Do you remember what the sun looks like? How about blue sky? How about not having freezing toes?
I actually had to pour myself into my pre-preggy jeans because I had nothing else that was both CLEAN and WARM to wear out. Thank God for the bella band.
So Ernesto had some and almost gone, and we're getting the wind & rain treatment. Which wouldn't be all that bad, but it's been basically overcast and craptacular for at least a week now. And cold.
And I wouldn't complain about so much, but it's the end of summer!!! We're supposed to be able to sit out on the deck all morning w/ coffee and sunshine. Go swimming every day. Have dinner outside. Wear short sleeves. *sigh* I feel bad for Bob, he goes back on Tuesday. I go back on the...ok, I really should figure out when I go back, huh? I know my first day w/ kids is the 18th.
Not that I'll have a classroom, I have a feeling. Eh, what can you do?
Yesterday we were having money worries. Bob's a planner & an organizer. He has a very specific budget that we've been attempting to follow, so that we can save up the $ we need to replace my lost pay when I'm home w/ the baby. We originally planned to save big bucks this summer, and that just didn't happen. Well, we built the deck using stipend money, but it ended up costing more than we expected. And we suck and sticking to a grocery budget (hence project Sam's Club, starting today!).
I thought there was a possibility that I could come back a month earlier than expected. It would save us about $1400, after daycare costs. Of course there's the guilt of sending her to daycare at 3 months old, even though we really love the Malvern School. I checked the minutes of my school board's meeting, and my sub's hire was approved last week - so I'm guessing she's already signed her contract for November through April whatever, and that's set in stone. Or maybe it's not. I remember I only get so many weeks (I believe 12) after the birth...well what if I went into labor like a month early? The contract w/ the sub would have to be flexible then. Perhaps it's flexible now.
Now I have no idea how hard it'll be to put her daycare at 3 months old. I DO know that a lot of women (those not independently wealthy or married to high-up stinkin' executives) often go back after only 6 weeks! We really and I mean REALLY felt good about Malvern - like, "dear Go,d she'll be better off here than with me!" It costs, but certainly not as much as my paycheck! I know there's the whole intense motherly instincts and attachment issues. I also know that I'm not the type to stay at home. We'll see how this goes. I'm going to call my personnel director on Tuesday and 'just ask'. And deal with the guilt later. If I can't, we'll borrow $ from our summer pay account, and pay it back w/ stipends.
What sucks is I THINK I'd have to head back to school ON my birthday. Happy freakin' birthday to me.
So today we do Sam's Club - yes, I'm excited about going to Sam's and actually buying things. The first time we bought the membership cards. The 2nd time we bought a pack of pens and a 12 pack of Orbit gum (the best gum in the world) for $7! Yeah, the cashiers at wholesale clubs look at you weird when you just buy 2 things. Today we're probably dropping closet to $300, if Bobby's calculations are correct. And that'll be the majority of our groceries for the month...some of it will last a few months, actually. Looking forward to this.
And so far the 3rd trimester has been lovely. All 1 1/2 days of it. Except for the sobering experience of trying to put on my old jeans. It's weird, your whole life you'd absolutely freak and probably cry a river if your jeans that fit a month ago wouldn't even dream of zipping, let alone buttoning. Now it's a happy sign. At least that's what I have to keep reminding myself so I don't throw out the contents of the fridge. Of course I refuse to pay $50 for a pair of maternity jeans I'll wear 3 months and oh by the way, all pregnant chicks must be 6 feet tall, because every single pair of jeans I've had on at the maternity stores would need hemmed about half-way up. And there's another 15 bucks. Maternity clothes should be CHEAPER than regular clothes. You have NO extra money to spend. It only make sense!
Holy cow it's still coming down. Somebody put out the catnip and rawhide, we've got cats & dogs.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Friday, September 01, 2006
Celebration!!!
Happy third trimester to us.
Happy third trimester to us.
Happy third trimester dear little sweetie pie who'd better get the heck off my bladder and pop out with a well-timed, quick, and easy laaaaaboooooor...
Happy third trimester to US!!!!
Happy third trimester to us.
Happy third trimester dear little sweetie pie who'd better get the heck off my bladder and pop out with a well-timed, quick, and easy laaaaaboooooor...
Happy third trimester to US!!!!
Thursday, August 31, 2006
VMA's are Beautiful
So I'm channel surfing and I see Jack Black's pudgy little head telling me to change the channel to MTV because the VMA's are on. Ok...I'll give it a chance. Thursday night summer TV sucks. Watching the opening kind of makes you wonder if they've somehow accidentally aired the tape of the dress rehearsal. It's all very choppy thrown-together, and although Jack Black keeps making jokes about stuff not going well, stuff really ISN'T going that well. Which makes his jokes pretty damn lame.
And the first award I see is for best Male Video - and there's Busta Rhymes featuring pretty much everybody on earth including I believe an old babysitter, Kanye West - who stole the blues standard "I Gotta Woman" for his piece of crap , Nick Lachey - excuse me while I puke - and James Blunt, for "You're Beautiful". Remember that? Love that song. I love a hot British guy telling me I'm beautiful every time I turn on the radio, frankly.
Did you know that the lyrics aren't really "She could see from my face that I was flying high"?
Yeah, he was "F*ckin' high", if you get the original recording. Which totally changes the meaning... he he.
And I'm SHOUTING at my TV to let Blunt win and knowing he won't because Hiphop runs MTV and has for a few years...
But he DOES win. Holy! And I now have 10% more faith in this stupid network that used to play music.
Oooh, and now Shakira is spending a good 20 seconds doing convincingly authentic Arabian dance before her song starts. Damn, and she actually stays on key while belly dancing. New respect here. I'm quite jealous of her famously truthful hips. ;-)
Do they use any over-dubbing for awards show performances, or can I actually be very impressed with Shakira right now?
And the Female Video: Ok, except for Nelly Furtado's song (which I hate only because it was a very annoying cell phone commercial), I would have no problem at all with Kelly Clarkson, Shakira, Christina Aguilera, or Madonna. Christina's video is the best, hands down. I believe I've blogged about that piece before. Kelly wins. Ok. The girl's got a voice on her.
Ewww ok naked Jackass 2 cast. What the hell is wrong with these boys...and why is that midget naked?
And the first award I see is for best Male Video - and there's Busta Rhymes featuring pretty much everybody on earth including I believe an old babysitter, Kanye West - who stole the blues standard "I Gotta Woman" for his piece of crap , Nick Lachey - excuse me while I puke - and James Blunt, for "You're Beautiful". Remember that? Love that song. I love a hot British guy telling me I'm beautiful every time I turn on the radio, frankly.
Did you know that the lyrics aren't really "She could see from my face that I was flying high"?
Yeah, he was "F*ckin' high", if you get the original recording. Which totally changes the meaning... he he.
And I'm SHOUTING at my TV to let Blunt win and knowing he won't because Hiphop runs MTV and has for a few years...
But he DOES win. Holy! And I now have 10% more faith in this stupid network that used to play music.
Oooh, and now Shakira is spending a good 20 seconds doing convincingly authentic Arabian dance before her song starts. Damn, and she actually stays on key while belly dancing. New respect here. I'm quite jealous of her famously truthful hips. ;-)
Do they use any over-dubbing for awards show performances, or can I actually be very impressed with Shakira right now?
And the Female Video: Ok, except for Nelly Furtado's song (which I hate only because it was a very annoying cell phone commercial), I would have no problem at all with Kelly Clarkson, Shakira, Christina Aguilera, or Madonna. Christina's video is the best, hands down. I believe I've blogged about that piece before. Kelly wins. Ok. The girl's got a voice on her.
Ewww ok naked Jackass 2 cast. What the hell is wrong with these boys...and why is that midget naked?
August 31st - RIP August!!! & family gathering
I...cannot...believe...that...August...is...OVER!!! *WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!*
Actually the end of summer this year is for me kind of bittersweet.
I had an awesome summer. Best summer in...well, ever. No, seriously:
Last summer (2005) we moved into this house, dealt w/ the up-to-the-last-second stress that we wouldn't GET the house after negotiating for weeks, moved, and spent a week in California for my Dad's re-wedding (no major issues w/ Dad getting remarried, but it wasn't exactly stress or emotional baggage-free).
The summer (2004) before that we were comfortably in our old house, and we'd JUST gotten Max, so we were trying to train a new (gigantic) puppy in a tiny house, and I worked for this incredibly stupid day camp in Cherry Hill called "let's drop the over-privileged people's brats here with the disinterested, underpaid counselors and tell the music teacher she has to put on a show in 2 weeks w/ 30 minutes rehearsal a day, and by the way she's responsible for not letting it RAIN that day because there's nowhere else to put the show but outside" Or the name may have been "Cherry Hill Arts Camp". I forget. Eh, the money was excellent, the hours were lovely, the people were absolute crap.
And the summer before that (2003) we graduated from college, found an apartment, pulled off a pretty damn good wedding for 22-year-olds w/ some family help, worked in a WAWA deli, found and prepared for two decent teaching positions, and poor Bobby fell off a ladder at his 2nd job as a movie theater manager, and broke his arm VERY badly, had surgery, etc. We were nuts that summer.
So this summer was calm and easy-going, by comparison. Oh, and all summers previous to those aforementioned sucked because A) I was waitressing and B) not living with Bob. Or I was in High School dating ponytail-guitar boy. Well, we all need a ponytail-guitar boy in our lives at somepoint so we can appreciate a LOVING, CARING, HUMAN BEING when we start dating one of those next.
So we went over to Bob's grandparent's apartment last night. Bob's mom brought dinner (baked Ziti, which I had to be very careful of, with the GD) She thankfully made (store-bought *gasp!* ) meatballs that everybody picked on but I adore because I think they've got a lot more flavor than regular meatballs...and I was raised on store-bought stuff anyway. Bob was very sweet, slipping me an extra meatball...gotta have my protein, he says. In a more hormonal moment that would have made me cry, I think.
There were 9 of us around that kitchen table...Grandmom, Grandpop, Bob's Mom, Bob's Dad, Nick, Laura, Sean (her bf who we all like and approve of and I'm sure has the older female relatives considering a nice July wedding two years from now), Bob, and me. It was quite ruccus, the conversation monstly centered around tales of Uncle Frank, my father in-law's older, wilder brother. See, Frank did it all, from alcohol to drugs to girls to fast cars to stealing the giant cigar from the Moe statue on top of Pep Boy's. Chemical imbalance there, I say. Well now he has 3 wilder kids to contend with. I won't even get into their issues, that's not quite such a source of family pride. Although the one that's our age has the sweetest-looking little 3-year old daughter.
At one point in the conversation about Uncle Frank's habbits, someone said, "Pot". Well dear Grandmom who apparently can't hear much anymore says loudly, "oh, no, I wouldn't have hit him with THAT, it would have hurt his head!"
...'bout peed myself.
Well today is another do-nothing day. Oh now, pardon me, we have a termite inspection at 10:00 AM. Whoo-freakin'-hoo. These overcast, cold, somewhat rainy days are starting to get to me. Today would have been a great day to go down the shore one last time, too. Oh well.
Must do something productive today...like...finally cleaning out the cedar chests and getting the summer to-do list all checked off. And do I really want to do that? No. Cause if the list is done...then summer's over. And we're back where we started.
Actually the end of summer this year is for me kind of bittersweet.
