The camping trip this weekend was great. We enjoyed the cool weather, played croquet on the beach, and ate s'mores by the campfire. The sunset Friday night was pretty spectacular and did I mention the cool weather? I was so happy to escape the 90º+ temperatures that plagued Portland and came home to a much more pleasant July. Sunny and 70º is much more my speed, especially since I am now carrying around a 5.25 pound baby who really has no consideration whatsoever for my personal space.
We had some very disappointing BBQ on Saturday afternoon while the rest of the group went hiking, but really, that was my only complaint. I have to say, sleeping on the ground wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, although being in my own bed again on Sunday night was nice. However, being in my comfortable bed Sunday night convinced that I was going into labor was not all that great. And yes, I'm pretty sure it had nothing to do with our camping trip.
I called the midwife this morning with my symptoms -- lots of pressure and pain with "practice" contractions about 10 minutes apart -- and she scheduled me for a visit about an hour later. Her diagnosis over the phone was that I probably had a bladder infection, but wanted me to come in to rule out other things like the dreaded pre-term labor. I shuffled to my appointment, had the appropriate tests and an exam. She determined that there's absolutely nothing wrong with me except that I have a very active baby. My determination? John Braxton Hicks is an ass, because his "practice" contractions do in fact hurt. I think when the midwife saw the look on my face that read "you've got to be shitting me" she explained further.
Apparently, Baby G is now settling in a little lower in my pelvis and since he's still pretty wiggly he's putting a lot of strain on the ligaments and joints and organs down there. In fact, I had a contraction on the exam table and she noted how he actively fought against it with his knee or elbow. In other words, my baby is all "Oh I'll see your Braxton Hicks and raise you two elbows right in your damn round ligament." I am effectively experiencing a fetal smackdown that will not relent until this child is out in the world. But he better not get around to that for at least another two weeks!
Holiday weekends are the best. They give you an excuse to get together with friends, eat lots of delicious food, and lounge around without guilt (recovering from all of the friends, food, and activities). On Sunday, we went to a July 4th BBQ at Joanie & Dan's house in Sellwood and walked over to watch the fireworks after the sun set. I got to test out my new camera in the dark, and I have to say it's not bad for a point and shoot. I realized while taking the photos that I really need to play around with it a lot more so I'm comfortable taking pictures on the fly when Baby G arrives.
On Monday, J and I were generally lazy and watched movies in bed and didn't get out of our pj's until almost dinner time. At that point, some of my crazy pregnant lady hormones kicked in and I freaked out because we hadn't done a thing all weekend to get the baby's room more prepared. J looked at me like I had three heads, nodded, and got right to organizing. He's such a good sport. In the end it paid off, because good friends of Larson & Serena stopped in for a couple of nights on their month-long trip across the country and back. It was great having them around. I'm so excited that our guest bed is getting lots of use!
The rest of the week is mostly a blur, with frantic spurts of work in between some pretty hot and uncomfortable days. Portland's weather went from a lovely 65º to nearly 100º in a matter of minutes. I would have liked a little more time to ease into summer, but I think it's just a short hot spell and we'll be back to the normal high of 80º by next week. The heat has been a test of the new apartment and I have to say that it's passing with flying colors. While uncomfortable in the afternoon, it doesn't feel like I'm roasting in hell like our old place on 19th Avenue.
Luckily, we're escaping the heat by going to the coast with a few friends for a weekend camping trip. It feels like we get a July 4th weekend repeat and I couldn't be happier! J's parents think that I'm nuts to sleep on the ground in my very pregnant state (they may very well be right), but I see this as maybe a final hurrah before Baby G arrives. It's only for two nights, we have pretty decent camping mats, and I fully plan on relaxing on the beach and at the campground. If only I didn't have to go in to work this morning. I'm pretty excited to get this show on the road!
Last night we needed a quick weeknight meal before heading out to at Timbers game. Since we still had quite a bit of beef leftover from our salads a couple of nights ago and a boatload of baby bok choy from our CSA, J and I threw together a quick Asian noodle dish. It was a pretty basic, but tasty recipe from our Cooks Illustrated Best Recipes cookbook -- a basic sauce with soy, oyster sauce, garlic, and ginger. J was the wok master while I diced fresh spring onions, garlic, and scapes. We threw it all over a package of Chineese egg noodles and it was insanely fast and tasty.
