Post Holiday Shopping

Merry belated Christmas! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.

One of my favorite parts of Christmas is going shopping afterward. Whether it's to spend gift cards received or just take advantage of the holiday sales, I always seem to go shopping in the days following Christmas. This year is no different, just toned down a bit. Like many, I love a good bargain and these are the days to find them.

We didn't do a Christmas tree this year since we didn't want to shell out for all of the accessories, like a tree stand, skirt and ornaments. I decided that we would buy a bunch of stuff after Christmas and put it away for next year. Friday we went to Home Depot and got a tree skirt and about eleventy billion lights, all half price! Then we hit Cost Plus/World Market for ornaments. We got $40 worth of ornaments (all 50-75% off). More half price ornaments purchased at Target yesterday and I think we're ready for next Christmas.

Yesterday we also went to my new favorite store, Kohl's, for yet another roasting pan (we now have 3). Kohl's sells Levi's on the cheap, which has been awesome for me since I wear jeans everyday but am trying to lose the baby weight so I'm not quite fitting into my old jeans and don't want to buy a new pair of expensive jeans. Kohl's Sunday circular advertised a sale on denim so I figured I would look for another pair of jeans. I found a pair of Levi's marked at $34.99 and figured they'd probably be on sale for $30, which is pretty great already. I got to the register and they were $7!! I don't know if it was the wash or what that was on sale but I'll take it.

Every year I also find myself taking advantage of the holiday sales to buy sweaters. I could always use sweaters and this year is no different. It's been hard getting dressed to go out to dinner or anything where a nursing tank and sweatshirt just won't do. I was checking my email on yahoo and saw a link for Martin + Osa. I've seen this brand in magazines before and decided to check out their sale. It's a pretty good one. I bought 2 sweaters this morning for $36 total, with free shipping!

Off to find more bargains!

3 Months

Dear Ava,

Today you are 3 months old! You are getting so big so fast.

This past month you got better at holding your head up, so much so that we put you in the Bumbo a few times. You seem to like it alright but something about being in that position makes you poo your pants. It has resulted in some funny pictures. You have also started pulling yourself into a sitting position when laying on your back with a little help from Mommy or Daddy and will stay seated pretty well as long as you are propped up.

We started going to the New Mom's group this past month. You seem to like the other babies but are also pretty content to just lay on your back and look at the ceiling.

You met Santa and your great-grandma this month and celebrated your first Christmas. Santa was very good to you and you received many toys and a swing from Grandma.

You are still a good sleeper, although it seems harder to get you to fall asleep. You seem to be going to bed later than you were last month but you're sleeping longer so it's a trade off. We're going to start trying to get you to go to sleep earlier after the hoopla of the holidays calm down. You started sleeping in your crib this past month and it was a smooth transition.

This month you also started grabbing some toys and shoving them in your mouth. You will sometimes get upset if you can't get the toy in your mouth though.

You laughed for the first time this month! You let out a little giggle on 12/21 and had a good laugh on 12/24. Your dad was holding you, bouncing you around and lightly slapping the bottoms of your feet and you loved it! You had a good chuckle going. It was great!

It's pretty fun being your mom and I love watching you with your dad. As always, I can't wait to see what the next month brings.

Love,

Mommy

Who's Ready for Christmas?

I think we are, actually. We don't have a tree set up yet but I will set it up Christmas Eve so that Santa will be able to put the presents under...er, near it. Our tree is about 2 feet tall and will need to go on our dining table so it needs to wait.

This past weekend I made cookies...and a mess. I made 3 different color glazes for the cookies and used pastry bags to decorate the cookies. They came out good and were delicious but I probably used about every mixing bowl we had.

We finished up our shopping and wrapping last night. I ventured out today in the snow (will it ever stop snowing?) to go to the grocery store(s). Despite almost spinning out in the middle of a 6 way intersection, which was scary, it wasn't too bad. Luckily Ava was home with her Dad. I would have freaked out more if she had been with me. I hit Whole Foods first and was able to get just about everything I need. The store is small and was very crowded so it kept me from doing too much milling about and grabbing things that weren't on my list. I only had a few items that I couldn't find at Whole Foods so I had to go to other grocery store in our neighborhood. Despite the 2 stops and the slow driving due to snow, I was home in about an hour and a half. Better to get the grocery store out of the way today since I will be doing loads of baking over the next 2 days. I'm making coffee cake tomorrow for breakfast on Thursday which means I get to open my Christmas present from Fredo early. He's the best husband and got me something I've been wanting for a long time -- a KitchenAid Stand Mixer!

I can't wait to use it!

Thursday I'm tackling eclairs and cornbread. The cornbread should be pretty easy. I'm hoping the eclairs come out okay but if not, I do have ingredients for a back up dessert.

I love baking so I'm excited for all of the things I'll be working on the next few days. And of course, I'm excited for Ava's first Christmas!

Ava and Santa

We took Ava to get her picture taken with Santa this past weekend and finally got the picture.

Ava looks like she wants to take a nap right there on Santa's lap. Santa looks like he would rather be off enjoying cocktails elsewhere. I guess that will happen when you have kids crying on your lap all day.

I was kind of hoping for a child crying on Santa's lap picture but Ava did not cooperate. Oh well, there's always next year!

Another Open Letter

Dear Residents of Chicago,

Thank you for not shoveling your sidewalks this morning. Four inches of snow is no big deal and doesn't really need to be shovelled right?

Really, thank you for making sure I got my cardio in today. Pushing a stroller a half mile through the snow was just what I needed to get my heart pumping. Thanks for thinking of my health and of those 3 cookies I ate right before going to the bank! Pretty sure I worked those off.

Now I'm going to eat 3 more.

Shit List

Dear Babies R Us,

I'm writing to inform you that you have officially made my shit list, effective immediately.

I've been trying to find the Ultimate Crib Sheet as I was told it would make my life easier. That may be so but the quest to find it is slowly killing me.

I began my search for said sheet where I always do, on your website. The website has never steered me wrong in the past so I had no reason to doubt any information found there. There's now a nifty feature where you can search your zip code and see if the product you are looking for is in stock. This is only available for a few stores but Chicago is included so yea!

I searched for my item and entered my zip code. The Ultimate Crib Sheet is available at every Toys R Us and Babies R Us store in a 20 mile radius of my house. I decided I would drive to the closest Babies R Us store (which is still about 10 miles awhile and in a suburb) since Ava needed Swaddle Me's and diapers and wouldn't it be just great to get everything in one place? That would have been too easy.

I got to the store, finally, after getting Fredo to unstick the car door that was frozen shut for me and after scraping all of the ice off of my windshield. Did I mention it was 7 degrees? At the store and looked high and low for the damned crib sheet. I asked someone for help. No one could find the thing so I was told it was out of stock. How could that be as the website said it was in stock? I asked if other stores could be called to see if they have it in stock. Well yes of course you could call but if they're busy they won't answer the phone and you know, they are really busy right now.

So I will be ordering the stupid sheet online. I wish I could say I will never shop there again but that would just be too hard. Instead, I will just shake my fist and curse you Babies R Us!

Mom Date

I had my first mommy date today.

One of the moms from my new moms group and I met for lunch. Instead of flowers I brought my kid. After lunch we sat around and talked for a bit. It was fun and hopefully I've made a new mom friend.

After we parted I made a few stops on my way home and probably kept Ava out a bit too long. I was punished for my lollygagging with a nice blowout diaper.

Now I am trying to figure out how to tell what size frosting tips are. I have the pastry bags and a bunch of assorted tips. I need a 1/4 inch and a 1/2 inch plain tip for the eclairs I want to make for Christmas. Of course, the tips don't have sizes associated with them, they have numbers. No where can I find what the numbers mean! At this rate I'm going to end up cutting the tip off of a Ziploc bag. This is the crap I use nap time for.

