38 Things

I still have a hard time believing that I'm almost 30 weeks pregnant! When I first started using the 3d pregnancy calendar on parentsconnect.com, I wasn't even 8 weeks along (more like 6). I would do my best not to skip ahead and see what was coming up. Now I'm 28 weeks (today) and can't believe I'm going to be looking into the 30's soon! Both Orson and I have changed a lot and a whole lot has been going on in our lives in these last 20 weeks.

I'm a fan of stealing things from other peoples' blogs. It's faster than having original thoughts and today, I don't have much in the way of original thoughts. A friend of mine posted this particular blog entry on Facebook today, The Single Girl's Checklist. It was actually borrowed from yet another blog, so my using it makes it third-generation borrowed or something like that. What I liked about this version was not only did she add her own to the list (it was originally 36 things), but she also put when she completed various items on the list. So here's my version of the checklist, even though I'm married :)

1. Go to a movie alone.
2. Lift weights.
3. Try surfing, water skiing or some other activity you don’t already know how to do.
4. Take out the trash. - Done, 2008 onward
   
5. Do your taxes - Done in 2011 for 2010 taxes (always confuses me)
   
6. Build a bookcase.
7. Live alone.
8. Train for and finish a huge physical test like a half-marathon.
9. Go to a scary doctor's appointment by yourself.
10. Quit your job. - Done, March 25th 2009 (coming up on the 2nd anniversary)
    
11. Fly to a foreign country by yourself.
12. Learn to stand up for yourself. - Mostly done, it's happening slowly
    
13. Witness something once-in-a-lifetime.
14. Revel in being able to watch all the reality television you want. - Yup
    
15. Get drunk during the day, just because you can.
16. Go on a date with someone who actually makes you nervous. - Married him
    
17. Go out with an older man who takes you somewhere nice and makes you feel like a million bucks. - Married him :)
    
18. Go out with a guy who makes you laugh til it hurts. - Married him, lol
    
19. Be a good wingwoman. It’s not always about you.
20. Chill with your widowed and single grandma. She knows “alone.” - I chill with her all the time
    
21. Volunteer. - Every year since 2001
    
22. Do at least one Valentine's Day alone. - All of high school
    
23. Attend a wedding (or 15) alone.
    
24. Date the creeps. You’ll really value the nice guys afterward.
25. Buy yourself some flowers.
26. Invest in a LBD and some sexy stilettos. - Done, always buying LBDs, sexy stilettos in 2007
    
27. Sit at a bar by yourself and drink a martini.
28. Buy something frivolous and expensive that you LOVE wearing.
29. Finish all your schooling if you can. - Done, BS in Film 2007
    
30. Throw yourself into something time-consuming, like learning a foreign language.
31. Make a list of all your faults.
32. Learn to cook well.
33. Get some hobbies. - Done, now I just need time for them...
    
34. Let your married friends edit your online dating profile.
35. Get your finances in order.
36. Babysit someone’s baby for an hour.
37. Help a friend through a bad divorce or breakup. - Done and done
    
38. Host a girls only night. Some coupled-up women forget how much we need each other. - OMG need another one soon! Last one was in early 2010!
    

Travel the Trail

I started playing Facebook games during my super long weekend last week. I especially wanted to play Oregon Trail but couldn't find a way to make my old version work. Unlike other Oregon Trail enthusiasts, I'm not a fan of the original version, we had a slightly later version when I was younger and that was what I wanted to play. Coming in fairly close was the app for Facebook. I was quickly addicted, though not in the "use real money to buy game money" way. I've done well without having to buy money.

I slept for 12 hours last night. Not really straight through, I went down for what was supposed to be a nap (and for Dan it was a nap) around 5ish and didn't fall asleep until close to 6. I woke up at 7 when Dan got up, went back to sleep (in my street clothes), woke up again at 10 (where an all too familiar pregnancy symptom struck out of the blue), then back to sleep, and woke up for the last time at 1. Since I'd had around 5 or 6 hours of sleep at the point, I got up, changed into my PJs, made myself some food to fill my stomach, and went back to bed around 2. I didn't wake up again until nearly 7 this morning. I got to do my two favorite things yesterday: eat and sleep.

I'm officially 2/3 of the way through my pregnancy. It's hard to believe that I've been pregnant for 27 (almost 28) week! Time is flying and crawling at the same time, which I'm told is not uncommon. At one point, my sister asked me what it "felt like" to be pregnant, something I've thought of often. It doesn't exactly feel like I thought it would, physically anyway. Physically, when the baby is not moving around, it just feels like I ate too much. That feeling you get when you go to a buffet or after Thanksgiving dinner, when you feel way more comfortable with the top button of your jeans undone. Also, because I'm not used to my stomach sticking out this far, I have to keep a hand on it to know where it is when I'm opening/closing doors and things like that, because otherwise I will accidentally smack myself!

