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.

In Case You Were Worried

In case you were worried that I didn't know what I was in for as a soon-to-be momma, my sweet hound dog gave me the drill of a lifetime this evening. First, let me tell you how much I care for this dog. I clothe him in the winter, I bathe him weekly, I let him slip under the covers with me after Texan leaves for work. I can't help it. My pooch loves to snuggle. Ok, I'm working on the bed issue. But I hate to sleep alone, and I am pregnant and those are my excuses. Shut up.

Here Woody is looking fanciful under my bedroom curtains just yesterday evening. (Ok, Cara, where is this going?) Now, I am not under the diluted impression that I will be able to compare my love for Woody to my love for SJ. While Woody is my fur baby, he will always be just that. He's not my blood, or the fruit of--ick--calling anything "the fruit of..." weirds me. Anyway, I KNOW he's just a dog and this blog is about me and my pregnancy and baby news. But I was given a glimpse into POO-HORROR this evening and I can't help but think that it helped prepare me for motherhood. 

It is Wednesday, which means bible study. From 6:30-8 we have social dining with our group. We all bring a dish that goes with the main course and we enjoy each others' company. Then we sing worship songs to guitar accompaniment by none other that Yours Truly. We then do our study discussion, pray, eat dessert and disperse. Well, it was around 10 pm that we returned home this evening. And when Texan and I opened the door to our doggy den we were horrified to smell and see the utter crap-fest. One dog (it was hard to tell who because they both looked so ashamed) had emitted explosive diarrhea out the front of the cage. Ok, at least he aimed properly. It was also in the cage and all over his hind parts. We were immediately on red alert. Texan put the dogs in the yard and took the bottom cover out of the kennel out to spray with the hose. I scrubbed the carpet with a 409 carpet solution, bleached the rubber mat that lines the floor beneath the cage (thank God for that) and then brought both dogs in for baths. After which, I foolishly set them free in the house. (Do you detect a hint of foreshadowing?) To our dismay, the house still absolutely WREAKED. So I got out a bucket of soapy hot water and again scrubbed the carpet, then covered it in baking soda and went outside to bleach the cage tray. Upon my return, I found that Woody had leaked AGAIN. Only this time, on our bedroom carpet. Now it was nearing 11:30 and Texan was in bed studying (ignoring my hardship). I put Woody back out and went to town on our bedroom carpet. Then I ran a bleach load of laundry, a hot load of any towel I may have dried my hands on, bleached the tub where I had bathed the dogs, and disinfected every door knob. And wait! Then I scrubbed Woody's bum until it turned red and banished him to the non-carpeted areas of the house. (Cara, why not leave him in the yard?) Woody hates solitude. Trust me. he was outside for most of my cleaning process, but after his bath i wanted him mostly dry before going back outside. At 1 am I finally laid down. Sweet mother of Abraham Lincoln, I am quite exhausted. I didn't mention that in the midst of this I still had to pack a lunch, do dishes, put away clean laundry, and mend texan's work pants. (Why so many holes in this one pair of jeans? I sew them weekly. Always a new hole.) And, oh yeah! Allow me to recap what Texan did after being so helpful initially. He walked around the house saying, "It smells," and "where is a candle?" I gave him a linen-scented candle and a mocha one. "But I don't like Mocha," he said. "It's better than POOP!" I replied with quite a but of sting. After lighting them, he went into our bedroom closet and said, "MMMM, the closet doesn't stink." That's when he crawled into bed. I don't blame him after a long day of work. But it didn't seem quite as funny at the time. You may say, that evening is nothing compared to--SHHHHHH. Let me have my moment. 

 

Selfies :)

23 Weeks

I have anticipated the publishing of this blog all day, and yet I do not know where to begin.

hmm...

I suppose I could start with today and work my way backward over my 23rd week of being a sacred vessel.

