Oy

So, blah blah blah, here's the side view. Geez.

And yes, I can see that it is much more obvious from the side. Please excuse the blurriness of the photo. The hubby had a bit of vino before snapping the picture.

In other news, I did the pendulum pregnancy predictor today and it conclusively says that I'll have three consecutive boys. Y'all should try it and report back. If you dare. It was eerily accurate today with the ladies at work.

From the pregnancy bulletin board at ivillage.com:

- you need a pendulum object, it can be anything heavier that you put on the end of a string. Thread works the best.

- hold it about 1 inch from your LEFT wrist (palm facing up), and wait for it to start moving.

- This is the part most people are mistaken about...It will swing back and forth across your wrist sideways for a BOY.

- and for a GIRL, it will swing up and down your wrist like fingers to elbow (NOT in a circle).

- the circle happens in between children - when the pendulum is "thinking"/changing directions and this will happen in between EVERY child you will have.

***this test will only determine the children you actually give birth to - it does NOT include miscarriages as some might have thought

Four Months

As promised, here is the four month belly photo. It doesn't look like much has changed, but it is more noticeable to both of us here. No touching allowed.

Have a great weekend!

Hump Day

I'm back. And I'm pretty tired. It's amazing how exhausting a train ride is. Well, then there was the standing around looking friendly at the trade show. Very tiring. The show went pretty well while I was there - there are two more days left. The booth people mostly set up the booth this time. Also, lots of little things were "misplaced" when the booth traveled from Chicago to New York. There is always a little scrambling when I get to the show and see what is missing. Ah well. The next show is in November when I'm on maternity leave. Not quite sure who will take care of these things then. Since I'm a bit of a one-woman show. Should be interesting.

Also met up with my lovely sister and her hubby for dinner in Times Square. At Ruby Foo's - which wasn't as much of a tourist trap as we thought it would be. A bit of a strange fusion between Japanese, Thai and Chinese. They had sushi and I had some yummy salmon. It was fun to see them in their work attire - full business suits. My hotel was literally right across the street.

So, now I'm back and it is very, very dark outside - raining and ugly. This should clear up by tomorrow, hopefully. I have a lot of windows by my cubicle and the gray is bringing me down.

Oh yes - I'll be posting the 4 month belly photos on Friday. ;)

Friday

Thank you for all the suggestions. I might have to rig up some sort of electrocution device (that gives an electric shock to the belly rubber and not babycakes). Or spread the word somehow. Or make some t-shirts that say "Hands off". I'll let you know what happens. For now, avoidance is my friend.

I was planning on doing more garden clean-up this weekend, but it is supposed to rain both days. The woman from whom we're renting the house will be here next weekend and I'd like to have most of it done. Not that it is our responsibility, but I want to do my part. And then Monday and Tuesday I'll be in NYC for another tradeshow. It's another one of those quickies for me - swoop in, make sure things are set up, swoop back out. My boss is sick again and we've had to do some shuffling as far as who will actually work the show. I think I called the hotel at least 6 times today - everyone just kept changing the plans. Unfortunately, I probably won't take in too much of the city on Monday night because I'll be alone. And I'm not all that comfortable just wandering around by myself. Another time.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. And since "get knocked up" is off the list, you'll have to get creative. ;)

Hot, Hot Heat

No, not the band. It's supposed to hit about 85 degrees today and then thunderstorm like crazy. And then the rest of the week stay in the 50s. And I have to get more garden clean-up done. Today will be unlikely if it is still that hot when I get home. I was considering wearing capris or something summer-ish until I remembered that the building's air conditioning is set a little wacky and I'm usually freezing. So, it is wool sweater and slacks for me today.

I work upstairs in a fairly open office building. And I've found myself avoiding going downstairs because there are two confirmed belly-rubbers down there. There will most likely be more as people find out and I start showing. I'm not even showing yet and they are reaching out and rubbing my belly! Hello! Personal space! Yuck. I'm not sure how to spread the word not to touch my frickin' belly! I'm open to suggestions. Also, the ladies immediately look at my belly when they see me. Yes, I would probably do that to someone, too, but it is uncomfortable when you are on the receiving end. There is also a woman who wants to prove to everyone that she knows I'm pregnant, so she loudly asks me questions about ultrasounds and appointments and how far along I am. And she can't hear well, so when I try to answer quietly, she yells: WHAT? Hence the avoiding of the downstairs.

Photos

As promised, here is a photo of the fantabulous baby blanket from styro. What you can't really see is that it is the most wonderful (non-gender-specific) shade of pale green. See how happy the hubby is? He loves the baby booty bounty.

It is not without trepidation that I post my three month belly photo. Even though I'm closer to four months now and my belly has more of a bulge, you are just going to have to wait a week or two for the next installment. The hole above my bellybutton is where my belly ring used to reside. We'll see what happens there as the babycakes gets bigger.

More Presents!

