Nursery is Ready, But Something's Still Missing...Oh, BABY!

Our spare bedroom/nursery is now ready. David did a wonderful job at putting in a closet organizer with many shelves and hangers that helped me restructure. The vanity is fully stocked and labeled (I love my label maker). I did not take a picture of the closet organizer because Dave is taking apart the bear room and we currently have our hunting jackets & snow pants hanging in Baby's closet:).

Baby Can Wave

Actually it's a flopping over of the bottom 1/2 since BB1 is upside down, but you get the point. THe big sweep happens at 17 seconds.

38 Week Baby Bump

Nursery (Before)

Getting the baby room put together with all of the wonderful gifts we received for Baby. (You gotta tear down before building up again!)

37 Weeks - Full Term!

Congratulations! You've got what is officially considered a full-term baby, even with three weeks to go. That doesn't mean he's finished growing — in fact, he's still packing on about a half pound a week (at this age, the average fetus weighs about 6.5 pounds). That makes it a little crowded in your uterus, so he’s probably not kicking as much, though he’s probably stretching, rolling a bit, and wiggling. Right now, your little superstar is busy rehearsing for his big debut, inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid (to get the lungs ready for that first breath), sucking his thumb, blinking, and turning from side to side.
Had my dr appt today: measuring 37 cm (good!). I still haven't gained weight in the last month, but BB1 has so that's all that matters. Still movin' & groovin' as best we can and having no (real) complaints to speak of.

Baby Shower @ Work

The Girls at work threw me a surprise baby shower today. We ordered pizza, Susie made Jello poke cake (yum!), opened presents, and took pictures. They were so generous, and crazy :) . We took a (normal) group picture, then a funny one with each girl having a ball "baby bump". Susie's daughters were also there (unpictured) and her 2 granddaughters. Pictured are Beth, Sue, Me, Cathy, & Laurie. Thanks girls. You sure know how to throw a party!

Garage Painting and House Trim

The siding on the garage was finished last year and we finially got it painted this year. We went with a medium brown and dark brown trim to match the garage doors, tin roof, and sofeting. Dave's new toy (paint sprayer) made things go a lot faster. After completing the trim & doors on the garage in dark brown, we liked it so much we also did the house shutters and front door. Actually, Dave took the 2 man doors and front door off their hinges, hung them from the rafters in the garage, and sprayed them. There's one of the many things my Dearly Beloved does well is he does it right the first time. It turned out really quite sharp looking.

A Little "Hello" Goes a Long Way

When I worked at Winona Hospital we were expected as employees to smile, make eye contact, and say "hello" to everyone we met, coworker or visitor. This was required of us by the administrator during orientation. I've carried that t/o my career and life. At my current place of employment, no one gets past me without a "hello". Some people are relieved that you said it first, smile and say it back. Others dread seeing me come down the hallway as the "hello gal" and hang their head and avoid eye contact (this is commonly the younger population). That doesn't get them off the hook. They still get a hello. Can you believe people actually try to ignore you in the hallways, like you don't exist? Is this what our society is coming to, that our social skills are so lacking that they don't know how to say "hello" anymore?
I also wave at everyone who moves over on the road when Lexicon and I are walking. If you don't move over, you don't get a wave. But if you do, I thank you. There are even a few neighbors who recognize the big pregnant lady walking the middle-aged furball who move over and wave when approaching before I get to smile and wave first.
Have you ever gone to Wells Fargo bank? They all smile warmly and welcome you. I like that, whether it's fake or real, I still feel like a warm fuzzy when I go into their company. At other banks, you are made to feel bad, like you're wasting their time for having come to give them business. A roll of the eyes and "I'm open" is not welcoming and certainly doesn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling, even if their rates are good.
Dad always said "howdy" to everyone. This embarrassed me as a child, my Dad pretending to be a cowboy. ARG! But people responded. A big smile and a "hello" back. And people remember him for that too, as I found out this weekend talking to a long-lost girlfriend of mine who used to have Dad work on her computer. You never know the impact you'll make with a simple greeting. Conclusion of today's blog: It never hurts to take that extra second to be kind...so do it. :)

