Fate's Cruel Sense of Humor

Never tempt Fate. She always wins and has a wicked sense of humor. Trust me, I learned first hand yesterday and today.

It all started with an innocent trip to the grocery store. I was there a loooong time. There was a language barrier problem in the line in front of me and I feel very blessed to have been able to help out a little. However, as I was leaving the grocery store, I felt a little wet in my pants. I knew every eye was on me as I exited the grocery store. I just knew it. I could feel the eyes burning into me, accusing me of zero bladder control which was not the case at all. I rushed out to my car with cheeks burning, very conscious of the cool breeze I was feeling in the nether-regions. There was no soak through, but I didn't know that, all I knew was that it was wet where it shouldn't be. I rushed home and ran straight to the bathroom to investigate.

What I found was a little weird to me. As there is already way too much information, I will skimp on the details but needless to say, I called my midwife's office. I was told it is very normal for a little bit of leakage of amniotic fluid and to not worry about it as there had been so little. However, if there was more I needed to go into L&D.

This morning I had an appointment with Christy (my midwife) who was a little annoyed with her staff when she heard what they had told me. She said if there is any sort of leaking I need to get in as soon as possible and get that baby delivered. She did some sort of test for amniotic fluid, it came back positive. So she sent me to L&D where they did another test and told me if it came back positive I would be going home with a baby.

Oh the anticipation!

I waited for an hour and a half to hear them tell me to go home. It was just a false alarm.

As I left the wonderful nurse in L&D waved and said "See you sometime next week!"

Fate. She is a cruel mistress.

Tragedy Strikes While Making Rolls

Rolls. It sounded delicious. I wanted some. I found a sweet recipe that was simple, didn't take much time and would go perfectly with dinner. I decided to make them.

And then I had a pregnant moment.


Yes, that is an egg in the can of powdered milk.

Oh how I miss my brain!

Who? The Doctor

Still waiting.

To help the time go by faster, I will reveal my new obsession.

When we first got married it was The A-Team.

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We loved that show. Lots of action, and no one ever gets seriously hurt. No one ever gets killed. We even talked about buying a black van and painting a red stripe down the side and putting a spoiler on the roof just to show we loved it that much. But one can only handle so much of the same plot. We grew weary of our Team and slowly stopped watching it. We have been looking for a new obsession ever since.

But we have such different taste in things, it has been a long obsessionless year.

And then a few weeks ago, we unwittingly stumbled on gold.

We were watching the Red Green Show (who doesn't love a little Canadian Guy humor?) It ended and we just didn't want to go to bed. Nor did we want to watch the Red Dwarf which tends to be a little dirty, so we put the volume on mute and chatted for a bit. We were about to turn the television off and go to bed when the music stopped us.

It was reminiscent of our child hood. The blue box floating in the vortex. My pulse quickened and then the title flashed across the screen:

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We decided to give it a try.

It was very easy to make fun of, and very entertaining to watch. Since we hadn't seen any previous episodes, we didn't know any back stories, we weren't sucked in and were able to just watch and laugh. Wonderful! The next week we waited in anticipation.

11:00 Saturday night came around and found us in front of the telly with all the lights in the house turned off.

Not smart.

During that particular episode I hid behind Jeffrey's back for the majority of it. It scared me. Nothing gruesome or bloody, just creepy. It was the one with the Weeping Angel statues. source

They didn't even kill the people they crept up on, just sent them to a different time where they had to live out the rest of their lives. But they crept up on you when you weren't looking! It was so creepy. I still can't look at a stone angel without getting creeped out. I didn't want to turn the lights off that night. I didn't want to go to the bathroom alone. I didn't want to be alone for a second. It was hard. I didn't think I would ever watch another episode. (How many times can you use the word creep or a variation of it in a paragraph? I may have just broken a record.)

And then the next Saturday we were sitting in anticipation of The Doctor. All the lights were left on. I didn't want to take any more chances. This was a trial run. If it creeped me out too much, I wouldn't watch it anymore.

