30 Weeks and Workout Update

Welp, Happy 30 weeks to me. The Big 3-0! Whoa.

Oh, and BOO! :)


I totally love swimming - I must say that it is by far the superior exercise for preggos. I am no longer running - I did my last run around 25/26 weeks. I'm quite happy I made it so far. Why did I stop? I just felt like it was too hard. *shrug* All along I told myself I'd do it as long as it was fun and I felt like I was getting something positive out of it. The most difficult part was that every time I'd run I would HAVE to take a nap that day... logistically that is just a little inconvenient, right? Plus, I realized the pace I was going was no faster than a brisk walk and, well, walking is cool too! I do miss it a lot though, and am really excited to get my groove back in the spring :)

So swimming twice a week is my new favorite workout. The most beautiful thing about it is that I jump in and stretch out a little and honestly *forget I'm pregnant*! It's quite nice, actually, seeing how it feels like it's encroaching more and more on day to day life. Things like, you know, putting shoes on and picking something up off the floor... But in the pool not very much has changed. I can still swim at a pretty respectable clip and get my heartrate up to a good zone. And smoke people swimming in the lanes beside me (chumps.)

Oh, and also - go phillies! :)

Last trip to PA: Baby Shower Time!

This past weekend we made our FINAL journey to Elizabethtown until APRIL! Wow, does that sound far away! Though this trip was hard (mainly, on me and my back), we know the next one might just be harder. :)

The main event this weekend was Quiglet's Baby Shower. It was a blast, my friends and family did a fabulous job making it a special and fun event. I can't figure out how to rip the pics off of Kodak, but here's the gallery.

We did a "Green" Shower, which I was really excited about because though I do love opening presents, the overwhelmingness of opening so many at a shower (I know, what a whiner) and the wastefulness of it made the idea of a shower w/ no wrapping paper really appealing. And it was fun, to me it was no less special!

Another awesome thing the shower planners did was ask everyone to bring a book in place of a card. Scott and I had such a fun time looking through all of the books we got to start Quiglet's library. :) It's special because of course we have our own favorite books but it was neat to see others' favorites. And who knows what baby girl will like!

This is her closet, Pre-Shower:

With the combination of ridiculous Old Navy sales and consignment sales, my mom and I have outfitted this kid for the first year. Though, I will say, most of this stuff is "cute" stuff rather than "functional" stuff... at the shower we got a bunch of sleeping items and loungewear (lol), which we definitely needed!

The Baby Hats

Things are going really well with my little wannabe baby hat making business :) I'm updating the flickr album w/ all the ones I've made and sent out (well, unless someone ordered one that was *just like* another one I've made). It's a great thing for me. Because, seriously, no hate to the Phillies (bc I'd lose half of my Facebook friends an like all of my family probably) but baseball is actually more boring than football. I didn't always think that, but now I do. I want them to keep winning, I really do, but deep down I know that every win means they'll keep playing more. *Sigh*

So, though this isn't a commercial blog or anything, I'm still loving making the hats and if you want one, let me know.

I thought I'd share some pics of hats I've made for little Quiglet. I'm planning on taking a bunch to the hospital so we can figure out what looks good on her. I mean, the pink is gorgeous, and more than likely she'll look great in it, but it's not for everyone. (This is one of the perks of having a GIRL! I'm embracing accessories)

A list of all the stuff we found in the bonus room

...mainly in the stuff Scott's parents brought for us to go through. Though we do have an entire chest left to go through... another time. I know for a fact there's a Kids Sports Illustrated w/ Andre Agassi on the cover in there.

1. 3 Starting Lineup figures in the box. 2 Cal Ripkens (worth some serious money, but apparently he's pulling a 40-year old virgin and wants to keep them.) and a Scottie Pippen. Worth $20. Will sell that one...but that's chump change compared to Ripken.
   
