I ordered some maternity clothes from OldNavy.com last week -- which is a good thing because this week I was hit with a case of the "I'm exploding...I hate that effin' scale...it can't be right." Which, really, is probably the case. I guess I'll find out next Friday -- but you know what? It's okay. I am not going to worry about it -- or at the very least I am going to my damnedest to try and not worry about it unless there is something to worry about (like a 8-10 pound weight gain in a week). I also spent some quality time looking at other belly shots of women between 29-30 weeks and ... well I am about right. It's just that I wasn't liking most of my tops anymore.

I got the new clothes today: a wrap dress, a floral print shirt, two scoop neck t-shirts (grey and black) and a rib knit white tank top to wear underneath two white maternity shirts I got from the jen/sarah stash that I couldn't wear because they see through. So I feel like my wardrobe just exploded with stylish, flattering options for clothes to wear. Just in the nick of time, when I am really feeling like I look pregnant.

Though, for the record, no strangers have asked me when I am due, or tried to touch the belly, or said anything like "you look like you are going to explode or have the baby any minute." Last week, I did have a GPA friend exclaim "Are you pregnant?" but that isn't the same as a complete stranger whose never met me, you know. I guess this might be a good thing, but reading about so many women complain about it, I am starting to feel like I might be missing out on something. ;)

Tomorrow our water heater is finally being replaced and at the same time a chimney liner is being installed, all for the low low price of $1150. Yeah.... well, we can always say that there is a new water heater when/if we ever sell...right? I can't say that it's been too terrible living without it, because it hasn't. Though it'll be a little easier washing dishes I guess...and bathing..though the bathes were a nice change of pace. I am staying home for this...and I am finally returning the fetal doppler I had rented back in week 14. I was thinking of one last listen tomorrow morning before it heads off. I only used it for a handful of times and each time, it was quick. Once I heard the heartbeat and listened for a few seconds, I turned it off and put it away. You know, just in case Bacon Bit was annoyed or something.

The Bit has been moving around ALOT lately. It's kind of cool to feel a whole ... ham move. I think positions in are in flux right now...I felt a kick near my ribs on my right side for the first time today. Though that could be a fluke really...because I haven't felt it again. Most of the kicking type movements are still centered low in my pelvis.

I got an invitation to my baby shower today! I was going to use it to make a guest book, but the mailing sorter ripped a corner of it off. I hope that Hilary has an extra one laying around. Oh here she is now, I should ask her. [asks....she says yes, she does have another one.] That reminds me, that I just have so many things that I would eventually like to put in a scrapbook...everything from the appointments maybe...the ultrasounds, the pictures of pregnancy, the baby shower invitation...etc. Right now I am just sort of collecting it all in a file folder (box type thing). Of course I don't want to start that project until the Bit gets here.

Tim is going to paint the guest room this weekend a palette of oranges...I'm excited. I have hated that lavender color in the guest room ever since we moved in, but we just never really did anything about it. Besides, who stays in there except the occasional guest who isn't deathly allergic to cats or dogs. Orange fosters creativity, and Tim said it will go along with her astrological sign (Scorpio). I said "Great, TWO mooody, broody people in the house..." Ha ha. That's okay, I can handle it. :D

So far having Jack in the house is pretty easy going. He's such a mellow Pluto like dog. Though he does seem to like me more than Tim. It's a strange feeling having a dog like me more than Tim. Though the difference is infinitesimal. Because you know, Tim is like St. Francis of Assisi....all babies, kids and animals seem to flock to him like he is gold. I don't know he does it. It must just exude some kind of pheromone. Me? I have to work at it. Have you ever noticed that people like that just take it for granted too? Sheesh.

Okay...what is something that I am good at? Hm. I am good at....at....giving unsolicited advice. :P Speaking of which, I should go to bed. I'm tired and my afternoon nap wasn't very good.

Taking a bath is hard work -- getting up, getting down, shuttling water to and fro. I guess it's a good thing we are finally getting our water heater replaced on Friday. Woo! Hot water again! Though really, it hasn't disrupted our lives too much (except for the cleaning it up part).