But it wasn't creepy again. It was interesting. It was thought provoking, and it was to be continued. How could they leave me wondering what happend? But Saturday night we were tired. So we went to bed early. We had some good pillow talk (I swear, that is the only time I get real conversation out of Jeffrey. Right before we go to sleep... and he hates it) and as we were about to go to sleep, I looked at the clock and said

"It's eleven. The Doctor is visiting again."

Jeffrey sat up in bed, and in an excited voice said "lets go watch it! Come on."

I was too tired. I wanted to sleep. He prodded a little more, and so I finally told him.
I had set the DVR to record it a couple of hours prior. We could watch it another day.

I must confess. I watched it.
And the sequel. That is why the internet is so great. You can watch old television shows on it and don't have to be left hanging when it say "To be continued..."

I know that we are going to be watching some more of the good Doctor tonight after Keith goes to bed.

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There is no better way to pass the time than cuddling with your husband and either laughing at the overly exaggerated facial expressions of The Doctor, or scaring yourself silly with some good sci-fi.


And yes, I am well aware of the fact I need a thesaurus and a new word for creepy. :) I was out to break the record for how many times it could be used in a single post. Guess what. I won! To my knowledge anyway.

Water, Water, Everywhere!

I know, enough with the pregnant stories already! But bear with me. It seems it is influencing every aspect of my life right now, and so that is basically all I have on my mind. Besides, I need to remember how I feel this time so next time when I am 11 months pregnant I can look back and say "Oh yeah, I remember that."

The house was quiet. I knew that I only had one chance to shower. I also knew if I lingered, my chance would come and go faster than a sneeze if I didn't act immediately. I grabbed my terry cloth robe and quietly stepped into the bathroom. I had to be quiet because Keith is a light sleeper and was just on the other side of the wall. I visited "my friend John" and relieved myself, then stepped into the shower, once again enjoying the heat as it pricked my skin. I love hot showers! I love letting the water fall over and around me, the steam slowly rising up and filling the bathroom like a symphony. That is one of my favorite things in the world. With my eyes closed I stood and let the stresses that had been building up just wash off and disappear down the drain. Suddenly I felt it. An extra rush of water. My eyes popped open and my shower was ruined.

I didn't know if my water had broken or if I had just had some extra liquid stored up in my bladder. I didn't feel that familiar urge at all, but it hadn't been enough water to warrant going to the hospital saying my water had broken. Nor was I feeling any pain. My mind rushed through every possibility and worry, expectation, and excitement crawled out of the drain they had been washed down, and back up to perch on my shoulders like stresses will do. My mind had a new obsession. I finished my shower much quicker than I had hoped to, and called Jeffrey just to give him the heads up. If my water had broken, I would probably have to rush to the hospital. But I wasn't having any pains. So I had to watch. And all the peace and tranquility I was hoping for took one last look at me and left, laughing.

What had happened? The nearest I can figure is the baby jumped just right on my bladder and forced liquid out of my body, thus creating a sensation like broken waters. But really, I can just go down in the books as yet another pregnant woman who had the false alarm. The "I thought my water broke, but really I just peed my pants" story. And now I am open to mocking. For this time only. As I know that most pregnant women go through this, and I am not alone, and there are probably a million and a half stories similar yet worse than mine. I am just glad I wasn't standing in line at the grocery store. And I hope it doesn't happen again, because really, no warning at all.

I am an Elephant

I went in for another check up today.

As I drove home I remembered a night two weeks ago. I was sitting on my bed. The lights were out, Keith was in bed and it was our time. Jeffrey had been studying in the living room and I was sitting in the mess I like to call my bedroom. I looked around me and the hormones kicked in.

Or I should say the tears started to flow.

Jeffrey heard the sniveling and came into the room. He tenderly took me in his arms and just held me tight (isn't it wonderful how that always works?). He asked me why I was crying (he is very patient with me) and waited as I tried to control myself enough to verbalize my fears.
Trying to say it out loud made it worse, though.

"I am going to be p-p-pregnant forever! I don't want to be pregnant anymore. I-I-I am an elephant! I am going to be pregnant for 18-22 months, and she is never going to come. It's just a me-me-mean joke being played on meeeee. I am never going to hold her, and am going to walk around with a huge belly, dropping things, runn-i-i-ing into things and always pregnant for the rest of my liiiiife!"

