Where's the Time Going?

So yeah, tomorrow we hit the 32 week mark. On Monday we hit the 2 months to go mark. What the what? When did that happen?

In the last week my good friend who has been about 9 weeks ahead of me in pregnancy gave birth to a boy named Ethan. We went to visit them in the hospital and all of a sudden I was very much, "Um, we don't have anything ready for Lucy" So I am starting to panic a little bit although we've gotten a lot done this week and hopefully the room will be looking more baby like by the end of the weekend as we are giving the room a fresh coat of paint and we were supposed to have furniture, but then we went to visit the said furniture and the furniture I thought I liked I didn't when we got there (although it's totally fine if that's what we go with) and the one I did like turns out is apparently part crib, part baby killer. I don't understand these review sites. So this crib apparently has a gap between the mattress and the bars, and so all these people are like, "THIS IS OBVIOUSLY BAD AND DANGEROUS!!!!" But they don't say why it's bad and dangerous and Consumer Reports rated this crib 2nd on it's list of best cribs. So I don't really understand what the problem is. I would like some scientific fact and experiments saying, ok, this could be bad because this and this could happen. Not just, well obviously that's bad. I also think we can get a little bit of a wider mattress and it would take care of the problem. I'm just really annoyed because it was the only crib/changing table I have seen that hasn't made me want to vomit all over it.

Ok. Ok. See this is what I'm talking about. Panic.

The crib we are looking at is the Leksvik crib at IKEA. Just do a search for "Leksvik mattress gap" or something and there are a few google things to see. Why does a mattress need to be super snug to the rails? Does anyone else have this crib and see no problem with it? I've found a few posters that have said it's no big deal and other that are like, OH MY GOD THIS HAS TO GO BACK TO IKEA RIGHT THIS SECOND BUT I'M 6 HOURS AWAY FROM IKEA AND I'M CURRENTLY IN LABOR. So I mean there are ranges, I just want to know what could go bad with a space like this or if it's just some overly worried parents being nuts because I'm sorry the first thing my parents did when the got me home from the hospital is put me into a bassinet who's legs then went out from under it and I went shooting out the back of it...and I'm fine. I mean...I wouldn't recommend baby bassinet shooting, I'm just saying it seems that the crazy has gone up lots of notches in the last 30 years.

Alright. That's my rant and some LeahC crazy to brighten up your Thursday morning.

***NOTE***
At the bottom of the post on the baby bargins site about this crib they say that they heard back from the CPSC and they have ruled that the crib gap does NOT pose a safety concern. That is, it does not violate any current standards.

They said they heard back from them after they went to print and will update the book in the next printing....I think it's funny that they went to print with unscientific evidence about a product. Like maybe you should have heard from the people that deem safety stuff before saying that something is not safe and putting it into a book that obviously gets a lot of press. So Anyways. It looks like it will be fine.
**********

As far as Miss Little Lucy goes, she's doing great. She's moving weirdly now and I can feel her rolling over. Yesterday we would see little feet or hands or I don't know what poke out of my belly and the roll around. Jason was like, "Well that's a new one." I'm still sleeping pretty well although if I roll over on my back I wake up with a lot of pain in my stomach area so that can't be good. After I woke up though I rolled over and then had lots of dreams of the baby moving a lot and being nuts and I wonder if she really is being nuts and I'm just such a ridiculous sleeper that I'm not waking up fully to feel it. Also in the dream I was in labor, so that was fun.

And finally to the two douche bags on the train this morning, if you see a pregnant woman standing next to you don't just talk to each other loudly about things like "Can you be with a baby mama if the baby daddy wasn't around" or "Maybe I just need to sow my wild oats and get some strangers pregnant" and not give up your seat because you have obviously seen the pregnant lady standing and you are just choosing to try and channel Jack Black or Seth Rogan and be "funny" And you aren't funny. Jack Black and Seth Rogan already did the bit, they already have the act going. You can't just copy it and think you are just as funny or clever or witty. BECAUSE YOU AREN'T. YOU AREN'T FUNNY. You are just two jackasses that talked loudly on the train because you thought you were funny and clever and you weren't you just looked like assholes. So there.

Everyone is out of my office today except for me which makes things a bit on the quiet side. I'm meeting my Dad for lunch at 12:30 so that should be a nice time.

So yes, it's almost Friday. Almost 32 weeks done. And we are looking at the Baby Killer Crib 1000. GRRRRR!

Well It Happened

Today I turn 30. I decided to take the day off of work, and thus in effect I'm calling in 30.

So I guess this is one of those years where it's a turning point right? The big ones 16, 21, 25, 30 then maybe just every 10 after that....who knows. When I look at my life and where I am in it and I ask, "Is where I envisioned myself at this age" (Oh who am I kidding, I never thought I would turn 30, that's like old people town. Kidding. Kind of.) I have to answer yes.

I have a great husband and honestly I never thought I could find someone I could love that much. Lucky me that boy is also my best friend and partner in crime. We live in a great apartment, an apartment that I always dreamed we would live in (especially after the last shithole where the little Dagny cat would find some little furry friends to play with). We are expecting our first child in the next few months...hopefully she'll keep on schedule and not greet us early.

We decided to wait on kids and I think we were so smart on that. Jason and I had such a good time in our 20s, we traveled, maybe became too regular at Sheffields or Murphy's or Fill_in_the_blank, we studied our asses off and got our PhDs in physics, we ran marathons, we traveled (oh I said that already...but it's an important one). Most importantly we learned more about each other. We had a life with each other and it didn't revolve around what the kids wanted or needed and now we know what WE need and what WE want. Just because you have kids doesn't mean that you have to give up that, give up yourself or your desires or your relationship as you know it. There is this fear that when you have kids everything has to change. AND yes, things change...BUT, they can just morph into a new similar shape, and not become a life that you don't recognize. We recognize that we always have to keep that in the forefront our minds to keep ourselves happy which in effect will keep our kids happy.

And so today, well tonight at 7:47pm (30 years ago my mom was in *a lot* of pain and not progressing in her labor) I'll say goodbye to my 20s and know that I wouldn't have changed one damn thing. Ok...maybe I wouldn't have rented that apartment in the Ukrainian village, but I guess it'll always be a story that we can laugh about. And I expect the 30s to hold many of the same things as the 20s did as we don't plan on deleting who we are (of course!). But we'll be able to do those things with a little bit more money, and little more security and well...hell, it's going to be a great decade.

Finally! A Weekend With Nothing (Much)

This weekend was the first time in a loooong time that we didn't have anywhere to go (for the most part), our apartment was back in our own hands as my Dad and Stepmom moved into their place on Saturday morning and Jason and I could just *be*.

It. Was. Great.

On Saturday we took the Great Expectations class at the hospital where were learned about the birthing process, what to do after the baby and got the grand tour of the hospital. The class was pretty good. I gotta say, those women that do it naturally...doesn't look like a lot of fun. At. All. So yeah, maybe I'll be saying, "Yes, Please!" for the epidural. I'm not going in with any set plans, just an idea of what I think I'm going to want. The tour was awesome. All the rooms are private at Northwestern. And the Labor and Delivery room is awesome. I guess I didn't really know what to expect. But you labor and deliver in the same room (giant room with giant windows looking out over the city), so they have the baby station and everything so you never lose sight of the baby which is great. The post delivery rooms are smaller but still private and pretty nice. I'm so excited that the next time I'll be there I'll be delivering little Lucy.

Now. Let's talk about the the breathing exercises. So we are sitting on these birthing balls (and I would like to know if the birthing ball or the workout ball came first as they are the same thing) and we are going through some exercises on some breathing techniques that you can do when the labor starts. The partners sat behind the pregnant woman and squeezed their shoulders "simulating" a contraction...or at least how the pressure will build and build and then hold steady for awhile and then drop off....and then the woman are doing these breathing things. Now. It is a well known fact that I am a) a jackass and b) a giggler. So we go through one round of said breathing and I'm doing ok. Then the woman leading the class (who was great) said that there was no encouragement coming from the Dads and that they should say things like, "You're doing great" or "Almost done!" etc etc. Jason knows that I am not a fan of such cheerleading and that when he would that to me when we were running I would just about kill him. But he tries because he doesn't want to get in trouble with the nurse and I'm not kidding, I totally lose it.

I mean. Gone.

I am laughing so hard, that tears are rolling down my face, my makeup is everywhere. I'm sweating and my face has apparently turned the color of a ripe tomato. I'm still trying to do the breathing and Jason is going "You're doing great" and that sends me deeper over the edge. The nurse/teacher lady was like...are you ok? I was like...yeah I'm really sorry.....I just can't reel it in. I hope I didn't ruin the class for everyone else...but really 10 minutes of breathing exercises is probably not going to get me through the labor pains very easily. I'm just happy we didn't take one of those long birth classes because it would have just been more of an exercise in LeahC learning to not be a jackass and less of here's how to have a nice calm birth.

So that was that.

After we got home we went for a long quick walk on the path and met the parental folks at a bar they were hanging out at. Then we came home and ... did...well....not much.

OH YEAH! We did have an electrical fire in the bathroom off our bedroom on Saturday morning. So that was exciting. Electricians are coming today to fix it. Gotta say, not trilling to see black smoke blowing out of some outlet holes. We've had the breaker off for that bathroom and our bedroom for the whole weekend which has been pretty annoying.

