Oregon Vaughns

I read lots of blogs (daily) written by people (whom I know) who probably have no idea that I follow their blog. I find their blog because they are listed on blogrolls, facebook, etc… And, due to the exorbitant amount of time I have, I get in the habit of checking their blog for updates daily. It can be rather disappointing when there is a dry spell of new posts. For most of the blogs I read, this is my only form of “contact” or “communication” with that person – and they don’t even know it!

Thinking about this makes me wonder. Are there people that read my blog that I never would have guessed did? Are YOU one of those people? I believe my blog readerships is low, but who knows.

Back at Borders and waiting for Dad to show up so that we may continue our reading, chats, and weekly spy business.

Andy and I packed the labor bag last night!  It is sitting by our front door, ready to go.  31 days until her due date.  I wanted to have everything ready by now because it is becoming increasingly harder for me to do things on my own – bending over is no fun, I get very tired of standing, etc… And, I know that this will only get worse in the weeks to come.  Glad to have *almost* everything done and out of the way!

My mom came over yesterday and spent 2 hours helping me clean the kitchen!  Thanks Mom!

People often ask me about cravings, etc… Here are some things I have noticed during pregnancy:

1.  I now like ranch dressing (never did much before.)

2.  Bacon always sounds good.

3.  I tend to eat spicier foods.

4.  My skin is greasier and prone to break-outs.

5.  My tolerance for things that normally bother me has actually gone up!

6.  Surprisingly, it does not bother me when anybody (even strangers) touch my belly.

7.  Times passes more slowly… Probably all of this “waiting.”

8.  I only need about 5 hours of sleep to feel well-rested.

9.  I spend a lot more time cleaning.  Everyone says its nesting… I think it is boredom taking over since I have nothing else to do.

10.  Getting comfortable is a thing of the past.

I am tutoring these 2 boys (4th and 6th graders) temporarily until I can find a someone to tutor them throughout the year.  By the way, they are Inspire Tutoring’s first (and longest running) clients!

Anyhow, the two boys are very inquisitive.  They ask very smart questions and always want to learn more about.

The 4th grader said to me last Thursday:

“If your baby popped out, looked up at you, and said in a really deep man’s voice ‘Hey Mama’, would you be scared?”

We all enjoyed a good laugh.

We are almost completely ready for the arrival of Baby Lily (materialistically that is, I don’t know if you could ever be really ready.)  I have been anxiously awaiting the stroller/carseat combo that we ordered that is scheduled to come in this week.  Once we have that, I can install the carseat (take it to the police station to get it checked for safety) and then we will have everything prepared.  Only 33 days left (4 weeks and 5 days – that sounds sooner to me than saying 33 days.)

I feel like I want her to come soon – partially because I spend most of my days waiting and waiting.  I haven’t started any new projects or taken on too many students for tutoring, so time moves slowly for me.  Good thing Dad and I have Borders!

Andy’s mom is here this weekend.  She found an apartment yesterday at Witham Hill Oaks, hurray!  She will be moving up in a week or so and continue her job search if she hasn’t found one by that point.  Everything is coming together.

I have been spending an inordinate amount of time at Borders Books.  My daily routine:
Drop Andy off at work at 8am and head over to Borders (4 blocks away).  The bookstore is not open until 9am, but the coffee shop opens at 8am.  Grab a hot chocolate and find something to do.  Yesterday I caved in and purchased the T-mobile Hotspot internet that they offer (for the month).  I hate coffee shops that don’t offer free internet, but oh well, I suppose I will get use out of it.  My dad joins me at Borders around 10am.  Although he brings a book, I don’t think much reading gets done – we much prefer to people watch.  In fact, we are convinced that we have uncovered an affair that a couple from a neighboring business is having at our coffee shop.  It is still too early to be certain, but we are collecting data (observations) slowly but surely!  Once I complain enough about being hungry (around noon), we head over to Baja Fresh (1 block walk) and split a Chicken Fajita lunch – plenty of food for the two of us.  Occasionally, on Andy’s lunch break, he walks down to Borders to see us for 20 minutes.  We return to Borders after lunch to spend another hour people watching and generally go our separate ways.

I have started a little bit of tutoring since school has started back up, but I am not trying to take on too much.  After finishing any additional errands, I pick Andy up from work and we head home.

Andy has been nothing but supportive of me “lounging around” and enjoying some time off.  Sometimes I feel guilty, but I know that within a month I will have plenty to keep me occupied with little Lily! 36 days left!

“All I get to do on my weekends is work or rub feet.”

Here is my checklist of what I want to remember to bring and what I will have packed for when it is time to go to the hospital.  Fortunately, the hospital is only 5 minutes away from home, so someone can always run home to get what we need.

Labor Bag

To Bring:
•    Camera
•    Video Camera (if we have one by then!!!)
•    Phone Chargers / Phones
•    Computer(s)
•    Stacey’s Purse (Insurance Card)
•    Pillow(s)

Already Packed:
•    Birth Plan
•    Colored Towel
•    Hard Candy (Lollipops, Mints)
•    Robe
•    Toothbrushes / Toothpaste
•    Deodorant
•    Nursing bra
•    Nursing pads
•    Slippers
•    Shampoo/Conditioner
•    Hair ties
•    Extra Batteries
•    Stop Watch
•    Stacey change of clothes
•    Andy change of clothes
•    Diaper Bag (Baby clothes, hat, diapers, blankets)

What am I missing?

Not too much going on this Sunday.  Andy and Dad played in a poker tournament on Friday – they both played very well, but unfortunately did not make it to the second day of the event.  Oh well.  At least this gave Andy time to relax a bit on his weekend.  On top of working at the Credit Union, Andy is wrapping up 2 projects from his independent business and these occupy most of his “free time.”  In a few weeks he should be done with both of them – just in time to have his free time occupied by a baby!

I will start tutoring a bit this week.  I am not taking on new students personally, but I will work with students who I have worked with in the past and who know that I will be out of tutoring commission come October.  It will be nice to get out of the house and do some work.  Lately, I have just been watching a lot of sports (tennis, my favorite sport to watch, to be exact.)  I did go to the gym today to get a little workout in while watching TV – at least that is something.  Oh, my gym is also advertising a “Self-Defence” class. Ha.

Shauna is leaving for Taiwan on Tuesday.  She is going with a group of students and another professor for 10 weeks!  This is a great opportunity for her to study / travel in Taiwan.  She will be an auntie when she gets home in November!  She has also started a little blog to keep everyone updated: shaunali.wordpress.com

The ticker below will automatically update to keep a countdown until Lily’s due date!

Today while I was at the park, I overheard a 5th grader say the following:

“If I had the choice to either be gay or double-jointed, I would definitely choose to be double-jointed.”