erm.

hi.
iloveyou.

Up up up.

Nearly 3 am. I've been up since 1 something with these toothaches. I am seriously, seriously embarrassed I still have not taken care of this. The pain is nearly unbearable. How can one facing childbirth call a toothache unbearable? heh. The family left today and I figured I'd be unable to get in this afternoon so I planned to wait. Work comes in a few hours. Should be fun. A needle pushed into my gums sounds so much more pleasant than this pain.

Hostess

My sister-in-law and nephew made their way to our house yesterday. It was so good to see them and a welcome distraction from the general day-to-day here right now, including my teeth and work. My nephew is 5 and he's fun. Some more family came over later in the afternoon after my uneventful doctor's appointment.

I spent a lot of time standing at the kitchen counter chopping peppers and chicken for the massive batch of fajitas I made. It was pretty tasty and it sort of made me wish we did family things more often. I mean, I'm always kind of wishing that. People in general are busy and I find, less willing to put out some effort these days. There are reasons for this, I completely understand. Driving/gas prices/plans/children/cost/exhaustion...I get it. But! I want us to try harder, to be willing to make the drive, to bring the kids, to talk. It's mostly wonderful when we do. I think part of me is already hoping to fend off the "Oh, we'd love to but with the baby and all..." or the "We were going to invite you but we know that now with the baby you..." I'm sure we'll reject invites in favor of a nap or routine with the kid but... but... but...

Tasty things lately: Homemade Chicken Fajitas!
Fresh avocado with salt & lime
Chips & Salsa
Sweet strawberries with whipped cream
Vinegar in nearly any form
Cinnamon Sugar on Toast with real butter (as requested by Nephew)
Blood Oranges
Barq's Root Beer (I should make a float!)

My director at work, someone I enjoy working for, is quitting. Two others I'm grateful for as coworkers are interviewing elsewhere as they hate our unit. Sad.
Do we have any ice cream?

My roommate is unbelievably handsome.
Our little baby is going to be so crazy about him. I just know it.

not so subtle...

I'm going to keep checking back on this guide as it gets put together. It has only begun. I have to admit that Mighty Junior and Mighty Goods have given me great gift ideas. I loved the picnic guide.

So Sensitive! (post 1,001)

It sometimes sucks a lot when you're so not over something and the other person is so completely over it. I'm ready to duke it out, man.

I have two teeth that are abscessed and I'm pathetic because one of them I broke months ago at work and the other is exactly opposite it and must have a cavity. They've made it nearly impossible to chew. I had a fever the other day and now I'm like, oh..duh. I swished with lots of warm salt water, sat with a tea bag in my mouth on one of the abscesses, took a couple tylenol, swished as long as I possibly could with a fat shot of whiskey. My eyes were watering from the burn by the time I spit that whiskey out.

I'm embarassingly irresponsible when it comes to insurance (general shit like that) things and I realize now as I'm forcing myself to go to the dentist for the first time in 10 years that I never got a card for my dental insurance so I'm all bleh how do I show proof and then I was looking up providers and there's one 2 miles down the street I'm wondering if he'd see me in the morning? No idea. What are they going to do anyway as I'm pregnant/can't do the x-rays? Serious insane ugh to all of that.

Meanwhile my sister-in-law and nephew are coming to stay with us tomorrow and I'm trying to figure out dentist - maybe sneak it in before my doctor's appointment I have and she left a message while I was swishing whiskey sounding super annoyed and generally huffy about making plans for tomorrow.

Feeling all in all fairly defeated right now.

I'm grossed out by my mouth and irresponsibility right now. Seriously I'm reading about abscesses earlier and it's telling me about how when the pain starts to subside it is because the bone has begun to dissolve and the nerve is dying. Fuck! I'm also annoyed with myself because sometimes patients come in with some insane infection like hello we might need to amputate this shit or at least cut 90% of it out and the doc's goin' holy shit why'd they wait until it got this bad to come in? And here I am (not that this is comparable) -- doing my best to ignore my teeth for months. Oh my god I'm ridiculous.

