I just downed the most amazing lunch and had to share… It’s the least I can do. It’s a favor, really, because if you’re way into soups right now (like I am), you will want to try the latest from the Campbell’s-V8 venture:
Yes, it’s soup in a box. But don’t let that scare you… The Southwest Corn? Yummmmm. Trust me!
Yes, that’s a clock radio situated next to my belly. It’s a long story…
Ever since we learned that Baby’s ears were developed enough to start picking up and recognizing our voices (around 26 weeks), we’ve been wondering random things like:
It was Joe who first mentioned John Miller to me last week… What a brilliant idea! John is hands down my favorite baseball broadcaster (and probably a close second to Vin Scully for Joe). I became spoiled while living in San Francisco. I could hear John’s rich, baritone voice with that jovial demeanor calling a Giants game almost anytime I wanted — and took it completely for granted. I always admired how he could drop a Spanish word (whether it be a Latino player’s name, birthplace or any phrase) with the most perfect accent. He’d nail it like no other middle-aged white guy you’d ever heard…
OK, I know, enough with the John worship! You get it. We are weirdoes. We love Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN during the regular season, even if it’s a crappy matchup. We get to listen to John.
So, yes, that was me breaking out the clock radio last night, and tuning it to ESPN Radio for Game 4 of the World Series. Baby C had the distinct pleasure of listening to John call the play-by-play. I muted the flat screen.
I tried to remedy the few-second delay between radio and TV by fiddling with the DVR, but never quite got it right. No worries. It was a nice first exposure for our little one, even if the game turned into a 10-2 blowout.
As for now, Go Phillies! End of series = Joe comes home sooner. 
Over the weekend, we tried a whole new phenomenon and signed up for a Segway tour along the Mississippi River, starting from St. Anthony Main in Minneapolis. The four of us — Joe and I were joined by his dad, Dave, and stepmom, Jill — had a BLAST learning how to steer these amazing machines. The trick is all in your center of balance: lean forward or backward slightly to move in either direction; balance the platform to stop.
The tour was also sprinkled with tidbits of 19th Century Minneapolis history… The St. Anthony Main area marks the birthplace of Minneapolis industry, back when the flour mills were first established and powered by the river. The tour took us along St. Anthony Main, over the beautiful Stone Arch Bridge, right by the new Guthrie Theater, into the Mill City Museum, back over the Mississippi to Boom Island Park, onto Nicollet Island, and back to where we started… It was an outstanding tour and we picked a gorgeous fall day!
Here are some pics from our “Human on a Stick”experience… P.S. Kendra- if you make it back to MSP in the near future (or whenever), I am soooo taking you on this tour! I wish I’d known about it when you visited last summer.
Posing on the middle of the Stone Arch Bridge, a Minneapolis icon
Some views of the Stone Arch (note the old red Pillsbury mill sign)…
Winding down at Boom Island Park
Here are a variety of shots from our world over the last week or so…
My belly at 29 1/2 weeks
The curtains my mom made for the nursery
Out to dinner to celebrate Joe’s grandpa’s 78th birthday
Our backyard colors (since this was taken, the cold winds have done away with most of the leaves)
Sorry, no belly shots or other pics today… Am blogging during my lunch break, and all those pics I took this weekend to post? They’re at home on my iMac. Need you ask why I forgot about them?
The big news with Baby C this week is really about all the nesting I’ve been consumed with lately… I wonder what the heck he or she thinks about my crazy cleaning out, re-organizing, down-sizing, and things of that nature. He or she is probably thinking “Sit down and chill, woman! Let me listen to the Wild game.” I’ve seriously got a BAD case of nestingitis goin’ on. I think I’ve scarred Joe for life. He is keeping his distance (but says he definitely likes the results).
Over the past week, I’ve listed and/or sold four large furniture items on Craigslist: my beloved art deco-style sofa and matching rug (sold!); an extra living room chair in the basement (sold!); an old coffee table; and a large shelving unit… I also thought it was a REALLY WISE idea to spend all day Saturday purging and re-organizing our entire basement (guest bedroom and bath, rec room and back/junk area/hockey equipment room). I never stopped until I was done. Whew, did my preggo legs pay for it. They are still barking at me today. But we know exactly where to find LIGHTBULBS in our house again. Now that’s success!
There’s no sign of this nestingitis letting up, either. I am completely in awe of the fact that Minnesota’s first Container Store opened up in Edina over the weekend. My heart rate gets faster just thinking about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Baby C’s closet, circa 1923, can use some additional hanging shelves and all sorts of neat organizational stuff… Guess I’ll know exactly WHAT kinds of stuff when I get there and check out the goods.
I hope to post some pics within the next few days, if I can remember. You’ve got to see the beautiful fall colors here in our part of the world. They ALMOST make up for our arctic cold winters.
My sister Janelle and nieces Jenna and Justine threw me a lovely baby shower on Sunday, at their church (in The Hometown). It was so great to catch up with my aunts and cousins… Each of my five aunts made it, which was extra-special. Here are some pics from the day’s festivities:
Getting spoiled with lots of baby stuff…
Jan and me…
Me with Joe’s mom, Vicki, and grandma, Marlys…
With my mom and sisters: Jean, Jan and Jodi…
Thanks, Jan, for all the work and LOVE you put into making it such a nice event!
That nasty bug that’s been making its rounds? Oh yeah, I managed to catch ALL of it. I’ve been down and out pretty much since last Thursday (9/25), even though symptoms popped up as early as Tuesday (9/23). We even ended up in the E.R. late Friday night, as the nurses were convinced I had pneumonia and thought I might need a chest X-Ray. The pain in my throat and chest when I coughed was absolutely excruciating. Never felt anything like it before.
Good news: No pneumonia. No X-Ray needed. Just rest, lots of tea and liquids, frequent steaming… and TIME for the virus to move on. Feeling much better now. And fetal monitoring in the E.R. put me at ease — the Baby’s heartbeat was strong and healthy. Bad news: I’m hooked on The View and Oprah again, and very much enjoy staying up late and sleeping in (which we refer to as “the Joe schedule” in our house).
Today was the first day I felt good enough to come back to work… FYI, more belly shots are coming soon, especially for Aunt La Vae in Virginia. And I promise, there’s finally a lot more belly to see.
Belly shots: Halloween edition October 31, 2008
BOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here we are at 31 1/2 weeks.
Sometimes I really DO feel like I’m carrying a pumpkin around in my belly… A feisty, little pumpkin who practices his or her bicycle kicks between 3 and 6 a.m.
Happy Halloween!