Margaret has arrived. Let the celebration commence.

As you can see from the title, Margaret was born today. This morning sometime. I don't know anything more than that she has brown hair, but I'm sure everything else is gravy. I tried calling one of Jared's friends to pass the message on to him, but who knows if he'll get it or not. At the very least, he'll get the message on Friday. ***UPDATE*** She is a 7 lb 13 ouncer, 22 inches long, and I did get the message through to Jared. I played phone relay with his coworkers but it got to him! yay!

For now, though, I am home at my parents house. I have to stop in to work to see what Toni wants me to do before she goes on vacation. Also I must buy groceries to stock the house for when Mom & Dad are on vacation and I'm staying in the house. Otherwise, I'd starve. They already disassembled their internet, so I'm "borrowing" from a neighbor. I'm a bit worried that I'll come back next week and there will be no furniture left for me to sit on. Its getting pretty empty up in here.

So far today has been kind of weird. I got a mystery message on my cell phone asking for Matt. I thought that it was for Jared's brother, but I guess it was a random mix up asking for a completely different Matt.

Then, I saw somebody run into a sliding glass door. Normally, I'm pretty sure I'd laugh before asking if he was okay. Today, however, I was convinced that he might die and that maybe I should call 911. I'm not kidding. I almost called 911 until my senses came back to me. I know people say pregnancy makes women crazy, but I don't know if I can blame this all on being pregnant... Maybe I am pregnant and crazy? Thats a possibility. :)

Last weekend was pretty good. Jared & I went to his friend's cabin and we hung out with all of his work friends. I wish I could've done a bit more, but doing nothing at the cabin was WAY better than doing nothing at home. I would've liked to try waterskiing again, and tubing would have been fun... heck, it would've been grand to just eat a lunch meat sandwich with everyone but there'll be plenty of time for htat later. Saturday my parents & I went to a baby thing, which was mostly useless. Then we went to the second half of Dan's football game to watch him win. On Sunday, Jared & I assembled the new crib. (It was no small task. It was a little confusing.) We put the crib mattress in and....

It didn't fit. What the heck!? It was supposedly the same size as all the ones that are sold in the store. I read the dimensions on the mattress label. I KNEW something had to be wrong because when the crib was assembled in the store, the regular store mattress fit nice and snugly inside. SO! I got out the ruler, and I measured my crib mattress and... THE TAG WAS LYING! Somehow, the mattress wasn't actually the size advertised on its label.

So we went out to Target & picked out the biggest looking mattress (even though they're all the same size, supposedly) and bought it to check the size. We're going to return it on Friday, but at least now we know that we can put it onto the registry and if somebody buys it, it fits. Hooray.

I even got Jared a father's day present, but he CHEATED and opened it early. I should've taken it back, but... I'm a softy? We did our own early mini celebration and grilled corn on the cob and ate honey ham. Jared loves honey baked ham like nobody's business. I don't like it, but it was the thought, right?

The apartment has been so hot. Even though its only been 80 or so, it feels like death in the apartment. My feet got really puffy last night because I had them dangling off the end of my bed. It was pretty grotesque. To take advantage of the a/c, I spent an extra long time grocery shopping in the refrigerated section.. it was soo nice. Cub had their chicken breasts on sale for a dollar a pound, so I was pretty pumped. Its not too often that you go to the store for chicken and its on sale! Never thought I'd be so excited for chicken, but I was. I spent most of yesterday freezing chicken breasts and ground beef. I never thought I'd eat so much meat, but since the Dr. said eat meat.. I eat meat. I am a slave to my fetus.

Which may be how I can gain weight so fast. 4 pounds in four weeks? Disgusting. The doctor was happy but still, even though I know I'm supposed to gain weight... it feels so wrong. Because chances are, I will not lose 4 pounds in four weeks after he's born..

Still no converter box coupon. It was supposed to have been shipped out over 10 days ago. I think maybe a neighbor stole it or something, because our mailboxes don't lock or anything. The government website isn't so clear on the what-to-do-if-your-coupons-don't-arrive situation. They refer you to the "contact us" page of their website, but then I contacted them using htat number and it says that the number is only for ordering coupons. What am I to do?

PS. I shouldn't have posted that count down timer onto my blog. It makes it seem like forever.

