getting ready for baby

We're in the midst of major getting-ready-ness for the monumental shift that is coming. We attended a workshop over the weekend, to learn how to navigate our relationship while taking care of the newest addition. We are attending the 4th installment of our childbirth class tonight - only two more classes after that! And G is going to head back East again for a final visit before the baby comes. (Well, we hope baby doesn't come while he is gone. That would suck.)

Busy, busy, busy. Will try to get a photo up of the ever-growing belly - I think the baby is starting to get too big for its home, as every time I eat (and stomach expands) the baby gets awfully kicky on my right side. Maybe it's just a blood-sugar thing. But I have a feeling it is a space thing. I ate way too much sushi last night - all vegetables, no fish :( - and my stomach was quite full (I felt like I would burst) and boy howdy, this child was kicking frantically on the right side. Big, sweeping kicks - I guess I need to eat smaller portions for the next four weeks. Cuz after four weeks, baby will be here!

4 weeks!

the new year

And here we are in January. Hello 2009! What craziness you will bring our way! G's dad will most likely pass on this year (he's been very sick and is currently in hospice) and we will bring our first child into the world this year. The house projects are mostly done - we are in a lovely state of livability - so at least we can keep that level of crazy at bay. We are gearing up and getting ready, while at the same time remembering to take lots of deep breaths and savor each moment.

Ah, January. We came home to massive amounts of snow (still!) at our house, with rumors of another storm on the way. We had the ever talented Kirk Mastin stop by and take some photos, here's a preview:



And then we had an impromptu New Year's brunch - lots of faces we haven't seen in a while.



I love the photo of R and I busting up - who knows what we were laughing about, but it sure must have been funny. R and K are (very soon) headed off to India for three weeks - hope they have a good time!

holiday visits

We just got back from a week's long trip to California. Visiting with friends and family, eating our fill of delicious food, and celebrating the coming birth of our first child. Ah, the holidays. This year, as my nesting sensibilities kicked in, I made all my holiday gifts ("made with love in Elizabeth's kitchen"). Here's a photo of the craziness:Yeah. Pounds of dark chocolate bark, white chocolate bark, peppermint bark, caramels, granola, hot cocoa mix and marshmallows. Yum.

I wish I had gotten a photo of the Christmas spread - it was delicious. And the baby shower at my aunt and uncle's house on the Saturday after Christmas was delightful. Here are a couple shots:
It was a co-ed affair, so G figured a good bottle of tequila was in order. I guess I can't blame him. Girls were watching gifts getting opened, boys were drinking in the kitchen. Makes sense, right?


I am so lucky to be able to drop in to California and have so many friends and family converge to celebrate. I count my lucky stars that I have such an awesome community.

Now it's time to get ready for the end of the New Year and focus on January. Baby will be here in less than two months! We've got work to do!

making candy over the weekend

In addition to having brunch on Sunday, I was cooking up a storm on Saturday, making treats for my in-laws. One of these treats are caramels - terrifying to make, but delicious to eat. I had never boiled sugar before - and seeing that frothing mass in the pan as I frantically stirred and tried to read the thermometer because 248 degrees is the stopping point, otherwise something awful happens to the time-space continuum - it was nerve wracking I tell you, good and terrifying. And then it was over. And I waited for the caramel to set, cut it into pieces, and wrapped them up. (Had some help wrapping up from my favorite ladies, J., A., and M... thanks girls!) Here's a shot of me wrapping, taken by the lovely J. (And if you can tell, I was standing right up against the counter - but look how far away my shoulders are - there's a baby in the way. Outrageous!)

seven and a half months!!

Well, I would start by saying "what the? another month has gone by?" but you all knew that already. I would make apologies, but there's no point, there is no fault or blame. Just wish that I could keep this up as much as I do Facebook. But that's another matter altogether...

We managed to get the house put back together about 30 minutes before the first houseguest arrived. Nice! More houseguests, a few last minute RSVPs for Thanksgiving dinner, lots of friends and family, amazing food and thanks to my best friend and my cousin - I didn't have to do all the work by myself. Without them, it wouldn't have happened. You guys are the best!

Then I spent a week trying to figure out what to do about Christmas this year - being on a budget and not having a ton of energy (thanks for that, third trimester!) and really didn't come up with a plan. Oh well. Something will happen, that's for sure. Then G. left town to go back east for a long weekend, to clean out the family farmhouse and get it ready to go on the market.

Of course, right after he left we had our first windstorm of the season (it looks like the trees are going to snap in half, they bend so far over) followed by our first snow of the season (four inches in my front yard! record low temperatures!). And I am alone, in my house, really not wanting to drive on the icy roads.

