Will you still be my friend if I wear velcro tennis shoes?

So today I am 32 weeks and 6 days along. This means that I only have 7weeks and 1 day left (in theory). Wow. I've never had a length of time seem so long AND so short all at the same time.

There's not a whole lot to update on since last week. Its still ridiculously hot and I'm still huge and sweaty. I have noticed what little energy I have left slowly draining from my body. I may or may not be comatose by October 15th. In the very rare instances that I do have energy, I am trying to get in a workout. Its amazing how much differently that word is defined in my brain now as opposed to before I was pregnant. Sometimes I feel like my pre-pregnancy ghost is mocking me as I huff and puff through my little prenatal workout.....I sure hate that skinny bitch sometimes ;-) Before I got pregnant, I would come home, throw on my running shorts and shoes and go for a quick 3-miler or I would sweat my buns off to an hour long Jillian Michaels video (its way more hardcore than it sounds). Now, when I get winded coming up the stairs....or just getting into my car.....I like to think I'm burning calories and I totally count it as working out. Oh, and instead of just "throwing on my running shoes" I now have to figure out how to get them on without untieing them because I have recently discovered I am no longer able to tie my own shoes. Fantastic. Upon first discovering this new little gem, I momentarily considered where I could find a pair of velcro running shoes....then decided I'd probably just stop working out before I would spend money on something like that. Or the alternative.....just wear them untied. I mean, lets face it, my feet don't really move that much during workouts these days, so I'm not really putting myself in any danger of tripping over the loose ends ;-)

I guess besides the usual complaints and general aches and pains, I am feeling pretty good :) Dan and I have been taking advantage of our free weekends and our ability to do nothing.....its been really fantastic, although we are really looking forward to weekends filled with spending time with our little one :) I have another Dr appt tomorrow afternoon then another in 2 weeks....after that, we're weekly! CRAZY!!!! September is already shaping up to be a very busy month so hopefully it will fly by and October will be here with is cooler weather and our Kung Fu Princess :) Yep, she has spent her time on the inside perfecting her little (and by little, I mean painful) jabs and kicks. Sometimes I wonder if she's having a party or something because I'm positive there is the strength of more than one child inside of me....

I guess that's it for now....

me and my huge face.....I mean belly.....at 32 wks :)

Overwhelmed is an Understatement

Today I am 31 wks and 2 days pregnant. I am wrapping up a weekend that  can only be described as: perfect.

To start off, let me just say that in the last post that most of my blog followers were emailed, but no longer have access to, I was having a bad day (also and understatement). I deleted the post shortly after writing it because I was worried I was coming off depressed and I certainly didnt want anyone to worry about me, or how my state of mind that day might be effecting my little dancer within. Luckily, the rest of my week rounded out to be much better. Not sure if that was only by comparison, or it if it was because of how excited I was to get to the events of the weekend or if my hormones just decided to give me, and those around me, a break for a minute. Regardless, I can assure you, I am no longer in a state of depress...in fact, its quite the opposite.

This weekend was an exciting weekend for me for many reasons. For one, my best friend of 20+ years was coming in town to stay with me. I hadn't seen Margaret since LAST November......pretty much an eternity. Secondly, this was the weekend of my very first baby shower! And lastly, because this week marks the week where we are officially down to double digits when it comes to the weekly countdown.

Margaret got here on Friday night around 8:30. I should probably start by saying that generally when Margaret comes to visit, we have quite the whirlwind couple of days! We manage to cram months worth of catching up and haning out into a short, often 48 hour, period. She would normally get here, immediately dump her suitcase on the floor in my bedroom for both of us to sift through while I would be busy pulling things from my closet so that we could, in junior high fashion, play dress up with each others' wardrobes which often closely resemble each other, and prepare for a night on the town. Well, given that Margaret is not 7 1/2 months pregnant, we skipped the ritualistic suitcase dump (there's no need to remind me I am not a size 2 anymore, pretty sure I'm not fooling anyone), and seeing as how our 'big night on the town' was going to consist of a trip to OTB (strictly for their delicious queso), the "getting ready" portion of the evening didnt take nearly as long. So, we went to dinner, and talked about....well, everything. Mostly we went through the motions so as not to miss anything.....how's your fam, your bf, your job, what's pissing you off, what's making you happy, how many kids does Dwight have now and of course, the please please please move back to Texas because I miss you segment (perfected over the years, although still ineffective). When we got done with dinner, instead of hitting up the bars, we came back to the house, changed into our fat pants and parked on the couch. It was truly a new experience in our relationship.....and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Margaret opened my eyes to the wonder that IS words with friends (its an iphone app thats like playing scrabble - this explanation is for my mom ;-)), I'm pretty sure she cheats though, so I have yet to win a game...or score anything over 20 points. So, basically we sat on the couch, in our pjams and played scrabble while watching a chick flick......we have offically flashed forward 50 yrs. The next day, we spent most of the day getting ready for, attending, and recovering from my first baby shower :) Again, quite the change from a recovery we would normally be doing from our Friday night bender, but surprisingly similar in that it involved pizza, ice cream, candy....and more pizza. It also included pjams and the couch again. I think we made it until just almost midnight on Saturday before Dan and I grabbed our walkers and headed off to bed. I'm sure Margaret thinks we are 80 years old....and she may be right, but I WAS POOPED!! Sadly, Margaret left this morning to head back to her life where bedtimes fall long after the sun goes down and pajamas are never included in a big night out. It was a short weekend, but I truly enjoyed every minute of it. Luckily, when she left this time, we already knew that we would see each other again soon....but the next time, we would be a party of 3 (at least with just the girls) and we would be having all sorts of different kinds of fun!

