The Boot is Gone!

I had my podiatrist appointment yesterday and he declared me healed enough to stop wearing the boot. To celebrate, I'm wearing shoes that match and capri pants (I was staying away from capris before since the boot really threw off the look).

Of course I still need to take it easy to avoid reinjuring my foot but in my condition, I'm not going to be running any marathons anytime soon.

After my appointment, I got on the bus to go home. The bus was crowded as it usually is in the afternoon. I got on to the bus and bus driver reminded me to hold on. The reminder was pretty unnecessary on his part but his concern was appreciated. Then he told me he was going to find me a seat. And he did. He yelled, "Gentlemen, we have an expectant mother standing in the front of the bus. Will someone please give her their seat?". That worked exceptionally well. A nice man stood up to give me his seat. As he did, another guy swooped in to take it. I thought the passengers were going to beat him up but he quickly realized what was going on and asked me if I wanted to sit. I was so impressed with this bus driver and his concern that I emailed the Chicago Transit Authority as soon as I got home commending him. I figured they probably get all sorts of complaints that they might like to hear how thoughtful one of their drivers was. I wish every bus driver in the city was like him.

When I got home, the UPS guy delivered the bookshelf for the baby's room. We put that together and rearranged the furniture as best we could since we're still missing the crib. We should have that soon though. We cancelled the order for the crib that was on backorder and got a different one. We should have that by next week.

Later, we had a big thunderstorm in Chicago. It started around 9:30 pm and was pretty powerful. So powerful, in fact, that Fredo came into our room around 10 to tell me we had a leak. Water was dripping from the light fixture in the "new" bathroom. So of our two bathrooms, one has a non working toilet and the other has a bucket in the middle of the floor collecting water dripping from the ceiling. Sweet. The rain and subsequent leak didn't take too long to stop and the building manager and contractor were notified this morning.

Maybe tomorrow's post will not make mention of something in my apartment falling apart. But then what would I post about?

Today's the Day

Well today is one of the days. I go back to the foot doctor this afternoon. Since I can't get x-rays, we're taking a "trial and error" approach. Basically, the day of my appointments I'm supposed to walk around without the boot on to see how my foot feels.

The last time I had an appointment I walked the 10 minutes from the train to the office without the boot and was in a lot of pain by the time I reached my office. Today, I've been walking around the office sans boot and I feel pretty good. There's been a slight amount of aching today but no big deal. I'm hoping my progress will be enough that tomorrow I will be able to wear a pair of shoes that match, not just one and a boot.

I head to the doctor in a few hours to find out.

The great thing about this doctor is the appointment is only ever about 15 minutes. I'll leave work at 4:00 and I could very possibly be home an hour later.

In other news, this weekend I felt like we were finally getting our apartment completely settled. Our landlord is pretty cool in that he lets us do whatever we want to the apartment. We're allowed to paint, basically do whatever we want. In our last place (also owned by our current landlord) we got so fed up with the bathroom medicine cabinet shelves falling down that we just took it upon ourselves to replace the medicine cabinet and our landlord was fine with it. Actually, he must have liked it since there is the same medicine cabinet hanging in our newly rehabbed "master" bathroom.

This past weekend we got some shower shelves and a new shower head for the new bathroom. I also finally unpacked the last box and put everything away. Short of finishing the baby's room (we're still waiting on some furniture and the bed linens), I felt like we were making real progress in turning our apartment into a home for our growing family.

And then last night, the toilet in our front bathroom overflowed and broke. Poor Fredo. I thought he was going to call our landlord right then and tell him we were moving. I have a feeling we'll be replacing toilets this weekend.

Ah, does the fun ever end?

Random Thoughts Friday

I'm feeling lazy today so I'm going with (lazy) bullet points.

- On my way to work this morning, I saw a really cute little puppy...and then I saw some kid (probably it's owner) pick it up by it's back (near it's hind quarters) with one hand. This has been making me sad all day. There were two police officers nearby and I saw one of them say something to the kid so I'm hoping they told him that's not how you pick up dogs.

