Thursday 25 February 2010

Nerds of the World, Untie!

"I'm a miracle of thermodynamics! I'm both extremely hot and extremely cool at the same time!"

(Huzzah for OverheardinNewYork.com)

Monday 22 February 2010

Belly/Dance

Hola! (still in Mexico, in my mind)



25-week update: Well, they made me drink that orange glucose stuff again this morning, and then they took my blood. We'll see if there's another repeat of last time (shudder) (but, warning to Ingrid: I'm coming in swinging!).



Also, this is what I look like.



Eek.



I don't remember being as big already, last time. My bellybutton has already popped (doesn't that mean I'm done?) (please?), and last night, while watching curling, you could see the wee beastie kick me brutally from the inside, on the outside. Fun!




As for the smaller occupant of the house, he is still delightful, except for having woken up for the past two nights in a row, at 1 am... 2:30 am... 4 am... there better be teeth or something, that's all I can say.


But aside from that, well, he just gets more fun every day. Did I mention that he's walking now? Vaughn took his first steps on Sunday, February 14th!!! (6 years to the day after Chris and I met...awww.) He's taking it slow, and needs to build up his confidence, but is getting better at balancing all the time.


His other new trick is dancing. We noticed it first with Baby Beluga, but now, he'll play his little piano for hours (through gritted teeth: thanks, Grandma!) and bop along to the beat. It's too early to tell if he gets his moves from me or from Chris, but either way, he's got moves!


Grandma(s), this one's for you!

Thursday 18 February 2010

Who Am I, Again?

Aside from all the "discomforts" (humph) of pregnancy, I find the hardest part of it, for me, is changing my identity.


Before babies, I was:

  • Fit!
  • Energetic!
  • Athletic!
  • A drunken karaoke queen! (note: "Queen" is my own drunken assessment)
  • A fitness competitor!
  • A professional cheerleader!

THEN I got pregnant with Vaughn, which, don't get me wrong, was not only very welcome, but planned, and suddenly I was:

  • Out of breath ALL the time
  • Carrying extra weight, including back fat. Yick.
  • Not able to jump into/out of bed anymore
  • Walking slowly and feeling old
  • Lost



I mean, if I defined myself for all of my adult life as the first list, where does that leave me now?

  • A mom

Don't get me wrong: it's a great thing to be, but it's not my EVERYTHING. For some people it can be, and that's great for them, but I didn't bounce around my whole life to just end up "Vaughn's mom"...


Luckily, after having V, it took "only" about 6 months to feel more like myself again, and despite now having a super-fun sidekick, I was everything I was before (ok, minus the last three, which really aren't practical anyway), but also:

  • A young, fun mom! (young at heart TOTALLY counts)
  • A better cook (watched a lot of Food Network while I was nursing Vaughn)
  • A role model for healthy living and eating for my family


So, it took some time, but I started to embrace the above list...and maybe settled into thinking that that's what could define me, now that the other bullets aren't really options anymore.

But it's amazing how fast that strength-of-self goes away. I'm back in my pregnancy clothes (and Chris's workout clothes!) with my pregnancy blues, feeling unattractive, unfit, tired, and just not ME. And also that the last list wouldn't be enough right now anyway.



For those that know me well, yes, this is probably just my standard February trip to NowWhat, but that doesn't make it any easier to deal with. I want to:

  • Do a flying elbow onto Chris when he's trying to sleep!
  • I want to sleep in and just do what I want to do on a Saturday!
  • I want to drink martinis, eat exotic, foreign cheeses, and drive a motorcycle!

Ok, the first item, of course, would be inadvisable (even if I give the signal and therefore make it legal), the second, just plain lazy (but oh, to do it just once!), and well, living in Medicine Hat and it being winter, the last wouldn't happen anyway, and definitely not in that order, but still!

Even just this morning, I got an email from a friend that commented on how life has changed - from free-and-single to mom-of-two in only a few years...it's quite a transition, and it's happened fast.

But I'm sure this lost feeling will pass, and I'll embrace this life again. That I'll revisit my what-defines-me list and be ok with it...maybe being an even BETTER cook, or starting to think that I might one day compete again...or possibly find happiness in career as well... who knows? Anyway, I'm sure I'll find a little bit of me, at least, when the new 'lump arrives in June, or, possibly, hopefully, when March rolls in...


Wednesday 17 February 2010

Movies from Mexico

The Wading Pool: As Shamu looks on, Vaughn toodles around in an inflatable giraffe.

Tigger explores the hotel room and chases the Best Ball Ever (thanks, Grandpa!).

Daddy and the Baby Turtle play in the waves! It was a lovely last day on the beach. Sigh.

Wednesday 10 February 2010

Mas vacaciones, por favor!



Ah, the vacation post... almost long enough after the vacation that I've forgotten everything!




Our little family took a trip south of the border, to Playa del Carmen, in mid-January. Chris' cousin Greg was getting married, and we were so excited to be able to join them! The resort was gorgeous - all white marble and incredibly immaculate pools, and the food was pretty good, too! We did a lot of walking, since it took 9 minutes at a brisk pace to get to the lobby buffet from our room.




Vaughn especially liked the pools - there were a few wading pools (conveniently located beside the big pools with the swim-up bars), and we spent at least an hour in them every day. Of course, we also spent about an hour in the big pools, too, where he always made friends at the bar. (You can see the bar to the left.) Uno margarita, por favor!



Here, Vaughn and Daddy jump and splash in a wading pool. Observe the progression:




Wheee!






Sploosh...blub blub...






I'm ok! Again! Again!







We took a day trip to CobĂ , the only Mayan ruin that you can still climb on (closing forever in October, so we feel lucky that we had the chance!). It was a hot day and a loooong way up (and even longer way down!) but we had Grandpa willing to watch Vaughn, so up we went...






Don't look down! Eek. Did you sign a waiver?




Made it... and what a view! The jungle stretched as far as the eye could see! We could also see some other Mayan pyramids poking up out of the greenery. Very cool. And now, for the descent. Gulp.

The whole reason for our trip was the wedding! The beautiful couple, Greg and Martina, and the charming Ellah sealed their vows in a lovely ceremony on the beach.






Vaughn decided that he wasn't that interested in yucky romantic stuff, and had a little snooze.






But regained his vitality in time for dinner. Yum, guacamole!









More swimming and splashing, and... Shamu? How did you get into the wading pool? (the belly in a bikini at 21 weeks) (the best part about waddling around an all-inclusive resort is that if people don't like what they see, they can just have another drink...)





Nom nom nom... Vaughn especially liked the BBQ by the pool!

Our baby turtle also loved the ocean - we dipped him in the waves a few times, and took him back to our chairs... but the baby turtle found his way back to the water...





All in all, a lovely week, and we'd love to go away again... perhaps leaving the baby turtle in someone else's capable hands... volunteers?



Wednesday 3 February 2010

My name is Karen

...and I'm a non-alcoholic.

It started innocently enough; a drink of water here, a sip of milk there.

Then, suddenly I was in a new environment, far from home, and attempted to fit in: uno margarita sin alcohol... uno mango daiquiri sin alcohol... uno pina colada sin alcohol...

They just kept on coming, until I had tried them all! Now back at home, I mix OJ with 7-Up, or tropical juice with water, and yesterday (sob!) I found myself drinking a cup of blueberry tea! REAL blueberry tea, not the good stuff!

I was able to wash it down with a nice shortbread cookie from Harrod's, but not before I realized, yet again, that the life I once knew (or at least had pictures to prove I once knew, as the memories are somewhat fuzzy and incomplete) is over.

For now!




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