blue eyes!

For the extended family...He's got his dad's hairline. And that pacifier takes up 1/3 of his face!

I have been pretty good about keeping up w/ all of your blogs, but I have not been so good about posting! I'll try to get my act together!

We love Lucy!

On Sunday our friends, Justin and Sally, welcomed their second baby into the world! Our baby boy is ecstatic to have a new playmate! J & Sal have been our friends since high school through college, and now we are neighbors and go to the same church.

Fun Fun Fun! Pushing and Delivery!

APOLOGIES! I kind of left my blog people hanging, figuring that you all probably get facebook and twitter updates. But in case you didn't get the memo, baby is here as of Fri at 1:45! AND I'M NOT PREGNANT ANYMORE!!!!!!!

Let me tell you about this delivery. First of all, my mom, sister and Matt were all in the room, which made this whole thing really fun. I watched my sister deliver her first kiddo, so I thought I'd return the gift to her. :) Hahaha.

My mom was behaved for the most part. Except I gave her strict instructions not to take a SINGLE picture of anything nasty, and let's just say she is not very compliant. That, or we have different interpretations of "nasty." Unfortunately, I was too busy pushing to be able to notice or reprimand her. Don't worry, those have ALL been deleted.

At 1:15ish it was time to push. I didn't have to push that much, which was awesome because after each time I pushed it felt like I had just finished a marathon. And all the doctors and nurses were telling me I was a really good pusher. Thanks, I think? My doctor told me he'd have to hire me to teach a class on how to push. "Thanks. I'm very flattered." Now I'm bragging, better stop.

No, but really, I will brag about this... somehow I was able to crack a bunch of jokes between contractions (pushes), and I had the doctor and the whole room laughing. I don't know what got into me... probably the epidural combined with almost 2 days of no sleep. :) Okay, I'm really done bragging.

So after about 8-10 contractions worth of pushing, baby had arrived (1:45 PM)! Not going to lie, he looked like an alien, and had a MAJOR cone head at first. It was awesome, but I was a little scared. He looked exactly like his dad... mua ha ha. (Okay, okay, not the alien/conehead part.)

Here are some pictures from the last few days!

Everyone thinks he is the spitting image of Matt with my nose. (The cone head is gone.)

Arriving home yesterday around 2pm- exhausted. (We stopped to get sushi from Maki on the way home to celebrate not being pregnant anymore.)

So I found this sweet little longhorn hat (which doesn't quite fit him yet) at a baby boutique in Austin, and couldn't pass it up!

Can't wait to catch up on some of your blogs! I'll try to keep some variety over here at Gibbizarre, but no promises - we all know how that went during pregnancy!

Note to other pregnant women out there: I did not lose 20 lbs in one day. More like 12. Very disappointing, but I'm over it! :)

SOOOOOOOOOOOO...

Guess where I am???? El hospital!! And I couldn't be more thrilled. Matt, on the other hand, probably wishes he got more than 1.5 hours of sleep. Actually, I take that back... Matt is glad that he doesn't have to deal with me waking up another morning when I am NOT in labor. Which brings us to... STORY TIME.

So, the night before last (Wednesday night) I was having contractions (real ones, but not too painful) about 20 minutes apart ALL night long. They had actually started at about 3PM on Wednesday, so we (no, I) completely expected to be in active labor shortly. About 7:30 AM, after being up all night, my contractions just WENT AWAY! Talk about sucky. And I LOST it. I mean, I went ballistic.

I was constantly moaning and crying while managing to spit out such phrases as, "I can't do it anymore!" and "God, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!" and "I'm going to lose my mind!"

Matt, being the optimist that he is, tried to cheer me up. "It's okay, babe, at most you probably have only five more days!"

Ooooh, wrong comment. "I CAN'T EVEN GO ONE MORE DAY, DO YOU REALIZE HOW LONG FIVE DAYS IS?!!!!!??!?!?" I'm telling you, it was bad. My sister called Matt during my outburst because they were both going to go to the Total Conditioning class, and she heard me moaning in the background.

I mean, most of you might not understand, but being just one day late is SO excruciating. Even though you KNOW that it won't matter what day you deliver in about a week, you still just want the kid to be here.

