Monthly Archives: June 2009

Teaser Tuesday: The Sweet Potato Queens’ 1st Big-Ass Novel

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teasertuesdays31 Teaser Tuesday asks you to:

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teasers:

“The familiar words and music served as an on switch, launching me into action. I tossed my potato, blew my bubbles, pranced across the flatbed, wiggled my hips, waved, and cavorted.”

from page 168 of
The Sweet Potato Queens’ 1st Big-Ass Novel
by Jill Conner Browne

Daybook: June 29th

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Today…

Outside my window: It’s beautiful outside – bright blue sky, big puffy white clouds and a blessedly mild 70 degrees. We had just enough rain this weekend to cool things down a bit and it looks like I’ll be able to stay cool for at least the next three days. You know it’s bad when I see rain predicted and kind of want to cheer and thank the lord for his kindness. Right now it is not raining so I have the screen door open bringing in a nice breeze and NO air conditioner running – hurray!

I am hearing: Kids playing outside, the chime of a wind chime nearby and cars driving by. So far I have not heard MM which means he might actually be napping, but somehow I doubt it.

I am thinking: That I’ve been pretty terrifically productive today and I hope I can keep up the trend. I’ve got a fairly ambitious dinner planned for tonight and laundry to finish – will I make it through the night in one piece?

I am hoping: Dan doesn’t have to work too late – I’d love it if he came home early enough to help me prep the chicken – I absolutely hate touching raw meat, but I’ll get it done either way. ;)

I am reading: The Sweet Potato Queens’ First Big-Ass Novel by Jill Conner Browne – I have to say, it’s really fantastic and I’m glad I went digging through my bookshelf to find it – what took me so long to pick this up? I have no idea but I’m glad I saved it!

I am creating: Nothing too creative at the moment – just a lot of organizing, phone call making and getting in order – I have a lot to do before the baby comes and a lot to do anyway. I’ve been creating progress! Today I finally got around to scheduling an appointment with a local pediatrician for MM who will hopefully also be the baby’s pediatrician – that appointment isn’t until August though. I also got a confirmation that BB’s birth will be 100% covered by our health insurance – hallelujah!

I am wearing: One of my favorite maternity tee shirts and my maternity jeans. I’d love to be wearing the gorgeous dress I bought at Walmart this weekend but sadly it’s in the laundry… and probably if I wore it every day it would lose it’s specialness right?

In the kitchen:

Around the house: I picked up some Dreft so I can start washing all the baby clothes and then put them away in the little plastic baskets we picked up – we’re planning to use the changing table as a makeshift “dresser” for the baby so we don’t have to buy some cheap piece of furniture that we’ll just want to replace in a year. Makes sense, no? Especially since we just bought MM a new bed (being delivered tomorrow) this weekend. In a couple weeks we’ll probably start putting things together and if we haven’t heard from Graco or gotten an infant car seat by mid-July we’ll be picking that up then.

Plans for the week: Work on laundry, set up MM’s new bed when it comes, watch Raising The Bar on DVD with the hubby, and my car is due for it’s inspection in July so we’ll probably do that and get it’s oil changed this weekend.

One of my favorite things: My new dress. Seriously – I am deliriously in love with it…

A picture thought:


Who. Are. You?

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The latest video episode at momversation, Why Isn’t Just Being a Mom Enough? talks about the labels we assign ourselves and the way people look at those labels. The whole “war” between working moms and stay at home moms is well known. Some of us envy the other side, even when we enjoy the few perks of our choices – we can’t help but see the lusher, greener grass surrounding the mothers who chose Choice B. Some of us passionately believe in the choices we’ve made and like a momma bear, we’ll defend that choice to the end. Some of us had no choice and will either be content with that or longingly wish to try the other side someday. But all of us should try to support each other more – because whether we work a 9 to 5, go to school, or stay home with our kids – we are all faced with a myriad of obstacles, stressors and als0 – fringe benefits.