When he is moving around, it feels really cool and really weird at the same time. Initially, when I first noticed him moving around, it just felt like twitches that you get in your muscles sometimes, but in my stomach. Other times he just felt like gas bubbles moving around. Now that he's bigger, it's a different feeling. The closest thing I can compare it to is bigger gas bubbles. I can tell when he's more towards the front of my stomach and more towards the back (he hangs out in the back the most). When he's moving towards the front, it doesn't feel like cramps or anything, just like weight has shifted, my stomach feels "heavier" even though I haven't actually instantaneously gained weight. When he's towards the front, I can actually feel him from outside my stomach too, there are parts that are more firm than others. I can't tell the difference between his head and his butt through my stomach, but it's good to feel that they're both there ;) I have noticed there are certain times of day he does move around more than others. I'm not sure about during the night because I'm so zonked that I don't notice! The times of day that I really notice him moving is before meals, so basically when I'm hungry. I still haven't figured out if it's because he's hungry too or if it's because there's extra room in my body and he's taking advantage of being able to spread out. I also notice him moving when I lie down, either for a nap or for bed. He definitely moves more when I'm sitting rather than standing, but he has produced some big kicks while I was on my feet too!

I've been frustrated lately about the things that I can't/not supposed to do. I really want to help clean Brissa's cage and give her food and water, but that contains both the "can't" and the "not supposed to" categories of activity. It's getting harder for me to reach her food and water bowls on the floor, so I'm rapidly approaching the "can't" there. I also desperately want to sweep and clean her litter box, but that's the "not supposed to" because of her poop. I'm 20% more susceptible for bacterial infection because I'm pregnant which means I have an extra chance of getting sick from cleaning up after her. So almost everything for taking care of Brissa is left to Dan, who has said we're never getting another rabbit ;) He likes Brissa, but I think if she got sick and died, he wouldn't be nearly as sad as me. I've thought about giving her up to someone who can take more constant care of her, but I actually love that little rodent and would desperately miss her. Plus, in a few more months, I'll be able to take care of her again and all will be well.

I also want to clean the rest of the apartment, but the overheating thing is still a problem as well as using the cleaning products we own. Also lifting things, we have lots of heavy stuff and I'm "not supposed to" be lifting anything over 20ish pounds or something like that. Being so tired all the time also impacts my motivation to clean, I get home from work and just want to sleep or sit on the couch. I can't wait for my maternity leave to start so that I'll have nothing else to do BUT clean ;)

Celebrating Life

Today Sarah and I went to a funeral for someone we both used to work with. It was especially sad because he was only a couple of months younger than me. His was the most well-attended funeral I've been to, and I think that probably happens because he was so young. There was a whole pew of just his co-workers from our restaurant, and even more who came late and sat in the back. On the one hand, it was nice to see my former co-workers come together in support of one of our own, but on the other hand, it sucked that it had to be under so sad a circumstance.

I really only went to be supportive and comfort my friends, I didn't really go to mourn his death. It's not that I'm happy he's gone, I'm never happy when someone dies, especially someone so young. We weren't really friends, I didn't talk to him outside of work, I didn't come in on my nights off and sit in his section. Unfortunately, I didn't know him when he was clean. I don't know what he was on, and it doesn't matter, but he wasn't the nicest person when he was on drugs. I had heard a couple of months ago that he had gotten clean and I was glad to hear it, but the last time I saw him was before he left our restaurant, when he was still a jerk. We butted heads because he did dumb stuff to co-workers on purpose and I didn't like it. Despite everything though, he was a hard worker and always willing to pick up a shift and pull his own weight and that was what I respected about him, even if I didn't like him.

For the record, his cause of death was unknown, not drug related and his parents mentioned that after the end of mass when they got up to speak about him for a few minutes. His parents, though visibly upset, held themselves together just long enough to gives us the highlights of his life and a few of the tragic events that may have lead to his death. He got cleaned up 3 months ago with the help of his father after a fight with depression and never looked back. Fr. Carl mentioned in his homily that when it's time for him to go, he hopes that he can have his life as together as this young man did. That was a positive way to look at the death of such a young person, he had his life together when he left us and we can only hope that when it's our turn, our lives can be just as together.

Aquarium Bound!

I love the National Aquarium in Baltimore. It's been one of my favorite places in Maryland since I was little. This year they are celebrating their 30th anniversary which is crazy because when I was an Exhibit Guide in my freshman year of high school, they were celebrating their 20th. Which means I was a freshman 10 years ago, yikes!

We took our entire middle school on a field trip to the aquarium today and it was so much fun! I wasn't officially part of a group of kids, so I floated from group to group, sharing the info that I remember (which was a lot) and just enjoying watching their faces as they watched the different animals. The Dolphin Show was especially funny because all the grades decided to sit in the "Splash Zone" and nearly all of them got wet. There were a few dry kids after the show and they were disappointed, we also had some completely soaked teachers who weren't happy either ;)

There have been some new additions to several of the exhibits since I last visited the aquarium. This eel for one, it was pretty huge and had the kids' attention as it left the hiding place in the rocks to go find a new spot. They really liked the way it swam, very much like a snake.


This is a Screaming Piha. It's the loudest bird in the world. Only the male screams, he's doing it for the attention of the female, who--at this aquarium anyway--mostly just ignores him. The girls thought he was especially funny and couldn't believe how loud he was. You can actually hear him from outside the building! He is not a very big bird, so it's surprising how loud he can get!

Still waiting on the house...

