Now what?

This was my to-do list:

1. Clean house
2. Finish laundry
3. Pack hospital bag
4. Set up and organize baby stuff.



This is what my to-do list looks like now:

1. Scrub the fridge if you decide you feel like it.



Otherwise, I have nothing to do.

And I have a LOT of energy. I've felt pretty icky for the last couple of weeks, but I've been feeling great since Saturday. (Yeah, the to-do list was completed nearly in its entirety on Saturday. All I've had to do since is a few dishes and the kitchen floor.)

So, now what? I've probably still got a while before this child comes...

Today

I really feel like going for a walk today. Is there anybody who lives around here that wants to go with me?

(I would make Husband go, but he's at work. Poor boy.)

Stuff

Yesterday I was told that I look like I could still have another two months to go before this baby gets here. I was asked if I've gained more than 10 pounds. Umm, yes. About 13 pounds more than 10. And on Monday at the doctor the nurse told me that I couldn't possibly be 38 weeks. Ugh.

Is it weird that comments like this kind of bug me? I assure you that I have carried this baby for the full 38 weeks (and 3 days). (Well, minus two weeks, really, when you take into consideration that they count from your last period and the baby isn't actually conceived until about two weeks later. BUT STILL.) And while people may not think so, I have felt every single day.

Had some false labor yesterday, so that was fun. Consistent contractions for hours while I was doing stuff, but when I got off my feet they slowed down. Pain/discomfort in my lower back and abdomen. The contractions never entirely went away, but there was no pattern as long as I wasn't on my feet being busy. I was pretty sure it was false labor (and I was right :) ) but I was inspired to finally at least start packing my hospital bag. Kind of left that to the last minute, eh?

I have made some progression towards labor, though. At my last appointment, I was 1cm dilated and 70% effaced and the baby is at -2 station. These numbers are all better than the numbers I was given a week before. Woo hoo! I take comfort in the fact that this means that I will likely go into labor on my own and not have to be induced. Which I would absolutely prefer. I still think he's going to come late, and my doctor agrees. And he has years and years and years of experience, so I'm sure he's recognized some patterns by now :)

In other news, tonight my cousin Jason comes home from his two-year Church mission in the Baltics (Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia -- he spent most of his time in Latvia, with a few months in Lithuania towards the end). My grandma and I are driving up to the airport together to help his parents and siblings greet him. Husband would come too, but he won't be off of work in time. It should be a fun adventure. Grandma says to put the baby under orders to NOT come today. I told her I'd see what I can do.

Thanks for all your help with my freezer meals knowledge. I got several nice long emails and lots of recipes and suggestions. You all rock!

That's all for now, I think.

Food

I've decided that I need to start doubling recipes and freezing half, because it's going to be a busy fall and I know there are going to be quite a few nights when I just don't feel like cooking. But I'm a little intimidated. I know pretty much nothing about this sort of thing. Since I know that many of you are really good at cooking and such, I thought I'd ask for advice :) (Don't think worse of me for not knowing these things in the first place, or for not figuring them out already.) Please help me out -- take a minute to answer these questions for me!

1. What kinds of meals are good for freezing?
2. What type of container is best to use?
3. How long can food be stored in the freezer?
4. Do you have any good tips for thawing a frozen meal?
5. Is there anything else you can think of that I should know that isn't covered in one of the other questions?

And also, I love new recipes -- if you have any cheap, easy recipes that you and your family love, please pass them on! :) I'd be glad to do the same if anyone wants.

I'm going to spoil you if I'm not careful

I did something ridiculous today and thought I would share because I think it's a funny story (I could very possibly be wrong) and I actually have the motivation to sit down and write it out.

I lost a book earlier. I had it sitting on my bed next to my phone, and suddenly it wasn't there anymore. I looked everywhere in the house, under the bed, in drawers, cupboards, the bathroom, closets, even random places in the kitchen and living room, which I really haven't spent much time at all in today.

It was nowhere to be found.

Then I found it when I went to do my laundry. Buried in the middle of a basket full of whites.

I have NO idea how it got there. I was organizing my laundry, yes, but I have no memory of putting the book in that basket, and I can't even think of a way that it could have happened. But it did, obviously. So I must have put it there. Who knows how I managed it?


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Secondly, a task for all of you. I want a new name for this blog, but as I am extremely challenged when it comes to being clever and creative, I need some help. Any ideas?


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And, these muffins sound delicious. I'm going to have to make some. Soon.

Hello from the biggest blogging slacker ever

Yeah.

Sorry.

To make up for it (not really), here is a picture I took last night and one I took last week.

Last week. 36 weeks.

Last night. 37 weeks. Or at least I'll be 37 weeks tomorrow, so close enough.

And to further show my remorse, here is a picture that has my [fat] face in it. Ugh. It took me 7 or 8 tries to make it look like this, all the others were absolutely terrible. So don't tell me my face isn't fat (I mean it). I'm not fishing for compliments, just telling the truth.

Also, I think I could really use some color on my lips. But give me a break, it was midnight. (Couldn't sleep. Hard to get comfortable, you know how it goes.)

So anyways, due date is 3 weeks from tomorrow, which means that I'm full term (or will be tomorrow, but like I say, close enough). I have a doctor appointment this afternoon, and hopefully they will tell me that I have some sort of progression that indicates that labor may, in fact, someday maybe start on its own. A girl (especially one with my family history) can hope.

A couple of my good friends have had their babies in the last couple of weeks, so that's been fun. Last night I was holding one of their babies, and I discovered that a large pregnant belly is very convenient on which to prop a baby. (I started to say "to prop a baby up on" but that just sounded awkward.) I don't think my little boy liked it too much, because he was definitely pushing up at her, like, what-is-this-heavy-thing-in-my-space-and-move-it-now-please.

I just realized that I sound pretty ridiculous this morning, for which I apologize. I didn't get much sleep last night.

So I've been meaning to get online and blog for a long time, and I've even had entire posts drafted in my head, but somehow every time I get on the computer I lack either the motivation to sit and type it up or I just forget. Yeah. Lame excuses.

So anyways, I'll try to make posting more regular. I know there's a lot of stuff I should write about, but I'm having difficulty remembering it at the moment. So, umm, here's to consistency! Or at least a little more of it.

*I didn't feel like linking this post to all the other posts with belly pictures, but if you want to see them scroll to the post right before this. It has all the links.