These days.....

:: I'm a domestic diva. On the cooking front, I've tried out several new recipes. Yesterday, I made Orzo Pasta Salad with cherry tomatoes, olives, fresh basil, peas, corn, toasted pine nuts, and a homemade dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning - it was heavenly! I love all the time I'm spending in the kitchen....it relaxes me.

:: On the home front, I've taken care of every single thing from my July to-do list. I've actually done a lot more than what I had listed in the list. A lot of junk has been cleared from the house, and lots of things have been organized. So much that I had thought was misplaced (or lost?) has been found. It makes me a very happy person :).

:: On the personal front, I've started sewing lessons. And, I've managed to read many books in the last month. Nothing too heavy or serious, all light reads - Mitch Albom's For One More Day and Have a Little Faith (both were good), Chicken soup for the Mother's soul (it was a gift and I loved it....perfect timing for me to read it), Mandela's Long Walk to Freedom (close to 70% done), Brooke Burke's The Naked Mom (again a gift, and the first time I attempted to read something by a Hollywood celebrity, but it's surprisingly not trashy - pretty average with good bits of humor - good timing for this one as well), Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers (the statistics made me think why didn't I plan to have my babies in January ;) ), and a couple others that I can't recollect. I have many interesting books in the pipeline, but not sure how much time I will get once the baby is here.

:: I've also been watching loads of US Open Tennis.....with my parents. It brings back many many memories from my childhood as well as the recent past. Today is a super Sunday with the men's semis, women's singles & doubles finals. It was a delight to watch Leander Paes in the men's doubles final - at 40+ yrs, he's still so active on the tennis circuit. In his career so far, he's played with 90 different doubles/mixed doubles partners - it was a 'wow' statistic for me.

:: I took the kiddo to the library for storytime on Friday. We've been trying to keep her home as much as possible, and spending lots of quality time with her. Our library outing was a blast.....storytime had 25+ kids, and I met a couple mommy friends too. I also requested a few books for myself, and I'm hoping they arrive soon (they are on shelf at other libraries in the network so they should arrive early next week).

:: I love it when R says "checkup" for "ketchup". I also love it when she completes the sentences I started, for example: I'll say "You are my" and she say either "Darrrrrrrrrrrrrling" or "Cutie Pie" :)!

:: Hubby and I finally managed to go to the theater after ages (I think it was the first time after R was born) and watch a movie. We went with my sister n hubby and watched "The Odd Life of Timothy Green" - I personally liked the movie....the story was unique, and performances were likeable. I love Jennifer Garner so it was a delight to watch her. Even though the outing was only a couple of hours, I felt so good. Thanks to mom n dad for taking care of the kiddo and giving us a break.

:: I am at an anxious stage....baby is likely going to be overdue, and insensitive people from all over the world are shamelessly continuing to bug me for updates. If there was one, or if the baby was here, wouldn't they know? I'm not someone who does not share openly....especially with close ones. Also, people keep commenting on how big the belly is, or how I am carrying (higher or lower) and whether its going to be a boy or girl.....it did not irk me until now, and I was able to laugh it off (I've dealt with it for 40 wks already), but now it pisses me off. I have nothing personal against any particular person, its just that pretty much anyone I talk to passes some comment or the other, and it has this cumulative effect at the end of the day which is intolerable. This is the time when I expect my community to step up, and this is precisely the time when they are letting me down.

:: Having said the above, personally, I am quite enjoying this calm before the storm. I keep myself busy with either reading or cooking or running errands or doing projects at home. I do my kick counts twice a day, and I keep thinking about baby names and the newborn smell and cuddles that are going to greet me very soon. Many people find the newborn phase very difficult to enjoy (and I won't say it's easy) but I loved that phase with R....partly coz my parents made life easy for me and I was never too overwhelmed with having to do it all myself. I enjoyed all the playtime at night and nursing sessions for over a year....I enjoyed napping with the baby on my chest......I loved having one-way conversations and only getting a smile or ooo-aaa as a response.....I loved baby-wearing.....it's something I already miss and I can't wait to experience it again!

Here's a maternity portrait from our photo shoot last month.....talented Megan (our photographer) makes me look beautiful!