Today was a nice Sunday.   Blah. Today, Texan spent all afternoon studying for the illustrious LSAT while I cleaned, organized, put-away, and took a delightful nap. But yesterday, oh boy. Yesterday we...wait, let me preface this with the fact that yesterday we slept until noon. Glorious. When we finally woke up, Texan let me pick our daily deed. I chose to go to the Fort Worth Zoo. Only $12 admission and the temperature was not even supposed to reach 100! I donned my lightest and tiniest maternity dress and pulled my hair into a sensible up-do for optimal sweating and we hit the road. I would say we spent about 4 hours roaming the zoo. And the temperature was not an issue! Enough shade and air-conditioned venues full of gorillas and penguins to cool us off completely. Most of the animals were sleeping, which might disappoint a child, but Texan and I were glad to walk about ooo-ing and ahhh-ing at some magnificent creatures. My Texan loves facts and trivia, so he especially enjoyed the Texas Wild area of the zoo, where we had to read every poster and flip card there was. It was all very hands-on, so we got to touch a lot of cool things like an elephant skull and a GIANT tortoise shell. It made me very excited to bring SJ there with my family and her big cousins. It also made me very thankful for a husband who enjoys animals as much as I do. We don't need a giant production to tickle our fancy on a Saturday afternoon. We would rather stare at a gorilla, or marvel at a baby kangaroo. Gosh, I love that man of mine. I abstained from taking any photos at the zoo, since it's kind of one of those, "You had to be there," kind of things. But fret not. I will load up on the photos when we take SJ, believe you me. Oh! At the zoo my fingers got really swollen toward the end of the day. This worried Texan and he made me chug some water and we shared a piece of homemade fudge from the Candy Shoppe along the way. I don't know if the fudge helped. Okay, it helped my spirit. Things always taste better when they come from a Shoppe. (A shop is so mundane.) After this we had dinner out and went home and stayed up until 3 am watching movies. Great day.

Like I said in my previous post, I have been VERY crafty in the past two weeks. I did most of the big work last week, but this week I had to do some fine-tuning. Here are some photos of the fruits of my labor. (If you're on facebook and have seen the pacifier clips, just skip down to the swing re-do.)

Here are some pacifier clips I made. I attached the paci (that I got in a registry gift bag) to make sure they did their job. But I will have to throw it away before the baby comes lest an unknowing family member tries to pop it in her mouth. My sweet hound dog, Bailey has taken a liking to the taste of the binky and has given it a few good licks whenever she gets the chance. Such a weirdy.

Here is my piece de resistance. It's not finished yet. I still have to finish edging. However, I have broken FOUR, mind you, FOUR sewing needles on this bad boy. The first one I broke is the one that came on the machine when I got it for Christmas  2011. Then I bought a pack of 5 and was down to 2 within an hour of putting the first one on. It turns out the lower left-hand corner of the swing cushion has it out for shiny metal objects. So, you'll understand why I have taken a break from finishing the border and the edging.

Here is the before. I used a picture from the Fisher Price website because I didn't take a very good shot before starting the task.

The swing was a gift from Texan's grandmother. The seat turns a full 90 degrees and it has soothing ocean, rain and forest noises to go along with the movement. I really like it. But the more I looked at the cushion--and I have a lot of time to spend looking at cushions--I couldn't help but wonder what a polar bear, 2 penguins and a walrus were doing on a sing with a sea turtle and two tropical fish. Fisher price doesn't expect us to believe that all of these creatures coexist in Antarctica, do they? Then, on the mobile, there is a random whale that doesn't appear on the swing. So I decided to jazz it up a little, if not make it a little more geographically accurate. And here's what I have come up with so far.

I had to add the photo bomb by Bailey. As you can see, there is extra fabric around the pom pom border, which I intend to finish. But the hardest part may turn out to be that little triangular piece of fabric above the mobile. I did a practice piece, but it doesn't look quite perfect yet. Also, I am in the market for some replacement do-dads to hang from the mobile since the ocean friends don't match anymore. Perhaps I'll make some cute little stuffed animals from leftover fabric. (No seriously, that just came to me.)

Other than the crafting, Texan and I have had a very active week. I did my normal pregnancy workout one day, but ended up going jog/walking with friends early Friday morning. I would have jogged, but it turned out that my bladder thought otherwise. So, to maintain my dignity, I kept my feet closer to the ground. Thankfully, the two non-pregnant friends continued running, but I had my pregger friend to stay behind with me. She's only 7 weeks, so it's fun (is that evil?) to hear what she's going through. I am as encouraging as possible because I truly enjoy being pregnant now despite how yucky it was 12 weeks ago. Thursday night we played Tennis with friends, and Friday night I watched Texan play basketball with a group from church. Basketball transitioned into more tennis, and we rounded out the night pretty exhausted. That led to the zoo the next day, so you can imagine why we stayed off our feet all day today.

