12 days and counting...

This year the 12 days of Christmas has an entirely different meaning in our house. The baby is still breech so we have scheduled a C-section for the 4th of January. We have 12 more days and counting! What an exciting time... I am sure it will go fast. We can't wait to meet you baby!!!

Poetic Plea

A Word to Husbands

To keep your marriage brimming
With love in the loving cup
Whenever you're wrong, admit it
Whenever you're right, shut up.
 - Ogden Nash

Yes I realize that you are right and that I am big and fat at 8 1/2 months pregnant. But l am also horomonal and sleep deprived (not to mention carrying your child) so unless you want a grouchy wife... lets choose a different word to call my girth. Or just shut up about it.

(And seriously what do you expect with all these yummy Thanksgiving/Christmas treats around to eat?! )

So proud...

My talented, wonderful, always up for learning something new husband is finally finished renovating our hideous 1960's pink bathroom... ( minus baseboards and touch ups... but who cares, it is officially functional and at 8 1/2 months pregnant it is just nice to have a bubble bath and no more tools lying around the house!)
Here are some of the before/after/during pictures of his project. 
Thank you so much Matt. You are the best!

BEFORE

DURING

Gross rat skeleton we found behind the old tile/drywall.

Thank you to Matt's dad for all his help!!!

AFTER

tis the season

Eventhough we are a little pre-occupied this year with the baby arriving, we are excited to celebrate the Christmas season at home. Here are a few festive pictures from our new video camera.( we braved the black Friday madness and stood in line at 4:00 am at Best Buy to get it!)

Matt put up the lights last week. They look so pretty!

Thanks to Grandma Edwards our tree is full. She made each of her grandkids a homemade ornament every Christmas we were at home. I still have 18 of them, and love taking them out every year!

Snow in Houston!!! Murphy wasn't sure about it, but reluctantly posed for some pictures with us.

Doula's advice...

We had our last childbirthing class this week. And although I was a bit skeptical about what more I could learn after reading all those expecting books and hearing the advice of my many friends who have gone through labor... I was surprised to learn my #1 favorite piece of baby advice from our instructor "Doula Rhonda" ... that impressed me so much I want to pass it along.
Her very last comment of the course was this:
"In the end it isn't the courses you take, or the birthing plans you make, or all fancy baby supplies you buy, or parenting protocols you chose to do... The most important part of becoming a parent, and the best thing that you can do for your baby is to still develop a loving relationship with and be married to the baby's father 20 years down the road."

Interesting advice from a Doula... especially now days. And although I am not advocating at all that you should stick out a bad marriage for your kids... I agree with this perspective. And it was nice to be reminded that parenthood doesn't trump a marriage relationship... 

Nestlist...

It is official... I have a serious nesting problem, and too much nervous energy that is spewing out all over the place.
Here is the obviously rediculous list of self inflicted projects that have been started and are in danger of non-completion before the baby gets here... 
 
-baby quilt ( on the floor at Matt's mom's house... going on month 2.. since I am a horrible sewer)
-cover pillows ( have had material for +6 months and just now feel the urge to get it done)
-fix bed quilt that Murphy chewed a whole in 4 months ago.
-Child birthing class with Matt ( half way done...  we both felt horribly nautious during the entire first class... the second one on epidurals and "what can go wrong" should be entertaining)
-finish baby room set up ( my attempt at chocolate and cream modern has gone terribly wrong as bits of green, orange and tuquoise have sprung up and taken over)
-train Murphy to walk on the tred mill (don't laugh, we spent hours last weekend attempting this... and only  made slight progress when we fed him handfulls of pasta noodles)
-train Murphy not chew up socks/undies/dishtowels, eat muffins/cookies/bagels off the counter. (no progress made with pasta noodles)
-chronological albuming of photographs from highschool, college, matt's mission, family, etc (started out as way to keep busy when I can't sleep at night but it has turned into a neverending mess on my kitchen table)
-arrange, and rearrange bookshelfs in T.V room. It just doesn't look right! ( currently on #3 attempt)
- clean out junk closet in guest room to make space for storage( made poor Matt go through and toss old computer/electronic equipment no longer in use... he was not impressed)
-bathroom renovation - about half way there. Good job Matt!!!
-clean out garage (after bathroom reno is done)
- new rug for t.v room . ( thank you Matt for spilling a full glass of cranberry juice on it last night... no sarcasm... I seriously hate that rug)
-frozen dinners for after baby born (problem being you  have to have energy and desire to grocery shop and actually cook meals to freeze)
-Christmas shopping 
-Christmas decorating
-Christmas baking   (you would think I could give myself a pass this year... but no way. Christmas is my favorite time of the year even if I am fat as snowman)

That's all for now. Hopefully it will shrink rather than grow in the next 6 weeks!

