The Queen's Rambles

I never care to look in the mirror or see pictures of myself, but I think I missed the boat. I should have been admiring my beauty all these years! Now? Now I’ve got a face full of black eye bags that don’t seem to quit.

I’ve hit that stage in pregnancy when I wake up at 4 am and am ready for another nap at 7 am. The same thing happened with Erik, but it wasn’t a big deal. School was out, which meant I had no place to be. I could sleep all I wanted.

Obviously that doesn’t work these days. Erik jumped in my bed around 7, ready to go play Candy Land. My god, I am sick of Candy Land and he’s only been obsessed with it for three days.

The first day I didn’t let him cheat because I thought that would be teaching him things that would get him in trouble in the real world. Now it is all about the cheating. He stacks the deck. He looks through the deck. He takes over my turns. He basically does whatever he wants. He happily draws my cards and moves my guy, but he’s only happy if I’m actually sitting in the chair next to him. Why? Why can’t he do all that with me in the other room?

He was sick and whiny yesterday so I kept him out of school. We couldn’t go anywhere, so it was just him and me with no interruptions. I don’t know how I used to be so home bound back in the day. I get really fidgety if we don’t get out and burn off our energy. I did manage to get our Shutterfly books done and I got a pair of snow boots ordered for the boy. It seems so silly to get him boots that he will probably only need a few days, but when you need them you need them. I got a great deal at Lands End and ordered them in red so maybe we can use them with the baby in a few years.

I really wanted to get started on my Christmas cards, but couldn’t manage to get Erik out the door and to a store. Some days it is just not worth the fight. I thought I’d be all old fashioned and actually hand write the addresses and cards. Wouldn’t that be a nice touch.

Ha!

I got through fifteen of them. I have 37 to go. I’m buying labels tomorrow. It’s one thing to do that if there is no other option, but when I can get labels and get the job done in a jiffy? That’s what I’m going to do.

I don’t really trust myself to drive, though. We were coming home from the gym and I totally blew through a red light without even realizing it. The opposing traffic was making u-turns and left turns. I saw what was going on, but the red light didn’t even register in my brain. I hope they don’t have a camera on that light. It is almost always green because it just feeds into a place of employment so cars only come in and out in the morning, at lunch and in the evening.

Someone slap me. I’m feeling comatose. Is it wrong to go to bed at 8:47 pm?

I’m very glad I impulsively bought Erik a pair of snow overalls. I just wish I would have had the same impulse to get him a pair of snow boots. We had about six inches of snow on Saturday, so the boy had a wonderful time doing little boy stuff out in the snow. It was so wet that the sled wouldn’t even go down the hill, so Mike had to hold the handle and run down the hill to make it go. What a good dad.

Today he had better success and even kept his feet warm with a pair of forgotten rain boots. I need to get on the ball and get some snow boots so he can play outside while we are in Sweden. It will be a long week of being cooped up on the farm, I think. We least we get a day to explore Gothenburg.

I dug out a bunch more Christmas stuff today and was thrilled to find enough Christmas cards to last at least two years. Now I just need to get some mailing labels and we can get started on that giant project. I’m really surprised we haven’t gotten any cards yet. I bet a lot of people don’t have our new address (if you are on LJ and want our new address check HERE If you aren’t on LJ, you’ll have to give me a comment. I doubt very many of our family members have the new address, so I guess they just find out once we get our cards sent out. I should have done the “We have a new address!” card thing that fancy people do, but I’m not fancy.

I also pulled out the fabric Christmas bags and was very happy to be able to get some presents under the tree! Those fabric bags are genius! Thank you Mommy/Prof for the idea. I’m going to have to sew a few more since last year’s bags were kind of specifically constructed for those gifts. I can re-use them, but I will also need some to fit this year’s bigger presents.

In the spirit of Christmas, I’ve decided to give my mom a gift. She is super pissed that we aren’t telling the baby name. She made a deal with herself that if she didn’t bug us with a bunch of nonsense names, we would tell her the name. Problem? She didn’t clear this deal with us.