I had an awesome summer. Best summer in...well, ever. No, seriously:
Last summer (2005) we moved into this house, dealt w/ the up-to-the-last-second stress that we wouldn't GET the house after negotiating for weeks, moved, and spent a week in California for my Dad's re-wedding (no major issues w/ Dad getting remarried, but it wasn't exactly stress or emotional baggage-free).
The summer (2004) before that we were comfortably in our old house, and we'd JUST gotten Max, so we were trying to train a new (gigantic) puppy in a tiny house, and I worked for this incredibly stupid day camp in Cherry Hill called "let's drop the over-privileged people's brats here with the disinterested, underpaid counselors and tell the music teacher she has to put on a show in 2 weeks w/ 30 minutes rehearsal a day, and by the way she's responsible for not letting it RAIN that day because there's nowhere else to put the show but outside" Or the name may have been "Cherry Hill Arts Camp". I forget. Eh, the money was excellent, the hours were lovely, the people were absolute crap.
And the summer before that (2003) we graduated from college, found an apartment, pulled off a pretty damn good wedding for 22-year-olds w/ some family help, worked in a WAWA deli, found and prepared for two decent teaching positions, and poor Bobby fell off a ladder at his 2nd job as a movie theater manager, and broke his arm VERY badly, had surgery, etc. We were nuts that summer.
So this summer was calm and easy-going, by comparison. Oh, and all summers previous to those aforementioned sucked because A) I was waitressing and B) not living with Bob. Or I was in High School dating ponytail-guitar boy. Well, we all need a ponytail-guitar boy in our lives at somepoint so we can appreciate a LOVING, CARING, HUMAN BEING when we start dating one of those next.
So we went over to Bob's grandparent's apartment last night. Bob's mom brought dinner (baked Ziti, which I had to be very careful of, with the GD) She thankfully made (store-bought *gasp!* ) meatballs that everybody picked on but I adore because I think they've got a lot more flavor than regular meatballs...and I was raised on store-bought stuff anyway. Bob was very sweet, slipping me an extra meatball...gotta have my protein, he says. In a more hormonal moment that would have made me cry, I think.
There were 9 of us around that kitchen table...Grandmom, Grandpop, Bob's Mom, Bob's Dad, Nick, Laura, Sean (her bf who we all like and approve of and I'm sure has the older female relatives considering a nice July wedding two years from now), Bob, and me. It was quite ruccus, the conversation monstly centered around tales of Uncle Frank, my father in-law's older, wilder brother. See, Frank did it all, from alcohol to drugs to girls to fast cars to stealing the giant cigar from the Moe statue on top of Pep Boy's. Chemical imbalance there, I say. Well now he has 3 wilder kids to contend with. I won't even get into their issues, that's not quite such a source of family pride. Although the one that's our age has the sweetest-looking little 3-year old daughter.
At one point in the conversation about Uncle Frank's habbits, someone said, "Pot". Well dear Grandmom who apparently can't hear much anymore says loudly, "oh, no, I wouldn't have hit him with THAT, it would have hurt his head!"
...'bout peed myself.
Well today is another do-nothing day. Oh now, pardon me, we have a termite inspection at 10:00 AM. Whoo-freakin'-hoo. These overcast, cold, somewhat rainy days are starting to get to me. Today would have been a great day to go down the shore one last time, too. Oh well.
Must do something productive today...like...finally cleaning out the cedar chests and getting the summer to-do list all checked off. And do I really want to do that? No. Cause if the list is done...then summer's over. And we're back where we started.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Bobby, because he's wonderful, played Scrabble with me, and that was the highlight of my day.
MAN was I in a funk today.
I blogged this morning, what am I doing blogging again?
NOTHING, that's what. Cause all I got accomplished was a steaming heap of grade-A, certified NADDA today.
At least that's how I feel. Ok, I walked on the treadmill, did the dishes, blogged, watched too much TV, and read. But that's not doing something. I guess I could add "gestated" to the list.
See, I have this thing about doing something. I have to do something, go somewhere, have something to fill in the blank with when I say at the end of the day, "Today I ________". This is a sick and twisted little quirk of mine, this need to be able to claim some kind of day's activity, and I don't know how good it'll be for me in the months ahead.
For you see, dear peeps, I am not the "Stay At Home Type". I see all these blinkies with "I love my kids more than work. Proud SAHM (stay at home mom)" and my knee-jerk reaction is Lord, better you than me, lady! And how horrible is that? I'm SOOO psyched about having a baby, soooo ready and impatient and thrilled, but I'm not 100% sure that I'll particularly enjoy the day in and day out of seeing nothing but the inside of my house.
"Oh, you'll take her to the park, the store, the mall" they all say. Yeah, 'they' have apparently not napped and fed and burped and changed and pacified and bundled up an infant for the March weather and then managed to do something with her while they crated the 100 lb. Labrador retriever so they could go to the store and get out of the house when their husband is coming home soon and could easily stop and get the necessary jar of pickles himself. Not that I've done all of that either, mind you, but I've been schooled by several mommies, and frankly, let's be realistic here. You don't throw 'em in their car seat and go. There are procedures here. This is a project. One that spells a lot less time out of the house. My inactivity today might have something to do with the fact that I feel, as I believe I've said before here, like freakin' SHAMU (sp?) and have little to no energy at times. (And other times I'm bouncing off the walls, but who's counting?) But I was just a depressed little mess earlier!
Of course there were tons of other mini-things bothering me. The only one of the dozen or so I care to mention is that summer's over next week and the weather won't stop being crappy. Oh, and we were having tacos and I SO did not feel like tacos of any kind. Yeah, me. The Mexican Food Vacuum. That's how you know I was nuts. And that's how I know I'm not me, when a dinner I'm not in the mood for makes me all wussy.
So during my bi-monthly irrational crying jag I lamented all this and of course I'm less worried now that the preggy hormones have waned. It's sick, you're sitting there thinking, "This is not a big deal. This is stupid. Wait, what am I crying about again?" and you seriously don't know, but you still cry. It's called crazy-ass-hormone-woman, and she takes over once every few weeks. I also blame her for the obsession with all things at Baby Depot, and...hey, didn't my bra used to FIT?
Poor Bob. Except for the bra thing.
MAN was I in a funk today.
I blogged this morning, what am I doing blogging again?
NOTHING, that's what. Cause all I got accomplished was a steaming heap of grade-A, certified NADDA today.
At least that's how I feel. Ok, I walked on the treadmill, did the dishes, blogged, watched too much TV, and read. But that's not doing something. I guess I could add "gestated" to the list.
See, I have this thing about doing something. I have to do something, go somewhere, have something to fill in the blank with when I say at the end of the day, "Today I ________". This is a sick and twisted little quirk of mine, this need to be able to claim some kind of day's activity, and I don't know how good it'll be for me in the months ahead.
For you see, dear peeps, I am not the "Stay At Home Type". I see all these blinkies with "I love my kids more than work. Proud SAHM (stay at home mom)" and my knee-jerk reaction is Lord, better you than me, lady! And how horrible is that? I'm SOOO psyched about having a baby, soooo ready and impatient and thrilled, but I'm not 100% sure that I'll particularly enjoy the day in and day out of seeing nothing but the inside of my house.
"Oh, you'll take her to the park, the store, the mall" they all say. Yeah, 'they' have apparently not napped and fed and burped and changed and pacified and bundled up an infant for the March weather and then managed to do something with her while they crated the 100 lb. Labrador retriever so they could go to the store and get out of the house when their husband is coming home soon and could easily stop and get the necessary jar of pickles himself. Not that I've done all of that either, mind you, but I've been schooled by several mommies, and frankly, let's be realistic here. You don't throw 'em in their car seat and go. There are procedures here. This is a project. One that spells a lot less time out of the house. My inactivity today might have something to do with the fact that I feel, as I believe I've said before here, like freakin' SHAMU (sp?) and have little to no energy at times. (And other times I'm bouncing off the walls, but who's counting?) But I was just a depressed little mess earlier!
Of course there were tons of other mini-things bothering me. The only one of the dozen or so I care to mention is that summer's over next week and the weather won't stop being crappy. Oh, and we were having tacos and I SO did not feel like tacos of any kind. Yeah, me. The Mexican Food Vacuum. That's how you know I was nuts. And that's how I know I'm not me, when a dinner I'm not in the mood for makes me all wussy.
So during my bi-monthly irrational crying jag I lamented all this and of course I'm less worried now that the preggy hormones have waned. It's sick, you're sitting there thinking, "This is not a big deal. This is stupid. Wait, what am I crying about again?" and you seriously don't know, but you still cry. It's called crazy-ass-hormone-woman, and she takes over once every few weeks. I also blame her for the obsession with all things at Baby Depot, and...hey, didn't my bra used to FIT?
Poor Bob. Except for the bra thing.
Early Morning Christina Aguilera
So Bob gets up early this morning to go work in his classroom, and I get up with him, cause I'm nice. And I, too, need to accept that pretty soon 6AM will be wakey-wakey time, so this will be 'good for me'.
He leaves, and I pour myself the 2 oz. of coffee (and I'm not kidding) that I allow myself every few days...hear that? That's the sound of health-hysterical pregnant women everywhere fainting and hitting the floor. Friggin' zealots. I'm third trimester and it's pre-7AM! Baby's genetically predisposed to have a coffee addiction anyway. I crash on the couch, and turn on the tube. And of course I don't want to hear about this psycho who may or may not have killed the poor little girl who'd been poured into beauty contest costumes her whole life, and I can't do Katrina Anniversary news this early with my raging hormones, I don't have enough tissues in the house. After the Jesus Freaks and perky exercise people, VH1 seemed an obvious choice.
And here's this Christina Aguilera video - I'm assuming it's her new song, I'm woefully out of the MTV generational loop. "Ain't No Other Man".
My Dad shocked me the other day by mentioning that he bought her new album and really likes it. So I thought perhaps I'd give her a chance before flipping to the Discovery Health channel and crying through "An Adoption Story".
The video starts w/ what may or may not be an authentic blues song, sung Billie-style, and I'm intrigued. Then we break into the actual song with a backbeat, obviously more modern. Christina does one of those "oooh-oh-oho-oh"'s where she moves her jaw to change notes - a big no-no as I understand vocal training, but the girl CAN sing, so whatever. It's a different style.
There's trumpets and trombones. Like, ON the screen and in the music. Ok, you have me. And it's all very prohibition-era chic. Love it.
I'm impressed when any pop music uses actual brass tracks-and actual brass musicians-to thicken their sound. It sounds real to me, anyway (as in, non-synthesized, somebody with chops actually got paid for recording the samples). Good stuff.
I'm watching and contemplating how many pins it's taking to hold the little black hat onto her head while she jerks her blond curls around gloriously to the "break it down" section, when it occurs to me that we haven't seen a white dancer yet except Christina. Seriously. One or two, maybe, depending on how dark your TV set is. It's an all-black jazz club. And their queen bee is a skinny white chick. Interesting. Ok, she's of enough Hispanic origin to claim it, yes. I'm talking sheer appearances here, people.
No please don't get me wrong - I have no issue with that, there WERE all-black jazz clubs, and they were, from what I've been taught, the place to hear the real music of the times. Were there white singers there? Um...I'll have to get back to you on that. Maybe?
And it's not the historical accuracy that strikes me, but rather that if you close your eyes, Christina's 'black', too. You know how you can often tell a person's race by the timbre of their voice? Well she does NOT have the voice a former Mouseketeer. Damn, girl. Not even close.
