Chris did not believe me when I told him that our kitten, Doodle, plays fetch with me in the middle of the night. It’s always with an elastic hairtie, and always from our bed.  To my relief and validation, Doodle decided to play during normal business hours, and Chris witnessed the whole affair.  We have now conditioned her to play on command.  She remains feline, though, which means that the game is played at her own pace and ends whenever she decides to be finished.

I took a few videos in hopes of getting one that would work as evidence on the blog.  Below is the best of the bunch because it has several fetches.  Be warned, though – it’s about two minutes long, and there is a long pause (45 seconds) at the beginning where Doodle leaves the room.  I had faith she would return and keep playing… and I was rewarded.  You’ll see.

And here’s a freebie for you… I asked the cats for help making the bed. Artemis jumped right on it (she’s so helpful) but Doodle just supervised.

I mean… really…

Alright folks, it’s as official as it can be until the actual birth… Baby Goosh is a little DUDE!  We are “fairly confident” (to quote the radiologist at the ultrasound lab) that we’re having a son on or around March 16th.  Other important lessons of the morning at the lab:

• Baby Boy Takano looks super healthy.  All heart valves are doing their jobs perfectly, there is no extra cranial fluid in his noggin, his spinal column and major bones look great.

• Cosmetically speaking, Baby Boy Takano has a space between his big toe and second toe.  His face looks very monkeyish.

• Mama Missy Takano has “a really good eye” at reading ultrasounds.  The technician and radiologist were both impressed with my questions and my ability to perceive what I was looking at.  I apparently have a knack for it and should consider diagnostic imaging.
  

• The diagnostic imaging program at Bellevue College is only two years long.

• If Daddy Chris Takano were an ultrasound tech, he would put in a DVD of Jon & Kate’s ultrasound and make people think they are having way more babies than they are actually having.

That’s about it for the morning’s big news!  We are super thrilled to be expecting a little boy.  Currently, our favorite name is Caleb, but I keep reminding folks that we’ve got another 4 1/2 months of preparation that may or may not involve a change in the name plan.  Who knows?  The little girl I nanny has put in her vote that I ought to name our boy Dooda.  She’s got a good point.  Probably.  I don’t know what it is yet but there’s got to be a great argument for Dooda Takano.

I am more than halfway through my first pregnancy.  Perhaps it’s presumptuous to say “first,” but I say it because if God graces my life with the capacity to do this all over again, even with throwing up oatmeal cookies in the QFC parking lot, I’m all over it.  Chris is a great pregnant-wife-supporter, especially for a beginner.  Neither of us has much clue what we’re doing – please see Linda’s brilliant post for an idea of the “We were supposed to be reading books?” mentality.

My eating habits are not particularly healthy.  I’m not taking supplements beyond the prescribed prenatal vitamins.  We haven’t even spoken the word “Lamaze” around here.  There are many things I’m not doing that Today’s Northwestern Pregnant Woman usually does.  Hey, does anyone else sense the beginning of a Pemco profile right there?

There are some options I have explored, though, and some decisions we’ve discussed – many of which we’ve actually reached conclusions on.  Behold, the decisions for the Takano Two as we prepare to be the Takano Trio:

(NOTE: the clip art chosen is NOT indicative of what decision we reached.  It was just the cutest I could find for each debate.)

1. Midwife Delivery or Hospital Birth

2. To Vaccinate or Not To Vaccinate

3. Huggies or Environmentally Friendly Diapers

4. Make Baby Food  or Buy Gerber’s

5. Pain Meds in Labor or Med-less Labor

There are thousands of other choices having to do with the delivery and parenting of our kid, but these ones all have an underlying theme.  Do we go along with The Man, trusting the medical/pharmaceutical industry and engaging in consumerist parenting, or do we engage in more traditional, sustainable practices?

I think that, if Chris and I were simply from San Jose and Seattle, these choices wouldn’t be tough.  We just had to go and live in Portland for five years, though, where we were saturated in the homeopathic mindsets abundant there.  Thanks, city o’ roses.  Now we actually have to think about this whole thing.