We put the bid in, it's been accepted. We had it inspected, that went well (especially compared to the last one!). We added an addendum to the contract about the minimal repairs that needed to be made and...we're still waiting to hear back from their realtor. It's driving me crazy because we've been saying that we're fine with settling before March 4th and if this realtor drags their feet much longer, we won't actually be settling early! Dan and I decided that we would take the whole month of March to update the house and move stuff over anyway, but still, without the keys in my hand, I can't say that it's our house. I also feel like if it falls through like the last one, we may not have enough time to keep looking and settle on something else before the baby's born. Dan talked to our realtor to see if she's heard anything and even though attempts have been made to get in touch with the selling realtor, nobody has heard anything from them. So we don't know if the sellers agreed to our addendum (which was just to knock a couple thousand off the price so we can just make the repairs ourselves) or what's going on. It's not an estate sale, short sale, or foreclosure but for whatever reason apparently there are 3 official sellers. I don't know if that means their names are all on the deed or what, but I do know that's why it took several days to get the first bid approved, they all had to sign the contracts.

I like this house, it's much smaller than the last one, but that means that it won't cost as much to heat and cool. The yard is also really, really nice and it's a great size for both a dog and expanding the house. One day down the road when we need more space we can easily add an upstairs to the house (as long as the foundation can support it, but the neighboring houses have done it already so I imagine the foundation is probably fine), or we can move and keep the house to rent. There's a lot of military in the area and when you rent through one of their agencies, you know that your property will be taken care of because there will be consequences at work for them if they don't take care of the place. So we have lots of possibilities with this place and I would really, really like to be holding the keys and standing out front with a SOLD sign very soon!

Cool "Aunt" Cheryl Has Competition

Orson's bio-Aunt is also buying him some pretty cool stuff. These awesome shoes for example!

This whole outfit is pretty amazing.

I had this package waiting for me when I got home. It drove me nuts that there wasn't a return address on it, I couldn't wait to get inside and get it open!

Turns out it was not things for the baby, my dear friend from work returned my copies of The Office because we haven't had a chance to meet and catch up in person yet! She included a lovely note (which was waterlogged from the melting snow, but the DVDs were wrapped in plastic so they were fine) and I hope we get to catch up in person soon!

Last but not least, Dan came home with this adorable blanket on Monday. It's officially the first thing he's bought for the baby. He went into Toys R Us looking for Nerf guns (his karate school has Nerf days) and ended up in the baby section where he found this incredibly soft blanket. I'm glad to see that if he finds something cute, he's more than willing to buy it. I teased him a bit and said he's totally a dad already because he went into a toy store and came out with something for the baby. I have a hard enough time going into Target or Wal Mart and NOT buying something for the baby :)

Ready, Set, Register!

We are registered all over the place now. Our baby registries are with Amazon and Target, and today I officially registered us for our childbirth class at the hospital where we're delivering--well, where I will be delivering ;). Next thing I'll be registering for is baptism classes at our church. I would be doing it today but I just missed the office hours and I'll give them a call tomorrow.

The picture for today makes me very happy, they are paint chips from Home Depot because we're going to have a house to paint very soon! It's not as big as the one we looked at before, but there's not nearly the amount of repairs to be made to it (actually all it needs is a new fuse box and some updated wiring). Technically it's move-in ready now, but it desperately needs updated flooring and I want it painted! I've been living in all white walls for probably close to 10+ years and I need some COLOR! Dan went to Home Depot last week while I was at work and picked out some colors that he liked, then we went back on Sunday and I found some that I liked and together we've come up with colors for all the rooms in the house--which the exception of the bathroom which is covered in tile and will be a separate project down the road. I'll save which colors are for which room until we've got some before and after pictures to put up, but settlement is supposed to be a week from Friday and as long as the sellers don't object to bringing the price down just a little more, there shouldn't be anything keeping us from settling then :) Dan will be painting first thing, with the help of friends, while the carpet is still down because it's old and we don't care about it. Then the carpet will be ripped up and the shape of the hardwood floors underneath will be assessed. If they're good enough to re-finish, that's what will happen there, if they are in bad shape, we'll (and by we I mean Dan and family/friends that want to help) get some wood-looking laminate flooring and use that. Once the floor is done, we'll start to move things over from the apartment. I've already started packing some stuff as we've been accumulating boxes and we'll be buying some new furniture (namely a real couch!) so there will be some stuff that won't be moving with us, thankfully!

The lady who lives in the house currently has a lot of...vintage stuff. Basically once she's out, the house is a blank slate for us! I absolutely love that I finally have a place to decorate and the ability to do it so easily! Painting with furniture already in the house is a pain, same with doing new flooring. With everything moved out, it'll be so quick to update and re-finish. We don't have that much stuff to move either, and we've had several friends with trucks/trailers offer to help, it's going to be cake moving everything into the house once it's ready!

We're also excited about moving because it means we can finally get a dog! Both Dan and I are serious dog people and we have missed not having one in the house for two (almost three) years. The yard is soooo spacious and almost completely fenced in (just need to run a fence between the sides of the house and the sides of the yard), any dog we get will be very happy back there! We've been looking at various shelters in the area online for a younger dog (but not a puppy) and came across Mid Atlantic German Shepherd Rescue. We're still not sure where we'll go to get a dog, but we are leaning towards a German Shepherd if we can because of how great they are with kids, especially younger ones. Dan had one growing up and loved her to death. We had our eye on a terrier mix from the SPCA but after doing some research I found that terriers are notorious for not being good with kids because they don't take pain well so that ruled her out. We're still liking shepherds and are hoping we'll be able to get one soon after we move into the house :)

