It's official: My cloth diapering quest has begun.

If you don't already know, I hate baby/toddler/kid stuff. You know, the toys everywhere, the goofy clothes with stupid sayings, the enormous potential for the stuff to accumulate everywhere in all facets of your life. Don't get me wrong: I'm excited for our baby and I think baby things can be cute (like onesies and little diapers and hats). However, I absolutely refuse to let the baby stuff take over my house/home/car/life. (Note to all the mothers who I know will have a comment about this: I understand that there will be baby things in my house/home/car/life. I accept that. I just will not accept it taking over my life. I believe it is possible.) Anyway, so one thing that kills me is the amount of potential waste with kid stuff. Babies grow so fast that everything only lasts a few months before they outgrow or no longer need everything. So in my ardent determination to minimize the wastefulness that Winky may cause by being born, I am going to try to waste not, want not in all possible areas. Case in point #1: cloth diapers. My take: if I'm not going to work for a year (as in for an employer), I figure that I can make the effort to cloth diaper, saving money (hopefully) and some landfill space. My new job will be Mom, professional laundress. So today I took the plunge and bought my first few cloth diapering items because there is a fantastic coupon for a free cloth diaper (rated #1 on most diaper sites, also very expensive normally). I can tell you, after hitting the "Complete purchase" button, I am simultaneously freaked out and also very very excited. Ready or not, I've dove into the deep end and now I'm gonna pray I don't drown in a sea of cloth diapers and doo-doo.

Where did March go??

How is it already March 22? Good lordy, if March goes by this fast, then April will probably go buy fast, too, and then it'll be May and then, holy cow, it'll be time for Winky! Oh my gosh! There's so much that is coming up that I know will make the time go by even faster. Kevin and I are having belly photos taken this Friday (fun!). Then we're going to Montgomery to look at rental houses (hopefully we find one we like and it's available to rent). Then my mom is coming to visit and my baby shower is happening. Then my mom goes home, and I go visit Kelsey in Georgia for a few days. Then Kevin is leaving for a two-week training. Then my dad is coming to visit for a few days while Kevin is gone. Then when Kevin comes back it'll officially be May and I'm sure all I'll be doing is counting down the days till Winky comes. I don't know which I'm more excited about: Winky or moving. Yay!

Baby Belly Photo

Here's an updated baby belly photo. Kevin took this yesterday. I'm officially 30 and 4/7 weeks along.



And just for a reference point, here is a photo of the maintenance banquet Kevin and I went to on Saturday night. (Spouses are encouraged to wear tricked out uniforms; my special accessory was my belly.) The banquet was the main reason I wrote the last blog posting about lots of people saying I didn't look pregnant. I will admit the beige color of the shirt doesn't emphasize my belly, but in person it's pretty obvious, in my opinion. Anyway, enough harping on that issue. I'm laying it to rest now.



P.S. I found a maternity bathing suit for $7 today at my favorite (only) baby consignment store. I love good deals! Kelsey, I'm now fully prepared to go swimming in Blake's wading pool when I come visit in April if it's warm enough.

Why do people feel the need to look at my belly and say "Wow! You're not very big. You don't look that pregnant."??? People, newsflash: I am a helpless victim of hormonal sensitivity. You do not, under any circumstances, tell a pregnant woman who is almost 8 months pregnant that she does not look pregnant. What am I supposed to do with that comment?? Say, "Thanks, I was hoping the growing baby inside of me wasn't noticeable!" All these (many) comments do is make me worry that my poor baby isn't getting big enough and I'm already failing in my responsibilities as a mother.
Irrational? Yes. Too bad. I told you I'm a helpless victim of hormonal insanity - I mean, sensitivity. The only comments that are worth hearing from people are ones that do not have any possibility of accidental offense. May I suggest harmless little fibs like, "Wow! You look beautiful pregnant!" or "You are definitely glowing. How lovely!" or "I love your cute belly!" Lies or not, at least these comments have no possibility of stirring the bitchy/weepy creature of retaliation within me.
If you'll excuse me, I must now take my 30 weeks worth of growing baby in my belly to work so more people can tell me how small my belly is and I can silently seethe and try not to cry/yell/scream/sob/lift up my shirt and shove my belly in their faces and say "Does this just look like a giant beer gut to you?"

P.S. Sorry for the ranting. It only proves my helpless hormonal victim status.

Belly Buttons and Crazy Moments

Time for a Cam/Kevin/Winky/Ruby update!

* I had my first crazy hormonal pregnancy moment (at least I think it was my first): I was laying in bed trying to get to sleep the other night and I got so frustrated not being able to find a comfortable position that I started bawling. Kevin thought I was joking and laughed. It was funny. Especially when I decided the most comfortable spot was on top of Ruby in her dog bed.

* My belly button is a half innie/outie. Ugh.

* It is weird to see my belly undulating randomly throughout the day. It's kind of fun to imagine which Winky parts are jabbing my ribs and bladder.

* Kevin and I started Lamaze class. There are 17 couples attending total. I like the teachers a lot, but since I've done so much research/reading on childbirth I know a lot of what they're teaching us. But it is fun to help Kevin practice relaxing massages on me. It's a tough role, but somebody has to do it.

* Ruby decided to jump on the kitchen counter and eat the rest of the Girl Scout cookies, a NutriGrain bar, my lunchbox, and a Tupperware container and the brownies and cookies in it. That was a fun surprise to come home to.

* I gave my notice at work. My last day is Mar. 24. I will probably be a little bored till Winky is born, but at least my back won't hurt as much any more. Plus, being around all the really pretty spring clothes that I can't try on because I'm pregnant is like being a diabetic in a candy store. It's so not fair!

* Kevin and I are househunting in Montgomery. We're hoping to move some time in June. Wish us luck on finding our perfect house!

We know where we are PCSing...

...and it's the same place about which Kevin was unofficially told. So now I can officially pass on the information to you.

We will be moving to Montgomery, Alabama so that Kevin can be an ASBC instructor at Maxwell AFB. His report-no-later-than date is 15 July.

Our initial reaction was not positive (to put it mildly). However, we are learning to look at the bright side of things. We wanted to move some place north, and it is, indeed, 3.5 hours north of Panama City, so technically it's north...er. The city is bigger than Panama City, so that's good. There are actually highways (no more 45mph roads everywhere). Atlanta is only 2.5 hours away, so we have better access to a major airport. Moving will be simpler for us since we won't have to caravan across the country with a new baby. Our families are 5.5 hours away, so we will be able to see them more easily. Kelsey and Jennifer will only be a few hours away so I don't have to say a long-distance good-bye to all of my friends. The assignment is usually a 2-3 year assignment, so we (hopefully) won't be there as long as we've been in Panama City. Um, I start running out of positives after that.

Ultimately, I know in my heart that God has a plan and purpose for what he does, and I know we are meant to go there. Now it's just up to us to be positive and patient about finding out what the purpose is. I have generally been able to be positive so far and not dwell in disappointment, but any other positive words or encouragement you'd like to share is definitely still welcome.

So there you have it. Alabama, here...we...come...sigh.