Week 39

Have you vet heard of a phantom pregnancy? It's a funny excuse for why husbands experience weight-gain and aches/pains along with their wifey-poo. My husband hasn't been possessed by the pregnancy phantom, but on Sunday night, he was possessed by the nesting bug and began CLEANING. Let's say, after being gone to my parents' for 5 days, the laundry was a little backed up. And I did use Saturday to tear down the Christmas tree and all decor and sweep the floors. So, the house was tidy, but not perfect. Around 6 o'clock I awoke from my Sunday nap to Texan giving a speech. I missed the first few lines due to...being asleep, but I woke up to him saying, "I can maintain the house without your help after the baby comes. But I can't be expected to clean all of this up then maintain everything. And if someone came over right now, I would be mortified." Wow. That's a tad on the theatrical side. I guess that meant he didn't want to have to do laundry. But then he really got going. He organized our walk-in bedroom closet, filled 3 garbage bags with stuff from our workout room closet and old clothes, and I finally got him to part with the THREE stand-up lamps we have been hanging onto for no reason. (Let's not mention the 2 baseball bats he found in a dry creek and was hanging onto in case of emergency--a baseball emergency). He organized our junk drawer in the kitchen and the cabinets under the kitchen sink and bathroom sinks. I almost got another lecture about the bottom kitchen cabinet, then he remembered that I haven't been able to get down on that level comfortably in weeks. So, he did his magic. It was about 2 hours of him running around the house asking, "what can we throw away?" *sigh* My loving pack-rat caught the clutter-clearing bug. It's only happened twice in our marriage, so I really enjoy it when he gets in this mood. I scrubbed the inside of the fridge, dusted, and mopped the floors yesterday. And now our house is as clean as ever for baby. The stage is set, and we await the star performer.

I just had my 40 week checkup. I am 39 weeks and five days today, and it was the first time I ever measured smaller than my  time. My belly measured 38 weeks. The worst news was that I am still only at 1 centimeter. I wanted to start crying, because I thought it would help, but I just feel too annoyed to even cry. My doctor wants to see me Friday for another check of the old cervix. His words, "Come back Friday, and we'll see what we can do. Then maybe we can have a baby Monday."  Kind of cryptic and confusing. My next plan was the get a taco from Taco Bell to tide me over, since I needed to have the state inspection done on my car before heading home.  I got my hot, steamy taco and pulled into my favorite $3 car wash. It's my favorite because after you pay the small fee and come out looking shiny, you have access to the free vacuums and trash cans to detail the inside of the car. But the worker man told me that their computer had just shut down and they couldn't take any cars through at the moment. No! I wanted to eat my taco in the car wash. It was going to be magical. So, I went to the crappiest car wash ever, where their vacuums (the 2 that arent broken) smelled like a cow barn and the change machine was out of order. Then, I drove all the way back to about 8 minutes from my house where there is conveniently located an inspection shop, and was told that they cannot do inspections because they ran out of the green inspection stickers. The guys said, "Come back Thursday and I'll give you a discount." But my inspection expired TODAY. If I were to wait, I might get fined. Then I told him I am due to have a baby any day, so I don't want to push it off and risk it. His response, "Oh, you know how those due dates are..." DON'T remind me.

So I had to drive all the way back into town to Jiffy Lube for an inspection, where I realized I was out of gas. It was the trip that wouldn't end. I also tried to donate a box to Goodwill but first I wanted to get something out of it that had gotten thrown in by mistake, and the box was too heavy for my to maneuver, so I gave up, and there it sits in the back seat of my car. It was an intensely frustrating morning of driving around, turning into wrong parking lots, trying to make illegal U-turns and running my tank to E. And every issue, though slight, was exacerbated by the fact that there is no end in sight to this pregnancy. And I almost went a WHOLE month on that tank of gas, dagg-nabbitt.

Tomorrow, if I'm still pregnant, I plan to bathe my pooches so they smell good for baby sister, and I plan to go grocery shopping for things that Texan will feel comfortable preparing while I'm on the mend. I would've gotten the shopping done today on my outing, but I only like to do major shopping once per month for budget purposes, so im holding off for January. And, alas, this month hasn't quite ended yet. It looks like I won't have the last baby of 2013 or the first baby of 2014. But at this point, I will take her in a box, with a fox, wearing socks, or on an ox. I just don't want to be spherical any longer. "But you always wanted to be pregnant. You always wanted this," says Texan. He doesn't understand why something I wanted so badly can make me feel so dumpy. I want to be pregnant when it's necessary--when I'm forming a life. At this point, I don't feel a NEED to be pregnant anymore. She can survive happily on the outside now, and yet I'm still pregnant! This post has taken a sharp turn onto Downer Street. I'll wrap up with a photo. Here I am at 39 weeks and 4 days.

Don't I look exstatic? I can't smile because it shows how puffy my face is. The fluid-filled sacks that were once cheeks now swallow my eyes and give me a slight far-eastern appearance, which doesn't go we'll with my hair color. Also, don't mind that I'm wearing hooters shorts with my smock of a shirt. I had been wearing jeans--but that just didn't last long. 

Here it is, New Year's Eve. Texan has the day off tomorrow, so maybe we'll  find something fun to do.  The good Lord knows there's only one reason I want to be awake at midnight tonight and that is to be in a hospital bed. I'll settle for taking my Zyrtec and falling asleep by 10.

 Someone party for me and SJ.

Week 38

A television show--no matter how tantalizing the plot--can turn a brain to mush if not rationed properly. 

~Confucius 

But really, my sister and my mother encouraged me to watch ABC's Revenge series on Netflix, and I have been unable to think of doing much else, sometimes watching three episodes in a row once I wake up before realizing I need to drink something, brush my teeth, look in a mirror. My excuse is that I won't be able to do this once the baby comes. Also, I go through periods of lethargy followed by bursts of energy, so my lethargy is spent either sleeping or Revenging. But Wednesday, I grounded myself from the television and resolved to go to the library (to whom I now owe $35) and face my fear of being verbally lashed by one snooty librarian for not paying my fee. (That story, I will refrain from recounting). I needed to READ. I checked out one Heaven is for Real and two chick lot novels. They are my guilty pleasure. I figure since the last book I read was Great Expectations, I deserve some brain junk. I proceeded to read every last bit of Heaven is for Real in one day, two sittings. It is being made into a movie, which means I have to read it. Because that is my rule. If I see a movie, then find out it was a book, I feel like I have cheated literature. Wow, is this blog about my pregnancy? No, it's about me hanging on to and enjoying my last shreds of being a stay-at-home baby-maker with no real plans. Let's get on to the pregnancy stuff. 

On Tuesday I had my 38-week check. I waited (forever). It doesn't matter how long I actually waited because I have NEVER had to wait at my OB. Once, I was 20 minutes early to an appointment, and ended up leaving the office at the exact time that my appointment was supposed to begin. That's how fast this place usually is. But not on the 17th day of December. No. Every lady wanted to get their lady check in before the holiday. It sucked. My doctor concluded that I lost weight this week, and am now 1 cm dilated. He was also very impressed with my lack of swelling when he squeezed my ankle. My favorite part was the weight loss--not because I'm a psycho who thinks losing weight is good for my baby--I just haven't had a huge appetite lately. It excited me because he followed with, "you can eat lots at Christmas to make up for it." And, reader, he might as well have written me a prescription for unlimited refills of 350 mg of chow. I took his direct order directly to the old feed bag. Just kidding. My appetite isn't much. Today I ate a banana for breakfast and a piece of frozen pizza for lunch. Then We went to Texan's work Christmas party where I had a healthy serving of brisket (the best brisket) potato salad (which I have NEVER liked until pregnancy) and baked beans. I really enjoyed the party (and by party, I mean food). But seriously, it was nice to chat with Texan's boss' wife. She had 5 natural births, one of them at a hospital, four at home and one of them as a water-birth. So she filled me in on all the highs and lows. She was SUPER encouraging of my desire to forego the epidural. I told her it's just an idea, and my anxieties are building up about it. But she was very adamant that my body would tell me what I needed and I should trust it. 

