Oh Re-gis Tree... Oh Re-gis Tree...

23 weeks, 4 days. Our baby girl will be here in about 3.5 months and we've been encouraged (nagged) by some friends and loved ones to get started on some of the important decision making that comes with preparing for a child..... like picking out which Boppy cover we are going to need. Ok not really that, but there are things we agree that we probably need to start deciding, like getting a carseat, baby monitor and other... serious... parental... responsibility-ish things. (scary)

So, we visited the new baby store that just opened near our house and just got down to business. We should have known it would get interesting when Kevin and I couldn't even choose a password that we would need to access our online registry... This is the stuff other people get so excited about? I have dreaded it for months! Oh the STRESS! I know we need to make decisions, and I know that registering for gifts is the socially appropriate thing to do in this country, but I HATE IT!! Mostly because I have to make lots-n-lots-n-lots of decisions.... about material things that shouldn't matter much.... in a very short time...... and I know NOTHING about any of it!! I've never done this!! Kevin and I feel the same about this issue... you should have been a fly on the wall the day we went to look at placemats and China patterns before we got married!

So we finally picked an online password, took a deep breath and got our stun-gun. We immediately got a little (A LOT) overwhelmed and we stood in the aisle together and I had tears that were ready to spill over. I don't know what I'm doing.... we can't make any decisions.... we don't even know how to begin this process... how am I ever going to be a good mother?!?! So what do the Curley's do when faced with frustration, fear or insecurity?????? Register for approximately 200 large jars of Budreaux's Butt Paste, roughly 100 small tubes of the Butt Paste, and a few of anything else in the store that has the word "BUTT" on the label. We also registered for a few dozen large bottles of baby oil that we can use for Curley Family Baby Oil Wrestling Night. And Kevin registered for a bottle of Mr. Bubble - Bubble Bath for himself. He loves a good bubble bath!

After we let off a little steam on the butt paste/baby oil aisle, we decided to get serious. We did even make some mature decisions about a few items. We "test drove" some strollers, and Kevin made the determination that "there is not even question" as to the superior quality of the one we chose, and basically he now believes that anyone that would choose a different baby stroller, OBVIOUSLY didn't experience "ours." Why does any other stroller even exist? Who would dream of choosing something else?? I'm so sorry for anyone who has one of these other pathetically inferior strollers.....

But please don't put us in the shouldn't-be-allowed-to-procreate category yet. We got started making some of these important (and some NOT so important) decisions. Fun is different for everyone and we just had to make it fun for us. We are less intimidated now, and we think we can take it a little more seriously. We think....

After that, we spent a while picking out pumpkins of the PERFECT size and shape for this Saturday's pumpkin carving contest. We have two exciting entries in store, and of course I will be sharing some pics.

Later!

I was wondering why the baseball was getting bigger...

...And then it hit me.

I can't tell you how D-U-M-B dumb I feel lately. If I've talked with you recently, you've heard me lamenting over this ridiculous phenomenon called BABY BRAIN! I had enough shortcomings in the organizational arena... but I try really hard to stay organized at home and at work. It comes easily for some people, but I have to work at it, and usually do a pretty good job for someone who is SO challenged in that way. But lately, I'm embarrassed ALL the time about the really important things I miss or dumb things I do. I don't even want to elaborate. Everyone excuses it, but it doesn't make it better. I don't want an excuse! I want it to stop! To everyone that this has affected.....PLEASE FORGIVE ME! And no one needs to worry.... I've not been doing ANY shifts in ICU lately, and won't until I'm sure this is gone and I have a brain cell back.

This weather we are having in North Texas... makes me want to quit all my jobs and become a professional ourdoorswoman. I would do ANYTHING as long as it is outside. I don't dare say it too loud, because I know Mother Nature will hear me and change things up for us... she doesn't want us to get bored with perfection.

I've been thinking about a few things I miss... there are not many, and of course I know that our Little Curley is WELL worth it, but the weather really makes me thoughtful about all the meaningless things I used to find pleasure in. So, here you go!

1. High mercury fish - of course all my favorite kinds of fish (and I LOVE me some fish) are the bad kind... I can't wait for a big juicy piece of swordfish.... or shark steak.... or tuna steak!

2. Double shot lattes - of course I love Starbucks as they have perfected the latte - hot or iced. But I love any non-fat latte with LOTS of espresso and no nasty syrup or flavors -- except for the holiday flavors at Starbucks... oh how I am missing them already. (A quick shout out to that Baylor University coffee shop - I think it was called Common Grounds? -- great iced beverages -- they used crushed ice, not arbitrarily crushed, but perfectly flaked or shaved or chipped or something -- one of my favorite things about visiting my Baylor friends)

3. REDWINE REDWINE REDWINE - At first I would get jealous if Kevin would drink it in front of me, but now I just grab his glass and stick my nose right in it and give it a goooood looooong sniff.

