Nine weeks left. We're into the single digits now, something that seemed would never come when I first realized pregnancy is 40 weeks. 40 frickin' weeks!!

Have I mentioned how wonderful my husband is lately? Probably not, but I should. He's got some things going on right now and is going through some personal trials; I hope he knows how much I love him.

We had a busy weekend with B's folks in town; it was enjoyable but also stressful. I'm so obsessive compulsive that it's sometimes difficult to have house guests because, you know, they generally touch stuff. They move things around, put things in obvious wrong places and such. (Man, having a baby is really gonna shake up my world.) Anyway, I do OK for about 24 hours and then quickly go down hill. Being an only child used to living alone most of my adult life, well, I'm easily prone to suffication -- no matter if I'm in generally enjoyable company.

The shower went well yesterday, and we got to see some folks we'd not seen in a while. I enjoyed that my folks were both there, that B's folks were there. Amy and Robin were excellent hostesses who did an excellent job of planning everything. A few gift faves:

-- A handmade quilt & pillow from my step-grandmother -- with the cutest cowboy theme I've ever seen. This I truly loved for my little Texan boy. (Holy crap, I'm going to put another male Texan into the world. Look out.)

-- Ryder's Christmas stocking -- handmade by his Grandma McC. (She hasn't yet stitched his name on it, in case we change it between now and his birth.) It's precious. He has a Christmas stocking!

-- A bib from R & JD that says, "I love my Godparents." Rob said she got it for, you know, whomever the Godparents end up being. This has been a bit of an ongoing joke with us. B & I haven't even talked about Godparents yet.

Anyway, we got great stuff from our great pals, and it meant a lot that everyone came to celebrate. B's folks left the house just before 6 this morning, at which point I went back to bed for a while. Bad idea! I think that's the reason I've been dragging all day.

At least this week won't be as busy as last, though it'll be a close race.

I'm not in the mood for Monday.

It's been a busy week; I'm tired and pukey-feeling but quite happy it's Friday. Brian's folks arrive this evening and will be spending the weekend at our house, which explains my work attire today; I'm wearing a top that my mother-in-law made and shipped to Texas. It also explains why I put banana nut bread in the oven at 11 last night. Or maybe it doesn't really.

I've had something going on every night this week, and last night I attended a jewelry party that Robin was hosting (grammatically, I'm all wrong here; hosting isn't really supposed to be used as a verb, according to the AP). It was actually pretty fun, and at least I got to chat with her 1:1 after everyone cleared out. But the price paid was that I didn't get home until close to 10 p.m., and I had lots of domestic items on the to-do list. Seriously, B was grilling a pork tenderloin at 10 p.m. because it absolutely HAD to be cooked or it was going to go to waste. Yes, this is the type of week we've had.

Work is crazy. The good news is that I don't have to go to Boston next week; the bad is that I do have to travel to NYC Sept. 7. At least I don't have to go to both cities.

B's work threw a baby shower for us yesterday afternoon. The shower was for three of their expectant employees, so it was fun to chat w/the other preggos. Seriously, it's oddly comforting to be around other expectant moms, to exchange belly notes and to talk about the latest sale at A Pea In The Pod (even though I'm not allowed to shop there). We went home with a Pack-N-Play, hamper, mobile, lamp, robe & booties, wash towels, baby's first calendar, and CAKE -- lots of cake. I'd say we made out nicely.

Last night, when we finally crawled into bed after midnight, we laid there talking, and the baby started kicking like crazy. Yeah, Brian could feel it, but we just watched my tummy for a long time. It's strange to see something moving around inside my body and to know that that something is our baby boy.

Um, yeah ... I just got out of a breastfeeding seminar presented here at work by La Leche League. Too much information makes my head reel.

I'm extremely tired and not quite over my cold.

I think I'll go buy myself a pedicure this afternoon.

Book club is tonight, and I've still not finished the book about the autistic kid who hates brown and yellow.

Shit.

We're 30 weeks pregnant. No really, we're 30 weeks pregnant.

Ten weeks until the due date, but baby will be considered full term at 38 weeks. I've hit the 30-something week mark!! Thank heavens! I remember when we were only 19 weeks, and it doesn't seem like that long ago when we learned baby's sex.

If you're interested, lots of info on what's going on this week can be found here and here.

Welcome back from the weekend. I've caught a cold, a cold that came all the way from New Jersey to find host in my head and sinuses. It found Brian while he was there for business last week, and it flew back to Dallas with him, lingered all weekend and then transferred to the shelter of the pregnant lady.

