Happy Halloween!

I couldn't decide which one to post, so I'm just posting both :) He's growing so fast!!!

We grow 'em good 'round here

Happy ONE MONTH birthday Little Liam!

Or should I say, Not So Little.

He had his one month check up today, and weighed in a hefty 11 pounds! He also grew a couple inches, so he's at 23 inches long too. His two week check up he was at 9 lbs 2 oz, so he's definitely growing at a healthy clip. I just can't believe how much he's growing.....now I'm officially a cliche mom saying "ohhh....my little boy is growing so fast!". Today he also got his 2nd Hep B shot and took it like a champ. Everything looks healthy and happy for our little man!

Other exciting news - Pat and I signed up to get our flu shots on Saturday. AND after that - I'm going to go play Wheel of Fortune! The Wheel Mobile is coming to Chicago - you get a chance to play, and also audition for the show when its taped here in a few months. SUPER exciting! I'm hoping both Pat and I get to go together, but I don't know if I can bear myself to find a baby sitter. Its one thing to leave him with our parents......but UGH, I'm not sure I'm ready to leave him with - egads - other. people. We'll see though.

UGh. I also have to really start looking for daycare/nanny options...not looking forward to that either.

Sqiggly Wiggly Worm

So, Pat, being the great father that he is, picks up a fussy baby and changes his diaper - because its just about feeding time. But after the diaper is changed, Liam decides that Dad is UBER snuggly, and that he'd like to sleep a while. He starts out on Pat's left shoulder......then slowly, ever so slowly, squirms and stretches and squiggles his way into the position above....where he is soundly, deeply asleep. For another hour past his "normal" (whatever that is anyway) feeding time. Ah....my two boys are so cute :)

We're on our own....

Well, after a fantastic 10 day visit, Pat's mom is on her way back home to Tucson. This is officially the end of our helpful visitors, so now Pat and I are officially on our own. This means potentially less sleep for the two of us, and probably much less for me knowing that Pat is working/driving long distances, so I'd rather burden the brunt of the sleepless nights knowing that it will keep him safer. This should actually be much easier than in the first two weeks, since Liam is sleeping for longer stretches, and more independently as well. That means better / more sleep for me, and more importantly, more sanity on my end as well!

:::::::: FUNNY LIAM ::::::::

He's discovered that he can grab a hand full and pull his own hair, and does so with great force. He also has discovered that when his hair is pulled, it hurts. However, he has not yet discovered that these two events are related. His brains aren't that big yet :)

:::::::: BAPTISM ::::::::

We've officially asked Kristen and Keith to be Liam's godparents - and this past week we made a couple other preparations for the big day. We officially registered the date with St. Gregory's (it will be December 2nd) and while Pat's mom was here we went to Michael's to pick up some blue ribbon for the family Christening Gown. Then we took out the pink ribbon and threaded the blue in, which wasn't the easiest task known to man. It was made by Pat's Great-Grandma in 1917, and over 50 family members (including Pat's mom, Pat, etc) have been baptized in it. Its a beautiful linen gown with two cotton petticoats - you put either pink or blue ribbon in it depending on, of course, if its a girl or boy. A boy might look funny in a dress, but considering the historical / sentimental value, I'd put the boy in a tutu if it was a family tradition. It is quite pretty, but the outer gown is a bit delicate!

:::::::: FIRST TRIP OUT ::::::::

We had a trip yesterday out to Indiana to visit Kristen & the kids...Mike was in Vegas for work (but we saw him earlier in the week). Its about an hour away, so it worked out well - I fed Liam and then we headed out, and he pretty much slept the entire way. Then we went to Portage to watch Patricia play soccer - I got a couple of cool shots....it was nice to have the kids get some Grandma time, and also just to get outside for a while, because it was GORGEOUS out yesterday (as it was today as well). I tend to spend a lot of time cooped up inside, because its kind of a pain to go out . I'll admit, I don't like taking a fussy baby out in public. Its easier when you have a troop though - so having Pat and his Mom was cool.

Here are a couple photos from the day - first of Patricia kickin' some serious mid field butt, then of my favorite men.




That last picture pretty much sums up Liam for the entire day - bump on a log. Hey, I'd rather have a bump on a log baby than a screaming one any day! I'd call the day a success! Note Liam's outfit - Pat picked that up at Carters last week.....apparently, it is Liam's official Saturday Football Watching With Dad outfit. The hood is the cutest, isn't it?!?! The third picture makes me all mushy - isn't Pat the handsomest? *sigh* he's so dreamy, and SUCH a great dad, I could not ask for a better man :)

:::::::: LAST BUT NOT LEAST ::::::::

My fabulous Creative Team Designer, Shannon Lee Carlson, did the sweetest thing for me and another girl on the team who gave birth to a beautiful baby boy around the same time as Liam. She created kits for the newborns - one for Liam and one for Jack! I was so touched....got me all teary eyed and stuff! Here's Liam's kit, available for purchase at The Digi Chick:

And here's the first Layout I created with it....you can see all the credits HERE.

Liam's Birth Story

I’ve been putting this off, as I don’t really feel like sitting down to write it all (i.e. I should be sleeping, since Liam is!), but since time is gradually floating by and the details are becoming hazy, I suppose its best to do it before I lose any more details.

My OB appointment with Dr. Clinton on Friday, the 21^st was pretty uneventful. My cervix was still closed and high, and it was surmised that the baby’s head was probably too big for my pelvis – thus, not dropping and not putting any pressure on the cervix to open. I scheduled an ultrasound for Monday, the 24^th, to determine the size of the baby, and at my appointment with Dr. Kelsey on Tuesday the 25^th we would either schedule an induction or, depending on the size of the baby, a c-section. I also thought to myself that maybe the procedure I had done on my cervix over 10 years ago was causing some issues – I had a LOOP procedure to remove pre-cancerous cells. It healed well, but I always wondered if the scar tissue would cause any problems down the road……

Saturday evening, September 22 – Pat and I had plans to meet with my cousins Will & Amber at Leona’s in Des Plaines, to have dinner with our other cousins Gina & Jav (and Justo & Liz too) before they headed out to see George Lopez in Rosemont. It was like any other night really. I was feeling fine, ready to have the baby, but knowing that I hadn’t made any progress in the dilation or dropping department I resigned to the fact that it probably wasn’t going to happen any time soon.

We had a great dinner (despite waiting FOR ever for Gina & Co. – wrong directions, lateness, etc.) and headed home sometime around 8:00PM ish. I don’t recall doing much (this is where the details are fuzzy), just relaxing and such, and we went to bed somewhere around 11PM. I do remember Pat telling me “you know, if you had to go into labor tomorrow, would be a good day because the Lions are playing on Network TV”……Ironic, no?