Raw Fish and Footprints

Fredo and I went out for dinner together for the first time since having Ava last night. We had to twist my mother's arm to come babysit for us (yeah right, she's been practically begging me to go out so she could stay with Ava) while we went out for sushi. I had been craving sushi since, well probably since getting pregnant.

We went to a terrific restaurant, Hachi's Kitchen and ate our weight in sushi. We both ordered the chef's choice and a sashimi appetizer. The chef's special ended up being about 6 courses and dessert. By the end, we felt like we couldn't eat anymore yet we kept wolfing down whatever was put in front of us. It was so good! After dinner, we met a friend of ours out for a drink. Being at the bar on a Saturday night made me feel a little old. One of the first things I said upon walking in the bar was how loud it was in there.

Today we took Ava down to the Winterfest in Roscoe Village, a neighborhood near ours. There were sleigh rides, a trolley and the shops had specials. The maternity store on the street had a clay footprint ornament making table. We pressed Ava's foot into clay and now we have an ornament to remember Ava's first Christmas.

It's such a great idea. I'm thinking of getting some clay this week and making ornaments for the grandparents this year.

I'm not complaining, I'm just saying

Ava has been asleep all day! This is amazing as naps were getting pretty sketchy.

Yesterday we decided that the moses basket has run it's course and it's time Ava starts sleeping in her crib. This was decided after a few nights of putting Ava to sleep with her feet almost touching the end of the basket and her waking up with her head almost touching the other end. We think because the basket rocks when she moves it wakes her up.

We got the baby monitor set up and last night, for pretty much the first time ever, we put Ava down for the night in her crib. She woke up once but the second time she fell asleep in the crib. She doesn't put herself to sleep often so this in itself was a big deal. She probably fell asleep finally at 8 or 8:3o and slept until 5:3o this morning. I wanted some more sleep so I put her back down and she slept until almost 9. Then she was acting fussy so I put her back down at 10:30 and she's been sleeping pretty much ever since! It's almost 1 pm now. I almost don't know what to do with myself with all of this free time. Oh wait, I know. There's always laundry and house cleaning and I bet Maury is on right now. I could always use some, "You are NOT the father!" (just kidding).

I think she may be waking up now, but could it be? Did she inherit her mother's love of sleep? I'm trying not to get too far ahead of myself here. This could just be a fluke, but I'm baffled by how much she's slept already today.

Exploding Poo: Part 2

We've gone through quite a few onesies (5 to be exact) today and it's not even 2 pm. A few were spit up on and a couple were poo-sploded on.

Ava and I went to the new moms group at the hospital where she was born today. It was nice to be out of the house and to be around other moms with their babies. Soon after we got there, I heard it. My baby has audible poops, must take after her father, and this one was no different. She was sleeping and stayed asleep so I figured it must have sounded worse than it was since it didn't seem to bother her. The minute she stirred, I got her out of her car seat to see that I was wrong. It wasn't that bad but it definitely called for a new outfit, which is too bad because her first outfit was so cute.

Then we got home. Fredo was holding Ava and heard the unmistakable sound of our baby crapping her pants. I took her to her room, laid her on her changing table, began to undress her and promptly called for back up. She had poo all over her back. While trying to figure out the best way to get her onesie off without getting poo everywhere, we had the following conversation.

Me: I feel like we should just cut it off.

Fredo: It's just poop, not like it's a gunshot wound or something.

I found that hysterical. I'm still laughing about it.

Thankful

This year I am thankful for (in no particular order):

-My wonderful husband, who is a great father. Fredo, you make me laugh so hard every day and you are truly a wonderful partner.

-My beautiful daughter.

-Health, mine and my family's.

- My family, especially my mother who has been a tremendous help since Ava was born and is a terrific grandma.

-My friends, who I've probably seen more often since the baby was born than when I was pregnant. I could too easily spend most of my time in my house, especially since I'm not returning to work, but they have made sure to get me out, even once without Ava.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2 Months

Dear Ava,

Today you are 2 months old. You started smiling this month, which replaces stretching as your father's favorite thing that you do. You smile several times a day and every time it melts my heart. The other night you were not in the mood to go to sleep. I came in to get you for the third time or so and you gave me the biggest smile when you saw me. How could I be mad at that?

Speaking of sleeping, you had some of your longest stretches of sleep this past month and also some of your shortest since you were first born. One night you slept about 10 hours, from 8 pm to about 6 am. It was terrific! Since then, you pretty much will sleep about 7-8 hours at a time at night. You go to sleep between 7:30 and 8:30 pm and will usually sleep until 3 or 4 am. We'll nurse and then you go back down until 6 or 7 am, giving your parents a pretty decent nights sleep. Last week, however, you decided you didn't want to sleep...ever. Naps were non-existent and it took many tries to get you to sleep at night. One night, Daddy even let you sleep on his chest for a few hours, just so you (and Mommy) would get some sleep. All in all, we lucked out, kiddo. You are a terrific sleeper!

Naps, on the other hand, are still unpredictable. You seem to be getting on more of a schedule and will go down for naps pretty regularly, as long as you are swaddled, but it is anyone's guess how long you will sleep. Sometimes you will sleep for a half hour and sometimes you will sleep for 3 hours.

You got half of your 2 month shots this month and you were a trouper. I think I was more upset about the shots than you were. The doctor said you are doing great and were in the 50th percentile for both height and weight.

You're growing like crazy and getting sturdier. Your cheeks are much chubbier now as are your legs and I think you are just getting cuter everyday.

We can't wait to see what the next month will bring!

I love you Peanut.

Love,
Mommy

Weight a Minute...

I'm on a mission to start losing this baby weight. Ava is almost 2 months old so I figure it's time to begin to try.

I gained 50 (0k, closer to 60) lbs. while pregnant. I had always been thin, even skinny at times. I never weighed myself. I never had to worry about my weight or what I ate so I totally embraced the pregnant woman stereotype and indulged in nightly bowls (or cartons) of ice cream. Now I wish I gained a more manageable amount of weight.

I've already lost about half of the weight since giving birth and would like to lose the other 30 or so lbs. by the time Ava is 6 months old. I know it took me 9 months to gain the weight, I should allow myself 9 months to lose it, but honestly, I don't want to wait that long. I don't like what I see when I look in the mirror right now. I don't like the way I feel when I struggle to find clothes in my closet that fit and look halfway decent. I also can't replace all of the clothes in my closet with larger sizes. I have a pretty sizable wardrobe and the majority of it is too small right now. I need to fit into it again.

I realize I may never be a size 2 again and that the smallest jeans in my dresser may not fit. My body has changed. I have hips now that I didn't before. I just need to try to get back into some kind of shape. Actually, it would be nice to be in better shape than I was before I got pregnant. That might not be so hard as I was not in very good shape to begin with.

So last week I started eating better. I also started keeping a food journal. I figured that if I'm writing down everything I eat, I will be less likely to binge on junk food because I won't want to write down that I ate an entire bag of cookies in one sitting. I've been making an effort to cut out bread, except the occasional sandwich on whole wheat, and to eat more fruits and vegetables. I'm eating about 5 times a day since I am breastfeeding and need to keep my calorie intake up. I'm just trying to eat healthier.

I also want to make more of an effort to exercise. Since it's getting colder out, going for walks everyday just may not be possible. I got 2 exercising with baby DVDs last week and this morning I took advantage of one of the exercise videos that cable has on demand. I have a tendency to start exercising and then quit soon after. Maybe I should write down what I do for exercise too to keep myself from quitting.

