It's the Final Countdown...

And here I am with no Europe CD in sight for mood music. *chuckle* That's ok... I'd be forced to dance around, as I always liked them, and then Elizabeth would get all upset that I was moving.

We have found 2 possibilities for babysitting. A gal from our SCA group has agreed to try it out. I don't forsee too many issues, but then, I haven't spent more than a few hours at a time with her. Another possible is Raistlin's friend, who just lost her job. It would be a temporary stop-gap, but something we could at least work with until Fred's child payments were reduced and we had more money coming in.

Elizabeth has taken to being very active most of the day. I think she's getting ready to head out and see the world, and I have the feeling she's impatient to get things started. There are times when it looks like she's polishing the insides of my stomach, either with butt or head, and she's figured out how to tickle me where my thigh meets my pelvis. It's very distracting when she does it.

Got my teeth cleaned yesterday, and saw my doula, Tia. The visit with Tia was great. Got more information on stuff they never tell you about before you get pregnant, and never mention as you go along your pregnancy - apparently you're just supposed to inherently know certain things... The dentist was not so great, but that's a combination of fear and loathing for that place, and the level of pain associated each time I go there. I'm trying to get over my fear, if only so that Elizabeth will not be afraid of going.

Up-shot to the dentist is that my teeth are better looking than they'd expect considering the last time I had them cleaned was when I was 18. Down-shot was that I have a severe infection in my gums, so I have to deal with that. If I take care of them and clean everything really well for the next 2 weeks, I should see a really good improvement on them, and not lose the front lower teeth. yay.

Last night found us gaming. New campaign, and new characters. I almost died twice, but managed to be pulled out by the skin of my teeth. On the other hand, one more game and I'll go up in level. I like the concept of the game, and my character. It's set in a country that is rife with corruption and greed, and the have-nots are being trod upon (fiercely) by the haves. My party is a group of "outlaws", including the paladin and the ranger... We're outlaws only in the sense that we are not going to follow the laws - we're all for justice, but since there isn't any, we are going to make our own. Bwa ha ha. It's been a lot of fun with both equal amounts of combat and cerebral figuring.

Took down the christmas tree today - or at least, removed all the ornaments and the lights. Turns out, Jazzy has a thing for peeing on cloth laying on the floor, so my tree skirt needs laundering. Sigh. Will have to work on that with her, and hopefully break her of it soon. It's not as though she doesn't have a clean box. I think it's just a bad habit she brought with her from her last home.

The cleaning party is still on as well (the reason we took down the christmas tree today). So far, we have 4-5 people who are going to be over to help out, which means if each person takes a room, we should be finished in a matter of hours, rather than in a huge, day-long ordeal. I picked up lil' smokies, 3 types of cheese, small bread slices, ritz crackers, and soda for the event, as well as some more cleaning supplies to make sure we don't run out. One of the volunteers mentioned something about bringing a steam cleaner and a 2nd vacuum, which would be great. I'm not going to steam-clean the whole thing - it could totally destroy a carpet that, I believe, is mostly held together by grime. LOL. But, spot-cleaning, definitely.

Fred cleaned the kitchen today, which was nice. If I can keep it that clean for the rest of the week, then whomever gets it Saturday will have an easy time of it - mostly just doing some cleaning on the tops of the shelves, the top and inside of the fridge, and the hood. Perhaps the inside of the oven, but that's it... Everything else should be good.

I am really looking forward to having everything cleaned, and having the help come in. I could normally tackle most of this myself, but with the back/hip/pelvic pain, and the fact that I simply can't move the way I used to with the extra weight of the baby (carrying extremely out front and waddling... not good for equalibrium), it makes it difficult just to get things out of a lower shelf.

Part of the deal of cleaning on Saturday will be Fred and I looking at stuff and deciding whether we really need it or not. If we haven't seen it in 6 months (discounting camp gear), or don't even remember having HAD it - we probably don't need it, and can get rid of it. So, there should be a lot of de-pack-ratting that weekend, too. Goodwill and Salvation Army will be overwhelmed, but happy, I'm sure.

I work New Years, which shouldn't be that big a deal. I am signed up for an earlier swing shift thing. The schedule didn't have any time between 7am and noon to pick from, so I chose the noon shift. It means an ok shift that I don't have to worry too much about getting to and from work, and time and a half plus holiday pay. Not a bad thing. I'll also be getting the pay for Christmas on this next paycheck, so it should be a nice one to look forward to.

Funny aside: At the gym the other day, Raistlin looked at me and asked what my plan for having the baby was... I looked her straight in the eye and said "To stay as calm as possible". *chuckle* What she was ACTUALLY asking was whether I was going to need a ride or not. I told her that honestly, I wasn't sure - really, I don't know how long things might take, and when Elizabeth is going to decide to head out, so it's difficult to know what's going to happen until it does. So, she offered her services as a taxi-driver, which I truly, truly appreciate.

I'm heading to bed at this point, I think. While I took a 2 hour nap today, I'm still tired, and need to get some sleep for work tomorrow.

~M