No Mood I Tell Ya

So, yesterday. I was so bummed out that after drinking half a bottle of castor oil and eagerly awaiting cramps and contractions I got nothing. NOTHING! Ok, so I got about twenty trips to the bathroom and a good colon cleansing, but seriously. Not a cramp to even make me think things might be working. I have exhausted all the possibilities to get things going, but apparently my little girl is being stubborn and just doesn't want to meet everyone yet.

On the good side, my FIL is having a blast entertaining J, they went to the park for an hour and a half yesterday! I am lucky to get twenty minutes at the park, hence the park in our backyard. Then they went to Tim Horton's for coffee, then Mickey Donalds for lunch. I tell you J was one treated little guy yesterday. Opa then went to visit his friends for the afternoon and evening, to regain some sanity I am sure. And my Mom who was hanging out with me took over. She was great too. She came to help me out in case I didn't feel well, so she changed the beds, washed the sheets, made some lunch, took me to the store, let me have a nap, all the right things you want your Mom to do. And alas, at suppertime it was just Hubby, J, A and I and well still nothing.

So, that is my update from yesterday. I guess I should try to forget that I am indeed pregnant and now overdue (my FIL tried to tell me that the due date was wrong, I laughed and said that when you have IVF, you can't have a wrong due date. He doesn't get it.). I can't wait until I can finally give you all a good post that at least says I am in labour, even if it lasts three days like it did for J.

To the Midwife we go

And let's hope this is the beginning of the end. With my fingers tingling and the weight bearing down on my knees, I am honestly about ready to meet this little girl.

If she can't get things moving today, I will seriously be depressed by tomorrow morning, and may purchase some cod liver oil...

**Edited to Add: It should read Castor Oil up there, thank you Miss Mel let's hope what worked for your Grandmother will also work for me. And so... the baby has not dropped enough to do anything from my midwives perspective, so she recommended the Castor Oil. As well as crawling around on my knees! If I had known that I would have been crawling around for the last month. Anyhow, I will take the Castor Oil tonight and see if we at least get her to move down enough for a little extra help from my midwife. My fingers are still tingling, bummer.

Nothing

Nada.

Zip.

Tomorrow is Opa's and his Mother's (Oma) birthday. Do you think she is waiting to make her Grand Entrance for tomorrow??

I sure hope so.

Opa has Arrived!!

Sorry Silver Creek Mom, but the Baby will not be sharing your birthday!

The great news is that Opa has finally arrived!! Since we thought he would miss the big day, he was very surprised to see us at the airport. I tried almost everything yesterday. I vacuumed, I did loads and loads and loads of laundry. I am not even sure how we had so much last week, but it just kept going and going. I stayed on my feet almost all day, but all I got was a lot of aches and pains.

Today my girlfriend is bringing some spicy Thai food in hopes to get things moving, so we will see how that goes.

Oh yes, back to Opa. He lives in Vancouver and we miss him terribly when he is not here. The last two years he made two visits, one in the Spring and one in the Fall. This year we only have this one visit, so it has been a long wait for him to arrive. J is over the moon that he has arrived. It was nearly impossible to get him to bed last night. And today they are heading out to pick out his birthday present so J is very excited.

Thank you all for watching my non-labour and delivery so closely. The actual due date is Tuesday, the 28th. But J was early and even my midwives thought she would have been here by now. There is no such thing as a small baby in our family, so I am prepared for a big little girl. If I could do a jumping jack I so would, but I fear my knees would give out from holding all this weight and that just wouldn't be good for actual delivery so alas, I have not done any jumping jacks. I will definately keep you all posted, but for right this moment, absolutely nothing is happening.

Happy Birthday to Silver Creek Mom

I wanted to shout out a Happy Birthday to Silver Creek Mom. I know she wanted my little girl to arrive on her birthday as a present. And I have definately tried, but unless things start moving it most likely won't happen today. Although I should say it is only 8am and anything is possible.

I had another ultrasound yesterday, my Midwife wanted to be 100% sure that the baby was head down. They have been flipping back and forth as to whether or not she was breech. I kept telling them that she hasn't flipped around since the 30wk u/s but they still wanted to be sure. So, yes she is still the right way and measuring a little bigger than my Midwife originally thought. Between 8lbs 10oz & 9lbs 10oz. J was 8lbs 5oz (with a 10lb head) so I am not too worried. If this goes on much past her actual date then I will start to get nervous. I just hope she will fit the few little clothes I bought for the first few weeks.

