Brain Dump 5 Fav and WWRW

I don't know if there's a 5 Favorites or WWRW today. It doesn't matter anyhow because this post wont exactly be link up worthy but I'm going to steal their format and let you in on some of the goings at our house while we're keeping busy.

1. Worst Book Ever

I have to tell you a story. My mom bought me a book for my birthday. She bought it very early. It lived on top of my fridge wrapped up for almost 3 months leading up to my birthday and I never peeked. I read the book in its entirety last night. It is the worst book I have ever read in my life.

I wish I could tell you the name of the book. Or the author but honestly I am a little scared that the author will do a search on her name or the title and see this post. And while I absolutely 100% stand by the assessment of "the worst book I've ever read" I don't know that I need any drama.

Because the book was purchased because we know the author. Actually there's quite a bit of history there and it doesn't help anything that she is my mom's second cousin. (But my mom has a lot of cousins so it's kind of a drop in the bucket.) The author is not someone we see often but I'm not going to rock the boat at all here.

When I started the book, it was laughable. By the time I finished I was jut sad because it is THAT much of a train wreck. My mom did the world a favor by buying Amazon's only copy. (It is currently out of stock now.)

The plot is pretty bad in and of itself. But the writing is atrocious. "A lot" is misspelled. Which is a major pet peeve of mine to begin with but certainly you don't expect that in a book. Not only that but the book tries to be historical but... it isn't well done. At all. It was painful. Painful I tell you.

There's certainly a reason it hasn't been reviewed on any single site it comes up on. People are being kind. It is an actual kindness for me to not tell you the name of the book or author.

2. A Boy and His Balloon

Husband brought C home a balloon from the big work event yesterday and it is pretty much the best present ever. It is apparently a very resilient balloon but I am anticipating the balloon to die shortly because 2 year olds are rough with balloons. But, cheap entertainment for the win. 

3. My Magical Blanket: An Update

Remember after my birthday I told you about my magical blanket? Well I have been able to test it in cold weather now and it keeps me exactly warm enough. I have gotten cold using just this blanket but that is more the whole windows open when the temp dropped into the upper 40s and I was wearing shorts and we had a fan on thing. In proper usage it has kept me plenty warm indeed. It is a magical blanket. And it just keeps getting softer. For real. 

4. The Baby Wipe Recall

This isn't a favorite exactly but I was in full out freak out mode when I saw a tweet from our local news that Sam's Club recalled their baby wipes. Since before C was born the only wipes we have bought have been the Sam's Club ones. And I am a planner so we ALWAYS have plenty on hand. Like I have an unopened box and a bunch of other packs just waiting to be used. LUCKILY I had a Pampers coupon for getting free wipes with purchase of a pack of diapers so I stocked up a while ago. So I had 2 packs of wipes in the house other than our normal to use until we could get a replacement. 

Target to the rescue! They were also having a diaper sale, buy 2 boxes get a $20 gift card. (That's like one box being $14.99!) So Husband went out last night to get a box of Target wipes and stock up on diapers. We still have to get ourselves to Sam's Club to return all the other wipes in the house but having even a little stock pile made my heart happy again. 

5. How C Says Manatee 

He calls them "Mom-a-tee" and really separates the syllables just yet. It melts my heart. The walrus is still his favorite though. No worries there. 

I am not linking up to spare the time of those who don't visit often and don't realize I am blogging to keep busy and not because any of this is particularly worthy of being shared.

Hash Browns

Something you probably don't know about me is that I like most everything to be underdone. Or underdone by normal standards. I like gooey cookies. Toast that still has moisture in it. French Toast and Grilled Cheese with no brown. RARE steaks. I like things to be not burnt. Or even close to burnt.

Except for hash browns. I usually ask for extra crispy hash browns and have perfected making my own.

So it is funny to me that I apparently like extra crispy babies! In most everything I like I am an underdone kind of girl but I like to cook my babies for a long while. I've been reading birth stories on Grace's linkup and all these stories about 37, 38 and 39 week babies just make me smile. That's not my body. And I am pretty darn certain on my dates too. I just cook babies "low and slow" like BBQ I guess.

If you've ever been this pregnant I'm not sure of your coping methods but mine is to pretend I'm not pregnant anymore.

Really. It sounds weird. But all the lead up to the due date was my anticipation. I did the super prep. I've done the try to get the baby out stuff. I've done the super grumpy stage. I'm now at the "meh" stage. And that is a good place to be. I am just going about life.

