Major Slackage

In the blog department. I swear I'll post some fun things tomorrow. I think I have a few gems to download from the camera. In the meantime please enjoy this little tale:

Jack now likes to say to my belly "Baby Brother, come out and play." I'm trying desperately to get this on video. Hopefully, I will succeed before there is no one in my belly to talk to.

PatiooOOoo.

An hour after breakfast we had this.

A hyacinth-squishing incident leads to indoor spring-smellyness.

At about lunchtime we had this.

In the afternoon Uncle Tom graced us with his silliness. (also seen below.)

At 5pm we had this. Sweet!

Uncle Tom!

Provides us with much-needed weekend entertainment!

Easter, Passover, et al.

(Brachs Malt Eggs)

What are your favorite Easter type treats? Also, do you have a jelly bean preference?

Personally, I prefer the Cadbury Creme Egg, and Starburst or Jelly Belly Jelly Beans.... I don't care for the Brachs (which are the traditional Easter jelly bean in my opinion.)

Do you have any special Easter/Passover treats that you make? (I saw a Rice Krispy shaped like an egg and half dipped in chocolate & sprinkles and thought to myself Now that's an idea!)

More Jack Cuteness Here

Coolness

It's been a tough lesson for me to learn, by my relative 'coolness' has been severely compromised by motherhood. Don't get me wrong, I'm still awesome-sauce to hang out with, but I'm talking more about the tangibles of coolness than the intantibles of coolness (like personality, as mine is flawless). ::sarcasm::

Things that make people cool:

• New, clean, unwrinkled, matching clothes.
  
• A cool car, not new or fancy necessarily, but a cool one none-the-less.
  
• Done hair, makeup, deodorant (little things like that).
  
• A clean house, not covered in baby/toddler accoutrements.
  
• The ability to have an entire conversation without being interrupted by a toddler, or without needing to discuss said toddler.
  

I think I'm still fun but I think it's safe to say I've lost my coolness.





But I'm still crafty.

Test Drive

Since the weather, despite being a bit brisk, is so pretty today we ventured out to test drive the Phil & Teds. Yes, I've been using this stroller for 18ish months now, but I didn't know if I knew how to use the 'jump' seat. And I wasn't sure Jack was going to like it.

Turns out there was no reason to worry. He loves it, and it's easy to pop on and pop off! It puts him higher in this configuration which means he's closer to the sun shade, which he LOVES because he likes to be in his 'tunnel'.

With nothing in the fully reclined bed-like seat the lower part blew around in the wind a little bit. You know what that means? Come out and take a stroll with us, First Mate! No more free-loadin'!

Also, I thought it would be harder to walk with a full stride with the full recline going, but I had no problems! I'm 5'6" though, so I can't vouch for any heights or leg-lengths other than my own!

Silly Boys...

Jack's favorite TV watching position.

Matt's favorite TV watching position.

Sneaky Neighbors!

I thought we were going out for ladies night... nope. Surprise!

So thoughtful!!

Picture it

Covered with a bit more gravel, some sand and pavers...

Would you want to hang out down here in some comfy chairs?

I can't wait!

The National Zoo

The Lion.

Checking out the lion with Daddy.

Turtles.

At the turtles with Mommy.

Turtles come in that size?!

Gorillas. Mommy & baby. (We saw the whole family, but I was too excited to see what they were doing to take pics, Daddy got some good ones though.)

Elephants.

When the water turned on the little one got scared and ran away, but then he/she came back to play.

Panda!

Full Moon

March 30th. I'm just saying.

I started a TV series on DVD... will I get to finish it?

I started a book, what about that?

When's the next big rain storm... low pressure... you know.

Have you heard the one about eggplant parm? I mean it's yummy, but people swear it brings on labor... what's that about?

Spicy food? I have a coupon to Bombay Peacock... who wants to go out with me (seriously) Indian food = GOOD!

Matt claims there is something to Oregano... seriously?!?!

More Catch-up

Wednesday I had my normal (now weekly, ugh!) midwife appointment. Since it was in the evening and after the appointment I was going to be a model (haha!) for my acupuncturist/cranial sacral therapist's demo for the nurses and midwives, and it was St. Patrick's Day we decided to go down together, go to the appointment, then we ran to Bill Batemans for dinner (yum!) and then I went back to model while Matt took Jack to the Annapolis harbor. While I was sad to miss the first harbor experience my model/appointment felt SOOO GOOD that it was okay.

So here are the husband-photos... I will attempt to channel my husband when writing the captions: Retirement Plan.

Captain Daddy?

