Call Me Debbie, Debbie Downer...

It's a sad day in the blogsphere today, for we have lost one of our own.

Lisa, you, your strength, and your humor will be missed.

And if you're of the praying sort, send some to her family. And if you're not, do it anyway please.

And...the Belly!

Ok, I totally should have titled that "the hiney". Heh. It wasn't till I looked at these right next to eachother that I realized that I think there's more difference in the back then in the front. I confronted the hubs to get his opinion. He told me I was being silly, it must have just been the pants. I told him that he was making me feel like I was being crazy. He told me he likes the current size of my derriere. And yes, just ANOTHER reason I married him. So, here we go...

5 Week Belly - Otherwise known as "no belly". Don't mind Dash on my leg. He's always there anyway. These were my favorite skinny jeans. Not as in skinny cut, but the smallest size in existence in my closet. Once upon a time they were known as "goal jeans". It was with a great deal of sadness that I relegated them back to that status in the back of the shelf. But I wore them every day of week 5 until my muffin top runneth over and it was time to say goodbye...

11 Week Belly - Growing belly(...and hiney) This was the first week that I sort of "popped" a little...

And 14 Week Belly - (aka: last Thursday) And bootie. Definitely getting bigger. Still able to wear most of my pre-preggo clothes. I'm really hoping I can stave off the jump to maternity as long as possible. It's so funny how with your first you can't wait to show and wear maternity stuffs and with your third? Well, if you never see another elastic waist or belly panel it will be too soon :)

Octomom Loses It, Takes Kids to Nebraska & Leaves Them

Ok, not really, but these are the things I think about when it's 3am and I'm staring at the ceiling wishing I could just sleep. But seriously? I mean I have days where my two drive me over the edge...But anyway, that's all I'm going to say about that.

Things are going about as well as can be expected for someone who is seriously allergic to pregnancy. We got to hear the baby's heartbeat - 150BPM - this week (and by me, I mean me and Dash who was basically sitting on my head as that was the only way I could keep him quiet enough for the NP to hear the heartbeat) and I scheduled the BIG ultrasound for April 2. I'll be counting down the days as I can't WAIT to find out all about this little monster who is torturing me precious babe.

BUT I do have a few things to bitch about - come on, you know you were waiting for it! Let me first say that I think I'm finally done with the nausea. Thank GOD. But damn, I'm TIRED! I mean, seriously tired. Not just I-have-two-toddlers tired. I feel like I could sleep for days and not feel rested. And that's the worst thing - I can't sleep! You know how you feel on moving day? You know, when you've packed boxes, packed a car, unpacked a car, painted a room and you're finally in bed. When your whole body aches and you wish someone would rub muscles that you never even knew existed? I feel like that EVERY night. I don't remember feeling so crummy this early on with Fin or Dash. As a matter of fact, I don't really remember feeling this bad muscle-wise at the end. I'm also having these weird charlie horses in my upper arms that make it impossible to get at all comfortable. Even my beloved Tylenol PM seems to be waning in it's helpfulness. I'm still waking up at 3am and watching the clock until the kids get up.

And yet, it's the weekend and the hubs is home and taking the brunt of the kids. And all the poopy diapers which makes me love him more than I thought possible. And we have plenty to look forward to. My mother is visiting in a few weeks and has demanded that we go out to dinner. When I told him I'd rather do a 3am Denny's run, he was all for it (yet another reason he is my soul mate). I mean, you can always get a sitter for dinner, but it's not so practical to call one up to come over at that hour, right? And since this will be the last of the little Martins, I think some late-night indulgence is definitely in order. Of course, this attitude could be stemming from the fact that I had to try on three pairs of pants this afternoon to find one that fit. Ok, that's a half-truth. They all "fit", but we were going to lunch so I needed a pair that would still fit after lunch. So now, I surrender to the fat pants. Once I hit maternity, I'm totally cutting lose and buying some twinkies.

Where I'm From*

I am from warm summer nights, waiting for the ice cream man, when mom rings the bell and it's time to come in. From jumping off the pier, avoiding jellyfish and biting flies, fishing, corn on the cob and the smell of old bay and fresh blue crabs on the porch, and illegal fireworks after dark.

I am from raking the leaves just to jump in the pile while fearing that there may be bugs inside. From being excited about back to school, crisp new uniforms and questionable lunches. From birthday sleepover parties, do your homework first, and family dinner night.

I am from cold winter mornings, praying for snow days and wearing sweatpants under my skirt. From large family Christmases filled with cookies and presents, fires in the evening, boggle and watching movies together. From sledding and take-your-snowy-clothes-off-in-the-basement days and hot chocolate with extra marshmallows to warm you up afterward.

I am from welcoming spring, wishing I could swim, and dusting off summer dresses at the first sign of thaw. From red rover, capture the flag and freeze tag until it was dark enough to catch fireflies in jars. I am from letting them go.

I am from strong women and secure men, till-death-do-us-part marriages and children are blessings. From clean houses, education is important and raising children is a job.

Where are you from?

*You know that irritating 25 things on Facebook? This is kinda one of those. Sorry.

You Said it Sister

Don't you just hate it when you're all ready to get your rant on and then you realize someone else has already done it with FAR more eloquence than you are capable of? Yeah, me too.

http://badladies.blogspot.com/2009/02/whos-dummy-mummy.html

My children say thank you Her Bad Mother. Now we have time for Arts and Crafts.

