nursery teaser

I'm that lame friends that promised to post nursery pics a while back. (Awhile is an understatement, yes.) I'm also the lame mom who had her baby two months ago and still doesn't have the nursery done.

I know. I know.

It's not my fault. It's this pesky quilt. It's refusing to cooperate. My goal is to finish it this weekend. And maybe move around those pictures I've been thinking about.

But since I figured there'd be a blogsphere coup if I didn't post something soon... (yes, I've been getting your not-so-subtle hints) here are some teasers to leave you with for the weekend.





I promise I'll have real pictures up by next Friday. But if I don't blog between now and then, pray for me because it's probably because I'm busy calling my quilt all sorts of bad names.

cloth diapering

Yes, I'm one of those weirdos that has decided to go old school, but in a new school way.

I'm using cloth diapers.

And I love it!

This ain't your mom's trifolds, either. If you ever want to know more, I'd be more than happy to give you an ear full. But not in a preachy way. I hardly think everyone needs to be doing this. But I say, why not save you hours of research if I've already done it?

My favorite diaper story to date is about my dear friend Jennifer. She was kind enough to hold Eli (actually, I think she was about to pry him out of my arms had I not offered) while I was in a long meeting. In her typical care-free style she popped over after a little bit and grabbed my diaper bag so she could change his stink. I immediately explained the "cloth" situation and stood up to change him myself. But this is care-free Jenn! She said, "No problem."

Except there sorta was. Because I'd forgotten to pack another diaper for him. (Such a rookie move.) She searched the bag, but to no avail. Gratefully Jenn is a seasoned veteran of two boys herself and knows how to be inventive when necessary. She ingeniously washed the outer layer and stuffed it with one of my burp cloths. Brilliant and yet so obvious.

It didn't phase her a bit. I, however, couldn't stop apologizing. And wondering... if I was in the same predicament, would I have been as resourceful? I decided no, I wouldn't. Eli would be wearing a toga made of toilet paper.

So many of people have asked why I'm doing this. I don't have a trendy answer. It's not because of the environment, though that was a little bit of the influence. I occasionally have nightmares of a landfill in India filled with Eli's poo. It's not because I'm afraid of harsh chemicals on my baby's bum. Although we have gratefully had no diaper rash issues since switching over.

Perhaps pathetically, it's mostly about the money. I'm estimating that we'll save about $700 over the life of Eli. Not to mention that I should be able to reuse them for the next kid. Maybe saving another $1200? Not a bad trade off, I say.

I decided to do this after watching my good friend Becky tackle cloth diapers 3 years ago. She made it look effortless. I watched and learned and am finding that it really isn't as bad as most people think, even with my on-the-go lifestyle. (As I said, if you want to know more, I'll give you the run-down. Just shoot me an email.)

I'm glad I'm doing it. Yes, it means I do more laundry. And occasionally it's a bit messy. But overall I think it's great and am glad I wasn't intimidated past the point of trying. One thing I will mention, though - since cloth diapers have more material than disposable, some of his newborn pants and onesies don't fit anymore.
What can I say? Baby's got back.

birthing: d-day

Thank you for your patience. You deserve a pat on the back. I'm totally holding on to the I-have-a-new-baby excuse, and throwing in a lot of I-have-tons-of-family-visiting too hoping you'll let me off the hook a little. It is true that I thought I'd have more time than I do now that Eli's here. (I'm guessing all mothers out there just snickered a little.) Enjoy the next installment of Birthing Eli, though I warn you it might not be as entertaining as the muppets.

As an aside: I suspect Eve is one of the few enrolled in heaven's Witness Protection Program. If not and I can find her up there, I have a few choice words to share. Beginning with, "I hope that was a darn good apple..."

So I left you at 5 centimeters.

We made it to the hospital, heard the wonderful words that admitted us to Labor & Delivery. By 4:30am I had my epidural. By 5:30am they broke my water.

But back to the epidural. When they asked I said, "Yes!" and they sent the nice anesthetist in. Dr. Talks Way Too Much wheeled in his cart and I promised myself I wouldn't open my eyes until it was all over. But he took forever and talked me through the whole thing. Which I didn't really want. I even interrupted him at one point to say,

"By the way, I should mention that I used to teach high school science. And when I got to the back part of anatomy, I skipped the spinal cord entirely. I'm not a fan. In fact, the spinal cord in general creeps me out."