Nothing breathy or nasal about her, and I VERY much appreciate that. Not that those qualities don't have their time and place. But I wonder if that was intentional:
"Christina sings 'black', let's make it an all-black jazz club". Or the choice of the dancers' ethnicity supposed to appeal to all the suburban middle-class white children (that I teach) who are under the impression that the only cool music is 'urban' (black) music? Or are they making Chistina palatable to the black demographic? Or both?
I did notice that when she actually interacted with a man in the video, HE was white. So I guess we're not going to cross the interracial line, huh? See, that I was a little disappointed about. What, she can dance and party with black women but she can't have a black man?
Eh, I really have to stop over-thinking stuff that's on early-morning VH1. Either way, I like the song, I like the arrangement, I like the video, and although I have no voice aspirations of my own beyond exhibiting a good vocal model for the K-5 set, I'm jealous of that girl's pipes. I actually checked out a live version on youtube, and she does NOT suck.
Right after the video - stylistic coincidence? - they do a news break about Usher jumping into the role of Billy Flynn in" Chicago" on Broadway. Well, Usher's another one that can actually sing. *F you, Brittany* Interesting... I would really like to see that. I think.
He leaves, and I pour myself the 2 oz. of coffee (and I'm not kidding) that I allow myself every few days...hear that? That's the sound of health-hysterical pregnant women everywhere fainting and hitting the floor. Friggin' zealots. I'm third trimester and it's pre-7AM! Baby's genetically predisposed to have a coffee addiction anyway. I crash on the couch, and turn on the tube. And of course I don't want to hear about this psycho who may or may not have killed the poor little girl who'd been poured into beauty contest costumes her whole life, and I can't do Katrina Anniversary news this early with my raging hormones, I don't have enough tissues in the house. After the Jesus Freaks and perky exercise people, VH1 seemed an obvious choice.
And here's this Christina Aguilera video - I'm assuming it's her new song, I'm woefully out of the MTV generational loop. "Ain't No Other Man".
My Dad shocked me the other day by mentioning that he bought her new album and really likes it. So I thought perhaps I'd give her a chance before flipping to the Discovery Health channel and crying through "An Adoption Story".
The video starts w/ what may or may not be an authentic blues song, sung Billie-style, and I'm intrigued. Then we break into the actual song with a backbeat, obviously more modern. Christina does one of those "oooh-oh-oho-oh"'s where she moves her jaw to change notes - a big no-no as I understand vocal training, but the girl CAN sing, so whatever. It's a different style.
There's trumpets and trombones. Like, ON the screen and in the music. Ok, you have me. And it's all very prohibition-era chic. Love it.
I'm impressed when any pop music uses actual brass tracks-and actual brass musicians-to thicken their sound. It sounds real to me, anyway (as in, non-synthesized, somebody with chops actually got paid for recording the samples). Good stuff.
I'm watching and contemplating how many pins it's taking to hold the little black hat onto her head while she jerks her blond curls around gloriously to the "break it down" section, when it occurs to me that we haven't seen a white dancer yet except Christina. Seriously. One or two, maybe, depending on how dark your TV set is. It's an all-black jazz club. And their queen bee is a skinny white chick. Interesting. Ok, she's of enough Hispanic origin to claim it, yes. I'm talking sheer appearances here, people.
No please don't get me wrong - I have no issue with that, there WERE all-black jazz clubs, and they were, from what I've been taught, the place to hear the real music of the times. Were there white singers there? Um...I'll have to get back to you on that. Maybe?
And it's not the historical accuracy that strikes me, but rather that if you close your eyes, Christina's 'black', too. You know how you can often tell a person's race by the timbre of their voice? Well she does NOT have the voice a former Mouseketeer. Damn, girl. Not even close.
Nothing breathy or nasal about her, and I VERY much appreciate that. Not that those qualities don't have their time and place. But I wonder if that was intentional:
"Christina sings 'black', let's make it an all-black jazz club". Or the choice of the dancers' ethnicity supposed to appeal to all the suburban middle-class white children (that I teach) who are under the impression that the only cool music is 'urban' (black) music? Or are they making Chistina palatable to the black demographic? Or both?
I did notice that when she actually interacted with a man in the video, HE was white. So I guess we're not going to cross the interracial line, huh? See, that I was a little disappointed about. What, she can dance and party with black women but she can't have a black man?
Eh, I really have to stop over-thinking stuff that's on early-morning VH1. Either way, I like the song, I like the arrangement, I like the video, and although I have no voice aspirations of my own beyond exhibiting a good vocal model for the K-5 set, I'm jealous of that girl's pipes. I actually checked out a live version on youtube, and she does NOT suck.
Right after the video - stylistic coincidence? - they do a news break about Usher jumping into the role of Billy Flynn in" Chicago" on Broadway. Well, Usher's another one that can actually sing. *F you, Brittany* Interesting... I would really like to see that. I think.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
August 26th - In Sam's Club & my PJ's
Huh. Well, I just read the Saracastic Journalists daily post, thinking it would get my creative juices flowing, but she's all depressing today, so NEVERMIND.
Yesterday...hmmm...I remember there BEING a yesterday, just not much of what I did. Oh! I know! I sat on the couch w/ my notebook on my lap and watched TV for a while. Two screens.
OH! Good Lord! Yesterday (and the day before) each felt like 2 days in one. Seriously, one of those "wait, was that this morning or yesterday that I _____?" moments. Duh. Ok, got it together now:
Yesterday we had our 3rd growth scan, and a happy little 27 week old baby was actually willing to behave and give the tech what she needed. The tech was VERY business-like. No trying to get cute profile shots, no printed-out pictures, even! *wah!* Some of these techs don't realize that A) we pregger women are hormonal and needy and B) we know how to kill a person with an ultrasound transducer in a way that would make McGuyver proud. Eh, anyway, we got no pics, but baby is fine. She was measuring a tad big - somewhere in the 28 1/2 week range. That put her in the 68th percentile for growth & development, which immediately freaked me out. I started picturing an early C-section or a hellish 30-hour labor and resulting in the episiotomy from Hell. Nope. The very sweet perinatologist said they don't even begin to worry until the baby enters the 90th percentile. Ok, so we've got some wiggle room before my child is perceived as the incredible hulk or one of those freaky giant babies they bring on Jerry Springer. Love it.
She was in the breech position, though, which 'is not unsuual' at this time, but 'could become a concern if she doesn't change position in the next 8 weeks'. Flip, baby, flip! She was head-down last month, and she moves like it's her job. I'm not worried yet. I have no clue how a 2 1/2 pound ANYTHING could poke me in the ribs so forcefully, though. Oh, and she's still doing the cervix shuffle, too. That's a sensation everyone should experience before they try to use the word "WEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIRD" with any kind of authority.
So we came home from the growth scan and chilled most of the day. Made my grandmother's recipe for Poppyseed Chicken, which we affectionately refer to as "Chicken Cracker Surprise", and then headed to *drumroll, please*
SAM'S CLUB!
We thought it was $100+ at least for a membership into the land of giant vats of mayo. Nope, $40 a year, and I highly recommend it. No, we're not a family of 8, but if you plan well and buy wisely , that place can save you MUCHO MOOLAH! Holy crap, the meat prices alone! $2-something a pound for steak!!! You just have to first make sure that it is actually cheaper than buying each item at your regular store. And never buy something unless you're sure that you'll use it up before it goes bad (if it goes bad at all.) We bought memberships and walked slowly around the whole store, just checking things out. It's a pretty darn big store. High ceiling, huge shelves, big products, cart the size of a small SUV...I felt like a 4-year old.
Then we went grocery shopping at our regular haunt, Wal-Mart. Yeah, we apparently love the Waltons. Well, they put stores near my house, what can I do?
That was pretty much Friday.
Saturday (oops, that's today, isn't it?) was a laundry day, TV & computer day, reading day, relaxing in these lovely giant soft sweatpants I got at Fashion Bug for a whopping $7 day (hey, I'll fit into them no matter how big my little baby elephant grows!) but I was feeling a tad blah and wanted out of the house. I did feel some awesomely strong jabs in the ribs after lunch. Just my right side. She leaves my left side completely alone. And Bobby got to feel them, too, which is so cool, cause it means somebody else knows I'm not crazy and imaginging these pokes and stretches from within. *Alien movie flashbacks!*
Bob suggested going to Sam's Club (again? Yes, again!) and this time pricing things so we could compare the unit prices to that of Wal-Mart and figure out exactly which products are best bought and which store. Yeah, we're that organized.
Wait, it gets better: we do a weekly 'meal planner'. In other words, we figure out what we're going to cook for each meal, breakfast-lunch-dinner, 7-days a week, ahead of time. Then we have a shopping list on the same sheet of paper, and we go through meal by meal and check off the groceries needed to make that meal. This results in very little "well we were going to have chicken but oops I forgot to buy chicken so let's go to McDonald's" and very little impulse-buying. Well we decided to switch to a MONTLY meal planner. This will help a lot when we're trying to deal with a new baby, knowing stuff far ahead of time like that. We're figuring on our usual Friday-night trips to Wal-Mart (we have a super-center, by the way, so it's a grocery store too) and a montly Saturday trip to Sam's Club. Saturdays are best because we have fewer commitments and there are ladies giving out free samples of all kinds of yumminess, I discovered today. Whole cookies! Mmmmm...sorry, pregnant-girl reared her hungry head.
So we make this month-long planner and figure out what groceries we need and which store to get them at, going to Sam's the first week of the month and stocking up on all the not-very-perishable goodies at crazy low prices we can - their medicine prices were insane, too - and then go to Wal-Mart and get the other goods. Sam's also had a very good price on diapers and, should we need it, formula. (For anyone who doesn't know, yes, breastfeeding best but sometimes it doesn't work out. I firmly resolved to avoid all the early mistakes, stay healthy, and MAKE it work...but I sometimes don't get my way. That's where formua comes in. With dollar signs attatched. )
So Monday is pasta night and Tuesday is Mexican night (I love Tuesday night already), Saturday is fish - cause you have to buy fish fresh and then use it quickly and we shop on Fridays. Is it less than spontaneous? Yes. Predictable and potentially boring? Yeah, all right. But will it help me somehow get the spit-up off my face and dinner on the table come winter? Damn straight. And most importantly, it makes us stick to a budget. I'm telling ya, want to have money for anything big? Like a car, a house, a kid, etc.? Budget now. Sock it away, baby. I'm really glad we're doing this, and doing it NOW, so we can get into the swing of things before things get hairy. It was Bob's idea, btw. I'm just the beauty behind the brains. He's awesome at planning this kind of stuff and making things run well. My smarty hubby!
But I digress. I'll close with a list of free samples obtained at Sam's Club today, as an inspirational message:
Chicken sausage w/ asparagus & mozerella inside
Nacho cheese on 2 chips
Whole chocolate chip cookie
Cherry tomatoes w/ some kind of basil-ranch dipping sauce
Dill cheese on a cracker
Pepperoni Pizza.
Ah, the power of free food.
So that was today and yesterday. Growth scan, lounging, Sam's Club w/ free food.
Viva Summer.
Yesterday...hmmm...I remember there BEING a yesterday, just not much of what I did. Oh! I know! I sat on the couch w/ my notebook on my lap and watched TV for a while. Two screens.