And although you KNOW that God's timing is perfect, it doesn't mean you necessarily LIKE His timing... and if you say you do, you are probably a liar. Let's just say I got really honest with God. I think Matt thought JC was going to come down and give me a swift kick in the pants. Fortunately God is more gracious than Matt. (No offense, babe.) So all the sweet, true, positive comments about being patient were serving as excellent reminders, but I'll be honest... NOT what I wanted to hear. :)

Speaking of spankings. In my outburst, I may or may not have told Matt (shouting), "This kid is going to get a spanking as soon as he comes out of my belly!" (There might have been some bad words in there.) I am sorry Henry. No spankings today. You will get 100% pure mommy love today!

Anyway, God gave me the grace to get through yesterday. I started having real contractions around 3 PM yesterday. By 2:30 AM, I was feeling PRETTY uncomfortable, but still not sure I should call the doctor. I went ahead and called, and it was good because when I got here I was 5 cm dilated. I got my epidural at 6 cm, and I they just came in here and broke my water for me. So I'm thinking this little Henry dude will be here in less than 4 hours, but possibly sooner! (They said he is in a good position, and already very low down there, so hopefully pushing won't be so bad!)

If this post does not make sense or seems a little scattered, it is because I am scattered, and it has taken me since almost 5 AM to write it. (It is currently 8 AM.)

Okay! I have to go because I have stuff to DO! (Important stuff, like put on makeup, etc.) :)

YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY! (I know that's not how you spell it.)

I'm still here.

I can't sleep, which is totally wrong because every mom on the planet is telling me to enjoy my last days of DINK status by sleeping a lot. Oh well.

Short update. Doc is optimistic about my progress, and thinks baby should be here by end of week. Okay, I can deal with that. Can you? (BTW, Happy Birthday to KATIE! Maybe the baby will get to share it with you after all?!)

Last night, Matt and I were talking about all the stuff God's been teaching us with the labor and delivery being so close. Here's a few things I shared with him...

1- How we plan. You can imagine that I have had nothing planned this week because I realize that I am not in control of anything that happens. I have to wait till the last minute to plan anything if I want to, or if I plan in advance, it's with this attitude that I may not actually get to do the thing I have planned. Puts a new perspective on this verse in James 4.

"Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."

2- Trusting God w/ World Events. Ever since getting preggo, anytime I hear anything about war, especially stuff going on w/ Iran and Israel, and nuclear weapons, etc. I start to get scared. I think, "Wow, I am bringing a child into THIS." It just feels scary. So I am forced to remember and believe that God is in control of all of it (Psalm 46), and that he determined the perfect times and places for all of us to live.

"From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us." Acts 17:26

3- The value of every single person in God's eyes. I LOVE Psalm 139.

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

¹⁶ your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

God loves his creation. He values each an every person that walks the face of this planet because he made them. Sometimes that is hard for me to understand because my mind is incapable of truly grasping the WHOLE truth about Him and how He works, but having a little guy growing inside me makes me so confident of this.

Thanks for letting me share! I am making myself go to sleep now for real.

awesome convo. there's an app for that.

I was going to try not to make any "public" appearances (on the web) till something notable happens, but who am I kidding?

Matt and I had this awesome conversation this morning.

Leah: I need to start wearing my watch in case I have contractions that I need to time.
Matt: Good idea.
Leah: Actually, Rachael was telling me about this awesome iphone app that's really good for timing contractions.
Matt (Sarcastic Tone): You mean it has a stopwatch?
Leah: Haha. No, it's easier than that.
Matt (Sarcastic Tone): Easier than pressing start and stop?

Good point.

I love my husband!

Dropping barometric pressure... not doing anything for me!

Why Matt REALLY Should Have Been a Meteorologist

I was moderately convinced that I would be headed to the hospital this morning, but much to all of our chagrin, I am still pregnant. But we have hope for the near future, and that is what this post is about.

Did you know that studies have actually linked a drop in barometric pressure to spontaneous and/or premature rupture of the membranes (when a pregnant woman's water breaks)?

