This blog is about to die, at least for now

Blogger has decided to discontinue supporting FTP blogs hosted on custom domains and Haloscan is closing down their commenting service. So the technology that enables me to post to this blog is dying. Given how infrequently I post, I'm going to let it die a quiet death for now. You can still find me online on Flickr, Facebook, and own my own sites (not that I post new content to those much). If I ever get a wild hair to migrate my blog to WordPress I'll post about it here (and likely continue to use the same URL). Thanks to those who read. Sorry I turned into a Facebooker. It's really the devil and we will all look back at it and laugh soon.

Plagues, Locusts, and Other Stresses

This month has been full of unplanned difficulties. We started out the month with a call from the bank asking about some suspicious charges--turns out our debit card was being used online fraudulantly to make purchases. We've had various problems since then with auto-paid bills bouncing and so forth since we had to get new debit cards. Resolving this problem is ongoing.

Next came our annual 4th of July party, which was great but a lot of work. We also ended up throwing out a ton of meat due to unexpectedly low turnout.

Then two days later one of the toddlers at the party came down with chickenpox--Katie's first infectious disease exposure. Thankfully she didn't end up getting it, but I had to avoid close contact with other babies for the 21 day incubation period. :-S

Around the same time Katie was teething and cut her first two teeth. This was good but she was fussy for a while.

Right after her teeth cut I got sick with a cold that lasted about 10 days (with a 10 day cough follow-on). Katie caught the cold from me--her first--but she had a much milder case.

This is a hazy period marked by sleeping whenever possible and working as much as I could handle. Of course my freelance projects picked up this month as well. Benjamin had a big presentation at work to prep for as well.

Around this time it became clear that Benjamin's boss wasn't going to approve his working four 10s to take care of Katie on Thursdays while I worked. I was working until 4-5am some nights to make up hours I couldn't fit in during the day. (Now Katie's grandparents are taking her for a second day each week.)

Then the locusts descended: we discovered we had bedbugs. "That's okay," I thought. "Thank god we have a pest maintenance plan" (leftover from when we had rodents in the attic this winter/spring and had to replace all our insulation). It turns out, though, that bedbugs are evasive and expensive to eradicate so they're not covered by any of the maintenence plans. No, treatment for bedbugs is $150/hour.

So we've spent the last two weeks bagging everything in our bedroom, throwing away our bed, putting our belongings in the yard in black plastic bags on the lawn or in ziplocs in the freezer. We shelled out the cash for professional treatment and fancy traps and bought a nice new bed and all new bedding (we took the opportunity to upgrade to a King).

On Friday I was walking through the kitchen and heard an alarm clock...in the freezer. It turns out I didn't close the freezer properly and our electronics defrosted. Not ideal in this hot weather, but hopefully they'll survive.

Later on Friday our new bed arrived (after I scrubbed the room) and it's great, though they refused to take our old bed away (yes, I'd checked ahead).

Yesterday I opened up a few bags from the yard to wash and reclaim a few things. As I was loading the washer I saw a small bug crawling on bedding in the bag. It turns out it's a baby bedbug, which looks considerably different from an adult. (Now that we Googled for photos, I think I saw one in Katie's room too.) Then later last night Benjamin saw an adult bedbug crossing the bathroom floor.

So here we go again. I just can't believe the bugs lived through that high heat. I guess we hatched the eggs. Yuck. Happy August.

Cutie patootie

I eat dirty birdy feet by Corinne S.

Lovin this pic of my cute 8 month old. Yea, I know I never blog anymore. Sorry.

6 month checkup

Katie's in the 90th percentile for all her stats. Weight 18 pounds, 3
ounces. Height 27". She took her immunizations valiantly and the
doctor says she looks great. :-)

I love this city!

Maple, Katie, and I are walking in an urban wildlife preserve (we
wandered here after shopping at the U Village) with so many beautiful
birds. Somehow when nature and city meet, it's particularly poignant.
Love it.
>

Anniversary

"Feeding herself" by Corinne S.

