38 Weeks

38 weeks 3 days, and bursting at the seams.  My once round belly is now lopsided and lumpy, with various body parts protruding, barely squeezing into my maternity shirts. And pants?  I say, who needs 'em!  I've been wearing this stretchy black skirt basically every day for the past 2 weeks.  Highly recommend for the last month of pregnancy!

How far along:  38 weeks 3 days

Size of baby:  A pumpkin, somewhere between 18.9 - 20.9 in, 6.2 to 9.2 lbs (according to the thebump.com).  I was just a tiny thing, born at 6 lbs 7oz on my exact due date.  Fingers crossed little Maddie will inherit some of my genes and won't be a giant.  My money is on April 18th for her arrival, along with my dad.  Tom and my mom both think April 24th, which is my half-birthday, so that's kind of cool.  My grandma thinks April 25th.  Lord please, don't let me still be pregnant by April 25th! ;) Official due date is April 22nd - 11 days and counting!  As long as she isn't born on an odd date, I'll be happy.  I have a serious and unreasonable aversion to odd numbers.  I hope she inherits that too, and picks a nice even date for her big debut.

Total weight gain:  33 pounds, yowzers.

Symptoms:  General discomfort, everywhere.  My ankles/feet swell up occasionally, still having back pain, and baby has dropped down low so there is lots of pressure in my pelvis.  And the stretch marks have arrived.  I really thought I was going to survive my first pregnancy without any, but alas, the skin around my (now outie) belly button can stretch no more.

Cravings:  I've actually had some really strange cravings lately, including but not limited to:  cottage cheese, McDonalds chicken nuggets, and orange soda (yes, like the kind you drank when you were 10, and Kel loved on Nickelodeon).  The cravings are SO random and they come out of nowhere.

Sleep:  At this point, I've accepted that there is no comfortable sleeping position.  The beachball on my stomach is really in the way, and it's difficult to roll over.  I generally wake up a few times during the night - restroom, snack, insomnia, back pain, baby kicks and hiccups... pinterest, reading random blogs, wandering around the house aimlessly.  Last night, I bought a grout scrubbing brush on amazon at 3:45am.  I guess this is nature's way of preparing me for what's to come!  At least I've stopped dreaming about tax returns and excel files, dreaming about baby is much more fun :)

Movement:  Still lots of movement and hiccups!

Gender:  It’s a girl!

Name:  Madelyn Grace 

Style:  Hahaha, "style".  I'm not sure you can call yoga pants and maternity shirts "style".  It's sort of like how my Old Navy maternity yoga pants are from their clothing line called "Active" but all I ever do in them is lounge around.  We'll go with the term "comfortable" for my style, because it sounds better than "lazy" or "nonexistent".

Nursery:  Ready for her!  Pictures to come soon.

Best moment of the week:  My maternity leave started!  Holla!

Whew!  I anticipate this being my last "bumpdate".  We know I'm not very good at blogging regularly.  My last weekly update was at 27 weeks... so... doubtful that I'll post another before she arrives :)  Plus I figure I'll probably just get more whiny over the next couple weeks if she hasn't made her debut, so I'll spare you the complaints!

I officially started my maternity leave this week.  My employer has an awesome policy - 2 weeks pre due date and 12 weeks after birth.  I am so grateful for this time off before baby arrives.  I feel like I have struck the perfect balance of productivity and restfulness this week.  The house has been ready for baby for the past few weeks, but I've been able to take care of a lot of general life things:  brakes checked, dog flea meds refilled, fixed my broken iphone screen, carpets cleaned, grocery shopped, frozen meals made, dropped of my wedding dress to be cleaned/preserved (better late than never right?), etc!  It feels so good not to have those things weighing on my mind, and I anticipate errands like that to be a bit more difficult with an infant in tow.  

I've also taken several naps this week and I treated myself to a pedicure yesterday.  I went to a little hole-in-the-wall nail salon near my house that had a few good reviews on google.  Upon arrival, they directed me to the candy bar, just like at our wedding, a little table where you can fill a cup with teeth-rotting candy!  A little strange for a nail salon, but instantly, I knew I had picked the right one for me.  It was even fresh candy.  We're talking soft gummy bears and tootsie rolls.  Yum!  I picked out a pedicure package that was advertised at 45 minutes.  Two hours later, I left feeling so refreshed!  I was the only customer there for a while, and my poor girl must have been really bored.  She gave me three different massage scrubs, a masque with hot towels, a hot stone massage, and another lotion massage.  Ahhhhh.  But my favorite part about this spa experience was definitely the eclectic music selection.  Tom will be the first to tell you that I have some random playlists on my phone that I love to pull out on long road trips.  But this sound track was something else. And now for your listening pleasure, here is a sampling of songs I heard while I was there:

• Boyz II Men, I'll Make Love to You
• Celion Dion, My Heart Will Go On
• A religious reggae-sounding song about the Rivers of Babylon
• An instrumental piece that made me feel like I was 5 again, riding a pink horse on the carousel at the mall
• Heart, All I Wanna Do is Make Love to You
• And the theme song to the Disney movie Pocahontas (Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain, can you paint with all the colors of the wind?)

Ok the last thing I'll leave you with today is a doctor's visit update.  We went in yesterday for our weekly checkup.  The belly tape-measure test showed right at 38cm (cm = weeks, still so strange to me how that works!), and her heart rate was thumping along at 130 beats per minute.  Great and great.  Then came the cervix check to see if I had dilated any yet.  Our doctor prefaced by telling us that most first-time mothers have not dilated at this point, and the tip of their cervix feels like the tip of a nose (odd comparison, but sure).  Now, at no point did anyone ever tell me, nor did I ever read anywhere, that a cervix check would hurt.  So let me be the one to tell you, future mothers, that it can be very painful!  I first started to grasp this fact when the doctor told me to "pick a spot on the ceiling, focus on it, and keep breathing".  It was quick, but it was miserable.  Thank goodness he told us that I was 1-2cm dilated, and my cervix has started to point forward rather than down.  I fully understand that you can walk around dilated for weeks, but it was still music to my ears to  hear that there is progress. Also, he touched her head! He.touched.her.head. There is a baby inside of me, and he touched her!  It still seems so surreal.  He said her head is already really low, and when he poked it, her head moved away then came right back down into place (as opposed to squirming away and assuming a different position).  All good news!

When we left, I was in a bit of a panic, thinking I was going to be the biggest wimp ever in labor if I thought the simple cervix check was painful.  Luckily, I stumbled upon this article, where the writer says she thinks the check is worse than childbirth! Whew.  Maybe I won't be a total wuss.  We went ahead and met with the anesthesiologist to sign the epidural paperwork yesterday.  I'm not even going to kid myself and say I will do it all natural.  Pain, be gone!

Alrighty, back to my busy maternity leave schedule, it's just about time for my morning nap ;)  See you all next time with nursery photos!!

Sweet Surprises

How is it already April?  What even happened to March!?

Way back in February, I was lucky enough to be involved in two surprise parties. Once on each side of the surprise - the surpriser and the surprisee.  

First up was a surprise party for my wonderful Dad to celebrate his 50th birthday!  My mom, grandma, and I (along with help from others along the way!) schemed for months to coordinate the plans.  We threw the party at my parents' house so we had to find a way to keep my dad away for the afternoon.  We lucked out and had great weather (for February), so my brother and my grandpa made plans to golf with my dad.  The first surprise of the day was that my Uncle Scott met them on the golf course.  My Uncle Scott from Wisconsin!  We were a little nervous that my dad would think this was suspicious... but luckily, he fell for the "just needed a weekend getaway, heard there was golfing weather in Texas" story line.  Little did he know that his niece Rachel had come along too!  But that was a surprise for later. 

Once we got my dad out of the house, we got to work.  First, we ran errands to pick up last minute groceries and party supplies.  Then we decorated!  We went with an "old guys rule" theme and had lots of adult beverage decorations.  The afternoon flew by, for us and for the guys.  We got the red alert text message that they were finishing up with golf... more than an hour early!  We begged for the guys to stall him, by any means necessary.  Which, as you might guess, four guys on the golf course... resulted in substantial consumption of alcohol at the clubhouse.  But, the stalling worked!

Friends and family began arriving and we assumed our places in the living room and kitchen, prepared to shout SURPRISE!  But of course there had to be one more kink in the plan.  My parents' garage door had stopped working for some reason that day.  My mom warned my dad, and we thought it might actually work in our favor because he'd be forced to come through the front door.  So we all waited, quietly, patiently, for the guys to arrive.  We saw the golf carts pull into the drive.  Then we heard voices as they came in... the side door.  That we forgot to lock!  And being the handyman he is, my dad headed straight to the garage to try and fix the garage door!!  We all did our best to stay quiet and finally, my mom convinced him to come inside and worry about the door later.

