Grumpy

I am just down right grumpy.

What am I grumpy about?

-That it was about a week ago that we were headed to the hospital thinking that "this is it!" and here we are still waiting.
-That it is Sunday night and NOTHING is on TV.
-That another week of hanging around the house is coming and I can not handle anymore t.v. watching.
-That it is still warm outside when it is almost November.
-That I can not seem to sleep good at night and wake up at all hours to either pee or get comfortable.
-I am grumpy about the fact that people keep calling to see if the baby has arrived. I know, they are just doing it because they care.
-I am grumpy about the way that I can't fit into shirts anymore without exposing a portion of my belly because it is so low.

I think it is rather apparent I am READY to go into labor and have the baby anytime. Seriously. Bring it on. I can do it!

A Housewife

I have officially completed three weeks of maternity leave with my due date in just one more week. Of course I would love an earlier arrival. The first week or two I filled my days with random things, washing baby clothes, baking, Target trips, grocery shopping, cleaning, etc. Now I simply am out of things to do. Granted, I am always cleaning, but my projects are mostly done (except for the picture organization project which just can not seem to motivate me). I just finished my book One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell (good, I recommend it). So now here I sit, a housewife. Clinging to the stories of hubbs daily happenings because they are much more interesting than the four A Baby Story episodes I watched and the two loads of laundry I ran.
At least the house will be ready when the baby does come!

It's a Major Award!*

Stephanie gave me an award the other day but I have been eating too many things to cause heartburn to realize I needed to follow up on my duty as a recipient. Anyways, thanks Stephanie! I love your blog, you are always so calm and sweet!

Part of accepting the award is (I took the driections straight from Steph because I am lazy):

-displaying the award

-linking back to the person who gave it to you

-paying it forward & nominating 7 blogs

-adding links to those seven blogs

-leaving comments on their blog telling them you gave them an award

-enjoying the award

Besides Stephanie's blog, I throughoghly enjoy and nominate the following:

Cakerwakers: She is such a good writer and I love her dry sense of humor

Lost in Transation: Very relatable blog, I seem to have a bunch in common with this fashion savvy and real gal.

Multi-Tasking Mama: Just started reading this one and I love everything she has to say

Yellow Polka Dotted Slugs: Such a genuine and sweet girl, her posts always seem to warm me up

Just Jiff: Down to earth and real, this lady is tackling it all!

Kickyboots: Her stories about her two daughters always crack me up

Misguided Mommy: One of the blogs I have been reading the longest, always good for a nice laugh!

*Title taken from A Christmas Story for anyone who watches it on TNT for 24 hours starting on Christmas Eve. The BEST Christmas movie.

The Waiting Game

Okay, false start. Apparently I am in still in pre-labor or early labor. Lost the mucus plug/bloody show so that's a sign but my contractions have calmed down a bit, although still strong but painless. I have looked up every stinking symptom of labor in the book. Every slight cramp or feeling of indigestion has me wondering "is this it!!!???" I keep having some stupid idea that I won't know when labor is actually starting. Yeah, alright. Today I go see my doctor so maybe she can tell me if I am getting any freaking closer.


In the meantime I have eaten spicy food, pineapple, taken 19 walks (which Lucy is loving by the way), wolfed down pizza, massaged my pressure points, hanky panky and tried to stay as active as possible.


Also, hubbs made a new and exciting purchase. We got the Nikon D60 camera so now we can take fancy photos like some of you bloggers out there that are super talented and stuff. To test out the camera, we took a little nature walk around the neighborhood yesterday. Mid-photo shoot a 12 year old girl came riding by on her Vespa look alike mini bike and stopped and watched hubbs take photos. Kind of awkward. So here are some photos, 38 1/2 weeks!





So obviously we need to read the manual a bit more to check out all of the camera's features, plus maybe even take some classes. But still, the camera is cool.

It May be Starting....

Had contractions 5 minutes apart since last night. Not painful, just uncomfortable. Thought I was leaking amniotic fluid so we went to the hospital where they said I was not and I was only dilated to 2 cm. and barely 60% effaced. Now back home trying to move things a long. Going to go for a walk, eat some spicy food and pineapple. We'll see if that gets the real contractions going or not!

