White Flag
As I've mentioned, so far my weight gain has been pretty average. It would be less if I stopped eating so much ice cream. While I eat a fairly healthy diet, I do indulge in lots of treats. For breakfast each morning, I eat a bowl of
GoLean Crunch, mixed with a little whole grain
Total and top it off with 2% milk and blueberries. And I always drink that with a glass of water. Nowadays, though, I've started adding either a small glass of OJ (with calcium) or a fruit smoothie. I always keep some vanilla yogurt, bananas, frozen strawberries and raspberries on hand to whip up a smoothie in the morning. I like to think that between the juice or smoothie, that makes up the extra 300 calories or so I'm supposed to take in daily.
Lunches for me are pretty much the same week to week. Well, I don't eat a really full lunch very often. I eat little things all day long: yogurt (sometimes with granola, sometimes without), dried cranberries, sliced peppers with hummus, yogurt-covered raisins, spinach salad with strawberries, trail mix, and occasionally half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. There are several bottles of water a day as well.
Why am I suddenly reminded of
Mighty Girl's book?
Then for dinner, it really depends. Last night we had BLT sandwiches, with a side of spinach salad. Unless it's pasta, there's usually always a meat involved with dinner. Sometime pork loin or pork chops, but more often it's chicken, done any of 32 ways. Occasionally, I'll make ribs or a pot roast. I usually pair these with either a salad, corn on the cob, whole grain rice, or broccoli. My husband doesn't "do" many vegetables. Usually water with dinner too.
So from reading that, it looks like a fairly healthy diet, right?
Well first off, in addition to all that other breakfast stuff, I usually have coffee and Something Bad when I first get to work. Like a donut. Or a cinnamon bun. Or a muffin the size of Kansas. And there are days, where in addition to all those little snacks I have throughout the day, a Milky Way candy bar, or lately, a milkshake from Wawa (really, not as gross as you might think) or chocolate chips cookies make their way onto the menu. Or if I forget to bring all my little snacks, I might order a sandwich--not necessarily a healthy one-- with fries or chips for lunch. As for dinner, when I cook at home, I'm pretty good. When we go out to eat, which is at least once a week, all bets are off. Nachos, pizza, anything fried, etc. This is nothing new and I've blogged about this before. I'm merely noting that that trend has continued into this pregnancy. And then there's the ice cream, which usually happens after dinner.
Anyway, despite all this eating, I'm still gaining the recommended amount of weight. Although some of that distributed all over my body, I'm fairly happy that most of it is in the front abdomen region and that from the back, you can't necessarily tell I'm pregnant. At least for now. However, after putting up a brave and valiant resistance to the weight gain, my legs have finally surrendered the fight. My left thigh and right thigh have become fast friends and now find it necessary to be touching at all times, even when I'm standing.
By mid-September I'll be able to start up a new fitness regime and boy, is that not going to be easy.
Labels: fitness, preggo
Books
Currently I'm reading "
The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls. I'm really liking it a lot and find that although most of us haven't had an upbringing that's at all similar to the author's, there are themes of isolation, courage, drive and frustration that are universal. I also read "Three Junes" by Julia Glass last month while on vacation. I enjoyed the interwoven storylines. Sometimes that style of storytelling frustrates me, but I found this to be easy to follow and still interesting at the same time.
I asked my friend
Christy awhile back for some books to get to keep me busy while on maternity leave. She made some great suggestions and based on her recommendations, I plan on getting "
Julie and Julia" by Julie Powell, "
Eat, Love, Pray" by Elizabeth Gilbert, "
The Memory of Running" by Ron McLarty. I'm also considering "
The Last Days of Summer" by Steve Kluger, and "
The Inheritance of Loss" by Kiran Desai. I'm trying to resist the urge to buy these and some others now, because I'll likely read them all before I go out on leave. And then what will I do? Of course, it's probably pretty dumb to put off reading them, particularly if I'm having the urge to read--because that urge had been lacking over the last year. And I'm going to get another yoga book, either "
The Woman's Book of Yoga and Health" or "
A Woman's Book of Yoga". One was recommended to me by my yoga instructor and now I can't remember which one.
