Baby Update

Oh, wait! There is no update!

It is now Monday, I am two days past my due date, and for the most part the house is clean. I've already made a trip to Target and the gas station today. Plans for the rest of the day: a load of laundry, make the bed, rest with Lemon, watch some TLC.

Toad, HG, and I had a fun weekend of family time even though I was terribly crabby and tired. We played lots of games and worked on a birthday present for Toad's teacher. We also watched Toad's current favorite movie each day, Home on the Range. Although I can't stand Roseanne Barr (the voice of Maggie), it's a cute movie.

Okay, then.

Here's a picture of a newborn Toad, since I don't have one of Baby #2 to post.

Exciting News

No, we haven't had the baby, but we did receive some great news this week. Hammer Guy's sister, her husband, and their baby found a house to buy in Wisconsin! They will be moving from Detroit at the end of the month. It's very exciting -- they will be close to HG's parents and other sister, and we will get to see them much more often. It will be great for Toad (and #2) to be able to spend time with little cousin Frog.

The week is dragging on. I've been working every day. Today I worked just over two hours and called it quits. Even though there are plenty of chores to do around the house, I think I will just relax and watch a movie since Toad is at school.

Please send positive baby vibes my way!

Snowed In

What a week! The previous weekends' storm was just a preview of things to come. On Thursday and Friday we had a huge snowstorm, enough to keep me off the roads for three days! Toad and I had so much fun at home together. Two of the major highlights: breaking out a new Candyland game and watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.



Toad is a natural at Candyland. He said he'd played it at school and did seem to catch on to the rules very quickly. He lives for drawing "a guy" -- even if it means going all the way back to Plumpy. On Friday he and I played six games -- he won the first five! The graphics on the game have changed since I was a kid, but the fun has not. When I was at work on Sunday, Toad taught Hammer Guy how to play -- HG does not remember playing Candyland as a kid. Next up -- Chutes and Ladders.



I had warned Toad that there was a scary part in Willy Wonka (the psychedelic boat ride) to which he shivered in joyful anticipation -- but he wasn't bothered by it at all. He loved the movie so much we watched it twice.

We had such a great four-day weekend, but I know that Toad was thrilled to be back at school today. I have a couple of days off now and there are still a few cleaning projects that need to be done. I'm at 38 weeks and 2 days and there's not a whole lot of room for this baby. Now that the time is getting very close, I'm a bit nervous about how it's all going to work out -- hopefully my labor will start at home.

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!

A long month

A random photo of Toad, summer '03

Where has January gone? After the craziness of the holidays, my focus shifted to two major projects at work, physical inventory on the 14th and a sales training last night. Now that those are behind me, I can concentrate on a few other projects before the baby comes.

Toad and I are working on a Valentine's box for school. We had a visit from G & G A this weekend and he and Grandma worked on a few Valentines. He loves paper punches and stamps.

The baby room is still a guest room with a full-sized bed and white walls. It needs to be cleared out and painted before we can think about putting up the crib and changing table and building the new dresser. I'm at 32 weeks and 2 days and I think the child is playing hockey in there or something. There's a lot of high sticking and elbowing going on. It's crazy to think that in less than two months we'll have a newborn in the house again. I'm not sure that we're mentally prepared for that -- but at least we have a few diapers in the house.

Hammer Guy continues to chip away at the basement, although he's been sick so he hasn't been down there as much as he would like.

What I'm reading/What I've read:

The fourth and final Traveling Pants book came out a couple of weeks ago -- Forever in Blue. I read it in a day. Not my favorite of the four, but still good.

HG wanted me to read the DaVinci Code before we see the movie (Santa brought it for him). I did. The writing style and topic aren't really my bag, but it held my interest and I'm looking forward to seeing the movie.

I've dug out some of my parenting books -- right now I'm reading The Official Lamaze Guide: Giving Birth with Confidence and The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding.

I received Alice Munro's latest book of short stories from my S-I-L Lisa for Christmas and can't wait to dive in.