She has been very good and hasn’t told us a single name. With Erik it was a constant onslaught of Coyote, Stetson, Wolf, Zane, Zeke and just other stuff that wasn’t to our taste. It was so irritating that I told her if we ever had another baby I wasn’t even going to tell her if it was a boy or a girl. Since we were able to hold our tongue about Erik’s name so well I think she believed that we’d be able to hold our tongue about the gender. Of course, this was before Facebook when we actually shared our secrets online in a semi-public place.

Since she’s been so good, I’ve decided I’ll give her some clues about the name, then her big Christmas present will be the name. I just wrote a little clue note, listing the top 10 names and telling her it was on the list. Next week I’m going to tell her the initials. I am working on her yearly photo book right now and have included the name in a caption. If she actually reads any of the captions she’ll learn the name. I’m fairly certain she doesn’t read the captions, at least on the first go around.

I don’t know if I will be able to keep the name a secret on here until April, either. I am sort of having second thoughts about the name anyway, so who knows what it will actually be. We were fairly set on David for Erik for awhile until I decided I really disliked the name. I’m a fickle soul.

Fa la la la la! I can’t think of any thing else to write. My mind is too wrapped up in Harry Potter. I’m on book 2 right now and have also been watching the movies this weekend. What a difference in the quality from film 1 to 3! Also, that Twilight dude looks WAY better in these movies. That pale look is just not sexy. And did the giantess just EAT something out of Hagrid’s beard? I’m going to barf!

I think it’s time to wrap this up. The end.

The boy has been on my very last nerve today. He’s not doing anything he doesn’t usually do, but I’m just completely out of patience.

As we were about to leave for preschool I noticed with immense relief that he had all his clothes on, including socks. I had time to go to the bathroom. Big score for the pregnant lady!

But when I walked back out, he was completely naked. Instead of bringing me his clothes, he had to act like a four year old and run away from me until I yelled at him. We were late for school.

At Kohl’s he couldn’t just walk like a normal human being. Oh no. He had to act like a four year old and hide behind every rack of clothes and try to make me find him, until I just walked away. But I couldn’t really walk away because that would be bad. But I wanted to!

Then he couldn’t just look at items and see them as things we don’t need. Oh no. He had to act like a four year old and beg for all the cool toys and not stand still in line.

On the way out the door, he couldn’t just hold my hand. Instead, he had to go up to the lady who was lighting her cigarette and ask her over and over and over again what she was doing. She totally ignored him.

Then he had to run out in front of a car. Thank the lords of Kobol I caught him before he was squashed. It about gave me a heart attack.

As soon as we got home, he stripped again then decided to wallow all over me. I was not in the mood for a stinky little boy to wallow on me. “But Mommy, I just love you and want to cuddle!” How could I say no?

Then he was whipping around the curtains. Instead of instantly obeying me when I told him to stop, he kept doing it until he knocked a glass of water over. Then, like a four year old, he refused to take responsibility. When I asked him if he knew the meaning of stop he could only say “s-t-o-p-p-p-p-p.”

Did I mention he was stinky? It was bath night, and instead of sitting there like a normal person, he had to splash around like a giant frog, soaking my legs. I hate getting wet through my clothes.

I am the biggest grump in the world right now. Good thing he’s cute or I would have locked him in the closet. At one point I told him he was lucky I didn’t lock him up in a dark closet. “But Mommy, none of our closets have locks.”

He knows too much for his own good.

He really is a good boy. I need to get a grip. Hopefully I won’t be so grouchy tomorrow.

Thank you guys for all the congratulations! And all the name speculation. You make me giggle! I better not say anything more about the name or you’ll all know it anyway. I will give you one hint. It is not Wilma. Yabba dabba doo! That narrows it down to nine, for those of you who found the top 10 Swedish names list.