He didn't take the hint. He continued to talk and even mentioned something about "two holes" but he didn't say Oops so I didn't realize he'd made a mistake at first. I still haven't looked at my back in case the two holes are still there. It gives me the heebie jeebies to think about it.

Shortly after they took the ginormous crochet hook to break my water, one of the nurses was encouraged by my progress and said she thought we'd be having lunch with our new baby. Silly nurse. Noon came and went. Every two hours or so they'd check what they check and the eternal day continued. It was slow going. We looked at magazines. We watched the whole first season of The Cosby Show. Jim played lots of computer games. And I took lots of naps, thanks to the epidural.

Dinnertime came and went, too. Speaking of food, I was really hungry. I found myself dreaming of a big bowl of spaghetti. Why spaghetti? Who can say. But I wanted it and I wanted it bad. Jim was so sweet. Every time he left to get food he just kinda pretended he needed to stretch his legs or something. He felt so bad that he could eat and I couldn't. My mom was also sweet. She'd come in from the waiting room to keep me company and feed me ice chips. It wasn't spagethetti, but at lest I didn't puke later.

Fast forward... 17 hours and two nurse rotations after being admitted, Dr. Brown finally gave me the ok to push. As I did I was convinced every blood vessel in my face was going to pop. And a few did (see picture above) but over all we did alright. Jim was a great coach and counted me through every contraction. I even remember asking him if he'd remembered to ask his co-worker if his wife still wanted to sell me her breast pump. Jim just looked at me funny, said something about "guys don't talk about that stuff" and we were on to the next contraction.

Exactly one hour later, Eli was born with his full head of hair. And his bloody, gooky self was beautiful. And I just stared at him. And I loved him.

i am "that lady"

Remember this statement from a few posts ago?

And I was so trying not to be "that girl". You know, the one who comes in like five times before she's actually admitted because she's sure this is IT.

Apparently you can earn that title by calling too much, too. Because last night was the fourth night of counting very painful contractions for hours (4 1/2 to be exact) before they dropped off and I fell asleep.

And so, last night, like the previous three, I called Labor & Delivery, which is now programmed conveniently into my phone, and asked some questions. Maybe I just needed to hear someone say that this was normal and I'll be fine. Or more likely, I needed a nurse to agree with me that this totally sucks and I'm sorry you hurt so bad. Either way, partly into the conversation she asked my name. When I answered, this was her response:

"Oh, you're that lady."

No kidding.

Yes, I'm the lady who has called every night giving my argument for the dislike of the phrase "false labor", wondering if it's possible for a baby to accidentally fall out of your pelvis, and if I show up without my contractions being close enough but wincing in a pain I've never known, can you please not send me home?

It seems I've called enough and sounded desperate enough that they've pulled my medical record and it's been floating around just in case I come in. Everyone seems to know the name "Karen Grube". I'm flattered, really.

Since many have asked - after my appointment tomorrow afternoon we'll have a plan for induction. I'm hoping tomorrow night is free for them.

And for the record, at 41 weeks + 2 days, I might have changed my opinion on an epidural.

nope

So the night didn't go according to plan. Thanks to bouncing on this bad boy (above), who makes contractions feel oh so much better, they actually started to slow down. Way down. After three hours of timing almost regular 5 minute contractions, they dropped off. So I went to bed.

Which in hind-sight was the best thing because I was exhausted and needed sleep. And I think I'm even grateful for the false alarm I complained about last night because it made me less anxious to go in and get checked. I didn't realize how uncomfortable monitors and hospital chairs were until then. And in wanting to stay home as long as possible, I got another night's sleep in my own bed.

So this isn't quite as frustrated a blog post as I would have expected. Though my patience is waning. Today is week 41.

false alarm #1

Hopefully tonight won't be false alarm #2. We went in on Tuesday night because I was convinced my water had broken. Nope. I wasn't even dilated. I was a big zero.

And I was so trying not to be "that girl". You know, the one who comes in like five times before she's actually admitted because she's sure this is IT.

Well, I suspect tonight will be the second attempt.

Because I'm typing this in between contractions. Five minutes apart actually. The nurse on the phone said to wait as long as I could before coming in.

