My Crafty Weekend

I was very busy this weekend. I'd had a bunch of ideas of things I wanted to make, baby-related. So Saturday, I braved the cold and rain and hit the local thrift store for supplies. I ended up finding about 5 woo l sweaters (pretty impressive for Texas), some old tshirts, some jeans (for a non-baby project), and a whole bag of baby toys for $8 (the bag, not the entire bill). I had so much stuff there was no need to go looking at other stores for supplies, besides, it had been an hour and I needed a bathroom break. So I headed home to start washing.

Saturday night, I cut out pieces for baby yoga pants, a denim tote, a bunch of wool supplies, and also printed out and organized the instructions for all the projects I wanted to do. I ended up finishing a pair of black baby yoga pants, and even embellished them, and made a bunch of flannel wipes.

Baby pants:
Flannel wips:

Sunday, I tackled the bigger projects. I decided to make a dust ruffle for the crib. In part because it looked rather bare, and I didn't want to shell out $20-50 for a dust ruffle, and also because it could be used to hide stuff we store under the crib. I went digging through my fabric stash. Suddenly I'm glad I didn't purge my fabric when I was cleaning house last fall. I found some muslin and some pretty cottage print in blue roses.

I sat and contemplated sizes and construction details for a good hour before I was satisfied that I had a good pattern. Yes, I created the entire pattern from scratch. My engineering degree ought to be good for something, right?

Well, it took about twice as long to construct as I thought it would originally. That's usually the case. But I also didn't count washing and drying time in my original estimate. Also, I did a simple hem, and I should have done a finished hem, since it's so ravelly, but no one will notice but me.

Here's the finished dust ruffle in place on the crib:


Finally, I tackled making a couple of toys. I'd gotten the inspiration from some projects I saw on the net and wanted to see if I could make them. I cut up a cashmere sweater that had been slightly felted and made a bunny out of it. Sewing it was a pain, but eventually it went together. Almost screwed up and sewed the ears so they would have been inside the bunny when I flipped it. Happily I caught my mistake BEFORE I started sewing.

When it was sewn together, I figured I'd have to wait until Monday to hit the fabric store and pick up a package of fiberfill to stuff it with. Then Daniel had a brilliant idea. Why not take one of the grab-bag toys that I didn't want to keep and take the stuffing out of that. Fantastic! The toy I grabbed even had a little rattle inside. It had just enough fluff to fill up the bunny. I'm rather proud of my little bunny rattle.



The gray box behind it is a heavily felted wool that I sewed into a cube. It, too, needs fiberfill or stuffing of some sort, and I don't have any more toys I can cannibalize. I'll think of something soon.

Daniel was funny last night. He kept asking me if this was nesting, since I was being "scary productive", in his words. I felt productive, but no baby yet. And I didn't have any urges to do any actual cleaning. So far, I've been resisting those pretty well.

Bunny Slippers

Telecommuting does have its advantages. When your feet are too swollen for shoes and it's cold outside, what do you do?

Bunny Slippers!

Preganancy Update: 38 weeks 5 days

Everything is still looking fine for the baby. My blood pressure, weight and everything else is fine. Dr. listened to the heartbeat and it's good. She did a quick ultrasound to check and make sure he was still head down, since she said she couldn't feel his head this week, and last week she could. He's actually moved back up. No, wrong way, baby. Go down.

Daniel went with me this time to insist on telling the doctor how bad my back was hurting. I told her that by mid-way through the day, it hurt all the time. And by the end of the day, I can barely walk anymore. It's really, really hard to walk from the office to the parking lot, and if it's a mission day, then my walk is double or triple because our parking lot is shared by Mission Control. Just going to the copy machine or to the bathroom at work is painful, and walking between buildings is right out, now.

So my doctor wrote me a note excusing me from work until further notice. Um...great? I was not expecting to be put on modified bedrest at all. I had planned to work up until I went into labor so I could save my leave. But she said that I could telecommute. So I went into work for the last time to talk to HR and my management about telecommuting for the next 2 weeks. They don't have any problems with it. Yay! It lets me save my leave -and- keep occupied during the day. If I can't be busy and move around and go places, I think I'd go crazy just sitting on the couch all day.

Baby likes pineapple juice

Just had a glass of pineapple juice and boy, is he moving around like crazy now. He's been really active for the last 3-4 days now.

