Act 2; Scene 47: Just Some Pregnancy Cravings

Summer is such a fun time of year! 

It's sunglasses and pools,

warm grass for your bare feet,

Picnics and popsicles,

Roasted marshmallows and s'mores,

Fireworks and corn on the cob,

and most of all (at least for me lately):

WATERMELON

I have never been a huge melon fan as anyone in my family can tell you, but every day for the last week I have been begging to bite into some dark red, juicy, luscious watermelon. Yum! Doesn't that sound absolutely amazing?!

After putting it off last week's grocery trip since they're huge and Robert's not the biggest fan, I realized what an awful mistake that was. This week we made a point of buying a whole watermelon (don't worry, it's pretty small) just for me to enjoy in our hot apartment. That's a healthy snack, right?

This is one of my largest tupper ware containers. Hopefully I can get through all of this deliciousness fast enough! Though I'm not too worried about it :-)

Another thing I have been craving lately are

MARSHMALLOWS

Did you notice how roasted marshmallows and s'mores were also part of my summer list?

I don't know why, but any way they come they have been sounding soooooo good. I can just snack on them out of the bag. That's what these are for:

Thanks Lori for awesome jumbo 4th of July star marshmallows.
We should be able to make some killer s'mores with these!

Can you guess what Robert and I had for a snack today?

Watermelon chunks and oven toasted s'mores.

Delicious.

Happy summer cravings!

Act 2; Scene 46: Meet Rufus

A while back, Robert proposed a plan to me. He said that he wanted to get each of our kids one special stuffed animal hand-picked from Mom and Dad when they are born. We're both big stuffed animal junkies, and both liked the idea. Robert proposed that we go to Build-a-Bear and pick out a bear, stuff it, and choose a special outfit (or something like that) just for our baby from Mom and Dad--his first teddy bear.

So last night we decided to head to Build-a-Bear to start our tradition. And here is the result:

Rufus

You're right--he's not a bear, he's actually a puppy. But we both liked him and his cute little tongue the best. After stuffing him (and being prodded by the "stuff helper" to make a wish on a heart and stick it in the stuffing) we searched the entire store over to find the perfect "outfit" for him. We thought it would be fun to go with something 4th of July themed for our July 3rd due date, but there just weren't many options. At least not for little boy teddy bears. Funny how even at Build-a-Bear you can't escape the walls and walls of girl outfits compared to the one rack of boy outfits :-).

We finally decided on a red polo shirt (sort of patriotic, right?). Then we found a Happy Birthday cupcake that he could hold, which we couldn't resist. 

We even received a birth certificate for him, and registered his name into a computer (what?!?). Robert thought of the name Rufus, and I concurred. It's kind of perfect for the little guy, isn't it?

Rufus now sits in the corner of the crib, waiting to say "Happy Birthday" with a cupcake to his new best friend, whenever he decides to show up.

My favorite part of this whole thing? Seeing how excited Robert was to go to Build-a-Bear, and watching him (not me--him) look through every piece of teddy bear clothing to find the perfect outfit for his son's stuffed puppy, and hearing him declare this morning, "I like Rufus."

Oh yes, this will definitely become a tradition.

Hope there's some company in that crib with you real soon, Rufus!

Act 2; Scene 45: Wait....What? I'm Having a Baby?!?!

Well folks, yesterday was the 37 week marker for me and this little (big) fish. In other words, we have reached full term.

What does full term mean exactly, one might ask? According to one friendly fact I received, it means if the baby was born any time now he/she would most likely have lungs that are developed enough to not go into the NICU. And your baby would not be considered a "premie," just a little early.

Reassuring, right? Needless to say, that definition of full term didn't make me think "Oh yes, I am having a baby any time now." My mindset at 37 weeks was "I still have this week to write all of my syllabus and lesson plans, next week to finish up with all of my clients at work, this weekend to deep-clean the house, next weekend for PG's Strawberry Days, a few 7 Peaks trips, visits with family coming in for some summer fun, etc etc." Did you notice that having a baby, or even thinking of baby, wasn't mentioned in there? Also notice that this was my mindset when I woke up yesterday morning at 37 weeks.

