The waiting game

We're still waiting on Baby Mango to arrive. Even Winston is getting anxious.

Tomorrow will be one week past our estimated due date. I know they call it an estimate for a reason, but it's funny how this one date shapes your thoughts and expectations for nine months (and then some). Now that it's come and gone, you really start counting the minutes.

They should just give you an approximate time frame. Maybe that would make the waiting easier. C'mon Mango!

photo: Winston curled up in Baby's room... just waiting...

Baby Mango, born Cubs fan

There's a lot of mystery surrounding our little baby Mango. Is Mango a him or a her? What will Mango's name be? When will Mango arrive? So much left to be discovered. One thing we don't have to wait to find out? Baby Mango will be born a Cubs fan.

Like it or not, this baby will be introduced to the misery of rooting for the Cubbies from a very early age. Bob just purchased a 6-pack of tickets for this upcoming season and plan to take Mango to at least a game or two. Which begs the obvious question... what will baby wear to the game?

If Mango is a she, I'm thinking something in the way of this cute little number.

Or this if Mango is a he. Sigh... the pinstripes.

Remember this guy?  And, how to make your status as a lifelong fan official.

Who knows, maybe baby Mango will be the good luck charm the Cubbies have been waiting for.

above photo from when we told Matt, my brother-in-law that he was going to be an uncle.

Blueberry

Here's me with baby at 7 weeks, when baby was just the size of a blueberry. And, now here's me with baby at 37 weeks. Who looks like the blueberry now? Hehe. :)

Have a lovely weekend!

Full term and now we wait

Well, folks. It's nearly here. Mango that is. (Since we're going to be surprised with the sex, "it" still gets used from time to time.)

Today I am considered full-term. That means that baby's organs should be fully developed and prepared for the outside world. My due date is three weeks from today, but the doctor is OK with delivering anytime from this point forward. Now we're officially playing the waiting game. It could be any time. Yahoo!

Any guesses when baby Mango will arrive? So far we've got votes for Feb. 1, 2 and 5, and Jan. 28 (that one's still a little early, I think). I have no idea and no guess. I'll just be happy when it's here.

The top 5 things I'm looking forward to after the baby is born:

1. Being that much closer to wearing my regular clothes again (brand new J. Crew jeans and comfy t-shirts, I'm looking at you).
2. A medium/medium rare steak with a giant glass of red wine.
3. Sushi, the real stuff. Raw. White tuna, salmon, red snapper... mmmm. With a bottle of Sapporo.
4. Being able to tie my own shoes. In regular knots. Without help. Without groaning from bending over.
5. MEETING THIS NEW LITTLE PERSON!!!!!!!! Ah, I can't wait!!!! (this is really number one:)
   

photo of baby Mango waving to us for the first time at 12 weeks. Man that seems like a long time ago.

Mini coffee maker

I love starting my workday with a cup of Columbia Street Roastery coffee in my L mug. Today's flavor: Rainforest Crunch. Yumm-o!

I hit the jackpot for Christmas with this Cuisinart mini coffee maker from husband. Now I get to make my own personal cup of coffee every morning right in my office. And, Craig gave me the L mug, which is perfect. It's all about the little things, right? :)

And, in regard to big things, I finally submitted my application for grad school yesterday. It felt so good to hit that "submit" button! I've applied for the Masters of Advertising program in the College of Media at the U of I. I should hear sometime in April whether I'll be a student again this fall.

As my friend Sara pointed out, this will likely be the least excruciating wait possible. Y'know, 'cause there's going to be a new baby and all in a few weeks. That will be probably take my mind off this for awhile. :) Anyway, fingers crossed!

Happy Wednesday!

New parent food planning

This past week Bob and I have been doing a little prep work for our return home after the baby is born. One of the main things you always hear is that, during that initial time after the baby is home, food is one of the last things you want to think about as a new parent.

So, we've made a couple of meals with that in mind. So far we've made this quinoa broccoli casserole and this stuffed manicotti - both Pinterest finds. Both were yumm-o. The quinoa casserole works as a main dish with a bag o' salad, or as a side. The manicotti was awesome. We added turkey sausage to the sauce, which was a good choice.

I purchased some foil baking pans and we made sure to fill one of those with half of the recipe each time. We wrap each one up and label it with cooking instructions and stick it in the freezer. It's worked out perfectly leaving us with fewer leftovers to feel bad about not eating by the end of the week and easy meals for the (not so distant) future.

Any suggestions for other meals to freeze for future eating? 

Year of Baby

Happy New Year! Can you believe that it's 2013? Every year I think back to the late `90s and find myself amused that thirteen years ago we thought this future would be so different. The Y2K fears, flying cars, etc. Now it's 2013, and things look pretty much the same. To me at least.

And that will only last for about another month because this is... the Year of Baby! Little Baby Mango is due in a month and then our lives are certain to change forever. In the most delightful way. As one might imagine, my thoughts are consumed with Baby and our changing family. I truly can't wait for this new adventure to begin.

I hope your new year is off to a wonderful start and that you are filled with hope and excitement for all that is to come.

And, if you're looking for a good movie to rent, I recommend Looper. It's great.

Happy Halloween

Believe it or not, our dogs picked these costumes out themselves. Winston is a skeleton and Kia is a She-Devil. They love greeting all of the trick-or-treaters!

This time next year we will be dressing up our little one and I can't wait. How much fun that will be! I just love this little mouse & cheese costume.

More puppy pics after the jump.

Baby mop

How hilarious is this Baby Mop? The number one reason you need it? To "teach your baby a strong work ethic early in their life." This is almost more than I can handle.

And, my cousin Jason needs this shirt.

gDiapers

OK, so I told you that I had a serious case of baby-brain...

Look at these baby bums. Aren't these gDiapers the cutest? I'm planning to use reusable diapers as much as possible with baby Mango and I've decided on gDiapers. They're adorable AND earth-friendly. You can opt for the washable cloth inserts or for the compostable/flushable inserts. We're going to give both a try.

The EPA information on the long-term effects on the planet from disposable diapers is frightening.