I started working at the tender age of fourteen and although I just barely worked after college, I’ve seen enough of the workforce in the nine years or so that I did work, to know that it is not any better for me than staying home with my son. I have workaholic tendencies which I think would have been a big concern trying to balance the two aspects of a working mother’s life. And having grown up the child of a single father, I have a few reminders from my own childhood of the advantages that being a stay at home mom will bring my own children. I never got to do the girl scouts thing or even join any extracurriculars until I got my license. There was not always somebody home to ask how my day was, if I did my homework and to make sure I stayed out of trouble. And sure I turned out okay, but I want something more than that for my own children and also to experience those things myself. And I can afford to give them that – so why would I opt out?

And you know sometimes it gets mundane. Sometimes I shut down and we don’t go out as much as we should and I get bored of playing trucks and blocks and watching PBS shows – but that’s where you say, “It’s time to find the balance.” All lives need balance – and nobody should consider themselves just a anything, in my opinion. Society likes to define people by what they do and what their interests are but is anybody really so one dimensional that this can be 100% accurate. Is anybody out there just a secretary? Would my husband happily consider himself just an engineer – or even just a father and engineer, like has no other interests outside those two things? No – we are all more than that. We have hobbies and family lives, children or no, interests that extend past our occupation or family status.We need those other things to maintain a well balanced life.

Of course when people ask you what you do at a party or other social gathering, admittedly I think the working mothers of the world have an easier time of it – more things to mention means more chances to connect with the asker and find a common thread. We SAHMs can mention motherhood and we’ll either be given the “how lucky” or the blank stare or whathaveyou – and even though we have other interests that they might connect with, it’s not an easy thing to find in that all encompassing generic question. And how do you choose the one thing? Are you interested in politics or religion or writing or gardening? Maybe all of those things – but which one do you mention because they certainly won’t want a list as long as what you might put on your Facebook profile. Having a career on top of whatever else you are doing gives you an obvious go to – you’ve made a career out of this thing, thus it is given precedence. And you know, whatever – hopefully a few people will feel the need to chat you up longer than three seconds to figure out what you are about and the ones who don’t, well clearly it’s their loss. I think the biggest concern is not how others see us but how we see ourselves. It’s a way bigger deal if you consider yourself just a…

Sometimes, especially in the baby days, being a stay at home mom can feel like just a – just a poop cleaning, baby feeding, house cleaning, sleep deprived zombie. Sometimes our family lives get so hectic and all consuming that the idea of pursuing a hobby is laughable. Sometimes a career woman might feel so consumed in her job that she eats, sleeps and dreams floor plans or profit margins or some other thing and you sometimes have to step back and say, “What else did I honestly think about today?” It’s easy to get consumed in the things we are passionate about. That’s okay. Because it’s not permanent and we aren’t really just those things – they are just what we are focusing on for the sake of our survival and that of our families. Because at some point, life changes and new things will take precedence. Being the stay at home mother of a baby is nothing like being the stay at home mother of a toddler – and I’m guessing that the same will be true when I am the stay at home mother of multiples and as they get older and what about when they leave the nest? Will I never pursue a career? I don’t know. There are certainly jobs I would enjoy trying someday, later. And if our financial situation changed, I’d have to roll with those punches.

What hats you wear in your life and how you feel about those hats is an important thing to think about. Are you happy with the choices you’ve made? That can make a big difference in how you see other people seeing you and how much joy you can bring to your daily tasks. So, yes, make sure you are supporting all the other wonderful women in your lives (and the men, too!) but also make sure you are supporting yourself. Like Cynthia comments at the end of the video, own yourself and own what you do.

Friday Finds: June 26th

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Friday Finds asks:

“What great books did you hear about / discover this past week? Share with us your Friday Finds!”

