The babies haven't been born yet; we can still party!

Thanks to everyone who came in person or watched the shower live on Hangouts on Air! We had two "participants" and 12 lurkers watching us from the shadows. I hope they were all friends and family, because the kind of person who watches a 4 hour baby shower of someone they don't even know is probably the kind of person we should report to some kind of federal watch group.

Anyway, the babies still aren't due to be born for 3 more months, so we'll keep the online festivities going! I was unable to get the "Showcase" option on the hangouts to link ANY of our fun games, which was disappointing and left you at home with no option to win prizes! So, I'll be updating those with new questions and loading them on the blog over the next few weeks. Meanwhile, we'd still like your internet shopping expertise on The Price is Cheap! Play below, save the Hartzells some money.

Last post before the in-person shower

Hello and welcome to the last blog post before the in-person shower! If you're going to be there in person, we look forward to seeing you. If you are participating from afar, we go live at 3pm Eastern Standard Time tomorrow, 11/15/2014 here: https://plus.google.com/events/ciket8qap8r6drr6cieb19jsb64

I have enabled the Q&A feature, so but it's not immediately obvious how to use it. For that reason, here is me in tech support mode:

1. Click on the link above
2. Click on the "Q&A" logo in the upper right hand corner of the blurry picture of me. This will open the (currently not running) baby shower feed. 
3. Once you are there, click on the 3x3 grid of white squares in the upper right corner. That will give you the option to see the Q&A or the Showcase off to the side of the video feed. Select "Q&A"

Q&A will be your opportunity to submit your questions, comments, snide remarks, links, horrifying baby stories, etc.

The other option for viewing is the "Showcase." This will be where I will send links to play along with many of our shower games in real time, and you'll even be eligible for the prizes! Just no cheating and looking things up on the internet or we'll all be very disappointed in you. Get excited, because the games will include:

• The Super Amazeballs Awesome Good Okay Diaper Raffle
  Everyone in attendance gets one ticket (online attendance counts), and for each diaper you bring or mail, you get another entry! The prize is a $20 Amazon gift certificate.
• Celebrity Baby Matching Game
  Match the picture of the celebrity (or Mattine's family) to their name. The best score wins a mystery prize from the pile. All of these prizes may or may not have been bought at the CVS in my office building.
• Baby trivia
  Answer questions about babies, nursery rhymes, Mother's and Father's day and win another prize. Compete in teams to combine your prowess and figure out how to share a toothbrush I definitely did not buy an hour before the shower.
• The Price is Right Cheap
  Compete to find the cheapest price for common baby goods online. Provide proof and save the Hartzells some money! Winner chooses from the gift pile. You can start playing that one right now, by clicking here.
• Onesie and Bib decorating
  This option is not available to those participating from afar, unless you provide your own supplies. At the Hartzell house, we'll paint giraffes on clothing meant to be pooped and vomited on. Yay! Best design (by vote) also gets a prize.
• Drunken baby
  Drink beer from baby bottles. Not really a game, just a lifestyle choice. Again, provide your own beer and baby bottles at home.

Finally, two people voted to read live tweets and submit their own. For that purpose, we'll be using the hashtag #HartzellTwins. I'll try to not suck at tweeting, if you try too!

Until tomorrow, keep sending in your guesses for the babies' arrival date and time and your advice for baby gifts.

See you all soon!

Pregnancy pics and reminders

So, apparently only three people have opinions on what makes the best and worst gifts?  Don't be shy, let us know what crappy presents you got here: http://mattinehartzell.blogspot.com/2014/11/finally-we-ask-your-advice.html. So far the winner in my mind for the worst present is "the baby." Touche.

Also, 14 people have given feedback on how to they want to participate in the shower, and seven wanted a live feed or a WebEx. This led to an embarrassing old person moment where I tried to test out Hangouts On Air and accidentally broadcast myself staring at my email and/or talking on the phone to my parents for 30 minutes to the entire internet.

Nonetheless, that is how we're going to share the in-person festivities with all of you who cannot make it. If you want to just watch, you can go here: https://plus.google.com/events/ciket8qap8r6drr6cieb19jsb64 at 3pm EST on November 15th. That link should let you watch live, participate in a Q&A section, etc.

If you want to be able to talk and have us hear you, send me your email address and I'll invite you to participate.  You can comment here, email the blog on the right, or comment on the Facebook event page, whichever works for you.

Okay, business completed, now check out the professional photos Mattine and Nathan got with Freyja!

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!