Showering Rhonda Lu

Now that baby Austin is due to arrive any day now, I figured it was about time to get this blog posed about Rhonda Lu's baby shower which I co-hosted waaayyy back in June!  The BBC parlor was the spot for our gathering this June Sunday afternoon.  I pushed our other 2 hosts for a brightly colored shower theme, bypassing the blase pale blue that's all over baby shower supplies.  Happily, the other hostesses were on board.  Costco did the super-cute and very delicious cupcakes.  I fought with those hanging tissue paper flowers forever, and next time, if there is ever a next time, I will buy more tissue paper and wire 2 of what you see together to make more of a paper flower globe, which is what I was going for, but didn't really achieve this go-round.  We decorated the food table with baby Austin's ultrasound pictures, and photos of Rhonda and Joe when they were babies (get it, for the photographer couple?!)

The lime sherbet punch was a hit!  Thanks, George's mom, for the recipe.  The diaper cake shown on the gifts table, I made TWICE... once at my house, and once in the church parlor after dropping it on the way into the church, with diapers spilling All Over the BBC parking lot!!!  I was a hot, panicked mess by the time things got under way!  Pictured above is Rhonda Lu with all 3 hostesses.
For our activity, we made personalized bibs for baby Austin.  Lisa models her creation:

For the games, we played a celebrity baby guessing game with name tags that was a good icebreaker, and fun for our pop-culture-lovin' mom to be.  While Rhonda opened her presents, we played a Baby Bingo game, and we also played the Play-doh baby game where each guest had to create what they thought baby Austin was going to look like out of Play-doh. 

Far left is the winner, little Austin with his frisbee golf disc, just like his old man!  Far right is Austin posing in a Blue Steele Zoolander face!  Here, Rhonda is laughing as she tries to pick the winner.

To create a little ambiance and background noise, I updated the "baby mix" that I used for my own baby shower.  It's such an eclectic mix, but every song has the word "baby" in the title.  I had to skip past Jay-Z's I'm a Hustler Baby when that one came on because it was the un-edited version and we were in the church!  Whoops!

Serious Brown ponders her Baby Bingo card

Instead of cards, we asked each guest give Austin a signed baby book to begin his collection.

Rhonda holds up the adorable personalized burp clothes with Austin's initials on it- ARH.  Right after I snapped this photo I came to the realization that Austin's initials were very pirate-esque.  ARRRRRRGH, I shouted, to the laughter of everyone there. 

Me and my dear friends, Queen MAB and hot mom-to-be, Rhonda Lu

Little Austin, we loved showering you and your mom with lots of love and gifts, and we can't wait to meet you soon!

Purse pouting

I recall back in my early twenties I acquired a growing purse collection.  I would actually change purses daily to match the season and my outfit.  Those days are long gone!  When Bradley came along, gone were the days of buying and carrying new bags.  I kept the same purse for months at a time, and added a diaper bag to tote.  I told myself it wasn't forever- that soon Bradley would be out of diapers, and I wouldn't have to haul an extra bag wherever I went.  But just like that sneaky half-truth they tell you about drinking alcohol when you're pregnant ("it's just for 9 months!"  Well, NO, it's not... not if you plan on nursing for a year!), the elusive promise of ditching the diaper bag is a bunch of crap.  I'm just trying to prepare you future moms, and tell it like it is, because after the days of the diaper bag, you are still hauling in sippy cups, toddler-sized silverware to restaurants (do any restaurants provide this?  I've yet to find any that do), plus toys, books, games, snacks- anything to keep your little one occupied while you shop, eat, run errands, or what have you.  And you can just forget about clutches or any bag without a strap big enough to sling over your shoulder.  When you're carrying a kid, and all their stuff, you need all hands on deck.  And on deck ain't on that stylish clutch purse!

