Nearly Wordless Wednesday

Some gross stomach flu ran rampant through Connor's school last week. It's funny that saltines are primarily eaten when you are puking :)

ahhh, Connor and Sam holding hands. Too cute.

Tough decision here. We've had Mira and Zoey for 7 and 6 years respectively. Over the past few years we've paid them less and less attention. We finally admitted to ourselves that it wasn't going to get any better for us or them with Noah on his way. Fortunately for us, Corliss (aka Tashi) adopted our kitties this weekend and they are flourishing in their new home. :)

3 is kinda young for board games, but we tried out Chutes and Ladders this weekend. Connor creamed us. Here he is celebrating in the most modest way a little boy knows.

Connor's school does an art project everyday but they are doing even more now that it's getting warm and they can't spend as long outside. Here they are painting their lunch bag monkeys. If I remember, I'll get a shot of the final project when it comes home. Please note Connor and Aidan being total cheeseballs in the back :)

Dear Yesterday, enough already.

ever have one of those days that just leave you saying enough already? the day started out with me frustrated about stupid crap, the kind of stuff you complain about when you are fortunate enough to not have anything valid to complain about.

We've had Noah's delivery scheduled for the 27th for what seems like forever now. A few months at the very least. I was/am annoyed because it meant I had to choose between having the surgeon we wanted and planned on or having the day that we have planned around...a few people have said who cares if it's not that day but I don't think you fully grasp all the arrangements that have to be made when you know you'll be in the hospital for 4 days and you have work and a little boy to cover. We deliberately planned for Noah's arrival on the 27th to make it easiest for all the family who are stepping up like rockstars and watching Connor for the 4 days, so a change means they have to adjust the days they took off work and everything else. They are already doing us such a huge favor that it seems ungrateful to ask them to adjust just so we can keep the surgeon but they were great about it. Our surgeon was scheduled to do operations on the 25th (tuesday) or the 28th (friday). The 25th would be great because I'm worried about making it to the 27th as is, but that's a lot of weekdays for family to have to have Connor so we ruled it out...plus I'd have Monday to wrap stuff up in the office and that's just silly to be there for one day and then take off. The 28th is risky because it's just three days before my actual due date so it's somewhat unlikely I'll make it that far without going into labor...plus Connor's last day of school is the 27th so that date just worked out so well. Ugh. Anyway, after much deliberation and a informal vote of friends and family, we scheduled for the 28th. I just hate when you plan something and then the plan changes. My dad laughed at me quite a bit over my intense deliberation and upset, but he should know that it's his uber type A personality that fostered my own. :) Love. Also, the delivery time was changed and we're set for a 7am surgery...arriving at the hospital at 5am. Yikes. That helps though because I can't eat or drink anything for 8 hours before the surgery so I'll spend my 8 hours sleeping! I finally calmed down about the disruption in schedule a couple hours later yesterday. sigh.

Yesterday my office threw a baby shower for myself and a coworker who are both pregnant with boys. It was very sweet and so wonderful of them to do. I'm not really a supporter of baby showers when people aren't on thier first child, but they wanted to throw it and it was incredibly nice of them. Nakeia, the other mommy-to-be is about 4-5 weeks behind me in her pregnancy. Her water actually broke during the baby shower. wtf right? I had a water-breaking scare when I was preg with Connor so I rushed her off to ob triage so that they could check to see if it was actually her water breaking or if she just peed herself (um, yeah that's what happened to me). Sure enough it was her fluid and she's now officially not leaving the hospital until that baby is born. I guess they are pumping her and baby full of antibiotics and steroids until they can't put off delivery any longer and she's making herself at home at the hospital. I hope she can keep him in for at least another 3-4 weeks...plus, then we can be hospital buddies since she's at Chandler as well. :) The emotion of seeing someone panic like that, especially since it is her first baby was a bit much for me yesterday.

