Belly Status - 28 Weeks

I clearly remember when I couldn't wait until I looked pregnant. Um... looking mighty pregnant these days!

I even remember when I thought I totally looked pregnant and no one else noticed!! I can't hide anymore. The neighbor came over on Sunday to deliver the girl scout cookies I had ordered and her Dad came with her. When I stepped out the front door he took one look at me and says "Looks like I need to say congratulations!" Someone actually noticed!!

Every time I get this picture taken - I look at it I shreek... I am really that big!! The mirror in our bathroom prevents me from seeing my whole upper torso... so I never see my belly until these pictures.... and looking down at my belly... it looks big... but it looks way bigger from this side view!! Plus my belly is so low that I can seriously fit it under my desk while I work so I don't ever see it!


Ups:
~ Who turned the heat on!? I am usually the girl who is always cold, but I have been warmer lately!


~ Abs of steel!! Alright I might be pushing it on this one... I have never ever had a firm stomach/abs... this belly of mine is rock solid hard these days!! Now if I could only find a way to make it stay all nice and firm after Blueberry arrives... without exercise... me and exercise are not buddies!

~ I just need to be happy about this one because I know my time is coming... no stretch marks!! I am almost positive they are going to sneak up on me in the last few weeks of this pregnancy, so I am going to celebrate today for not having them thus far.

Downs:
~ Now that I am in my third trimester with only 3 months to go I am starting to get worried about how this child is going to getting out of me!! I was worried about it in the beginning and then I forced it out of my head and now it snuck back in. It probably started because one of our neighbors daughter's just had a baby and she was induced... baby was face up instead of face down... she had a horrible delivery... lots of nasty things happened to the mom... baby had to be pulled out with the forceps... baby is all bruised... baby was traumatised and had to be by herself after she was born!! Huh!?!? One night Jesse and I are driving home from the hardware store (our new date night location!) and out of the blue I tell Jesse... I don't want to be induced! I want this baby to come when she is good and ready! And I'll take the drugs please!! I am one girl who is not afraid of the drugs! Okay maybe a little afraid.

~ Can't. Stop. Eating. Seriously I have never ate so much in my entire life! I was talking to a girlfriend the other night on the phone and I was telling her that I could seriously eat all day long. I have to chew on gum so that I stop eating. She laughed and told me she had to do the same exact thing! Whew! I really felt like I was abnormal. Please tell me that I will stop eating like this once the baby comes?!? Please!?!


~ Belly button is starting to pop. I kind of think belly buttons are gross. And I really don't want my belly button to become an outie... but it is on the verge of doing it!!!! I can start to feel it poking it out at the top. Icky!

~ Leg cramps are still here. I got a bad one Monday morning when I woke up and I got out of bed and put my weight on it. I'm thinking that was the wrong thing to do. That leg muscle still hurts!! I have stretched it, I have massaged it, I went for a walk... I can't get the sucker to relax! I thought ice cream before bed was my cure... as I wasn't getting any. But um... that backfired one night and I got one. I still haven't tried the bar of soap... I keep forgetting.

Seeds!

I bought my garden seeds last night!! I can't tell you how excited I am about this new little adventure.

I stood in the seed isle looking at all the different things we can grow. Did you know that there are about 10 different green beans? Okay maybe not that many, but I was just expecting one style and I had a bunch to pick from and I no idea what I was picking.

Then Jesse spots melons! Oh Lynn, we can grow melons! Ick, who eats melons? Can you grow melons in Wisconsin? Apparently you can or they wouldn't be selling them to us here in Wisconsin! Right?

My Mom told me that I could start my seeds that needed to be started indoors on St. Patrick's Day and that is just around the corner. Now I am too excited to wait until then and want to do it now! I laid out all my packets to see which ones I could start early. I was so disappointed!! According to the package directions I was only able to start the tomatoes and bell peppers early.

I then decided that was bogus and I was going to start my herbs early too just because I can't wait until May to plant these suckers. This belly of mine could be far too huge to bend over to plant seeds!! Not that planting little baby plants is going to be any easier... it would just be way more fun! I'm a little impatient at some things.

I am suppose to wait until frost season is over and the ground is warm to plant the rest of the seeds that we bought.