Anyway. While I catch my breath -- my to do list for today:

1. Take a bath!
2. Get dressed and redressed (I have to wear old clothes for my painting)
3. It didn't rain last night...so take stuff out of garage and throw on a second coat of paint so it can dry before tonight.
4. Dishes
5. Put dishes away.
6. Put laundry away
7. Chicken pot pie for dinner
8. Coffee with Hilary and Leta
9. Call St. Mary's to make an appointment for one of their hospital tours. Set for Sept. 30th at 4.30
10. Find recipe for chicken pot pie
11. Clean up around the living room
12. If painting is done, then install new furniture items in bedroom!
13. If painting is done, then make the bed using new comforter I got for $20 bucks

Uh, that's good for now.

Bacon Bit was pretty active this morning. I am becoming more convinced that the Bit is NOT head down right now...oh well, there is plenty of time for things to change.

Okay off to paint!

We had a fruit salad of watermelon, blueberries, raspberries and grapes with whip topping and a frozen pizza for dinner. It's Tim's game night so dinner has to be quick. I am currently working on a "beautifying the bedroom" project in which I paint a small three drawer dresser (for a night stand) and a bookshelf a sagey type green that I got blended specially at Home Depot. It's a great afternoon for it...but I am worrying a little about getting the second coat done before night, and then there is the problem of moving it to the garage since it's gonna rain! Crap! Maybe I should just put them in the garage and finish painting them on Wednesday or Thursday after the rain stops. Hm...but I want it NOW!!!

Sigh. Truth be told, I am feeling tired right now...moving around that much to get all the little spots has made me become incredibly aware of I am not very agile right now. Hm. Yeah, as much as I don't want to admit defeat...I should just have Tim move them to the garage until the weather clears since they are dry right now. :( Here he is now....

Check it out...the Town of Wauzeka was evacuated!

Edit: An hour later

Fucking charter -- our cable is out. I am glad that I came online to see if anyone else was experiencing this problem on livejournal's madisonwi community and was ...happy? to see that it wasn't just me. I guess I am happy about it because then it just isn't my cable that's mysteriously fucked up. I just hate having to pay for shoddy -- "you take what we give you" service. And they wonder why we don't want to bundle EVERYTHING with them. :P

Yeah so. Tim has the laptop too, so I am left with the desktop computer...which is okay but .... my tummy is feeling big and in the way. A sure sign that I did too much compiled with eating dinner and we get -- blah. I do have a new book I bought last night. I felt like I needed a trashy read so I got Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's - Brimstone. I hope it's good. I guess I'll find out soon enough as I'll be reading it soon. I almost kind of want to do some creative crafty stuff....but that just isn't gonna happen. I *want* to do it, I just don't want to do it. If that makes any sense -- in particular I am thinking that I want to make a batch of Thank You and Birthday cards. But see, that is easier said than done. I need an idea of how they should look, and then find all the crap and lay it out and then do it...and without the background of TV -- well it's dead to me. Yeah I could listen to the radio. I could.

Today at work my coworker gave me a bunch of baby clothes she got at a garage sale this weekend. It's all really nice, quality stuff but about %50 of it has some stains on it. Honestly? I don't really care because it's only stains and Bacon Bit is inside for most of winter and these stuff is good winter gear. Besides, I'm sure the Bit will add enough stains as it is. Wow, we are starting to get a little collection going here!

We aren't going to visit my Dad for Labor Day weekend like we always do because [hey I just remembered I have some netflix movies that i could watch and be crafty with...hm maybe not] because we are dog sitting Jack. I think we are going to visit him the 3rd weekend of September instead. In the meanwhile, since we are in town for the holiday we are going to have some folks over for a Labor day bbq on Saturday! With a fire later on...just like my Dad's. Cool. That should be nice.

What else? uh...oh yeah we registered this weekend at Target and Babies R Us (actually I had done BRU with a friend of mine who was visiting out of town and is allergic to cats and dogs on Thursday). We still have Amazon to register with -- but we have yet to do it. IT will be done...I promise but I wish there was a generic way to say -- children's books! Glider! and .... uh.... a month of service for a diaper service! yeah...we need to work on that. We were overwhelmed at Target and BRU -- because it's so unknown. It's way different than registering for a wedding, you know? For a wedding it's really for yourselves and you know what you need and what you don't need. For a Bacon Bit it's ... we don't know. Anyway, we did our best. The baby shower is going to be on October 7th. I was thinking of saying that if significant others come then they are welcome to hang out with Tim at the house, but I never got around to saying that to the hosts.

