A Plea

I'm bored. Like, really bored.

Monday was my birthday, so I stayed fairly busy. Curious George and I spent some time shopping for some frames for The Aquarium. Then we had dinner, movie night, and cake with some cousins.

Yesterday I spent the day running errands. I did some shopping. I put up the vinyl on Sharky's wall. I planned my menu for the week and went to the grocery store. I cleaned out the freezer, for crying out loud! (Usually I spend the bulk of my Tuesday at work, for those who don't know)

Then today rolled around. What was on the agenda for today? Laundry. Yep, that's it. Just laundry. Now, I'm sure many of you (with much larger families than my own) could spend a whole day just doing laundry. Not so for me. I have our laundry done in about 4-5 loads. Ok, so this does take a little time because I sometimes have to run clothes through the dryer twice, but still not enough to fill a whole dang day.

I've already watched more tv than I ever have in my life. I've finished my book. I've read approximately 387,000 blogs. I've logged more hours on facebook than any one person should.

So, blogging universe, I come to you for answers. Please, give me some ideas of something to do. I'm begging you!

The Aquarium, AKA A Nursery for Sharky

So, I finally put the vinyl up on the nursery wall. Pretty much I'm just trying to keep myself occupied now that I'm on maternity leave. I figured it was time for a little sneak peak at the nursery, though, so here you go:

Right now the changing table is housing the stuffed animals. I'll have to find them another home soon. I've also got some bins stuffed full of extra blankets, diapers, wipes, bum cream, etc. I figured I'd want that stuff close at hand. That tasty little piece of camo you see in the corner is the man's favorite diaper bag. Curious George told me that the one I picked out was much too girly for our manly Shark-child (speaking of which, I have another diaper bag, obviously never used, which is up for grabs to anyone that wants it. It's very cute.).

This is Sharky's crib. I got a swinging deal on the crib bedding, and my mom helped me buy the crib and changing table.

This is the vinyl we decided on for over the crib. I'm not sure why it's all washed out and gray looking. The walls are actually tan.

The dresser with some books and monsters (thanks Carma!).

My favorite corner in the room. The cabinet has some more blankets, binkies, burp clothes, etc. The picture on the wall was a gift from my siblings.

I just love these little birds, too! It looks to me like they're hanging out on a telephone wire.

"The Aquarium"

I Am Not a Patient Person

The long-awaited day has arrived... my due date. And the sharkbaby is still cooking. I shouldn't be surprised. For quite some time I've been resigned to the idea of having to be induced. I just have a feeling that this little Sharkleton is going to be just like his mama: stubborn, only willing to do things on his own time, and always running just a tiny bit late. I had high hopes for him being born early or on time, because tomorrow is my birthday. Yep, I could possibly have a birthday baby. I hope for his sake that he isn't born on my birthday. It wouldn't bother me any, but I don't want him to have to be the kid that shares a birthday with his mom. So not cool.

When I saw the midwives on Wednesday they were very encouraging. Apparently I've been having early labor contractions for at least a week now. This is a good thing, because it's all work that my body won't have to do in the actual throes of labor. I was also told that their conservative estimate on a weight right now is 8.5 pounds. Yeah, that was their small guess.

I officially started my maternity leave yesterday. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself until he's born. I'm used to keeping myself on a pretty solid schedule through the week. I grocery shop on Monday, work Tuesday, do laundry and see the midwives on Wednesday, and then work again Thursday and Friday. With no work to keep me balanced I'm a little worried about filling my time. I guess I should make some dinners to freeze so Curious George doesn't have to worry about cooking for us for a little while. I'll be honest, though, what I really want to do is sit around on the couch in my sweats and just wait this little guy out.

Mostly, though, I'm starting to get nervous. I'm having a hard time reconciling the fact that this little shark-monster in my belly is going to be an actual living, breathing, human baby... any day now. I'm going to be a mommy. I'm going to be responsible for this little dude's education and upbringing. I'm sure I'll be fine, I've got a lot of great examples around me, but it's still a daunting idea.

So, I guess we just keep waiting. He has to be born eventually, right?

A Shark is Not a Mammal

Dear Sharkbaby,

So, you're due in 6 days. I can hardly believe it! Sometimes I feel like I've been pregnant with you forever, but really it's gone so quickly. The midwife says you'll probably be late, so I'm trying not to get too worked up about your actual due date (January 16th, the day before my 26th birthday), but it's hard not to. I feel like I've been waiting for you for a long time.

Your daddy is so excited to meet you, too. He keeps talking about all of the cool stuff he gets to teach you. He is really happy that you're a boy. I think he was worried about sharing his hobbies with a little girl. He really hopes that you love motorcycles, guns, camping, and all that other boy-type stuff he loves. I keep telling him that he gets to teach you about all of that stuff, but I'm still going to read you stories, teach you how to cook, and do lots of other things too.

We've almost got your room ready for you. The last thing we have to do is put the vinyl on the wall. I let your daddy pick it and he's so excited about it. It is pretty awesome. We've had your crib for a long time, your Nana and Pops helped us with that part, and your rocking chair came from your Oma. She used to rock your dad and Uncle Richard in it. I think that makes it pretty special. Your Aunt Maddie, and Uncles Zach and Mac got a really awesome picture to hang in your bedroom. Now every time you look at it you can be reminded of how much Jesus loves you. I've got a bunch of your clothes washed for you, I just hope you don't grow too fast otherwise they won't fit for long.

I'm pretty sure that you're going to be a big baby. As of 3 weeks ago you were already over 7 pounds. I think you're long, too. You're at least long enough to get your feet up under my ribs.

You're probably wondering about your nickname... I guess I should share. Early on in my pregnancy I kept dreaming that you weren't a human baby, but a baby shark. When daddy and I couldn't decide on a name, we started calling you Sharky and it just kind of stuck. It has since evolved into Sharkbaby, The Sharkman, and Sharkleton. We still haven't decided what we're going to name you, for real. We're hoping that once we see you we'll know what your name is. We have some good ideas, though.

All in all, everyone is pretty excited for you to get here. We're trying to wait patiently, but it's getting really hard. I've got three more shifts at work, and then it's really just down to waiting. So, basically what I'm saying is... could you hurry up and be born?

I love you!

Love,

Mommy