Stewart -vs- Cramer: Stewart Lands a Knock Out Punch!

Damn! Did you see the Jon Stewart interview of Jim Cramer on The Daily Show tonight? Wow. When Jon gets serious, he packs a mean wallop, and he wasn't pulling any punches tonight. Apparently, that low-res clip he showed of Cramer from 2006 just surfaced yesterday on the internet. I'm not sure Cramer even knew it was out, but on it, he's pretty much admitting to doing all the illegal stuff as a hedge fund manager just because it makes him money and the SEC can't/won't stop him. Once again, wow.

Check out the interview if you haven't seen it.

It honestly sounded like Cramer was off balance and sometimes on the verge of breaking down. Don't know if it's true or not, but Daniel agreed with me when we were watching it.

At first, we thought it would be a LOL type, softball interview, but Jon really was furious about the financial reporting industry's failure, no complicity, in the downfall of the American economy. He voiced what the average person was thinking: why do these guys play games with -our- 401Ks to make short term profit for themselves, screw us over, and come out of this richer than ever. It's not right, it's not fair, someone should have stopped them. Bush should have regulated them, and the financial shows should have exposed them. Cramer doing a mea culpea on The Daily Show was so pathetic. His best defense was that the CEOs came on his show and lied to him. Bull. He knew better. He knew what the game was, and he went right along with it.

I hope this gets a lot of press. I have rarely seen an interview as damning as this one. Maybe never. Go watch it.

Sick Day

Daniel persuaded me (more like browbeat me) into staying home sick today. It wasn't too hard to convince me. I've had a nasty cough for a few days, and the last thing I want to do is to be sick with a cold when I go into labor. Plus my back finally gave out this weekend. I've had pretty bad sciatica pain down my right leg the last 3 days. It's almost constant, so I can't walk very fast, it hurts all the time, and by the time the day is half over, I really can't walk at all. So my last bit of exercise, walking, is gone now.

I called my massage therapist and I'm waiting for a call back to see if she has an opening today. Otherwise, it's stretching and maybe some light yoga to try and work out whatever is messing up my back. (Besides the baby)

Who Watches the Watchmen?

Well, we did. We made a special trip to north Houston to see it in IMAX. It was great. I gather that you either love the film or hated it. Well, I loved it. I liked the fact that the heroes are flawed, that they're people just like you and me (well, some of them), and they do bad things for good reasons. It's strange and sad, but I think my favorite character was Rorschach. Sad because he's definitely psychotic, but he's such an interesting character, and he has such a strong moral code.

Anyway, we stopped off at a specialty children's resale shop before the movie. They are one of the few places in Houston that actually sell cloth diapers. I wanted to stop in there so I could see the various kinds and ask questions. Found some good deals, so I was happy.

After the movie, we went to Ikea, since it was right next door. Meatballs for lunch, of course. :) We ended up buying a changing table, pad and some pictures. Then on Sunday, we put all that together, hung up the pictures, did some laundry and it feels like we have everything ready.

I even managed to pack my hospital bag this morning. Now I have nothing to do but wait. *tap tap tap*

Back Pains

So for the last 2-3 days, my back has been giving me grief. I had back surgery several years ago, so I've always had to be sensitive/careful about my back. One of the things I worried about before getting pregnant was what it would do to my back. I guess I can count myself lucky that I went the whole 9 months without any problems until now. It seems like no matter what, I have a pinch in my lumbar-sacrum area.

So in addition to walking slow because it seems like baby's head is always hitting my bladder, I have to walk slow because my back hurts. Okay, I think I'm getting to the point where I'm ready for this to be over.

Pregnancy Updated: 37 weeks 5 days

Had my weekly visit to the doctor this morning. It was later than normal, so I got to sleep in and have a leisurely breakfast.

My blood pressure is still fine, and I haven't gained any weight. Amazing, since I came home with a whole lot of baby shower cake last weekend.

When the doctor checked me, she said I was not dilated, but I am starting to get effaced. She could feel the baby's head, so he's in position. She estimated his weight at around 6.5 pounds, which is great. He'll gain a half pound a week right now, so if I go another 2 weeks, he'll be around 7.5-8 pounds. My doctor also said that older women tend to have bigger babies, so I'm relieved he's not any bigger.

