Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Getting in the Spirit

It's Christmas Eve, and the spirit hasn't quite struck me yet. I, like my brother, really don't celebrate the religious aspects of the holiday anymore (although yeah, "Jesus is the reason for the season," as the saying goes). I choose to celebrate my family, my friends, and the other blessings I have in my life. I enjoy getting together with my family, which in recent years has become both smaller in some aspects, and larger in others. Perhaps that's what makes the holidays difficult sometimes - the change, both good and bad, that comes with them in the passing years.

Mike and I have decided that instead of criss-crossing the state on major holidays, we will flip-flop holidays with our families each year. This year, Thanksgiving was spent with his side, and Christmas will be spent with mine. It's a good compromise, and I think it will work well, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss spending Thanksgiving Day at Ben and Alli's house with my parents, and my brother's in-laws. It was hard. It was a change. And today, although it's Christmas Eve and we will be spending the holiday with my family, it doesn't feel quite the same. Tomorrow Mike and I will head over to my mom and dad's house to spend some time with them and my uncle, and Ben and Alli will be coming to town on Friday to spend the weekend - and Mike will be back at work. It's the same, but it's not the same.

The following years will bring more change, if there's anything I'm sure of, I'm sure of that. Next year, we will have a nine-month old baby to share the holiday with (and who knows, we may be breaking our new tradition and criss-crossing the state anyway - I have a feeling neither side will want to miss "Baby's First Christmas").

Merry Chrismahanakwanzikah to everyone! Hopefully the spirit will strike me soon.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Prenatal Visit #5

Last Wednesday, I had my 5th prenatal visit. Mike was off work, so he came with me. Still nothing exciting, but my nurse did seem pretty pleased when she was charting my weight - that I was finally starting to put more on (never thought I'd have a medical professional be happy about that!). I've gained about 13 pounds since finding out I was pregnant. Of course weight gain is normal and healthy during pregnancy (and at my first prenatal visit they told me I could gain between 25-30 pounds - or something like that), but at 5'2" I don't really have anywhere for it all to go, so I have to be careful. I don't want it to be physically straining, and any more emotionally straining than it has to be, as I've always struggled with my weight.

Anywho... still no defined baby bump to speak of, but at least I found out at this doctor visit that the baby is up higher than I thought he was (so at least when people ask to rub my belly, I can rest assured that they actually are rubbing my "baby belly," not just my "holiday schmorgasboard belly").

In other baby news, we have also decided to hire a doula to help me make it through labor and delivery naturally - yep, no epidural, and hopefully no other drugs or unnecessary interventions. I'll write more soon about our decision and the path that led us there.

That's all for now, my fingers are cold. I think I need these fingerless gloves now!

What do you want for Christmas?/Why I Love Mike

Ah, the ever dreaded question that pops up every year. Nothing. I don't want a thing. (Which really means, "I would love for you to really think about it, and find something you think I would enjoy, because I truly believe it is the thought that counts. Seriously, if you found a rock on the beach that reminded you of me for some reason, I want that.)

Anyway, because that never works, this year I came up with something. Since we are going to welcome our little bundle of joy in a little over three months, I thought the Flip video camera would be great. We could shoot videos of the baby, and send them off to distant friends and relatives. But, since Mike is, well, Mike, he asked several sales people their opinions about the camera, and let's just say they were less than helpful when it came to fulfilling my gift list. So, Mike came home and told me that I would not be getting a Flip for Christmas... so what else did I want? I thought about it, and decided I wanted a jewelry box. (This was on my list last year, too, and he did get me a small one with compartments for rings and smaller jewelry, and a larger one that is all open on the inside - no compartments - which he took over when we moved out to remodel our house.) Last night when I got home from my yoga class, Mike announced that not only would I not be getting the Flip, I would also not be getting a jewelry box. He then explained that he hunted for most of the day, and thinks he found the perfect gift for me, and that he thinks he "did really good."

I love him.

Hands off!

This is a shameless plug for my CafePress store, but personally I think this new shirt is too fun not to share. So, if you know anyone that is pregnant (and they would like strangers to keep their hands to themselves) Christmas is right around the corner! Comes in white, pink, and black.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Making Room

I got to work this morning, and after a 4-day weekend, I had 70 emails. Do you know how many of them were actually relevant to work (meaning, had nothing to do with free shipping, special web-only deals, sales, fancy new shoes, etc.)? I think 4. And that's being pretty generous. So, in the interest of de-cluttering my life, I unsubscribed. A lot. It felt good. I will no longer be tempted by Pottery Barn, or PiperLime, or SoleStruck, or Willams Sonoma, to spend money that I don't really have anyway.

Next challenge: cleaning out our office to convert into a nursery. My husband has very lovingly pointed out recently that since he sold our old home audio equipment, most of the stuff left in that room does indeed belong to me. Yuk. So, when Mike goes back to his regular schedule at work, I'll be spending his first weekend of day shifts sorting, organizing, and garage-sale piling everything that doesn't weigh more than 30 lbs. I really, really, REALLY wish that day could be accompanied by a good bottle of wine.