- The first time I went into the bathroom at work this morning, there was one ladies shoe on top of the tampon dispenser. There was only one other woman in the bathroom and she had both of her shoes on. When I went back to the bathroom a while later the shoe was gone.

- Speaking of the woman in the bathroom with both shoes on, while I was washing my hands she was looking at herself in the big full length mirror, fixing her hair or whatever. As I started to leave the bathroom, I saw she moved and was now looking at herself in the other mirror right across from the big mirror. Why did she have to use 2 different mirrors? I don't think one mirror is any different from the other.

- I think my legs change shape from day to day. Some days I have "normal" legs, as my husband says, and other days my legs look more bloated. Today is not a "normal" leg day.

- Even though my job is basically to assist someone, I don't like when I am referred to as an "assistant". The word "assistant" is not actually part of my job title but it is the word that most accurately describes what I do. I still don't like it. Maybe I'm just looking for any little thing to complain about when it comes to my job since I am anxious for my maternity leave to begin.

- Another thing that makes me anxious for maternity leave to begin, other than meeting this baby of mine? Since practically everyone I work with 23, single and fresh out of college, every Friday (and sometimes Wednesdays and Thursdays) the conversations I overhear go something like this:

"What are you doing tonight/this weekend?" "Drinking my face off at some douchey bar"

And every Monday the conversation goes something like this:

"What did you do this weekend?" "Got so wasted".

Ugh. I'm over it. If I snap tell them all to grow up, can I blame it on my hormones?

Happy Friday everyone! Have a great weekend.

31 Weeks

Apparently, I will be counting down the next 9 weeks here on "I'm not saying...".

31 weeks knocked up today. I am starting to feel more run down, a little more uncomfortable. I did decide last night while trying to reach my feet that it is only pedicures at nail salons for me from here until the baby comes. Bending at the waist (waist? what waist?) is getting more and more difficult every day. When I lay on the couch, I need to have Fredo help me because I've become like an overturned turtle.

I guess I should really get moving on all the final preparations for this kid. We're still waiting for our crib to be delivered (the website keeps saying the crib will be arriving in 2-6 weeks so we can wait a little bit longer, but if there's no update in 2 weeks or so we may need to choose a new crib). I swear I will finally unpack the final box from our move (almost 3 months ago) this weekend and work on making the baby's room Peanut's room and less the storage room.

We are ahead of the curve in some respects. We have our stroller (which I think is so cool and can't wait to use), car seat (still not installed but that can wait until Sept.), most of the furniture for Peanut's room and clothes-TONS of clothes!

I should also start working on getting the things I was holding off getting until I got closer, like diapers and nursing gowns and stuff.

As I love to make lists, I think I'll just start a running list of things we need to get and do. My baby shower is in 3 weeks so I can always reassess after that.

What are some things that I might not think of that I won't be able to live without?

Six Things

I've been tagged by Carabee at Land of Bean for my first meme. Without further adieu, here we go!

First the rules:
1. Link the person who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

My quirks:
1. My maiden name is Quirk...seriously.

2. When I was little, my food would have to be totally separate on my plate. For example, if I had chicken, potatoes and peas for dinner, the peas could not touch the potatoes, the potatoes could not touch the chicken, etc. I've since grown out of that.

3. Speaking of food, I always eat my salad last, except in restaurants where that's a little bit difficult. It's not a compulsion or anything, I just prefer to eat salad last. (This only applies to green salad)

4. For a long time I was afraid to swim by myself, even in a pool. I thought that as soon as I was alone in the water a shark would appear out of nowhere, like a door was opened and a shark swam out. I've outgrown this for the most part but still have to remind myself that it would be impossible for a shark to suddenly appear in a pool.