"SURPRISE!!!" I loved seeing my dad's face as he took in the scene - friends, family, food, balloons!  Everyone had a great time visiting, eating, drinking, and especially giving my dad a hard time about being so OLD! :)
Surprise party success.

 

 
 The following week, I headed up to Dallas to spend a few days in the office up there.  Busy season was kicking off, and I usually try to make a trip at least once a month to keep in touch with co-workers.  My manager, Lauren, arranged a client lunch while I was in town.  And I had no reason to suspect it was anything to the contrary.  But when we walked into the restaurant, we headed straight to the party room.  It all happened so fast, I still didn't have any suspicions.  Suddenly there was a lot of commotion, and it took me a few seconds to process that this table full of lovely ladies was yelling SURPRISE, for me!  My awesome co-workers and friends had coordinated a surprise baby shower lunch for me, and I was completely caught off guard.  We had a great time at lunch and boy, did they spoil our little sweetie!  A car seat, high chair, sweet little onesies, blankies - just to name a few of their sweet gifts.  And most special of all, an adorable little framed print that they all signed.  So cute, and so perfect in her nursery.  I really wish we had taken a photograph of the whole group, but we forgot.  Luckily I did catch a photo with my friend, Mary!  Don't mind all that wine in the background, it was only a minor tease ;)

So that was February.  Valentines day, taxes, and sweet surprises. 

These pictures are from Valentines day (that pink drink was pretty much straight grenadine and a splash of Sprite, ha. It had me all hopped up on sugar, ready to dance the night away at our neighborhood Valentines Day dance)

Then came March, I think?  Wait where did March go?  Somehow it came and passed very quickly.  In a nutshell, here is how we spent March:

Taxes, newborn care and labor classes, taxes, more trips to Dallas, taxes, doctors appointments, taxes, I got in a minor fender bender, which sent us to Labor & Delivery for monitoring (everyone is ok!), more taxes, and then we ended the month with Tom's 27th birthday! 

If you have to work on a Saturday, you might as well do it outdoors.

Look at that proud papa, learning how to care for his new baby! (I see the resemblence, don't you?)

Our house is being taken over by baby gear.

Bailey loves to lay in her baby's room.  She can't wait!  Or maybe she just likes the rug.

Look at that cutie!!  We were able to squeeze in a quick visit with Tom's older brother and our sweet nephew, Connor.  Such a happy-go-lucky guy at lunch!  (PS - do I look like a natural?? It is difficult to hold a baby on your lap with a big pregnant belly)

Sad car.

Happy 27th birthday, Tom!  Spent some time at the driving range.

And here we are, on April 1st. Today marks 37 weeks 0 days - no foolin'! We have officially made it to "full term". This is also my last week at work - hooray! I'm most excited because it means I don't have to get dressed any more. I do not own pants that fit. And I'm not buying anything else!! Sweats and nightgowns will have to do for the next three weeks. Speaking of which, everybody cross your fingers that she keeps on baking alllll the way until April 22! I would really love to have my two weeks off - nesting, napping, niiiice. I'll also plan to do an end-of-pregnancy update post and a nursery post during that time :)

Awkward Encounters: Doctor’s Office Edition

I’m not much for small talk.  I would like to think that I’m “friendly” (I always offer a smile!) but with strangers, I generally like to keep it to a short “How are you? Great! I’m good too. Chilly outside, warmer this weekend...”  But it seems that a big pregnant belly seems to attract converstaion with strangers.  Sometimes it’s nice, like the woman beside me on the plane who gave me some practical advice about pumping when I go back to work.  Maybe a little TMI to discuss with a stranger on a crowded plane, but her intentions were good so I didn’t mind.

Last week, I went to the doctor's office for my glucose test (which, by the way, my drink was lemon-lime flavored and it wasn't that bad!  and I passed the test - whew!)

After checking in, I sat down across from a couple in the lab waiting room.  The woman exclaims, “I love your shirt!  Where did you get it?”  As I peel off layers of coats and scarves, I explain that it’s actually a dress hiding under all of this, and I’m pretty sure I got it from Ross.

Nice people, always pleasant to start the day off with a compliment.

A minute later, the man asks the woman, “Do you see how big her ring is?”  Not a whisper.  Loudly enough for me to hear, purposefully for me to hear.  I have my arms folded across my stomach, so both my Aggie ring and my wedding/engagement rings are visible.  I smile at them and wiggle my fingers.