Also, I am very frustrated because our router is not working. I am stealing internet from a neighbor, but I am unable to send out e-mails unless I happen to find a thirty second window when our router is actually working. I want to sream.

I went to Kohl’s today and was VERY VERY VERY tempted to get a little girl dress or three. I restrained myself. I am going to have more hand me downs than I know what to do with. I may as well save my money for things we really need (diapers, anyone?).

My friend said she would give me some refresher knitting lessons, so I think I am going to try to knit a striped cardigan for the baby. I’m thinking lavender and green. I should also think about making this baby a quilt! I don’t even know where to start. I am a little scared to turn myself loose in a quilting store.

Does anyone else find it weird that Elizabeth Mitchell stars in Frequency and the killer is named Jack Shepard? (I think he is the killer. It has been a long time since I’ve watched the movie, but I am playing it right now).

I really should get back to reading my book. Ofenjen has inspired me to do a Harry Potter re-read, so I started that tonight. I was reading a different book, but it didn’t hold my attention. I found myself scraping soap scum off the shower walls with my fingernails instead of reading my book. Disgusting! I’d say that’s a sign that a book is boring me, if ever there was a sign.

Has anyone ever noticed that I bore easily?

Understatement of the year.

I had quite a talk with the mom of Erik’s little preschool girlfriend today. Thank goodness she has three boys! Apparently Erik told the little girl that he has a big pen.is. Oh joy. Does anyone have a sex ed book for 4 year olds? I talked to him today about keeping his penis information private, but he thought I was crazy. Instead of understanding, he wanted to take off his pants and show me that he could “wag his wiener.” Please send help.

We had a little book exchange party this morning and I don’t know what to do. Ok, so that’s not true. I know exactly what to do. I have to be a book censor. Erik ended up with a Garfield book, which would be fine and dandy except it focuses on Garfield being fat. A few months ago Erik started calling me fat. I was not a happy camper. I mostly extinguished the behavior, though he’s tried it out a couple of times since then. I really don’t need this book in my house. I feel sort of guilty, but it is going to have to disappear.

We’re pretty excited! I won’t know what to do with a girl! I’ll be able to shop in the forbidden 2/3 of the baby department. I’ll get pink and minty green and purple and teal! I’ll get to share the joys and sorrows of Anne Shirley, Jo March and all my other favorite friends. (Not that I wouldn’t recommend them to Erik, but I think it is more likely a girl will enjoy them). I might get to enjoy doing a craft or doing something that requires sitting for more than five minutes. There might not be so much running! Always with the running. I get so tired of the running.

We might even have a name picked out. I’ve been sort of thinking of a name, but Mike refused to comment on it one way or another. I said it again today and Mike said “Ok, let’s just name the baby that.” It’s way too soon!

We won’t be sharing the name until the baby is actually here because 1) it is more fun to have a surprise! and 2) I don’t want to hear any criticism.

Anyway, the name is a traditional Swedish name with a totally made up middle name. Mike was telling me that even though it is a traditional Swedish name, it would be very unusual for a girl to have the name. I was quite confused because my friend sent me a link to the most popular Swedish girl names in 2008 and this one is listed in the top 10. We even had to go through my link history to try to find the site since he didn’t believe me.

I didn’t think we were going to get to find out and I was getting a bit agitated. She kept her legs crossed for most of the ultrasound, just barely waving her arms around a little. I remember at the 20 week ultrasound with Erik, he was totally doing somersaults and flips. This girl is already a lot calmer.

Finally at the end she gave up the goods, but the tech was not willing to say it was a girl with any authority. When the doctor came in, she was very sure it was a girl so now I get to start the great boy clothes purge of 2009.

In other news, Erik is really into the Christmas spirit. He’s currently watching A Year Without Santa Claus, one of those old timey stop motion animated movies. He’s mesmerized.

Here’s a picture of our Activity advent calendar, made with nothing more than garland, tape, binder clips and holiday card stock.