I had better finish this up with a belly pic and get you on out of here. But I will mention that in this picture I am wearing my favorite pair of jeans, which happen to be non-maternity jeans. You see, I had a pouty time about getting bigger recently, and I really needed some cheer. So I decided to try on my favorite pair of jeans, and I buttoned them with ease! They are low-rise, and pretty uncomfortable when I bend over, and I much prefer the freedom of maternity shorts and pants. But it made me feel better to know that my lower half is still normal. Jiggity-Jig for normal-butt!

Week 22 and 21's recap.

  Ok, so here's something I haven't tried before. I have seen this on a few preggo blogs before and wanted to do it. So, I finally did the old copy/paste and here it is. By the way, so sorry about not blogging week 21. Texan actually said to me, "I'm sad that you didn't blog week 21. Now SJ will never know what you looked like at 21 weeks pregnant." Isn't he so cute when he's sensitive? Ok, stop it. I think she'll live.

How far along? 22 weeks and 4 days.

Total weight gain:   11 pounds

Maternity clothes? For the most part. If I'm just lounging around the house I wear my normal workout clothes.

Stretch marks? Not yet! I'm using Bio Oil and Palmers daily to combat them. I basically go to bed every night nicely-slathered in a sweet-smelling concoction. Tuesday night after reading a book to SJ, Texan kissed my belly and promptly had to wipe the oil off of his lips with a "bleck!" It was hilarious.

Sleep: My biggest headache right now is my sleep pattern. I have a very hard time falling back to sleep after anything wakes me up. And despite sleeping 12 hours some nights, I am still exhausted all day the following day, and may even need a nap to get through until 10 o'clock.

Best moment this week: Spending Labor Day weekend with family. We got a ton of awesome swag for SJ's nursery. In fact, all of her furniture is in our possession. So excited to get her nursery together.

Miss anything? Lunch meat, diet cola. I would love a ham sandwich with a Diet Coke.

Movement: Lots of kicks moving higher up on my belly. For the first time last night I felt SJ all the way at my belly button. I've never felt her that high up before.

Food cravings: Not really right now. But I find it hard to stop once I start eating red grapes and chocolate milk. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!

Gender: Girl

Labor signs: No

Symptoms: Lower back pain, feet get sore if I'm on them for more than 2 hours. Legs hurt if I sit in car or at a table for too long.

Belly button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy! Unless I'm hungry...

Looking forward to: Lunch :)

I have to say, I am loving my belly right now. Yesterday I was feeling like a bit of a lard after trying on a maternity shirt that had been given to me that just made me look disgusting. But thankfully my good friend (who happens to be just 7 weeks pregnant herself!) came over to hang out and made me feel better. I am glad to say that I am really keeping up with my workouts, so I'm doing what I need to in order to stay healthy during this pregnancy. So here I am in all my spherical glory!

I basically spent all of last week crafting. I am going to post the pictures on my next post of some of my exciting designs in honor of my sweet baby girl, who is currently kicking my bladder. So, I will sign off! Cheers to my third trip to the little girl's room in 45 minutes. Hip Hip Hooray!

Week 20--Gender Reveal!

What an awesome week this was, dear readers. I had a moderately busy early week, which I spent most of counting down the hours, minutes, seconds until our big appointment Thursday morning. Texan also spent the week on pins and needles, excited for an early day off mid-week. And since he only works for a few hours on Fridays, it was like a 4-day weekend around here! The night before the appointment, we had bible study with our dear, sweet friends who all begged for an early morning text reveal. Then Texan and I stayed up WAY too late on our devices. I was pinning nursery ideas on Pinterest with the help of my iPad, while Texan asked me a slew of questions from some strange website on his laptop, like, "Have your feet gotten warmer, or colder since you conceived?" and "Has your nose gotten bigger, smaller, or stayed the same?" Apparently the questions were supposed to tell us the sex of our baby. The first quiz he gave me resulted in 80% possibility of a girl and 20% boy. Then the second quiz said 100% boy. Well, unless you haven't been on facebook in a while, you already know what the ultrasound said. IT'S A GIRL!