I actually heard this in early December bc a friend of ours (who was due a few weeks before me) had her water break prematurely and was sent to the hospital, eventually to receive an emergency C-Section. (Her baby is home now and doing well.) But anyway, the nurses told her that whenever there is a drop in barometric pressure that tons of pregnant women flood to the hospital. I sort of thought it was an old wives tale, but there is actually research to support it. Though some articles say there is not enough of a correlation to be clinically significant.

Anyway, to be clear. There is no correlation between the onset of LABOR (contractions) and drop in barometric pressure, but only between the water breaking and drop in barometric pressure. However, if your water breaks, then it's not really safe to leave the baby in there much longer, so you'll be having it soon.

This brings us to the forecast for the ATX. We are expecting rain and a cold front overnight tonight, and the weatherman JUST said very confidently that we will be seeing snow tomorrow, which is, not coincidentally, my due date. (For the record, we had highs in the 70s yesterday.) Can you say "low pressure system"?

Dear baby, God has EVEN allowed the atmosphere to do all it can to get you here ON your due date. Also baby, my doctor is on call tonight, so if you wanted to get this started now, I'd be cool with that. Your daddy can't wait to meet you! All of your grandparents and aunts and uncles and friends want to meet you. Your room is ready and we have lots of toys and blankets for you out here. And as much as I love feeling your little feet and elbows and butt move around inside my tummy, I'm ready to see them and hold you! And I know my blog readers do not want to read anymore pregnancy posts!

Okay, the end. See you on the flip side.

I don't know what a contraction even feels like...

Well, Pam didn't have her baby yesterday, and neither did I. So much for my will. :) (Side note, when NBC advertises that a show is coming on "Thursday, after the Olympics," don't you think they should just say, Thursday, March 4th, after the Olympics?" It would be less confusing for all of us.)

Anyhow, this just means that Pam will have REALLY been pregnant for a long time. Cause for real, I found out I was pregnant in mid-June. She must have found out in May or earlier. If she can do it, I can.

Last night, I hopped on the treadmill and re-read several sections of "What to Expect When You're Expecting." There were points while reading when I was picturing our little baby boy coming into the world, and I'd get really excited and tear up and then look around to make sure no one saw the awkward look on my face. Anyway, I will be so relieved to put that book back on the bookshelf!

I have almost completely stopped calling people. I have wanted to talk to some friends, etc. but pretty much every time I call anyone they ask if I am in labor, and I guess it would just not be fair to call someone I don't speak to on a daily basis at this point in my life. (Even the daily basis people ask if I am in labor when I call.) My sister ended our phone conversation yesterday with, "Okay, well, call me when you're in labor." Okay? Does that mean if I am not in labor I shouldn't call? You only want to hear from me if I am having this baby? So I am exclusively texting.

Maybe tonight when I get up for my 1-2 AM bathroom break I will call everyone in my family. They'd for SURE think I was in labor. That would be so awesome! And cruel. Hahaha.

I'm hoping baby will hold out till Monday so my doctor can be the one to deliver him. Once again, God's good, pleasing and perfect will will prevail. In the meantime, I have some finishing touches to be done in his room and throughout the house.

Note: Title has nothing to do w/ post, but it's true.

Enjoying the Wait... No Really

This gives me joy.

To think that there is not one person on this earth that can tell me with certainty when baby will come, but that the Lord knows the exact time. As much as I wish I could just KNOW, I smile when I think of the fact that God knows and that He is good and trustworthy. Just the thought of this simple truth: that He is God and I am not. That He is in control and I am not. Time is in His hands.

That ALONE is enough to get my mind off all of the ways that I could take control by trying to naturally induce labor (downing some castor oil, walking a half-marathon, starving myself, possibly taking up smoking - okay just kidding) and to use my thoughts and time to just worship Him for who He is!

"Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them." Psalm 139:16

How true this is for me and Matt, and also for my baby and for you!

Still Chuggin...

My kiddo likes the womb. Whenever people ask me how I am doing, my response is, "Good. Too good. In fact." There is literally NOTHING going on. I've started to consider ways to make it extremely uncomfortable in there for the little dude. Unfortunately, most of those things would also be uncomfortable for me (like not eating). Maybe I should just eat really disgusting, bitter stuff, so the amniotic fluid will taste bitter and he'll hurry the heck up. Ideas?