And just when it couldn't possibly get any better, I receive a fantastic baby blanket from the super-gorgeous styro! With PANDAS! and it's so soft and lovely. We both swooned a bit when we unwrapped it. I will have to post photos tonight when I get home from work. Thank you, thank you!

This was quite a busy weekend. The new sofa, chair and ottoman were delivered on Saturday. And the hubster hadn't moved the old ones, so they just had to stash the new ones all over the place. Saturday was also yardwork day for me - there are so many leaves to rake and pick up. I got about half of the front yard done before I was sweating my ass off and out of steam. Did I mention that we had gorgeous weather all weekend? Then yesterday, we cleaned and cleaned and organized for a BBQ with my hubby's math buddies. About 1/2 the people showed up who said they were coming. Not cool. Also, the person who said they were going to bring dessert didn't come. So VERY not cool to NOT bring dessert to a pregnant woman's house! She didn't call or anything. The usual suspects did come, we had a great BBQ, lots of good stories were told, and then we played Taboo and a bit of Cranium. Very fun evening.

And now I'm back at work and it feels like the weekend flew by again. Ah well.

Present!

Look what was waiting for me by the front door today!!! A Babycakes CUPCAKE from the fabulous Mia! With sparkly beads and a strawberry on top! My cats were fascinated with the present, as you can see. Thank you!

As mentioned, today was my 14 week OB appointment. Again we heard a very strong heartbeat and my hubby got all flushed with excitement. I will have to wait FOUR more WEEKS for the ultrasound. Ugh. I really wanted to see the baby today. Yes, I know it's early. I've apparently only gained one pound this last month, so I need to keep snacking and munching. Should not be a problem. Everything else was fine. Apparently the barely showing thing is normal for this point in the pregnancy. She said that I should be showing more at the 18 week appointment.

Big hugs and smooches to the lovely Mia! You are the best!!!

Update

So, the very smart hubster actually received two scholarships last night. It was an awards ceremony for the College of Natural Sciences & Mathematics - big auditorium, wine was served (not for me), pretty good meal, lots of people in suits and dresses. My slacks and sweater and jewels worked out just fine. My hubby looked extremely handsome in his sportscoat. I was so overcome with pride in his accomplishments. He is such a good man. His professors were also there and they were just glowing with praise. Pretty good evening. Except for everyone at the table drinking wine and the constant refilling of the wine glasses by the waiters. Bitches.

I received my maternity clothing order from Old Navy last night and I'm very pleased with everything. A few more tank tops - 'cause I love me the wifebeater - denim capris, Bermuda shorts, yoga pants and bootcut jeans. I love the fact that they are all designed to go under the belly, but are not so low cut that my underwear will forever be hanging out.

Today is my next OB appointment. I'm hoping we either do the ultrasound or it is scheduled soon. I'm getting anxious. I'd really like to know if it is a boy or a girl. Also, because I'm not really showing, I'd like to make sure that things are looking okay in there. I'll let you know how it goes.

Scholarship

We are heading to an awards ceremony tonight at which my hubby will receive a scholarship award for receiving the highest grade in his Honors geometry class. The chancelor will be there; they will serve us dinner; we have to dress up. Other awards will be given out as well. The hubster is downplaying this achievement, but this is pretty big. My problem at the moment is that fewer and fewer of my dress-up clothes are fitting me. If he wears a tie and coat, can I get away with nice slacks and sweater? If I dress it up with jewelry? Well, let's hope so, 'cause that's what I'm left with.

Monday

So, we had quite the shopping expedition on Saturday. Using my bonus (after stashing more than 1/2 of it in my savings account), we bought a Weber charcoal grill, a weight bench, some weights, a rake, some gardening gloves and pruning shears, a sofa and a chair with an ottoman. Whew! The sofa and chair will be delivered on Saturday. Now we just need to figure out how to get rid of the behemouth sleeper sofa. It was a lovely day. In the 70s - full sunshine, birds chirping. We bought steak and fish and clams and artichokes and grilled for the first time in a couple of years. Our former apartment wouldn't allow us to grill outside. We let the kitties out for a bit but then had to give Otto a time out when he started wandering down by the street. Around the corner of the house where we couldn't see him. Yes, I know they are cats and they will wander, but we aren't ready to see him hit by a car. Now they are obsessed with going outside so we will need to get the feline leukemia shots before we let them out longer. Too many strange kitties in the neighborhood.

Sunday was another stamp party. It was more a demonstration party - so lots of pressure to buy things. Lots of baby talking. Lots of chocolate-covered strawberries.

It seemed like the weekend flew by.

Weekend

My hubby is sick again. He already had a very low voice, but now it is very, very deep. And he's coughing and miserable. I'm hoping he feels better tomorrow because I'm selfish and actually not sick on a weekend and we have some shopping to do! With my lovely bonus we are going to buy a grill, a rake, maybe some new sofas (you should see the old ones), maybe some more interim pre-maternity clothes since I'm not really showing yet and yet my other pants are not quite fitting too well at the moment. He also needs a haircut - although he probably got that today. I also would like to drag him to see "Sin City" and to Target to test drive some strollers. Whew.

