The last time...

Husband and I have had a terrific day. Well, I take that back. I've had a terrific day, and Husband might be pretending to have one. He humored my need to get some shopping done "just in case" I don't get the chance to get back to Costco some time in the next 5 weeks. But - before we stepped foot in Costco we braved the Chandler Fashion Square Mall parking lot and finally saw the movie Twilight. It was great - some of the special effects were a little silly, but it was great.

Costco, like always, was a terrible mess. I'm not sure what I was expecting given that this is the biggest shopping weekend of the year. We loaded our cart up with all the necessities (dog food, toilet paper, paper towels, zip lock bags, garbage bags, laundry detergent... etc) and then after deciding we didn't want to spend $9 on an 8 million pack of Q-tips, we made a stop off at Target so we could spend $4.50 on 750 of them instead, lol.

I allowed myself to get lost in my thoughts on the way home, and a few things occurred to me. First - woah - 35 weeks pregnant. Technically Michael can come at any time now and it wouldn't be any sort of disaster. Yeah - he should probably hang out another 2 weeks, but I think I'm ready to start wishing for him to be here. Other things that occurred to me is that we will probably never have a day like this again - or at least we won't have very many more. You know - just picking up after sleeping in until 10:00 am on a Saturday... heading to see a movie and then spending the afternoon shopping. Nope. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to sleep in until 10:00 am again, lol.

Yeah, life is definitely about to change. But I'm ok with that. I'm ready for that. Because even though things will be different, I know that the adventure we are about to embark on is going to be the most meaningful and happiest time of our life.

The Final Countdown...

I'm caught in a strange fold in time where minutes seem to drag on an eternity yet flicker by in an instant all at the same time. I guess it all depends on what I'm focusing on at the moment. When I begin to put this pregnancy into perspective and realize that I'm counting by days now, that puts everything in perspective. Assuming Mike arrives based on the schedule set forth for him when I first saw a blank screen turn into a big "+" on a stick, I have:

19 Calendar days until Mike is "Full Term"
14 working days (24 calendar days) until my Maternity Leave Begins
9 days until my last ultrasound to measure for growth
4 Days until my self imposed deadline to have everything "ready" for baby

So, in these final days, I would be a big huge liar if I said I was loving everything about pregnancy. It is hard to walk, hard to sleep, hard to breathe and hard to stay awake. I've started to experience some form of contraction - they feel like menstrual cramps - but they usually only bother me in the mornings and are intermittent.

I'm looking forward to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. My holiday begins this afternoon at 1:30 pm when I leave the office to head home and start making pies. I'll post the recipe and pictures of the concoction I am whipping up. Other than that I'm looking forward to putting my feet up tomorrow and taking a big long nap. To think that this time next year I'll have an almost 1 year old and the traditions I have grown accustomed to over the last several years may be completely different. Husband mentioned that he was feeling a bit saddened over not getting to spend time with June this year (my grandmother that passed away a year and a 1/2 ago). This will be the 2nd Thanksgiving we have spent without her and I still miss her a great deal.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Turkey Day, stay safe, drive safe and eat til you collapse! Happy Thanksgiving!

***Congrats to my little sister, and her exciting news! Looks like Mikey is going to have a little girl cousin about 4 months younger than him :o)***

You Can't Have it Both Ways...

I am getting so tired of the growing animosity over the gay marriage bans that were recently passed in several states. Why am I tired? Because of the absolute hypocrisy of those who are so enraged over the results. Everyone is so shocked that Obama won yet these bills/amendments passed, and I'm not sure why. If you voted for Obama, it is obviously because you love the government and you want it to be bigger. You voted FOR having the government get all up in your business. How DARE you be upset when the government dictates who and who can not get married! You want the government to run your retirement, tax the hell out of you so they can make sure everyone else is getting their fair share, run the mortgage and housing industry, and pretty soon the banking industry. You want them to take the rights away from parents to homeschool their children, and you want them to run the health care system.

Well, guess what? You can't have it both ways! The government can only take away the freedoms you allow it to, and at this point in time politicians have convinced the majority of American's that they can't figure it out for themselves.

Don't get me wrong. Tax and Spend Liberals are no worse than Borrow and Spend Republicans. I feel the government should be much smaller, and should govern in the limited intentions the original framers of the Constitution had. Should the government be allowed to say who and who can not get married? I personally feel that it should stop at "Only consenting adults may enter into a state of marriage." Whether that is a man and a woman, a man and a man, a man and a woman and another woman, 3 dudes and 2 chicks --- whatever! Government should butt the hell out! But you can't get pissed when you invited them in the first place and now they've made a big stinkin' mess out of everything.

