I've had several friends ask how I'm doing, nearing the end of this pregnancy and all. I am doing great! Unlike past pregnancies, I am sleeping better and feeling better than I ever did in the third trimester and almost two weeks from my due date.

I am convinced that this is due, in LARGE part, to having been to see a chiropractor! For me, each pregnancy brings with it sciatic nerve pain. And each pregnancy the pain is worse than the last. So I finally went to see a chiropractor about six weeks ago. I really should've gone a long time ago (like eight years ago...), but hindsight is 20/20 right?

I used to wake up at night stuck on my side. I couldn't move one way or the other without triggering immense, shooting pain. I am SO thankful to be done with that.

I've also slept better this pregnancy, even before the chiropractic visits. My friend Kristi mused that I am just so busy with the girls that my body won't LET me get up. It's insisting on the rest. Because honestly, I was ready to be up 3-4 times a night to go to the bathroom and here I am at 37+ weeks and I only get up once a night!

So...I feel blessed. Tremendously blessed. I am excited to welcome this baby to our family, but I am content to let her come when she's ready. I'm not saying that I wouldn't prefer sooner rather than later of course...but I'm also not feeling miserable.

I also realized after talking to my sister-in-law, that I haven't posted any prego pictures! Eric & I did a mini photo shoot back in January, at 29 weeks, so here are a couple of pictures from that. I'll have to get him to do a few more before the baby comes so I can compare. I'm pretty sure I'm quite a bit bigger at 37+ weeks than I was at 29 weeks.

I know this one doesn't even show my face, but I LOVE this one! It's my favorite of the shots we got.

Is the life expectancy of vacuums now two years?? My last vacuum lasted about two years and now my current vacuum (of just over two years) just died. The ribbing of the hose is tearing and I've been planning to wrap electrical or duct tape around it. The plastic on the end of the hose has chipped off over the last two years and just barely holds the hose attachments on so I wondered if we'd have to get a new hose at some point. Now it seems we'll just need a new vacuum. The height selector (high/low pile carpet) won't work anymore and somehow that's keeping the brush from even turning. I guess I could keep using the hose feature of the vacuum and just vacuum with the hose...

But I'd love to know 1) what kind of vacuum you have 2) how long you've had it 3) what you paid for it and 4) how you'd rate it on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest).

And while we're at it, I've been on a hunt for a new diaper bag/purse to replace my current one. Does anyone have any recommendations for a diaper bag that is small (my current one is 11" wide x 6" deep x 8" high)? I have been able to fit all the essentials for newborns on up to toddler stage in this bag. I'm sad that it's getting worn out. I may have found someone who is willing to MAKE me one for a decent price ($20-$40...not 80 BUCKS for a BAG!), but I'd love to hear your thoughts and recommendations too!

We walked out the door at 9:15 this morning and things went non-stop, like this:

• Take Eric to school
• Pick up visiting teaching companion
• Go visiting teaching (with my "peanut gallery" along for the ride)
• Drop off companion
• Go grocery shopping
• Drive home - girls ate lunchables on the way
• Unloaded all perishables
• Coached Autumn in where to put groceries while I: Loaded dishes into the dishwasher to make room for myself to wash the crockpot. Yep, it was that bad. And then smiled to myself as I realized that I could start the dishwasher and Eric wouldn't have to wash the bowls and spoons when dinnertime rolled around. Stuffed the crockpot full of the yummy goodness that is Chicken and White Bean Stew.
• Grabbed my lunch and ran out the door with the girls for 'nastics'
  
• Heidi's 'nastics' class
• Picked up Eric from school
• Went to the 'nastics' side of town but sent a fax and shopped at Ross before I...
  
• Dropped Autumn & Eric off at 'nastics'
• Hurried back to Ross to try on the yoga pants I found and purchase the belt Eric found
• Returned to 'nastics'
  
• Hurried home
• Headed out without kids or hubby for another visiting teaching appointment
• Visited
  
• Home again for dinner (Mmmm, mmm, good!)
• And BEDTIME for the girls!

In 2002 Eric wrote the music for a movie, Handcart, that our good friend Kels directed.

Here's something for all The Office fans that are also LDS, put together by Kels.

I am SO bushed today. I woke up with good intentions and a big list of things to do but ended up scratching most everything but the essentials. I'm just too tired. At first I was frustrated but then I remembered what I did on Saturday, what I did yesterday, AND that I'm 35 weeks pregnant. Suddenly I don't feel so bad about taking a "down" day.

