Amberism

No Claire, but here's my belly

meh

I kicked everyone out of the house, so I could nap and laze around or do nothing in solitude. I'm evil, but it is SO nice to have a quiet house with just the pets milling about (they aren't quiet of course, but I can't really kick THEM out of the house).

I figured I get a few internet related items out of the way before making a date with my couch and cuddly cats only to be met with irritation. I can't buy items off a friend's registry because I'm in Canada, and I had a hell of a time ordering shit from Amazon for the same reason. ~grumble~

I'm just going to have to put together a Canada-box of related items I had intended to pick up from the registry, but still. poo-y I say. poo-y.

Now I'm heading to the couch.

and no, no baby. No indication she'll be here today, either. double poo-y.

Nope. Nada. Zilch

As my due date fast approaches its end, a baby did not materialize.

Why can't I cook a baby that's done when she's suppose to be done?

Tomorrow is due date the second (one for the cycle count, and one for the ultrasound estimate). I guess we'll see.

The snow melted. Then the snow came back. Spring is confused.

Welcome Spring!

I'm trying not to think what is going to happen if the snow keeps coming down, and staying. Then the power goes out. Then the roads get dicey or even almsot impossible to drive through in my neighbourhood.

And then I go into labour.

A snippet

"hey, is this necklace with the months on it yours?"

"yeah"

"where did you get it?"

"uh, um, huh. Give me a minute, when I can think of a good lie I'll get back you"

"Why haven't I seen it before?"

"It was a gift. It's a sundial"

"From who?"

"I'd rather not say, because when you find out what jewelery was gifted you tell me I can't wear it anymore"

"It was an ex-boyfriend, yeah, yeah. Who?"

"Scott. Although, I think that actual sundial may have been a replacement that I paid for after losing the original gift."

"Kinda like how you lost a diamond pendant?"

"Sadly I can't afford to replace a diamond pendant, sundials are considerably cheaper. I do have various diamond rings I am currently banned from wearing I could make into a diamond pendant, though. Does that help?"

"A diamond pendant I gave you THE DAY WE WERE MARRIED"

"um. yeah. sorry about that"

"and you can't wear this necklace anymore"

La la la...

Nope, no baby. My midwife doesn't think she'll be early but when she does arrive, I'll be sure to get Steve to post a little post to keep you updated.

Tomorrow my Mom comes! wheee!

Today I'm cleaning the house. boo.

Off to mop the kitchen floor, or maybe I'm off to eat an oatmeal cookie, I'll decide when I hit the kitchen.

The weather be confused, and so be this post

Our Easter weekend was really low-key, probably because we sort of didn't do anything easter-y. It didn't even occur to me to hide easter eggs for Callum until Michelle mentioned it. Next year I'll be less of an Easter scrooge.

We did get a few little odds and ends done around the house. well, I should re-phrase, Steve got some odds and ends done while I did very little. We moved the trailer close to the house and hooked it up to water and electricity for my Mom (its our new spare room since our house is small and with the looming presence of TWO children, we're out of rooms) and then cleaned the entire thing top to bottom. Steve vacummed every nook and cranny while I bleached every surface and cupboard. Its all shiney and new for our upcoming guests who would rather a bed than being forced to sleep on the couch. Its super posh in there now because we took the mattress from the bed in the spare room and put it in the trailer in place of the regular trailer mattress. Unfortunately we don't have it set up to have hot water direct, but its literally parked outside the back door so if said guests don't want to wait for the water to be heated by proprane, they can walk the 5 steps into the house and shower in the guest bathroom.

Steve also hung up my gallery down the hall, and made cookies. 100+ cookies because you just never know when one might need A LOT of cookies. I've probably eaten 1/4 of those cookies today alone because hello? FRESH BAKED COOKIES. They had to go into the trailer freezer because I've made and froze so many meals we literally can't get another thing into any freezer in the house.

Plus I painted the foam-board train that is going to decorate Callum's new room. I'm really not very pleased with it, though. I am still going to hang it up and see how it looks so if I don't tear it down in a fit of unsatisfied rage, I'll post a picture.

Speaking of pictures, we managed to get to the studio and have maternity shots done before Claire's arrival. I'm actually impressed we got around to it, but am so glad we did. I hope they turn out and again, if I'm impressed, I'll post one or two so you can see me and my belly.

And tomorrow is the day - I get a haircut. heh.

