Come and Gone

So, it is the 21st of November.... You all know what that means! Yes, the due date has come and gone. We've had some excitement this past week. -A trip to L&D to make sure my water hadn't broken.... it didn't. -A doctors appointment yesterday in which my doctor diagnosed me as 3 cm, 80% effaced, and baby in position -1. Hurray! A painful hurray, as she did stretch me, but a hurray none the less. (I have now realized that the doctor may have also stripped my membrane... so labor should be eminent, right?) - Over a full hour of contractions yesterday..... measuring every 10 minutes, each a minute long.... kind of disappointing when it stopped. Although I did realize that I'm really not so sure I'm going to be a fan of labor. =) - One crazy kitchen day yesterday.... I woke up and started cooking at 8. By afternoon I had successfully made homemade chicken soup (complete with homemade broth), meatloaf, cabbage roll casserole, and taquitos. And by night they had all become neatly freezer-proofed and put in the freezer! Yay!!!! We will have food when people stop wanting to bring us meals! (and then the madness continued as I was on a cleaning spree around the house.... at least its all nice now!) Now the countdown starts backwards. We are on day -1. Hoping our little baby Short comes today. We are pretty excited, and really want to know if we have a little girl or boy!!!!! (At my appointment the doctor continually referred to the baby as our "little girl", "baby girl", "she"... was she giving it away once again? or does she just have a disposition to little baby girls?) Well, we are waiting patiently. I ,personally, wouldn't mind to have the baby and start the recovery process..... but the Lord knows best. And we are waiting on His timing. Now... hopefully we'll have a baby in the next couple days!!!!!!!!!

Still Waiting

Soooo, it is Nov 17. No baby yet. The official due date is this Friday, Nov 20. I would LOOOVE to have our little child by then! This is such a fun waiting game. I am starting to wonder if I am going to be pregnant for the rest of my life~ for more reasons than one. Well, let me do a quick recap of the last few weeks, and then I'll start my rantings. RECAP: -Baby Shower My lovely, dear friend Angie hosted it for me. It was on Halloween day afternoon, so the theme was a fitting "Our Li' Pumpkin". Michelle's husband, another great friend, is going through culinary school right now, so he made some tasty little sandwiches shaped like pumpkins and a berry cobbler that was to die for! And best thing? Totally edible for me!!!! What a great guy! It was the perfect, quaint little shower in Angie's beautiful new home! Friends, Fun, Food and a great Devotional... what more could a girl ask for? And I got some awesome presents too! - Photo Shoot The same dear friend who threw my shower, also took some great "baby belly pics" for us. I'm so glad she was willing! She did an absolutely wonderful job! And best thing? She did it for free!!!!! Could she be any more wonderful?! We love how they turned out. Here are a few favorites of Hubby, Me and Baby. RANTINGS Now I would say it is fair to say that I am seriously wondering if I'll ever go into labor. Why, you ask? You aren't even to your due date, you say..... WELL- 1) My mom was 2 weeks late with me, 3 weeks with my sister. If I follow in those footsteps, I could have a few more weeks left! 2) People say you are supposed to be horribly uncomfortable before the baby comes. And, to be completely honest. I am not. I have been very blessed this pregnancy, Praise the Lord, and by no means am I complaining. But, if this discomfort is supposed to overtake me, well..... I am wondering if it ever will and if I will ever have the baby. 3) I have not been the normal pregnant person these past 9/10 months.... my hormones for the most part have been very even keel, I've been able to be very active, and haven't had crazy cravings (I could probably count on one hand the amount of times I've actually had cravings). This leads me to wonder, does my body know its pregnant? Does it REALLY know its supposed to go into labor around this time? Haha. Now, I'm not being very serious at all... but the thought has crossed my mind. BUUUUUUUUUT- nice thing is, I'm getting a lot done. I'm able to clean, and clean. And yesterday was a fun filled day of repurposing some clothing. I have been told I need to blog about all I made yesterday. But that will come later, as I have to take pictures of the items (and I just don't really feel like doing that right now). So, later it will be. But I will tell you what I made. I had two looooooooong skirts that I had gotten from the Thrift Store last year to wear on our trip to Israel. I made those skirts into dresses, and then I made two little baby pants (size 3 months). I would make other baby clothes, but I don't know what we are having yet. So clearly I will have some fun days of repurposing coming up in the (hopefully) near future!!!!!