My mouth has never hurt so bad.

I'm coming back here now after posting this a bit ago to say I seriously like.. need a hug or something. I want my mom.

Morning Sickness

I still puke. What the hell? So beyond annoying. I puked Easter morning at my mom's and am strongly considering it again post-publish here. (Post publishing post?) heee!

What.

I would normally be at work right now about to settle in for report but staffing called me a little after 5 and said...would you like to stay home a few hours and come in at 10:45 instead? I hugged her through the phone and stretched in preparation for the sleep-in. However, I think I got so excited about sleeping in I couldn't sleep so I've just been up since then. I also feel like straight ass but that's not really a new development. Won't you be glad when I stop complaining?

I'm looking forward to the dropping-o-the-baby as maybe the heartburn will lessen? My lungs will have no idea what to do with such room for expansion.

In all seriousness..while I often feel disgusting, I'll miss this. It's been such a huge learning experience so far (that part won't stop) and I'm amazed by the human body. I'm like..seriously? How does it know?

Doctor's appointment tomorrow. Even with the swapped due date there's something like 31 days left (give or take a few weeks..RIGHT?) aha. I just sort of let this past week go unnoticed in my counting. It will come. I'm not in a rush. I'm excited - don't get me wrong, but not having those "get this thing out of me" thoughts, even during the vomiting. Vomiting is so old hat now. I hardly even notice.

Stretching.

I don't even know now. Week 35? 36? 34?
It matters not. Just keep getting land-dweller lungs and gettin' fatter, bb.
That middle photo is a section of the row of daffodils that surprised us out back.

Feeling super grumpy.
Think I'll take my camera out and look for evidence of Spring.
Will keep my camera tucked away if it snows this weekend.
I feel isolated today.
I need something.

Fascinating. (not really)

On a daily basis I want to eat large amounts of chips & salsa. Today we went out for lunch with S & S & N (good people) haha (do people still say that or..? I don't know) soooo..I ordered a canneloni thing and a few bites in was just totally over it-felt like I'd eaten an entire pizza alone and ick. It's in a box in the refrigerator now.

We went and got some groceries and after downing 4 Tums to try and neutralize the canneloni I can only sit here and think about which thing out of our assortment I want to eat. Do I want to make the yellow curry rice? What about those frozen pot stickers? I could have an enormous bowl of cereal. Ooh, I purchased more salsa to eat too. Maybe I'll try one of those new granola bars? The ones with chocolate and orange. Yeah, those candy bar things basically. What good snacks should I take to work tomorrow? Should I fix a tupperware bowl of salsa and pack a little bag of chips? We didn't get juice boxes. We should've gotten some juice boxes. Who am I kidding? When will I have time to snack at work?

So insanely ready for spring. Daffodils coming up in the back - good sign, right? S & S & N leave for a cruise Friday. They're going to Panama and Belize and stuff. I was looking at pictures of Belize last night - wow. Oh glorious sunshine. I need it. I've deemed it the magical energy source for my body. I'm stuck in an unmotivated, worn out rut. Ick to me!

Tomorrow - work
Friday - work
Easter weekend, eh? I have a pink dress.
I also have pink knee socks.

I am so pregnant.
Awhile ago the middle of my stomach came to a point while the sides just sloped right down. I couldn't imagine quite what position the hybrid might be in to create such a show. The cat is stretched out asleep next to me and in similar fashion Roommate behind him, having just fallen into sleep. They're nearly spooning.

Free Popcorn

The liquor store we occasionally go to frequent has free popcorn. The last time we stopped in I grabbed a bag and nibbled the five minutes we were there. Once we got home the popcorn went untouched and today I finally took the little paper bag outside and dumped it in the yard.

Here's Chipmunk in load mode:



Here he's all: WHAFF?



And now after unloading.



Will get more free popcorn from now on.

