And like magic....

I have lost my mucous plug. It was everything everyone described it to be, and yes, it grossed me out just a little. However, it does make me excited to know that things are progressing nicely!!! There's no way to know when the baby'll be born, but I'll take any progress I can get!!! I'll keep you posted if anything changes... but as of now, no contractions, just bloody show and the passing of the plug... Fun times!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations Devinder and Reesh!!!!!!!!!

Devinder and Reesh welcomed baby Lily into the world this morning at 4 am. You can read Devinder's description of the birth, which sounds utterly amazing!!!!!!!!!!! :) Congratulations to you both, and Welcome Baby Lily!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

37 weeks

I cannot believe that I'm 37 weeks today. Time has flown by, and at the same time, it has crawled. Especially lately, it feels as if this pregnancy will never end. But I must keep reminding myself that the child cannot stay inside forever. :) It's so exciting to daily log on to my fellow Preggie bloggers, and see how they're doing. Cathy just had her baby, welcome to the world Tyler Reesh is in early laborjust had her baby, welcome to the world Lily, Kristin is almost there, Mrs. Mogul hopes to pop her little human out next week, Liza is so close to labor she can feel it, and Avorie is where I am... Braxton Hicks and all.

There are so many other pregnant bloggers out there, but those are the ones that are so close... so, so, SO close. We're all due within the next several weeks (or days even!) so this should be some fun, fun reading. :) It's so wonderful to be able to read about other women experiencing the same things that I am. Especially since moving up to NoVa, because we haven't really had a chance to plug in to the local social scene (translation: we have no friends here). But somehow, even though I hardly know them, it feels as though I have some of the closest friends in the world, if only because they understand what I'm going through, and these friends live all over the country. Isn't it wonderful?!

Anyways... so 37 weeks is considered full term. Thing is, I know better now than to get my hopes up that this chid is coming early. My due date is February 21 and that's what I'm aiming for (or afterwards). Anything before will be a pleasant surprise. I am, however, very ready for Shepherd to be born. I have started that uncomfortable phase that most women talk about. Until now, I've had a wonderfully comfortable and great pregnancy. But now? I'm big... REALLY big... and my hips hurt in the mornings, my feet itch like crazy, my ankles swell to the size of softballs... but I know I really shouldn't complain. This is all part of the natural process of bringing a child into the world.

Shepherd, I cannot wait to meet you... whenever you're ready, mommy is ready to... until then, I'll just stare at the only picture I have of you and wait... wait until the day I can hold you in my arms and look into your beautiful face and fall in love with you ALL over again...

Crazy itching Feet...

Do any of you other pregnant ladies out there have this incredible itching in your feet? I do. And it's not a rash or anything... the only thing I can attribute it to is swelling, but man-alive does it itch!!! The worst part? Trying to scratch them when you can hardly bend over your 9 month pregnant belly....

(Just a note... these aren't my feet... hahaha!!! I can't get a good picture of my feet, so yeah.. it's a borrowed image. Sorry for the confusion!)

Congratulations Mike and Cathy!!!!!!!

Cathy over at My Firt Pregnancy and her husband Mike welcomed baby Tyler into the world last week. Mike has posted a picture of the little guy.... Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thinking...

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck? and How many peppers did Peter Piper pick? Did Susie really sell seashells down by the seashore? Just wondering because inquiring minds want to know.

Updated to add:

Forrest and I found this tongue twister this morning, and laughed, and laughed and laughed. Of course, we were tired, and silly, but still.....

Pheasant Plucker
I am not a pheasant plucker,
But a pheasant plucker's son.
I am only plucking pheasants
'Til the pheasant plucker comes.

That's it....

I'm no longer posting when I have contractions. It seems the moment I post something about them, I quit having contractions. I have decided that from here on out, I'm planning (as I should have been for weeks now) for the baby to come on his original due date, February 21. No more, "oh the baby dropped, it'll be early!" or "I'm 1 cm, that's progress!" junk. I'm just leaving it to nature to bring my baby, and if it comes early, great, but I'm not holding my breath.

