Lots of Updates!

Mr. Mustard went to Vegas with his highschool friends last Friday and had a great time hanging with the guys. They went to a gun range and shot M-16s and other automatic rifles, ate at a good steakhouse, and played poker. Mr. Mustard had a great time- lots of good guy bonding! Hopefully his friend Tom will send us some pictures soon so I can post a few- Mr. Mustard forgot his camera, but did bring the new video camera- so I got to see footage of them at the gun range. It was pretty scary and weirdly amazing all at the same time.

I, on the other hand, had a nice quiet weekend at home with Hauser and Meg. Thursday before Mr. Mustard left on his trip we went out to see The Breakup with Jennifer Aniston and then snuck into Cars- mostly because I didn't want to go home quite yet and it was starting right then. Both movies were very cute. The baby definitely preferred Cars- she was kicking uncontrollably during the movie. We had popcorn and enjoyed what will probably be one of our last movie date nights together before she is born. So, it was fun!

Saturday night I had a bit of a scare- I was home alone, and stayed up late as usual. I took Hauser outside at 2 am for his last outing of the night and was careful to stay close the building and make it quick. There was this guy on the corner, which kind of weirded me out, but we were only out there for a second. I came back inside and about half an hour later decided to go to sleep. I turned off the light in the bedroom, and just about 30 seconds after I did, all the electricity in the whole apartment went out. The clocks, everything... It was really dark and I was thinking how weird it was that just as I turned out my bedroom light everything else shut off. So, I called Mr. Mustard, opened the front door and looked out into to the main hallway of the apartment- and all of the lights were off out there, too. No flashlight around, so I just stumbled back to bed. Luckily, Hauser jumped up in the bed with me to keep me company. I was starting to let my imagination run wild (thinking about the guy on the corner), which made me start breathing harder-- and then I started having really big, painful contractions! Which is not a good sign. I've had a lot of contractions all along, and going into labor early has been a concern..., so I was really worrying that "this is it"- and here I am, no clock to time the contractions, in the dark, by myself, with Mr. Mustard 5 hours away. So, I did some deep breathing and after about an hour and a half, they went away and I fell asleep. The lights all suddenly came on at 6am- so I don't know what the quirk was. Just a quirk, I guess- but it was still sort of scary at the time!

Today's Appointment- 31 weeks, 6 days

Just got back from the doctor's office. My appointment was at 9 a.m., and I got there at 8:45- since parking was thankfully not a problem. The trouble was that the doctor didn't show up until almost 10! I didn't ask why- but in my head I told myself he was probably out delivering another baby. That way I wouldn't be too grumpy when I saw him. Anyway, I was getting very frustrated and uncomfortable after waiting in a crowded waiting room for over an hour- but they made it worth my while. They did an ultrasound, which was GREAT because I got to see our little girl on the big screen. Ultrasounds are so very cool.

I brought a video tape and they gave me pictures- which I will have to post later when Mr. Mustard gets a chance to scan them. She is SO cute! She has Mr. Mustard's nose, I think...which is just adorable. As far as the vitals go, she is measuring in the 90th percentile for size! She weighs over 5 pounds and is the size of a 35 week baby! I know ultrasounds can be off by a lot for size and weight, but it means that she's probably a pretty good sized baby and will get even bigger. I'm happy about it because if something were to happen and I would go into labor early, she would be fine. Ann (who is a twin) was smaller than that when she was born! So, having a big baby is a good thing in my opinion. :-)

31 Weeks, 4 Days!

Nothing too big to report. Last night Mr. Mustard and I had a quick "date"- well, more like a quick run to In and Out Burger. I was craving meat again- so it had to be done!

I took this picture of myself just a minute ago- it's not the best, but it shows how huge I'm getting. The countdown is really on to the big day!

Movement continues to be a big thing- Mr. Mustard was amazed last night at how much she was bopping around.

I've been doing a little organizing of all of her stuff. Folding clothes in her dresser, putting up her stuffed animals, etc. There is still a lot to do, of course- and I'm really looking forward to doing most of it after the Bar is finished. It's very strange to think about how small she is going to be-- but so big at the same time! My online tracker says that she is about 19 inches long, and about 4 pounds by now! It seems crazy that something 19 inches long is inside me! No wonder I can't breathe!