Shopping with Auntie Cheryl

My awesome friend Cheryl is back from her six month contract with Carnival Cruise Lines and we FINALLY both had a day off at the same time (she's currently working at Round Tree before her next contract with Carnival starts again) so we spent a good 5 hours together at the mall. She's been saying since she found out I was pregnant that she was going to take me baby shopping, so we found some good deals on the sale racks at Carter's and Children's Place. Then, both of us being the movie geeks that we are (she's also a music geek on top of that), we went into FYE where we both found stuff we wanted! She got a new Joan Jett album and a DVD with some of Joan's more recent stuff on it and I found Talladega Nights and Bones on sale, so I was super happy! I actually already own a copy of Talladega Nights but at some point it got loaned to a friend after being loaned to another friend and I have no idea who it went to or where it is now (along with my copy of Blades of Glory), and it's been lost for almost 3 years now so I moved on and picked up this copy for $7. One thing I love about FYE is that they sell used DVDs, most of the time I will buy brand new just because I'm that much of a film snob, but for things like TV seasons, I'm all about the used because you can get them for half the price. This was definitely the case for the first season of Bones, at regular price the first season is $49.99! I got it for $29.99 :)

Do Not Adjust Your Monitor!

I took this video this morning when Orson was moving around like crazy! You can see him start kicking around 18 seconds into the video. He kicks a whole bunch too, he must be a morning person--or he just wanted some breakfast ;)

Almost a Mitten

It just needs a thumb gusset and a matching partner (and some blocking), and then I'll have finished my first set of mittens! It's still smaller than I'd like, but functional and cute nonetheless!

Yay For Sales!

What started as a trip to the mall for a new baby ring (yes, the claddagh is too small already), ended as a trip through Motherhood's sale racks. They were having an amazing sale, most of their stuff was either buy-one-get-one-free or buy-one-get-one-50%-off! I got this adorable dress and a free pair of pants to wear to work! I'm super happy about the work pants because I needed another pair, both of the ones I got for Christmas are black and a lot of my maternity tops are also black, so lots of black all around. This new pair is gray which means I can get away with my black tops and not feel like I should be working backstage at a theatre ;) I also got the Boppy wedge pillow. I've wanted one for a while and the price was good. I'm to the point where I definitely am starting to need the tummy support at night and almost to the point where I'm not supposed to sleep on my back anymore (that starts in the 3rd trimester).

I love this dress! It's really comfy in addition to be adorable. Why can't regular clothes be as cute AND comfortable as maternity clothes? Why are some things uncomfortable and cute or comfortable and hideous? Why are maternity clothes the only place those two things merge? I'm very happy with choosing clothes over a ring, the jewelry stores at the mall had some ok stuff to choose from, but mostly in the $45-$50 range which is more than I'm willing to spend on a ring I'll only be wearing for a few months and that I could possibly grow out of before the baby's born. Clothes and pillows are a whole other ballgame though, I got three things for the price of one of one of the rings I looked at today and all of the stuff can be used post-baby.

Delicious Cables

My third attempt at these mittens is proving to be the right attempt. I've increased my needle size, held the yarn double, and eliminated the last decrease, I'm finally happy with the size and fit. I'll be making a second pair of these when I'm done for a silent auction at school, so I won't be making myself a pair any time soon. I still have cute pink and gray wool from my pair, so that will make something cute eventually. I do have to say that this pattern is easy and quick to knit, not to mention pretty fun. I was worried I wouldn't like all the ribbing, since it's the bane of my existence, but it's not over the whole mitten it's not too bad.

26 Weeks

It's been several weeks since I've posted a series of belly pictures so here they are :)

21 Weeks

22 Weeks

23 Weeks

24 Weeks

25 Weeks

26 Weeks

In two more weeks I go in for my diabetes test and then after that I go in every two weeks until the baby's born. Dan finally felt him kick for the first time last night! I had gotten up to use the bathroom and that must have woken Orson up because when I got back into bed, he was kicking and moving up a storm. I quickly got Dan to put his hand on my stomach and after a minute we got several good kicks out of Orson. Dan started grinning, especially at how hard the baby was kicking, Orson even responded to his name with some kicks :)

Free Money

I got a catalog-type thing in the mail from Target for baby registries. On the back there was a coupon for a $20 gift card if you start a baby registry. I was totally going to register at Target in addition to Amazon and for once, my procrastination paid off--literally! All I had to do was create the registry, add stuff, then print it out and take it to the store with the coupon. Super simple and easy. I went in and got my card and intended to get some clothes, but didn't see anything I liked so I got some groceries instead. By groceries, I mean frozen dinners to take to work, more Starbucks ice cream, chicken noodle soup, and (finally!) some decent tasting pre-natal vitamins.

I didn't make lunch!

I ordered hot lunch last week for the last couple weeks of February at school. We only have hot lunch on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and I didn't order it for all those, just when something sounded particularly good (or what I've seen the kids eating something that smelled really good). Today I got mac & cheese and was even good and got fruit and veggies for my sides. I completely enjoyed having a delicious, nutritious (mostly, I doubt the portions are adult serving sizes) lunch that I didn't have to prepare. The lunches are reasonably priced too and they have special teacher prices which makes it even better. The order form for next month was in my mailbox today and I may just have to order more because it was soooo nice to not have to pack my lunch this morning. I'm looking forward to Wednesday, I ordered a meatball sub :)

I wasn't looking forward to a full week of work after a long weekend retreat, especially since I had gone straight to the mount from work on Friday. But for once I was glad that Monday was my busy day, it made it go by quickly and I have a lot going on this week that should help the time pass. Tomorrow I only have two classes, but I'll be coordinating our school's participation in standardized testing, so that needs some attention during my free time. I'm also working on editing a video (which reminds me that I need to hunt down the serial number for my copy of Final Cut) for the school and that will be taking up my time as well. Then, this coming weekend is a 3 day weekend! I toyed with the idea of working on Saturday, but after this past weekend, I'm glad that I didn't put in for hours, I'm going to be very glad to have 3 whole days to myself. Hopefully some of that time will be spent packing, we'll see how things goes on Wednesday...

