Lauryn Hill Zion

I'll be glad when my hormones are back in check. I am working on my "labor & delivery iPod mix" today and when I got to this song, tears were pouring.

Well, ok....this song used to make me cry way before even getting pregnant. I'm gonna be a big ball of emotion when I meet my little guy. You may wanna steer clear of me if you don't like sappy! ;)

18 days, 18 years

Tomorrow, the official count to my due date comes in at 18 days!

Then, for the next 18 years, may Tanner & I guide this little boy to the best of our abilities. (amen)

Of course, I am certain there will be much more beyond the 18 years...it's just that at that point we can tell him to get a job, move out, buy his own insurance. Haha.

I'll start with proper feeding & diapering first I suppose. ;)

Speaking of, I met baby Judah on Friday & was in awe of how tiny his little diaper was while Julie changed him. He was only 4 days old when I met him! He was so sweet when I held him. Guess I'll be doing that with my little one soon. Wild...

hey Judah!

Ok, let the baby-poppin' begin! I know a handful of 2nd & 3rd trimester mommys-to-be and today one of those ladies gave birth! She's a sweet, sweet friend---Julie.

Welcome to the world, Judah Caleb Arter!! He was born in the early afternoon.

Now, she was due roughly 2 weeks before me. She had him a week early. In other words...

I NEED TO GET SOME CLASS PROJECTS DONE & GET MY BAG PACKED!! Baby just may be on his way very soon!

*ahem* ok, now that the frantic feeling has subsided...I'll leave with this: As of tomorrow, the 'official' count is 24 days!

Lazzzzy

We just arrived at our fancy hotel in Tulsa. We just wanted to get away, in case we can't again! Only 3 weekends between me & my due date...and somewhere in there is our first anniversary! So, here we are. Yes, I'm taking the time to write a quick blog while Tanner is working our our evening plans. I'm pretty go-with-the-flow...I told him I'll go do whatever, but will also promptly request we go home if I get tired. I do that a lot now. ;) I think a nice dinner, maybe a movie, and then we'll just lounge in the room. The bed is comfy & it's actually calling my name for a nap after this blog...

Last night I did something I never do anymore: stayed out past 10 pm! That's right, my wild night out! :) I thought the big night on the town was gonna be me at the bookstore hearing the Stringents til roughly 9 pm. I thought for sure my aching, swollen feet would be checkin out by then. However, I really enjoyed seeing my friends & just some of the acquaintances that come out to Full Circle regularly. I enjoyed it all so much that when Sarah said "the girls" were taking the party to Will's, I was game. We had a great time just laughing. It was a kind of "throwback" to our pre-mommy (or pre-pregnancy) selves. It is so RARE that those girls can all just hang like that on a given weekend night so I knew we had to cherish it!

Tanner didn't know what to think when HE got home at 11 pm & I was still gone. He started calling a lot, thinking something must be wrong. (He knows I keep my phone on vibrate 90% of the time so he wanted to make sure I saw it). I excused myself to call him & assured him I wasn't kidnapped somewhere, just having a lot of fun.

Geez-louise, I need to get out more! Ah well, laying in bed when you've got a new 50 pounds sticking out from your abdomen (among other places) really isn't a shabby option. Yet it's nice to know I can still have fun once & a while. :)

Happy lazy Saturday!

**update: 26 days until my due date!

countdown...

31 days til my due date. Whoa.

I filled out my pre-admission hospital form last night. Guess I will pack a little bag this week. It's Spring Break in my world (I will forever live by a "kid calendar" since I'll always either be a student or work in schools). I have so many things I am hoping to tackle this week!

However, Monday--first official day off--the focus will be celebrating a very special friend's birthday. We wanted to do the zoo--her 18-month old will be joining us--but looks like it'll be too cold and/or wet. So we'll start with a Panera breakfast & then do whatever she wants next.

