Have you read this book?

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People?
I just recieved it in the mail today. I bought a box of cereal 2 months ago and there was a code in the box to input on a website and you could pick out of 10 books. I thought I'd go out on a limb and get a book that I normally wouldn't get.

Just wondering if anyone has read this book and what you think of it?

Drivers here

I HATE THEM. They have NO consideration for anyone other than themselves.
Example: I was going down Ontario St just past Princess. There are two lanes, one for turning right and one for going straight. This jackass was parked in the turning lane, waiting for someone or something at a restaurant. He wasn't very far from Princess St, so he made a major traffic jam with everyone trying to go around him.

2nd example: I was turning down a street right next to the hospital. It's a pretty narrow road and ppl were parked on the side even though there are signs saying NO PARKING. Anways, I saw a handi bus coming up the st, so I just pulled over as far as I could on my side to let the bus go by. Well, a lady in a car came up behind me and thought I was parking or something and she pulled ahead of me and wedged herself in between the bus and the curb. The bus couldn't get by her and she had to sort of drive up on the curve. The bus driver had this look of exasperation when she passed by me and we both shook our heads. How stupid this driver WAS.

I think I may go out with my digital camera and take pictures of every parking infraction I see, print them off and send them into kingston police with a note. Kingston police traffic services SUCK.

I think I've made up my mind

I've been really thinking about my job situation. I do have the customs inteview in December. And I have been really excited about the prospect of getting offered a job. But now that I have been actively thinking about it, and with Grant's input I think I might have to turn down the opportunity if it arises. I just can't go 9 weeks for training at my kids' stage right now. If they were in school it'd be a lot easier. I don't get a salary when I'm in training, just an allowance. So money will be tight as well.
And another major issue is the long drive down the 416 which can be treacherous in the winter. My work days will be very long.
If I work with Livingston, I can walk to work which would be So nice. If one kid is sick at the babysitters, I can get home so quickly instead of having to be there 1 hr after the fact.

What do you think?

What I dislike

Our Union Gas bill is supposed to come out of our bank as direct payment every 10th of the month. Well, they haven't taken their money out yet.
I hate it when they don't take it. I mean, I understand if it's on a weekend but the 10th was a friday, a working day.
I'll have to call them and see what's up.

Internet is a great thing

In bed lastnight I was thinking about books I read when I was a child. I remembered this book about a girl and a witch, and she would throw down a comb and trees grew and she threw a mirror and a lake emerged. I couldn't remember the name of the book. So I searched on google for "girl throws down comb, trees appear" and lo and behold, I find my book.
It's called "BONY LEGS"
I ordered it from Chapters, as I went on Amazon and it was $165.50. Crazy!!

pictures

Here are the pictures. I tried the Hello Program to upload the pictures but I signed up with beta blogger with google and I can't. So,you have to go to the link to see them.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/CdnSuzie/P5030052.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/CdnSuzie/P5030002.jpg

You'll have to paste that url into the address line... I dunno why you can't click on it. Darn beta thingy.

Halloween pics

Mason , like Garrett, dressed up in the same pirate costume as last year. The hat actually stayed on his head this year. Mason did pretty well in the candy area and we did pretty well in keeping a lot. Maybe 20 kids came to the door lastnight.

Eve was a pretty princess. I took her to the door to give out the candy. She wore the outfit for quite a while until she puked all over it. She was a pucky princess.

Imaginations of the child

Mason has such a great imagination. I love to sit back and watch him play. The other day we were playing outside and he was pretending that the bushes and trees were monsters. The monsters were sad because they lost their mittens (leaves were mittens) Mason gathered some leaves up and put them on branches and they were happy again.
And Grant got him going on magic beans. Mason was picking up little pieces of the carpet on the stairs and Grant asked what he had. Mason hesitated before answering so Grant offered "magic beans" and Mason thought that was a good name so he used it. Now every piece of fluff is magic beans. He'll bring some down in the morning that he picks off his blanket and he'll hold them or put them someplace safe. If he can't find them or if he dops them..he says "MA BEANS" It's hilarious. I went to try to find mighty beanz but couldn't find any so I bought a mini bowling set and gave him a pin. I thought maybe he would use that as a bean but he went back to the fuzz.

Kinda creepy

We had some chain-link fencing in our yard that we were going to put up but didnt get to it, and my neighbour had a deck she wanted to get rid of so I put them up for offer on freecycle. Well, I got inundated with requests for both items. I posted that they were taken and emailed every individual advising same. While I was out to the store, someone called and asked if it was still avail. Grant told me this when I got back. I got to thinking, hmm...where did they get my phone number. I didn't post it in the message. The person who called went to the trouble of looking at our email addy, than going to the phone book and finding it. I can't believe to what extreme this person went too. It is creepy and pathetic.