In the blog below, I set out goals for each weekday of this week in hopes of achieving a superclean apartment by Friday.  Because of the accountability of this  blog, I’m happy to say that I’ve met my goals so far!  The kitchen and bathroom are sparkling, laundry is cleanly folded and placed into newly organized drawers and closet space.  Just after posting this I’ll begin work on the closet, which I’m not so daunted about, having tackled the clothes fallen from hangers and shifted things a bit during Laundry Monday.  Today has a dual task, though – we’re having dinner at our friends’ house tonight and bringing dessert, so I’ll be baking while cleaning the closet this morning.  I think I can handle it…

Before I close this up and start Bake-and-Clean-o-rama, I’d like to give a little “woot woot!” to a fan of this blog.  Abby Borders, I know you’re reading this, because you always do!  Abby is a coworker of my mom’s – a cute, young, fantastic junior high teacher -  and precedes me in pregnancy by about twelve weeks.  Though we’ve only spent a total of perhaps ten minutes in one another’s company, Abby readily cheers me on in life endeavors.  She applauds my blog, though never in comments (I dare you, Abby!) and sympathizes with my crazy pregnancy-induced dreams.  Mostly through my mom, Abby hears of me and cheers for me, often passing along her sweet enthusiasm and support of whatever’s going on in my corner of the world.  It’s wonderful to have her in my cheering section!  Stay tuned in about eight weeks for happy news of Abby’s new arrival

Alright, off to make cookies & a clean closet!

Coming down from a 1 1/2 year stint at a high-stress full time job to an easy part-time one obviously has many pleasant adjustments involved, but also a little bit of guilt.  I’m not away from home eleven hours a day or falling into bed exhausted or feeling the need to cancel weekend plans in order to recover my mental strength by staring at the wall.  It’s wonderful.  So wonderful that it feels like it just can’t be okay.  The life lessons I’m likely learning right now have to do with accepting grace and living in peace.  There is also plenty to learn about discipline, too.  Now that my work only has me away from home for 29 hours per week, there is no good excuse for me to not take care of domestic responsibilities.  Chris and I shouldered the load together when we both worked 40 hours, but the jobs were never done.  Now, one of us is home to actually clean up and keep it that way, and isn’t it funny that it should be the one of us who is rather picky about how things ought to be around here?

For my first three weeks as a nanny, I was working full days.  Now I’ve had two part-time weeks to relax, sleep in, and catch up with old friends on phone dates and coffee dates and breakfast dates, as well as many play-with-the-kittens-until-it’s-time-to-go-to-work dates.  That has been lovely, but now it’s business time.  (I know this because I’m wearing my business socks.)  I figure that if I blog my goals, I’ll have to stick to them, whereas if I just mention it to Chris, he could let me off the hook.  Don’t let me off the hook, folks.  Here’s what I hope to accomplish in the coming week as I begin learning the transition to being a full time wife and mom.

GOAL: Superclean Apartment.  Parameters: Monday-Thursday workdays require that I leave by 11am and am home by 4:30pm, thereby allowing the bulk of this work to take place in the morning with any finishing touches in the late afternoon.

Monday: catch up on laundry.  I don’t mean freshman level laundry, like run a few loads of what’s dirty.  I mean wash and fold and put away everything, iron a few of Chris’s shirts that have needed it for a while, organize the dresser drawers and closet-hanging clothes, and lint-roll the sweaters and jackets with kitty fur on them.  Optionally, take the two bags of clothes on the closet floor to Goodwill on the way to work, though this can wait until Black Wednesday.  Also, generally straighten up the living room, but do not reorganize anything.  Today has enough troubles of its own.

Tuesday: deep-clean the kitchen and bathroom.  Break out the scrubbers and the harsh “are you sure you should use that while pregnant?” chemicals and work up a sweat.  Straighten up the disheveled cupboard to the right of the stove as well as the tupperware containers and lids.  Proceed to quench the appetite built during this hard work by eating a large breakfast straight off the spotless floors.