Woman: “Which one?!”

Man: “The one with the huge diamonds!  I gave Shana a ring even bigger than that. 

Woman: “Oh that’s too big, I woudn’t want that.”

Thanks? 

The man gets called back to the lab.  And the woman continues to make conversation.

Woman: “So how far along are you?”

Me: “Almost 7 months!”

Woman: “I’m only four months, but I feel like you!”

She proceeds to take off her layers of coats to display her belly, waiting for my response.  But it isn’t really a big round pregnant belly, it’s sort of just a cushiony, slightly overweight belly. 

What am I supposed to say here!?  Is she wanting me to tell her that her belly is big?  Or should I say, oh you’re barely showing!? 

Me: “Maybe he will be a big boy – do you know what you’re having?”

Woman: *huffs* “Not yet, I’m still waiting on Medicare.” *huffs again*

Me: “Oh, that must be frustrating.”

As a working gal with insurance, I’m not too sure how the Medicare process works, so I really can’t make any conversation around this or relate to her.

Me: “Are you hoping for a boy or a girl?”

Woman: “Well he already has 6 kids – 5 girls and 1 boy.  And I have a boy and a girl”

Me: “Oh my, a full house!  I bet you’ll just be happy with a healthy baby then.”

Woman: “I tell you what, I’m about to go doctor shopping to find me a doctor who will tie my tubes and give him a vasectomy!”

Might come across as a funny joke, but this woman was 100% serious.

Door opens.  “Mrs. Cooper?”

Oh thank God!  I’m terrified of blood, but I think I’d rather be back in the lab with a needle in my arm than hear what would come out of this woman’s mouth next!

Oh the joys of pregnancy :)  More awkward encounters to come soon.

My worst nightmare

I awoke this morning very grateful for my husband and the life we share.  It was a rare occasion where, at 7am, I was actually happy that my alarm was buzzing at me.  Waking me up from a terrible nightmare, worse than the usuals that haunt my dreams....

 - Worse than the ones where I get shot (Usually in the stomach, by the bad guys who are chasing me.  But I always live to tell the tale.)

 - Worse than the ones where I back my car into something (But it's never my fault! The breaks are faulty and I just can't stop the car!)

 - And even worse than the packing nightmares (Where I'm leaving on a trip in 5 minutes and frantically throwing things in a suitcase while someone honks a car horn at me from outside.  Seriously, the worst dreams ever, I will wake up in a complete sweaty panic!)

This dream, was the worst of all.  It was a few years down the road, and I was sitting silently in the kitchen, crying, watching Tom carry half of our belongingsout  to a moving truck.  We were getting a divorce.  Half of our couches, half of our towels, half of our daughter's clothes, half of her toys, and half of my heart, all walking out the front door.  I pleaded with him not to go, we could make it work, it could be better!  But, he left anyway, it was "for the best."

My parents came and took me to the Fort Worth Stockyards (random?), so we could grab dinner, wander around, get my mind off of things.  But throughout the day, Tom was sending messages to my phone.  He thought he was being helpful, sweet, by sending pictures of our daughter. Spending the day with him. Pictures of her swimming, pictures of her new room at his new house. Joking about how much more difficult it is to take care of a kid by oneself.  

I was a disaster in the dream, a total blubbering mess. It was the most heart-wrenching thing I'd ever been through, and it seemed so. dang. real.

Finally, the sound I usually despise rang out and woke me up.  And there was my husband beside me, still asleep, completely unaware that I was about to shower him hugs and "don't ever leave me"s!  (Funny story though, when I first told him I dreamt we were getting a divorce, he said "what did I do?" Naturally he thought I was divorcing him, not the other way around. Maybe I should take it easier on the poor guy!)

Today, I am so very thankful that I get to share my life with such an awesome man, who will stick with me through thick and thin, sleepless nights and dirty diapers.  Who loves me despite the fact that I hog the covers, let the trash can overflow, and never have a full tank of gas. And who isn't going anywhere.

Week 27 Update

Long time no talk.  Things have been hectic around here!  We’ve had full weekends and busy season is picking up at work.  I had plans a couple weeks ago for a “99 bottles of milk on the wall” post where I told you that it was only 99 days until the baby was due.  But I really couldn’t come up with anything else for the body of the post, and I couldn’t just have a clever title.  I also have future plans for some “nursery DIY” posts.  The nursery is coming together quite nicely, if I do say so myself, and we’ve done quite a bit of the work/decorations ourselves.  I’m excited to share!  Until I get my act together and get those drafted (and actually take nice pictures rather than iphone photos), here’s a weekly (monthly in my case) update to hold us over.

