Weekday Fun

Here's what's awesome right now.

1.  Matt and I are rocking the socks off of parenthood so far, if I do say so myself.  We've always made a great team, and the last few days have even been fun.  Shoot, I slept for 9 hours last night (not all at once, but still), and little CSF is a pretty chill baby.  It's early yet, we know, but our incredible abilities to nap and our time management skillz are really coming in handy right now.

2.  The Elvis Presley Pandora station.  Charlie loves it.  

3.  Dog brothers.

4.  Mad Men.  We finally saw the season premiere (watched it in about 3 different installments), and it did not disappoint.  What did you think?

5.  Birthdays!  Yesterday was 31 for me, and while there wasn't much partying down, it was a nice day full of good food and snuggles and presents and love.  And about 30 minutes after I realized that I'd forgotten to go to Back in the Day Bakery to pick up some cupcakes for myself, a wonderful friend stopped by with 4 cupcakes and a card!  Shoot yeah!

Birthday present from super husband!

6.  The cutest baby this side of the Mississippi.

Hope you're doing well and getting lots of sleep!  

CSF!

Matt and I had big plans for Friday.  We were going to come home from work, take a family snuggle nap, wake up and make carbonara, and then go see The Hunger Games.

But instead I had a baby.

Yep.  I got home from school at around 3:10, ate a cheese sandwich, caught up on my Words with Friends games, and then went to lie down for my nap.  And then I had a contraction, and then five minutes later another.  And then about six hours later we got to meet Charlie.*

And we're in love.

More later.

Oh, and if you want to see some of the millions of photos that I'm taking of this child, go here.  I'll just update that album so that I'm not cluttering up Facebook and the entire internet with pictures of our really cute, brilliant, advanced baby.

*Never did get that nap.  Maybe in 20 years?
   

Taking It Easy

Monday the nurse at my doctor's office (oh yeah, because my doctor is on f'ing vacation right now!) basically ordered me not to do anything until Saturday because we're holding out for Sunday when my doctor gets back.*  No cooking, no cleaning, no nothing.  I am allowed to go to work, but I'm to stay seated as much as possible.  So that's been fun.  Except that it hasn't.  I mean, I can lie around like a sloth with the best of 'em, but I really don't want anyone telling me that I have to.

So super husband Matt has been doting on me, fetching me drinks and handfuls of Reese's pieces (why did I think it wise to buy a 10-lb. bag of them?) and being fun and cooking awesome dinners.  Sweet snuggle pup has been sweet and snuggly. And since we rushed to compete every pre-baby task last week, I have nothing to do now except sit around and get fatter and ponder such depressing questions as, "Did my water break, or am I really just that bad at controlling my bladder?"**

I think this has been the longest week of my life.  For serious.  And it hasn't been bad necessarily.  Just boring.  And weird.  I'm trying to soak up and enjoy our last moments as a trio, and trying to not sully them by complaining about discomfort or boredom or the fact that I get too hot when I lie on the couch for 6 hours.  I'm also totally exploiting the fact that people answer the phone really quickly when I call because they think that I am calling to tell them that I am in labor.  

I've been working so hard at school to make sure that everything is in place that I just today realized that I have, at maximum 17 more days with students between now and August.  (!)  So that made me pretty happy.  Plus, Mad Men's coming back on Sunday, and The Hunger Games is coming out, and I got to teach "A Rose for Emily" today, and we'll have our boy soon!

And since only about 3 things fit me anymore because I'm as big as a wooly mammoth (though, thankfully, a little less hairy), I've been taking fashion cues from one Rachel Green.  I am basically wearing this outfit right now.  So you just look at her and pretend that that's me, because I'm pretty sure that there should be no actual  photo documentation of what I actually look like right now.

So, yeah, check back in later and maybe I won't be pregnant anymore.  That'd be nice.



*Which is actually good and fine, because that fits into my plan of having the baby on the 25th, and it works better with school and all of that other bull jive, but man oh man I sure would like to be finished being pregnant RIGHT NOW.