Wednesday: the closet.  Finish the race that was set before me when I began cleaning it a month ago.  Shift all long-term storage items to our porch storage closet, sort through the boxes of miscellanea on the floor and shelves and properly throw away, donate, or store all items.  Drop off clothes and donatable goods at Goodwill if necessary.

Thursday: living space organization.  Seriously straighten up computer desks, living room shelves, and bedroom.  Vacuum all carpets and clean entry floor.  Shred documents in the “pending for shredder” bin and file other paperwork as needed.  Maintain all other areas with light cleaning – run a load of laundry as needed, take care of any dishes, sweep kitchen and bathroom floors.

Any bits of advice are highly appreciated; stay tuned for progress updates!

Chris called me from work this morning to tell me about an amazing bargain, that I may hereby share it with the world! (And by “the world” I mean the seven people who read my blog.  Except, Mom won’t particularly care about this, so more like six people.)

When the movie Prince Caspian came out in spring of 2008, Focus on the Family created an amazing audio rendering of the entire Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis.  At the time it was released, this 19-disc set retailed for $70.  Apparently, Barnes & Noble overestimated sales of this merchandise.  Chris’s store just received a shipment of all the overstock, and the price they’re offering it for matches the online price: $12.

Several of the employees at Chris’s store have set aside sets for themselves, including Chris – I mean, what a fantastic thing to have for those long road trips, especially when we have kids who can appreciate wonderful stories.  It’s the entire series! Nineteen CD’s!  Twelve dollars!

Here’s a link if you want to order one online, or visit your local B&N.  Next stop: email Dr. G.

On Friday night, I headed to San Jose via lovely Southwest Airlines, the official airline of Delayed Travelers Everywhere.  Though a small fraction of flights I’ve taken with Southwest have left on time, I love flying with them because of the ease, low cost, and yummy plane snacks.

My parents picked me up for a weekend of FUN!  Saturday morning kicked off with a big breakfast and no fewer than TWELVE people around the table.  Seeing the Ferreiras, Euleys, and Davis Duo meant that laughter was as abundant as the salsa (which was particularly great), and all the excitement had me out for a nap by 1pm.  My dear darling mother then took me on a maternity shopping spree, where we found some brilliant deals on adorable clothes.  Gone are the days of maternity clothes being billowy, paneled frumpwear, and I’m so thankful to be on this side of the fashion-meets-function revelation.  My parents, being all kinds of crazy generous, footed the bill for a new wardrobe to see me (and my expanding body) through the next several months.  THANK YOU, Mom & Dad!  No daughter could be more blessed!

Sunday has to go down as one of the most relaxing days in the history of relaxing days.  I’m almost ashamed to write that, after hours of watching football and eating and laying on the couch, I actually dozed off for a nap, then woke up to watch more football and eat some more food and continue laying on the couch.  This continued, for me, right up until it was time to shower and pack and leave for the airport.  Ahhhhh…

We made sure to have a quick photo shoot to remember our time together as well as to capture the much-in-demand “baby bump” images for those who aren’t around much!

It was wonderful to get to be home for a few days, and now it’s just as wonderful to be back home again. Home is where the heart is,  and I am blessed indeed to find my heart at rest in San Jose and in Seattle.

LOST DOG signs are devastating for me.  I love animals, and even though I don’t prefer dogs as my pet of choice, almost anything furry is a friend of mine.  Sarah and I were once late for class because I made her pull over so that I could chase a dog down the sidewalk, only to see it arrive at the dog park across the street and hope that its owner would look there first.  Another time, as faithful readers may remember, a group of us saw to the safety of a wandering pitbull pup we named Desi.  These two instances are just examples of the times I’ve made it my silly little mission to look after a wayward creature.  Chris was wonderful to support me through another canine rescue last night.

We were driving home from the grocery store when we saw a shaggy little guy tearing down the sidewalk the opposite direction.  With a quick plea from his wife, my hubs turned around and drove toward the runaway.  I jumped out of the car (in a parking lot) and tried to woo the dog to no avail.  He took cover under a minivan, where I had Chris keep an eye on him while I ran to the pet store to ask for a few biscuits.  The pup wouldn’t budge, even for tasty crackers.  He sniffed us, though, and seemed calm enough for us to feel comfortable reaching under the van and finding a phone number on his tags, and a name: Baxter.

