So much to say, so little energy to type


28 (left) vs 36 weeks (right)

Let’s just say these past three weeks on bedrest have been interesting. I’ve gone through periods of extreme grouchiness and discomfort (being idle really doesn’t suit me), coupled with constant exhaustion; however, this weekend I am feeling better since we can now give birth safely at home.

Hooray! We’ve made it to 36 weeks and the baby is still cooking! And active! (Oh, the acid reflux!) And hiccuping! (Oh, the lack of sleep!) And constantly trying to bounce its head on mama’s cervix! (Very sensitive. Ouch!) Thank goodness for the most awesome prize ever waiting for me at the end of this pregnancy adventure. Despite my complaining about bedrest and the aches and pains of pregnancy, it’s all so worth it.

The freshly laundered pile of diapers, towels, wipes, clothes, blankets, and sheets to be put away.

David has been a complete saint and has taken awesome care of me. I’ve eaten better these last three weeks than over the course of the entire pregnancy. He’s done everything: the laundry, the dishes, the cleaning, the cooking. He’s gotten all the birth equipment and baby stuff washed and ready. He has even helped me in the shower! All this plus continuing to work full time. Luckily, he’s been telecommuting for three weeks, so he’s been home with me. Wow, we are lucky that David has such an awesome situation at work.

So, we’re now in the home stretch. It will be interesting to see exactly when I go into labor once I go off the herbs currently keeping me from going into labor. Could be a day, could be a month. It all depends on how quickly the herbs leave my system and the pace at which my body decides it’s time!

In the meantime, I’ve finally perfected my left-handed mouse action and am getting pretty good at typing with one hand while lying on my side, so I’m online a bit more now. We… (who am I kidding?!)… David has completed nearly everything on our pre-baby checklist, so I believe we’re as ready as we can be to welcome our little baby into the world!


Some recent flickr favorites

p.s. It’s such a relief having contractions and not flipping out!

Mondo Beyondo


My wildly outrageous, yet completely doable, list of dreams for the future (think ten year plan):

Visit New Zealand, own land, build a cob house, transition back to hard-core environmental science work, earn recognition for my photography, move to either Boulder or Sebastopol or someplace else that equally captures our hearts, run a (half)marathon, hear Imogen Heap in concert, own a hybrid vehicle, grow our own food, learn how to knit a poncho…

Of course, my two biggest mondo beyondos are in the bag: marry my soul mate (check!) and become a mama (hang in there a few more weeks, baby)!

What is on your mondo beyondo list?

2007: Quiet before the storm

I briefly thought about naming this post: “2007: the Year of Carrie’s Pregnancy,” but decided that seemed too self-absorbed though it probably fits better.

In the same vein as last year, here’s a summary of our year.

January:
Carrie goes to Oregon to surprise her cousin Julia for her 21st birthday. We celebrate with delicious food, awesome crafting, fun movies, dips in the hot tub, and lots of family time.

February:
Carrie turns 27 years old. We celebrate with Kenny and Yuni at the UC Berkley Botanical Gardens. David rocks his first annual review. We also attend a Kenyon College alumni event up here in wine country. We even visit the beach since it’s 75 degrees out.

March:
Laura visits us on her spring break. We tour wineries, hit the San Francisco sights (including the modern museum), visit the beach, and eat a ton of great food. Also this month, Carrie begins volunteering at the Luther Burbank Home and Gardens.

April:
David visits Tokyo, Japan for work and has a fantastic time eating lots of sushi and touring the city! Also this month, we think about buying a townhouse, but decide the housing market is about to crash. (Thank goodness we waited. Oh boy have prices dropped here in California.)

May:
David transitions over to a new position at work that they created especially for him. We head to Ohio for Laura’s graduation! We see many dear friends and family and finally get to meet Laura’s college friends. Carrie takes a Japanese ceramics class.

June:
We learn that we’re pregnant! (Evidently David just needs to look at Carrie to knock her up!) Carrie spends a day with Kenyon friends Amanda, Abby, and mentor Siobhan, tagging along on a wetlands tour of Napa County.

July/August:
David turns 27 and we celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary. We have a string of visitors: Carrie’s aunt Deborah-Miriam and cousin Julia, David’s brother Lee and his girlfriend Geneva, Carrie’s mom, and friends Josh and Adam. We make it to the second trimester and finally share the news with friends and family.

September:
We take a fantastic natural building workshop and camp out on site for the week. We learn a ton, feel so inspired, meet wonderful people, and have one awesome family vacation. Also that week David begins a graduate level computer science course online at Columbia.

October:
Carrie begins attending two prenatal yoga classes and meets some awesome people. We move from our one-bedroom apartment to a two bedroom-house rental. We start having regular dinners (and knitting nights) with the West County crowd once every other week.

November:
We celebrate our important anniversary. Carrie’s mom visits and we spend the week getting ready for the baby’s arrival. David heads to Colorado for work and spends some quality time in Fort Collins with his brother (with a quick stop in our beloved Boulder). Kate-Robin flies up from San Diego to celebrate Thanksgiving with us. Carrie also moves this blog into WordPress and it’s so. much. better.

December:
Baby presents start to arrive! Natalia comes to visit. Carrie joins a mama-baby group, makes more new friends, and then is put on bedrest. We also hear lots of good news, including that David rocks both his grad class this semester and his end-of-year review, which earns him a promotion. We see Selena for the first time in almost a decade and meet her boyfriend Taka. And spend much of the month getting ready for the baby… We’re finally in the home stretch!

Overall, we’ve had a fantastic year. We both feel that right now we are the happiest we’ve ever been in our lives. We’ve met wonderful friends (one of our big goals for the year) and been much more social this year, we’ve each maintained a regular yoga practice, we’ve traveled and seen many friends and family (as described above), and we’re on the cusp of becoming parents.

As awesome as this year was, we are so excited for the year to come. Happy New Year!

Delicious presents


We had such a treat this weekend. My friend Selena, who I went to high school with, visited us on Saturday with her boyfriend Taka. I hadn’t seen her in almost 8 years, yet it was as if hardly any time had passed, with us clicking immediately and feeling completely at ease. That’s one of the best things about close friends: once you’ve formed a bond, it is easy to pick up where you’ve left off, regardless of how much time has passed. I had such a great time getting caught up, discussing the travels, studies, and adventures of the past decade. It thrills me that Selena is doing amazing things with her life. I firmly believe she will be a fantastic doctor.

As an extra special treat, they brought along the most yummy oranges and a delectable book for the baby called Food For Thought. Oh, the photos are fantastic! We also love its educational component as its broken into five sections: shapes, colors, numbers, letters, and opposites (above are 6 of the 7 fish made out of vegetables!). So creative and fun. I foresee hours of entertainment and learning ahead of us, pouring over this book with the little one.

Thank you both for a fantastic visit and the awesome gifts!