Blueberries!

It's the most wonderful time of the year for a certain toddler.  We've waited very patiently all spring for big, juicy, not-too-sweet-not-too-tart Jersey blueberries to make their appearance and they're finally here! Hooray! (I wonder what would happen if we made Sean choose between blueberry season and Christmas?)  So far we've enjoyed blueberry bread, blueberry cake, blueberry pancakes, blueberry smoothies, and of course - just plain ol' blueberries.  As you can see, Sean gobbles them up before he even touches his beloved bananas at breakfast:

I wonder if Clare will share the blueberry love with us next year?

School picnic

Last Saturday, Sean's school held a springtime picnic at a nearby lake. Sean and I gave Daddy a couple of hours of peace and quiet to work on putting together the new stroller and get some work done on his final exam.

After hitting up the craft table, we joined the (Easter/springtime) egg hunt: Then we played on the beach: Then Sean went fishing (and walked ankle-deep into the lake while Mommy chatted with another Mommy): One of Sean's favorite teachers was in charge of the food table. I don't need to tell you where we spent most of the picnic :-)

On the way home, Sean cracked open some of the eggs and found they had candy inside! When I told him that Daddy would be happy that we brought him some treats, Sean quickly told me, "I like candy, Mommy!" I'm sure you do, Seanybear.

Working from home

I am ginormous. It takes a huge effort these days for me to get ready for work, get myself to work, and then do work. Not to mention the fact that I have to try to work while hearing comments from well-meaning(?) co-workers about how pregnant I am. So, I've been taking advantage of the wonders of technology and working from home once or twice a week.

Working from home definitely has its advantages. For instance, the dress code can't be beat. I feel much more productive in yoga pants than I do in my maternity office wear. Another plus side is that the seating arrangement is much more preferable - stretching out on the couch or cozying up in an overstuffed armchair is way better than sitting stiffly in my office chair.

However, there are some drawbacks to working at home. Snacks are more readily available - it's harder to resist the call of a big bowl of chocolate Chex and ice-cold milk when my kitchen is in the next room as opposed to being in the next state. Also, I admit it's sometimes hard to stay motivated. At work, the constant din of clicking keyboards and people on telephone calls keeps me focused. At home, the background noise is whatever I'm playing on iTunes and the sound of this guy snoring: Pepper spends about 90% of the day like this - only getting up to follow the sun, drink water, bug me for a cookie, or bark at something out the window. I know I'm very lucky to be able to do this, so I do my best to adhere to the work-at-home policies (i.e. - WORK while working at home) :-) All in all, this is a great option for me in these last few weeks (or days? or month? - what do you think, Sister?).

They got me.

The last few Friday afternoons, Brownies have been hanging out at my train station trying to sell their delicious cookies to workweek-weary commuters. So far I'd been able to resist - I'm trying to watch mine and Little Sister's girlish figure, you know. This past Friday, however, they brought out the big guns - Daisies! Who could resist kindergarten girls screeching about Thin Mints? Not me, apparently.
And it looks like Sean wouldn't be able to resist, either:

Fortune Cookies

Thom John and I went out to dinner for some spicy noodles at Pei Wei tonight.

My fortune cookie read: "Good news of long-awaited event will arrive soon."

And Thom John's fortune said: "Endurance and persistance will be rewarded."

I'm not going to read into these, but I'm optimistic.

Hot Monday

We're hanging in there. It's still crazy-hot out today and I thought I could find refuge at the office, but apparently the building manager has no idea how to turn on the air conditioning!!

I'm in maternity clothes crisis mode. I've got a couple of tops that I can wear this week should the freakishly hot weather continue, but after Wednesday I may have to resort to wearing running clothes to the office. :-)

I felt a little "off" last night and then again when I woke up this morning. I thought about staying home today, but after showering and eating breakfast, I felt just fine. So, here I am, trying to pretend to care about work when I just really want to be home watching daytime TV and eating watermelon.

EDIT: I just went outside and it's gorgeous out. Not too hot at all. Now I'm trying to fight the urge to fake labor pains so that I can go home and sit on the deck with Pepper and a mocktail.

Still here!

We're still here - we're just busy bees getting ready for baby and the end of the semester. The Sooy baby seems content to kick, roll, and hiccup his days away in my belly and that is fine with me! Only two more weeks of school left for me and Thom John!

Here are some updates and odds n' ends:

-Last Friday my sneaky co-workers surprised me with a shower!

-On Saturday, a bunch of friends came over for a shower at our house put on by the Sooy baby's Aunties Megan and Erin.

-We're so grateful that this kid is so lucky to have so many people around him already who love him so much and can't wait for his arrival!!

-Last week at our doctor's appointment, we were told that if the Sooy baby decides it's time to come, the doctors won't stop him! That was kind of a reality check and caused us to get our tushes in gear to go get a car seat, since the hospital won't let us leave without it. I guess we can't go home a la Britney Spears? We're also working on a getting a bag together for our stay at the hospital.

-I've graduated to visiting the doctor every week now. Thom John and I went again this morning and everything seems fine and baby's heartrate was strong and loud.

-We were given a sheet of paper with a heading that reads "When to Call the Doctor," outlining the symptoms of real labor. I'll probably call whenever I feel something's weird, though.

-Friday, Thom John and I are going to see a pediatriac urologist about the Sooy baby's pesky left kidney.

-Dinner is a joke these days - I'm just too tired to care. For example, last night I had chips and salsa, followed by a bowl of Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats. And then a peanut butter and banana sandwich sometime around midnight. No worries, mom - I'm getting my fruits and veggies in during the day.

