Technical bummer

It seems there is something in my office-- must be a virus! Both of my computers have fallen I'll in the past week and now They need the help of a Genius! I don't use these machines nearly as much as I did when I was my normal, pre-pregatron self, but I do like to think that I will eventually go back to a few hours day of computing and corresponding and research and everything else. For now, I am happy to have my lifeline iPad to keep me connected. I'm still a little slow on the keyboard, but a slow post is better than no post, right?

Mac appointment tomorrow. To be continued...

A $20 Crib... Score!

No, it's not for Miss Pattie, she simply provides a scale. We have a ton of time to get baby things but for some reason it has been a regular question, "Do you have a crib yet?" YET? I still have 12 weeks to go. That's an eternity! However, now I can say, "YES." End of conversation! All done. Yay! I found it on Craigslist yesterday for only $20! And it was partially assembled, so that was a little added bonus. I managed to get it all together in under an hour and now all I need is a mattress. I don't even picture the little nugget in this until late autumn but at least I'm prepared (sorta).

Vuvuzela Rockwell

Back on the hunt for a baby name. It's really helpful to watch World Cup soccer because there are some truly exciting names: Kaka! Landon! Markus! Tevez! My favorite (by far) was a suggestion a friend made: Vuvu Rockwell! As in vuvuzela, the horn everyone loves to hate! Perhaps not.
We're getting closer to having to actually get serious about this baby naming thing. I am accepting suggestions!
Please, no vuvuzelas.

Good News!

No Gestational Diabetes!
Cupcake time!

Glucose Testing = Gross

I can't say I remember the last time I had a full can of orange soda, but today I drank something like it. It was for a glucose tolerance test for gestational diabetes. Unlike the other types of diabetes, it goes away after pregnancy, but it can wreak general havoc and cause huge monster babies! I do have a few of the symptoms of GD, namely being tired, having blurred vision, nausea and vomiting. However, I believe these are all simple side effects of being pregnant in general, not something more. I can explain everything! I am up at 6:30 and don't always nap, so I'm tired. My vision is blurry because I'm lazy and don't always wear my glasses. I've been nauseous since the end of January. Vomiting comes with the territory, so... I think I'll be ok.

My blood pressure is normal and I have a penchant for cake at breakfast and I have fancied Hansen's natural sodas lately. I still want to try a float made of Hansen's vanilla cola and ice cream, but I haven't managed to feel well enough at night (it's now night sickness) to make one. If it turns out that I have gestational diabetes, I will have to go on a strict no-cake diet, and this will probably cause a problem. I'm already working out a lot (and I have the golden tan to prove I am literally OUT) so it's not like I've become a pregnant potato. I actually find myself sitting less and less, and that's not good for my sore little tootsies.

I'm still in the Cinderella category when it comes to shoes-- early Cinderella, in her peasant stage. Not that I'm barefoot (and pregnant!) all the time, but I haven't found the right combination of cute, durable, no-laces and cushioning I want. REI's summer gear sale starts on Friday so I'll be checking out their options. Otherwise, I might be getting myself a pair of cute(r) Crocs and forgetting about my quest. The pair I have are pretty good for gardening and make my feet feel ok but I still get plenty of dirt, sharp grasses and pebbles stuck between my toes.

Back to the orange soda-like mixture: I will find out tomorrow afternoon about my glucose levels. I think I might be able to squeeze in one last nibble of cake for breakfast before I get any news. If all is normal, I think I might just celebrate by getting myself a cupcake.

Little Visitor, Big Problems

A friend brought her son over yesterday. He's 4. Things were going well at first, but as the afternoon went by I started to have serious parent regrets. Will my child be as stubborn and uncooperative? Really, I wasn't prepared for what unfolded; he was pouty, fussy, touched everything in sight, played with all of the above and asked, "Why?" every time I asked him not to do something. AAAAHHHHH!
What am I getting myself into? I understand that parents have a lot to do with how a child behaves, but what if this baby causes as much angst (or more) once it is born? I never really thought about that until I was visited by the terror child yesterday-- and he probably wasn't as bad as I thought he was. Oh no!

UNO, dos, Trace

I have recently gotten some very nice snail mail from various folks (you know who you are) and the other day I received a letter from a pal who suggested I/we name the baby Trace. Remember, we don't know the baby's gender so we are thinking about options for both right now, even if Clint's grandma thinks it is a boy.
Anyway, my friend said she thought Trace Rockwell sounds tough like a cowboy and rugged but also funky enough to be a surfer or artist. I would say that these things are all true, but the first thing that came to my mind was one of the Palins. Isn't Trace the eldest of the Palin children? I casually mentioned the name to Clint one night after dinner and he said, "tres?" Pointing to himself and then me, he said, "like uno, dos, tres?" and burst out laughing. It was truly an entertaining parent-to-be moment and no, I don't think Trace or Tres will be on the baby name short list.... But keep the ideas coming!