I'm also setting goals for myself that I think I will post updates on periodically. My goals are:
1) Lose 10 lbs. by New Year's (15 would be even better but I'm trying to be realistic here).
2) Exercise at least 3 days a week.
3) Lose an additional 20 lbs. by March 26 (I've heard the last 10-15 lbs. are the hardest to lose so I will give myself some wiggle room on this one)
4) Wear a bikini next summer

I am not letting this "diet" effect my Thanksgiving though. I still plan on stuffing my face Thursday. I will just skip the apple pie for breakfast on Friday.

Hibernating

It's only supposed to be 32 degrees today in Chicagoland and it may snow. Looking out my living room window, it looks gray and cold outside.

I remember being at work on days like this, when the weather was not the best, wishing I was home under a blanket, wearing sweatpants, drinking a hot cup of tea or hot chocolate. I think that's one of the thing I like most about staying home with my daughter. I can do that today if I choose, as long as I do it during nap time. But first I need to do laundry, take a shower, give Ava some tummy time and it wouldn't hurt to swiffer.

Well, at least I don't need to go outside to do any of that.

7 weeks

I took Ava for her shots today. She got 2 and a vaccination she had to drink. My job was to hold her arms while the medical assistant shot her up.

Now I don't like shots. I don't really like needles, which is kind of funny considering I have had multiple things pierced over the years and have 3 tattoos, one of which took 2 or 3 hours during which the needle was more or less on my spine. I figured my 7 week old daughter would react similarly to how I would, you know, since she's a baby and all. Because she cries all of the time, one would think she would scream her little head off when a needle was inserted into her leg muscle. One would be wrong. She barely flinched. I was staring into her eyes, trying not to cry myself because I did not want to see the needle go into her leg and all she did was let out a 2 second cry after the second needle. She calmed right down afterward.

I guess she takes after her daddy on this one.

Yesterday

My solo trip to the mall went as well as could be expected. We left right after Ava's nap and post nap feeding. She slept in her car seat the whole way there and slept in her stroller most of the time. There was only one time when she got a little fussy but there were no ear splitting cries and once the stroller started moving again, she conked out again. I was able to browse pretty much uninterrupted. After a little while, I felt my luck was starting to run out and that I should head out. The trip back took awhile due to traffic but she was still quiet. All in all, it was a good afternoon and it was nice to do something different.

Field Trip

I'm feeling adventurous today (and maybe a little murderous too since the roof isn't finished yet and there is oh so much banging and yelling). I'm taking Ava to the mall... by myself. I've only ever gone out like this with Fredo so today will be interesting.

I feel like I need to get out of the house for a bit today and since it's Veteran's Day, there are sales to take advantage of. Why not start my Christmas shopping early for once?

Wish me luck!

Girls Night Out

I went out to dinner with my girls last night and had a great time. It was so nice to get out of the house for a few hours and to have a great meal and glass of wine.

We went to a restaurant in my neighborhood called Chalkboard. It's such a cute place with a really interesting menu. From what I understand, the menu changes often depending on what the chef wants to make and what's in season. There's a giant chalkboard on the wall detailing their many (delicious sounding) specials. We all had such a hard time deciding what to order. Interestingly enough, their specialty is fried chicken and mashed potatoes. One of my friends ordered it and it was delicious.

When we got to the restaurant, it was pretty empty, which worked out well since we had some catching up to do. As the it got later, the place got busier. A couple came in as we were eating and we had a great time listening to them. The woman seemed, um shall we say, hard to please. We overheard her complain about sitting next to the window since the restaurant is across the street from a diner that advertises "Waffle House Chicken". She even made her dining companion switch seats with her, although she was still next to the window so I don't know what good it did. We ended up tuning out her bitching.

After a delightful meal, we were gathering up our coats. I happened to look over at that couple and noticed the woman had ordered the fried chicken. I laughed all the way out of the restaurant. For someone so offended by the waffle house chicken across the street, it struck me as quite funny that she ended up ordering the fried chicken from Chalkboard. I hope she enjoyed it so the man she was with didn't have to listen to her.

Naps? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Naps

We are getting a new roof. It is very, very noisy. Consequently, nap time is suffering for Ava and for myself.

I'm going out to dinner tonight with my girlfriends which will require me to stay up until at least 9 pm. Of course today was my 6 week lady parts check up at 9 am so I was up at 6 to make sure I would be on time. I had planned on napping today while Ava took a nap but with all the noise, I just don't think that's going to happen. If she does fall asleep anytime soon, I don't think I'll be able to sleep.

I hope my friends don't mind when I yawn my way through dinner.

I really shouldn't complain since we are getting a new roof and maybe, just maybe, the ceiling will stop leaking when it rains, which it's supposed to do tonight. And then maybe snow tomorrow. Yeah, getting the roof replaced before the snow comes is probably a good idea.

History

Last night we made history as we elected our first African-American president.

I'm excited about what Barack Obama will do as president, for the future and for my daughter, who will never know a time where it was impossible to picture a black man being elected to lead this country.

Now, if only we can do the same thing for a woman (who's not a "maverick" from Alaska).

Election Day

I just got back from doing my civic duty...at a bar.

My polling place was the back of a bar called "Silvie's" or "Sylvie's", depending on which sign you choose to believe. This room is used for bands and DJs, so there weren't any taps or anything there but there was a stage, DJ booth, jukebox and something no polling place should be without, a disco ball.

In any event, it served its purpose and Fredo and I voted. Now to watch election speculation all day.

Blue Monday

Oh blog, how I've been neglecting you recently.

Things have been pretty slow here lately. I've been trying to get out of the house for walks here and there to take advantage of the insanely wonderful weather we've been having but it's sometimes hard to do between nursing, napping and changing my shirt because I've been spit up on for the eighth time today (seriously, it's 11:30 and I've been spit up on twice already).

I don't want to jinx it but Ava has been sleeping like a champ lately. Yesterday, I put her down at 8:30 pm (realizing at 7:45 that she has no idea we changed the clocks and that she was probably tired) and she slept until 5 am.

Since we had a good night's sleep Fredo decided to hit the gym bright and early this morning. He got up at 5, changed Ava, got himself ready, went out to the car and the car wouldn't start. Hopefully it's just the battery and it's not a bigger problem. We'll see tonight when my mom and her fiance come over to jump start our car.

Happy Halloween

1 month

Dear Ava,

Today you are 1 month old. I can't believe it's already been a month. All those months I waited, not always patiently for you to arrive and now you've been here for a month already. It really did fly by and has been pretty wonderful.

This month, you rolled over (once, we're still trying to get the hang of it), surprising your doctor and your parents. You've also started to find your voice. Instead of just crying, you are oohing and ahhing and sometimes making cute little monkey noises.

I hope I'm not jinxing myself by saying this but you are a very good sleeper. You usually go to sleep between 9 and 10 pm, sleep until 12 or 1 (or 2 if we're really lucky), up again to eat, back to sleep until 4 or 5, up to snack again and then back down until 8 am. If you're really fussy at night, Daddy has been good about getting up with you and giving you a bottle so that I can sleep.

You've also met 2 of your 3 sets of grandparents and lots of your parents friends this month. Let me tell you, once you are in their arms, no one wants to put you down! In the next few months, you will be meeting your great-grandmother and your other grandparents. I'm sure they will love you as much as everyone else who has met you.

We're so happy you're here, Peanut. It's been a great month.

I love you.

Blah Friday

I haven't blogged all week but nothing much has been going on.

Ava is 4 weeks old today and will be a month old on Sunday.

She has been sleeping fairly well (except during the day, unless she is being held) and eating regularly. I spend most of my day with a boob hanging out.

I've been trying to get out for walks as often as possible and have cut down my sweatpants wearing to 2 days a week.

Ah, life with a new baby. It is wonderful.

So...

I quit my job yesterday.

