Big Baby?

My midwife suspects that I'm growing a large baby. Hopefully not quite as large as the statue above, however.

Yesterday I had my 37-week check-up. According to some sources, I'm now officially full term. Other sources prefer to call that near term, and peg actual full term at 38 weeks. Either way you look at it, I'm pretty darn close to having this baby. And if you listen to my midwife, he's pretty much ready to come out!

Now, I do take this with a grain of salt, because any estimate of fetal size is a guess - perhaps an educated one, but still a guess. But yesterday at my appointment, after palpating my uterus rather extensively, the midwife told me she thinks Baby Ben is already approaching 8 lbs. We have a growth ultrasound scheduled for tomorrow afternoon - but again, I've heard plenty of stories of people who were told after an u/s they were going to have a large baby, and the baby ended up weighing 1-2 lbs less at birth than what they were told.

So, I'm staying calm and not getting up in arms about it. I'm going for the ultrasound, and am actually pretty excited about it. We've only had one other, and I honestly thought that would be it. So we're excited to get to see our son (and, you know, double check that he really is our son) one last time before delivery.

Due date is three weeks from today, and if this large baby thing is true, they'd like to see me go early rather than late. I wouldn't mind that either way, honestly. But since we're using a birth center, they won't be inducing any time soon. So it's still a waiting game, either way. Come on, (Big?) Ben! We want to meet you!

A Shared Pain

Last night, I watched Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette perform a courageous short program, just two days after her mother unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack.

It was too much for me to take. Because I know her pain.

I may not be an Olympic figure skater. But that look on her face when she finished her skate, as she was overcome with emotion - I know that pain.

And I know all too well the feeling of going through something so huge and wishing, wanting with all your heart, that you could share it with that parent who sacrificed so much for you.

But it's just not meant to be. So you go on, you forge ahead. Because that's all you can do.

There's irony in our situations, me and Joannie. Terrible, painful irony. Joannie would not have made it to the Olympics if her mother hadn't sacrificed so much for her dreams of being a champion. And I wouldn't be four weeks away from having my first baby if I hadn't found out last summer that my father was dying of cancer.

I so desperately wanted him to meet his grandson. We pushed up our timeline on having a baby because we wanted that so badly. And oh, how he tried to make that happen for us. Up until just a couple of weeks before he died, Wayne was still talking about how he was determined to stick around so he could hold his grandbaby.

I told him, a week or so before he died, that it was okay. We all knew his time was near, and I told him it was okay that he couldn't stick around. We'd be okay, me and Branden and the baby.

And we will be. Because we have to be. What other choice is there? But that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt, when I feel this child move inside me and think how very much Wayne would've enjoyed this time. When I think about the moment my mom enters the room to meet her grandson for the first time, and how Wayne should've been there too.

And so, while I might not be an Olympic figure skater, I know the pain Joannie is experiencing. And I feel for her. My heart goes out to her. That is a pain I don't wish on anyone.

My heart also goes out to my friend Serena, who lost her mother to the evil that is cancer over the weekend. Serena, I wish I could be there to give you a big hug. I know too well the heartache you are dealing with, and I wish you didn't have to go through it.

Nursery Pictures!!

I spent a good part of the day working on the nursery, and it's basically finished now! We still have a few odds and ends to get, and we'll probably hang some more pictures on the wall at some point, but for the most part, it's done! Here are the pictures...

The wall across from the door...here you can see the crib, the color block painting we did, the letters I painted and hung over the crib, the glider/ottoman, and the hanging stuffed animal display to the right.

Close up of the crib. Only thing missing here is the crib skirt, which my mom is making out of some old curtains she originally made for my dorm room in college. Turns out M&Ms fabric is now considered "vintage" (I'm guessing there was a big clamp-down on unlicensed M&M stuff) and is verrry expensive now. Lucky we already had some!

A close-up of the stuffed animal storage. I got this years ago from IKEA, but this is the first time it's been used. I put a few Easter goodies in there for now (Snoopy and a couple of Easter M's)...then we have a stuffed Sneetch, and finally, in the bottom two slots, Ben's first stuffed toys of his own that we've been given as gifts.