And that's all tomorrow. On Sunday, I'm going to a stamp party. Why I keep going, I don't know. I'm good friends with one of my coworkers and she goes and it's nice to have friends to hang out with outside of work. Plus, the other ladies haven't seen me since I spilled the beans even though I was already knocked up when I did last see them. And they kept talking about babies and when they will be having babies and when would I be having babies? And I just kept my little mouth shut because I hadn't told anyone yet. So there.

I hope you have a lovely weekend.

The O.C.

So, this show is getting a little tiresome. Mostly because I hate Ryan and Marissa getting back together. No chemistry at all. And Ryan really needs a hair cut. Marissa needs to STOP slouching! I wish Lindsey would come back - she and Ryan had chemistry. And what was with Marissa's enormous white shoes? Does she only wear flats? I really hope Kirsten does not have an affair with Carter. Sandy is too nice for her to do that to him. Oh yeah, and if that "yard sale" was a charity event - why did Marissa and Trey get to take home the money from their items? Wouldn't the money go to the charity? And was Trey's rent going to be $8,000 (!!) for first, last and security deposit?

I have officially lost it.

ANTM

First off, a comment on Michelle's "flesh-eating bacteria" on America's Next Top Model. It was really gross and it's still there - but it is actually impetigo. Which, after searching Google, is a contagious bacterial infection that mostly affects little kids (and YIKES on the first "impetigo" search results on Google). How she got it, I don't know. She's on drugs now that should help it go away - but she was still looking pretty bad on yesterday's show. And her photos were hideous - maybe the judges feel bad for her? I still think that Naima is going to win this one.

And, on a separate note, Veronica Mars is getting really good. Not that it wasn't always good, but these last episodes leading to the finale are starting to reveal more about Lily's murder. Now that Keith is helping Veronica, expect more revelations in the next weeks. Also, Duncan is getting crazier. Such a good show.

In other news, it was over 60 degrees yesterday! All the flowers are shooting up out of the ground and the sun was out and there were lots of people walking around in t-shirts and shorts. We walked into town after work and it was lovely. It's supposed to rain either today or tomorrow, but for now it's wonderful. This weekend will entail raking up the autumn leaves and allowing the new flowers their place in the sun. I also have to cut back the peonies as the homeowners did not do this before winter. I read yesterday that I need to wear rubber gloves when working in the yard due to the neighbors kitties possibly using the yard as a litter box. Can't handle the kitty feces when you are pregnant.

Mondays

This weekend was a bit tiring and stressful. The great move everything out of the house was pretty easy for me as I had already done a big part of it on a couple of other weekends. It didn't help that my mom was stressed and worrying about what everyone was throwing away, etc. And the weather was gray and crappy and I am still feeling a bit sick. It really sucks not to be able to breathe. My sister-in-law is one month further along in her pregnancy than I am. And she is really starting to show. It freaked me out a little bit. I was getting used to it not being very obvious. As my sister pointed out - everything is starting to freak me out a bit. The idea that I'm going to start feeling Babycakes move, the idea that my belly is going to start being pretty obvious, etc. Maybe it's just because I'm tired and my defenses are down.

In other news, I received more maternity clothes from my sister - and she was preggers in the Summer as well, so there are lots of t-shirts and light-weight clothes.

Gas Crisis

Great piece by Molly Ivens.

"Ponder this: Next year, the administration will phase out the $2,000 tax credit for buying a hybrid vehicle, which gets over 50 miles per gallon, but will leave in place the $25,000 tax write-off for a Hummer, which gets 10-12 mpg. That's truly crazy, and that's truly what the whole Cheney energy policy is.

According to the Energy Information Administration in the Department of Energy, last year's energy bill (same as this one) would cost taxpayers at least $31 billion, do nothing about the projected over-80 percent increase in America's imports of foreign oil by 2025 and increase gasoline prices."

"ExxonMobil just reported the highest quarterly profit ever, $8.42 billion, by an American company." - HOW does this happen? How are they making such huge profits while we pay out the nose???

And then now this: Oil Price may 'Super Spike' to $105/barrel

No, kids, that is not an April Fool's joke. Currently, oil prices are about $55/barrel.

Weekend

So, after two very beautiful, Spring-like days, it is now going to rain all weekend. I did end up getting sick and it's a bad cold/Sinus infection. And the fact that I can only take Tylenol and Sudafed is killing me. I'm the queen of cold medicine - nasal sprays, Daytime Aleve, Nyquil. Ugh.

We are heading up to my parents' house for my mom's birthday. Also, this is the grand - take-everything-you've-ever-left-here-and-get-rid-of-it weekend. And all four of us kids have stuff stashed at their house. It's going to suck anyway, but the rain is not going to help one bit.

And the Sunday will be an Easter egg hunt with the kids. Yes, a weekend late. They don't care and the hunt is usually pretty fun. Hopefully we can actually do it outside.

I hope you all have a loverly weekend.