This is for Brock

Hey Brock, I read on your blog about Colbert mentioning Sarnia and watched the clip. Well...here's an even better one!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AS9sVKbdGvk

How far..

Would you travel to work? I am expecting at least an hour drive to work if I get the job with customs. This will be highway driving down the 416.

Finally some dates

I finally have a date for the interview with Customs : Dec 18th. Wow, that's a long way off. I was informed that interviews would be at the end of October and into early November. This puts a wrench into my plans. We are moving at the end of Jan to Ottawa, and my maternity runs out sometime in Feb. If I do well in the interview and get offered a position, well that could be well after my maternity runs out. And most likely it will because they won't be deciding after my date because Christmas holidays will be running.
I have to call my manager from when I worked here and tell her the situation. I'll have to see if I can get a transfer to the Ottawa branch if I need it.
Plus I need to have the complete addresses for all of the places I've lived for the past five years. I've moved around SOOOOOOOOO much. AHHH. So if anyone has the phone number of our old house in St. Thomas, please let me know.

I finally have a date for the interview with Customs : Dec 18th. Wow, that's a long way off. I was informed that interviews would be at the end of October and into early November. This puts a wrench into my plans. We are moving at the end of Jan to Ottawa, and my maternity runs out sometime in Feb. If I do well in the interview and get offered a position, well that could be well after my maternity runs out. And most likely it will because they won't be deciding after my date because Christmas holidays will be running.
I have to call my manager from when I worked here and tell her the situation. I'll have to see if I can get a transfer to the Ottawa branch if I need it.
Plus I need to have the complete addresses for all of the places I've lived for the past five years. I've moved around SOOOOOOOOO much. AHHH. So if anyone has the phone number of our old house in St. Thomas, please let me know.

Mason's back

The crayon fell outta Mason's nose while waiting to see the Dr. He came home with 4 stickers. Mason told me he put a white crayon in his nose :)
So yup, he's ok.

Off to the emerg...

I was just about to drive my mom to the hospital to visit with my uncle when Grant asked Mason if he needed to blow his nose. Mason kept on grabbing at it. We thought he had a booger LOL but it was more than that. It's a crayon.!!!!!! I think I even saw him in the process of doing it. So, Grant and my mom are driving to the hospital now.

Did he watch 'Castaway'?

Mason found a golf ball in the field behind our house and he just loves that thing. Whenever he's outside he carries it around.
Yesterday, he dropped the ball and he said "oh golf ball, golf ball..a.re you ok???"
It's a start to a beautiful imaginary friendship.

Might be heading out tonight

To go see the Trailer Park Boys movie. I'm excited! I read an article in Mcleans about the movie. The producers didn't wan't nudity in it, they have shied away from that in the tv shows. The warning that comes up before the show states nudity but it is referring to Randy's bare belly.
Anyways, the director of the movie who is an expatriate Canadian and now a big Hollywood director said they needed to "hollywoodize" the movie so there is going to be some nudity in it. I think it may be in the form of Lucy showing her chest off. This is too bad.
The movie isn't going to link at all with the series.
Hopefully the Trailer Park Boys will catch on down in the States. They do have a lot of Trailer Parks :)
I wonder if there will be a line up for the opening of the movie...hhmmmmmmmmmmm?

The Kidz and I :)
G

6 month stats

We took Eve to get her shots yesterday. She is 15lbs and 27 1/4 inches long.
I've been getting annoyed at ppl telling me how tiny and small she is. I just feel that it reflect bad upon me ; that I must not be feeding her well enough or something. She is in the 25% for weight but my dr. told me not to worry because she is doing great. She is very proportionate with her length and that most likely Eve will be a petite girl. So I must remember that when ppl say how tiny she is.

I'm going to miss Kingston

I do not want to move to Ottawa. Granted, there are better job opportunites for me there, but if I get this customs inspector job that I am vying for, it won't matter. :)
Mason and I went for a walk in the field behind our house yesterday and there is a great view of Ft Henry, RMC and Lake Ontario. I've got to go and take a picture today. We sat on a rock and watched cars come up and down the hill. We also saw some crab apple trees and Mason knows not to eat them because they will give him a boo boo in his tummy.
Kingston is a great city.

Clever name

We have an aerosol can of air freshener called "Alibi"
That's funny.