This past weekend Benjamin and I spent our first night away from Katie to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary. My mom stayed at our house with Katie, who did surprisingly well. Benjamin and I went out for dinner, browsed at Elliot Bay Books (wishing it was Powell's), and slept at Hotel Max. In the morning we went to brunch at Portage Bay Cafe and then browsed the nearby antique store. It was a nice local getaway.

My egg gets her own egg

Katie's egg by Corinne S.

Katie, now freshly 5 months old, had her first Easter this weekend. Easter isn't a big holiday in my family, but Piper's family has an egg-dying and hunting tradition that I thoroughly enjoy and Sara was kind enough to invite us. We had a good time hanging out with everyone, despite being 3.5 hours late after a giant (and much-needed by mom) nap.

More photos on Flickr

Girls in Mexico

Look at my dirty feet! by Corinne S.

Yes, my blog has gone stagnant. What can I say? I am a typical new mom in some ways. ;-) Katie and I just got back from Mexico a week ago. It was a pretty last-minute tripe with just two weeks notice. My mom and Rich decided to use some of their time-share trade-in time for my mom's birthday. When they booked their two weeks they ended up with a two-bedroom suite for the second week. Being the incredibly generous folks they are, they invited my grandma, me, and Katie to come down and use the second room. We just had to pay airfare and incidentals.

At first I thought this was ridiculous. Fly to Mexico only weeks after quitting my job and ceasing to bring income into the house (oh, did I mention I quit my job? Oops.)? But my selfless and supportive husband pointed out that, despite not being able to take vacation time himself, I should take this rare opportunity for an affordable vacation in the sun with other adults around to help with the baby. So we did it. One expedited infant passport and a lot of rigamarole later, we were at SeaTac on our way to Mazatlan. My grandma (Katie's "GG") flew down and back with us and we met my mom and Rich there. We left at 5am on a Tuesday (ugh) and headed back the following Monday afternoon. Katie did great on the plane and received A's from nearby passengers, only giving me hell on the final flight home (2 poops and a 2 hour "don't move an inch mom" lap nap).

While we were there Katie had a bit of separation anxiety and didn't want anyone but me to hold her. She also started sleeping only catnaps unless I slept with her. Still, she did really well considering the upheaval. We never got in in the pool, but I did stick her little toesies in the ocean and the sand. This picture is evidence.

There are more pictures of the trip on my Mazatlan set on Flickr and my mom's Mazatlan set on Flickr.

For any parents planning to travel with infants soon (Katie was a little under 5 months during the trip) here's my advice:

• You aren't required to use a car seat in Mexico and no one does, so if you're not renting a car or buying your baby a seat on the plane consider leaving the car seat at home
• The extra space in bulkhead rows is worthwhile, even with the hassle of no under-seat space for your stuff
• There are no changing spaces on most planes, so change the diaper right before getting on the plane whenever possible. Still, come prepared with your own little changing mat and some ingenuity for the blowouts that may occur with pressure changes
• It costs 10% of the adult fare + airport fees and taxes to have a "lap baby" on international flights
• Yes, you have to have a passport for your baby--no matter how young--to fly to Mexico
• The little baby tent (KidCo Pea Pod) was actually useful, though I don't know if I'd pay retail for it unless I was going to use it multiple times
• Kids under 6 months need to wear sunblock, not sunscreen. Good brands are California Baby, Badger, and Blue Lizard.
• You're probably going to over pack. It's okay.

Alone time

Is it sad that my alone time consists of three beverages (none alcoholic or caffeinated), two cookies, two pugs, one couch, and a girlie TV show? Also make room for the possibility of re-binking the baby repeatedly or doing a little paperwork (but not both). Oh, that sound--the baby binking wins.

Airline ticket? Check. Passport for Katie? Check.

My first passport photo by Corinne S.

This morning Katie and I went to the passport agency to get Katie her own international travel passport. Why? My mom and Rich booked a trip to Mexico and ended up with a 2 bedroom suite for the second week of their stay. Rather than using the second bedroom as an oversized dressing room (as I might), they generously invited me, Katie, and my grandma to join them in Mazatlan for a week, two week from now.