5. Anything having to do with the Achilles tendon freaks me out. It would give me chills if someone were to touch my Achilles... and the thought of some one's Achilles getting cut? Ugh..shudder.

6. I refuse to touch raw chicken. I will do anything possible not to touch it. Good thing my husband cooks.

I tag:
Krisabella at Full of Snark
Fluffy Windover at Fluffy Windover's Diary
Jodi at Jodifur
Marianne at My Left Nerve
Amy at Snarky Mommy
MEP at Not to Brag

I'm Back!

I disappeared there for a few days but I'm back now.

Fredo and I took off for a (way too short) vacation with my family. My mother and her fiance rented a house in Door County, WI for a week so we went up with them and enjoyed some country air for a few days. My mother, her fiance, his 8 year old son, my grandmother, Fredo, myself and 3 dogs took off for Wisconsin and Fredo and I returned to Chicago (after stopping at the outlet mall and buying more clothes for our unborn child) yesterday. It was no Blogher but it was fun.

After a few days of the dogs playing (fighting), my grandmother yelling at them and the 8 year old wearing out my husband, it was nice to get home. A few days in the country was very nice but I'm a total city girl and I missed the concrete jungle.

So I'm back and will even post twice today to make up for my absence. Carabee tagged me for a meme so I will post again later.

I Work in a Frat House

Not literally, but I would guess 99% of the guys I work with were in frats. And I work with about 90% guys (who are all in their early to mid twenties).

Right now, the guys on my team are challenging each other to see who can eat 3 italian beef sandwiches. If I hear "three beefs" one more time, I might scream. I do not care how many beefs you've eaten. There is a small crowd gathered around one guy's desk as I assume he is taking down his third beef. If anyone is curious who organized this beef eating contest, it's the same guy I have already posted about. Yes, the one who calls himself "Daddy".

We are also in the midst of a sales contest that revolves around donuts.

Serenity now.

30 Weeks

I am 30 weeks pregnant today, which means 10 more weeks until my due date. That's not a lot of time. It feels like the past 30 weeks have gone by pretty fast but at the same time, I think the next 10 weeks will drag.

There's still so much to do before Sept. 25. We have to do practical things, like pack the hospital bag, call the insurance company, go to the classes and the not so practical things that feel very necessary to me, like frame the picture for the baby's room (the first thing I bought for the baby, by the way). I have started a list of things today that I'm sure will get longer rather than shorter as the next 10 weeks progress.

This is the first year I want to summer to hurry up and end (which I'm sure I will regret in February) but I'm really excited and I want our baby girl to be here.

It seems like every day I'm looking at the calendar counting down to the couple of trips we're taking, to my baby shower, to maternity leave starting and finally to my due date. I just can't wait.

I See Doctors

I see a lot of doctors. Lately I feel like all I do is go to the doctor.

I used to be pretty low maintenance. I used to go to the lady parts doctor and see a dermatologist every so often because I have eczema (lovely right?). Oh and the dentist twice a year. Nothing excessive.

Then I got pregnant. What I think is hilarious is that, all things considered, I've had a pretty easy pregnancy. I had no morning sickness, aside from being pretty tired all of the time I felt pretty good in my first trimester. My blood pressure has been normal, there's been no bed rest or anything unusual for me. Things were going pretty well and I was considering myself pretty lucky.

And then the wheels fell off. I have been slowly falling apart ever since.

A couple of months ago, I started having really bad back pain. It started pretty suddenly on a Sunday afternoon and by Monday morning I could barely walk. I was in so much pain at work that by 9 am, I had decided that I was either going to get a prenatal massage or go to a chiropractor, who ever could see me first. Luckily I got in to see a chiropractor that evening. I found out that, for the most part, my back had fallen out of place. I went to the chiropractor every night that week and just about once a week since. The upside to this is that I get a prenatal massage every time and my insurance pays for it.