How far along:  27 weeks 3 days

Size of baby:  A rutabaga (don’t know what a rutabaga looks like?  Neither did I.  The baby should be about 14 inches long and roughly 2 lbs at this point)

Total weight gain:  15 lbs (8 of which were gained in December alone).  The holidays were good to me, really good to me.  So I’ve been trying to make healthier food and exercise choices in the new year.

Symptoms:  Week 26 was a dizzy week.  Every afternoon without fail, the room would be spinning.  It was very weird.  I checked with the doc, and he said no concerns, just another fun pregnancy symptom.  This week has been characterized by intense back and rib discomfort.  Focused on the right side, on the same horizontal plane, below my shoulder blade in the back and lower ribs in the front.  There is seemingly no comfortable seated position to ease the pain, which is unfortunate since I spend the majority of my day sitting at a desk.  Laying down and standing up feel great, however!  So I paced around my parent’s house on Tuesday night while we celebrated my mom’s birthday, and I stood through our entire lunch at Which Wich yesterday with Tom :) 

Cravings:  Sweets still.  Although that really isn’t pregnancy specific for me.  I’ve always craved sweets!  I just give in to the temptation more now.  Last night, I mashed up Thin Mints in Maggie Moos better batter ice cream, wish a splash of Blue Bell chocolate brownie ice cream.  Can I get three cheers for Girl Scout cookie season!?

Sleep:  Pretty good.  Occasional tossing and turning, the usual nightly restroom break.  But I won’t complain for now, I hear it’s only going to get worse over the next 3 months (2 months and 29 days to be precise).  And downhill from there once baby is born!

Movement:  Our little cheerleader is a mover and shaker!  As she’s getting bigger, I feel her movements much more often.  Sometimes I wonder if she ever sleeps.  Oh and the hiccups.  Poor chick, she gets them all the time!  I personally HATE the hiccups, so I feel terrible when she gets them.  And equally as annoyed as I’m sure she is when they keep us both up at night!

Gender:  It’s a girl!

Name:  Madelyn Grace (aka Maddie).  Side note, it’s funny, everyone else (family, friends, coworkers) seem to call her by her name now.  But more often than not, I still refer to her as “the baby”.  As excited as I was to decide on a name, I don’t do a very good job of using it yet!

Style:  Maternity clothes.  But I’m not complaining, they comfortable, and I think they’re cute!  I have a lot of pre-pregnancy blousy tops that I thought would look awesome at some point during my pregnancy, but somehow I missed that week, because they’re all too tight now.  Or too short.  That’s a major issue.  Can’t have this little belly exposed to the world!

Nursery:  Still a work in progress, but moving along quite nicely.  And I am loving it!  Pink, green, polka dots, birds, it’s everything I love :)  I hope she’ll love it too.  Here’s a sneak peak:

Best moment of the week:  We had the best weekend last weekend!  On Saturday, we had a 3D ultrasound, and our moms joined us!  Maddie was such a little cutie, all curled up in a ball.  The sonographer kept saying, “she’s all hands and feet!”  It was true, her hands and her feet were all up in her face.  In fact, she really wouldn’t move her hands away from her face the entire time.  And for a little while she was holding her foot up there by her head too, hanging on to her big toe!  I just have to say, technology is so cool.  What a treat it was to get a sneak peek at the little munchkin in my belly.  And then, on Sunday, I had a baby shower!  The girls did such a wonderful job putting it on.  It sounds like everyone pitched in with decorations, food, and games.  And it turned out so perfectly!  I had a wonderful time, and we are so grateful for all of the gifts we received!  Here are a few pictures from the ultrasound and the shower:

Worst moment of the week:  When I realized my linea nigra  (dark pigment line that forms down a pregnant belly) is starting to show.  Which, in itself, isn’t all that terrible.  I know it will eventually fade away.  But, it’s crooked!  At first I was horrified, but now I just have to laugh a little at the belly button stretched to its limits and the crooked line zig-zagging across it.

Tuesday marked exactly 3 months until our due date, and we just can’t wait!  Everything is [almost] ready for her, and we’re so excited to bring her home!  Now if we can just get through these next few months of tax busy season….

