our hornets' nest

Somewhere near the beginning of last summer, we noticed a very small nest had appeared, clinging to an overhang on the side of our house. "Oh, cool!" we thought. "A little hive!" We all had a good look and marveled at the wonders of nature.

Maybe we should have eradicated the nest right then and there, but it was so small, and so interesting, and actually rather beautiful; surely whatever lived in there wasn't going to bother anyone and could be left alone.

Fast forward to the end of the summer. Our little hive had grown into a gigantic, and very active, hornets' nest. We had watched as it grew bigger and bigger, layer after layer of papery walls transforming it from that small nest into a gorgeous home for probably a hundred hornets. Fortunately, it was located on the side of our house that didn't get much traffic (save for us curious, leering humans), and the hive was attached high enough that the hornets would go off on their merry errands without giving much thought to us. It was well past the point of extermination, unless we hired an expert, and since our new insect tenants weren't bothering anyone, we decided to just let them be until the winter, when they would abandon ship and die; then it would be safe for us to remove the nest.

That time finally came. Strangely, we never took any pictures of the hive while attached to our house, but we did capture it on film after Ryan took it down a few weeks ago. There were a few dead hornets left inside, but other than that it was empty. And it was still beautiful and still filled the four of us with awe.

We will likely never again have our very own hornets' nest (to be safe, we won't ever let one get past the "little hive" stage so close to our home.) But I'm glad we had one summer to experience, up close, such a perfect example of nature's architecture.

tired & cranky

As much as this title could be applied to our little one, I'm talking about me here, people.  Just be forewarned, I need to vent.  But really, what pregnant woman with a two-year-old doesn't?

Some days I just feel so overwhelmed.  Like today.  Starting off the morning with a mini-pukefest thanks to morning sickness that's still around at 28 weeks definitely doesn't help.  Especially when your 25-month-old is simultaneously clinging to your leg and whining for you to read her a book.  This somewhat harrowing episode was followed by a crying tantrum over whether or not to have flakes in our cereal this morning.  Nothing could calm her down, so it was a grit-your-teeth and wait-it-out kind of meltdown.  Lovely!

Add to that the fact that the summer heat (and awful DC humidity) are starting to rear their ugly heads, and you've got one cranky mamma on your hands.  Zoey has already squished my lungs to the point where I'm constantly short of breath, and being outside in the heat just makes breathing more difficult.  (Not to mention the nasty sweating that already accompanies my pregnancies  Now that it's getting hot out,  I'm changing sweat-drenched clothes three times a day!) But who can stay indoors all day long with a squirmy toddler who just wants to run around and be free?  It's just not feasible, or fair, or healthy.  So outside we must venture.  All I keep thinking is, it's going to be a looooong summer!

But long summer or not, Zoey's arrival is quickly approaching.  In fact, we have less than 12 weeks now, should I make it to my due date of September 7th.  The reality of this is also starting to freak me out.  Feelings of inadequacy as a mother and wife are taking over, and I'm plagued by negative thoughts that keep creeping into my brain.  How am I going to juggle two kids when it's hard enough to deal with just one?  Is Elliott going to be OK with this huge change in her life?  Will my relationship with her weaken, as I find myself passing her off more and more to Ryan when I have to deal with the newborn?  Will I be as attached to Zoey as I am to Elliott, since I won't be able to give her the undivided attention I did with my firstborn?  Will Ryan and I ever have quality time together again, or will we become one of those couples who grows distant thanks to the many challenges of parenthood?

 28 weeks pregnant and counting.

Ellie is definitely fascinated by my growing belly!

It's true that I'm equally excited about the future and cannot wait to meet our little Zoey.  But lately the self-doubt has been kind of relentless.  In the old days, I would have harnessed all these feelings and written and recorded some sad, sappy song.  Or maybe I would have channeled them into a short story or poem.  But my creativity has waned big time since becoming a mom - yet another reason I feel so down lately.  I don't even have calluses on my fingers anymore, so playing the guitar literally hurts.  Writing is basically confined to sending emails and maintaining this blog (my so-called attempts at novel writing ceased somewhere around the 25 page mark, as soon as the morning sickness and fatigue of pregnancy set in.)

