Notice of Eviction

Dear Uterus Monkey,

This letter is to inform you that as of tomorrow, February 1, 2011, you will have approximately 35 days to vacate your current location. You have been residing at said resdience for 35 weeks and your lease is almost up. I regret to inform you that it is non-renewable. Should you choose to vacate the premises before March 9, please be sure that all of your organs are fully functional and in prime, working condition. In the event that you choose to stay beyond the remaining 35 days, be advised that certain measures may be taken to expedite the vacating process. If you refuse to vacate on your own and we are forced to send someone in to retrieve you, please be aware of the consequences. You will be forced to spend the first hour of your life with your father while I am in post-op recovery. Yes, your father. The man who has suggested Theodore, Barnabus, and Frodo as names for you. Please make your decision on how to enter the world wisely. 

I have enjoyed having you as a resident. I hope you have enjoyed your stay in Utero-ala-Mommy. We are excited to meet you and hope to make your transition into your new home a success!

Sincerely,
Your Landlord
(aka, Mommy)

So many things to do, so little motivation to do them!

I have been trying to clean my house for over a month now. Have I succeeded? No. I get little parts done and then I quit. I know that eventually the parts will add up to a whole, but I find that the parts I have cleaned quickly go back on my list to be cleaned again. It's a vicious cycle. Matt and Moose aren't much help in this department either. Moose is a big fan of knocking things into the floor, leaving his toys everywhere, and constantly hiding stuff in my rug and then balling it up. I'm not a fan of straightening the rug every day! Matt loves to leave socks in the floor (and since bending over is difficult, I think it's more of a cruel game for him!), he's scared of the dishwasher (ALL of his dishes go in the sink, if they make it that far!), and well, he's not allowed to use my vacuum cleaner. So, the last one is kinda my fault. BUT, in my defense, if you get a really good vacuum cleaner you don't want it immediately ruined! I have watched Matt vacuum up change before and I think he'd try to suck up a small animal if it were in his way!

He's not being destructive here, but he can be!

Okay, so I can't come down too hard on Matt without telling you some of his finer qualities. He's been stepping it up some in the LeeAnn-needs-help department. He has been cooking some days, giving me back rubs, promising to clean the bathroom (I'm going to hold him to that!), being a good sport on my whiny and hormonal days, and allowing me to sit back and let the house go on those days when I just can't take it!

So, for those of you who know Matt, you know how he likes to pick at people. He's already picking on this poor child before he's had a chance to make it into this world. On and off over the past eight months, he'll randomly come up and shake my belly. I think this irritates me more than the kid, but it does get him moving. Well, the other night he gently slapped at my belly and caused the baby to vibrate, shift, and send a foot into my right side all in the same motion. A day in the life. I'm sensing a lot of diaper duty in Matt's future. Oh, one more Matt antic and I will move on. It's a bit of a struggle for me to sit up in bed from a reclined position. I managed to get upright the other night and what does my darling husband do?? He pushes me right back down while laughing hysterically the entire time. Yep, diaper duty seems only fair to me!

He may look it, but he's not that innocent.

We did manage to watch Easy A the other night and it was entertaining. I wouldn't got out on a limb and say it was Oscar-worthy, but it was something to do for a few hours. I'm really liking Emma Stone; she did a good job in this movie. Oh, the last time I wrote I mentioned that Matt was busy cooking for us. Well, here's a shot of what he made. We had grilled trout, rice, spinach and mushrooms, and a cream sauce. It was really good!

Delicious!

I am trying to come up with some freezer meals for us to use after Little Man arrives. I think that will be one of my projects over the next few weeks. I stumbled across a recipe for a white lasagna the other day and I might give it a try. Although I've never tried lasagna on my own, this recipe seemed pretty easy to follow and hopefully I won't screw it up!

And finally, a belly picture. We're almost to 35 weeks and my doctor informed me that after week 35 they don't stop labor. I guess it's time for me to pack the bag. I guess that also means we need to finish his room, choose a name, find a pediatrician, and go see one last movie before becoming parents. Wow, we have this procrastination thing down!! Have a great weekend! 

I should have straightened my shirt before the picture!

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

Last weekend was very hectic and eventful. I left on Saturday and flew from Jacksonville to Birmingham for my last official trip home without a child. Saturday afternoon I traveled to Beulah for a shower with Matt's family and friends and then on Sunday I had a shower in Gadsden with my family and friends. Little Man got a lot of nice gifts and will not have to worry about clothes for awhile! 

My cake from the Gadsden shower. It had already been cut when I was able to take the picture.

My parents and me.

My belly makes a great chair!

Great minds at work?

Too cute not to post!!

Mom and I got some shopping done Monday afternoon before I had to catch my plane back to FL.  I came back to Florida Monday night to a sick Matt. Sadly, he had a stomach bug while I was gone. I hate that he was sick, but I'm glad it happened when I was out of town. I spent Tuesday disinfecting and cleaning in hopes that I would not come down with whatever he had.

