NBY

NBY. That's NICU whiteboard code for "Not Born Yet". As in, the baby that we hope will be ours still has not been born. I know, I know. You're thinking, "WHAT?!" and "Oh the agony of waiting!!". I'm thinking, "YOU'RE RIGHT!".

So, just a few pointers on how to occupy your time whilst waiting for the baby that you hope will soon join your family.

1. Work. Although this may seem terribly aggravating (especially since you will likely be getting very little sleep as you are incredibly anxious and you are busy checking to make sure that you didn't somehow miss the "loud as a siren" text message alert on your phone umpteen times per night) working will actually be the best distraction. Amazing how fast 12 hours can fly by when you know what is hitting the fan all night long.

2. Work some more. Seriously, it's the only really good (read: effective) distraction.

3. Check out some great books from the library. Need some ideas? Well, we just happen to have a few!

Fairy Tales!

After Anna had an excellent post about fairy tales, little girls, and her efforts to introduce her girls to the real versions of some of the fairy tales, I was inspired! We checked out this version of Beauty and the Beast (by Mercer Mayer) and have been on a weekly quest ever since! This week it is Rumpestiltskin.

Finn and the Fairies.

I've been trying to balance Isabel's love of princess stories with some fairies and the occasional ballerina. We stumbled on this book and loved it! Such great illustrations and such a fun story--really a magical fairy story.

Sally Jean the Bicycle Queen.

This shot its way onto our list of best children's books ever. Illustrations are great and the story is even better. Sally loves to ride her bike (hits home with us!) and, eventually, outgrows her favorite bike. Her parents don't have money to buy her a new bike so she has to figure out how to earn money herself. She does really cute things like set up a bicycle repair clinic. Eventually, she realizes that she could just make a bike out of some used bike parts and she puts together quite the bike! So cute. Such a great message. We read it almost every day that we had it checked out.

These is my Words and the rest of the Sara Agnes Prine series.

If you are a fan of Grami Tami's blog, you already know about these books. If not, let me tell you! They are fantastic. Amazing. Beautifully written. Incredible. Adventerous. Romantic (I'm usually so blah about romantic books but this is so different). Suspenseful. If you ever wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder--or even if you didn't--these books are for you. They take you away and totally keep you up at night.

4. Cook. Or Bake. If you are lucky enough to have yummy apple pie filling in the freezer from Kirsta then you could put that in a ready-made crust and call it good. Be careful though. You're going to be pretty stressed and, thus, liable to eat the whole thing by yourself. Or pretty close. If you are trying to be healthy, you could make a Strawberry Spinach Salad by tossing together: sliced strawberries, baby spinach, mixed greens, sugared walnuts or almonds (toss a bunch in a dry skillet with a handful of sugar and some water...cook slowly until they brown and the water evaporates--watch them close!), blue cheese or feta cheese, small-medium chunks of green apple, and the optional thinly sliced red onion. Serve it with Briana's Blush Wine Vinaigrette or Briana's Poppyseed dressing.

5. Try to stick to your regular routine. Hit the gym, watch your stories (ha ha), take the kids to the park. This will be easier said than done because, somehow, sitting at home worrying will hold a bizarre appeal. ;)

6. Purchase cute crib bedding for only $12 (because you have an old PayPal credit that you forgot about) on eBay. Admire it in the package but you might be too chicken to actually put it up. Or the crib.

7. Hang out with your fam. They will be nervous like you and they will be a tiny bit hopeful like you. They will save your sanity with their hugs and their love.

8. Hang out with your friends. They will be funny and they will be supportive. And did I mention funny?

9. Read the awesome email that you got from your friend via blogging, Jess. Then, read it again and again. She will have recently gone through this same experience and totally "get it". She might make you cry a teensy bit when she sends you a very thoughtful present.

10. If the preceeding 9 things don't work, eat your weight in Girl Scout Cookies. Then, if you feel a bit guilty about that, eat an apple and proceed to eat the other box.