I Got it at Ross!

We bought a new bed last weekend. No more squishing into a Queen size any longer, nope we will now be sleeping peacefully and comfortably in our new Euro King size bed. Anyhoo, with buying a new bed comes the buying of the new bedding. Feeling like a bargain shopper I set out to Ross where I found a mattress pad, down comforter and hotel collection sheet set for a grand total of $107.00! Then at Macy's I found a duvet cover on sale and seriously discounted for $30! Now I just need to find a bed skirt and some shams. Unfortunately, everything is available in Cal King, not Euro King so that has been making things a bit more difficult. Oh well, at least I am saving money!

Oh yeah, I have two weeks (2) until my due date. Cra-zeee!!!!

Still Pregnant

Yep, still here. With my basketball belly in all of it's glory. Went to the doctor's yesterday and I was 1 centimeter dilated and 50% effaced. Still having tons of contractions so we'll see if our little one will want to make an early appearance!

Got into the nesting mode yesterday, finally. Started reorganizing the closet, cleaning out other closets and throwing out more things for Goodwill. I even whipped up a batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies which were absolutely scrumptious, if I do say so myself.

The hospital bag is about packed. I still need to squeeze in a pedicure and use up a prenatal massage gift certificate. Gotta get my pampering in!

Kind of Nesting

So now that I am home I figured I would be a ball of fire organizing photo albums, alphabetizing my spice cupboard, making casseroles to freeze for later, etc. but in all actuality, all I have been doing is running damn errands. I think in one week I have made it to Target at least 3 times. Getting what? Oh, maybe some toothpaste, Corn Chex, curtain rod, Halloween candy and a sweater dress. Clearly items which required three trips.

I just don't have the drive to do the crazy nesting things I have been hearing pregnant women do prior to going into labor. I do have a couple of home projects to tackle this week and I did put out my Halloween/Harvest decorations, so that counts for something. Plus I have been doing endless loads of laundry, cleaning and made two loaves of pumpkin bread! I guess everyone is different. All I know is that no project can take that long where I miss lunch because I learned my lesson last week when I was shopping for a birthday present over the lunch time hour. I had to high tail it out of Macys because my hands were shaking and I knew my stomach needed food soon or else it would be me and McDonalds for a lunch date, which just was not going to fly.

In other news, Lucy has apparently discovered that our bed is the comfiest thing since the couches downstairs. She spends her days passed out on our bed, literally all day long. Hubbs put together the pack n' play this weekend as well as the stroller and infant car seat. Getting closer!

My Niece

My niece arrived on Tuesday evening at 9 p.m. Her name is Ava Elizabeth. It was just Sunday that hubbs was telling Lisa to get ready for the baby because she was coming soon! Sure enough, she came 12 days early. She is such a doll. Lisa was great during the labor and delivery. I visited her yesterday right when they were introducing my other niece Leah to her new little sister. It was soo freaking cute. All she wanted to do was to just hold her "new baby sister!".

Being pregnant with my sister in law was really fun. She is only 2 weeks ahead of me so knowing that she has already given birth brings the reality that labor for me is just around the corner. Seeing the baby that was just in her tummy and that we talked about and shared stories about for the past 9 months hit me very strong. I am so excited for our baby to get here.

Meanwhile, I have been attempting to pack our hospital bag while shopping for a curtain rod for the cute nursery window valance, stocking up on any last minute baby necessities, purchased some post partum "comfy clothes" and two nursing bras, and gotten a facial. Next on the list, clean out my car and install infant car seat, put together pack n' play, bouncer, and monitor, shelves on nursery wall and clean the bathrooms. I imagine I will be completely done with my "to do" by the end of this weekend which will mean I will be prepared if our little one wants to come early too!

Day 2

Day 2 of maternity leave. Went to the OBGYN yesterday. Our baby is head down facing the right way and really low which is good. My sister in law Lisa lost her mucas plug yesterday. She is due on the 19th, but hubbs predicted today the day and at 8 a.m. I got a phone call she was having some pretty regular contractions. If the hubbs is correct that will be the second time he has called a birth day. Their first daughter, our niece, he predicted when she would be born as well and she was!

