Guess the Twins Debut and Win Prizes!

**THE POLLS ARE NOW CLOSED**

As you may recall, we had a due date prediction contest for Finn, with glorious Egyptian prizes for the winner. Of course, Finn infamously turned up his nose at all of our guesses and came nine days past the last guess (which made Kelly the winner). So we’re going to try this again and hope the twins are more cooperative.

So here it is, the twins’ prediction calendar. Leave a comment with your date. Up to three people can share a date and winner is closest without going over. I’ll update the calendar daily to show names.

And now for the prizes:

1. A delicious assortment of confections from the South Bend Chocolate Factory
2. A guest post by you on Dnile.
3. A batch of famous South Texas handmade tamales, courtesy of Grandma Deleon.

Here are some clues to help you guess:

• The official due date is March 1. You can guess beyond that date, but you’ll have me to deal with.
• Twins average gestation is 36 weeks. We’ll hit 36 weeks on 2/1.
• Only 6% of twins come after 38 weeks. We hit 38 weeks just after Valentine’s Day.
• Finn was born 3 weeks after his official due date.
• There are two holidays celebrating historical figures this month. As Patrick is a historian, this may be a nice coincidence.
• Grandma Luisa would like to be here immediately after the birth but absolutely can’t be here 2/7-2/10
• If complications arise and we have to schedule an induction or C-section, we promise to do so without looking at the calendar. There will still be a winner.

Predictions will be taken until Tuesday, 2/2, Monday 2/1 at 5pm Eastern. The polls are now open.

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A Proud Moment

Today is a momentous day in the Mason household. A birth has occured and we’re thrilled.

Today Patrick sent in his completed book manuscript to his publisher. After years in the making, it is done, finished, ready to go out into the world.

The Mormon Menace: Southern Anti-Mormonism, Violence, and the Limits of Religious Tolerance by Patrick Q. Mason (forthcoming by Oxford University Press)

We had limited time to celebrate tonight, as Patrick had an appointment to keep, so we made it fast. I’m already planning a massive launch party for the fall. Patrick is just rolling his eyes, slightly embarrassed by my shower of pride.

Behold, my author husband relishing the sweet taste of literary achievement (and heat-lamped apple pie).

Yes, we celebrated at McDonalds.

Coming up: the famous due date prediction calendar! Disappointed in how far off you were with Finn’s? Yeah, me too. Starting divining those dates because in the next day or two I’ll be putting the calendar up and the prize will be sweet for the winner.

Happy Birthday Finnshallah

Happy 2nd Birthday, little buddy. When you joined us two years ago, we were terrified of you. You seemed so fragile, so not of this world. We wanted you to grow fat and happy and filled with love, in spite of our inexperience.

Now you’re two years old, dabbling occasionally into the “terrible” phase, but mostly just discovering your own will and abilities. We lay awake in the morning and listen to you sing the ABC’s in your crib (R is your favorite letter), laugh when you gasp with delight at the sight of Elmo or a train, and roll our eyes when you resist us by saying “no no no” while shaking your head in exasperation.

We had no idea, not even a smidge,  of how much joy you would bring into our lives. We are smitten.

Hope you enjoyed your train cake!

FYI

Grocery shopping while highly pregnant is much like grocery shopping while hungry, except you have moral authority when there’s no milk for the weekend.

Twin Haikus

So all of the sudden we find ourselves 32 weeks into this pregnancy with the light at the end of the tunnel starting to become visible. Except that light? You know how the old joke goes that that light is actually the train coming straight at you? Yeah.

Holiday Snapshots

Our cheery mantle. I refused to let Patrick build a Christmas fire, I'm terrified of our fireplace. As far as I'm concerned, it's just for decoration.