Friday, July 29, 2011

Baby P

Here's your first peek at Baby P. Just... amazing.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Nursery Prep To Do List

1. Clean out basement to make space for 'guest bedroom'
2. Move guest bed to basement
3. Remove all clothes and items from guest bedroom closet and dresser
4. Sand and paint all furniture for nursery.
5. Line all drawers
6. Assemble Crib
7. Build more shelving in nursery closet
8. Paint nursery
9. Select and purchase rug for nursery
10. Select and purchase rocker/glider/chair for nursery
11. Select and purchase fabric/linens for nursery
12. Sew curtains for window and closet 'door'
13. Sew bedding, baby quilt
14. Decide on other decor/accesories to purchase/make/register for
15. Hang all pictures/artwork/shelving, Move in all clothing and care items, put all toys and other personal items in place.
16. Show Baby P his new room!

WHEW! It looks like we have a lot to do... until I tell you that items 1 and 2 were completed this weekend. Then you are like... "Oh! Well then, you... still have a lot to do."
Sigh. I know. It's daunting. Items number 3 and 4 start tonight...
We have until December. And even then I hear infants don't complain TOO much about incomplete nurseries as long as it's, you know, safe and whatnot.
We'll take out the paint cans and cover any exposed wiring by December, okay? Cool.
And... GO!

Monday, July 18, 2011

Boy or Girl?

The Chinese Gender Prediction chart (it's based on your lunar age or something reliable like that...) says:
IT'S A BOY!

THIS nifty gender prediction test guesses:
IT'S A GIRL!
You have a 35% chance of having a boy.
And you have a 64% chance of having a girl.
(hmmm... 64+35=99 There is a 1% chance my child will be a hippopotomus.)And Here's Why...
You are carrying the extra weight out front, so it's a boy.
The hair on your legs is not growing any faster during your preganacy, so it's a girl.
Boys are carried low. You are going to have a boy.
Sleeping in a bed with your pillow to the south indicates that you will be having a girl.
Your feet are not colder than they were before pregnancy. You are having a girl.
Dad-to-be hasn't been gaining weight along with Mom-to-be, so it will be a girl.
The maternal grandmother doesn't have gray hair (dyed or natural), so a girl will be born.
You had morning sickness early in pregnancy, so you are expecting a girl.
You are looking particularly good during pregnancy. Therefore, it must be a boy, because girls steal their mother's looks.
Your chest development has been quite dramatic during pregnancy. You should expect a girl.
Since the sum of the mother's age at conception and the number of the month of conception is even, it will be a boy.
You have a craving for salty or sour foods, which means that it is a boy.
You have been craving fruits, so it is a girl.
Your baby's heart rate is 140 or more beats per minute, so it's a girl.

A facebook poll of friends and family's guesses had an overwhelming response of:
IT'S A BOY!

Daddy thinks he's figured it out that:
IT'S A GIRL!

...But Mama still thinks:
IT'S A BOY!

I guess none of these are terribly reliable sources... so we will just have to hold on. The sonogram in a few weeks should shed some light on the subject... if not? Well we will know for sure on or around Dec 22, 2011 (Baby P's Birthday!).
What's your guess?

Thursday, July 14, 2011

BBABL

(Before Baby Arrives Bucket List)
Aside from the obvious baby preparations, these are some things around my house and around my life that I want to accomplish before Baby P arrives:

1. Purchase prints of engagement and wedding photos and hang in house.
2. Re-paint that chunk of red wall in the kitchen that never got hit after the bathroom remodel.
3. Train dogs to stay off furniture.
4. Create Recipe Book of Z approved meals for easy access.
5. Replace grungy, stinky living room rug.
6. Finish upholstering zebra chair.
7. Teach Z to make a few simple meals.
8. Romantic getaway with Z.
9. Get my keyboard from parent's attic and set up/accessible in my house -- play piano or sing a little bit at least a couple times a week.
10. Tame the paper monster in the office/basement, get a filing system in place for important documents and bills.
11. Sort through clothes and shoes and get rid of torn, faded, stained, and too small stuff I don't wear anymore.
12. Do more reading for fun -- I'll give myself a goal of completing at least 2 more novels before Dec. (Don't judge, I am a ridiculously slow reader!)
13. Invite friends and family over for dinner... dessert... or even just coffee at our house so I can participate in that oh-so-fulfilling practice of hospitality.
14. Complete Christmas shopping (it'll have to be done early this year).
15. Memorize Scripture passage (was supposed to be my summer project, opps.)
16. Actually SEND the gifts I made for friends MONTHS ago.

Anything else I need to add?
Check in with me occasionally... ask me how I am doing on my BBABL if you see me. :)

Monday, July 11, 2011

About Z

Last night my husband refused to run to the convenience store for ice and milk at 11:30, so I told him he obviously wasn't ready to be a father, and made a big dramatic deal about putting on my flippy-flops, and getting my keys... to haul my pregnant self to the convenience store for these essentials. Apparently that's when the guilt hit him (and not a moment too soon, if you ask me) and he said he wasn't going to let poor little pathetic pregnant (gah, alliteration) me go out alone at 11:30.
When we got home I was happily sipping my iced beverage and hopped on face book and started typing away... and Z started to freak--
Are you writing about me? What are you saying about me? Please don't write anything about me...
Poor Z. The only time I ever talk about him on my blog or on facebook is when I am making fun of him.


