Happy due date to me!

Nope, no baby yet. We had our 40-week appointment today, and nothing much is happening. The little dude still seems comfy, though, so we're just going to hang in there and wait it out unless something changes. At my last appointment we had tentatively discussed booking an induction for the 13th, but the more I thought about it in the week since then, the less comfortable I felt. I just really don't feel right yanking the kid before he's ready unless there's a medical indication that we should. Our OB -- love her -- was totally on board. When I told her I was nervous and uncomfortable about booking an induction, she immediately said we didn't have to rush into anything. She scheduled us for a non-stress test and an ultrasound next Wednesday. If everything looks good and the baby is still happy, we're allowed to wait another week -- with two additional tests in between -- before we have to be induced. I'm hopeful that he'll get a move on by himself before then. Perhaps I'll even end up with a January 13th baby after all...which would be kind of cool since my birthday is March 13th and MB's is December 13th. Ask me again in a few days if I'm still cool with that idea, but for now I feel fine. As long as he stays healthy, fantastic. Okay, and it would also be nice if he didn't spend the next week getting gigantic. That would be REALLY NICE.

It's probably against some Pregnant Lady Code to say so, and I know I've been damn lucky to have such a positive experience, but I have absolutely loved pregnancy. I have felt great through 99% of the last forty weeks. Even though I'm feeling a bit ungainly now, I really have enjoyed seeing my belly grow and never felt whale-like (though I'm sure I look it these days). I had to wait a long time to feel the baby move -- I didn't feel him for the first time until my 22nd week -- and I adore it. From his early kicks and jabs to the more languid stretches he's doing now, I can't get enough. As excited as I'll be to meet him, I know for certain I will miss feeling him bopping around in my belly. My favorite baby thing has to be the hiccups. For several weeks, he got them almost every evening, and it never stopped being funny. They've tapered off lately, but last night he got them while I was finishing up in the shower. I stood in the warm water, hands on my belly, and just felt ridiculously content.

He's such a mystery to me right now. I know he'll have his own personality and his own temperament, and I can't even begin to imagine what he'll be like. Will he be bald, dark-haired, blond? Will he have MB's eyes, like I'm hoping? For now, I'm really trying to treasure every day I have left of him being my constant sidekick. As people like to point out, he'll never again be as portable and easy to care for as he is now, and it'll never again be this easy to hold him close and safe. I definitely have moments where the bigness of this really hits me and it's terrifying, but mostly I'm just so very happy and so very grateful. I'm absolutely stunned that this first stage of our journey together is almost over. The time has gone so fast, and it's hard to wrap my head around the reality that he could truly arrive at any point.

I don't really know how MB is feeling, but we seem to agree on a few points -- we don't really feel fully ready for this, but at the same time we're as ready as we'll ever be and excited. This has definitely been our craziest adventure yet, and it's really just getting started.

Labels: the brachiopod

Nesting or temporary insanity, it's so hard to differentiate

Holy crap, y'all, what a day. MB and I slept late, but we made up for it big time by the end. We got up around 10:30 and finished painting the brachiopod's room, then took showers and met rabidmonkey and norahs1213 for lunch. After that, we did our grocery shopping for the week. MB decided to fix the janky dryer exhaust hose that constantly detaches itself from the vent, so he went to Lowe's for parts. While he was gone, I ended up reorganizing the breakfast nook (which is basically our mudroom / storage area) so that we can bring up a cabinet from the basement for more pantry space. This entailed moving shelves, consolidating bins of stuff, and carrying crap out to the shed and the trash bin. Indy was somewhat worried about all this activity, since his crate is in the breakfast nook, which basically makes it his room. I think he's pretty happy with the results, though he could've just been excited about that ancient goldfish cracker he found behind the trash can. It's so hard to tell with dogs.

I ended up cleaning out and reorganizing the actual pantry, too, before MB got home. Then he and I spent at least an hour hooking up the new dryer hose to the dryer and vent. That goddamn hose has got to be the most poorly designed piece of equipment I have ever, ever seen. Getting it attached to the dryer with the grippy ring thingy required an angle of hand and screwdriver that was basically physically impossible. Then the stupid hose ripped no less than FOUR TIMES while we were trying to attach it and expand it. It's a miracle we didn't light the whole thing on fire and walk away, to be honest. I swear, at one point it was giving me contractions. Too bad they went away, I guess. When that was finally, finally done, we ate dinner and started to relax, but then I decided to try to get a little bit more work done in the baby's room.

