2. I’ve given up on my baby netbook and its crazy, malfunctioning screen. My shiny new laptop is on its way and should be on my doorstep by Monday. Hurray! We found a great refurbished computer (more on why this is a GOOD idea some other day), so I totally got a $450+ computer for $253, including shipping! Shiny.

3. I am loving the suggestions I am getting for Halloween media. Keep them coming, y’all.

4. I made Baby Caveman’s Halloween costume. It took quite some time, but it’s done. And Geek Husband’s is done. And mine? It’s a pile of red fabric on the floor. I need to get on that, like, right now.

5. My mom and sister are coming to visit tomorrow. We are very, very excited…but maybe I should pick up this mess before they get here. It’s amazing how fast stuff piles up when you don’t keep up with the small day-to-day because, say, your baby is sick.

1. New!

If you’re reading this via email or an RSS feed, you can’t see it, but say hello to my shiny new website design! Actually, this is just a temporary design until I can get the real new design up but I like the nice autumn colors and clean look. Plus, the real new design depends on a friend doing me a favor, and since this friend is a busy, busy, buuusy man, I don’ t know when that is going to be. But I felt like I needed a change NOW, so I did a little tinkering. Also, for the first time ever, my Twitter page matches my website.

If you look around, you’ll notice I also put my writing page back up (with a NEW BOOK), added a review policy, changed my bio, and am now offering editing services. (Actually, I always was offering editing services-seeking out freelance clients the old-fashioned way…I just now decided to link it to my personal website is all.)

2. New-ish!

Meet my friend Kelli:

Kelli’s pretty darn amazing. Also, she’s a cosmetologist. So a few weeks ago when we were in Twin Falls for a few days, we decided I needed a haircut. Bad.

Let me back up.

A few YEARS ago, Kelli was thinking about maybe going to cosmetology school. Then we spent the week in Billings, MT for a series of concerts. Our first night there, she took this:

and turned it into this:

and then decided she really, really wanted to go to cosmetology school. So she did. And the next time we were in a hotel together (three weeks ago) she took this:

and turned it into this, much-much-improved version:

Did I mention Kelli rocks?

3. Needs-to-be-new

Sigh. I adore my teeny-tiny netbook. It is super portable and the small keyboard is just perfect for my tiny hands. Unfortunately, there was a major design flaw when they built these bad boys, and when you open the screen, it tweaks the cords that run through the hinges. Which means that after opening it enough times the screen starts to flicker. It gets worse and worse and worse until it is darn near unusable. Geek Husband has taken the machine apart twice to fix this problem for me, but the wires are just too far gone now for him to fix it a third time. Sigh.

4. big NEWs

After months of looking for a job that would allow Geek Husband, Baby Caveman, and me to move closer to the Geek inlaws, we have made a big decision: Geek Husband and I are starting our own business. GH will be doing freelance programming, and I will be taking care of the business and financial aspects (and some design if needed). We will start out by finding some projects that GH can moonlight with his current job, then stepping down the hours at his job, and finally branching out completely on our own.

Geek Husband is great with back-end web developing, as well as non-web software development. If you happen to know of anyone who needs a project done, send them our way!

5. Still sort-of-new Baby Caveman! 

See, I told you I have a baby:

L-R: Christa, Nate, Quinn, Me & Baby Caveman, Nic, Kelli, Jordon, Morgan

2. September is such a beautiful month here in Montana. I am loving it and trying to enjoy the nice weather as much as I can. Because I know Montana and I know that I only have a limited time left before winter hits.

3. Poor Baby Caveman had to have a shot today. It was tragic, but he handled it like a champ. After it was done, I was holding him and he decided he wanted his daddy instead. So I gave him to Geek Husband. Then he wanted me. He switched parents four or five times before he settled down and we left. I think it hurt so he wanted comfort, but when he got to the other parent and it STILL hurt it threw him off so he decided to try again and again. It was cute.

