Less Than 10 Weeks!!!

30.3 weeks (almost there!!!!!)

We are in the final weeks and I am so excited to meet our little guy, hold him and see who won the gene war... but I am also petrified of delivering. I still don't want to do it. Every time I get up the courage and think I'll be ready, I see something and I'm running scared again. It doesn't help that Kourtney Kardashian makes is look so easy! I hate her...

My doctor asked if I was exercising and I told him I exercised every day... I put my socks on in the morning and take them off at night. He tried to argue that it wasn't considered exercise but I told him as big as I am, it better be. I've gained exactly 40 pounds (I know, whoa) but I wanted to get big, so I am so not stressing over losing the weight afterwards.

I get to keep my doctor!!! I don't have to switch in my ninth month! Yay-hoo!

He says everything is still perfect, except my glucose test. Who actually passes those stupid things the first time anyways? Now I have to suffer the 3 hour test. Drink the nasty flat orange soda, and get my blood drawn every hour for three hours. I don't have diabetes! Can I just tell you that and not do the test?

My doctor is so sweet, he's going to let us do a little ultrasound for our next visit! He said they usually only do it for complications, but he was going to sneak us in so we could say "Hi"

This has been such a great weekend.

I got to have dinner with my girls, my love and adopted mom (which we haven't done in years). We ate Olive Garden (which is soooooo good) and talk wedding and baby talk. I'm all weepy with happiness that they're all engaged and one is pregnant and they're all so happy.

After all the drama and the pain of the past several years, I feel so blessed to be able to share these moments with all three of them.

We went to try on bridesmaid dresses, which is so funny!

The girl that worked at the store was giving me funny looks the whole time. As if asking, "Why are you trying on dresses now, when you won't be pregnant at the wedding?"

Even better, I am currently 7 months, but won't be at the wedding... The bride will be almost 7 months at her wedding! Oh irony...

This is my dress. It's so pretty and flowy.
I can't wait to get it and wear it.

My adopted mom has set her date and will be getting married in August! It was so exciting to see her looking at wedding gowns and going over the details.

On Saturday, my mom-in-law came over to watch Inglourios Basterds. What a hysterical movie! We were cracking up at Brad Pitt and his very poor Italian. I always love when we get to see my mom-in-law, she is so kind and easy to talk to. I see where my love got some of his "perfect" genes.

Tonight I get to go have pasta!!!! Not just any pasta, but "The Family Recipe" pasta, passed from generation to generation. We haven't had it in forever (because a certain husband of mine hasn't made it) and I am drooling just thinking of it. Besides the fantastic food, I get to see my grandpa and my aunt! And I adore spending time with them.

We get to see my step-girl next weekend and while I don't get to spend too much time with her (cause I work), I am excited to see her. Kind of missed the girl being around and it'll be nice to have her over again. She's mellowed out a lot since we had our last huge talk and I'm hoping that things will be smooth for awhile. On the other hand, for some odd reason, I can't seem to stop myself from rehashing in my head some of the old crud with my oldest step-daughter. Was there something more I could have done? Did I not try hard enough? Is giving up on her the right thing to do? But I have to remind myself that absolutely nothing I did would have been good enough. She's hated me from the mere mention of my name (and age) and nothing can change that. I used to regret writing the initial blog that brought her hate to the surface but I don't now. If I hadn't, who knows how long she would have been hiding her animosity behind our backs and how much damage could have been done?

I think it would be easier for me to let it go, if I knew that she had also. But I know that she's still angry at me (for Lord knows what) and that one little misstep is permission for her hate to rear it's ugly head. Or maybe if I could be angry about it, maybe that would help me. But I can't bring myself to that point. I just feel pity.

I wonder why it's bothering me so much right now, expecially since everything else is going so well? Ugh, I hate preggo brain....

Still Going Strong

This was me at 39weeks with my first baby bug...

I only gained twenty pounds the whole prgnancy with him. It's weird to see me look so tiny!

I'm at that point where I am in a mild panic about delivering. My first baby was only six hours of labor and while my back hurt, it was drug free. Which is why I'm scared that this one is going to be one of those 47 hours of screaming pain only to wind up with a c-section.