I couldn’t get to sleep (which at that point in the pregnancy, was par for the course) so I got up shortly after midnight to go to the bathroom (again, very normal). Except that I couldn’t stop peeing. It went on forever! Then I realized it was probably my water breaking! I calmly called the doctor’s office (without waking Pat) and explained the situation – no contractions, no symptoms, just possibly broken water. Dr. Clinton was on call – I had just seen her on Friday. She said I could just see what my body does and wait it out at home, or I could go into the hospital – either way it would end up with Pitocin to start labor. Being the kind of person who gets relatively freaked out about medical issues, I opted just to go to the hospital right away.

It was at the point after I called the Dr’s answering service, but before she called back that I woke Pat up and let him know what was going on. I was shaking at that point, scared of what was going to happen, anxious that it was actually happening! After talking to the doctor we got up and got dressed, emptied the dishwasher, got the kitties some food and water, grabbed the hospital bag and were on our way. I didn’t call my parents right away, because even though I was already pretty sure about my water breaking, I wanted verification from the hospital….

We checked in sometime shortly after 1:00AM on Sunday, September 23^rd. Yes, my water had indeed broken – yes, we were starting Pitocin right away to start the contractions. I did pretty well – I could feel them, but didn’t need any pain medications.

They started to get relatively strong at around 5:00AM, when I started seriously discussing my options with my nurse. We all knew, since we were starting from scratch, it was going to be a long labor. I didn’t want to slow things down or be stuck in a bed for longer than I had to with an epidural, so I decided to hold off on that for a while. Pat and I walked the halls, I took a nice shower – I was still holding my own. Then they hit. WOW. Holy intense batman……I just can’t even explain the pain. I figured since I couldn’t even have a contraction without crying and bawling my way through it, that it was time for the epidural. I finally got one sometime after 9:30 AM, and sighed sweet sweet relief!! My mom and dad arrived sometime around noon-ish or so - and by that time I was a pretty happy camper!

At that point, I was still not dilated much, and still really high, but after the epidural I was progressing at an OK clip. I made it to 6, and they could feel the head, but it still wasn’t down far enough. At about 12:00AM on September 24th, about 24 hours after my water broke, Dr. Clinton finally ceded I wasn’t progressing enough on my own, baby’s head was swelling, my temperature was beginning to increase – it was finally time for a cesarean.

After that it was kind of a blur,....Mom & Dad waited in the family waiting room, Pat was issued scrubs and I was whisked into the operating room. It was cold and sterile, as it should be, and I was quite nervous – mostly expressed in the form of the shakes….I did manage to calm down a bit after Pat came into the OR – his calm, kind eyes always seem to have that effect on me. Baby was born at 1:17AM on Monday, September 24^th – with a nice big cone head from being stuck in my pelvis for so long – but still as beautiful and perfect as could be. The doctor announced it was a boy by saying “Well, looks like you finally broke my streak” – she had delivered 9 little girls
prior to Liam.

The parts I recall most about the surgery is after Liam was born, they were closing me back up and apparently my bowels were popping out all over the place, and somehow, despite the epidural and drugs, I could feel it. Not pressure, PAIN. The anesthesiologists were great though, and took care of me, and it didn’t last that long. They were smart asses, which I could definitely appreciate! Also, I recall the doctors being kind of mean to the residents…just like in the movies :)

Then, finally, they placed that sweet little boy on my chest, and wheeled me out to recovery.

Babies and Laughing. And smiles too.

They always say its just gas. Babies don't really smile or laugh - its always just gas. At least until they're about a month old and have the ability to recognize faces and such, and make the connection in their little brains.

But do you think babies can actually have funny thoughts? I dunno - Liam does the most hilarious thing when he's in that foggy land somewhere between wake and sleep. He smiles....and then he laughs. Seriously. Its a laugh. Its just hilarious and adorable! Pat and I have no idea what he's thinking of.....so we've decided he's chasing rabbits. I know, I know, that's something you say when a dog is barking or running in its sleep...but whatever. We're entitled to make things up.

:::::::::::::: VISITORS ::::::::::::::

Pat's sister & family came to visit yesterday - it was quite a nice treat :) Liam got to meet his cousins Larkin & Seamus....got a couple pics of them. Boo the Bear (who recently received a really creepy face transplant - so he looks rather weird now), Fred the Frog and Blankie are also featured. Note also Liam's "wiggleproof" socks from Carter's...not so much wiggle proof, but still cute and they keep little toesie's nice and warm.


Pat's mom also flew in yesterday as well - she's staying here as our helper for the next week and a half or so. We had a couple of days on our own with no help, and although peaceful I definitely missed having the extra set of hands around. It will be nice! She already made us chocolate chip cookies :)

:::::::::::::: WHAT ELSE? ::::::::::::::

Hmmm....Liam's 2 week check up went well - he chunked out at a healthy 1 pound heavier. He's 9 pounds 2 oz and growing. He's getting so big! His umbilical cord mostly fell off (save for a small gooey portion) and we're also doing pretty darn well at breastfeeding now. No nipple shields or any other attachments, which speeds things up quite a bit.

We also had a small victory this week with a sleeping stretch that lasted two sessions of three hours or so - completely in his own cradle! Basically I waited until he was pretty well conked out, wrapped him in his swaddle sleep sack and swaddled him nice and tight, and set him in the cradle. It was great. It was the first time Pat and I spent the night sleeping in the same bed.......
of course, when I tried the same thing last night it didn't work :( but I'll take it as a sign that things are improving in the sleep department. Slowly but surely!

Speaking of sleep, or lack thereof.....here's what I look like after two and a half weeks of not sleeping for more than 2.5 consecutive hours - for a total of maybe 6 hours a day if I'm really, really lucky:

and here's what I look like with the magic and wonder of Adobe Photoshop :) Much, much better! I {heart} Photoshop!

Scrappage....

Credits HERE

Breathe.

Wow! i can't believe its been over two weeks already since Liam has come into the world! Its been quite the transition from Coupledom to Familydom, but we're learning as we go, and finding our way into some resemblance of what will be normalcy. Right now, we're just working on the sleep thing....which has been interesting since little Liam doesn't really like to sleep anywhere except for cuddled on a nice warm body. Not to say that I blame him at all - that is an aweful nice place to sleep! It just makes it a bit difficult to get anything at all accomplished. When I don't have cuddle duty, I'm trying to catch a consecutive 90 minute section of sleep before he wakes up and would like another round of the 24 hour Karin buffet. That doesn't leave a lot of extra time for blogging, showering, cleaning or anything else for that matter.

