Jumbled

I have thoughts. Lots of them. Sometimes they're even interesting ones. But, when it comes to putting my thoughts into coherent sentences, that's where I'm getting lost. It's probably much to do with the pregnancy insomnia, combined with the fact that this baby seems intent on simultaneously shoving a foot into my kidney while doing headstands on my sciatic nerve.

There are good things, though. Lots of them. In fact, I tried to create a bulleted list of them and it was boring and sounded exactly like everything else I've ever written. Let me just say that there will be pumpkin pancakes this weekend. If I can't have a nap, pumpkin pancakes will have to do.

Mmmm, pancakes.

Getting There

Now that I'm in the home stretch, I'm starting to have visions of going into labor anywhere, anytime. I say this knowing that it's highly likely that I'll still be pregnant at 41 weeks, in which case, WATCH OUT. Still, the reality is that anything can happen (but please wait to happen until my parents are back from Ireland in mid-May. Please.)

After my shower on Saturday, we made a list of everything we still needed. I saved everything from Bub, but that still left me with a ton of obviously boy things, and other items that needed replenishing (Mylicon, Desitin, Tylenol, Lanisoh, etc.) We spent a fortune at Babies 'R Us, then came home to dig things out of the garage.

We put the swing together to be sure it still works. It does!

We attempted to reassemble the bouncy seats and discovered that the parts are missing. Thank goodness Fisher Price sells replacement parts and they're on their way.

We found multiple baskets after having already purchased new ones a few weeks ago and filling them with all manner of socks, blankets, accessories, etc. I have a feeling I'll find a use for these baskets within the week. It seems like this baby has so much more STUFF than Bub ever did.

We put the crib back together and I whined a little bit about the beautiful crib that is positively covered in teething related scars.

We're still waiting on the bedding my mom is having made for us. It's slated to be finished the first week in May.

I need some nursery wall decorations, but don't want to spend a fortune. I'm thinking of trying to make a collage with the cards from the shower, but I'm not particularly crafty. I think this little banner might liven up the empty space above the crib. Living in earthquake prone Southern California, I'm not willing to hang anything on that wall that might fall, but it needs something.

In non-baby supply news, I'm taking Erica's advice and keeping my legs regularly shaved and my feet regularly scrubbed. I have a pedicure gift certificate that I'm trying to time just right. With Bub, I used it on my first day of maternity leave thinking I didn't want to miss my chance. He wasn't born until four weeks later and my toes were in a sad state by then.

I also desperately need a nursing bra. Probably the only reason I haven't taken care of this is the fact that I balk at the price every time I'm all set to order. I had these last time and LOVED them, so I think I just need to bite the bullet.

Finally, I'm experiencing some pretty severe swings from "Whee BABY!" to "OMG, BABY." Incidentally, both are exacerbated by all of the baby planning and preparing. It's like I'm already experiencing the post-delivery hormone flux, so that's fun.

April Showers

I insisted that I didn't want a shower, but a few friends talked me into a "Sprinkle." They went so far above and beyond, I was blown away. Every time I turned around I saw another detail that I LOVED.

Notice the personalize wine tags AND place cards AND strawberry marshmallows dipped in chocolate.
So simple. So pretty.



My very favorite cupcakes. As if I've ever met a cupcake I didn't like.


Well, to be fair it was an entire dessert table, complete with cake balls and chocolate covered strawberries, not to mention the fabulous preggatini. I'm pretty sure I drank it all myself.


There were sweet, thoughtful presents, each one making me repeat that I just couldn't possibly stand any more cuteness.

I came home and spent hours folding and hanging and finding places for things and just generally revelling in all the cute baby girl stuff. Husband was a little overwhelmed by all of the pink, but he better get used to that!

