And It Begins...

The baby stuff takeover of my house has officially begun. We had set up the nursery a while ago, but the baby stuff was pretty much contained to that room. That is no longer. Today we moved our dining table and bookcase to make room for the pack n play and swing.



At least I picked out baby stuff that coordinates with our decor.



I wonder if I can find a floortime mat in sage green and cranberry?

By the Books

I'm a big believer in book learning. I think that you can lots of things from books. For example, I learned the law from books. Yes, I went to class, paid attention, and took notes. But most of my learning came from studying cases. Plus, there was a fair amount of online shopping happening while I was in class.




I taught myself how to knit from this book. I can knit and purl. I just can't finish a scarf in under four years.

So as my pregnancy draws near an end, I've been reading lots and lots of baby books to learn how to take care of my baby. I realize I can't learn how to be a mother from a book but I think I've learned lots of interesting pointers and tips.

I really like the Baby Whisperer. Its very common sense based and the author is British. She calls everyone "Ducky" or "Luv." It's very cute. A big part of this book is tips on how to get your baby to be a good sleeper. The Baby Whisperer does not advocate the "cry it out" method, but says to pay close attention to your baby's sounds/cries and do not rush in if the baby can soothe itself back to sleep. There are lots of other great sounding tips to get your baby to sleep through the night.

So I read the book and I'm feeling pretty confident that I can follow the tips and help my baby be a good sleeper when he gets here. Then last night, I put the bullies to bed like I always do. I go up to bed and around 10:00pm, Mickey starts barking her head off. Usually when she does this, I let the bullies come up and sleep in the bed. But it is really, really hard for me to sleep in the bed with them. They snore, they hog pillows, and they are, um, slightly gassy. It's not pleasant. So I ignore her and she stops barking. I'm pretty proud of myself that I didn't give in.

Then around 11:30pm, she starts seriously barking her little puppy head off. Now, I think she must be barking at something, an intruder or something. So I go downstairs and of course there is nothing. I let the dogs come upstairs and get in bed with me. But Mickey won't get in bed, she stands at the bedroom door looking annoyed. When I open the door, she runs downstairs and gets on the couch with a toy and goes to sleep.

Damnit! This dog just totally worked me over so she could sleep on the couch. She knew that if she kept barking I would let her out of the kitchen. Frank slept in the bed, Mickey slept on my expensive leather couch, shedding all over it, and I got no sleep.

Exactly how I am going to follow the Baby Whisperer if my dog walks all over me!?! I need to take control of this household before this baby comes, I'm in charge damnit! And now, if you'll excuse me, Frank is licking my peanut butter and jelly sandwich and I must go deal with it.

My Cute Husband

How cute is my husband? I got this the other day while he was out of town on a business trip. Apparently there was not too much business because he was able to fit in a round of golf. Anyways, he looks adorable.





Marriage is so funny. Sometimes I look at this man and I want to cry tears of happiness for finding a man so wonderful and so perfect for me. Other times, I look at him and it's all I can do to refrain from taking my non-stick, wedding present, frying pan to his head for leaving his mail on the coffee table. Ah marriage, so many wonderful emotions.

Getting Near the End

Today I am 37 weeks pregnant and this is how I look and feel:



Actually not really, I don't have the pleasure of enjoying cool ocean spray all around me. I just feel gigantic, immobile, and my back hurts. I don't think my dinner is really helping these feelings, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and two quesadillas isn't going to make anyone feel 100%. And I'm just waiting for a respectable time so I can eat some ice cream. I think 7:45pm is respectable. Although I'm not sure I can wait 45 minutes.

I know, I know I should should stop whining. I'm so close to the end. But seriously, I'm ready for this baby to come on out. My husband keeps telling me that I look like it shouldn't be physically possible for me to stand upright. Thanks babe. I'm of the opinion that the only thing you should ever say to a pregnant woman is "you look great!" There should never be any mention of size, or how she is carrying, or how she looks like she is about to pop.

Ok, I'm going to stop whining now. It's inefficient and unproductive. And we all know how I hate inefficiency and lack of productivity. Instead I shall focus my attention on ice cream and finding some crappy reality t.v. to watch. I might even read a baby book. I think I should be nesting and cleaning everything. But for once in my life, I just don't care about cleaning. Way too much effort right now. Ice cream and reality t.v. it is! Is it 7:45pm yet?

Princess Mickey

It is a good thing Baby Brady is a boy.



I don't know if I could handle another princess in this household.

Goodbye Esther

When I was little I read the story of the Velveteen Rabbit. It's the story of a stuffed rabbit, who has feelings and becomes real because of the love of a little boy. When the little boy can no longer play with the Velveteen Rabbit because he comes down with scarlet fever and the rabbit is deemed to be laden with germs, the rabbit is crushed.

This story really struck a chord with me when I was little. So much so, that I used to rotate what stuffed animals I slept with so that no one would get jealous or feel left out. Let me remind you, that I was very little. So ever since I read this story I have unrealistically assigned feelings to inanimate objects.

For example, Esther the Escape. I bought Esther in 2002, a few months after I graduated college. It was my first grown-up act after college. I did all the research by myself, test drove cars, and went to the dealership all by myself. I loved that car. She got me through law school, she drove me to the bar exam, she drove me around on my wedding day, and she moved me in to my first house with my husband.

As much as I loved Esther, she was getting old. With almost 130,000 miles, Esther was starting to slow down. This past weekend, Brady drove her and realized that I was missing gears or the transmission was shot or something. I'm not sure what it was, but it was bad. It was Esther's time to go.

So we went to dealerships, negotiated for a long time, and bought a new car. I was very close to crying. I really was sad to lose my Esther.



She may not have gone above 60 mph and yes I had to use pliers to switch from air conditioning to heat, and the brakes weren't so hot, but she was still my car. She was a symbol of my entry into adulthood, a symbol of my independence. I made Brady tell me that the dealership was going to fix her up and she would go to a loving family. Then my father made the remark that they "were going to junk that old thing." I still choose to believe that she will be restored to her glory days.

I said goodbye to Esther and welcomed Stella, a 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe, into my life. I'm still getting to know her, but I think we are going to have a pretty good time together. Plus, she gets the grand honor of bringing Baby Brady home from the hospital.



Goodbye Esther, you were a fantastic car and I'll always remember you.