As I drove home today, these very thoughts were bouncing around my head.

She is measuring 38 weeks 5 days. 7lbs 6 oz and as comfortable in that little uterus as she could be. No signs of ever wanting to leave (could this possibly be a foreshadow of when she grows up and doesn't want to move out when she is older?). I have basically had no change for three weeks. I have been at a 4 and 75-80% effaced this whole time.

I guess technically she isn't due until the 30th of November, and I would prefer she be completely healthy when she is born, so if that is what is necessary, she can stay in there, but really? Why did my body have to start giving signs of an eviction? Soon?

So I have been home for a few hours now, and had the munchies the whole time. Nothing seemed to fix it. I ate cereal, cheese, water. Nothing was taking the munchies away. And then I figured it out. My body wanted something I really don't like. Chocolate! So I dug into the freezer and pulled out the chocolate chips.
Blech!
I really didn't like them at all.
And then I remembered it.
A king size Snickers hiding away in the closet. It was being saved for the rush to the hospital. I hear they don't let you have food. My midwife said I could have some so long as no one saw it. The nurses would freak out.
It was calling to me. Reminding me that I am an elephant. The candy bar will be old by the time the baby is born, so I might as well eat it now.
And then I ate it.
And all was right with the world.
I can be patient again.

Keith's Prediction

Keith is warming up to the fact he is going to have a little sister.

Sunday my sister in law gave me some baby clothes. She has two girls, so she had lots to share. As I was sorting through them that night, Keith patted the pile of clothes and said "Baby sister's!" with no prompting from either of us.

He has begun to watch babies more closely whether they be on a cartoon or a doll or real.

During lunch today Keith rubbed my tummy and looked up at me with his huge blue eyes. He had a smudge of dirt on his nose which made his eyes look bluer and larger.

"Baby coming, Mommy. Baby coming." He told me.

And I can't help but wonder what he means by that. Does he mean today? I know she is coming soon. But could he possibly know when she will join us? After all he said it so earnestly, and little children are known to be more in tune with the spiritual things.

Keith's prediction: "Baby coming."

Remember the Red Revolution

Magic.

Do you believe in it?

I do.

One of my Resolutions was to exploit my womanly charms and thereby my husband.

See, I like vintage.

Anything from 1920-1959. I just adore those times.

I love the bold lipstick they wear.

So I decided I would wear red lipstick more often.

And wouldn't you know, when I wear it, I get whatever I want.

Last week I put it on right before I left to pick Jeffrey up from the bus stop. He got in the car, looked at me, and then announced we would not be going home. I would not be cooking dinner that night. My man was going to treat me to anything I wanted on the dollar menu at Burger King. Anything I wanted.

And that is how it goes. The red lipstick still works its magic for me. But I don't exploit. That would be wrong. :)

What Happened When My Navel Moved Out

I have a hypothesis.

I believe the changing of the bellybutton creates changes in that person's balance, center of gravity, and even memory.

Allow me to explain.

I have had an innie my whole life. I rather liked it. It was not just your regular innie, either. It was a deep one. I could put my pinkie finger in it up to the first knuckle. I loved that. It made me a bit of a freak, but I am the only one I know who could do it, so I was proud of my little innie.

And then I got pregnant with Keith. The belly button moved outward. It never became an outie, but it was a lot closer than ever before.

During my pregnancy I noticed I had lost my brain. My mind no longer worked, and I couldn't even remember names of people I had known my whole life. I took a nutrition class on line. It was horrible. I think I got the worst grade of my life in that class. I couldn't remember anything I had learned. I am not even sure I did learn anything, though I tried hard. But I didn't trip on things, I didn't fall over, I just had frequent brain farts.

And then it came back to me as my navel returned to its original place.

And now I am pregnant again.

This time my belly button has completely moved out of its little cave. It waves to the world through my shirt, letting everyone see exactly where it is on my stomach.

