So this is what happens when I'm not here...

When I'm not here, apparently Reagan plays with her toys for 30 minutes or so and then passes out for about 30 minutes or so, then repeats. And the cats chase each other around and then give themselves baths while laying in the sun's rays shining in the window. What a life!

Me, I got up at about 8:15, fed Reagan, ate some chips (we don't have breakfast food right now), watched a lot of TV, and talked to several people in HR and wherever regarding my short term disability and the FMLA crap. Turns out, the information I was given about my short term disability was wrong. It's still not a bad deal what I'll end up getting, it just knocks about 2 weeks off what I expected. So, I'm hoping Martha comes 2 weeks early to make up for it! Ha ha. Yeah, I don't think that's going to happen.

I sure do hate dealing with crap like that.

Curses!

Money money money. Blah blah blah. There's never enough of it, is there?

Well, in order to avoid $600 worth of deferred interest on our Home Depot card that we used to purchase our new HVAC last summer, we have to pay off that CC by May. So that's something we're working on and are determined to do.

And then there's the whole lawn mower situation. The nice one we bought last summer went caput after Chris accidentally hit a piece of concrete that emerged on the "trash pile" side of our back yard last year. (We often find bottles and other trash items coming up from the ground over on that side.) It's obviously not covered under warranty, so that's a nice chunk of change down the drain. We've gotten 2 opinions from repair people and they both said that fixing it would cost just as much as buying a new one, so off to the store we go...

And, of course, we're planning the purchases of our last few items we need before Martha comes (helloooooo credit card), all while trying to keep a safe padding in our savings account for incidentals. Not to mention shelling out the moo-la that it actually costs to HAVE the baby. We're lucky we have amazing health insurance, but we still have to pay our dues.

Aaaaaanywhozers. It'll all work out one way or another. I just hate that it all comes at us at once. It's never one thing at a time. Oh wait, did I mention that our refrigerator is on it's last leg? It makes a loud nose when the cooling part shuts off. I hope it keeps up for at least 6 more months. Then I would feel ok letting it go.

Right, so I need to go take Chris's glasses off his face because he insists on falling asleep with them on and see if I can get Turtle out of the room and Reagan out from under the bed and into her crate.

Then, just maybe, I can try to find a semi-comfortable position to lay in long enough to fall asleep for at least 2 hours when I'll have to get up and pee.

Oh come on!

Man, I'm done. I'm tapping out. Waving a white flag. Throwing in the towel.

I cannot move an inch in any direction without pain. Even my flip flops are making indentions in my feet now. I just walked from my car to my desk, at a snails pace, and I'm out of breath.

Get this baby out of meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!

Listen, I'm over wanting a natural-letting nature start labor-birth. I don't care if they have to induce or do a c-section. I want to not be in pain anymore. I'm to my breaking point. This needs to be over. Now. Or someone please just knock me out for the next 5 weeks. For the love...

Weekends

First of all...I fully expect to have a very political blog to read from my Dad within the week. With the healthcare crap going on, I just wanted to say that.

So, when did weekends get so dang busy? I feel like there are a billion things I need/want to do and I spend most of my Saturday running all over the place and end up with SUPER DUPER aching feet by that evening. Then Sunday is spent trying to recuperate from Saturday, but I always end up doing more stuff I shouldn't be putting my body through at this -almost 9 months preggers- point in my life. There's just too much to do!!!

I don't think Chris believes me when I say this, but I really do hate that I'm not able to do a lot of the cleaning that I used to. My back hurts with every sweep of the broom and every dish I take out of the dishwasher. Trust me, I would love to be able to knock out all these easy things in a few minutes rather than have to ask Chris if he'll take care of it. It's really too much for one person to do. And honestly, I never minded cleaning out the litter boxes.

Anyway, I'm going to the doctor once a week now. Is it already at this point?! Dr. Carter says I'm measuring 3 weeks ahead. We'll do an ultrasound at one of my next few appointments if I'm still measuring that large. Either I've got a big girl, we caught her at a growth spurt, or there's just some extra fluid in there tricking us all. Whatever it is, I'd really love to get another ultrasound just to be able to see her one more time before she's here.

