60 Days To Go

Many suns since my last entry, but I have a second here at work and I figured it was time for an update. As you can see from the title it is only 60 more days until the expected arrival of Three. Three is getting bigger and bigger everyday. Usually with things being so gradual you don't notice the minor changes, but with Jennifer's belly it definitely looks larger every morning. We have officially signed up for childbirth class for February 17th. We were a bit late in signing up, but apparently they had ample space for us. Three has finally reached the size where we are beginning to feel individual body parts better, although it is still hard to distinguish the top from the bottom. At the last doctor's appointment he said the baby seems to be upside down, which is a good thing.

Mentally we are slowly preparing for the sudden upheaval in our daily lives. Every once in a while we will appear startled when we realize what is really going to happen in just over 8 weeks. The fear of something going wrong still pesters us both and I am constantly asking Jennifer how much Three moved over the course of the day and trying to compare it to its movement in prior weeks. I continue to forget that it now sleeps about 90-95% of the day and since it has less room, probably won't be moving around as much. Last night we took time out, Jen had some juice, I played the guitar and Three moved around quite a bit. It was also relatively active this morning when we woke up, which was a great way to start our day.

Besides that we have also been trying to spend the weekends resting and doing things that will not be so easily accomplished in the next few months like going out for dinner. Unfortunately I have had a tough time sleeping lately and have been really tired in the afternoons because of it. I just want to get as super rested as I can, but my body refuses to cooperate.

Work has been alright. I have accepted the fact that my primary purpose here is not writing Java code and it has made my life a lot less stressful. At this point it is just easier to focus on one thing instead of trying to relearn Java for about two weeks of usage and then forget it for two months while another non-Java project comes along and takes up all of my time. I also have been doing a little bit of project planning and using our bug reporting system for projects, which has been pretty cool. I know it is bad to get out of an engineering position once you get one, but the idea of working for the implementation team doesn't seem too bad. Bottom line is I love the flexibility here and wouldn't give it up for the world.

Besides the above stuff I have continued to go to the gym regularly (4-5 times a week). I moved from a completely cardio workout program to a cardio w/ a side of weight lifting program. So far I am relatively happy with the results of going to the gym. I haven't been as good with my diet, but I still keep in mind what I am eating and try to only eat until I am full if I am eating a non-Special K meal. I also stopped charting my weight because it was getting to be very stable and predictable. It was amazing to see how much it can fluctuate in as little as 24 hours. Now I am hovering around the 171 - 173 pound range, which is good enough for me. I think it would be pretty difficult for me to go much lower than that considering my arms are super skinny and my legs are mostly muscle. I have learned it is super hard to get rid of anything in the area of your stomach, it just likes to stick around.

Okay back to work.
Keeg

Nursery Time

As you can see from the photos it was a busy day in the Sands household. Yesterday, Jennifer's mom showed up and we went to the store to buy some paint. So today we got up relatively early and moved all the stuff out of the nursery for painting. We used exactly one can of paint for two coats and it looks phenomenal. Once the paint dried, we moved all the furniture back in, hung up some tapestry and put pictures on the wall. It was a pretty painless process fr such wonderful results.

The other thing I have been busy doing is selling things on Craigslist and I have to say it went much better this time around. On Friday I sold a tv, yesterday I got rid of a futon and today I sold a desk and some speakers. All I currently have left to sell is a storage cabinet and some electronics, but I haven't even posted them yet. Cha-ching, thanks for the $200 and space in my basement. Sweet!!!!

On Thursday we did some recalculating of the baby's progress in the pregnancy books and realized we miscalculated. So while the baby is still due on March 31st, we realized we have been off by a week in the week by week schedule. So this week we are repeating Week 29. Mentally it has been weird going over the same week twice, because as you complete the weeks you breathe a little easier. Oh well I suppose the grand scheme of things I suppose there was really no difference.

Back Tattoos?

I don't really get the whole back tattoo movement. I always see them on women at the gym and just don't understand the attraction of these things. One girl in particular really made me laugh. I was on the treadmill and these two women got on the treadmills in front of me. Apparently were friends, and while I don't know for sure they could have had their back tattoos done at the same time. The one on the right was okay looking on the top half, but she had a big butt and large thighs, which is fine we are all at the gym for a reason. The problem I had was with her choice of pants. She wore tight lycra leggings, a less than flattering look for her. So as she ran on the treamill you could see every bit of her butt and thighs jiggling around. Now the best part of this was her tatoo which was a picture of a wave and said "Try to catch me". I think the wave was a perfect symbol but a bit redundant considering the waves of fat that were created from her running.

The Year of the Three

Our first big task of the new year, as you can see, was preparing the nursery. We started by tearing up the old flooring, which was a vinyl surface on top of a relatively nice wood floor. It was easy to remove and we quickly stuffed it into the empty stroller box. We swept up next and moved some of the furniture around to make for a better nursery layout. Later in the day my mom and Jon bought the crib and dresser we had picked out at the Baby Depot in Peabody, a very generous and kind gesture. We unpacked everything, and it all looked great except for one slat on the crib, which was bowed inward. Since it was a big purchase and such an important piece of furniture, we decided to wait a day and see if we could get a replacement piece from the store. So yesterday Jennifer called the Baby Depot and they said we could bring the side in and switch it for a new one. So we hopped in the car and drove up to Peabody to get the new side and also a mattress. Once we were back home I quickly put all of the stuff together and within an hour of so Jennifer began putting the bedding into it. So now it is in a good state. The only things left to do are to remove my old white desk and to paint the room. It is all very exciting, we are both eagerly awaiting the arrival of Three.
Nursery Video

Here are some other photos from the last few weeks.
Christmas Photos
Ice Sculptures in Boston Common on New Year's Eve