Grilling out.

Tonight I grilled hamburgers at my sister's house, and paired that with mashed potatoes & pear. I made up a bunch of mashed potatoes (literally a whole bag's worth) and put them in the freezer in individual portions last night. The pear was about perfectly ripe. Yum.

Last night I hung out with Jared & Nirmal. Nirmal is from Nepal and he is absolutely hilarious. (And Jared was OK, too. :) ) Today is Jared's first real day of orientation so tomorrow when he comes home he might have interesting stories to tell me. Apparently all of the parents at parent orientation are a bit psycho, and some of them refused to leave their children. I was watching some of the high schoolers while I was on campus and they were like "Oh yeah, nobody is going to know we're still in high school. We totally look like college kids."

They were wrong. 1. College kids would not be walking around in giant herds, acting all excited about everything. 2. They are all wearing dorky looking name tags. 3. They were excited about the food at UDS.

Obviously they weren't college students. We are so cooler than that.

For those of you asking about Irene, still no baby yet. However, I did see MaryBeth's baby, Reese. For being a baby, he's pretty cute and he's about 3 months old. I think its a bit weird though that babies' arms barely reach above their heads.

This weekend there is a baby expo thing that I'm going to go to. My doctor suggested it to me to get some free things, so I thought.. hey, free stuff. I like free stuff. It'll be worth a couple hours of my time if I get free things.

Babyzilla (if he were normal sized & didn't run larger than normal) is a bit more than 2 pounds now... Sometimes he stabs out parts of me and I can feel small pieces of him, but I honestly couldn't say if it is his head, butt, elbow... I have no idea. Jared thinks its kinda creepy and worries I'm going to poke BZ's head's soft spot. If he saw how rough the CNM was with my belly, he'd probably barf. She like.. Completely shoves at my stomach.

I admit, its freaky. Its very sci-fi to watch my stomach jerk around, and its more than a little annoying when I'm on my laptop and the whole thing jiggles around. Also, sometimes my stomach sticks out lopsided-ly. I'm not sure if its noticeable to others, but when I look down from the top its definitely not even. Also, my belly button is starting to get really gross.

Jared & I may have settled on a name, but we're not telling you what it is. You'll have to wonder.

Bad day.

Today hasn't been a good day. I got paranoid this morning about a weird mole that appeared on my arm with unnice looking edges. I hit my head slipping a bit in the shower. I burnt my muffins. City sewer is doing work outside my house and it makes it loud in the apartment. My favorite underwear got a hole in them.

I decided that in an effort to be happy I am going to go out with Steven for ice cream. Its his birthday tomorrow so I thought that might be a good idea. Maybe just getting out of the apartment and being around some people will make things seem better.

Right now I'm stopped by at my sister's house to look up directions to the ice cream shop & to figure out some things I've got missing from a recipe. I already feel a little better with Paul the Cat here to pet. Maybe tonight I can feel motivated and unpack a lot of boxes. That might make me feel better about being in the apartment. The extra space might make it seem more like home.

Still borrowing wireless...

I’m back at the apartment after Kayla’s graduation and hanging out with my brother. Last weekend was also Jared’s family & friends preview night. He did a way better job than I imagined… Even on a kick line. He had to read some lines over a microphone, and when he did the baby kicked. Coincidence, or does the Babyzilla know Jared? I think he knows Jared.

Last night Appleby’s had half price appetizers so Jared & I went out with a bunch of his friends. They were all pretty nice. I had a good time, and even better than having a good time I had spinach and artichoke dip. Mmmm.. My favorite.

I got a couple more boxes unpacked, but I still can’t really tell a difference yet. I should just buckle down and figure out where to put all of my misfit things, but I never feel like doing it. Today was rainy and cloudy so I took a nap and went through a few things in the baby’s room.

I talked to Jared’s grandparents today and got the recipe for his favorite 7up cake. (I had it once and lost it I think.) I’m going to make it for him and his friends to celebrate being done with training this week. Its been cool enough outside that I’m in the mood to bake and let the kitchen warm up. It’ll give me another reason to delay unpacking boxes, plus I’ll get to use the Kitchenaid… That thing is so awesome!