Care packages

I am going to be putting together care packages for the Canadian Troops over in Afghanistan. It must be SO SO hard to be away from family and away from your home country. Little care packages are great for the troops morale.
If anyone would like to donate, that would be greatly appreciated. You can donate money if you would like and i can go out and buy stuff, or you can donate items and mail them to me. I will then put it all into boxes and deliver to Belleville, as that is where they send the mail out from.
I will take pictures of the stuff I buy with donated money just to show that I haven't used the money for personal gain :)
Items that can be included in care packages and would be loved over there are:
Any deodorants, soaps, foot powders, creams, lip balm.
Socks, underware, sheets, (single),
Dvd's , books, puzzles, handheld games
Candies, cookies, beef jerky, hot rods, kraft dinners, any snacks ..no chocolate or perishibles
magazines, newspapers
water guns, water balloons
anything you think they would enjoy
remember that there are men AND women serving.

If you would like to donate money or items, let me know and I'll give you my addy or even my bank account # so you can send it.

Oh yah, if you want to add letters or pictures from kids that would be great too.
Thanks everyone

had me some mommy time

Grant and I went to a friends house last Saturday night. I had time at night away from the kids! We only stayed for maybe 3 hrs. I had my first drink in a long long time. I had a strawberry daquiri. Not too bad :)

oops

I left out a book in the rain, a library hardcover books. Needless to say, it was damaged beyond repair. I owe the Kingston Library $35.
The name of the book is called "Rain"..HAHA.

Scrapbooking

I've gotten into the scrapbooking craze. I tried to take it up when Mason was born but got bored of it. I now enjoy doing it. I don't have a lot of time to work on the pages though. I've only completed maybe 10 layouts now, but I'm proud of what I've accomplished :)

my masterpiece
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Cute hat eh??
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New Record For Me

I've been playing the old school Tetris on an NES Emulaltor quite a bit. My old record for # of lines was 165. Today, I got 190. Whoohoo LVL 19.

Evie loves her saucer
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We are moving....

In Jan or Feb of 07. Looks like Grant has gotten his security clearance. He has heard that he is on the list for the next course to run in September but he hasn't signed anything yet so he doesn't want to believe it until he see's it in writing.
I will miss Kingston. We are pretty much established here. If Grant has the choice of staying in Kingston he's going to take it :)
I hope so! I was accepted into another customs border agent competition. I got a letter in the mail asking me to come and write the test. Since I've already passed the test I just had to fax in verification. I did so now I'm just waiting to see if I get an interview. I have a really good chance at getting once..This competition requires only english. If I end up getting the job, hopefully I can be transfered. If not, well, we'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it.

Eeww Gross

I've got a gross big toe. I have an ingrown toenail. I have cream to put on it but if that doesn't get better than I have to have half of the toenail cut off. YIKES>

My uncle

My Uncle Teddy (mom's brother) is in the hospital here in Kingston. He's been there for the past two weeks. He was rushed to the hospital in Bancroft because he was in really bad pain and was incoherant. They than sent him to KGH. My uncle is a very stubborn man and he keeps a lot to himself. He found out he has an aneurysm in his stomach but didn't tell anymore. It is now 6.5 cm...
His sheets at home had some blood stains on it and he was sleeping a lot and not eating. He lost something in the range of 30 lbs in a month.
It turns out that he has a bleeding ulcer and that was why he was bleeding. He aneursym isn't causing any problems just yet but the doctors will not do any surgery because the rate of surviving the surgery is minimal now.
My uncle has been taking tylenol to relieve pain for the longest time and that has finally taken it's toll on the liver. He also had tylenol poisoning.
He got an infection of his blood from a pik line he had in his arm. It is better now too.
The hardest thing for me to deal with is how very confused he is. He was very lucid and with it before he went into the hospital. Now he mumbles away and gets our names messed up. He'll spout off sentences that we have no idea what he is talking about. The doctor said that it might have been caused by the blood that he lost. The brain was lacking oxygen and it might have been too late when they gave him a blood tranfusion. It could be from the poisoning. And the doctor also said they might talk to the neurology dept and maybe take a cat scan of the brain as he might have had a stroke.
He will not be allowed to go back to his home unless he fully recovers. He will have to be put in the Manor in Bancroft.
I hope everything goes well with this.

Eve loves to sit with Daddy.
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Eve listening to some music and sitting in her Bumbo chair.
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Mason wore these glasses all morning. He ended up having red marks on his face for a while.
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This is at Papineau Lake in Bancroft. You can walk out for a km and it would still be shallow. And it isn't bird poop on his shoulder, just mud.
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A great picture of Eve and her grandma's
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This pic was taken in Sarnia
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Being frugal

I love freecycle. Freecycle is a yahoo group where people give things away that they don't want or need anymore. You can also post if you need something that someone else might have.
I picked up a white plastic deck table today. The lady told me to get it off her deck , she wasn't home today. Hopefully I got the right house and didn't end up committing a robbery :)
I also got Mason a little tykes desk at Value Village for 5 bucks. It's in great condition. The lid flaps up to put things inside. He loves it.