I thought this has got to be some sort of joke. Maybe these seed people don't know what they are talking about. I called my Aunt Starla and Uncle Brad to see if maybe they would let me start any of these early. They have a garden every year and grow lots of things - surely they would know how us Wisconsin folks need to do this.

They left me with a page full of notes/tips. I really did take notes too! I told them that I was taking notes and Starla say I thought you would be and I was wondering if we were going too fast. Does she know me or what!?

Uncle Brad doesn't start any seeds early!! He says he just gets them from the nursery or my other Aunt, Gayle, who does start early. Cheater!!! ; ) He use to start them early, but just doesn't do it anymore. He let me add the onions and broccoli to my early indoor planting list!! He even said I could try a few cucumbers if I really wanted to! Whoohoo!! Now I feel much better!

After my phone call with them I busted out this book from Jesse's Dad. Just to see if there were anymore tips that I needed to know.

I could only take so much of that before I felt like this...And here is what my garden looks like at this very moment. Ugh. Still snow!! At least it is melting and hopefully it is going to stay away, far far away!

It was seriously only $26 to get all these seeds and 3 huge starter seed trays with lids!! I knew gardening would be cheaper, but I never would of guessed that much cheaper!!

Foot Tracks

The other morning I opened up the curtains and I noticed strange tracks in the snow behind our house. I stared at them for awhile trying to figure out if they were human tracks or Maggy tracks. I couldn't tell. The tracks went from the neighbors yard over to our yard.

When Jesse came home last night I remembered to tell him that I saw these tracks and was a little concerned about them. By the time I told him it was too dark for him to look out the window and see, but he told me he would look at them and check them out.

Jesse takes Maggy for a walk and comes back in and says that he inspected the tracks with a flashlight and it appears that the tracks come from the neighbor-on-the-left... come into our yard... come to the basement window (where Maggy's room is)... and go over to the neighbor-on-the-right. (Isn't snow the coolest sometimes? sometimes!) My little heart starts to panic and I look at him with big eyes and ask him what in the world does he think happened??? He wasn't sure but he says, I am sure Maggy went nuts and was barking like crazy and it scared the guy onto the next neighbors. Does not help my freak out session I am in the middle of having!!

I need to back up for a second... on Sunday Jesse went to take Maggy outside and she was acting all strange and wouldn't leave Jesse's side. She was looking back into the woods and doing a light growl. Jesse couldn't see anything back there so he wasn't sure what her problem was. Then an hour later I took her outside and she did the same thing... except I patted her on the head and told her she was okay and that satisfied her and she went about and played and did her business.

So... as I am freaking out I remind Jesse of Maggy's little Sunday episode. He clearly remembers and doesn't really seem to be freaked out like me. He tells me that I need to recall the sermon we heard in church a few weeks on fear. Of course I roll my eyes and say yeah whatever - you don't have to be home alone for 6 days!!! And your not a girl!!! Now call the neighbors and see if they spotted anyone in our yard! And my eyes seriously started to get teary. We are going to blame pregnancy hormones for those!! : )

He looked at me as if I was from another planet. He wanted to know just what he was going to say to the neighbor. I said, ask them if they noticed any strange tracks in their yard and ask them if they noticed anyone in our yard! He giggles and says fine - don't question a hormonal pregnant wife! Now we totally know these neighbors and are very friendly with them. We have been to their house to play cards. She works at that liquor store... and well... we must go to the liquor store too much as she knows what kind of beer Jesse drinks, when my Dad is coming over because we buy special beer just for him. (My Dad doesn't like Jesse's crazy off the wall beer... it makes him gag.) Anyway we know these neighbors it isn't like I was making him call and talk to them for the very first time!

Thank goodness I forced him to call!!!! Neighbor Ray put a freaked out girl's heart back to normal! Jesse was explaining the tracks he saw and Ray says... oh that was the water meter reader! Relief! Oh my gosh! I could just feel the tension and fear leave my shoulders!!

Jesse also told Neighbor Ray about Maggy growling at the woods and Ray said... oh there was probably a bear out there. They have seen bear back there before. Now... I probably could of gone without that piece of information!!