Tuesday update

No, I still don't want to know what I'm having.  I mean I do, obviously, it's just that I want to wait until the kid is actually here.  Joe still wants to find out, and I still contend that I win this one.  I am getting nervous about going for my ultrasound though, because I'm afraid that they will somehow slip and tell me.  An acquaintance of my mom told her doctor she didn't want to know and all was fine until her next appointment when her file was sitting wide open in her exam room and the page read "They don't want to know it's a boy."  So yeah.  

I'm also still going back and forth about how and when to change doctors.  I really like mine, but what with the military insurance, etc., I need to change so it's a matter of when.  I think I'm going to stay at mine through my 20 week appointment, since it's already scheduled, and then go from there I guess.

And I know!  Pictures.  I've been taking them, sporadically, and I also have a bunch of pictures I took this weekend of Joe competing in a culinary competition that I want to post.  Frankly, I'm lazy.  And I was also thoroughly engrossed in Pillars of the Earth (by Ken Follet, loved it) up until I finished it yesterday.  Also: football.  But I swear I will get them up sometime before this baby arrives.

I have had a couple of strangers ask when the baby is due already, and yesterday one of Joe's coworkers was walking past and stopped and said "Wow you're getting big!  I didn't even know you were pregnant!"  Every time something like that happens Joe and I are like "um, what if I weren't?  can you imagine?"  But I guess that fact that people feel more comfortable commenting on it means I'm looking less and less fat all the time.  I still haven't had anyone offer up a seat on the metro though, but I think that just proves that people are rude.

Gush

Remember a few months ago when we had water damage from a leak upstairs?  Remember how awesome that was?  Yeah, well it happened again this week.

Joe and I woke up at 5:30 Tuesday morning to a pouring rain.  It sounded nice and soothing, actually, until we realized it was coming from our hallway.  Our upstairs neighbors were getting ready to leave for the airport for a week in Mexico and used their apparently never-used guest shower, which proceeded to cause a waterfall in the middle of our hallway.  Long story short, we both took the day off work to deal with the leak situation and the ensuing barrage of people in and out of here all day.  Because naturally, Tuesday was also the day that we had people coming to finish the drywall repairs from the last time this happened.  

Also, as a result of all the chaos, Joe had to miss my 16-week appointment.  He really wanted to go, but he didn't miss all that much except listening to the heartbeat again and getting some blood drawn.  I go in for my ultrasound (already!) next week when I'm about 18.5 weeks along.  Joe will definitely not be missing that one.

16 Weeks

The checkout woman at Home Depot just asked me when my baby was due.  As we were leaving Joe looked at me and said "has anyone else asked about you being pregnant?"  I said no one I knew.  So either it's becoming fairly obvious or that woman is thanking her lucky stars she didn't just insult me for being fat.  

I've been meaning to post a picture of my newly-somewhat-obvious belly, but clearly posting at all on here as been, er, light.  See, I come up with these topics to post and then I wake up and Joe is checking a million various websites.  All weekend long it's all I can do to peel him away from Civilization III to eat dinner or leave the house or even just tell me where the remote is.  And when we get home from work, half the time I collapse on the couch until bedtime.  So mostly it's his fault, but also I'm really lazy.

In a nutshell, this whole fatigue business has still not gone away and I'm awaiting the illustrious second-trimester energy I keep hearing about.  Tomorrow is my 16 week appointment, and I'm excited to hear the heartbeat again, though my new constant reminder of this pregnancy is the aches and pains coming from the general 'down there' area.  I can feel things stretching and pulling and this morning I bent over at my desk to get something and was rewarded with a shooting pain that left me gasping and gingerly reaching for things the rest of the afternoon.  I still haven't felt any movement from the baby himself (er itself?  I still think of the baby solely in boy terms) but I'm excited for whenever that day decides to show up.

Also!  My friend just had her c-section this morning and was rewarded with a tiny baby boy!  They invited us to come meet their new arrival so I think we're headed to the hospital after my appointment tomorrow afternoon.  I asked Joe if he was going to hold him and his response was "he's going to be so little.  I probably shouldn't hold him.  What if I drop him?"  

Um, get ready for it pal.  Only a few months left to practice and this is getting more and more real all the time.

Slacking

I have several random things to update but am supposed to be getting ready for work.  I definitely had time to write this weekend but spend the time on the couch watching football and reading a novel instead.  

Let's just quickly say that I woke up last Friday and could no longer get my suit pants over my hips.  I found a loose (well used to be loose) skirt and threw that on and then spent half my weekend in search of acceptable maternity pants.  Which, seriously?  Where are all the cute pregnant clothes?  This area of the country is crawling with pregnant chicks and I could find *nothing.*  

Two people have told me Target has cute stuff, but when I went they had a rather limited selection of cheap stuff.  And in this case cheap does not just mean inexpensive.  Ann Taylor Loft has cute stuff, but they charge a ridiculous amount for what is essentially two yards of polyester.  I swear their maternity stuff is pricier than their regular clothes.  Kohl's was disappointing in their lack of selection and equally high prices.  I finally ended up at the dreaded Motherhood store and purchased a skirt, pants, and two work shirts that I'm sure will fall apart after the third washing, but at least I didn't spend a ton of money on them.  

