Little Round Woman

That's what my hubby calls me, now. I wonder if when he says it and we're in public, people understand it's a term of endearment and not some condescending put-down of his pregnant wife. It's really cute, actually. I mean, that's what I am right now: a little round woman all of 62 inches tall and a belly moving into it's own zip code. He keeps stopping at Motherhood Maternity when we're in the mall. Their clearance rack seems to change every week and he's always searching for something new to get me. He's such an awesome guy, I gotta tell you. four new dresses in the past two weeks.

I wore one of those dresses yesterday - a coral colored one piece with an empire waist, lightly flowered bodice and a tie in the back. My coworker brought her 3 month old daughter into the office and after having a giggle, she spit up all over me. She and her husband began apologizing profusely while I just continued to cuddle and play with her. I told them that I knew the game and it didn't bother me. Her husband was like, "But that's so gross!" Of course, I tore off the dress as soon as I got home and took a shower. An hour in the car smelling like hot, regurgitated Enfamil is not my idea of fun.

Today, my hubby wouldn't get up (damn, the irony. The phone just rang and it was him!) He normally gets up at four, gets ready and is out of the door by five. At a quarter to six, he was still snoring and barely stirring when I'd touch him. I asked him, "Why are you sleeping so much? It's worrying me." Actually, he's had insomnia for the past couple of days, so this is probably needed sleep...worthy of a "call in" to the office, I'd say (which is what he's getting ready to do, now at eight in the morning). I hope he gets the rest he needs today and takes a bit of a break. He really, really needs one. He's been working those manic overtime hours and now he's training for a show. No wonder he was sleeping like the dead!

I have my first appointment with my new doctor next week. I tried to call the office earlier this week to see if they had my records. The first lady on the phone sounded totally clueless and I wasn't quite sure if she was a receptionist or an answering service. She then told me no one was there, which was strange at nearly nine in the morning. Finally, I think she understood what I needed and sent me to the medical records office. They told me that once they have the records they send them to the doctor, so she had no way of knowing if they'd come in or not. All I want is to be sure they have them so that when I see him, it's not a blank for him or me. I think I'll try again in the later morning. Perhaps specific doctor's assistants aren't there until certain times. I really don't want this to be a bust like the last doctor. I don't think I can go through this again.

The brother-in-law's ticket home was purchased last night. He will be leaving Friday the 5th (not soon enough, if you ask me). All of a sudden, all the food hubby has purchased for his dear pregnant wife has started to disappear. I was all geared up to eat the sausage biscuits he bought for me and low an behold they were gone! Gone, I tells yah! Not only that, there is only one Long John Silver's here in this state and it's located smack downtown (where I never venture). My mother took me to lunch there on Wednesday, she bought me hush puppies to take home (twelve come in a box). When I got home last night, there were two left. TWO! I was so livid! Then, the brother-in-law tried to perpetrate like he didn't know what I was talking about. Then, he just got up and left. Now, I admit. I don't know a great deal about fourteen year olds, but don't most people own up to something when they know they're wrong, especially when they've been caught red-handed? There's nothing else to do, in my opinion. Well, he's got a lot to learn about being a man and owning up to his responsibilities. No one is perfect, but at least own up, you know?

My hubby is at his limits too. His space is being compromised and he's ready to kill that boy. He's been nice to have for a visit, but it's time for him to go home. I think he's ready to go home too because, I believe his mother allows him to do whatever he wants and our structured environment is too limiting for him (as structured as our environment is). She also enables him, and I refuse to do that with someone who will be a grown man in just a few short years.

TGIF! No plans for the weekend and that doesn't bother me in the least.

Pioneer Day

Pioneer Day
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Pioneer Day is a holiday celebrated on July 24 in the U.S. state of Utah, with some celebrations in regions of surrounding states originally settled by Mormon pioneers. It commemorates the entry of Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon Pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847, where the Latter-day Saints settled after being forced from Nauvoo, Illinois and other locations in the Eastern United States. Parades, fireworks, rodeos and other festivities help commemorate the event.

In addition to being an official holiday in Utah, Pioneer Day is considered a special occasion by many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. On Pioneer Day, some Latter-day Saints walk portions of the Mormon Trail or reenact entering the Salt Lake Valley by handcart. Even Latter-day Saints outside of the US occasionally sing Mormon folk music around July 24 in remembrance of the pioneer era.

We are not Mormon, so we do not do the parades and such on this holiday; however, we had no problem shooting off loads of fireworks last night. It was big fun at my house! The weather was perfect (around 80) with a strong wind (which made lighting the fireworks somewhat difficult), but the show was terrific. I watched my husband and brother-in-law light and run for about an hour. My daughter had a blast and was thoroughly exhausted this morning, when I tried to wake her for school, "No mommy. I don't wanna go to school," sound familiar?

Saturday, we went to see Charley and the Chocolate Factory. I liked it and thought it had it's own, unique charm. Johnny Depp was great and, like any Tim Burton film, there was a darkness and sadness to this one as his others, which didn't take away from its charm. The babe loved it, but had nightmares that night as a result of some of the imagery. I tell yah, a kid's imagination.

