Bullet Update - 21 weeks!

• One of Fuss's 2-yr-molars is coming in. Thus far, she doesn't seem to be too bothered by it, though we are having some minor sleep issues of late.
  
• She randomly started drinking milk again the other day and drained 2 cups. She hasn't touched the stuff since.
• I did laundry like crazy the other day and ended up wearing myself out rather badly. I spent the evening grumpy and in pain. Went to bed with a headache, slept with a headache (I noticed it each time I woke to go to the bathroom), and woke up with a headache.
  
• I have an addiction to breakfast sandwiches, specifically the sausage, egg, and cheese on an asiago bagel from Panera. I ask my husband to bring me one at least once a week. But I've noticed that my morning sickness and my headaches decrease on the days that I eat one in the morning, so there is the added benefit of that.
  
• At just after 19 weeks, I had a violent bout of morning sickness, that found me gagging up stomach acid and a tiny bit of blood. I then went an entire week without any morning sickness whatsoever and thought that maybe it was finally over. Exactly one week later, I had to pry an unknown bone out of my dogs mouth (he found it in the yard, I was incredibly afraid I was going to find some unknown animal attached to it) and lost my dinner. I have since had several rounds of morning sickness since. Ugh.
  
• I'm also having more Braxton Hicks contractions more regularly (not regular as in several an hour, but a couple each day) that are pretty strong. I don't remember having them until closer to 30 weeks the last time around...

I was the mascot. We were the Rhinos?

So the girls on the Luckies board will tell you that I have a fairly active sex life. (And they mostly know this from glancing at my charts when we are trying to conceive, but we talk very openly about all subjects and I do mean everything from the color of our offspring's poo to the way our husbands treat their sweaty genitalia.) We typically have sex 2-3 times on the weekends and 2-4 times during the week. (Which means I just answered incorrectly when I answered Amanda's poll... hmmm. Must learn to count). But I have to tell you that this time being pregnant, those particular hormones have ramped up. Seriously.

When I first got married, I didn't really get the whole "guys need sex very frequently" thing. Okay, I did, but his definition of frequently and mine were different. I thought 2 times per week, even as a newly wed was enough. He disagreed.

So when I thought about it, I realized that I could be selfish and make him always acquiesce to my schedule of such things, or I could (at least sometimes) please him and be willing more often. So I did. And to be honest (as I obviously am today - wow, who would have thought this was my subject of the day?) I got used to it. Now, having sex that frequently is normal and both of us are happier for it. (I noticed that when we DO go awhile without we tend to nitpick at each other more, get into more random disagreements and just not get along as well. Almost like we need an outlet for our frustrations...)

And I remember being fairly active in the sack post-1st trimester when I was pregnant with Fuss, but NOW? Oh. My. Goodness.

I had read about horny pregnancy hormones, but hadn't really thought much about it. But there have been days in the last month or so when we make love 2, 3, 4 times in a 24-hour period. I can't get enough. (Well, lately, I can, but it's not for lack of desire. It's just my girl-parts are getting more tired than the rest of me and I can't start out the day like that and expect to be really active all day with day to day stuff and then go again in the afternoon or evening.) And I am willing and able to try a few more things in bed than I used to be, which seems to very much please my dear husband. And the orgasms are A-MAZING! Everything feels more intense and more electric. I am SO into this. And my husband couldn't be happier.

(Anybody recognize the line from the title? I know a few people should...)

10 on Tuesday

1. Think back a decade, do you remember what your first cellphone was? Was it as cool as Zack Morris’s phone?
After I had my first car accident (and since I had been out the night before, I still had my mom's cell in my purse) and was able to call my parents, my mom bought me a cell phone. I had 100 minutes per month or something ridiculous. I loved it, but it was very clunky. NOt quite Zack Morris clunky, but pretty big compared to the phones of today!

2. What is the first children’s book you remember being read to you?
Probably either The Goodnight Book (my mom is still obsessed with all books Eloise Wilkin - I have about a dozen for Fuss) or Velveteen Rabbit.

3. What was your first car? Did you love it or hate it?
A '92 Ford Taurus. In 1999. At the time, I loved it, but I was very ready to be done with it when the time came for it to be retired.