This week I’ve added four books to my GoodReads.com list. I’m actually a bit relieved because last week I added so many new books that the idea of posting about all of them was just to overwhelming. Never mind the task of actually acquiring and reading all these great books – talk about a job that will never be done! Anyway, here are my finds from this week:

  • High Fidelity by Nick Hornby – After reading a review at Serendipity’s blog (she has got to be my best source for book finds) I decided I definitely wanted to read this novel. I have seen bits and pieces of the movie based off of it, but I’m guessing the book is even better. For those not familiar with the storyline: “Is it possible to share your life with someone whose record collection is incompatible with your own? Can people have terrible taste and still be worth knowing? Do songs about broken hearts and misery and loneliness mess up your life if consumed in excess?For Rob Fleming, thirty-five years old, a pop addict and owner of a failing record shop, these are the sort of questions that need an answer, and soon. His girlfriend has just left him. Can he really go on living in a poky flat surrounded by vinyl and CDs or should he get a real home, a real family and a real job? Perhaps most difficult of all, will he ever be able to stop thinking about life in terms of the All Time Top Five bands, books, films, songs – even now that he’s been dumped again, the top five break-ups?”
  • Hungry Monkey: A Food-Loving Father’s Quest to Raise an Adventurous Eater by Matthew Amster-Burton – My blogging friend Nancy @ Life With My Boys mentioned this book in this month’s What’s On Your Nightstand – a book carnival @ 5 Minutes For Books. I thought it was an interesting book to stumble upon after having just written a post about picky eaters the day before. “Hungry Monkey is the story of Amster-Burton’s life as a food-lover–with a child. It’s the story of how he came to realize that kids don’t need puree in a jar or special menus at restaurants and that raising an adventurous eater is about exposure, invention, and patience. He writes of the highs and lows of teaching your child about food–the high of rediscovering how something tastes for the first time through a child’s unflinching reaction, the low of thinking you have a precocious vegetable fiend on your hands only to discover that a child’s preferences change from day to day (and may take years to include vegetables again). Sharing in his culinary capers is little Iris, a budding gourmand and a zippy critic herself–who makes hug sandwiches, gobbles up hot chilis, and even helps around the kitchen sometimes.”
  • Mum’s The Word (Flower Shop Mystery, Book One) by Kate Collins – This book series was recommended to me by Type A Mommy in response to my own What’s On Your Nightstand post, describing it as a “light, funny mystery series” – light and funny being exactly the kind of books I’m looking to read right now. “Law school dropout Abby Knight is the proud new owner of her hometown flower shop. She adores her job, but a new low-cost competitor is killing her profits and a black SUV just rammed her vintage Corvette in a hit-and-run. Determined to track down the driver, she accepts the help of hunky ex-cop Marco Salvare. But their budding relationship is threatened when the trail turns deadly.”
  • The Funny Thing Is by Ellen Degeneres – Another book I stumbled across at Serendipity‘s blog. I am a huge fan of Ellen Degeneres and her humor – I think this book would be an excellent read and likely a good light read. “After years of painstaking, round-the-clock research, surviving on a mere twenty minutes of sleep a night, and collaborating with lexicographers, plumbers, and mathematicians, DeGeneres has crafted a work that is both easy to use and very funny. Along with her trademark ramblings, The Funny Thing Is… contains hundreds of succinct insights into her psyche and offers innovative features including:

More than 50,000 simple, short words arranged in sentences that form paragraphs. Thousands of observations on everyday life — from terrible fashion trends to how to handle seating arrangements for a Sunday brunch with Paula Abdul, Diane Sawyer, and Eminem. All twenty-six letters of the alphabet.

Sure to make you laugh, The Funny Thing Is… is an indispensable reference for anyone who knows how to read or wants to fool people into thinking they do.”

What books did you discover this week?

Aloha Friday: Childproofing Challenge

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It’s time for another Aloha Friday, the day that you take it easy and look forward to the weekend, in Hawaii and blog land anyway. As you should know by now, over at An Island Life, Kailani decided that on Fridays she would take it easy on posting and ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response.

If you’d like to participate, just post your own question on your blog and leave your link at An Island Life’s blog. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

I’ve been having this little dilemma for a few weeks now, basically ever since we moved into the apartment. We had our old place MM-proofed top to bottom, almost mockingly so – it was locked down, he was safe and all was well. The new apartment has meant new safety concerns that we’d yet to encounter, simply because of a different set of doors, drawers, etc. New stuff = new methods of keeping him out. We’ve done pretty well but there’s this one area that we have yet to figure out a good answer for. And there’s a time limit for how long we have to make a decision. The problem? Baseboard heaters – see exhibit A:

Basically, MM is convinced that the baseboard heater is his personal step stool for looking out the window. Never even mind the whole fact of it probably not being sturdy enough for the task in the long run, it’s a baseboard heater. Come winter this could pose a serious problem in the form of burns! So we yell at him when he does it, but he honestly doesn’t get what the problem is. And we have a new little one coming who could definitely be crawling by this winter.