And when I do, the phone chain will begin. My friends Liz and Holly will join us for a celebratory milkshake on the way, Lindsay will pick up Roxy so she can play with her friend Rudy for a few days, and Christie will know to take care of my plants starting tomorrow morning.

It will all go according to plan. And shortly thereafter, lil' Grublet will open his eyes for the first time.

If you don't hear from me for a few days, you can assume it wasn't all another big stupid false alarm. Otherwise you can expect a very frustrated blog tomorrow morning.

virtual baby shower

This weekend came and went with little fanfare. Jim came home from the field exhausted and dirty. And my due date on Saturday brought no baby. It did, however, allow me to get some last bits of stuff done in the nursery - and as I folded cute little baby clothes, I was reminded that I have yet to post about the fabulous baby shower YOU all threw for me!

So I'm feeling kinda bad about that and will remedy it immediately...

Like now.

So here's the story of the best little surprise shower a blog and a SIL could throw.

To set the scene... I collected all the wonderful boxes that had been showing up at my doorstep and gave my husband the camera. His instructions were to document "everything". Which he did - 45 pictures worth. Though apparently baby showers can be boring for guys since later I found some of those pictures were of our dog and other random corners of our living room.

I started by opening the box from my SIL since it was clearly labeled "Baby Shower in a box. Open first!!" And inside were balloons, decorations, cookies, cute little prego napkins, and of course, gifts. Sadly the box got manhandled by our postal service so not everything came in the condition intended. But that didn't stop me from tearing into it with gusto.

What follows is a montage of pictures, so please adjust your inner radio to play some appropriate background music, such as Amy Grant's "Baby, Baby" or "Baby Got Back" or maybe the more traditional "Rock-a-Bye-Baby", and enjoy the show!

From Crystal, a few very appropriate "My Daddy is My Hero" bibs, and a frog "Baby". And in the background you'd here the Plumb CD of lullabies she sent.

You might wonder at the expression on my face here. These are HOMEMADE burp clothes from our very own craft-challenged Happy/Rebecca! Did you catch that? HOMEMADE! I love all the crafty stuff I got, but these might have floored me the most. I can't wait for our kid to start spitting up.

A card from Leni and wonderful gifts from Becky in PA - including the cutest homemade duck hoodie-towel you've ever seen.

Susie sent a host of things, all thoughtfully picked out just for us. But this camo hat and bootie set just melted me. She always makes everything with love. And what you can't see is that the hat has super-cute Elmer Fudd ear flaps, too!

We might have had the most fun with Shawna's gifts. I think she intended them for our baby, but Jim was very excited to try them out.

Here is the whole thing. It was a delightful shower. I can't thank you enough for remembering your long distance friend in Texas. And some of you I haven't even met. Hopefully my next post will be introducing you to this new little boy!

39 weeks

I thought you'd like this picture since it includes a patriotic Texas star.

So Sunday night I thought I felt a few contractions. But I wasn't really sure they were contractions so I had to call a friend and ask. We confirmed that yes, they probably were and immediately I got really excited. But then I panicked as I looked around the house and decided, "We can NOT bring a baby into this world tonight. I am NOT ready!" Which is, I think, another term for nesting.

I discovered something funny about nesting. It's not so much this love of cleaning that takes over you like I'd imagined. It's more of a reaction to people seeing what a slob you are and so you better clean up and put on a good impression.

And the realization that I'm not totally packed for the hospital yet. Let's get it together, Karen. Seriously.

But my contractions were more Braxton-Hicks-ish and I haven't had any since. So in the meantime...

• I've discovered how much I love swimming. It's the perfect thing to do on a 100 degree day here in El Paso. It's relaxing and takes the pressure off of my back. I plan to go every day until this baby comes. Hoping it'll help get him out.
• Jim left for the field yesterday. As in, he's gone for the week. But don't worry - there are LOTS of people (I made sure of it) that are in charge of making sure he has his cell phone on him at all times. In case, you know, I call in between Lamaze breaths and need him to get to the hospital pronto.
• We also discovered we're not quite sure the fastest route to the hospital from his field exercise. I'm hoping his GPS comes through for us.
• Only in the Army does it not seem strange that days away from your wife's due date, you got camping with 400 of your closest Army buds.
• I'm not concerned because I don't think this baby will come early. I have yet to dilate, and aside from that odd Sunday night cramping, I still feel normal (or as normal as 9 months pregnant can feel).
• We almost have a name. We're still keeping it a secret, but mostly because we're still deciding between two and Jim gets to pick it when he sees the baby. So it'll be a surprise for me, too, which is kinda fun.
  
