GTKY Jan. 24th Edition

2MamazInSeattle

1. What did you eat for dinner last night?
2. What do you do when you are just hanging out or are bored around the house? (read, phone puttering, etc.). Tell us more!
3. What are your guilty pleasure names? Like names you'd give characters in your novel, or ones you could never use...
4. How would you describe your naming style or naming "rules" or goals for your actual or future LO(s).
5. What's going on this weekend?

ATXmommas

1. Homemade black bean burgers with roasted Brussel sprouts.

2. Watch tv, FB, Bump, and otherwise browse the internet. I'm usually a big reader, but haven't been reading (books) at all lately.

3. I don't have a lot of GP names that I for sure wouldn't use. Mostly I can't use them because Z vetoed them when we were having name discussions for Sebastian. On the veto list - Tristan, Pierce, Penn. Micah was vetoed a long time ago. I think I've mentioned before that I like the name Aspen for a girl, but I really don't know if I would go through with that one. Not that I have to worry about it because Z would never go for it. I've met a couple women named Cedar in my life, and I just love it. I think Aspen is along those lines. I also really like Harper for a girl but I would never use it because 1) my BF loves it and may use it one day, and 2) Z wouldn't let me. :P

4. Z's Spanish speaking family and my English-with-a-Southern-accent family both have to be able to pronounce it. For that matter, I have to be able to pronounce it! Z likes some traditional names that actually sound quite beautiful in Spanish, but very run of the mill to me when you can't roll an r - Alexandra is one she loves that I will never go for because I cannot roll an r for the life of me.

Also, while I'm not as traditional as Z, I do think it needs to look good on a resume one day - proper spelling and not completely made up.

Z's rule is that the name shouldn't be too gringo. Z and I combined our last names to make a new name, which still has a Spanish flare to it. and Z thinks that the name shouldn't sound too gringo or it won't "go" with our last name. Interestingly, she LOVES the name Aiden, which I vetoed mostly due to the fact that everyone else in the world loves the name too and there are a bajillion Aidens running around now.

Finally, shouldn't be too popular, but doesn't need to be extinct.

5. Well, today the city of Austin is pretty much shut down because it started icing last night (and maybe some snow?). Will be in the 40s by midday, but school was canceled all day. Z's work follows the school schedule, so she has the day off! Yay! I see snuggling in our jammies in our future. We were supposed to take LO to his 2-month we'll check at 9:45, but I imagine that the dr's office will push it back. It's supped to be in the 70s on Sunday, so hopefully we will get out for a walk and brunch. Not much going on except hanging out with my little family. In other words, a perfect weekend!

GoaliesWife123

I'll play!

1. Pizza. Literally the worst thing I could eat on a low carb lifestyle..

2. I usually play on my Kindle or phone. I have been watching a lot of Netflix, too. When I'm really bored, I will start cleaning and organizing, which isn't a bad habit to have!

3. I love the name Alice for a girl, but DW has an aunt with that name and it would cause all kinds of problems if we went that route. I also love the name Olive. As for a boy, I adore the name Peyton (for a girl, too!) but my wife is a huge Peyton Manning fan and worries people would associate the two.

4. I'm not a fan of making up names, but I also like names that aren't widely used. A big no-no for us is making up a different spelling for a normal name. Life is hard enough and I don't want our child to have to deal with criticism or contanstly correcting people regarding their name.

5. Well, we will be doing two inseminations this weekend, starting today. We also went and picked up 4 movies from redbox only to get a phone call from Dw's sister asking us to babysit today. It is so cold here that we can't go hiking or do anything outdoors, so I may bake or cook in order to be productive.

KH826

1. What did you eat for dinner last night?

We had breakfast for dinner last night -- spinach and cheese omelets and breakfast potatoes with green and red peppers in the frying pan. It was yummy!

2. What do you do when you are just hanging out or are bored around the house? (read, phone puttering, etc.). Tell us more!

Well, I used to be an avid reader, but I have been slacking lately and for some reason have not been as interested. My hanging around activities usually involve my iPad (The Bump, FB, Pinterest, Words with Friends...). Usually the TV is on in the background. Our favorites when we are only 1/2 paying attention are re-runs of Law & Order or various home improvement shows. Cuddling with our dog is also a favorite hanging out activity of mine (especially as of late -- she is kind of obsessed with my belly!)

