And the Verdict Is...

Today is my due date. I am still here. Baby is not. Sigh. I am just sitting around and waiting, waiting, waiting, and trying to stay out of the front room so I don't mess it up...Come out, Baby!

My House is Clean!

For the first time ever! Well, not ever. When I first moved in, I would deep clean my house every Saturday morning. But then I met Joe, and I had more important things to do. Ever since then, I have been teaching, or going to workshops, or watching the ever-important Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.

I don't like to clean. In fact, I hate it. I actually love working because it gives me an excuse to not clean my house. Because when I come home from work, the last thing I want to do is work. So I don't. This is making me sound like a pig, which I'm not. I try to keep the house picked up, and heaven knows Joe is so much better at this than I am, and he loves to help around the house---bless him. But I don't vacuum very often, the shelves see a dust cloth once in a blue moon, and we wear our clothes out of the laundry basket that has been sitting on the dryer for two weeks waiting to be folded.

But for the first time in a long time, my house is vacuumed, dusted, picked up, and the bathrooms even got a good scrub down last week. See, the trick is to make a cleaning schedule for yourself like I did about two years ago. And for the first time since I made the schedule, I have actually stuck to it these last two weeks I have been home. And guess what I figured out? Cleaning my house now take 45 minutes tops, because I only have to do the chores on the list--things like:
Monday--Laundry
Tuesday--vacuum, dust, pickup, and scrub front room and kitchen
Wednesday-- pick up, vacuum, and dust bathrooms and bedrooms
Thursday-- pick up house and mop kitchen
Friday-- pick up house, clean laundry room
Saturday-- deep clean bathrooms, oven, and microwave

I can't believe how much time I have on my hands, with my house clean. My brother and his wife popped in yesterday, with only like 20 minutes notice, and Joe and I didn't have scramble and pick up and psuedo-clean like maniacs. Instead, I just cubed some Velveeta cheese and melted it and mixed it with Salsa so I could have a little snack....Yeah, I served an hourderve (sp). I still don't like cleaning, but I like reading my books today on my bed (which was made, by the way) and watching recorded episodes of Glenn Beck (who isn't as funny as he thinks he is) without feeling guilt.

And I don't think this is all "nesting" stuff that's happening, because I am only making myself do this in the hopes that being up and vacuum will get this kid out. And it only took me a week of Spring Break to get me totally bored. I went the library yesterday and checked out like 8 books, and I am already through two of them. But oh well. I will be glad I had all this time to myself once this little person comes (any day now!) and I don't get a minute to do these things. Anyway. Just checking in...still here. Still big. Still waiting. Hoping my house doesn't get too messy before the big day comes.

Baby Room!

Here is the closet in the baby's room. We re-did Joe's old bookcase, only to realize that there wasn't really any good place to put it in the room. Luckily, it fit perfectly in the closet under the top shelf. So now we have tons of storage. And look at all my books! You would never guess that I am an English teacher!



This is my favorite thing about the room--my chair! We saved for quite sometime for this. I picked out the fabric and everything, and it's perfect! It is really comfortable. I love that it reclines, too!

Our crib (where we currently keep the carseat--which arrived about two weeks ago--Thanks to everyone who went in on the group gift! It is really pretty, and I love it. I haven't seen another carseat like ours, which, if you know me, is very important). As you can see, we're waiting to buy any bedding, since we don't know if the baby is a boy or a girl. It's really kind of fun. Admit it, the anticipation of not knowing is so exciting, you just can't wait for this little one to come on the scene! We're sticking to green and brown at this point. But I have found bedding that I really like at Babies R Us, and I've been saving last year's stimulus check just for this occasion!

If it's a girl, we're going to get this:













And if it's a boy, we're going to get this:


We're really excited for Baby to come, and we can't wait to introduce everyone to the newest Bingham on the Block...if s/he decides to make an appearance....at this point, I'm beginning to think this kid's in here to stay!

Still Here...and Still Big!

Pictures: 1)30 weeks, 3 days
2) My New Trick!
3) 38 weeks

If you are anything like me, then you check the blog of the person you know who could go into labor any day. And, if you are anything like me, you take the absence of a post to mean something. Sadly, in my case, it just means that I am officially done with school and have been doing nothing but sleeping all week long. As you can see, I am still here, and I am still HUGE.

There's not much to report on the homefront--Joe and I are just sitting around and waiting. We went to the doctor Tuesday for our 37 week checkup, and I am dilated 1 cm and 60% effaced. Which is exactly what I was at the 36 week checkup. I think the lack of progress is mostly because I am done with work (clear until August! YAY!) and I have turned into a recluse. I stay home and I sleep-in everyday, and then I take a nap in the afternoons. I feel really lazy, but I tell myself that I haven't been sleeping for the last couple of weeks, and I won't be sleeping in the next couple of weeks, so I have to get sleep when I can. Plus, it's nice to see my ankles back to their regular size--I was starting to get worried! They were so big and swollen from the last two hectic weeks at school. I was never off my feet, and when I was off them, I couldn't put them up, so they ceased to be ankles and were tree trunks instead. The secretaries at school were telling me I needed to have them checked out! But no, it was just the lack of rest.

I have also done a lot of laundry. For the first time since July, there is NOTHING in my laundry baskets! Joe can't believe how much laundry I do, but to be quite honest, it's the only chore I can do while sitting down, so now it has become the chore of choice. Today was the first day I actually ventured out: I went to Wal-Mart, to the libaray, and soon, I am going to venture out again because I feel like a Jamba juice.

So things are pretty tame around here. The baby room is almost completely ready (Joe's going to install the ceiling fan this weekend), I have done all the baby's laundry, the baby bag is packed, and the car seat base is ready to go. The only thing we have left to do is clean the house (which I'm doing one day at a time--I cleaned the bathroom yesterday, and tomorrow I'm hitting the kitchen.), and pack my bags, which I am resisting. Call me susperstitious, but I feel like if I pack my bags now, then this baby is going to laugh and decide to stay put for an extra week. Joe's terrified that I'll go into labor and not be ready. I keep trying to tell him that, even if my water does break, I will have plenty of time to pack a bag because I'll be in labor for a while, this being my first baby and all. His only reply was, "Okay, but if that baby comes while you're in the bathroom or in the car, you're on your own." Which isn't true, but it's his way of telling me that he doesn't agree. Don't worry. I'll pack this weekend. I just hate to have things sitting there waiting--it will make time go that much slower! Not that I think I'm going to go in labor early. I can't. I think Jon Nelson would have a fit--I'm singing in a double trio at stake conference this week, and he is really worried that I will go into labor before then. But I keep assuring him I will be there, ready to sing. Although I have had a recurring nightmare that my water breaks on the stand at stake conference--Joe's even had that dream. What if it really happens? I would have to replace a couple pairs of shoes, I would imagine. Not to mention the mess it would create on the stand... but, it would be a great story to tell.

Anyway, that's really all there is to say right now. Just sitting around, sleeping, waiting, and grateful that it's April and the weather's still crappy (Joe's work is starting to pick up--we might have a decent pay check today!). Wish us luck, and I will try really hard to keep everyone updated.