Next time? How about voting for real change.

A wise and frugal government which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government. – Thomas Jefferson (1801)

A government that is big enough to give you all you want is big enough to take it all away. – Barry Goldwater (1964)

And now he has a place to sleep...

So, here I am, getting down to the final weeks of this thing. Began to feel some strangeness today, and I'm not sure what it was really. I felt a general pain in my lower abdomen. Nothing sharp --- dull pain. My belly looks lower to me now, so I'm guessing that little Mikey Bear is beginning to settle down into my pelvis area. Or at least my uterus is trying to point him in that direction, but he is fighting gravity.

I was able to get some items checked off my to do list for the baby this weekend. I managed to put together the car seat, the stroller, the pack n' play, the crib bedding set, and I also washed everything that will be coming into contact with the baby clothing wise. Mike officially has more clothing than Husband and I combined :)

I tried to allow the dogs to sniff out the new baby gear - I want them to become accustomed to the car seat and stroller specifically, and I also have the pack n' play set up full time in our bedroom, too. Since the dogs sleep in the room with us, and the baby will be sleeping in our room for at least the first few weeks of his life, it seemed like a good idea.

From Baby Stuff

From Baby Stuff

From Baby Stuff

From Baby Stuff

The New Hotness...

Ok, I normally intensely dislike hip-hop/r&b. Alas, my dear husband's favorite genre's of music are hip hop and country. I can stomach the country (and even like a lot of it) but most of the hip-hop drives me up a wall. What can I say? I guess that makes me a "hater." I think a lot of the problem is I don't understand the jargon.

But --- every once in awhile a song (or two or three) comes out that I just adore. For your listening pleasure:

Whatever you like (T.I.)



M.I.A. - Paper Planes (also known as the theme song of most Dems/Liberals)



Not sure that one actually counts as hip-hop. Maybe some form of funky alternative?

Had a baby appointment today. Michael is doing splendidly - heart rate of 145 bpm. My blood pressure was ok at 120/84. I have to get some blood work done and come back in a week. Oh, and I am officially "grounded." No traveling for this pregnant lady.

Menu Planning: 11/09 - 11/15

Sunday:
Chicken Salsa Quesadilla's w/ Spanish Rice

Monday:
Beef Stew with Dumplings

Tuesday:
Chili with Corn Bread

Wednesday:
Chicken and Dumplings

Thursday:
Porcupine Meatballs

Friday:
Bangers n' Smashed Potatoes

Saturday:
Tailgating!

Babygate 2008!

The party for Michael was a complete success! There was good friends, good food and good beer! And, the icing on the cake? ASU finally won a game, lol! The extreme generosity of loved ones have left very little for Josh and I to purchase for our little guy. Enjoy the pictures!

Pile of gifts!

From Babygate 2008

Pile of gifts from a different angle:

From Babygate 2008

Josh coming down the stairs:

From Babygate 2008

Lindz and baby Broc:

From Babygate 2008

Baby Broc and his feet:

From Babygate 2008

Ryan, Broc and Lindz:

From Babygate 2008

The Party on the Patio:

From Babygate 2008

Friends and Babies:

From Babygate 2008

Karl playing lifeguard to the little guys running around the pool:

From Babygate 2008

The back of Todd's head, Jess, Cherylyn and Steph:

From Babygate 2008

Zach and Drew:

From Babygate 2008

Karinne (holding Max), Max's mom Misty, and Zach:

From Babygate 2008

Max (1 month old!):

From Babygate 2008

My BFF Val and her sweet baby Aubry:

From Babygate 2008

April holding Liz's baby Shannon:

From Babygate 2008

Val with Aubrey and Liz with Shannon:

From Babygate 2008

Val's son Wyatt getting ready to enjoy some Pumpkin bread:

From Babygate 2008

Partygoers on the Patio:

From Babygate 2008

Buddies watching ASU:

From Babygate 2008

Steve, Stephanie and Brian enjoying some Barbeque!!!

From Babygate 2008

I couldn't have asked for a better event! Everything was great, and Josh and I can't wait to finally have our own baby to bring to these shindigs!

**if you have pictures from the event, please feel free to email them to me!**

Fun Finds!

I love the internet, and I love stumbling upon the new treasures it has to offer. Just yesterday I found a new blog that I highly recommend you check out. There is a post she writes that has me super worried about what it will be like when it is time for me to go back to work after maternity leave.

