What Now?

4 days overdue.  While I've known for months that a due date is a date to hold with an open hand and not a tightly clenched fist, it's still discouraging to pass that date up and realize that you're still as large as ever.  Today is the first day of maternity leave for me.  While I could probably try to pick up more shifts at work and push the start date back a little bit longer, part of me dreads going into work and hearing "What are you doing here?" and "You're still pregnant?".  As if those thoughts don't go through my own head often enough throughout the day.  

We have tried everything to get this baby out.  Everyone has their stories of what worked for them to induce labor and they all feel free to share them with me.  Other than resorting to castor oil, I do believe we have tried it all: spicy food, LONG walks, scrubbing floors, physical labor around the house, sex, having my membranes stripped/swept by the midwife, acupressure, resting, and the list goes on.  Today I'll try the chiropractor and see if that does anything (if nothing else, it will help my poor pelvis to get realigned, as it HURTS to have a baby sitting this low for this long).  The frustrating part for me is that I've had good contractions 3 or 4 times now, but nothing that sticks around longer than a few hours.  But they're the kind of contractions that you have to breathe through, that hurt like none other, but I always hesitate to call the midwife.  The nurse on the phone today informed me that the next time I get those going, I need to call and see about coming in during those contractions and maybe having my water broken to keep things chugging along.  My body is certainly ready for this baby to come out- 4+ cm dilated, effaced, baby is REALLY low.  Even the midwives have been surprised the 2 times that I've been in that I haven't pushed this little pot roast out yet!

From an emotional standpoint, I've been ok with having these extra days to get things done and to enjoy time with friends, family, and Snugs.  It's been incredible July weather- sunny, high 70s, no humidity.  We had the chance on Sat to nearly finish our fence (photos to come eventually) and do outdoorsy projects.  We went to the rodeo on Fri evening out in Hamel- it's amazing how you don't have to go too far from home to have a small town cultural experience!  I feel pretty good and energized, so it's easy for me to keep moving.  For all of these things, I am incredibly grateful.  But I am still a hormonal, overdue lady, so I did have several breakdowns yesterday, one of which was triggered on our walk.  I saw this couple walk past us with a tiny 1-2 week old baby in an orange BOB stroller just like ours and the sight of them pushing their baby at a brisk pace while I lumbered along was enough to induce tears.  I kept thinking that it should have been us pushing along a little tyke in the orange BOB. 

For now we wait.  And do a lot of laundry to pass the time.

Unplanned Bliss

Reflections between contractions (is this really it or is it a false alarm like several weeks ago?)...

Our plans to head to the family cabin last weekend were cut short by the midwife's news that being dilated to 2-3 and 90% effaced meant I should stay close by home.  I"ll admit that I was a little ticked off.  But as the weekend began with Snugs taking a half day off on Friday, we quickly realized that we had an entire 2.5 days with NOTHING planned.  That NEVER happens for us.  Our weekends consist of work at the hospital for me, gigs for him, church responsibilities, gatherings with friends and family , etc.  To rest and just 'be' on a weekend doesn't usually happen unless we leave town.

In retrospect, it was the best way to spend our (likely) last weekend together before becoming a family of 3.  Since I am working this holiday weekend that we're currently in, it was blissful to have an entire weekend with my honey...finally went to eat at Victor's 1959 Cafe for some tasty mango pancakes, worked on little projects around the house, went to a movie at the last minute with Lyndi and Aaron, sat outside and for once just enjoyed our deck (instead of working in the yard), ate ice cream pie in our new adirondack chairs out in the front yard (Snugs spent many hours working on those chairs- so fun to actually use them).  That, combined with the perfect summer evenings, made for some sweet memories that will forever live on as the best married weekend we've had yet and the last full weekend that was "ours" before starting life with kids.  

Oh well.

I burst out laughing when I saw that my last post was March 7. What can you do?
I am in a mad state of spring cleaning/purging. The anticipation of baby put us into motion...turning the office into baby's room, which then meant trying to find spaces throughout the house to move the office stuff, which then meant getting rid of other items to make room for the office items, which then turned into a housewide purge of stuff in anticipation of a garage sale in a few weeks. It's like an avalanche, all started by trying to transform one room. And it makes me wonder, how do we have so much stuff and why?? I must say, the icing on the cake is the glorious spring warmth and the need the be outside, clearing the leaves away from my gardens, discovering that underneath lie tulips, bleeding heart, coral bells, etc. And a writhing pile of tiny bunnies in my garden. Not a fan of that.
So with the purge of the spring and the awakening from winter comes the lack of writing. Oh well. I do what I can.

Finally!!

I was reading our neighborhood newspaper today and found out that Whole Foods is doing a recycling program with a community group and it's for #5 PP plastics. It's about time!! I have been saving up #5 plastics in my basement and in my "containers" drawer, in the hopes that someday, I'd find a way to recycle them. I can't stand throwing away those big yogurt and sour cream containers and while I find other uses for them (freezing chicken stock, using them in the garden with the bottoms cut off to protect new little plants, etc), they're getting to be too plentiful for me.
I wondered when someone in our recycle-happy city would come out with a program like this. In fact, just a few weeks ago, I was bemoaning this very fact to my family and friends while we were at the cabin. My thought is, if they can create these plastics, why can't they come up with a way to "uncreate" them or turn them into something else? The science, I argued, must be out there- it's just a matter of who is going to pay for it. I personally think the companies who create/use the plastic should be held responsible for the recycling or disposal of these items. But, that aside, at least someone is creating a program for this!! That should quiet me for awhile.

