Death, Dreams and A Date

First, if I can request some spare T&Ps for people that are strangers to you all, but near and dear to my heart...

I was at work yesterday when my phone rings and upon checking the screen, I saw it was my mom calling.  From Texas.  During what she knows were work hours.

So I answer, figuring it must have been important - but I was not alarmed...

Then she dropped the bomb...



We met Our Friends - or I should say, my parents met Our Friends - almost 30 years ago when they first moved to Texas.  My parents had two children under two (my brother and newborn me) and another one very shortly on the way (my little sister.)
Mr. Friend worked with my dad, and their teenage daughter was very quickly tapped for babysitting duties.

We've shared holidays, and sleepovers (their Disney library was the most impressive I've ever seen and has slowly evolved form VHS tapes to DVDs to BluRays).  We've shared family birthdays and births as they welcomed a number of grandchildren.  We've shared weddings and more holidays, even while separated by 1600 miles, making the cross-country flights without hesitation, because that's what family does.

And yesterday morning, Mrs. Friend got a call from Mr. Friend's job, concerned that he hadn't showed up two hours into the work day. 



My mom was calling to tell me that Mrs. Friend found her husband still in bed - he had suffered, and ultimately died, from a massive heart attack that morning.

I have now cried twice ever at work - the first was just days fresh from my d&c when a co-worker was sharing his excitement that another coworker was pregnant with an oopsie.

Mr. Friend has left behind his wife, two children, 6 grandchildren, siblings, nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews, and life long friends that have come to count themselves as family.

While I'm bummed that I can't fly anywhere, being 4 weeks from a due date, my sister was able to book a flight from Boston for tonight, and my brother already left Washington this morning.

My parents immediately hit the road and traveled the two hours to be with the family - who could use all the peace, thoughts and prayers that can be sent. 

I know this community is incredible at extending these things, and for perfect strangers.  Thank you for this.

***

Dreams.  They're getting very strange... Strange enough where I'm either beginning to repress them or I'm intentionall doing my best to forget them... it doesn't help to watch things like Cabin in the Woods before going to bed...

And guys?

WE HAVE AN EVICTION DATE!!



translation:

Baby Boy is still breech as of today's appointment, and we are officially scheduled for a c-section on the morning of July 19th! That's THREE WEEKS from yesterday...

The nurse who scheduled the c-section asks - "Who's your pediatrician?"

I guess I know what gets bumped up on the what-feels-like-it-should-be-longer To-Do List!

Hormonal equals annoyed at much

So last pregnancy (the ill-fated pregnancy of Spring 2012) my MIL was all excited and said she was looking to drop another day a week of work, and to ease into part-time "very soon," and she would be thrilled to help us with child-care whenever we needed to work (I had already planned on working from home 4ish days a week upon the end of maternity leave.)

So naturally, this pregnancy arrives and the intention to work from home stays the same because E and I assumed that the offer from his MIL still stood.
E brought this up to his mom as we were all relaxing at their house the night after the baby shower, and all of a sudden his dad says - no.  Because, they can't afford to decrease her hours right now, mostly because they'll lose her retirement benefits if she goes below 32 hours a week.  (Of course, I wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize that for them.)

But I'm not an idiot either - she currently works 40 hours for 3 out of 4 weeks a month... How would working 4 days a week (ahem, THIRTY TWO HOURS) jeopardize her retirement package?

And then they do the whole, "Well when we had you and your sister, we made it work by ourselves -  (FIL) worked day time, and I (MIL) worked night time, and that was that."

I was annoyed by the implication, "we did it by ourselves, you should have to."

It's not that we can't afford daycare or anything - without number dropping, we could EASILY afford it.  I am choosing not to place Baby Boy in day care during, especially, the first 6 months.  And the only reason we asked them, was because of the offer from the last time I was pregnant!
So now, stubborn German Leo that I am, I say "Screw you IL's - fine, we don't need you to help out at all, we've got it. AND I don't have to work hours where I'll never see my DH."
*sigh...

in good news - we saved alot of money on our car insurance! wait - wrong jingle...

we DID save a sh*t ton of money on the rest of the big items (and small items) we needed from our registry!
I received an email from BRU for a one-day coupon for 20% off your entire order, with basically no restrictions.  Our registry completion was only a 15% off coupon, so I strategized for what to get with what coupon, and what we were ready to buy during the one-day sale.