4. Who was your hero growing up?
Realistic hero was probably my grandpa, but I also had a thing for Superman...

5. Think back to your first kiss. Was it everything you dreamed of?
Absolutely not. I remember my sister comparing her first kiss to "wet cardboard" and mine was about that good. :S He was way better at this kissing thing in my head than in real life...

6. What was your first BAD hairstyle choice? (Extra points for embarrassing photos)
Going without bangs in 10th grade. I have much too pale and high of a forehead to be without bangs. I have no photos scanned of that period in my life, so no photos for you!

7. What was your first realistic dream? (One where you had to think “Oh dang, was that a dream?”)
I had nightmares about my parents being hurt or killed that I would wake up and go running through the house to make sure they were okay.

8. What was the first phobia you remember developing?
Cockroaches. Stems from a time when I was about 7 where one crawled on my face while I was falling asleep.

9. Which character on Sesame Street do you most identify with?
At times, Oscar the Grouch...

10. What was the hardest goal you ever accomplished?
Passing a math class in college or high school? Convincing my now-husband that it was time to get married? Graduating college? I dunno. They all had their challenges...

For more 10 on Tuesday, click here.

Excuses, sure, but LIGHTNING BOLTS of pain here...

SO this particular headache is weird. The pain is constant, but if I could step back and analyze it easily, the constant part is manageable. It's really more like just extremely uncomfortable... but what's killing me is the waves of dizziness/nausea accompanying it and the lightning bolt-like shocking pains that hit sporadically behind my eyes, across my temples, near my ear... it's completely random and more than a little annoying. And this is why I haven't finished my post for today (it's a good one - it's about sex, so come back later this week...).

Update: 20 weeks!

I saw this bassinet in an ad recently and I AM IN LOVE. I have no idea what makes me think that I need this thing - we decided against getting a bassinet when Fuss was born because it would only be useful for a very short time (it holds up to 15lbs) and we went with a pack'n'play to have in our room with us, since we were going to get one anyway for uses outside those first few weeks. (We ended up using it for an even shorter time than we thought we would, since Fuss loved her crib from the get go and we all slept better when she wasn't right next to us.) There is a good chance that I will want to keep Fry closer for longer this time around, but I don't need to spend over $100 (the current list price I'm finding) on something just because it's cute, right? But,....

In other news, things with my MIL are still crazy as she tries to find room in her already outrageously crowded house for more "stuff" and somehow, my husband and I are expected to bend over backwards to help her with this insanity. (His 2 local sisters seem to be too busy to put in very much help on the weekends. I don't know how much they've been able to do during the week, but I know last week, there wasn't a whole lot done before our first garage sale on Saturday. And naturally, his sister who lives out of state can't do anything but encourage her mom to be realistic and encourage her siblings that hopefully things will get better.)

I'm in hormonal overdrive about spending time with my husband lately. I hate that he has to work and be away from us for 10 hours a day (8 hours of work, 1 hour lunch break, 1/2 hour each way commute) and then often has other commitments and ends up working overtime, etc. He also has a men's bible study that he's beginning this week that an old friend has begged him to take part in of late, so that's another evening away from us. It's all legitimate stuff, but it's frustrating for me, who pretty much wants him home. All the time.

And I am finally, officially 20 weeks along in this pregnancy, feeling the baby fairly regularly (he's more active in the evening, I almost never feel him in the morning. Part of this, I'm sure has to do with the placenta being all out front, but in part, I'd say he's already exhibiting some personality of my husband and his family who are decidedly NOT morning people.) and I'm 19 weeks away from my induction date!!!! I am so psyched to be getting closer to that time! I am already over being pregnant, so the halfway point really feels like a victory.

(Nearly) 20 weeks

Obsessed with looking at baby boy clothes and then I find out Carter's now has an online store! Boy, is my bank account in trouble...

Backaches seem to have replaced my headaches of late - I still get the headaches occasionally, but the backaches have far out-paced them over the last few days. Sunday night, I lay in bed nearly crying with the discomfort. I'm also discovering that I am getting more Braxton Hicks lately - not to the level of concern, but several each day, where I don't remember them starting this early when I was pregnant with Fuss.

