it's a bloggy 'oliday for me, bert

I know I’m not the most faithful, loyal or regular blogger out there; not by a long shot. But, I do love my blog and feel I have made some very real, wonderful friends through it. And I am by NO means going anywhere, I promise. However, I am an exahusted 36 weeks pregnant and feeling it more each day. My body is aching badly (I have a severely painful pelvis, which we believe is thanks to my daughter’s large size during my pregnancy with her) and I am feeling larger by the day (ha…wonder why!). The real fun though is that the holidays are stressful enough without adding extra stress, and that’s exactly what’s happened over the weekend. Big time. And I am in need of reprieve. Not just an outlet, but a reprieve of much deeper levels; I am planning to hibernate the rest of my pregnancy (as much as one can hibernate in the midst of holiday gatherings and slews of doctors/midwives/specialists/therapist appointments!).

I will stop by your blogs and read, even comment perhaps, but unless something just must be said, I don’t believe I will be blogging until I announce my little boy’s birth. So, though I may be back in a mere two weeks to share that news, it could be four, and I know it’s kind of silly to even tell you I’m taking a break since I tend to easily go a few weeks at a time anyway (sorry I’m such a slacker, ladies!) For now just I need as much “down time” as I can get—and very little is available. And, I wanted you to know where I plan to be.

That said, I want to ask you to pray for me and my family right now. I am very much in need of it (no doubt more so because I have the pregnant hormones raging in this body!). I have to tell you that a little while back when the going got tough several of you said you were praying for me, and I know other friends were as well…and I began to do so much better right away. I could feel the prayers and felt myself being lifted to the throne of grace. I thank you for that. I know I will get through this, and thank you for being my friends, each one of you.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and I will “see” you in the new year!!

3am randomness

I am getting so very, very tired of these 3am wake ups. I know I'm just pregnant, I know there aren't that many weeks left, but I don't even have anyone waking me up (nursing babies and children in need at least justify it)! It's now 4am, I've been awake for nearly an hour, my kids are all sleeping (even the little guy in utero), my husband is nearly snoring, and my body is aching. UGH. Comfort usually arrives around the time the alarm goes off, after I've been up for a while and finally gone back to sleep. Comfort also comes after lunch when I am in desparate, desparate need of a nap, barely peeling my eyes open and attempting to convince my daughter that she, too, is exhuasted (she no longer naps every day). But at 3 and 4am? Nah. Sleep cometh not and this poor body is wearing out. My mom likes to say, "Well, you're not 25 anymore." No kidding -- I'm starting to understand what she's talking about! Pregnancy in my 30s is far more taxing than the ones in my 20s.

So, after laying in bed a while, I opted for some raisin bran with real milk. In our house, real milk is just not a regular purchase considering the allergies my daughter has. So, while pregnant, I've tried to get it about once a month or so. I'll do soy milk in certain cereals, but it's not really my thing. I had two bowls of the raisin bran. I so love real milk in cereal. Mmmm. My all time favorite is plain Cheerios with 2% milk. It absorbs right, it's cold enough and it is so perfect I often have two very large bowls (as in, these days, because I know it's a rare comodity in our home!!). Now, the middle of the night snack is taken care of, and I'm perusing online out of sheer boredom. Perhaps sleep will come soon. That milk might help it along...oh, I'm hoping it does!

To encourage the drowsy state I hope to be visiting very soon, I'm off to play a bit of Alchemy, a most addicting game. I like the free web version of it best, so that makes it very available and I've played it far more than I will admit in the last couple of weeks.

stages in life

I read two different blogs that both carry the name, "My Blog". One is a young, single author whose books I've enjoyed. The other is a married lady who is expecting her 2nd baby just before I am due.

I use Bloglines; a few weeks ago, one of the two My Blogs had a new entry to read. I clicked it, but before opening the actual link, I scanned the Bloglines view and saw the title: "I'm Engaged!" It says something about where you are in life when you begin reading and feel completely startled when it's not the pregnant mother saying her baby is engaged, but rather the single author who is planning a wedding!!