The Final Countdown

Today marks my entrance into the 3rd Trimester, wooohoo! I am calling this my final countdown, even if this may be slightly premature. Here's a little video, enjoy!

Weddings and Showers

This past Friday, my oldest sister, Jessie, was married! Don't worry, pictures will come soon, I just don't have any that I can put up yet. All of my siblings and their spouses were in town for the event and it was probably the best time that the 9 of us plus mom and dad have spent together in a long time. I had a minor breakdown the other night once everyone was gone, it's so hard being so far apart from everyone.

Wednesday night Derek and I drove to DTW to pick up the Colorado crew. Derek got to test out what being a soccer dad would be like because we borrowed Jessie's husband's sister's minivan. Needless to say we're both scarred for life and have sworn to NEVER go down that path! Once everyone was in the car, we made a much needed taco bell stop, which ended up being the best taco bell stop of our lives (or atleast the most memorable for us!). As soon as Derek started order, the woman yells to someone else there "They want steak! I need HAAAALP", after that we couldn't hold it together. That line became one of the many running jokes over the next few days.

Thursday morning the ladies woke up bright and early to go get pampered before the wedding with manicures and pedicures. After several hours of that, we went to lunch at Daryl's Downtown . The whole family met up for this, including Dustin's parents. Now, Derek and I aren't the biggest fans of Jackson, MI, however we both really enjoyed the food there in spite of the weirdo waitress. It's a place we would go back to if given the chance. Once lunch was over all of the Winters' headed back to mom and dads to hang out. I went straight to my bed and passed out. Meanwhile Derek and Kyle spent several hours playing this racing game... Later that night we headed to Knight's Steakhouse and Grille for the rehearsal dinner. We pigged out and I had the best steak I've had in a looong time, it was like butter in your mouth. Derek had what looked like a really good pulled pork something or other!

Friday was the wedding day! Jessie, Kelsey, and I headed into town to go get our hair done while all of the boys went golfing. Derek hasn't been out many times this year so he enjoyed playing and spending time with the other guys. From there we all went our separate ways to get ready and headed to the country club/golf course to start preparing. The dressing room was about a bajillion degrees, I'm not joking when I say that we had sweat dripping in every crack possible. I served as a buffer for Jessie, kicking random golfers out of the bathroom we were using to get ready, yeilding off family members, and tackling any last minute issues she thought of. From there it was time for her to get married! The wedding was beautiful, and much to my surprise I didn't shed a single tear. Then the reception started, and boy were we exhausted! It was a lot of fun and everyone had a great time, but I think both Derek and I were glad to get home once it was over.

Saturday morning my sister-in-law, Vas, and my other sister, Kelsey co-hosted a baby shower for me! I will put up pictures once I have them. It was great to see all of the people that came and we played some great games. My brothers and Derek even helped custom make some onesies for pee-wee. I was able to see some ladies that have been super helpful to me during the pregnancy (Lindsey and Beth) and lots of our extended family which is always great!

I'll put up pictures when I get the chance!

Difficult Day

Today's been rough for me on so many different levels. Bottom line: I wish I was full-term tomorrow and could give birth tomorrow. The bodily changes are really hitting me harder than I ever anticipated (and yes I know weight gain is healthy, and blah blah blah, it still doesn't make it easy or fun) and for some reason I haven't been able to sleep for more than 2 hours at a time over the past week. I'm exhausted. I was in the hospital yesterday with a blood pressure level of 60/30, yikes that's the lowest I've ever seen mine drop. Needless to say I'm still struggling with really low blood pressure levels. It's one of those days where I want to curl up in bed with bebe and butters (the kids...i mean kitties), and take a nap and/or cry for a long time. I'm ready to have my son and hold him.

26 Weeks and 4 Days

That's how far along I am, so I like to round up and say I'm 27 weeks along. Sunday is always when I start my new week, for some reason, Thursdays just don't work for me. At my doctor's office, they have my change day as every Thursday, but that's too much to keep track of with all that I have going on these days! Here's my latest picture, I guess I should have put my hands under my belly for the full effect. And yes, this is the same pair of shorts that I have worn in all of my other pictures, they're comfy and they are my Sunday afternoon shorts (did I mention I have 2 pairs of them and bought them my senior year of HS?)

My face is getting chubby....I had a minor breakdown tonight as I was comparing all of my pictures from 22 weeks through now, sigh. I just need to keep reminding myself that this little dude is worth it! Speaking of him, he is very very active these days! I can't tell when he's hiccuping and when he's just kicking, hitting, punching, doing backflips, etc. His favorite spots to hit are: underneath my rib cage on the right hand side (gets a little painful sometimes), the lower left part of my belly, and then right on my bladder. Lately when I have to go #1, right when I'm finished going, he gives me a little "thanks for giving me more room mommy" kick. The funny thing is that he does this almost every time I go #1 now, even if he hasn't been moving around prior to me using the restroom. What a little stinker :)

Wedding Shower

My oldest sister, Jessie, is getting married this upcoming Friday! Today is not only her wedding shower, but the start of the countdown to when all of my family arrives. When I say all, I mean ALL...Benj and Anna, Kelsey, Kyle and Vas, not to mention the out-of-town family coming in, as well as good friends from when we lived in Pennsylvania who are flying in just for the wedding!!