I stood in front of the mirror last night and noticed that my body had grown significantly in the last week - my belly and boobs, specifically. I've noticed that my old bras aren't fitting very well lately and I'm going to have to switch up to my maternity/nursing bras soon, but I've noticed that the D-cups have a significantly larger underwire (not just a wider bend, but the ends tend to come up higher on my body, which I find incredibly uncomfortable) and I've been trying to avoid wearing them as long as possible. I'm pretty sure that my uterus has finished coming up to the top and that is why I am noticeably larger through the belly, but still, it's interesting to see the dramatic change over the last week.

I'm about halfway done with this pregnancy. In many ways I am ready for it to be over already. I am ready to hold my little boy and see how he grows up.

10 on Tuesday

1. What two cities should be moved closer together?
Seattle and Clearwater, so that I can hang out with Maggie when she sends out tweets for play dates...
2. What was the first plane ride you took?
To Colorado Springs via Dallas/Ft Worth airport

3. What continent would you most like to visit?
Europe

4. What’s your favorite place to window-shop?
International Mall in Tampa because they have a bunch of high-end stores that I can't buy anything in, but are fun to look at.

5. What’s the least fun you’ve ever had at a place specifically tailored for fun?
Busch Gardens Halloween thing. I don't particularly like the ghoulish horror part of Halloween and that was all they were really doing. And I don't like roller coasters as a rule, so the "fun" part of riding the coasters at night was lost on me.

6. You’re stuck on an island with plenty of food, a companion, and a relatively stress-free lifestyle. What do you say when the rescue ship comes?
Can you come back next week?

7. Which day of the week do you look forward to most?
Saturdays, usually. It's typically a whole day with my husband.

8. What’s your favorite place to enjoy the great outdoors?
The park. I love to let Fuss run in the playgrounds or go for a walk in the mornings.

9. What’s on your “to do” list this summer?
This summer it's simply to stay cool and survive since I'll be in my 3rd trimester during the worst of the heat. But I'd like to spend some more time with my friends this summer...

10. Which natural disaster freaks you out the most?
Flash floods. But more realistically, hurricanes since that is the most likely type of disaster to hit this area. I never worried about them until I was a mother even though I've lived here my whole life.

More 10 on Tuesday here.

Okay, so now I'm obsessed with blue...

I'm in full baby-boy mode now. I want to shop, shop, shop and pop him out soon so I can dress him up. Of course, I'm on a budget, I have 2 friends who are done with having kids that had boys and are giving me their stashes and I need to see what they pass me before investing in a wardrobe and I still have 143 days until my due date (according to my ticker on the maternity boards). So I think I might need to reign in my shopping desires.

I've been going through Fuss's clothes to pull out the ones that are special to her (her going home outfit, a hospital blanket, etc.) so I can pass some of these clothes on to my girlfriend who is having a girl in another couple of months. I am having so much fun remembering the way she looked in these cute tiny little clothes. I held up her first outfit to my husband while he was cuddling with Fuss last night and was like, "remember how little she used to be?" He was amazed. And our kid was nearly 9 lbs at birth, so she had never been one of those incredibly tiny babies!

But I'm checking out ebay and amazon and I got a GREAT deal with a terrific coupon at Babies R Us yesterday so I stocked up on a couple of outfits for the boy and a new bathing suit for Fuss (so precious!) and we've been making a list of things we need to register for (we know that a couple of friends are throwing a shower and there is always the completion program discounts!) and of course, it's a much smaller list this time around, since most of my bigger stuff was gender neutral the first time around. I also scored a gender-neutral bouncer in nearly perfect condition at a garage sale this weekend for $8! My old bouncer was a lifesaver, and I loved it, but it was solid pink and while I COULD use it for my son and just add a blanket, I was so glad to find this one for cheap! Yay me!

But my big question right now is the double-stroller dilemma. Do we or don't we? I use my stroller all the time right now. I take Fuss walking with my girlfriend Jo a couple of times a week and we love getting out of the house. (And Jo is also pregnant with her 2nd child right now, so it will be both of us trying to lose that 2nd baby weight in another few months!) And I love to walk in the mall and we know we're going to Disney when the baby is a couple of months old, so is the double stroller worth it? Is it necessary?

7 Quick Takes: About a BOY!

1. We had our gender-revealing ultrasound yesterday and it revealed a BOY!

2. When the tech asked if we could tell, I was fairly sure, but I didn't want to say it. I couldn't get the words out. I felt momentarily disappointed. But as soon as she said the word "son" I was SO incredibly happy. And I've remained that way.

