Feb
3
Your Baby’s Development at Week 39 of Pregnancy: You may notice that your baby is not moving around very much — he or she is in cramped quarters at this point!
Well, part of that statement is a big old no-shitter, but apparently Smalltopus has not been doing his Required BabyCenter.com Reading, or maybe he’s gotten wind of this whole cutting-into-the-belly-with-sharp-objects business that’s supposed to happen tomorrow and he figures his best bet for a safe exit is to simply mosh-pit his way out of there. I have grave concerns about this child’s ability to sleep for more than a few minutes at a time, based solely on his fetal activity level, which I would describe as “excruciatingly energetic”.
I am having a very hard time wrapping my head around the fact that this baby is going to be on the outside of my body tomorrow. I mean, I am more than ready to make good on his eviction notice because DUDE, human beings just shouldn’t get this pregnant, we should eject the babies when they’re about the size of a grapefruit and then keep them in fur-lined pouches or some such thing, but I can hardly believe that I’m going to meet my youngest son in a matter of hours, and that he will have a tiny little face that I will be able to look at.
Will he look just like Riley did? Or completely different? What if he looks like Trogdor — coupla beefy arms, consummate Vs? What if the ultrasound tech got her anatomy screwed up and STP is actually a girl, which would be fine, except the whole coming-home outfit would be ALL WRONG.
I am awash in anticipation. Also: fear. Also: chocolate peanut butter ice cream.
We go to the hospital tomorrow at 6 AM, and I’ll need to spend a few hours on some medication (NOT magnesium, thank god) before going into surgery. My guess is that they will stash us in some room where JB and I will languish for the entire morning until someone remembers we exist and whisks me into the OR. During that time, I imagine I will be oscillating between a full-body freakout and mind-numbing boredom, so I’m hoping you might indulge me with some bloggy entertainment.
I know lots of you have already sent your good wishes and I sure appreciate that. Here’s what I’m thinking: if you’re up for it and you read this in time, will you hit the comments box sometime between now and Monday afternoon and tell me a little bit about yourself? I’ll be able to read your comments from my phone, and it seems like a fun, distracting thing to do while cooling my jets in a depressing hospital room.
I have a little questionnaire in mind:
1. Your name (you can stay anonymous if you like)
2. Your age (you can lie about this if you like)
3. Your life in a nutshell: who you live with, what you do for work (category includes raising children and going to school, obvs.)
4. How long have you been reading this blog, and what keeps you coming back?
Oh, I know, I know. That last question is so lame, sorry. What can I say, I’d love to know your answers.
At some point tomorrow I think one of us should be able to update this site with some baby stats, otherwise check in with my Flickr page. Will there be at least one crappy newborn photo taken with a cameraphone? You bet.
All right, friends. I’ll see you on the flip side.
Comments
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My product review site:
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Oh, and I’m 28. And I clearly can’t follow instructions.
Kerry
27
I live by myself (hallelujah) just south of Boston in a teeny, tiny studio with just enough room for my books and MacBook.
I am a writer – copywriter – 9 to 5 – for a fashion retailer. During the evenings, I freelance for magazines, large companies and private clients, writing articles, website copy, direct mail copy, wedding invitations, whatever it takes to pass the time until one of my short stories is published, or I finally finish a screenplay.
I came to this site when Riley turned 1. My sister-in-law sent me a link to the video collage you made of his first year and I cried – right here in my cube. I love your writing style and your willingness to share. The photos are great too.
Can’t wait to meet the little guy!
1. katie. my full name is kathleen ann, and my last name is changing in four months.
2. 27
3. nutshell: i live in a downtown of a state capital, with my fiance and my cockapoo. (william, also 27, and cockapoo, Molly, 9). im a writer/editor. i am getting married in may. i consider one of my greatest accomplishments in life the fact that you answered my email. commercials and movies with talking animals make me cry easily. i love cheese and pineapple.
4. i come back because i think you are a fabulous writer, and you are brave and hysterically funny. i admire your work and your life. i also consider it one of my life goals to get you to comment on my blog.
congratulations today! i can’t wait to hear more details!
1) tanya
2) 33 today! Happy birthday me and Smalltopus!
3) I live in Tucson and do massage at a super swanky resort. I am just now (today) getting my own place after having lived with a roommate and her 4 year old daughter for the last year. I don’t want kids but I enjoy your stories. I haven’t lived here very long but so far I like the west coast versus east coast vibe. I am kind of lonely though – making friends here is different. My people – the really excited, love-life, grab your heart kind of people? I haven’t found them yet. Or rather, the ones I have keep moving. Anyway.