At the gas station the other day a young guy approached me saying that he and his girlfriend were taking a poll as to how far a long they thought I was. Apparently he thought I was 4 months a long and his girlfriend guessed 6 or 7 months (they had recently had a baby themselves). I was surprised by their rediculous guesses and laughed at their shocked facial expressions when I told them 9 months! I guess everyone shows differently.

I headed to Target on Saturday and was amazed at how busy it was. It was probably the busiest I had ever seen it, more than Christmas time. By looking at the mobs of shoppers, you would never guess our country is going through difficult financial times. Maybe they were just stocking up on Halloween candy.

Oh Fun!

It is my official first day of maternity leave. I am so happy. I keep thinking I need to rush around to get the house cleaned because I will be going back to work tomorrow but then I remember.... oh, wait, I don't have to! So far I have a doctor's appt. scheduled and various errands, not to mention picking up my new Blackberry since I dropped my other one in the the dog's water bowl on Thurs. night.


Yesterday we went over to my brother and sister in law's house for a BBQ with the family. I made "Not Yo Mama's Banana Pudding" which was a hit. My cousin brought her three kids, so with them and my niece it was a bit crazy! Here is a shot of Lisa and me, notice all of the toys all over the place in the background!

Career Thinking

Today is my last day before I take off 5 months for maternity leave. My company is very generous when it comes to mommy and baby bonding so I am taking advantage of all they offer. A couple of fellow co-workers who are also preggers or just had a baby are coming back sooner after their babies are born. My theory is that you don't ever get back the time after the baby is born and rushing to get back to work is not worth it to me, although they have they reasons.

However, my company is about to make some organizational changes, plus I have been working on getting a promotion forever now (my company is generous with maternity leave, however, stingy with promotions) and I can't help but worry that I will be overlooked while I am out or that my time away will effect how long it will take to get my promotion once I return. I know these worries will be out the door once the baby arrives, but I just wonder. A lot of people wait until they are at the top or almost at the top of their careers before they have kids. I knew I wanted to be a younger when I started having kids and with that you some times are not as established in your career as you would like. I have come a long way since graduating college, but I have even longer to go before I reach the top of my game. I am highly competitive at work and the thought of coworkers getting promoted before me because I have been out makes me fired up.

Anyways, I guess what I am trying to say is that I want my cake and eat it too. I want to be young with a baby and a blossoming career (which I know I will still get), but I can't help but wonder if I am going to be treated differently when I return because I am now a mother (even though still on my game and sharp as a fox). My boss is super cool and laid back and has already agreed that I can have a very flexible schedule and will promote me within a short period of time upon my return, but I keep worrying. Is this worry normal? Maybe these worries will be tossed out the window when I meet my little girl and I won't care about climbing the corporate ladder like I do now. I don't know. I guess I will find out, and at the end of the day what I care about the most is being with my hubby and my baby, and not about having the corner office.

Fall is Here!

So on Friday it is supposed to rain. Woo Hoo! How excited am I? Very excited. I actually love the cold fall and winter. Maybe because I am more of an indoorsy kind of gal and prefer to just curl up with a good book or watch a movie rather than take a hike or something. I love fall and winter clothes. Sweaters and scarves are what I live in. Tomorrow we are going over to our friend's house for dinner and I can not wait to bust out a fall dessert. I am thinking some sort of apple spice cake. Not sure.

In pregnancy related news, my maternity clothes are getting tighter and tighter. The fronts of my shirts are starting to creep up revealing the maternity waistband on my pants/skirts. I don't have any maternity cold weather clothes (sweaters, jackets) and will just have to tough it out for another 30 days or less.

Since it is my last three days of work before maternity leave and I am boycotting bringing my lunch and have decided to go out. I am wild, I know.

So about that Labor thing....

Went to childbirth class Friday evening and all day Saturday with the hubbs. Did not know what to expect. Figured I would be sitting cross legged on the ground with hubbs behind me as I practiced breathing in and out in. I also figured there would be a lot of couples for me to people watch at. Turns out I was wrong. We did very little breathing exercises (fine by me) and there was only one other couple in the class.