The nights have recently become much longer. For most of my pregnancy I have been able to sleep through the night, but this is just not the case anymore. I can count on waking up at least once with a screaming bladder, but lastnight I actually woke up 3 times! When I came back to bed the 2nd time the husband decided to snuggle up to me and lay his arm across my belly. He became upset when he felt the baby going spastic in my belly in the middle of the night. "Honey... why isn't the baby sleeping?" "Because... baby hates Mommy and yet still wants her company."

And after I'm done being uncomfortable all night, I make sure to complain a lot during the day. I walk (waddle) slowly everywhere. My back is killing me. I have to pee every 5 seconds. Or at least I THINK I have to pee, but I'm mostly dealing with false alarms. Going out to eat has become a fun game of "Where does Kerith fit in a booth?" As it turns out, not many places, ha.

The cats aren't too pleased with my predicament, either. Finley, my sweet lap kitty, lost the ability to snuggle up in my lap many many weeks ago. But - he still trys to find a way to make it work. Today he decided to just relocate to my new lap:



















(please excuse the multiple chins and flabby arms)

At my next ultrasound (36 weeks) the Doctors will take final measurements of Sumo baby and come up with a delivery game place. In the mean time the doctors are worried about my blood pressure again (it was 142/80 at my appointment on Thursday) so I get to do some more fun blood work on Monday to monitor that.

Tomorrow is baby gate! Hooray! I'm very excited to celebrate baby Gaines with all our friends and family!

Scary Times...

I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't worried about my country right now. For some reason as I was coming up through the public education system, FDR was touted as the hero of the day for saving this country from the depression it had entered. But I disagree --- I think that FDR's New Deal kept this country in a depression for 10 years longer than it needed to be in one. It is often said that history repeats itself, and I can only hope that isn't true in this case. What America needs to do right now is CUT SPENDING (not military spending, thank you) and keep taxes low. Cut the ridiculous programs, cut unnecessary government spending, and DON'T RAISE TAXES! Oh, I know, BO is going to "cut" taxes for 95% of us (including the 40% of that 95% that do not pay any taxes anyway), or at least that is what he is saying, but I'm going to predict right now that no one is going to be seeing any tax cuts. And then, of course, we are going to be told that we need to be patriotic and make sacrifices and pay more taxes.

Of course, I shouldn't be concerned about anything but my own immediate situation. And believe me, I am worried. I'm 8 months pregnant, with my husband and I both working for the same company. Yes, this company is strong with a long history of standing through troubling economic times, however, it seems like every company in the finance world is having to do layoffs right now. We've been really lucky so far, but it is something that I'm worried about.

I had been holding out hope that a President would be elected that would have the right economic policies to get America out of its slump and get us moving again. I think Wall Street showed its expectations yesterday with a 500 point drop in the Dow. I think raising taxes on the people that propel this country forward is going to take us all backwards.

Despite all this, I refuse to resort to the sort of shenanigans that most liberals have in the last 8 years. I'm not going to be bitter. I'm not going to be filled with seething hateful rage. I'm going to do the best I can to take care of my family, and in 4 years I hope that conservatism actually makes it on the ballot at that time so I can vote for a conservative instead of a Republican.

***Update***

I have passed the 3 hour glucose test --- no GD (Gestational Diabetes) for me. I guess that just means I have sumo baby.

Voting...

So, tomorrow will be the 2nd Presidential election that I vote in.

During the 2000 election I was 6 months shy of 18 and instead stayed up all night at my Dad's house to watch the results. Every time Bush won my dad would play U2's "Beautiful Day" at full blast. I'm sure this woke up the entire neighborhood, repeatedly, since Bush won and lost and then won and then lost the election a million times that night. Didn't we not actually know the results of the election for like 30 days after that? My senior year of high school was an interesting time for me politically speaking. My opinions were just forming, and honestly I think I just liked to take positions that got a rise out of my more liberal classmates. They were adamantly pro-choice, and I was hard core pro-life. They were pro-gun control. I actually stood up and told my classmates that I wanted to be a lobbyist for the NRA and my mission wouldn't be complete until every household in America had an assault rifle. If you asked me why, could I have told you? Absolutely not. I wasn't actually thinking about my personal opinions, rather, I was mostly reflecting the opinions of my Father to irritate those around me, lol.

