Dorisa Plods Through the Home Stretch

Ellie modeling her beautiful knit hat made with love by a wonderful friend.

Often when I write a blog entry it does not happen all in one setting. I'll have an idea, open blogger and save it as a draft and work on it over a couple weeks. I'm sure sometimes this is quite obvious with how scattered some of my thoughts may seem. This time however, I had written some stuff about being pregnant while still expecting to be pregnant for a couple weeks. I however was only pregnant for two more days after writing it. Yay. I am still posting what I wrote because it is important to consider if you plan on having a child some day. Also, it has been pointed out that my misery is humorous. My next post will be about our new misadventures as a family of four.

I love my musical boy. We got him a toy violin for his birthday. He is going to freak out.

And it's mini-Dan. So cute.

Do you know what I hate about pregnancy? You're right. So many things. One thing that I have found especially frustrating as of late is my lack of mobility/belly rigidity. I, like so many others, have experienced fluctuation in my weight over the years and while I don't appreciate the extra pounds when there are some, one nice thing about fat is that it is generally squishy. Just like my legs, according to my son who is absolutely full of complimentary comments these days. So, while pregnant, not only do I look like I have a basketball under my shirt, but that is about how well I can move as well. If I could remember that fact it would be extremely helpful.

Some things I need to tell myself:

Sucking in your stomach won't help you fit through that space. You will get stuck. It will be embarrassing. Or you could just ricochet off of that wall/chair/door. All very real possibilities.

No, you can not take your compression socks off by yourself. You will be in pain, and then you will have to pee.

Don't sit on the floor and twist in that position, no matter how far away your screwdriver is and the fact that your standard flexibility should allow you to reach it. You have a head in your hip and while it is somewhat malleable, it is a head, and it will win and you will cry. And then you will be worried until the pain ends. And then you will feel stupid because you should know not to do that.

You want to tie your shoes? You set aside 3 extra minutes and hope that the flexibility you acquired as a dancer in your hips and legs OVER 10 YEARS ago shows up with the assist. You will be short of breath after this task, but if you are successful you can add it to your list of small victories for the day. And they are all small victories.

Dude finally learns how to sit in church. On a Tuesday night.

My doctor said Nightmare Sister Brother could arrive any day now, or I could have a month left. I'm so glad I have an appointment every week to tell me this ground-breaking information. I had to make a quick trip to Fargo last weekend. She cautioned me not to go, but I felt fine and the Braxton Hicks contractions had subsided so I went and everything was fine, if not comfortable. But who needs comfort?

We still don't really have a name for this chompette, but she has a place to sleep, so that's good I guess. I was happy to FINALLY have the opportunity to decorate a nursery only to realize that all the fun and cute stuff is unneeded and really expensive. So although it may not be an excitingly cute nursery, it is serene and has everything we need in it. There is some history in it too, which I like. The rocking chair was bought by my parents and I believe it is the only comfortable wooden rocking chair in existence and the crib has successfully kept me, my brother, 2 cousins and 2 nephews alive despite it's antiquated and "dangerous" design that has apparently been outlawed. I'm not worried. It IS a new mattress. That would have been gross.

Our kitchen is mostly done! New paint, art, cabinet hardware, towels, backsplash, and it's CLEAN. Honestly just cleaning it would have probably been a significant improvement by itself. It has become a pretty pleasant little room. I still would like to put some shelves and a microwave with a proper vent above the stove, but that is a bit more of an undertaking than I am capable of right now. I also want to get the table out of there and replace it with a sideboard type situation with extra counter space. This can wait. Pictures will arrive with the next post.

Stud. Muffin.

This conversation happened after I had been gone for 32 hours.
Me: "Ugh, I left for a day and nothing is in the right spot! I can't go anywhere- everything is different!"
Dan "So I probably shouldn't tell you that that was poop on the wall- not a moth."
Me: "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
I walked away while Dan giggled. Seriously, how did poop get on the wall? So disturbing. Apparently I can't go anywhere.