Introducing....

Meaghan Sara Elisabeth Mead

Born on December 4, 2008 at 7:58am

9 lbs 3 oz 22 inches long

Lots of black hair, blue eyes and gorgeous in every way.

I'm doing ok.....a lot of pain today, but should get ahead of the meds soon...... Will decide tomorrow if I want to go home Saturday or wait it out til Sunday. Now of course, some pics!

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow

The birthday is here! I'm completely surprised that it didn't come earlier - but that's ok. I'll be at the hospital bright and shiny at 5:30am or so. Then it's time for a little surgery at 7:30am. I can't wait to update this little blog with the big news. Pink or blue??? How big?? Now is the time for you to get your guesses in!!

So comment what you think. :) I'm really split and don't feel one way or another....one day I think it's a girl, another a boy, so who knows??? I do know it won't weigh much less than 9lbs.... I'm 40 weeks tomorrow.

Take care all and catch you when I'm a mother of 3, not just 2!!!!!

9 pounds, 8 ounces

Is the result from today's ultrasound.........I laugh and laugh and laugh............

4 more days

Starting tomorrow, there is only 4 days left until C-section.......scary, but man am I ready. Since I was measuring 42 weeks like 2 weeks ago....Um, I'm getting into elephant big category. That's not a slam on my body, just the fact it feels like this baby wants to be invitro as long as an elephant baby.

Oh well.......it will happen soon enough!!

I'm scheduled at 7:30am on Thursday, so won't be communicating much til I get home, unless Aaron brings the laptop, but I'm thinking I'll wait til I get home, sometime on Saturday or Sunday.

Thanks for all the happy labor thoughts!!!!

Hey Lady, Are you smuggling a ham under that shirt?

Oh no, just a fullterm approximately 9 pound baby.....

False Starts

I mean, Moving In The Right Direction.

I'm having some contractions, people. The real deal kind. the kind that take your breath away and nearly make you cry. However they come and go as they please, no rhyme or reason. I guess I was thinking since Rhys came (water broke at home) at 38 weeks, then this baby would just magically do the same. I'm a doula, how can I think that!!!????

Oh well...... So 38 weeks has come and gone, and I'm halfway to 39. I still have 1 1/2 weeks til my scheduled C-section, but I'd much rather go this coming week. I promise it's not just the fact that I could eat a big thankgiving dinner made by my mom (ie. not me) and not count carbs. But mainly for the fact that Aaron doesn't really get any time off since he started working at his new job in September. He has 2 sick days and those will be used for the birth (obviously) and then one day after. So, if I go this week, then he gets 2 built in days for the holiday on Thursday and Friday. I know the math wizzes are thinking - that doubles his time off! Heck yeah it does!

But each day I get more and more contractions, so that's good. I'm walking as much as I can every day and doing this and that to get things moving along. And last night I woke up to several contractions, and that was a first. Usually if I'm laying down I feel ok (except for the fact a giant HEAD is implanted in my pelvis, but I digress.....)

And again, I don't mean to complain, this baby will come by Dec. 4th no matter what, but I really want to see his/her sweet face and put a name on it! I dream every night of going into labor and I'm finally ready.

I have another doc appointment tomorrow.......and NST on Thursday (Happy Thanksgiving!), I hope I'm in the hospital for other reasons than that! So think happy baby coming thoughts this week!!!!

The pros know their stuff

I got our professional pictures back today (taken about 4 weeks ago). Here are a couple of my favorites!

Thanks Laura! www.NewCreationPhotography.com

Body Image

This pregnancy I decided to embrace my changing body. I mean, I try hard to love my body and what it can do when I'm NOT pregnant - so how amazing is it that not only does my body move and support my spirit, but it can also make A BABY. Every day I feel blessed, bloated yes, but really blessed. It sounds cheezy, but I do really appreciate it.

Part of feeling good about myself is doing things I don't normally do. I took prenatal pictures, clothed and with naked belly shots. My stretch marks beget stretch marks and there are bruises and needle poke marks. But there it is, in all it's glory. I did NOT take naked belly shots during my last pregnancy.

After we got home I asked my husband to take a few partially nude shots of me, from the waist up. Again, I'm trying to love this part of my life, my childbearing years. I was very inspired by Ina May's book "Spiritual Midwifery" where there are some great 'hippy dippy' nude shots of very pregnant mama's with their long wavy locks covering up some nether-regions. But looking absolutely gorgeous and ripe and beautiful. Holy, even.