Of course there are the obligatory baby doctor visits. As I get closer to my due date, my visits are getting more frequent. I'm fine with these since they're obviously important and I get to leave work early for them. I just wished my doctor was in the office on Friday afternoons.

To add on to the chiropractor and baby doctor's appointments, I have recently begun visiting a podiatrist for what turned out to be a stress fracture in my foot. My foot started to hurt a few weeks ago and after 5 days of the pain getting worse, I chose going to a podiatrist over waiting in the emergency room after work that day. The doctor can't take an x-ray because of the baby so we are treating it without the x-ray. I have been wearing a lovely boot on left foot for a week and will be continuing to wear it for another 2.

I swear, I almost asked my doctor to put me on bed rest so that I stop injuring myself.

Yesterday I had 2 appointments. Today I have another. My goal for next week is to not see a doctor. I don't know if I will be that lucky though.

I was told the other day that I have a good attitude about all of my injuries and ailments. I figure, at this point, all I can do it laugh.

About 10 more weeks until my due date. I have already injured my back and left foot. Should we start a pool as to what it will be next? My money's on the right arm to balance out the boot on my left foot.

Two in One Day!

Amazing. Two posts in one day!

I'm still at work but thought it was a good idea to mention (not sure that I need to mention since I don't think most people would do this), but please please please NEVER refer to yourself as "daddy" at work (really ever, unless you are an actual father who is referring to himself to his child).

I work with a guy who constantly refers to himself as "Daddy", ie "Daddy's phone is ringing" or, while picking up the phone to speak to actual customers, "This is Daddy". Needless to say, this is creepy and oh so disgusting.

Only 9 more weeks until maternity leave.

Shenanigans in the City

This weekend I saw something on the train that I have never seen on public transportation in my almost 10 years as a Chicago Transit Authority rider. Actually, I don't think I had ever seen this is real life before.

Fredo and I were on the way home from the Chicago Architectural Society's boat tour (which is fantastic, by the way. It was one of his birthday presents but I really enjoyed it as well) and there was a shell game going on on our train. This is the game where you have a little ball or something and three cups overturned and you have to guess which cup the ball is under. There was a man sitting behind me and next to where Fredo was standing running the game. He tried to get Fredo to play, but my hubby is too smart for that. Honestly, how dumb do you have to be to think that participating in this would be a good idea and would net you some quick cash?

Now I'm not a big gambler. The only time I ever gamble is in Las Vegas and then all I ever do is play slots (and that is usually just to get a free beer from the cocktail waitress). The last time I was in Las Vegas, I probably only gambled $20. I don't like to lose money. I feel like I don't have that much of it to begin with so why not just hold on to what I've got. Unless there are shoes involved but I digress...

Anyway, the guy running the game was loudly trying to get people to play saying things like, "$100 will win you a $100". Seriously? $100? Like someone thinks they are going to win a scam like this and come out $100 ahead on the train? Who evens walks around with that much money on them anymore? I put just about everything on credit and debit cards and it's a rare day when I have more than $20 on me.

So sure enough, this guy is yelling about "$100 will win you $100" and a lady sitting down a few rows down pipes up that she has $50. I guess she played and "won" and there were a few other guys who were getting into it as well. They totally did not look like they were in cahoots or anything (note the sarcasm?). They even had a kid involved. The girl was probably like 14 or 15 but definitely under 18. She kept saying that it was so easy and I guess she was so convincing that one guy sitting near her fell for it. The guy running it again said "$100 will get you $100" and some guy was caught up in the moment, I guess, and said he didn't have $100 but he did have $60.

Wha? Seriously? This guy was a total idiot to play and to admit he had any money on him at all. Anyone else the shell game runner tried to get to play either told him they knew his scam, or asked if it ever worked. It obviously did, because in a matter of minutes this kid was out his $60.

Not surprisingly, when the train got to the Fullerton stop the guy running the game, the kid who said it was "easy", the 2 guys who were into it, and the woman who had $50 all got off the train together. It was a colorful experience to say the least. No harm was done to us, since we weren't stupid enough

That was our big excitement for the weekend. A shell game on the train. Pretty pathetic, no?

