Saturday Night Fever

I had the greatest Saturday night around! I went out with the girls, ate a delicious meal, and danced all night long with my flattering top, flat abs and skinny jeans until the club kicked us out at 2 am. It was fabulous!

Just kidding. I spent it fending off contractions, in a hospital with an unflattering top, a huge belly, in nowhere near skinny jeans. My contractions kicked up a notch at 12:30 am, and I finally went into the hospital at 1:30. By the time I got there, my contractions were exactly 3 minutes apart, which was kind of cool to see on the screen. This is all new to me, you know.

I wasn't really this happy

It turns out I was having "real" contractions, but "false" labor. I take offense to the term "false labor," BTW. Nothing false about that business, Doogie.

I was sprung at 4 am with some heavy duty meds to cut the "fake" contractions, and a medication to help me sleep. It was nice, even if they forced me to down it with TWO cran-raspberry juice boxes. I was about to tell the nurse I don't do mixed fruits, but I was afraid she would take my drugs away, so I clammed up and hit the boxes while making faces at Lancer.

I have a strict anti-mixing policy. Fruits should stand alone.

This morning I felt like I had been hit by a truck. I think I actually grunted when my cankles hit the ground. I feel like I'm 500 pounds and 100 years old. Time for Mini to vacate!

My last appt is tomorrow, so we may have an update by tomorrow afternoon. I will keep everyone posted! I'm sure you're all waiting on the edges of your seats.

I Might be Crazy

It all started out innocently enough. People started asking if I would be having my annual Halloween party--past parties here and here--so they could save the date "just in case." I've been putting off a decision because I'm torn.

On the one hand, Mini will only be 4 weeks old and I obviously won't be able to go all out. On the other hand, Halloween is my favorite holiday, and the thought of not doing my party makes me weepy. Not really, because I'm not prone to crying--but I really want to do something, even if I have to really reign it in.

Here are the down and dirty deets if I end up hosting:

1. Potluck. Kinda ghetto. I can probably do the cider, but everything else would have to be trucked in by friends--the drinks, candy apple bar, chowders/chili, platters, spooky foods, etc.
2. Paper goods
3. Sparse decorations
4. No Village
5. A handful of co-hosts to help with all of the above

Is that too much to ask? Would the party still be worth hosting? Please be honest, and tell me what you think.

I already have the theme planned if the party is a go.

Heros

VS.

Villains

The costume possibilities are endless! Comic books, movies, history, sports, TV, literature....I already have my costume planned. You know, if I decide to move forward.

Please weigh in!

One Hit, One Miss

This is our adorable rubber baby from the breastfeeding class.

I uploaded the photo to Facebook and tricked a bunch of people into thinking it was Mini. I was happy, because that was my intent. Here's hoping Mini is cuter than this, and doesn't have her thumb permanently locked into the Fonzi "ehhh" position. That class was quite interesting and informative, and I'm glad we went.

Tonight, however, we did our infant care class. What a complete waste of time! I suppose the class would be great if you've never met a baby, known a baby, seen a baby, held a baby, or had a friend or relative with a baby--ever. Otherwise, I'm fairly certain you should know all of the "great info" covered in the baby video. Lance and I suffered through an hour of the class, but realized we had to bail when the video reminded parents-to-be to "never shake your baby, and don't let others shake your baby, either." Lance looked at me, I looked at him, and we fled under the cover of darkness provided by the film.

I was afraid of being tracked down by my doctor, then realized we never signed in. Clever on our part, yes? I do feel a little bad that the teacher came back at some point and noticed our empty table. Not bad enough to actually stay, of course, but a little bad.

Toni Braxton Contractions

Mini keeps threatening to arrive early. Hopefully, she stays tucked away where she belongs for the next 2 weeks. I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions with increasing frequency. We affectionately call them 'Toni Braxton Contractions' in our household. This always makes me laugh, because it reminds me of the last time we were in Vegas together. Ms. Braxton was hosting a long-running gig at The Flamingo Hotel, and she was plastered on the entire side of the building, like so:


One night we were trying to decide what show to see, and Lance "casually" suggested we check out the Toni Braxton show. I suspected his intentions were less than pure, and that it had to do more with her scantily-cladness, and less with her music. I told him I would love to go....if he could name 2 songs she sang. He gave it the ol' college try and came up with one paltry song. We saw Blue Man Group.

Can't blame a guy for trying. Even I had to admit her 27 story gams were quite impressive.

In any case, Toni always comes and goes, never lasting more than an hour to an hour and a half total. We've had some bad sleep over the last two weeks, and I think we've sadly decide that this is our only solution. For him--not me, of course.


Whimpering, sighing, and the toss/turn combo had been hard on the both of us. Toni also likes to make an appearance between the hours of 2 and 5 am, which doesn't help. The advice nurse at Kaiser always asks if I'm drinking enough water.

Yep, got it covered . 5 gallons each, people. The Arrowhead Man is going to wonder what's going on in this household.

While Mini's been Baking away like a cute little muffin, we've finished all of the things on our to-do list. We dropped a small fortune at Whole Foods last night picking up GF snackies for the hospital, and the few weeks after. I have bread, muffins, crackers, bread, soups, and bagels all tucked away in the freezer. I was also delighted to find these new GF pretzels from Snyder's--and Glutino made my life worth living by releasing chocolate covered GF pretzels. I'm. in. heaven.



My hospital bag is all packed up in case we need to flee in the middle of the night--a whole block and a half away. We're so close to the hospital that I'm convinced I could be in full on labor and still ride my bike over there in a 'worst case scenario' situation. This helps me feel much better.