I don't even know what to do with the few hours of alone time I'm able to muster every couple of months.  Today, after witnessing a much needed crying spell of mine, Super-Ryan whisked Elliott out the door to give me some time to myself.  Grabbing a coffee and doughnut from Starbucks (too much caffeine and sugar, but it did feel good at the time!) and publicly complaining via my blog were all I could think of to do with my time.  I know this is a self-deprecating thing to say, but how lame is that?!

I'm going to call it quits before I get too carried away with the self-loathing.  And hey, let's look on the bright side - pregnancy is an emotional roller-coaster, so I'll undoubtedly be cheery again in no time.  I'll also leave you with a sweet (albeit random) video of Elliott counting.  I just love her little voice, and am so impressed that she can "fake it" up to the number 20 (on a good day.)  The teens usually sound something like "eh-teen, eh-teen, eh-teen..." but she almost always calls out "TWENTY!" in an overly joyous fashion.  Seriously, how can the mother of this adorable tot ever feel so down in the dumps?

like the pink?

Thought I'd jump on the Valentine's season wagon and get a bit festive with this splashy pink background.  Enjoy!

it's all about me

This is a rare post in that it's all about me and not everyone's favorite blog subject, Ellie - although I will sneak in a picture of her to avoid getting hate mail from the likes of my sister.

First off, my hair has finally reached a turning point in its tumultuous growing out process. It still wants to stand up on end, but now I am able to tame it some with a bit of a gummy-like product. Ryan and I have trimmed up the hair on the nape of my neck and on those delightful "sideburns," as these areas seem to grow faster than any other and can be quite unruly! Of course, without hair gunk and upon waking up in the morning, I still resemble a sad looking Monchichi, but at least during the daylight hours I am sort of achieving a funky girl rocker style.

Here are some photos of my hair at its turning point, exactly 7 and a half weeks:

I call this the "modified baby faux hawk" -
will I soon be able to achieve an actual faux hawk? Is that an oxymoron?

Look ma, no glasses - my eye is finally healed!

Me and beautiful baby girl, snapping pics in the backseat

Enough about my hair. I want to officially proclaim to the world (or at least my handful of readers) that I have recently embarked on two very special adventures. First, last month I dug out my cheesy old Yamaha keyboard from my parents' house, cleaned it up a bit, and gathered my favorite music books. I now play a little bit every day, pretty much relearning things that used to be second nature. Fortunately, I picked it back up before I had completely forgotten how to read music!

I started learning the piano when I was in fourth grade. Being a musically-minded type of gal, it came naturally, though I hardly ever devoted time to practicing and never realized my true potential. And I never will realize my true potential, because I don't plan to drill myself or memorize concertos or practice for hours upon hours. But merely playing for fun even for just a few minutes a day (complete with all my awful mistakes) has already given me so much joy and inner peace. I hope to pass down my love of the piano to little Miss Elliott, who enjoys pounding away on the keys along with her mommy. Someday we will either restore my parents' piano, which has fallen into a sad state of disrepair, or we will purchase our own that we can play on for years to come.

Second, I have begun to write a novel. It's a YA (young adult) fantasy with some sci-fi thrown in - two genres I never thought I'd be compelled to tackle. I'm only in the beginning stages of writing, working mostly on piecing together a rather intricate plot, inventing my characters, and frantically jotting down all my ideas before they disappear (sometimes even texting myself in the middle of the night for lack of a pen and paper!)

I've always wanted to write a book. As an English major and a librarian, I have a deep love for good literature and often find myself weaving tales in my mind, often inspired by whatever I am reading at the time. As a kid, I wrote long rambling stories that filled up entire journals (the most notable of these being the aptly titled I Need a Shrink, which featured myself as the protagonist and my entire third grade class as side characters.) After college, I wrote and rewrote about 80 pages of Table, a screenplay based on a dream I once had. But this project fell by the wayside - ironically, Table was tabled.