Anyway, want to know something I was NOT prepared for in pregnancy? Every time I call anyone in my family (or even friends), they answer the phone with, "Are you in labor?" or "You're not in labor are you?" Who can blame them. I guess it doesn't REALLY bother me, but if I go past my due date, it will bother me. I am going to have to hibernate till I am in labor. And don't worry, blog friends, you will all know when it's happening! I am not one to pass up an opportunity to post an exciting update via Facebook, Twitter, or Gibbizarre. :)

We got a surprise sonogram yesterday at the doctor's office because my fundal height measurement (the length of my uterus) had actually decreased 2 cm since the last visit. And, two weeks ago, the doctor estimated baby's weight to be 7 lbs. Yesterday, he ALSO thought he was 7 lbs. So, they did an ultrasound to make sure that there was enough amniotic fluid and to make sure that little baby was growing okay. And the result...

No drama. The kid is fine. He was breathing and sleeping... lazy kiddo, I'm telling you. The sonographer said something about waking him up. Seriously man, I am glad it's so peaceful in there, but you've got to find the high-achiever in you and start trying to find a way out. (Hint, it's DOWN.)

Dear mom, I am sorry I was born 2 days past my due date.

One more thing. Matt and I have been enjoying every last second together. We both feel like it's a bittersweet thing that it won't be just us anymore. I go to sleep a little sad every single night thinking that it could be the last night that it's just us. But I wake up every morning thinking, "Dang, I'm still pregnant."

The end.

P.S. Indecisive pregnant lady took the THIRD going home outfit BACK and has re-decided on the blue argile outfit.

Pam is Due on Thursday

I saw a commercial for this Thursday's episode of The Office, and apparently Pam is due to have her baby on Thursday. I feel really sorry for Pam because she's been pregnant for a REALLY long time... or so it seems. Wait, so have I.

On the other hand I don't feel sorry for her because she's obviously wearing a fake belly, and she looks about 6 months pregnant, not 9 months pregnant.

Anyway, when I saw the commercial, I started getting really excited because I decided this weekend (before I saw The Office preview) that I want baby to be born on Thursday. I have no good reasons, but a few dumb reasons. And they are...

1. My birthday is June 18th. It would be fun for me and baby boy to share the 18th.
2. Our small group meets on Wednesdays and one couple's last week in our group is this week, so I would feel bad about not getting to wish them a proper goodbye if he came earlier.
3. My sister thinks it would be a really convenient time for me to have the kid.
4. I don't want to wait through another weekend. Friday is too close to the weekend.

Other considerations?
1. It would be nice if the weather was warm and sunny on the day we bring baby home.
2. February 22nd is George Washington's birthday, and it happens to be a weekday, so I would be fine with that, too.

Matt and I literally took ZERO pictures together my entire pregnancy. So last night we self-timed some, and got this...


One more story for you and I will be finished.

Before I got pregnant I made the mistake of saying that certain baby-doll type shirts, Ts and dresses looked like maternity shirts. When you are not pregnant, some of the looser fitting items out there may seem maternity-esque. However, when you are pregnant (even only 5-6 months pregnant), and you remember that you have a couple of dresses that COULD be maternity dresses... you go to try them on and realize that they are not at ALL even close to being fit for a pregnant woman. I tried this on at least 3 different items of clothing that I had previously deemed "fit for pregnancy" and realized quickly that they were not even close.

Anyway, the other day I was browsing through Nordstrom Rack and overheard a conversation bt two girls who were probably close to my age.

Girl #1: "What do you think of this shirt?"
Girl # 2: "Eww. It looks like a maternity shirt."

Mind you, I am right there while this is going down. I wanted to turn around and say, "Yeah that would be REALLY unattractive." Okay, but I don't blame them, I wouldn't want to look pregnant if I wasn't.

That's all for now! (Oh and in case you were wondering, my exact due date is Tues the 23rd.)

Cankles - Proof

My doctor has put a hex on me or something.

At my 34 week appointment he told me that my stomach looked good and that it was nice that I didn't have any stretch marks. A week later, the stretch marks appeared.

At my 36 week appointment he was commenting on how awesome it was that I wasn't swelling at all. Next day I wake up looking like the Pillsbury dough boy - cankles and all.