Grandma Brooks' 90th Birthday Party

Grandma is turning 90 in October. The family threw her an open house. Here are her words of wisdom to an expecting mother:
Grandma: "Do you know if you're having a boy or a girl?"
Christi: "No Grandma, we want it to be a surprise."
Grandma: "Well you know how to tell if its a boy don't you? They're always late. That's because it takes longer for them to grow that little extra thing, you know?" As she laughs at her own joke. I was rolling with laughter at this point.
Christi: "To put the stem on the apple, in the words of Bill Cosby, right Grandma?."
And this time, I got Grandma laughing. She can be pretty funny sometimes. Thanks for the words of wisdom Grandma!
Picture is from my baby shower last weekend of Grandma and my niece Bry. Gma is trying to spoon cottonballs from a bowl on the table to a bowl on her head with her eyes closed.

Goodland Maki Housewarming

Troy & Heather moved "home" this summer. We had a house-warming this past weekend with the whole fam damily. Good food, good conversations, good times. We watched the video of Earl's band being inducted into the Hall of Fame. We enjoyed it, but I think Ruby & William really got a kick out of "Earl is on TV!" For dessert, the girls had carrot cake (my favorite) with Baby Brooks' ultrasound picture on it. SOOOO thoughtful, thanks girls! Afterwards, Derik & Troy educated their 2 year olds on fire crackers (that's it boys, start them off young haha). It was great having everyone together. Thanks Makis for hosting and hope we helped you warm your house! (to 84-degrees!)
(Top picture of Ruby: she's got her hand on my belly and she's "listening" for baby with the other hand. She told me "There's a baby in there!" after she felt it move.)

Brooks Baby Shower

Baby Shower! Last Saturday 9/25 my family threw me a beautiful baby shower at the VFW. It was absolutely breath-taking. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of people who showed up and overwhelmed by their generosity. (And I even got my thank yous done in under a week!) Thanks everyone!

Anything Like Me - Brad Paisley

I didn't know David before he was a teenager. He tells me that as a child he was a ... busybody, to say the least. A good kid, just that he was always on the go, driving his parents nuts, breaking just about everything in the house. This is his way of warning me about this little one on the way, if its anything like him. (Not that David likes country music, but I do & thanks to pregnancy hormones, I cried the first time I heard it.)

Anything Like Me :
I remember saying I don't care either way
Just as long as he or she is healthy I'm OK
Then the doctor pointed to the corner of the screen
And said "Ya see that thing right there well ya know what that means"

And I started wondering who he was going to be
And I thought heaven help us if he's anything like me
He'll probably climb a tree to tall and ride his bike to fast
End up every summer wearing something in a cast
Hes gonna throw a ball and break some glass in a window down the street
Hes gonna get in trouble oh he's gonna get in fights
I'm gonna lose my temper and some sleep
It safe to say that I'm gonna get my pay back if hes anything like me

I can see him right now knees all skinned up
With a magnifying glass trying to melt the Tonka truck
Wont he be a sight with his football helmet on
That'll be his first love til his first love comes along
He'll get his heart broke by the time he's in his teens
And heaven help him if hes anything like me

He'll probably stay out to late and drive his car too fast
Get a speeding ticket he'll pay for mowing grass
He's gonna get caught skipping class and be ground for a week
He's gonna get in trouble we're gonna get in fights
I'm gonna lose my temper and some sleep
It's safe to say that I'm gonna get my pay back if he's anything like me

He's gonna love me and hate me along the way
Years are gonna fly by I already dread the day
He's gonna hug his momma he's gonna shake my hand
He's gonna act like he can't wait to leave
But as he drives out he'll cry hes eyes out
If he's anything like me (can't understand)
Aw he'll be alright if he's anything like me

Isn't that a cute song?! Ah, I'm tearing up again.