4. Skiing, roller coasters and trampoline jumping - These are not really every day occurrences for me, but they are things I've always taken for granted that I can just do when I want! Skiing, my favorite hobby/sport, will have to wait til next season... which will make our little girl almost a year old and the PERFECT age to go on her first airplane ride. :) I'll be sure to let you know about our plane reservations so you can AVOID air travel that day. But can you just imagine how cute she will be toddling around in the snow!!!!! Roller coasters - Kevin already causes me enough grief when it comes to this... all the complaining about the bruised knees because his legs are too long to fit in the little cars... and about the whip lash because his head often comes above the head rest. But sometimes he would go with me anyway. Not this year! And trampolines - I just liked knowing that if I saw one, I could jump. My mom is anti-trampoline. Something about not wanting us to break our necks or crack our heads open. And so we were never allowed to have one. I would always take any chance I could get to jump on the trampolines of my friends and cousins who's parents didn't love them as much. And still do.... until this year.

Pregnancy is so restrictive!!

*Be back soon! I have knitting updates! I learned to purl!
(Thanks to Amanda for the correct spelling)

Big Belly Chronicles - Volume 22w

Today I am 22 weeks. Our little girl has had a pretty strict sleep/wake schedule in the womb... but now her new schedule is AWAKE... All the time! She wiggles and moves and flips and turns and kicks and punches ALL DAY LONG! It is fun, but sometimes I truly can't concentrate on what I am trying to do because she is so full of vigor. On our last sonogram this past week, instead of standing straight up bouncing on my bladder, she was upside down with her hands above her head so she could punch it! :) I have decided not to complain about this at all, however distracting. It is a fun signal to us that our little one is healthy.

Last week, this pic was taken at the end of the day after working for 12-ish hours. I was 21 weeks 3 days, and my arms and face certainly look pregnant, but my tummy is pitiful looking isn't it? Kevin keeps saying "when are you going to start looking pregnant?" I have one shirt that really accentuates it... but mostly I just look chubby like in this pic. And I don't know why I'm grinning like an idiot. I felt very self-conscious while having this picture taken! These are the famous garments.... my maternity scrubs. I'd like to say that I'm still as excited about them as I was... but I'm aggravated because they still don't fit yet! I have to pinch up about 2 inches of them and rig them with giant binder clips to keep them form falling down. ( I need some of those giant diaper pins, but I don't have any... safety pins didn't do it) Every time I squat or bend over very far at work, the clips pop open and I have to step out of the room to hitch them up again. A little embarrassing.

To add to the disappointment of not looking "pregnant enough" yet, today I had to say goodbye to some old, fabulous friends.... Donald and Michael just to name a couple. For the last couple of weeks, each time I put on a cute pair of shoes, my knees and ankles feel wobbly and weak and get very sore. So today, after it took Kevin and I 10 minutes to walk from the parking lot to the church due to my fear of falling and breaking my leg or my neck, I decided it was time to give it up. Its been my favorite thing about having a really tall husband. I can wear the highest heels in the store and he still towers above me. But alas, for the next 4 months I guess I'll be wearing flip flops, since that's all I have that aren't REALLY high heels. Here are just a few of my old faithfuls. (Notice the ones I wore this morning to aerate the grass outside the church.)

Farewell for now, but not forever...

Oh what a night...

We are thinking of getting a new desk for our home office so we have been cleaning and organizing the room and filing away all of my "really important stuff" that I keep in lovely piles all over the office for later filing and organizing. (I inherited this trait... my grandpa and my dad were both pilots... and "pile-its" as my mom affectionately calls them) It is a tradition in our home that when we move or paint or re-organize that we order pizza for dinner... so last night we did. Don't worry, the story gets a little better...

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For a few weeks I have been experiencing some pretty severe "round ligament pains" which feels a little bit like someone stabbing me repeatedly in the pelvis with an ice pick. FUN. Apparently these can be a little worse for women who have to stand all day at work, which I often do. So I asked my doctor for some advice and she recommended a lovely support garment that should help with this and so I ordered some online this week. They are made by this awesome company many of you girls know... so I am excited to see how they work. Hang in there... the story will all come together very soon...

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So last night, the pizza delivery guy rings the doorbell and as Kevin bends over to pick up a box that has arrived on our porch, Mr. Pizza gives Kevin a really strange look. Because I told Kevin what I had ordered, he thought nothing of it as he picked it up and put it under his arm in order to take the pizza from the delivery guy, who would no longer make eye contact with him and stuttered a little when Kevin said "Hi there! How are you?"

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When Kevin got in the house with everything, he discovered that the winking, half-dressed girl on the SPANX box might have had something to do with the pizza man treating him like Pervie Perverson! Mr. Pizza's wife probably never had round ligament pains or jiggly thighs, so he didn't realize that SPANX are the greatest invention in the history of women's clothing! He probably just thinks my husband orders pizza and creepy adult products for a Saturday night of wild entertainment. :(
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I asked Kevin to make a creepy pervie face while holding the box so I could take a picture. I am glad to know he can't do this. He looks like he just smelled a dirty diaper.