OH! Good Lord! Yesterday (and the day before) each felt like 2 days in one. Seriously, one of those "wait, was that this morning or yesterday that I _____?" moments. Duh. Ok, got it together now:
Yesterday we had our 3rd growth scan, and a happy little 27 week old baby was actually willing to behave and give the tech what she needed. The tech was VERY business-like. No trying to get cute profile shots, no printed-out pictures, even! *wah!* Some of these techs don't realize that A) we pregger women are hormonal and needy and B) we know how to kill a person with an ultrasound transducer in a way that would make McGuyver proud. Eh, anyway, we got no pics, but baby is fine. She was measuring a tad big - somewhere in the 28 1/2 week range. That put her in the 68th percentile for growth & development, which immediately freaked me out. I started picturing an early C-section or a hellish 30-hour labor and resulting in the episiotomy from Hell. Nope. The very sweet perinatologist said they don't even begin to worry until the baby enters the 90th percentile. Ok, so we've got some wiggle room before my child is perceived as the incredible hulk or one of those freaky giant babies they bring on Jerry Springer. Love it.
She was in the breech position, though, which 'is not unsuual' at this time, but 'could become a concern if she doesn't change position in the next 8 weeks'. Flip, baby, flip! She was head-down last month, and she moves like it's her job. I'm not worried yet. I have no clue how a 2 1/2 pound ANYTHING could poke me in the ribs so forcefully, though. Oh, and she's still doing the cervix shuffle, too. That's a sensation everyone should experience before they try to use the word "WEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIRD" with any kind of authority.
So we came home from the growth scan and chilled most of the day. Made my grandmother's recipe for Poppyseed Chicken, which we affectionately refer to as "Chicken Cracker Surprise", and then headed to *drumroll, please*
SAM'S CLUB!
We thought it was $100+ at least for a membership into the land of giant vats of mayo. Nope, $40 a year, and I highly recommend it. No, we're not a family of 8, but if you plan well and buy wisely , that place can save you MUCHO MOOLAH! Holy crap, the meat prices alone! $2-something a pound for steak!!! You just have to first make sure that it is actually cheaper than buying each item at your regular store. And never buy something unless you're sure that you'll use it up before it goes bad (if it goes bad at all.) We bought memberships and walked slowly around the whole store, just checking things out. It's a pretty darn big store. High ceiling, huge shelves, big products, cart the size of a small SUV...I felt like a 4-year old.
Then we went grocery shopping at our regular haunt, Wal-Mart. Yeah, we apparently love the Waltons. Well, they put stores near my house, what can I do?
That was pretty much Friday.
Saturday (oops, that's today, isn't it?) was a laundry day, TV & computer day, reading day, relaxing in these lovely giant soft sweatpants I got at Fashion Bug for a whopping $7 day (hey, I'll fit into them no matter how big my little baby elephant grows!) but I was feeling a tad blah and wanted out of the house. I did feel some awesomely strong jabs in the ribs after lunch. Just my right side. She leaves my left side completely alone. And Bobby got to feel them, too, which is so cool, cause it means somebody else knows I'm not crazy and imaginging these pokes and stretches from within. *Alien movie flashbacks!*
Bob suggested going to Sam's Club (again? Yes, again!) and this time pricing things so we could compare the unit prices to that of Wal-Mart and figure out exactly which products are best bought and which store. Yeah, we're that organized.
Wait, it gets better: we do a weekly 'meal planner'. In other words, we figure out what we're going to cook for each meal, breakfast-lunch-dinner, 7-days a week, ahead of time. Then we have a shopping list on the same sheet of paper, and we go through meal by meal and check off the groceries needed to make that meal. This results in very little "well we were going to have chicken but oops I forgot to buy chicken so let's go to McDonald's" and very little impulse-buying. Well we decided to switch to a MONTLY meal planner. This will help a lot when we're trying to deal with a new baby, knowing stuff far ahead of time like that. We're figuring on our usual Friday-night trips to Wal-Mart (we have a super-center, by the way, so it's a grocery store too) and a montly Saturday trip to Sam's Club. Saturdays are best because we have fewer commitments and there are ladies giving out free samples of all kinds of yumminess, I discovered today. Whole cookies! Mmmmm...sorry, pregnant-girl reared her hungry head.
So we make this month-long planner and figure out what groceries we need and which store to get them at, going to Sam's the first week of the month and stocking up on all the not-very-perishable goodies at crazy low prices we can - their medicine prices were insane, too - and then go to Wal-Mart and get the other goods. Sam's also had a very good price on diapers and, should we need it, formula. (For anyone who doesn't know, yes, breastfeeding best but sometimes it doesn't work out. I firmly resolved to avoid all the early mistakes, stay healthy, and MAKE it work...but I sometimes don't get my way. That's where formua comes in. With dollar signs attatched. )
So Monday is pasta night and Tuesday is Mexican night (I love Tuesday night already), Saturday is fish - cause you have to buy fish fresh and then use it quickly and we shop on Fridays. Is it less than spontaneous? Yes. Predictable and potentially boring? Yeah, all right. But will it help me somehow get the spit-up off my face and dinner on the table come winter? Damn straight. And most importantly, it makes us stick to a budget. I'm telling ya, want to have money for anything big? Like a car, a house, a kid, etc.? Budget now. Sock it away, baby. I'm really glad we're doing this, and doing it NOW, so we can get into the swing of things before things get hairy. It was Bob's idea, btw. I'm just the beauty behind the brains. He's awesome at planning this kind of stuff and making things run well. My smarty hubby!
But I digress. I'll close with a list of free samples obtained at Sam's Club today, as an inspirational message:
Chicken sausage w/ asparagus & mozerella inside
Nacho cheese on 2 chips
Whole chocolate chip cookie
Cherry tomatoes w/ some kind of basil-ranch dipping sauce
Dill cheese on a cracker
Pepperoni Pizza.
Ah, the power of free food.
So that was today and yesterday. Growth scan, lounging, Sam's Club w/ free food.
Viva Summer.
This week's sarcasm, I mean, ticker!
Gotta love it. Except I'm already in New Jersey. So I guess I won't have to kick the idiot very far.
Actually, I kind of like when people ask how I'm feeling. Of course nobody wants to hear that you feel like an elephant and, honest-to-God, have to pee every 15 minutes. So I just usually say, "Great!" or "fine, thanks" and cheerfully point out that miraculously my ankles are not swollen a bit yet. *knock wood*
I'm waiting, though. 90 days left.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
August 24th - Dad goes home & SLEEPY
Well, I think we're the first people ever to get jetlag without flying. All day I've been feeling about 3 hours ahead of the real time - probably because we got up around 5:00 AM after a summer of 9:00 or later.
Dad had to be at the airport at 6:30 AM or so. Well we all got up and ready to go, and we looked for his flight online to see if it was running on time. It wasn't there! We called the airport, and the recording said they had no record of the flight number! Dad finally got through to a real person who was very unhelpful, and kind of criptic. He kind of sounded like he was reading from a script. It came out that there was a 'security issue' with the flight, or something, and the guy couldn't give Dad any info over the phone, but told him to come to the airport for the flight anyway.
We dropped him off easily at Philadelphia airport at the Delta gate, and just like that, off he went to California! It caught me off gard, he'd just gotten there less than 48 hours before, and I only see him twice a year, if we're lucky. I never realized how much I miss talking to him and having him around. I'm usually perfectly ok with him living in California, but today it really bothered me. I was kind of bummed for a good part of the morning. It's also the last 'thing' of the summer, with visits and trips and stuff happening like crazy recently, it was a lot of this, "well now what?" feeling. I also just missed Dad, I guess.
I thought I'd go back to sleep after we got home, but I ended up relaxing with Bob on the deck and having lunch out there first - it's been so nice lately outside. We were starved by 10:30 so lunch was a tad early. THEN it was naptime. But not before I found "To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar" on the Bravo network and watched the whole thing, because let's face it, Patrick Swayze in drag is not to be missed. Then there was much sleep.
I woke up feeling like it was middle of the night (it was 4:30) and finally got a shower...yeah, I value sleep more than being clean some mornings, ok?
Bob made sauce...mmmm, Bob's sauce... and I sat and filled out the first few pages of the baby book while he cooked. That got us to talking about 'how we met' because of the "How Mommy and Daddy met" page, and Bob actually got out old emails from those days, and we walked down memory lane. Ah, the good old days. It seems sooo long ago! Well, this September it'll be 7 years we've been together...GEEZ we're old fogies! Well, it's been a lovely 7 years, for sure. :-)
On a slightly more interesting note, it's getting harder to type with this laptop on my lap. First of all, I have an increasingly smaller lap every day, it seems. But lately if I rest the laptop against my tummy at all, it moves. Yes, the laptop gets bumped just enough to kind of mess up my typing. By my kid. Who, by the way, is 27 weeks baked tomorrow.
Third Trimester.
Holy freakin' mother of everything.
Tomorrow we have a growth scan at Virtua at 11AM. We'll see how baby's growing, if her development is on schedule. They check this every 3-4 weeks with GD patients, beause babies of moms with GD tend to grow too big too fast, and that causes all sort of potentially life-threatening issues. She was measuring right on last time, August 1st, and had no heart problems visible on the fetal echo. It's SO exciting to get to see baby at these monthly scans. She always shocks us with how much she's grown...and how much she moves, although I'm quite aware of how much she moves now. Hence the bouncing keyboard. But although it feels like Christmas morning to get to see a picture of our daughter, we're actually there to check for issues in growth and development because of the GD...so there's always that bit of nervousness and "what if?" feeling, too.
Ha! My whole stomach just jerked! Well, she's apparently got healthy legs, at least!
Dad had to be at the airport at 6:30 AM or so. Well we all got up and ready to go, and we looked for his flight online to see if it was running on time. It wasn't there! We called the airport, and the recording said they had no record of the flight number! Dad finally got through to a real person who was very unhelpful, and kind of criptic. He kind of sounded like he was reading from a script. It came out that there was a 'security issue' with the flight, or something, and the guy couldn't give Dad any info over the phone, but told him to come to the airport for the flight anyway.
We dropped him off easily at Philadelphia airport at the Delta gate, and just like that, off he went to California! It caught me off gard, he'd just gotten there less than 48 hours before, and I only see him twice a year, if we're lucky. I never realized how much I miss talking to him and having him around. I'm usually perfectly ok with him living in California, but today it really bothered me. I was kind of bummed for a good part of the morning. It's also the last 'thing' of the summer, with visits and trips and stuff happening like crazy recently, it was a lot of this, "well now what?" feeling. I also just missed Dad, I guess.
I thought I'd go back to sleep after we got home, but I ended up relaxing with Bob on the deck and having lunch out there first - it's been so nice lately outside. We were starved by 10:30 so lunch was a tad early. THEN it was naptime. But not before I found "To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar" on the Bravo network and watched the whole thing, because let's face it, Patrick Swayze in drag is not to be missed. Then there was much sleep.
I woke up feeling like it was middle of the night (it was 4:30) and finally got a shower...yeah, I value sleep more than being clean some mornings, ok?
Bob made sauce...mmmm, Bob's sauce... and I sat and filled out the first few pages of the baby book while he cooked. That got us to talking about 'how we met' because of the "How Mommy and Daddy met" page, and Bob actually got out old emails from those days, and we walked down memory lane. Ah, the good old days. It seems sooo long ago! Well, this September it'll be 7 years we've been together...GEEZ we're old fogies! Well, it's been a lovely 7 years, for sure. :-)
On a slightly more interesting note, it's getting harder to type with this laptop on my lap. First of all, I have an increasingly smaller lap every day, it seems. But lately if I rest the laptop against my tummy at all, it moves. Yes, the laptop gets bumped just enough to kind of mess up my typing. By my kid. Who, by the way, is 27 weeks baked tomorrow.
Third Trimester.
Holy freakin' mother of everything.