-It seems that everyone at my office keeps talking about Passover, and that just makes me want macaroons.

Mooo

There is nothing better these days than ice-cold milk. Actually, make that ice-cold milk over cereal. Mmmmmm.

Fourth Meal

Apparently nighttime feedings start during pregnancy? Several times in the last few weeks, I've woken up sometime between 2 and 4 a.m. with a growling tummy and a kicking baby. I'm trying to prevent these snack-attacks by eating high protein/high fiber snacks before bed - whole wheat toast with peanut butter or cottage cheese and fruit - but sometimes it just doesn't work. I wake up with a growling tummy and a kicking baby and the only thing that helps is cereal... and late-night movies on TNT.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope it's cuddly...And delicious.

26 weeks

We're at 26 weeks! Less than 100 days left until our Sooy Baby gets here - yay! and yikes!

Here's what our boy is up to this week:

-His heart and other major organs are continuing to mature and grow. The addition of tiny capillaries in the lungs are contributing to his lung development.

-He should measure about 9.5 inches from crown to rump or 14 inches from head to heel, which is about the size of an English hothouse cucumber (what a random produce selection this week, I know). He's still looking pretty lean even though he's been packing on ounce after ounce of baby fat.

-Up until now, his eyes have been sealed shut, but they should start to open soon. And then the baby can busy himself by practicing blinking and squinting.

And what have Thom John and I been doing to get ready for the Sooy Baby? We've toured a few daycare centers, painted the nursery, put together the crib, and signed up for a slew of baby-related classes offered by the hospital. Next on the list is to find a pediatrician. Also, I can't eat enough grapefruit.

Here's a belly picture taken Friday at 26 weeks 1 day. I know it doesn't really look it, but I feel like the baby's grown about 3 feet this week. He's definitely stretching out and getting comfy in his little apartment.

I thought I was over it.

My obsession with peppermint, that is. Apparently not, though - considering the amount of peppermint bark I just inhaled and how badly my legs are itching to take me back to the break room for more. It's not even 10:00 a.m. for Pete's sake!

Christmas doings

Since Thom John and I will be traveling on Christmas and won't get to see my parents, we had them over for a Christmas lunch on Saturday. Luckily, there was a break in the snow and winter storms North Jersey had so that they could come down. I cooked up a big ol' ham to celebrate.

Saturday night, TJ and I went to a great holiday party thrown by Meg and Erin. As usual, they put on a delicious spread and were great hostesses.

Sunday, Thom John and Peter were set to head up to the city to watch some soccer and see some sights when I decided at the very last minute to join. It was a festive day, including lights, music, wintry precipitation and honey-roasted almonds. Yum.

Tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock

I'm trying to be a good girl and work hard while I'm at work, but who can think about work when there's so much going on in the next couple of weeks? I'm trying to wait patiently for tomorrow night (the big ultrasound!), various upcoming holiday happenings and VACATION!!

Here are some thoughts rolling around in my head:

-The fall semester is done! Yay! It was so nice last weekend to NOT have any homework, reading, or papers to do!


-Round ligament pain is a killer. It feels like there are Doozers hard at work in my belly building up a nice little infrastructure for the baby. I guess the baby, much like a fraggle, finds the Doozers' product tasty and keeps eating the structures, because there is a lot of building going on. Fortunately, I've been able to combat the RLP with yoga and pilates, in which I'm instructed to "hug the baby" with my abs.

-Thom John felt the baby move on Sunday night. Or was it last night? Saturday night? Anywho, he felt a swift punch (delivered with love, I'm sure) from the little bugger!

-Thom John and I are starting to get serious about setting up the nursery! First thing we need to do is clear out the junky guest room with the hideous blue carpeting and then think of ways to distract from said carpeting.

-I'm soooooooo glad that I'm done with nausea. It's so nice to eat fruits and vegetables again. I'm working hard at keeping my eating under control, but sometimes when I eat, I end up hungrier than I was before I started. Basically, I've been sticking to my training diet with a couple of extra quality snacks added in, but I gotta be honest - fun-size Twix bars and I are getting to be pretty good friends.

-I'm really fighting the urge to make another egg, turkey bacon and english muffin sammich for dinner tonight... that would make 4 sandwiches in 3 days which is a bit much, eh? (I had two on Sunday.)

-Running is making a comeback, no thanks to my bladder which only lets me go about 1.5 miles from the house at one time. But, I no longer feel too jiggly or worry that the baby is going to fall out, so that's a plus.

-The PepperDog has become a good little running buddy to me. I used to get a bit impatient with him - he takes potty breaks wherever, whenever and he's is very easily distracted, but now I'm glad for the walk breaks and meandering, especially because I get short of breath pretty easily.

-I'm making my way into my maternity clothes. I started wearing the pants last week (week 19), but so far most of my tops still fit. The maternity tops I do have still look a bit ridiculous 'cause they're so huge.

-Thom John and I saw "Frost/Nixon" on Saturday. Did you know the actor who plays President Nixon in the film was born in Bayonne, NJ? It's true, according to IMDB!

-Maternity pants are great, I love the elastic waists, but I'd really just like to wear my running clothes to work. I wonder if City Sports is hiring?

-Thom John and I have some appointments set up to tour daycares when we get back from vacation. I need to do some research on what types of questions to ask these places and to find out what I should look for.

-I bruise as easily as an overripe peach these days!

Yum

Turkey bacon is the best thing ever! I'm pretty much incorporating it into all my meals nowadays.