Truckin'

If it is in their budget, I would think that many first-time parents get a new car when expecting a baby. I think I recall my brother doing this for my nephew before he was born. Of course, it was a Volvo-- something with a good family reputation that screams safety and sippy cups. I now have a vehicle with a reputation for towing capacity instead of safety ratings (but it still has seat belts and air bags, don't worry, mom). Tonight I traded in my hybrid suv for a crew cab F-150. It has a purring engine and 4-wheel drive, gets horrible mileage (though I have seen and driven worse), and it probably won't fit in the garage. How about that for a family vehicle? I can haul and tow and still seat 5 people!
It's the right height for a baby seat in the back because it is so high off the ground, and since the cab is all there is to the car part, I won't spend days looking for stuff like my wallet. I hope this is the beginning of a beautiful truck-ship. Now time to think about a name for the new wheels...

Photo to come, it was too dark to take one when I got home!

Football Madness!

This weekend my "shadowboxer" (Clint's term) is trading in the gloves for some boots. A nice kit, some sunscreen, and a size 1 (if such a thing exists) soccer ball. Maybe hackey-sack size is more like it. That's right! It's World Cup time and lucky for me, most of the jerseys I have (Ireland, Italy, LA Galaxy, U.S.) still fit enough to wear. They're snug and in a few weeks they probably won't, but by then all of my teams will probably be eliminated. By the quarterfinals I'll need to get myself a large Dutch jersey... or maybe Spain, Brazil or Argentina. I like the blue and white stripes with the sun, very classy.

Tomorrow as the U.S. faces Britain I will hopefully make it home from my mountain mama interview to watch the game -- or at least fall asleep watching it!

Mountain Mamas II

Aha! The Mountain Mamas found some merit in my application and I may be on my way to being a mountain mama model! I have a meeting on Saturday morning to meet the CEO and talk about climbing, hiking, biking and kayak gear for moms-to-be. I really hope they've designed a sporty bathing suit because I'm practically drowning in the one I got from Old Navy. It's a drag suit x200. Definitely not made for moving. No chickens are being counted, but I hope this works out well! To be continued!

S/He, It

It's becoming more of a problem that Trouble/Nugget/Baby's gender is unknown. We know it's one or the other (phew!) but I have insisted that I don't want to know, and I am still glad I don't. But this does make for strange references to the little person. I don't feel comfortable saying "he" or "she" because I could be wrong and I don't want the poor thing to have any kind of womb-gender identity crisis. We generally stick to "the nugget" or "baby" around here these days.

I think it's super odd to hear people refer to their unborn child by the name they've chosen for it. I salute those parents for knowing exactly what they're going to do, but I still like the mystery of not knowing-- or telling. In our case, I think it's good for us. We're both going to be happy no matter what, and it's nice to keep guessing. So far the only people who think it's a girl are under the age of 5. My little next door neighbor comes over to play on our swing set and the other day she asked me, "When are you going to have your little girl?" Ha! That was great! I think she's looking for a playmate. I explained that I don't know if I'll have a girl but even if it's a boy she can still play with boys. She seemed ok with that but was more interested in having a fairy princess party pal (still a possibility with a boy, of course).

There are places that can tell you if you have a girl or a boy after something like 6 weeks (this is truly ridiculous-- 34 weeks to plan for either/or?), and there are home kits and other things that can predict (they tout their accuracy) the gender. I wonder why it's necessary. There was a time when Clint needed to know. I think he still wants to know, but this is one thing I get to decide! I think it's good to NOT know unless medically necessary or unless there's a pending divorce or other serious consequence (I will sell/destroy your _____ if you don't let me know the gender!)... Our grandmothers didn't know what they were having, my mom didn't know about me, why do I need to know anything more than that baby is normal and has all of its necessary parts? I'm still a little worried it has mitten paws, but I'm hoping those will become fingers by September. Until then, I will continue to struggle with what grammatical person I should be using.

Rattle(snake)

DATELINE: Monday.

LOCATION: My house, Topanga.

I'd like to think of myself as a modern pioneer woman up here in the Santa Monica Mountains. Naturally, that means I spend time outdoors and sometimes my belly and I even do yard work. This afternoon I got more excitement than I had gambled for.

I had just moved a sprinkler in preparation for the arrival of the orchard that will be delivered tomorrow (about 15 trees, no planting til Wednesday but the soil has to be ready) and I was headed back to the garage when I saw a tail move and something slither under the stairs. And then I heard the rattle. And I think I said, "Oh shit."

After calling for Pattie, I asked where the perro was and she had (luckily) already made her way to the front of the driveway. After not remembering the word for snake in Spanish (serpiente would be too easy, no?) I told the workers there was a SNAKE and made what I thought would be the universal sign for snake with my arm. Then I tried to sound rattle-like when they asked me what kind and how big. Since I had only seen the tail, I did what any outdoorswoman would; I gestured like I had caught a 2-foot long fish.

