A swiney Dad

Let's see since my last post not much has happened with the nursery. Geoff attacked the wallpaper for 5 hours on Sunday (doing at 1/4 of it) and has not had a chance to go back to it since. Last weekend we had our Doula appt. from 9:30 - 1:00pm on Saturday and then we went to dinner in Belmont on Saturday night bcs Justin and Kristal were visiting. Justin completed the NY marathon so after that they decided to sing up here to say hello :) Sunday I had Erin's baby shower in Lowell - that was really fun. It was easy to get to (minus navigating downtown Lowell) and her friend Taylor did a really great job with everything. Hillary and Emily were there and I also go to meet Emily's mom and sister who were really fun. Hillary is due in about 2 weeks with a little boy so she could have him any day. Also, Katie Sano had her little girl Leighton a few days ago - she looked really cute in the photos I saw on Facebook. Christina and Jon are still waiting for their baby to arrive - I think she has been having contractions for almost 2 weeks now so I think they are anxious to get things moving along. I went to lunch with Mum, Christina and Stacy Bell on Monday (when I was working remotely). It was really great to see everyone and just catch up. When I was out to lunch on Monday Geoff came down with the swine flu (H1N1) - his temperature got up close to 104 which was a little scary. So I made an emergency trip to CVS, called my mom and have been taking care of him since. I am so incredibly thankful that I was able to get the vaccine about 12 days ago. It takes your body a week to 10 days to build immunity and Geoff came down with the flu exactly 10 days after my shot. I am still trying to keep a distance and stay well, but I guess at this point I am bound to get it if that is in the cards. You just can't live and take care of someone without being exposed.

So yesterday I stayed home to take care of Geoff and did some errands in the morning (bank and dry cleaning) then FINALLY finished up my B-day thank you notes and also the other thank you notes I needed to write for house warming gifts. I also raked a ton of leaves in the backyard. We are up to over 20 bags right now - and I have done the majority of them. I am not complaining - more so that I have never raked so many leaves in my life! I ran out of bags so I need to go to Stop & Shop today to pick some more up - I may get a bird feeder while I am there :)

Today is Veteran's day so I have that off already. Besides the leaf bags, Aaron and Megan are coming over to pick up boxes for their move. After that I want to work on the baby shower thank you notes I am designing and then I have a hair cut and color around 2:30pm. After that I have a breast feeding class at Isis from 6-9pm. I have no idea how I am going to stay awake till 9pm - I am in bed around 7:30pm these days.

Friday afternoon is my baby shower at work and then Sunday is my baby shower. I am looking forward to both. On the work front, the company laid off over 100 people on Monday when I was working remotely. Mike was really nice and called me to let me know. I feel so bad though for everyone who was let go - especially with the "jobless recovery" and the holidays coming up shortly. Speaking of which I need to email my family to get X-mas ideas from them - I want to get all our Christmas shopping done early this year bcs I only want to have to wrap gifts come December.

Well I am off to start the (holi)day!

The Nursery is getting a face lift :)

So today, besides me being up at the crack of dawn - okay technically the sun hasn't even started to rise yet - Geoff is planning on stripping the wall paper in the nursery so we can paint the walls. Geoff really likes a blue paint sample I got yesterday so that is fine with me, only bcs we agreed he would re-paint if the bext baby is a girl :)

Yesterday I was quite busy. Geoff went to the lake with Jon and Chris to take the boat out. It was supposed to be my "Queen for a Day" day, but that was overruled by the boat and everyone's schedules. So as Geoff was heading out I ventured to Whole Foods and then Stop and Shop. After that I dropped off the dry cleaning, got a latte, and then headed to Home Depot to get paint samples. After that I came home to look at the samples in the light and then headed to Bed Bath and Beyond to return some items I had purchased a few weekends ago. They have a Trader Joes there so I swung in there as well to get some "almost ready to eat" meals for the week. They are really great main dishes, so we just need to figure out the sides when coming home from work at night. After that I went to The Container Store in Chestnut Hill and returned the hamper I had purchases online. I then bought 2 under the bed containers so I can put out sheets in there.

After that I finished my Valentino movie on Netflix on demand and Geoff came home. I was in bed really quite early (before the last of the trick-or-treaters), hence me being awake so early today. I have not been sleeping that well lately and my eyes show it. Also, I forgot about turning back the clocks last night so me waking at 6am today was really 5am! ;)

Everything baby has been going great. I had a mid-wife appt. on Friday. My blood pressure is good and my weight is just fine. I was (by some small miracle) able to get the H1N1 vaccine on Friday. So I need about a week to get immunity and then I will feel much better about riding the bus and train commuting. The mid wife said the baby was head down getting ready for his big decent into the world. his heart beat sounded perfect (I recorded it for Geoff) and I was measuring perfectly as well. I am really quite thankful that we have had the most uneventful and healthy pregnancy to date - I have not been sick once and everything is measuring on track :) I just hope this streak lasts through labor and delivery :)

I am going to go watch the second half of the English Patient on Netflix. I have started about three movies over the past week so now I want to finish them all.