Benjamin has to stay home and work, but he selflessly encouraged my unemployed ass to go take this rare vacation opportunity. He's even going to look after 2 pugs while we're gone!

Eco-yuppy

I think it says something about me that I envy other people's cool resusable shopping bags. ;-)

(Yes, I know I never blog anymore. Facebook steels all my random thoughts for posting.)

Rougher than usual week

Katie's new harness by Corinne S.

This week Katie was fitted with this harness to correct the formation of her hip joints and avoid hip dysplasia. She's not a fan, but is gradually adjusting. After a couple of major freak-outs, resulting in the overnight removal of said harness, we're working up to having her wear it 23 hrs/day. :'-(

She'll get another hip ultrasound in early March to see whether things have improved. Can I tell you how much I want that to be the end of the harness? I miss my leg-kicking, sweet dispositioned girl.

Play dates...sort of

Baby Snacks by Corinne S.

I have been very quiet on the blog. I think perhaps I am a little shy about my entirely mommy-centered existence. It's new and unfamiliar. I'm proud, and yet embarrassed. What can I say? I may as well gush about how fantastic my child is and tell you everything I know about cloth diapers and newborn poop. Why not? I have blogged whatever whims caught my fancy before. Why should I stop now.

I regularly participate in various "moms' groups", though not the ever-popular PEPS since that just didn't come together (read: I didn't get around to signing up). I am a huge proponent of the First Weeks group in Seattle and would (and do) recommend it to every new mom I know. Even second time moms would likely enjoy it, even if they might not learn as much new stuff.

Another group I'm enjoying, is the group of women from my childbirth class. I affectionately refer to it as Lamaze Mommies. There are just four of us in this "club." We've been getting together on Monday afternoons and this week I hosted. Katie needed a nap only an hour into the gathering so I had unusually free hands. I took a bunch of pictures of the other babies, posted in a set I call Lamaze Babies. This one is a particularly funny, layered image.

Looking back

I was just logging on to make a post and was amazed to see the Blogger Dashboard tell me this blog has 1,509 posts on it. That seems like a lot for my silly little personal blog. So I was looking back to my first posts in June 2004 and this one made me giggle. No, it's not that funny. I think it just strikes me that way because I'm currently writing my annual review at a different company, while on maternity leave. The (self-)evaluation never ends. I have two (theoretically) more sustantial posts currently borking in the Flickr-Blogger web services morass. More fun for you when those are working again.

Healthy babe

Over 14 pounds (full of milk) by Corinne S.

Katie had her 2 month well baby check today and she weighed in at 14 pounds 1 ounce and was 23.5" long. That's 97+% of average for weight and 90% for height.

She also got her first shots, so she's been fussier than usual and seems to have a decreased appetite. All normal I suppose.

Blues Concert for Good Causes

My father-in-law's blues band is playing on the 30th. If you're interested in that sort of thing, or in raising money for the West Seattle Unitarian church, then check out the flyer for details.

Cuteness in orange

Cuteness in orange by Corinne S.

Can I get a three-for-one post (Flickr + blog + Facebook)? Let's find out...

Fuss budget

Fuss budget by Corinne S.

This is a bit of a test.

Set: Kaitlin
- Taken at 7:16 PM on January 11, 2009 - iPhone upload by ShoZu

New photos

Family portrait--2 months old by Corinne S.

I posted a group of new photos last night of our little 2 month old (my how time flies!). Here's the latest in the family portrait series.

Christmas shopping ends in snow

Christmas shopping ends in snow by Corinne S.

On Saturday Benjamin and I took Katie with us on a Christmas shopping outing at the U Village. To my surprise, we ended up buying a fair number of things. We also met up with Rob, Steph, and Keston for an unplanned dinner out. When we finally left the village at 9pm it was snowing. It was a long, cold, but fun walk back to the car.

Babysitting

Babysitting by Corinne S.

Tuesday evening Piper took care of Katie for a couple hours while I went to an appointment. It was the first time Katie stayed alone with someone other than a parent or grandparent. Apparently she was her mellow self (not her fussy self). Afterward Piper stayed and hung out with me. She made her famous Mac & Cheese and we chatted about babies and life. Benjamin was at the Child's Play charity auction and dinner that night. He got an HD Xbox package in the auction.

