On Friday I sent Andrea flowers at her work. Actually, the flowers were from Brianna and J.T. They wanted to send mom a little something on her special day.

Today I started the day running 8 kilometers through Balboa Park and downtown San Diego. I can’t remember the last time I ran 5 miles but thankfully it was mostly downhill and I finished feeling fine - although soreness has already set in so I might be in trouble tomorrow.

After the run, Andrea got a card from me, Nutmeg the cat (yes, they make cards from pets for Mother’s Day) and the twins. I also presented her with custom onesies for Brianna and J.T. I ordered them after seeing them over at More Diapers. They spell out the babies names on the front with colorful, round letters. I can’t wait to see the babies in them!

The babies have been wiggling up a storm. Today, I swear Andrea’s belly looked more rectangular than spherical.

To all you mothers out there, hope you had a happy one.

Dooce has suspended comments on her site due to comment spam and people saying mean things on her photo of the day.

This makes me sad. Since she always seemed to post her photo of the day at an insanely early time, I have always imagined being the number one comment post someday when I logged on to her site while feeding one of the babies at 4:00 a.m.

*Sigh* Now, I will just have to dream about what might have been.

We had a doctor’s appointment today. Andrea is doing great but her belly is now the size of someone who is 10 months pregnant. Andrea told the doctor about a sharp pain she feels on the left side of her belly when she applies pressure to a specific spot. The doctor surmmised it’s painful due to ligaments attached to her uterus being stretched beyond what one would normally expect. Ouch.

The rest of the visit was a good one. The babies are still high up and the cervix is still closed. The doctor shared with us that he wants us to get to 38 1/2 weeks before we have the babies but would be thrilled if we got past 36 weeks. Right now we are at 32 1/2 weeks. That means we have six more weeks (at the most) until the babies are born. For so long I’ve been equating our weeks as months and somehow “2 months away” sounds a lot further than saying “8 weeks away.” Now that we’ve reached 4 to 6 weeks until parenthood, it makes it even more real and exciting.

The only down side right now is that Andrea has a virus and it’s making her miserable. We’re talking about her leaving work in two more weeks but I’d support her if she wanted to stop now. She’s a trooper though, so she just might stick it out. Of course, the longer she waits to take off before the babies are born, the longer she can stay with the babies before returning to work.

On that note, I found out today that the YMCA will let me use my sick and vacation time if I use the Paid Family Leave (which will pay me 60% of my salary) to make my paycheck “whole.” This means that I won’t have to use all of my sick time to stay home with the babies for the 7 to 8 weeks that I was hoping to. Isn’t it great we leave in a time where fathers can take time off to be with their babies I feel very fortunate.

The fashion show was yesterday to benefit our YMCA. It was my job to meet with our celebrity guests and go over their duties prior to the show. The event was outdoors and the runway was about 4 feet off the ground. The guests will be treated to entertainment while they eat lunch. Umbrellas have been erected to protect guests from the sun but, unfortunately, the umbrellas block the view of the runway - they will have to be removed prior to the actual show. We have a full schedule before the show begins, however, and our celebrity guests will be assisting with our live auction. This will happen during lunch.

As I mentioned, it was my job to go over the last minute details with our guests. Brittany Hogan, Miss California 2005 (and Miss USA First Runner-up)is the first to arrive. She is dressed in a tasteful skirt/suit and is clutching a small bag that, no doubt, holds her crown. I introduce myself and as we begin to talk, it becomes apparent that she is really down to earth. We go over the script and then I show her the runway and where she’ll be seated.

As we head back inside, I am informed that Brody Hutzler has arrived so we go to meet him. I ask Brittany if she has met Brody before and she replies “He was one of the judges at the Miss USA pageant.” I laugh and say, “Well now you can ask him who he voted for!” As we approach Brody he is dressed in a striped shirt with a lightweight blazer/jacket. He is wearing stylish faded jeans with Chuck Taylor-type shoes. I make the introductions and start out by saying “Brittany wants to know if you voted for her, Brody.” He laughs and says that’s highly confidential information but he’d give Brittany all the details later, hinting that he found some of the other judges’ view interesting.

After going through the script with both of them we head back outside as I escort them to their seats. On the way, Brittany comments on how she likes Brody’s outfit. I sarcastically add, “Yeah, Brody, thanks for dressing up for us.” He looks at me, realizes I’m teasing him (this is a fashion show, after all) and replies defensively while laughing, “Hey, they told me they had an outfit for me but the pants didn’t fit.” “So, the high water look isn’t for you, huh” I said. “Noooo.” replies Brody.

“Well, don’t worry Brody,” I reply “The runway is eye level and the umbrellas will still be up when you talk so the only thing they’ll be able to see are your shoes.” We glance down at his Chuck Taylors and laugh.