It's a girl! (Well the tech said she was 90% sure it was AND that she was rarely ever wrong, so...)

I guess we felt the need to carry on the Masino family tradition. (For those of you who don't know, I come from a family of 5 girls and 1 boy...in that order.)

YAY!

A simple experiment

I found this on youtube and thought that it was an interesting social experiment. Tell me what you think after watching it.



I just thought it was a cool video.

A few pics

We have been pretty slow uploading new pictures, and we really aren't very good at documenting our lives with photos...we'll get better! Enjoy!

Family Picture...minus mom, she was taking the pic.

Is this the same family? Wait...yes...they are all wearing
nasty sweaters...and Caitlin is wearing a do-rag. wow
This was an ice storm that came through Albany this year
and totally paralyzed the city for a few days. This is my
windshield wiper.
My Thanksgiving plate...Italian and American Thanksgiving...
...BOO-YAH
V and her Thanksgiving schmorgasbord.
Thanksgiving Dinner
Story time with Michael and Jane
Game night with the Masino Clan.

Taylor and Ben had a silly string fight...
Taylor looks like he has that pole in an uncomfortable spot.
Fran outside Mynderse Academy. She taught from
January 2008-January 2009 at her old high school!

Happy New Year!
The Brotherhood of the Hiked-up Pants.

Fran doing a puzzle with Michael.

Puzzles are SO boring.

Jane got a hold of Grandma's glasses.

Some things I never thought I'd think...

Well, I suppose that since I'll be the beached whale in a little less than 5 months, I should give blogging about being pregnant a whirl. Here are some facts about the situation and some thoughts I've had over the last 16 weeks... (Sort of akin to that "25 things" for you facebookers)

1) A friend of mine made a good point on the phone the other day - everyone who isn't currently pregnant thinks that pregnant women and their hugeness is cute and nothing to try and hide. I myself have been guilty of this...My sister was 7 months pregnant at my wedding and was a little concerned on her positioning in pictures. I thought it was silly to be concerned with such things, she was pregnant for goodness sakes - I'm beginning to understand that feeling as pants begin to get tighter and more uncomfortable and I see visions of myself in North Carolina in a bathing suit in June...eek.

2) I don't know why (and I didn't think that I would be this way) but I was really hesitant to tell people that I was pregnant at first. Like I wasn't supposed to be (even though I had every intention of being) or that because I didn't have the stomach to prove it no one would believe me. Actually, my mom thought I was kidding when I told her but that has more to do with how I told her than her. It's just weird. My sum up thought on this is that I think we always have an idea of how we think we're going to be as a pregnant woman and then when we're not that way, it feels funny. I don't know. Does anyone know what I mean??

3) I thought I would like an excuse to eat every two hours without fear of "What does she think she's DOING?" comments but really, it's become more of a pain than anything else! I get bothered by it and sometimes if I'm being my stubborn self and want to finish something before I eat, I end up getting really sick because of low sugar and it takes me 30 minutes to recover...I should know better than to try and finish something when my body is speaking to me. Let's just say I peed my pants once or twice as a young child determined to finish coloring a picture...

4) Even though I'm close to halfway through, I still don't feel like it's real. I'm just barely starting to show a little and we've heard the heartbeat twice but it's still unreal. I hoping that just means I've been given less time to freak out about a lot of things.

5) I no longer own my own body. Someone else is calling the shots.

6) I never knew how lucky I was to be able to sleep through the night every night. Being able to sleep 3 hours without having to get up is now a blessing. I used to consider myself a champion "holder" (not being one of those people who has to go to the bathroom immediately upon entering a mall or beginning an activity) and I can no longer say that - it's a hit to my personal pride. I, without shame, will now go to the bathroom anywhere no matter how recently I just went. Josh, thank you for putting up with my frequent stops.

7) I can no longer leave the house without food in my purse.

8) I can no longer come up with any good excuse not to go to the gym.

9) I'm always uncomfortable. That would be a good form of torture. Make sure that someone is always uncomfortable and I'm sure, sooner or later they will crack (or just go to bed, like me).

10) I feel like my joints are aging 1 year for every week I'm pregnant. I know it's hormones loosening everything up, but it still makes me feel old and decrepit.

11) I'm lucky to have not encountered any weird "pregnancy ailments" like bleeding gums, hot hands, rashes and the such. Again, I realize that I still have quite a ways to go - so more on that as time goes on:)

12) Josh gives me way too much credit, no matter how hard I try to convince him I'm a big baby. So moral of the story - I got a keeper:)

13) July seems both so close and so far away.

14) I have no idea where Josh and I will be living when I actually deliver.

15) As much as I try to deny it, I am slightly more forgetful than before. That's not saying much since I've inherited the need to write everything down on sticky notes from my father.

16) I'm still waiting for that "feel good" feeling in the second trimester...