We had a Chinese Christmas gift swap and here is what I won ( or rather, what Texan stole on my behalf).

It's a pink tool box that I said I would like for my sewing supplies. Yes, he got a HUGE laugh from all of his employees forchoosing  it. But it's what his lady wanted, so he got it. It's perfect! I used my turn to steal a box of assorted chocolates for him and we left with full bellies and a couple neat gifts. 

My favorite part about being 38 weeks along is how much Texan is enjoying me. That sounds so weird. But he loves my belly, and while he was taking my picture this week he said, "You look pretty. You look really pretty." Pretty sweet. I'm glad I haven't lost my touch. (Lick finger, place it on hip, hear sizzle). But seriously, it annoyed me at first when he referred to me as 'Momma' in his best Johnny Bravo voice. (To be funny). But it's become an endearing term of affection that he uses when he is loving me in that tender way that a husband loves the mother of his baby. 

My least favorite thing about this week? Skip ahead if you don't want a dose of TMI. I am so sore after my appointment. I am presently perched upon a gel ice pack that smells a bit like freezer burn and my dogs keep trying to lick it. But it is my only relief from the feeling that I took a horse-back ride with no saddle on a skeleton horse with a massive case of scoliosis. 

Here I am in all my round glory. Next time I will post another Q&A. My last, to sum up my final week of pregnancy. That is what I am declaring it, so be warned, baby. Your days of swimming in the Amniotic Sea are numbered. Mommy wants to see you in your footy pajamas 

Week 37

On Tuesday we had our 37 week checkup. Texan drove me for two reasons. Pre-ice storm, I mentioned that I kind of wanted him there because I was worried that the baby's head wouldn't be positioned in the, ya know, downward region. And then my doc would have to push on my stomach to move her. Not a pleasant thought. Then, when the ice storm hit, I knew I would need him to drive me in his 4-wheel drive just to make sure I didn't hit any icy patches. And guess who slipped and fell right into a bush while walking up to the doctor's office entrance? My Texan. "My elbow!" He cried. 

It only took me 3 days of (not) nagging to get Texan to tell his boss he would come in at 11 Tuesday morning so he could take me to my appointment. And how did he break the news to his very understanding boss? 

"Hey, is it okay if I come in after 10:30 tomorrow? My wife's doctor is checking her cervix and I have to take her." 

Wait!! In my writing workshops, my professors would have called this a misleading statement. It doesn't support the actual point of the story, and in fact, it brings up another distracting possibility that confuses the readers! He didn't have to take me to my appointment because I was having my cervix checked. That was just one part of the appointment that I wanted him there for, so he could hear the news of my vaginal progress (ew). That's all! Oh, but at least he called, right? 

I'm glad he came though, I needed help removing my boot socks from around my skinny jeans so I could put on the paper skirt. It actually took so long to remove my foot dressings that the doctor started to enter the room WHILE I was undressing. I've got to remember to wear slip-ons to the rest of my appointments. 

In "what's happening" news, I have been wondering what's happening to my body since about 4 this morning. Texan's boss sent him a text message which woke me up. I got up to read it to see if it was worth waking him up, but of course it was just something about an email he had forgotten to tell him about. Seriously?! I wish so hard that he knew what that text message really said. It said, "I know you have a 9-month pregnant wife who is trying to sleep as much as possible while being as fat as possible, but I have needs too. Like the need to tell you every thought as it comes to me in real time." Well, now that I was awake I noticed cramps like menstral  cramps. I was so uncomfortable, I got up and watched 3 episodes of Modern Family online until I felt sleepy enough to try again to fall asleep. By this point Texan was up becaise people from work were texting him (SERIOUSLY) so I told him about my pains, which by this point I assumed were from gas. But seriously, so painful. "Are you sure they're not contractions?" He asked. But they aren't coming and going. They're here to stay. Even as I write this I'm feeling them. Not cool. Maybe some yoga will help. I have been doing yoga to increase my breath and flexibility as I near labor, also I learned a dance in hopes of dancing the baby downward. Here I am at 37 weeks. I have only just awoken from a nap, so I cannot smile, otherwise my face will look as puffy as it really feels. We were on our way to bible study. Here's to this being one of the last few belly pics before a baby pic! 

Namaste

Week 36

Craving alert! Remember that one time I was craving cocoa-gravel, the slightly less well-known brand of cocoa pebbles cereal? Well, this week I bought a big receptacle of my favorite grown-up cereal, Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds. But, again, I really do prefer the off-brand that comes in a 36-oz bag, (maybe because there's no pesky box to fumble my fat, greasy sausage fingers about--I can just rip a bag open with my teeth). Uh, yeah. It's that bad. And with a winter storm warning for Thursday afternoon, I resolved to go to the grocery store and replenish my skim moo juice  supply before the impending storm. But Texan requested that I please not drive anywhere on Thursday, and since I was already not amped about donning my adorable-but-wont-fit-over-my-bump coat and braving the sub-freezing weather, I acquiesced. He promised to drive me to the store himself that evening. But, ALAS ALAS, he changed his mind about chauffeuring me after a long day of work, and my milk supply got so very low, that my brain was wracked with visions of lactose-less scenarios. Water in my 'honey clumps and granola with nut slivers'? Maybe...No! I must have milk. 

So Friday morning he went to the store and bought me a gallon and a half, and I had to stop myself from filling my largest mixing bowl with the sweet cereal goodness in celebration. But, it gets worse. I got a new craving late Thursday night. I was watching a show in which a man buys and consumes a giant slice of New York style pizza. And my hormones were all, "ya know what goes real good with pizza?" (My hormones have poor grammar). And then my brain was all, "ICE COLD COCA-COLA." So, I also requested a small vessel of caffeine-free coke on his grocery trip. To which he responded with a 2-lt bottle and a, TAH-dah! Oh, my self-control. But how sweet of him, right? I can't remember if Texan has ever gone to the store to buy things that we needed, let alone come home with a little guilty pleasure just for me. Glorious.

Also in sweet-as-tea Texan news, he painted my toenails while we watched the first installment of The Lord of the Rings this week. It went like this, "Texan, would you like to paint my toenails?"

"No. But would you like me to paint your toenails?" He said.

"Yes I would."

"I pick the color. Bright red. Red is sexy. And bring a towel and a q-tip and some polish remover for mistakes."  

"😍😍😍" I said.

Seriously he could only fain disinterest for a mili-sec before he remembered that painting my toes is not only enjoyable, but satisfying. Also glorious.

Today is the end of day four of not leaving the house except to visit my neighbors' cat, Ruby, and replenish her food and water supply. Today Texan escorted me to their house to keep me from slipping on the ice. Ruby doesn't like him, so we didn't stay long. Oh my gosh, I'm going out of my mind.

Here's something, church is cancelled tomorrow because the roads are that horrendous. Day 5 snowbound, no outside interaction.  Dear Mortimer, please send help immediately. Drool, lick window.

 I once took a professional personality test with a licensed counselor, and one of my trait readings was, "you become anxious and emotionally unstable at a lack of interaction with groups." Ok, I added the part about emotional instability, but you get the idea. 

I'm excited for my 37-wk checkup on Tuesday. But I'm nervous. Doc is going to make sure SJ's head is down and check to see if I'm dilated yet. I am praying that her head is down and that he doesn't have to push on my belly to reposition her. I'm guessing her head is down because what seems to be her little bum is constantly pressing against my right side with great gusto. I hope she has my flat bum. She will have such a hard time finding jeans otherwise...

