Hokies, Herbie and Hormones

Last Thursdsay night was either going to be a chance for redemption, or a nail in the coffin of our season. Most weren't too optimistic. I cringed as I heard Herbie declare Clemson as the best One Loss Team in the NCAA. Kirk's comments from the BC game were fresh in my mind. I still felt the sting of his disapproval and disappointment. But now, well, we've kissed and made up...



As the night went on, I cheered along with the VT faithful as Herbie lavished his praise on the Hokie porgram, particularly Bud Foster. I haven't enjoyed a football game that much in a long time. Congrats Hokies! (Smoooooch Herbie)

All I needed for a perfect weekend was for Miami to beat GT. Bah. I didn't get to watch this game because of another discrepancy between what is shown as BLACKOUT on ESPN map and what is actually blacked out. But watching the bottom line, I had hope... and then the 'Canes blew it. Blew it big time. God I hope we crush them on Saturday.

Due to the ESPN problem, I called Adelphia again hoping to at least get my money back for this week of Gameplan. Well, to my surprise they agreed to refund the whole season! What does this mean? It means they are liars. Either they lied when they previously told me it was IMPOSSIBLE to refund the season, or they just lied to me on Saturday, in order to shut me up. I hope it's the former and the not the latter. That way I get a reasonable cable bill for a month. But I must say I will be slightly shocked if it works out that we actually get our money back.

But not as shocked as I am to find out that cervical cancer is caused by a certain type of common virus. A virus! I didn't know that. Luckily this drug company found a treatment which made it fiscally advantageous to make a super annoying commercial to let everyone know, so they can get rich selling pills! Whew! Lucky us. Excuse me while I go tell someone.

Sorry, but that commercial is pervasive on Mommy TV (aka TV from 10am-4pm) and it drives me nuts. Like it's some sort of PSA...we aren't IDIOTS...

So I am annoyed by commercials again. This usually signals a change in hormone levels. Could this be it!? Am I ready? Hell No I'm not ready! Last week I made a list of crap to do. Probably has 20 things on it. This morning I looked at it and I've done 2. 2! And this morning I had a doctor's appointment and was happy to know I could get something crossed off...pre-register for the hospital...but they were out of the forms. Crap.

And I've been having contractions. Not just the tight Braxton Hicks kind, but the painful, ugh, ow, kind. They like to come at 3 in the morning or so. I have 2 or 3 of them about 15 minutes apart, and then they go away. Fun. Each time I'm convinced this is the beginning of something...which of course it is, it's just that the end is still 3 weeks away...I think.

Baby Boy is still without a name. You may have noticed the name Fredward being tossed around. Don't worry, we are not naming our son Fredward. J's sister Amy came up with that as a combination of my Dad's name FRED and J's dad EDWARD...so it's been kind of a place holder. We have a list of 7 names. I think we'll just go to the hospital with it and pick then. And NO I'm not telling you what they are. At least I don't think so. If I do, I may have to come up with ground rules for feedback...like you can't tell me which ones you DON'T like, just the ones you really like. I don't want any negativity, because I like them all. Hmm...I'll think on it.

Off to go get some nursing pads and try and guess how big my boobs will be once my milk comes in and buy a bra or two.

We are a sorry sight. If my whining and complaining about the discomfort of baby belly weren't enough, J tweeked his back. So we both spent Sunday on the couch wincing and groaning.

This weekend was supposed to be the final nursery furniture building weekend, but due to Js injury it only seemed appropriate to put it off another week. His back was compromised during the moving of the carpet for the nursery, so a little bit is done. Though now the door won't close. Bah. I know "readying the nursery" is supposed to be fun and something a new mama looks forward to, but I'm having trouble getting motivated. Maybe it's because there are so many stairs between the nursery and the couch? I'm counting on a surge of nesting instinct to push me through.

Today I bought my binsi skirt! I've talked to a few mama's who didn't like the hospital gown experience (makes you feel like you're sick and it bunches up, not to mention leaves your butt hanging out) and have heard some nice things about this little outfit. Hopefully it will be comfortable. I'll give a review once I'm done!

So besides building of furniture, what is to be done? Well, I think I finally got all the gear I needed. I found a used Arms Reach at Once Upon a Child for the next to the bed. I have diaper stuff, got the newborn disposables as well. Now besides putting everything away once the furniture is built, I need to figure out how all this stuff works! Breast pump, bouncey seat, car seat, stroller, sling....so much! Right now, my stuffed Hokie Bird has been the stunt double for Fredward. His tail makes him less than ideal for diaper practice. I would take a picture, but my battery is dead.

