Christmas Greetings

This Christmas, we're not doing any major gift exchanges which is a relief and a blessing for many reasons. First and foremost, we've been so busy with other things (baby-related) that we haven't really had the time to go shopping. Second, we really do want to reduce our "consumerism" and eliminating presents at Christmas time is a great way to do so. There's a big difference between buying something for someone because they NEED it and purchasing Christmas presents because they're just a routine part of the holidays. Half the time, we don't know what to buy anyway and we just end up picking something that maybe isn't wanted or won't get used. Now don't get me wrong - I'm no grinch - any other year I've participated in this tradition just like everyone else and loved it. And we have exchanged some gifts this year in a MUCH smaller capacity than normal. My hope is that this year, we'll change the WAY we give gifts at Christmas and make a tiny difference, if only just in our household...

So rather than focusing on gifts this year, I want to focus on spending quality time with family and friends and be 100% grateful for all the fabulous things, both material and non-material, that I already have in my life. I have the poem, Desiderata, up in my cube at work and whenever I feel particularly crabby, sad or ungrateful, I like to read it to remind myself of what's truly important. So here it is in it's entirely - my non-material Christmas present to you.

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.

We still have some time...

I'm not dilated and the baby hasn't dropped yet...whew! Our midwife thought baby would come maybe in the next 2-3 weeks. It's great news!!!! Now we have a bit more time to finish our "To Do" list...

Baby time???

Last night, I had bloody show and lost my mucus plug (it's actually a bit of a continual process). I was also nauseous this morning and thought I may have had a real (not Braxton-Hicks) contraction this afternoon - it hurt a teeny, tiny bit. But it was all by it's lonesome self and nothing more has happened. I have my 35th week appointment tomorrow morning so we'll see what they say.

Baby may be arriving earlier than expected....a couple more weeks or one week, at least, would be better. I'll keep you posted!

Less than 6 weeks...

It's 10:00 clock on Wednesday night, December 12th and I'm....very, very, very crabby. Hormones, maybe? My stomach is HUGE - I can't take a picture of it tonight because our extremely stupid, idiotic camera which eats batteries faster than we can replace them is dead again. But trust me, it's huge. At about 35 weeks, it's far bigger than week 31 (see below) and I'm a little uncomfortable. I know that it's far bigger because my button down shirts no longer button. I feel decent most of time except at night when sleeping is really difficult.

Actually, I take it back - just let me rant a little bit... My hips hurt and my back feels like someone has been pounding on it with a sledgehammer. I can't breathe very well or bend over easily and I'm constantly scared of peeing my pants. My feet hurt and I have lots of pimples that I've never had before (everywhere). My previously smooth stomach has numerous red, red stretch marks and I walk like a duck. I'm tired now almost all the time, which is interesting since I can't sleep for more than an hour at a time. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, in less than six weeks I get to push a watermelon out my hoo hoo (which I still on plan on doing unmedicated except for my body's normal birth hormones which I'm trusting to pull me through. Come on, oxytocin!). Ok, I'm done. Thank you for your patience and understanding - I feel a little better, now.

Our baby shower was this past Sunday and we had a great turnout. I would say there were about 50 people here. It was a little bit of a madhouse but it was fantastic to see everyone. I hope that it wasn't too crazy for everyone who came...we felt bad that we didn't get to spend more time catching up with people. If we missed you, we're very sorry! We were a little overwhelmed by everything and very grateful for all the wonderful gifts we received. The best gift of the day was being reminded of how much we love all our friends & family and they love us! A special "Thank you!!" goes out to my mom, Tammy (J's sister) and Jen Kinneman for planning and organizing the shower. You guys did a ton of work and we couldn't ever thank you enough!! I didn't get any shower pictures on my camera, but I'm hoping that my sister-in-law, Aymee, did and if so I'll post them later. We probably look a bit like deer in the headlights, anyway.

