Aliens (or at least one) have taken over my body

I've never had morning sickness. Never when I was pregnant with Anna and not yet in this pregnancy. I have, however, been getting sick-feeling in the evenings with this pregnancy. About 4pm, I feel a little "ick" start to settle in. I typically drink a Coke to hold me over until dinner and then, once I eat, I'm fine. But then, as bedtime approaches, I get full-on nauseous--that awful, "I just need to lie very still and take deep breaths or I'm going to hurl" nausea. Now, I'm no stranger to nausea. Anyone who knows me well knows that I've splattered vomit all over these continental United States and some parts of Italy and Mexico. I know what to do when I'm nauseous and this usually includes thinking NOT of anything food-related--usually not even beverage-related. I've learned to go to my "happy place" and try to think my way out of puking. This nausea is different though: While trying to talk myself out of vomiting, I'm simultaneously STARVING.

Have you ever noticed how many adds for food there are during the 10pm news? Well, every night, as I'm laying in bed, trying to will away the spew, I see adds for KFC, Olive Garden, Taco Bell, Jack In The Box or, my own, personal nemesis: Schlotzsky's-- and they drive me wild with hunger. Had this been my first pregnancy, when Kevin was very attentive to my every need and when we were living foot-loose and fancy-free, I would've demanded that he immediately go to KFC and get me a boneless variety bucket--STAT! ("It's for the baaaaby") These days though, it's just not practical (nor in the budget) to demand that Kevin meet my every culinary (if you can call KFC, Olive Garden, etc in any way "culinary") whim. I'm thinking that my body is trying to tell me to eat a snack before bed but the problem is that I don't want what we have to snack on: I want a New! Schlotsky's Ranch Club Sandwich! Now with savory dipping sauces!

Tonight, I'm going to try to eat a hearty snack before going to bed and see if that keeps this weird Yin/Yang of misery at bay. If you happen to be watching the 10pm news tonight, think of me when you see the barrage of food commercials and imagine my internal struggles.

Kum again?

This is apparently what a kumquat looks like

Anybody familiar with the kumquat? Really. You'd think they could come up with a more user-friendly fruit or veggie to compare my child to.

River Queen

A rough ending to a great weekend

On our way home from a lovely weekend with friends, we got a call from up the interstate a bit that our friends had just seen a horrific motorcycle accident and that we should plan to get off the highway at some point to avoid the traffic delays. Kevin and I only saw the aftermath of the accident, but could easily tell that it was a deadly one. According to our friends who witnessed the crash, a motorcyclist was driving recklessly, weaving in and out of traffic, with a female passenger on the back. Neither were wearing helmets. The motorcycle apparently clipped a car and well...that was that. I'm very thankful that the car that was clipped wasn't our friends' car or that our friends weren't otherwise injured (although, I can imagine that seeing what they saw was damaging in it's own right). It really made me think about how, one second you're here and then POOF!, you're gone. It also makes me angry that someone would drive that recklessly, without a helmet, on a major interstate, compromising the safety of everyone nearby.

I've been scouring the internet today, trying to get more information on the accident. There was a quick snippet about it on the news last night, but they only confirmed what we already pretty much knew: motorcycle accident--2 causalities--3 hour delays on I10. So sad. So senseless. I hope with all my might that they were at least organ donors (which, I believe, should be a requirement to obtain a motorcycle license).

In other news: The weekend was relaxing, fun and just generally grand. Anna wore herself out. She got to spend the whole weekend with her BFF and got to visit with her beloved cousin Nolan too. There was swimming in the river as well as rock tossing and bubble blowing. Life just doesn't get much better than that. This picture was taken about 10 minutes after we hit the road to come home. She was already out like a light.

How you doin'?

