The View from up Here

Do you see toes?

Neither do I.

We have hit that magical 33-week mark. Actually, it isn't magical, but it does seem as though every pregnancy book has some snippet of info to make you feel as though you've really done something each week you are still pregnant. So at 33 weeks, I am fairly certain that the child in my belly is long and large, at least 4 pounds, and we are slowin' down, folks. The child does not have as much room to squirm and play in utero, so I get fewer fast-paced belly-rolls and more frequent slow stretches of feet into my ribs. I can't eat as much in one sitting as I used to, and I am so fatigued by the end of the day, it's impossible to think of doing anything so strenuous as taking Buster for a walk. Thank God for Tony, he takes care of me and the dog. And my parents were up this past week, and if it weren't for them, there wouldn't be a clean dish in the entire house.

So here is the full-body view this week. The photos aren't that great, I think the flash was off. I'm standing in what used to be our guest room, so I guess these also qualify as the "before" photos of our baby room. Junk on the floor, white walls... all of this will mysteriously disappear in the next couple of weeks to be replaced by new paint, furniture, etc. I call it a mystery because I will likely sleep on the couch while fairies do the work. Or Tony, take your pick. Hmm, at the moment, I suppose it is also a mystery because we don't technically have anything to put in the room other than books. And while I am sure the baby will love reading at some point in his or her life, he or she probably won't want to sleep on books. We'll be working on acquiring baby gear over the next few weeks.

Just for funsies, here's what I looked like at 8 weeks...

Let this also be a lesson to pregnant women about what they should not do in the third trimester. Look at that belly! And I was feeling pudgy and had gained 6 pounds at that point! Look a that butt! Okay, you don't really have to look at my butt, but I'm just saying, damn, I looked good compared to now. I don't think my thighs would be able to fit into half a leg of those pants at this point! I am so tired of being fat, and internet, I think my biggest fear is not about being a good mom or having a crazy demon child, but of never looking good again. Given the current state of my ass, I would say that fear is well-founded. So, does anyone have any great advice on how to accept the fact that you will never be beautiful again and instead forever pudgy? Cuz I'm pretty sure that giving birth will only get rid of so much weight... the rest of this nasty forty pounds I'm stuck with (forty pounds today... but what about in seven weeks when I actually push out the child? I might have surpassed the ridiculous and gone on to just horrifying weight gain by then!). Baby boy or girl, you might get to be an only child if momma stays this unsexy.

Tri, tri again

Last weekend, Tony did another triathlon, this time in Kirkland (my cousin calls it Jerkland. But I guess he has the right. After all, he lives there) with our buddy E.P.. We left late the night before and finally got to sleep around midnight. Buster was all freaked out in a new place and didn't sleep so much, so we were all pretty tired by the time we woke up around 5:30 am.

There were 1300 participants in this triathlon... 1300!

Tony did excellently in the swim. Can you spot him in this photo? I'll give you a hint: his cap is purple (he threw it out after the event... apparently, a purple swim cap is not a great memento).

Tony did equally well on the bike and run portions of the triathlon... I am very proud of him!
My God, that is one good looking man!

Three Years Ago Today

Three years ago today, we made a lifelong commitment, and I have to say... I have not regretted that once, not even a bit. Which, in marriage, is probably the best one could hope for.

The last three years have included two moves, numerous parties, new jobs, graduations, a new house, a pet, a pregnancy, road trips, plane trips, hospital visits, illnesses, family member deaths, late night discussions, thousands of whispered I love you's, and approximately 1,096 days of waking up next to one another (there was a leap year in there). It has never been boring or routine, and the challenges we have faced were all the easier and more meaningful because we faced them together. I'm looking forward to many, many more years.

Sweetheart, you light up my days and nights, and I can't think of anyone with whom I'd rather experience the adventure of life than you. The words "I love you" will never be enough, but that's okay, because I know you know what I mean.

Carole Calls This "Hard Core Nesting"

I call it paying someone else to do a job better than you would ever be able to do in your life. And, of course, still criticizing every aspect of the finished product. After all, this is America, and I can be annoyed at the lack of caulk on my tiles if I want to.

So, yeah, our friend Carole calls it hard core nesting when you have to hire a contractor. And spend thousands of dollars. You see, we are not just talking about the piddly re-organizing stuff. Oooh, no, that will come later. Right now, I am doing my best to ignore the dirty floors that I am not allowed to vacuum because, hey, the baby is still two months away, right? Except that everyone who sees me seems to think I am about ready to pop any second now. Which would not be cool.

On to the photos of our new house (old house, actually, with new floors and an island)! First, the pre-remodel, torn to shit, photos:

There it is, the old wall that was ripped out! I'll only provide you with this one photo because I just can't bear to relive that week in pictures right now... it might have been the most exhausting, emotionally challenging week in this entire pregnancy. Remodeling is not for the weak, people.

