This is why...

I no longer post pics on the blog.

Almost 36 weeks...

Widdle Maren

Happy Birthday, Maren!
Welcome to the dark side (a.k.a. adulthood).

Adorable then...
Totally still adorable.... and accomplished.

Here are a few things I appreciate about Maren.

When I first met her I was immediately impressed with how responsible and helpful she was.

She agreed to be my mole and scope out dating prospects for me in the Singles ward. Granted, we kind of overlooked Alex, but it all worked out in the end.

She's always willing to step in and take charge at a moment's notice. (i.e. she taught the Laurels when I was on the verge of a meltdown)

She knows how to sleep the right way - Flamingos Unite!! We need to teach Sophie how to flamingo. :)

She has wicked-awesome "caching" skills.

She's not too-cool for big hugs or piggy back rides.

She can totally do the cute, girly thing - but doesn't get caught up in all the girly fluff that usually goes with that.

Hope your birthday is AWESOME - even though you're at work today - have a good one!!

Shawshank Redemption

At this moment, our little baby is working feverishly to make his escape. I don't know how well thought out his plan is. If he's like one of us he's skipped planning altogether and gone straight into execution mode. He's hoping that with enough S-T-R-E-T-C-H-I-N-G my stomach will just pop open and let him out. Not gonna' happen. We'd love to re-enact Alien for everyone, but then you'd really think we were weird...

So, 5 weeks to go. I wouldn't be completely heartbroken if he came early. I'm kind of over this whole being pregnant thing. It is a miraculous thing what the human body can do. Really. I just want to get to the near-impossible part of the miracle where my body shrinks back to semi-normal state and hides all evidence that I was pregnant. I'm sure that's some old wives tale that young Mom's hang on to...

Aside from the baby. We've got most everything put away in our apartment now and have even started to mingle a bit with the neighbors. We are loving this ward. We've spent some time with one couple in particular who moved in just before us - we barbecued with them this evening and one other couple. It was fun. Unfortunately Alex left a few minutes earlier than me to get ready for work. As soon as I headed for home I knew we were going to have a problem - the locked front door! I purposely left my keys at home and contemplated whether we should leave the door unlocked. Alex assured me he had his keys, so we'd be fine locking the door. It was fine... until he and his keys left for work before I got home. I had a hopeful moment of "maybe he remembered to unlock the door before he left"... but no. Total bummer. The windows were both open, but I didn't like the idea of shimmying my butterball tummy through the window in mid-daylight. Even worse, the idea of getting my hindquarters stuck in the window frame did not excite me. Luckily, one of the husband's from our group offered to do it for me and within minutes the door was unlocked.

Not much else happening in our world. Alex is enjoying a much needed break from school. Unfortunately he still has to focus some time on work and GRE study. We're hoping with enough mandatory vegging he'll become partially sane again... at least until the baby comes and knocks us both off our rocker.

**P.S. ** For anyone in Bellingham/Washington: We're looking for someone willing to cat sit for approximately 3 months, September - beginning of December. My sister has been watching my cats and made the decision recently to move to L.A. She's taking one, but will leave the other behind to be with us when we return. The problem is she leaves the first week of September and we won't be back until the beginning of December. The cat is indoor only and potty trained... if you know anyone who'd be willing to take on a cat for a few months until we get back - let me know (comment or call). We'd pay for food, litter and your troubles...

Brrr...

This morning was glorious! I woke up shivering at 4 am, a sensation I haven't felt for months - it was great!

The funny part is, just prior to waking I was having the strangest dream. I dreamt that Alex and I were riding around with Shannon in her old grey Subaru. We were sitting in the back seat on our way to Silverdale. Eventually (in the dream) I discovered I was cold and decided to run a bath - in the back of her car! Magically she had a bath tub built-in around us in the back. I turned the faucet on, but the water never got quite warm enough to ease my chills. I kept trying over and over again hoping it would get hot, but it never did. Eventually I woke up and was shivering. That's probably what prompted the weird dream in the first place. After loading up the covers and summoning Alex for a mandatory cuddle (**I say summon because we are nearly on opposite ends of the universe with all of the pillows I have barricaded between us) I was comfy again and fell right back to sleep - another miracle in itself. I didn't sleep as long as I would have liked, but the couple hours I did get gave me the boost I've needed for a few weeks. Hallelujah!

