Forever Pregnant

So this morning I'm 28 weeks, 3 days pregnant and I realized that if you add the 13 1/2 weeks I was pregnant last year before the miscarriage I've already passed 40 weeks. No wonder this pregnancy is seeming to last forever. I've passed the gestation period for a human, and I've still got 12 1/2 weeks to go!! So what does that make me? Anyone know the gestational period for an elephant? Am I getting close? I know a giraffe is a lot longer, so I won't compare myself there. But I'll have a 53 1/2 week gestational period when this is all said and done. (okay, so I did have a 3 months break, but it wasn't long enough to let my hormones settle down. No wonder I'm crazy emotional all the time.)
I've been getting a few emails encouraging me to post more frequently. I would love to say that I'll try harder, but let's face it, all my posts will just be about the aches and pains of this pregnancy. The other three were so much easier (and shorter). My whole body is falling apart! My sister posted her top worst things about her pregnancy and I'll give you a few of mine. By the way, remember that I still have 12 1/2 weeks to go, which means these will all get worse and I'm sure there will be more to add.
Where to begin? :)
Number 1: My left hip goes out and I fall at random times. Thankfully I haven't fallen yet outside, and I catch myself most of the time before I hit the ground. But I have fallen twice this month all the way to the ground. Once I was holding Daniel and he came down with me and the other time I was just walking and my hip went out and I fell. It's kind of scary not knowing if one step is going to bring me down. There isn't any warning at all either, I just buckle.
Number 2: Sciatic pain down the outside of both legs along with lower back pain.
Number 3: (this is a favorite): Did you know that you could get varicose veins during your pregnancy? In places that you would never imagine? So mine are on the inside of my leg--very high up on the inner thigh and they make my whole leg numb sometimes and sometimes they just cause pain so bad it's difficult to walk or sit or drive or do anything.
Number 4: Heartburn--tums would be a food group for me Tracy, if I could stand them--I'm downing papaya enzymes and Maalox on a regular basis instead.
Number 5: Crazy emotions and lots of fatigue. I asked Jenny and Alex if they thought I was more happy or more sad recently and Jenny said I was, "overwhelmed and exhausted" (we have one of those emotion magnets on the fridge) and Alex said "happy and sad". So even my kids have noticed my crazy emotions. Joy.
And there you have it. Call it complaining if you want to, this is a hard pregnancy. Some people have it easy--I've had it easy in the past--but not this time. I'm just hoping and praying that my body will hold together for the rest of the pregnancy. I still have such a long time to go.

Anniversary

Lance & I celebrated our 9th anniversary on Thursday. A friend of ours babysat and we went to the Timpanogos Temple together to do sealings. It was wonderful! Then my mom & dad watched the kids from Friday to Saturday so that we could have some alone time. I slept for 10 hours!!!! It was so quiet. We had dinner & breakfast out, watched a movie, played video games, read and enjoyed every minute without our little darlings. Thanks mom & dad! And thanks Frank & Melanie and Cal & Debbie for the gifts! But most of all, thanks Lance for 9 wonderful years together. I look forward to a lifetime of joy with you.