This was still my mindset as I sat for an hour in the doctor's waiting room for my appointment. This was my mindset when I decided to schedule the rest of my visits right then and there (they tend to get pretty booked) for the next three weeks. And this was definitely still my mindset when the doctor came in to see me.

She asked if I wanted her to check for dilation--mostly for curiosity's sake. I said sure, why not. And I was still planning on scheduling my next three weeks out in detail for myself when she said, "Wow, that head is really low" (was that supposed to mean something? because it didn't to me), and as she continued, "Wow, Carson...three...no, four! Really, four?" (Don't forget while she is double checking to make sure it really is four, I am double timing my breathing on that highly uncomfortable table). "Wow, four." she confirmed. 

This news I had a little better understanding of, since I thought I would be at a one, so I was rightly surprised. The doctor continued to tell me that usually people aren't dilated to a four until they are in active labor (!) and if it was my third child she might be worried about it, but as it is, just make sure to come into the hospital sooner rather than later when I start having regular contractions. Like, don't wait the full hour of contractions every 5 minutes.

***Small tangent--ok, so this is a pet peeve of mine. Everyone (meaning doctors and nurses) keep asking me if I've been having contractions. Well...what exactly does that feel like? I'll tell them something I felt, and they all say, "Well, that could be a contraction...it could be this, it could be that, but it probably won't be this...just listen to your body, you'll know." You'll know, you'll know, is what everybody says. But if they aren't painful at first, and if I am supposedly having them since like 28 weeks, how am I supposed to know, when I know? What if I don't know? Ok, tangent done***

So this news about being dilated to a four sort of threw my previous mindset for a very small loop. I asked the doctor lots of specific questions about contractions (see tangent) and exactly what I should be looking for. She said not to worry, I'd probably still have a few hours when I got to the hospital. Then, she said the most mind-boggling, mind-set-changing thing:

"But you should still make an appointment for next week, just in case."

Wait...what? Are you saying I could have this baby before next week's appointment? 

What?

But...it's June 12th. And next week is June 19th. NOT June 26th, NOT July 3rd. 

As soon as I walked out of the exam room, all of the nurses greeted me with "Yay!" "Congratulations!" "You are so close!"

Yeah, I was a bit baffled by that response.

Honestly, I could be dilated to a four for three weeks. I could be dilated to a four for four weeks and still have to be induced. No one really knows what this means, except that my body is getting ready to get this fish out, according to its own time table. However....I could also be dilated to a four right now, and in 8 hours be dilated to a nine. 8. hours. It's possible.

Holy smokes.

Remember how I said my mindset was a certain way? Well, my doctor visit changed it--180'd it. I walked to the car and this is what I thought:

"Wait...what? I'm having a baby? Is this really happening?"

It has been so surreal, especially the closer it gets (go figure that one out), that the realization that in who knows how long (one week? three weeks? one day?) there will be another little man in my life who cries and poops and eats and I have to figure out what in the world to do with him. Yikes. Also, I have to recognize when he will be coming into our lives.

I spent the rest of the evening feeling for contractions, and driving Robert up the wall by stating, "Yup, that's a contraction. I'm pretty sure that was one, too...I think this is one?" so that I can work on really understanding what they feel like. Robert told me I was freaking him out. That's probably good for him--he doesn't get freaked out very often or easily.

Then I spent half of the night awake with a throbbing lower back, feeling contractions. Thinking that they were coming more frequently...and ow, that one hurt more! Is this a sign? Should I be tracking this? Glad to say I made it through the night and am still here with no baby (on the outside, that is). 

But here's the clincher, folks--I am really having a baby. Really. And it could be any time.

