35 Weeks!

It's crazy to feel and look this big and then realize that you still have 5 more weeks to grow before the baby is due! The weekdays are going by too slowly and the weekends are going by way too quick. My tasks for next week are to get pre-registered at the hospital and get my hospital bag packed and ready to go. I also want to get the car seat set up in my car so I feel prepared in case this baby decides to make me really happy and come early :) Well here is a picture of me at 35 weeks - large and in charge!

**Update on last post**

My dear sweet husband knew how distressed I have been over Kitty so he found her a home. A lady who works at his law school has been wanting to add a female cat to her family. She lost her female cat to old age last year and she and her husband have been wanting another cat. They already have a male cat and a few dogs and they think Kitty would fit right in. Apparently dogs and cats can live together in harmony once they get used to each other - who knew! I was so happy when Ethan told me about them. Kitty deserves a good home, even though I'll miss having her greet me at my classroom every morning. I've honestly become increasingly stressed over Kitty because she has been getting more and more needy of me every day. She just wants to hang out and have me pet her all day long. She just waits outside my classroom for me to have a break and come see her. I'm so glad she will now have a home with 2 people taking care of her and giving her the love and attention she needs. Even though my husband thinks I'm crazy I know he secretly likes that I care so much about animals and I know he does too or else he wouldn't have gone to all the effort to find her a home. Thanks babe for lifting this weight off my shoulders and making Kitty and I happy!

My new friend

This is my new friend Kitty. I started noticing her around my school in the morning about 2 weeks ago. I tried to get her attention a few times but she would just run off. Then about a week ago she was sitting outside my classroom so I ran in and got her some milk. She loved it. From that point on she started hanging out around my room. I bought some cat food and started putting it out for her. She would come into my room during my breaks and hang out. Soon she wanted me to play with her and pet her (yes I wash my hands after I touch her). Even though I've always been a dog person, I bonded with this cat. I call her Kitty and every morning at about 6:50 when I get to school I find Kitty waiting for me under my porch. She starts meowing like crazy the second she sees me. I've been desperately trying to find Kitty a home. I would even take Kitty home if it weren't for the fact that my two dogs freak out every time they see a cat. I have asked all my classes if anyone is interested in a cat and emailed all the teachers at my school. I even got Ethan to email his whole school to see if anyone would be interested in adopting Kitty. It breaks my heart to see homeless animals. I've even started coming to my school on weekends to feed Kitty. I'm becoming the crazy cat lady which is ironic considering I know nothing about cats and have never owned a cat in my life. I told Ethan that we have to figure something out for Kitty before I go on maternity leave but I'm hoping we figure it out way before then. I hate thinking about her sleeping under the school portables in the cold. I'm just a big animal lover - Ethan thinks I need to start working for PETA but I told him it would make me too depressed. If anyone has any ideas for what I could do with Kitty let me know

Thoughts on teaching while pregnant

One of the reasons I decided to go into teaching is because I always thought it would be a great job to have if I had to be a working mom. I still believe this because teaching allows you to be home in the afternoons and evenings with your family. You get every weekend and holiday off. And of course you have the whole summer to play with your kids. It's also a job that provides good benefits. Yet as great as teaching is when you have to be or want to be a working mom I'm starting to think it's one of the worst jobs for being pregnant. The reasons being are:

- You can't cut back on your hours when you are huge, exhausted, swollen, and feel like your back may break at any moment

- You have to go to the bathroom every 30 minutes but unfortunately your classes are 100

minutes long and the nearest bathroom is 100 yards away

- You have to wake up at 5:30 in the morning after a night of tossing and turning because no position is comfortable when your belly is that large

Even though it is getting really hard to work full time at this stage of my pregnancy, I'm very grateful for my job. It's been very hard but also rewarding and it's helped Ethan and I a lot. I was able to get Ethan in state tuition our first year because of my job. I also have good insurance through my job. We have both been very blessed since moving to ABQ and we are about to become a whole lot more blessed with the addition of our little guy in only 5 1/2 weeks! We are so excited and can't wait for it to be December 7th! Now if only I can find enough energy to finish the nursery!