Fact: I can't wear my wedding rings anymore, officially as of last week.

Fact: I am daily preparing my feet for labor. Why? So random, I know. But I want my feet to be soft and my nails to be on-point for that day. Sounds weird when I write it down. Harrumph.

Fact: I now eat every 3-4 hours now matter how big my last meal was. Famished by then.

Fact: I have never liked apples as much in my life as I do this week. Love em.

Fact: I have not worked out this week. But I thought about it with quite serious brow-furrowing.

And this is my new thing, going to bed just when I start to feel almost hungry in hopes that I can push off eating a bit longer. Seriously, as much as I enjoy eating, it's becoming a full-time occupation. Not complaining though. Oh, crap. Now I've waited too long and I have feed so I can find some rest. 

To the kitchen...

Week 35

This has been a week of firsts and milestones. Texan and I hosted our very first family Thanksgiving. But before I delve into those details, I'll mention that we also took our tour of the hospital where I'll be delivering. It's a beautiful women's hospital that is so quiet and well-decorated, that it seems more like a hotel than a hospital. I found out that all of the bathing and stamping and other post-birth things that are done to baby are done right there in the delivery room, so I will get to see her the whole time. Really, that was my biggest concern. I've heard stories of women whose baby was taken away for a couple hours right after being born and that just sounds kind of miserable to me after waiting this long. Having the tour made me very at ease and even more excited to get this show on the road. I finally have a picture in my head of where everything will be taking place. Oh, hello Reality. Go ahead and settle in.

As for our Thanksgiving, There was a 20-lb turkey (made, injected with butter, and basted by me), two kinds of potatoes, 3 pies, green been casserole, a relish platter (that's basically a giant platter of pickles requested by yours truly, the pregnant one), corn pudding (a personal fave), gravy, cranberry sauce, cookies, coffee and football! We don't have a ton of room in our little home but we enjoyed ourselves by taking a walk while we waited for the Turkey to finish roasting. The weather was perfectly brisk, so we were able to spend most of the day with the door open to cool off the house from all the oven and roaster heat that got worked up between having 9 bodies in the house. My sister and her husband and two kiddos were in attendance (with the most delicious chocolate-peanut butter pie anyone has every tasted) and our friend from church who had to work a half-day was able to make it just in time from work to enjoy the meal. Here is my turkey and one of the plate setups.

Black Friday it was just my parents and I. Texan had to work, and my sister's hubby spent the day being handy around their house. We waited until about 11 am to go shopping, so we missed the crowds (except at Chik-Fil-A! That place was a mad house). I scored some baby swag--including a beautiful baby book to start recording her milestones. So far, I have added our pregnancy announcement and an appointment card with my OBGYN's name and info on it. Thanks, Mom and Dad! I was so sad to see my parents go that afternoon because I know I won't see them again until Christmas time, most likely. But at least I could look forward to a fun weekend spending gift cards and being chauffeured around by Texan, right? Yeah, he was my driver on Saturday as I made some exchanges and bought some essentials including a changing-table pad and a boogie straw. We had lunch at Jason's Deli then went home to have our friends over for what we call a picnic and games. (It's a picnic because they bring their own dinner, and we eat our T-day leftovers but it's fun because we're together!) We played an awesome card game which I will be teaching to my parents soon so I can improve.

That night around midnight we climbed into bed and Texan was fast asleep in minutes. I, on the other hand, got out my iPad and started to surf around on Facebook where I noticed that my grandpa was in the hospital for his heart. There was a sweet picture of him sitting up on the edge of his bed, smiling, surrounded by my younger cousins there for a visit. I made a mental note to call my grandma the next day after church and add my grandpa to our prayer request list in Sunday School. My parents recently bought plane tickets for them to come out to Texas for Christmas, and I've been hoping that maybe baby SJ will come early enough for them to meet her. But at 7:30, my phone rang and I was awoken to see that it was my mom calling. When I answered she didn't instantly say, "Oh! Did I wake you up?" So I knew she wasn't calling for something trivial. But I wasn't awake enough to weigh the possibilities, really. She simply said, "Cara, it's Mom."

"I know...what's up?" I asked.

"Boo, Grandpa died."

She went on with a few details of when and why, and ended by saying, "Just lay down and let your husband put his arms around you and have a good cry. That's what I did this morning."

And that's exactly what I did. We disconnected and I lay there crying to Texan, telling him the details between my quiet sobs and letting him rock and 'shh' me sweetly. For the first time in my life, someone close to me has gone to Heaven, and the thought of that strange new feeling had my mind reeling. As I stopped crying and began to quiet down again, Texan said, "Remember when we took your grandparents out to their favorite seafood restaurant and I got a pearl in my oyster?" We lay there in our bed and laughed about how excited my grandpa was over that tiny little pearl. It was the size of the tiny ball in  a ball-point pen. But it was awesome, and grandpa encouraged me to shine it up and save it forever. But it was so small, I have no idea where it ended up. It was impossible to keep track of.

This morning made me so thankful for my husband's ability to support and comfort me without saying things that seem like a waste of breath. He let me be sad. The hardest part, really, was praise and worship at church this morning. The first song we sang was "Oh come, all ye faithful," and  I  couldn't stop the tears. My grandpa loved Christmas--especially Christmas baking. His homemade fudge was so sweet I needed a glass of milk following each bite. But I've been eating it my whole life. I even remember in elementary school when my grandparents visited for Christmas, he packed my lunch on the last day before Christmas vacation started. I sat at lunch with sandwich bag full of peanut butter fudge wondering if I could eat it all without getting a tummy ache. And that day after school, he picked me up in his GMC pickup truck. It was the most exciting and memorable day simply because he was there. He later started making chocolate-mint fudge just for me as I got older and developed a taste for it. He always made me a nut-free batch of all of his holiday goodies, but teased me that everything was full of nuts. I can't believe I'm writing this. One more Christmas with him in the kitchen hunched over the counter, leaning his head over my shoulder and asking for a kiss still wouldn't have been enough to heal my heart, I know. One comfort I find is in the movements in my tummy. My sweet girl's hiccups and elbow jabs remind me that precious life goes on.  She wouldn't have noticed if I had sat around sobbing all day, I know. But going to church, seeing my friends, serving my husband and curling up on the couch in the light of our Christmas tree are all things that I can do to make this a day to remember my beloved Yiya. I haven't cried my last tear over his passing. I haven't written my last thought down to keep his memory alive in my mind. And I will always tell my daughter how much she would have loved Yiya and how she would have learned to like his teasing. Teasing was such a huge part of who he was. His heart was that huge for his family. He had to find a way to show us affection at all times--and he did that by teasing. But when he was picking and poking fun at us, he was really saying, "I love you. You're my favorites."
 In preggers news:
I have my 35-week checkup on Tuesday where I'll be tested for Beta Strep and tell my doctor how SJ has had hiccups every day at least once a day for the past 3 days. What's up with that? Three times today! I'm sure he'll say it's nothing. But, I am going to ask anyway. I am going to start doing yoga again this week. I'm writing that so that I will be forced to give you an update on it next time. I have stopped working out due to pain in my hips and pelvis. My lower back is also very sore after so much as walking around a store for an hour. So, I'm going to start slowly. I just don't want to lose all the progress I have made in strengthening my body for labor. On a positive note, though, I am sleeping like a baby. I am getting a ton of sleep and soaking up every bit of rest I can before baby. In fact, that's what I'm going to do this very moment.

Good night, dear readers.

Week 34--Oh, and 33 and 32.