This time around, I have balance issues, clumsiness problems, and my mind has long since left me to fend for myself. I have the worst time coming up with words now. Even simple every day words. Like the word door. I am found stuttering

"That thing. You know, the one that closes? It is on the house. You have to walk through it to get inside or outside. That thing!"

and people are left wondering about my sanity.

I have broken nearly half of our dishes as I tried to clean. I have dropped dinner on the floor many many times. I have knocked things over with my belly, along with flailing arms. I have nearly fallen off the porch at my parents house simply by trying to walk in through their... you know, that thing. I counted today, and I have tripped and fallen no less than four times. I have bruises on my arms legs and belly.

And all this because my belly button decided it wanted to move out and see the world.

I can't wait for it to grow lonely and move back in. I don't think my body can handle the bumps and bruises, our stomachs the floor flavored food, or the people around me the constant forgettence (I can't remember what word to put here so instead I made up my own. Really. I am not just doing this to prove a point. Besides, who says forgettence can't be a word?) of words.

Come back, little belly button, come back! I need you! I never knew what an important part of my well being and sanity you were. I promise I wont neglect you ever again just let me have my brain and my balance and grace back!

What about you? Does your belly button change your .... and I forgot the word again.

I was going to google some images of belly buttons, but got a lot of inapropriate pictures, so decided to leave it. Besides, everyone knows what innies and outies look like.

Festivities Wind Down

Whew, that was a wonderful month, wasn't it?

Candy, ghosts, bats, monsters... Keith learned about them all!

And now, to help recover from the sugar high, Pumpkin seeds are highly recommended.


With a side of apples and carmel. Enjoy with a glass of wassail.

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Yummy!

What do you do to calm down the blood from all that sugar?

What I Learned from Halloween 2009

Just a few random things before we close out of this wonderful month.

• When making torches, don't use socks, sticks and lighter fluid. The socks fall apart.

And make sure you read the signs around before making them.

• My local grocery store gives away all the unsold pumpkins on Halloween night. All you want! And they sell a dozen glazed donuts for $5.00 because they seem to be a hot commodity. Lesson... donuts are better to buy before hand. Pumpkins... buy a ton the day of and have a carving fest. That is something I should keep in mind for next year.

• The cold really isn't that bad. Gardner Village the day before Halloween is very crowded, but fun. The witches are so unique, and Keith didn't want to leave. Next year we will go earlier in the month and later in the evening. Simply delightful!

Happy Halloween!

The Dark Side of Halloween

*Updated with picutres*

It is dark outside. The icy white moon is bathing the street in a cold stare. Trees have stretched their shadows out providing ample space for dark lurking forms to glide almost unseen through the streets.

A witch is seen scurrying from the revealing eye of the porch light. A ghost is running after a tall man walking down the road. A sound that seems displaced echos through the night. Laughter. Children's voices exclaiming as they bounce around from the sweets pulsing through their veins. Shortly they will go home and laps into a sugar induced coma.


This is when all things dark and vicious come out. The witches and ghosts and goblins pry the masks off their sticky faces. The princesses, Hulks, and zombies wash the paint to reveal sweetly smiling children. But do not be fooled by their disguise in a disguise. While out pillaging the neighborhood of all things sweet, they really did morph into something quite chilling to behold. Until the parent says "Its bedtime. I am glad you had fun. Now put the candy away and climb into your bed and go to sleep." they look like children. But they are not. And when the realization hits home, even the bravest parent wishes they could turn back. The frigid grip of regret has hold of their hearts and makes parents grateful this holiday only comes around once a year...


Last night we had a small taste of this fear. It was my mother's ward Trunk or Treat. Keith was Mario (I didn't get a great picture of him. He wouldn't hold still. I am going to try again tonight) and caught on very quickly. All he had to say was "Trick or Treat" and people would give him candy. He would then say "Thank you" and they would give him more candy because he was so polite and cute. He knew how to work the system. He carried that bucket around with him as if he held The Ark of the Covenant. No one was going to get close to his candy. After collecting with the vengeance of an IRS agent he became a shadow to his Paca while religiously guarding his candy bucket.