We walked away very informed and I feel pretty comfortable about this whole Labor thing which is just around the corner. I even feel quite calm about it. Even the hubbs was thoroughly impressed by the level of information we received. Of course, there were the occasional movies showing women's London and France clearly exposed, at which time hubbs ducked his head and asked me to tell him when it was "okay to watch again".

Aside from the classes, I washed the crib bedding, and all of my newborn and 0-3 month clothes and they are nicely put away in their polka dotted pink paper lined drawers in the dresser (my mom is an avid drawer liner). My favorite things to fold were the many pairs of Trumpette socks which I received in both the Mary Jane and Cowgirl styles. Seriously, are you kidding me? Can socks be any cuter?

It is my final week of work before I am off on maternity leave. Trying to get things organized as much as possible for while I am away but so far I am procrastinating like crazy, focusing more on finding a table lamp for the nursery.

In other news, I am have been going to physical therapy for my sciatica. Today was my second time and I have to say I am feeling a bit better. Quite better that I can actually walk upstairs without hurting too much or yelling out to many profanities. It still hurts like a mo fo when I switch sides in the middle of the night. Not a fun task.

35 Weeks

Here I are am in all my glory at 35 weeks! Five more days of work before my maternity leave. I am counting down the minutes and seconds.

They are off...

I have officially taken off my wedding ring and engagement ring. Yup. I held out until 5 weeks before the due date. Pretty impressive I must say considering I usually hear you take the rings off earlier. My ring finger now as an indentation. My fingers look like nice and juicy, fat breakfast sausages, Jimmy Dean maybe.

Clock Watching

Lately, I have been obsessed with trying to guesstimate when I will have our baby. It is just so crazy not knowing when it will be. I am on my way to 35 weeks and curious to know if she will be early or late. I have been having Braxton Hicks contractions all the time now for the last week and half. Not sure if that is a sign that labor could be just around the corner or not. I only have a week and a half before my maternity leave starts (whoo hoo!) and will be so glad to be able to not have to carry my belly and sore back around in the morning trying to get ready for work. My morning routine is taking about 2 hours, ridiculous!

On to other news, at my sister in law's baby shower on Sunday I feasted on desserts like no other. Yes, I indulged and have been doing more lately as I realize how pissed off I have been about my lack of sugar intake. Plus my weight gain is pretty on target so I don't feel like sweating it anymore. I still it very healthy so I think it is okay to work dessert back into my diet.

The Saga Continues....

Okay, I ate my words about what I said about strollers. Last weekend at my baby shower my mother-in-law gave us the stroller we wanted. Unfortunately, I immediately noticed a couple of snags in the fabric right at the front. I am a stickler for having things perfect. No way was I going to keep a stroller that was already defective in my eyes. Then as we were loading my car full of the gifts, I soon realized how large the stroller ended up being when folded. It took up 3/4's of the trunk of my Volvo sedan plus weighed about ten tons. That was it, I was over the stroller and realized that I needed to trade up. It looked like a great stroller in the store and handled well but the snags, fold up size and weight were not going to work. So we cruised back down to the baby store and returned the Graco and purchased the Peg Perego Pliko in Moka. I had checked it out before and liked it but decided to go with the Graco for some other reason like the extra cup holder or something. After reading raving reviews about the Peg online, I decided that I wanted something I was going to be happy with. The Peg is 10 lbs. lighter than the Graco. TEN POUNDS! Plus it folds up vertically and much smaller than the Graco Family Truckster. Plus you can remove the seat lining to wash which I love. More expensive, but I think it will be worth it in the long run.

"Gonna be a Nice Little Saturday, Maybe a Little Home Depot, Bed Bath & Beyond...I don't know, I don't Know if we'll have enough time"

I love Old School. Seriously, who doesn't like that movie? Anyways, I have a nice little weekend planned. Tomorrow I am taking all of my gift certificates which I accumulated at my shower last weekend and my work shower yesterday (pics to come) and stock up on all of the remaining necessities. I have a couple of returns, mostly because I got the same thing twice, and I need to also start washing all of the clothes. Then on Sunday my sister in law, Lisa, is having her baby shower. It is baby #2 for them so it will be smaller and more intimate. I am making Carrot Cake Cupcakes with coconut on top. Yummy! Hopefully between all of the nesting the hubbs and I can sneak out for a nice movie and dinner. I am thinking Burn After Reading, we'll see.