I think one of the things that can change the way we think is exposure to some of these images and pictures. I'm not gungho on posting my semi-nude breast and belly shots here - but I'm so happy that I have them, stored away to admire and cherish when my babybearing years are through. Will I remember how big and dark my nipples become? Or how my breasts lie gently on my high belly? Or how far out my tummy can stretch? My body won't be this way for long, soon I will hold this baby in my arms and my body will mostly be my own.

I'm closing in on 38 weeks - I actually may hire a professional to do more prenatal shots or get my husband to work on his 'skills'. Either way it's amazingly gratifying, even as a plus-sized pregnant woman, to appreciate how my curves can take on another shape and still be beautiful.

Well then.

Today at Hyvee, I was asked by a stranger lady if I was having twins. Ouch. Seriously, I'm nearly 37 weeks. I'm big, but not THAT big...

What? You need a close up of the bump to decide? Well, there you go:

Some pumpkin carving goodness to share along the way:My "spooky skeleton" - I thought about doing face paint, but hey, he's only 3!See - he's not too spooky, he's just right.We have this freaky little creature running around our backyard. I'm not sure if it's a giant gopher, groundhog or badger. Anyone?????

Mary Kay Holiday Open House this weekend!

For those of you who live close - I'd love to see you! This may be our last chance to catch up before Baby Mead arrives in a couple of weeks! Plus I have some yummy treats and hot apple cider - so please don't leave me alone in my house to nibble away at these so not GD friendly snacks!

Stop by anytime tonite, Friday, Nov 7th from 5-9pm or Saturday, Nov 8th from 10am-2pm.

And for my out of town customers and friends - take advantage of the sale too! Free shipping as always - stock up while I can still waddle quickly to the post office.:)

20% off all Timewise products
30% off all gift sets and fragrances
50% all items in my Last Chance section online - I have a ton of discontinued, but GREAT, color!

As always, you can pay me by cash, check or credit. 6% Iowa State tax is all! Order online, email or call me.

I hope to hear (or see you!) from you soon!
www. marykay. com/kmead2

Just as glorious as the first

Today I got a 1:30am wake up call from my very overdue (10 days) client and friend. I showered to wake up, drove the 30 minutes or so to Iowa City. Ran in the house, ran back out with her (as much as you can run while contracting during transition) and raced to the hospital. We arrived about 2:40am. Her water broke while on her knees on the seat of the wheelchair. She somehow made it to the bed on all fours, pushed a couple of times and a beautiful baby girl was born at 3:01. Her contractions started at 1:20am. So just over 1 1/2 hours.

My last birth birth lasted 4 hours.

The previous 1 1/2 hours.

All three were unmedicated.

My first birth client used an epidural. Her water broke around 11pm and her baby was born less than 12 hours later.

Hopefully I'll get a birth that will count towards my certification someday! But I'm happy my mamas have had fast labors. And I'm still so happy to be doing what I'm doing.

Now I just have to concentrate on the next birth, my own!!!! I'm 36 weeks today!

FYI

Tonite is The Office's Halloween episode.

YES!

Breath of Fresh Air

Ahhhhhhh.....that's better.


We got the toilet fixed, as in WE did it! Sure enough it was the wax ring, basically completely collapsed and disintegrated into the sewage pipe, thus, no way for #1, #2 or TP to go down. And you can just imagine how gross it was and how gross our house smelled after cleaning both the sewage hole and toilet out. Gr-oss.

So for $4, 4 hours of our time and lots of stress, our main level toilet is working. However, I am not brave yet to do the doo as they say in it. Again, thank God for a second working toilet.

And that's the Mead update of the day!

The Complain Train

Glass half empty-

1. Our main level toilet is seriously messed up and has now leaked into the basement. We are going to try to fix it tonite, as we couldn't get it done before Aaron went to work and I had my weekly doc appt. Boooo to having to walk downstairs to pee 5 times a night and many more times during the day.

2. Rhys has decided his afternoon nap is only for quiet time, not for sleeping. God help me.

3. I scheduled my C-section today. I am not happy. I am technically due Dec. 5th and scheduled it for Dec. 4th. They still won't let me try vaginally even if I go into labor tomorrow.


Glass half full -
1. At least we have a toilet downstairs.

2. At least he's staying in his room until I tell him he can come out.

3. I will have a baby, one way or another. Now is the time to build up the positives and try to put a happy spin on it.

And that's what's going on here. Thanks for listening, peeps.

Day ? in the naptime and bedtime scream fest

I know, the suspense is killing you.

Yesterday he "cried" for an hour give or take. I told him that if he stopped his "crying" then I'd leave his bedroom door open and he could quietly play with toys or read books. He did this successfully for an hour until I told him time was up.

