So....tired....

Seriously, over the last 2 days I've slept almost 22 hours. I'm not even kidding.

I sit down for a minute, and I nap for 3-4 hours. I feel guilty, since I'm supposed to be taking care of the house, etc etc.... yeah, that's only happening after I wake up in a guilty frenzy. So I wake up and tear through the house trying to clean before Tim wakes up, LOL.

Honestly when I'm sleeping at night it's not been terribly restful... I have to get up to use the bathroom pretty much every 1-2 hours, and add to the fact that when I went swimming after the doctor appointment earlier this week I got some kind of crazy rash-thing all over my legs. It looks like I have Chicken Pox on my lower legs and itches so bad that I cried the first day. Apparently it's some kind of rash that's native to Michigan that can happen anytime you swim in fresh water lakes.

Thanks for the tip!

So I'm basically keeping my legs either smothered in Calamine lotion or trying to keep my feet in a bucket full of cool oatmeal water and not itch myself to death when I'm awake.

Sleep isn't exactly restful right now, but seriously... I'm just weepy and tired! I watched A Baby Story twice yesterday, and each time at the birth- I cried. Not like I didn't know it was coming, like some surprise ending... I was just so happy that the baby was born that I cried over someone else's kid.

Sleepy and Weepy.... I am just a few of the missing Dwarves.

Back from my 26 week appointment

And all is well :o)

They did my glucose test today (I had to drink something like orange pop, then wait an hour and let them take a blood sample) and we'll find out the results of that in awhile.

Otherwise I'm measuring on target, I got to hear little Kat's heartbeat and she even kicked the doctor while she was measuring my stomach. I was informed I had one strong little baby in there! I already knew that though. :o)

I did gain almost 9 lbs between last visit and this visit... which I knew was coming but it was still a shocker. My stomach has REALLY popped and as it gets harder for me to keep active and moving around that's going to happen. The doctor wasn't that concerned with it, but she did say that I shouldn't be gaining 9lbs every month... or that would be bad. Guess I'll just have to keep up with my walking and stuff.

Since Dove will be in town in a week and half and we have a TON of stuff planned, keeping me active won't be the problem- it'll be keeping me awake. All that walking is going to wear me out!

I got to meet yet another of the doctors at the practice, and of the 4 I've met, I've really really liked the last 3. The first lady was a bit brisk, but decent enough.... everyone else is like a sweet perky little cheerleader LOL.

Is it November yet?

Headed out in a few hours to have a picnic and go swimming with Tim... woohoo!

Okay, I know I have a little time before this is true but....

It's too funny NOT to pass on! I've worked in daycares and babysat enough to know this for hilarious truth.

Sadly- I can't wait!

Announcing the new Toddler Miracle Diet!

--author unknown

Over the years you may have noticed that most 2 year olds are trim. It came to me one day over a cup of grapefruit juice and a carrot that perhaps their diet is the reason. After consultation with pediatricians, x-ray technicians and distraught mothers, I was able to formulate this new diet. It is inexpensive and offers great variety and sufficient quantity. ENJOY!!

Day 1:
Breakfast - One scrambled egg, one piece of toast with grape jelly. Eat 2 bites of egg using your fingers, dump the rest on the floor. Take 1 bite of toast, then smear the jelly over your face and clothes.

Lunch - Four crayons (any color), a handful of potato chips, and a glass of milk - 3 sips, then spill the rest.

Dinner - A dry stick, 2 pennies, 4 sips of flat diet pop. Bedtime snack - Toast piece of bread, butter it and toss it face down on the floor.

Day 2:
Breakfast - pick up stale toast from the floor and eat it. Drink 1/2 bottle of vanilla extract or one vial of vegetable dye.

Lunch - Half tube of "Pulsating Pink" lipstick and one ice cube, if desired.

Afternoon snack - Lick an all day sucker until sticky, take it outside and drop in dirt. Retrieve and continue slurping until clean again, then bring inside and drop on living room carpet.

Dinner - A rock or an uncooked bean, which should be thrust up your left nostril. Pour iced tea over mashed potatoes, eat with spoon.