So, earlier I just kind of skimmed over another big part of my weekend. I felt like both Margaret and my Baby Shower deserved the respect of their own paragraphs ;-) Let me just start by saying that I have never felt more overwhelmed with love than I did on Saturday, August 13th. Walking into the room at Pappadeaux, I could not believe my eyes. Everything was perfect. From the diaper cake topped with flowers, to the clothes line of ADORABLE Mia gear, to the centerpieces to the spread.....I just could not have asked for more. I am truly truly thankful for all of the hard work that Kristin, Deanna and David put in to have this shower for me. I get teary eyed even thinking about how lucky Mia and I are to have them in our lives. And then, to see so many faces of people I love there.....it blew me away. Seeing as how this is my first kid, I have never been on the receiving end of a baby shower before. Normally, I am in the audience coo-ing and aww-ing over the tiny little things that get pulled out of those cute little gift bags, so this was a very new experience for me. I'm eternally grateful that most of the gifts that I got, I was familiar with, so I didnt have to guess (and most likely guess incorrectly) what their function was. I have to admit, I was stumped once or twice by things.....and surprisingly, they were things that I, myself had registered for!! I learned while registering for baby stuff that it is in NO WAY similar to registering for wedding stuff. When you register for your wedding, you're mainly registering for things that you have, at one point in your life used before. That is NOT the case with a baby registry. Not to mention, you can't go get a drink to unwind after the three hour ordeal of registering for things that you may or may not need for a new human in the first year of life, and trust me....an ice cream sundae does not have the same effect (I tried). I cannot believe how much we got though! You people have really spoiled us! And we are eternally greatful :) For those of you who know my husband well, it comes as no suprise that, not only is everything that needed to be put together, put together, but everything else is put away and we have it organized according to size, article of clothing and season, the towels are in their designated place, the monitors are plugged in and ready to go and the boxes are disposed of.  He needs help....I'm trying to find us meetings to go to. I must say, having more stuff for her, only make this even more real. We are literally 8wks and 5 days out from her due date......wow.

That brings me to my next order of business.....WE ARE ONLY 8WK AND 5DAYS from her DUE DATE! I remember talking to my mom early on and thinking that once I got to the 8wk mark it would just fly by (that marker kept moving as my pregnancy progressed). Now, here I am, just a little more than 8 weeks from meeting my little girl. I can hardly believe it. I have had people approach me before (mostly moms) and ask me if I think time "is just flying by"....No. I dont think that. Not at all. It literally feels like I have been pregnat since I was born. I know its only been 31 weeks, but it feels like a lifetime. I'm not saying that as a bad thing, necessarily, I'm jsut saying that all of these women got my hopes up that pregnancy goes by in a flash....and, now from my experience, I have been left no choice but to assume that all women are liars ;-) I'm kidding. Honestly, the last couple weeks have gone by pretty fast. I think its just the fact that after a while, you forget life before pregnancy. I don't remember what my body used to look like, I don't know how my boobs ever fit into a size A cup, and I only vaguely remember being able to see my lady parts when I look down. I'm pretty sure my belly button used to be inverted and I know there was a time that I could take a picture and not look like someone had used one of those funhouse mirrors to make my face look twice as wide as I think it should. You know what's cool though? I also don't remember when I could sit down and not feel my little girl kicking inside me. I don't recall the time when I could hear the name Amelia or Mia and have no reaction at all, or see a newborn on tv and not immediately burst into tears of joy. And I will never forget the day that I found out I was going to be a mommy, or the look on my husband's face when I told him he was going to be a dad. I'll never forget the first time we heard her heartbeat or saw her on the sonogram screen.....and you know what, that's enough for me to forget about all the other stuff :)

This weekend has been incredible in so many ways. There are not enough words to express how thankful I am to have such amazing people in my life. It puts my mind at ease knowing that my little girl will have no doubts about how much she is loved :)

Until next time.....

FYI - I'm not as miserable as I must look....

