Due.

Dear little Leah,

Congrats, darling! We've made it to your due date. People said it couldn't be done! Actually, I think a lot of people are just really anxious to meet you and figured you'd feel the same way and come early. But you didn't. :) And I'm really okay with that. You'll come when you're ready. (but this weekend would be great).

Speaking of this weekend, I have to let you know that Saturday is the fourth of July. Now, you are free to come whenever you want, and Saturday would be a fine day to be in labor. Just know that for the rest of your life, you'll share your birthday with the date that marks our country's independence. And that isn't all bad--fireworks on your birthday! (That's more than your brother can say!) But I can pretty much guarantee that your birthday party might not get to be ON your actual birthday very often. But really--it's totally your choice.

People are constantly asking me how I'm feeling. And understandably so--it's not exactly super comfortable to be pregnant in the heat of the summer. But this week has been heavenly! We even turned off the AC. And I'm trying to enjoy these last days of carrying you inside instead of outside. (As one friend put it, "This is the easiest she'll ever be to take care of!") Being pregnant is a very special thing, and I've had a great nine months with you. It started with a little more nausea than I had with Jack. And the heartburn has been a little more intense than the first time. But I know that once we meet you, that stuff is going to seem so small in the grand scheme of things. It's a tiny price to pay to bring a new life into the world!

I remember when we found out that you were coming. I promised myself I wouldn't take a pregnancy test too soon. But one night, I just had a feeling. So the next morning, I did what I promised I wouldn't do and lo and behold--two pink lines! I was shocked. And so excited. I think your dad was taking a shower, and I told him as soon as he came upstairs. It still took a little while for it to sink in--I think I took two more tests that week. But it was true--we were having another baby. We decided not to share the news right away. We told Mimi and Poppa and Gigi a couple weeks later, and nearly everyone else by way of our Christmas card.

Of course, for a few months you were an "it." But we knew that we wanted to be able to call you "he" or "she." Well, we had our ultrasound in February and you were not exactly cooperative! In fact, you sat in your little butt with the cord between your legs for the whole thing. I love that you're modest, but really. Not even a peek? Of course, everything else in the ultrasound looked fine. But we were kind of bummed! Luckily, we learned from our clinic that we could go to Argosy University for a FREE hour-long ultrasound because they teach ultrasound technology and need test subjects! Hooray! So a month after the first one, Dad and I trucked down to Eagan and got to see you again. You were so beautiful! And you were a SHE! (For the record, the technician from the first ultrasound did give us about 70% girl, but to me that was about on par with "Well, I'm pretty sure it's not a puppy!"). So we officially named you Leah. How wonderful to have something to call you!

You have to know that your brother is SO excited to meet you. He already loves you so much--he kisses and hugs my belly and tries to feel you move. He even took it upon himself to also be pregnant for a few months. It was complete with complaints about his heartburn and telling me that his baby was kicking him. Too cute. Now, I think Jack is pretty sure you're going to come out ready to play baseball and build things with legos. So don't take it personally if he's a little disappointed at first. I'm sure he'll also love holding and kissing you. ;)

We've spent the last few months getting the house ready for another family member. Once we knew you were a girl, we felt the need to add a little bit of pink to the bedroom that you'll eventually share with Jack. We filled your half of the closet with dresses and put sweet little onesies and socks and diapers where they needed to go. I packed our bags for the hospital (and one for Jack to bring to Mimi and Poppa's house). Needless to say, we're ready. But if another week is what you need, then take it. We'll be here when YOU'RE ready.

I love you, sweet girl. I can't wait to see you and hold you and kiss you and feed you. You are already so loved by so many people. We know that God is blessing us so richly with the gift of you.

Love,
Mom

A tribute of sorts

In light of the fact that we've had four celebrity deaths in less than a week, I feel the need to pay my respects to at least one of them. And since I have a really great oxyclean story, I'm going with Billy Mays.

