oh darling, don't you ever grow up don't you ever grow up, just stay this little oh darling, don't you ever grow up don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple

It's now Week 30, only 10 to go! At least, only 10 until the due date, who knows when Baby S. is going to make his debut, lol. In eight days, I have my [hopefully] last ultrasound this pregnancy. My doctor wants this u/s as a follow-up to the anatomy scan that I had in October. Thursday, we find out if Baby S.'s kidneys have done what they're supposed to do. If not, then I'm guessing we either have another u/s or we just wait until he's born?

Christmas was crazy this year. I don't recommend traveling anywhere while 29 weeks pregnant. A long car ride, even with frequent stops, is no fun. Neither is sleeping somewhere other than your own bed. But, seeing our families was nice. So it kind of made up for the uncomfy car trips. :)

Just a short update this week. Either, I'll do another post later this week about Christmas and family visits...or not at all. It all depends on what I can get done around the house.

it came upon a midnight clear that glorious song of old from angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold

I originally posted this on Christmas day in 2008. But I like it and wanted to share it again this year. I hope all of my readers are enjoying their holiday season and having a wonderful time!


Merry Christmas, My Friend
by LCpl James M Schmidt, USMC, 1986

‘Twas the night before Christmas, he lived all alone in a one bedroom house made of plaster and stone. I had come down the chimney, with presents to give and to see just who in this home did live. As I looked all about, a strange sight I did see: no tinsel, no presents, not even a tree. No stocking by the fire, just boots filled with sand. On the wall hung pictures of a far distant land. With medals and badges, awards of all kind, a sobering thought soon came to my mind. For this house was different, unlike any I'd seen. This was the home of a U.S. Marine. I'd heard stories about them, I had to see more, so I walked down the hall and pushed open the door. And there he lay sleeping; silent, alone, curled up on the floor in his one bedroom home. He seemed so gentle, his face so serene, not how I pictured a U.S. Marine. Was this the hero, of whom I’d just read? Curled up in his poncho, a floor for his bed?

His head was clean-shaven, his weathered face tan. I soon understood, this was more than a man. For I realized the families that I saw that night, owed their lives to these men, who were willing to fight. Soon around the nation, the children would play and grown-ups would celebrate on a bright Christmas day. They all enjoyed freedom each month and all year because of Marines like this one lying here. I couldn’t help wonder how many lay alone on a cold Christmas Eve, in a land far from home. Just the very thought brought a tear to my eye. I dropped to my knees and I started to cry.

He must have awoken, for I heard a rough voice, "Santa, don't cry, this life is my choice I fight for freedom, I don't ask for more. My life is my God, my country, my Corps."

With that he rolled over, drifted off into sleep. I couldn't control it, I continued to weep. I watched him for hours, so silent and still. I noticed he shivered from the cold night's chill. So I took off my jacket, the one made of red and covered this Marine from his toes to his head. Then I put on his T-shirt of scarlet and gold with an eagle, globe and anchor emblazoned so bold. And although it barely fit me, I began to swell with pride, and for one shining moment, I was Marine Corps deep inside.

I didn't want to leave him so quiet in the night, this guardian of honor so willing to fight. But half asleep he rolled over, and in a voice clean and pure, said "Carry on, Santa, it's Christmas Day, all secure."

One look at my watch and I knew he was right, Merry Christmas my friend, Semper Fi and goodnight.

'cause I gotta tell the world what you mean to me wrap you up in a melody so you'll be stuck in my head all day 'cause you're already there anyway, yes you are

Yay! We've made it to Week 29! At least, according to the EDD I got at my first appointment back in July, it's Week 29. Who knows how much longer March 07, 2012 is going to be my due date?

