35 Week Update

Some of my facebook pals wanted a side profile of my big ole bowl full of jelly pregnant belly. Who am I to refuse what the people want? hehe

For those of you who don't want to see such, this post isn't for you. Here I am (or should I say- Here we are) at Week 33-

(P.S.- There's a new poll on the right hand side of the page. Go vote!)

Baby K Update:

How far along? 35 Weeks

How big is baby? According to Baby Center, he is over 18 inches long and tips the scales at a little over five lbs! Basically, he's the size of a honeydew melon.

Gender? He's definitely a boy! At the last ultrasound, that was about the only thing I could recognize clearly.

Weight: 143 and man, oh man is it uncomfortable

Symptoms: heartburn, backaches, difficulty breathing

Food Cravings: nothing in particular, but I almost always want to follow up dinner with something sweet!

Sleep: Let's not go there. You try strapping on an extra 25 pounds and trying to maneuver the big belly over an air mattress for a month. Oh, and in between the tossing and turning, you must somehow get your big butt off the floor to pee every few hours.

Movement: He kicks and flips like crazy. I still think it's so cool to watch!

Stretch Marks: Not yet.

Belly Button: Never popped out.

What are you looking forward to? I find myself daydreaming about what little Baby K will look like. I can't wait to hold him. I can't wait to be able to wear my normal clothes again. Even sooner than that, though- I can't wait to put his nursery together. So much to do!

And here we are at 35 Weeks:

books-a-trillion

I have been a reading machine lately. This is partly due because I had a class that required us to read a book a week, but I have also managed to sneak in a few I wanted to read, too. This can only mean one thing around here-

It's time for a book review!

I read these:



Oh, and this, too-



But I only recommend the following that I will give reviews for:

I'll start with fiction because I just love fiction.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness was really, very good. Her website gives this description:

When historian Diana Bishop opens a bewitched alchemical manuscript in Oxford’s Bodleian Library it represents an unwelcome intrusion of magic into her carefully ordinary life. Though descended from a long line of witches, she is determined to remain untouched by her family’s legacy. She banishes the manuscript to the stacks, but Diana finds it impossible to hold the world of magic at bay any longer.

For witches are not the only otherworldly creatures living alongside humans. There are also creative, destructive daemons and long-lived vampires who become interested in the witch’s discovery. They believe that the manuscript contains important clues about the past and the future, and want to know how Diana Bishop has been able to get her hands on the elusive volume.

Chief among the creatures who gather around Diana is vampire Matthew Clairmont, a geneticist with a passion for Darwin. Together, Diana and Matthew embark on a journey to understand the manuscript’s secrets. But the relationship that develops between the ages-old vampire and the spellbound witch threatens to unravel the fragile peace that has long existed between creatures and humans—and will certainly transform Diana’s world as well.

This book is to be a part of a series. I was very happy to read that after I finished this book because there was so much left up in the air. The book is excellent! It appeals to the magic, vampire nonsensical side of me, but it is very intelligently written. Try it out!

Sail by James Patterson is a page turner. I think all of his are, though. If you want a quick read that you don't want to put down, then pick this book up. Here's an exert from his website:

Only an hour out of port, the Dunne family's summer getaway to paradise is already turning into the trip from hell. Carrie, the eldest, has thrown herself off the side of the boat in a bid for attention. Sixteen-year-old Mark is getting high belowdecks. And Ernie, their ten-year-old brother, is nearly catatonic. It's shaping up to be the worst vacation ever.

Katherine Dunne had hoped this trip would bring back the togetherness they'd lost when her husband died four years earlier. Maybe if her new husband, a high-powered Manhattan attorney, had been able to postpone his trial and join them it would all have been okay....

Suddenly, a disaster hits–and it's perfect. Faced with real danger, the Dunnes rediscover the meaning of family and pull together in a way they haven't in a long time. But this catastrophe is just a tiny taste of the danger that lurks ahead: someone wants to make sure that the Dunne family never makes it out of paradise alive.

And now on to the non-fiction...

To my counseling buddies, you should check out Competent Christian Counseling and Effective Biblical Counseling.

I would also recommend Boundaries in Marriage for anyone who finds themselves with an ole ball and chain ;)

I also thought The Anxiety Cure would be useful for someone suffereing from panic attacks and severe anxiety. This book attempts to describe the physiological etiology of such issues while also addressing the spirituality issue that many secular theorists and psychologists ignore.

The rest were not so good. Ha! I'll try to do these more often so as not to bombard you with a bunch of titles.

What are you reading these days?

The End of an Era

Babymoon? What is that and how do I get one?!

This is what I've been thinking over the last few months as I perused other soon-to-be mommy blogs.

According to the ever-so-smart Wikipedia, a babymoon means "a vacation taken by a couple that is expecting a baby in order to allow the couple to enjoy a final trip together before the many sleepless nights..."

Yeah, I quit reading right there. I don't wanna hear about my inevitable loss of sleep before I have to.

Anyway, a drive from duty post to duty post isn't exactly the destination Mama had in mind. Because the Captain and I have completely depleted our bank account with this move, I knew the idea of our Babymoon was more like a pipe dream.

Then, I remembered Captain J and Mrs. K have fun wherever we go.

So, the babymoon is booked.

We're headed to the next (bigger) town over next weekend to enjoy a little of this-

or a lot of that! J and I have tickets for the double showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1&2 and we're super pumped. We had a big time in Alaska at the last premier and plan to make the most of this monumental event. Go ahead, laugh if you must. I can't even take your laughter seriously, though if you haven't read the books. You can't call yourself a literary lover if you haven't given them a try. Yeah, I went there.

