90/365. That's Not 4 Feet.

I HATE when people do this. This stupid lady even got out and checked out her work.  Idiot.

It's the law, yo:
346.53 Parking prohibited in certain specified places.
No person shall stop or leave any vehicle standing in any of the following places except temporarily for the purpose of and while actually engaged in loading or unloading or in receiving or discharging passengers and while the vehicle is attended by a licensed operator so that it may promptly be moved in case of an emergency or to avoid obstruction of traffic:
(1) In a loading zone;
(2) In an alley in a business district;
(3) Within 10 feet of a fire hydrant, unless a greater distance is indicated by an official traffic sign;
(4) Within 4 feet of the entrance to an alley or a private road or driveway;
(5) Closer than 15 feet to the near limits of a crosswalk;
(6) Upon any portion of a highway where and at the time when parking is prohibited, limited or restricted by official traffic signs.

State of Wisconsin Rules of the Road: Parking courtesy of my po-po friend Emily.

So much for a nice relaxing bath.

I've been having some massive sciatica on my left side.  I've had it on my right side for years - ever since my car accident in 2005.  It would flare up sometimes and be painful and annoying, and then be done.  All of my usual athletic trainer stretches and treatments would help it just fine.

Then on Saturday my left side reared it's ugly head.  My right side is now my left side's biitch.  Right has NOTHING on my left. 

Anyway, I was having some problems with it tonight and am a little annoyed about something, so I decided a nice warm bubble bath was in order.  I filled up the tub, got in and loved how great it felt.

Then I laid down.

Then the water level got too high and started draining.

Within a minute or two I was laying in about 3 inches of water, wet and cold.  Ginormous belly rising out of the tub like Everest.

RELAXATION FAIL.

I'm going to bed.  Blah. 

89/365. Sunset.

Summery sunset on Washington Blvd.

88/365. Ready to Go.

Baby seat officially installed!

36 Weeks!

...and I am UNCOMFORTABLE! And yet...I still enjoy being pregnant. I must be a freak.

Sciatica kicked in like crazy in my left side this week. I've had problems with it for years on my right side due to a car accident in 2005, so I was used to it. Or so I thought. My left side problems showed up yesterday and I now feel like a wuss for EVER complaining about the right side.

Nesting seems to have kicked in too. I'm not sure how many loads of baby laundry I've washed, folded, and put away today today, not to mention the installation of the car seat, even put the liner in the diaper pail. While I was tackling those things, Corey started packing boxes for the eventual move.

Obviously we're a LITTLE excited about things coming up in our lives!

87/365. A Sophie for Sophie.

Meet Sophie the Giraffe. I have a lot of friends (and read a lot of reviews) with babies that LOVE Sophie - a super soft, cute, and squeaky teething toy.

How could I not get a Sophie for Sophie? Plus it's just really freaking cute.

86/365. Glider.

Here is my accomplishment for today, other than the childbirth education express class we spent all day in. It is pretty dang comfortable - especially for the price! And I put it together myself, but there is nothing unusual about that. I love putting stuff together.

85/365. Cheese!

Hi April!

84/365. Rockabye.

I promise that not every post/picture is going to be about my future kid (famous last words, right? yeah, yeah...) but right now we are deep in the nesting phase and there is also baby stuff all of the house in any direction I look. We're working on that.

Anyway, I saw this in Starbucks last night when we met with our real estate agent and builder of the house we're building. I had to have it, and I must say it is pretty awesome. It will be great for playing through the mp3 hookup that came on our baby swing.

Check out the playlist!

Bohemian Rhapsody – From Lullaby Renditions of Queen
Dream On – From Lullaby Renditions of Aerosmith
Sweet Child O’ Mine – From Lullaby Renditions of Guns N’ Roses
Across the Universe – From More Lullaby Renditions of The Beatles
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For – From Lullaby Renditions of U2
Just Like Heaven – From Lullaby Renditions of The Cure
Clocks – From Lullaby Renditions of Coldplay
Lucky Star – Lullaby Rendition of Madonna
No Surprises – From Lullaby Renditions of Radiohead
Nothing Else Matters – From Lullaby Renditions of Metallica
Ruby Tuesday – From Lullaby Renditions of The Rolling Stones
One Love – From Lullaby Renditions of Bob Marley

So many great songs, but I have to admit that it was Across the Universe that completely sold me. It is one of my favorite songs ever of all time.

83/365. Baby Britches!

We decided a long long time ago that cloth diapering was for us. Partly because of the (massive) cost savings, and partly in an effort to make less waste. We were going to use a diaper service that opened up in Milwaukee last year that would have cost roughly $6-700 a year but then realized we could cut even THAT cost in half by buying it all and doing it ourselves. It's a good thing we made that decision BEFORE we decided to buy a house too far for the service to deliver.

Now I'm all excited about it. I also now have plans to also make my own laundry detergent, cloth diaper detergent, and reusable baby wipes. Some say this makes me a hippie, some say it makes me frugal...I'll wear either one with pride.

Since I know some of you are reading this and probably cringing, let me put in a few disclaimers...

