Mmph

Today is Wednesday and I'm tired and cranky.

But here is the Museum Tidbit of the Week:

From the collection of the Dundas Museum & Archives

"Porky" Campbell. I'll tell you more about him later.

I'm going to lunch. Perhaps that'll take the starch out of my knickers.

Prenatal Classes, etc.

So we went to our first class last Wednesday, and it was fun! There are about a dozen couples in all, and we're all at about the same stage of pregnancy.

The class is taught by a woman called Zsuzsi (pronounced "Jujee") and she seems pretty cool.

The most fun part is that Matt and I are really enjoying doing this thing together. We couldn't stop talking afterwards. As an added bonus, we get to have juice at half-time! (We're in charge of juice this week...I'm thinking raspberry and white grape).

The scariest part? Seeing life-sized drawings of the baby at different development stages. The ninth month was pretty jaw-dropping...I think I almost fainted. How on earth will it fit? I'm already waddling when I walk, and I have 3 full months to go yet! ....3 months?....Oh my god. On one hand that seems like a long time, on the other hand it seems very quick. I'm in my last trimester! In 3 short months, we will have a baby in the house! A whole other person!

Questions of the week: Do babies experience humour in the womb? Does the baby think bubbling-gas-tummy noises are funny?

Compare: 26 Weeks and 40 Weeks

Baby Registry

Okay. Normally I wouldn't do this kind of thing. But some of you have asked, and hopefully this will make things easier for you. Please do not feel obligated to make any purchases.

http://www.babyuniverse.com/regp_s_3.asp?regid=59984&rc=registry
As a special promotion for a limited time we are offering you, your family and friends a coupon code for 5% off the entire BabyUniverse site. Use and pass this code on to your family and friends for your discount: Registry5
If you need any help with your registry or if you have any questions about products, please feel free to contact us via email at registry@babyuniverse.com or call us toll free at 1-877-615-2229.

I have to admit, it was fun "shopping" and all this stuff makes me even more excited about things to come.

Matt and I are starting our Prenatal Classes this evening. I wonder what that will be like? Hopefully there will be nice couples we can befriend, and the instructor will be knowledgeable.

A lady came into the museum today (she shall remain nameless) and said I looked "just huge! the same size I was when I was carrying twins!" Obviously she's forgotten how it feels to be pregnant and should learn to shut her big fat mouth...I was thinking that I look pretty good for 6 months along! Luckily that didn't upset me (though if she'd caught me in a particularly hormone-flushed moment, I would have whupped her). Whaddareyagonnado? ::shrugs::

Happy Monday (?)

Not too much to report here on a Monday afternoon...while I sit here munching on a poppy seed cookie celebrating Heritage Week (I don't really know what that entails, but eating cookies is always good).

Matt and I met up with our super-awesome friends Erika and Mike this Saturday (I hadn't seen Erika in about 13 years, so it was a happy reunion indeed.) I think Erika has convinced me to check out belly dancing as a form of prenatal exercise, so I'll let you all know how that develops! We had a really nice time catching up and getting to know Mike. Happy Birthday once again, Erika - we shall get together for brownies soon!



On a sad note, we lost a dear family member last week. Matt's great-aunt Margaret passed away from complications from leukemia on February 15th. I say great-aunt because technically she was, but she was very young (only a few years older than his mom). The last time we saw her was this Thanksgiving past, and she looked very well (a diagnosis had not yet been made), so we were quite taken by surprise when she went to the hospital just a few weeks ago. Rest in peace, Margaret. We will miss you very much.



Museum Tidbit of the Week:

The Hamilton Brier is coming up, and normally I wouldn't cast a second glance at anything to do with curling. However, this seems to be a big event for the City of Hamilton, and since the Museum has put together a small exhibit on Dundas' curling past - well, I've learned a few things that didn't totally bore me.



Iron Curling “Stone”, provenance unknown.
From the collection of the Dundas Museum.
Iron stones were used in Montreal and the
Ottawa Valley from 1807 and the mid 1900s.


"It is believed that curling was first played in Canada around 1760 by the members of the 78th Fraser Highlanders. Not willing to give up their favourite winter pastime, yet unable to obtain Ailsa Craig stones (granite) for curling, these resourceful soldiers used a material that was close at hand – iron. Some sources say that cannonballs were melted to produce the stones, while others say that the hubcaps of gun carriages were used. No matter what their exact origins, a precedent was set, and “irons” were still being used in Quebec up until the early 1950s. In Ontario, Scottish settlers searched for their own alternative to the Ailsa Craig stones. Finding the granite of Ontario’s riverbeds unsuitable, wooden blocks, surrounded by an iron band, were substituted." Text by Lisa Hunter.