3. What are your guilty pleasure names? Like names you'd give characters in your novel, or ones you could never use...

Well... I am not sure I really have any guilty pleasure names. My wife has one that I kind of half like, but am pretty sure I would never go for in real life. She likes the name Normandy (or Normandie) for a girl and we would call her Nora or Nori. It has significance because the place where we had our wedding was called Normandy Farms. I think it is cute, and I like the significance, but I just don't think I could ever pull the trigger on it. Too off-the-beaten-path for me, and I also think about how it will look someday on a resume. Other than that, I love the name George for a boy (that was my maternal grandfather's name), but my wife is NOT a fan. If we were having a boy, we would be struggling with the name game right now, but we are 100% in agreement on our first girl's name (and we have a second girls name in the queue for the future as well), so it was easy this time!

4. How would you describe your naming style or naming "rules" or goals for your actual or future LO(s).

Well, my wife and I have actually decided that all of our names (first and middle) will be after people who have been influencial to us (mostly family), or otherwise have other significance to us (places, etc.). The names that are after people in some instances will be slightly different than the original (in spelling or perhaps a nickname as the full name). I realize this sounds very abstract without me giving examples, but I kind of want to keep our actual names under my hat for now. I am pretty traditional when it comes to names, and my wife is more creative, so I have done a lot of vetoing. Luckily we decided on a girls name for our first daughter a very long time ago and we both 100% love it, so there was no negotiation needed when we found out this baby was a girl. Now, if we have a boy next, that is going to be a totally different story...

5. What's going on this weekend?

Tomorrow we are going to New Jersey (really it's only 20 mins over the bridge from Philly, but it feels like a little day trip since we are crossing state lines and paying a toll -- HAHA) to do some shopping. There is a big Babies R Us there that we have never been to. We are going to go there and do some more work on our registry and I need to exchange some maternity pants I bought (I picked up petite by accident and didn't realize until I got home - I was so mad!), then we will probably go out to lunch, and there is a giant fancy pants grocery store in that area that I would love to go to and splurge on some yummy food for cooking next week. Then probably home to work on some more house projects. Sunday, I am not sure. My wife has an appointment in the morning, but I am footloose and fancy free (as my mother-in-law would say) -- I will probably do some relaxing, some laundry, perhaps a trip to target for some odds and ends I have been putting off buying... Since last weekend felt like a marathon, I am excited for a little bit more of a laid back weekend this time!

trisholio

1. What did you eat for dinner last night?

I had two pieces of pizza as dinner last night, I ate more healthy earlier in the day but it all went downhill quickly
2. What do you do when you are just hanging out or are bored around the house? (read, phone puttering, etc.). Tell us more!

I spend too much time on facebook and playing candy crush 
3. What are your guilty pleasure names? Like names you'd give characters in your novel, or ones you could never use...

my wife likes christian and anastasia from 50 shades of gray, haha
4. How would you describe your naming style or naming "rules" or goals for your actual or future LO(s).

First we looked at family names, then names we liked, then tried to combine those
5. What's going on this weekend?

Tonight we are going over to some friends house to just hang out.  I have babysat their kids for months, but we have never hung out together and they are super great people.  Tomorrow I am babysitting my usual little pumpkin Caleb, then Sunday my sister and I are preparing dinner for our family for my mom's birthday.  We still haven't went grocery shopping for the event.  Oops.  I am a slacker these day, I have an excuse

HollynLeana

1.What did you eat for dinner last night? Butternut squash risotto 2. What do you do when you are just hanging out or are bored around the house? (read, phone puttering, etc.). Tell us more! I clean, catch up on shows, read...I don't have a ton of downtime though. 3. What are your guilty pleasure names? Like names you'd give characters in your novel, or ones you could never use...I love Mae.... 4. How would you describe your naming style or naming "rules" or goals for your actual or future LO(s). I am definitely giving a girl my middle name and a boy my brothers middle name. 5. What's going on this weekend? A play in Manhattan starring Sarah Jessica Parker

JGY

1.  We currently have a "Boarder" - a younger friend who recently got a job in town and needed a place to crash - so she brought home a rotisserie chicken and yummy roasted veggies.  I served its purpose in a pinch, and I was grateful.

