My Funny, Funny Family

Family of 5

2009-07-16T20:27:00.006-06:00

My girls came back today. Life went from calm and sleepy to chaotic and overwhelming all at once, but damn, was I glad to see them.They had a fabulous vacation with their Grammy and Grampy, and both they and my parents were full of stories of the waterpark they'd been to, the cabin, fishing, swimming and the campfire they'd had. They were both all over the baby -- Nutmeg wanting to hold him and

Don't Look at the Clock

2009-07-16T09:35:00.005-06:00

The first couple of nights after Toth was born, he didn't wake up to nurse as much as the clipboard-wielding, door-leaving-opening night nurses would have liked. After all, there was nothing to be had but colostrum and he was sleepy.But now that my milk is in and Toth is quite interested in drinking it, we're developing one of those nighttime schedules that horrify people into getting cats

Can't Post Because I Fear the Blog Effect

2009-07-14T21:27:00.005-06:00

So, we came home from the hospital at around 10 a.m. yesterday. I just can't tell you how we're doing right now. Would I be so foolish as to say we're blissed out, relaxed, Epu and I spending some quality time with one another and getting to know this adorable and so far, totally easy baby?Because, as Korilu pointed out to me when I blogged that walking around town for four hours didn't start my

The Last 24 Hours in Pictures

2009-07-12T19:33:00.014-06:00

We've been chilling all day with Toth at the hospital and it looks like we'll be staying tonight too. He's nursing all right (although he's overdue to nurse now and is totally slacking off), and I'm recovering pretty well myself (less pain from the 2-degree tear, fewer afterpains). My arms are hella sore, though, from clutching the handles in the birthing tub and probably from hanging around

Welcome Sweet Baby Boy

2009-07-11T23:57:00.002-06:00

Our son was born at 9:18 this evening, and mom and baby are doing great. He was 8 pounds, 11 oz. (what??), we were able to walk over to the hospital on a beautiful summer evening and had him just over an hour after we arrived. Transition and pushing still suck, no matter what the Hypnobirthing lady tells me on those tapes. After the joy of looking at my beautiful son (who looks just like his

Four Hours of Walking = Nada

2009-07-11T10:46:00.004-06:00

Today a new midwife is on duty, my husband is home from work for the weekend, and we thought, hey, good time to have a baby! So after going out for a nice "last chance" dinner alone last night, we got up around 7 this morning and headed out for a long, long walk.We walked to NOLA's Cup, an Oak Park cafe that will sadly be closing on Monday. Had delicious cafe au lait and beignets. Then we walked

Toth Is Not Stressed

2009-07-10T12:29:00.004-06:00

I just returned from the midwives' office, where a nurse gave me a non-stress test. Toth, smart little fetus that he is, passed with flying colors, with lots of movement and heart rate accelerations. I think he wants to stay a fetus for awhile because he is so good at it.The monitor picked up not one single contraction, and I didn't feel any during the test either. As has been the pattern, I had

Pregnancy Update: 40 Weeks

2009-07-08T21:53:00.005-06:00

Well, now I can officially say I have never had a baby in less than 40 weeks. What can I say, I am not the kind of girl who finishes before the deadline. Or maybe you could say I'm not a quitter. I'm no Sarah Palin.It's after 11 p.m. and I am not in labor, so I think I'll be so bold as to say that Nutmeg was NOT correct when she predicted that her baby brother would arrive on his due date.Not

What's Going On

2009-07-06T21:14:00.010-06:00

So, although no baby has been happening here lately, things have been happening. A brief summary:1. Two weeks ago, our neighbor two doors down had a break-in at around 4:30 p.m. by teenage burglars apparently unfamiliar with the work patterns of most Americans. My neighbor came home from work while they were in the house, locked them in a bedroom, and they jumped out the upstairs window to escape

Pebbles and Grandpa

2009-07-03T09:26:00.001-06:00

A couple weeks ago we drove to Milwaukee and back in one day to spend time with the girls' grandparents on Father's Day. They have not been able to see the girls for six weeks, and then only briefly, due to circumstances beyond our control.It was really evident to Grandpa how verbal Pebbles has become over the last couple of months. She likes to tell true stories now, like how we went to "wimming

Today's Horoscope

2009-07-03T07:33:00.004-06:00

Today we have tickets to see the Cubs play the Brewer's at Wrigley Field, and since I also held expensive tickets to a much-anticipated event on the day Nutmeg was born, it's been widely assumed that I'd be in labor by no.So far, no. And that's a happy thing, because the Cubs won last night, they've got momentum, and I'd love to see them win one this afternoon.But today's Chicago Tribune

Pregnancy Update: 39 Weeks

2009-07-01T20:30:00.011-06:00

Last night, I wasn't sure I'd be able to post this update today. I had a few Braxton-Hicks contractions that were very strong, lasted well over a minute, and seemed to be coming at some sort of interval. For awhile it seemed like they were every 10 minutes, then maybe every 8.But the thing is, the whole time I was having them, I was moving around -- cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, running

Pregnancy Update 38 Weeks

2009-06-26T14:37:00.011-06:00

I'm posting this update from Milwaukee where we are for a family wedding. I was just sitting down to get some updates out into the Blogosphere when I started getting inquiries as to whether I might have had the baby because things have been so quiet. LOL. Not in labor, just busy!Yesterday Epu took the day off work so we could drive up here, but between a 1 p.m. midwife appointment at 4:30

Another Thing I've Been Up To: Blog Networking

2009-06-18T10:22:00.003-06:00

Despite the fact that Toth's due date is July 8, I have tickets to the BlogHer conference in Chicago on July 25, and RSVP'd to dinners and events happening in the days leading up to the conference, a scant two weeks after the date.What can I say? I'm a) optimistic and b) not willing to miss what has become an annual networking and funfest for me.Actually, last year was more interesting than fun

Pregnancy Update: 37 Weeks, Don't Midwives Even Like Va-jay-jays?

