So much for the countdown...

Tuesday I was going to blog about our "ordinary day" for my creative exercise. It's a little fuzzy now, but it went something like this:

Wake up early, since my pregnant body won't let me sleep very long without needing the bathroom or just being uncomfortable. And my oldest has started the habit of coming into our room and wanting to sleep with us at about 3 am.

Take my four-year-old to preschool, his last day until January. We decided to pull him out with a new baby at home. It's bad enough that the poor little one will be born in the middle of cold & flu season with two older siblings at home, we figured we could use without the extra germs coming home. Lightning McQueen lunch box with healthy lunch? check. Jacket since it's freezing outside? check. Wrapped book for the book exchange he'll miss? check. I admit, it will be nice to have him home every day for a month. I know it's just supposed to be the first day of school that this happens, but it tugs on my heart a little every day when I drop him off.

Come home to have coffee and muffins with my good friend Sherri. Such a nice treat. Her daughter and my daughter get to play (well, as much as a four-year-old can play with my daughter, who is only 18 months, but she was very patient) - another nice treat for my daughter who is usually the lone girl in a sea of boys. And Sherri's youngest is a chunk of yummy love. Mmmm...I love fat babies! ;)

I picked up my husband from work to go pick up our oldest from preschool, one of the benefits of him working so close. We get a tea from the McDonald's drive-through, and my son gets his own McDonald's water, which he thinks is such a treat. ;)

My daughter naps, and my son has quiet time in his room while I try to tackle my to-do list. Two days left. Will it all get done?

After naps, we play in my son's room. Cars - he's obsessed with anything that has wheels. And my daughter plays on the bear rug. I take a few photos of them playing, but they're at the stage when they want to see the photo on the LCD, often before I'm even done taking it. I miss the days when I could take photos of them and they didn't know what I was doing. ;) I remember thinking that I was going to miss seeing my daughter suck her thumb and play with her hair while I was in the hospital...



My husband gets home, and we have dinner, the kids get time with dad, bath time, bed time...

At 8 pm, I'm working on my last order for a senior, and have orders spread all over the living room to package. I bend over the printer and feel/hear a pop, and realize my water broke. My poor husband's on the phone when I tell him this, and freaks out a little. I'm not supposed to go into labor, which is why my c-section was scheduled a week before my due date. We pack my bag (which was on Wednesday's to do list), call my dad to come watch the kids (who are fortunately sound asleep), and then when my contractions start coming hard and strong, call a neighbor to watch them until my dad can get there. I make my husband take a last minute photo of my belly, since I was going to do my last self-portrait blog post on Wednesday (he still thinks I'm crazy). This wasn't exactly what I'd had in mind, but it'll have to do under the circumstances...



My husband races to the hospital, where we had a frustrating experience in triage with several patronizing medical professionals who apparently didn't think I was as far in labor as I knew I was. When the doctor came to check on me, I was fully dilated and rushed to the OR for an emergency c-section. He was born at 9:11 pm. So much for our "ordinary day." ;)



And maternity leave begins so I can sit and stare at this one all day...at least until my husband goes back to work. ;)