Travel-ready

Travel-ready by Corinne S.

Today I took Kaitlin out if the house alone for the first time. I only required the assistance of Claire delivering a snap n go stroller, my mother in law carrying the baby in the carseat up and down our front stairs, and Benjamin loaning me his car (mine's a stick and still a little effortful to drive). What was the exciting destination? My post-delivery OB checkup and Bartell Drugs. What can I say? Start small. :-)

Awake

Awake by Corinne S.

Happy Saturday. We're having some awake and alert time in what is our morning (2pm).

Deep napping

Deep napping by Corinne S.

Today Katie and I went to First Weeks for the second time. There were a whopping 15 mom's and babies there--lots more than at my first visit. After we got home and ate lunch, Katie took a long, hard nap on the couch. Super cutie.

Two S's: Swinging and Sucking

Two S's: Swinging and Sucking by Corinne S.

Hi Grandma. Mommy is swinging me so I don't fuss and it's getting dark cuz it's 4 o'clock in Seattle in the fall. I got my first bath last night and this morning I threw up in mom & dad's bed because I drank too much milk. Love, Katie

Well baby

I forgot to give the well baby update after Katie's 2 week checkup on Tuesday. She's over her birth weight now: 9 pounds 6 ounces on Tuesday (more now I'm sure). Her head was up to 14-3/4" around, but she'd shrunk (not really--just different measuring styles I'm sure) to 21-1/2" long.

First bath

Drying off the wee one by Corinne S.

Hopefully you anticipated that when I gave birth my blog would be temporarily taken over by pictures and commentary on the baby. Eventually other subjects will surely creep back in, but for now please note that we finally bathed our little cutie. It's a milestone for us despite being cliche and expected. ;-)

Resemblance

Family by Corinne S.

I think this pretty much speaks for itself. Feel free to weigh in on likenesses (or not).

Tuckered out

Tuckered out by Corinne S.

Happy first Thanksgiving Small Fry.

No, she didn't bake a pie or gorge on turkey, but it was still our
biggest outing since her birth so I think she's entitled to a little
nap. :-)

Content (aka "milk drunk" baby)

Content (aka "milk drunk" baby) by Corinne S.

Kaitlin has gotten so good at sleeping that I worry she isn't eating
enough. I actually think she's gaining weight just fine, but I'll be
happy to verify that at her 2 week "well baby" visit on Tuesday.

Assuming she is on track weight-wise, I'll agree with Claire's
assessment of the situation: "quality problem to have."

First Flickr video

Kaitlin fights the pacifier by Corinne S.

My first video posted to Flickr is, of course, of baby Katie. While this video may look like I'm forcing the pacifier on her, I am not. She likes it, but sometimes gets confused and frustrated about how to initiate sucking. She does this periodically when breast feeding as well...

Pretty in turquoise

Pretty in turquoise by Corinne S.

Our two big milestones in the last 24 hours: introduction of the
pacifier and first vomit. I don't expect these things are related.

Home again

A few short months and voilà by Corinne S.

We came home from the hospital today.

Welcome Kaitlin Irene Sherry

Welcome Kaitlin Irene Sherry by Corinne S.

This photo doesn't do our beautiful girl justice, but it'll have to suffice for now. Kaitlin (aka Katie) made her entrance into the world around 5:30 this evening. She weighed in at 9.3 lbs and was 22" long. She was ultimately delivered by c-section. Labor began around 9pm Sunday night after some gentle prodding from her parents (she was 5 days past her due date afterall). Contraction frequency increased to every ~3 minutes around 4am. We went to the hospital at 5:30 am. Our Doula Rebecca joined us at the hospital in triage and my own OB came on call at 8am. After a relatively short but intense day of laboring, I was fully dilated around 2:30pm though my water hadn't broken and Katie was still at -2 station. The doctor broke my water then, only to discover that Katie wasn't presenting her head properly (at the time they thought she was presenting her face). We tried laboring down and later an epidural, but she wasn't descending. We agreed to proceed to a c-section around 4:30pm. When they went in to retrieve her they got a big surprise: the cheeks they'd been feeling were of an entirely dufferent variety. Our girl was breech! So here we are in the hospital tonight. A new happy, healthy family unit. We expect to be here until Thursday morning. For more photos in the coming days go to www.Flickr.com/groups/Kaitlin. -Corinne & Benjamin

Missed a deadline

Family portrait--40 weeks by Corinne S.