The plan (since May or so) was for me to stay home with the peanut but I pretended like I totally planned on going back to the frat house (aka my former office). The last thing I wanted was to get fired while waiting for my maternity leave to begin. Yesterday I called the HR rep, got her voicemail and ended up emailing her my "resignation". Ah well, whatever works.

I am now officially a stay at home mom.

Peanut and the Exploding Poop

We had our first experience with projectile poo today. Fredo was changing the baby while I was in another room. I heard him yell, followed by laughter. I went into Ava's room to see what was so funny and that's when I saw the poo. It was all over the changing table and managed to make it to the bookshelf several feet away. We were quite shocked.

Right now we're in the middle of un-happy hour. She always seems to be fussy in the evenings starting around 5 or so and tonight is no exception.

2 Weeks

Ava is 2 weeks old today. It's so insane that only 2 weeks and 1 day ago I was wondering when the baby would just hurry up and get here already and today our baby has been here for 2 whole weeks.

We had another pediatrician appointment today and all is well. The doctor is satisfied with her weight gain and said we could stop with the formula if we wanted. We're going back to strictly breastfeeding but know that we always have formula as a back up.

While at the pediatrician, the doctor put Ava on her stomach and boy, was she active. The doctor asked us if Ava had been trying to roll over. She had rolled onto her side before while sleeping but I didn't really think anything of it. The doctor was curious and left Ava on her stomach. In just a minute or two, Ava flipped over onto her back! We were stunned. I'm so proud of my little girl.

Of course, we've tried to get her to roll over again this evening with no luck. I know how we're spending our weekend!

Success!

I'm considering today a success, even though it's only 10:15 am. Ava (and consequently I) slept from 10:30 pm until 3:30 am and then again from 4:30 am until 6:30ish so I'm feeling fairly rested. She also napped once already this morning which means I've actually showered and brushed my teeth already today!

Seriously, how do people with babies make it anywhere on time in the morning? The few times so far we've had to be at the doctor's at a certain time, I've started preparing 2 hours in advance. Gone are the days of getting ready and running out the door in under an hour.

Weigh In

We had our weight check yesterday. Ava had lost another ounce so the doctor told us we needed to supplement. We're feeding her at least every 3 hours and adding an ounce of formula after the boob. What's amazing is that after just about every feeding, she has zonked out for about 3 hours each time. She was incredibly quiet last night and allowed Fredo and I to sleep pretty much uninterrupted (besides waking up to feed every 3 hours). I think we each got about 6 hours or so of sleep.

Right now, she's in her moses basket, not sleeping but not making a sound.

We go back to the doctor tomorrow morning to see how we're doing. I'm not sure how long we're going to have continue to supplement but we'll see what they say.

Insert Title Here

I'm the first of any of my friends to have a baby. I'm starting to wonder if they "get it".

In the past day, I have received a few calls, texts or emails from friends. The first call came the other night (well, voice mail anyway). My friend just moved in with her fiance and spent all day moving. The message went something like this, "Hi Bailey, Just calling to see how you and the baby are doing. I spent all day moving and I'm so tired". Now, not to discount my friend's excitement and the exhaustion of moving, but really? You're tired? My husband and I have had a total of maybe 20 hours of sleep in the past week...maybe.

Last night, I received a text message from a friend who was out at a fashion show. She and I had gone to this show together last year and I would have gone with her this year if not for the baby. She texted that she was sitting across the runway from Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz. Ok, that's cool. She followed it up today with an email detailing how cool the show and the gift bag were and blah, blah, blah. I would have loved to go to this show but it was not in the cards. No big deal though.

I just checked my email and got one from another friend. This email was inviting me to a beer tasting event that's going on sometime this month. It seems like the email was sent to her entire address book or something but still.

I know the world doesn't stop because I had a baby, but it made me and my husband laugh this evening...and then we yawned.

5 Days

Fredo and I have been parents for 5 days now. How weird. We're getting used to it but there are some things we're having trouble adjusting to, like NO SLEEP!! The baby has actually let us get some sleep, but definitely not what we were used to. Fredo's been great about getting up at night and all. I've been trying to breast feed in bed when she wakes up in the middle of the night but I'm not sure how I'm liking that so far. We're, obviously, still trying to work out the kinks.

In other baby news, she had her first pediatrician appointment yesterday and lost about a lb. since leaving the hospital. The doctor didn't seem concerned but mentioned we may have to supplement with formula if she continued to lose weight. We go back tomorrow for another weigh in. In the meantime, I've been feeding her like crazy...which works out well because my milk came in and my boobs are SORE.

Every day has been something different and will continue to be. It's unpredictable but I'm just so glad our little peanut is finally here.

Introducing...

Ava Marie Rodriguez

Born September 26 at 6:47 PM.

7 lbs., 1.6 oz.

19 1/2 inches long

She's Here!

Must See TV

It's Thursday and that means the season premiere of The Office!!! I can't wait.

I will also be DVR'ing Grey's Anatomy but I do not subject Fredo to that.

Which reminds me, I need to check our DVR and make sure all of my stories are going to be recorded in case I go into labor during The Hills or something.

Pregnancy Update

Yup, still pregnant. Tomorrow is my actual due date.

Since finding out I was pregnant, I always assumed the baby would be late. I was late and first babies in general usually are. But a couple of weeks ago I went to my doctor who said I was 2 cm dilated already and wouldn't be surprised if I didn't make it to my next appointment. Well, I did and to another one after that. I blame him for making me so antsy.

I had an appointment yesterday and with my due date rapidly approaching, the doctor scheduled my induction, just in case. If Peanut doesn't come on out on her own, we're inducing labor October 1. I will definitely have a kid in a week, if not sooner.

We also went ahead and scheduled a non stress test for Friday morning with a follow up appointment with my doctor on Monday.

I had some pretty intense contractions about 2 weeks ago and then nothing since so we'll see how this all shakes out.

I hope she comes out soon because I'm getting a little tired of watching daytime television. Today I caught myself watching Martha Stewart and Maury. Yikes! Although this sleeping in thing is working out nicely for me.

Crazy Neighbors

No baby yet so to pass the time, I'm scaring the neighbors.

Our neighbors are weird. I haven't really met them so I'm speculating here but I think there are weird for two reasons.

One, they have a diamond shaped window in their door and obviously don't want people (us) seeing inside. Ok, that doesn't make them so weird. I wouldn't want people looking into my apartment from the porch either. What is weird is how they deter people from looking into their apartment. They have a drawing (not a very good one either) of a man and a woman holding hands that has been taped up in the window. What wasn't taken into consideration when drafting this masterpiece was that the window is a diamond, not a square so the picture is on it's side. (I wondered if I could sneak downstairs and take a picture to post here but didn't want to get caught but take my word for it, it's just bizarre).

Two, the woman is afraid of dogs... all dogs... including my 9 lb. chihuahua/mini pincer mix. She is, apparently, terrified of dogs. She had told my husband this one day when she ran into him walking our dog. This morning, I got my taste of the crazy. I was coming back from walking our dog and was about to open the door to our apartment. Cora was sitting on the porch, waiting to get upstairs when she heard the neighbors door about to open. Now, Cora is a very friendly dog and always wants to say hi. I had our door open and was trying to get Cora inside but the dog was distracted. The woman opened the dog, obviously saw Cora standing in front of her door, screamed and slammed the door. I had to get Cora inside quickly before I burst out laughing on our porch.

Maybe this is mean of me, but it was damn funny.

Happy Birthday to My First Born

No, not the baby. Happy birthday to our fur baby, Cora!

Cora is 3 today (we think). We got Cora on 12/31/2005 and were told she was 10 weeks old and was born on 9/19. Awhile later, we realized that just did not add up. No matter, we still celebrate 9/19 as the dog's birthday.

Enjoy your special bone today Cora!

Cora's first experience with peanut butter on the day we got her.

