Still waiting
Very patiently waiting for Baby's arrival. This week, I've been more anxious and want Baby to come already! My latest doctor's appointment showed that I'm 1.5cm dilated and 50% effaced, which is progress from last week. Tomorrow doc ordered a non-stress test to check on Baby's condition.

Becoming Jane
Went to lunch in San Mateo with my parents, Heidi and Jeremy on Monday and then saw Becoming Jane the movie afterwards. It was good, and had lots of references to Pride and Prejudice since it was about Jane Austen's life. I like movies that are made about that time period.

Birthday lunch
Met up with coworkers on Tuesday for one of their birthdays. It was a surprise, so when he walked in, he was shocked. haha. It's good to have friends from work.

It's been one of those weeks...
... when I wished we had AC! It's been relatively hot this week, and it cooler downstairs. Our bedroom gets warm in the afternoon, and it's one of the few days out of the year when I wished we had AC.

Getting out of the house!
Been feeling a little cooped up since this past week it feels like I've pretty much stayed at home all week, so yesterday Alan and I went shopping, kind of. We went to Target to look at backyard furniture (since we're finally getting our backyard done!) and saw a really nice set of chairs, tables and ottomans. We didn't end up buying anything but it's good to know what's out there.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Then we headed over to the recycling center to recycle our cans and bottles. We usually save all our recyclables until we have huge bags and bags of them, and then bring them in for $$. We got $24.05 yesterday! Sounds like a lot, but considering you pay the CRV for it when you buy the bottles, it's really just getting your money back. We always say that we're going to buy rice with the $ we get from recycling, so it goes towards something tangible.

Costco!
Then we headed over to Costco to buy some groceries, like more water bottles, croissants (these are my new fave!), and of course get some free samples of food! hehe. I noticed that they give our more samples on the weekend than during the week when I went last week. Our Costco trip wasn't complete without getting a Mocha Freeze for Alan and a Berry Smoothie for me, and sharing a churro! yum.

Brunch at IHOP
Friday I had brunch with Ro at the IHOP near our house. I had never been to this IHOP and they were pretty quick. I had the French Toast with strawberries breakfast with eggs, bacon and hash browns. It was nice to hang out during the week when it wasn't so busy. Thanks Ro for meeting up with me!

Stronger Braxton-Hicks
Been getting stronger Braxton-Hicks contractions recently. Enough to make me stop in my tracks and think I'm in early labor, but not regular enough to actually know I am. My uterus is definitely getting ready for the big day!

Ready and waiting
Still here! Feeling a little bigger now. My rings finally don't fit anymore. I put them on yesterday for a photo shoot at Amaze Studios and had a hard time taking them off. My fingers feel bloated and sore, my feet feel fat, and I'm definitely feeling like I'm 38+ weeks pregnant. But it's exciting :) Thanks Gary for taking maternity shots of us! They turned out great! And it was fun hanging out with Bev and Ayden!

Wedding!
I made it to the wedding this past weekend! It was very beautiful and they had a very cool photo booth at the reception, where people could take pics, cut one out and leave it for the bride and groom with a message. Congratulations Eric and Michelle! Here was our pic:
Velvet Cantina
Eileen's birthday dinner was on Friday night at the Velvet Cantina in the Mission in SF. Good food and good times with friends. We even got free Nachos since we waited so long, and Smores Nachos for Eileen's birthday dessert! Happy Birthday Eileen!

Still here!
19 days and counting til the due date and I'm still here! Had a great first week of maternity leave. I feel like we've done lots of productive things this week. Besides me going to Target and Babies R Us almost every day (my NEW favorite stores! hehe), I've washed all of Baby's clothes and blankets, packed the hospital bag (with Alan's help) and put it in the car, put the car seat in there too, fixed Baby's room (we got our crib and dresser on Wednesday!) and set up the Pack 'N Play! Seems like there's still more to do, but right now I feel like it's just a waiting game.