There is a chipmunk in our backyard. It has a little hole it has burrowed into the ground. Also, it stuffs leaves into its cheeks and then scrambles

down its little hole to do some interior decorating.
Crazy go nuts. Sometimes to spare my roommate or perhaps you I read pregnancy message boards. Big mistake. I'd say about 90% of those shitheads are like 17 and under and say shit like, "my bf cummed in me 30 min ago culd i be pregnt now?" Fuck. I'm blogging this on all fours because it feels more comfortable. Saddle up. WHAT? I went this morning and bought us some bagels. I was in a fit of starvation/simultaneous nausea and bought 6 bagels, each a different kind and I was dreaming of the cream cheese I'd slather on them and then at home I ate half my bagel. Roommate was a champion on bagel consumption though. I'm on a soundtrack kick and am currently listening to the Juno soundtrack. I still haven't seen the movie. One of my favorite songs on this soundtrack is "A Well Respected Man" by the Kinks. ha. It's so good. It's been so good, ya'know? Like..been good. It done been good.

Fucked up. I'm in a crazy loop. Roommate is downstairs all unloading the dishwasher and shit while I'm up here on all fours. What gives, man? Let's get this party started. "Cause he's better than the rest....and his arm sweat smells the best.....'cause he's oh so good and he's oh so fine and he's oh so healthy in his body and his mind. He's a well respected man about town."

I told work my last day before poppin' out this hybrid thing is April 11. If nothin's happenin down south though I'm going to pick up shifts maybe 'cause as much as I want to believe we can live on breastmilk and love, I'm not so sure. Also, I was going to take off the standard 6 weeks. My director told me that technically she could start looking to replace me if I was gone 12 weeks and I said ok what about 11 and she said that at 11 I'm safe and I thought, hm is she only following the rules reluctantly and she'd be pissed if I took off that long? Shit man, this is our first kid and Roommate is home and this is time we never get back!!! If we can swing it financially (holy shit) I just might do 11 weeks and love up on my roommate and kid like crazy go mad. The next kid I'll just latch onto my national geographic boob and take it to work with me. ahahahahaha.

Stupid.

Going in to the doctor managed to make me feel like a moron. I saw someone other than my normal doc and she said, "We call these the MOP's. You're experiencing the normal miseries of pregnancy." Okay. Thankfully, Roommate doesn't roll his eyes at me when I'm feeling like this. I'm grumpy now. We stopped and got a few CD's - a vice to make both of us feel better. We also ate at Planet Sub. I may or may not have come home and barfed. This morning, however, I ran a bath to ease the back and shortly into it suddenly heaved. This was insanely disgusting and I found myself literally awash in vomit and mucous. Ew. I'd used all the hot water in my bath so I washed myself off in a cold shower. What a lovely day. Does it make your eyes bleed to read about my grossness and complaining? I'm going to lay back in my bed now and listen to the Lost in Translation soundtrack.

Well UGH.

I'm feeling totally less-than-stellar today and have this weird strong/radiating back pain that I've not had before. My back aches all the damn time so no biggie but this is different and strong enough that it's making me nervous. So, I called my doctor's office and they want me to come in so they can check my cervix. I felt better when they said nurses tend to blow off things they shouldn't. Also, I'm disappointed because after some questions from me today she told me my doctor had adjusted my due date after seeing my ultrasound and they have my due date listed as the 25th of April, originally the 17th. Ugh. I realize baby will come when it's comin' but I'd sort of stuck to that date as a roundabout time, realizing it could happen before or after. However, should I happen to go into labor in the next few days or be in labor today (I'm so not in labor), they would definitely stop it as I'm a couple days before 35 weeks. She said anytime after 35 weeks they would let me go ahead. Again, I do not at all think I'm in labor right now but I do feel --- not right.

Where has Parrish been?

I have been missing Parrish Baker's blog. However, I was delighted this morning to find that he had posted yesterday! It looks like perhaps Parrish has been busy having a life outside of his blog. (people do that?) Hurrah, Parrish and Bonnie!! (I couldn't get the comments to work so consider this me leaving you a comment).

Needing explanation..

