Because I felt I needed to accomplish something

I am not incapacitated even though I'm exhausted from no sleep.  So I thought I should get something done at home today.  Nope, not laundry.  That would be too easy.  No, I decided to start decorating the garland at about 8:45 tonight.  Yes, I'm a night owl. 

Now I have to pack it up for tonight and get ready for bed.  *rolling my eyes at myself*

36 weeks

Yes, I've become that poster, the one with the boring weekly updates and apparently no thoughts other than 'this is where I am'.  lol

My latest m/w appointment went well even if it had to be postponed a day because of a birth.  Not mine, obviously.  I met another m/w in the practice and it could be one of the 2 who will attend my birth.  We went over a few items, will do the GBS test next week, and got a requisition for an u/s.  She was certain his head was down but because she felt his feet and legs in a weird spot, running across my belly, she wanted to make sure what she was feeling was a head and not a bum.  His h/b was in the 140s but spiked to the 160s because he got annoyed when poked by the m/w.  His heart was fairly low in my belly so the m/w was sure that his head was low.  She was unable to get a measurement past 34 weeks because I'm so short in the body.  My uterus is growing as my photos can attest but it has gotten to the point where they can't feel it past a 34 week measurement.  Just another oddity about my body. 

I had the u/s on Friday.  Baby is measuring on time, exactly 35w6d that day.  His h/b was in the 130s that day.  He was busy practice breathing which I couldn't really detect on the u/s screen so I just took the tech's word for it.  The u/s did confirm that he is head down (yay!) and that his legs are in a bit of a weird position.  He seems to keep them in a jacknife position or sort of like an Olympic diver's pike position.  That would likely explain why my belly doesn't protrude an awful lot for 36 weeks and why the m/w thought it felt like he was sitting across my belly.  Baby's estimated weight was 5lbs 1oz on Friday but I know that is notoriously unreliable so I'm trying to pretend that this number really isn't important especially since his measurements land him exactly on time for his January 7th due date.  I was a typical 7 lbs something and the donor was too so maybe he'll be just the same.  Or maybe he'll pack on the fat between now and delivery date and I'll end up with a 9 pounder.  Who knows?  This is one thing that is hard to guess. 

I'm starting to feel the fatigue a little more now.  If I sit down and don't get up after supper I just don't get up.  Suits little T just fine since he gets lots of cuddling time in but I'm not getting much done.  I already warned my parents that my house may be disorganized and in need of a good cleaning and I'm really sorry about that.  I'm doing my best but there are things I just can't do any longer. 

I did manage to get the garland and lights up the banister and complete it last night.  Took 2 days' worth of work spread over 2 weekends to do it but it is now done.  That takes the place of a tree this year.  I want to decorate it up a bit but if I don't get that done it isn't the end of the world.  At least the lights are woven into it.  It took a lot longer than I thought it would.  I had to twist strands of garland together to make it fuller, then twist ends of others in to connect them (~36 feet in total), hang it, then put the lights in.  The steps on the staircase make for good seating to do the lights.  lol  It ended up running a couple feet short upstairs but very few people will see that so I don't care. 

Okay, that's it for now.  I am supposed to have my shower tomorrow so I'm sure I'll have updatable info at that point.  And info on my shopping trip to Ik.ea for baby room stuff.  My life is so exciting this month.  lol

Long Weekend

Just dropping in to let my readers know that this was the Thanksgiving long weekend in Canada.  I left on another business trip Saturday night allowing me to sleep in 2 days in a row without having to do much of anything.  Okay, I had to pop 4 pumpkin pies in the oven over at my sister's place but that was about it.  And if the AC flight attendants strike Thursday or Friday there might not be enough time for the feds to pass back to work legislation before my Saturday flights.  So at this point I'm not quite sure if I'll be getting home this weekend or not.  We'll just sit on it and wait.

