1. The most expensive thing hanging in my closet is…..?
Chloe ‘Paddington’ satchel

2. Have you ever played a team sport?
track in 7th grade

3. If you were a bug, what kind would you be?
The kind that gets squished.

4. Where on your body is the worst place to get sunburned?
The backs of the knees, ouch ouch ouch.

5. Are you happy?
Not particularly at the moment – in too much pain to be happy.

6. People are always abbreviating..are there any abbreviations that make your skin crawl when people use them?
No

7. Do you love where you live..or could you live anywhere?
I love living in California, and I love the Napa Valley. I couldn’t live just anywhere; could possibly tolerate Portland, Oregon. Otherwise I could live in Italy quite easily! It was amazing and I’d move there in a second. 

8. What, if any, extreme measures do you go to to keep yourself from overeating when you’re full?
Sometimes I snack when I am bored, but I don’t go to any extreme measures to stop myself from doing so. If I notice that I go to the kitchen for no reason, I grab some water instead.

9. What is one thing that you truly do just for you?
Read.

10. Are you where you want to be in your life?
No. There are a lot of things I would like to fix/change about myself (mostly to do with the way I view other people, situations, etc.). The only thing that is exactly how I’d like it to be is my relationship with Tim, and I am working hard to make sure that a baby won’t mess any of it up.

11. If you could be on any reality TV show, which would it be?
How about ‘You’re Normal, Nice and Smart; Here’s 5k to shop In New York!’ ? Is that a show, or can we make it one?

12.What dream are you working on right now?
The dream of making it through this pregnancy.

13. The Best book you have read lately?
Finished The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton; it was pretty darn good.

14. Most annoying habit of your mate? C’mon share…I’m sure they aren’t looking.
Tim leaves every cabinet, cupboard and drawer open, no matter how often I remind him to close/shut them. Leaves socks everywhere.

15. What is your favorite thing to do on your birthday?
Shop, dress up and eat cupcakes!

16. What is the best idea for a Wedding gift?
I like to give one item from their registry and something that I find that matches their personalities; people usually just want money, though. I don’t like to give money if I can avoid it. It feels impersonal.

17. What is one thing you look back on in your life and think “I can’t believe I survived that.”
If I make it out of this pregnancy alive, then this will be on the top of my list.

How far along? 37 weeks, 3 days

Total weight gain/loss: +21 lbs  – so frustrating; the last weeks are when the weight gain is either slowing down or stopping altogether, but mine seems to be picking up!

Maternity clothes?  Yes

Stretch marks? nope

Sleep: 5-6 hours per night; unfortunately not consecutive, so I’m still supplementing with an hour or so nap in the afternoons.

Best moment this week: in LOLspeak ‘Nawt so gud, akshully’.  

Movement:  same as before

Food cravings: Oranges, strawberries, Odwalla Limeade

Gender: boy

Labor Signs: On Tuesday I woke up with strong contractions. I decided to time them for an hour. I had 16 (yes, SIXTEEN) in a 1 hour period, but they weren’t consistently 5 minutes or less apart; some were 10 minutes apart, and then I’d have one 2 minutes later.  They were all strong and very uncomfortable, but the following hour, it slowed down and I had 9 contractions. I decided to try and rest and see if anything happened, but they never got back up above 10 in a 60 minute period.  Since then, the pain in my cervix has been a bit worse, and my lower back hurts ALL THE TIME.  Weekly appointment with the OB today, and I ended up hysterical in the office again (so embarassing) and couldn’t stop crying. The doctor said that Marco has dropped and is engaged (station 1), but I don’t know if my cervix is dilating or softening. They want to wait another week before deciding on inducement. He did, however, prescribe me some pain medication, and I hope it helps. He says I need to spend more time sleeping and resting my body, because otherwise I’ll go into labor with zero reserves. It was kind of a disappointing office visit, because I was hoping to get more of a definitive answer on WHEN this baby will come out, but if I don’t have him in the next week, they’ll start evalutating for induction.