Now I am once again inspired to take on a massive creative writing project. Since I only have nap-time and nighttime to write, it'll be a slow going process (I'm thinking a matter of years) and hopefully Ryan - who has so kindly been helping me with ideas - will still like me when I ignore him for hours at a time. And hopefully I will keep working until I can proudly say I have completed my first novel! Wish me luck, and forgive me if blog postings become shorter and less frequent as a result of all my hard work...

photos from nj

Here are the pics I promised:



Plus one very random comment - Why, oh why, does the extraordinarily loud dumpster emptier truck have to do it's thing every single day in the middle of Elliott's nap time?!!

into thin air

Ryan and I are so sad. Our chickens, Mattie & R00, have been missing since Tuesday. Though they know how to get out of our fenced-in yard, they peck and scratch happily within our view and always come back to their chicken mansion for their night's rest by sundown. But for the past week there has been no sign of them - not a single feather - and Ryan even asked around the neighborhood for any information on their whereabouts. What has become of them? The three possible scenarios we have come up with:

1) There's a random coyote who roams around the neighborhood at night. We've never seen him, but our friend John and others have. This scenario is unlikely though, as the chickens sit up on a perch at night and we would have surely heard a struggle with a coyote.

2) When Ryan was asking around, he talked to a friendly merchant whose business is practically in our backyard. She saw some older kids teasing the chickens not long ago and told them to cut it out. Demented kids being demented kids, they could have taken the chickens and...well, I don't really want to think about it.

3) The final scenario may sound far-fetched, but it fits best with my Nancy Drew-like sensibilities. Last week, this woman who owns another business behind us came knocking on our door, after asking all of our neighbors who the chickens' owners were. She explained rather earnestly that she was interested in our eggs and was willing to trade for the food her business sells or just pay us cash. I told her I would talk to Ryan, and the next day she came by yet again asking for eggs. He kindly gave her six eggs for free, but explained that the chickens don't lay nearly enough that we can give her a dozen eggs every week or anything. We haven't seen her since, but I could totally picture her chicken-napping them and holding them captive for their eggs. This would be a sad fate indeed for our freedom loving chickens!

I just hate not knowing if they are alive or dead. I hope that if they met their maker, their end was swift and painless, and that if they are still alive, they are being treated well and are happy. We miss you, Mattie and Roo! We will miss your delicious free eggs, as well (but not your poo!)

La Rouge (Roo) and Matilda (Mattie), Christmas day, 2009

pulling up | first snow?! | kidney troubles

Sorry Kristen - fell down on the job! Perhaps it's because Elliott is practically speed-crawling around the house and is now trying to pull herself up on everything. The ottoman, Fudge's wicker chair, the bouncy seat, even the walls! She has been successful quite a few times, too (see video below). I am very proud of her athletic advancements, but also tired out from this new job of having to chase her around (and yes, I know it only gets worse!)

Pulling myself up (12/2)

She is also talking a lot, which is certainly cute, but the majority of the time it's in a very loud and whiny way if Ryan and I are not paying complete attention to her. I think it's partially the teething thing that's making her so ornery lately. Still, we have our pleasant and joyful moments. Check out the next video for proof!

Ball slappin' fun! 11/30

So, you saw the title of this post and thought - first snow? In Texas? At the start of December? Surely not! Well yes, my friends, it is true! We woke up yesterday to a thin layer of snow on the ground and lots of big chunky flakes coming down. I couldn't believe it! Of course, we had to whisk Ellie outside for some first snow pictures:

Snow angel (11/2)

And finally, on the kidney stone front. Poor Ryan ended up in a lot of pain on Tuesday and ended up at the doctor's for some tests. Turns out his huge kidney stone (mentioned in a previous post - it's the stone that was supposed to just hang out in his body for life) was getting lodged in the entrance to "the tube" (I am unaware of the technical name for this tube, but it's how bad things like kidney stones exit the body.) His pain subsided greatly since then, but he has to have a procedure done at the hospital tomorrow to blast the huge stone into tiny little pieces, which he will then have to pass - not pleasant! The doctor may also have to put in a shunt type thing in "the tube" in case it's pinching in a strange way, thus keeping small stones from passing and leading to huge stones like the one he has to contend with now. I feel so bad for him and hate that he has to deal with this pain. If you think of it, please send good healing thoughts his way tomorrow!