So we head to BRU late one Saturday night (E had spent the morning at a mud-run and I cracked the whip after his 20 minute nap - I was NOT missing this one-day coupon!) and we loaded up our cart with:

high chair
baby gates (extra tall and extra wide for certain door ways)
cradle mattress (and sheets)
ErgoBaby carrier
Moby Wrap
Hamper
Boppy Covers
Nursing Cover
Extra crib sheets
Our second car-seat base
some breast-milk storage sets
a Mobile
(other miscellaneous stuff we saw)

We were placing our bets on our pre-coupon total in line, when we arrived at the checkout (Customer Service desk - which may have been our stroke of good luck that day...) because she asked if we were "completing our registry" and I said no - because I'd rather get the 20% off than the 15% off.  And then, it was like a choir of angels:

"You know you can use the 15% completion coupon with this 20% off one...."

I said, YES YES - we ARE finishing our registry!

AND THEN...

We decided to do what we never do - we applied for the BRU credit card for ANOTEHR 15% off (because the girl said we could charge just a $1 balance to it, and pay the rest in cash).

So without further ado, for my coupon-lovin' thrifty-shopping readers out there, our pre-coupon total of
$1130+ went all the way down to .....

$530 (and change)

We felt like robbers, and we booked it out of there before they changed their mind on the amount of couponage they let us use!

Spoiled Doggies and Crafting...

How's some craft rambling for this Thursday?

1 - A little sneak peak at something for the nursery (and as of now, I have no idea WHAT/WHERE it will be, but it's painted... lol)



2 - A "pre" and "post" shot of twine-wrapped letters (and let me just say - I rethought a few times about the length of baby boy's name while hand-wrapping all those letters!)

3 - This stool was E's when he was little, and he thankfully let me paint it (it took 2-3 coats of primer, and a good coat of semi-gloss white to cover...)



4 - (the stool part-way through the multiple coats of primer/paint) and a shelf I got from Michaels for $0.99 woot woot! (Of course, I bought two - this one has the two hanging pegs, and the other has a hanging rod - kind of like a towel bar)

*Again, not quite sure what will hang from it, but it'll look cute! lol

Aaaaaaand this is what I wake up to every morning - spoiled much?!

(Yes, his butt is on E's pillow... sssshhhh)

and can-you-freaking-believe... today is 35/35.

THIRTY FIVE weeks down, and only thirty-five days to go... All I can say is good thing we finally ordered the crib (just ordered this morning... it takes two weeks to come in... yes, I enjoy cutting things close. lol) and good thing we're getting car-seat bases installed tonight by the local PD (they double/triple check that it is done correctly I guess...)

Call me Close-Cuttin' Mama...

My Porcelain Throne...

.... taDA!

Just installed last night!

(and our lovely shower behind it)

(waiting for frameless glass walls/door)

(and obviously we need to still mount a TP holder... lol)

This morning I woke up and was all, "I'm so gonna pee on the new toilet!"

And E was like, "IN - PLEASE GO IN the toilet, not on!"

Goofball.

And because Jenn over at The Canadian Housewife makes me so jealous *winkwink* with her kick-ass garden, here's what WE'VE been growing:

And if I'm being completely honest, we only have these by pure luck - the previous owners did most of the work of the planting and caring for... the vines take over most of our side boxes now!

But dang, do these berries go good over some angel food cake...

NOM NOM!

Sunny with Chance of a Shower!

(I know, "FINALLY" right??)

It all started Friday night.. (yes, I'm really late posting - I'm talking 1.5 weeks ago Friday night... lol)

I was sitting on the couch, engrossed in whatever free Nook-Book I had recently found.  E was in the kitchen making dinner (god BLESS that man - I'm so glad he doesn't mind cooking, or we would have been eating frozen dinners and mac'n'cheese the past few weeks!).

The doorbell rings, and I'm all - goddamn neighborhood kids can't leave me alone?! **So, there's this little girl whose parents let her run around by herself (she's just turned 7!) and she comes over alot to play with our doggies... last summer, it was EVERY DAY at 5:30 pm, without fail... it was cute at first, and then we realized she was using us for our dogs, candy and soda...

ANYWAYS - so the doorbell rings, and I'm all, Maybe if I just pretend I didn't hear it, E will answer the door...

But he says from the kitchen, sounding all busy and dinner-making, "Can you get that??"