Tuesday was also the day I went back to the baby doctor. I can honestly say I'm not looking forward to the weekly appointments. I know they're coming soon! Getting up there every two weeks is a challenge for me right now; I can't imagine weekly! Oh, well. It is what it is. Good news on the transverse/breech front. He is now head down, but his butt is at my belly button and his legs are stretched out towards my right side. Yes, that's right. He has made a giant "L" in my stomach. At least one of us is comfortable! His latest game is to stretch out with his feet protruding from my side and his butt sticking up in the air. I look like I have knots coming out of me at various angles. Although it doesn't hurt, it feels weird! However, it is very entertaining to watch! One of the kids at school saw my stomach move the other day and his response was, "It's coming out!! It's coming out!!" I had to reassure him that the baby was NOT coming out right then and he proceeded to stare at my stomach for a little while longer to see what could be seen. I'm glad I can entertain!

On a random note, the doctor said Little Man would be here by St. Patrick's Day! So, I'll get to dress him in the cute outfit I got at Babies R Us with my reward dollars.

The front of his outfit.

The back.

I'm beginning to feel a little overwhelmed about Mr. Man's arrival. I know it's all going to be okay, but I can't help but feel that I have so much to do and so little time to do it! I washed his first load of laundry today. He has clean sheets, changing pads, mattress covers, towels, bibs, and socks! Now if I can just finish cleaning out his room! I also feel as if my apartment needs an overhaul. I spent today trying to tidy up around the place. Thankfully Matt is off this weekend and I might try to put him to work before it's all over. In fact, he's cooking right now! We rented the movie Easy A to watch tonight as we eat. I'm hoping it will be entertaining. We rented Dinner for Schmucks a few weeks ago and it was hilarious. I have already found myself quoting it! It smells as if our food is about ready so I am going to sign out for now. Have a great weekend!

I want to rock and roll all night....

and party until my legs and back hurt! Oh, the joys of pregnancy! Matt and I went out to celebrate a friend's birthday last weekend and I was proud of myself for making it about 2 1/2 hours! We had a good time and I think Matt could have stayed a little longer, but my back started to really hurt.

See, we clean up nicely!

I've been very fortunate to have a somewhat easy pregnancy. I did not suffer from horrible morning sickness and the only complaints I have really had have dealt with sinus issues, leg cramps, and now this unruly muscle that has been pulled under my right shoulder blade. I can write of the sinus issues because they occurred during allergy season and due to the bun I couldn't take Flonase. Then, my legs started to ache and cramp a bit so I upped my water intake and sat down more during the day. That seemed to do the trick. However, this back thing I have going now is starting to get the better of me! The dr. thinks I have pulled a muscle in my back/chest area and the fact that I am constantly expanding doesn't help matters. So, I sit on a heating pad during the day and then relax on one at night. It helps -- somewhat. However, I figure if this is the worst I get I will consider myself lucky. I've heard horror stories from other people and my issues seem minor in comparison. Here is the latest belly shot....

It was almost bedtime so it's the pajama shot!

We still do not have a name for Mr. Man. No worries! We'll get there. His room is coming along. I really should get on it and attempt to have it finished within the next few weeks. Moose is not prepared for a little brother. I'm not sure that you can prepare a cat so we might be in for an adventure once the baby arrives. However, Moose is a really good cat and hasn't attempted to mess with any baby stuff apart from snoozing in the rocking chair!

Speaking of Moose, here is what I caught him doing the other day. I put more toilet paper in the bathroom and he was eagerly staring at the wrapper it was in. So, being the good mommy that I am, I left the wrapper in the bathroom floor for him to check out. A few minutes later I hear a rustling sound and go in to see Moose in the toilet paper shrink wrap. Crazy cat. I deemed it worthy of a picture!

It's the little things in life.

Just let me know if you'd ever like to cat-sit! He's very entertaining.

Well, I'm out until next time! Stay warm and enjoy the weekend!

Watch out, world!!

In eight short weeks there will be a miniature version of Matt roaming around. Yes, there will be two of them. The longer I carry this child, the more I realize just how "Matt-like" he is going to be. The latest adventure with Little Man was at the ob yesterday. He appears to be doing quite well, but he's already giving his mommy a run for her money! I have been feeling random body parts for many weeks now. Yesterday one happened to 'surface' as the ob was about to check for a heartbeat. Of course, I had to ask what part it was. My guess was a foot and she confirmed that I was indeed correct. However, she started feeling my belly and got this odd look on her face. She commented that he should be head down at this point (or at least most babies are) but instead he was transverse, or sideways. I told her that didn't surprise me one bit! I feel hiccups on my right side at times, down low at times, and occasionally in the middle. He had the hiccups five times the other day. I told her he is a very active little booger! She said it was okay at this point, but by week 35 she wants him to be head down; otherwise, we might have a problem. Well, as she was continuing to press on my stomach the little turkey moved. I told her he was kicking me and she watched, felt, and confirmed that he was now breech! She then commented on how they like active babies and he was in good shape. A day in the life. Apparently, he also inherited his father's knack for rolling, tossing, and turning while trying to get comfortable. It will be very interesting to see what he's like once he gets here!!


This afternoon, as I was trying to recover from a hard day at school, he decided to stretch. Several times. What was either a hand or foot (I'm leaning more towards foot) began to protrude from my right side. The first time he did it it felt a little uncomfortable; however, by the fourth or fifth stretch I was used to it. At one point, I was able to grab the little body part and after a second or two he decided to pull it away. I'm gonna miss these little moments when he becomes an 'outside' baby! I'm sure that he will provide me with loads of entertainment once he arrives, but for now I'm perfectly content watching him dance and spin while my stomach looks like an alien is trying to erupt. I will leave you today with a picture of the growing belly that was taken earlier in the week. Grow, baby, grow!!