Hubby is preparing for another body building show. He's preparing, but I don't know if he'll actually do it. He always weenies out of it and I'm not sure why. He'll train and train and then he'll say,"Oh, I've got so much going on," or "I'm not cut enough," or "I don't think I'll make the weight category I want." Why all the excuses? Beats me. It's not like he doesn't have the confidence and it's not like he can't do it, and it's not like he hasn't won before. I think he expects so much of himself, then feels like not participating is easier to deal with then letting himself down. He's afraid to take the chance, even with all the support from family and friends. I hope he doesn't weenie out this time. I've threatened to mail in the paper work with a forged signature if he doesn't get his act together and just do it. He lives for fitness...it's his dream! I want him to go for it and I know that he can. If you had the opportunity to embrace your dreams, wouldn't you do it?

Friday, with No End in Site

It's just been dragging and dragging today, where yesterday went by at the speed of light! I hoped for the same today, but no such luck. I keep saying, "All I want to do is go home and go to sleep, " but it never happens. I am getting to bed on time, now so I guess that's good.

Last night, I was rewatching Kill Bill Vol.2 and I got to the scene where "The Bride" and Elle Driver are having their bitch-fight in the trailer and the disc started stuttering on me. Oh! I hate when that happens. I took it out wiped off any possible traces of finger prints, inspected the disc for scratches and put the disc back in. No luck. I ended up skipping to the last chapter where Bill and Beatrix have their battle. The movie was great, but I hate that I missed that part. Oh, well.

I think I'll take the little one to see Charley and the Chocolate Factory, since she's been begging us for the past few weeks (when the trailers started airing). Everyone that I know that has seen it, says they really like it.

I'm running out of things to talk about, can you tell? It's just so booorrrrinnnggg right now. It was so busy all week, and now this. I can only gather that many people have headed out for the holiday (Utah holiday on Monday). But, we have staffers (more than a few) across the country who don't celebrate the holiday. What gives? Hopefully, I'll have more to share in the next few days. At least more interesting than this babble. The baby is fine and all is well. Happy weekend!

Back Woes

My hubby purchased me a Dr. Scholl's back cushion that worked beautifully this weekend in his car (cigarette lighter adapter), but didn't come with a regular AC adapter. So today, I made a pit-stop to Wally world and picked up an adapter. I got to work, plug in all the necessary plugs and tips and what happens? Absolutely nothing. What a bummer! I was really looking forward to using it, since now my back is starting to twinge like crazy (pregnant/baby stuff, yah know). Anyway, I wanted to be vibrating to happiness today, but no such luck. Looks like I'm going to have to go to Best Buy or Circuit City and buy a $30.00 adapter, just to get this sucker working.

Last night, we watched Constantine. We had wanted to see it at the movie theaters, but missed it. I thought (never having read the comics) that it was a very entertaining and dark film and I hope that they continue with the franchise. It reminded me, in some ways, of Prophesy, Christopher Walken. They run in the same vein, as far as being stories about God's chosen and how they effect the regular and spiritual world.

It's Wednesday and I'm glad the week isn't dragging by like last week. A nice treat is that I'll be doing the "lunch thing" for the remainder of the week. Lunch at my favorite Chinese restaurant today, a lunch meeting tomorrow and lunch at my second favorite Chinese restaurant on Friday. Cool! I'm going to turn into Chinese chicken, I just know it!

Rumbling Tummy

It's been doing it ever since I woke up this morning. I just ate breakfast, so hopefully it will settle down in a few minutes. It's weird! It's never felt like this before. Kinda gassy, but kinda pukey at the same time. I've been eating a pasta salad with mystery contents, so perhaps that's why my stomach is rebelling. That should be long gone by now, but who knows.

I just discovered that I still do not have my registration tags yet for my car. I renewed back in April and got the little temporary deal, but never got my tags. Too weird! I'll be calling them today. I've been getting tailed lately and I couldn't figure out why (besides the obvious). But, this is definitely much more than normal. So, at lunch yesterday, I walked out to my car and saw that my sticker still says "4/05". Not good. The temporary thing expired on 4/30. How'd I miss that? Well, vacation was coming up and all kinds of weirdness like missing my period and stuff. It's no wonder I didn't think about it again. I just new I had paid like I do every year. I hope they don't give me grief about it.

[brief pause]

Oh, great! I just called a student who was asleep. I thought she was Eastern time, but maybe she gets a late start. Boy, do I feel bad. Luckily, she wasn't grumpy. She could have cussed me out and I totally would have deserved it. Yikes!

Next Monday is an observed Utah holiday. Normally, it's a work day but, I'm going to have to take off because the babe's daycare is closed. Dad has to work, my mother has to work, everyone I know has to work. I asked if I could work from home, but my boss didn't seem to keen on that. He just said take the day and enjoy! So, I guess I will. It will be a nice little break, but I hope it doesn't hurt my maternity leave. I don't think it will.

Other than that, nothing exciting happening. Still getting round. Again, I hope my belly settles. It seems to be feeling better already. No more mystery pasta salad for me.

