Holy balls on fire!

I just realized that I have less than 60 days before this little man pops out of the old babymaker (aka Cooter)! Technically/medically the kidlet will be considered "fully cooked" in just 5 more weeks! I can't believe how quickly time has flown with this pregnancy. From what I hear, the next few weeks will be pretty long, but I'm up for the challenge.

I'm still feeling freaking great (knock on wood) with only some back discomfort. The discomfort seems to come from the fact that Jack likes to wedge his foot in my ribs and somehow that radiates towards the corresponding part on my back. I roll up a towel or blanket and lean against that and I feel much better.

I'm currently finishing up week 1 of my 2.5 week United States tour (Philly, DC, Boston, LA, and back to Seattle), and am doing well. I miss Troy and being home, but I'm able to see a great friend this weekend while I'm staying outside of DC. She has the most adorable son ever, and I wished to god that I loved almost anything in life as this little man loves his Jumperoo. He literally screams with joy while he's in it.

I've sent my friend and her husband out for dinner and a movie and am watching her munchkin for the evening. He woke up crying 45 min ago, but I was able to get him back to sleep in about 10 minutes without major incident. I wish all babies were this easy and happy!

I'm excited that when I get home in a few weeks that I'll have my baby shower! My sis has done an awesome job planning it, and I'm looking forward to catching up with all the special women in my life.

Oh and someone call CPS because I just poisoned my baby with a shitload of SweetTarts. They sounded like a great idea at the time, but after 2 hrs straight of Jack going all fetal ninja in my ute, I'm thinking candy will no longer have a part of my life until this squirmy man-baby is out of my bellah. It's such a weird feeling tonight because he seems to keep trying to push his butt out through the small space below my rib cage. I keep threatening to "spank" his infant butt if he doesn't simmer down and chill out.

I hit a huge milestone today

I've read about today's events in pregnancy books, and have heard about it via new moms, but I never dreamed this day would happen for me.

Today, when bending down to put my boots on, my boobs touched the top of my stomach. I know, HUGE milestone!

It may not seem like a big deal to you, but every flat-chested girl dreams of this day, and looks forward to it. 1/29/09 will always hold a special place in my heart (and bra).

The curious case of the gummy bear

So, yesterday I leave the comfort of my warm bed at 5:30 am to get to the airport for the start of my 2 week work trip.

I get thru security and my suitcase is broken! The rolling arm thing won't re-engage. I get to my gate, take everything out and open the liner that allows me to access the hardware. I realize there is a ball bearing stuck just a tiny bit and won't go in the whole the entire way without pressure.

Digging thru my suitcase and purse I find a box of gummy bears, a paperclip, and a thing of floss. 5 min later, the gummy bear head is plugging up the hole to prevent the ball bearing from going down that far, the paperclip has secured the gummybear should there be a gummy emergency, and the floss is holding the gummybear paperclip in the place.

This has the potential to be a long trip...

And here is a photo of my gut this morning taken in my hotel room bathroom with a cell phone camera - high tech people! BTW, since I'm on the East Coast and dressing up, I had to buy maternity tights. If you were able to see under my dress, you would see that maternity tights go all the way up under my boobs. S-E-X-Y!

I also had a doctor's appointment on Monday and she said everything is looking good. My uterus was measuring a bit small last time, but it's right on target this week. Jealous? I would be if I were you!

I was also able to speak a little longer with my doctor and ask her some questions about her birthing philosophy. Turns out we're very much aligned, so I'm now really excited! She is on board with our natural birth plans, and even told me about some techniques and things they have (laboring tubs, external/non-invasive monitoring, etc) that I wasn't aware this hospital had/offered.

Our plan right now is to do as natural of a birth as possible for as long as possible and see where that takes us. "We're" trying to labor with as few interventions as they'll allow, so having my doctor on board is HUGE! We'll see how it goes.

Where'd that baby go?

Belly photo time! This photo is a demonstration of a game I like to play called "where dat belly go"? Straight on, it's kind of hard to tell I'm knocked up (also hard to tell without the flash on). The green sweater is a maternity sweater, but just looks like a normal sweater but baggy. Side note rant: why in the hell does a tall girl have to get pregnant to find shirts that are long enough? Screw you clothing industry!

This photo shows the actual belly. The black thing under my sweater is called a "Bella Band". It's this magical piece of fabric that is supposed to be for people in their 1st trimester that allows them to wear their jeans unbuttoned without falling down. I borrowed one from my great friend Robin, and am currently using it to keep my maternity pants from giving me "saggy ass". They also allow me to wear my normal jeans without a belt. Sorry for the flash in my face.