Tomorrow we have a growth scan at Virtua at 11AM. We'll see how baby's growing, if her development is on schedule. They check this every 3-4 weeks with GD patients, beause babies of moms with GD tend to grow too big too fast, and that causes all sort of potentially life-threatening issues. She was measuring right on last time, August 1st, and had no heart problems visible on the fetal echo. It's SO exciting to get to see baby at these monthly scans. She always shocks us with how much she's grown...and how much she moves, although I'm quite aware of how much she moves now. Hence the bouncing keyboard. But although it feels like Christmas morning to get to see a picture of our daughter, we're actually there to check for issues in growth and development because of the GD...so there's always that bit of nervousness and "what if?" feeling, too.
Ha! My whole stomach just jerked! Well, she's apparently got healthy legs, at least!
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
August 22nd - Dad's Here!
We got up early yesterday and waited for Dad to call and tell us he'd flown in. He took a red-eye flight over from California, with a middle-of-the-night stopover in Atlanta, and got into Philly at 9:00 AM. We picked him up from the airport and came home, relaxed, had some lunch, and let him take a nap. He was zonked, and understandably so, with barely any sleep and the 3-hour time change.
Cait arrived around 2, and we all hung out and decided what to do for the evening. Dad really wanted to buy something for the baby off our registry, so I printed it out for him. He picked the most expensive thing on there!!! Not that we're not absolutely thrilled to have the Graco Travel System. But that was one of those things I thought people would get together on, and all chip in. It's a baby carrier, a carseat, an infant stroller and a toddler stroller, all in one box! Gotta love that. Dad was happy because we're definitely going to get good use out of it. And we can tell baby that "Grandad got you this carrier/carseat/stroller!"
Then we went out to Peter's Diner - again, if you're ever in South Jersey, you must try it. Insane amount of food, always leftovers for lunch the next day, and the prices are more than decent.
I got the Mahi Mahi. That's right, I eat fish! (Just not swordfish, shark, and tuna...and some others. And don't get me started on the feta cheese that I miss so much.)
We came home and finally got to show Dad the DVD of our wedding (thank you TUG, about 3 years late!) and we then started in on the Simpsons Season 8 DVD's. Classic stuff, I forgot about that season. The "Bart's Gay" episode alone is golden.
Today we're playing it very low-key. Cait has to leave shortly because she works in G'burg tonight, and she's meeting "the boy" for coffee in Philly on her way... Dad's probably still pretty tired, he just got up now. But then again, to his body it's only 8:30 in the morning. We have to drop into Bob's folks' house to have Bob sign a loan paper for Laura - he's co-signing on a loan for her for school, since he's got really good credit. And that way my dad can come over and say "hey" to Bob's parents...well, his mom at least. And we can show him the tiki hut that we're all quite proud of.
Right now Cait's swimming and Max is whining, and we're hanging out on the deck. Bob's doing school-prep work and talking to his Grandpop on the phone, and Dad's in the shower inside.
And baby's kicking. HOLY CRAP was she kicking last night. I'm actually sore on my right side, just leftover from being her punching bag. I guess she's lying sideways now, or something, I had to have two little feet stuck in my side for 3 hours last night. I can't imagine that her little arms and hands are that strong yet. I'm going to try to get her to kick for Grandad today, while he's here. Hopefully crazylegs will cooperate.
*sigh*
I realized this morning that 10 weeks ago was almost the end of the school year, the beginning of summer. Not that long ago, summer flew by. And 10 weeks from now...
baby could come at ANY minute. I'd be almost 37 weeks, that's full-term.
Holy freakin' frijoles!
Cait arrived around 2, and we all hung out and decided what to do for the evening. Dad really wanted to buy something for the baby off our registry, so I printed it out for him. He picked the most expensive thing on there!!! Not that we're not absolutely thrilled to have the Graco Travel System. But that was one of those things I thought people would get together on, and all chip in. It's a baby carrier, a carseat, an infant stroller and a toddler stroller, all in one box! Gotta love that. Dad was happy because we're definitely going to get good use out of it. And we can tell baby that "Grandad got you this carrier/carseat/stroller!"
Then we went out to Peter's Diner - again, if you're ever in South Jersey, you must try it. Insane amount of food, always leftovers for lunch the next day, and the prices are more than decent.
I got the Mahi Mahi. That's right, I eat fish! (Just not swordfish, shark, and tuna...and some others. And don't get me started on the feta cheese that I miss so much.)
We came home and finally got to show Dad the DVD of our wedding (thank you TUG, about 3 years late!) and we then started in on the Simpsons Season 8 DVD's. Classic stuff, I forgot about that season. The "Bart's Gay" episode alone is golden.
Today we're playing it very low-key. Cait has to leave shortly because she works in G'burg tonight, and she's meeting "the boy" for coffee in Philly on her way... Dad's probably still pretty tired, he just got up now. But then again, to his body it's only 8:30 in the morning. We have to drop into Bob's folks' house to have Bob sign a loan paper for Laura - he's co-signing on a loan for her for school, since he's got really good credit. And that way my dad can come over and say "hey" to Bob's parents...well, his mom at least. And we can show him the tiki hut that we're all quite proud of.
Right now Cait's swimming and Max is whining, and we're hanging out on the deck. Bob's doing school-prep work and talking to his Grandpop on the phone, and Dad's in the shower inside.
And baby's kicking. HOLY CRAP was she kicking last night. I'm actually sore on my right side, just leftover from being her punching bag. I guess she's lying sideways now, or something, I had to have two little feet stuck in my side for 3 hours last night. I can't imagine that her little arms and hands are that strong yet. I'm going to try to get her to kick for Grandad today, while he's here. Hopefully crazylegs will cooperate.
*sigh*
I realized this morning that 10 weeks ago was almost the end of the school year, the beginning of summer. Not that long ago, summer flew by. And 10 weeks from now...
baby could come at ANY minute. I'd be almost 37 weeks, that's full-term.
Holy freakin' frijoles!
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Fabulous Ticker
I worship this woman's blog - fabulousness and so damn funny.
http://shenuts.com
Anyway, she had a rough time when she was preggers w/ her two kids, and she actually worked with the people from baby-gaga (only us pregnant wackos know of it) and made a very accurate ticker. :-) (Pregnancy tickers count up your days, weeks, and trimesters, and some give you baby development info.) They're usually things like: "26 weeks 3 days. You might be able to hear baby's heart beat if you put your eat to mommy's tummy."
I like hers better:
http://shenuts.com
Anyway, she had a rough time when she was preggers w/ her two kids, and she actually worked with the people from baby-gaga (only us pregnant wackos know of it) and made a very accurate ticker. :-) (Pregnancy tickers count up your days, weeks, and trimesters, and some give you baby development info.) They're usually things like: "26 weeks 3 days. You might be able to hear baby's heart beat if you put your eat to mommy's tummy."
I like hers better:
Monday, August 21, 2006
Mozart for the kiddo
And I'm now sitting at my desk with headphones sandwiched between my belly and the desk, pumping Mozart into my daughter's world. Bob's idea, but I think it's soooo cool. :-)
And what's weird...I think she likes it. Hell, she's moving like crazy.
On to the overture from "Marriage of Figaro".
My kid's gonna be S-M-R-T smart, baby.
If she starts kicking me to the beat I'm stopping, though. (A sign that she's already smarter than most of my 1st graders!)
And what's weird...I think she likes it. Hell, she's moving like crazy.
On to the overture from "Marriage of Figaro".
My kid's gonna be S-M-R-T smart, baby.
If she starts kicking me to the beat I'm stopping, though. (A sign that she's already smarter than most of my 1st graders!)
August 21st - My Bad Dog & Dad's Coming
My dumb dog! I organized all the goodies that we got at the shower for the baby in her room. I put mostly everything in her closet, but some stuff just isn't going to fit until we get the dresser, so I ended up putting this Lamaze brand ring stacker toy on the floor under her crib. And 10 minutes ago I find two of the rings behind the recliner, one on the floor in the office, and one still on the base under the kitchen table. Arg! That dog! We're in trouble! He likes anything soft, and since the stacker is techinically a "stuffed" toy, I guess that means it's his now - NOT! We're going to have to keep all her stuffed toys in the playpen or crib, or else deal with a ton of wet or slightly crusty animals. He already got to this little pink bunny that Bob's mom got her...Max and I need to have a little talk. Cute though he is, we're going to have to work on his theivery. Ah, a lovely day at home. Well, there was work to be done, but it got done, so who cares.
See, Dad's coming tomorrow, all the way from California. He's flying out at 9:55 their time, so 2:55 AM our time. He has a 2-hour stop-over in Atlanta, and then he flies into Philly tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM. Yep, he's taking the red-eye. All the way from sunny CA. To see me. Pregnant. Seriously, that's why he's coming. I mean, it's AWESOME that he's coming, it's just a little weird, like I feel like I have to look GOOD and pregnant tomorrow, or something. Which, with the right shirt on, I definitely do. It's just that when people think of pregnant chicks, they picture what they look like at 9 months, not 6 1/2 months. Sounds ridiculous, but I hope he isn't disappointed in my tumminess.
So today we had to get the house into shape, and get some freakin' fruits and veggies from Produce Junction, and generally putter and relax.
I vacuumed the pool, cleaned the house, watched TV, surfed, and read. God, I love summer. It's sweet. Of course I feel bad that Bob's upstairs 'doing the floors' right now. (That means using the Hoover Floormate on all our hard floors, which is most of the house.) He did all the outside stuff - mowing the front, weedwhacking, blowing, etc. and made dinner. I did the bathrooms, dusted, straightened, made up the guest room, prettied up the baby's room, and vacuumed the pool. It was a little too cold out there in the pool after it got dark. Fall is coming???
Let's see, what else is going on?
Hey, I got BLINKIES!!! Bobby showed me how.
Switch gears - Oh my GOD do I miss cereal. I haven't had cereal in months. I'm totally buying cereal and having it as a snack, not breakfast, cause that would be forbidden.
And Nachos. I want nachos. Big-ass, shredded chicken nachos with melted cheddar and lots of jalapeno slices. Bring it, baby.
Ok, hormonal cravings wave over.
Well, I guess we're going to finish up the house, do a little computering, and chill for the night.
Bob started reading to the baby last night - yes, through my tummy. After 25 weeks gestation a baby's hearing is almost completely developed and they can recognize and react to familiar voices. They've proven that if you get your baby used to her daddy's voice, she'll react and be calmed by his voice after birth, not just yours. (Handy when he gets up with her a night and lets you sleep.) It's awesome, though. He's so sweet with her, and she's not even born! She is, however, standing on my bladder.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
August 17th - 20th - Visit to G'burg & Baby Shower
Well, we're back from G'burg and slowly recovering.We were both so zonked after the trip that we went to bed at 9 last night! (About 3 1/2 -4 hours before our usual bedtime.) We had a very nice time in G'burg, for the most part. I think we actually sleep TOO well, and then we end up with all kinds of aches and pains. It's REALLY dark in my mom's basement, you have no idea what time of morning it is, you could sleep till 3 in the afternoon!