4) Been reading your blog since probably a year before you got pregnant with Riley.
1. Paula
2. 37
3. Stay at home mom in Columbus, Ohio. I have a 2-yr old son, and I am 34 wks pregnant with a girl due mid-March.
4. Reading since early 2005. I started reading, and keep reading because I like you writing style and completely get your jokes. Also, my son is 4 mo. younger than Riley – so I glean info about what may be coming next in his development.
Keep your head up and congratulations.
Paula
1: Anna Bee
2: is scary large number
3. I live in Australia with my two year old son and the cat, and in between wondering how in hell such a short ass can create such a huge mess, I pick up after him and wonder why I bother. Also, I work freelance as a trainer and instructor for special populations. Which is a fancy schmancy way of saying I am a personal trainer and have several jobs in places ranging from a nursing home teaching near geriatrics, to a gym teaching Vietnam veterans, to a pool teaching the general population.
4. I’ve been reading your blog forever, and I keep coming back for the free peanuts :)
My name is Angela. I am 32 years old. I’m married (for a second time) and live with my wonderful husband and 4 children (2 are mine; 2 are his). I will be delivering child number 5 in early April. I’ve really enjoyed reading you lately because I can relate so much to the pregnancy stories, but I read you before that, and I keep coming back because of your sense of humor and cute pictures. GOOD LUCK! Can’t wait to see pics of the new baby!
I’m late to the game, so if you make it to my comment you are even more wonderful than I ever imagined lol…
1. Erin (there are a few of us it seems)
2. just turned 27
3. I live with my fiance (getting married in May or June, I hope) and our soon-to-be 3 yr old son, and our big old smelly dog in Harrisburg, PA. Right now I am a customer service rep for a check printing company, but my office is closing in April, and then I will become a SAHM, which I am very excited about. I am also trying to go back to school to finish my English degree.
4. I have been reading your blog for wow, a long time now. Before Riley… probably 4 or 5 years. You were one of the first blogs I have ever read, and one of the few that I still read. I love your honesty, your candor, your humor, and your kick-ass writing style. You seem like a genuinely great person and a wonderful mother, and you have touched a lot of lives through this little site of yours. Your family is very lucky. Congratulations to you all on the birth of Smalltopus!!
Name: Maura
Age: 39
Status: Mother of two teenage boys 13 and 14, divorced and remarried. Currently employed as an Office Manager of a Home Remodeling Company (completely sympathized during your home remodel). Live 20 minutes North of Boston.
Reason I read: How can’t I read, you make me laugh, you inspire through your stories and writing, I will forever be grateful for the pumpkin chocolate chip muffins AND Garret Popcorn! Good luck today:)
Okay, so I’m Comment #304. That’s retarded. Who gets that many comments?! (Um, you! DUH!)
1. liz
2. 34 (I KNOW! Advanced maternal age!)
3. wife to The Mistah, mommy to Henry (2 next month) and currently incubating a child (a girl, who shall be named Alice) due in June. that’s about it. i’m a freelance editor, too.
4. been reading for only a month or so, but we run in the same crowd. kind of. but i think you’re a great writer and i can relate.
best of luck to you today!
1. Sara
2. 31
3. I am currently living in Markham Ontario with my husband, three year old son, and my 9 month old daughter. I say “currently” because we have lived, since getting married, in Heidelberg, Germany, Cary NC, and now north of Toronto. Yeah, the international moves, I don’t recommend them. And yet, they seem to keep happening. Yikes.
Anyway, came to this site from somewhere (notmartha maybe?) about six months ago and have been hooked since, especially since our boys are about the same age. Gotta love the little boys.
Hope everything goes well today! Can’t wait to congratulate you on the new little person!
I never comment – makes me feel like I’m talking to a celebrity or something – but distraction while awaiting the knife? That’s a good cause. You might totally getting cut up RIGHT NOW. I’m sorry, I hope they have you good and drugged.
1.) Maddie
2.) 28
3.) About me: I’m a married owner of 1 dog, 1 cat, and many horrid fish. I work as an Analyst, the data type, and a project manager. My work life does not involve much personal interaction, so I think I love blogs to add a touch of humor and humanity to my day. Yours is one of my favorite, probably because it’s so very funny and real, because we want to have kids someday soon-ish and I like your honesty. I also dig the fact that you’re hilarious, and I dig your tattoo.