Belly Button in or out? still a small crater

What I miss: Everything! I have compiled a ridiculously long mental list of all the things I will get back when this alien has emerged from my uterus.

What I am looking forward to:  see above

Weekly Wisdom: I don’t have any.

Milestones:  Tim and I had our 7 year anniversary on Sunday – no baby related milestones I can think of.

Decided to share a few pictures of some of the changes that have taken place in our house.  The living room is almost complete; we want to put a large mirror above the fireplace, toss the old couch and get some comfy lounge chairs.

Living Room Before:

After:

Guest Room Before:

Guest Room After:

So, recently, I was selected as a caretaker for the Flat Joe Project. You’ve probably heard of Flat Stanley? It’s a similar premise.  A jewelry designer, Joseph Allen, decided to make a necklace character by the name of Joe. He travels around, meeting new people, and seeing new places.

About the designer: Joseph Allen makes hand stamped jewelry.  The items are made with high quality Argentium Sterling Silver; they come in satin and hammered finishes and you can personalize them however you’d like (birthstones, pearls and crystals can be added as well)!  View his shop here: Joseph Allen Designs

I was so excited to host Flat Joe! He came to us all the way from Georgia, and seemed a little jet-lagged from the long trip! After a nice nap to acclimate him to our timezone, we started our adventures. 

First, he met the family. Me (Michelle), Chloe (the black lab), Tim (my husband) and Stabler (the feisty cat):

Tim, always glad for an extra pair of hands, wasted no time in putting him to work. They added some neat details to the fireplace in our living room:

Afterwards, we relaxed in our backyard, and Joe decided to hang out with the bougainvillea:

Joe joined us for our anniversary dinner at Bottega. It was a lovely meal (read about it here). Joe helped us select a dessert:

He even helped Tim polish off a delicious Zinfandel!

The next day, I thought Joe should see the beautiful Napa views:

There was a beautiful fountain in Yountville, and at first, Joe wanted to test the water…

But he (quickly) thought better of it.
On his last evening, Tim opened up a nice bottle of Pinot Grigio, and Joe seemed very interested:

The Dickson family thoroughly enjoyed meeting Flat Joe, and we hope he had fun experiencing the Napa Valley. Where will he go next….???

If you’re interested in hosting Flat Joe, please go here and leave a comment with your contact information!

My blog readers get a 10% discount on any purchase from Joseph Allen Designs!! To take advantage, make sure to mention my blog and ’flat joe’ in the comments section of the Checkout process, and you will be refunded the 10%.  

FYI: I was given the opportunity to host Flat Joe on the incentive that I would receive a significant discount on a future purchase. I was not compensated in any other form.

Tim started my day off with doughnuts from Buttercream Bakery and a non-fat Chai from Starbucks. Mmm! I was, unfortunately in quite a bit of pain and discomfort, so I spent the morning and afternoon in bed, trying to save my energies for our anniversary dinner at Bottega.  For lunch, Tim went out and got my favorite sandwich (avocado, mustard, lettuce, tomato, red onion and cheddar cheese on cheesy bread), and while I ate, he finished a couple of house projects (a blog post is in the works). Stabler was very cuddly and kissy all day, and I liked it.

Our dinner reservation was at 5:45 (I wanted to go early, just in case!) and we arrived with a few minutes for picture taking. The restaurant itself is designed very well. I loved the atmosphere, and the seating was comfortable.  We were served sparkling water (I believe it was house made), and as we looked over our menus, our eyes had to keep up with our tummies! I ended up with the Insalata del Bosco (mixed greens & pear salad) and the Handkerchief pasta with asparagus. It was all delicious! Tim ordered the Mozzarella Buratta with artichoke hearts, and a Rib-Eye steak with truffle-parmiggiano fries. Tim and I have had many, many versions of the french fry, and this was probably the BEST we’ve ever tasted – which is definitely saying something! We loved them. OMG my mouth is watering, just imagining the flavors. We ordered two desserts to share; the first, a chocolate torte with caramelized banana, roasted banana gelato and a chunk of chocolate peanut butter bar; the second consisted of Zeppole (almost like a doughnut hole?) with a warm lemon curd and a blackberry, blueberry and earl grey jam. It was like we’d died and gone to pastry heaven. It was one of those meals where, from start to finish, Tim and I couldn’t stop smiling – the food was THAT good. I can’t wait to go back.

