3rd trimester. And stuff.

• I've finally reached the beginning of the final stretch of this pregnancy! I swear it's flown by, but the next 12 weeks sure do look intimidating. I feel like that time is going to just crawl on by, with me beside it. You know, since it's only a matter of time before my hips and legs give up on walking altogether.  I seriously seem to end, and occasionally, begin, each day with a shuffle and a limp because things aren't working together quite properly. It hurts. 

• Emma and I are working on getting her toilet trained. It's so exhausting. So far the plan (which is not the same plan I began with) is to spend a few hours every evening in her training undies and keep a timer set. We go until the few hours are up or she pees in all three undies pairs we have. We've done one day so far. I know the experts say that being "off and on" or "inconsistent" serves to only confuse children and prevent adequate training. They don't know my life.

• Sleep is so precious these days. Why am I staying up to write a blog post? 

• I've been struggling a lot with a lack of self-worth lately. The rational side of my brain keeps trying to lecture the struggling side, but the struggling side just keeps giving my rational side the bird. Together, we are making approximately zero progress, but I'm trying to remain optimistic. 

• I'm so excited with the slowly cooling weather. Give me some cuddle clothes and cuddle temps, stat!

• I'm also excitedly anticipating a phone call from the library. The 3rd Percy Jackson book is currently checked out, but I have it reserved like an eleven-year old nerd. I just need to finish the series, dang it! 

• On that subject, I wish they didn't shelve it in the kids side of the library. It makes me feel way less than cool checking out my books just a few shelves away from where Emma's books are located. 

By way of update

It's been a while since I've blogged. I've become THAT blogger. Ouch!

1. As of today, I am 25 weeks pregnant. I could muse forever about how excited I am, but I could also complain forever about how miiiiiserable I feel. Because seriously. I think I'm growing a litter.

2. Wonder Baby is now Wonder Toddler. She is 20 months old I guess (give me a minute to count... yes, 20 months is right). I lost count after 18, so I just stick with describing her age as "just past 18 months" or "she'll be 2 in February". Close enough, right? She is the most delightful little spitfire in the world. So much drive, curiosity, passion, and desire in that one. She wants to have her way every. single. second. I didn't even know there were so many opportunities in a day to demand one's own way, but boyyyy does she find them. On the other hand, she is equally passionate with her affection. For instance, this morning after we slept in together (HEAVEN), I was laying there at 8:55 AM (rubbing it in, am I?), deciding whether or not I was going to try to fall back asleep or just play on my phone when suddenly her head popped up in my periphery. Within one second the sloppiest good morning kiss was being administered to my mouth. It was disgusting, but she popped back up with a smile, and cuddled into me for a hug. So much love for that girl.

3. Darren is still in school. He has a little less than a year left, and it can't come soon enough! School is difficult any time, but it sure is getting old! He's still super handsome though, and it's very fun to watch him be Emma's daddy. We talk as though the baby is going to be a boy, and it's especially endearing to hear him talk about "him". He will obviously love another daughter, but the possibility of a son is so thrilling. We love our babies.

4. Did I mention that we've decided to keep the baby's gender a secret until the big day? We're super excited about that big reveal.

5. I'm currently watching middle of the night episodes of "Frasier" because I can't sleep for anything, and Emma just happened to wake up a few minutes ago. So now she's sitting next to me on the couch intently watching the show, not even caring that we aren't snuggling or going back to sleep yet. That's either a good thing or a bad thing. I don't really care which, because it's not changing anything.

6. Pregnancy complaining: I am so uncomfortable. Was I this uncomfortable with Emma? I guess I could dig back through and see if I blogged that. I feel like I'm 8 months pregnant. The only thing that's missing are the millions of Braxton Hicks contractions. Don't worry, I'm still getting them, just not with the same frequency or intensity of actually being 8 months pregnant. ;)

7. The baby is incredibly wiggly and loves to stretch out. It's new favorite position is from front to back, in such a manner that my belly button threatens to burst. It makes it difficult to stand, walk, sit, turn, lay down, pee, eat, or play with the toddler. Thankfully the most uncomfortable moments tend to wait until closer to the end of the day, when I can realistically dream about getting to lay down in my bed.

Things I knew would be a part of motherhood, but now that I'm here...I can't even.

1. Diapers. So much time spent groping, sniffing, and inspecting the darn things. Every box is the last box I'm ever going to buy, dang it!

2. Poop. Color, texture, berth, ease of passage. In the diaper or on the toilet. Knew it was coming or found it by happenstance while inspecting a diaper. 

3. Arguing about clothes/possession of MY things/OCD tendencies of the toddler/who gets to sit where. We butt heads on so many things, it's scary. Sometimes I am the communication master and am able to dialogue our way through, but other times I'm just as articulate as the toddler. 

4. Saying things like, "Stop playing behind the toilet!", "Get my phone OUT of the potty!" (the training one...), "Don't throw the cat off the porch!". Etc. So many weird commands proceed from my mouth on a daily basis.