My maternity leave starts today!

Yeah! I'm all done working! I finally made it through my last 12 hour night I thought would never end. Not because it was so busy, but something about it being my last shift really made it drag. And it was too busy to watch TV, I guess my good luck ran out, but fortunately I heard Grey's was a rerun anyway.
I went in for a second membrane stripping this morning (aren't you glad your getting all the details?). Then I came home and took a good long nap and now I'm awake for the day, even though it's 4pm and the day is almost over. And I just ate a whole pineapple to help the labor thing. Now I fell sick, and I'm pretty sure I never want to eat pineapple again. So I'm doing everything I can, I would sure like to have this baby by the weekends end. Mostly because I'm afraid of how big he's getting, but also because I'm so big and my stomach is so tight and I'm so tired of being pregnant and so uncomfortable, and the list goes on and on. I really wasn't much of a complainer during my whole pregnancy, I think I actually did quite well, but I'm making up for it now.
Okay, consider yourselves updated, I'm going to go to the mall now to walk around and see if that helps. My friend Michelle suggested this to me earlier this week but I told her I thought that might get really expensive. (since my maternity leave is unpaid I have to be a bit more careful) She laughed at me and said I wasn't supposed to shop, its just a place to walk where it's warm. I will try to refrain from shopping and just walk. Wish me luck!

Still waiting...

Yesterday at work my first patient of the night said to me "you look like your going to pop!" later the same patient said, "you look so tired, are you doing a double shift?" NO! I HAVE ONLY BEEN AT WORK FOR 2 HOURS! WHY ARE YOU SO RUDE? is what I wanted to say. So after her 2 not so nice comments she then tried to be nicer and ask a more acceptable question, "what are you having?" In my frustration with her I decided to be a bit sarcastic and said "a baby?" DUH???? Okay the duh part I kept to myself. But I was beginning to wish I wasn't at work and was instead at home sitting on my couch watching TV. Fortunately the rest of my patients that night were old and made no mention of me being pregnant, ready to pop, or tired. Although people at work keep asking me when it's going to happen. I wish I knew! Thankfully tonight is my last night to work! The last 3 Thursdays I have worked have been exceptionally nice and easy, I got to work with Amy (my friend outside of work) and we have been able to watch TV fairly uninterrupted by patients from about 7pm to 10pm. We have to watch TV in separate patient rooms because she prefers CSI and I prefer Grey's Anatomy. Hopefully that will happen again tonight because I really don't want to work that hard, and I'd really like to watch Grey's Anatomy!
So yes this means there is no baby yet! My mom says it's just the baby's way of showing me who's boss? Which is kind of funny that my mom said that, because I clearly remember her telling me many a times "When you get to be the mother you can make the decisions." I guess that must start after he's born because so far he isn't listening!

Just in case your wondering...

I just wanted to let you all know that no news does not mean good news. Still no signs of imminent labor. Not for lack of trying though. Lets see I've tried drinking red raspberry leaf tea, eating fresh pineapple (I bought my 3rd one tonight), eating spicy mexican food for dinner and I even exercised on my elliptical machine for 30 minutes (exercising is so overrated). All that and not one single contraction. I am beginning to think that I'm going to have to go to work tomorrow and Thursday! Bummer, I was really hoping to get out of it.

My fight with Target is over!

I love to shop at Target, but I got so mad last week that I decided to boycott Target. I registered there for my baby shower, and got quite a bit of stuff from there. All of it I love, but I got duplicates of a few things, and then some things you just only need so much of. I have about 25 0-3 mos onesies, and that doesn't count the 4 packages I planned on exchanging for bigger sizes. So I gathered all of the things I wanted to exchange and went to Target customer service. Unfortunately if I was given gift receipts, I no longer had them. I wasn't careful about saving them because I had no intention of returning the things I got, and because in the past, Target has had a fairly easy return policy. Apparently things have changed and they are quite strict about returns. Even things that were on my registry and it showed it was purchased could not be returned or exchanged. I left with the phone # to corporate office and intentions to call and complain. The next day I called, and the guy on the phone (who spoke with a foreign accent and I could barely understand him) asked for my name and number right away before helping me. I assumed this was in case we got disconnected he could ring me back. Oh No, because after he told me he could not help me, that the return policy was changed, he offered to transfer me to his supervisor. Well he put me on hold for 5 minutes first, then realized the connection didn't go through, tried again and disconnected our call. I waited thinking he would call me back, but he didn't. I was so frustrated that I swore I would never shop at Target again. My mom insisted I should keep calling until they get so sick of hearing from me they just give in, but I don't have as much persistence for justice that my mom does.