Anyway, my sister didn't believe me when I told her that I have cankles. So here's some proof.


If you don't think those look like cankles then you should compare them to a random picture I took of my feet last year. (Read: I may not have a life.)


Okay so you can't see my ankles here, but at least you can see the bones in my feet. Unlike my new and special dough boy feet.

You are so very welcome.

Going Home Drama. And other Awesomeness.

So, I didn't know it was a "thing" to get your kid a special outfit to wear home from the hospital, but it is. Obviously, you don't have to partake, but that's part of the fun, right? So I decided I would get baby boy something special to wear home, and this has turned out to be a little bit of an ordeal for us.

Matt thinks it's silly that baby boy needs a special outfit to wear home, since the hospital is literally 5 minutes from our house. But when I noticed that the packing list the hospital gave me included an outfit for ME to wear home (obviously), I decided that I also needed a "special" outfit to wear home.

Leah to Matt: "I think I want to get a Juicy suit to wear home from the hospital."
Matt: "Why?"
Leah: "Well it will come in handy for awhile after baby is born, too. I don't want to be wearing my maternity jeans and over-sized pajamas all the time after he comes. You don't want me to look homely, do you?"
Matt: "Whatever you need to do... do I also need a special outfit to wear home from the hospital?" (Love the sarcasm.)
Leah: Yes, I will get you a blue argyle sweater so you can match the baby.
Matt: No, please don't.

(For the record, I did not get a juicy suit.)

So, here's the tale of getting baby's outfit to wear home. I first went out with my mom and my sister and we picked out a cute outfit that was white with blue smocking, and it didn't have pant legs, or footies, it was more like a dress at the bottom. I was nervous that Matt wouldn't like it, but my mom and sister assured me that the open, dress-like bottom would be really convenient for diaper changing and sensitive umbilical cord scab, etc.

When Matt saw it, he didn't like it. "It looks like a dress," he said in typical guy form. Grrr.. So we decided we would return it and go pick something else out together. So the second time, we picked out this outfit (pictured). It's blue w/ an argyle pattern, which I had originally passed up because I didn't feel like it was "special" enough.


So sweet. But then, I started looking online and had found another outfit with that exact same pattern, but it was the "dress" type look and had a collar. I felt like the collar made it more formal and special, so I started having second thoughts.

On Monday I asked Matt if he would mind, in the case that I found another outfit for baby boy to wear home that I liked better, if I could get it. His response was something along the lines of, "Sure. WHATEVER you need to do to make the baby's 5 minute car ride home special." Haha.

So, I went shopping on Monday and came home with this...




I felt like I had betrayed Matt since we picked out the other one together, but I kept feeling like it needed to be more "special" whatever that means. Anyway, Matt asked why I got him a "dress" again, and I insisted this time that "everyone" has told me how much easier it is to have an outfit like this for the first couple of days. Anyway, we are in agreement now, and I am keeping both outfits for baby. And the last one pictured we can save for all of our children to wear home.

Anyway, while I'm posting pictures, I thought I'd go ahead and show you some more awesomeness...

I registered for THIS behind Matt's back.


This is me about 37 weeks pregnant (so about a week ago). Yeah, I definitely used the timer. And yes, that shirt looks too small.


This is our diaper bag.


I started getting pretty swollen this week, so you know, it would be awesome if the child would go ahead and come. :) Doctor forewarned me that first babies are typically about 5 days late. :(

the time Matt broke my tailbone

Almost two years ago exactly (or was it three? the years run together now), Matt and I went roller-skating with a group of people for my best friend, Sarah's, birthday. I love roller-skating and ice-skating, and I typically think I am pretty good at it, but that's just me. (Note: pride comes before a fall.)

Well, this particular time was a great day that turned bad really fast. I was skating along side some friends, and Matt was behind me. I looked back, caught his (irresistible) gaze (hahaha), and decided to slow down so that I could skate next to him. At the same time, Matt decided he'd speed up and lovingly take me by the hand so we could skate together. So romantic. Except he was going way too fast for my feet to adjust.

Next thing I know, "BOOM," I am flat on my back on the skating rink. It was a devastating fall. At first I start laughing because it was kind of funny and a lot of people were staring, but as soon as I got up and started skating, I was in terrible pain. So I went over to the side of the rink, sat down, and then in a matter of minutes realized that I could barely get myself to stand up OR walk.