When Dan and I got married, we inherited a lot of furniture from my parents, including their cream-colored couch and loveseat. One evening (sometime in the first year of our marriage), I was gone and Dan decided to relax in the livingroom with a full glass of cranberry juice. As soon as he sat down, he hit his arm on something and the full glass of cranberry juice spilled all over the side of the cream-colored couch. Dan proceeded to freak out. He called my parents. My mom answered. He asked to talk to my dad. "Duane, Erin's going to kill me. I just spilled cranberry juice all over the couch and I don't know how to get it out." My dad, not knowing either, gave the phone back to my mom. My mom coached Dan through making a solution with oxyclean to try to remove the cranberry juice. Dan hung up, made the solution, and was feeling pretty confident as the red faded. But wait! It started turning green. Everything that had been red was now green. I'm sure the freaking out was off the charts. (And as much as I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall, I'm kind of glad I wasn't around).

Lucky for Dan, the green was just a temporary chemical reaction and the whole stain eventually did disappear. Like magic! Poof! And in plenty of time for me to be none the wiser. But, of course, Dan had to share the story with me. It was too good to keep to himself. And we both decided that we could make one heck of an oxyclean commercial. And really, I've been sold on the stuff ever since!

Thanks for selling oxyclean to the world, Billy Mays. You and your off-the-charts enthusiasm will surely be missed.

What I have to look forward to

I have referenced a favorite blog of mine, Dooce, a number of times. Well, we were pregnant together until a couple of weeks ago. She gave birth to a beautiful little girl on June 14. She just has such a lovely way of putting things into words, and I particularly liked this little gem. I'm soon to join the ranks of those who have succeeded in bringing a second child into their families. And while I can't WAIT, I am also trying to be realistic about how interesting it will be for some time. :)

"I think the best way to describe what it's been like to bring a second child into the family is to imagine having a jazz band blasting an improvisational set in your left ear while listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing Christmas carols in your right ear, and there you are, a drummer in a rock band, and you're on stage in front of 30,000 people trying to keep the beat to an acoustic version of 'God Save the Queen' by the Sex Pistols."

One week and counting

To my due date, that is. To actual delivery? Who knows--it could be tomorrow or in three weeks. Yeah, I'm hoping it's not three weeks. But I just have a feeling I'm in this one for the long haul. It feels much different than when I was about to have Jack. I was actually okay with going late with him--the longer I went, the less time I'd have to come back to work for at the end of the school year. This time, I am much more anxious. I just want to meet her. I want to see those feet that have been kicking me for months. See that little butt that sticks out of my belly when she's shifting positions.
The good news is that I am progressing, at least a little bit. I've been having contractions - not very painful and certainly not consistent - for a couple weeks, and I am 70% effaced and dilated to 1 cm (as of Monday). I wish that meant something, but I could very well walk around like this for a while!
In produce news, Leah weighs about as much as a mini watermelon. Yum! :)

Paper or plastic?

I just have to share my experience at Target this afternoon.

We were on our way home from my grandpa's 80th birthday party, and I had decided that I would leave as soon as we got home to go grocery shopping. Well, within 5 minutes on the road, Jackson fell asleep. So we decided instead to stop for groceries on the way home--I would run in and be really quick, and Jack could keep napping in the car. Dan dropped me off at the door and went to find some shade to park in. I was instructed to call him when I got in line so he could come get me.

I went about my shopping, really quickly, and proceeded to find a lane for checking out. It was rather busy at the lanes, but I managed to find a seemingly short one. I pulled in and called Dan. "Honey, I just got to the check-out, and I'm the second person in line." Well, with the person who happened to be the first in line, I may as well have been the eighth in line. She didn't have a ridiculous amount of stuff, but she had a few key items that needed a head cashier's help (like two really expensive Norelco trimmers). Paired with an uber-slow cashier, it was starting to get painful. I kept adding my things to the belt as there was room. And then I just watched, becoming immediately aware that this cashier wasn't even trying to move things along. Scan, pause, bag. Scan, ponder which bag to put item in, bag. Scan, pause, bag. Lift filled bag as if it's the heaviest thing EVER and sigh loudly.

FINALLY, the scanning was complete. Then, the best part. Woman-who-was-first-in-line pulled out her STACK of coupons. Honestly, and I do mean honestly, she had at least 30 coupons. Oh, at least. I wish I had counted. And of course, not all of them were easy to scan. She had a couple coupons for her expensive trimmers, and just like the trimmers themselves, the coupons needed Ms. Head Cashier. (By this time, I'm telling people who get in line behind me that they should probably pick a different lane--this one is taking a while).

