No baby yet.

In case you're checking. But things are happening. At the perinatalogist on Thursday for the weekly fetal assessment, we determined that I'm having contractions. Not the Big Important "BOIL SOME WATER! GET SOME TOWELS! " contractions, but the kind that mean that things are moving in the right direction. My OB said on Wednesday that we'll most likely not have any excitement for at least a couple of weeks or so (I feel like I've been in "couple of weeks" mode for a month now...), but the contractions are a good sign.

It snowed this week! Twice, in fact. And not the usual insignificant Vegas flurry that makes everybody freak out for an hour and then it's back to normal. No, this was an event that began around 11AM and continued through the night. I left work around 4, and it took me over an hour to make the 10 mile drive to Dad & Florence's where I ended up staying the night. Here's what our backyard looked like that night.


WEIRD. This was the most significant snowfall that has been seen here since January of 1974, and I have pictures of that one as well, as it was my first birthday. Truly, I've come full circle as far as snow is concerned. Naturally, the snow from this latest blizzard is almost entirely melted. But it was cool to watch.

I have three days left of work and then the university closes for Christmas and New Years (or "the holiday", as we PC State Employees are required to call it) and I'll officially be on maternity leave until March. HOORAY! This last week was tough--I found myself wishing I'd taken these two weeks off because it's just such an effort to get there. My fabulous assistant (see pic of bride below...) is trained and ready to cover for me. This next short week will consist mainly of me cleaning out my desk, clearing my internet history (me? surf? what? never!), and just tying up the loose ends. It's so strange to do all of this; it's like I'm moving out of the house all over again.

That's the latest, then. We're starting to focus on the process of Getting To The Hospital when it's time. We have a code that I'll text to Rob if he's at work when it happens so he can hit the door ASAP. Our bags are packed (this was also handy on Wednesday because I had jammies and get-ready stuff with me when I crashed at Dad's...). The hospital is kind of a schlep across town, so we're hoping that when Miss Speck decides to show up, it's not during rush hour (unless Woman In Labor with Imminent Baby Coming qualifies me for the carpool lane). We're not taking the laptop with us, but we'll have our phones and will keep people updated as best we can.