1. Your name- Danielle
2. Your age- 26
3. Your life in a nutshell: I work for Movado where I fight with people all day long regarding the price of getting their watch fixed. I live with my best friend in northern NJ and I’m wildly in love with a Verizon Fios man and his dog. I’m an adoring aunt to 3 lovely little boys that I spoil rotten because I’m afraid they’ll forget about me (2 live 7 hours away and one is 4 hours away). I love to read and I’d inspire to write if I had anything interesting in my life to write about.
4. How long have you been reading this blog, and what keeps you coming back? I’ve been a devoted fan for just over 4 years now. We share a valid fear/fascination of zombies. Thank god for internet at work because your blog is a nice distraction and makes me laugh when I want to shove a ball point (blue) pen in my eye.
Best of luck to you and your men! ;)
1) marypat
2) 51 (damn)
3)I live with my perfect boyfriend (stepford boyfriend) and two cats just north of Houston, TX
4) I am an IT manager (nuff said about work)
5) I have been reading this blog for a little over a year. I come back daily to read mainly due to your descriptions of life with children…….something I could never bring myself to do.
Jenn
41
Owned by two furry bastards of the feline persuasion although they’re distinctly canine in much of their behavior. Living by the shores of the Chesapeake so I can get my sailing/racing sailboats thing on.
Been reading you since I started journaling meself back in the late days of 2001.
I’m happy for you and can’t wait to see what Smalltopus looks like. Best of luck, Linda. -J
1. Jen
2. 29
3. I live in NJ with my two cats, work for a computer reseller and I’m 100% sure we’ve sold both you and your husbands goods :) I am one of 6 children, I’m the 2nd oldest. One older brother, three younger sisters and a younger brother. Finally made it to Bellevue & Seattle last year and I’m in love with it. I’m hoping to make it back again this year.
4. Been reading this blog for quite some time now. I come back to read your talented, entertaining, and honest writing. All very much appreciated.
Good Luck with baby #2! I’m sure it will be everything you’re hoping and more.
1. Melissa
2. 32 but will be 33 soon
3. I live with my husband and daughter in NJ after a move from NYC late last summer. Am pregnant with my second child and due in May. Used to work in marketing and real estate but now I’m a stay-at-home mom. When not pregnant I’m a college student – interested in film, writing, psychology, art, etc. Still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.
4. I have been reading this blog since I was pregnant with my daughter…so I believe it was June of 2005 when I first tuned in. And you were pregnant with Riley! I keep coming back because I really can relate to your posts. As a 30-something mom and wife, I feel we have quite a bit in common. Also have some similar issues in relating to our fathers and our strong mothers. Finally I really enjoy your self-depricating and rauchy sense of humor. I feel like you are a friend! :)
Looking forward to hearing the great news…and whether or not we picked the same name! ;)
1. Lisa Coyan
2. 44
3. Professional Electrical Engineer with handmade jewelry as a hobby/side business – also mother of three -2 boys/1 girl ages 14/11/9 with daughter as the youngest and married for 16-1/2 years to my best friend
4. 1-2 years. I love your sense of humor, your strength, and your courage. Your stories both crack me up and sometimes make me tear up!
Good luck today. I’m anxious for pictures of smalltopolus.
name:kathleen
age: 25
nutshell: i’m a (happily) single girl who lives alone in a sweet little condo with a big porch in atlanta, GA. i’m the managing director of a theater, and also teach 15+ pre/post natal fitness classes a week (pilates, toning, etc). no babies, no husbands, but i do have a vespa and unlimited paid vacation, so i’m happy as a clam.
visitor: i’ve been reading for about a year, and basically, i come back for the sass. yay sass!
and mostly, yay baby! will be thinking of you all day! luck to you.
So excited for you, it’s just after 8:00 now! So, my name is Carrie. I’m 38 years old and live in Texas. I adopted the most beautiful little girl in the world from Guatemala and she’s all I seem to write about in my blog, except for the never ending weight loss struggles. I found you way in the early years at diaryland and have followed you everywhere. I would say because you are so funny and honest. I love that. Oh, and the pictures! I love the pictures. I post a million too, and am glad that you are still doing it when so many have stopped. Oh! I know, you will like this since you are a dog abuser and all! My dog came back from the dead the other day. I have a 16 year old Shih-Tzu who is completely deaf, pretty stupide, but well loved. He got out of our fence mid-October and we never found him. We finally accepted that he was gone. Then, as I was walking for exercise around our neighborhood I saw a sign with his face on it. Someone found him standing in the midle of the street, all this time later. After going thru 3 different people who had taken him in and then passed him on because they obviously didn’t see his good qualities, I found him and got him back. He’s all skin, bones, and matted fur now, but he’s alive. Okay, that’s all I’ve got. I have an amusing story about the dangers of wearing um, weighted “pearls” to strengthen the bladder floor and then making salads with jalapeno peppers for dinner, but I think I’m out of room. Best wishes! Can’t wait to see the pictures!