Then I found a sale item that I really wanted to buy for my niece in the Target ad for the black Friday shopping sales. I made an exception and went in and bought what I needed. I told my sister Rachael who was with me that it was a one time exception, but she said this was just the first of many exceptions I would likely make and I was only hurting myself by boycotting them.

Well tonight I went to the big mall in South Bend about 30 minutes away, and since there was a Target close by, I decided to try one more time to exchange a few items, thinking a different Target might not be as strict. Guess what? No problem, the items were returned for a store credit with no questions asked! What a difference. And the best part is now I don't have to boycott Target. I guess were both lucky!

39 week pregnancy update

Still no baby! The family all went back to New York yesterday disappointed that I didn't have the baby. Today I went to see my doctor and she stripped my membranes, (OUCH) to hopefully speed things up. I was still only dilated to 1.5 cm, but effaced 70-80% which is a big change from last week. Just maybe I wont have to work my last 2 scheduled shifts which are this week Wednesday and Thursday. (sorry Amy if you have to work without me on Thursday) Although I don't know how much stripping membranes really helps, if it's not time, it's not time. Rachael (my ob/gyn sister) told me yesterday that statistically about 50% of people who have their membranes stripped after their due date will go into labor within 48 hours. But that wasn't very reassuring since my due date is still 9 days away, and probably 50% of people past their due date deliver within 48 hours anyway, with or without their membranes stripped. What was encouraging was that my doctor told me that one day she stripped 4 patients membranes, and they all delivered that same night. So who knows, it may not be much longer.
When I got home from the doctors office I realized my house was a mess from having company and being on the go so much in the past few days. I decided I better clean it up just in case. I'd hate to have to go to the hospital to have the baby and come home to a messy house and loads of laundry to do. Luckily I don't have to clean too thoroughly, my housekeeper will be here Thursday for that, but I still had to pick up and put away a lot of stuff, and get the laundry done. As I was cleaning I realized the only bad thing about having my membranes stripped was that I may miss the natural nesting instinct that precedes labor. It was quite a chore to get the whole house cleaned, I had to take a nap first just to get the energy.
So now the house is clean enough, the laundry is almost done, and the nursery is ready, so if today is the day, I guess I'm ready. Well sort of, I still need to pack a bag for the hospital, but that shouldn't take too long.
I'm off to the mall now to buy some new make up, I'm all out of foundation and mascara. I was talking with my friend D'Arcy today and she told me not to worry about it, that I wont have energy to put make up on after the baby's born. That may be true, but call me vain, I can't take that chance. I must go!

I was right, my mom was wrong!

Well I was right about one thing, it did snow on Thanksgiving. Actually I should say the weatherman was right. It started snowing thursday evening, and by Friday morning this was what it looked like outside.

My mom on the other hand was wrong about her cold theory. No signs of labor yet. So I decided to go with a tried and tested but not necessarily proven to be true theory that drinking red raspberry leaf tea can cause labor. I've had about 4 glasses so far tonight, and still nothing. My stomach does make for a nice place to set my cup of tea though.

My favorite part of Thanksgiving! (at least my favorite food)

And it has to be homemade Libby's brand pumpkin pie served chilled with cool whip!

What's your favorite?

My least favorite part about making pie is the crust! Ever since Pillsbury came out with those ready made pie crusts I haven't made a crust from scratch. They are so good, you can't even tell they aren't homemade, you just unroll them onto the pie plate. Unfortunately when I was at the store yesterday I forgot to buy a package, so when I got ready to make the pies today, I had to make a choice, go to the store again on the day before thanksgiving and fight the rush of last minute shoppers, or make the pie crust from scratch. It was also cold and rainy outside so I decided to go for the old fashioned method and make my own. It wasn't as bad as I though it was going to be, and I forgot how good leftover raw pie dough tastes. You know, the part you cut off the edges.

