Even the cats are ready...

Dizzy realized today that the changing pad is an absolutely lovely and snugly place to lie down. And while it's really not something we'll encourage, I get the appeal. It's soft, curved, and right under the fan. Now if only I could communicate this to Baby Girl... "If you don't get here soon the cats are going to lay claim to your very pretty nursery and since YOU'RE NOT HERE to defend the territory, there's very little I can do to help."

I sat in her glider the other day and tried to explain the appeal of the nursery to encourage her arrival. I told her that all of mommy's wonderful and lovely craft items have been relegated to a stack of boxes in the garage just so that she could have her own room! I also explained that daddy has to do his homework, access Facebook, work out, store a guest mattress, and scoop the kitty litter all in the same room SO SHE COULD HAVE HER OWN ROOM. I even explained that she had the newest furniture in the house and was the recipient of the fancy paintings and the home made shiny hot pink curtains - all things that are far superior to my high school bed frame and the blinds that came with the house that the master bedroom holds.

So it's either one of two things: She has no appreciation for good design and it's importance (which I refuse to believe, because she's MY daughter) OR that she was waiting for me to finish her specially made curtains because she understands the transformative power that window treatments can have on a room. That was B's theory. Basically, that she's a diva and wanted that room completed before moving in. So the curtains are done (can't give you pictures until we get the right curtain rod up) and now we'll see what the weekend holds.

More Preparations

Sorry about the long posting delay. I've been meaning to put these pictures up for a while but laziness took over. I'm 39 1/2 weeks today and everything is still pluggin' along. I continue to have tons of Braxton Hicks contractions, but nothing real yet. And yesterday she dropped pretty significantly, so I guess that's a good sign. We're sick of all the waiting and breathless anticipation though.

I was hoping that Murphy's Law would kick in today and I'd go into labor purely based on the fact that someone is coming to clean the furniture and I'd be forced to cancel the appointment, but they arrive in a few hours so it's not looking good.

This was last Friday, at 39 weeks.

And remember when I mentioned that we were making food to freeze? Well I bet you didn't think I meant In Case of a Month Long Nuclear Meltdown. Yeah... we have a lot of food. The top shelf is all B - lots of sauce and homemade meatballs, plus some calzone filling and pizza dough. Then we have stuffed shells (with fresh herbs and the homemade sauce), and tacos. After that it's chicken parm, turkey chili, and shrimp. And finally we have homemade salsa and Ouiser's super delicious enchiladas. As you can see we rocked the FoodSaver and it's vacuum sealing super powers.

The other project was the two hospital gowns. I had been planning this since before I even got pregnant and with the help of my mom we were able to turn it into a reality a few weeks ago. Wearing a gown that someone else has worn actually didn't bother me, but the general ugliness and other flaws did. The gowns are way too long for a short person, the necks are way too high (which I hate, regardless of what I'm wearing), they don't cover your ass as you're walking down the hall, and they're always ugly.

So I bought some fabric and my mom snagged a gown from her hospital that we altered to create a better version: V-neck, snaps down both shoulders for easy breastfeeding, snaps alllll the way down the back so you can walk around, length is right below my knees, and it's way prettier. And really, if there's any time in life where you can do one very small thing to make yourself feel a little better, I really think this is it. After completion, there are only one or two things I would change on future gowns, but we'll tackle that the next time someone is pregnant and wants their own gown.

This the the Day 1 gown. I realize that black might seem strange to a lot of people, but black is my Happy Place. Much of my closet is black. I always feel a little better when I'm in black. Plus... black hides fluids better than other colors. Sorry, but it's true.

This is the Day 2 gown. Brighter, happier, less pain and more smiling baby.

This is the bottom - both gowns have a satin trim on them.

Gearing Up

I'm 38 1/2 weeks now and the final countdown has begun. The house and the nursery are pretty much put together, the custom made hospital gowns are done and will arrive in 2 days (a little mother/daughter project that I'll post pictures of when they arrive), and Sunday we spent $400 at the grocery store and came home with more food than I've ever seen in one place to make lots of food to freeze.

Sunday night B made gallons of homemade sauce and last night we spent 4 hours making 4 lbs of tacos, 5 pans of stuffed shells, 2 pans of chicken parmigiana, calzone filling, etc. Tonight is chili, enchiladas, and who knows what else. We pretty much bought out the Gladware aisle and have also gotten tons of use out of the FoodSaver that my mom got for us. That thing is genius!