The nursery is coming along. We only have a few things left to do before it's finished. The changing table, which was my great-grandmother's dresser, needs to be painted and we need to hang pictures, a closet organizer and some other little, miscellaneous things. Here are pictures of the nursery as it is today. My friend Jen, from Seattle, sewed all the crib bedding, the quilt, pillows and curtains as well as the lamp shade. She did an amazing job and we absolutely love how everything turned out! Thank you, Jen! :)





We also redid the spare bathroom for the baby - not that they'll care for the first year or so, but I wanted to do it. We stuck with the same color theme and hung some nursery rhyme inspired pictures on the walls. It's simple but cute.





Other than that, we're still attending some birth classes. Tonight we went to one entitled, "Riding the Natural Wave of Birth" which focused on birth hormones and the physiologic process of a natural, unmedicated birth. It was fantastic and really enforced our desire to birth naturally. I'm still taking yoga when I can and working at Blooma. Jason's keeping busy with work and school and is on his third class already - Research Methodology - sounds like loads of fun, doesn't it? I'll have about 2 weeks starting on December 21st so I'm REALLY looking forward to that. I plan on sleeping excessive amounts, if I can.

If we don't have the opportunity to talk to you before the holidays, we hope you have a fantastic Christmas and New Year! We wish you peace, love, joy and any other good things which you may need in your life at this time!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Since it was just Thanksgiving, I'd first like to say that we have so much to be thankful for!! We both have good jobs, we have a nice house with enough space, a truly happy marriage, a healthy baby on the way, good friendships that enrich our lives, great families and so much more that we couldn't ever mention it all. We are truly blessed!

So a month has passed and we're four weeks closer to baby - just about 8 weeks to go... Now that the holidays are here, time is absolutely flying and I'm just hoping and praying that we'll be ready when baby is! We need to finish the nursery which involves painting a bookshelf and the changing table, installing a closet system and accessorizing the room (which is what I'm most looking forward to!). We have 2 baby showers coming up on December 9th and December 13th - maybe that will help with the accessorizing?

My parents have officially moved out and are in their new home. It's a big change and our house feels a little quiet and empty but that will change soon enough. Their new house is great and lots of remodeling has been completed - we've tried to help them out whenever possible over the last month, but time has been something we haven't had a lot of. We had to buy a new couch and completely reorganize our house after they left - we had really been taking advantage of their nice furniture! :)

We had our last birthing class on Monday night and I'm a little sad they're done - we really loved everyone in the class with us and I'd love to continue seeing them once a week. The classes were great and we feel both that we're much more prepared than we would have been without them. I'm still doing yoga at least once a week and I've started working at Blooma on Thursday nights, also. We'll continue to attend Childbirth Collective meetings until January and I'm hoping to make it to some La Leche League meetings, also.

School is keeping Jason very busy but he's doing great and really getting into the swing of things. I feel like I'm bragging about my kid, "He got an A on his last paper! Isn't that great?" :)

I came down with a very nasty bug on the Monday before Thanksgiving. I won't gross you out with the details, but it was pretty horrible and the worst part of it lasted about 2 days. I was extremely dehydrated and my midwife wanted to put me on an IV but they agreed to let me drink my fluids instead. I would say it took another 2-3 days before I was rehydrated. Baby Rumphead was fine the whole time and just kept taking whatever she needed, which I was very thankful for. I'm hoping that will be my last illness of this pregnancy! I got a flu shot, so I better not get the flu! (fingers crossed)

My aunt and uncle (Barb & Jake) came down for a visit last week and it was great to see them. Also over the weekend, we got a call that Chad (my cousin Elisa's husband) and two of his friends had hit a deer in Wisconsin while driving back to Ontario from a week long hunting trip. Their truck wasn't drivable and they were stuck in Spooner, Wisconsin. My mom drove out there to pick them up and we transported them to the Minneapolis airport, where they had rented a car to get back home. Although it was under yucky circumstances, it was nice to see Chad and catch up a bit!

I think that's about it for now - we have some new pictures that I'll add as soon as I get a chance. Before I go, I should mention that I REALLY feel like we're having a girl (you may have noticed I called the baby "she" earlier). I'm so very curious to find out if I'm right! I can hardly wait!!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!