The Teacher Tearjerker
19 hours ago
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
A Rose by Any Other Name
Shortly after posting the last entry on the blog, we ran into a different naming situation.
This past Saturday, Douglas and I swung by the Humane Society of Charlotte just to take a look at the dogs. Little did we know we'd be walking out pup parents! The first pup we wanted to meet was on parvo watch, so we weren't able to meet her. The second pup that had my attention was going through a terrible 2s phase so the volunteer strongly suggested checking out one of the three pups in the next kennel. The girls were all huddled together on the inside part of the kennel, so it was hard for us to see them from the outside section. Luckily enough, as we were talking with the volunteer, one of the girls decided to move her nap outside. Since she chose to make herself available, we asked to see her. Her name was Nirvana. She was a little lab mix that wanted nothing more than to just hang out. We sat down on the floor of the meeting space with her and it only took her a few minutes to get comfortable enough to lean against me and stretch out between us. She has gorgeous black, brown, and white coloring, and the cutest brown eyes. I tried to not get attached too quickly just because she was a cutie, but as soon as I saw that sweet smile come across Douglas' face I knew we were goners.
We hung out with her until the volunteer took her back to her kennel so other families could see her. We later realized that the tiny fuzzball puppy in the space next to us was one of her sisters (Nova). Too cute.
We scampered off to the office to fill out an application for Nirvana while the volunteer informed us that she may already have some applications pending. We figured we'd give it a shot. After filling out the paperwork, we were very surprised when the lady told us that there were no applications in for Nirvana yet and that she was approving our application right there and then! Minutes later, we were pet parents. I was officially added to the board under "Adopted" and there was no turning back.
Now we wait. Little Nirvana is getting spayed tomorrow (Tuesday) and then we should be able to bring her home Wed or Thursday! I cannot wait to bring her home, but we still have to get the place set up for her - so there's plenty to do.
05/18/10 Update: They spayed her yesterday (Monday) so Kaylee should be coming home today!
The first obstacle we tackled (after the big decision, of course) was what to name her. Its was very easy to decide that she would have my last name. The tough part was choosing her first name. While Nirvana is cute, I didn't really see it as sticking. So the listing began. We went through our favorite names, but none of them quite fit her. We went through our favorite bands, comics, movies, and tv shows. We hit up Facebook and our mothers. After adding, subtracting, second-guessing, and simply being silly, we decided on a name.
I'm nervous, I'm excited, and I really hope we don't screw this up. The fears will subside once we bring her home and get through the first day. Douglas is very excited to have a little girl. She stole his heart. Louis seems genuinely excited to have a pup at home to spoil and play favorite-uncle to. She will have a loving home and I cannot wait for her to get here!
We're announcing it here first, folks. Please meet Kaylee Pearl Rattazzi.
This past Saturday, Douglas and I swung by the Humane Society of Charlotte just to take a look at the dogs. Little did we know we'd be walking out pup parents! The first pup we wanted to meet was on parvo watch, so we weren't able to meet her. The second pup that had my attention was going through a terrible 2s phase so the volunteer strongly suggested checking out one of the three pups in the next kennel. The girls were all huddled together on the inside part of the kennel, so it was hard for us to see them from the outside section. Luckily enough, as we were talking with the volunteer, one of the girls decided to move her nap outside. Since she chose to make herself available, we asked to see her. Her name was Nirvana. She was a little lab mix that wanted nothing more than to just hang out. We sat down on the floor of the meeting space with her and it only took her a few minutes to get comfortable enough to lean against me and stretch out between us. She has gorgeous black, brown, and white coloring, and the cutest brown eyes. I tried to not get attached too quickly just because she was a cutie, but as soon as I saw that sweet smile come across Douglas' face I knew we were goners.
We hung out with her until the volunteer took her back to her kennel so other families could see her. We later realized that the tiny fuzzball puppy in the space next to us was one of her sisters (Nova). Too cute.
We scampered off to the office to fill out an application for Nirvana while the volunteer informed us that she may already have some applications pending. We figured we'd give it a shot. After filling out the paperwork, we were very surprised when the lady told us that there were no applications in for Nirvana yet and that she was approving our application right there and then! Minutes later, we were pet parents. I was officially added to the board under "Adopted" and there was no turning back.
Now we wait. Little Nirvana is getting spayed tomorrow (Tuesday) and then we should be able to bring her home Wed or Thursday! I cannot wait to bring her home, but we still have to get the place set up for her - so there's plenty to do.
05/18/10 Update: They spayed her yesterday (Monday) so Kaylee should be coming home today!
The first obstacle we tackled (after the big decision, of course) was what to name her. Its was very easy to decide that she would have my last name. The tough part was choosing her first name. While Nirvana is cute, I didn't really see it as sticking. So the listing began. We went through our favorite names, but none of them quite fit her. We went through our favorite bands, comics, movies, and tv shows. We hit up Facebook and our mothers. After adding, subtracting, second-guessing, and simply being silly, we decided on a name.
I'm nervous, I'm excited, and I really hope we don't screw this up. The fears will subside once we bring her home and get through the first day. Douglas is very excited to have a little girl. She stole his heart. Louis seems genuinely excited to have a pup at home to spoil and play favorite-uncle to. She will have a loving home and I cannot wait for her to get here!
