33 weeks, PNA appt and baby showers!

So much has been going on since I last posted, but I've just been so busy that I only got a chance to post it now. So here's my weekend in numerical paragraph fashion:

1) Most importantly, we reached the end of another week - 33 weeks!! The belly finally grew 1/2 an inch to 39.5". And here's my latest belly photo:



2) My work threw myself and two of my other coworkers who are pregnant a surprise baby shower on Friday. I had a feeling something was going on b/c another coworker let it slip and I could see the streamers and balloons in our large conference room as I passed by. But it was still very thoughtful that they did this for us (me) and I'm very very grateful. I'm also very very grateful for the fancy stroller that I got!!! The Mac.laren Quest Sport - in black and champagne. It'll definitely come in handy for when Kaua outgrows his little carseat and the snap n go stroller frame we have. (P.s. My daddy said he'll buy us Kaua's carseat last night!! Yay!!!) Last big ticket item on my list -- breast pump. =)

3)My inlaws threw me a baby shower on Saturday! I was unsure who would attend but there were a fair amount of people - approximately 20! It was really nice and again, the thought was there and I sure do feel loved and know that Kaua will be loved. Baby Kaua got some really cool stuff, like a swimmer diaper for the beach, a tiny little wetsuit and some really practical baby stuff like handmade blankets/quilts, onesies, a thermometer, and an electronic aspirator (never even heard of an electronic one before!). And I got two nursing pillows!! (I'll probably return one). And Kaua got some very very cute clothes including the MOST ADORABLE firefighter outfit ever!! Sadly its for a 3 month old, so I cant make it be his coming home outfit from the hospital (actually that's a good thing, he'll definitely fit into it no matter how big he is at birth and I already have a TON of handmedown newborn clothes).

4) I had another PNA appointment on Friday and everything is going A-Ok with Kaua. These appointments are seriously sooooooooooo mundane and boring, there's really nothing much to say about them. I did ask my doctor if I could attend a haunted lagoon boat ride that evening and he saw nothing wrong with it, since the ride was very smooth (nothing like a rollacoaster or other thrill ride). He just cautioned that if it was too loud, like a rock concert, I should probably avoid it, but it wasnt. We confirmed that Kaua is still head down, face down, which we're hoping he'll stay b/c that's ideal for birth.

5) Last but certainly not least, we finally picked a realtor to sell our place. It's a tandem team and they're actually the realtors who sold the house to us!! They are a FULL service realtor, which means they will charge the full price commission, but they are offering to do SO MUCH for us in terms of staging our house and cleaning it etc. all on their own dime that for me it's worth it. They're also offering us small discounts where they can, like offering to pay for the GE tax that we'd have to pay on their commission, offering to get us a discount on the closing costs for the escrow company, offering to pay for the cleaning services to clean our house, and offering their own personal time to stage my home with their own stuff or stuff that they'll buy. It's a huge relief that they will do this for us, since my looming due date is near, and I dont have much "bending" capability to do significantly cleaning in our house. They also were sweet in trying to "butter" us up when they came over to do their spiel, they brought us homemade delicious banana bread and a baby gift for Kaua (a box full of baby toys that are designed to enhance his development as he grows...very very cool!) They're also very positive on getting the sales price we want for our home. Granted, b/c we have very little equity in our home, we'll have to come out of pocket to sell the home, but we knew that going forward and are prepared for it. Who knows though, i need to only think positive and perhaps our home will sell for more than the list price!!!! The house goes on the market next week and the first few weeks will be very significant in terms of getting offers. If we get any offers right away, we'll know we're priced reasonably.

Believe and Receive right!?!

Free at last

quick post b/c I feel guilty blogging about it....

MIL left today!!! Yippee! Quiet time with the DH again. Yay! =)

Thanks for the condolences about DH moving. I'm working on getting myself over to be with him ASAP. With prayers and the power of God, I will make it! This is where my faith will come in. =)

Wellsphere

I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

We had a great trip. It's back to work tomorrow...back to the real life and back to the grind. bleh.

It's nice to be back home. We live in a beautiful place and I believe no where else can compare to it. But it was nice to getaway and we had a blast, especially in the Big Apple. We got to see Wick.ed!!!! on Broadway and we splurged but got awesome seats. We saw a very funny improv comedy show, and they did an entire skit on me and the DH and our trip to NYC on a tiny delt.a airplane....hilarious! We saw a Yank.ees v. Bosto.n Red S.ox game (which was rain delayed for 2 hours!!). We crossed the brookl.yn bridge on foot....we walked soho, noho, little italy, chinatown....We walked a million billion miles all around D.C and saw some great things in the museums, toured the capitol and the white house!! And we visited some family in the Virginia area (that part of the trip was pretty lowkey, but DH enjoyed it).

The little one is doing great (or so I assume since no news is good news in my book). I had mild MS at first but nothing a little food couldn't fix. My belly is popping out a little more, and I'm thanking GOD I bought a bella band on the trip b/c I used that bugger practically every day to squeeze into my jeans....but I'm certain the bellee is due to the extravagant eating we've been doing and the working out I've been missing. I'll post a new belly shot after my next appointment which is NEXT WEEK TUESDAY. It's been over 1 month since my last appointment where we got to see the heartbeat and I've been craving to learn what's been going on in there with the little guy or girl.....