Okay I want to go and be vertical for awhile, and take out my contacts and perhaps read.

I am boiling water for a bath.

Yesterday we were SO sleepy and tired that we made it into work a half an hour late. Today when we can sleep in, we only got to 7.25. :P It didn't help that Pluto got up at 3.00 for a morning outing because he didn't want to get wet last night. Stupid dog. And then the cats were ferocious this morning in getting fed. I used to fantasize about how cool it would be to be the size of a barbie doll (because I could wear all her cool clothes) but also because I could ride the cats around the house. Now I realize that they would just eat me.

So we had poached eggs on a whole grain muffin and blueberry muffins for breakfast this morning. For some reason, three bites into my poached egg my chest started hurting .... like something is blocked in it. Can you get heartburn that fast? I wonder. In any case, I did finish eating the rest of it and took a tums. It's a little better now.

I am not sure what we are going to do today. The world seems full of possibilities -- I hope we don't squander it. Well for a start I am taking a bath -- oh my water is ready now.

(NOTE: This is my 1,000th post!!!!)

Bacon Bit Progress

I updated the montage to include the 26 week photo (which I never had time to post) and this weeks.
Bonus pictures include, me with my shirt down:


And the reason that you never see the my OTHER side (aside from consistency reasons):

I managed to get most of my back surgery scar into this image, but this isn't the best image because you can't see the little cross where they had the suction, and then on my belly button I have a four inch hernia scar. These are some pretty good reasons to not wear a bikini -- *cough* (aside from never having the figure to wear one). On the other hand, if I DID have the figure, I might wear these scars like some people wear tattoos.

Bacon Bit Update:

• The crotch pain feels exactly how you would imagine bones loosening up and separating -- while you are walking, especially fast. Which goes to say, that I can't really be doing all that fast walking, no matter how good I feel everywhere else. I also feel the pain at night when I am turning from side to side.
  
• Tired again. I have found that the afternoon nap is back in full force. If you call me between 3 and 5, chances are that I am asleep. If I do pick up the phone, I am probably crabby. :P
• Bending over to put on socks or pick up stuff, is starting to get a little ungainly. I'm not saying it's impossible, but it sure isn't as easy as it used to be!
  
• Getting a little more breathless, especially at night.
  
• Had the worse migraine ever when we came back from Maine -- I am beginning to think that maybe Bacon Bit has attributed a bit to the intensity of these headaches because these are the worst I remember. However, I have to consider that it might because I just can't take enough medication to wipe it out, so in reality I am just naturally working through more of the pain.
• I think my nails are FINALLY starting to grow a little faster. Cool. I was waiting for that to happen the whole time. My hair however, still feels the same old limp self. :(
• I like coffee again! I discovered this two weeks ago (to today!) and it's awesome! It no longer has that really bad after taste.
  
• I realized I have lost the ultimate thirst. While this might seem like a good thing, I am just worried that I have to work harder now at keeping hydrated. Anytime I feel vaguely crampy or have a tiny little stitch I run to a water source and gulp down as much as I can.
• Bacon Bit's movements are such that they now move across the entire belly. When the Bit is being particularly active, I can look down and see movement in up to three different surface areas of my belly.
  
• Emotionally though? I still don't feel like I have bonded or connected with the Bit. I just feel like this whole thing is so surreal. It's something we wanted for such a long time, and now that it's almost here....we (or maybe just me) just can't feel like it's real. I know they say if you do stuff like work on the room, or buy something, or .... I don't know... for most people they seemed to believe it was real and honest to god happening when they heard a heart beat or saw it on the ultrasound. Sure those things were very reassuring to me, but at the same time it's not in my hands. Maybe it comes down to...if I can continue to be very cautious and careful, then I won't jinx anything and we will have a real, live Bacon Bit here come November.
• That said, we are trying to get the motivation to work on things like the registry, and Tim has been making noise about painting the Bit's room. (see! progress right there, I called it the Bit's room). Plus, he said he would take down the foster kennel in the bedroom so that we can think about rearranging the room to accommodate a cosleeper. We can' do it right now because our bed is at an angle. Plus, I bought this really awesome $3 dollar, three drawer side dresser I want to put on one side of the bed and maybe a lamp? Hm. It needs to be painted and have one of the feet adjusted (I am thinking a cork would fix that). I am excited about dressing up some furniture and making the bedroom a little more nice.
• Swelling is about the same -- more when there is lots of walking and high heat/humidity.
  