By the Grace of God my strained ab muscles have healed up so it doesn't hurt to move anymore and I feel like a spring chicken. I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and we are both healthy and content. If nothing happens by Friday I have an NST/Ultrasound/Appointment scheduled because I don't want to worry something is wrong all weekend.

So I am just waiting for my extra crispy hash brown baby to decide to grace us with her presence and until then I am just living life and keeping busy. And though I am deeply looking forward to my postpartum strawberry margarita I am content to just see what happens at this point.

Happy Due Date Baby Girl

Dear Baby Girl,

Who's surprised that you haven't made your grand entrance yet? I wish I could say I was but alas...

Your dad and I have done pretty much everything in our power to entice you to come out but you like your cozy water bed and have decided against joining us out here at this point. You seemed to respond to the acupressure on Friday night and the black and blue cohosh. (Also on Friday night) but since then... nothing.

Oh well.

You are just reminding me who is in control and that it is not me! I just have to accept that my babies like to cook a little longer than other people's babies. But really Baby Girl, all your friends I know about with similar birthdays to you are here already, just saying. (Though technically you're not even late for the party yet and who knows what will happen today.)

And like Michael Buble reminds us both: I promise you kid, that I'll give so much more than I'll get. I just haven't met you yet!

I love you very much and I'm so anxious to meet you. But no pressure.

Love,

Your now 40 week pregnant Momma

Those Pesky Friday QT Again

It's time for a Friday check-in. I'm going to do the whole quick takes thing because I have nothing really to share with you but I am also not trying to neglect the blog while we wait for this baby.

1. Waiting for Baby

She's not here. But she's healthy. So that's that. I don't know much more than that. However... I did find out they'd be willing to induce earlier than I thought so I have that option looming on the horizon if need be. 

As far as attitude goes, I switch between indifference and impatience about once every 20 minutes. 

2. Weird Birthday Coincidence Potential

My cousin is due on the 14 but they're inducing her on Thursday October 16. She's having a little boy. Funny enough, she has 3 year old twins who were born exactly a year before C so they share a birthday. While I hope to not hang on another week here the odds of us having our kids on the same day again is almost too funny. Except this time it would be the exact same day and year!

It would sure make it easier for my grandpa to remember the birthdays for the great-grandkids! 7 kids, 4 birthdays between them! 

3. It's A Small World

I know I have already written about how C likes watching the YouTube videos of It's A Small World. He asks for "Small World Ride" a lot. And sings the song. And pretend plays the ride. 

ANYWAY. I now consider myself a near expert at the differences between the Magic Kingdom version and the Disneyland version. The key difference in toddler world is that there is a walrus in the Disneyland version. Which, obviously, makes California a dream destination for him. 

From my trip in April. C wasn't there.

He calls both "Disney World" though. And he's going to have to wait until 2017 when he won't care anymore about It's A Small World because that's when we are planning on going. (Unless we win a trip I guess.) 

4. Irrational Fear

Ebola freaks me out. I know that I have like a zero percent chance of catching Ebola since there are no current cases in my state and even the current cases in the United States are quite far away and, at this time, confined. But it freaks me out. Really hoping someone finds a cure for Ebola real soon.

5. Fall Weather

We have had one of those really nice weeks where it feels like fall but it isn't too chilly at all. Lovely.

He is very much into boy things. Balls, trucks, sticks, rocks and dirt. 

6. Burning Question

Is it election day yet?! We really don't watch that much TV, really but the ads are driving me nuts! Plus we get both IA and IL ads. It's enough to make you hate politics. We watch Wheel of Fortune almost every day and I am not even lying when I tell you that commercial breaks are only political ads or prescription drug ads. Senior citizens we are not but the marketers think we must be. 

7. Of All The Ridiculous News Stories

I know Fox News has a bad rep. I get it. But good grief. "Gender Inclusive" language in a school district.  What on Earth is the world coming to that the b-word and g-word are boys and girls? I mean... seriously?! This is for real? Sadly, yes. Heaven help us.

The Rabbit Hole of Scents

Let's turn that frown upside down. Or at least redeem my grumpy from yesterday.

After my vent, some chocolate and a nap I was much better. It doesn't hurt, like I said that we have AAA and it took approximately 3 minutes for the guy to make the car run again.

