Top 10 at 19 (weeks)

19 Weeks along. Halfway there. I'm about halfway through my "best" trimester, and am just now starting to feel human again! So much for "it will all end at 12 weeks." Yeah. WhatEVer!

As you will see from the pictures below, I haven't quite "popped" yet...but I sure feel it! But for a little Halfway Humor, I wanted to enlighten you on 10 things I have found interesting, or funny, or enjoyable, (or embarrassing) these last 19 weeks...

1. The first thing I noticed were the colossal burps! In general, I try to not pass gas, but I'd rather have to burp than, well, the alternative. Honestly, though. I've scared myself with these burps! Once I was driving, and it sounded like there was a lion roaring in the backseat...only I realized that it was me. Then another time I was in the shower, and maybe there were good acoustics, but I could swear there was a huge clap of thunder above!

2. Over Christmas, Dave's aunt said "I just realized. You're 4 months along, and not only do you not look pregnant, you look like I look when I have gas" Like I said, one of these days I'll pop. I'm well into maternity bottoms, but not yet needing the tops. One day.

3. For the first time in, oh, 15 years (?) I have the privilege of buying bigger bras. Yay Me! :o)

4. I have a strong aversion to chocolate and sweets...which is really strange for me! I haven't had any true cravings, just anti-cravings. In fact, it's usually Dave eating the pickles, not me. :o)

5. When we went for my first scan, as I got out of the car, I realized that I had forgotten to put on shoes! It was funny, but it was okay because at least I was wearing my house shoes! :o) I don't think anyone noticed.

6. It hasn't been "morning" as much as "night-time" sickness. I don't feel nauseous, it just comes on quickly, and almost always at night. Thankfully, never in public.

7. There have been many nights that I have woken up and found my (ahem) hands down my (sorry, Mom) pajama pants. I think it's to alleviate the pressure of the elastic band on my bump, but I still think it's funny. :o)

8. It has been SUCH a chore to buy maternity pants. Holy cow! I hope it gets easier, because I'm going to have these 3 pairs of pants worn out over the next 5 months if this is all I can find!

9. I think watching TV makes me sick. I know, TV makes lots of people sick these days. But I'm serious. I'm a lot more likely to lose my dinner on nights that I watch TV than on nights that I don't. Strange, huh?

10. I can't believe the amount of awful smells and wretched tastes of common things. I know all pregnant women talk about The Nose, I just think it's interesting what things have been most annoying to me. I mostly can't stand the smell of lotions and soaps and air fresheners. As for taste, sadly, I CAN'T stand the taste of water. Yes, water. It's made me puke. This makes it really difficult to drink 8-10 glasses a day...Crystal Light doesn't help, either. :-(

And for the visual learners out there, here are the latest shots from this morning. I have gained 2 inches at my belly button in the last 4 weeks, but haven't gained much weight...not that I haven't tried!

Belly Button

Below the belly button

Side shot

Back from Dial-Up

Whew! I had forgotten what 45kbps really feels like! It feels like chocolate chips melting over a tealight candle. It feels like "shaving" your legs with a pair of tweezers. It feels like making tea with no hot water. It feels good to be home, and back to wireless broadband.

All week I wondered if Kelly had her baby (She did. Go see!)

And how Megan was feeling after the discovery of a Peanut growing within (better, it sounds like)

And how Katie was adjusting to life with a newborn (very well, with additional hugs and kisses)

And how Mike was enjoying New Zealand (tremendously, of course!)

And what new creations Tink was making out of yummy fabric (have sewing machine, will travel...she's still on vacation, so we'll have to wait some more)

We had a fantabulous time in Northern Michigan. Although it didn't snow very much, I still got to put my big long "sleeping bag" coat to good use. It hovered around freezing most of the week.

We got to celebrate Grandma's 97th birthday. Yup. 97 years young. She's a spitfire if I've ever seen one! That woman is A-Mazing! She keeps up with the 4-year old, plays dominos with whoever wants to get wooped, and enjoys life more than most 35-year olds that I know!

