January 31...

Dear McNugget -

Daddy and I have been waiting for this day for a long time. Honestly, we thought that you would be here by now, but I guess that you just feel like taking your time and being fashionably late (arriving on your due date is just so not cool, huh?).

Anyway, I know that it is cold out, and that it is nice and warm where you are, but we are anxious to meet you. Hope to see you soon.

Love - Mommy

It was inevitable.

Everyone knows how much I love being pregnant, right? I don't care about the swollen hands and feet, the weight gain, the sore legs, the lack of sleep - it's all good.

But my patience is starting to wear thin, just a little bit.

Let's recap: I am due on Wednesday - two days from now. It would be nice to take it easy, just a little bit, over these last few days. Nope.

Want to know what time I got home from work tonight? 7:15. There were 5 cars in the parking lot when I left tonight. I did not leave my desk once - except to attend meetings - and I brought work home with me. People keep on giving me things that just need to get done before I go out on maternity leave. It's absolutely ridiculous and it is stressing me out.

Plus, everything is a "top priority" and there were a couple of people who got a little bit snotty with me today. Generally, I never lose my cool and always maintain a professional demeanor, but I was pissed!

And finally, what the h*ll is wrong with people? There are coworkers who are saying that I shouldn't be coming into work in one breath, then giving me a boatload of projects to get done in the next. I am sick of hearing about how much extra work other people have to take on while I'm gone - half of my maternity leave will be unpaid, so why don't you hire a temp or a freelancer to take on some responsibilities? And I have had people say all of the following to me today:

"You're still here?!?" (Actually, I heard that at least 3 times today)
"We were talking about you today, and we figure that your legs must be really strong from carrying all that extra weight." (Huh?)
"So, are you ready for your three-month vacation?" (WTF?)

Right now, I am just keeping my fingers crossed that tomorrow is better and that I don't go into labor tonight, since I want the little one's last few hours in the womb to be a happy and peaceful time.

I think I need a cookie.

Current events...

Don't worry, I am not going to talk about the State of the Union address or Hillary's decision to run for president.

Has anyone out here read this story?

Here's the scoop - a couple and their three-year-old daughter were kicked off an AirTran flight from Orlando to Boston because the child had a temper tantrum and refused to take her seat (FAA rules dictate that all passengers over two years of age must be in their own seat and buckled in before the plane can take off).

I caught a snippet of it on CBS this morning, where the couple was interviewed complaining about the situation - especially how they were not allowed to hold their daughter on take-off - and saying how they were never going to fly AirTran again.

Of course, there are two sides to every story. Namely, the parents failed to mention that the flight was already delayed 15 minutes and there were 122 other people on board who were anxious to get to Boston. Plus, the family was refunded their money and offered three complimentary tickets to anywhere AirTran flies.

Now, I am not a mother (yet) but I have some pretty strong opinions on this. First, I think that AirTran was more than fair to the family and really went above and beyond.

Second, rules are rules - if the FAA says your kid needs to sit in a seat, then your kid needs to sit in a seat. Period. Look at it this way - if the flight attendant let the parents hold the girl on their laps, and something happened to her during takeoff, the parents would probably sue the airline.

Personally, I would be ticked if I paid good money to fly somewhere, only to be stuck waiting for some irresponsible parents to calm down their unruly kid. Now, I understand that kid have temper tantrums and bad days (my brother was a terror when we were kids), but you need to be respectful of others. Either get your kid in the seat, or get off the plane and do everyone a favor - drive to your next vacation destination.

This story just ticks me off. And I know that it's not the kid's fault - the parents need to take responsibilty. Looks like someone needs a "Nanny 911" intervention...

It's about time!

This weekend...

* We finally got some snow
* I found my gloves
* We installed the car seat in my car
* I bought new blush, lipstick and eyeliner
* Hubby and I went to see an Albany River Rats game
* I cleaned out my car
* I mailed out her birthday gift (a week in advance, thank you very much!)
* I finished "Chicken Soup for the Expectant Mother's Soul"
* We added "My Super Sweet 16" and "Engaged and Underage" to the Tivo (thanks, MTV!)

On the list for tomorrow?
* Grocery shopping
* Working out
* Straightening up the house
* Doing a load of laundry
* Trying to get together with one of the girls from my childbirth class (need to return a DVD to her)

How is your weekend?

Tick tock... tick tock...

The McNugget's due date is almost two weeks away, but I am already feeling so anxious about his arrival. While I am definitely excited to meet him, I am extremely nervous about what is going to happen.

Every night, I wake up and think, "When is it going to happen? Is it going to happen tonight? Tomorrow? When?" I hate not knowing exactly what to expect... bleh.

We had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday and she gave us a 50/50 shot of making it to next week's appointment. I know that it is impossible to predict exactly when it is going to happen, but the thought of it happening today, or tomorrow, or the next day just freaks me out.

It's not like I am sick of being pregnant. On the contrary, I love being pregnant, even though I look like a Weeble. I think that if I was over being pregnant, it would make the wait a lot more exciting and a lot less nerve-wracking. But I feel like I could happily stay pregnant forever.

