lest i forget

here are some fun facts:

*i am currently slaving my nights away doing a custom order for NINE jewelry rolls on etsy for a bride to use a bridesmaids gifts. the funny thing is that she just needs them by the day of the wedding...which is november 14th. my due date for layla is november 13th in case you didn't know (enter your guess for when she's coming here). so we are working against 2 deadlines now, and one is rather flexible and unknown. scary.

i have learned that i don't charge near enough for the amount of labor that goes into these. times anything by 9 and you get a lot of stress, hours of repetition and a pregnant sweatshop (literally and figuratively). i have also learned that getting paid for a job before you have actually done it sucks. you sort of lose the incentive. so i am ignoring my paypal balance and slaving like she's dangling the benjamins in front of me and not like they are already a click away from my bank account.

*i got my first ever smartphone yesterday. i am slightly offended that this means all my previous phones were stupidphones by default. and despite HATING the new american obsession with these devices and their tendency to get in the way of, oh i don't know, real life relationships (especially in the 15-25 age bracket...so.beyond.annoying), i am confident that i can own one of these without making a golden calf out of it. i was so excited, tracking it online all day by refreshing obsessively. i wasn't sure if they would drop it at the door or require me to sign so i definitely didn't want to take a chance and miss them.

well, i heard the doorbell ring during judah's nap and thought, "oh gosh, i should probably put on a bra....but, oh no, but what if it's signature required and he leaves before i am locked, loaded and presentable...mmmm,nope, can't risk it." so i opened the door and then just crossed my arms. let me tell you how stupid you look/feel answering the door and then immediately crossing your arms like, "well, what the hell can i do for you?" and then when he hands you the little digital sign-pad and the stylus, you really have no choice but to swing low sweet chariots (thank you, creed) and reach out and grab them from him. so i apologize, mr. fedex man, it was a choice between your eyes and my phone. though, if you work our neighborhood's route regularly, you probably don't get many bra-wearers anyhow and mine were a possible upgrade from the normal rocks-in-socks, so you're welcome?

*i may or may not have decided to take the smartphone plunge based almost solely on an ad i saw for a crockpot app (and the fact that the phone cost practically nothing). i have recently fallen in love all over again with our crockpot. i've mentioned it on here before, but it just blows my mind every time. it's a pain to have to plan ahead and completely against my nature, but oh my gosh, just remembering while i am at work that a little robot creature is at home cooking my dinner for me is so cool! plus, it's hard to go wrong with most of the recipes we have tried. meat plus condensed soups plus rice and veggies and cheese do well when they're left to mingle and sweat all over each other for 8 hours up in da club. yummmm.

*let's see, what else? jesse is writing a post on a bighugegiant change that our family is about to go through (aside from the baby-boo), the one that i mentioned sort of shattering my entire existence a few weeks ago but then failed to expound upon . so yeah, i was overreacting a bit and it has actually turned out to be a really cool opportunity. i just fear change. but keep in mind that it took jesse like 10 months from start to finish to get his version of the birth story written, soooooo, maybe don't hold your breath. but when it comes, it will be good.

*i had my 36 week OB visit this week wherein i got the standard test for strep B bacteria. ah, 16 months between anal swabbings is too long, let's do this again SOON, dr. B. but while i was stirrupped, she went ahead and checked me for progress. remembering that my cervix was described as "high and tight" with 0 cm dilation at the appointment that was 3 days before judah's birth, i wasn't expecting anything besides the charming feeling of her hand reaching all the way up to my throat. imagine my surprise to hear i was 1 cm dilated and "oh my gosh, super soft." alright! i'll take that. any centimeters of dilation that can occur without my knowledge are little nuggets of golden goodness.

i told her that i had been taking the evening primrose oil capsules (just orally for now...the term "vaginal suppository" is not one i am down with juuuust yet) for about a week, as recommend by my supernurse adrienne, to "ripen" the cervix (hate that term) and she said, "well, i think they're working." it's cool because my experience is that OB's aren't into natural supplements and pretty much don't recommend them, but also don't mind them if they aren't harmful. but she totally agreed with the statement that whatever is causing the softening, it will definitely speed things up once labor starts. again, this doesn't mean they are going to cause labor themselves, but just that when the hormonal balance is right to kickstar labor, that things should go pretty fast and hopefully cm's will will fly by with less cervical resistance, requiring less contractions. that's the idea at least. plus this is my second birth (did you know?) so it should go faster anyway. hopefully she won't be born in our car just because i don't want to snuggle a baby that is coated in cheerios and goldfish crumbs (thanks, big brother).

*no pictures, all text, stream of consciousness style. yikes. kudos for making it this far. mmmm, kudos. i used to only experience these candy bars masquerading as granola bars when we were given them as snack on our elementary school field trips. so now whenever i see a play, or the orchestra, or go to "[insert popular media franchise here] on ice," i find myself waiting for a kindly teacher to hand these out. and salivating.