Just So We're Clear

The option to short sell your house doesn't exist so that you can avoid selling your house at a loss. This is for people who have genuinely fallen on financial hardship and can no longer afford their homes. Look, I'm sorry the housing market tanked. I really wish we weren't among the suckers who bought at the height of the market and are left with a house that is worth significantly less than we paid for it. We're fortunate in that it's not worth less than what we owe. (Yet.) Still, when we bought this house we agreed to pay a certain amount for the privilege of owning it. I'm fairly certain there's no clause stating that if the value of my house falls, I'm no longer responsible for the difference. If only.

On an entirely different note, if you are forwarding me multiple emails per day, please know this: If your emails contain heinous claims about our president and any others who happen to think/live/believe/dress differently than you do, I WILL research the validity of those claims. I will then laugh behind your back about your willingness to believe everything that you read. If I'm cranky I will reply to all with proof that you're so, so wrong.

That's all.

Aaaand, there it is

I swore to myself that I would take more pictures of myself pregnant this time around, but except for a few cell phone self portraits, that hasn't really been the case. I better get on that since the end of rapidly approaching. This Friday is six week from my due day. (EEK.)

Up until this week, I've been able to honestly answer the question "How are you feeling?" with a smiling "Great!" With Bub I had trouble sleeping almost from the moment I peed on a stick. This time around a simple pillow rearrangement has done the trick and I've slept well (minus the midnight pee-wakings.) My sciatica went the way of my morning sickness and I've got maternity jeans that I love and that stay where they should be. That last part isn't really relevant, but it definitely contributes to my psychological well-being.

Like I said, until this week.

I can't breathe. I have to take a break after climbing the stairs or just climbing into bed. There is quite literally no space between boobs and baby. None. So, it stands to reason that my lungs are a bit compromised and when I lie down they're compressed even more, even in the recommended left side position. The position which, until recently, was quite comfortable. Now, there isn't any number of pillows in the world that makes sleeping comfortable. At this point, I'm settling for bearable.

When I got in bed Monday night I laughed at my stupidity. I had thought that I was going to be that pregnant person who just sailed happily through the third trimester, waddling slightly, but otherwise just fine. HA.

Oh, and at my doctor's appointment last week, the nurse came back into the room asking to re-weigh me because I appeared to have gained six pounds in two weeks. A slightly humiliating minute later we realized that her math wasn't wrong. However, when the doctor came in (not my usual doctor, who was on vacation) he commented that my weight gain looked fine and that I was measuring right on target, AND since my weight had shown a loss at my previous appointment, there wasn't anything to worry about. So there.

Finally, I'm completely scattered. I'm dropping balls left and right and there are a lot of things that need to happen in the next few weeks/months that I need to get right. Good luck to ME.

Team Why Mommy's Virtual Science Fair

I'm a new follower of Susan's. I clicked a link in Twitter one day, and I was hooked. She has NO idea who I am because I have a tendency to read things, love them, then click away without comment. Susan has a battle ahead of her, but that's not really what this is about. No, this is about all of the wonderful, awesome ways she shares her love of knowledge and science with her kids and with us.

I'm a former educator. Husband is a teacher. Teaching and learning are very important to us. I always imagined myself doing school-like activities throughout the day. I see great ideas, am inspired to do them, but rarely follow through. I should probably blame it on laziness, but the truth is, I believe that most of Bub's learning should come through play at this age. Whenever I beat myself up over not having a structured day to day "school" schedule, I remember all of the ways in which he's learning. All day, every day. I know that as he gets older, we'll have to work a little harder to instill the learning, but right now everything is new and everything is an experience.

Our backyard is a haven for icky things, namely lizards. He loves to follow the lizards around, carefully so as not to scare them. He tells me how many legs they have, what color they are and that they look "delicious." This seemed to be the word of the week after I asked him if his pancakes were delicious. Evidently they were, and from then on everything tasted, smelled and looked delicious.

This kid loves nothing more than going for a walk. Admittedly, the walk at my parents house is much more exciting as the ocean is just at the end of the street, but our neighborhood will do in a pinch. Birds, trees, bugs, dogs, grass, the sun, the moon, the wind. Science, science everywhere.