4. So here’s the deal: I know I shouldn’t judge people. I know that. But still…if you post on Facebook or Twitter that you have NO time right after you post about all the TV shows you watch and among all the Facebook Game posts, well, then…I’m gonna judge you. Just sayin’. We all have the same amount of time, people. YOU choose how you use it.

5. 9/11/2001…I can’t believe it’s already been ten years since that horrible day. I have no words.

I first met The Standards in July of 1997. I was just a wee lass back then, but I remember being total taken by their music and stage presence. Over the past 14 years, I have come to know them personally and grown to love them immensely. These are some seriously kind, wonderful, talented people, y’all. And on top of that, they bring a much-needed message to our youth in a fun, interactive way. The Inside Out Nutrition Tour has been a great time for many people Back East, and now they are trying to bring it to schools in the West as well.

The problem is that many of the schools who would like to have the tour stop by can’t afford it. Budgets are tight, especially among public schools. These boys are generous, but they just can’t afford to come out here on their own dime.  So we (I say as if I am part of this group, but whatever) need your help! Normally I wouldn’t ask something like this off my bloggy readers (who am I kidding? When I sell a book, I will be practically begging you all to buy it), but this is a cause I really, firmly believe in. So please go to their KickStarter page and pledge a donation. You can pledge as little as $5, but the more you pledge the more fun goodies you will get.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. You all rock hard.

2. On a related note, some friends, Baby Caveman, and I are headed to Twin Falls, Idaho to see The Standards in concert for three days in a couple weeks. Twin Falls is their hometown, and it has been way too long since they have been back. I am thrilled to be able to go. And a little sad that poor Baby Caveman has to travel that far.

3. Baby Caveman is SUCH. A. MONKEY. He learned how to pull himself up to standing a couple weeks ago (at 6.5 months…can someone please tell him to slow down?), and now he is climbing the walls. And he’s a fast little bugger – I can barely keep up with him. Guess I better step it up with my running.

4. Overshare time (go ahead and skip to #5 if you want): I used to like running. I don’t anymore. Part of that is because I am out of shape and not used to actually having to work so much when I run. But even more the problem is that I can’t find a good bra to run in. If it is supportive enough to hold my – how to put this politely – gigantic gazoombas* then I can’t expand my chest to breathe. That’s a problem. But if I can breathe, then it’s not supportive enough. Sigh. Anyone have any bra recommendations?

5. The fam and I are headed back home to Great Falls this weekend. My little sister is up from Texas for the weekend. She’s not met Baby Caveman yet. I’m super excited!

*five gold stars and a purple unicorn** to the first person who gets that reference.

**Author cannot guarantee authenticity of any unicorns won.

2. There is an upside to this though: every morning when I get done grumbling that the cute little neighbor monster kept me up all night, I thank my lucky stars that Baby Caveman doesn’t cry like that. Orlando (Enzo’s daddy) and his wife (who’s name I can’t remember to save my life and now we are way past the period of time where it’s not totally awkward to ask what it is again) are some pretty amazing people to deal with that all day and night like they do.

3. I repeat: Enzo is a CUTE boy, just loud. I am coming off like I don’t like him. That’s the lack of sleep talking, not me. Promise.

4. Okay, new topic. Lately I’ve been working on my big website redesign. I mocked-up two different ideas and sent them to some lovely people for their comments. Four people saw it. I got four wildly different reactions. I am no closer to choosing something. But I will get there.

smooth, shiny, preeeety

5. I love the way sugar cookies look with royal icing on them. It is such a clean, artsy, beautiful look. That I’ve never been able to master. Royal icing is a pain to work with, and let’s be truthful here, m’kay? It tastes kinda like…well, NOT good. So I don’t use it. I just found a new recipe for a glace icing though, which is supposed to give that nice look but be easier to work with and taste way better. Pair that with the recipe I found for (supposedly) the best sugar cookies ever and I am going to do some experimenting this weekend. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

2. In the meantime, I love his current boss. Geek husband works for Montana State University (well, really a research facility, but it’s affiliated with the university, so that’s who pays us). The state of Montana is on a wage freeze right now, which means that with yearly evaluations there was no chance of raises. Bummer, dude. But Doug the boss-man is about as cool as they come so, even knowing that we are looking for a new job and trying to leave him, he found a loophole and applied to the dean to give Geek Husband a promotion. So now he does the exact same thing but under a different title and for a lot more money! I am so thrilled for him.