(Some one figured out how to add pictures..which is ridiculously easy... don't laugh)

Ch-Ch-Cha-Changes

I've made some changes to the background and colors but I'm not sure how I feel about them yet. I guess I'll just continue to play around on Blogger and see what I can come up with.

In the meantime, I'm 39 weeks pregnant today and 2 cm dialated. Let's hope this baby comes sooner rather than later. I'm getting tired of being so pregnant.

Same Old, Same Old

I haven't been doing much besides waiting for the baby to make an appearance.

The weekend was a bust, thanks to the never ending rain. Instead of going to the craft fair, we ran around the apartment with buckets, bowls and watering cans to catch the leaks that seemed to multiply in the ceiling (oh and to catch the falling plaster from where our ceiling looks like it's caving in). With the help of my mom and her fiance, we also checked the entire apartment for evidence of mice since my landlord has still not sent an exterminator (or returned our phone calls about it). We patched a lot of holes and vacuumed up a lot of mouse poop.

Yesterday was supposed to be spent cleaning the apartment but instead I cleaned our bedroom and then sat down on the couch--and fell asleep for about 2 hours with CNBC in the background. I had some pretty weird dreams involving Lehmann Brothers.

I got a bikini wax and then had a dr. appt. so I've spent a lot of time with my pants off today. Otherwise, nothing much is happening.

Hopefully, there will be a more inspired post tomorrow.

Last Day

Today is my last full day of work and it has the potential to be one of the most boring days ever.

All of my work is done and my "replacements" have already taken over my daily tasks. I basically showed up to work today to read blogs. Unless something is assigned to me, I'm going to be spending the day counting the hours until 5 pm. I wish I could have just stayed home today but since my last day is officially tomorrow, that didn't seem like an option. Tomorrow will be more of the same but I'll only have to kill time until 10 am.

Since today is going to be a bust, let me talk about my weekend plans.

I will be hauling my 38 weeks pregnant self down to my old neighborhood to go to The Renegade Craft Fair. Fredo and I went last year and picked up a few things (his favorite T-shirt that commands people to "Make Me A Sandwich" and a paining of a Chicago El sign). I remember commenting last year that it would be a great place to buy baby stuff, if we were expecting a baby. How prescient of me.

Growing up in Connecticut, my mother and I used to go to craft fairs a lot. There was a big one we would attend every year in a town called Guilford. I told her that this craft fair is kind of like the Guilford Craft Fair if that fair was run by hipsters.

I don't really need to buy anything there. The baby's room will be done when we get some art back from the framers. It will be fun to wander around and check out all of the stuff for sale. I'm sure I won't leave empty handed though.

Things to Do

As my maternity leave draws closer, I have quite the list shaping up of things to get done. I'm trying to keep myself busy so that the time before my due date flies by (although if Peanut is late, as I'm sure she will be, I will probably start to go crazy). Here's the list of things I plan on doing before baby.

-Clean. I'm hoping the nesting instinct will kick in next week and inspire me to clean the apartment top to bottom. This includes cleaning out closets and taking stuff to Goodwill.
-Organize our wedding album. We have been married a year and not a single picture has made it into our wedding album.
-A little bit of pampering--Prenatal massages (oh that right, plural. One at the chiropractor and one at an actual spa), hair cut and color, facial and manicure/pedicure... because who knows when the next time I will be able to do that will be.
-Stocking up on things we need so Fredo will have to make less trips to the store post baby.
-Meeting the pediatrician
-Finally balancing my checkbook.. honestly, it's been months so this could turn into an all day project.
-Napping

I can't wait!

I Hate Mieces to Pieces

My last week of work started out pretty hectic. I woke up late and rushed around to get ready so I wouldn't be ridiculously late to the office. Fredo took Cora outside for her morning walk and I went about making my lunch. I headed to the trash can to throw something out... and found a dead mouse on our kitchen floor. There's nothing like making a soon to be first time mom feel better about the safe home she is providing her baby than finding a dead rodent.

Backing up a bit, we found out soon after moving to our apartment that there had been, at one time, a rodent infestation. My landlord has an exterminator to come once a month but he doesn't have a key so he can't get into the apartment unless someone is home. Fredo works from home and is usually there to let him in, so I figured we were good. Our apartment is in an old building and there are plenty of places for mice to get in, so really having mice is not all that surprising, however, our apartment is clean and with the monthly exterminator visits, I wasn't terribly worried.

Until Sat. morning...

I had made banana bread last week and left it on our counter, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap. I planned on having the last of it Saturday morning and went about unwrapping my banana bread, excited about my breakfast. I took the plastic wrap off and noticed 3 round chunks missing from the bread. I asked Fredo if he had ripped chunks out of the loaf and he said no, while looking at me as if I were crazy. So great, evidence of possible rodent activity. We started hunting around with a flashlight and sure enough, found droppings in the cabinet under the kitchen sink. We knew we needed to call the exterminator to come out, but decided to wait until today anyway since we didn't actually see a mouse.

It has become a more urgent situation now, of course, and hopefully we'll have an exterminator out sooner rather than later.

It's always something with this apartment. If moving weren't damn near impossible right now, I would probably be seriously considering it. In the mean time, we'll make the best of it... which means complaining to our building manager, maintenance and landlord as often as it takes to get something done.

For now, let's hope for no more mice!

Vices

I don't really have too many vices remaining. I used to smoke and I used to drink but I've stopped both (although the abstaining from alcohol is temporary). My one remaining vice? Gossip magazines.

I do have to say, my consumption of gossip rags has gone down considerably from a few years ago. Back then, I worked in bars and worked late into the night. I could never just come home from work at 2:30 am and go right to sleep. In order to wind down from the night, I would read gossip magazines. I would read Us, People (almost like a real magazine!), In Touch and even Star. I would buy all my magazines on Fridays and it was always such a treat to go home after a long night of waitressing or bar tending and read my magazines.

After buying these magazines every week I decided it would be more economical to subscribe to them. So subscribe I did--yes, even to Star. (Life and Style was not around back then but if it was, you can bet I would have gotten that one too).

When I got a day job and my subscriptions ran out, I did not renew Star and In Touch. I will sometimes still buy In Touch and Life and Style (but not Star... I've developed some standards). I still get US Weekly and People in the mail. I get so excited when those magazines arrive in my mail box on Thursdays or Fridays.

As long as I'm pointing out my vices, I will also point out my magazine compulsions. I always read US first and save People. I get really angry if someone reads my magazine before I do. Sometimes Fredo will pick up my copy if I get up while reading it and leave it open. God help him when he does this because I get pretty salty. If someone other than Fredo were to pick up my magazine, I would keep calm but instead I would be grumpy and mentally willing them to put it down.

The work day is almost done and I so looking forward to getting home. I have fresh copies of US Weekly and People waiting for me at home and I can't wait to curl up on the couch to learn about Sarah Palin as only US Weekly and People can teach me.

Happy weekend!

Great Moments in Fredo and Bailey History

Moment #1: How I told Fredo I was Pregnant

To clarify, I didn't really tell Fredo I was pregnant. I told him I suspected I may be and then he was pretty close by while I peed on a stick to confirm my suspicions.

One night (January 23rd to be precise), Fredo and I went out to dinner prior to going to an art gallery event. We arrived at the bar/restaurant near the gallery, sat down and I ordered a Blue Moon. I ordinarily love Blue Moon and will order it year round. For some reason though, that night the Blue Moon just tasted off. I drank maybe half of my beer (which should have tipped Fredo off that something was up since I hardly ever leave a "wounded soldier") and then stopped in the bathroom on my way out because I felt somewhat nauseous. I shrugged it off that maybe I just wasn't in the mood for beer that night.