I'm now nearing my 34th week, so the baby has taken over most of the space where my internal organs should reside. By Monday, Baby G will weigh about 4.75 pounds and will be nearly 18 inches long. As a result, this portion was way too huge and I couldn't finish all of my noodles. The Timbers game went into 30 minutes overtime (tied 1-1) and ended in defeat after missing two of their five penalty kicks. I had to ease my sorrows (and my aching belly) with a PGE park hotdog. It was awesome. All I have to say is that Seattle better watch out for next year when we're MLS. The timbers are going to kick butt!
J and I first arrived in Portland in 2008 at the tail end of summer. The weather was gorgeous and the farmers markets were exploding with fruits and veggies. As soon as we settled in, I immediately started looking into local community supported agriculture (CSA) programs and was surprised to find quite a few. After doing a bit more research, I decided to go with the 47th Avenue Farm because their summer share season was by far the longest -- May through September. Also, given that they're an urban farm here in Portland, our food literally only travels a few miles to reach our table. The farm grows at a couple of sites in Portland, with the biggest plot out on 117th Avenue and another in Lake Oswego, which is about 10 miles south of the city. All of the crops are grown sustainably using cover crops between vegetable rotations, certified organic fertilizers, beneficial insects, drip irrigation, and conservation tillage techniques.
One downside of getting your CSA share from a local urban farm is that there is limited space, which leads to a very long waiting list! When I got the exciting email in April to notify us that we'd made it to the top, it had been a little over a year since we first signed up. I gladly sent in my check for a half-share of vegetables and a full share of fresh eggs. Every week, we drive over to SE 47th Avenue and pick up our veggies along with a dozen eggs. The eggs are unlike any I've seen, with such golden yolks that when scrambled they look almost curried without having any spice at all. Until last week, our share consisted mostly of early spring veggies like garlic and onion scapes, leeks, spring onions, green garlic, and a small amount of mixed field greens.
This week, however, I feel like were just starting to get a taste of summer! We had a mixture of fresh lettuce, radishes, baby bok choy, the last of the scapes, spring onions, and fresh cilantro. In order to enjoy our nice fresh greens to the fullest, J and I made a simple salad and topped it with marinated beef and a perfectly ripe avocado from the grocery store. I love summer!
Since the World Cup started two weeks ago, J and I have tried to keep up with the many matches in group rounds. We mostly stream the games on our computers while hovering around J's work desk or in our living room (hey the car seat is proving useful even before the baby arrives). As you can imagine, watching all of the games with internet streaming quality on a 14" screen isn't exactly ideal. So, we've visited several venues over the past couple of weeks to catch some of the more exciting games. When J's parents were in town, we rolled out of bed to watch the 7am Argentina vs. Nigeria game. Later that day, we stopped in at the Mission Theater (one of our favorite second-run movie houses) to see the USA vs. England game, which was really fun and exciting.
As dedicated fans, yesterday morning we set the alarm for 6am and shuffled over to a local divey sports bar to see the USA vs. Algeria and the England vs. Slovenia games. Bars all over town have been opening early (some even open for the 4am games) to cater to the crowds of Portland soccer fans. Most even throw together some sort of special breakfast menu, you know, to help soak up the pitchers of beer they're pouring just after sunrise. This bar was no different. J and I ponied up to the bar right in front of one of probably two dozen flat screen TVs, ordered two Vuvuzela specials and two coffees. The kitchen started slinging eggs, bacon, and sausage right away and waitresses spent the morning carrying armfuls of breakfast plates, delicious looking bloody marys, and pitchers and pints of beer. It was awesome.
One of the announcers during the USA game said that "Americans must be dying a thousand deaths over and over," which pretty much summed up the feeling during the nail-bitingly close match. When Donovan scored that goal in the first minute of stoppage time, the bar erupted with cheers, bar stools fell over, beer splashed in the air, and everyone started chanting USA! USA! USA! J and I walked home excited, yet exhausted.
Later that afternoon, I was thinking about how quite a few of my pregnancy books have stressed that the baby can hear noises. Certain familiar sounds that he hears in utero might be soothing once he's born, like my voice, J's voice, or certain beats from music. One even went so far to suggest that babies who are read to in the womb might even show preference to those books once born. If that truly is the case, then we're going to have to purchase a vuvuzela track (or a swarm of angry bees) as white noise, since that is probably the most consistent external noise he'll hear for most of June and July.
The camping trip this weekend was great. We enjoyed the cool weather, played croquet on the beach, and ate s'mores by the campfire. The sunset Friday night was pretty spectacular and did I mention the cool weather? I was so happy to escape the 90º+ temperatures that plagued Portland and came home to a much more pleasant July. Sunny and 70º is much more my speed, especially since I am now carrying around a 5.25 pound baby who really has no consideration whatsoever for my personal space. 