Favorite Families :)

I've always loved this statue of the Holy Family. This year I really wanted a picture of Dan and me in front of it this year. Traditionally we get a picture of the two of us every year, and we got another one too, but this is by far my favorite picture yet. We didn't have a picture of the both of us since I've been pregnant, not like this anyway. I'm so happy with the way that it turned out. It's now my desktop background and I even stopped at Target to get frames for the house and my desk at work.

Sunday on retreat always goes by so fast. I managed to get up before the wake up call and hit the shower before there was a line. Breakfast was cereal and muffins and I even managed to get to confession before mass started. It was difficult with only three chaperones to do things like confession or visit the tables that were selling things, but as far as managing the kids it was easier. We had fewer kids this year than the last time, and fewer chaperones meant that everybody was watching everybody, we didn't do the assume someone else had them thing. For the most part, our kids were great. I'm not sure if I felt like that because I'm used to babysitting 5th graders during lunch or because our kids really were that great, but either way I went with it. We had a couple "18+" kids, who weren't chaperones but didn't require chaperones either, and both of them had been to the mount before so we didn't have to watch them as closely. We really only kept an eye on the newbies who hadn't been before and didn't know where everything was right away. It's not like it's hard to figure everything out, but since we chaperones have been so many times, we know that retreat and campus inside and out. We know what can be skipped or how to get lunch before our group gets called.

The ride home was petty uneventful. We stopped for lunch at Roy Rogers, which I haven't eaten at in ages. I ended up being so hungry that I had to get a second sandwich after I finished my combo! The girls were laughing at me, but told me it was ok because I was pregnant ;) I totally loved the girls we took with us this year. They were sweet and totally willing to go with the flow (which usually means stay with the group) even though they knew people in other groups. Except for our 18+ girl, they were all newbies and it's always soooo cool to re-live the retreat through the eyes of a first timer. It makes me think about what it was like my first time up, it was really different and then again not terribly different.

I was 13, almost 14, and have been coming faithfully every year since (except I missed the year following my first, after that it's been every eyar). Mount 2000 has been a huge constant in my life. It's like a landmark in time, every year, rain or shine (emotionally speaking) Mount 2000 is there. I use it to measure myself and my life by, like how I used to get my height measured in the doorway. What was I doing during last year's Mount 2000? Two years ago? Seven years ago was Dan's first Mount 2000, and our second date. It's so hard to believe it was that long ago. Six years ago we had just gotten engaged right before retreat. Three years ago we had set the wedding date with the church Friday afternoon before we carpooled up to the mount. Two years ago was our first retreat as a married couple. This year, I was six months pregnant. Now there are people in my life that I only see this once a year. Old friends who, like me, can't stay away from Mount 2000. It really it's a family reunion of sorts when we visit the mount. Now we have kids from youth group who have graduated high school and started attending Mount St. Mary's for college. The last couple of years we've had a steady stream of our kids going there who we get to see when we come up for retreat.

Mount 2000 is more than just a retreat. Don't get me wrong, all these years I've been going I still get something out of it every time, I call it "Jiffy Lube for the soul" and it really is. After missing last year, I was going through crazy withdraw, there's just something about it that recharges me spiritually and it's hard to get that anywhere else. But Mount 2000 is also my North Star. No matter what else is going on in my life, it's there. No matter who comes and goes in my life, the second weekend in February, I'm on that mountain, I'm sleeping on the gym floor, I'm avoiding the Saturday night chicken. It's been a constant in a world where the only other constants are death and taxes. The mount doesn't notice that I've had a different job almost every year, it doesn't know we're trying to buy a house, it doesn't know that I've gained friends and lost friends. The mount doesn't discriminate, it doesn't turn me away because I said something hurtful that I shouldn't have, it doesn't close its doors because I have things I need to work on. The mount is there no matter what (unless God dumps 40" of snow on Emmitsburg, but that's only happened once). I told Dan and several others, the only thing that will keep me from the mount is hospitalization. Up until this year, that only meant my hospitalization, now it means mine or Orson's. That's the only thing that will keep me off that mountain. Even the 40" of snow didn't keep me off, Dan and I still drove up, we still went to mass, and we still saw our youth group kids. There weren't talks or the procession or anything like that, but we were there because it's not just a retreat.

Prayerfully Long Day

I got decent sleep Friday night. Normally, I'll take girls who want to shower around midnight or 3am when the bathrooms are deserted, but this year, with my early bedtimes, I opted out of the Midnight Showers. I slept ok, I was on a cot and not the floor, but the lights wouldn't turn off or something and it was hard to sleep with the lights on. I felt great in the morning, more so than other years, because I'd had more sleep, and ate a bunch of breakfast. We went on to our next talks and then came lunch. Lunch was a big change from past years. Usually it's burgers. This year, it was "picnic style" with ham, turkey, or tuna sandwiches. Since I technically wasn't supposed to eat any of that, I asked about alternate lunches. Turns out that was totally a good thing, they let me go through the cafeteria line that the college kids use and get pizza and fries! Definitely ate well at lunch!