Hopefully with all the projects around the house, I'll still find time for reading!

Toad's Wonderful Christmas

Toad's Snowman

Toad with Grandpa & Grandma A

Video Games with Dad

The Cutest Santa Claus

A Gift for Grandma B

Teacher Gifts and Other Delights

I've been feeling pretty crafty lately and have made several trips to Archiver's in the last few weeks. In addition to the cute sparkly button star ornaments I made for Toad's teachers, I made pastel button tree ornaments for the eight supervisors at work. Tomorrow night Toad and I will be working on his very own star, which he is going to paint red.

This past weekend Hammer Guy's parents visited. We took them to see a Christmas Carol at the new Guthrie for their anniversary. The building is sleek and modern and I found it to be a bit cold and uninviting compared to the old theater, and don't get me started about the parking fiasco. Once I got inside the thrust performance hall, though, it felt more familiar. I guess I'm a bit sentimental about it. The play was wonderful -- HG and I saw it last in 1999.

Toad and Grandma A made cookies on Saturday while I worked on the tree ornaments. Toad's were more like flour-y crumbs and he had a great time! Grandma and Grandpa A will be coming back this weekend for Christmas and there is cookie dough in the freezer for more fun!

Sick Day and Other Events

Toad had a sick day on Monday. It was my scheduled day off, so I had a big list of chores, but Toad was up in the night with a very croupy cough and he's got a nasty runny nose. So we watched a lot of Christmas movies and even though I tried to get a few things done, mostly we just rested together, which was good for me, too, since I've been feeling a bit under the weather as well.

Going back to work was hard, both physically and mentally. I worked six days in a row without a day off and am looking forward to having next weekend off, with a visit from Hammer Guy's parents.

Last Thursday night was Toad's holiday program. It started off kind of wonky.... he was right in the front row of his class of almost 3 to 5 year olds and before they sang the first song, he picked his nose and... well, you get the rest. I shook my head no to him and it looked like he was about to cry, but he recovered as soon as they started singing. Thank goodness -- last year he wouldn't stay with the group and ended up on my lap the entire program. This year he got to wear the Santa hat for "He'll be coming down the chimney." He was wonderful and participated in the entire program and then got to chat with Santa a bit after.


Toad and I dipped pretzels the other day and sprinkled them for a bit of extra holiday flair. He was very interested in shaking the little jar of sprinkles and stated, "It makes a lovely sound." Oh, how I love that boy!

Back to Reality

Tomorrow, we take another step forward as I return to the store after a three-week absence. November was terribly unreal, but we have been working to get our family routine back on track these last few days. HG returned to work and Toad returned to school after Dad's funeral but then we had a planned week of vacation, during which time we visited Wisconsin and got to meet Toad's new cousin, Rachel. We then spent a few days working around the house and preparing for Christmas. And today, I have one more day to get life back to normal before I return to work -- which means more laundry, cleaning, decorating, grocery shopping, etc.

Yesterday was a very important day -- the annual Lions Pancake Breakfast with visit to Santa Claus. It was hard for HG and me because this was one of my Dad's favorite Lions activities -- I used to come home from college for Pancake Breakfast Weekend, and since HG joined the Lions, and especially since we've had Toad, we've never missed it. I wasn't sure that I wanted to go this year, but Dad's brother Bud and his wife De were there as well as our very good friends Dana and Geoff with their two boys. And Toad was completely obsessed with Santa, of course. So it turned out to be a happy event after all, even with the absence of our wonderful Dad and Grandpa.

Here are a few pictures of some of our recent activities:

Interior and exterior views of the Votive Chapel at the

Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Frog and Toad

Hey Howdy Hey, I am Lookin' Good!

Toad was literally a "stuffed" Woody as he and HG ventured out into the cold Halloween night. We had a near-perfect evening, with Toad agreeing to wearing multiple layers (although no mittens). Because of the cold, they did not go to as many houses as last year, but Toad was more than happy to turn around and return home to see what treats were in his pumpkin. At seven o'clock the candy ran out, I turned off the lights, and we went upstairs for a bath just like any other night.

