KABOBS!

A few weeks ago, Harris Teeter made some kabobs. We purchased the kabobs and Jon cooked them. Here is the evidence.

Just a bit longer until the due date and a smoothie recipe

Contraction total today: 0
Time between contractions: 36 hours and counting

So no baby today despite our daily walk, a chili dog with hot sauce, and the proximity to the due date.

In other news, here is a smoothie recipe that tastes great but makes a HUGE mess if the bottom of the blender is not securely fastened. I caused great alarm when I screamed as smoothie ran all over the counter, into the floor, and onto my pants and feet. I also recommend peaches and blueberries from your local farmers market.

Before you start put two glasses in the freezer to chill.
Use a half cup of each - peaches (peeled and sliced), blueberries, vanilla yogurt, orange juice.
Two big scoops of ice cream.
Blend in blender with securely fastened bottom.
Enjoy!

3 days

I had another contraction! They're only 24 hours apart! One is better than none, I suppose. Jon and I walked this morning at the lake. We took what will hopefully be our last trip to the grocery as a duo. We've been sure to stock up over the past few weeks so that our first days home with the baby will be low stress.

Jon made a great dinner tonight--a frittata with red peppers, egg beaters, cheese, onions, and yellow squash. He paired the dish with peach and blueberry smoothies. The combination was like the embodiment of summer. The fruit all came from the farmers market. The meal was also meatless without lacking protein for a lighter feel. Both dishes were beautiful too. I wish I had taken a picture.

4 days until due day

For those of you reading for baby updates: no Jude yet. We walked again this morning and had lunch at home. Jon found that the Durham Bulls had a home game tonight, so we called our friends in the Triangle and headed east. C&A met us at Maggiano's Little Italy where we indulged in the Spinach salad with gorgonzola, roasted red peppers, and bacon. We shared two entrees the baked ziti with sausage and four cheese ravioli. Maggiano's has a great family-style menu, so I recommend it as a great place to take a group. The food was really good and we all left full, but not too full to partake in some ballgame goodness.

We should have a baby by this time next week. Crazy.

5 more days

Grand total of contractions today: 1
Time between contractions: 10 hours
I'm thinking today is not the day :0)

We started the day with our walk and came back home for showers and lunch. Jon made a great stir fry dish with some spice, broccoli, red peppers, and pineapples. We then left for the Farmers Market to take part in Peach Day festivities. After sampling free peach ice cream topped with a fresh peach, we receive peach related information from none other than the North Carolina Peach Queen herself. It was my first encounter with royalty in 2008. We purchased a basket of peaches and some blueberries with the intent to make smoothies over the weekend. One of the best parts of having fresh peaches in the house is the sweet, summer smell of the fruit.

The North Carolina Peach Festival is the third Saturday in July each year in Candor, NC, if you're feeling the fuzz.

6 days

Today was the last doctor's appointment before the due date. It was uneventful, as usual. I'm not really a very interesting case, medically speaking--blood pressure is good, baby's heart beat is good, no swelling, etc.

I'm measuring about one week behind the calculated due date, which really doesn't mean a thing. The measuring isn't exact and only 5 percent of kiddos come on their due date anyway. UPDATE: I think I just had a contraction. I feel like I have to say "I think" because my determination is based on things I've read and not actually experienced. I know it's not Braxton Hicks though because I have them when we walk sometimes and they don't hurt. Unfortunately, one real contraction doesn't really mean a whole lot. Some folks have contractions for weeks before they have their babies. At least I know something in there works :)

Also today we had North Carolina State Trooper Stell come by to check our car seat. He went through some tips and techniques to make sure the seat is installed correctly to keep the baby safe in an accident and in transport. This, of course, thrilled me because of my not-so-secret desire to be a state trooper. I don't know if it's the hats or the regulation grays or what, but it looks like a cool job to me. I noticed he had a taser on his belt in addition to the regular regalia. It appeared to take up what little space was left next to the handcuffs and Beretta. I'll admit it, I wanted to try on that belt, but they don't make them in maternity.

One week

We've got one more week until the due date! After our walk today we ventured to Skippy's on 4th Street. We found out about it from Smitty's Best of Winston-Salem. Skippy's was voted best hot dog and runner-up for best meal under $5. We both had the Chicago Dog and split a basket of hand cut fries. The special thing about Skippy's is that everything is served on a pretzel roll and made to order. I must admit, in ordering the dog with tomato, banana peppers, relish, a dill pickle, onions, celery salt and mustard I had hoped some contractions would follow. Alas, I am writing this from home and not the hospital.

For all those planning on coming to see us, check out the best of website. Many of the restaurants have links to their websites and you can make a list of places you may be interested in going while you are here. Yummm.

8 more days

The TV stand is up! J and I went back to the store today to find the TV stand in-stock. An odd conversation took place at the store:
"Do you need help out with that?" said the man at the counter.
"I've got it if you can open that door," said Jon, gesturing toward the exit door.
"That door is locked. I don't have the key. I can't open it. I would have to call for someone to unlock it," said the man.
Jon looked at me and I looked and him and we left, going out through the other exit that required Jon to navigate around all of the checkout counters and several customers and putting us further from our car. Why did the dude even ask? We should have told him to go ahead and call. I bet he would have found a way to open the door if he was the one carrying the 40 pound box.

In other news, we put the stand together and Jon put everything on it while I was at yoga. It looks great, and everything is up off of the floor.

Now for the pregnancy report--there is nothing new to report. The gals in yoga wondered aloud if they would see me next week. Our walk this morning was good. I had some difficulty at the beginning, but Jon coached me through. I think we are doing some good stuff to prepare for the hard work ahead at the hospital.

9 days to go

This countdown is funny because it is the countdown to the due date. No one has told Jude the due date, so he may be late or early or right on time. Today we attempted to busy ourselves with a trip to the zoo. In order to go to the zoo in July in North Carolina, one must wait for an overcast day with threats of rain. The crowds are smaller and the sun stays hidden most of the day, which entices the animals out into the open. The baboons were by far the most entertaining today, but the rhinos were on the move as well. We also came to the gorilla exhibit at just the moment the silverback was eating some greens. He washed them down by eating a head of cabbage like an apple with his legs crossed.

Did all the walking and animal viewing coax young Jude to make his way into the world? No, my friends, I'm afraid not.

10 days to go

We have 10 days to go until the due date and things are still going well. We are walking at the lake 5-6 days a week for an hour and trying to stay busy during the day. The nursery is ready to go, and all of Jude's clothes and blankets are washed. When mom was here last week, we put up some room darkening shades and valances that really bring the room together. I keep reviewing the information from all of the books we have on labor and delivery and breastfeeding and infant care, but there is only so much ready you can be for something you have never experienced before. We are going to have the carseat installed this week. (Thank you C&A!) The other half of the "travel system," the stroller, is in the dining room. It's pretty neat and really brings about that parent feeling.

While the aerial view of my belly, the one I can see, hasn't changed much, strangers seem to notice it more now that it is quite far out. A woman at the lake told me I looked beautiful a few days ago and a little girl at The Loop in K-ville stared at me everytime I went by. Some people just smile at me.

We're going to try to take care of some other errands through the week. One biggie is getting a stand for our TV. We sold the table the TV was sitting on because the current setup didn't seem very baby safe and left lots of wires and pretty buttons right in the path of a crawler. We, however, did not have a replacement plan in place, leaving our TV sitting on the floor alongside the other electronics. Of course, baby Jude won't be crawling for months, but the dogs keep standing in the path of the remote!