Here is B with all of his chicken parm and some of the sauce containers behind him on the counter.

This was me last Friday night, but it's pretty much what I look like every night. Brace and cell phone nearby, pillow to attempt to hold up the belly, and laying down. According to the doctor everything is still going well - blood pressure is good, weight is good (gained 30 lbs so far), and he said she "looks long." It's only been in the last two days that I've felt really awkward and uncomfortable, but I think I made it longer than most people do before they feel that way, so that's nice.

Here's hoping that she's uncomfortable enough in there to want to come out on time!

Guess who used to work at a natural history museum?

B calls me on his cell while wandering around the mall at lunch:


B - Hey

Me - Hey

B - What are you doing?

Me - Digesting. I ate too much for lunch. I keep forgetting that my appetite has reverted to it's normal level and I'm not needing to eat everything in the kitchen anymore. What are you doing?

B - Wandering around the mall. I finished my lunch early and wanted to get out of the office.

Me - Ah.

B - Hey! The have a fossil store here!

Me - A fossil store?

B - Yeah.

Me - Are you serious??

B - Yeah.

Me - Why would they have a fossil store, I've never even heard of that before. Besides, there's this whole ethical thing with selling fossils. I mean, I don't think it's illegal, but I know Warren was super against it.

B - Huh?

Me - The fossil store. It's like a store that has trilobites in rocks, right?

B - HA! No. FOSSIL, like the name brand. They sell watches and stuff.

Me - OOOOOOOOOooooo!!!! FOSSIL. Got it. Well that's not interesting at all.

B - Sorry.

Have a lot of money?

Than take of tour of this weird list of hotels in NYC.



Via Albany Mommy

Underrated

Concert DVDs.

Years ago I went to a party where the hosts were playing a U2 concert on their very large TV and it seemed incredibly strange to me to own a concert DVD. Does anyone seriously sit down, put the DVD in, and watch a concert for 2 hours? As it turns out, no. But they DO provide a really great way to have some awesome background noise and some pass-through entertainment while you're cleaning the house, hosting a get-together, etc. You should find some good ones and put them on your Christmas list.

We currently own only two (Allison Krauss & Union Station and John Legend), but we definitely need more.

Autism Article

Ran across this article today on The Huffington Post:

Cracking the Autism Riddle: Toxic Chemicals, A Serious Suspect in the Autism Outbreak

Through the Eyes of Little Ones

This morning my cousin and his wife had a little boy named Sebastian and the name has caused all kinds of confusion and inspiration thanks to The Little Mermaid. Sebastian has two cousins, both girls, ages 3 and 5, and their mom is also pregnant.

Confusion:
The girls' mom comes home this morning from the gym and the girls go running up to her to announce that Uncle R and Aunt J had their baby.
"Yea? That's wonderful! What did they name him?"
"FLOUNDER!"

Inspiration:
The girls were so impressed with the Disney-inspired name that they have decided that if their mom has a girl this November that she should definitely be named Ariel.

A Recent Conversation

Friend - I haven't seen you in a while, how has your back been holding up with the pregnancy?

Me - Oh, pretty good, considering. I have a few hours a day of good work-time in me, but the rest of the time I'm mostly on the couch. I watch a lot of TV lately.

Friend - Oh yeah? Like A Baby Story and Maternity Ward!!

Me - Ummmm.... noooooo.... more like several hour marathons of Law & Order and Bones. I hate the baby shows, but I'm all about the crime dramas.

Ramblin

Hi all. Sorry for the big fat posting delay. We moved the computer down into the office - as opposed to being in the living room - and now I'm hardly ever on it. Ya know, as I'd have to walk ALL THE WAY into another room to blog, and that's just far too much to remember. It was much easier when I could listen to Law & Order: Criminal Intent in the background while posting. I managed to catch up on a lot of emails and bills today though, so I will attempt to be a better blogger. But really, it's just preparation for when Baby Girl comes and I disappear for long stretches while trying to figure out how to be a first time mama.

There's not much to report from Casa Scarlet Lily. Between my limited mobility and the house combination of Lots 'o Stuff meets Not Much Storage, the settling in process has been slow going. We've decided to forgo all weekend plans to try to make a dent in the Big List though.

If anyone is on Twitter, I've been a much better Tweeter than I have been a blogger lately (see the Little Chirps section in the sidebar if you're not on Twitter). It's not much consolation, but I can do it from the couch with my phone, so it's easier. Enjoy your 4th!