first day of maternity leave...

not too shabby, me and tiny matt enjoying some finding nemo

Yes, I am officially on maternity leave, but no... no new little babe to speak of yet. The other night at work I was feeling a bit more on the patient side of things, instead of being the nurse. So I decided, it was time. I was contracting a TON...so much so that I thought I was going into labor- I was stoked. I went home around 2am... and everything died down and I had one of the best nights of sleep ever. I woke up at 7am...well shit. I guess I didn't have a baby after all. So I have been enjoying Cora, keeping the house clean and really doing much of nothing. All of my projects are done and baby shopping is done. Anytime I try to do something rigorous (ok...just a normal activity like grocery shopping) I end up contracting a ton and needing to sit down. So I guess maternity leave was due.  So me, tiny matt and regular sized matt are living it up, 38 weeks pregnant... just waiting for tater tot to show up and join the party.

week 37

Wow, we are at the end of 37 weeks... and I feel it. Little oaks is cooking away, healthy and measuring at 40 weeks. He's a big dude (we think). Matt mentioned the other night that henry would for sure be taller than him when he's grown up. It just blew my mind. Our little man, being big and tall and strong. Hmm. Our son. Still CRAZY. But now I am in love with the idea of having a son, it feels right.

Pregnancy update:
Sleep blows. I can't sleep for longer than 2 hours and then I wake up in pain, contracting, and needing to pee, and sometimes eat cereal. What makes it even less desirable is I know right now is the "good sleep"....that soon we will be sleep deprived and I will wish I had slept more. Oh, also when I wake up each night, contracting, feeling sick to my stomach- like I did when my water broke with Cora, and think- this is it!! Let's go!! Like Christmas morning. But it's not, and I awkwardly climb back into bed to repeat again in 2 hours. So crazy to not know when we get to meet him. Anxiety issues? Oh, probably.

Little Oaks dropped in the past week, I can feel him riding lower like he might just fall out. This makes me happy.

I am trying to savor our last days with Cora as our only child. However, I think I will be a more present and engaged mom with this 50 lbs lifted off my body, being able to run, squat, multi-task like the old days.

Project update:
My projects are winding down and being completed. Henry Oak's room is almost 100% complete (yay!!) and our odds and ends around the house are coming together too. Lots of sewing projects in the past few weeks. I made a bunch of fitted sheets- crib, bassinet, and diaper changing table ones. They are adorable, and quite boy-ish. I am proud of myself for branching out from the turquoise, even though it was challenging.

Last things on the list... Cora's Halloween costume I am making- she is going to be an owl. And I still have a set of curtains to whip up for Cora's room. Project for Henry, project for Cora... it was only fair. Parents are supposed to be fair right? I guess I should stop telling Cora she is my favorite pretty soon.

blueberry criossant puff.

I am showing you only a 1/4 of the dish, because... well...

the rest I devoured before I could take a picture.

Oh my. I have to share this wonderful recipe with you all. It was easy, relatively cheap....and soo tasty. I had a girlfriend over to chat at my house while Cora played and we had this for a breakfast treat with coffee. Amazing. Almost replaced the wonderfulness of a coffee shop's delicacies. Oh yea, it's not even remotely healthy, so beware. It tastes like a cheese Danish with blueberries, I think next time I'll try a mixture of other berries for fun.

Blueberry Croissant Puff
(adapted from here, which of course I found on pinterest)

Ingredients

• 3 large croissants, cut up
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (I used frozen, it was wonderful even though I was fearful)
• 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup milk
• lemon zest           

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place croissant pieces in a 8 inch square dish. Sprinkle with blueberries.
3. Beat cream cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla in medium bowl with electric mixer until well blended. Gradually add milk, beating well after each addition, then top off with lemon zest. Pour evenly over croissant pieces. Let stand 20 minutes.
4. Bake at 350°F for 35 to 40 minutes or until set in center and golden brown. You may want to cover it with foil for the last 10 minutes if the tops are getting too browned.
5. Serve warm sprinkled with powdered sugar.
6. Variation: Instead of baking in a square pan bake individually. Place croissant pieces evenly in 10 (1/2-cup) ramekins; sprinkle with blueberries and pour cream cheese mixture evenly over croissant pieces. Let stand 20 minutes. Bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes or until set in center and golden brown.

week 35

If it looks like I am holding up my belly, I am. It feels like it needs all the support I can give it.

