If you build it, he will come.

Okay, okay. The nursery is all ready. Josh insisted that this nursery be a "man room." Which means no frills, no curtains, keep it simple and clean. He also insisted on a sports theme. I did hang the frames with ribbon, but I'm hoping he won't notice. I would like to point out that the wall color is actually VERY blue, but somehow it appears purple in the pictures. I would also like to point out that Josh took FOREVER to decide what stadiums to include in the four hanging frames. Therefore, I made an executive decision. Because he is a man, he probably won't even notice that there are frames on the wall anyway.

I have never been so prepared before. All the clothes and blankets have been washed and sorted according to size. The closet and drawers have been perfectly organized. The pacifiers and breast pump have been sanitized. I even remembered to buy breast pads, Tucks, overnight pads, and a squirt bottle! Josh won't have to do the "oh crap I forgot" middle of the night embarrassing run to the pharmacy this time!

Josh and I are still trying to convince ourselves that it is real. Just to show an example of how jaded we are, Maddie said last night, "If this baby dies can I have that couch in my room?" Um.....sure Maddie.

And yes, we are still arguing over the baby's name.

Miss Madeline London OR Maddie Stinker Pants OR The Madster.com

Miss Madeline London always comes into my office and takes over. She says she is a lawyer "or something like that" and wants some clients "whatever that means." She has organized my paperclips, lined up my staples, shredded all my trash, and done all my filing, so I'm running out of ideas. I'm not as good at coming up with busy work as my mom used to be when I went to HER office and wanted to be a helper twenty years ago.

Maddie-Stinker-Pants still likes being a kid though. She built a massive blanket fort with her Dad in my living room. Angus, being a terror, kept trying to storm the castle. Maddie finally got "smart" about it and made a sign saying, "No Dogs Aloud." For some reason, Angus didn't obey the sign and continued to harass her. He has been a great trainer to Maddie on what to expect with a pesky little brother.

The Madster.com also got to go see "Wicked" with her Aunt Kristina. (Although they look like they could be sisters!) This is her second theater show at The Smith Center in Las Vegas. I still have not seen one. And every time she goes to a show there, she sees a whole bunch of her friends and has a whole social life. Is Maddie an adult in the office? A kid in a blanket fort? Or a teenager with a social life? I'm not sure, but I like having her around either way.  :o)

Still chugging along....

Yeah, I still have a brain. Barely. Everyone who has been pregnant knows that the old mother's tale about "pregnancy brain" isn't just an old mother's tale. It's for real. My intelligence and ambition go down more than a few notches. Add on top of that the whole bedrest curse, and the fact that I'm still chugging along in law school is just incredibly impressive to myself.  :o)

I am incredibly annoyed with how long my law school is dragging on. Part time online law school is incredibly flexible for my mommy duties and traveling gene. But gosh dang, IT TAKES FOREVER. I will be the first to admit that I spent a lot of time on websites like ihatelawschool.com this year. Josh had to convince (more like beg/threaten) me to keep going. Let me tell you, when you are trying not to throw up and feel like every bit of energy has been sucked out of you, you could freaking care less about the Federal Rules of Evidence.

But somehow I kept going, and I am almost completely done with this year (well ahead of schedule so that I can ignore it completely when the baby comes). Then I will only have ONE MORE YEAR left!!! And my final year will be the lightest load. I am so happy to see the light at the end of the tunnel people!

Here's Hoping.....

Well.....I'm a month away. Yup, I actually made it this far.

A year ago, you couldn't have convinced me that this was going to happen. And to tell you the truth, I'm still not 100% convinced. Josh and I made a decision a few years ago to be as normal as possible. We thought we were doing quite well for a couple who has been through what we have been through, but moments like this make us realize that maybe we are still a little bit weird. Or maybe not. Maybe our reality is just so different from everyone else's?

All I know is that there is still a part of me that worries that I will have to pack up a perfectly new, unused nursery yet again. And a part of me is relieved that there is still an empty spot next to Evan and Charlie's resting spot "just in case" we need it. And a part of me is figuring out where we would move and what my career goals will be if suddenly we don't have to make a space for a little guy in our life. This probably seems completely crazy to everyone else. But to me, I have done these things numerous times. It's not that crazy when it's been my reality for years and years.

