My Belly {31 weeks}

{Once again totally blanked on the photo...whoops!}

that's the best I got. sorry!

This week has been a little tough, I've been sick the past few days and have literally had NO energy. I don't know if I'm just wiped out from my trip, if it's part of the brutal cold I caught or if this is what the end of pregnancy feels like. Nonetheless, I am starting to feel a little better and am hoping my energy returns SOON, though I'm not holding my breath. 

I follow a fun mama blog called Alpha Mom, and she does hilarious week-by-week pregnancy blurbs and I thought this week's was incredibly fitting for me: 

Your Baby:

• Enjoys yawning, sucking his or her thumb, kicking mom in the diaphragm.
• Turn-offs include: getting the hiccups, really loud noises and you trying to do all that boring “sleeping” at night.

You:

• Can totally round down your answer to “two months” when people ask you how much longer you have to go. DO NOT focus on the crazy week-to-month-ratio math at this point in pregnancy, particularly when there are breakable, smashy objects within reach.
• May be weirdly and inexplicably congested all the time. I, for one, appear to be allergic to my pillow. This is also prime time for pregnancy colds, as the toll on your body and immune system is getting higher by the week. Take it easy, slow down, take your vitamins and try try try to get enough sleep.
• Can now play everybody’s favorite game, Guess The Body Part That’s Sticking Out Next To My Belly Button! Elbow or heel? Head or butt? Did I seriously just maybe feel my baby’s BIG TOE?

Nugget this week...

*is going through major brain development 

*her irises now react to light

*all five senses are in working order

via thebump & babycenter

Size of the baby?  
Somewhere around 16 inches long and around THREE pounds! Holy Smokes!

Total Weight Gain/Loss?  
I've gained 23.6 pounds and I'm already looking forward to working this off after bambino arrives!

Maternity Clothes?  
Still a mix...I have a pair of preggo jeans, a couple preggo dresses and tanks but other than that it's all non-preg stuff.

Stretch marks?  
Still stretch mark free.

Best Moments?  
My brother got to feel the baby move for the first time. She was squirming like crazy so I put his hand on my belly and then she kicked or head-butted or booty-dropped like none other! The look on my brother's face was priceless. Nugget loves her Uncle Pie.

Movement? 
My oh my! YES!

Food Cravings?  
Sweets!

Anything making you queasy or sick? 
STILL not eating meat.

What I miss?  
Sleeping on my stomach.

Nausea/Vomiting?  
Nope.

Symptoms? 
Back pain. Fatigue. Shortness of breath. Giant belly. Getting kicked in all sorts of uncomfortable places. Squished bladder.

Labor signs?  
Nope! Keep cookin' lil one!

Gender? 
BABY GIRL. 

Belly Button In or Out?
Still an innie despite being super stretched out and shallow.

Wedding rings On or Off?  
These bad boys are still on! My fingers get swollen when I go on walks...otherwise I'm not having any issues keeping them on.

Sleep?
Pretty much the same, it takes me a bit to get comfortable but then I'm dead to the world.

What I'm looking forward to? 
Meeting with a potential pediatrician next week and going to my breastfeeding class with Beeb.

Labor Day Weekend!

When I found out that I was pregnant I knew that there was no way I could go on the trip to Vegas for the Gopher's season opener that Jason and I had been planning since the game was announced years before. 100 degree heat? Wasted people? Skinny girls in bikinis? 

Sounds like a pregnant woman's worst nightmare. 

{also sounds like the husband of a pregnant woman's dream! i really should not have let Jason go.}
Because it was a group of boys on the trip...there are little to no photos, but here are a couple of gems I received throughout the weekend. 

I watched the game from the comfort of my dad's house.

It's not Vegas, but I couldn't complain.
OH, and the Gophers won! In triple overtime!
Woot.

Friday I was EXHAUSTED! I worked all day, then there was the thing with the snake and then I spent the evening doing laundry and packing.

Me deciding not to go on the Vegas trip worked out for the best because as it turned out my cousin, Stephanie, planned her wedding for the same weekend, AND I COULD GO! Stephanie and I are three months apart and spent many summers together at our grandparent's house in Colorado. We had the best time and my memories from those summers are some of the best in my life.

It had been SIX YEARS since I had seen Steph and I was beyond thrilled that I was going to be able to make it to Arkansas (where she, and my Aunt and Uncle live) for her big day. 

I left town Saturday morning and once I was safe in Arkansas my mom and I went out to lunch and then to my Aunt's salon for a little manicure/pedicure action.

That evening was the groom's dinner at my Aunt and Uncle's house.

The last single girl's kiss.

It was a great night filled with amazing food (all of which was cooked by the groom, who is a VERY talented cook), family and fun. 

Sunday morning my mom, step-dad and I went to the University of Arkansas campus to check it out. We went to the Razorback's stadium

 and my step-dad and I found our fraternity and sorority

 The AOTT house is GORGEOUS!

 After our mini-campus tour we went to Dixon Street which is sort of the "downtown" of campus and stopped in a couple fun little bars for a cocktail, a virgin Bloody Mary for me.

My mom and I spent the afternoon at our hotel's pool and then it was time for the wedding! 

Everything was so beautiful. Steph was married at the Pratt Inn which was gorgeous. 

It was an amazing weekend and I am SO happy I was able to be at my cousin's wedding. It was such a special day and it really meant a lot to be a part of all of it. 

Congrats Steph & Josh! 

The One with the Snake.

It was a typical Friday afternoon, I finished work and headed to my in-law's house to pick up Bailey (where she spends her days). Judye (my mother-in-law) greets me with a hug and says, "so guess what...."

I love my in-laws but they are pretty famous for weird shit happening to them so when someone says "so, guess what...." I get a little worried about what could possibly come next. She then tells me that my father-in-law, Kevin, is on his way home and a Channel 9 news crew is with him. Turns out Kevin was on his lunch break when he came across a giant snake crossing the road in a neighborhood surrounded by people who wanted to kill it. Naturally, Kevin decided he needed to save the snake. Kevin grabbed the snake, it wrapped around his arm, then he put it in a grocery bag and in his trunk. He then returned to work to get the snake a box and when he opened the trunk....it was gone! After some searching Kevin found the creature had crawled into a hole in the hood of his trunk. 

I'm a little unclear about what exactly what went on between then and the time I arrived at their house...but there were police involved and a new crew now following the story. 

I hadn't planned on sticking around to see this giant nasty snake, but Kevin got home right as I was about to leave...with the news crew. Now I was invested. Invested in the weirdest shit I have ever seen...and that is not an exaggeration. 

I stood in my in-law's front yard for two hours watching my father-in-law and his brother try to pry this snake out of the hood while my 13-year-old sister-in-law stood by with a fishing net (just in case) and a news crew filming the whole thing.

Finally, they freed the snake. It was disgusting. I hate snakes. But somehow I felt totally gratified and proud that the snake was free and still alive. The news peeps interviewed Kevin and sure enough at 9pm on Friday night there was my father-in-law, on the news, with the snake. 

Watch for yourself: 

Minneapolis News and Weather KMSP FOX 9

The whole thing was so strange. 

But it doesn't end there....people saw the news story and wrote in to the station asking what happened to the snake AND a lady offered to take the snake as a pet. Channel 9 did a follow up story (which sadly there isn't a video online) but the snake is safe and sound and no longer living with my in-laws. Thank God.