3. I am still madly in love with the project I am working on, but I am also still wondering how long this is gonna end up being. I am not checking word count at all as I write, so I don’t know where it stands now, but there’s still SO MUCH to write.

4. Did I mention that I love it to tiny little pieces, so it doesn’t really matter how long it is?

5. Baby Caveman will be six months old a week from tomorrow. Can someone please explain to me how that happened so quickly?

1. Music, music, music.

I don’t always (actually almost never) listen to music while I’m actually writing, but a good song can inspire a scene, an emotion, an entire book. When I get jammed, I spent some quality time with my tunes. Eventually something gives and I can get writing again.

2. Read!!

Nothing inspires me more than reading other books. Seeing the words on page, getting pulled into a brilliant plot with well-rounded characters, reading beautiful prose…it all jazzes me up to write my own.

3. Watch TV and movies

I love that I write YA so I can watch things like Dawson’s Creek and Mean Girls and call it all research. It takes special skill to write for TV, I’ve learned. I love watching episodes to see how the writers handle a plot line that has to be at least partially tied up by the end of thirty minutes or an hour.  I especially love witty shows like Gilmore Girls. Also, seeing the cute clothes doesn’t suck, but that doesn’t have much to do with writing.

4. Go for a walk

Or do Pilates or ride a bike or something. Getting my heart pumping and blood flowing helps clear my mind of the random day-to-day clutter and makes way for brilliance. Or daydreams about frozen yogurt. Whatever.

5. Take a shower

What is it about the shower?! Is it just me or do all the best ideas come while you are standing in the tub under a stream of hot water? Seriously, I think the shower has some sort of magical plotting powers. I seem to get all my best ideas in there. Or right before I fall asleep, which is super annoying.

There have been a lot of BEAUTIFUL covers released recently that I just love, love, love.

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(clicky clicky on a cover to find out what the book’s about.)

1. Anything by Sarah Dessen

You didn’t think I was going to list my favorite summer reads without a mention of Sarah Dessen, did you? Her books are the perfect summer-time reads. I especially recommend the ones that take place during the summer:

• That Summer
• Keeping the Moon
• This Lullaby
• The Truth About forever
• Along for the Ride

2. Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway

This book is so, so fun! It’s a great summer read. Grab a copy and lounge out by the pool with this one.

3. The Last Summer (of Me and You) by Ann Brashares

It’s been forever since I read this book, but I still think about it quite often. Maybe I’ll have to re-read it this summer. The setting is so great – a car-free island. I want to live there!

4. Moonglass by Jessi Kirby

This book is delicious! Kirby does such a good job with setting and description you will actually feel like you are on the beach breathing in the salty air and feeling the sand between your toes. If you can’t get to the beach yourself, curl up with this book; it’s about as close as you can get without actually being there.

5. The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson

This book comes with a Splashproof Cover! Does it get any more summer appropriate than that?

2. The Great Wikipedia Blogfest is one week from today! Sign up and get thinking about your scene. I am super excited to read what everyone comes up with.

3. My mom and her two sisters (one who lives a few hours from here and the other who lives way down in South Carolina) came to visit me, Geek Husband, and Baby Caveman (okay, mostly Baby Caveman) earlier this week. We had SO much fun. Baby Caveman was sure entertained by his crazy aunts.

4. We wish they could have stayed longer, but Aunt South Carolina only had so many days to be up here before she had to head back home. And in that time, she had to visit Niece Number One and her new baby in Coeur d ‘Alene, ID, then drive over to see me (Niece Number Two) and Baby Caveman, and then drive all the way to Portland, OR to see Niece Number Three and her new baby. That’s a lot of nieces and babies in not a lot of time. Yeah, our family just had a small baby boom.