2.  I seriously feel like I have NO down time.  Like, ever.  Get ready all you preggos out there!  Before Gabe, I would watch sports or surf on my iPad or computer.  Sometimes I would read or putter around the house doing odds and ends.  No more.

3.  When I was little (like ... 8 or 9) I started writing a novel.  Hah.  For some reason I was obsessed with the name Cody for a boy.  I have no idea why, I grew up in a total northern new england family.  I didn't even know how to spell it correctly.  Needless to say, this name wouldn't make any of my lists now.

4.  Our rules were that the name had to be an established, easily recognizable name.  Nothing creative or made-up.  But we didn't want anything that was currently popular.  On the flip side, we didn't want it to appear that we were "Trying too hard."  We had list upon list of names, and Gabriel wasn't on any of them until a few weeks before he was born.  One day we both came home and said "Hey, I was reminded of a name I love today ..."  It was pretty cool.

5.  Tomorrow we have swim lessons (yay), and then a friend offered to watch Gabe while I take a nap (double yay)!  Well, see #2, I couldn't possibly waste a free 3 hours napping so I filled up the time with things that I absolutely can't get done when he's around.  Then we will meet up with some friends doing a taproom tour.  I find it hilarious that Gabe has been to more taprooms than many of my adult friends.  Sunday I have choir rehearsal, so Gabe gets to come and play in the nursery.  This week there will be another boy just his age, so that will be fun to see.

GoaliesWife123

trisholio said:

1. What did you eat for dinner last night?

I had two pieces of pizza as dinner last night, I ate more healthy earlier in the day but it all went downhill quickly
2. What do you do when you are just hanging out or are bored around the house? (read, phone puttering, etc.). Tell us more!

I spend too much time on facebook and playing candy crush 
3. What are your guilty pleasure names? Like names you'd give characters in your novel, or ones you could never use...

my wife likes christian and anastasia from 50 shades of gray, haha
4. How would you describe your naming style or naming "rules" or goals for your actual or future LO(s).

First we looked at family names, then names we liked, then tried to combine those
5. What's going on this weekend?

Tonight we are going over to some friends house to just hang out.  I have babysat their kids for months, but we have never hung out together and they are super great people.  Tomorrow I am babysitting my usual little pumpkin Caleb, then Sunday my sister and I are preparing dinner for our family for my mom's birthday.  We still haven't went grocery shopping for the event.  Oops.  I am a slacker these day, I have an excuse

I love candy crush, but was very late to the party and just started playing not too long ago! 

shelly2314

1. What did you eat for dinner last night? We had cheese ravioli with mushrooms, red sauce, a meatball, and some grilled chicken pieces.  LOL---can you tell we just threw something together???
2. What do you do when you are just hanging out or are bored around the house? (read, phone puttering, etc.). Tell us more! I usually play criminal case (fb) or candy crush for a little bit, then I go on thebump.com and stalk, sometimes I read or take naps. I also have 2 dogs, 2 cats, and a snake to tend to so I try to give all of them a little one-on-one time!
3. What are your guilty pleasure names? Like names you'd give characters in your novel, or ones you could never use...OH...I love Anakalia (which is actually my little sister's name in Hawaiian), I am not sure of others. I fell in love with Katniss as a name, but could never do that to my child (I'm certain the odds would never be in her favor with that one LOL), I love the name Malichi, but it just makes me think of creepy kids hiding in corn
4. How would you describe your naming style or naming "rules" or goals for your actual or future LO(s).I am a teacher and do not want a name that makes my blood boil LOL.  Also, in deference to my father's faith (he is Jewish) you do not name your child after someone that is living. Both M and I want a name that is not common (Bob) but also not strange (Apple).
5. What's going on this weekend?I am administering the SAT to a student on Saturday and Sunday. Other than that, M and I are going to clean the house, grocery shop, and then just relax. I think I am going to try a new cabbage casserole recipe I found on FB on Saturday and we might invite my MIL over for dinner. Nobody knows about my pregnancy yet, we are waiting to tell the entire family at my birthday dinner next month!

lamaitresse

1. What did you eat for dinner last night?

Went for all-you-can-eat sushi with a friend I hadn't seen in a couple years!