I'm still planning on hitting up Strawberry Days next weekend, though, along with all of my other scheduled activities. Life goes on...I'm just not sure for how much longer :-)

Oh, and just for kicks and giggles, here's me at 37 weeks, on my way to the Arts Express Conference for Educators:

Wish us luck!

Act 2; Scene 44: In which Robert beats a lifetime 5K record

Yes, it's true, Robert had an incredible race this past Friday. He has been training for a few months for the Ancestry.com 5K fun run wellness event. His goal: to beat anyone else in the finance department.

But I'm actually going to tell you about the event from my point of view.

It starts off with the one mile fun run, "for children of all ages." I figured that 36 1/2 weeks and 24 1/2 years counted as "children of all ages," so I decided to walk the one mile fun run. And it was delightful. I had fun chatting with Robert's co worker and his family (incidentally, his wife used to be my babysitter back home--small world!). We braved the racing and tripping five-year-olds, as well as the giant sprinklers that kept popping up on our path. We finished just over the 15 minute mark. And this time, I was NOT the last one in. :-)

Us finishing the fun run with Alan cheering through the finish line, towing his two children behind him in a plastic wagon.

Next Robert and I headed to the start of the 5K race. Robert took time to navigate through his iPod to make sure he had enough "pump-up" music ready to go (note--Robert listens to Disturbed to get pumped up for a race--I listen to Broadway. Same diff)

I pushed Robert to the front of the group so that he could definitely start before any other finance people. Soon after, the alarm sounded and the first wave took off--Robert right in the front. All of us on the sideline cheered.

Once he was out of sight, I  bee lined it to the ladies room. I hadn't visited it, after all, since before the Fun Run about a half hour ago.

Next I bee lined to the snack table. Water bottles, granola bars, fruit snacks and apples--sweet! After collecting my hoard I thought I would maybe get my face painted or try out the fish pond. I did have about 20 minutes left before I needed to be at the 5K finish line with the camera handy. I opted instead to sit down and enjoy a granola bar and a few grapes before deciding on any other activity.

While I was enjoying said granola bar and chatting with Angie Mangum (formerly Johnson) from the New Phila ward, I saw a runner with bright red shoes coming in towards the 5K finish line. That's strange, I thought, checking my watch to see that it was only 9:38--8 minutes after the 5K had begun. Angie and I began speculating about what he was doing. Did he start early? Did he just happen to be out for a jog and came this way? Did he decide to do a short cut?

About 9:39, a few other runners started coming in. Those of us (there were not many, at this time) near the finish line all turned our heads at each other with confused faces. 9 minutes? What's happening? The runners seemed a little befuddled that no one was there to greet them.

Behind them came some more runners toward the finish line. By now, there was some attention gathering, and people were murmuring and watching the finish line. The runners started sprinting when they saw the finish line--at 9:40. After crossing the finish line, confusion was had all around as everyone checked their watches and phones and scratched their heads.

But there was no denying it by this point--runners were pouring in. A small audience started gathering, as befuddled as they were. Although most people were still standing in line so their children's faces could get painted.

The best part of watching this confusion while eating my granola bar were the buff ancestry guys coming in from the run, checking their watches multiple times as they neared the finish line. Then, about 9:42, Robert rounded the corner and sprinted toward the finish line. Now, I had been planning on being up at the finish line cheering, with the camera ready at this point. However, the past few minutes had caught all of us so off guard, that no one was yet gathered right at the line, and I didn't even have my camera out yet. Basically, Robert ran the 5K so fast that I didn't even get a picture of the big finish ;-).

12 minutes--WOW! That is pretty amazing, Robert! In fact, it's almost better than the world record for a 5K! Much consorting of the ancestry guys unveiled the secret of the success. Apparently there was a very confusing and not well-marked turn just under a mile into the run. This led the runners up over the hill and down to the finish line--in appx. 1.8 miles rather than 3.1. Oops. Only about 1/4 or less of the runners that initially started the 5K went the "right" way. Everyone else ended up with INCREDIBLE times.

