End of March (Oh, right, it's Easter) Photo Dump

It's been a fairly uneventful weekend. The usual - cleaning, cooking, yard work, me taking a nap at 6 in the afternoon, etc. Spartacus has been relatively quiet this weekend, though my dreams have continued to wake me up in a not-so-good mood. I completely blame him for this, of course. For example, around 7:00 this morning, I was dreaming that I was at a conference where a full-breakfast buffet was being set out - waffles, biscuits, omelettes, the whole deal - and I was getting REALLY excited. But, of course, as I was standing up to go to said buffet, I woke up because I had to pee. Again. So thanks, Mr. Baby, I hope you're happy.

Yes, my life is TOUGH.

So instead of making up another no doubt fascinating story, I'm giving all of my loyal readers a photo dump. Enjoy.

Maya's exploration outside on Saturday. Yes, she has a leash/harness. No, we do not take her for walks around the neighborhood with it. We're not THAT weird. Yet.

Spazzing out, as usual.

Maya doing her "tough guy" routine. I've never seen a cat make such weird expressions and noises as she does when she's "hunting" something (or someone) outside the window.

Christopher's favorite hang-out for her. Right on top of his freshly-laundered and folded clothes. That shelf used to be orderly. Though she does look a little bit gangster here.

After a late night last night at a friend's going away party (late for me is now 11 or 12, and we didn't get back until almost 1 - horrors of horrors!!!), Christopher braved the drizzle to plant new flowers.

I had the good fortune of blowing out my front tire en route to the office on Friday. Fortunately, the rim wasn't totalled. Less fortunately, the tire isn't fixable, so there goes $200-300!! As my coworker said when I got to the office, I used "woman logic" (100% in jest, truly) when I drove on said busted tire the last mile or so to the office.

Since we will be starting the addition soon (hopefully in the next 1-2 weeks), I thought it prudent to have some record of what it looked like pre-construction. To remind myself that it will eventually look whole again when I'm ready to strangle the construction workers around 37 weeks.

Side view. And Christopher's beloved.

Living room as is now.

Kitchen as is now (with piles of my shite and Maya marring what is otherwise a very clean room, I promise).

And, as always, a picture of my growing belly. As Dad so kindly put it, he'll need an extra-wide car seat to transport me anywhere. But this was post-run (to Brooklyn Bagels and back, but still).

Spring is here! I call bullshit.

It is now Thursday, March 28, and, though spring officially "arrived" last week, Mother Nature is doing her usual piss poor job of adhering to seasonal temperature control. As evidenced by the following photos, we had a rather late show of winter weather last weekend/early this week. This is the most snow we've gotten this year, really, which meant, of course, that people were freaking out. But I gallantly braved the blizzard to get my butt to work on Monday (ok, Christopher drove me, but I DID have to take the bus home that evening). Anyway, these pictures aren't too bad for a Blackberry (I shudder to even imagine exactly how antique a Blackberry will be by the time wee man reads this).

Yee olde Safeway parking lot

Just around the corner from us

Christopher showing his Celtic pride

Other than the snow, a few notable events have happened. First and foremost, aforementioned wee man has starting kicking. Or maybe punching. Or perhaps, as my ever-so-clever father speculates, running on a treadmill. Regardless, he's here with a vengeance. I wasn't sure what to expect with the whole "baby kicking" phenomenon, but it's actually pretty cool. I'm right around 22 weeks now, so I can only imagine how much stronger he'll get over the next 3 months or so.

We've started thinking about names, too. Nothing has been decided upon, but Christopher was decisively kicked off the decision-making-committee last night when his "best" contributions were Spartacus and Brutus. Keep laughing, there, pretty boy, cause that committee is now a party of one!


In other news, I was in Dallas last week for a conference (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). My flight there was a typical American Airlines tragedy. Spartacus Barnabas, take note: if I EVER put you on an American flight, you have done something very wrong and are probably going to be grounded. Because it is the absolute worst airline. Ever.

