The Grumpies

I got the grumpies yesterday, big time.

First of all, the doctor (as I expected) told me Baby Girl wasn't doing much - and that I would probably be back to see him on July 1st. He said at that time they would do a non-stress test, checking the baby's heart rate and amount of space & fluid inside me (through a fetal monitor and ultrasound - nothing invasive). Apparently Baby Girl needs to still be swimming comfortably, or they get worried. Then they would decide if/when to induce me. My 41 week mark will be July 5th - and I assume the induction, if it has to happen, would be sometime in my 42nd week.

I don't really want to be induced. The 5 or 6 of you who actually read my blog, please pray that she decides to come before then. My actual due date is this Sunday. :)

After the appointment, I came home and found out that our neighbors have officially begun building the fence around their backyard. We live in such a tiny house, the fence feels very close - I'm not even sure we have the space to run a lawnmower along our side yard. I'm not worried the fence will be ugly - the couple next door has good taste. But I do feel a bit insulted. I know our backyard is ugly, but is it really so terrible to look at? I feel like we're being shut out.

Then I began to make banana bread (another goody for the freezer). Long story short, our oven is not heating. It lights up, and it tries... but gets nowhere. It's got to be 15 years old, so I guess I'm not surprised that it crashed. But now I need to know - who do I call about the oven?

Can anyone tell me...?

What else am I supposed to be doing?

I mean, with my time. I'm not quite sure how to fill it. I feel like I must be missing something. Last week was great. No problems filling the day with cooking, cleaning, getting some exercise, running some errands.

This week has been slower. Although I spent Monday afternoon having lunch with friends (which was lovely!) I've been rather wanting for things to do since then. (I know, I know, I shouldn't admit this, right?) It's way too hot to go out walking. We don't really have TV. One can only read so much. Granted, some of my inactivity was involuntary - yesterday I accidentally locked my keys in the car and was tied to the house. But, I mean... what do I do?

The baby clothes are washed. Diapers, etc, are stocked, as well as my "goodies" for after L&D. The house is clean (enough). The hospital bag is packed (minus PJs for D). I prepped a dish of lasagna today that I mean to freeze and save for after Baby arrives. Tomorrow I'll make & freeze some banana bread. The phone number for the food ladies from church are stored in my cell phone. The car seat is installed, the bassinet set up. There's gas in the car.

My mother and sister are emailing or calling every day to find out what's going on. And what do I tell them? NOTHING. Nothing is happening. Tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment, and I expect more of the same.

Come on, Baby, come on.

My guess? July 4th.

Summer!

I hate bugs. I'm a big bug wussy - very bad at killing them, and very grossed out by most all of the insect world. I can't get over my phobia. I always call on Vid to play exterminator.

A few weeks ago, D killed a jibblie bug on our bathroom ceiling. (What's a jibblie bug? It's one of those grayish, hairy, fragile looking millipedes that hang out in damp places in our house. We hate them. When you squash them, all that's left is a gray blob and some million quivering legs.) Since then, every time I've walked into the bathroom, I've scanned the ceiling and the floor for gross things. To my relief, I've never seen anything.

So yesterday, D left for work. I get up, turn on the shower (bleary eyed, no contacts, etc) and climb in. I turn my face towards the water, look up at the shower head, and crawling around on top is a JIBBLIE BUG. I watch it crawl frantically back and forth near the spray. It's clear I've startled it as much as it's startled me. I don't want to stick my head under the water, because if Jibblie Boy decides to head towards the spray, he'll be knocked off the shower head, onto my head, and get tangled in my wet hair. And that might be the worst thing EVER. So I shut off the shower and jump out to put my contacts in. My thinking is I'll be able to see him better, and then I can reach up and throw a rag over him or something and squash him. Only, by the time I have my contacts in, Jibblie Boy has crawled OFF the top of the shower head, down in between the faucet and the cap. (You know, where the water comes out.) I know he's in there, because he's his antennae and the tip of his head are peeking through the gap. There are two long feelers wiggling around, threatening me.

What do I do? There is no Vid to save me. I'm half wet and need a shower. Can he fit through the holes? Will he climb back out? I decide to get back in the shower. I figure since I have my contacts in, at least I'll see him make an escape, and I can hop out. To my relief, he stayed put. But I took my shower eyeing those antennae with a scowl, tilted as far away from him as my baby belly equilibrium would allow. It was a fast shower. Now he's gone. I don't know where.

It made me realize that summer is here. Why? Because summer in Illinois is about humidity and bugs. Not only are the jibblies making an appearance, but we have earwigs EVERYWHERE. And the crickets are out in force at night. This morning it was 80 at 8 AM, and it's supposed to reach 93. Despite the bugs, I actually love the heat. If I were not so fat and pregnant, I'd go out and enjoy it.