Mini-meltdown at the doc's office (which was for me) but otherwise went to bed fine and only got up once asking for help to the bathroom. We decided to just go to him and help him, which Aaron did, and that was it. Bliss. I also had just bought earplugs, just in case, so maybe it's like bringing an umbrella if you think it might rain.

Naptime today..... I told him he could sleep if he wanted, or again, play quietly with his toys, however, he was not allowed to come out of his room until I said, unless he had to pee (which is tough now because he clogged the main level toilet with TP this morning and the plumbers are unable to come until Monday - so he's having to walk downstairs to the basement toilet. What a great way to start the day, right?) He has been in his room an hour and I've been working on the computer - I haven't heard a peep for about 30 minutes but am afraid to look - I think he's sleeping though.

Remember in those newborn days when the baby would cry and cry for no reason and you'd have a miserable day. You would think that every day would be like that, and then the next day (or sometimes the day after) you'd get your happy baby back? Well, apparently that happens with almost 4 year olds too. I wish you could remember that in the heat of the moment.

However, don't get me started on our trip to the Hyvee pharmacy today. it's 40 degrees out and he was such a poop getting dressed all I could do was chuck him in the van with his undies and pj shirt on. I buckled him in and threw a blanket over him. Thank God for driveup windows.......

PS - I would have forgone the trip to the pharmacy this morning but had used my last insulin needle this morning and needed 3 more at least for today. I tried to go yesterday, but I'm trying not to go anywhere when he throws his tantrums like that and yesterday was the same..... I'm really trying this consistancy thing, but I had to get my stinking needles!

Scream Update Part 2

Naptime at the Mead's. Screaming started 40 minutes ago and still going strong. However, this time I have my MP3 player with earbuds on really loud. I'm done.

I have an appointment at 4, Rhys is coming with. Pray he falls asleep by then or we're in deep trouble.

Parenting advice

So, how long do you let your 3 month shy of 4 years old year old fake cry his way out of his afternoon nap???? we're on day 2 of this crap. Yes, crap is the nicest word I can think of right now. Yesterday he fake cried for an hour and 1/2 and passed out for 2 hours. (he totally needed that nap). Today we're going for about the same..... but he's still 'crying'. He's crying that he misses his daddy (even tho he saw him this AM before work and during his lunch) and will see him in about 2 hours. Or that he has to pee (he's already been told he can get up whenever he wants), or just generic waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahing.

And I can tell he's so tired, but I can't take it anymore. I know if he does get up he'll just be happy as a clam and want to play, do a project, all the stuff I promised him if he took his nap. So then I have to be the bad guy and not let him do his project because of no nap and he'll cry, throw a tantrum and be overall horrible because he's too tired to deal with the letdown... Not to mention be overtired at bedtime and we're going to go thru this again but this time he'll miss me because i have plans to meet a friend and won't be here at bedtime.

Parenting is hard.

Any feedback on this stage?

***Update - after over 2 hours, I let him get up on the condition that he gets no cartoons or his project. He watched this lame WE show with me for about 5 minutes and fell fast asleep for about 1 1/2 hours.

Another side note is that he is doing this at night now too. Like at 2am. He wakes up, screams, wants dad, but will not get up out of bed to pee or anything without help. One night he was up 8 times doing this, the next night once and last night we tried to get him up without us telling him he could get out of bed without help, but instead he screamed for an hour. It was horrible. We finally gave in and Aaron took him to the bathroom and back to bed.

And now it's the morning and he acts happy like nothing ever happened. WTH - this better be a stage and a short one because I can't handle this with a newborn in a month.......

Procrastination

I do a lot of it. I'm really good at shuffling piles around on the desk, or reorganizing mindless things of things to do. But when I crack at it, I barely get one task checked off my list. I'm 32 year old people, when will I ever grow out of this?

I realized how bad I am at this when we finally got to the "turn the office into the baby's room" this weekend. I thought it was Aaron stalling, but it was totally me. All the stuff that needed to be organized and moved was all mine.

Now I have to also give an answer to the docs on when my C-section will be....stalling again.

I should have already Christmas shopped since I will be in newborn baby-he...aven. But nope. While cleaning the office, I did find a package of socks for Zannie that I bought years ago in the wrong size, so there, there is one present done.

I tried to mail a package yesterday, but it was too late by the time I was going to get around to it, and then decided to do it today, but then now it's too late, so I might as well try tomorrow AM since that's when it would go out anyway.......

It makes me feel really good when I get my stuff done. But then again....here it is, Tuesday and the baby's room looks pretty much the same as Saturday. At least there is a crib in here, s/he won't mind the piles of paperwork all over that have to be taken care of ASAP. Right?

Check out these lovely ladies.....