Anyways, we didn't see the movie. I was just too uncomfortable, and there were SOOOOOOOOOO many people at the theater. I think a matinee tomorrow will be much better anyways. :) So right now, we're just hanging out, enjoying one another's company. :) Hope you guys have a great weekend....

Contract, Contract, and Come on Out!!!

Starting at 4 am, I've had semi-regular contractions all day long. They kind of tapered off this afternoon, but they're back. Forrest and I are going to see a movie, because this sitting at home and timing the contractions or just even FOCUSING on them is driving me batty. :) We'll post if anything changes

Fun with MadLibs... A Tale of the Wicked _________ (female noun)

Okay, for a little fun, I thought I'd let you guys fill in the blanks. Let me know what your word choices for the following were, so I can get a good chuckle from them.

Female Noun:
Adjective:
Adjective:
Body Part:
Noun:
Favorite bad word/noun:
Male Noun:
Noun:
Noun, plural:
_____________________________________________

A Tale of the Wicked __________(female noun)

Today, I went and had lunch w/ my wonderful husband. Yes, yes... I drove into the District, with all the traffic, protesters, and all (yes, there were protesters, with big yellow sandwich boards, and they walked in circles... which, WHY!?! cirlcles!?! gah!) Anyways, back to lunch. We decided that since he likes Sushi, and I don't (plus, I couldn't if I wanted to) we'd go to Whole Foods because they have an awesome hot bar and kickin' sushi (according to Forrest). We got our food and went to sit down. Being lunch time, as expected, the place was packed. My first annoyance was the two men sitting down at a table not eating, just writing. I mean... seriously, we have food to eat, could you not find somewhere else to go to write? A Starbucks across the street perhaps?! So, we stood there, waiting. I noticed a couple getting ready to get up, and so I pointed their direction and we started making our way over there. And here is where we enter the most unbelievably evil, wicked ________ (adjective) of a woman into our story.

She beelines it past us, and grabs a seat. All she is holding is a coffee. A COFFEE! Forrest, ever so, so, so politely points out to her that we were waiting for a long time for a seat, and that she just totally cut in front of us. She looks blankly at him, and said, "Well, I've been waiting too." In the most ______(adjective) voice I've ever heard. And I tore out her ______(body part). (not really, but hey, a girl can dream, eh?) She sits there, looking at Forrest, then looking at me...

Y'all... I'm 9 months pregnant. Seriously. I mean, Exhibit A:

Is there any possible way I do NOT look pregnant? Hmmm? Hmmm?? I didn't think so.

So I give her the death stare, to which she takes a nice long sip of her coffee, and sits there like a ______(noun) on a log. I proceeded to call her a ________ (favorite noun/bad word) and turned away. (Actually, I only muttered a word under my breath because I'm too nice to yell bad words at people). Her __________(male noun)/boyfriend sat down shortly after that with HIS coffee. At that point, some nice men at the bar noticed us standing there, and they were finished eating, just wrapping up their conversation, so they stood up, and let us sit down. Actually, another man grabbed one of the two seats, and so I sat down, while Forrest stood. 2 minutes later? THE ________(noun) and her man STOOD UP AND LEFT WHOLE FOODS! I am not lying... they sat there for a total of 5 minutes. DRINKING COFFEE! So here I am, 9 months pregnant, perched on a BAR STOOL, and these ________(noun, plural) were enjoying a nice, comfy table with chairs that have backs. Asshats. *sigh* (many thanks to Chris for introducing that word to me, I may have to thank him by purchasing one of these)
_______________________________________________________

Anyways, after that little episode, our lunch was wonderful. (Oh, oh, oh, A CONTRACTION!!!! just as I write this... SCORE!) :) I always forget how much fun it is to drive into the District and see all the cute rowhouses that we'll never be able to afford... but I dream we can afford them and pick out the ones I want to live in,Exhibit B:



Then, after lunch, I went to Target to walk around the baby section. I scored some cute, adorable little outfits and some extra diapers because if what y'all say is true, and baby's go through 10 diapers a day, that means one package of Huggies will last me 4 days. Is this really true? 10 diapers a day? I mean, I'm aware they poop and pee a lot, but this much? I'm in for the ride of my life, eh? :)

So now I'm home again, and I just had a pretty good contraction. Let's see if I have a follow up one, or if that was just a teaser. I'll update y'all later tonight!!!!

And then there were none....

As if someone has flipped the off switch on my body, the contractions have stopped. Turns out Avorie's little girl has done the same to her. How about this? Avorie, my son challenges your daughter to a dual... who can exit first? :) Maybe if we motivate them to "head out" by racing one another, they might get things moving again. What do ya say!? :)
______________________________________________________

My nerves are seriously frayed, y'all. It's one thing to have contractions and go into labor. It's another to have contractions that go nowhere... when you want them to go into labor. I feel excited everytime I contract, like maybe tonight will be the night... and yet, a little guilty for wishing my son to be born earlier than 37 weeks. I don't think this makes me a bad mother (although I feel like it sometimes), but I think it's more indicative of my feelings on being pregnant. I'm TIRED of it. There are things I can do when I'm not pregnant... normal things... like BEND OVER!!! SLEEP!!! CUDDLE!!! all that and much much more. I joked around with Forrest last night that I wanted to go walking, but we ended up just hanging out, with me occasionally standing up and jumping up and down screaming, "GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!" hahahaha... just kidding about the screaming, although that'd make for some funny blog material. I did occasionally whisper to Shepherd that if he came out, I'd give him a cookie. Which of course, doesn't work, because he's getting his cookies now. As I eat them, he's enjoying them, so that bribe didn't work too well either. I really hope that Shepherd realizes that the Super Bowl is next weekend, and if he'd like to see it, he'd better start heading out so he's not stuck in a grubby hospital room to watch the Steelers kill the Seahawks. We'll see....

Pampering

Today, I'd just about had it. The contractions were completely irregular, and quieting down, I was tired of laying around the house, and determined to get this child out of me! So what'd I do? I went and got a manicure and a pedicure, so when my legs are sprawled up in the air, I have pretty toenails to look at. :) Then, I went and mailed a ton of thank-you notes, then went and walked around Babies-R-Us for as long as I could handle it... then those puppies came back, so I'm back at home, enjoying a tall glass of milk, and more cookies than I should ever consume in a lifetime... :) Yummmmmmm.... I figure I'm going to go pop in my Friends, Season 5 DVD, and enjoy me some good TV. :)

And then, there were none....

...well, not "none", but not as many as last night. I slept pretty good last night, only waking a few times in the peak of a contraction. Then this morning, they picked up a little again, but then died off. They have, however, seemed to have settled in much lower down and around in my back, so that lets me know that these are more like the real thing, even though they're pretty spread apart today. I've got a few things to do today so I can take my mind off the contractions (and maybe even work up some new ones by moving around). So that should be fun... I'll update as soon as anything changes.

Totally forgot to tell y'all...