Then yesterday afternoon we received horrible, tragic news. There was an accident yesterday morning on the 60 that I heard about from coworkers as they came in late due to backup. I thought nothing of it, since accidents happen all the time, I don't even travel that way, and they all made it in safely. Unfortunately, a good friend Molly's husband was killed in that accident. He was changing a flat tire on his truck on the side of the road when a car involved in a 5-car accident hit him. Totally unexpected, complete freak accident and just an incredibly sad situation. Molly and Kevin have three little boys, including a son from his first marriage. I just cannot imagine the grief that she's going through right now. I myself, got sick after hearing the news and just immediately felt like curling up and crying. So I did. If there is anything positive at all that can come out of a situation like this it's that you hold your loved ones just a bit tighter, read your kids an extra story at night and make sure that you have all your stuff in order for your own loved ones in case something horrible happens to you. I'm lost as to what to do for Molly. She's been a friend for nearly 15 years and I just don't think a casserole, a visit, or my attempt at sincere condolences are enough to help with what she's going through. All night I sat with Jeff and Connor wishing we could stay locked up in our safe little family bubble, even considered calling in today and forcing Jeffrey to do the same so we could just be a family at home without work getting in the way, but we didn't do that. We got up, got ourselves and Connor ready, got out the door and are trying to have some semblance of a normal day even though a close friend we've both known forever is hurting in an unimaginable way. It all seems very petty and unimportant today, but really, what else can you do?

Braeden 7, Rylan 1, Kevin and Molly Maples

Needing today to go quick. I need to get out of the office that I'm pretending to work in today and get to my son. I need to make him dinner and color in his new coloring book, give him a bath and just soak up our life-the important stuff. It sounds so trite, but you just never really know how much time you have with the people in your life and I don't want to miss anything or wish I'd given Jeff or Connor that kiss in the morning that I was too late to slow down for. So I'm going to stop pretending to work now and really focus on what I need to do, if for no other reason but that it makes the day go so much faster. 6 1/2 hours to go.

35 Week Update

Hello 35 weeks, it's great to see you. :)

A funny thing happens at this point in pregnancy...I think that I may have a subconscious look of exhaustion or a i can't physically take another step look...something going on because everyone I've ever met has asked me some form of "so are you ready for it to be done?". Honestly, I never reached that point of utter "get him the eff outta me" with Connor and I'm not really there with Noah either...it's just different the 2nd time around. I'm still overwhelmingly excited about meeting Noah, seeing Connor with Noah and having 8 weeks off work but it's just, different. Tough to explain.

First off, Jeffrey is amazing with pregnant Lindsay. Truly amazing. Connor, however, doesn't understand that mama can't wrestle around like normal and that it takes me more than a few quick seconds to get up off the ground after coloring for 30 minutes. Seriously, it takes a load-bearing wall that I can climb up and a few minutes for my ligaments to adjust. Low point. I'm not quite as fast going after the soccer ball he kicks and curling up with me in the chair isn't quite as roomy. It's kind of a sad thing that I shouldn't be sad about. Our little family of three is about to expand to four and I want to spend as much QT with Connor as possible, but I'm just so extremely exhausted and slow moving that it makes it quite difficult. Luckily, Connor has a dad who is always ready and willing to soak up that alone time with him :) I love my boys.

I'm feeling pretty good overall, besides the exhaustion. Sorry, even I'm getting sick of hearing myself say how exhausted I am...I'll look for my thesaurus now :) I've had some quasi sharp pangs and cramping but i think it's just Noah tring to move around in an incredibly cramped space. I feel like I've tripled in size in the last two weeks. I don't have a drs appt this week, but I'm fully expecting that when I roll up next Tuesday he tells me that I've gained 5lbs. Jeff says there's no way, but I just feel like it. I think it's just that my stomach is getting so huge and hard. Also, my feet don't look swollen, but my pretty work shoes are incredibly uncomfortable and tight feeling. Today I opted for these beauties.

I know, I know. Tone the internet sexiness down a notch Linds. I'll see what I can do folks. I wore heels to the office, but brought along comfort black flats and changed after being here about 5 minutes. Lame of me.

In other news, we were somewhat productive this weekend. Our goal was to focus on house/Noah stuff to get it wrapped up just in case he made an early arrival. I'd give us a 5 out of a possible 10 points here. We did clean his room a lot...there's so much Connor stuff in there. I think we decided that the tall dresses and closet will hold Noah's stuff and that the shorter, longer dresser will still have some of Connor's overflow. I tossed a few more items in the hospital bag this weekend but it was mostly toiletries since I'm there for so long I want to be sure I have everything I need in that department. I need to get a new robe and some slippers. I don't really use these items at home but they are necessary for those 4 days or so in the hospital. I made zero headway on getting Noah's name letters made but we did a crap ton of laundry...washing all the little outfits and things that our wonderful friends and family have given Noah. We went through all the receivers, blankets, socks, hats, washcloths, etc and got rid of any that were beyond reuse and washed the rest...most of that stuff hasn't been used in two years so a good washing was needed before Noah uses it :)