Iphone Day!!

It's Iphone day, it's Iphone day! Thank you, thank you, thank you to Fredo who waited at the Apple store for way too long to get me an Iphone. And on his birthday, no less. I can't wait to play around with it and see if it's as great as everyone says.

And, Happy Happy Happy Birthday to the best husband in the world. Happy 30th, Fredo. I love you!

What Not to Say

I've been gearing up to write this post for awhile. In fact, when I was kicking around the idea of starting a blog, this is one post I was sure I was going to write and I thought it would be the first post. I held off for quite awhile but then there was an incident yesterday the refueled the fire.

I should preface this by saying I know I am not the first person that this has happened to. I am sure that every pregnant woman gets this. I do not think I'm unique in this situation but that does not comfort me.

I absolutely can not stand when someone tells me how big I'm getting or some variation. Yesterday I got both, "When are you due? Oh wow, you're so big already and you have so far to go" and in response to my stress fracture in my foot (by the way, I'm in a boot and it looks pretty ridiculous) "That's because of the weight".

Yes, the stress fracture may have something to do with my weight gain (32 lbs. over 6 months or so... I was underweight to begin with though.. probably. That's my story anyway and I'm sticking to it). I have gained a lot of weight and do look pregnant. For crying out loud, I'm 6 months along and I'm not Nicole Kidman! I don't think that's any reason to say I'm "big" or "getting so big".

Maybe I'm being incredibly sensitive because I do feel "big". But I would never, ever consider telling an overweight person that they are getting big. My husband thinks that people don't feel any shame in commenting on my weight because it is a (hopefully) temporary condition. I still think it's rude.

I know that after the experience of being pregnant, I will never comment on a pregnant woman's weight or appearance other than to tell her she looks great.

So this is my PSA for the day. If you can't say something nice about a pregnant woman's appearance, say nothing at all. Or you can just lie. But never, ever use the word big.

Check yo'self

Trips using Chicago's public transportation system usually make good stories. I've been mooned by winos getting on buses, seen a man fall out of his seat and drop his 40 oz. and I've been told my fingers are fat by a total stranger. I recently heard a woman screaming into her cell phone about her friend or roommate who is 26 but gets black out drunk and then eats food in the apartment that does not belong to her. Lately, I have been disappointed by the number of people who ignore pregnant ladies on the train.

Yesterday, I heard someone tell the bus to "check yourself before you wreck yourself". I almost died. I have never heard someone actually use that expression unless they were joking.

I was on my way to the doctor and the woman sitting across me pulled the cord to signal her stop. After pulling the cord, she moved to the front and stood next to the driver. I heard her talking but assumed she was on her cell phone and didn't pay much attention. I ignored her until I realized she was not on a cell phone so I decided to listen because honestly, what else was i going to do? She was babbling on about someone taking her ID (I wasn't really sure) but then said, clear as a bell, "You better check yourself before you wreck yourself. God bless you all".

Huh... I don't usually take advice from the musings of people on buses but if you need some inspiration today, take the advice of the woman on the bus and check yourself before you wreck yourself.

M-e-h

(I said Meh. M-E-H).

I didn't think I would run out of things to blog about so quickly. The weekend was nice but uneventful. It's always tough to go back to work after a long weekend but work was fine today. The baby is doing fine, kicking up a storm but nothing new to report.

I find out what the Dr. wants to do about my foot tomorrow. It was feeling better but I may have walked too much this weekend because the throbbing and aching is back. I just want to get the wrap off because it is gross and uncomfortable and my heel is working it's way right through it.

