{Week 35 - Are we there yet?}

30 days until Kellen's due date! I have tons to get done before our lil' guy gets here, but I still hope he decides to come a little early. I'm ready to see him and I'm ready to have the ability to take a deep breath again!

Third trimester has been an adventure and I've found several things I can't live without lately. These days I'm in love with my Boppy pregnancy wedge, Tums, and ice. My Boppy because it's the best pillow ever and helps me get a bit of sleep, Tums because stomach acid is trying to eat up my insides, and ice because I've been anemic/iron deficient and I guess eating ice is a symptom.

Unfortunately, even with my Boppy I don't sleep much these days. If Kellen's not kicking me, the ribs on my right side are hurting like they've been knocked out of place. It's not so fun! Makes me feel like this:

(by the way, check out this cartoonist's blog here. She is hilarious!)

Today I stayed home from work, avoiding the crazy drivers in the snow. I fully intended to get tons of work done in the morning then go in at 1 after the snow had melted, but that didn't happen. Instead I was a bum. All day. I felt really bad about it, but Shaun keeps reminding me that with everything I've been doing and how little sleep I've had, I need to take a break and rest on occasion. I won't get that opportunity after Kellen is born!

Speaking of Shaun, I'm pretty sure there's not a better husband around. He's been so helpful! I've even caught him doing the dishes when I hadn't asked him to. :) If I had a best husband trophy I'd award it to him!

{Baby shower}

(Most of these photos were stolen from my Mom. I forgot to bring my camera!)

Saturday was baby shower numero uno! It was put together by Margaret, Nina, Sue, and JoAnn, and they did such a great job! When I think of baby showers I always think of cutesy baby blue decorations and silly-looking cakes (this is possibly because I rarely go to baby showers), but these lovely ladies went above and beyond! They put together a baseball-themed shower, complete with Cracker Jacks, hot dogs, peanuts, popcorn, good ol' fashioned bubble gum, and baseball-shaped cake pops! I loved it, especially since I got to have all my fave snacks lol.

I got some amazing presents, including this quilt by Elaine and a blue, red, and cream afghan handmade by my cousin Earlene!

You can't really tell in this photo, but Kellen got so much awesome stuff. We're blessed to have such generous friends and family! You can't really see it in the photo, but we even got the little baby spa (it has a wee little jacuzzi jet!) I registered for but never really expected to get. The hostesses got it for me!

Thanks again to everyone who came and gave us such lovely gifts! It means more than you know to us. :)

Well, folks, I leave you with a photo I couldn't resist including. Allysha decided to ham it up for the camera!

B-b-b-birthday!

Yesterday I turned 25. It's my last birthday before Shaun and I add a member to the family! Somehow it really snuck up on me this year. Mom called me on Thursday and asked if she and Dad could take us out to Logan's on Saturday, and it took me a few seconds to figure out what the occasion was. Must be getting senile in my old age! ;)

To kick off the celebration, Shaun and I went to Abuelo's for lunch and split their amazing dessert nachos. Did I mention they don't sing or embarrass you for your birthday? It's amazing. :) After that we stopped by the mall in search of a pretty sweater to wear to my February 4th baby shower (no luck), but Shaun didn't let me stay too long. He hustled me home, muttering something on and off about how I should take a nap. Sure, as a pregnant lady I am totally down with naps, but I wasn't sure why he kept insisting I rest before dinner. Totally made sense later, however!

Shaun knows my distaste for traditional birthday parties. Don't get me wrong, I like birthday parties for other people, but in the last few years I've grown to dislike having a party for myself. So this year, Shaun took it on himself to give me the kind of party I would like, and I must say he did a good job!

Mom and Dad took us to Logan's for dinner, leaving a key hidden so some of my friends could sneak into the house. I don't know if Shaun and my parents are super-sneaky or if I'm just so oblivious that I didn't notice anything was up, but I had no idea what was going on til people jumped out of the kitchen yelling "surprise" lol.

On that subject...I do not have a good surprised face! I later said that I just don't get surprised very much anymore, but that's a poor way of wording it. Truth is, I get surprised, I just don't show it very well! I blame the fact that I'm always slightly sleepy. :)

Anyhoo, we did two of my favorite things: sat around chatting and playing Catchphrase. I think Kacie, Jenn, Emily and I could go pro as a Catchphrase team! You know, if pro Catchphrase existed. I think we need to have game nights from time to time, because that was loads of fun. It's also nice being able to catch up with people I hardly ever see! I think I must be a hermit or something.

All in all, a very good birthday. The best I've had in a while! I said that about Christmas too, and I must say I like this trend. Let's keep it up!

The adventures of a first pregnancy - things I've learned along the way

Crib salespeople are scary. Like...used car salesman scary. Walk into Storkland, I dare you. You. Will. Be. Mobbed. There's no saying "I'm just browsing." Nuh uh. They don't believe you. Thankfully our dream crib happened to be at Room to Dream, where the saleswomen aren't pushy. Still slightly intimidating for someone like me...but not pushy.

Registering is also scary. There's too many important decisions! What kind of bottles do you choose? Will baby be given pacifiers? How do you pick those? What the heck is buttpaste, and who came up with that name?

Your entire body will rebel against you. I sat down on the floor this morning with my Macbook, and when I decided to get up I couldn't. Not because I'm front-heavy, but because my hips decided they were not going to cooperate. Almost destroyed my computer in the process. Sleep is basically non-existent, and don't get me started on the rib pain.