Swan baby or Leavitt baby?

With 8 weeks to go the reality of having a baby is starting to hit us, and we are beginning wonder what this little guy is going to look like when he comes out. ( not immediately after, we all know that is not a pretty sight, and Matt says he is going to request a thorough cleansing of the baby before he will touch him) But down the road, will the baby look more like a Leavitt, more like a Swan, or a nice little mix of both?

Here are some pics of little Matt & Jan to kick off the bets.

  

 

 

No more messing around...

On a follow up to last blog, I have decided upon getting both the seasonal Flu shot and the Swine Flu shot as soon as I can get my hands on them.  We had someone close lose a baby this week from getting the H1N1 virus, and have had a brother, sister in law, 1 year old neice and mom all sick with it for the last several days. No more messing around... the risks of getting so severely sick and having complications outweigh my nervousness about immunizations.

Flu shot or not?

It's not a compliant, its a fact... it is a crappy time to be pregnant in your 3rd trimester. The news splashes stories every night about some pregnant lady or her baby that died from complications after getting the Swine Flu. And a slough of opinionists says if you are pregnant RUN to the nearest Dr. Office and get immunized because you are at the top of the list!
So why am I not running... of course I am concerned, and usually boarderlining a pessimistic hypochondriac when it comes to picking up illnesses. But after 8 years of working with kids with an array of developmental disabilities and seeing so closely the eerie similaries in low immune resistance, allergies and what even an annual flu shot does the majority of many kids...(nevermind the ZILLIONS of stories from intelligent mothers... excluding Jenny McCarthy... about 1st and 2nd year immunizations and their devestating effects on their childs development and of which I am certain that although it may not be the "cause" of Autism and spectrum disorders, there is an undeniable connection that shouldn't be discounted)... so Yes, I am hesitant to get myself immunized at the risks that the quickly manifactured, poorly tested swine flu vaccine places on our baby boy. (note: boys are almost 5 times more likely to develop a spectrum disorder than girls.. you should see the classes I have taught. If girls are in them at all they are most often seizure related delays, rather than full on spectrum classified  kids. So this stat in the back of my head may or may not be making the hesitation even greater to pump some engineered virus into the boy in my pregnant body).
So what are my options? Face mask in public. House bound recluse. Back to the witch doctor/ homeopath/acupuncturist( that didn't work getting us pregnant, so why would it safeguard against getting the swine flu?). Cross my fingers for the next 2 months. Or do I suck it up and take my chances with the vaccines. For the record, YES I am going to immunize the baby when it is born. I think it is irresponsible given the many options to minimalize doses, remove heavy metal toxins like mercury, stack and spread out the shots, to not get your child immunized at all. And worry for the trend of "say no to immunizations" when a measles or polio outbreak in public school leaves 19th century effects... but that is a topic for another day. Today I need to know what do I do? Flu shot or not? I just don't know...

360 Degrees of U2

My first exposure to U2 was in the 6th grade as I stole most of my taste in music off my older sisters CD collection. For years it didn't extend beyond The Joshua Tree, Achtung baby and a handful of bandwagon chart topping hits played on the River.. but with time and exposure ( much thanks to Matt's extensive U2 CD collection...) it has evolved into a healthy respect and enjoyment for most things produced by U2.
That healthy respect and enjoyment was blown out of the water Wednesday night when we saw them perform live at the Reliant Center here in Houston.
The show was unreal! The band's performance was insanely good with a great mix of new and classic U2 songs, blips of fan favorite covers (Beatles here comes the sun, Stand by Me, and Unchained Melody) and just enough human rights/ political agenda to leave you wholly satisfied but not nauseous. The house was completely packed and  I couldn't imagine anyone leaving disappointed and not humming the tune of Sunday Bloody Sunday for the next week!