I think, while at dinner, I mentioned that there was the possibility of me being pregnant because it had been a few days since I was supposed to get my period but it was only a few days late and maybe that month it got stuck in traffic or something.

On to the gallery we went. Once there, I got a glass of champagne and began to sip it and still... something was different. I couldn't finish the glass. I just didn't want it. It was then that I told Fredo we should stop on the way home for a pregnancy test. We got the hell out of there soon after because, well, now that we were suspicious we wanted to know now.

We stopped at CVS and made one of the more hilarious purchases I have ever made at a drugstore--a multi pack of home pregnancy tests and a bottle of Jim Bean.

When we got home, I immediately ran into the bathroom and took the test. Fredo immediately mixed a drink. I think the test said to wait 2-5 minutes (I can't remember what the actual amount was) but 2 lines showed up pretty much instantaneously. Fredo took a look at the first test and told me to wait a few minutes and take another one. I did and the results were the same. I was pregnant!

Fredo still wanted to hear it from the doctor before we got all crazy and started making all of these baby plans. We went to the doctor the following week and the results were confirmed. Three days or so after going to the doctor, we headed to an all inclusive resort in Mexico for our belated honeymoon--I booked an inclusive resort on purpose but couldn't drink while we were there. Oh well, we'll go back and I'll tie one on.

Here were are almost nine months later and the day that seemed so far away back in January is rapidly approaching. There have been several memorable moments since then--seeing the first ultrasound (which earned the baby the nickname of "Peanut") and finding out it was a girl, but none of those would have happened without that one night in January (well, that other night kind of made this all possible, but I won't go into details about that).

6 1/2 Days

Yes that's right. I'm now counting down to maternity leave in half days.

I had my weekly check up yesterday and got a nice little surprise on my way out. I stopped at the front like usual to make next weeks appointment and was told my doctor has no availability next week until Friday. And he's only in the office on Friday mornings until 11 am so the latest I could get in to see the doctor is 10:45 am. Which means on my last day before maternity leave, I will only end up working from 7:30 am until about 10:15 am. Oh damn...

I was planning on leaving work early next Friday anyway since Fridays are usually pretty slow anyway and my concentration will be nil. This gives me the perfect excuse to get out even earlier than I had planned.

I'm pretty pleased with this latest development. I'm just about ready to go anyway. There's a few things to finish up at work but if need be, I could have them done by the end of the week.

So counting down.. 6 1/2 more days. With everything thats going on, they should fly right by.

Labor Day

We had a very nice long weekend. When I made the arrangements for Cincinnati, I forgot it was Labor Day weekend. It was nice to go out of town, come back and still have a day off before starting my second to last work week before maternity leave.

Some highlights from the weekend:
- We missed out on seeing a car chase on Saturday but did see the aftermath which included 5 police officers, multiple cop cars, a minivan with all of it's doors open and 5 people sitting on the side of the highway outside of Indianapolis in hand cuffs.
-The Cincinnati Westin. Westin's have the most comfortable beds ever and this one was no exception. For the low, low price of $3200 you too could own your very own Westin approved mattress and bed linens set.
-Graeter's ice cream. So, so good!
-The Reds/Giants game. There was a near fight between people in the rows behind us but it never came to blows. The worst it got was when one woman pointed at the man they were arguing with and told him, "Don't be an idiot!". It's a nice ballpark and I got to see Aaron Rowand (current Giant, former White Sox) hit a home run.
-Sunday we stopped in Indianapolis for lunch and to see the new Colts stadium.
-Monday we went to my mother's for dinner. Both she and her fiance are great cooks and the meal was delicious. Lucky for me, she sent me home with the leftover mixed berry cobbler.
-I didn't have to go to triage! I was having some contractions last night and called the doctor. Fredo was freaking out. Thank goodness for beer or else he would have really been in a panic. I may have to keep him in a constant state of inebriation for the next few weeks to keep him calm. Luckily, the contractions calmed down and I didn't have enough in an hour to go to the hospital. While that would have given new meaning to Labor Day, I'm glad peanut didn't make her debut last night.

Hope everyone had a wonderful long labor day weekend!

Babymoon

Tomorrow we're traveling to the most romantic city in the world. Any guesses? That's right, we're going to Cincinnati.

We're driving out to Cincy early tomorrow morning to go to the Reds-Giants game. Fredo has been a San Francisco Giants fan for a long time so for our first anniversary, his paper gift was tickets to the game. We'll be staying near the ballpark tomorrow night and will make our way back to Chicago Sunday. It's a whirlwind baseball adventure.

I'm really excited for the trip, despite the 10 hours or so we will spend in the car over the next 2 days. We'll be leaving early tomorrow morning and stopping at Sonic in Lafayette, IN. Chicago has many things but fast food is not one of them. It's quite a treat for us to be able to go to Sonic. A fast food joint with tater tots on the menu (and you can even get them in a breakfast burrito)? Count me in.

We will be stopping at Sonic for breakfast and then having lunch somewhere in Cincinnati followed by the ball game and hot dogs at the ballpark. Sunday, we'll stop somewhere for brunch and then head home. We are debating stopping in Indianapolis for dinner since neither of us have been there but we'll see what time we hit the road Sunday morning.

It's probably not the smartest thing for me to be traveling at 36 weeks pregnant but I didn't really think that through so well when I bought the tickets and booked the hotel back in May. I'm not really worried about but let's hope this baby doesn't make an appearance this weekend in Cincinnati... or worse, a town between Cincinnati and Chicago.

The "To Tell or Not To Tell" Post

I was having a conversation with a friend of mine at work today about blogging. He basically said he wishes he were popular enough to blog. I responded that if you wanted a lot of people to read your blog, being popular helps but if you don't care about that, it's not a requirement. I did not mention in this conversation that I blog.

I've read many posts on other blogs on whether people know about their blogs or not. I have not told anyone, besides my husband, that I do it. I know there are some people who do read my blog (from the comments, I don't have any of this fancy visitor tracking stuff) but I didn't start my blog to be read.

In a nutshell, I started my blog because I'm pregnant.

As I've mentioned in a previous post, my friends don't have kids. Some of my husband's friends do but they don't live in Chicago. Hell, none of my friends are even married and the one couple that is close is no where near having kids. I know that soon (very, very soon) I will be at home all day with a new baby and a husband who is trying to get some work done to support this growing family of ours. And I know that I will need to vent some feelings somehow or just talk to someone who is not a newborn. If someone talks back, great but I wanted a place I could just get it all out and not have to worry about the response.

I've never been the type to keep a journal so the fact that I've taken to this blog thing kind of surprised me. I think it's the accountability of being online that keeps me writing most days of the week. For now, I try to write every weekday and take the weekends off but the frequency will most likely change with the new addition.

I still haven't decided if I will tell anyone or not. I suppose when people soon want baby updates I can point them here. For the meantime, it's just my place to write about the mundane details of my life as I gear up for this baby.

We are Having a Baby... Really Freakin' Soon!!

I think it's finally hit me...hard. We are having us a baby and we are having her soon! Obviously, the end result of this was always (hopefully) going to be baby, but now that we are less than a month away from my due date, it's that much more real.

I had a baby doctor appointment yesterday. The doctor told me it seems like the baby has dropped. Fredo had commented over the weekend that my belly looked lower, but it was confirmed by the doctor. So, the baby dropping.. that's a sign that the baby is coming sometime in the near future, right?

Side note: The doctor also said tall women have easier deliveries. That's probably a crock but I'm hoping that is true. (I'm 5' 9").

The appointment went fine, as usual, and I was home early. I didn't do a whole lot last night, as usual, and went to bed early.

I can't sleep through the night anymore anyway. I'm up at least at 1 am and then again around 3 or 4 am to use the bathroom. Last night was no different. I was up at 11 pm, 1 am and then again at 4 am. At 4 am, I began to freak out (silently). Holy crap! We are having a baby and we are actually going to be bringing her home and WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO THEN?!