Today, I had my 36 week checkup. We were going through the motions, I went and peed in the cup, came back, the nurse called my name, and then weighed me. I've never met this nurse before, but she's SUPER careful to get the EXACT weight right. Normally, they just push it until it looks like it's gonna balance and write that down. No, this woman sat there for a good 3 minutes getting the thing to balance just right. Then... horrors of horrors... SHE READ MY WEIGHT OUT LOUD FOR THE WHOLE WORLD TO HEAR!!!!!! I wanted to kill her. I can read, lady.... I see that my weight is very high, much higher than I ever wanted it... and THANK YOU!!!!!! for telling the world how heavy I am. If that wasn't the worst part, when we got back to the exam room, she was like, "So.... you're 35 weeks and 6 days?" To which I looked blankly back at her and said, "Um, No... check again... I'm 36 weeks and 1 day." stupid woman. At that, she checked her little wheelie thingy that tells her how many weeks and days I am, AS IF I DON'T KNOW HOW FAR ALONG I AM!!!! I'm down to counting the HOURS you nimwhit, you think I'd LIE about how far I am?! *rolls eyes* Thankfully, the rest of the appointment went smoothly, and everything checked out normally. :)

Update on the contractions? Yeah, they're strong little boogers, and they're coming about every 5 minutes, but not so strong I can't talk through them..... yet. Supposedly that's when I'm to call my doctor, so we'll see. My luck, these puppies will abate come bedtime, and it's back to ground zero for tomorrow. We'll let you know....

Please tell the crazy pregnant lady to stop... UPDATED!!!

Y'all, Y'all, Y'all.... I can't stop. I don't think it's nesting (although my ridiculously clean kitchen speaks for itself). I cannot stop making cookies!!!!!!! It's like some crazy lady broke into my head, and felt the sudden impulse to make homemade chocolate chip cookies. And they had to be perfect. And stacked neatly onto a cute little plate. I do have to say, though, that these are the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made in my life. Hands down. They are the type of cookies I always strive to make, but somehow fail miserably, and wind up eating the second half of the batter. This time? I made the entire batch. Want some cookies? We got loads of them!!!

I think it's mostly a ploy to get my mind off of the contractions I've been having all afternoon. No they don't hurt (yet) but they are becoming increasingly more uncomfortable. Thank goodness Forrest gets off work at 5. It takes him an hour to get home. AN HOUR, Y'all!!!!!!!!! (notice my southern accent, y'all... gee golly goodness I feel like I'm back in Mayberry. (for those of you who didn't know, I grew up just 30 min. south of Mayberry/Mt. Airy)).

So... anyone who's had a baby before tell me, will I really know when to go to the hospital or when to call my doctor? Because it seems so incredibly silly to sit here and time every stinkin' contraction when I know they aren't the "big ones" because they barely hurt? Actually...I should clarify. I have a relatively high tolerance for pain, so my definition of "hurt" doesn't always jive w/ the doctors and their "on a scale from one to ten" pain scale (I hate that scale and the dumb pictures that go with it). The "pain" I've had is more along the lines of monthly menstruel cramps. I've had 12 years of experience with these puppies, and that's exactly what it feels like.

Anyways... moving on.... What else have I occupied my time with? TLC's a Baby Story, sleep, baking cookies, grocery shopping (which I quickly realized I couldn't haul half the crap up the 2 flights of stairs to our apartment, so I only brought in the perishables... Forrest can get the rest). Speaking of groceries (see? completely random tangent thoughts... meant only to distract me from the bit*$ of a contraction I'm having)... has anyone ever had their groceries delivered? Because locally, there's this store that will deliver your groceries. Too bad it's not my favorite store, and that store only does pick-up. Which is still nice, but you have to carry your groceries in yourself. Just wondering if any of you have experience w/ the grocery delivery and could relate to me how it works for you/doesn't work for you.

Well.. I'm off to finish my last batch of cookies. I'll try to keep y'all posted on the progress!!

(By the way, I have totally forgotten to thank Matthew for kindly writing me an e-mail explaining how to edit the html links on my site. I've gone a little nuts in this post w/ the links, and have only him to thank! :) Thanks Matt... hope you find that booger picker you need!)

Updated 6:45 pm: Please, please, please make me stop. I just finished making a HUGE batch of chicken salad. More than Forrest and I can eat alone. Is God nudging me to fix a feast for the family when they come visit for the birth of my son? Surely it won't be THAT soon (or will it?!). All I know is there's a honkin' BIG bowl of chicken salad that's yummy-licious in my fridge... and no way both Forrest and I can clean it up on our own. What's next?! Potato Salad.... hmmmmmmmm.... must..... fight.... urges..... GAH!!!!!!!!!!!