Finally it was time to go home. He fell asleep in the car, we got him in the house, and as we changed him into his pajamas he woke up. The first word out of his mouth was "Trick or treat?" Meaning, "Where's my candy?" We told him he could have some more in the morning when he woke up, and that is when it happened. The transformation. From sweet cuddly angel to Halloween Demon faster than the blink of an eye. He hasn't changed back yet. He is armed with a two year old attitude and a bucket of candy.


And there is more Trick or Treating to be done tonight.

Whatever will we do?

I was Hester Prynne from Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter for Halloween this year. You know, the girl who had to wear the Scarlet "A" for "Adulteress." Did you see the "A" which fell off right before the picture was taken? Only about 5 people got it but I thought it was funny. What were you for Halloween?



P.S. No, she hasn't been born yet. I have just been crazy busy and haven't had time to post anything.

And my computer is having major issues, so I will post the pictures as soon as I can fix it.

Boo Hoo

"Ghost. Ghost open door. Open the window. Ghost open it."

This has been the topic of Keith's conversation for the past two days.

Cute, right?

I thought so too.

That is until last night.

It was bed time. The typical stalling tricks were tried.

"Mommy, drink. I need drink.
Oh, Bear.
Hug Daddy.
Cuddle. Cuddle on couch."

Finally I got him into bed. I was tired. Exhausted. Looking forward to cuddling with Jeffrey for a while and then going to bed. All the lights in the house were out. Just the soft orange glow of the Jack o' Lantern, a large loveseat, and Jeffrey's arms to cuddle into. The perfect ending to my day.

Petrified scream
Pounding on the door

Jeffrey and I looked at each other trying to figure out if it was another antic to get out of going to bed or if it was a real scream. We didn't know exactly what was going on in his little mind. Normally he is so good about bed time. We brush teeth, sing, say prayers, and then he climbs into bed with a kiss. Normally he stays there all night, and doesn't try to get out of going to sleep. What was going on?

After about 20 seconds of listening to the screaming, I decided it wasn't a normal "I am just throwing a tantrum and want to get out of bed" scream. I opened his door and was nearly knocked over by frantic blur.

"Daddy, Daddy!"

Confused we let him cuddle with us on the couch until he calmed down.

Cuddling with Jeffrey and a squirming, crying toddler wasn't my idea of relaxing. Sigh. I tell you, a Mother's day never ends.

We tried to pick him up and take him to bed a few times, but every time we tried to even pick him up (he is a smart kid. He knew what we were going to do with him) the frantic crying would start again.

We sang until we were hoarse. We cuddled until our eyes were drooping. Finally we got him to bed. That isn't to say asleep, just to bed. I stayed with him rubbing his back and singing softly until he fell asleep. Then I crawled out of the room. As soon as the door clicked shut behind me the crying started.

Three times.

Finally he stayed asleep and I was able to crawl my tired bones into my bed.

No sweet cuddling with Jeffrey for me.

Lots and lots of cuddling and singing and loving for Keith.

Just as important.

We decided that he is probably too young for Halloween this year. He must be afraid of ghosts.

The thing is, he kept asking for ghost songs. Ghost stories. Ghost ghost ghost.

So what is it that was scaring him so much?

I get whatever I want

Jeffrey and his friend Al were talking the other day.

Al is a little weird, but they are tight none the less.

As they were talking dating in this economy came up. My cute husband told his friends of the undying devotion he has for me and how he still can give me whatever I want.

So Al wrote a song about it.

It is basically word for word what I hear from Jeffrey every day. No alterations were needed!

He is that romantic and wonderful.

To Whom it May Concern

Dear Amy,

The nice thing about not knowing when the baby is coming is you have to live in a state of readiness. This should be a great growing time for you. For example.

• The house must be clean at all times.

You never know when the baby is coming, and if someone has to come over and watch Keith suddenly, you don't want to be embarrassed with a dirty house. I mean really, how hard is it to keep clean? It is just you, your husband, and a toddler. Easy peasy!

• You must have your bag packed and ready to go starting now.