3. He's healthy and got his first compliment from the midwife "he's even more symmetrical than most babies of his age." I know his future wife will say the same when she meets him. LOL

4. I am so relieved to KNOW now. It has been driving me crazy not to.

5. Other than that first second of being less-than-thrilled, I have remained incredibly excited ever since. I am actually way more excited than I thought I would be. Which is really, really a good thing.

6. My husband and I didn't get to stop and do the fun stuff like go register because our babysitter was on a time crunch. We did take Fuss to Toys R Us after dinner and checked out their in-store Babies R Us (we have a dedicated BRU north county, but we were much further south and didn't have time to go up there) for some sort of adorable baby outfit. I found a couple I liked, but none I was in love with, so we are waiting for a better selection. And we will be making a sojourn to the Carter's outlet soon!

7. I'm thinking his first stuffed animal should be something like a tiger or a panda bear - is that cheesy?

For more quick takes, click here.

MIL rant

My Mother-in-law is a hoarder. Like the ones on TV.

Sure, she throws away banana peels when she's eaten a banana and takes out her trash on a twice-weekly basis, but the "stuff" whether broken or damaged or just plain old... it's all there. She has a 4 bedroom house with separate living and family rooms. Only 2 of those bedrooms can be used for sleeping (and not because the others don't have beds in them... they do). Her living room has been closed off for several years because you can no longer step into the room for all of the stuff in there. Her 1-car garage is barely usable for the laundry room she keeps in the back. And she has had a off-site storage unit, too, that she's had for at least 12 years, if not longer.

This is just the tip of the ice berg, really, but I tell you this to set up my story from this weekend.

As I've mentioned, my husband's grandmother passed away a couple of weeks ago. She was also a hoarder of sorts (she taught these tricks to her daughter, obviously) and there is so much STUFF in her house that I am baffled by it all. So we have to clean out this house, since we cannot afford the mortgage on it and the bank will have to foreclose. But what to do with the stuff? Of course, MIL wants it.

She has agreed to have a garage sale and sell some of it, but we need to move it across to our town instead of holding it at the house. So yesterday, we rented a big moving van (26 footer - we're talking BIG here, folks) and began to load it all up. We had to have a place to PUT it all, of course, so we also rented a POD to sit temporarily in her driveway until we can sell off the stuff in it. (And when I say "we" I literally mean we - my husband and I paid for this stuff to the tune of at least $400.) We told her that the the truck needed to be back by 4 and that that was all time we could offer her for the day. We were willing to start early - the truck rental place opened at 8 and we were there by five after to pick it up, so we got started as early as we really could.

I am going to skip a lot of details here, but I'll tell you that Fuss and I left a little before 2:00 to go home for Fuss's nap and to be there for the delivery of the POD to MIL's house. My husband was supposed to try and finish up by 4 at G-ma's house and we were realistically assuming that he'd be done by 6. We had a date night planned and our babysitter would be there around 6:30.

He didn't get home until after 8:00. He had to threaten to leave with the truck around 5:00 to get his mom and sister to move their rears into gear. They still didn't get everything they wanted to take, but apparently they got most of it. They were going to go back and try and load up her hatchback or something with more.

I was TICKED OFF. She knew we had plans and completely blew them off. She knew we had given her a time limit and casually threw it away. She didn't care. And when my husband jokingly joked that our cut of the garage sale proceeds would be 30% (a random number) she got all pissy and told him that there would be no "cut" despite the fact that we would be doing all the work (she had plans for the first weekend we planned to run the sale and would not be around to help out at all).

In addition to this, while we were at her house moving out some old, broken appliances (her dishwasher hasn't run in at least 10 years) to swap with the newer ones at G-ma's house she discovered a dead rat in her kitchen. A DEAD RAT. She was slightly surprised, but didn't seem that upset about it. I have to tell you that if I had a rat - dead or alive - in my house I would be FREAKED OUT. No one should live like that. And while I know that rodents happen (I'm not judging every person who has ever had a rat in their house, it happens, but come on - don't you try and DO something about it when you suspect it? And aren't you disgusted when you find it IN YOUR KITCHEN? Where you keep FOOD. That you EAT? Ick.) her attitude about it really concerns me.

