The Son'll Come Out Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the big day! First thing in the morning, my little boy will be surgically removed from my abdomen. This is both terrifying and exhilarating.

I have been taken over by my belly.

I think we're as ready as we can be. We've got a going-home outfit, and a car seat here in my room. I've finished all of my classwork. (One more CLEP test, and I'll have my associates degree!) I've paid every bill forward, and emptied my inbox.

Of course, the apartment may be a mess. We had no warning before I was admitted to the hospital 17 days ago. But Shane has gone home a few times to take care of things. He's been incredible, really. And my parents will come help us out this weekend.

Now, we just have to focus on the baby. Shane will have two weeks of vacation starting tomorrow. (Which is better than some dads get. Thanks 'merca...) I plan to spend the next two weeks exclusively focused on healing and learning to breastfeed. And of course, Shane and I will both be devoting lots of time to oogling our new treasure!

Wish us luck!

You're Where!? For How Long?

I'm in a hospital bed right now. It's OK! Don't worry! This is just another adventure.

I came in last weekend to be monitored. I'm fine and baby is great, but I do have a rare condition which will cause major trouble if I go into labor. The doctors want me to be close by so they can help me right away if, heaven forbid, that would happen. This means I'm stuck here. If all goes well, I'll have a planned c-section sometime next week. I guess my June-bug is now a May-flower.

My cousin, Quincy was visiting from Seattle when I got the call telling me to come to the hospital. He was super awesome and helpful. Quincy has since moved on to the next destination on his cross-country road trip, and I'm sorry this drama interrupted his stay. At least he has a good story to tell!

Shane has been with me nearly constantly. It was tough for him to go off to work today. But it is usually rather boring here. I'm glad he can save his time off for after the baby arrives. Plus, while he's gone, I get the computer all to myself! If anything does go wrong, friends and co-workers have volunteered to rush him back to me.

As for me, I'm pretty comfortable with this situation now. When I arrived, my feelings were a lot more confused and panicked. This is not how I wanted the birth of my child to go! To add difficulty to an upsetting situation, I wasn't allowed to eat solid food or leave my bed except for bathroom trips at first. But as of today, I am allowed to stroll around this floor of the hospital; and yesterday they started feeding me solid food. My first plate of mediocre cafeteria breakfast tasted like manna from heaven! Now, staying here is almost like a vacation.

By the time this is all over, I will have been here for two weeks, at least. That's a little tough for me to imagine right now. But I will do whatever it takes to keep my baby and myself healthy.

In the meantime, It's finals week for my online courses too. That should keep me busy!

By the way, I welcome any company you want to give, friends! I've been awake during the day all day while I've been here, so go ahead and call or email if you like. If you're nearby and you'd like to visit, that's cool too! (Call/text for directions. This building is a labyrinth.) Or you could see if Shane needs any help taking care of business for us outside of the hospital. Most of all, please keep our tiny family in your thoughts/prayers.

On Being Pregnant

Now that I've been "in the family way" for a while, I figure an update/reflection is in order. Here's a list of things which have surprised me so far.

"How are you feeling?"
This has become the first question anyone asks me. At first, it really threw me. I thought, do all of my friends really want a list of side-effects? If so, I haven't much to report. My symptoms are pretty much just mild-ish versions of what is typical: nausea at first, back/hip pain as I near the end, and the persistent urge to pee. I've started referring to myself as the 'Hulk-of-pee'. He's always angry; I can always benefit from a trip to the loo.

"Pregnant Hulk Smash...
 toilet-paper supply"
 (source)

Lately, I've started looking at this question differently. I make an effort to talk about my emotional state (generally excited/nervous). And then I get to turn it around and ask my friend how they are. It's weird how often people seem surprised to be asked. Maybe we should all append 'feeling' to the end of our "how are you"s more often.

"Top 10 Worst..."

In person, everyone is very excited about this kid. They congratulate us, and ask caring questions. On the internet, however, pregnancy seems to be good for one thing: griping.
I turned to mommy-blogs early because I want to learn everything I can about this parenting thing before I dive in head first. I have been surprised to find a general lack of positivity. The straight-forward sources are alright, though everything comes with a warning ("call your doctor if..."). And the more personal blogs are full of reasons to never, ever have a kid. Lists of "Fun grown-up stuff you'll never do again", "Irritating things strangers will say", and "Trials all parents must survive" are all over the place. I know it's good to be told you're not alone when times are tough, but I hope these articles are mostly exaggerations. Who knows, maybe in short time I'll be posting here with an "I love my kid, but..." diatribe too.

