This ones for you, Alice!

Several things have happened in the last week:

1- I am officially on maternity leave. In fact, I have been on maternity leave for a week now. No baby yet, even though I am walking, eating spicy food, and drinking raspberry leaf tea like it is my job. This is a practice in patience, to say the least.

2- I got into a car accident. It was not my fault (which is nice), and everyone was okay (which is wonderful). But look at what it did to our car! Oh my.



Yes, we are currently trying to give birth to a baby and buy a car. In hopes of not making rash decisions, we are entering the parenting world early by borrowing my mother's mini van until we get a new car.

3- I promised Alice a belly picture. Unfortunately, this was taken 2 weeks ago, and I am too lazy to take a new picture. As you know, I am very busy on maternity leave.




4- I did something I have been threatening to do for the last 6 months ( Thank you, Rutha, for that reminder). It was about time I joined twitter. In the words of KT Shields, maternity leave has broken me down. I wish I knew how to retweet that. I am afraid technology is running much faster than I am.

5- I really hope my next post includes a picture of baby Stringham!

Aqua jogging, cont...

We are joined by guest blogger, Logan Stout, first time blogger and first time aqua jogger:



I would like to say a few words about my aqua jogging experience that I had with Nefret this past weekend.

If you were like me, you read her most recent entry about this favorite new “sport” of hers and thought: “Only for pregnant ladies and folks over the age of 75. You just put a floaty belt on and bob up and down in the water, maybe moving your legs around a bit. How cool could that be?”

Incorrect my friends. Aqua jogging is 1. INTENSE!!! 2. For everyone!

Do you like the pool? Do you like bright colored floaty belts? Do you enjoy one piece swimsuits and swim caps (optional)? Then aqua jogging is for you! Move swiftly and smoothly through your own private lane with a good friend and converse while getting an impact free workout beneath the water’s surface. Tri-athletes do it! And while aqua jogging, you might even meet a nice European man like our friend here!


Please take the time to give aqua jogging a try… you will not regret it!

Thank you, Jenni and Liam Stringham, for these awesome sippy cups.




Amazon.com, what's up with your packaging????

My new favorite sport

Don't even try and tell me that aqua jogging is not a sport. I don't want to hear any of that nonsense, and if you insist on disagreeing with me, I challenge you to an aqua jogging race. I have been aqua jogging almost every day for the last three weeks, so you have no chance in beating me.

For those of you who have never had the privilege of jogging underwater, basically it requires that you float in a pool, pump your arms and legs "pretending" that you are jogging as you move at the slowest pace imaginable. It is heavenly. Weighing nothing in the pool is the best sensation ever- it's like, for 35 minutes, I do not weigh a million pounds and have a heavy rock/7.5 pound baby in my stomach.



Yesterday I stayed longer than my usual time because I could not keep my eyes off the UVA diving team. Diving is so impressive, and in my state, I can't really remember what it was like to flail your body off of a diving board into the water.

The day before yesterday I almost started crying in front of the janitor when I realized that the pool was closed for the UVA swim team practice. She looked confused, called me "honey", and then consoled me by walking me upstairs to get the new pool schedule. I have now rearranged my entire schedule to go to the pool when it is open.

Noel asked me the other night if I am going to love aqua jogging as much after I have the baby. I told him "YES" emphatically and then, when it dawned on me that I was not going to be able to swim for 6 weeks after the baby, I almost started crying. Poor Noel doesn't know what to do with me. Oh yeah, and you better believe that I have already made Noel go aqua jogging with me. He can comment on that experience independently, but I know it was the highlight of his week.

So, if anyone is available in the obscure hours of the morning and evening, grab an aqua jogging belt and meet me at the pool. Just be prepared to watch me attempt to get out of the pool about 5 or 6 times before I am even close to succesful. The lifeguards give me lots of looks, as if they are not sure if I need help getting out of the pool. YES, I need help. I am 9 months pregnant.



Sorry, I am not ready to have my picture taken with an aqua jogging belt. Just pretend that is me and all my aqua jogging buddies.

full term!

This is the e-mail I got from thebump.com this morning that made me laugh out loud.


"Dear Nefret, Today brings two beautiful words: full-term. Now, whenever baby's born, he's likely to thrive. Also thriving? Your nesting instincts, which are behind those sudden urges to bake, clean, or embroider a onesie. (Feminists, take your issue up with nature, not with us.)"

To all the feminists out there, I just added embroidering a onesie to my to-do list.

Blast from the Past

You are a kid again, running the streets in your neighborhood.

I am amazed by all the crazy technology out there. The kindle was/still is too much for me to handle, but being able to make a music video with a map of my childhood house?! Such deep irony in using new technology to relive our childhood where we did not have hardly any technology. Remember MS DOS? Whaaaaa. Oh my.