Justice: Dream come true for Rice's Dillard | Rice Athletics | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Justice: Dream come true for Rice's Dillard | Rice Athletics | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Slings

So, this past week I went with Jill to local awesome craft shop Craftorama for an evening of sling making.  She was making one as a gift for another pregnant friend, and I was making one for us and Sputnik.  If I wear it just right now, it almost looks like there's already a kid in it!

I've been pregnant for 262 days in a row!

Man, am I tired.  It's amazing.  I'm moving slower, definitely waddling, and can't sleep.  Let me address that last one in particular - I think it's some kind of cruel joke.  I understand once the kiddo comes I won't be getting any sleep, but now it's just cruel & unusual punishment.  No way to get comfortable, no matter how many pillows I have around me.  And poor Kyle has been suffering through some nasty snoring of mine.   And then there's the whole needing to go to the bathroom every other hour thing.  Wow.  Otherwise, though, I think I'm doing pretty well.  The swelling thing is annoying, but I'm assuming (hopefully not foolishly) that it will go away a couple of weeks post-birthday.  It's spread a bit to my hands, making gripping things hard, but ah well.  Such is life. 

Meanwhile, folks continue to be quite thoughtful as Sputnik's birthday approaches.  We had a shower this past weekend with Kyle's work crowd (hosted by the Buchanans - thank you!), and had a great time.  More like a big dinner party instead of a shower with 'guess the baby food/poop' games ;)  I think all the guys in attendance certainly appreciated the change from the norm.  And, gifts keep on magically appearing on our door step!  Speaking of ... has anyone sent a car seat base recently?  The box arrived, but there's no indication on it who sent it.  We are (believe it or not) gradually getting around to thank you notes, and we'd love to send one to you, whoever you are!  Please let us know!

Here's the updated photo:

My appointments have begun their weekly rounds, and Kyle's now met all of the midwives in the office.  The hospital started allowing them to deliver the first week of August (yeah!  they had previously all been practicing outside of Austin), so the whole office is quite excited.  And, this has allowed the laboring women much more attention at the hospital by a midwife or doctor, which is nice.  

That's it for now - Happy Monday everyone!

Why You Should Turn Gmail s SSL Feature On Now

Why You Should Turn Gmail s SSL Feature On Now 

since it seems like everyone's using gmail these days, thought I'd share....

Shinebox Print - Ready Booklets

Shinebox Print - Ready Booklets So, I have to admit I do have fake parking tickets in my car, though not nearly as cool as these.  I just hate it when some jerk thinks that their car is so precious they have to purposely take up two parking spaces.  Anyways...

olympics for non-super humans

two normal guys try out a few olympic events...

Ankle-ometer update

This is after a day of working (and I didn't even go out to the site - when that happens they're really disgusting).


Not looking so pretty. I think they vary between looking like elephant hooves and hobbit feet (minus the hair, thank heavens).
I'm definitely looking forward to getting my feet back.

Old Wives Tales weigh in

OK, we're definitely in the home stretch now. So, to help you along (ha!) with your guess of girl or boy, I've sampled a few old wives tales from various internet sites:

Carrying high or low
Supposedly, low is boy and high is girl.
You decide with these most recent photos.



Heartbeats
If you're having a girl, then the fetal heart rate will be above 140. A boy will have a heart rate below 140. However, that pesky science has reared its little head again to say that this is complete fiction. A baby's heart rate is not affected by its sex until it is born, when a girl's heart rate will increase considerably compared with boys during labor.
At our update appointments the heart rate has ranged from high 140s to 160.

Craving Something…Sweet?
If you can't get enough chocolate, you could be having a girl. Salty cravings are a result of the little boy.
Ummm, I always crave chocolate...I think I've had it in one form or another every day.

Pendant
Hold a pendant over your hand. If the necklace swings back and forth, you're having a boy. If it is more of a circular motion, then it's a girl.
When Kyle did it, over my left palm, it couldn't make up it's mind. Over my right palm it swung back and forth.

Chinese Birth Chart
Found here, it said we're having a boy.

Random Wives Tale Quiz
Found here, it says we're having a girl.

Bring your own bag!

From an email subscription from 1/2 Price Books, comes the following green tip. If we really want to reduce our dependence on oil, we need to look beyond just what cars consume. Our everyday shopping and living habits consume quite a bit!

GREEN TIP No. 010
It’s good to b(eco)me carried away.
Paper or plastic? How about neither. Both plastic and paper bags are less desirable for the environment, not to mention, not as strong nor as functional as reusable carriers. Keep a tote bag in your car to lug groceries and books to and fro.
BARE FACTS & STATS: it takes as much petroleum to make 14 plastic bags as it does to drive a car one mile. Paper bags use even more petroleum. Plastic bags are made from nonrenewable petroleum resources that require the use of toxic chemicals during production and processing. Few facilities collect and recycle them, and most plastic bags end up as litter or in landfills. Plastics production accounts for 14% of toxic air emissions in the United States. The 10 billion brown paper grocery bags used in supermarkets annually require virgin pulp to give them strength to hold heavy groceries, cutting down millions of trees for the creation of bags. Learn more at
b(eco)megreen.info

Orwell to blog

Heard about the Orwell personal diaries going online on NPR this evening - should be an interesting read. Could be quite dry at times, but as they progress into the start of WWII may provide some interesting commentary. And probably a bit more digestible a day at a time rather than reading in book form. Sounds like a good idea - we'll see how it shapes up.

Lactation Nation

Great article courtesy of Texas Monthly

hot summer

so, before i head to bed, while surfing the internet, the news was on in the background.
so i overheard

we now officially have had 38 days at or above 100

argh
thank heavens for the modern convenience of air conditioning.