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Here is what I got though! Power Mamas!! They are bizarre looking, but I can't wait to see if they help. Just as with everything, they seem way too big and weird right now but I'm guessing in a few weeks (or maybe days) I will be filling them out nicely and really appreciating the "pregnancy panel for underbelly support" and the "sheer tummy panel that grows with your belly!"
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I'm 21 weeks today. Two days out of the last 7 I have felt icky and puked. The rest of the time I have felt great (except for the occasional ice pick to the abdomen sensation). I have made quite a bit of progress on my scarf too! I have done a little bit every day this week, and then "watched" SNL while knitting! It will go all the way around my neck now. To top off our wild Saturday night of cleaning, filing, organizing, pizza, Spanx, Saturday Night Live watching and knitting.... at about 2:00 am, Kevin vacuumed the ceiling fan in our bedroom while I dusted and then changed the dusty sheets. Baby girl does not know what kind of a party lifestyle she is in for at the Curley house!

my baby daddy

OCTOBER! I love it so much!! I love October, November and December because of the holiday season. I love January, February and March because of ski season. I love April because it is springtime and not too hot to be outside all day. I LOVE May, because it is my birthday month and I celebrate ALL MONTH LONG. I love June, July and August because I love hot weather (as long as there is a pool or an ocean nearby... I really enjoy laying in the water and doing nothing). And I love September because I LOVE school supplies... especially new pencils, glue and construction paper! So.... I'm pretty happy all year long... but October is always SO exciting to me! (The real secret.... I love Halloween... costumes, candy, parties, pumpkins and I love orange and black! It's hard for an Aggie to wear orange, so I cherish October for giving me an excuse) OK.... enough!

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Today I am 20 weeks, 3 days. Just keeping you all up to date. I thought I would share a few pics of my baby daddy! How do you think he looks? He’s getting better and more confident with his baby holding skills all the time. Kevin may correct me, but I believe Baby Kinley (Keith and Loree’s) was the first baby he had EVER held (since I’ve known him anyway) and that wasn’t all too long ago…. She was born last October. When she was born, we visited our friends in the hospital and he mustered up the courage and took the “hand off” from me. I remember that he looked afraid she might jump right out of her blanket and bite him. When she didn’t… I guess he decided he liked babies after all, so thanks Kinley! Our little Curley Girl thanks you too! See a picture of him holding her for the umpteenth time… He's a pro now! (Forgive the weird psycho looking pic though... he didn't look this scary in real life... they were really having a good time!)

Here is a better one of the two of them!

Look how cute he is with these other baby girls! My how far we have come in a year!

Baby Piper (Billy and Cassie’s), Baby Anna (Amber and Joe’s)…

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For fun I'll throw in a few other baby girls.... Baby Alley, Baby Beans and Baby Laurel. (Alley and Laurel are 2 of my parents' guide dog puppies) I think he’s a natural. Here he is holding his cousin Baby Jaxon (Thomas and Leslie’s) just a couple of weeks ago… He looks pretty good with baby boys too… Can you tell he is starting to ENJOY it? He is going to be such a good dad! Just wanted to pay tribute to Kevin's mad baby-handling skills, in case any of you were worried. I love this man more every minute!!

Knit Picker

When I was growing up I thought a nit picker was just a person who picked everything apart and was a nag and a irritating perfectionist. It wasn't until I was an adult that I even contemplated what the word actually meant! As a nurse I have had the opportunity on more than one occasion to check the heads of my patients or a worried friend's child for signs of head lice or nits (the eggs of the louse). I am a nit picker! (hush your mouth, Kevin) It wasn't until I checked the head of one patient and a head louse actually jumped a foot in the air and almost landed on me that I realized that I had just been lucky so far to never had found any lice or nits and I would NEVER EVER EVER EVER be a school nurse or volunteer to pick nits EVER again!

But... on Saturday I learned to knit! And now I'm now a knit picker! I decided this was appropriate because right now I spend more time picking and pulling at my work that actually knitting... I keep stopping to stretch out my handiwork and thumb through each little stitch to see if it looks like the one before. And I think how just the day before I couldn't knit a stitch and now I have created 4 inches of a scarf! It will take me til Christmas I'm sure, but I'll get it done. It's not perfect but I like to keep my mistakes intact because it reminds me of my progress. So I knit a row and then pull and pick and admire for 10 minutes before starting my next row.

I LOVE learning new things... and did you know that knitters have their own language? I've already learned to cast on, to knit, to slip a stitch as if to knit and to slip a stitch as if to pearl. Some time this week I'm going to learn how to pearl. (I don't know if this is how to spell these things, but it sounded like what they were saying.) So, of course my goal is to be able to knit something for my daughter before she is born. I haven't decided what yet... I need to get my scarf finished first. Also, for me the best way to retain something new that I've learned is to teach it to someone else. I'm trying to convince Kevin to let me teach him to knit. Priceless. ;)

Kevin says this is the perfect new hobby for me because I'm already an old lady at heart. I think this is rude for two reasons. 1. Everyone I know who knits is young and 2. My ONLY other admitted old lady tendency is my love of Luby's cafeteria... But Kevin likes it too! We went on a date there last week.... after 7 pm! There were two people there younger than us and they looked like little girls who were there with there grandparents. I like old ladies, but I really don't think I am one. And I'm pretty willing to admit most of my weirdness.