Snow White for Trusty Rusty

I inherited my Dad's '96 van. With BB1 on the way, the truck being sold, and an "extra" vehicle just sitting there collecting dust, we sold my candy white 2003 Malibu to my niece last week. I like the van. It rides nice, is comfortable, and since I threw my back out, my chiropractor suggested I use it until Baby is born anyhow (easier to get in and out of compared to trying to crawl out of a car with a baby bump).
But have you ever received something second hand and you clean it thinking that it'll make it "new" again? I scrubbed and vacuumed the inside of the van, Armor-Alled, Windexed, you name it. I even went through the car wash with the van, I think subconsciously hoping it would get rid of the rust. And it did; chunks of van rust were flying this way and that on my way through the blowers. Haha. So I traded in my Snow White for Trusty Rusty, and it looks better than ever, rust and all! I think Dad would be proud.

Becoming Like My Spouse?

They say after years of marriage you begin to act alike, make decisions alike, maybe even look alike. Really? This morning I asked my DB where his coffee cup was (after I make his lunch, I get his coffee poured so it has time to cool before capping and bringing to work. I know, isn't he lucky? LOL). Anyhow, I don't remember washing it, so I asked him where it was. "Well, I went out to the garage to get the cup and I ended up painting the garage instead and still forgetting the cup out there. Guess I'm turning into you." No, Honey, I thought, you're in the beginning stages of learning how to multitask. And I'm doing better at being more organized and becoming a thrower of extra "things" in my house I don't need. If I haven't used it in 1 year, it's out. The less "stuff" I own, the less I have to clean around and reorganize. Therefore...less STRESS! And that's all David.
On the other hand, some days you look at your spouse and say, how did we ever think we had anything in common? I like raisin bran, he likes sugar cereals. I could read novels all day, he likes the newspaper. I'm a morning person, he's a night owl. I like sitcoms, he's a news/sports guy. I know, pretty chinsy opposites, but I've learned from my patients that even after 30, 40, 50+ years of marriage, you still have to work at it. I've learned to give up on the thought process of EVER changing them, and that's when you see the changes occur. I've learned that no matter who you live with, they have a different background and how they do things. I've learned that your spouse will still find ways to drive you nuts...but you love them for who they are, no matter what. Not bad insight for 3.5 years of marriage, huh? And I've learned ... that there's still a lot to learn!

How Did I Miss the 8 mo. Mark?

People ask me how far along I am in my pregnancy and while I know how many weeks, I didn't know the months. Apparently I missed acknowledging crossing over to 8 months pregnant at 32weeks, so now I can say that I am 8 months pregnant (34wks). Good, now people will quit saying I look "big" for 7 months. (And by the way, please don't tell a hormonal, emotionally unstable pregnant woman she looks "big". Tell her she looks cute and petite. Because I often get both sets of comments in the same day from different people. No woman likes being acknowledged for being 20# heavier than she was a few months back, pregnant or not. :)) Above pic: It was 80-some degrees outside & I was filling water bottles, so David saw this as a photo op & snapped a belly picture.
Wk 34: Rapid growth continues. 34wks pregnant. (fetal age 32wks)
•Your baby now is approximately 18" long and weighs about 5.25 pounds.
•Your child has now an excellent chance of survival outside the womb.
•Fat accumulations plumps up the arms and legs this week.
•Eyes opened when awake and closed when sleeping.
•The fingernails are now completely formed.

Recommended DVDs for Mommies to Be

I bought Shiva Rea's Pregnancy Yoga DVD a few months back. I highly recommend this DVD, pregnant or not. She does have accommodations for women in their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd trimesters. It is a thorough, overall stretching DVD and I've been looking for something like this for years. I've been doing the DVD since my first trimester and found that Yoga can be a serious challenge, even for limber people. You'd be amazed on the tightness you may have and how good you feel afterwards. This really helps with my breathing now too with baby pushing up on my rib cage. I feel I have more room to breathe after doing Yoga. Also, Sister Heather recommended The Business of Being Born. It's a DVD, directed by Ricki Lake on childbirth. It was very educational on birthing not being such a scary, medical event, but a natural process. It gives the pros & cons of hospital vs home births. (Not that I would do a home birth, but it gives women the strength to take control of their birth plan.) So, that's my peanut gallery recommendation for pregnancy.