1. Jenny
2. 28
3. I live with husband and 2 year old daughter and 3 month old son. We are about to move into a trailer (oh yes. A trailer.) which is actually quite welcome since we’ve been living with my parents for a year. (Oh yes. Living with my PARENTS.) So I can actually say with truth and no sarcasm that I am truly looking forward to living in a trailer. With two kids. Help me, world. Am stay at home mommy seriously contemplating going back to work because A TRAILER I AM GOING TO BE LIVING IN A TRAILER WITH TWO KIDS.
4. I have been reading you since diaryland, almost from the very beginning. I come back because yours is my very favorite blog. You can go from the gross funny to the very serious and hello, that’s what life is. I just dig what you have to say.
1. Nora
2. 29, nearly 30.
3. Married, with a baby on the way (am 14 weeks now). Am a lawyer and live in Washington, DC with husband and cat in small but well-located apartment.
4. I’ve been reading since, I think, before you had Riley and maybe even a year before that. Love how honest and direct you are. Am inspired by the way you directly approach and change things in your life that need changing as well as appreciate the good things you have. Good luck with smalltopus and we can’t wait to see pictures and hear all about him.
1. Teej (sorry, not real name)
2. 31 (real age!)
3. I live in Washington, D.C., with my husband of less than a year. We just moved here from Boston, where he was in grad school. Before that we were in Chicago, where he was in grad school. Before that we were in San Francisco, which I miss very badly. I’m a freelance writer and I do about half journalism and half marketing, because journalism pays crap. We don’t have any kids yet, we like to travel, and we really want a pet but our landlord says NO. I love my job, but my husband thinks his new job as a consultant is boring and maybe sucking the like out of him. I just signed up for my first 5K, although I don’t run. Ever. That will all change at 2 p.m. this afternoon.
4. I’ve been reading your blog since maybe… Octoberish 2006. I think you take lovely photos. I like you because you seem very brash and assertive and snarky in print, but I gather from your self-descriptions that you are quite shy and reserved in person (at least to strangers?). It’s an endearing dichotomy. I also like that you are so honest about yourself. Also endearing. Wishing you a fast and painless delivery! Can’t wait to see the new little one.
1. Celeste
2. 30
3. I live in Atlanta with my new husband and our (almost) 5 year old black Lab. I was laid off at the end of last year so now I’m trying to decide what I really want to do work-wise.
4. I keep coming back because my dog, Audie, has a crush on Dog. And also because I think you’re a wonderful writer and you make me laugh. Congratulations on the birth of your second child!
Name: Lauren
Age: 25
Life in a nutshell: I live in Massachusetts (um Patriots who? I’m happy for wee little Eli) and work as a research psychologist in the Military Nutrition Division for the Department of the Army. The red tape is suffocating but as my grandfather always says “nothing like a good government job” but I spend my days planning my escape. I’m married with no children yet but my husband and I are working toward that seemingly unattainable goal (esp. in the Northeast) of a house, dog, children and my staying home. One of my oldest friends just had her first baby on Friday (!! I became an auntie!!) and in the past few weeks I’ve been able to get her hooked on Sundry!
How long have you been reading this blog, and what keeps you coming back?: I’ve been reading since early 2005 (I think it was like the 2nd or 3rd post of yours I ever read when you announced you were pregnant with Riley…) and I keep coming back because of you! You’re probably one of the most “real” bloggers I read and I so look forward to each and every thing you put on any of your sites. You tell it like it is – the good, the bad, the easy, the ugly, the breathtaking – you’ve definitely made me laugh (almost daily) and definitely made me cry. Congratulations on this new chapter, may it be just as much a page turner as the last…
am I too late to play?!
my name is Sara and I am 33. I feel like I am writing an online personals ad. Uh, not that I’ve ever done that before or anything.
I live in Colorado with my husband – he’s 11 years older than me, but he acts like he’s about, oh 12. Just to clarify: that is NOT a complaint. It’s one of the things that I love the very best about him. We have two boys – one is 27 months old and the other is 9 months old. I know alllll about this adventure that you’re about to embark on. If you ever need to vent or someone to talk to – email me. I am not a know-all about raising two boys so close together, but I’ve lived it for awhile, so I could tell you about my experiences! I stay home with them, and there are days that I really wish I could leave the house and go to work. I hope that doesn’t make me sound like an ingrate. I know how lucky I am to have the option to stay home, but I also sometimes wonder if I’d be a better mom if I actually left from time to time. just a thought.
