It's a Baby!!!

Edward Cornelius Gronau
March 7, 2006
8:08 AM
9 pounds 5 ounces, 22” long, 13 ½” head
Dark brown hair (but we’ve been fooled by that before!)

Monday: extreme frustration. After almost three weeks of false labor (regular but painless contractions), we called the hospital at 5:45 AM for our induction, only to be told that they were completely full; we should call back at 9:0 AM. I called Dr. Syal at the clinic at 8:30 -- she was going to try to get me in. She called back -- nothing yet; she’d call back by 10:30. 10:30 came and went, with no call -- I called the clinic twice and then the hospital trying to track down some info about whether or not I was ever going to have this kid! Joel, Lucy and I ran some errands and took Lu to her 18-month checkup. We finally got an update at 3:00: we’re first on the induction list… for Wednesday. Well, no way was I going to make it another 38 hours without giving birth. I thought about going to work on Tuesday, and I thought about “enjoying” another day at home.. and I cried. And cried. JG and I made plans to take Lu to day care in the morning and then catch lunch and a matinee movie.

Monday evening, Jean came over for dinner, bearing one of those roaster chickens from Cub and a Baker’s Square French Silk pie. We ate, and I beat Jean in Scrabble. Jean beat me in Canasta, we reciprocate that way. I went to bed, for the first time in three weeks, not even thinking about contractions.

3:30 AM Tuesday: I woke up with tummy troubles. Ooh, too much roaster chicken! I thought. The indigestion went away, but came back a few minutes later. The same thing happened three or four times, and I thought: hmmm, maybe these are contractions! Around 4:15, I elbowed Joel: “I think I might be having contractions.”
Joel: “Unggh, whuh? Oh, yeah, I had a dream about that. I’ll tell you in the morning.”

I got up around 5:00 and went to the bathroom, then sat on my birth ball in the dark kitchen and wrote down the contractions, which were now 4-5 minutes apart and getting quite painful. At 5:30 I woke up Joel (again), and said we might want to call someone to take care of Lucy. Joel sprang into action, calling Dee to warn her of an early drop-off; I called the hospital. St. John’s said they didn’t have any nurses for me, but that they’d call back. I jumped in the shower. When I got out, Joel had Lucy up and had info from St. John’s: we were headed to Woodwinds Hospital in Woodbury.

We dropped off Lu at Dee’s around 6:20 and hightailed it over to Woodwinds, arriving at 6:40. We put the Hypnobirthing CD on in the van and I had to concentrate to breathe through the contractions. They weren’t terribly painful, but I did have to really focus on relaxing each time. We got into room #264 immediately and they hooked me up to the monitors and checked my cervix -- a stretchy 5! Joel put the CD on in the room and they told me they would monitor me for 20 minutes and then I could get in the tub and/or on the birth-ball, if I wished. The monitoring went on longer than 20 minutes, though -- they eventually hooked up my IV (for the group-B-strep antibiotics) and I continued to breathe through the contractions, which were getting progressively stronger. I kept trying to consciously relax every muscle from my forehead on down to my bottom area, and I also kept telling myself, “it’s not pain, it’s just pressure“. It actually worked. Joel would stroke the back of my arm, or caress my back and forehead, during the surges. Oh! He wants me to tell you that he also pressed “play” at least three times on the CD player.

The doc arrived at 7:45 and the surges were getting very, very difficult to control. I had two kinda bad ones (it didn’t help that the doc was asking me Very Silly Questions, like “how are we doing?” and “do you feel like pushing?”), and my forehead was getting really sweaty, and I thought, you know what? This is very silly. I think I might just ask for an epidural, because this is SO much work and is this really worth it? And then the doc says “OK, we’re going to check you” and MUCH to my surprise, I was fully dilated! The only thing holding this baby back was a large blob of water, which the doc broke. I felt like then I made a conscious decision to start pushing, and while I tried the “birth breathing” it felt much easier to actually push. The doc and nurses were encouraging that anyway -- the doc kept asking me to hold my own legs, when I really thought it would be more productive for me to keep my arms relaxed and let Joel and the nurse hold my legs up for her. Regardless. I kind of half-pushed, half-breathed until I could really feel the head come out. I pushed again to get the shoulders out and really, the rest was easy (total, I pushed through about 4 surges or so?).

And at 8:08, our little Eddie was born! All 9lbs., 5 oz. and 22 inches of him. The doc handed him to me as Joel said “It’s a boy!” and I got to snuggle with him and kiss his dark little head while Joel cut the cord. I got some stitches (by far, the worst part of the whole thing!) and they weighed and measured the little guy. I nursed him about 40 minutes later, and he, amazingly, latched right on. Joel started making phone calls around 9:00.

So far we’ve had so many wonderful visitors: Joel’s p’s and sisters, My p’s, Jean, Jan and Lucy (who took one look at Ed and said “baby baby baby?”); Carol, Pat and Josie; Michelle and Nikki; Tricia; and Daycare Dee and Darrell. Ed’s doing great, and I am too (despite the bewildering fact that there’s no nursery here, so new moms don’t really get the best possible sleep at night). Joel and all the grandparents are beside themselves, of course. We just can’t believe, after all that, that he finally decided to come on his own. Fabulous. So happy.

Limbo

And I don't mean that fun, hilarious party game with the broomstick and the stupid song.

It took about seven phone calls (mostly me calling my clinic and the hospital to try to track down my doctor, who promised to call me back and still has not) to finally find out that St. John's is on "divert" status today (meaning they're not even accepting ambulances) and they'll put me back on the list...

for Wednesday.

I simply have No Idea what on earth I am going to do with myself for the next 33 hours. I'm seroiusly considering going to work tomorrow, if they'll even have me.

Oh, but I'm first on the list for Wednesday. Is that supposed to make me feel better?

It's hard out here for a preggo

Postponed.
I know what you're about to say: Are you kidding?

We dutifully called the hospital this morning at 5:45. "I'm sorry, we can't have you come in this morning. Call back at 9:00."

It's 8:13.

Lucy was up all night, crying, for no apparent reason. Nightmares? Tummy troubles? A couple good things (trying really, really hard to look on the bright side):
1. In the last two weeks, Lu has learned a couple key things. She'll now take something to the kitchen trash and throw it out for you, if you ask her to. She has also gotten pretty dang good at using a spoon to feed herself with. If I ever have this baby, those little things are going to be extremely helpful.
2. All our family is Officially Home from their various sojourns around the globe. Of course, I probably could have gone with them, had I any clue I would be charging straight at 42 weeks with no baby in sight. Seriously, though, I'm happy that everyone's back in town, and it sounds like they all had wonderful vacations.

8:20. If they can't get me in when I call at nine, I'm taking Lulu out on a few errands.

Induction Junction

Hey there!
It's Sunday and we went to the hospital this morning because I thought I might have been leaking some amniotic fluid. I wasn't, but they did agree to mov my induction... to...

Monday!

So around 7:00 Monday morning, they're going to start the Pitocin. They can't just break my water because the baby is, hmm, I wonder how this is spelled: bill-OTT-able, meaning it's not pressing against the cervix. Essentially, should they break my water in this circumstance, they would hope that the head would just fall down, like a cork. However, because the head is still a little floaty, potentially the cord would be what goes down first, and then I'd be in for an emergency C-section.

That's the news! Who knows how fast it will go once they start the Pitocin. We'll be in touch.

Happy Saturday!

Oh, what fun it is to post from my kitchen table! Joel, Lucy and my dad are all still sleeping. I am enjoying a lovely mug of coffee and savoring the quiet of my house.

Yup, I am still pregnant. One of my clients (at work yesterday) emailed and said "did you have your baby yet? What is it?" And I was, like, PUH-LEEZE, I'm a dedicated employee and all, but no fargin' way would I be working if I had just given birth!

Had contractions all day yesterday. Are you getting tired of reading that yet? I'm getting a little tired of typing it. They were, like, 6-8 minutes apart, consistently. Dad and I went for a 2.5-mile walk (to Target and back) last night, to no avail.

According to Peg, it's "false labor"; were it "real" it wouldn't go away when I slept. My doctor told me to keep walking all night, if necessary. I maintain that it's better if I get some sleep, hello, since I may be called upon to push a 10-pound baby out my tuchas sometime in the next couple days here.

My dad was planning to go home today, but he woke up feeling ill this morning (believe me, I'm starting to make myself sick; I can only imagine what my housemates are feeling... at least he's managed to avoid insanity thus far!) so I don't know what the plan is. JG and I may take Lucy down to the MOA to just walk... and walk... and walk.

My doc said to call her first thing Monday morning, and I will. Feel free to call, or write... we have no plans. :)

Pregnant. Still.

Hey there, so I'm back at work today.

Appt yesterday went well. I was dilated to 3. She "stripped my membranes" again and gave the baby a non-stress-test, which Gus passed with flying colors (which basically means (s)he is super, duper happy and comfy in there). The doc put me on the schedule for an induction next Wednesday, March 8, but she said that even if I was induced, all they'd most likely have to do is break my water and I would be going. I had had regular contractions (5-8 minutes) all day yesterday, and after the appointment they were more like 3-5 minutes and getting really strong. So Joel and Jan and Dad and I packed up all my bags, and stacked everything by the door. I even called the hospital to see what the room situation was.

At 9:00 (after The Office, natch), I said, well, we can go to the hospital, or I can try to go to sleep.

So I went to sleep.

Woke up at 10:00 PM in a PANIC... I hadn't had ANY contractions for an HOUR!?!??! Called the hospital and apparently it's normal for the contrax to heat up in the evening but then disappear when you sleep. WHATever. I went back to bed, slept until 6:30... and here I am at work. Gus is kicking around, happy as a stinkin' clam. I am going to go forage for some hot chocolate, or something.

*sigh*
:)

41 weeks!

Well, here I am... 41 weeks. Thank you, thank you, it's lovely to be here. I'm feeling good, have been having pretty regular contractions all day... everything's OK. I will report after my appointment at 2:45. :)

Distraction from the fact there's no baby yet...

Yes, indeed, these were taken with our New Digital Camera and uploaded on our New Computer!! YEAH!!

Bust at the doc's

Joel and I met at the doc's office at 3 today, only to find out that my doc was called into surgery at the last minute and was unavailable. Could I see someone else? Well, sure, no problem. We waited another 20 minutes, only to find out that the only "someone else" available...
was...
KT, the nurse-practitioner who, last July, informed me I was certainly NOT pregnant. Remember this? "How sure are you?" we asked. "100% sure."

Remember this?

I blanched.

I would not, could not see this nurse.
I could not, would not, to be terse.
I would not see this nurse, KT.
I could not see her, no sirree!