Oh middle of the night paranoia.. gotta love it.

Random Monday

This morning, while waiting for the elevator to go to work, I was stopped by a woman who felt compelled to tell me that she could tell I was pregnant from behind. Apparently, I walk pregnant.

I ordered nursing nightgowns today. I started looking at them this weekend and damn are they expensive. I ordered 3 from Target and am not happy spending that much money on pajamas. I still need to do the whole nursing bra thing and I am not excited.

I am trying to convince myself that this week will go by quickly. I have multiple doctor's appointments and we start our birthing class this week. If this morning is any indication, this will be the slowest week in the history of weeks.

My due date is exactly one month from today. That's incredibly soon, but still far away. There's a lot to do in the next month and one of those things to pay $35 to meet the prospective pediatrician. I hope she's nice and not psycho because a) she's right around the corner from our apartment and b) I don't want to be dropping 35 bones all over the city just to meet doctors. Anyway, that is in a few weeks. Until then I only have to pay money to see my doctors.

Sorry so random today. There's not a ton going on with me other than the baby stuff.

It's (Almost) the Weekend!

We don't really have any plans this weekend and I could not be more thrilled.

I plan on cleaning the apartment, running some errands, watching some TV. Nothing too taxing. My father was visiting last weekend so we spent a lot of time with him.

Our street is having a block party this weekend that could be fun. It's certainly seems to be a well organized block party with a pet parade, kids events and 2 bands playing. Last year, there was a block party in our old neighborhood which consisted of the fire department coming and opening up the hydrant for an hour or so, the adults sitting on their porches drinking beer and me getting yelled at by the kids in the neighborhood because I forgot how to play hopscotch.

We'll see how this block party shakes out tomorrow, but it seems like it'd be fun to go to for a bit. There seem to be a lot of families with young children on our street so it'd be nice to make some friends.

Seemingly Innocent Questions that are Really Starting to Piss Me Off

**DISCLAIMER** There is nothing wrong with these questions usually. What pisses me off is generally the person asking or the number of times per day I am asked the same question.

"How are you?" - It is generally polite to ask how someone is, however, this question is now asked of me at least 10 times a day, by people I never spoke to before I started showing and is usually asked while staring at my belly.

"How much longer do you have?" - Again, nothing wrong with this question, per se. It's just that I'm now asked this repeatedly through out the day. Variations on this include "not too much longer, huh?" and "Going to pop soon?".

"Do you have names picked out?"- Yes, we do. If I try to leave it at that, the next question is what the name is. I feel obligated to answer but at this same time, I feel a little weird about it. It's seems to be too late in the game to say "We're not telling anyone". Our baby to be's name is not a secret but I feel like they don't need to know. My family and close friends? I don't mind telling them the name. In fact, they've known what it is for awhile. The girl in the bathroom (or guy in the elevator) that I never talk to? I'm not sure that it's any of your business.

"Are you excited?"- What if I said no? Maybe I should start saying no to see what the reaction would be. Now that I think of it, that could be kind of funny.

I generally get hit with these questions in the ladies room. Ladies, it is fine to say nothing and to ignore the pregnant woman. Lately, I would prefer it if you did ignore me. Now, if I see that the person who entered the bathroom right before me is one of these chatty types, I will hide in the stall until they are gone. I know it's bitchy but I'm over it. I would just like to go to the bathroom and wash my hands in peace and then go back to my desk and continue counting down the days until I no longer have to answer these questions.

It's Official

I have finally turned in the required paperwork and my manager has approved my maternity leave. My last day in the office will be Sept. 12 (16 business days to go!). I think I'll be taking a half day on the 12th anyway. There won't be much for me to do so it seems kind of pointless to stay at the office all day, reading blogs when I could be home, reading blogs.

I tried to get the approval to work from home the last couple of weeks before my leave began but it was denied. I'm not sure why as my "replacement" has already started and is in the process of being trained but whatever. The end is in sight and with everything going on over the next few weeks, it should go quickly.

I hit another milestone yesterday. I had an appointment with the baby doctor yesterday afternoon and he said he should probably start seeing me every week now. That means leaving work early one day a week for the next 3. I have to see a different doctor next week, as mine won't be in the office, and the latest appointment I could get is 2 so I will be leaving really early next Tuesday.

Dare I Say It?

I think we're ready for this baby to come.

My shower was last week so this weekend we headed to Target and Babies R' Us to get the things we didn't get as gifts that we'll probably need sooner rather than later. A boatload of money later, I think we're set.

We received some hand me down clothes and some other clothing my mother bought us last weekend. I washed everything and have it all put away. This kid has so many clothes now, I need to buy more hangers and I ran out of space in the dresser.

We start our baby classes next week and then I'll have two other classes in Sept.

I'm feeling pretty good about it. I actually think we're (just about) ready. Now to just enjoy the time we have left as just Fredo and I.

Hate To Admit It

But the Crazy Bus Man was right.

I had been having some stomach issues this week and felt extremely nauseous all day yesterday (what's worse than actually throwing up? Being so nauseous and not being able to throw up). I left work early and called my OB on my way home since it was the third day this week I had been sick. I stopped at CVS, got the universal sick food of saltines and ginger ale and went home to lay on my couch.

The triage nurse called awhile later and I explained what I had been feeling. She recommended I go to the OB Triage at the hospital to see if I was dehydrated. I got Fredo and off we went.

A little while later, I found myself hooked up to an IV and having some contractions. The contractions weren't that bad and it would have been a lot scarier if I wasn't already at the hospital. After 1 1/2 IV bags, I was released and was sent home.

I'm trying to drink a lot more water than usual today and from now on. I don't want to make a repeat appearance at the hospital again anytime soon.

But Crazy Bus Man was right. After all, he was only trying to help.

Ask and You Shall Receive

Yesterday I blogged about having nothing to blog about. Well that changed yesterday afternoon.

I was at the bus stop after work and sat down on the bench in the bus shelter next to a man who was already there. As this man was wearing headphones I figured he wouldn't bother me or want to strike up a conversation or anything. I was wrong.

First, he looks over at me and says, "I wanna smoke wit' chu".
Me (confused):What?
Crazy bus man: I wanna smoke wit' chu
Me: I don't smoke but if you want to smoke I'll move. (Side note: smoking at bus shelters and el stops in Chicago isn't legal so I shouldn't have had to move but if you sense someone is crazy, just get out of the way)
Crazy Bus Man (now referred to as CBM): No, I want to smoke with you.
Me, pointing at stomach: Well seeing as how I'm carrying a child, I will not be smoking but if you are going to smoke I will move.

I got up and walked outside of the bus shelter. Luckily, I soon saw a friend from work and began talking to her until the bus came. CBM came up to us and asked for a favor. We both said no.

We see CBM pull out the tools to roll his own cigarettes, so I'm assuming the favor had something to do with helping him roll his smoke. We go back to talking and CBM, obviously feeling like we're not paying him enough attention, comes back to talk to us, points at my feet and says, "Your ankles are swollen".

I ignore him and proceed to talk to my friend. CBM, who's obviously tenacious and not ready to give up proceeds to point out again that my ankles are swollen. I ignore him, which he doesn't seem to like.

CBM: You need to drink more water. My wife had 3 kids so I know. Your ankles are really swollen. You're not getting enough water.

And then I snapped.
Me: Alright, my ankles are swollen. Thank you. I get it. I need water.

CBM: Well, I'm just trying to help.

Thank you, crazy bus man, for pointing out my swollen ankles. Just what every pregnant woman wants to hear from strangers.

Today, I will try to drink 4 bottles of water, instead of my usual 3 since Crazy Bus Man said so. And thank you, CBM, for giving me something to write about.

