One Year...

"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole." -Roger Caras

For those of you who didn't know him, this was my furry little brother Reno (not to be confused with my "Fuzzy" little brother Chance). He died on this day one year ago. It was certainly one of the worst days of my life and one of the worst days for my whole family. He really was a good dog. He had such a huge personality. He loved to wrestle and play with the boys and he knew that when he wanted some peace and quiet he could go to my mom. The thing I loved most about him was that he would let me cuddle him and love on him as often as I wanted and for as long as I wanted. Sometimes he'd act put out by it, but in the end he was always willing to give me a hug when I needed it. He was also such a little punk!! I can't tell you how many times we'd come home and he'd jump off the couch and lay on the floor acting like he hadn't been on the couch at all. Or all the times I'd walk in my room and he'd be sleeping on my bed, drooling on my pillow. I have photo evidence of that! He was a total spaz when it came to thunder and lightning and fireworks. He would climb into your lap and try to cuddle into a ball there when he was scared. Keep in mind, he was a good 80-85 pound golden retriever, not some silly little lap dog! I remember when we first brought him home... We were all eating ice cream cones and he was on the couch (even tho my mom didn't want him there...) and my mom turned her head for one second and he ate the ice cream right off her cone. When she yelled at him he actually barked at her! He always had an attitude like he was a person too. And we all really did feel like he was a part of the family. He was only 9 years old when he died, and I feel like we really didn't have enough time with him. But the times we did have with him were fun and it is fun to remember those times.

I know that one day I will own another dog, and I will have to go thru this all over again... But you know what? I think its totally worth all the wonderful memories we get. Dogs are wonderful companions and I think everyone should get the opportunity to have a furry brother in their life as I have for all of mine.

I suppose I should also give a quick baby update... She's still hanging out in the womb. Haha. We saw the doc on Monday and nothing has happened. We'll see him again this upcoming Monday and in the meantime be hoping she comes!! Well, maybe it would be best if she waited another week so I can get my house in order. I get to quit my job next week and I am THRILLED about it!!! That just means she's even closer to being in my arms and not hanging off my front end. Hahaha.

Peace out homefrys!

A Little News and A Lot of Whining!

Grawr. Sorry to all of you, but I'm pretty much just going to whine about being pregnant.

So tune out now if you don't want to hear it.

So I am 4 weeks away from my due date. Basically I feel like a solar system waddling around and trying not to run into things. I'm like an inch from my steering wheel and I'm not sure that I will even be able to drive in a few weeks if my belly keeps growing at the alarming rate that it is; and being as short as I am, moving the seat back is not an option. My back is KILLING me. Ever had a contraction in your back? It basically makes you contemplate chinese paper torture just to take the focus off of how unbearably painful it is. Which makes me wonder how in the WORLD I am going to survive this without drugs. What's that you say? How come I'm not going to get drugs? Well, for those of you who don't know this already, its b/c drugs make my body hate me and shut down all my vital systems entirely. Seems like I'm going to need all systems go to take care of a baby. Speaking of baby, she sure is a wiggly little thing. I swear she likes to rub her legs together like a grasshopper just to hear me make noises and to make me squirm. I still can't stop thinking about the Alien movies. I don't think she's all that little anymore. When I can feel her poking me on two sides at once, then I think she's outgrown her home. I will be considered full term in a week and then we'll be having long chats about how long she plans to stay in there. When I say "we" I mean me and baby. Derek hears enough of my whining to know how I feel about my current state. My ribs hurt. Not so much hurt as BURN LIKE THE FIERY DEPTHS OF... well, you know. I can't really explain it, but believe me, its not fun. Nausea has returned with a vengance. I have heartburn like only a Patty Prego can. And don't even get me started on my patience issue. And to top it all off, I. AM. SO. TIRED. ALL. THE. TIME.

And that's all. There are good things that are happening tho. I am getting lots of practice with contractions. Some are a lot more painful than others (see above) but most are just weird and a bit uncomfortable. I'm having issues timing them tho b/c my attention span is like half a second long. I'm serious. I'll be in the middle of a thought and see something shiny and that's all she wrote. I'm pretty proud of myself for making mostly complete sentences. We went to the doc yesterday and he said that everything still looks great and there's still no reason to worry that she might come early. Although "worry" isn't exactly the word I would use. More like "hope". But whatever. I'm not a doctor. Just a really whiney pregnant penguin/whale/solar system/insert-whatever-your-favorite-large-waddly-thing-is-here.

OK, if you tuned out the whining, you can tune back in for other news now.

*ahem*
Derek is RIDICULOUSLY busy with school and work. He gets up early and stays up late and I don't know how he does it, but he still manages to be the same happy-go-lucky guy I fell in love with. I wish I could handle stress half as well as he does! He's just awesome. He is taking a day off just for FUN coming up in a few weeks. I know he's pretty excited for that... and I am too! I am getting the feeling lately that he is just as excited to graduate as I am. We can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel! He also talks to the baby a lot and tells her how excited he is to meet her. It is SO cute!!! She wiggles double-time when he talks to her. And he asks her not to kick me in the ribs too much. I think it is funny when he talks to her like a person. I mean, she is a person, but he talks to her like an adult. Like I said, SO cute!!!

Well, I think that's about all I have to report on.... for now. :)

Peace out homefrys!

...I'm Not Feeling Creative Enough Today...

Hello all...

I'll give you an advance warning, I am like the walking dead right now. I'm soooooo tired!

It's been... slow for me but busy for Derek. All my days blend together yet the weeks seem to be stretching on forever... I don't know if that makes any sense at all. I feel like I've been pregnant for WAY longer than 7 (almost 8) months. It wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't growing exponentially now. This was news to me... Fuzzy freaked out when he saw me this weekend. I just saw him last weekend and yet he said that I was way bigger this weekend. *Picture a big frown on my face right now* I guess I don't see it b/c I see myself every day.
Hahaha... that sounds weird... but it could just be b/c I'm tired and everything is funny right now....

My belly is all wiggly....

Derek has been working and going to school... too much work and too much school, if you ask me. Actually, he probably has the same opinion. (That wasn't the word I was looking for, just so you know.) We are both so excited that its his LAST SEMESTER and that we're ALMOST out of this horrible place!!! I think we're both just a bit nervous about our living situation and hoping that it works out. I'd like to talk about that... but b/c I cannot be nice, I won't.

Um... we went to the doc today and everything seems to be good... There's no reason to think she might come early, as far as we can tell. That is both good and REALLY depressing at the same time. The next appt is in 2 weeks.... then it will be every week til I pop. Woo hoo! I am really quite looking forward to not having the appetite of a baby killer whale anymore....

I think there's really nothing else to tell....

Peace out homefrys...