By the way, I just noticed that this is our 100th post! How very exciting! Thanks to whoever may be reading this for viewing our blog and caring about our lives. We love you!

handy-girl | crawling! | wake-up video

OK, first I have to brag on myself for putting together Elliott's high chair. When I opened the box this Monday, here's what I found:

So many pieces! (11/23)

After following the horribly written instructions and badly drawn diagrams and wielding an actual tool (a screwdriver), I assembled this by the day's end:

Testing the fully assembled high chair -
Ellie especially likes the strap! (11/23)

I love it, though it is rather huge. As you can see, she looks so very tiny in her new throne, like it is swallowing her up!

Onto the good stuff...Elliott CRAWLED today! Like a real, actual crawl, not the military style worm-crawl she's been doing. She had gone for probably about five "steps" (I don't know what to call them) before I even realized what was happening. The unfortunate part is that Ryan's dad had left about 3 minutes before it happened, and Ryan had left about 15 minutes prior to that. I tried to get a video, but I fumbled so much that by the time I recorded her, she had already tired herself out. But still, you can witness a little worm-crawl action and hear my silly excited voice:

Just after her first real crawl!

Kristen, this extra little video is just for you, since you are demanding more, more, more! Remember how much we enjoyed seeing Ellie in the morning, all happy and sweet? And she would be lying there with that big smile just waiting for some love? Well, I'm happy to report that she is still an angel in the morning (even after nights like last where she's up crying like the teething monster she is!) Here she is this morning, being a sweet little squeaky girl. Wish you were here to see the cuteness in person (soon enough!!!)

Morning angel

birthdays, babbling, and boo-boos

Yesterday was the big day - Elliott Rose's six month birthday! For good times, and to indulge her mommy, let us take a look at Elliott when she was first born and again at (just about) six months of age:

So tiny and peaceful (5/12)

I'm growing up so fast! (11/11)

Ellie and I started out her half-birthday by playing with a new toy, the beloved Rock-a-Stack that has been around for eons. Here she is, checking it out for the first time:

Playing with her new toy (11/12)

Next, we went to the pediatrician. Judging by this picture, Ellie seemed to know something foul was afoot from the moment we sat down in the waiting room:

Something's up, and I don't think I like it! (11/12)

Turns out she was right - she had to have four shots in her pudgy little legs. Oh, how I hate to hear her scream from the pain. It breaks my heart every time!

But the doctor said she is in great shape. Here are her six month stats (it seems she is still freakishly long with a tiny head):

Weight: 15 lbs. 14 oz. (47th percentile)
Height: 26.75 in. (82nd percentile)
Head: 16.5 in. (33rd percentile)

In the afternoon, as if she had been secretly reading the baby books and discovered it is now time to step up in the babbling department, Ellie started talking up a storm. Her favorite sounds include: baa-baa-baa-baa-baa... and maa-maa-maa-maa-maa... The latter makes me especially happy, though she prefers to say "maa-maa" only when agitated. I'll take what I can get, though. (Unfortunately, every attempt to record her babbling has been thwarted by the appearance of the recording device. As soon as she sees the camera or cell phone, she stops talking.)

The waterworks came again later that evening, when Elliott banged her head, just above her eye, on the step in her nursery. It was her first baby boo-boo, and it left a sad little bruise. But mommy and daddy made up for it by bringing her over to her baby friend Ava's house to hang out. The dads stayed in to watch the babies while the moms went out for dinner and some much needed R & R:

Jennifer & Ava with me and Ellie (11/12)

Now, some more on the boo-boo front. Today it was my turn to injure myself. I am not always the smoothest of women when it comes to wielding kitchen knives. As I was slicing some cheese for Ryan's lunch today, I thought to myself, "I should be cutting away from my hand, not towards it," when WHAM! The knife sliced right into the top of my hand. It was more gross than painful, really; the cut was about an inch wide and the top layers of my skin were pushed back really far. Before the blood started oozing out, I could see into the deep recesses of my hand - a place no eye should ever see. Nasty! I remained uncharacteristically calm and informed Ryan of my wound. He cleaned and bandaged me up and I seem to be healing quite fine (though I haven't yet removed the bandage to verify that.) I will spare you photos of my injury, don't worry!