Throughout all this, I have been neglecting my knitting, which is awfully sad. I set out to knit a baby blanket for this restless little being in my belly - a sizable blanket, lots of colors, gender neutral. It is comprised of seven strips, and when those are done they are magically knit together to make one big cozy blanket. I figured a strip a week (there are seven colors in each strip, so a color a day. easy!) but with Thanksgiving falling right in the middle of of the project, I gave myself nine weeks. Generous! Plenty of time! Well, you all know how time and I get along... mostly that it keeps on going, especially when I am not looking. So here I am, week eleven? of the project, and only have four and a half strips done. Good thing baby isn't due until February 23rd!!

And R. sent me a pattern for knitting your own babylegs. And there are the hats I want to knit, if I knew how to knit them. Patterns still intimidate me - I'll get there some day.

For now, the baby is still up to its antics in its watery home - I swear it is doing back flips in there, which is to be expected at 30 weeks. (Holy cow, how'd I get to be 30 weeks pregnant?) I think last night it was alternately punching and kicking. Impressive coordination skills for such a little guy. Or girl. On that note - pronouns get thrown around quite a bit, i.e. I will say "he kept his legs crossed" or "she's kicking!" but it doesn't really mean I know. I have zero intuition on this front - no dreams, no feelings, nothing. Just a girl's name that I am absolutely in love with, and nada on the boy's name. Except for the boy's names that I don't like. That I am pretty clear on - but not so clear on the names I do like. The one dream I had years ago about my baby boy involved a name that is so trendy now I am not sure I could go through with it.

So that's what I have to say about that, for now. As my grandma would say, "that's all I know about that!".

E.

(ps - hi grandma!! can't wait to see you!)

and it's now mid-november

So last week was the first time I have ever done dishes in the bathtub of my house. Sure, a hostel here or there, but never in my house. However, G removed the kitchen cabinets to complete the hardwood floor install - so the current house configuration is: most living room pieces - in the guest room and in the baby room; the couch is on end in the hallway; the dining room chairs take up the office; the kitchen pantry is shoved up against the front door; the remaining kitchen items are in the hallway (fighting the couch for space). This leaves us with a toaster and microwave in the bathroom on the floor (as far away from water sources as possible, not plugged in when showers happen) and dishes are done in the bathtub. Are we having fun yet?

Well, yes. I know it isn't permanent. G finished the floor over the weekend (I spent the night at a friend's house due to overwhelming off-gassing) and today was spent trying to re-install the kitchen cabinets. Some of you may have heard a story about a co-worker of mine who gave us some kitchen cabinets. They were left-over from his brother's development project, and free to us. We were very excited. Unfortunately - it didn't quite work out... here's my note to M:

So we got the cabinets back to the house, got them unloaded and lined up in the kitchen. Tricky thing is, they are all mostly bathroom cabinets. There are only two kitchen cabinets, both sink units, and the rest are the shorter bathroom cabinets. No idea how the boys missed this when they were loading them up… I think they were just trying to get ‘er done and didn’t notice. So all the cabinets moved down to the garage where they are resting nicely with all their parts and pieces. I’m guessing I should document the dimensions of all of them and we’ll figure out a plan. The plus side is that we used the rental truck to do a dump run, which cleaned out half the garage (very worthwhile!). The downside – we tacked the old cabinets back in place. I hate those things. Slapped a coat of paint on them last night and pray they’ll look decent after a second coat. Anyway, that’s the cabinet drama so far…

The sink has running water but the disposal isn't hooked up yet (G walked out of the house saying, "well, you can use the sink, but if it starts to leak, then put a bucket under it" which equals "no thanks" from me! I don't want to be responsible for a flood on the brand new barely-cured hardwood floor!). He is working on installing the trim right now. Then hopefully tomorrow we can start putting the house back together before our guests show up for the Thanksgiving holiday. They start arriving on Sunday and my to-do list is quite long... everything from "clean bathroom" to "wash extra linens". I can hardly wait for them to arrive - as crazy as it all is right now - being surrounded by loved ones is the best ever. I miss my California peeps!

And seriously - if this was your floor, you'd be a happy camper, right?



That's what I thought...

I love the tigerwood!! It is so beautiful. We are so close to having this project finished.

Now, onto my knitting, baking and organizing... because, you know, knitting a baby blanket is the most appropriate way for me to gaze at my gorgeous new floor, right?

the first photo

Courtesy of the lovely Jessica Levine, the first photo worth publishing on the web. She and I are making a date to do some gorgeous creative photography for month 7/8... I know I will have plenty to share then. I just knew it wasn't fair to keep y'all waiting any longer. (Yes, that is my iPhone in hand, I was trying to find her and she took this of me as I crossed the street... ) This is me at six months. I can't believe it has already been six months... February is getting closer and closer....

Hope you are well! We are settling into the last phase of the flooring project - hopefully we will be done just in time for Thanksgiving.