The conference itself was quite nice, though downtown Dallas left a little to be desired. Not surprising to anyone from middle America - the downtown districts in a lot of those cities - Kansas City, Denver (though these two have both made huge strides in recent years), St. Louis, etc. - are really all business and nothing else. BUT my hotel room bathroom had a tv in the mirror and, because I am the mental equivalent of 13, this was plenty entertaining for me.

The half-marathon pick-up was also at the convention center, taunting me. Unfortunately, me trying to run 13.1 miles at this point would be an exercise in self-humiliation.

No, I did not take this picture. This one makes Dallas look not so depressing. That huge ball in the center was basically right outside my hotel room window. Thank god for night shades.

So in addition to narrowing down the list of potential names, there are a number of other decisions that need to be made and for which I'm realizing I don't have as much time as I thought. Such as: childcare, type of birth, how long I want to stay home from work after the birth, how exactly we're going to budget everything so we don't end up living under a bridge, whether I want a grilled cheese or macaroni and cheese for dinner tonight....and the list goes on. But, as the poster reminds me, it's all about perspective :).

Lazy Sunday Interspersed with a Wendy's Run

 

Well, I promised another blog posting this weekend and, to the utter delight, I'm sure, of my many loyal readers, I'm making good on this promise. I've only got 5 posts so far, but I do have to say that I'm surprising myself. And I must tip my hat to Matthew, as updating this blog is inspiring (i.e. forcing) me to take more pictures, which I'm sure I will be VERY grateful for in 20 years when Christopher's well into his senile 90's and I'm slowly losing my acerbic wit.

Anyway, it hasn't been too exciting as weekends go, but after a long week at work for both of us, I think that was needed. I didn't get out of bed until 9:00 this Sunday morning (gasp!!!).

But a few updates:

We met with our contractor, Ryan, again yesterday morning. If I didn't mention this before, we have decided to build up on the existing house rather than move to a new house. A daunting project, to be sure, but as my normally-reserved-in-optimism mother reminded me today, it's also an exciting project. So. He is planning to start work by around the 2nd week of April and finish it up by mid- to late-June. This is all assuming everything goes according to plan, a massive assumption. Regardless, things are moving forward, which is good news for us. I'll post before- and during-pictures of the construction (or maybe I'll pull Christopher in for a one-time contribution, as he's the house picture dork).

In other news, I'm looking forward to testing what special treatment I can eek out of the TSA this week, as I'm heading to Dallas for a conference on Wednesday. Do pregnant women actually receive a modicrum of respect when flying? Time will tell.

A few pictures from this weekend:

This one is for you, Dad. The "brain-damaged" Maya showing her war wounds and playing with some hand-me-downs.

Both the cat and my stomach getting increasingly larger. And no, I'm not carrying triplets. And yes, I am still working out. And yet, that is my stomach at 21 weeks. Yikes.

 

Just to prove that I am TRYING to be as prepared as possible. And yes, these books have been touched.

A small appetizer lay-out from having some friends over Saturday night. I have toned it down considerably. Less food, paper plates. I'm slowly learning to reign it in a bit!

For Future Georgetown Grads

This week has absolutely flown by, so I apologize (for anyone who has noticed) for the lack of scintillating posts. We've both been very busy at work - Christopher more so than me - and I've started feeling pretty dizzy a fair amount of the time, so my energy's been pretty low at night, but it is my mission to take a bunch of pictures this weekend. But for now, one picture of Maya will have to suffice. Given that Mom and Dad took roughly 100 pictures of me during my first 6 months or so, then apparently forgot how to USE a camera for the next 17 years, Maya doesn't stand a chance of making it into many posts once Herbert is born.

Also, I had to post this for the enjoyment of my brother, who bleeds Hoya blue more than anyone I know (if that pool is limited to, well, him): http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/secret-society-is-again-at-center-of-an-uproar-on-georgetown-u-campus/2013/03/14/fb86fea8-8738-11e2-98a3-b3db6b9ac586_story.html?tid=pm_local_pop

Something to look forward to, Nathan, Olivia, and Herbert!