5. I ordered a used AlphaSmart 3000 on eBay (I want a Neo, but decided to get the 3000 for $30 to make sure I like the idea as much as I think I will before spending the $170 on a shiny new Neo). It showed up yesterday and Holy Commas do I adore it! I think I finally, finally found the answer to my terrible distraction problem.

Random.org has smiled upon Amy Carter, who  suggests I read Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon. Amy, email me your address and I will send you your shiny new copy of The Truth About Forever!

2. WINGS!

There’s still a week left to win a signed copy of Wings by Aprilynne Pike. Not a lot of people have entered yet, so your chances are good! Sign up now, and tell your buddies!

3. WIKIPEDIA!

The Great Wikipedia Blogfest is coming up fast! It will be a fun one, guys, so why don’t you play along with us?

4. Woe is Roger!

Roger, my little baby netbook, had an unfortunate incident last night. A while back (and way too soon after having bought it, but whatever) the screen started acting weird. It would flicker on and off and then eventually to the point where I could only see the screen when it was opened to a specific angle. Geek Husband tore into it, tinkered with all the little tiny itty-bitty wires until he found out what the issue was (a ground wire that wasn’t properly attached), and fixed it.

But, as it turns out, when laptops are built, they shove like a billion of those little wires through the tiny hinges between the keyboard and screen. So, after spending forever fixing it, it didn’t take long for the hinges to cause the same exact problem again. So, last night, Geek Husband dug in again, thinking maybe he would fix the wire. Unfortunately, he realized that the problem had gotten way, way worse. By the end of the night, Roger had no screen and only one wireless antenna. Sigh. Poor Roger.

We are going to see if we can order in a new wireless harness to fix the netbook with, but until then I am without. Luckily, in a house with a computer programmer, there’s always spare computers around to work on.

5. Weekend!

Have a fabulous one, y’all!

2. My birthday was last Wednesday. My birthday gift to myself? I am giving myself the month of May off. So I might not be around here as much. Actually, I might still post almost every day, but I am thinking about treating this more like a tumblr blog and just posting pictures and quotes and things I like with no words.

3. I don’t get the month completely off, of course. I still have a house to keep and Baby Caveman to take care of. But writing and blogging and stuff? Sure, I’ll still do it, but I will NOT pressure myself with keeping up on it. If I don’t feel like it, then I won’t, simple as that.

4. Despite the white stuff in my backyard, I feel like Spring might be finally coming to Bozeman! Yay. Of course, it’s supposed to snow again tomorrow…sigh.

5. I am going to Idaho Falls this Friday to see Aprilynne Pike. Methinks I might have to get a signed book to give away on the blog once I hit 150 followers. Woot!

1. Procrastination, which is why this post is a day late!

2. Patience. Geek Husband turned in test code for a new job this past weekend. It would really be the perfect job for our situation. They say it can take 2-4 WEEKS to evaluate the code before they get back to him. I’m working on my patience, but it’s only been 4 days and already I’m going crazy. I guess this is good practice for querying.

3. Practice. You know that old saying practice makes perfect? I have heard many people say practice doesn’t make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. I get the sentiment – if you are doing things incorrectly in your practice, then that won’t help you learn to do it well. BUT. Perfect practice? If you can do it perfectly, what’s the point of practicing?

4. Potty. We got Baby Caveman a tiny little potty the other day so we can practice elimination communication part-time. He loves it so much already! He goes almost every time I give him the chance, and he just smiles and giggles the whole time. Yesterday morning, he woke up with a bone-dry diaper (after 11 hours in bed), then peed in his potty. He was positioned weird, so it started to run over the side, surprising me. I said “whoa!” and he stopped, waiting for me to move the potty and reposition him, and then finished. My boy is a champion, and now you know more than you care to.

5. Platypus baby!

2. Incubus is going great, for once. It is amazing to me how things with this book finally, finally feel right. After so long struggling to get a working draft, then fighting with edits, I know the decision to rewrite was the right one. I’ve written 15K words in the last week, and I just can’t get enough of it. Sure, it’s still kinda rough, since I am pretty much redoing a first draft, but for the first time the story feel really, really right. There is a light at the end of the tunnel!