I took a hiatus from blogging the past two weeks because I have been THAT busy! Last weekend my mom came on Friday to prep for my shower that was on Sunday. So we spent the weekend shopping, baking, and being your typical mother-daughter duo. Oh, did I say typical? Well, at one point I was driving us to dinner after she got in on Friday afternoon and I heard her new iPhone make that camera shutter sound, so I asked, "What are you doing over there?" Her reply? "I'm sending your dad a selfie." Yeah, we're typical I guess.

We ate fried pickles as an appetizer and enjoyed dinner and a little shopping followed by Christmas movie and an early bedtime that night. But despite being early to bed on Friday night, I awoke completely unrested do to the lack of oxygen in my lungs. I think my little long-legged babykins was stretching her gams, which left me completely wide awake at 4:45 after waking up every 2 hours to pee and try to breath. I finally had given up and decided to mop the floors and clean out my fridge. At least the rest of the weekend I slept great and haven't had such a horrible night since.

My baby shower was awesome. My sister and her family came into town at 12:45 and we had tacos for lunch then rushed off to my sweet friend, Carrie's house for the festivities. Here's something funny--Carrie put balloons up at every turn so that people would be able to find her house easily. So smart! Well, it turns out that there was another shower in her neighborhood. Same day, same time. So some poor, sweet lady showed up to the wrong party and quickly exclaimed, "I'm at the wrong party!" And silly me, I had just said "hi" to her like nothing was wrong. It wasn't until we had all laughed about her mistake that I realized, I guess this is my shower, so I should have realized that there's this random lady I've never seen before. But I just didn't want to go up to her and ask her what she was doing at my shower. I'm too nice, I guess. Yeah, that's it...

All of the décor was exactly what I wanted at my shower. I wanted it to be country chic with mason jars and lots of homemade cookies and milk and sweet tea. My friends did such a good job with everything, and even stressed themselves out over a few small details. There's something so humbling when people go out of their way to make you happy! Don't worry, I was (sarcastically) told to quit having such high expectations at one point during planning. But they definitely blew me away with how sweet and perfect everything was, all in all. Here are a few pics taken by my sweet sister.
(Disclaimer: I hate every picture of my 8.5 month pregnant self, so I'll mostly stick with ones that don't include me).

Texan's Mom and my Mom

 I drank so much milk at this thing, as you probably could've guessed.

 

 The banner says, "Welcome Baby SJ." I Hung it in her nursery.

My sister did such a good job with the cupcakes. And she even made the little toppers with the help of Mom's Crickut. (That's really how you spell it, I guess. Google it).

Here are some updates on my pregnancy:
~I have started having appointments every 2 weeks now.
~I have two new moles--yikes. My doc says increased estrogen makes them typical in pregnancy. They are normal and regular-looking. So, I can be thankful for that.
~I can no longer wear my wedding rings without fear of having to get them sawed off. I force them on when I'm leaving the house and have to use lotion to take them off. I just hate not wearing them.
~Texan has officially requested that we take a tour of the maternity ward where we will be delivering. I think he's trying to prepare. I signed us up for Thursday's tour/class. Yay!
~I have slowed down on my workouts these past two weeks due to serious cramping in my abdomen when I work out. My doctor says it's normal to have CONTRACTIONS while working out. No thanks.
~My feet swell and ache if I'm on them for more than two hours.
~My hips are killing me lately.
~I actually broke down crying because I was so overtired and my feet hurt so bad on Saturday after not sleeping the night before and shopping the whole day. Texan didn't seem amused. Ha!
~Baby's nursery is only missing wall-treatments, curtains, and a changing table. But, basically, it's ready for a little one any time now. I even washed all of her clothes and jammies.

And, finally, here are some of the things I have been doing these past two weeks that have kept me so busy!
~I volunteered as a server at our local food pantry/"soup" kitchen twice last week. I put soup in quotes because we actually serve real meals with choice of drink, salad, meat, starch, veggie, and dessert. Our church is in charge of all food and volunteers for one week every three months. It was great fun, but exhausting.
~I had to turn our guest room into a nursery, and our weight room into a guest/weight room. There were a few days where all I did was rearrange closets, fill bags for yard sale, trash, and donation. Again, exhausting.
~I am in charge (am I?) of planning our group yard sale this weekend because it was my idea (was it?) Plus, I can't remember anything anymore.
~My sister surprised me and came into town to spend the day with me a couple weeks ago, and it was so nice! She even helped me clean my house and rearranged my living room for me to give me a nice change. I love what she's done with the place!


Hopefully the next blog will include pictures of a nursery. I'm no sure if we'll have the changing table yet, since we are still waiting for Amazon to refund the money for the one they sent that was the wrong color. It was a mess, but hopefully we can get a WHITE one soon enough. But, hey! The next blog should include some pictures of my Thanksgiving preparations since Thanksgiving will be my 35 week anniversary (?) I don't know. I feel like 35 weeks is A LOT. I have to be more diligent about blogging, because my days are limited now. To state the obvious, every day is closer and closer to delivery.

Captain Obvious out!

Week 31

Ok, so there's been a lot of activity in the comment section about what I have written on my belly pic board this week. (Just kidding, no one comments on my blog. And no one reads what's on my board. But let me pretend my blog gets a lot of traffic, k?) On my board this week is written: Baby will start making memories this week. Say what? Yeah, I read it in my What to Expect When You're Expecting book. Apparently, this is the week where baby starts retaining things heard in the womb and can recognize things by accessing memory. Could be a load of cat manure, but if it's in the book, I accept it.

My favorite thing to do at night when I am trying to fall asleep is to imagine being with my baby. ~Nursing her in her nursery by the soft glow of the lamp I registered for at Target, ahem, Mom, ahem.
~Dressing her for her first trip to church--outfit courtesy of Grammy and Grampy.
~Starting a bedtime ritual as she starts sleeping through the nights. Hooded towel, lavender baby lotion, footie pajamas, a story.
~And most of all I love to imagine rocking her while I sing to her. As I've written before, I love to sing. In the shower, in a car, in a karaoke bar...ok not anymore. Mostly just at church and around the house. I like to think of songs that will be fun to sing to her while I change her or sooth her cries. When my niece, Gabby was a baby, I visited a lot and got to spend a ton of time with her at that adorable age. She was always so cheery and delightful. I used to sing Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely" to her while I got her ready for bed or changed her diapers. I have fond memories of singing to all of my nieces and nephews when they were small, especially the older ones who were babies when I was in college and spent all of my money on plane tickets to visit my sisters. Lately I've had this  song stuck in my head. It has such a beautiful melody, plus it's Disney, so I can't go wrong. I know it's sad, but she won't understand the words, so sue me.

Are you worried that I'm romanticizing the idea of motherhood? Because I'm not. I have plenty of daydreams about poop explosions, my sweet baby throwing a fit during bath time (which I'm SURE she'll love) or changings or any time I try to take a picture of her. She'll have things that she likes and dislikes, I know. Or maybe she'll be really chill and never cry and always smile. Maybe.

My appointment on Tuesday is my last monthly checkup. The following one or two will be bi-monthly and then weekly. I'm so glad, because I have so many things to ask my doc this week. All of my uncomfortable symptoms seemed amplified this weekend by the fact that Texan went on a 4-day and 3-night hunting excursion. My lack of sleep and feeling of vulnerability left me freaking out when my fingers started to tingle and feel numb at 2 a.m. Then my whole left hand. I'M HAVING A HEART ATTACK! Ok, no. Calm down.

