I am so very remiss right now in my baby shower thank you responsibilities. I have a list of all the gifts I received from my friends near and far and I have to regather the addresses (I am thoroughly unorganized due in part to the fact that most of my stuff is packed away for the move that never happened several months ago.) I have already thanked my friends who requested that I save a tree and I figure Brian will accept my public thank you in lieu of stirring up any trouble with a thank you card arriving at his home and requiring explanations. Someday, however, I�ll bring the family out to Rottenchester and say hello.

My baby boy is running out of room and let me tell you that he has somehow manages to kick me in parts of my abdomen he should not have access to based on the pictures they provide at those pregnancy sites. He can get his foot all the way around me and kick me in my kidneys. How is he doing that? I see the pictures and I know that supposedly he is in fact jack-knifed with arms and legs crossed, folded and otherwise cramped up in the ever shrinking (from his perspective) ever expanding (from my perspective) belly. As big as I was two weeks ago I am bigger yet. Sitting up straight is nigh on impossible and I can now rest dinner plate on my belly, the better to stuff my voracious face. I am hungry all the time but the encroachment of the baby space on my stomach makes eating more than a few bites difficult. I�m stuffed after a small amount of food and starving two hours later. It has become the standing joke at my work, so much so that a sign went up at my cubicle a couple of days ago.

(Artists rendition of actual signage)

I eat constantly and my only consolation is I am not gaining any additional weight. I should be putting on a pound a week right now but it seems my body is happy siphoning off the excess fat I packed on earlier in the pregnancy. My Belly is growing but my backside seems to be shrinking a little. It could just be my perspective (compared to my belly everything looks small) but I think that is what is happening.

The house paperwork was overnighted to the owner in Florida. She must sign the paperwork and then overnight it back so that it can be sent to the Bank for their approval (since we have a verbal from the bank that shouldn�t take long.) The woman only has two more weeks left in her recovery period (that�s the time when she can sell at a loss and walk away without a foreclosure on her record.) so she has an incentive to get this done promptly. Still, our realtor suggests we should expect the final paperwork returned for our initials right on the deadline, it�s the bank after all and that�s just the way they do things. I�m still hoping we will be able to close by mid August. I�m pretty sure (with no evidence other than my own gut crowded as it is) that my Baby boy will not enter the world early but instead will hang out as long as possible in the safe and warm, albeit cramped, belly of mine. This would allow us to get the house ready before he make his appearance. Of course they come when they are ready and so I could also be in labor even as I sign the closing papers. My Darling is convinced no matter when we close I will be having this baby right on top of it, he says that�s just how our lives seem to go, a whole lot of waiting followed by a rush of activity and then back to waiting for the next big, crazy rush. Hopefully this winter will be less painful then the last with us settled into our own home and having our little bundle to focus on. My Darling expressed the desire to return to the outdoors this fall after the baby is born insisting that we must have the off road stroller so as to enjoy the fall countryside. I was thrilled to hear that he was willing to jump back into our outdoors lifestyle and not wait until spring. I have a feeling if I don�t get back out there right away spring will find me to fat to do much of anything. I don�t know why I am so convinced that I�m going to get fat, even when I thought I was fat I was only barely so and most of my life I have been in excellent shape. Why is it we can only focus on the bad in our lives? How is it I can�t remember how it felt to be strong and fit. I am so very weak now. My lungs are so compacted that I have difficulty climbing stairs without running out of breath. It�s a strange feeling to be weak. I have never been physically weak in my life. Mentally weak, yes, emotionally weak, of course, but physically I have always been �strong like ox�.

Only 7 more weeks to go.

The good news is two of my SIL have bounced back pretty quickly so I have high hopes that I will as well. I�ll certainly be busy enough.

As whiny as the above appears I�m not unhappy. I�m uncomfortable and I wish the house thing we further along but I am actually pretty happy. Life is mostly good and that�s something that should be appreciated. Of course it could just be the hormones talking (yesterday I cried for no reason) but who cares, take the good feelings when they come and don�t ask questions I always say.

*SMILE WITH ME*

I wish you Peace

~alison~

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