Signed Off On It

The appointment was again by the numbers. We asked when inducement might be considered, and he said no later than 41 weeks. That's June 28. All signs continue to point to normal. He vouched for our pediatrician candidate. The docs and nurses had planned a weeklong vacation starting next weekend, but we and other folks are all due around the same time.

Your Sister is now soaking her feet at least twice a night. She's roasting. She eats even more ice cream to cool down. We walked last night only because the cat needed more grass, and the other cat is now acting odd. I think they ate something weird, but I can't find or smell any dead thing in their room. There's some weird stuff in the litter box. It almost looks like they ate a wad of dryer lint.

I sent off the logo for the roller derby, and now I'll unveil it.


I wanted to show the river they were named for and the local geography. They asked for "fear-inducing," and I went with a SEAL team/night monster vibe. I think the red color helps. I wanted a duotone feel to make reproduction easier and keep the design simple. I'm pretty happy with it. I submit this contently. They announce the winner on July 31. That may be the public unveiling though; I might heard earlier than that. The contest regulations are sparse. This was my busy work for this last month of pregnancy, and now I may be fidgety.

Relax tonight. Drink a bit. Sleep.

Picture of the Day
Super hero periodic table

Cheering Section

Hey.

Breathe deep. Tackle it in increments.

You've prepared as much as you can. You're gonna be good.

We're rooting for you.

Five Years

Five years ago this morning, we signed on our house and got married a few hours later. Doesn't seem like five years. Let me tell you: After Mother's Day and her birthday, I am tapped out for gift ideas. I stink, stank, stunk. It just happened that the DVD set of Voyagers! arrived yesterday, and I handed it her as a lame, LAAAAAAME anniversary gift. She seemed happy with it.


I remember this show running on Sundays on NBC. I used to draw the steampunk Omni device all the time. I wanted one from the first time I saw the show, and it may have sparked my interest in pocketwatches. If you haven't seen it, think of Quantum Leap with more swagger. Can I tie in time travel to marking the five-year anniversary? Seems a stretch.

Fifth anniversaries are supposed to be marked with wood or silverware. She'll get neither. I considered buying her silver wearing things, but she's finicky about jewelry. Also, I've heard about "push gifts," little trinkets given to new moms after delivery. I think I'll skip that too. Maybe I'll let her sleep the first couple of nights instead.

Your Sis visited a local pediatrician office as a possible Roo doctor. She seemed happy with the sales pitch. They have weekend and office hours and employ a doctor who has delivered or treated something like 75 percent of babies here in the past 30 years. We haven't met him yet, but we saw him in the delivery videos and at the recent awards ceremony. We're going to the weekly appointment later today, and I'll attach the baby-seat boots to each of our cars before we go.

Her oldest cat was acting ill this morning. He wouldn't eat, not even his beloved popcorn. But he did slink next to the door, which usually means he wants to eat grass. I harnessed and walked him in the yard, and he did munch on many a blade and stalk. He also followed the path of rabbits which also munched a few leaves last night. He does this every once in a while, but it usually happens at night.

I discovered that French dip sandwiches are messy to make and contain spooky sleep magic. We zonked out almost immediately.

Picture of the Day
Slow exposure photo of the stars.

Lies. All Lies.

Your Sister is catching flak from all sides contending she has "pregnant brains." Parents and students accuse her of losing papers to excuse their negligence; administrators think she'll flake out on next semester's teacher workshops. The grapevine isn't helping. One upset teacher called her to ask why she was quitting teaching altogether. She spends a great deal of time putting out fires and less time grading. Another teacher party has been announced for this weekend, and I hope to help her make an appearance.

We did manage to walk last night around the neighborhood. Downhill was easy. Not so much for uphill.

Picture of the Day
The New York Times at Wicker Man? I dunno.

Pie and Preparation

As payback for a strawberry pie offered a few weeks back, Your Sister made a blueberry pie for Kathy and Travis, and we had a sit-down dessert at their place. Pie was devoured. Woeful tales of the workplace were swapped.

Your Mom and Aunt are greatly a'feared that Your Nieces could infect Your Nephew if they visit too soon. There's also concern about who might stay over with us once we take the baby home. We don't know. We can't say for sure as we have yet to be sleep deprived. Also -- and this cannot be dismissed -- is the possibility that Roo won't be coming home immediately. The pregnancy has been somewhat mundane (easy for me to say, yes), but that's no guarantee that Roo will emerge hale and hearty. I do not wish it. I must prepare for it. I was a sickly child. A perfectly functioning baby cannot be presumed, and we cannot lock in plans until we have all the information. I don't mention this to Your Sister, but I can get her through any crisis we might have before Roo comes home. I can at least do this much.

She's made an appointment with a local pediatrician and probably will talk with a GP later this week. I need to find one of my own too. It's been a while since I saw a doc. My Mom's pushing me hard to have a colonoscopy. Your Sister has requested that we stroll the neighborhood each day weather permitting. Of course, I said. Whenever you want. We can do it at night before bed to avoid the hot weather.

I asked about the color scheme for the new roller derby team so I could hone my logo to their scheme. I was told there is no scheme yet. It will be determined by the logo. Whoever wins is essentially designing the team look. Wow. I hope I win.

Picture of the Day
From a museum, I suspect.

38 Weeks

Your Sister returned to school briefly Friday at the request of her AP kids who wanted to throw her a shower. In turn, she asked that they suggest chapter books they enjoyed as kids. Many of them gave her copies, some inscribed to Roo. There was also a cake for Voldemort; the students love that name idea. I didn't see the cake but was told a student took a pic of it. I did get a slice of it and held off the urge to gobble it until Sunday evening. There were traditional shower gifts, some from other teachers.

The rain held off just long enough for me to mow the yard Saturday, but the wet grass under the mower clumped together like one long bath mat. I spread it over the weed patch next to the garden in hopes I'll make new grass. Your Sister waded through school stuff while I tweaked my logo entry for the new roller derby team, and I invited two teacher people to join me for Saturday's bout. The Blue Ridge Rollergirls again won out, this time over the Carolina Bootleggers, who employed a goon named Maddat U. She was vicious. On the way back, one passenger requested we hear my Hall and Oates CDs, and we blasted the music with all the windows rolled down. Until we drove up to the massive DWI check, and my shotgun passenger wisely suggested I remove my arena beer wristband. Tragedy averted.

I've spent a lot of time lately in the new Western PS3 game, Red Dead Redemption. It's sprawling and loaded with tangential storylines. So far, I've broken a wild stallion (hey now), bought a land deed, hunted animals, tracked criminals for bounty, found hidden treasure, and saved some saloon girls from drunks. It's gigantic.

We finally packed a suitcase for the hospital despite some blind adherence to the handbook checklist. Methinks they over do it. Then again, I won't be bleeding and losing ten pounds in 12 hours. My Mom joked that, no matter what we called Roo, she would refer to him after her father. I hope that's a joke. Her backyard pool is almost ready, and maybe we can get down there before Labor Day. One of my friends from high school has her own photo studio now, and she asked if she can get maternity pictures. She now has a very small window of opportunity, but we're game to try next weekend. She'll have to drive here; Your Sis can't handle long car rides anymore.

Picture of the Day
I never noticed that Hollywood uses so many copies of the same fake newspaper.