“Hello?”

“Hi, do you have a dog named Baxter?”

“Yeah, I do… but he’s staying with our friends down in Renton right now, not here with me.  I’m in Magnolia.”

“Actually, he’s under a minivan in a parking lot in Renton. I think he ran away from wherever he was staying.”

“Oh gosh. Okay, look, I’m gonna call the people he’s staying with.  Do you mind staying there with him while I try to reach them?”

A few minutes later, the owner called back saying that he couldn’t get a hold of the friends Baxter was staying with and was on his way down to pick him up.  Then he asked if I would mind taking Baxter home with me until he could get there.  I said that of course, I wouldn’t mind, and lugged the big guy into my arms who had by that time emerged from under the car, content but shivering.  I explained to Chris, who chuckled, shook his head, and mercifully went along with the whole thing.

We had to depose our cats and rabbit for a while: Baxter stayed on the porch, Bunny was moved to our room, and the kitties kept Bunny company while staying far from the balcony door.  Not too long later, the owners arrived and we brought Baxter down the parking lot.  The reunion was warm and hilarious – as soon as the car door opened, two replica-Baxters bounded out to greet their fellow four-footer.  The couple was deeply grateful for our kindness, and we chalked the evening up to a venture well spent!

Hooray, Baxter – we’re glad you’re not on a Lost Dog sign anywhere!

Not the best quality, since I took this with a cell phone, but here's Baxter!

Of course Linda beat me to it with a fantastic post about the weekend just behind us.  Chris & I were pumped to be a part of the leadership team for a youth camp put during our church’s annual Fall Conference.  The kids had a great time and so did our team!  Hooray!

Really… just read Linda’s blog on it.

In other news, we’re now at 18 weeks in this pregnancy.  I’m looking forward to my doctor’s appointment this Thursday because of the opportunity to check in, ask the dozens of questions that have come up, and get a referral to the ultrasound lab so that we can find out whether we’re having a son or a daughter – cast your votes now!

Exciting developments this week: Baby is the size of a deli pickle.  Now, last week was a baked potato, which I considered larger than a pickle, until my mom (“Vannie” to Picklebrain) pointed out that the deli sized dills are pretty massive.  Baby has fully formed ears that really work – no batteries included – and the little body’s big focus right now is on making millions of complex nerve connections all day, every day, as well as aggressively developing bone density and the senses of sight, taste and smell.  How exhausting; no wonder they need frequent naps for the first couple years.

Just keep doing what you gotta do, Picklebaby.  We’ll see you in about five months.

Last night, after two delicious popsicles each, Sarah and I began discussing the encouragement I’ve received from my favorite pregnancy website.  The site provides a week-by-week…

Wait, wait… I’m sorry… I’m blogging this from my laptop while my nanny-charge is napping, and the new Snuggie commercial just came on TV.  While I can’t find a link to the specific commercial, this site will clue you in to the best part of it – click here.

Alright, back to the popsicle/website discussion.  The website offers a weekly update of what happens during each week of pregnancy, both for the mom and the growing baby. Together Sarah and I noted the many times that a new condition has come up, and within a few days I check my website and see that “Most women experience ______ in this week of their pregnancy.”  For the most part, this is highly validating!  Imagine my relief when some strange symptom arises, and I come to find out that it’s highly frequent and, better yet, right on schedule.  Really: this has happened at least 5 times so far.

In fact, Sarah pointed out, it’s almost creepy.

We began guessing at what the website would reveal next:

At this time in their pregnancy, most women eat toast for breakfast and browse CNN.com before beginning their job as a nanny for a 3 year old.

Many women report that this is the week in which they wear a green sweater that they just found while cleaning out their closets.

It is not uncommon for most women to purchase a new stick of Dove deodorant from Target at 10:23am on Thursday of this week in their pregnancy.

You forgot to brush your teeth, Missy.

In our imaginations, of course, the website has stalkers following me around and tracking my every action, then quickly writing it up as common to most women… it was probably more funny with two popsicles.