2. What do you do when you are just hanging out or are bored around the house? (read, phone puttering, etc.). Tell us more!

Netflix and/or Facebook games... I really like the Farm Heroes game for time-wasting.

3. What are your guilty pleasure names? Like names you'd give characters in your novel, or ones you could never use...

I really, really, really like the name Mireille for a girl. It's a French name so it's less likely to get butchered, in Canada at least (it sounds a bit like "Mi-ray"). Although my name gets butchered regularly and it's common as muck besides for the different spelling, so maybe that's wishful thinking on my part. Anyway, Smurf nixed it as a choice and I had a sad. But if I ever were to write a book, a character would totally be named Mireille. LOL

4. How would you describe your naming style or naming "rules" or goals for your actual or future LO(s).

Our rules are: two names: one 'English' and one 'Japanese'; no 'unique' spellings of common names -- and no 'unique' names in general (my sister and I are both victims of this); no names that carry hefty cultural significance (e.g. 'Ichiro' which means first-born son in Japanese, a very common Japanese name for someone who already has a lot of pressure placed on him by being said first-born son; no names of monarchy, whether Japanese or English... so no George or Hirohito.) Also, no naming after characters of vampire-themed TV Shows. That last rule also gives me a sad, LOL

5. What's going on this weekend?

Lots! Going to the farmers market on Saturday morning, then Saturday afternoon/evening is road hockey (weather permitting) and games night at a friends place, and Sunday taking my friend's teenage daughter shopping to pick out a dress to wear to said friend's wedding.

rkbo

What did you eat for dinner last night?

Fried Calamari….I know, very bad, but I was at happy hour with a couple friends and it sounded sooo good. J

What do you do when you are just hanging out or are bored around the house? (read, phone puttering, etc.). Tell us more!

We try to catch up on the dvr from what we missed during the week. My wife constantly has organizing projects she is working on around the house. We are also watching a Netflix show called Lillyhammer, its kinda weird and funny at the same time. I too love Candy Crush, I am currently stuck on level 385, sigh

What are your guilty pleasure names? Like names you'd give characters in your novel, or ones you could never use...

My wife’s favorite book ever is To Kill a Mockingbird…and she would LOVE to have the first name Scout, but I don’t care for that as a first name, but it can be a boy’s middle name.

How would you describe your naming style or naming "rules" or goals for your actual or future LO(s).

We like a little of everything. Both of our middle names are the same, so if we have a girl, we will probably give her the same middle name. Carter, Benjamin(ben), Samuel(sam), are a few of my favorite boy names. Olivia, Amelia, Isabel are my favorite girl names. We have a list of names and won’t actually pick one until we have a baby.

What's going on this weekend?

We have been house hunting for the last few months, trying to find that “perfect” (nonexistent) house. We probably won’t buy anything until we are pregnant and at the very least past the 12 week mark. But we will probably go out looking at more open houses. My wife is still playing hockey, so we will go to her game on Sunday. I used to play until my RE said that I had to stop before IUI. So this is my first season just watching..its not easy just sitting on the bench and not being able to help. 

lamaitresse

shelly2314 - your answer to #4 reminds me of my friend's niece. She is also a teacher and struggled to find names that were not the same as kids who'd made her blood boil at some point in her career! So she ended up naming her twins Rosalind and Frederick because she'd never had students with either name.

healz413

1. Rice and beans, tortillas, cheese, and guacamole. I was babysitting and that's what was made for us.

2. I like to watch netflix or sometimes watch netflix in the kitchen while making dinner or doing the dishes. I spend way too much time on my phone checking the bump, Facebook, and email and playing candy crush. When I think about it, I do enjoy reading but I don't always think about it, especially if I have not started a new book since I finished the last.

3. I am very keen on using gender neutral names for our children but there are a lot of gendered names I like. Some of them are "too gendered" for me to use even if I were using gendered names for our kids (Cecily, for instance). Others are way too popular for me to choose even if going the gendered route. And two are the same as the last names of horribly conservative political leaders. Here goes: Cecily, Cecilia, Regan, Harper, olivia, Oliver, maya, Luke.

