The Baby Room and a Big, Big Storm

Hammer Guy (and Toad) finished up the last few projects in the Baby Room -- the second coat, building a bookcase that matches the dresser (not pictured -- it's just outside of the shot on the wall to the right), and building the crib. All the bedding is ready to go, there are a few clothing items in the dresser, and the last thing to do is get the changing table set up. We still need a pad and a few other things for it.

We finally experienced a bit of winter over the weekend with a storm that brought down about a foot of snow. They are predicting another "snow event" for tomorrow and Thursday. HG and Toad had a great time shoveling and sledding last night after school.

It's hard to believe that tomorrow is the last day of February -- meaning there are just 18 more days until the Due Date (will I make it that far?!). And I've developed yet another nasty cold -- let's hope this misery doesn't last long (and no one else in the house catches it)!

The First Coat

The first coat of Olive Sprig is on -- much thanks to Lena for all her help and expertise! Hammer Guy is planning to finish the room Thursday and hopefully we'll be able to build the crib and move everything else back in on Friday night. Toad and his new buddy Ryley had a great time playing and we're looking forward to spending more play dates with them after I go on maternity leave.

The weekend was a busy one -- Grandma and Grandpa A were in town briefly and HG and his dad did a big Menards run. The progress in the basement is slow but should pick up when I'm not working weekends. This weekend at work was tough for me and even after having Monday and Tuesday off, I'm still in pretty rough shape with lots of back and hip pain.

Tuesday I kept Toad home from school and I took him to get his hair cut and to Target in the morning. We spent the rest of the day visiting at Grandma B's house with Grandma and two of Toad's aunties. Aunt M gave Toad lots of fun stuff.

Today is my 36-week appt. The bag is packed.

A Book Picnic, Babe, and Valentine's Day

Highlights of the week:

Friday night while HG built the baby's dresser, Toad and I sat in the hallway outside the baby's room and read books. Lots and lots of books. We called it our "Book Picnic" (complete with a pretend lunchbox with chocolate chip cookies) and read for about an hour and a half. It was so fun and Toad is looking forward to more Picnics of this nature.

Sunday I was off and Toad finally agreed to watch Babe! I've been trying to get him to watch it for months and Sunday was the day! And of course he loved it! Who doesn't love Babe! He now wants to watch it every day.

Today is Toad's Valentine's party at school. Thank goodness we started working on his Valentine's box in January (HG thought I was crazy) but I've had so much going on in the last three weeks or so -- I didn't want to be up late last night putting the finishing touches on the box, and it all worked out as planned. The classroom was total chaos when I dropped him off this morning and I'm so glad I didn't volunteer to help. There's no way I'd have the energy for 25 little munchkins with sugar highs.



I have an appointment with my midwife today before work. I'm almost to 36 weeks, so the time has come to get serious. Monday my friend Lena is coming over with her son for a play date -- for the boys and for us as we paint the Baby room (Lena loves to paint). After Grandma and Grandpa A visit this weekend we're going to take down the bed and clear out the room -- then the baby furniture will go in after we paint. Tomorrow I'm packing my bag.... a big step toward facing reality.

Pure Joy

We hosted our 8th Annual Super Bowl party on Sunday and after a few heart-stopping moments (such as the touchdown scored by the Bears on the opening kick-off), the Colts' victory brought me -- and many anti-Bears and/or Peyton Manning fans -- such joy. For the first time in years I was actually able to sit down and watch quite a bit of the game. The weather was horrible but several of our die-hard friends made it over and the party was great. The kids ran around and got wild and scattered toys all over the house, the adults enjoyed tasty treats and beverages, Prince played Purple Rain (my favorite Prince song), and the Colts won. What more could I ask for?

It's already been a long week. I've been trying to take it easy at work and that's helping. Last night, though, I wiped out on the stairs and landed on my tail bone.

Just a few more weeks till Baby -- Toad helped me with the baby's laundry last night and tonight we'll do bedding. He's getting very excited. He talks to the baby, kisses and hugs my belly, and wants to help out as much as possible. Today we had an amazing drop-off at preschool. We were about 15 minutes late and all the other kids were already in the circle. He took off all his winter gear, gave me a quick hug and a kiss, and then walked into the main classroom area, very carefully holding onto the tambourine he'd brought for the sound of the week basket so that it wouldn't make a lot of noise while his teacher was talking. He set it in the basket gently, then walked all the way around the circle until he found a spot, sat down and crossed his legs, and finally looked up at me and waved goodbye. I almost started crying. What a little man.

We're trying to figure out childcare and other financial bits once Baby arrives and we've toyed with the idea of reducing Toad's time at preschool. He loves it so much, though, that that thought of that just about breaks my heart.

It will all work out somehow, I guess.

A Day of Rest

With just over six weeks to go until the baby's due date, I've started to swell. I mean swell. It's been a good week since I've seen my ankles bones. Yesterday I had a bit of a blood pressure issue, so after working until 10 o'clock last night (which did not help with the swelling), I took a sick day today.

And I slept. I crawled back into bed at 9:30 and slept for hours. It's been years since I've been able to do that. And when I woke up and had a second breakfast, some of the swelling had gone down -- hurray.

Sunday is our 8th annual Super Bowl party -- the crowd is going to be smaller this year. The weather is supposed to be brutal, as in, don't go out if you absolutely don't have to! To all our friends who can't make it this year -- you will definitely be missed!

Just read: America's Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money. Good suggestions for getting rid of debt and living within your means, but I have to say that this family of seven is pretty geeky. I've got a pile of financial and organizing-type books from the library to get through.

One more day of work to get through and then it's party prep for the weekend!