2. A buttload of trophies. Including a Third Place plaque for "Computer Problem Solving". It's going beside my Third Place trophy for age 26-30 women in the Myrtle Beach 5k. Booya, nobody beats us! Except for 1st and 2nd.
   
3. Scott's elementary school writings. I particularly liked "Eagles vs Colts", which was dedicated to his uncle for "getting the tickets." It was a suspenseful, true story of the Eagles losing to the Colts. "We were so mad," Scott says. "And then they drove home and slept on the way." Another great one was "Dodgers vs Yankees", which was dedicated to the Dodgers. The dedications were the best part, another one was dedicated to "Kelly and Seven." Yes, Seven. (Sorry Steve, we figured you were just a baby so you probably didn't realize anyway.)
   
4. Right after we found a dead silverfish, we found a wrapped up bundle of sheep's wool in a "PA Agriculture Education" folder. Awesome.
   
5. An itemized list of all the baseball cards he owned and their value. I guess he thought a good place to store such valuable items was beside some gross sheep's wool? The other cool thing about the list was that it was printed on that old computer paper that stayed connected. It did have the holes ripped off though :)
   
6. A magic trick involving a disappearing coin. Very magical!
   
7. Jamie had a suitcase containing the following items: Wedding dress, photos, and teddy bears... Surprise!
8. We have a glow in the dark baseball (in a case) that is signed by.... some Harrisburg Senator. Yeah.... I snuck that one into the trash.
   
9. A kush ball! Smarty was confused about this one... she kept playing with it but then got annoyed because one of the nodes was always poking her in the eye. It was quite humorous.
10. Lisa Frank stickers. *hangs head*
    

We spent a good chunk of the weekend in there... yesterday I had a major cold issue. I hesitate to say it was anything serious or contagious just because I've been sick (sinusy... super fun stuff) for a few weeks off and on which is probably pregnancy related. But, nonetheless, it was unpleasant and put me out of commission for most of the day. And today Scott wasn't feeling so hot so I was on bonus room duty. Somehow, we finished most of it, just a few more things he has to do - like move some big/heavy things up or down and pound some nails into the wall. I'm not "authorized" to do that.

Personal achievement: I managed to consolidate all of my books to ONE bookshelf. I think I'm truly transitioning from a book owner/hoarder to a community book user. I now love the Wake County Library system and combined with the NC State lib I'm able to get much of what I want when I want it. I have about 2 dozen books to list on paperbackswap in the next few days so hopefully I'll get them out of here and get some fun new books. PBS is like library-lite. I really do love not wasting money purchasing books... when I was a big buyer I'd buy so many I ended up not really liking or wanting to even read in the first place. I'm really bad with impulse book buys... now if it's an impulse I just take it back in 2 weeks! What took me so long to get on board w/ this!?

Who is 28 weeks pregnant (already)?

Me... omg.


Into the 3rd trimester - wow that sounds scary. We have exciting times ahead... going home next weekend! Time flies, anyone can tell you this. But when you find out you're pregnant the first week in May, January 8th sounds a world a way. And depending on my mood, sometimes it still does. Maybe because it's in 2010 it adds to the far-away-ness of it. But dude, it's 3ish months away. That is all. And they're starting to put Christmas stuff in stores and all I know is Christmas = almost there.

We're making progress though... we painted the nursery and Scott put the furniture together...

And this weekend, we're tackling the bonus room. This is the room that since we moved in 6 months ago has been the go-to... "oh, just throw it in the bonus room." It's shameful, we still have (shudder) unpacked boxes. I've been pretty awesome at acquiring random baby things from all of the fabulous consignment sales Raleigh has. Things like an Exersaucer for $10, and a Bumbo for $12 (thanks Heather!). Which is all fabulous, but they live in a big pile in the bonus room. And I haven't even had my showers yet. So that's the benchmark: let's clear that out before we get ANYTHING ELSE.