The morning of the appointment we arose at 7:30 and drove to the big city where my doctor's main office is. His office is located in a building next to the hospital where I will give birth, so we were excited to see the complex and found our way around the parking situation with ease. We were so excited, in fact, that we forgot to go to the hospital afterwards and ask for a tour of the baby wing. We were too elated, staring at our ultrasound pictures and planning our shopping trip. First was the ultrasound, which was in an office all by itself. I was delighted to find 4 other couples/families waiting to find out the sex of their babies. I was showing far less than everyone in the office. But I figured that is because all of them already had at least one child from what I could tell. One couple came out while we were waiting with their long strip of pictures, wiping tears from their eyes. An outgoing man asked the question that was burning inside of me. "What are ya havin?!" he squawked. "It's a girl," the lady replied mistily. I spent the rest of the wait wiping tears from the brims of my eyelids and fixing my makeup in my phone camera and praying that God would let me get through this without crying the whole time. Thankfully he answered my prayer and I was able to actually laugh a bit during the ultrasound, to which the tech told me to stop because she was having such a hard time getting the baby to be still so she could measure the head, that every time I moved the baby would move again. When she was finally done photographing every vital area, she asked, "Are you ready?" I'm pretty sure she loves this part of her job. I know I would. She turned the screen slowly, covering it with her hand. "It would be a..." Then she pulled her hand away and squealed, "GIRL!" I guess the noise I made could be described as, "Oh!" It was sort of an exhale. I had been holding my breath. I looked at Texan and laughed. He had a big smile on his face.

Afterwards we had lunch at the mall and bought our little lady a few clothing items. On the way home Texan said, "I've got my Daddy's girl." I have a feeling that was what he was hoping for all along. In fact, he even began singing* his own version of "My Girl," in which he changed "girl" to "girls." And while he sings it, he rubs my belly. So sweet. I have no doubt a little girl is just what my tough guy needs. We spent the rest of the day resting at home except for the 9:30 pm trip to Dairy Queen to share the good news with our friends who we hadn't seen since they returned from vacation, and wanted to hear about our day.

We revealed the sex to the world on Sunday via a delicious cake that was made at 10 o'clock Saturday night after a long day on the lake with our friends. We were all exhausted, but I know for me, the excitement of revealing the sex to all of our friends and family kept me going. Here is a shot of the top of the cake, and then the middle after we cut it open. It's called a Gender Reveal Pinata Cake and it's pretty self-explanatory to assemble. The M&Ms are chocolate raspberry-flavored because that's the only flavor that comes in all feminine colors.

Thank God for hot pink vanilla-flavored icing. The cake was a big hit. And Texan didn't mind finishing the leftovers after church one bit.

As far as cravings, I really only have one that I haven't mentioned.

These things have been around at least since I was in junior high. I remember when healthy cereal bars became pretty popular and my mom started buying them for my lunches. I never really liked the taste of them, but the consistency was nice, so I ate them. Plus, I knew I was supposed to eat something "healthy." A lot of them ended up mutilated at the bottom of my gym bag and thrown away at the end of the school year. Wish I could have all of those back...Well, lately, I have been craving them something fierce. My favorite way to eat them is at 6 in the morning after Texan leaves for work and I can't fall back to sleep because I'm too hungry (which happens every morning). I usually grab some applesauce or a granola bar, but now I have a strawberry Nutri Grain bar with a big glass of milk, and that is the perfect snack to hold me over until I wake up on my own terms. Being awoken by hunger is a strange development that has accompanied my second trimester.  I don't mind it. In fact, reader, I am loving this second trimester.

And here I am. Half way through this journey. Although I am excited to meet my little SJ*, I really love this time with her. And I will be sad to see it go, whether that is when I'm too round to sleep comfortably, or right at the very end when I have to go back to being a normal person. I get a little sad when I think that one day she won't be with me all the time. I won't be able to keep her safe from everything like: people's germy hands, fluorescent lighting, techno music, Miley Cyrus, Walmart, dog slobber, inclement weather, morning breath, the smell of broccoli, and all the other things that are not so wonderful about earth. But I will be able to share so many wonderful things, like her extended family, holidays (mostly Christmas), the way her Daddy dances in the kitchen when he's had a good day at work, the way her Daddy sings Michael Buble while he's shaving, and, let's face it--all the wonderful things about her Texan daddy. Not to mention the way my dad will love to rock her to sleep, the way my mom will kiss her chubby little cheeks. I think we'll be just fine.