4. Gender neutral, not very common, nice sounding, doesn't give kids bad initials (always have to consider the acronym!). I would like to use family names as middle names (not necessarily adhering to gender neutral for a middle name) but I'm worried about upsetting family members who aren't chosen.

5. Clinic tomorrow morning for my stim check. Nervous and excited. I have acupuncture at 4 on Sunday. I have a bunch of work to do in between. I would like to go to a movie or play games, too.

rkbo

OOHH....I forgot to add to my #5...Saturday and Sunday will be 10 & 11 dpiui...so we will be taking HPT's!   <:-P

redrockmama

1. What did you eat for dinner last night?

We went to my dad's and made dinner for him and us. Cajun chicken and acorn squash. Nothing fancy, but good. 

2. What do you do when you are just hanging out or are bored around the house? (read, phone puttering, etc.). Tell us more!

Hmmm read a book, play with the puppies, go for a walk, watch a movie, clean (rarely). If it's not winter we usually don't hang around the house bored. I can't wait for spring.

3. What are your guilty pleasure names? Like names you'd give characters in your novel, or ones you could never use...

I don't really have guilty pleasure names. It is beyond hard for me to name anything. Except my niece, her name is Aleah and fits her perfectly. I would like to name a girl Wilhelmina after my grandma, but J won't go for it. I think it's a great, powerful name with lots of nickname possibilities. 

4. How would you describe your naming style or naming "rules" or goals for your actual or future LO(s).

Other than the exception above, we like very similar names. There are some we have both vetoed, but agree on most. What we mostly agree on is that we don't like any names, especially for a girl. We have a boy name picked out-named after my great grandfather with J's favorite constellation as a middle name. We'd like to do something similar for a girl, but our female family names are just not good at all. I don't want a J name since that is our last initial and every Mormon family names their kids with matching initials. Drives me nuts and I have a extreme bias against it. No other rules really. Strong names with some sort of meaning. I'd like to name a girl after my stepmom, probably a middle name. We also don't like made up names or weird spellings, another Mormon thing. I'll PIP a funny thing I saw the other day about it. 

5. What's going on this weekend?

Tonight we have a b-day party for our 13 year old niece. It will be fun to see all their kiddos. Tomorrow, I have no idea. We have tentative brunch plans with friends. There is a big rally at the capital about the horrible air pollution here. I might talk J into going to that. Appointment with the midwife on Sunday. I'm excited to hear the heartbeat again and get our birth ed stuff. 

shelly2314

lamaitresse...too funny. M keeps throwing these names out and I was like, no...nope, na-ah, no way, and then hell no! LOL

It is a process.

shelly2314

@rkbo...Wishing you the best of luck with your HPT this weekend!!!!

Jazibel

1. What did you eat for dinner last night?  1/2 an Italian sub (Jersey style).  Ummmmm.

2. What do you do when you are just hanging out or are bored around the house? (read, phone puttering, etc.). Tell us more!  I too used to read a lot, I don't anymore because my downtime is quite limited and I find it hard to put down a good book (maybe when I'm done with school). I clean a lot and putter, Bump, Pinterest, FB on my phone. Lately I've been reading natural birth stories.


3. What are your guilty pleasure names? Like names you'd give characters in your novel, or ones you could never use...
I really liked Tristan but EV vetoed a long time ago.  I'm inserting our latest baby girl name list - these were mostly EV's findings. I really liked Avalon, Coraline, Pearl (so/so), Violet and Clara. At one point we were considering Anjuli which is a name from Far Pavillions, but I could never pronounce it correctly ("EN-JULIE") But some of the others are quite my style.  For our second boy we're going with Owen Scott. Owen being a name that EV found and I really like and Scott being my maiden name and a tribute to my dad, just as Alexander is a tribute to EV's middle brother.
Amaya
Amina
Adara
Coralia
Coralis
Cordelia
Pearl
Camille
Colette
Avalon
Julene
Isabel
Alina
Violet
Coraline

4. How would you describe your naming style or naming "rules" or goals for your actual or future LO(s).  We like being pretty creative, BUT we have a feminine last name so particularly for boys names we've opted to be a little more mainstream, though we didn't want names that every little boy was sporting. Of course since Kaden, we've met a ton of little boy and girl Kadens.


