May 02, 2008
No News, No New Regrets
I had a very nice, if somewhat lame-by-birthday-standards, birthday. I ate too much cake at work (there were two birthdays, hence two cakes, hence two pieces on my plate), so we didn't end up eating my special birthday dinner until 10 p.m., when I really should have been asleep because HELLO HORMONE-INDUCED BABY-BUILDING FATIGUE. My special birthday dinner, in case you're curious, was a pizza delivered from Domino's. Klassy! Simon is kind of anti-pizza and –food delivery*, so I knew if I ever wanted to enjoy the luxury of someone showing up at my door with a big box of melted cheese, I'd have to use the But It's My Special Day card, and what do you know, it worked. Also helpful was the dainty tiara Simon gifted me; it's hard to say no to someone wearing a tiara. (Yes, he gave me a tiara for Christmas two years ago, but that one is a traditional full-size crown and this new one is the type that fits perfectly against a high bun, Breakfast at Tiffany's-style. (It really suits Linus, but he DOES NOT WANT.))
As for my special birthday activity, we switched up our usual evening of watching a movie by watching TWO movies! We had Enchanted via Netflix and then we pulled out of our collection Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (also by my request) because we're gearing up for the new one, and also because Harrison Ford for my birthday? Yes, please! I fell asleep halfway through the second movie with my neck crooked like a sink pipe and that is how my birthday came and went: in like a lion, out like a light.
In baby news, although I'm feeling more exhausted more regularly, I'm feeling less pregnant overall because I finally caved and switched over to the jeans I bought at Goodwill in March hoping that one day I would be five months pregnant and fill them out. Here we are closing in on week eight and they're just right. I am such an overachiever! The pants were only four dollars(!!!) and they're Baby Phat brand, which is delightfully apropos, and oh, I can sit and breathe in them, which is awesome.
And in actual baby news, I called the doc today to get the details from Tuesday's ultrasound and they weren't really able to give me any new information. They say the tech didn't do a heartrate count ("too early" my ass), they say there wasn't a crown-to-rump measurement (uh...I watched her do it!), and they apparently don't have a picture of the wombat for me to kiss and cuddle (bastards!). They did, however, confirm (again) that baby had a heartbeat and measured well at 7w2d, and so no new news is good news, I suppews.
I was granted but one tidbit of fresh information: I have been stamped with an official due date of Sunday, December 14--birthdate of many colorfully-named luminaries including Spike Jones, Nostradamus, and Spider Stacy, a founding member of the Pogues, whose duties included singing and smashing a beer tray against his head. To earn street cred as a true musician, he eventually learned to play the tin whistle.
So, December 14. Get out your calendars! Mark your calendars! Kiss your calendars! Only 226 days to go.
*See how the hyphen in front of "food delivery" is larger than the one in front of "pizza"? That's because it's an en dash. En dashes are used to indicate a range (as between numbers) or to connect elements in an open compound (as above). The more you know...
Posted by Leah at May 2, 2008 03:30 PMDecember 14th! That's a fine birthday to have. And there I was, worrying it would be December 24th or something. No, this is great, because when (s)he says "Thank you so much for giving me the Collected Works Of Herman Melville for my birthday, Mommy, but may I confess I was rather hoping for the Collected Works Of Nathaniel Hawthorne," you can just say "But of course, my sweets! Just wait to see what Santa puts in your stocking." And then you can run like hell to Barnes & Noble and buy the Hawthorne as well, for presentation 21 days later. I'm assuming your child will be reading Hawthorne and Melville, of course, but you could sub in, I don't know, Dr. Seuss or Harry Potter or whatever during the earlier years.
Posted by: Nothing But Bonfires at May 2, 2008 04:14 PMthe more I know the more I can forget!
Posted by: beck at May 2, 2008 04:28 PMI have a birthday tiara too! It has swandown on it and I am quite magnificent when I wear it. I imagine you were even more magnificent in yours and that Linus would out-magnificent us both.
Bless you for speaking of em- and en-dashes. Makes me happy. (Speaking of: I DID NOT FAIL MY EDITING TEST. REJOICE.)