*We have two "S" names that we both agree are equally exceptional. But we are waiting until she's born to pick the best of the two that will suit her. Her middle name is Jane, which we have already decided on. Thus, we refer to her as SJ. And you can, too!
*I like to sing to SJ as well. But if you know me, you know I'm always singing. My favorite James Taylor song is "Sweet Baby James." It's a cowboy lullaby that he wrote for his friend's baby. I change "James" to "Jane" and sing it to her. I hope when she arrives she'll remember the sound of me singing it to her, and it will sooth her. I love my baby Jane.

Week 19...Boy or Girl?

Well, dear readers...in less than 85 hours we will know the sex of our dear baby. I am mostly excited for that, of course. But I am also very excited to see the baby move, for Texan to come to his first doctor's appointment with me, and to hear all about our baby's development. I know that God knows what I need more than I know what I want, so whatever the sex is, I will be thrilled. I pray for a healthy baby, and a clear determination of the gender. Amen.

Currently, presently, at this time, we are experiencing a power outage. Of course, I can't post this until the matter is resolved since our wifi is off, but as I type, it is 1 a.m. and I was awoken by the silence and lack of fan rotation in our room. As I fell asleep around 11:25, I listened to the thunder and watched the lightening flash through my eyelids, and thought drearily, "I hope we don't lose power. I can't live without air conditioning." Yet, here we are. Hopes dashed. It is still 73 degrees in our home, which is precisely where I desire the temperature to stay forever and always, but for how long will this last? How long has the power been out? I do not suspect very long. I have a curse, not yet named by professionals, that disallows me to sleep without the roaring of a fan next to my head. So, naturally, when I noticed my fan was off I jiggled the switch from "ON" to "3" to "2" to "ON" and NOTHING. Then I imagined the face of the man in our Sunday school class who is employed by our local electric company. Then I wondered if I had his number. Then I woke Texan. He could not care less. Thus, here I am.

My recent pregnancy cravings are neither an interesting matter, nor pressing in this emergency situation. But that's why you're reading this, so I'll buck up. This week it has been impossible for me to deny my need for Honey Nut Cheerios. Having, at my disposal, a box of regular Cheerios--which, by their very nature, taste like absolute BOX. So I warmed 2 tablespoons of honey along with a cap-full of vanilla extract and combined the mixture with 2 cups of said Cheerios. The outcome was fantastic, and my taste buds were satisfied. Other than that, I continue to drink copious amounts of chocolate milk. But in a strange new development, I am suddenly aroused to suspicion by my interest in Swiss Miss hot chocolate. As a kid I wriggled in delight as the steaming cup was shoved my way, as I dogged the liquidy gross-ness with my lips allowing inside only the holiest of holy marshmallows. Because that, after all, is all hot chocolate was to me as a child--a vehicle for marshmallows. I never actually finished a glass of hot chocolate as a child, I don't think. But I found myself consuming it rather savagely this week in the evenings after dinner. Now, you lean back in your swivel chair and say, "Cara, you already told us you crave chocolate milk. Isn't this the same thing?" No, you petulant fool. It's quite different.

This has been a top week for fitness. One day, I did 30 minutes of outdoor sweating (sanding a chair in the hot, hot sun) followed by 30 minutes of preggo yoga with Katy. Another day I did a 40-minute cardio workout designed for the sacred vessel woman that wore me out. Then yesterday I rounded out the week with a 90 minute walk-about with my Texan and our hounds.

Woof.

Power outage update: at 2am we heard the power come back on as a transformer blew. (Well, Texan heard it and described it to me.) All I heard was "beep." As I lay there in silence trying, in excellent futility to light my mocha-scented candle, to let its embers comfort me, and its smell enrapture my senses, Texan went back to the breaker box, which is apparently on our front porch. I burned my thumb something fierce trying to light my candle, and just as I got it lit and crossed the room to suck on my sore thumb, GLORY! The power returned. I am so glad I ordered Texan to turn the light switches to the "ON" position so that the power would have a triumphant and dramatic return. It was glorious. Full of glory. I hugged my refrigerator tightly as I listened to its gentle whirring as it cooled my milk ever so skillfully. My tears were not wasted on you, Skim. Yes, dear readers, I cried at the thought of my milk spoiling. And I apologize for calling you petulant fools. It was the heat, and my sports bra is a little too tight. Goodnight.

