Monday's Room

So my Mommy Mentor (Beth Baptist Boggess) took me by the hand this weekend and brought me to Babies R Us to begin our baby registry. She walked me through aisles with the little gun and gave me advice like which bottles to buy, which breast pump I should register for, how they thought about purchasing a stroller etc. This was one of our better conversations...

• B: "Now you'll have to decide which bottles to use."
• L: "How do I decide that?"
• B: "Some people research it a lot."
• L: "What did you do?"
• B: "I had a friend that brought me here and said 'this is the type I use.' So I said, 'great, this is the type I use.'"
• I leaned in to gun the Avent bottles.
• L: "Great, so this is the type I use, too!"

After freaking out that I am so not organized, Beth calmed me off my ledge and told me that I am not and I really shouldn't worry about it. After thinking about it, the great news is that I am planning for a long period of time and the stores will always be there. If I forget something, I can go get it. If Monday doesn't take to one brand of bottles as opposed to another - I can go take another out for a test drive. All that said, I need to get on it....

So Beth gave me homework tonight... research bedding alternatives online. Before Tim got home, I went to a number of sites and did some research. When he got home, we had a conversation about what we were trying to solve for: Gender neutral, Bright and fun... and we've now successfully registered for our bedroom set that we love!!!


We won't fully deck out the room in quite such an overpowering manor, but we love the sleepy moon, the colors to match the rug and the walls, and just generally feel great about our choice.... and I have always had a thing for blue and yellow!

Thanks for the homework, Beth!!!

31 Week Update from Baby Center

How your baby's growing: This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

Batten Down the Hatches

We are in the midst of one of the biggest storms to hit California in more than 3 years. The sierra is preparing for about 8 - 10 feet of snow, 100 mph winds, and are calling for EXTREME avalanche warnings. Southern California is expecting upwards of 15 inches in rain on some slopes effect by wild fires and are predicting mud slides. At least 1 bay area bridge is closed with tractor trailers blown over that they won't upright until the wind calms... much later. And we are all snugly at home.

We were dressing to get ready to go this morning when the power went out. I still managed to put on my make up at a window to get the light, but quickly realized that our cars are in the driveway behind the electrical gate... Electrical gate... No power... Hmmm.

So we both called in a work from home day and decided to venture out into the wild for some coffee to get the morning going. After donning my new oil cloth cowboy hat (works perfectly by the way) we set out into the torrent to get soaked. And soaked we got. But Starbucks wasn't open, it seems they were out of power as well. So we went to our local breakfast place down the block that did have some power. It lost power after we had gotten our food, but it came back on eventually. As we ate, the wind picked up more as well as the rain. So we pulled up our bootstraps (tied our sneakers) and walked home... quickly. By the time we got here - (6 minutes?) we were totally soaked through again and our power was still out. After a warm shower and dry clothes, the power came back on and we are working again.

As we sit here listening to the amount of water hitting the house and to the huge gusts of wind passing us by, its hard not to be grateful to be warm, dry, inside, and in a great shelter. The storm is supposed to last throughout the weekend. Provided we can maintain power at least some amount of time, it promises to be a cozy, quiet weekend.

Just for giggles...

30 Week Update from Baby Center

How your baby's growing: Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and he weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds him, but that volume will decrease as he gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. His eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after he's born, he'll keep his eyes closed for a good part of the day. When he does open them, he'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

Monday Update from our doctor: we went to the doctor today, and everything still looks fine. My blood pressure is great and Monday's heart is chugging along right as its supposed to. My uterus didn't seem to grow too much but since we had an ultrasound 2 weeks ago and Monday was 54% percentile, the doctor wasn't at all worried about it. We see them again in 2 more weeks for another one of these check in, check measurements, make sure everything is on track kind of appointments... ahh the joys of going to the doctor every 336 hours!

Ottoman Twain

Last night Monday visited both of us in our dreams. We both woke up giddy and shared with one another what he was like. In both, he grew up too fast.

In my dream, labor came super quickly and was easy. We weren't prepared at all at home, so Tim sent me on ahead while he dealt with the paperwork. (Really, it made sense in my dream.) Monday came home with Tim and we spent the day just hanging out with him. He was an incredibly happy little man -- remnants of "Miss Grinner and Squeaker" (which was my nickname as an infant). I finally turned to Tim after calling him Monday and said to him "wait a second, they wouldn't let you out of the hospital without a name. What did you call him?" He replied "Ottoman Twain, I figured we could call him Otto or Twain." What?!?! The dream went on and on with little Monday growing up quickly and having a long visit with my Grandpa who made a special appearance.

This morning when I was talking to Tim, I said "I just couldn't figure out how you came up with the name Ottoman Twain" and he looked at me straight faced and said "But the funny part is -- you actually came up with it! It's not my brain that's crazy, it's yours."

I guess we both just can't wait for him to get here.

New Years Resolutions...

#1. Blog more. After a pre-holiday and holiday lull, we are getting back into the swing and have been aware that we have not been up to date with the blog. Life is amazing and changing every day and its worthwhile to capture the moments and the milestones in our lives.

#2. Appreciate the now - be present in the moment. So much is happening so quickly, and its hard to not focus too much on the past (what happened at the office last week) or what dwell on what will happen in the future (t- 10 weeks from due date). But the present is where you live and we are living in some pretty amazing moments that deserve presence... see #1. Having said that, I do believe that you need to sometimes reflect on the past to appreciate the present. As such, here is a quick recap of our lives over the last couple of years.

• - Last year we were newlyweds, living in an apartment, working at Friendster and Intuit. We hadn't started talking about kids yet.
• - 2 years ago we were planning a wedding, working at Yahoo and Intuit -- both not too happy with our work.
  
• - 3 years ago, we had just moved in together, we weren't engaged yet but Tim was already working on the ring, we working at Yahoo and Intuit.
• - 4 years ago, we'd just met and were really excited and optimistic about the new person in our lives. We were working at Neoforma and Intuit.
• ...we've come a long way baby!
  

#3. Be a better communicator. There are myriads of people from my life that I think about on a daily/weekly/monthly basis - but who never actually get a phone call from me. I really want to honor the people in my heart with a solid commitment to connecting with them. I also want to continue to build relationships, not just rely on the memories of the past. Life is about the people you meet and keep along the way... and I need to work harder at the keeping part.

#4. Better fitness. I am giving myself a by until after Monday (the unborn, not the day of the week) before I am determined to get my tucas into great shape. I am actually looking forward to maternity leave and if I can pull myself out of the sleepless fog I understand is coming, I am determined to get outside and walk / run with our little man to get myself back into shape. For now, we take our walks downtown a couple of times a week, but I am hoping to turn up the heat once I am back on my feet.

All in all, life is wonderful. And to reflect on the present, we are truly in an exciting place right now. Monday is as active as ever, Tim and I have never been happier with one another, we live in a fabulous home in a wonderful community, work pays the bills. I think that I am in a blissful place right now before I start getting scared about the delivery... but that is something I won't dwell on until it becomes the present itself. ;)