MB and BoMB helped move the furniture in, and then I brought the bpod's books and toys and other gear over from the guest room and put everything in its place. If this is nesting, I'm going to be very glad it's done when he's born very soon. If it's not, well...I guess I'll still be glad, but I'll also be really tired tomorrow. I should probably wait until I have better pictures, since these turned out sort of overexposed and crappy, but I'm too exhausted to go back upstairs and take more. My mom is making curtains for the windows, we need new outlet covers, and I've got to have my dad bring over the glider chair mom is passing on to us, but other than that it's basically done:

Diapers will eventually go on the middle shelf of the changing table, but
the shelf is loose and needs to be glued or braced before it will bear weight.


It was kind of an accident that he ended up with so many stuffed animals.
I found this cool folding puppet theater at Goodwill last week for five bucks!

I'll have to get a better shot of the thing under the window.
It's a doll crib that was mine when I was little, now full of puppets.
Here's the crib, which is set up in our room.
My two boys, soon to be three. I'm simultaneously impatient to meet our baby and yet terrified that I'm not ready to be his mother, which I suppose is normal. I feel pulled in two directions now, part of me wanting to get on with things already and part of me wanting to wait just a bit longer, just a few days more. But if there's one thing this pregnancy has taught me, it's that things are well out of my hands now. All I can do is my best, and then hope it's enough. I suppose that's all we ever do, really.

Labels: 42, the brachiopod

Dead Reckoning

Originating with Linda at All & Sundry.

Here are mine from years past: 2006, 2007, 2008.

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before? Got myself good and knocked up.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Pfffft. As soon as I got pregnant, I pretty much forgot about my goals for 2009. But looking back at them, I guess I did okay. #1 was "develop better eating habits," and I definitely did that. Until I got derailed by the holidays, I ate better this year than I have in my adult life. Breakfast every day, healthy snacks, almost no soda, and -- for quite some time -- barely any sweets. I knocked #3 out in February and got two photographs accepted into a show. I managed to clear out quite a bit of clutter (#4) for our yard sale in October. We're in the midst of #6, redecorating one room in the house for the baby.

For 2010, I'm keeping it simple. I just want to be the best wife, mother, and friend I can be.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Several of my good friends had babies this year!

4. Did anyone close to you die? One of my uncles passed away, but we definitely were not close.

5. What countries did you visit? We didn't travel at all this year, actually.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? It's not really a lack, but in 2010 I'd love to have the happy, healthy, on-the-outside baby that we've spent almost all of 2009 hoping and preparing for.

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? May 1 - positive pregnancy test; June 24 - had our first ultrasound and saw our baby kicking and kicking and kicking its tiny feet; August 19 - found out we'd be having a boy!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? The entire month of November was consumed by a huge programming blitz at work, and I have to brag a bit and say that I totally pulled it out. I had a lot of help from coworkers and volunteers, and we kicked ass. Those dates will stick in my mind, too.

9. What was your biggest failure? My time management skills are still not what they should be, I fear.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Nope! I am one of the lucky assholes who didn't even get morning sickness.

11. What was the best thing you bought? I finally got my new camera this month!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? MB continued to rock.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? I can't really think of anyone who was that disappointing this year.

14. Where did most of your money go? We got new windows, had the house painted, and got new insulation put in the attic this year.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?


16. What song will always remind you of 2009? I spent weeks listening to the Decemberists' Hazards of Love, so I think that album will stick out in my memories of this year.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer? Happier, way fatter, and poorer.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? I suppose I should have worked harder to get the house decluttered and organized before the baby's arrival became imminent.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? I think I watched way too much television, even if most of it was nerd TV.

20. How did you spend Christmas? We had Christmas Eve dinner with my mom's extended family, went to my parents' house to open presents with them and my sister after that, and spent Christmas Day in our pajamas at home. We also had a fantastic Thanksmas Eve gathering this year, had another get-together with friends the night after Christmas, and had a chance to have dinner with some college friends who now live in Nepal.