i'm back! | first storytime | bedtime for ellie

Yippee! My laptop is back and better than ever - quite literally. I brought it to the "Genius Bar" at the Apple store for some expert assessment. They replaced the hard drive and installed Snow Leopard, their brand new operating system. In addition to installing Snow Leopard for me, the kind lady there installed the newest iLife as well, for free! Since I had bought a warranty when I got this puppy in '07, the brand new hard drive was FREE! So basically, I got a spanking new Mac for $30 (the price of the new operating system)! It works amazingly well and is so much more streamlined. The best feature? It has an application called Time Machine, which automatically backs up your entire computer onto an external hard drive throughout the day. No more losing pictures of my baby girl!

~~~

Now that I'm back up and running, I can finally post pictures of Elliott's first storytime at the library (my library, of course!) It's a program just for babies, cleverly titled Babies & Books. I was afraid Ellie would freak and I'd have to flee the premises with my screaming meanie, but instead she sat there completely enthralled by everything she witnessed, including all the other babies and my wonderful coworkers who presented the program. And instead of swatting at and trying to eat the book that was handed out to everyone, she quietly sat there looking at the pictures and petting the pages. The best part was that Ryan surprised us about 15 minutes in and spent the rest of storytime with us. It was so much fun!

At the library and ready for storytime -

in her first ever pair of jeans! (9/30)

Miss Jackie snuck in and snapped some photos for me.

I'm attempting to "baby sign" here!

~~~

Here's a video from just a few hours ago. Watch the indecision in this one (should she play with her book or with her snuggle bug?) She's also sporting her very first official pair of pj's, since the Texas weather is finally taking a turn for the best. (Granny, there's a shout out to you near the end...)

Bedtime for Ellie (10/5)

Goodnight, world!

what's up with us?

STEPHANIE

Last Saturday, my iMac laptop's hard drive crashed, taking a hundred or so pictures and videos of Elliott with it (most were backed up, thank goodness.) I was a wreck for a few hours, until I realized that in the grand scheme of things the missing pictures and the hours it's going to take me to transfer and reorganize everything don't matter. My Ellie is safe and healthy, and Ryan and I are enjoying each other and our life as parents.

We have also decided that, come November, I will be leaving my job as a librarian to become...drum roll, please...a STAY AT HOME MOM! Though I do enjoy my career, working full time and being away from my baby so much is practically killing me. We knew that either Ryan or I were going to be leaving work to raise her, and after a few weeks back, I knew with every fiber in my body that it had to be me. Ryan is good with the decision, as he has gone a bit stir crazy doing the stay at home thing. (Though I have to say, he is doing an outstanding job!)

RYAN

Last Sunday, Ryan woke up somewhere in the wee hours of the morning with severe abdominal pain. After lots of writhing and moaning and debating whether or not to go to the ER, the pain finally passed. After a doctor's visit shortly thereafter, it was discovered that he had been passing KIDNEY STONES! Ouch! His left side is cleared out, but there's a 1.4 cm stone in his right kidney that apparently will just hang out there for the rest of his life (or until it starts to break up and pass, which we are hoping will never happen.)

Today he is at some hoity-toity golf course accepting a scholarship award for his final semester of graduate school. I am very proud of his academic accomplishments (and also of the fact that he took the initiative to go to a doctor!)

ELLIOTT

Elliott is doing great! She's getting so big that she is growing out of everything. As I was sorting out all of her sweet little newborn clothes, I had tears in my eyes! She no longer takes her beloved pacifiers, in favor of sucking on her middle and ring finger (this has been true for a while, but now it's "official" since I packed the pacis away just this morning.) She is more and more interactive every day, laughing and smiling, grabbing and manipulating toys, rolling herself across the room, and standing up while we offer her some balance. She still loves to fuss and cry, but she sleeps great at night (10-12 hours) and even takes decent hour long naps throughout the day. She is such a cute little stinker with a big personality, and Ryan and I couldn't be happier!

(Lots more pictures of her to come when Mommy gets her computer back up and running!)

first "swim" | foot grabbing & flailing | hugging books?