I know you like to procrastinate, but listen, now is the time to get past that habit! You need to have your cd all ready to go (did you make it yet? You know, the one with all your favorite calming songs to play while giving birth.) Do you have enough clothes for the baby in the bag? What about toothpaste, toothbrush, etc? Did you even think about those things? And diapers. She has to wear something, you know.

• What about the time you need to spend with Keith?

You can't spend all your time getting ready for the new baby, you know. You have a small child who needs a lot of your attention. Are you going to make pumpkin cookies with him? What about pie? What about carving that pumpkin with him? You know he will love pulling out the slimy seeds. And then roasting them. Don't forget your son!

• Did you get a bed for her yet?

• What is your family going to eat while you and baby are at the hospital?

• Are you even close to being ready?
  

Sincerely worried,
Your Subconscious.

Dear Subconscious,

Thank you for your kind letter of stress. It was just what I need. More stress. But, that is why you are here, always looking out for me. In response to your many queries, I first have to say, you are just plain annoying. Can't you go bother someone else for a while?

I know my house needs to be cleaned. I am working on it. You try keeping things spotless while you are sick (blasted cold that is going around!), taking care of a sick toddler who insists on sharing everything with you (which would account for both of you being sick), and loves to mess up whichever room you are cleaning. It isn't easy. I am working on it! My mom came by last week and like the angel she is, braved the mold growing leftovers in my refrigerator and got it all cleaned out. I like to just open the door and look at it now. It is beautiful and doesn't emit any more foul smells. What a wonderful woman she is!

I plan on getting my house clean today. Completely. But here is the clincher. I have a bad SI bone. It hurts to walk. Really. It hurts to move my leg. So that hampers my cleaning ability. But I am determined to get it done anyways.

See, I have today all planned out. I just finished packing a bag for the hospital... with the baby's things anyway. I am going to get the house cleaned up. The oven is on self cleaning mode right now, which means in three hours I can clean it out. It will take a lot less time this way. While it is cleaning itself out, I am fold and put away the five loads of laundry that have been waiting on my living room floor for the past three days. I just don't like folding and putting away clothes. My goal is to get all the cleaning done while Keith is napping. When he wakes up we are going to make cake mix cookies (he wont know the difference. Really. He just likes to lick the bowl), and then gut that pumpkin!

Now excuse me while I go pretend to dance to Halloween music (see my playlist on the left sidebar)(pretend=can't walk much, remember?) and drink hot chocolate because it is snowing! The first snow fall of the season. Even you can't begrudge me that, oh dear Subconscious.

Happily ignoring you,

Ta Da

The much needed and awaited for dresser.

Really its more of a night stand, but it will have to do for now.


I love paint. I am actually having a hard time not going through my house painting everything. I do have a list of things that are going to get it though.

And the distressing! I was a little distressed (hehe) about taking any of the paint off, but now I am glad I did. It has a nice antiquated look, and I have a great feeling of pride and accomplishment.


Next on my list (with no time constraint) are the toy chest, Keith's car table, the tv table, and anything else I can get my hands on!

The rush of the fall

The sky was the color of my blueberry stained fingers and dotted with whip cream clouds. I lifted my head as the blueberry dream fell away and the ground came rushing up to meet me. The fire tipped leaves surrounded and caught me. Falling into the leaf pile was a delight I never tired of. I got up and did it like it was my last time ever. With gusto. I made leaf angels in the over sized pile surveyed the imprint my body had left. Again and again I threw back my head and fell into the soft arms as if I were a tree being felled. I squirmed off the branch that was poking my back and dodged the leaves came raining down over me.

"Amy! Get out of my leaf pile!"

I tried to hide underneath the leaves hoping my dad wouldn't see me. But he did. He pulled me out, dusted the leaves out of my hair and handed me a large bag.

"Hurry it up, its getting dark."

Childhood and fall are best friends.

Emily described it as a delicacy. I think she is onto something there.


And so, with the weatherman predicting *snow* tonight, we grabbed our jackets and went out to partake of the bounty of fall. Keith to play in it, and me to clean it up like a responsible adult.


