The Baby Shower

I have been slacking on sending a link to the pictures that I have of the Baby Shower - sorry about that. I have spent every night this week working on the clutter that has taken over our first floor and writing thank you's.

I am happy to report that we put a huge dent in the clutter (John was a big help there), and the thank you's are in the mail (I hate having those lingering over my head).

The shower was great...my Mom really outdid herself (as she always does when it comes to our showers and weddings). There were a lot of people there - I think 90 - we have big families and lots of friends! One of the best parts for me was spending some time with my Allegheny College friends, who all came from a distance to be at the shower. I was so happy to see them!

So, here are the Snapfish links to the pictures, the first link are pictures from my camera and the second is a link from Dani's camera - so, there are some duplicates.

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=277703212/a=40662473_40662473/t_=40662473

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=287819612/a=40662473_6120978/t_=40662473

The Baby Invasion!

Babies R Us has exploded in our living room:

Babylicious

I couldn't resist. Our furniture arrived and we already had our bedding, so of course I HAD to wash it and make up the crib.

Here are some pictures of what it looks like with empty shelves, which will soon change. The furniture looks A LOT darker in these pictures than it really is. Although some of these images make the pieces look black, it's actually a cherry stain.

Oh - and ignore the football light-switch cover...that was there from the former owners. It's not in indication that we know the sex and are keeping it from everyone.

"C" is for Cookie

The cookie-craze has commenced!

If anyone has been to one of my family's wedding showers, baby showers, or weddings - you know what I am talking about. These are just the ones that I made...there are many more varieties being prepared even as we speak.

Getting ready for next Sunday...

Totally true!

As I am sure many of you heard on the radio or TV today, Melissa from "The Bachelor" is indeed the replacement for Nancy O'Dell on "Dancing with the Stars."

She actually did quite well considering she only had about 3 days to learn the routine, while everyone else had about 4 weeks.

She is turning into the Reality TV queen now, because in addition to these 2 shows, she was originally in the reality show to make the Dallas Cowboy cheerleading squad. What's next - she gains a ton of weight and will be on "The Biggest Loser"?

I am actually a fan of hers, so I will be rooting for her during this show as well.

Taking another stab at Reality TV

It was announced earlier this week that Jewel and Nancy O'Dell had to pull out of the up-coming season of "Dancing with the Stars" due to injuries. Both are reported to be devastated about the turn of events...and to make matters worse, the season is scheduled to start TOMORROW - LIVE!

But no need to worry - ABC has already found replacements at the last minute. One is someone from "The Girls Next Door" and the other one is none other than:MELISSA! Fresh from the publicity of her jilt - she is rumored to be joining the show also. Being a former Dallas Cowboy cheerleader, she probably won't have any trouble in this arena.

I will be sure to update the accuracy of this news after tomorrow night's premiere.

Starting the Countdown!

Less than 8 weeks to go until our Little One arrives. We are so excited...I just hope that these last weeks don't drag on too much.

So a little update on things:

I really feel great! I can't complain about much. My energy level is a little lower than usual, but I guess that is to be expected. I have cut another 500 yards from my swimming routine, which was definitely necessary. I feel so incredibly slow in the water. Even the guy that is always guarding at the pool noticed it. The suit hickeys are becoming larger and more painful. Hmmm....you would think that I would get the hint to get a bigger suit.

Work is still going well. I am in the OR at least twice a week, and I really don't have any problems. It's just that I notice that I can't reach as far across the patient when I am prepping and draping the abdomen...especially when it's a LARGE abdomen.

I passed my glucose tolerance test with flying colors, and all other numbers (weight gain, fundal height, blood pressure, fetal heart rate, etc.) are all making my doctors very happy, which of course makes John and me very, VERY happy. Weight gain is about 22 pounds so far, but I have a feeling that is going to start accelerating very soon.

As per Sarah's request, here is a belly shot for you all:

This picture definitely doesn't do my boobs justice because they are HUGE! My attire is not very becoming, I am aware. But I was in the middle of cleaning and laundry and noticed that my belly was especially protrusive today. So I thought that I would take advantage of the view.

Everyone I encounter gives me their predictions for the sex of the baby, which is entertaining at times. Even Gabi gets in on it. She said that her Aunt Car was having a baby boy up until a few weeks ago. Now all she says that it is going to be a baby girl and her name is going to be Anna Lydia (which is the name of a little girl in her dance class). She is a funny one.

Feel free to share with me your predictions!

Where to start...

Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow!!!

Seriously...that was one intense finale! So, most of the speculation that I reported in the last post was quite accurate. Some of the finer details were wrong, but the big picture was right on!

All I have to say is - You go Melissa! I seriously cheered when she called him a bastard. That whole thing was totally unbelievable. Jason is not making himself out to look like the poor heart-broken all-American single father that we thought he was. Melissa made a great point - he was not fighting for her. This all happened 6 weeks after the final episode was taped, which means that the first episodes were already being aired, which further means that they had to keep their distance from each other and have secret rendezvous to prevent the public from finding out the ending. So my question to Jason is: How can you do that to her when you really didn't give the relationship a fair chance?

Oh - and furthermore - how can you do that to her on NATIONAL TV?!?!?!?!? Why couldn't he have broken up with her in private and just showed up to the "After the Final Rose" taping without her (to spare her humiliation and heartache)? I wonder how much the producers of the show had to do with all of this...something seems a little fishy there because this was just too mean.

And to top it off - he is smooching all over Molly in the end! She was (at least I think) genuinely shocked, but she's willing to take him back...maybe they are meant to be together after all.

Can't wait to see how everything turns out when they all reunite again in tomorrow's show. A little spoiler I heard - Jillian comes on and is announced to be the next Bachelorette.