At my last appointment on December 15^th, my doctor measured my fundal height for the first time and it was approximately 13". Doesn't sound so bad when it's in inches, does it? On average, women measure at 1cm for each week of pregnancy. Thirteen inches converts to 33.02cm. This means at 28 weeks, 1 day, I was measuring about the same size as the average woman who is 33 weeks pregnant! If I keep measuring that far ahead, she will order an ultrasound to verify my due date and check his growth. When my doctor showed me the tape measure and said something about being large, I was tired enough that it went right over my head. I asked her, "Wasn't he measuring ahead at the ultrasound?"
To which she responded, "Not that big."
I didn't even catch it, lol. I was just like, oh, okay. My fiancé caught it, but didn't say anything because he knew I was cranky, hungry and wanted to go home. He just let it be until later in the day when it dawned on me that 13" is more than 30cm (I was doing the rough estimate using m knowledge that 12" ruler has 30cm on the other side). I guess, because my doctor was so nonchalant about the measurement, that it didn't occur to me to freak out, lol.

My last appointment was the one-hour glucose tolerance test. I never got a phone call about my results, so I took that as meaning a I passed. My doctor has said, that if we don't call you about test results, take that to mean good news. I was told that I'd be notified within two business days if my results were abnormal. So Monday, the 19^th, when the clock hit 6:00p, I did a little happy dance, lol. My nurse all but forced me to drink the nasty sugary solution. My appointment got rescheduled due to my doctor's schedule conflict. So my appointment was too late in the day to drink the solution. You have to have your blood drawn exactly one hour later for accurate results. One hour after I arrived would have been right in the middle of the lab's lunch hour. So my sullen child attitude had my nurse worried that I was going to refuse the test and she got one of the phlebotomists to bring up a drink and they had me drink it at 12:00p. Five minutes to drink the nastiest drink ever. I didn't have a choice, I was given the orange flavor. It tasted like pure sugar. Well, okay, orange flavored pure sugar. I hate anything that's really sweet. It made me nauseous, and I kind of think that if I hadn't been so determined to keep it down, I would have thrown up from it. You're given five minutes to get the whole drink down, and I took three minutes. I wanted to stop after the smell hit my nose (so before the first gulp, lol). It reminded me of Tang; I don't like Tang.

Because of the holidays, my next appointment is three weeks after the last. The next one will be two weeks later, though. It's getting so close to the day I get to meet my little one!! Both my fiancé and I are excited to meet him. We're both also hoping that my due date is wrong, he's not a giant baby and there's nothing wrong with him.

Christmas is in a few days. I won't be posting again until next week, when I post the weekly pregnancy update. I have lots of family stuff to do and a few last minute things to get ready for the holidays. I do have a Christmas post scheduled on Christmas day, so if you're interested in reading it, please come back and check it out! Otherwise, happy holidays!!

well this heart of mine has been hardened like a stone it might take some time to get back what is gone but I'm movin' on and you don't haunt my dreams like you did before oh when I would curse your name

My fiancé asked me to post a link on my blog. It's for a cash for surveys site:
http://www.cashcrate.com/3363559
The site is CashCrate. Basically, for any person to click on the link and sign up, he gets a referral bonus. If you do choose to sign up, it will ask you for your first and last name and your mailing address.

I signed up because he asked me to. Plus, I'm home all day and frequently bored. I figured, making a dollar a day wasn't a complete waste of time. I only click on the Videos tab because it will minimize the unwanted emails. I guess if you have a disposable email address for the sole purpose of using CashCrate, then the offers aren't horrible. I'm posting a screenshot so you have a better idea of what I'm talking about. Right-click on the image to view in another tab to enlarge it.

I joined on December 14^th, so you can see that it definitely takes time to build up money. But I guess if you're someone who only relies on CashCrate for an income and spend a lot of time doing the offers, surveys, etc. it might not take as long to reach the $20 minimum before they send you a check. And at the very least, you get $0.03 each day just for checking in and viewing an offer. You don't have to complete the offer for the daily $0.03 bonus.

*shrug* Like I said, it's something to do when I get bored and cleaning the house is already done.

oh, I don't wanna spend my life jaded waiting to wake up one day and find that I've let all these years go by wasted

It's the start of Week 28. Which means no matter how you choose to look at it, I am without a doubt in the third and final trimester now. :) I know that I said last week was the start, but that's when I considered it started. My doctor doesn't consider it started until this week, week 28.

