So I haven't posted in 5 months. My, how life has changed!!! I had my first child! I wish I could write everything, but that would take days and days of typing, and all I have is nap time. So I will summarize as best I can:

To give you an idea of how I felt after the amazing, perfect birth of my precious child, here is an excerpt from my journal, written just a day after I got home from the hospital:

I am the happiest person in the entire world! It doesn't get any better than this. I gave birth to my son, Thomas Preston Warren, at 7:12 pm on Tuesday, Feb. 9 2010. It was the best day of my life! It was the longest day of my life. As I write this, my sweet husband is sleeping next to me on the bed with my son asleep on his chest, skin to skin, with a little white blanket with little blue elephants on top of both of them. Luna is asleep on the floor right next to them. I have a family. A perfect, wonderful family. I look at my baby and I feel like I could burst into a thousand pieces. I try to pray and thank God, but I don't have the words to express my gratitude. There aren't' any words big and beautiful enough to describe my blessings, and I don't know what I have done to deserve this. God help me! I could DIE of happiness! I get to keep him. He's mine.

I think I had the opposite of post-pardum depression. I had post-pardum euphoria. And it hasn't worn off yet. These 5 months have been incredible. Here are a few of my favorite pictures since day one:

Going home!

Daddy's favorite.

Perfect

2 weeks old

about 3 weeks old

1 month old

2 months

Under his "circus"

Easter

3 months

Cutie Man!

Dr. Gil baptizing him

Bath time!

He loves that baby in the mirror...

4 and a half months.... and standing in his crib (I'm in trouble)

Almost 5 months and sitting by himself

First vacation to the lake in Michigan!

Isn't he beautiful?

I am learning how truly impatient I can be... I am about 38 weeks pregnant. This picture was taken almost two weeks ago. I've discovered that time passes by at a snail's pace when you are this pregnant. It seems that all of the other pregnant girls that I was growing along with have given birth and have left me behind... It's like I'm the lone pregnant girl who's baby will never make his appearance. I can feel him in there. He's squirming, and it feels like he's complaining about not having enough room to stretch out... I wish I could explain to him that there is SO much room out here, and that he should just come out and enjoy it.

No one really wants to talk to me right now, and I don't blame them. All I do is complain that the baby hasn't come yet, which is ridiculous because I still have 15 days until my due date. He could be in there for weeks. That thought makes me want to cry (which is another thing that I have no control over lately). I cry over everything these days.

I have also learned that people claim to have lots of "tricks" to make labor begin. Peyton and I have learned first-hand that none of them work. They baby will come when he's supposed to come. We have done everything suggested, including eating gross eggplant, walking, bouncing on an exercise ball, having absurd pregnant sex, massaging certain pressure points, super spicy food, praying, begging, crying.... I finally just plopped on the couch tonight with a big chocolate bar and decided to just let my body be. I have worn myself out trying to make this baby come!

I did pack a bag today. I have superstitiously be putting off that chore in fear that it would jinx me. But the baby will come. Every day that goes by makes the next day more probable. He can't stay in there forever. And if he tries, the doctor will simply take him out.

Yesterday I went car shopping with Peyton. I learned several things about cars, salesmen, my husband and myself through this experience. No, we didn't buy anything yet. First of all, I learned that there is almost no way to get a backward-facing car seat into the back my current 2-door BMW. I've been driving this 2000 328ci for 5 years now, and I've always loved it. It still drives like a dream (although it doesn't quite look like a dream, see previous posts). I tried to shove that car seat back there many different ways. The only way to get it back there is to turn it upside-down and diagonal to the left. That's not going to work if there's a sleeping baby in there. It's also a two handed shove job, but I don't think I can just lay a baby on top of the car or on the ground while I try to shove his seat in the car... So this is why I'm getting a new one.

Peyton has tried to talk me in to SUV's, but I just love driving a car. I particularly love driving BMW's, so we went out searching for the larger 5-sieries. While stopping at dealers, I learned that car salesmen are the nicest guys you'll ever meet. Man, are they nice... They also seem to be in love with every car you are looking at. They say things like, "Wow, I could sit in this car all day!" or "Holy cow! Look at all the space back here! I could just stretch out and take a nap!"

I learned that buying a car brings out the Scrooge in me and the 16-year-old, speed-loving rich kid in my husband... The faster the car and the bigger the engine, the more excited my husband got. His ears also perked up at phrases like, "sports package" and "turbo" and "loaded." Meanwhile I was getting nervous about spending money and getting more than I needed. We were looking at used cars, but BMW's still come with quite a price tag.