Speaking of Noah, since I'm now 35 weeks along, he is set to be measuring about 18 inches long and about 5 1/4 pounds. Since most of his physical development is complete, at this point he'll just spend the next few weeks bulking up. When Connor arrived, he was less than a pound bigger than Noah's supposed to be right now so that's a bit tough to wrap our heads around. I'm guessing that Noah is going to be 7lb 8oz, but Jeff doesn't think he'll break 7lbs. We shall see...any guesses? :)

We went on a tour of the hospital this weekend. At first I felt silly doing this since we'd obviously been there for Connor's delivery but I was glad that we did it. The L&D area has been completely renovated and we would have had zero idea where we were going if we hadn't taken a peek around. Plus, it's different this time knowing that going in I'm heading right to surgery instead of hanging out in a labor room for hours and hours.

A coworker of mine, Nakeia is also pregnant right now with a little boy who I am pretty sure she is naming Keion-so cute. She's just about 4-5 weeks behind me and our office is throwing us a little joint baby shower today. I opened the fridge in the office today to get my water and saw all kinds of yummy potluck type food, so I'm pretty stoked. Scratch the 5lbs I think my dr is going to point out and let's make it ten. Since we're both having boys, everyone was instructed to wear blue for cute photos. Somehow this morning I remembered and so I'm prepared.

That's about it for now I think, we're all hanging in there!

Week 34 Update

I had my 'every-other-week, feel like i'm living at my OB office' visit yesterday. I swear, if you've had a baby you 100% know what I'm talking about here. When you first find out you are expecting you are there every month, then it reaches a point that you have appointments every two weeks. Then once you are full term (36 weeks) you are there once a week. THEN, to make it even more odd you have your baby and you don't go back for 6 weeks or something. It's the strangest, most removed feeling to go from being there every week to never going at all. I remember feeling like I was missing an appointment or something.

Oh, warning. This post should possibly come with a potential TMI warning. I have zero filter when it comes to oversharing, but I know that some who read this (Patricia I'm talking to you) hate, hate hearing about uber-personal stuff. So, there's the warning. Nothing huge at all, but I wanted to put it out there.

My appointments always start with giving a pee sample. I'm not really positive what they check for in the pee...maybe making sure my preg hormone is still up there, proteins, etc. etc. etc. This time I had Connor with me and Jeffrey hadn't arrived yet so he came with me into the restroom, which is totally normal. I realized that he was going to see me pee into a cup and that this could create issues...monkey see, monkey do?? I told him that the doctor needs mama to pee into the cup so they can make sure it's good, but that he should still pee in the potty. He said ok but continued to look longingly at the cups. After I did my business, I stepped out for the customary weigh-in. I watched Connor while she weighed me and saw him wander back into the bathroom. I knew he couldn't resist the urge of those damn cups. She told me that she needed to weigh me again because she showed a 4lb loss, which I just knew couldn't be right this week...other weeks, yes but not this one. I feel like I can see myself gaining and sure enough I gained 2 pounds which is their goal...a pound a week. I pulled him out of the bathroom and we waited for the doctor, continuing to explain the "don't pee in cups" policy that would now probably be a daily reminder.

Once Jeff arrived Connor continued to tell him about peeing in a cup and we listened to Noah's heartbeat which stuck in the 140s which is good. He moves constantly when they are trying to get the heartbeat which I find hilarious, and the nurse does not. Since I'm now 34 weeks along, he should be about 4 3/4 lbs and about 18 inches long. The great news is that at this point, babies with no underlying health issues are just as likely to arrive healthy as if they arrived full term. Such great news since I keep having concerns that he's going to arrive early. I told my doctor that I've been having some pressure 'down low' and that it comes and goes, but def feels like there's something going on down there. He asked if I'd had any contractions and I said I didn't think so. I know for sure that I haven't had any real ones, trust, but I never had braxtons with Connor so I have no idea what those are like. He decided to check me just in case which I totally wasn't um...prepared for.

Now, at this point in pregnancy my entire appointment happens with me fully dressed. When my doc said he wanted to check my cervix and make sure there wasn't anything going on he asked me if I had my underwear on. This was hilarious to me and I asked him if many of his patients arrive commando for his appointment. He has a sick sense of humor so he laughed with me. Jeff looked annoyed. I just thought it was pretty funny to ask. Yeah, I have underwear on. He stepped out so I could change and of course Jeff asked why I couldn't just answer a simple question. lol. oh jeffrey, it's like you don't know me at all.