I started crashing around dinner time. Dinner was the usual for Saturday night: nasty fried chicken. I ate rolls and potatoes, but not the chicken. I knew better. I've had it before and my body is never happy with me when I do. Total we had 14 kids and 3 chaperones. Our group leader totally felt for me not eating the chicken and I mentioned sneaking off and getting some McDonald's. Once we were all together in the gym, I was able to head over to a nearby McDonald's and get some dinner. You know something's bad when McDonald's is preferable ;)

The Eucharistic Procession was amazing as always. Dan and I managed to get some bleacher spots so that I wouldn't have to sit cramped on the floor the whole time. Towards the end though I was really crashing. After the procession itself was over and Adoration had started, I headed over to the sleeping gym and passed out. I was asleep before anybody in our group came back from Adoration and even before they turned the lights off! I waited to brush my teeth both nights until my bladder woke me up, but Saturday night I didn't even wake up to go to the bathroom.

Get me to the mountain!

I was so excited when Friday finally rolled around, I could barely contain myself at school. By the time the last bell rang, I was dancing in my seat, so eager to leave! It was only about 45 minutes to get to Mount St. Mary's from school, I beat the rest of our group there--a first! We got a good spot in the gym, were able to spread out and have plenty of space, got dinner early (normally we're rushed because we're missing something), and headed back over to the main gym for music before our first talk.

This year, the ancient carpet squares that they've used from the beginning were gone. They'd been replaced by these square mats. I'm sure they were much better than the carpet, but I totally stayed on my seats from 5 Below. I can tell you that they were quite popular as toys and they were thrown all over the gym throughout the whole retreat. The throwing lessened after announcements were made to stop, but I still got hit with one from a stranger after that. I wasn't terribly happy, but whoever it was probably felt really bad for hitting a pregnant woman so I relished in the anguish I imagine they felt.

Fr. Leo Patalinghug said mass and broke boards in his homily. Two of the boys in our group got called up to help hold the boards. Fr. Leo's homilies are always amazing. In this one, the boards represented the barriers that keep us from Heaven. The kids in our group said that they could remember what each board stood for, proof that Fr. Leo is a dynamic speaker who knows how to reach the youth. :)

Example Hat

My knitting class is supposed to be working on baby hats for the babies of St. Agnes Hospital. But we've missed so many class periods because of snow days, parent teacher conferences, and random other things, that we're only just getting to the hats now--three weeks before the trimester is over. On top of that, we only have 2 actual class periods left because the last class period before the trimester ends is an all-middle-school field trip. I quickly knit up a hat to follow the pattern and make sure it would be easy enough and quick enough. Easy yes, quick I'm not sure about, we'll see. I may have to assign knitting homework just so we can have some hats to send to the hospital. We at least have this one ;)

The cake hates me today :(

Perhaps it's my fault for not attempting to find a plate, but all that was next to the cakes were napkins. I think the cake was just out to get me. The lemon cake (bottom) flaked on me first, literally. As I was picking it up to put it on the napkin, the bottom half stuck to the pan and I ended up with two pieces of cake. It then sought revenge on me as I placed the napkin on my desk by attacking my keyboard (gross). The chocolate cupcake decided to follow suit and flipped the other way onto my desk when I moved the napkin away from my now-frosted keyboard. Today was not a good day for cake. But I ate it anyway.

Anniversary :)

I couldn't wait to finish school today because Dan and I were going to dinner for our anniversary. Not our wedding anniversary, that's in August, but several anniversaries that take place on the same day.

February 8th 2004 - Our first date
February 8th 2005 - Dan proposed
February 8th 2008 - We officially set the wedding date at the church

This year was especially exciting because we had a third person "joining" us for dinner ;) I gave Dan three choices of restaurants and he chose Outback (which was good because I wanted steak). Normally, I eat my sides and most of my entree and take the rest home. I definitely take some entree home when we get an appetizer. I was somewhat planning on having leftovers to take to school with me for lunch tomorrow. No such luck. I was so hungry, and the food was so good, that I hate half our cheese fries, half the loaf of bread they gave us, all of my baked potato, most of my salad (which is what I normally do at Outback anyway, I eat the part of the salad I like and leave the stuff I don't), and ALL of my steak. By the time we got home, I probably could have eaten more if I wanted to, but I was satisfied for the moment.

Dan and I have a deal about our anniversaries. He does the wedding anniversary and if I do the first date anniversary. That way neither one of us is footing the bill for both, plus Dan thought it would be a bit much to celebrate both now that we're married. I disagreed, especially since it was an anniversary we celebrated for so long before we got married, and that's where the bargain came in ;)

Floor Seats :)

For the last couple of weeks I've been wondering what I'll do for seating at our awesome, annual retreat, Mount 2000. Typically the majority of the seating is on a gym floor, with enough participants they'll roll out the stadium seating but those seats usually get taken petty quickly and our group tends to be slow walkers and get places last. In past years, it hasn't really been an issue because Dan and I have had similar versions of this folding seat. They are getting old however, and I'm not even sure where we put them since we didn't use them last year. I was planning on going to Target or Wal Mart this week to look for these exact things pictured and I found them, of all places, at 5 Below. If you're not familiar with 5 Below you are missing out! It's a dollar store, essentially, everything is $5 or less. Their stock changes frequently but you can usually snag some really good deals, as I did today. My mom and I went in looking for dry erase markers for her classroom (which they didn't have) and that was when I found these beauties. My plan was to check out Target and if they had had either one of these things I would have been happy, though I probably would have paid double what I did at 5 Below. Total I paid $19 with tax for two of each seat and I couldn't be happier :)

Superbowl = Cleaning the apartment!