One and Two, Three and Four....

Yes, she is nudging my ribs as I write this. My little baby girl is trying to do step aerobics off my rib cage. There is one rib in particular that is super sore even when I touch it. It must be bruised. I feel her squirming all day. Her quarters are getting quite cramped I am sure. My hips feel like they have been pulled apart like a piece of bubble gum. According to all my pregnancy newsletters she is weighing 4.5-5 lbs. I am confident she will be on the large side. She is already measuring big (according to my doctor and 28 week ultrasound). Plus, I was 9 lbs. 12 1/2 oz. when I was born and hubbs was a little over 9 lbs. himself. I guess we'll see. Despite all of her aerobic moves, I still love feeling her squirm around and can not complain. This final stretch really is fun, even if uncomfortable!

My Baby Shower

Saturday was my baby shower with family and friends. I had so much fun! My cousin through it for me. She completely out did herself and made sure every little detail was perfect down to the pink M&M's. She really is a Martha Stewart. We played some really cute games, ones I had not even heard of before, ate a fabulous brunch followed by the most delicious and beautiful cake from a local bakery. We topped off the day by opening a sea of presents where I got so many cute things!

The fabulous food, and that is before three of the main dishes.

The gifts before everyone arrived!

My aunts hard at work.

The hostess (my cousin) Amy and her daughter Anna and me.

The outside area. Little bottles of water on the table with little vases filled with Gerbera Daisies.

My Aunt Kathy and Me

My Mom and Me

My Sister in Law, Lisa, and I, she's due two weeks before me.

I received some fabulous gifts. My favorites included a cute yellow antique rocking chair for the baby to rock in when she is a little girl, a super lush raspberry color Little Giraffe blanket and snuggly and last but not least my diaper bag which my sister in law Juliana got me. It's Juicy Couture and super big, exactly like the one pictured here. I loved all of the onsies and cute outfits. Everyone was so generous! This baby will be styling, that is for sure!

I Am Desperate

Today I did the unthinkable. I shoved myself into a pair of my pre-pregnancy jeans just out of shear frustration with maternity jeans. The pants I got my self into (after some shimmying and squatting) are a nice worn in pair of Sevens a size larger than my rest. Obviously I did not get one notch of the zipper done but I was able to wrap my belly band around the waist and "Wah Lah!" I am wearing Sevens that make my butt look like it should! Not like a flat pancake. They are slightly more comfortable than my maternity jeans and look fine. I am wearing a long maternity tunic to cover any waistband unevenness. I don't think I will make this a regular occurrence, but I just had to do something.

On another note, my shower is tomorrow! Yeah! I am so excited. I will make sure to take TONS of pictures. My cousin is throwing it for me and I am sure it will be so cute. Off to get a pedicure after work so I look all spiffy for the day.

This is what I do when Hubbs is Away

This is me this fine evening. Frustrated that I have not taken belly photos in about 4 weeks. So I took matters into my own hands and took this very flattering picture of myself...and is one of the better ones out of the batch. Clearly the top I am wearing is not maternity. Also, please excuse the mess. We are still unpacking and my sciatica has delayed the process of organizing our bathroom, but I still have enough energy to take Glamour Shots!

Lonely

Hubbs is away on a business trip this week. I am bored. Since my back is still out of whack I can not unpack much at all. I want to get things organized, hello nesting, but this handicap is prohibiting me to do so. My family/friends shower is this weekend followed by my work shower next week so hopefully I will be able to get the nursery all perfect once those happen. I am so exited.

Hubbs painted the baby's room pink over the weekend. It turned out pink alright, very pink. The furniture is assembled, now the room just needs to be filled. My mom is going to make some curtains so I need to pick out the fabric this weekend. This is so much fun. I love decorating!

The downstairs t.v. remote's batteries are done so now I need to go to the store to buy some more, oh and also a plunger....