5. What's going on this weekend? I am  taking a quick break from packing like crazy for our road trip down to LA.  I'm super excited and hope that the drive there and back is "easy" with our energetic toddler. Can't wait to introduce A & K's baby bump to our own ;-)  While we're there we'll probably do free or cheap outdoor activities with the kids and just hang out at their house.  Originally I was super excited about Disney or Legoland but they're both super expensive and I'd rather just relax and enjoy my birthday weekend with our buddies :-)

Pinkspark

1. What did you eat for dinner last night?  

Breakfast for dinner, scrambled eggs with broccoli, home fries and sausage links!

2. What do you do when you are just hanging out or are bored around the house? (read, phone puttering, etc.). Tell us more!  

I try to read, play some video games online with friends, and watch a show with my wife! 

3. What are your guilty pleasure names? Like names you'd give characters in your novel, or ones you could never use...
I love the name Farrah and some other arabic names, but no dice sadly.

4. How would you describe your naming style or naming "rules" or goals for your actual or future LO(s). 

I had one "demand", work my uncle's name in there somewhere. (He passed away in 2011 and I miss him everyday.) I think we're pretty happy with the names we've decided!

5. What's going on this weekend?

Hopefully have my wife get the new rug down in the nursery and get some of the clothes washed and put away! I also have to work a few hours which stinks, but I'd rather get it done sooner than later! 

kristi&p

1. What did you eat for dinner last night? Taco Bell had a dr apt and then an IVF info session so we were around the mall so stopped in to walk around a bit and grab something quick to eat
2. What do you do when you are just hanging out or are bored around the house? (read, phone puttering, etc.). Tell us more! I crochet a lot! I love making character hats.
3. What are your guilty pleasure names? Like names you'd give characters in your novel, or ones you could never use...
4. How would you describe your naming style or naming "rules" or goals for your actual or future LO(s). We both agreed that boy would have my fathers name in it he passed way 6 years ago I was only 18 so it was a really hard time. And a girl would have SO grandmothers name in it, she died of breast cancer 3 years ago and pretty much raised my SO. So its important for us to do that.
5. What's going on this weekend? This weekend my niece turns 2 so there is a family party I am going to, I took her to get photos taken so I got a few framed for my sister. Sunday is a work day so nothing planned.

StacyLH24

2MamazInSeattle said:

1. What did you eat for dinner last night?
2. What do you do when you are just hanging out or are bored around the house? (read, phone puttering, etc.). Tell us more!
3. What are your guilty pleasure names? Like names you'd give characters in your novel, or ones you could never use...
4. How would you describe your naming style or naming "rules" or goals for your actual or future LO(s).
5. What's going on this weekend?

1. Cheeseburger bacon stuffed crust pizza. It was delicious. This is what happens when we are hungry and don't have a plan.

2. Putter on my phone...FB, the Bump and Pinterest mostly. I love to read but lately I have had a hard time really committing to a book.

3. Hmmm...I love Gwendolyn and Isabella. I used to babysit twins and those were their names. C has vetoed both .

4. We have a boys name picked out. It was just trial and error really. The only steadfast rule we have is not using names of family members. We do not want any hurt feelings and have anyone be upset that we used a name from one side of the family and not the other. Our last names are hyphenated so both family names will be passed on.

5. Bowling tomorrow night as usual. Then my SIL and her boyfriend are coming over for a dinner of beef and broccoli, wine and dessert. Plans for Sunday are up in the air because of possible temperatures.

yachee

1. What did you eat for dinner last night? Chinese food

2. What do you do when you are just hanging out or are bored around the house? (read, phone puttering, etc.). Tell us more! READ! And catch up on the dvr... currently waiting for the last 8 episodes of Breaking Bad to come out on Netflix.

3. What are your guilty pleasure names? Like names you'd give characters in your novel, or ones you could never use... Francie & Liesel are the names of the main characters in my two favorite books, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and The Book Thief. We thought a Chinese Liesel might be a little peculiar though. Also, since we aren't telling anyone their names until they get here, we have been calling them Hermione and Minerva (McGonagall) after Harry Potter characters.