• Oh the heat, is getting to be harder to handle. If I get overheated too quickly I start to feel sick and nauseous. I think it's more the humidity.
  
• Overall, though, I feel great! I am not wishing for the end ... in fact it feels like things are really starting to just get interesting. :D Though I have yet to have anyone ask me when I am due. I guess I still look just fat. :P
  
• Today and yesterday might be the start of a new trend -- hungry days! Especially in the morning.
  

In other news

An old high school friend (as in I met her when I was high school) is coming to visit me today. She's in her 60's and I asked Tim to describe her "Oh you know, a early baby boomer who is into native american and spiritual things." Ha ha. I guess that could work. She's also VERY energetic and forgetful. Sadly, she is allergic to dogs and cats so we won't be spending much time around here. Instead I have to find other places to go, and since it's raining it's looking like obrich Gardens might not be the best place to hang out. :( But where can we go to spend 5-6 hours?! Sigh.

Oh and then Tim informed me this morning that the car will need gas if I intend on tooling around...except I never got my lesson on how to pump gas!! I guess I am going to have to rely on Myrna's help to get me through that hurdle.

We had our last estimate this morning on the water heater. He said he would get me an estimate by this afternoon or tomorrow, but we think it might be around 1300...which is the best deal I think. So if it is indeed what he says it will be, then we will go with him and hopefully have hot water by the end of next week. Living without hot water isn't that bad though, really. Maybe it would be worse if it was winter.

Okay, I should pay some bills and then go vacuum the living room and do some general cleaning up. I would like to clean up the bathroom. It's all fuzzy in there from dust and cat hair (by product of the AC being on so much). This morning when I went to the John for the third time, I noticed that there was a HUGE, monstrous sized centipede in the bathtub, along with a littler one. I tried spraying the monster with air freshener -- didn't work, it just freshed it up. Then I tried a generic bathroom cleaner -- nothing, just made it jump around a little more. The fact that I could HEAR it jump just grossed me out. Finally I smashed it with a shampoo bottle (and the little sister) and flushed it down the toilet. I expect with all this rain that I am only going to be seeing more of them. :(

Hello! We are back from Vacation. We had a great time, and I will try to put up pictures later this week. But first I had to catch up for the July Photos.

July was a busy month. We went to a Greyhound Ice Cream social, Cherry Picking, Visiting with Friends and going to a surprise going away party. You can visit them by clicking the link above or to the side.

Vacation was great, we went beach combing, went to Acadia National Park, ate lobster, went kayaking, read a lot (I finished Harry Potter), went on a whale watching trip way out into the Atlantic Ocean, had a plane delay in Minneapolis, and over all had a relaxing time. Vacation always seems to go by so quickly. Thank goodness for pictures to look back on.

We still have a broken water heater, but you know I can live without hot water a little bit. I boiled water for a bath and had one this afternoon. Will have to do the same this evening for the DH, but overall it isn't that bad. I mean, what do you really need hot water for? Bathing and dishes...those are our major needs. We only use hot water for washing once a month when I do a load of whites...everything else is in cold water. In any case, we are still in the middle of looking for estimates on the chimney liner.

Also, I am the 3rd trimester now! Wow, it goes by so quickly. I decided to just wait until Thursday and then show the 26 and half photo and the 28 and half photo at the same time. There is definitely a no hide belly there -- though no one has asked me when I am due yet, nor have I gotten any special attention. In fact, the whole time we were on vacation I kept getting asked if I wanted alcohol or told I should do nonpregnant things. Sheesh! When are the special privileges supposed to kick in?

Also, I know this is a long shot - but if you know anyone who might be looking into giving up their baby for adoption, please give this couple a look. They are really neat people and would be great parents! Visit: Jamie Loves Chris for more information. Pass on the info to anyone you think might be interested or know someone who might be interested.

I gotta take a nap. I'm tired and it's 3 ... I always feel tired between 3 and 4.