1) Yes, I've dealth with cloth diapers before. Actually, I've probably dealt with them even more than disposables. They aren't a big deal.
2) I have a strong stomach, but poop is not a big deal anyway.
3) I don't give two sh*ts if you choose cloth or disposables. It's a very personal choice.  I do not, would not, and will not judge you for choosing either one over the other.

Aaaaaaaanyway...how cute is this diaper cover? You should see how tiny it is.

82/365. Our House.

Here it is! Can. Not. Wait.

81/365. You Can't Lick Our...

This cracked me up. Maybe I'm easily amused.

80/365. Toasty Butt.

Zoey has taken to plopping her butthole right on our keyboards. Gross.

79/365. Signs of Life.

We've had a pretty gorgeous and early-springlike week here with highs in the 50's and low 60's. Last night before we left for dinner, I felt a sense of excitement when I saw these little guys popping up all over the side of the house.

And then we woke up to some snow.

35 Weeks!

I probably say this every week, but time has gone by so fast. She's definitely getting low on space in there - last night she made my stomach look like she was trying to get out.

I haven't done this in awhile, so here goes:

• How far along? 35 weeks
• Total weight gain: 22lbs
• How big is baby? Something around 5.5lbs and 20ish inches long. 
• Maternity clothes? Grown out of a LOT of them. Running out of things to wear.
• Sleep? 12 am...wake up, pee, blow nose, drink water, switch sides.  1am...wake up, pee, blow nose, drink water, switch sides...lather...rinse...repeat...until 7am.
• Best moment this week? We were laying in bed to go to sleep and realized that Sophie would move around when we talked, and stop when we'd stop.  So we started trying to make up a story to tell her - the story was terrible, but it worked.
• Movement? Almost all day every day!  Busy girl.
• Food cravings? Nothing in particular.
• Labor signs? Nope, but she does feel lower and lower.
• Belly button in or out? In, but I had a disturbingly deep belly button to start with.  It is very shallow, but still there.
• What I miss: Putting shoes on easily or bending forward to grab something or eat.
• What I'm looking forward to:  Watching Corey interact with his outside baby.
• Milestone: Weekly appointments are starting now. 

78/365. Brewery, Bar, and The Boy

I take too many pictures, and sometimes I can't pick just one. I just can't.

Pretty lighting at the Lakefront Brewery, where we went for a fish fry tonight...


Awesome sign at the Wonderbar...


And this guy...who I find very very attractive.

77/365. March Madness.

I have to admit, I am not a big fan of basketball. Not college, not pro, and DEFINITELY not high school. That said, I freakin' love March Madness. Of course I didn't always love March Madness...until I participated in my first bracket challenge. Now I'm hooked, obviously.

Unfortunately, today was a day full of upset games and all around ugliness. Murray State? WHO IS THAT? And how did they win? And Georgetown lost? And Marquette? Ugh. Anti-pretty.

In other news, I'm still sick. Not just still sick...I seem to be getting progressively worse. I'm hoping today was the peak of that. I barely slept last night because I couldn't breathe, couldn't stop coughing, and woke up without a voice. Corey more-or-less insisted I stay home, and I'm glad I did. There is no way I could have functioned. But...another day off unpaid. Blah.

76/365. Work Baby Shower.

Yesterday I was informed that I had to be at the wednesday team meeting. HAD to be. I haven't been to one in months, so I knew something was up. It was a little mini-shower & lunch for me and one of my co-workers. Very nice of them! This picture is of some fresh ginger cookies that the only guy on the team made. He loves Martha Stewart recipes, and all of us girls LOVE that he loves Martha Stewart recipes.

75/365. Auto Shop? Or Batcave?

Either way it could be a clever disguise...

74/365. Blah.

So I did finally pick up Corey's crud from nightmare travel day. I woke up Saturday morning with a sore throat and could hardly swallow. As of today (Monday) that has evolved into a snotfest on top of the inability to swallow. He's still sick too. I hope we get better soon because this really sucks.

73/365. Baby Tornado.

I really should have taken some before pictures...

This is our dining room. I think I made a bad situation...just as bad. I brought it from a chaotic mess to an organized mess though - that means something, right? Except now you can add a crib mattress and a pack 'n play to the mix thanks to a recent trip to Babies R Us.

Thank you to our awesome friends, family, and co-workers, Sophie is pretty darn stocked up. Our only remaining "big" purchases that I can think of are a glider/rocker (at my insistence) and cloth diapers (and accessories) and I've pretty much got both of those situations taken care of!

Also...I just realized I never posted any baby shower pictures here. I will try to do that this weekend, even though it's way late!

72/365. Baby Lubs.

In my group of friends here in Wisconsin, there is always a baby shower. When it is a second baby, we still always get together for a baby lunch. Yes, we eat babies.

Ok no we don't. But we still try to have a little something for repeat mom-to-be. Not everyone can make it to all of these things - it's a big group with a LOT of babies - but it's always a good time!

This little guy next to me was a total ham for me the whole time...


One of the moms-to-be, Jessica


The other mom-to-be, Sheila (and part of her Hoo-ha Recovery Kit gift from Keara)


Another super adorable baby at the lunch. He was sitting farther away from me, so I didn't get as many pics of him :(