This year we are having Thanksgiving at my sister Rachael's house, my mom and step-dad are here from New York and my sister Shannon and her family are also coming from New York. Francie and her boyfriend will be there, as will myself and Todd, and my sister Natalie will be here for the weekend. This is the first year since Todd and I have been together that we are having Thanksgiving with my family. The problem is, my whole family is vegetarian and Todd is not. So I figured I should try and make him a turkey right? It would be the nice thing to do. However, me making a turkey for the first time on Thanksgiving would probably end in disaster, a lot of time wasted and still no edible turkey. So I was at work last week and a few of my coworkers were talking about the different ways to make a turkey, one of my coworkers described his method and it sounded so good it almost made me want to eat turkey. Not really, but I did ask him if he would make a small turkey for me so Todd and Jason (Francie's boyfriend) don't have to have a vegetarian Thanksgiving. He willingly agreed, and I hope he doesn't forget, I am supposed to get it from him at work tonight, all seasoned and stuffed, ready to put in the oven when I get home from work Thanksgiving morning. Hopefully I can manage the baking part.

I offered to pay him, but he refused, so I am baking him a pumpkin pie for payment. And since you can't make just one pumpkin pie, the recipe always makes 2, I will take one to work and have a little pre-Thanksgiving desert with my coworkers.

Were expecting our first snow here in Michigan on Thanksgiving morning. Our county is under storm watch for lake effect snow, with chance of lots of snow accumulation in a short amount of time. How great would that be to have a white Thanksgiving!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!

The nursery is ready!

So they say you start nesting shortly before you go into labor, and get super productive and lots of things done in anticipation for the baby's arrival. I think this is referring to the mother though. But what does it mean if the father all of a sudden gets super productive and gets things done? Last night I had Todd hang a curtain rod and a book rack in the nursery and then he kept going. Next thing I knew he was putting together the baby bouncer and the baby swing. Today he planted the mums that I've been asking him to do for weeks.

I guess I've been pretty productive myself this week, but I tribute that more to the fact that my mom is here than that I am nesting. I have to get these things done while she's here if I want her help. I also have my sister Shannon coming for Thanksgiving, and I wanted the nursery done before she gets here. Last night I finished the nursery, there is nothing left to do, except wait.

Here are the nursery pictures I've been promising to post.

My sister Natalie painted the pictures on the wall. Here is the football field wall, and the toy boxes that are mostly empty now,

but I'm sure it will fill up quickly.

My mom made the curtains for me yesterday, they turned out great. I love them. I still haven't gotten my new chair I ordered, so the rocking chair will suffice for now. I love the little book bin on the wall too, it is full of baby books given to me at my showers.

I took this picture last night when it was dark out,

but you can see the curtains better in it.

The crib corner of the room.

The clothes hanging on the wall rack are the ones I'm trying

to decide between to pack for the hospital.

The crib up close.
A closet full of clothes, all washed and ready to wear.

I'm really glad to have such a big closet.

All those clothes are just for the first 3 months.

I hope he gets to wear all of them before he outgrows them.

More pregnancy talk, (sorry that's all I can think about these days.)

I seem to be coming down with a cold, I have had a sore throat for 2 days and tonight when I was over at my sisters house visiting with my mom and Rachael's kids, I was sneezing nonstop and very congested. I think I am allergic to their dogs and cat, because I normally sneeze a lot when I'm over there, but that wouldn't explain the sore throat so I think I really do have a cold. My mom said that when she was pregnant with all of us kids (all 6 times) she got a cold every single time one week before she went into labor. So she is predicting that I will have the baby by next Friday. This could create a problem since my doctor is out of town next Friday for the Thanksgiving weekend, and my sister Rachael just happens to be the doctor on call. I'm not sure how I feel about having my sister deliver my baby, it's not that I don't think she's a good doctor and all, it just seems a little strange. Apparently she says it's only strange for me, to her it's just a job. Also the hospital has a policy against doctors treating immediate family members. But if there isn't anyone else to do it, they will just have to make an exception I guess.