And we celebrated Christmas in fine fashion. I have to say that I'm glad I'm into maternity pants now because, well, you know that critical point after everyone has gotten seconds where they sneakily unbutton their pants? Well, good thing for me, I don't need to unbutton anything...so I could just eat, and eat, and eat and my waistband would just grow and grow and grow! :o) Hee hee! I'm SO glad that both Thanksgiving and Christmas fall in the critical "must gain weight" period of my pregnancy! Yay Me! :o) Dave's family is just great. We both have such an incredible time with all of them. It was just one awesome thing after another! Dial-up internet connection aside, I would gladly have stayed for more.

And with that, I bid you all a nice, relaxing weekend.

I do love it.

Blue and silver as a Christmas decoration combination, that is.

Over at Fried Okra, I found the link for a Christmas Tree quiz, and here's how I scored:

You Should Have a Blue Christmas Tree

For you, the holidays represent a time of calm, understanding, and peace. You avoid family fights, and you don't get too stressed out - even when things are crazy! You like to make Christmas about making everyone's life a little bit better. You don't get caught up in greed or commercialism. You're too sincere for that. Your blue tree would look great with: Lots of silver tinsel You should spend Christmas Eve watching: It's a Wonderful Life What you should bake for Santa: Chocolate chip cookies

What Color Christmas Tree Should You Have?

Some of it is accurate, but other parts seem a little far fetched. I may not like family fights (who does?) but to go so far as to say I don't get too stressed out? Sheesh! Who do they think they're talking about?! :o)

And why should I bake Chocolate Chip cookies for Santa?

I wonder what color tree you get if your favorite Christmas movie is Elf? "Santa's coming? I know him!" And the best scene, I think, is when Buddy is putting the star on the top of the tree and uses the couch as a trampoline! Hah! That's great! I play that scene over and over.

And let us not forget in all the hustle and bustle, and the parking and paying, and eating and wrapping that the greatest gift of all has already been given. With this gift comes hope, and love, and peace, and forgiveness, and mercy, and grace beyond measure. With this gift comes eternal life. This gift is salvation, brought to us by Jesus, whose birth we celebrate at Christmas (and every day!).

Hark, the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King!

May you and yours have a blessed Christmas, and a happy new year.

Hurry, Run!

I love being a host organism. I love that my body is no longer my own. I love the aches and pains of growing foreign beings in my body.

I found out yesterday that, not only am I a host organism to The Yipper, I am apparently also the host organism to a good-and-thriving, rip-roaring colony of bacteria, who have taken up residence in my bladder. sigh.

This is painful! I don't like this very much!

I'm trying to drink extra water, and I'm taking my antibiotics. And that's pretty much all that really works. I asked the doc about cranberry juice, and she said it doesn't help much after you have the infection, which is fine with me because I don't like it too much.

I'm looking forward to the next 10-14 days. I plan to spend my time either huddled on the couch or racing to the bathroom.

Wishing YOU good health this holiday season!

...and the survey says...

It's a girl? ??? Really? I guess you have to consider what you don't see, right? :o) But the doc is 97% sure it's a Pink.

And look at her purdy face... the arrow is on her right cheekbone, below her right eye. Purdy Girl. There's a whole big mess of proud grandparents scattered all over this continent!

(I think it's a little spooky, myself!)

But, her heart is good, her size is good (only 7oz/200grams), her limbs are the right size, etc. We got another DVD of the ultrasound, so we'll be able to show her off to Dave's family over Christmas.

Have a very Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday, Dave!

Today is Dave's birthday...and since it's neither fun to have a birthday on Tuesday, nor to have a birthday a week before Christmas, we celebrated last Saturday.


I always try to do stuff for his birthday, and then give stuff for Christmas, so there is at least some distinction between the two!!


We started out having breakfast at the Omelette and Waffle Shop for a BIG breakfast! Ugh, the gluttony started early, but my french toast was tasty!


After that, we went to Point Fermin Park to walk along the cliffs, and hike down to the water. Hiking back up from the water is sure a keister-burner...I don't think I've used those particular muscles in months!


We watered-up, and started the drive to Boomers, which is a "game" park...except I don't know the real word for it. Anyways, we played 2 rounds of mini-golf (I won both times!), and had lunch, and then played some video games and skeeball...you know, it's all about those tickets that you accumulate, then are forced to buy Tootsie Rolls and Fun Dip! :o) Whew! I was tired after that! But we weren't done yet!


By now it was dark, and we drove to the Proud Bird for dinner. This restaurant is themed around antique/retired airplanes. Dave was very excited to tell me all about the P38 Lightning, and another lesson about the Tuskegee Airmen, and I don't remember what else! They also have pictures of aviation history on their walls. It's a great restaurant for someone who likes airplanes! (And lobster...)