Last week Toad and I were "hiding" from HG like we do almost every night -- while we run the bath, he and I "hide" behind the shower curtain. Toad climbed on my lap, gave me a big hug, and said, "You're the mom I always wanted." There's nothing sweeter in this world.

Monday I had an ultrasound -- all is well with Toad's new baby. It is very, very wiggly, although I didn't need an ultrasound to tell me that! All the important pieces are in place.

Frog and Toad Are Cousins

Toad has a new baby cousin! On Monday, October 16, 2006, HG's sister Sara had a baby girl, Rachel. She was born at 9:18 a.m. (EST) and weighed in at 6 lbs, 11oz and is 19 3/4 inches long. We've talked to Sara and Chuck a couple of times and they're excited and anxious and exhausted, everything a new parent should be. HG and I remember those first few days with Toad.... and we survived. It's amazing how quickly the years have passed since we had a newborn in the house -- and amazing how soon we'll have another one. We're very excited that Rachel will have a cousin just five months younger. Toad is already thrilled with his role as a big brother.

More news on Miss Rachel to follow as we receive reports from Michigan.

The Great Pumpkin

Sunday was a gorgeous day to pick the perfect pumpkin.

North Shore Anniversary

Grand Marais



Palisade Head




Gooseberry Falls


We had such a beautiful weekend for our anniversary trip to Duluth, Two Harbors, and Grand Marais. Toad spent the weekend in Wisconsin. HG and I drove up early Friday morning. We spent an overcast and somewhat rainy day in Duluth, eating at our favorite restaurant, Fitgers Brewhouse. We had dinner with my sister Mary and spent some time browsing at the bookstore. We also visited some of our favorite places in Duluth -- The Blue Heron, Duluth Pack, and Canal Park.

Breakfast Saturday morning was at Betty's Pies in Two Harbors -- yum. Saturday was warm and sunny, a perfect autumn North Shore day. We drove up to Grand Marais to visit Betsy Bowen's studio and we purchased some of her work to celebrate our fifth anniversary. How appropriate that there are five chickadees. Betsy spent some time with Hammer Guy giving him tips and advice on the art of woodcut.



We had breakfast Sunday morning again at Betty's Pies (this time we saved room for their world famous pie, and it did not disappoint). The day turned out to be rainy and gray, but we stopped once again in Duluth for a few last minute items and a drive onto Park Point. This was our eight annual weekend getaway to the shore -- and I can't imagine not having this to look forward to each fall.

Happy Birthday, Dear Daddy

We celebrated Hammer Guy's birthday quietly last week with a bucket of chicken and a delicious cake. The biggest excitement of the week was Toad's new pajamas, complete with cape. If only they were magic pj's that made bedtime easier.

It's Good to Be A Bills Fan

The Bills beat the Vikings at home on Sunday and it's a great feeling. Even Bill Clinton got into the spirit of the game, hanging out with the revered Ralph Wilson. Next Sunday is the true test -- Dick Jauron returns to Soldier Field to take on the Bears.

I Am Spartacus

It's been ten years since my favorite movie of the 9os came out. I saw That Thing You Do! with T on a rainy Friday night in fall and I wanted to get back in line and watch it again. Those days of Monday through Friday office jobs and Applebee's appetizer samplers are long gone, but the memories are sweet, aren't they? I love this movie. Plain and simple, it makes me happy. Table 19, your pizza is ready.

We had an amazing family gathering at our house over the weekend to celebrate four September birthdays, including my dad's and Hammer Guy's. The food and beer were delicious, the company was great. Of the entire family, only five were missing, although Sue was able to fly home from Connecticut for the event, which was marvelous. Two days later I hosted a smallish Pampered Chef Kitchen Show, which was also a lot of fun. I think I'm done entertaining for a while, though.

We're looking forward to Hammer Guy's birthday (tomorrow) and our fifth anniversary with our annual weekend get-away. We need the time to relax and recharge.