Wacca Wacca Wacca

I just had to post this picture.

See, yesterday, we were both very excited for the college football season to begin. So, I donned my only Michigan t-shirt to root on my losing team as we ran errands before the game began. The shirt doesn't fit so much right now, so I had to put a white tank under it.

Jon told me I looked like a pacman. Then when I put on my new classy sunglasses, he called me Victoria Pacman Beckham.

Silly guy.

It's Finally Here!

Football season...or better known as Jon's favorite time of year. College football starts tonight and Michigan plays its first game on Saturday at 3:30 against Utah. Let's hope Utah doesn't act like Appalachian State did last year. I'm still reeling from that. As usual, Jon and I have been busy making plans to do absolutely nothing on Saturday but to watch college football. I'm actually really excited about it this year...cuz I'll be on maternity leave for all of the bowl games and won't have to go to bed early for work....yee ha!

I'm posting late today because I didn't have the chance to post at work. I had a candidate in for a potential back-up for me for my leave. The girl was nice and smart but she's fresh out of college and has no real experience and it really showed. Ugh. Thankfully, management saw that as well, so it doesn't look like she'll get the gig. They want to have two back-ups for my leave so in case the one girl who is my regular fill-in gets sick, they'll have someone else to call. The tough thing about finding a back-up is that the really talented people who are young and cheap all have jobs and aren't looking for a once in a while gig. So, back to the drawing board. Tomorrow I've got some other kid coming in so a post is unlikely as well.

And...baby brain is TOTALLY kicking in. Yesterday as I was in bed and ready to fall asleep I bolted awake thinking I had sent an e-mail intended for Jon and Jon only to someone else....so I had to get up, log onto our dinosaur computer and double check that I indeed sent it to Jon. I did...luckily. Then at work this morning, I got up to tape my pre-show hit with no microphone even on my body...it was clear across the room at my desk. Sweet. And so it begins.

Cable Catastrophe

In the coming months we're going to have a lot of visitors...and my mom (God bless her) is planning to stay with us a couple of weeks after the baby is born. So, we (I) decided it would be more comfortable for the guests if we had cable TV in the guest room. So yesterday, I waited the designated 11am-1pm time slot and the cable guys showed up at 3 minutes to 1 to add cable to the room. They were great guys and were in and out in an hour. I wish it would have ended there.

As most of you know, I'm a big time creature of habit....so when I went upstairs to get ready for bed and watch the same shows I watch to put me to sleep each evening, I flipped on the TV only to find that they had accidentally disconnected the rest of the upstairs cable. Irritated, I called Comcast (mind you this was at 4:40 p.m.). I politely explained the situation to the person on the phone who got a supervisor on the line. She said that they could come out maybe Thursday or Friday to fix the problem. WHAT? Unacceptable! I know I'm irrational right now, but come on! So, the nice supervisor said she could dispatch the crew back later in the evening. Stubborn me said yes. So, at 7:30 when they showed up, it was a quick fix and they were gone by 8...so I went to bed and flipped on the TV to find that the picture is grainy. Ugh. So, they've got to come back out again.

Naturally, I'm exhausted today and I know, I know...it's my fault. And now I'm going to have to deal with them again cuz oh yeah, they left some tools behind also. Whatever.

As for the peanut, she's doing her normal gymnastics in my belly which is getting quite large by the way...maybe this weekend we'll take another picture to show off my girth. I've noticed a few things the last week or so. First, I'm now almost ALWAYS out of breath at the weather wall...I end most of my reports panting...kinda funny. Also, I noticed this especially yesterday while doing the dinner dishes: my belly is preventing me from standing close to the sink so I'm splashing water EVERYWHERE! It's kinda funny and...I bet in the very near future, I'll get out of doing the dishes all together! Tee hee.

Funny Stuff

I found this online today and thought I'd share with you. I just thought this was hilarious. I really don't hate any aspect of being pregnant...I really love it, but this was a very funny read. I found item #s 1,3,5 and 8 to be especially funny. Enjoy!