Day 3:
Breakfast - 2 pancakes with plenty of syrup - eat with fingers, rub fingers in hair to clean. Glass of milk - drink half. Stuff excess pancakes in glass. After breakfast, pick up yesterday's sucker from carpet, lick off fuzz until sticky again, then leave on cushion of your best chair.

Lunch - Peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Spit several well-chewed bites onto the floor. Pour glass of milk onto table, then slurp up.

Dinner - Dish of ice cream, handful of potato chips, 1 sip of cold coffee.

Final Day:
Breakfast - 1/4 tube of toothpaste (any flavor), bit of soap, one olive. Pour glass of milk over bowl of cornflakes, add 3 cups of sugar. Wait until cereal is soggy, drink milk and feed cereal to dog with your spoon.

Lunch - Eat crumbs off the kitchen floor and dining room carpet. Find that red sucker and finish eating it.

Dinner - A plate of spaghetti and chocolate milk. Leave meatball on plate. Handful of cheese snacks - eat 2 and place the rest in bowling ball holes or any other convenient hiding place.

25 Weeks... Yay!

Yay!

Almost to the 3 trimester, I can almost smell it from here!

The light at the end of the tunnel... more literally for Kat in a few months methinks!

According to my lovely pregnancy book: Pregnancy Sucks (heehee) I'll officially enter my 3rd trimester at the end of week 27, so only 2 more weeks (and a few days) to go! Incidentally (if I calendered correctly) it'll actually be right before my baby shower.

Thank goodness, this has been easy so far comparatively... but I'm ready for it to be over. November can't come fast enough. I'm really starting to get a heck of a belly here- I officially haven't seen my feet in like a month. Not that I'm complaining, the belly is cool... the rest of me getting (more) jiggly- I could definitely do without.

Since my baby shower is coming up so quickly, I've also stopped yard saling until after it's over. I didn't want to risk doubling up on a ton of stuff that I might get at the shower. Nothing has come off the registry yet, but I know lots of people don't use/update the registry, so I figure it's best to stop getting baby stuff now and take up the mission again after the shower. Oh and it is a mission for me- I literally map it all out and prioritize sales :o) it's paid off though, I've gotten some fantastic deals and we're getting closer to being ready for this little one!

I really can't wait for the shower though, that makes this all very real for me. Plus I get to go to Grand Haven (always fun), and Dove will be in town to play (even MORE fun), and I get to hang out with Tim's family (who I really love).... so this should be a fun week for us. Add to that, the night before the shower we're having Full Moon here at my house (yay), and the day AFTER the shower we're going to the MI Ren Faire (woohoo!)....

It'll probably be my last real fun before I get too ginormous to enjoy anything other than laying on the couch napping LOL.... sadly that's my current favorite activity....

Har har har....!

I'm cranky...

It. is. so. HOT!

I'm melting, melting.....


I know little Kat will get to read all these crazy posts someday, since I'm keeping it as a momento/pregnancy journal and I want her to know this:

Kat-
Mommy loves you very much, she must, or she wouldn't be putting up with all this pregnant crap just to meet you! I'm swollen, crabby, achy, cranky, moody, gassy (oh yes), hippo-like, waddling, having Braxton Hicks contractions (which your doctor will tell you someday don't hurt, but they DO!), hot, and generally miserable.

You're worth it, but Mommy is feeling whiny today and the only thing getting her through is the fact that you're kicking me right now reminding me that it's all worth it and that I love you. I'm going to go lay in front of an air conditioner now...

Love-
Your Hot Hippo Mommy

Best random conversation ever....

Tara: "I've carried this baby for 6 months now, I think it's only fair that it's your turn..."
Tim: "I can't carry it for you Mr. Frodo, but I can carry you!"

Hahahahhahahaahahahahahahha..... my baby is as evil as The One Ring.... and apparently I'm Frodo for another 3 months...

Mount Doom...errr NOVEMBER or bust??
Thanks Samwise/Tim... I'm just gonna get heavier!

Updated picture of me....

Hee hee hee.... I'm gorgeous!

6 months pregnant today!

One more month, and we're finally in the third trimester... the home stretch even. So how are things going?