My sister tried to teach me how to crochet a few years ago, but I never became independent because I never mastered the art of turning. I could continue to crochet in one long single line forever and ever and it was pretty..... but we only had one pet snake, and therefore only needed one snake afghan. The beauty I have found thus far in knitting is that there are no turns! Just one row and then another and another... (There may be some sort of a fancy turn stitch to make something cooler like a sweater or a purse) Of course this might mean that I may only ever make a bunch of scarfs, but I know LOTs of people with necks, so it's ok!

Here is a photo of my scarf so far! YAY!

Comment-Etiquette (Commetiquette?)

Our little Curley girl is moving all around! This is really fun! She seems to even have a sleep/wake schedule already. And when she is awake, she is really going to town! Kevin says he loves the idea that she is so comfortable in there that she just falls asleep and then wakes up and punches her mom in the stomach. :-) It is a wonderful thought.

So, I have a question. When someone leaves a blog comment that is a question or needs a response in some way, what is the most appropriate way to respond? Like on the Curley Fry posting, my friend Loree left a comment asking a very good vocabulary question! Some might say that all comments left on a blog posting are rhetorical and do not require a response. But, I feel bad not replying and ESPECIALLY not answering a question! So...

1. Should I reply back in the comment section of the same posting?


2. Should I reply in a separate posting that everyone will read?


3. Should I reply in the comment section of the current posting on their blog? (What if they don't have a blog?)


4. Should I email the person separately and answer their question or respond to their comment?


5. Should I assume the question or comment is rhetorical or meant only to be funny and just leave it alone?

Until now, I have been practicing #5, but not a true believer in this practice. So for Loree's question, I did #3, but then decided she might be checking back on my blog for an answer so I also did #1. Then I decided to just ask the Curley blog reading world to answer my question. This is not a rhetorical question. Anyone with an opinion, please leave it! Pregnancy has caused me to obsess about things like this, and it also causes upsetting, crying outbursts if I don't get an answer.

Also, my cousin Hey Hey Hay has been asking for pregnancy pics, and she came up with a brilliant idea! I decided to post periodic belly pics of me in my MATERNITY SCRUBS! Brilliant! I love them! It will give me ANOTHER excuse to wear them and appease those who want to see my belly grow! Hayley, you're so smart! We can also see if these scrubs make it all the way to February... the lady at the shop assured me that the stretchy panels on the pants and top could take me ALL THE WAY! If they don't disintegrate from the daily washings first. Stay tuned for the first edition of the Big Belly Chronicles.

Later.

Stretchy Pants

Tomorrow I will be 19 weeks! Baby Curlette will be here before we know it! My mind just swirls thinking about how everything is about to change forever! I can't wait though! I think she will fit in nicely with our little family. Here we are on our way to go fishing. Kevin will soon be WAY out-numbered by females. What will he do? At least we took care of Beans' raging hormones, but if what we've experienced already while I've been carrying this little girl is any indication about our future.... I have a feeling Kevin will soon be calming the hormonal tears and outbursts of not only his wife, but of his precious daughter as well. It is building his character... I'm sure of it. :)

Kevin came home from Bass Pro Shops with a tiny camouflage bib! It is the cutest thing I think I've ever seen! Except for the little red dress I bought for our baby girl... it is perfect! I'm obsessed! I can't think of anything else. In fact I hope none of my bosses read this because I am just going to go ahead and admit that everything at work has taken a seat way in the back, behind all of my daydreaming and talking about my baby girl. I've even written her a letter, and I have dreams about her! Anyone who is sick and tired of me, just walk away... I promise I won't be offended, I probably won't even notice, I'll just keep talking!

A couple of weeks ago I bought my first maternity top. I ordered it online and it came in the mail. Here's a pic, except mine is a plum color. Isn't it cute? I was sure that I was going to be so super cute in it just like this girl? But I put it on and it looks like I'm wearing a purple circus tent! So I decided it was too early and put it in the closet, but then about a week later (early last week), I began to slowly freak out little by little. I couldn't STAND to have anything touching my belly! One day at work I was wearing these big pants (already a size too big and very baggy looking) and by the end of the day after having them hanging below my gut and then trying to pull them up under my chin, I actually had to just unbutton and unzip my pants and just hold them together. So I left that day on a mission to find some pants I could wear without having to use both hands just to keep from shining my hiney all over the place. And what I found was a gift from GOD! MATERNITY SCRUBS! Most of the time I do not have to wear scrubs at work, but some days I do, and I have decided that I may just wear them every single day until I deliver... and maybe home from the hospital and for the rest of my life too! THEY FEEL SOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOD! Why didn't someone tell me? Why doesn't every human being wear these all the time? So from now on whenever you see me, at church or at work or around town or out in the yard or at the symphony.... I'll be wearing these exquisite garments! Remember on "Friends" when Joey wore Phoebe's maternity pants as his "thanksgiving pants?" I have found my very own Thanksgiving pants! I think I might get Kevin some too! We could always use them at the holidays!