Let them eat diaper cake

I am just so darn proud of this diaper cake that I had to post a picture to share! I made this (with some help from Mama B while she was here this weekend) for my friend Felicia who, in case you couldn't tell by the cake, is having a little girl. I got so excited to buy pink stuff, and this gift was really easy and fun to put together. I think total I spent just under $30, but I figured I know plenty of fabulous ladies who may need a diaper cake in the future, so I jumped at the chance to get in some practice.

the DIVA's guide to L&D

I've been meaning to do this for a while now.  I read this awesome book when I was preggers called the Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy (thanks Beth for recommending this!) and laughed all the way through it.  It's a no-holds-bar approach to telling you the details you really want to know from the perspective of a fellow Girlfriend who's been there, done that.

Well I decided that after having Bradley I would share my own insiders guide to Labor & Delivery- the DIVA's guide if you will!  Here are a few tips for you mamas-to-be; print this and save it for when the time comes.  It will have you looking and feeling fabulous when the time is right.

1.  Take the time to shower, and shave your legs before going to the hospital.

*This is assuming that your health and the health of your baby do not dictate you get to the hospital sooner, but it will make a world of difference of how you look and feel both before and after your baby is born.  Beforehand, it's great to distract you from the (ouch!) painful contractions you're having.  Afterwards, depending on how long you're in labor, and what kind of recovery you have, you have no idea when you'll want, or be able, to shower again.  It gives you peace of mind to not feel so gross after recovery if you can rest in the fact that it hasn't really been that long since you washed your hair.

2.  You're going to have your picture taken a ton, so fix your hair, and put on makeup. 

*Again, this assumes you and baby are healthy and in no great rush to get to the hospital!  I went through the bulk of my labor before I was ever at the hospital (I was at 7cm already when I was admitted) and I credit my lengthy beauty routine for getting me through it.  All I kept thinking of was how many pictures were going to be taken and that I needed to not look like a hag in them, so away I went, expertly applying foundation, lip gloss, and even eyeliner in between pausing to grimace and breathe through the pain.

3.  On the same topic of makeup- wear waterproof mascara!  

I made the mistake of Not doing this, and boy do I regret it!  After having Bradley, a few hours later the nurse helped me to the bathroom and I immediately regretting looking into the mirror!  Somewhere along the way my tears of joy had created rivers of mascara down my face without anyone telling me, and I cursed myself for being so droll.  A DIVA with any sense would have known better.  So take my advice!  Wear waterproof mascara!

4.  Bring a hairdryer with you to the hospital.  

They aren't hotels, most of them will not have this appliance for your showering convenience.  I also learned this lesson the hard way, remembering to pack my curling iron, which did no good when I realized I had forgotten a hair dryer.  

5.  Unless you plan on eating the hospital food, check into your hospital's policy on serving meals.  

If they bring the meals 3 times daily, and you don't eat them, you are charged regardless.  It would be great to save on this expense.  From my own experience, the breakfast wasn't too bad, but I didn't touch the lunch or dinners.

6.  BYOP.

You'll read this in all your baby books, but bring your own pillow.  You won't sleep much in the hospital, but when you can, yours is surely to be more fluffy and substantial than the crap flat cotton rectangle they call a pillow.

7.  Bring a new maternity nightgown to wear.  Nothing lifts your spirits like new clothes, and after being stuck in a hospital nightgown for who knows how long, you'll be grateful to have something fresh to change into sometime during your recovery process.  

"That's it, that's all.  Nothing more nothing less."  Hope these help you or a friend at some point to look and feel fabulous during a very important time in a DIVA's life. 

B-DAY

So as many of you have probably heard by now, the 9 month waiting game is over!  Our precious son, Bradley Derek Vilendrer is now here.  He came into this world at 4:58 p.m. on Saturday with the coolest birthday ever, 06,07,08  weighing in at a healthy eight pounds and measuring 20 inches in length.  Bradley has blue eyes, and a beautiful head of blonde hair, which the doc said may just turn into a head full of red hair before too long!