**Turns out it's the latter.  Also, I am a poet.

Weekend Fun

Oh, you know what we don't have yet?  A baby.  Last Monday's doctor's appointment left Matt and me both in a little panic after our doctor and nurses all seemed to act like little CSF would be arriving sooner rather than later, so we rushed all last week to get every pre-baby task completed.  I was instructed to take it easy (after doc offered to just let me go to the hospital and have the baby on Thursday if we wanted) and to try to make it to the 26th when doc will be back from vacation (WTF, doctor? You can't go on vacation until April!).  So I've been trying to slow down and not do anything too strenuous.  By the way, I can't really remember the last time I was upset because I couldn't ellipt.

But the weather this week has been amazing and happy, and our windows have been open, the cookies have been delicious*, and the dog has been trying to melt our hears with his cuteness.  We sat out the St. Pat's celebration (though I hear that our sweet Savannah really outdid herself this year) and instead focused on tying up loose ends around the house and doing some baby reading.  As much as I would be thrilled to be finished being pregnant and to meet our boy, I know that it's better to try to get as close to our due date as possible (mostly because of the boy's lung development and the fact that the longer I can go, the less time I'll have to spend at school at the end of the year).  So we're chilin' out max and relaxin' all cool and all--and I'm getting pretty bored with it, quite frankly.  I give myself a little pep talk/reminder about every 2 hours that it's better to wait, it's better to wait. . .

Here's what it's looking like around these parts lately.

 If I lean forward, I can see my toes!  Also, I am forever covered in dog fur.

 Lizard hunting.

Kept seeing these yogurt dot things on Pinterest, and, honestly, I thought they were pretty gimmicky.  But Shecky and I were talking about them, and I decided to give them a try.  The verdict: awesomeness.  They're fun and easy and addictive and taste like they're way worse for you than they are.  Mitch is a big fan, too!

So that's what our life is looking like in these last days before our boy comes, the calm before the storm, if you will.  

What have you been up to?  

*Made the Back in the Day Bakery chocolate chip cookies again.  Made half with chocolate chips and half with Reese's Pieces.  I've eaten approximately 6 a day since Thursday.  Shoot.

Love and Marriage

Me:  Carseat's installed, nursery is finished, freezer is stocked.

Matt:  Cool.  Now all we have to do is raise a human from infancy to adulthood.

My Sister Is Better Than Your Sister.

My sister is better than your sister, and not just because she posted these two pictures of herself on Saturday. . .

Oh, is my sister a nice girl, or an evil goat rabbit?

. . .but also because she fills me in on all of the things that are hip with the teens these days.

For example, tonight she taught me some new terms (and also claims to have invented pops, but I assured her that Shecky and I were the creators of pops and that she's just desperately trying to be us).  So, if you're needing to save yourself some time and show everyone around you that you are hip and cool, take a cue from Chloe.

Is your mother-in-law crazy?  Not anymore.  Now she's just cray.

Is that baby so ugly? Not anymore.  Now it's just ug.

And does George Clooney look gorgeous in that tuxedo?  Nope.  George is gorge.  

See.  Aren't you feeling more hip already?

Chloe also told me about a couple of other awesome things, like how indirect status updates are all the rage on Facebook.  What is an indirect status, Chloe?  "An indirect status is like when annoying girls post stuff that's obviously directed toward someone, but they don't say it.  Like, if I were having relationship troubles because some girl was talking to my boyfriend, I could post something like, 'relationships are for two, but apparently some bitches can't count.'"  

If you ask me, that's totes cray.

Oh, and she also told me that if you google "do a barrel roll," something awesome happens.  Do it now!

Are you totes jeal that I have a Chloe and you don't, or what?

Oh, and don't forget to go leave a comment for the baby pool!  Winner gets a Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook!  

Happy Days! (And the Back in the Day Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe!)

Let's talk for a hot second about everything there is to be excited about right now.

1.  It's daylight savings time, baby!  Now, granted this means that I will be extra cranky come tomorrow morning and will, for two weeks, be proclaiming that I am actually arriving to work at 6:15 instead of 7:15, and I will use that as an excuse to do nothing at all because of how tired I am, but still.  Daylight savings time means grilling season, birthdays, and that the clock in my car will be right again.

2.  The beach.  We're headed there soon.  I love the beach, and I am determined to float today.  If the water's too cold, then I will settle for letting Matt dig me a hole in the sand so that I can lie on my stomach.