I will be vacuuming again today, I did it last night for the first time since June, hoping to start things up. So you just never know... the 23rd may just be the day.

Another Mascara Update and Oh So Many Police

Yesterday we had to accomplish a few downtown chores. J had his four year Doctor's appointment so he could get a check of good health for school. Our family Doctor is downtown, silly I know, but I have known him and his wife (the nurse) for almost fifteen years and they have saved me from numerous medical tests and interventions when other Doctors failed me. So off we went.

After a check of good health and a very well behaved little boy, we decided, ok, I decided I could make a little trip to the market to the Lush store to pick up some foot soak and Karma soap for the powder room. We use Karma for the sheer smell alone. It freshens up the powder room and there is always a little hint of patchouli when you walk by. Our little trip went well so J asked if we could get a bagel for lunch and meet Daddy. Seeing that it was noon, I called and we were able to catch him. So off we went to meet Daddy for lunch.

All being well we took a small walk to 240 Sparks so I could return my expensive mascara to Holt Renfrew. I know you all must be shocked that I the mascara that gave me really long lashes and I paid a lot for didn't live up to the expectations. I gave it a bit of time. It was great for the first couple of weeks. Then I didn't wear it at the beach due to the smudge fact when it got wet. Then when I came home I realized that it was taking four coats to get a nice enough look. By the fourth coat it was really thick and starting to clump. That and the fact that it was making my eyes water made me think it just wasn't up to snuff. So I decided to take it back.

I was just going to return it, but the manager suggested I try Prescriptives mascara. Again, this is one that I have never tried before as it only available at Holt's. And since it was almost ten dollars cheaper I decided to give it a go. It is called Beyond Long mascara. I tried it out today. Not bad for a first day, I'll give it that, it is not as thick as the Yves St. Laurent but it definately brought out the legnth. Will see how it does with the wash test and the after a week test. Otherwise, we will be going downtown again.

Oh yes, and the police. After leaving Hubby we started walking by a building downtown where there was obvious police presense. Two bicycle officers at least every 30 feet. I called Hubby to see if he knew what was going on but he didn't, so I started walking faster. On our way out of 240 Sparks and walking back to the car, there were police every 10 feet on the sidewalk, and in between there were police in their vans, SUVs, cars, swat on the road. Then I saw all the black cars with their red lights sitting along side of the building. I finally said to two officers, "Should we really be walking along here?". She laughed and said, "Oh, it's nothing to worry about.". Nothing to worry about??? There were more police in a one block radius than follow the Prime Minister around. There was obviously a reason for all this police presence but really, nothing to worry about? Will my Son and I and my unborn baby be caught in some crossfire or something? I walked as fast as I could manage and got to the car and got the heck out of there.

In the end it turned out that the President of Mexico was making a stop downtown on his way to a Summit with the Prime Minister and the President of the United States that was being held in Montebello. She could of just said it is the President of Mexico instead of trying to make me feel like nothing was going on when it was evident that I could have chosen another street to walk down.

Happy Birthday to J!!

This post is a little belated. Sad to say, but our internet has been down and wonky since Thursday. It was up by Saturday afternoon, but then down again before I could post about the fabulous Birthday Party.

On Saturday it became very evident that our baby boy was no longer a baby. J turned four on Saturday and it was the first birthday that he knew exactly what was going to happen all day long. He was ready for his morning opening of presents from Mom and Dad. He put on his birthday shirt and hat and played with his new 'Lightsabers'. We ran around (ok, Hubby ran around, I watched) and started to get things ready for the party at 4pm. J kept asking what time it was and by 11am I was ready to crack. We headed out to pick up the party platters, which I have to admit were handy, but truly too expensive to do it every year. On our return A had finally woken up from his deep dark sleep and gave J his present (more Lego) and played with him for the rest of the afternoon while we got ready and had mini naps.