They don’t appear to make anything to “baby-proof” these heaters because covering them is a fire hazard, etc. yadda yadda. Most people recommend placing furniture in front of them. But I have a small problem with this idea – it’s right next to his closet – a small piece of furniture would mean not being able to open half the closet. My husband’s idea is to put up a baby “yard” like we have put around our Christmas tree in years past, but that will also block the closet and I can’t help but think MM would just consider that a challenge, like, “I dare you to climb over me…” I don’t know. I don’t like either idea but I also don’t like the idea of my children getting third degree burns from the baseboard heater.

So I’m asking:

  • Have you dealt with baseboard heaters & child proofing before? What did you do?
  • If not, how would you child proof this space if the situation came up?
  • Anybody have a child who has actually been burned by a baseboard heater? How bad was the burn? Maybe I’m asking myself for extra paranoia here, but I would like to know what I’m dealing with, realistically speaking, you know?
  • Last question: What is / was the hardest space in your home to baby proof (or would be if you had children)?
  • Bonus [read: completely unrelated] Question: Which celeb death this week caught you most by surprise / saddens you the most? Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett or Michael Jackson?

love thursday: new beginnings

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In college I killed a cactus. I have long assumed that I am probably lacking in the green thumb department, so I was just as surprised as anyone else when I suddenly had the urge to buy a house plant recently. Initially I was going to buy one of those clever hanging plants to display on my balcony, but my husband (love him) suggested I start with a smaller (read: cheaper) plant with the mind set that it would be wiser to kill an inexpensive plant first than a larger investment plant. It made sense – I took no offense to this idea because it’s true. I love that he knows me well enough to realize that this is both an important step for me, but also one that we should step into lightly, making baby steps. A month from now I may have lost all interest in house plants…

Then again, every time I look at this little plant, which we picked up at our local farmers market for just $3, I like it more and more. I bought it with a small amount of apprehension as I know nothing about plants and didn’t know if this one was “a good one” – or how much of a commitment caring for it would be. I wasn’t even sure it was my style. But I took a chance and I have to say I’m pretty smitten with it. I check in on it a couple times a day to make sure it’s handling this heat wave okay, checking for any dead petals or leaves that could be trimmed away. It’s remarkably easy on some levels, this caring for plants thing seems to involve a bit of common sense. Go figure.

In a lot of ways plants and babies are pretty similar. They require a certain amount of love and attention (though babies admittedly require more of it) to grow, but when you do it right the results are stunning. They are ever so delicate and at the same time, tougher than they look. It’s a balancing act. The care and nurturing of them is both new and daunting but also relatively obvious once you figure it out. Keep them alive and help them to flourish. Show them love and watch them grow. Marriage is similar I suppose. It would seem that I’ve entered yet another new relationship where a certain amount of commitment is required to keep it healthy. If that commitment is genuine and well kept up with, things should go well. I can remember looking at motherhood as it approached, hesitantly wondering if I was cut out for this – not having the slightest idea how to care for something so small. Looking at marriage was similar – would I be any good at this being a wife thing? I hope that my houseplant fares as well as my marriage and son have.

I’ve had a lot of new beginnings in the past few years. Several times now I have made commitments to new people, places and things – new ways of living. It’s been impossible at each point to know for certain that things will work out for the best, but that leap of faith has been rewarded each time. Look how far we’ve come. Wonderful husband, darling son, exciting new chapters in our lives together unfolding as we’ve left the comforts of our upbringings and branched out to this new home, this new place, this new life. Soon we’ll stretch ourselves further and become a family of four. There are apprehensions and fears, of course, but if history has shown anything, I’m thinking it will go well.