So, that's that.

Shower

My second (but largest) shower was on Sunday. Kimberly, Cyndi, and my Mom (I think she helped?) did such an awesome job with everything. I hope they know how much I appreciate all that they did to make it memorable. I'd add pictures on here, but I didn't bring my camera. I'll have to get some from other people that were more prepared than I was.

The abundance of clothes that Martha got was INSANE! I'd already collected quite a bit from stuff I'd bought on my own and stuff we were given at Christmas, so now it's like a pink and white bomb went off in her closet. So many cute things though. My mom said that we'll just have to put her in 3 outfits a day.

Along with all the clothes, I got so many other essentials that I am SO thankful for. Bottles, diapers, wipes, bathtub, lotions, baby wash, pacifiers, etc. I seriously can't even name it all here. It was so much stuff. And Martha's room right now is proof that she's going to be so super spoiled.

(Man, my puppy has CRAZY separation anxiety. She's whining so hard outside the office door right now.)

One crappy thing about the shower was that only 2 of Chris's relatives came. 2. It's just baffling that no one bothered to come. The past few times that we've seen his side of the family (the ones that live here, not in Florida), we've been told "Make sure we're invited to the shower!" Seriously, multiple times. Chris even talked to one of his aunts a few weeks ago and she said that they'd have at least 10 people from his side attending. WHAT HAPPENED?! Well, we heard from the 2 cousins that DID attend the shower that it's pretty common that things like that happen with them. Chris was pretty bummed. He even called his dad a few times to see what the heck happened to his step-mom not showing and, of course, his dad hasn't answered his calls, nor tried to call him back. That's typical Kevin for ya though. Now that I think of it, I don't know why I was so surprised that so few of Chris's family came. I will say that we did receive 2 gifts in the mail from a few people that either live too far to attend or are too old to make the trip out. I know for sure that his mom and grandma in Florida would have 100% been there if they could have taken the time and money to make the trip too. They've both sent us multiple gifts already, which is totally awesome.

I think sometimes people assume the person is just all about the gifts they're getting and don't think twice about who actually came to the shower. At my first shower, one of my closest friends (was a bridesmaid in my wedding too) didn't come. And now at the second shower there was a noticable lack of Chris's kin. I care about seeing these people! It's not just about the gifts. The fact that so many other people made so much effort to be there makes it even more frustrating to me that some other people just. don't. care.

Ok, enough bitching. I had a really great shower and I'm so so so so so happy that all the people that came, did. For those that didn't...well, you didn't. And that says something. That's all.

I have one more shower left. The work shower. They're combining my birthday celebration and the shower into one party on April 7th. After that, I will be done and done. Then I just sit back and wait for Martha. I'm really looking forward to the down time in the last few weeks before she comes when everything is set up and ready and all I have to do is wait.

Weekend

This weekend is pretty busy. I'm looking forward to all the things that are planned, but I just hope my body can keep up. It doesn't take much for me to get tired these days.

Friday: Work, visiting The Dump, dinner, then Anna's birthday party in Atlanta.

Saturday: Adam's Mom's yard sale, home to sell the couch at 3:00 (sold it on Craigslist...which is why we're going to The Dump - a new discount furniture store in Buckhead that's only open on the weekends. 30%-70% off!), homework.

Sunday: Baby shower!!! I'm so super pumped about this shower. I can't wait to see family that will be in town! And they'll get to see my crazy huge belly. And I'll get to have a ton of awesome people all together in one place.

I'm sure I'll spend the rest of Sunday recouperating from the weekend. I kid you not when I say that I will be 100% exhausted. The non-pregnant Shaunna wouldn't even be slightly tired from this schedule. I look forward to being the non-pregnant Shaunna again. Lord, do I ever...

(BTW - Yes, we've only had our couch for 1 year. But, being first time couch buyers, we bought what we thought we wanted. Turns out it's not what we wanted at all. The fabric is too light. (Shows dirt easily.) The leather is getting puncture marks from the cats. And really, we underestimated how much we both would enjoy having a recliner. So, we're on the hunt for a couch and recliner for the price we're getting for the sectional we're selling on Saturday. I've already found one set at American Signature Furniture, but I want to check out The Dump before I make a final decision.