And that is the story of how Robert ran the fastest 5K ever, at just over 12 minutes. Too bad one finance guy came in at about 11 minutes. So close, Robert!

It was pretty awesome. Fortunately, 12 minutes is a pretty rocking time for almost 2 miles anyway. We came away with a good laugh, a pat on the back and a shake of the head.

We then celebrated the success by standing in line for about 45 minutes to get a balloon animal shaped like a dinosaur for myself.

Hope you all had a great Friday morning carnival, too!

Act 2; Scene 43: Today in Sacrament Meeting...

It started with little Payton in a flouncy pink skirt, stumbling from bench to bench and giggling. I couldn't believe she was so mobile! It seems like just yesterday she was a little tiny newborn with a fuzzy mo-hawk! When Robert and I sat down at a pew, she proceeded to sneak peeks at me--and when I would look at her and smile she would giggle and quickly hide her face. That was a fun game we kept up for at least five minutes.

Then came the Holyoak kids--three of the five, along with a little blonde girl whom Robert and I refer to as The Crazy Child. Apparently her mom and dad were with their daughter who just had a baby today (Crazy Child is a tail-ender by a long way), so the Holyoaks, with their already 5 kids, got to watch her in church. Soon the rest of the Holyoak family filed in and sat two benches ahead of us. The Holyoaks consist of the oldest girl Olivia who is very sweet, calm, and gorgeous, and about 9. Then Kate, the mischievous second child who always has a sly look on her face. Next comes Russell, the only boy, with crazy cowlicks in his hair. Russell absolutely adores the new baby (about 7 months) Ella, and is constantly looking at her and playing with her and giving her kisses. It's pretty much the cutest thing I've ever seen. After Russell and before Ella is Lindsey--the Daddy's girl. She LOVES playing with her Daddy, and acts just about like any 2 1/2 year old would. That makes up the Holyoak children.

Well, it didn't take long for the Holyoak children to realize that "Crazy child" is actually crazy--and very bossy. After bossing all of the kids around, and most of the Holyoaks migrating to the other side of the bench, Crazy Child was left sitting by Kate the Mischievous. It only took a few headbutts from Crazy Child for Dad Holyoak to come to the end of the bench and sit between Crazy Child and his own children to protect them (all the while holding the 7 month old Ella in his arms). Then, of course, Crazy Child resorted to mauling Dad Holyoak's arm, and eventually tired of him and turned to the people in the bench behind her, who happen to be the parents of 3 month old Jack Danger (yes--that is actually his real name).

Crazy Child leaned over the bench and stared at Jack D, and Jack stared back. She started yelling out "Can I look at the baby?" And that seemed to entertain her.

Meanwhile, the Wells children had entered the building--and you know it because Morgan, sporting her red velvet "Santa" dress with white furry cuffs and collar, came skipping down the aisle, her big eyes bulging out of the roundest face you have ever seen on a little child, calling out with urgency "I'm FIVE!" (Mind you, sacrament meeting has already started at this point).

And it's not like Morgan is just telling you sweetly that she is five, it's as if she is trying to convince you--like you don't believe her--that she is five. She is serious about it. And loud about it. Her younger brother, Noah, is the hugging demon. He likes to squeeze the life out of his mom and dad alternately throughout the meeting. He takes a big, smiley look at them--and then comes in for the hug around the neck.

To the left of us, Sophie (about a year old) started crying. When Sophie is mad, you know it, because she gives you the "look of death." She has a rather large head (we used to refer to her as the "big head child") with very large, long eyebrows. When she is mad, she pulls those eyebrows down and together in a scary glare. It's pretty hysterical.

To our right, the Princess (4 months) was napping in her huge frills and overly-large bow. The Princess has three older, rather rambunctious brothers. The two year old brother often gets mad and starts screaming. We'll see Dad hauling him out by his belt loops, tucked under one arm, while 2 year old is completely red in the face. Anyhow, with three older brothers, this little girl (Sariah) is definitely the Princess. Every week she has a beautiful, elaborate, fluffy dress and a huge bow or flower in her hair (or rather, on her hairless head). And every week it is Daddy that holds her proudly in his arms all through the meeting, looking down at her sweetly, oblivious to the punching and wrestling of the others on the bench next to him.

