Stamps to brighten your day

Needed new stamps and while in line at the post office, I noticed these beautiful stamps. If I happen to mail you anything in the next several months, one of these gorgeous stamps might grace the envelope!

Busy Sunday

Woke up this morning and went for my usual 2.5 mile walk with Indi, but this time I added on a new loop as we explored the new trail behind our houses. Not sure how much mileage that added, but I walked for probably 25 minutes more, so we guessed I probably walked between 3 and 3.5 miles. Good stuff!

Then, while contemplating breakfast, I decided that I really wished I had bought some pancake mix at the store this past week. So, Joe and I hopped into the car and went to the grocery store with a list to make a yummy Sunday brunch. Eggs, chicken sausage and pancakes with bananas and syrup. Hit the spot!

Then onto those little things that I have been neglecting. Baby stuff. Thanks to the huge generosity of friends and my parents, we have more baby clothes than I ever imagined! I have slowly been washing / drying / sorting them, and today was the big sort and store. Below you'll see the a "before" collage with many little piles of clothes; after you'll see all those little piles neatly (and age-organized) in giant ziploc baggies. I love giant ziploc baggies!

Whew! All that folding. Time for a nap... or at least a snack, now that my large breakfast has settled.

While I was sorting baby clothes, Joe was installing our much needed (and much overdue) curtains! Woohoo! We finally have curtains in our bedroom and the little sitting area (no more bright street lights at night time) and the baby's room is also curtained. She'll sleep nice and cozy now. Pictures of the baby's room to follow... whenever we get our furniture delivered and assembled.

She'll have more clothes than I do. Perhaps we're creating a monster. She'll grow up with an insatiable appetite for shopping and a need for a closet the size of her bedroom. Yikes!
I love giant ziploc baggies! They're also perfect for traveling!

Belly shot!

Here's me at 20 and 24 weeks for comparison. A little larger, but not such a huge belly yet. Big enough, though, to warrant a little shopping trip to the maternity store tonight (managed to hit the summer sales - 2 pairs of shorts, a bathing suit, capris and a skirt all on sale) and found 2 bonus items (not maternity, but they work just as well) on sale at Banana Republic!

Baby ticker

What's a trip to Virginia...

...without a trip to the doctor? In the past few visits, I've gone to the doctor for some near bronchitis and a lyme disease scare (diagnosis: eczema of the belly button. Who knew!?). Last night I said to my mom that I had just about made it through a visit without a trip to the doctor. Within the hour, I was eating my words as my dad drove us to the emergency room at Fair Oaks hospital.

In a nutshell, all is well with me and baby - just a thing that could happen with pregnancy, but being this is my first (so no previous experience to go on) and I was not near my regular OB, we felt a trip to the ER was the best thing to do. Much like when your dog limps in the morning but walks fine at the vet's in the afternoon ("He *was* limping really bad this morning"), what I was worried about didn't happen again.

My mom thinks that I'm addicted to ultrasounds (earlier in the day we were talking about people being addicted to getting tattoos), so this was a way to get one in. After arriving at the ER (where I was expecting to wait for three hours before being seen), I was hurried up to the Labor and Delivery area where I was admitted and attached to the fetal and contraction monitor. Fetal heartbeat was great; no contractions on my end. Both good news. The doctor ordered an ultrasound to measure both the amount of amniotic fluid around the baby and the thickness of my cervix. After a nice long ultrasound (where the technician had a difficult time gathering measurements of the baby due to her uncooperativeness - there was no nice baby profile shot this time), all was pronounced excellent and we were discharged. So, at the end we did spend about 3 hours at the ER, but not sitting in the waiting room. Whew!

Baby's moving around a lot this morning, so that's comforting, both to me and to Joe, who was stuck in Ohio and waiting for update phone calls all night.

Next trip to Virginia, I think I'll opt for just a small paper cut or a minor bruise. Nothing that requires a trip to a doctor, thanks.

Carrying a large puppy?

Found out at my routine OB appointment this morning that I am 22 weeks (knew that) but am measuring at 24 weeks. And I have PUPPS. PUPPS stands for pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy (certainly a mouthful) but a more pleasant way to say it is I have an itchy rash all over my belly. Fun stuff.

All the ultrasounds we've had have put the baby right on track for her December 7th arrival, so today's large measurement may be just a growth spurt. Docs will see how I measure in the coming weeks.

As for the itchy skin, let me go take care of that before I scratch it all off!

My daemon

I started reading "The Golden Compass" in preparation for the upcoming December movie (however, likelihood of me actually seeing it on its release date is slim to none as it's release date is also that of little baby). However, in looking at the site, I found a section where you answer 20 questions and are assigned a daemon of your own.

A daemon is the external form of a person's soul and are paired with a human of the opposite sex.

This is my daemon: Araphon, a snow leopard - my profile says that I am modest, spontaneous, inquisitive, sociable and solitary.


Find out what your daemon is.

A showdown at the Kruger National Park in South Africa

All I can say is "holy sh*&t!" This is unbelievable - it's 8 minutes long but well worth it. I wonder if it's filmed at a water hole where Joe and I watched for wildlife last October. I wonder... I think that rock looks familiar!

New sightings

Two new birds to add to the ones I see often while walking with Indi around the lake.

The belted kingfisher and the indigo bunting.
Note: I don't walk with my camera in the morning, so sadly I did not take these photos.