The baby isn't yet aware of deadlines and how they're supposed to work. Yesterday was her due date, but she's still chilling out in my womb. We're planning to avoid medical intervention before 42 weeks if possible, though we'll probably try some natural methods to nudge her along if she doesn't make a move on her own pretty soon.

Check out our family portrait series slide show on Flickr to see my belly shrink as the evolution of this little being plays in reverse. ;)

I guess it's fall

It's raining and it's gonna keep raining. Plus nest weekend we "fall back" an hour. Ouch. Good thing I'll have a new baby to keep me occupied. ;-)

Pre-baby errands

Pre-baby errands by Corinne S.

While I countdown to Blueberry's arrival (on "the outside"), I'm doing a variety of pre-baby errands. Right now I'm getting my hair colored so all the gray hair doesn't make our girl think her mommy's disasterously old. As if that were possible. ;-)

Last pre-baby work day

Last pre-baby work day by Corinne S.

Today was my last day in the office before my leave. I guess I'm on
leave now!

Last baby shower

Knitted blanket Eileen made by Corinne S.

I had a ladies-only baby shower on Saturday with my family and a few friends. It was a really nice event, hosted by Claire. See more pictures on Flickr.

Triage again

Triage drive-through by Corinne S.

Friday evening I had to make my second brief visit to Triage at Swedish. Nothing was at all wrong though--they were just checking my blood pressure because of my hands and feet swelling and a few other things.

I just wish we'd been able to get my wedding ring off. I've tried the tricks and it's looking more and more like I'll have to cut it off. Damn.

Cute picture

Corinne and Benjamin by Rob Gruhl

Rob took this cute picture of us at his birthday party last weekend. :)

The final 4 (fingers crossed)

Today I had my regular biweekly OB appointment and my doctor told me I have one more biweekly appointment and then I'll be on the weekly schedule.

After the appointment I went to schedule my next appointments and I ended up scheduling every appointment from now unitl my due date. How many is that? Just 4. The countdown begins. ;-)

Threshold

I imagine that there's a threshold at which the discomfort of pregnancy outweighs the fears and responsibilities associated with childbirth and having a newborn and you think to yourself "Let's have this baby now!"

I'm not there yet, but I think I'm on that road. I'll endevour to arrive at that particular destination at the same time I go into labor. ;-) Wish me luck and timing.

Father-son birthday

Rok & Keston look at photos by Corinne S.

Today we went to a birthday party for Rob and his son Keston. Keston turned 1. Rob is older than that.

To celebrate the birthdays, Rob and Steph rented a photo studio in Pioneer Square for the day and had the party there. Rob rented gigantic lenses and other equipment and seemed to have a blast photographing all of the party attendees. I look forward to seeing the result on Rob's Flickr page.

Takeout exchange

Leaving work tonight I realized I could bring home what to me has become a standard lunch choice but for Benjamin is an interesting new food option. No one says you always have to get takeout for two.

So maybe he can bring me home my favorite Thai and Mexican takeout from Bothell and I can bring him all that the International District has to offer. It's an ethnic food exhange program. ;-)

Forgotten coffee

Forgotten coffee by Corinne S.

A public toilet seems like a particularly interesting place to forget your coffee...

Triage

I just got to hang out in the OB Triage wing at Swedish for an hour and a half to rule out pre-term labor. Lucky for me, it's just my "irritable" uterus.

I should've taken a pic while I was there, darn it. The nurse and doc were nice and I entertained myself with a magazine and my iPhone while they monitored me and baby.

Little Miss Blueberry performed well with her wiggling, heart heating, and oxygenating. Good girl.

