For months now I have felt Nathan move. It's been sweet, a little painful at times, but always a blessing. But today, I SAW him move! Just now. I just looked down at my ever-growing belly where I saw him punch/kick me 3 times! Of course this put a smile on my face and a song in my heart.

In other news, we visited the doctor yesterday for a routine appointment and a fourth ultrasound. We got to see our sweet boy. We also learned that he is no longer breeched (and he better stay that way!), he weighs 3 lb. 5 oz., and he is still a he.

Of course the "no longer breeched" news was the best. I actually shed a tear. I really want to deliver him "naturally." When I say naturally, I mean with drugs, but without a C-section. I want to watch him take his first breath and have the doctors place his body on mine upon his arrival. Messy or not, this is what I hope for.

Lucky Day?

Today is St. Patty's Day. It's supposed to be a lucky day. For some it might be, but for me it's not. Today is the day I stopped wearing my wedding & engagement rings. I knew this day would come, I just didn't expect it to come this soon.

A jeweler told us a few weeks ago that I should go ahead and remove my rings for fear that my hand would swell and the rings would have to be cut off or risk losing my ring finger. Perhaps he was being a bit dramatic, but he definitely meant well. My bands make the rings, and with our personal inscriptions on both bands, I don't want anything to happen to my rings.

So, today I removed my rings. It's a sad, sad day.

Not for the Faint of Heart

Disclaimer #1: This is intended for mature audiences only.

Disclaimer #2: Do not drink anything while reading this. Trust me!

I got this off my friend Whitney's blog. It was shared with her by another blogger as part of Whitney's Friday "Tell Me a Joke" posting.

Here you go...

"Hair Removal....

All hair removal methods have tricked women with their promises of easy, painless removal - The Epilady, scissors, razors, Nair and now...the wax. Read on.........

My night began as any other normal weeknight. Come home, fix dinner, play with the kids. I then had the thought that would ring painfully in my mind for the next few hours: 'Maybe should pull the waxing kit out of the medicine cabinet.'

So I headed to the site of my demise: the bathroom. It was one of those 'cold wax' kits. No melting a clump of hot wax, you just rub the strips together in your hand, they get warm and you peel them apart and press them to your leg (or wherever else) and you pull the hair right off.

No muss, no fuss. How hard can it be? I mean, I'm not a genius, but I am mechanically inclined enough to figure this out. (YA THINK!?!)

So I pull one of the thin strips out. Its two strips facing each other stuck together. Instead of rubbing them together, my genius kicks in so I get out the hair dryer and heat it to 1000 degrees. ('Cold wax,' yeah...right!) I lay the strip across my thigh. Hold the skin around it tight and pull. It works!

OK, so it wasn't the best feeling, but it wasn't too bad. I can do this! Hair removal no longer eludes me!

I am She-rah, fighter of all wayward body hair and maker of smooth skin extraordinaire.

With my next wax strip I move north. After checking on the kids, I sneak back into the bathroom, for the ultimate hair fighting championship. I drop my panties and place one foot on the toilet.

Using the same procedure, I apply the wax strip across the right side of my bikini line, covering the right half of my Hoo-ha and stretching down to the inside of my butt cheek (it was a long strip) I inhale deeply and brace myself.... RRRRIIIPPP!!!!

I'm blind!!! Blinded from pain!!!!...OH MY GAWD!!!!!!!!! Vision returning, I notice that I've only managed to pull off half the strip. CRAP! Another deep breath and RIPP! Everything is spinning and spotted.

I think I may pass out...must stay conscious...must stay conscious. Do I hear crashing drums??? Breathe, breathe... OK, back to normal.

I want to see my trophy - a wax covered strip, the one that has caused me so much pain, with my hairy pelt sticking to it. I want to revel in the glory that is my triumph over body hair. I hold up the strip!

There's no hair on it.Where is the hair??? WHERE IS THE WAX???

Slowly I ease my head down, foot still perched on the toilet. I see the hair. The hair that should be on the strip...it's not! I touch. I am touching wax.

I run my fingers over the most sensitive part of my body, which is now covered in cold wax and matted hair. Then I make the next BIG mistake...remember my foot is still propped upon the toilet? I know I need to do something. So I put my foot down. OMG! NOOOOOo!!!