My friend Lindsey emailed me yesterday to ask what a narrative show is- I forgot to say in my email back to her exactly what it is- and then it occured to me that everyone else is probably wondering what the heck a narrative show is anyway! It basically is a scripted show (as opposed to a reality show). So, that would include shows like sit-coms, one hour dramas, etc. I guess the better term really would be scripted instead of narrative. Mr. Mustard is really liking the show- at least the process of learning how to edit a scripted show because it is a much different thing than editing reality.

My neighbor told me yesterday that there have been two muggings outside of our building lately! One happened on Tuesday night at about 2 a.m. This, of course, freaked me out because it seems like we live in a nice neighborhood- and I'm always out walking Hauser in the evenings. I will have to be extra careful when I walk him late at night (when Mr. Mustard is working late or out of town). I also worry about Mr. Mustard walking him late at night because both incidents were cases where men were the ones being mugged! Mr. Mustard seems to think that Hauser will be a deterrent for anyone mugging us- since he is a big, black looking dog- and people might be scared of that. But, if you know Hauser, then you know that he couldn't hurt a thing- and I don't know how scary chocolate labs are to people who know dogs! Anyway, that was disconcerting.

Speaking of Hauser, we have to figure out what we're going to do with him when I give birth! Having a dog can complicate things- especially because he needs to be walked four times a day and fed twice. Meg is much more low-maintenance. We're thinking of sending him to doggy camp- but of course, that would mean that we would have to KNOW when I'm going into labor in advance- which probably won't happen. There is the option of asking a neighbor- which we may have to look into...because I don't want Mr. Mustard missing the birth because he had to go home to feed or walk the dog!

Here is a pic I took of Hauser just now. He is a lot of work- but he is SO worth it!!!!

I feel better today. I've been focusing on Civil Procedure- although it still is the most difficult, and dull subject ever. The baby has been moving SO MUCH lately- she is very active, especially when I rest on my right side. I think maybe it's uncomfortable for her when I lay that way- otherwise, why would she squirm so much? I can literally feel her moving her whole body around, and today I saw what looked sort of like a foot sticking out of my side!

First Father's Day

I know it's not technically Mr. Mustard's first Father's Day, but we celebrated it as if it were- since she's technically a person now in many ways (fully formed and just "cooking" a little longer in there). I got Mr. Mustard a very cute father/daughter T-Shirt combo for Father's Day. I think he liked it - it's a computer gamer T-shirt for him and a matching one for the the baby. I ordered it about two weeks ago and didn't know if it would arrive in time, but it arrived on Friday, just in time! I also got him a cool Father-to-Be card! :-)

In other news, I'm stuck in the nightmare of Bar Exam studying right now- no matter how much I study, it never quite seems to be enough. I tackled Civil Procedure yesterday and today- even though on my study calendar, it's only budgeted for tomorrow. That is definitely not enough time to master one my most difficult subjects-- for me, the substantive law is much easier to get than the procedural. The procedural courses (Civ Pro, Crim Pro, and Evidence) are all incredibly boring and at the same time very difficult. Oh well.

I'm starting to get panicked about not being prepared for the exam- it's an unending mountain of material to memorize and then apply over 24 hours of testing (8 hrs/day- 3 day exam). So far, I've worked on Evidence, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law, Torts, Remedies, Property, and Criminal Procedure. I have yet to start on Community Property, Corporations, Wills, Professional Responsibility, and Trusts. I'm sure this doesn't matter to really anyone but me, but it's just a lot of work- and very, very, very stressful. Arghh.

I usually have about one nervous breakdown/ crying session a day- and then I get better. It's just hard to lock yourself in a room and study all day, every day- never going outside or doing anything fun. I've been feeling sort of sorry for myself- but I usually get over it pretty quickly when I remember that this is only temporary and once I pass the Bar, I'll be a lawyer for life. So, 5 more weeks of intensive studying is worth it for a career that will open many doors in the future- legal or not. But, even saying that, it's been difficult. I've never put myself through anything this difficult or intense in my life, I've definitely never studied this much- and I'm barely keeping up with the recommended study schedule.