37weeks and not a cloud in the sky,

Nor a sign from our little guy and quite frankly I'm okay with that!  I don't just "vent" on here much, but I have to with this one.  So, if you don't want to read it, I suggest you STOP and visit someone else's blog.

Vent #1:  "Haven't you had that baby yet?!" 

Yup, we have now entered the realm of *that* comment coming from everyone under the sun, strangers included.  Sometimes I want to punch them in the face, sometimes I just stare at them, and sometimes I fall to the bait and comment back.  Don't get me wrong, I'm ready for him to be out of me and in our arms, I'm ready to start getting my body back and all that fun stuff, but I also realize two very important things...

1: HE will come when HE is ready, and only HE knows when that will be

and

2: I fully realize he still has some time to bake and I'm okay with that.

SO...do me a favor, do *all* of us pregnant ladies who are close to our date a favor and STOP ASKING THAT QUESTION!  Also, stop the whole "Just be patient, he'll come when he's ready" malarky.  That's just as annoying because I have no choice *but* to be patient.

Vent #2: "Oh look at her!  She's *nesting*".  *VOMIT* 

I absolutely HATE this comment.  I've been getting it a LOT from colleagues, and it's driving me CRAZY!!!  I am simply trying to get my substitute and student teacher set up for success while I'm gone.  Even when I was gone for just two weeks during my mastectomy, I did the same thing.  The only difference between *that* time and this one is that I'm going to be gone for EIGHT WEEKS so there is a LOT more material I need to have covered and a LOT more material to make sure they have to work on with the kids.  I'm not a simple classroom teacher where everything is contained within one classroom and I have a co-teacher in the next room who can help out.  I travel to FIVE different buildings for crying out loud, covering grades 5-12, Band & Orchestra.  Three of those buildings are elementary and my sub is going to be starting them from square ONE.  One of those is 8th grade where my student teacher has to prepare them for their CONCERT.  Another is the middle school where helping the new, first year Orchestra teacher there, is really important, and finally the easiest, Drum Line at the high school.  The travel schedule, the hectic pace of the day, logging attendance, calling parents, powerpoints, music selection, posting grades...there's a LOT they both need to know.  

Then there's the "home" side of the *nesting* comment.  No matter which way I go, if I spent the weekend cleaning up the house because it got covered in dog hair during the week and the dishes piled up because we were too busy to stay on top of them, or the laundry got out of control, OR if I spent the weekend with my feet up and relaxing because I got all the aforementioned done during the week, I'm *nesting*.  Sheesh-a-me people!  I'm compulsive about my house!  Always have been, always WILL be!  Cripes, I woke up this morning on my day off and as soon as I got my coffee & the dogs outside, I grabbed the broom and swept the basement, straightened the dog blankets and picked up the trash because it was pretty gross.  I'm going to do the same upstairs because the tumbling tumbleweeds of dog hair are blowin' in the wind and need to be corralled.  I may or may not get around to dusting and steam mopping today, although both desperately need to be done.  Last on my list is to finish the laundry.  Both of us had a MOUNTAIN to get through, and after two days I am *almost* done with it all.  That's success in and of itself, and has absolutely nothing to do with nesting.

Now, I will admit that a few of the things we did this weekend could be classified as *nesting*, and the fact that I want Tim to finish up some *almost done* projects around the house could fall within that realm as well, and I'm fine with that.  So, *please* if you don't want to be stared down by a very pregnant woman, or possibly have her go "pregnant postal" on you, STOP WITH THE NESTING COMMENTS!  

Vent #3: "Oh look, she's dropped!"  "She's carrying so low!"  "She looks like she could topple over at any minute!" and other pregnant body comments...

Really?  Please stop commenting on my body unless it's to tell me I look pretty today.  I don't fully understand why pregnant women seem to be a free target when it comes to body comments.  People don't normally walk down the street commenting on strangers bodies, so why mine?  Yes I know my belly is big, yes I know my feet are starting to swell a bit, yes I know I'm "ALL belly" (although the other weight gain areas are just cleverly hidden), but it's still hurtful when you're commenting on how my body has changed *especially* when you don't know me.  So, unless you have something nice to say to me, shut your trap! Because, *again* a majority of these comments come from women who have been pregnant, and I'm sure it was just as annoying to you as it is to me, so stop and think for a second before you make that comment next time, mmmmkay?

Vent #4: "You better get all the sleep you can now, cause when that baby comes you're never going to sleep again!"

Okay, okay.  I understand this one.  I understand that *long* stretches of sleep will be few and far between for quite a while, but COME ON people.  Everyone makes it seem like you can "bank" sleep in some magical place to pull out when the time is needed for extra energy.  If that were the case then ALL of us would sleep our weekends away to fill up our reserve for the following week of work, and we all know *that* ain't gonna happen.  Regardless, I'm a champion power-napper, have been for probably about the past ten years.  My husband on the other hand?  This may be the roughest reality of all for him.  That boy could sleep 24/7 if given the chance, but that will be his adjustment, not mine ;)  I guess it just irritates me when people say this too me because they don't know who I am and what I do.  I already operate on snatches of sleep through the night.  Sometimes I go to sleep early if I can manage it and sleep hard through the night, but more often than not, I fall exhausted into bed at a late hour, only to be awoken two or three hours later by a Buck-dog needing to go out, or a Lilly-butt grumbling at the foot of the bed to be helped up, or a smack to the face by Tim's arm, or the startled jerk awake "What time is it?!" only too see that I have 30 precious minutes left to sleep before my 4am alarm goes off.  

To top it all off, I am incredibly busy in my work life.  Being a marching band teacher/Drum Line instructor ain't no walk in the park and my friends *finally* figured it out last year when I saw them all on July 4th and said in way of parting "I'll see you all at the end of October", and that's exactly when I saw them.  Tuesday after-school rehearsals till 430, Thursdays after school till 430, then band from 6-9.  Friday night football games, 14 hour Saturdays, then work on Sunday evenings.  It's an exhausting cycle, one of which many people couldn't do, but I can.

The one saving grace I have, which is quite odd, is that since I was the winner of a double mastectomy about two years ago, I do not have to worry about the whole breast feeding thing, which means that I can drink my 5-hour energies again to help bust through the exhaustion when JP is here.  With the help of those and knowing how to power nap, I have a feeling I'll be just fine.  Tired?  Sure.  Exhausted beyond belief?  Probably.  But I'll be just fine.

Vent #5: "You know, it's going to take a while for that baby weight to come off, and you may not get it done", or my absolute favorite "I just love seeing skinny girls get fat."

Um, excuse you?  For starters, I'm PREGNANT, *not* fat, and may I remind you to STOP making comments about my body.  Also, I have been through many periods of my life where I have been in something other than my ideal shape, and I have always gotten it back.  Freshman 20?  Cancer weakness?  Being lazy?  Yeah.  I will get it back after this as well.  Once we find our new routine, our new reality, I WILL find my new times to workout and I will succeed.  It's not an option.  I want to set a good example for my son, besides, working out is part of my sanity and it's essential to EVERYONE'S well-being, so maybe you should look at what you're not doing for your body and change your ways.



Okay, I think I'm done.  Pregnancy hormones?  Probably, but seeing as most of the people who these comments are coming from are women, stop for a second and remember when YOU were at this stage in your pregnancy.  You were probably *just* as annoyed by those questions and comments, so realize we are as well, and right now all we want to hear are nice, *positive* things, "You're so beautiful", "Here let me rub your tired feet for you because you've been working so hard", "I can't wait to see you be a mom", "I can't wait to meet your baby!", etc, etc...because I can promise you this much, I won't make these aggravating comments to YOU, my dear pregnant sisters because I understand right where you're at.  So instead I tell you that you are beautiful, you're wonderful, and we'll all be holding our beautiful babies who we have carted around and watched change our bodies in ways we never thought possible in a few short weeks (or months depending upon where you're at), and it's going to be a glorious thing.