FINALLY, the woman in front of me is done (after slowly getting the rest of her crap into her cart) and on her way. My turn! I push my cart to the credit card reader and slide my check card as Ms. Slow Cashier rolls my watermelon across the scanner. She puts it in a bag and sighs loudly again as she practically drops the bag on the platform for me to take. "Oh, I'm so exhausted," she says as she apparently decides to take a break from scanning for a minute. Sorry, lady, I can't have you doing that. "Edith, I'm kind of in a hurry. Could you keep scanning please?" Then my phone rings, which I don't realize right away because I got a new phone this morning and I'm not used to the ringtone yet. Of course, it's my poor husband wondering why the heck I called 20 minutes ago (no lie) and am still not outside. "Don't even ask. I'll *hopefully* be out in a minute."

In the meantime, 'hurry it up, Edith' has apparently been translated as 'get this woman's crap into bags as quickly and haphazardly as I can and get her out of my lane.' Again, I couldn't let it go. "Could you please be more careful and stop throwing my things into bags?" That one drew looks from the couple in the next lane. :) She finishes her "scan and drop" method, presses a few buttons and mumbles something (I'm assuming the total) toward her screen. I handed her my ONE coupon (free deli cheese when you buy deli meat!) and let her take care of it. I had already scanned my card, so my receipt popped out and she held it toward my general direction in her left hand as she began scanning the next woman's items with her right hand. "Thank you," I tried, but Edith was done with me.

I exited the store, having spent twice as much time in line as I did actually shopping, and unloaded my bags into the van. I tried to explain to Dan what just happened, but I was still processing it myself. Of course, Dan wants me to call and complain, but having been a cashier at Target, I know that complaint won't go anywhere. Edith will keep doing her thing, and those of us who have the privilege of going through her lane just have to learn our lesson.

I don't have much to write about

Truth be told, I am mostly writing so that the first thing someone sees when they come to my page isn't a naked cross-section of a pregnant woman. :) You're welcome.

Not much new on the pregnancy front. I mean, I'm still pregnant. I guess that's something. I am making some progress--dilated to about 1 cm (for over a week now) and starting to soften (but still pretty thick). She's still quite high, so I spend a good amount of my free time at home sitting on a big exercise ball. It's supposed to open your hips to allow for the baby to drop. Although, Jack never really noticeably dropped. And I also never dilated before I was actually in labor with him. So this "progress" (or lack thereof) doesn't mean a whole lot to me. I have decided that when it's not pouring rain outside at night, I am going to try to walk for at least a little while. I'll do whatever I can! (Well, nothing crazy. I'm not going to down a glass of castor oil or anything. Unless we're having this conversation in a month).

Well, no wonder

No wonder the heartburn is through the roof.
No wonder I can eat about half of what's on my plate.
No wonder I can't climb a flight of stairs without feeling like I'm going to pass out.

Truly, I couldn't have found a way to say it better than this picture. Enjoy. :)

This shouldn't be so exciting

When I was pregnant with Jackson, I toyed with the idea of doing cloth diapers. Well, I ended up using disposables. Which is just as well, because he ended up in daycare, and I don't think that would have worked too well. This time around, I really wanted to give it another shot. Plus, I have a couple of friends who have cloth diapered their babies since I had Jack, and they had many words of wisdom for me. Amy in particular has been a fantastic go-to. :)

Well, after a couple months of checking out different systems and covers and everything, I finally made the leap last week and placed my first order. Now, we do have some disposables to get us through the first few weeks (because I think it's just depressing to think about getting used to a new baby AND having two children AND doing cloth diapers all at once), and since Jack was a fairly big baby, I decided to skip the smallest size of cloth diapers. But with what I got, we should be pretty much set for the first year. (Except that I'm sure I'll find some ridiculously cute covers that I just HAVE to get....)

Here are the diaper covers I got, which will work with a prefold (think classic burp cloth diaper) inside.