Today is Liam & Mommy day - our first whole day alone! My dad left Monday night (after a litle over a week of helping out - my mom was here the week before) and Pat is in Wisconsin working all day and evening......so far, so good! I do have a friend who is a nanny that lives in the condo below, so I have an emergency plan, just in case I can't hack it alone :) I did just have a whole hour of baby sleep time - I got him to sleep in his crib/bassinet....but he's starting to stir now, so my time is numbered right now. I managed to eat breakfast, go to the bathroom uninterrupted, empty the dishwasher and watch 15 minutes of Regis & Kelly - AND blog paragraph or two!

Alas, now its time to change and feed, so I shall bid you all adieu......until next time!

Announcing :)

Its pretty much been mass chaos since his arrival - not much time left for the computer between breastfeeding and sleeping, but I just thought I would officially announce it :) More posts will follow, eventually....stay tuned :)

Last Day!

Today was my official last day of work. I still have a couple of things to take care of here and there, but I can officially stop feeling bad about not doing work. Things will get done with or without me, and it needs to function without, since I don't plan on being back to work until Mid November (or later, depending on the circumstances). OK Baby - you've officially got clearance to make your entrance into the world now. AAAANNNNNYYYYY time would be great!

Boy, was it a doozy of a last day! I was up at 5:30AM, for no particular good reason at all......Pat got up just before 6AM to run, and I joined him for a cool down walk around 7AM. We got into the office sometime after 9 (or was it 10? I forget) to do our semi-mid year reviews with our boss. Then, after about 2PM, we headed back into the city for an ACI Illinois Board meeting....followed by our monthly dinner meeting.......which got us home sometime around 8-ish or so.

I spent the day kind of sitting, but really it was a significant amount of up/down/walking kind of stuff too. We scooted out of our meeting a bit early.....I was trying to be a trooper and tough girl and stick out the whole time, but now I'm glad I didn't. I'm actually in a lot of pain now - my hips and back hurt tremendously, and I'm overall really achy. I realized how much I over did it when I took off my socks and shoes and my legs/feet were super Stay-Puft Marshmallow Girl. That doesn't oft happen to me.

Anyway, I'm not sure why I'm up right now - its a combination I think of me being overly tired, my body hurting, heartburn, and just this inexplicable insomnia that seems to plague me every time I try to go to bed. OK, maybe it doesn't help that I had a cup of coffee after dinner tonight, but should one cup really effect me that much?

Its a no win situation - I try to relax myself and clear my head, but there are always a million thoughts that run through my brain - so that "self relaxation" method doesn't work. Then, I tried keeping the TV on to at least keep my mind from racing, which actually works by distraction, but keeps me up because I get engrossed in the shows. Pat doesn't mind when I watch TV in bed (it takes him all of 2 minutes to fall asleep) but on nights, such as tonight, when I'm particularly restless and the TV doesn't even keep me occupied, I come out into the living room. I'll give myself over an hour or so. Ick. I'm just so tired.....and I really, REALLY want to sleep!!! My body won't relax though - and the baby certainly isn't in any mood to relax.....its been a tossin' and a turnin' all STINKIN' DAY!!!!!

OK, maybe I'll try to lay down and get semi-comfy, or at least as comfy as I can surrounded by pillows on the most uncomfortable couch on earth...please send either labor vibes or comfort vibes.....I just want some type of relief!!!

An Ode to My Husband

OK - so its not an official ode. This isn't even an official post. I just want to say publicly, for the record, that my husband is amazing. He's taken over 90% of the cleaning, cooking, and 100% of the taking care of me - all without even a teeny tiny bit of anger or resentment. I can honestly say that I've never had to post an "OMG I'm Going To Shoot My Husband" thread on my pregnancy message board - because he just hasn't done any of the insensitive, ridiculous things that many husbands apparently do. (Well, there was that one comment about "eating the apple**"...but I'm pretty sure that was in jest.) He's been really good throughout this whole pregnancy, and in particular, these last weeks where I've had the pleasure of getting really uncomfortable.

I feel guilty I'm so tired that I just want to rest my weary feet/hips/back etc. - I feel guilty that I can only get the kitchen cleaned in about the same time it takes him to clean both bathrooms & mop all the floor. I feel terrible that when I'm finally comfortable after 10 minutes of adjusting, then deciding I really need a drink of water, that I have to ask him to retrieve it for me. But those feelings are often short lived for me, because I don't need to dwell on them. Pat makes me feel like its OK to take the time to rest, to take it easy...because its tough making a human being! I'm not sure if it comes natural for him, or if he has to work hard at it, but regardless, it never ceases to amaze me.

I know its because I'm pregnant, and its only temporary (although, if I'm not careful, I could get used to this Royal Treatment). But the way he does it....it just makes me appreciate every ounce of his being, and makes me love him so much more.

So thank you, Patrick, for being so amazing. I love you tons!

** I was particularly whiny one day about the lack of energy and achiness and the overall suckiness of pregnancy (maybe sometime in the first trimester), and asked, rhetorically, what I did to deserve that kind of malaise. To which my darling, witty husband replied "Well, I guess you guys shouldn't have eaten the apple" - referring to the actions of Eve. I'm pretty sure I shot him daggers with my eyeballs. Nice, Pat. Real nice.

Latina & Carlos Santana

Its no secret that I'm of Mexican decent (along with Welsh & French Canadian, so far as I know).....I've been a subscriber of Latina magazine for the past few years. I think I discovered it a year or two after its inaugural year. It has much more substance than Cosmo, but still has a little bit of trash in it to keep it light :) And, of course, I love it because I can relate to sooo much in the magazine. Its so inclusive - showing that there are Latinas of all sizes, shapes, colors and backgrounds - it really is a celebration of all things Latina!

I normally receive it and read it cover to cover right away, rarely skimming over any articles - and this month's issue was no different (the cover shown is actually from last month, this month features a stunning Judy Perez - the nurse from Scrubs!). I came across a one page feature on Carlos Santana...where one question and answer in his interview struck a chord with me. It shows a bit of his, well, spirituality? Quirkyness? 60's peace love and music man? I can't really explain it, but I thought it was poetic and beautiful, and I just wanted to share.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Q (Latina): You recently said in an interview: "I have the courage to say that I have transcended and graduated being American or Mexican...My only alliance is with the heart of humanity." What did you mean?