A lot of people have been asking me how I've been feeling, now that the word is out that I'm incubating a parasitic embryo (graduating to fetus next week, thankyouverymuch). The truth is, I feel fine. In fact, I was really curious to see what the doctor would say, when I visited her on Monday because, by all accounts, I feel decidedly un-pregnant. Sure, I'm tired in the afternoons, but by about 2pm, I've been chasing an 18 month old around for most of the day, so a little fatigue is to be expected. I also feel very car sick at about 4pm everyday. That could easily be explained away by low blood sugar, due to the time between lunch and dinner or the really awesome 100 degree heat that we've been experiencing.

People are also beginning to notice (and some really classy people like to comment as well--that means you, nasty dude working on the roof next to the farmer's market last week!) on the fact that my boobies have grown a little. I'm up another cup size now...a cup size that Jessica Simpson's dad would love to brag about on national radio programs. Also, my tummy is decidedly pouch-y. I can't suck it in anymore. The funny thing is that the baby is the size of a grape right now, so the only thing that would explain the significant pouch would have to be the 18 lbs of poo that is lodged in my lower intestines (pregnancy=constipation, in case you didn't know).

So, I was a little relieved to see the little peanut with the blinkity-blinky heart on Monday, if for no other reason, so that I wouldn't have to go back and tell our family and friends not to expect a baby in February afterall. Oops. My bad. It's just a poop baby...and it will probably have to be delivered via C-section, at the rate things are going.

In other news, here's what was in our share from the farmer's market today:

• peaches
• kiwi
• cucumber
• mango (Yuck. Jenny no likey mango, but I plan to throw it into my morning smoothie and hope for the best)
• an avocado
• grape tomatoes
• romaine lettuce
• red-leaf romaine

I foresee a beautiful salad in our future.

Oh yeah...

I probably forgot to tell you about this....

We're due February 27, 2009. And, the baby is that bean-shaped object on top. The thing on the bottom is the yolk sack (yummy) and not, in fact, Mr. Bill (if you enlarge the pic, you'll see what I'm talking about).

Boring

First of all, thanks for all of the wise, motherly (and grandmotherly) advice that I received regarding Mother's Day Out. I'm really very excited about it--not only the idea of Anna getting some new experiences under her belt, but also some time for me to have to myself. I've gone 18 months (will have gone nearly 20 months) of being a full-time, stay-at-home-mom with only minimal childcare help, so I suppose I'm about due. It's also very reassuring that Anna's best friend will be in her class at school. It helps me to mentally picture them clinging to one another, as a familiar ship at sea.

And now, for your weekly Farmer's Market Update:

This week, we received in our share--

• Red potatoes
• a yellow onion
• a nectarine
• an avocado
• a huge, slicer tomato
• spinach
• Romaine lettuce
  
• *Pattypan squash!

*Every week, there are lots of staples in the share, but then usually one sort of off-the-wall veggie or fruit. Any ideas on what to do with 1 pattypan squash? It's rather large...about the size of a large grapefruit.

Mother's Day Out

We're enrolling Anna in a two day a week Mother's Day Out program at a local church that begins this Fall. It's something that she and I both REALLY need. Why do I feel so guilty about it? And how will I ever be able to leave her there the first day of school? I get a lump in my throat just thinking about it.

Anyone have any advice to offer? Am I being a drama queen about this?

Farmer's Market Share: Week of July 9

I know you're impatiently waiting to hear what was in our share this week. Ok, ok, ok. Here it is. Gosh.

• Red-leaf romaine
• an avocado
• nectarines (yum)
• strawberries
• Russet potatoes
• a grapefruit (might slice into that baby today)

Unfortunately, I'm still sitting on the eggplant and the kale from last week. If all else fails, I might roast the eggplant this weekend and make a dip. As for the kale, about the only thing I know to do with that is saute it with some cannellini beans and tomatoes. It's a really good dish, but more of a Winter meal. Maybe I can make it and freeze it?

