wish us luck...

Fact #1: My baby is terrified of people blowing their noses.

Fact #2: I have a full-blown cold.

hot coffee

i am SO making this! (the make-it-from-an-old-sweater version, not the actual knitting one. now to find the perfect buttons...)

i think i will adapt it slightly to have two knitted layers with a reflective layer between them, for maximum toastiness. not that any of this matters, because i put so much half-n-half in my coffee that it's basically cold anyway.

The Loyal Friend

i'm such a dork for doing these test things, but i can't help myself.

Others see you as sensible, cautious, careful & practical. They see you as clever, gifted, or talented, but modest. Not a person who makes friends too quickly or easily, but someone who's extremely loyal to friends you do make and who expects the same loyalty in return. Those who really get to know you realize it takes a lot to shake your trust in your friends, but equally that it takes you a long time to get over if that trust is ever broken.

phad thai/pad thai/phad Thai/pad Thai*

i made this tasty goodness the other day. her directions produce a surprisingly taste-accurate dish (even without the palm sugar). although i still cannot STAND the smell of fish sauce or the taste of tamarind, the combined flavors/smells really works out nicely.

now i just need to perfect my rice noodle prep.

*tip of the day: all four spellings are correct.

i ate cabbage for the 1st time in 10 months.

things i have done in the past week that i have not done in 2+ months:

-did a whole shopping at the grocery store, in person. AND carried the groceries and the baby home on the train.

-walked four miles.

-had a cinnamon twist from madrona hill cafe (they're the best in the world!).

-operated a motor vehicle. and the baby LIKES my driving,* so there.

-cooked a full meal. several, actually. for guests even.

-mopped all the floors in my house. and eewwww. it took 4 buckets of water... and our place is only 4 rooms.

-slept whole nights without having to use the restroom.

-wrote to my grandma (she turned 74 this week).


*my driving has been called "leadfooted" by my husband, "a little too wild" by my dad, and "very destination-oriented" by ridley--formerly of "Wanton and Forlorn".

dim sum

so mysterious, yet so delicious.

pregnancy myths

i just talked to the SEVENTH woman i know who is expecting in october. rather unbelievable, especially considering that one of the women was infertile for almost 8 years (and just adopted a baby 4 months ago), another for three years, another woman has had as many miscarriages as she has living children, another has had twice as many as living children, and this woman nearly lost her only other child to a brain disease that affects just 5 in a million children. wow, i guess i make it look easy.

anyways, while the experience is still fresh in my mind, i thought i'd share some lovely tidbits.

myth #1: you'll get morning sickness no matter what.
tiredness may not be avoidable, but the effects of morning sickness can be reduced. there's a theory that morning sickness is actually detoxification. after a year of observing others habits and symptoms, i think i agree. it does, indeed, seem that the more preservatives, pesticides, and stimulants one consumes (or has consumed in the months preceding pregnancy), the more toxins their body needs to expel...in the oh-so-lovely ways that nature has provided.

myth #2: cocoa butter prevents stretch marks.
every conversation i have on this topic includes a) a statement that IT DOES work, b) a proposal that the individual would have had MANY MORE stretch marks, had they not used cocoa butter, and c) an exhibition of HOW FEW stretch marks they do have, thanks to cocoa butter. i would like to propose an alternate theory: cocoa butter CAUSES stretch marks. so there. my scientific basis for this theory? everyone i know used cocoa butter and got stretch marks, while i avoided cocoa butter for 9 months and...drumroll...NO stretch marks. QED.

myth #3: nine months up and 9 months down.
this refers to the idea that it takes you 9 months to get up to your full-term weight, so you expect it to take 9 months to return to your "normal" weight. i guess this is more true in subsequent pregnancies, but--never fear--for 1st pregnancies it can be just "two weeks down." this does not mean, however that your normal jeans will fit after 14 days. you will have what wavelet has dubbed "the pouch" until at least the 2nd month. also, your hips take their sweet time moving back into place... or kinda-sorta-close-to their old place.

myth #4: you have to watch what eat so that you only consume an extra 500 calories a day. oh, and continue to exercise daily.
ok, so i can't drink, i can't run because my hips are too wobbly, i can't drive b/c my pregnancy brain doesn't allow me to perform functions more complicated than tying my own shoes, i can't go on any vacation that involves an airplane, i don't fit into my favorite jeans, my love life is forever altered, and now you're telling me that i can only console myself with an extra apple and cup of yogurt a day--after swimming laps for 30 minutes?!?! screw that! i assure you that i ate WHATEVER i so desired (whether that was carrot sticks or a bag of Cheetos... yes, the whole bag) and stayed within the recommended weight gain bracket. carpe diem.

myth #5: perfect strangers will have their hands all over you.
i don't know where these people live, but i never had my belly fondled by fellow supermarket shoppers, or anyone else for that matter. most people ignored it, a small percentage would inquire about the sex (of the baby, *snort*) and the name, and a few just congratulated us.

pluses:
shopping for cute baby things
positive attention from every female you encounter for 9 months
the linea negra--cool, unique, less permanent than a tattoo
playing little games with the "inside" baby
eating as much as you want, whenever
they make tie-dye maternity shirts, score!
hello, you get a sweet, innocent, perfect baby at the end

minuses:
not as many as i expected
couldn't be in the same room as broccoli or cabbage for 9months (c'mon is that really a minus?)
tired, tired, tired, all the time
pregnancy brain... worse than buzzed-after-2-all-nighters brain. much worse. like, "phone number? what's that?"
worrying that my occasional half-glass of wine would cause us to have a deformed baby
cankles (but only for the last couple weeks)
the baby always has to hiccup ON your bladder
having to use the toilet in the night... again,andagain,andagain,andagain. and again.

disclaimer: every one's pregnancies are different, and i hear that subsequent pregnancies each vary from one another. so take my "wisdom" with a grain of salt, no matter how authoritative i may sound, because next time i might put on 50 lbs and have stretch marks from my knees to my neck.

my baby is the coolest

our kid is so awesome.

his favorite hobbies include books and snowboards (ok, he just stares at them, but whatever), praying to his patron, st. mark (ok, cooing b/c his icon is the only thing hanging by the changing counter), listening to live banjo and guitar music (aka the impromptu concerts his dad puts on to entertain him while i steal a quick shower), warm baths in our clawfoot tub (i've wanted one of those for 25 years, but he got his 1st one at age 1 month), coffeehouse nw (world's best lattes... but he just likes the big windows), and staring at the moving ceiling fan (hopefully he outgrows this one).

me: honey? i miiiight have bought the baby a hat... yes, a tenth hat.

back in the swing...

i went to mass today, walked 4 miles (to and from the coolest kids resale shop around, with a stop at a "travel caffe"), then did so many dishes that i had to stop and let a rack-full dry before i could put them away and do more. i don't believe in drying dishes, since god invented evaporation to do that job.

my feet are killing me and the baby is exhausted. oh yeah, i had the now-12-lb. baby in a carrier that whole time. however carrying a 12 lb. baby is still less than the 30 lbs. (the formerly-9-lb. baby that was inside, plus 21 lbs. of other fluid and paraphernalia) that i WAS carrying around until last month. my incision kinda hurts, though, so hopefully i don't have a massive hemorrhage in the night-- sorry for being so grim.