I'm also starting to feel some Braxton-Hicks contractions. Had a couple yesterday, and when my doctor was checking the baby's heartbeat, she said I was having a contraction right now. I just didn't realize it, since it wasn't painful and I didn't know what to look for. So I guess my body is getting closer to delivery.

He's still not allowed to come until after this weekend, though!

My Long Distance Baby Shower

I'm a couple of days over due on this, and I don't have any pictures, unfortunately.

My mom threw me a long-distance baby shower from Illinois on Sunday. I'd spent a couple night with my brother working on getting a video chat set up. We tried Gmail/video chat, Stickam, and finally Yahoo Messenger, which is the one that worked the best.

My mom got a shower cake, and they held it up to the camera to show me. I saw the little booties, and she said on the bottom was a place you could write the date, weight and length, once you cleaned the frosting off. I made do with a piece of leftover shower cake from Friday. It was still yummy.

The web camera was adequate, but not the best. You had to move slowly so the picture could focus. It was fun and kind of funny when we did the presents. Since I wasn't actually there, everyone had to hold up the bag, then open it up and show the present, and describe it, since the picture quality wasn't always so good. I could see well enough though. And my two nephews were running around in the background like you see folks doing to news reporters. Garrett kept holding up their cat and putting her in front of the camera. She was remarkably placid about the whole affair.

Mom invited my best friend from high school and her mom, who was my 4th grade teacher. Small town. :) She also invited another really good friend, but unfortunately, Dalanne wasn't feeling well that day and had to cancel. I hope she feels better soon. Also, one of my mom's good friends was in town, so she came along. It was so nice of everyone to come by, even though I could only be there virtually. And Tricia and Pat had long distances to travel. Thanks so much, and I hope I didn't forget anything.

My Horoscope for Mar 2-8

Normally I wouldn't bother reading my horoscope, but I was getting my hair done tonight. So as I was waiting for my hair to process, I read through the current "In Touch" magazine that my stylist had. I'm a Leo, and here's my horoscope:

Get ready to click with a new special someone who enters your life when you least expect it.

Hrm. I suppose he could come this week. I'd laugh if that was the case. Then I'd cry. I'm not ready!

Online Baby Pool

Found this free web game for a baby pool. Feel free to enter:

My Baby Shower at Work

My coworkers had been planning this for weeks now. I very carefully didn't pay attention as much as possible to all the whispering going on around me, and was pretty successful. I know they had a blast planning for it. I had no idea how much fun the entire floor had with it.

They did a fabulous job with the decorating and the cake.

From Michelles baby shower

Chocolate, my favorite.

Here are some of the party favors. So cute and inventive.

Yep, that's me, the guest of honor at 36 weeks and 5 days pregnant.

I got the first piece of cake. Of course I had to get a piece with a tiny little foot on it. So cute!

I love the hoopy, loopy camel.

My two best friends at work, Jo and Sandy, made this gorgeous baby quilt for me. They were so worried I'd notice all the bags going back and forth, but I guess I'm oblivious. I even missed it when another coworker came in and asked how the quilt was coming along. I think she got shushed pretty quickly. I probably had my iPod on anyway. :) I think it's cool that this actually got them both back into quilting, something neither of them had touched in a couple of years.

Okay, to explain the folks on my floor. First off, I work in Center Operations Directorate. That means our various offices are responsible for keeping the center running. We're not doing glamorous stuff like sitting in Mission Control, or training astronauts in the big pool. But if we weren't doing our job, there'd be no air conditioning, buildings wouldn't get built or refurbished, no moves would get planned, there'd be no water, sewer or electricity, trash wouldn't get picked up, the grounds wouldn't get mowed, and there'd be no environmental protection. So without us, there wouldn't even be a space program. How's that for important!

Each office went together to get me a gift. And they all themed their gifts around what their offices do. And they were all so incredibly thoughtful, meaningful and funny. These guys are great, and I'm so glad to work with them.

The planning office went first. I got a piggy bank, to plan for baby's financial future. . I also got a baby book and a growth chart, and the gift box was decorated with shuttles, rockets and astronauts. I can happily repurpose the box to hold baby stuff at home.

Of course, the construction management office had to get me a building toy. One of the project managers with a 1-year old said his little boy loved to pound that toy for hours. He quickly reassured me that soon, I wouldn't even hear it. I hope so!