Ten things I hate about being pregnant
Emily Wilson on a few of the major irritants of life as a mum-to-be
Emily Wilson
The Guardian,
Wednesday November 5 2003

1. Unsolicited advice
Wobbly-bellied men who have never eaten a lentil telling me, "That won't be good for the baby"; an anorexic old woman looking me up and down at a buffet and then warning me "not to eat too much, dear"; carrot-heads advising me to eat nothing that contains cow's milk or that has in any sense been heated - I have honestly and truly had it all.
But the free advice for pregnant women service is not limited to dietary guidance - far from it. Never have so many had so much to say, with so little excuse, to so few.
These are just three of the tips I have had so far from virtual strangers: never breastfeed on demand (you will turn your baby into a mini Hitler); never let the baby sleep in your bed after it is three months old (you will never have another good night's sleep again - fact); and be sure to use non-toxic paint on the walls of "the nursery".

2. People suggesting that I might be mistaking caffeine/alcohol/nicotine withdrawal for morning sickness
May you all boil in hell.

3. The comfort of women who have been pregnant, but did not suffer from morning sickness
During the three months I spent half-dead and grey at the gills, every day a trial, my mother told me that when she was pregnant with me (aged 19) she was still doing handstands at eight and a half months. I told her, rather grimly, that I had never done a handstand in my life, and did not intend to start while pregnant, but she persevered: she had never had any sickness whatsoever, she revealed, not a day of it. Perhaps it was my age (33)?
My mother, it became clear, was not the only one to have had a perfectly lovely, nausea-free pregnancy. A whole clutch of women, on learning of my morning sickness, responded with: "Oh, poor you! How funny - you know, I was absolutely fine. Not a moment's sickness. Probably never felt better - really bursting with energy!"

4. People asking how "the baby" is
The answer is that I have no idea: I don't wear x-ray specs and I don't have an ultrasound scanner on my desk. For all I know, it could be dead or mutating into a space turtle, or both. But thank you for asking.

5. The being invisibly pregnant stage
Ah, what cruel irony that during the long first weeks of pregnancy, when you really, really need to sit down on the bus, no one will stand up for you.

6. Pregnant language
The words "bump" and "show" (as in "her bump was beginning to show") need to be banned, and quite urgently. Ditto "bouncing", "bundle" and "joy". And really I do find "maternity" almost unbearably twee, but it's a tough one to give up.

7. Length of gestation
Pregnancy does not take nine months, it takes 40 weeks, which is really 10 months, and that is, to all intents and purposes, a year. We are practically elephants, but without the advantages of great nobility, lovely scenery and a trunk. I would suggest 20 weeks as a more appropriate time frame.

8. Random abdominal surveys
Midwifery qualifications, years in obstetrics, etc, are all very well, but any keen amateur can and will size up a pregnant woman's belly at a glance and then instantly calculate whether she is big/small for "dates".
Cries of, "You're quite small/big, aren't you?", "I can't believe you've still got another two/three/four months to go!", and, "Are you sure it's not twins?" are nothing out of the ordinary for any pregnant woman in her second or third trimester.

9. The weird swellage
I naturally assumed that I would wear low-cut trousers for months and months, and that there would be no ugly business of Michelin man-style maternity wear until the very last. But this was a schoolgirl error.
Swellage does not start where you expect it to, and long before I had anything approaching a convex belly, wearing "normal" trousers was a trial. Before I knew it I was waddling around in a friend's cast-off maternity trousers, with the crazily strappy top bit rolled down, and being vastly irritated by stories of so-and-so being 18 months pregnant and still in her size-four jeans.

10. The fact that I may actually soon become a parent - like, not just for a year or something, but for ages and ages
This is the real cruncher. Chatting about scans and the weird men who leer at pregnant bellies is all well and good, but the idea that I will ever have a conversation about schooling... that I find hard to stomach.

Lucky to be Alive

This is really not funny and thankfully, the outcome wasn't fatal. Please don't have me committed after you read this.

So, this morning I'm operating on very little sleep AGAIN. I just can't seem to fall back to sleep in the middle of the night after getting up to go to the bathroom. I'm really not thinking about anything specific...just things like if my toenails are too long and should I try my new velcro rollers in my hair for work in the morning...dumb things like that. Both Jon and his mother suggested I keep a notepad by the bed and write down what's going through my head so I can fall back to sleep. Maybe that will help. If anything, it'll be funny to post on the blog what I wrote down the night before.