A (Carlos Santana): I'm a beam of light that comes from the mind of God, and while I'll always remember being born in Mexico, the sabor and all the music that is in my DNA - that's not all that I am. I would rather be like water and like the wind and be of service to everybody. I don't like the conflict that I see between brother and brother because they invest so much in a flag or in patriotism, which to me is an illusion. God doesn't see flags or patriotism - only compassion, mercy, forgiveness, unity and harmony.

I'm environmentally friendly :)

Yes, ladies and germs, I am now officially a LEED Accredited Professional. I can't believe that I actually passed, seeing as how the practice test I took earlier in the day I scored 8 out of 18 correct.....I guess it doesn't really matter how it happened though, eh?
In celebration - Pat bought me a surprise plant with a cute sign that says "Congratulations! Karin - you ROCK!". That totally made me smile!

Get it - its a plant, because it was a Green test? HA! I did the same for him when he passed back in June......his plant is doing fabulously!Seriously though - I'm so relieved I passed it. It was a goal to have that accreditation before I went on maternity leave.....and, I didn't want to take it again - and I didn't want to admit that my lack of performance was probably due to my lack of concentration and memory retention.....which is directly related to me being knocked up.


No matter now. I Passed! So go celebrate for me and hug a tree - or hug your nearest LEED AP!

Stress-O-Rama

You wouldn't think I'd be stressin' - I've only got one more week left of work before I begin my maternity leave.....and I've been ramping work down for a while, so it should be an easy transition to nothingness :o) But, like the big dork I am, I had a personal goal of taking and passing a test before I leave. I'm taking the exam to become a LEED AP - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional. (Pat took and passed this exam back in June, if you recall) Which normally wouldn't be a huge deal, but, again, like the big dork I am, I procrastinated and procrastinated studying for this exam, and I've been cramming since last week. Now, I know I'll have enough time to cover the subjects, but I'm not sure I have enough time to keep all the information in my head. Especially with my pregnancy brain. I feel like I can't retain any knowledge in there at all! Needless to say, I'll be very disappointed in myself if I don't pass, but if I don't pass, I have no one to blame but myself. I've got a half a day tomorrow to study, and then I take the exam at 4:30pm....keep your fingers crossed.

I'm not sure if I'm giving myself physiological symptoms from stressing about the test, or if I'm just stressing because of the baby. But my neck is KILLING me!!! My massage therapist says people carry a lot of stress in a muscle that goes from your head to your shoulders....and I think I'm carrying it ALL there right now. I would go get it massaged out, but he's sooo good at doing that - so much that it feels like I was hit by a truck the day after before it actually feels good. I know I'm stressed, because when I'm waking up 1,000 times a night I can feel myself really, really clenching my teeth. I try to relax myself but I usually notice it during that semi-conscious state between sleep and wake, and I can't always do it. At least I have a mouth guard so I'm not wrecking my teeth. Apparently Pat's stressin too, because he's been telling me his jaw hurts, presumably from doing the same nightly teeth clenching activities. I wish there was a way to avoid that.....maybe some relaxation techniques before bed time?

Speaking of bed time, mine has not been very kind to me as of this last week or so. Sleep pretty much eludes me - either because I can't fall asleep until the wee hours of the morning (2:30AM on Monday Night), or because I'm getting up every two seconds to pee. OK, maybe not every two seconds, but at LEAST (last night anyway) every 1-2 hours. I can't cut down my water drinking any more! I get thirsty!!! It just dawned on me, as I was in the shower, that maybe the baby dropped a bit, which would explain why I am peeing so much with increased pressure and less capacity in my bladder. But I can't really tell, you know? I don't think I have any noticeable increase in lung capacity, and my hips/pelvic area don't seem to ache or hurt any more than they usually do......but I suppose its possible. I have noticed a considerable increase in activity with the little O'Brien this week though - he/she's been a super wiggle worm! We'll see what the powers that be say at my doctor's appointment tomorrow (it was rescheduled cuz I have a customer meeting on Friday).

On Monday night, when I couldn't fall asleep after laying in bed for an hour.........I came out into the living room and turned on some HGTV to watch me some Color Splash and House Hunters. It was fantastic. Then, I got the urge to whip up a batch of blueberry muffins - old school Jiffy style (my favorite!). So I did - and yes, it was about 1:30AM. I'm surprised Pat didn't wake up, because they smelled sooooo good! I did leave him three to eat the next morning - so that was a nice surprise for him :) Anyway, apparently, hot fresh from the oven blueberry muffins with a dab of melty butter was apparently just what I needed - because after I ate a couple and laid down on the couch supported by a mountain of pillows, and I finally fell asleep......then I woke up a few minutes later to go back into my comfy cozy bed.

OH, one more thing - I met the other preggo-pants girl who is floating around in our building. She's Polish (like, straight from the motha-land) and due one week after I am :) I gave her a high five and said "Yeah girl - we're almost there! We can do it!". Cheesy, I know, but that's how I roll.

OH, and one more thing (seriously this time). I love 50 degree weather. Pat and I took a nice walk this morning, and it was so awesome to wear pants, a long sleeve shirt and a fleece vest. Just so crisp and fabulous! I love fall!

OK - that is all - more to come later.........

I give up.

I've decided that I am resigning to the fact that this baby isn't coming until October. I seriously had high hopes that he/she would come early. And when I hit 37 weeks - I really felt like it could happen at any time.

But people, I'm driving myself CRAZY looking, waiting, feeling for ANY sign that I could be going into labor. So, instead of driving myself crazy - I'm just giving up. Fine, body. You win. I will not die from being a giant huge manatee - I will not die because I can't bend over and pick up anything on the floor without making a huge scene - and I will not die because my feet swell up like giant balloons. Yes, I realize there are women out there who have been dealing with these ailments a whole helluvalot longer than I have (since they've just really started bothering me the last week or so). It doesn't make me any less misearable, but I won't die, so I'll just have to suck it up and deal with it until October. Because if I don't plan on the baby being late, I'll just spend a whole lot of time crying, lamenting why this baby isn't out yet.

Oh, in case you haven't figured it out - no new news at the doctor appointment yesterday. In fact, I saw a different doctor, and she said "yeah, I'm not even sure why he had 1 cm dialated in here two weeks ago - because you're about as high and closed as you can be". Great. Not to mention that I hit the dreaded weight I didn't want to hit. 200. yikes. I weigh two bills right now. ick. That makes a girl feel good too.

But, blood pressure is still good (110/70), head is till down, measurements are right on, so I've got that going for me. Oh, and I found out last week I was Group B Strep negative, so I won't need antibiotics during labor, which is cool.

