You know what they say about a watched pot...

"A watched pot never boils." That's what they say at least. It also appears that a watched baby doesn't come early like his/her big siblings.

We hit the 39 week mark today. Since, until this pregnancy, I had never made it past 38 weeks it feels like time is standing still... and that everyone is watching the pot. It's funny to call people, because they all answer, "Are you having the baby yet?" Nope. I'm beginning to wonder if there even is a baby. Hopefully Pistachio will make an appearance soon. I'm told that I won't be pregnant forever. That's good. In the meantime, please feel free to let me know if my shoes don't match. I can't see them. :)

Maternity Pictures by Anna Goad

A big THANK YOU goes out to Anna Goad who took some amazing pictures of our family in Pistachio's nursery a few weeks ago. They turned out absolutely beautifully!!! :) Thanks Anna. We love you!!!

Pistachio must be pretty comfy

Yesterday Chris and I went grocery shopping. We decided to make various wives tale labor-inducing recipes just to see if they would help coax little Pistachio out of hiding. We walked all over Walmart and then up and down the street later that afternoon. For six hours yesterday, I had contractions 3 minutes apart. I took a shower and sent a text message to the doula and Chris called the doctor in the early evening warning them that they may be getting a middle-of-the-night phone call.

I decided to lay down and rest before things really got going. When I woke up an hour later, they had STOPPED. Ugh. I had one or two random contractions within the next hour or so, but nothing regular. Needless to say I was pretty disappointed. With Cadence and Gabriel, once my contractions began they never stopped so this was my first experience with "false labor."

My doctor called this morning to check on me. I thought that was really nice of him. In my first two pregnancies I called a generic number and the person that answered called the doctor to see if I should go to the hospital. This time, I call my doctor's cell phone directly. This morning he personally called me back. It's the small things that I appreciate. ;)

I understand that Pistachio will come out when he or she is good and ready. I just hope that he or she doesn't try to tease us again. Also, I would prefer not to deliver a baby on Thanksgiving, if that isn't too much to ask. ;)

Now for an update on the Pistachio Baby Pool: It appears that Grandma Hall, Big Jake, Jenni, Dianne and John Hall (aka Uncle Extraordinaire) are all out of the running. So are Mommy and Daddy (although we didn't "officially" guess, we were betting on November 5th). The next guess is Amanda's for November 10th and then there are four people betting on November 11th. November 11th would be sort of a neat date since baby would turn 1 on 11/11/11.

Tonight does not appear to be my night...

Tonight I am 37 weeks and 6 days pregnant. During my pregnancies with both Cadence and Gabriel I went into labor on this day. They were both delivered in the early afternoon when I was 38 weeks. With this pregnancy, however, tonight does not appear to be my night. At my check-up yesterday I was dilated 1cm and was 60% effaced. Baby is still high up and floating. With Gabriel, he was "locked and loaded" at 36 weeks and I was 2cm dilated and 80% effaced. I plan on having a chat with Pistachio tonight to see if I can talk him/her into coming out soon, but I am pretty sure that this one is going to be stubborn (we're going to blame that on Daddy). ;)

I went to the Spa at West End this afternoon for a silk & honey bath, massage, pedicure and facial. When I got there I was told that I was "too pregnant" for a bath. Were they worried I was going to get stuck in the tub??? Fine. After my massage (which was GREAT) I had my facial. The lady told me she wouldn't use any steam because I was "too pregnant." Really...? She did however put the steaming hot towels on my face. I'm not exactly sure what the difference is but apparently there is one. ;) Then I got a pedicure on my toes (TOES!). :) I was finished just in time to leave to go get the kids from daycare.

Tomorrow is supposed to be my day off to get ready for the baby; however, I may end up going into the office anyway to finish up a few things. Then tomorrow night Chris and I are going to a Road Warriors game (yay!). That is our only plan for the weekend. I'll probably do lots of walking and negotiating with this baby to see if I can get him or her to pay us a visit sometime before Thanksgiving.

I found this picture this evening and just had to share:

Eviction Notice

To: "Pistachio" Hall (Tenant)
Address: 1 My Belly Blvd, Greer SC 29650

"Pistachio" Hall (hereinafter referred to as "Tenant"), pursuant to the provisions of this pregnancy, you are hereby given an eviction notice and notice to vacate on or before November 19, 2010, the premises and appurtenances owned by Karen S. Hall (hereinafter referred to as "Landlord") of the City of Greer, in the County of Greenville, SC, which premises are now occupied by you.

The reasons for said eviction are set forth below:

The current tenant has a maximum of 23 days to gather his or her belongings and vacate the premises. After which he/she will be physically removed from the property. Expansions only to the front of the house, within reasonable limits, were discussed. Not only have these limits been exceeded, but additions to the back of the house were also made. Remodeling and gutting of the home was never approved, nor was changing the initial layout and base structure. Due to property damage caused by these unapproved renovations, there are now leaks in both the upper and lower levels of the home.

Any further violations of the terms of the lease will result in immediate and forceful removal.

Dated: October 27, 2010

By: Karen S. Hall (Landlord/Agent)

The Clock is Ticking...

We have less than one month until Pistachio's due date. I paid a visit to an online friend's blog the other day (she's also due in the next few weeks) and she had posted a video that could not describe the last few weeks of pregnancy any better. The song has been in my head ever since, so I now share it with you. You're welcome. ;)

I'm doing pretty well on my list of things I "need" to do before the baby's arrival:

1. Family vacation - CHECK
2. Trip with Chris to the Inn at Merridun - CHECK
3. Pack hospital bags - Kinda CHECK (I've started packing them)
4. Clean my house
5. Cadence's birthday party
6. Take the kids trick-or-treating
7. Spa trip

Our family trip to Gatlinburg two weekends ago was amazing. The kids had a blast at the Dixie Stampede and Wonderworks. I was really impressed by the natural beauty of Cades Cove.

This past weekend, Chris and I visited the Inn at Merridun. As usual, Peggy exceeded our expectations. She cooked us an amazing dinner consisting of carrot tomato curry soup, a salad, an amazing pork tenderloin roast with a maple glaze and deserts to die for. The inn was quiet this trip though with no questionable dog noises, drains mysteriously closing or other strange happenings. The inn is rumored to be haunted by ten or so different spirits, but they decided to stay quiet this weekend. Evidently, a pregnant woman that is kept up all night by strange sounds is a scary thought, even for a ghost. ;)

Nivens' Apple Orchard and Other Goings On

After church on Sunday, we took the kids and went to Nivens' Apple Orchard with Jon, Christy, Emily and Mitchell. It was pretty slim pickings in some parts of the orchard, but we were able to score an apple-picker-pole-thingy (yes, that's the technical term) and life became much easier. We went on a hayride, watched the kids play on the playground and picked up a few treats from the store. It was a great day!!

In other news, we had an appointment with our "baby doctor" yesterday. The baby is measuring about a week and a half ahead of schedule. This doesn't necessarily mean that the baby will be early though. It just most likely means that the baby will be big (yay).

This weekend is going to be super busy and fun! We are cramming the following into this weekend: Fall for Greenville, Fall Festival at Cadence's school, Trunk Treasure's, Low Country Boil with our church family, birthday crab boil at Jon & Christy's and preparation for Thanksgiving on Monday. I love our crazy life! :)