Birthing class will scar you for life. I knew they'd probably show some disturbing videos, but I still wasn't prepared. The lovely, early-90s videos featured women who looked distinctly like men, and I saw things. Awful things. Animations are fine. Diagrams are even better. But for pete's sake, keep the videos away from me.

People you hardly know will want to touch you. Now, I'm fine with hugs and high fives and such, but random people touching my stomach is a little weird.

Baby kicks are the sweetest thing in the world...until 2 a.m. Then, they become a reminder that you're probably not going to sleep at night for months lol.

There are a lot of references in the Bible you never truly understand until you're on your way to becoming a parent. The bond between a parent and baby (even one who isn't born yet) has deepened my understanding of the Father's love for us in a profound and moving way.

There's plenty more on my list of things I've learned along the way, but that's a small sampling  to start off with! Moms (and dads), what did you learn with your first pregnancy?

McGriddles, cars, and God's perfect timing

I haven't driven my own car in, oh...about 2 years. Kinda sad, huh? I had a little Grand Am that had served me well, but in the spring of 2010 it decided to give up the ghost. We could have fixed it...if we'd had the money. But we didn't. The list of things wrong with it was just too long and too expensive. Every time we'd talk about getting started on that list, something else would happen that required our money and attention. I ended up driving my Mom's CRV. Thankfully my parents were able to spare their extra car for a while (quite a while), or Shaun and I would've been in trouble. Our financial situation for the past two years, especially 2011, has meant that we've had to do without some things, including a new car.

Now, with Kellen on the way, having a car we can all fit in is way more important than before. Thankfully, Shaun's truck is paid off this month (woohoo!), so we figured we'd be able to get a car if we continued scrimping in other areas. Kind of a precarious financial idea, but it was the best we had.

However, once we started gearing up to car shop, my parents let us know that they had just reached an agreement to sell their lot in Piedmont, which had been for sale for months, and they were going to give us the money to buy a car. In fact, the amount was just right to purchase one of the cars we'd been looking at.

We started earnestly looking at Scion XBs, cars that Shaun loved for the interior room and I loved for the gas mileage. The only other car I even considered was the HHR, but most of those were a bit out of our price range.

This week, right before we'd actually have the money to buy a car, Shaun got a serious McGriddle urge. For some reason he decided to go to the McDonald's on 66 and Piedmont Road (that is currently being remodeled...but he didn't know that), which he never goes to. As he drove by one of the businesses on Ranchwood, he noticed the perfect HHR with a for sale sign.

He figured that with its custom paint job, wheels, and other after-market mods it would be out of our price range, but he asked the owner anyway. Turns out it was actually cheaper than everything else we were looking at, and the owner was willing to hold it for us for a couple days.

In the end, we got the perfect car for us. Plenty of room for us, the baby, and cargo, and it's pretty to boot! Literally 10 minutes before Shaun took a short drive and found exactly what we needed, I asked God to lead us where we needed to go, and He did. It's amazing how He answers our prayers, if only we think to pray them.

Cards, presents, and baked goods

Sometimes I wish Christmas was a lot simpler. Does everyone really need all the cards, presents, and baked goods? The cards get thrown away, the presents often end up forgotten or ill-used, and the baked goods are gone within a couple days. What's the point, really?

Yeah, yeah, I know most of you will jump on me for saying that. The cards are thoughtful, the presents show the spirit of giving, the baked goods are delicious. I get that.

What I'm really wondering is, why do we spend so much time and energy on them when that energy (and money) is better spent elsewhere?

In the midst of buying presents at overcrowded stores full of semi-grouchy people, it occurred to me that everyone I'm buying presents for really has enough stuff already. They don't need more things. There are plenty of people out there who have nothing, and here I am filling the already crowded houses of those who have plenty.

What if, instead of spending time, energy, and money on things that pass away, we took time for eternal things? What if we got together with our families and provided Christmas dinner for a family who wouldn't have one otherwise? Or if we bought toys for kids who have been told they won't be getting presents this year?

When Jesus came to earth as a little baby, the first people told of His arrival weren't kings or holy men. They were shepherds. They were considered so dirty that if you touched one, you had to be cleansed. They were untouchable. Yet, they were the first told of this heavenly gift, of this Savior.

Shouldn't Christmas be the same way for us? Shouldn't we first give to those society deems untouchable and worry about ourselves later?

Pregnancy faves

Three blogs in three days? I know, I'm crazy! Guess I'm just in a sharing mood this week. :)

The past few months have been all about comfort, and in that time I've found a few things I can't live without! I only wish I'd found them earlier. So pregnant ladies, take note!

Earth Therapeutics Anti-Stress Comfort Wrap
With my constantly sore ribs and lower back, this microwaveable/freezable wrap has been a Godsend. Every 10 minutes spent with a hot wrap gives me an hour without rib pain, and I think that's a pretty good trade! It's great to cozy up with at bedtime as well.

Belly Band

I got a Be Maternity BeBand from Target, and it's been a great investment. Since I loathe most of the maternity jeans I've found, this has been a lifesaver. Slip it over your pre-pregnancy jeans and you don't even have to zip them up!

The Republic of Tea - Get Maternal

I discovered this tea at the Health Food Center today ($7.99 for 36 tea bags), and it is amazing. I wish I'd known about it during the first trimester. It has ginger to help with nausea and all sorts of other herbal goodness to help combat water retention, keep muscle tone, grow strong baby bones, etc. And it's tasty too!

What are your top three pregnancy comforts?