HOUSTON'S!!!

Really now, what is better than a date with the one you love? I personally love being able to spend time with the hubby.... and since we realized that we may or may not have a few more weeks of time without the beloved Baby Short, we decided to go on an extra special date. To HOUSTON'S!!!!!!! If you have not been, we highly recommend that you go. Although you may have to save up your pennies like we did, it is totally worth it. The best ribs I've litterally EVER HAD!!!! And only for $27 a plate! (Like I said, you may have to save up your pennies). So for our special night- we got all dressed up (I wore my wonderfully pink dress given to me by a dear cousin) and went to Pasadena (I think). We got there a little early and went to the Container Store (which was awe-inspiring, correctly represented by Robert's co-workers). We, or maybe just I, drempt of all the wonderful ways we could organize with all of the wonderful organizational boxes and hangers and wonders they have there.... if only given a huge rediculous budget for organizing. It was a great dream indeed. Then after a bit, we left to go to our main goal for the night.... HOUSTON's. Ribs here we come!!!!! It was such a special treat for me. I love that place and we rarely splurge on dinners like that. Houston's makes a point of being good with allergies, it even says on the menu to alert your waiter/waitress if you have any. And the waitress we had was ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!!!!! She knew everything that was in everything on the menu. And I can't tell you how much of a blessing that REALLY is for people who are allergic, like me! The evening finished off with a quick photo out front, and a nice drive home. It was perfect and so sweet of my hunny to think up this nice date for me! I have a wonderful hubby!!!! And- Now the baby can come.

Oh.... aaaaaaaaaaand

I forgot to meantion that I am infatuated with Giraffe's right now. LOVE them.

Changes Gallore

I am baaaaaaaack! Well, I never really left. Lets just say I went into hybernation- like a bear. Many months have passed, and with those many months have come many changes. Just to name a few. Robert and I have moved two more times and are STAYING HERE FOREVER! Ok- well, probably not. But I would love to not move again for a very long while. Three times in just over 4 months? Yeah, that makes a person either (a) want be a professional nomad or (b) never want to move again. I have found that I fall under (b). I guess I am just making up for lost time.... never having moved once while growing up. I am currently 33 weeks pregnant. Yes, large and in charge. Hahaha. I will be 34 weeks in a few days. That leaves aprox 6 weeks! WOWSERS! And our doctor that we saw on Tuesday said there is no more room for the baby to expand upward. She was shocked. I dont know what that means, I've never been pregnant before. Good thing? Bad thing? Either way, one thing is for sure, either the baby is going to grow me some belly or its coming out sooner than expected. Speaking of that doctor..... We maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay know the sex of the baby now. We aren't sure. But it sure seemed like she slipped and said it. She got a bit flustered after she realized we didn't know or want to know the sex, and she tried to backtrack and change the subject. Was she just acting peculiar or are we really having a _______? Guess we'll have to wait until the baby comes to know for sure. Cuz my bet is that she's not going to slip up again when we see her next. Early on I talked about doing cloth diapers. I am now even more convinced than before. I love the idea. And for some reason my natural hippy streak is coming out more and more and more. I love everything "green". I'm a big fan of re-usable, washable, and chemical free. This has indeed spilled over into my love of the cloth diapers and wipes, etc. We will see how it holds up after the baby comes and there is poop everywhere. Haha. And did I meantion with this last move we got a laundry room? That's right ladies and gents.... I now have a washer and dryer within arms reach. No more walking down stairs, across an apartment complex, into a washroom and back. YIPPY!!!!!!!!!! Hence why I am also loving the washable things. Cuz its just so stinkin easy to wash now! Our baby room is all put together. We have everything we need and nearly everything that would make life easier. Thanks to the multiple contributors. Craigslist and mom made our complete bedding and room decor possible. Aunt made our diaper stash a reality and not just a dream. Ang made us the perfect quilt to spice up our once drab looking rocker. By way of the in-laws and craigslists our stroller happened. And many others have given us various wonderful goodies, such as awesome organic toys and sensative skin washes, books, and clothes. Thanks everyone! And our newest hobby has become garage sale shopping. GOTTA LOVE IT!!!!! We have gotten some of the coolest, most inexpensive things lately. I should start taking pictures of our finds. But I will list some to give an idea. We bought an outdoor firepit ($10), desk w/chair and upper thingy (15), tons of gender neutral cute baby clothes (25 cents apiece), baby books - mostly Dr. Seus (10/$1 or 10 cents each), beach/camping BBQ complete with dishes and all that ( i think $10), supplies for crafts and making presents (priceless), Taboo in perfect condition ($1), diff DVD's ($1 per), random other baby things for the car, and Robert got an awesome outdoor airplane with an engine. Alrighty. This post is getting extremely long now! To finish it off, I would like to post my new favorite baby thing. I just saw it like 10 minutes ago, so that's probably why it is my favorite. Haha. It is the Bath Luve'. LOVE it! Just look at it! Glorious! Yes. Feel free to purchase this for me. And here is a picture of Robert and I and little Short just nearly a week or so ago. Hopefully I will update again soon! Until then, toodles.