The labor didn't go at all as we had anticipated though.  So much for blogging from the hospital giving blow-by-blow, up-to-the-minute details!  (PS- the happy upbeat song list ended up being the music du jour!)  I started to feel like I was having contractions early Friday evening, so Brian left Florida to make his way up here at 8 pm Friday night.  In the meantime, I did everything I could to convince myself that I was Not in labor, that the pain was Not that bad, and that everyone around me was fussing and making a big deal out of nothing.  In the meantime Brian, thinking he had plenty of time to get up here for what was surely to be false labor pains, spent the night in Birmingham before finally arriving here at 10:30 am on Saturday morning.  We called the nurse on call as soon as he got here, who told us to head for the hospital, so in true DIVA fashion, I showered, shaved my legs, fixed my hair, and put on makeup all in between some severe contractions!

Here's our last picture before heading to the hospital!

Still, I was not convinced that this really was "it."  I thought we might get to the hospital and they would tell me to go back home and come back later.  On the contrary- when we finally got checked into triage around 1pm, I was already dilated to 7cm, and I started to cry when the nurse told me, "you're going to have a baby today!!"  Everything happened really fast from then on out.  As we walked down to the 5th floor where I got settled into my room I asked the nurse, "what's the date- the 7th?"  As she confirmed this, I got excited when I realized my baby boy would have 06-07-08 for his birthday.  Dad also reminded me later on that today was D-day, and so I countered that it was now also B-day!  Less than 4 hours later Bradley Derek Vilendrer made his way quickly into this world.  I'll spare you the details of labor but let me just praise God for once again making things extremely easy on me.  He blessed Brian and me with an uncomplicated pregnancy and delivery, and now has blessed us with a beautiful healthy son.

Less than a week later, as I'm finally finding time to blog (my how one's priorities can quickly change!) in the middle of another sleepless night, it is hard to comprehend all that has happened.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll let the images speak for themselves...

Bradley Derek Vilendrer born 6-7-08 at 4:58pm

Me and my beautiful baby boy

the proud papa

Bradley's homecoming on Monday

L&D Mix

No, not LSD- we're not talking about hallucinogenic drugs here; L&D as in Labor & Delivery. As we all know, music is very important to me. I enjoy the constant noise of the radio or a cd playing in my car, so when I read about women requesting low lighting in the hospital room, and asking that hospital personnel speak in soft voices at an attempt to make the room as peaceful as possible, I tend to shy in the opposite direction!

I say, Bring it on people! Lights, Camera, Action (well, maybe no cameras until Bradley is here)!

But I have been waffling on what kind of itunes mix to create for my labor & delivery. I already have a mix of "happy songs" that are upbeat to lift my spirits during early labor. Conley keeps suggesting I play "Final Countdown" which then gets stuck in my head and makes me mad. I considered uploading Mozart's Requiem Mass to my ipod because I find it calming and relaxing, but then I thought there was something intrinsically wrong about playing a death mass to welcome my son into the world. So my final idea was to create a mix of mellow songs with artists like John Mayer, Coldplay, and James Morrison.

But the jury's still out, so while we're in the homestretch here, I thought I'd open up the floor for discussion. Notice the poll at the top of the page- feel free to vote on what is there, and make your own (helpful) suggestions.

38 weeks

So here I am at 38 weeks preggers. We're hoping the little bundle of joy comes any day now because as if taking up my entire abdominal cavity weren't enough, he feels the need to put constant pressure on my tummy and back!

the nonexistent Spring Break 2008

It's the end of an era. For the past 4 years, my friends and I have taken an annual beach trip over Memorial Day weekend, dubbed Spring Break 04, 05, 06, and 07. We've gone from 2 to 5 to 8 to 9 girls. We've drank watermelons, stayed in swanky beach houses and condos, giggled our way through dinners at Aunt Peggy's, drank margaritas, danced in Publix parking lots, soaked up the sun, fought over space in the back seat, been mistaken for lesbians, met Sammy Stephens of the Flea Market Montgomery (hey hey!), and even met future husbands.

This year, we're all grown up, and are going our separate ways. I hate change, so it makes me sad, even though every one of these ladies with whom I've shared the company of a 7 hour car trip with is doing fun and fabulous things with her time:

So where are they now?? Rhonda & Hubby Joe are spending the weekend here in town (no doubt doing cute coupley married things)! Emily & Amy will be in Moldova leading a team on a mission trip. MA, Mandy, Siebe, and Lana just got back from their own fabu trip to Europe. Scottie-too-hottie is with her fiancee in the Big D (we miss you Sarah!). Lisa and Melissa are taking their own beach trip this year with a new set of girls- and thus, the cycle continues!