Everyone arrived except famed cousin J2. Poor thing, he had a tummy bug that left him running to the bathroom all day long. But, fun was had by J and his other little friends and cousin. J was the one dictating what was going to happen and when throughout the party, it was a hoot and I think next year will be even worse when he has a few school friends here to join in the fun.

All in all it was a fabulous Birthday and all day long, I kept remembering everything about that day four years ago. Especially vivid because I am still awaiting the arrival of Baby Girl. Sunday morning J asked what time his Sister was coming. And I told him I didn't know. His response was, "Well Mommy, you said she was coming after my Birthday and today is after my Birthday." I guess it is all good she didn't come as early as I thought she would. Anytime now would be great though.

Thursday evening J asked to ride his bikes (yes, he has three, two that are too small and one that is too big) but here is a good shot of him and Hubby riding the two wheeler that is still a bit big. This was one of those times that I looked at J and realized that he is so grown up now and definately not a baby anymore.
Since my youngest Sister was not going to be here on Saturday for the party, I made her stop by and hang out with us before she left for her weekend conference. We had a lot of fun and J kept reminding her that she would have to party when she got back. Her and my Dad missed the big day. And since J2 missed it too, it will be easy to have a little make-up party later this week.
I feel like I should be writing a letter to J, but somehow this morning it just isn't coming to me. Saturday was really more my day of reflection, he was such a wonderful baby. So warm and cuddly all the time. He still loves to cuddle, for which I am so thankful. He was and still is my little miracle that I thought would never arrive. He is the joy of my days and the sunshine of my life, without him our lives would just not be complete. Everyday he gets smarter and funnier and really and truly is a gentle boy, despite aiming his Lightsabers at me. He is also very thoughtful and concerned for others. Both traits I hope stay with him forever.

Happy Birthday J, we love you so much. Four, Wow.

Odds and Ends

After much talk (Hubby and I) and a fabric purchase I finally got around to covering a love seat that is in our bedroom. It took me a while due to the size of my belly, but I think it looks great. And now we can actually sit on it instead of the dogs. I used a vanilla microfibre. I have a couple little things to do to finish, but it is at least usable and the midwives can sit there instead of the floor.





Photos of J's room! The colours are "Maitland Blue" and "Summer Sky". Again both Pratt and Lambert colours done in the Para paint (Wall and trim, eggshell). The little pictures on the wall are all beachy and I have a couple more from our trip to hang up now that the painting is finished.









Funny, the room looks bigger in these photos, although it is a fair size, it isn't quite that big. J has his table where he plays post office and write notes. He also has his tool bench at the end of his bed where he gets his stuff ready to help Dad.







And finally, the last few things I need to sew up. I finished a sling for the baby and a nursing pillow. I have made so many nursing pillows for others but never one for myself, so this time I decided to do it. And I have some flannel that needs to be surged. Thank goodness these are all small little jobs and I can sit for ten to fifteen minutes and sew, walk away and come back later.

Sisterly Visit

My Sister, the one who loves to take self-portraits and who lives in Charlotte, NC and travels the Globe at whim, is here for a visit. The first visit since the "Blue Goose" (the 15 passenger van my Sister drove up for Christmastime) flew north. See us all crammed into that van... Mom, Four daughters and all their kids.... in the hands of a twenty two year old driver. It was fun, but scarey at the same time.

Yes, back to the visit. My littlest Sister graced us with her presence, naturally she 'had' to come home to keep up her health insurance and to get her car etested (the fact that it made it back was a sheer miracle) but, we are happy all the same as she will be here for a few weeks and we can all catch up and hang out.

For the first time in many summers, I actually have a darker tan than she does (photo of us from last summer at the beach), which is amazing considering she just spent a week in Charleston SC on the beach. She stopped in NYC on her way up, dropping off a friend in the Bronx. Her first visit since she was a year old, and she loved it. She even managed to pick us up a few little treats, which is always so cute.

This has been the fun for the last two days. Waiting for her to arrive and playing catch up. She is off with Dad for a few days, but will be back to hang out with us for the next couple of weeks. She better not miss the arrival of my newest little family member, I will be truly sad if she came all this way and wasn't here to meet her first thing.

**Edited to note: Apparently I forgot that my Sister was here for her birthday in February! See, time flies when you are having fun.

Another Weekend and nope, no Baby.

