Naturally Optimistic

...and I don't care what ANYONE says, I'm as big as a house! Sheesh! And that arm! GAH!!! (ps - Mindy - this is your dress! I love it. Sooooo comfy!) BTW, this is me on Dec 5, 2007 - 35w, 2d with Miss Dahlia.

Well, there's about 30 days left of this pregnancy (according to my official May 1 due date)...I'm at the point where it occupies most of my thinking time these days. I'm so excited to meet this new little person & to see what he/she looks like, if it is a he or a she! To figure out his/her name; to (most likely) complete our family. On the other hand I'm a little melancholy about it not being just the three of us any more. I think that sounds kind of bad, but it's true. We've sort of hit our stride with our routine & we're about to throw it all into confusion. I know we will sort it out. Transition is hard. I'm excited to get my body back! To not have to be *quite so* careful about what I eat...to be able to go for a hike, or heck, a walk! To be able to breathe normally, turn over in bed normally, to wear normal clothes & be able to bend down & pick things up. To see my feet! On the other hand I will sort of miss being pregnant. Knowing ...

After I got my new car in November, I noticed a disturbing trend. The heater didn't really work. I mean, it worked...but it worked on it's own schedule. I couldn't adjust it for fear of it blowing freezing cold air. We finally figured out that if we turned the knob all the way to cold, and then back, it would start working again. I'm terribly slow (and short on cash) these days & just dealt with it through the cold months of winter. Sure it was a pain in the butt, but we survived. Last week, though, I couldn't stand it any more. It was 55 degrees outside. It was HOT in my car and I couldn't get any COOL air to blow. Just hot. My turning the dial trick didn't work. I was dying...ugh. I had to have the windows down just to breathe. It was annoying & made me crabby. Steve was in the car with me & said that that was just stupid & I should get it fixed. He was right, of course. He immediately called the auto shop & made me an appointment. So, ...

This mini-doc was shot/edited in about a week. It's to woo Google to the Twin Ports. 4 Track Films produced it. Check it out! I think it's pretty cool.

Well, I figured it was coming...I start insulin today. Just before dinner. Not really a big deal, my after dinner numbers were creeping up no matter what I did. In a way it's a bit of a relief because then I can go out for pizza (for example) & actually consume a normal sized portion, adjust my insulin accordingly and not feel like I'm "missing out." Ah well - not much longer now!

Ultrasound #6 today! Baby passed its BPP with flying colors. This one is a wiggle-worm, that's for sure. Measuring as he/she should, head down, constantly making me have to go to the bathroom & kicking me in the ribs. Much MUCH better technician this week than last week....I have another appt/ultrasound next week. Thank GOD I have insurance! This one appears to have Steve's nose...Dahlia definitely had mine! Hmm....maybe it's a boy?

WIN: I found a slide/climber thingy on Craigslist last night. Retails for $399, I got it for $150 (I'm channeling my inner pregnancy-twin-Sarah ) I'm so excited. Dahlia is loving climbing & sliding these days & to have something right out our backdoor this summer will be great. I was able to pick up all but two of the pieces this morning. Two very odd shaped pieces just wouldn't fit in my car. Oh well. We weren't going to put it up this weekend anyway. LOSE: While Steve was packing his car for his overnight camping trip this morning (! I know - brrrr!) the glass patio table top, sitting a considerable distance from where he was & totally unmolested, touched, stacked upon or otherwise disturbed, SHATTERED. *sigh* It is now in a million pieces & I am now searching Craigslist for a (cheap) picnic table for our backyard. You win some, you lose some....

Being of primarily German & Swedish descent in our household, one might find it strange for us to celebrate St. Patrick's Day - BUT - really, I'm just looking for any kind of excuse to make an ordinary day of the week into something special. I love 'special' days, always have - and I'm excited to do fun special things with & for my family. We had guests, thankfully, help us consume the rather large corned beef brisket I purchased (it was the smallest I could find) & I put my new crockpot to good use. Onions, potatoes, carrots, garlic, cabbage and of course the meat. All making my house smell delicious while I was away at work! I love the crockpot! For dessert the pistachio "Watergate" recipe...Light, fluffy & most importantly, green. Miss Dahlia LOVED being the center of attention & put on quite a show during & after dinner. She was also remarkably well behaved...even though she had a bath & went to bed LATE. Needless to say I *...

The corned beef, cabbage & potatoes have been cooking all day in the crock pot. The beer bread is being mixed up. The pistachio cake is baking & the frosting is setting up. Photos tomorrow! :)

Pretty much I wear the same thing every day these days...almost. I have TONS of maternity clothes, thanks to some very generous friends, but the shirts (some at least) have stopped covering the belly so I continue to resort to my favorite pair of (maternity) jeans, long sleeved shirt & cardigan. I'm okay with this. Hopefully no one else has noticed....yet.