Mossberg on My Work

Last week I mentioned that we launched Amazon Video On Demand (a project I've been working on). Today Walt Mossberg reviewed Amazon Video On Demand in The Wall Street Journal's Personal Technology section. His review was largely favorable, and the things he didn't like weren't under my control. He had a few complimentary things to say about my UI. :)

"The user interface is clean and smart, the quality is good if you have a fast Internet connection, and there are some clever features....

Amazon's user interface for the new service is very nice. All of your purchased videos are available in a library stored on the company's servers, so you can easily watch them again and again if they are purchased, or resume a partly watched rental. And the service remembers where you stopped watching a video and resumes it at that point, even if you started it on, say, a Dell, and resumed it on a Mac."

Read the full article (or watch the video): New Amazon Service Streams TV Shows And Films to PCs.

Baby bomb

I recently heard someone mention a friend of theirs who went into labor after being rear-ended in her car. It made me feel like a bit of a ticking time bomb.

I suspect Benjamin's seen me that way for a while though, based on the way he reacts when I say "ow." I guess I can't blame him--he was born about 2 months prematurely after what must have been a particularly vigorous vacuuming session by his mother.

More baby shower pictures

New mom by sben

S. Ben took some great pictures at the shower and posted them last night. Here's his set on Flickr. None of Benjamin or me in this set, but lots of cute kids. :)

Showered with babies

Rob and Keston by Corinne S.

Our big co-ed baby shower was today at Miller and Nathan's house. The place was flush with babies and it was great to see our friends. We received lots of adorable gifts and some seriously useful hand-me-downs. I only took two pictures, so hopefully Rob will post a bunch of his photos soon. I know he took a few that weren't just of his adorable son Keston. ;-)

Babysitting Dash

Dashiell sleeping well by Corinne S.

Last night I babysat Dashiell for about 4 hours starting at 8:30pm. It was in an effort to give his mommy some uninterrupted sleep (his daddy divided the time between working and sleeping). As you can see, Dash didn't give me a ton of trouble. ;)

A big project launches

A project I've been working on for some time now launched this week. It's the re-branding and change of direction of Amazon Unbox, now called Amazon Video On Demand. Rather than just offering digital video downloads to Windows PCs and TiVo DVRs, we now also offer instant streaming in the web browser on PC and Mac (or really any device with the latest and greatest version of Adobe Flash).

It's a pretty exciting change in direction and I'm really glad to have this initial version launched (especially before I go on maternity leave). You can check it out yourself or read about it in the press. The first 2 minutes of most videos are free, but there are also some free TV shows right now you can check out for a more extended freeview--they're featured on the home page linked above. :)

Birthday photos

A milestone in brownies by Corinne S.

I am working my way backward and posted photos from my birthday party (aka 4th of July). They're all in the Corinne's birthdays group on Flickr. S. Ben and others had already posted photos from this year's party there, but now mine are there, too.

Dashiell photos (belated)

Sweet face by Corinne S.

I just posted a few Dashiell photos I took 3 weeks ago. I'll take and post some new ones soon. You can see all the photos in the Dashiell and Amelia group on Flickr.

Our latest portrait

Blueberry's family--30 weeks by Corinne S.

Here's a photo of us from today. Blueberry is 30 weeks old now in gestational age and, as you can see, the nursery is now functional, if not complete. I posted some related photos as well that you can see at these links:

• Family portrait series
• Baby "Blueberry" set

Butternut baby

Butternut baby by Corinne S.

This past week--week 29--the baby was supposed to be the size of a butternut squash. When at the grocery store the other day I decided to get a sense of this size relative to my belly. To clarify though, I think BabyCenter's baby-fruit comparisons are based solely on length and don't take mass or weight into account. I think our baby is still a little under 3 pounds. (Sorry about the crappy perspective, BTW. It's hard to get good photos of one's own pregnant belly without aid of mirrors.)

Mabry has dinner at the pool

Mabry has dinner at the pool by Corinne S.

I fed Mabry her quinoa dinner at the pool tonight while her mommy swam. She's got the sign for "more" down. ;-)

Oregon roads

Oregon roads by Corinne S.