I cannot wait to meet the newest member of our family. I cannot wait to witness my heart filling to the brim again – to see her face and know my daughter, to learn the art of parenting a second time as I figure out this whole “mother of two” thing. And I wonder, after this, when I have conquered marriage, motherhood, moving, the mothering of two and the caring of my little flower – what new beginning will we reach for next? What will be the next chapter in our lives that will test us in ways we can’t yet imagine?

Bump Report: 36 Weeks

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I’m now 36 weeks pregnant – I noticed that the little picture timeline on my babygaga.com countdown ticker has now moved over to the final picture on the timeline. Not surprising – because, dudes, it’s almost time. I had an appointment with my OB this past Tuesday and I will now have one appointment a week (already scheduled!) until my scheduled cesarean on July 21st (also already scheduled). Another thing of note from the countdown ticker? Apparently my uterus is now 1000 times it’s original size – that’s rather terrifying.

So at my last appointment my OB gave me the little report from my last ultrasound – there are no pretty pictures or anything worth scanning, but there were two things I noticed while attempting to decipher the doctor jargon in the report. The “history / indications” lists the reason for my ultrasound as being “poor weight gain” which just really had me miffed, even though I know that was a generic statement. Sure if I were a “normal” “healthy” “android” I’d technically be expected to gain some weight in this pregnancy, but last time I tried that I gained like 80 pounds – that to me is “poor weight gain.” They should have an option for “maintained her weight like a rock star” instead of typing things in that make me feel like I’ve done something wrong. I still remember the ultrasound technician about fainting when I told her I hadn’t gained any weight in the pregnancy and I’m like, “Dude you can look at my stomach and TELL that something’s been getting bigger – don’t look at me like I’m an alien – congratulate me!” Whatever.

As if that wasn’t insulting enough, apparently they also consider Baby Blueberry (BB) “not remarkable.” Like they say so several times. Her fetal anatomy is not remarkable. Her fetal spine appears unremarkable. And okay, so those are the only two examples I can find, but honestly, “unremarkable”? My little girl is totally worthy of remark. I bet her fetal anatomy is just stunning, thankyouverymuch. And her spine is probably rocking! I can tell you her kicking strength is nothing resembling unremarkable, but I guess you’ll have to take my word for that.

Yes, I’m telling you all this because apart from that visit this week has been pretty much exactly like the last week, but you know what, it’s all coming soon and I’m trying to just enjoy the normalcy now, even if normal means waddling around like a weeble, sweating like there’s no tomorrow and cowering in pain when my future soccer star starts attacking me for all her worth to the extent that I start wondering if she’s really trying to get my attention and might be screaming something like, “HEY YOU! LET ME OUT OF HERE!” And I’m like, “I wish sweetie.” Although I still have not heard back from Graco so really if I could wait just long enough to somehow aquire an infant car seat to take her home, that’d be swell.

Anyway, I’m sure you’re all like, “Great – but what strange vegetable does babycenter.com think BB resembles now??” so I’ll get on with the statistics…

[BB] is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon – I’m sure you’ve all eaten tons of those and know exactly how big they are) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She’s shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. [BB] swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement (I know you all really wanted to know that!).

At the end of this week, [BB] will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she’s in a head-down position (Actually she’s in the transverse position with her head on the right, but since I’m having a c-section that’s kind of irrelevant). [Otherwise my doctor might] suggest scheduling an “external cephalic version,” which is a fancy way of saying she’ll try to coax [BB] into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of [my] belly.

How [my] life’s changing:

Now that [my] baby is taking up so much room, [I] may have trouble eating a normal-size meal. Smaller, more frequent meals are often easier to handle at this point. On the other hand, [I] may have less heartburn and have an easier time breathing when [BB] starts to “drop” down into [my] pelvis. This process — called lightening — often happens a few weeks before labor if this is your first baby. ([Since I've] given birth before, it probably won’t happen before labor starts.) If [BB] drops, [I] may also feel increased pressure in [my] lower abdomen, which may make walking increasingly uncomfortable, and [I'll] probably find that [I] have to pee even more frequently (seriously? Even more?). If [my] baby is very low, [I] may feel lots of vaginal pressure and discomfort as well. Some women say it feels as though they’re carrying a bowling ball between their legs! (Good times.)

