40 weeks + 6 days - "One"

What a difference "One" makes...

One more selfie - On Friday, March 7th - morning...started contractions (is this little guy ready yet)?

ONE more appointment - On Friday we went in to the OB for another BPP check to make sure little guy was doing ok (he was), but if he didn't arrive by Monday, March 10th we were inducing.  Luckily contractions had started, but not in earnest.  About 20-30 minutes apart and not very strong.

ONE more lunch outing - we went to Partner's Pizza buffet for a variety of salads and pizza after our OB appointment.

ONE more nap - a guilt free nap in between the 20-minute contractions for about 2 hours made the time pass quickly (and I was grateful for the rest later).

ONE more meal - we had spaghetti leftovers for dinner on Thursday night

ONE day later - Saturday, March 8th - morning...Ethan Jeffrey Hartman was born!

ONE second after he came into the world - my heart grew, my life felt complete, and I was so, so incredibly happy.

Jeff and I can't wait to share our birth story - but it's a doozy, so we will save it for another post!

39 weeks...getting anxious

Ups - I feel 'pretty good' as in, no sciatic pain and I can actually sleep in bed all night instead of roaming the house like a nomad because my hips hurt.  Yea for more than an hour of sleep!

Downs - Passing nausea, and trouble focusing at work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I cannot seem to get anything finished and have about 2.5 good hours of solid work in me before I am totally mentally and physically exhausted.

Ups - The weather has been beautiful - spring time is totally coming.

Downs - I hurt my arch :(.  I think all of the funny walking due to ginormousness, combined with the super ass swollen feet, plus the relaxin hormones have really done a number on my right foot.  Everyone keeps saying 'walk the baby out' but my damn arch hurts!  

Ups and Downs - TMI grossness...lost the plug on Wednesday LAST WEEK and therefore thought labor was imminent.  Here we sit a week and a half later - on Peanut's due date - and NOTHING IS HAPPENING.  

I know he will come eventually.  I have to keep reminding myself not to 'wish the time away' and 'be present and mindful in the moment'.  Also to relax and just enjoy the baby wiggles and turns in my belly because in (hopefully) a few short hours / days he will not be inside me, but will be in my arms.  And that is pretty cool.

38 weeks - Ups & Downs

Super Huge UP! I had TWO baby showers this week!!

On Tuesday night, my Bunco and neighborhood group got together to play Bunco first (of course) and then had a baby shower afterwards. It was so fun to have the neighbors all so excited for a baby in the neighborhood! I think there were about 15 people there, so it was a great turnout. I (well Peanut) got tons of cute clothes and toys too!

On Friday, some of my work friends (10 of them) hosted an "Open House Potluck" baby shower over the lunchtime hours. It was really fun - lots of men & women both. People were able to drop by, grab a plate of food, chitchat for a bit, and keep going with their day. It meant a lot that so many people stopped in - maybe 40? I haven't counted them all up yet but it was a lot! It was so fun.

Since I started my new job in September over at the TOC, I really miss all my old friends from the past 5 years in the other buildings! It was super nice to talk to folks that I haven't seen for about 6 months.

We did the traditional gift-opening at the end as well, with some super cute AND super useful stuff plus a TON of group gift cards. Those will come in SOOOO handy to buy all of the last minute supplies we are sure to need! 

Down - Jeff found something was leaking on the fish tank on Saturday night. CRAPPERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We spent the evening and night disassembling and trying to find the leak, and then trying to determine our next steps.

It was super stressful because if the tank was really unstable, the whole thing could have blown at any time! And, to either tear the whole thing down OR to replace the tank and move everything is at least a 3-5 day project. Turns out, we think some gaskets were leaking (best case scenario).

The fix is still "in process" of being finished but hopefully it will be completed today and we will feel confident of no more leaks by tomorrow. This is literally the fastest and most cost effective thing that could have gone wrong! So, I guess that part is good...

UP - Peanut is not here yet...we have time to finish stuff at work, and at home!

DOWN - Peanut is not here yet...I'm getting anxious for labor & delivery, and am ready to meet him (and stop waddling)!

Nesting?

Is it considered "nesting" if I can't wait for my housecleaners to come again?

They cleaned last week on Wednesday, and are coming again this week on Wednesday...and I'm freaking out about every speck of dust they missed last time, and the floor being slightly dirty, and the bathrooms needing to be cleaned again...

Now mind you, I'M not the one who is going to clean - but I can't wait for them to come again!