The prize in the cracker jack box that was THE WEEKEND FROM HADIES was the fact that my parents came for a visit. Friday night they got in around 9 and then Saturday we spent the day shopping. We went to the military installation to shop for Thanksgiving groceries, which sounds boring but is so much fun! My mom stocked up on fixings for green been casserole and stuffing. We priced turkeys but were unimpressed by the prices...$1.20/lb...not so good. Then we went to the mall where my mom went WILD in bed, bath and beyond. This is the swag I scored on Saturday. It was like Christmas, but then again it's always Christmas when my parents come to town. Disclaimer: This picture does not include the jammies and socks that my mom bought for SJ. Nor does it show the awesome breakfast, Starbucks, and dinner my parents treated me to. They are way too good to me!

I got my British cookies, my favorite Christmas cookie mix, some caffeine-free Shasta, plenty of smell-goods from B&B Works, and oh, laundry detergent they were practically GIVING AWAY for baby SJ's sensitive baby skin.

Here I am at the end of a long day of hauling in loot all about town. My mom gave me a quick re-teach on a double stitch in my crocheting before they left, and that was the end of their visit. It was too quick! I spent the whole evening missing Texan and crocheting a throw for the living room couch.

 Here's something for all of you who swore I was having a girl. At a checkout line this week the cashier was a mid-50's lady who said, "You're having a little girl, aren't you? You're carrying her good and high. That's how I know." Weird how people have their ways of guessing. I've also been getting, "You're almost 8 months? She's going to be small!" Hmm. Healthy Healthy Healthy. That's all that matters. Don't be too small, SJ. You don't have to prove anything to anyone.

Week 30

 They say the third trimester begins to feel more and more like the first trimester the further you get into it. But, who are they? And, what do they know?! 

Well, they're people who have done it and they know everything. Everything. *finger wag, head swivel*

Let's talk about no appetite, feeling like I'm gonna puke whenever I get in the car, and when I am hungry, I am incredibly uncomfortable for at least an hour afterward. What happened to feeling like super girl? Super girl's cape got caught in the spoke of one of her stroller wheels and she was trampled beneath its center wheel. Youch.

This past week I did my super awesome workout DVD 3 times. I'm taking this moment to share the name of the DVD in case you want snatch a copy up for yourself. 

Super corny at times? Yes. Taught by a beast of a woman with 0% body fat who talks the whole time through and barely sweats? Yeahbsolutely. 

But after watching it enough, I have memorized every word she says. So I mute it and turn on my Justin Timberlake Pandora station. It's a good workout for me now that my non-pregnant jogging partners are tired of walking with me. I guess I understand. But I'm still going to pout about it. 

Here are a few things I have noticed this week about my body. Maybe I would have noticed them sooner, but my head is pretty foggy these days. 

~At one point this week, I was getting ready to go to town, and after I had completed my adorable ensemble--I love dressing my basketball-smuggling body--I stepped back to look at myself in the mirror, and realized that I looked like a blur. I had been standing so close to the mirror while doing my makeup that I hadn't noticed my eyesight changing until I stepped back. I put on my glasses to no avail. When I got into the car I realized I couldn't see any signs or even read the license plate of the car in front of me at the red light. Called my Dr's office and spoke to a nurse. She said to check my blood pressure and as long as it was 128/80 or lower, it was probably nothing. I came out at something like 120/67, so I guess it was nothing. But weird.

~Fingers are a little swollen. It's hard (sometimes impossible) to get my wedding rings off. But thankfully my fingers are mostly swollen in the middle, so my rings are cutting into my finger yet. 

~Do you know the feeling when you've just run as hard as possible and you get that sharp cramp that makes it impossible to take a deep breath. KNIFE STAB, knife stab, knife stab!! (If you don't know the feeling, you need to go run somewhere). Well, now I get them totally randomly. I got one while doing my donkey kicks in my workout DVD the other day, then last night while watching  a movie at home . I have a Dr's appointment next week, where I plan to ask him about those. Hmmm...

~Super uncomfortable gas bubbles in my tummy associated with burping and hiccuping, among other things. Oh, the pain. I seriously dialed my Dr's office because I didn't know what the pain was about...until I figured it out. 

~I can no longer see over my bump. I mean, I can get to my feet, but Texan has taken to inspecting my belly for stretch marks for me since I can't. (None yet, jiggity-jig).

~The arch of my foot was tingly and numb this morning when I woke up for about an hour. It was so weird. 

~This one isn't about my body, but Tums give me the WORST aftertaste. And the worst part is, I alway get heartburn as soon as I'm done brushing my teeth and get nestled all snug in my bed. So then I have this nasty fruit taste that is followed by bitterness that lasts until I wake up. Bleh.

I am looking forward to this weekend because despite the fact that Texan is going out of town to hunt for the weekend with his stepdad, my parents are coming into town to keep me company. I hate the idea of being alone at night. So they'll spend one night and I'll have to suck it up the rest of the time...

Suzy Homemaker update: I just scrubbed walls and base boards. We have textured walls which are really hard to get clean. But I came out triumphant. This is nesting, I guess. Also, I am now the official host of Thanksgiving 2013. I am planning my tablesscape and turkey-bake presently. I am quite nervous.

I am not posting a picture with this week's post. (Other than the one of my workout DVD). Or, wait! How about this one. Saturday night was actually the last night that I wore real clothes and left the house for a good reason. So here it is:

Week 29

This has been a big week for milestones and new developments. If we could start with today and work our way back, that'd be great. After having nine hours of sleep, I woke up and ate breakfast with every intention of beginning my day after watching one 45 minute episode of my show. However, by the end of the episode I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, and retired to bed. THREE HOURS LATER, it was 1:45 and Texan called to ask about some plans we have tonight. I guess SJ is having a growth spurt or something, because I have cut back on napping lately. And that's not the only time this week my body has brought a normal day to an ear-shattering, screeching halt.

One night early this week, I laid down on my back in bed to read. (I know what all the books say about laying on your back after a few months of pregnancy. You'll cut off blood flow to the baby! You'll suffocate yourself!) But my doctor says those are phooey, and I digress. Well, reader, for the first time ever, I could not take a deep breath to save my life--pun intended. I sat up gasping, yawning, and doing whatever else I could to fill my lungs. It really wasn't all that dramatic, but I tried my hardest to figure out what position would allow me to breath comfortably. The answer? NO POSITION. But eventually those precious little body parts that were shoving my lungs up into my throat and making it impossible for me to inhale more than 60% moved back down, and all was well--until the next day. And now I notice that first thing in the morning is the best time for breathing. When I first wake up SJ is still and nestled all snug in her bed sack far away from my lungs. But she always finds a way to stretch back out and leave me breathless yet again. Oh, and forget about eating a full meal without going from, this is delicious, I think I'll have another helping. Straight to I think I may have to lie still until Thursday. There is no room in there for my stomach to be comfortably full. I'm either hungry, or comatose.

Despite the love/hate relationship with food, I think about it an awful lot. An inordinate amount of the time, actually. Today I have been thinking about those chocolate caramel Rolo candies. The ones wrapped in fall-colored foil sitting in a bowl on my coffee table in a leaf-shaped dish. Nothing like that exists in my house, but I'm imagining, wishing, dreaming that it did. I am not foolish enough to have a bowl of chocolate ANYTHING in my house. Or a bag, box, or any receptacle of chocolate. Sweets are my weakness, and so I do not keep them near me. This newfound strong-willedness will serve me well after giving birth. But for now it basically sucks. Oh, but at Christmas you can bet I will indulge myself. (Insert Homer Simpson "MMMMMmmmMMM" sound here. The one he makes when he finds a fuzzy lollipop in the couch cushion). Or just watch the first 30 seconds of the video below, and that's basically me...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFwv_mW8kIc

Have you ever met someone who is naturally clumsy? They trip over the most obvious of curbs, run into everything, and fall flat on their face because their own feet get in their way? I have. And non-pregnant Cara is not one of these people. Pregnant Cara, on the other hand? I have run into more door ways this week than I care to divulge. I can't go through the center of a doorway anymore. It's, like, impossible. The worst part is that I am both clumsy and emotional. So when I break something, I also break my heart in the process and can't stop crying over how angry I am that I broke something. And example? A plate that had been in the fridge (you know how it get's all cold and covered in condensation?) slipped out of my hand and broke into two perfect pieces. But my heart broke into A MILLION pieces and I cried for half an hour. The clumsiness is the absolute WORST part of my pregnancy. I will take it ALL and give back the clumsiness. So, I guess I'm pretty lucky.

