Saturday night i woke up at 4:30am so hungry that i couldn't go back to sleep until i had eaten something.  that's new.  i've woken up hungry before, but the need for sleep would always win out and the hunger pains would fade away.  Not this time.  I dragged my feet down the stairs and prepared a very satisfying piece of toast with jam and a glass of milk.

Joe can now hear the baby's heartbeat just by putting his ear up to my stomach.  I wish my go-go gadget neck would work so i could do it too.

Sometimes i get so anxious for this baby to be here and my heart just fills with happiness.  Sometimes i'm not sure if i want this big life change at all, then i feel guilty for even having the thought.

Things in the nursery are sure coming together.  We just need to fill it up with stuff now.  We got an amazing gift about a week ago from my mom's boss from work.  He bought off our registry an unbelievable amount (from one person) of items for the baby.  A couple boxes came one day, one another day, then the motherload came in.  I came home from lunch, said hi to joe, then he grinned and pointed his finger up the stairs.  My jaw dropped as i looked to the top of the stairs and saw a tower of boxes that were stacked to almost the ceiling. There were so many things to open, it felt like Christmas.  I ate lunch and ooohed and awwwed while joe opened everything up.  Anyway, it was a great surprise and we are very thankful to David for his generosity.

Don't misinterpret though, we still need a lot more stuff.

have been working continuously knitting together my perfect little boy.  He's also thankfully done some rearranging in the womb.  We had our THIRD ultrasound last Monday and found out that my placenta had been moved out of the way of my cervix. Praise God!  Joey also got moved around too.  The ultrasound technician said that he was head down already!  Let's just hope he stays that way.  We also found out that he has HAIR!  Joe and I were wondering just a few days before whether or not he would come out bald or not.  I had a ton of hair at birth, joe had nothin'.  Well, that question's been answered. The lady said he would be needing his first haircut already by the time he comes out.  Of course joe was excited about that.

So i was feeling pretty happy the rest of the day until this volunteer lady who helps out at my work on Mondays and Tuesdays makes me feel like a freightliner.  I was talking with her and another woman who was in the office at the time and we were discussing the ultrasound and i was telling them about how we saw that he had hair and how much longer he still had to grow it out before he's born.  Her eyes got all wide and her voice raised a notch higher (she's a very exciteable older woman) and said, YOU still have three more months to go? You're going to be big!  If you're this big now, you're gonna be REALLY big".  Now i'm wondering, why did she open her mouth?  Has it been that long since she's been pregnant to really forget all the emotions and self-image hurdles that have to be overcome to make it through an entire pregnancy?  I tried to chalk it up as just another learning experience, this one being a lesson to remember in what NOT to say to future pregnant women as i get older.  Now don't get me wrong, i think being pregnant is a BEAUTIFUL thing, an absolute miracle, and i feel so fortunate and thankful to be allowed the privilege of bringing another human being into this world, but common sense people, never ever tell a woman how big she looks.    THANKFULLY, the rest of the week, other people's comments were quite the opposite.  The next day, two women at work commented on how small i still looked and one even said that i was the cutest pregnant woman she has ever seen.  I didn't care whether she meant it or not, i still told her i loved her.  This weekend as joe and i have been going places, random people have also been so sweet in their words in regards to my appearance.  I guess my point in all this rambling is to do your local pregnant woman a favor and tell her she looks great.  If you're thinking about saying something other than that, please don't.

This past week, i have found something extraordinary.  Something that brought joy and satisfaction like you wouldn't believe.  Something that i actually traded in my ice cream for.  I found CHOCOLATE Lucky Charms!  I was so amazed at the ingenious idea of the cereal that i just had to try it out. I mean it had to be better for me than donuts, right?  Oh my gosh, it was the best decision.  As i poured my first bowl that night, my laughter came out similar to that of an absolute mad scientist who just invented something incredibly evil.  It tasted just like i imagined. Perfect happy marshmallows combined with the chocolately taste of cocoa puffs.  I ate two bowls.  Now before you start shaking your head at me, keep in mind that i'm having this for dessert, not breakfast, AND forgoing the ice cream.  I highly suggest that you try it.

One more small detail before i go.  The doctors office called and said that i passed my glucose screening test which is a good thing.  But they also said that my blood count showed that i'm slightly anemic.  No big deal, it's pretty common for pregnant women, i hear. So now i have to take iron pills and you'll never guess what the main side effect for those are.  Yep, it looks like my old friend constipation will be back to visit me soon.

Better rev up the power juicer.