Tomorrow I am starting to work remotely on Mondays - yippee! It really makes such a difference and I will have more energy for the time I am at work to be more productive and happy there.

31 Weeks - slowly getting there

The slowly in the title refers more to me than to the perception of time passing.

It is getting more tiring for me to make it through my day and bed seems like the only thing I can do after work these days. Last night I tried to make dinner and did so, but was so tired I was cranky during it. Today I made it home and basically did a few things and then was in bed at 7pm. Geoff heated Trader Joe's chicken fingers for us and then gave me some pomegranate seeds for dessert.

We just decided not to go to the lake this weekend - the weather does not seem to be that good (overcast; rain) so I am planning to cash in on my Queen for a Day coupon from last Christmas and just take it easy. Sunday I can do some catch up stuff and then Monday will be my first day working remotely before my leave. I am planning on working remotely on Mondays all through November and then end physically going to work around mid-December.

Relaxing (yet mildly productive) Saturday (30

Last week Wed. we hit the 30 week mark :) I cannot believe we could have our baby home in 8 weeks :) I am so excite dot meet him and see the face behind all the kicks and squirms.

We had a pretty quiet week, Geoff was on the mend from feeling sick and we both ended up taking Monday off (his for a sick day and me bcs I did not get any sleep on Sunday night. Mum came home from England on Thursday (Geoff dropped in after her flight came in) and then we had Indian take-out in Belmont last night (Friday). Christina's friend flew in from England to surprise her for her shower - it was really sweet. Chris picked her up from the airport so Christina was completely surprised. Geoff and I left after dinner bcs he was very tired.

Today I was up early (again - 7am) and then worked on our budget until 9am when I went to Trader Joes. I realized at the check-out that I have left my purse at home so I had to have them hold on to my cart while I ran home (got Geoff as a bonus - in his slippers ;) got my wallet and went back to pay.

Today has been rainy and gray so it was the perfect day for Geoff to sleep in and get his room set up in the basement. I helped out a little - but he requested that I make pizza so I was happy to make that for lunch and take a break. I am on the fourth load of laundry and still need to do towels and sheets tomorrow. Tomorrow is Christina's baby shower from 12-3pm. It will be great to see her mom and celebrate with everyone. I am planning on wearing black boots and then the black and plaid dress I bought last weekend at the outlets with Lauren and Sarah Niven. It was only $35 but I think it will look good for tomorrow. I need to find something to wear to my own shower and am thinking of returning the down coat to buy a dress for myself.

So tomorrow should be fun - I had a relaxing day so far and watched a movie in bed as well. I am trying to relax and take it easier these days. Also, there is a yard sale tomorrow that is selling a glider - it starts at 11am so I hope Geoff (and/or I) can swing in first thing and see it. I want a glider for the house so I would be excited to get one fo' cheap. Geoff could then bring the chair we bought from the previous owners to his room so he has some place comfortable to sit.

Also, I forgot to mention that Geoff assembled the baby's crib on Monday when we were both at home :) Now we just need to get the room tidy and organized before the baby showers in mid-November. I wish we could do something about that wall paper, but there are other more pressing things to get done and not a lot of time or energy to spare.

Mid-October (closing in on 30 weeks)

Today Geoff and I are playing hookie from work, in a sense. He has been sick the past couple of days (sore throat and loosing voice). I got just about no sleep so do not think I could function at work and also do not want to be miserable and then get sick.
So today is an unexpected bonus and I am already filling my to-do list as of 7:30 am.

Looking back at my last post, I had to run on Dad's B-day weekend description, but it was really fun. There was a lot of family around from Geoff's family and just great to see everyone. The party on Saturday night was one of the best parties I have ever been to - the timing of the evening was perfect and the food was terrific.

Sunday we went on a whale watch in which there was very stormy weather and a lot of people ended up getting sick. It was so rough I could only sit inside, in this hot and steamy room with everyone getting sick. There were a few occasions my "I do not get sea sick" was tested ;)

The following weekend Amanda and I had our spa day at Exhale spa in Boston. This was my gift for being her maid of honor in June it was really amazing. We had a massage, facial and mani/pedis with wax wraps. It was the perfect thing to do on a rainy, cold day.

Then we headed into our B-day weekend. I was busy all that week food shopping, prepping and cleaning. Friday was my B-day and I went to work and Pama, Aaron and Ellen took me out to lunch. Aaron also coordinated a card and flowers from people in the division. I then had plans with Geoff later for pizza at Stonehearth and then ice cream at Joe's. I was getting kind of tired and cranky so I almost told Geoff we could just skip pizza when the first told us it would be a 25 minute wait. Low and behold a few minutes later Lauren walks in with a big bunch of balloons! She was with Jeremy and Amanda and I was completely floored. Colin and Jenn also showed up and I had such a great night. I do not think I have ever been so surprised in my life. It was so sweet of everyone, and thanks to Geoff it was a really great B-day.

