A race between kitchen and baby

It's been seven days since I last posted anything. And what a turbulent seven days that has been. Oh, wait, I mean, nothing really has happened.
There's no video to post, mainly because finding the right moment to videotape a pregnant woman in her last 2 weeks is like hunting the elusive snipe.
Beth has little or no energy BUT she has ankles again. Finally. They re-emerged yesterday. I noticed it as I was giving her her nightly foot massage. I have never been so sick of peppermint Lush lotion! Trouble sleeping, discomfort, the works.
As if some cosmic joke, yesterday our lead carpenter and project manager informed us that he pulled jury duty. So, he is out for who knows how long. He's almost done, though, so that's good. And by almost done I mean he has to install 20% of the drawers and cabinets, 100% of the drawer and cabinet faces, the doors on the pantry, the storage above the pantry, the storage above the fridge and washer, the doors for the washer and dryer. He still has yet to build the shelves for the pantry, the dog food receptacle, the trash bin, the corner cabinet, the floating cabinet for the ipod/keys/checkbook, the dog food tray at the end of the peninsula with cookbook shelves and the coffee garage. So, yeah, he's almost done.
The painters are here though, so at least one coat of the white and red is going up, hell or high water.
Oh, did I mention that the microwave doesn't work? Yeah, they spent 2 days installing it only to find out that it won't turn on. Technician is coming today.
There is no way this kitchen is going to be finished by the baby. I just can't see how it's going to happen.
With any luck, the electricians will be here and they will get their jobs done. But, who knows anymore? At least the tile guys came on time and did their work.

Beth has a doc's appointment today and I won't be able to go with her as I have to oversee the work here.

Hey! We picked a pediatrician! Yay! Of the three we saw, only two were wearing yarmulkas. And the reason the third wasn't was, well, she was a she.
But, she was too holistic, to homeopathic, too California kooky for us. And the second one was very old and knew NOTHING about cystic fibrosis. He didn't even know how it is transmitted. The number one genetic killer of kids and you don't know about it???
The third one we played phone tag with for 9 days. FINALLY, we managed to stop by on a day when he was there and what a great decision that was. Kind, smart, on the ball. And we loved the practice. All the patients' parents were nice, funny, and the office was very kid friendly and parent safe. Or vice versa.
Dr. Nagle made a point, once we told him about Liz, to tell us about a preliminary stool test he could do after Zoe is born, to check for CF. Then he said he would email the staff, in case she was born while he was still away for Passover. When Beth walked by his office on the way back to the bathroom he was holding our file and emailing. Love that guy!
So, Zoe has a pediatrician.
Also, yesterday we stopped by the cop shop for our appointment to have the car seat installed. Officer Goldstein (what's with all the jews?) was great. As soon as he sawy the car seat he said, "This is a great car seat. It goes all the way to 30 pounds. Good choice." That made us feel great. Thank you, Dave, Julie, Iden and Jen.
So, Here's a couple of pix.

Zoe's seat. It now becomes very real. And Huck has less room.....poor guy.


The stove and microwave area. The tile looks nice, huh?


The main work station. To the left of the sink. To the right of the stove.


The Fridge.
I know, I know, who posts pictures of their refigerator. But, truth be told, the whole kitchen sort of keyed off this appliance. The bottom freezer, the french doors with the built in ice/water dispenser...When we saw this on "I want that!" We said, "I want that!" and designed the kitchen around it.




Zoe is due to arrive in 12 days. Hard to believe. Impossible to imagine. Beyond exciting. Please check back often or subscribe as we will be posting pix of her as soon as we can after she is born.

Baby Shower!

We are getting down to the wire, folks. Less than 3 weeks to go. Momma is fed UP.
She is seeing Dr. Lenz every week. The visits are really boring so there's no reason to film anything. I doubt there will be much video until after the Zoester is here, actually.
We just started the process of interviewing pediatricians. We've seen 2 and have one more to go. So far we are leaning toward the one who is most accessible but the others aren't too far and they are good, too. Zoe will be in good hands.
The kitchen is almost done. Seriously. Almost We can taste it.
And Beth had her baby shower. Big thanks to EVERYONE who was there, and who wasn't there but sent gifts. Everybody had a great time.
Here are some pics.


3 Weeks out. Beth is still smiling. (she's drunk, of course)


Lee, Shelly and Therese on Kristen and Vinny's new couch. Yay, furniture!



Amy and Kim.


Michele and Heidi.



Jen and Kristen. Party throwers, extraordinaire!

Zoe's own Logo!

As you can see now when you logged on to the page, Zoe has her own logo.

Designed by Jennifer Barrick & Iden Kamishin, this was put on all the bags and the front page of the scrapbook from today's shower, which was, apparently, a hoot.

It is awesome, no? I shall be encouraging her to get this as her first tattoo.

Rock on!

New doc. Same old baby.....

Sorry about the lateness of this post. It's been a crazy week here with the construction and all.
Beth is doing great. Still looks pretty much the same. But we got the first ultrasound of the Zoester in a long time and we got to meet a new doc because Dr. Lenz was on vacation. He's the third that we have met in that office and, if Dr. Lenz couldn't be there for the delivery for some reason, we would both be comfortable with any of them.

35 days to go.....

Today we had "Newborn class". It's amzing what you forget 14 years later. Originally, I wasn't going to go with Beth, since I've been through it all before. But, go we did. And boy oh boy, neither of us can wait now. Swaddling, diapers, holding the baby, all of it came rushing back. And with just 35 days to go, we are getting really excited.
Unfortunately we have to deal with Huckleberry. Talking about dogs and cats, the teacher commented that if we want Huck to get used to a new routine and not resent Zoe we should do it now. But Huck sleeps with us. Which would be fine if he wasn't 65 pounds and a bed hog. No, off to the floor he has to go. That's going to be really hard. But I think it would be easier for Beth to just pick Zoe up and nurse her in the bed and not have to negotiate with a golden retreiver. So, Huck has new lessons to learn.And I am campaigning hard to make Sparky an outdoor cat for the most part.
Something else the teacher talked about was noise. Since we live on a corner in the Hood and the neighbors often have late night parties and such, this could be a concern. But she was adamant that people not do the "shhh, the baby's sleeping" thing. Now, I have heard both sides of the issue but her argument was new to me. It never occurred to me just how noisy the uterus is. Beth's heart beat and Zoe's own heartbeat are, from what I now understand, very very loud. She's used to noise when she is sleeping. No reason to change that. This is good because Zoe's room is right next to the Chavez's backyard parties. (Glad they got rid of the rooster, though)

We will be going to the doc's on Tuesday for a new ultrasound and we will have video of that for you guys. Right now, here are some kitchen updates.

The cabinets are in! Not mounted, but they are in there. I am typing this from the peninsula, as a matter of fact. It's very white, clean and exciting. It's going to be a real kitchen.



This is where the stove will be and the counters to the right will also have uppers.




This is the bank of cabinets on the south wall. The hole for the outlet you can see between the windows is where the coffee bar will live.

What used to be there was the washer and dryer. They have since been sold and replaced by stackables. Someone was asking where that is. This is the hallway outside the bathroom. The door to the right is our bedroom. There will be a cabinet made to enclose the units.



Not too much more. We DON'T have to go around the house to access our refrigerator. That's a good thing. The timing is working out perfectly. I think we are both at wit's end with this project and anxious to enjoy it before all hell breaks loose with the Zoester.