More later this weekend, but for now, it's almost 6:30 on a Friday and I'm still at the office. Something's not right with this picture...

A photo dump (already), and Sunday updates

As I get ready to go to the gym with my fat arse, I thought I'd upload a few "newer" photos from 2013 so far. I'm notoriously bad at 1) taking pictures, and 2) uploading the few pictures I do take before the next calendar year. They are nothing exciting (you'll notice the frequent presence of Maya, but hey, she's my practice child for now...definitely as much of a pain in the ass as any human), but there are two pictures of me and my preggo stomach. The first is from about 1 month ago, I think, and the second is from yesterday. I'm not waddling yet, but I'm not exactly a rail these days. But, as Matthew reminded me, while I don't need to go Jessica Simpson on everyone (Mom and Dad - she gained roughly 75-80 pounds while pregnant with her first child), it is as good/legitimate a time to indulge a bit as any!

Speaking of which, I had a massive craving for fritos the other day, which may need to be satisfied today. Oh the gripping life I do lead...otherwise, I've had two quite disturbing, very long and detailed dreams the last few nights. Christopher's favorite aspect of hearing about these dreams, aside from the fact that I cannot coherently describe them to save my life, is that he generally is doing something aggregious in every dream. For example, last night's dream ended (before I was woken by a cat to the face) with him not willing to share a very delicious-looking cookie with me. Bastard.

I had two doctor's appointments this week, and at the first one I got to see the baby again. It was the first afternoon sonogram I've had, and I noticed that he was definitely far more subdued during the afternoon than he'd been in the previous two, both of which were morning appointments. So far, this baby takes after his grandpa. All looks good - they're watching his heart just to be on the safe side, but he's developing quite nicely. I THINK I've started feeling him move, but it's hard to know if it's legitimate movement or just indigestion from the many pounds of beans I'm generally shovelling down my gullet as a vegetarian pregnant chic.

So, to wrap up, we picked Maya up from getting spayed and chipped yesterday, so there are some pictures attached documenting this fun life activity. Poor thing has been trying to get on with her normal routine, but the bonnet she has to wear means she ends up just running into walls a lot.

No more doc's appointments this week, but I'm hoping to convince Christopher and the girls to go for a nature walk/hike today, so hopefully I'll have some photos of that soon :).

 

"Snowquester" 2013. As disappointing as its namesake.

For anyone reading this who is familiar with the weather patterns of DC (or weathermen patterns, more accurately), we are ALL about the hype and bluster of big storms, but rarely do those forecast amount to a fraction of the damage "promised". Hence today, "Snowquester". The picture below is pretty illustrative of the entire region. Wetness, slush, and misery. But no snow accumulation, or even ice, for that matter.

Now, as anyone familiar with these patterns ALSO knows, people in this area tend to treat every "storm" as armagedon. Growing up in Kansas, we dealt with our share of bad wintry weather, and, from my brief year in Minneapolis, I've become a bit of a snob about people who consider 1-2 inches of any precipitation grounds for buying Safeway out of bottled water and working from home. Sure enough, my office has been a ghost town all day, the roads have been empty, and all area schools and the federal government were shut down. Efficiency at its finest.








Anyway, I actually intended to make this post a brief diary of my pregnancy cravings and weirdnesses. My friend, Katie Lewis (aka Blond Katie, Tall Katie, or London Katie, as she is known to my family), had her baby boy, Edward John, last night/this morning. It seems like yesterday we all found out she was even pregnant, so I'm realizing how quickly this time really is going. So, without further ado, to the new baby Marden (sorry, Christopher), a quick list of what has made my pregnancy special/unique thus far:

As for cravings, I first suspected something was amiss when the mere smell of coffee made me nauseous. I remember one morning in particular, running past the Starbucks on Clarendon Blvd, across from Whole Foods, and almost vomiting into the street when I caught a whiff of the brew. Despite choking down a cup or so a day out of, what, spite to my body?, I could barely stand the taste of it, either. Which, everyone knows, is HIGHLY unusual for me, as I normally drink a pot of coffee before heading out the door in the morning. Curiously, I'm still struggling with any variety of hot drink. Guess the baby takes after his Grandma Barb :).
So, on to the cravings. My most serious and consistent cravings have been of the savory/salty variety. Egg salad, I can't get enough of. Grilled cheese. I'm getting hungry just thinking about that right now. And just cheese. Which sucks, as there are certain varieties I LOVE which are off-limits to me now, but I make up for it by putting Baby Bells and cream cheese on more or less everything. And egg drop soup. And crab rangoon. And Asian noodles and salsa.
Now that I've worked myself up to a ravenous state, I'll conclude this no doubt fascinating post with a quick list of common pregnancy ailments that I've experienced. As I said in my last post, I have been extremely lucky to not have suffered from morning sickness. I hope Kim Kardashian had it. Bad. Bitch took my baby's month.
Anyway, I digress. Mainly, I've porked up a (good) bit. I've been tired, been short of breath, had insane dreams, horrific night sweats (sorry for the too much info), and generally smell worse after working out than I did pre-pregnancy. And I (apparently) snore way more than I ever did before. I, myself, am not sure I believe that one, but I'll let it slide. All in all, a fun, fun lady to be around right now!

An ode to my nephew and a new little guy on the way

My track record with blogs is not exactly what would be called impressive, but if there is one time in your life to start recording the day-to-day life events, it's when you are expecting your first child. So, if you, little man, are reading this in 10, 15, 20 years, know that I am trying to keep a record, at least! Fortunately, your Uncle Matthew is pretty good about giving me crap when I don't blog, so hopefully he'll keep me on track.

Anyway, I once said to my brother, "My life isn't interesting - what do I have to blog about? I don't have kids, I don't have pets, I don't travel that much". Well, famous last words. I now have two out of three (and hopefully the third will slowly increase in volume), thanks to a pain-in-the-ass names Maya, and thanks to the undeniable results of 5 pregnancy tests taken starting the day after my birthday, December 19th.

So, I will start this blog by attaching pictures of the "main players". i.e. my unborn son (yet to be named), myself, of course, Christopher (my baby daddy), Mom, Dad, Matthew, Petra, Nathan, Olivia, Molly, and Abbey. And Maya. Just to get all of the glamour shots out of the way. I'll go ahead and be creepy by adding a photo from the baby's first sonogram, only because there are roughly 3 people who will read this blog, all of whom are related to me, and not because I hope to emulate certain friends of Matthew's.

Right now, as of Tuesday, March 5, 2013, I am just shy of 20 weeks pregnant. It has been a very easy pregnancy, relatively speaking. I've had no morning sickness, am still able to run (albeit slower and shorter distances), and I'm not breaking out in massive teenage-style acne. I've been more tired than usual (cue requisite jokes about me passing out on the couch at 8:30pm), and I'm had very vivid, often not good, dreams every night, but that's been the extent of my negative experience so far. Fingers crossed!

We just found out we are having a boy last Thursday, and we're very, very excited. This little boy is going to have two big sisters who can't wait to spoil him, and I'm pretty sure Grandma and Grandpa will see that he isn't deprived of any toy/book/treat. I'm also excited for him to meet his cousins, Nathan and Olivia. Matthew and I grew up fairly close to our cousins, and I'm hoping these three do the same!

Maya at about 3 months. I promise, I did not mean to have her picture first.

Matthew and I before the great "beer hike". Matthew partook, I was along for the ride. Well, the walk.

  Matthew and Nathan at a wildlife park in Germany. If you look

 closely, you can see a wolf in the background.

Christopher, Molly, and Abbey opening gifts, Christmas of 2012.

Germany, summer of 2012. En route to shopping and eating.

Grandma and Grandpa/Mom and Dad, beautiful garden in Germany.

Same, clearly Dad's meticulous photography skills on display.

Olivia chilling in her rocker at the house in Germany.

Finally, this blog is named as a bit of an ode to Nathan and his favorite saying "Mama Mia!". The rest of the name "wee bairn" is, of course, a tribute to the baby's half-Scottish roots.