UGH -so I peep out the top windows, and see a little girl.  DAMMIT - wait, this little girl's hair is darker than our little friend.. who the-

and I open my door and see my niece, K - who lives in MASSACHUSETTS! I'm all, whuck?!

and see my other niece, A - and my sister! AWWWW - they came down for the shower as a surprise, how coo - HOLY SHIT!! OHMYF*%*^(

And here she comes, dancing up my front walk - THERE'S MY MOM FROM TEXAS!!!!

This was so me...

My sister (and hubby) had decided to fly up my mother for the weekend, as a COMPLETE surprise for my baby shower, and had orchestrated the whole arrival with E:

Mom flew into Boston, and after my sister picked her up, they hit the road and headed 3.5 hours south to NJ and arrived Friday night, just in time for a big dinner that E was secretly cooking - chicken parm for 6!!

I have never been more surprised in my life, and it was so freaking awesome to have my sister and mom with me for the weekend... We spent Saturday at a local thrift shop checking out their goods (nothing like shopping with The Girls!) and trying to come up with a plan for Sunday....

See, I knew - but nobody knew that I knew - WHEN my baby shower was... (hellooo - I've had outfits (and options!) picked out for months!)

BUT the tricky part was, I wasn't supposed to know my sister and mom were here until AT the shower (because otherwise, I would know something was up - and people would know that I knew - confused yet?)

So I had to act surprised, not only at the fact that I was walking into my baby shower on Sunday afternoon, but that my sister, nieces and mother were there... I am NOT that good of an actor - so we came up with the story that Sister and I had chatted a few weeks ago, and she leaked it that Mom flying up for shower ("whenever that is, hee hee") had been in the works...

Sooooo - I spent Saturday night trying on every. single. item. in my closet because the dresses (2!) that I had intended for a baby shower were inherently NON-FLATTERING, according to E AND the girls...  *sigh*

I literally was about to cry, as my mom and sister spilt red wine on my carpet (it all came out fine - GO Woolite carpet cleaner!) and I tried to keep the floor clear of fashion cast-offs, and said f*ck it.   I chose a cotton sundress I had found at WALMART a few months ago, for (probably) less than $5. I wonder if I can still return the two intended dresses....

And without further ado, The Shower:

Go pregnancy brain - I saw the cute little bags and stickers (close up below) and still didn't realize it was a candy bar until I walked past it again 5 minutes later... or it could just be the fact that I'm a natural blond, pregnant or not...

The Girls (Sister from MA and Mom from TX!)

Can you tell we're related??

My awesome SIL - who, with MIL, threw the entire shower...

(One of the best "Bump" shots of the day, we never really posed for pics...)

Aside from an awkward moment during the Surprise entrance, when MIL greets me with a hug and a "I know you knew, but I did my best..."

the shower went AWESOME.  Weather was gorgeous, I got alot of great gifts (did you see that pile?! and how CUTE is the little adirondack chair and umbrella??)

Mom and Sis (and nieces) had to drive back to MA directly from the shower (booo) but I was so grateful for the unexpected two days with them (Mom had to fly back to TX Monday night from Boston...)

*~*~*

Nursery updates: I have everything washed, and put away (now that I got the drawer liners put in).  We are waiting for our changing table to be delivered, and waiting for the final word from my parents on a crib (they're buying, and I just want the GreenLight before I order the crib from PBK).  We have a glider picked out, it just needs to be ordered.  So while we're getting closer and closer, the nursery still just feels like a storage closet with boxed items and a dresser...

*I've also been crafting/nesting (you're welcome, Michaels!) with things for the nursery - will post pictures another day...

Bathroom  updates: The plumber is coming tonight to install our toilet (sooner rather than originally scheduled) because - hello - I NEED A TOILET on the same floor as my bedroom... I don't have to get up during the night (YET) but I have a feeling that's because baby's head is not down pushing on my bladder...

The vanity cabinet will be ready tomorrow, and will hopefully be installed before this weekend, and then we can get measured for our counter top...

*I want to get some clear "before/after" shots from the same angles to post, those will come soon...

(BTW - these posts, the shower and the nursery and the bathroom, have felt like they've been looming over my head - and damn does it feel good to cross at least one off the list...)

Procrastinating at Procrastinating...

I had an epic weekend (I know - it's already Thursday and I'm just now posting about it... BAD Blogger!)

The story, from Friday night all the way through my shower on Sunday, needs its own post - I promise it's coming!

