Author Archives: Nicole

Looking forward

Today is my last day at work. I am so excuited and relieved, mainly because it has been so busy lately and they have been trying to suck every last little bit of work out of me before I leave. But I am feeling prepared and ready to nest (well as much as I can between loud construction noises and piles of dust). I even finished the thank you cards for my baby shower last night – now THAT’s nesting. 🙂

The thing I am looking most forward to over the next few days is just enjoying the fact that I am pregnant and looking forward to meeting this little guy.

With so much going on in our life right now I really haven’t had much time to focus on the pregnancy – good in some ways (I avoided the obsessive worries for example) but bad in others. I often have to remind myself that this aching in my body is actually being created by a miraculous event and that before I know it, it will be over and I will miss the movements in my belly and the fact that I have a little friend traveling with me wherever I go.

But I have a lot to do before then:

  • Tidy the house before the cleaners arrive tomorrow morning
  • Go to my very last doctor’s appointment
  • Get the car washed inside and out
  • Get the car’s oil and transmission fluid changed
  • Finish packing my bag for the hospital 
  • Pick my mum up from the airport (sorry Mum, it’s going to be a VERY hot day in Portland)
  • Enjoy my wedding anniversary just a little (nine years tomorrow – another thing that will be taking a backseat to the craziness).
  • Last minute shopping for books and baby stuff
  • Pedicures – belated Mothers day present for Mum and me on Sunday. You HAVE to have pretty feet in the hospital.
  • Spend some quality time with Thomas
  • Take a breath

By this time on Monday I will be saying hello to my little boy and I will be a mother of two. Crazy!

OK, better stop now because I am getting teary and people at work are going to think that it’s because I am going to miss them. 🙂

Nicole

P365 Day 134 – May 13th 2008

Thomas has never had a lot of hair. He was pretty much bald until he was 18 months and then had a natural cew cut (without the cut) until well past his second birthday. Which is why I love it so much now that he gets bed head and his hair stands up after wearing a hat. He still has never had his hair cut – and I don’t think he will until I get over the novelty of classic photo ops with hair askew.

P365 Day 133 – May 12th 2008

My very first hand made Mothers’ Day gift. Isn’t it pretty? Of course it wasn’t really a surprise. Thomas is not very good at keeping a secret. I went to pick him up from daycare on Friday and he said “We need to get the necklace”. So I said “What necklace?” and he said “Your necklace”. So when I opened the box later that night (of course we couldn’t wait until Mothers’ day) it wasn’t really a surprise. But I love it – and my son made it for me. 🙂

And then Thomas wanted to wear it for the rest of the night. 🙂

P365 Day 132 – May 11th 2008

Clearly we have not been taking enough advantage of the instinctive desire of a toddler to help. Here he is peeling the strings of snap peas – and loving every minute of it. Now if only he were a couple of feet taller so he could start washing the windows.

P365 Day 131 – May 10th 2008

Such a cutie. I took this photo of my friend’s daughter at our sorta-monthly pot-luck. We have known this group of people for nearly three years. In fact we met most of them at our prenatal class when I was pregnant with Thomas. I can’t get over how grown up all of the kids are getting and am so thankful that we are now going through our second round of pregnancies together. One of the boys has just become a big brother. Next it’s our turn and then we have two more siblings on the way in the next few months. 

The best thing about this group of people is that we all come from different backgrounds, different religions, I’m sure different political leanings (although we have never discussed it) but we have one thing that brings us all together and that is our shared experience as parents. And that’s enough to start a friendship that can develop into more than a shared experience. Gotta love that.

P365 Day 130 – May 9th 2008

I think I have about a hundred versions of this photo – taken just after Thomas’ bath when he is all cuddly and cute. Unfortunately lately it has been accompanied by a lot of baby talk. Thomas wants to be treated like a baby and I’m sure it has something to do with the pending arrival. I feel bad saying this, but the babytalk is annoying. VERY annoying. And as much as I tell Thomas that he is a big boy he insists that he is a baby. I am hoping it’s a phase that he will overcome soon after the real baby arrives. I am also hoping that the whining goes with it. Don’t worry – I’m not delusional – just hopeful.

P365 Day 129 – May 8th 2008

This is the first P365 post with a photo that I didn’t take myself. But it was just too special not to post. Thomas has become VERY interested in the baby lately. And not just because he is benefiting from a lot of the baby shower gifts that happen to also be fun for Toddlers. I think he realizes that his little brother will be here soon and he is excited about it. Today he turned to me and said “I’m not going to push the baby”. Yes, I was grateful to hear it too.

Oh and I LOVE high key photo actions that make stretchmarks disappear. Just like magic. 🙂

Checking in

Not much happening in the world of Nicole right now. Lots of waiting and stressing about everything I have to do – but not finding the motivation to actually do it.

I had someone come by and give me an estimate on how much it is going to cost to have the house cleaned (it’s not cheap for a one off clean but worth it if it means one less thing to worry about). She also taught me how to use the self-cleaning feature on my oven so that was totally worth some money right there. Of course now the house smells like burnt oven…

The problem I am going to have is finding a place for everything before Mum gets here next week. I had to take everything out of Thomas’ closet so they could put the heating vents up there and now the closet shelves don’t fit properly. Which means getting them cut to size before I can reassemble.

I had a doctor’s appointment this morning and everything is normal – blood pressure, belly measurement, pee (OK – too far). I think this baby is going to wait until the c-section. I just don’t have the “I’m ready” feeling I had with Thomas a week before he was due. Thomas was a week early and I worked until 6pm the night before he was born – went into labour at 9pm. It’s a good thing I didn’t get stuck in traffic on the freeway.

The nurse did warn me about the ninety degree weather we are expecting next week. Pffft – I lived through a full summer pregnancy last time – I can survive a couple of warm days. Just need to make it to my pedicure next Sunday and then I’m good. My mum is also hoping the baby will wait. Thanks to Thomas’ early arrival she missed seeing me pregnant last time.

Oh, and we no longer have a home phone. A dispute with Qwest turned a little nasty and we had our phone disconnected as a result. I am not paying to have it reconnected – partly on principle and partly because this caused us to realize that we can make cheaper long distance calls with my cell phone.

Ok – I am reading this and realize it is about the most boring post EVER so I will put you out of your misery. Happy Mothers day to everyone this weekend. I have been promised pancakes for breakfast on Sunday and I will be giving myself a nice long lie down as a gift.

P365 Day 128 – May 7th 2008

A little birthday present from my brother Ben and his girlfriend Emma. Well done Bro – it arrived right on my birthday – all the way from Australia. Full of fun activities to do with the kids (still weird to use the plural).

And in case you were wondering… I ALWAYS carry a basket and wear an apron while tending to my sunflowers.

P365 Day 127 – May 6th 2008

Grooving before bedtime. It’s been a little while since Thomas has picked up the guitar. Tonight’s playlist? “Rock-a-bye Your Bear” and “Play Your Guitar with Murray”. Both by The Wiggles of course.