Close-up of the glider corner. The blanket behind Clifford is a Peanuts blanket I used as a kid. The colors matched, so I decided to put it out. On the shelf, we have some plush M&Ms, a really cute handmade lunchbox I got from a friend at our shower, some posable M&Ms, a little train toy, and the stuffed Moose from If You Give a Moose a Muffin. Clifford, Sneetches, the Moose...can you tell we're a literary bunch? My mom's a librarian, and when I was growing up she was a children's librarian - so she instilled in me a love for good children's literature.

The blank corner where our changing table/dresser will go. It's currently being handmade by Ben's GranPoppy (Branden's dad). They'll bring it up next month.

The wall opposite the crib - just to the right of the main door. We have an M&Ms cuckoo clock, some dispensers, a shelf of children's books, and on the bottom, some socks and bibs that are waiting for the dresser, the bumbo, and the hamper. And if you look very closely, in the middle on the top shelf, you'll see a clay sculpture. It's a star-bellied sneetch dancing with a plain-bellied sneetch, and Wayne sculpted it for me. I figured it would be nice for Ben to have something of his grandfather in the room.

The wall we didn't paint - because it's taken up by this huge door, which leads to bathroom/closet/utility room.

Close-up of the crib.

And finally, the floor covering - a patchwork of four different rugs I found online.

So there you have it - a tour of our nursery!

Stolen

My debit card number, that is! Here's the story...

Sunday morning, Branden and I went out to buy groceries. When I attempted to pay with my debit card, it was declined. Branden paid for our groceries, and we came home, wondering what would cause my card to be declined.

After unloading the groceries, we logged on to our accounts online and boy, was I in for a shock! There at the top of the detail on my account were four strange charges that I knew nothing about - three to DHL totaling over $2200, and another to usps.com for $4.75.

Initially, I was in shock. Of course I'd heard of this happening, but didn't this always happen to someone else? A friend of a friend, someone a coworker knows, etc. But it was actually happening to me? Wow.

I immediately called my bank's customer support number. Here is where I have to brag on Chase and their fraud department. They never questioned me about the fraudulent charges. They had even already added a fraud alert to my account before I called - apparently the thief tried a fourth charge at DHL for over $900, but that one didn't go through. (Seriously - who spends over $3000 at DHL? What are they shipping, and to where?)

I spent about fifteen minutes on the phone with the fraud department, and they completely took care of me. The representative gave me a number to call back as soon as the charges actually hit my account (they were still pending) so that a credit could be issued. They also gave me a number to get in touch with DHL (that was a laugh...more on that in a minute!).

On Tuesday morning, I logged on to my account, and it was like it had never happened! All four fraudulent charges were completely gone, and everything looked great. The good news in all of this is that they only got my debit card number - so my actual account is still safe, as are our other accounts (savings and Branden's checking). I was issued a new debit card, which I should get in a few more days. Hopefully, this is all behind me.

Oh, except for the DHL part. I called their customer support line, and they said in order to get in touch with the fraud department, I had to e-mail them with my contact information. So I did, on Sunday. I have yet to hear from them! Good thing Chase is taking care of me, because they certainly aren't!

So to recap:

Credit card fraud stinks.

Yay for Chase!
Boo on DHL.

Nursery Sneak Peek

We started work on painting the nursery last weekend. For a full detail of what we plan on doing with the room, check out my latest post on Pregosaur.

I'm going to hold off on any "results" pictures until we get a few more things up on the wall, but here are a few sneak peeks to tide you over...

Branden taping off our design:

The letters that will go over the crib, painted in the same colors as our wall design:

The painting is all done, and the tape is down. I must say, I absolutely love what we did! I hope to make some more progress this weekend, so stay tuned for more pictures!

32 weeks, and all is well!

I figured it was high time for an update here, since I haven't posted in almost three weeks! I'm 32 weeks pregnant now. The picture above was taken on Wednesday. What's been going on lately? Well...

