Year: 2004

My life seems so boring right now. Tomorrow will be officially 4 weeks home on bedrest. It really doesn’t make for interesting blog material…

Of course, I could make an effort to actually take pictures of Anouk, which is done, and of the new project I’ve started. That would be something to blog about. One thing I have to say about being home is that I really have been getting lots of stuff done. It’s just that there’s only so much TV watching and book-on-tape listening that I can stand in one day, and that threshold seems to get shorter every day. I’m starting to worry that I’ll go nuts doing the stay-at-home-mom thing, but then I remind myself that at least I’ll have the baby to talk to and play with. The dogs are really mostly into sleeping all day. Plus, if I talk to them too much, I’m worried that they’ll start talking back. And if I could actually do some chores, like laundry or vacuuming, that would be something, too. (Amazing how much I hated doing those things before, and now I’m really wishing I could do them!) Oh, and I’ll be able to leave the house, too! Just in time to start working on Christmas shopping…

The nursery is getting there. I finally decided to go ahead and stick with the lavender and green, and now “all” that’s left is to do the trim and closet doors in white. (Two windows and two door frames, plus all the baseboard, is still a lot!) Denis will also get to play with his electrical engineering degree by wiring a ceiling light/fan into the room. We have no ceiling lights in any of the bedrooms, so this is not a small task.

Oh, and after my doctor’s appointment yesterday we stopped at Starbucks. Did you know that they have a pumpkin spice latté? I didn’t until yesterday! Actually, it’s probably a good thing that I’m stuck home – there are way too many “seasonal treats” that I’d get a lot more often if I wasn’t… Between the pumpkin ice cream at Papa Jack’s and the caramel apple cider and pumpkin spice lattés at Starbucks, I’d be in big trouble.

Our second baby shower was yesterday, and once again I crashed hard when I got home. It was really good to see everyone though – being stuck at home on bedrest makes it hard to get together with friends. We got lots of neat toys and clothes and bath stuff! Once again, thank you everyone!!

Just a few more things we really need to go get – like the diaper pail, and the changing pad and covers. Oh, and diapers and wipes would probably be a good thing to pick up. I’m hoping by next weekend I can be washing baby things and putting them in the dresser – but that means the painting all needs to get done and I’m being indecisive about whether I like the green with the lavender or if I just want the walls to be entirely lavender. (Poor Denis, he’s being an absolute saint about all of this…) I guess I’ll sleep on it for another night.

I can hardly believe it’s October finally – or is it October already? Assuming she doesn’t decide to make herself too comfy in there, the pumpkin baby will arrive sometime this month! (Knock wood, please, that she arrives this month, because I really want to meet her!)

Denis is just starting the second color of paint in the nursery tonight. It’s so pretty! Jenny and Aaron came over to help us with the top color Wednesday, so hopefully we’ll be to the trim-painting part by Sunday, when my cousins are coming to help out. (I really, truly appreciate all the help everyone is giving us, since I’m not allowed to do these things myself!) This means that by next weekend we should be able to set up the crib and dresser and start washing and putting away baby clothes.

Can I just ask, though: how on earth do those teeny tiny socks a) fit a human being and b) not get lost in the washer or dryer? I can barely reach to the bottom of the washer to fish out my own socks – I’m going to have to get a pair of tongs or something to get to these itty bitty things. Or maybe I’ll go buy a lingerie bag for them. (This is one of those practical things they don’t tell you about in baby books.)

We had our first baby shower yesterday. Wow. I know practically nobody who was there reads this site, but let me just say “THANK YOU” anyway, because we are now able to get the baby home from the hospital (in a carseat, no less!), dress her in some very cute clothes, stroll her around the mall, swing her until she falls asleep, take her on trips, and feed her. And she has sheets and blankets and “loveys” for the crib. And somehow, almost all of it managed to fit in the Subaru, despite the fact that it all took up half of my aunt’s living room. (Now it’s all currently taking up my entire dining room. Denis really needs to get the nursery painted so all of this stuff can go live where it’s supposed to!)

However, I am exhausted. I think Denis fed me dinner last night, but I don’t really recall eating. I was in my pajamas at 7:30, managed to keep my eyes (mostly) open until about 9:30, and slept until 7:30 this morning. This may be a wear-pajamas-all-day sort of day…

Yeah, boring title, I know. I’m being a total blog slacker lately! I don’t really have that much to blog about – my days are shaping up to be all about the same. I pretty much spend my time watching TV or movies, crafting, eating, or napping. It’s not that exciting. Oh, wait, today I figured out how to hook up my walkman to the stereo so I could listen to a book on tape… Um, yeah, I guess that’s not really all that exciting, is it? Despite it not being exciting, it’s not exactly boring either, and I’m enjoying the chance to work on bigger craft projects for long stretches at a time without having to feel guilty about things I should be doing instead.