Week 18

So, I'm back after a one-week hiatus. Boy, last weekend was a busy one. And by the time we got home from Texan's grandparents' house on Sunday afternoon (which is usually the day we take our belly pic) it was 5:30 and I was exhausted. I slept for two hours, then caught up on some housework and went back to bed.* Last Friday night we left for my parents' house after Texan got home from work. That's really how the busy weekend got started. We got to their house around 10 pm and went straight to bed, then spent Saturday shopping, out to breakfast, and having dinner at my sister's house, and of course--the real reason we went to my parents' in the first place--we celebrated my dad's 51st birthday! We left around 7pm, and got home around 9:30 that night, and I'm pretty sure we went to bed soon after returning home because we had nursery the next morning at church.* But after church on Sunday we spent the entire day with Texan's grandparents on their ranch. I got to ride in Nanny's golf cart around the property while our dogs ran dangerously close to the tires and Texan held me tightly so I didn't fall out as he took some interesting curves and ditches at warp speed. And that, dear readers, is what a blog-less weekend looks like.

This has been an interesting week. We decided that we will not buy a house yet. We were so set on buying a house before baby comes, but God in his infinite wisdom gave us a very clear answer. No. So, with that out of our way, we can focus on other things. Like ME!  (haha, just kidding).

Here are some interesting pregnancy developments from the past two weeks:
~I picked up two GINORMOUS (wow, that's a word!) bags of maternity clothes from a dear Sunday school friend. It took me 3 episodes of 30 Rock on Netflix to try on all of the items. That's 90 minutes in Netflix talk.
~My sweet big sister who lives in Sin City mailed me a box full of maternity clothes on Thursday, so I'm hoping to receive that one later this coming week.
~My other big sister who lives only 3 episodes of 30 Rock on Netflix away (are you catching on?) came into town to help me register for baby items at Target. It's nice to have a mom there, because I have no idea what I'm doing.
~Let's see, my biggest craving in these past two week would have to be PB&J. I have at least one a day for any meal. Sometimes I have one just because. Grape jelly. There is no substitute.
~According to my book "Your Pregnancy Week by Week" the normal amount of weight gain at 18-weeks in 10-13 pounds. And I have only gained 8. I am beyond thrilled about this.
~I have decided that I love being pregnant.
~We have FINALLY decided 100% on the names for our child be he a boy, or be he a girl. *chortle* And I mean that in a final way, not to say it took us a long time. But to say that this is the FINAL time I will say that. 
~I have decided that I love pregnancy yoga. There's this woman named Katy Apple-something. And she is the founder and director of Apple Yoga, and she has free 10-minute workouts on YouTube. I do 2 episodes a day for 3-4 days a week. But this week I'm going to start doing 3 episodes a day because we are in the triple-digits here in Hell's Kitchen (I don't know, the fingers are flowing) and I try to spend time walking my dogs or going to the track or sanding furniture in the shade, but I get so hot a winded so quickly, that I just go inside and do Yoga.

Namaste.

Belly Pic...

*I usually summon up the energy to do my weekly blog while Texan lifts weights. I say, "Does this belly pic make my baby look fat?" and he asks, "Does this bench press make my biceps look good?" You get the picture. But there was way too much yawning going on for any blogging/weight training last Sunday. So, thanks for waiting.
*Boy*, do I love watching Texan with the babies. We have a group of 1-year-olds (give or take a month or two) and he is absolutely adorable with them. We have this cool bean-shaped table with bucket seats in ut. Looks like this...

It's like an 8-baby high chair! If I ever had multiples I would HAVE to get one. We set the babies in it for snack time. Well, Texan likes to pull up a chair into the innward-part and hold meetings with the babies. It's adorable.
*I don't know why I keep saying "boy." I think I'm just subconsciously (and let's face it, consciously) hoping for a boy.