Am I Too Sensitive?

I feel so emotional these days. Everything seems to affect me, even though I may not show it. The other day, one of my co-workers came over to say hi. (She had her first child in May). Anyway, the baby isn't doing well and ended up going to the children's hospital for an overnight stay. She was so stressed out over it that she started to cry right here. I comforted her as best I could, but I totally know how she felt. I've been there. When my babe had RSV at four months, it nearly killed me. The "Super Mom" syndrome kicks in and you think you can take care of everything yourself but really, you can't. Oh, and no one can tell you otherwise. You just continue to take on the world until you inevitably crack. I told my coworker not to let it get to that point and to come talk whenever she felt like it because at least she wouldn't feel like she was doing it alone.

I've changed my practitioner, too. I've had funny vibes about her and received confirmation of those vibes on Tuesday when I had my second visit. First, I felt like I was in an assembly line for the bathroom, when it came time to do the urine sample. The nurse wouldn't speak up or speak clearly, so I didn't even know what she was saying. Finally, when I got in the room and the doctor appeared, she didn't even acknowledge my daughter being there. I had to say, "Z, say hello to the doctor," before the doctor would even said anything to her. The final straw was when she pulled out the machine to listen to the baby's heart beat. She couldn't find it right away and when she couldn't she said, "Wow, this is a bad baby." I kid you not! I was so euphoric about hearing the baby's hear beat (finally), that I didn't let all of this sink in until much later. Than, I tossed and turned and worried about it all night. I don't want to be "just another patient" despite the fact that I've done this before. I need to feel like I'm important and that my baby is important. Even thinking about it now makes me want to cry.

The next day, I called my girlfriend (who recently had a baby) and asked her who her OB/GYN was. She told me his name and that he works here in Salt Lake, but I want someone in my neighborhood. She then told me about her friend who just worshipped her OB and he works in the city where I live, but my friend didn't know his name. She said she'd call her friend and ask her, than call me later that day (she never did. I began to panic).

Yesterday, she calls back with his name and a huge apology about waiting entirely too long to call me back (I didn't mention that she could have left a message, but you know...whatever). I called the doctor's office and asked if he was taking any new, pregnancy patients. Fortunately, he is. I called my now former doctor's office and asked that they send over my records. God, I hope he turns out to be good. I don't think I could go through this again, not with the state of mind I'm in. It's weird because it's like having PMS or something. You can feel yourself falling into these emotional pits in fact, you can almost see yourself doing it but you have no control. You bawl, bitch or lose it without any means of stopping yourself. And I've got 7 more months of this craziness? God bless my poor husband and child.

Wedding Bell Blues

Let me start off by saying, the wedding ceremony was absolutely beautiful! It couldn't have gone better and I'm sure the pictures will turn out great. It was the reception that somehow became a disaster (I suppose it could have been worse, but I'll start from the beginning).

Thursday - We arose at around 4 and left the house by 4:30 am for the airport. My daughter was excited to arrive at the airport, then crushed to hear that she wouldn't be riding on the airplane. I felt horrible. I checked in and quickly found my way to the security line, kissed the babe and hubby goodbye then headed to my gate. My plane left at approximately 6:22 am MST. I arrived at Chicago O'Hare at approximately 10:30 am CST. My next flight wasn't due to leave until 12:30, so I found a McDonald's and had some breakfast.

My flight from Chicago to Nashville was super fast. I fell asleep (which I never do on planes) and when I woke up, we were making our "final approach" to Nashville. Once I landed, I headed to the Thrifty counter to grab my car and low and behold, they upgraded me. Woohoo! I make my way to the space where my car is housed and, wouldn't you know it? It's a 2005 Mitsubishi, Galant...the same make and model as my hubby's car. Oh, how I missed him! Down the highway I went in search of my hotel. I checked in, dumped my stuff and took a nap. (Boy, did I need it!) Later, I awakened, called my dad and he came over to chat. I also called my best friend, to let her know that I had arrived. She called me back later and made plans for dinner with me.

We met at O'Charley's at around 8:30 for dinner. I had the appetizer combo and a virgin, strawberry daiquiri. Yum! I couldn't even finish it! It was so good. We chatted and had a really good time. Then, I followed her to her apartment to drop off my car. We then rode out to Wally world and grabbed a few items. Afterwards, we went to her mother's house and hung out with her for about an hour. I called my hubby. 11:45 pm CST and I was bushed! I told my girlfriend I was ready to go, so we headed back to her apartment. I grabbed my car and drove back to the hotel and crashed. It was a very long day.

Friday - I awoke at around 7 am and showered. I wasn't the least bit hungry, which totally surprised me. At 8ish, I called my sorority sister to make lunch plans. Afterwards, I dressed and took off for the hair shop where I purchased a new Zury compact (in Tender Brown), fabulous lipstick, glosses and hair balls for the babe and body glitter.

