For my future reference, I marinaded chicken in Lawry’s sesame ginger marinade. I fried it up with sugar snap peas, thin sliced carrots, green onions, pineapple and red bell pepper. Toward the end I threw in a peanut butter mixture that included peanut butter, white wine vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, grated ginger and cayenne pepper. I served it all over rice and had crunchy Chinese noodles available. This was quite a triumph for me because I never serve Asian food.<\/p>\n
The Bad:<\/p>\n
I had an annoying OB appointment today. I’m with a large practice and have mostly been seen by two different doctors that I really like. Today was only the second time I saw Dr. X. I wasn’t too impressed with her last time either, but what can you do? Other than say “Sorry, but make my appointment with someone else?” Which I will do if it comes down to it.<\/p>\n
It’s no secret that I’m a big lady and don’t need to gain a lot of weight with pregnancy. I have plenty of fat reserved just for my little alien invader sweet-ums.<\/p>\n
Last week my weight gain was way up (six pounds in a week! But my feet were very swollen.) This week I’d lost two pounds. With this week’s weight check, I’ve gained 10 pounds with this pregnancy, though I feel fatter than ever since I’ve lost all my muscle tone.<\/p>\n
So the doctor says “I can tell you have radical lifestyle changes week to week and this is not what I like to see. These weight fluctuations make no sense.”<\/p>\n
Ok. Talk to me about the weight fluctuations, but don’t talk about “radical lifestyle changes.” I don’t even know what that means! Was she accusing me of being a drug addict? That’s all I can picture when I hear “radical lifestyle changes.” Maybe I’m a wee bit sensitive. <\/p>\n
I did tell her that I quit going to the gym about three weeks ago, but she didn’t seem to think that mattered. I forgot that I was really swollen last week or I would have mentioned that. Instead, I said “Well, I guess I’ve been eating a lot of Cadbury Creme Eggs.” Does that really count as a radical lifestyle change? I’ve only gained ten pounds! We are not talking huge fluctuations! Most people’s weight can vary by as much as four or five pounds throughout the day. Combine that with different clothing and you’ve got an explanation.<\/p>\n
Now she wants me to go in for ultrasounds twice a week until my c-section to check on the baby and on fluid levels. I realize this would make a normal pregnant lady happy (get to see the baby! Make sure everything is ok!) but I guess I am just not in the worry state of mind like I was with Erik. At the last u\/s all we could see was the spine and the back of her head. Not very exciting stuff.<\/p>\n
The main two problems: timing and the office. The u\/s machine is in the “big city” office. It’s crowded, cramped, stuffy and staffed by a whole slew of cranky-pants people. Last time I was there we had to wait over an hour to be seen. I should just drop Erik off at the sitter, but my appointment is at 2:50 and he has swimming at 4. If we get very, very lucky we can run out of the appointment and go straight to the pool. I doubt I would have time to drop by the sitter and pick him up. <\/p>\n
Also, what if they decide I need to have the baby right then? Of course if they decided that it would be an emergency situation and I would be glad to have it taken care of safely instead of risking a stillbirth, but my brain is not accustomed to the idea of her coming that early. My mom won’t be here until Saturday, so childcare will be a stretch. I have it handled, but not in the most ideal way. My friend’s husband is out of town all week so I’d really hate to have to burden her with Erik in addition to her own two kids. Erik and her son always want to play together, but they have a major problem playing nicely together.<\/p>\n
I’m just a wee bit stressed by the situation.<\/p>\n
The Ugly:<\/p>\n
![\"Charity](\"http:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4016\/4477466083_1f31304df1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/center><\/p>\nIt doesn’t look so bad in the picture, but I’m not impressed with it close-up. There are several things that make me frown, but I am trying not to point them all out. My best advice to other people is to just sit back and enjoy praise, don’t nit-pick your work and point out all the flaws. Very hard to do! I want people to know that I know it is not the best thing since sliced bread so they won’t have to make fun of me behind my back. I believe this is something that comes from my grandma. My poor, socially awkward, always pessimistic grandma. It was weird not to hear from her on my birthday. <\/p>\n