Hi everyone,
Figured I'd better check in so no one worries that they haven't heard anything from me in awhile. First, thanks to everyone for your comments on the mural. It really is easier than it looks. The pictures are all from clip art that I projected onto the wall. Then it's just a matter of tracing and coloring inside the lines. It was a lot of fun and part of me is sad to be done with it, but now that the weather is getting nicer we don't want to be inside anymore. Time to turn our attention to the yard projects. We need to get our house painted this summer, which has required some reshingling on Pete's part. His dad came over to show him the ropes last weekend. Not a particularly fun project, but necessary. We invested in a paint sprayer, knowing this will need to be done every 5 years or so, so hopefully the project won't be too bad once we get the windows taped off. We're going with the same color so that if we run out of steam it won't look ridiculous. Next time we'll change the color.
Baby is doing fine, although Pete has pointed out that I no longer answer the "how are you feeling" question with "I can't complain". I am definitely starting to feel pregnant. I had some cramping, more unrelievable gas pains, swollen ankles and frequent urination have also been added to my list as of this week. And of course, I'm getting fatter by the minute. I'm measuring right where I should be for the 6th month, so at least I'm not growing a freakishly large baby inside of me. My doctor is on my case about weight gain nonetheless, as I may have mentioned. I gained a lot in March. I did much better in April, but she still isn't satisfied. When I asked her how much I should be gaining per month she only said that my total weight gain should be around 20 pounds, and that I am almost there already. The way I look at it, there's not much I can do to help that now- it's pretty unrealistic to think I won't gain anything in the last trimester, and losing weight is not a healthy option. All I can do is make sure I eat healthy and not have too many desert binges, but I'm sorry- there's no way I'm giving up on sweets completely. I crave them ALL THE TIME (I did have my test for gestational diabetes this week and all seems to be OK. That was a relief. It seems like everyone I talk to who is pregnant has developed diabetes). Pete has been great about packing me healthy lunches and doing lots of fruit smoothies and fruit salads for breakfast. He helps me with my complete lack of will power because he's trying so hard to make sure I'm good, I don't want to disappoint him or negate his efforts. It's just so hard when everyone at work is always encouraging me to eat and bringing me cookies and candy and junk all the time because I'm "eating for two" or because "Baby is hungry". I finally had to tell them to stop because they got me in trouble. I can't say no to sweets, so my only hope is that they are just not available to me.
Let's see, what else is going on... We're looking at cars and hoping to buy one by the end of the month. We're probably going to go with a Subaru Forester. I wanted a snazzy little Honda Accord or something along those lines, but then the reality of parenthood set in. We take Seven with us everywhere, and there wouldn't be room for her in the back seat with Baby and all Baby's accoutrement's. I won't do a minivan- I just can't succumb to that degree of grown-upness just yet.
This weekend we are helping some friends of ours move (not sure how much help I'll be, and please no lectures on lifting heavy things- I won't do anything stupid). It's supposed to rain all day, so that will suck. It's the same friend who built our deck, so we kind of owe him. We may also register for baby stuff this weekend. We keep procrastinating because it's so overwhelming. We went to a Baby Expo a couple weeks ago and it was the same problem. Too many kids, too many strollers (crowd mowers), just too much. All I kept thinking is "we don't belong here with these people! This is so not US!" Yeah, maybe there's just a little bit of "coming to terms with it all" still going on, at least for me. Whole lotta life changes coming up in the next few months with baby and work (or lack thereof). Mostly I'm excited, though. And a little nervous when I look down at my belly and think "this thing has got to come of of me one way or another. There's no turning back now."
Funny little story about Pete and parenting. Last weekend our neighbors (the one's we refer to as the Loud Family) were out and about chatting with everyone. They have two little girl 3 and 5 or so. I was talking to their mother and the 3 year old kept going inside our house. The mother didn't seem to see anything wrong with this and didn't do anything about it (maybe this is some sort of mother thing that I won't understand until I have a three year old, but for the time being I think it's pretty rude). Pete was not so cool with it either and kept following her in to make sure she wasn't getting into anything (she was even helping herself to our refrigerator). Finally, after the 6th or so time he had to follow her in there, she came haul-assing out of the house crying, followed by Pete who had a funny, somewhat self satisfied smile on his face. She kept saying something about a monster that lives upstairs in our house that was going to eat her. Her mother didn't seem to be amused, saying something about the nightmares she was going to have now. But she didn't go back in again after that. Maybe the tactic was questionable, and maybe we will have unconventional child rearing ideas, but I say the end justifies the means. We managed to raise a pretty well behaved dog. And maybe mom will learn a lesson about curbing her kid. If nothing else, Pete and I sure did have a good laugh over it after they left.
OK, I think I'll wrap this up and get back to work. I am still going at my job as per usual (OK, maybe more like 80% of what I was giving it in effort before I knew I wasn't coming back) and relishing it every time some one needs something and I already have it ready and know exactly where it is and they say how much they'll miss me during my maternity leave. They won't realize how much I did or brought to the table until I'm gone. Ain't it always the way.
Talk to y'all soon,
A, P & 7
PS- no, we still haven't picked out a name. Maybe we'll call her Eight.