So um yeah, judging by the photo above, I'm not going to attain "fatty" status any time soon. I would like to reassure all you kind readers that I'm doing my best to pack on the pounds. Every morning I have 2-3 breakfasts and then snack until lunch. Yesterday I had oatmeal at 7:30, and then around 9 am I made scrambled eggs with cream cheese, dill, lemon pepper, FOUR sausage links, and cheddar cheese. I then finished the giant bowl of Chex Mix and tried to lick it clean. So I'm eatin'.

Here is a random photo that Troy took last weekend. It's the view from our living room, and if you look closely you can see 2 rainbows. In the middle far right you'll see the clock tower that chimes from 8 am to about 10 pm. We have double insulated windows and can rarely hear it, but when we do, it's a sweet reminder about living a small town (as opposed to the car accidents that we heard about 3 times a month in Los Angeles).

And here's a funny photo taken Sunday night. I sold my old car and the girl who bought it paid me in $100's! We threw it around the living room, posed with it, and then carefully counted it 40 times and took it to the bank. It was fun to pretend we were loaded for a few minutes.

Two thumbs up and a challenge

Two thumbs up for "Gran Torino" staring Clint Eastwood. We went last night with my parents and Troy's parents and all 6 of us REALLY enjoyed it!

Clint's character is overtly racist for 99% of the movie, but it works really well with the plot and isn't gratuitous (i.e., it's a part of his character and not for shock value). It was very funny, extremely touching, and sad at points.

I highly encourage everyone to go see it!

And to eat dark chocolate covered peppermint "Joes" from Trader Joes. Hot damn those are delish.

Any my challenge to crafty people out there: please make a pair of maternity pants that don't result in saggy ass. M'kay, thanks!

Very random and long overdue!

Ok, STEPHANIE here is your belly shot...sorry it took so long! Sorry it looks so yellow in our bathroom, but I promise it doesn't look like we all have jaundice in real life; it must just be the camera!

Alright, update time!!!

BABY: met my new doc today and I liked her. My mom and Troy's mom went to the appointment with me. I thought since they missed out on so much of the pregnancy because I was in LA, that they might enjoy it. I didn't get an ultrasound, but we used the doppler so mom and Ann got to hear Jack's heartbeat. One of them teared up but I won't embarrass her by calling her out...but her name rhymes with ANN! Hee hee.

I also have gained 3 lbs since my early December appointment in Los Angeles, so I am now 5 lbs above my starting weight! Diet time (I kid, I kid)!!!

The doc said that clothed I only really look pregnant laying down and even then not really. But I seem healthy and Jack is hacking away at me from the inside (seriously I think there is a ninja training camp in my uterus), so all is good. She also gave me the green light to travel at the end of this month to the east coast, then to LA, and then back to Seattle so I'm very excited to get out of the house and visit with my amazing co-workers!

Apartment: we're finally moved in and am enjoying our new space. There is a magical box in our kitchen and if you put your dishes in there, at night elves come out and scrub them clean. It's truly a miracle! We've been without a dishwasher for 4 years, so it's a fantastic change. Troy and his dad and maybe a few friends will be building a storage shed in our carports this weekend so the garage crap that is stacked to the ceiling in Jack's room will hopefully have a home SOON.

Job: working from home is going well, but after about 4 hours 1 day in, and I was already really missing being in my office. I think a lot of it is because we've been stuck inside because of the weather pretty much since we got to WA so I'm a wee bit stir crazy. I had to return some wiper blades at Fred Meyer yesterday and it felt like a major field trip!

Weather: the weather has given us a true "welcome home Sarah and Troy" in the same way a dog will stick his wet nose in your crotch. We got here on the 20th, and there was a blizzard. We were stuck at the in-laws for almost 2 weeks because the city closed the road to our new place. We finally get in to our new place and now there is flooding all over Western Washington! Thankfully our county has avoided any major flooding so far, but please keep others in your prayers. Since we own property with a creek on it, I'll probably do a drive by tomorrow to make sure it hasn't flooded.

Misc: I got a "mom mobile"! I've been wanting a station wagon for YEARS (I know, I really aim high with my car choices) and finally got one. I originally wanted a Volvo but the gas mileage wasn't fantastic. I then wanted a VW JettaSportswagen because it was a good size and got amazing gas mileage but I couldn't justify the cost. After the blizzard I realized that we really needed AWD, so I found a used Subaru Outback on Craigslist and bought it! It's in good shape and although it's 1 year older than my car, it has about 20K less miles on it. I'm working on selling my car right now, but am thankful we were able to swing it so that I went from no car payment to no car payment. Hurray for cash!

Happy New Years and a resolution

Happy New Year everyone! I hope that 2009 is happy and prosperous for you all.

My 2009 resolutions:

1) eat healthier
2) spend more time with my family
3) cure snoring

Why #3 you ask? Because it's 1:50 am on January 1st and I'm in the living room because I can't sleep because of Mr. Snore. 2009 is the year it will be cured everyone - just watch.