Sealed shut! My butt is sealed shut. Totally sealed shut!

I penguin walk around the bathroom trying to figure out what to do and think to myself 'Please don't let me get the urge to poop. My head may pop off!' What can I do to melt the wax?

Hot water!! Hot water melts wax!! I'll run the hottest water I can stand into the bathtub, get in, immerse the wax-covered bits and the wax should melt and I can gently wipe it off, right???

*WRONG!!!!!!!*

I get in the tub - the water is slightly hotter than that used to torture prisoners of war or sterilize surgical equipment - I sit.

Now, the only thing worse than having your nether regions glued together, is having them glued together and then glued to the bottom of the tub...in scalding hot water.

Which, by the way, doesn't melt cold wax.

So, now I'm stuck to the bottom of the tub as though I had cemented myself to the porcelain!! God bless the man who had convinced me a few months ago to have a phone put in the bathroom!!!!!

I call my friend, thinking surely she has waxed before and has some secret of how to get me undone. It's a very good conversation starter 'So, my butt and Hoo-ha are glued together to the bottom of the tub!'

There is a slight pause. She doesn't know any secret tricks for removal but she does try to hide her laughter from me. She wants to know exactly where the wax is located, 'Are we talking cheeks or hole or Hoo-ha?'

She's laughing out loud by now...I can hear her. I give her the rundown and she suggests I call the number on the side of the box.

YEAH!!!!! Right!! I should be the joke of someone else's night. While we go through various solutions, I resort to trying to scrape the wax off with a razor . Nothing feels better than to have your girlie goodies covered in hot wax, glued shut, stuck to the tub in super hot water and then dry-shaving the sticky wax off!! By now the brain is not working, dignity has taken a major hike and I'm pretty sure I'm going to need Post-Traumatic Stress counseling for this event.

My friend is still talking with me when I finally see my saving grace.... the lotion they give you to remove the excess wax.

What do I really have to lose at this point? I rub some on and OH MY GOD!!!!!!! The scream probably woke the kids and scared the dickens out of my friend. It's sooo painful, but I really don't care. 'IT WORKS!! It works!!'

I get a hearty congratulation from my friend and she hangs up. I successfully remove the remainder of the wax and then notice to my grief and despair.... THE HAIR IS STILL THERE... ALL OF IT!

So I recklessly shave it off. Heck, I'm numb by now. Nothing hurts.

I could have amputated my own leg at this point.

Next week I'm going to try hair color......"

Smile!

Yesterday I had a dental cleaning. It is recommended that pregnant women have their teeth cleaned every 3 months during pregnancy, so yesterday was my second such appointment. (I'm a good patient anyway. As a heart patient, I go every 4 months.)

The funniest thing happened in the dentist's chair yesterday morning. The hygienist was using the "super sonic pressure washer" (my term, not theirs) to remove plaque & tarter. Nathan DID NOT like the noise. At. All. In less than 2 minutes, he moved from my right side to my left side, kicking & punching me the entire way!

I don't think he's ever hung out on my left side. Ever. I typically feel his kicks & movement on my right side.

Anyway, he stayed on my left side for the remainder of the appointment, especially when she was cleaning my teeth. I even joked that he just might stick his hand out and demand that she give him the tools!

After the hygienist finished, and before I made my way to the car, he was back on the right side & no doubt as happy as a clam!

Two down. One to go.

Today marks the start of my third trimester.

This weekend I hope to accomplish the following:

• line drawers so I can put away Nathan's clothes
• paint letters that spell his name and get them hung
• clean toy box that my brother loaned me
• fix lamp that I broke Tuesday night (don't ask)
• decorate the inside of a mini-armoire that will hold books & blankets

Think I'm overdoing it? Perhaps. But as long as I have the energy, I'll make it happen!

Furry Babies

Finally! A picture with all three!!

Three Months...

or thereabouts. Nathan's due date is three months from today. Hard to imagine it's that soon.

I have enjoyed every minute of being pregnant. I've been fortunate, I know. I haven't experienced morning sickness, excessive weight gain, food aversions (aside from Thousand Island salad dressing), or aches & pains. I also know that my next pregnancy may not go as well as this one has.

My hope & prayer is that my next three months are just as blessed, that I have a wonderfully beautiful delivery, and that our son is absolutely perfect & joyous.