Not enough pictures

This post is about to cover a wide gamut of things so hang on tight and let's roll....

Momma Love
My dear, sweet, wonderful mom is in the process of retiring right now. A process you say? How can it be  a process? Well, my mom has been the director of a really great preschool (after teaching there as well) for many years.... Tomorrow is the last day of "school" for the kids, but she is staying until mid-June to help with some transitional things.

Today the school had a picnic where they honored my mom---giving her a scrapbook filled with artwork and who knows what else from the kids and teachers. On top of that, they dedicated a new art display cabinet to her and it will have a plaque with her name and everything.

I know that there have been a mixture of good times, bad times, hard times, funny times, thankful times at this job and I know that leaving it will be tough for her.....but I am so glad that they thought to honor her. Mom, if I could get you a plaque the size of the wall to leave there I would. And then I would take you on vacation and maybe write your name in the sky because that's how great you are and that's how good of a job you have done. We are all so proud of you and love you so much.

Third 3rd Third 3rd Third Trimester (& a "shameful" secret)


Saturday (tomorrow is Friday) will be 28 weeks..... this is officially, my friends, THE FREAKING THIRD TRIMESTER. What?!?!!!!!!?! Where has the time gone? Some days it feels like time is c..r...a...w..l...i...n...g by and other times it feels like I can't even catch my breath because it is going by so quickly and there is so much left to be done. So. Much.

Everyone tells me that I need to "enjoy this time" and that I will "really miss it" when I am not pregnant anymore. Let me just tell you (cringing slightly with shame on my face, with one eye kind of squinted as I wait for a barrage of comments that I will probably get for this one), I have not really loved being pregnant. Don't get me wrong---I am thrilled that I have a little life inside of me. I am joyful that Tim and I are going to have the extreme honor and responsibility of raising a little girl. I absolutely cannot wait to be a mom. I cannot wait to parent with Tim and watch us grow as a family. But.............. being pregnant? Not so much. I see pictures of other friends who are pregnant now and they have almost all had that famous *glow* and have gained an appropriate amount of weight and you can just feel the cloud-nine-ness oozing out of them at every turn.

Me? Of course I have had moments where I am just blown away by the whole thing (in a good way) and feeling Lierre move is pretty cool. But. But I really hated being nauseous in the beginning. I don't cover all the food groups every day. I've had issues with my iron that still causes me to feel dizzy throughout the day, ranging from a teeny bit of vertigo type feeling to a full fledged lay in the floor while everything gets dark kind of experience. This issue has ranged from having a completely normal day, to days where I can't even finish my shower because if I don't sit down RIGHT NOW then I will pass out. In the past week or two my lower back pain has really increased. Little lady seems to be sitting right on a nerve that shoots down into my butt and into my legs, causing my legs/hip/butt to hurt or to feel tingly. This has really made sleeping difficult. Last night I woke up every thirty minutes to about every two hours.

Have I loved looking at baby stuff? Absolutely.... it has been fun to daydream about her room and plan things I want to do with Lierre when she is born/as she grows. I can't wait to hold and cuddle the mess out of this little girl! Have I been thrilled and excited about looking for and buying maternity clothes? Nuh uh. In fact (I have issues with shopping already), it makes me pretty tense to go and spend money on clothes that I will only be able to wear for a few months (yeah, yeah maybe a second child one day, but you never know).  Other people seem to thrive on the attention they receive for being pregnant. I think it is so thoughtful when people ask me how I am doing and things, especially when I can tell that they really care what my answer is. But. Standing up in front of groups of people to "show them my stomach??" It's kind of humorous to me, yes, but I don't revel in feeling like an interesting side show.

It is also interesting for me to be one of the first of my group of friends to have a baby. In Tim's circle, most/many of his friends already have a baby/child or are at least married. In my group, I'm one of the first to get married. I am one of the first to have a baby. It makes for an interesting dynamic when at get togethers with Tim's friends, we fit right on in..... in my group of friends? Most are very supportive and excited, but there is definitely a little gap there. Especially with this time of year (cook outs, holidays, summer, etc) where everyone is slapping on their slinky bathing suits, grabbing a drink after work, tanning like its their job, running every day to keep "their figure".... it has made me feel left out at times. Oh boo hoo, Anna, poor you right? I'm not complaining, REALLY.... most of the time these are just passing thoughts or every day things that I handle. And not for one second would I trade any of the time that I have had with Lierre for any of that. But I always said if I had a blog I would do my best to be as honest as possible on it. There are times where my friends decided on a whim to go on vacation or to go to the beach for the day or weekend. While Tim never would have stopped me, my time these days are spent with him on his days off. We are being careful with money so that we can pay all the bills and have enough for Lierre's things. There are many nights when my friends will go out and I'm putting on my pajamas at 9:00 (let's be honest... 8:30....). There are times I get together with friends and hear about the new person in their lives, a recent date they have been on, or a recent trip they went on with their hubby/wife----and I am so happy for them all. But then when they ask me what I have been doing, I find myself scrambling at times to come up with an answer other than what really pops in my head (which is: compulsively reading/daydreaming/talking about our baby!!).

Annnnnnyways, this sounds like I'm a negative Nancy, but I just thought I'd throw out a few other things. It's therapeutic for me and maybe mildly interesting for you? No? Cool, let's just keep going.

28 WEEKS
This Saturday/28 weeks, Lierre will weigh about 2 and a quarter pounds and is about 14.8 inches from head to heel. She can blink her eyes and may be able to see bright light coming through to her. She is also adding on a little bit of baby fat and the neurons in her brain are going crazy. Keep growing, sweet one.

If you want a laugh for what I have to look forward to after little lady is born, check out this website:
Ten Things They Don't Tell You....

*On a more serious note...*
A couple who is friends of my family just recently gave birth to a little boy.... at 23 weeks. His name is Mason and he needs as many prayers as he can get. He weighed 1 lb and 5 oz when he was born 2 days ago. He has held on strong, but currently has some bleeding in his brain. To stay updated, you can look at their blog: www.ljmatthews.blogspot.com. Your thoughts and prayers are greatly, greatly appreciated.