It's a Boy!

Elijah James...Born August 1.

No news is.....no news.

It's been fun to see friends old and new come out of the woodwork in the last few days to see if the baby has arrived yet. But no, I have nothing to report at the moment. According to the doctor today, I'm not any closer than I was a week ago. Which is rather frustrating, but I know things can change at a moment's notice. And since today is my due date, there are technically more than 6 hours before the baby is "late." Some friends of ours are going bowling tonight, and I might actually go--not to bowl, but to have something to do, and to be walking around a bit. We'll see, however.

Sometime after we call all of our family members with the news, we will probably be putting something on Facebook and possibly here to let everyone know. Once my mass-email list started approaching 100 recipients, I figured I should just stop and take advantage of Facebook.

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Ha, ha... I am now watching 2 squirrels chase each other up and down the blackberry tree outside my living room window. Very cute.

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Now, back to tying up some loose ends for work. I am starting my leave on Monday, baby or not, since the doctor said I shouldn't be trekking downtown every day. I couldn't agree more!

Have a great weekend!

Ok, now I'm ready. I got a pedicure and a haircut, so now I can go into labor. :) Ha, ha. As if I am the type who normally gets pedicures, or even gets a haircut more than twice a year, for that matter. If it was in the budget, though, I probably would. The pedicure was very relaxing.

I'm discovering just how impatient a person I really am. I think I knew that already, but this is really bringing it out. Will has been very nice despite all of my whining. Today I really should have done something healthy like take a walk, go swimming....something--but right now I'm laying on the couch trying to decide between taking a nap....and laying here not sleeping. I actually feel fine, just really lazy. Hmm, maybe it's time for a nap. :)

90 Degrees + 9 Months Pregnant = Ick

Wow, it's hot outside! Even early in the morning while waiting on the train platform, it's unbelievably hot. I don't like this kind of heat anyway, but especially not this year. Only a few more days.....

No more decaf frappuccino...

My hot-weather Starbucks beverage of choice ceased to exist this week. I switched to decaf last November, and lately I've been getting various decaf blended frappuccino beverages as a treat for myself. I had quit drinking coffee altogether (what's the point, I thought, if there's no caffeine?), but I restarted the habit because it tastes good and, well, it's a habit. Anyway, today I found out that since they have these new non-coffee beverages, I can't get my coffee version without caffeine. And there isn't a close approximation, according to the barista.

In the grand scheme of things, this is about as trivial as it gets, I know. But lately, I've been clinging to the simple little pleasures of life as I wait...and wait...and wait for baby to arrive. Speaking of which, I think I'll schedule a pedicure since I can't reach my feet and I got a spa gift certificate for my birthday!

Chicago: highest sales tax in the nation!! Woo hoo!

As of 12am today, Chicago (Cook County) has the highest sales tax of any major American city: 10.25%. Somehow I missed the news that this was happening and heard about it on the 10:00 news last night. Good thing I don't need to make any more major baby-gear purchases! I would have been tempted to run to Meijer in the middle of the night.

So now it's a toss-up: spend a little extra gas to make major purchases in one of the surrounding counties? Or save the gas money and pay the higher tax? Too much mental math for this time of the morning.

Speaking of baby gear, we are slowly but surely getting everything finished. We're installing the car seat tomorrow night; we got the replacement part for our new dresser which I'm finishing tonight (the top wood piece had a deep scratch in it); I have a few more loads of baby laundry, and that's about it. This weekend we're going to thoroughly clean the house, or so we hope!

Lovely day

Today turned out to be a beautiful day, despite the forecast of storms. There was just one nasty but brief storm that passed through. I was at a wedding while it was still sunny....it was a great day for an outdoor ceremony and reception. I had a good time despite my cold or allergies or whatever this is. Then I had coffee with a friend, and now I'm home all evening by myself. (My "other half" is leading a retreat for college students this weekend, but I'm not allowed to travel that far anyway.) So now I just have to decide if I want to be lazy or productive tonight. So far "lazy" is winning...it is dark in here but I don't feel like getting up to turn on the light!

Today's adventure:

This is the sidewalk directly in front of my office building. When I got here this morning, I found out that a car hit a fire hydrant and there would be no water in the building all day while they do repairs. Which means that since I need to visit the bathroom every hour, I'm getting lots of fresh air! The train station is less than 2 blocks from here; same with Starbucks. So, no problem; just gotta plan ahead and not wait too long!

Ahh, summertime...

I escaped the office for a little while and got to enjoy the blue sky
and sunshine!

There are so many things about pregnancy that are unexpected, new and a little strange that it would take forever to list them all. My favorite of late is all of the people who talk to me who otherwise wouldn't. I have met quite a variety of interesting people on the train, for example. The other place it happens is at church. Since I'm up on stage singing on a regular basis, the 500+ people out there have seen me "growing" over the past few months and often someone I don't know will say hi and introduce themself. It's been a nice way to meet people! (If I am gone for a week or two, apparently that makes some wonder if the baby arrived.) Yesterday my favorite comment was, "you're lucky you still have ankles!" Well, some days I don't and if this weather keeps up I anticipate being rather swollen for the duration! But that's a whole other topic.