And I am measuring 37 weeks today! Ha. Big ol' tot.

Well I am 35 weeks pregnant.....and it's October, which I already dedicated a whole post to this week. I usually love autumn for the pretty leaves, random snow falls, pumpkin spice lattes (or ummm everything pumpkin flavored), tasty food, cozy blankets and quite honestly wearing my uggs. But now we get to tack on the excitement of having a babe in the fall. Fun.

These weeks have been a little more drama, in our very not dramatic life. I have had some busy nights at work (I'm a nurse- 3 night shifts each weekend), and I realized that I hadn't felt little Henry moving this past weekend. Now being a nurse and a patient, is pretty undesirable. I know just enough to freak myself out- to know about all of the scary situations that a body can and can't endure. However, I also feel like I might overlook some symptoms...because come on, I'm not dying. I don't really need to go see the doctor, it will probably pass. So I was at work.... and mentally freaking myself out. Usually I feel Henry moving at night when I sit down. And I didn't. I put my feet up, drank water. Nothing. I called down to labor and delivery and asked... "hey.... so, I'm a nurse here...and I don't feel my baby what should I do?" My midwife happened to be in that late night and told me to just come on down and get monitored. I did... everything was fine. His little heart was fantastically healthy and beautiful to listen to for the 45 minutes of being monitored. They did see a bunch of contractions (which I have been feeling for the past 2 weeks). The nurse was surprised that I had so many, so often...and wondered how I was doing with them. I said fine, it's certainly not anywhere close to labor- labor is quite painful, these were just like punches to my gut. And these don't feel near low enough or productive. Just braxton hicks I suppose, except I have them all of the time irregularly regular. My midwife opted not to check to see if I was dilated...no sense in stirring things up. And that was that, I got to return back to work, 35 weeks pregnant.

I managed to freak Matt out, being that he was at home, having to wait through my text messages in anticipation. I looked around in the triage L&D room.... this was all so real. Soon we would be delivering another babe here. Crazy. When will it be? Will my water break first? How quick will labor go? What will he look like? A million questions now flood through my head. But I am glad it wasn't that night, but it is right around the corner. Perhaps sooner than later. My appointments with my midwife have also turned into weekly ones. It feels excessive, until I get a scare like...he's not kicking! Then I feel good that I get to go in and hear his sweet heartbeat.

So now, we have kicked into high gear. Projects must get done. In two weeks I am considered full term, and I am currently measuring full term, for what its worth. Shelves are going up, spray paint is flying, sewing like crazy, pom poms galore. I'm sure Henry will appreciate all of this hard work, including the 32 screws that I just had to prime, spray paint pumpkin-orange, and clear coat. Yea, that's for sure important to him.

I turn 30 this week....so that's... something. I have felt like I was "30" for awhile, whatever that means. So no big shock, it just feels right. Matt also turns 31 in a few weeks, so perhaps we will have another little birthday close by. Oh and Cora will be 18 months old on Matt's birthday too, big milestone! Our tiny spud is growing up.

Busy time here in our world.

October!? Really?

puddle stomping.

galoshes on- check! lion- check! 35 week henry in utero- check!

Oh boy... I think I'm ready to be done with pregnancy. I love being pregnant, but this one has physically worn me out. Thank goodness we have jumped straight into fall, perhaps even winter. Maybe having two kids so close together is taking its toll? I don't know. But I have had the October tater tot arrival in my mind for 10 months, and it's here. Amazing.

Our little sweetie has been keeping us busy. She talks ducks, fishes, balls, "moooore" food, bananas. It's wonderful. She smiles and points and hugs and kisses (even with the kissing noise). She chases us around the house and loves being spooked around the corners. She laughs hysterically when she starts to get delirious/ tired at the end of the night. It's too cute. It makes us realize that all of this hard work is worth it, that the world is wonderful and just as it should be, that nothing else matters.... like the dishes piling up, the crusty fruit droppings under the high chair, piles of laundry, an aching pelvis, the husband that I haven't spent quality time in days with, and mail in the mailbox for who knows how many days. This little person is perfect. Life is pretty darn good ...and it's October!!! We almost get to have another tiny person.