Last week I mentioned that my one hour glucose tolerance test is this week, it's tomorrow. Hopefully I pass! I was told that within two days, I would be notified if there was a problem, but I don't know if two days means by Monday, or by Saturday. I plan on asking that tomorrow when I go in. Still not looking forward to the stupid test at all. The drink sounds nasty. The nurse for my doctor described it as a really sugary, really flat soda. Blech!!

My fiancé is really getting excited about the baby we're going to have soon. It's cute. ♥ In the past week, he's decided that our son-to-be is his little monkey and needs a monkey themed room. Which so far is the bathroom in the second bedroom. We have a monkey face bath rug, monkey toothbrush holder, monkey soap dispenser and monkey towels. He plans on getting the trash can, tumbler, shower curtain and shower hooks to match. I'm not sure if he plans on getting anymore towels or if one hand towel and one bath towel is enough. I just realized that the blue paint we picked out for Baby S.'s nursery is super close to the blue of the monkey towels! When we picked paint, there was no thought of a monkey theme anywhere, lol.

Oh, and last night we went into Walmart for coffee creamer and milk. We came out with a large stuffed monkey, lol. Don't worry, we also got the coffee creamer (two flavors), a gallon of milk and 5-piece bakeware set. I needed a bread/loaf pan so I can make banana bread. And even though we did not buy a super, high quality pan, it doesn't bother me. I plan on using it once every few months or so, I didn't need the best available. I just wanted something not aluminum foil with a clear plastic lid, lol.

I think from now on, I'll be referring to Baby S. as Baby Pages. His initials are P.G.S. and pgs. is the abbreviation for pages. We didn't do it on purpose, it just worked out that way. So when I think about him, I think of his as Baby Pages.

but Mama I'm in love with a criminal and this type of love isn't rational, it's physical Mama please don't cry, I will be alright all reason aside I just can't deny, I love the guy

Woo! Made it to the third trimester! Week 27 starts today, is also the start of the third trimester and means there are exactly three months left until the due date! Next week I have another appointment. This time I'll have the one-hour glucose tolerance test, I hope that I don't have gestational diabetes. This appointment was three weeks after the last one, but starting with my next prenatal appointment, it switches to every two weeks. And then I'm guessing, starting with Week 36 my appointments will switch to every week until Baby S. is born.

On Friday (12/02), my fiancé and I went on our monthly grocery shopping trip. My budget for the month is $200, but I try to keep the big trip on the first or second of the month to under $175 so that there is some money left over for little things that we might need later. Like milk - we go through so much milk. I'll be happy when I'm no longer pregnant and my lactose intolerance comes back, lol. And yay me! I kept it under $140 and that was with buying stuff that was not on the original grocery list, lol. But anyway, we went grocery shopping on Friday and in Walmart, my fiancé was standing behind me and placed his hands on my belly while I waited for some people to go by so that I could push the cart into the aisle I wanted, and a guy about the age of my parents walked by and said, "it's a boy!" We laughed, because it was kind of funny since he was right. And then at Giant Eagle a little later in the day, the girl doing the wine samples offered me one. Umm, hello? I definitely look pregnant now, no longer fat. I just politely told her, "no thank you." It's possible that when my coat is zipped up, as it was when she asked about a sample, I just look chubby. So I brushed off her silly offer. :)

Then on Saturday (12/03), we got together with some friends. And I got to play with their little boy. He's 18 months old and adorable!! After he went to bed, the adults played Carnival Games for the Kinect. It was fun, even if I didn't actually play. But the boys had fun. The weekend before, we'd all played Mario Party 8 on the Wii. Apparently, it's going to video game night every weekend, lol.

Last week, I mentioned the belly shots. I think I'm going to wait until the end and make a slideshow of the progression. But if you're really interested in seeing the growth of my belly, you can always check out the photos on facebook. Those are bi-weekly shots starting with week 20.