because it is about time don't you think?

did you know that i am just a few days shy of my 20 week mark? or 5 months. whatever one you prefer.

that means i am pretty much halft way through this whole pregnancy thing, and i am not complaining at all, honestly i think i have had close to the easiest pregnancy on record here.

i constantly have people telling me how lucky that i am, and trust me i really, really, really do know that i am.

while discussing the current rate that time has just flown by with a friend the other day, she brought it to my attention that for how far along i am, i really haven't said much about my pregnancy.

so i looked back through my posts to see just how long it had been since i last made any mention of this little human growing inside of me, and you know what i found out? it has been 2 whole months since i last made any sort of comment regarding it whatsoever! i think i just had my first "i am a terrible mother" moment. i mean how did i go that long and not even make one little squeak about my baby? and so first i would like to apologize to he/she (who really doesn't care at all) about letting that happen, and then second to anyone who has been wondering at all about what has been going on with me up until this point (which may not be many people at all either, but who cares).

the thing now is that i am having a hard time trying to remember everything that has happened in the past few months... this is why it is important to keep up to date!

so far my due date has been set, changed, and then changed back, it may even change again. i am starting to wonder why they give you a specific day, i mean how many babies are actually born on that day?

at the 12 week mark i went for my nuchal ultrasound, i don't know how long these appointments normally take, but after hearing the tech make comments like "this is the squirmiest little baby i have ever seen!", and having to lay on my stomach multiple times to get it to flip back around,  i'm going to assume that mine took a bit longer then normal.

blood work, oh blood work. i am not one to shy away from needles, but holy crap enough already. and to top it all off, i recently found out that i am a b- blood type, so what does that mean? more needles! one at 28 weeks, and another after i give birth, to prevent my blood from creating antibodies against my babies blood if it is rh+, which is definitely a possibility because dennis is a+, and so that could make any future pregnancies after this one very difficult/dangerous.

it is a really good thing that we go for another ultrasound on monday, where we hopefully will be able to find out the gender, because i am going crazy over here not knowing.

only recently has there been any sort of outward physical manifestation of what has been going on inside of me for the past few months. and when i say recently, i really mean very recent.

this was last friday afternoon...

and this is monday morning...

crazy right? 

ya

with this recent development i decided it was about time that got a few items that will accommodate my changing figure. so after scouring kijiji for a few days i was able to score 7 pairs of mat. pants for 120 buckaroos. yep, that's right. score!

let's just hope that it doesn't take me another 2 months to get my butt back on here and post another update. 

1

today marks the first anniversary of this little blog of mine, yep one whole year.

i thought that this would be a good place to do some kind of "a year in review" post, but then i realized i don't even remember half of the stuff that happened last year. then i thought i could just do some links to my favorite past posts, but decided that if you really care enough you can just go back through the archives and look through them yourself. otherwise i would just feel like i am forcing you to go look at those other posts that maybe you don't even really care about, you know?

and then the light bulb in my brain suddenly turned on, and i thought to myself, this is my blog, it has my face right at the top and everything, i can do whatever i want with it. heck, i don't even use capital letters, and why? because i can that's why.

 so i'm saying to the trash with this 1 year review jibber jabber, i will just leave it at:

 the sun rose in the mornings, and then it set at night.
some days were hard, but for the most part pretty easy going.
we had lots of fun, with stretches of boring in between.
ventured out into the world, experienced new and exciting places, but for the most past stuck to the same old, same old.

that about sums it up right?

right.

and thank goodness, because this coming year is really going to throw everything for a loop

***

if you really are wondering what my favorite post of this past year was, it was this one.

oh, and this one was pretty good too.

when we went to NYC!

i truly believe that there are a few select places in this world that everyone should experience at least one in their life, new york, for me was one of those places. anyone who has been there can attest to the energy (besides the outrageous humidity) that surrounds you right from the moment you step off the plane, and the feeling that this is someplace unique from anywhere else in the world.

we have all seen pictures, or caught glimpses of the city from the movies or t.v., but to stand on the sidewalk looking up at the unspeakably tall buildings, see the rush of people around you, hear the constant car horns honking at who really knows what, purchase some of the most delicious fruit off the street, and eat authentic new york pizza (seriously, my mouth is watering at the memory) is a whole different story.

i was just the luckiest girl in the whole world that week to travel with my hubby, who served his mission there, so it's like i had my very own tour guide! it really is just the best way to travel. with him navigating our way through the mind boggling transit system, and the busy streets i got to sit back and just enjoy everything around me. oh, and that time i just about got punched because of two guys fighting on the train was awesome too.

and what would be a trip to nyc without stopping in the bronx for dinner? yep, you better believe dennis took me walking through the bronx. after that i can honestly say...