Also needing its own post - the BATHROOM! OMFG the tiling is all done, and this bitch looks AWESOME.  Like we're rich or something. =P

The guy is coming tonight for the glass shower doors (measuring and taking plans).  And the vanity cabinet will be installed soon.

And it's damn time for a toilet to be back on the second floor (where we sleep) - I had to get up last night to pee (for the first time since 1st tri, holy shit I know!) and I'm hoping it's because baby boy's head is migrating down and pushing on my bladder... BUT - it is not fun stumbling down a flight of stairs in the middle of the night to hit the head...

SO - pictures coming of bathroom, The Long AwesomeWeekend Story coming, and more...

For now,
A sneak preview of The Long Awesome Weekend (candybag from baby shower):

and Baby Boy at 33w5d:

The gratuitous work-bathroom-shot... =)

After buying the right laundry detergent, this weekend I'll be *gulp* washing baby clothes, and filling dresser drawers in the nursery...

Friday Chuckles, Chapters and a "Chit"-ton more...

So Chit-ton = Shit-ton, but I just wanted to stay with the nice alliteration of the Ch's...

Get ready for a whirl-wind of a post...

Chuckles:
Zoey gets bashful when she sleeps...

Chapters:
Found this book/mini-series for free/$0.99 on Nook store, and surprisingly found it to be really good...

Directly from http://www.michael-stark.com/ 

The old radio at the station had poured out haunting images of a dying world from the first day. Through it, the tiny group hunkered down at the Village of Portsmouth, bore witness to the death of millions. Where the sickness left off, storms and brutal emotions took over. Some fought. Some starved. Others simply disappeared.

Storms ravaged the power grids. Relief efforts died before they ever started. Entire countries collapsed.

Like the rest of the world, the people stranded on Portsmouth Island could only wait and hope. When it came, the disease struck hard, killing one and sending another into a violent rage.

Hounded by an evil he didn't understand, William Hill struggled to survive.

The evil had other plans. It wanted his blood.

This time, it had a face. This time, it offered a deal

My take: It is in 5 parts (apparently part 5 was just released according to M.Stark's website) and despite the sci-fi dragon cover, is actually quite good - part apocalyptic, part fantasy, even part religious (for lack of better term... the end-of-the-world/Book-of-Revelations references are pretty cool)... but enough real world to keep it interesting for non-sci-fi fans!

The "Chit-Ton" more:

We had our follow-up* elective ultrasound yesterday... *Follow-up because 3 weeks ago, baby boy had his FEET up in his face (we're thinking he was Frank-Breech:)

But we basically were unable to get ANY facial shots, so we got a free follow-up, where he eventually (after much cajoling from Daddy) graced us with his beautiful, YAWNING face =)

(He had one arm up alongside his face, and another hand in his mouth...) and damn, but that machine at the elective 3D office is nowhere NEAR as clear as the machine at the MFM where they gave us a 3D peak at the A/S...

Oh and baby boy is STILL breech (head still squarely up) but at least his feet are now curled down, hopefully phase I of getting his little tush turned around!

When I mentioned to my mom he was breech, she was all "CALM DOWN, it'll be ok!"

I thought, did I seem freaked out?

Because you know what? Que Sera, Sera.

I will be fine with whatever is required to get him delivered safely (vaginal birth, c-section, whatever is needed.)

I also got notice from the E.tsy vendor that the onesie being made from DH's fire department Tshirt is done and on its way via mail! I can't wait to see it, and I can't wait to give it to him next week on Father's Day!

And now, more for Future Me to be able to read some day than for your entertainment (but enjoy all the same, lol):

(BTW - anyone know what the HELL is a "Dorian Fruit?!" TheBump should find more known fruits... I kind of like the guide on this website, where it's more dad-friendly - "The next time you look into your 17-inch computer screen, know that your baby is now that long.")

 

How far along? 33 weeks!! with, OMG - less than 50 days left...