Rotisserie Chicken

Have you ever had one of those yummy rotisserie chickens? Well I found their "secret" recipe in my new 500 Low Cholesterol Recipes book. I tried it and threw the chicken breasts into the crockpot. It tasted good, but it was so moist in there that the chicken was surrounded in broth. I'm going to try again, but put the chicken in the oven so that it crisps. We used the broth over a rice & veggie side dish. The mixture is a little on the sweet side, so maybe cut the honey in 1/2, but it's REALLY close.

1/4 C. honey
1 t. paprika
1 t. onion powder
1/2 t. black pepper
1/2 t. dried thyme
1/4 t. garlic powder
4 boneless chicken breasts

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like ... Fall!

I love fall. I think it's the favorite season of most people. It's a time of new beginnings, probably engrained in us from the 13+years of school we endured in our earliest and most impressionable years. January is just too cold and fridgid for "new beginnings". It's like going back to work Monday morning...a fresh start to new challenges. I even have most of my Christmas shopping done for the year! My garden is pretty much done. I got my green tomatoes off the vine for fried green tomatoes (makes my mouth water just thinking about them) and the cabbage will be pulled up tonight.

Ultrasound #4

Ultrasound #4: At Thursday's appt, Dr said I'm measuring small (29 cm @ 32 weeks) so he ordered another ultrasound. There's a lot of reasons why I could be measuring small, some serious, some not so serious, but he just wanted to be sure. According to the ultrasound tech, everything looked good. The baby is measuring good in size; about 4# 7 oz, give or take 11 oz (kind of a stretch, huh?). But she figures BB1 is on average, right at 32 wk, 5days. And we saw "sparkles", a halo of shiny, flashing twinkling around baby's head: hair, the tech told us ... pretty cool. We're still waiting for the report back from the radiologist and physician saying everything is ok, but the baby, amniotic fluid, and placenta all looked good per the tech. PTL. Keeping up the daily prayers.

Sister Act 1992

I love the classics. Not being able to sleep past 4:30, I watched the movie "Sister Act" this morning. It was so much funnier than I remember now that I understand it better. Here's Sister Mary Clarance's (Whoopi Goldberg's) prayer before the meal: "Bless us, oh Lord, for these Thy gifts which we are about to recieve. And yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of no food, I will fear no hunger. We want you to give us this day, our daily bread. And to the republic for which it stands, and by the power invested in me, I pronounce us ready to eat. Amen." The whole movie is a hoot. I recommend giving it another showing at your house for some good clean laughs.

My Little Pancake Flipped

Week 32 of Pregnancy: We had our 32 wk appt this week. Yeah! Baby flipped and the little "bowling ball head" is now head-down, hence the kicks to the rib cage. It can always switch back, but I'm hoping if it found it's way upside down once, it can do it again. Internet Info: Baby is practicing survival skills like sucking and breathing, while your uterus is practicing some Braxton Hicks contractions. What's up with your baby? Tipping the scales at four pounds and topping out at just about 19 inches.
So is it a boy or a girl? Is she carrying high or low? Is she craving salt or sweets? What about the gold ring or Drano tests? What's the heart rate? I'm glad we're not finding out the gender. It's more fun hearing people's guesses. We'll find out in 8 weeks!

Here's Your Sign

I was heating up my leftovers in the microwave today around noon. A coworker walks in a says "ya heatin' up your lunch?" Disliking small talk like I do, I reply, "nope, seeing how many crayons I can melt together before they explode." Here's your sign. (That's for you, Bill Engvall.)

Goodbye Flem our Faithful Floridian Family Flamingo

David had a pink flamingo while residing in Florida (like everyone does in FL), a gift which he brought back with him. Flem lived in our living room and changed his outfit with every season and every holiday for teh past 3 years. He was our pet. Since the adoption of Lexie and the expectation of BB1, he needed more attention than we could give so I brought him to work and one of my staff members gave him a new home. I thought she was going to split a gut as she dressed him up in his many outfits. She has 2 grandchildren who will love him and a new camper he can travel the states in and see more of the world than just our living room. Thanks, Flem, for the good memories and for being part of our family! We hope you bring as much joy to other families as you did to ours.