Yesterday was such a fun and gorgeous day! We went to my friend Jaclyn's for a Labor Day celebration at her pool (you rock, Pistol Pete!) I think the last time Ryan and I went swimming was over a year ago, so I was in my heaven. We bought some Little Swimmers for miss Elliott and had a grand old time splashing around in the water (well, Ryan and I did. She was just a wee bit traumatized by the experience, which you may be able to tell from some of the following pictures!)

First time in - not hating it, but not loving it either!

Chilling by the pool with Daddy

Sporting her totally adorable Elephant towel (thanks Colleen!)

That face is priceless!

Not so happy her second time around
(but this was after about 10 minutes of "this is ok" time)

I mentioned before that I would post a video of her newest hobby, holding her feet. Well, I don't intend to disappoint. For your viewing pleasure:

The Amazing Foot Grab (9/6)

I also found this gem while digging through my videos. It's from almost a month ago, but I can't help sharing it now. Enjoy what I like to call, "The Flail:"

The Flail (8/17)

On a totally different topic (not Ellie for once!) I finally bought myself a book holder. Ahhhh. I wish I had done this about 4 months ago. Nursing is a perfect time to read, but it's not very practical when you have only two hands to maneuver with. Now, thanks to the Bookhug, I can prop up my book and voila - hands free reading!

lisa & isabella | ryan's cool 'stache | women's museum fun

I meant to post these a few weeks ago, when Ellie and I went to say hi to my friend Lisa and her adorable little 1 year old Isabella. Thanks for having us over - it's always great to see you guys. Hope you're having a blast in Utah!

Hanging out with the Lisa & Isabella (8/6)

On another note, Ryan was sporting a super cool mustache around the same time. It was short-lived (and a big joke) but it's definitely blog-worthy:

Sportin' the 'stache - haha! (8/6)

On the day before I had to go back to work, we headed to Dallas to visit The Women's Museum to celebrate my last day of maternity leave. It was both an enlightening and empowering experience. Elliott did really well at the museum, too (which is fortunate since it's a big, echo-y building!)

Ellie dug all the colorful artwork by Roberta Harris (8/12)

car seat insanity

Why, oh WHY does it practically take a PhD in Engineering to properly attach a car seat base and car seat? Why must these essential contraptions be so huge that they render the front passenger seat of a normal sized automobile practically useless (I mean, I can't imagine that leaning forward with your knees shoved against the glove compartment is a safe position for anyone to sit in, right?)

It took us practically an hour to get these things set up today. We put a base in my car and one in Ryan's truck and then the car seat can snap into place in either vehicle. When despairing about the front seat situation, we came to the obvious conclusion that whenever the three of us ride anywhere together, one of us will pretty much be forced to sit in the back seat (which we may be inclined to do anyway to keep an eye on the baby!)

Anyway, I think we now both understand the whole draw to the SUV, which we've always mocked with contempt up to this point (sorry to all our SUV driving friends!!!) One more kid and we'll probably be joining your fold (though we'll have to find something with some mega impressive fuel-efficiency before that happens...)

upheaval!

This weekend was absolutely nuts, people! Our house was (and still is) in a major state of upheaval, as we took EVERYTHING WE OWN out of our living room, kitchen, and loft in order for Ryan and his dad to work on drywall, and eventually paint, carpet, etc. We also relocated our old bedroom to our new bedroom, which Ryan just finished:


This freed up our old bedroom to become the nursery/office - and currently, the makeshift kitchen:

Going through and organizing all of our belongings this weekend was no easy task. Take a look at just one of the mountainous piles we had to contend with:


Needless to say, the to do list before Elliott arrives is a looooong and daunting one, but we're getting there. Poor Ryan won't stop working even now, on Monday night at 9:09pm.

On a note of complete randomness, my friend from the library, Jen, who was due exactly one month before me, had a c-section today and gave birth to a healthy, 7 lb. baby girl, Ava Claire! I ran into her this morning when she dropped by the library before her operation, and we posed for one last baby bump shot:

Don't we look like we stuffed basketballs under our shirts just for s&*%s and giggles? Anyway, I'm so, so happy for her!

complaints (or, the most boring, self-indulgent blog post you've never read)

I know this is completely ridiculous considering the millions of people out there with far worse health problems than mine, but I just need to vent for a moment.