4. How would you describe your naming style or naming "rules" or goals for your actual or future LO(s). First names are significant places in our relationship. Middle names are family names. Baby A's initials spell my mother's maiden name and Baby B's initials are the same as mine.

5. What's going on this weekend? Nothing! I just posted all my grades and finished my sub plans for maternity leave (I teach 7th & 8th grade algebra). My favorite kind of weekend! 

@shelly2314 - What do you teach? Isn't it funny how some names can be totally ruined by that ONE specific kid? 

ball.and.chain

1. One of our major vendors at work took us out to dinner.  I had clam chowder, a lobster roll and carrot cake.

 

2. I waste more time than I would care to admit on the web -- lots of it on TB.  These days I also do a lot of aspirational "browser shopping" for baby stuff which I like to call "research."    I do read, but not quite as much as I wished I did.  I've grown to be less and less of a TV watcher these days, though if I'm in the right mood I can watch crappy TV for hours.

 

3. For a boy: Merritt, Benedict, Alonzo, Julian, Basil, Asa, Linus, Lionel, Otto, Gideon, Ephraim, and Ferdinand.  For a girl: Clover, Octavia, Ada, Augusta, Geneva, Elowen, Seneca.

 

4. Hmmm.  I have to like the way it looks on paper and I have to like the way it sounds.  A lot of my academic training is in poetry (both reading and writing) so I have spent a lot of time thinking about sound, rhythm and how words fit together, and I can't quite abandon that with the naming process.  It makes me a little picky, especially about combinations, but I try to be flexible since there are two of this who have to be happy with these decisions!  I tend to be somewhat traditional but try to avoid the super popular names -- top 10, basically.  (That said, our boy's name is in the top 20 and I am too happy with it to care.)  It has to have a nickname I like, because I think it will inevitably be used at some point -- by his friends if not by me.  For instance, I love the name Natalie, but I would only use it as a MN because every Natalie I've known has ended up as a Nat, which I don't like.  And while we aren't tying ourselves to family names, it's a nice bonus if we can incorporate some kind of meaningful family connection.  Our boy's MN is my MIL's maiden name, which also happens to be a fairly popular boy's name these days, and I think my MIL was really happy about that when we told her.  Because we're using my genes and my LN, it was important to my wife to work in some kind of connection to her family.

 

5. My wife is sick for the second time in the last 2-3 weeks.  She went to urgent care today and they told her she has the flu and some kind of viral infection in her chest/lungs.  Unfortunately because it's viral, there's nothing she can do but rest, so my weekend is going to consist of making sure she does that and gets lots of fluids and soup.  We had dinner plans with friends tomorrow night -- rescheduled from the last time, when we canceled due to her last illness -- that we are going to cancel.  And my sister is coming over on Sunday to move some of her crap out of my attic, so we can get some electrical work done, so we can start work on the nursery!

2MamazInSeattle

1. What did you eat for dinner last night?  

Proof that I don't think about my own answers before posting these questions follows: J brought me this latke 'sandwich' from a food truck near her boxing gym. It was veg, had apple, onion and greens in it but was SUPER greasy and I felt I was eating a heartburn sandwich. So I didn't eat it, and instead had some greek plain yogurt, apricot compote, blueberries and almonds. But then I was hungry in 30 minutes. So then J made me a can of soup. Not pretty.

2. What do you do when you are just hanging out or are bored around the house? (read, phone puttering, etc.). Tell us more! 
Oh I am an internet putterer. I definitely spend time on TB, FB, Twitter. Sometimes I read The New Yorker and Entertainment Weekly.

 
3. What are your guilty pleasure names? Like names you'd give characters in your novel, or ones you could never use...
 I have a handful of nature names I love but we'd no way use... Willow, Wren, and Luna. Though I think I have Luna on the maybe list . J worries about the resume later in life... There are also onesI like but won't work with the last name...like Seth.

4. How would you describe your naming style or naming "rules" or goals for your actual or future LO(s).
I've written about this before, but as a Jennifer from the 70's I have an aversion to super popular /Top 10 names, even though I like some. But I always felt kinda ripped off and like I wasn't as special as my sisters (all who have 'sweet spot' names - not too popular, but in no way unfamiliar or weird - julie, megan, kate). I mean, I was a kid, but it was hurtful for me to feel like my parents didn't care enough to let me stand out or at least not be one of a zillion.