So I burst into tears and asked to reschedule for tomorrow. So... I'm supposed to go in tomorrow. More news to come at that time.

I *have* started to waddle... is that "progress"?

Gus and I had a nice chat last night, but to no avail. (I even sang him/her show tunes, trying to give the vibe that if (s)he likes them, there's much more where that came from... and if (s)he doesn't, then if (s)he comes out (s)he can let me know and I will stop!) I'm having pretty much zero contractions at this point. Which is SO WEIRD. Anyway, I don't think I will be able to post this evening after my doc appt at 3 PM, but I will post in the morning.

I am going to try to steer the convo with my doc AWAY from the pros/cons of induction (I feel like I have an excellent handle on that, thank you to EVERYONE who has "commented," called or emailed in the last couple days). I more want to talk to her about how we're going to monitor the baby, when this induction can/should be scheduled, and perhaps seek some insights as to why I haven't started labor yet (especially after those regular contractions Sat/Sun and Monday!).

Here's where I'm at: if Gus is in any danger, let's just get him/her out of there. I only hope that there isn't something else halting the birthing that will cause me to have to go through the contractions with the pitocin, only to end up with a C-section because Gus wasn't positoined correctly to start with, or something. It gives me pause that my labor with Lucy was progressive and natural, and this one is getting stalled. What's the difference? I suppose I'll never know, "all pregnancies are different," yadda yadda.

Still here

Well yesterday I had regular contrax all morning, like 5-8 minutes apart... only to be thwarted by lunch and the nice walk I took afterward. It's, like, all the things that are supposed to START labor are actually STOPPING it for me. Bah.

We think Lu caught something like the roto-virus or whatever (can someone with some medical knowledge PLEASE tell Joel that it's not named "roto-virus" simply because it has the same "cleaning out effect" as Roto-Rooter... please??) Oh, wait, I just googled it and it's more like "rotavirus." Well anyway, apart from some nasty diapers at Dee's yesterday and her vomiting on Saturday and her lack of appetite on Sunday... she seemed totally fine this morning. SuperGramps flew up this AM to take care of her, since I didn't feel good about taking her to day care if she's still contagious... what on earth would we do without my dad? Seriously. Though as I mentioned Lu appears to be totally fine today.

OK, back to me: I am getting the impression that *something* is stopping or impeding my labor. Now, I'm not sure if Gus just isn't ready to join us, or if it's something psychological with me, or something physical that just puts a stop on it whenever it starts to get going... but I am feeling strongly that I am going to have to be induced. I would like to try to wait it out as long as possible (as long as Gus is still doing OK in there, and as long as I am not miserable).

OK I better post this, apparently some of you have started to harass Michelle Crandall. :)

Due date plus four days

Things to be thankful for

Joel. Sweet, kind, patient Joel. Who walked all around Maplewood Mall with me and Lucy for a couple hours Sunday morning, to keep my mind off the fact that I'm not in labor. Who sent me off to see "Grease" at a local community theatre, to keep my mind off the fact that I'm not in labor. Who bought me curried chicken to try to bring on labor. Who chased Lucy around much of the weekend so I could rest. Who now puts my socks on for me every morning with, well, it's not exactly a smile but it is certainly Enthusiasm.

Gus, who is apparently doing fine in there, even if (s)he seems to be settling in for the long haul. And who is, as I type, trying to stick a foot out through my belly button. This kid has Joel's sense of direction, poor misguided thing.

Lucy, who pulled through a weird but fortunately acute bout of vomiting early Sunday morning. And remains the cutest little thing in shoe leather.

Gus NOT being born this weekend, thereby avoiding becoming a reincarnation of Don Knotts. Dodged a bullet on that one, I tell you what.

So, it's Monday, and I'm back at work. Stupid Circuit City still doesn't have my laptop ready, dang fools. I think I'm ready to have this baby now, really. Oh, if you're interested, here are the Gory Details (not too gory though): contractions all weekend but only regular for a few hours at a time, and never closer than 7-8 minutes. Not strong enough to keep me up at night... so we're just kind of in a holding pattern. I'll report again tomorrow (Tuesday) but will prolly not have news until after my doc appt on Wednesday). Thanks everyone for all the kind words and check-in-phone calls.

40 weeks plus one day checkup

Just got back from the doc. Everything's fine... I guess... I think what I was hoping for was for the doc to say "Omigosh! You're dilated to eight! Let's get you over to St. John's pronto!" and when all she actually said was "You should go into labor," well, that just didn't make me feel too good.
Anyway, I have an appointment next Wednesday (3/1) and they'll schedule an induction after that, if nothing is still happening.
That's it!
Meh.

Happy Due Date Plus One to Me!

Yup, I'm still here. Doc appt at noon -- I promise to check in afterward. Thanks everyone for the phone calls and kind thoughts/words... I owe some of you an email or callback and if I get caught up today I will try to reach you.

Oh, I bought a digital camera and a laptop yesterday. Fun! Now I have literally 12 rebate forms to fill out. Oh, hey, if you personally have an opinion on whether or not I shoud buy an extended warranty from Circuit City on the laptop, PLEASE SPEAK NOW. Thank you!

Notes from Ellen

OK, I had to share. My sister Ellen emailed me this morning. I am still laughing.

How's the pregnancy going? Actually I'm pretty up to date cause I read your blog like I read Mark Trail. Religiously. Speaking of which there's talk of building a casino in Lost Forest! Horrors! Jean and I went to Alpine Valley yesterday and it was a blast! We tried snowboarding at first and boy, let me tell you. It is tougher than it looks. I actually felt like I was catching on, but we switcher to skiis for the big hills. A compete stranger called me Bode Miller. Was it because of my superior skiing? My disapointing Olympic performance? No. It was after I crashed through a fence at the bottom of the hill meant to prevent people from ending up in a river. Not only did I go through the fence, but I took the whole thing down with me. This was just one of the falls that resulted in Jeans wet pants and an injury that prompted my mother to say, "Why Ellen. It looks like you have 3 buttcheeks."

Happy Due Date to Me!

Check it out, it's my due date. Gotta go work now.

Wednesday Check-in

Hi there!
Remember yesterday I said, in the immortal words of Phil Collins, that I [could] feel it, coming in the air tonight? Oh Lord?
Well this morning I feel like I've regressed. Yup, I'm like a week and a half out now.

Gus is kicking kind of faintly this morning, as if to say, Mom, I'm still here but I'm feeling a little sluggish today -- sluggish. Like a wet sponge. (Gus is a fan of early '80s sophomoric humor.) And I think I'm just going to snuggle back up and take a nap. I'll see ya in a couple weeks.

JG, Lulu and Pat Daly and I attended a community meeting last night at the high school regarding a Level 3 sex offender who's moving into the neighborhood (about eight blocks from our house, 5 blocks from the Dalys). *sigh* It was very educational and informative. I'm glad they have these meetings... I'm sad they have to. I'm fired up to help improve my community... I know I won't be taking any actual positive action in that direction. I wonder if staying in the city and "improving the neighborhood by my presence" is:
a. enough
b. foolish
c. hopeless
d. lazy
...or some combination thereof.

Lucy and Joel didn't stick around for the meeting; it was close to bedtime and SOMEONE preferred to toddle around the auditorium calling "Mama!" (her new favorite word; YESS!) rather than sit and listen to police officers talk. P-Dids and I took notes, though, and if any of our neighbors reading this want more info or want to talk about it, you know where to find me.

Speaking of neighbors, our neighbors-to-the-west let us know that their son, born in November with two holes in his heart, has been home for about three weeks and is doing just fine. Thank goodness. Welcome to the neighborhood; we're so glad you're home!

Todd my cube-neighbor is updating me daily on the celebrities who have birthdays every day, ostensibly so I can see, should Gus get born today, who (s)he'll share his/her bday with. Today is Dr. J, Michael Chang, Vijay Singh, and Amy Alcott. I was impressed with the diversity of sports, ethnicities and religions represented in that group, and I said so, so I don't think I'll jinx Gus's future as a professional athlete by having him/her today.

P.S. It's George Washington's birthday too.

P.P.S. It's Wednesday, in February. Could there BE any worse words to spell? Gaah!

Doo doo doo doo. Doo doo doot doo doo.

Yes, (in case you didn't recognize it from the lyrics above,) it's The Final Countdown!

I'm 39.7143 weeks this morning. Thank you, thank you, it's good to be here. Er, wait, no... no, it's not. My hip sockets are killing me, I'm so huge I can't even wash my own knee-pits, and I seem to have badly pulled a muscle up in my rib cage. Not to mention, I'm starting to get the *teensiest* bit peevish. About Everything. Like, for example, if I ask you to put on my socks for me, I want it Now and I want it Cheerful and Enthusiastic.

Gus is still moving around a lot, whicn is so reassuring at this stage. Oh! And we may have a new girl name (if you haven't had it run by you yet, then you just might have to wait until she's born! Thanks Nikki for the idea).

We got a couple more things done this weekend, and I think I finally feel ready. Really. Honest. I do. My folks flew in for a visit on Saturday and it was wonderful to see them. My aunt and my p's found a place for my grandma to live up here, too, and she's moving up from Florida sometime in the next two months.

Had a *couple* contractions last night (nothing to write home about, though technically by blogging them I suppose I just did!). I think it will be sometime in the next week... but maybe that's wishful thinking. We'll see...

One week more!

Or, you know, two or three. Gained another, like, half a pound. BP and baby's heartbeat were both good (no specifics, sorry). I might be dilated "almost to one" -- hmm, doesn't that sound familiar?

Anyway, I still feel great -- looking forward to this three-day weekend WOO HOO! My folks are coming up on Saturday, too -- it will be good to hang out with them without any "event" planned.

It is SO COLD outside today. Bundle up!

Oh! Stupid story: so I had to buy milk last night, so I went to Jimmy's and got two gallons of skim and one whole, and I heave them up onto the counter, and Jimmy is like, well, it looks like you're all set for the weekend and I'm like, yup, we're just going to sit around all weekend drinking milk and he's like, well, you're prepared then and I'm like, yup, it's going to be some party and it was a dumb conversation but it made me laugh.

Oh! And I got a haircut last night and the gal flat-ironed my hair which I hated for about 14 hours but it's starting to grow on me and now I'm actually thinking of buying a flat-iron. Leave it to me. I started using a blow-dryer on my hair about 2 weeks before Lu was born. Why am I becoming *more* high maintenance in my old age?

Johnny Weir, you're not fooling anyone.

Yesterday, I actually had someone ask if I was pregnant.

I mean, really.

Had a lovely V-day at home with JG and LD -- we got gyros from Pappy's for the first time (delicious), and Joel brought me some tulips and cookies. Lucy was an absolute sweetheart last night, eating her dinner and playing "ring around the rosie" with us until bedtime.