It's my sister-in-law and me! You might not be able to tell, but our bellys are touching. Kissing cousins, indeed! She's 30 weeks and I'm 33 weeks. Just a little longer for us to go!

Vent of the Day

I'm getting really tired of sticking myself. That is all.

ps. i know this post is lame. I will get over it. I'm just venting and it's temporary.... thank you.

Ode to my mullet

Oh mullet, how you creep down my neck so fine.

Why, just yesterday you were just a bit of fluff to cover my rather long nape with my stylish (for Iowa) fauxhawk.

But now, you have grown. My, you have grown!

Should I slick you down? Should I flat iron you into a flip? Or maybe gel you into a lovely ducktail?

It's time for a cut, but I'm too cheap to go every 4 weeks. So one more week must you linger.

I will rock this mullet, oh yes, I will.

Double Hostess Credit in October!

October is such a special month for me with my Mary Kay business. It's my anniversary month! In celebration, I want to show you how fun and easy it is to be the hostess with the mostest and offer you double credit!

If you book a party with me in October you will get $100 in product for only $35! This is a great time to stock up on your favorites, or better yet, pamper yourself with our new holiday line of products!

And it's a great time to host a party - the holiday season is just around the corner!

You can book a party three different ways:
1. Hold a party at your house for a few of your closest friends.

2. Hold a party at my house - don't worry I'll clean for you!

3. Or hold a book party (great for my out of town customers!) - this can be done by bringing a Look Book and a few samples to work, or even send out an email with a start and end time to shop online on my website. No cleaning the house involved!

You will be eligible for the $100 of product for only $35 with a minimum party order of $200 - and to sweeten the deal, I'll give you another gift to show off to all your friends. Here's a hint, it's sparkly and perfect for the holiday season!

Also - have you wondered how to pad your pocket a bit with the holidays coming up? Ever thought of starting your own business? Now is the time to work for yourself, set your own hours and make some great money for Christmas shopping. Plus, as a consultant you always shop with Mary Kay at a discount! Call or email me and we can chat about how I started my business three years ago and how my business has grown! If I can do it, anyone can.

www.marykay.com/kmead2

Random Tidbits from Yesterday

Yesterday I had a bad day. I woke up not knowing it was going to be bad but here it is:

1. Met with a client/friend and got very sick because of the heat of the room. Nothing says professional like puking in the adjoining bathroom.

2. Our new neighbors got a chocolate lab puppy. They are gone all day at work and lock it in the dog run next to our house. She cries all day and it's the saddest thing ever. The windows are closed (it's only 47 degrees this morning!) and I can still hear her. Seriously - who does that?

3. Rhys had his first bout of explosive diarrhea before his nap. Thankfully on the bathroom linoleum. Every time he got up from the toilet he pooped on the floor. Gaggingly, I cleaned it all up, peeled off his poopy socks and nearly cried when he said, "Mommy, my tummy hurts so bad it makes me want to cry." Poor mite.

4. While cooking chicken in a skillet for dinner, I reached up to the above cabinet for the rice and burned my tummy on the skillet. So now to add to the stretch marks that have stretch marks, needle pokes and various bruises from needle pokes or running into things when I misjudge the size of my belly, I have a burn. Poor Zeus/ette.

So I sat down on the couch and just cried it out. Rhys says, in his T-shirt and underwear - "Are you crying Mama? Do you know what would make you feel better? Me playing the trombone." and he did, on his coat hanger trombone, and it did make me feel better.

My little gravedigger

On our way to playgroup yesterday, this conversation happened:

Rhys - See that over there? That's a cemetery.
Me - Yes it is.
Rhys - That's where the people go when they die, in the ground like that.
Me - Um, yep.
Rhys - When I get big I'm going to help them.
Me - Help them, what?
Rhys - Help them dig the holes with my digger, so they can go into the ground like that.
Me - Ok.....
Rhys - I'll have a small digger to use just for that, to help them.
Me - Ok.

(postscript: When my Dad was watching Rhys while I was gone, they took a walk to the park that goes by this cemetery which we drive by every day and Rhys has never noticed. Rhys asked what it was, and my poor Dad had to explain about death, what those flowers and gravestones are, etc to a 3 1/2 year old. Rhys took it pretty well, but is now completely obsessed with it. I suppose there are worse things than a wannabe grave digger in the family.)

My baby has a beautiful face!

It's weird being pregnant. Like, I know that I am, I feel the baby move all day, I have constant heartburn, and my protruding stomach is vastly approaching it's own Zip Code. But with this new fangled technology I can SEE my baby's face! There is a face in there! And so far we may luck out of that not so cute baby face, i.e.: Old Man or Alien. Here's crossing our fingers.....