In other news: We're going swimming this morning at Ramona's house! They have a real, honest-to-God, in-ground pool. I hope Anna and Ramona are best friends forever. Anna often talks to Ramona on the phone (on "her" phone which is usually either my old, out-of-service cell phone or the pocket calculator). Her phone calls go like this:

"Hello?"
(dramatic pause complete with eyes, looking at the ceiling and sometimes hair-twirling)

"Uh huh"
(more dramatic pausing)

"Bye bye"

When you ask her who she's talking to, she'll say, "Mona". Like, "Duh. Of course I'm talking to Ramona". Silly little girl. She's a hoot.

Pick Up Sticks

As you can see, we're enjoying our new music room. It's a fun place to gather with friends and family and listen to an 18 month old be commanded to play the drums. Unfortunately, I didn't start recording until the best of her drumming had ceased. You'll hear her asking, "Down?" over and over because she was so over the drumming at this point. Also note how she says, "Yeah!" after her first drum solo. She's started doing that when a song ends--especially when we're in the car. It's really funny. After she says, "Yeah!" she often says, "Awesome!" as well. I think she's ready for her first concert.

All's well...

So, there's already been an out-pouring of concern/interest (Hi Mom) over what happened to our dining room furniture. Here's the story:

The china cabinet: Well, to be perfectly honest, I'd fallen out of love with it. We grew distant and didn't "get" one another anymore. We were moving in opposite directions and wanted different things. I was contemplating slapping a few coats of black lacquer on it and changing the handles, to make it more 2008. Plus, it was a big, hulking force to be reckoned with. It wasn't the kind of piece that you could just move to another room. So, it went to live with a middle-aged, newly-married couple. They are in the process of meshing two households (and several kidlets) and needed a place to store all of their china. They were happy to find our china cabinet and so it got a good new home, where it will be appreciated.

The dining table and chairs: We purchased them at Ikea shortly after we moved into our townhome. We were house-poor and that was all we could afford (this was, sadly before the days of Craigslist--or at least before I knew about Craigslist). This is a secret just between you and me: I never really loved that table. It was too modern for me and that blasted glass top always had all manner of cat footprints on it. The chairs, while a tad more esthetically-pleasing were not comfortable to sit in for an extended amount of time. I've always wanted a big, rustic, heavy, wooden table with big, upholstered, comfy armchairs in my dining room. A place that you can imagine settling in for a long post-dinner discussion. Alas, that will have to wait.

The new owner of the table and chairs is (I think) a single father. He and his daughter came to pick it up and they said they were going to use the set up in their kitchen as a breakfast table. I hope that they share many a happy bowl of cereal at that table and appreciate it more than I did.

The End.

Then and Now

Before: Our formal dining room, all dressed up for Christmas, 2007

After: Kevin's new office/music room.

Both our china cabinet and our dining room table and chairs sold very quickly and easily over the weekend thanks to Craigslist. Now, our seldom used formal dining room is a handy, comfortable office and music space for us. There are a few finishing touches still to be done, but we're enjoying it already. Now, why on Earth would Kevin and Jenny do this?

Share and share alike

We recently started getting a "share" from our local organic farmers' co-op. Every Wednesday morning, Anna and I trek to a little coffee shop in Montrose, where they have the co-op set up. We order a small mixed share every week (to be picked up the following week). It's so much fun to get there and see what treats are in our share each week. Last week, here's what was in the share:

• A bunch (head?) of celery
• An eggplant
• A large Russet potato
• A head of red-tipped Romaine lettuce
• A bunch of spinach
• A cucumber
• A yellow onion
• A head (bunch?) of broccoli

It was really nice to have some staples (lettuce, potato) but also to have some different things to try. I like researching recipes to find the best ways to use our produce.

Today, the following was in our share:

• Curly-leaf Romaine lettuce
• An eggplant
• Red onions
• Slicer tomatoes
• Kiwi
  
• Peaches
• New potatoes
• Kale

Now, I need another recipe for eggplant. I sliced, browned, covered it in sauteed onions and cheddar cheese before broiling it, last week. It was good with a side of pasta and marinara. I'm thinking that I might give these eggplant "fries" a shot this week.