On Sunday we went for a walk and went to the grocery store and then did some rearranging of the bedroom to allow the desk to come in there and out of Lucy's room eventually. Plus we are now using the space a *ton* better as we have a whole extra wall to work with. I've gotten really good at using smallish spaces in apartments and I get really excited when things work out the way I think they'll work out :).

No big plans this week except the looming of Thursday which is the day I'll no longer be in my 20s. Should be a fun day as I'm taking the day off work and going to enjoy the City. Hopefully it'll be a nice day out.

Happy Monday All.

Baby Shower! Lockdown! Big Belly! Oh My!

Well here I sit at 30 weeks....ok almost 30 weeks which is why this post isn't titled 10 WEEKS TO GO. The flip over date for my appointments is on Fridays. So I'm *in* the 30th week. Hey...kinda like I'm in my 30th year so I won't really be turning 30 next week as that really happened last year. Yes. I know it doesn't make sense...but if you were in LeahC's head it just might.

So right...I'm sitting here checking in some code at work, and thought I'd throw out a blog post. This past weekend I had my first baby shower which was a total blast. The theme was 'I Love Lucy' which was one of my favorite shows when I was little (hell it still is...that Lucy, she's so wacky!). A good time was had by all and Little Lu got some cute clothes and jumping contraptions and clothes and I got some cute diaper bags. We got a nice black messenger bag type one so that Jason and I can share that duty. I also got an *awesome* Vera Bradley one from my Aunt in a new pattern that I love. Oh ... and more clothes.

Jason and I are going to be putting ourselves on Lockdown. We have been so overly booked and busy the past, well I'd like to say few weeks but I think it's more more like 6 weeks. With the baby coming I really want to make sure Jason and I enjoy some alone downtime together. Next week is my birthday and we are going to Wildfire (my favorite restaurant in the world) and I think that's about the only plans we have. So if you ask us to do something and we say no, it's not because we hate you, it's because we are really big losers. :) Fall is also coming and is my favorite season of all time. Just walking around the city with the air a little crisper is just about the best time I think you can have.

My belly continues to expand which now apparently gives strangers, coworkers and random office people the right to say things to the effect of, "WOW YOU'RE HUGE!!!!" To which I say, do you want me to stick this pen in your eye? No? Then shut the hell up. I'm growing a baby! I've been doing some more walking and that feels great. No more running because when I tried to run the other day (for like 3 minutes :( ), I had a pretty hard time with it. Poor Bridgette was out with me and was like...um, are you ok? It wasn't the best. But walking is good, and so Jason is making sure we do that together most nights. I really really miss running, and not running like a 3 mile run but getting out there and cruising through 9 or 10 miles. It'll take some time to get back there and I know I have to patient...good thing I'm so good at being patient!

So right. 10ish weeks to go, which should seem like nothing and yet it seems oh so far away. Dad and Sue move out on Friday so then we can really get rolling on the baby's room which is going to be really really exciting. We totally redid our closet and threw out *tons* of stuff which is a good step and we have to do more and more of that as the closet in the baby's room became a "put stuff here for now" place. Which is always a little scary.

We are all more and more excited to meet Lucy. This weekend we are taking the Great Expectations baby class at Prentice hospital which should be a lot of good information and I'm looking forward to getting a tour of the hospital.

Checked in code worked! On the branch, but unfortunately the trunk line build is broken so can't check in there yet. One more bug to look at ... if I can even find the text field that the tester is referring to. OH yeah and today is my last day at the client site and I'm looking forward to rejoining the Studio crew tomorrow.

Ok I Broke a Sweat Alright

*note* I'm not that concerned about my weight gain....just frustrated at the doc a bit...this will come out in the following post.

So all good at the docs yesterday except my apparent elephantness. Even though when I look at myself in the mirror all I see is baby belly bump. No nothing anywhere else. In fact I would say my arms have gotten a bit thinner. ANYWAYS.

TheDoc apparently doesn't agree and so I took her advice and went for a 45 minute cardivascular workout yesterday. Does anyone else think it's strange that she is telling me that I should be doing that much working out every day WHILE I am also dealing with some high blood pressure issues at 28 weeks pregnant. Not that I think 45 minutes of working out is hard by any means, but I just think it's strange.

SO FINE. I'll break a fucking sweat alright. So I walked to the lake front path in about 14 minutes (quickly!) and then ran for about 10 minutes and then quickly walked back home for a total of about 50 minutes. No problems except some pretty bad round ligament pains which is just more uncomfort than something to worry about. I'm going to try and do the same tonight although might cut it down to just a 30 minute brisk walk since we are going to meet a possible pediatrician at 5pm and then Mrs. Bridgette is getting here at about 7:30. But I think we can do both.

I'm going to keep eating healthy and just see what happens at the next appointment. I also should have a plan of what our birth plan is...I think its a positive plan. I plan on having a baby. I bet that doesn't cut it. My plan right now is to go as naturally as possible. I'm going to hold out on the epidural if I can, but if I get one I won't be super dissapointed. I'm going to try and not be induced unless the doctor thinks it's the way to go and has a good reason...other than, well we need to schedule it so it fits into our schedule. So yeah, that's my plan right now. As always I'm guessing this will change as time goes along.

Going Cloth and Lucy at 28.5 Weeks

I've mentioned in the past that we are going to cloth diaper our baby. So you make that statement and then there are like 8000 different options to choose from. For example there are Fuzzibunz which have one sized diapers as well as something called the perfect sized diaper. Then there are prefolds and covers and other all in one diaper brands. It's an endless amount of information!

What are people out there using. We are starting with prefolds and covers because it seems fool proof for the most part and when she's so little she won't be moving that much. We have no idea what we'll do in the future, but maybe as she gets more mobile we'll switch to a pocket diaper or an all in one.

Any tips and or advice from anyone out there?

In other news, Lucy had her 28 week appointment today and is looking good. SEE:


I apparently have gained too much weight. I didn't look at the number when I was weighed but then Mrs. Doctor woman was like, "Ha ha ha let's talk about your weight gain this month". And I was like um ok. It's not like I'm eating that much and I've way cut out eating out and I don't eat a lot of salt in general. So I have to workout more because I'm not doing that. So I have to walk 30-45 minutes and work up a sweat. Yeah, that's almost like running 10 miles.

I'm a little frustrated at that but so happy that our little baby girl looks so beautiful and is healthy. Oh and her head size is in the 66th percentile (ouch!) and she already weighs 2lbs 15oz! And she's right on track for being at 28 weeks. So that's all good news.

She's Funny, Dad's Running and Bloomington Here We Come

Well...at least for the last few days anyways. Monday and Tuesday of this week she was really really inactive. Enough so that I called the doctors office to ask them what a reasonable amount of movement at this stage would be. Turns out I'm golden and she's doing fine.

From Wednesday evening on however she's been a little motor in there. On Wednesday night Jason got out of the bathroom and I asked him to press on the left side of my stomach and then on the right side of my stomach and I asked if they felt different. He said, Holy hell the right side is way harder than the left. So he pushed a little harder and Lucy pushed back. Then he started feeling around and thinks he could feel a foot or something. Something was kind of pointy and rounded off. So that was kind of crazy. Then last night my stomach looked like an ocean of waves. I still think she's calmer than a lot of babies, but that's ok with me! I mean if it's true that behavior in utero translates to behavior after birth. But she's funny to watch and I'm getting more and more excited to see her! Actually..because my blood pressure has been on the high side we have to get some extra ultra sounds meaning that we get one this coming up Wednesday, so we'll get to see her then! I can't wait to see how she's changed in 8 weeks!

Today we are at 12 weeks to go. 12. weeks. to. go. Wow. that's crazy. I need a list. Because there is a lot to do before the big day. And really it could be a little as 8 weeks. Right. Need to make a list. I'll start it with, "Throw your shit away so there is room for the baby's stuff".

My Dad and Sue have finally gotten their apartment drama settled and found a great place just south of Belmont on Sheridan. They are about exactly one mile from our apartment. AND apparently their building has a pool on the roof deck. Look out Summer 2010.

As I have mentioned my dad is going to run the Chicago marathon in 2010. Right now he is dealing with a cramp popping up in his right calf about one mile into his run. I suggested he ice and rest it until next week. Everything else feels good so I know how frustrating that can be. He looked great running last Sunday though. He's a smooth runner and doesn't look like he's straining too bad. If you want to follow his Chicago running trials and tribulations and also I'm guessing grandchild updates in the near future please check out and subscribe to his blog at: http://runmarathonmaybe.blogspot.com. He loves tips, advice and comments so go say hi!

This weekend we are going to Bloomington, IN for a belated anniversary trip. On Sunday night we are going to have dinner with one of our favorite people on the planet, our old advisor. I haven't seen him for...well shit, a year? When I defended I guess. Wow. Yeah, so that should be a great visit. Hopefully the rainy forecast is wrong and we can just enjoy the town and walk around and read and relax and just enjoy the only small town that we like :). Maybe we'll go bowling in the union, where Mrs. LeahCStraightBall can actually beat JasonRFortWayneCityBowlingChampion because apparently they don't wax the lanes right...or they wax them too good...or whatever. And I'm kidding I'll never come close to beating Jason at bowling..except the one time he bowled a 94, but we like to pretend that didn't happen.

