Hello, cravings!

If only we lived in San Francisco.

The Kryptonite Sandwich was just featured on Man vs. Food. It's ham, turkey, salami, corned beef, provolone cheese, special sauce, onion rings, mozarella sticks, lettuce, tomato, pickles and avocado. Yes please.

Holy Hormones

The hormones have taken over my body.

It started with small episodes, mostly when I was tired. Nothing a nap or good night sleep couldn't fix. But now, I'll pretty much cry at anything. On Friday night, I started sobbing because Ben didn't make my carrots the way I wanted. And this afternoon, I cried while watching the Miss America Pageant.

Yes, you read that correctly, the Miss America Pageant. What makes this even more ridiculous, is that I can't stand pageants. I think they are degrading and superficial, and if they really wanted to emphasize scholarship, they wouldn't require women to have perfect figures and walk around in swimsuits. But I digress.

I was channel surfing this morning and came across a rebroadcast of the pageant on TLC. It was the part in the beginning where they all share a pithy anecdote about their state of origin. And as these women introduced themselves, I started crying. Crying. Because some twisted part of me started thinking about how this night is fulfilling a dream many of them have (misguidedly) had since they were little girls.

To add even more emotion to the mix, I then started laughing. While crying. It was kind of funny. I mean, who cries over the Miss America Pageant?

Things I Miss (Already)

Yes, I'm aware it hasn't been that long. And yes, I'm aware things are going to get worse. But here's a short list of things I miss (already).

1) Beer and wine (enough said)
2) Feta cheese (may contain listeria)
3) Deli meat (nitrates are a no-no)
4) Cookie dough (raw eggs and salmonella are bad)
5) Eating large quantities (eating too much makes me nauseous)
6) Sleeping through the night (I get up to at least twice to pee)
7) Pants that fit (though not yet perceptible to the outside world, my pants are stupidly tight)
8) The ability to stay up past 8:00

Baby Winston

I just went to visit my friend T and her darling baby boy, Winston Maxwell. I don't think you could find a sweeter newborn.

She gave birth yesterday afternoon and looks fabulous. It was fun to see her and chat about the labor and delivery. Let me just say, T, you're a rock star!

While fun to meet Winston, I couldn't wrap my head around one thing... we'll be greeting our own baby in 7 short months. Eek!

Goodbye, tail!

As I am 10 weeks on Sunday, I found this pretty fantastic. From M's Two Tomatoes blog, courtesy of The Onion...

Olympia, WA - Although excited that all his vital organs have finally begun forming, the 10-week old fetus inside Katie Arthur’s womb was a bit disappointed to have to give up his tail.

Life Lessons

Taylor and I grew up with some great one-liners.

If you wear too much makeup you look like a clown. You can love someone and have to let them go. Nothing good happens after midnight. If you're gonna be stupid, you have to be tough.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the things I want to teach baby. Granted most of these lessons won't come until much later in life, but I've been quite philosophical on what I've learned to be a better person (and what I'm still working on).

Among the first life lessons for baby: just own it. That is, don't make excuses for your behavior. Stand by your decisions, be authentic, and apologize when necessary. Don't lie to make yourself look or feel better. Stay true to who you are and how you choose to act. Just own it.

I'm guilty of telling little white lies. Most are small, like saying you hit traffic when you just left the house 15 minutes late. Most of the time I lie to avoid judgement or disappointment. In the moment, a lie to save face seems easier than admitting the truth.

This past New Year's Eve is the perfect example. My friends were curious why I wasn't drinking, and I wasn't ready to tell them that I'm pregnant. I kept going to the bar and ordering things that might "look like" actual drinks. I failed miserably and every time I tried to tell them it was alcohol, they'd call me out on it.

Now granted, I was trying to put on the charade because I wasn't ready for the world to know (or guess) about baby. But I would have saved myself a ton of grief (and embarrassment) if I would have just said, "Nope, not drinking tonight, but still having fun."

Stand by your decisions, be authentic, and apologize when necessary. Don't lie to make yourself look or feel better. Stay true to who you are and how you choose to act. Just own it.

I'm learning. After all, life is a work in progress.

Outed

I was outed at work today. A co-worker said the "word on the street" is that I'm pregnant. She shares several mutual friends with my in-laws, so I'm not surprised that she heard.

I told her that yes, I'm pregnant, but I wasn't ready to tell the entire office. It was important for my boss to hear it from me though, so I marched right into her office and broke the news. She is so excited for us. I plan to tell the rest of my co-workers at our staff meeting next week.

It's a little disheartening to be outed before I was ready, but I know people are genuinely excited for us. I guess my fear with telling a lot of people is some combination of A) something could still happen to the baby, and B) I really don't like people focusing on my uterus.

But good news travels fast, so I guess I just have to get over it.

Adventures in Eating

Eating has been interesting these past few weeks. I feel good most of the time, but to avoid nausea, I now have to eat several small meals a day. This is hard since I have to eat less more often. I'm much more apt to stuffing myself in one sitting.

Food aversions struck me pretty early in pregnancy. Sweets and ranch dressing are absolute no-no's. Other tastes come and go. When we were at Ben's godson's baptism last week, the carved turkey sandwiches almost made me barf.

Cravings are a little more fun (and spontaneous). A few weeks ago it was tomatoes. I wanted tomatoes on everything, which was unfortunate since tomatoes aren't exactly in season.

This week I'm craving avocados. Ben just made me a spring mix salad with avocado and homemade lemon vinaigrette. It was one of the best things I've ever eaten (thanks, dear).