I met a due date buddy from FF on Saturday morning.  We signed up to do a 'virtual' baby shower but it turns out we're in the same city so we were able to meet up in person.  I don't have my personal computer so I can't share the photo of M and me or the lovely things she put into my gift bag.  Future post.  ;-)

A couple weeks ago I noticed that my bra was really uncomfortable.  The rubbing me red under my breasts type of uncomfortable.  Nothing I did to the bands or the straps has helped.  The little boy seems to be keeping his feet really high contributing to inner organ squishing.  This is definitley not helped by asthma issues which flare up when I go back west.  Nothing wrong with my parents house (even though my mom constantly thinks her house is always filthy, dirty and somehow stinks like cat litter ... um, I have a super allergy sniffer extra ehnhanced by pregnancy and I don't smell any such thing ... and the house is NOT dirty at all - *insert eye roll*).  Nope, this is just run of the mill exposure to allergens from the first 27 years of my life.  And since I have a short torso this is contributing to shortness of breath this week.  I'm used to getting this when my asthma flares up and I can deal with it through using some meds but this is more difficult because it won't just 'go away'.  I've got to figure out how to deal with this for 3 months.  It just freaks me out because it feels very much like a bad asthma problem even though it isn't. 

And for the first time today I had difficulty bending over to dry off after a shower.  I was able to dry off my left leg just fine but the right one?  Nope.  The boy likes hanging out on the right side and takes up too much room for me to bend over correctly.  I'm going to have to figure out a way to do that or, as my mom said tonight, let my legs air dry.  I predict my legs are going to get to gorilla stage levels of hairiness any time now if this keeps up.  Or, at least the right one will be gorilla-like and the left will be fine.  Now THAT would be one attractive pregnant lady right there ...

Pure Exhaustion

(warning - nephew's photo at the end of the post)

Sorry, nothing fun today.  My connecting flight in Toronto was late last night.  Way later than normal.  The way AC organizes their schedule makes everyone scratch their heads.  But when the only option to get back home on Fridays is to take the 00:15 flight (okay, technically Saturday) you take it.  Then the 00:15 flight is delayed until 1:10 am.  When many models of the same plane are sitting at the gates totally unused.  *sigh*  I ended up walking into the house shortly before 3 am last night.

The power went out at some point this morning.  A friend said it was about 7:30 am.  I didn't care.  When I went to the bathroom I just knew it was early and I was getting back into bed afterwards.  When I checked my watch again I thought, okay 10:30 time to get up.  Except ... I hadn't changed the time on my watch last night.  It was still on SK time which is currently 2 hours behind.  So my 10:30 was actually 12:30.  I never do that!  But apparently my body and the baby think I needed to be in bed that late.  I've been lazy all day and I just don't see myself going anywhere, not even for groceries tonight.  I've got enough stashed in the freezer that I can find something tasty and healthy to eat for supper.  Tomorrow is another story.  I've got to figure out lunches for the week.  And I'm going to visit a friend and her little guy who will be a year old when my baby arrives.

The trip was good but it felt long.  My hearings have been going long lately, mostly because I've had newer adjudicators who even a year of doing this work seem to take forever to cover what the more experienced ones do.  Plus I had two 3-hour driving trips tacked on to longer days.  The OT is nice but I'm flat out tired.  I would love to schedule my next trips for return on Saturdays but I don't think I'm going to get lucky.  I think kitty will have to spend time with the vets for my next 1-week long trips.  She's going to be switched to prednisone soon and she absolutely cannot go without those meds.  She did okay this week with my friend but at the end of the week she wasn't eating much.  I expect that was because she wasn't feeling well.  I found a couple of large po.ops upstairs in one of the bedrooms (lovely, kitty, just lovely) so she's definitely having some constipation problems.  But since she actually passed solids more than once this week she's doing okay. But I'm worried about her so I need to check with the vet office.  They're only open until 12 on Saturdays so I'd need to take that late flight back on a Friday night to get back in time to pick her up the next morning.  I don't like leaving her there but if she gets the meds she needs she's happier in the end.  And the vet staff love her and love having her there since they don't usually have pets stay with them.  Not the worst place she can stay.  I am looking forward to stopping travel so I can give kitty her meds regularly.

Other than all of that the trip was good.  I did a little shopping.  I picked out the fleece and flannel for the blanket my mom is making for the little guy.  I also picked up a pattern for curtains which my mom now said she'll sew when she's out here.  Um, okay.  I picked up a few things for things I have to fix sewing wise and some stuff for Christmas crafts I make.  And I when I go shopping with my mom we use her membership card so I get a discount.  ;-)  Otherwise I'd buy stuff here.  I picked up a couple more baby clothing items on sale but in bigger sizes since my house is overflowing with clothes for baby.

And I got to spend time with my niece and nephew.  My niece gets a bit wingy in the afternoons after school but she wasn't too bad this week.  And my nephew is getting more interactive every day.  He has been teething for almost 2 months and it appears one of his teeth has come through.  But he's still a bit fussy lately because of it.  Overall, though, he did quite well.  And he had his first foot bath and pedicure because of his chunky toes not getting along too well with his toenails.  