Of course, if I weren't so fat and pregnant, I'd be at the office, working. So, never mind.

"Can I have your autograph?"

Last night my husband was asked that question more than a few times. It was our first taste of what it really felt like for him to be a "performer". DYB's concert/album release party was this Friday, and by all counts, I think it was a success.

Despite tornado warnings, rain, and hail, we had about 100 people show up to celebrate with us. I was so glad to see so many people come out. It was great to have so much support.

The band performed a sort of laid-back, pseudo-unplugged set. David "revealed" a new-old song Psalm 115 which a lot of people seemed to like, and the band covered a song by Paul Stookey called Love Rules.

The aside picture was taken the night before the gig, when I was messing with the camera, and David was working on the new Martin. You'll notice it's missing a string. He was busy sanding the bridge as I was clicking away, and had to loosen that string to do it.


Take a look at some of the photos of the night.

Laundry Issues

When I went to visit my sister over her birthday weekend, she told our family a hilarious story about hot water in the toilet. Basically, when some plumbing work was done on the house, somehow some pipes were switched, and the toilet was hooked up to the hot water pipes. Consequently, every time she or N had to use the facilities, it was quite comfortable. (No chilly toilet seat in winter, right?) Only, for whatever reason, it took them a while to notice the mistake. I believe the toilet might have been steaming one day - and it tipped them off.

Well, we don't have a steamy toilet bowl, but we do have some laundry issues. I did three loads of laundry yesterday. The first was a dark load, so I set it to cold. When I went down to the basement a half hour later to load the laundry into the dryer, I noticed all the clothes felt warm. (Usually I forget about the laundry and everything turns cold and clammy - moving the wet clothes to the dryer is an unpleasant experience - kinda like accidentally stepping in a small puddle on the bathroom floor when you've just put on clean socks.) "That's funny," I thought. I checked the washer. It was indeed set to cold, and our display says, "Cold Rinse". So we should have been good.

I shrugged, started loading whites into the machine, and went to set the washer to hot. This time I decided to test things and stuck my hand in the flow. The water was (you can guess) anything but. So I clicked it over to cold - and the stream immediately heated up to the correct temperature.

This wouldn't really bother me (I mean, it's easy enough to reverse washing instructions) except that I have no control over the rinse cycle - it is ALWAYS going to be hot - and my brand new supply of Fuzzibunz cloth diapers very clearly state they must be pre-rinsed, and then rinsed after washing in COLD.

PS I am aware of how long it has been since we had our basement plumbing work done. Why am I just noticing this now?

8 Dozen Cookies + 2 Dozen Cupcakes

= One Hot Mama. Literally. Sweaty. That's a long time in the kitchen.

DYB's concert is happening tomorrow night at Naperville Presbyterian Church, and so I am doing my part to help: Baking my portion of a bunch of desserts for the after party, and learning how to use our new portable credit card swiper so that my friend L and I can work the "merch table". Oooh, sounds so professional!

I have to admit, I'm a bit bummed, though. My baby belly is BIG, and none of the super cool new DYB shirts fit over it very well. I do so wish I had a hip rock-star-mama type maternity shirt to wear. Alas.

Mornings

Yesterday D woke me up with the words, "Today is the first day of the rest of your life."

Groggily I wondered if he meant sleeping in, watching soap operas, and eating bonbons. I did, after all, start my maternity leave yesterday (despite the fact that Baby Girl seems quite content to remain in utero). But I didn't say anything. Just smiled and kissed him good bye as he left for work. And then I rolled over and went back to sleep for fifteen minutes.

Today he woke me with a kiss and the words, "Happy Anniversary." I had forgotten. It's two years today.

Those Neighbors

Who knew that "Thou shall not covet" could take such trivial forms? I swear, in the past two years of my life, between meeting the man I love, getting married, and buying a home, I have learned more about my imperfect, sinful self than I ever cared to know. Today, I am coveting a pretty lawn. And I am not a gardener.

I'd like to think maybe some day I could be, but things aren't looking good. In part, I think it's Chicago's fault. Remember those impatiens and geraniums? I'm so frustrated with them. (It's not their fault, I know.) They looked so pretty and hopeful when they were first planted. Teeny little purple and white flowers, rooted in pretty black soil, turned up toward the sun. I had great hopes.

That was a month ago.

Spring has been rainy, cool and cloudy. Overall, sort of depressing. And when it rains, it lasts at least 24 hours, if not more. It's never a pretty, summery shower. It's always a drenching. And afterwards, my poor little impatiens look pathetic. They've lost leaves and petals, and are usually buried in evergreen needles, fallen twigs, and leaves. And

What does grow is the clover. And the dandelions. Being this far along in pregnancy, I just can't get down on hands and knees to do anything to fix the mess. I mean, I could, but I'd never get up again. And besides all that, D and I just don't have the money to go out and buy mulch, or more plants, or whatever, to landscape. Money is going towards baby, and she's not even here yet!