I have been reading you for about a year. I can’t remember how I found you, but I’m glad I did. I keep coming back because you are like crack.
Good luck today! I can’t wait to meet the little guy and find out if you’re really going to name him DORK.
Hi, I’m Steph. I’m 33.
I just finished a 3.5-year ocean voyage with my husband. We sailed away from Seattle in August 2004 and arrived in Singapore last October. We just finished selling the boat and will be moving to Beijing in March when my husband starts work with a US company with an office there. I don’t have a job lined up, although that is a possibility. Another option is attending a University there to obtain an MBA. Or having a kid, ’cause I’m kind of at that age, you know?
Last time I commented was when I was whining about not having any power during the super-duper whopper power outage in 2006 (we were in Bellevue for 3 months of work).
I keep coming back because your life seems so nice and comfortable to me. While I don’t regret any choices I’ve made in the last few years, a house with TV and a Netflix subscription, and a refrigerator, and a car to drive to QFC for a pint of Chunky Monkey seems awfully nice. Also, you’re in the Seattle metro area, so any mention of crappy, rainy winters or pictures of outdoor scenes remind me of home.
Good luck tomorrow, and I hope your site isn’t blocked in China! (I already know I won’t have access to wikipedia, Amazon.com, or most of blogspot.)
1. I’m Violet!
2. I’m 32. Honest. I just FEEL 20. Or 40. Depending on the day.
3. I live with my husband, two dogs, three rats, one giant fish and, as of a month ago, 3 boys (the kid kind) that we adopted. They are 10, 7 and 4. Our house is chaotic and insane and, um, 3 boys probably tipped you off to that, right? I used to work in assorted corporate roles and now I’m what the kids today call a “SAHM” because the youngest one is in school in another city and needs to be driven there and home..
4. I have no idea how long I’ve been reading your blog – a long time, I think – but I keep coming back because I like you. Or, um, your words. :)
Now, like, go have a baby or something, ok?
1. Kim
2. 38
3. I grew up in Alabama but married a Missouri boy whom I’ve been married to now for almost 15 years. We have one child who is six going on 25. I work as a paralegal.
4. I think I found your blog when Riley was 2 months old. I love reading the funny and the serious stuff you write.
Hello –
My name is Michelle and I’m 31 years old. I live in Washington, DC and I am a government contractor. I know, you’re jealous right? I’m currently engaged to my freakishly handsome boyfriend of 7 years. We plan to marry in Spring/Summer 2009 (we were just engaged before New Year’s), because I do NOT want to get married with the potential of busting my ass on ice. I’m special like that, and I like to injure myself in special ways. I busted my OWN lip with conditioner bottle one time… I DON’T EVEN KNOW how I did it. It was truly magical…
In any case, I’ve been reading for a little over a year and I like to come back and read your blog because I find you refreshingly NORMAL with some slight tendencies towards crazy and hilarious. I relate to that and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Another reason I read: I too, have a strong hatred of 1-ply toilet paper… I feel so vulnerable when using it.
I love how you love your little family, and I like watching and seeing how it all works out. It’s reassuring to know that I too can have these things and still be myself. In short, you’re my hero and a role model. So I will always come back as long as you do this and I wish you the best of luck with EVERYTHING! I also wish you some crazy, because then you can tell us about it in your own special way! But for serious… best wishes to you and your soon to be expanded family. I’m so excited for you!
Take care!
Your name: Michelle
Your age: 33
Life in a nutshell: I’m a Canuck living directly across from beautiful Detroit, MI. I have two young boys (ages 3 and 4) and am actually 40 weeks pregnant with boy #3! So I feel your pain re: awaiting eviction. I stay at home with the kidlets but I’m also self-employed as a labour doula; this will be my third home/waterbirth if all goes well again. :) And no, that does not mean I sit in judgment of your own birth plans/outcome! Puhleeze. I hope to never go back to corporate life as we plan to homeschool the boys. Oh yes. I am that crazy.
How long have I been reading and why do I return? Hm, no idea! A year, at least, but I’m a sporadic blog reader. I keep coming back because I think your blog is good readin’. :)
Name: Alison, or Ali (Pronounced al-ee, not all-ee.)
Age: 28
The Dirt: I live in Florida with me myself, and my dust bunnies. I’ve been dating Ryan for almost a year, and, eh- it may lead somewhere, it may not. I’m hoping for the best, but keeping the keys close to the door just in case. =) No kids yet, but hoping for some in the future. I work as a Closing Coordinator- thrilling! I know!–which basically means I am a glorified paper pusher. I also go to school at night full time for my Poli Sci degree, which will eventually lead to my Master’s in Public Health, which will lead me to my dream job with the CDC.