3.5 months

My niece declared that he looked like a country bumpkin that day thanks to his Jo.hn De.ere onesie, the green overalls and matching hat.  And the next day I saw him? She declared he was a gnome thanks to his green jacket with pointed hood.  She's nothing if not imaginative. 

25 weeks

I hit 25 weeks today and as much as my belly is starting to grow some people still seem to think I've just eaten too much recently.  ;-)  Anyway, I planned a fun post so here it is.  It will be very photo and baby content heavy.

My new leather club chair

But first, here is one of the 2 leather chairs I got for my living room at Ho.me De.pot yesterday.    I've been wanting to buy something for the living room to add to my 2 seat leather sofa bed from I.kea.  I looked seriously at a couple chairs from I.kea because they had removable, washable covers you can change when the fashionable colours do and because they were $149/ea.  But I still had reservations about fabric - cat and child.  Then, this week's HD flyer came out and low and behold my chairs, in brown leather, for $199/ea.  I went to the store yesterday and was sold.  They're as comfortable as the I.kea ones but the back leans away from the body rather than a straight back with the I.kea ones.  Much better.  And when I ordered the chairs and arranged for delivery I discovered that the chairs were NOT $199/ea but $129/ea!  Talk about excitement.  I am so happy to have saved $140!  They arrived today and I attached the legs.  Kitty has already checked out the one hopping up a couple times.  It isn't her favourite chair yet but if I put a blanket on it she'll love it.

25w0d

Okay, on to baby related matters.  Since I reached 25 weeks today and it has been a while since I posted a belly pic here you go.  Please ignore the super busy cotton lounging pants.  I picked them up for $4.97 a few months ago to use around the house as I get bigger.  They still sometimes fall off my waist no matter how tight I tie them.  Oh, and ignore the little bumps on the belly.  That is not the baby doing anything interesting like pushing up against the outside.  Nope.  That is a combination of a rogue elastic band inside the waist and the tie that are all sort of bunched up in the wrong spot ... making me look a little oddly shaped around the belly button.  But if you want to think it is something more interesting than a sewing accident go ahead.  ;-)

And now on to baby stuff.

I don't think people believe me when I tell them I really don't need clothes.  I tell them I literally have suitcases full.  Honestly, I do.  See. 

A suitcase full of baby clothes

This is one suitcase full of newborn and 3 month stuff from both my niece and nephew with the odd thing from 6 months on.  But then there's all this other awesome stuff I have ...

Baby's fleece winter suit

My mom found this cute winter 'snow' suit for baby to get us through the first 3 months of his life.  I still have my fingers crossed for a reasonable winter.  I can hope.

New onesies

New onesies for winter.

Terrycloth sleepers - 3 mo

Terrycloth sleepers I picked up at Car.ter's in the U.S.  I couldn't resist these.

Cotton Pek.kles - 3 mo

Cotton Pek.kles available at Cos.tco in Canada.  Some are from my sister, others from my mom and some were purchased by me. ;-)  These are 3 mo sized.

6 mo summer outfit

A cute summer outfit with matching hat I picked up at Zel.lers.  Soon to be replaced by Tar.get up here.  I must say I wasn't too impressed with my stop at Tar.get.  Did I expect too much?  And why does it look just like a Zel.lers inside, product, decor and organization wise?

Carter's onesies

Car.ter's onesies I picked up at a great price in the U.S.  Same with the next pic.  I picked up a set of 2 pants that go with these.

12 mo Carter's onesies

And I even have some handmade stuff given to me by my sister.  I feel bad that it ended up in my hands largely because people gave her seasonally inappropriate stuff.  My niece was never able to wear these because she was born in summer.  But I guess it is better that someone get use out of them than have them sit in a box forever.

Stuff made for my niece

There is more, much more.  Way more clothing and some non-clothing baby items too.  But since this post is getting a little long and really picture heavy I think I'd better leave it and wait to post a part II.  Unfortunately, I'll be away from my home computer over the next week so you'll just have to wait until next weekend.  ;-)

I'm back ...

Back from another week on the road, that is.  When I disappear like that it is usually because I've been away for work.  I don't have much time to post today as I'm trying desperately to get stuff done this long weekend. 