Last thing... Many of you know my sister, and those who do might categorize her as one interesting character. I was getting on to her the other day for not answering my quirk off challenge when she said to me "I just don't think I am very quirky... I need some help with it." This is the same sister, who at age 30, had to bury her 20 year old pet snake and decided to fill the loss in her heart and home by buying 6 poison dart tree frogs on the internet.... which were delivered to her by mail. The same sister who has to get 3 different drinks every time she stops at Sonic. (She has a "reasonable" explanation for this, I'll let her explain) The same sister who takes ALL night to open a gift-wrapped box because she doesn't want to tear the paper. ( I know you are all thinking about people you know who do this, but do any of those people STILL HAVE pieces of their favorite wrapping paper from their childhood gifts 20-25 years later?) The same sister who used to chew Extra Gum (Spearmint -- you know the booger-green-colored one?) and each day she would take out her piece of neon green gum and stick it on an index card and then write the date on the card what she did that day.... she had a cabinet full of these, until my mom found them. The same sister who will stop in the middle of the rural highway in the dark to "rescue" a renegade cow standing in the middle of the road. The same sister who has a collection of stolen rocks on the floorboard of her car because they "look cool." The same sister who, when ordering just for herself at Chick-fil-a, asks for 9 packets of honey, and will refuse anything less. I'm just saying... a little self-awareness goes a long way, Les. I could go on all day! So whenever you're ready. Actually several of you people did not answer the challenge..... GET TO WORK!

Our small fry, Curley fry that is

It's a GIRL!

I was NOT happy about being wrong, and less happy about Kevin being right... BUT, so VERY HAPPY about our baby girl!!!! !!!!! !!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!! !!! !!!!! (This is what my brain feels like... !!!!!) I can't believe it. I have never wanted 5 months of my life to go by so quickly before. We are trying to post a clip of our DVD of the little one, but it seems to be highly encrypted or something.... or we just don't know what we're doing... so we may not get to. But she is super active. I told Kevin that I felt her flipping around a couple of times last week, but even I didn't believe myself. The sonographer assured me that I WAS feeling her, she was impressed with her activity level and flippy-ness. Maybe she'll be the star of the 2024 Olympics! Or even earlier if we move to China and destroy all evidence of her real age/birthdate... such as this blog... I probably shouldn't get ahead of myself, because although I liked to flip around as a youngster too (and had a great time in gymnastics when I was little) the actual appearance of all my flipping was actually a whole lot more like flopping.... but with a very dramatic flare at the finish. I'll get you all a clip of this too.... again, I had FUN, and that's what matters in life. I didn't realize at the time that I should have been a little embarrassed. Life is easier that way!

Baby Curlette was standing straight up and sort of bouncing on my bladder... which I have also been feeling! She frustrated the sonographer (the one with a million years of experience) because she wouldn't cooperate for her to easily visualize all the organs, vessels and "parts." I'm betting on stubbornness vs. modesty.... a safe bet considering the gene pool.

We just want her to get here! I don't want to wish this time away.... but I am....... everyone says savor it and enjoy it and take it all in, but I just want to hold that baby girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Most importantly.... her brain, heart, kidneys, stomach, aorta and other major arteries, lips, hands, feet, legs and spine all appear to be perfect. It was the most exhilarating feeling to hear those words and see the perfect little structures. Although I know our baby and our lives will not always be perfect, it surely was nice to hear at this stage. And it was not lost on us that many parents don't get to hear those magical words. For those moments, thanks be to God alone. We were thankful, grateful and humbled in that room yesterday. Our baby girl was created just as each of us with many gifts and "perfect imperfections." We can't wait to see all of hers as she grows up!!

More to come.... You people are going to get sick of me! Oh..... and the crying..... worse than EVER! (like trying to type the paragraph above) I'll elaborate more. I realize that I state things like this all the time... Master of the obvious. Like anyone doesn't think I'll elaborate.... I am the biggest elaborator of them all! But at least I have a little self-awareness. I do know that Kevin, for instance, will not have read this entire entry.... he "scans" because "you just write sooooo much Abby." But, I also know that when he "scans" and sees his name he will go back and read the whole thing and make sure that there is nothing that will shame him more than the stories I've already told about bodily fluids.

Twinkle twinkle in-a-cup!

I’m growing incredibly impatient!! So impatient that on Sunday I just went ahead and did the Drano-pee-test, a mere 2 days before we finally find out the gender of the baby! So impatient that even though the only kind of Drano my grocery store carried was Drano Max GEL, I tried the test out anyway. Kevin tried to convince me that this was in vain, and I guess he was right. What we were looking for, according to the legend of the Drano... was BROWN or GREEN = BOY and RED or ANY OTHER COLOR = GIRL. Based solely on visualizing the specimen (and feeling the outside of the cup) what we created was very similar to warm beer! As you can see, I was exasperated! This is my "I-have-no-make-up-on-and-I'm-tired-and-I-just-can't-wait-any-longer-to-find-out-what-we're-having-and-I'm-exasperated-about-the-outcome-of-this-test-since-I-could-only-find-Drano-Max-Gel" face.

So, what did I do?? I went to visit my good friend Tom Thumb after work today in search of more Drano..... the real deal.... Not the fancy stuff. When I get home, Kevin was wondering why we needed to spend the additional $8 when we were going to find out FOR REAL tomorrow!! Less than 18 hours!! I can't explain it.... but I was compelled.... and again, slightly disappointed. As you can see... as I mixed the substrate and the catalyst (is that right?) we witnessed a slightly more dramatic bubbling.... and a BAD ODOR being emitted from the cup.... but NO color change - again! So either 1. this test is CRAP and doesn't work OR 2. I did the test wrong OR 3. the "any other color" rule means we're having a girl and I have been wrong about boy all along and I already feel like a bad mother. :( (Sad face not related to having a girl.... just to being wrong)

We'll soon know! I hope we have a cooperative, immodest little Curley who doesn't mind showing us his/her goodies this one time.... about 2-ish on Tuesday 9/9. You can be sure we'll show you too!