So the highlight of the trip was the BABY SHOWER that my mother & sister threw for us. Yes, I mentioned in earlier posts (I think) that Bob's mom is throwing us a baby shower here next month. Since 75% of my family and 90% of my friends are here, it makes sense. But I guess my mom couldn't let me not have a shower in Gettyburg, so my very small family got together for one last family dinner before baby time, and gave us a shower. My mom, sister, Grandmom, Pappy, Uncle Gene, Aunt Doris, Aunt Jenny, Uncle Bob, cousin Mallory and cousing Grant were there. Yep, men, too. And some of them even participated in the little games my mom had going. One game involved them all guessing the baby's name. They put all the guesses in a vase and we had to pull them out and read them and if anybody gets it right, when the baby's born they get a prize. I guess they expected us to tell them if they got it right, but there was NO way that was happening, plus nobody was even close. Wa ha ha! And some of them were WAY out there. "Terry Lee" oh, yeah, let's change her name to that gem. 
So I made a pig of myself with the deviled eggs and we got several nice outfits for baby, cute toys, our pack & play, and soft carrier. (See Bob modeling!) It was very nice.
Well, anyway, we were very happy to have our shower, since we need all the help we can get with all the baby gear and clothes. And we already took the pack & play out and set it up. See, you get a new toy, you have to play with it.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Observations on This Whole Pregnant Thing
And here they are, in no particular order:
*Somewhere a porn star is missing her breasts.
*I'm terrified of putting on real shoes, your feet spread like pancakes in a hot griddle and haven't worn anything but flip flops in over 2 months.
*Feet? Wait, I was able to see my feet two months ago?
*Painting my own toenails WAS my major accomplishment for the day, yesterday. And man did I feel good about it. Good and tired.
*Any magazine with "baby" in the title will grace your coffee table, and you won't be the one who picked it up off the news stand.
*You will at one point have to tell a relative to STOP buying baby clothes. At least until the baby's born. Baby's not wearing them out like crazy at this point.
*No matter how many practical, low-priced baby gear items you put on your registry, you will receive at least half a dozen silver plated birth certificate holders. And, like all sane people, you will eventually put your kid's birth certificate in the fireproof strong box with the passports, anyway.
*Touching a pregnant woman's stomach is thought to bring good luck. I think it also brings broken fingers.
*A college-educated, intelligent woman will spend hours pouring over consumer information regarding the pro's and con's of the latest model of fisher price potty.
*Anything makes me cry. Anything. Nothing. "Everybody Loves Raymond", for instance.
*Your stomach will vibrate, swell, and undulate like that famous scene from "Alien", and you'll think it's the coolest thing in the world.
*When I cry at "Seinfeld", I should probably be medicated.
*Going to the bathroom upwards of 14 times in one day... is a GOOD day.
*A good night = only 3 bathroom trips, by the way.
*I actually got sick of talking about baby stuff about 3 days before my mother. Yes, it does happen. And the next morning you wake up normal and in an estrogen-induced baby craze again.
*I ate a nice big dinner, a nice big snack, and I still want food. You pretty much always want food.
*I've lost 10 pounds in the past 2 months, and yet, I pretty much always want food.
*Except when the thought of food sends you packing. Like when you gag into the sink when your husband asks what you want for breakfast.
*You're sweating while you're shuffling around the air-conditioned mall at 1 mph, and hey, if that isn't "light to moderate excercise", what is?
August 15th & 16th - Tons and then nothin'
So we got up early yesterday to go into school to assess the damage from the water leak above my classroom & storage room. It was amazing to see the school in the state it was in - no carpet, boxes and construction equipment everywhere, guys in hard hats, etc. It was a tad depressing, actually. My stuff wasn't in that bad a state - one of my xylo's, of course an expensive Suzuki, still had water IN it, so that one's gone. The others seemed ok. The shelves inside the storage cabinets were warped and damaged, so those have to be replaced. And ALL the posters, b-boards stuff, and borders HAD been wet. Sue (my principal) wanted me to just say "toss" to all of it, but I actually MADE a lot of that stuff by hand, especially the bulliten board stuff, so I want to pick through it all and keep and toss as I see fit. She said that was fine, but to remember that they WILL buy me new, so I didn't have to keep anything that was the least bit replaceable. Another teacher, this Kindergarten lady who's been teaching for years and is on her way out the door, possibly this year, also came in, because we share the storage room and some of her stuff got wet, too. Not much, mind you. My room was the one that actually got flooded. Like, there was a PUDDLE on the floor in there still. But the dear lady went nuts and freaked out that she had PERSONAL stuff in there (we were told to take everything personal with us, and to pack up anything essential for the start of the school year and either take it home or have it stored in another part of the building). Well she was all up in arms because "who's going to help me sort through all this and clean this up and I WILL be getting paid extra for doing all that extra work!" and so on. I was actually embarrassed. I know she's older (50's) and she has health problems (knees) and she's crotchedy (been running after 5 year olds too long and is more interested in her other job, real estate, which she does WHILE at school, taking calls on her cell all day long). We explored the rest of the damage - my other instrument storage cabinet that's in my room, not the storage room, got flooded, although it looks like most of it is fine, and all my soffits have to be replaced, and most of my cabinets... and the Kindergarten teacher's the one who's freaking?
Honestly, I'm prepared to start the year on a cart - we were told that was a distinct possibility if the school wasn't done and we had to room-in with another school in the district. Even if the school is ready in a month - which is probable, without more set-backs - I don't know HOW they're going to get all that done in my room and have it ready on the 18th. Yeah, it may be me waddling down the hallway with a cart for a week or two anyway. Yippee. At least it'll be at MY school, where even if I don't have my own room, I have friends and can crash in their rooms for a nap whenever. (I will be 7 + months pregnant and I'm sure feeling OH so walrus-like by then.)
Boy, that was a school-related tangent. Off we went then to the doctor's, still marveling at the bitchiness of my fellow teacher. We got there majorly early, but the good thing about my OB practice is they usually take you early, too. Well we were seen for the ultrasound pretty quickly, and the tech asked why we were scheduled for one when we'd just had a full growth scan on the 1st, and we were scheduled for our next on the 25th - 10 days away. I said I had no idea, except that the tech at the practice (not the hospital where they do my growth scans) said that they couldn't get the cord and the spine. Well apparently they got it fine at the hospital on the 1st, and she kind of asked if we wouldn't mind not having one. Considering the sore spot on my hip had just recently gone away from the pumelling I took on the 1st, I was like, THAT'S FINE, BYE! It's so amusing, in the beginning I would have been sorely disappointed if we went in and didn't get an ultrasound. Now I'm like, "whatever, see you in a week and a half". I think knowing it's a girl helps.
The appointment with the doctor was fine - a MALE doctor, how weird! Actually, he was fine. We asked him our round of questions which I will spare any readers now, and we got good answers to them all. Everything was fine; I worry about my blood pressure creeping up since pre-eclampsia is such a concern with gestational diabetes patients, but it was fine.
Oh, and I lost 8 pounds. Yep, that makes 10 in two months. Why the hell couldn't I do this when I WASN'T pregnant? My mom says that they tell you that babies take up 300 extra calories a day, but that's just an average, and many, like my sister, take up much more. Mom lost weight until her 8th month with Cait. Bring it, baby. As long as she's growing well, I SOOO don't mind not having any baby weight to lose. I'll have a ton of MEG weight to lose anyway. Hopefully nursing will take care of that, I hear it's fabulous for taking the pounds off, since it burns upwards of 500 calories a day extra. Again, BRING IT, baby! It would be SO nice to come out of this baby thing a smaller size than I did going in. (After she's a year old or so and I have to start thinking about baby #2 soon!)
So after the appointment we went to Hallmark to update Bob's mom on baby's progress. She told me that the baby shower requested guest list I gave her was a BIT too much, since it's going to be a house shower. I don't mind that much. I just cut most of my school friends off, since I'll have a school shower anyway. There are some people that I just HAVE to invite, because they're out-of-school friends as well, and that cut the list down nicely. I also hadn't heard from several old friends who I'd written to to ask for updated addresses, and she wants to send invites out ASAP, so I guess they're off, too. Oh well. Most of them live far away and wouldn't be able to come anyway. I'm just psyched that A) I know about the shower so I can make sure I don't look like crap and B) Bob will get to be there and open gifts. Plus he'll get to eat the yummy shower food too.
THEN we went home and napped and two packages arrived; one from my Dad, the 8th season of "The Simpsons" on DVD, a little 'thank-you-in-advance-for-having-me' gift (he's visiting next week from CA!) and a package from Pfaltzgraft (sp?) of extra dishes for our pattern that my mother odered while she was here last week. I LOVE them, even though I wish she hadn't spent the money. 2 little baby dishes in our pattern too!
THEN I met my friend Cathy, another music teacher in the district, at the mall. We were both in a "let's get out of the house and not spend too much money doing it" mood. She brought her little girl, Kayla along, who's 2 1/2, and let me tell ya, the BEST behaved toddler I've ever met, hands-down. Ok, have you ever met a toddler who would say 'excuse me' when she wanted to tell you something and you were talking to her mom? I rest my case. And potty-trained in a week. Damn, girl. I was like, "Kathy, will you please come teach a parenting class?" So we ate at the food court and shopped for maternity clothes together - she's 14 weeks preggers with her 2nd!!! and just walked - slowly - around the mall together. We were both sweaty and out of breath by the end, because we're pregnant chicks and that's pretty much your life, especially when walking around a big mall twice. Her husband is a band director, too. And she plays horn, he plays trumpet. It's uncanny, some of the things we have in common with this couple. Oh, and if we had had a kid right after we got married like they did, ours would be about Kayla's age and we'd be baking #2 right now instead of #1. But it's nice to have another person to pump for baby info. She asked me if it had occured to me that I was actually going to have to push this kid out of me in 3 months. Um... surpressing urge to scream and run away now...
After I came home we made dinner - rubbed chicken and peppers on the grill with mashers - and ate on the deck, we ran out to ShopRite to get some icecream for Bob. He's been a VERY good boy with all this health-eating crapola, he deserves to have some icecream in the house that doesn't say "Splenda" on it.
And then bed. And now today, NADDA. Seriously, I'm not going NOWHERE. And I'm one of those must-go-somewhere-each-day people. Yesterday wore me out SO bad that I'm going to sit on my ass and do NADDA, followed by extended periods of reading, a possible nap, maybe a swim, and if I do anything productive at all, it'll just be taking the winter quilts out of the cedar chest and washing them. BIG importnat stuff. Nope, not doing nothing.
Tomorrow we go to Gettysburg for 3 days .
And on the BIG NEWS DESK TODAY: 99 days till baby's due. We're now in double-digits, people. HOLY SHLAMOLY!
Honestly, I'm prepared to start the year on a cart - we were told that was a distinct possibility if the school wasn't done and we had to room-in with another school in the district. Even if the school is ready in a month - which is probable, without more set-backs - I don't know HOW they're going to get all that done in my room and have it ready on the 18th. Yeah, it may be me waddling down the hallway with a cart for a week or two anyway. Yippee. At least it'll be at MY school, where even if I don't have my own room, I have friends and can crash in their rooms for a nap whenever. (I will be 7 + months pregnant and I'm sure feeling OH so walrus-like by then.)
Boy, that was a school-related tangent. Off we went then to the doctor's, still marveling at the bitchiness of my fellow teacher. We got there majorly early, but the good thing about my OB practice is they usually take you early, too. Well we were seen for the ultrasound pretty quickly, and the tech asked why we were scheduled for one when we'd just had a full growth scan on the 1st, and we were scheduled for our next on the 25th - 10 days away. I said I had no idea, except that the tech at the practice (not the hospital where they do my growth scans) said that they couldn't get the cord and the spine. Well apparently they got it fine at the hospital on the 1st, and she kind of asked if we wouldn't mind not having one. Considering the sore spot on my hip had just recently gone away from the pumelling I took on the 1st, I was like, THAT'S FINE, BYE! It's so amusing, in the beginning I would have been sorely disappointed if we went in and didn't get an ultrasound. Now I'm like, "whatever, see you in a week and a half". I think knowing it's a girl helps.