I got screwed out of the last one by the builder when it forgot to organize contractors to do the necessary work to address outstanding items in my 1 year old home.  Now that almost all of that is finished I can move stuff back into my bedroom.  I was pretty zonked yesterday - arrival home at 2 am, a sick cat who cost me $500 in care yesterday and grocery shopping.  Kitty is fine, she's just old and has a major constipation problem that flares up from time to time.  And yesterday she needed fluids and an enema ... lucky her.  We're getting blood work done again to see if anything with her thyroid, kidneys or pancreas has changed this past year.  But I'm thankful it wasn't worse.  The vet originally told me she would likely need fluids and an enema each day over the long weekend at an emerg clinic.  Kitty would not be happy and my bank account would be livid.  Luckily for her the single enema worked and she was able to come home with me albeit in a very drugged state (sedative required).  I woke up to a much changed and happier kitty today.

I slept in this morning since I couldn't do it yesterday and haven't gotten as much done, volume wise, as I'd like but I've made good progress.  I got the master closet completely cleaned, as well as my master bath and a quick cleaning of my very empty bedroom.  I can now start moving my stuff back into the master area and start working on the baby's room.  I have another book shelf to put together and then move the 2 of them into my room so I have a place for books.  I need more book shelves but I'm waiting until I put in another order with I.kea before I get them.  I do have to take one more stab at removing the kitty urine smell from my bedroom carpet.  Yes, she has accidents and sometimes she gets lazy ... I've purchased another litter hut for her but she has been banned from my room for months now.  My mom suggested trying vinegar first as (1) it is natural and (2) it should work.  So I'm going to try that on the carpet.  And she didn't even pee much there ... it is potent stuff. 

I also got a bit of yard work done today.  I started it a couple hours early and I'm glad I did.  Thanks to this year's water ban my lawn is horrible ... dead horrible.  The parts that got shade are okay now as they are coming back thick and green, greener than the neighbours' who obviously didn't fertilize.  But there are huge patches of dead lawn.  And I know they are not coming back.  I picked up some lawn seed yesterday and after cutting the lawn attacked the front one with seed.  The forecast is for rain tonight and cooler temps most of the week thanks to a cold front that (yikes!) brought snow to parts of Ontario yesterday.  Nothing like that for us but with me being home a week and a half before my next trip + cooler temps I thought this would be a good time to try reseeding.  I spread the stuff out on the front lawn and watered it to help it stick.  I'll be out there every night for a week to water it if we don't get much rain.  I still have to reseed the backyard but at least I cut the grass.  Oh, and I discovered a creature burrowed itself into  my little flower bed in the back.  No idea what it is since I haven't seen a single gop.her out here. That would normally be my first guess.  The stupid thing pulled out one of my sedum pieces.  Luckily I've got 3 plants going strong so it isn't much of a loss.  But I'm still not happy. 

Tomorrow I've got to tackle some cooking so I have lunch for the week and stuff to add to my collection in the freezer.  And get ready for the work week.  And address more stuff around the house.

I'll provide a better update asap but just a warning that it will probably be quite heavy on the baby and child content as per usual after I've been home for a week of work.  I just wanted to provide fair warning for my readers.  Until then, I hope you're having a good long weekend ... for those who get one!

18w1d ... busy, busy, busy

Sorry I've been away readers.  I've just been really busy.  Here is a non-exhaustive list of what I've been up to:

• Getting over that head cold that lasted 3 weeks.  Not a head cold from hell, no, but problematic, yes.
• A week long business trip over a weekend.  Allowed me time to see my niece and nephew and get started on baby shopping.
• Aborted attempt to fly back from said business trip because it was too hot and the airport was using the short runway because of construction on the other.  They couldn't take ANY checked baggage on the flight to Toronto and since I sort of need to fly with my work bag even if checked I volunteered to get off the flight and take a credit which I have a year to use.  I think they removed between 10 and 15 people from the flight.  Stayed overnight at my parents', unexpectedly, but got to see 2 waves of awesome lightning that night.
• 2 weekends working in the yard which has yet to become a garden of any sort.  ;-)
• 1st weekend I decided to work in the back on a Sunday morning.  Holy hot sun when the temp is only 23 Celcius at most!  I was done at noon and hadn't even gotten everything finished.  Thank you stupid sandy soil packed so hard it was like digging through a brick.  Planting completed the next night when it was much cooler.  Lessons learned:  no gardening in the back yard at any time other than the evening AND getting the yard in planting shape is going to take way more work that I anticipated.  More planning must be done this fall.
• 2nd weekend turned into 2 mornings of working in the front yard which is heavily shaded in the morning.  In fact, my entrance is shaded 24/7.  First morning I dug out the weed patch next to the front porch area (we don't get eavestroughs installed by the builder and until a month ago that area of my lawn was rotting from all the water and the only thing that seemed to grow was a crazy variety of weeds ... which I don't want).  Worked up and added soil so I can plant things easily next year.  Then tackled the weed patch under my city tree.  Watered city tree and covered the ginormous hole (way bigger than anyone else's on the street) the sod guys left with cedar mulch.  Awesome tan started developing.  Second morning I finished up the patch in front of the house and covered with cedar mulch to discourage weed growth.  Raked the sad looking front lawn of dead grass (unusually dry summer + water ban = dead lawn) and cut the parts that are actually okay.  Then that evening watered it to see if I can salvage any of it.  Bought extra soil and organic material for yard stuff next year.  I won't have time to just pop down to the store.  
• August long weekend - took the Saturday to do something fun.  I went to the National Art Gallery to see the Cara.vaggio exhibit.  My other bright idea flopped since the Ec.co store in the mall downtown had closed, unbeknownst to me.  No new shoes and must do that in the U.S. in a couple weeks. Bought the best organic oatmeal I've yet found at the health food store a 1/2 block from where I used to live and popped into a French bakery for a couple of pastries which I still haven't finished.
• Cooking and baking up a storm in the kitchen so I don't have to do lots of this while 9 months pregnant and after baby arrives.  On the long weekend I got a pot of split pea soup made.  Not as tasty without the bone but at least I had some leftover ham in the freezer.  Had to discard the other container of frozen ham since it had gone bad.  So, no double batch of soup.  This weekend I made 3 batches of blueberry muffins.  Would do more but I might run out of blueberries.  Besides, I have to catch a plane today.
• Headaches caused by my home builder.  I took a Wednesday off before the long weekend so they could come in and fix the outstanding items from my 1-year inspection.  The guy who booked the appointment forgot to schedule stuff!  I was livid and sent a terse email telling him how I would now be 1 month behind on setting stuff up for my impending baby.  Not impressed.  But drywalling guy came to 'fix' nail pops.  I will have to redo them in the future since they weren't screwed in further, just covered.  They came Friday to do other things and discovered they can't rip up the floor to fix the creaks because the carpentry guys finished at 1 pm.  Rebooked that and insulation installation for the 24th ... An inordinate amount of time was spent moving things over the past 3-4 weeks from my bedroom to the front 2 bedrooms to allow them to access my attic and the creaking/cracking floor.  I feel like I am living out of a suitcase in my own house.  And baby organization is on hold.
• Aborted attempt to get to book club on August 2nd thanks to a nasty headache that developed during the day and just got worse.
• Purchased diaper bag at BR.U.  Got a brown, hobo style one that I can wear cross body which is great since I don't have great shoulders and purses and bags just fall off. 
• Purchased crib mattress yesterday.  Took 20 minutes to find someone to help me ... discover I have to pay then go over to the extra Ik.ea warehouse I didn't know existed.  Pretty seamless once I discovered the necessary process but annoyed there was no one in the children's area for 20 minutes.  Mattress fits snugly and perfectly in the crib.  Discovered some really cute fabric and curtains that I might be able to consider.
• Watching my summer obsessions on TV:  Tr.ue Bl.ood and Roo.kie Bl.ue.  Combine that with raging 2nd trimester pregnancy hormones and all I can say is that the Viking and Officer Swa.rek can visit me any time.  ;-)  I didn't realize I'd seen AS in things before TB but I'm a big enough girl I can admit I've had a thing for Ben Ba.ss since I first saw him on Fore.ver Kni.ght.  Oh boy, that takes me back quite a ways ...

Then there is just everyday life stuff that happens.  Oh, and discovering someone swiped the back bumper of my car that I've had for just over a year and has just 3800 km on it.  *sigh*  Really?  I have to figure out what to do with this one and whether it is worth claiming it or just paying out of pocket with money that should really go to student loans or my baby but what the hell, I must have lots of cash so why not just hit my car parked far away from all the others in the parking lot.  Grrr ...  Nasty status update on FB ensued.