And I guess, to be honest, what's adding to my discontentment is our neighbors. (Not our neighbors themselves, they are lovely people.) We live on a street whose hobby is home repair. Every day you can see someone doing something to their house. Planting, painting, renovating... you name it. Our next door neighbors have an adorable little house. Today they were both home - working on the backyard. They have plans to lay down a patio, some new landscaping, and to put up a 6-foot fence. (They somehow know how to do all this stuff.)

When I saw them out back, images of the clover in the front yard flickered through my mind. I was suddenly struck with an overwhelming urge to lay down and take a nap.

So I did.

15 Days

If little Baby Girl comes on time, it's 15 days and counting. The bassinet is up, the diapers are ready, the nursery is fairly well organized. I have a list of things I still want to buy (stuff for after the hospital stay) and am hoping to do that tomorrow. We also need to pack a little overnight bag, although some people tell me that the day I go into labor, I'll have enough time to get that together. I tend to agree with that, seeing as I'm not working.

15 days. It's weird. We'll be parents. It feels surreal. I like to believe it's sunk in a little bit more for me than it has for David, but probably not. We're both probably clueless.

I'm pretty huge. It's really hard to bend over at all. (Which is annoying, because I continually want to weed the front gardens. And if I drop something on the floor, it usually stays there until someone else picks it up.) I tried to put my Sketchers on today (because even though it's mid-June, it was only 60 degrees and pouring rain this morning and freezing cold), but they wouldn't fit. I can only wear flip flops.

I'm to the point where, although I'm still pretty terrified at the thought of L&D, I just want it to start. I want to get it over with, to have her here. I'm tired of people telling me scary stories about how much our lives are going to change, how we'll never sleep and we'll be so tired and she'll poop so much and we won't have time for anything etc. etc. etc.

So, yes. I want her to get here. But I guess she can't until after the 19th. I can just see it. If I go into labor before the 19th, I'll be lying there in the hospital bed feeling guilty about the fact that D will have cancelled the release concert. I don't want that on my conscience. :)

Jai Guru Deva Om

Yesterday I was listening to the I Am Sam soundtrack. I love that movie, and I love that soundtrack. If you don’t know it, you should go get it. It’s all Beatles covers, done by interesting artists. I can’t decide if Eddie Vedder’s “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”, Ben Folds, “Golden Slumbers,” or Sarah McLachlan's, “Blackbird” is my favorite. I could list others, too.

Anyway. I was on my way home from teaching my last session in West Chicago. (I’ve been working at an after school program for the last two and a half months with a group of teenage girls, and yesterday was our goodbye party.) It was nice. But Thursday in general was sort of gross and chilly and rainy. Until about 6:00. Suddenly the sun started to peek through the clouds. So the light was lovely – that mixture of dark blue puffy rain clouds and spots of white light. I was driving through the north side of down, coming down a hill by the train station. I was stopped by a red light as the commuter train was letting people off. I Am Sam was on, and “Across the Universe” started playing. Just as the lyrics, “Nothing’s gonna change my world,” started playing, I saw off to my right, an elderly couple.

They had their backs to me, but I’d say were close to being in their 80s. She was small and stooped and gray. I watched her latch the white picket fence – they were just starting their walk. He had rounded shoulders and was wearing a wrinkly fisherman’s cap. His hands clasped the bars of a walker. The song played on, “Nothing’s gonna change my world… Nothing’s gonna change my world…” As I watched, she slipped her arm through his and leaned towards him a bit as they began shuffling down the hill.

And then the light changed. I had to turn, and the moment was over.

Our two year anniversary is on Tuesday.

It’s a sweet thing to come home to my husband and realize how much I look forward to growing old with him.

Angelic Choruses

I think that's what I heard on Tuesday night when Vid walked through the door with two boxes of CDs, a stack of posters, and a box of T-shirts. Yes folks, the CD is DONE.

Hallelujah.

Here it is in all its glory:

Personally, I think my husband looks pretty stinking hot.

www.davidyeagerband.com

Go buy a CD. You can download the songs or get an actual copy. You can get a T-shirt, or a sticker, or a poster. And after all, like my super amazing husband says, "From the Beatles to U2, nothing says, "we're a band" like four guys standing around looking cool."

Besides being handsome, I think he's hilarious, too.

We

Neither one of us is good at being sick. And man, are we exciting tonight.