And me? I am confined to the local area, unable to travel, not-so-patiently waiting for Bradley to arrive. My treat to myself is a mani-pedi this weekend, and hopefully a healthy dose of sun.

Happy Memorial Day to you all- may it be a fun and memorable weekend, no matter where you are!

Bump Day

The Gods have smiled on me today. Natalie and I had plans to get ice cream after work today, so imagine my surprise when she called first thing this morning to share some exciting news. One of her coworkers gets emails that alert him about deals around town, and it just so happens that Baskin Robbins is apparently giving away free ice cream today for expectant moms. I did some checking and the rumors are true!! Glory, hallelujah, today is Bump Day! We are headed there after work to take advantage of this super deal.

Labor of Love

Labor of Love is the cutesy name for the childbirth classes offered at Centennial Hospital where I'm delivering. Brian came up last weekend and this weekend so we could attend these back to back sessions together. It was a LOT of information in a short amount of time! The thing that got me most excited was the tour of the hospital, and getting to see one of the labor & delivery rooms. It helped me to envision where I will likely be spending a lot of time getting ready for Bradley to make his grand appearance.

I volunteered Brian to wear the empathy pregnancy belly which weighs 40 pounds that gives the husbands an idea of what their wives are going through. The teacher made an example out of Brian by having him lie down on the hospital bed in the classroom and practice rolling over and getting out of bed.

At one point last week the teacher was walking around with a laminated poster of the female anatomy and showing us how the expanding uterus crams all of your other organs out of the way to make room for baby. This, she explained, is why you're dealing with increased heartburn-

Amen! I exclaimed out loud-

and gas, the teacher continued, bringing chuckles from the rest of the class, and sympathetic nods and agreements from the other mothers-to-be. Slightly embarrassed by my enthusiastic unintentional admittance for both of the symptoms she described, it would not compare to Brian's bright red face after the teacher this week asked him what the highest point of a contraction was called. Brian offered "the climax?" as his answer while the rest of the class laughed, and the teacher quipped that no, but that's probably how you got here in the first place (The correct answer is peak, FYI).

Friday was Brian's and my 3 month anniversary so we celebrated by treating ourselves to dinner at Maggiano's. Here's a pic of him and me, at 35 1/2 weeks before we left for what was essentially our last date night before baby Bradley gets here!

Brian left yesterday, and I'm officially full term today, so now we begin the baby watch portion of the pregnancy. Mom was late delivering both Laura and me, but I'm praying for an early delivery for Bradley as it's becoming increasingly more uncomfortable as the days go by!

Starbux Spectacle

Time for another pregnant lady food story! This a.m. I forwent the Dunkin Donuts in lieu of yesterday's debacle and decided to make a trip over to Starbucks for my morning break instead. I had a gift card and wanted a Frappucino to tie (tide?) me over til lunchtime. When I got up to the window, the lady was so taken with my pregnant belly that after she oohed and ahhed over me, she hollered over to several other employees to come over to the window and take a look at me as well. I felt very self-conscious to say the least, with that whole fishbowl syndrome thing going on as several women stared at me through the glass drive-thru window.

And silly me, all I could think of was, here I am pregnant, and everyone knows that expecting moms are supposed to limit their caffeine intake, which I am very aware of, but I felt guilty indulging my Frappucino craving, and sat there wondering if these Starbucks employees were wondering the same thing and thinking that I am a bad mother!

Donut Drama

This morning I had a hankering for donuts, so I took my morning break and headed over to Dunkin Donuts for a dose of sugar. I knew exactly what I wanted, but once I got up to the counter and made my request for a cinnamon twist donut, I was not-so-politely informed that no such thing existed. Flustered, I described what I was wanting, and asked if they had something similar, and when I asked to see one of the Cinnamon donuts that the impatient lady at the counter did say they had, all she did was point to the baking rack. Well of course I didn't have my glasses on, so I couldn't get a good look at the selections from where I was standing, so in a fluster, I ordered 2 chocolate glazed donuts instead.