I'm also planning on (finally) getting a library card so I don't necessarily have to buy every book I want to read. I have nowhere to really put more books. In fact, I may need to throw some out, ones I wasn't in love with and would never read again. It's a sin to throw books away though so I'll need really to investigate donating them.
Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions for reading material, I'd love to hear them.
Labels: books
Buh-bye
Rosie totally gets on my nerves. I never watch The View, but somehow she managed to annoy me all the same. While she's always made what some would call controversial comments, it seems like lately, she's just got diarrhea of the mouth because she realizes she gets attention from it. And the media is all like "Crazy Rosie, what's she going to say next?"
Labels: society
The Places in My Neighborhood
In a lot of ways, I'm really excited to move to our new place. New layout, new start. One of the things I'm not so excited about is the new neighborhood. Oh, the block we're moving to is nice enough. Actually, there's a hospital across the street, which I guess is a little strange, but it looks like a mansion and the grounds are gorgeous.
The thing is, I really like my current neighborhood. I'm moving from Rittenhouse Square to Washington Square and Rittenhouse wins best neighborhood in my book hands down. I love being so close to the park in Rittenhouse Square. I'll be reasonably close to another park in my neighborhood, which is nice enough but it's not the same as Rittenhouse. Going to the park in Rittenhouse is like an event. There are usually tons of people; some picnicking, some painting, some doing yoga. In the summer, there are so many sunbathers there, you would think you were at the beach. Washington Square just isn't the same. It seems so much smaller to me, although it's really not much smaller. There aren't as many people usually. And since Rittenhouse is surrounded by shops and restaurants, and Washington Square is surrounded by historic landmarks, the vibe is just decidedly less social there. At least in my experience. I don't go to parks to make friends. But I do go for the vibe.
You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a little byob restaurant in Rittenhouse. Plus it's so close to
the trail along the Schuykill River. Now Washington Square does have some restaurants, but not really as many or as much variety--you kind of need to go to Old City for that. I'm not sure why, but I've never been much for Old City. And Washington Square isn't far from the Delaware River, but the Delaware River waterfront, in my opinion, is one of the city's crowning disappointments.
I'll miss being so close to
Chaucer's, which is one of our favorite places to chill out and get a beer. I'll really, really miss
my gym. It's certainly not the largest nor does it have the best equipment or amenties. But the people are nice and keep to themselves. It's not a meat market and it's not intimidating. In the new neighborhood, my choices are the
12th Street Gym or the
Philadelphia Sports Club. Both are nicer, with better equipment than my current gym, but neither have me itching to join.
I'll also miss being so close to my church, which right now is just around the block from me (incidentally, so is my gym). I'll still attend my current church though, even once we move, because I just love it and I really don't like St. John's, which is closer not where we'll be living. There's also Old St. Joseph's, which won't be too far from us, but I've never been there. I'll probably check it out, but I'm sure I'll remain a parishioner of St. Patrick's. There's a fruit market, Maxx's Produce, across the street from St. Patrick's and one of my favorite rituals is picking up some fresh fruit (I swear they have the best fruit salads) on my way home from Mass.
Although there some many things that drive me insane about our current apartment (like the carpeted bathroom), there are some things I'll miss. Like the crown molding. And the staircase, which is beautiful, even though the owner isn't properly taking care of the wood. And the tall, narrow windows on either side of our bedroom. On cool nights, with the windows open, you get a wonderful breeze, plus a view of the trees and moon. It's like floating in heaven.
Although I am willing to part with our apartment, I do have pangs of regret about leaving our neighborhood. We've been here for 4 years and it feels like home. Even though we're not super-friendly people, it has been nice getting to know the pastor of our church, the lady who runs the produce store, the morning workers at the gym, the bartender at Chaucer's. It's cozy, comfortable, and all neighborhood-y. The new neighborhood will have some advantages too, I'm sure.