• And I've purposefully not posted pictures of the nursery (which I know isn't entirely fair - I'm sorry) because, well, it's not quite done yet. I mean, it's done enough. But there's still a quilt I'd like to make and the pictures really wouldn't be complete without it. So you'll have to wait just a little bit longer. But it's turning out super-cute.

So the week ahead probably includes lots of sewing and nesting. And maybe a Grublet.

Crazy.

cankles, among other things

Today we're supposed to hit a record high of 106 degrees. According to my swollen feet, I think we made it. The other day (also in the 100s), some friends came over to help me paint some nursery furniture. And since they are such good friends and didn't want the baby breathing any bad fumes, they pretty much made me just stand there. In the heat I could feel the fluid draining to my legs. So I looked down and couldn't believe the sausages that used to be my toes. And then I looked at my ankles, and for the first time in this pregnancy, I officially had cankles.

Don't worry, as any good pregnant lady would do, I took it as a sign that I should immediately "put my feet up".

So I took a nap.

So what else has been going on since my last post nearly 3 weeks ago?

Well, first I've been feeling extremely guilty that it's been 3 weeks. I've been imagining up some exotic excuse as to why my life has been too busy to blog. But I've come up with nothing. And I knew that ruse would be up since many of you have probably caught me stalking your blogs in the meantime. So laziness wins the day and here I am eating humble pie... again.

I've also been feeling overwhelmed a bit by the fact that in 2 1/2 weeks I'm supposed to bring a kid into the world. The other morning as he was doing headstands in my uterus, I was picturing this cute kid and what it would come out looking like. And then I pictured ten centimeters. And then I kinda panicked. So I picked up my hospital labor book and started reading.

And last week Jim and I went to our first Birthing Class. When they turned out the lights for the video, I took your advice, and promptly told Jim that I wasn't watching it. I might have peeked once, though. Which I immediately regretted. Did you know that ten centimeters is only a starting off point? The head alone is bigger than that! Not to mention shoulders. My eyes got really big.

I've also decided on this little speech immediately upon being admitted...

"Hi, my name is Karen Grube and I'm here to have a baby. I don't want an epidural, but I reserve the right to change my mind at any time. I don't want a mirror to watch anything that goes on during the delivery of this baby. I don't want to have any part of pulling the baby out of me. And please feel free to clean off the baby before putting him on my chest. Thank you."

I know some of you think I'm crazy for the epidural thing. And the other half think I'm a bad mom for not wanting to be the first to hold my bloody baby. But I want to enjoy those first moments, so I'd rather wait until the nurses are done scrubbing and yanking. That way I can soak it all in peacefully.

Also... On this Army post, the prize of every pregnant woman is receiving the coveted Parking Pass that allows her to park in the first row of the commissary and hospital. So far I've gotten to use it not just once, but twice! I was so excited that I've taken a picture each time, but I'll only bore you with the one.

And last but not least.... a picture. My vanity almost kept me from posting this, but at 37 1/2 weeks (not to mention that 3 of those I've been MIA), I know I owe you. I'm definitely feeling big all over. I've got the pregnancy waddle down. And often I feel like I've been punched between the legs. Those are all good signs, my midwife tells me. She also says I've "dropped". Meaning we're that much closer to little Grublet's big day!

I promise to be better at posting. There's so much I want to share with you all. And I promise it'll be before the baby comes...

reading baby books

Like any newly pregnant woman, when I found out I was pregnant I started reading. Lots of reading. I've discovered there are really only 3 books a prego needs. But before I go straight to the book reports, I'd like to give a disclaimer in the form of a story.

I discovered that although it's good to be informed, there is such thing as too much information. My limit came at page 42 of book number 2: the section on Hemorrhoids. I didn't know what they were, but based on the description I knew I didn't want them. I researched some more to educate myself and I left horrified. Complete with nightmares. So that's when I stopped reading. That was in January. Even though books are filled with lots of helpful stuff, too much is just too much.