...and because it was his birthday celebration, when he made his next request, I had to say "yes." He wanted to drive up to The Hollywood Sign. We didn't have any real clue where it is, so I said "okay, but only if we can find it in the GPS." So, we typed it in, and found it, and started to drive. And drive. And drive. We went through Beverley Hills, up Sunset Boulevard, past Hollywood-and-Vine, and then up into the Hollywood Hills. And up. And up. We finally found it - sorta. We discovered that it's no longer lit at night, and, much to Dave's dismay, we learned that one cannot hike up to it after dark. (duh) We'll try again in the springtime.

All in all, we had a splendiforous day! The weather was perfect, and so was everything we did.

Admitting...

...that I'm a nerd.

Most of you knew that already, but I'm just 'fessing up to it.

Dave and I started "planning to start planning" for a baby about a year ago. Which is to say that it took me quite a while to work up the courage to actually start planning, and then (gasp!) start "trying."

But we knew we were going to start trying, so I, in all my shopping opportunities and wisdom (and nerdiness), decided to start buying. :o) When we were in Italy in April, I bought a silk maternity skirt thinking how cool it would be to remember that wonderful trip anytime I wore that skirt. Then when we were in Greece in July, I bought a really pretty, really practical dress. And a couple of times, while working at the thrift store in England, I bought maternity clothes that I liked. I only got a pair of jeans and a shirt, but I am really really glad I did now because I'm having a horrible time finding jeans here! I know some superstitious people out that that are saying I'm crazy for buying stuff before I was even pregnant and somehow jinxed myself...but I think they're wrong.

As for shopping for the baby, the only thing I bought pre-bebe was a moses basket. I liked it, and thought it would remind me of oldey-worldey England. I had to hide it from the cat, though, because she thought it would make a really comfy little bed for her! :o) Silly kitty!

Anywho...all that was to say that I bought something(s) for the baby yesterday at Old Navy that I think are pretty stinkin' cute. We still don't know the gender, but these are neutral, so it's okay.

Check out the little stripe down the side! Little Baby Chucks. Awww...Aunt Tash would be so proud!

Someday I'll tell you about my very laughable experience trying on maternity jeans!

And so it begins...(16 weeks)

...my life in elastic waistbands.

I'm 16 weeks along today, and, um, can't really wear my jeans anymore. I still fit in them, but I can no longer sit in them. :o) I mean, gosh, who needs their jeans to button, right? I'm SO glad that fashionable t-shirts are longer now (for covering bellies and unbuttoned jeans). Long gone are the midriff tees - Hallelujah!

I will enter the world of maternity clothes soon, but until then, I plan to protest (while wearing some of Dave's sweatpants).

I have to laugh, though, when people who don't know me say something like "You're how far along? Gosh, you're not even showing!" And I think "Huh. You don't know what my belly looked like 16 weeks ago, so zip it!"

Here are the latest belly shots:

Size at belly button

Size at widest point

Side shot

Livin' the High Life

Nothing much to report here, I just know it's been a while.


It's a beautiful morning in Southern California. The kitty cats are reclining in patches of sunshine, I've got the doors open for fresh air (I love fresh air!). I'll be hanging bed sheets out on my makeshift clothesline in about 15 minutes.


Dave is going to the Big Orange Home Store to pick up supplies for his Saturday Honey-Do list. Should I be nervous that he's going alone? :o)


Last night we enjoyed a lovely steak dinner at Outback after waiting over an hour for our table. I have forgotten about "call ahead seating". I shall not forget again!


Last weekend we drove to Redondo Beach for a little afternoon stroll. It was a bit breezy, but we had a nice walk, and saw people playing volleyball, and laying out (crazy!), and surfing, and sailing...all those fun water sports!

As we were walking, I was thinking that next summer, once Kelly and her crew move here, (and after May 26th, of course), she and I can drive up to the beach, and walk our little babewskis along the beach path for a some sunshiney exercise! Cool, eh? Wanna come?

I've found about 3 Christmas gifts so far...which is 3 more than I was expecting to have before February...I'm just not very with-it this year. Ah, well, I'm sure it is the Movers' fault somehow! :o)

Hope you have a great week!