::::::::::::::: WEEKEND PLANS :::::::::::::::

St. Gregory's (our church we are now official members of) is having a music / BBQ gig that we're headed to this afternoon. Our friend Sean is part of the planning committee. Pat helped to set up most of the morning, and he'll probably work the beer tent when we get there (because then you don't have to buy beer tickets). I'm sure they'll put me to work when I get there too - as long as I can sit it shouldn't matter too much what I do. Until we head out there we'll be chillin' at home watching college football! I'm excited, and kind of sad, to not watch it in a Sports Book (namely, Caliente) which was the hang out place for Keith and I during College Football season last year in Mexico. And, another cool thing is having The Big Ten Network as part of our Direct TV package - so we get all sorts of Big Ten football action....in addition to coverage of every obscure Big Ten sport you can think of. I wonder if we'll get some curling action.

Tomorrow is Sunday. And since we have Direct TV now (just installed yesterday) we have NFL Sunday ticket. So our Sundays from now until January are booked :) It just means I'll get a lot of scrappin' done while I sit out here in the living room while Pat watches the million games on TV. I kind of enjoyed having the NFL Snday Ticket last year....it was cool to keep tabs on my fantasy football dudes. And, it was nice to have plans every Sunday :) Even if it means we'll get to experience the pain of the Detroit Lions week after week. Maybe they'll be so bad that they'll send me into labor. At least they'll be good for something.

Tee hee....

Courtesy of my cousin, Cindy :) She lives in New Mexico. Which we all know, is way better than Old Mexico.

Full Term Party!

WHoooOOOOoHHOOOOOOOoooooOOO! Baby and I made it to full term. Yup - at 37 weeks baby is no longer considered a premie! Lungs should be fully developed, most systems are ready for launch....I can officially say this baby can come at any time. Here's some belly pics to celebrate!



I decided to include a front shot just so you can see my stretch marks that are officially forming. They're under my belly, to my right side a little bit. Still little, but they kind of itch, which is annoying. Also, another stretch mark is coming off of my belly button ring mark too. Eh. Whatev. I think they are kind of cute! Hopefully I can get one last shot in before I go into labor (or at least before I go to the hospital) so we can see the full progression.

Other fun things that have shown up are some toe swellage - that is kind of sucky. I just have to be more aware of how long my feet are below my body. If I can sit on the couch with my feet up for a bit in the middle of the day, I think it will help tremendously. I can't drink any more water (I'm already at two liters daily) or I'll be peeing every 3rd second instead of every 4th. I did an experiment last night....I stopped drinking water at about 7:30PM, with the hopes that I wouldn't get up every two hours to pee. It seemed to work - I only got up at 2AM and 5AM.....instead of 12, 2, 4 & 6. So I'll be implementing that tonight as well. Also, I feel like I'm waddling more - I'm not sure if the baby has dropped per se (although I guess I do have a bit more lung capacity) but it definitely feels like my hips hurt more and I have more pelvic pressure than normal.

I also got some final preparations in order - I sent my parents directions to the hospital with instructions on how to get to me once I'm in labor. I set up an email list so Pat can email everyone after the baby is born with the stats and specifics. The announcements are semi-designed and ready for a baby picture to drop in. In the mail today I got a couple nursing bra's that I ordered a few days ago - they fit amazingly, and they still have lots of stretch to accommodate any engorgement that occurs when my milk comes in. I also went in for my final Brazilian & eyebrow wax today too.....it will probably be a while before I can start that back up again, LOL! Now, I just have to find some time to get a manicure & pedicure, and I'll officially be ready for labor!

That's about all for a preggo update for now. I have another appointment on Friday, so I'll give another one then!

Labor Day Weekend photos :)

OK, as promised here are a few from this weekend. To see the full set, check out FLICKR My apologies for the overexposed ones......I tried my hardest to not shoot in full auto mode, and I'm still getting the hang of the light exposure/aperture thing.......






I think this is my favorite one......mostly because everyone is chasing little Michael, and every single one of them is smiling! Its just a good, wholesome, family fun shot!

Pat was trying to juke out his brother, and apparently the ol' legs aren't as limber as they used to be......so he took a little schpeel. Makes for a funny photo montage though :) Click on it to make it larger and see how silly he is!





These pics are also from this weekend (I made Pat do a mini-photo shoot with me. He loooooves those :) ) But I already scrapped them......came out pretty nice I think! You can see the credits HERE.

Another perspective....

Here's an entertaining blog for you to sink your teeth into. Pat found it online somewhere - its called THE WAYNE FONTES EXPERIENCE - and it talks about all things sports in Detroit & Michigan. His banter regarding the two recent suck-fests of Detroit (namely U of M football, and the Tigers - they lost to the FLIPPING WHITE SOX - AGAIN!!!) is relatively entertaining.......go check it out!

WTF?

I'm glad the game wasn't on TV. I might have actually tossed my cookies. It was heartbreaking enough watching the final plays on ESPN's play by play gig.

Michigan's loss to Appalachian State was as big of a suprise for me as it was for everyone else. I mean, I know the first game of the season is normally a fluff off game, but guys, you HAVE to show up enough to WIN. For PETE'S SAKE!!! *sigh* I can't even talk about it anymore because its making me upset.

::::::::: WORK DRAMA :::::::::

The past few weeks have been difficult for me with regards to work. I can't remember if I've posted it before, but my job responsibilities are changing - from less of a sales role to more of a promotion/education role for other architects and engineers. Which, in theory, is fantastic - because I've always loved that part of the industry, and I know I'm very well qualified and it will work out well with my new role as a mommy too. But, the whole thing is kind of cloudy - ill-defined - if you will, and has left me in a bit of limbo.

To tell you the truth, I was just starting to find a groove with the sales role. And I was really diggin' it. And I realize now why some other sales guys I've known through the years showed a bit of territorial-ness when it came to their customers. Because they are YOUR customers! You spend the time to get to know them, determine their needs, and its really tough to just hand them over to someone else!

So the issue I've been having is this transition period between my old and new job, and the transition of handing off my customers to the new guy (who, by the way, is SUPER cool, and very knowledgeable - especially for being right out of college!) while trying to prepare for the new role that I will enter into after maternity leave. The whole thing just wasn't/isn't very well mapped or planned out. I tried and tried, on various occasions, to put together a formal plan with my boss to try to avoid some of this confusion, but I couldn't come up with anything super specific (being new to the sales role as I am - with 6 months under my belt) so we had more of a general umbrella of who would be covering what.....etc.

