Me and My Shadow

Could it really be that my last post about me and my shadow was almost 10 months ago? My how time flies! Norah and I had some challenging times last week - in hindsight lack of sleep for both her and I was a major contributing factor. Friday night in particular, I was at my wits end, and she spent a good 30 minutes in her room after school and before supper time while I gathered the strength to deal with her. Needless to say after an early bed time and sleeping in (until nearly 9 in her case!) we were back on an even keel by Saturday.

That's not to say that we didn't get some serious down time in over the course of the weekend - we definitely did, and we're definitely all the better for it, with nary a tantrum to be seen! In the picture below, we were trying to convince Norah to have some 'quiet time' outside on the deck, reading her book, "just like Mom". Well she fell for the "just like Mom" bit, as you can see below, but that was just about it. In the end, I went into the house for a nap, and Matt and Norah had some success with an outside snooze as well.

My idea of Heaven

We all have our own idea of what we consider luxury, or heavenly, or even a bg treat. For me, it sometimes involves waking up in the woods, with Norah sleeping softly nearby.... other times, it involves reading a book in bed and Matt delivering me a hot cup of coffee... well recently, I got ALL of that together!

We made our now annual trip to Whittaker Lodge, a jewel in a certain state park in PA, where we've been fortunate to join Matt's brother and his family for a long weekend these past few years. The cabin we stay in is called Whittaker Lodge - here's Norah standing out front on the day we left.
To make matters even MORE decadent, in my opinion, the room we stayed in was a sun room, with views of the lake in every direction. Not to mention there were new beds this year that suited my pregnant body just fine! The beds line up with the windows such that you don't really even have to move to see the view. Here is the view when I open my eyes...

and sat up a little (my coffee was on it's way...)

And lastly, took a peek over to where Norah was sleeping... ahhh heaven!

32 Week Comparison

While it was mildly inappropriate and somewhat amusing to have that lady in the deli walk up to me the other day, when you compare my 32 week belly last time with my 32 week belly this time - you gotta admit, she has a point. Here I was, about 7 weeks before Norah arrived on the scene... relaxed, comfortable, maybe a little round all around... you get the picture
And here I was this past Saturday... looking like I swallowed a basketball after playing a few rounds of scrimmage... in fairness the sweatiness was due to the heat, but the Basketball bellay - that's all Brudder!

Crazy Daze of Summer

What do you do when it's 85 degrees outside, and almost as hot inside, with the air so thick you could cut it with a knife?

You give your kid a bath outside!

Deli-Talk

Saturday morning, all three of us went grocery shopping. It was a busy week and we were all feeling a little ragged, but, well, a girl's gotta eat!

We did our usual routine, where Matt headed to the deli, while I puttered thru the nearby aisles, grabbing this and that - though I left Norah and the cart with him. When I returned with an armload of whatever it was, I noticed to women looking at me and talking (ok, maybe I was being paranoid, but it seemed they were talking ABOUT me)

After I put my things in the cart, the younger of the two ladies (apparently the daughter of the other) asked me if I was due THAT DAY, because she had been telling her mom that my baby looked like it had moved into position already and was ready to DROP! Apparently she is a nurse and went so far as to ask if my doctors got my due date wrong!

Now, while this was mildly inappropriate, we had a good laugh about it, as it led some credibility to my feelings that I look (and feel!) 9 months pregnant already. It's gonna be a long summer!

SURPRISE! Toronto!

Last weekend, I went to Toronto, to my sister Susan's Baby shower. Now, those of you who know me, know that I am really not a big fan of showers - baby or wedding - despite the number that I have attended and had a hand in over the past year or two. That being said, I'm coming around... so much so that I got on a plane and left Matt and Norah for the weekend to attend Susan's! It's hard being so far away from my sisters sometimes, especially at times like these, when we're both pregnant. So when Matt suggested out of the blue that I jump on a plane and surprise her, well, that's exactly what I did! Here we are, bumping bellies just after I arrived.
Susan's good friend Shannon was in on the secret, and left her own mom and sister who were also visiting at home to pick me up at the airport. I think Shannon might have been more excited than I was! Thanks Shannon!

The funny thing was that I had a surprise myself the previous week, when my parents were visiting. When I arrived home on Monday, my sister Erin popped out from behind the house with Norah! As Erin's boyfriend Eric observed, we like to arrive on a plane, unannounced! In any case, Erin was a surprise guest (more or less, right Dad?) at Susan's on Thursday, so I'm pretty sure the last thing she expected was for me to arrive also! As one of my co-workers asked: the shock didn't put her into premature labor did it??

Well, no, it didn't, but we somehow managed to have a fairly relaxing whirlwind visit, topped off by a lovely and very enjoyable shower hosted by Susan's Mother-in-law, Anna. Anna and her daughter Paula put on an amazing spread of food, and it was great as always to catch up with some of Susan's friends, and know that she's got them as well as her in-laws with her up there.

Since we don't often all get together, and even more rarely all showed and 'dressed up', my Mom made sure we got a picture of us all! Here we are, the MacNeil women, at least two generations of us! Nice huh?

Guess where I was this weekend??