I have a confession... I am obsessed with scent.

Bad smells set me off. Good smells make me happy. Pregnancy only aids in this.

And because of that I take great pains to find happy scented things. I am sad to admit that I have fallen down the rabbit hole of Scentsy. I had been avoiding pulling the trigger because I knew that once I committed I would be stuck ordering bars for the rest of my life because I would get obsessed and... folks, I am obsessed.

This is the warmer that got me all excited to finally pull the trigger.

It's so darn cute. It's like a little mason jar. And it doesn't hurt that it was super popular, sold out and went on back order. And because of the back order they were sending an additional warmer if you waited 30 days or more. That is 2 for the price of 1 people. 

Trigger pulled. 

And when my package came last week... I was done for. I didn't even get my real warmer yet, just the free one. But I love it. 

When I found out that Husband's new office person sells Scentsy so I could finally have all those scents in my house to sort through and discover which I in fact love, like and hate? It's a rabbit hole my friend but if loving the smells is wrong I don't want to be right. It was shocking but not shocking how many scents went immediately into the "No" pile. And how the "Buy immediately" pile had the scents that I had already bought plus one kind. I like what I like I guess. 

So I am obsessed. I have another warmer in my heart for the kitchen. Because THANKFULLY I don't live in a big ol' modern house with a huge open floor plan and 17 bedrooms and bathrooms. I live in a house that is 94 years old and is pretty small. Really a kitchen warmer and a bedroom warmer will take care of the house. Or rather, the kitchen is the room that smells the most and the bedroom is where I want happy smells most.

I may get one for the living room sometime but that's a long way off I am sure. I am slightly ever so much more budget conscious than to splurge all the time. I swear.

Happy Tuesday!

Glitter and Rainbows.

This is going to be one of those posts. They're all over the interwebs and every once in a while people just have to get down and get real. Today has not been all about glitter and rainbows. 

I know. I know that I am blessed and lucky and all the good things. But just for a while I'm not feeling it and I'm going to let it out. 

In his act of service to me this weekend, Husband cleaned out the car. It looks great. Air in the tires. Vacuumed out. All the miscellaneous toys and cups are gone. Pretty swell. Switched C's seat to behind the driver so that Baby can take over the passenger side. Also he re-caulked some tile in the bathroom because he was concerned about a slow water leak. It's all fixed now! 

And I should be thrilled. THRILLED! My husband helps me around the house. (And he does and he did a lot more this weekend that I haven't even mentioned.) 

But I am grumpy. Because I can't shower for another 12 hours to let the caulk dry and set. And I love showers. Especially right now. 

And I was debating whether or not to go to the museum and music class this morning and I eventually decided that "why not?" Worst case scenario it would send me into labor. Who am I kidding? Best case scenario right there! And I got us both dressed. A task that was not exactly speedy. Shoes on. Out to the garage and buckled in. And the car won't start. The battery is dead. 

Now we have AAA. A dead battery is a drop in the bucket. But at the moment I turned the key and got the clicking noise... I was done. I used all that energy to get ready and then to go do something fun with C and my hopes were dashed. I am not a plan B kind of girl. I like plan A which why I planned in the first place. 

39 weeks and 1 day pregnant does not apparently agree with me. I am grumpy. Taking all the things a little too personally.

OBVIOUSLY Husband did not mean to drain the battery while he was cleaning the car. And since I showered yesterday at 4:00 it's not at all a crisis that I can't shower rightthissecond. It isn't a crisis at all. 

I am emotional. And hormonal. And I want this baby to come out. But I can't force her out. Babies are born on their birthdays and all that happy logical stuff. 

I just don't feel logical right now. 

I am not looking for sympathy here. My life is not a crisis. Just ignore this post. Really. I just needed to let it out. I feel a little better already. 

No News is...

BORING. 38 weeks 4 days. Appointment today and it was the quick kind. Head down, all things weight/bp/urine were good so there we are. I declined a check today. Progress (or not) is what it is and I see no reason to fret. Hospital bag is pretty much packed. The bows I ordered came in the mail today. I'm pretty much ready.

So in order to keep busy, Laura over at String of Pearls nominated me for a Liebster. I'm going to cheat a little and answer her questions but I am not going to come up with my own or nominate anyone because... well I'm just not. 