Turns out my cervix is closed up tight so there's no sign of action at this point. Good news. I'm measuring externally at about 36 weeks and I'm technically 34 weeks so he may not even have us do the other ultrasound in the next couple of weeks. I have my next appointment in two weeks on the 4th of May and he said he'll decide then whether or not to order up a last ultrasound. Kinda hope he does so that we can see him one last time before he arrives!

So that's about it for around here. Life should be slowing a bit here in the home stretch. Chi Omega events have wrapped up for the most part so I can be focussing on getting rest, getting the house all ready and getting comfortable leaving work for a couple months. Oh, and we thought we'd found a new daycare place for Connor and Noah, but last week I visited a place that is literally right next door to my office and we're pretty sure it's a sure thing that the boys will be starting there the first week of August. Feels great to have that off our to-do list. Oh, and the stroller issue has been solved. A friend, Allison is done with her double stroller and graciously gave it to us. Thank you!! I really didn't want to spend the money if we never, ever used it so this is a perfect solution. Friends are super.

Next Tuesday my office is throwing a sort of baby shower along with another coworker who is pregnant so that should be fun. If I remember, I'll take and post a few photos of the festivities :)

Thanks for checking in on us...36 days to go!

Happy 3rd Birthday Connor!

Birthday parties are big with us. Connor's first was ginormous, second was just as big and this year we vowed to scale back. We did manage to go with a smaller ramada but since we didn't do too well with scaling back the guestlist, we brought in two canopy things for additional seating and shade. Oh well...maybe next year.

Lots of family and friends were there to wish Connor a Happy 3rd birthday so it was wonderful. Connor is getting molars right now so for the past week he's been teetering on old-school teething issues. I had almost forgot how much teething is a huge pain in the ass. Almost.

His party was held at Tumbleweed Park again this year and then we took the party back to our house with Papa and Tashi (Corliss) for gift opening. We've decided that it's just too crazy to try and open gifts at his parties...the kids all want to help and we end up having zero idea who gave what gifts and that's a nightmare for a thank you card crazy like me.

we surprised him this morning with a soccer goal and a new ball. Loved it. Anything sports, I swear.

Stella :)

Cousin Madison


Papa & Tashi

Carly getting her baby fix with Stella


Patricia and Brandon

Some of Connor's friends - Connor, Kaci, Aidan, Connor F, Cassie, Cadence, Samantha and Brielle

Oh boys...Connor and Aidan

Opening the card and gift from Aidan. Loved it so much all he wanted to do for a while is open this toy...we eventually convinced him that there were lots more to open.

Harley shirt from Adam and Andrea...

...to go with the awesome Harley trike they got him!

Papa Van Hook knows how much he loves stealing my camera to take photos so he got him his very own, real digital camera. Connor is going to love this once he realizes what it is!!

We had a wonderful time today. Thank you to all of our friends and family who were able to be there today to celebrate our little man turning three. I still really can't believe it's here already, but I truly appreciate everyone who joined us today! We love you all and thank you for loving our little boy so much! :)

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

Saturday of this weekend started off with our niece Madison's baptism. She did great and didn't fuss at all during the ceremony. Including Connor and Noah there are 7 kids at this generation...but only one girl :)

Mr. Aidan Calabretti turns three today! We always have to plan with the Calabretti family which weekend we'll have the boys parties on so that we don't overlap...we joke that eventually we'll just hold one party for the two of them. They could surely care less :) I think the kiddos had a great time at Gymboree--they are really the perfect age for that place!

of course there was lots of Aidan and Connor and their bromance :)

Happy 3rd Birthday Aidan

a few of Aidan's party guests...Samantha, Kaci, Connor F. and Landon

Sunday was the 2010 Chi Omega Eleusinian Brunch which celebrates our Founders, the collegiate chapter of Psi Epsilon at ASU and the Phoenix Alumnae Group. Chi Omega turned 115 this year. I'm proud to be involved in such an amazing organization and Sisterhood. LICO.

The alumnae who attended the 2010 Chi Omega Eleusinia. Once again, me=looking super pregnant here folks

There are 30 wonderful, amazing, talented, beautiful graduating seniors this year :) As their chapter advisor, I'm sad to lose them at ASU...as Alumnae President, I hope they stay in Phoenix!

Week 33 Update

Week 33 and still going strong! I feel huge, but recognize that I'm not really that ginormous. I had a couple events this past weekend where I had to dress up which is an odd thing to do when you are this far along. If you've been pregnant, you know that a dress can fit fine with baby in one position and be completely tight if he changes his position. This is super for planning, let me tell you!!