I then headed for Kroger to pick up my mother's Aunt Jemima grits that she wanted. They didn't have them. So, I headed to H.G. Hill's where they had two packages left (one was leaking). I bought the grits and a bottle of water and waited five minutes before heading across the stree to O'Charley's for lunch. Once there, I waited about fifteen minutes for my sorority sisters (CP time). They arrived and we had a blast! I had the corn chowder and half a club sandwhich. I also had another virgin, strawberry daiquri. Yum! After I left, I headed down the road to survey the area. It appeared that I could get to my best friend's church by way of a side road, rather than taking the highway. I pondered this, but ended up going back to the hotel, grabbing my change of clothes, then jumping on the highway. Road construction slowed traffic down to a crawl. I barely made it on time. Luckily, they hadn't started yet.

It was at this point that I finally met the bride's future husband. I had only seen pictures and heard about him through her. He seemed nice, pleasant. But, we didn't have a lot of time to talk. The rehearsal began and we worked on two walk throughs...which took two hours (Lord knows why). We went downstairs for the rehearsal dinner, which consisted of Mrs. Winner's chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and biscuits. I made myself quite welcome to the potatoes and about three glasses of their sweet tea. I then followed the girls to their hotel room, changed for the bachelorette party, then headed downtown to the Red Iguana/Wanna B's. It was basically a honky tonk...which surprised four little black girls without a clue. We went in (all eyes on us), found a table at the front of the stage and proceeded to have a really great time (despite all the country music). The bride belted out "Who's Bed have your Boots Been Under". Later, three of us braved the stage and sang, "Stop! In the Name of Love". We left at around 1:45 am. I took the inebreated girls back to their hotel room, then headed back to my own. It was 2:30 when I got there and couldn't settle down to go to sleep. "Why can't I sleep," I kept wondering. I was tired...exhausted, really and I just couldn't go to sleep. Then, it dawned on me. The tea! Full of caffeine. No wonder I couldn't sleep. It was around 3 ish when I finally dozed off.

Saturday - I awakened (believe it or not) at 7:30 (I know...totally crazy). I took a shower and called in my breakfast order to the Waffel House (yum!). I had a waffle, bacon and an order of grits. They were all divine. I later took off to another hair shop and purchased my sister a new pony (and one for me), pony tail holders, a brush, and some ghetto fabulous shorts for my hubby. With 20 minutes till I needed to be at the church, I rushed back to the hotel, fixed my hair, grabbed my dress, and headed back out to the church. I was five minutes late and not everyone was there. I calmed down. We dressed and made ourselves look extra glamourous (yep! I actually put on make up). Everyone said you couldn't even tell I was pregnant. Amazing! Again, the ceremony was beautiful. The groom was sweating bullets through the entire service. I found this odd, considering the bride was wearing about 20lbs worth of dress and was cool as a cucumber. After the wedding, a white limo spirited the bride and groom off to the reception hall. Then, one came for the remainder of the wedding party. We arrived, lined up and were announced inside the hall. Dinner was served and the groom took off. It seems the best man got lost and got so frustrated that he told the groom that he wasn't coming. This set in motion the tone for the entire evening: the bride sitting by herself through most of the reception, while the groom pleaded for the best man to see reason (over his cell phone in the lobby). I was so irritated for her and even more irritated to see the groom's mother flitting around all over the place, getting into everyone's business. I just wanted her to sit down somewhere and shut-up! Once the evening concluded, the bride and groom were again spirited off in the limo, this time to the Union Station hotel for their romantic honeymoon evening. The bridesmaids went back to the church, changed, then went home (I can't tell you how happy I was to get out of that dress!).

I got back to the room and called my high school girlfriend. We met for dinner at (you guessed it!) O'Charley's. Since I'd pretty much filled up on meatballs at the recption, I had the artichoke dip appetizer and chicken harvest soup (along with O'Charley's fabulous yeast rolls) and my last virigin, strawberry daiquri. We had great conversation and I got to meet her two, adorable daughters. We dined and chatted till around 9:30 when we finally called it an evening. I didn't go back to the hotel room right away. Instead, I rode by mine and hubby's old apartment (when we were first married. Bad idea. I ended up being swamped with so many memories that I just burst into tears. I had to pull the car over because I was crying so much that I couldn't see the road. It was awful. All I wanted then was to go home. I missed my hubby and my little girl. Who knew! I thought surely I'd want to stay longer. Oh, no. I was ready to leave and be back in the arms of my wonderful husband. I really, really missed him.

Sunday - I awakended at 4:00 am (30 minutes before the alarm went off). I showered, finished packing, checked out of my hotel, jumped in the car and headed for the airport. I dropped off my car and checked into the airport. My plane arrived about an hour later and I was off and away to the Ft.Worth/Dallas airport. I slept the entire flight. My next flight was the same way. Off to sleep I went (it must be the pregnancy). I woke up once for a drink, then back to sleep. When we arrived, I was picked up by my sister. We chatted the whole ride home and when we got there, (to my absolute delight) my hubby was there. He was working on the yard, came in shortly there after and cuddled with his wife and daughter. What a glorious afternoon!