Saturday was the BBQ party at our house. Lauren was such an incredible help and helped get the house and everything ready. My parents arrived at 3pm with Kevin, Holly and Nana and Pappy. Things were a bit frantic in the beginning, but by 4pm everything was on the table and ready to go. Jeremy and Amanda made a bunch of food which was a huge help as well and everyone loved the pigs in a blanket and stuffed mushrooms. People came and went till about 7 pm and then the final folks left just after 9pm. I was totally wiped and could hardly walk upstairs.

Sunday (Geoff's B-day) I had a massage at Isis and then Lauren and I went apple picking. The massage was perfect after running around all day on Saturday. Apple picking was fun (a bit crowded) but fun. Geoff had his friends over for poker and football and grilled left overs from the party.

This week (Geoff and I both had to work on Monday) was great to have Lauren here. She is really the best house guest and such a pleasure to be around. Yesterday I was laughing until I cried - I have not done that in such a long time I can't even remember. We went to dinner on Thursday night at Finale in Harvard square and then Friday night she made a bunch of baby food for us to freeze. It was so incredible of her and the baby now has his own portions of apple sauce and butternut squash ready for consumption in June :) It is really so simple to make I am thinking about making more butternut squash with the 2 squashes we still have.

{It snowed on Friday (10/16/09) which I believe is technically the baby's first snow}

Saturday Geoff and I had a diaper consultation at the Diaper Lab at 10am. We bought some covers, a set of clips and some pocket diapers. We decided to have the majority of the infant diapers the pre-folds with covers (cheapest way) with some (6) fitted pocket one for guests and going out. The fitted ones are adjustable and can grow up to 15 pounds so we can get some more use out of them. We then plan on doing the trial when the baby is 2-3 months old to see what diapers we should invest in for the next (and longer) stage. The women at the store (who reminded me of Katie Virga) said that no matter what options you pick for cloth diapering you will spend the same or less than the cost of disposables. So even if you had one child you would be breaking even at worse. The baby #2 is just bonus.

After diapering Lauren and I went with Sarah Niven to the Wrentham outlet. It was a cold day but fun to hang out with them and drop in a few shops. Sarah is really delightful and such great company. I bought a black jacket at the maternity store and am really happy with it. Lauren also picked out a sweater I just love. After that I went to Beth Zermani's 30th B-day party in Saugus. On my way there, I went to Colleen's to pick up a coat she had for me. It was great to see her and the kids and I also gave her the pillow I have had for her since out trip to Ikea at the end of September. Beth's party was a lot of fun, Erin and Jeff, Karen, Natalie, Bridget were all there. Beth's boyfriend is also very nice and Beth looked terrific. I left the party just after 9pm and got home close to 9:30pm and ready for bed.

Sunday morning Lauren and I went to Wilson Farms and stocked up on yummy food. We then went to Pama's BBQ in Arlington for the rest of the afternoon. After the BBQ we picked up a high chair for $20 from a woman (Kate L.) on the parents list serve. She was very sweet and a very nice family. Scott and Gitchel came over around 4pm for the football game. Scott finished fixing the kitchen table that was broke during the party and Gitchel and Geoff watched the game. Geoff did ironing but was not feeling well. Geoff also got a haircut around noon on Sunday (before the BBQ) and he looks incredible :) It had been a little while since his last hair cut and I am really happy he likes it. It snowed quite a bit yesterday with big chunky flakes from about 4pm till 8pm. So odd to have that much snow before Halloween.

Well we are now into today. I was up early and am basically waiting for stores to open at this point so I can run errands and return/buy some things. I have had some raisen toast and a cup of tea so I think I am ready to face the day and get some things taken off my to-do list :)

B-day festivities! :)

Oh wow - where has the last month gone! So my last post was from Sept. 7th and I will try to catch you up on the happenings since :)

Let's see the week of 9/7 we were still very much unpacking and sleeping in the guest bedroom downstairs (on the old queen bed). That Friday, 9/11 I had a mid-wife appt. and got my flu shot. Saturday we went to look at a car in the Quincy/Boston area and it was down pouring - I stayed in the car for the entire time while Geoff talked to the sales people (and they took forever). Colleen and the kids were supposed to come over with Kevin, but Brendan and Erin were not feeling well. I was also supposed to have a dermatologist appt. that morning but had to cancel it bcs the car took so long. So after the car I was feeling really tired (I think from the flu shot) and just layed in bed and then watched 2 movies when Geoff went out. Sunday I was planning on going to Eve's bridal shower on the Vineyard, but had to cancel on that as well bcs I was feeling unwell. I was totally bummed about that one.

We week after that our new bed got delivered (very late) on Thursday 9/17. I worked remotely that day to be at home for when they arrived and low and behold they did not show up until 10pm (many hours after they said they would). That weekend was Lissa and Chris's wedding (9/19)on the Cape which was a lot of fun. Lissa and Chris are really perfect for each other and it was great to see all the Wheaton peeps.

The weekend after that was Dad's 60th B-day party. Friday night we went to Belmont to help move furniture and had Chinese take-out.

New bed day! :)