Last night Tanner & I had a great date night. Originally, we were gonna see a movie, but we both lost interest--and then we picked Chuck E Cheese. I always save their coupons in case we get the random urge for skee ball & old 80s arcade games. (Chuck E's has done little update since I was a kid). However, on the way there, we passed what used to be Incredible Pizza. I didn't realize it had been replaced already, though I knew it was gone.

It's now Gatti Land...which, to me, seemed much more promising, as I knew the Mr. Gatti chain (you'll find them in Texas) had good pizza. We enjoyed a good buffet for $6.99 a piece. (twas much better than IP). Then we bought token cards--right now pay $10 and get $11.50's worth. We did a round of putt putt, played lots of arcade games, skee balled, and had a good ol time. If I do the math of what we would've spent on our original dinner & movie plan, this was a tad cheaper and much more fun. I told Tan I want to do it just ONE more time before baby. We've worked really hard at conserving money because our current situation demands it---but nights like this are important, I believe, once & again.

Speaking of conserving, dear friend G told me about her potential plans to forego cable & home phone. I say go for it! Tanner & I have neither and don't even miss them for a minute. Cable packages will be obsolete in another year or so. I can't imagine how much $$ they add up to after a year's time. I haven't lived in a home with cable in about 7 years! And I still know what goes on in the world! ;)

I do not claim to be any less addicted to stupid TV...we watch things online & there's plenty o' trash on network TV...but I would imagine slimming down your options at the touch of a button is a bit better on the brain. Sometimes, the only decent choice is a documentary on PBS, and I like that. Besides, Facebook is my addiction...do I really need another? ;)

Fragments of Friday

So, my new little series that could possibly last one week only. ;) The gist of the idea comes from seeing a few blogs that have the Random Thoughts Thursday motif. I'm thinking you started that trend, G?

So, without further adieu, here are some fragmented thoughts:

1. tsunami in Japan, largest in modern world...and now I watch as the local news reports outrageous wildfires on our turf. weather is king today. i really, really feel for people in both situations. i am sure more lives were lost in the East today, but it's all no good. ;(

2. I was a fortunate soul who did NOT find myself in a weather crisis...and, actually, it has been a beautiful, fun day. Light housework while i watched snippets of Ellen, a pedicure so i can start donning some flips (AND a girl's gotta be ready in case she goes into labor, ya know?)...oh and I'll 'fragment' here to say there is such a GREAT place in Edmond that was doing $15 spa pedis. yup, $15!! sadly, they just went up to $20. Still, I guarantee it's the cheapest you'll find (with the quality).

3. I was getting into my car after said pedi when a large gust of wind literally blew my car door outta my hands & into the lexus next to me. OH NO! I checked the damage right away. My red paint was on her grey car, so i knew that more than likely i bore the brunt of the incident. I rubbed...yes, it was coming off!

I am human. I had to stop & gather my thoughts...see, i've been toying with the definition of integrity so much this week. Doing what is 'right' even when it's small, when no one is looking, when it really possibly couldn't matter. The way i act to complete strangers that i'll never see again. And, of course, the way i act to those i care about most. None of us are perfect; we miss opportunities to have integrity all the time. Earlier this week, I felt I didn't handle a parking ticket (UCO loves those) situation with as much integrity as I should've. I justified my own actions in my head, so when I tried to argue it, I don't think I was as honest as I should've been. I didn't flat-out lie...but I omitted a fact that would've mattered. Same thing, right? I really, really beat myself up about that...I told Tanner he should've found a wife with more integrity. (that's also the same night he shaved my legs for me....he helped bring me out of my funk, thanks hon).

And today...i knew that although her car was going to most likely be fine, and i was running late to meet the hubs for lunch, and it was gonna be awkward to go back in to the spa...i HAD to do it.

"Anybody drive a grey Lexus?" I called out to about 8 pampered ladies.

