Thank Heaven For Grandma

We had been having a time of it trying to do the night thing with Luke. Until my mother came by yesterday and showed us the uber-mummy-grandma swaddle. Which put him out like a light IN THE CRADLE! The cradle in which he had previously screamed in as if we put him into an enormous venus fly trap.

Tommy and I actually both slept last night. At the same time. With the lights out.

*Sigh*

Not Advisable A Week After Having a Baby

Watching any movie that made you bawl BEFORE you were pregnant. I'm embarrassed to admit that the movie in question is "Three Men and a Baby".

After

Here is my brand new darling, adorable, sweet baby boy, Lucas Ryne. Born Friday, December 14 at 6:46 a.m., weighing in at 7 lbs. 8 oz. and measuring 20 inches. He's an absolute delight (when not feeding hourly) and the most handsome baby around. Poor little guy - I thought he was a girl.

It wasn't easy getting him to the outside world either. I was in labor from 9:15 a.m. on Thursday. We made it to the hospital about 8:00 p.m. By that time I was in so much pain that I was vomitting profusely. So I caved. I asked for the epidural. Which of course slowed everything down. I made it to 8cm and then came to a halt. So Lucas made his entrance in a different way, via a C-Section and even then refused to come out!

But he's here with us now and we wouldn't trade him for anything in the world. Even if he does seem to have his days and nights mixed up.

Before

This is about an hour before we left for the hospital.

Nasty Note

Left on the windshield of a HUGE Lincoln Navigator that was parked so badly that the person next to them would have trouble backing out:

If you can't properly park your truck, don't drive it. This is rude and dangerous.

And....while leaving it on the windshield, I noticed that the genius driving the truck left their purse in plain sight, on the front seat.

Loser.

Because an Ambulance In Front Of This Place Wasn't Funny Enough

I'm so glad I got this picture. This sign has been up for a few weeks now, but I always pass it and am going too fast to take a picture. I'm wondering what kind of application process it has. And yes, it's the same place that a while back had an ambulance in front of it.

37 Weeks

Okay. Here it is, the gratuitous belly shot. I'm about 37 weeks or so in this photo. Which also showcases my messy fridge (I've since reorganized the front of it). Baby Jordan says "hi!"

Productive Weekend

I've been a busy little bee this weekend. Friday night was the only "lay around and do nothing" part of it. Saturday I spent most of the day with Diane. I did the rest of the baby's clothes while we ate delicious, humongous wraps (smoked turkey, pepperjack cheese, chipotle mayo, bacon, avocado), watched "Pirates of the Carribbean: Dead Man's Chest" and just chilled.

But here's all my accomplishments (which always make me feel better to see in black and white):

Finished washing baby's clothes
Finished ALL shower thank yous
Finished writing birth plan
Made baked oatmeal
Got more Christmas shopping done
Set up new stereo
Put together diaper disposal pail
Made headway on referral letter for Kick and Diane

AND....I plan on making a nice dinner tonight WITH a dessert and everything. I figure, I better do Betty Crocker-ish stuff like this now while I still can. If inspired, I might put away the clean baby clothes and/or start to organize and wrap Christmas presents. Ooh and henna my hair. But I'm snuggled under a blanket with a warm laptop, 2 snuggly monkeys and the Sunday Times. Hmmm....

I'll Bet These Are The Same Women Who Picked Out Their Own Engagement Rings

I don't think I could ever be disgusted enough by this. It's an article in the Times about women who DEMAND a "baby bauble" or (even more disgustingly referred to as) "push present". They think they are ENTITLED to jewelry for having a baby. How about being happy that your child is healthy? Or how about being thankful that you live in an area that has adequate healthcare to help you deliver the child.

It goes right back to the awful holiday commercials with Bitchy Wife demanding jewelry and dropping too many hints.

I hope half of these husbands drop their preggo wives on their swollen asses. That's the thing - the men are just as big morons for giving in to such awful demands. This is yet another reason I stopped going to babycenter.com because this was one of the topics, "What are you getting as a push present?"

Losers.

Why The Holidays Grate On Me

The holidays are all fine and good. Time to spend with family and reflecting on what's really important and all that.

However. There's one result of the holidays that drives me crazy to no end.

Bad Holiday commercials.

They can be broken down into categories so predictable and obvious that it actually pains me to watch them:

Smarmy, Sappy Commercial. This can be for jewelry where the female finds the male so so romantic and wonderful because he bought her some sparkly bauble. It can be for some brand of coffee that brings the roving college student home. It can be for something that brings the whole family together in matching sweaters. But it's always overtly sappy and annoying. And has awful, awful music accompanying it.

Overly Expensive Commercial. Lexxus is guilty of this. There's usually some ploy to get Mom or Dad outside to the driveway to see the shiny new car with the red bow on it. How the heck do you buy a car without your spouse knowing? Are they just targeting the demographic of people who have $40,000 laying around collecting dust?? It drives me crazy to no end.

Uber-Technology Commercial. As much as I am a nerd, (merely a high nerd, but a nerd no less) and love technology, I despise unnecessary technology. Why do we need movies in the palms of our hands? Why do you need access to so much? I don't get it. So when I see commercials for phones that do everything including walking the dog, it incites me about technology in general. And the technology powers that be are simply evil for using the holidays as an excuse to tell you why you need this unnecessary technology.

Greedy Child Commercial. Why do pre-teens need cell phones? Why do they need phones that walk the dog (see above)? Why are their parents so hideous if they don't get one? These commercials disgust me most. It's as if you're being told you're a horrible parent who does not understand their child if you don't bend to their every whim. Which leads me to the.....

Bitchy Wife Commercial. Wife basically berates the husband into getting her what she wants. Gross. Do yourself a favor guy and leave her now, because this will only get worse and lead to the greedy children.

Bah humbug. I'm guessing the 4th or 5th circle of hell is reserved for commercial producers who prey on the holidays. Or so you'd hope.