Dumped On on Valentine's Day

The baby's second photograph! I know it's a little blurry...but as a brief explanation, this is a profile view of her face and her arm is above her head. It looks like she's giving us the finger. Behind her is the creature from "Alien" (aka the umbilical cord - I think. I hope.) The technician (this time the procedure was at a different hospital) also thought it was a girl (sorry for the revelation, Tom!) and she put on a little show for us. I have to say it was sooooooo cute. She yawned and smacked her lips with her tongue! It made me feel quite happy on Valentine's Day, despite the fact that we got over a foot of snowfall (which is more snow than I've seen in this area since I moved to Dundas in December of 2001), and the driving was pretty miserable at 7:30am. I took the rest of the day off though, which was mucho enjoyable.

Matt is busy at home preparing the bedrooms. He's plastered the walls a couple of times now and will commence some patch-up painting soon. He's done an awesome job of moving things around and carting out tonnes of garbage/donation bags. I am very grateful for all the work he is doing; plus he's being quite gallant about it, making sure I don't do any heavy lifting. At this very moment, the place looks like it has been hit by a bomb, but an amazing amount of progress has been made, and there is light at the end of the tunnel! We'll have the place baby-ready shortly, I believe!

Tickets & Widgers

I am attempting to make my blog a bit more fun by adding certain elements...such as tickers and widgets.
You will probably notice that I will add things, then delete them, or place them elsewhere...please bear with me while I learn how to do this properly!

Childhood Memories!

This weekend we went to Chapters, where I was lucky to stumble across two of my childhood music staples: Raffi's Singable Songs for the Very Young and Baby Beluga!
We've already listened to them a couple of times. It's been a wonderful trip down memory lane. However, when I came to the song "I Wonder if I'm Growing", I dissolved into tears. Not just little tears either. We're talking sobbing. Here are the lyrics, as I remember them off the top of my head:

I wonder if I'm growing
Oh, I wonder if I'm growing
My mum says yes I'm growing
But it's hard for me to see.

Mum says eat your sandwich
It will help you grow up tall
But when I eat my sandwich
I hardly feel bigger at all.

Mum says wash your hands now
then you can go out and play
Hey, I can reach the tap now
For the very first time today!

(Repeat of chorus?)

Man, I even get misty-eyed just writing the lyrics out. I don't know exactly why this song makes my throat tighten so much, but when Matt asked me what part it was that got me, all I could say was "I'm going to be a mum! *gasp* *gasp* *sob* *sob*!"
I also like the word 'sandwich'.

Convocation February 8th, 2007

Matt is now a certified honours graduate! (Or, "graduant", as the Registrar kept referring to them. Congratulations to all our graduants! Sheesh.)

The evening was a nice one; the auditorium was well set up, and the actual ceremony was as speedy as they could make it. All in all, we're pretty proud of Matt and his accomplishments. The baby kicked throughout the ceremony, proud of her papa. Although it was probably due to all the clapping; we woke her up.

I was happy with the evening, despite the fact that I found out that batteries don't live long in the digital camera. Heirnph. Time to get some rechargeables. Also, I didn't realize how long it takes to "recover" after taking a shot with flash. Because of this, I was only able to take about 4 decent shots - when I was hoping to get at least 15-20. I've learned for next time.

Matt had a good interview today too (thank you all for your good vibes!) However, the position is a boring one, and they are only offering $10 an hour. Kind of a kick in the teeth! We've pretty much come to the conclusion that he ought to wait to find another job somewhere else. He can get a much higher salary doing something a lot more interesting. But, it was a good beginning to the job search. Getting a few interviews under the belt is always a good thing.

Apart from that, it's Friday night and I'm pooped! For some reason my tummy has popped a bit more within the last couple of days and I think I've used up all 8 of my iron points. But I'm happy. I've realized that I really quite love being pregnant, and I can understand now why some women say that they miss being pregnant after they give birth.

FYI, I now have a webcam set up. So, if you want to Skype me, we can chitchat live! My Skype name is christamatt. Please give me a ringy-dingy (so to speak).

Ciao for now!

Fifteen minutes left on my lunch hour...what better way to spend it than to write a little bloggish stuff?

Tonight is Matt's convocation; so stay tuned for photos soon (one of the reasons we bought the digital camera besides getting ready for baby). I have to say I'm pretty proud of the fella. He graduated with Honours and he's really worked hard for it. It was a long three years, I tell ya, but now that it is over, we can hardly believe it.

Now begins the hellish world of job-search for him. Resumes, cover letters and references all whirl around; please keep your fingers crossed that he finds something he loves (and a good pay wouldn't hurt either!)