I'm sitting here with my Fred Flintstone feet propped in front of me, trying to slow the swelling that begins the instant I get out of bed in the morning. My belly feels huge, my back aches, and no, to those of you who posted on Facebook, I am not packed yet. Trust me, it's stressing me out. My friend Ann is coming over tomorrow night to help me figure out what "tools" I need for after L&D, and to help me pack the hospital bag.

D has had a cold for the past week or so, which means he walks around moaning about a stuffy head and sore throat. He's alternately starving or not eating. He pops Sudafed and Tylenol and groans at night before he goes to sleep. Once he starts sneezing, he sneezes no less than 5 times in a row. I think we may have hit a 9 or 10 sneeze stretch the other night. Right now he's sacked out on the couch next to me, snoring. The last thing he said to me before he closed his eyes was, "My ears are clogged. I wonder if I have small ear canals?"

Yeah, it made me laugh, too.

Rainforest

Last night it poured buckets. Buckets. And although it was thundering and lightning out, which made me think the rain would be pounding in through the windows, it seemed to be coming straight down.

(Can I take a moment here and say that I hate it when I read the word "lightening" when people mean the other? If you are talking about a storm, I am pretty darn sure that you want to say "lightning". If you spell it "lightening", aren't you talking about what happens in the morning? I.e. "The sky is lightening?" My English major friends, please, please correct me if I am wrong.)

Anyway.

We awoke to gray, overcast skies, 70 degrees, and humidity. As I stood in the kitchen looking out at our overgrown backyard, I watched steam rise off the grass and trees. The whole world was green. And foggy and wet. And suddenly, more than anything, I wanted to go visit the Zoo. I really felt like I had wandered into the Rainforest exhibit at Brookfield, and I wanted to play hooky.

Oh, to be six again.

Reasons Why

We had a lovely, albeit somewhat expensive, weekend. (I guess that's allowed sometimes.)

On Friday:
1. D and I went to the fire station to learn how to install the car seat. It takes up most of the back seat of the car. No kidding. We almost drove to a dealership to look at bigger cars... But we refrained. I'm glad it's done.
2. Dinner at Tapatio's - our favorite authentic greasy burrito joint. (Chipotle is probably our favorite, or at least it's D's favorite - but it's not as legit.)
3. A hawk sighting. We have two small hawks (either Coopers or Sharpshinned - we're not sure which) nesting in a nearby tree. It's fun to see them fly around. We caught them building their nest a few days ago. (And no, Ma, we don't think they are a threat to anything except the songbirds on the street.)

On Saturday:
4. Our friends Scott and Andrea donated a day of service to us. Scott helped David build new shelves for the storage room in the basement (which means that we can actually clean it up and organize all our junk!), and Andrea helped me do some serious spring cleaning, getting to all the places I can no longer reach (or bend) due to Baby belly. What a blessing!
5. An hour or so of "us time" (and were very aware that it would be one of our last) before we went out for the evening.
6. Dinner at Stir Crazy with the crowd, and then the new Pixar movie, UP, in 3-D. It was, of course, lovely. (Does Pixar ever fail?) The first ten minutes made me cry - and made me love my Vid more. Go see it.

On Sunday:
7. Both the sermon and the worship were good at church. The sermon was challenging and the worship was refreshing, and I stayed focused on both (a miracle, with how often my brain is thinking of Baby and/or house problems...).
8. A lazy, restful afternoon, complete with nap.
9. Some more good work done in the basement and in the nursery. (I received my new cloth diapers in the mail the other day - so cute!)
10. A delicious dinner - roasted chicken, corn on the cob, fresh bread, and a super yummy, easy salad. (Recipe below.)

Now I'm blogging and he's guitaring. It was warm enough out that we only now just closed the windows. And I am about ready for bed. It really has been a wonderful weekend.

**The Super Yummy Salad**

Ingredients:
1 bag of cherry tomatoes, chopped in half
1 cucumber, cubed (You can peel or not. I peeled it in stripes, because I don't like the skin much but I do like the dark green color and a bit of texture.)
1 8 oz. package fresh mozzarella
2-3 leaves of fresh basil
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
few grinds black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette

Prep:
In a medium bowl, put tomatoes and cucumber. Cube fresh mozzarella. (I used 5-6 oz.) Add to bowl. Chop basil leaves. Add. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning, salt, pepper. Drizzle the oil and the balsamic vinaigrette over the vegetables. Stir to coat. Let sit for five minutes before serving. Yum! And yes, super simple. If you want to add other veggies, my guess is that fresh corn cut from the cob, and maybe carrots or bell peppers would be good.

PS I learned how to spell vinaigrette while writing this post. Who knew there was that i hanging out in the middle?

Check it out!

Cathy Hill, a woman at our church, works for a local Christian radio station as a band/concert promoter. She recently posted on David's latest gig over at Backthird Audio. Take a look!

http://countmeinconcerts.blogspot.com/