Tonight is our last birth class. Crazy. That means we're close. It's a potluck, so I need to get cookin'! I'm just going to make cous cous, since I'm not sure if anyone is vegetarian. Most likely, somebody is. I hope we exchange email/phone numbers with some people. It hasn't been a real social group. Mostly just gettin' down to business. But there are a few nice couples that it would be cool to touch base with, since we're all going through the same things. I also wanted to start a mama trivia team...since J and I's trivia DOMINATION (we won 3 rounds last week!) will have to end once the little guy shows up. Figured the ladies can go out and leave the babes at home for an evening. Hmm...I'll have to come up with a good team name.

Daddy's Turn
Pump before the Pints

...help me out!

Nobody puts Tubby in the corner

"And the room has 2 double beds?" inquires Mrs. Coldwater Creek as she twists her string of pearls with french manicured fingers.

"No, um, 2 twin beds" Sara behind the front desk says with some concern. She has been checking in wedding guests all afternoon and this Long Island and Connecticut country club crowd seem impossible to please. " We do have a room with a Queen if you'd prefer."

"The girl on the phone said we would have two double beds," Coldwater whines giving her husband, Mr. LL Bean a sideways look.

"I apologize, but we have no rooms with two double beds available."

"So you gave it to someone else," she huffs. "Just perfect."

"Ma'am, we don't have any rooms with two double beds."

"Yes, I see." She snaps.

"No ma'am, I mean none of our rooms have two double beds...we don't offer that particular arrangement."

"Oh, well" the woman was clearly not expecting this particular scenario. "The twins will be fine then."

I had the inkling she was caught trying a little scam...reserve a room and then complain that you actually requested different accomodations, hoping to get bumped up free of charge. Not sure why, she looked like money wouldn't be an issue. But I would also assume a married couple would prefer to sleep in the same bed, so what do I know.

Well, after another delay of someone running up to the desk (even though pregnant lady is clearly next! HELLO?!) to complain about the lack of TV in her room I finally check in. I was a little wary. This crowd seemed awfully hoity-toity to me. I wasn't super comfortable and felt kinda out of place. Not that we were going to the wedding or had to hang out with them, it was just an atmosphere kinda thing. I looked around and saw the staff and suddenly felt like Baby from Dirty Dancing and was wondering where all the guys and gals carrying luggage and opening doors were hanging out later.

This resort was definitely from another era. The Dirty Dancing comparison isn't that far off. I'm sure it had its hayday in the 50's with New York socialites and industrial barons.


But this weekend it was J, me and Tubbs! Yep, even though it was kinda upscale, dogs were everywhere. Gotta love a place that lets the whole family come along. And we had a ball. It really wasn't as fancy as it first felt. Our little cottage was cute, complete with wood fireplace that smoked too much and no TV. That was probably the scariest part...sitting there realizing we were stuck for 3 nights with no TV. But of course, it was a blessing in disguise. It slowed us down and allowed us to just be. Everywhere you went, there's a place to sit and something pretty to look at.







Not a ton to do, but we kept busy playing dominos, eating and walking around. If it were summer and I wasn't a weeble-wobble we could have swam, kayaked, drank from an insanely long wine list and taken a cocktail cruise. They have a pretty extensive kids program which seemed cool, so we're thinking of maybe making a trip back in the future, though I don't think we could afford it in the high season.

I took a ton of pictures.

The first night, there was an amazing sunset...


The second night it got a little stormy, which made for a pretty cool sunset too...


Part of our room deal included golf, so I tagged along with J while he hit the links.



And of course, since it's Autumn in New England, the foliage was beautiful.




All in all, it was incredibly relaxing.

J and I got some quality alone time, probably the last of that for a while. We got to just enjoy each other and think about what big changes are on the horizon. And everyone got to catch up on some sleep...

5 years and counting....

Yesterday, J and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary. It's hard to believe our wedding was that long ago. I know it sounds cliche, but it really was magical. It was the perfect night, perfect place,the perfect people and the perfect man. I am blessed to have found J and can't wait to see where this journey leads.

(insert nice picture of J and I dancing at our wedding....what the hell is up with blogger? Man.)

So last night we had a nice dinner out and then enjoyed the disappointing embarrassment of watching the Hokies. The second half I watched alone, in the bedroom, because J refused to expose himself to the shame any longer. I kinda wish I had turned the channel too, but I always try and have faith...you never know what can happen. This loyalty was rewarded with defensive breakdowns, punk move personal fouls and displays of apathy as a Hokie uniform gets a little boogie time in to Sweet Caroline. The worst was listening to Herbie. He's always been a supporter of our program, but last night he couldn't help but point out our lack of class and professionalism, not to mention our inability to play good football. Beamer needs to get a handle on these knuckle heads.

Ok, enough of that.

Today J and I are heading out to a little resort just south of here. We got a little cabin by the lake and are spending the weekend there to continue the anniversary celebration and have a "babymoon" of sorts. This will probably be our last hoorah before the little guy shows up! It's getting crazy close. I sorta wish we had done this a month ago when I was a little more mobile and comfortable. But better late than never.