The nursing, new mom getting a pedi spoke up. I went & explained what happened, feeling like a kiddo who just broke the cookie jar. At first she looked worried, but when I told her I think my car got the damage, not hers....she relaxed. I offered my insurance & she waved me off and told me it was no problem. She thanked me for taking the time to be honest & let her know. I still left my number on her windshield...what if i missed something in my damage assessment?

Now i just have to pray she isn't frivolous & decides we need to buy her a $600 new part or something! Please let the fact that I did the 'right' thing not bite me in the butt. :)

4. #3 was a long fragmented thought. i don't know if that counts as a fragment.

5. I love driving with the top down & my little dog in the passenger seat. He looks SO happy when he gets to go to the post office with me. ;)

6. I have more energy now. This is almost foreign to me. I have spent almost every night since August either a) lying in bed to watch TV/read/study or b)wishing I was lying in bed to watch TV/read... and recently I have that ol' itch to go out! Is that supposed to happen in your last 5 weeks of preggo-ville?

7. We just fixed the radio in the VW after a 2-month hiatus. This is a very good thing.

8. I had thought about giving something up for Lent. Then I decided a third-trimester pregnant woman shouldn't give up anything. Haven't I already? :) I never even did the Lent thing growing up, only started observing it last year. The "giving up" idea can be anytime, the point is to honor God & your discreet fast is the reminder. So, perhaps after pregnancy I'll do some sort of fast. I know, I know! I'll give up sleep! :)

Lisa Hannigan - Ocean And A Rock

This version makes my heart happy.

Slice o bliss.

Night Class

Tanner & I had a Child Care class tonight.

**by the way, this is unofficially a "countdown to baby" & all things prenatal kinda blog for the next month...you are allowed to move forward if this bores you, I just wanna look back on a journal of it all someday** :)

That reminds me: 43 days til my due date!

Anyway, I gave Tanner the "free pass" for us to leave the class early. It was to last until 9:30...and Tanner has not sleep well at all for 2 nights now. I thought he was gonna fall asleep in his lunch today when I went to meet him at noon!

Honestly, I already knew from a previous class that they were most likely not gonna teach us anything that we didn't already know from: a) friends & fam, particularly since I've been a very involved aunt of 3 little girls! or b) the plethora of baby books I've checked out from the library.

I just like to go to the classes for a bit of visual/hands-on learning & to hear other questions new moms are bouncing around. BUT I wasn't up for sitting still in a hard chair for a long time myself. ;)

Yet Tanner didn't ever try to get us to leave. In fact, he did two things that I was quite proud of: 1. He swaddled & diapered our fake baby way better than me.

2. He called out the douche-wad that kept leaving his wife/girlfriend alone during the key hands-on parts....not to mention took a few opportunities to publicly jab his (future) mother-in-law.

Let me just explain, the guy was wearing one of those "sweat proof" athletic-type shirts with some grey slacks. Already a strike, right? Then he pulled out his iPhone & just surfed the net the WHOLE time the teacher showed slides & lectured. That was when he was IN the room. He mostly just got up & left.

I didn't hear the "make fun of my baby momma's momma" time because I went to the bathroom (for the 32nd time). But Tanner was talking about how sorry he felt for the girl because her face turned red.

Tanner is gonna be a good daddy, I can tell.

I will spare the details here of how all the poop/snot talk kinda left me thinking, "What in the WORLD have we gotten ourselves into??"

It's not so much the yuck factor. It's more of the...how in the world do I always know what to do? Can I read the right signals when he's sick/tired/hungry? How will I know if he is in true danger?

It ain't rocket science...right? Come on, my next door neighbor's 16-yr-old granddaughter who used to constantly sneak out her window (or have boys sneak in) manages to keep her now-toddler baby healthy/safe. Not saying that things are ideal over there on the ghetto side of my casa, but when I occasionally see that little girl, she appears to be happy & healthy in the basic sense. SURELY I can do this!

**note to teen girls: studies show sneaking out/having boys sneak in leads to a baby.

Ok, nighty-night!