Other things "hanging over my head" that I am being a bit ridiculous about:

I am doing a zillion tiny loads of laundry because I don't want any dirty clothes in the baskets. Also, I have like 3 pairs of pants and 5 tops that fit (for work). Must wash often.

I have reorganized the clothes drawers in Peanut's room about 4 times. Now things are sorted by size though (newborn vs 0-3 vs 3 months vs beyond).

I drank spoiled milk the other day and didn't realize it until a quarter glass through...my taste buds have been 'off' so I just figured that was it. I made Jeff smell it and he about gagged. Oops. So then we both completely threw stuff out of the fridge (when we lost power during the ice storm things got a bit warm and spoiled faster than expected).

I have made about 12 different lists of stuff to do before I go into labor. One of which included "paint toenails". Also, "pack snacks for hospital bag". (Really?)

I am paying my bills on an every-other-day basis. My usual schedule is once every 2 weeks.

The bird feeders are getting refilled at about 3/4 empty. Usually they go empty for a day or two before I notice.

I purchased almost $300 worth of groceries this weekend so I would "have stuff on hand"...

So...is all of this nesting? Or is it just me being SUPER TYPE A to be as prepared as possible???  WHO KNOWS!

37 weeks - Ups and Downs

We are ready.  As ready as we're going to be, I think anyways!

Got the hospital bag packed, got the nursery done, got teensy little clothes washed and put away...now we are just WAITING!

Up - He finally has moved (down, I think) and OFF MY SCIATIC NERVE on the left side!!!  Huzzah!!!  I still waddle a gimp but a lot faster and with a lot less grimacing than a week ago.

Down - I am not sleeping more than 1-2 hours (average is 1.5 like clockwork).  I can only lay in bed about 3 hours before my hips ache so bad, I can't flip over without assistance, and I have to move to my favorite recliner chair.  I'm afraid I'm gonna bust my chair before this thing is all over!  It's been creaking a LOT this week (so have I actually).

Up - The weather allowed for 2 snow days - which were work from home days - and I'm so grateful that I got to wear comfy pants and work from my aforementioned comfy chair.  (Sensing a theme???)  And then this weekend it was BEAUTIFUL!  I feel lucky to live in a place with such a great climate 90% of the time.

Down - Swelling holy mama.  I have been used to feet and ankles swelling when it's hot, after flying, after a lot of walking, etc...no surprises there.  Swollen feet are not unfamiliar to me.  But I have NEVER had swelling in my feet and ankles like this.  The skin is so tight it hurts!  And none of my dang shoes fit.  My toes literally hit the inside of all of my shoes.  And my hands are perma-swollen.  And I swear, it's either my face being fatter or something but I can see "poufs" under my eyes when I look down that never used to be there (maybe it's the non-sleeping?).  Oh well.  These are inconvenient but not painful, so I can't ask for more.  And, my blood pressure is still really low so I guess this will just be!

Peanut's Nursery

Without further ado - Peanut's nursery!  Jeff stood in the middle of the room to take the photos and kind of turned in a circle, so you can see everything in there.

The only thing left is to put some curtains over the shades, but other than that - I think we're done!

We have actually been this close to done for a really long time.  We ordered the bedding and furniture ages ago, and Jeff has been a rock star at putting everything together to accommodate my Type A personality.

We have a drawer for footed jammies, a drawer for sleep sacks and onesies, a drawer for outfits, another drawer for bedding, and a drawer for blankies and burp cloths.

We got the diaper genie put together and have one (!) box of diapers.  

We also kept the twin bed in the nursery, for guests and also exhausted parents :)

OK PEANUT - WE'RE READY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  YOU CAN COME OUT ANY DAY!!!!!

 

35 weeks - Ups and Downs

Ups - 2 SNOW DAYS!  I was NOT caught in the traffic because I left work very early on Tuesday...so got to work from home in my PJ's, in a comfy chair, with the heating pad for 2 days.  My sciatic was so thankful.  Still can't walk worth a darn, but I was grateful for those 2 days.

Downs - Pain, pain, pain, wobble, waddle.  Blegh.

Ups - We picked out Peanut's coming home outfit from Buy Buy Baby!  It's so cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Downs - I'm always hungry because I can't eat much, because I can either breathe or have food in my tummy!  And no matter what there's heartburn.

I guess this is why there are 8 months of kind of okayness, and the last month you just want the baby OUT!

34 weeks - ups and downs

I only have downs this week...my sciatic on my LEFT (the other side from before) is killing me.  I can't sleep because I either have to pee, or my back hurts.

