Turning the bend into the final homestretch

32 weeks and all is well. I feel like a total failure for not blogging more in the past few months. I wanted to blog to have a record of this experience, but life got too crazy and something had to go. Nevertheless, all is well, and that's what really matters.

(If you don't want to read a bunch of backstory, scroll down to where I talk about the shower!)

This whole journey to motherhood thing has been a wild one. While I know in many ways we were blessed and didn't have to endure what many couples do, it was still a long road in comparison with those teenage crack whores who get pregnent without thought. My entire married life has been a bit chaotic. In fact, our whole relationship has been wild. Mark and I met as I was finishing the dissertation for my doctorate. Not an ideal time to begin a relationship, but I promised him that if he could survive those first two months, we could get through anything. We made it through the dissertation defense, the multiple edits and graduation in May (2006). Of course, I was also responsible for planning a week-long conference in July, and that created more stress for our relationship. I began a new job and we moved in together in July too.

The first year we lived together, things were alright. I got used to my job, got used to living with someone (which isn't easy after being independent for 10 years), and we got to know each other better-- fell in love, if you will. We got engaged the following March- a year after we began dating-- and planned the wedding for the following July. Yup- while living in Mississippi, we planned a Texas-sized wedding back "home." When we returned from our honeymoon, I had my yearly visit with the gyno scheduled. Because of some previous stuff, I thought it important to ask her "permission" to stop taking birth control pills.

The next 18 months have been chronicled off and on through this blog. I share all of this information for my own perspective, really. The first two years of our married life have been an emotional rollercoaster. All of the things I did to my body to get pregnant made me a wild mad woman-- and while I'm thrilled it worked, I really put Mark through hell. Of course, after we got pregnant, the first trimester was ridiculous. We were thrilled to be pregnant, but I was still an emotional mess. Things seemed to level out a bit during the second trimester, but I was so overloaded at work, you couldn't really tell much of a difference.

So, here we are now at 32 weeks. I finished with the Spring semester in mid-May, finished my mim-mester course at the end of May and started my online course June 1. Fortunately, the online course is much easier on my physically. I seem to have a great group of students in that class, which will make the process MUCH easier. And now, I finally feel like I can enjoy life again. Sure, we've got TONS of things to do to get the house ready for Miss Parker, but it'll happen. No biggie! I think Parker agrees-- she just gave me a kick.

Yeah, not sure what that whole blog was about, but apparently, it needed to come out.

I had my second shower last weekend, and it was a total blast! Two of my sorority sisters planned it and did an amazing job. We had a couple's shower at the BlackFinn American Saloon. The movie Sweet Home Alabama comes to mind: "You have a baby....in a BAR!" It's really more of a restaurant than a bar at 4pm. The girls decorated the place with balloons and confetti and had the most amazing cupcakes you've elver seen. There were no pastels for this shower-- bright pinks, yellows and greens made for a lively atmosphere. Of course, maybe the beer and shots helped with that too....

Before the shower, Mark and I met some of my college buddies and their wives at the Rahr Brewery in downtown Fort Worth. I was the designated driver, of course, but that didn't stop me from having a bbq sandwhich! I got lots of crazy looks at the brewery with my baby belly hanging out, but I just sipped from my water and gave a smile. We had a good time. After the shower, we went over to some friends' house and hung out for a bit. It was after midnight when we got home. I was exhausted and my feet were really swollen.

Here's a picture of some of the ladies at the shower (including my mom!):

I'm telling you-- these cupcakes were GOOD!

And some pictures of gifts. The first was made by one of my college buddies (male). The second is us cheesing it up.

That's all for now. Next OB appointment is Monday. I will post some pictures of the nursery soon-- figured I'd posted enough for now though. ;)