I've been sitting on this a while as to not jinx myself, but I can't contain it any longer - LOW will be featured on the soundtrack for THE LIFE OF RILEY! Whohoooo!! We're using 2 of their songs ("California" and "Breaker (Dub Plate)") as well as a Black Eyed Snakes song - yipeee!! The soundtrack will also feature two Austin natives - Martin Zellar & Charlie Parr! Wheeee!! Other musicians include Mary Bue, Haley Bonar, Cars and Trucks, The Very People, Amy Abts & more!! I'm so pleased with how all the music is coming together for RILEY. All MN musicians! Yahooo!!!!

According to Sarah's pregnancy counter (why have my own, when I can check my pregnancy twin's on a daily basis??) there are less than 50 days til my (our) due date! Eeeeek. For some reason (past experience?) I'm certain this baby will come early (will I eat my words? We'll see...) and my estimate for a really silly reason, is April 11... You see Dahlia was born on my Grandpa B's 86th (I think...right Mom?) birthday. December 14th. My Grandma's birthday is April 11. Wouldn't it be fitting if Baby B #2 was born on her birthday? That would also coincide with being "early" (37 weeks) although not *quite* as early as Dahlia (36 weeks). So I'm trying to get everything done as I feel like time is slipping away. We have to finish the sound design for RILEY, re-shoot a major scene, get the color correction happening & of course all the last minute at home preparations. Wow. It's going to happen soon, isn't it?!?! EEEEEEK!

I've been wondering about a Doula lately - at first I thought, yes! I want to have a doula there to help us with Baby B's delivery & aftermath...and then I sort of decided that it wasn't affordable, & we did it once, we can do it again, etc... But now I'm thinking about it again. I still don't know if we can afford it - I know that the Birthing Ways group here in Duluth operates on a sliding scale, so that's reassuring. Part of me is wondering is it too late in the process? Will I get to know a Doula in time to feel comfortable with having her in the delivery room? Then again - what if Steve is off in the boondocks again & I am laboring alone? Wouldn't it be nice to have someone there helping me? I would really like to deliver this baby drug-free again but I'm nervous that I won't be able to do it, I know that Doulas are incredibly helpful at getting you through the tough parts. So I flip flop. Any of you ladies or gents out there want to...

Baby B #2's Coming Home from the Hospital outfit - even though it's blue...is it "gender neutral" enough for a girl or a boy? I thought it was pretty cute.

Our ECFE school had their yearly fundraiser last week. It was a "sock-hop" dance w/a raffle for fabulous prizes! Dahlia's class (technically the "1's") were probably the youngest there - well, no there were some infants, but probably the youngest who 'knew' on some level what was going on. It becomes very obvious in settings like these that Miss Dahlia is an observer to the core. She loves to dance & run around, but she will stand, probably for an hour (if we let her), in one place, just soaking it all in. I think the gym full of kids, the adults, all the loud music were enough to overwhelm her. She did great. No melt downs (til we were leaving) but she wasn' 100% in her comfort zone. Towards the end of the night she finally decided she would join in & took Steve's hand & joined the limbo line. She didn't make it to the limbo stick (got bored in line) but I was impressed that she made the move. The animal crackers were the hig...

We went to the ECFE "Sock Hop" (photos soon) last Thursday night. The yearly fundraiser. AS part of the festivities there is a raffle of gift baskets. 50 cents a ticket. I bought 20 tickets & had fun deciding what I'd (& we'd) like. I was hoping for a night in some swank hotel or a family membership to Hartley Nature Center, but it was not to be. BUT today at ECFE I found out I did win something! This lovely Aveda basket + $5 at Caribou. Now I can say I am a winner & not a loser. haha.

Over here ...

Go here & take the quiz....Are your results spot on? Since I am changing (?) careers in the near future (??) I thought what the heck, I'll see what this quiz says for me. I'm shocked at the results (heh, not really...) Best Occupational Category You're a CREATOR Keywords Nonconforming, Impulsive, Expressive, Romantic, Intuitive, Sensitive, and Emotional These original types place a high value on aesthetic qualities and have a great need for self-expression. They enjoy working independently, being creative, using their imagination, and constantly learning something new. Fields of interest are art, drama, music, and writing or places where they can express, assemble, or implement creative ideas. CREATOR OCCUPATIONS Suggested careers are Advertising Executive, Architect, Web Designer, Creative Director, Public Relations, Fine or Commercial Artist, Interior Decorator, Lawyer, Librarian, Musician, Reporter, Art Teacher, Broadcaster, Technical Writer, English Teacher, Archit...

I changed up my 'regular' breakfast (2 pieces of low-carb bread SLATHERED in peanut butter, natural, of course & a banana) for the 2 pieces of toast + half an apple. It was a mistake. I am still starving and there's 2 hours to go until my snack. dangit. (and I have to go grocery shopping before then & now! ACK! I'm going to torture myself!!)

At 5:45 this morning Dahlia woke up. A little on the early side for her but not totally out of the ordinary. I was not in the mood to get up so tried to convince her that it wasn't time yet & to lay back down. She said to me "Good morning. Snuggle?" How could I resist? There wasn't any more sleeping but we did have a nice time snuggling til 6:20 or so. Almost makes 5:45 seem not so bad!