So that's all from Chicago. Thinking of a new project that could combine photography and me needing to know how to develop a Rails site from scratch as this front end only stuff has gone on too long. We'll see how that turns out and more details to follow.

Hold the Phones...It's Not Just Me & You?

Ok. So right. This is an obvious one.

In about 3 months Lucille Jean R. will be here. In our lives. Consuming them. And we'll be consuming her with love and kisses and pictures and excitement.

Now here is where I get to sound like the worst soon-to-be-mother ever. What happens to You and I? And by 'You' I mean JasonR and by 'I' I mean LeahC. Jason and I have known each other for over 10 years now. We are both a little on the odd side which we recognize and it's because we walk on that side of weird that I think we love each other so much. In addition because we worked together for so long with a group of people that we didn't really fit in to we spent a lot of time together alone.

We found that we love hanging out with each other. The fun thing about being friends for a year and a half before dating is that we are still best friends. People always have these packed weekends filled with fun Chicago parties and outings and whatevers and when they ask what I did I always say, "Um...well Jason and I went for a walk. Then we sat in the park and read". Or something to that effect. We don't have to have any plans to have a great time together, in fact it is the weekends and the evenings where "we don't do anything" that I enjoy the most. Of course we are doing stuff, but it's not anything that would be interesting or fun sounding to anyone else.

Well what happens when a third party enters the party? Will we have time for just him and me? Will we care? Will we notice? I think what's important is recognizing that this could be a question and is a new situation that will arise. A baby changes everything as we all know. And it changes it for the better. But recognizing situations that could be a little tough or stressful is a good thing. Well that's my opinion anyways.

Ok. Thus ending my worst soon-to-be-mother rant, I'll go on to say that Lucy has been kicking up a storm and I love it. She moved a lot when I was getting my tooth drilled out for a cap that is going on a back tooth and I'm wondering if it was loud for her. Hopefully she get's her father's teeth and not these awful teeth that come down the LeahC line.

Hi there, it's Jason. And yeah, I also hope she doesn't get the LeahC teeth. She can have all the rest of LeahC's traits though (and whaddya know, she does!), but the teeth we can pass on.

I think having a baby is a funny thing. It's like, hey, things are great between us and we're happy so maybe it's time to have a kid. I mean, it's only a decision that will effect our lives UNTIL WE DIE. No biggie. And if we lose us, no biggie, it's not like it's a irrevocable decision or anything.

Oh wait.

And so, yeah, it's a scary concept. I guess I just try to look at the people who don't stop living their lives because they have a kid. The kids just become a part of their lives and joins the fun instead of the parents rewriting their lives completely because they had a kid. I look to the parents who didn't erase who they are and what they enjoy in the name of having a family. Perhaps there are times that has to be done, but I'd hope that's a last resort.

And what I most take to heart is that nobody has ever said that a kid has changed their lives for the worse, which is pretty impressive. So while changing a dynamic that has been working pretty damn well for the last 10 years is certainly scary, I think it's just another challenge to incorporate Li'l Lucy into our family the right way. We just have to make sure we don't lose "us" when we upgrade to "all of us".

(oh, and don't believe a word of LeahC when she says anything about being a terrible mother. It is not physically possible for her to be anything less than a spectacular mother. She just don't have the capacity to be anything other than great. So there.)

Quick Week

Wait it's Friday already.

And Hold. The. Phones. Today is August 28th. Ok so then. September 28th = 1, October 28th = 2 & November 28th = 3. Shit. That means 3 months from right now Lucy could be here. Knowing my luck she'll being enjoying herself too much not joining us and so I'll still be large and round and just hoping she comes out soon. Either way. 3 months. That's crazy! I feel like we found out we were pregnant like just a few weeks ago. Time flies!

To ring in her 3 months to go she's been moving like crazy. After the Software Craftsmanship North America conference we went out to a meetup and I stood around and chatted with people for oh about 4 hours. When we got home and I had the chance to lay down the child went crazy. Jason looked at my undulating stomach and then at me and asked, "What the hell is she doing in there?" Who knows...what do the babies do in there. Maybe she's like her father who can never get comfortable (seriously..have you ever sat next to him in a movie theater? It's infuriating.) and so she's just trying to find that impossible perfectly comfortable position.

We also think she's really shy because I'll be sitting there reading or knitting and she'll be moving and I'll call people over to look at it or feel it and then she stops. All together stops moving. So there, she doesn't like to be looked at and already wants to be left alone. When I was a little girl and I would get mad I would always shout, "DON'T EVEN LOOK AT ME!!!!" As if not looking at me would solve all the problems and thus I would win the fight. I never won the fight.

Great day at work yesterday. Finally was able to help the code base a little and fix a teeny tiny part of it. But baby steps is what it's all about. Hopefully people pay attention to the e-mail about where to keep parts of the code so that we can keep things nice and neat!

We have another packed weekend this weekend although I'm about 1/2 through The Hunger Games and I might have to cancel everything to finish it. My cousin Lisa has been telling me to read this for about a year now and wow is it good. I already highly recommend it. Looks like book 2 in the series is coming out soon and I'm already itching to read it. But other than the reading we are meeting friends for breakfast tomorrow morning, then we have a wedding for the rest of the day. Then on Sunday we have the cloth diapering class and that's about it.

So yeah. We bring in the third trimester and we keep up with the busy. I think that next week will be pretty calm which is nice. Also if you live in Chicago start using the Chicago Public Library online holding system. You can search for books and then send them to whatever the cloest library to you is. Then you get a nice e-mail telling you when your book has arrived. I have not taken advantage of the library like I should have been and so it's been a nice find. Also the Lincoln-Belmont branch is very nice and I highly recommend it.

Good. Long. Weekend.

Jason and I took off early Friday morning for a long weekend trip to Manistee, MI where we hung out with our good friends Jake and LaurA!

Jake's Dad is a sculptor (you can see his work here at http://lesliescruggs.com) and does really amazing things. Outside their cottage they have a deck, called the Artdeck and his sculptures are set out on display. And not just on the deck, but he has things hanging from all the trees surrounding the deck and placed in the woods around the house. It was really really amazing and beautiful. You can catch pictures of the artdeck via that link.

Although it rained most of the weekend we had a great time. The area is beautiful and it was nice to be away from the city for a few days. After we got there on Friday Jake and LaurA! took us to the beach and we walked and chatted and I took this picture of our hosts:

Remember when I said that I have to get better at people and low light photography? No? Well I did. So this is me practicing taking pictures of people. Not bad...or at least getting better all the time. Like with anything practice makes perfect.

We got back to Chicago at about 1:45 and enjoyed a beautiful Day in Chicago. We went for a run which didn't go so well. Did 2ish miles instead of 3...and did some walking in there. Spent the rest of the night relaxing, reading, working on photography and of course a Law and Order was thrown in there for good measure.

This week should be pretty great. One evening we are meeting up with my old friend for dinner. Well she's not old but we met when we were in preschool. Yeah...that means I've known her for about 27 years. Holy hell. yeah. That's right 27 years....cause I turn a big fat 30 in exactly one month from today. Also going to the Software Craftsmanship North America conference on Wednesday which should be a great time. Tomorrow morning I am getting a crown put on my tooth. That won't be fun, but hoping to bypass needing to get a root canal and pulling the tooth by doing some preventative care. Why does preventative care mean big bucks. I guess it does mean that but it probably also means less big bucks that if you wait it out.

This weekend we have a wedding AND I know now this is the really exciting thing A CLOTH DIAPERING CLASS! I know. I know it's so exciting that you just lept off of your chair in happiness. Well exciting for us anyways. Our friend Lydia has already given us lots of information about said cloth diapering but we are trying to get as much information as possible because it's all new to us.

So yeah, that's the recap of the weekend and the plan for the week. And it looks like this build might just about be done so time to look at some tickets for today.

100.

So according to that little widget over there ------------------>

There are 100 days left until Baby Lu comes to greet us. Give or take a few days.

100.
Days.

That's ... well...that's close. When we got the positive pregnancy test back in March we were in a bit of shock to say the least and it seemed like we had so far to go. But there were milestones to look forward to. Our first ultrasound at 8 weeks to see her little heart fluttering, getting through the first trimester free and clear, the big boy ultrasound at 20 weeks to find out if we would be greeting a son our a daughter and of course making sure that all the parts were in place and 100 days has been on my list of ok, now we can start counting in double digits. After this there is week 28 to start to the last third of the adventure, and then just holding on until she arrives. Well maybe 36 weeks is a good one too....a month to go seems like a good milestone.

When I run a marathon I have similar ways to get through the race. I look forward to parts of the race because I can't think about the whole thing because I'll just curl up and cry at the beginning. But if you just think about getting to the next big thing then it's not so bad.

Oh I have some baby showers coming up too...so that will be fun to start getting the baby's room put together and organized. Not at all terrifying. Right?