Mommy Tara-
Mostly I'm just tired a lot... getting more tired more easily as time goes on, and it's hard for me to just stop what I'm doing and rest or nap. I'm trying really hard to listen to my body and sleep when I need sleep, even if it's in the middle of the day. Tim lectures me a lot on this one. :o)

My hands have been swelling for a few weeks now, and my feet decided to join them last night. I have been trying to keep moving as much as my sleepy body will let me. I feel pretty lethargic, and a few days ago I had a bout of some nasty Braxton Hicks contractions. Whatever MAN wrote that these are painless can kiss my chubby pregnant butt! They were very uncomfortable, and I was so tired after. It was like someone just wrung me out like a washcloth. Luckily they're normal and harmless, and according to Tim- he read somewhere that women that have these early tend to have easier labors... here's to hoping!

The nesting beast has been at bay, luckily because we found some great deals for the nursery and it is shaping up in there!

I don't seem to be having the intense mood swings that my other pregnant friends are having right now, which is a blessing... occasionally I do try to brain random people with cans of corn... but that's just normal I think! I'm more absentminded than before (if you can believe that!) and if I'm mid sentence and the baby moves, you completely lose me for a minute. Like every pregnant woman I have an intense fascination for what is going on inside of me at the moment, so it's hard to get me to focus. I am happy (and giggly too) for almost 80% of my day now, which is great.

I feel really incredibly blessed to:
A: have concieved such a healthy wonderful little girl, when I see other women struggling daily to get pregnant. I know how lucky we are and am thankful every day. and
B: to have had such an easy pregnancy... granted it feels like crap sometimes, but comparing mine to some others- I've had it easy. And we can't forget...
C: have such great interest and support from family and friends. It actually means more to me than I thought it would. Listening to people getting excited about our new little girl and loving her already just makes me feel warm and glowy.

Daddy Tim:
He's working hard to quit smoking, and we've had a few cranky days but he's doing a great job. I think it really dawned on him after the big ultrasound that he really wants to be around and healthy as long as possible for this little girl. It was his choice, and I'm really proud of him so far.

Mostly he's still just fascinated by the belly, I catch him randomly staring at it while we're talking and he can't seem to stop touching it all the time (though he usually has such a silly grin on his face when he does it that I don't mind at all!) He has gotten to feel the baby kick lots of times, and she really reacts to the sound of his voice now, especially when he's singing or laughing she'll give a kick or a roll. He is always making up silly stories to tell her, and just randomly holds full conversations with my stomach. It's sweet that he's so so involved and completely in love with this little girl. Of course he's spoiling the heck out of me, but that's to be expected. :o)

Baby Kat:
She's healthy as far as we can tell! All her tests have come back great (as have mine) and the ultrasounds show her to be growing right on target (to the day even!) with a big healthy heart, a good spine, and long long legs. :o)

Our last ultrasound we got to see her yawning and hiccuping, we even got a shot of her looking directly at the camera and could see her little face. Since it was an ultrasound it was mostly bones we saw, but we still got to see her!

She moves almost constantly it seems, and it's definitely detectible outside my body now too (which is a bit early but very cool!) She's loving Orange Juice, and is currently making me eat lots and lots of popcicles... She reacts the most to sounds, but if you poke the belly she'll almost always poke back.

According to the ultrasound she's almost 2 pounds and is about 9 inches long. Our due date is still the same, and we're right on track! November is coming sooner than any of us realize I think!!

~*~*~*~*~ Everyone keeps asking me if I'm scared of the labor, etc.... my answer is that I'd be stupid not to. I think all pregnant women are scared, but I also keep reminding myself that I'll be in the hands of some excellent doctors (with some excellent drugs- judge away!) and that the end result will be our little Kat in my arms for the first time. I could do anything for that.

Love this quote...

Pregnant women! They had that weird frisson, an aura of magic that combined awkwardly with an earthy sense of duty. Mundane, because they were nothing unique on the suburban streets; ethereal because their attention was ever somewhere else. Whatever you said was trivial. And they had that preciousness which they imposed wherever they went, compelling attention, constantly reminding you that they carried the future inside, its contours already drawn, but veiled, private, an inner secret.
-- Ruth Morgan

Tick tock, Tick tock...

Am I losing my mind? Probably... I seriously have 4 months left to go (121 days until the due date, but who's counting?)

