Finally we ask your advice!

Once again I remind you that the in-person shower is coming up (keep voting in the poll to the right), and I expect that some people will be buying baby presents soon. I also know for a fact that some of you have already had babies of your own, nieces and nephews, grandbabies, etc. So, weigh in here for the rest of us who are in the dark on what to buy: what was the most valuable baby gift you got or gave?  What was the least valuable? And, yes, I chose the theme with the assumption that the most common answer will be "Chemistry set."





Also, while you're here, check out the Halloween costume (the babies went as Unborn Renaissance Children):

I think they nailed it, but I'm no historian.

New poll!

With the live in-person baby shower fast approaching (two weeks from tomorrow!), I'd like to know how many of you virtual attendees would like a window into the party, and what shape the window should be.

Please fill out the below poll to help me decide how best to broadcast the festivities over the interwebs.

Thanks!  

More games and prizes will be coming soon, but don't forget to Guess the Babies' Birthday and Time too!

How would you like to participate in the in-person shower?

Name game winner and other stuff

Winner of the "Guess the Babies' names" game is...............

Jenny McCue!


She was literally the only person to guess that the boy will (might probably) be named Nathan. Many of you correctly guessed that my niece, Baby 242.8, will go by Helen-Mar, a family name. Jenny gets a 1/8th day supply of coffee!

Also, Mattine kindly pointed out that I never actually published the answers to her baby facts, and I'm sure many of you have been on tenterhooks ever since. Well here they are:

Where was mom (Carolyn) when she found out she was pregnant?	In her apartment
Where was dad (Milan) when he found out?	At home
When was Mattine born?	Three weeks late
How much did baby Mattine weigh?	8 to 9 lbs
What did mom (Carolyn) crave while pregnant with Mattine?	Pizza from the Magic Mushroom
What would Mattine's name have been if she were a boy?	They never decided
What was mom and dad's favorite story to read to baby Mattine?	Pokey Little Puppy
What was Mattine's favorite baby food?	Beets
What time was Mattine born?	Late night
What was Mattine's first word?	Juice

And for the curious, here is a tenterhook:

Sucks to be on them, doesn't it?

You know what's probably more uncomfortable?  This:

Baby names quiz

Thanks to everyone who has played in the "guess the babies' birth date" game so far. That one will stay open until the moment that both wrinkly gooey faces are officially borned, so feel free to keep playing here.

Meanwhile, Mattine and Nathan have decided on the babies' names! Mostly! Probably! THEY RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CHANGE THEIR MINDS. Dang.

Anyway, here is a quiz where you get to guess what they chose! Once again the prize is a $5 Starbucks gift card, and obviously there can be multiple winners, but Mattine and Nathan can't play. "Cheating is sad and makes the baby Jesus sad" rules remain in place. Good luck!

Guess the babies' birthday!

Congrats to Andy and Cynthia on their combined quiz prowess and quick-draw blog commenting!  Your gift cards are in the mail / under your pillow. Guess which one's which!

A few quick announcements!  First, as the real, live, human, physical, existing in the same space-time continuum of the Hartzell belly, baby shower is about 5 weeks away, Mattine is interested to know who is coming IN PERSON. She's going to buy you all candy, so if you don't tell her you're coming, you might show up and not have any candy. It is on November 15th at 3pm. Use the email button to the right, email Mattine, or comment on the Facebook page to let us know you're coming! The first to arrive will get to make funny helium voices with the balloons we will set aside for that purpose. The last to leave will get to take the rest of the candy. If you're both, you're going to have a really weird party.

Second, there is no second announcement. Psych!

Time for a new game! Baby X and Baby 242.8 are currently scheduled to be delivered by stork on February 14, 2015. As we all know, babies usually arrive exactly on schedule and you can often go out for waffles afterwards, no problem.  However, sometimes they get excited to see the world and come 2 weeks early (Nathan) or they really like their warm, comfy womb and don't see any reason to leave it after only 40 weeks (Mattine). That sounds backwards, doesn't it?  Well it isn't, and their mothers said so. Apparently they both learned from their mistakes.

So, we're taking bets on when the twins will decide to show us their wrinkly snot-covered faces. This is a game that will continue THROUGH the real, live, human, yada, et cetera baby shower, with a totes adorbs memento for the parents:

Get in your guesses now through the form below, on the Facebook page, or by emailing the blog at hartzellshower@outlook.com. As with the Super Amazeballs Awesome Good Okay Raffle, you can "buy" more guesses by contributing diapers to the "End Poop-nado 2015" fund. Each diaper you bring to the shower, or mail with adequate cardage for me to identify, gets you one more guess. You can find them here: http://www.kellyscloset.com/Cloth-Diapers-_c_591.html.

The prize for this quiz will be naming rights to the infants, a six pack of your favorite beer, a bottle of your favorite (reasonably-priced) wine, or a $20 Starbucks gift card, whichever you prefer. Note that we can't name the winner in this one until the babies are born. You'd think I wouldn't have to tell you that, but you're all looking at me kind of blankly and weird.

Good luck!

Winners of Nathan's Baby Facts Game - A Runoff!

All right you clever monkeys. There is a FOUR WAY TIE for the winner of the "Nathan's baby facts quiz" game, and I only have two Starbucks gift cards.  As a tie breaker, whichever TWO of you comment here first will get a gift card.

Here are the right answers, by the way:

Where was Nathan's mom when she found out she was pregnant?	Where was Nathan's dad when he found out?	When was Nathan's due date?	How much did Nathan weigh at birth?	What did Bunni crave while pregnant with Nathan?	What would Nathan's name have been if he were a girl?	What was Nathan's favorite story as a baby?	What time was Nathan born?	What was Nathan's first word?
At home	At home	April 15th	7 to 8 lbs	Fish hoagies and baked potatoes	Elizabeth or Angel	Are You My Mother?	10:50 pm	Daddy

The finalists:

Kathy Klehr
Andy Reinsch
Cynthia Saba
Audrey Dietz


Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd..... GO!

Nathan's Baby Facts Quiz

It's finally here!  The Nathan's Baby Facts Quiz!

Apparently I scared some people off by framing the last one as a competition to prove your friendship to Mattine. We all know you can't win Nathan's friendship through feats of internet quizery, so consider this one "just for fun." Except that the winner will still get a $5 Starbucks gift card. To encourage creative answering, and in honor of someone who accomplished this feat on Mattine's quiz, if you get ZERO right, you will also get a $5 Starbucks gift card. But you will be required to spend it on biscotti.