This weekend Jason and I travel to the Artdeck and are really looking forward to a relaxing trip. Also always fun to hang out with the Jake and the LaurA! I had planned on getting to the lake front path to take some pictures very early in the morning tomorrow but turns out that even though the sun doesn't rise until 6am, I would have to be set up taking pictures by 4am to get the dark light that I want for the experiment that I want to run. So I'm guessing we won't be doing that. Jason is hoping anyways.

Rainbows, Bellyaches and Kicks...Oh My!

I have become enamored with my new iPhone photo apps. They are obviously no replacement for my real pictures (not even close) but I have become much more inspired to get moving with my real photos on a more consistent basis. I use the regular camera on the iPhone and then I use two programs that I mentioned here earlier, CameraBag and Photogene. Then I use Flickit to push the photos up to my flickr account. I don't use flickr for anything except these iPhone photos because it's so fast and it's a nice way to keep a record of places I've been. Or at least scenes I've seen. Like these two:

I took those while I was waiting for Jason at the corner of Clark and Madison for our afternoon coffee meetup.

So with my new found inspiration, Jason and I went for a walk out to the lakefront path after dinner so I could take some photos with my real camera of the rainy evening.

As we were walking out there my stomach starting to hurt really bad and my skin on my belly felt really hard. I was like..hmm..that's annoying and a little worrysome. But it wasn't anything really bad like a contraction or anything so we just stopped for about 5 minutes. Later I was realizing that I ran out of the house right after eating dinner. I'm wondering if my stomach and Lucy's home were fighting for space and the baby had to get pushed to the outside. I have no idea, but I only ever get that feeling after I eat and so that's what I'm saying the deal is.

We almost cut the walk short (because as Jason told me I didn't have to be a hero) but kept going to the lake front and when we got to Sheridan Road we saw a FULL rainbow! It was 180 degrees and amazing! We continued walking to about Diversey and then headed back home. It was a great evening walk even thought things started a little on the rocky side. Here is one of the pictures I ended up with (click on the photo for a bigger version at my photoblog http://leahcphotos.wordpress.com):

I need some work with low light photography. I tend to shy away from both low light stuff and pictures of people and so like with everything practice makes perfect. When I got my camera it was hard for me to take any kind of picture with it and I just practiced and tried things until I had the hang of it. I have to do the same thing with low light photography. As far as people goes..well I'll probably start with Lucy and go from there :).

Speaking of Little Lu, she has been a little calmer during the day. I had gotten used to her doing a little dance around 10 or 11 in the morning and I don't know if it's because I've been a little more on edge or what but she hasn't been doing that as much. The last two mornings as I am just waking up, however, she's been a crazy baby. This morning I grabbed Jason's hand and put it on my stomach. He was like. oh holy hell there she goes (I might have been sad the night before because I hadn't felt her move as much). Maybe she's turning into a night baby...or a morning baby. Oh who the hell knows. I just know I love when she wiggles in there.

Tonight I am going to visit my friend Jean who is 35 weeks pregnant. Apparently her baby will stick a foot out the side of her stomach and kick back if you push on it. I hope he does that when I'm there, I'm guessing it's painful for Jean, but fun for spectators!

How Did That Happen?

So I've kept up running throughout this pregnancy but you have probably noticed my posting about said running has gone down. That's because most of the running has really been "running". My usual course of action is to walk to the lakefront path and then run two miles and walk home. But the running part has been filed with leg pain, back aches and this fun pregnancy thing called ligament stretching (or something like that). So it hasn't been fun and more just pisses me off that actually being able to enjoy the time on the path.

On Sunday my Dad, Jason and I all laced up our shoes for a run together. We did the same thing that we usually do, but at the one mile turn around I realized I hadn't stopped to walk yet, nothing hurt, I wasn't laboring for breathing and so I said let's go out for another 1/2 mile and make this a 3 mile run. So we did and I continued to feel good. Still no pain, breathing was good. At the end of the run I realized that I could even pass a group of runners and that always feels good and so I did.

I'm pretty sure we were running about 11 min/mile (I haven't been starting my watch because my runs have been so worthless) and felt really solid. We are also working on gearing my Dad up for some training. His goal is to run the Indy Mini 1/2 marathon in May (so that we have to train through the winter) and then of course the Chicago Marathon in the fall. He's at a perfect place to start training and so we (and by we I mean I) just have to get him a training plan so he can get into a nice rhythm.

The rest of the weekend was great. I'm working on knitting a little sweater thing for Lucy which is making some progress. This picture is from Saturday night and I did a bunch more yesterday:

(Lucy is trying it on....she likes it I think). The bottom part of the sweater and the arms will be in a simple lace pattern and will continue in that purple color.

I'm hoping that I'm done with the body of it by the end of the weekend. Then I can go to Loopy Yarns on Monday when they have a sweater workshop to help me with the arms. After that I will have even more questions about the edging and this little tie thing that I have to make...plus these pom-pom things that have to go on the end of said ties. The good thing is that baby clothes are tiny and so none of it should take that long. Just so so so many questions! It's a great way to learn about sweater construction though because again, they clothes are teeny and so I can learn all the parts of a sweater in a short amount of time. This is a kimono style sweater so it should be nice for a baby.

This is short week because Jason and I are driving up to Michigan on Friday to hang out with Jake, Laura and Jake's Dad on the Artdeck. We are going to leave very very early on Friday morning and take our time driving up there. Hoping to find some small highways for part of the drive anyways.

Oh when I woke up this morning Lucy woke up too. It was funny. Hopefully she keeps that same behavior out of the womb. Up when Mom's up. A good rule I think!

3 Apps Worth Checking out

BlogPress - For blogging on the go! Works great for blogger and has other platforms available as well. $2.99

CameraBag - Update your photos to have cool effects on them. Several different effects including the sharp black and white in the previous post. $1.99 (This might be limited as where I saw it listed it was $2.99)

Photogene - Photoshop for your iphone. Lots of photo editing including, cropping, rotating, effects, sharpening, frames, + lots more. ($2.99).

So Yeah, go have fun with your photos.

CameraBag

Is a cool ass photoapp. Take a picture or use any picture on you camera and apply cool effects to them.

Blogpress also works really well




-- Post From My iPhone

Us after 5 years

Testing the iPhone app called blogpress.



-- Post From My iPhone

Write More to Write Better.

An e-mail got sent out at work today with some tips on how to be a better writer without having to work at it. While there was some good tips in it, I didn't like the topic of becoming a better writer without working at it. It's impossible to do that. The only way to get better at anything is to work at it. Want to run a marathon faster? You train harder. Want to get better in your job? Work harder and study. So why is it different for writing? True for all of these things it's nice to have some tips and tricks in your pocket, but in the end it's all about practice.

So now that I am on my high horse about writing making you a better writer, I better work at writing more. So while my code checks in at work, I'll take some time to do some updating here. Jason and I have a goal to write 4-5 times a week. Jason is working on starting a new blog. I'll post it here when he gets more in a rhythm of writing on it, but I can tell you so far it's *very* funny.

It must be funny as a parent when you see your kid acting a lot like you. Even more funny is when the kid realizes that they have so much of their parents in them. My dad is slightly stressed these days as he deals with some apartment renting drama and getting ready to go back into teaching after 4 years of retirement. Jason and I have been laughing because I'll question why he is acting the way he is and Jason just looks at me and say, "Really? You don't see it?" I'll step back and laugh when I realize that there is just about no difference between the way he is acting and the way I would respond to the same situation. My mom called me the other day and told me she fell off her bike and her knee swelled up. Not only did she finish her planned bike ride, but added on a couple miles for good measure. Yeah. How many times have I gone out running injured, just to get 5 or 6 miles out and have to hobble home in pain because I couldn't take the day off.

We are naming our daughter Lucille Jean after my two grandmothers and recently I realized how much of those two woman are in me. Lucille was my dad's mom and Jean is my mom's mom. I was knitting the other day and my dad said, "If my mom was here she would say, oh put that down and let's go to Wrigley Field". I laughed and said, "Yeah well my other grandmother would be fixing all these mistakes that I made." Not that I don't wish that I could be a every Cubs game because I do. My Dad's mom died when I was only 9 months old so I never met her (or that I remember anyways), but from the stories I have heard about her we are a lot alike. My mom's mom was always around when I was growing up and while me and her tended to disagree a lot some of her has seeped into me. Unfortunately, she is doing very badly these days as she struggles with the end stages of Alzheimer's and I think about how much she would have liked playing with Baby Lucy and it makes me sad that she won't be around to see her grow up. Or moreso see me being a mom.

But then I step back and I realize that she is in me. And Lucy will have some of that. And thus it continues down the line. We are all made up of the people that came before us. Now, I wonder what Lucy will be like with the crazy of the LeahC side and the calmness of the JasonR side. Maybe intense but calm about it? She'll be an oxymoron that's for sure and I can't wait to find out!

5 Years Ago

We were getting ready to get married! I can't believe that great days was 5 years ago. So much has changed since then, most of all of course is my ever expanding stomach. So happy anniversary JasonR, I can't wait for the next stage of our life together.

Lucy is kicking like a fool these days which is fun although I think people I work with think I'm crazy because sometimes I'll just lean back and start staring at my belly. I think people are like, what is that woman doing. But since it took me so damn long to feel her in the first place I love it and I can't help it!