Fun while dodging contractions....

Yes, Yes, you read the title correctly. The doctors seem to have officially declared me "full term" and won't stop the contractions anytime soon. Thankfully, they aren't completely regular, but there have been a few that I'd label "biaches" simply because they were very uncomfortable. In the meantime, I'm finding ways to distract myself.

The other day I went to Chris's site, and read his post on the top ten trivia tips about Rude Cactus, and learned that tradition allows women to propose to Rude Cactus only during leap years. Then, I went to Mr. Big Dubya's site today, and learned that the condom was originally made from Mr. Big Dubya. As disturbing as all of that may seem, I decided to see for myself what the top ten trivia tips about Two Pink Lines was...

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Two Pink Lines!

1. Michelangelo finished his great statue of Two Pink Lines in 1504, after eighteen months work.
2. Women shoplift four times more frequently than Two Pink Lines.
3. Never store Two Pink Lines at room temperature.
4. Ninety-six percent of all candles sold are purchased by Two Pink Lines.
5. In the 1600s, tobacco was frequently prescribed to treat headaches, bad breath and Two Pink Lines.
6. Abraham Lincoln, who invented Two Pink Lines, was the only US president ever granted a patent!
7. Two Pink Lines will always turn right when leaving a cave!
8. Two Pink Lines is incapable of sleep!
9. Two Pink Lines was first grown in America by the grandmother Maria Ann Smith, from whom her name comes!
10. By tradition, a girl standing under Two Pink Lines cannot refuse to be kissed by anyone who claims the privilege!

I am interested in - do tell me aboutherhimitthem

I particularly like number 8 because it is SO true. And if anyone is interested in buying some candles... let me know :)

36 weeks

Today officially marks the 36th week of my pregnancy. I know, and you know, that full term consists of at least 37 weeks. Our little man, Shepherd, doesn't seem to get that. My hunch is that he was so excited about the Steelers winning on Sunday, he's trying to make a run for it so he can watch them in person for the Super Bowl. Forrest's step-dad is currently trying to convince us to change Shepherd's middle name to Ben or Roethlisberger or perhaps to knickname Shepherd "The Bus". We even got the cutest little onsie in the mail from Cathy and Jim yesterday... for next year of course, but it's a Steelers outfit... :) And they sent a bib, which he WILL wear for the Super Bowl if he comes that early.

I had planned on writing an incredibly witty post about some of the funny things that happened to us last night at the hospital, but for some reason, I can muster up any wit today. All I know is that the whole experience has made me more confident in myself for delivery, and has brought me incredible strength in knowing that Forrest will be by my side the whole time. We make one heck-uva team, y'all. :) I was so relaxed that at one point, I was laughing so hard, tears were streaming down my face, and I simply couldn't stop laughing... just because Forrest was there. :) Well, that and the self-proclaimed "short-fingered" nurse was trying to do yet another pelvic exam on the girl in the room next to us, and gave the same shpeel about having short fingers and not being able to feel the cervix. Seriously, nurse? Don't be stickin' your fingers in our girly bits if you know you have short fingers. And plus? It doesn't help to jam your hand even harder up there... seriously... just get someone else to check me please? I shouldn't have laughed when it was the woman next door's turn, but I got tickled when I heard the nurse say, "I just wish I had longer fingers". Y'all, do you know what happens when you laugh while attached to a fetal monitor? Everytime my stomach moved w/ laughter, there was this scratchy sound from the heart-rate monitor, and the contraction monitor would spike up and down. I tried so hard to stop laughing, but it's like when you get the giggles in church and you know you shouldn't laugh, so you try to stop... but it's impossible, because suddenly, it's hilarious that you're even laughing, so you begin laughing at yourself for laughing... and it's a vicious cycle. I almost had to ask Forrest to leave, because as soon as I'd almost stop laughing, I'd look at him, and he'd be giggling, and I'd simply melt and start laughing all over again. Anyways... after this, they wanted me to give a nice urine sample for them to check out, so I waddled across the hall, with Forrest hissing at me to close the back of my gown. I totally did not hear him, and totally forgot that the gown? opens in the back... so yep, all those other dad's waiting on their pregnant wives got the FULL MOON last night. :) When I returned to the room, Forrest told me he'd been hissing at me to close my gown, and informed me that I just mooned the entire triage area... to which I shrugged, and said, Big Whoop.