Near the Bitter End

The pickles are almost gone!! Only two left. My mom gave me this fantastic recipe a few years ago for pickles (not the canning kind- I'm not that talented!). She and my dad grow an excess of pickling cukes to feed her canning habit (and she's an award-winner!) and they pass the extras on to me. I make pickles and put them in a 5 qt ice cream bucket and they last throughout the next 10 months or so. Or at least they used to. Being the preggo lady has caused me to binge on pickles some days and now I'm at the bottom of the pail. Needless to say, I am ready for July and the cukes, so that I can make more!
The magic recipe (it hardly takes any time to make these).

Refrigerator Dills

Cut a large number of pickling cucumbers into spears, round, or leave small ones whole
1 tsp alum- place on bottom of bucket
1 lg onion, diced
4-6 garlic cloves
1 tsp mustard seed
4-6 dill heads

Place all of the above in the 5 qt ice cream bucket.
Heat:
1 1/2 qts water
1 pt white vinegar
1/4 c (large 1/4 c) canning salt
Pour over pickles while hot.
Let stand for 3 hrs.
Cover and refrigerate for at least one week.

This recipe will last all winter long and the flavor gets better as they sit longer. I know that my friend Mimi added some other flavors to this recipe- I want to say jalapenos or extra garlic- to add some extra zing.

Three Years and a Final Frontier

It's been 3 years today since we closed on our house. I remember being in TOTAL panic mode, wondering how in the world we were ever going to make mortgage payments. This was the biggest investment I'd ever jumped into and I was hyperventilating for days prior to signing the papers. But we have now made it through 3 years of payments, including adding on a home equity loan so that we could do the basement. And not a-one has been late. I'm so proud of us!


In the course of those 3 years, I have hemmed and hawed over paint colors and slowly, I have made my mark on every room. I'm not one to move into a new space and paint every surface immediately. It takes me awhile to decide how I want a room to look and feel- decorating comes about as naturally to me as ice skating- incredibly slowly and with much pain and agony. Over the last few weeks, we took on the final frontier of the rooms- the first floor bathroom. Heinous is the only way that I can describe that room. Why would anyone choose beige tiles to go with white fixtures and a white tile floor? Why would they choose cheap and crappy tiles that crack? Why would someone strip off wallpaper, not clean the backing off the wall very well, and then paint purple over that, only to see the paint start to streak down the walls due to the poor cleaning job? Why would someone choose a light fixture and a faucet that are brushed nickel to go with the very large chrome mirror that's fixed into the wall? So many bad choices and so little money to do much to it. So, short of us gutting the bathroom (not an option right now), we did what we could: sanded the walls, primed the ceiling and walls so that the wallpaper backing wouldn't bleed through and create more streaks in the paint, painted a muted beige color to go with the tiles, hung a new shower rod and curtain. While it's still the same ugly tile and vanity, it feels at least fresh in there and I no longer feel like I am being attacked by a purple waterfall while getting ready in the morning. Our next step is to get rid of the hideous metal ultra-mini-blinds with the rust all over them. So, for about $75, our bathroom is as good as we can get it...for now, that is.


And might I add that Benjamin Moore's Aura paint is the greatest thing I have discovered yet at our local hardware store. It goes on like yogurt, is so easy to trim with, doesn't splatter at all, dries quickly, and has low VOC. What's not to love? And even better, I know that I'm helping out my local hardware store by shopping there instead of Home Depot. The guys and one gal at the store know me by name, know which project I'm working on and are so knowledgeable about everything in their store (let's compare that to the pissy employees who have blown me off at Home Depot and who act like I am ruining their day by dragging them away from their computer to get some questions answered).

Good intentions

I always have such great intentions of writing long essays here, but rarely do I get around to it. When I'm cleaning or cooking, I create blog updates in my head. The problem is that they never really make it out of my head and onto the screen.
Here's a great example: 2 weekends ago, Snugs and I went to the cabin with my parents for a wintery weekend. I've been meaning to write about it since we got back...and I have yet to do it. I feel a bit sheepish writing about it so long after the fact, but I've promised myself that I WILL do it.
On another delayed note, my appt this past Mon with the midwife went well. There was a student midwife working with her (from the U)- she was fantastic. They both were. I've gained 3 lbs, which makes 6 total. I was feeling as proud as a peacock until she informed me that she'd like me to gain 35 lbs TOTAL, since I started on the low side. I all but fell off the chair when she told me that. I'm hoping that the next 29 lbs are easier to put on than the last 6. And they clarified the "soft cheese" question for me- yes, it's ok to eat it as long as it's pasteurized. Which is good news, since I've been eating it for the last 18 weeks, even without their blessing.
Will write the cabin synopsis soon.