it's d-day, go team!

today i'm scheduled to be induced at the hospital where i'll later meet my little audrey. it feels a little odd to be so excited about willingly going to a place where i know i'm going to experience the worst pain of my life, but c'mon, it's going to be so worth it! michael and i have gone over our "game plan," packed every logical item we can think of (probably a few illogical ones too) and are expecting a long wait.

i've been telling myself all morning that i'm totally calm and cool, but i really can't ignore the little butterflies throwing up in my stomach. i remember this old familiar feeling from high school when i was getting ready for a big race in cross country. i remember my strong steady breaths as i walked up to the line with 25 other girls and my stomach churning a little as i waited for the bang of the starting pistol. i'm not nervous about the pain, just the endurance needed for my planned pitocin-induced natural birth. i'm hoping to think back to my cross country training today when my body starts to tire and my determination starts to waiver. the grueling "magic" workouts. the mud. running our regular 3 miles with a few sets of 8 sand hills after. the gusty winds. the hail. the confusion of long races. i'm hoping all this will give me an edge. that's what i'm telling the nauseous butterflies anyway. :)

i'm super happy that i finished my baby blanket in time :) it's not professional quality by any means, but it's so very soft.

bon appétit!!

had breakfast and a movie with maria this morning. breakfast was mama ham's buttermilk waffles and we watched julie & julia while we crocheted our baby blankets. we both were craving brie and baguettes afterward!

julia child would be proud of all the butter i used

also,

it's a little belated but....

i found some luck while watering my plants this week :)

i got the Bell's!

i always knew i was 1 in a 1,000,000!... or 2 in 10,000, medically speaking.

i caught bell's palsy on friday which causes your face to be partially paralyzed temporarily. it's caused by a virus that pinches a nerve in your forehead, causing partial paralysis on one side of the face for about 10 days to 3 weeks. just like the common cold it has no cure, so you just sort of let it run it's course. pregnant women are 4 times more likely to get it. thankfully i have a mild case.

audrey and i are fine as it's completely harmless, only just extremely odd looking. personally i think my smile is quite disarming, but the unblinking right eye and constant tearing, plus occasional drooling is sort of creepy. a doctor friend of ours said it helps to keep trying to use the affected muscles so i'm going to continue to smile my quasimodo smile. only if you see me at the grocery store or something, please don't react like my mother did when she saw me, ("hahaha look at her! she's not faking!!")

i'm supposing God has decided to teach me humility during these last few weeks of Lent, just in case the extra 30 pounds i'm packing just weren't doing it. :)

oh, and THIS!

it's sandal weather!

a happy saint patrick's day to you!

be jealous. be very jealous of my lothlorien pin my dear mother gave to me for christmas one year. it's perfect to wear on saint patrick's day!

i've been very absent lately on the blogging front. i can't seem to focus on anything more than three minutes these days. i have a snuggly baby blanket i need to finish crocheting before my little snuggly baby arrives. i love to crochet but having a deadline makes it feel surprisingly like a homework project. a deadline that could come any time!

i wanted to share a few pictures of my exploding jasmine on the back porch. oh, you just can't imagine the sweet smell that waifs into my bedroom at night! so sweet! i'm trying to train it to climb the post, but i need to get garden ties and tie it up first. one step at a time i suppose.

my sister gave me these adorable measuring cups! thanks valerie!

photos from audrey's baby shower

thanks to dionne, with help from maria and laura, the shower turned out beautiful! thank you girls!