Happy Independence Day

But, are we really? No. I'm not going to get deep...too tired. It's been kind of a lazy day today...not too busy here at work and the day is just dragging, dragging, dragging by. We went to a coworker's house for lunch and sat on her patio till almost two. I thought surely that diversion would help speed up the time, but alas. It is still an hour from quitting time for me.

I've had a nagging headache all day. I actually got some perfume (my favorite, KL) to spray out of the atomizer and it smelled lovely, but I think this same loveliness is what is giving me this blasted headache (and I rarely get headaches). That's the only thing I've done differently today. I also retouched my hair with new Dark and Lovely Botanical Relaxer one I've not used before. I can't imagine that's what's giving me my headache, since I retouched my hair a month ago with no troubles. Who knows. I'm glad I'm documenting this so, if in four weeks I do my retouch and another headache comes back, I have a reference. And of course, no one has any tylenol. Plenty of Ibu floating around, though.

Tomorrow, we're supposed to go to my mother's for a BBQ. It will be the first time I've been back to my mother's (officially) since the incident in February. I'm glad to be going, but I'll probably sit in a corner and make sure not to "rock the boat" even a smidgeon. She wants us to bring the dog, so that will make it a very full house indeed (a great dane and a rottweiler chasing each other around the house. What fun!).

Oh, will this day ever end?! I found myself philosophying over an ion hair dryer a moment ago. I've gotta get out of here! If only my boss would just say, "Take off. It's the holidays. Have fun." Yeah, that's likely to happen.

I've still been enjoying my Miami Vice episodes. They are so good! Last night, the one I saw was entitled, Give a Little, Take a Little. It involved Gina and Trudy in a prostitute/drug take down. Gina got in way too deep and ended up sleeping with a crime boss. He was evil, greasy and hairy...a deadly combination. She had a moment with Trudy and Crockett towards the end. Talk about going above and beyond the call of duty!

Okay, so I can only type so much before I bore everyone to tears. I'll try to find something else to get into for the next 45 minutes or so. Happy fourth!

Saving for a Flying Day

I broke down and purchased my airline tickets this weekend. It was terrible! I've never paid so much for airline tickets before. I suppose I should just be grateful they weren't more than what they were (over $400). The car rental was easy and inexpensive, thank goodness. I already had my hotel arrangements, so everything is finally done. In fact, today is the day my dress is supposed to be ready. Won't it be interesting, trying it on now!

Hooray! I'm so happy that the funding for PBS came through. I actually wrote my congressman and expressed my distress over the proposal last week. It was good to see that the public was heard and congress restored the funding. There's so much garbage on t.v. these days that I really worried about what my daughter would watch (during those times when she is allowed to watch t.v.). She has video tapes and DVDs, but they get reptitive. In the morning, the easiest thing to do (after all the chores are done and she's eating her morning snack) is to turn on PBS Kids and have Arthur or Clifford on. Good quality shows, where I know she'll actually learn something while being entertained. Again, I am thrilled the programming is sticking around.

The weekend was good. I saw Batman Begins yesterday and was utterly impressed. I've always liked Christian Bale, but he was superb in this opening to the new franchise. Hooray for good actors and writers! I don't think that the Quatro Fantasticos (The Fantastic Four)will be up to this caliber, but should be entertaining enough. I'll go to see that as well.

I thought I saw my stomach move yesterday, when I felt some flutters. Are they turning into real kicks already? It might be a bit early or it could have been a muscle twitch, but it was sure cool to see.

Why can't I find a decent price?!

It's been days of checking, checking and rechecking with no success. I'm supposed to be in Nashville in two weeks, and I cannot for the life of me find a RT less than a king's ransom. What is going on? What's crazy is that just last year, I managed to snag a great flight for my girlfriend (the same girlfriend I, myself am going to see). It's making me nuts! I've got one more day before I'm officially pushing it. I'll be on the computer tonight, checking on rates and praying to God that I don't have to hock any jewelry to go. What a mess! I've been looking since late April with no luck at all. I'd say I wasn't mean to go but, dammit...I've already bought my dress! Fitting or not, I'm going to be there. Perky or not, I'm going to be there (and I guess broke or desolate, I'm going to be there).

The roundness factor increases daily and the nausea is kind of there, but not really. It's still not like my first pregnancy. I'm thinking that I want to go swimming today, but I'm not sure if I'll have the energy to keep up with my totally hyper daughter. Maybe I'll wait until tomorrow night. I know I don't want to go on the weekend because everybody and their granddad will be there.

I'll keep hoping for a miracle with these tickets. I really don't want to pay over $300, but it's looking more and more like I'm going to have to. I'll keep checking, and checking and praying.

A Restful Weekend

I spent the weekend sleeping in (which I never do) and taking naps. It was bliss! I also ate a lot. I'm still eating...all the time. I feel like I just shovel the food in but thankfully, most of it is good food. I actually wanted an apple this weekend and ended up mooching it from my daughter. I need to go buy some. It's seems to be one of the few sweet items I can stand. Everything else makes me ill.