It'll probably be last in line for our home renovations, as it makes a fantastic playroom. It's one of those things - it has very excellent carpet that is just not old enough for us to get rid of. BUT... it's plaid. It's not terrible (not like the bathroom wallpaper terrible) so we think we can live with it for a few years. And maybe it's actually good bc then we can just say - Ok Kids, don't worry if you mess up the carpet. :) And someday when the kids are older we can make the bonus room into a sweet movie theater (Scott's dream...not mine. Oh well, he just painted a room pink, I'll let him have it for now.)



My GOD, I wish it still looked like that.

When You Are Engulfed In Flames

Where to start... David Sedaris is just so amazingly awesome :) I feel like this book has been on my list for a long time now, and since I've pretty much cut out my book-buying habit (yay libraries!), I've had to wait my turn (booo libraries). But no worries, this one was worth the wait and, true to form, had me laughing out loud pretty often. I really enjoy his tone and style, one of those authors you feel like you could totally hang out with. It's also fun to read because it's basically a collection of loosely related short stories, so picking it up and putting it down randomly works. I like that freedom every now and then.

Up next is Emma, for the November Book Club book. I'm a tad intimidated... after Sedaris's witty and modern writing, how will I deal w/ Ms. Austen's formality? Also it looks long. If nothing else, I might actually get more school and housework done during the reading of this novel (which, let's be honest, wouldn't be a bad thing!)

*gag* Note to the Babe

Dear Quiglet/Monkey/She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named,

Hey! I'm not one to do a big weekly or monthly note to a fetus (though I do hope to do a monthly letter to you once you're born!), but for some reason, today I was just struck by how EXCITED I am to be carrying you around, and how EXCITED I am to meet you in 3 months (or less.)

It seems like, for me at least, you go through life, and if something is awful or bringing you down, you think about it a lot, even take drugs for it. I find it completely unfair that when something is lifting you up and making you overjoyed, it's not equally celebrated and addressed. Well, Quiglet, today I'm saying it: you are making me THAT happy. Like I could be taking depressants because I'm so overjoyed most of the time and it feels so different from normal life. I'm totally annoying and irritating even to myself, as I lay reading on the couch and can't focus because I'm just smiling like a fool thinking about you. How crazy is that?

So, we're about to enter our final trimester... wow, did the first two fly or what? I've very much enjoyed the most recent one. You decided to I guess inhabit what (mostly) already existed of my stomach, making me wait to really look the part of the 6 months pregnant lady. I think I needed the lesson in patience anyway, and I'm sure you'll continue to teach me. But now you must have run out of corners of my belly to inhabit because - pop - now I'm showing. I even do that annoying pregnant lady thing when I'm out and about where I rub my stomach, just to eliminate any doubt strangers might have about my condition... And I was simultaneously shocked and not-shocked to find out you already weigh 2 pounds and are over a foot long. And I'm still loving your kicking and flipping and whatever the heck you're doing in there. I was thinking about it today while I was swimming - what ARE you doing? From the pictures it seems like you must not have much room, does that suck? I was thinking how miserable it'd be for 9 months to be so cramped to not do anything. But I guess you're doing a lot... you know, becoming human and getting ready to be self-sufficient. Don't worry, we'll help you out on the self-sufficiency thing. Might actually take a few years, but we're prepared for that.

Oh, and I hope you like hats. I made you one today, and true to form, was smiling like a fool the whole time thinking about you. *sigh* Do you like it?


Love,
Mama

Battle for America 2008 Review

So, I just finished this book, and I LOVED it! Thanks Mom :) While it's a little like "why would I want to read a book that I know how it ends?", there were just so many interesting behind the scenes interviews and storylines, I couldn't put it down. If you were also obsessed with the campaign, you'd enjoy this book. You know who you are. I also think it was cool because it wasn't overly partisan. It had a little MORE to the democratic story, simply because with the whole primary-lasting-till-June thing, there was a lot more to tell.

Loved it! :)