3.  Being spoiled.  I have my work baby shower tonight, and I'm excited to celebrate CSF with some of my favorite ladies (who are teaching me, slowly but surely, how to be a Southern gentlewoman--Steel Magnolias, here I come!).

4.  My new favorite term, pops.  Shecky and I decided that it was short for popular, and that's it's extra fun when used in conjunction with totes.  For example, "He's totes pops with the ladies."  Matt hates it, and says it's the worst thing ever, something that a huge douche from WB show would say, to which Shecky responded, "Exactly."  Pops is taking off, people.

5.  Productivity.  I've been a damned go-getter this week!  I've done about 200 loads of laundry, my paper grading and recording is up to date, thank you cards are written, and the nursery is in the midst of being reorganized.  (Definitely is in the "worse before it gets better" stage right now, which is making me a little bit crazy, though.)  And tell me that cloth diapers aren't the cutest thing you've ever seen in your life.  (I mean, besides Mitch.)

6.  Mad Men in two weeks!

7.  Presents from my Matt!  Tulips and a Bo Obama stuffed dog for the boy!

8.  And, finally, The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook is here!  It's here!  I've been waiting for a year and a half for it, and it's incredible!  I went and got my copy on Thursday, and have been drooling over it ever since.  Even if Back in the Day Bakery wasn't my favorite place in Savannah, and even if I didn't think that Cheryl and Griff were basically the cutest people on the planet, and even if I didn't idolize Cheryl to the point where I get nervous when I see her because I'm so in awe of her mad skillz, I would love this cookbook the most.  The pictures are beautiful, the instructions are precise without being intimidating, and the recipes look amazing.  There are little tips throughout the book, and little tidbits about Savannah, and it's just wonderful.  Go buy it.  (Or win the baby pool and I'll send you one!)

Last night Back in the Day was having a cookbook release party, and I went with one of my teacher friends. We got there early to get our books signed, and I wish I had been able to take more pictures of the gorgeous decorations.  Those people sure know how to throw a party!  There was even cotton candy!  The place was packed, and there were complimentary sweet treats (I think I subsisted on cupcakes and cookies alone yesterday) and so much happy energy.  Of course my camera died after about 2 pictures, and I'd forgotten backup batteries, so here are some of the pictures that my friend took with her phone.

Then, inspired, productive, and cheery, I came home and decided that I absolutely had to make the chocolate chip cookies from the cookbook.

Shoot yeah!

These cookies are really f'ing good.  They're big, and they're crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, and I might have had two of them for breakfast this morning (one for me, one for the baby!).  Matt approves.  So does the fetus.  My doctor does not, but I'm not listening to him about sugar anymore (not like I was ever really following his instructions about not eating sugar, but I'm not going to feel guilty about not following his instructions anymore).

Chocolate Chip Cookies
From The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook (which you should go buy right now)

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature (which she says is between 65 and 67 degrees F)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks
Fleur de sel for sprinkling

Directions

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and sea salt; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer), cream together the butter, vanilla, and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes.

Add the eggs and mix for no more than 1 minute; the eggs will not be fully incorporated.  Turn the speed down to low and add the dry ingredients in thirds, beating until just combined, 1 to 2 minutes.  With the mixer running, sprinkle in the chocolate chunks, beating until just combined, about 1 minute.

Use a large ice cream scoop or a 1/4 cup measuring cup to form the cookies and place on the prepared cookie sheets, leaving 2 inches between the cookies to allow for spreading.  Lightly tap each cookie with the palm of your hand and sprinkle with fleur de sel.

Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, for 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time for even doneness.  The cookies should be golden brown around the edges but still light in the centers.  Let the cookies cool on a wire rack.  Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.

What are you excited about today?

Baby Pool (With an Awesome Prize!)

Okay, everyone. Here’s the deal. I am 37 weeks and 2 days pregnant, and this whole “full term” thing is really f’ing with me. Basically, the boy could get here today, or it could be a month from now. The sucky thing is that I’m anxious because every single thing isn't ready yet but if I rush to get ready in every way, then I could potentially just sit around bored, uncomfortable, and pissed off for a month.

I’ve been a wee bit on the hormonal side, too. I can’t even think about this Subaru commercial without tearing up.

