36 Weeks - From good to bad in 5 seconds flat.

This week marked Dan's 30th birthday. I love me a good ol' birthday celebration. When else are you allowed to celebrate yourself past high school graduation? Dan could care less about birthdays or age - but against his wishes, we planned something and I think he ended up having more fun than he thought he would. After a good fish fry (tis the beer-battered-cod-and-rye-bread season!) he ended up meeting up with some of his friends downtown to play old school video games and drink until bar time - I was in bed by 11.

Saturday we stayed in our jammies all day and had friends over for lunch - which turned into a Starbucks run - which turned into dinner - which turned into laying around until 9 p.m. eating Twizzlers. It felt so good to do nothing!

Sunday was my shower with Dan's family and my dad's family. Every shower has proven to be so special and so fun - I truly am fortunate to have such an amazing supportive family and friends. My step-sisters-in-law and aunt threw a Dr. Seuss-themed event with amazing brunch dishes. I cried a bit too hard when Dan's mom gave me a hand-made blanket that Dan's great-grandma knit for her a good 30 years ago - it was too sweet.

As my ankles swell and my patience wears thin - I'm getting more and more over this whole pregnancy experience. I try to remind myself to cherish these last few weeks with the baby and not complain because so many women have to deal with so much more than tiredness and swelling - but the other 60% of the time, I'm a hot mess. I'm over the daily emails reminding me to address my birth announcements now, I'm over the annoying comments relating to tiredness "You think you're tired now - just WAIT until the baby comes." I'm so over the comments relating to breastfeeding "You know, my sister's-friend's-cousin wanted to breastfeed too - but, she just couldn't." Sorry for your sister's-friend-cousin, but I'd like to try first, ok? When anything from the list above happens or a rude cashier at Babies R Us ignores me - I go from "zero to sixty" in about five seconds flat. And I fear for anyone in my path. The worst part? People are so nice to pregnant women! They smile at you, offer their shopping carts to you, hold open the door for you - and I can barely muster up enough energy to smile and thank them because I'm dreaming of my bed, a grilled cheese - or both.

For us, not finding out the sex of the baby is one of the best things we did during this pregnancy. I completely understand that this is not for everyone - but for us this was the best choice. Not only do we have gender-neutral everything (perfect if we have a second child) - but the promise of finding out the gender in less than a month, mentally gets me through the day. Only 25 days until we know if "It's a girl!" or "It's a boy!" With me taking so much of the "pregnancy thunder" - I can't wait for Dan to announce this everyone in the waiting room (in my mind, labor will be just like Father of the Bride Part Two). I can't wait to see what s/he looks like - come on red hair! In short, I can't wait to meet this little person who will ultimately change our lives - for the better - forever.