I've just been informed by my husband of the following information "Babe...no one wants to see your pee! Just like no one wants to hear about your stool softeners." I say.... I'm not forcing ANYONE to read this! And maybe some people do wanna know this stuff! I've decanted more urine in my life than most of you can imagine... pee is just not a big deal, and if I've offended anyone with the pic of my pee... well, you can just join Kevin's team... but I'm warning you, its a team that has less fun in life than my team. :) PLUS, I love science!!

Also -- Miss Refried Jumping Beans Curley had her first taste of Refried Beans yesterday! She LOVES raw green beans and baked beans with brown sugar.... but this was her first taste of her namesake. Its her favorite new food... this is the spoon we save for our special guests!

Stay tuned on Wednesday for the big news! Later!

BEEF baby

Everyone said it would just happen one day! I think it finally has! I started "showing" today. (So fitting that it happened on Labor Day, to remind me that this thing, I mean this baby, is going to get REALLY BIG and my own personal LABOR day will not be parades and snow cones and water sports.) My concern now is that I'm getting excited for nothing, because this new shape to my tummy could very well be due to the TWO prime rib dinners I had this weekend.... or the GIANT piece of chocolate cake, or the wedding cake or the focaccia or the lasagna al forno.... so... we'll have to see how it holds up.

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Today is 16 weeks, 1 day. Maybe you can surmise from the intro that I've been feeling a little better. I hated to blog about it before now, because I didn't want to jinx it. Here's what happened. One night I decided to take my prenatal vitamin early in the evening. (Rather than at bedtime like my doc told me to do.) And about 20/30 min later I was sooooooo siiiiiiiiiick... all evening and the next day as usual. And it occurred to me... early in the process, I had tried several of the different vitamin samples from my doctor and settled on this one for its claim of "stool softening" properties... can't go wrong there right? I mean everyone says this is going to be a BIG problem, so I decided to get a jump on it. Now I suspected this pill was my problem, and the next evening I took a different vitamin, and it has been a world of difference ever since! I have had a couple of moments of nausea, but NOTHING like it had been. I try not to think about the fact that all this misery was ALL because of those stupid vitamins the whole time.... Then one of my close friends at work tells me "I don't know why I didn't think to tell you that! The same thing happened to me!!" :-(

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So all the info says I should be having fewer mood swings now. But if I see that Sarah McLachlan/SPCA commercial one more time with that poor one-eyed, shivering puppy, I'm gonna adopt something! I don't think I've had MANY mood swings lately (ask Kevin for his version of the truth though) but I have to say, at least all the crying now has a point! Although its making everyday life (like listening to music or watching movies or day-dreaming about anything) more difficult, at least I can now say I'm crying about SOMETHING!

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My whole family went to a wedding this weekend. We're at the table with old friends we hardly ever see and the STUPID father daughter dance is all about "I loved her first..." or something ridiculous like that and I'm quietly blubbering to myself with my face semi-covered trying to control it and my mom and sister say "ARE YOU CRYING????" And everyone turns and laughs and pities me and now I'm slightly hysterical and laugh-crying. And my sweet, silly dad comes over and says "I loved you first." AAAAAAAAAH!! Stop it people! Don't you know I'm FRAGILE! I excused myself and re-gained control. I guess I'll be ok, as long as I don't take anything too seriously for the next few months. I shouldn't be in much danger. :-)

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Miss Beans ate a plate on Saturday night while we were at the wedding. It was a paper plate that her dad hastily took outside with her dinner on it. You see, we were running a tad late because I had decided to do some last minute shopping and came home to try something on for him. (ok, so my judgment is seriously impaired by this pregnancy... not my shopping judgment, it is getting better... as evidenced by deciding at 3 pm to drive 30 minutes to a shopping center for an outfit to wear to a wedding in Dallas at 6 pm... and the things I came home with were VERY CUTE... I was efficient and found some GREAT deals -thanks Jennifer- ....but then I came home and asked Kevin to give me HIS opinion?? What's wrong with me?) I would have known simply by the look on his face that he did not approve of my first choice, but he insisted on elaborating about the "HUGE ZEBRA CAPE" I was wearing. Does it surprise you that I did not cry? I didn't! So with my second choice dress on, we're headed to the car and Kevin takes Beans and her dinner outside to Bean Arena (where she stays while we're out). When we got home, she'd eaten all her dinner and the plate too. She'll be fine though... She doesn't look sick to me... I promise everyone, if my baby eats a whole plate, I'll take action. But Beans has eaten much worse.

the quirk off

I guess this is one of the things I signed up for when I decided to become a blogger. I was challenged/tagged by my ooooooold friend Amanda to list 6 quirky things about me (why 6 anyway?)... here goes... BEWARE -- I don't even know what I'm going to say. :)

1. I LOVE the dentist - 2 reasons.... I LOVE the laughing gas... its a good thing I didn't go into dental hygiene, because I would have been fired and had my license stripped from me for sneaking off to get a little hit of gas. Second reason, I LOVE to have that heavy lead apron draped over me when they take x-rays. I wish I had one of those at home... a very safe and secure feeling.

