Friday Round-Up

This week has been filled with tissues, tea, chicken noodle soup and rest. Unfortunately, as you may have figured out, that means that this week was also full of sniffles, coughs and throat tickles. Ugh.

Fortunately, I was able to follow a friend's advice and “Suck it up, Cupcake”: somehow I was able to find some superhuman inner strength to whoop the cold in the butt while changing diapers and feeding the hungry...baby. Thank heavens for my newfound supermom strength – and the support of a super husband!

It's been a wonderful week of baby discovery and fun once again! My three-and-a-half-month-old DD has been quite busy learning to kick at her activity center and to roll from front to back with more regularity. She's also discovered that she can roll from side to side when she's on her back. It won't be long before she's asking for the car keys.

Motherhood has come with a ton of delightful surprises. There was the week where my dear daughter rolled over effortlessly two and a half times in a row (and then proceeded to forget her newfound skill). Then there was the week that she learned to “talk” – she's all about squeals and shrieks when she chats every night. And this week, I decided to check out the public library's free Mother Goose Story Time, which I must say was a delightful hour of wonder and fun.

As the air gets crisper, the leaves begin to change and the unmistakable scent of firewood permeates my neighborhood, I am left snuggling with my baby girl and a pumpkin spice latte. Life can't get any better than this – coffee, child, Autumn: three of my favorite things in this world, all magically at my fingertips as this season begins.

{Content sigh}

I'm quite happy as I sit here, and I can't think about much to say on any subject at the moment. Just that fall is wonderful.

MomVesting Readers, how I've missed you! As you all know, I've been away for a few months. No, not playing hooky. I took this time off from writing for one huge yet tiny reason: getting to know my newborn baby girl. And let me tell you: she's a doll. She has a full head of straight dark hair that I can now put into pigtails. Her huge, pink chipmunk cheeks and large dark eyes give her a Gerber baby appearance. And she's begun to squeal, laugh and otherwise “talk” her way through her days of flirting with the ceiling fan, kicking like crazy and asking to snuggle.

I have been nesting for a while, and I only had one final item to sell before I felt like life-before-baby was complete. I wanted to sell a collection of video games that I’ve held onto for years. Not because I play them anymore. Oh, no. This need to hoard the games was because of the principal: I paid a lot for this collection in my early twenties, and I wanted something in return.

So what did I do? I sold it on eBay, of course.

The listing was surprisingly easy, and when bidding ended, the buyer paid immediately. A dream come true, right?

As the weeks wind down to my due date (less than two weeks left!), I realize that I’m not Superwoman. Not even close. Bending down exhausts me. Making my daily four mile trek wears me out to the point that I need a two hour nap. And napping disrupts my sleep at night. It’s a vicious cycle of exhaustion and insomnia.

It’s amazing to think that nine short months ago I ran a marathon. Now I can barely tie my shoes without gasping for breath. Who woulda thunk that growing a human being could be so tiring?

I intended to write a blurb about the Facebook IPO, but it’s been a busy day with little time to research the IPO’s mishandling. I’ll say what I can in one sentence: there are many issues at stake. That’s it in one simple, concise sentence. Yet it’s very disappointing to all the small investors out there who have lost a sizable amount of money in the trade.

I think I need to practice saying no more often. Especially to vacuum salespeople.

It’s been quite the lovely week here in the Midwest, and as I’ve continued to walk (okay, at this point, waddle) four miles per day, I’ve never been more grateful for 70 degree sunny days. In fact, almost every day in the past 8.5 months has been unseasonably beautiful. I couldn’t have hoped for better weather and a better pregnancy overall.