Miss Sabrina is officially a huge fan of Grandma and Pap-pap. I expect her to start lobbying to move back to PA any day now. I think Grandma helped her draft the petition. My in-laws left this morning after a lovely but quick visit. Steve and I did get out sans child on Sunday afternoon. We had a lovely brunch on the patio of a local eatery and then saw the new Indiana Jones movie (verdict…not bad but not what the old franchise was). I had to pass up ice cream at my favorite place (which is right next to the movie theater) because after brunch and popcorn nothing more would fit despite my personal motto “There is always room for ice cream.”

Grandma and Pap-pap brought Sabrina a new favorite toy. A play tent!

Can you tell from her smile that she kind of likes it? I do try to keep our living room from turning into Toy R Us but I had been thinking of getting her something like this so I was happily surprised when the grandparents read my mind. And how can you resist something that makes your child smile like that?

She loves to peek out of the side windows to make sure we are paying attention.

My mean sister called me yesterday to let me know that the photo I posted last week didn’t have a high enough humiliation factor. She insisted on a side view of my hugeness as a quid pro quo for a side view I possess of her when she was quite pregnant.

Please don’t make fun of my ugly pants if you can see them (they are floral). They were part of a lot of maternity clothes purchased on Ebay. I’ve reached the point if something actually fits me, I wear it. I’m down to 2 pairs of capri pants and 2 pairs of shorts I will wear in public (as well as some assorted shorts I wear around the house). The fact that these pants make the cut for being worn in public tells you how desperate my wardrobe choices have become.

As for a baby update – not much to report. I am happy to say that Tessa either did a major position shift (which could be good considering her breech position for the past several months) or she dropped just a bit. Suddenly Friday morning I could take a deep breath again. Tessa had been seriously crowding my lungs. It was painful to yawn because my lungs couldn’t expand that far – and due to sleep issues I’ve been yawning a lot. This new position further inhibits my ability to bend over in any way.  My joints are very loose now. My hip has popped out from where it belongs a couple of times and man does that hurt! Sleep is still hit and miss and interrupted by many potty breaks and lots of aches and pains. But the ability to breath almost normally makes up for all of that.

I’m having a lot of braxton-hicks contractions these days. There was actually a 3 hour episode last weekend that I was having somewhat constant contractions but they stopped just before I decided I might need to call the doctor. At last week’s fetal non-stress test, Tessa cooperated for the most part but was quiet so the doctor buzzed her with this little thing – wow did she freak out. They also monitor any contractions during the test and it recorded me having several. The doctor checked my cervix but said everything is still closed up tight so the contractions aren’t doing anything. Tessa is going to keep cooking for awhile longer. This week I have an ultrasound and we’ll schedule my induction (or c-section if this child doesn’t turn herself around).

Sabrina had her first pool outing today.  Grandma and Pap-pap took her swimming at their hotel and after some initial trepidation, she loved it.  She hasn’t been swimming since last summer because Daddy has a thing about public pools and mommy isn’t putting her incredibly pregnant self in a swim suit.

She was laughing and splashing and having a ball.  Of course everyone at the pool was admiring her cuteness which made her even happier.

Steve titled this one: “Yo, s’up?”  I hope she’s not throwing around gang signs.

I thought when I quit working that Fridays would lose meaning for me but since I have a wonderful hubby who does the lion’s share of the child rearing on the weekends, I still heart Fridays because it means I can be the fun parent for the weekend and I can take naps and sleep in if my aching hips and kicking fetus will allow it.  This weekend won’t involve any sleeping in as my in-laws arrive in a couple of hours for a visit…but it might involve a movie.  In a theater.  With my husband.  And popcorn.  Without child (unless you count the parasitic one).

And because I’ve got to bath child and go to the grocery store I will leave you with a meme.  Rhonda tagged me a few days ago.  I did a similar one a couple of weeks ago but I don’t have anything else to share today so here goes:

Ten years ago…I was working 3 jobs and going to grad school.  At some point 10 years ago, I did drop down to just 1 job.  I was having a great time 10 years ago. I was out with friends a lot, working, going to the gym, going to school – busy and happy (seriously can I just have 50% of that energy back?).  Then I met my ex-husband.

Five things on my to do list today…I already mentioned needing to bathe the child and go to the grocery store.  I also need to do a load of laundry, sweep the kitchen (again – I am going to shave the dog bald), and make dinner for my in-laws.

Snacks I enjoy…it might be easier to list snacks I don’t enjoy right now.  I always love ice cream and ice cream sandwiches, chips and fresh salsa or guacamole, pita and hummus, I’m obsessed with berries right now (because “everybody likes berries” – right Dave?), and honey nut cheerios.  Basically it reads like a list of carby goodness.

Things I would do if I was a millionaire…I would invest a large portion.  I would travel a bit.  I would set up a charitable foundation to give grants to rural non-profit programs and make it my job to read the proposals and give away the money.  That is my dream job.  We would buy a modest house and make sure our families had no house payments.  College funds for the kids.  And I would hire someone to come and clean my damn floors twice a week.  This dog hair is driving me crazy.

This has made the rounds I believe so I won’t tag anyone.  Happy Friday all!

