In the Saddle

Seriously.

My hair/nails basically stopped growing. It’s weird.

My nails have definitely been stronger and longer for the most part, but they still break when they reach a certain point, which is normal for me. But yeah, my hair, man. It totally didn’t get all the benefits that everyone else supposedly has. Only one really is that I seem to be shedding much less, which is very nice for my shower drain. But I don’t think it looks all pretty and lifelike. To me, it seems dull and boring and kind of listless. There’s just more of it. And I had a lot of it to begin with, so I’m kind of like, yaaaaaawn.

Oh well. Maybe this means I won’t lose as much when I’m done? I look forward to coloring it lighter and giving it some life. And I might just cut bangs. I might just.

Beasties songs fit all occasions…

I had just taken my granola bar out of my purse to eat when I dropped it on the floor (wrapper still on, don’t worry). The following is the course of events that occurred next:

1. I stared down at the fallen bar with sadness. I had just gotten into a comfortable position (complete with pillow and towel roll for lumbar support) and was sad at the thought of ruining that by bending over (also, it’s really hard to bend over with this belly).

2. I moved my chair a little closer to the side of my desk.

3. I used my foot to slide the bar (again, wrapper intact) up the side of my desk and grabbed it from a now-conveniently-bending-unnecessary spot.

4. Beasties’ “Crafty” flew into my head.

I am crafty. Indeed.

The drill, these days…

I haven’t really written in a while…there’s been so much going on it’s insane and I’m also strangely completely inarticulate of late. Oh well. Baby brain. Well, here goes…this is what’s been happenin’ round these parts:

• I’ve reached it. That moment. That stage. As Ousia Bordereaux so wisely put it in Steel Magnolias—I have found it. I am in hell. And hell is the last two months of pregnancy. The good news is…you know that left side pain I’d had in my fourth and fifth months…they one where they checked all sorts of stuff and thought it was trapped gas and all that other interesting stuff? Well, it’s back, in FULL FORCE. And it’s been determined that it’s pain from a nerve in my spine. This, after all of these, “well, maybe it’s this….” makes SO much sense it’s not even funny. And it’s really not funny, because it’s all the time and there’s pretty much nothing I can do about it, short of stretching and sitting up real straight. Thanks, physical therapy! But at least I know the beast for sure now. And it ain’t that serious. So yay.
• The nice thing is, this has kicked me being excited about actually having the baby into high gear. It’s crazy how close it is and how real it is. This baby is coming. This little gal swimming around inside me will be a real person in a matter of weeks! Existing. Outside my body. Bein’ all cute and stuff. It’s insane. And insanely exciting!
• Jessa has become extremely attached to me and it’s really really cute. There have been tons of cuddles and rests on my lap and heads or paws on my belly. Either she’s reminding me of how cute she is so that I don’t forget once another little ball of cute comes into my life, or she’s soaking up her time now because she’s the smartest dog in the world and knows shit’s really gonna change. Awwww…poor little girl. I love her so.
• The place has been on the market and stuff is *fingers crossed* going well right now. That’s all I can really say about that.
• Today marks the month countdown to the beginning of my maternity leave. My last day is March 2. There is so much to do and get done and get settled before that happens…it’s kind of scary. I’m bad at delegating and I am an awful teacher so I’m truly not looking forward to the task of training the temp who will be coming in to do my job while I’m gone. There’s so much about a job that you just know. It’s just intrinsic in your day to day operations. it’s been learned and formulated and time-tested. This has been my job for almost four years. It’ll be hard to let it go for the three months…possibly forever, if I so choose (day care might prove to be more expensive than not having a job at all). And I’ll tell ya, my to-do list is frighteningly long. Sigh. I’ll get it done. I have no choice.
• I hate looking at myself in mirrors now. I hate feeling my legs in my jeans. I hate the way my bottom lip looks bigger and weirdly stretched. I seem to have missed the whole gorgeous hair during pregnancy thing…mine seems way darker than it’s been in years and not so lustrous (on the perk side, my skin is incredibly soft and I’ve barely had to shave my legs at all during this whole thing…interesting). Suffice it to say, I do not feel like myself. Jonny says I have never looked more beautiful and I’m grateful to him and his lies kindness. He’s a good husband. Yes he is. 

One day soon I’ll do a roundup of all of the wonders I’ve discovered about my pregnancy. I’ve bitched more than I’ve expressed its goodness…maybe because it’ll be easier not to miss this time in my life if I’m not looking through my rose-colored glasses. I’m like a child about to leave for college who pushes away her parents because it’s easier than saying goodbye. But I will miss this time. And I am sad that it’s almost over. That I cannot deny.

Anyway…that’s the deal. So much….like somuch stuff going on. And it’s all good….and scary. But good. I will make it through. Yes I will.

omg nooooooo!

As evidenced by poor Librarian Pirate’s posts from the last few days and a FB update I just saw from a friend in Oak Park, it would appear that a stomach virus is making its way east from the western suburbs of Chicago.

And Alison’s terror begins……………….NOW.

Dangerous Games…

I forgot to put on deodorant today.

I’m a little warm.

Shit’s about to get real.

oh my god…

I’m 33 weeks today. When I tell you that I feel like my belly is bigger than everyone else’s I see who’s around my time, I’m totally serious. It could be because I’m a shortie and there’s no where else for it to go but out, or it could be that this kid is coming earlier than March 19. We’ll see though…

For now, check it out. This is me making dinner tonight.

I mean………..

Bribery with treats?

What’s your plan for introducing the baby to Jessa?

Just kidding…our friends gave us some information they had read about it when they had their little boy, so we’ll go through that and heed the advice. As well, I’m going to check out what Cesar Milan says about it (no, seriously) because he knows his shit.

The things I’ve learned thus far are bringing something that the baby was wearing home from the hospital before we bring the baby home so Jess can smell it and become familiar; practice pushing the stroller around while walking Jessa (we have to do this for sure as Jess is a little scared of big roll-y things); train her to not come into the baby’s room unless invited (this will be hard as it used to be Jessa’s room…oops); and just make sure to give her lots of love and attention so she knows she’s still important (this is not something we learned from anywhere, this is just something we will do because…well, because).

We’ll see, though. I already feel awful because she’s definitely responding to the changes around the house already, like my ever expanding belly (there’s getting to be very little room on my lap for her), the fact that we’re constantly keeping the place spotless for showings (I think she gets sad when we vacuum up her hair off the rug), and just the energy in general. Our girl is a bit anxious and is definitely responding. So hopefully she’ll react well to the baby. I just want her to be happy…it breaks my heart to think that she might freak out about it and be sad.

Sigh. Here’s hoping.

Seriously…

Bitches need to stop pissing me off today.