Another surprise: banner ads take on new meanings
"Be fun or else!"
(source)

"How does your husband feel about this?"

I do have one gripe of my own, and it's regarding this question. For the record, he's just as excited as I am, if not more. We talked about having kids on our third date. But lots of people have warily asked this question. Strangely, no one has asked me if I'm excited... Anyway, it's 2015 folks. Let's stop thinking this way. We are smart adults in a loving, committed relationship and with full access to birth control. My husband is on-board.

Shane and his niece 5.5 years ago
The guy likes kids.

Community Support

One of the best surprises has come from folks like you! I'm a hard-core introvert. So, while I love my friends and family, connecting with them doesn't always come easily to me. Even so, in the last few months we've been inundated with kind advice, and shared enthusiasm. Especially, my parents and I have become closer since I became pregnant. If there is anyone more excited to meet this baby than Shane and I are, it is my mother.
An amazing friend has agreed to be our doula; to guide us through the birth process. We have four (maybe five) family members planning to travel long distances to care for us while we adjust to life with our new little one. And I can honestly say I am excited about the baby shower being thrown for us soon. (I am not a typical shower-loving kind of gal.)

Thanks for being awesome, guys.

There are only about two months left before my life suddenly and dramatically changes forever. Bring it on!

Happy Easter!

Big thanks to my mom for sending this super-cute Easter gift our way.

Actual conversation with my husband:

Me: Oh, look at the cute little bunny for the baby!
Shane: You'll have to feed it to him.
Me: I'm not sure how long we'll have to keep it before he's allowed to eat chocolate...
Shane: No, by eating it yourself!

I love how that man's brain works.
May all of you be blessed with chocolate this weekend!
(or next week when it goes on clearance!)

Happy Holidays!

Announcing our most ambitious DIY project yet:

A Baby!! We plan to welcome the wee one in mid-June 2015.
A few FAQs:

• I'm feeling great! We are both so super excited, we often find ourselves smiling for no reason.
• No, we don't know the gender yet
• Yes, we probably will find out with the ultrasound. But we don't actually care.
• Yes, we do have names picked out! They are awesome.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year!!

Christmas (Or: When I Didn't Hate Winter)

Since Pittsburgh is due for a big snow storm this weekend, I thought it was a good time to reflect on my Christmas. It was a happy time when winter was new and snow felt appropriate. Let's go back two months together. (cue time machine noises)

There it is! Your first sneak-peak at our moved-into apartment. So festive!! We had plenty of room for our giant tree in the living room this year. Of course, we've since bought a big, beautiful sofa. So next year's decorating might require a bit more creativity.

One of my proudest finds this year was the stocking hooks. They're engraved with holly berries, and coated in brass, and they don't hurt our new hutch! Also, check out our vacation souvenir from Jamestowne on the tree. I hung it in a prominent place. Maybe we can make a tradition of finding a new ornament every year from someplace nifty. (Credit: Ornaments as souvenirs is an idea I got from my mom.)

I made Shane sit on the floor to open presents. This was a moment of whimsy on my part. It made me feel more Christmas-y some how. He gave me a coffee grinder (which is really for both of us). No more suffering through pre-ground beans!

I got him a watch a whole year ago on Kickstarter. Which means, of course, it still hasn't been shipped to us. Sigh... So to tide him over, I got him two books (which are really for both of us) and a journal. The man loves him some words; 'tell you what.

We opened a few other gifts from family. Then we called said family on the phone while we walked to the nearby Indian restaurant. When we got home, we played Upwords. It was a perfect way for our little family of two to celebrate.

I had the following week off. So I took advantage of the extra time to make a big traditional holiday meal. Shane gets all of the credit for the turkey. We also had Norwegian lefse (potato bread) courtesy of my parents!

I have saved the best part of our story for last. I decided not to take the time to make the topper I had planed for our tree this year. It was pretty without it, even if it did have something missing. Lucky for me, Shane's brother Avery came to the rescue! The wrapping might give you a clue if you're nerdy like me.

That's his gift to us from last year in the background of the second picture. So what's inside? Only the scariest tree topper ever! DON'T BLINK!

(Explanation: It's a weeping angel, which is an evil alien from the Doctor Who TV show.)

Thank you, Avery, for making our Christmas complete!

Snow, Snow, Go Away...