I thought pregnant ladies didn't get sick? Something about amazing immunities that develop? So much for that.

The past two weeks have been crazy-busy at the office, and things will continue as such until probably mid to late September. By the time Friday finally rolls around each week, I'm wiped out. Such is the case today.

Today's word: such
Today's breakfast: banana pudding

The good news is that it's a "baby Friday," as we like to call them. Since our doctor's visits are now every two weeks, we go in every other Friday afternoon, which means I get to leave around 2:30 p.m. and call it a day. This is one of the few perks of pregnancy.

We spent two hours yesterday evening comparing baby cribs and furniture prices. Once my head was ready to explode, we headed home.

I'm sorry all I talk about is being pregnant. (Let's put a fetus in you and see what comes out of your mouth.)

Brian's office is having a shower for us next week, and Amy & Robin are hosting a shower next weekend. Brian's folks are coming into town that weekend to attend and will be staying with us. I'm really looking forward to their visit.

And I suppose I'll close with a big, fat TGIF. Happy weekend, all.

I'm here out of obligation. I feel guilty for not posting, and I feel like I'll forget some stuff that's been happening if I don't write it down -- not that any of it is all that interesting.

I think what's happening here is simple: after all the excitement of our recent wedding, honeymoon, my starting a new job, etc., life's settling into normal (a new version of it, mind you) and naturally slowing down. It's the change of pace that's given me a a strange variation of jet lag.

It won't last long, I'm sure. Not that that's a good thing. I've got another work trip coming up at the end of the month and maybe even another mid-September. After that, the doc is taking away my flying privileges, and I'll be stranded in the Metroplex until our little bambino decides to make his appearance. And then, there will be absolutely no such thing as boredom in our lives, I'm sure. October is fast approaching.

I still haven't gotten our Hawaii pictures developed. I tried to finish the final roll this weekend at JV's wedding. Mr. and Mrs. JV are now in Hawaii for the next two weeks, lucky dogs. The wedding was really nice, and we had a good time Saturday. It was a pretty large gathering, with the bride & groom having seven maids/men in the wedding party. We hadn't been out late in a while, so it was nice to get out and celebrate. I managed to pull off a lovely maternity dress, and as JV said, "You're so pregnant now!" Yep, that's pretty accurate. 11 weeks left.

Seriously -- 11 weeks.

Am I back in San Francisco? This weather is deceiving; I'm not complaining.

I grabbed one of these from a candy dish yesterday.

They're oh-so-yummy, and they have cute little messages printed on the inside of the foil wrappers. Mine read, "Who needs therapy when you have chocolate?"

The candy dish I swiped it from is in the waiting area of my therapist's office.

I haven't been posting much lately ... I guess things have been quite busy. Yeah, and maybe being overwhelmed has consumed me to the point where I'm just sick of talking about it. And really, I think of little else.

Last week was hectic. I flew into San Jose Tuesday, visited our Santa Clara office, met the executive I should most impress, then crashed at the hotel. Wednesday, the pack and I all headed to San Francisco for briefings with a couple of publications downtown, then we were off to Woodside, to the home of an analyst with whom we had dinner.

It was a busy trip, and I landed at DFW mid-afternoon Thursday. Right in the middle of a security issue that prohibited me from getting from Terminal A to Terminal C, where my car was parked. I eventually made it home though.

Brian finished painting the nursery while I was in California, so it was nice to come home and see it (and him, too!). Friday was a short work day since we had a doc appointment that afternoon. We're 28 weeks along now and doctor's visits increase in frequency at this point; we now have one every two weeks (until October, at which point we'll see the doc every single week).

And that about sums up what's been going on with me. I mean, on the surface, if you will.

"We all make mistakes," she said. "All we can do is try and do better. And you're doing better. So quit kicking yourself in the ass."

We had a good weekend -- a busy weekend. Saturday was my mom's birthday, so there was some celebrating and cheesecake baking (on Brian's part). And we started painting the nursery! There I go again with the "we," when B's the one working his ass off.

We did get in a visit with the Figs, both of my parents and my Papaw. AND, while B was home slaving away, I made a trip to the Paulis and left with a truckload of baby clothes, a swing, a car seat and two bases, and a bjorn carrier.

This baby thing is starting to make me anxious. Some days it feels so near and then others, well, sometimes it's just hard to believe at all. We need to register for birthing classes, we need to buy the nursery furniture ... we need a pediatrician. We're officially into the LAST trimester.

It's amazing how the right jeans can make you feel slim and sexy. Even when six months pregnant.