But seriously, y'all. I can't tell you how much confidence this gave me. I know that I'll be able to handle anything that comes our way because last night was prime time to freak out, and we didn't. Just one more week little man... one more week! One more week and you can make your way out and into our world. Until then, just cook a little longer, get fat, and try not to kick mommy's bladder so much.

What a night...

Tonight around 6, I noticed my contractions were starting to be regular, and about 5 minutes apart. They weren't hurting so much as they were uncomfortable. Forrest got home around 6:30, and I asked if he wanted to go get dinner at Moe's (burrito place in Falls Church). My contractions still weren't letting up, but I wondered if maybe some activity would make them subside. All during dinner, they were still happening, and I realized it'd been an hour and a half. So I called my doctor, who suggested we head to the hospital to make sure I wasn't in pre-term labor.

Got to the hospital, checked in and all that jazz, and they led us down to triage. They hooked me up to a fetal heartbeat monitor and a contraction monitor. At first, the lady put the monitor up way too high and it didn't read diddly-squat, even though I was having some contractions. Secondly, she placed me almost flat on my back, and I was not comfortable at ALL. Finally, I managed to convince her to move the thingy down, and I attempted to get into a comfortable position. About that time, my contractions started showing up on the monitor... every 5 minutes like I'd been feeling (up until that point, I was worried it was all in my head, and that I was the crazy lady who cried "Wolf"). They called my doctor who said it was too early for me to go into labor, so they gave me a shot of Terbutaline to stop the contractions. It promptly halted them, which was good.

We're home for now, and I'm dead tired. I had plans on telling you all these funny stories about the trip to the hospital, but I'm just too exhausted. For now, here's a list for you (more for me) so I can expound upon these thoughts later on.

-Hospital Gowns
-Nurses w/ self-proclaimed "short-fingers"
-Contraction spikes when said nurse does internal exam
-What happens when you laugh while hooked to the fetal monitor
-How impossible it is to stop laughing when you find out what happens
-How incredibly AWESOME Forrest was during the whole time, and how calm he kept me
-Eavesdropping on the nurses and what they're talking about w/ other patients
-Watching other women's contractions on the monitor
-Ice chips and my dreams of having snow cream syrup to put on them
-much more, that's all I can remember for now...

So tune in tomorrow, when I may have a more coherent, witty commentary on our trip to the hospital!! :)

Almost 36 weeks...

After our nesting on Saturday, we sat down to watch the NC State vs. Wake Forest basketball game. (Go Pack!!!) Somewhere during the last 10 minutes or so, I started to feel... weird. I honestly can't describe it, but it was like my back hurt, but not sharp pains... and my abdomen hurt, but not sharp pains. I couldn't put my finger on it, and just chalked it up to indigestion or something.