From the office that manages the grounds maintenance contract, they got me a bubble mower. So cute. I may have to get out there and play with it to reduce my stress levels long before baby's able to play with it.

The procurement office got together and wrote up a purchase order to get me a new baby. Complete with all the government codes (made up, I hope) and correct forms and everything.

The office that manages the maintenance for the buildings in our "mall" area got me a bottle of baby powder, because everytime they do maintenance in the ceilings, they disturb the ceiling tiles, usually bringing down some white powder. And every time, the building occupants think it's asbestos. He wanted me to remember them at work while I'm maternity leave. And they also got me a gift certificate to the other kind of mall, the one with shops in it.

The utility office got me a bunch of little things, all related to the systems they manage. Gas system (gas relief drops), potable water system (a sippy cup), electrical system (outlet covers), chilled water system (a frozen teething ring), heating system (blankets), and more. Did I mention how creative these guys are?

The construction inspection group got me a cute baby book.

Here's my office. The environmental group has to live up to their word, of course. So I got some organic onesies with Peace and Cool 2 Be Green on them. Plus, they got me some primary spill containment (bibs, diapers) and some decontamination supplies (a bath support, flannel wipes). And they all chimed in to get me a car seat. Wow! Thanks guys!

Of course, you know there's a price for all this wonderfulness, right? There was only one shower game to be played after all the presents were given out. And the only participant was me! My challenge was to don level C personal protective equipment (PPE) and change a make-believe dirty diaper on a doll. It was a timed challenge, and I'd get penalized for various things, like sticking the baby with a diaper pin, dropping him, forgetting to wipe, etc. Did I mention that about 20-30 people were watching? No pressure.

So what does level C PPE include? A Tyvek suit (sometimes called a bunny suit). You have to stick your feet into the legs and booties. Um, hello, I'm 9 months pregnant. I can barely tie my shoes, let along stick my legs in the suit. But I managed.

Next comes the goggles, respirator mask and gloves. Woops, the Tyvek suit they got me was too small to zip over my belly.

Okay, I'm ready to go. I think.

By the way, they missed the shot of me holding the baby by its head. I just wanted to clarify that holding him by his head was not the correct way to hold a baby. It did get a lot of laughs, though.

And....Go! Thank goodness they let me take off the goggles, mask and gloves. I think I might have passed out from the heat, otherwise.

Okay, how does this outfit come off?

They put make-believe poo in the make-believe doll diaper! Ewwww! (just chocolate covered almonds, but still, very realistic when I first opened up the diaper)

Okay, diaper's off. Now what?

I won't say I got a good fit, but at least I didn't stick him with a diaper pin. Of course, as everyone pointed out, the doll wasn't squirming, either.

Success! As long as you don't count that I didn't wipe, forgot to cover his pee pee, and forgot to use a changing pad. According to the totally arbitrary time scale they set up, I fell between "Rookie Mom" and "Call Supernanny". Not bad for a first time.

Okay, you got me into this thing. Now someone help me get the Tyvek off because I can't reach my feet anymore.

I did have a blast. And all the gifts were so helpful. Thanks, everyone.

Pregnancy Photo Updates

I think my belly really grew a lot in the past couple of weeks.

34 weeks vs 36 weeks:



Look, I finally posed in some different clothes!

I also registered at the hospital today. I guess I have really good insurance. The guy booking me in looked up the codes online, and then he had to call customer service to confirm that I really was covered 100%. No deductible, no copay. No 80/20 split. Pretty nice. Of course, the doctors all charge separately, but at least that's one bill I won't have to pay.

Chewy Granola Muffins

I've been experimenting with a chewy granola bar for a long time now. Found a recipe and kept tinkering with it until I got it the way I like it. I hate crunchy granola, but I love chewy oatmeal, so with these, I think I've found the perfect sort of breakfast/snack bars.

CHEWY GRANOLA MUFFINS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Base:
8 Tbsp melted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white grape juice concentrate
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 heaping Tbsp ground flaxseed or oat bran
1/2 tsp baking soda

Mix butter, brown sugar, juice, eggs and vanilla. Stir in oats, flour, flaxseed, and soda. This is your base. Use this and add whatever you enjoy. Using non-stick large muffin pans, fill them up until they're almost full. You'll have to push the mix into the muffin cup to smush it down. These are very dense and crumbly. They won't stick together like a regular muffin will. Baking time depends on what you put into them, but generally 13-17 minutes. Let cool minimum of 5 minutes in pan, because these are very crumbly and prone to fall apart when you take them out, unless they're cool.