We had the tour of the hospital on Monday. The birthing rooms are really nice. The only thing I don't like is that once the baby is born, they move you down to the materinity ward which seemed a little ghetto in comparison. We're trying to figure out what we can bring to make it a little more homey and comfortable. First thing is a lamp, because they have some bad flourscent lighting in there....and maybe a nice quilt or blanket. Too bad they won't let you just stay upstairs in the fancy place.

We got to see two little babies in the nursery while we were there. It was the perfect cure for the anxiety inducing "instrument" introduction we had just recieved. Nothing like a sweet pink little bundle to get the vision of forceps out of your mind.

Have a wonderful weekend!

"If it starts, we won't stop it"

That is what they told me last week since I've made it past the 34 week mark. Makes it all a little more real and not so far away anymore. I am feeling a little unprepared. I need to kick it into gear. I need to go shopping! God, I wish we had a Target.

Believe me, I already have plenty of baby crap. With pregnancy comes a whole world of products aimed specifically at you and your growing belly. But the most common in my home are the books, not exactly helpful in the day to day poop and pee fest of infants. Though they do help determine what is needed. Oh, don't get me wrong, I haven't read them. Or at least not all the way through. I can't seem to walk into Borders without feeling obligated to expand my pregnancy knowledge with the purchase of some sort of literature. But of course, since I don't actually read them, it doesn't expand much...perhaps shrink my wallet is a more accurate description.

Nevertheless, these books do get browsed. Usually this is for one of two reasons:

Something weird is going on. Either I feel funny, look funny or I don't feel or look funny enough. That's when these books get scooped up and I pour over the index looking for things like "shooting leg pain" (thank you baby, for putting your head on my sciatic nerve) and of course, "shingles."

Bathroom. Which as a pregnant woman you are in quite a bit.

Now all these books, as well as TV, other women, and even the doctors speak of the magical 2nd trimester period when you glow and feel wonderful. I admit I long for the previous lightness, dexterity and good humor I experienced in my second trimester. However, I don't think there was anything fabulously different or particularly noteworthy about it. I think it's just the last time you remember feeling normal and able-bodied. Therefore, you develop a sentimental and nostalgic attachment to it. I know I have. Sometime within the last few weeks, my body turned from a round-but-cute tub of baby, into a large, protruding incubator that I can't manuever out of a car without a groan, and can't make comfortable to sleep without a "nest."

The sleep issue has been mitigated by the introduction of the Snoogle! I love my Snoogle. My little nest would not work with out it. 5 pillows and 1 snoogle make an almost comfortable nights sleep.

I have been reassured that this is all for a good reason. The discomfort makes you more appreciative of labor and the end of pregnancy. Perhaps this is all a blessing since last week was "movie night" at birthing class, which didn't exactly make me excited about what is to come. I can't wait to meet the little man, but after the film it seemed a little more intimidating to say the least. Once they turned the lights back on, J turned to me and said "How ya feeling?" with a note of concern. He then added "Boy, I'm glad I don't have to do that." I smiled. Yeah, I kinda wish I didn't have to do that either.

But then I think about all I get that he misses out on. At night (when I'm not sleeping) I lie with hand on my belly and the little guy squirms and pushes up on on me. Part of me wants to nudge J, wake him up, so he can feel it too. I suppose I feel slightly guilty that only I get these constant reminders that he's there throughout the day...little hellos. I've known our son for months now, J has known a belly that gives an occasional jump and start. I am the one that is providing nutrients and life to the little one inside me, and will continue to provide all he needs once he joins us. I am amazed at what my body does, just as a matter of what it is and how it's set up. I don't have to make it do anything, it just knows. It's really mind blowing.

Tonight we have our birth class again. It's the night we visit the hospital. They're going to show us where to check in and give a little tour. I'm excited to see the new birthing wing. Apparently it's really beautiful, with lake views and tubs in every room. It should be funny to see 8 women who are all around 7 months pregnant being paraded around the hospital. I hope they have convienently appointed bathrooms.

Bring on the Poop!

Since I won't be contributing to the household income once baby arrives, I've been trying to become a 'home economist' and figure out ways to save money. One of the first decisions I made was to use cloth diapers. I just ordered my first little stash of stuff and it seems silly, but I can't wait for it to get here! Yes, I am excited about pieces of material designated to contain my son's poop.

It's mostly the prefold diapers and closures like diaper pins and Snappis. Snappies? Well, I am very curious to get my hands on these things. In doing my research, I 've come across them often and I'm still not quite sure how they work, so I only ordered 2, in case they are too advanced for my fumbling, inexperienced mama fingers. Anyway, he only wears one diaper at a time, right?