So I haven't read nearly as much as the typical prego. And I kinda pride myself in that. Or at least I did until recently when I realized that in 2 months a person is going to come out of my, ahem, and I really don't have a clue what to expect. I mean, I sorta do. There are friends that have told me way.too.much. But I feel like I should be a little more clinical about it and maybe read up on the situation. So, back to the books I go.

But first, book reports!

Essential Reading #1: What to Expect When You're ExpectingI know you're all rolling your eyes with how obvious a choice this is. But I would be remiss if I didn't metnion it. This is a great book for reference (FYI: hemorrhoids can be found on pages 173, 272-273, 422, 428) but it will also scare you. I don't suggest reading it before bed.

Essential Reading #2: The Girlfriends' Guide to PregnancyOne word: Hilarious. My good friend sent this to me the minute I called her with the news. It was a brilliant move on her part. This is a great balance to the other serious books I have. And it really does tell it like it is. Yes, this is the book that stopped me in my tracks at page 42, but I still skipped around the rest of the chapters and really appreciated the parts that didn't involve gross bodily deformations.

Essential Reading #3: Baby Bargains
I have to give a shout-out to my new friend Karen who let me borrow this fantastic and practical book. At 569 pages(!) it is the most thorough book on baby-ness that I've ever seen. With real-live moms weighing in on ease-of-use and pricing for most baby gadgets. It also tells you what to not waist your money on. So if you're a new mother and overwhelmed by everything marketed out there for your little peapod, then run, don't walk to your closest Amazon.com and order it. Pronto!

So those are my book reports for the day. If you know anyone who's newly pregnant, these would be great Welcome-to-the-World-of-Incubating gifts.

Now, anyone know a good book on that whole giving birth thing that won't terrify me?

weekend notes: east coast blitz

From Friday to Monday, Jim and I made a super-fast trip to Maryland and Virginia for a baby shower, and to be with our moms on Mothers' Day. What a fast trip it was!

It started with a long plane ride, as many trips do. We landed in Baltimore Friday evening and were picked up by our good friends the Cranes and surprise guest Danny! We made our way to the Cheesecake Factory in Annapolis. I had some delicious pasta that hit the spot. And we all decided we couldn't leave without dessert so I filled myself to the gills with their Chocolate Tower Truffle Cake. It was SO worth the stomach ache later.

We made it to my parents house around 11 and as always, stayed up too late talking. Then up again early in the morning for some delicious breakfast at my brother's house, a.k.a. the Circus. The five in the Circus crew, Jim and myself, my parents and my grandfather chowed and then the ten of us walked my nephew to his baseball game.

He was super-cute in his outfit with his bat and his helmet. And very focused. We had a great time on a perfect Spring day cheering him on. Sadly, the game ended in tears as my nephew didn't realize we had to leave right away to get down to Virginia. But we were able to snap this family picture without duress, and it might just be one of my favorites right now.

So down to Virginia we went. Four hours in the car after a plane ride the day before seemed eternal, but we got there in time for a double baby shower with Jim's sister (she's due 3 weeks after me!). It was an open house for friends and family, so there were lots of people and catching up. And after all the clothes we opened, our boy is going to be one stylish kid!

See how bored the guys look? Don't worry, after an afternoon of baby-ness, they got their testosterone on and had their fun with cigars and beer on the porch.

We had a lovely Mothers' Day. I say "we" because everyone insisted that having a baby in your belly for 6 months entitles you to your own day. I decided I wouldn't argue and enjoyed the attention! So my first Mothers' Day consisted of Starbucks, chatting with family, and sushi! Really yummy sushi. (But not the raw fish kind, don't worry.)

Monday we enjoyed a bit more family time before heading home. Another long day on a plane, and an early night to bed. It was a whirlwind, but absolutely worth it.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that on the plane, both Jim and I saw the baby move. Yup, it was cool.

nursery inspiration

Well, we got quite the response on the Nursery Theme vote. It seems the monkeys were a hit! They got a whopping 14 votes. The Arcadia prints (my favorite) got a dismal 4 votes, the Leaves only 2. And then my dad suggested submarines since he was in the Navy and all. My nephew was disappointed there were no Spiderman options. And since he's 5 and the closest boy I know to having a nursery and an opinion, I feel I shouldn't discount his preference.

