Week 36: ClayWanda and Calamity

We are roughly 28 days from our due date! I have been at home more than usual resting on my left side- its good for the circulation, I am told- and also nesting: cleaning things that I normally would ignore like the areas under the sink in the bathroom and then totally reorganizing the kitchen cabinets, home library and closets.

We did venture out today, meeting friends for brunch. Somewhere between getting out of the car and finishing my hash browns the key to my car liberated itself from my keyring and became lost. We live about 40 miles from where we met with friends, looked everywhere and the key was GONE. The friends we were with came in on their motorcycle, so a ride back to our house was out of the question. 

Enter my good friend and co-worker Rosie F. who randomly appeared like a fairy godmother and upon discovering our situation offered to 1. Pay for a cab for us to get to her house where 2. instructed us to break in to her home (where her 200 pound dog also resides and is fortunately crated) and, 3. take her car keys, and then her car, all the way back to our house to get our spare keys. We took her up on numbers 2 and 3 and drove her car on the interstate through a torrential rain storm with the hazard lights flashing.

We got home, finally, to the television I broke last week, a geriatric cat that needs his meds, a skunk in the front flowerbed and then I reached up and stuck my hand in the ceiling fan blade. Oh Blobby Layne, you are in for it; your mama can be a hot mess and you are a lucky little man that there are people out there that love you THIS MUCH already.

Week 35: Mother's Day

I am so big that this is all that fits in the camera viewfinder. Rob had to take this picture from across the street. I am so fat that I broke our TV from across the room.

So, its Mother's Day.  Today also marks that I am 8 months pregnant. I am due June 9, and I am glad as its starting to get crowded in here. Feet do not belong nestled in my ribcage, nor do I enjoy peeing every 20 minutes. 

Several people have asked if Rob got me a card for Mother's day.  He didn't, but lets be honest, I haven't produced a child, I have only harbored one. 

Happy Mother's Day to all of you: to everyone that is a mother, has a mother, is a kitty- or puppy-mama, or anyone that takes care of those that need taking care of. Moms come in a lot of shapes and sizes and they all deserve our appreciation. 
Magda, I love you especially. No one can drive me nuts the way you can, and if your curse comes true- the one where I have children that behave the same way I did- well, sit back, enjoy the show and laugh. You earned it!

Week 34: Six week til Magic Time.

This Week Blobby, Rob and I:

• I made a paper crane mobile to hang over Blobby's crib.
• Rob and I got to see the wee man over ultrasound. He meets all the specs for someone at week 34 and is definably a boy. Also, he has a big noggin.
• We are getting closer to getting the baby's room ready for action and Rob and I discovered that we are both hoarders of paper: we gave each other permission to throw out the Christmas cards from 1996 kept in a shoebox, the back-issues of BUST magazine dating back to when I was an undergrad and the sofa in the office that not one single person has actually sat on since I moved in more then two years ago.
• I discovered Simple Little Baby, a business started by local moms that promote and sell cloth diapering, breast feeding and baby wearing. They have an incredible Cloth Diaper Trial too!
• Delighted in seeing the faces of my (very) weight-conscious office-mates who constantly diet and go to the gym on their lunch breaks upon returning from the office of my midwife looking like THAT and reporting that I lost 7 pounds. 
• In another week I'll be 8 months pregnant. Please, someone, come help me get up off the sofa.

  

  
  

Week 33: Showered and Ready

This past Saturday Robby, Blobby and I were showered by our family and friends! 

Events were held in the downstairs lounge at the Clementine (where, you may remember, Robby and I got married,) and I wore my RED DRESS in which I resembled the Kool-Aid Man in the best way possible.

Entertainment was provided by a local belly dance troupe who held a workshop after; pictures will eventually show up in the flickr feed on the blog homepage.

We are about 7 weeks (!) from Blobby's arrival and we are armed to the teeth with all of the things we will need to dress, bathe, drive around with, and entertain a newborn and ourselves as we get into new routines, staying up all night begging the little man to lighten up and let us all sleep.  We are blessed with amazing friends and family- people who love children, and in some cases people who can't stand kids yet love us enough to show their support all along the way. Thanks for sharing our excitement and not feeding our fears. The shower was great. The feeling of love and community and family Rob and I both experienced after we came home and processed the whole thing was even greater than I thought possible.

Week 32: Pregnancy Brain Part Deux

Usually, on Sundays we take our weekly photo and I sit down and record the highlights of the previous week. Well, guess who went about their weekend and TOTALLY FORGOT? Yes. That would be me.  So here we are on Monday afternoon, dropping off to see Blobby's daddy at work and snapping a quick photo (I call this photo, 'Lot Lizard: The Aftermath').

Part of my distraction was due to our scheduled tour of the Family Center at the hospital Sunday afternoon. Robby and I joined about 6 other families to check out where we will be and what is available to us when Blobby makes an appearance. The facilities at our brand-new hospital are beautiful, complete with jacuzzi tubs, hardwood floors and, should I choose, an epidural delivery button!

Week 31: Role of the New Father

Dear Readers,

As my belly gets bigger and we prepare for little Blobby Layne to arrive you have been keeping tabs on my physical changes, my musings on pending motherhood and my heartburn.  Heartburn that comes and goes at random that is only tamed by copious amounts of tropical fruit flavored antacids, none of which have ever made me stop and admire, 'mmm pineapple'.

Rob has been an incredibly supportive father-to-be.  He keeps up on the weekly updates telling us how big the baby is (like four navel oranges) and sends me little pick-me-up emails telling me that I am the prettiest fat lady on the planet. He comes to meet the midwives with me and brings me seltzer water when the flames of indigestion rise.

By far my favorite is when Rob sings to my belly.  He leans in, face at my navel and provides both me and Blobby with his smooth baritone renditions of popular tunes, epic heavy metal vocalizations and often, jingles from the radio.  Today, however his choice of song may have opened up a future in children's entertainment:  

I woke from an afternoon nap and Blobby's daddy came in prepared with a song. He started out with a tune I recognized as Cher's 1971 solo hit, 'Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves', only modified to better suit the very young audience; what came out of my husband's mouth was the loudest, most enthusiastic perfomance of 'GYPSIES, CHIMPANZEES' anyone has ever heard.

And so, Rob Layne's career in music for children is born, a mere two months before the arrival of his infant son.  

XO,

Annie

Week 30: Its all relative

For the first time in the last 20 years, my bosoms are in proportion with the rest of my body.

That is all.