So you must all remember the shattered iPhone incident. Jason and his nerd boys at his company thought that they could replace the glass with a $22 kit they got off eBay. Since my shattered iPhone was in a way worse state than Jason's iPhone we decided to try mine first and then if it didn't work I'd get a new one and he would still have a functioning phone. Well shockingly it didn't work. I actually thought it would work, but oh well, it's only money right. So after work yesterday we walked acros the street and I got a new iPhone 3Gs. Oh and a case this time. I didn't get the big case because well it was huge, and I don't want the iPhone to turn into a spaceship. But I got some kind of protecting thing for it...hopefully if i drop it the case will break and not the phone this time.

The 3Gs does seem a lot snappier in speed than the 3G. The battery is already proving to last longer, and of course the camera upgrades are great. Plus there is the video camera. Which is fun.

My dad and stepmom are having a good time in Chicago. They are actually looking for a furnished condo to rent (the deal they had looks like it's fallen through). If anyone out there has a lead on such a place please let me know by e-mailing jasonleahrun@gmail.com.

I took a bunch of pictures of Jason running at the Rock and Roll 1/2 marathon and you can see them all by going to my smugmug gallery here.

A Bit Short

So I have been a bit short of breath these days. According to my pregnancy book this is totally normal, but no less annoying. It's nothing crazy either like I'm gasping for breath. I'll mention it when I see my doctor tomorrow. Tomorrow is our 24 week appointment where I will do this glucose screening test. I have to drink some orange drink (the doctor said it tastes kind of like Fanta...I say she's not telling the full truth) and then they will draw blood within 1 hour of that. If that comes back negative I'm good to go. If it comes back positive I'll have to do some other kind of 3 hour test where I have to stay there and they'll pull my blood every so often during that 3 hour period. I'm hoping I pass with flying colors on the first round.

My Dad and stepmom are safely in town and already being put on lots of little odd jobs around my apartment. Although they both start real jobs in the next few weeks so they'll be a little busy with that (and a little anxious these days ...not that I'm talking about anyone specific...not you Dad ;) ).

With them here and all the stuff that still has to get done I'm thinking time will start to fly by. They are staying with us for the next couple weeks and then will move down the street to their awesome place on Addison and Sheridan. After they move out we can start getting the baby's room in order (it's very fun calling it the baby's room). We are getting rid of our guest bed and moving a desk into our room and thus need to rearrage our bedroom as well. We are going to paint in the room and we have a lot of things to hang on the wall, and we want to figure out some clever lighting solutions. We thought about keeping the desk in the room and making it a joint nursery/office, but decided that we want that room to be for baby only and a nice room that we can hang with them in if we want to.

Baby showers galore coming up and so we've been working on our registry. Thankfully my friend Jean is about 9 weeks ahead of me and has taken a lot of classes and knows a lot about things I should really make sure I have and things I hadn't thought about.

Jason and I went "running" yesterday. I use the word running fairly loosly these days. We walk to the lakefront path (1 mile) then run out a mile and back a mile and then walk the 1 mile back home for a total of 4 miles of activity. The running isn't easy (for obvious) reasons so I'm just doing my best and walk if I feel like I need to. I figure I ran about 1.5 miles of the 2 yesterday. Since I haven't been as consistant with the running as I would have liked I'm having non-pregnancy issues like sore legs and some shin splints. It really helps to have someone to run with me though as I can make sure I'm not going to hard and I just feel more comfortable knowing if something were to happen someone is there. So we'll go again Wednesday. Now that Jason is done with his training for the 1/2 he is free to run with me full time. And I want to try and run 3-4 times a week and see how that goes.

24 weeks means 16 to go. That's the amount of time from when I found out I was pregnant till the 20 week untra sound. Which went pretty fast....although this time I'm going to be much more whale like and slow so I'm guessing time won't be moving as fast. Good thing there is so much to do before Little Lu gets here!

How Jason Shattered His Time Goal...

OR..

The Day My iPhone Shattered.

Jason did really well in the rock and roll half marathon. I did a good job spectating, even though I was pretty sad about being on the sidelines for the race. I stood outside Jason's corral at the beginning and then I ran around so that I could see him within the first 1/4 mile. Then I saw him at Mile 5, Mile 11, Mile 13.05. Then LeahC (TheJackass) arrived. I really wanted to cross the line when he did even though I would only be on the outside of the race itself, but then I could yell at him and be like YAYA YOU ARE A ROCK STAR. So I took off sprinting (and I could have kept up with him for the 0.05 miles that was left), iPhone in my backpocket, giant camera around my neck, back pack on my back..

And I'm moving. For a non-pregnant lady I'm sprinting pretty fast...for a pregnant lady whoah, I was on it. When all of a sudden. That little feeling following by something falling on the ground. It was the iPhone. I have dropped that sucker millions of times so I thought no big deal, it'll be fine. Then I picked it up and saw this.

I am kinda sad about it. On the other. It's just stuff. Stuff is replacable AND the things still works. So until it utterly stops working I'm not going to do anything about it.

Jason ran a 1:55:something and had a goal of 2:00:00 so that's super awesome. He would write a race report but in addition the 45 hours he's working this week he's moonlighting on a C# project as a contractor for many many hours a night so we won't hear from him or see him for the next few days. Even those that live with him. Not that either of us are that upset about it because it's a) a great opportunity and b) extra cash is nice (especially after my trip to the dentist last week...grrrr).

So busy busy times around these parts. Another crazy deadline on a new project at work so lots of long hours for me too.

My Dad flys in on Thursday!!! And this time not only for a month or a week of time. This time it's for 18 months! I am thinking that I'll be able to calm down a bit with him here because when my parents are around things seem to settle down more. Plus with my dad and stepmom around things will really get rolling for Lucy's arrival.

So right. It's Monday. Here's to Tuesday!

I Especially Like This

Because last Christmas at the end of Christmas morning we had in our possesion

• A star wars popup book
• Lots of Legos
• Sock Puppet Making Kit
• Several video games
  

Sleep?

No thanks I'll just be tired.

GRRRRRRRRR. Wow what a bad nights sleep last night

Working late and early this week and I am of course only drinking one to two cups of coffee. And even if I was able to drink more coffee this tired is not even breakable with coffee.

I'm so stressed out these days. I tend to get stressed out at times and then every little thing feels like a monolithic mess even if it's something as small as cleaning up a bedroom. Because in my head it's not cleaning up a bedroom. It's perfectly organizing all the crap in every corner of the room and making sure that I don't keep stuff I shouldn't keep or throw away things that I should be keeping. IT DOESN'T MATTER. IT'S JUST SOME CLEANING. THROW SHIT AWAY, KEEP OTHER SHIT. OR THROW IT ALL OUT. IT. DOESN'T. MATTER.

I have been missing working with Jason too these last few days. We worked together for 6 years and it was great. Not all the time. There were times when we were like.....um. GET AWAY FROM ME. But 90% of the time it was the best. He's my best friend and the best coworker I have ever had and sometimes I just miss working with him. Plus with the busy and the evening classes and all the stuff we have been doing, I feel like we haven't seen each other that much these last few weeks.

ANYWAYS. IN SHORT. It's been a stressful few weeks for LeahCMomToBe. But for no real good reason. Lack of sleep is contributor, and I have to try and get better sleep at night. But I don't know what to do when I just keep waking up.

Alright. The build is done and thus I must go see what's on the plate for today.

Running and Weekend Update

Well this is still by definition a running blog. And so perhaps one of us should talk about running instead of baby things.

Jason is running the Rock and Roll 1/2 marathon on Sunday. We both signed up for this race back in April when we were trying to get pregnant but didn't want to not do things or sign up for things just because I *could* be pregnant at the time. This goes for the super cute super skinny jeans that I bought too. Yeah, I got like 3 weeks of wear out of those guys. ANYWAYS. I am obviously not running the 1/2 marathon on Sunday but Jason is.

His training has been....eh...well yeah. eh. He has a pretty loose time goal and we have been busy this summer and he has been enjoying running with me, even though I'm slow and so probably didn't do all of his runs at the paces he should have done them at. He's missed some training runs but has consistently gotten in the important speed workouts and long runs. His 12 mile run on Sunday went really well coming in at about 9:30 min/miles which should translate to about a 2hr 1/2 marathon. Hopefully it's not too hot this weekend and he can go out there at a quick but comfortable pace and enjoy himself. This is the first time that he has raced without me and I'm sad that I won't be running with him.

As far as my running goes, I've been enjoying these lower ligament stretching pains which seem to come out more when I'm running. They annoy me to no end. And I miss running far and easy so much. I now walk quickly to the lakefront path. I think it helps to get my heart rate up and moving before I start running, then I just run a mile out and a mile back. I think I could go three on the path but it was really warm on Sunday morning and I get worried that something could go wrong and I would be out there without any support. Jason will be able to run with me more starting next week when he doesn't have training runs to do and so that should help a bit.

I was super busy last week and so I didn't run at all during the week, and so just ran on Sunday. Hoping to do better this week. We are walking home from work today, tomorrow we have dinner out, Wednesday I have a knitting class....SO maybe I'll do Thursday and Saturday. Then I have to get ready to cheer and chase Jason around the course on Sunday.