Last Saturday, we had our first baby shower!!! It was sooo much fun! By the end of the day, my face hurt from smiling so much. We got tons of great gifts, and had a blast with all the friends who were there. After the shower, we went out to dinner with my mom, and she gave us even more clothes! Here's Ben's closet now:

He had maybe a third of that before the shower on Saturday. And every single thing is just so stinkin' cute...I can't wait to dress my son in these adorable outfits!

Wednesday the 27th was Wayne's birthday. Not a good day. Very emotional. After a long, trying day at work, I went to visit his plaque at the cemetery and had a good talk with him. I really miss him...the sound of his voice...his laugh...and I try to think of what he would say if he were still here. I hope I'm making him proud. I know he'd enjoy watching me get bigger and bigger. We talked a lot about the baby before he passed away, and I know he was so excited for us. I suspect he's still watching, and is still excited. Even though Ben will never get to meet his Grandpa Wayne, he's going to know alllll about him!

I got a good surprise today...and haven't even gotten to see it yet. I got a phone call from the Fed Ex delivery guy saying that I had a large package, and asking if I was home to receive it. Unfortunately, I wasn't. He then told me it looked like a mattress, and was from Babies R Us! Aww, a surprise delivery off of our registry! I had him deliver it to our doorstep, and then got hold of Branden so he could run home and put it inside. Of course, he put it in the crib. I can't wait to see it! Now we have something to put those mattress sheets on that we got at the shower!

Not very exciting, but there's a picture of the mattress from the Babies R Us listing.

Oh, and our mystery gifter? It was my mom! Thanks, Nana!!!

Makin' cookies

On New Year's Eve, I spent the afternoon making cookies. From scratch. I never, ever do this. But I really wanted to make a special present for my mom for our extended family gift exchange (I'd drawn her name).

I chose Paula Deen's White Chocolate Cherry Chunkies, because I knew my mom liked white chocolate macadamia nut cookies and pretty much anything by Paula Deen. I bought the ingredients before Christmas, so that on New Year's Eve, all I had to worry about was the actual baking.

Somewhere along the line, I got the bright idea that I should make a double batch. I have no idea why I decided to do that, but I did...and so I ended up making 53 huge cookies. No matter - I had plenty left over after my mom's gift to give them as a gift to a friend and also share some with Branden's co-workers (who I hear loved them). And we still have a few left here at home.

So without further ado, here is the recipe, illustrated and annotated with my pictures and comments.

White Chocolate Cherry Chunkies
Cook time: 15 minutes (that does NOT include prep time!)
Level: Easy (ha!)
Yield: 4 dozen (um, yeah...I should've read this before I decided on a double-batch)

Ingredients:
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1/2 cup candied cherries
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chunks

Here's my mise en place:

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. (Well, it starts out easy enough.)

Decided to go ahead and chunk up my white chocolate and set that aside...

That's an awful lot of white chocolate.

Holy moly...two bowls full?!
This is my first hint that maybe a double batch was more than I bargained for.

In a medium bowl, with electric mixer (hey, I can do one better - I just got a new stand mixer for Christmas!), cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until just combined. Set aside.

Sift together flour, soda, and salt. (When no sifter is handy, substitute collander...right?)

Add milk to the butter mixture and then add the flour mixture. (Oops...got a little messy here!)


Mix until just combined. Batter should be stiff.

In another bowl, combine nuts, cherries, and white chocolate. Then add to batter, stirring only to blend. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet (I used parchment paper instead), 2 inches apart.

Bake for approximately 11 to 13 minutes. (Mine were so big, I baked them for 15 minutes per batch).

Cool on wire rack. (That part, I can handle).

Then, just try to resist them. I did pretty well...I only ate one.

Once cooled, arrange cookies into an attractive Christmas tin, and tape the recipe on the inside of the lid, so Mom can see that you made Paula Deen cookies from scratch! (Okay, so that part isn't actually in the recipe.)

And of course the best part...soak up Mom's raves when she opens her homemade cookies at the family Christmas celebration! I must say, I really enjoyed the whole process of making these cookies, even if it did take over two hours, start to finish, and my feet were absolutely killing me by the time all was said and done. (But maybe that had something to do with the fact that I'm seven months pregnant? Perhaps.)