I secured the pup inside and called Clint to share the news. I looked around the office for my Topanga Survival Guide, which has instructions for just about any emergency, including rattlesnake encounters. I found the guide but before I could get the number for the fire department Armando the jack-of-every-trade offered to kill it, so I wasn't gonna turn him down. I think I asked him if he wanted some long pants. Or rather, I asked if he thought we should change into long pants. He sorta laughed and then I realized how silly it sounded. But I was still about to go change.... Gimme a break, I'm pregnant. I guess I'm also new to the perils of the outdoors after moving from Beverly Hills and I think about safety a lot more. I thought the guy could use a barrier between his legs and the venom under my stairs.

He and his helper dude made their way around the house and gathered their arsenal: shovels and sticks and a flashlight. Since I knew the thing had gone under the stairs, I figured it was still there but it was dark so it was a little tough to see. Armando eventually saw it but couldn't reach it so we used a hose to get it to move so that he could pin it down. Naturally, it got it super agitated. The rattle was sustained and gave me chills!

Next, the body was pinned but it was still moving and was probably pretty upset. We needed a little guillotine action but the angle wasn't right for the shovel we had so I had to hunt around for the long, narrow, skinny shovel instead. I handed it off and stepped back as the guys talked rapidly in Spanish. I understood what I needed to: cabeza!

They were triumphant and the snake was dead and we took a look at it (maybe it had just eaten? it was fat in the middle). They wanted to know what I wanted to do with it. Rather than deal with the snake a second time because the dog found it in the bushes, I opted to put it in the "yard waste" trash can. It was the only way I could guarantee she wouldn't find it and start playing with it (she hasn't done this with anything else but there is always a first time, right?).... So there's a snake in my yard can and a mouse (we're up to 4) in my trash can.

I wonder what I can catch that I can put in the recycling for a trifecta?

Yay for the Mountain Mermaid!

We recently moved to canyon country and I am still getting to know my neighbors. Today we were invited to check out a 1930s old saloon/gay bar that is now fully renovated and serves as a location for weddings and photo shoots. It is totally amazing and awesome and reminded me of Hearst Castle. The best part: it's a mile from my house and has a pool! And I can go whenever I want to float around!! It has a nice dark blue look to it rather than that community pool feel. I have a feeling it's going to be my summer salvation! weeeeeee

Summer Pregnancy Pros and Cons

It's nice and warm today and the sun has been out all day. I would go to the pool if I felt like it but I'm pretty drained from dog walking, trash can lugging, plant watering, grocery shopping and a lousy attempt at clothing organization.

On my way home from the market (food store!) I got to thinking about summer. By the end of it, I'll be closer to normal (maybe) and then I will have missed summer. It's officially just around the corner and it already feels like it here in SoCal. My weekends are drastically different than they used to be-- no bike ride, no beach trips (so far), no travel, no races, nada. This is fine. I am actually ok with a change of pace and not having anything on the agenda since I'm still not feeling like I'm in tip-top condition to participate in many of my old activities.

However, as I got to thinking of changes, my mind wandered to the rest of June, July, and ultimately, August. I've heard how miserable it can be to be a pregatron in the summertime, but I have always thought it couldn't be so bad... until today. So, here I share with you my pros and cons of summer pregnancy.

Pro: Summertime means there are plenty of fresh veggies and fruit and other farmstand treats.

Con: I live in a temperate, industrialized nation, in the great state of California, where I can get fresh fruit and veggies any time of year.

Score: Tie.

Pro: Summer means you don't have to bundle up and wear a lot of clothing, especially wooly coats that don't necessarily fit over the belly.

Con: Again, this wouldn't ever be a big issue. It's always about 70 degrees here. Give or take 10.

Score: Still a Tie.

on the flip side...

Pro: Summer means you CAN wear little(ish) tank tops and breezy cotton dresses or skirts.

Con: It's hard to find a bathing suit that fits in all the right places and will still fit in another two weeks.

Score: Deadlock. Still.

Pro: Summer is meant for grilling and eating.

Con: I have a fairly limited tolerance for food of any kind (still), so this isn't very exciting.

Score: 1/2 a point for the Cons.

Pro: Summer naturally promotes being outdoors.

Con: It can get really hot. And sticky. And I get dehydrated. Last weekend I sweat through my trousers and we were only out for about an hour. I needed to turn on the a/c!

Score: another 1/2 point for the Cons.

Pro: Longer days mean people can visit and hang out outside.

Con: Visitors who hang out outside tend to need something to drink. Something alcoholic. Thus far, this is a party I'm not invited to and I look silly sniffing open bottles of Corona, but that's what I've got right now.

Score: A full point to the Cons.

Pro: Summer means vacation!

Con: I can't go anywhere in a plane without feeling yucky. This is a personal issue, but I still see it as a con. And another point for the Con team.

Pro: Having a due date in September means that once school rolls around again, it's almost babytime!

Con: NONE. Score one for the Pros. Heck, score two in the Pro column. It means each day is a day closer to the end!!

The score is a little uneven right now so I'm not thinking this is going to be an easy three plus months. I guess there isn't much I can do. I will plan on floating in the ocean for the entire month of August. There's a pro-- the ocean! Just 15 minutes away. Ok, maybe that evens the score a bit.