Many steps, one at a time, fueled by good red wine.
Why I read: I found you through another blog. You had left a comment that struck me as funny and witty and so I clicked your link. I’ve been reading ever since. More than just being a ‘Mom’ blog, you put your life out there with a great perspective and charming ability to see the funny in even not-so-funny moments. I aim for that (and often fall short). Your blog is a great reminder that if you take life too seriously, you’ll never get out alive.
That, and I love knowing who to call when the zombies attack.
Wishing you an easy C-section with lots of good drugs and ice cream afterwards. Or maybe even during-can they do that?
I hope so.
Happy Birthday STP!
RA, 20something
I ive in PA with my math teacher husband and Westie, Ted. By day, I’m a medical editor, preparing pediatric research manuscripts for submission to journals. I’m darn good at my job, and I’m trying to figure out what kind of graduate degree would be the most beneficial: biomedical writing? MBA? A few certificates? Also, trying to figure out how the heck we’d pay for the furthering of my education.
I’m a more recent Sundry regular, although I’ve been clicking over off and on for about a year. Your Flickr stream kept bringing me back, and I’d click over to the blog every so often until the two eventually melded into one happy RSS feed. I enjoy the balance you strike between humor, creative imagery, and accessibility. Best wishes for all things baby coming up!
1. Carly
2. 29 next month
3. Mum to Lucy, 2, managing editor of a benefits/HR magazine (snore), community blogger, moms night out creator, entrepreneur. Voracious reader, love crafting and home projects such as painting and stripping the acres of wallpaper off our recently purchased Forever Home (forever meaning it will take forever to pay for, and we’ll live in it forever until the children we aren’t finished producing are shipped out).
4. I started reading long before Riley came along. As a trained journalist, I am in awe of your witty and clever writing. You put the laugh out loud in LOL, baby.
ps — good luck today!
1. Erica
2. 31
3. I live in Dallas with my husband and my year old daughter, Maddie. I’m a WAHM and my husband is a computer geek. My daughter’s not currently doing ANYTHING to bring home the bacon… a situation I feel needs to be remedied post haste.
4. I started reading your blog almost two years ago. A friend of mine was a reader and when I got pregnant, she told me to get my ass over here and read all of your archives, paying special attention to the “pregnancy” posts. I fell head over heels in love with you and Riley and JB and have been reading ever since.
I’ll be thinking of you and the family all day today. I cannot wait to meet STP!
Before I get into this, just in case you’re eyes are crossing from reading all of these great comments and well-wishes, I wanted you to know that I’ll be thinking about you today and know that everything will be great – can’t wait to see smalltopus’ cute little scrunched up face!
1. Laura
2. 36
3. Life in a Nutshell: Well, thankfully I can’t fit my life in a nutshell, so I’ll bullet-point it for you…
-Married for 4 years – we met in 2nd grade but didn’t start dating until we we were 27, we met at my best friend’s wedding and the rest is history. I had just come home from living in Brazil for 3 years and he was just recently divorced. Life shouldn’t be boring.
-Have a beautiful boy named Ben who is Riley’s age
-I stay at home with Ben for 3/4 of the year and the other 1/4 of the year, I teach golf…pretty sweet gig (we live in Minnesota – thus the 1/4 golf gig)
4.I’ve been reading your blog for about a year and I break into the cold sweats if I can’t check in daily. You are an amazing writer and I dig your sense of humor. And I think the thing that keeps me coming back to your blog the most is your honesty. Thank you and enjoy life’s new journey!
1. Jenn Brown
2. Just turned 35 last week. Shit!
3. I live with my husband, G., my 3-year-old daughter P., our two huge dogs (combined weight: 180 lbs), three cats, and our 24-weeks-along fetus who is also a boy which scares the everloving crap out of me. I work at a highly disorganized magazine trying to force people into doing things MY WAY. I’ve been there for 2 years, and have been in publishing / print buying for 13 years (I never wanted to be in this job, but here I am and I have yet to figure out what I want to do with my life when I grow up which should be rather soon I hope).
4. I’ve been reading your blog since before Riley. I can’t really say when I started, I think I got here through Dooce – from where all bloggers come from. I think your writing is hilarious, love your stories about Riley, covet your readership even though I don’t update nearly as frequently as you do and my writing isn’t nearly as clever, cried at your Riley’s First Year recap, enjoy the updates on the animals, and find it hard to believe that you’re a shy person in real life. If I ever get to Seattle – and I hope I will someday – I hope you’ll sit down with me for a cup of coffee or tonic and we can set our kids loose on each other and I can meet the hilarious tenderness that IS Sundry Mourning.