And sometimes I wonder if I feel so nostaglic about my current place because it's where I lived before I was married, and then as a newlywed. It's where I've spent the last years of my carefree life. I love that some of my biggest concerns are getting to my gym in the morning and what little restaurant Ron and I might try next. In the new neighborhood, our lives will be drastically different, not just because everything we love is no longer right around the corner, but because our impending little bundle of joy will turn that carefree life we have upside down.
Labels: moving
Weird
Oh for Christ's sake! Congratulations on totally fucking with nature. You know I'm all for older women having kids. And by older, I mean in their 40s. But in their 60s? So by the time these kids are 10, good ol' mom may have Alzheimer's? By the time they're seniors in high school, they may have to deal with whether to put their mother in assisted living?
Labels: random
Yeah, Um, No.
While I actually agree that most women would be able to deliver their own children if they had to (that is what women did back in the day, isn't it? and still do in other countries?), I'm certainly not going to
opt for that.
Labels: preggo
Measuring
So
these are my new favorite toy. Magnetic--genius!
Labels: random
El Fuego
So after months of my friend
Meg (yeah, someone updates her blog oh, like, never) telling me
El Fuego is THE place for burrittos, I finally checked it out at lunch yesterday. They do have more meat options, like chorizo, than some other burritos places. And if you like beans, you have a choice of either black or pinto. The burritos are GINORMOUS. Maybe too ginormous. Like it was, no exaggeration, almost the size of my head. At
Santa Fe, they have a mini-burrito, which is what I usually opt for. It's still a good size but is actually manageable to eat in one sitting. If El Fuego would offer a mini, I'd be all over it. That said, the half of the El Fuego chicken burrito I had yesterday was quite tasty. I recommend the spicy salsa.
Also, I'm lazy. While I'm sure many want to be able to pick out the different ingredients for their burrito, I sort of wish El Fuego had some pre-concocted ones
like Santa Fe does. I did not try El Fuego's guacamole, but I definitely plan on going back to sample that.
Labels: food
What Not to Do
Among the things I wind up doing as part of my job that I never thought I would: going into a high voltage electrical room while it's flooding. It wasn't as dangerous as it might sound, but it definitely doesn't sound like a good idea, huh?
Labels: work
Classy
So I went to a bridal shower yesterday, where the maid-of-honor gave the bride a hot pink vibrator. At the shower. The shower held at a very nice restaurant with elderly relatives in attendance. Which was only mildly worse than the hand towel that featured the outline of a naked man and woman and read "For After Sex Cleanup." We had to try to find Aunt Sissy her smelling salts.
The vibrator, by the way, came with a remote control. Just in case you're too lazy to do the work yourself.
The Baby Dumpster
I don't think
this was what they had in mind. But you know, that's what they get for not labeling the dropbox "Newborns Only".
Labels: society
Totally Nuts
So our next mayor is going to be
Michael Nutter. Mayor Nutter.
Yeah, I know it was just the primary, but it may as well have been the mayoral election. No Republican would win here, and I'm not even sure there is a Republican candidate.
Ron is already starting with the Nutter jokes. There are just so many ways to use it. "Oh he's such a nutter." Or "she threw a total nutter today."
Labels: society
I'm So Disciplined
I waited two hours yesterday to see my doctor for a scheduled appointment. It was supposed to be at 1p.m., but instead I saw him at about 3p.m. I was totally annoyed but this particular doctor so nice that I didn't rip his head off. In fact, I'm hoping he happens to be on the day I deliver.
By the way, did I tell you about my tour of the maternity ward? Yeah, I've seen motels in North Jersey that are better appointed than these rooms. Or "holding cells", as Ron calls them. It's quite dismal. My only hope is that at least I'll get a private room and don't have to share one with a crack whore and/or criminal. Delivering in an urban setting is AWESOME.