So all of that said, I am closer to making a decision, but can't jump into the monkeys all the way. Sorry folks, my heart just won't let me do it. But maybe I'll incorporate a few monkeys here and there? We'll see. I still have a few months.

In the meantime, I've been surfing the web for inspiration...

I love this nursery from Design Sponge because the color scheme works without being matchy-matchy, or themed. And I LOVE the rug. It's a bunch of carpet tiles by Flor. I would never have put those particular squares together, but it looks like a quilt for your floor. So of course that makes it my favorite.

This nursery from Sew Liberated is so minimalistic, it calls out to me. It's designed in the Montessori philosophy which really isn't me (ie: we'll have a real crib). But look at that wall mural. It's from Wee Gallery and I think it just makes the room.

This isn't the best picture, but if you visit Milo's nursery over at ohdeedoh, you'll see some clever mural ideas and a print that I might just have to get. It's whimsical. I think I could design a nursery around it, in fact.

I've always loved these paper globes and have tried to decide if they would work well in a boy's room. What do you think? (Also from ohdeedoh.)

But then, wouldn't it be fun to design a nursery around this? It wouldn't be boring. Think of all the color you could play with! I found it on Etsy a few days ago and I know you'll be pleased because "M is for monkey".

I could waste hours on the internet looking at nursery pictures. In fact, I just kinda did. If you find anything good, let me know!

nursery ideas

Alright, I need your help. Ladies, channel your inner HGTV and let the deco-juices flow. Gents (there are a few, I know), since we're having a baby boy and you were at one time a baby boy, I consider you subject matter experts.

Picking out a nursery theme can be overwhelming. Especially when I pass by all the nursery-in-a-kit options at Babies 'R' Us and decide rebelliously to sew it all myself. Instead of playing eenie-meenie-miney-moe and having everything done for me (down to the matching lamp), I've chosen to hypnotize myself with walls of fabric at Joann's and the endless possibilities on the internet.

Why am I doing it this way, you ask? Well, because I'm me, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

So this is what I've come up with so far. Click on each image for a better view. Let me know what you think!*

1) The Monkeys Are Bananas

Now I'm not at all into "themes" when it comes to nursery prints, whether it be Noah's Ark, moonbeams, Disney, etc. But when we were registering, Jim kept being drawn by all things monkey. And when I saw these monkey heads at Joann's I wasn't in love, but I thought it doable. And, a bit cute. So I picked out some coordinating fabrics and, frankly, am still a bit taken by the bananas.

2) Leaves and Color

When I orginally thought about colors, I imagined greens and blues, and always bright, never pastels. So here we have a navy, lime, orange combo that I threw in with some leaf print. And as I find other prints that compliment, I'll probably add them into the mix, too. It'll be a bit scrappy overall, but that's what I'm into.

3) Arcadia

Here we have a different take on the blue/green/orange combo. I found this quilt browsing among the vast number of my go-to inspiration blogs on the handy world wide web. Instantly I was in love and discovered that the entire quilt comes from Moda's Arcadia line of fabric. I would have to take out any pattern with flowers on it (Jim's rule) but looking closely, I don't think that omits too many blocks.

So, what am I going to do with all this fabric? Well, the nursery will need a crib bumper, crib skirt, curtain, quilt, pillow for the rocking chair, and who knows what else. It depends on how creative I decide to get with leftover fabric.

So get your voting buttons ready. And all of you blog-stalkers out there, your vote counts, too. On your mark, get set, go!

*Although I am requesting your assistance and opinions, I reserve the right to change my mind last minute, ignore you all together, or pick that Pooh set at Target afterall.

grublet needs his toys

First, I would like to add a disclaimer to this post. I do not like the idea of registering. I struggled with it 5 years ago when we got married. I struggle with it now. It's like telling people how much they should spend on EXACTLY what you want. There's little room for creativity. And there's a pressure that if you register for something too expensive, people will think you're spoiled and expect too much. So they might decide not to come to your wedding. Or like your kid... It's all very stressful, really.