Upon walking out to my car with my purchase, I glanced in the bag and discovered that the donuts in my bag were Not what I had requested which caused me to make a U-eey and go right back inside the store. Of course by this time, there is a line, so I have to wait with my little bag to get back up to the counter and get the correct donuts. Finally I reach the counter and hand the bag back to the Dunkin Donuts employee and try to politely explain that this was Not what I had asked for. I didn't want chocolate cake donuts, I wanted regular donuts with chocolate glaze. Well this lady behind the counter is probably thinking I'm just crazy and pregnant, because apparently what I asked for is what I got, and what I was really wanting were "chocolate frosted donuts." Notice the subtlety here in the naming differences.

I'm feeling ashamed that I am so flustered about donuts, but realize that I am also very pregnant and make no apologies. I scarf down the donuts on my way back to work in hopes that the day will look up from here. And yes, for you astute readers, I recognize the irony of me complaining that I am now the size of a small house in one blog, and then recount my donut-eating antics in the following. Again, I am pregnant. I make no apologies.

Chunky Monkey

You know you're fat when even your maternity shirts start busting at the seams and fitting a little too snugly! I know, I know, I'm pregnant, I'm supposed to gain weight. But yeah, remember all those months when I gleefully announced how I hadn't gained a pound? Well karma, as they say, is a bee-yotch, and now I'm gaining at the rate of 2 pounds per week! So here I sit, tugging at my shirt all day, and switching positions frequently to quell my back pain. Ahh, the joys of motherhood!

They say it's their birthdays

Today we are celebrating birthdays for two of my favorite people in the world! Hubby Brian is turning 25 (yep, he's a youngin') and sister Laura is a mere 24 years old today.

Brian is stuck in boring meetings all day (not a fun way to spend one's birthday) while Laura gets to cavort around town with George who took the day off in honor of his fiancee's birthday. (Lucky Ducks).

I'm celebrating both their birthdays in my new cubicle across the room from where I was yesterday, lamenting my constant back pain. According to the baby books, little Bradley is hovering around 4- 4 1/2 pounds right now, and he enjoys pushing up against my sciatic nerve on a regular basis. Good thing is, I can eat all the birthday cake I want right now without feeling guilty!!

Baby Steps

Amanda at the end of Week 32

I am slowly but surely aquiring a lot of gadgets and gizmos that will supposedly make my life easier once Bradley arrives.  Most of them I look at with blank stares and wonder how they work, and why I need them.  I figure it can't hurt to try out a few things though, since I do have a small dog in the house who makes a great model!

Julius is my guinea pig for trying out the front carrier!  He actually enjoys it, we think!

I experiment with my new Boppy pillow... once again, Julius makes a great test subject!

pregnant rant

I'm 8 months pregnant- I'm entitled to the occasional rant and rave. Today is one of those days so beware me if you cross my path.

Today has been a crappy day at work all around, and so I decided to indulge during lunch time and treat myself to Mickey D's. Apparently me and everyone else in Cool Springs had a Big Mac Attack at the same time because the line was wrapped around the building- as if there are no other places to eat in Cool Springs- what gives??!! But fine. Here I am in line, I'm not moving. It's too hot to have the windows down so I'm running the A/C, I'm aggravated that I'm using so much gas on my lunch break, and then to top it off, when I'm finally scarfing down my food in the car on my way to run another errand, I realize the people at McD's gave me Diet instead of regular Coke! Today of all days! Can't a girl get a break and enjoy her crap food in peace? Grrr

April Showers

... bring June Babies.

Hmm- doesn't quite have that nice ring to it, does it? At any rate, Saturday was the long awaited Baby Bradley Bambino Bash that Mama B threw for me and my son-to-be. Ironically, it showered on us as we made our way into the clubhouse, but ended soon after the shindig began. We had a lovely assortment of munchies, and flowers, and plenty of baby decor. I spent a ton of time working on a clever Baby Mix to play as ladies were entering and mingling, but unfortunately it looks like all that work fell on deaf ears. Oh well... at least I enjoyed my own cleverness. I'll have pics up later, but Baby Bradley racked up! I now have a good jump start on the infant essentials that will help welcome BJ to the world. Less than 2 months and counting...