Hopefully I'll have an ounce of energy left this evening to get some cleaning done. Our spare bedroom is still filled with boxes and baby loot that needs to be organized. Once we finish that *little* project I'll be able to relax... at least for a few days until I come up with another project. I keep getting the naggy feeling that I need to get things ready for baby sooner than I'd like. It may just be first time pregnancy jitters, but I'm not going to ignore it. I've heard of 2 people this week that delivered 3 weeks earlier than their due dates and I've had a few dreams where I did the same. If nothing else, getting the baby's room set up and starting to pack my hospital bag will ease my anxiety.

Family Feud: The Missing Loaf

Yesterday was a very tense day in our home. We had the fight of the century. Blood was boiling. Feelings were hurt. Definitely not a good day. Most people fight over things of importance, like finances and family. We do too, but this was much more important - a loaf of bread.

Yes... a loaf of BREAD... of the lack thereof.

Yesterday I ran home for lunch. I had a plan and I was excited. When I got home I busted out the bread maker and proceeded to meticulously measure out ingredients. I love fresh baked bread - the smell, the taste. Everything. It's wonderful. I've been having a rough week (bouts of insomnia and discomfort) and knew this would be just the thing to snap me out of my funk. I nearly missed actually eating lunch because I spent so much time preparing what was going to be an amazing loaf of happiness.

Flash forward 3 hours later....

I come home, open the door. No yummy bread smell. I was sure it must be a fluke. I continue on to the bread maker and notice the top of the loaf is quite pale and flat. Not a good sign. I inspect further, opening the bread maker to discover my fabulous loaf of bread was actually an over-risen mass of dough. Deception and disappointment. I'm baffled. What could have gone so wrong? Then, I see the problem. The bread maker was unplugged. What?! I immediately knew what happened and I was ticked. Combine disappointment, angry hungry and pregnancy hormones and you have a pretty lethal concoction. I angered in record time.

5 minutes later Alex got home and I lost it. I tried to be calm and asked what prompted him to unplug a bread maker that was in the process of ensuring my happiness. He looked confused. "I didn't, I unplugged the toaster." "No, you didn't." I explained that the out-of-place, large, metal box on our counter was actually a bread maker. We went back and forth a few more times until finally he accepted that he had, in fact, unplugged the bread maker. Apparently him buying me flour earlier that morning, having the conversation about how much I love bread and seeing the bread maker on the counter didn't clue him in that the cord might NOT be the toaster cord. He quickly followed up by saying it was an accident. If this were the first time, I may have been more forgiving, but this happens regularly. Our conversation quickly escalated into ridiculousness - him explaining why it's so important to keep toasters unplugged and me harping on the importance of not making assumptions because you'll always get burned. By the time we ate dinner and left for our prenatal class, the damage was done. He was offended by my cruelty and I was shocked by his lack of common sense.

Thankfully the class provided a nice break from our bread woes. Once class was over we were both a little more rational. At least for a moment. When I started to explain why I got so mad, it made him mad all over again. By the end of the night, we came to the conclusion we weren't going to end our marriage over bread and should probably get some sleep. This morning we both felt pretty sheepish. After all, it was just a loaf of bread. I still haven't found a productive way to harness my anger, but I'm hoping I'll get better at it with age. In the meantime, he did make another loaf. I've already devoured half of it over the course of the day. Oh, how I love bread!

The Mysterious Baby Booth

The home owners returned today after serving an 18-month mission in Frankfurt, Germany. In preparation for their arrival, we've been working overtime cleaning, mowing, weeding and doing every other miserable task associated with keeping a home. I'm pleased to say the cleaning is DONE! I just hope they're pleased with it. We should hear from them once they've had a chance to settle back in.