21. Did you fall in love in 2009? Here comes the cheese -- I fell more in love with MB this year.

22. What was your favorite TV program? There aren't any shows that I'd be absolutely crushed if I couldn't watch, but I liked Deadliest Catch and Top Chef quite a lot this year.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Nope!

24. What was the best book you read? I really enjoyed most of the books I read this year, but I think Tamora Pierce's Terrier and Bloodhound might've been my favorites.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? I'm still really digging the Decemberists.

26. What did you want and get? The new camera

27. What did you want and not get? It would have been nice to get a few more small renovations done on the house.

28. What was your favorite film of this year? 500 Days of Summer

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? For my 28th birthday, we went for a really great hike, about a month late due to weather.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Winning the lottery or receiving a fat inheritance sure would've been nice.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009? Thanks to a huge box of really kickass maternity hand-me-downs from my awesome friend Rachel, I was actually better-dressed this year than any other year I can recall.

32. What kept you sane? MB, walks with Indy, time to relax, talking with friends

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I can't really think of anyone who really caught my eye this year.

34. What political issue stirred you the most? I continue to be disappointed by discrimination against same-sex couples.

35. Who did you miss? Friends who live far away

36. Who was the best new person you met? I didn't meet her this year, but I got to know my work friend Julia in 2009, and she rocks.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009. Managing to stay Zen throughout my pregnancy in spite of my normal Type A tendencies has been fantastic. I hope it will serve me well after the baby is born.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. During the time we started trying for a baby, I was listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Californication, and the line "Do you carry the Moon in your womb?" from the song Porcelain stuck with me for several weeks. I suspect it'll always remind me of those days of hope and nerves and constant wondering what was going to happen.

Two

It seems impossible to me that Indy has only been with us for just over a year and a half, but the calendar does not lie. It has been a good year, simultaneously long and passing by with impossible speed. At the end of January, the city got hit with a huge snow and ice storm. Indy had seen snow before, but not like this. We had quite a bit of fun playing in the backyard and walking along the nearby boulevard, and really it was a grand adventure until our power went out and we ended up taking Indy and staying with my parents for over a week. That turned out to be an okay little adventure, too. I got a lot of reading done and Indy had playtime every day with my parents' dog Maggie.



Early in the year, Indy became a totally free-range dog. We started by letting him remain out of his crate in our bedroom at night, with a pet gate at the top of the stairs to keep him from roaming too far without supervision. That went so well that he was quickly allowed to stay uncrated during the days while we worked, too, and we've never had to go back. I think crate-training him as a puppy was one of the best decisions we could have made, and feel that it allowed him to learn good house-habits from an early age. Of course, we can't take full credit since he was nearly fully crate-trained and housebroken when we brought him home, but still.



In April we passed our first anniversary of adopting him, which happened to coincide with a really great hike we took to celebrate my birthday. That hike turned out to be our big adventure for 2009, since we never got the chance to camp at MB's friend's property this year. We planned to take Indy on our group camping trip in October, but changed our minds when the weekend turned rainy. Perhaps we'll have another Indy-friendly camping trip in 2010...I certainly hope so!



In May I took a pregnancy test and got a positive result, which shaped our whole year. We stayed home more, didn't travel at all, and generally took it easier than usual. Indy still got his almost-daily walks, though, and I think the responsibility of walking him kept me more active than I would have been otherwise, which in turn probably helped make my pregnancy so easy. So far it doesn't seem that Indy is really aware of what's going on, though he has watched our baby preparations with great interest. In fact, Indy has proven to be a diligent supervisor of all kinds of household tasks.

He supervises landscaping projects:


He oversees gardening projects:



He presides over baking, dish washing, wallpaper removal, painting, and even yard sale preparation:



Most of his puppy sass has passed, though he still definitely has strong opinions about things. He's not a perfect dog, but he is often a dog I am proud to be seen with, a dog I am happy to introduce as mine. People are still impressed by his repertoire of tricks and occasionally people we see on our morning walk will compliment his behavior. He still likes to play a lot, though he has also proven to be a champion napper. I came across a quote somewhere that said "Dogs sleep so much because they love so hard," and Indy sure fits the bill:





In 2009, Indy went from being the youngest "child" of two to being the only one, and will soon be the oldest of two. We may look back on this year as a time of peace between things, as 2008 was the year of Baby Indy, and 2010 will be the year of baby + Indy. I am hoping, of course, for an easy transition and that MB and I will both remember to do our best to make sure Indy still gets the attention and activity that he needs. We knew we wanted kids in the near future when we adopted Indy, and we discussed the importance of keeping his routine as intact as possible. It won't be easy, but he deserves our best effort and that's what we're planning to give.