Last night's repeatisms: "ball," "baby," "cookie," and, I forgot our new favorite:

"Lucy, it's bedtime, what do you say?"

"Nye-nye!"

Eeeee! So fun.

Hubbies say the darndest things

Joel's been reading the pregnancy websites. He's so cute. As you may know (that is, if YOU'VE been reading the pregnancy websites), toward the end, the baby "drops" -- basically the head of the baby (eventually followed by the rest of the baby) moves down, into the mom's hipbone. This is called "engagement," or, more euphemistically, "lightening."

So anyway, last night Joel's trying to sound smart and goes, "How's Gus?"

"Good," I say (or something like that), "I'm feeling lots of pressure downward."

"Oh!" He says, clearly excited that he recognizes the symptom, "Are you feeling enlightened?"

:) :) :)

Yup. Om.

Blessed are the shirts of Joel, for they shall inherit my girth

I have finally eschewed my maternity shirts and moved into Joel's closet. (Even though it's dark in there and hard to get to the light switch.) No, seriously, my tum sticks out so far that those cute "maternity shirts" are leaving about 4 inches of bare skin before you get to my pants. Which is fine if I'm hanging out exclusively with tall people. But since I frequently have to walk in to coworkers' cubes while they are seated, I'd rather spare them my stretch marks.

38-week report

Hi again. Went to the doc for my 38-week checkup, and truly there is nothing to report. Blood pressure is "beautiful" (110/60-something, I think?). I gained another 4 pounds. Baby's heartbeat is good, and I'm not dilated any more than I was 2 weeks ago. I'm still feeling relatively great (found another v. good pillow configuration, so I'm sleeping well too), so I'm ready for the long haul these last few weeks here.

Still haven't hung up the pictures in Lucy's or Gus's rooms -- if you live in the Twin Cities and have a good sense of where to hang things, PLEASE come over (I will make food or something!) and tell me what to do. I would really appreciate it. If you and I happen to be friends or family, all the better, as it would probably be good to see you. Though I make no promises. :)

Nine is a rhyme

Lucy spent the weekend repeating... everything.

"Lucy, look, a kitty! Meow!"

"M'ow."

"Lucy, look, it's Josie!"

"Josie."

"Lucy, look, mommy's butt!"

"Butt."


No joke. It's the funnest ever. She even, sort of, repeated us counting:

"One."

"Un."

"Two."

"Oo."

"Three."

"Eee."

"Four."

"Nine."

Nine is her new favorite. Everything is nine. Of course, she's at least 1/3 German, so she probably means "nein" -- seeing as how "no" is her favorite word in English.

Gus's Room! Gus's Room! Party Time! Excellent!

Ok, you have to picture these photos going around the room, clockwise. It's swell, clockwise.

Woes of a mid-February citrus craving

If you've been keeping up, I have been eating Clementine oranges like they've been going out of style for the last month. And, apparently, they HAVE been going out of style, or at least out of season, since the last box I bought was only about 60% good. And cost about $7.

So yesterday I thought I'd branch out and buy some tangerines. Or, I think they were tangerines. I'm going to have to check their little labels. Anyway, I tried the first one this morning, and... it's just not a Clementine. First of all, it's got these big honkin' seeds, like THREE in each slice. And the flavor is vaguely toothpastey at times. And there's more of that abhorrent white stuff than I generally like to deal with.

See, this is why I haven't made it a point to buy oranges or anything of their ilk before; it is just neverending heartbreak. Anticipation, followed by the inevitable letdown, not to mention seeds and scraps of white-stuff everywhere, plus really, really sticky hands.

So I've a dilemma. I might try navel oranges next, but I fret about the seeds (smaller and harder to pick out?) and the evil white-stuff (at least on the tangerines-or-whatever, it comes off easily; I have vague childhood recollections of orange slices with completely immovable white-stuff).

I can see how genetically-engineered "perfect fruit" could find a following.

Tank top, the sweetest thing.

PHOTOS!
My fab sister busted out her new digital camera last night and we went to town. Please note Joel in the background, trying to be funny with a ball under his shirt.

I am also working on getting some photos of Gus's room. Patience. :)

In the last couple days, I've had several random people (not that the people themselves have been random, but people I know from random areas of my life, i.e. cousins, ex-coworkers, and friends-of-friends) make a point to mention that they are reading this with some regularity. I wanted to say THANKS for reading, I really appreciate it. I am going to make an effort to keep posting regularly -- it's difficult with work and all, but it's so good to know that you guys enjoy it.

Oh! So get this (some of you know this backstory already), when I pulled out all my old maternity clothes AGAIN last August or Septemberish, I was boondoggled when I couldn't find my maternity jeans and two tank tops. I mean, seriously devastated. They were an awesome pair of jeans -- comfy & cute (as cute as maternity jeans get, if you know what I mean). And the tanks were so versatile... anyway, I threw a fit and was pretty sure I'd accidentally given them all to Goodwill. I have been beating myself up about this since September.

Flash forward to last Saturday, when Joel and I are emptying out the garage of all Lucy's baby stuff that is now getting a reincarnation. Eureka! The jeans. And tank tops. I nearly cried. Joel actually told me to calm down. I celebrated by spending $137 at Target, including $4.94 on a pair of clearance-rack gold flats TO WEAR WITH MY JEANS.

It's the little things. :)

P.S. I am so sorry to gloat about this, but I got another fabulous sleep last night. I know it will all go away soon so I am really appreciative, while it lasts.

I'm in love with a girl

So, maybe it's taken me longer than most moms, but I have fallen madly in love with Lucy. I can't explain it, but when I'm with her I just want to hold her and kiss her cheeks and play with her hair and rub my nose on hers. She's turned into such a little person in the last few months. It's awe-inspiring.

Though maybe it's just the pregnancy hormones, because I've become kind of extra-attached to a lot of things these days, i.e. clementine oranges (or tangerines? what ARE they?), ginger Altoids, the new lamp we got for Gus's room, Joel, and the writing of Augusten Burroughs.

Seriously, though, it's a really cute lamp.

I'm officially in end-stage pregnancy (or "morbidly pregnant," as I prefer)... my hip joints are definitely loosening up in preparation to pass a basketball, and I am having trouble getting comfortable pretty much ever. I tried sleeping Lucy-style last night, "butt up" on my knees with three pillows under my head and chest, and another one under my bottom-area. Not so good. In fact, I haven't the foggiest notion how Lu sleeps that way all night -- my feet fell asleep, for starters, and I felt like my femurs were going to dislocate from my pelvis. Yow.

My constant wakefulness also causes me to remember my dreams, which are increasingly weird. A couple nights ago Steve Martin and I were ballroom-dancing in Boston with a tidal wave about to hit... last night I was at the hospital talking to a mean doctor when my car was towed, and then my company was taken over by this super-"creative" agency where all the women had very short spiky red hair and horn-rimmed glasses and everyone was super-secretive about the work they did... which all took place on a grassy hillside.

Anyway. Got a LOT done this weekend in preparation for Gus's imminent arrival. Lucy spent the weekend with Papa and Grandma Gronau, to the mutual delight of all involved. Joel worked in the basement... we cleaned the house... I packed my hospital bag. And we realized that we are being DESERTED by our family... Gus is due 2/23, right? My sister Jean is going to London 2/23, my aunt Jan is going to China 2/24, and Joel's p's are going to DC on 2/28. We're going to have this baby and be very, very alone. Not that I begrudge anyone a midwinter getaway, but it just makes me a little nervous.

36-week checkup

Quick! Sorry!
Hemoglobin good. Blood pressure good. Protein good.
Gained 2.7 lbs. in 2.7 weeks. Good.
Baby's heartbeat in 140s-ish. Good.
Baby is head down, but turning side to side. Good. Baby's not fully "engaged" ("dropped") yet. No problem.
I'm starting to dilate ("a fingertip," she said, which is not quite a 1). Good.
And... I'm 50-75% effaced! Making progress!

Of course, when I asked the nurse-practitioner exactly how she could tell I was effacing ("thinning"), because she just goes in and pokes around a bit, and it's not like you can exactly take a caliper to a cervix, she admitted it was kind of a guess. So, take it for what it's worth.

Still feeling good. Happy weekend to all!

Real Men Eat Lots and Lots of Quiche

Hey there, things have been better the rest of the week. I picked up a stinker of a stuffy nose after water aerobics on Wednesday, and Lucy has a fever of 102-103 (but no other symptoms) but other than that we are all doing great. Gus is kicking up a storm, and I have my 36-week checkup today (results to follow).

Lucy's been super-funny recently about pretending everything is a phone. (Flash-forward to teenage years.) She takes a shoe, or a stuffed animal, or a pre-wrapped sausage, holds it up to her ear, and says "hello!" and then various other gibberish, and then "go!" We get such a kick out of her.

The Watsons came over last night, bearing dinner (feasty quiche!!) and dessert (homemade blueberry muffins!!). How on EARTH did we get so lucky, to have such amazing neighbors? All three toddlers LOVED the quiche, and we grownups polished off two whole pie-pans full. It was so wonderful of them -- thanks again, guys!

And it's Friday! Yay! I have a massage scheduled first thing tomorrow morning, and then Ellen's coming into town and we're going to try to go to TwinsFest, as long as we're all relatively healthy.

Big HAPPY BIRTHDAYS to Alison and Nikki today. Hope you girls have great days, respectively!

Oh, and we need some help on the girl-name front. I'm open to accept some lengthy and biased opinions on the names at right. Go!

Pregnant Babes at Work

Hey, here's a couple photos of me and the other 2 preggos in my office. I'm the one in the middle. :)
Girl on the left is due exactly one month after I am; girl on the right is due 6 weeks after I.

Oh, and girl on the left wrote a song which I thought was very cute:


We 3 pregos of ALTAFI are
Bearing bellies we've gained thus far
Wide and gorgeous
We are enormous
Following our cravings galore.

Am I blue?

Yeah, I'm a little blue today. For starters, my job... and then there's Lucy. What a kid. She started crying in Target after I picked her up from day care yesterday, and cried all through the dinner hour, and cried when I put her to bed. And though she slept for a couple hours, she was up crying by 10:30 again. And it's this whiny, tired cry... and she points at things she wants, but sometimes it's nothing, and she cries WHILE SHE'S SLEEPING. Completely asleep, eyes closed, crying.

And I'm starting to worry about her lack of verbal skills. At no point in this crying does she say "Mama" or "Dada" or anything that even sounds like a word. Even when she's crying alone in her crib in the middle of the night, and it's obvious that she wants a cuddle from one of us.