AND on this trip, I bought my FIRST EVER maternity clothes!!! Holy moly macaroni! This is huge. I discovered the wonderful world of Kohl's while on vacation and found some unbelieveable deals. I bought two maternity shorts for the price of one, a maternity long sleeve shirt for $6 and a maternity jeans for $12. I can't fit any of 'em yet as "the bellee" isn't that big, (I look more like I had one doughnut too many -- or maybe 12 too many), but hey, since I'll be getting bigger within the next few months and the prices were awesome, I thought why not? Man oh man....looks like I'm slowly easing my way into pregnancy mode....but I repeat....SLOWLY. I'm still taking it real slow and focusing on getting a perfect report at this next appointment on the 17th. No real concrete plans or purchases or anything......we'll take it one day at a time.

On an another note...has anyone been contacted by Dr. Geoff Rutledge with an invitation to join the Wellsphere's HealthBlogger Network? Apparently, I've been invited to feature my blog on this website due to "the high quality of [my]writing, the frequency of [my] posts, and [my]passion for helping others." Just wanted to see if anyone else has also been invited. Any thoughts on this?

Leaving on a jet plane

DH and I are headed to NYC, DC and Virginia for a two week vacation tomorrow. I wont be able to log on to post or read posts. We'll be very vigilant in avoiding the swine flu.

Be back on May 14 and I'll be THAT much closer to my next appointment on May 19!!!

New Heineken Commercial

It's unusual when I post about non-baby related stuff. But today is the first time that I saw this new Heineken commercial and I thought it was hilarious. DH and I could totally relate to it. lol!

On the baby front - I dont really have any symptoms which makes me a litte nervous. Ok, I think I may vaguely have the following symptoms: I tend to get up in the early AM to pee (but only once), I've been having weird vivid dreams (some of them sexual --woohoo!) which is very unusual for me, and I think my nipples are just starting to get slightly sensitive, but it's so slight it's almost unnoticeable and doesn't seem to last throughout the day, and I sometimes feel slight nausea once in a while. However, over all, my body feels pretty regular considering I'm pregnant. Part of me just wants to wear an "I'm pregnant" sign, just so you know, people will know that I'm a part of the "cool" club....but then again, I'm in the stage of..."we're not telling anyone until after the appointment". I dunno, I'm weird I guess. I did, however, tell my mother today because it was her birthday, and because we're super close, and two of my super duper close friends know...one because I wanted to tell her and the other because she figured it out yesterday when I tried to order a virgin bloody mary when we met for after work drinks...she was like, "Howcome you ordered a virgin?" (all smiley sounding) and I was like....."Huh?" But she guessed b/c she knows about my history and about trying and stuff. So yeah....anyways.....enough of the boring stuff...k-bye.

Enduring Hardships

Cautionary note: This blog could be controversial because it's about religion. I hope I do not offend anyone and complete appreciate respectful comments posing your view, even if it's not the same as my own.

A fellow blogger, Amy, has written a post in response to a question I posed to her a while back. It's about enduring hardships and the Lord and his plan for his followers, especially when we endure hardships. I personally do not think that bad stuff in life are caused by God, rather I think it is the devil that causes bad things to happen. I do think God has the ability to intervene though, and why he doesn't choose to intervene in certain instances, can be a mystery. I do believe that many times, God does not intervene because a person has not asked him to (or asked properly) and other times, when you've cried, begged and pleaded with God, He does not intervene for your own good, although we cannot understand why at the time. A while back, I realized why God chose not to intervene in my M/Cs and I wrote about it in a blog called Revelation.

Here's Amy's response to that line of questioning, which I think is very thought provoking and I appreciate the time and effort Amy has put into responding to my question. If you're at all interested in the Lord or faith, you may want to read it.

Inauguration Day

Today was a big day. I'm proud to be an American. But......

Did anyone notice how the Chief Justice sort of screwed up President Obama's oath? First, lets compare Vice-President Biden's oath (administered by an Associate Justice), which was perfect. The AJ would state aloud approximately three or four words, pausing after each short interval to let VP Biden repeat after him. VP Biden's swearing took some time, maybe even several minutes, where we got lots of opportunities to watch close ups of Biden making his oathe (and wonder howcome he didn't stick his thumb in and keep it close to his palm, but instead had it sticking out and looking kinda funny).

But when it came time for the president's oath, the darn CJ pretty much rushed through the oath, saying practically an entire sentence for President Obama to repeat. Basically, Obama's swearing in took approximately 5 seconds, and it was administered with practically only three pauses to let poor Obama repeat after him. Of course, on such a momentus occassion, President Obama couldn't remember much past three words....so first, Obama accidentally cut off the CJ (thinking he was going to be like the AJ and stop after every three words to let him repeat after him), then, Obama forgot the second line he was supposed to repeat and had to stand there for an awkward pause while the CJ figured out that Obama needed some extra help. Darn CJ --- shoulda practiced the oath before administering it.

Nevertheless, Obama's speech was awesome and inspiring -- as usual.