Here are my two current favorite variations.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins (Daniel's favorite)
Add:
1-1.5 cups peanut butter
1-2 cups chocolate chips
Makes 18 full size muffins.
Bake 13-5 minutes.

CCC Muffins
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup of unsweetened flaked coconut and chopped nuts combined, in whatever ratio you like. I use mostly coconut and about 1/4 cup toasted pecan pieces.
1 cup dried cranberries, blueberries, cherries, in whatever ratio you like or have in the pantry.
1 cup chocolate chips.
Makes 12-15 full size muffins.
Bake 15-17 minutes.

Other suggestions include chopped dried apricots with 1/2 cup apricot jam in the mix instead of sugar. Make a fall mix with dried apples, walnuts, cinnamon and nutmeg.

These freeze really well. I'll take one out in the morning and have it for an afternoon snack. They're very dense, chewy, and not too sweet, but full of fruit.

Work *sigh*

It's just been one of those weeks. Nothing horribly wrong, but there are so many little things to do that I feel like I'm being bitten by ants. 2 dozen small things that take up the entire day and then some, and don't leave you time to do the important things. I'm trying to wrap up all the contract stuff for the month of January, but I'm not looking forward to going through the financial statement.

By the way, since when did Technical Monitor come to mean Financial Monitor/Accountant? Can't I just tell my budget analyst that these numbers seem out of line and let him figure it out? Why do I have to spend hours and hours trying to decipher why the costs went up almost a million dollars?

Plus the whole not-sleeping-well thing doesn't help. It seems like more and more often, I'm waking up after 5 hours of sleep, then I need a nap right when I come home. Like today. It was a beautiful day out, and when I got home, I really needed and wanted to go for a walk. I'd been sitting on my butt all day and I know I need to move around. But I was laying on the bed, and I was very honest with myself. I wasn't about to get up and go for a walk, so an hour nap it was. Felt great, too. Even better than eating, which is impressive, because I was starving.

Pregnancy Update: Week 35

Doctor visit this morning. I haven't even stepped on the scale in two weeks, but at the doctor's office this morning, I think I may have only gained 1 pound, or maybe stayed the same. I don't pay a lot of attention to what the scale says there. I prefer to use the one in the gym at work. My blood pressure is still good at 116/62. My doctor made a weird comment this morning when she measured my uterus. She said I'm all baby this morning. I guess he had his butt sticking up against my stomach. When I laid down, my belly was rock hard and had that odd loaf-of-bread-under-the-skin look.

Next week I start going every week. I'm taking next Thursday off entirely since I've got a doctor's appointment in the morning, and a hair appointment in the afternoon. I also finally scheduled a dentist appointment for next Monday morning. Joy. I don't want one, but I need one, and I know I'm not going to be in any mood for one for several months.

I really, really, REALLY hate Paypal

I got so ticked at them last year that I closed my account. Then I needed to send someone some money, and I couldn't find a way of doing it without creating a new frakking account. I probably missed some tiny link somewhere. So instead of actually paying the amount with my credit card, they're charging my card $1.95, which they will kindly refund to my Paypal account in 2-3 days, providing I check with my credit card statement and get the Paypal code.

What a complicated, nonsensical pile of cr#p! Now I have to wait another 2-3 days before this woman gets her payment, I have extra steps to go through to do this damn verification process, and I have $2 sitting in an account I try never to use.

F**k Paypal.

Need more sleep

This waking up after 4 or 5 hours of sleep is getting old now. Fortunately, I can make it up by taking a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. This morning I was up at 5 and in at 6. I figured if I'm going to be awake, I might as well go to work and get stuff done, and at least get home early. So I can take my nap. :)

My first fluff mail

I got my first cloth diapers in the mail yesterday. Want to see?

