I got home from the store today to find my mailbox in pieces on the curb. Yep, someone crashed into it. Trouble is, it's a special, and VERY expensive uniform mailbox required by our Home Owner's Association. Thankfully, the woman who did it left her number, but she lives out of state and didn't return my calls today. I'm worried I scared her off with my msg about it being a "special" mailbox and having to wait to give her the price until I hear from my HOA. She mentioned in her note that she'd get the post fixed, but the whole thing is broken, so she needs to fix the whole thing. I don't even know if my HOA can get certain parts of it. I might have to order brand new everything. It's turned into a big deal. I'll have to order a new one from them, and then find someone to install it. James isn't here and shouldn't have to fool with it anyway. We didn't do it. It broke off at ground level, so the concrete part has to be dug out before a new one can be put in the ground. I'm also thinking she'll fight the price if she even calls me back. I was told the cost is as much as an all-brick mailbox, and aren't they at least several hundred?

I am so impatient to get this resolved because the post office won't deliver my mail until it's fixed, which means I have to go to the post office every day to get my mail. It doesn't help I have several packages of baby stuff coming this week that I ordered. It could take weeks for the stupid mailbox to be ordered or custom created or whatever they do so everyone's is the same and has the community logo.

I expected the woman to return my call today who hit it. I also contacted several members of the HOA this morning and heard nothing back this evening.

I e-mailed the president of the HOA tonight and said politely that I am nearing the end of a high-risk pregnancy (which is true, even though I'm not having too many problems) and that I need this fixed asap. It's not convenient to have to go somewhere else to get my mail each day, and I can't just fix it on my own since it's a mandated mailbox.

If you saw how swollen my feet are, you'd understand my annoyance with all this. My sister (a nurse) took one look at my feet this evening and told me I had no business even leaving my house. Tomorrow I have to go file a stupid police report just to make sure the woman pays for it. I'm sure she isn't anticipating a huge cost, but I sure as hell didn't hit it, so even if it's $800, she broke it and needs to fix it.

And just to show you why I'm so irritated, here are my feet. Oh, and Olivia's too. She asked me what I was doing, and when I told her I was taking a picture of my foot, she wanted in on it, too. :-)

Un-freaking-believable. I never had swelling like this with Olivia. I usually have narrow, skinny feet-- so skinny in fact that shoes gape on me. Look at the size of my toes compared to my toenails. It's disgusting. And my feet are all itchy and peeling from stretching out so much. Even my slippers are tight.

I felt a little sad dropping off James this morning. He called a little while ago from the plane to tell me they were about to take off. I could hear the flight attendent giving instructions about seat belts in the background. I know we'll be fine without him this week, but I already miss him like crazy. I think I feel more attached to him since I'm 8 months pregnant and more emotional than usual. There's also that little fear in the back of my head about giving birth while he's gone. This is my constant mantra: baby boy stay put! Baby boy, I don't want to see you this week. Wait for Daddy.

I was worried Olivia would be really sad because she's been especially attached to him lately. It may be because I can't pick her up like I used to, and I'm just generally somewhat more indisposed lately because I'm so freaking sore. That's not to say though that James isn't an awesome Daddy and Olivia shouldn't be nuts about him anyway. :-) They have special bath time every night, and when he gets her out of the tub, she puts her wet hair all over his shoulder, squezes him tight, and says, "this is my favorite!" I know she's going to be sad this week, but for now, she's more excited that Daddy is riding on an airplane right now. She of course doesn't remember the few times she's been on one. It's been a year since the last time.

I'm going to spend some time this week shopping for baby boy. My friend Sara (my co-organizer of the mom's group) is throwing us a small shower. I wasn't expecting it, but I'm really excited and thankful. I wasn't sure how it works the second time around, but since we're having a boy, we need lots of new things and money has been tight since the move. I'll be sure to post pictures of it. I also received a few sweet gifts from some of you, which I will also post pictures of. :-)

Here are some things I've already gotten or plan to buy:

I'm jumping on the bandwagon and using the BPA free bottles. Better to be safe than sorry and it's an easy change to make. Besides, I won't be pumping all that often, so I won't need too many of these expensive babies. My sweet sister bought me this:

I might order a few more of this brand just because they are so cute!

I've already bought Olivia a couple of the BPA-free toddler cups, too. The truth is though, I need to change more than just baby cups. I am in the habit of microwaving leftovers in plastic containers and things like that, so I need to make sure I use a plate or buy glass storage containers. I was actually thinking of replacing our old tupperwear because it's a little worn, so I'll probably get something safer.

I also want to get a "Hooter Hider" or something like it. No more hiding out in my car to nurse this time. I plan to use one of these so I can nurse anywhere discreetly. The heck anyone who has a problem seeing the outside of a blanket. Get over it.

I love this print: simple and stylish!

I just ordered one of these new Bum Genius 3.0 diapers today to see what I think, and if I like they way it snaps and changes sizes, I'll order more. I've sold off some of Olivia's diapers and left mostly gender neutral ones. When she's completely out of diapers (not quite there, but on our way) I'll sell off the rest of the girly ones. I like this particular diaper because it's one of the only ones that works from birth to toddlerhood. Most "one-size" diapers actually don't fit until the baby is a month or two old, so I want to see how small this can get compared the the Bum Genius 2.0. This one boasts that it works for 7 pounds and up, and baby boy is at least 6 already, so we should be good. :-)

These diapers aren't cheap, but I figure I can order 10 of these for what I'd spend the first few months alone in diapers. So worth it!