After dinner, we drove around Napa and talked. When we got home, I put on some records and we played a few rounds of Mancala (Stabler LOVES the shiny stones), took a few pictures, and enjoyed our food coma.

Thanks to my wonderful husband for making this day so special.
XOXOXOXOXO

The questions..

1. What has been your most memorable Mother’s Day? (with your mom, as a mom, or with your wife) I suppose this year! It was our 7 year anniversary, as well as Mother’s Day. I’ll post more about it later.

2. Have you ever been pulled over for speeding and were you able to talk your way out of it?  I have been pulled over for speeding once, and I didn’t even try to talk my way out of it. I was in a horrible mood already, and didn’t want to waste my energy.

3. What’s the oldest thing you have hanging in your closet? A lovely skirt that was designed and tailored especially for me; the silk was from a circa-1950′s gown.

4. Do you whiten your teeth? I’ve used the Crest Whitestrips a few times over the years, and use a whitening toothpaste.

5. Underwear or Panties..What do you call your “unmentionables”? Underwear

6. If you could go on vacation right now..today..where would you go? London, Brussels and Paris! Tim and I have had our eyes on Belgium for awhile now, and are anxious to visit for ourselves!

7. Do you get offended when people cuss on their blogs? I am not offended, but I try not to on my own blog. It isn’t lady-like.

8. If you had to give up one luxury item, it would be….? That’s very subjective; something I consider a luxury may be considered a staple by someone else! I guess I could give up television, I watch so few shows as it is, and there’s always Hulu! I just hate waiting the 8 days (or however many it is) before an episode is available online.  

1. My favorite book(s) growing up was/were The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (I wanted to have a rose-leaf complexion, too!!), Beauty by Katherine McKinley, the Enchanted Forest Chronicles series by Patricia C. Wrede, and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

2. The funniest book I’ve ever read was We Thought You Would Be Prettier and There’s a (Slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell – both by Laurie Notaro. I was practically peeing my pants while I read these.

3. The one book that has truly changed my life is HA HA! ONE!? Every book I read changes me in some way; that’s the beauty of literature! Books don’t always have positive effects – crummy books make me cynical about the fate of modern fiction, but if a book fails to have ANY effect, then I would have to be seriously mental. Or something.

4. If you’re looking for a real “tear jerker” you should probably read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini – but I wouldn’t label it a ‘tear jerker’. It’s depressing. You need to be faintly masochistic to get through it, really.

5. If I could meet any author living or dead I would want to meet F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry James or Jane Austen

6. The next book on my “to read” list is I have many on my list right now. I think I’ll go with the biography of Lady Jane Boleyn next, though.

7. If I was snowed into remote cabin in the woods and could only choose three books to bring with me I’d bring The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, The Golden Bowl by Henry James and Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. And I would hide more under the floorboards for just such an emergency.

Long post today- you’ve been warned!

May has always been one of my favorite months (the others being September and December), and I am so glad it’s here!  This year, there may (LOL) be even more occurring this month than the usual. Our ‘dating’ anniversary is May 9th (7 years!), and our wedding anniversary is May 21st (5 years! OMG!). But yesterday we received the information that we will be sharing our ‘month o’ love stuff’ as we call it, with our son’s day of birth. Initially, when we first figured out our due date, we’d say “Oh, I hope that he’s born June 1st instead of May 31st, because May is OUR month!”.   However, the excruciating pain that he puts me through every day has given us a change of heart, and we’re happy to share our month with Marco – but I don’t want to share my anniversary!

Right now, if he doesn’t make his appearance by 38 weeks, it’s 99% sure that we will induce. I’ll be 38 weeks pregnant on May 17th.  I’ll do the damn thing May 20th or 22nd, but NOT May 21st!! I have to make sure to tell the doctor that, if they decide they want to wait until I am 38 weeks + 2 days or something.