About half way through the day, I learned that there is another car that I find quite pretty. An Infinity. They are beautiful, curvy, and the M's are a bit larger than a 5-series BMW. I decided to give one a test drive. Pretty nice! Not a BMW, but comparable, still. They cost a little less too. We were looking at M35's, but then Peyton found out that there is an M45... of course he wants me to get that one instead. We've got some more research to do. I'm taking what I've learned and applying it to our next shopping trip. We'll see what we end up with. I'm hoping to make a decision within the next two weeks.

Chivalry is Gone

So yesterday I learned that chivalry is gone. Well, maybe not gone, but definitely disappearing in our men these days. I do want to make one thing clear before I even go in to this: My husband is a knight in shining armor with no lack of manners or chivalric tendencies, so he is therefore exempt from this entire conversation. (Thank you, Peyton, for being the way you are, and thank you Cheryl for raising him that way.)

Now back to the pigs that call themselves men... I am eight months pregnant. Any woman who is eight months pregnant could not be mistaken for, say, a strong, energetic, skinny, non-pregnant woman. Five months, maybe. Possibly even six months. But not eight. It's obvious and out there for everyone to see. Above is a picture to prove it. This is me right now, typing this blog. (Turns out my computer can take pictures of me as I sit right in front of it. I love this new Mac.)

I was at the outlet malls with my sister, mother and grandmother yesterday. We had been shopping for hours, and it was time to go home. We had rented a wheelchair for my grandmother, who has trouble standing and walking. My mother and sister had to go pick up a large rug from the back of a store, so I volunteered to take my grandmother to the bathroom, then return the wheelchair. The two of us would meet Mom and my sister outside in 10 minutes.

I wheeled my grandmother up to the doors of the food court. A nicely dressed young man, probably in his thirties, walked in ahead of us, and so I assumed he would hold the door for the very pregnant girl pushing a very old woman in a very hard to maneuver wheelchair... apparently I was wrong. He let the door slam right on us. My grandmother's chair was stuck half-way through the door, and I know that guy saw us. I was horrified. It took me several tries to kick open the door far enough to get my grandmother and my big self through the door. Even more saddening is the fact that people were walking through the set of doors right next to me and not helping, even as I struggled to free the chair from the door. Where have all of the knights gone?

I was hoping this complete absence of social etiquette was an isolated incident. Nope. The male race disappointed me again about five hours later. My husband and I were meeting my in-laws for dinner at a restaurant at Atlantic Station. This is another large shopping/dining area located on top of a large parking garage. Since my husband is a prince, he wanted to make sure I didn't have to walk from the parking garage to the restaurant in my very large"condition," as I like to call it. So he stopped the car right in front of the restaurant door so I could walk right in and avoid the hike and the stairs. Now, it takes a minute for someone who is eight months pregnant to get herself out of an extremely tall SUV while carrying her coat and purse. While I was getting myself out, another car pulled up behind us and began to HONK at me! I am not even kidding. I turned to see who would be so rude only to discover that it was another pitiful excuse for a man. A well-dressed man in a nice car who should know better that to honk at pregnant ladies trying to get out of tall SUV's. I proceeded to spill things from my purse onto the ground on purpose just to hold this guy up for a few more minutes. I made a big production of squatting down to pick up my belongings, taking care to look right at that rude man the whole time. My husband wanted to go back there and throttle him (like a good knight), but we were running late, and I told him to just go.

So, chivalry is nearly gone. I know there are still a few good men left out there, but I am afraid they are becoming extinct. I will remember this as I raise my son.

It is raining today. Again. Georgia has seen rain like it hasn't seen in a century this year. Hurray for lakes, crops, and the governor, who prayed for it on TV. Boo for people who live on a river, have to work outside, and (like me) have roofs that are in need of repair.

Today I learned when your car's roof leaks, it can make you almost as mad as when your house's roof leaks. Almost. I had Christmas gifts back there! The leak is not near the sunroof. It's in the back of the car. I suppose this is due to the 10 years that my BMW has lived outside.

When I bought this car 4 years old, I was aware that it had never been garage kept. That was fine. They didn't issue private garages with Auburn University dorm rooms, where I was living at the time, either. Then, after a series of apartment parking lots through the years, my car ended up living under a huge oak tree at the house we lived when we first got married. That's why it looks like it has hail damage when in fact, it doesn't. It has nut damage. Damn trees.