I've been stocking up on things that have gone on sale just so that I don't have to get them for a while.  I had a decent toilet paper collection started but it has grown by leaps and bounds in the past few weeks.  Stocking up on tissues too ... allergies and baby spit up.  And laundry detergent.  I was always mad that I never seemed to be able to hit the sales on the day they started and by the time I got there the next day or day after that there was nothing left.  Seriously, who doesn't work in an area of new houses such that they can line up at the stores and buy all the laundry detergent on the first day of a sale?  I used to be a cashier ... the strange things people do.  Decent sales at a pharmacy and grocery store lately so I've stocked up nicely.

Oh yes, and I told the team at work.  Some people are surprised especially because I haven't been sick.  Um, not everyone gets sick you know.  And our admin assistant, as sweet as she is, can really stop asking me every single day how I'm feeling.  Really, I was 16 1/2 weeks pregnant before you found out and no one cared how I was doing enough to ask every day so it isn't required to check to see how I'm doing every day now that you know.  Only one person touched my belly and I actually like her so I didn't get highly annoyed.  Just a little. ;-)

Okay, now that I've gotten that out of the way I can say that my belly is trying hard to pop out.  Some days it is very flat and others it is definitely more noticeable.  Here it is at 16 weeks before heading out on errands:

Belly at 16w0d

I can't believe I didn't post a shot between 12w and 16w but such is life.  ;-)  And here is the shot from yesterday at 18w0d.  I'm now in maternity clothes because they're just more comfortable but they definitely allow the belly to protrude further.

Belly at 18w0d

I'm off on another business trip today, albeit a shorter one at just 3 nights away.  My parents are going to join me for a couple nights so they can do some shopping at Lee Val.ley To.ols which they don't have in their city.

14w1d & Decor Shopping

I'm still amazed that I'm pregnant, let alone just into my 14th week.  How did this happen?  Okay, I know how 'this' happened.  I just don't know how I could be this far along and still not feel pregnant.  I feel round ligament pain more frequently now but it feels more like I just pulled a muscle instead of a stretching ligament meant to support my growing uterus.  I'm still shocked that (a) I'm pregnant and (b) I'm in the 2nd trimester already.  This just feels so surreal.

The head cold is slowly getting better.  During the day it isn't too bad.  At night it is a different story.  As bedtime approaches I start to get some type of chest or throat issue and I cough an awful lot.  I don't understand because I know that I don't have any kind of infection in there.  I just want this cold to go away. 

I was feeling good enough to get some shopping done and I'm happier than my bank account is.  ;-)  I hate using credit unless I've got the cash sitting in the bank so I usually find myself finding things I like when shopping but waiting to buy them.  Sometimes I wait so long that the stores stop carrying what I wanted.  Much frustration has ensued because of this.  You would think there is some commercial conspiracy to get us to buy things quickly on credit just to keep the economy and banks going.  But I digress.

Umbra's Dotty in Pistachio

I almost ran into this problem with wallpaper this week.  I have this little powder room off the front entrance and was inspired to do something a little fun or funky with the walls after seeing a show home powder room painted in funky colours.  I thought wallpaper might be a good option since my body doesn't always like paint.  I found this at Ho.me De.pot last year and thought it would be a perfect fresh green.  The silver details go great with my fixtures which came with the home.  I would never choose a shiny nickel myself but it was way too much money to change them with the builder.  The wallpaper does the trick.  When 'back home' last week we did a little window shopping and they still had the wallpaper.  But what did I discover when I go to HD here this week?  They didn't have it!  About 75% of their in store selections were beige, beige and beige.  (I suspect people in this town have a problem with decor colour.)  I had to run to another store and luckily they had what I was looking for and the number of rolls I need but I could tell from the tag this stuff has been in the store for almost a year and I think they're getting ready to make way for other stuff ... likely more beige. 

Leksvik crib ends

Then I went to Ik.ea.  I cannot tell you how excited I am that we're getting the country's largest store set to open some time next year.  Yippee!  I needed to get some book shelves to set out all my books but I ended up getting only half of what I wanted because the rest wasn't in stock.  Ugh!  But it gives me a chance to think over whether I want the 3rd one to be short or whether it should be just as tall as the others creating a bank of book shelves on that wall.  I did, however, score a crib.  I was intending on looking at options this weekend while 'back home' but I noticed this one was 50% off.  It is the best looking of the bunch even if it isn't my style or colour.  It is real wood and wood + wood looks good even if there are different colours in the room.  I couldn't say no to a crib for $69.99!  The challenge was to fit everything in my car.  It isn't small or large but I can't spend much on my trips to Ik.ea with a vehicle that size.  (Maybe that is a good thing?)  I discovered that my front passenger seat does not recline back like they used to.  Grrr!  I ended up having to take the one bookcase out of its packaging to fit everything in.