It was a busy weekend. Anyone reading this who knows me personally knows that I'm involved in my sorority. I'm an advisor for the collegiate chapter at ASU and I'm also the President of the Phoenix Alumnae Group here in AZ. These are two fairly large roles with two totally different sets of duties and responsibilities. I enjoy duties :) This was a big Chi Omega weekend among other things. Friday night I chaparoned the Spring Formal for the collegiates. Fortunately, all I really had to do was be there for loading up busses to ensure that everyone heading to the event was "able" to get there without causing us to lose a deposit on the charter bus. I'll spare the details, but I have to say that I was right where these girls were just a 7 years ago so I have a tough time regulating their behavior! I still remember Jeffrey and I going to these events and all that it entailed. Fun times, and all a big part of my college experience! But we managed to step up about the whole thing, and I think that for the most part we were able to confiscate everything that needed to be taken :) Sunday morning, we held the annual Eleusinian Brunch to celebrate Chi Omegas Founders, seniors and all Sisters. It's a beautiful event with yummy food and fun awards. I love this event. It's a ton of work, and I'm thrilled when it's over. Now, we just need to get past Graduation in May and I'll have a bit of a break when Noah arrives. lol. I swear, you'd think we timed this pregnancy!

Anyway, that was some of our busy schedule this past weekend. We also held our 2nd quarter alumnae meeting, attended our niece Madison's baptism and of course went to Aidan Calabretti's (Connor's bff) 3rd birthday party :). We took care of some planning for Connor's own party next weekend and ran a few other errands as well. This was an exhausting weekend. I'll post some photos tomorrow for Nearly Wordless Wednesday for sure.

In Noah news, he feels huge. I was experiencing some different feelings this weekend and Monday so I looked up Braxton Hicks contractions. The feelings were totally painless, totally sporadic and not a big deal at all. It just seemed different than his normal movements and so I wasn't sure what I was experiencing. I still don't think it's braxtons but I'm not really sure what it is. I think it's just Noah moving around differently. Who knows. All I know is that the contractions I felt for 40 hours with Connor are unmistakable so I'm not concerned. I remember thinking, how on earth will i know i'm in labor? ha. stupid. you know. i'm still hoping to avoid feeling a single contraction this time around, so please cross your fingers out there friends and family!

At 33 weeks, he's probably just over 4 pounds (like holding a pineapple) and 17 inches long. Laying down and sitting are both really uncomfortable. It's tough to explain but it's nearly impossible to find a position that's comfortable, and once you do it becomes painful after 10 minutes or so. Sitting can be really painful on the lower back and it feels like your ribs are protruding from your body. I'm waddling for sure, rather than walking but still insist on wearing heels. Ask me again in a few weeks and I'm sure I will have swapped them out for ballet flats and flip flops. I'm not experiencing any swelling at all, so that's great news. I should be gaining about a pound a week at this point, but I'm not a scale person so I have no idea on that. Guess I'll find out at my appointment next week. All in all, I'm feeling really good. The sickness has all but completely subsibed so as far as i'm concerned I'm doing amazing. I'll deal with some discomfort and lousy sleep for sure!

The countdown to delivery is 44 days...quickly approaching! Still need to get the rest of Connor's stuff out of Noah's room, work on Noah's name letters and stock up on basics. We did buy a little outfit this weekend that will maybe work for his 'going home from the hospital' outfit, but it's hard to tell size-wise. I remember the outfit we brought for Connor was huge, huge! Jeffrey ended up having to run out and buy preemie stuff since everything we brought for him was huge. Actually, Connor is wearing the shirt we brought for him in his 6 month school photo! lol. oops.

That's all for now, thanks for checking in on us!!

Opening Day 2010

Jeffrey, Papa Barnes (Alan), and Connor have a tradition. I love traditions. Every year, they all go to Dbacks Opening Day together. This is practically a National Holiday for sports fans and I'm glad they all get to do it together. Just think...next year there will be four boys to attend Opening Day and other games. Love the thought of that!

Connor playing in the play area before the start of the game.

Dada, Connor and Papa - love the three generations of baseball enthusiasts

They had a great time. It was a gorgeous day and the Dbacks won! Even better, Jeffrey decided to buy Connor his very first real, wooded bat. I think Jeff will discover soon that this wasn't the best call. Happy Spring everyone!!