I am super excited about using them. But what's really sad is that cloth diapers have found their way into my dreams the last couple nights. I have woken up and thought, "Seriously? I was dreaming about diapers?" Pathetic. :)

34 weeks

This might save me

Lemonade popsicles. And Edys popsicles aren't your run-of-the-mill popsicles. They are heaven on a stick. Honestly, I think these were made for women who are pregnant in the summer. This just might be my ticket to making it another six weeks. :)

UPDATE: the "guys upstairs"

If you read my post about our field trip last Friday, you know that our trip to Schuler Shoes led us to their corporate off (aka "the guys upstairs"). I had to fax them a letter about our event and charity and everything and wait to see what they would offer. I thought maybe a couple coupons (I've gotten Schuler Shoes coupons in race bags before--$20 off $100 purchase) would make their way to us sometime before race day. Well, to my delighted surprise, waiting in my mailbox today was an envelope from Schuler Shoes with two $50 giftcards to their store! I am overwhelmed by generosity. :)

They're here!

The sandals, that is. And they're fabulous! Unfortunately, we're not all wearing them today. Annie-Claude isn't sold on the color and size of hers. And Vicki is out all week spending time with her new granddaughter. Aaahhhhh.....comfortable feet. :)

Friday field trip

A co-worker and I took a long lunch today so that we could pass out some flyers for the upcoming race we're organizing (shameless plug--read more about it and register here: runwithjulie.blogspot.com). Anyway, in our short time out, there were a few notable highlights:

* As we arrived at Potbellys to eat lunch, we walked past everyone eating outside (a crowd we would join as soon as we got our food). There was a couple with two dogs, and the dogs were eating ice cream. They each had their own little dish with a scoop of vanilla. So cute! The dogs were adorable and obviously in their glory.

* We stopped at Panera to post a flyer on their Community Events board and asked to speak to a manager about possibly donating bagels for post-race food. Without batting an eye, he agreed to give us 100 free bagels the morning of the race. Rock on!

* At Noodles, we asked the manager if we could have some "free meal" coupons for our raffle. He went in the back for a second, and then came out and said he'd be right back because the coupons were in his car. So in case anyone wants to know, the manager at the Maple Grove Noodles keeps the coupons in his car. :)

* At Schuler Shoes, we handed a flyer to an employee and asked about possible donations for our raffle. He explained that we'd have to talk to the "guys upstairs" about that. Alissa and I assumed that meant that we'd have to go through corporate for donation requests (direction we'd already gotten from The Finish Line), so we thanked him and started to leave. Another employee who had heard our exchange said, "No, upstairs is this way." Oh, there's an ACTUAL "guy upstairs." So we went upstairs, laughing the whole way, and got the name and fax number of the person we'd have to send our request to.

Overall a successful outing, with many more stops to be made this weekend and next week. The race is (gulp) a month away!

Brown sandal story

Disclaimer: This is probably funnier if you know the people I work with.

So, as I mentioned in my last post, I've been looking for some sandals with good support. My co-worked Annie-Claude has some Skechers sandals that she LOVES, and I kept saying that I should get some, but I never did. She likes them so much that she tried to get another pair last year before the store stopped carrying them, and she has toyed with getting another pair online even though they are nearly twice what she paid for them at Kohl's last year. Well, on Monday morning, I decided to finally make my move (again, after my unsuccessful shopping trip on Sunday). When she came in the back way through our office, I called her over to my desk and told her to show me which ones they were on the website. I found them, added them to my cart, and went to check out. She asked if I had googled any online coupons. I hadn't, so I did. The best one we found was for 25% off if you bought more than one pair and used a mastercard. (We also joined some VIP club and got free shipping). She said that she really wanted to get a pair in a different color and that we could use her mastercard! So I added her pair to the cart and entered the promo code. Voila--down from $44 to $33. Well then Vicki peeked her head around the corner of my cube and asked what we were working on. Annie-Claude turned around and said, "We're ordering sandals!" Vicki was intrigued and wanted to see them. She was even able to try on Annie-Claude's pair. "I want some too!" So we added Vicki's to the cart. Before we checked out, Annie-Claude jokingly announced to the rest of the office, "Anyone else?" Julia and Alissa came over, and Julie ended up ordering some too. It was hilarious!
So, in the next week four of us will have identical sandals. And you better believe we're all going to wear them on the same day and be cute!
The funniest part is that when I went to look for a picture, I learned that they only have "olive" left--no brown or black. We must have been just in time. :) So here they are in olive--not nearly as cute as brown or black, though.

