is yarn. I’m winding yarn, some of which I got yesterday.

Yesterday was awesome, by the way. We started out by taking JR to the doctor’s office to verify that his ear infection had cleared up — it has, thankfully. Then we came home, loaded up, and headed to Fairbanks. We got a flat tire just outside of Eielson, and John was luckily able to fix it fairly quickly. I guess practice makes perfect (he fixed a flat that he got two weeks ago too). Then it was a potty & food break at the golden arches in North Pole, partly because I’m 9 months pregnant and my bladder was screaming and partly because JR has come to affiliate the arches with french fries. I know they’re bad, yet I feed them to him anyway. So sue me. Deal with it.

When we got to Fairbanks, we took the tire to get repaired; turns out the sidewall was completely blown & we had to replace it. We left JR with a (non-family-member) sitter for the very first time — he was a bit unhappy about it at first, but I think mostly because he was sleepy. I cried, and spent the next hour wracked with guilt and worried about him. The woman we left him with is just awesome; I met her on a local mothering board, and am confident that she would handle just about any situation like I would, and we were (surprisingly) very comfortable leaving our son in her care. JR had a playdate with her and her almost-2-year-old son last week, and they had a blast, so we were sure that the trial run babysitting would go great. See, M is going to be watching JR when I go into labor, so we wanted to make sure that they were comfortable with each other before that day gets here, and it’s approaching fast.

John and I spent the afternoon together, alone, and when I wasn’t actively fretting over how JR was doing, I was having such a great time just being with my husband. We didn’t do anything fascinating: we got the tire replaced/mounted, went to the camera store, the yarn store, and out to eat, and I really think that that’s about it. There was a lot of just driving back and forth between places, but it was so nice to just be with him. JR was very happy to see us when we picked him up, and it sounds as though he’d had a lot of fun with M & her son. He was soooo sleepy, he barely made it out of her driveway before passing out in his carseat. Then it was off to the grocery store, then the long drive home. It was a good day.

John had to go back to work today, and I’m pretty sad about that, but I know he’s swamped there and I also know that he’ll be able to use today against time off he’ll be taking when Milla comes. I’m over 36 weeks along now, and while I’ve enjoyed the majority of this largely-complication-free pregnancy, I’m done being pregnant. I’m ready to be alone in my body again, but still a bit wary about having a squirmy newborn in my arms. I’m sure it will all be perfect, and I spend a lot of time and energy focusing my thoughts on having a wonderful natural birth, trying to will it into manifestation. I know my body knows how to give birth, and I know that my baby knows how to be born. I believe that as long as I have faith in this, utter faith, things will go smoothly.

I got my mailbox key back from G the other night, so the search for a part-time housekeeper/mother’s helper is back on in full force. I just hope that I’m able to find someone that really fits with our family and our way of life.

I’ve been in craft mode lately, so I’m winding yarn that I’ve had in my stash for a while, and if I get that done, I’ll start on the yumminess I got yesterday (which includes Malabrigo worsted and sock yarns). I’m about to put the boy down for a nap, restart the diaper laundry, then chill out perhaps with a mug of Silverhook dark roast (roasted in Anchorage, by the way, and totally delicious).