1. Add your name and a little something about your family.
Hi! We’re Mara & Chris Surridge! We live in Fairfax, VA, which is just outside of Washington, DC. Chris is a software engineer with a government contractor (whatever he is working on is classified…I like to think of him as doing something really exciting, but he claims it’s pretty boring…) and I’m a 6^th grade teacher. I’m actually not working right now…I stopped working to work on our paperchase, and decided to not go back since I am very much looking forward to being a stay-at-home mommy! (I’m looking for a part-time job now, in addition to teaching Sunday School, but I’m not having too much luck!!!) This will be our first child…we’ve been married almost 6 years (our anniversary is in July), and we’ve been trying and waiting to start a family for nearly 4 years …

2. Girl, Boy, Twins requested?
We’ve requested twin girls…not sure if we’ll be lucky enough to have that happen…we’ll be excited regardless!

3. Age Requested?
As young as possible…0-18 months I think…

4. Child/children's names?
Haven’t picked one out yet. A lot will depend on whether or not we’re referred twins!

5. Nursery theme and colours?
Haven’t picked that out yet either! Probably pinks and purples, maybe Classic Pooh…really more concerned right now about cleaning the bedroom out of all the boxes! (we’ve been using it for storage!!)

6. Likes and Dislikes?
I’m a HUGE Red Sox fan (the nursery might just end up a Red Sox theme…) and we both love going to baseball games. I like sports in general…I watch a lot of ESPN and listen to Sports Talk radio during the day (really). I’m a scrapbooker, and I love taking pictures too. And I am addicted to reality tv! Chris is into computers, and loves to read (his current passion is reading blogs…I swear, he spends a couple of hours each night reading all his favorites). He also plays chess and likes to learn things…he watches all those science-y shows on PBS (NOVA, Nature, etc.) with a passion! Together we play on a softball team, and we love spending time with friends.

7. Hobbies and Collections?
Hmmm…I guess I kind of answered the hobbies part already. Chris doesn’t collect anything (he’s not a collector). I collect Red Sox stuff (specifically game memorabilia…stuff that’s given out at games, newspapers from games I’m at, autographs that I get at games…) and moose.

8. Favourite fragrance or scents?
Not sure…I don’t like florals or anything that is really strong. Fruity, clean scents are good.

9. Favourite foods?
We both LOVE sushi! I’m also addicted to Starbucks…a skim mocha can really make your day!

10. Favourite books or authors?
Chris loves the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I read a lot of non-fiction (baseball books mostly!) but I also really like Fannie Flagg (if you haven’t read her books, you should!) and kids books (I am a teacher after all!). I have lots of children’s books…I do have an amazon.com wishlist for our daughters!

11. Favourite movies?
Mine is “The Wizard of Oz”, while Chris likes “Monty Python” (ugh). My favorite recent movies are “Love Actually” and “Fever Pitch” (of course) and I also love “Sleepless in Seattle” and “Field of Dreams.” We rarely agree on movies…thank goodness we have friends who are the same way so we can see separate movies!

12. Favourite music?
Another place where we really disagree! I like Barenaked Ladies, Pat McGee Band, John Mayer…stuff like that. Chris likes really noisy punk rock type music…the kind if you saw the band in concert there would be a mosh pit.

13. Favourite colour or colours?
Purple!

14. Registered at a store?
Not yet, although we have a wishlist on amazon.com.

15. Favourite clothing item for a child?
Nothing really…cute tops and hats, I guess.

16. Anything else you would like to share with your secret pal?
We’re Jewish…this really means nothing to the secret pal exchange except for the fact that we don’t want any religious things (so no Christmas stuff!!!). THANKS!