31 weeks

i was not enthusiastic about including my face... or putting on fancier clothes, so here's my midsection.

snow pics

i tried to post a video and a few pics here, but blogger wasn't cooperating, so if you go to my flickr page, you can see the album!

snow and other such nonsense

well we ran out of food yesterday, but i dared not venture out into the madness of crazed-snow-supply-seekers, so we shall see what we can scrounge out of the pantry/freezer to eat for the rest of the weekend! last night, i was craving some chocolate chip muffins (which i just knew we had in the pantry... but we didn't) so my sweet hubby made me some from scratch! they were an interesting consistency before and after cooking, and all of the chocolate chunks (to replace chips, which we didn't have) went to the bottom of the cups, but they're still pretty good. i attribute the strange consistency to the fact that he used hot coco mix instead of coco powder to make them chocolate-chocolate chip. hey, who can complain, i'm proud of his resourcefulness!

we called this one jaba de hut :-)

last night, i had trouble sleeping again. i think it was a combination of being overtired, having taken a nap, pregnancy itchiness/insomnia, and the ambient light bouncing off the snow and coming in our bedroom windows. andrew once again felt sorry for me and tried to figure out how to make me sleepy. we tried a back rub, which would probably have worked had it continued for a few more hours, some warm milk, and eventually i gave in and took some benadryl. actually technically i took diphenhydramine prescribed to lillie by the vet - ha! it's nice to work at a place where i learn things like, you can take your dog's meds cause they're the same thing but cost 1/8th of the price for quadruple the amount! benadryl is one of those things we buy in bulk to keep on hand for lillie's many issues, and since i am allowed to take two whole medicines (tylenol and benadryl) during pregnancy, AND we're out of tylenol (which does nothing for sleeping anyway), it's good the dog could lend me some of her drugs! it was great. i stopped itching, i slept, and i woke up totally rested! yahoooo!

this morning, we've been hanging out with the dogs and watching the snow/sleet come down. here are a few pics from our porch:
last night when it started coming down

this morning from the porch


[feel free to ignore the junk on the porch]

Marbles Moneypalooza

So recently at work this is what I've been spending all my time doing. My company was one of four who had a hand in making this all happen. We've done stuff for Marbles before and it was fun to be able to work with them again. I know we even have another project coming sometime in the future.
While this project was fun and right up my alley, it did involve long hours and some family sacrifice. Thanks Emily for being so understanding. Oh and yay overtime.
If you get a chance you should go check it out, especially if you have kids. The theme is basically money and how to make and manage it. There are some good lessons for kids if they are a little older and you work with them on understanding money. Let me know what you think.
Here is the link to all of the pictures for you to check out.
I made this stuff:

belly pics 30 weeks, 3 days

i feel huge. the smile is forced. but here you go anyway!

so sassy!

we have one sassy little lady on our hands! today i went to my regularly scheduled ob visit (they're occurring every 2 weeks now), and apparently i had preggo-brain and got confused. my appointment was for TOMORROW at 2:20, not today. fortunately, they saw me anyway. that was good because 1. i didn't feel like driving out there again tomorrow, and 2. i had a lot of questions i've been waiting a few days to ask. i did get to ask all of my questions, with mostly satisfactory answers.

yes, i passed my glucose test.
my uterus is now at 29cm, which is perfect for my current gestation.
yes, i do have to get an iv catheter put in when i deliver, but i don't have to have it constantly hooked up to fluids.
yes, i can labor in whatever position i want.
no, they don't have tubs - bummer.
and a few more things... although i did forget to ask whether they try to force you to have an enema, but at this point it sounds like a lot of it is left up to me, and i will be declining that particular procedure, thankyouverymuch!

so back to the sassy part... after the doctor measured me and while he was explaining how many centimeters you should be (one per week-ish), he pulled out the doppler (which is what they listen to the baby's heartbeat with) and put it on my belly. he had it on her heart, and it was beating nice and steady when -- WHAM! -- she kicked the doppler! she kicked it so hard, it literally moved the device in his hand, and you could see my whole belly jump. i apologized, slightly embarrassed (like i had some control over it or something) and we both laughed, saying we guessed she didn't like that. i guess this is the first time the feistiness of my little girl has embarrassed me (and also made me proud at the same time - stick it to the man!), but i'm sure it will not be the last! i mean hey, she is made up of half of MY genetic material, right?

week 29! (as excitement increases, correct grammar decreases)

well ladies and gentlemen, i do apologize that this blog has become so pregnancy-focused, but that's sort of my life these days, so stick with me, and maybe you'll get a chuckle :-)
[i am not a huge fan of these pictures, but for the sake of documentation, i post them]
[second photo removed due to my multiple chins :-/]

this week the adventures i'm facing most frequently the joys of sleep - sweating, snoring, moaning, and trying to get comfortable with my large midsection! apparently all of these things are normal for a 3rd trimester-er like me, minus maybe the moaning, but i know my mom did/does that in her sleep, so i have to assume it's hereditary.

on the sleep front, we have long been sleeping with the temperature in the house around 60 and the fan on to try and make it comfortable enough for me to get to sleep. the heat at night makes it impossible for me to get comfortable, and on top of that when both dogs are in our bedroom (the hottest room downstairs), the temperature in there is a good 5 degrees warmer than in the rest of the house, so it can get extremely stuffy in there. but now, despite the iceboxlike house and the fan, i still wake up several times each night (to pee), and now when i do, i also try move to a different, non-sweaty part of the bed... which doesn't really happen since i have "my spot" on the bed and end up back there within a few seconds. but i was getting frustrated with having my clothes stuck to me and all sopping with sweat, so as of late i have taken to sleeping without any! i know, that's tmi for the internet, but it's the truth about the pregnancy truth situation, and that's what i promised!

the snoring has continued, apparently, though i don't notice it much since i'm usually sleeping well when it happens. i realize it only when i reach for andrew and find an empty bed because he's moved to the couch :( last night, i woke up, realized he wasn't there, begged him to keep me company, and he did despite my snoring! poor, sweet man puts up with so much!

i believe the moaning happens when i start to get that post-nasal drip and try to breathe. remember, the fluids in the preggo body are multiplying like crazy, and apparently that includes mucous. gotta love having your body invaded!

the fun thing about this week is that, according to my different "what to expect" sort of sources, our baby girl is probably somewhere between 15-17 inches long! this is amazing for me, considering the space between my hips and solar plexis is about 12 inches. this means the feeling of feet in my ribs is real, not just in my mind, and also that i'm confused as to how she is fitting in there. i bet it's getting cramped! speaking of cramped, so are my insides. here's a picture comparing non-pregnant insides to baby invasion insides:click to enlarge and read what those organs are all smushed in there.

the last thing i wanted to mention is that if you are looking for a good labor book, i would highly recommend ina may's guide to childbirth. it was recommended to me by my friend, jennifer, and it is awesome and extremely empowering, detailing the amazing capabilities of the female body.