On the flip side, it would be really great to have this baby because I am so tired of being pregnant! 37 weeks is a long time, and I am ready to be done. Also since mom is in town and my sister from New York is also coming for Thanksgiving it would be nice if I had the baby while they were here so they could all meet the little guy. It also helps that I got the baby room almost ready. Thanks to my mom, we went through all my gifts and organized and put everything away. Just a few finishing touches and the nursery will be all done. I will try to post some pictures soon of the finished room. I even washed all the new baby clothes, sheets and blankets. When the first load of baby clothes came out of the dryer it was actually fun to fold and put away all the cute little outfits, however by the 4th load I was no longer having fun. Also, my car seat and stroller were delivered yesterday via FedEx, so now I think I have just about everything I need. Just need the baby now.

Here is a picture of my new stroller/car seat combo, It's a PegPergo that I thought was going to be a splurge, but then I found it for a great price on the internet and saved $125 off the average asking price, plus free shipping and no tax. I love it when I find a good bargain.
These things are tricky to figure out too. It was rather frustrating trying to figure out how to open and close the stroller, and how to attach the car seat to the stroller.

Here is a picture of my new Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag that I thought I just had to have, spent too much money on, and now that I have it I don't like it. Unfortunately I can't return it, only exchange it for another one, but all of their fabrics are so bright, which is exactly what I don't like about it. Hopefully I can find something a little less loud. What do you think? Is it too loud?

P.S. Rachael if you read this: Can I take Sudafed? The box says to consult a doctor before taking if pregnant, and I really need some.

Happy Birthday Rachael

Today is my sister Rachael's birthday, and she is away from her kids, but before you go feeling sorry for her, I must tell you she is in the Bahamas. Yes, it is for a work conference, but still it is a vacation in the Bahamas, so how bad can it be? I thought she might be missing her kids just a bit so I put this little video on my blog for her, just in case she is able to access the internet.

Our mom who lives in New York came to stay for the week to watch Rachael's kids while she's on vacation, I mean at work, in the Bahamas. We are all so glad she's here, we will all gain at least 5 pounds while she's here because she brought everything but the kitchen sink from her own kitchen to cook for us. And she's staying for Thanksgiving, so we will get to indulge in all the traditional vegetarian thanksgiving day family recipes we grew up on and love!

Rachael you will be happy to know your kids are doing well with grandma Cece and eating good just as we did last night. I came over to the house tonight at 5:30 to help make dinner and all the kids were sitting at the table eating dinner already, Jack and Katya both already had their baths and were in jammies. Katya, the one who doesn't like vegetables, (as I'm sure your aware of) ate spinach salad, broccoli, and mashed potatoes with gravy, and asked for seconds of everything.

Katya has also been keeping her good and behaving for grandma Cece seeing as she's sooo old!

Kristen is working on her school projects like a good girl with Auntie Francie.

Grandma is quizzing Katya and Jack on their spelling words, Jack can hardly keep quiet as Katya struggles with her words.

Grandma Cece and Ben went and did a little shopping at the farm store earlier today after dropping the other kids off at school. Mom took pictures of it to post on her blog, but she's too busy taking care of 4 kids to blog, so I am doing it for her. Ben was like a kid in a candy store, or should I say, a farmer in the farm store?

Now my mom is mad because she just found out I stole her pictures off her camera for my blog, so for those of you who read both blogs, you may get a double dose of Ben pics.

And she'll probably be mad at me for saying this, but as well behaved as your kids are for grandma Cece, they are still wild indians, don't let mom fool you into thinking they're perfect for her.

Have a happy birthday, and we'll see you when you get back!

P.S. I am so miserably pregnant I would seriously consider some medical intervention to speed this thing along if you weren't out of town!

Pregnancy thoughts

Can you believe I only have 23 more days? I can't! Now everything seems to be going so fast. My whole pregnancy I have been feeling like it's taking forever and wanting to rush things along, and now that it's so close, I think I'm ready for it to slow down. I'm not ready yet. I haven't come to terms with the fact that this is going to hurt, a lot! The baby's room is not anywhere close to ready, my plans for organizing it this weekend didn't exactly work out as planned. The whole nesting phase your supposed to go through where you get a big burst of energy and get super productive... hasn't happened yet. So my long mental list of things to do aren't getting done. My mom is coming into town tomorrow to watch Rachael's kids while she goes to a medical conference in the Bahama's. Lucky her! So hopefully my mom will come to the rescue and help me get stuff done, I already have a few projects in mind for her while she's here.
Oh and for the record, since this blog is the closest thing to a journal I have, last week when I went to my 36 week doctor appt, I was 1cm dilated and 20% effaced! Rachael did some pushing around on my stomach yesterday and predicted with her medical expertise that the baby probably weighs 6 pounds right now, and if I deliver him on time he will probably weigh 7 and a half pounds. So I guess we'll see, but that sounds pretty encouraging.
Only 9 more shifts at work before I take off for my maternity leave!

