If you can't say anything nice...

I have to admit that I expected to get some comments about the names that I announced over a week ago.

There are really only two possible explanations for such silence.

1. My readers are pleading the 5th and exercising the lesson their mothers taught them long ago. If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.

2. Aliens have abducted all my readers (all 3.5 of them) and thus they have not been able to log in to see my recent posts.

Well, all I can say in response to that is... Say hi to Marvin for me. :P

I told you I have issues

Today I am taking the test to see if I may have gestational diabetes. All I have to do was drink a small bottle of orange soda pop like stuff, wait an hour and get my blood drawn. No peeing. No eating.

I'll give you one guess as to what happened the moment I drank the orange goo... Yep. I had to pee. So now I get to spend the next hour trying to convince myself that it's all in my mind and that my bladder is actually empty.

I'm definitely a cat person

I had some friends over last night for scrap booking, and as always, it was nice to see them again. One of them is expecting her second child in July. Her first just turned 2 years old (she is super-super-cute) and she was saying that she has started to really act up for no apparent reason. They (and the daycare center) believe it's because the little girl has started to sense the changes due to the new baby. She is no longer the center of Mommy's attention because Mommy no longer picks her up as much and Daddy is now more active in things like that. My friend says that her daughter has just become extremely needy in recent weeks.

While having this conversation, my cat kept insisting on being on my lap, which makes it quite difficult to do anything else but hold her. And that brings me to my point... what I found particularly interesting about the conversation is that while she was talking about her daughter's actions, she might as well have been talking about my cat's recent actions.

My cat has never really been a lap cat, though I've always wanted one of those! However, recently that's all she's been - a lap cat. She insists on me paying attention to her and if I don't, she'll sit there and cry until I do. This is very strange behavior for her and has only started in recent weeks. She is almost always snuggled up to me, whether it be on my lap in front of the TV, or on my side in bed, or even when I'm sitting on the toilet! She just can't get enough attention.

Do you think she's sensing the change that is about to come? Or do you think it's more simple than that and she's only being more cuddly because I'm warmer or something? Hmmm... Am I going to have to deal with sibling rivalry even before there are siblings to rival?

Outta my way, Fatty!

I think it's official. I am a big fat pregnant woman.

I have now reached the point where I am slow. People pass me in the hallways! Or if I'm walking with someone (especially the one particular tall coworker I have in mind), I basically have to run to keep up. I am now one of those people you find yourself behind in the hallway and you wonder "Should I pass or should I wait? UGH! Why are you moving so slow! I have things to accomplish and places to go, you know?!" Yep, that's me. I prevent people from going places quickly or accomplishing anything at more than a turtle's pace.

I have also started to breathe really hard. It used to be that if I was breathing hard, or sighing loudly, it was because I was really tired. No more. I am now a loud breather. I think it comes with the fact that it takes so much energy to walk places (especially if I take those annoying things called staircases).

I can no longer see my... um... woo hoo hoo. Or even the bottom of my breasts. Without going into unnecessary details, it is a nice reassurance to know that it's all still there (I can see it in the mirror!). Shaving's a bitch (and no, I don't shave my breasts). Enough said.

I perform an interpretation dance every time I go to put on my socks. Sometimes it's my interpretation of a dying flamingo. Other times, it's my interpretation of a one-legged surfer. Regardless, I'm sure it's entertaining. Someone should give Michael a video camera.

Getting out of my big bath tub is no longer graceful and exotic. But then again, maybe it never was.

And finally, I can no longer stretch or sit like a normal person. I went to my yoga class again last night (first time in two weeks due to being so busy), and I noticed a big difference right away. I could not bend like I did just a couple weeks ago, and forget the funky cross-legged position the instructor wanted us to try (it's supposed to open up our hips). I found myself wondering how it was possible that my butt never quite reached my ankles if I was sitting on my knees. Hmm... yoga apparently is not something that is easy to describe in email. How about this - you just imagine me in a yoga position... now imagine me falling over. You get the point.

Daycare Take 1

We've started looking into daycare. Yes, you've heard me right... daycare for our yet-to-be-born child. So far we've visited two places: one family care provider (works out of her home) and one child care provider (standard daycare center). Without saying much right now (there will be more to say after seeing more places), it's really beginning to look as though it's one of those things where you get what you pay for. And that sucks.

It's just the hormones

I wish I had seen this cartoon when I had my Christmas Card episode. Oh, did I not tell you?
Michael and I bought some cute little Christmas cards this year. We liked them because they were simple yet pretty. However, when I sat down to start signing the cards, I realized the message inside had something to do about "God bless you and God bless the USA".

Now, I'm not saying I don't believe in God. And I'm not saying I don't believe He should bless my friends and family, or even this country... but I can say that it wasn't quite the message I wanted to send out to everyone. I'm just not quite that patriotic.