So not because you're interested (because honestly, I'll be amazed if any of you make it to the end of this post), but because I think it's fun to record this to look back on...here's:

what I did on Saturday:

• 8am -- Toast & eggs
• Cleared the living room, which had boxes stacked along one wall.
• Cleared the hallway, again, more boxes and random things
• Taught a piano lesson (now you see why I cleared the living room and hall RIGHT after breakfast!)
• Took Eric to Urgent Care (where he got yet ANOTHER prescription for something to help with his breathing and a respiratory infection - which coincidentally is a side-effect to Singulair, one of the drugs he's tried recently [yeah...my husband the drugee...yeesh...our cabinet looks like a pharmacy] so maybe not such a coincidence after all)
• Picked up new asthma medication for Eric from CVS (which was prescribed at Friday's doctor appointment)
• Bought more Wellness Formula from New Leaf (and had Heidi pay for cold sore chapstick she pilfered last time)
• Went to McDonald's Drive-thru when we realized what time it was! Oops!
• Waited in Urgent Care lot for Eric while eating our McDonald's lunches
• Cleaned all trash out of van while still waiting
• Eric was done! (after being there for 2 1/2 hours?!)
• Dropped off new prescription at CVS, ready at 3:10pm
• Esther down for a nap @ 2:45, girls playing outside
• 3:15, ready to check on girls and see about unpacking more or screwing in some hooks…
• 4:45, Esther woke up grouchy and sprawled by the back door saying she couldn't find her watch or her socks (both of which were RIGHT next to her…she just wouldn't turn her head downward to look at them...)
• 5:10, went outside with Esther intending to stay out for 20 minutes and then eat dinner
• 6:22, inside now. Kids played while I fixed the wheels on my double jogger, attempted to fix the collapse function on one side, and successfully sanded a metal piece that was sticking out (and with just a mini-pocket knife file, no less!).
• 7:57 We're all fed and the kids are in bed. Nice.
• Now, time to pick up Eric's prednisone from the pharmacy, lay out Sunday clothes, print some more choir music, put all choir music in my bag, figure out how much tithing we need to pay and write the tithing check. Then CHILL.
• 8:19 Now that I'm sure the girls are in bed I'm headed out the door for the prescription. Guess I could've done those other things while I waited but I dinked around on the computer checking email, reader, and facebook. It was nice.
• 8:49 Back but need to sit and guzzle some water. Crampy braxton hicks while I was gone. They're not typically crampy unless I'm dehydrated. Otherwise just pressure.
• 9:14 Done figuring out tithing & writing check. Time to get Sunday clothes ready, print choir music, and get bags ready. I think I'll print the music first because that means I can stay in my seat. :)
• 9:27 Music printed, bags ready. Moving on to check Sunday clothes.
• 9:33 And VOILA, Sunday clothes are laid out. I love, love, love doing laundry on Mondays and knowing on Saturday that, unless some boogeyman came and stole our clothes, everything is already ready for Sunday. Time to CHILL.

• Laundry ALL day
• School with Autumn (that's about an hour and a half)
• Reading Lesson with Heidi
• Made bread bowls (I love, love, LOVE My Kitchen Cafe!)
  
• Deposited some music lesson checks and printed receipts of deposits
• Threw stew in crockpot for dinner
• Dropped off Autumn at choir and took Heidi & Esther to the library while Autumn was in choir
• Dinner -- stew in bread bowls (feels so good to have a real meal even when we're out running around right before dinner!)
• FHE - made Valentine's while eating kettle corn

• Made oatmeal for breakfast (I write down what we had for breakfast because I'm proud of the fact that it wasn't our usual cold cereal...)
• Taught a piano lesson
• Went to the grocery store
• Took Eric to school
• Had lunch
• Threw stuff in the crockpot for dinner again (BBQ pork sandwiches this time)
• Did school with Autumn while Esther napped
• Girls played outside
• Took Autumn to gymnastics
• Dinner

ARRRGGH!! I am going to stamp my hand with a note to self -- do a SHAKE DOWN before you leave the store!

I have tried EVERYTHING to bring across the importance of NOT STEALING and yet...I still find things! Last time, one of my girls (okay, I'll admit, it's always the SAME girl...) took two chapsticks from the health food store that ended up costing $5.99 EACH!!! HOLY COW!

And today my TWO year old, TWO year old!!!! pilfered a pack of gum without me realizing it (and naturally the sibling sitting right next to her did NOT feel the need to inform on her...).

Okay...deep breaths. This too shall pass. RIGHT?

In hindsight and now that the frustration has worn off, I realize she's only TWO. And that a certain older sibling would have LOVED to have gotten away with that whole pack of gum I found in her purse after her baby sister brought it home and I set it in a grocery bag on the counter. I think I've really just got to remember to CHECK POCKETS after paying at the register. There are just so many temptations right there within reach for little hands. One day they'll understand.

This is really funny. My friend Erika got it from another friend. Go to Google and type "[your name] needs" and see what happens!

Apparently, Abby needs:

- help with her medications!
- to go on some good walks so she can trim down and look her best
- Dear Abby needs some advice
- a home
- To Get Her GROOVE Back!
- her own dog!
- a Plan
- a new home
- a fenced in yard with lots of time to run and play
- her canoe paddled
- us
- Your Help

Is it as obvious to everyone else how common my name is FOR DOGS??!

I once met a new neighbor with two basset hounds and heard her calling, "Abby". When I mentioned that that was my name too, she said, "Oh! Well, don't worry. Her name is actually Abigail."

Yeah...about that...