Everything is still status quo with the bedrest. Apparently I’m being a good little patient, because my blood pressure was enough better that they didn’t send me for more blood tests at my most recent appointment. Yay! They did, however, do a finger-prick iron test. Ouch.

So, 5 more weeks, give or take. I don’t feel like I’m ready – I’m sure I won’t feel like I’m ready no matter when she decides to arrive – but my first baby shower is this Sunday, and at least after that I’ll have some baby things in the house!

Or, why Sarah is no longer allowed to go to garage sales…

My Grandmother has been looking for a high chair, now that she has two great-grandchildren and a third on the way. She really wants a wooden one, but they are anything but cheap. So, we’ve all been on an unofficial mission to check out garage sales for used wooden high chairs. A few weeks ago, I found a garage sale where I was able to pick up this toy for $3. It’s the Neurosmith Music Blocks toy I saw in stores a few years ago for $60, thought it was very cool, but much too expensive (plus I didn’t have kids yet). We were assured that it still worked, but we figured for $3, even if it didn’t it wasn’t a big deal. After spending $5 on batteries (for a $3 toy), we found it did work.

Now, it came with an extra cartridge, and I started wondering where I could get more cartridges… Turns out Amazon had them on clearance, because the company is no longer in business. Perfect! $20 for two cartridges, $2 tax, plus $4 shipping. (For those of you keeping track at home, the $3 garage sale toy has turned into $34. So far.)

Then I did some reading. I knew when I picked up this toy that the target age range was 2 and up. Well. There was another product put out by this company for ages 6 months – 2 years that takes the same cartridges! What better way to get my money’s worth out of the cartridges than to get another toy that can use them?!? And so, I hunted around, found the Jumbo Music Block (on sale!) and ordered it. $40 for the toy, no shipping, but $3 tax. Hmm. Oh, and that one required batteries too, so add another $5.

So, all told, my $3 garage sale score turned into $82. This is why I will never be allowed to just “stop for a minute” at a garage sale again. (The bright side is, they are fantastic toys, which I think will provide hours worth of entertainment for the baby. Oh, and for us. They really are kind of addictive…)

At my appointment yesterday, the doctor said I get to stay on modified bedrest for the duration. 6 more weeks…give or take. You would think that since I’m home all day, blogging would be more regular, not less! I’m too busy sitting with my feet up to blog, though, really…

(Actually, I’ve just been too lazy to get project pictures off my camera and upload them. Tomorrow. Probably.)

We also got all of the paperwork to pre-register at the hospital, and the birth certificate application. Did I mention we’re down to 6 weeks? That’s kind of scary. I’m starting to feel like I should be doing something to get ready. For mercy’s sake, we don’t even have a single diaper or onesie in the house! What happens if she comes early? Maybe I’d better put diapers on the grocery list for Denis to get this week, just to have them in the house. After all, it’s not like they expire…

I haven’t gone stir crazy yet, but only because it’s the weekend, and Denis has been home to keep me company. Plus, there’s been lots of football on to watch. I’m not looking forward to tomorrow, or Tuesday. I have no idea what to expect at my appointment on Wednesday. I guess if my blood pressure is back to normal, they might let me go back to work, but if it’s not…does that mean I’m grounded for the duration?

We did sign up for Netflix, so I should have a batch of DVDs in the mail by Tuesday. They’re all silly, of course, because I like silly movies.

I’ve also been working on an old unfinished project. I don’t know how old, really. Maybe 3 years? I finished the knitting (which only amounted to about 5 hours) and am working on hiding a million ends. Tomorrow I should be able to get a picture. Once I get this done, I’m finally going to cast on for Anouk!

I know I shouldn’t complain, because things could be much worse, but my trip to the doctor this morning about those stiff hands I mentioned yesterday? It resulted in me ending up on modified bedrest at least until my appointment next Wednesday. My blood pressure was way elevated just from my appointment 10 days ago, and it’s not like I’ve been on an all-salt diet since then or anything.

Anyway, it’s one thing to daydream about being able to stay home and watch movies and knit all day. It’s quite another to be told that’s all you’re allowed to do. I’m obviously not going to be painting the nursery this weekend. And the orange cabled hoodie is done, except for the fact that I have no buttons – and can’t go get them. I had a mile-long list of to-do’s for the weekend, and am now allowed to do none of them. I guess this is someone’s way of telling me I need to slow down for a bit.

The good thing is that I got to have another ultrasound. The baby is 4 lbs., 4 oz., and they triple-checked for me that she is still a girl. Since I already bought the lavender paint, this is a very good thing!