From Misc Blog Pics

The top two are Bum Genius All In One (meaning you don't need a cover). Bottom two are Bum Genius Bamboo fitteds (and they need a cover, which I don't have yet), plus a dozen bamboo baby wipes. I prepped the diapers and the few baby clothes that I have today by running them through the wash. It takes forever to dry the diaper. Good thing I'm learning about this now. I still need lots and lots of cloth diapers though. They say you need around 36 for a newborn. I have 4. Yeah. Think I'll be looking for sales and such. Craigslist?

Photo updates

I happened to take a picture of myself at 34 weeks on Sunday. Sort of by happenstance, I had the same clothes I had when I took my 19 week and 24 week pictures, so I thought I'd put them up to compare. Tell me if you think I really look 34 weeks pregnant. I don't think so. I'm sort of glad I don't have a basketball belly, though. I feel like I can still move around pretty well, but I can tell every day it's getting a little bit harder to do stuff.

19 weeks:

24 weeks:

34 weeks:

Promised Update to Our Vegas Trip

I know, I'm a procrastinator. I was too busy sleeping or playing video games to get my pictures sorted.

So here's more of our trip to Vegas.

Me and Daniel at Caesar's, in the lobby. It was Chinese New Year, so all the hotels/casinos were decorated to celebrate. It's the Year of the Ox.

From Las Vegas 2009

In the Bellagio, they have a conservatory that always has different exhibits and themes. It's always absolutely gorgeous. This year it was a giant Chinese emperor figure, 3 amazing topiary pandas grazing on bamboo, a mountain shrouded in orchids, a koi poind and an ox made from over 10,000 living plants.

From Las Vegas 2009

I just had to take a picture of this to prove it exists. In New York, they have an ESPN Zone. We always like going there and playing the various games, like basketball, snowmobile racing, target shooting, air hockey and bocci bowling ball. In the bathrooms, they have a tv over every stall in the ladies room so you can keep watching the game.

From Las Vegas 2009

Our hotel was directly across from New York, and we just happened to catch this photo at dusk one evening. I think it turned out pretty cool.

From Las Vegas 2009

Another site more or less across from our hotel was the new City Center. We were in Vegas about 18 months ago, and it was a huge pit in the ground. Look how much they've built! It's going to be a 60 story hotel/casino (the biggest building in the back), plus a whole bunch of condos and shopping. I don't know how badly the economy is affecting their sales, but it certainly hasn't stopped the building.

From Las Vegas 2009

Here's the lobby display from our hotel, the MGM:

From Las Vegas 2009

And here are the MGM lions. They have several lions, and each 'set' works about a 5 hour day, so they have 2 groups per day. Each lion comes to 'work' 2-3 times a week. They even get a bath before each appearance, using baby shampoo. The display audio told us that the lions are always put in in packs of 2-3, or that if it's a single lion, there is always a trainer in there with him or her. We came by one day and they had a huge male in there with a trainer just scratching his mane. The male looked very content. The trainers use only voice and hand commands, and they have no tools to use. It's all a matter of trust between the lions and the people. The glass is thick and soundproofed, so the lions know that they can't hear or be bothered by the people. They ignore us completely. It was very neat to see all the different lions over the days we were there. Here's a group of 3 lionesses from the last day.

From Las Vegas 2009

From Las Vegas 2009

From Las Vegas 2009

Holy Return of the First Trimester, Batman!

Had a quiet weekend. They were doing something to the interstate that had it so backed up that I turned around on Saturday and didn't even try to go to the gem and mineral workshop. So I came back home and did some chores around the house. Never did get to the garage or moving the lava rocks out of the back yard. Someday, right?

Sunday, I did a few errands around town. Was out for about 2 hours, and when I got home, I was exhausted. It's not like I was hurrying around or walking for hours. I ended up taking a nap for at least 3, maybe 4 hours. I didn't count. I could have slept longer, too, but Daniel wanted dinner.

So I ended up staying up super late, since I wasn't tired, but I did get a lot of cooking done for the week ahead.

I'm also getting really sensitive to smells again, particularly cologne or perfume.

Pregnancy Updated: 33 weeks 5 days

Yep, counting days now. Had a good checkup. She didn't say anything about my weight, so I guess I'm doing okay. My BP was 106/64. I still can't believe it's so low. She said the baby is measuring right on target, so he doesn't seem big right now. Can't tell if he's still breech or transverse or not.

I was able to talk to my doctor about the actual labor and delivery process and how it's handled at the hospital I plan to use. It made me feel a little bit better about having control over how the whole thing will be handled.