Earlier in the week I decided to give-in to my curiosity and paid to get a 3D ultrasound from my doctor's office. I'm just over 32 weeks which gave me a 50/50 chance of getting any shots at all. They like to do the 3D ultrasounds when you are between 28-32 weeks - before the baby gets too big and moves into the head down position. In spite of baby's efforts to shield his face the tech was able to get a few pics . I'm having issues pulling the images from the disk, so you'll have to settle for these. I'll try to post more later when I have more time to fuss with them...

I kind of freaked when I saw this 2D image - baby has some serious lips going on.


Here are the 3D. They're crummy quality since I had to take a picture of a picture... but you get the idea. There's definitely a baby in there. I just don't know who he looks like... or where those lips came from.




When they did the ultrasound they said the baby was breech. I'm hoping he'll get himself turned around and into the head down position over the next 8 weeks. He is very active these days. Things are getting less comfortable everyday - especially when he's pushing against my ribs or out against my stomach. I'm convinced one of these days he's going to break through and I'll see a little baby hand waving at me... or worse, he'll eat his way through with that huge mouth of his!

In other news, we started our prenatal class this evening. It's a fun class and the teacher has a great sense of humor. It was helpful for both of us to learn more about labor and delivery. Obviously the idea of it all still terrifies me, but it's nice to know what's in store. I had made up my mind before, but the class pretty much solidified my decision - I am definitely pro-epidural. This is one scenario where "no pain, no gain" does not apply. The drugs were invented for a reason and I intend on taking full advantage of them. End of story.

Home Sweet Home

It's not completely sweet yet, but the apartment is definitely starting to feel like home. I thought it would be awful, but honestly we're enjoying the change. Well, aside from the fishbowl factor. I have to remind myself constantly that the neighbors have full viewing access into our unit. Walking around in undies is a no-no.

Here are some pics I took a few minutes ago documenting our progress so far. Things are extremely... cozy. On a positive note, portable A/C units work quite well in cozy spaces - a HUGE perk right now.


Living Room


I still don't think the cinder blocks do much for the ambiance, but they are very effective for deadening sound. Otherwise, I may have killed a few neighbor children by now...


Kitchen/Dining

We decided to stuff the dining table in the kitchen after all. It's crowded, but the table is essential considering the minimal amount of counter space. The lack of dishwasher is still an adjustment, but I seem to be getting some weird kind of domestic bliss washing dishes by hand. Creepy.


Pantry

The microwave was a huge problem. It looked normal size until we put it on the counter. It was hugemongous leaving only an inch of counter space in front of it. We decided the pantry was a much better location.


Bathroom

Still too small, but tolerable.


Our Bedroom

This room needs some help. For now we have the essentials just kind of strewn about.


The Baby's Bedroom/Storage/Guest Bedroom

Total disaster and chaos, with the exception of the closet which is pretty tidy. Eventually we'll have given away or stowed away most of these things to make room for the baby's playard and a bed for guests. I hope to start working on it once we finish cleaning the house we just moved out of. The home owner returns next Tuesday, the 28th.


Best Purchase I Ever Made (recently)

Love, love, LOVE the A/C unit. This thing has saved my life time and time again. It's AMAZING!


Da Belly (outfitted in my finest sweats and t-shirt)
31 weeks.

For the record, I'm on my way to clean the house... I mean, I'd probably be in sweats anyway, but cleaning house semi-justifies wearing sweats, right? Hmmm... maybe being pregnant justifies them in itself. I think so.

About the baby. He's very active these days. His punches, kicks and/or head butts are a lot more noticeable, sometimes even painful. Alex loves to watch my belly move all over the place when baby has his "beat-up Mom fits". I would too, but it's usually when I'm trying to sleep or relax. We still don't have a name. We had a few we liked, but they just didn't feel right. We're back to square one. Don't worry Booths, Emmett is still out. Cravings. I have several - lemonade, Taco Bell crunchy tacos or other Mexican-type food, french fries, corn on the cob and sugary things like Frosted Flakes. How's that for a balanced diet? I'm officially a fatty now, outweighing Alex (who claims he's fat) by 2 pounds. I'm currently at 166... my goal is to stay under 180, preferably 175. We'll see.

Hope everyone is doing well!