Baby Loves These

LOVE this! I found this site today via a great friend. and it seems that Thrifty Minnesota Moma is right up my alley! She has some really great giveaways and has introduced me to some of my new favorite baby items such as the No Throw and Baby Swim Diapers, which will be showing their face here shortly. Go check it out! http://thriftyminnesotamama.blogspot.com/2009/06/danikas-sippy-cup-no-longer-hits-floor.html Here are some others I like: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6925240 http://www.nothrow.com/index.htm

Pregnancy Cosmetics

I desperately want to avoid stretch marks during my pregnancy... and here is a cream that I found on grassrootsstore.com that I like. The item itself is called "Butterfly Weed Earth Mama Belly Jelly". Loving it!!! I am also in love with the handmade soap from MoonEssence, located in Petaluma,Ca. This is the only soap that I can use while shaving my legs, not resulting in either extreme razor burn or another itchy rash. It lathers nicely and smells sooooo good! And I love how it doesn't leave the normal soapy feeling on my skin! Organic Lime Soap ~ 5.5 oz. Regular price: $7.00 It is also very important to take care of the feet while pregnant. Hence, I have found some recipies that I think I will be trying in the very near future! Pamper the feet... Strawberry Foot Exfoliant By Pioneer Thinking Ingredients: Mix together 8 strawberries with 2 tablespoons of olive oil (or safflower oil) and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Other varieties: Add 1/2 teaspoon of finely chopped almonds Directions: Make a paste with the ingredients but don't over blend it since the strawberries contain so much water it will make it too liquidy. Massage it all into your feet, rinse off and dry. Soothing Foot Lotion by Pioneerthinking.com Ingredients: 1 tablespoon almond oil 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 teaspoon wheat germ oil 12 drops eucalyptus essential/fragrance oil Directions: Combine ingredients in a dark colored bottle, shake extremely well. To use just rub into the feet and heels. Store in a cool dry place. There are more out there, for sure... but now I need to get moving and do some laundry and dishes. Gotta love it!

More Fun Baby Finds

These toys are so fun! 100% organic cotton and machine washable! Look more closely! http://www.tinybirdsorganics.com/organiccotton/stuffedbabytoys.html Feel free to start buying me (I mean, baby) these toys!!!!!!

I also like this kind of sling, made up of 3 separate pieces.... kind of cool, never seen it before. But the kind that i really like is below. One long pice that you wrap around and around and around and around!!!! Love it!

Soft micro fleece

Cool cotton

Baby Sling Bargain

Baby Bottles & More

So I have found the perfect baby bottles!!!! I don't want to use plastic, because of the chemicals.... and our little one will be drinking out of the bottles a bit. So I've been looking for cute glass bottles. Well, maybe not the bottles to be so cute, as the covers. And I have fallen in love with these "Sweet Pea" glass bottles. I have also found the baby bag that I want. Vera Bradley Puccini Baby Bag here I come!

My Lack of Belly

I have recently become saddened because I feel like everyone else at this stage is bigger-bellied than I am. The doctor was telling me that I would not show until I was like six months.... I am still hoping to prove her wrong. =) Here are some old pictures of my non-belly. I will take one today and post it later tonight of my as-of-now-non-belly. And I will be pleasantly surprised if I actually look pregnant in it, other than my round face and pregnant J-LO booty. So here are the very old pictures for those who have been asking. Just don't expect too much. Those two were somewhere around 12 weeks, as we were moving out of the little guest house. This was in Israel, probably 14 weeks. This was at the Dead Sea... very fun floating on water!