The appointment with the doctor was fine - a MALE doctor, how weird! Actually, he was fine. We asked him our round of questions which I will spare any readers now, and we got good answers to them all. Everything was fine; I worry about my blood pressure creeping up since pre-eclampsia is such a concern with gestational diabetes patients, but it was fine.
Oh, and I lost 8 pounds. Yep, that makes 10 in two months. Why the hell couldn't I do this when I WASN'T pregnant? My mom says that they tell you that babies take up 300 extra calories a day, but that's just an average, and many, like my sister, take up much more. Mom lost weight until her 8th month with Cait. Bring it, baby. As long as she's growing well, I SOOO don't mind not having any baby weight to lose. I'll have a ton of MEG weight to lose anyway. Hopefully nursing will take care of that, I hear it's fabulous for taking the pounds off, since it burns upwards of 500 calories a day extra. Again, BRING IT, baby! It would be SO nice to come out of this baby thing a smaller size than I did going in. (After she's a year old or so and I have to start thinking about baby #2 soon!)
So after the appointment we went to Hallmark to update Bob's mom on baby's progress. She told me that the baby shower requested guest list I gave her was a BIT too much, since it's going to be a house shower. I don't mind that much. I just cut most of my school friends off, since I'll have a school shower anyway. There are some people that I just HAVE to invite, because they're out-of-school friends as well, and that cut the list down nicely. I also hadn't heard from several old friends who I'd written to to ask for updated addresses, and she wants to send invites out ASAP, so I guess they're off, too. Oh well. Most of them live far away and wouldn't be able to come anyway. I'm just psyched that A) I know about the shower so I can make sure I don't look like crap and B) Bob will get to be there and open gifts. Plus he'll get to eat the yummy shower food too.
THEN we went home and napped and two packages arrived; one from my Dad, the 8th season of "The Simpsons" on DVD, a little 'thank-you-in-advance-for-having-me' gift (he's visiting next week from CA!) and a package from Pfaltzgraft (sp?) of extra dishes for our pattern that my mother odered while she was here last week. I LOVE them, even though I wish she hadn't spent the money. 2 little baby dishes in our pattern too!
THEN I met my friend Cathy, another music teacher in the district, at the mall. We were both in a "let's get out of the house and not spend too much money doing it" mood. She brought her little girl, Kayla along, who's 2 1/2, and let me tell ya, the BEST behaved toddler I've ever met, hands-down. Ok, have you ever met a toddler who would say 'excuse me' when she wanted to tell you something and you were talking to her mom? I rest my case. And potty-trained in a week. Damn, girl. I was like, "Kathy, will you please come teach a parenting class?" So we ate at the food court and shopped for maternity clothes together - she's 14 weeks preggers with her 2nd!!! and just walked - slowly - around the mall together. We were both sweaty and out of breath by the end, because we're pregnant chicks and that's pretty much your life, especially when walking around a big mall twice. Her husband is a band director, too. And she plays horn, he plays trumpet. It's uncanny, some of the things we have in common with this couple. Oh, and if we had had a kid right after we got married like they did, ours would be about Kayla's age and we'd be baking #2 right now instead of #1. But it's nice to have another person to pump for baby info. She asked me if it had occured to me that I was actually going to have to push this kid out of me in 3 months. Um... surpressing urge to scream and run away now...
After I came home we made dinner - rubbed chicken and peppers on the grill with mashers - and ate on the deck, we ran out to ShopRite to get some icecream for Bob. He's been a VERY good boy with all this health-eating crapola, he deserves to have some icecream in the house that doesn't say "Splenda" on it.
And then bed. And now today, NADDA. Seriously, I'm not going NOWHERE. And I'm one of those must-go-somewhere-each-day people. Yesterday wore me out SO bad that I'm going to sit on my ass and do NADDA, followed by extended periods of reading, a possible nap, maybe a swim, and if I do anything productive at all, it'll just be taking the winter quilts out of the cedar chest and washing them. BIG importnat stuff. Nope, not doing nothing.
Tomorrow we go to Gettysburg for 3 days .
And on the BIG NEWS DESK TODAY: 99 days till baby's due. We're now in double-digits, people. HOLY SHLAMOLY!
Monday, August 14, 2006
August 14th - Tired and Grrr
SOoooo sleepy/tired today and don't really know why. Well, I DO know why, but why all the sudden? I have no idea. Slept till 10:40, and took an hour and a half nap after lunch...which ended at 5PM. Yeah, lunch is late around here.
We got take-out from Pat's - highly recommend if you're in the area. Pat's on Chew's Landing in...is that Lindenwold? Lindenwold is all over, everywhere we go, we think it MIGHT be Lindenwold. That town must be huge. Anyway, I got my favorite disgustingly bad-for-you food, wings and onion rings. Hey, it's low-carb. Sue me. I had a salad for dinner.
Yesterday I used the stupid paint buddies to touch up paint and scuffs and nicks in the house. All 8 colors! And now SOME of the colors look very weird where I touched up. Unfortunately, in the downstairs hallway and stairwell, that was EVERYWHERE, because those walls got the brunt of whatever we decided to move into the family room. It was SUGE annoyingly hard work, worse because 3 of the paint buddies clogged - do not buy them, waste of money, just get the damn brush and paint out and touch up once a year. That's "PaintBuddy" by Rubbermaid. Stupid piece of crap, you have to clean the rollers every time. Why don't you just clean the brushes? Anyway, it exhausted me, and we stayed late at Bob's parents' last night, and now I feel like a big, gestating, slug.
Some days that's all I feel like doing, gestating. :-) That's what my friend said when she was pregnant w/ her twin - she basically gestated for 37 weeks. Work/eat/sleep/repeat. I don't know what school will do to me, I see a lot of that in my future. Thank GOD Bob's not doing marching band. At first I felt guilty, being part of the reason he's not going back to it. Now I just think of a new reason every day why I am SOOOOO happy that he'll be here instead of at practice Tuesday and Thursday (gone from 5:15 to 10:00 at night, driving tons) and staying through after school on Fridays and not getting home till midnight, and going to early practice on Saturday and doing one, occasionally TWO competitions and getting home at 11 or 12 at night or LATER on Saturdays. I thought they were all pyscho, but they won literally EVERY SINGLE COMPETITION they entered. Never less than a first place, ever. They must have been doing something right. But at what price?
Yeah, soooo happy about him being home. Especially as I start to feel a little bit more like an elephant every day. I seriously sat there at dinner contemplating if it was worth it to get off my ass and waddle over get the parm out of the fridge.
Tomorrow we have our 6th month appointment. We also start with ANOTHER ultrasound (don't hear me complaining, I'm just hoping it hurts less than last time!) because when we were at the office on the 18th of July for our "big one", baby-of-mine wouldn't cooperate. Somehow the child refused to show us both a good shot of her spine and a good shot of her belly. (They have to check the location that the cord enters the baby.) She's good at this not-cooperating thing, so we'll see how this goes.
BEFORE that we have to drive to my school because during the construction that has taken over this summer, the new HVAC unit the installed on the roof leaked into my classroom and storage room, and another classroom. I had a closet full of carefully packed-away xylophones and paper classroom decorations, posters, etc. Yeah, all water damaged, ruined, my principal says. So tomorrow we go and take inventory of what was damaged, and the contractors have to pay for new ones. It's annoying, but in the end, HEY, I get new xylos! Wait till the contractor finds out how much classroom Orff instruments cost. Whaa hahahahahah!
Ok, so then we go off to the appointment where the baby may or may not show us what the doctors need and I may or may not get my hip and pubic bones beaten to a bloody pulp by an ultrasound transducer. Then Bob's mom asked us to stop by the Hallmark she works at in the summer to show her any pictures and update her, etc. Then later in the day I'm meeting a teacher friend at the Deptford mall to walk around and be all shoppy and social. I hope she brings her little girl, Kayla is the best behaved 2 year old I've EVER seen. It's amazing.
After inventorying, getting beaten with a medical instrument, and shopping till I drop, I will spend the rest of the day and the following day on a couch, chair, or bed, recovering. :-) Cause I'm a wuss.
Then Thursday we go to G'burg. Which should be QUITE interesting, because my grandmother broke her arm yesterday, and while she and my grandfather are fine about it, and her surgery is scheduled for Thursday
So anyway, big day tomorrow, really tired today, gonna go test my blood sugar and sleep it off.
We got take-out from Pat's - highly recommend if you're in the area. Pat's on Chew's Landing in...is that Lindenwold? Lindenwold is all over, everywhere we go, we think it MIGHT be Lindenwold. That town must be huge. Anyway, I got my favorite disgustingly bad-for-you food, wings and onion rings. Hey, it's low-carb. Sue me. I had a salad for dinner.
Yesterday I used the stupid paint buddies to touch up paint and scuffs and nicks in the house. All 8 colors! And now SOME of the colors look very weird where I touched up. Unfortunately, in the downstairs hallway and stairwell, that was EVERYWHERE, because those walls got the brunt of whatever we decided to move into the family room. It was SUGE annoyingly hard work, worse because 3 of the paint buddies clogged - do not buy them, waste of money, just get the damn brush and paint out and touch up once a year. That's "PaintBuddy" by Rubbermaid. Stupid piece of crap, you have to clean the rollers every time. Why don't you just clean the brushes? Anyway, it exhausted me, and we stayed late at Bob's parents' last night, and now I feel like a big, gestating, slug.
Some days that's all I feel like doing, gestating. :-) That's what my friend said when she was pregnant w/ her twin - she basically gestated for 37 weeks. Work/eat/sleep/repeat. I don't know what school will do to me, I see a lot of that in my future. Thank GOD Bob's not doing marching band. At first I felt guilty, being part of the reason he's not going back to it. Now I just think of a new reason every day why I am SOOOOO happy that he'll be here instead of at practice Tuesday and Thursday (gone from 5:15 to 10:00 at night, driving tons) and staying through after school on Fridays and not getting home till midnight, and going to early practice on Saturday and doing one, occasionally TWO competitions and getting home at 11 or 12 at night or LATER on Saturdays. I thought they were all pyscho, but they won literally EVERY SINGLE COMPETITION they entered. Never less than a first place, ever. They must have been doing something right. But at what price?
Yeah, soooo happy about him being home. Especially as I start to feel a little bit more like an elephant every day. I seriously sat there at dinner contemplating if it was worth it to get off my ass and waddle over get the parm out of the fridge.
Tomorrow we have our 6th month appointment. We also start with ANOTHER ultrasound (don't hear me complaining, I'm just hoping it hurts less than last time!) because when we were at the office on the 18th of July for our "big one", baby-of-mine wouldn't cooperate. Somehow the child refused to show us both a good shot of her spine and a good shot of her belly. (They have to check the location that the cord enters the baby.) She's good at this not-cooperating thing, so we'll see how this goes.
BEFORE that we have to drive to my school because during the construction that has taken over this summer, the new HVAC unit the installed on the roof leaked into my classroom and storage room, and another classroom. I had a closet full of carefully packed-away xylophones and paper classroom decorations, posters, etc. Yeah, all water damaged, ruined, my principal says. So tomorrow we go and take inventory of what was damaged, and the contractors have to pay for new ones. It's annoying, but in the end, HEY, I get new xylos! Wait till the contractor finds out how much classroom Orff instruments cost. Whaa hahahahahah!