I'm gimping around so so bad.  Chiro and massage help but only temporarily.

BOOOOOOOO

33 Weeks - Ups and Downs

DOWN - Swelling continues. Grumpiness with my aches and pains continue. Not wanting to focus at work alternating with being totally engrossed at work continues. Sadness that the pregnancy is almost over continues (is that weird - that I WANT it to be over and DON'T want it to be over at the same time???) 

Also, having trouble breathing. Feels like asthma but think I'm just running out of room! Oh, and I'm starving all the time but if I eat more than like an apple sized portion, I have mega heartburn and want to barf.

UP - We went to Buy Buy Baby and purchased a coming-home outfit! It's one of the few outfits we've actually purchased ourselves and it's SO CUTE. We also picked up a few other "necessitites"...like a kit to make a mold of Peanut's foot when he's so tiny...and a few of our favorite books (Goodnight Moon, Brown Bear Brown Bear, Love You Forever, Mother Goose)...a 'first fish tank' with a fabric / plastic bowl and fish and crabs and stuff...you know stuff we NEED.

(Sheesh. We don't even have the car seat yet but this was way more fun! And we're waiting for our completion coupon discount for 15% to buy that, so we're golden. Right?!)

Jeff's mom was an elementary librarian mother, and my mom was, well my mom - we both LOVED books as kids and have a tons of fond memories reading, being read to, looking at books...I guess if we have a propensity to go overboard with something, books are an ok thing to do it with? (Versus video games for a baby???)

DOWN and UP - The weather was GORGEOUS this weekend. I went to my camper like 3 times and opened the door and wished I was out in it all day...I want to ENJOY this weather!!!!!!!!!!

But I'm sure it would be way too hard to sleep in the queen bed and rough it for a weekend at this point. I really want to hike!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But I can barely walk from the parking lot into work without having to pee.

Or getting kicked in the pelvis-ish area. I guess I will just have to wait until May?

Prepared Childbirth and Car Trouble

Last weekend we spent 6 hours at a "Prepared Childbirth Class" at the hospital.  We arrived at 9AM - there were supposed to be a few other couples, but it was just us, and one other nice lady.  And the instructor.

The class covered A LOT.  Everything from the physiology of what happens when the body delivers (with videos), to pain management techniques, to expectations in the hospital, to recovery and what to expect, to caring for a newborn while in the hospital, to cord blood banking (I won a Baby Bjorn from the salesperson), to breastfeeding and kangaroo care at the hospital, to a tour of labor and delivery and post-partum rooms............

We left around 3:30PM.  Jeff looked at me a bit glassy eyed and said, "Mind blown."

Yeah.  It was that good.

In any case, I "feel" more ready, at least for labor and delivery.  I'm hoping for a natural childbirth and am ordering Hypnobabies home study to prepare and practice.  My doctors and midwives are supportive of both medicated and natural births, and are on board with natural as long as everything is progressing ok.  Hopefully Peanut stays on the good growth curve, keeps his head down (it is now), and everything goes well so I can avoid induction, Pitocin, drugs, surgery etc.

We are fully planning to trust my doctors and midwives though.  Because WHO KNOWS what will happen, right?  At the end of it, we just want a healthy baby and healthy mom!!!

On Sunday, we spent time with our friends who have a 9 month old.  She had TONS of baby gear she is lending me - I had no idea she was going to do that, and feel SUPER prepared gear-wise now.  She had a baby bassinet for the bedside, a swing, a Rock and Play sleeper, a playmat, and tons of clothes.  I'm so, so grateful because although the nursery is about done, we don't have much else ready!  We are supposed to get our 'fulfillment coupons' soon but I'm starting to get anxious we don't even have the car seat purchased yet.

And her generosity came just in the nick of time because my car's OH SHIT lights came on (you know, the one that says 'pull over and turn off engine immediately')...a complete head gasket replacements required, and no longer covered by warranty.  The warranty on my car ran out 4 months ago, even though it doesn't have 100K miles on it yet (only 60K).  It was going to be almost $3000 out of pocket.

I asked the dealership if there was ANYTHING they could do to make it cheaper since we were so close to warranty...looks like our repair will be split with this special program they have and will be around $1200 instead.  Still a lot of money, but way better than over double that!  They only crappy part is it will be at least a week in the shop to repair it, so we will have to share the Acadia.

Anyway, getting all that baby gear on loan has freed up cash to be able to pay for the car repair.  I am a grateful cookie this week.