I can help but feel like I have to get everything ready for the baby NOW... or even YESTERDAY... it's the strongest urge and I'm completely obsessed with getting the nursery completely set up. We ran into a snafu with the crib, and I started crying and almost let it ruin my whole evening that I couldn't get it completely set up yesterday. Yeah- I'm hormonal and insane... props to you for correctly identifying my symptoms LOL

According to Tim, this is apparently the 'nesting urge' according to his book on now to have a pregnant wife and survive... and that the book advises men to just let us do whatever we feel like we have to do to get ready for the baby, help as much as they can, and basically stay out of the way. I can't help but think that it's a bit early for me to be this obsessed. It's like, I can't sleep until I'm completely ready for this baby. I barely slept last night, and dreamed that the baby came early and it had to sleep in my dog's bed and that I was a terrible mommy!

I just really really really really really want everything done (at least in the nursery) before the end of the month, and I'm not sure that's going to happen... I also think I'm going crazy, but that's okay too! All I can hear is that clock going tick tock.... tick tock....

Added a few minutes after the original post....

Okay, apparently I'm not as crazy as I originally thought... and it IS common to get it this early...

Around the fifth month of pregnancy, the "nesting" instinct can set in. This is an uncontrollable urge to clean one's house brought on by a desire to prepare a nest for the new baby, to tie up loose ends of old projects and to organize your world.

Females of the animal kingdom are all equipped with this same need. It is a primal instinct. Just as you see birds making their nests, mothers-to-be do exactly the same thing. The act of nesting puts you in control and gives a sense of accomplishment toward birth. You may become a homebody and want to retreat into the comfort of home and familiar company, like a brooding hen. The nesting urge can also be seen as a sign of the onset of labor when it occurs close to 40 weeks of pregnancy.

Nesting brings about some unique and seemingly irrational behaviors in pregnant women and all of them experience it differently. Women have reported throwing away perfectly good sheets and towels because they felt the strong need to have "brand new, clean" sheets and towels in their home. They have also reported doing things like taking apart the knobs on kitchen cupboards, just so they could disinfect the screws attached to the knobs. Women have discussed taking on cleaning their entire house, armed with a toothbrush. There seems to be no end to the lengths a nesting mother will go to prepare for her upcoming arrival.

This unusual burst of energy is responsible for women ironing anything in the house that couldn't out run them. Being preoccupied with ant killing, squishing them one at a time for weeks on end. Packing and unpacking the labor bag 50 times. Cleaning the kitchen cupboards and organizing everything by size to the point that you make sure the silverware patterns match when it's stacked in the cutlery drawer. Sorting the baby's clothes over and over again is a favorite theme. Taking them out of the drawers and re-folding them, putting them away and doing it over and over again. Nesting will provide interesting stories for years to come.

Nesting can be one of the more humorous aspects of pregnancy. One that you and your partner are sure to laugh about in the years to come...if he ever forgives you for sending him off to work and ripping down all the wallpaper in the hall! You may laugh about it now but you probably won't laugh when you're in the middle of it. No one can pull you out of it no matter how silly your behavior may seem. It simply becomes something that you must do!

The nursery is almost done!!

The paint is almost done, I'm just taking a break from doing the edging so I stay out of Tim's way on his ladder doing the stuff I couldn't reach... we changed our color at the last minute to one of the Disney collection colors we fell in love with. It's still purple, never fear! It's actually called One Enchanted Evening from the Disney Home Princess collection... it's a bit more vivid than the original super pastel we were using, and the room looks completely ADORABLE!

This is how we are celebrating the 4th LOL... by painting a nursery... we actually saw our fireworks and ordered pizza and enjoyed our festivities yesterday. Tiny Kat either loves or hates fireworks, because she was doing some crazy dancing during the big finale!

So, once this dries, I need to order the border I wanted... and Tim will be putting the crib together... I'll hang the wall art I made for above her crib... and we'll be pretty much done until post baby shower! I can't wait to see the finished product! I have honestly been looking forward to getting the nursery together since I GOT pregnant. This is one of the big milestones in my mind. You always see the pregnant woman painting in the commercials, and I finally get to be that pregnant woman LOL... yeah I'm a product of commercial conditioning!