I have to say that it is really frustrating shopping by yourself at a place like Ik.ea and getting no help.  Only after I got the 2 bookcases loaded onto the cart did a staff member ask if I needed help.  And on the way out of the store I had one of my little side tables slide off the cart onto the pavement.  It was a lovely grandma much older than my mom who asked if I needed help.  Very nice of her but what about the younger people?  I did have a man ask if I needed help getting the last bookcase into the car.  Thank you for offering to help!  It wouldn't slide all the way in so I told him I'd take it apart to get the shelves out of the packaging. There was more than enough room for the uprights.  He seemed skeptical but I did it and it fit.  I love shopping at Ik.ea but I hate the loading of larger items because it is so difficult to do by myself.  If I have to do that again I think I'll be getting them to deliver it from the store.

c/o Sooner Plant Farm

Prairie Blue Eyes

I then went to Cos.tco for a few things I needed and walked out with some extra ... isn't that always the case?  I couldn't resist picking up a couple HUGE pots of daylilies.  I hadn't intended on planting anything this year but these were huge and not far from needing to be divided, say in a couple years, so for $9.99 a pot I couldn't say no.  I picked up a Ste.lla d'o.ro which grows well almost everywhere and a Prai.rie Bl.ue Ey.es which is a taller plant with ruffled mauve blossoms.  They'll be sitting on my front porch in the shade to acclimatize to the heat while I'm away.  I'll plant them in the backyard when I'm back.

11 weeks and no news to report

Yep, all is quiet from this end.  I'm taking advantage of the decent weather (warm but not humid plus wind) to get some things done around the house since I got NOTHING done last weekend.  I got 4 batches of blueberry muffins made yesterday and took advantage of my new freezer to get them all frozen. ;-) Got the laundry done yesterday, some vacuuming too.  Today I started tackling one of the front bedrooms.  Most of my things never did get unpacked after I moved last year.  Tip to my readers:  never go on a 1-week business trip on the other side of the country 4 days after moving in, then take a course that takes up all your time over the next 4 weekends, and then take a 3-week vacation overseas a month after you moved in.  Very bad plan for unpacking and organizing.  I'm still living in my 'emergency' unpacking state.  But now I have to get that front bedroom organized. 

I have to get some new bookshelves to hold all the books I have in there and more.  I probably need more than will fit in my bedroom but I'm not sure where else I'll put them.  What doesn't fit on the ones I'm about to buy will have to sit in boxes until they find their new bookshelf homes at some point in the future.  And I discovered oodles of expired cold medication, bena.dryl, and other lovely things.  Also, some hair product and facial stuff that I use but never did get around to unpacking.  Good times.  I'm nowhere near complete, just unpacking everything but I've at least made a start which is better than where I was yesterday. 

Taken at 11w0d

And now for your viewing pleasure a belly pic ... but not a pg belly pic.  No, all you can see here is my PCOS belly which of course regularly suffers from 'the bloat' without pregnancy.  I also had the luck to inherit my dad's round ribcage (unlike my sister whose ribcage is narrow front-back and side-to-side, how nice) so I always look at bit round.  I always joke it is a good thing I inherited the super large chest from my mom's side of the family otherwise my body would just look bizarre, all belly and no boobs.

I have to tell you it was hard to get a good shot doing a self-portrait.  My body and arms wanted to twist in opposite directions.  Obviously no one discussed this with them beforehand. These are my regular clothes.  I'm not quite ready to hop into mat clothes yet even though I have a few.  I like the capri jeans I bought so I might wear them on the plane on Sunday so I'm more comfortable.  Nothing like air travel to cause insane bloating.

I have my NT scan scheduled for Tuesday.  Hopefully the bean will cooperate and we only need to do this once.  I hate having to get up early, particularly around 5:30 am as I am a night owl.  I wish I were doing this in a week or two before the cut off just so I'd get a better updated photo but this is when I was given an appointment.  I'm not expecting to see much growth or difference from 1 week ago.  I also think that my next u/s will be the anatomy scan so I'm going to have to sit tight for quite a few weeks before getting another peek.