General

We had our first baby shower yesterday. Wow. I know practically nobody who was there reads this site, but let me just say “THANK YOU” anyway, because we are now able to get the baby home from the hospital (in a carseat, no less!), dress her in some very cute clothes, stroll her around the mall, swing her until she falls asleep, take her on trips, and feed her. And she has sheets and blankets and “loveys” for the crib. And somehow, almost all of it managed to fit in the Subaru, despite the fact that it all took up half of my aunt’s living room. (Now it’s all currently taking up my entire dining room. Denis really needs to get the nursery painted so all of this stuff can go live where it’s supposed to!)

However, I am exhausted. I think Denis fed me dinner last night, but I don’t really recall eating. I was in my pajamas at 7:30, managed to keep my eyes (mostly) open until about 9:30, and slept until 7:30 this morning. This may be a wear-pajamas-all-day sort of day…

Yeah, boring title, I know. I’m being a total blog slacker lately! I don’t really have that much to blog about – my days are shaping up to be all about the same. I pretty much spend my time watching TV or movies, crafting, eating, or napping. It’s not that exciting. Oh, wait, today I figured out how to hook up my walkman to the stereo so I could listen to a book on tape… Um, yeah, I guess that’s not really all that exciting, is it? Despite it not being exciting, it’s not exactly boring either, and I’m enjoying the chance to work on bigger craft projects for long stretches at a time without having to feel guilty about things I should be doing instead.

Everything is still status quo with the bedrest. Apparently I’m being a good little patient, because my blood pressure was enough better that they didn’t send me for more blood tests at my most recent appointment. Yay! They did, however, do a finger-prick iron test. Ouch.

So, 5 more weeks, give or take. I don’t feel like I’m ready – I’m sure I won’t feel like I’m ready no matter when she decides to arrive – but my first baby shower is this Sunday, and at least after that I’ll have some baby things in the house!

Or, why Sarah is no longer allowed to go to garage sales…

My Grandmother has been looking for a high chair, now that she has two great-grandchildren and a third on the way. She really wants a wooden one, but they are anything but cheap. So, we’ve all been on an unofficial mission to check out garage sales for used wooden high chairs. A few weeks ago, I found a garage sale where I was able to pick up this toy for $3. It’s the Neurosmith Music Blocks toy I saw in stores a few years ago for $60, thought it was very cool, but much too expensive (plus I didn’t have kids yet). We were assured that it still worked, but we figured for $3, even if it didn’t it wasn’t a big deal. After spending $5 on batteries (for a $3 toy), we found it did work.

Now, it came with an extra cartridge, and I started wondering where I could get more cartridges… Turns out Amazon had them on clearance, because the company is no longer in business. Perfect! $20 for two cartridges, $2 tax, plus $4 shipping. (For those of you keeping track at home, the $3 garage sale toy has turned into $34. So far.)

Then I did some reading. I knew when I picked up this toy that the target age range was 2 and up. Well. There was another product put out by this company for ages 6 months – 2 years that takes the same cartridges! What better way to get my money’s worth out of the cartridges than to get another toy that can use them?!? And so, I hunted around, found the Jumbo Music Block (on sale!) and ordered it. $40 for the toy, no shipping, but $3 tax. Hmm. Oh, and that one required batteries too, so add another $5.

So, all told, my $3 garage sale score turned into $82. This is why I will never be allowed to just “stop for a minute” at a garage sale again. (The bright side is, they are fantastic toys, which I think will provide hours worth of entertainment for the baby. Oh, and for us. They really are kind of addictive…)

At my appointment yesterday, the doctor said I get to stay on modified bedrest for the duration. 6 more weeks…give or take. You would think that since I’m home all day, blogging would be more regular, not less! I’m too busy sitting with my feet up to blog, though, really…

(Actually, I’ve just been too lazy to get project pictures off my camera and upload them. Tomorrow. Probably.)

We also got all of the paperwork to pre-register at the hospital, and the birth certificate application. Did I mention we’re down to 6 weeks? That’s kind of scary. I’m starting to feel like I should be doing something to get ready. For mercy’s sake, we don’t even have a single diaper or onesie in the house! What happens if she comes early? Maybe I’d better put diapers on the grocery list for Denis to get this week, just to have them in the house. After all, it’s not like they expire…

I haven’t gone stir crazy yet, but only because it’s the weekend, and Denis has been home to keep me company. Plus, there’s been lots of football on to watch. I’m not looking forward to tomorrow, or Tuesday. I have no idea what to expect at my appointment on Wednesday. I guess if my blood pressure is back to normal, they might let me go back to work, but if it’s not…does that mean I’m grounded for the duration?