Sunday, we woke up to go to church. Before we left, I noticed I was having some cramping down low. The cramping would start in my back, and work it's way around to my front. I told Forrest I just didn't feel comfortable enough to drive all the way to our church (45 minutes) and be that far from home if something were to happen. So, I laid down on our couch, and began timing the "contraction-ish" types of pains. They were coming every 20 minutes, but they weren't too painful as long as I remembered to breathe through them. I ended up falling asleep doing this. I woke up about an hour later, and moved back to the bedroom where I slept some more. I made a decision at that point to stay in bed or on the couch the rest of the day because, I'm not quite 36 weeks yet, and I want this baby to be as healthy as possible!! The rest of the day went smoothly, and we watched Pittsburg whalloop Denver, and then the Seahawks cream Carolina (*pout*). We watched a totaly of 6 1/2 hours of football, so it's no wonder that all I dreamed about last night was football and having a baby.

Another thing that has developed has been the increase in my trips to the bathroom. I can almost set my watch to it. Every hour, I have to get up and go. No exceptions. Last night, it was 10:45, 11:45, 12:45, 1:45, 2:45, 3:45, 4:45, and amazingly, I missed the 5 o'clock hour, and woke at 6:05 am. Do you know how incredibly frustrating that can be when you're pregnant? You have to roll out of bed, waddle to the bathroom (which hurts because monster-baby is sittting directly on my pelvic bone), and then waddle back to bed, crawl back in bed...I am SO tired of getting up to use the bathroom, I'm seriously considering buying some Depends... or at least begging the doctor for a catheter or something!!! I can't wait for the day that I can sleep for 2 hours without having to run to the bathroom immediately when I wake up.

Anyways, this post hasn't been the most coherent post. Perhaps it's because I feel like a walking zombie without much sleep. I'm gonna go back to bed folks...

Nesting

Today was a good day.

Today, we cleaned.

Today, I realized I was nesting.

We woke up this morning, and I nearly leapt out of bed (not quite... more like, moaned, groaned, grimaced, and inched my way out of bed because this child? monster-baby? is already engaged, and very, VERY low). We made a list of things that I wanted done today (because I can't do everything). Forrest hauled out the trash, loaded up the Goodwill stuff into one of the cars, swept and mopped the kitchen floor (we won't even go into how filthy it was). He also put the baby's car-seat into the back seat of our car. I washed dishes, cleaned the stove, cleaned the kitchen, put together the high chair, finished writing out directions to the hospital for Forrest to type up, vacuumed the house.... oh, wait, let's delve into a little detail about the vacuuming.

If any of you out there have a bagless vacuum cleaners know that the filters on these puppies? gets pretty nasty. I haven't cleaned the filter on ours out in, well... ever! So, I decided that today, was a perfect day for cleaning the filter. Folks, I wish I'd thought to take a picture of the thing before and after because.... *gag* I spent 30 minutes using a chopstick scraping out the dust and gunk out of the thing. Forrest walked by several times and called me a crazy lady for spending as much time as I did cleaning the thing out. Thing is, it was very, VERY satisfying... in a very disturbing way. I simply could not stop cleaning that filter for the life of me. So I cleaned that sucker till there wasn't a thing of dust left in it. Then I proceeded to do the most anal vacuum job I've ever done. (on reflection, maybe I should find another way to word "anal vacuum job" because... ew!).

Our house is spotless right now. I believe I'm ready for the baby to come now. Just, we need to wait 10 more days until I'm at least 37 weeks. Bummer. Hopefully, I'll find a way to pass the time. Any tips on passing time would be greatly appreciated!!

And Cue the Cravings!

Sitting here, around 3:30 today, I had this intense craving for no-bake oatmeal and peanut butter cookies (or as my family calls them, Preacher Cookies). I made a special trip to the store for sugar and oatmeal, and just finished a batch of cookies... and let me just tell you..... DIVINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Sidenote: The reason they call them Preacher Cookies? When the preacher stops by and you don't have anything to offer him, you can make these up really quick. My mom's had this recipe for YEARS....)

Preacher Cookies

2 cups sugar
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup cocoa powder

-Bring to rolling boil, and boil for 3 minutes.
-Remove from heat and add:

3 cups quick oats
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla

-Mix well, and spoon out onto wax paper for cooling.