I don't know what we should do. She doesn't eat anything after day care anymore -- maybe a Clementine or a fistful of cheese, but nothing resembling dinner. She wants to sit on our laps, then wiggles to get down and then cries when we put her down. She cries when we try to play in the living room. Cries through her bath. But it's really the waking up crying in the middle of the night that gets me! She's been a good sleeper since she was, like, three months old -- what is going on?

Joel's a saint, of course -- he gets up, rocks her, and last night even let her sleep on his chest for a while. And I just feel terrible.

Not to mention, a girl at work accidentally said "this year" rather than "this time" when referring to my current pregnancy... and I just started crying. Is that what people think??

Sorry, I'm just tired I guess.

Constantine esmoldered at me!

Hey there. What a fun weekend I had! Joel got back from Denver on Friday night and it was sooo good to have him home again. Saturday we slept in 'til 8 and then we all went to open-swim at the high school by our house -- we had the pool to ourselves; it was great. Though Lucy seems to have forgotten how much fun she had in Water Babies last spring.
We just kind of hung out the rest of the day -- napping intermittently, eating occasionally, doing laundry sporadically. Sunday I had book club (always a wonderful time!) and Sunday night Jean and I went to see Constantine (from American Idol) and his band at The Fine Line. We NEVER go to concerts, or out at all really, and it was fun pretending to be young and spontaneous again. The show was pretty good; Constantine is still our boyfriend; I ran into my theatre friend Katie. It was a good night!
Oh, and CONGRATS to my cousin Kate and her husband Joe -- their daughter Isabelle Augusta was born on Saturday, and everyone's doing well.

Special thanks to Joel for letting me indulge in All Things Fun for Meg this weekend. Love you honey!

Thank goodness for black backdrops

... although I guess for those of you who are dying to see "how pregnant" I look, you're out of luck.

Some funny photos of me from my company holiday party. I'm an idiot. :)

Congrats Heather and Brian!

My friends Heather and Brian had their baby early, early Sunday morning. Jackson William was 8 lbs 4 oz and mom and baby are doing fine... I think. :) CONGRATULATIONS and welcome, Jack!!

Hilarious posting on Craigslist.org

Check out this listing in the "FREE items" section of Craigslist.org.

I mean, really.

34-week checkup

Saw the doc for the 34-week checkup yesterday. Everything's great! I gained another 6.5 lbs for a grand total of somewhere between 25-30 lbs. BP was something like 110/65 or so. I never get precise measurements on the "tummy check" or baby's heartbeat, but apparently both are going strong and as expected.

I did, however, have to ask the doc about what happens right after birth. Because I:
- was so excited
- didn't have my contacts in or glasses on so I was TOTALLY BLIND
- had been given that sedative (Vistaril) five hours before... plus the Nubain
...when Lu was born, I can't seem to remember anything about what happened right after she was born. Anyway, the doc last night thought I was crazy that I'd forgotten everything.

Sorry, I have to go work now. Happy Thursday!

Little things I am grateful for today:

• - hair binders (whatever did I call these before I moved to Minnesota? hair rubber-bands? hair elastics?)
• - water bottles
• - the sun (actually the sun is very large, but you know what I mean)
• - nice coworkers (some of them are large too -- although not as large as the sun)
• - Famous Dave's gift certificates

Exhausted but happy.

Did you have a nice relaxing weekend, but have a tendency to feel guilty about not getting too much stuff done around the house? Then don't read this. We went, as Joel likes to say, "hog-nuts" this weekend. Recap:

On Friday over my lunch break, I bought paint for Gus's room (Benjamin Moore's "Crown Point Sand") and the basement bathroom (Manda Mudd's "Megan"). Friday evening, Joel took Lucy ot Menard's to buy painting supplies, and I went out to dinner (Enjoy! in Apple Valley) with Mandy and her girlfriends -- it was fun to meet some new people.

Saturday morning, I taped off Gus's room while Jean picked up my p's at the airport. Then Gramps and Gram ("Googly Goo") watched Lu all day while Jean and I primed Gus's room and Joel painted the basement bathroom. Saturday evening was my company holiday party in Brooklyn Center, followed by a birthday party at the Richfield American Legion for Joel's sister Jamie, Joel's sister Julie's boyfriend Kaz, and Aaron Briner.

Sunday, I took my folks to the airport and then stopped by Ikea with Lucy. We bought her a new dresser and a toddler table-and-chairs set, plus some curtains and rugs for Gus's room. Joel's p's came over to watch Lucy and to help Joel start tiling the basement bathroom floor -- I re-taped (stupid blue tape!) and started painting Gus's room. At 3:30 Casey (a guy at my work) and his wife and two boys came over to adopt Hobo from us, which they did. When they left, Joel and I finished painting Gus's room, then I made a run to Target (Lucy was down to ONE diaper). After Lu went to bed, I assembled some of the Ikea furniture before bed.

Observations:

• Grandparents are AWESOME.
• Sisters who help paint are awesome too.
• The Richfield American Legion is very smoky.
• The 16-year-olds who work at Ikea can be very helpful and friendly, if you just ask.
• Benjamin Moore makes some really nice paint.
• Taping a room well, before painting, makes the painting part super-duper painless.
• Life without a dog is much simpler.
• We are going to have a new baby NEXT MONTH. ARGH!

Now I have to work five whole days in a row. But DANG do I feel GOOD!!

Alison has a baby girl!

My friend Alison (from Rolling Meadows HS) had a baby girl on December 28 (geesh Martha, can't get away with ANYTHING around here!). Click here to read her story!

CONGRATULATIONS DAN AND AL!!!

32-week ultrasound

Got the all-clear from the doc yesterday -- the placenta is now 4.5 cm away from the cervix, so all is well. The baby looks great, super-cute if I do say so myself. Now we just need to:
1. finish the basement bathroom
2. move the guest-room into the basement
3. repaint and furnish Gus's new room
4. sort through Lucy's old eensy-weensy clothes
5. buy some eensy-weensy diapers
...in the next 8 weeks or so. Aaargh!

Oh, and we're adding a new name to the mix: what about Elaine for a girl? We could call her Laine or Lainey, maybe.

We had a WONDERFUL long Christmas weekend (meaning it spilled over into Wednesday) with both our families. Thank you Gronaus, Dahlheimers, Ryans and Evanses (apostrophes omitted intentionally for grammatical correctness) for making this a fabulous Christmas chock-full of love and laughter. And LOTS of laughter. :)

I keep my pants up with a piece of twine

Grandpa "Googly-goo" Ryan is up this week, playing super-nanny to his favorite granddaughter. I can see why celebrities feel like they can't live without live-in nannies -- it is AWFULLY nice to have someone around of whom you don't expect anything except to entertain the baby. Whoa, that was some nasty syntax.

Joel and I were able to catch a movie last night (YESS!!) -- Walk the Line. It was good. Really good. But maybe a little long? And not exactly action-packed? But I really like Johnny Cash's voice. Or rather, Joaquin Phoenix DOING Johnny Cash's voice. Yum.
(Aside to Joel: Agent John Doggett! That's who it is.)

Had my 30-week checkup this morning and all is well there, too. I've gained 6 more pounds (17 or 26 total, depending where you're starting from), BP and baby's heart are all good. My doc is a doll and she cheerfully signed my cord-blood donation form and answered my silly questions. She always knows just what to tell me to make me stop worrying. Love her.

Exercise and the Pregnant Minnesotan

What a horrid time of year to be hugely pregnant!

1. Because of all the hat, scarf, coat, etc. I have to wear to stay warm, it is not at once obvious that I am pregnant. HALF THE FUN OF BEING PREGNANT IS IT BEING OBVIOUS. Nay, instead, I just look a little rotund.

2. Speaking of exercise... a simple walk around the block is really tough when your city doesn't plow the sidewalks. Most people do their own, but occasionally you get to a block with lazy residents and you're Out Of Luck. Which, for me, could easily also mean On My Butt, followed by Suddenly In Labor.

3. The wind! My god, the wind. Manages to swirl up under my shelf of a belly, beneath my coat and my plenty-long shirt, and freeze my little lower abdomen. Brrr.

4. The shopping! My god, the shopping. Hauling my burgeoning self from the farthest corner of the parking lot, to the store. Lugging gynormous parcels everywhere. And I'm sure people would be delighted to lend me a hand... see #1.

Well, that was kinda dumb. Sorry, I have to go shopping. :)

Weekend Wrap

Gus is, as we speak, cuddled up comfortably ON MY INTESTINE. And it really hurts. I just want to jiggle him a little to get him to change position.

I had a dreadful episode of sadness on Saturday, precipitated by Lucy's being a total MONSTER for me. The usual, you know: slapping me, pinching my skin, screaming and refusing to sit still for a diaper change, refusing to eat, and general whining and malaise. Made worse, because Joel's been working on the bathroom and I really WANT him to work on the bathroom, and he really WANTS to work on the bathroom, and fer Petey's sake I should be able to take care of my own daughter for one stinking day... right?

Anyway. Turned out what I really needed was just a little nap, and what Lucy needed was to be left alone in her pack and play with 75 different toys and a couple ounces of milk, watching college basketball for about an hour.

We all recovered.

Had my book club's annual cookie-bake on Sunday, and thank God for those girls. I got some ideas for the kids' rooms, lots of "stop worrying, you're doing fine" (which I desperately needed), a few pregnancy workout videos... and it didn't hurt that the cookies were (and are) super, duper yummy. Joel is even eating them with surprising voracity, considering he's never been a "dessert guy."

(Cute aside: because Joel is the Gronau I know best, I often (and sometimes mistakenly) project his qualities onto his family as a unit. Well, once I said something like "Oh, you Gronaus aren't really dessert people!" and Joel's mom was VERY quick to disown this particular trait of Joel's as an anomaly and certainly NOT representative of the family as a whole.)

Thanks also to my Mom (who is probably surprised reading this, since I didn't even actually talk to her) for mentioning to Joel how she is able to enjoy grandparenthood MUCH more than parenthood. It just helped me put things into a larger perspective and realize that I'm normal for not being able to maintain a blissed-out aura of peace and happiness at all times.

People are funny

So, I have a banana sitting on my desk. It's not the most beautiful banana in the world; it's probably a day or four past its prime. Reminder: I work in a cube. TWICE today, someone has stopped by my desk and told me how "disgusting" the banana looks. And twice, I have responded, "Hey! You're going to hurt its little banana feelings!"

Now, how often in YOUR life have you gotten to say "little banana feelings"?

Think about THAT. :)

Done? Good. I'm going to take it as a compliment that my co-workers feel comfortable enough with me to openly criticize my food.

It's turning into a good day today, despite itself.