We are so lucky to have a dog so full of joy and goodness, and I'm grateful every day that he's in our lives.


Indy Bones, this month you turned two. It was a fantastic year, hopefully one of many, many, many more to come. Sometimes you can be immensely frustrating, but mostly you're just wonderful. Our mornings are more cheerful with you in them, and nothing, nothing at all, beats your butt-wagging paw-prancing greeting at the end of the work day. Your daily welcome-home scratch-and-snuggle with MB makes my heart grow three sizes every time I see it. The fact that you're still surprised each time mail comes flying in through the slot in the door makes me laugh. I love how you'll pounce on toys like a large and somewhat clumsy cat, even though half the time you lose them under the furniture soon after the initial pounce. It's hilarious how quickly you materialize in the kitchen when I open a can of tuna, and how precisely and perfectly you sit at attention trying to earn a bit of it to eat. It's vastly amusing that you share MB's undying love for cheesecake, and that you're learning the proper way to earn bits of that, too.

Thanks for being you, and for putting up with us even when we give you silly nicknames and serenade you with ridiculous songs. Thanks for teaching us how to see the world simply and how to love a little bit harder. And thanks for just generally being the kind of dog we always hoped for but never thought we'd be lucky enough to get. We love you, buddy.

Labels: we named the dog Indiana

Photo Friday

This was a gift from KC Casey, my friend currently living in Nepal, and I believe she said it was
handmade from reused wrappers and packaging in a co-op where women can earn a living wage sustainably.

View the entire Photo Friday collection on Flickr.

Labels: Photo Friday

Merry Christmas Eve!

Labels: Christmas, video killed the radio star

Then how the reindeer loved him

I got some good suggestions back in November when I asked for Christmas ornament suggestions, but I ended up going with these:


I saw the idea in a craft catalog and since I already had a bunch of wine corks I'd been saving in case I figured out a use for them, I ran with it. These are actually really easy to make, and I got 13 done in about an hour and a half. I thought it might be fun to post the directions, since when I looked online last month for easy Christmas ornament ideas, I would've appreciated seeing a simple project like this.

Here's the original ornament:


First, the supplies. Of course you'll need corks. As I mentioned, I'd been saving ours for quite some time, but you can order them from Oriental Trading or possibly even buy them at a craft store. You'll also want googly eyes, pom poms for noses (red or brown / black if you don't want Rudolphs), brown pipe cleaners, brown felt, ribbon to make hanging loops, scissors, small-headed pins, wire snips, a skinny Phillips screwdriver or ice pick, and tacky glue. You can try other kinds of glue if you wish, but in my experience, tacky glue is the best when working with oddball materials like cork and plastic.


1. Decide approximately where on the cork you want to put your reindeer's face. Based on that, use the screwdriver or ice pick to make two shallow holes in the top of the cork for the antlers. You don't have to go really far down into the cork -- you just want your antlers to have a little bit of stability. It's hard to control exactly how the antlers will be positioned, so put them on before you put the face on, or you may end up with a lopsided reindeer.


2. Tie a piece of ribbon into a hanging loop and use a pin to attach it in between the antler holes. I had inch-long pins and found they were hard to get into the cork without bending the pin in half, so I used the wire snips to cut half the length off before using them.


3. Cut four ~2" pieces of pipe cleaner with the snips (not the scissors) and make the antlers. Put a dab of glue on the end of each antler before pushing them into the holes.




4. Re-evaluate face placement if necessary. Glue on eyes.



5. Cut two tear-drop shaped pieces of felt for ears. I made a template from a little piece of cardboard and cut around it for each ear, which was actually the most difficult / annoying part of the whole process. After some trial and error (mostly error), I discovered that it's best to glue the ears on before the nose, because it's really easy to knock the nose off while attaching the ears. Glue the ears on the back side of the cork, where you think they look best.




6. Glue on a pom pom for a nose. Et voilà! All done.

Labels: crafty (not like a fox)