Secondly, I had a dream last night that I was breastfeeding a baby last night, presumably mine.  I had to go to work the next day and realized partway through the day that Joe and I had left the baby at home and not checked on him (yes, him) prior to leaving for work.  I spend the rest of the day silently hoping that the neighbors wouldn't notice a crying baby and that he'd be fine til we got home.  When we got home Joe started mixing an enormous bottle of formula until I yelled at him that hello!  I'm breastfeeding!  Now let's hope that baby is still alive so I can feed him.  Already in the running for mother of the year, clearly.  

Good thing I won't be working after I have this kid!  I'm sure if I'm actually in the house I'll remember that I have a baby there with me.  Right?

Morning ramblings

Boo!  I just wrote a whole long entry and Blogger ate it.

Um, ok that's a blatant lie.  I haven't written anything in forever.  But it's mostly because there is just nothing going around here.  I've been dealing with boring insurance issues that are too lame to address.  We did get the car from my parents, but it's not actually new or anything so there's really nothing to get all riled up about. 

I have eaten a lot of excellent things lately however.

Last Friday we got crabs for the first time all season and they were delicious.  And only $25 a dozen!  So we're getting them again this week when Joe's sister stays with us for a night.  

We had dinner at a friend's place and he made prime rib.  This friend is a chef who works with Joe, so naturally dinner was delicious.  In keeping with the steak theme we've had ribeye twice in one week since Joe is convinced I need more protein.  My mom brought us gobs (gobs?) of tomatoes from her garden.  And I'm currently inhaling some pineapple with breakfast.  Yum.

My boss is back full time again on Thursday, so my lovely August hours will come to an end.  I took a nap on my couch yesterday morning, so I'm really not sure how I'll be able to handle having him back and being there even longer.  

I keep telling myself I need to blog more and then coming home and flopping on the couch and watching the news before eating and going to bed.  I'm also sick and tired of reading blogs that suddenly delve into politics, when ladies!  I come to your sites to ogle your children and read embarrassing stories and be entertained, not to hear your particular take on the current election.  That said, I am finally thrilled with my party's candidate and am now quite enjoying all the media frenzy.  Joe and I are on the same page, though for different reasons, but this will be the first election that we both vote for the same party, Joe being a crazy independent and all.  I am still looking forward to this whole thing being over though, since I live in a stupid swing state and can't take another freaking political ad.  Thank god for tivo.

New Car Smell

So after much hemming and hawing and delaying and a couple of quick test drives, Joe and I gave up on buying a fancy new car and are instead opting to buy my parents old car....so that my dad can buy his brother's fancy BMW or whatever it is. 

Don't get too excited...we will be purchasing an 8 year-old Pontiac but people!  It has four whole doors!  Power windows!  And locks!  Leather seats!  It's probably nicer than any new car we would have purchased.  Yes, we still have manual roll down windows and have always dreamed big that someday we'll have a car with push button technology, and now the day is near. 

My parents are driving in from Michigan on Friday to drop off our new (old) car, then hopping a flight through a possibly hurricane on Saturday afternoon to fly down to my uncle's place to drive my dad's new (old) car back to Michigan.  I come from a family of drivers, but I certainly did not marry one.  He constantly marvels at how far my parents are willing to travel with just the two of them in the car.  I tell him that we drove annually from Michigan to Florida and back.  He counters that his family drove annually from Florida to Maryland and back but that doesn't mean he likes driving any more today than he did then.  

When my family drives places we are on a mission: stop for gas, get out pee, buy a drink, get back in the car, don't stop until we're about to run out of gas again.

When I get in the car with Joe it's more like this: drive an hour, listen to complaints of boredom, stop for dairy queen, drive a bit further, hear him whining, stop for lunch, drive another hour, try to tune out the griping from the passenger seat, stop for gas.  

Luckily we're getting our new (old) car with no driving on our part.  Thus concludes one more decision we have to make on crazy big purchases for this new addition to the family.  Maybe we can use the money we saved on the car to purchase a new mattress for ourselves before beginning to equip the empty yellow room and turn it into a nursery.  

And now, for my question of the day.  I know Swistle has a post on her favorite parenting book, but do any of you have other suggestions?  Or favorite sources on breastfeeding?  I checked some books out of the library at random to see which I might like to actually purchase, but so far I'm not thrilled by any of them.

Tedium

For the past couple of weeks I've been stuck in a cycle of eating and sleeping.  For a few days I'll eat like there is no tomorrow and then I spend the next few days hibernating.  Today I am exhausted.  I took a 3 hour nap yesterday, then had problems falling asleep last night, and today have been dying for a nap all day.  I'd go to bed now but Joe is convinced that I need to eat dinner.

It's also back to being uncomfortably warm here again.  We had some nice coolish days and nights and I was just starting to think the summer had become pleasant.  Now we're entering another stretch of 90-something days and I'm pining away for fall.  

Ah, fall.  I can't wait for apple-picking, and cooking with butternut squash.  I'll buy some mums and they will wilt in the September heat.  I'll waste entire weekend days watching football and eating nachos, bemoaning the fact that I can't have any beer during the games this year.  More nachos will be consumed.  I'll finally put away summer clothes and be excited over sweaters and corduroy pants.  Thanksgiving will draw near and I will spend hours daydreaming about mashed potatoes and stuffing.  

Seriously, isn't fall the best?  Now that I've thoroughly depressed myself about the lingering heat I'm going to go eat some ice cream and unbutton my shorts before going to bed early.  Maybe if I sleep long enough I'll wake up and it will be October.