Um yeah, so hi.
I need help understanding what has happened here.
The hybrid is a new beast entirely today.
I am totally in awe.
It feels insane.
We're in week 35.

Hey guess what! This post is a gripe about work instead of being pregnant or both!

A girl I went to nursing school with works on my floor. She's a total ray of sunshine and I always look forward to working a shift with her. We worked together yesterday. Today I was off and she was on. We often find one another in gmail and chat about work and life in general. I talked to her a bit ago about the whirlwind shit-storm of a day she had. It was, sadly, a peek into what tomorrow is going to look like and suddenly this minor illness I'm feeling (generously shared by Roommate) is feeling much more severe. I seriously walked away while talking to her to take my temperature. Damn. No fever.

Found via Holly Rhea

If Celebs Moved to Oklahoma

I <3 Holly Rhea

When I drive home from work in the dark of night I pass Wonder Bread.
You know there's something intrinsically wonderful about the smell of fresh baking bread but it's another phenomenon when it's nighttime and you're driving in your car.

Implore you

What does that even mean?

I feel myself dreading work in a big way tomorrow. The days are okay, just very very long and when the alarm goes off at 5:30 and I start thinking about how I'll return home by 9 or 9:30 at best I just can't hardly bring myself to do it. I want to know what gets you pumped up? There are things I do or consider and here are a few.
1) good music though generally this is in the car 'cause I'm usually rushing so much I never make it near a music player
2) i get things prepped the night before and feel good about it, picking scrubs in colors that are happy (sometimes)
3) think of good snacks I can take (something I rarely do - again with the rushing)
4) try to get myself to GET UP EARLIER in order to wake up, shower slow, get ready slow, take my time - instead I usually jump up, immediately stumble to the shower and turn it on to get hot while I go pee then hop in, scrub fast, hop out, brush my teeth, moisturize my face and itchy belly, get dressed, sorta fix my hair? and go go go out the door while praying nothing delays my drive in.
5) think positive
6) wear my superhero necklace nearly everyday as it makes me happy
One thing that would really boost my day would be going outside to eat lunch or something but that's just not possible.

Do you have some tips for me? Sometimes the hardest part is mustering up my confidence and also the endurance to last all day. Forgive the complaints but my pregnant body just struggles to stay strong through the day. It's painful. One thing I really must do to combat this is eat more and eat more often.

Random
When you retrieve laundry from the dryer do you start folding as you take it out or do you take the whole pile to another location and then fold it?

What have you been eating that's delicious lately? The impending transition (right? it's coming right??) of seasons has me wanting new tastes - fresh things.

And this perhaps should be its own post but what did you (or your partner) take to the hospital when the baby was coming?
The one thing I know I want is music. This will more than likely be in the form of an ipod and ear buds but I think I need it. I have some other things in mind but... tips? Also, I pack light.

What makes you feel better when you've got a raging cold? Roommate is sick and feeling quite miserable.

What motivates you to clean and organize?

Feeling run down, obviously - lacking motivation.

Trying to decide when to take off in preparation of baby but also scared because I haven't been at my job a year which means 1) I have no FMLA/maternity leave/etc. I'll be using some "personal leave" or something? So technically, they don't have to hold my job. 2) I have only about a week's worth of paid time off, meaning 95% of my time off will be unpaid and I will get billed for insurance as there will be no paycheck to deduct it from. Oy. My plan is to work right up until baby's about to come but my body doesn't like that idea. Scary.

Share your wisdom with me.

Registered

Well. I did the baby registry thing today. If for some reason you are interested in seeing the registry and I determine you're harmless then I'll give you a link. Or, if you already know my name I'm registered at Target. There's a ton of stuff on there which I felt awkward about. I mean, I don't want to look like a greedy git but I also wanted to give options, right? Sadly all the gear I registered for (Combi Wasabi) is out of stock and the website gives no estimation as to when or even if they will be back in stock.

Hurrah!!

Baby Girl Preu has arrived! She sounds like a champion - as does her mama. Yay! Way to go Preu family! Congrats, Ro on the big brotherness. You'll rock that position.