2. I love pus. This usually doesn't help me make friends... I know. But I'm a pimple popping, skin peeling, pus loving freak. It's the most satisfying feeling to squeeze a bunch of nasty purulence from a pimple or boil or even better..... an abscess!! Also peeling a sunburn gives me a similar satisfaction. I think this is actually fairly common, but I love it so much I've managed to revolve my career around it. Remember you should NEVER squeeze one of these things without supervision... call me and I'll be there.

3. I'm fascinated (obsessed at times) with predatory birds. I like to watch them, study about them etc... I think their place in the ecosystem is invaluable (maybe the deep love and respect comes from the fact that they hunt rodents... have I mentioned I hate rodents?). Falcons are my favorite, and I plan on learning the sport of falconry at some point before I die. One time I made the mistake of telling Kevin "I love birds of prey..." You would think you could share your interests with your partner in life. He told all his friends and they laughed at me for days.

4. Nothing gives me bigger creeps than mouse pads. The old kind when the mice had the little ball on it. There is a similar texture to some bicycle seats. iiiggg! Chills up my spine, heebie jeebies... and I don't even have to touch it, just thinking about it is creeeeeeepy enough.

5. I think I'm a criminal deep down, or maybe I was in a past life. :) Or maybe I'm just very impressionable, but a few examples... The movie A Long Kiss Goodnight, left me wishing I were an assassin. Gone in 60 seconds made me want to steal cars. The Sopranos always leaves me dreaming of being in the mafia. There are a few more...

6. If we didn't have bills to pay and I had unlimited funds, I would get one degree after another for the rest of my life. Not advanced degrees, but just so I could truly know a little bit about everything. I know I could do this without college classes, but I LOVED CLASSES! I could sit in a lecture hall,take notes, read and take exams forever! (except in physics or statistics... I see no need for these subjects at all) Many of you may be surprised by my love of classes, especially if we were friends in high school when I especially liked to find other things to do besides go to my classes.... but its true.

So I challenge you to a quirk off... Starting with Brandie, Jessica, Amanda Cox, Loree and since Leslie hasn't replied to Amanda's challenge she is re-tagged.

Excuse me, I have a hairball

First of all… I have an Olympics crush on Phil Dalhousser. How cute is he? He’s like a cross between Ben Affleck and Mr. Clean (two of the hottest hotties!) I’m not usually attracted to the bald-headed male, but, I’d really like to take his slick head right off his skinny thin-beast-of-a-body and slap it on Michael Phelps’ headless torso. I believe we’d have ourselves the sexiest Olympian alive. I’m really sad its all over... 2 years yet for the winter sports... But for a while we’ll still get to see all these summer guys on EVERY day time and late night talk show on TV. Someone be sure to tell me if they hear Phil is going to be on.

Girls… I need to discuss. When you have stray hairs that come out during the hair washing portion of the daily shower, don’t you stick them on the side of the shower so they don’t go down the drain and clog everything up? I know I’m not the only one, in fact just yesterday, I had this discussion with my friend Cassie who says she does the same thing. Unless you have boy-short hair or are having an affair with the roto-rooter man, I know you do this too! But Kevin just doesn’t understand. He thinks its SOOO gross and I am just SOOO gross for doing it. OK, so maybe I occasionally forget to take the hairball with me when I leave the shower and he rubs his shoulder up against in while taking a shower after me…sorry babe… but most of the time I take it and trash it and save him COUNTLESS dollars in Drano costs and plumbing fees. (See I’d rather be plumbing for more on this) He should really be thanking me every time he sees that hairball.

Along with other fun things about being pregnant… my hair is falling out... like I’m molting! I can fill the sink each morning with this hair that is still on my head, but not attached. And, immediately following the filling of the sink (I do pick up the hair out of the sink and and throw away each time so none will go down the drain or go all over the floor) is the daily hair-washing which produces an equally giant but WET version of the sink hairball, on the shower wall. All throughout the day I can be seen running my hands through my hair and coming out with countless strands and handfuls that are no longer connected to their follicles. Then at night I go through the sink filling cycle AGAIN! And what I have just detailed to you is a minimum... sometimes there is MUCH MORE HAIR!! Note that this is a year-round, life-long issue because I have LOTS of hair on my head, but it has multiplied by about 500x. (No... I don't think I'm being dramatic or over-exaggerating)

So, someone please explain to me how all this can happen....at the same time....that EVERY HAIR I have had painstakingly and "permanently" removed over the last few years, with a high powered (did I mention painful?) laser, has begun to grow back!!!

Hair on my head... kind of nice, I'd like to keep it... FALLING OUT!

Hair everywhere else... zillions of dollars spent on permanent laser hair removal.... growing in nicely! Really full and thick! FALL OUT WHY DON'T YOU!!