My boss is actually the person who heads up renovations for this particular hospital and I spent most of my next bi-monthly meeting with him trying to convince him to renovate the maternity ward before August. I don't think I was successful.
Anyway, so yesterday, after waiting over an hour in the waiting room, one of the nurses takes my vitals in the hallway and then directs me to a patient room to wait for the doctor, after I've used the rest room. So on my way to that room, back from the loo, I realize I've forgotten which room the nurse indicated I should use. There are two closed doors side-by-side and both have charts on them. Then I realize that the only way I've going to know what room is mine is by looking to see which chart is mine.
The baby's gender is in that chart. All over that chart, in fact.
I was hoping I could see the side tab of the folder to see what patient name was on the chart, but the folder was so full of papers, that I couldn't see the side tab without actually lifting the chart out of its holder. I was going to have to handle the chart. Damn it.
Turns out I was so worried about accidentally seeing the gender in the chart, that when I noticed the due date, which was my due date, written at the bottom of the folder, I didn't even open the chart to look for the name. What were the odds that the person in the other room would have the same exact due date?
Can you believe my restraint? That my hands were actually on the chart and I didn't peek? I'm better than I thought.
Labels: preggo
Drill
Yeah,
not such a good idea, folks.
At first the school was comparing this to telling ghost stories around a campfire. Big difference. Ghosts aren't real. Crazy gunman are.
Now they seem to be saying it was a drill. I'm all about doing drills. However, if it were truly a drill, and given the recent events at Virginia Tech, I think the parents should have in on this. And, in not sure if this occurred, but I think you should always sit your students down and talk with them about what happens during a drill, before you start doing live, surprise drills.
Labels: society
Saturday
Ron is working today and I've got a leisurely day of nothing going on. So far I went to yoga this morning, sat out in the park reading this afternoon. Next up is a short nap, a walk around the neighborhood (I sense that I might get an ice cream cone on the way) and then back to the apartment to clear house. I planning on cleaning the kitchen floor and purging things from my hall closet, bathroom and bedroom. I've love to vacuum, except the vacuum is broken, yet again. I hate that piece of shit.
Tonight I think I'm going to make pizzelles. I haven't made any since Christmas and I know Ron's mom likes them. Since we're going to see her tomorrow, I figure I'll bring some.
Last night, Ron and I had dinner at a byob in the neighborhood called
La Viola. I have an aunt named Viola, but that's beside the point. Anyway, I thought we'd need a reservation, particularly on a Friday night, but we were seated almost immediately. The restaurant is very small and the tables are smushed together so that you're essentially eating with other people. Strangely, I didn't mind this and barely noticed the people right next to us. The food was great and reasonably priced. I had a caesar salad which was pretty typical for a caesar salad but Ron had the antipasta of the day, which was fantastic. For entrees, I had the penne alla caruso, which came with a rose cream sauce, peas and pancetta. Ron ordered the farfalle marinara with shrimp. Portions were a good size and we each enjoyed the meal.
Now, about that nap....
Labels: food, random
Work Out
As I type this, I'm eating one of my favorite things on earth: Entenmann's Original Chocolate Chip Cookies. It's like a slice of heaven.
Here's the thing, people: I've gained about 20 pounds. I don't feel like I've gained 20 pounds and I'm not even sure I look like I've gained 20 pounds. But the scale, which I have not been hopping on as religiously as I once did, does not lie. So the recommended weight gain is 25-35 pounds and I was hoping to be closer to the 25 pound end of the range, but with 12 weeks left to go, it seems likely that I'll be closer to the higher end of the range. Bummer.
A few friends have asked at different points over the last few months whether I'm still going to the gym. They ask because they're curious, but some also are secretly hoping that I'm not, that I've succumbed to laying on the couch in scrubs eating ho-hos. And I do lay on the couch eating ho-hos but I wait until
after I've gone to the gym to do that.