Baby Bradley's first Kentucky Wildcat outfit!

Buried in a sea of baby gifts

the adorable diaper cake that Mama B made

Shaken, not stirred

I used to be the heaviest sleeper in the world. Now with Baby Bradley taking up so much room in my belly, it makes sleeping a bit trickier these days. I spend my nights tossing and turning from my right side to my left, curling up with my long body pillow (a must have for any Prego Person!), so it wasn't all that shocking when I woke up at some point during last night/this morning. What was shocking was that once I was awake and redistributing my pillow to the opposite side of the bed, I noticed that the house was rattling. Too long to be a roll of thunder, I surmised that it must be an earthquake, remembering that the New Madrid fault line was only a few hours west of us. (How I managed to put such a cognizant thought together when half asleep is nothing short of a miracle for me). When the rattling stopped, I rolled back to sleep, and forgot all about the incident until it was plastered all over the internet this morning.

Many people I know slept right through the earthquake tremors, so I guess you could say they were shaken, but not stirred!

I hit the flo

Anyone familiar with the recent hip-hop hit from the Flo-rida Boyz? The chorus goes something like this:
She hit the flo
Next thing you know
Shorty got low low low low low low low low

Well that's what this Baby Mama did yesterday while fighting with the computer printer. I totally missed the computer chair and my bottom landed smack flat on the hard tile floor, sending family members rushing into the room to make sure me & BJ were ok! Luckily I have plenty of padding to cushion the fall, so I was able to laugh it off while being pulled up off the floor, allthewhile with everyone in the vicinity singing my new "theme song."

In need of a pedi-cure!

7 months and counting, and as fascinating as this pregnancy as been so far, there are times when I am ready for the baby to hurry up and get here!  Like when I'm trying to nap in the car on a road trip this weekend, and the little one decides it's a perfect time to wiggle around in my tummy so that I can't sleep, or when I've laid down to go to bed at night, and the blessed one kicks me (or punches me- I can't really tell which)  so hard that I scream out loud, waking up others nearby who are enviously already asleep- or were, as the case may be!

Sometimes the baby interferes with a DIVA's beauty regime- like, for example, not being able to use and cleansers or face creams with acne-fighting salisylic acid in them throughout the pregnancy, or being recommended to stave off hair colorings for the first 3 months when one is already in desperate need of a coloring pre-pregnancy.  Today's experience was another first.  I had been putting off attempting a pedicure since my last professional one mid-February, and the grown out nails and polish finally got to me today so I resolved to pamper my pups.  

First things first- taking off the old polish.  This proved to be as difficult as I had been imagining it to be, thus my valid reason for putting off this chore for so long.  I propped my feet up on the edge of the stool on which I was sitting and proceeded to lean over and swab the cotton-soaked pad over my toes.  Several laborious minutes and many gasps of breath later, the nails were clean.  You cannot imagine the difficulty this once-simple task of taking of toenail polish could be when one is manuevering around a protruding belly, and bending over said belly cutting off one's breath supply!  Let me just say I should have taken Ari's advice to let her paint my toes for me, but for my own stubborn pride's sake, I just had to attempt to tackle the task myself.

Several more gasping breaths later, my toes were clipped, filed, buffed, and lotioned, and ready for polish.  Then came the laughable task of applying two coats of pink polish to the nails.  Because of my rotund tummy, I couldn't bend over far enough to get a close look at my own handiwork, so I relied more on sensory than sight to confirm my progress.  When I finished, I could tell they weren't going to pass for a professional pedicure, and much to my chagrin, my own thoughts were confirmed by my sister when I thrust my flip-flopped foot in front of my sister and asked the hopeful question of "how do they look?" and she answered me with a "you should have let me do it."

Guess I will have to carve out some time and money soon to let the pros do their thing, because a DIVA cannot parade her tootsies around town in open-toed shoes in the spring with feet in such a shameful state!