Weekend Update

So we've recovered from our candy hangovers enough to blog again. Christmas was a blast! We were blessed with a generous bounty from our loving friends and family. Leah was privileged to receive all manner of movies, books, toys, and treats, wanting to spend time with each one before putting it down to open another. The biggest hits are her Little People garage with accompanying "toy man," several new cars, the fish-themed crib mobile her little brother got, and of course, the empty boxes. Chris is excited to have some new books on investing, the party game Cranium, some new socks and a belt, a power drill (which is a dream for this DIY mom, too!) and of course the Cinnamon Toast Crunch that Santa brought, not to mention a first-generation XBox to satisfy his gaming fix while the 360 is new and expensive. I got some books, new kitchen things including a fantastic bread maker (Hooray!), a couch cover since I can't stand the thought of spit-up saturating our nice new couch, fuzzy new slippers, and much, much more. We are so blessed. Thank you to all our Santas for your generous and thoughtful gifts!

On the baby front, this one is riding low! You may or may not be able to tell from the picture, but this baby has dropped and my shape is much rounder than it was a week ago (and trust me, my innards can tell!) People always have to comment on the size of a pregnant woman's belly (why is that exactly?) and this week the comment of note was "Wow, you're really pregnant!" Yes, thank you for the needed acknowledgement that I have indeed done my time.

Thursday the doctor offered to get me started on the labor train in time to have a tax-break baby and I declined. Am I insane? I just needed to finish things like the laundry, putting together a nursery, putting away Christmas, I still have to clean the oven...it just didn't seem like the right time. But, he's got me scheduled for an induction on the 7th and I'm hoping for the same offer (of stripping the membranes) when I go in again on the 3rd. I like the idea of going into labor on my own, but I don't necessarily want to be pregnant for an entire two weeks or longer. I'm so grateful for a sympathetic doctor!

In honor of having paid my pregnancy dues and in preparation for the dues of labor, I treated myself to some Pre-Baby Pampering yesterday. Thanks to my accommodating husband, I slept in and had breakfast in bed. Then my friend Michal and I had lunch together and got pedicures and pigged out at Cold Stone. Now my toes are ready for baby to come! I needed the warm fuzzy feeling...

At the prospect of possibly having a baby next weekend, it was time to get serious about nesting. I revisited the furniture options for the kids' room and tightened all the screws on Leah's dresser to make it once again usable as a dresser and changing table, I succumbed and bought a second crib on Craigslist, and finally found a decent bookshelf. What a difference it makes to be organized. It's starting to look like a nursery finally! Next on the docket is to clean all the light fixtures, scrub down and vacuum my couch so I can put my couch cover on, stock up on diapers and wipes for two, vacuum and dust the entire house, make a budget for 2008, teach Chris how to blog post so he can put up baby pictures, and the list goes on. I don't exactly get as much done in one day as I ever expect...some things I'm sure will not get done at all! For example, today instead of cleaning I did errands, blogged, and made a pie.

In the mean time, this is my 100th post, we have dinner plans with friends, Chris is enjoying a long weekend sans work or homework, we are glad to have a little more time to prepare for baby and some predictability in when he will arrive, and we are thrilled that Leah continues to be such a good girl.

That's a wrap...