I am sitting on the couch at my BIL's place while Tim, his brother and his girlfriend are out playing a round of bocci. I am feeling like standing around and want to NOT swell up before I even get on the plane. Plus, I feel like I might be having problems digesting lunch (chicken sandwich, 3 onions rings and small root better at this place in Milwaukee called Kopps).
Our water heater broke on Thursday. We ordered a water heater from Home Depot. Sub Contractor comes the next day to tell us that he can't install it because we don't have a chimney liner. He leaves and we are $100 poorer for that information. We spend all day on the phone figuring out our options for water heaters and chimney vent vs power vent....and in the end cancel Home Depot. We have an appointment set up for an estimate chimney liner deal on Tuesday when we get back...and no water heater in sight (depends on estimate). This means, when we get back we will have no hot water for about a week or so. Hurray!

At least I have tons of experience growing up without hot water...trust me. Not having hot water doesn't even compare to not having running water.

I drove to my August Doctors appointment by myself, without getting lots or killing anyone. I gained ..... drumroll please..... remember last time it was 8 pound....this time it was ..... four. :D For a total of 15 pounds so far.

I drank the orange drink that was fine...it tasted like Crush. I asked them how many calories were in it, and was first told "No one ever asks because no one cares at this point..." followed by "I don't know."

No one cares? Come on. I care! I was SHOCKED last month when I bought a vending machine Nutty Bar only to find that there were 740 calories in the bitch!!! 740! Anyway. I still don't know the answer...:(

The good part is I got my results today via MyChart -- (I came online to see if our plane was delayed ...it isn't so far....) and:

My number was 120 and the typical normal range is between 70-140 mg/dL.

So I take that to mean, I passed! Hurray!!! Where are the donuts? Just kidding.

I did take a belly shot photo yesterday, as well as downloaded all my July photos...but I didn't get a chance to upload them because of the water heater, packing, and appointments. Man by the time I get back and do anything about them, I'll have a double whammy for you.

Oh, and I learned that my OBGYN that I picked is pregnant and having a baby in October. Huh. So much for having her around...I made appointments to meet with the other dude for the two weeker appointments so he can get to know my private parts. Ha ha. Just kidding. I don't know what they do at that point. I hope he's not creepy.

What a night. Our water heater is busted and is leaking it's life's blood all over the basement. It was soaked up into all the carpet squares and rugs we had down there. I spent most of this afternoon cleaning it up. No fun. We also possibly made a rash decision in which we ordered a water heater from Home Depot. I looked up online to see if there were any bad reviews ... and of course the internet is loaded with them.

We can't forget that the internet loves to tell horror stories. So that is mostly what I found. The biggest complaint is the subcontractor part...sigh. I guess we'll see. We are going to talk to them on the phone and get information...and if we feel like they are going to try and do more work ... (to generate MORE money from us) then we are going to cancel and just deal with cold water and replacing the water heater when we get back.

I'm tired. :(

Last night the DH and I went on a practice drive to the doctor's office. I think I got it....the only problem might be coming back...but this morning I was able to visulize it perfectly. Perhaps that means I only needed a night's sleep to commit the route to memory. It is also, the way to the movie theater I might add. ;) So now I know how to get to and return from:

-the mall and it's surrounding stores, including cool beans
-the doctor's
-hilary's and phil/kandace
-anywhere on willie street or atwood

GAH I am hungry...hold on. I am going to nuke my eggplant parmesean from last night. Man was that tasty...

I feel sort of sorry for my darling. He is experiencing sympathetic weight gain. It's like whatever he does to avoid it, calories and pounds just attack him from left and right! Just kidding. It's not as bad as he likes to let on or bemoan. Men. I have been assured (and in turn assured him) from very reliable sources that this weight will not remain after Bacon Bit is born. I hope I go back to normal ... if I go by my Mom...she went back to normal after the first three kids. It was four and five, that she blames for the major package of pounds. I don't think we'll have that problem seeing as we have only so much money....we are thinking of one more runaround with the reproductive folks to try and get number 2 ... and then after that thinking of other options.

[time passed]

Oh I forgot I was making a post while eating lunch! Ha ha. It was good. Just enough today. This has been a good week at work -- no one is here! I have managed to get lots of little projects done...though not as much as one would have expected, I am sure. I guess I should really apply myself and get loads done tomorrow to make up for the week. It's not my fault it is a slow time at work!