Alright before I go, a few other fun things I found on babycenter.com this week:

  • Their Birthday Time Machine tells me the following cool things about July 21st (the day of our scheduled cesarean, BB’s intended birthday): Ernest Hemingway, Cat Stevens and Robin Williams will share BB’s birthday. Her birthstone will be the Ruby and her zodiac sign will be Cancer. On July 21st 1970, Egypy completed the Aswan Dam on the Nile River and in 1931 on the same date, CBS began broadcasting the first regular, seven-days-a-week tv schedule in the US.
  • To compare, MM’s birthday is April 7th. He shares a birthday with Billie Holiday, Jackie Chan and Russell Crowe. His birthstone is the Diamond and his zodiac sign is Aries. In 1927, the first simultaneous telecast of image and sound took place when a speech by President Herbert Hoover in Washington, D.C., is transmitted to New York City  on April 7th. That date in 1948 is when the World Health Organization was founded. On April 7, 2001 NASA’s Mars Odyssey spacecraft takes off on a six-month, 286-million-mile journey to the red planet.
  • What does babycenter.com say about children born under the sign of Cancer? Cancer’s are considered “sensitive souls.” They are most comfortable at home, surrounded by family and pets, and familiar sights, sounds and smells. She might be very dependent on a favorite soft blanket or stuffed animal. Tradition, rituals, and routine are important for Cancer children, so regular family meals and a set bath-and-bedtime routine could be vital for this little one. They are more cautious and sensitive by nature and can easily become overwhelmed in a noisy, chaotic situation. Cancer’s are very nurturing by nature and she just may be naturally blessed with a green thumb and prone to bringing home every stray dog she finds. Cancer children are more emotionally vulnerable than most, and when they feel threatened, they’ll pull into their little shell until life seems safe again.
  • Basically that makes, MM, the Aries a total opposite to his little sister. A natural born leader, Aries children are always pushing ahead of the pack. With an “Are we there yet?” outlook, they are impatient to arrive and get started already! Aries children possess a passionate, creative, and restless nature. They seem to have more energy than other children, with a vitality that’s matched only by their natural bravery. Their “me first” attitude can be a challenge for anyone who has to contend with their high spirits and frequent self-absorption. Legendary for their straightforward honesty, Aries children tell it like they see it. They can overstep boundaries because they’re naturally impulsive and tend not to look before they leap.  Aries children have a hard time keeping their emotions under control and are prone to temper tantrums, but there’s a positive side to this: They don’t hold a grudge. Once the fireworks are over, so is their anger. Any vigorous activity will be an excellent outlet for his energy, and if it’s a competitive sport, so much the better. But be sure he wears a helmet or any other essential safety gear. In their eternal hurry, Aries children tend to be accident-prone.

This honestly sounds exactly like MM so if the same is true for BB… life should be interesting.

Imagine Your Perfect Date Night

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Date Night

Date Night by mommablogsalot featuring Crocs shoes

With the whole lack of family nearby and the time suck that is life, I don’t anticipate any date nights in the near future but when I was perusing the net this morning, an article at workitmom.com caught me eye – the cute little dresses in Susan’s post reminded me of my long lost love, Polyvore, and had me thinking, “If money and actual closet were no object, what would I wear on a date with the hubby – and where would we go?

I know the shorts up there are not maternity shorts but I liked the style and in my mind, I can wear them anyway. I just recently started wearing shorts around the house and I’ve been loving it – I can’t wait to buy a pair after the baby is born, in whatever my new post-pregnancy size is. Maybe a pair like these? I also love these red crocs – I know crocs in the past have been considered clunky and not terribly fashionable, but I really think they have come into their stylish own and I love my pairs in black and blue, easy to dress up or down and very comfortable of course. I think red is the perfect color for a date night, but in moderation, so the rest of the outfit I kept black and white with two punches of color. So chic.