ANYWAY, here's the not so funny part of the story. As I was saying, I was very tired this morning. At work, I went into the bathroom and began my process of doing hair and make-up for the show. I decided to give my new rollers a try. So, I wet my hair down and started the blow-drying process. I was holding the dryer with one hand drying my hair and with the other hand I was taking the rollers out of their little case. I accidentally dropped one of the rollers into the sink where I had just washed my hands so there was a little soap suds left and it got on the roller. So, I turned on the faucet and rinsed the roller off.........WHILE STILL DRYING MY HAIR! Am I insane? Do I want to kill both of us? Seriously, I was quite alarmed at my stupidity. Thank GOD the hair dryer is insulated and the outlet has a GFCI, but still...I know that "baby brain" really starts to take over in the third trimester, but seriously, this was scary. I was shaking for quite some time after. I promise I'll never do something like that again.

Bring it On

...the ice cream that is. Yeah, I know in moderation...but the cool thing is, is that I can eat it if I want.

Yesterday was my 28 week doctor's appointment and I learned that I passed my glucose tolerance test with flying colors. Everything in the blood work looked great, so it's full steam ahead for the rest of the pregnancy.

The appointment was kinda fun...I saw my GYN whom I haven't seen since my first appointment after learning I was pregnant. There are five other doctors in the practice, so I've had to see each one so that whomever is on call when I go into labor, it won't be a stranger. I like that. Anyway, it was great to see my doctor again who was excited to see my growth. And despite the comments from the lady at a shop on Wednesday (the beotch asked if I had more than one kid in my belly), I measured a perfect 28 1/2 centimeters...which is exactly where I should be at 28 1/2 weeks, so boo on her. My blood pressure is great even though my ankles are swollen and the doc said that the Braxton-Hicks contractions I've been feeling are totally normal. He also wanted to make sure I was feeling the baby move about 10 times a day. Um, yeah...she's moving like 10 times an hour, so no worries there!

I was wrong about my frequency of appointments. Apparently I don't start the every two week appointments until after NEXT month's visit...the pregnancy books are wrong, which is fine by me. The less frequently I have to get weighed, the better. Don't ask (see the first sentence in this entry for explanation).

Odd Sensation

So as you all know, this entire pregnancy has been a bevy of new feelings, sensations, sounds and smells. Last night as I was lying awake in bed AGAIN (for the fourth night in a row) I put my hand on my belly and it felt like a ROCK! It was totally hard. As soon as I moved positions, it softened again. I've noticed this a few times in the past week or two and now I'm sure what it is...Braxton-Hicks contractions. These are completely normal and are usually felt after about 20 weeks (I'm at the end of 28). It's basically the uterus practicing for labor. Mine have been completely painless, and usually I don't even know they are happening unless I happen to touch my hardening belly at the time of one. I have my 28 week doctor visit this morning, so of course I'll mention all of this to him, but I'm sure it's totally o.k. and normal that this is happening.

Today is the last monthly appointment I'll have. After today, I will start visiting the doctor every two weeks until the last month...when I'll go every week. Now that I'm in my third trimester, I'm sure the rest of the pregnancy will go by very quickly. We can't wait!

Is It Just Me?

While leafing through the September 2008 issue of Cooking Light magazine, I noticed an ad for Gorton's frozen fish.

Is it just me or is the Gorton's Fisherman smokin' hot?

I'm just sayin'.

Hold Your Nose and Swallow

That's what I had to do yesterday.

I had the glucose tolerance test at the hospital which is a routine test to see if I have gestational diabetes. Basically, they make you chug a cup of this nasty syrup crap and then you have to wait for an hour and then they draw blood and send it to a lab. If I fail this test, I'll need to take the 3-hour test which means chugging a double-dose of that nasty crap and then I have to wait...on the premises...for 3 hours. That test determines for sure if I have gestational diabetes. What they don't tell you, is that drinking a cup of pure glucose can make you a bit dizzy, which is exactly what happened to me...but I was fine after some cheese and crackers.

After the test, I met Jon at home (yes...he was STILL off from our vacation). We had an exciting errand to run...WE ORDERED THE BABY FURNITURE!!!!! So, in about 8 weeks, the room will be complete. Then, we went out to a late lunch (my dinner) and had a great afternoon together. I told him over lunch that I really wanted him to try to relax on Sundays instead of work work work (laundry, bills, etc is his normal routine). He asked if I'd mind if he and the baby just hung out on Sundays and watched football. How cute will that be? I can see it in his eyes already, he's madly in love with her!

Now it's really back to reality today as he is back to work. I'll miss hanging out with him during the day...but we'll have plenty of time for that in about 12 weeks!!!