I'm going to have a hard time getting through the next couple of weeks, I just know it. I've had a day off for the past three weeks for one reason or another. These next couple will be hot and long. I'll try to withstand what I can, but it's hard when there's nothing to look forward too (except, of course, the up and coming fourth of July holiday and my trip out of town, if I can ever find a cheap enough ticket). We'll see what becomes of that issue in the next few days. I'm down to the wire.

I was watching Family Guy and American Dad last night and was really marveling at how they "take it there" with their jokes. It's really outstanding how much they're getting away with and the comedy is truly clever, but I'm very glad that my little one is sound asleep in bed when these shows come on. Most of the references, I don't think she'd get but others...I really wonder how many questions parents are getting from their older children.

I want to give myself something to look forward to this week, but I don't know if we'll have time for swimming or even if I'll have the energy for it. Restaurants have become pretty standard, so no excitement there. I'm not sure what to do. Oh, well. I guess I just wait patiently through the next two weeks (and watch my belly expand).

The Surreal Sets In

It's really amazing! When I had the ultrasound on Wednesday, I guess I hadn't fully excepted that I am, indeed, a pregnant lady again. Then, we saw that little baby kicking and moving furiously, her/his little heart pounding. It was miraculous. My daughter and hubby were in total awe and asked lots of questions. I was happy that they were so into the experience.

That evening, we ran into lots of trouble, mainly with trying to get our crap-heap of an evaporative cooler going. Well, the dang thing was broken so, hubby and a neighbor tossed the heap onto the ground outside then hauled up a new one to install. Just when we thought all was well, the pump wouldn't work. Ughh! It was 90 degrees on Wednesday and about 99 in our house. It was so unbearable I thought I would die! By 11:00 pm, we'd sort of given up and called it quits, leaving on the cooler in hopes that some cool air would get us. (There are some obvious electrical troubles with it. Hubby called our neighbor last night to try and get him back over to help. I hope that, between the two of them, they can fix it before it really starts to scorch this summer).

Despite all that, the household has been in happy spirits, eagerly anticipating the new arrival (which isn't due to arrive until January 12th. Remember what I said? I knew it! The date didn't change at all...such is my luck). Anyway, who knows. The baby will come when she's/he's good and ready.

I'm anxious for the weekend, not so much for any plans I've made (which there are none) but for the time to sleep, sleep, sleep. Sleeping has become my favorite pastime, next to watching the Golden Girls. I absolutely love that show! I've also been heavily fixated with Miami Vice episodes. What a great show that was. Great writing, great acting and of course pastels a plenty.

Leaving in a Few

I'm off to my ultrasound in about ten minutes (well, I'm off to pick up the babe, then home, then to the doctor's office). I'm a little nervous, but also excited. I really want a "firm" date to go on and I also want to know that (so far) all is well. I know that they can't tell much from this early, but I'm anxious to hear whatever they have to say. :-)

The Bag Lady

For as long as I can remember, I've always been one to carry lots of bags. Not because I want to, but because I always have a ton of stuff. Sometimes, the bag carrying gets totally out of control and I start having back troubles. I get sick of it, trade in my suitcase of a purse for a tiny one and refuse to bring anything anywhere. Well, with the pregnancy settling in, I've been hungry, hungry, hungry. I had to stop at Wally World this morning and pick up a few supplies (something I'll probably need to do once a week, to keep the office cabinet stocked). Anyway, I bought frozen pancakes and ready-to-serve bacon for breakfast, juice for sipping throughout the day, and popcorn for snacking. All of this in the convenience of two, very large Wally World bags. Of course, I also had my purse to carry as well as my lunch bag. Nice. I'm lugging all this "stuff" around, along with about three extra pounds up front. What a moron!

Hopefully, I won't have to do that too often. I can't afford to have any back troubles right now. So far, the baby isn't putting too much strain where that's concerned, but I do feel tired quickly and need to sit down much more often. Can't sit down comfortably when you're carrying twenty bags now, can you?

The evening was kind of rough. The commute home was filled with accident after accident. I didn't get home until a quarter to 6 (and I left here at 4:25) Yikes! The thing that irritates me to no end is that all the slowing could have been prevented if idiots weren't rubber-necking ever accident. Unless you recognize the car on first glance or the tags, keep moving buddy. I don't have time to wait for you too see if there's any carnage. Get a life! Rent a movie!

Thank goodness there were leftovers to eat and they were easy to heat up, once I did finally make it home. They were wonderful spaghetti and meat sauce leftovers. Yum! I then, went to my room and rested until I feel asleep. Thankfully, dad kept the little one outside and she enjoyed having the evening with him.

Hooray! She's gotten into Kindergarten! I got the news this past weekend. If you've been following my other blog, then you know that I've had major anxiety over getting her into this school district (we don't live in this district, but both hubby and I work in it). Anyway, she'll have registration on August 10th and we have to buy uniforms. That ought to be interesting. I think it will make things a lot easier for us, anyway. I've been talking to her about "big girl" school, but I don't think she's grasped the concept yet. I need to take her over there so that she can see the building and get an idea for where she will be. I think once she sees it, she'll be okay...I hope.