Good luck today!
1. Meredith (although I leave it off my blog to give myself some shred of anonymity, so…shhh! heh)
2. 32 (the other day I couldn’t remember if I was 32 or 33, that’s how boring this age is)
3. I’m an attorney (about as exciting as it sounds); I live with my husband, cat and dog in New York City, and we’re STILL WAITING for a referral of a baby girl from Vietnam. She’ll be our first child.
4. I’ve been coming here for…maybe a year and a half or so? I found you via Jonniker, and I keep coming back because you are an awesome, awesome writer; you are honest and hilarious and generous, somehow, and you capture things — big and small — so perfectly. I also love that you work outside the home (there are so few outside-the-home-workers in blogland, and I hang on every word about the whole work/life balance). I also love your photos.
I am trying to figure out a way to put the thing I love about you best, but the best I can do is to say that you haven’t bought into a lot of the B.S. of blogging. You’re not trying to depict your life in any kind of way other than how it really is. You don’t consider yourself some kind of celebrity or authority just because you have lots of readers. And I don’t mean to put anyone down or anything; I’m just saying that this is what makes me want to come out there and give you a hug and sit and chat for hours over tea and cookies. You’ve never written a single thing that made me exasperated or cynical, or made me question your authenticity (for lack of a better word). You’re just YOU, and you’re…well, you’re very real. And I love it.
1. My name is Rachel.
2. I am 25.
3. I live in Orlando with my Husband, Todd and our cat Rocky. I work as a receptionist at a local University, it is the most boring job ever!
4. I started reading your blog last year (probably around February) while searching the internets, trying to find something to do at my new boring job. I love reading your funny stories and hearing about your house projects and about being a parent.
Can’t wait to see pictures of the new baby, Congratulations! :o)
Despite what it says beneath my comment, my name is Bree, and as of January 9th, I’m 28 years old, living in Indianapolis with my husband, Luke, and our brand-new baby, Kara, who turns seven weeks old today. I’m a communications director and freelancer, even though my only gig is blogging for Parents.com. I’ve popped in on you occasionally for the last couple of years but started reading you more frequently with pregnancy number two.
Good luck today. Can’t wait to see pictures of the baby and LEARN HIS NAME!
I’m Meredith, I’m 29 years old and I live in Birmingham, AL. I started reading somewhere between Riley’s arrival and “Gee, maybe I should do this again”. I love the extremely candid look at life and parenthood and anything that makes me literally “LOL” is good with me :)
Good luck today! Can’t wait to see D!
1. christina from chicago. too much snow to leave the house
2. 29. today. same birthday as your son!
3. I am the mother to a 5 month old taking a year off from getting her masters in public policy from the U of Chicago. I collect degrees. I also have a science/engineering degree.
4. I found you through your column at parent dish. i come back b/c you are entertaining and i am bored. : ) it has snowed a lot this winter her in chicago and has been cold.cold.cold and so i don’t leave the house too often and the internet is the only reason I stay sane. also – i love to read about pregnant people – a habit i picked up while I was pregnant. I write (though not nearly as well) at http://sunraysandsaturdays.net/ .
5. Good luck! I had to wait around through a stalled labor, so i remember how sucky those hospital remotes that only go up or down (or just up) are!
Wow you’re popular!
name: I’m Mary Beth
Age: I’m 28.
I live in Philly with my fiance in a very up and coming(ie- ghetto) part of town . I suprisingly love living in this tougher neighborhood although I did feel REALLY bad when my mom wouldnt stop crying when she first came to visit.
I’m a television producer and right now I am in an extremely dark and extremely small room with no windows watching my video editor put together a new real estate tv show pilot. Blogs help me look “busy” on the computer. (oh the glamour of it all.)
I started reading your site when megan of not martha linked to you after the big seattle wind storms. Such a funny approach to such a not funny situation. Good luck today!
1. Allie
2. 35
3. I live with the best boy ever, and our two gorgeous girlie sprogs in the wilds of Southern Maryland. (AKA: the bearable country-side beyond the EVIL DC/MD beltway corridor). I’m a stay-at-home mom and my husband and I have just started our own home-based publishing business. Um, yes we are crazy.