And the next person who tells me its the just the hormones... I might beat you with a wet hairball!

I need to express something.

Last night, our Baby Beans got into a fight with a opossum. (Typing this word puzzles me… the a/an rule is challenged here, I believe, because you don’t say Oh-Possum which would require the standard “an” but it seems wrong to put “a” in front of a noun that begins with a vowel. Its against the rules! It goes against everything I’ve ever known about the a/an statute. And now I don’t even know which one is right! A or AN?? Someone HELP! The issues we nerds deal with are really very taxing for our psyches.)

Back to the story, Kevin and I took Beans outside last night to prepare for a little ANAL GLAND EXPRESSION. Seems like once a year or so, Beans gets one of those darn things clogged up, and needs a little assistance with her self-expression. Even though my profession has required the occasional digital exam of certain areas and/or the digital removal of certain unmentionable substances, I just can’t bring myself to do this similar procedure on my Baby Beans. She doesn’t understand, and I would just prefer to let the vet (who charges like 15 dollars for this!) go there. But, alas, it always seems necessary in the middle of the night or on the weekend… so DAD gets to do it! I am in charge of holding her booty still while her sweet dad pokes around back there to see what he can express. (We do this because it is stinky and causes her pain if it stays clogged... its not just to have something to do after work) So, we began the preparations, but Beans decided to make one more attempt at self-expression in the side yard. But before any business can commence we see her take off… followed by all kinds of commotion and barking in the corner of the yard that is completely invisible at night. Luckily Kevin brought the flashlight for the aforementioned task at hand, and the beam revealed the NASTY and also extremely angry creature that had now climbed to the top of our fence. Great… the only thing worse than a/an opossum in my yard, is a pissed off opossum in my yard… staring at us from above. There is only ONE thing I hate more than these GIANT RATS… but there is no need for me to go there on this fine day. Another day maybe. So I say... (from inside the screen door where I have retreated with Beans, who apparently whipped that little cuss word without a scratch on her…I’m so proud!) “Do you want me to bring your gun?” Kevin laughs but to my happy surprise says “No I’ll come get it.” I am so excited. I will pay the fine or whatever happens when you shoot something in your backyard in the middle of the city. No cost would be too great. I just want to see the thing in several pieces. But he goes into the garage… NOT where the big guns are kept… and brings in this piddly little pellet gun. What? What is that gonna do? So I say “Umm why don’t you go get your fancy shotgun with the 3 INCH MAGNUMS that excite you so, and blow that rat to pieces?” (I don’t really know what this means AT ALL, but I hear him saying weird crap like this sometimes so I thought it might be appropriate) He’s not listening to me but instead contemplates his wussy choice of gun and says “This thing won’t work… Let’s trap it!!” “Trap my FOOT!!” (or something like that) Then all you have is a pissed off opossum… in a trap… in my backyard!! Get the magnums!! I’ll do it myself!

I think he finally poked it with a stick or something and made it jump the fence into my neighbor’s yard. My hero… What good are all those stupid guns if you aren’t gonna shoot the bad guys with them?

All that adrenaline Miss Beans had after her brawl with the ugly beast must have worked up a hearty enough poop to help her express herself! So… no need to hold her hiney now! We’re all fine, but I was a little nervous to go outside this morning… I am gonna need to start packin heat just to walk in my own backyard! And don't think I wont blow those little tiny opossum brains out! So get on the road, Oh-Possum!

Keep Dreamin

I'm a little melancholy. My very good friend Shannon lost her mother this week and I had my first experience with "making arrangements." Please pray for her as she buries her mother tomorrow. I can't begin to imagine. So this is why its been a few days since I blogged, and why I don't have any knee slappin stories to tell.

But, last night I had my first baby dream. My many preggy friends kept telling me how often they dreamed about pregnancy and their baby… and I haven't had any. I have only had super weird dreams about swinging from light fixtures and such. (No need to elaborate, that’s all there was to it... twice) So I was feeling a little jealous… until this morning. In the dream, Kevin and I had a little boy. The nurse brought him in and he was dressed like a girl, with a white dress-like garment with lace on it. And Kevin wanted to name him Texoma (in the dream…which to me is totally a girl name). I tried it, but I put my foot down and declared “No, the baby’s name is Owen!” After the decision was made, Kevin kept accidentally calling the baby Luke (which is one of the handful of boy names we are actually considering) and I got so frustrated and kicked him out of the grocery store! I proceeded to weigh the baby over and over in one of the hanging produce scales that hung between the hospital beds. I never got a result though… and it wasn’t a weight I was looking for. I wanted the scale to tell me the baby’s real name.

Here is the one from 2 nights before. I went to a tattoo parlor to get my lip pierced, and they missed and pierced my cheek instead. I drove to another tattoo shop to get it fixed and they said I’m sorry the damage is already done, there’s nothing we can do about it! Any dream analysts out there for me?

I have one idea (fear) about the baby dream and that is… I’m either having a mannish baby girl… or a baby boy who will want to dress like a girl. That’s as deep as I can get these days. If its true, I promise to love Little Curley unconditionally. Oh, and apparently I’m obsessed with the Wilson brothers and didn’t even know it! Which one do you think she will look like?