Friday will be exciting as it is I-phone day (hubby's anniversary present to me) and it's Fredo's 30th birthday! We have very low key plans for the big day but I am looking forward to giving Fredo his presents. I can't say what they are since he is the only one who reads this blog (hi honey!) but I will say that his 2 presents are both things that he has mentioned wanting at some point in the past year (hmmm....vague) and he will have something to actually unwrap (he only got to open an envelope for the big 1 year anniversary). Maybe, if I can think up more vague hints, I will drop a hint a day here and see if he can figure out what I got him.

I just realized I don't have a book to read on my train ride home. I hope someone gives me their seat.

Lay Off Me, I'm Pregnant!

I hate that so many people are either completely unconscious to what's going on around them or just too wrapped up in their own shit to care about other people. I admit sometimes I'm not totally aware of what's going on around me but I try to be considerate of others. Lately, I get the feeling that I am in the minority.


This has been bugging me since the beginning of the week. I take buses and trains to and from work everyday. Since I started showing, I have had a good run of people giving me their seats on the train. I readily accept them. My theory is when you are pregnant, you are a little bit handicapped. My balance sucks now and when the train goes around the curves, I have to hold on tightly to the handrails or else I could go flying. No one wants to see a pregnant chick go ass over tea kettle on the train. Admittedly, I have been milking the whole pregnancy thing to get seats on the train and it's totally been working... until now...

One evening last week, I got on a crowded train and watched people try not to look at me. I guess they figure if they see me, they have to acknowledge me by giving up their seats. So no one looked at me. My stomach was really starting to hurt (the doctor said it could be my gall bladder... hmm, okay...) and I must have looked uncomfortable because finally, the guy who was so important he had to be on his laptop the whole way offered me his seat, which was nice of him and I totally appreciated the offer... except that I was one stop away from mine and had been standing in front of him and others for 6 stops previous.

Last night, I was on the same train going home although this time in addition to the 6 months pregnant belly, I also have a wrapped foot and an orthopedic boot thing on my foot (doctor says it could be a stress fracture, I say let me sit down asshole). This time, no one offered me a seat for several stops. At first, I was understanding. I jumped on a very crowded train after all. Maybe no one saw me. And then the train started to empty and I know people saw me. A few stops after the one I got on at, a man got up to get off the train. I bee lined for his seat...and some other woman took it. I was a little pissed but someone else quickly offered their seat so I cooled off... until I saw that woman get off at the next stop. There is no excuse for that. If you are getting off at the next stop, then just stand. The stop is about 2 minutes from the other one. I fumed the rest of the way home. Luckily my husband gave me a ride this morning, but there is another commute in my near future.

The moral of the story is if you are in Chicago, on the train or bus and you see a pregnant lady with a bum foot, it is in your best interest to get the eff out of my way!

And to all the nice people who give me their seats, thank you very much! I do really appreciate it.

Renovations

We are getting a new bathroom (finally)! We moved into a 3 bedroom, 2 bath apartment about 2 months ago (although we only ever used one of the bathrooms since the other was gross). The 2nd bathroom, which is right across from our bedroom and I had planned on using as our main bathroom, was absolutley disgusting when we moved in. No amount of scrubbing could get rid of the mold. Several weeks ago we got the good news that our landlord authorized a complete redo of the bathroom and it started yesterday. In about a week, we should have a brand new bathroom. That is if the workers don't kill themselves in the process.

Since Fredo works from home, he has to listen to the noise and the workers all day long. I do not envy him. When I got home yesterday from the doctor (another story but the visit resulted in a lovely new accessory), Fredo showed me where the saw came through his office wall (that is shared with the bathroom). How the workers did not realize they were drilling through the wall kind of baffles me but, judging by the other work that has been done around the apartment, does not surprise me. (Fredo showed someone the giant gash in the wall this morning and the guy acted surprised). They also brought in the new tub yesterday... and then stood around it in the kitchen for a half hour discussing who knows what.

Fredo is not working from home today so there won't be any good renovation stories from today, at least not until I get home and see what actually got done. Hopefully there are no new holes in the walls where there are not supposed to be holes.