Box Tops, Campbells Soup Labels, Milk Tops

Box Tops, Campbells Soup Labels, Milk Tops (Kemps & Land-O-Lakes). Please save these for your local school! If you don't know where to send them, I'll take them for my nephews. You'd be surprised where you find the box tops, now even on cans of Progressive soup (per their commercial) & cans of Pillsbury breakfast rolls. Thank you in advance!

Awake

The dehumidifier was beeping at 3:30 AM today, announcing "Hey, I'm full! Come empty me!" Arg. So I got up, emptied it, and it happily started running again. I went back to bed, tossed, turned, flipped. Arg, can't sleep! May as well get up. It got me thinking...why didn't he get up? The beeping didn't even phase David. Then I remembered what one of our Parenting Class instructors had said about men & women and what wakes them in the night, so I research and find this article, When Daddy Goes Deaf:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1231896/When-Daddy-goes-deaf-How-men-really-DONT-hear-babies-crying-asleep.html
That may be true, but a shaking from a spouse or "Psst, your turn" will wake anyone up, believe me. :)

David's Long Lost Brother?

Have you ever wondered if there's someone out there who looks like you? I haven't found my face double, but the guys at David's work tell him he looks like Daniel Tosh from Comedy Central. I've watched Tosh.O and while I do find him funny, I don't think he looks much like my husband, but it was something different to blog about.

Weeks 31 ( & 13) of Pregnancy

Week 31 of Pregnancy
As baby's senses increase, mommy's breathing room decreases. Baby is now in week 31 of pregnancy: Weighing in at 3+ pounds and measuring 18 inches long, baby is quickly approaching birth length. Also developing at an impressive clip: baby's brain connections (trillions of them!). It's now processing information, tracking light, and perceiving signals from all five senses.
AND
Jenny & Junior announced that Baby Parks will be entering this world on 03/05/2011! Now the size of a peach, Baby Parks #1 will be 4 months behind its Baby Brooks cousin. Congrats guys, we're so exicted for you! Much love and congrats to you both!

Garage Painting

There are always little projects to do as a homeowner. This most recent one is painting the garage. But David did get a new toy out of the deal, a paint sprayer to make the job easier, and hopefully to use indoors as well to make painting faster. We still have plenty to do because the weather only cooperated for one day of the weekend.

Baby Moon

We took a "Baby Moon" last weekend, a honeymoon before the baby comes. We went to the cities, to the Science Museum to see the Dead Sea Scrolls & took in a comedy show at Chanhassen. Really romantic and special time, just the two of us. The Science Museum was amazing, very similiar to one that I attended as a child in Canada. Unfortunately the Dead Sea Scrolls were highly guarded and we were unable to take any pictures, but very informational. They had history on the scrolls, who they think wrote them, how they were preserved and then discovered. They also had SO many artifacts (coins, glass, stoneware, purification cups, clothing) that were absolutely breathtaking and amazingly old. The scrolls themselves were ... amazing. The comedy show was very similiar to "Who's Line Is It Anyway?" and the actors were pretty impressive. Unfortunately we had seats right up front, so we got more attention from the actors than we wanted. :) But it was all in fun. I'd highly recommend the act. Good Baby Moon, and good memories.

My Little Cone Head

My poor little Lexicon. She had a sore on her foot we tried treating w/ one round of antibiodics & antinflammatories, putting a sock on her foot to keep her from licking it-reopening the wound. Unfortunately, it didn't heal and we had to do another round of abx and steroids this time. She then kept licking the Neosporin off of her foot and we finally resulted in putting a cone on her day and night, with breaks during walks and family time. She is finally healing and we have discontinued the cone, but not before we got a picture of our favorite little cone head.