I already bought some of this awesome all natural diaper rash cream that's safe for cloth diapers. You have to be careful when it comes to cloth because the normal creams stain the cloth and cause build-up. This stuff works faster than any other rash cream I've ever used, and I know what every ingredient is. Conveniently, there are different sizes, so I have a small tube for my diaper bag and a bigger one for at home. It's great stuff even if you don't want to cloth diaper.

Well, that's my list for now. I'll share more stuff as I buy/receive it. We're getting close!

I think I neglected to mention that James is leaving town tomorrow for a week in San Francisco on business. Am I nuts to let him go? Maybe, but we've really debated about it and decided to take the chance. Because I have GD, I've been so closely monitored, and there's no indication of any contractions (not even Braxton Hicks) or any other risk factors, so we're hoping to have a full-term baby. Besides, this is James's first business trip with his new company and it might look bad for him not to go. Please pray for me while he's gone. I have my parents just minutes away (and my sister, grandma, and other extended family) so I'll have lots of help while he's gone. I have some projects lined up to do while he's away, like painting the letters for baby boy's name to hang on the wall (I'm still ordering something from you, Chas!), and also finish registering to help keep track of what we need.

I had my first "above the limit" blood sugar reading the other night, which really made me upset since I made it my personal goal to stay in the good range. Oh well. It was just once. It really showed me how much I am controlling my diabetes with diet. We ate out Italian, and for some reason, I thought eggplant was really high in protein (gotta balance protein and carbs-- V. important) but it actually isn't at all, so I basically had a dinner of just carbs and no protein. I only went 5 points over, but still, it messed up my track record, so now I'm all paranoid. I keep reminding myself it'll soon be over and that all my numbers pretty much have been good, if not too low. On the list to eat after baby boy arrives: Caramel fraps (Venti sized), fettucini alfredo, lots and lots of grape juice, a hot fudge sundae, and then it's back to being on a good diet again. :-)

I also forgot to mention that MF moved yesterday to South Carolina. I feel really sad about it, especially since she'll miss the birth of our son, but God always opens a window when he shuts a door. I've become really close to the co-organizer of my mom's group, and James has become tight with her hubby. They have a son who's a few months older than Olivia, and they adore each other. They hug and hold hands and it's so freaking cute! Also, she just had a baby boy who will be right around the same age as our little man, so hopefully they'll be buddies, too. They're a great Christian couple, and thanks to my friend, I have a whole new wardrobe of maternity clothes. It was like Christmas going through all the stuff she brought over. I was so sick of all the clothes I had since I wore them with Olivia and haven't bought much new this time. Last time we had two incomes, so I shopped a lot.

Well, off to shop online for some boyish cloth diapers and then it's off to dinner. James leaves early in the morning, so we need some good family time tonight! Midwife says no hanky panky though. Don't need ANY postuglandins ripening my cervix while he's gone!

It wasn't quite as surreal to see baby boy in 4D since I'd already done it with Olivia, but it was still pretty weird. I can't believe we're going to have another baby, and a boy at that! I'm excited about experiencing something different. Boy clothes really are cuter than I'd initially thought. :-) We still have lots to do, and I've been somewhat of a slacker in that department. We've had so many relatives visiting lately and I'm just so much more sore this time than I was with Olivia.

Before I share his photos, just a quick update. I went to the diabetes clinic today, and they're "keeping an eye on me" because I'm losing weight instead of gaining. I have a solution for that: give me a freaking caramel frappucino with lots of whipped cream. Or, how about some french fries and bacon cheeseburger? :-) My blood sugar is consistantly on the low side too, which confuses me. If I have gestational diabetes, why the low numbers? They keep reminding me to watch for low blood sugar symptoms because it actually gets low enough that I could feel funny. I had a non-stress test today and everything is great. No contractions. Baby boy is in the right position, which is great because for a while there, although he was head down, he was in a posterior position. It could've caused back labor and for him to come out face up, but he's a good boy and moved to the correct position. :-)

The ultrasound revealed that we may have another big baby. At 33 weeks, he was already over 5 pounds, we it'll be iteresting to see how much bigger he gets. Luckily, I'll be having a Bradley birth and won't be numb, so it'll be easier to push him out than it was with Olivia.

Ok, now for some pictures!

He was determined to keep his hand by his face . . .

He seems more fine-featured, like his Daddy.

Although you can't see it, he already has some hair. I wonder if it'll be dark like Olivia's? She's so blonde now though.

Notice the attached earlobes? Another Daddy trait. Olivia has ears like mine. Isn't it neat that such small details can be seen by ultrasound?

We think we've decided on a double stroller with a matching car seat. I still need to go through Olivia's old clothes and pull out the gender neutral stuff.

Oh, and BTW, in reference to my towel-washing question: we do re-use our towels, but we could probably use them a couple more times and still reduce the amount of washing. I grew up in a house where we used towels just once, and when we stayed with my parents, my mom would come and take the towel out of our bathroom after one or two uses, but I see nothing wrong with using the same towel for several days as long as it isn't funky. I was just curious what you all did. :-)