On an unrelated topic, there's a man who works in my office who is a dead ringer for Kip, the older brother from Napoleon Dynamite. I have only heard rumors of him, but never saw him until today.

Holding Pattern

I feel like nothing's really going on with me right now, other than waiting. I wish I had more exciting things to blog about but all I've really been doing lately is counting down the days until this baby comes. I also wish I had things to talk about besides this baby, but I don't. Everything going on with me right now is baby-centric.

My thoughts lately are consumed with what we still need to get, need to do and how much longer I have until maternity leave or my due date. My days are preoccupied with the alien feelings in my stomach. I'm a little behind on some things at work and I'm trying to get those wrapped up soon, just in case, but I'm so easily distracted.

Sorry for the cop-out blog post today. Maybe something crazy will happen on the bus this evening so I have something to blog about tomorrow. Until then, I'll keep obsessing over baby kicks and counting days (21 business days until maternity leave and about 6 weeks until my due date).

Go Go White Sox!

Tonight Fredo and I are going to the White Sox game. We are both huge White Sox fans in a city (and neighborhood) where the Cubs reign supreme. We haven't been to a game yet this season so I'm very excited. It's supposed to be a nice evening weather wise. I am looking forward to a hot dog at the ballpark and (hopefully) a White Sox winner. The only thing missing for me will be the beer.

We have high hopes for Peanut to be a big White Sox fan too. The first book we bought her? A White Sox board book. One of the first outfits? A White Sox outfit.

My shower was yesterday and Peanut was gifted with another White Sox outfit. We are so getting this kid on the Jumbotron next season.

The shower was very nice. Nothing too fancy, just a group of close friends at my mother's house and some great food. My mother is a fantastic cook. Sadly I did not inherit her skills in the kitchen. We got the bedding, some clothes, and a crib soother among other things.

It was fun to get all everything home and into the baby's room. I made up the crib, even though everything needs to be washed still. It was great because we are finally able to get a better idea of what we still need to get. I think we'll be good with one more trip to Babies R Us, which we'll probably do this upcoming weekend.

I think I feel good about our level of preparedness. This feeling changes everyday but I think if the baby were to come now (which, knock on wood that doesn't happen), the list I would send Fredo to Babies R Us will would be pretty manageable.

I'll enjoy this feeling right now because of course tomorrow this could all change when I become convinced we need a ________ and we need it now!

Ice Cream Will Make it Better

I'm in a bad mood today.

The work day did not start well. I am in an industry that you do not have to be intelligent to work in (I'm sure there are plenty of people who are very intelligent who work in the same industry, I just did not deal with any of them today). Typically I end up talking to a few stupid people through out the course of the day, however, today I hit my stupid people quota within a half hour of sitting at my desk.

As I've mentioned before, I work with a lot of guys. You're not going to get very far in my office if you can't make fun of yourself and can't take a joke when people give you a hard time. That said, today my manager said, in response to an email I wrote to a customer yesterday, that I need to more polite in emails. WTF? I (still) don't understand how what I wrote would be considered impolite. Yes, it was direct and fairly concise (economy of words and all that) but nothing I wrote was rude. I didn't say "be less stupid", which is what I would have preferred to write. I reread the email several times to figure out where I could have been more polite. I even sent the email to a friend, who agreed with me. His response? "Maybe you should add ten smiley faces to every email to make everyone feel better".

For some reason, this email thing has been bothering me all day. Maybe it's hormones. Maybe I'm just over this place and can't wait until maternity leave. Maybe it's a combination of the two.

At least we're going to Dairy Queen tonight. If you buy a blizzard today, a donation is made for the Children's Miracle Network. Ice cream will make me feel better. And really, I'm doing it for the kids.

Sandwich Contest

Today, at work, we had a sandwich contest. I eat with the same group of people everyday, "The Lunch Bunch" and it was decided yesterday that today was sandwich contest day. The contest was not a sandwich eating contest but rather a sandwich making contest. The sad thing was, I was looking forward to it all morning.

It was hilarious. I had my usual peanut butter and jelly (made with white bread bought from the farmer's market, natural peanut butter and strawberry preserves, not Jif and Smuckers Grape Jelly so at least it was kind of fancier) but my friends went all out for this. One even made certificates. We were all winners in the sandwich contest. We all deserved to be recognized for our outstanding achievement in the field of sandwiches.

It was great. Whatever gets you through the day right? I will miss them when I'm on leave. Lunch is the best part of my day. The hour always flies by and we always have a great time. We'll have to have at least one more sandwich contest before I go.

Class

Tonight we have our first baby class. The birthing classes start at the end of the month but tonight is "Baby Safety and CPR". I thought it would be a good class to take and I am kind of looking forward to it. It's just a one night class but I thought we might meet some other expecting couples. And it allows me to leave work an hour early tonight. Can't hate that.

Crib Saga

The crib saga continues (and finally ends). We got our crib delivered Friday night. This was the crib we decided to order when the other one we initially wanted wasn't in stock for months and months. We received the crib Friday and the box was in terrible condition--so bad I looked at it and thought, "This can not be good". I started unpacking the box and sure enough, part of the headboard was broken. Even though the crib was broken, I used one of the rails to get an idea of the length of the crib and proceeded to rearrange the furniture in the baby's room at least 5 times Friday night. Fredo kept telling me to wait until we got the crib was set up but I was having none of that. My response? "I'm nesting damn it!"

Saturday we loaded up the car and drove out to the suburbs and exchanged the crib at Babies R Us and got some bookshelves for Fredo's office at Ikea.


We got the crib home, along with the bookshelves. First we put the crib together, which was not hard to do at all. In fact, it did not require any tools. Once the crib was together, I rearranged the furniture another 3 or 4 times. And then I took a nap.

With all the putting stuff together that occurred this weekend, both Fredo and I have a case of Kerry Wood-itis (hand blisters). Mine is not so bad but I think Fredo's going on the 15 day DL.

I think the baby's room is just about done. I still need to get the bedding and diaper pail and stuff but my shower is this weekend so hopefully we'll get that then. I found a small-ish woven plastic basket at a street festival yesterday and I think that will make a good hamper. We need more stuff for the walls but we plan on getting a very bad ass poster made once the baby arrives (check it out here).

It's all coming together.

Lollapaloser

This weekend is Lollapalooza weekend in Chicago and I will be a Lollapaloser, meaning that for the first time in awhile, I will not be in attendance. I didn't think it would be a good idea to drag my 32 weeks pregnant self around Grant Park in the hot sun for an entire weekend.

Fredo and I have gone to 3 Lollapaloozas together and have always had a great time. The past 2 years we have gone to the weekend long festival downtown. It's so cool that they hold it in the park and you can listen to some great bands in the middle of downtown Chicago.

I'm a little sad about missing it this year. I realized when tickets went on sale that there was no way I could go this summer. I think it cements for me how much things are changing. Sure we could go next year, but then we'd have to arrange for someone to watch our daughter, not to mention packing up all the things she would need and dropping her off/picking her up. This is not an impossible task as my mother lives in the city and I'm sure would be happy to spend loads of time with her granddaughter but really this summer is the last time we could just pick up and go someplace at a moments notice, and I hardly ever feel like doing anything lately. In fact, right now, all I want to do is take a nap. In a few months going anywhere will require quite a bit of planning, a diaper bag, a stroller, a car seat and oh yeah, a kid.

Don't get me wrong. I am so excited to meet our daughter and to become a mom. I'm ready for all of that. I want our daughter to become part of the life we already enjoy but I realize that we're going to have to change some things to accommodate her needs. I'm not so inflexible or delusional to think that things are going to blend seamlessly.

I just hope that in a few years we can bring Peanut to Lollapalooza with us. What? They have a kid's stage.

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