17) I sleep with a fortress of pillows on both sides propping me up in just the right position. Yes I know there are body pillows for that, and yes I am getting one. It's like my own little nest (the cute birdie kind, not the nasty rat kind).

18) I miss my job, my co-workers and my students terribly. Working hard at something I love (and that takes a lot of work) took my mind off of all the aches and pains I feel during the day. It also made me feel productive even though I would still forget things all the time (like a simple vocabulary word...in front of my students...as an English teacher...not cool).

19) I LOVE being in water. It's the only sure fire thing that ALWAYS makes my body feel better (thank you YMCA).

20) As much as I will soon need to, I'm not looking forward to buying maternity clothes. And to go along with that - this "in between" stage of I-still-look-like-my-normal-self-and-actually-lost-weight-at-first-but-now-I-just-look-chubby is not fun at all. Why can't it just be all or nothing?

21) I am trying to be vigilant about good food and not gaining too much weight at a time for several reasons. First and most importantly, because it's GOOD, but also because I'm in a wedding 2 months after I'm due (YAY Meggie!) and I know myself and I won't be one of those crazy people that can start a crazy workout 6 weeks after having a baby:) What can I say, I'm honest with myself.

22) I'm glad I have two sisters who have already had babies. Between them and my mom I feel like I'm getting the best advice I could:)

23) I no longer have those "Super Woman" moments where I have a really good work-out or go for an extra long run, or move furniture, or whatever. Those have been and will be put on hold for at least another 6 months. I miss them...

24) I am much more sensitive to "annoying" kids or crying babies or overly stressed mothers who seem to be ignoring the tugging child at their side now - partly because I hope that someone will feel the same way when they see me (or my kids) that way.

25) We want to find out if it's a girl or a boy and hopefully by the end of the month we'll be able to let you all know.

26) Being pregnant and living with your husband is much better than being pregnant and living away from your husband. (Those of you who don't know, I've been teaching at my old high school since Jan '08 - my high school is 3 hours away from Albany...)

27) Amidst it all, I'm happy. I know Josh and I made the right decision and for all the aches and pains, I know it's just for a season and that the coming benefit FAR outweighs anything that could discourage me!

Josh and I will both try to be more vigilant about updating you on our lives since we now have something worth reporting on! And can anyone say...bring on SPRING! I'm tired of this snow and dreary weather!

Updates, Big News?

Life is a funny. Once again it has been a few weeks since I have updated the blog. No excuses, just lazy. Fran has finished up her tenure at Mynderse Academy and is now back in Albany with me. It has been wonderful. I missed her terribly during the last year when she has been working in Seneca Falls, and I was only able to see her on the weekends. Being married and living apart from one another just doesn’t make sense. It is lonely, stressful, difficult and just not the way things were meant to be. That being said, I love having her home with me.

I finished all of my coursework for my master’s degree and am now working full-time in the lab I have been in since May. There will be some updates as to this job soon, but I’m not at liberty to talk about them on a public forum just yet! I am still waiting to hear back from a handful of medical schools and that will determine what happens in the next few months. I really like my job and that makes life pretty nice for us. We are getting back into the Albany Ward and will no longer be LDS-Nomads. That will be nice as well.

I have been thinking a lot the last few days about how blessed our lives our. Amidst a severe economic downturn, I have a job, and we have enough for our needs. There are many good, hard-working people in the United States who cannot say the same thing. I find myself, very selfishly at times, wishing that everything I wanted would happen right at this instant…that I would get into the medical school that I want right away, that I would receive answers to my prayers with minimal effort, that my friends and family would not have to suffer some of the trials and disappointment that they face. I took a few minutes this morning while I was at work to read a few passages of the Doctrine and Covenants. (For those of you who are not members of the LDS faith, it is another book of scripture containing revelations that were given and recorded during the early days of the Mormon Church.) I looked through my missionary journal yesterday (Fran and I were both sick and had to stay home from church) and was reminded of the fourth section of the Doctrine and Covenants. Verse 4 reads, “For behold the field is white already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul;” We always associate this scripture with missionary work, but its meaning is applicable to all of us at all times. The field IS white. The Lord desires to bless us with what we desire and need, but it comes at a price. The price of the harvest is none other than our own will that we lay at the feet of the Master. When our will is swallowed up in His, and when we work hard, do all that we can, pray with real intent and a pure heart, then can the Lord bless us. Then and only then can we truly be comforted, see His hand in our lives, understand that His plan for us may lie along a different path than that which we had envisioned. For all of you that will read this little blog entry, know that Fran and I care deeply about our friends and family, and that you are never far from our thoughts and prayers. Remember the lessons that have been so painfully imprinted on my own soul…that nothing worth getting, is easy to obtain. Whether it is answers to prayers, forgiveness, or relief for a troubled soul, you must be willing to do what it takes to receive those blessings.

