Happy Halloween – You Pumpkin Smuggler

Well “Andy Jr,” you’re now 8 months. High five.

How far into this thing? 32 weeks
Maternity Clothes? Why can’t sweats be dressy? I am def most comfortable in leggings and big sweaters. The chunkier, the better.
Stretch marks? No, well from what I can see, but do I check every.single.day.
Best moment this week? Andrew can literally get Mr Baby to kick him on command. It’s crazy.
Miss anything?  Putting my shoes on in 30 seconds. Mulled wine. My jeans.
Movement? We’ve gone from gentle waves to trying out for the Olympics. I feel like a tumble dryer.
Food cravings? Cereal. I don’t discriminate. Any brand will do. Soaked in milk.
Belly Button in or out? Flat? It’s not out, but it ain’t in. Andrew told me I don’t even have a belly button anymore. [sad]
Workouts? I’ve switched to cycling and walking. Braxton Hicks (known around my house as Toni Braxton/Taylor Hicks) started last week and it’s not smart for me to keep running. I’m beyond upset, but what can you do. I sneak in a light jog if we’re feeling like it.
Happy or Moody most of the time? I don’t think anyone can be happy all the time. Do hot flashes count as moody?
Looking forward to? Enjoying the last weeks of pregnancy. It’s pretty cool what your body can do.

Let’s see, we’ve been busting with excitement lately. Andrew couldn’t sleep because of his hand, me because of Toni Braxton. We need to get our acts together to enjoy what quiet sleep we have left.

My theme song right now is complements of Queen and Mr David Bowie, Under Pressure. “Pressing down” is right. 1 point for gravity.

The nursery is amazeballs. Close to completion – sprucing it up now. It is however still crazy to think that there will be a tiny person in it soon. I poke my head in all the time and look around, gazing. It took me until last week to pop the tags off of things. You have all these things, for you, but not for you. I don’t know how to describe it besides bizarre. We’re going to need to buy two of anything stuffed and fuzzy because Dr Jones has not figured out that Mr Baby’s toys are not his.

And you do get huge, or at least you feel like it. I look down at myself all the time, or catch a glimpse in the mirror, in both shock and awe. How the…?

Happy Halloween! Last year we carved a “M” into the pumpkin and this year we thought why not tease everyone with a little initial. As my much much much older, wiser brother, says, “Do you think being ambiguous makes you any cooler?” Yes, yes I do. Enjoy the blooper reel.

Thank You For Being A Friend

With Andrew travelling, the full moon, and early Guy Fawkes fireworks over the weekend, let’s just say I’m pleased to still be pregnant, bah!

Whilst Andrew was globetrotting in Barcelona for biz, I planned a girls weekend. Filled the weekend with great friends and good food. Listen, I can’t have wine which means I talk a lot more about nibbles. #dealwithit

Had an amazing dinner with a girlfriend who is due just three days after us. It was good talking to someone who is literally in the same boat as you. Although the poor people next to us at dinner definitely got an earful.

Saturday was a whirlwind of errands. I am at the point now where I am exhausted from to-do lists.

Sunday brunch, and more shopping. I am counting the days until Norak arrives to help me sort this all out. I need an assistant and unfortunately Dr Jones isn’t able to take the best notes.

How boring does this weekend end up sounding? Snooze-fest.

Daylight savings struck Saturday, here comes the 5PM darkness. And me getting up to wee at 2AM instead of 3AM. I did check the UGA football score Saturday at the crack of dawn and was floored to see we beat Florida. GO DAWGS!

This week we have HALLOWEEN!! I’ll be carving the pumpkin this year, as one-handy Andy can’t. You don’t realise just how much responsibility your right thumb has. I’m also dressing up for work. I’m pregnant, can’t get much more ridiculous looking at this point.

I had the chance to author a post for a company I adore! For Two Fitness – check out my article if you’re bored if you want to know what it’s like to workout with a watermelon under your shirt: A Runner’s Pregnancy Fitness Tips.

“Your pet is not your friend. It is your hostage.”

This week has been one zebra short of a zoo. With all that is going on, I am quickly reminded that there is one person who doesn’t care about any of the pregnancy crap, wet weather, busy days, etc. He simply looks forward to seeing us and playing ball – and enjoying the occasional leftover treat on the sidewalk. Free food, right?

Norak once said, “Remember he has to wait on you to do anything.”

This white wagging stub tail makes me genuinely happy today.

On My Mind

Of all the times Andrew has been mountain biking why did he have to go breaking his thumb now? On the right hand. I loathe the hospital and I especially hate it when I’m well
I’ve been giving the UK a bad wrap because of the un-festive holidays, but they’ve really picked up their Halloween game in the stores
My Halloween costume arrives this week, and I hope I don’t look like a total moron
Daylight savings is this Sunday and I am not ready for it to be dark at 5
We ordered a cycling trainer and you would have thought I won the lottery
Really missing the Tigers vs Giants games, go D!
Why hasn’t the UK embraced white strips? (Among about 500 normal things we won’t get into)

Weekend Rewind

I feel like we didn’t stop this weekend. Have you ever done so much but can’t remember what exactly you did? Roo said it’s like going to the grocery store and getting a bunch of groceries but not knowing what to cook for dinner. We are all over the place right now. Did I mention the one weekend we are ready to build the nursery, Andrew badly sprains his hand? Yea mountain biking! Oh, there will be crib building. Even if he has to watch me suffer through it. Our weekly dance cards are absolutely packed. I have no idea when we got this busy. But I’m embracing the madness, as it’s a nice distraction from the fact that we are seriously in the home stretch.

