Due date

Well, here it is; due date!
The tracker on this blog says "this is the big day". Well, it's 11.45pm now and let me tell you; this is not the big day! Apparently someone forgot to tell our baby about this date.

Anyway, we're still waiting for the baby to come. My midwife told me that since Lara was one week late, there's a 80% chance that this baby will be later too.

The good news is that I feel good, the baby is doing well inside my womb and we can be sure that it will be born in between now and about 2 weeks! We'll just have to wait...

Dancing

Since a few weeks Lara is asking me for a dance several times a day. She pronounces is as “Tance? Tance?” and I just can’t resist her sweet asking face. What she means is that I pick her up and dance around with her on my arm. Quite heavy, especially since she’s about 10 kg (20 lbs) and I am 39 weeks pregnant of today… So I only do it for a minute or so, just because it’s lovely to have her in my arms. And it’s one of those things I’ve been dreaming about for years; enjoying some good music with my child in my arms… I’ve always pictured myself doing this. So basically I am living out my dream by dancing around with Lara!

It was one of the first things we did this morning. I made a picture of us; Lara is still in her pj’s, with her hair all wild and loose. But we had fun…

A package in the mail

Yay, a package I waited for arrived last night. About 2 weeks ago I ordered the new Third Day cd through ChristianBook.com. It’s due to be released in Holland in September and Marc and I didn’t want to wait that long. Besides, the dollar is at a very attractive rate for us Europeans, so… And while surfing on the site of Christian Book I couldn’t resist ordering some more.

I know that I am definitely not up to date on Christian Music anymore. Once you’re out of the business it’s hard to keep up. And financially it’s been impossible either. So ever since I kind of stick to my personal favorites and interests when buying new music. In this case it was Third Day’s Revelation. But also Amy Grant’s Rock of Ages (I very much enjoyed her “Legacy… hymns & faith”, so I thought this would be a good choice). Sara Groves – Add to the beauty (she impressed me very much by her appearance at the GMA week in 2001, but I’d never got myself a cd) is another one. And last but not least the Rachael Lampa album from 2004. See, not up to date, but I can’t wait to dig into it.

Oh and I also bought myself the book “Just hand over the chocolate and no one will get hurt” by Karen Linamen. A typical woman-book. Never read anything from her, but it hardly cost anything, so I’ll just give her a try.

And the cool thing is; with the dollar rate and the priced down items I bought, this whole package including shipping cost me almost the same as when I’d bought that Third Day cd here in Holland through mail order. Shows me again that Christian music and books are still too pricy over here. Even older albums stay mostly full price or just a bit reduced.

Yes, I know several reasons why it is like it is, but it’s still a sad fact; this way the Christian music scene will stay some kind of underground and unknown to lots of people. And with the music, the message will stay underground and unknown.

Ready!

The past weeks my head has been cramped with things-to-do before the baby would be born. And finally, last Wednesday I could say; ok, I’m ready. I have everything set up, sorted out, stocked up on, ordered and in line for the birth and the first period of our second baby! What a relief… I guess all the men in the world don’t understand this, but the mommies among you will understand it all the more! And I know on forehand that I will enjoy the preparations I’ve made when the time is there to use it. My hubby Marc doesn’t see it yet (he said that on advise of my own mom he had just “let me do my thing”), but for him it will also be easier to notice that things are in place and he doesn’t have to ask for it or go out to buy it.

And now? Now we wait… Since Lara was born a week after her due date this can easily take another 2 weeks… Hmmm, that’s a hard one! On the other hand I enjoy the relaxed way of living right now; Lara has her schedule, she’s old enough to entertain herself every now and then and I can just do my thing. Or do nothing. Once this little baby is born I will probably don’t use the phrase “do nothing” for a long time….

Ok, before I go back to doing nothing; here's a picture we made last week of my pregnant belly, with handprints from Lara!

Tagged by a neurotic friend ;-)

Ok, my friend Jen Carr tagged me to share 6 neurotic habbits I'd have with the rest of the world. Wow, what a friendly thing to do... (but I still love her!)