33 Weeks Pic

Alright, so Ethan makes me take pictures like all the time. Unfortunately I hate most of the pictures because they have basically all been taken at 6:30 in morning in our poorly lit apartment so I have been bad about posting them. But thanks to the harassment of my family I'm finally putting one up. This picture was taken at 33 weeks and 4 days. I definitely feel bigger every day now. He is growing so much. I finished painting the nursery this weekend and now I'm just waiting for a couple things I ordered to come in so I can finish it completely. I know I'm probably putting more effort into this nursery than I should since we will only be in it for another year or so but it's worth it to me. Ethan says that the baby won't care what it looks like but I said that I will be spending almost as much time in their as the baby and I DO care! Luckily Ethan typically ends up liking and appreciating what I do. Anyways back to the pic, here it is:

So other than me becoming larger by the second, I've just been working and trying to get everything ready for our addition. Ethan has been working hard at law school and stressing out about Cougar football. We have also been trying to give our pups a lot of attention because they will probably feel a little neglected when we bring home the baby. Here are our babies enjoying some quality daddy time

The Final Countdown

Ok so it may be too early to say it's the final countdown but I really only have 7 weeks and 1 day until my due date. Sometimes when I think about 7 weeks I think it is still forever away and other times I think Ethan and I need to take advantage of these last weeks we have being child free. I am so excited and nervous about being a mommy. I'm mostly nervous about the labor and delivery but I know I can get through it. My parents were in town this past weekend and they helped us out so much. We got a cute light fixture in Trey's room and my handyman dad installed it. For some reason the apartment complex had a little plastic box covering the place where you could put a light fixture so we have been living without a light in that room for over a year now. Trust me lamps don't light up a room like a ceiling light. We got the travel system assembled. We picked up our rocking chair and my parent gave us a dresser. Oh and my mom found an awesome lamp that matches the theme of the nursery. Everything is coming together. All I really need now is a baby swing so I can still shower and cook while the baby is awake. The nursery is about half done and hopefully will be completely finished in the next 2-3 weeks. I'll post pictures soon. I've had a really easy pregnancy up until this point. It has definitely gotten more difficult in the past 2 weeks or so. I have to use the bathroom every hour, sleep is no longer my best friend, my hands and feet swell and I had to send my wedding ring home with my parents. Rings don't look so pretty when you have hot dog fingers. Hearburn is not fun and I now must have perfect posture since bending hurts. The baby likes to either be high in my ribs or low on my bladder. He gets the hiccups a lot lately which was cute at first but now I find it very distracting. But even though it has gotten harder I'm still so grateful to be at this point without any complications. He already makes me so happy and it will only get better from here. On a brighter pregnancy note, I'm right on track with my weight gain. I'm hoping to only gain the minimum of 25 pounds and right now i've gained 18. I'm supposed to gain about 1 pound per week until he comes. I know I'm bad about posting pictures but I'll try to get a 33 week picture up in the next few days and maybe a sneak peak of the nursery as well.

29 weeks and a root canal

Last week was my birthday and my husband made a great effort to make it special. He got me some grey boots i've been wanting, a crib skirt that matches the baby bedding, and the documentary movie Babies that i've been wanting to see. Since my birthday was Tuesday and I'm usually too tired after work to go out, we decided to order in dinner and do my real birthday dinner at Tocanos on Saturday. Little did I know that on Thursday I would have to get a root canal. Needless to say, there was no Tocanos this weekend. I mostly sipped soup and drank smoothies. I was very worried about getting dental work done while I was 29 weeks pregnant but my dentist called my doctor to make sure all the medication he prescribed was ok. She said that it was but I've still been avoiding taking the vicodin and opted for extra strength tylenol instead. Oh the sacrifices us mommies make for our little ones :) Yes, it was a long weekend for me. But in happier news, we got the crib set up this weekend and the bedding has arrived. Now I need to order the mattress and I can get the crib/bedding all set up. My little guy has been moving around like crazy which feels much stranger than him kicking. He is starting to get in my ribs...not my favorite but I'm still happy every time I feel him. I also had a doctors appt. last week and everything looks good. No gestational diabetes and his heartbeat is good. We only have 10 weeks and 2 days left and even though I feel like that is forever away, I know it will go by fast. I just can't wait to be a mommy to this little guy!