So, I'm 34 weeks pregnant with the following bodily issues, some of which have been going on since month 2:

• I can't breath! I'm carrying so high that my lungs and diaphragm are nonexistent.
• I have to pee ALL THE TIME! My already small bladder is now the size of a grain of quinoa.
  
• Heartburn and nausea (especially bad if I don't take my twice daily dose of meds)
• Sciatic nerve pain (shooting down both sides of my lower back and butt)
• Pain in my groin (apparently from my round ligaments stretching - the afore-blogged about harness sometimes helps this)
• Shin splints - not from exercise, but from adding 30 lbs. at such a rapid pace to my small frame
  

In addition to these pregnancy related ailments, for the last 4 months or so I've also been dealing with a freakishly swollen toe complete with a dead toenail (gross, I know!) that no one is quite sure what to do about (it would have been nice to have been given a referral to a podiatrist or dermatologist, but that is apparently too much to ask for.) It hurts!

Now, I can deal with all of the above, I really can. I've in fact been complaining less and less of late, probably because I'm so used to it all. But yesterday morning, life deals me a new blow and I wake up with what I shall deem the worst cold I've ever had. I am going through tissues like crazy, as my stuffed nose is also running like a faucet. My throat kills, my chest hurts, my head is throbbing behind my eyes - and of course I can't take any cold meds to alleviate my symptoms. I'm trying to drink tons of fluids, which, as you can probably guess from bullet #2 above, has been sending me to the bathroom to pee literally every 5 minutes! I just want to lay down and sleep the day away, but my lung problems (see bullet #1) are preventing me from doing even that (I pretty much have to sit up straight to get a decent breath.)

I did take off work yesterday and today, but my master plan is to drag myself in tomorrow (we'll have to see). It took all the energy I could muster today just to shower and throw in a load of laundry (which hasn't been done since our trip to San Diego.)

I will shut up now. Thank you, blogosphere, for allowing me to vent...

stephanie made me do it

I'm blogging because I was told to. Don't try arguing with a pregnant woman. Anyway, I passed my Comprehensive Exams, which means that I just have three classes left to get my masters. Taking Comps meant that I don't have to do a thesis. I'm so excited and relieved because I just wasn't sure I passed when I walked out of the test. Now I know and I can move on to thinking about babies, baby furniture, baby clothes, baby bottles, baby vomit, baby poop, baby smiles, etc - just tons of other things I am excited about. I also played basketball today for the first time in along time, and I wasn't nearly as bad as I thought I would be. Of course, I'm weezing like an old man, but it was worth it. I've managed to not work out one time since the beginning of the pregnancy and not gain one pound - an amazing feat I'm told. I don't know how to include any cool pics so I hope my wonderful writing is enough to make Stephanie happy. I love you dear.

week 29 belly & general malaise

UGH! I feel so gross. Please allow me to vent a bit into cyberspace...

So my digestive tract is rebelling (not that it ever really cooperated, but the discomfort has escalated to a new level), my joints and muscles are achy and painful, I have to pee every 5 minutes, and I'm so worn out and tired that I just want to hibernate until I deliver. I think little Elliott is starting her descent within my womb (apparently, fetuses "drop" during the third trimester) because my huge, jutting-out belly "shelf" appears to have shrunk a bit and the bulge is moving downward. This would also explain the awful bladder pressure. I must refer to my What to Expect When You're Expecting to verify.

Oh, and to top it all off, I have this mystery toe ailment where one of my big toes is all swollen and hurty. It's been going on for weeks now and I tried to ignore it, but it's getting worse. I finally decided to visit the doctor, which I can hopefully do tomorrow. Woe is me!

Here's the latest pic from a few days ago, my 29 weeks belly. As of my last OB/GYN visit last week, I had gained a whopping total of 25 pounds:

My bulging belly. Note the Fudge in the background.

On a funny note, Elliott is doing some hard-core Tae Bo in there lately. When I'm bored, I stare at my belly and watch it pulsate and shimmy of it's own free will. Pretty entertaining, really!