4. I’ve been reading your blog since you were first pregnant with Riley. I keep coming back because you have made me snarf many beverages numerous times with your hystrical wit and humor. Just the only night I had to share your placenta comment you had made to your boy with my own. He shuddered and thanked the gods that I had not done that to him while pregnant. Then we made a cake and had to contend with some egg whites, and he made some retaliatory comment regarding sperm…gah.
Anyhoo, good luck today. I’m seriously on the edge of my seat waiting to see the pics of your new babe.
Hi! I hope you’re not still waiting, or if you are, you’re not reading Highlights Magazine from 1983. Here’s something to entertain:
1. Adrien (not Adrian, Adrienne, or Adrianne)
2. 36
3. I live with my husband of seven-ish years and three cats: Fuzz, Stella and Zephyr. They’re very bad cats. For my job-job I work at a private university doing grants research, which means I dick around online all day. For my other job I have a small handmade jewelry business that I co-own with my best friend. It’s not going to make us rich but it gives us an excuse to have “business” lunches in nice restaurants. We’re also talking about taking a “business” trip somewhere warm, like Miami. Or Hawaii.
4.I started reading your blog back in 2002 when I was working a really horrible temp job. I stumbled across it on Diaryland (I think?) and read your entire archives over the course of a couple of days. I’ve been reading ever since, except for a week when you made bitched about cyclists and I took it personally. Then I got over it and came back.
The end!
Hey, I’m Melissa. I’m 35 (oh dear God how did that happen?), and I’m the mother of two boys – James is almost 11 (holy CRAP!) and Logan is 5 1/2. We live about 45 minutes north of Atlanta, GA. Before Logan was born, I was a kindergarten teacher, but have been a SAHM since he was born. I’ve been reading since Riley was a teensy little guy a couple of months old. What keeps me coming back? Are you kidding?? You’re hysterical! You crack my shit up!
Can’t wait for the details and pictures of the new little man!!!
Kathi, 27 until Thursday, I live with my husband and 2-year old son in Virginia. I am a new lawyer and am getting used to working again after being home with my son for the first 18 months.
I love your blog and think you are so funny. I love your honesty and willingness to share yourself with us. I also love your photography!
Good luck today-we will be thinking about you!
I don’t usually comment, but having spent 3 weeks in and out of the hospital waiting for someone to convince my own squatter that it was time to go, I’m not likely to deny an one’s simple request, who is this pregnant.
1. Kiernan
2. 38
3. There are 3 of us, and the dog, here, near La La land. I have a boy, but he is 9. Mostly I parent, did lots of the mommy group and pta/school booster club stuff, but that seems to be on the decline. I’m going back to school in the fall. I finished one program during preschool and early elementary. Now I’m going to study design.
4. I found your blog a little over a year ago, not long after I discovered blogging in general. I knew it was there, but I hadn’t gotten close enough to have an opinion before that. I grew up in the NW so I think the passing mentions of familiar turf when we were far far away, helped me keep the idea of moving back in perspective. We were living in the DC area which was such the wrong place for us. The more friendly voices to hear/read the better. So thanks for the help on the miserable not quite home sick, more anywhere but here front. I stay, because I enjoy your writing voice, it feels fresh and fearless to me. You will say the weird little things that everyone thinks or wants to ask, but frequently doesn’t. You confess that hard bits and I would love to be so unguarded when I write. Thanks again, and good luck today for both you and the little one.
1. Your name: Stephanie
2. Your age: 34 (It is what it is!)
3. Your life in a nutshell: I live with my husband of 3 years and our 2 year old daughter. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and I work at a car dealership processing their warranty claims. Thankless work, but it pays well and I can do it from home part time.
4. How long have you been reading this blog, and what keeps you coming back? I’ve only been reading for a few weeks..but I am addicted. Sometimes it seems like being at home with a toddler (when I’m not here at work) can be stressful but reading your blog makes me realize that we are all going through the same thing and we are all in this together. And you make me laugh out loud. I plan on using the “Fuckit Buckit” in dailty conversation.
Good luck today! It will be smooth sailing and you’ll be home in no time. Can’t wait to see pics!
1. Name: Maureen
2. Age: 47
3. I live in Anchorage, AK with my lovely husband, beautiful daughter, 2 cats and 2 dogs.
4. I have been reading for years! Not sure how many, but quite a few. When I think about why I am such a fan, I guess it is your combination of honesty and humor. You wrote an entry years ago about a spider, which was seriously one of the funniest things I have ever read, anywhere.
I will also add that you have some of the nicest, sanest, most tolerant commenters of any online journal I have ever read. Topics that would create a firestorm in another place, are discussed here with respect and intelligence.
Best of luck today!