Emotions Running Wild

The hormones have certainly kicked into overdrive. Hubby and I got into the most ridiculous argument this weekend. Luckily, it all blew over yesterday. The stress was intense and the living was hard, but we made it through. It's as if I'm outside of my body and I can see myself saying things and doing things I would not normally do, but there isn't anything I can do to intercede. I'm stuck, watching myself loose it completely or suffer some sort of strange emotional breakdown. The vitamins should help, but I think I need more B-6. I'll have to ask my doctor about it on the next visit (if I remember too).

The nausea is also intensifying a bit, but it's still not like it was with my first. I wake up and taste it in my mouth. I can still smell myself and that doesn't help matters much. I immediately jump into the shower and scrub for days, then spray myself with every feminine product I can get my hands on. The wild thing is that no one else can smell it. My hubby insists that there is no strange odor emitting from me. I'm glad because I'd hate to put anyone else through this.

Saturday, my daughter and I went with a friend to lunch at my favorite Chinese restaurant. Then, we went to the city arts festival and saw her friend perform. They were pretty good. The group is called Zion Tribe and I've linked the name, but I can't seem to get onto their site. Perhaps you'll have better luck. They had a sort of island/reggae sound that was pleasant on such a rainy day. I'm sure the turn out would have been much better too, if the weather had cooperated. Despite it, we still had a good time and my daughter met the band afterwards.

I slept a lot, yesterday. It did me good; however, I think I also spoiled myself. I have a feeling that at around lunch time, I'll need a take a nap. It's too bad there isn't a lounge area where some one could do just that. I know some offices have those types of accommodations. I think more offices should, not just for pregos like me, but for people who put in a lot of hours or just need a break away from the normal office setting.

I'm looking forward to my ultrasound on Wednesday (so is hubby). I'll finally have a firm date (You know, I say that but knowing my luck, they'll say,"We can't really determine a date for you, Ms. S. Perhaps you should just go with your doctor's guesstimate.") Yep. That's how things usually work for me.

The First Appointment

I had my first appointment yesterday. It went well, despite the fact that I was late (lots of rain plus a hubby who "found" a short-cut...draw your own conclusions). Anyway, I really like my doctor. I think I like her more than the last one, but that remains to be seen. She was very thorough and even did the "digging for buried treasure" exam (Ugh!). Anyway, she thinks that the baby is much farther along than we thought. She asked me to schedule an ultrasound for dates so that we could determine how far along I am. I'm hoping it's earlier because the less time I have to be pregnant the better.

Most of my office knows, now and I've informed all of the appropriate people, including my boss and the HR person. They've all been very happy and supportive. I am glad of it. I'm wearing a maternity dress because I just couldn't do it anymore. My stomach is huge and I just can't wear my pants. I'm really curious as to how far along I am. In fact, I'm itching to find out. Will I deliver in late December rather than early January? Could I be just super fat? What's up?

I'm still eating like a horse. Hubby is making salmon tonight and it's such an aggressive fish that I wonder if I'll be able to stomach the smell. I do love salmon and would hate to be deprived of it, just because the smell made me want to retch. Yesterday, we went to Golden Corral for lunch and I gorged on their clam chowder. It was soooo good. It really hit the spot on a cold, spring day. (Speaking of which, I don't know what's going on with the weather. It's been raining off and on all day and it's been around 50 degrees or so. What month is it again? Amazing!).

The First of Many

Today's the first doctor's appointment. From what I understand (and honestly, I can't remember if I had as many with my first child) but, you're supposed to have thirteen total visits at the doctor's office before you have your baby. Thirteen! That's like two appointments a month. Yikes! I'm not sure if that includes the radiology visit, when you have the ultrasound. If not, include one more visit with the thirteen. Crazy! I know that it's all for the health of the baby and to make sure everything is smooth sailing. Frankly, I'd be more panicked if there weren't as many appointments.

Hubby and I are excited and are even more eager to hear the due date (we're assuming some time in January, but we're not sure). We've been a bit foggy on when this child was actually conceived. I don't keep up and neither does he. I will say that, even for just a few weeks, my clothes are struggling. I can't wear any of my jeans and none of my dresses. I went to Ross Dress for Less and picked up a couple of items. I know I'll need more. I can't believe how round my belly is! I know I was into my fourth month before anyone could really see anything.

I'll leave work around noon today, and it's a good thing. It's really coming down outside and I know it will be a trial to stay focused today. The heater is right behind my chair, warming up my bum and back. Nice. I'll be in snooze heaven before long.

I'll add pictures soon. I know this site isn't nearly as visually appealing as my other one. Hopefully, when my energy returns, I can change the colors a bit and add more stuff.

I'm happy to say that Friday night, I did get my Rumbi but they didn't do my brown rice as I requested. The white rice was good, but the brown is so much better for me (and baby). I ordered a full bowl (which I've never been able to get through). I got through it with little trouble. I also slept in till 7:00 am (Woohoo! That's late for me) on Saturday. We spent the day lounging and watching movies. I made a huge breakfast of pancakes, bacon, eggs, and biscuits. So, good! We had Carls Jr. Six Dollar Burgers for dinner. I've never had one before. It was huge! I got through it (just barely). My hubby had two...TWO! Amazing. I think his stomach must have worked all night to break those down. Food has been our friend for the past few days. I really, really, really need to get on the treadmill and soon.