3. Because I am trucking along so well with Incubus, The Raskolnikov Project has been delayed a little bit. I am still writing a chapter a week, which was my goal when I started, but it seems like I slowed to a snail’ s pace since when I first started I was putting up a chapter every other day or so. I am having a blast with it, but Incubus is my main priority, so I am keeping myself to the chapter-a-week schedule and focusing the rest of my writing time elsewhere.

4. We have a high of 60 degrees today! Horray! I have lived in Montana way too long to actually think winter is over and spring is officially here, but it is still exciting. It would be more exciting if it were a sunny 60 degrees instead of a grey, dreary 60 degrees, but I’ll take what I can get. Probably there will be snow on the ground again soon enough.

5. Baby Caveman had his 2-month checkup yesterday. Man, that kid is growing like a weed! He is doing great, was charming the nursing students, and amazing the midwife with his physical development. He’s growing up so fast; before we know it, he will be asking for the car keys!

(Chapter Seven of The Raskolnikov Project is up.)

1. I mentioned yesterday’s Road Trip Wednesday prompt to Geek Husband when he got home from work. I told him who I picked as neighbors, and while he’s never read any of the books, he does know my love of all things Dessen, so he wasn’t surprised at all. Then he says, “I’d pick Mo from the Inkheart trilogy, because then I could just have him read whatever character I felt like hanging out with that day out of the book.” Ah, I love my pragmatic husband. Of course, I think he was forgetting the part where something has to replace the character…

2. When we were back home visiting the family last weekend, I borrowed all 10 seasons of Friends and all 7 seasons of Gilmore Girls from my sister. It was probably a bad idea, but I don’t care. At least I have already seen all of these, so I can write while they are playing. Really, I work better with a bit of distraction anyway.

3. I found a great jogger stroller / bike trailer on Craigslist today for $50 (a comparable one at Target is $225). I am super excited. I prefer to just carry Baby Caveman when we are out (hence the love of the Moby Wrap), but I can’t carry him when I am jogging. Not unless I want to jostle his poor little brains out, at least. And I really, really, REALLY need to get back into shape, so I am thrilled about this find. Of course, it would be a lot better if the snow and slush would go away so I could actually use it, but whatever. One step at a time.

4. Speaking of needing to get back into shape: I think I need to find a new writing snack. Cookie dough is delicious, but let’s be honest, it’s not helping things. So when I made my cookie dough last night, I vowed it was the last batch I would make, save for special occasions. And writing is not a special occasion. I used to eat tons and tons of popcorn while writing. Surely that’s better for me.

5. I have been reading articles about Amanda Hocking’s supposed $2 million book deal from St. Martin’s Press. Reportedly, she’s made at least that much already with her self-published titles. Good for her! I see so many people speculating online about her and her career; it’s funny to me that those who seem to have the most to say havn’t actually read her books. Admittedly, I haven’t either, but my only commentary on her career is: GOOD FOR HER. It’s good to see someone go after what they want and really get it. I am sure she’s worked hard for what she has. I am also pretty sure that those people who are bashing on her have a pretty bad case of sour grapes.

1. Cloth Diapers

I know a lot of people are wary of cloth diapers – they are stinky and messy and hard to use and oh the laundry!!! Well, let me tell you: these aren’t your gramma’s cloth diapers. Long gone are the days of diaper pins and plastic pants. Cloth diapers today are just as easy to use as disposables, WAY cuter, and way, way cheaper. We got everything we will need to diaper Baby Caveman from birth until potty training for $300.  On average, a baby will use $1600 of disposables in a lifetime (and that is if they are out of diapers by two years, which is less and less the case these days). And really, the additional laundry? Easy Peasy.

(We use Grovia and Sunbaby diapers primarily and love both brands.)