My family is probably one of the most important things to me, and it means a lot to me to be able to spend time with all of my siblings and their significant other if they have one. I know sometimes it drives Derek nuts, because there is mass chaos, lots of shouting, and of course the inevitable butt tacos (maybe I'll elaborate one day), but to me I wouldn't trade that time for the world. I think it can be a difficult adjustment for our spouses (those of us that are married in the Winters' family) to go from a 2-3 kid family to a 5 kid + significant others overnight! In addition there are always family stories, inside jokes, and lots of hugs that go on. I would never classify my family as a "touchy-feely" family, and we're not the ones that kiss our parents on the lips (sorry if you do, but I just can't handle that personally), but we do enjoy our hugs and "tacos" a lot. Everyone is coming in on Wednesday night and we're ALL staying at mom and dad's house (with the exception of Jessie), and I cannot wait. Having 3 days with all of my brothers and sisters is going to be great and I am looking forward to driving to the airport to go pick up some of them!

99 Days!

I have 99 Days left until my official due date! Although based off of my mom's history I'll probably be late, I was 2 weeks late myself! The days are really passing by fast :) I'll post a new picture soon.

New Art Project

In an attempt to be craftsy and make something really fun for the baby I am going to try and make my own baby closet clothes dividers. I saw the idea from a friend's blog and tried to find some online to buy. Hers were really cute, but then I saw a picture of these from another blog:

I have decided that I am going to try and make these for our little one! I was searching for a solution to dividing up the clothes, because when it's 6am and he needs to get dressed for the day the last thing I want to do is start looking through tags to see which size everything is! This way I can just grab and go. I'm excited, maybe if it's rainy tomorrow I'll head out to the good old Hobby Lobby and pick up the supplies needed!

1st Baby Gift!!

Yesterday we received a box from UPS, and we had no idea what it would be. I had to reassure Derek a few times that I did not buy anything!! We open it and realize that it's a our first baby gift, my Aunt Nancy sent us a diaper bag! We've received clothes from both our parents but this was different, and definitely made my day yesterday. Here's a picture of it, it's not really girly, but Derek did inform me that even if it was hot pink he is "secure enough in his manliness" to strut around in something that is hot pink. I may just need to test that one of these days, hehe.

Complaints

For the few of you who actually read my ramblings, this post will be me complaining, so if you don't want to read (I won't be offended) you should stop here :)

I have roughly 3.5 months left to go and I am miserable. My body temperature has always been on the colder side, however these past few weeks I have been dieing of heat. Regardless of the temperature outside I'm sweating. We've been sleeping with the A/C on every night (minus last night...don't even get me started on that one) not because we need it, but rather I need the cool air and to feel something cool blowing on a constant basis. My back has been killing me and makes it next to impossible for me to get comfy at night. Even sitting in my recliner couch right now I'm in pain. Sitting is a whole new battle in and of itself and I think I may have to give in and buy one of those butt doughnuts to sit on at work. I can't sit for long periods of time, which makes work difficult because I sit in front of my computer for 8 hours a day and usually try to spend my additional hour of lunch standing. The only solution I've found right now is to slouch down right now really far and put my feet up on a huge cardboard box...this is becoming more difficult because my belly doesn't allow me to scoot up to my desk as close as I need to be. Standing up after sitting like this for more than 30 minutes results in some interesting noises and yet again increased pain. What else could be irritating me right now? Lots, the newest thing being that I am outgrowing maternity clothes. Nothing makes me feel worse about my body right now than putting on a pair of maternity shorts that were big back in April, and finding out that they are now skin tight and no longer fit. My arms are getting chubbier, and my face has ballooned out, while Derek tries to assure me it's my imagination I think he's just saying that because telling me the truth would not only unleash psycho pregnant Arwen but would also result in him being on the couch until after the baby is born.

The only thing I'm happy with right now (and now that I write it/say it outloud this will probably change), is that the dreaded strech marks that I see on so many belly pictures have not yet come my way. Then again I do grease myself up like a piece of chicken ready to get deep fried twice a day every day. I do worry that the stretch marks will come in the 3rd trimester. Anywho, that's my complaining and venting for the month. Really I can't be too upset things have been going really well, not many complaints, and I will be seeing my new doctor on Monday. Things could be worse, but today was just crummy and I definitely got up on the wrong side of the bed.

Cravings

I haven't really had any cravings while being pregnant. During my 1st trimester I did seem to lose my sweet tooth, and I can happily report that it has returned! A friend showed me this blog and I saw a recipe for a Strawberry Shortcake Cake and I started drooling. I decided that since we had almost all of the ingredients at the house I would go ahead and make the cake up! I am currently resisting the urge to go have another slice.... I am also apologizing to Derek right now as he has been doing such a great job at getting in shape and when I cook up sweets it makes eating healthy very difficult for him. He's been a trooper throughout this whole pregnancy and I am convinced that once he sees our son for the first time it will make up for all of the times that psycho pregnancy Arwen has been unleashed on him!

Happy 4th!

Today was great, Derek surprised me by taking me to Grand Haven so I could enjoy the beach! The weather looked sketchy this morning, but we arrived and while it was overcast, it was still fairly warm out. These days it's almost impossible for me to get comfortable, and I've been having really severe back pain. Our glorious day at the beach lasted for about 1.5 hours or so before we headed home. I felt really bad because Derek wanted to surprise me and spend the whole day there, but he willingly packed up and drove us home to relax for the rest of the day. We're not doing fireworks, neither of us feels that they are really all that special, they are at every sporting event, theme parks, and any other random celebration these days. Rather than fight off the traffic and try to find a good spot around people who aren't obnoxious we will stay in like an old married couple!





Here's an updated picture of our growing baby. This is me at 25 (24 weeks and 3 days) weeks pregnant!

In other news, I finally found a dress to wear to my sister, Jessie's, wedding in July! I had such a difficult time finding an inexpensive, nice dress that would be suitable for a wedding. I dropped it off at the seamstress to have about 8-10" taken off so it would hit my knees and be full length.