I'm still here....29 weeks and 3 days, and despite what perfect strangers seem to think...I'm doing just peachy!

Dan and I just got back from a weekend in Austin. We decided to take a little trip to get away one last time before we had to start packing up the apartment to go anywhere for any amount of time. It was just what the doctor ordered too. We did a whole lot of nothing, besides eat and relax! It was perfect :) I've included some pictures below.....as you can see, I've recently discovered the wonder that IS Hypstamatic App for the iphone, I am now WAY more confident than I should be as a photographer ;-)

Saturday morning we got up and walked around Zilker Botanical Gardens. It was really gorgeous :) And luckily we got there early enough to where it wasnt a million degrees out, so we could actually enjoy it!

I know you must think I'm a camera whore, but its only because Dan REFUSED to be in any pictures....I tried.

The hotel we stayed at was in the Botanical gardens, so Saturday, before we went to eat, we walked around the grounds....this was our view :)

I ended up with a lot of photos of the food we ordered (much to Dan's annoyance ;-)) but I would forget most of the time until whatever it was was half way gone and it looked like a wild animal had ravaged it, so I opted not to post those, but among them were a delicious Gyro platter and Baklava from a restaurant called Athenian Bar and Grill, a Ginormous plate of bbq with the most delicious potatoe salad I've ever had and a slice of key lime pie, and a table full of wonderful sushi (not all cooked, but not all for me either) and a scoop of green tea ice cream. I guess its apparent that I adopted a new philosophy of vacationing while pregnant, DESSERTS are a MUST.....with EVERY meal ;-)

Another thing that I encountered, was a first for me.....I am assuming its because this is the first time I'm pregnant, and because we are having some record breaking heat this year. This weekend while we were gone, I cannot tell you how many perfect strangers approached me to tell me how BAD they felt for me.....??? Now, keep in mind, I often forget that I am 7 months pregnant so my immediate response is complete and utter confusion. Once I remember that they are referring to being pregnant during the heat of the summer, my confusion turns to....well, I'm still confused. Why would someone feel the need to let me know how much they wouldnt want to be me right now? I didnt even know that person, so I would probably have assumed they wouldnt want to trade lives anyway if I had put any thought into it at all. I assume this is their way of being sympathetic.....well you can take your sympathy and shove it! I'm just fine. Yes, its hot. Yes, I'm pregnant. Yes, these are not ideal conditions for being pregnant.....but I'm NOT DYING.....I'm just sweaty and hormonal! And honestly, if they knew me at all, during the heat of the summer, pregnant or not....I'm always sweaty and hormonal, so I guess the joke's on them ;-) I had another lady stop me in the bathroom when we stopped for...well, the bathroom, on the way back to Dallas. She went on for 5 minutes about how miserable I must be traveling while pregnant. How there was no way she would EVER do that. I wonder if she knew I was riding in a car.....and wasn't actually hiking back to my destination. I'm telling you....when she left, I had to look in the mirror to see what I looked like. From her reaction, you would have sworn someone had strapped a saddle on me and was riding me back! So, I guess I should make up a sandwich board to wear in public, maybe something along the lines of "I'm OK! Despite my outward appearance...." Either that, or I should start playing it up and asking these people for money to deal with the mental anguish that i'm OBVIOUSLY suffering at the moment ;-)

So, backing up a little, I had my 29 week dr. appointment Friday morning before we left for Austin. It was your pretty standard appointment: pee in a cup, get weighed, blood pressure taken, uterus measured, angel wing flutters (heartbeat) counted. The weird part about it, was that for the first time since we started this roller coaster ride, I was measuring small.....like smaller than I did 2 weeks ago. The doctor's assistant also informed me that my blood pressure was back down from the last two times she took it. Since she didn't bother telling me it was high during those visits, I guess I wasn't really concerned before, or relieved for that matter that it was back down. My fundus (uterus) height was 27 cm which is still within the normal range for being 29 wks, but it was on the low end which struck me as odd considering I have yet to be on the low end for anything during this pregnancy. But she didnt seem worried, or baffled, so I guess everythings fine. Mia's heartbeat was strong still at 150, that sound is always the highlight of my visit :) I'm going back again next Friday (seems so soon!) and will start going weekly at 35 weeks....which is only 3 dr visits away! holy cow!

I asked my doctor this time if there was a chance that we would get to see her again before she makes her grand entrance. She said that normally insurance doesn't cover another sonogram, BUT that she would see if they could "find a reason". Good enough for me! I have been really curious as to how much this little one is going to weigh when she finally gets here. My doctor said they can start guesstimating around 37 weeks. I can't wait until then....I've had dreams about having both a miniature, fit-in-the-palm-of-your-hand baby, as well as a lady part ruining 16 pounder.....lets hope my little angel falls somewhere in the middle ;-)

I guess that's it for now......

Here's me and Mia on her very first Vacation  - 29Wks