So, back to the store we go, to return the cards. Michael went to go look for a Chanukka card for our neighbors while I went to the counter to return the $5.00 box of patriotic Christmas cards. Much to my dismay, the lady behind the counter said that they are not allowed to accept returns on seasonal items.

Oh, you'd think the world was ending if you saw the way I responded. I was so upset that I couldn't return the cards. I was more upset that I was upset at all (they were only $5!). I was even more upset to know that I was just over-reacting, which made me over-react even more. And most of all, I was upset that I felt sorry for the lady behind the counter, who obviously didn't know how to respond to such an emotional pregnant woman. She kept appologizing saying "I'm sorry, but it's store policy".

I ended up leaving (with my $5 patriotic cards), and once outside I called Michael. And since I come from the Nix family, I could not speak when he asked me what was wrong. My worried husband came rushing outside to see what horrible thing happened to cause his wife such grief. All I could do was snap at him and tell him that it sucks to be a moody pregnant woman. And Michael, being the big-hearted person he is, only gave me a hug and then took the box of cards into the store and "donated" them to the ladies behind the counter, knowing very well we wouldn't use them anyway.

Wake up, baby!

One of my email mommy buddies wrote to describe a precious story in regards to her baby (due in April as well). She said that last night he was restless and kept kicking and stretching and thus kept her awake. However, she thought of a great idea and decided to start patting her tummy. Apparently her baby stopped moving. So she stopped patting. Then her baby started kicking again and then when she started patting her tummy again, he stopped. After patting for awhile, the baby calmed down and let her get her sleep.

How adorable is that? To think that it's possible to calm down the baby even before it's born is just really neat. I was really glad that she shared the story with the rest of us.

I haven't gotten to the point where my baby's movement have kept me up at night, but I will try to keep the method in mind for when the time does come.

In the mean time, I've decided to do some experimenting of my own. If my friend can pat her baby to sleep, maybe I can pat mine awake. So, I patted my tummy in the standard "da da dadada" pattern, halfway expecting to feel a "da da" back, right? OK, OK... so that comes across so much better when said out loud than when typed, but I'm sure you know the pattern I speak of.

Well, much to my surprise and enjoyment, my baby did indeed kick back! I'll admit that her "da da" needs a little work on the timing, but she's still young and still learning. Give the kid a break, sheesh! =)

You've come a long ways, baby

For those of you who are keeping track... I am now officially in my third trimester. Woohoo!

The best part about that is that if baby decides he's too excited and wants to join the world now, then he'd still have a good chance of survival. What a relief.

Three more months to go... three more months to go... three more months to get accustomed to the idea of labor. Three more months. That's not much time at all! I wonder if I should tell the doctors that I signed up for one of those Fed-EX babies... the kind that show up on your doorstep one day. No labor. Just a beautiful baby.

Tummy goes to Williamsburg

The three of us (Michael, my tummy and I) went to Williamsburg this weekend. We stayed in a really cute bed and breakfast.

Our room came complete with George Washington wallpaper and chickens under the bed!

Things I learned during the trip:
1. Women had rights during the 1700s.
2. George Washington cut down some cherry tree and said "I can not tell a lie"
3. We need a new mattress on our bed.
4. Clip-on ponytails hold up well to the wind.
5. 3 hour road trips in a car suck when you're pregnant.

But all in all, we had a lot of fun and it was nice to get out and walk around. I like visiting places with my Michael!

Sheep Appetizer

My mom and sister came out last weekend to help decorate the baby's nursery, and I know I should have posted some pictures sooner, but part of me wanted to wait until we were completely done.

So, just to satisfy some of your cravings, I'll give you an appetizer (more to come as we finalize the details)...

I do not have any before pictures because there wasn't much to show. The room was white. That's it. Boring, so moving on... We put up a chair rail around the room and painted the top part a creme color. The bottom part was going to be a tan, but it ended up darker than I originally anticipated. However, I actually really like the result, so I don't mind.




Around the top of the chair rail, we pain-stakingly painted a stencil with sheep jumping over the fence. How cute! Go, sheep go! Between the sheep, we stenciled in different words (love, dream, inspire, believe, etc) with pastel colors. The words are actually the only source of color in the room, and I like how subtle it looks.

Like any time that we start doing a home-improvement project, I learn something new. This time I learned that stencils can work in either direction. Yes, I had the option of picking between clock-wise sheep and counter-clock-wise sheep. Brilliant me thought that the counter-clock-wise ones would end up being upside-down. Hey, everyone has their stupid moments!

And finally, if you're curious what the room will be like for the baby, here is the answer. The baby will see flying sheep! French flying sheep, none-the-less!