Birds

I've decided to get a bird identification book. We get some pretty interesting looking birds here at my house. The other day I saw a black bird with an orange chest and I have no idea what type of bird it was.
If I walk down the hill in front of my house , I'm on the shores of Lake Ontario and there ought to be some cool looking birds there.

No more dentist please

I had to back to the dentist again today. For a couple of days I've felt a hard lump on the inside of my gum where I had a wisdom tooth extracted. I went in today to the dentist because it's really hard for me to eat and it turns out it was a bone spur. The dentist said it's weird that the spur is on the inside of the gum and not the outside because that is where he did the cutting. So he had to slit the gum and take tweezers to get the bone spur out. He described it as a sliver.
The freezing has just worn off now. I hope not to back to the dentist anytime soon!

We got this toy at a garage sale. It came with 100 balls. We found out why they were selling it for fairly cheap...there's a hole somewhere. It doesn't stay inflated for long
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What's happening with me

I had my wisdom teeth removed on Thursday. I took 3 sleeping pills before I went in and was hooked up to IV for sedation when I had the procedure done. I do not remember going to the dentist , anything that happened or even coming home. I am still in pretty rough shape. They had to cut down into my gum for the bottom teeth because they hadn't erupted. Hopefully the pain will go away soon and I can eat something other than yoghurt and soups.
I'm taking oxycodone and was afraid that it might hurt Eve through the breastmilk but I called motherisk and the counsellor said that the drug is made of 2 things : acetametaphin and a narcotic. The acetametaphin part passes about 1-4% into the breastmilk and the narcotic anywhere from 4-10%. They deem medicines safe for breastfeeding if only 10% and under passes through so this is ok to take. Thank goodness because it does help with the pain!
I've joined weight watchers again, I'd like to lose 17lbs or so. This past week was hard; I did cheat quite a bit. I am finding that I am so hungry because of the breastfeeding. I need to find some healthy snacks that I enjoy to munch on.

These are Eve's first professional pictures. She was 5 weeks old. She didn't like lying in that position and started to cry when we had only taken like 3 shots of her. Thank goodness we got a good one.
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Mason
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This is Eve's first social smile!
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Her favourite spot is the chest
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:)
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Eve's checking out her cool pants
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Eve's Stats

Eve went in for her month check up.
She's 9lbs now and 22 inches long! Her weight is excellent the doctor says. She's very fussy breastfeeding and I'm going to cut out dairy products and caffeine from my diet for a couple of days to see if those are causing her problems. If not, well doctor said she just might be a fussy eater.

We can't get better

Our household can't seem to get better. My mom, Mason, Eve and myself have been sick. My mom has been sick for about a month and Mason for about 3 weeks. I got a really bad cold or flu about 2 weeks ago and I'm still coughing. Eve got congested and a cough too. We took her into the outpatient kids clinic at Hotel Dieu and they said it was viral and her lungs are clear. She's ok. She does have thrush on her tongue and we're treating that with Nystatin drops.
We thought Mason was getting better but lastnight he woke 4 times and threw up. He threw up 2 times today and has had diaareah. He goes to see the doctor tomorrow and so does Eve for her month check up.
Eve hasn't been eating very well and unfortunately I think I'm the cause of it. I think she may have nipple confusion. We don't give her a bottle everyday and when we do it's just one bottle. She gets a soother when we're out and she's uncontrollably crying. But she'll normally suck on it for a little and spit it back out. I didn't think nipple confusion would happen. She pulls away when eating and she doesn't seem to be eating SO much anymore.
I hope it goes away.

Here's Mason's creation. He did a good job of not dropping anything on to his toes. It's time we got some cupboard latches to avoid broken toes!
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Milk Coma
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2 weeks old

Eve is 2 weeks old today. We're doing well. She went to her docs appt yesterday and she is now 8lbs. Her hair is getting a bit lighter, with a red tinge to it.
She is more alert now, not sleeping all the time. I am apprehensive to hold her a lot because if I put my finger on her face she'll root and want to eat :)
Breastfeeding is a bit easier now; doesn't hurt as much. But she does eat ALL the time. I'm sure it'll get better. I've gotten a television in our room now so I can watch tv for the hour I'm feeding her in the middle of the night instead of just sitting in bed trying to stay awake. I shouldn't complain though, she's a great sleeper.