Knittin' in some spring

As spring is clearly in the air (a chilly, chilly air, but its sunny) and because Michaels had a sale, I felt an urge to make spring kitchen face cloths.

I certainly didn't need to make this many cloths, but hey, just means I'm doing laundry less often.

I thought on Friday that I might be heading into labour. I thought wrong, so we are still a little family of three. I'm sort of hoping that she holds off another week, mostly so I can get my hair cut. My hair? Ridiculous at the moment. And so that my Mom is in town to deal with Sir Callum, and the dog.

Random Acts of Kindness!

Several years ago I used to share an office with my friend, N. We hit it off instantly, because she's awesome and serioiusly cool and I aspire to be seriously cool. We've remained friends, and through the years N's friend, Kelly, from California, formed a business relationship with my Mom. I've never met Kelly but from what I've heard via N and my Mom she's a pretty amazing person.

Are you still with me?

I've been trying to switch from plastic storage containers to glass. This all started when trying to heat up Callum's baby food on glassware instead of plastic and in turn trying to find small glass bowls, with lids, that can go in the freezer and the microwave. Either because I'm the worse shopper alive, or because I live on an island, this became a ridiculous task. Even Mom couldn't find any suitable glass containers when she was here last October. Since Mom and Kelly do business, Mom must have mentioned this to her and she said that Costco sells them. Well, Costco here doesn't. Of course.

So, she bought them in California. And mailed them to me. Behold! The most beautiful glass bowls EVER because when someone you've never met does something that kind and considerate, glass just sort of sparkles with beauty don't you think?

As you can see, my salad is already being conveniently stored. heh.

Just when I'm feeling all irritable and bitchy and tired, a perfect little surprise gift shows up in the mail that makes me realize just how spoiled and blessed I truly am. Thanks, Kelly! You rule!

Turn that frown upside down! Yes, it IS an annoying phrase...

Poor Steve getting my wrath :)! I feel better venting at least.

Yesterday was this crazy day, complete with stopping for coffee and a walk with my neighbour, but I got a lot done. I can barely walk today as a result (I'm an idiot) but there you go. Callum's bags are packed, my bag is packed, the pantry is full from a quick trip to Costco and I even picked up some supplies to decorate the room (fun stuff!) and a special toy for Sir Callum from his baby sister. Oh, and my car is clean and furniture has been moved to its appropriate room, even some pictures were moved.

Today is no less busy, but by the end of the day my "To Do" list will be considerably shorter. I'm getting the tires rotated and the oil changed (there's a special), midwife appointment, and lunch with my Grandma and then hopefully, I can do some creative stuff at home.

In the meantime, check out this future GQ model. heh.

Photo by Steve.

Ready. Almost.

I think that I am very close to being prepared for Claire's arrival assuming I don't go into labour today. Or tomorrow. But Thursday is looking good for me. I have a few more items to pick up for my hospital bag (new pair of yoga pants and t-shirt so I can have something clean, not stretched out, and stain-free to wear afterwards), some new sippy cups for Callum's bag and his toys/blankets, gather my labour music and pick out a coming-home outfit for Claire. I can probably get that all accomplished today if I made an effort. Or I can knit and right now, knitting is looking up.

I've given up trying to get Callum into his new bed before Claire arrives. I've given up even trying to get his new room livable so he can play in there and become comfortable. I've simply given up. I told Steve that I'm officially on maternity leave.

I feel like preparing Callum, and Steve, for the upheaval a new babe will bring has been one of the hardest things I've coped with in a ridiculously long time. I don't know if this is some hormonal flucuation with this pregnancy, if Steve is in some sort of denial or if he's simply being stubborn on this front just to disagree with me. The last point is what it feels like although that is likely not the truth. Its been this constant struggle to get him to do anything that usually ends in some tirade that I under appreciate what he has done which in turn leads to a tirade of him not appreciating what I'm trying to do. For the record, I DO appreciate what he's done but a lot of what he's accomplished got done because of all the pre-prep I did. He laid the laminate in the bedroom, sure, but I ripped up the baseboards, the carpet, the underlay, the carpet strips and staples. I took out the closet doors. I mudded, sanded and painted the trim when it was re-installed. I moved almost everything out of that room (minus the furniture). All while VERY pregnant because it all happened in the last few weeks. I'm just sayin'. I should also say, in the spirit of fairness that Steve did a lot this past weekend, including a run to the dump, installing the closet doors and shelves, putting together random bedrails and beds, as well as a lot of my 'chores' because I was in town running errands (laundry, watching Callum, etc, etc) or just plain feel lousy. And he's got hay fever so he's not exacty feeling like a trooper either.