We made a craft for Grandma today. I had a plan to make hand print reindeer, but Erik wanted to make her a sock puppet. Using the dirty sock that was currently on his foot. I talked him into making a paper bag puppet and I think he was pleased with the result. My mom will be amused.

*I haven’t written in four whole days! Where was I? Stuffing myself with turkey. I just haven’t been motivated lately. Not sure how to get motivated, either. I guess after near daily posting for eight years I can give myself a little break.

*I am totally exhausted. The vibrant, freaky pregnancy dreams are hitting me hard. Last night was a doozy. I won’t go into details (can anyone say boring?) but the last dream ended with a little old Asian lady trying to have lesbian sex with me. I’ve been disturbed all day. I don’t even know how to have lesbian sex, and if I did it wouldn’t be with an old lady.

*We started decorating for Christmas much earlier than usual. I was shocked by the prices of artificial trees, so made Mike go to Wal-Mart with me really early on Sunday. They were a little cheaper there, so we got a smallish one to fit in our small living room. I wasn’t expecting to put it up this week, but when we got home from Latin Cardio Mike had it all up! Erik and I each had a total melt down over his desire to decorate the tree RIGHT THIS SECOND and my desire to cook dinner before putting the ornaments on. It was probably one of my worst parenting moments in the history of my motherhood.

*Erik has spent hours moving around all the ornaments. I am going to go insane before this holiday season is over. I’ve decided it keeps him quiet and busy so I’m going to let it go. he can keep playing with them right up until Christmas Eve. We’ll do a quick fix before pictures. Other than that, I have to be zen about the whole thing. I keep telling myself that Christmas if for the kids. Let him enjoy it. Why stress out? If I’m bald by Christmas, it’s from pulling my hair out.

*I was really excited to get Erik’s first evaluation from preschool. Then I read it. Bah! There was no information! There was a big printed out thing about what’s normal four year old behavior, then a small note at the bottom saying Erik was fun in class and enjoyed school. That was it. I wanted information! I wanted evaluation! I wanted something so I could gauge what was going on.

*We have our big ultrasound tomorrow. Expect a big announcement about the sex! I really hope the child cooperates. We didn’t have a problem with Erik, but I’m afraid this one will be asleep in a bad position and refuse to wake up. I don’t remember when Erik became Thumper, his fetal name. I just remember him constantly thumping and spinning and shaking and causing a general riot in my innards. I do feel this baby once a couple of times a day, but it is generally a really week feeling and only lasts for a second. The other day I laid down on my right side and learned that the baby is capable of thumping for all its worth, but as soon as I rolled over it quit. I can only hope this means we’ll have a much calmer second child.

The truth comes out! I am too wordy! Who’d have thought? Either that, or no one cares about guessing baby stuff. Anyway, we have the big scan on Tuesday, so I’m going to re-post the link to our baby guessing game one more time.

CLICK HERE

I had a regular appointment this morning and got very scared. It took forever for the doctor to find the heartbeat. You can imagine how long those three minutes must have felt. I do feel some movement on occasion, but nothing like I remember feeling with Erik. In the end, she found the heartbeat way over on my right side, well past my belly. I don’t know how the babe ended up over there, but the heartbeat was plenty strong once located.

That was the most exciting part of my appointment.

Prior to my appointment, things were so exciting that I had to put my book down. I could totally hear the appointment going on in the adjoining exam room. I first noticed the sound of the doppler heartbeat, but didn’t think much of it. A few minutes later I hear the doctor exclaim “You’re dilated to five! You need to go to the hospital right away!”

The lady was not impressed. She had to get ready for Thanksgiving; she didn’t have time to go to the hospital.

This exchange went on for a few minutes, ending with the doctor telling her it was her third child and she would probably have it within 12 hours. I think the lady started to get the idea that she needed to go to the hospital with or without braised turkey drums.