Ok, so then we go off to the appointment where the baby may or may not show us what the doctors need and I may or may not get my hip and pubic bones beaten to a bloody pulp by an ultrasound transducer. Then Bob's mom asked us to stop by the Hallmark she works at in the summer to show her any pictures and update her, etc. Then later in the day I'm meeting a teacher friend at the Deptford mall to walk around and be all shoppy and social. I hope she brings her little girl, Kayla is the best behaved 2 year old I've EVER seen. It's amazing.
After inventorying, getting beaten with a medical instrument, and shopping till I drop, I will spend the rest of the day and the following day on a couch, chair, or bed, recovering. :-) Cause I'm a wuss.
Then Thursday we go to G'burg. Which should be QUITE interesting, because my grandmother broke her arm yesterday, and while she and my grandfather are fine about it, and her surgery is scheduled for Thursday
So anyway, big day tomorrow, really tired today, gonna go test my blood sugar and sleep it off.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
August 12th - Mom's Visit
And mom has officially gone home to G'burg. We'll be there in 4 days, visiting. More about that later.
Mom got here at 8:00 on Thursday night. She had to drive a friend to Hershey med for a procedure, went to lunch, and then drove home and packed, and THEN left to come here, getting stuck on the expressway for an hour first. Long day. Bob put the 3 tiki torches that we have around the pool and we all went swimming. It was a little cold, but it was neat because Bob NEVER swims after dark - spider potential outside, I believe. I hate 'em too, but the backyard doesn't bother me. We made pork loin for a very late dinner (1oPM!) and hung out.
Mom and I have a lot more to talk about lately, mostly baby-related stuff.
The next day, Friday, we hung out and then had to go drop off both cars to be worked out at the mechanic's - Bob' s needed an oil change and fluids, and my transmission felt funny. It wouldn't shift at the right times, you know? Mom drove us back from the mechanic, and we stopped at Wawa for lunch, (hooray for chicken salad croissants!). Then Mom and I went shopping in Deptford and left Bob to finish his lawn care in the back yard. I don't ask him to do lawn stuff, he just likes to do it, just so we're clear.
We went to A. C. Moore and picked out stuff to make that baby's scrapbook with. I would be perfectly happy with a baby book and a picture album per year, plus all the digital pics on our computers that I know we'll take. But Mom really enjoys scrapbooking, so there we are. She kept insisting this was for me, I could decide, but I'd say something looked good and she'd change it anyway... She spent $50 on scrapbooking supplies - paper, stickers, etc. - and I found more tiki torches for $1 a piece - booyah!
Then we went next door to Babies-R-Us. Fun, very fun, but probably not the best idea. Now, when mom arrived Thursday she brought our baby a Care Bears onsie, 4 rompers, a moon & stars picture frame, a baby dinnerware set, a pack of moon & stars bibs, and a gift set that includes a hat, a blanket, pants, a shirt, and a onsie. I thought it was freakin' Christmas. Ha! In BRU she was on over-drive. I had to stop her from buying every dress she picked up. And that was hard, because I wanted them all, too. After we got out of the clothes section (1/2 hour, minimum) she wanted to walk around the whole store and show her everything we'd registered for. I had the distinct feeling she wanted to buy baby gear. Thankfully most of the stuff we registered for they don't carry at BRU, they're from Baby Depot. But I showed her stuff LIKE what we registered for. I did find another caterpillar, to replace the one that we bought on August 1st and sadly broke. Bob was happy. Mom bought: 2 bibs, 1 hat, 1 sweater, 1 shirt/dress & pants outfit, and one dress, 1 textured board book about puppies, and 1 "taggies" book. Is that it? Yeah, holy crap, my kid's closet is getting full. We're going to need that dresser soon. Baby's getting her Aunt Laura's old 6-drawer dresser when Laura moves to Brigantine for school.
We came home, I showed Bob all the baby's new digs, and we all chilled for a while. Then we went to pick up the cars and happily there was nothing wrong with my transmission. Just needed fluid and a look-see. Bob's car was all set too, and the checking and oil changes and fluid changes of both our cars cost $87. Pretty damn good for same-day service. I love knowing people who know people in the auto-repair world. Drop Bob's dad's name and you're done. I once got a whole new set of brakes installed and my total cost was $50.
Later we went out to Peter's, which we LUV. If you're in the south Jersey area, you MUST try Peter's Diner on the Black Horse Pike below Turnersville. I think that may be Williamstown there, not sure. Anyway, FANTASTIC food, and lots of it. I got chicken picata - 4 small chicken breasts in a butter/garlic/lemon/white wine sauce with mushrooms and capers. Damn. SO I eat 3 bites of that, eat the baked potato and the broc and the soup and the salad and I'm going to burst. Plus I have more than enough for lunch the next day. Gotta love it. Bob got a chicken sandwhich and a canoli. MOM got the seafood platter. Yeah. At a diner. Lobster, crab, scallops, tuna steak, salmon, stuffed shrimp, stuffed mushroom caps...I THINK that was all. Holy crap. And creamed spinach. And backed mac & cheese. And soup. And a big-as-your-face piece of chocolate layer cake.
We came home (waddled home) and went swimming with the new tiki torches and Bob had strung white lights along the top of the deck and the rails. It was SO pretty out there at night! We've now extended our swimming hours!
Mom wanted to do a few pages of the scrap book and kept insisting that I needed more pages of me being pregnant in there. I was like, "This is HER book, not mine. 2 pages of pictures of me being pregnant and 2 pages of my baby shower is enough. There will be other albums of pictures!"
ANYway, today we basically puttered around the house, Mom went swimming by herself, and she left around 2:30.
I decided I wanted to sit down and blog for a while. And that turned into a LONG while, but whatever. And then it's clean-up time. God, I'm so anal. When did I get this anal? I'll have to work on that. The kid will cure me.
Mom got here at 8:00 on Thursday night. She had to drive a friend to Hershey med for a procedure, went to lunch, and then drove home and packed, and THEN left to come here, getting stuck on the expressway for an hour first. Long day. Bob put the 3 tiki torches that we have around the pool and we all went swimming. It was a little cold, but it was neat because Bob NEVER swims after dark - spider potential outside, I believe. I hate 'em too, but the backyard doesn't bother me. We made pork loin for a very late dinner (1oPM!) and hung out.
Mom and I have a lot more to talk about lately, mostly baby-related stuff.
The next day, Friday, we hung out and then had to go drop off both cars to be worked out at the mechanic's - Bob' s needed an oil change and fluids, and my transmission felt funny. It wouldn't shift at the right times, you know? Mom drove us back from the mechanic, and we stopped at Wawa for lunch, (hooray for chicken salad croissants!). Then Mom and I went shopping in Deptford and left Bob to finish his lawn care in the back yard. I don't ask him to do lawn stuff, he just likes to do it, just so we're clear.
We went to A. C. Moore and picked out stuff to make that baby's scrapbook with. I would be perfectly happy with a baby book and a picture album per year, plus all the digital pics on our computers that I know we'll take. But Mom really enjoys scrapbooking, so there we are. She kept insisting this was for me, I could decide, but I'd say something looked good and she'd change it anyway... She spent $50 on scrapbooking supplies - paper, stickers, etc. - and I found more tiki torches for $1 a piece - booyah!
Then we went next door to Babies-R-Us. Fun, very fun, but probably not the best idea. Now, when mom arrived Thursday she brought our baby a Care Bears onsie, 4 rompers, a moon & stars picture frame, a baby dinnerware set, a pack of moon & stars bibs, and a gift set that includes a hat, a blanket, pants, a shirt, and a onsie. I thought it was freakin' Christmas. Ha! In BRU she was on over-drive. I had to stop her from buying every dress she picked up. And that was hard, because I wanted them all, too. After we got out of the clothes section (1/2 hour, minimum) she wanted to walk around the whole store and show her everything we'd registered for. I had the distinct feeling she wanted to buy baby gear. Thankfully most of the stuff we registered for they don't carry at BRU, they're from Baby Depot. But I showed her stuff LIKE what we registered for. I did find another caterpillar, to replace the one that we bought on August 1st and sadly broke. Bob was happy. Mom bought: 2 bibs, 1 hat, 1 sweater, 1 shirt/dress & pants outfit, and one dress, 1 textured board book about puppies, and 1 "taggies" book. Is that it? Yeah, holy crap, my kid's closet is getting full. We're going to need that dresser soon. Baby's getting her Aunt Laura's old 6-drawer dresser when Laura moves to Brigantine for school.
We came home, I showed Bob all the baby's new digs, and we all chilled for a while. Then we went to pick up the cars and happily there was nothing wrong with my transmission. Just needed fluid and a look-see. Bob's car was all set too, and the checking and oil changes and fluid changes of both our cars cost $87. Pretty damn good for same-day service. I love knowing people who know people in the auto-repair world. Drop Bob's dad's name and you're done. I once got a whole new set of brakes installed and my total cost was $50.
Later we went out to Peter's, which we LUV. If you're in the south Jersey area, you MUST try Peter's Diner on the Black Horse Pike below Turnersville. I think that may be Williamstown there, not sure. Anyway, FANTASTIC food, and lots of it. I got chicken picata - 4 small chicken breasts in a butter/garlic/lemon/white wine sauce with mushrooms and capers. Damn. SO I eat 3 bites of that, eat the baked potato and the broc and the soup and the salad and I'm going to burst. Plus I have more than enough for lunch the next day. Gotta love it. Bob got a chicken sandwhich and a canoli. MOM got the seafood platter. Yeah. At a diner. Lobster, crab, scallops, tuna steak, salmon, stuffed shrimp, stuffed mushroom caps...I THINK that was all. Holy crap. And creamed spinach. And backed mac & cheese. And soup. And a big-as-your-face piece of chocolate layer cake.
We came home (waddled home) and went swimming with the new tiki torches and Bob had strung white lights along the top of the deck and the rails. It was SO pretty out there at night! We've now extended our swimming hours!
Mom wanted to do a few pages of the scrap book and kept insisting that I needed more pages of me being pregnant in there. I was like, "This is HER book, not mine. 2 pages of pictures of me being pregnant and 2 pages of my baby shower is enough. There will be other albums of pictures!"
ANYway, today we basically puttered around the house, Mom went swimming by herself, and she left around 2:30.
I decided I wanted to sit down and blog for a while. And that turned into a LONG while, but whatever. And then it's clean-up time. God, I'm so anal. When did I get this anal? I'll have to work on that. The kid will cure me.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
I have decided that at this moment, Blue's Clues is the only cartoon character I like enough to have on clothes, bibs, toys, or other stuff for my kid. At least that's what I say right now. Going shopping for a baby is like watching Saturday morning cartoons. Winnie the Pooh (classic and modern), Dora, Sesame Street, it goes on and on. Dora was cool, but now there's her 'cousin' Diego's show, which is supposedly doing better. Why did we need a boy show? It was so nice to have a show about a little GIRL? Most of the monsters on Semseme street are boys, too, what's up with that?
I like Blue. I'm sticking with Blue. She's a SHE. I also like that she's a dog, which people usually think of as boys, and she's BLUE - again, boys - but she's NOT a boy. Wha ha ha! (My hidden
feminist regime is poking out, oh no!)Ok, done my tirade. There's just not enough active non-pink-tutu-wearing roll models for little girls on kid's TV anymore.
Remember Allegra's Window? That was an awesome show. All the characters had music names. Rondo and Riff and Sonata and Melody and...cook. Oh well.
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