In fun news, this week we had our maternity photo shoot and party planning for my baby shower is in full swing. We haven't seen any photos yet, since they were just taken on Saturday. So I am really hoping I don't look like a lard in any (half) of them. I would be happy if I look decent in half of them, yes. Texan thought that we should wait until my belly is bigger to take them, but I didn't want to risk looking behemoth. Speaking of Texan, he doesn't think this pregnancy is going fast enough at all. Twice or thrice this week he has said in his best dejected third-grader way, "I just want her to BE here already." And last night he even added, "If she were here right now, you would be skinny again and I would be holding her all the time." I laughed at that. I know Texan loves my belly. And I'm not talking feelings here. He actually loves (verb) loves it. He talks to it, rests his hand on it in church, tells me how good I look and how fast he thinks I'm going to bounce back after SJ's born. In fact, he has never paid me so many compliments in our whole relationship as he has in the past 30 weeks. But I also know that he loved the way I looked before, and would love to have that version of me back too. Don't worry, I would love that even more that he knows. Can't you just see it? Me standing around being skinny, unclumsy, taking deep and uninhibited breaths, and SJ sleeping in Texan's arms? It sounds like a fairy tale.

With only 11 weeks to go, I am already starting to feel nostalgic. I love being pregnant despite the few hangups. And it's pretty scary to think how much things are going to change in the new year.  Babysitters, pediatricians, diaper explosions, sleepless nights, and all of the unknowns have got my mind on overdrive. So I'm taking things one day at a time and enjoying all the little things along the way.

Week 28

Here we are at week 28, and each of the past couple of weeks has proven to make our baby SJ's arrival all the more imminent. In fact, for some odd reason, having a stroller in the living room (while I tried to figure out how to collapse it after Texan set it up) was the big moment where Texan said, "I feel like she's really coming now." I have on good authority--from watching Juno--that a woman becomes a mother when she becomes pregnant, but a man becomes a father when he sees his child. So, I thought it was kind of funny that the stroller really took him to the next level. Because, reader, there were about three weeks where we had a bassinet and a swing in our living room. But no, it's just the stroller.

At my most recent doctor's appointment I began tracking SJ's movements. My goal is to choose one hour of every day, and make sure that I can feel her kick 10 times before the hour is up. It can be any hour day-to-day, so long as there are 10 kicks to show that she's getting enough oxygen. I usually do it after eating lunch, but lately I feel like SJ's sleeping patterns are changing so much that I can never be absolutely sure when she's going to be jumping around. I put the hour and the number of kicks in my phone. But, the best part of this new exercise is that I always get to 15 before losing count, usually in under 20 minutes. When she's active, she's really active. Tonight, I got to 9 and let Texan track the last one. Instead, he tracked to 17 before stopping. I loved the look on his face while he was counting kicks. It's become my favorite part of each day.

I always get kind of irked when I read about someone saying, "I was nesting..." Not because I don't believe that as pregnant women we get in super-clean, hyper-organization mode. I guess I just don't care for the word. I wish there was a different way of saying it that didn't make me sound like an avian woman. Anyway, I spent all day yesterday working on our spare bedroom and came out with a trash bag full of donation clothes, one full of yard sale stuff, and one full of trash. I guess some would call it nesting. Tweet, tweet, chirp. The hardest thing for me with all this organizing and cleaning is the fact that we (Texan, ahem) haven't decided if we're going to stay in our current house or move into somewhere closer to town before baby arrives. I really want to start doing the nursery, but I know it can wait, especially since she'll be sleeping next to our bed for the first few months until she is sleeping long enough between feedings to make it worth putting her far away from me in her crib.

One of my favorite moments this week was when I was "getting my kicks," which sound way dirtier when I type it out, before bed. After I got to around 15, I got out my i Pad to do some surfing, and all of a sudden my belly started making waves like I couldn't believe. And the best part was that Texan got to see it all. It was like SJ was showing off for us. So, we decided to get out the nursery rhyme book that Mimi (Texan's mom) got for SJ and read her some of our favorite rhymes. Texan has a very quiet reading voice, so I always have to say, "louder!" while he's reading. And it cracks me up the way he starts almost yelling and always goes right back to almost mumbling within seconds. I just want our baby to be able to hear him...but it's enjoyable to hear him. That's for sure.

Here I am at 28 weeks and 5 days. It was so cold today that I got to wear my favorite scarf! I also spent all day mopping, dusting and making white lasagna and pumpkin balls for my Texan. They were a hit. As far as the clean floors, Texan loved tramping across them in his muddy boots.

Week 27

 Hey there, readers! I have been feeling EXCELLENT this week--is it weird to say that I have been feeling as pre-pregnant as ever? So excellent, in fact, that tonight at approximately 10:20 I decided to do my workout dvd that has been catching dust since a couple weeks ago. DON'T freak out! I have worked out since then. But since the weather has cooled down, my friends and I have been out jog/walking at least 3 times a week. Exceeeeept for last week. (Sad Face) I planned on working out with mi madre while we were at their house for the weekend, but Saturday morning when I woke up my dad said, "How about you skip the workout and we go to the state fair?!" So, you can guess that I ate a couple deep-fried nothings instead of working out...making that one whole workout last week. 

 

Today, I had a doctor's appointment, where my doctor was added to my NICE list when he told me that my glucose levels came back nice and low, my weight is PERFECT (really, his words) and I am measuring right on track. I also got to hear my sweet girl's heartbeat, nice and strong. And just to drive home to point about me feeling excellent, I took my car to my favorite drive-thru car wash--it's only $3 and offers unlimited use of the car vacuums. But afterwards, I was unhappy with the amount of bug juice on my bumper and the unshiny-ness of my tires. So I drove straight to the self-serve carwash where I spent $2 and left with a 100% beautiful car. The funniest part was the fact that I only put in enough quarters to get 4 minutes to do everything, so I had to clean pretty frantically while screaming most of the time. But it was fun. And I got a little sweaty. I really like the questionnaire thing because it gets me thinking. So, here goes.

 

How far along? 27 weeks, five days. I know, I'm late posting.

Total weight gain: 20 lbs as of today. Gosh, yuck. Today my doc said, "Soon you'll weigh more than you've ever weighed in your life." My reply? "I ALREAY DO! Sorry for screaming at you, doctor."

Maternity clothes? This one still hasn't changed...For the most part. If I'm just lounging around the house I wear my normal workout clothes.

Stretch marks?  Nope! I have become more vigilant with my slathering of belly rub stuff, too.

Best moment this week: Shopping with my mom, pedicures with my sister, watching a cow getting milked at the fair with my dad, spending a whole 3-day weekend with my very relaxed Texan.

Miss anything? Being balanced and agile. I'm telling you, I pick something up and it FLIES out of my hand. I take a step, and my foot slides out from where i was about to put it. 

Movement: Still lots of that. The new thing is my doctor has me taking one hour of each day where I track SJ's movements. The hour can start whenever I first feel a kick. So at 12:15 I started and lost count at 15 kicks and punches by 1:15. It was awesome.

Food cravings: Nothing really comes to mind. Gosh, that's boring.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!

Gender: Girl

Labor signs: No

Symptoms: Well, I am sleeping so much better now, so that's wonderful. In fact, it's a little after midnight and I am having a hard time keeping my eyes open. But, I want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Wait! does that count as a craving? No, I'm just hungry from my workout.