I'll be posting pics once we get the crib in at least... then once we get the border and get it on the wall.

I SO hope my little girl loves her room! I'm trying to make it fit for a fairy princess! The only casualty so far is that Luna now has a purple tip of her tail... I think it's quite fetching against her black fur :O) and she doesn't seem to be minding it at all!

Ahh, back to work for me, almost done!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remember, remember the 5th of November...

If you haven't seen V for Vendetta, you won't get this joke... I do highly recommend the movie to anyone and everyone, it's one of my favorites!

They are referring of course, to Guy Fawkes Night which is November 5th. What is Guy Fawkes Night?

Per Wikipedia: Guy Fawkes Night (more commonly known as Bonfire Night, Cracker Night and sometimes Fireworks Night) is an annual celebration on the evening of the 5th of November. It celebrates the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot of the 5th of November 1605 in which a number of Roman Catholic conspirators, including Guy Fawkes, attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London, England. Festivities are centred on the use of fireworks and the lighting of bonfires...

It's also the date they're estimating that Wee Kat might be making her first appearance. Now I know that the due date is just an estimation... but with a crazy pagan mommy who LOVES her fire circles, a mildly Pyromaniac father with a fireworks obsession, and possibly a Guy Fawkes Night birthday? We're in so much trouble. Add to that, that her middle name will be Brigit- who is essentially a fire goddess in Celtic traditions...

I'm giving birth to a future arsonist! GAH!

Okay probably not, but what a cool due date for V for Vendetta fans LOL

Just for fun- here's Tim at Halloween dressed as V (the sexy witch next to him is obviously ME!):


Tonight is the big fireworks night here in little Ortonville, so we'll be in our backyard tonight watching the show... and of course the fireworks always make me think of Guy Fawkes Night... so there's the point of this incredibly random blog!

We're having a Kat...

We just found out this morning that we appear to be having a little girl... not only that, but she's developing just fine and all her little organs are perfect so far! Add that to the fact that all my bloodwork is perfect, blood pressure is fantastic, and I've only gained 6lbs so far... wow! Of course I'm not getting too tickled over that 6lb gain, because I know my hippo days are well on their way! Getting smug now is NOT the thing to do LOL

So world, here comes Katherine Brigit Lewis... she's perfectly healthy and active and you're all in SO much trouble! Hahaha! I can't say what a relief that is, on so many levels. My cousin had a daughter with severe heart problems and seeing what she's gone through just breaks your heart. I'm so glad that our little Kat is doing well so far!

We were hoping for a girl. Not that a boy wouldn't have made us very happy, because it would! I'm just a junkie for pink stuff, and somehow in my strange mind I think a girl might be easier to raise, I hear that's just wrong from all the Been-There-Done-That mommies, but perhaps since I have so many women in my family with daughters, my parenting perception is a bit different than most.

So after our appointment we had to tell everyone, Mom totally squealed and screamed YES YES YES!!! the whole time, it was funny- Tim's dad was very sweet and by the time we made it home from running errands he had gone to Toys 'R Us and bought a pretty little infant ball in girly colors and was waiting here at the house for us, ostensibly to help Tim with yardwork, but we all know it was just to see the ultrasound pics. We stopped in to see Tim's mom at her job to show her the pics and let her know, and she just kept grinning, his folks are so sweet. Aunt Katie just laughed alot, and is already plotting to buy tons of pink stuff- I could hear it in her voice! All friends were really tickled, and I keep getting e mails all night from everyone with Congratulations. I feel quite loved, and super tickled that we're having a wee Kat.

Of course after the appointment I couldn't NOT buy pink stuff.... so we picked up a little pink onesie with a fuzzy purple cat on it that says Meow... (her name will be Kat, I thought it was funny) and a really cute set of footed pajamas with fairy princesses on them, and of course- Tim's pick- a onesie that says- Does this Diaper make my Butt look big?

We've got the nursery pretty much cleared out now after working all day on it, we have our wall color picked out (Purple Foxglove if you care), and the crib ready to be put together- this nursery should be done in a week or two! YAY!

I'm feeling a tad cranky right now (mood swing + mischievious husband= irritation) so I'm taking the rest of the evening off before I bite someone LOL

Otherwise, life is good!!!!