I know, I know. I'm almost there. I need to chill out. Positive thoughts. Believe me, I get it. 99% of me is very logical and hopeful, but that 1% is still incredibly uncertain and cynical. You would think that I would shut off my emotions and not get too attached, just to protect my sad little momma heart. But the truth is that I'm not like that. I am already in love with this little guy who beats and kicks me all day and all night. I fantasize about dressing him up in all these onsies that I bought (despite my uncertainties) and changing his diapers. And giving him baths and feeding him in the middle of the night. I look forward to having a little one in the house again and bringing joy and craziness to my family. I am very hopeful that I get to have that experience. I really, really want to keep this one.

Here's hoping......

The Little People

Maddie is studying up again on how babies are made and why it takes so long for them to grow in the mommy's tummy. She sure has been patient. Being on bedrest sucks so bad. Not just for me, but for the entire family. Having a mom that is useless isn't very fun. I'm glad she is at least old enough to understand why and hopefully she won't hold it against me.

Because I'm stuck on my couch, I had to miss my family reunion. But Maddie still got to go and apparently had an absolute blast. Josh was VERY proud to hear that she was the only girl who played wiffle ball with the boys. 

For someone who is pretty grossed out by animals, I sure am a sucker for my pets. Our turtle, "Fluffy" is a nice little soul. He just wanders around the back yard and eats all my flowers. I occasionally find his large turds (usually in the mouth of Angus....a whole other story), but otherwise he is the easiest pet to take care of. We love looking out the window and seeing him saunter by. He is actually quite social for a turtle. If he hears us outside, he walks straight up to us and just hangs out. Josh and Maddie fight over who gets to feed him because it's so funny to watch him devour a pear. 

Angus is such a joy in my life. Despite the months of cleaning his accidents in the house, I adore this stinky little fuzzball. Who knew? He suddenly turned a corner and doesn't go to the potty in the house anymore or attack Maddie. He is suddenly "well behaved." I put it in quotes because he is still a little terror. He is very much like a pesky little brother who purposely annoys people. Particularly Maddie and Fluffy. I find it absolutely hilarious. And I love how he comes and sits right next to me all day until Maddie gets home. He is my loyal companion and I am grateful.

Swiss Family Harrisses

Maddie got to go to Midway with her cousins and grandparents for the big annual Swiss Days. Of course, she wore her dirndl that we bought in Switzerland a few years ago. Josh and I both have Swiss ancestry, so Maddie is very proud of her Swiss blood.

Gosh, she is a cute little Swiss artist. 

Ode to the Little Guy

I figure my cute Little Guy needed at least one more blog post dedicated to him before a new, human little man comes and takes all the attention away from him. Angus has been doing significantly better. He was mostly being naughty because I got more pregnant, tired, and put on bed rest, until eventually Angus forgot that I am the alpha dog, not him. So I was taught to bark and growl at him, always keep good posture and be taller than him, and use a strong squirt bottle on him when he is being particularly naughty. As you can see, the squirt bottle didn't survive very long.

Angus feeling particularly ignored during dinner. He is getting much better at playing catch.

Angus reverting back to baby? He somehow sneaks into the nursery and gets his new favorite chew toys - pacifiers!

Angus does NOT like Josh in a hat. If he is wearing his hat, Angus will do everything in his power to take it away from him. 

We sure do love this little guy.

No longer a little girl - but a cute big kid!

First day of 2nd grade. I told her to give me a little sass.

She also wanted to take a picture of her Pinkalicious backpack. She was so excited about this backpack. She showed it to everyone and took a really long time picking it out. I was pleasantly surprised that she picked a "little girl" backpack because I know that at some point girls get pressured to hate pink girly things and suddenly have to have blue as their favorite color. 