UPDATED: Joining the Awesome -- There are photos and her name...Revealed!

Weekend Jump

Good times had by all at Mom's house. Today I'm going to see some younger cousins in from out of town. One of them is 19 and just had a baby. She's started doling out the advice to me. She let me know I'll soon realize how tired a baby can make you...

Speakin' of babies: Can't wait for an update!

I was proud of myself for getting up so early this morning and doing a few productive things but finally realized the time change when I opened the laptop. Heh. Oops? It always happens after I've started remarking on how lovely it is for it to be getting light outside earlier. Ah well, I like the reverse of that as well...longer evenings.

I hit the jackpot yesterday when I opened a bag I hadn't used since we went on vacation to Portland/San Francisco. The outer pocket held a rub-on fragrance I'm in love with and a little pot of lip gloss I also love. How fun! It was like getting brand new stuff.

Last night I dreamt of the Bass Pro Shop and baby names and steak and triplets.
The sun is just lovely this morning.
I ate my baby's weight in corned beef and cabbage yesterday.

Friday Fotos

I know, I know...another cat picture, woo.



These two cuties were sitting on the porch while it snowed this morning.




34 weeks

Well hi there!

Whew. What an incredibly long week this has been. I worked 3 twelves in a row and by day 3 I thought the baby might just fall out. Those days are so hard on my body. Man. I was glad I had a doctor's appointment today as I found myself bleeding at the end of work yesterday. After a thorough finger-check at the doctor's office I am found to be firm and not dilating. Ok, cool. She asked that I stay pregnant another month.

After the appointment, Roommate and I had lunch together, a luxury not often come by when he's working. We ate soup leisurely and then came home where he is now sprawled on the couch asleep in the sun. Aww. I love it so much. He's beautiful.

Tomorrow we're going to my mom's for corned beef and cabbage. How very Irish of us. I'm also planning to bottle-feed one of her new baby calves. Note I said BOTTLE-feed.

This bit of snow can totally just lick my butt. Get on, I'm so done with you.

Baby Preu, where are you? How awesome is that nursery? It makes me feel happy.

What I've been eating..

Saturday night my brother-in-law came over (Roommate's identical twin). He and Roommate sat at the table and drank a bit, talked a bit, and we all listened to music a bit. I was drinking some Lady Grey tea with a splish of cream in it and I told them both I wanted a piece of Grandma Cake to go with my tea. I couldn't quite put my finger on what Grandma Cake might be but something super simple, maybe crumbly on top, maybe a few spices, just simple. I remembered a super simple cake I'd seen on Orangette and the mere description left me wanting some. This is 'Busy Day Cake' and it was perfect. It took me a few minutes to stir together and then it was in the oven. I ate a piece warm with strawberries piled on top and a cup of tea on the side. I had the same thing the next morning for breakfast.

I've been pretty much at a loss on things to cook and eat so flipping through Nigella Lawson's "Feast" had me planning all sorts of things. There's just a way that she eats I enjoy. It makes me think simple and I start imagining all the bits I can put together and nibble. I was...inspired! Tonight I made her 'Pasta with Ham, Peas and Cream." (recipe off to the right in the sidebar) I didn't have any ham so I cooked up a bit of pancetta that I'd been meaning to use somehow. I can't play this off as low-cal, nor do I care to. It's simple, a few ingredients warmed and stirred into a meal. It's a dish Doc would be proud of. Mmm..

Pregnancy Milestones

March 3, 2008 will go down as the day my boobs started leaking colostrum and Roommate put the crib together.

Updated to include a photo of the finished product a little over an hour later:




Yes, crib has blue accents; no we do not know this baby is a boy.
Yes, the crib is the only "completed" part of the nursery.
No, Roommate did not swear once.
And finally, no, we are not putting a mattress in there.

Participating in Baby Preu Watch 2008

Mucous Plug Evicted

Waiting

I'm seriously excited for them.

They did a bang-up job on the first one. Err, no pun intended?