No, your eyes do not decieve you. I am back, however briefly.

To catch up:
I'm still pregnant & I've popped. No, my belly button has not gone all Purdue timer on me. I mean that (seemingly) overnight I have a pregnant lady belly. It was the strangest thing - one day I was checking myself out in the mirror, wondering who this heavier version of me was, then the next I'm all like hey there baby belly. Mostly I'm feeling good, but I was down for the count for several days due to lower back pain that wouldn't quit. Oh, how I long for the days when I could just take 2 little Aleve for any old ache & pain or when I could drink myself to sleep. Good times...good times. Bodily functions are all very dramatic - I'm HUNGRY, rather than hungry. I NEED TO GO TO SLEEP OR REST, rather than being a little tired. I HAVE TO PEE - that one you just have to get the hell out of the way for. I pee every 1/2 hour to 45 mins...if I sleep through the night it's a miracle. I don't even have to be fully awake to scuffle downstairs and take a leek then right back put my cold hands and feet on Blixx.

Feeling the baby move is a real trip. When it first started I wasn't sure if it was the baby or gas bubbles. As time has progressed, I can definately tell the difference. She (98% sure it's a girl from ultrasound - no amnio needle-in-the-where-now for me) gets really active if I have caffiene, or forget to eat for a few hours or am trying to lay down and relax. Blixx has been able to feel her too...the smile on his face was priceless. The past few days she's been moving around non-stop! My MD says that I'll miss it when she's not an inny any more. Next MD visit is the sugar test and I'm concerned that I'll have gestational diabetes...my sugar level was slightly elevated this last visit and I took great care to have a particlarly healthy breakfast before I went in...my fat cousin had diabetes with her pregnancy and it's on the list of things wrong with my grandmother too. I really hope that I won't have to go on a no-sugar diet...eating all the fruits and veggies and grains I'm supposed to have is already getting to me. Blixx will have to do all the shopping so that no boxed of Milano's get snuck in.

Speaking of my grandmother, her health is failing. She's on oxygen 100% of the time now, and her doctor thinks she's bleeding internally due to cancer. Nanny fiercly refused to go into surgery again. She also fights with the nurses and has been written up by the hursing home staff several times for her language and throwing things. She's not healty, but she's as mean as ever.

Still unemployed and it looks like it's going to stay that way for a while. I've broken the sloth habit by being sure to set an alarm every day so that I'm not wasting away in bed. Every day I make sure to get something done, be it a pesky domestic chore or getting the nursery all set. We made HUGE progress there this weekend...the room is cleared. I type to you from what used to be the guest room, and is now the office. Blixx is working most of this week (friggin finally biz is picking up!!!!) so I'm going to tackle painting with the assistance of the poor sap who asks "Can I help you?" at Home Depot.

Blixx is camping this weekend - yep, winter camping. No...thanks. Then I think a bunch of folks are going skiing for the day on Sunday or Monday, so I'll have some time to kill. Strange that he's been home almost every day for a month and now I won't see him for a week. I long for a 'normal' schedule. My mother is up my ass about planning the baby shower. She wants me to have input, then gets mad when I haven't researched any places in the 12 hours between phone calls. I really didn't think it was such a high priority, but she is looking to put on a good show, since (and she reminds me of this constantly) we ran away to get married and denied her the thrill of hosting a party, she's looking for something formal and expensive. Right now, she's tentatively booked the Publick House in Sturbridge MA, and we're getting together later this week to look at some other places out there. She is intensely not keen about my Mohegan Sun idea. Drat!

The baby says its time to eat again, so I'm off.