Another weekend passed and although I initially thought Friday would be the day, the weekend passed without the arrival.

J did get his room painted, but since it is only put back together tonight and just in time for bedtime, I will have to share photos of it tomorrow. It looks great and J is so thrilled to have it done. I, however, was thinking at certain points throughout the weekend, 'If I go into labour the midwives aren't going to notice my clean room all they will see is J's room spread throughout the loft'. J slept in the baby's room on Saturday night and pronounced it comfy and good. So we are all set there.

Saturday was spent, not only painting, but at J2's birthday party. J was so excited to celebrate his cousin's 4th he could hardly wait until 4pm. At 3pm he started the count down carrying the clock around asking how many more minutes. It was darling and cute, but a tad annoying at the same time. It is funny how some of the same presents that were opened on Saturday will be opened again this Saturday for J's birthday. My only hope is that Baby arrives either two days before or the day after. J will be devistated if his party doesn't go off on Saturday.

Sunday was spent at a BBQ with the inlaws. Many cousins were there and it was good to catch up again, as we don't see them very often. Then we rested for Sunday night.

Today I played around with my camera at my Mom's. She finally got her special fence that she has been asking my Dad for so she wanted the kids to come and play worry free in her backyard. The kids wanted all of us out there, so we went and I took photos of her hydrangeas. I will say that peonies have long been my favourite flower, but the hydrangea is surely gaining ground. If only they smelled as beautiful I would make the switch.

Tomorrow brings my Sister from North Carolina for a few weeks, so we are excited and looking forward to the visit.

And yes, I stocked up on Diet Pepsi, it is sooooo good.

Is it Wrong?

That all I want to drink is Diet Pepsi?

Up until about a month ago or so, I wasn't drinking any soda whatsoever. All of a sudden I can't get enough. Not sure if it's the heat, the baby or just the sheer joy of drinking Diet Pepsi again, but it is all I want to drink.


And I am all out.

Off to the grocery store!

BLogher Ads and other Bloggy Stuff

I finally decided to join the ranks of advertising. I hope none of you mind. I specifically chose Blogher because I find their ads tasteful and not too intrusive.

So, why did I decide to run ads? Yet another good question. I have wanting to migrate to my own domain for a long time now, so I decided that now was the time. At somepoint in the next few weeks, not only will I give birth to a new baby, but to a new website. Great timing, eh? I guess I just love a challenge. So, I signed up with Blogher Ads in order to help pay for the hosting costs of my site. Since I am a SAHM and won't be bringing much income in with a new baby, I thought this would be a good way to justify my own site.

The content will be the same, well, hopefully even better, and I hope to have more control over my pages. Stay tuned through the move, hopefully it will be easier than when I moved my house two years ago!

Now this has happened twice ... Blogger says it published my post, but alas it doesn't appear...

Ready... Set... Go...

I asked my Mom to come over and give my bedroom a good cleaning. Why you ask? Good question. You see we are planning a home birth. We did it for J and it was a wonderful experience so if all proceeds well we are doing it again.

When I was pregnant with J I was able to continue cleaning right up until labour started. This time around not so much. It all started a week before our vacation to the beach. I was doing my vacuuming, something I love to do because it completes the cleaning process, and I got a stitch in my side. I thought it was contractions so I stopped, waited 15 minutes and proceeded to finish. Well, the stitch came back. And anytime I walk too far, excercise too much or vacuum, I get a stitch. A very painful stitch. So, my cleaning has been limited.

When J arrived the entire house was spic and span, except our bedroom. That was the last room I needed to clean and vacuum and somehow in my two days of labour Hubby neglected to notice the fine layer of fur on the floor (the dogs were shedding). One of my midwifes sat in the fur on the floor waiting for J to arrive. I was devistated. One of the first things Hubby did after J's arrival was vacuum the bedroom.

This time around I did not want anybody sitting in fur, so I asked Mom to come and give the room a good once over. Well. She did more than just a once over. I never thought it was possible to clean a bedroom and bathroom for three hours. Yes, you heard me, three hours folks! She washed curtains, baseboards, knick knacks. Dusted books, put stuff away, cleaned windows. It was truly more than I asked for. I just wanted to know the room was clean and that a good vacuuming between now and when my labour starts would bring it up to speed.