32 weeks - Ups and Downs

UP - Peanut had a HUGE growth spurt! After my ultrasound this morning, he is in the 11th percentile - but most impressively gained almost an entire pound in 2 weeks! Mama gained two pounds (not sure how that works)...

Anyway, so now we don't have to monitor again via ultrasound for another 4 weeks (36 weeks)...and then I will be almost done...wow, I cannot believe how fast everything is going. 

DOWN - I peed myself last night. Just a little, but still! I was reclining in my favorite chair, in jammies, and started coughing from water going down the wrong pipe.

Something about the angle, plus the baby pressure, plus a little bit of needing to go potty...leakage. YUCK. At least I was at home to clean up and change!

UP - we ordered one of the final things (a book rack) for the nursery. I can't wait to hang it and everything else, and load up the bookshelves with cute baby stuff.

We also bought some baby hangers so I can get clothes organized! I have everything loaded up in the dresser but it's not working for me - I can't seem to find anything.

DOWN - It has been FREEZING!!! They even cancelled school one day, for threat of ice / rain. Normally, being so cold is not too bad for me because it's so short lived here in Georgia.

Even so...none of my winter coats button up! I have a tie belt on one of them that is for "fashion" but this week it was for "function".  Brrrrr............

31 weeks - Ups and Downs

I forgot to take a picture for 31 weeks!!!  Life is going super fast...

Ups - Yea! Happy New Year! We celebrated with Ryan Seacrest (like always) and I made it until 1AM! 

Downs - Boo! Back to work! I love my job but lounging around is better!!

Ups - We finalized a lot of stuff on our registry - we made decisions on a lot of the "gear" we think we will need. We decided to register at Amazon primarily, with duplicates at Babies R Us as a physical store. Amazon has a great registry fulfillment coupon, plus we are planning on joining Amazon Mom (for diapers, etc) which gets even more savings, plus free shipping.

Downs - My shoes are starting to not fit...that kind of sucks. Hopefully my feet go back to normal later.

Ups - I "FINALLY" feel like I have a baby bump like all the time - not just in pregnancy clothes. It's taken me till the 3rd trimester to look pregnant-not-chubby, but hey it happened eventually :)

30 weeks - Christmas!

My mom and sister came to the ultrasound with Jeff and me during Christmas week. I was so glad they were able to share in the excitement!!! Usually having family so far means they miss out on this stuff, so I was really grateful. 

I continue to get weekly ultrasounds to monitor baby's growth - he is definitely "intra uterine growth restricted" or "IUGR", which means he is small and lower than the 10th percentile of growth for gestational age.

However, even though he's small, he's still plugging along the growth curve, right around 7th to 8th percentile. All of his bio markers check out as well - cord blood pressure, movement, practice breathing, amniotic fluid - so he's doing great! 

 Our ultrasound tech (who I love) was really good about trying to get Peanut to move around so we could see different things. 

 We could see him wiggling, turning, kicking, practice breathing, heart beating...and when she zoomed on his face we saw him wiggle, then YAWNED a big ole yawn! 

 The fact that Peanut is a BABY (and not just blobs on the screen) became real for Jeff in that moment. I'm pretty sure Jeff fell in love with him right then. It was really cool to watch that happen.

 Now, the normal ups and downs list: 

 UPS - Christmas hike was ACCOMPLISHED although SLOW for me. I seriously thought he might drop out of my you-know-what at certain points, but I'm glad we did it.

 DOWNS - My feet and ankles are starting to swell more by the end of the day. And my skin is getting so dry! 

 UPS - Christmas break was REALLY good for napping. So grateful. Wish I could do it every day. 

 DOWNS - My hips are really starting to hurt more when I try to flip around in bed, and when I get up. I have to shuffle-step my way to the bathroom REALLY slowly (3-4 times a night) before my legs work properly.

That's it for now! 

Justin Timberlake is even more awesome...at 29 weeks

Best.  Concert.  Experience.  Ever.

Jeff and I had purchased tickets way back in May to see Justin Timberlake the Tuesday before Christmas...wayyy before we were pregnant.

As many of you probably know, we are both superfans of JT.  Seriously.  We watched the last tour DVD at Madison Square Garden maybe a hundred times.  He's such a great entertainer.

And - this concert did NOT disappoint!  Quite possibly the best "show", and definitely the best "sound quality" I have ever experienced at a concert.  The music quality was everything you always hope a concert will be, but never quite is (something fuzzes out, wrong note, weird rhythm, etc).