I’m totally exhausted from pie baking. Really, it’s not the pie baking that did me in. It was the constant need for a four year old to “help” and talk and run and jump and spin and did I mention the talking and the helping? By the end of the evening it took every ounce of self control I’ve ever possessed not to snap his little head off. It didn’t help that Mike had to work an odd shift today. It was great to have him home until noon, but he didn’t get home until almost 8. I am generally D-O-N-E at 5, especially on days with no preschool.

I did take a nice gym break, so at least there was that. I did an hour on the elliptical and it about killed me. I felt like I was barely moving, but I couldn’t go any faster. I guess it is a result of the pregnancy, combined with my lack of exercise the last couple of weeks. I’ve only been making it to the gym three times a week instead of six, which kind of sucks. But at least I haven’t gained any weight. I am probably just losing muscle mass.

The front desk lady almost made me cry. She was talking about how Erik has gotten so big and about how he always used to sit on the little couch and read all the letters on one of the big signs. Then she said that she thinks I’m a really patient mother and really great with him. It is probably just the pregnancy hormones, but I thought I was going to cry. It is not often that there is anybody to say things like that, and I always feel like I am on edge with him. She also said that he’s a shining star. How could a mother not well up at that? I, too, think of him as a shining star, but then I think making he’s just glowing because he’s so pale.

I sure wasn’t feeling the patience this evening as he kept grabbing at the pie crust and trying to do the fluting around the edges like I was doing it. I don’t really know the proper way to do it. I know my grandma always just used her thumbs to pinch it, but she never showed me how to do it. She was very jealous of her cooking skills and in later years she was very resentful that I was a better cook than her. I think she was proud in a way, but she was just a bitter person. I miss her, but I am also happy for her. No matter what the end of her life brought–oblivion or heaven–at least she is no longer suffering with herself. She didn’t have many physical problems (for someone her age), but her own mind kept her trapped and miserable.

Isn’t that a cheery thought?

I can’t believe it has been 12 years since I’ve had a Thanksgiving with my family. I’ve spent the last nine Thanksgivings with Mike. That first Thanksgiving together the food was pretty sad! I’ve come a long way in the cooking department since then. Of course, that meal suffered from extenuating circumstances. It’s hard to keep track of the timing of the turkey and mashed potatoes when you keep going to the bedroom to enjoy some good, old fashioned premarital Thanksgiving sex.

There. That was a happier ending for this post.

I finally watched the series finale of the UK Life on Mars. I’d read spoilers about it already, but nothing could have prepared me for the weirdness. I am not meant to be a British television viewer. Their desire for reality or ambiguousness or whatever it is they desire leaves me confused and depressed. I know they think American shows are too happy. I happen to like happy. Give me a fairy tale ending any day of the week. If I want to tune into reality I can flip on the news and hear about the daily onslaught of raped and murdered children. Usually by their own parents.

In other weird news, I’ve got another Erik story for you. What’s new?

He is obsessed with marshmallows. I let him have mini-marshmallows for a snack sometimes, though I fail to see the appeal. Today he had a little bowl of them, and somehow figured out that he could stick one to his skin. He had one hanging on that skin flap between your upper lip and nose for at least an hour, until he took a shower. As soon as I suggested we take pictures of his marshmallow face, he ripped his clothes off and started posing for the camera.

I have pictures.

I do not have pictures that I can share on the internet.

I can’t even crop his face out to show you because he was doing some complicated “break dance” moves that basically had his head between his legs.

Anyway, he wanted to take a shower with me so the marshmallow melted away, but that didn’t stop the madness. As soon as we were done, he had to have another marshmallow stuck to his upper lip.

We went over to a kid place called Romp ‘n Roll and he was happily running around with the stupid thing sticking out. The adults were giving him strange looks and the kids kept asking why he had a marshmallow. We ran into some friends and they were very confused.

He had it on for at least an hour, maybe longer. He was beet red and soaked with sweat, so decided he needed a rest. I use the term lightly. The child doesn’t rest for longer than 30 seconds. Basically, his rest consisted of picking the marshmallow off his lip and eating it.