Without a firm plan in place, the resulting feeling for me is inadequacy. Basically, I feel like I can't complete my job roles because of my pregnancy (I'm restricted to stay in the Chicago Metro area - which cuts off about 75% of my territory), which is making me not able to visit customers and in general, I feel like (at least in my eyes) I look incompetent.

I will admit, its a bit tough to be a woman in this industry...not superficially...people aren't saying rude comments and telling me to get back in the kitchen and bake some pies. But its like this semi-transparent, looming black cloud. Its like a stereotype that is baked into people's heads that a women sales person isn't as good as a man, isn't as easy to talk to, relate to, etc. Its not anything that can be helped, I don't think. And being pregnant on top of that, is just adding to the stereotype. Its not just the customers, either, but I think the thoughts of management as well.

The only analogy I can think is this: If I were walking at night down an alley, and saw a big scary looking tatooed up shaved head man walking toward me, I would definitely be a tad bit alarmed, automatically thinking this person would attack me or rob me. Not that I'm predjudiced against big scary looking dudes, but its just where the mind is programmed to go.

I realize that additional effort needs to be made to make up for this thought process, but its tough to go the extra mile when you're not even sure what your responsibilites are. And dammit, sometimes it just gets hard to slather on a smile and pretend like everything is going great.

This makes me cry (thus further adding to the stereotype) and that, my friends, is never a good thing for a pregnant woman to do....because sometimes its really hard to stop.

::::::::: ON TO HAPPIER THINGS :::::::::

Pat and I had a great weekend in Indiana. And just in case you're wondering, I would still consider it Metro Chicago, seeing as how its only a 45 minute drive from my hospital (gotta respect doctors orders!). It was just nice to hang out and have fun with family. Even nicer to feel like its my family. I took about a zillion photos of the goings on (namely a game of bags, and two hand touch football), of which I'll post a bit later when I get a round to it. A million thanks to Mike & Kristen & Family for putting up with us and feeding us for a couple of days. You guys ROCK.

::::::::: LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST :::::::::




A giant happy birthday wish to my dear dear little baby sister, who is now officially 16 years old. Sweet LORD! Where did the time go??? I hope you have a fantastic day Karli-girl!

Just in case.......

You don't remember......

Little Miss Impatient Pants

*sigh* I had another check up this morning. Little to no change/improvement from last week. I realize it doesn't mean anything. Heck, they could check me at 3 cm and I could stay that way for a couple weeks , just as I could be at 1 cm and go into labor tomorrow. Its just so frustrating, because I WANT to see some progression here!!! I want to know when to expect this little person to arrive! I'm SOOO impatient! I guess I just don't like the anticipation, nor do I like the not knowing. It all goes back to all my control issues I have, I suppose.

UGH

Dr. guestimates baby at around 6 - 6 1/2 pounds right now. He said today "if you go to full term, this baby won't be a shrimp, that's for sure". Great. I've been trying to mentally prepare myself for a 12 pound baby, but wouldn't it be so much easier/quicker if it were just an itty bitty 6 pounder? I'm really not thinking that's gonna happen though. But, I suppose since God gave me this big ol' child bearing hips, I might as well put them to good use and pop out giant babies!

Side note, an old wives tale states that if you have heartburn, you're going to have a hairy baby. I recently read that there have been studies to confirm this tale. Something about the same hormone that relaxes the esophagus and contributes to heartburn (in addition to the fact that your stomach is all squished to high heaven sharing prime real estate with the baby) has been noted to be the same hormone that is responsible for fetal hair growth. Hmm.....interesting.

Given that A) I've had wicked aweful heartburn over this last trimester and B) Baby Daddy is a rather big fuzz ball himself - I'm sure I'll have a baby that more resembles a monchhichi than the bald baby I was (I don't think I had hair until I was 3.....). What do you think? There's still lots of potential for cuteness through the fuzz, eh?


And dammit - now I can't get the Monchhichi song out of my head.

oh, Happy Labor Day weekend to everyone!!! Summer is officially over.....almost! We're headed to Michael & Kristen's tomorrow morning for the weekend. It will be nice to visit some family again.....especially since they don't live far away :) Its still within my one hour radius of the hospital my Dr. says I'm allowed to roam freely in.

::::::::::: AND NOW, YOUR MOMENT OF SCRAPPING ZEN :::::::::::

Chicago Botanic Gardens: The End of Summer [Credits]


Journaling Reads:

The end of August. The end of Summer.

But all is not ending. This means that September is almost here, and September brings the beginning of a new life for us! This day, we took advantage of one of our last days alone as a couple, and took a walk around the Chicago Botanic Gardens...enjoying each others company, the scenery and the warm late summer sunshine. Don't get me wrong, we love each other so much, but we can't wait until our new addition arrives! Bring on the Fall!

Dammitallanyway

I was getting antsy and tired of working at home today, so Pat and I decided to head to Staples to purchase some office supplies - and then head to Target. It was supposed to be a quick afternoon jaunt, but no such luck.

Upon our exit of our parking spot, Pat noticed another person who started backing up after he was already mostly out in the isle......he stopped. Honked. For a good couple seconds. The other people kept on backing up. Right into the drivers side back door. *sigh* at least it was a low impact collision, and the door just crumpled. Turns out it was a college age girl and her high school age sister......they had insurance and everything, but were obviously relatively upset about backing into someone.

But its still a giant pain in the ass. No police report since it was in a parking lot (Chicago Police have bigger fish to fry). Exchange of information - blah blah blah. We already were able to report the accident with GE, take the car to a body shop to get an estimate already, so we'll just wait to hear from them to see what to do next. Or at least Pat will, since it was his company car. We definitely have that to be thankful for too - fleet vehicle companies are awesome. I had a couple accidents with our other company, PHH, which went pretty well, but this will be our first with GE.

We were able to make it to Target afterward, but at the end of the day our 1 hour trip a total of about 2.5 hours. Oh, and note to self (and a good rule to follow in general). When going to Target, don't show up in khaki pants and a red polo shirt. Luckily, Pat had a very visibly pregnant wife in tow and we weren't bothered at all, but I'm sure if he went alone he would have been bombarded with many questions about where the milk was, or if the swiffer wet jet was on sale.

Christian Humor :)

Jesus and Satan were having an on-going argument about who was better on the computer.

They had been going at it for days, and frankly God was tired of hearing all the bickering.

Finally fed up, God said, "THAT'S IT! I have had enough. I am going to set up a test that will run for two hours, and from those results, I will judge who does the better job."

So Satan and Jesus sat down at the keyboards and typed away.