Here's hoping Mini stays put for the next 2 weeks like a fine little obedient baby. Here's also hoping that my tree-trunk cankles, formerly known as my ankles, decide to return quickly after the little muffin is sprung. I think Lance is getting worried.

Babymoon and Mini's Finished Room

Lancer and I decided to take off for one last pre-Mini hurrah for some rest, relaxation, and amazing food. That could only be one place--Napa Valley! We stayed at Dr. Wilkinson's, which is our go-to place for nice accommodations, spa treatments, and natural mineral pools. We took full advantage of all three.

After checking into the hotel, we made our way over to the CIA at Greystone for dinner. As always, the food was amazing.

We started our dinner with fresh heirloom tomatoes topped off with a basil drizzle and fleur de sel. I have been craving this dish ever since.

Next up was our fresh white corn soup with an herb emulsion. To die for.

Our main dishes. Lancer went for the special--the rib-eye steak with veggies and smoked black eyed peas. I opted for the halibut atop heirloom squash and marbled chips with a fresh tomato verde.

Somebody at the table spoiled their appetite by eating 5 pieces of bread. Then that person tried to convince me to smuggle the leftover bread home in my purse. And, lastly, when the waiter came over to snatch up the leftover bread before I could stash it, somebody made them pack it up instead with instructions to "feel free to smear a bunch of butter on it" before it was packaged. Classy.

We were so stuffed, we shared a dessert--behold, our delish creme brulee with fresh berries.

After dinner, we enjoyed the warm sun, cool breeze, and the beautiful grounds of the CIA. That's my new go-to sweater. Expect to be seeing a lot of it down the line. I love it. And, yes, I know I've 'popped' since the last time I posted belly shots.

After dinner, we went back to the hotel to relax, read, and listen to our iPods. Lancer surprised me with a new one, since mine somehow disappeared last Christmas. It's the only thing that has gone missing that I have never found again. I feel like Lance and his stupid missing argyle sweaters--I'm tortured by my original iPod's whereabouts!

Rocking The Block for Mini

I have to put my feet up to alleviate my cankles. See--CANKLES! No discernable ankle. There's no 2 ways around it. Oh well.

The next day, we waddled around Calistoga. Lance is now in the waddling category with me because I am a slow mover these days. My bum leg is SO much better thanks to an amazing chiropractor, but I am still on the slow side of things.


Next up--Brannan's Grill in Calistoga. Delish. I got the bunless pulled pork sandwich, and Lancer got the french dip. His dish was served with the best french fries I have ever eaten--even in Holland!


After that, we went back to the hotel to relax and swim. I swear I ran 2 miles underwater as I did my dorky no-impact water jogging. I can get away with it--everyone loves a pregnant lady. Especially women and gay men. Straight men pay me no attention. I'm going to go peddle my wares in the Castro so I can receive lots of compliments and attention from hot, well-dressed men who tell me I'm gorgeous.

The next day, we hit up St. Helena and Napa proper. It was relaxing and delightful.

Lancer--maxin and relaxin

Had to stop in at Woodhouse chocolate for their salted carmels, salted turtles, and ganache white chocolate seashells. We like salt.


Stopped in a D & D for some gourmet treaties to bring back. We got an artichoke salsa and a chipotle mustard. We cooked up some dogs the other night on the grill--we added some pepper jack cheese and smeared on the mustard, and it was the best gourmet dog I have ever eaten.


Stopped in at the Old Faithful Geyser. May I suggest you never do the same? Boring. And not worth $20.

Underwhelming to say the least

They try to make it more exciting by adding in some fainting goats, but it didn't work. None of them fainted--they just smelled.

In summary--here is what I think of Old Faithful

Lunched at Bouchon--always a tasty French delight!

Once home, we put the finishing touches on Mini's room and accessories. Since we now have a name, I suppose we can stop calling her Mini, and call her by her name: Miss Blakely Jacobs. Middle name still under construction.

Boiling all of B's bottles, pacifiers, and toys. I am only doing this crap once.

And....the finished nursery! This is from the doorway. Please ignore the stonewashed denim covers on the glider--still waiting for my charcoal gray babies to arrive.

The finished crib--raindrop bumper, pink sheets, and umbrella skirt. I am in love. Miranda did an AMAZING job on the set. It makes me so happy when I see it.

I went with the dark green umbrella. I love it.

Close-up shot

The little corner with her bookcase, vintage framed prints, and vintage french poster

I bought these vintage storybook pages in Wisconsin. They're from a 1940's children's book on counting. Love them, especially they gray colors in them.

Mini's cute pink curtains and bright green changing table

The shelf and armoire---full of adorable clothes all washed and ready to go!

Here's Mini's pegboard all assembled and hung. I threw some cute jackets and hooded towels on so she will be ready to go on arrival.

Her room also has the new doors--they were installed on Thursday, and we love them! We still need to paint them white, and the door to her room needs some framing and drywall work, but the doors are in, they work, and I'm good enough with that!

Her bookcase and vegetable bin combo in the living room

Here are the new doors in the hall. We went with hollow, 3 panel sliders, and it was definitely the right choice. It makes our house look 100% better.

And, of course, I had to pull out my fall decorations. I went very light this year--a few scarecrows, a few gourds, and my fall wreath. That's about all I can manage this year. It pains me, but it is what it is.


And now...we wait! I'm 36 weeks today, and have been having some contractions off and on for the last 2-3 weeks. I have really slowed down, and I hope she stays put for the next 3 weeks. We'll see. She certainly seems to be a music loving, food-appreciating, slightly spastic night-owl unable to stay still longer than 20 minutes.

She must get it from Lance.