Handy snack!

In other news, I went to BodyPump for the first time ever on a Tuesday. I’d never seen the teacher before, but she looked really familiar. Eventually I figured out that she looked exactly like Sandra Bullock. It was starting to freak me out. She seriously could be on some sort of impersonator show, except she has a thick Spanish accent. It was disconcerting, but better Sandra Bullock than Keanu Reeves.

Mike did a very good deed this morning. Erik woke up before he left for work, so he took him downstairs, parked him in front of the TV and told him not to bug me. Amazingly, the child stayed there by himself for a full hour. Sounds dangerous! And it was glorious to sleep until 8:30. Usually the child can’t stand to be by himself for more than five minutes, so I’m still surprised he stayed on the couch that long.

The Thanksgiving feast was. . . interesting. I thought Erik’s class was dressed up as a bunch of Princess Leia clones, but if you look closely you can see the hat is actually two turkey drumsticks. Does that mean their head is a giant turkey? I call him turkey head all the time. It has a whole new meaning now.

The kids said a little prayer, sat down and ate and then got really bored. I couldn’t believe how long the kids were expected to just sit there and eat. Finally I got tired of standing so had Erik sit on my lap while I talked to a few of the other moms. I found out why they all look so tired. One mom was expecting her fifth child. Another just had her fourth. I talked to at least six moms and every single one had three or more kids.

Erik was getting really wiggly and we were in a big room so I finally let him off my lap and he went over to the corner and spun around and around and around for a good 20 minutes. I know Erik is high energy, but I couldn’t believe the other kids were able to sit still for forty minutes. That seems excessive for preschoolers. I kept waiting for something fun to happen, but much like the Halloween party, it was totally lame-o. Maybe my expectations are just too high?

On another note, we went to a little MOMS Club event this morning and I got my pottery piece back from that horrible night a few weeks ago. If you remember, the pottery lady was really rude. I thought my piece would turn out fairly horrible, but it was ok except for the giant, running black streaks down my snowman’s face! It is obvious that she dipped it in glaze before all the paint was dry because I sure as hell didn’t hand in a piece that had black dripping all over every thing. I guess I should have picked it up myself because I certainly would have had something to say. It reaffirms my decision not to go back there again. Our group is going back next month and taking the kids(!!!) to make things with their hand prints. I wasn’t planning on going because I don’t want to give that woman my business and I sure as hell don’t want to take Erik into a place full of breakables, but now I won’t even be slightly tempted to go make a keepsake.

Since our event was at the mall, I was able to get Erik some Christmas PJs*! Another thing crossed off my list. Our club is doing a pajama drive for the Great Sprout Tuck In for our fall service project, so we’re having a pajama party and everyone is supposed to bring in new pajamas or books to donate. I was kind of laughing at this project since I pajamas are obviously not a need. I can’t make my kid wear them, but I suppose kids that live in homes without central heat could really use them. I grabbed a few pairs to donate, but now I have to hide them from Erik since they have robots and aliens on them. They are too small for him, but I fear he will want them anyway.

It will be nice to have some cute PJs for our Christmas morning pictures, if I can just get Erik to wear them. He is past the age where I can comfortable take nude pictures of him. Heck, he is past the age where I am comfortable with him running around with his wang hanging out all the time. I tried to make him at least wear underwear this afternoon and he thought it was the most hilarious thing ever. Freak child.

Speaking of the freak child, he had a huge melt down this afternoon because I wouldn’t teach him to breathe under water. I’m such a cruel, cruel mother. Why does he think I have such skills? Finally he calmed down and told me he could breathe under water if he had a swimming helmet on, so he wants me to buy him one. I think he needs to learn to swim before he can start in on the SCUBA lessons.

*I usually get him a pair or two of Hannah Anderson long johns, but none of the designs this year are particularly Swedish. I don’t feel like spending that kind of cash on something that will be worn two times.