And We're Back

Wow. That's all I can say. We had an amazing vacation in northern Michigan. We got back VERY late Saturday night so Sunday was busy with grocery shopping, unpacking, etc. so I didn't get to posting until now, so enjoy. Also, click on the picture icon to go to the flickr account where the pictures from the week are up.

As I said in my last post, I was nervous about getting to our flights on time, but everything was perfect! We had NO traffic on the way to the airport (I was SHOCKED) and all flights were smooth and on time. The first two days of the trip (Thursday and Friday) we spent in Leland. Leland is a small fishing town on Lake Michigan about 20 miles outside of Traverse City. We stayed at The Riverside Inn which is also one of our favorite dinner spots in the area (check out the menu...I had the veal...yummy!). While in Leland we went on a sunset cruise along the Lake Michigan shoreline. We've done this before and really loved it, so we did it again. It was beautiful. We stayed there until Saturday which was a wonderfully cool day. It was also our worst weather day of the trip...we had clouds that day. The rest of the time was sunny and in the mid to upper 70s. It was heaven.

Anyway, on Saturday afternoon, we checked into the cottage. It was just as we left it last year. We both agreed that while we don't have the adventure of trying out a new place every year, we feel that vacationing in the same place leaves nothing unexpected. We know the bathroom there is small, but the views are HUGE and well worth cramming into the potty. Also, you can't put a price on waking up to the sound of the waves each morning.

We spent the week doing little more that shopping, eating and going to the beach and that was just fine with us. We even rented kayaks for an hour and took a slow drift up and down the Boardman River in downtown TC.

My parents were staying at my sister's cabin about 45 minutes away from us so we were able to see them for a lunch cruise day sail on a tall ship in Traverse City. Jon and I go on this sail almost every year and have gotten to know one of the captains pretty well, but this year, we went on his day off and the captain was a woman! Cool!

We also spent a few late nights at a local bar (shocker for us) so Jon could have a nightcap and I could watching the Olympics. It was such fun and we got to be friends with the bartender (another shocker)!

We had many yummy dinners but sadly by early in the week I had met my fish quota for the week (and then some) so I had to eliminate fish from my choices....but the food was great! Most restaurants up there take advantage of all of the wonderful local farms and create their menus according to what is fresh that day. My favorite meal was at our favorite restaurant, The Boathouse . Wild salmon on a beet risotto with yellow beets and a blood orange burre blanc. Oh my amazing. The best dessert award goes to the local peach and blueberry cobbler at Amical in downtown TC. And oh yeah, I had my fair share of the local ice cream...Moomers. Hey, I couldn't drink the wine, so I got my buzz off peanut butter vanilla swirl. Fine by me.

We got to see my sister and the girls on Friday for a quick lunch and swim in the bay. That was so much fun to play in the waves with them. They are growing up way too fast. Emily asked how we knew it was a girl in my belly so I explained that the doctor could use a camera to see inside me and that the doctor was able to see the baby's vagina. She's six so I thought I could use the proper term but she asked "what's that?" and I looked at my sister who had her head in her hands and was laughing. I guess she'd heard that word before, but wasn't totally sure. It was hilarious!

Saturday was the day we came home but our flight wasn't until 7 so we had most of the day to kick around, go to the beach, etc. It was a perfect vacation with perfect weather and we hated to come back. The best news is that all was well with baby. She did great on the flights, great in the water and was nice and active the whole trip. I feel like she grew while we were there...maybe all that good healthy ice cream??!!

See Ya!

I'm an idiot. There...I said it. I can admit it. We're leaving today for our big annual trip to the best place on earth...northern Michigan. Of course I'll post pictures when we're back...but ANYWAY, on to why I'm a boob. See, I work until 9 a.m. There is NO chance for me to leave early because as most of you know, I do a live news program until 8:58:30 a.m. everyday. SO, I, the dumbass, booked a flight that LEAVES Philadelphia at 11 a.m. Now, in a perfect world, I'd hop in the car and make it to the airport by 9:30...really it's not that far. BUT, we live in Philadelphia...the land of traffic jams and let's just say it'll be cutting it VERY close getting to the airport. Then...the AIRLINE (not me) booked us on the connecting flight that leaves Detroit 34 minutes after our flight from Philly lands. Yeah...right...that'll happen. So, Jon and I packed a change of clothes in the carry-on to wear WHEN the luggage doesn't make it. Cross your fingers for us.