JJR has already been such a little.... snot!

The morning sickness was intense and I still don't know how I survived the exhaustion. But this past trimester has been such a breeze that it makes me wonder what he has in store for me...

Right now his favorite game is to kick my bladder while I'm peeing so that it stops the flow. I didn't even know they could do that!

If I don't eat right on time (according to his little schedule) then he starts the rib kicks. I know he's doing it intentionally because if I eat when he wants me to, then I only get small bumps.

My newest discovery is that if I sit at just the right angle, I can he his little butt, clear as day. It's so cute!!

28 weeks, right before I got the world's ickiest, stupidest, longest colds!!!!

It was all my fault, of course. I was bragging that I made it through the winter without anything more than a day of snot, and so of course, tada!

My love and I were going to celebrate V-Day and of course that's when I catch the stupid freakin thing. So we've put it off for another time when I don't look like something the cat dragged in on a rainy night. Bleh. Besides, our 2 year wedding anniversary and 4 year (I know, whoa) anniversary are coming up soon, too. Plenty of ways for us to share our love for each other.

I'm going to be a bridemaid!!! How fun!!!

I was starting to feel like, always a bride never a bridesmaid, but my bump buddy (squee!) is getting married in sunny California and asked me to be a maid.

I made it very clear that I was not to be anywhere near the running for MOH, leave that for the feminine think of everything kind of girls (or those that beg for the spotlight, no matter for what).

We were sharing the news with my youngest step-girl and she got all sorts of excited and started making plans about being there with us... Which is odd, since according to some she apparently doesn't like us and dreads our weekends with her.... hmmm....

Our lovely prank caller was back. I was starting to think I was wrong about who it was, but the other night was a total giveaway. They called my love's phone this time and then when he turned that phone off, they called the other line. Um, only five people have both numbers... FYI: next time don't bother blocking the number, we know it's you....

Oh, and while I'm at it, I am extremely dissapointed, Prank Caller! I wanted some sort of pig squeal or musical song blown into the phone and all we got was silence. Did you run out of creativity? We know it's not your strong suit. I demand that the next time your obsession with us gets to be too much and you can't fight the temptation to call, you better have something funny! Or maybe you could just stop obsessing... I seriously doubt you can, but I've been wrong once or twice....

Nine Lives

"The cats are in my courtyard!"

This is the text message we got two weeks ago from my mom. Our first thought is, um, what cats?

About three months ago, due to my dad moving, we had to give our 14 year old cats to a no-kill shelter. But my mom was texting us blurry pictures, swearing up and down that the cats had made the trip across town to her work. Our first thought was that someone had adopted them and they had run away. Or that this person had released them thinking that them living on the streets was somehow safer than a no-kill shelter.

We contact the shelter, leave 20 million messages, never receive a call back.

My husband drives down there and confronts them about it. They tell us that both cats have passed. One was just too old (and really really obese) and the other just died of shock (she was always a weird cat). They gave us dates and causes and all the specific details. We pass this information on to my mom who proceeds to tell us that the shelter is lying. The cats ar enot dead, they are in here courtyard....

I finally get a day off ( after working 8 days in a row!!! ) and I go to my mom's job. If it is my cat, she'll come to me. I mean, the cat calls me "Momma", she'll recognize me. I'm not leaving until I spot a cat. I either want to have photographic proof that it's not my cat or I want to bang on the shelters doors screaming foul.

I walked around for over an hour trying to find a hidey-hole or glimpse a ball of fur that may be mine. Nothing. I found two other random cats, but clearly neither was familiar.

I crouch down on the stairwell, with my camera ready and I wait semi-patiently.

Suddenly there she is! I snap a couple of zoom shots and it's so clear... it's so not my cat.

I showed my mom and the fun is all over now. No more freak outs over walking dead cats (like from "Madhouse") or runaways scavaging for food. Just two random kind of (but not really) similar cats.

Yeah, it stinks that my JB passed away and I am going to miss her so much, but she outlived her sister by almost a year and she was so fat. I know she lived a good life and I know she was happy so I have promised myself that I wouldn't grieve too much for her.

And the other cat, KK, can just rot....