Benjamin and I are making a circuit in NW and central Oregon this weekend. While the scenery is beautiful, the hours in the car are wreaking havoc on my now third-trimester body.

We've also had hellishly bad luck with traffic on our journey, at least whenever I5 is involved. Friday we drove from Seattle to Salem and it took us 7 hours (4 hours is the expected travel time). We got caught behind two different major vehicle fires--one a Metro bus, the other caught the entire I5 median on fire and closed the freeway in both directions for a couple of hours. We also hit every misc and typical backup I5 has to offer. We were 2 hours late for the wedding that instigated this entire trip.

Yesterday we drove from Salem to Bend to meet up with my brother and sister-in-law who're living in John Day, OR. What little time we spend on I5 was a trafficy mess. My mom and Rich were at the wedding in Salem and drove to Bend, too.

In Bend we visited with my family, ate at McMennamin's, and had dessert at Goody (yummy, hard, cold ice cream). Then this morning we all ate breakfast at our B&B before disbanding.

The whole weekend it's been over 100 degrees during the day. Though I haven't been out in the sun much at all, I think I got dehydrated yesterday so I was pretty miserable last night.

Today we're driving from Bend to Portland for one last night in OR before we head home.

Excercise, outdoors, sun "tans"

Sadly these are things that don't go together often in my Seattle tech-worker existence. But they do on summer weekends at Colman Pool!

I resumed swimming a few weeks ago after an extended hiatus. The hiatus began when I was sick for three weeks and then lingered on when my swim buddies were unavailable and my motivation was low.

Now I'm swimming one evening a week with Miller again and trekking over to the big outdoor pool as often as I can on weekends. I've been to Colman pool 3 times so far and I went to the Titlow outdoor pool in Tacoma with my mom last weekend.

I have to get as much outdoor swimming in as I can before the pool closes for the fall.

Progress

Blueberry's family - week 26 by Corinne S.

I'm doing a crappy job of blogging lately, but I'm still out here growing a baby and working full time. We're also making good progress on turning my office into the baby's room. I even signed us up for our childbirth class in September, made progress on baby shower plans, and made the arrangements for our weekend in Oregon later this month (we're going to a wedding).

I've been having a lot of physical problems lately with my back and shoulder, as well as various other inconveniences. Nothing major, but a lot of minor and it's impacting my sleep. I'm just 9 days away from 3rd trimester at this point and 3 more months is starting to look like a long time from a body standpoint.

The transformation of office to nursery isn't as dramatic in these pictures as it could be because I am having trouble letting go of my drafting table and craft area in the corner. But you can see that my computer setup and TV are gone and the baby's dressing and changing table have been moved in. Also since this picture was taken I've made arrangements to get rid of the desk, chair, and TV cabinet. They're all on the porch right now awaiting picked in the next 2 days.

In addition to having Piper help me most Saturdays with cleaning out my office and moving downstairs (did I mention Benjamin and I are now sharing an office in the basement--that's where I am now), my dad has been helping us with household projects. We've gotten a bunch of small indoor and outdoor projects done and it feels great to be crossing things off the list. Yes, nesting. I know. I guess I can't be unique in every way. ;-)

Today's best thing

My mom likes to ask what your "best thing" is each day. When she asked me this question at 11:30am today all I had to offer was snuggling in the bed with the dog this morning.

While my day is still pretty far from over, I have a much more substantial "best thing" to offer now: Amazon announced this morning that, effective August 1st, they're increasing the percentage of salary paid and extending the duration of pay during maternity leave. That's great news at a great time for me. Woohoo!

I welcome additional great things to continue happening for the rest of the day (and beyond).

Week 24

Blueberry's family - week 24 by Corinne S.

Here we are 24 weeks into the pregnancy. I know this still looks like a messy office, but with Piper's help I am making incredible progress on cleaning out my stuff, moving into Benjamin's office, and turning this room into a nursery. Seriously.

Dashiell - Day 2

Dashiell - Day 2 by Corinne S.

I went to the hosptial again last night and got some good pictures of Dashiell. You can see them in Dashiell & Amelia's new group on Flickr.