First I have to brag on my super sweetheart of a husband.

Some background info: When Will and I got married we each came into the relationship with an Apple laptop (I <3 Apple), I had an iBook and he had a MacBook. It was then deemed "unnecessary" and "frivolous" to be in possession of 2 such fabulous laptops. Mine being the older, less valuable, and the one financed, was sold. Since that time, Will has upgraded his MacBook EVERY time Apple releases a new one... and Leah uses a crummy, hand-me-down Dell PC... That she NEVER complains about having to use. Not that I'm keeping score or anything like that...

I DO have an iPhone... I can't lie! (I'm blogging from it now! Woot!) AND it HAS been upgraded EVERY time Apple releases a new one. So I am thankful for that. HOWEVER, I have been a tad envious of my husbands super sweet Apple products... Namely his MacBook!

Being a fantastic man and future father, Will surprised me with an iPad last week! So I traded in the Dell and I've been doing all of my computering from said iPad. So far, so good. I've run into a few snags with not having flash (darn you, Apple!!) and I will have to use Will's MacBook for my serious photo editing. Aside from those mini setbacks, I'm facebooking, blogging, and pinteresting (the only things that really matter) from iPad or iPhone with ease! Yay! Plus, the calendar totally rocks my world! Three cheers for organization!!

Now to the real story of the night.

I ordered my pack and play from target.com a few weeks ago. I figured it was one of those "needs" that was a little too pricey for anyone else to purchase for me. It was on sale at the time, so I took the bait and handed them my card info! It came in super fast and it has just been sitting in Liam's room in the shipping box (like pretty much everything else!). So apparently I was feeling frisky enough to pull that bad boy out and "put it together".

Now, I know this is my first child, but I am no stranger to the pack and play. I remember my mother using one for my siblings at the pool or park or anywhere we might have been that she could whip it out and set wee baby down. They're every mom's go to tool! The one thing I remember most about pack and plays is their portability and ease of use. Well let me tell you about mine!

MY pack and play is a fancy model. It comes with 600 useless plastic pieces that have to be assembled and added on. A changing table, a storage bin, a mobile, a nightlight and music box... What the heck?! I spent an hour reading directions and inserting part A into part B until a hear a click but without cracking the plastic... Oh my. Here is my super fancy pants pack and play all assembled.

Granted, the "bones" of it, and by that I mean the actual pack and play sans ridiculous attachments, is super easy. It pops right open and ta-da, baby holder! The bassinet part takes some time to install, but it's sturdy and works well.

I say all of this not to complain about the pack and play and all of it's plastic attachment glory, but to make note that I'm thankful for that "Trial Run". I can only imagine a few weeks from now, baby in hand and running on no sleep, trying to assemble that thing! What a nightmare! I Now feel prepared to whip out my pack and play anytime with no hesitation or directions! I'm starting to wish that I had more trial run opportunities available... Like for Labor!

While I'm sharing. Here is a pic of Liam's nursery.




Can you say not ready? It's like a really bad I-Spy. It does have an AWESOME changing table ($32.50 from the thrift store and NEVER USED!! Thanks, Mom and Dad!). It may or may not stay that color... Stay tuned for that one.

Here is his precious closet... well, half really. Someone (me!) has some washing to do!




The countdown is ON! maximum 4 weeks until Liam arrives... I've got a lot to do!

I <3 John Mayer. For Real. I saw him in concert once...

John Mayer in concert @ BJCC Birmingham, AL Feb 2010 Photo by Sorella Photography

John Mayer in concert @ BJCC Birmingham, AL Feb 2010 Photo by Sorella Photography

The Shower always channels my inner musical guru. Something about shampooing my hair brings forth song lyrics from random songs... I'll never fully understand from where or why. My most recent cleaning routine was set to John Mayer's "Gravity". While washing the now unavoidable baby bump, my musical guru one-upped John Mayer by changing his lyrics from Gravity to Pregnancy. The reality of my current life situation is Pregnancy is working against me and Pregnancy wants to bring me down.

Today I am 34 weeks and 2 days. Yes, each day is that significant. This is my first child, so I have had absolutely NO IDEA what to expect. Don't get me wrong, I heard people talk about the things they experienced during pregnancy and how good or bad it was, but there is no better explanation than to experience it for yourself. I heard about heartburn, being uncomfortable, getting kicked in the ribs... I don't recall anyone telling me that my body would start a revolution against itself. It's like World War 3 right here in my 5'4" frame. EVERYTHING is swollen and stretched to capacity and there is no position that is remotely comfortable. I have an itching desire to clean everything, but my body can barely handle any activity that requires more than existing. My feet definitely can not handle the extra 30 pounds I am carrying around and stay swollen and red. Pitting Edema, Shin Splints, and Cankles are the latest additions to my once normal legs. My face looks like it's been inflated and even my sinuses are so swollen that I am constantly congested and have an ear ache. I could go ON and ON about all of the horrendous things going on in my body. I've actually resorted to calling my innocent fetus a terrorist because of the terror he is inflicting on my body! His alligator death rolls look like something off the Sci-Fi Channel... I feel like any moment now a camera crew will be filming me and an alien will burst forth from my abdomen.

All of these miserable feelings remind me daily that God is indeed a genius. 40 weeks is exactly enough time to not only prepare for a baby's arrival, but to literally LONG FOR IT! My feelings about delivery and having a new baby have shifted from nervousness, and fear to readiness and peace. Not sleeping is misery, but it has been a gradual process and I know my body is preparing for a complete lack of sleep once the baby gets here. My currently revolting body is setting me up for relief once the baby arrives. Whenever he is ready (within a safe time... like after 36 weeks!), I'm ready!!

...Maybe one day HAPPY, not always complaining Leah will come back... SOON I hope :)

I've been sick... for what seems like months now... but it also seems like I've been pregnant for years, so there is a pretty good chance that my sense of time lapse may be skewed.

Beginning about a week ago I would wake up in the middle of the night (surprise, surprise!) and have this horrible pain on the right side of my face. I have TMJ, so I thought maybe it was acting up. The pain was only at night while lying down... weird and definitely not like my usual TMJ symptoms. After several nights of the pain, which began getting worse and then occurring during the day randomly, the light bulb went off and I realized the pain was in my ear and not my jaw joint. I know, seems dumb I didn't realize it... but they're close together and I have pregnancy brain... cut me some slack!

I had one of the doctors in my office look in my ear. (side note: I STILL find it comical that it's an OB/GYN office and they were checking my ear... but whatever...) I was told: no infection, possible fluid, take sudafed. Awesome. That was Thursday.

Friday and Saturday I slowly began getting worse. Added to my ear ache were congestion and sore throat. By Sunday I was running a fever and had all sorts or aches and chills... fabulous.

Monday I called into work and then headed to the always wonderful Primed <sarcasm for those of you unfamiliar with Primed>. After normal lab work and a negative strep test I begged for a flu test and after much hesitation from the nurse, I got one. Guess what?! Positive!

The doctor comes in... I have the flu and fluid in my ears. duh. He asks if I have a list of OTC medicines that are safe to take in pregnancy provided by my OB doctor...