We have a membership to our new children's museum, where he can play in the water, use the "wind" to make boats sail and windmills turn. He can practice recycling and plant and harvest fruits and vegetables. It's all play to him, but it's planting seeds (see what I did there?) in his mind.

Of course, no day of mine is complete without a book. We read several books before naptime and bedtime every single day, always, and there are books throughout the house. He's become particularly fond of seek and find type books where he has to use his investigative skills (er, his eyes) to find different things on each page. This thrills me to no end. It would bring me great joy to be the mother of a teeny-tiny nerd.

We're school people, but school won't be a big part of Bub's life for a few more years. Until then, it's important to me to keep creating these opportunities for him.

For more information about Susan, why she's awesome, and to read more Virtual Science Fair posts, head on over here.

Easter by the Numbers

4: Number of Easter Egg Hunts, this weekend alone.

3: Number of Easter Egg Hunts prior to this weekend.

1: Number of Easter Egg hunts during which Bub got totally hosed. At one pre-Easter hunt, we all had to bring a dozen, filled eggs. I brought more than that, just in case. Double, in fact. Somehow when it was all said and done, Bub had three eggs. Three. He certainly doesn't need the candy, or fruit snacks, or whatever other crap was inside and he didn't notice at all, BUT. I'm the kind of person who will take the hit just to avoid rocking the boat. This is fine, but I don't want my kid to have to be this kind of person just because his mom is that way. Also, it sucks when my kid is the one taking the hit.

72: Number of times Bub asked if he could just watch Super Why/Clifford/Blues Clues, rather than open another damn Easter basket. There was one from us, and one from each set of grandparents, plus one from my husband's aunt. He mustered a little enthusiasm for the Teddy Grahams in one basket. Other than that, he's still firmly opposed to gifts. Clearly he was switched at birth.

100: Percent of Easter dinner consumed by my kid. Given that neither pizza, nor grilled cheese was served, this was nothing short of an Easter miracle.

8: Hours less sleep Bub has gotten in the past several nights due to his new habit of getting out of bed to read before going to sleep. Given that I'm his mother, I can see the effect this is having on him and am hoping for a few marathon naps to bring the meltdowns back to a reasonable number per day.

1: Number of times we've witnessed each of the following post-bedtime in the past few days: Kid sound asleep on the floor, kid stark naked reading on the floor, kid hanging 3/4 of the way off of the bed after attempting to tuck himself in.

6: Pairs of shoes for baby girl in my Easter basket from my mom. Also, the number of Sprinkles cupcakes she sent me home with.

4, 3: Number of cupcakes left.

1: Number of people who live in this house and eat cupcakes.

March Recipes

So, you may have noticed (but, probably not) that I didn't post recipes for February. That's because I didn't make a single new thing in the month of February. That's okay though. The way I see it, the goal of my New Year's Resolution was to get me trying new things. I tried four new recipes in January and two in March, so I think I'm ahead of the game.

I thouroughly enjoyed both of the recipes I tried this month.

Chipotle Chicken Wagon Wheels
I've never cooked with chipotle peppers before, so I had no idea how spicy this would be. It had a nice kick, but was too spicy for Bub. Oops! This was actually good served cold for lunch the next day also.

CPK BBQ Chicken Pizza (The Pioneer Woman)
This was fantastic! In fact, the recipe for both the pizza and the dough makes enough for two pizzas so we had this twice in one week. My husband was actually excited when he saw that I was making this again. Bub loved it too. The only problem I had was the cheese oozing off of the crust all over the baking sheet. I'm sure if my crust smooshing skills were more advanced, we might have avoided this.

I never thought I would be the make-your-own-pizza-dough from scratch kind of girl, but that recipe is beyond easy. Five ingredients, and one of them is WATER. It takes about three minutes and the best part is that it can and SHOULD be made in advance. I love that in a recipe.