Thursday, December 20, 2007

a poem

galloping Gato
purring, eyes wide, hair on end
let's play - chase me

squeaking and chortling
hopping sideways down the hall
we're playing- come on

running - gaining speed
take flight jumping on the bed
waiting - play with me

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

My idea - morphed and spreading

Yesterday I had an idea for the baby shower being thrown for me in February. It stemmed from two things. One, my family and friends keep bugging me about the envelope on my fridge. The one in which the doctor wrote the baby's sex. It started as a compromise (in my mind) with D. He wanted to know, but I didn't. So in case I changed my mind (or he changed it) we had the doctor write it down for us. I've since had people say this is more like torture than compromise - I can see that. Two, is that opening that envelope, while tempting seems like it will end up being anti-climatic. It seems more worthwhile to just wait and get the surprise at delivery. We've considered finding a special occasion to open it, but so far nothing seemed to fit - until yesterday.

The idea started with the consideration that we just open the envelope at the shower with our friends and family. That didn't seem exciting enough though so I thought perhaps someone could win the chance to open it. I mulled over the idea all day and eventually it solidified into something.

The final idea (final for the most part) is that we raffle (or auction) the chance to open the envelope. The "winner" has three choices. 1) Choose that the sex still remain secret until deliver. 2) Open the envelope and share the news with everyone. 3) Choose to share the information only with D & I - and of course themselves. The proceeds from the raffle/auction would go to a charity. Though one has not yet been decided, it would be a children's charity and perhaps one tied to our safari theme (hence an African children's charity).

I told my mom about it and she didn't really "get it." She didn't seem to think anyone would be interested and seemed to wonder what would be in it for everyone. I was a little disappointed. But on the flipside, both the friend I told and my sister-in-law think it's a great idea. My sister-in-law even seemed to find the idea inspirational for her job. So the idea has now morphed and it's spreading. So hopefully in the end, the idea helps a number of charities and hence people.

So here is the question (or here are the questions) I'm posing to you - all of you reading this. What do you think? Do you side with my mom in wondering what's in it for the guests? Why bother? Or do you side with the other two in thinking it's a great idea? Oh, and raffle or auction? I'm getting very hung up on that one so I might as well get everyone's input on that too.

Sunday, December 09, 2007

We're crazy

We were called crazy for out daytrip yesterday - that may be an accurate accusation. We got up bright and early, on a tight timeline for the day. We had already picked up our medium-sized, rented moving truck. We didn't need one 16ft long, but it was all they had available. We were already late arriving at our first stop - the daybed. I was so excited it was already taken apart! All that was left was loading it up. That bought us some time for the day, which was good because from the start I'd forgotten to actually allot ANY time for food stops or shopping stop two. [The daybed is replacing our current queen-sized guestbed. There's no room it with all the baby stuff and fortunately we've already sold it on Craigslist.]

Our second stop was at Sofa Express Outlet. Apparently all the Sofa Express are closing so we were hoping for extra deals at the outlet also. Lots of items DID have extra percentages off which was good. We found a total of three rocker recliners, all the same style but different colors. Unfortunately something was wrong with each one. The sage chair's reclining mechanism was broken, and the tan chair's arm was cracked and did not appear fixable. The third chair was in good shape but had cream fabric. Hmmm, 3 cats, 3 dogs, and a baby with cream fabric. We decided since we were doing cream rugs we might as well invest in some Scotchguard and get the chair. It was a good deal & I've been really particular about the style so I was worried I would not find something else suitable. The chair was a hoped for but unexpected buy. Yeah! It was also the last item on the baby furniture "find" list.

Now the longest part of our drive - the leg to Ikea. It wasn't that bad but it was a little boring with no radio stations coming in, and no tape player for our iPod and no cd player either. We were making good time though and we were on-track with my pre-established timeline for the day. Whew!
So what's up with the insane traffic in and around the Robinson Town Center? Shopping traffic does not seem to exist like that here - is it the hills???? Our only option for lunch was Steak & Shake (not a vegetarian's first pick - at least not this one's). Once at Ikea, we got through out list rather quickly. We opted out of getting a bookcase, but found a desk and eventually settled on an armoire for the baby. It's not the one I wanted, but I was convinced it could be made to look similar but would be easier for D to paint. So I compromised and I do think it will work out just fine.

Next we were heading north to pick up our dog. She's elderly now, and goes on hunger strikes when boarded. She's also too thin, so hunger strikes aren't a good idea for her. So she stays with my parents and had been vacationing there for the past two weeks. We were meeting my mom just off the interstate we needed to take home. This was the final item on our to-do list. Next was the final leg, to take us full circle - home.

It was 12-hours (tiring hours) of driving & shopping, but we got everything on our list. We nearly beat the freezing rain - it started when we were about 50 minutes from home. We managed to back the truck into the driveway without incident. Then finally, this morning the dogs let us sleep-in before having to make space for all our goods, unload them, and then return the truck!

I'm so tired. Poor D is working late - poor me, my quantity of sleep will also be affected. But the dogs look tired, maybe I'll be able to get them to bed early with me.
I know I'm whiny. The day was really productive though and necessary. I'm glad it went so well, and I'm really glad it's done!