The only classes left now are Prenatal classes that begin Feb. 21st. Yay! Looking forward to learning those important breathing and nursing techniques!

***INSTANT UPDATE***

Matt just called me to let me know he has an interview tomorrow at Activation Laboratories in Ancaster!!!! He sent his resume today and they called approximately one hour later to set up the interview....that sounds really good to me! Please think of him at 12:00 noon EST and send him your best vibes!

No Museum tidbit today (I think I'll make that a weekly thing). But here's something for your amusement anyway:

Bo-Lee

I've become addicted to Boston Legal (thanks go to Dad and Pat for introducing us to this show!)

I do believe that the baby will come out of the womb singing the "Bahw, bahw, ba-ba, bohw" theme music, as just the first few notes come on and my ears prick up. For some reason, I also like to eat Nerds candy while watching. Don't know where that came from.

Matt correctly identified that I have a crush on Alan Shore. So help me, I think he is yummy (perhaps it is the Nerds). Matt is jealous of this crush and he is not so fond of Alan any more. Ha! So I try not to laugh or sigh too much at Alan't antics (luckily I laugh just as much at Denny Crane) But I can't really help it. I don't sigh at Denny Crane.

Anyway, just had to get that out there.

Museum Tidbit of the Day:

From the Collection of the Dundas Museum & Archives (I must give my "propers" to the place).

I've been doing some scanning of documents, and I loved this one. I picture this magician in 1871 as the Villain who ties the damsel to the train tracks, curly mustache and all. Or perhaps a gypsy-like Houdini, who saws his assistant in half. I'm sure I would have tried to scrape up the 25cents to get into this show. I wonder if he was a hit?

Museum Tidbit of the Day:

(This section will be hopefully updated daily)

We've got an amazing display of wood carvings going on at the Museum. They were created in the early 1900’s by Reverend William Hill, a Methodist minister. The Museum houses hundreds of pieces of his work, which were donated by his son in the 1960s.

Photo courtesy, and artifact from the collection of The Dundas Museum & Archives.

Pregnancy Tidbit(s) of the Day:

Some things I did not know about myself or pregnancy before "getting involved":

• I have an anterior placenta (which apparently only affects about 5% of women). While it should not pose any complications, it does make it more difficult to feel baby's movements, especially externally. And it could potentially make for a more painful labour, as the baby's skull might press against my backbone. Fun!
• While my hemoglobin (freeflowing iron) is well in the normal range, my ferratin(?) - iron stores - are really low. Normal range is 100-300. I'm an 8. Again, not much of a problem, although it does mean that I get tired or low on energy a lot faster than some.
• There is a hormone called Relaxin that flows through pregnant women's bodies. Appropriately named, it relaxes the joints to make labour easier. Unfortunately, it also causes me to have very weak ankles. Matt has witnessed my nightly "Ow, ow, owwwwws!" as I get into bed. Feels like they are being stabbed by scissors. Fun!
• I think that when people ask, "Do you have any weird cravings?", they secretly want me to say something like, "Why yes, I need to eat sauteed button mushrooms smothered in red pepper jelly nightly." The truth of the matter is that while I do have the occasional craving, it is usually for fruit dipped in yogurt or freshly squeezed lemonade. Before you think this is saintly, I've also had cravings for root beer in a frosty mug and Denny's Grand Slam Breakfast.

Welcome to my Blogg

Hello Everyone!

Just got a digital camera this weekend! Yippee! Pictured above is the first shot I took.

Roscoe the kitty looking not-too-impressed; but hey, he's a cat. That's what cats do.

The other highlight of my weekend was working a rental at the Museum on Saturday. Normally that wouldn't really be a highlight, but I found this group interesting. It was the TH&B Railway Historical Society, which basically means a bunch of men (I'd estimate 48 men & 2 women showed up) discussing their love of trains.

I had no idea that people could love trains so much. They literally looked at slides of trains for most of 2 hours. Needless to say I didn't stick around for too long. But they had a stack of old train magazines from the 1930s(?) and one man told me that a particular publisher decided to put pictures of women on each cover; mostly pictures of women in mini-skirts standing in front of trains. Well, apparently this caused an uproar in the train-enthusiast circles. Not because of any moral objection to the photographs, but because "Dames and engines don't mix!"

Weird! I wonder what Freud would have to say about it these train-types.

Anyway, on to other things. For those of you interested in the progression of my pregnancy, here's the second photo I took (today I am 23weeks and a few days along):

Can't believe I'm almost 2/3rds of the way through this whole thing! Scary.