35

So close!

I've now been on bed rest for almost six weeks. At my doctor's appointment yesterday, I had only gained 4 ounces, so in my book, NO weight at all. That is just not like me, especially given that I eat eat eat and burn zero calories. But who knows? Nothing about this pregnancy has been predictable or "normal" for me.

I came to the conclusion yesterday that I really just don't like movies. I had DVR'd several and decided to watch one over the course of 2 days (short attention span!). Unfortunately, I picked "Little Children," with Kate Winslet and Jennifer Connolly. It had some good parts, but I HATED the end. And then I just felt like I had wasted 2 hours. You know, 2 hours that I could have been watching the Today show or HGTV.

This should be a great week upcoming, because both my husband and the Squash will be home on spring break. Yay for company! My goal is to teach Squash (who is in 1st grade) to play Boggle and Bananagrams with me. If all else fails, I know he will be willing to lay here with me as long as I put on a Harry Potter movie for him. I'll take the company I can get!!

Sporty Spice

Noodle had her first soccer practice this week. It's a parent-and-me soccer clinic put on my the city parks & rec department for 3-5 year olds, so she's on the young side, but she has been DYING to play soccer, probably because she has attended two years of her brother's soccer practices and games. Also, no, they do not have uniforms, but these ARE three-year-old girls, after all, so when one of her preschool buddies' mom found these cute pink soccer jerseys at Wal-Mart, she bought them for all the girls we knew in the clinic. There are at least four girls from her preschool in the same clinic (and it's coed). I love living in a small town.

And Mr. Squash has his first soccer scrimmage of the season today. We are so lucky that it is going to be sunny and 50ish. I won't get to go, of course, but I'm going to beg my mother-in-law to take pictures and video. This is the same gaggle of little boys who have been playing on a team together since they were 4 (they're now 6 and 7).

Exciting that soccer season is beginning! It's a busy time for us, but lots and lots of fun. And it means that spring is (hopefully) here.

34 (weeks, not years)

I'm 34 weeks along today! In honor of the occasion, I attempted a self-portrait.

It's been a really good week, all things considered. My awesome friends Amy, Jamie, Carolyn and Michaela brought us dinners each night, so we only had to cook for ourselves once (and by "we", I mean the hubby). Then, my equally awesome friends Tracy, Dana, Sharon, Dasha and Jamie brought me lunch (and more importantly, conversation!) every single day this week. Also, it is finally sunny and warm enough that I can open the bedroom window and get some fresh air. Plus, I had an excellent doctor visit yesterday where everything was going well and I got the "only four more weeks to go" speech.

And I've watched some excellent TV this week too. Today I watched "Radical Parenting" which I had DVR'd from Discovery Health. They featured three couples, all of whom have, um, nontraditional parenting philosophies: unschooling, attachment parenting, and gender neutral parenting. The unschooled kids seemed totally out of control to me...eating junk food all day, staying up late watching tv...and the parents just seemed kindof lazy. The attachment parenting mom, on the other hand, was like super mom with her 1.5 year old attached to her 24/7. The gender neutral parents didn't seem all that "radical" to me. The only thing they did was encourage their two sons to play with girl toys, which (hello?) you don't really even have to do if you just let your boys play with girls (either sisters or friends) in my experience. But the show was interesting food for thought; I recommend it.

Halfway Point

Since I have what some people refer to as "some time on my hands," I've calculated this whole bed rest thing backwards and forwards. And today, I have long looked forward to as the halfway point of the whole experience: 4.5 weeks down, 4.5 weeks to go! It's all downhill from here, right?

I finished my 10th book of bed rest yesterday: Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah. It was great. I give it a solid B+. Chick lit about two friends, tracing their lives from the 1970s to today. The only part of the book that I did not like was the interview with the author at the end, where she said that she wrote the first draft of the book while on bed rest with her first child. Well, heck, that makes me feel unproductive. Other than that, the book was a good read.

And today is extra celebratory because two ladies I used to work with are coming over for lunch and they are bringing Jimmy Johns! Turkey Tom, no mayo, yum yum yum.

In Like a Lamb

It's March! And I am happy as a clam for two main reasons. One: only one more month of bed rest. Two: this:



Spring is almost here! This might not look like a great weather forecast to my friends in California, but after this miserable winter, it looks FANtastic.

The Star

A friend brought me by a pile of trashy celebrity magazines this week, including the Star, which I had never really read before (I admit to being a subscriber to US Weekly and People, but come on - those are high-brow compared to the Star!).

As a public service to those who perhaps are not regular Star readers, here are 10 things I learned from the magazine (and yes, I put in citations because even though I am on bed rest, I am still a lawyer!):

1. Suri Cruise wears party shoes in the snow and buys red lipstick at Sephora (p.4)
2. Married life has Kevin Jonas putting on weight (p.16)
3. I have something in common with Megan Fox: very short thumbs! (p.16)
4. Jersey Shore will be filmed in South Beach next season (p.18)
5. Hayden Panettiere is back dating Lindsay Lohan's ex & "club owner" (and restaurant heir, I think) Harry Morton (p.24)
6. Kim Kardashian's favorite smoothie contains 2 scoops of Bodyfuel protein powder, 12 oz. water, half a banana, 1 TB natural peanut butter, and ice (p.28)
7. Channing Tatum performed in a "Chippendales-style revue" (perhaps the Thunder from Down Under show at Excalibur in Las Vegas??) when he was 18 (p.35)
8. Some 15-year-old "singing sensation" named Justin Bieber is apparently very popular right now and is getting a $300,000 Ferrari for his "first ride" (p.36)
9. Holly Madison was mistaken for Gwen Stefani at an L.A. Starbucks -- and she let it slide with the fan (p.36)
10. Garry Marshall wants to make a big-screen version of Laverne & Shirley starring Jennifer Garner and Jessica Biel (p.70)

Thank you, Star
!

33 Weeks!

Four fun-filled weeks of bed rest are behind me, and today, this baby is 33 weeks along. According to babycenter.com, he weighs about 4 lbs. - about the "heft" of a pineapple, and is 17 inches long. My belly looks so much bigger than last week, so I think he is definitely growing. I have not ventured onto the scale and my weekly doctor visit was cancelled for reasons that will be clear below.

Week 32 was bumpy. I ended up in the hospital AGAIN on Tuesday night (more contractions) but happily got to come home on Thursday. I am vowing not to return to the hospital until it is time for this little guy to be born! To do that, I am going to "step up" the bed rest and relaxation. My goal is to stay in this bed as much as possible...no more stairs, no more stress, etc.

One of our potential names was cut off the list this week when our new nephew was born. No Baby Jake will be coming our way!

Also, we found out this week that my mother-in-law is coming next week to help out. This is exciting because it will be a huge help *and* I really really really want someone to set up the baby's nursery and she is the perfect person. I can't wait for her to get here. Yes, I know it is not NECESSARY that the nursery be set up before the baby comes, but I will feel so much better knowing it is done. I hate walking by that room and seeing what a mess it is. So I am excited about this!