Oh, and a quick update on jury duty saga...I went in to serve, got stuck there for a good number of hours as they tried to prepare a group of about 50 of us to sentence a guy guilty of involuntary manslaughter, and then got sent home. I was lucky they chose the first 12 people in our group and I wasn't stuck there for days! I also met a nice jury duty friend while there who looked exactly like Phillip Seymore Hoffman in his thinner, less hairy days.

Phillip Seymore Hoffman, not my jury duty friend

free in so many ways...

Exactly how am I free, you may ask?

#1: I don't have to go to jail!

So I picked up the dreaded letter today, or the "CONTEMPT NOTICE," and it informed me that I am commanded to appear before a judge to show cause why I should not be held in contempt of court. This was for supposedly missing jury duty on January 5 (never got a summons for that date, and it wasn't even the day I had rescheduled for. See blog posting below!) I talked to a super-nice clerk, explained that my name and address were both outdated (I'm sure the only reason I even got this contempt notice was because it was a certified letter), and she said if I come in for jury duty on February 17, I won't have to plead my case in front of a judge. Yay!!

#2: I got rid of all my hair!

Those of you who know me know that I hate hair, more specifically my hair. Yes, the masses of curls have their good day, but sadly they always end up finding their way into a pony tail and then I look like I'm perpetually 12 years-old. I went to one of those $14 hairdressers and forced her to chop it all off. Today I wielded the scissors myself (this is often the case with me) as the 'do needed some help around the ears. I admit that it's not the best of styles, but at least my head feels free and I look a little closer to my age of 31. Here's my new hair (I'm also sans makeup and sick with a cold - hence the overexposure and the pj's!)

26 week ultrsound, 27 week belly, & possible jail time?

Hello everyone! Here are some pics of our little Elliott Rose from our appointment last week. Everything looks great, and she's 2 lbs. 8 oz and 13.8" long! She apparently loves playing with her feet and still sucks her thumb. Sounds like me as a baby (but we're both hoping she has Ryan's sunny disposition - I was a terror!)

True prenatal yoga - look at that foot!

Still sucking her thumb!

Here's my latest belly picture (I've gained 23 pounds total thus far) and my new boy haircut (I'm still figuring out how to style it so it doesn't look like a mullet; this was the slept-on-it for-12-hours look):

Let's see, what's new:

1. I am sick with another cold! Nasty sore throat, stuffy/runny nose, the works! I shouldn't complain, this is only my second one this winter, but it's an extra pain in the butt because when your pregnant there's not much medicine you can take.

2. Ryan took his comp exams for his MPA program last weekend. He's not convinced he passed, but I 'm confident he did. After this, he just needs to take about 3 electives to get his Masters degree!

3. Ryan is also in the process of constructing some fancy cabinet doors for our bathroom. I plan to do some decorative tile work in there in the future. Then we just need to paint the walls and the bathroom will be complete! Of course, we still have 3 rooms to go after that...

4. I'm convinced I'm going to jail for accidentally missing jury duty. Here's the story. I got a summons in the mail back in September. Well, what date do they try to drag me in but the very same one as my first OB/GYN appointment (complete with my first ultrasound) - the appointment I would anxiously have to wait on for a whole 6 weeks since finding out I was preggers. To make a new appointment I would have had to wait for at least another month, which was scary, as any newly pregnant woman wants to make sure that everything is going well ASAP! So we called the number on the jury notice and were able to reschedule through their automated system for a date in December.

Here's where things get iffy - I don't know if I messed up, if they messed up, or if the postal service messed up. I swear the phone thing said that another notice would be sent in the mail (which would only make sense since there are multiple locations, I don't know what time to report, etc.) Well, the new date comes and goes without any new summons, so I figure I'm safe and they just didn't need me.

So all's well until yesterday, when I see one of those USPS slips in the mail. Jury Services is sending me some letter but someone has to be here to sign for it! This cannot be good, people. I have to wait until Monday to pick up the letter, and every time I think about it, I feel sick, like the law is out to get me! Can I get arrested or fined for accidentally missing jury duty? Do they throw pregnant ladies in jail? I will let you know how it all goes as soon as I open that God forsaken letter on Monday...