However, I was only able to get half of the yard raked up before I inevitably was forced to retire my plans. As soon as I had a pile made, it was delightfully destroyed. And I couldn't say anything because visions of the seven year old me came back. The joy of being engulfed in a bed of leaves was too strong. I succumbed to the delights of childhood with Keith as my guide and together we played in that pile of leaves.


And tomorrow if there is enough, we will play in the snow!

Wanna play a game? Just wait

Yesterday was the perfect day for a walk.
The sky was that incredible deep blue that only comes out in October.
The sun made everything slightly glow.
The breeze was just what it should be.
Jeffrey was so handsome with his slightly unshaven face.
And Keith was just adorable talking throughout the whole walk.

While walking I am pretty certain I felt the baby drop.
It was a very weird sensation.

Saturday I dug out an old dresser from the storage room and assessed it.
Not even a dresser really, more of a night stand with drawers.
A hideous dark brown.
Too ugly for my kids' room.
So I pulled out the paint that is being saved for the bathroom and went to town.
It is now a very light yellow and looks wonderful!
It just matches the curtains in their room.
I am going to do a little distressing on the edges and get new knobs before I post pictures.
But it is wonderful to finally have a dresser in that room!
Keith has been using the closet and some tupperware bins.
Sad,
I know.
But it worked for him.
Now that he has to share his closet, we needed to upgrade.
I can't wait to get it all done, and the toy chest painted the same color.
What a fun yellow room it will be!
Full of sunshine and cars.
The baby will love it.
Keith sure does.

No news of when she will come yet.
But I guess as they say "No news is good news."
So we continue to play the waiting game.
Not my favorite.
I hate waiting for things.
Especially when I don't know exactly when they are coming.
Even then it is hard for me.
Sigh. Such is life, I guess.

What's Not For Dinner

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"Spare ribs!"

I couldn't figure out for the life of me what he was talking about. Keith has been saying "spare ribs" for a few days now.

We don't eat spare ribs. I don't think Keith has ever even heard that word before.

And then I got it.

"Spiders."

MIA in other words NOT READY

I know, I know. I have been MIA for a few days.

Life has been crazy busy, especially with the birthdays.

Yesterday was my Daddy's birthday. He is such a wonderful man, and I love him so much. Always an example to me.

And now for the big news.

On Tuesday my little darling decided to give me a birthday surprise.

Remember how it was a beautiful day? And remember how I had to leave in the middle of dinner for a few hours? Here's why:

All during the day I had been having mild cramps. Nothing to worry about, right? Perfectly normal, especially since they weren't painful. Just mildly annoying.

However, since I didn't have any pain until my doctor broke my water when I was pregnant with Keith, and I had no pain when I miscarried, I thought I should call my midwife.

Looking at my past history she decided it would be best if I went in to get checked.

Jeffrey didn't think it was really anything to worry about, so just I went in, and he stayed home to put Keith to bed.

I got to Labor and Delivery and they hooked me up to the fun monitors. And I got to be the subject of a little peep show. You know, checking the cervix every little bit and all.

And the news: I have already started to dilate. I was at 1 centimeter. While that may not sound like much, keep in mind I am not due until the end of November. I had already effaced to 50%. After keeping me there for two and a half hours they let me go home because the dilation had not changed at all.

They told me to take it easy, and wait until my appointment today. Which I did. And I found out I will most likely have this baby early.

I am nearly at 4 centimeters now, and 75% effaced. She is measuring at 6 pounds.

As I was leaving the hospital, the panic set in.

I am supposed to have lots of time left! A month at the very least. I am not ready to have this baby yet. I don't have her clothes washed, or her dresser painted, or even the bassinet yet. I haven't gotten much on my baby list done yet.

Sunday I was very stressed and in order to calm my mind enough to sleep I had to make a list of the things I want to get done before she is born. The list is long and daunting. But it shouldn't be a problem, right? I still have a month left, right? Not according to this little darling. She is wanting to grace us with her presence now.

And the stress has left me eating half a package of Cool Mint Oreos by myself. Somebody stop me!

In other news, my sister in law is due a week before me. She had her baby last night.