Sunday is both our dating anniversary and Mother’s Day, so  Tim and I are going to relax together, since I’m very restricted on traveling far from the hospital too often - sorry, Moms!   Timmy is taking me to an early dinner at Bottega, Chef Michael Chiarello’s Italian restaurant in Yountville. I am very excited; we’ve heard so many great things about the food! Mmmm, pasta and bread….

Next Sunday, I have my 2nd baby shower to attend, and I am looking forward to it – I just hope that Marco doesn’t decide to come out while we’re in Livermore!  I’d have to keep it together for the almost 2 hour drive to the hospital; I would NOT want to be in Tim’s shoes either, though- I can imagine the yelling, ha ha! 

MAY
Watching:  very little. watched ‘House’ on Monday night, and will probably watch a movie tonight with Timmy.
Reading: finished ‘On Becoming Baby Wise’ (parenting philosophy – sleeping, eating, etc.) and read through a few Agatha Christie mysteries that I love. Haven’t started anything new today.
Listening: the records that I used to love when I was a kid! Lots of Fleetwood Mac, The Police, Violent Femmes, and even some UB40 (oh yeah, we’re jammin’ the ‘Red Red Wine’ on my record player!!).
Cooking: Last night I made tomato, basil and mozzarella sandwiches, lightly brushed with olive oil, black pepper, garlic and balsamic vinegar. Mmm, maybe I’ll have another for lunch today!
Wanting: more sleep, less pain.
Promising: Stabler that I will still scratch under his chin after the baby arrives. Chloe isn’t worried, she’ll just shove her little nose into my palm until I pet her.

FYI, the title is in reference to the kung-fu movie ‘The 36th Chamber of Shaolin’

How far along? 36 weeks, 4 days

Total weight gain/loss: +20 lbs (ugh!)

Maternity clothes?  Yes

Stretch marks? my skin is still holding strong, yay!

Sleep: 5-6 hours (interrupted) per night, plus a 1 hour nap during the day. Not great.

Best moment this week: We’re getting a lot of house stuff done, and our dining and living rooms are looking great!

Movement:  Less kicking, more squirming. No more big somersaults or anything like that.

Food cravings: Caramel Light Frappucinos, no whipped cream and bread. Lots of bread.

Gender: boy

Labor Signs: Today was another doctor’s appointment. Cervix is exactly the same as it was last week, which was very disheartening to hear. I was hoping for some dilation. It was a very long visit today, because we discussed my options for all the terrible pain I am in EVERY SINGLE DAY. There is a strong possibility that I will be induced at 38 weeks – and I have to say, I really hope that I can get there on my own, but there’s no way I can make it past that point. This pain is 24 hours a day now, and I can’t take any medication for it.  Oh, and apparently I have an overly sensitive cervix, in addition to my irritable uterus. AWESOME.

Belly Button in or out? not quite flat yet.

What I miss: Bending over to pick up my cat without pain, Schramsberg Blanc de Noir and sleep.

What I am looking forward to: a painless cervix!

Weekly Wisdom: Don’t be afraid to ask the uncomfortable questions when you visit your doctor!

Milestones:  We met with and decided on the pediatrician we’re going to use for Marco – he’s very nice, and the practice seems to share the parenting philosphy we want to adhere to.

HOPEFULLY, THIS IS THE LAST PREGNANCY PIC I WILL POST:

… to my blog! I just realized that May 3rd was the 1 year anniversary, and I almost missed it!

We’ve come a long way since my first few posts, and not just in terms of the look and tone of this here blog. In the past year, my husband and I have purchased a home in Napa, I’ve turned 25 years of age, and I am just a couple of weeks (maybe even days) away from giving birth to our son. What a year! And it’s only taken 213 posts to document it, LOL!

Thank you to all of my loyal readers! You’ve made the switch with me from just a blogger.com page to my own website, and even stuck around when I migrated earlier this year from Blogger format to WordPress.  I like that in a reader.

It’s been a sweet ride so far, and I can’t wait to continue!

XOXOXOXOXOXO