2. Tummy Tub

(not my baby)

Hard molded plastic baby baths seem SO uncomfortable to me. Poor baby sits in a little tiny bit of water, that will inevitably get cold fast, since it is not deep enough nor enclosed enough to hold heat. I am sure there are babies out there that LOVE bathing in those things, but I have seen and heard too many stories of babies who hate bath time. Well, I would hate it too if I had to lie on my back on hard plastic to be bathed.

Baby Caveman love taking baths in his Tummy Tub. He sits upright with his little legs crossed beneath him. The water is deep enough that he is slightly buoyant and he loves splashing around and playing in the tub. Since the water provides a little feeling of weightlessness, he also enjoys pushing up with his feet and trying to stand (even this young). Also, the buoyancy really, really, really helps him feel better when he is super gassy. I love this tub.

3. Swaddle Wraps

New baby muscles are still figuring things out, so they often fire involuntarily. This means that right when Baby Caveman is falling asleep, an arm (or both) will shoot out violently, waking him back up. Again. And again. This makes for a rough time falling asleep at night.

Now I know you don’t need anything fancy to swaddle a baby – a normal old blanket will do. But Baby Caveman is like Houdini. I am a master swaddler, but he still gets his little arms worked out every. single. time. And has since day one. A swaddle sack helps me keep him wrapped tight so he can get to sleep. Though even with the strong velcro reinforcement, he still manages to get an arm out every so often.

4. Moby Wrap/Ring Sling

I am a big, big supporter of carrying babies as much as possible. They love human contact. It always makes me a little sad to see a baby who is fussy in a stroller. Pick the baby up! He will thank you.

That said, it is a little rough to lose use of your hands. That’s why I love my Moby and my ring sling so, so much (I am not linking to the ring sling, because the one I have I got used – that brand is $89 new, and that is ridiculous). Baby Caveman can hang out with me and I can still get stuff accomplished. It’s a win/win situation. I use the Moby when I know I will be wearing him for a longer period of time – it takes longer to get on, but he is more secured in it – and the ring sling when I know I will be popping him in and out of it regularly. The best part? Baby Caveman is able to nurse in either of them (it’s a little easier in the ring sling, but that has more to do with my chest size than the carrier), so I don’t have to be completely incapacitated while he is eating.

5. Bouncy chair/Bumbo chair

(still not my baby)

(this one looks a little like him, though)

Sometimes I can’t hold or wear Baby Caveman. He needs to hang out somewhere though, and these two chairs are great.

The Bumbo chair holds a baby upright, which is great for Baby Caveman since he loves to be able to see everything (he is chillin’ in the Bumbo right now as I write this, actually). A baby needs to be able to hold his head up real well for the Bumbo though. Baby Caveman does a great job – he’s been holding his head up since day one – but he is only 8 weeks old, so he gets tired and starts slumping to the side after a while. That’s when the bouncy chair comes into play. He can lie back in that one and hang out while I get some work done. I love them!

2. It has been so nice in Bozeman the last couple days. The sun has been shining, the snow melting, the weather beautiful! I am trying my hardest to not be fooled though. I have lived in Montana way, way too long to actually think winter is ending. No doubt it will be blustery and freezing again in no time.

3. I love my bloggy friends. Seriously, nothing makes me happier than these girls. If you don’t read their blogs already, you need to check out Glenna, Asheyna, and Abby.

4. Phew. I am tired. It is only 11pm, which once upon a time was early for me. Which is weird. Most of my life, I was a morning person. I got up really early and went to bed pretty early. Then I made a big switch and started staying up terribly late. But still getting up fairly early. Now I can hardly keep my eyes open at 11pm (and most nights I am way, way in bed by now). But that doesn’t mean I am a morning person again. Good thing Baby Caveman doesn’t mind just hanging out in bed for a while in the mornings.

5. Japan. You know what happened. It is surreal. I cannot add anything of value to the tons of posts written about this today. But I can tell you to read Glenna’s, because I particularly liked it.