At this point, I started bawling. But I was embarrassed to be crying in front of so many people (mostly acquaintances), so I got a little angry. And, like humans do, I found someone to blame. Poor Matt. Poor, poor, Matt. Okay, but it really was his fault. Obviously, he didn't do it on purpose. The details are fuzzy, but I am pretty sure we were not on good terms during the ride home.

Well, we determined that I had either broken my tailbone or bruised it pretty badly. I could not sit on a chair normally for awhile. I even went to Walgreens and bought a doughnut pillow to ease the pain on my coccyx. (Official name for the bone. Haha.) I brought that baby w/ me in public. Embarrassing but true.

Why am I telling you this? You see, tailbone injuries don't really heal very well bc there is nothing you can do for them. I decided later that the coccyx had to be broken, not bruised, because it still bothered me at random times like on long road trips, etc. Which brings us to now. Ten pounds or so of baby + Placenta = Pressure. And my tailbone is feeling it. That's why I told you that story.

I am just hoping it doesn't have any negative effects during delivery, otherwise Matt better be careful. :)

"How are you feeling?"

I can't tell you how many times A DAY I have this exact conversation.

Stranger: "When are you due?"
Me: "Three weeks!"
Stranger: "Wow! Do you know what you are having?"
Me: "It's a boy."
Stranger: "Awe! Do you have a name picked out?"
Me: "Yes, we are going to name him ________."
Stranger: "Awe..."

Usually the convo usually ends w/ "good luck" (thanks) or continues down some other path.

The other question I get from everyone, stranger or not is, "How are you feeling?" I usually just say, "Good," but I will answer in more detail here!

I feel great! Seriously, I have had THE easiest pregnancy on the planet. I mean it. The worst part about my first trimester was that I was tired and hungry all the time. The worst part of my second trimester is that I had gained weight sort of fast (but that has leveled out). And the worst part of my third trimester was the severe back pain and the severe (I'm talking "fall to the floor" severe) sciatic and femoral nerve pain, but BOTH of those have pretty much subsided. I even slept ALL the way through the night 5 out of 7 nights last week. I am not bragging.

I have pretty much concluded that God knew it wouldn't take much to get me to a place of discomfort - to a place where I was really in a position where I could listen and learn. Because even though my discomfort is so minor compared to what many women experience, this last 37 weeks of pregnancy has been extremely humbling and refining. Not only has pregnancy presented countless opportunities for me to learn more than I ever cared to know about my own sin and shortcomings (which is a blessing if you belong to Christ); it also continues to teach me more about God - his unconditional love, why he would give us pain, and so much more. I've also learned quite a bit about waiting and been challenged in that- Do I wait for Christ's reappearance the same way I have waited for my baby's appearance?

I could write a book... countless lessons to show that my discomfort and "suffering" (if I can dare call it that) are not without a purpose. And suffering is NEVER without a purpose for those who belong to Jesus.

So, as much as you guys KNOW that I do NOT love being pregnant (yes, mine has been easy, but NO, I have not loved it), I must say that even without the end reward (baby), it is still all worth it.

-----

P.S. We went to the doctor yesterday! Last week I was 1 cm dilated. Yesterday I went BACKWARDS... no progress, not even 1 cm dilated. If you are wondering how that is possible, I am too. Oh well. Doc also seemed to think the baby was more of the heavy side of average as far as weight goes (not a ton of bricks), which I consider good news. So, 37 weeks down, hopefully less than 3 to go!

Lessons Learned - Professionalism and Girl Scout Cookies

I would say that there is a LOT of maturity to be gained from age 21 to 25. Maybe maturity isn't the right word, but a 21 year old recent graduate has a lot to learn about how the world works, and speaking from my own experience, a 21 yr old typically also has quite a bit of humility to be gained. If any 21 year olds out there disagree, just wait till you are 25, then come talk to me.