Buster has been very cuddly lately. Who's my cuddlebug? Buster's my cuddlebug. Note the shiny new floors. He has sort of figured out how to run on them. He now seems to have two styles of running in the house: gingerly, and bat-out-of-hell with excellent potential to knock things over or bean his brains out on something hard. Claws don't work on laminate, my dear.Behold the island. And see how shiny the floor is in this photo! So lovely. Oh, and note the new frigo in the back there... French doors and a freezer on the bottom, it is my friend.

I'll have you know I don't usually look like this much of a slob... these photos were taken at night and really, when you are this pregnant, there are no clothes that feel good to wear. So you are lucky I wear them at all.

And here you can sort of see all the stuff we have put back in the house... almost normal, now! Tony has been a champ, hanging photos and shelves, moving furniture, running with the dog, sweeping, unloading the dishwasher... all those things that this increasingly large belly make it inadvisable for me to do. I am getting so big, I have to wear stop-gaps with some of my maternity shirts. That's right, maternity shirts are too short, so I wear a belly band to cover up the bare skin. Crazy! I never thought I could be this huge! We are slowly starting to collect more baby stuff, though we are nowhere near ready for this kidlet to be born. Sometime next week we might start working on a baby room, though, and I will faithfully keep the internet updated.

As promised

A sneak peek of our new flooring, a beautiful dog, and some mega belly.

Checking in

I proooomise to post photos later, but I thought I would at least check in, just in case anyone is wondering where we disappeared to. Well, I'll tell you: we disappeared into a remodeling vortex. But all that is over with tonight. Here's a quick rundown, and, like I said, we'll get photos up soon:
First, we hired contractors, so don't be freaked out thinking that we did this all ourselves!

• A wall was taken out of our living room
• A cabinet set was purchased for an island
• A new refrigerator was purchased
• Our kitchen was all torn up, including the sink and countertops, so our entire kitchen, including all major appliances, was moved to the garage
• Oh, yeah, and so was our whole living room
• Our laundry sink began to pile up dishes
• Our flooring was ripped out
• Our North shed was taken away
• Lots of money was spent

Then... once the house was all torn to pieces, things started to look up...

• A dog kennel on the north side of the house was built (now Buster will have a place of his own where he will not bark at cars - we are really trying to break him of his barking habit before the baby comes)
• Laminate flooring was installed, and let me tell you, it is a riot to watch Buster slip and slide around that floor!
• New countertops and sink were installed
• New lights over the new island were installed
• The new cabinet set for the island was installed... and it is a LOT bigger than I pictured it. Apparently, I do not have good spatial reasoning skills. The island will now dominate our main floor, but I think it will be handy to have.
• Furniture was moved back in, along with the appliances and kitchen stuff
• A load of dishes that had been festering in the laundry sink for a week was finally run through the dishwasher

Ah! I also had a checkup this week, at 29 weeks gestation of this lil' kicker. I am measuring 31 weeks from the outside, and my next checkup will be in three weeks instead of four. Then the next one in two weeks, and then every week after that. As if I needed another reminder that this kid is getting ready to squirm its way to the outside world! I am very healthy, and the baby's heartrate is holding steady at 140 bpm. I also only gained a teeny bit of weight this month, which is kinda weird. After all, I am OUT THERE in the belly region. In the past week, even Tony has said that I am starting to get big. Maternity clothes are being stretched to their limits! I am starting to walk more like a pregnant woman, not so much with the waddle as with a giant weight in front of me. I still can't breathe half the time, and I think I can identify appendages as the baby squirms around inside. Pretty cool!

It's a beautiful day here, leading into a beautiful weekend. We have plans to go to doggy obedience training (yeah, we did that last summer, but it is time for a refresher), a dog festival in the park, have dinner with Tony's new coworker and his wife and 2-year-old daughter, watch some Seahawks football, and enjoy the sunshine.

I imagine everyone who is reading this blog from Washington State heard about the terrible shooting up here in Skagit County. It's pretty much rocked our world around here, and I had the privilege (?) of watching the takedown at the Sheriff's station directly across from my office. A terrible tragedy, and it just goes to show that you can't account for the crazy people in this world. Go home and hug your family, because some wackjob out there could go on a killing rampage at any time.

I can't breathe.

Ugh, the baby is now making it tough for me to breathe during the day. And night. And my remedy is to drink lots of water, juice, milk, and other because, I don't know? Liquids make me feel like I can breathe better? So now I have to pee a lot more often. Fun. I think I got up forty times last night. Large child, time to get your feet out of my diaphragm!

So here's a photo of Buster in the river on Tuesday for your viewing pleasure:

I love this dog.