Unfortunately, when she came home from her first day of school, she said she needed a new backpack. My mama bear came out and I was going to fight whatever kid said something about her adorable backpack. But she said nobody said anything, she just noticed that she was the only one that had a little girl backpack and she wanted a big kid backpack. It makes me sad. Pretty soon she won't let me do pigtails or hairbows anymore either.  :o(

Neither expressed or implied

It's no secret that I hate being pregnant. Josh had to really, really beg and plead for me to do this again. When he was cleaning out his drawers the other day, he found the pregnancy contract that I wrote up for him to sign a long time ago. I wrote it while I was studying contracts in law school. Oh man, it made me laugh. The good thing is that he is actually doing all of these except the nightly foot massages. (WHICH I NEED JOSH! Get to it!) Here are a few of my favorite demands.....uh.....I mean conditions that are on there:

Rachel Harris (hereafter referred to as “I”) promises to Joshua Harris (hereafter referred to as “you”), the following:

·      I will birth one more baby. (The hair color, eye color, mental or health condition, gender, or mortal outcome of said baby is irrelevant.)

Under the following conditions:

·      I get pregnant when I say I’m ready. Absolutely no pressure, expressed or implied.

·      Absolutely nothing is expected of me during the pregnancy (such as showers, doing my hair, getting dressed, getting out of bed, travelling, going to church, getting the mail, being nice, etc.). If I choose to do any of these activities, I am to be showered with praise and accomplishment.

·      When I want to be able to sleep in, accomodations will be met. For example, at any time in the pregnancy that I ask, you have to use the bathroom downstairs so I can sleep in as late as I want. This could also require you to do Maddie’s hair, which means you need to practice parting, braiding, pony tailing, etc.

·      If what I am craving doesn’t deliver (such as Golden Spoon), than you will go and pick it up and deliver it to me on demand.

·      There is no mention that I am irrational, hormonal, unbalanced, or crazy while pregnant. You hold my hand and tell me I am amazing regardless of how irrational, hormonal, unbalanced, or crazy I am.

·      I will receive nightly foot massages, done out of love, from you.

·      All pillows in the house are my territory, and if you are allowed any for use at night, it is from my good graces.

·      During and after the pregnancy, you tell me I am beautiful and that you appreciate the physical sacrifice I make for your beautiful babies. You never mention or act like new stretch marks, pimples, breakouts and/or rashes, rolls, or any other nasty thing that occurs, exists.

·      You accept that the horrible process of pregnancy affects and includes different stages of sexual desire for about a year. There will be complete understanding of this issue and there will be absolutely no pressure or comments, expressed or implied, regarding this issue.

·      There is no mention, expressed or implied, from you, ever again, of me getting pregnant. IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN.

·      Additional conditions, regardless of how much they seem like they are from a hormonal, irrational, pregnant wife, can be added at any time, during the pregnancy.

Daddy Daughter Summer Trip 2012

Every summer, Josh and Maddie do a daddy daughter trip to bond and make fun memories. This year they went to San Francisco, which made me extremely jealous.

Josh wanted to take Maddie to see Les Miserables. I wasn't so sure....she is just a little girl! But Josh invested hours into teaching Maddie the history of French politics and the revolution, explained the stories of all of the characters in the play, and taught her all of the songs and played them for her on YouTube. Josh said that Maddie sat up with perfect posture, clapped enthusiastically, and was enthralled for the entire time. She begged him to buy her a soundtrack and now sings all of the songs all day around the house. Her plan is to play Little Cossette on Broadway someday. I have no doubt that she would be perfectly capable.  :o)

They also had chili in a breadbowl at the Wharf....

and a scoop of ice cream at Haight Ashbury. Josh said it was the coldest he had ever felt in that city. But then he fed Maddie ice cream outside. That's what happens when Mom isn't around.  :o)   Doesn't she look freezing here?!

Of course they fit in a Giants game, where Maddie very precisely filled out her score card.

And don't forget that when you travel to big cities with little kids, you find out that they have these amazing city parks that you never would have known about otherwise. This is Maddie's favorite thing in the whole city.

When they came home, we found out that our pet turtle loves pears.

And then we did our school shopping at Target. I know I'm on bedrest, but I wasn't about to miss this. School shopping is my most favorite thing to do and is definitely a highlight of my year. Of course, since it's Target, we ended up filling up my entire electric scooter wheelchair so that I could look super cool. Yes, a whiffle ball bat was a must have.

And the ax has fallen....

The inevitable finally occurred. The fun is over. I once again started preterm labor at 6 months and am once again put on bedrest. (3rd and last time. Because this is the last pregnancy ever. Ever! Let's have a party to celebrate THAT!)  