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Update #2

Everyone asks me how I'm feeling. Maybe because I felt so crappy for so long. Well, I feel good though last week I felt squished. I’m very short-waisted and my belly must have expanded yet again recently because I’m feeling like I have more room. It’s cyclical, and there seem to be a few days here and there where the belly hasn’t caught up yet and my insides feel quite squished and uncomfortable. I’m hoping to make it through this month, if not beyond for doing shots in the belly. The thighs may end up being a fine place, but I’m used to the belly and hesitant about change. I have to do these the whole time so there’ll be plenty to go around for the belly, legs and arms. Fun times.

I’m not really having any crazy cravings. I have noticed in general that my appetite has increased in the past week or so. For instance, instead of a sandwich for dinner, I really feel like a need an extra ½ sandwich to go with it. I barely gained any weight at my last ob appointment (only 1lb) but I think it will even out when I go in this month. I think I will finally have out-gained D who has been keeping up and actually surpassing me with his sympathy weight gain. I appear to only be gaining weight in my belly which one the many, many, many old wives tales says that means I’m having a boy. We did have our ultrasound, but could not agree on finding out vs. not finding out (the sex). I was the hesitant one, so as a compromise (which I’m not told is actually torture) we had the doctor write it down and seal it in an envelope. That way if I change my mind we can open it and know. Part of me does want to know, but part of me is enjoying the self-control I’m emitting. It’s a challenge against myself. The longer we wait, of course the more I think it’s “safe” to look (as in we won’t be bombarded with only pink or blue clothes) but also that it’s less worthwhile because we’re closer to just having the surprise.

Back to cravings, while I don’t think I have any cravings I do have a lack of them. I used to crave chocolate daily – especially dark chocolate. Now I find dark chocolate (most of it anyway) rather tasteless. Not that I’m really into milk chocolate now, I’m just not that into chocolate. I haven’t been doing sweets nearly as much as before I was pregnant. I guess that’s better. I must say that yesterday we went to Jamba Juice for lunch and the smell of fresh oranges was nearly intoxicating. I smelled them again at work today – not sure why, maybe someone had a gift basket. I like orange juice, but not oranges. They’re way too much work. But I can’t stop thinking about them, and now I want one. I guess I could just juice it and have fresh OJ. That’s as close to cravings as I’ve come though since before I knew I was pregnant. I had an overwhelming need for kalamata olives (which I was actually only just learning to like) so I bought a big container and munched down a handful of them. By the next day they were once again nearly appalling . . . and I quickly moved on to a cupcake obsession.

Update #1

We went to Texas this past weekend for the first of our three showers. I’m feeling really spoiled – three showers. We have family down there, including D’s mom who cannot travel. It just seemed to make sense to have one there, plus it made sure we got to see everyone for the holidays. It was a nice long weekend with gorgeous weather compared to what we’re used to. We had brunch at the Gaylord Texan – very nice. The buffet was comparable only to the one at Caneel Bay. As a vegetarian, I found plenty to eat though the non-vegetarian would have been even more wowed. I got to see my family who I haven’t seen in forever, and some cousins I’d never even met before. I got more gifts than I ever expected including tons of cute gender-neutral clothing. I think I now own every single gender-neutral item that Carter’s sells. Even with all the gifts, I couldn’t curb my newest obsession with baby clothes. I made my own purchases also. Having cleaned out Carter’s I moved on to Gymboree. They had woodland creature clothing on clearance. How could I pass up onesies with chipmunks and squirrels? It was all I could do to walk away with only two items. D had to help me maintain composure – I think he was mainly worried about there being no room left in our suitcases. This was a valid concern, because upon checking our bags at the airport, one was over the weight limit by 4 lbs. We just popped it open and took out the diaper bag full of baby clothes to be a 2nd carry on and WA-LA, crisis averted.

As part of the baby shower extravaganza we’ve had many of our “big ticket” items arrive on our doorstep. The nursery is in no shape to accommodate these items as we still haven’t gotten rid of the current furniture inhabiting the room. I feel like the holidays are causing me to procrastinate and everything will rain down at once come January 2nd. We’ve started being a little more proactive though by posting some of the before mentioned furniture on Craiglist. Once it’s cleared out and the holidays are over we’ll be able to move all the boxes in to the nursery and start assembling baby furniture. I’ve already bought the nursery bedding and chosen the paint color – we just need time to take care of it all. I’m trying to be patient and not stress but it’s getting more and more difficult. It’s just my nature I think.

Introduction to Updates

I’ve snuck a few extra blogs in before getting all the topics crossed of the list I promised everyone (or you – not sure how many readers I’m up/down to). I think the last one on the list was “baby stuff.” I’ve actually been hesitant to do a baby blog entry. I typed one out but it had no flow and I hated it. Basically, I was trying to be quite elusive because I’m a freak. I’ve watched too many Datelines where babies are stolen (sometimes while still inside moms-to-be – in fact that has happened right in my own state). So I just didn’t want to broadcast too much information like where I’m from or when I’m due, etc. So I decided to change my profile and omit my location. I feel only slightly better now. Better enough though to share some highlights – stay tuned.