Total weight gain: I'm still just under the 20lb mark... I'm slightly surprised at that because I feel like I am eating mySELF out of house and home, and haven't really gotten ANY exercise for WEEKS... maybe all the physical activity while working on the nursery is enough?
Maternity clothes? Have been in them for months! (And am just barely starting to feel like I'm recycling the same old clothes - good thing the weather is bouncing from HOT to cold and rainy - I can wear all my tank tops AND thermals still!
Stretch marks? None - YET.  (besides a few really low on my hips that I've had since highschool, which is random because I never had a rapid weight gain or loss...) *Shrugs*
Sleep? Been sleeping pretty good - starting to notice I'm slowly revolving back to early bedtimes (like, passing out on the couch before 10pm...)
Best moment this week: Seeing baby all "YAWN - you're interrupting my nap, mom and dad!" on the 3D ultrasound yesterday...
Miss Anything? honestly, not really.  Although I won't turn down a nice cold beer when I get home from the hospital in July!
Movement: He pops, thumps, bumps and rolls - I could sit and stare down at his movements for hours...
And DH gets a kick out of the fact that Baby Boy gets hiccups - ALOT.  like, 2-3 times a day... that hasn't grown old for me yet either...
Food cravings: No real cravings...
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope, never had it happen at all this pregnancy... (with the low weight gain, no stretch marks and no m/s - do you hate me yet? PLEASE DON'T! lol)
Labor Signs: None, YET - trying to keep an eye out for any BH...
Symptoms: RLP has been causing me to waddle something fierce today, which is slightly strange to me - it usually only has gotten this bad after alot of physical activity, and I've basically sat on my ass this week..
Belly Button in or out? BAARELY in - when I'm trying to sit up,  it's definitely approaching Outie!
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy
Looking forward to: Meeting Baby Boy!! (and my baby shower on Sunday!)

Tuesday Morning Rantings

I usually let myself cool off before (even thinking) of what I would blog about (were I to have the time that day.)

But today I'm fucking pissed off.

1.  At the stupid idiot receptionist who keeps leaving an hour early here and there - and instead of ASKING her supervisor (me) if that's ok, she just tells me.  And says the nursing clerk is covering, because she "has to go do this thing."  YOU WERE HIRED to be here until 4pm.  BE HERE until 4pm bitch!!

2. At the same nursing clerk, who so generously offered to cover my 4-8pm shift at the front desk today and tomorrow, and JUST NOW tells me she can't tonight.  Why? Because she has to register for her baby shower.  Great, yea - I get that's important.  So important - you scheduled it on the one night you told me you'd cover my department.  And then tell me the day of that OOPS - you're not staying until 8pm, leaving me with NO COVERAGE. 

3. The new assistant keeps asking stupid fucking questions - like the fact that the nurses accidentally (but obviously) misspell a name on their shift report.  And the question is "What do I do?"
LEAVE THE CORRECT SPELLING IN OUR SYSTEM, they made a mistake.  DUH, right??

4.  This is kind of random and doesn't quite piss me off as much as just, annoys me - but hey, it's a nice segue for the post:

E said the other night, "I can't believe how close we are - after two long years..."

... wait - two long years??

So basically, he sees our TTC journey as - I went off BCP in May 2011.  And it took until November 2012 to get pregnant.  (apparently in his eyes, "two long years.")

I'm not making light of the loss we faced, but still - I feel like the reality of (or the more recognized side of) the journey we've taken would be that I went off BCP* and had wonky (most likely majority of them non-ovulatory at 14-18 days long) cycles until Januaryish, and just the second cycle after a SIS (saline-infused sonogram), got pregnant.  (yes, had a mmc at 11.5w - but still got pregnant.  I know most people would "reset the clock...")
*I abhor hormonal BCP. Mostly because it took my body so long to regulate after coming off of them...

And then when we started TTCAL, only two charted cycles gave us this pregnancy.  So to me, while yes - calendar months slipped by, I think we were pretty lucky in our TTC process (in the low number of serious cycles it took us each time. (And what makes a "serious" cycle? I guess actual charting and good timing... but still, I count in only 1-2 more "non-serious cycles" total that we "tried"...))

I've tried to explain it like this to him, but I don't think he understands some things like the "reset" of the TTC clock...

and it's not that I'm afraid of any "label" that he might see fit for us, it's more that I feel that labeling us makes light of the couples that really do suffer in their TTC process... (not sure if any of this makes sense...)

Anyways - and those are my Tuesday Morning Rantings...


House-Update
(bathroom is painted, half-tiled - they're finishing tonight. The nursery is painted.  And I was EXHAUSTED yesterday, I think I over did it this past weekend - but our part is basically done.  Until its time to start emptying out the nursery and actually getting furniture in there... small, tiny - little itty bitty detail... lol)