I knew it was coming, which is why I lived up the first two trimesters. You can tell that I'm a pro at this pregnancy crap because I calmly stroll into the hospital, remember to bring a sweater, and read my "Time" magazine while the nurses are trying to stop the contractions. They told me it was real contractions and I have started dilating, and I'm like, "Yeah yeah, give me the drugs and send me home." All the other ladies in the triage were first pregnancy amateurs because they were trying to argue with the nurses that they were in labor and the nurses are like, "No you're not, come back when you're in real pain." I just smirked in my corner and felt so superior.   :o)

Thank goodness for powerful drugs, right? Don't worry, I don't take the strict bedrest rule lightly. I don't mess around when it comes to the health of my babies. But if you see me sneaking out of the house on occasion don't lecture or judge me. Bedrest is the most horrifically boring and isolating thing I have ever had to do. It sucks big time. So when someone you know gets put on it, never say "What are you doing out of bed?" or "You are so lucky. Enjoy the downtime before the baby comes," because you will likely get punched in the face. We're just trying to keep our sanity. Especially when there is nothing on TV during the summer.

All I'm saying is thank goodness for Apple TV and TiVo and Netflix. And thank goodness for my body pillow. And thank goodness that Maddie is old enough to do a decent enough job at cleaning up dog pee now.

When Animals Go Wild.

My dog is absolutely crazy. Every night he "wrestles" with Josh, which basically consists of Josh sitting on the floor and Angus running around like a mad man. I know he is completely insane, but look how much laughter and life he brings to my home! And he is cute. So I forgive him for all the naughty things he does every day. But that trainer is still scheduled to come next week.   :o)

Summer Lovin.....Had Me a Blast!

We have been staying up way too late watching the Olympics. Maddie is obsessed with gymnastics. Josh started running again. I've been enjoying the company on the couch.   :o)

Maddie got to spend some time with her sister-cousin.

One of their favorite things to do was torture.....uh....I mean play with Angus. They liked to dress him up and prance him around. You can see by the picture how much he loved that.

We got to spend some time at the beach and baseball games with some buddies. Always a good time.

We had to fit in some more cousin time. This is the bicycle gang that hangs out at Grandma Linda's house for Grandma Day. Pretty intimidating, huh?

And Maddie had to clean out her room and closets. She looks sad here, but really she turned on her Chipmunks album and danced around while she sorted out her "can't live without this" pile from her "I am too old for this now" pile. Somehow, every single one of her stuffed animals made it to the "can't live without" pile. Call me crazy, but there is nothing more fun to me than cleaning and organizing closets.

Aint No Sunshine When She's Gone....

All in all, Maddie was gone for almost three weeks. How did Angus feel about his missing best friend? He made a music video to express himself. 

Angus also doesn't know that a new puppy trainer has been hired to come and teach him some manners. The plan is to have him 100% potty trained and well behaved before the baby comes. Is it possible? I don't know. Because he is just plain bad.  :o)

3rd Time's a Charm?

I met Madster in Salt Lake on her way back from Yellowstone and we got to stay and play with cousins. Maddie got her ears pierced for the THIRD time. She promised me that this time she wouldn't take out the studs until I told her she could. We shall see. In the past the temptation of trying on Mom's dangly earrings (when Mom wasn't looking) was just too much, resulting in her ears getting infected and closing up. 

I lived out my childhood fantasy and bought these gorgeous girl cousins matching princess jammies. 

And we played in Park City on the alpine slide and at the Olympic park. We had an awesome time. See that little Spongebob kid? He is my buddy. 

Jackson Hole and Yellowstone

Maddie got to go on a motorhome adventure with Grandma Karen. She had so much fun! Josh and I first met up with them at Jackson Hole and did some cool stuff.

Now she wants to be a cowgirl when she grows up.

We got in some good naps.

And everyone (except the pregnant lady) did the alpine slide. (And the white water rafting - see previous post!)

 Then Maddie continued on her own to Yellowstone to have some adventures without mom and dad.

Where she did all her homework and attended the required classes to become a Junior Ranger! Thanks for the fun memories Grandma Karen!