He really is not an idiot, nor is he a bad person, or lazy, or thoughtless, or projected to be a poor father to his as of yet unborn child. We have a good friend who always says that Z is probably the nicest, most easy-going person he's ever met, which is what makes him such a good target for giving him a hard time. You know he will just take it in stride, or laugh along with you, or whatever.
But he's right-- he gets a bad rap from my sarcasm, need for attention, and constant quest for a good story. But I need to set the record straight.

Zachary is a good guy.
I would go so far as to say a GREAT guy.
He is kind, level-headed, and patient as crap (I mean, he would have to be putting up with my antics and compulsiveness, right?)
He is a hard worker, a good friend, and a loving husband. He will listen and take criticism. He loves a good debate, will respectfully consider and discuss any topic, and has a way of graciously asserting his opinions while diffusing tension and anger in heated arguments-- but he always treats others as intellectual equals, never condescending. And while he can 'agree to disagree' on most topics he has what I can only describe as this sense of urgency and necessity to share with people the truth he knows, and to make right the wrongs he sees around him. I admire these things about him so much.

As intellectual and smarty-pants as he is... he also knows how to relax and have fun. He makes me laugh, and helps me not take things so seriously. He encourages me relax and take naps. He has greatly expanded my taste in movies. He is a perfect balance to my craziness. He takes good care of me, and our little dogs, and our little Baby P.
He will be a great daddy-- I get all misty just thinking of him with our little one. I love that picture so much already.

So I know... that I give him a hard time, and I make him sound silly, or simple, or thoughtless. But maybe it's just because he's the nicest guy I know, and that makes him an easy target?
In the future, if you ever start to think of him as anything less, you can just refer yourself back to this post to remember that he's a great guy who just happens to have a spastic wife who likes a good story. :)

SLURP

Note the date...
it's 7/11
You know what that means?
FREE SLURPEES
Best day ever... am I wrong? I heart free slurpee day! :)
Get thee to a 7-Eleven, STAT!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

The Best Kept Secret

There are two questions people ask when they find out you are pregnant.
The first is: When are you due?
The second is: Are you finding out?

As in... finding out the gender before the baby is born?
Up until recently my answer was, Oh absolutely, yes.
My reasoning being I am a control freak. It takes time for me to wrap my brain around changes of plans, I want time to prepare for boy or girl. I want a pink nursery or a blue nursery... not a huge fan of ducks (sidenote: why are ducks internationally recognized as THE gender nuetral decor for clothes, nurseries, or any other junk you want to look baby-ish. Whats up with ducks? Not that I have anything against ducks... but there are only so many 'duck' things a kid can have, you know?). I just thought it would be better and easier for everyone to find out as soon as possible.
Also there is that other argument-- it's still a surprise if you find out 5 months pregnant, or if you find out in the delivery room, you are just choosing when you want the surprise. Z definitely wants it now. The sooner the better. He is counting the days until that sonogram when we will find out... and I was too.
But as I get closer to the day of that sonogram... I am starting to panic a little. I don't know why I am panicking. It just all of a sudden seems like such a huge deal. Trust me, I want to know. I am DYING to know. I am dying to know all kinds of things about my baby.
Just the other day I was laying in my bed yelling at the bump on my belly like I expected it to respond. "Who are you!?" I want to know so bad who this little person is. What do you look like? What is your name? Will you be laid back like your daddy, or compulsive like your mama? Will you have red hair? How long will we wait for you? What will your birthday be like? What will you feel like when I hold you in my arms?  Who will you be???
I was laying there with all these, and so many more questions in my mind. But for all the questions in my head, not a single one of them was 'are you a boy or a girl?' And I just kinda think... maybe It's just not that important right now. Maybe I am more comfortable not knowing... since there are so many other unknowns right now.
Or maybe I am afraid. I mean, Z wants a boy so bad-- so does Grandpa. The Grandmas are both dying for a little girl. I have kinda felt all along like Baby P would be a boy, so I have been getting all excited about 'boy things' but if baby P is a girl, am I going to be disappointed? Is Z going to be disappointed and my dad, who wants a grandson so bad? What if Baby P is a boy and the grandmas are disappointed? I just can't handle that right now. And I know, I KNOW everyone says that they will be happy no matter what-- they have to say that-- but i just can't fathom the thought of ANYONE-- including myself-- being disappointed with Baby P right now. Becuase My little Baby P is perfect. And right now, Baby P is fulfilling everyone's expectations, and not because of a penis or a vag, but because this perfect little person is changing and will forever change all our lives. I just have this instinct to protect that as long as I possibly can.
IF we wait to find out on Baby P's birthday I truly believe that we will all be so enamored and excited and overjoyed that there won't be room for disappointment that day.
I don't know... what do you think? What did you/would you do? Am I crazy for feeling like I do?