And in true new mama form, I also ordered a few of the fancy fitted and even a couple All-In-Ones. It doesn't make sense for me to order a bunch of these since they cost so much...I might as well use disposables. But I figured it would be nice to have some cute ones for going out and visits from Grandma. And they are just too cute to pass up. So with the little arsenal I already have, thanks to my fabulous SIL Amy, and the new stuff, I should be all set for a while. Hopefully by the time it comes to restock or go up any sizes I will have my preferred system down. Who knew there would be so many options? Pocket Diapers, inserts, fitted, flat, prefold, covers...I still don't know what will work best for us.

Now, with all that said, I am now declaring that I do not committ or promise that I will stick with this cloth diaper plan. I hope so, but if it's too much, disposables here I come. I can't imagine it will be that tough, but you never know. And I don't plan to cloth exclusively, there will be disposables mixed in, especially at the beginning. I understand the poop frequency and consistancy in the first few days is best handled with disposables.

So now there will be lots of wash to do. Not just once babe shows up and starts pooping, but before hand. The new prefolds need to be washed 3-4 times before they become fully absorbant. So, if your looking for me, I'm in he basment, doing laundry!

Go Team Fredward!

I got home today and read my post from this morning. I'm pretty sure that was my most poorly written post to date. I should proofread before I hit publish. Bah.

So this is a quick one, mostly to get that one to bump on down. Again, I am kinda on my way out. It is trivia night at RiRa. J and I go every week and are joined by a varying assortment of his coworkers. Last week we did the best yet, and tied for 4th! Not too shabby for a team of 4 up against think-tanks of 15. They really shoud put a limit on team membership...you get enough people together and someone will know the answer to any question. Hence, the same team wins every week.

They are called the Pithy Quips. How droll ( is that how you spell that? come to think of if it, is it Quips or Quipts? hm, I guess they are smarter than us...or at least better spellers). Anyway, they have a super annoying guy who always wears a suit and tie. I'm sure it's because he comes from work, but that doesn't make him any less of a douchbag. He is always the one who goes up for tie breakers and acts like an ass. So this week, we were thinking of signing up a fake team called "Lame Tie Guy." That way, when the first round answers are due, the MC will get on the mic and say "Lame Tie Guy, I need your answers...still waiting for answers from Lame Tie Guy."

It would be a hoot.

And Tubbs is next to me and just farted. Loud. I swear he did, really loud.
I love how he always looks at his butt afterwards like he's concerned.

Back from the Bank

I recieved the following letter from ESPN Customer Service in response to the ESPN Gameplan issue

Thanks for writing.

Um, you're welcome?

All games offered on ESPN GamePlan are available to all cable systems and satellite providers nationwide, with the exception of games being televised by the local ABC affiliate or other local over-the-air station.

No shit. It is not a lack of understanding the the blackout concept that is at issue here.

ESPN did not designate your market area as a blackout territory for Duke vs. Virginia Tech on Sept. 16.

NO SHIT! It is the fact that it wasn't shown even though "ESPN did not designate your market area as a blockout territory for Duke vs. Virginia Tech on Sept.16" that is the problem. So, what are we going to do now?

For billing related disputes, you do need to contact your local cable company.

Ok, now I know you didn't even read my email....I DID! THAT IS THE PROBLEM! They said it was your issue.

Further information for ESPN GamePlan can be found on the ESPN Pay-Per-View website (www.espnppv.com) or you can e-mail espnppv@espn.com.

Uh, yeah. I'll head over there the next time I need inaccurate information on what games are going to be shown on the Gampeplan costing me over $100, which I agreed to under FALSE PRETENSES.

Sincerely,
ESPN Viewer Response Team

You guys are worthless.

They probably would have done better to just not respond at all. Perhaps they are trying to give me ammunition against Adelphia by saying THEY are the ones who blacked it out? I don't know. Frankly, after the results of the Hokies weekend, I don't care as much.

Luckily I didn't have to watch it...well, not all of it. I was busy trailing J around from beer line to beer line at the big company throwdown. Yeah, tons of fun for someone 7 months pregnant. Robert Randolph and the Familiy Band played! And I couldn't even go in the basement to listen because baby got freaked out by the bass. He wasn't diggin' the vibes...or perhaps totally diggin' the vibes. Either way, he was trying to bounce out of my belly button, so I took it as my que to leave.

Oh, a party like that would have been so much fun a year ago. I had a good time, but it just wasn't the same. I feel a little guilty and selfish allowing it to depress me. Well, next year we hope to get the grandparents up for the weekend to babysit so mama can partake in some of the free wine.

Hopefully I'll be around a little more. I'm about to head out the door, I have a couple days of work at J's office, then I'll really be done. There is a lot to write about! I have assembled all my diaper crap. Started birthing classes. Can't see my feet and have some gripes about the Thursday night TV line up and other self-indulgent mindless crap!