Just watched it again and cried.  When I was explaining this commercial to Matt the other day, 

crying all the while, I tried to pretend that I was really sad because he was the one 

driving my car when it crossed the 200,000 mile mark.  He didn't buy that explanation.

And yesterday, when my friend told me that they filmed O Brother, Where Art Thou? in her hometown and that she drove past and saw George Clooney in overalls with no shirt, I nearly unfriended her out of pure envy. I may have yelled at her for never having told me that before. George Clooney. Sweaty. Dirty. Overalls. Shirtless. Messy hair. For serious! (And OMG when he pulls his beard down while singing “Man of Constant Sorrow” and then winks at the crowd at the end of the movie, I can hardly contain myself! Hormones. Let’s blame this on hormones. Whoremones.)

Why, yes, George Clooney, I would like it if you would take off your shirt.  

You can go ahead and remove those pants, too, while you're at it.

So, yeah, I’ve sort of checked out on the whole being pregnant thing. I think the final straw (for now, at least—though I’m sure there’ll be lots more final straws, which means that they’re not really final at all, I guess) was when my foot felt a little tingly yesterday and I looked down to see that it was GIGANTIC and swollen and gross. It looks like I traded feet with the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man! That’s it. I’m done.

37 weeks and 2 days.

Anyway, that’s enough kvetching. Now, to reward you for having put up with all my bitchin’ and moanin’ these last few months, Shecky and I decided that we should do a baby pool here on the blog. Here’s all you need to do to enter: leave a comment with your guess for 1.) the day the boy will be born, 2.) how much he will weigh, and 3.) how long he will be.

I’ll give you my guesses first, and you can go from there.

I predict that he will be born on March 25, will weigh 9 lbs. even, and will be 21 inches long. Boy’s due date is March 28, he was estimated to weigh 7 lbs. 3 oz. at our ultrasound a week ago, and we don’t know anything about the length.

Just leave your comment with your guesses, and afterward we’ll come up with a way to figure out who got closest (I’ll put Matt in charge of that since he’s better with math and won’t have just had another human exit his body). Winner will receive a copy of The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook (signed if I can swing it!).  Get your guesses in by next Friday, to keep it fair.

Happy guessing!

This and That

1.  37 weeks today, party people!  Full-effing-term!  Pretty freaky that from any point on we could just, like, have a baby.  Guess I'd better get that carseat installed, huh?  And that hospital bag packed.  And those meatballs made to put in the freezer.  Shoot.  Still too much crap to do.

2.  Had an ultrasound on Friday and the boy was weighing in at 7 lbs. 3 oz., which was only like a week ahead.  And his head was only measuring a week ahead, which was comforting since at our last ultrasound his head was measuring 3 weeks ahead.  I mean, I've got a strong body and all, but I don't want to split in half.  It's freaky to look at clothes in his closet and be all, "Oh, he could just wear this, like, right now."  Man oh man.  Oh, and the boy's in the perfect position for being born, so that's nice.  Also nice that he's following directions at such an early age.

3.  We had the most fun weekend ever.  Really it deserves its own post, but I'm lazy and uncomfortable because I'm full of a fetus and about 4,000 calories worth of food right now, so I'll do it later.

4.  United States of Tara is our new favorite ellipting show.  It's on Netflix instant, and you might need to watch it.

5.  I need Mad Men to come back RIGHT NOW.  RIGHT NOW!  There's not enough Don Draper in my life.  (Matt quit smoking and I can't have bourbon in the middle of the day anymore.)

6.  Feeling like a horrible (which I just accidentally typed out whorrible--uh, hi there, Mr. Freud) person because I totes missed the 100th birthday of one of my all-time faves: the Oreo.  WHY ARE THEY SO GOOD?  Happy birthday, sweet Oreo.  Also, if I don't get a package of these birthday cake Oreos I'm going to have a tantrum.

7.  Back in the Day Bakery cookbook came out yesterday, but I'm waiting until Saturday to buy my copy from the bakery itself and see if I can't get it signed.  Can't wait to thumb through those pages and get my shiny book all covered in flour and baking messes!  Oh, and speaking of the cookbook, you should probably read Cheryl Day's interview about it here.  My favorite part is about their wedding.

8. Finally, I guess you're just dying to see what I look like full-term.  Here's a picture of me jumping.

I'm really into wearing black and white lately.  It's so early '90s.