On the Hunt for ... Food Storage Containers

I know, after 4 days of not Blogging, you'd think I'd have something more interesting to talk about. Well...I don't. Mainly b/c I bought a new camera and haven't had a chance to sync it with my computer.
Anyhow, I severely dislike messy Tupperware; mismatching tops, overly-nuked bowls stained red with last week's poor-sketty, just causes useless frustration. I want food storage containers that are all the same brand,
BUT , I do have one recommendation for good food storage and the organization of cluttered drawers:
I bought this unit years ago and haven't been disapppointed yet. It's handy, compact, and organized. I highly recommend this unit to anyone who has limited space or just revels in organization.

Prayer of St. Ignatius Loyola

This is a prayer out of our Missal that I pray it either after mass or communion. It's a difficult prayer to pray because you have to surrender to God everything that you consider as yours and what makes you who you are. But we have to remember that everything we have and everything we are originally came from God anyhow. And we have to be willing to give it back to God, because it belongs to him anyway.

Surrender

Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding and my whole will. All that I am and all that I possess You have given me: I surrender it all to You to be disposed of according to Your will. Give me only Your love and Your grace; with these I will be rich enough, and will desire nothing more.

I Don't Believe in "Bad" Days, but...

Dear Diary, I believe that bad days are what you make of them. Until...
Last night the dog was limping something terrible. She's been fighting off this infection in her foot for weeks now and was doing much better, until the limp started. So I call the vet and they recommend a 1/4 of an aspirin for the pain and an 8:00 appt today. So I bring her in and 2 prescriptions later we're headed back home. But my hands start itching on the drive back. "Why is that?" I wonder. Ahhh, I bet it was that cat that I pet at the vet's office. Turned into a full blown rash all over my hands and wrists. Luckily I have cream for that.
After applying hydrocoritizone cream, and saying toodles to my puppy, a sharp pain stabs me in my left back/hip. It freezes me in my path and takes my breath away. No, not now. I think. I'm already late and have so much to do at work. I hobble to my car. I thought the pain was bad until I tried to get into my car. I was seeing stars at this point. Nothing to do but go to work.
As I drive along, I come to road construction. The guy with the slow/stop sign flips it to "STOP" as I approach...two seconds behind the last car he lets through. Come on buddy! The huge dump truck gets into my lane, facing me, and the loader proceeds to tear up the road in the opposite lane, dropping the old asphalt into the truck. TEN minutes later, they're still going at their digging and dumping. Forget this, I think, as I turn around in the road and take another route, shaking my head at the line of cars that had piled up behind me. A few other follow my lead/frustration.
I take another route. Guess what? Road construction! One lane traffic for miles.
I finally get to work, taking excruciating baby steps as I haul in the stack of library books I had picked up for a resident. The physical therapist stretches my back and I take the rest of the day off. The pain remains and actually starts shooting down my left leg and radiating up my spine. I call my chiropractor and she fixes me up. Again, road construction for miles both directions on the highway, making a 15 minute drive into 30 and making me late for a last-minute appointment.
Short story long, I'm icing my back, moisturizing my hands as I sit on my couch, catching up on computer work, convincing myself there is no such thing as bad days. I've fed my dog an antibiotic in cheese, put Neosporin on her foot, and a cone on her head. We're quite a pair. That and BB1 learned a new trick: how to stomp on Mommy's bladder while it plays the xylophone on the inside of my ribs. I should have just stayed in bed today.

New Dummy Light

Would you know what this light is if it lit up on your dashboard? I'd guess that your pants fell down...but apparently it means low tire pressure. Huh. Who knew?

YAWN! My (Much Needed) Prayer for the Day

Heavenly Father, as a tired bird is lifted by an unexpected gust of wind and is raised to a highter altitude and soars on with new strength and energy, so come and lift me in the same way. May your blessed strength surge through my mind, through my emotions, through feelings that will evergize and excite me this day. Thank you! AMEN

Coffee w/ the Maki's

Heather and the kids came in to Hibbing for Dr's appointment today, so we met prior for coffee @ Caribou. I didn't have my camera, so here's a pic I got emailed from Heather. Isabella is 2.5 mo and William is nearly 2.