Yeah, I'm gonna be THAT mom

So, I'm finding myself in need of some supportive sandals. Sandals because it is (thank you, Jesus) becoming sandal weather. Supportive because my feet hurt after walking around in flip flops for any length of time. I found a pair of brown sandals (which is actually a very funny story and maybe my next blog topic), but I still wanted to find something in black. I didn't have too much luck shopping last weekend, so I've resorted to shopping online. I had heard of a website called shoebuy.com--tons of brands and free shipping both ways (in case of a return). So I entered all of the information of what I wanted--something that came in my size, black, sandals, slides. That still turned up over 800 results, so I had some fun sifting through the pages. I think I found something that will work. It's by Bass, which I've never owned, but it seemed to get good reviews for support and was only $50. (I could have spent mega bucks--there was one pair that was $225--ON SALE down from $450). However, before I found the Bass pair, I came across this one.





Seriously--who WEARS these? I mean, besides the woman whose primary source of income is from an illegal profession.... I can't even imagine. The platform in front is over 4 inches, with the total height of the heel over 8. That would make me 6'6". No thanks! I'd probably be better off in the flip flops.

I married a rock star

I didn't mean to make myself laugh when I typed that title, but I did. A few years ago, Julie and I had a funny back-and-forth on our blogs because I'd had a dream that she had married a rock star. :)

Okay, back to the actual rockstar that I married. His name is Dan, and yesterday he got some very good news and consequently made me a very happy woman.

But let me back up. For the last year or so, he's been preparing himself for the next level position in his current place of employment, Ameriprise Financial. He shadowed various employees, took part in informational interviews, and went through a development program geared at this specific position, Regional Sales Director. The last couple weeks have been a whirlwind, as a few RSD positions opened up and Dan prepared for and interviewed for one of them on Wednesday of this week.

Dan knew that they wanted to make a decision pretty quickly, and he was certain he'd know by the end of the week. I talked to him at least four times yesterday (Thursday) and asked every time, "Have you heard anything yet?" And every time, he'd say that they hadn't announced anything yet, but that he'd definitely know by Friday. We went to my parents' house last night for dinner, and I drove to the bus stop near their house where I pick him up. He got off the bus with a bouquet of flowers and a back of goodies for Jack. I started to think something was up. When he got to the car with huge smile on his face, I asked when he had found out. "Oh, 8:00 this morning." Stinker! He went on to inform me that he had told everyone else during the day, and they all knew he was keeping it from me. Did I mention he's one hilarious rock star?

One definite perk of the promotion is the pay increase. It's enough to make up for the salary that I'll be losing in June, so I won't have to figure out some way to work from home (most recent plan was doing daycare). I can just be a mom! And that makes our little growing family very excited. :)

My new favorite snack

Fresh mozzarella on toasted sliced of baguette. It was a random grab at the grocery store the other night, but I've fallen in love.

30 weeks

It's all in the numbers

12 - My hemoglobin level last week. In the third trimester, they like to see it between 11 and 14.

121 - My glucose level after the awesome glucose screening last week, involving downing 12 ounces of thick, flat fruit punch, waiting an hour, and getting my blood drawn. If the number was over 140, I would have had to go back for a 3-hour glucose tolerance test. Probably involving more yummy drinks.

30 - Weeks along I am, as of this Thursday.

10 - Weeks I have left. Do the math, people. The most exciting thing is that next week, we're down to single digits. :)

75 - Milligrams of Zantac I'm currently taking twice a day. It's been okay until now. I'm think I might have to spring for the 150 mg pretty soon.

23 - Pounds I've gained so far. At 30 weeks with Jack, I'd gained 50, so I'm quite thrilled with the 23.

16 - Approximate number of inches of my sweet girl.

3 - Approximate number of pounds of same sweet girl.

4 - Number of days I'll be working every week in June. Using up some PTO and taking some time to get things done before Leah comes.

45 - Average temperature this weekend in Duluth, where we'll be escaping for a few days. At least we picked the hotel with the awesome indoor waterpark!

Okay, back to laundry. :)

Where am I?

Oh, just growing a human in my uterus. A little girl who now weighs over 2 pounds (or as much as a Chinese cabbage) and is almost 15 inches long. Wild!

Actually, it's holy week. I work in a church. Enough said.

But the bulk of my craziness is done now, so I'm just here to say hello. And to show you my debut youtube clip. It's of Jack, of course. But really....enjoy. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX1kUGycaGo

And blogger is being stupid and not letting me link. You'll have to copy and paste into a browser. But it will be worth it. :)