1. i have never felt more white in my entire life

and

2. forest lawn? i will never be scared of that side of town again.

everyone has asked me what my favorite part of the trip was, and i have thought about this a lot, because seriously, how can you really pick just one thing? but after much deliberation i have come up with the answer

looking enough like an authentic new yorker that we were stopped by other people asking directions, what area of town we were in, and even what train will take them where.

i mean come on, how awesome is that? for those days i was't a tourist experiencing this amazing city for the first time. i was just someone who found myself someplace amazing, feeling right at home, and the rest of the world saw it.

the only down fall of that is, i was so busy pretending this was just my everyday life, and i always duck out in front of cars to get to the other side when the little pedestrian man is clearly telling me not to, that i didn't get near enough photos to help make the memories last.

i guess that just means i will have to go back, right?

how cute right?

i was especially exited to meet star of night at the museum's, rexy!

i am learning

while dennis is away on another one of his field school trips (last ever!), i thought i had this whole being alone for weeks at a time thing down pat, but it turns out i don't. so over these past few days i have had time to discover a few things about myself that i didn't realize before, like...

... i am not good at cooking for just one person

... i have developed a bad habit of not looking at the gas gage, and filling up when it gets too low (dennis just always takes care of that). i was introduced to our gas light yesterday after work, oh ya, that was a fun ride, considering i had no idea how long it had been on for.

... it is not a good idea to ONLY eat a bowl of cucumbers and vinegar on an empty and overly sensitive stomach (this doesn't really have to do with den being gone, but still a good learning experience).

... i can't sleep more then two hours at a time without waking up wondering why i just face planted into the side table (there isn't another body there to stop me from moving over that far).

... everything i need around the house is always out of my arms reach (why do we put everything up high?)

... i suck at getting out of bed on my own, even though i really should have seen that one coming, because he has to hover over me almost every morning and tell me that i need to get up, now.

and lastly

... i'm not quite as independent as i used to be. because with him gone i feel like he took the part of me that i need to be a normal functioning human being.

here's to only one more week of walking around in a lonely daze.

oh and wish me luck with doing everyday normal things that keep me alive, like filling up the car with gas...

a few fun things...

this morning i was late for work because i was pulled over in a parking lot, with my body hanging out the side of the car prepping for the contents of my stomach to make a second appearance. good news, it didn't, just tormented me instead.

i can only eat mashed potatoes

and hamburger soup (thanks mom!)

i have to pee at exactly 2:45 every morning

i smell meat cooking, when everyone else smells something burning

i was weighed at the dr last week and i haven't gained any weight, which is amazing because i can't button up the majority of my pants anymore, and i have been eating like a cow.

grow baby grow!

oh and...

nyc in 21 days!

today i looked in my rearview mirror and swore i saw prince william behind me

but then i saw that the chick in the passenger seat was a blonde, and last time i checked, katey m wasn't a blonde. so it obviously wasn't him.

also

i am technically able to park in the "expecting mothers" spot in parking lots now, which, i think is pretty nifty. but today i chose to leave it for someone who, you know, actually looks pregnant, and i parked three stalls down. i go into the store, grabbed a few groceries (oh perogies!) and as i'm walking out, who parks in said stall! some grey haired old bitty in a car older then me!

there are multiple reasons why this is wrong

1. i'm pretty sure she is waaaaaaaaaay past her expiration date, if you know what i mean. nothing expecting there, other then one giant car crash, you should have seen the way she flew into that spot!

2. SHE WAS RIGHT BESIDE THE HANDICAP PARKING STALL!!!! why are those things even there if these people won't park in them.