Aside from the boxes I’ve got left to unpack, things are starting to come together in the apartment. Babyzilla has most of the major things that he needs. I got a crib that the mattress will fit into, but I left the hardware for it in LaCrosse so I’ll have to put it together later. The only things I think he needs still are the textile type items (blankets, burp clothes, towels, some clothes) and diapers, optional toy/entertainment items, etc. I’ve updated my Target registry to reflect things I still need, and it still seems like the list is pretty long. At least the big ticket items are mostly taken care of.

I’ve got some gardening work to take care of if it ever stops raining this week, so I’m not too sure what my schedule is going to be. I was thinking about driving to Green Bay, but if I can’t get my gardening done tomorrow then I might not be able to go. My parents wanted to take a truck load to my brother so they can clear more things out of their house. They’ve already got the house sold so now they can really start moving things up here.

But now that I’ve written this post, I’ve got to walk to campus and use their internet to post it… Still triyng to figure out what to do to get internet. I don’t really want to pay Comcast $40/month for internet, but its looking like it might be the only option.

26 weeks.

Not much more to report from yesterday. I ate Mr. D's donuts and I played with the dog int he back yard for a while, but maybe something exciting will happen. The day is still young.

Babyzilla is 26 weeks now... Well, actualyl he's only been alive for 24 of those weeks but since thats how they measure, I won't say anything about it. 26 weeks means that if he were born now, he'd have a 90% survival rate. Which is good...

I'd say that I find that little factoid reassuring, but honestly I never gave much thought to anything bad happening so it doesn't much change anything for me. Its just not a worrysome issue to me. In fact, I'm not worried about all that much at the moment. (It may be because I've forgotten so much stuff, but I guess I'll take forgetting over worrying.) My biggest concern today is whether I should wear shorts or pants. My legs are a tad hairy...

I'm going to go sit outside and watch for butterflies, now. Maybe I'll have something exciting happen later.

Mini golf.

Today was pretty low key. We went mini golfing. I got stuck in the water. I lost. Jim won. He always does. It was fun anyway.

I almost caught an awesome butterfly but I didn't have anything but my bare hands so it was near impossible. I might've been able to get it, but my dad and my brother just watched so I didn't have the team coordination to back me up. They don't understand! It was a pretty black one with blue spots, I have no idea what it was and its one I've never seen before. It would've been a good addition to the collection... I've got to get art onto my walls somehow, and I am going to catch it!

Dad broke the glass inlay to my table when I gave it to him to measure it, so now I'm missing two panes. Do I send him another one or shall I trust my measurements of the holes for him to get new pieces cut? Decisions decisions...

Other than that, I've been chilling at home doing nothing.

In My Womb.

I'm back at home again so I have internet for a time. The ride home was pretty bland compared to my last deer run in. I did see some birds duking it out mid air, though. It was interesting to watch because it was 3 little birds picking on one giant bird. I've never seen anything like that. Birds are so entertaining. I miss Nasty Old Crow from my dorm already... I can't watch him dragging around shiny things anymore.

I started narrating my life this week so I realized maybe I should turn the radio on or something so I don't go crazy. I got tired of listening to modern music so I put on an oldies station. It didn't help to stop the craziness. Now everytime The Beach Boys' hit "In my Room" comes on I change the words to make it "In my Womb." Creepy, I know. I change some of the other lyrics too but since I don't completely know all the words it ends up with me mumbling random things and then saying "In my womb" over and over. I've got a long way to go before I could ever take on Weird AL.

Yesterday I unpacked two boxes but you couldn't really tell from the looks of things. Still much more stuff to put away, and I get tired and bored quickly. So bored that I made up a new game I call Guess-how-long-it-will-take-for-BZ-to-kick-the-remote-off-my-belly. It pretty much works the way the name implies... I put the remote on my belly, and I time how long it takes before it gets knocked off. Trust me. Its exciting.

Doctor's appointment was boring. She told me that he's head down, big... Nothing really important. She laughed at my swollen hands a bit, and asked me what flavor of glucose drink I'd like for my next visit. I chose fruit punch... because fruit punch already tastes kind of nasty so maybe it really will taste like fruit punch. I've got to start going in every two weeks now, so I'll be shuttling back and forth a lot these days...