Had a great weekend. Got to see friends on Friday, stayed up till 2:30am (!!!!!!) but I still got up at 6:30 in the morning. After breakfast we went and checked out the Newberry Library Book fair, stumbled home because guess what.....I can't get 4 hours of sleep anymore! My cousin came by and picked up some stuff, and then when they left I tipped over on the couch and slept for 3-4 hours. Jason and I realized we hadn't seen each other for most of the week and so decided to stay home and be lazy for the rest of Saturday night. I got a ton of knitting done on a fair isle stocking I'm making (fair isle knitting is really fun and tons easier than I thought it would be). Pictures of the finished product to be featured.

Sunday we went to Indiana to visit with my mom who is in town for the week and her husband's family. His son lives on a farm near Fowler, IN and wow, is it funny when the city mice visit the country mice. They have a ton of animals and I am hoping that next summer when I'm not pregnant they could teach Jason and I how to ride horses.

And thus it is Monday. Happy start of the week.

First Half of the Last Half

You know...that part. You've crossed the half marathon point and you are all, "Whoah I'm halfway done!" Then you run another block and you go, "Holy hell, I'm only 1/2 way done." Then you put your head down for the next 6 miles or so and look out for that 20 mile marker where you can feel like there could be a possibility of an end in sight.

I hate that part of the race.

I got better at racing it as the years went on, but I never enjoyed that part. Especially in the Chicago marathon as miles 13-17 are not the most exciting parts of the race.

So I just finished week 22 of this pregnancy, so I'm finding it very similar to that point in a marathon. Wow, it looks like she'll never get here! I know I know we have a ton to do and the time will fly and blah blah blah. But that doesn't make it seem any less endless right now.

My friend Corey once told me that when she was pregnant she just missed wearing jeans and drinking coffee. I totally feel that. I have two maternity skirts and a couple of pair of shorts. AND I'M SO SICK OF THEM. I want to wear regular jeans. I know it's stupid. But I love jeans. I love MY jeans. With buttons, not elastic. And coffee ooooh the pots of coffee how I miss them. With all the extra work I've been doing and classes I've been taking I could use more than one cup of coffee....and I might have mentioned it here before, but they say that excess caffiene lowers head circumference and birth weight. Now looking at what I need to do in the 18 weeks or so, those seems like two good things. Especially with the head size that runs in my family. Perhaps Lucy will have her father's perfect normal size head.

So yeah, for me being in the first half of the last half is a little annoying, but then last night I had my hand on my stomach and Lucy gave me a nice big kick. Which was nice.

Hey Little Lucy

How's it hanging in mom's uterus? Good? Comfy? I know you don't like sour filled twizzlers or when I sleep on my back so I'm trying my best to stop the sleeping on the back thing. Wow do you know how to cause some pain little girl. I know it's not you...but rather you sitting on all my vital organs. Don't worry I still like you a whole lot.

So I'm guessing you are wondering why we are naming you Lucy. Well actually your full name will be Lucille Jean, and those two names come from my grandmothers. Now you are going to say,"But Mooooooom that name hit it's peak of popularity in 1910, don't you know it's a century later." To which I'll respond, well the Cubs haven't won the World Series is *over* a century, so consider yourself lucky. Also the name Lucy is making a comeback as it's currently listed at number 112 in popularity, so you'll have that going for you. Plus you get lots of cute nicknames : Lu, Luce, Lucy, Lulu, and of course when you're bad the full on Lucille will come out. But you are never going to be bad so we won't have to worry about that. Right now your Dad and I are enjoying calling you Little Lucy.

I am enjoying being with you very much these days. They say that the 2nd trimester is the best part of the pregnancy and I have to agree with these people. I have a ton of energy and doing all kinds of things. I'm working late hours at the office, taking knitting classes, meeting friends for movies in the park and all kinds of other exciting things that fill most hours of the day. I like when you let me know you are in there, it's such a strange feeling but I really enjoy it.

This weekend your Baba will be home and she will for sure be talking to my belly (well she'll be talking to you *through* my belly...which at this point I say is still just at my belly and kind of weird). Then in two weeks your grandpa and grandma Sue will be coming home to stay with us for awhile. They will be with us for about a month and then they'll just be living about a 1/2 mile away. You'll be seeing a lot of them in the upcoming year.

Alright, well my 30 minute build at work has finished and so I need to figure out if my changes are the things that were breaking things last night.....probably but I don't see why they would. Alright, kiddo enjoy the rest of the day!

It's an X, so a gal is next

Hey Lucy* -

Your mother just called me over to the fridge to look at your first baby picture. Do you remember? You were 8 weeks old and not quite two centimeters tall (long? wide?) and now you're so big you make your mother's ligaments stretch and force her to make the occasional old lady noise.

Wait, what's that? Oh, right, the name. Yeah, you're a girl! We just found out today! I guess I just assumed you knew, but I suppose it's dark in there and you're probably not coordinated enough to feel around. Plus, sex ed isn't until 6th grade, so you wouldn't even know what a boy part or a girl part is. Well, you have the girl parts and so you're a girl. YAY!

Now that we know what you are (and as it slowly sinks in), it's getting really exciting. I like to think about all the things you're going to do while you grow up. You can put on routines with your cousins at family gatherings (3 hours of preparation, 30 minutes of arguing, 14 seconds of routine). You can dance around the apartment to whatever crap pop music 11 year olds listen to 11 years from now (although if we have our way, you'll just listen to the oldies like your loser parents). And, of course, you can go to Cubs games. Just like your mom when she was a little girl.

It's going to be a blast.

One interesting little fact is that, if our 3D ultrasound is to be trusted, you look exactly like your mother. I'm not sure about the eyes, but everything that below is exactly your mother. You have her nose, mouth, and chin...but hopefully not her teeth. You know, you could do a lot worse. As it just so happens, your mother is quite the looker, so you're already off to a good start already.

Oh, and the Cubs won on your Gender Day, so you've got that going for you. Which is nice.

Pictures of you:


(* we're 99% sure you're a Lucy, but reserve the right to name you Mabel or Mirabelle should you look like one of those name)

Today is the Day

Well, littlest one...in about 2 hours we'll know if you are a boy or a girl and if you are a healthy one of those. Last night you suddenly got a lot more real, because I said to your dad, wow tomorrow we'll have a son or a daughter.....which sounds like it takes a lot more responsibility than I'm pregnant with an 'it'. I don't know why, but it had me freaked out a little bit.

Our appointment is at 8am, and I know you don't love to be awake in the morning, so if you can make sure that your important parts are facing the right way so that we can see what you are that would be great. Also if you could give you mom a little dance that also would be appreciated. While I don't think you are a weeble wobble anymore...I would still like to see those arms and legs moving. Yes...you read that right, when I wasn't feeling you move I thought you were a weeble wobble, that might be mean, but your dad responded to that bit of crazy with well that's not going to be fun to play catch with. You'll see. He's really funny.

Alright, well I am off to give you some honey nut cheerios, and start drinking some water as apparently they need a full bladder for this deal. Can't wait to see you!

2 Weeks later...

means that I'm at the 20 week mark. oooooh baby! 1/2 way there. I'm feeling the best I have felt yet in this pregnancy and finally starting to enjoy it a bit. The baby is wiggling around in there and so that's been fun. Jason can even feel it if he touches my stomach. He'll say, wait was that it, and I'll say...yeah I think so, I felt something too.

Running has been good....or maybe "good" is the right word. I went running on Tuesday for 4 miles and had some pain and annoyances during the last mile so I had to run and walk. Today I went three and felt a lot better so I might shortening my runs down a bit. Jason's runs have been fine. He hasn't been on top of the training as maybe he should be, but he's getting enough runs in. He had 10 miles today and I guess it went pretty good.

Work has been busy for both of us which makes the weeks go pretty fast.

Today Jason is 30 (! 30!!! people really live that long) and he's currently playing Fallout 3 on the new Playstation 3 that his awesome wife organized to get for him. Yay for fun kid presents when you are an adult...and an old adult too!

My Dad and stepmom come home in 26 days (that's almost here!) and I can't wait for them to get here. My Dad is planning on running the Chicago marathon in 2010 and he's already really jazzed up about it. He's been running down in the islands and hasn't had any muscle stiffness...how about that for a 59 year old man. Oh yeah....his birthday is today too! It's been fun reading about his runs. He's up to about 30 minutes now, and when he started about 2 months ago, I think he could run for a few minutes. Like I always say...just move that stick slowly and you'll get there faster than you think. Look out for a joint father daughter running blog in the near future.

Thursday is our 20 week ultrasound and so we'll get to know a) that everything is ok with the little one and b) find out the gender!!! I am so so so excited about this appointment. We weren't going to find out what was in there and then realized that 40 weeks is a long long time and so finding out was a nice thing to look forward to. Plus with all the knitting that I've been doing lately I want to knit some gender specific clothing.

So that's all from JasonLeahRun land.

Well...that was Busy!

With a capital 'B'.

This weekend was chock full of all kinds of crazy things. On Friday I went to loopy yarns for their Friday night knit along. My cousin is having a baby *any* day now and the baby blanket I'm making for them has to be done by the time I head down to their area for the holiday weekend. So I got a ton done on that on Friday and actually just finished it up last night. Just have to bind off, weave in that last end and it'll be done. And by it being done it means my biggest project to date will be done.