We typically do some variation of dinner and a movie and honestly, I love it. Dinner without a child – seeing a great movie together – it’s the perfect combination which is why it’s become so clichéd I’m guessing. Whatev. I’d love to take Dan somewhere to get some good sushi – it’s something he loves but doesn’t eat very often. Hopefully they have something else that isn’t sushi, too, though, because I personally don’t care for it. Chinese food, in general though, I’m always a fan of. After dinner we’d probably go see a movie – something light hearted and maybe a little romantic or an action movie with just enough thrill to have me clinging to his arm at the “intense” parts. He’ll like that. After the movie, I’d want to go for a stroll down one of the many lakeside beaches in the area – preferably one we haven’t been to yet. A cool summer night breeze, the smell of sand and water, perfection. Before heading home for the night, we’d stop at a coffee shop and maybe split a dessert and talk late into the evening…

Your turn. What would your ideal date night entail? What would you wear, where would you go? Feel free to “plan” something more extravagent – especially if you already regularly do the date night thing – you lucky duck you! So spill – and then make sure you share your ideas with me in the comments section!

If You Can’t Stand The Heat, I’m With You…

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So, I know that I complain about the heat and then I get comments telling me about how my state is like 10 degrees cooler than all the really hot states and that I’m a wimp and I try to justify my sweat stains by reminding people that I’m like 83 months pregnant or some absurd thing (like anyone could forget, especially me – lately whenever I walk I bump into things, like you know sometimes you are carring a bag and you don’t realize how big it is and the bag bumps everything you walk by? Or you drive a new car and you aren’t really sure just how long the front end is and you are worried you are going to crash into everything? That’s my stomach right now – it needs it’s own insurance policy for all the damage I’ve been doing to it. I can’t open a cabinet or drawer or door without bashing myself in the stomach with said item because dude I’m huge.

And none of that has anything to do with how hot it is except that all that huge just makes me hotter. It doesn’t help that our apartment has one air conditioning unit in the living room which can pretty effectively keep the living room and dining room cool, but that’s about it. So for the other rooms in the house, like the kitchen, bathroom and three bedrooms, we are kind of on our own. We’d been keeping a window fan in our bedroom until last night when I pointed out that it was supremely selfish of us to have a fan in the bedroom when poor MM was stuck with just opening his window and has been waking up in a pool of his own sweat (like I did this morning now that he has ownership over the fan). Tonight after dinner we’re buying a second window fan. Then we’ll figure out how to “toddler proof” the fan in MM’s room (nevermind the baseboard heater underneath the window that MM is pretty sure is a step stool so he can see out the window and yeah that’s gonna be a whole ‘nother post later where I beg you guys for advice, but since heaters are for the winter when it’s COLD and right now I’m writing about the summer where it’s HOT, we’ll move on or at least try to) so he doesn’t lose a finger or crack his head open or something. I swear three year olds are just walking danger magnets.

And that’s just inside the apartment. I’m pretty smart and pretty much don’t leave the apartment during the day if I can help it because pregnancy and stairs and heat don’t really like each other, but today I had a doctors appointment (more about that on Thursday) so I had to go out and I swear to you guys it was 98 degrees outside. Like according to the thermometer in my car and the one in my bedroom window. 98 degrees and no ridiculously hot guys serenading me. Life is unfair. Please don’t tell me that 98 degrees is like a cool day in the Spring where you live – it was hot enough that the news stations on the radio were issuing heat warnings, telling people to avoid going outside. Seriously. It’s freaking hot out.

I know people have complained since the beginning of time that being pregnant in the summer can suck because it’s hot and your huge and it sucks, but those people have never been me up until this summer so right now it’s like this new novel thing that I am pretty sure is worth complaining about at great length, especially in ADDesque blog posts. So yeah I think that’s all for now because what was supposed to be a quick post saying, “It’s really freaking hot out,” has turned into a novella – so remind me to tell you about how the doctor’s office went, how my ultrasound report says that I was there for my “poor weight gain” and how “unremarkable” Baby Blueberry is apparently. All that.

Oh – and I had lunch with Dan at his office today and I thought you should know that their office basically has like a gourmet dining cafeteria thing going on, complete with like four choices for dessert – and they even list the nutrition info for their daily menus online somewhere. Dream Company continues to impress. Too bad I had to go outside in practically 100 degree weather to eat there.