Lucy kept me up all night because she wanted to go outside and play in the backyard, which means, bark at critters and wake up the neighbors. After realizing that she really was not going to stop whining, I finally ended up letting her out at 5 a.m. to go to the bathroom in which she ended up super wet because apparently it rained overnight! Nothing like looking for a towel in your barely unpacked house at the butt crack of dawn.
Oh well. I still love her.

The New Status Symbol?

Why is it that strollers seem like they are the new status symbols? It used to be cars, clothes, hand bags, etc. Now it is baby gear.It seems like there is a plethora of extremely expensive strollers out there. At a wine festival we went to on Saturday I noticed a couple with a Stokke stroller. Those things are just plain goofy looking and also look rather unsafe and the price tag for those puppies is $1,200!!! This is wine country people, not New York.

What happened to practicality? When did the baby industry get so focused on having the coolest gear at top dollar? I see normal couples spending thousands of dollars on baby gear just so they can have a Bugaboo just like their favorite celebrity. I did a ton of research on strollers and while I considered getting the more expensive Peg Perego or MacLaren, I realized that both did not have the features I wanted which I ended up finding in the Graco Quattro Tour Sport. It is one thing to put a hefty price tag on something that really is worth the top dollar, but another thing to not offer all of the amenities is just weird. It's like buying a Lexus without leather seats and electric windows. Those things are just standard in luxury vehicles, so why can't they be in strollers?

Ready

I am so ready for summer to be over with. We have had one too many heatwaves. I am tired of sweating before I go to sleep each night wondering when it will cool down. Tired of wiping away the sweat between my boobs. I want to hear the rain pattering against the windows as I snuggle up in the covers. Since we leave the windows open at night to let air in, Lucy can hear all of the dogs barking in the neighborhood which she in turn decides to answer them and wake up the entire house. She does this every night when it is hot.


I am ready for my sciatica to buzz off. This is getting out of control. Maybe if I start eating sugar again, it will feel better. Interesting rational.

I am so proud of Hubbs for starting to cook. I am the only the cook of the house and when he wants something to eat it either needs to be a quesodilla, grilled cheese, sandwich or a frozen burrito for him to cook. Lately, he has been venturing out more and making eggs in the morning, and even helped me make calzones last night. I know, look out. But this is big, coming from someone who rarely sets foot in the ktichen. I have been encouraging him to learn to cook more since pretty soon it will be a lot harder for me to turn out nutritious and hearty meals every night (except weekends, we always eat out on weekends). I think he will do just fine.

Supermarket Sweep

Today I stayed home because my back is still not better and being at work moving around is just not in the cards today. Yesterday the flats I was wearing made my feet super swell up. After work I swung by a local market and came close to getting plowed into by some stupid woman with a shopping cart who was in a hurry. I was ready to literally pounce on her if she did so as it would of caused major pain to my poor little back. So that's what I am doing, oh yeah, and attacking the ridiculous ant problem we have in our kitchen. Those effers keep on coming back no matter what I am doing.

Moved

This weekend we moved. We moved to a house back into our home town (about 10 miles away). Before we were living in a little suburb town with three restaurants (okay more) which we thought would be fun to live in but turned out to be super isolated. Anyhoo, we are back in town. Moving sucked like moving always does. We started bright and early on Saturday and still were moving things yesterday evening. We still have a bunch of crap at our old house which needs to be a carted to the new house, but we can handle that this week.

My body is worn out. I obviously did not do any heavy lifting, but standing on my feet and getting things organized was one tough chore for an 8 month pregnant chic. My sciatica is on fire and I even have to walk with a limp it is that bad. Sunday was the day we had the moving truck so that was the roughest day. Even being worn out, we still ended up making it to a BBQ that evening where I planted my ass in the chair and barely moved the rest of the night.

One of the most pain in the ass things about moving is not being able to find necessities for those first couple of days, i.e. your toothbrush, face wash, shoes, etc. The first night Peppermint Patty decided to investigate the new digs but wanted to check back and make sure we were still there and would wake us up every hour by prancing on top of us meowing and then bouncing off the best to go explore again.

Baby furniture is ordered and should be getting it next week so we can begin working on the nursery!