weekly miscellany: vol. 2

~ pregnancy update:
monday is my due-date; i feel like a watched pot. june dropped this past monday, tuesday i had extreme nesting hormones (oh and our house is SO organized right now, i am pleased!), but wednesday the doctor said i'm only at 1cm. a doula that attends our church came by on tuesday and gave us a childbirth crash-course, and a stack of books to read (finished! i'm a quick reader when i need to be)

i've started walking as much as possible. i'm also drinking as much water as possible because i'm very swollen-up this week, with all the heat and humidity. after bryan goes to work this morning, zu, mom and i are going out to the park to walk along the river.

~ around the home:
my mom being in town to help out with zu has been a blessing!  i was able to finish june's nursery and set up a little baby changing area and nursing area in our room. i've even been able to take a nap everyday, and to go on a few little day-dates with my love before we expand our clan. bryan has a lingering sinus infection and doesn't do well on the medicine he's been given for it, so there were a few days where i just don't know what i would've done without her here and with him sick in bed.

zu has also enjoyed playing with the "meow-meowies" -- my mom's cat had three babies the week before she came, so she brought them along for zu to help her take care of. zu just sits by their box watching them and giggling. she also feeds them everyday, in addition to already feeding our cats, ralph and waldo--she loves her "big girl" jobs!

~ in the garden:
my lilies are finally blooming! i planted a bulb last spring; it multiplied and now i have six lovely blooms. i'm thinking of bringing them in to beautify the house for when junie arrives. 

~ in the notebook:
i finished the paris wife. it was sad, but i already knew some of the story and what type of person hemingway was from reading a moveable feast.

i also finished the books on childbirth the doula gave us to read. birthing from within was my favorite, despite the hippie stuff at the beginning, and bryan liked the birth partner, which breaks everything down into easy need-to-know sections for reference. 

i wasn't planning on starting any poetry books right now, since the baby is coming so soon, but i wandered into the poetry section of our library after taking zu to storytime on thursday and couldn't resist picking up a few things. right now i'm reading waltzing through the endtime by david bottoms (poet laureate of georgia, stylistically similar to charles wright), and in fiction i'm reading cold sassy tree by olive ann burns.


~ favorite links this week:
Vulnerability Part 3 { Femina }

"If you won’t be a friend, you have become an enemy. Do not bring your problems to someone who you cannot imagine saying anything hard to you. Do not be a friend who would never say anything hard."

My Favorite Budget-Friendly Cloth Diapers { My Cloth Diaper Stash }

Why the Church Can Support "Breadwinning" Wives { Rachel Held Evans }

"There is no single “biblical” model for arranging household income. Instead, families will look different from culture to culture and family to family."

Medical vs. Natural Childbirth: A Personal Story { Visionary Womanhood }

"I’m not advocating one method over the other.  I just want to encourage couples to earnestly look to God, not [man], for direction in this matter.  We need to put our faith in HIM…not in doctors or epidurals or “natural” childbirth or water tubs or doulas.  His plan for each of us will look different. We need to give one another some breathing space to do what God is leading us to do based on our own unique set of circumstances that He has specifically designed to help us grow in our faith in Him."

~

i'm hoping i will be too busy with the new baby to update next week! y'all have a great weekend!