And for some added stress, I have been working like crazy in an effort to get everything done before the little one gets here - I just don't feel like there is enough time, and I also don't feel like I am taking advantage of these last two weeks and enjoying them.

Plus, we still don't have a name picked out for the McNugget. Sigh.

Where did the last 38+ weeks go?!?

Ice, ice baby...

Today has been fun. Woke up to an ice storm - now I can handle snow just fine, but ice really freaks me out. Not to mention the fact that I am beyond pregnant, and the thought of going into labor and having to drive home in nearly an inch of ice is scary!

Anyway, I laid in bed this morning, debating on whether or not to drive the 20 miles to work. But since I will be working from home tomorrow, I figured that I should make an appearance sometime this week and got ready for work. Before I left, however, I did check my email - if someone told me to stay home, I wasn't going to argue. But the only email I got was one encouraging us to make sure that the salt trucks had come through before leaving the house (um, thanks).

The drive was fine... the worst part about the whole commute was walking into the building without falling and cracking my head open. In hindsight, I am thankful that I went to work, since we lost power at home for about 4 hours and it would've been cold and dark and boring here. I was pretty much kicked out of the office at 3:30 (everone is worried about the pregnant woman driving at home on icy roads in the dark), so I am home.

In other news, I think that we are as prepared for the McNugget's arrival as we will ever be. Clothes are washed; pictures are hung; bags are packed; bottles are sterile; pack-and-play, stroller and swing are assembled. Not only that, but we went out to dinner on Saturday night with a couple who are expecting their little one about a week before McNugget's arrival - he will have a little friend! (And we are making friends too!)

About the only thing we have left to do is get our car seats inspected. Unlike other states, getting your car seat installation inspected in NY is not mandatory - but it will give me peace-of-mind. We took a class last week and they were saying that upwards of 90 percent of car seats in NY are not installed properly. How crazy is that? Even crazier? There is no law saying that car seats must be installed in the back seat. And craziest of all? If you leave the hospital without a car seat, they will encourage you to get one and warn you of the dangers, but they won't actually stop you. Liability issues or something...

I'm off to snuggle with the pups!

Working from home

Today was my weekly doctor's appointment, so I went into work beforehand and decided to work from home in the afternoon.

I don't love working from home, mainly because hubby works from home full-time and I don't want to be stepping on anyone's toes (plus, I am way more productive without being distracted by "Days of our Lives").

However...

As I type, hubby and the dogs are all on the couch, asleep. I just know that he is going to blame it on the chocolate chip pancakes he had for lunch, but I know better.

What do you think, should I wake him up for his 2:00 conference call?

My Uncle Dave died this weekend - he was 56 years old. He was the best man at my parents' wedding, my brother's godfather. Nobody is even sure what happened - he was found dead in an alley behind the motel where he was living.

It's sad how things turn out sometimes. His life was so filled with promise. As a young adult, he was offered a scholarship to play baseball (which he did not pursue), he married my (crazy) aunt (which was probably his downfall, in hindsight), had two boys and a great job in construction.

When his marriage unraveled and arthritis forced him onto disability, things really spiraled downward for him. When we went to California last March, I was shocked to see him - too many years of alcoholism had not treated him well. He was homeless, living in my grandmother's garage, and was hardly coherent. I am just thankful that we did get to see him one last time.

Thankfully, he will have a funeral, since he was a veteran. But I just feel very sorry for my cousins and what they are going through - I will be keeping them in my thoughts.

Loose ends...

Only four weeks left until the McNugget arrives... can you believe it?!?

I have been so busy trying to get all of my work done before the big day, I have been neglecting some very important personal stuff, like figuring out who will be the baby's pediatrician or making sure that he is going to have a spot at daycare (they couldn't give us an answer until January). Ugh.

Other loose ends that need to be tied up:

1. Packing my hospital bag - I am such a slacker... I should really have this done by now, since I can go into labor at any time. But a couple of things have been slowing me down - first, I haven't found the "perfect bag" to take with me to the hospital (yes, I really mean it). A duffel bag doesn't portray the right "mom-to-be" image, a suitcase seems too "business trip" and I haven't found anything else that I love that will also fit 48 hours worth of necessities (if you think that I am leaving the house without my makeup and my hair dryer, you are sadly mistaken). Second, besides my makeup and hair dryer, my jammies and robe, some comfy socks, and "coming home" outfits for both me and the McNugget, I don't know what else to bring. Maybe my iPod, a book, Us Weekly? Tell me, what were your hospital "must haves"?

2. Putting together phone/email lists - I have an address book where I include phone numbers, but it is probably really out-of-date. I could always go by the phone list in my cell phone, but it is definitely not all-inclusive. Not to mention the fact that I have my personal email addresses stored in about 100 different places. It's time to get organized. If you are interested in being among the first to know when the little one makes his arrival, send an email to McNugget@ariandamber.com (yes, we have an email address for our fetus) and we will add you to the list.

In other pregnancy news, things are going great, although I look like a Weeble. Baby is healthy and I am down to weekly appointments, which means that the end is in sight.

I'll keep you posted...