I have never not wanted to sleep in my own room before. I didn't want to mess it up. And Hubby in the bathroom this morning. I had to go around after him and wipe up the sink and counters.

So, Mom, even though you have no idea how to get onto the internet and chances that you even know this blog exists are slim, I wanted to let the world know how grateful I am that you are my Mom. Thank you so much for cleaning our room and getting it ready for our newest arrival. I am sure the midwives will appreciate it and I know for sure that both Hubby and I do.

Thanks Mom.

A Weekend in Pictures

There is just no easier way to describe all the fun we had, even with me sitting on my butt, yes it is just plain hard to walk anymore. Starting with fun on Saturday. Hubby and A went on their annual hike through the mountains so J and I hung out waiting for one of my highschool girlfriends to stop by for a visit. This is the only event for which I don't have a photo. She is eight months pregnant with her first, so it was great to see her and meet her new Hubby. I can honestly say that she is just the same wonderful loveable person she was in highschool and that we just didn't have enough time to visit. Hopefully we will get more time when she is off on mat leave.
Then, Sunday, off to the lake. I don't even know what this lake was called but it is up in Calabogie (this link is for the Calabogie Peaks Resort, but you will see the beauty of the area). I wanted to see one of my girlfriends who was down in Calabogie this weekend. But, I didn't want to drive it alone, so I conned the big boys with a lake to swim in. Well, I think they officially had a great time. A, who has to be persuaded to go in the pool, was right in there swimming around and Hubby was off with snorkles in two seconds when promted. J, who said he wouldn't be going in the lake was next to impossible to get out. It was his first time in a lake and I think he was expecting crocodiles instead of his friend. The two of them are about four weeks apart and it is very cute to see them playing together.
Look at the beauty!!! Who knows, one day down the road.....
We were exhausted the whole way home, me wondering if Hubby hit another bump was my water going to break and A & J crashed in the back. It was such a wonderful day.

Monday was looking like it was going to rain all day, but it started to clear and Hubby remembered the corn roast at the farm. J was more than excited to go and sang, "Old McDonald" the whole way there. Of course when we arrived the sun burst through and it was stinkin' hot, but that was ok because we were at the farm. Hubby and I had two ears of corn each and would have had more, but restrained ourselves.

Then on the way home, seeing Home Depot open on the holiday, I begged Hubby to pick up the hangers for the other swing. The one that will hold adults. He was a little grumpy about it, but as you can see by the smile on his face the pleasure was all his. So he and J swang away the afternoon before dipping in the pool some more.

And I can think of no other way to end the perfect long weekend. Well, except maybe the arrival of the baby, but I wasn't quite ready yet. I will be after today though...

End of another Long Weekend

And I have lots to share.



No. The baby hasn't arrived. But, we had such a great weekend, I want to make sure I have photos to share.



Stay tuned.

One word...Hot

What do we do on one of the hottest days of the summer?

We bake chocolate chip cookies that's what. It just worked out nicely to stay inside, do a few chores, make some cookies and have a nap. Once we finished all of that we went in the pool.

I wanted to take a photo of the newest bunny in the neighbourhood, but it got away before I could get my camera out. I know bunnies are cute, but when they eat half your garden and make your dogs crazy, they aren't so much fun. My neighbour is trying to catch them, but he has had no success yet. Will see if he can catch and release them all before winter sets in. Either way I will be wrapping all the plants and shrubs in chicken wire this fall.

Thank you all so much on your wonderful comments on the baby's room. I do love it and have already found and picked up a few more little things to decorate. J was a little sad that Hubby hadn't painted his room yet. And although Hubby wasn't going to do it right now, I reminded him that A's room was painted and the baby's room was painted, it is only fair that J's room gets painted too. When J was born we did A's room too so he wouldn't fell left out. So now, we will paint J's room. Hooray!!! That will leave only our room, the bathrooms and the stairway to paint, this is a huge step. We only finished painting our last house when it was time to sell. My Dad keeps offering, but Hubby wants to do it all.

Now, I am off to have some cookies and head up to bed, to read of course before falling asleep. I won't have much time for reading soon, I need to finish up the last few books on my nightstand.