On to the fun:

1. Do you have a favorite saint, and what drew you to him/her?

I've got to give my props to Saint Anthony. He hasn't let me down yet. And there is nothing quite as catchy as "Help me Tony look around. Something's lost and can't be found. Amen." Is that a major cop out? I really am not that forgetful and I don't call on him that often I swear. But gosh, St. Anthony is pretty terrific. 

2. I think every Liebster questionnaire includes a question like this; but I'm crazy about books, so I just have to know: do you have a best-loved book that you've read multiple times?  (And will you probably read it again?)  Or do you always just read a book once and pass it on to others?

Well I have most certainly written of my favorite books before on the blog but for now let me just say that I have never not been able to pick up a Harry Potter and enjoy it. 

3. What is your family's Christmas Eve tradition?

If we are at my family's Christmas Eve it involves a Roast Beef with power sauce dinner and opening all the presents. For whatever reason, and I'm not quite sure, Christmas Eve is the more important day for my family. Christmas Day is in fact incredibly low key. 

Last year we spent Christmas Eve just the three of us and we had fajitas. They were festive (red and green peppers) and a great change of pace from the meat/potato combo that all the other celebrations boasted. I'd like to keep that up when we are by ourselves. 

4. When you dress up in heels, do you wear panty hose/tights, or do you go bare-legged?

It depends. November-March I would say always panty hose. In the summer bare-legged. 

5. How did you and your husband meet?  (And if you're not married, what's the most important quality you're looking for in a spouse?)

Well I talked about the 10 year anniversary of meeting him here. But since I don't remember it I will tell you about the time I remember. I somehow got conned into doing props for HMS Pinafore. I was the assistant to our dear friend Katie. But she was not quite organized and there were a lot of props in this show. I had spent weekend after weekend just making and collecting props. I was an itty bitty Freshman and I had no car so I was no help with the going and buying of things. 

One of the dumb things we "needed" for the show was a sausage. And the guest director was kind of a piece of work and wanted everything to be hilarious. So he wanted a giant sausage. Well Katie asked Husband (who was in the show but had a reputation for excellence in props) to create a large sausage. I didn't know this. 

One afternoon I was sorting things and working backstage trying to take care of checking things off the extraordinarily long (and growing because like I said the director was a piece of work and kept adding things) list. Husband walked over to me, by the drinking fountain, and held out this HUGE wooden sausage. He had spun it on the lathe and painted it sausage colored. I was so relieved that I just hugged him. And I hugged him hard. 

Only after I hugged him did I realize that I didn't really know this guy and it was probably really weird that I hugged him. But it all worked out in the end. And Katie was a bridesmaid in our wedding. 

My incredibly sentimental Husband turned that sausage into a giant pepper mill for a show the next year and painted it red. I was devastated. The funny thing is that he actually is a sentimental guy and felt bad that the sausage wasn't a sausage anymore. We have the giant  pepper mill though. 

6. What's your go-to prayer in times of distress? 

I say a "Hail Mary" or when I was in second grade my RE teacher told us the easiest and shortest prayer you can ever say is "Jesus, Help." Apparently I was an impressionable 7 year old because I say that a lot too. 

7. Where is the one place in the world you would visit if you could?

Oh gosh. It's hard to pick one place only. Is it dumb that I would pick Prince Edward Island? Because of Anne of Green Gables of course. 

8. How many siblings do you have?

Two younger brothers. S is 26 and lives in Missouri right now. He has a German Shepard named Rocco. (After the patron Saint of dogs)

P is 20 and is in his second year of college. Most people would call that a sophomore but he had so many College in the School and AP credits I am pretty sure he is well into his junior year credit wise. He goes to an all boys school that has a sister school. They have mixed gender classes but separate campuses. In his dorm last year there was a priest on every floor. I don't know if they do that in his current dorm though. 

9. Are you a worrier?  (I'm worried you'll think that's a weird question.)

Eh. Depends. Sometimes I get hit by the "worst case scenario" monster but even then my rational brain makes a plan and then I am sufficiently pacified by the plan. 

My ridiculous worry that I still have is dropping one of my babies (when they're little) onto pavement. Like when I took C out of his car seat and into the Baby Bjorn. It's dumb because he was never that wiggly and an adult certainly has the advantage over a 3 month old etc. But I still worry about it. 

10. What, if any, sport do you enjoy watching the most?

Hockey. End of story.
I also enjoy going to a baseball game to sit and chat while sort've watching. That's fun too.

Have a great Thursday!