Secondly, in an effort to use other people's money wisely, I spent hours and hours researching the best, safest, etc. baby products to get for our little Grublet. I even told Jim as we walked into Babies R Us that we will not be going about this willy-nilly like we did our wedding registry. This time we have a plan and we can't just ask for things that are pretty and might look good in a nursery.

Thirdly, Jim did not apparently hear me and when the nice lady at the counter gave him the gun, he was off. Like lightening.

So the story goes....

I don't know if it's the infrared gun-thingy, or if Jim just likes to pretend he's spending other people's money. But Jim LOVES to "register". I'm almost sad that this is probably the last time he gets to do this. He's never getting married again. (pause, for effect) And by our next kid, we'll have what we need for the most part. So, really this was a monumental moment for him. But I don't think he realized it. He was knee-deep in toys by this point.

Speaking of, do you like the Slip 'n Slide that our kid apparently needs? In his defense, Jim did not go about this almost-purchase thoughtlessly as you might expect. There was great consideration involved in this decision. Because at Target, there are like 7 to choose from. And with gun poised, he stood there thinking out loud...

Jim: We totally need one of these.
Karen: We do?.... or our kid does?
Jim: Our kid will love it!
Karen: But he won't be able to use it until he's 5, apparently.
Jim: No, I can hold him.
Karen: rolling eyes
Jim: But which one... I like this one. It's got a cool arch thingy. I even think it spits water out at you.
Karen: rolling eyes
Jim: Oh, but I don't know if I'll fit through it.
Karen: Again, this is for the kid...
Jim: But the other ones look boring. I really think he's going to want the archy one.
Karen: Just don't get the super-expensive one.
Jim: Yeah, he needs the archy one. And it's only $30 bucks! Someone will totally buy this for us.

That may not be exactly how the conversation went, but it's pretty close. And, except for toys, Jim was very respectful of all my research. He did get a little bored when I had to flip through my typed-out notes to remember what brand of breast pump that we wanted. But he was a trooper. And waited patiently until I pointed to a box and he got to shoot the gun again.

So that's the gist of how it went. Jim was very excited. We had very few arguements about "but this one's safer"/"but this one looks more manly". And in the end I think we did alright.

Besides, our newborn, who is negative three and a half months is totally going to love his Slip 'n Slide. Which will go perfectly with his 3D Star Wars Kite.

Next up: Nursery themes. Help!

belly pics and the Cloud

So this is the progression over the past few months. You'll note the burst of weight gain the last few weeks in particular. It's gotten harder to bend over and, say, tie my shoes. Which has grown my appreciation for the inventor of flip flops. I think I have 6 pairs.

I still don't have maternity pants/shorts yet. I've been making due with the rubber-band around the jeans button method. But they have started to protest (both the rubber-band and the jeans) and I think I need to go shopping soon. Ugh.

I did break down and buy some maternity shirts a few days ago. I think I'm in love. I've spent the last month feeling insanely fat as I've been stretching my shirts past any reasonable point. And I almost cried Sunday morning when I couldn't find a thing to wear that didn't make me look like a whale. By the 3rd outfit Jim wasn't scrunching his face anymore when I walked out of the closet.

So with my new shirts, I've felt.... comfortable. And, dare I say, cute?

But my true love has been The Cloud of Glory. We just call it the Cloud for short. We = Jim and Karen. And maybe even Roxy, if she could talk.

Remember when I posted about my insanely large care-package that I wasn't sure what to do with? I even mentioned that it was "like the size of another person". In case you didn't believe me, here's a better picture of it for proportion.

I recently discovered it was from my friend Robin back at Fort Campbell who was a dear one night and listened to the stories of my sleeping woes. And it wasn't two weeks later that a box arrived at my door.

But it took me a while to even suggest moving it into our bed. Eventually I grew too uncomfortable sleeping and to my surprise, the next morning Jim said it worked just fine.

And by "just fine", I think that he secretly kinda likes it. On more than one occasion I've rolled over in the night to hug the other side and noticed that somebody was already there.

Ahem.

Even Roxy gets in on the action when Jim leaves for PT in the morning. She dutifully hops on the bed to find the warm spot and Roxy, the Cloud and I snuggle the early morning hours away.

It's like another family member, really.

So thanks to the Cloud and some well-fitting clothes, I might make it to nine months, yet.

Tomorrow: Registering for a baby with Jim.