They moused.
They faxed.
They e-mailed.
They e-mailed with attachments.
They downloaded.
They did spreadsheets!
They wrote reports.
They created labels and cards.
They created charts and graphs.
They did some genealogy reports
They did every job known to man.

Jesus worked with heavenly efficiency and Satan was faster than hell.

Then, ten minutes before their time was up, lightning suddenly flashed across the sky, thunder rolled, rain poured, and, of course, the power went off.

Satan stared at his blank screen and screamed every curse word known in the underworld.

Jesus just sighed.

Finally the electricity came back on, and each of them restarted their computers. Satan started searching frantically, screaming: "It's gone! It's all GONE! "I lost everything when the power went out!"

Meanwhile, Jesus quietly started printing out all of his files from the past two hours of work.

Satan observed this and became irate.

"Wait!" he screamed. "That's not fair! He cheated! How come he has all his work and I don't have any?"

God just shrugged and said,

JESUS SAVES

I have a new best friend.

And his name is Tide To Go :) Sweet lord - that thing is amazing! A definite must for me and my messiness...and now that I'm driving more, eating more in the car, that means more Taco Bell red sauce drips. So I'm driving, and even after I had devoured my bean burrito (minus onions) i noticed I could still *really* smell the red sauce - but I didn't have any on my hands and the bag was neatly tucked away in my car trash. Then a look down, and see my fate. A nice big drip on my shirt, and another on my jacket. Luckily, I had already seen customers for the day, and was on my way home. But still, I didn't really want to stain my new preggo girl shirt, know what i mean? So, I remembered I bought the Tide to Go stick a while back and stuck it in my car, just for this occasion. So I used it, as I was driving - and at the next stop light I looked down - and it was gone! HOORAY! *This Product Offically Has the Karin Seal of Approval* Not much else new - The Massey Trio is playing tonight at The Note with special guest Singer Kyle Mayer. So Pat and I will go down there tonight.......I had a good OB appointment this morning, heard the little blob's heartbeat :).......and now I'm tired and hungry - so its time to stop blogging and go take a nap.

We're Ready!

The classes have been had, the nursery has been set up, car seats are installed, and we are officially READY to go for baby!

Or rather, as ready as we're ever going to be!

The classes were really helpful - the breastfeeding, infant CPR, and the Great Expectations classes. The CPR and breastfeeding classes were informative, and gave out lots of useful information. The Great Expectations class can't actually teach how to be a parent or anything, but it was more so just to expose us to various issues that may arise during labor and when the baby gets here, so we'll be a little more calm, and less likely to freak out. And Pat proved that he could put on a diaper and shirt and give a sponge bath - on a motionless doll anyway :) He's so cute, and going to be such a great dad!

The last thing we really needed was to get our car seat and stroller set, which arrived via UPS on Wednesday. I put the stroller together myself :) Pat installed the car seat base, in my car anyway, and we practiced taking it in and out, just like we played with the stroller too. We ended up purchasing a travel system from Costco - I'm glad we did! We got a great deal on it, and ended up with a less bulky stroller to boot! The stroller is much more city friendly - it folds quite nice and small for trains and buses and such, and the infant car seat still fits and snaps in nice and snug too. I'm very happy with it.

We didn't have a doll handy to practice using the car seat buckles and such, but we did have a Teddy bear handy........so Ted was our practice victim. Ah Ted. He's seen better days, but he's still my go to man in a pinch.




I had a check up appointment on Friday - and things are still going well. I have a touch of an Urinary Tract Infection, but I've got antibiotics for that now. Aside from that, Dr. Kelsey took a Group B Strep swap test (I'll get test results back in a week), and an internal exam to see how I was doing. Baby is down nice and low with its head locked and loaded :) And I'm about 1 cm dilated (not that it means anything at all) and on my way! He also restricted me to working only in the Chicago Metro area, so no more trips to Cheeseland :( But I suppose the less time I spend in the car, the more comfortable I am.

And I also found out that Dr. Kelsey is going to be on vacation from September 7th - 24th. I wasn't really all that heartbroken about it - I've spent lots of time with the other practitioners, and I like all of them - it doesn't matter much to me who catches the baby...that was one of the reasons why I wanted a multi-doctor practice.

We're almost a month out - and getting more and more excited as time chugs along!

Lonely Saturday

I shouldn't say lonely.......I've got my cats to keep me company :) Pat has been gone most of the day today galavanting about in Chi-town. His buddy is getting married soon - so they are having a Bachelor party boys day for him. I'm sure he'll be home late, but the weather was fantastic today (which is a nice break from all the stinkin' rain and storms we've been having!) so I'm hoping he had a great time!!

Truth be told, I enjoy a day to myself now and again, and I SUPER am enjoying this day because I know in another month these days will be few and far in between! Its been very relaxing - I did yoga, cleaned a bit, sorted photos, cuddled cats, talked on the phone with some friends / family, ate lots of snacks, watched a shit pile of HGTV - overall, yeah, I guess I'd say its been a fun day! Solitary, yes, but definitely nice!

I think in the next week or two (or maybe sooner) I may integrate my two blogs into one - its just a pain in the butt to have two, know what I mean? In the beginning I thought it would be a good idea, and it was (especially before we had shared the news with everyone), but now so much of our life is consumed (and will continue to be) by this little person growing inside me, it seems silly to keep them separate. So, look for changes soon....very soon.

Family Photo :)

It was great visiting the fam last weekend - in addition to the baby shower we also went to go see a movie. Karli, Nikki & Janelle and I went to see Hairspray, while Pat opted to go see The Bourne Ultimatum in the theater across the hall......I was pleasantly surprised about Hairspray - I mean, it was a cheesy musical, but it was well done and entertaining. Other than that we spent our time hanging out and lounging in the pool and just visiting over all.

OH - Pat and I slept on my sister's waterbed. That was fun - NOT! I slept pretty well the second night, but the first night Pat was being rather over exaggerated in his motions and flopping us all over god's green earth. And the bed may have been a tad overfilled for the two of us (compared to one teeny tiny Karli girl!)....so it was kind of like we were sleeping on a hill. But it worked out great for my hips and back - no pain at all!

HOLY COW! Did you know my sister has her permit!?? And turns 16 in about two weeks!? When did that happen!??! I had her drive me to the store this weekend, and it was so strange having her in the seat next to me! She's just growing up so quickly!

Even though everyone wasn't there for all of the time, I was able to wrangle the entire family together for a photo session before we left on Sunday - everyone was less than enthused! Hey - I HAD to try out my new tri-pod! But, they eventually cooperated (even Chino was patient!) and I managed to get a good shot or two (or ten! LOL). Here's my fav......