Fun With Polls

I'm experimenting with some polls. See the ones at right? You should vote. I want to see if I can make it work within a post, too, so...

How should we arrange the kids' rooms?
	Lucy should stay in her own room; it's HER room.
	Lucy should move into the other room; Gus can have "the baby's room".
Free polls from Pollhost.com

15 month checkup

Lulu had her 15-month checkup yesterday. Vital stats:

Weight: 24#, 6 oz. (75th %)
Head: 18.25" (63rd %)
Height: 31.5" (83rd %)

So for all of you who keep telling me she's a peanut, she is NO PEANUT!

OK, fine she's a peanut.

Anyhoo, she had three shots (flu booster, MMD and chicken pox), which pretty much knocked her out for the night. But other than that, she's great! Next appointment is at 18 months, at which point she will be (gasp!) a big sister. Holy crumbs!!

Had my last swing and latin dance classes last night. What a fun experience... but exhausting!

Penguin Pratfalls

Joel had Lucy in her "penguin suit" this morning (her snowsuit, that is, which is pink, not black and white, but which renders Lucy extremely chubby and waddly and therefore penguin-esque)... and Lucy tipped over and cut her lip on her tooth. Ouch! Joel said there was some blood, of course, and he feels terrible. He said if she was a little older he probably would have taken her straight to Dairy Queen. Golly, I love those two. :)

hills and valleys

Well, after the high that was the beginning of last week, there was bound to be a letdown. Nothing is wrong, I'm just feeling kinda down. I don't feel like I finished anything this weekend -- didn't clean the bathroom, didn't put all the laundry away... the usual. I didn't practice my hynobirthing stuff hardly at all (and when I did it didn't feel satisfying) and I spent a lot of the weekend feeling tired and kind of frumpy. Lucy even sprouted a couple more teeth and I'm just not that excited about it. Oh well.
Just reporting... no big deal. :)

Oh, and I had a BIZARRO dream last night, involving my cousin's wife Lynda, my St. Colette t-shirt, an upside-down elevator and a humongous office building.
I should go get some coffee.

Meg in a happy place

Hi. Hypnobirthing totally rocks, is all I have to say today. I don't know what turns Gus's birthing will take, but I am learning to feel completely at ease and prepared for the whole thing. If nothing else, I have learned to relax myself in my daily life (invaluable in my line of work AND as mom to Miss Pants).

It is difficult finding time to practice the relaxation techniques, so I have been taking my CD player into a conference room at lunch. I can honestly say that I think this practicing has helped me focus more on my job, and to handle the problems (which invariably arise) with calmness and professionalism... well, at least as much as I can muster. :)

This weekend starts the holiday celebrations, with the "dice game" at the Gronaus. I diverted from my usual dollar-store purchases of Crap I Hope Doesn't Come Back Home With Me, and instead went for Small Lovely Things Which I Might Find Useful.

One of my clients just spelled my last name "Grouneau." I mean really, I think maybe she's just mocking me.

Ketchup!

See, this is what happens when I forget to post. I have to do huuuuge catchup work.

OK, so that one new molar of Lucy's? Turned out to be THREE new molars and one new incisor... all on the right side of her poor little head. She's pleased as punch with her new choppers (or at least, not screaming in agony every evening anymore). She was such a delight this weekend -- I had Lu-duty almost all day Sat and Sun, since Joel was working on the basement bathroom. We ate a lot of leftover Thanksgiving dinner, and she took some gooood naps, and I think she MAY be saying "mama" now. Maybe.

I snuck in a couple baths (for myself) and a few good hypnobirthing practice sessions. And only once did I remember something I forgot to do at work.

We had nice visits with family for Thanksgiving... we celebrated Ellen's 24th birthday... we got some Christmas shopping done... and we moved furniture to make room for a Christmas tree!

Fulfilling Stereotypes, One Pickle at a Time

Note: This post is from last Tuesday. I wrote it and then totally forgot to post it. Oops.

So they're having big meetings at work all week with sales reps and whatnot, so of course they cater in all these lovely lunches from Panera and Jimmy John's which means...
LEFTOVER PICKLES!!
There's a huge box of leftover pickles in the company fridge this morning, and one of the other pregnant women at work is in the lunch room with me so I stage-whisper to her:
Psst! Lisa! PICKLES!!
And her eyes light all up and we grab forks and dig in, and I get back to my cube (where I sit next to yet another pregnant woman) and I say:
Hey! Kelly! PICKLES!!
And HER eyes light all up and she goes, "I LOVE pickles!" and we all giggle together. I'm on my second spear and it's only 8:48 AM. Mmmmmm.

So Lucy is wailing last night about some tragedy in her little toddler life, with her mouth wiiiiide open, and I notice: a MOLAR. The girl had only her front two choppers, top and bottom, and out pops a MOLAR. Poor thing!!

Gramps came up yesterday to spoil the Pants for the rest of the week until Thanksgiving. So cute together.

Gus had a little in-utero freak-out yesterday. I watched my belly shake and bounce for a bit and then realized that she might be a little upset in there. So I petted my tummy and whispered "Mommy's here, it's all right" and what do you know, it worked.

Well, I never!

Just got back from my 26-week glucose screen (where they check for gestational diabetes). I passed... but barely. I got a 136, and 140 is the danger-zone cutoff. I can't believe it! I was, like, at 72 with Lucy. Dang! What did I do? Where did I go wrong?

Obviously, I'm not going to stress about it... but geez. I wonder if this has anything to do with the large amounts of Halloween candy I've been eating. I feel like a failure! Cripes.

Defying Gravity

Quick review of Wicked: IT WAS INCREDIBLE!!!
It is so rare to anticipate something as much as I was anticipating seeing Wicked, and actually have it live up to, nay, surpass my expectations. The costumes, the music, the scenery, the dancing, the VOICES were all simply amazing.
We had kind of a scary trip downtown -- we left Mom & Dad's house at 5:45 for an 8:00 show, and the traffic report actually said that the traffic on the part of the Northwest Tollway that we'd be traveling was "horrible and awful" (or something like that, Jean what was the direct quote?). And, I mean, for those of you who know that Chicago traffic is generally horrible and usually awful... to actually hear the announcer describe it that way, well, we were getting VERY nervous about making it down there in time.
Jean set us a goal (apparently having goals is important to nurses these days) of hitting the River Rd. toll plaza by 6:40, which we (barely) made, and then we ended up being about 1/2 hour early for the show. We got our seats (7th row!!!!) and ran into Sarah (Radel) Rudeye (omigosh I have NO idea how to spell that) and her sisters. (Sarah went to WSU and dated Tom Hawbecker for a while, so while I'd never met her, I knew OF her. Joel's the one who recognized her.)
ANYWAY, like I said the show was fabulous. Ana Gasteyer played Elphaba, and who knew she could sing like that?? The rest of the cast was great, and the costumes were totally brilliant (Exhibit A: there was a scene-change where some ensemble members dance across the stage in these extravagant, huge ball gowns that you NEVER SEE AGAIN; Exhibit B: in the "Emerald City" scene there's one ensemble member doing the same choreography as everyone else, but wearing lime-green toe shoes).
The whole show was just gorgeous -- loved it, loved it. All righty, back to work.

The Big Lake They Call Gitchigumee

Hi gang!
Happy Thursday. Guess what? I'm 25 weeks preg today. How the heck did that happen? Other miscellany, with links to things more interesting than this blog:

1. Happy 30th Anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Does anyone know where the love of God goes?
2. The main thing occupying my mind these days is my job, which I will not be blogging about.
3. We're going to visit my folks this weekend and we have tickets to Wicked. I CANNOT STINKING WAIT.
4. I really love MPR's 89.3 The Current radio station. And I am so glad I can get reception at my desk now.

The Edge of Reason

Am reading "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" and so inner monologue is in stunted weird diary-speak. So blog entry will follow. Apologies if v. confusing.

Not exactly rollicking, child-free wild fun of days gone by, but lovely nonetheless.

Friday night
Had nice dinner (Green Mill) out with Donna, John, Julie, Jamie, Jeff, and Doris and the girls on Friday night. Dinner enjoyable despite having to navigate "The Shoppes of Arbor Lakes" (obviously a misnomer; "Seven Circles of Hell" much more accurate what with curving streets and approximately 400 different strip malls all crammed into one "shopping experience." V. stressful having to navigate; not sure what insidious, evil force would allow such atrocious monstrosity of commercialism to be constructed.)
Was kind of exhausted after that, so just went home instead of to movie.

Saturday, 7:30 a.m.
Awaken and realize nobody in house is wearing a wet diaper and needing to be fed.
Is weird.

8:30 a.m.
Finally haul self out of bed. Enjoy leisurely bowl of cereal but no coffee since out of creamer. Attempt to create homemade "creamer" by steaming milk and adding shot of hazelnut flavoring. Not same. Joel kecks (how do you spell that?) and refuses to drink it. Later gripes about scalded milk stuck to bottom of pan. Sullen uncaffeinated conversation ensues.

9:25 a.m.
Depart for Roseville to pick up my car from my work, where it was left last night despite driving through Roseville on way home from Maple Grove.

10:04 a.m.
Arrive at Amy Jane's Bridal in St. Paul, approximately 15 seconds before Mandy. Yay not late! Fun wedding-dress-trying-on ensues! Meet lovely girl Karen who escorts us through many levels of dresses hidden in cool old building. Have private fitting room with pretty decorating and cup of sweet tea. Just delightful, v. romantic and elegant establishment.

11:15 a.m.
Except I am not the one trying on dresses. Not as much fun.

11:45 a.m.
And pregnant woman getting a little hungry.

12:00 p.m.
Oh dear now we're going to another shop rather than to lunch.

1:45 p.m.
Second shop less spacious but with MANY more dresses, so not as fairy-taley an experience. Plus mother, grandmother, and friend-of-other-bride-in-store keep piling coats/purses/whatnot on only available chair for v.-weak-from-hunger-pangs pregnant woman to sit on. Pregnant woman having to keep asking if OK to remove said coats/purses/whatnot so could sit down in-between dresses being tried on.
Hooray! Pregnant woman found leftover Halloween fun-size Snickers bar in purse. Gobbled quickly, being careful not to touch chocolate with fingers as said fingers might be needed to fondle wedding-gown-train at any moment.
And Mandy found a dress!! Double hooray!! She was so happy and it was really fun getting to share the experience with her. Will have to remember to call Mandy to ask if she went back today to check on dress. Is really beautiful gown and makes Mandy look stunning. Wish her much much happiness on wedding day and always.
And she bought lunch (actually breakfast foods, yum yum YUM!). Hoorays all around.

2:30 p.m.
Arrived home, dropping off special-request three soft-shell Taco Supremes for Joel and then heading out with intent to purchase SHOES for SELF.

