Thanks for your sweet response. I'm 34, so you've got lots of time! It's reassuring to hear that other people are/were terrified, too. I think the deluge of "OMG parenting is awful/my kid was born with a rare genetic disorder that no one had ever heard of/ People who have kids are ruining their lives" articles can…

Ironically, when I called to make my first OB appointment, the office manager actually said, "Are you the sort of person who looks up lots of things online? Because you shouldn't." And I am totally that kind of a person. Thank you again for your response — I appreciate hearing your voice of experience!

Thanks so much for your kind and thoughtful words :)

Reposting, since I was late to last night's open thread. Early 30s, reasonably professionally and financially secure, great husband. After years of looking on with envy and sadness as my friends had children, I'm pregnant. And I'm really baffled by how I feel about it. I guess I figured that I'd be thrilled, and to a…

I'm late to the game, here, but I thought I'd throw this out there anyway. Early 30s, reasonably professionally and financially secure, great husband. After years of looking on with envy and sadness as my friends had children, I'm pregnant. And I'm really baffled by how I feel about it. I guess I figured that I'd be…

Gah, the STATA center. It always reminded me of one of those old- fashioned coffee percolators, the type that sits on your stove.

Oh, I wasn't trying to say that either! My thought was that certain sports that require very specific equipment or settings — like ice skating or ice hockey, or horseback riding, or rowing — can be expensive even at the amateur level. And that I am very good at picking those sports (with the exception of cross…

These look like the illustrations to Roald Dahl books, which I always loved.

I think it also depends on the sport — I rode horses as a kid, and between boots and breeches and helmets and lessons, it all added up to a pretty penny. And that was without owning the horse — I took lessons at a nearby farm. Competing in shows would have probably quadrupled the price of everything. And then I…

So hybrid boot-leggings are - boot pants? Pants with boots attached? If someone asks you to take off your shoes at the door, what do you say, exactly? "Sorry, but they're also my pants?" Or do you just whip those suckers off and dare them to say something?

Hey, whatever works:http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbe…

Having cruised his twitter feed, I am officially in crush: he's smitten by his kitten mittens!

I think it depends on the country of origin; at our dog park, there's one dog that the owners found as a puppy in a garbage dump in Mexico, and another that the owners rescued from the side of the road in Portugal. As far as I know, they didn't sneak the dogs into the US; I think if you have proof of vaccinations and…

Am I the only one that reads "EW" as "EWWWWW" rather than "Entertainment Weekly"? It does make clicking on those links more entertaining....

Gah, I just read the Bode Miller story at the link. He does not come off well.

The Sharpshooter! He is DREAMY.

Wow, I just googled that. That's way harsh, Tai.

Well, my husband wrestled in high school. His horror stories about eating a single skinless baked chicken breast for dinner and working out in Hefty bags have convinced me that our hypothetical spawn will never, ever wrestle.

Umm, Anna does not look so thrilled, either at this news or to be in this picture.

The IV fluids is totally a thing; friends of ours got them after they got married in New Orleans. (In fairness, they were both also recovering from nasty stomach bugs, in addition to a New Orleans wedding). I think they went here: