I am 32 weeks pregnant.

According to my phone, I am 32 weeks and 5 days pregnant. By my own calculations, it's more like 33.5 weeks. That means that in a month and a half, I will be a mother of three. THREE, people. And that's crazy.

The third trimester has actually not been awful this time around. Maybe I'm tougher with two kids to take care of and two pregnancies under my belt, or maybe my body is cutting me some slack, I don't know. All I know is that the pelvic pain I was experiencing about six weeks ago has abated and my back has stopped flaring up at all hours of the day and night. I mean, I still get aches and pains, but I can handle them now.

In fact, most days I feel pretty great. So great that I'm actually enjoying the third trimester. I think my favorite part of being this pregnant (aside from the magical creation of a baby and those little kicks, obv) is that I always feel pretty. Even when I'm 40 weeks pregnant and I'm sick of getting those "Wow! You're about to pop!" comments, I feel beautiful. Not because I get all of those positive pregnancy benefits like thick, smooth hair and clear skin, because I don't, I just... I guess I just know what's waiting for me on the other side. Having done the disgustingness that is post-partum twice, I know that I need to enjoy feeling pretty now so I can save up some self-esteem and self-confidence because the second I push this kid out, I'm going to feel as attractive as an overweight shar pei.

I know, I know, you're all going to come to my defense saying: You look beautiful! You have a new baby! Cut yourself some slack! It took you nine months to get that body, give yourself nine months' grace.

And I know all that. I know I probably look fine.

But people, there is nothing that feels attractive about wearing maternity clothes when you aren't pregnant. Or having a stomach that resembles a large bowl of cottage cheese. Or waking up in the morning smelling like sour milk because you slept in a puddle of breastmilk.

So for now, I'm going to enjoy feeling pretty. :)

This week, baby is the size of a/an: honeydew

How far along: 32 weeks 5 days

Exercise: Chasing children. All day. Every day. With the occasional wind sprint down the street to catch one or the other.

Sleep: Not awful. I keep pulling ligaments when I roll around trying to find a comfortable position though. Kind of obnoxious.

Food cravings/aversions: None right now. Though I do enjoy food I don't have to make. :)

Movement: There is a lot of it and it's starting to get uncomfortable since there's less room these days.

What I miss: Being able to walk to places like the library or bagel shop with the boys. Walking there is fine. Pushing a stroller with 75 pounds of children up the hills back home is too much.

What I'm loving: Feeling pretty, as already explained.

What I'm looking forward to: Seeing the boys hold their sibling. They are SO EXCITED about a new baby. I mean, as excited as a 3 and 2 year old can get about such an abstract idea.

Best moment this week: The boys coming with me to my last prenatal appointment. The midwife got them involved in measuring the fundal height and Hank even got to hold down the microphone to hear the baby's heartbeat. It was adorable!

To accomplish before baby comes: Uh... come to terms with the fact that there will be a baby in the house in six or seven weeks... I need to get out clothing, wash it and the swing. That's about it.

Thoughts and feelings from Significant Other and Siblings: They're both stuck on the baby being a boy, but they love our girl name, Amy. They say it over and over and over again and think it's hilarious.

Using the potty

Johnny has been out of diapers completely for over a month, so I think it's finally safe to say that he is DONE with diapers. Yay!!! ::throws confetti::

It wasn't a lot of fun though. See, around November of last year, Johnny tricked us a little bit by showing interest in the toilet and going so far as to strip off his pants and diaper, climbing up on the toilet by himself and peeing in it a few times. Without any coercion from us. None. Zip. I knew he was ready since his diaper was dry when we awoke in the morning and after any impromptu naps, but I didn't want to force him. So John and I patted ourselves on the backs for not being pushy and letting him do it on his own.

Then he stopped doing it.

Which wouldn't have been a big deal, except that he started peeing on everything else in the house. Oh, and he thought it was hilarious, which meant Hank joined in the fun.

People, there were a couple of months there that I was ready to duct tape diapers to my children.

I mean, what was I to do? They would run around naked for hours, and then pee wherever they happened to be. Sometimes Johnny had a little more premeditation and would pee on my shoes. Or the toy he didn't want Hank to have. Or Hank. Sometimes he would be considerate and pee on the floor of the bathroom (which is linoleum, thus it's easier to clean than the carpet in the rest of the house). They were completely capable of removing their own clothing and diaper, so I couldn't keep them clothed. I tried using a poster and sticker-incentive to get him to use the potty. It worked for a few days, but then he was over the stickers. So I just cleaned up each and every mess.

Finally, when we got back from our east coast trip, Johnny started wearing underwear full time, at night, too, and ever since, he's been great. There's a learning curve, obviously, and he's had a handful of accidents, but honestly? It's been pretty easy. He showed interest in wearing underwear and using the toilet, which, I think, has made the biggest difference. He has no desire to sit in wet underwear or pants, so he's gotten really good at telling me he has to go or even doing it all by himself. I do often have to remind him to use the bathroom since he'll get really wrapped up in whatever he is doing and will forget about it.

Ultimately, it went pretty quickly once he was ready to give it a try. I'm so glad I waited until he decided to do it himself instead of foisting it on him with one of those "three-day potty training programs" or something of that ilk. I can't imagine fighting with my kid over something that he will want to do on his own eventually if I just leave it alone. And now I have to remember that when I get sick of changing diapers for Hank and the baby... Hank will do it by himself if I just let him lead the way.

The first movie

I think it's rather well-known around these parts that Johnny and Hank are fans of the movie Cars. So when the movie Planes came out a few weeks ago, John suggested making an impromptu trip to the theater to see it. It turned out to be quite the experience for us all.

We walked in and the boys were captivated by all the neon lighting and movie posters. They stared at the display of candy and Johnny was so excited to push the button to put butter on our popcorn.

Staring at the cashier while we get our tickets

CANDY!

In awe of the theater

We timed it so that we would be walking into the theater five minutes before the movie began, thinking that the less time we spent in the theater, the more likely we could see the whole movie. Well, it was a good idea, but that meant the whole theater was packed. We managed to find three seats together, which worked well since Hank was not interested in having a seat to himself. So he sat in my lap the whole time.

For the first hour of the movie (including previews) they boys were enchanted. Hank sat in my lap and stared slack-jawed at the screen in front of him, soaking in all the colors, sounds, and characters and stuffing his face with popcorn. Johnny loved sitting in his own seat and preferred to have the bag of popcorn sitting in his lap so he had the best access to it.

The movie itself was... less than stellar. I already knew it wasn't going to be Cars caliber because it wasn't made by Pixar, just a subset of Pixar that produces mostly straight-to-DVD movies. The characters were pretty much doubles of the ones already found in Cars and the plot left much to be desired. But for 2 and 3.5 year olds? It worked out well.

Of course, once we were an hour and fifteen minutes into the movie (which was an hour and forty-five minutes with previews), the boys were asking to go home. They had had enough popcorn and movie time and were ready to move around. To be honest, I was really impressed they had made it that long, so I consider it a win. Though John was really bummed that we didn't get to see the end of the movie. So I guess we'll have to watch it when it comes out on Netflix. :)