So check out these beaut's:






I may have a contest on day of birth, size and gender. Anyone in?????

I've made it!

I know some family and friends check this...and if you note the date why some were a bit worried about me traveling. But anyway....I had a very safe flight and drive here and am excited to be with my friends....so I'll sign on again when I get back, safe and sound!!!!

I'm a slacker or what???

I'm just concentrating on getting ready for my big trip abroad, I leave this Wednesday....so all 'fun' activities have ceased! I'm only gone a week, but it seems like I need to pack for a month! I have to have clothes for wet weather in the low 60s, all my diabetes junk, gifts for the girls, and then try to figure out what fits as I'm growing by the day! And I'm leaving my lovely family so I need to have food cooked and frozen, or bought, so the bachelors don't have to work so hard in my absence.

Aaron also starts his new job today (fingers crossed that he likes it!) and looked so handsome leaving in his shirt and tie. No ugly former employer's uniform! it took all my power to not a picture of him like it was his first day of school. Today will be a lot of firsts for him, he's been in retail for 9 years. So not only did he have to pick out his own outfit, but he also will need some tutoring on Outlook, multilined phones, etc! Good thing he's got a ex-secretary wife.

It's raining cats and dogs today, so i'm going to try to make a bunch of bread. I had the same thing last time I was preggo - all I wanted to do was bake. My inlaws were here yesterday and I made a pretty darn good breakfast for them: Eggs, sausage and homemade coffee cake. Lunch was snacky stuff, and then an early dinner of pulled pork sandwiches, salad, potato salad and brownies. When they left, Aaron took Rhys to the park so I could put my feet up in silence and I fell asleep in about two minutes. It was awesome.

So now I need to clean up the kitchen from yesterday's fiasco and get going on this bread thing. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures from my trip and have an actual fun post and not just family updates!

I promise....

I have not fallen off the face of the earth....it's just too darn nice outside to spend a lot of time on the old computer. And I'm also finally taking care of some the home "hotspots" that are soooooo dirty or messy or unorganized that I can't ignore them anymore. One of these places is the office. It's a sty. And that's putting it nicely, it's more of an explicitive room, really. And this place needs to magically become a nursery in a couple of months....soooooooo.........yeah..........

I wrote an email to a friend who was seeing why I was MIA and I told her I was afraid to talk to some of my friends at the risk of sounding like a big whiney baby. So here's what's going on with us with a positive and negative spin on it.

And it went a little something like this:

Good - Aaron got a new job at Kaplan University in CR - he starts on Sept 8, we're very excited!
Bad - he was basically forced out of his previous employer by a bully of a district manager, so were the other 3 managers at his store and the gen. manager of the IC store. Pretty nice after spending 9 years of your time there.

Good - I feel great, baby is moving a ton, i'm 26 weeks and still in my nonmaternity jeans - tho the belly is biiiiiiiiiiig.
Bad - I have gestational diabetes again...grrrrr. This time I'm on insulin and it sucks. I prick my fingers 6x a day and also stab my belly 4x a day. Not fun.

Good - Rhys starts preschool Sept 2nd!
Bad - nothing, we're both really excited!

Good - I fly to Wales for a week sept 10-17, I booked the free ticket before I found out i was pg. And yes, I'm traveling alone!!!
Bad - Aaron was supposed to take vacation to watch rhys, but is now starting his new job. we've been scrambling the last couple of days trying to find someone to watch rhys. So far, so good, and it's covered...but my dad is coming out here Sunday-Thursday to help out.

So there ya go!!!!! Enjoy the update!

Because I'm old?

I don't feel like posting in paragraphs.....

1. I was stopped in the 'go straight' lane and next to me was a porshe coupe (or cou-pay as they say on Top Gear) who was going to have to merge into me. I thought for sure he'd beat me out (I drive a Ford Windstar van...suuuuuwwwweeeeeet!) But I was wrong. He totally let me win.

2. My tummy is getting bigger by the second, but I can still wear my non-maternity jeans. Booyah for sure.

3. Sticking yourself in the belly with insulin isn't fun, but surprisingly hurts way less than sticking your fingers.

4. Tomorrow I turn 32. Am I asking for happy birthdays, you bet I am. I also decided to adopt my husband's "birth week" idea. Last night I kicked it off with a girlfriend at Red Lobster. We know how to party it up.

5. At the Red Lobster, our 19 year old waiter asked if we were celebrating something special and I almost replied in a smart-ass way, "Yes, it's our anniversary." Since I'm sporting a new short faux hawk do. But instead I told him it was my birthday and he asked me how old I was. I then said, "Old enough." Rowr - touche'.