The truth is that I'm still at the gym regularly, but I have gotten a bit lazy. I've abandoned my two-a-day work outs. I had half-abandoned them before I was pregnant. I go to the gym 4-5 days a week instead of 6-7 days. I've also cut back so that I'm only doing about a half hour a day of cardio. Sometimes a little bit less if I'm lifting the same day. I find that I'm on the bike more often than any other machine. The bike. I have often criticized myself for working out on the bike because it's easier. But now, I think I'm cutting myself some slack because I'm just happy that I'm still working out. I do want to start using the eliptical more than I have been--it's better for me than the treadmill these days.
I'm also still taking my regular power yoga class, although obviously, I make modifications. Now that the belly is large and in charge, we'll see for how much longer that's possible with my changing center of gravity. What I have not been doing regularly, but what I really, really need to start doing regularly is Kegel exercises, because peeing in my pants is less than desirable.
And just to freak those of you who have not been pregnant yet,
here's something else I should be doing.
Labels: fitness, preggo
Ugly
I can't even begin to tell you how much I want to get
one of these for the baby's room.
Labels: baby
Bigot
It's no secret that I think political correctness has gone a bit too far in this country and as a result relatively minor things get blown up into complete media frenzies. Mountains out of molehills, so to speak. Not always, but a lot of the time.
That being said, I find it entertaining that Al Sharpton is being accused of
being a bigot now.
Labels: random
Conversations
At a Lamaze class:
Instructor: So, the urge to nest, to make ready for baby will be overwhelming. Dads, you need to help mom out. You'll need to really do things to help with this nesting instinct.
Me: Hear that? You'll need to help me. My urge to nest will be overwhelming.
R: Please, your nesting urge has been on-going for as long as I've known you.
Me: I'm serious. We'll be moving and we'll need to get the place ready, like I've been talking about.
R: Somehow, I don't think buying a new dining set counts as "getting ready for baby". Because
that's what you've been talking about.
Labels: conversations
Sexy Back
Have you all seen the
Rihanna video for "Umbrella"? I mean the song pretty much blows, but that girl is mad sexy in that video.
Labels: music
Lonely
I find the tape of a blitzed David Hasselhoff quite sad. I mean that's
Knight Rider. When I first heard about it, I rolled my eyes at yet another celebrity with a drinking problem. But this morning, I heard some of the audio, and his daughter asks him, "Why do you do this to yourself?" and his answer was "Because I'm lonely."
And it was sad, because you knew it was true.
Labels: random
Bills
Today I wrote out a check for my kid's tuition. I can't believe I'm going to be doing that for at least the next 18 years.
Labels: random
Emo Spidey
As a special treat for my husband, who never gets to go to the movies, I took him to see Spiderman 3 on Friday night. He spent all day Thursday and Friday singing the Spiderman theme song. To say he was excited would be an understatement.
The movie sucked.
Despite not watching many movies, I have a high tolerance for bad ones. For example, I watched "
I Do (But I Don't)" on Lifetime Saturday night. Now I don't have anything against Spiderman per se. I liked the first two well enough. But this one? Too many plot lines that were underdeveloped. The ending was totally lame. The worst part? Spiderman cries. A lot. There is a lot of crying Spiderman.
I prefer my superheroes not to be total emotional wrecks.
Labels: random
Realizing
You know you've found a truly good friend when she offers to do crazy voodoo chants so you get a Bugaboo.
Labels: peeps
RA
So, this is the month to hit people up for cash! I, thankfully, don't have an overwhelming readership, but I wanted to highlight an opportunity to do a good deed. Later this month, I'll be posting ways to donate to March of Dimes, but for now, I'm concentrating on
this. My friend Michelle has RA and she and her partner, Christy, will be doing the Philadelphia Arthritis Walk. Help out if you can.
Go Team Monkey!
New Levels of Ridiculousness
My mother and I are engaged in a voicemail battle, trying to see who can leave the nastiest message. I should probably be the bigger person and disengage.