Saturday morning we woke up at 5am because I wanted to go downtown to take some pictures in the early morning light. The photoblog is in the process of being revived, although with the holiday weekend I'll probably miss some more days this weekend. This weekend postings, if you missed them, were these two:

Modern Wing

Tiny & Swiss

Ok, so before we went downtown we were sitting in our living room contemplating actually going downtown at 5am when someone started tring to get into our apartment. We were like...um...hello? A girl was like, yeah I need to go to the bathroom. I was like...well OK, but we can't really help you with that. She said she was looking for the bacherlette party, and I told her that our apartment wasn't it. She started to go upstairs were I knew there wasn't going to be that kind of party either. I asked her if she was in the right building she said she was and went back downstairs. Turns out she was just confused as our downstairs neighbor came and apologized last night. Kinda funny though.

OK, so then downtown. Pictures and breakfast at Yolk and then I was suddenly inspired to finally rearrange our living room with some ideas I had awhile back. So it was back home and, since we got up at 5am, it was only like 8:30am. So we moved all the furniture around and took things off shelves and found a *great great* arrangement for everything. Giving us more space even though we added a desk unit to the room. We did, however, have to run out and get some things from Home Depot and Best Buy, so back to the red line, south a few stops. Walk all over there. Then back home. Then finishing putting things away, and then whew it was all done at about 3pm. At which point the Cubs were on, so I layed down to watch them and was out instantly for like 2 hours. Wow! Saturday night we watched a movie and just relaxed in what seemed like a new apartment.

On Sunday we got up early again. Jason had a 9 mile long run and I had my usual 4 miles. I don't know if it was all the walking/working/moving on Saturday but my run did not go well. I kept looking at all these couples running together and all these girls that were really thin and fit, and since my run wasn't going so well I just felt like a big fat whale out there. I know I know, I'm pregnant and this time is so "magical" but I wasn't feeling the magic. I miss running with Jason and I miss running fast and I miss being able to fit into my clothes. Maybe if the baby was moving more or something I would all, "ooooh being pregnant is magical". It IS moving I think.....but I want it to move like all the time and that doesn't happen. Plus I move so damn much and walk so much it probably isn't getting a chance to move or at least let me know it's moving. I did feel a lot of something when I was reading a Lee Child book last night...maybe the baby just likes Jack Reacher...just like the rest of it's family.

Anyways. I was done before Jason and he came over and was like, "OOOOH YOU LOOK SO CUTE" He thinks it's funny because when I face him when he's running towards me I don't look pregnant at all, and then I'll turn to the side and he says my stomach is like a door opening. He came up to me and was like, how'd it go? And then I started crying. Just a little crying though and then he gave me a hug and we walked back home.

Sunday was the Gay Pride parade and we went to our usual place to watch it. It's a bar that we used to hang out at *a lot* when we were 21-22 years old. Everyone that went there then comes back for the parade so it's always a fun day with a lot of, "HEY, so how was your last year?". We watched the Parade but holy hell is it long. Doesn't seem so long when you're a few vodka lemonades into the day. We saw all of our favorite floats, but missed the school that was marching this year for the first time. I was surprised that they weren't towards the front of the parade. From the parade we walked to the lake to sit for a few minutes. Then, realizing how hot and exhausted we were, decided to walk back home - first going another 1/2 mile or so North to hit a grocery store. So we got some foods and then walked back through all the crowds. We got home at about 4pm. I layed down on the couch...and what do you know. Fell asleep for about an hour.

So whew. I'm kind of exhausted just writing that post. Time for me to get ready for work, and Jason to proof read this (ed note: done). Then work time! Short week this week because of the holiday and the 4 days (!!!!) at my Aunt's lake house! I can't wait!

Betting on the ponies

Hey, it seems that I get to celebrate a new holiday now. Yay! That holiday, of course, is Father's day. And so, on Father's day Leah, our little in utero baby and I went out to Arlington to lay a few bets down and win the baby a college fund! And to be clear, that would be Arlington Park, not Arlington National Cemetary. I'm pretty sure gambling is illegal at the cemetary ("alright, I've got five dollars on Patton to rise from the grave in 2012").

I'd never been to the race trace before, but it was awesome! It's a lot different than I expected. It was a really pretty park with lots of areas to walk around and lots of greenery/flowers. It definitely had the feel of something out of an older time. Or more southern time. Or something. But we were there to play the ponies, not tree-gaze, and play then we did. And we were serious about it. For all our races, we studies the program up and down, compared it with the paper, and made our picks. We had theories. Theories based on facts and science. We were betting animals.

And we won! In a sense. I mean, we basically won. That is, by the end of the night, I had winnings in my pocket. 16 big dollars and 20 cents were ours to keep after 8 races. Woo Hoo! And yes, we had to bet 80 dollars to win 16, but that's still a return on investment. It's not technically a positive return on investment, but I think it still counts.

Oh, and all those 16 dollars go towards the baby. Congrats, baby, you're in the money.

I just hope you're okay with a state school.

Oh, and I also ran yesterday in what I would call an oppressive heat. It was 90 degrees out when I got home from work and I had 8 x 400 speedwork to get in. Guh. But I did it, although somewhat slower than a couple weeks ago. I may not be getting in all my extra miles, but I'm getting in the speed work and long runs and I think that'll get me through the race in August.

Heartbeat! Running! No Moving :(

So yes as you saw in our last post we amazingly got to hear the heart beating. It was so great to hear it right away and not have a problem finding it. Makes me calm down *a little*. Not a lot mind you, but just a little. I am really looking forward to the 20 week ultrasound where we can make sure that everything in on track development wise as well as find out the gender. I care more about the first part of that, and the gender will just be a nice little bonus.

I haven't felt the baby move yet. I know I know, it's early and why would I assume that something is wrong when everything else looks good. It's not that I think that something is wrong, I would just like to be assured that everything is fine. Plus it might be moving at night and I am a really really hard sleeper and so I might not wake up when the thing is most active. But where are the damn "bubbles" I'm supposed to have. GRR.

Even if the baby is lacking on the active, I've continued to be active however. I ran 4 miles 3 times last week and ran about 42 minutes on Saturday which is the best it has gone for me since the pregnancy started. I wonder if it's like training. I'm mean I'm not "training" but I'm running about the same distance and so I would think that the training and the weight gain will offset each other for awhile and so I'll be able to keep on running well and feel more comfortable as time goes on. Eventually of course this will not be the case and my mileage will probably be cutting back/I'm going to slow down a bit. But until I feel really bad I'm going to keep on keepin' on with the 3-4 miles, 3-4 days a week.

Jason's training is going pretty well. Since it's not a race he particularly cares about he's not as strict about runs as he would be if the race mattered (needed it to qualify, working for a PR). That way he can drop some of his run and run with me if he wants to. I like when he runs with me, especially with the weather getting warmer I feel better having him next to me. Plus it's more fun.

It looks like summer has finally come to Chicago with degrees in the 80s for the next 10 days. I love summer in this city and so I welcome it and the heat with open arms.

Two senses down, three to go

...although touch, smell, and taste will have to wait for another five months or so. And I'm not so much looking forward to smell. Guh.

Oh, yeah, I'm talking about you, baby. We heard your heart beat today! 160 amazing beats per minute! It went whoo whoo whoo (not to be confused with a train, which goes choo choo choo). But before I get too carried away, let me back up a bit.

Today we had our 16 week appointment where, once again, we were going to try to hear your heartbeat. Last time, as you may remember, you were not terribly cooperative. I don't know if you were hiding behind a bowel or something, but we couldn't get any reading at all. And your mother...didn't take it well. Given this, we were naturally somewhat nervous going into this appointment and I was a bit concerned that your mother might be facing another slight freakout (really, a teeny tiny freakout. hardly worth talking about). But this time the doctor lubed up your mommy's belly and threw down the little wand thingy and...

WHOO WHOO WHOO

"A little front and center diva," remarked the doctor. Yep, you were happy to comply this time. Probably because you didn't want to make your mother worry this time.

(thanks)

In other news, this doctor - the third in the practice we've seen so far - was fantastic! She was so nice and you mother just clicked with her. Combining the great doctor with the great heart noises and we just had a great doctor's appointment. Good stuff.

In four more months we're going to find out if you're a boy or a girl, but I think you already know. If not, just take a look down. If it's an innie, you're a girl. Outie and you're a boy. And don't get fooled by the umbilical cord. That's a common mistake. Okay, now, if you're a boy, blink once.

Did you blink? Wait, try it again.

Wait. This isn't working.

Damn. I guess we're just going to have to wait four more weeks.

(and sorry for saying damn. Daddy said a bad word)

Happy developing!

-Dad

Maternity Running Clothes!

My stepmom sent me some running clothes for preggo ladies and for the first time since this pregnancy started I thought I looked cute when I looked in the mirror. I love love loved the clothes and I'm excited to have more specific running clothes to accommodate my growing belly. The official belly picture (which has really changed in the last week...although it might be the pose + the different shorts) with the usual outfit can be found at smugmug, but I wanted to show off the running clothes here.