Mason is doing good too. He has been sick for a couple of days with a fever and coughs. Yesterday was pretty bad. All he could do was lay around and say "BOO BOO" Mason's going through his terrible two's now. All he ever says is "MINE" and he just won't listen to me. Whenever we give him any sort of food he will just crush it. I think maybe he is a bit jealous cause I can't spend as much time with him as I used too.

Mason's first haircut. There goes his beautiful but untamable wings!
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Mason and Grandpa Wager
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A proud big brother.
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We're Home

We came home yesterday from the hospital. I had a great stay, so much better than when I had Mason. The nurses were Excellent. They took Eve away at night and brought her back to feed so I could get some sleep.
Eve is a great baby. So calm. She sleeps and gets up to have some snack, and than goes back to sleep. Lastnight, I got a total of about 5 hrs of sleep. Unheard of with a newborn :)
Breastfeeding is coming along. She's a vigourous sucker, I'm really sore.
She has taken to breastfeeding really well.
Grants parents came down yesterday to see us. We all had a nice visit.
Mason just loves his sister.

Eve's pictures (finally)

Ok, I finally got around to bringing the camera home from the hospital. Here's some pics of Eve. She weighed in at 7 lb, 7 ounces when born, and she's 20 inches long. Mom and baby are both doing very well, and they come home tomorrow (Saturday).

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a344/Yggdrasil_Tree_/Eve/Evesleep5.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a344/Yggdrasil_Tree_/Eve/Evesleep4.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a344/Yggdrasil_Tree_/Eve/Evesleep3.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a344/Yggdrasil_Tree_/Eve/Evesleep2.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a344/Yggdrasil_Tree_/Eve/Evesleep1.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a344/Yggdrasil_Tree_/Eve/Eveawake1.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a344/Yggdrasil_Tree_/Eve/EveandDaddy.jpg

Doctors appointment

I'm booked for a biophysical on Thursday, to check the level of fluid and how the baby is doing. Than I go back to my doctor's on Friday and we'll pick a date for inducement the following week if everything is fine with the ultrasound. She is hinting around the 27th which is my mothers birthday.
But, my doctor thinks that I'll go before Thursday. I've been showing signs of labour!
So, lol, it can be from now until Monday!! Come on baby, lets get going!!

Maybe soon???

Well, I think I may be in the early stages of labour. I've been getting cramps..and i've definilty "dropped".. so......................I might be having the baby within 24 hrs? LOL.
I do see my doctor tomorrow at 2pm..

Baby not here yet

Well I'm overdue :) Somewhat glad not to have the baby on Mason's birthday.
I just pray I'll go this time and not have to be induced.
So... lets play a game. When do you think I'll go , and how big will the girl be?
Mason was 8.2lbs and 21 inches. He went 6 days late.
I don't go see my doctor until this Monday, when she'll do a check and make sure things are all right. If things are, I think I"ll go a few more days until they do an inducement (If I need it)
The courier guy at work said I'd go on Thursday or Friday :) He was off 45 mins the last time he had to guess.

Happy Birthday Mason

Mason turns 2 today. We're not doing much. I'll take him over to the library, he just loves going there! We will also have a little birthday cake for him tonight, with a couple of Grant's friends coming over. Mason likes Grant's friends.
And No baby today, well so far anyways.

Only 6 more....

I'm due on March 14th..6 more days left. I think I'll go over though.
I've been pretty sore these days, I can't walk very long :)
My last day of work is this Friday. Looking foward to that.

Mason's going to be two in 6 more days too! He's not a baby anymore. We aren't going to have a big party for him, just family. I think we'll celebrate it when the baby is born too, so we can have 1 get together.

We're very excited that Mason is getting a full head of hair, even though it is wild and crazy!
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Mason's all cammed up
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Update

Well, I haven't updated lately.
We're doing well here. Mason doesn't seem to have his nasty ear infection anymore. I do have to make an appointment with the doctor just to make sure it's all gone. Grant had bronchitis and it's going away too.
I'm doing well! My official last day of work is March 10th. My company (PBB Global Logistics) is now owned by Livingston International, the biggest customs broker. It kinda just happened quickly. There are many differences on how each company runs, so it will be neat to see how they come together. I'm not worried, I'll be on maternity leave once they actually start to merge.
I'm going to try to go through this labour without any pain meds. I've been researching up on some of the methods to take your mind off the contractions. I've decided to try to use a birthing ball, and to walk a lot. I do not want to spend a lot of time in the bed.
Well, I guess that's it.
Oh, we were going to use the name AVA, but decided against it because it is #10 on the 2005 most popular names.