Yay for chub!

I went to the doctor and I am proud to report that I gained four pounds! Not only did I gain, but the doctor also told me I could safely travel to my brother in law's wedding in August. This has me really excited, because I was desperately bummed that Matt was going without me. I really want to see his family and be there for that special day and now I can be, yay! Must remember to bring mosquito repellent.

As for other news, I'm slightly anemic. My doctor has this GROOVY test where he slices my finger, puts some blood on a little strip, and checks it for my hemoglobin. At least I think it checks HgB and not Hematocrit but I'm not sure. Either way, it's neat. Anyway, I got a new prenatal with more Iron and stocked up on orange juice. Nurse tip for the day: Vitamin C puts the Iron you ingest to work, so don't bother taking Iron if you're not getting dietary Vitamin C, too.

I feel guilty and a little relieved that I'm staying off work until after I pop. It's been causing me anxiety, not being there and yet at the same time, I can barely do a load of dishes or laundry without collapsing on the couch after. Twelve hour shifts in the pit is just not feasible at this point, as my doctor gently reminded me. So I am relieved at the extra time to rest, but at the same time I feel like I'm being lazy or being a sissy. Nobody's really faulted me for staying off, least of all people I work with, but some people have been like "Uh, you're not going back to work..?" My MIL means well but I don't think she understands I'm still getting paid even though I'm not there, I'm not going to get fired, and that I do stuff around the house in turn. I love her to death, but she sort of made me feel even more guilty. Should I feel guilty, or am I just giving myself an anxiety issue?

Dialogue

Matt: "Wanna play a game?"
Me: "What game?"
Matt: "It's called 'Am I Wearing Underwear'." (This is said while he's wearing a towel like a toga.)
Me: "I want you to play 'Get My Ass in the Shower So We Can Go See Hancock'."
Matt: "...Okay, but wanna play a game?"
Me: "No. You're not wearing underwear."
Matt: "You win!"

And he scampers off to the shower. Sometimes I'm jealous because I know Matt's going to be the "fun" parent, and it's not fair because he's insane and that makes a lot of people fun. I can't compete with that!

Craft-o-rama

I have embraced my crafty nature. Lately I've had a desperate need to create stuff, whether it's knitting stuff, embroidering it, or even baking. Matt couldn't be happier; we have a fresh stock of cookies and/or brownies on hand and he's gotten a hot dinner every night for two weeks. So far I've started a cross-stitch blankie for Peanut and I got a GREAT book today on craft projects for your kids. I can't release the name of the book because I was inspired while reading it, and I can't let Amy and Annie figure out what I'm making for their impending spawn. So once their goodies are safely in hand I can tell you all about it. OH THE MYSTERY!

I updated my photo album because someone asked me why it was empty, so I figured pictures would be good. I threw a bunch of photos from our trip to Hawaii on there, and they turned out gorgeous. There's more than one I can't wait to get prints of and frame! I was worried my little camera wouldn't be baby-worthy, but my fears are now at rest; it takes awesome shots and I can't WAIT to start taking pics.

Countdown to leaving in one week for Washington! I am very excited, not only to see family but also because some very old high school friends got ahold of me to ask if I wanted to meet up with them. I'm very excited; I haven't seen these friends in at least eight years.

Definitely starting to nest, I think. Yesterday I made brownies and cleaned up after, only I couldn't stop at just cleaning up what I'd used; I did 90% of the dishes in the kitchen, washed the stove again and was really close to scrubbing the floor before I stopped myself and bolted for the living room. Through it all Moxie (my dog) watched with a helplessly lost expression -- she always looks like that when we clean. Probably because it's a foreign experience for the poor little thing. I've NEVER been a clean person, but things are apparently changing; I don't want my kids to be a slob like I am, so I'm hoping they channel the genes of their grandmothers and are spic-n-span.

Mwahaha, I just can't wait to surprise Annie and Amy with their baby gifts. I have been divinely inspired and forever after, I will be known as the Cool Cousin. I cannot WAIT. You better brace yourself!

p.s. I made meat sauce with my Grandma's recipe and my whole house smells like her kitchen now. Ahhhhh.

The Jig is Up

Okay, I made it two years. Almost three. Enough is enough, I can finally admit it.

I hate living away from my family. I hate the stupid palm trees and the stinky cauliflower smell and the bratty little shits that live next door. I hate the neighbor's cat and I hate all the rich people and their shiny SUVs and I hate having to battle with black mold in my toilet because I live beside the ocean. I hate the ocean and I hate the low tide smell and I hate the eighty bazillion oil tankers off the coast. I hate that I have to plan visits well in advance just so I can hang out with my cousins and aunts and uncles and grandma and mom when before I could just walk next door. I hate that I totally took for granted that I had family that wanted to hang out with me all the time and now I live a thousand miles away and can't.

Okay. I feel better, sort of.

I'm noticing that I'm starting to get that nesting instinct. Nothing seems to be clean enough, and while I don't have an enormous amount of energy, I have just enough to boss my husband around. He's helping - he's taken charge of the kitchen at least - and the rest of my stuff I'm slowly getting rid of. It's funny; whenever I think "man, I need to take this stuff to charity", the Rescue Mission calls me. Swear to God! EVERY time, they call like they can read my mind. So I'm pitching all this crap we've managed to accumulate, like the eagle statue and the eight million pairs of pajama bottoms and the fake daffodils.

