An update . . . getting lazy.

Howdy, All -- It's me. I'm in that phase of being miserable and yet giddy as hell.

I try not to complain. And so many people (well, at least every mother out there) has dealt with the following issues, that I feel I have no right to complain. But, take the following note as more of a documentation of the reality of pregnancy, not a compilation of "feel bad for me" lyrics.

Over the last week or so, my joints, specifically in my hips, have begun loosening and I am sore constantly. I have the side-to-side waddle, which strangely has an effect on others around me (my mom unconsciously mimicked me through the store the other day).

My feet, ankles, and now calves are swollen nearly around the clock, and now my left foot has 1 long stretch mark at the base of my toes. Blood has collected at my heels for some reason, and I have also acquired a slight rash on both feet (Doctor says this does happen occasionally with preggos). Mom gave me a pedicure last weekend, which was super cool -- I can't remember the last time I was pampered like that.

I ripped the panel in my last pair of pants that fit as I tried to put them on in the hot, sticky weather. Dammit.

Socks are almost impossible to wear, due to the swelling . . . and my shoe choices are minimal: flip-flops or crocs.

When Mom showed up last weekend for the shower at Lisa and Jeff's, the first thing I did was show her my big, round, watermelon-like belly. Her response? "Oh. You have stretch marks." Me, being very nervous about such markings, assured her that I did not, as I had been inspecting daily. Hmmmmm. Then she said, "They're right there." I looked down and said, "Where? I don't see any!" Well, of course I didn't see them; they're on the underside of my belly. That just sucks.

While we're on my belly area . . . my belly button has not popped out like a turkey timer, yet. It is very, very close to protruding, though. I am afraid that if I continue to gain girth as I have over the last couple of weeks, it will surely stick its insides out. (By the way, I still owe you a bump photo -- but believe me, I'm large and in charge.)

My skin is still suffering from the surge of hormones, which is just lovely. And that glow that everyone talks about is really just sweat, caused by being hot constantly. (Sorry to ruin the fun!)

And what is this cruel trick of nature that blesses preggos with clumsiness and the inability to bend over at the same time?!? I drop my keys, bottle caps, phone, and whatever else I might come into contact, and then even when I do get myself in the bent-over position, I still can't grasp anything without fumbling some more.

Everyone talks about the "burst" of energy women receive late in the game, but I have yet to experience that. I am exhausted, yet cannot sleep. It could be the 90+ weather that appeared suddenly, or it could be that the restriction of sleeping on my left side leaves me "sleeping" in my least favorite sleeping position. Or it could be that I have to pee every 45 minutes. Or it could be that I wake up hungry at least twice a night. Or it could be Clint's snoring.

Speaking of hunger, I don't find myself eating too much more than I used to. And it's not because I'm at the same level of hunger at every meal, but more because I can't fit any more food into my stomach. Peanut has occupied not only my lung space and my bladder space, but also my stomach space.

There are so many more symptoms I could explain to you, but it gets to be just grotesque. So I'll leave the rest of the physical implications out.

Emotionally, I'm all over the place. I constantly envision what the future holds -- all the way from labor and delivery to holding a little baby to having to leave her behind and go back to work. Ugh. Draining.

Excitement one minute turns into fear the next. Smiling leads to grimacing. Road rage is completely uncontrollable at this point.

I am nesting. Peanut's room is done, and I've organized all of her goodies already. I built all the furniture myself, and I have started monitoring the house for safety concerns. Part of my problem, as far as the cankles go, is that I can't seem to just sit with my feet up. I am constantly trying to perfect our little house.