On My Mind…

The box of U.S. goodies I received wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be. But Roo’s elation over the awesomeness of Cinnamon Toast Crunch was worth the cost of shipping
From here to Christmas, we have something booked in the diary almost every weekend
Why a good coffee shop always cheers me up
We poo-poo’d our gym membership but I have already found a studio to join to get me through these last few weeks
For those with bladders the size of peanuts, the RunPee app is for us you. You’ll know the best time to pee during a movie and it will tell you what you missed. TCOB
How long can I a person get by eating cereal three times a day?
Can’t wait to carve our pumpkin, but these ideas leave me intimated rather than inspired

The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain

We ventured out into new Shropshire territory this weekend. I did mention it was glorious.

Earls Hill was suppose to be a nice Sunday trek, but I ended up scrambling up a goat track. We had the help of a mate otherwise it would have made for a much different post. I don’t know how they define “hills” around here, but for perspective, Kennesaw “Mountain” would be a gradual incline.

Me: (looking at the goat track) It’s not too high, and we’re at the top in about 10 min?
Mate/Tour Guide: Yep. Otherwise we take the nice easy trail but it takes about an hour.
Me: (looking up again at the goat track) I can see the top from here. We’re so close.

Andrew was smart and said nothing. I knew he wanted to go the quicker, more difficult way, but if I agreed and was miserable it was my own fault. My stubbornness got me in trouble. 7.5 months prego, schlepping it up a mountain. I patted my own back.

I’m Walking Here

We put up with enough rain that on the sunny days we take full advantage of the outdoors. Stunning fall weekend. The leaves are turning beautiful colours. We got into loads of trouble this weekend, more to come latah!

We found an amazing coffeehouse in town. We are now Saturday morning regulars and after going a few times we learned the placed is owned by an American couple. It’s the only place in town that sales bagels, and anything with peanut butter.

Happy Fall y’all!

What’s In A Name?

I give you an excerpt from Freakonomics:
Would a Roshanda by Any Other Name Smell as Sweet?

Temptress, a fifteen-year-old girl whose misdeeds landed her in Albany County Family Court in New York. The judge, W. Dennis Duggan, had long taken note of the strange names borne by some offenders. But Duggan considered Temptress the most outrageous name he had come across.

“I sent her out of the courtroom so I could talk to her mother about why she named her daughter Temptress,” the judge later recalled. “She said she was watching The Cosby Show and liked the young actress. I told her the actress’s name was actually Tempestt Bledsoe. She said she found that out later, that they had misspelled the name. I asked her if she knew what ‘temptress’ meant, and she said she also found that out at some later point. Her daughter was charged with ungovernable behavior, which included bringing men into the home while the mother was at work. I asked the mother if she had ever thought the daughter was living out her name. Most all of this went completely over her head. 

Was Temptress actually “living out her name,” as Judge Duggan saw it? Or would she have wound up in trouble even if her mother had called her Chastity? ”

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Naming your kid is hard. For some, it’s easy. They’ve had a favourite name since they were 5, or they are monogramming and making announcements as soon as they learn the gender. For us, we really had to sit with the names. We know the middle name is Andrew, a family tradition of the son taking the father’s first name as the middle. That leaves just one to work with.

We started with three. One super traditional, one middle road, and one not so common. Choosing a name came down partly to trying to see if I could a) hear my dad say it appropriately b) tell my dad without him making the “what kind of name is that” face.

After a lot of negotiations, trying out the name, talking to him, etc., Mr Baby has somewhat chosen his name. Andrew and I each had a moment where we felt that the name stuck. We will await his arrival to get a look at that adorable mug before we announce anything to anyone, even you Norak.

“Seven Costanza… You’re serious?” Go back and watch that Seinfeld gem when you’re choosing names.

In the end, not everyone will like it. Come on, we ALL have opinions. “Oh, I knew a fat kid in kindergarten that went by Harry,” and so on. But that’s the chance you take and if anyone has anything to say about it, well I’ll have to punch them in the throat.

America – How SWEET The Sound

I’ve done it now. Blame the hormones being homesick around the holidays, but I just bought a whole bunch of American goodies from an online shop. I’m in the wrong business, I know.

I finally gave in to my American consumer needs. Libby’s Pumpkin Pie, Brach’s Candy Corn, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and good ol’ Kraft Velveeta Shells and Cheese were some of my purchases. Why try to find a replacement when you can have the real thing? For the record, the cereal and Kraft Shells are for Roo. Since he never reads this thing, my secret splurges are safe.

I’m testing the shop out because it could seriously be a lifesaver come Christmas baking. Norak and I have a tradition to uphold, people! I’ve already warned Norak that one of her carry-ons will include baking and American grocery essentials.