I can’t believe I used to sit around being bored all the time. It seems like I barely have time to take a breathe these days. I had three commitments on Friday, plus Erik had preschool! Thankfully Mike took the day off work since a huge project was finally done, so he was able to help me clean the house.

Can I just say how nice it is to have a clean house? I am not a neatnik, but the house hasn’t been really, truly cleaned in weeks and weeks and it was starting to drive me insane. It was disgusting. I am not very methodical and organized when it comes to cleaning. I want everything done immediately, so I flit from task to task, overwhelming myself and not accomplishing much. Mike is a man with a plan. He’s the Energizer Bunny. He goes to work and doesn’t finish until the house is sparkling. Now everything is washed, even the walls, and the piles have been removed. Time for the dirt collection and pile building to start again, but at least it has been brought down to a manageable level.

I can’t believe Thanksgiving is this week! And Christmas is coming fast on it’s heels!

I have most of the gifts bought, but still have a lot to do. I just added another project to my growing list of Things That Must Be Done. I may be insane.

I saw a really cute idea in Family Fun magazine. You take an advent calendar that has little pockets and you put in cards with activities for each day. Examples: Watch a Christmas Movie. Make Cinnamon Ornaments. Read a Christmas Book.

You get the idea.

I want to do this! I think it would be a really great way to make the lead in to Christmas a little more thrilling for Erik, plus it would motivate me to get off my ass every day and do something special with Erik. I have seen all kinds of really simple Christmas craft ideas and keep thinking “We should do that!” but I know myself. It just won’t happen. If I plan this calendar, we’ll have to do something every day. I think it could work. Plus, there are a ton of things we have/want to do anyway like decorate the Christmas tree, send a letter to Santa, send a craft project to Grandma, bake Christmas cookies, drive around and look at Christmas lights, etc. This will just make it a little more organized and exciting.

We made pumpkin cookies this afternoon. Erik has his big preschool Thanksgiving feast tomorrow and I signed up for dessert. My original plan was to make individual pumpkin pies, then I realized that would be a major pain in the ass and not something a four year old will appreciate any more than a cookie. I went all out for the Halloween party and it was actually fairly uncomfortable because I was the only parent who went a little crazy. What can I say? I love making special foods to celebrate the holidays.

It doesn’t help that I am the only first time mom in Erik’s preschool class. There is another woman about my age, but the rest are probably in their 40s. They seem pretty tired and totally over making special memories. I’m sure I’ll be like that with number two, but at the moment I still have the time and energy to go a little overboard. Sort of. Only not this time. Pumpkin cookies for all!

There was plenty of dough left over, so I made a few cookies for the family and then let the child dip up some cookies with the scooper. He was totally into it, but somehow most of the dough ended up in his hair instead of on the baking sheet. Then, of course, he was in a cuddly mood and just wanted to curl up with his head against my cheek. Not exactly my idea of sweetness and light. It was a little clammy.

What else?

My big ultrasound is coming up in eight days! I am not as excited as I should be because this whole pregnancy doesn’t feel real. I don’t even know how I managed to get pregnant (well I know but it doesn’t seem possible according to my calendar). I don’t think I am going to believe it, until I see the baby. Plus, I know exactly how hard a newborn is so it is hard to get really excited about diaper blow-outs, sleep deprivation and screaming. I am not looking forward to the screaming.

Let’s be positive, though! I made a little guessing game for those of you who are interested in baby stuff. You can put in your guesses about sex, time and date over HERE if you are so inclined. My due date is April 20th but I’m having a c-section. They usually do them a week before your due date, so I guess that kind of spoils the date guessing. Of course, I could always go in to labor early. I’ve learned my lesson about thinking I can plan anything when it comes to child birth, but it sure would bee nice to avoid labor and go straight for the c-section. I am terrified of the idea of my previous c-section scar breaking open. It often pulls and tugs, so I just feel like it is not very sturdy.

I better get to sleep. The boy has been sleeping less lately, which makes for a tired momma since I don’t go to bed any earlier.