By the time the next election rolled around, I had some time to do some serious thinking. When I actually got the opportunity to vote, I really reflected on what my vote meant - and who I wanted in office. I was going to ASU... I didn't have a lot of money... I wanted wanted wanted and John Kerry had some mighty appealing ideas. Honestly, I was trying to get a degree in education, and I thought to myself that John Kerry's education policies would allow me to become a teacher with the least amount of effort. Screw that no child left behind crap. I didn't want to be held accountable. That was what immature and lazy Kerith was thinking, anyway.

But - for some reason I was tuning in to conservative radio. I was listening to Mike Savage, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. Despite my selfish, lazy ways, these guys actually made sense to me. While watching the RNC, I listened to Arnold speak and explain why he was a Republican. I was sold:



I voted for Bush in 2004, and from then on I remained interested in politics.

Over the years my views have changed. After that election, the terms thrown around to describe the parties switched from democrats and republicans to liberal and conservative. I was a Republican as far as I could tell, but in the last four years I first and foremost identify myself as conservative. I believe that the government should be smaller, and that the government is the cause of most this countries problems, not something that will solve them. I believe that if the government just gets out of our way, we can be successful and achieve greatness.

So, when John McCain won the Republican nomination, I was dissappointed. Out of all the candidates, I felt that he was by far the least conservative. I was on the Fred Thompson band wagon. I wanted a candidate that would champion smaller government. When it came down to John McCain and Mitt Romney, I crossed my fingers that it would be Mitt. It wasn't.

But - tomorrow, I have to make a choice. I'm not going to call this the lesser of two evils choice. No - it isn't that for me. But, over the last 8 years I have had enough time to think and really analyze what I believe and why I believe it, and I can honestly say that between the two choices, John McCain will keep the government smaller, and will stay out of my way as much as possible. We may not agree on illegal immigration or global warming, but we do agree that this country is much better off when the American people are left unrestricted to achieve greatness without being overburdened by the government.

I don't know how the election is going to turn out. I hope that I get to see some great changes coming from a McCain/Palin administration. I guess we'll know tomorrow.

New Threads...

So, at 32 weeks pregnant, I finally broke down and bought some new maternity clothes. This was the FIRST purchase I made and I am so so so glad that I finally did. Now, don't get the wrong idea. I wasn't one of those blessed women that just got along ok in her pre pregnancy clothing for the last 8 months. No no. My best friend Valerie was just kind enough to give me 2 huge bin fulls of all her Maternity clothing for the last few years since she was done having babies. We were roughly the same size, so it worked out great. But - Val was never pregnant during the winter, so all of her biggest clothes were summer clothes. Not that it should really matter in AZ, but I just needed some pants, lol.

Anyway - Josh and I picked up some cute tops at Target, and then some of those "secret fit" jeans from Motherhood Maternity. I wish I hadn't resisted a Maternity store for so long. These jeans are AWESOME! The band goes all the way up to my rib cage, but it it is a really lightweight stretchy fabric that somehow holds up without making me feel like I'm wearing a girdle.

During our United Way campaign at the office, I donated $50.00 for a "Jean Pass" for the months of November and December. Now I'll actually be comfortable in jeans at work! Hooray! I'm just glad to get some relief - I've been miserable having to constantly pull my pants up as they slip off my belly. Plus, none of my shirts seemed to be long enough, so if the pants slipped down, my poor stretch marked skin was left exposed to the world. Not a pretty site!

Speaking of stretchmarks, as we were checking out at Motherhood Maternity I noticed this skin oil meant to help with itchy skin. Since my skin just literally started getting itchy in the last couple days, I decided to pick up a little sample size bottle. I even said to the clerk "Perfect - my skin just started itching!" Her reply? "Oh - definitely use that, then! And don't scratch your skin... that is what causes stretch marks!!!"

WTF?

I didn't realize that my incessant ass, thigh, calf, belly scratching is what had caused all these claw marks. *sigh* I just assumed it was my stretching skin that caused stretch marks.

The one downside to all this walking around malls today? A stroll through Macy's has me longing to be back to my normal size! There are so many adorable sweaters that I want! Good thing I registered for a jogging stroller. I'm going to need all the help I can getting back in shape after Mike gets here.

And just for fun - a picture of my "Baby Daddy" and Mike's Grandpa showcasing their crib construction skills (and this crib is freaking MASSIVE!)

Cribs and Candy...

Halloween was an utter failure. Hardly any trick-or-treaters. We have tons of candy left over, lol.





























































But on a positive note, Mike now has a place to sleep!