Posted by: Moose at May 2, 2008 04:31 PMI am amused that I made an error in the same comment I gleefully profess my editing mastery.
Also: Your birthday sounds awesome. Just how I like to spend my birthdays. Stuffed with cake in front of the TV.
Posted by: Moose at May 2, 2008 04:33 PMYay! That's MY birthday!! I'll be an elderly 33 though, but woo!
Posted by: angie at May 2, 2008 06:37 PMYay! December 14th is Dahlia's birthday. It's an excellent day of the year to give birth. I highly recommend it (super fast & no problems delivery!) :) It'll be here FREAKISHLY fast...enjoy the ride!
Posted by: carrster at May 2, 2008 06:37 PMThank you for the grammar lesson!! I do love the en dash but I think I misuse it on occasion. Just like its cousins comma and semicolon. Seriously...keep the grammar lessons comin'!!
I could just pee my pants with excitement for you! Worry not...I shall refrain, but I think I may be experiencing a sympathy urge to pee.
Oh, and do you think Linus would sit still long enough for you to take a picture of the tiara while it's on his head? I think that would make my day.....
xoxoxoxo
Posted by: Brooke at May 2, 2008 11:48 PMBelated Happy Birthday wishes! December 14th is great birthday. *Just* far enough away from Christmas. Oh, and Spider Stacy is a fine individual. If you have the baby on said due date, I'll give you the Pogues album he autographed for me.
Posted by: Heather at May 3, 2008 01:21 AMYou must wince when you read my poorly edited posts.
Ah, but I can crunch a mean group of numbers ;)
Your birthday sounds mah-valous. I SO want a tiara now.
Posted by: Angella at May 3, 2008 06:13 AMHappy Belated Birthday. I'm so glad Simon let you order pizza for your day.
Posted by: gorillabuns at May 3, 2008 06:13 AMHappy Belated birthday...
It sounds like it was a dreamy, tasty, exciting(No matter how many times you see it, Indy is exciting)birthday!!!!
hmm, the 7w2d calculation is directly from the crown to rump measurement isn't it? So they obviously did measure it and you just need to find the scaling to find out the length if you want.
And we didn't get the heartbeat counted at our first scan either - but we did get a picture - boo on them for not giving you one. But still, great news all round...
Posted by: trish at May 3, 2008 07:56 AMYay. I didn't know hyphens were so complex?!
Posted by: Elizabeth at May 3, 2008 08:03 AMI want a birthday tiara! Seriously, why no pic of the baby wombat? They suck. At the 20 week ultrasound you're just going to have to pitch a big pregnant lady fit until they give in( I once cried because I had the time wrong for an appointment, and they worked me in. Pity: it's a great thing)
And thanks for the grammar/punctuation lesson. You are probably noticing all kinds of errors in this comment right now. (feel paranoid)
Posted by: Kimberly C at May 4, 2008 10:27 AMI sadly now know more about en and em dashes than I ever thought I would, since I mark them up at work all day long.
So exciting to have a due date!
Nice Calexico reference, btw.
Posted by: awatersign at May 4, 2008 08:54 PMAnti-pizza. And anti-food delivery.
I always suspected that Simon was some sort of America-hating communist, but now I've got proof.
That's just pure crazy talk is all that is.
Posted by: Doola! at May 5, 2008 06:18 AMWow. Just had to comment. My uncle just sent me an e-mail yesterday telling me to listen to Summer in Siam which apparently is supposed to be one of the most uber-romantic songs of all time - that and A Rainy Night in Soho. I had never even heard of the Pogues until then and now you're talking about them too. That Shane McGowan....he looks like he's had a tough few years. Yikes.
Posted by: Adrienne at May 5, 2008 06:47 AMAm I the only tool who busted out her planner to mark down your child's due date?
Posted by: Heather B. at May 5, 2008 10:18 AMOnce again, I'm coming in after the spammers. :-(
"In like a lion, out like a light." BRILLIANT.
Posted by: Lori at May 7, 2008 08:25 AM