Anyway, Matt was not a business major, but God had plans to give him a career in business, and so he/we both had a lot to learn. I'm talking little stuff, like how to dress professionally. (They teach you that stuff in business school if you want to learn it, but not when you are a political science major, like Matt was.) When we were 21, neither of us really thought professional appearance was a big deal, but now we both realize that while on one hand it is secondary and not a big deal, on the other hand, it IS a BIG deal. (FYI, Matt is thankful to 1- live in casual Austin, and 2- have a casual work environment 95% of the time. We'd never make it in Dallas.)

Anyway, Matt learned another awesome lesson in office politics a few years ago. When your colleagues' kids come into the office and ask you to buy girl scout cookies, you BUY them. Don't ask why, you just do. It is just what you do. A few years ago, he came home and told me that he felt really bad because "so and so's" daughter had asked him to buy cookies, and he basically looked at the little girl and shot her down on the spot... and NOT because he didn't have money, people. (I mean, the kid actually came to the office... this was not like mom or dad doing work for the kid.) This is the same guy who can look a sweet puppy in the face and not feel any urge at all to pick it up or pet it. I promise, he is not cold-hearted...

So obviously when he informed me of this, I immediately made him promise that he'd go back the next day and order some cookies from the mom because like I said, it is just what you DO. Since then, we have gotten girl scout cookies every year. And there seem to be more children coming around the office to sell them these days, which means... more cookies.

Great! Except I have something to confess that many of you might find extremely insulting... I like Thin Mints, but I don't love Thin Mints. They are called "Thin" Mints for a reason, people... they have less calories per serving than all the other types of cookies. And you know what that means... less calories = less yummy goodness. Thin Mints used to be my absolute favorite, but now I'd be happy w/ some Carmel Delights or those peanut butter ones w/ chocolate, EVEN the lemon ones... just something a little more substantial.

But Matt keeps buying THIN MINTS!!! I told him last night, NO MORE THIN MINTS! I wanted him to track down one of those kids so that he could buy another box of something else. There is much to be said for variety. I want variety!

Last year I didn't care because I was sending the cookies away- back to work with Matt so his co-worker's could entertain themselves at work and someone else could get fat besides me. Ha. But this year I am pregnant. This year I care.

So anyway, we have a couple of boxes of thin mints sitting in the freezer if anyone wants to come over and pig out. Or, I'll trade you if you have something else, how bout that?

Baby update coming next...

3rd post in 24 hours - I'm sorry

I've been feeling sick to my stomach since about 3 this afternoon, and it decided to get really bad about 2 hrs ago when I wanted to go to sleep. On top of that, the braxton hicks contractions that have been harmless up until about oh... now, are starting to make me a wee bit uncomfortable.

So, despite exhaustion, I am not going to sleep anytime soon. Therefore, let's talk BIGGEST LOSER. Shall we?

First of all, I totally took Jillian's side tonight w/ the Red Team saga. Melissa was lying, plain and simple. I'm feeling like if I were on the show, I'd really be ready for Red Team to go home. They can't seem to get along w/ anyone. On top of that they are obnoxious. Bad winners and annoying losers.

If I were gray team, I'm not so sure I would have given Red Team the call home. However, I was happy w/ their decision to let Miggy and Migdalia call home bc I was tired of them acting like victims. Ugh. And I think I would have given purple girl (what's her name) the call home instead of brown team guy. I like the purple girl.

As far as sending Migdalia home... I was a little upset about that decision. I totally would have sent Miggy home if I had a say... maybe even just to punish Migdalia for being a butt about wanting to go home, and also because I think she'd do a lot better there w/ out her mom because they feed off of each other as far the bad attitude and the playing of the victim card goes. Anyway, it was easy to see who the peacemakers were bc they all voted for Miggy to go home. I would have not been a peacemaker in that particular vote.

At my doctor's appointment today I found out that I am already 1 cm dilated, which pretty much doesn't mean diddly squat. Yes, the baby is still a big one. The nurse commented on his supposed broad shoulders. I get to go to the doctor once a week now, which means, just like the Biggest Loser contestants, I have a weekly weigh in.

Friends all around me are having their babies, and it's feeling like time! The day I found out I was pregnant, I also found out that another friend of mine from church was pregnant too. We weren't telling people at that point, but she was due exactly a month before me and just had a baby girl on Monday. It's getting so close, but four weeks feels like a lifetime!

