Wooooo 5 month check up!

Ben and I had our 5 month ultrasound and check up today!  

First thing she checked was the gender, and yes, she is definitely a girl!  Her heart looks perfect and the heart rate is 157.  Checked the cord, spine, arms, legs, brain, face, stomach, fluids, etc, and the doctor says that everything is right on track and she looks perfectly healthy.  I got my blood drawn and tested last month, and everything came back normal!  We got a dvd of the ultrasound, and luckily, she was moving around most of the time.  She sucked on her fingers and her arm at the end, I think she was getting tired.  (She's not tired right now, because she's kicking me!)  

It was really cool to see her movements AND feel them at the same time.  The other night, I actually felt one with my hand.  Very slight, but soon, Ben will be able to!  

We'll be coming home in a few days and I can't wait to see everyone!

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Talked to Aimee and Mary today (3 way call) and had a total rant about some stuff, and it felt AWESOME to get it out in the open.

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I'm also doing really well in ignoring people's advice for me while pregnant.  Everything that I'm doing, I do for a reason.

There are plenty more things that I've gotten "advice" about, and it's all pretty annoying.  A lot of moms think that they know everything as soon as they squeeze the kid out.  Knowing it all and having an experience are 2 different things, let's remember that, folks.  Usually, I wouldn't mind this constant barrage of unsolicited knowledge being thrust at me, but it's hard to take in large doses and hard to take when my own thoughts and feelings are being tossed aside as if I don't have any idea what I'm talking about.  It's ok, I've actually talked to a lot of people, looked up a lot, and talked to my doctors, so I am on the right track.

It cracks me up how brave people get when they've got a keyboard in front of them.  Coming up with rude remarks to say to someone they don't even know because there will be no repercussions.  These are the same people who in real life are sad people with no self-identity other than calling themselves _______'s mommy/daddy or _______'s wife/husband.  They are brave because they are faceless.  They are brave because there is no chance that anything they say will ever have any consequences in real life.  It's lame and funny at the same time.

I'm not just a wife.  I am:
1. a teacher
2. a woman
3. a painter
4. a pet lover
5. an adventurer
6. an explorer
7. a lover
8. a dream maker
9. a photographer
10. a fighter
11. a daughter
12. a sister
13. a grandaughter
14. an intelligent member of society
15. an activist
16. a peacemaker
17. a loyal friend
18. a trustworthy opponent
19. a cook
20. a genuine person

I could name a ton, but that should give you an idea that I'm not just one thing, and I'm not going to broadcast myself as ONE thing.  That's silly.  If my husband did that, I would question him as to why he is limiting himself to being just one thing. 

Be creative.

Know that when you say something over the internet, no one is going to respect or love you more.  In fact, I pity people who do so because I KNOW what you're all about. 

I know a lot of people who have been harassed via the internet, and to those harassers, I say, "Go to hell."  You're pitiful pieces of what could have been a real person, but instead of doing good and paying things forward, you look for things and people to put down or bother.  You're like the fat bullies in elementary school who only got away with bullying because you were bigger than everyone, not smarter, not more clever, and certainly not better than ANYONE.  Harassers, you are pathetic.  Stalkers, you are pathetic.