What not to say to a pregnant woman with 9 weeks left to go...

...and how I wish I could respond to such inappropriately annoying comments...  (forgive me in advance for ranting.)

Comment #1:  Upon hearing my due date: "You're so big!"

Dream Response #1:  Gee, thanks.  Thanks for reminding me that I already feel like a whale, and I have NINE MORE WEEKS TO GROW!  And for the record, I'm not actually that big.  You should have seen me with my other two children, particularly the one that came out weighing 10 pounds.  THAT was big.  This is not.

Comment #2:  "You look like you're ready to pop!"

Dream Response #2:  Really?  That's nice, except that I'm nowhere near my due date.  I have NINE MORE WEEKS TO GO!  If you think I look ready to pop now, what do you think I'm going to look like then?  Does this mean I have to spend the next nine weeks looking like I'm ready to pop?  And what exactly does "ready to pop" mean?  My stomach is going to randomly explode and a baby is going to pop out?  Gee, what a pleasant thought.  Thanks, but no thanks.  (In case you can't tell, I absolutely HATE this comment.  It's a real conversation killer, too.  Exactly how is someone supposed to respond to this?!)

I'm sure there are more things that people have said to me that they really shouldn't have, but these are two that I heard yesterday at church that really drove me crazy.  I've also decided that I need to wear a sign that says, "No, we did not find out if it's a boy or a girl."  Not that it's rude for people to ask if we know or not, I'm just getting really sick of talking about it.  I should be thankful for something to make small talk about since I hate making small talk so much, but it does get tiring to have to say the same thing over and over again.

Some further remarks:  If you've ever said one of these two comments to a pregnant woman or even just wanted to say it, please reconsider your words.  What I find interesting is that both these comments came from women with children, so theoretically they would know how it feels to be pregnant and huge and not really wanting to be reminded of one's large girth.  Something more appropriate to say would be, "You look great!" (even if she doesn't...)  Pregnant women have enough issues with the way they look.  Please don't contribute to these issues by making ridiculous comments about their size and reminding them of just how big they might be.

Stepping down off my soap box...  Until the next annoying comment...

Third Trimester

Third trimester is kicking my butt.  I don't remember noticing this much of a difference in my fatigue level with my other pregnancies, although that could be because my iron levels are apparently quite low this time around.  Seriously, there are days I can barely make it up the stairs, and of course, those are usually the days I end up having to go up and down them two or three times in a row because I keep forgetting something up there.  Even now, I can barely keep my eyes open at the keyboard, and I'm pretty sure I slept fairly well last night.  How long is it supposed to take for me to notice that the iron supplements are working?

I'm having a hard time thinking of anything else particularly interesting to say.  I'm really only posting because it's been over two weeks since I posted last, and I was starting to feel like if I don't post something soon, it's just going to keep getting harder to find something to say.  You might start ending up with a whole bunch of boring pregnancy updates. 

That said, we're down to single digit weeks until my due date.  Gah!  I'm so not ready.  I still need to get Kaylee out of the crib and into a bed before the baby comes, more because I don't want to make that transition after the baby is here than that we need the crib, although that's a bit of it, too.  I have to go through my boxes of baby clothes to dig out the newborn stuff.  The only reason I have newborn diapers in the house is because Kaylee was so big when she was born that she didn't fit them, so I still have half a package from when she was a baby!

Well, that's about the end of what I can think of to say, so I'm going to go now.

One of those days

Today is one of those days. 

And it's only 7:30 in the morning.

The kids were up at quarter after six after another long night of interrupted sleep.  We've been dealing with a miserable cold/cough for a number of days now, and I've lost track of how many nights in a row I haven't slept for longer than two hour chunks at a time before being woken by one or other of the kids crying out in their sleep because their nose is plugged or running or they're coughing and it hurts.  In fact, a two hour chunk of time to sleep sounds glorious right about now because some nights it's been every hour, if not every 15 minutes.

I'm tired.  And I'm cranky.  And I don't know how much longer the Vitamin C I've been religiously taking is going to be able to keep me from getting sick, too.

But the sun is shining in glorious from the window in the front entranceway.  It slants through the living room and casts a beam of light over the dining room table where I'm sitting.  It's brightness brings warmth to my heart and hope for the day.

And it reminds me to focus my gaze on the true Light, that one who (once again) is going to be the strength that gets me through the day because, by golly, I sure can't do this on my own.

I'm tired.  But He is my strength.

I'm cranky.  But He is my joy.

We're all fighting a nasty cold.  But He is the Healer.

Thanks be to God for providing all I need and being all that I need.  Because today is just one of those days.