Having a well-adjusted toddler is only going to make Steve's life easier because in the middle of the night when Callum needs us, Steve is going to have to be that person. I'm going to be breastfeeding and healing and sleeping but I will NOT let my little guy become second fiddle, on this I will be a full-fledged bitch. If that means Steve doesn't get a decent night's sleep, tough shit. He had 9 months to help Callum adjust and fought me every step of the way, and he has a lot on his plate right now at work, so a good night's sleep is probably in his best interests but like I said. I gave it my best, I had everyone's best interest at heart and now I've given up. Its no longer my problem. heh.

The room is 'ready', the only thing that could still be done is the walls are in need of some serious patching and repainting, but its a room for a toddler so I figure I won't even bother. I am thinking about moving in the furniture and Callum's clothes tonight. I can't decorate the room because Michaels doesn't have what I need to do so, so that has to wait. He seems to enjoy it in there right now, so that's a good sign.

Other than that little hiccup, I think I'm good. We have two freezers full to the brim of food I've made, and I am hoping to get to Costco this week to stock up the pantry too. The house is relatively clean, I just need to clean our bathroom and keep it clean. Baby stuff is slowly finding new homes in the cupboards and rooms and with the exception of a random TV in the living room, the house is looking good.

Plus, Spring is in the air, the birds are singing and the daffedils are popping up. It feels good.

Birth Control

I used to tell folks that if they were thinking about having children to first spend an afternoon installing a carseat properly. I find very little as irritating as getting a carseat safely installed. Especially using those flippin' UAS latches.

I've changed my mind. Retro-fitting a toddler bed with bedrails? There are no words available to me right now to express the level of annoyance this has caused me. I haven't been this annoyed since, well, since I attempted to install the new carseat and that ended with me throwing the whole contraption back into the box and walking into Sears and saying "This carseat is fucking stupid, give me one that isn't so annoying".

The new carseat was no different in terms of installation, but cost me an additional $100.

Steve is now fully responsible for the bed situation. I've given up.

MeMe Continued....

::How Steve and Amber Met, the PG Version::

Steve and I met through mutual friends (Hi! Angela!) in Las Vegas just after Angela and I had graduated from Engineering at the University of Calgary in May 1998. Ange and I were on a road trip through the Western States and we met up with her now husband and his friends in Vegas. I was in a long-term relationship that wasn't in a very good place, and Steve and I had a lot of chemistry. We, uh, dated. Then we didn't. Years later we, uh, dated again. Then we didn't. Then we did but were keeping it kind of low key (I refered to him as my "boy-toy" during this time). Then September 11th happened, and not long after that we stopped the game playing and became serious about each other. Now our, uh, dating, has created two new little souls :).

Steve and I are very different people with the same soul map. Our approaches to everything in life are different, but being with him has made me a better person and I like to think that he's a better person as a result of being with me, too. I'm always surprised with how well we get along, and so far, I'm very happy with the life that we've made for ourselves and our little family. He's a good man, and I consider myself lucky to be with him now, even if we did start out a little uh, recklessly.

::What do you do when you are in a boat, on the lake, fishing? I always wondered how the time between fishes is spent?::

well, you fish. Generally speaking when I'm on the boat on the lake we are usually just driving around aimlessly, or floating aimlessly in the middle of lake and just soaking up the scenary and chatting. If we have other folks with us, we'll water ski or wakeboard. Often we bring the mini grill and pull up in a little spot somewhere and have dinner. On super hot days, we jump over board and just float along side the boat.

And sometimes, if its just me and Steve and no one else is on the lake, we, uh, date.

So. Tired. Can't., Think. In. Complete. Sentences.

just felt you outta know.

A Meme

ok, this could get dicey considering I filter, filter, filter on my blog (no, really, I do) but I'll give this meme a go...

Everyone has things they blog about. Everyone has things they don't blog about. Challenge me out of my comfort zone by telling me something I don't blog about, but you'd like to hear about, and I'll write a post about it. Ask for anything: latest movie watched, last book read, political leanings, thoughts on yaoi, favorite type of underwear, graphic techniques, etc. Repost in your own journal so that we can all learn more about each other.

