hearts and hugs day.

hearts and hugs day.

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Don’t tell the boy…

As grumpy as I am most of the time, I have to admit that I absolutely love Valentine’s Day. The boy is not a big spoiler/gift-giver, but this is one of the few days in the year where I know he’s going to get me something, and I get so excited in anticipation. He always does well in the presents department; I’m not easy to buy for, and while he agonizes quite a bit before making a decision and/or purchase, he nails it every time.

I spoil him quite a bit the rest of the year. Every month, on the 26th (to commemorate the date that we met), I give him a card to remind him how much I love him. Sometimes he gets a gift (usually clothes or cologne) or I treat him to dinner. Today, in spite of my size and weight, I slaved over a hot stove for literally hours, hoping to pull off a lovely gourmet-inspired meal that was kind of out of my culinary league.

One of the dishes I made was braised beef in a red wine reduction, which required a day of pre-marinating, and about three or four hours of cooking time. Just before the final hours of slow-roasting in the oven, I invited him to taste a little bite of the meat – for flavour, not texture, mind you. He tentatively took a bite, and then replied, “it’s chewy, babe. Can I offer a suggestion? Next time, boil the beef before you cook it…” Read more

an announcement or two.

an announcement or two.

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Is this thing on?

This week has started out particularly rough; not only for a few bits and bobs of bad news (the boy lost his job today; more on that later), but because my physical state makes it harder and harder to sit comfortably upright for prolonged periods of time. I’ve spent most of the week propped up by pillows on a semi-incline, watching Netflix on the iPad, and feeling mostly grumpy and ready to have this baby out NOW.

I only made it out of the house once last week, and that was to see Dr. Freedman on the 6th. I was so bugged about being sleep-deprived, that I totally forgot to mention that that’s when she told me that she was bumping up the date for my C-Section to the 21st from the 28th.

But that was last week. Read more

papa’s got a brand-new bag.

papa’s got a brand-new bag.

This conversation just happened between me and the boy…

Her:  Babe, would you carry a diaper bag?

Him:  What?

Her:  Like, if you had to take Peanut out for a walk one day, would you carry her supplies in a diaper bag? Not like the one my mother got me – but perhaps a cross-body type thing? Like a mail bag, perhaps?

Him:  Never thought about it.

Her:  *Googles* Like this? It also comes in grey:
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Him:  What? Oh my God! (bursts into laughter)

Her:  What? It’s a bag, not a PURSE.

Him:  LOL!

Her:  (exasperated) Have you never carried anything but a knapsack in your life?

Him:  LOL!

Her:  (fed up) Oh, grow up. And be happy I’m not suggesting that bag in this pattern:
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Him:  I like the first one.

🙂

 

if it ain’t one thing…

if it ain’t one thing…

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I have one of these about once or twice a month. Well-done. With bacon. Now verboten. This makes me so sad. Thanks A LOT, Aisha. 😦

I was back at L&D bright and early Sunday morning. I got my dad to drop me off, and texted the boy to meet me later. Upon my arrival, I didn’t even have to re-process; I showed up and explained why I was there, and the reception nurses were all, “oh, yes… you were here last night, abdominal pains, come right in.”

I was set up on a bed in triage, hooked up to the NST monitors again (netting, dopplers, and movement clicker thingy) and told to hang tight while they located an ultrasound tech.

Even though it was empty, triage is a white-noise cacophony of the whirs and buzzing of various machines. Over the rapid “squooshing” of Aisha’s heartbeat on the fetal monitor, I could hear the primal, pained vocalizations of a lady in the throes of labour down the hall. After about ten minutes of grunts and sceams, there was momentary silence… and then the faint wail of a baby. I smiled, recalling how much I enjoyed hearing that sound during my stay last September. Read more

weekend wrap-up: ups and downs.

weekend wrap-up: ups and downs.

Ups-and-Downs
The week’s been more down than up, I’m afraid…

rise and shine…
I’ve been getting up and going to be early all week. Suddenly, I can’t find one good reason for staying up past 11pm. Truthfully, I hope it continues. The extra sleep has been soo good for me.

flying solo…
Speaking of sleep, I realized last night that this has been a pretty lonely second trimester. The boy has been working long hours – up at 4:30 and in bed by 8 once he’s had dinner and packed his lunch for the next day. I actually had to text him and tell him how I’m feeling, since we haven’t had much opportunity to talk.

baby show fiasco…
Against my better judgment, I asked the boy to come to the Baby Show with me today. I wanted to look at a few items, get some info on strollers, and maybe find a sling/carrier for Peanut. Also, because we haven’t spent a lot of time together, I thought it might be a nice afternoon, just the two of us. Read more

mini baby-moon.

mini baby-moon.

Some time ago, I’d made a suggestion to the boy that we get away for a weekend of grown-up squooshy time before Peanut’s arrival. He agreed, and we wound up booking a lovely-ish little two-day retreat in Niagara Falls.

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I found the boy’s Movember ‘stache distracting. I actually made him shave it off when we got home.

We chose one of the coldest weekends of the year to head down there, but the view from our room more than made up for the chill. I’d originally booked a suite with a dual-falls view, but when we got there, the concierge upgraded us for an extra $50 and we got the Presidential Suite on the 21st floor (yeah, baby). Read more

anniversary.

anniversary.


do you know what today is?

I interrupt the recent hernia-related updates to inform that today is my anniversary. My post-surgery sweetie is doing all right and healing nicely. I checked in on him while I was at work today (I’ve taken a short proofing gig, filling in for a friend who is on a pregnancy-related leave of absence), and he told me that he had walked to the store to get me a little something for the occasion.

He admitted that it’d taken him a while, but he had a checkup this morning and after the doctor’s appointment/approval, he felt well enough to move around some more.

When I got home, I found that he’d bought me flowers, cupcakes and a card. I am touched by the gesture; I wasn’t expecting anything at all, really, because I figured he wasn’t up for much on account of healing. It was a lovely surprise.

Mi amor. He can be so sweet, sometimes. It hasn’t always been easy, but it’s been interesting since day one…

I wouldn’t trade him for anyone else. Not even Channing Tatum.

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This was taken at a friend’s house, just a few short weeks after we met. I was smitten then…today, I love him mega-bunches. 😀