6. Man, those cheesy biscuits at Red Lobster are WAAAAAAY better than I remember them.

7. I have been sick with a cold for almost 2 full weeks. It's been horrible. I finally broke down on Saturday and called the oncall OB for help since I was having a heck of time just breathing. She prescribed this amazing antihistimine/cough suppressent that makes me feel high as a kite, and then knocks me out cold. I'm kinda scared of it, but I also want to use it wisely, it was a nice feeling. And bonus - it totally works!

8. I just attended my 2nd birth as a doula, and I have one more in early September and another in late October.... This last one I got there as fast as I could, she was already 9cm, and 45 minutes and 2 pushes later had a baby. It was rockstar amazing. And yes, completely natural - with no tears or anything. I wish you could sign up for a birth like that.

9. Now I kinda feel bad being so snarky to the Red Lobster waiter. Maybe he thought I was turning 21??? Hmmmmmmm..... But seriously - who asks how old you are, unless you're Rhys' age and you can't even say it, you can only hold up 3 fingers.

10. I'm soliciting the best chocolate cake/frosting recipes out there..... Only one day left - so send them to me fast!

11. I just met our new neighbors and they seem cool. Phew.....

12. Our pool closed last weekend. WTH?????

13. I leave for Wales in 3 weeks. I'm sooooooo excited, and a little nervous traveling pregnant by myself, but I suppose that's what happens when you book a ticket 6 months in advance!

14. And on a heavier note..... There is some stuff going down at Aaron's work..... So, shoot any extra prayers our way for some kind of light at the end of this tunnel....

Seven Years Ago Today....

I married the love of my life. We've been through ups and downs, 2 1/2 children, new jobs, our first home, car problems, and now a flood. To think we've lasted longer than the Czech and Slovak Museum we were married in. It makes me sad there were no weddings there this summer - it's such a beautiful place.

Anyway, here's you to you, Honey..... I love you!

What does this say about me?

I was in the bathroom, doing my business as you do, and there was a knock on the front door. Rhys yells, "Someone's here!" I have a window in the bathroom conveniently located next to the toilet, so I peeked out and 2 chicks with skirts, bibles and pioneer hair were waiting patiently. I decided not to answer the door, and so they left. But not before Rhys put his fire breathing and very loud dragon toy up against the window next to the door (which was open since it's only 66 today!) and roared it.

Hmmmmmm.....

Maybe I should take the welcome sign down.

Public Service Announcement

Never give your three year old a kazoo. Ever. Under any circumstances. And if you choose not to follow this advice, get one of these, you'll need it:

Yep, the pictures are starting before s/he is even born

I am amazed at how much better the technology is now (at least ultrasound-wise) than it was 4 years ago when I was pregnant with Rhys. We walked out of there with 2 grainy pictures and had to see the whole thing on a tiny screen. Now, we went home with about 20 pictures, several were 4D (not sure what the 4th dimension is, but ya know...) and it's presented to us on a HUGE 50" flatscreen TV. It's really cool. Or maybe it's just I went from a crappy University state-run hospital to a private one...who knows?


So here is little Zeus, or Zeusette as we affectionally call my very kicky baby who is measuring perfectly in my rapidly growing tummy. Also note the enormous size of my placenta (at least it looked enormous to me in the profile picture, it's that gray thing that looks like a blanket on top of Zeus). No wonder that thing is pumping out massive amounts of insulsin resistant hormones. I think they will need a bigger bowl, just like they did last time.....


(are you happy I got a placenta reference in my post? And just so you know there is a guy in the quad cities who will dehydrate your very own placenta and grind it up to put it in pills you can take postpartum. I'm hooked up like that. Oh, why you ask? Because it's really high in iron and has properties that have been found to reduce the chance/effect of postpartum depression. How cool is that? Way better than making it into a stew... Oh, didn't you know people did that? Well, they do. No thanks... But I entirely respect their view...I just choose not to act on it. Tho wouldn't that be fun to put down on a "What people don't know about you" section of a quiz or game. "I ate my own placenta in a stew or pill form." Talk about sticking out from the crowd. Aren't I an open-minded doula?)

I can't believe I forgot to blog about this!

A was flipping back and forth from the Tour (yeah, that's right, I use the cool kid lingo) and VH1 because the commercials on VS are really sucky for a 3 year old (seriously, who needs to see bloody kickboxing?). And what did I see??? The Swell Season video for When Your Mind's Made Up with is my favorite song of all time of theirs. Also from the movie ONCE.

I get goosebumps every single time I hear the song (which is a lot since that's pretty much all I ever play when I drive) and yes, sometimes the chord changes during his 'yelling' part bring a tear to my eye. Still. And I've heard this song a million times.