Since I don't have email addresses, when is Amy having her c-section? My mom and I are trying to coordinate a day/evening to go to the Tri-Cities to live it up with the Landonis. I don't care what your married names are, you're still "The Landoni cousins". Deal with it. So if you guys could let me know when would be good or let my mom know, etc, that'd be awesome. We're having a baby shower on Sunday, July 13th but I still want to spend more time with you guys, so let me know. It seems sort of early for a baby shower, probably, but I don't have anyone down here that's going to throw one, so we're doing it at home. I'm hoping that people come and show up, I really don't care about presents.

Little Kicks

Sometimes I like to just lie on my bed and feel her kicking around inside me. She likes to do a lot of stuff in there, especially after I eat stuff she likes; I like this image that she pulls on her cord like a doorbell and yells, "More chili dogs, Mommy!"

She still likes to play games with Matt; every time he tries to feel her kicking, she runs and hides. He talks to her to try and coax her out, but to no avail. She's already a tease, great.

Lost three more pounds, so Doc said I can't go back to work until I learn how to get fat like a big girl. I guess that's okay, because it means I can go home for a longer period of time. I'm going to be in Washington from July 6th to July 18th now. Matt and I are thinking of moving to Billings, Montana so Mom and I are going to go check it out. We're thinking of moving there for four reasons: 1) It's cheap; 2) It's not SoCal; 3) It's exactly midpoint between his family and mine, both being within driving distance; and 4) It's not SoCal.

My Grandma seems to be settling in with Britney well, except that Britney can clearly get away with murder. I called her the other night to see how they were doing, and Grandma was letting her chew on her slipper. I don't know who Britney thinks she is, but when I was a kid, I never would've been allowed to do that. I better not hear her be called patata.

She also told me all about how the new yard is coming in, and I'm glad because she sounded happy and I bet it looks very pretty. A little part of me, probably the nostalgic part, already misses the pool. I have so many happy memories of that place with family that part of me is a little misty-eyed that peanut won't have the same. But at the same time, I never would expect my Grandma to have to keep it up, because pools are probably expensive. All the same, it's a sad sort of moment when a chapter of your life closes, even when another one is being written.

Same Old

Well, in case anyone hasn't noticed, I'd gotten really lazy about blogging, but I had a good reason: NOTHING WAS HAPPENING. I've been kicked out of work until I learn how to gain weight, so as a result I hold down the couch and watch 'Nanny 911' all day. I feel nauseated and sick enough of the day that I don't often go anywhere, and when I do Ventura reacts like they've spotted a rare beast out and about.

I went to the grocery store the other day to buy food, with a renewed commitment to getting fat. The butcher there, Andy, is my "friend". I took care of him once and every since he gives me a discount on everything I buy at the meat counter. Cornering me in the deli aisle, he rushed up to me to demand to know where I'd been! Considering I hadn't been at the meat counter in two or three months, he was clearly concerned. When I explained that no, I was just pregnant, he looked utterly relieved. "I was so worried," he said. "I was afraid you went vegetarian."

I'm definitely getting rounder, for all the weight I'm not gaining. I'm also the host to fight clubs and soccer games in my uterus on a regular basis. My little peanut has become a jumping bean! I like to talk to her and pet my belly; she likes to tease Matt, kicking and dancing right after he's given up on trying to feel her.

Still, I worry a lot and my doctor's appointment to see if I've gained any weight in the last month is on Friday. I have a feeling it's not going to go well, and I'm going to be forced to stay home and eat for the next four months. However, if that happens, I'm going straight to my grandma's. I'm done messing around, I know where to go if I'm going to binge on delicious food!

Also, my cousin Chase called yesterday. I felt so bad for him; he had just yesterday found out I was pregnant. WAY TO GO, FAMILY.

My grandma had a new arrival of her own: a black miniature schnauzer puppy named Britney! People should send her puppy shower gifts.

Worst Blogger Ever.

Wow, I suck. It's been over a week since I posted and I promised to post about what the baby was; I sort of forgot between being constantly ill, tired, and having a houseguest.

SO FOR THE BIG NEWS.





It's a girl.


When we went to get our ultrasound, she kept taking a swing at the ultrasound wand; apparently she doesn't like being up early either. I wonder where she gets that from. Anyway, the guy was trying to get a good shot so he could be certain she was a she, when all of a sudden he switched views and she spread her legs wide open. Yep. That's my daughter. She better get it out of her system now, because she better not be spreading her legs for another forty years.

That night, Matt and I went out to dinner at a fancy restaurant. It was Prom Night and all the girls were wearing their fancy (read:slutty) dresses that didn't cover NEARLY enough. I'd never noticed how skimpy evening wear could be until that night, when I promptly turned to Matt and said, "She is NEVER going to Prom." He didn't argue.

So now I'm home on disability already; I went in because I was having severe headaches and, lo and behold, lost another pound. We decided it was best for me to take a month off work so that I could spend my time EATING EVERY HOUR.

Now, I've never had a problem eating. Ever. I've often heard the phrases "Whoa, slow down" and "Is that all for you?". I never thought pregnancy was going to be the best diet that ever happened to me. Thankfully, little miss peanut is gaining weight and looks to be the right size for her age. So, a whole month of eating, this should be interesting. I'm hoping to come home in June, so those of you that read this, please do keep this in mind; I would love to see you.