2009-06-17T14:49:00.012-06:00

Check out that belly -- it's actually big! Just today two different people assessed my state of advanced pregnancy accurately. A mom at the park asked, "Not much longer?" and a dude behind me at the grocery store looked me over and asked, "8 months?" Sir, you should work at the carnival! I almost asked him to guess my weight, too, which according to the midwife is 170.5, up 1/2 pound from my

What I've Been Up To

2009-06-16T10:23:00.004-06:00

So, to-do list. One of those items was to fulfill outstanding professional obligations and stockpile some blog posts for "maternity leave." The first part is done. Here are some of the stuff I published while fulfilling those outstanding obligations:At the SF Chronicle:Computer Gamemakers Eye Social NetworksAvatars, Attorneys in New World of Virtual Law(Don't read the comments. People who comment

Pre-Baby To-Do List

2009-06-14T21:38:00.012-06:00

Maybe if I share my to-do list with the world, I'll have more drive to actually check a few things off this list. And, to give myself a little morale, I'll include a few already-done items and have fun with that strikethrough text. Here goes!Arrange to pick up loaned-out baby gear from friends. Actually get that baby gear from friends.Find camera.Install infant seat in Subaru to make sure it

36 Weeks Pregnant: The End Game

2009-06-09T10:24:00.006-06:00

I am so jealous of moms who say they get bored in the final weeks of their pregnancies, waiting for baby to show up. Maybe it's because I'm a reporter, but to me July 8 is just one more deadline looming ever nearer, and it's really hitting me that we have done nothing -- nothing! -- to prepare for the arrival of this little boy.Seeing Heather Armstrong's gorgeous nursery on Dooce.com did not help

Water Baby?

2009-06-02T18:49:00.013-06:00

Last night we toured the Alternative Birthing Center at the local hospital where Toth will be born, if all goes as planned. It was pretty freaking cool.My experience with our past two births has been that the hospital and the practice taking care of me always seems pretty good during pregnancy. I've always liked the OBs and midwives taking care of me, have always been assured that the hospital

Nursery School Graduate

2009-05-29T20:45:00.007-06:00

OK, this is the biggest milestone in Nutmeg's life since, what? Walking? She graduated. She graduated from nursery school and is now a register kindergardener.And I waited a FULL WEEK to blog about it. Well, that's what kind of week it's been. I had a freelance deadline (met, thankyouverymuch), a new blog launch, another TV shoot (this one for Oak Park village TV), we went to Milwaukee to spend

My New Blog (This One is Big!)

2009-05-26T14:36:00.003-06:00

Today is the beta launch of Chicago Now, featuring Chicago bloggers including yours truly! My new blog over there is called Frugalista -- check it out! The site is created with the Chicago Tribune and should be a huge honkin' success. A lot of the other bloggers are pretty entertaining and informative too.I'm really excited about this project for obvious reasons -- despite the widely reported

Tinkering With Masthead

2009-05-18T13:58:00.003-06:00

I've been informed by BlogHer that my masthead is too big and I need to move their ads up or have them removed. So please bear with the vanilla banner while I try to figure out if I can edit my regular masthead to fit.I suppose I will have to change my masthead when the new baby is born anyway.After wasting most of this afternoon trying to record sound for a 1-minute video and failing miserably,

Buy Wise Bread's Book Today

2009-05-18T08:48:00.000-06:00

As I might have mentioned, oh, a few times, I have a couple of blog posts in a new money saving book called "10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget."Their big sales push is today, so they're offering some incentives to those who buy it online today. You can win a Flip cam and get $15 from EBates.I know it may seem silly to pay good money for content that is archived free online, yet, since I

I've Been Holding Out on You

2009-05-16T14:00:00.000-06:00

So many little events in the girls' lives have gone undocumented lately. Can't have that!1) Nutmeg's vacation: Nutmeg had the best vacation of her life at the Dells and my parents' cabin last week. I cannot imagine a trek to DisneyWorld would have made her any happier. At the Dells she spent every possible moment in the water park, where she was BARELY tall enough to ride all the slides. Ride

Pregnancy Update 32 Weeks

2009-05-15T20:04:00.003-06:00

Did you see that number in the title? 32 WEEKS. Which means I'm suddenly in countdown mode -- it's more telling to say how many weeks we have LEFT before Toth's due date. Eight weeks.That means, holy crap, we're going to have a newborn baby in this house. I have been so busy working -- launching a new blog with the Chicago Tribune which I'll tell you more about when I can, among other things --