Countdown

Erika's belly is attracting more attention than mine these days. She is compiling a list of true stories/reasons you know that it's time to have the baby.

With regrets to our very wonderful and informative childbirth class teacher, Tracy, (don't worry - we know when we are REALLY supposed to go to the hospital)...Erika presents the top 5 reasons for "You Know You Are Ready to Have a Baby When..."

1. Photos of you now are best viewed in "Landscape" rather than "Portrait".
   
2. People at work keep wandering by your desk and reacting in surprise: "You're STILL here???"
   
3. You order the "egg sugar puffs" dish (serves 5) at your new favorite Dim Sum restaurant and proceed to eat the entire plate by yourself, without pausing.
   
4. You complete #3 and THEN you polish off half an order of steamed spinach and shrimp dumplings.
   
5. People no longer react to an unexpected profile view of your belly with surprise, but with FEAR, and get out of the way quick!
   

But seriously, all is going very well, baby is head down and In Position and as of Tuesday 4/8, Erika has permission from the mid-wife to go ahead and deliver a healthy, full-term baby boy. She isn't due until April 30, but apparently the next 3 weeks are just gravy - time for the kid to put some meat on his bones before making the grand entrance. We get the feeling he is going to LOVE dim sum...and anything from Tartine. Although the Cottage Bakery at the Liberty Cafe has certainly been giving Tartine's bread pudding a run for their money lately...the secret to both seems to be starting with brioche instead of week-old Wonder Bread. Who woulda thunk? More experimentation is clearly necessary...

Erika has one more week of work, and then plans to stay home full time to pet and adore me, plus get some rest before the baby arrives. Her Big Project is all wrapped up, except for the final presentation in New York, which she will sadly not be able to attend, due to her Condition. Martin too is getting to a place in his work where he will soon be able to feel comfortable taking a couple of weeks off to get used to our new lifestyle.

In other news, we are all getting over terrible colds (even I have been sneezing cute little cat sneezes!) and looking forward to a low-key weekend. Martin and Erika spent Monday and Tuesday night in Woodacre in Marin County to test out the commute. The place was lovely, the commute was Long. The search for our new home town continues.

We are still getting out and about, enjoying the company of friends and some of the cultural and culinary attractions that San Francisco has to offer. Last Friday we managed to slip into Delfina for an early dinner that included the best pasta dish (pork sugo tagliatelle) Erika has ever eaten outside of Italy. It's getting harder and harder to find reasons to leave our neighborhood, especially for dinner. This Friday we are hoping to fit in TWO art openings in the neighborhood before our monthly poker night - one for Jason, a photographer friend and the other for Bluespace, a stepchild non-profit of Bi-Rite Market, who is a soon-to-be partner of Nextcourse, the non-profit whose board Erika recently joined. Didja follow that? ;-)

I'm planning to stay home and finish covering the purple sofa with cat hair. It's a big sofa!