Next to us on the bench sits the Beautiful Baby (8 months?)--seriously the most beautiful baby girl I have ever seen. She has huge, and I mean HUGE blue eyes with long, curly dark eyelashes. She has just a little amount of blonde hair sitting flat on her mostly bald, perfectly shaped head. But nothing beats her gorgeous smile. She looks at everyone around her and just beams at them. Every once and a while she'll stare, start smiling, and then let out a little chuckle. You can't help but just stare at her. Today, however, she spent a lot of the time licking the bench (all the while smiling at said bench), as well as grunting to hear herself speak.

Then there's "Miss Bashful," (sitting behind us today, unfortunately) who will look at you, give you half a smile, and then fold in bashfully against her mamma and tilt her head to give you a little mysterious smile. She is cute and she knows it.

And of course there are many more babies surrounding us, as well as three other babies born last week, and two more due dates coming up this week. In fact, ward choir has been cancelled until the fall, because the three most active choir member families are all expecting babies this summer.

Oh--and there were four talks today in Sacrament Meeting...I just don't remember what they were about.

Act 2; Scene 42: A Bright Green Dresser

Last weekend, Robert and I finally went to work on our first big baby project:

Painting the dresser.

This is my old (and rather junky, at this point--not to mention covered with random stickers from my childhood on the inside) dresser. My parents graciously saved it in the garage for us, and we decided to paint it and add it to the baby's room.

Notice the old forest green color

Isn't that the hunkiest dresser-painter you've ever seen?

Do you also love it how we pulled it out on our tiny walk-way "porch" to paint? The kids who are constantly scoot-scooting on their scooters around the complex didn't quite know what to make of us. I'm pretty sure they scooted by a few more times that they usually do, just to check it out.

And here is the finished product:

Such a fun color! We love how it turned out. Now we have one item in the baby's room...many more to go :-) And many more pictures of how we decorate to come, in the next two weeks! The goal is to have the room ready by 36 weeks...so I have two weeks and two days. Yikes. Wish me luck!

Act 2; Scene 41: A 5K with a Fish Tank

The "Roberts" before the race

Carson w/ Little Robert, Robert C, Robert Luke, Robbie, and Robert M.

This past weekend, my brother Sam's Lacrosse team hosted a fundraiser 5K in Cottonwood Heights. My mom signed up the whole family to participate. I jokingly called our team the Robert Team (Sam of course was nowhere to be found near us--he spent his time with his Lacrosse buddies). 

And because this was the Robert team, of course Little Robert had to be included. Little Robert also known as a "big fish in a too small tank." Because that is what I have decided he feels like at this time. My stomach has become a sloshy fish bowl that I think is huge. But Little Robert is a rather large fish living in that little bowl, which he apparently thinks is much too small. When he swims around, that tank (aka, my tummy/bladder/ribs) really feels it.

Anyway, since Little Robert was to be included in this family affair 5K, it turned into me power-walking the race with an 19 pound fish tank just inside my skin. Now there are a couple of things about doing a 5K with a fish tank imbedded in your stomach:

#1--The faster you walk, the bouncier that tank becomes. 

#2--The bouncier the tank becomes, the more it bounces right on your bladder. 

#3--The harder you breath, the bigger the tank expands.

#4--The bigger the tank expands, the more it pulls down on your skin. 

#5--The longer you walk, the heavier the tank becomes. 

#6--The heavier the tank becomes, the more your back hurts.

The race started out great. Mom and I made sure to be at the front of the line to give ourselves the best head start that we could. After being nearly plowed over by sprinting Lacrosse players, the girls chasing them, and a bunch of running strollers pushed by moms, everything was great. We were even walking faster than a lot of the power walkers around us. "Yes!" I thought. "I won't be the last one--I know I exercise every day for a reason!"