Pending Doom, Send Twinkies

I've been dreading this week. The hubs will be leaving us on Tuesday to go on vacation a work trip. He won't be back until Friday. That's FOUR DAYS with the kids to myself. More importantly, that's THREE LONG NIGHTS as a single mom. And honestly, I don't know how full-time single mom's do it! Even though the hubs does tend to get home late, I live for the small time I get all to myself as he puts the kids to bed. It's what gets me through the day. And it just might be what makes me lose it before the week is out.

You see, I never put the kids to bed. With Fin, this is not such a big thing. I can strong-arm and bribe him just as well as the hubs can. It's Dash. When he's tired and ready for bed, he grabs his bear and ducker and waddles over to the hubs and puts his head down. Just like that. And the hubs takes him to his room, lays him down, and closes the door. And he goes to bed. Seriously, just like that. On the rare occasion that he does get up in the middle of the night, the hubs (who is usually still up himself) just shoves his pacifier back in his mouth and he's out.

Please don't tell me how lucky we are that we have a almost-16 month old who goes to bed so easily. I know that. Here's the rub - with mama involved, it's a WHOLE NEW BALL GAME! Mama means playtime. So mama has to snuggle him till he's sound asleep. Then I have to sneak him into his room. Then I have to toss him as gently as possible into his crib (it's too deep for any kid of nice placement). If anything goes wrong? Start all over again. And if he wakes up in the middle of the night? HA! Guess the day starts early.

And have I mentioned the raging sinus infection that has had me up the past two nights. I saw a guy on a NyQuil commercial boasting about his good sleep and feeling better in the morning and I wanted to smash the TV. Then I started thinking, is it really that bad for the baby? I mean which is worse, no sleep and crazy mama or a leeeeetle green death? Don't answer that. My jury is still deliberating.

Fin has been begging to go to lunch bunch, and I think unless he pulls a knife on his teacher, this is the week he wins.

And on top of everything, this makes me want to strangle the hubs. Before you go all "bad wife" on me, I understand. It's for work, not for fun. And he's going to Minneapolis. It's going to be, well, chilly. Heh. But I think any mama will understand how three child-free nights in a hotel sounds a like too much like paradise. I don't care what you have to do during the day to get there. Not to worry, as long as he comes back well rested and ready to take the reins, I'll welcome him home with open arms and a hot dinner.

Don't forget I'm all pregnanty. And people keep reminding me that there are some women who love being pregnant, but unless you've never been here before, you should know that I'm not one of them. I'm more than a little hormonal. And I'm tired. I mean, really tired. I'm starting to think that the second trimester energy burst skips over mamas who are already taking care of two little one's.

So if you call me this week and I answer crying, or all you can hear is screaming, or I don't answer at all and never call you back. You'll know why. And if you stop by, bring some Twinkies. I'm totally craving them but I'm way too stubborn to actually buy something that unhealthy. Really. I'll be your best friend.

Ultrasound Joy

So I already said a little, and you can see the pictures, but I had a little more I wanted to get off my belly about today.

At my Dr. appointment two weeks ago, I was told that I was measuring behind. Very behind. An ultrasound was immediately ordered and my NP was content to assure me that my dates were just off. But for there to be more than a two-week disparity in my dates was impossible. Plainly, it would mean that I got a positive test the day I conceived, not to mention some pretty hearty little swimmers. Pretty much everyone I shared this concern with asked why I didn't argue that point. Well, see, I had Dash with me because I thought it was going to be a here's-your-cup-here's-your-weight-out-the-door visit. I didn't realize that they now do mandatory pap-smears on the first OB visit. I also didn't realize that taking my clothes of and putting my feet in stirrups was going to send Dash into orbit. However, I do now realize that - in hindsight - having to endure a pap and an internal exam while playing patty cake with the 15 month-old who is straddling your chest is pretty funny.

As you can guess, I was just in a hurry to get out of there.

But then, I had to think about the possibilities. And oh my readers, the internet is not your friend on such a mission. Not to mention that there are too many women in the"August 2009 Expecting Club" on iVillage (keep your comments to yourself) who have lost their pending deliveries recently. Yes, it's more likely that I would have had some indication that something was amiss, but it does happen silently as well. And despite my "urgent" stamp on my form, I still had to wait two weeks for the big day. Which is probably why this blog has been on the quiet side because that was a lot for me to sit on. And also, I'm a pessimist. So I'd rather think about fetal demise and be pleasantly surprised than stick my head in the proverbial sand and hope for the best.

But all that just made today that much sweeter.

I have vivid memories of enjoying my boys first swirls and kicks, but not so much of their ultrasounds. Especially ones that involved, well, the you-know-what camera. But that changed today. First of all I have to say that while I do like my NP and most of the Dr.'s, the nurses and techs are doofuses. The lady who read my pregnancy test results might as well have told me I had leprosy. For real. And the chick who did my last ultrasound with Dash was SO mean and wouldn't even let Brooks come in the room until I threw a fit. But this woman today? Pure awesome. She was CHIPPER as she brought us back a few minutes EARLY. Then she laughed at the joy on my face when she told me this was a happy abdominal ultrasound. And during? She assured us every few minutes that Snoopy was the cutest baby she'd ever seen. I mean, sure she probably tells everyone that, but this time it also happened to be true. And to see that little baby all moving and swatting and kicking? Amazing.

And all of a sudden, it became smack-you-in-the-face-real. In a few months I will have three children! Heaven help me...

Oh and I would be remiss if I didn't note my love and appreciation for Monika and Kindra who watched the gruesome twosome for us so that Brooks could join in the fun. You ladies are my heroes.

Meet Snoopy!

We had our first ultrasound today - and our first glimpse of Snoopy :) The technician took us right in, ON TIME! And she was super nice! He's measuring right between what I think my due date is and what my dr. thinks my due date is so that is good too!