Well, that turned into a little more than I though it would, but I knew if I put this next sentence at the beginning of the blog that no one would care about the rest of the entry! FRAN is PREGNANT!!!!!!! We are super excited!! She is due on July 24 and so far everything has been progressing beautifully. We have known since a few days before Thanksgiving, but wanted to wait awhile before we told everybody. Feel free to shower advice on us and if you have hints for Fran in dealing with some of the fun effects of pregnancy that would be great too! (Fun was sarcastic)

Well, thanks for reading. We’ll keep everybody updated about how things are going, and get some new pictures up soon.

FYI...my kid is going to be as cool as these babies in this commercial...and yes, he'll have golden pipes.

December 8, 2008

When I started writing this it was still the 8th of December. Now it's not. It is now the 9th of December. I should actually be in bed right now, getting ready for a full day of studying tomorrow, but I can't sleep. Today was a rough day med-school app wise. I got two rejections in one day...tough day. Oh well, hopefully giving everyone an update on our lives at the moment will bore me enough to help put me to sleep.

I hope you like the little playlist feature at the bottom of the blog and if it got you in trouble at work because your computer volume was on, SERVES YOU RIGHT for looking at blogs at work!! Just kidding. I saw it on my uncle Jim's blog and I thought it was pretty cool.

Fran and I are still living separate lives to a degree, but it looks like the teacher that Fran has been filling in for will be back in February. It will be super-nice to have Fran home again. She really likes her students this year and the ratio of morons to non-morons is actually very favorable this year.

Thanksgiving was awesome at the Masino household. Once I figure out where I put the camera I will upload some of the pictures that we took. For those of you that have never experienced and, sadly, never will experience a Masino thanksgiving think about 2 huge meals simultaneously occurring...one very large Italian feast and a thanksgiving smorgasbord that would put Golden Corral or Chuck-O-Rama to shame. Yeah...there is that much food on the table.

As for me? I am trying my absolute hardest not to become a huge cynic and hold on to my beliefs that people on admissions committees are not the spawn of Satan...too harsh? OK, that they aren't Autobots. What is an Autobot you ask? For the love...go watch Transformers and then come back and finish reading my post. Anyway, I am nearly done with my Masters of Public Health. I have two more finals and a final draft of an NIH grant to turn in and that will be it. I have a few extraneous internship credits that I need to register for, but other than that I will be done. I plan to work until med school, earn some scrilla, and depending on where we go, we may have to try and pull off a quick move to get in-state residency. I wish I had awesome news for everyone about med school, but I only have some marginally cool news, and a lot of bad news. If you really want to know what is going on, you'll have to email me, because I hesitate to post important material like that on public forums on the off-chance that a rogue admissions officer googles me, somehow finds the blog, and makes some rash decision based on what is posted here!!!!!!

I guess since I already got denied by the University of Utah I can post this...

I hope Alabama rolls you like a...JD, you know what I'm talkin about.

Well, I think that it is working. I am boring myself to sleep. I am NOT going to promise to increase the frequency of my blogging, because that basically means that I am going to end up making a liar of myself, because I invariably forget for a few weeks, feel bad about it for a second, and then forget about it again until nights like this come around.

I hope everyone is doing well and that when you look in the mirror, you can honestly say that Chuck Norris would be proud of you.

Resurrection from the Dead

This may be short-lived (no pun intended) but if any of you are still reading this, I figured it was time to let you know how our boring (and separate) lives are going. Be prepared to be completely unimpressed. Josh and I are living apart again as I'm teaching in my hometown and he's finishing up school in Albany. We see each other on the weekends...sometimes twice a week if one of us has a break.

I'm teaching English to four 10th grade classes and one 11th grade class. I love teaching this year - it's wonderful when you make it past your first year and those seemingly distant voices of encouragement ("Don't worry, it gets better after your first year") are much more apparent and true! I don't have too much to say about my classes (this is a good thing for me) but I have had the (dis)pleasure of doing a few things so far - playing The Simpson's episode of "The Raven" for Halloween, watching a student recover from a spill, actually writing again, sitting through a completely useless staff improvement day (well only half of it was lame), and reading two of my favorite pieces of literature - Of Mice and Men and Macbeth.

Josh is still working as hard as ever putting in way too much time at work while carrying a full class load at UAlbany. He's excited to grow a mohawk (since I have banned the mullet) for our white trash family vacation in June. I can barely keep him from cutting off all of his jeans so that the pockets stick out the bottom (oh yeh, you know what I'm talking about)! That vacation will yield many pictures to post on here. I promise we won't disappoint come June.

Other than that, life is pretty normal - Bond, Christmas shopping, Twilight, Fringe, Grey's (for me only, Josh makes fun of it every chance he can), and LOTS of driving. Enjoy Thanksgiving if we don't get to talk to you before then!