Anyway..... in the middle of the flood of '08 as it's known in these parts, we had tickets to go to Chicago to see the Swell Season in concert. It turned out to be a blessing, because we could shower/drink water/live in Chicago for a couple of days and not feel bad. Plus we fit in a great meal, fancy hotel (thank you hotwire), concert, and trip to the Field Museum all kid free!

And I left the friggin camera in the van and it was valet parked...so..... no pics. But I will just have to let you know how it goes.

Here is our hotel:

It's also where we ate a fabulous dinner. I wanted to splurge on dessert, but finding I was newly diabetic nothing seemed that worth it for me. But no worries.

The Chicago Theatre was literally 100 yards from our hotel, whoo hoo! We had some time to burn after dinner so we took a walk around the block, got to see our token homeless Chicagoans and enjoyed the hot summer evening. Finally it was time to get our no fun pieces of paper scanned and find our seats. I was pretty happy they were dead center, I was on the aisle and they were about 40 rows back on the main floor, not bad at all. And then the tallest guy in the universe sat right in front of me. Seriously? Seriously.

Thankfully he had a narrow head, so I was able to move mine to the left an quite an angle and was able to enjoy seeing the band's faces. Phew. Disaster diverted. The opening act was a chick and her guitar and then a guy came out to join her on accordian. Yep, accordian. I give them props for something different and I could understand every single word she sang, also a bonus, but really it was like the room temperature salad before your steak dinner.

So after about 45 minutes of her (she never said her name!) and 15 min of prep, they jumped right on stage and opened the show with Lies. It was fantastic, but Mar's mic was too hot and she kept holding out the notes longer than Glen. The choir director in me was a bit peeved, but luckily that stopped after the first song.....Phew! And that's it, my only complaint!!!

They played 3-4 songs together, then Glen played a few of his solo, then Mar joined him in Fogtown (I really liked that they played a bunch of Frames tunes, and some old favs of their's they used to busk together). The rest of the group joined them (Guitarist, Bass and Fiddle from the Frames, and a great random drummer). They continued playing for another 4-5 songs.

Ok, I lied, here is my other beef. Encores. I think they are lame. Is it that hard to just play your entire set and then bow out? I don't get it. I feel like a dog begging for treats.. it's weird. So we clapped and whistled and hollared and they came out again for another 4 songs or so.... then off they went. And we clapped and whistled and hollared some more, and they came out again. This time they stood out in front of the mics and sang a great folk tune which included a ton of audience participation. PLus it's so nice to hear them without the amplification! Nickel Creek did this too and I loved it.

So the song's going great, and the crowd is singing (even Aaron!) and we're all snapping along (Glen yelled at the beginning to quit clapping as it was toooooo loud!) and then they look at each other, and jump off the stage and they are coming right at me!!! (ok, me and about a 1000 other people) But still, here they come, up the aisle. Remember how I had an aisle seat???

It took all my willpower not to hold out my hand for a high five or slap someone's (Glen's) butt. But I just smiled, was really happy I was wearing a great shirt and had cute hair (like they noticed, but still) and clapped and cheered like crazy! And I was happy I was pregnant, my nose was able to target the two smells as they went by (is it weird that I smell people? Cause I do...)

Minty Gum.

B.O.

And I was totally cool with it. I think BO is good after a concert, I want them to work! So they went back through the lobby, and out the other aisle down the opposite side and back to the stage. It was killer!

It's fun to see a group who's not so famous that they can do that kind of stuff without the fear of people completely mobbed. It was so fun!

As we were leaving the theatre, ushers handed out cards from a website called playedlastnight.com

Here we had a coupon to download our own show (June 15, 2008) for about 5 bucks. I love technology... so now I have a 2 disk CD of the show, and they kept in all the talking, jokes and retuning issues.... It was fantastic!

And you can also download a show - it's just 9.95 or something...so really a great deal. They have the playlists so you can pick which one has the songs you want, they did different songs each night.

So there you go!!! It was great, and me being so darn picky I had really nothing to pick about. We went home, treated ourselves to the minibar (I split a King Size Snickers with Aaron, and he had a beer) and went to bed. It was a great vacation for just the 2 of us (in two years!)

We're back!

Here's a pic of the hair and my lovely husband making his infamous "Derrrrrrrrr" face. It would have been a good one!!!

Also a great one of the kiddos. Can you tell Rhys is saying, "Cheese!"

Ahhhhhhh. vacation......

So we're leaving town tomorrow for my brother in law's wedding on Saturday. Aaron is the best man and I just get to sit and enjoy the day! No singing, no speaking, no fancy dresses. Well, I DID get a pretty snazzy maternity dress. I decided I'd rather look pregnant (since it's now 17 weeks!) than a little more chubby than usual, so found a great deal and got a very pretty dress.

