.... And a Little Mustard for the Ketchup....

...yes, playing catch-up again!
(that's for you honey.... he puts mustard on EVERYTHING!)

I’ve not forgotten blogland, it's just these past few weeks have been busy, busy- and I’m trying to just managing eating and working let alone keeping this updated. The good news is that life is finally slowing down this week and I am looking forward to a little break!!!!




We had a regularly scheduled OB appointment on the 15th and it was cancelled- but we didn’t find out until after we go there! Ugh- talk about frustrating! Furthermore, they didn’t seem very concerned once I talked to the triage nurse that the next appointment wouldn’t be until I hit 36weeks! Needless to say, I was concerned and managed to book another appointment (although w/ a diff OB) for the 17th . I’ve been having serious Braxton-Hicks since early last week due to the heat and impending anxiety. One contraction had my baby belly tight for nearly 40 minutes- not so comfy! Jason couldn’t go (thank goodness, I actually had to have an “exam” done for the first time since very early on and I’m trying to maintain a shred of ladylike dignity in front of dear hubby- yes, I know that will fly out the window half-way through labor, but give me a few more weeks!). The good news? No dilation. Bad news? She is a big baby already- about 18” long and 6# already and she has about another five weeks to grow. Holy 9# toddler! So, all is well- so far!




After the appointment, I had a girls’ afternoon planned with my friend Kindle who flew in from Georgia (y’all) for the baby shower. We had a leisurely lunch, got pedis (my polka dot toes kinda look like cartoon mushrooms- and not because they are swollen!!!!) and went shopping- fun! Now how mean is this- she and her parents placed bets on how long I would last for the afternoon; and I was wiped out at 5:30! Nothin’ like hauling around a big ol’ preggers belly to end a fun day out! ( :






Kindle and I









and 'smurf mushroom' pedicure!





























Not to mention I had to rest up for the big baby shower the next day (the 18th) at Dad & Stepmomsters hosted by her and BFF Leah!






Jason and I have been on the hunt for a glider/ rocker for the nursery- GrammaH did give us $$ to spend, but I wanted to try to save a little green (the environment- by recycling and money by not buying retail!) and get one from either a yard sale or craigslist. So we got up early (pre-baby shower) on Saturday to hit a few yard sales off of Craigslist that listed gliders…. Needless to say I am in love with craigslist! Unfortunately we didn’t find what I wanted and the few C/L ads that I’ve inquired about have already sold. Oh, and I discovered a petpeeve- people that say they are having yard sales- and don’t- it almost ranks right up there with them NOT taking down their signs! LOL.




The shower was very fun- I feel so honored that all of my friends and family have been so generous and caring during my pregnancy journey! It was all one big blur, actually! I am working on a complete baby shower post hopefully that will be up by the end of the week! That’s another reason that I’ve been a bad blogger- trying to finish the nursery and find a home for all of the baby schwag had been an adventure! ( :

(some of the Baby Shower Schwag taking over dining room)

<---- note: Jenxie Cat liking the bassinet!! LOL- he's been sleeping in the bottom shelf of it!

We were also busy visiting with friends and family over the weekend, finishing up classes for our Baby Degree as well as Jason’s “jail time” (he he- community service in lieu of paying $$ for a ticket) and maternity pictures throughout the week. I’m not sure if our classes have earned us a Master’s degree, but I definitely feel like we’ve just graduated from baby college. The week was wrapped up with the Keith Urban concert/ girls night out with Nanette and Erika- those Shirley Temples made it almost impossible to drive home! Phew- I’m EXHAUSTED just reliving the whole week! Time for a nap…..

One of our maternity pictures....

A random Keith Urban pic- great show- comfy seats in a luxury box too! ( :

Can She Hear Me?

