False Labor, Baseboards, and Business Trips...Oh My!

Last week Pete and I came upon some extra money (thanks Mom and Dad Ristig!) and decided to spend some of it on finally putting in the floor molding in the kitchen, living room, dining area, and hallways. We got the fancy ones, not the cheapos. It took us two days to get them down and finished all pretty, and the difference is like night and day. Our house actually looks quasi-complete now! Once we get the T-molding that goes between the foyer tile and the living room wood, it won't look like a construction zone anymore. I can't stop looking at it and sighing with joy.

On another note, Pete left this morning for a 4-day business trip to Colorado Springs. Really bad timing being that I'm due to pop any moment now, but it's kind of a big deal. His boss' boss invited him to go to this big-wig meeting that only division managers are invited to. They are prepping him to get promoted in the near future, and this gives him an opportunity to meet higher-ups throughout the country in his company. He'll be doing some big time schmoozing this week. I fully expect his nose to be quite brown upon his return. He almost didn't get to go, though....

This weekend our ex-foster daughter Ciera came over to visit. On Saturday night she went to bed at 10pm, and Pete and I snuggled in bed and were watching The Count of Monte Cristo. I kept getting Braxton-Hicks contractions, but they were a little more intense than I was used to. They were coming every 10 minutes or so, and were radiating into my back and thighs. I decided to say nothing for the moment so that Pete and I could get a good night's sleep if this was the beginnings of early labor. My movie ended at midnight, the contractions kept coming, and I went to sleep. Uncomfortably. I woke up A LOT during the night, and pretty much got the worst night of sleep ever. The next morning, I jumped into the shower and Pete went and made breakfast for us all. By the time I was out and we were all sitting at the table eating, the contractions were coming about every 3 or 4 minutes. That's when I decided to tell Pete that he may have to skip his business trip. We decided not to do anything unless there was some other sign that this was real labor (like my water breaking or some other gross bodily function). The contractions hurt, and my back was cramped up pretty badly, but I was by no means screaming for drugs so I was pretty sure it wasn't "real" labor. I have a high tolerance for pain, but there was no way that was all there was to labor, early or not. At about 11ish the contractions finally started spacing themselves out and eventually faded away.

I was kind of bummed because I really want to have her, but at the same time I want Pete to succeed in his career, so I'm glad he got to go on his trip. She'll come eventually, but this trip could only happen this week. Now she just has to stay put for at least the rest of the week until he gets back. If I do end up going into labor, that's a 5-and-a-half hour drive for Pete to get back here. Not that I'm expecting a crazy fast delivery, but my Mom's first only took 4 hours! Luckily, my girlfriend Megan volunteered to be my backup in case I do go into labor and Pete doesn't make it (knock on wood).

Oh! and going back to the Ciera visit, we bumped into her mom while we were out shopping. AWKWARD! Ciera was so uncomfortable, and seemed pretty embarrassed. She lives with her Dad, and Mom doesn't have any parental custody or rights anymore. The chance encounter ended with her mom making a scene because she couldn't get cash back for her return for which she had no receipt, and then she left the store without saying goodbye to us. It was weird. I asked Ciera if she was ok, and she just said she was glad her mom was gone. I seconded...in my head.