3:30 p.m.
Did not buy shoes; bought new shower curtain and liner. And coffee creamer and cereal. IS NOT ADMISSION OF LOSS OF YOUTHFUL EXHUBERANCE. SHOWER CURTAIN WAS IMPULSIVE AND UNNECESSARY PURCHASE!! Ignoring fact that old one was super-mildewy and definitely at least 5 years old.

12:30 a.m.
Just returned from v. wonderful evening out with JG. Dined at Joe's Crab Shack in Roseville (had been craving shellfish despite having shrimp Friday night at Green Mill... but is not a pregnancy thing as shellfish ALWAYS fave food, next to pie and homemade caramel corn and candy-corn-with-peanuts and what was I talking about?). Right. Went a little crazy, ordering virgin daiquiri and extra crab and even dessert. Could really eat crab from now until end of world and never ever tire of it, as long as neverending conveyor belt of crab periodically punctuated by pie.
Went to see Jarhead after; kind of a different flick; I really liked it. Kind of bummed that Child-Free-Weekend did not coincide with release of Rent or Memoirs of a Geisha or Walk the Line or about six other movies I really want to see.

SUNDAY
Met Gronaus and Briners at Bakers Square in Maple Grove (v. grateful this particular restaurant located on very fringe of Arbor Lakes Circles of Hell so did not have to navigate horrid commercialist mess) and had a de-lish brekky. Took Lulu home (v. good to see pudgy little face, missed terribly) and had an afternoon nap. Went to Watsons' for a playdate and watched as Lucy detached self from Watsons' couch and took about eight solo steps toward me before crashing to bottom. Spent entire evening encouraging Lucy to walk from me to Joel and back, which she did with great relish and enthusiasm. Little hoot v. proud of self and rightfully so. Caught a bit of it on video for posterity. But v. difficult to hold running video camera and catch tentatively-toddling 14-month old at same time. But v. v. fun and would not trade for eternal conveyor belt of crabmeat.

Oi!

What a week. It's a good thing those New Deal guys didn't decide on a 50-hour workweek; I'd be toast.

Lucy's going to spend the weekend with Joel's p's. While it makes me sad, since I get to spend such little time with her all week... I am REALLY looking forward to:
a. napping.
b. taking a bath, or four.
c. reading a book, or three.
d. shopping. Joel doesn't know it but I aim to buy some very cute shoes.
e. wedding dress shopping with Mandy!
f. going out to dinner with Joel tomorrow.

Yay.

Last couple nights, JG and I entertain ourselves by standing Lu up on her little stockinged feet and then gingerly backing up, to try to get her to walk to us. Just watching her work to keep her balance is amazing -- I feel like she's a Barbie doll, and there's no way she can hold her balance for even a few seconds... but that little inner-ear of hers is obviously working, and I can see her catch and re-catch herself. Super cool.

One ultrasound more -- 24 weeks

Hi gang.
Had another U/S this morning to check on that placenta of mine. (Or rather, of Gus's.) It has moved (and the tech actually said that "moved," AKA "migrated" is a misnomer, since it's really attached to the side of the uterus, and the uterus just grows (like a balloon blowing up) so that's why it looks like it's moving) a whole nother centimeter away from the cervix. The doctor says it's probably fine, and explained that the "PR" is still in effect but that it doesn't have to be quite as, erm, restrictive as we thought... um, that's too much detail. Anyway.
Everything else looked fine -- Gus was moving around in there and that's that.

Big sister, however, has been a BEAR. Maybe it was too early to think about taking the nuk away -- oi she's been a very large handful the last couple of days. My friend Nikki told me that when you have 2 kids, taking it "one day at a time" is impossible and you just take it "one minute at a time." I guess she's got a point -- I should just worry about the kids being clothed and fed and safe and let everything else just go by the wayside.

I have another headache. I NEVER had headaches with Lucy. If Gus isn't a boy she's going to have a lot of 'splainin' to do.

A farce of stupid proportions

So yesterday my boss comes flying into my cube at like 11:40 -- she's been in a meeting with a Mystery Client all morning. "Have you eaten? Can you be bribed?" she asks.
Me, and free food? Uh, yes. Now, we work in Roseville where there are approximately 5,000 restaurants within a 3-mile radius. But for some crazy reason, Susan and the Mystery Client just had to have Panera. Panera's good and all, but the closest one is practically in downtown Minneapolis. At best, a 10- or 15-minute drive.
But I hop in my car and tear off, my mind filled with all the brownie points I'm earning, and the free lunch I'm getting. And I don't even mind shelling out a quarter for meter parking, or trotting across the city street in my 4" heels, or standing in a line 50-persons-long to order my sandwich. I finally get my food (three sandwiches, one lemonade and six cookies (apparently Mystery Client requires MANY cookies) for the low, low price of $28.13!!) and drive BACK to Roseville.
And I'm dashing down the freeway at 70 MPH and I realize that in order to avoid the embarrassing scene of "Gee, which sandwich is mine?" when I arrive at the office, I'd better take MY sandwich out of the large brown paper sack. So (still driving) I grab the topmost sandwich, and as soon as I have it up out of the bag and over my lap...

It explodes.

And there is sammy EVERYWHERE. My (black) skirt is covered in flakes of cheese, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, friggin' "artisan" bread chunks and mayonnaisey chicken.

Oh... and I had ordered the roast beef.

So I am swearing and laughing and crying and SWEARING and still driving and I have NO idea how I'm going to re-assemble this sandwich so it even faintly resembles the Handcrafted Delicacy which I'm sure Mystery Client is expecting.
I pull into the lot and try to cram the sandwich back together, and get the Artisan Bread with its fancy diagonal cut re-aligned with the other unscathed sandwich half, and wrap the mess in the paper wrapping, and wrap my coat around my mayonnaisey skirt and head on into the conference room.
Where I smoothly and professionally place the bag on the table, then turn tail and run.

And the roast beef wasn't even that good.

I don't even like Halloween that much!

I seriously don't. I mean, I like candy corn (I really like candy corn) and I don't mind scary witches and goblins and whatnot, but I've never been a Halloween fanatic. Like some people I know, PEG! :)

I like to dress up, but I'm not especially entranced by the whole "becoming somebody else" thing -- which is probably why I'm a dreadful actor too. I'm too self-conscious (and I mean that literally; as in, I am too aware of ME being the person in the body in the costume) to really lose myself in a character, or another self. This is probably another reason I don't write fiction. :)

Right, so I've been at my work for three Halloweens. The first one, I didn't realize people dressed up. But they did. The second, I was on maternity leave with Lucy and the third one is today. And there have been some weird things going on at work, some not-happy-vibe things, some layoffs etcetera, but I frankly didn't see that as a good enough reason NOT to dress up. So I dressed up! I'm a pregnant disco dancer, and it's a pretty funny costume for just having come up with it at like 6:30 this morning too. And I am The.

Only.

One.

Dressed up.

At work.

Yup, it's a little embarrassing. Kind of a lot embarrassing. Sort of like those scenes in "Legally Blonde" and "Bridget Jones' Diary"... except at least I'm not in a Playboy-bunny costume. I did bring a "biz-casual" outfit to wear, just in case this sort of thing happened... but I don't know, I guess that would be admitting defeat. And ooh, I am stubborn about that sort of thing. But in a way I truly don't care. I'm having fun and my head isn't that itchy... yet... from the wig, and there's a certain pride I can take in knowing that maybe I was the bravest one.

Anyhoo! Thanks to EVERYONE who came to our house for the party yesterday -- it sure was fun watching those kiddos roll all over each other! And if anybody is hungry for any leftover bean soup, we have GALLONS of it at home. Hope everyone has a great day. :)

Josie, Owen and Lucy at our party yesterday.

Halloween Party

Hey there --
If you didn't get an invitation to our party this Sunday (10/30), I'm sorry, the slight was unintentional and you are more than welcome to attend. It starts at noon-ish on Sunday at our place. Many babies will be in attendance, but there will be beer, too. Wear your costume!

Joel and Lucy and I will be dressing as crew members from The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. If you want to agree with us that we're funny (because we ARE, duh), you should rent the movie. It's a pretty good movie.

Goin' through the big PR and I don't mean Puerto Rico

Had my 22-week checkup on Friday -- it was one of those 30-second "weigh-me, measure-me, listen-to-Gus's-heart and go" appointments. So no big shake. I gained 10 pounds in 6 weeks, Good Meggo, and Gus's heart is going just fine.

I also found out that I have an umbilical hernia. Fun! Which explains why my tummy gets so POINTY when I pick up something heavy or try to use my ab muscles. Mine is large, so there's apparently little risk of strangulation (where part of the bowel pops through the hole in the muscles and gets caught and it hurts a LOT). Doc made it sound like it was no biggie.

Because of the location of my placenta (the doctor showed me a photo; it's, like, 1 cm from my cervix, which is CLOSE), I'm still on "pelvic rest," much to Joel's chagrin. When I go in for that next ultrasound next week, they might be able to tell if the placenta is moving the right direction.

Anyway, everything else is great. Having a REAL tough time staying awake for the end of the World Series games, though. Oh! Lucy took about five steps on her own, without falling face-first, the other day. It was SO exciting! Then last night she walked from Joel to a chair, about four feet. She was so pleased. Other than that, she thinks she's a total genius for crawling all the way upstairs and down all by herself. And that's the report! Happy Wednesday.

SuperGrandpa!

My dad called yesterday: "Do you want me to come up tonight and watch Lucy for the rest of the week?"

YES. Holy buckets, yes. I was a puddle, grappling with losing more PTO (vacation/personal/sick) days, and staying home with Lucy, who so obviously needed me. Aggravated with my work, aggravated with having to GO to work, aggravated with Walgreens for NOT HAVING ANY CHILDREN'S COLD MEDICINE, aggravated with myself for not dealing with the whole thing well.

Anyway, THANK YOU Dad for literally flying in and saving the day. You are an angel.

Lucy update: we gave her some Dimetapp Cough & Cold last night and it knocked her right out -- her first night of sleep in 3 days that wasn't punctuated by more than 1 or 2 coughing fits. Thank goodness. Dad says her snout is dried up too (no more face explosions upon sneezing). We've been so lucky that she's been so healthy thus far... I suppose she was overdue.

In other news: my mom's been having trouble seeing so she is going in to have her eyeballs scraped on Monday. Apparently her corneas are waffle-shaped and they're going to file 'em down. Ew ew ew!!! Good luck Mom, I hope it all goes well -- I will be squinting all day Monday in your honor. Oh, Mom I made your cranberry/sour cream scones again the other day and MAN are they tasty.

Happy Thursday, everyone...

