This Gut's Not Just for Show, You Know

As my first trimester is ending, I am taking an inventory of the process to date. I did the pee on a stick thing, and the initial excitement, then I did the bloating and the indigestion. I accomplished great feats of nausea and misery. I tried hot foods, I tried cool foods, I tried carbonated beverages, and even one bitty sip of beer (yum). My clothes got tight. And then my clothes got tighter. My boobs got bigger. And then bigger. And then a bit bigger. My fat started to accumulate anywhere it could - my stomach, my thighs, my face, and a little more on my thighs. And, my stomach now looks like it belongs to someone who is just a pathetic overweight person who doesn't exercise and has three cats and no man.

I'm ready to move on and find a way to enjoy the rest of this pregnancy, which is most different from my first not in how I feel, but in my perspective about how I feel. This time around life is just so much more matter-of-fact, and this pregnancy feels like more of an inconvenience than some blessed damn miracle. It's like ordering something online. I ordered the damn sweater a week ago, why isn't it here yet? I have a spot cleared in my drawer for the sweater and the anticipation of it's arrival has lost all luster, just deliver it already.

You Can Lead a Horse to Water, But You Can't Make Him Drink

That about sums up our potty-training work. Elliot will tell us he has "doo doo" and will ask for his potty chair. So we run to the potty and get him on, where he sits for about 2 seconds and then says "all done" and gets up. Then he won't sit back down (after all, he's all done in his mind). What is frustrating is the fact that he has never put so much as a drip of pee (or anything else) into that potty. I am happy that he is willing to go to it, knows it by name, and can somewhat identify an urge to go (or he just likes saying the words"doo doo" and "poop" and gets a kick out of the potty-run process). However, I look forward to the day when he actually goes on it. Oh well, I suppose he won't be wearing diapers to take his SATs so I should just chill out.

In other news, I am FINALLY starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel as my first trimester draws to a close. Now I look forward to getting a belly so that (1) my maternity clothes stop looking so stupid and (2) people know I am pregnant not just a giant pig when I inhale a huge meal.

growing, changing

how did my little girl get to be a big girl?
no, she is not yet potty trained (and she says a BIG FAT NO NO NO whenever i ask her if she wants to sit on the potty), but she absolutely refuses to sit in her booster seat or a restaurant high chair anymore.
this is only mildly problematic. besides the obvious safety issue and keeping her in her seat during meals, it is extremely amusing watching her try to eat.
she is tiny. teeny tiny. at almost 2 years old, she is still 21 pounds. 3rd percentile for height. a little peanut. she is too short to sit in the chair and still be able to see (let alone reach and eat) her food. BUT- she demands it. she put up such a fight this past weekend about the stupid booster that we just put it away and gave in.
tonight, as she reached up to the table with her spoon in hand, digging into her bowl of chili like a true texan, she proved to me that no matter how small, she really is becoming a big girl. miracle of miracles, all that chili ended up IN her mouth and not on her clothes, on her chair, on the floor, or in the dog's mouth. and when she finished up with her portion, she simply got off her chair, walked to the other side of the table to levi's chair, climbed on up, sat down, and started in on his bowl of chili which he refused to even taste.

Winter Funk

Is this a winter funk or my pregnancy hormones? I normally go through a winter doldrum period every year and it's usually right after the first of the year. I'm staring down the long, frigid month of January, the calendar usually seems to have an extra week (or two) every January. The month will last forever and spring will never come. This year has been a bit different. I actually was energized after the holidays, looking forward to finally feeling good and getting some items marked off my baby to-do list. I was excited about the 20 week ultrasound mid-month (everything was great, by the way!!) and feeling good about where I was in life. That was January 10th. Then I spent the next few weeks dealing with a car accident (again, everything about me and the baby was okay) but the paperwork, red tape and car nightmares kept me occupied for that dreary, depressing month of January. Long awaited February has finally arrived!!!! Full blown snowstorm and wintry mix along with it. This is NOT what I expect from February, it's my birthday month after all!!! So, now that February has rolled in, I'm finally hitting my 'winter funk'. I'm still without my car (brand new at the time, mind you), it's bitterly cold with no end in sight and I'm really climbing walls for spring to arrive. Oh, and did I mention that snowstorm? So here I am, less than excited about the days ahead and wanting nothing more than to hibernate the next 2 months away. I'm left trying to decide if this is an extra bad case of the doldrums or if it's the usual winter funk, magnified by these so called 'pregnancy hormones'. I'll let you know once the snow starts to melt. Happy February....