Another Great Baby Shower

This past Sunday I had another great baby shower, put on by Todd's family. His family and friends circle is very large. There were tons of people there, okay probably more like 40, but it was a lot. I got so many great gifts for the baby, and even a few for myself. I am so thankful to have so many kind and generous people in my life. My baby is spoiled and he hasn't even been born yet. Although its getting very close.

Which reminds me of a dream I had last night. Very disturbing. I was in the hospital and woke up with a large incision across the middle of my stomach and no recollection of why. I asked the nurse what happened and she said I had had the baby but he was so big I had to have a C-section. He weighed 8 lbs 25 oz. (yes I know there is only 16 oz in a pound, but it's a dream) Then I wanted to know who did the C-section because I was not happy about the size of the incision nor how high on my stomach it was. Turns out it was some very old lady doctor who looked more like a grandma than a doctor. And that's all I remember about the dream. Weird huh?

Okay, back to reality...

Here are all my gifts that now need to be organized and put away. The crib is full of clothes too. This is going to be a BIG project. I may need some help from someone who is really good at organizing, I think my sister Francie might just be the perfect one for that. So if your not busy this weekend Francie, I have plans for you.

I just got these toy bins yesterday and had Todd put them together for me. I think I already have enough toys to fill them up. Oh and you can sort of see the football field wall, it's almost done, just needs some dirt painted on it for the finishing touches.

Here is a better picture of the wall. Todd asked me if I was using a college or pro football field because he didn't think it was done to scale properly. I'm hoping the baby doesn't notice that I didn't use a scale, I just made it up.

Here is the little rocking/reading/feeding nook in the room. But I have a problem. I bought the night stand, and the book bin you see on the floor (that still needs to be hung) and the toy bins from the same store and in the same stain, but when they arrived they are different colors of wood. So do I keep them since I like them all, or take something back? I now have 4 different pieces of furniture in the room of different colors of wood. The wooden rocking chair is going to be replaced soon (which will eliminate 1 wood) with a really comfortable chair that rocks, glides, swivels and reclines. I'm going to have to think about it for a few days. It's not that simple to return them either, I threw away my receipts and the boxes they were shipped in, so I'd have to drive to Chicago, where the closest store is, to return them which would be a real pain.

Basically I have a lot of work to do still, so as much as I want this baby to be born soon, I'm beginning to think I need the next 4 weeks to get everything ready. So as long as he doesn't weigh 8lbs 25oz. I guess I can wait another 4 weeks.

America's Next Top Model & Etsy Shop

My niece Kristen may have just gotten her first modeling job. Unfortunately it doesn't pay anything since she'll be working for her mom modeling purses for her new Etsy shop. I was over at their house when we took all these pictures and Kristen was loving the camera like a professional model. She told us she was America's next top model. This is all so different from when she was a little girl. She used to hate having her picture taken, and therefore in almost all of her pictures as a little girl she was rarely smiling and often looks grumpy. It sort of became her signature look in pictures. I think she finally started to like the camera in part due to Auntie Francie who is a bit camera happy and is always taking pictures. Once Kirsten's little brother Jack started allowing Francie to take pictures of him anytime she wanted without putting up a fight, Kristen started to get a little jealous of all the attention. (at least that's how I think it went down). Anyway none the less were all so happy that she is now more than willing to pose for pictures.

