Tanner SMASH!!

I know I have written about Tanner's smasher before, but in case you haven't experienced it for yourself, here is a picture. We have the green one. The thing weighs probably 3 pounds.

Tanner likes to smash things, especially toes with it. Sometimes he tries to smash the cat, but she is too fast for him. Last night, he smashed my whole left side, and he wasn't even in the room. The dogs were outside and the stupid kid went by who waits for the dogs to bark, then yells at them, which makes them bark more, which makes him yell more and I haven't been able to talk to him yet. So they are barking, and I am sitting on the couch. I get up to go stop them, and Tanner's smasher is just at the right place under my feet to roll away, and make me fall down. It happened so fast that I couldn't even try to catch myself, which is probably good. I might have broken an arm I fell so hard. So today, my left shoulder and left hip both ache. There is no visible bruise, but boy does it hurt to touch it. I keep forgetting about my hip and brushing against things. Owie.

Two nights ago, I bought this:

Not the lady, just the pillow. (Yeah I know, it looks like they haven't updated their product picture since maybe the eighties, but anyway.) It's a snoogle. I have tried every possible combination of pillows to sleep comfortably. I tried two regular bed pillows, some throw pillows, a body pillow. Most of them were too unwieldy and I would still end up sleeping on my back, on top of the pillow, instead of on my side propped up by the pillow. So I broke down and bought this. It's AWESOME!!! I am a serious pillow loyalist. I have had my pillow for at least 5 years, more like 7 I think. I take it with me when I travel, if I can. It's a chiropractic pillow, the kind with an indent in the middle and different heights depending on how you sleep. Alann thinks it is terribly uncomfortable, but I can't sleep with those fluff-balls you get at Walmart. So to have a new pillow that I like is weird. But it will probably be a pregnancy only thing, then I can go back to my good old pillow. This one works well at keeping me on my side, but it takes up a bit of room. Not as much as the regular body pillow did, but still a lot.
In other pregnancy news, my extremities are starting to lose blood flow at weird random times. This morning I was bent over the bathtub washing my hair, (I use a two-in-one when I don't shower) and by the time I was done, both my legs from the knee down were asleep. Not so bad I couldn't walk, but annoying. I've been waking up and my hands are asleep after being in a "normal" position. And I have been getting these AWFUL cramps right behind my knees in the middle of the night. I'm almost afraid to stretch my legs at night. Any little thing triggers them. And I am getting the "Linea nigra" or black line down the middle of my stomach. It doesn't mean much, it's just there. But so far, no stretch marks, which I am grateful for.
And, the most exciting thing, I think Claire is finally big enough for me to feel her moving around more often. It seems like yesterday she didn't ever stop moving. I was sitting on the couch reading last night, using my stomach to prop up my book, and she kicked it so hard it moved. Alann was even impressed with how much he could feel her moving. This morning she is at it again. It's fun.
I don't think I mentioned it, but I was awarded employee of the month for August. (We do it quarterly, so I just found out last Friday I think.) People said nice things. I am really liking my job. Between that and all the cash gifts I got for my birthday, I have been shopping quite a bit. I'm all worn out from shopping. Time to take a break from spending money for a while. I have plenty to keep me busy though. I'm making some diapers and wipes for the baby (please don't tell me I am crazy. Everyone does. I am at least going to give it a fair shot before we end up spending more on disposable diapers than food. Cloth diapers have come a long way since I was diapered in them. This is a mostly financial and partly environmental choice on our parts. We just can't afford to throw that much money in the trash every month. If you are babysitting and prefer disposables, then we may have some on hand. But, I intend to at least try it. If it doesn't work out, we can sell the cloth diapers. Moving on.) I am also going to try to make myself some pajama pants. I say try, because I have no pattern and absolutely no experience. But, I have plenty of fabric and patience and I love figuring out a puzzle. I have a general idea of how to do it, and I know exactly how NOT to do it (because I did it wrong a few nights ago. Claire is now getting some ladybug wipes to go with the other more classic baby themed ones.) I have had the same pair of pajama pants for um, 3 years. 4? A long long time. I am tired of them, and they are looking a little tired also. The penguin pants I talked about before are working out well, so I bought some cute fabric. I may need to go buy more... Someone keep me away from the fabric store. Please!