Also. I wanted to show off me being crazy because fun is fun and wacky is wacky and I'm both. I think the kid will like it's mother :)

Baby's First Art Fair

This morning I opted out of running to try to get over this cold that is plaguing my system. In super exciting news (ok, it's not exciting at all unless you're me....or your pregnant and understand the waking up in the middle of the night), I slept through the night...FOR TWO STRAIGHT NIGHTS! I think I needed to get some good sleep so that my body could fight the cold and it seems to be working. So I didn't run and instead reshut my eyes on the couch while Jason ran.

After he got home we both got ready to go and walked out to the Wells street art fair. We were talking about how next summer we would have a baby with us (that's you in my tummy right now!) and how much fun that would be. We stopped at Fleet Feet on the way and pushed around the baby joggers that they have. Wow are those pricey.....but I know the little nugget would enjoy the ride in it. I mean the thing had shocks on the wheels. I think that's something that you don't want to skimp on either. Especially since we'll be using it A LOT next summer. I think that's the only thing I have really thought about getting for the baby....I mean diapers and stuff sure....but running jogger = #1.

So to the baby...

We are right now sitting on our back porch and your Daddy is blowing on the charcoal to try and get it to relight. You'll think it's normal to use a bottle of lighter fluid when you grill and I'm here to tell you that when there is a fire 5 feet tall coming out of a grill that is only like 1 foot in diamter that's not right. We gotta find those damn matchlight charcoals.....

The people upstairs from us are a really great older couple who have a puppy named Murphy. The man is from Brazil and they are always outside enjoying the city. Right now they are playing some really good music and asked if it was bothering us. I said no way we think it's great! I hope we become like that when we grow up. Yes your mother is almost 30 and still wonders what's she'll be like "when she grows up".

We were talking about you today and how excited we are for your arrival and how much fun you are going to have growing up in this city. Sometimes it'll get to you, I'm not going to lie. But we are going to make sure we take lots of camping trips so that you know there is a big world outside of this big city.

You are 16 weeks along today. which means that we'll all get to meet you in a short 24 weeks. Wel that doesn't sound short at all...but it's now less than a half a year so it's an improvement. We go see the doctor on Wednesday and your mom is hoping that she's a big calmer this time around...or at least is planning on talking to the doctor about dealing with my nerves when I'm there.

So I hope you enjoyed your long walk today. I probably over did it...I mean it was 8-10 miles..but until you complain louder, I'm going to say it was ok.

Alright, enjoy your development in week 17. If you feel like giving me a big ole' kick go for it! I can't wait to feel you moving around in there!

Grr. I love sharing but

...did you have to share your cold?

While Leah's cold rages on into week two, it seems that I've managed to pick it up as well. Thanks, babe! On the plus side, I'm not pregnant (we think), so it's not such a big deal. Just annoying. And unlike Leah's new pregnant-lady immune system, mine will hopefully actually do something.

(*fingers crossed*)

So, since I last wrote, my training went a bit wonky. I still got my speed-work in and most of my runs, but I did miss my long run and a couple of mid-week runs. Boo. I hate missing long runs. But, there will be others (eight miles next week) and, as I said, at least I got in my speed work. Last night was 7 x 400 and it went just fine. Wait, hold on...

Sorry, had to cough up some phlegm. I'm good now.

Anyway, that's about it as far as my running goes. Leah's been running as much as her cold has allowed, cranking out another three last night. And let me just tell you how impressed I am with her dedication to keeping it slow. We all know Leah's need for speed, so she's making a real sacrifice with the whole slow and steady thing. Yay, Leah! Way to be responsible!

I can't wait until the baby's out and we can stop acting like responsible adults.

Baby's current status: Hiding behind a uterine wall.

Sweat it Out...Really?

I must be an athlete from the 80s because after having a horrible day at work feeling like crud, and ending up really cranky I decided to go running when we got home thinking I could maybe sweat the sick out. And actually....I feel a ton better. I don't know if it was just a week of laying around feeling crappy and staying indoors was making it worse, but I think that the sweat it out might actually do something.

So Jason and I ran together for the first 2 miles and then he went ahead of me and did another 2 miles at faster than a snails pace and I kept nice and slow for my last mile or so. I went a bit over three miles though, probably around 3.5 or so. We won't run tonight because we are getting our hair cut. But we'll be back on it tomorrow. I'll probably do an *exciting* three or so miles and Jason has a 7 x 400m speed workout going on.

So I'm 15 weeks + some number of days pregnant and I have been doing the belly photos after our runs on Sunday. I only started doing it at 13 weeks because really there wasn't anything to show before then. So you can check out my smugmug gallery to see the pictures so far. And I'll make sure to post them here in the future.

Still Pregnant..But

SICK!

What the hell. I have now been sick with some kind of head cold or something for a week. I never get sick and when I do I get better in about a day or two, and now I'm STILL sick. I don't find it frustrating at all. Grr.

I guess I can't heal as fast as I usually do when I'm sick when I'm pregnant? I don't know but it's utterly and totally irritating. Jason started feeling sick this weekend as well but he was already feeling better this morning.

Even with being sick all weekend we still fit in a lot of stuff. On Saturday we went to The Melrose for big breakfast and then walked to Oz park to check out the chalk festival which was pretty cool. I think a lot of people opted to not show up because of the forecasted rain, but it was still amazing to see what artists can do with sidewalk chalk. I can draw like a rainbow and a hopscotch board and that's about it so I'm always amazed by artists. Later Saturday my good friends popped by with their two little kids to say hi. It's always fun to see those kids and when they come over I am always reminded about how un-babyproof our apartment is...good thing there is a lot of time to get that together.

Sunday my aunt came over and we went to the Printer's Row book fair where Jason and I bought about 5 books..usually we don't find anything because there is just too much stuff but lucked out and got some books we've been looking for at used prices. After the book fair we headed back to our apartment and watched Wall-E on blue ray and had some bbq dinner. although our charcoal was totally ruined (how does rain get into a plastic tupperware thing) and so we had to cook the meat on the stove...ah well it was still all delicious.

No running for me since I've been feeling like poop and looking forward to feeling better so I can get running again! well that and so I can stop feeling like poop. Did I mention I hate being sick.

Full Weekend

Well kids, it looks like LeahC is back (well....almost I guess) to her pre-pregnancy fighting self. As I'm sure we all remember before the ever expanding tummy came to be I would be busy and have a million things planned on our weekends and we would go for epic long walks just to have stuff to do. Then the first trimester came and everyone asked, "Where did LeahC go?", as I would be asleep on the couch for most of the weekends, and forget doing anything after work.

Last week I finally finally started feeling better. It's like when you are sick and you think you'll never get better and then when you do it's like...oh wow, the cloud lifted and I'm all better now. Very similar feeling to entering the 2nd trimester...at least for me. And while I still don't feel like myself, it's a ton ton better.

This weekend was full of good stuff. On Saturday morning I got a facial at a spa in Wicker Park and from that Jason and I walked downtown where I had a knitting class at 1pm. It's such a good walk and one of the things we miss the most about living over on the west side was how easy it was to walk downtown. On the way we stopped at the Blommer Chocolate factory and picked up some treats and holy hell does that place make a good chocolate. Jason and I both highly recommend the dark chocolate covered pretzels.

After knitting (where I finished a sock! yay me!), we took the train back home and got ready for dinner and then took the bus back to the bucktown area where we met some friends for dinner at Club Lucky. Fun kids to hang out with and hoping to hang out with them more in the future. We got home at like 11pm (I know! It's like I'm up with the big kids!) and Jason had a few martini's with dinner and wasn't feeling the get up at 6:30 to race a race that doesn't really matter. So we scratched the race from our Sunday dance card and started watching Terminator 2 (we are on a Terminator kick in preparation for seeing the newst movie).

We still got up early on Sunday...ok ok, I got up early on Sunday and the proceeded to jump on the bed until Jason got up. We went for breakfast at Ann Sathers (always delicious) and then headed home and decided to read on our back porch. As soon as I sat down in our papazon chair on the porch with the sun hitting me, my eyelids suddenly weighed a few tons and I was out for the count. So we each took some naps. After which Jason decided that since he already blew the race he might as well blow it totally and decided to run with me for my slow 4 miles. Feeling better in general makes for feeling better as I run as well. I wonder how long I'll be able to run in this pregnancy. I hope for the whole thing as I just feel so so much better when I'm running.

After the run we went for a walk to Lincoln park to enjoy the weather and then we were sufficiently all walked out. We had a relaxing evening at home, watched the Cubs get pummled by the Dodgers, tried to not throw things at the the TV in annoyance at the ESPN announces. We know, we know, they are the best team in baseball, they score the most runs in the national league....BUT really....Mr. Morgan? You think that Juan Pierre is a better player than Manny Ramirez and would rather have him in the line up. They kept talking about his first at bat...how about the second where he struck out in 3 pitches (that's the Juan Pierre I remember from the Cubs). Seriously it was just a Dodger love fest for 3 hours....well I'm assuming they continued the same behavior because we gave up on them and watched some recorded DVR instead.

It's rainy and crappy Monday today and I'm happy that the crap weather held out until Monday and let us have a nice weekend to play in.