34 weeks 1 day

Counting down!  Penelope is about 5 pounds now and about 18 inches long.  She is around the size of an American Girl doll.  She is also very wiggly.  It's kind of weird when she moves her head since it's so low.  Her sleep cycles are the same now as they will be when she is born.  Sometimes she jumps when Reaver barks. 

Ugh,  I'm so sick! I sound like a man. I got a sore throat about a week ago so was just taking cough drops. I also have a rash on my feet.  Weird.  Then I started to get a runny/stuffy nose so now my nose is all dry and red.  After the Bruce concert, I threw up from brushing my teeth.  Haven't thrown up since the first trimester.  Yesterday I started sneezing and my eyes were real watery.  My temp last night was 99.7 and this morning was 97.7. I have to sleep with two fluffy pillows on top of each other so I'm elevated because that stops me from coughing all night but then that kills my back.  Man, being pregnant is rough enough, then throw a cold on top of that. I'm just glad I wasn't sick for my baby shower. We head back to Missouri in two days.  Hope I'm feeling better by then. 

So the big event this weekend was the Bruce Springsteen concert that Josh and I have been waiting like 3 years to see.  We went with my mom, dad and sister.  My parents rented a van and it was about a 6 hour drive.  Not too bad since I did a lot of sleeping.  The first night we were in Chicago, we just went out for pizza.  The day of the concert, we went out for burgers before heading to the stadium.  The concert was scheduled for 730 pm, and was about 14 miles away.  We left the hotel around 3 pm I think.  The hotel drove us to the train station, then we took about a 15 minute train ride to the bus which took us to the stadium.  I have discovered that I hate busses.  So we get there about 2 hours before the gates even open.  But we did see Jake, Stevie and Bruce pull up and enter the stadium so that was really cool.  The concert started at 820 ish. And was awesome.  Eddie Vedder and Tom Morello also showed up. Even though everyone was standing, I would sit down occasionally because my feet and legs hurt.  Then it started raining and didn't stop. I didn't want to stand up because then my seat would get wet and I wouldn't be able to sit down again.  Bruce is notorius for doing 4 hour shows and it was about 1030 so I was really hoping the rain would stop because I know no one in my group was leaving early.  So I just sat in my chair, hunched over and sick, getting rained on.  I was miserable but didn't want to ruin anyone else's night.  Josh did go with me to "hide" from the rain for about 20 minutes.  Josh said it was the best concert he has ever been to and he guesses he has been to about 200. People we having a great time dancing in the rain and all.  Afterwards, it probably took us 2 hours to get home.  The busses were a nightmare.  When we finally got to the train, we called the hotel to pick us up from the train station but some other guests had beat us there and taken our shuttle so we waited another like 40 minutes.  We were all frustrated at this point because we were all soaking wet and cold and the stupid hotel picked up the wrong people and it's almost 2 am.  We were all sooo happy when we finally made it back to the hotel and asked for 3 extra blankets. 

All in all, I was kind of let down (not by Bruce!) by all the factors working against me.  If I wasn't 8.5 months pregnant, sick and getting rained on, I know I would have had a blast.  Bruce will be coming to Kansas City but it's 3 weeks after Penelope will be born.  That's way too soon.  Josh did feel bad for me and say that he would babysit and my mom and I should go to a concert together since I didn't get to fully enjoy it.  Who knows when that will be though.  Bruce's 2012 started in Feb I think and he just started his 3rd leg, so I will be surprised if he tours next year.

One thing I did learn from our trip to Chicago is that I will never ever live in a big city!

How far along? 34 weeks
Maternity clothes? that's all I wear
Sleep: awful, especially with this cough and backaches.
Best moment this week: seeing bruce!
Miss Anything? feeling healthy
Movement: a lot!
Food cravings: a few days ago it was cheesecake.
Anything making you queasy or sick: the smell of cigar smoke or black and milds
Have you started to show yet: yes
Gender: girly girl
Labor Signs: i dont think so
Belly Button in or out? out, since like, week 10.
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: happy, getting anxious for her to be here!
Looking forward to: getting back to missouri and seeing my kitty and finishing the nursery