Hey hey!

Came back from the doctor's, and Michael was able to come with me this time. Usually he hasn't because of his school schedule.

Heartrate 140-150

and....

I'm 3cm dialated! In other words, when I'm 10cm, I'll be ready to push the baby out! The doctor said that I could go anytime, but some women are like this for another couple of weeks, so we just have to be patient a bit longer! We were completely shocked and couldn't stop grinning at each other. Just can't wait to see Baby Riley!

Anyway, our bags are packed and at the door; now we just need to install the carseat and we should be all set to go. Now that the buzz has worn off, I'm feeling a bit pooped. I suppose I'll keep puttering around and cleaning up till I fall asleep tonight.

We have a Formal with Michael's class this Friday, and my work is hosting a shower for me this weekend...Michael insists that the baby stay in until those events are over...hah! As if I have control over the main event!

Not too much longer!

Signs you should go on maternity leave...
1) You leave the car keys on the passenger seat overnight with the door unlocked.
2) You are almost late for work because you are looking in the house for these *#&$@ keys.
3) You drive into the parking lot and almost hit your coworkers' car (as in 2-3 inches to spare). The lot was icy, but still!!!
4) Unholy gas...I pity the fool that has an appointment with me today!
5) You remind people of the penguins from 'Happy Feet' because of your exceptional waddling skills.
6) You forget *everything*!!!
7) You have a collection of random stuff by your feet because:
a) You're clumsy and drop stuff.
b) There's no way you're going to be able to stand up after you bend over to pick them up!
8) Sleep deprivation is making you have fantasies about your pillow.
9) Your coworkers who are parents already laugh at your pain because they've been through it already, so no sympathy there!
10) You take the time to come up with a top 10 list! Happy Monday!

Wow! I have never been to my doctor's office in the afternoon, and I have never seen so many pregnant women in one spot! It almost seemed like a joke:
"What do you get when you have 4 pregnant women.....?"

I think that this was my fastest appointment yet! Next week, Michael gets to come, and he's pretty excited, because he hasn't been in a while.

Heart rate was 150 beats/minute (again!). That makes it about 3 months in a row. Make your guesses now!

Ok, here's a picture from 15 weeks and 34 weeks just to compare how far along I've come. It's the same shirt, by the way!

Well, today was the courthouse date where I had to testify against the fraudster that was trying to open the account with fake ID.

To my surprise, unlike TV;
-the courthouse was on the 3rd floor of a regular office building (no big set of steps leading to a columned building)
-the walls were green instead of oak paneling,
-the courthouse officials were going through cases at a fast clip,
-there were cops everywhere, and
-the 'bad guy' wasn't there.

I met with the officer that I gave my statement to, and I watched a few of the proceedings before it was our turn to testify. The police officer went up first and started being questioned by the prosecution, but the prosecutor stopped and requested that I leave so I wouldn't be influenced by the officer's testimony. I got up and waited outside(with an extra waddle in my step!). I was called in a few minutes later, thinking that I would read my statement like a few of the officers did, but the prosecutor asked me some questions that I had to answer from memory. Luckily, I had been reviewing this in my mind for several days(weeks!).

I did have to place the bible and "swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God". There was no giggling or smiling on my part...I was a bit nervous and 20-30 people were watching me! I think that I was up there for 5-10 minutes.

When I was talking to the officer after I left the courtroom, I asked him why the bad guy wasn't there. He explained that the criminal trial already happened, and this trial had to do with the fake ID part. So, it wasn't as dramatic as I thought it would be, but I'm relieved at the same time!

All I can say is that I watch way too much 'Law & Order', and other crime TV shows!

Hey everyone,

Well, the last doctor's appointment was a repeat of the last one. Very routine.

Thursday, Michael and I were caught off guard. He went to play volleyball as usual with his classmates, and we went to the Honest Lawyer afterwards to eat dinner. Just as we were settled in, I noticed that there were balloons where we were seated, but couldn't figure out why. Then Brent wanted to make an announcement...I knew that he was with his girlfriend Kristen for a while, and I thought that he was proposing, but ... They had thrown us a surprise baby shower! We received some clothes, books and chair...it was so sweet that they thought of us!

The best part is that we get 22 babysitters! However, no one has signed up so far to take care of the baby the night before their final exams!

This past weekend, we went out with Mat and Shannon to the Detroit Art Gallery. I was pleasantly surprised...I found it better than the National Art Gallery in Ottawa because there were just the right amount of art. It was nice to go with them, because they know Art way better than we do, and can explain things in a way we understand. Afterwards, we went to Greektown for dinner. There was a fabulous pastry shop and like little kids, we ate dessert first, then went to dinner.

I swear that we were served by a bored Mikhail Baryshnikov(the Russian ballet dancer) look-alike, but it was great to have Greek food again.

Sunday, we packed the baby's and my bag for the hospital. Yikes! It's blowing my mind that there's 3.5 weeks to go (give or take 2 weeks!!!)

Anyway, I'm going to bed early. I'm feeling like a beached whale lately and I'm moving around like one. Hope everyone has a restful night!

Middle of February already??? Well, now there's 4.5 weeks to go, and some days it's flying by; other times (like in the middle of the night), it feels like I've always been pregnant.

I've learned a few things this week:
-Diapers are *really* expensive!!! We picked up some that were on sale this week and we were astonished that one of those packs will only last 1 week.
-Babies have their own special laundry detergent.
-Baby gear is reallly cute and designed so parents will spend a lot of money on them!
-Baby gear tends to need a bunch of batteries
-The bigger pregnant women get, the more anxious they are to get the baby out. I'm not as scared of labour as I used to be; I think it's the sleep deprivation I'm going through because I'm getting very uncomfortable.

We assembled our bouncy chair on the weekend (thanks Shell!). It's all set to go and I'm looking forward to using it.

Michael is bugging me to pack my labour bag and baby bag. Essentially, it's the odds and ends that I will use for myself and the baby when we go to the hospital. (I'll spare the boring details) The hospital route is mapped out if we need to go in the middle of the night or during the day.

My memory is *awful* right now! I changed a password at work, and forgot it 4 minutes later! I got it reset, but I felt awfully dumb! Now I'm getting my co-workers to double check a lot of my work just in case I mess something up. Only 3 weeks and 4 days to go for work...I'll make it, because I'm too stubborn to leave early!

Another doctor's appointment tomorrow...for those who still want to guess the sex, the heartrate was still around 150. It's actually pretty consistent.

Have a good Valentine's day!

Football is finally over...yipee!

Michael went for a 'guys weekend' and got to watch the game without me complaining about how boring I find football. What I do know about the Superbowl is that 1 team won, and 1 team lost.

Enough of being a smart-aleck. In Windsor, the temperature is -27C with the windchill. Everyone is *freaking* out because they're not used to this weather. Even the news is talking about hypothermia and ways that you can protect yourself. I only watched it because I thought that it was hilarious and that this is normal for Ottawa (well, maybe not this year). It's like watching about a heatwave that's only 27C.

I like being tough, and I particularly like having 'the belly' to keep me warm. It's like my own portable stove. I still had the fan on last night because I thought that my bedroom was too warm.

My belly is getting bigger, if that's possible. I 'play' with the baby now my rubbing my belly in one spot till I feel it move, then I move my hand to another place. Eating is being more of a challenge, as there's less room. Even drinking water can make me feel stuffed!

There's a Hawaii theme at work on Thursday...think I can get away with wearing a bikini? (Just kidding!!!) I have 5 more weeks of work to go and I'm getting excited! I'm glad that I work with nice people, otherwise I'd want to leave a lot earlier!