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2. We are having a regular heat wave here in Montana. When Geek Husband and I went shopping two nights ago, the temperature reading in our car said 40 degrees! 40 degrees in February in Montana is unreal. And then it rained. Rain. In February. That might not be amazing to y’all, but it is to me. February is COLD. Too cold for rain…often too cold for snow even. Of course, it has dropped back down to 25 degrees with snow today, but even that seems warm for February. It is weirding me out.

3. I made the mistake of pulling up Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on Netflix. I love that show. I first saw it when I was in college. I went to my friend Brian’s apartment to pick him up for something or another, but he was watching SVU. “Let’s just finish this episode, then we’ll go,” he said. We never did leave the apartment that night, watching a marathon of SVU instead. So, needless to say, I probably shouldn’t have opened that floodgate again. Netflix has 11 seasons available. I am in season 2. That is a lot of SVU to be watched and a lot of time to be wasted if I don’t monitor myself.

4. So, Baby Caveman looks exactly like Geek Husband. He’s like a mini-me version. In fact, we joked when we were struggling to find a name (it only took 3 days after he was born) that we should just call him Little Geek Husband (not Geek Husband Junior, mind you). Seriously, if you didn’t know I gave birth to him, you wouldn’t know the kid is mine. That is how much he looks like his dad and how little he looks like me. Geek Husband has told me not to worry though because (I later read this in Brain Rules) the genes that come into play for brain development come from the X chromosome, so while his looks all came from Dad, his brain development will come mostly from me. Apparently this is supposed to be reassuring…I dunno.

5. Oh. My. Stars. The cover for Supernaturally is just as good…maybe even better (I LOVE this dress) than Paranormalcy. Kiersten is one lucky girl when it comes to covers.

1. It seems that people think if one doesn’t talk about being pregnant non-stop for the full nine months she is pregnant, then she is not excited about it. NOT. TRUE. Geek Husband and I just aren’t really shout-it-from-the-rooftops kind of people, so we pretty much just told our parents and a couple close friends and let the news spread from there. A lot of people seem to think we were trying to hide it for some reason. That makes me laugh. Sure, I am lucky and haven’t gotten very big at all…but that wasn’t a conscious effort.

2. Today marks my 40-week day. Which a lot of people call the due date. So I have been getting a LOT of are you SO ready to be done? and how are you feeling? and No baby yet? and I hope it comes soon, for your sake…and stuff like that. But you know what? I feel great. The baby could come any day now, but I have a feeling we have a week or so left, and I am totally fine with that. People don’t seem to believe me when I tell them that I am really okay still being pregnant, but I am.

3. Speaking of going past 40 weeks: Really, even when you take inductions into consideration, average gestation is 40 weeks and 4 days. If you only take spontaneous labor into account and ignore inductions, average gestation is over 41 weeks. So I think we should throw that old 40 weeks number out the window. I think people would be much less antsy if they looked at pregnancy as being 42 weeks long (which is the end-point of full term) instead of 40.

4. I have been asked a couple times if I will induce since I am going past-term. And the answer is absolutely not. For one, I am not past term even a little bit, and won’t be for two weeks still. For two, my body knows what it is doing, so I am going to trust it to do its thing. In 1985, the labor induction rate was 8%. Today it is 34-41% (there is a range of numbers depending on what study you read). In those 25 years, do you think our bodies just forgot how to go into labor? I doubt it. I think rather we forgot how to trust our bodies and trust the natural timing of things. (**This isn’t to say there aren’t medical reasons for induction – there are. But I don’t have any of those reasons, so I won’t do it.)

5. Wow…I am kinda on a rant here. So now I will wrap up with less-ranty baby stuff. Geek Husband and I are very, very excited. We don’t know what we are having, but are bound to find out in a few days. Everyone around us seems to think it is a girl, but I think for a lot of them that is a wish more than a real prediction. Though my midwife did call the baby a “she” the other day…and then freaked out because she never calls babies by gender until they are born. She says this is the first time she has used a gender in years. Of course, back when she used to make guesses, she was almost always wrong. Anyway, pretty much everyone around us is going to be really surprised if the Little Beast comes out a boy. Husband and I will be thrilled either way.