One more thing. I went to a breastfeeding class tonight (and generously let Matt stay home), and it was very informative. But that's not what I want to tell you. The certified lactation consultant who taught the class talked in such a predictable tone and volume of voice. I don't know how to explain this to you, and obviously my brain is really not with it at this point. But, you know she was talking to like 20 people or so, but she didn't raise the volume of her voice anymore than she would have if she was sitting by your hospital bed, talking only to you. It was sort of annoying to me. Half the time I was absorbing her information, the other half of the time I was thinking about how much more I'd enjoy the class if she'd just talk normally.

Do I have anything else to say to you? Probably. And I'm not going to sleep anytime soon, so I might as well just keep going, even if it's bad for the blog. You know, my most popular posts tend to be the ones where I share my strong opinions with you. It so happens that these same posts also tend to get me in trouble in one way or another. I always end up regretting writing them. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

And lastly, I have the best husband out there. I love him. Seriously, I wish you could all get to know the Matt that I know. He's awesome.

Okay, maybe I am tired enough now that I can sleep in spite of the pain I keep feeling.

Love, Leah

Matty Gets Schooled (By the Moms)

I've been encouraging Matt to go to the Total Conditioning class at the gym, and as you know (because you read my earlier blog today), he finally went.

I was really excited to see what he was going to think of it, and as I suspected, it kicked his booty.

I believe he left feeling "weak" and like all the moms had schooled him, too. I'm telling you, it's humiliating.

But he's a real athlete and he doesn't really quit or complain about things, so I am sure no one even noticed that he was struggling. Anyway, feel free to give him a little note of encouragement. He's gonna try to start going more consistently. :)

Ten things I want to tell you on Tuesday

10. Matt's brother, Mitchell, is 17 today. So weird. Happy bday to Mitch!

9. We are getting a new roof today because the hail storm of 2009 left us w/ a leaky roof. Translation = pregnant lady can't sleep till 10 like she has been doing. (I hate to admit that little fun fact, but all new moms keep telling me to sleep as much as possible.)

8. Matt is about to wake up in like 10 minutes, and we are going to the gym together. He is going to do the Total Conditioning class (and I am sure he's hoping he's not the only guy there), though Bobby Bones recently admitted to going to those classes too. Elliptical for me.

7. In case any of you hated me because I didn't have a stretch mark yet last week, I got three beautiful ones w/ in days of the last post. So stop hating me. I did not freak out and cry, for the record.

6. I remembered why I don't watch the bachelor. Because it makes me want to puke every time. Can anyone watch that without thinking that the guy is a total sleazeball?

5. I am 36 weeks along today! Four weeks to go. Doctor's appointment at 10:40 today!!

4. Is it sad that I get excited about anything that remotely resembles a menstrual cramp because I am hoping it has something to do w/ impending labor?

3. THE BIGGEST LOSER comes on tonight!! Also, I follow Jillian Michaels on Twitter. I think she is fascinating, but Matt likes Bob better.

2. We found out last week that Matt is allergic to Tide Detergent. He broke out in a rash all over his body. Is it bad that I was really more upset that I can't use Tide because I really love the smell?

1. And last but not least, I love you, bloggy friends. I really do. ;)

pretty funny

So the other day I was getting ready to go to bed when I saw what I thought was a stretch mark on my belly. You probably would have thought someone had died if you had heard my reaction. Tears. Weeping. I'm talking like WAILING here, for a solid 45 minutes. I basically cried myself to sleep.

Matt, of course, had absolutely no idea how to handle this situation. "It's okay, babe, isn't that supposed to happen?"

"NOOOOO! IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN. AND I STILL HAVE FIVE MORE WEEKS TO GOOOOOOOOO!" Though it wasn't really that clear because I was crying so hard about it that I couldn't breathe, much less talk at the same time. (Think irrational child throwing a temper tantrum in Target or something of the sort. Got it? That was me.)

So I basically cry myself to sleep for the next 45 minutes while Matt rubbed my back. (He is such a good husband!)

And I wake up to find...

There was no stretch mark.

Yep. :) You know, there is no reward for me telling humiliating stories about myself to you on this blog. I could pretend that I'm perfect, but that wouldn't be any fun, would it?