Mere hours after I piously responsibly chose to have a salad rather than the grease/fat fest I was craving…what to my wondering eyes should appear?  Some super yummy cupcakes from my favorite red headed blogger.  Thanks my dear Tricia for satisfying both mommy and Tessa!  Despite all she has going on in her world, she wanted to make sure I had some sugary goodness to put a smile on my face and a kick in Tessa’s day.

I have decided to save 1 as a treat for after Miss Tessa’s arrival to be eaten in the hospital once I’ve stopped drooling from whatever good drugs they pump me full of.  The other 3 will likely be gone before the weekend comes to a close.  I’m circling around them and drooling trying to decide which one to try first.  Oh the joy!

What I wanted for lunch:

That would be a filet-o-fish, fries, and throw in a chocolate shake for some calcium. (I googled photos of the fish sandwiches…when did they start putting cheese on them? That is foul! Of course, I think their tartar sauce is foul too and order it plain.)

What I had for lunch:

That would be a big salad with broccoli, carrots, chicken, and feta (if anyone dares tell me I shouldn’t be eating feta I will hunt you down – I’ve given up nicotine, alcohol, and caffeine…leave my unpasteurized soft cheese alone). And a peach for dessert. Woohoo. And people wonder why pregnant women are grumpy? It is 90 degrees outside and, despite pregnancy, guilt still keeps me from eating the crap I really want.  Those are 2 sound reasons in my hormone addled mind.

My in-laws are coming to visit Sabrina us this weekend.  Today, Sabrina broke out a new word.  “Ask” because she will whine and throw a fit if Steve is eating something she wants and we are always telling her has to ask for what she wants rather than whining.  So today, out of the blue, she started say “ask” while signing for more/food/hungry (it’s all one sign in her world).  The problem?  She hasn’t really mastered the “k” sound at the end so basically she was running around the house all day saying “ass, ass, ass”.  Thankfully my in-laws have a sense of humor.

The first high heeled crocs:

Don’t get me wrong…I own a pair of crocs (your standard ones – not the high heeled design).  They are super comfy and maybe I’ve even worn them to the grocery store once or twice despite swearing they would never leave the house (hey this water retention makes fashionable shoes difficult).  But these are a little too bizarre fashion forward for me.

Thank you – you are all too kind telling me how lovely I look.  Moving on…

I had a strange revelation this weekend.  I attended a mommy group brunch (mommies only – no kiddos) and realized that I have become rather socially retarded.  This is a new group I’ve only been a part of for a short time and I’m still learning names and faces.  99% of the time Sabrina is with me when I leave the house.  I always have someone to talk to when out.  People are always approaching to talk to Sabrina or to tell me how cute she is or to comment on how well behaved she is being.  Saturday I was flying solo and I think I’ve forgotten the art of beginning conversations.  Once involved, I can keep up my end but standing on the edge of a group of women I don’t know trying to become a part of the conversation I felt like I was back in junior high – awkward and uncertain.  Sabrina has become my social crutch and I can’t seem to operate without her anymore.

In my pre-mommy life, work was the go-to conversation opener.  When I was in unfamiliar social situations, I asked about work.  Now, most of my unfamiliar social settings are mommy groups so I ask about which little rugrat belongs to the person I am trying to strike up a conversation with.  It flows pretty well from there.  But I found myself floundering without the kids to fall back on.  When did I become that person?  I am often heard commenting how I long for conversations that don’t revolve around kids and naps and poop – I’ve had those conversations from time to time and relished them.  But apparently I don’t know how to start one anymore.

At this moment, I want to apologize to any mom in the past who I rolled my eyes at after a dinner party and told my hubby she had nothing to discuss outside of her kids and now that she was a mom she didn’t seem to be anything but a mom.  I now understand that isn’t necessarily the case…you just temporarily forget how to access the non-mommy portions of your brain sometimes.

I haven’t posted a photo in awhile.  Why?  Because Target never contacted me to rent out ad space on my big empty expanse of stomach.  And I feel like a beached whale.  So I’ve been avoiding cameras for the most part.  I haven’t gotten any public comments about my girth (other bloggers have…those are some stupid brave people to comment out loud about how big someone has gotten) so no one has been harmed.  One woman did tell me she had just seen another women who was due the same time as me but that she just looked like she had a big basketball stuffed under her shirt and otherwise normal.  I took this to mean that it is obvious to all that I’m an equal opportunity weight gainer – legs, arms, back, face – I’m not neglecting any of them so it isn’t all in my stomach.  I decided not to get all hormonal on her about it.  She was a size 0 and I could have snapped her like a twig – where is the challenge in that?

No pregnancy news to share.  Tessa is still sitting in a breech position as she has been all along.  She dislikes the fetal non-stress tests – when they tried to put the monitor over her last week she kept kicking it and moving away.  So they did a quick ultrasound instead.  She knows daddy’s touch and will immediately be still if he touches my stomach.  Sucks for Steve when he wants to feel her but great for me when I want her to calm down so I can sleep.  Sleep is still sorely lacking these days.  I find it a cruel joke that just before I give birth to a small human that will deprive me of sleep for months, I become so uncomfortable that I can’t sleep a little extra now.

Meredith sent me this photo she took when we had lunch.  I didn’t immediately want to burn it so thought I would throw it out here – mostly for my sister’s amusement.  This will likely be the last pregnant photo published unless I get so large that I find it comical rather than depressing.