In my opinion after seeing them live, U2 is one of the few groups still around that adaquately magnifies the traditional "oh so cool rock star persona" (please no arguments for No Doubt, Weezer or Coldplay-esque groups... although I am a fan, the discussion is completely moot until after they have an equal resume of 30+ years of great music under their belt and can still put on a concert of that magnitude) and for that reason alone U2 was worth every penny of admission price, and every minute of swollen pregnant feet and back ache I've had since Wednesdays concert. * Thank you to Darrell for the "you only live once/ get the stupid tickets" speech that resulted in Matts awesome birthday present!

Going... going... gone?

It is only wishful thinking that summer is gone for another year here in Texas...  While other parts of the country are enjoying autumn colors, jeans and hoodies, we are still in and out of the pools and running our AC much too high.  Here are a few of the 300 pictures Matt's dad took testing out his new fancy camera as we were playing with Murph in the pool the other day!

The fam... for about 3 more months

We told you our dog was awesome!

But sometimes a little bit obnoxious... and did we mention he is massive? We only put the cute little puppy picture on his profile so people wouldn't be scared to come over to our house...

Ah I love my babes... I hope the baby looks just like him!

Dear Pink Tile Bathroom...

You are a son of a bitch. Your imposible to sweep, vaccum, or mop up dry wall dust oozing onto every surface of my house... Your 3 inch concrete laced tile floor that busted matts rotator cuff before he submitted to your will and rented a jack hammer... Your hidden surprises of mold/wood rot behind the shower drywall, and a completely decomposed mouse skeleton above the medicine cabinet... Your never ending pile of debris littering my yard that Murphy chews and then throws up on my one nice rug...  I hope you die a bloody death, and we never have to see your pepto bismal/ ugly black flower wallpapered face again.
Love Jan

Acrosticly Pregnant

P is for PLANNED PARENTING. After several years of trying on our own, we used a fertility specialist to get pregnant. We are glad that part is over, but grateful for medical advances and services here in Houston that helped us to start our family.

R is for RELIEF and REALLY EXCITED. We were one month away from using Invitro, and had started looking into adoption options when we found out we were pregnant.

E is for EN ROUTE TO MEXICO. After we found out we took our first official ( non-back home to Canada) vacation since we were married 5 years ago, and spent a week on the beach at an all inclusive resort south of Cancun.

G is for GIRL OR BOY? Matt wanted a girl. I wanted a boy. I won, and so did my dad with an unfair insider trading bet with mom.

N is for NO NEW AGE NUTRITION. My organic, dairy free, holistic diet hit the trash with the first trimester. Good intentions and habits count for squat when all you can stomach are lemonade, hamburgers and mash potatoes.

A is for ALOT OF MOVEMENT. Baby hasn't stopped kicking, flipping, or wiggling in about a month. At first very cool, now not so much especially in the middle of the night.(is it bad parenting to yell at your kid before they are even out of your body?)

N is for NOT TRYING TO BE NEUROTIC/ OCD. My "lets make a plan" instinct is being suppressed as much as possible as we get ready for the baby. Im not deciding on Yes or No to epidurals or other birthing plans... I know myself and if I make a plan and things don't go according to it... its not good times for anyone. Better to just know my options and then see how it goes during.

T is for TIME TO WAIT. The second trimester has flown by, but with an evergrowing girth and several months to go the waiting might be hard. But it is a good thing there are 9 months... because it is going to take that long to teach Murphy not to rip up baby toys, sleepers and diapers. Poor puppy... isn't going to know what hit him!

B to the Log

After quite some time of "our life is too boring to write about" hesitation coupled with stick it to the cyber man-ness, we (the Swans) have finally joined the blog world. We don't promise literary genius discussing philisophical, political and ethical topics, or witty banter over the funniest movies ever made (which is indisputably Three Amigos anyway). But you will most likely hear some stories about our spoiled dog, compliants about swollen ankles and Jimmy Fallons terrible mumbling problems, speculations on why the world could be shaped like a banana, and the age old debate of should we or should we not try to fit a pool table into the front entryway of our house... Welcome to our blog. Enjoy.