Don't worry - these nasty things (Mama Spanx) won't be coming in contact with my hot body.

Seriously tho, who in God's name wants to bend over to put panty hose on THAT pregnant, I could barely put socks and shoes on at that point??

We spend the rest of the weekend, and a few days at my in-laws and then head north to Wisconsin for the rest of the week and the following weekend. Should be a fun 4th!



In other news, I also got my Mia haircut. It's fantastic! I wake up with bed head and it actually looks better than the day before when I tried to style it. That's my kind of hair cut! Someday I'll get out of a nasty t-shirt and put on my makeup and take a picture of myself. Hopefully we can get a few nice pictures at the wedding and you can see the glorious new me. I'm very happy with it.



Speaking of maternity clothes, I finally dragged mine out of the basement. The good news is all of it fits, the bad news is quite a bit is stretched out (biiiiigggg tummy)!

About a week before I delivered Rhys

So now i have to separate them into 2nd tri and 3rd tri clothes. Usually I like organizing, but I'm really not in the mood right not.



So that's what's going down in this household. Oh, and I also have gestational diabetes. That totally sucks again...but after a few good cries, I'm getting a grip and dealing with the fingerpricks, strict diet, and number game. I know that voluntarily tackling this early on will give me a better result... and because I'm going for a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After C-section) I want the smallest baby possible. With our genes, I need all the help I can get.



See you after vacation! (or maybe during, if I happen to open the laptop, but I might be too busy at the pool getting my tan on.) Happy 4th!

I believe in the power of prayer

A friend sent me a myspace bulletin about her friend who just gave birth to a gorgeous baby boy. Due to many complications, he's in the NICU and needs our prayers.

Get the tissues out and read their blog:

http://jacksonadam.blogspot.com/

And please, add them to your prayer list tonite.

Fundraiser to help Cedar Rapids!

Hello All,
I am writing to ask for your help, if you have seen the TV coverage of the current situation here in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids, among other communities in Iowa, we are having RECORD flooding, and when I say record flooding I mean that it has flooded places they never thought it would flood.

We are lucky - our Home is safe just two blocks up from the water and hopefully will stay that way.

So now is where I ask for your help, as many of you know June is the end of our Mary Kay year and until last week I was set to have my best year ever, as the second best consultant in our unit! And now as I am out helping others I am asking for your help in my business and help for my community. I am offering you a sale, and a chance to help Cedar Rapids. For the next week, until June 24, I am offering a 20% discount PLUS I will donate an additional 20% to our local Red Cross chapter. We have some AMAZING new Mineral Powder Eye and Cheek Colors that you can check out on my web site NOW, or you may just want to stock up on some of your favorites.

You can help me paint the flooded area pink! You can call, email or order on line. I cannot guarantee how quickly I can get you your product, since email is not always working and we are not sure if our mail is getting out, but I will get it to you the best I can! I remember when Hurricane Katrina hit and I felt so helpless here so far away, maybe you feel that way watching our community under water. Thank you for your prayers and support of our community and of my Mary Kay goals! If you know anyone who is not in a flood affected area that might want to help with this goal please feel free to pass along my email!

Thank you and I hope to hear from you soon!
Help rebuild Cedar Rapids!
Kristen Mead
Independant Beauty Consultant
www.marykay.com/kmead2
kmead2@marykay.com

Flooding

If you've caught the news, you'll see that Cedar Rapids, Ia is underwater. Thankfully we live about 2 blocks up on a hill from the flood. However, we are only allowed to use water to drink (no showers, washing clothes or dishes). We have no home phone, cable or internet. We lost electric last night, but it came back on after about 7 hours. However, I'm not trusting it!!!

But the good news is our house is fine. Aaron still has to work - bogus! But Rhys and I escaped to Illinois and plan to stay awhile. Aaron will join us tomorrow as we had planned to do anyway because we're seeing the Swell Seasons in Chicago on Sunday (whoo hooo!) Anyway, they think the water situation will last for another couple of weeks - so we'll see what will happen.

So, pray for all the people who have lost their homes - thankfully no one has lost their lives! And for the rebuilding of our city.

For more info check out www.kcrg.com

Can't touch this

If you've missed this commercial - enjoy.....


Or this one...I know, I have a weird sense of humor....

Hair cut time

Well, I'm biting the bullet and getting another haircut tomorrow! Currently, I look a little like this:

Here is my inspiration - so we'll see what it ends up being.....

(And I wonder why chicks hit on me.....hmmm....... not that there's anything wrong with that...)