Sorry no blogging -- Lucy still sick

And as you know, I have no computer at home.
Yeah, so that's another day of vacation I lose AND we're of course still paying for the daycare we can't use this week. I'm so irritated I could scream.

And I might just do that, since I get to get back in my car in about 15 minutes and drive BACK home so Joel can get to his 10AM meeting.

Grrr.

Goofy fact of the day

I just found out that Joel still holds the Monticello HS football record for longest kickoff return (97 yards). That is SO hot. :)

Sick Hoot

Lucy came down with something this weekend; fever upwards of 103 and a nasty hacking, barky, semi-productive cough. Poor little pants! Her fever's down to 100.2 this morning, and Joel is taking her to the doc in a bit. News to come.

However, that was the ONLY bad part of the weekend -- we were in Perham, Minn. for Mark Bensen's wedding (childhood friend of Joel's). It was one of those rare and wonderful occasions when every new person we met was... AWESOME. We didn't know many of Mark's friends very well, but each and every one was friendly, nice, and easy to talk to. Plus, Joel and I were *on*. SO on. :) It was amazing, going to this wedding in the middle of nowhere and coming home with a whole passel of new friends. Just fantastic.

Not even to mention the gorgeous fall weather, the tasty food (real crabmeat on a toasted english muffin smothered with hollandaise... and that was just lunch!), and the wedding itself, which was simply lovely. Congrats Mark and Amanda, and thanks for a beautiful weekend!

Guess little Gus.

Jump in the baby pool! Click here and post a comment (I know, I know, it's asking a lot) to make your guess as to when Gus is coming, what (s)he is and how big. I'll keep a tally or something.
www.guessgus.blogspot.com

Caramba! It's the Samba.

OK it's Monday. I start teaching my swing and latin dance classes tonight down at the Dayton's Bluff rec center. Once again, I get myself committed to these things and I have to follow through and I live to regret it.
I had a dream last night that the latin class was cancelled but replaced by tennis. And I still had to teach it. And I remember thinking "well, it's a good thing everybody had to bring a partner!" And I also remember thinking "I'm a lousy tennis player but I can probably come up with something to work on for the next eight weeks. Keep your wrist straight!" I have no idea.
So I'm working on my "syllabus" today at work. I think I've only got two or three couples in each class -- what a bargain for them! $30 for eight weeks of essentially private lessons. Not too shabby. I am REALLY hoping I have enough material to teach them. I hope they're bad. :)

Alley Joel and Cara's wedding on Friday was really, really beautiful and nice. Joel and I gave it high marks overall. We've been to a LOT of weddings, but this was one of the first where I'd known both the bride and groom independently before they got together. Somehow that was especially moving. Joel and I now have to try to remember to feed their fish while the newlyweds are in Acapulco this week -- they might be in trouble.

Friday Grammar Fun

White House denies Bush God claims

This was a headline on Yahoo! Let's have a little fun with punctuation and word emphasis, shall we? What do you think this means, anyway?

White House denies Bush, God claims
God has issued a rare press report asserting that the White House is denying the existence of George W. Bush.

White House denies Bush, God claims
The White house refuses to accept claims made by both God and GWB.

White House denies Bush God claims
Did GWB claim he IS God? If so, the WH is denying it -- good for them.

White House denies Bush-God claims
The Bush-God (not to be confused with the Tree-God and the Shrubbery-God) is making claims! The White House says No, It's not!

White House denies Bush; God claims
The WH has finally decided simply to up and disown GWB. "He just wandered in here one chilly night," a top WH official said today. "We gave him some milk out of a dropper and told him he could sleep in the rose bushes... well, that was almost five years ago. Now that we've handled him, his mother won't take him back. But we don't actually want him anymore... do you know a good family?"
God replied, "Aw, crud! I was looking for that one!"

Anyway, I haven't read the story yet so I haven't the foggiest what it's actually about.

What must!

Can I even begin to mention how difficult it was to get this uploaded. Kind of akin to saying "Albert Pujols" without giggling. DIFFICULT.
A. Gus DOES have eyes. The 3D ultrasound can only focus on one plane at a time, so here you get mostly nose, mouth and chin.
B. Gus DOES have ears. Ditto.
C. Joel says "Kissable lips, just like mine!"

New thing you have to do to leave comments

So I've been getting a lot of spam comments and I think the way to fix it is to add "word verification". So now, when you leave a comment, you'll see a semi-garbled string of letters that you will have to type in. It's not that big of a deal, so give it a try, fer cry-eye, and leave me a comment. Thanks.

Ultrasound -- 20 weeks

It's a... baby!

We were strong and decided not to find out Gus's sex, though the tech said "oh, yeah" when we asked if SHE could see the gender. Stinker! My clinic got a brand-spankin'-new ultrasound machine with 3D, so we got some really cool pictures.
My placenta is lying a bit low, so I'll have to go in for another ultrasound in 4 weeks to make sure I'm not at risk for placenta previa. The tech was very upbeat and said everything looked great BUT, of course, the doctor will look at the pix and make the ultimate determination whether there's any cause for concern with anything.
I don't think I'll be able to scan in the photos but I will have them with me, so if you want to see them, just ask! :)
Our crazy week is 1/2 over! The real estate guy cancelled on Monday, we completed our estate-planning stuff yesterday (followed by a simply delightful lunch of soup, tea and a scone at Sweet William & Tea downtown St. Paul; I highly recommend the place), and we had Mandy and Shawn over for a lovely dinner last night, which was punctuated by a SUPER ROCKIN' thunderstorm that knocked out our power for several hours.
So! We just have to get my dad in town, play some volleyball, and get to the Wuertz/Christopherson wedding on time, and get my mom in town, and get to St. Cloud on time and heck! It'll be next week already. :)

Welcome Ryans

Hi to anyone who is reading this after getting the Ryan-Family Yo!Yo! -- I'm glad you stopped by! First, a clarification regarding softball -- I play OUTFIELD and not third base. (So Mom, don't worry, I'm not diving for grounders!) I must have mistyped something along the way.

Lucy was kind of a bear this weekend. We think she might be transitioning away from two naps a day, or maybe she's just growing more teeth. She was standing up in her crib when Joel and I went to get her this morning, but she was NOT awake yet -- just kind of swaying there, like she wasn't quite sure how to get back down. He gave her her morning milk in the dark living room, which I think they both appreciated.

It's a crazy week for us coming up here. The real estate agent is coming over tonight (he promised to bring dinner; YESS!), we're meeting with a lawyer to execute our estate documents tomorrow, plus we're having some friends over for dinner... we have our 20-week ultrasound on Wednesday, and then my dad's coming in for the rest of the week... Volleyball Thursday... wedding on Friday (it starts at 4, how the devil am I going to get there?)... like I said, a little crazy. BUT the house is clean and the laundry caught up, so we're as prepped as we could be.
Happy Monday!

The melancholy of parenting

Of COURSE everyone tells you how wonderful parenthood is. And they will also tell you how hard it is. The wonderfuls and the difficulties are obvious: the former comes when you gaze at your little creation sleeping soundly and cozily; the latter, when they're screaming and you can't determine why.
But there is something else that comes with parenthood -- something more profound and more difficult, sometimes, to bear than the worst temper tantrum. I think it's melancholy.

It starts the instant you find out you are pregnant. Something *snap!* changes; You Are A Parent, and you can never be the same. Whether that pregnancy results in a healthy baby, or in a miscarriage, or something in between, is immaterial. You've felt the tug, the pull, the ache that is the melancholy.
And immediately, you're forced to start letting go of this creation, this little essence you haven't even seen yet. You can take your vitamins, quit smoking, whatever else you can do... but that's all you can do. The main decisions: boy/girl, tall/short, gay/straight... those are beyond your power. (I suppose someday soon, with genetic selection, these will come into our control, but that's another story for another day.) So you let go.
And, if you are particularly blessed, those little essences get born and keep right on growing. They choose their own way right from the start -- they like this bottle over that one... they sleep, or they don't... they get attached to a blanky, or a stuffed dog...
And you start hearing love songs in a different way. You watch the news of all the dreadful things in the world, with new eyes. You listen, breath held, outside the door of that baby's room, weighing ever-so-carefully whether or not to open that door: you might wake the baby, but at least you'll be sure she's still breathing. And you let go, and learn to trust your baby to make some mistakes and learn along the way.

Someday something a little scary happens, and you're reminded of the fragility of life. Or something a LOT scary happens and all you can do is hug your baby tight and let your tears, and her tears, run together.
Last night I was driving home from picking Lucy up at Dee's and I drove past a guy pointing a gun at another guy on the sidewalk, just three blocks from our house. The police were just arriving and I could NOT get out of there fast enough. I didn't burst into tears until we were inside our garage. It was terrifying.
And it just.
Never.
Ends.

But you do learn to live with the constant fear and worry. It isn't always debilitating; it ebbs and flows. The other part of this melancholy is the guilt, the constant wondering which boils down to infinite permutations of "Am I doing too much or not enough?". Moms who work outside the home have to live with the fact that they sacrifice time with their children. Moms who stay home have to live with the fact that they're not contributing to the family income. And so, so many moms in the compromised space between don't have it any easier.
I try to draw a grid in my head to determine where the needs and wants intersect. (I should probably try paper.) X is money. Y is happiness. What's the critical mass, the perfect recipe? What's the right thing to do? Where's my Magic 8 Ball?
And the days slip by, and I keep plugging along... through projects and meetings, through toodling and feeding. I woke up the other day and Lucy was a little girl. One day, God willing, I'll wake up and she'll be a woman.
And I'll still be melancholy.

I'm on a current-events binge or something.

But I think about these things, because what ELSE am I going to do while sitting in traffic?

Anyway, you know, it's all over the radio how the police chief of Louisiana resigned in the wake of the Katrina disaster, and how the governor of Louisiana is also coming under heat for how the whole thing was handled...
These people were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, I think. I don't believe ANYONE could have handled it any better -- other than possibly never building a major city in such a huge floodplain in the first place. If a disaster like this had waited, say, 20 more years to hit, it would have just been some other people in those same positions. And if these same people had proactively spent billions on having evacuation transportation at-the-ready, then when NO disaster hit, it would look like a huge waste. Look what happened in Texas -- they say too many people evacuated. Give me a break!
So I feel like it's scapegoating to blame these leaders. But maybe that's just the risk you run, when you take a job with such massive responsiblity. It's too big of a job for one person, and if things go right, they're heroes -- and if they go horribly wrong, well, they take the blame.
Whatever. Feel free to tell me if I'm wrong -- I think it's interesting. :)

Rock N Roll Part II

Crazy Kicky Baby Part II has decided to rear its teeny little feet this morning. Yup, I sit down at my desk at work with a lovely mug of 1/2-caff coffee, and WHUMP the kicking begins. As if being in the second trimester wasn't awesome enough, with the gobs of energy and stellar mood I've been in (you know the hormones are playing crazy tricks on me when Lucy's cranky whining just makes me giggle and want to hug her), not to mention, as my mother-in-law pointed out yesterday, that my breasts are filling out (YES, that was a bit awkward)... ANYway, as if I wasn't already on Cloud Nine-and-a-Half, I get to feel all this miraculous movement. I like to peek at my tummy when nobody's looking and I can actually *see* a couple of the big thumps. Just amazing.
Last week I made Joel put his hand on my tummy for a bit and he could feel some flutteries, too. Hi Gus! We love you!