Wish us luck! :)

Happy New Year! (and a silly post script)

Happy New Year!  Can you believe it is already 2014!?  A good friend of mine posted a very humorous photo yesterday that her younger brother had sent her.  It was a photo of the inside cover of his history book at school, where her name has been neatly written with the school year “03-04”.  First thought, that means we studied that book 10 years ago.  When did we get so old??  And second thought, sounds like the school needs to invest in some updated books!?

Surprisingly, I really don’t love this time of year. You’d think that with my propensity for planning, I would enjoy goal setting and new years resolutions.  But truthfully, I find it a little overwhelming and worrisome.  Setting out grand plans for a full year can be a daunting task.  In fact, I found these  depressing statistics on new years resolutions.  Only 8% of people are successful at achieving their resolution!?  At least I fall into the category of 39% of people in their twenties who achieve their resolutions.  But still, not very inspiring.

Nonetheless, I have set a resolution this year, that will probably only last until April, when everything in my life will change dramatically :)  Tom and I actually set the same resolution this year, and it is to: wake up earlier!  I am a notorious snoozer.  I smack that button over and over like a game of whac-a-mole.  I snooze snooze snooze then rush rush rush - to get ready, pack a lunch, feed the dogs, find a fast (and usually unhealthy) breakfast and get out the door.  It makes for a stressful start to the day and then it gets worse as I get frustrated by the dang traffic that’s making me late to work.  Except that it’s not the traffic making me late.  It’s me!  Me hitting the snooze button!  I’m doing it to myself.  I know that traffic is bad.  It’s a given.  I need to plan better to account for the traffic.  This I know, so why do I keep putting myself through the same terrible morning routine!?

I will usually hit the snooze button no less than 3 times in the morning, sometimes 4 or 5 times.  That’s close to an hour of interrupted, half-awake, worthless sleep.  Which really equates to an hour of wasted time during my day.  And there never really seems to be enough time in the day, agree??  So it is my goal this spring, to wake up earlier and utilize this valuable hour of my day.  I don’t have any specific plans for this hour.  Sometimes I might work out, or walk the dogs, or maybe I’ll cook breakfast, watch the morning news, or just get to work earlier.   Whatever I do in that hour, I will not STRESS.  I will not RUSH.  And I will not start my day FRUSTRATED.

I know that a successful goal must be: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.  But gosh that puts some real pressure to succeed at the resolution!  I know in my heart that I will be happier when I achieve my goal, so right here, right now, I am making my goal “SMART”.  I resolve to: wake up by 6:15am at least 4 out of 5 weekdays every week, until April 1, 2014.  In order to make this more attainable, I will be in bed with lights out by 10:30pm on weeknights. SO, wish me luck and help keep me accountable!?!

Best wishes to all of you for a happy new year and success with your new years resolutions!  And remember - early to bed early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.


P.S. On a very random aside, I just have to tell you about that one time I called 9-1-1.  It was yesterday.  The first time I’ve ever dialed those numbers on my phone!  I was headed back from Dallas to Austin late last night, and as I was nearing the end of the drive on I-35 around 10pm, I came up behind a large, maniac, swerving bus - right blinker on, veering across all 3 lanes of the road.  I initially made up some excuses for the bus (it’s foggy, it’s windy, these lanes are narrow) but as the minutes and miles passed, the bus wasn’t making any driving improvements.  So I nervously decided to try and pass the bus.  I sped up, but just as I got close the bus, it swerved into my lane.  UGH.  Ok, nevermind, I’ll just take it slow and hang out behind the bus.  But even this seemed to be a little dangerous, as the bus kept changing speeds.  I contemplated my options and tried to estimate how long the bus has been driving erratically.  Finally, I decide I should report the vehicle, this is just dangerous, and aren’t the people on the bus nervous!?  So I dial 9-1-1 on my phone.  But I just can’t get up the nerve to press CALL.  A few more minutes pass.  A few more swerves, still with the blinker on.  I press CALL.  The dispatcher answers, I explain the situation, give my location and a description of the reckless vehicle.  I remain on the line with the dispatcher, and I kid you not, it is less than 5 minutes before a police office is pulling the bus over!  It was awesome!  I was very impressed with the timeliness of the response and action.  And I felt like a real newsperson: Casey Cooper, reporting live from the scene of the crime, where a crazed, drunken felon has hijacked a bus full of elderly men and woman and sends local police on a high-speed chase down the interstate as he tries to flee the country with a suitcase full of drugs and backpack full of stolen cash. It’s quite a scene out here!  Ok ok maybe that’s not exactly how it went :)