Here's another one we took the night before, including our cousin's Janelle & Nikki, and excluding Keith.

I really like these shots because they were rather spontaneous - meaning I didn't give anyone any time to primp or prepare.....so its us, just as us. Real. I {heart} my family!

No big plans for this weekend - we've got a few baby classes to attend, but after the crazy travel weekend last weekend I would like to just hang out and do a whole lot of nothing, know what I mean?

Just in case you want to do a little digi-scrappin'!

Oh! Other Weekly activities!

Last week, I went to TWO (count 'em - TWO ) Tiger games - unfortunately they lost both :( Tuesday I went by myself (cuz Pat was in Buffalo) and the weather was kind of drizzley and crappy, but on Thursday I did get to spend a little bit of time with two of my cousins! Pat and Will's friend Rudy also went with us, too! Rudy was rockin' some serious Magglio Ordonez hair - but he ended up putting it in a pony tail because it was H-O-T! We had FABULOUS seats - and I got a gazillion pics! You can see them all on the baseball set on Flickr - but here are a few of my favorites here:

Lil' Dan
Willis
Me & Pat
Rudy, Will, Dennis & Pat
Tiger Pics

Culinary disaters and other dissappointments

*whew* its been so long since I posted, I guess I need to do somewhat of a weekly recap. Last Friday was Pat's 31st birthday - so I decided I needed to make him a cake. From scratch. Which was a bad idea from the get go seeing as how I sometimes have a negative attitude towards stuff made from scratch. Its deep seeded and would take more explaining than I care to go into right now - but suffice to say it was a bad idea before I started.

So I made the cake (and a huge mess, as almost always one accompanies the other). And it was tasty. But, since I can't do anything half assed I was trying to be all professional and stuff cutting and trimming. Hey, I figured I've seen enough episodes of Ace Of Cakes - I'm almost professional myself. WRONG! I mutilated the cake, but I figured I'd be able to save it the next day when I assembled it and put frosting on it.

I go out and buy a mini-starter cake decorating kit from the store, and proceed to try to make the frosting that Pat says is the easiest and yummiest to make. Well - once again, no such luck. The frosting turned out to be more of an icing (think: cinnamon rolls)....so I poured it over each layer, and basically just threw in the towel. I didn't even get a picture of it - it was so embarrassing. We did sing Happy Birthday and did eat the entire thing because although it was horrifying and mutilated, it still was cake and icing, and quite delectable. But the whole experience was rather traumatizing for me.

On Saturday, I had made plans to go to this benefit event at Shedd Aquarium called BLU. A great big "Save the World" kind of thing, where you get all dressed up and eat food and drink. Because it was in conjunction with fireworks and the Venetian Fest Boat Parade, I thought it would be a good birthday present for Pat. You know, a nice night out on the town before Baby gets here.

Let me back up. I despise buying presents. I hate the pressure and emotional turmoil that goes with it. Because really, even though its the thought that counts, why give something that someone either doesn't really love, or doesn't need? Then you've wasted all this energy and time trying to think of a good and/or fun surprise, only to be let down if the recipient doesn't think its the greatest well thought out gift in the world. Life would be much simpler if presents were agreed upon before hand - or chosen from a list. Kind of like a registry. It might not knock their socks off, but it certainly is guaranteed to be something needed / appreciated.

Last year, I surprised Pat with a new, nice Gary Fischer bike - that he totally wanted, and liked and uses often. I spent good money on it, because I knew it was exactly what he wanted - and I knew he wasn't expecting it. I was told this year to not spend that much money....which pretty much nixed the Blu Ray Disc player or 80G iPod off the list. So that in itself creates all this pressure - I could get him something that he needs (Socks and underwear, anyone?) and be totally lame, or try to come up with something fun and romantic. Which is what this BLU event was supposed to be. Back in February, we went to what we thought was a similar event at Shedd, and it was actually kind of fun - so it seemed like a good choice.

Apparently this evening was as doomed as my ill fated cake.

Let me back up again: Earlier on Saturday we had the opportunity to go out shopping, and also stopped for a yummy dive lunch at the Bunny Hutch, and then played 18 holes of super retro mini-golf. The place was awesome. And I got a hole in one on the WINDMILL people - the WINDMILL!! I also kicked Pat's butt by like, 5 strokes. It was awesome.

OK - back to Saturday night. We get there, and there is a big line - 20 minutes after the event was supposed to start. I don't know about you, but if I'm paying big cash to go to an event, I don't want to stand in line. At all. After we get in, there are only, like, 4 teeny tiny food stations - two of which are laden with onions and make you throw up a little bit in your mouth after eating them. Then, there are a million people standing in line to get one little cream puff at each area. Again, if I'm paying a lot of money for light, tiny dishes - there had better be sufficient areas so no one has to wait. Ditto with the booze lines - even if I am only getting a Sierra Mist. Top that off with a zillion Chaz & Trixie's - and its just not a good vibe. I know - what did I expect right? Its a benefit to save the world. Of course Chaz & Trixie and their yachting friends will be there.

I was hoping to have a perfect view of the boat parade and fireworks from the North Terrace (as advertised in the BLU promotion), but there weren't very many seats around, so Trixie & Buffy took all of the seats, and Chaz & Thurston were blocking the areas around the girls, so basically I didn't get any good shots at all. We were packed like sardines. Save for this semi-blurry view of the Chicago sunset, that I had to beg some ol' biddy to let me stand in front of her for three seconds.

While standing in line for strawberries & chocolate, I saw them open up an area, which allowed Pat to go and scope us a spot to actually sit down and maybe even eat. We scored a mini-steak burger from Gibson's (OHHHH SOOOO YUMMY!) and were able to enjoy our chocolate covered strawberries in peace. But we were completely out of view of the fireworks at that point, so all we saw were a few glows, booms and smoke coming back out of the harbor. I did snap this city shot (again, blurry) through the glass squeezed between a couple people:

The good things: Kettle One sponsored the event, and they had this really cool ice bar they were making cosmo's and dirty martini's for everyone (except me). I made it Pat's mission to drink as much as possible, so we could at least get some money's worth out of this gig.

They also had a nice selection of decadent desserts at the end...some almost too rich - but yummy! And, we got a nice Save The World bag with fun goodies (including a nice Porche Pen - because Porche was a sponsor and they weren't sending us all home with cars).

So, with our tired feet and aching backs from standing all night, we left at 10:30 and made our way home with the rest of the Venetian night traffic. Hopefully we'll look back at this birthday and laugh - but for now, ugh, what a disaster.