There is much controversy in the medical world over what (and when) babies in utereo can hear- or even see for that matter. Studies have found that fetal hearing is clearly developed by 24 weeks- and my own experience with BabyW would have to agree. I think that she began to recognize sounds right about that time, and coincidence or not, was active whenever we were in the pr essence of another baby. I've tested this theory again over the past few weeks while visiting my girlyfriends and allowing BabyW to have playdates with Baby Aaliyah, Baby Penelope and Baby Grayson! (She's a busy little girl already!) Every time we are around a baby, and it isn't her normal 'awake' time, she reacts with movement. My biggest conclusion as to her sensitivity was over the 4th of July.




I grew up in a a very Podunk, Norman Rockwell-esque town in the middle of California. Very small, and complete with the down-home 4th of July celebration every year. My mom still lives there (how much longer after BabyW arrives! LOL) This is the one time of year that I also get completely homesick- my extended family also comes and this is one holiday that we all get to see each other and catch up. This year was no exception, and despite the 660 mile/ 13-hour + round trip, we made the journey- plus it was school reunion time, a weekend, and the baby shower. Although the drive itself was uneventful, it required a few more stops than normal due to my bitty bladder syndrome. I also discovered that it takes twice as long to load up a car for the road trip and 20 minutes in, I was completely exhausted and began just tossing crap in the rental car- thank goodness for an SUV with room! BabyW was on her best behaviour during the travels- of course!

Saturday the 4th was a BUSY day! It started with shower preparations, then the parade (it runs down Main Street twice!) honoring our nation's military, a arts and crafts fair, visiting with family, the baby shower and on to the fireworks- usually my favorite part! Due to traffic LOL- if you could see the town, you'd be laughing too!- we hoofed it in on brand new sidewalks and joined friends to enjoy the fireworks. GrandmaH bought a sponsorship in BabyW's name- so very cool- but we didn't make it much longer than that. At the detonation of every firework, BabyW 'jumped'- again and again. After about 10 minutes, we were both exhausted and left. There is no other explanation to her reacting like that except for the sounds of the fireworks. Needless to say by the time we got back to my mom's, I was very tired and trying to ward off Braxton-Hicks and some minor swelling. It was quite an adventure!







So, I think BabyW can hear- will she have Mommy's cat-like ears is the question???




From the parade: 'Uncle' Dave & 'Aunt' Betty's old firetruck- we are normally riding on it!

Smokey the Bear!





BabyW's Fireworks that Grandma bought for her!

Fetal Hearing Research:

http://tinyurl.com/kjuwy3

http://tinyurl.com/djmlw

Ketchup... Catsup... Catch-up! ( :

I feel like I have been whipped through a tornado these past 10 days. And it’s going to keep going….. there is so much to do before BabyW comes and joins us, and most have to do with her, but some don’t but unfortunately, I can’t just be pregnant and do nothing else. Life is still happening around me, whether I want it to or not! ( :




We had our “Late Pregnancy & Hospital Tour” class on the 30th. (Yes, ANOTHER class!) Of course, they make you sit through all of the educational crap prior to the tour at the end (smart people, I do the same when I have my training classes!). Actually the info wasn’t as boring as the “Early Pregnancy” class, but I could have done without the video (think it was filmed in the early 80’s…) on delivery and recovery. (No, not the labor and delivering the baby- that’s online and I don’t even want to go there!) All I remember is that I will likely be sitting on ice packs and mattress pad-sized ‘sanitary’ napkins for weeks after BabyW hatches. Sexy. And apparently my bladder is much smaller than the other pregnant ladies attending! So, the hospital rocks! We will have our own Labor & Delivery suite complete with a DVD player and sports-free TV (lol honey!)- it even has a private bathroom with a shower and sleeping couch. They have 24-hour visitor access even. My only weird thing is that there is a mirror so the mommy-to-be (that’s me!) can watch the delivery- no thanks- I’d actually prefer if they could just knock my arse out and wake me up with she’s here! Even recovery still has private rooms…. Well this remains to be seen if that will be the case in late August! There really isn’t a ‘nursery’ because the babies room in with their parents so we only go to see one newborn- a little boy- as we were waiting to access one of the areas (everything is under very high security). The entire group was totally quiet. Me too- I’m thinking, “Holy crap, one of those has to come out of me, and it looked much bigger than the opening currently is!” Our next class will be “Newborn Care” next week- I’m looking forward to learning how to interact with my infant because at this point, I’m not sure what to expect. (I secretly pulled out one to the teeny tiny diapers and tried to put it on Mickey Mouse- umm…. The stickie tabs were stuck to it’s fur and the diaper was still dangling. That was an inanimate object, I can only imagine how it will be on BabyW when she is moving and crying…. Maybe I should practice on Jenxie- here kitty, kitty…)