Waiting for the floor to dry.

What started out as "just sweep and swiffer the bathroom/kitchen" has turned into a full-blown overhaul of the apartment. Dan's out at a Superbowl party. Originally I was going to go, because I'm not one to turn down free food, pregnant or not, but when I realized how late it was going to start/end and with school tomorrow, I decided not to. I've been meaning to clean the apartment anyway, I just figured I'd do it in bits and pieces with my back getting tired quickly now and with overheating being so much easier. Once I get started cleaning though, I see how quickly I get it done and I think, "Wow, that only took 15 minutes, I could also vacuum and mop. It's been a while since the kitchen got mopped..." etc.

Currently, I'm taking a cool down break with my water bottle while the fan blows on the kitchen floor to dry it faster (I can't vacuum the living room until I put everything back in the kitchen). If it's not dry soon, I'll move to packing up clothes that have been sitting in the closet that I haven't touched pretty much since we moved in. I think it's a safe bet I won't need them for a while ;) I'll also be packing up a lot of my pre-pregnancy clothes as they no longer fit and aren't likely to fit before we find a house. Dan's mom has been bringing over boxes that are good for clothes, not too big, not too small. They'll be good for DVDs too, if I can bring myself to pack those up. Between Netflix and Hulu, I haven't been watching a whole lot of DVDs. But then again, my dad has been using us like Blockbuster and the TV in our room is hooked to the DVD player and not Netflix, so I'm torn. I can put off packing them for a while.

All clean!

Yarn Obsession

My knitting class is going to start their baby hats this week. We only have two classes left. I started the pattern myself and I'm unsure if we'll have anybody actually finish their hat in two classes. I have one or two students who picked up knitting pretty quickly, one who actually knits at home, and one whose mom knits so she practices at home too. I picked up baby yarn at the store today, which is always a risky venture, I love new skeins of yarn and I have a weakness if they have sale signs up. Thankfully, my impulse buying today was limited to chocolate in the checkout line (Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate & Raspberry, mmm!). I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we can get at least a few hats done by the time we finish class (the trimester ends first week of March, I'm doing knitting again for the third trimester but not everyone will be taking it again).

Baby Ring

My engagement and wedding rings have been too small for a week or two now. I ignored it for as long as I could but it was getting to the point where I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get them off again. I was originally thinking that I'd get a small silver ring somewhere to wear instead, something that looked like a wedding band but is a size or two larger than I normally wear. It occurred to me this morning that I have a claddagh ring Dan gave me several years ago. I originally wore it on my right hand which is at least a whole size larger than my left hand (when it comes to rings). I misplaced my jewelry boxes several months back (as in, I cleaned our bedroom way too well and hid stuff from myself!) and was hoping that the ring wasn't in one of them but in it's original box--which I still didn't know 100% where it was, though I had an idea. I was right about both the location of the original box (which is a cute Irish green, since it actually came straight from Ireland) and the fact that the ring was in the box.

I was also lucky in that my left hand is only one size larger than normal so far. Currently, I'll be able to wear my claddagh ring instead of my wedding band, we'll see if it stays comfortable for the next 3 months ;) It's much better than having a cheap silver band because I didn't have to pay for it, my husband bought it for me, it's an authentic Irish claddagh, and I already knew it would fit on at least one hand. It's the perfect solution :)

Flames of Creation

I had only a few small ones just 3-4 weeks ago, now they're all over the front of my stomach. I'm finding new ones almost every other day, there are a few on my thighs and sides too. I don't mind them, I never wore bikinis anyway, they're like badges of honor to me. I wouldn't have them if I wasn't in the middle of an awesome journey. I just think it's crazy how much the baby must be growing if I'm getting so many so fast, all in pretty much the same place. I wonder how much more I'll be getting, I'm only less than half way, I've got 16ish weeks to go.

Orson is so thoughtful ;)

There were several things pointing towards me getting wings tonight at Glory Days. Partly because it was Wing Night, partly because I was meeting our realtor at 6pm and needed to kill some time, partly because my sister was working, and partly because I really wanted wings and a chicken cheesesteak. It occurred to me today why I've been all about fast food in this pregnancy: sodium. I have been in love with salty foods pretty much since the beginning and it totally explains why during my first trimester some of the only food I could keep down was fast food. In the very, very beginning, before I even knew I was pregnant, I craved bleu cheese which never happens. I like bleu cheese but I have to be in the mood for it, normally, and there were several weeks in a row where I was eating my wings with nothing but bleu cheese. I even bought sliced bleu cheese for sandwiches from Trader Joe's. Bleu cheese has a saltier flavor than other cheeses and salty has been the one consistent flavor so far in this pregnancy.