I have to do photos for July this Friday, and the latest belly shot. Even I am impressed at the difference between the two (just based on a mirror appraisal). Though the scale only indicates a 5 pound weight gain. Of course that is MY scale, not the evil doctor's one. Anyway, my camera is full and it needs to be emptied.

I went on MeetUp today to see if there were any good meetups in my neck of the woods...and alas there were not. I am surprised considering there has been a bunch of publicity for it in Redbook, Good Housekeeping and on Oprah. I had recently been reminded of that from an old penpal. Apparently my subconscious thought it was a good idea and woke me up with a burning desire to go and check it out as soonas humanly possible. I also dreamed I wanted to join a secret bridge playing society that also liked to play other games. Hmmm bridge. I had never played this before or even considered it....I wonder...is it hard to learn?

Vacation is like minutes away! Okay, maybe not minutes. We still have loose ends like getting the brother in law (aka house sitter) the lowdown of the house routine, figuring out what to pack, printing out all the paperwork, cleaning the house, paying bills (which I SHOULD be doing right now instead of yapping with you), etc. It's funny though, even though I have a big list of things that need to be done I am not stressed out about it like we were last year. Man, last year we were big bucket of nerves.

Maybe it's because we have one round trip flight and are staying in one place in one city...that will give us time to really get to know the place and explore and most importantly....relax.

This past weekend was great. On Saturday Tim went garage sailing me around the neighborhood (it was the annual neighborhood garage sales). We found a brand new jigsaw, a three drawer dresser that only needs a new paint job, a poached egg kit, and a pastry cutter. We were done by 10 because Tim had to take Pluto off for his meet and greet at Petsmart. He loves going -- and I love that he goes because other people can give him the oodles of attention he so desperately desires. He's been on restricted exercise because his leg is acting up again. For the last couple of weeks, just as he is about to be all better he goes and fucks it up by running around in the back yard. I swear, dogs have no sense at all. :P

The rest of the afternoon was watching a movie for me while I pitted a big bowl of cherries with a bobby pin. It wasn't that hard at all! Later on we made a cherry pie, and Jen's Cherry Bounce:

Ingredients:
2 quarts of fresh cherries
2 cups of sugar
1 quart of liquor (choice of Brandy, whisky, or vodka)
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp almond extract (optional)

Combine the liquor, vanilla, sugar and almond extract in a sealable container. Stir until dissolved. Put cherries in the mixture and then seal the container. Make sure the seal is tight or it will get contaminated. Shake it every month and it should be ready by Thanksgiving. ( 4-6 months).

My aunt says that she never pits the cherries anymore, but you can pit them. The cherries will absorb more alcohol if they are pitted. If you pit them, you can also use the boozed up cherries to make chocolate covered cherry cordials for Christmas.

We decided instead of putting all our cherries one liqueur, that we would do half and half. So we ended up making half of it with Brandy and the other half with Vodka. We can't wait to see how they taste around Christmas time. I think I am going to make cherry cordials too...why not? We debated long and hard about whether or not the containers needed to be canned. Like that airtight...but after researching other recipes we decided that wasn't necessary and the lids just needed to be tight. This is alcohol we are talking about here, not water. Anyway, we had to buy the mason jars for this project but since they are sold by 12 -- we have a whole bunch extra. You know what that means, right? It means some very special people will be getting those recipes in a jar thing from me, like they sell at craft shows. :D I am excited about this.

Most of Saturday night was watching a miniseries about angels on Abcfamily called Fallen. It was actually pretty good. Though Tim felt that the ending could have been done a little better, especially if it's a miniseries to see if people want a series out of it....which we think was the case.

On Sunday, we got up bright and early and went out to breakfast with our friend Oliver at the Original Pancake House in Monona. It was a nice morning, and we totally beat the rush crowd.

After that, we were picked up by Sigrid and Matt and headed off to the State Fair for the first time (for me). We walked around for 5 hours eating crappy food, looking at all sorts of live stock and ventured into a exposition center chock full of amazing inventions for sale! I didn't get to linger there because my companions were under the impression that it was all crap. :P We all had cream puffs and I decided upon completing it...that it isn't for me. It's not sweet enough, it's too much dairy and it's too blah. Give me a cream horn any day. By the time we got home we were exhausted! We took long naps and then watched the rest of Fallen, and made pesto with pasta for dinner and then crashed early.

