Insomnia Has Struck Again! So, Here's a Novel.

I woke up at 1:45 this morning with my unborn child pressing down on my ever-shrinking bladder, and haven't been able to fall back asleep since. At 3:15, after tossing and turning and telling my husband that I couldn't sleep (and hearing him mumble "Don't Sleep" to the tune of No Doubt's "Don't Speak"), I decided to just get up and come out to the family room.

I realized I haven't blogged about our AWESOME weekend, so hey, maybe there will be a wonderful outcome from my lack of sleep. And, maybe, just maybe, there's a single serving box of Froot Loops with my name on it as my small reward.

My parents got into town on Friday afternoon...I had spent the entire morning cleaning the house and doing my best to remove all of the Michele hairs from our bathroom. Our contractor was here working on the shelves and building our storage bins, so it was a busy day at the Michelson household. I was SO excited to see my parents, and not just because their trunk was loaded down with bags of baby gifts! I haven't seen them since Christmas, and that's just too long to go without seeing them, in my opinion.

They had a nice rest while David finished up work (and took a 90 minute nap of his own) and we all pitched in on making our beloved Kentucky Kernel fried chicken dinner. Oh, and that was followed up the next morning by my new favorite breakfast of ham and cheese souffles. We spent the rest of the day on Saturday running errands and getting things ready for the shower.

Sunday morning, Michele showed up early and the girls headed up to SLO to pick up the baby shower cake. And, can I just say, I have the MOST AMAZING HUSBAND AND FATHER!! We gave them a little honey-do list while we were gone and they crossed each thing off the list and then some! We got back and finished setting up just in time for people to start rolling in.

Um, can I just say how much I LOVE The Cakery?! They did our wedding cake, and this vanilla chiffon cake with raspberry filling and raspberry buttercream icing was to die for! Forget the Froot Loops, I'm going for leftover cake!

David and I had decided that we wanted to do a couple's shower for our baby shower. David has been so involved (obviously from the get-go) in the pregnancy, so it was only right for him to be a part of the celebration as well. We set up the cornhole and borrowed our neighbor's portable dartboard for the guys, and after torturing them with a game, turned them loose on the backyard. It was great having some alone time with the ladies, and as one friend commented, "There was beer and not a lot of placenta/after birth talk, so I was happy." I don't think we could have asked for a better summary to our party! :)

Yes, they had to work for their cornhole time! Here, the guys had to blow up a balloon and stuff it under their shirt and then tie their shoes without popping the balloon. I said they should try filling it with sand and then cleaning the house with it under their shirt...see how easy they think that is!

Our baby definitely made out like a bandit! Thanks SO MUCH to everyone for all of the fabulous gifts. She is going to smell so good and be so clean, thanks to all of the bath stuff. And, she FINALLY has some toys to play with. And, it was so great to hear all of the encouraging words from our friends and family and to know that they are supportive of us. (Thanks Michele for the 18 years of free babysitting!!!)

Sunday night, we put my dad back to work. (Have I mentioned anything about the list of projects David and I are making for him when he and my mom come to help after the baby is born???) The nursery, like I've mentioned, is a work in progress. There were four very large speaker wires coming out of the wall in ever corner of the room...right at eye level. The room is wired for surround sound...a feature we have never used. My thought was to just shove those wires back in the wall and cover up the holes, but apparently doing that means that the surround sound option is lost forever....so pretty much a non-option for David. His brilliant (and less than aesthetically pleasing) idea was to cover the wires with switch plates. No thank you. He and my dad finally came up with the idea of covering them with small banana plugs. So, they spent the evening cutting into the wall and spackling it back up. And, thanks to an accidental experiment by my father and his water bottle, we are assured that the Moonlight Slumber mattress our baby will be sleeping on IS really waterproof! We closed the night with a round of euchre and I'll be darned if David and my mom didn't win AGAIN. Seriously, everytime they partner up at euchre, they kick my dad's and my tail.

Monday was my dad's birthday, and instead of making him work on various household projects, I decided to chauffer him around to Target, Babies R Us, and French Hospital. He's such a trooper! My parents got the grand tour of our hospital and made plans for their arrival into town. When David got off work, we went out for a nice dinner at...Red Lobster. I'm not sure what it is about our family, but we sure do love our chain restaurants. Maybe it's these three words that do it for us: Cheddar Bay Biscuits! Back at the homestead, it was game time again. I decided to partner with my mom for a little Music Scene It, and sure enough, she is the good luck charm. We came from behind and won the game with a little Simon and Garfunkel knowledge.

Unfortunately, my parents had to get back to Arizona so Dad could compete in a club championship, so Tuesday morning they took off for the long drive back. Can I help it if my dad is the Tiger Woods of the senior citizen "compound"??

It was so great having them around, even if it was only for a few days. They are such an inspiration to me and David and we always have so much fun together. If David and I are even half the parents that mine are, our baby is in for a lifetime of love.

Thank you, again, Mom and Dad for ALL that you have done for us and for all the help and support you have already given us with our daughter. We love you, and can't wait to see you in less than 6 weeks!