Navigation By Joel, Episode XXVII

...In Which Katie's Is On The Way Home From Roseville
OR
The Storm Created A Vortex And Realigned the Highways!

It was Joel’s birthday yesterday, and he had softball, so he was on his way before I even got home with Lucy after work. Around 7:00 Jean, Ellen and I were TRYING to watch “So You Think You Can Dance” and the storm warnings started.

So Joel calls at like 8:00. “We made it! We’re safe!”

Well, thank goodness, I think, that you managed to figure out you shouldn’t be on a softball field when there’s tennis-ball-sized hail and 75-mph winds coming your way. But what I say is:
“I’m glad you called. Where ARE you?”

“Katie’s.”

Let me pause here for a moment. Katie’s is a bar the guys ALWAYS go to after softball. Don’t let Joel remind you of the ONE TIME they didn’t go (which I have to say I do not have even the sketchiest memory of… it might have been the time the bone popped through Jon’s leg-skin and they had to take him to the hospital)… as a rule, they are at Katie’s every week after the game. Now, to fully understand the hilarity of the guys’ ending up at Katie’s last night, you’ll need a little visual aid. Take your left hand and hold it where you can see it. Look at the BACK of your left hand (so your thumb is pointing right). Make a jazz hand – not a wimpy dead-fish hand, really stretch those fingers out. Got it? OK.
The middle knuckle on your thumb – that’s our house.
The knuckle where your middle finger attaches to your hand – that’s the softball field.
The very tip of your middle finger – that’s Katie’s.
The STORM, all lightning and tornadoes and 75-mph winds and tennis-ball-sized hail of it, is coming from the northwest (i.e. just off the tip of your pinky finger).

Well, I think the visual aid speaks for itself. Essentially, Joel and Pat (who lives 2 blocks from us) RAN FOR THEIR LIVES five miles DIRECTLY INTO THE STORM. Gee, it’s a good thing Katie’s was there to save their hides. Hilarious. I won't even mention the tip I got from an insider that said there was a tree down, blocking their route to Katie's, so they had to take an even more circuitous route. Ooops, I just did.

I'm rolling my eyes so enthusiastically, I almost lost a contact lens.

September days

We're gearing up for fall here in the Gronau family. The weather is still hot, but the temptation to bust out the corduroy pants and long-sleeve shirts is getting difficult to resist.

Lucy is cracking us up every day, as usual -- either in the funny way, or in the "I'm going to the nuthouse" way, just depending on her mood. She has grown astoundingly in the last couple months -- we even had a stranger comment on her being a "big girl" the other day. She really is taking on the look more of a child, than a baby. It's been an amazing transformation. Not much in the way of new physical milestones; she still won't walk unassisted, and those front teeth are still almost completely hidden. But she LOVES to say "Dodo" (her combination of "dog" and "Hobo") and she gabs and gabs at us all the time.

I'm feeling good -- starting to feel Gus (that's what I'm trying to call the new baby) bumping around in there. I've gained at least three pounds in the last 2 weeks but I admit it is VERY difficult to find time to eat dinner each evening. I busted out my first maternity shirt at work today -- it feels really, really good not to have some belly poking out from under my regular shirts. And thanks to some extremely generous loaners from Carol and N. Watson, I'll be one of the best-dressed pregnant women in town. That's important to me, you know. ;)

We're planning a Halloween party at our house on Sunday 10/30 -- if you didn't get an evite, please email me and I'll send one to you. I promise it wasn't a deliberate slight; my pregnant brain is operating at about 35% capacity right now. Oh, yeah, and I lost my cell phone again.

Albatross -- Week 5 Update

The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Albatross that day
We’d been “ten-runned” more often than we’d really like to say

Our injuries ran rampant and our muscles all were wailing
We could have writ a sonnet about all the ways we’re ailing:

(There’s Alley Joel’s eyes, of course, and his bride Cara’s neck…
And Pudwell’s diabetes, which he bravely keeps in check…

With Crazy-legs’ hip all askew and brother James just missing…
And Meg suffering from effects of JG’s hugs and kissing.)

We didn’t have much confidence, no boasting did you hear;
We were not sure if we’d be glad – or crying in our beer.

We started Game 1 at the plate, and much to our surprise,
We’d no idea how the sun would burn our tender eyes.

When Lisa was still running late, and her turn came to bat
We squinted, stared and rubbed our eyes: “Great goodness, who is that?”

‘Twas Mary’s mom, and as it goes, she’s Lisa’s mom as well
Thank all the heavens she was there to fill in for a spell.

The game, it plodded right along, our defense fairly true.
We patched together several runs with tape and mud and glue.

Then from the blue, a short fly ball, out to right-center field
And here comes JG trucking in, his body like a shield –

Into the grass he flung himself – our shouts he sure did hear:
He rolled; he stood, and held aloft a perfect blue-stitched sphere.

And though he, and that other Joel, did bash it o’er the wall
The bout was lost – and yet there was one more game of softball

We carried our belongings far across the dewy grass
Just hoping that this other team’d refrain from kicking ass.

We saw the purple socks, we saw the orange pants of SWAT
The pitcher’s cute but truth be told, they weren’t all that hot.

And then a crash, a burst of light – a clang of angel chimes
And in one magic inning, we scored 10 fantastic times.

Jean made some crazy circus catches; Kevin made one too—
But then our defense went and rolled itself in stinky poo.

And then the moment did arise for us to seize the day
To carpe diem, grab the carp, however you will say…

But there, we had it in our hands, and sue me if I lie…
Oh who’d have thought the dang-ed game would finish in a tie?

Oh somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright
(And let’s hope it’s not in the eyes of fielders on the right)

Oh somewhere children laugh and play and hide each other’s shoes...
But we are joyful Albatri – PETE’S SAKES, WE DIDN’T LOSE!!

I'm no political commentator, but...

1. ...this item struck me as funny:
No Smiling for Passport Photos in Germany
Those crazy Germans. Always a laugh riot.

2. ...can we talk about William Rehnquist a bit? The man was what, 114 years old? Obviously dying of cancer? Why on earth would he insist upon maintaining his position as Chief Justice of the highest court in the United States? Couldn't anyone have convinced him it was in the best interest of everyone involved if he just step down, enjoy a few quiet months or weeks at home, relax a little, and reflect on his own legacy before heading up to the big bench in the sky? Me, I'd like to take a while at the end of my life to celebrate life's pleasures and encircle myself with the love of my family and the memories I've made. But I guess that's why people like him get to be Chief Justice, while people like me just linger in Cubicle Hell forever. And really, look at that face. Is that the face of someone who'd derive any bliss from tipping his chair back, sipping on a fuzzy navel and flipping through old family photo albums?

By the bye, we just decided this morning that we're going to Chicago this weekend to celebrate Julie Witt's 30th birthday. See? We're CRAZY! Spontaneous! Fun-loving! It feels like the year 2000 again!

OK no 12-month photos

Sorry, I can't make it work -- probbly because the photog saved them so I wouldn't pirate them. Which makes sense. OK! Well things are good this week. Well, today anyway. Monday night Lu decided not to sleep but to whine and cry all night -- My Hero Joel stayed up with her and eventually gave her some Baby Tylenol. We figure it's GOT to be those choppers coming in! Really, we can actually feel the sharp edge of one now. They're going to be nice, big, possibly equine front teeth and I'm terrified it's going to change her look entirely. That is, unless it changes her to look more like me. MUAhahahaaa.

We *think* Lucy is starting to say "Dodo" for Hobo these days. It is SO hilarious listening to her jibber-jabber. She has these huge, long, involved conversations with the bathroom door (and it's amazing how she never cries when she rams the door into her OWN foot).

I am about to bust open a Ding-Dong and I am VERY much looking forward to it.

12-month photos

Albatross -- Week 4 Recap

Once upon a time, there was a softball team. This team was young, and strapping, and energetic, and... happy. We were happy. And occasionally victorious.

But the season ended, and we went back to our young/strappy/energized lives, and we felt like something was missing. Some team members wisely realized that this something was softball, for Pete's sakes, and went on to play on other teams... or coach... or simply and patiently wait it out until the next season could arrive.

But the rest of us... ah, the rest of us. We grew restless in the off-season, and we sat around and stared at the walls, and thought: Where did we go wrong? What can fill this hole in our hearts? What can soothe the savage beast that roars just under our young and strapping and energetic flesh? Ah! I know! We must need a baby!

So babies we conceived, and babies we had. Boy babies, girl babies... well, girl baby anyway. And those of us who did not have babies? We got married, or engaged, so that some day we could have babies without that pesky social stigma.

And the babies are cute, and the spouses wonderful, but gol' if they don't take a lot of energy to maintain. The diapers! The crawling! The screaming! (And that's just the husbands! Yuk, yuk.) And all that energy has to come from somewhere, and I hate to say it, but... I fear it has come from our defense. Let's face it, we're not the impenetrable wall, the well-oiled machine, the sheer tour de force we may have been a mere 24 months ago.

So there's that. Not to mention the injuries plaguing our marriage- and baby-wracked bodies, and we're a sorry heap of humanity indeed. But! Does the Phoenix not rise from its own ashes?? Does the airline industry not pull itself up by its own plucky bootstraps after the terror of September 11?? Does Terry Mulholland not make a miraculous annual September comeback?? Oh, dear, I've gone too far.

So! We cobble together a team of brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles and in-laws and outlaws. Of K(C)aras and Watsons and Vanyos and Gronaus and Ryans and Pats and Joels and people whose nicknames could be K-Matt and... er, one guy named Scott Pudwell. And we drag these pathetic, lost selves to the ballpark every week, and we smile and we feel happy to be out under the lights on a beautiful late-summer evening, and we HIT. Holy Moses, do we hit!! We hit and we run and we run and we hit and THAT, my friends, was a beautiful thing. And you can keep your silver and your gold and your league trophies and your first basemen who can do the splits and your sluggers wearing jazz pants... I will content myself with the Beauty.

See ya next week. :)