As I said, this month is the month of birthdays. I am just wondering if this one is going to let us wait until November, or if we are going to have yet another birthday in October.

That said, I should be better about keeping updated... but if I am MIA for a long while again, you may know the reason why.


P.S. Thank you SO much Stephanie! You rock! She gave me an award, and I am so honored! She is one of the Big time Bloggers and so for her to take notice of me is truly sweet! In order to share the love, I am passing this on to a few new (to me) bloggers I just met:

Overstuffed
Emmy Mom
My Angel Star
Re: Becca

Thanks to everyone for listening to my rantings about how wonderful my family is!

Take Out with Bob the Builder

Thank you all for your many well wishes. I had a wonderful birthday. Thank you.

This is why my day was so wonderful:

It rained today. Keith and I got to go for a walk with the rain mist washing our faces as the wind tugged around our wrappings. I wore my shawl as I wear it any time I can. I just love it, and no one wears shawls anymore! It was fun feeling the wind tugging at the shawl, trying to get it loose. Keith just liked running through the rain.

One of my favorite things today were the flower beds. There were little purple pansies peeking through vibrant red leaves that had fallen into the flower beds on our walk. I wished with all my heart I had brought my camera, but that would have been uncharacteristic. I am usually unprepared for everything. But oh, how I wish I had a picture of that.

Pregnancy can do weird things to you. I normally hate Chinese food. It is most definitely near the bottom of foods I eat list. I don't know what it is, I just never crave or want it. But all day today I wanted some. Jeffrey let me have some, of course. He is good at spoiling me like that. It was nice to not have to cook dinner, even though I had a killer menu planned out for tonight. Really, though, I take not cooking over cooking something very yummy. Just because I hate to have to clean up the mess afterward. So I picked Jeffrey up from the bus stop and we went to Hollywood Video. They called me earlier today and told me I get a free rental. Just because they appreciate me, and it is my special day. So we decided to get a foreign film of the oriental persuasion (Japanese, Korean, Chinese... they all sound pretty similar to me, and I am not picky) and watch it while eating our dinner. We then went to Smith's and got our food. See, the Smith's by my house has a small Chinese counter when you first walk in. It is just in the entryway of the store. And it is incredibly reasonably priced. I was actually shocked by the price! Also, I wanted the official take out boxes and not the typical box that restaurants send you home with. We based our criteria on where we could get a box. Really though, what lame Chinese restaurant gives you take out in a leftovers box? We want American-Chinese authenticity, darn it!

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We got some food and went home to watch our movie. The food was incredible! I am actually shocked that the cheap grocery store fast food restaurant was so good. It quite possibly has made it onto my list of foods I like! And the movie? It is supposed to be a comedy. I say supposed to be because we haven't watched it yet. It was too hard to focus on eating with the chopsticks, getting Keith to eat anything besides the sweet and sour sauce, and read the subtitles all at the same time. So we switched it out for Bob the Builder which we had also rented. I think we have made a new fan. I mean, come on. Talking construction machinery? How can a little boy not love that?

Sadly, I had to leave half way through dinner and didn't get home until late. But when I did, I saw that some blessed Phantom had been to visit. I hadn't made a cake or pie for myself since we had so much on Keith's birthday. Now, though, we have cupcakes. Some lovely soul knew that we needed some cake to celebrate and left us a whole plate full! Keith will be so excited when he wakes up and sees the Halloween cupcakes. Thank you Halloween Phantom!

And now, for the part you have all been waiting for. Our fortune cookie fortunes:

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Keith: From now on, your kindness will lead you to success

Starting now? Keith's kindness already helps him be successful with milking anything he wants from his grandparents. I tell you what, that kid is a con artist!

Jeffrey: You will do better in real estate than in stocks

Because the real estate market is going so well right now.

Amy: Reaffirm your faith in financial plans- make a budget

What? Do they know me? That is my weakness, making and sticking to a budget.

The funniest part is they are all pretty accurate. Except for Jeffrey's. And Keith's. But aside from theirs, the fortunes were dead on! Who would have thought a fortune cookie could be so accurate?


Thanks for a wonderful day everyone!