And it turns out, babies LOVE loud music with bass :)...they dance and dance and dance.  (Waiting in the infamous ladies' room line is not so cool when pregnant though.  Just FYI.)

Anyway, I can home from work early to get gussied up - at 29 weeks its getting harder to feel cute!  But I put on my fanciest pregnancy clothes and away we went :)

The show opened with a super awesome DJ warming up the crowd.  

Then...there he was.

JT interspersed some oldies (our favorites) with the new tracks (which are becoming favorites).  It was cool too because familiar songs morphed into new songs and vice versa - nothing sounded 100% like it does on the album, which I think is really neat.

The outfits were - of course - suits and ties (designed by Tom Ford).  Even the women dancers had girly-ish versions of suits for several costumes.  

Speaking of, the 'other' stuff on stage was amazing - six backup dancers that were almost as fun to watch as JT, 4 backup singers that were amazing in their own right and had their own choreography, and a freaking full band, including horns and a bunch of other instruments...I think the only band member who did not have some choreography was the drummer!

Here's the set list...

Pusher Love Girl

Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)

Rock Your Body

Don't Hold the Wall

FutureSex/LoveSound

Like I Love You

My Love

TKO

Strawberry Bubblegum

Summer Love

LoveStoned

Until the End of Time

Holy Grail

Cry Me a River

Intermission

Only When I Walk Away with HOLY LASERS, so crazy cool

True Blood

Drink You Away

Tunnel Vision

Señorita

Let the Groove Get In - the stage started MOVING!  These songs were all played at the back "VIP" area of the arena.  

That Girl

Heartbreak Hotel (Elvis Presley cover)

Not a Bad Thing

Human Nature (Michael Jackson cover) that we all sang along to with all the lights on

What Goes Around... Comes Around - who does NOT like this song?  No one.

Cabaret

Take Back the Night / Jungle Boogie (Kool & The Gang cover) - the stage moved to the front of the arena

Murder

Poison (Bell Biv DeVoe cover) - quite possibly the coolest homage ever

Suit & Tie

SexyBack

Mirrors

No encore - but I kind of liked it that way.  It totally played into the theatrics of the night...it was a SHOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And worth every penny :)

Ups and downs - 28 weeks

Well - a bit delayed but here is the 28 weeks picture.  

Down - I'm pretty sure this will be the last time to wear this suit - the pants were big to start with but now are too snug!  And the jacket didn't close entirely...but it worked for a big meeting I had!

Up - passing into the 3rd trimester with ease-ish

A few quick updates!

Peanut has more presents under the tree than anyone else...thanks Grandparents!

He passed his "practice breathing test" during our ultrasound yesterday. They wanted to see the diaphragm move (like breathing) continuously for 30 seconds. It took a good long while to get 30 seconds but he did it! They will re-measure him next week.

My Christmas to-do list is getting very small now: send a few more Christmas cards, put out a cute snowman post thingy, print out the scavenger hunt clues, wrap gifts, hang a new shower curtain, and get groceries for the Christmas week. VERY manageable (especially since Jeff is doing a lot of these...).

I missed my personal training this week on Monday because of a last minute 8AM meeting scheduled, but was able to reschedule to FRIDAY! Yippee!

I'm getting my hair done tonight...the blond/grey roots need it :)

I'm so excited for my friend Angela, who has announced her new baby is due in May!!! They are keeping the gender a surprise (GAH I CAN'T IMAGINE!).

I am loving two Christmas albums - Katherine Jenkins' album from 2012 and the new Pentatonix album!  Check them out...much better than just putting on "Sounds of the Season". 

Speaking of, anyone else watching The Sing-off?? I think the Filharmonics will win!

That's all for now, peeps!

I love breakfast

I'm pretty sure when Peanut arrives he will probably think there are 3 categories of food in the world: breakfast, snacks, and everything else.

Here is what I'm eating now (for the most part):

• Eggs - lots of them! Hard boiled, scrambled, poached in salsa...yum... 
• English muffins with peanut butter and honey 
• Apples 
• Oatmeal (Have you tried Earnest Eats cups??? Love, love, love the Green Tea flavor. Order online or find them at Target) 
• Stoneyfield blueberry Greek yogurt 
• Green and/or fruit smoothies 
• Carrots and Hummus Roasted chicken, with or without BBQ sauce 
• Birds Eye Asian Stir Fry medley 
• Horizon cheddar cheese sticks 
• Steamed Broccoli with cheese sauce or cheesy popcorn seasoning 
• Baked chicken with BBQ, Italian, Low Fat Sesame Ginger...any kind of sauce really 
• Bananas 
• Veggie soup - Amy's brand is the best! 
• Coffee with Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze (only one per day, and NOT every day! Heartburn...) 
• Popcorn - microwave minis or oil-popped Dried apricots and roasted, salted pepitas (DIY trail mix)

Hmmmmmm...it occurs to me that not much of this is "cooked" food in the traditional sense. No wonder I struggle with being excited about dinner time meals and recipes.