A RACE AGAINST TIME

After Chorale's 2 hr flight to Germany, we had to grab our connecting 10 hr flight to LAX. Woo Hoo!!! Once that plane hit the ground I felt like I was in a race against time! Why, you may ask? I had an ultrasound appointment nearly 2 hours after our arrival and I had to get my luggage, go through customs, and miss traffic. Not to mention hug my dearly missed husband for a time long enough to make up for 3 weeks!!!! But Praise the Lord, we made it to the appointment with time to get lunch and all! Once at the doctors office I had to down a bottle of water for one of those beloved protein tests and then wait for about 20 minutes until we were called into an ugly, sterile, unfriendly Kaiser room. I mean, really, they could put some color or something in the rooms to cheer a person up! The doctor came in record time and we got to hear our little baby's heart beat and see little Shorty move it's little arms around like crazy! I was so relieved to find out our little one was still in my belly. I was starting to wonder if being so hungry in Israel caused my body to just reabsorb the baby... silly, I know. But I've never been pregnant before! I don't know what can and cannot happen! After seeing our little baby, we got to take four pictures home with us! Sooo fun!

Baby Catch- Up

I can't believe it has been a month since I've posted anything! Well, actually, I can. Lots has happened.

Let's catch up a bit

Well, this was the end of my 4th year- not graduating year, mind you- at The Master's College. School ended the first week of May and the last few weeks were spent:

completing my vocal recital (five weeks prego)

finishing classes and Majesty's local weekend touring (around week 8 or 9 or so)

packing up our little guest house to move into a new apartment... and getting our first ultrasound picture. (according the to the doctors measurements of baby Short, nine weeks on the dot) The day after graduation Chorale left for a 3 week tour overseas. This trip consisted of 2 weeks in Israel and 1 week in Italy. Although it was very fun, but somewhat difficult for a pregnant girl allergic to dairy and egg to find enough food at the right times. It was in Israel that I had my first incident of "nope, my body won't let me eat that". I realized there were some very quick reflexes in my body to remove the unwanted food from my mouth that I had no idea existed. It was quite frightening for my dear friends. So, I basically lived on peanut butter and some form of bread, potatoes, rice and whatever fruit I could find in Israel. What a great "food" experience. Next time I go over there, I will not be pregnant if I have anything to say about it! Haha. Italy was worse for the allergies but we did have a guide who saw to my every need. What a sweet man! When the rest of the group got pizza, I repeatedly got steak and grilled veggies! Oh the joys of a more developed country!!! The most exciting thing that happened in Italy was getting searched by the "Secret Policia: Italia". Yes, apparently I look like a very troublesome young person. Let me explain- as I was leaving a store with two of my dear girlfriends, the store alarm went off (like when the girl at the register forgets to remove the security device from your new blouse). I was surprised by the sound and talking I heard, so I turned around... there she was. The Secret Police lady. Talking very quickly and excitedly in Italian at me. I had no idea what she was saying so she showed me her badge repeatedly and dragged me back in the store. She insisted on looking through my bag, every last pocket of it, mumbleing the whole time about "cosmetica". When she finally decided I was clean she said "ok" and then pointed to the door and made some gesture like a phone and said "picture". I was allowed to leave, but I assume they got it all on video. What an experience that was!!!!

To Wear or Not To Wear- That Is The Question

So, I have decided that I would love to put our baby in cloth diapers. I really like the idea. Now, it does seem a bit nastier, but really now.... you know how sensative my skin and body is. I cannot imagine a child of mine being able to handle plastic and whatever else made diapers. It just doesn't seem very nice to our baby's toosh. I may try it for a week, or two, or 3 months and then decide I have had enough. BUT my plan as of now is to use cloth diapers unless we are someplace where I absolutely need to use store bought ones. I've been reading up on all different kinds. And I also want to try some home-made cute ones. Here is a link to a fun diaper making site. So, if anyone wants a project or wants to make us a gift for Little Jewel/Noah... here you go! (Just be sure to make ones that work for both a baby boy or girl.... until I give birth and we find out!!! YAY CLOTH DIAPERS!!! (I had better invest in a good smellproof container for the used ones.... and some goooooooooood detergent!)

http://www.sewdiapers.com/