Narrowing It Down
Thanks for your input. I think it's down to either the
Pink Aloha or the
Pink Kasey. I like both of them equally well and it may come down to if either are on sale when this kid is born. Ron is leaning towards the Kasey over the Aloha though, so that might make Kasey the winner. Of course, last night he saw the
Bubble Gum and decided he really liked that one too. I do like it as well, so who knows, maybe it's really between those 3. I don't think a bad decision could really be made here.
Pine Creek has some nice, very bright pink and green patterns but their crib bumpers are very poofy (which you know isn't so good for babies who can suffocate) and frankly I don't need to add any more options to the mix
The reason Ron saw any crib bedding last night is because we were in the
USA Baby in Cherry Hill to check out the Bugaboo. The USA Baby folks are very nice and actually let you touch their Bugaboos. Overall, it's a great store (for some reason, the name of the place left me with low expectations) and I'd register there if I weren't already registered at the Hell Pit.
So I'm in love, people. I have a deep love for the Bugaboo Frog. I really expected not to like it that much. I had heard it's hard to fold and kind of heavy, but I found neither to be true. Unfortunately, my husband (who must have forgotten his place) has forbidden me to actually purchase this. I'm hoping against all hope that this is because he is planning on surprising me with one, because he loves surprising me, but really, it's probably just the hefty price tag has him spooked. Which I suppose is just as well. I can continue to covet them from afar.
SAHM
I find articles like
this absurd.
I think it's ridiculous to try to put a dollar amount on being a stay-at-home mom, to try to make it sound like she actually has about 6, or 8 or 10 different jobs. It reeks of an inferiority complex. I'm not suggesting stay-at-home moms don't work hard. Certainly, they do take on the role of "day care teacher" that working moms (generally speaking) don't assume. But housekeeper? Laundry service? Janitor? Cook? Um, excuse me, but who did these things before you had kids? I'm not sure about everyone else, but I'm the housekeeper, laundry service, cook and janitor of my household. And CFO too. And I'm not a mother yet. I call it
living my life. Yeah, a stay-at-home mom wears many hats. So do we all.
Sure, there are days when I want to throttle my husband for not doing enough around the house. Are there days where I feel like I have to do everything in order for anything to get done? Sure. Will I need to do even more when this kid arrives? You betcha.
I mean my husband isn't a total lazy slob. He does his part. He also works longer hours than I do so it makes sense that I pick up more of the household chores. But it's never occurred to me to actually try to figure out how much my services are worth in a dollar value. I realize that this stay-at-home mom salary thing is really just supposed to be a wake-up call that, duh, you shouldn't take the stay-at-home mom in your life for granted. That she really does actually do something.
But I still find the article absurd.
Labels: random
And Speaking of Indecisive...
How quickly
you can change your mind in the midst of intense backlash.
Because I'm Indecisive As Hell
We're trying to decide on bedding. And by
we, I mean
I. I think
we've got the boy's pattern picked out. It combines sports and cars and planes and antiques and really, how could you not love bedding that emcompasses all those things?
The girl bedding is the issue. I'd like a pink/green combination and generally speaking, I'm not a fan teddy bears or princesses and I only like florals in moderation.
Here are the 5 currently in the running:
Pink KatiePink AlohaPink KaseyBubble GumTiger LilyOpinions?
I also kind of like
this one but I'm not sure if a clothesline theme will get on my nerves after awhile.
There's also another one that Ron actually liked at the Baby Supermart over the weekend but I don't know the name so I can't find it online. It was pink and green but featured flowers pretty heavily--although I believe they were tulips, and tulips are pretty cool.
Not Talking
You know I'm not sure about the legalities of undercover sex stings. But what the hell was the point of you participating, Miss America, if you're
not willing to testify? Like I said, I'm not sure about what is required here, but if the bottom line is you testify or sex offenders walk free, what is your problem?
Labels: random