A little more about my sisters Etsy shop:

It all started when she taught herself how to sew to make her kids halloween costumes, and she made them all these cute little candy bags to carry (as opposed to a big plastic pumpkin). Then next thing you know she's sewing cute little bags for Kristen and Katya's piano books, and now she's making purses for her Etsy store. The great thing about it is that since November is National Adoption Awareness month she has decided to donate all the proceeds from the store this month to buy christmas gifts for orphans in Russia. You can read more about it on her blog or at her Etsy shop SimpleWishes. Or better yet go online and buy something from her Etsy shop. It's only been up and running for less than 24 hours, she started with only 2 purses on it, and now there is only one left, but check back often, she has many more cute purses that she has already made, she just needs to add them to the store.

Here is pictures of the Halloween bags she made that started the whole thing.

Another plus side of working night shift!

(Sarcastically speaking in the title)

Good for you all... you get an extra hour of sleep tonight!

Bad for me... I get an extra hour of work!

Tonight ends Daylight Savings.

Don't forget to turn your clocks back.

If anyone needs a personal reminder at 2am just let me know, I'll be up.

Battle of hairstyles

Yesterday I got a much needed haircut, I can't believe it has been 5 months since my last one. When I saw my hairdresser she was so happy to hear that I hadn't changed hairdressers, she had begun to wonder since it had been so long. Although the truth is she would have to do a really bad job for me to switch, I get a cut and color and eyebrow wax for $35 or just a haircut for $15. I'd be a fool to go anywhere else. She doesn't give everyone that same deal, but I found her when she was new out of beauty school and I sent her a lot of people from work to help build her clientele so she gives me a good deal.
So when I went to see her yesterday I was thinking about doing something a bit different than the usual, so I decided to cut bangs. I brought in these two pictures and let my stylist pick which one would work best for me. She picked the one on the bottom of Ashley Olson.

I tried to take a self portrait to show you my version of Ashley Olson's hairdo, but my picture looks really blah next to glam celebrities. So you'll just have to wait and see me for yourself.

I like the bangs, they are a bit hard to get used to, I keep wanting to brush them off my face, but I'm glad I did it. Something different for a change.

Todd's response to my new haircut was that he doesn't really like bangs! Normally I would welcome his opinion on such things, but most of you know that we have had an ongoing battle over his current hairstyle. He has decided to let it grow, it has been 9 months since his last haircut and the time before that he waited over a year. It all started with a silly bet he made with his mother that she meant as a joke, but Todd was up for the challenge. I think the bet was something like $500 if he could go a year without cutting it.

So I told him that as soon as he cuts off the ponytail I will grow out my bangs. Unfortunately I don't think that is going to happen anytime soon. The last thing I heard on the subject of him cutting his hair was that as soon as Notre Dame goes to a bowl game he'll cut his hair. So folks it looks like its going to be a while. I'm hoping he's not serious, but I try to leave him alone about it, it seems the more people tell him to cut it the more stubborn he gets.

Here is a picture of his current hairstyle:

And here is a picture of what it used to look like. This is a picture from our honeymoon in Dominican Republic.

(Ahh, the good ol days when my stomach was somewhat flat, although I'm sure I probably thought I was fat at the time)

PICTURE UPDATE

I deleted the halloween picture of Todd and I and reloaded it for all of you who couldn't see it. hopefully it works this time. Let me know if you see it now. Scroll down or click HERE to go to the post.

HAPPY HALLLOWEEN PART II

With no kids of my own yet (for another 35 days or so) and because I live in a countrified town that has very few trick-or-treaters, we didn't stick around at home last night to hand out candy. I did leave the porch lights on and a bowl of candy on the porch, but it was all still there when I got home, so I think it would have been a boring halloween if we'd stayed home. Instead we went over to my sister Rachaels house and enjoyed the whole halloween experience with her family. Next year I'll have a little boy who will be 11 months old (wow that's hard to imagine) yet I'm already thinking of costume ideas. We will probably still go over to Rachael's house, she lives on the perfect street for trick-or-treating, it's only got about 15 houses on it! And the very best part of the evening was the warm apple pie she made.

Here are my nieces and nephews in costume!

KRISTEN THE ARCHAEOLOGIST

JACK AS CHEWBACCA

(is that how you spell it? my spell check says no)

KATYA AS A KITTY CAT!

(we fixed the white ankles before sending her
out trick-or-treating, I don't know what her
mom was thinking when she put white tights on her)

BEN AS BOB THE BUILDER MAN!

(who by the way, would correct you if you called him anything but builder man)