But anyway, I've been thinking about this for several days now. And I know I have some odd habbits, strange or somewhat crazy tics, but to call it "neurotic"... I could only come up with 4 things:

* I read everything I come across; traffic signs, ads, shop- and company name signs and so on. Didn't realize it until that same Jennifer drove me from Atlanta airport to their home at my first US-trip (1999). When we finally got home I was even more exhausted than just from the trip and jetlag. Reading almost every sign and advertisement we came across is extremely exhausting! But I can't help it. Ever since I notice that I do it everywhere, always, unconsiously.
* After dinner I "have to" clean away the dishes and such right away. Marc often asks me why I can't relax and sit down for awhile, before cleaning up. I just can't and want everything cleared and in the dishwasher before I sit down.
* Napkins; when we're in a fastfood kind of restaurant I just need more than 1 napkin. Just one doesn't do it. Even though I might only use one or two; I want a little pile to have on hand...
* when I'm adjusting the car stereo volume it has to be at a certain level; numbers like 6,

9, 14, 16, 19 and so on are not right. Certain numbers are "good" and certain are not.

When I think about this it all sounds a bit crazy, but I think everyone has these kind of tics. And in the past few weeks I've had quite some more neurotic actions, but that's due to hormones and I'm almost done with that now...

Anyway, I'd love to read more from others, so feel free to share your neurotic habits!

Maternity leave

Finally my last day of work is done; this is the first day of my maternity leave and it feels great! Slept in till 8.30am, read a bit in bed and then got up. Now I’m enjoying my treasured “weekend hot chocolate and beschuit-met-muisjes”. The rest of the house is still asleep. Gosh, I’ve been blessed with a daughter who sleeps in till 9.30/10.00! I’m sure it’s all going to change when the new baby has arrived, but for now I’m still enjoying her schedule…

With all the “free time” ahead of me I can’t stop thinking about all the things I’d like to have done before the baby comes. Almost none of it is really necessary, but it would be a bit more convenient (like to have the kitchen a bit decluttered, to have a bit of good, healthy food pre-cooked in the freezer and to be up-to-date with Lara’s photo album). We’ll see how far I’ll get!

One thing I got done this week is ordering some books about motherhood/pregnancy/birthing and so on. Fiction and non-fiction! Like I wrote before (see blog “newborn fog”) is that after Lara was born I was in this big baby-cloud, but didn’t have books that met this interest. So this time I decided to stock up on baby-books! If you know me, you know I’m kind of a book-freak. Picking out a new book, browsing through a bookstore (even if it’s an online one) and then finally buying and receiving those books; I love it all! I’d been looking for fun an

d interesting “baby-books” for months yet, but last Monday I ordered them online. For your interest, this is what’s on my bedstand right now:

- Hot mama’s – an honest book about pregnancy, birthing and motherhood.

- The secret life of a hard-trying mom (comic novel about a mother juggling to keep all the balls up)

- The happy non-perfect mom (with tips and tricks to p

revent yourself from going crazy in trying to be the perfect mom/wife/friend/everything)

- Babymassage (I’ve been interested in babymassage for quite awhile; maybe I’m going to try it after reading this book)

- Babyfever – a little book with the experience of

a first time mother from conception to the point where she fits her pre-pregnancy pants again)

- A keep-sake book for the first weeks after the baby is born; there’s information, tips and tricks and space to write down your own thoughts, feelings, experiences, wishes for the baby and so on. Kind of a journal.

And the book “Momzilla’s” (novel about a mother in New York City, trying to keep up with those fancy celebrity moms; chick-lit style) is still on it’s way. Should be in the mail today…

Just the sight of this pile of books makes me happy!

Oh and a totally different thing that makes me happy is the garden; my tomatoes are finally forming fruit and the lathyrus starts to flower. I love the smell of lathyrus!!! Can’t wait to pick the first flowers this weekend; the more I’ll pick, the more flowers will grow…

Yeah, so far I like my maternity leave…