What a difference 8 years makes

This weekend has been all about nostalgia! On Friday, our friend Thomas Nealeigh and his lady Alice rolled into town from Hollywood (by way of Washington DC and Ohio!) to bring their professional side show Freak Show Deluxe to Coney Island. Thomas was a first year grad student at Tech when I was a senior and Marcus was a junior. The three of us and our fourth member, housemate Kristin, were inseperable. The guys had a radio show on Sunday nights, The Reverend Tommy Gunn Show featuring Mad Weasel Love (that's Marcus). And, given that we lived in what was technically considered a brothel, the "ho house" jokes flowed! (5 or more unrelated, unmarried women living under one roof in Louisiana is considered a brothel. That's why there are no sorority houses. A little trivia for ya!)

Fast forward to Friday night. I haven't seen Thomas since 2003 when he visited me at Cornell. I was directing a reading of one of his plays for our student production group and he came up to do a workshop with them. Marcus and I caught up with him and Alice at our subway stop and it was like nothing had ever changed. Except, that is, for the fact that Alice and I are both quite pregnant (theirs is due Dec. 31) and we are all 7 years older. It was so much fun to see Thomas and Marcus together again, playing off each other like always. And today we finally got to see a live performance of Freak Show Deluxe! It was great fun. A guy swallowed swords, a girl layed on a bed of nails and Marcus stood on her (they called him up from the audience), lots of crazy stunts. I got to staple a one dollar bill to some dude's chest. Never done that before! It's so good to see Thomas getting to do what he loves and it's especially nice that he has Alice to help pull it all together. (She is the road manager and stage manager. And did I mention she's 6 months pregnant? She's amazing.) My only regrets are that we didn't get to see Grennan, their 2 year old son (He was chillin' with Grandma this weekend) and that Kristin wasn't there. (she's in Atlanta being fabulous)

The pictures above are:
1. The 4 of us (and our babies to be).
2. Thomas and Marcus today at the Freak Show.
3. Thomas and Marcus at the "ho house" Christmas 1998. We all dressed up and did a photo shoot. Cause that's how it was at our house.

Back into the swing of things

We haven't taken a picture this week yet, so here's one taken at Bowl-A-Rama this summer. I jokingly said that's what I would look like at Christmas. I think it may be sooner than that!

The best news of today is that I got an appointment with the #1 doctor on my list! He is the head of the OBGYN Division at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital. We'll see him on Sept. 28, then set up a tour of the birthing center at the hospital. I'm already feeling more at ease! My friend Melissa's doctor was out of town when her daughter was born last year, so this doctor ended up delivering her baby and she loooooved him. I am already happy with how the office staff handled my questions on the phone. So this is definitely a huge load off our minds.

Marcus is back at work full-swing. Today is going to be his longest day so far. He has auditions after his classes, so he probably won't be home until about 9 tonight. He is directing ALL IN THE TIMING, which will go up in November.

I'm keeping very busy around the house with day to day chores and the big purge! After a morning of laundry and errands, I'm taking a little break before starting another bag of clothes for Goodwill. I have accepted a gig in early October stage managing a workshop of a new musical. It's just a week, so that will be a fun reprieve from housework.

We went down to DC this weekend and did a little inventory of the great stuff Mirka and Mike will be giving us. We're going to be in good shape! Since we're staying in our apartment, we're going to start out with just the bassinette, then move onto the crib when we move onto a bigger place. This will allow for gender-specific bedding. :)

On a sappy note, I have grown even more attached to the baby this week. I love having him/her with me all the time. And this is one active baby! I'm getting kicked almost constantly now.

Ok, the time has come to purge another drawer. Wish me luck!

Back to city life

Well, we've been home for almost a week now and we're almost used to it! The reverse culture shock was a little more than I was ready for! For the past 3 and a half months, we've driven everywhere, had a Wal Mart at our disposal (24 hours a day!), been surrounded by a support group of people who have experienced pregnancy and parenthood, lived in a big 3 bedroom condo and enjoyed things like very fresh air, cut grass and honeysuckle. Imagine the adjustment to subway delays, crazy NYC traffic, rude clerks in the grocery store and NY prices! But it's good to be back in our own place (small as it may be) and to see our friends, which we're doing one by one, with lots still to go. Last night we went to see Les Miserables, which was incredible. It's nice to be able to go see a Broadway show, then come home and sleep in your own bed! We also ate at West Side Cottage, our favorite "nice" Chinese place. We hadn't eaten Chinese food since we left NYC, so it was extra good. The best thing for me so far, aside from seeing friends, has been visiting Ronen, my stylist. My hair is 2 inches shorter and about a thousand times healthier and happier. He thanked me for not letting anyone in WV cut my hair.

We're slowly settling back in. Marcus started teaching today. His schedule is pretty brutal this semester and it will only get busier once he starts directing his show. We are going to look at a new apartment on Friday. We're really excited--there's no broker fee! It also has new hardwood floors, all new appliances and cabinets and is more convenient for Marcus's commute. PLUS it has 2 bedrooms, which we desperately need. The next item on the agenda is finding me a new obstetrician. I wish I could bring the ones from Beckley here, but they didn't want to come.

Meanwhile, I'm using my time to organize our apartment and get ready for the big move. Oh, and growing a person! I have decided not to take on a full-time production this fall, as I don't think I'll be physically able to do it to the best of my abilities. I have some feelers out for some workshops, readings and small dance shows. Short contracts are key right now. One producer actually called to offer me an Off-B'way show the other day, but when I told him I was pregnant, he freaked out. It was pretty funny. Guess I've found a new way to get rid of people who call with jobs I reeeeally don't want to take! I'll also be helping Marcus with his show, mentoring his stage manager once they get into reherasals and tech.

Baby Lane is doing pretty great. He/she is VERY active and is a really big Les Miz fan, so enjoyed the show a great deal last night. I"m getting bigger by the minute, as shown in this week's photo. We're almost halfway there, which is unbelievable, both because I've been pregnant for 4 1/2 months and because I will be pregnant for another 4 1/2 months! Marcus Lane is a saint by the way. We'll just leave it at that.

To summarize our summer, it was great. We both really enjoyed working at TWV and have been invited back! I'll be the production stage manager with 2 assistants to help split up the season and Marcus will be directing High School Musical. We're excited to go back, as it's a fantastic professional opportunity for us both, plus we made some great friends there! So, we're looking forward to another summer in the mountains next year, baby in tow. :)