It's the Weekend, Baby...Yeah

I'm actually really happy about the weekend because I totally "missed" last weekend (what with being sick as a dog and all). I don't have any plans and that's okay. Being able to sleep in sounds really good to me. I'm also craving Rumbi Island Grill, so getting to have that this weekend also makes me two tons happy.

I was awake early this morning and The Parkers was on. I've never been a fan of that show and realized even more this morning how ridiculous it is. I hope that the viewing audiences are intelligent enough to know that all African-Americans don't act like that. We're not all ghetto and crazy. I also think it's interesting that they put in the "token white" instead of the "token black" in this show to kind of balance the odds. We've been doing it for years. I wonder how Jenna von Oy handled it? Not that there's anything wrong, I just wonder how big of a change that was for her going from Blossom to The Parkers. Anyway, it was just an observation I made for the 2.5 minutes I watched (that's about all I could stand).

The nausea is still hanging around, but I seem to do alright about an hour after I've eaten. Eating seems to help, especially protein. I've been having a hankering for some of my famous fried chicken. I know. Fried - not good. Baked - Good, but dammit, I want the fried and I use olive oil instead of canola or vegetable, so that's gotta count for something, right?

Nausea, Yuck!

It's here and in full force. This morning, I awakened to my first real bout of morning sickness. It was terrible and also coupled with a throat full of mucus. Nice. I ate a couple of pieces of watermelon and the sweet wet taste soothed me for about 2.2 seconds. The nausea returned in full effect. Ugh! I then thought about bacon and eggs and how good it sounded to me. Would it help? I stopped at Mickey D's for a big breakfast (minus the sausage) and shortly after the eggs touched my tongue, my stomach settled. I guess the protein factor made the difference. I'm still feeling a little queasy, but nothing like this morning. I'm not sure if I'll have it as bad as my first pregnancy or not. Let's hope not. My first trimester was rough, I tell yah!

So far so good. I've been taking power naps and getting much more rest at night, now that this cold seems to be heading out of my system (Thank, God!). I thought I'd end up in the hospital on Sunday. Today, I feel 80% better. It's nice to feel healthy (for the most part) again.

I had my Wee Care interview yesterday. The lady on the phone, Kathy, was one of those giggly types...constantly. She was pleasant and knowledgeable, but I really wasn't in the mood for the giggles. The odd thing is that when someone does that, you start doing it too. I found myself giggling after ever sentence. Yuck! Gimme a break here, lady.

I left the office early because I still felt the horribleness of my cold. I ate lunch and fell straight to sleep. It was exactly what I needed. My hubby picked up The Boogeyman at Hollywood video and brought it home. What crap! Other than the very beginning and the end, it was extremely slow moving with very little suspense and the story was sort of transparent. I really had hoped for better. Hubby fell asleep through most of it. I consider myself a horror
connoisseur and horror this garbage was not.

I've got my raspberry ginger ale next to me, which I'll probably sip on throughout the day. I've got to remember to pick up some more of this stuff for home. Water just hasn't tasted very good the last few days, but I know I need some desperately. It just heightens the bathroom visits even more (like I really need to be in there every fifteen minutes. I don't think so). Till tomorrow...

Recovery is Here

What a bust! I spent the whole weekend in bed sick with one of the worst colds I've ever had. The awful part was that I couldn't take any meds, so I used every would-be natural remedy I could think of (lots of sitting in the bathroom with the shower going, hot baths, soup, coffee to open my lungs, humidifier blowing directly in my face). Finally on Tuesday, I called the doctor's office to see if there was anything I could take (the last time I was pregnant, I could only take tylenol and one form of Robitussin). This time, the doctor's nurse said Sudafed. I ran to the store and bought some. Boy, do I feel like a different person. It made me feel 70% better and I actually made it to work today. The bummer is that I really feel I should have my holiday back, since it really wasn't a holiday for me. I know. Good luck with that.

So far, all seems to be well. I don't really have morning sickness, but the blood-hound in me has returned. I can smell everything! It's crazy! I also have little tolerance for some foods. They just don't appeal to me right now. I'm starting to get really tired of hotpockets (which I really love) and, I don't want cereal. That one's the really strange thing. How can someone not want cereal? When nothing else sounds good, you can usually settle in with your favorite cereal and feel satisfied. Oh, well. I hope my love for it returns after the baby's born.

I have my phone interview with the prenatal care program this morning. It's for those on my hubby's insurance...some sort of "good start" program for pregnant moms. They're supposed to offer support and guidance during this "special" time in my life (yeah, like I haven't done this before). Anyway, maybe some things have changed in the last five years. Perhaps even for the better! One can hope. I'll at least let them know what my primary physician said about the Sudafed (I didn't call my obgyn because I don't meet with her until next week. I thought it would be kind of weird if I called before then). We'll see how it all goes.

I hope I make it through the day. I'm really not feeling work, but I know there's lots to be done. I'd better get on it.