Ok...now here's something for you to watch while I'm gone and not blogging. The first video is just funny...and if you haven't seen it yet...watch it. Yes, I'm actually telling you to watch Paris Hilton...but it is funny. She did a mock political ad in response to John McCain using her image in his ad to attack Barak Obama. Funny.

The other video is anything but funny. Most of you should know about Randy Pausch. If not, shame on you. Just knowing of him will change your life as it did mine. Dr. Pausch was the professor who gave the famous "Last Lecture" speech in September at Carnegie-Mellon University. He died of pancreatic cancer two weeks ago. If you haven't heard the lecture, please click here, sit back and enjoy what this wonderful man had to say. After his death, ABC did a special episode of Primetime (click on full episodes and then you'll see it near the bottom of the list) with Diane Sawyer and it's totally worth watching too. There you get to know his equally amazing wife and children and you'll weep for them for their loss as I did. So, for the sake of Dr. Pausch, enjoy your life today and smile and remember that the most important thing in life isn't a thing at all. It's love and time with the people you cherish the most.

I Need It Bad

Jon said to me yesterday in disgust..."man, do you ever need a vacation."

He did this after I yelled at him (yes I yelled) after he threw away the envelope our cleaning people left us to put the next payment in. I believe my correct words were "why would you do that? Why Jon, why why why?"

See, Jon has been wonderful for me in so many ways...one in particular: he's a total neat freak, so...in our 11 plus years of living together, I've picked up on that habit and our house is usually quite presentable should anyone ever pop over. However, sometimes his zest for organization drives me up the freekin' wall. I had placed the envelope in the stamp/pen/junk bucket in our kitchen cabinet (which I thought was good enough). Well, apparently, it got in his way so he just tossed it. He claims to have told me about it but I certainly don't remember that conversation. Believe me, it's nice when everything has its own place, but sometimes I just want to leave something on the counter for just five minutes before it gets put away...or even tossed.

Of course, as I complain about my neat freak husband, I know there are throngs of jealous wives out there in blogland who have the reverse...they constantly pick up after their husbands and have to deal with such disgusting things like underwear left on the floor, crumbs on the counter or on the couch,etc. I know, I know I have it pretty good....and one other thing ladies...he does ALL of the laundry too...folded AND put away. It's fantastic!

New Sensation

Yesterday morning Jon and I enjoyed breakfast on our deck. Humidity was low and it was a beautiful morning. Anyway, just before Jon joined me outside, I was sitting there reading a magazine when the baby totally started turning. The sensation was different than her normal movements and the side of my stomach looked like it was morphing into an alien being. It only lasted like 30 seconds and as soon as she finished, Jon came outside. Poor guy, he keeps missing her big movements. But, in just 3 days, he'll have all access to the belly for 10 whole days while we're in northern Michigan! We can't wait!

The Jeans

"THE" jeans arrived...you know...the really expensive ones I ordered. Well, needless to say, they're fabulous. I am really going to need them as the extended forecast for Traverse City calls for temps in the 70s during the day and some nights even dipping into the upper 40s, so warmer clothing will be a must! We are so excited that it won't be really hot out. It just isn't fun when it's too hot there. The sun sets into the cabin and it is really uncomfortable in the late part of the evening. So, we're psyched that it's going to be chilly! So this morning, I took "the jeans" to the tailor to have them hemmed because they make the jeans for women who are over 6'5" I swear. They'll be ready in time for the trip...yay!

One big contributing factor into my decision to keep the jeans was the fact that I got called to work at CBS tonight...so that's where I'm blogging from. I'm doing the 6 & 11 weather because one of the other meteorologists had a death in the family. I haven't filled in here for a while so I was glad to do it...sad circumstances, but still, I was happy to help. And of course the selfish side of me was excited to get the work, which means extra money which means the jeans are now paid for. Tee hee.

My co-anchor from my usual show is filling in tonight too so she and I were saying "good morning" at the beginning of the newscast. It was funny. Both of us associated each other with the mornings. She was just sitting back here in the weather office talking to me and the baby was moving. So I unzipped my sweater to just my tank top so she could see my tummy move, and our little shy peanut just stopped. She does that when I call attention to her movements...which is kinda funny. I think she must not be the ham we thought she was...or she's in there laughing her head off!