Belly button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or moody most of the time: OhMYLanta. I have been very moody lately--understatement. I cried in Target this weekend because I was mad at Texan for not going to Target for me. So I had to go. And so I cried the whole time. I won't say anything more because it's embarrassing. Except last night after my speed walking hour, I was starving and came home to a batch of homemade tomato soup that I had made before leaving. I made mozzarella balls, grilled cheese sandwiches and garlic cheesy bay biscuits. When I sat down next to Texan, he felt like teasing me. Wrong move. I was very hungry and ANGRY about how hungry I was. So when he picked up one of my garlic bisucuits to get a reaction out of me, he got one--a reaction, not a biscuit. Because I squeezed the life out of his hand.  I went to the kitchen table and in order to keep myself from crying I said, "I'm going to cry because I am so hungry and you're teasing me." Sometimes, reader, it helps if I tell myself how I ridiculous I am acting. It worked. And Texan also stopped teasing me about my biscuits. Stop it. Don't laugh.

Looking forward to: Sleeping and eating. Or eating, then sleeping. But in the long term, I'm excited about starting my next project. It's a new cover for the car seat my sister gave me this weekend! Pictures to come!

 

And, here I am.

Texan was off his game with the picture-taking tonight. Grr. Every picture was either blurry or washed out by the flash. Blah. This was the best I could do. Oh, and, I have been having a hard time not hating every picture of myself where I'm not posing exactly like this. ^ But that has nothing to do with it. I think Texan's arms were just feeling wobbly from his workout.

 

 

Week 26

It's Monday morning! And, how blessed am I? I actually look forward to this time. I like to make sure the house is all spic and span before I go to bed, so that when I wake up I can take my time getting around to whatever it is I have on the docket for the day. Today, it's paying rent, doing some sewing, doing some research on dentists, and making dinner on the few scraps I have left in my cabinets. Tomorrow is grocery shopping day--which I usually dread. But with the fall weather having arrived, I may just get myself a fall-infused decaf latte from Starbucks and take my time mulling around town. Can you tell I've been a little cooped up this weekend? I accidentally married a homebody. How did that happen? He was so cute and charming and I totally missed the part where he loved staying in on weekends. Oh! Wait! He didn't like staying in on the weekends before we were married. It was all bull-riding, candy everywhere, Christmas trees, and motorcycle rides. Just kidding, those are just the pictures I chose...and in chronological order, too!

 Gosh, he sure did trick me. Well, at least he's still cute when he's lounging around dozing off in front of the tv all weekend. Here is the return of the Q & A because it's been a month since I did it last.

How far along? 26 weeks and 1 days.

Total weight gain: I haven't weighed myself today because I hurried to eat breakfast...

Maternity clothes? This one hasn't changed in a month...For the most part. If I'm just lounging around the house I wear my normal workout clothes.

Stretch marks?  Nope! I need to buy more Bio Oil  tomorrow on my shopping trek.

Sleep: I'm sleeping better than I was just last week. I'm finally to the point where if I lay down at 11:30, I fall asleep soon after instead of lying awake for 3 hours.

Best moment this week: Probably being able to sleep with our bedroom window open. Nightly lows in the 60's and 50's have left us finally able to be what we call "snuggle bunnies" instead of sleeping at arms lengths through the summer months.

Miss anything? Laying on my belly, my skinny jeans, being able to lean over without being out of breath. You should've seen me huffing and puffing putting my boots on for church yesterday. (And then complaining about how they hurt my feet for alllll of church)

Movement: Tons! I love to watch the waves in my tummy, especially when she's most active at night.

Food cravings: I was never a huge fan of these:

But the other day I was looking for Indian corn, which I haven't had ANY of yet, and October starts tomorrow. And I found these. And, that was it. I had to have one. I have had one every day since I bought them. So weird, but so good.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!

Gender: Girl

Labor signs: No

Symptoms: Aching in the lower extremities when I stand in the same place or sit curled up on the couch. Church is the hardest time during praise and worship. Ouch!

Belly button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or moody most of the time: I've been pretty moody all week. I can't exactly handle any playful teasing from Texan. But when he bought me a milkshake to make me feel better the other day when my moodiness got the best of me, and gave me the cherry off of his milkshake, and I knew that I could handle another day.

Looking forward to: Spending the weekend with my family. Celebrating my mom's and my niece's 2nd birthday. Shopping with my mom for an outfit to wear in my maternity photo shoot in a couple weeks. Yay!

 

 I guess I should add a picture here soon. I love this new fall weather because it has allowed me to break out the other half of my maternity clothes that I have had tucked away for just such an occasion. Sweater sets and long-sleeved tees, yippee! Although, I am still getting used to maternity jeans constricting my leg movement. The days of summer dresses and shorts are coming to a close. And I had better get off the couch and go hand in my rent check and get started on my copious amounts of sewing I have ahead of me. So, here it is.

Week 25

The 25th week of my daughter's pre-life life can be characterized by bouts of extreme energy, intense dizziness, and exciting new experiences. While Monday through Thursday were less than exhilarating*, the weekend proved memorable and exhausting. Friday evening was the evening of the first part of Women of Faith. At 4:30 I arrived promptly at the front door of the lovely lady who elected to drive the caravan of five lovely ladies to The Big D for the conference. We had dinner at a restaurant adjacent to our hotel before hitting the conference, for which we had pretty good seats near the stage. There was one speaker, a comedian, and plenty of singing.

The best part of the night, honestly, was when the comedian came up. Let me point out that I had no idea who any of the people on stage were until they started doing whatever it was that they were doing. (Note the cluelessness here). So, when the funny lady got on stage and started her stand up routine, I thought, "She's really funny! When is she going to talk about Jesus?" Then, she started singing a remake of Beyoncé's "All The Single Ladies" but changed it to "All The Wrinkled Ladies."  She also remade Taylor Swift's "Mean" with "Clean," a cute song about how annoying that clean freak friend we all have can be.* Honestly, she made a lot of funny older-women jokes that I found HILARIOUS. And, of course, after the conference ended around 10:30 that night, there was lots of laughter in the hotel room. Aaaaaand I'm pretty sure I only slept about 3 hours.

Why?

Because my sleeping patterns are always controlled by my hunger. Having dinner at 6 o'clock, then water and crackers around midnight left me STARVING all night long. So, the moment the morning alarm went off, I got ready and went downstairs to dine at the breakfast in the lobby. I used to be horrified at the prospect of eating alone, but readers, as far as I was concerned in this moment, it was just me and the food and somewhere to sit. (I think I'll turn that into a song). By the time my cohorts joined me I was on course #2 of 3. I stuck with fruit, whole grains, and plenty of peanut butter to keep me held over until lunch. This was one of the best parts of my weekend. (Sad). Following the awesome breakfast hour was an all-day conference with about five speakers, a MercyMe concert, praise and worship by Kari Jobe, and lunch in downtown Dallas with these ladies!

By 4 o'clock we were all exhausted and decided not to stay for the last hour of the conference. I slept for two hours when I got home, then slept seven straight hours that night--a record for me lately. The scariest part of Sunday was imagining how I would survive early morning nursery followed by a day spent on the lake in my friend's parents' boat. Not because I get sea sick (lake sick?) but because I was still exhausted. However, Texan was really looking forward to it, and I wanted to spend the day with him. So, I bucked up and donned my swim suit. Of course once I got out there I didn't remember how tired I was, and I really enjoyed watching Texan wakeboard like a pro, as always, and slalom for the first time.  He's amazing. I got in the water once because I couldn't hold my bladder anymore despite the fact that I had rationed my water intake. (Shouldn't have had that Dr. Pepper. But seriously, I was falling asleep once 5 o'clock came around). The water was too cold for my liking thanks to the five inches of rain we got the days before. But I thoroughly enjoyed feeling SJ kick whenever a loud boat whizzed by, or whenever I would squeal and cheer at Texan's excellent water-sporting form. SJ loved boat day almost as much as her daddy. Also, here's my first attempt at instagram video.