We're announcing it here first, folks. Please meet Kaylee Pearl Rattazzi.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
What's In a Name?
Quite a few posts have been popping up on various wedding blogs lately about the dilemmas brides face over deciding whether to change their names. For some women, it was a battle over changing a part of who they were. For others, it was a no-brainer. While I haven't been waging World War Z over my identity, the name change has been a topic of discussion for us.
I have always enjoyed being a Rattazzi. The name causes me anguish when people add extra letters in a failed attempt at pronunciation (where did that gh come from?!). The name also serves as a great ice breaker and helps me stick out (helps with interviews, definitely). I've always loved the fact that I had two z's in my name, the fact that so many nicknames can come from it, and that it's simply unique.
On the other hand, my name is now on the short side, so hyphenating was almost never in the running as an option. Now that I know what the second half of the hyphenate would be, it's definitely out. Rattazzi-Davidson, Davidson-Rattazzi just don't flow and they're too long. So that option is out.
Douglas has decided that he wants to stay a Davidson, so the option of him taking my name is out. It's sad that there was a time where this wouldn't even be considered an option worth contemplating.
Some people went with the option of taking on their maiden name as a middle name and taking on the groom's name as a last name. This is out for me because I refuse to have two middle names and I do not want to surrender my given middle name.
I never realized how much could go into such a decision. Growing up, I figured it was just common practice for the woman to take the man's name and women who chose not to were just really attached to their names. I never considered that this practice would cause some folks to have a major identity crisis.
Luckily, I am not one of those extreme cases. While no final decision has been made, it looks like we'll be each keeping our own names. When kids enter the picture, I know I will want to revisit the name change issue, but that's another worry for another time. It's nothing a little game of rock-papper-scissors can't solve (best out of 3?).
Married types or soon to be married types: What made you decide to go the route you did with the name change? Were you/are you content with the decision you made?
I have always enjoyed being a Rattazzi. The name causes me anguish when people add extra letters in a failed attempt at pronunciation (where did that gh come from?!). The name also serves as a great ice breaker and helps me stick out (helps with interviews, definitely). I've always loved the fact that I had two z's in my name, the fact that so many nicknames can come from it, and that it's simply unique.
On the other hand, my name is now on the short side, so hyphenating was almost never in the running as an option. Now that I know what the second half of the hyphenate would be, it's definitely out. Rattazzi-Davidson, Davidson-Rattazzi just don't flow and they're too long. So that option is out.
Douglas has decided that he wants to stay a Davidson, so the option of him taking my name is out. It's sad that there was a time where this wouldn't even be considered an option worth contemplating.
Some people went with the option of taking on their maiden name as a middle name and taking on the groom's name as a last name. This is out for me because I refuse to have two middle names and I do not want to surrender my given middle name.
I never realized how much could go into such a decision. Growing up, I figured it was just common practice for the woman to take the man's name and women who chose not to were just really attached to their names. I never considered that this practice would cause some folks to have a major identity crisis.
Luckily, I am not one of those extreme cases. While no final decision has been made, it looks like we'll be each keeping our own names. When kids enter the picture, I know I will want to revisit the name change issue, but that's another worry for another time. It's nothing a little game of rock-papper-scissors can't solve (best out of 3?).
Married types or soon to be married types: What made you decide to go the route you did with the name change? Were you/are you content with the decision you made?
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Who? What? When? Where?
Guess what? WE HAVE A DATE!!! And an officiant!! And 2 Best Men! Holy crap, my wedding is starting to take shape.
When are we finally doing the deed? You'll have to wait for the STDs! I know, so mean.
Who is officiating the wedding? Rabbi Cohen from Roanoke, VA. She's great and I'm so excited she'll be able to officiate our wedding. She's agreed to do the wedding whether it's in Roanoke or Asheville and we have officially booked her for the day. She's given us permission to have jokes through out the ceremony...so beware!
Who are the best men? What about the rest of the wedding party? Well, you'll just have to wait and see. Douglas surprised me with asking the two guys when he did. I'm still working on something special for the rest of the wedding party members - so they don't know who they are yet.
Here is something I can share with you. In honor of May the 4th be with you and tomorrow's revenge of the 5th, I present today's entry from CakeWrecks: http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2010/05/may-fourth-be-with-you.html
When are we finally doing the deed? You'll have to wait for the STDs! I know, so mean.
Who is officiating the wedding? Rabbi Cohen from Roanoke, VA. She's great and I'm so excited she'll be able to officiate our wedding. She's agreed to do the wedding whether it's in Roanoke or Asheville and we have officially booked her for the day. She's given us permission to have jokes through out the ceremony...so beware!
Who are the best men? What about the rest of the wedding party? Well, you'll just have to wait and see. Douglas surprised me with asking the two guys when he did. I'm still working on something special for the rest of the wedding party members - so they don't know who they are yet.
Here is something I can share with you. In honor of May the 4th be with you and tomorrow's revenge of the 5th, I present today's entry from CakeWrecks: http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2010/05/may-fourth-be-with-you.html
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