28 weeks this week with a 20 lb gain so far...

Hopefully the kid comes out liking real food, even if it is mostly snack-y (and not the random cookies I eat)!

Ups and Downs - 27 weeks

Up - Thanksgiving!!! Meant 4 days off work!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 Down - The weather had us cancel our camping trip to FDR State Park - it was going to be a 'last hurrah' of sorts but it was too cold!!!!!!!! So it was just Jeff and I at our holiday table. But we got a lot of Christmas stuff done and spent a lot of time relaxing. 

 Up - Did I mention 4 days off work!? 

 Down - Mother F'er. I got sick on Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend with a really Bad Cold - and you know what? YOU CAN'T TAKE ANYTHING WHILE PREGNANT! Except like throat lozenges and Tylenol cold. Which are totally inferior medicines in my opinion (I long for ibuprofen so much).

 So I actually had 5-1/2 days off work, with 3 of them spent feeling lousy. 

 And now today (over a week later) I'm 99% certain I have a raging sinus infection because it literally HURTS to touch my face and I can't chew, my teeth hurt so bad. OUCH OUCH OUCH. I have my OB appointment tomorrow and I'm gonna make them take a look and tell me if I can get drugs. Yes I know I'm a big whiner but being sick SUCKS. 

 At least I looked cute before I got sick...happy end of 2nd trimester!

Happy Thanksgiving! + 26 weeks

Thanksgiving is usually such a wonderful time.  It's probably becoming one of my favorite holidays!

1 - it's (usually) our anniversary weekend.  This year we celebrated NINE years on November 27th.  We kept it very easy by exchanging cards and going out to dinner at an Italian restaurant.  No wine for me this year though!

2 - Thanksgiving is a nice long break, but without all of the 'official-ness' that Christmas usually brings.  This year, I didn't want to travel so we booked ourselves a campsite at FDR State Park.  However, the weather was not cooperating, and with lows in the 20's and highs in the 40's - we decided to cancel at the last minute.  Time to cook Thanksgiving dinner at home!

3 - Since we ended up not traveling anywhere, we got all our Christmas decorations up inside and outside.  We are totally festive around here and ready to host family in a few weeks!!

4 - We had a chance to just BE together.  I was reminded how much Jeff makes me laugh by some of these...I think we are awesome...

Overheard in the Hartman household this weekend:

"Hotboxing" - Going #2 in a small powder room while the furnace is running (not pleasant).

"There's a 'Top Sexy' video marathon on this channel. Late 90's Britney's I'm a Slave 4 U song was followed by late 90's Christina's Dirrty song. How is there not a sex tape?"

After hearing "Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?" for the 21st time...still uncontrollable laughter.

"Somewhere inside me, there is still a 9 year old boy that wants to play video games all day long. My 33 year old eyes get too dry though."

"I feel like a pack mule employed by the Grand Canyon.  We have a lot of Christmas stuff downstairs."

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!!!

Ups and Downs - 25 weeks

Oopsie, I'm well into my 26th week and did not give a recap of my 25th! Well, here goes anyway...

UP - major, major up! I had a prenatal massage!!!!!!!!!! For like 3 hours post massage, it was like I wasn't pregnant - literally NO pain in my hips. It was awesome.

UP - my mom was here and helped me host Bunco, put finishing touches on the house, and finalize everything for the nursery. We are almost done - just need her to make the curtains and we need to order a couple more things, but we are 90% set!

DOWN - when my mom is here I want to be so productive that I push myself way too hard. My tiredness level is crazy...I'm good until probably lunchtime, then crash hardcore every hour until I go to bed!!! And of course physically that pushing makes me not just tired, but definitely manifests itself in right hip pain. BOOOOOO.

DOWN - It's cold. My winter coat doesn't fit. I hung on to a "fat" coat from a couple years ago, so I guess that's what I will use.

DOWN - Weighed in today at my appointment (26 weeks 2 days) and have gained 18 lbs total.  Whaaaaat?  I have done literally nothing different so how did I gain 6 lbs in a month?  This is crazy.