So all that said - we are among the no "you-neek" spellings, nothing created/made-up, etc. and in that sweet spot I mention above. Also, we ideally want a name with some choices in it - that was the *only* saving grace is that I could be Jen, Jenn, Jenni, Jenny, Jennifer...and J has a 1-syllable no-nickname name, and kinda wished she had some choice in it. We do have a hard time agreeing, I tend to be a little more out there than J. Middle name will reflect J and/or her family.

We like Elliott Maxwell or Theodore Maxwell for a boy, at the moment. And girl names are *hard* for us, but J loves Margaret (which has 14 nickname options thankfully, because I don't love it) - and it was my gramma's name which would thrill my mother, since baby will have my dad's name and my parents are split up. We also like Matilda, Louise or Luisa, and I'm still kinda liking Luna but I don't think I'll win that one. Longshot Lucinda is also on the list.

5. What's going on this weekend?

 Relaxing with J tonight. Tomorrow, yoga, and a coffee cupping (like wine tastings but for coffee - you spit it out and everything), and a 60th bday party for the man who hired me into my company and we've stayed friends. He'll have nice wine, too bad I can't drink any. Sunday is just yoga and chores.

shelly2314

yachee ...I have taught English to high school students for 9 years. I am now in an administrative position as well as testing for the entire school.

 

It is so true....there are a few names that just make me see red! And it would be unfair to spank my child for a namesake that they don't even know LOL

firstcomeslove2013

1. What did you eat for dinner last night?

My best friend is in town and we took her to this delicious hot dog place. They have all sorts of crazy hot dogs and it is so yummy.

2. What do you do when you are just hanging out or are bored around the house? (read, phone puttering, etc.). Tell us more!

I love to mess around on my phone, browse the internet, FB, TB, and whatever else. I like to catch up on Netflix, DVR, and the TV is almost always on (we are definetly not the people who live without TV).

3. What are your guilty pleasure names? Like names you'd give characters in your novel, or ones you could never use...

I love names from books, especially teenage novels like Twilight and Hunger Games...I know, I know... I said I won't use them!


4. How would you describe your naming style or naming "rules" or goals for your actual or future LO(s).

Our rule used to be that it couldn't be on the top 100 list of most popular names. We made a list last year and now this year they are all on the list...so we've scratched that. We are just looking for names that are at least a little different.


5. What's going on this weekend?

My best friend is in town and we are just hanging out! It's awesome!

lamaitresse

2MamazInSeattle Luisa is a great name and has actually made the shortlist for a middle name for us. My maternal grandmother's name was Louisa, my mother's middle name was Louise, and my paternal grandmother was Argentinean, so "Luisa" seems like an appropriate homage to all three. Also, it's been really hard to find a middle name that flows with the first name we've chosen, which is Midori (Japanese for "green," my favourite colour).

Of course, this is assuming we actually get pregnant!

2MamazInSeattle

lamaitresse said:

2MamazInSeattle Luisa is a great name and has actually made the shortlist for a middle name for us. My maternal grandmother's name was Louisa, my mother's middle name was Louise, and my paternal grandmother was Argentinean, so "Luisa" seems like an appropriate homage to all three. Also, it's been really hard to find a middle name that flows with the first name we've chosen, which is Midori (Japanese for "green," my favourite colour).

Of course, this is assuming we actually get pregnant!

Louise or Louisa has been our middle name choice from the start as it's J's gramma's name...however then we thought Luisa could work as a first! But then we're at a loss for a middle... We'll figure something out. Fortunately we will know what the sex is soon and reduce half the playing field!

@herbabymama, great rule I agree with but hadn't thought of! I had a friend name their kid Olivia Theresa, and called her Tess. Confusing!! I can't see you as a Mary at all!

lamaitresse

My aunt had an interesting rule for naming all her kids. For the most part, they all have one syllable first names, so none of them can easily be shortened into some other nickname: Claire, Fleur, Craig, Ian, Joy, and Kay.