Two months to go!

I'm not sure when the "home stretch" of pregnancy techinically begins, but it feels like we're getting close.

When I consider how I look and how much stronger the baby feels everyday, I think that this must be the home stretch.  But when I think about the fact that the baby only weighs about half of what it will weigh when it's born, I think, "Nope... no home stretch here."

When I look at the increasingly large number of baby things arriving on our doorstep, it sure feels like the home stretch. But when I think about how much more there is to acquire and decide, I hope and pray that the middle stretch is here for a bit longer.

You know how it goes, I'm sure.

I'm pretty sure...

... that what I'll be giving birth to in a couple of months is not a baby at all, but a rolling pin.

Attachment

I can't wear my wedding ring any more.

I was fairly certain that this day would arrive sooner than later and I turned out to be right.  I can still wear the engagement ring, but even it is not long for my left hand, I fear.

It's not a big deal and I know that it's temporary, but I was much more sad about it than I thought I would be.

I love my rings.  I look at them every day and think about my husband and my marriage and our home and our life together.  They're a constant corner-of-my-eye reminder of how lucky I am to have what I have.

I know that they are just "things," and that in the grand scheme of things, they don't matter.  I know that if we had no material symbols of our marriage at all, we would still be happy and committed to each other.  I know all these things.

But I miss my ring.

But then, eventually, I feel a might boot to the side of my abdomen and I'm reminded why it is that the rings will be in a box on my dresser and not on my hand.

And that's a pretty nifty thing.

Catching up, catching up

Well, my dear friends, aside from being a negligent blogger, life continues on apace!

We are now almost 28 weeks pregnant, so just at the beginning of our third trimester. I feel bigger every day, and every time that I think that this baby can't get any stronger, he/she delivers a kick stronger than any I've felt before. 

I have absolutely loved being pregnant.

Relative to many, I think that I have had a pretty easy pregnancy.  Some morning sickness that extended almost all of the way through my second trimester, but nothing too bad or too disruptive to every day life. I've been lucky  to have had no medical complications (knock on wood) thus far. My doctor is confident that the pregnancy and the birth will be straightforward and low risk.  I have grown and gained weight at pretty standard rates and the little one has done all the things he/she is expected to approximately when he/she was expected to do them.

So we have had lots of time to simply enjoy the experience, for which I am immensely grateful.  I try to spend some time every day just watching my stomach move or feeling the kicks and punches and rolls without doing anything else.  Just taking that time is part of a general intent in my life to uncomplicate and slow down before the baby comes. 

Slowing down seems to have resulted in more time for things like cooking, planning the nursery, shopping and reading, all of which I'm enjoying.

I wouldn't go as far as to say that life isn't busy, but it's a very fun and interesting kind of busy!

Hope to blog more in the near future about it!

Friday Five! Scattered...

Revkjarla at the Rev Gals gives us a scattered Friday Five today!  

1. What is something you are chronically looking for, if anything?

There are two things that WH and I seem to have difficulty keeping in one agreed-upon location are our cheque book and our passports.  They seem to migrate from one place to another and are never exactly where we need them to be when we need them to be there!

2. What movie are you looking forward to watching sometime in the future?

Sometime in the future I would really like to sit down and watch the first two Godfather movies. Never seen them!

3. What is one of your favorite comfort foods? (me, pizza. hands down).

Easy! Chips and dip.

4. Story time. Tell us a story of one your favorite people that has touched, blessed your life.

Oh gosh... there are way too many people to think of just one! 
5. What do you do to focus or calm or center yourself? (please, I need ideas!!!)

I'm a big fan of deeeeeeeeeeeep breaths. 

BONUS: Share the first thing (or second thing) that comes to your mind after your read this!

It's time for the first second snack of the day!

Turning the Page

Hello blogospere! Nice to see you again!

GUESS WHAT GUESS WHAT GUESS WHAT??

We are having a BAAAAAAAAABBBBBBBYYYYYYYYYYY!

Sorry, I tried to think of a soft and gentle and clever way to make that announcement but nothing seemed to quite encapsulate how I feel about it the way that capital letters do. 

We had the best summer vacation ever and the very best part about it was our discovery about mid-August that we're expecting our first little one.  We are now about 13 weeks along and everything seems to be going well.  I have had a little bit of nausea in the first months, but nothing really to complain about. I'm hopeful that those issues will soon be over! Bring on the 2nd trimester, I say!

It's very exciting and my heart is totally and entirely full at the thought of all the people who already love our little lima bean and can't wait to meet him or her.  I feel very, very blessed! And very, very thankful!

Stay tuned!

In which Chorus looks ahead to vacation...

I AM READY FOR A VACATION.

I WANT TO LEAVE FOR VACATION RIGHT-FREAKING-TODAY.

Anyhoo, we are leaving for vacation in a week and I am looking forward AAAAAAAAH WHY CAN'T WE LEAVE TODAY. 

We will be driving across this great and beautiful country and a little bit of the great country to the south of us, stopping here and there and everywhere to play golf.  Our first destination point is Georgian Bay for three nights with my dad and his wife, then we will head to Ottawa for a week with WH's family, then home via Toronto for our annual Blue Jays game.  This year, we'll see the Yankees (Boo!). 

Right now, we are flood watching. We did have a hotel reservation in Minot, ND, but the hotel is right in the middle of the area that is recently evacuated, so we've had to shift our plans a bit. We have a hotel reservation and a golf reservation in Grand Forks as well, so we're keeping an eye there too.

It's a beautiful day today in Prairie City, sunny and warm and MAYBE IF WE CAN'T LEAVE FOR VACATION TODAY I COULD JUST GO LAY DOWN IN THE GRASS SOMEWHERE INSTEAD.

I'm finding it hard to focus on work.  You might have guessed that.