I believe that after all of that exposure to the elements, (hot Georgia sun, cold, nuts maybe) the seams in my roof are just deteriorating. So there is a puddle in my car.

And also, this may not be a new lesson, but it's something that seems to be reiterated over and over again in our marriage: Date Night is great. Even if it's at home. Here is tonight's date: grill steaks in the rain, eat in the dining room on Christmas china, and watch "A Christmas Story" while we wrap presents for our family by the fire and the Christmas tree. Yet another reason why I love being married.

So: Puddle in the car due to poor car-keeping. Date Night is great. I think I mentioned in my last post that I don't have a whole lot going on...

Stef

I Will Blog

I think we learn at least something every day, whether we acknowledge it as a "lesson" or not. We learn little things about ourselves, about the people we love, about people in general, life in general, and so on. Sometimes it can be a huge life lesson. Sometimes it can just be funny or sad or one of those "Holy shit! How 'bout that!" moments. I think Oprah calls them "Ah Ha" moments.

Yesterday I learned about Blogging. I was on the phone with my sister, Laurel, who is 24, and she was telling me that she liked to visit blogs for interior design ideas for her house.

"Blogs?" I asked.

I had heard of them. My husband's best friend, Drew, has one called "Squirrels and Beer," which I'm going to have to check out, now that I know what blogs are. Also, isn't that movie about Julia Child about blogging and cooking?

My sister, who is very technologically advanced since she is a graphic designer, explained the concept to me. Apparently it's like having your own website where you can post anything you like and everyone can see it, that is, if they want to. Laurel likes to look at interior design blogs. She is so talented in that area that I asked her why she didn't have one. Her answer was "time." She simply doesn't have enough of it. Plus she's the type that would dive in head first, get swept away with it and add it to the list of things that stress her out.

I understand. Laurel works all the time, and her job requires her to be in front of a computer screen all day. Me, on the other hand... my life is at a stand still right now... I am almost 32 weeks pregnant with my first child, and my part-time job with a winery is extremely slow this time of year. My husband, Peyton, works all day in medical sales and my friends either work full time or have babies at home, which monopolize their time. I have time for blogging.

And so I will blog. I am not a writer. I don't have any extra special talents, such as interior design, that people will flock to my blog to read about. I have a degree in Elementary Education. I taught elementary school for 4 years. I could have blogged about that. I got married 2 and a half years ago, and survived the first year of marriage to an only child with flying colors and great stories. I could have blogged about that. (We're happy as ever, by the way.) I quit my teaching career and went to work for a winery doing sales. It was quite a career change! I could have blogged about that. I could have blogged about starting Tae Kwon Do classes 2 years ago, or getting pregnant 8 months ago (which made me have to quit Tae Kwon Do), or buying our first home 4 months ago.... wow. When I started thinking about all of the things I could have or would have blogged about, I realized what I would really be writing was what I learned through all of these things. Ask me about marriage, career changes, teaching young children, pregnancy, Tae Kwon Do, wine, or buying a house, and I can tell you what I've learned, and it's quite a lot!

I suppose I do have a talent for reflecting upon experiences and analyzing them, sometimes to a fault. I may not be a gifted writer, but certainly enjoy sharing what I've learned with other people. I have no followers so far, but I will ask my sister to read this. So I suppose I might have one.

I will blog about what I learn. I will share my "Holy Shit! How 'bout that!" moments with the world (or at least with my sister). I am 26 years old and about to start parenthood for the first time in the next month or so. I have a feeling that life lessons are coming. This should be interesting. Yesterday I learned about blogging.

Today I learned that mold can live behind the vanity in your bathroom without you knowing for months and months. My husband and I were having a new vanity put in our master bathroom this morning. We've been waiting on it for about 2 months. (It was supposed to be done in October.) When the contractor, who is a dear friend of ours, ripped the original out, we found a layer of mold covering the wall behind it. Gross. The drywall will have to be ripped out and replaced. Mold is dangerous. This will be done on Monday. It's Thursday. Until then, we should not use that bathroom.... but I am pregnant, and that is the bathroom next to my bed!!! I use that bathroom at least 8 times a night, and I am not exaggerating either. Every hour. I'm serious. I'm not going to be happy about having to walk to the other side of the house to pee at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 o'clock in the morning. Oh well, it must be done. I will have to make sure I count my baby's fingers and toes when he is born... hopefully this mold hasn't caused any problems with my sweet baby! I will ask my doctor. Then I can blog about it.

So: Blog. Mold. Oh, and expect extra expenses with any household project. That's another good one. I will remember these things.

Stef