dexter

Today, Kyle watched (ok, slept in his stroller while mommy watched) a scene being filmed for one of our favorite TV shows - Dexter.

I love that Dexter is filmed mostly in Long Beach and have always wanted to stalk the cast when they're filming around town, but of course I have always been at work when I hear that they're on a local set. When I saw that they were filming in Huntington Beach today, I knew this was my chance! Maternity leave is awesome!

I fed Kyle, packed a lunch for myself and drove to HB with the hopes that Kyle would be fast asleep by the time we got there and would stay asleep for an hour or so while I played lookie-loo. I was so excited that my plan worked! The neighborhood was blocked off, but I pretended I lived nearby and was just taking my baby out for an afternoon stroll. 

I got there at the perfect time - just as Dex and Deb were setting up to film a scene. So fun! Thanks Kyle for being a good baby and not crying when they yelled action!

Little adventures like this make me so happy.

DEX!

The scene we watched was Deb pulling Dexter from the water after this crash.

home alone

Since we brought Kyle home I've been so lucky to have Brian and my mom with me to help out. Brian took a week off work, and my mom took 2 weeks off. My mom brought me lunch every day and made us dinner. She would watch Kyle while we ate, then do the dishes and head home. Yesterday, the two of them spent hours cleaning our house and doing laundry so I would have nothing to worry about this week except taking care of my son. It was heaven on earth.

But today is the first day of my new life. My mom is back to work, and Brian is back to his normal schedule. It's just me and this little guy home all day, trying to figure things out on our own. It's scary, but also exciting. At this point, my days pretty much consist of feeding him, changing him, watching him sleep and doing it all over again. Eventually I'll need to start functioning outside of the house, figure out a schedule and put on makeup (ugh), but for now I'm happy just soaking him in and living in this amazing temporary world with my 2 week old baby.

1 week to go!

Some days it feels like I've been pregnant for just a month, and other days it feels like I've been pregnant for 13 years. Today, it feels like 13 years. I'm pretty sure that it's because instead of taking naps and getting massages, I spent the first 5 days of maternity leave scrubbing my house, cleaning my blinds, organizing every drawer and throwing dinner parties.

My sister warned me: that's exactly what she was doing when her water broke with her 2nd baby. But I have this overwhelming urge to get this house sparkling clean before we bring the baby home. I mean, I don't want him sleeping in our bedroom full of dust bunnies! I don't think that's unreasonable. But I guess the status of my pajama drawer and how clean the oven is doesn't affect him whatsoever. I just can't help myself. It feels amazing to wake up every day and not have to be anywhere. I can get stuff done. Imagine that.

But today it's caught up with me and I'm promising myself and my husband that tomorrow I will not exert myself whatsoever. I plan on sleeping in, getting a pedicure, getting my eyebrows done and starting a new book. And it sounds amazing.

39 weeks!

maternity leave, part 2

The time has arrived - the moment that preggo girls dream of. Walking out of the office on Friday and knowing that you won't be back on Monday, or Tuesday... or any other day with a huge belly between you and your keyboard. Maternity leave. Aaaaah.

I decided to start maternity leave at 38 weeks to give me at least a little time to rest up and get the house in order before we bring our son home. I feel like I've been GO GO GO the past few months and I'm really looking forward to having some free days! I'm hoping for at least a week off before I go into labor to check some stuff off my to-do list. Fingers crossed!

I'm sure at least one day will be spent getting all my disability/leave paperwork in order. If someone could come up with a how-to sheet with an easy to follow diagram of when/how to apply for what kind of disability/leave at what time, I would love them forever. It's not easy. In fact, it's a nightmare.

The highlight of my last day at work was lunch with my co-workers at The Counter. It's the next morning and I'm still drooling over how good my burger was. If I had it my way, I'd have eaten a cheeseburger every day for the past 9 months.

maternity leave, part 1

For many years, I've worked two jobs - a full time 9-5 career, while also bartending in my "spare time." I always did it with the mindset that if I'm capable of doing it, why not? It's great extra money and has helped us to pay off our debt and save some money for the baby. It's also allowed us to splurge on ourselves every now and then when we otherwise wouldn't.

But as this belly grew, I hate to admit that bartending became increasingly difficult. I tried to keep up, but I started moving slower and some of the tasks that I've been doing for years (clearing plates, bending over to wash glasses, squatting to search the beer cooler) started to take its toll! By the time my shift was over, I felt like I had run a marathon, then been hit by a truck.

So, I decided to start my bartending maternity leave at 34 weeks. I want to rest up for the big day, and I also want time at home to organize the nursery and the baby's stuff, and get my house in tip-top shape for the arrival of our son. I still have 4 more weeks at the office, but it will be nice to have my weekends open to get as much done as I can.

I can't believe our baby boy will be here in just 6 weeks (or sooner, as everyone keeps telling me that it's common to go into labor at 38 weeks!). I'm looking forward to getting ready for his arrival on the weekends, and sneaking in some naps in as well.

Dad is also working hard on finishing up the nursery. He and his mom have been at it for months now and it's really coming together! He's in the garage at this very moment working on building by hand a piece of furniture to hold our son's toys and books. He's such a good daddy already.

last day on the job - 34 weeks and ready for maternity leave part I!