We'll take a tour of the hospital next Sunday to see the place. Looking forward to it.

Back from Vegas - Quick Review

We got back from our last pre-baby vacation last night. We went to Vegas for 5 days. It was very much a spur-of-the-moment type vacation. We found a good package with air fare and a hotel, so we took it. We didn't plan anything for our trip besides the hotel room at the MGM Grand.

How did that work?

Well, it was strange. In some ways, it was relaxing. No schedule, no where to be, no plans to keep. On the other hand, we kept asking each other, "what do you want to do?" Then we'd shrug, talk about it for 10 minutes and do something random. We'd already been to most of the hotels, and some we didn't want to go back to (Tropicana is top of the list).

I think we've been to Vegas too much, too recently. But even given that, it broke us out of the awful ennui that had gripped us both the last few weeks. It was nice to get away and do something different, even if it was eating M&Ms on the hotel bed while watching CNN in the afternoon. (Don't get me wrong, that wasn't the only thing we did in our hotel room.)

The MGM Grand:
First impressions: Big.
Second: Disappointing Room. I paid for an upgraded room in the West Wing. The advertising on their website made it sound like it had this great decor, great furniture, lots of space and cool tech-y gadgets. They gush about the TV in the bathroom mirror, the extra large bathrooms and the showcase of modern design.

When I first saw our room, I went "This is it??" It's tiny. It had just enough room for 1 king size bed and a couple of uncomfortable, modern chairs. I only sat in it a couple of times to put on my shoes. There was no relaxing in it. No place to sit down and have a meal except on the bed, and then you worried about getting mustard on the super-white, fancy coverlet. The bed was comfy, I'll give them that. The shower was large, and the water was hot and had lots of water pressure. Would I stay in the West Wing again? Never. Even given the fact that I don't care for modern design, I felt like I got stuck in a tiny room and they tried to shoe-horn in a bunch of amenities that should really be standard. I mean, flat-screen TV? That's getting to be standard just about everywhere.

Oh well, it fulfills our requirement of staying somewhere different every time we go, but for my money, my favorite place was still the Mirage. Spacious rooms that didn't make you feel like you were sleeping in a shoebox and comfortable design with chairs and a table you could really use.

(Edit: I also have to say the entire place was spotless, from the rooms to the casino to the restaurants. They were very thorough and it was very nice.)

The food at the MGM Grand:

Good - The studio cafe. The french dip sandwich is the absolute best I have ever eaten in my life. If you're there, order it. You'll be thrilled. Their omelet was delicious, filling and satisfying, and the chicken strips were generous, tasty and not overly greasy.

Nice - Fiamma's. For once, we splurged on a fancy, ritzy, celebrity chef restaraunt. Our last night, we went to the Italian place in the MGM, and it was nice. The portions were not oversized, the pasta was light, even with a cream sauce, and I'm trying to figure out how to recreate that incredible insalata with pears, gorgonzola and pistachios.

Bad - The Buffet at the MGM. Save your money. The food was worse than boring. It was bland, unimaginative and limited. And they charged us $30 for this pitiful spread. They don't even have a bathroom in the restaurant and they don't provide you with little towlettes. I had crab legs, and it was awful trying to clean my hands off afterward. Even the desserts were boring. Two words - Stay Away.

One final comment on the weather. We are four for four now. Four trips, and every single time, it's rained on us. They should pay us to come to Vegas when they're having a water shortage.

More to come later, including pictures, lions and a pregnant woman's guide to Las Vegas Bathrooms.

3D/4D Ultrasound

Since my mom is visiting, I thought it would be cool to do a 3D/4D ultrasound. That's where you can actually see the baby in 3D in the womb. The 4th D is time, where they make a video of his movements. Unfortunately, he was sleeping and didn't want to wake up. He moved around some, but most of the time, he had a hand in front of his face, so it was hard to see. The tech did get some good pictures though. We saw him yawn at the very beginning, but they hadn't started recording yet. It was fun, even if it wasn't strictly necessary.

Here are some of the 3D pictures.

Here's his face.


Here he is all scrunched up with his hands and face.

He kept putting his hands over his eyes.

One chubby foot and one chubby hand.

Still sleeping. I should have had some coffee before I went in.