He makes this look good...

Something nerdy about Maryland history, photography or architecture.

Now back to me again. This Thursday and Friday my mom came up (since she's done being a nomad in Florida) to help me nest. Thank goodness for that because the bending over to pick things up and the creativity part of my brain have been severely hindered.

We hunted for last-minute items. We plotted and developed a easy-meals plan. We cleaned... like really cleaned... like dusting and everything! And we hung out!

Here are some of the fruits of our labor. Calzones, assembled, made-to-order and labeled. Two nights of bean stroganoff (just the sauce, noodles to be cooked when needed). We also have laid out fish + veggies + starch, a crock pot meal, and my mom is planning to make eggplant parm and ziti to bring 'when the time comes'.

So much crossed off my list in so little time.

37

Changes come in the spring.

What a difference a day makes!

37 weeks today. Jack wanted to be in this picture, too! "Look, Mommy, the light on the camera is flashing... what's up with that?"

Here's me at exactly 37 weeks with Jack... oddly, the 38-ish lb weight difference is not so obvious on camera. And there is Emily L. Isn't she obnoxiously tiny?!?!

Surprise Visit

From Uncle Tom!

On a Serious Note

Spring is coming, people. I must be ready.

I love me a good "cold dessert". Ice cream, gelato, italian ice, fresh fruit salad... drool....

So, please tell me about your all-time favorite cold dessert. Anything, no matter how crazy.

Jack is also ready for spring. He has started insisting on spending his mornings at home shirtless. While I fully support his right to partial nudity, it seems a little cold to wander around without an article of clothing- but he doesn't mind. Watch out ladies!

(This photo was taken about an hour before the cashew incident. Where in he put it in his nose during lunch; we didn't know what all the pointing and saying "in there" was about. He coughed during dinner and out came a cashew which, in hindsight, we realized why there was all the 'nose talk' during lunch. Kids.)

We have a name...

...and it's Prodromal Labor. I'm one of these lucky women who gets to be in labor for days or weeks before actually going into active labor and giving birth. It's not false labor, it's not early labor... it's evil, evil, evil labor. And just so we're clear, it's evil.

Why are they evil:

• They are more intense that a Braxton Hicks.
• They can be 5 min apart lasting for 30/45 seconds.
• Changing position, taking a shower, drinking water, etc can have no effect on them.
• They do cause cervical change (up to the first 4cm) and they cause effacement.
• They are discouraging, because "This is it!" can happen MULTIPLE times.
• They can tire you out. (Duh!)

So when I say I've been in labor for about a week now, I'm actually not kidding. It's just not the "grab the hospital bag, call everyone we know, push the baby out kind." Fun.

Does it happen every day? No. But I'd guess it's about 3x a week. SO annoying!

But since we are getting close-ish: please place your bets for birthdate and baby size here. For those that need a reminder the c/s is scheduled for April 19th. So that's the LAST possible day to guess...

He gets around

Breakfast date with mommy.


Lunch date with Heidi (and Tara and Cameron... but you know how that is...). Jack was so smitten, he just couldn't take it!

Spare Parts

We're now working on tail to add to his repertiore. I wonder what parts we can teach him next....

Dear Bambi,

Please don't run in front of my car, causing me to hit you. I don't appreciate your booty breaking my drivers side headlight. I don't appreciate that you made me scream and slam on the breaks. I'm also not a fan of hearing my toddler reenact the event giving play-by-play commentary about: "Woah! Careful! Car, crash, bonk." for the last 2 minutes of my drive home. I'm also not loving the vehicular manslaughter-style guilt I'm feeling about the incident, or the 4 hours of contractions you caused. (In the future please wait till 37 weeks to jump in front of my car and then at least have the decency to actually send me into active labor. Thanks.)

Safety First

If you're going to drink and drive, at least make sure your airbag balloon is engaged.

Chill

Jack, could you be anymore laid back right now? Probably not.

The Doctor is IN

So I'm standing in the kitchen talking to Matt when Jack comes upstairs holding his doctor bag. He puts the bag on the coffee table and comes into the kitchen and grabs my hand. "Mommy, lay down. Mommy, lay down." Who am I to dash the hopes and dreams of my adorable young man? So I grab my heating pad, and lay down.

Between each 'check' he would say "one second". Sometimes he felt the need to be extra encouraging and he would say "You okay, Mommy" (You are okay). I was very impressed with his bedside manner.

At the end of my visit I was informed that I had a "boo-boo" and I was given a bandaid.

It's so nice to have quality medical care provided in our own home!