This is getting ridiculous.

My feet don't even fit in flip flops today. How is this even possible?

MISERABLE.

Give-Away

I've never tried to win any kind of give-away from a blog before, but I can't let this one pass me by...

Leslie of Homemade Grits is giving away 2 Marc Jacobs items (one in particular that I want REALLY badly). So this is an attempt at a win!

http://homemadegrits.blogspot.com/2010/03/marc-jacobs-give-away.html

I mean, puppies and stuff.

I figured out the problem with getting Reagan to go outside to potty. Well, two problems. Only one of them I can fix.

1. She doesn't do well on a leash. (This is the one I can fix.) She didn't like going out in the yard and coming back in from being in the yard on a leash. I've heard this is a problem with puppies sometimes, but I've never seen it first hand. And this is coming from a good 2 years of professional pet sitting experience. Anyway, it's an easy problem to solve. We just let her out in the back yard. Thank goodness for the fence. We'll slowly work on the leash issue when we start taking walks. Right now, it's not a huge concern for me - especially since I've read that it's a fairly easy thing to cure them of and sometimes they just naturally grow out of it.

2. Listen, I know she's a puppy. And we expected there to be accidents in the house. But seriously, it's like she has to pee every half hour. I'm aware that puppies have to be taken out a lot more than adult dogs, but who has the time to put their shoes on and go outside every half hour with a puppy? Not me. And not Chris. Oh, but suuuuuure...she can hold it for 4 hours from when I leave for work to when I come home for lunch. I don't get it.

Anyway, we're working on the potty stuff. We just have to be consistent (or so I've read). There's been SUPER DUPER interneting happening around here about training a puppy. It's all new to us.

Good things: She loves her new tennis balls and can entertain herself for a good 45 minutes on her own with them. She loves her new bed and is a-ok with sleeping in it on the floor of our bedroom. And she knows what the phrases "come" and "go get in your bed" mean and obeys them.

Not so good things: The obvious potty issues. The cats are still adjusting. Chewing on shoes and, well, anything. Eating inedible things like the pieces of concrete and rock that she gets off the fireplace.

We are looking into puppy training classes, but a lot of them interfere with Martha's due date, so we're still trying to figure that out. Until then, we'll keep interneting and self-educating.

Yes, we're crazy. I know this.

Who gets a puppy just 8 weeks before they have a baby? We do. I'm totally aware that this isn't standard practice. Trust me when I tell you that I fully understand what I'm getting myself into and I will not be one of those people that gives their dog away when the baby comes. I'm 100% committed. And, of course, we took everything into consideration before making our decision. (Including the whining, "accidents", chewing, and additional responsibilities and training.) Unless, for some reason, our new puppy poses a physical threat to Martha, she's ours until she passes away.

So, here's Reagan...





She's a shar pei mix. Her mother was a full blooded shar pei and they're not sure what the father was. I'm thinking it was probably a yellow lab or something like that. But really, who knows...

The first night with her was good. We wore her out before bedtime so she slept well. We treated her by letting her sleep in the bed with us, but that won't be happening again. Not because she was bad. (She actually slept really well.) We just don't want dog hair and dog smell all over the sheets, especially when Martha will be in bed with us on occasion in a few months.

The first morning with her was not so good. She still needs to work on the potty training. That's something you can expect from an 8 week old puppy though.

Taco and Turtle are adjusting. Taco is pretty ok with everything. I'm assuming that's because he's been around dogs before. Turtle isn't doing as well. There is lots of hissing. He just needs some time to realize she's not going anywhere and everything will be cool.

Is there anything cuter?

Seriously....is there anything more adorable than a little girl swimsuit? Cause I can't think of anything.

This is the jem I found at Old Navy yesterday for $2.99. Helloooooo sale! This puppy was the last one on the sale rack and also the only swimsuit in the entire store that was 3 months. Now, I just hope that it fits Martha when it's pool time. If not, that's a good excuse for me to go find another one just as precious as this one.