Monday, I felt very sick. Also, I was a little afraid that I was going into preterm labor because my symptoms reminded me of the ones I read about in one of my books. However, since I didn't have any bleeding or scary symptoms, I decided to calm down and stop worrying. It turned out I just needed a nap and some protein and to go to bed early. Tuesday, however, I felt so very super energized that in the middle of my workout I decided to clean my bedroom ceiling fan. It had been bothering me for a couple weeks, but I always forgot about it as soon as I stopped looking at it. Also, all I could imagine was the copious amounts of dust that would inevitable end up in my mouth during said cleaning. I think the sounds I made while cleaning it went something like, "Pleh! Pew! Ahem! EEEk!"

 In more "exciting new experience" news, I went to my first consignment thingy (I really don't know what it's called) in my church gym last night. Baby clothes and toys EVERYWHERE.  That's what I'm going to call it. I kept my spending to around $20 because I was just there to have a little fun, but I was excited to find something that I really want off my registry there for only $2!

So cute, right? I happen to hate washing dishes by hand because I hate having them sitting on a towel on my countertops to dry. But when I have to wash SJ's bottles, they will look so cute sitting on this little grass square. Also, there are cute trees as accessories for hanging things on to create more space. Totally a splurge item, but they go for $20 at Target! Come on, people who are judging me. Two Dollars.

Here's one with the cute little trees. Oh, love! Also, I found a package of 50 diapers for $6. I have been very against buying diapers because I know I will get them in droves from my Sunday school's Dinner and Diapers thing they do, but these are size 2, and Huggies, so I figure she will have a few months to grow into them. (Did I mention I am going to attempt cloth diapering whenever we're at home, and do disposables when we're out? I've already had people try to talk me out of it. But I want to try.)

Alas, here I am at 25 weeks (plus 2 days). I looked cute on Sunday, but had to hurry into my swim gear right after church. No time for picture. And I never got out of my PJ's on Monday. Sue me.

 

This is my first time ever wearing maternity jeans. It was around 70 degrees outside yesterday evening when I went to the baby consignment, so I decided to haul out the jeans. However, I am loving the tank top/sweater combo. They are not maternity at all, but they so work, right? With my pearls, of course. My mother raised me right.

 

Lastly, the maternity book says that SJ will gain half a pound this week. That is crazy considering my appetite has been pretty small the past two days. But, I just ate at least a pound of pancakes to make up for it, so, there you go. I'm going to go work out now. 

 (I felt very bored with myself while reading and writing this post. I hope it wasn't to factoid-ish. I think my allergies are causing me to feel foggy and less whitty. What a shame...)

 

(Does anyone else feel like around the six-months mark your self-assurance plummets? Oh, me neither...)

 

 

*By "less than exhilarating," I do not mean to imply that I did not enjoy these days for what they were. They were perfectly pleasant (for all I know--I can't actually remember) and I am in no position to comment on the boringness in my present life.
*Her name is Anita Renfroe if you want to look her up on YouTube. And her song "Why You Gotta Be So Clean" inspired me to clean my ceiling fan.

Six Months Already, and More on Week 24.

Today I am six months pregnant. To me, that sounds very pregnant. Every week before this, mind you, I was as pregnant as I am now. But there's something about saying, "Oh, me? Six months. Yeah. Oh and, yes, this is my natural hair color."  (Kidding)

Here are some things that have changed this week, thanks to my super-pregnant status:
~I now park in the "Mommy-to-be/New Mommy" spot at church. Today was my first Sunday of doing such. There are about six or eight of these spots, and they are the absolute prime real estate of the parking lot. In fact, they're not even in the lot. They're at the curb! It's glorious* 
~I upped my workouts to four times a week. This is actually due to my recent doctor's appointment where I had my glucose test. I told my doctor that I was upset about my weight increase in the last month, but he said, "Well, it's nothing to be upset about. It's about time you had a growth spurt. Haven't you noticed some growth?" YES! In fact, I told you, dear readers, last time that I couldn't believe how my belly had grown. And I'm always marveling at how much higher (and somehow, lower) I am feeling SJ's kicks. That means she's growing too. So I will dry my eyes about the *ahem.cough.plem.* pounds and power on. But I will also add another day of cardio just to ease my brain.
~Another development is my radiating desire, yearning--nay--BURNING for cocoa pebbles. In the past couple weeks I have dreamt about them on at least two separate occasions. But I abstained from purchasing them. In one dream, I was calculating a plot as to how I could get them into the house without Texan knowing. That way I wouldn't have to share or explain why the Multi-Grain Cheerios weren't tickling my fancy enough. In the dream, I searched the shelves for that multi-pack of mini boxes of cereal but could not find one that included a mini-box of the pebs. In another dream I was...well, eating them. I don't know. But it was a great dream. So, on Saturday, after a very satisfying workout at the park with a fellow pregger, I ventured to Walmart, the land of suffering, to purchase fixings for strawberry shortcake to be served at my friend's birthday party that evening. In the milk section as I searched for whipped cream, I saw them. Three bins marked with signs that read, "$1 THEY'RE WORTH A TRY! $1" And in the first bin, lo and behold, cocoa pebbles (dyno rocks, or whatever the Malto Meal equivalent is) in a bag that probably contained about 10-15 servings. Not many, but certainly worth a try as the sign suggested. Needless to say I had chocolate gravel for breakfast, lunch, midnight snack and lunch again the next day.
~Here's something to boggle your minds. This week I wrote to our nursery director at church to let her know that September is the last month that Texan and I will be volunteering two weeks out of the month for nursery. We are dropping down to one because we feel like missing two services is quite a lot each month. As I was typing up the email I realized that I needed to let her know something else. October and November will be our last months doing nursery for a while because since our designated week is the fourth Sunday, there is a huge possibility that SJ will be in our arms by the last Sunday in December. (And if not, be serious. I will be in no position to sit on the floor and play with 8 one-year-olds.) Basically I simply can't believe that we only have three more nursery duties before the baby arrives. Mind. Boggled. \
Have You Noticed that if someone slaps "Baby" or "Infant" onto a product, it's suddenly $39.99. Me too. Like an ugly utility tote is on display at Babies R Us and it's called an Infant Sachel or something fruity, and we're like, "OoOOOOOoooOoo! So fancy!" Not. We're not like that. Not us, readers.

Here's my photo. In the interest of posting on-time, I decided to have my photo taken in my lounging outfit and fresh out of shower. I should've taken it last night when I looked all snazzy for the hibachi dinner and birthday party. But, alas, I spent all day in bed after being up all night with sick doggies. But this is good. It's like seeing the Begal Tiger in her natural habitat. No frills or fake trees. Just the tiger. (I'm the tiger in this scenario, and I'm pregnant, so be nice.)

*Don't ask me why I never parked in the special spot before. Ok, ask. Because Texan said I didn't look pregnant enough. And who am I to argue? (The pregnant lady, that's who.) But, honestly, pregnancy is not a disease! (There's a direct quote from my OB. He doesn't like for women to treat themselves like patients in a nursing home just because they're pregnant.) I probably exercise more than a lot of these non-preggers, so maybe I could give up the spot to an old lady one day, or a diabetic with sore feet. Maybe I'll use this new-found power (parking spot) to touch people with my feelings! Or maybe I'll just park in it for the next 6-9 months and enjoy it quietly and remain dignified.