Last but not least (I'm falling asleep at the keyboard here -- it must be the thunderstorm....)...

Bacon Bit 26 Week update!

• we are now in double digit land
• I can't wearing my rings anymore. I have alway been susceptible to swelling in my hands, but now with the Bit and the heat it's almost instantaneous.
• Bacon Bit loves music -- whenever there is loud music, there is movement galore.
• I got my first bloody nose on Sunday where blood dripped out ... it didn't last long though.
• My hips and public bones hurt. The latter part, especially today...I goes away if I walk for awhile...but I am hoping it's not a permanent fixture.
• Gums still bleed, and flossing = gushing gums. It's sort of disgusting how much it bleeds.
• Appetite is still less than it was pre pregnancy.
  
• I think weight gain is about 5 pounds (by my scale)-- we'll see this Friday at my doctor's appointment when I also get to have my gestational diabetes test. Which I sincerely hope I pass with flying colors.
  
• I noticed that my hair has been producing less grease than usual. It's tough because it's always been the perfect indicator of when I need to take a shower. Now that it looks pretty good for a lot longer ... I have to be more vigilant about remembering to take showers.
  
• No stretch marks let.
• I have a linea nigra! It's faint but it's there....
• I honestly don't feel like I am that huge. I wonder when that will change. It sort of feels like the belly that I have has always been there. Maybe because the change has been so gradual. Of course that is all poised to change in the next few weeks where the books says I am I supposed to get a 1/2 inch wider every week.
• I am starting to appreciate naps again and have been indulging almost every day. I mean why not? I can right? So I should.
• Still get a headache about once a week. Thankfully I have an awesome eye mask, HeadOn, coke classic and tylenol to see me through the really tough times. Mostly I am glad that combinations of this still work. I really feel for the women who don't have anything work.

Enough for tonight. I didn't pay a single bill. :( But I am all ready to do that tomorrow. I did go through the mail bin after all...and cleaned 1/2 the kitchen -- that's gotta count for something.

Today was busy. I spent the morning putting together packages. Then I had my young friend come over for a visit from 1-3. We played guitar hero and chatted. It was nice! After that, I gathered up my packages and the bag of cloth diapers Jen had sent on for Hilary into the car and ventured out into my first solo drive.

I drove to the post office, and watched as a man (who was agitated in line) directly in front of me, get pissed at a postal worker who then told him to leave. He totally deserved it. I told the postal lady that he was itching for a fight from in line (which he was). After I bought a bunch of stamps and sent my packages for a total of $85!!! I stocked up on stamps - I've been trying to stock up on those forever stamps every time I go in to buy stamps for years into the future -- I got into the car to leave...except the car kept stalling. Twice this happened before I realized "oh the parking break." Heh. I am glad to say that is the only problem I had...there were a few rough spots with lurching...but I quickly got over that. It was nervousness from the emergency break. Anyway.

I drove over to Hilary's and stopped at Latte Cafe or something to pick up some iced chai. I did a perfect parking job. I got out and crossed two busy, fast lanes of traffic and eventually made it to Hilary's. I visited, examined her garden, look at her furniture handiwork, and picked up the new Harry Potter. I then drove home without incident, in time to make perfectly cooked corn on the cob (thanks Hilary -- your instructions were perfect!) and hamburgers and fries. Though I only ate 1/2 the hamburger because ... well that's all I like of those anymore. Pluto ate the rest.

We took our limpy dog on a walk around the block and I have just caught up quickly with the internet. I am sort of sleepy and tired and am thinking of just retiring to the bedroom now to read and maybe fall asleep.

We did however come up with a theme for Bacon Bit -- Bugs!

Honestly, I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner..maybe because we weren't in a thinking about it stage? But I have these great big Bug foam rubber stamps (for decorating the Bit's room), Tim loves bugs as most of you know he graduated with a degree in entomology, AND bugs give us a color palate that we are more interested in (bright greens, yellows, oranges, etc). We are trying to avoid a closet full of a the same color -- if you know what I mean.

So yeah! Bugs! Bacon Bit will LOVE it. I am almost excited enough to start looking for bug stuff...but that can wait until after vacation when we get our registries in order.