Soft pretzels and McDonald's french fries have been a favorite through all these months. I put salt on my baked potatoes and today at Glory Days I found myself putting it on my mashed potatoes as well, although I really didn't need to because I'm sure the melted butter-like substance they use (it's called Whirl) is probably loaded with a week's worth of sodium. I've always been a fast food fan, but I have not been able to kick the habit since I've been pregnant. I try for money and health's sake, but I keep getting drawn back in and I'd put money on the sodium content as the culprit.

This Pregnancy is Sonic Good!

The other day I realized that the new MD Sonic is literally on my way home from my OB's office. They also just came out with their new philly cheesesteak and I am a cheesesteak aficionado so it was begging me to try it. First off, it's a FOOT LONG which is awesome. It's not the best cheesesteak I've ever had, but it's pretty good, especially for fast food. I wasn't super hungry when I got to the Sonic, so I hit the drive-through and waited until I got home to eat it. The tin foil wrapping they use kept it warm the whole drive home, omg. Wish I could say the same for the Coke I got to go with it, that mostly lasted until I got home, but I drank most of it in the car. I blame the baby. For those of you who are concerned about my caffeine intake, don't be. The recommended daily amount of caffeine is 300mg and I usually shoot for less than 200mg. There is 34mg in a 12oz can of Coke and even less in fountain Coke because it's watered down by ice. 4 cans of Coke wouldn't even be half the recommended amount. Typically I drink 1 can a day, sometimes 2 and sometimes there's a fountain drink in there. Those are also the numbers from before I was pregnant, I've significantly cut back from my college days. Mountain Dew is ridiculously high in caffeine and I only drink it if it's going to be my only soda for the day.

I am in my 24th week and have 16 more to go! Hopefully anyway. Giving birth at 40 weeks would be ideal, although I have a feeling by the 30's, I'll be ready at any time. So far, I've enjoyed being pregnant. Maternity clothes are so comfortable and for the first time in a long time, I'm not worried about whether clothes make me look pregnant or not (several weeks ago I was hoping they did). My appointment today went well. I weigh 195lbs, which means I've only gained 20lbs so far. I talked to my doctor in more detail about the cyst and she was surprised but happy that the cyst isn't bothering me at all. She also reiterated the fact that they won't do anything about it while I'm pregnant (barring a medical emergency, and even then that would just be the cyst rupturing and me going to the ER) and they'll take care of it when the baby's born if it doesn't go away on it's own before then.

She's not sure why they didn't see it on my previous ultrasound unless it truly grew really fast in the three weeks between the appointments. I also suggested that they probably didn't think to look for it because I wasn't complaining of any pain at the time, though that doesn't explain why they looked in that area the second time around either. I told her I did have a nicer tech the second time around and maybe the other one was just having a bad day ;) My next appointment is my last every-four-weeks appointment and we move to every-two-weeks after that. The next one they will also do the last bit of blood work and testing. That is going to be interesting because I have to arrive early and stay at least an hour because I have to drink a weird liquid to help them test for gestational diabetes and anemia (and also syphilis which I think is hilarious that they're still testing for it, but it's required apparently). So I'll get there, they'll give me the stuff to drink, I do the regular check-up, then sit in the waiting room for an hour, then have my blood drawn. I had to make it a morning appointment because of the times when the phlebotomist is there to draw blood, so eventually I'll have to talk to work and figure out how to work going to the appointment with my sick leave and stuff. I picked as early an appointment as I could, but the office opens at 9am, so at the earliest I figure I'll be leaving around 10:30am and getting to school by 11:15am or 11:30am, just in time for lunch. It'll be a half day, but if it works out that I don't have to take a full day off, I'll be making that my goal. The less leave time I use the better. I'm already going to be off a month before the kids at the end of the school year because of my due date and I'm still not quite sure how that will work with my pay (I'm the primary breadwinner still).

I've been counting my blessings the whole way through this pregnancy. Even though our insurance isn't as great as it was, it could be worse. Even though Dan lost his main job and is now a number in the "under-employed" statistic, he's happier and less stressed (at least about work, I'm sure he's stressed about the job/money situation but we both are). Our schedules are even more opposite with my teaching and his karate, but that means that when we do get time together, we make the most of it and don't spend it arguing. I'm thankful for an easy pregnancy so far and pray that it continues and that we'll have a healthy baby. My job has it's ups and downs, but I'm developing new skills and I'm not stagnant like with the other job, plus the pay is better and I get snow days and sick leave ;) I also have the option of working the other job over the summer if I want (I doubt that I'll actually want to, but it may be that we'll need the money and I'll have to) but either way I'll be getting paid--being salary is awesome.

I just realized that I need to post a house update. Obviously we're not moving right now or there would be pictures up. We had the inspection done for the house we liked and turns out there was $30K-$40K worth of termite and various other damage to the house and foundation (the work that had been done on the house was not professional and most likely a family member, things were not up to code and not just things we could ignore or fix ourselves). Way too much money for a starter home and we're still looking around. Dan has some houses lined up to look at tomorrow and I'll be going with him if we have another day off from school. There are a few houses that have potential, but I'm worried we could end up with the same situation and pay another inspector to find equal or more damage to anything else in our price range. At some point, we'll have to bite the bullet and either accept something that needs a lot of work or accept defeat and make room in our apartment for the baby. I'm praying everything works out and we get a house before the baby's born, but that's not necessarily up to us ;)

(Jump to Part III of The Mega Cyst Saga)