The fish tank first started to present a challenge about 5 blocks into the race when we started ascending the giant Dolphin Way hill. Although you can't tell how steep in this picture, you can get an idea--it is a very, very steep and long hill:

A few of the near by power-walkers passed us by on this hill, but we were still ahead of a few of them. (Hurray!) 

After peaking the top of the hill, we started making excellent progress. There is a slow, steady gradual incline next that lasts for at least 6 blocks. Mom and I were passing people right and left as they waned with the gradual incline. "Slow and steady wins the race!"I thought to myself. 

By the time we rounded the corner after the long gradual incline, we were about half-way done with the 5K and feeling pretty good. Just using one of my hands to hold up Mr. Fish Tank so he didn't rip my stomach skin off seemed to be working pretty well. Taking slightly smaller steps also helped decrease the bouncing on the bladder problem. We had this thing down!

The second half of the race was nearly all down hill. Normally a really great thing, right? Well...if you take a look at #1 and #2 you will see that walking faster (with gravity helping you) isn't all that wonderful when carrying a fish tank inside of you. Also, if you take a look at #5 and #6, you will realize that half way through the race means we have been walking for a while--also not a really great thing. And if you take a look at the rest of the numbers you will realize that the 2nd half of the 5K, even downhill, was bound to be the most challenging.

Remember all of those "power walkers" (more like power strolling) that we were passing for the past 6 blocks? Well, as soon as they realized that there was a significant length of downhill approaching, they decided to turn their power stroll into a lively little jog. With the help of the gravity, that lively little jog became a quick-paced run. There was no way that fish tank inside of me was going to let me get away with doing that kind of thing.

In fact, about 3/4ths of the way through, one hand supporting that sloshing, expanding fish tank was not enough. My back muscles were starting to feel the strain, and my lungs couldn't quite get around that expanding tank. I had to take a little stop to refresh my stomach muscles (also working over time) and my back muscles. Fortunately, a minute or less seemed to do the trick--at least enough of a trick. Unfortunately, the fish tank would not allow me to bend over and stretch out my sore back muscles. Maybe in two months.

After that little refresher and two hands holding up the fish-tank, we were good to go at a slightly faster pace. We rounded the bend for the last quarter mile, and all of a sudden I realized that we weren't passing any people. In fact, we weren't even around any people. I looked behind us and saw two little girls casually strolling along, just behind us in the race. But I didn't see anyone ahead of us. "What?! Am I that far behind?!" We could hear the noise of the crowd just around the corner, and all of a sudden, fish tank or no tank, I realized we had to book it--we were going to be last! No! We couldn't take longer than an hour, that would just be embarrassing!

We picked up the pace and really power walked it the rest of the way. We turned into the high school parking lot, and saw the huge crowd--all at the food booths not even interested in the finish line by this late hour. We also ran into a couple of the other Roberts, who had gotten worried about us and come back on the trail to make sure we were ok. I looked at the giant timer clock and saw "1:00:17"--meaning one hour and seventeen seconds. My new goal became to get in before that hour turned into an hour and a minute. 

My mom and I crossed the finish line at 1:00:32--hurray! Greeted by our Roberts, since no one else had been interested in that area of the 5K for the past half hour. We made it in ahead of only those two little girls strolling and gossiping lazily towards the finish line.

 

Immediately after crossing the finish line I went up to my Robert and asked for a lower back rub. Thank heavens! Doing a 5K with a fish tank in your belly is really hard on your back. I'm just glad that my number one fear--having to go to the bathroom two seconds into the race--seemed to be averted, thank you sweat. 

But I'm proud to say that I have participated in my first "real" 5K--even while carrying a fish tank. Even though I'm slightly embarrassed about it taking a whole hour, at least we finished it, and kept going the whole time! I am also glad to report that my back has finally seemed to recover from Saturday.

Happy 5K-ing!