I really hate winter. As soon as the weather dips below freezing, I just want to crawl into bed and stay there until spring comes. But society won't let me. What gives, society!? Anyway, that general malaise is why I haven't written anything new in a while. (Does that count as an apology? Probably not...)

The view from my office today (why!?)

To make it up to you, I'd like to do a quick run-through of some things I wanted to blog about last fall, and never got to. I also have a few "real" posts in my head. I'll work at extracting them for you soon.

Kick the Debt Party
In October, four of our friends threw a party to celebrate finally paying off their student loans. (...a joy I hope to know myself someday...) There was a bouncy castle, and kangaroo meat, and there were lots of old friends. It was like a family-of-choice reunion!

Rooke Wedding
The next weekend was the most beautiful and amazing wedding I have ever attended. Our friends, Amber and Dylan tied the knot on his family's farm. They did everything themselves, and on the cheap. It was absolutely genuine, and truly their style. The warm glow of it made my whole life sweeter! Amber has put up lots of posts about it on her blog if you're curious. (Her pictures are much better.)

Parental Visit
At the end of October, my folks drove all the way from Minnesota for a visit. They took the whole week off so they could spend two weekends with us, and the in-between days touring the East Coast. By all accounts, they had a fabulous time! We visited lots of nice Pittsburgh restaurants, they brought us farm-stand apples from Ohio, and we went furniture shopping at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

Me & Mom in our natural environment: a coffee shop

Murder Mystery Dinner Theater
Remember last year's show? This one was done a bit earlier to accommodate a Christmas theme. I played a wreath. Jim described the character as like the furniture in Pee-Wee's Playhouse. Shane got into the act too this year. He played grown-up Cindy-Lou-Who's damaged boyfriend. I got to put together both of their costumes. Yes, got to. I LOVE making costumes!

In Charge? Me?
That's right. I'm an officially ordained ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church now. Crazy, right? I was nominated to serve on our church's finance committee. After much careful consideration, I said "yes". It is a big commitment. The term is three years long, and I'll be helping make some difficult decisions. Furthermore, I had to kneel in front of everyone at the all-church meeting and promise to do my best to be awesome.

Coming Up
(Hopefully!) I plan to catch you up on my Christmas and a couple of projects I've been working on lately. I have lots of exciting things planned for 2014!!

Vacation - Part 2: Fambly

Friday morning following the concert, we slept in, packed up the car, and drove to a Prince William Forest Park. The park was a little over half-way between home and our first destination. I miscalculated a bit, so we didn't arrive at the campsite until past midnight.  After haplessly wandering around by the office building to make sure we didn't need to sign in; we managed to find our site, pitch a tent in the dark, and get some sleep. We took a risk and skipped putting on the tent's rain fly. With the exception of one bit of bird poop, it proved to be a wonderful decision!

My view upon waking

On Saturday, we drove another three hours or so and checked into our hotel room. Once everything necessary or melty was in the air-conditioned room, we headed over to Shane's brother's house.

You know the expression "You can't choose your family"? Well, these family I would choose. Shane's oldest brother, Avery, lives in North Carolina with his wife, Heather, and their rapidly growing children. The kids are very dear to our hearts. Shane feels especially close to them since he acted as a sort of "third parent" one summer years ago to help out during a medical emergency. I just think they're amazing!

We went out to Chick-fil-A for dinner and hung out a little bit afterward. The next day was Sunday, so we attended church with them. We met lots of folks there who were sincerely welcoming in a beautiful way. We went out to lunch at a nice buffet, and made a pit-stop to buy injera before going back to their home.

Injera is an Ethiopian bread made from teff flour; traditionally with special yeast cultures passed down through generations. It tastes a bit like a bitter beer-bread pancake. We needed injera because Heather made Ethiopian food for dinner!

I requested this meal specially because I had never had Ethiopian cooking, and it's a semi-regular thing for their family. It was amazing!! For one thing, I have never liked beets before in anything. For another, no matter how full I am, I cannot look at the above picture without craving more! The meal was also accompanied by Ethiopian coffee and herbal tea in beautiful little cups. Even the kids drank the coffee! (They did put tons of milk and sugar in it.)

After dinner we played a board game, and stayed up past all our bedtimes. The next morning we stopped by for a few more hours. (...and some leftover Ethiopian food!) The girls performed a cups song for us. It was super impressive, and must have taken lots of practice!

Leaving was tough to do. Every time we see these fine folks, I wish we could see them more often. But we do have friends and jobs and stuff in Pittsburgh. Besides, we had a lot more fun vacation plans ahead of us!