(Do you even want to be a "literary lover"? I just made that up.)

I'm going off on a tangent now. Forgive me.

Anyway, I'm happy with our short trip down the road and a night in a hotel room (because those have become my home away from home). Baby K just doesn't know how cool (read: dorky, fun, or exciting) his parents are. Bless his heart.

Who else is excited?

Fireworks and Food

On the fourth of July, Captain J and I spent the day with our neighbor across the street. She's a single mother of three and quite the firecracker! She is funny and incredibly generous with her offers to play dog catcher, cook, and furniture supplier for us.

Our dogs are often putting us in scenarios that allow us to meet other people.  I can thank Drifter and Holly for the majority of my friends I made in Alaska because I met them at the dog park! It has been no different here. My dogs like to run over to their house and play with their dog, Budweiser. Anyway, after chatting several times outside on hot Louisiana days, she called us up one day and invited us to celebrate the fourth with her.

The food was amazing. Ribs, hot dogs, hamburgers, pork loin, deviled eggs, dumplins, pickles...you name it, she had it.

We stayed for a few hours, ate, and swam and then walked across the street to get ready for the fireworks show in town. I took lots of photos of the event, but sadly I can't get them to upload.

The small town feel made my heart smile. A Christian band was playing as everyone walked around and talked with one another. The kids spent their time jumping in a gigantic blow up play thingy at the end of the blocked off street. The humidity was 100% and the fire ants were out in full force, but we still managed to have a good time. As the fireworks started, I could help but to think about how lucky I am to be born in this country and now I'm married to a soldier who has defended her. It's a good feeling. Every time the music starts up and the bright colors burst in the sky, I feel like crying happy tears.

Or then again, maybe it's just my crazy pregnant hormones.

Either way, I know I'm blessed. I hope you all had a great July 4th Weekend!



 

I can't think about that right now...

Do you miss me yet? Having withdrawals?

Well, I've been experiencing DT's without being able to connect with all of you. I miss blogging. I miss the internet at my fingertips. I miss a lot of things.

Life is slow here, though and I can't say I don't enjoy that. This town is interesting- not that I've made a final assessment of it, but so far I think it is a place that we will enjoy. Most of the restaurants are named after their owners and serve things like fried chicken and kool-aid or cajun food and beer. People smile at you when you walk in the library and hold the door open for you when you're hands are full (or even when they're not).

We'll be alright here. I just don't know if this blog will make it. I sure hope so, but I have some terribly upsetting news:

Our internet tethering through our iphones is preventing me from uploading pictures, which is devastating to a lil ole blog like mine. Whatever will I do? How will I show you how cute my kid is when he finally makes his arrival? How in the world will you know what our dogs are up to if you can't see their slobbery faces? What if you forget what I look like, will we still be friends?

Oh, the questions.

In the words of Scarlett O'Hara:

I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow.

Send me some happy-internet-fairy-dust so we can hopefully hook up some broadband. I need it...Almost as much as I need a washer and dryer, but that's a post for another day.

Love,

Mrs. K

A reflective fourth

Tonight at dinner I couldn't help but to feel reflective as I said our evening prayer. My thoughts are with our friends currently serving overseas. Doesn't it seem so backward to celebrate them without them being home? Still, I'm grateful for all the sacrifices military men and women, past and present, have made for our great country and I'll remember them as I watch a firework or two. I miss my family dearly this week and wish I could be home celebrating with them. But I'm also thanking my lucky stars my soldier is sleeping soundly beside me tonight. Happy 4th, y'all- from Louisiana!

The Walmart Meltdown of 2011

Nut-case. Basket-case. Kace.



All terms may be used interchangeably to describe me as of late. This pregnancy in conjunction with a forced move is driving me to the edge. Just below is a steep drop to insanity and let me tell ya- I'm holdin' on with my heels. It's not a pretty picture.

Yesterday, I had a meltdown. It all started because I wanted a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner. Captain J suggested this wasn't appropriate for a growing baby and mom (in different words) so I basically flipped my lid. There were so many other competing thoughts floating through my mind at the time so I inevitably just focused on the one: Mama wants food! And I got noticeably annoyed in Walmart to the point that J escorted me out to the car for some refreshing A.C. and a long, uncontrollable, ugly cry.

The real issue was that I had gone to the doctor earlier. He told me that I had gained 23 pounds and he would rather see me at about 20lbs at this point. He didn't seem concerned, but this horribly self-conscious girl filed it away in her mind as a big, fat fail. Then when I arrived at Walmart (looking a hot mess in 100+ temperatures) it seemed as if everyone was starting at me. I don't like the attention that being pregnant brings because I can't decipher between negative attention and positive attention at this point. When a stranger stares, I automatically think it's because I look grotesque.

It's a problem, I know. Just call me nut-case.

Anyway, I cried and I cried. I cried for our lack of furniture, internet, PB&J's and money. I cried for crying over ridiculous things. I just couldn't stop. I felt so ridiculous.

I hate when I get stressed and adopt the belief that this is the worst possible thing that could happen. Because it never is.

Thank, God. He must really get tired of me acting so un-appreciatively. I know I'm incredibly blessed to have what I have. I just need to relax, sit back, and praise Him in this storm. Pretty soon the clouds will part and I'll have a sweet baby boy to put to sleep in his espresso colored crib and the fact that his mommy was stressed over research papers and an achy body due to a lack of sitting options (and a PB&J) will no longer matter.

As always, thanks for listening!

Sincerely,

Basket-Kace, AKA- Mrs. K