We also drove to my mom’s the weekend over the 4th- that is the one time of year that I get totally and completely homesick for my Podunk town I grew up in. It’s 328 miles away- a nearly 7 hour drive and a bit uncomfortable while preggers. Luckily our rental was spacious and great for a road trip and the anti-lock breaks came in so handy when a deer decided to try to cross the highway in front of us. (My DH definitely did not get his license out of a Cracker Jack box!) That was a bit scary and we had to stop for a short break after all the adrenaline woke up BabyW and I had a mild bout of Braxton-Hicks.
I got to see all of my cousins on my mom’s side of the family, eat and hang out and party at my baby shower. (The 4th just isn’t so without jello shots!) It was also very exhausting, and we are done with road trips- I’m not supposed to travel very far from Sacramento after 32 weeks.




Last week was spent recuperating from the road trip, the ‘office’ baby shower, family time and trying to get my head around the impending arrival of BabyW. It’s approaching fast- September 6th seems like awhile away, but 6-8 weeks doesn’t! ( :

Baby Showers

You know how when you are always the bridesmaid, each wedding gets a bit harder to participate in no matter how happy you actually are for the couple? You feel like everyone else around you is getting married and here you sit, either hopelessly single, or your significant other won't get off the pot and pop THE question. You are silently screaming inside while going through the motions of participating in whatever wedding related activities you have to participate in (except of course for the bachelorette party...... lemon drop martoonis always help!). Like the JLo in the Wedding Planner, "Those who can't wed- plan."




Well, in my case, complete avoidance was the best policy. I suffered not only from fertility issues but also from a horrible case of baby envy and shower anxiety. Just send a gift, no appearance necessary. It's hard to go to the blessed event knowing that Mommy was able to get knocked up on the first try, meanwhile you are the one who is perfecting her aim on ovulation and HPT pee sticks. And sometimes, it's just too hard to fake your 'happiness.' I did make one exception to this policy last year for BFF Leah after a long heart-to-heart. I just vowed to win all the little shower games, bring the best present (and the rum) and not be the one to cut the "let's see how big Mommy's belly" string at circumference so big it would make her cry. It wasn't as painful as I had thought. Perhaps because I had come to terms with my feelings or because we had actually started fertility treatments and I wasn't feeling quite so 'broken' anymore....




Well, I attended my first baby shower this past weekend since I've amended my policy (and no, it's not because mine is coming up- lol)- it's just easier to attend now that BabyW is on the way and I can actually be happy helping the new Mommy celebrate her own little bundle of joy! Remember, a woman's prerogative is to change her mind- a preggers woman's prerogative is to CONSTANTLY change her mind! Not to mention, my friend Amber lives a few hours away and I haven't seen her in forever, and I'm so all about the food right now! ( :




It was a really nice tea-party themed shower (and yes, I did win a game- I knew how many weeks preggers she is- we're just 3 weeks apart) and-gasp!- even had my first pregnant belly photo taken at Amber's insistence! I am not sporting the cute little bump that she has (my arse is bigger than her baby bump!)- mine is more like a medicine ball! (I shudder to think of what I would look like had I not lost so much weight in the first trimester!) So, because my friend Kindle has asked so nicely (and so often) I am actually going to post my first belly photo for the whole bloggoshpere. I'm sure that this won't be the last photo or baby shower for that matter! ( :