We did sign up for Netflix, so I should have a batch of DVDs in the mail by Tuesday. They’re all silly, of course, because I like silly movies.

I’ve also been working on an old unfinished project. I don’t know how old, really. Maybe 3 years? I finished the knitting (which only amounted to about 5 hours) and am working on hiding a million ends. Tomorrow I should be able to get a picture. Once I get this done, I’m finally going to cast on for Anouk!

I know I shouldn’t complain, because things could be much worse, but my trip to the doctor this morning about those stiff hands I mentioned yesterday? It resulted in me ending up on modified bedrest at least until my appointment next Wednesday. My blood pressure was way elevated just from my appointment 10 days ago, and it’s not like I’ve been on an all-salt diet since then or anything.

Anyway, it’s one thing to daydream about being able to stay home and watch movies and knit all day. It’s quite another to be told that’s all you’re allowed to do. I’m obviously not going to be painting the nursery this weekend. And the orange cabled hoodie is done, except for the fact that I have no buttons – and can’t go get them. I had a mile-long list of to-do’s for the weekend, and am now allowed to do none of them. I guess this is someone’s way of telling me I need to slow down for a bit.

The good thing is that I got to have another ultrasound. The baby is 4 lbs., 4 oz., and they triple-checked for me that she is still a girl. Since I already bought the lavender paint, this is a very good thing!

Not that I really want to get into politics here, but I really think that this is rather amusing. (Go here to see a Quicktime movie of it.)

If I were one of his speech writers, I think I’d cringe every time he walked up to a mic.

(And am I the only woman who’s a little perturbed by the thought of my OB/Gyn practicing their “love” with me? And no, it’s not just because it’s a group practice of all women and I don’t really go for that…)

Wait, we had a three-day weekend? Where did it go?!?

I had grand plans to have the nursery painted by the end of those three long days. We have one coat of primer on all the walls. And getting there was like pulling teeth. I don’t know why it should surprise me that painting is harder when you’re 32 weeks pregnant than when you’re not, but it did. I mean, everything’s harder now – getting off a couch, getting out of bed, walking up the stairs. Even unloading the dishwasher is harder now, because I can barely reach the second shelf of the upper cabinets – my belly bumps the counter. (And then I worry that I’m going to give my kid brain damage before she’s even born, because I’m bumping my belly on the counter.)

All I know is, I want those three days back! I didn’t even get to do my laundry, for heaven’s sake…I’m down to two shirts, one of which barely fits still…not to mention the tragically empty state of my underwear drawer. (Oops, was that too much information?) This is not a good way to start a work week, even a short one!

But really, it’s not the Dif’s fault. It’s the horrible, evil people^* who put up wallpaper without priming the f-ing wallboard first! Yeah, see, once the wallpaper glue and the top layer of wallboard fuse together, there isn’t anything in the entire universe that will part them. Wallboard = glorified paper. Paper + glue = a permanent bond. Therefore, wallboard + glue = a permanent bond. It’s not that hard, people!

Thankfully, Jenny and Aaron had planned to come over to help paint and instead spent the day helping us sand most of the glue off and spackle over the rough patches. Good thing, too, or I probably would have spent the entire day sitting in the middle of the nursery floor crying. I don’t handle unexpected problems very well lately.

At the moment, the walls seem to be somewhat smooth. There are a couple of places we’ll probably re-spackle in the morning. With any luck, though, we’ll actually get to prime the walls tomorrow…two coats, since you’re supposed to “spot prime any patched areas” first. Well, that’s two entire walls, so spot priming probably doesn’t make much sense!

^*Yes, I truly believe they are evil. I also believe they were the builders/contractors/whatever who built this entire housing development, because no sane homeowner would actually do something that stupid in their own house. (Plus, this happened in my parents’ house, too, which was built by the same people.)

News flash: the local ice cream place, Papa Jack’s, is once again serving pumpkin ice cream! This rare and wonderful delicacy only appears for a limited time each year. As a pregnant woman, it is of course my duty to consume as much ice cream as my poor squashed stomach can handle. If you see me headed for the ice cream parlor, don’t get in my way – it could be dangerous! (And please, hold the pickles…they really don’t go well with pumpkin ice cream.)