Contractions? Nope, just the fake ones
Been getting those Braxton-Hicks contractions more often and more intense, but they go away quite quickly and don't hurt, so I know that it's not the real thing. But every time it happens, it makes me stop and think ... is this it?? =)

Last days of quiet
Alan and I took a walk to our community park yesterday and had a small picnic in the grass. Although it was wet, we had our banigs (mats) and blankets to keep us dry and had an umbrella to keep us out of the sun. We read books and napped a little bit. It was nice to have a lazy day, like a calm before the storm :)

Birthday party!
Last Friday we went to Mijori in Oakland for a birthday dinner. It was nice to hang out with friends and have good Japanese food, although since we had such a large party and we were pretty loud, we almost got kicked out! Oh well. Then we headed over to Lucky Lounge for drinks and just hanging out. Here's the group pic:Happy Birthday Darren & Lezley!

Maternity leave!
So Friday was my last day at work and this week is my first on maternity leave! The past two days have actually been pretty productive for me. I actually haven't been able to sleep in that much - I still wake up around 8:30am and I'm up and about by the time Alan leaves for work.

Week 36 doctor's visit
Yesterday we had a doctor's appointment at 9am and everything looks fine. She took the Strep B culture and checked on Baby's heartbeat. I was surprised I gained 3 pounds since my last appointment 2 weeks ago, but I'm still within the expected range. I definitely am feeling a bit heavier when I walk (or waddle, I should say). Baby's growing fast!

Union Landing - Walmart, Jollibee, Lucky's
I went home for a while and then I went to Walmart to return a garage light for Alan since it was missing a piece and bought Tide Free HE so I can start washing Baby's clothes. Then I headed over to Jollibee for Jolli Spaghetti lunch. Yum. Then went to Lucky's to buy a lasagna and some other groceries since we had dinner with my old coworker and his wife last night. Went home to drop off groceries, did some thank you cards (yes, I know I'm lagging on them! I'm working on them!), and then went to the Kaiser Medical Secretary's office to drop off all my disability and insurance forms. I filled out the forms and the lady at the desk said she loved my handwriting since it was so clear. :) Then had dinner with friends and hung out, watching the Giants game waiting for Barry to hit the big one :)

Day 2
Today was not as busy, but it seems like I still did a lot. Did more thank you cards, then headed over to Target (my new favorite store! I just love looking around the Baby section, especially at the new one near our house - Hayward North. They have a huge Baby section!) to return some duplicate gifts and get some groceries that were on sale - like granola bars and turkey bacon! Decided to buy some Lansinoh breast cream, just in case I'll need it later, and bought some Pampers wipes since we have a ton of diapers but no wipes! Any suggestions from moms out there on what brand of wipes are the best?

Quickly!
I recently found out about a new Quickly store near my work and before I left on leave, I would go there to buy the Thai Milk Tea 99-cent special with small tapioca for 50-cents more! There's a new one also near our house and I saw it on my way home one time, so I decided to go there today after Target. They didn't have Thai Milk Tea on their 99-cent special list, so I decided to try the Jasmine Milk Tea, again with small tapioca. Mmmm.. Just as good. Maybe next time I'll try the Taro Milk Tea or the Bubble Milk Tea, which are also specials.

Back home
Back home now and waiting for Alan to come home for our last Childbirth Prep class tonight! Maybe we can stop by Babies R Us today since there is a free seminar at 7pm. We'll see...

No ketchup!?
So I went to McDonald's this morning before work and I went through the drive-thru. I wanted a Fruit & Walnut Salad and some hash browns, but the guy said they didn't have the salad today (Boo!) so I just got 2 hash browns. I drove up to the pay window, paid, grabbed my bag, and asked for ketchup. The worker said they didn't have any! What kind of McDonald's has NO ketchup?!?!

Hiccups
Baby's been getting hiccups more often recently. Like last night at our childbirth class, and right now! It feels funny, like little gas bubbles popping. It usually lasts 5-10 minutes, but I can't concentrate on work! =)