100 Days to Go!

As I type there is a little human going crazy inside my belly. I'm no good a deciphering the movements. I can't tell her head from her feet. But there is a lot of movin' and shakin' goin' on. Matt can feel it and see it. I'm picturing either a raging fit going on in there or a dance party. It's hard to believe that somebody who can move so much and be so strong still has 100 days to grow.
I'm nearly 26 weeks and eager to start pushing... But also enjoying these fun feelings at the same time. Feelings I have longed for for eight long years. The moving babe, the planning, the thinking about names (we have one picked out, by the way). The extra ultra sounds - my Ob's office was having trouble seeing all they were looking for, so I go to come back for another at 24 weeks and then yet another this week in the parinatology department. All is well. All fun stuff.
And then there are the not so fun feelings. The joints loosening and the joints stiffening for no apparent reason. The pinching of the sciatic nerve - random and not as bad a the end of the pregnancy with Sam. And don't get me started on the ever threatening charlie horse in my calves. Youch! They always strike in the middle of the night while I sleep. Luckily my trick of flexing my toes up, flat footed still works, but not until after I feel like something took a big bite out of my leg. My hands and ankles still swell occasionally, but my little exercises to fight off edema are still working.
The A-number-one problem, that which I worry about most, is the glow. Several people have told me now that I am glowing. A nice thing to say, but I fear, in actuality the loss of brain cells, caused by pregnancy, is showing in my new found facial expression, which is, blank, and mistaken for a glow. It's proven you know, that women who are pregnant lose brain cells. Also that their feet grow. So after this, my 8th pregnancy I am feeling really dumb, and who knows, by the end I may be wearing clown shoes to match my new brain.
I have been so forgetful. My mind wanders mid conversation. I can't articulate thoughts or ideas. Names escape me. Events go by and I don't even miss them for days. I double book myself. I repeat myself. I ask questions multiple times before the answers start to sink in. It's really annoying for someone who's mind is usually a steel trap of information. Will these cells come back? Will I have the drive and the thoughts to be the blogger I once was? Will I eat my new baby, who I have been so, so hungry for?

In other news, Matt and I celebrated our 10th anniversary by going to see The Lion King Broadway production at the Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake City. We had plans to stay at the Little America, downtown, but when we arrived they gave us a complementary upgrade to The Grand America. It was such a fun little trip. The show was fabulous, though the over abundance of children in the audience was very distracting. The hotel was beautiful, though haunted. A totally great weekend.
Sam started 4th grade last week! I can't believe it. He is more than half way through elementary school. But he's just my little boy. I have vivid memories of 4th grade. It was my best year. I moved up to the upstairs class rooms with the 5th and 6th graders. And I was so mature and totally awesome to the max. I had the most radical biker shorts with neon strips on the side and a grown out mullet. I wonder if Sam feels as grown up as I did... I kind of hope not.
Things are going well so far. He likes his teachers and he comes home happy. Something new this year, Sam has been riding his bike to and from school with a friend. They love it!