Very. Important. Work.

because my Mom misses the photos...

I did a fantastically bad job on this recovering but its a chair for a kid not my life's work. I used the old cover as the pattern and it didn't work out very well but I was far too lazy to fix it. The material is left over scraps from curtains from my condo in Calgary, and because I am cheap I reused the (red) zipper from the original cover. But you can't see it, so who cares?!

The pillow was made from an old pillow that used to be on the couch, and I just free-hand the trees. My winter tree kinda looks like two twigs and not a tree at all, but hey. Its folky.

The pillow lasted about 5 seconds on his chair before being tossed aside, like all the other throw pillows in my living room :).

The Power of Nesting

This week I

• Made and Froze
  • macoroni and cheese casseroles (3)
  • mexican casserole
  • shrimp canneloni
  • shepard's pie (2)
  • spanakopitas
  • egg frittata muffins
  • 4 dozen muffins
  • chili
  • butternut squash casserole
• Finished Callum's baby book (to date anyway) - this isn't a scrapbook, but the baby book. I'm tackling the scrapbook this week.
• Knit 4 new kitchen face cloths for the kids (yes, I have kitchen face clothes)
• Folded and put away all of Claire's clothes
• Random volunteer work
• Put all the books on the new bookshelves
• Recovered Callum's little chair to match my living room furniture (what? this is important)
• Made Callum's chair a throw pillow, complete with little embroidered trees - one for each season. See above, Very. Important. Work.
• Recovered the upstairs change pad
• Fixed a living room throw pillow (for the big people couch)
• And all the usual tasks I normally do, including 6 loads of laundry, washing the kitchen floor, etc, etc.

I so deserve a medal.

Oh! My!

In my inbox this morning:

=========

Hello Amber,

from BabyCenter Canada

37 Weeks Pregnant

Only two weeks or so to go!

=========

That's one way to induce a panic attack on a Saturday morning.

I don't know if it's because we're so not ready, or because I feel like I've been riding Steve's ass for an eternity and jumping up and down saying things " because we're going to have a newborn" or "I'M PREGNANT! Hello?!" but all of a sudden this pregnancy is kicking my ass.

I consider myself to be a pretty laid back, go-with-the-flow kind of person. I don't think I do a lot of complaining or consider myself unblessed in any way. Of course I gripe, I enjoy griping especially on my blog, but I don't really consider myself a negative ninny in Real Life. (if I am, uh, someone should let me know). But right now, all I want to do is laze around with my little guy, knit, watch tv (if only), and soak my feet in a tub. I want someone to come here and cook me meals and put them in my freezer. I want someone to make me dinner. Every night. I'd like my house to magically clean itself. And I'd really like to not have to bend over and pick up the 800th million item of the day (parenting a toddler is really just about bending over and picking things up. Constantly.).

I'd also like the dog and cats to stop flippin' shedding already, I can't keep up. I'd like someone to steam clean the smell of dog out of my couch. I'd like the dirty hand prints washed off the kitchen walls - the recently scrubbed kitchen that shined it was so clean. Was so clean, you wouldn't know it now.

On the one hand, I want to not be pregnant anymore, yet on the other hand, this is the last time* I will be pregnant and I kind of want to sit and cherish it.

And I'd like to practice my relaxation techniques for labour and for over a week haven't managed to find the time.

I think what I need to do is some re-prioritizing, but its a lot easier to just complain in a blog post.

*I think.

Disappearing Act

In October when my Mom was here she bought me a pair of sewing shears because there wasn't a single pair of scissors in my entire house that would cut cloth.

Those scissors sat in the kitchen drawer for months. Today I needed to cut out a pattern and do you think I can find those damn scissors? I've torn my house apart looking for them, and they are no where to be found.

Where do these things GO?!!!!

Because I am weak, and 9 months pregnant, I pushed the TV that was randomly up against the wall (on the floor, if you recall) to the cable outlet and re-connected cable. Mostly so that from 3-4 I can turn on Treehouse and make my kid turn into a zombie. I'm easily amused, and I like a little peace in my day, which Treehouse provides quite nicely.

He has been standing, feet firmly planted, in front of said TV for 25 minutes.

Just now he fell over. Just like that, he toppled for no apparent reason I could figure.