when it's all done, I'll post a few photos of the new digs. Until then, here's a picture of a chicken that we took earlier today to tide you over:

And yes, it is crossing the road. There is little more surreal in life than turning to your husband in the car and saying, "Hey...is that...a chicken on the road?" I live in Hickville, folks.

Who wants to see what the pregnant lady looks like?

16 weeks, 2 days down.

23 weeks, 4 days to go.

I’m not even halfway there.

I feel I may look like this by the end of it:

That's what twins will do to you, folks.

Movember - Day 18

I know. I KNOW. I'm four days late with this post. In my defense, my house looks like a cardboard box factory exploded nearby. Have I mentioned that we're moving? We bought a house! Or at least, we're trying to buy the damn thing - the bank effed up our paperwork and closing was delayed at least a week. Hopefully it will go ahead on Friday, so we're packing like we'll be out of here on Saturday (we have this place for a while longer so no worries on that front, but COME ON AND CLOSE ALREADY).

Anyway. You don't really care about that, you just want to see the mo', don't you? Fine then:

I know what you're probably thinking: it doesn't look all that different to Day 10. But what you can't see in this picture is that Ben has had to start trimming that thing so he doesn't keep nibbling on it. It's gotten that long! I'll get him to shave for the next update so you can get a really good look at the epic hideousness that is The Derek.

P.S. This really to support a great charity, so if you'd like to help support men's health awareness, visit the official Movember website and enter the registration number 240899 to view Ben's profile and make a donation.