So I am ticked at my MIL, but I have to be sweet and polite because I know she is grieving and I don't want her to feel like this is about G-ma and all of that. But I've realized lately how selfish a person she truly is, and I never would have called her such a thing previously.

10 on Tuesday

1. What book, movie or song has made you want to travel to a particular place? (eg. I went to Prince Edward Island because I was such a Anne of Green Gables fan)
I have a list. My mom and gramma and I went to Prince Edward Island because of the Anne books, I've always wanted to visit Charleston, SC because of a couple of books written by Alexandra Ripley and a series I read as a child called the Mandy books (I think) and I was so excited to visit New Orleans (multiple times and I'm ready to go again) after reading New Orleans Legacy by Alexandra Ripley plus a number of other books that I've picked up specifically because they are about N.O. after I had been there the first time.

2. Aside from your significant other, who would you want to take with you on a dream trip?
Possibly Fuss, though at this point in my life, going without kids would be ideal. I'd love to travel with my sister, too

3. Where would said dream trip be to?
Either Europe or the historical southern cities tour my husband and I have been planning for what seems like forever (St Augustine, Savannah, Charleston, Asheville, Williamsburg, etc.

4. If you were hosting guests or providing tips, what three things would you show visitors to your hometown? (be it where you live now or where you grew up)
Clearwater Beach, Busch Gardens, and a real beach like Reddington or Indian Rocks (Clearwater Beach has become completely touristy - no locals really hang out there)

5. If you had a long weekend ahead of you, where you head – beach, city or country/mountains?
City or mountains. I'm not a big beach person except for the sunsets...

6. Do you have a passport? If so, did you get it for a particular trip or just to have, in case?
Never had a passport. I've been to Canada twice, but that was before you had to have a passport to go/come back from Canada, so I never got one...

7. Are there any travel souvenirs you collect? If not, is there something else you collect?
We have a bunch of shot glasses from various places we've visited since we've been married and a few mugs for coffee, as well. I used to collect pins or key chains, depending on the trip, but I've given those up completely. I wouldn't say we actually collect these things seriously, though. But I do like to get a souvenir from places we travel.

8. If you could name a paint colour, what colour would it be and what would you call it?
It would probably be a blue or green and I'd name it after something in nature.

9. If you were heading away for a weekend citybreak solo, where would you go? (forget about practicality here and flight times, assume you can get to any city in the world for the weekend)
By myself? I have no idea. That baffles my mind. I've never been anywhere on my own (without meeting someone at the destination. I've traveled by myself) Probably some place with a great hotel and room service and shopping available nearby. I would likely spend a couple of days of alone time reading books and shopping.

10. Is there a song or a smell or something that you strongly associate with a particular holiday/place/time, such that it always takes you back?
Cajun spices and melted cheese or beignets and coffee (or more precisely, chickory) from the Cafe Du Monde and all of that reminds me of New Orleans, the best place for food in the world.

For more 10 on Tuesday click here.

Fifteen

Another installment of my Taylor Swift lyrics series...

Fifteen
by Taylor Swift and Taylor Alison

You take a deep breath and you walk through the doors
It's the morning of your very first day
And you say hi to your friends you ain't seen in a while
Try and stay out of everybody's way

It's your freshman year and you're gonna be here
For the next four years in this town
Hoping one of those senior boys will wink at you and say
"You know, I haven't seen you around before"

'Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
And when you're fifteen feeling like there's nothing to figure out
Well, count to ten, take it in
This is life before you know who you're gonna be
Fifteen

You sit in class next to a redhead named Abigail
And soon enough you're best friends
Laughing at the other girls who think they're so cool
We'll be outta here as soon as we can

And then you're on your very first date and he's got a car
And you're feeling like flying
And you're momma's waiting up and you're thinking he's the one
And you're dancing 'round your room when the night ends
When the night ends

'Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
When you're fifteen and your first kiss
Makes your head spin 'round
But in your life you'll do things greater than
Dating the boy on the football team
But I didn't know it at fifteen

When all you wanted was to be wanted
Wish you could go back and tell yourself what you know now

Back then I swore I was gonna marry him someday
But I realized some bigger dreams of mine
And Abigail gave everything she had to a boy
Who changed his mind and we both cried

'Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
And when you're fifteen, don't forget to look before you fall
I've found time can heal most anything
And you just might find who you're supposed to be
I didn't know who I was supposed to be at fifteen

Your very first day
Take a deep breath girl
Take a deep breath as you walk through the doors

The reason I like this song is because it is nearly exactly how I felt when I was 15. For me, 15 was a very weird year - my mom and I argued constantly, I was really getting into boys, it was the only year that I wasn't completely involved in music 24/7, etc. (for me, it was Sophomore year, not freshman, but whatever). I highlighted in bold my favorite lines at the end of each chorus... I especially like the part about "this is life before you know who you're supposed to be..." because oh my goodness, yes! At that age, you seriously think that you're an adult - or at least nearly and everything is dramatic and life is such a big deal, but when you look back you are like "I was such a child, such a different person then." I cringe to think of myself at that age, and I'm so glad that I got past it. (I have a friend who often still lives her life like she's in high school, or at least like she's still living in the sorority house in college and wow! I'm like - isn't it time to grow up? You're 30 now!" but I digress...)

Picture post

Been awhile since I posted some recent pics that weren't off my cell phone...These were from berry picking. The last one is hard to see, but her mouth has red stuff all over it from all the berries she ate in the field.
She had her first experience coloring eggs for Easter with my mom. She found it fascinating.

Amoung the many worries of motherhood...

I've been reading blogs for several years now. I started religiously reading a few that I've kept up with around 2005, I think. At that time, a lot of these women (and a few men) were trying to build their families. In a lot of cases that meant infertility treatments, so for a lot of them, that meant it took awhile.

It's interesting now - all of the ones I've stuck with have had some success in some way or another with building their families (ie. they are all parents now whether they conceived naturally, through ART or adoption) and so have become parenting blogs of some sort or another. I've added several "Mommy Blogs" to what used to be exclusively IF blogs and so primarily, I read blogs about parenting children who, in many cases, are at least a few years older than my own or the same age, etc.

I'm terrified. One woman is writing about the trials and tribulations of her 5-year-old son's friends being mean to him, calling him names, and beginning to withhold their friendship. I think that I had both forgotten and not realized the extent to which even very little children could be cruel and mean and I am nervous for my own children.

Fuss is beautiful and smart and incredibly friendly. So the most obvious issues aren't (thus far) an issue for her, but that often doesn't stop little kids from finding SOMETHING to be mean about. I wasn't unattractive as kid (not the prettiest of little girls, but nothing was obviously wrong with me other than my red hair and freckles, which most kids left alone) and sometimes I was too smart for my own good (I'd often be found quoting the psychological insights my mom would share with me, which were probably better left unsaid to the masses) and I was friendly, but I was bossy, admittedly, and a little selfish, even when compared to other children my age (I'm think specifically of the ages 5-6 here, though don't we all have a little problem with that from time to time when it comes right down to it?) I remember being crushed when people wouldn't want to play with me... and how on earth do you protect your children from that heartbreak without keeping them out of social situations in the first place and thereby stunting their growth and development (and in my social butterfly's case, her joy and fun) in other ways? Ugh. Sometimes I wish I could put her in a bubble. :)

She's not exactly starting Kindergarten next week or anything, but we are talking about a couple of mornings per week at a small daycare nearby just to give her more of an opportunity to socialize when the baby comes. And what on earth am I going to do the first time she comes home in tears because some little person won't be her friend? Offer to beat up a 3 year old? Hardly. But how do you know how to handle that?

Snickerdoodles Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons white sugar
• 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls.
3. Mix the 4 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. (I like to use a small bowl that fits in my hand. Then the balls can get dropped in it and I can shake the bowl side to side to cover the dough in the cinnamon sugar mixture) Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. (I've also had bad luck using dark, non-stick cookie sheets for these cookies - they burn on the bottom too much. I also prefer to use parchment paper on the cookie sheet to ease the rotation of the cookie sheets, since this tends to make a large batch of cookies that often requires swapping of cookie sheets back and forth.)
   
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets.

10 on Tuesday

1. If you could travel back in time, would you? What decade would you visit?
Yes, I think it would be cool to check out some other times. I would love to visit (for a short time) the Victorian era, the Revolutionary War period, and I would love to be able to talk to or observe my husband's father (who passed away before we became friends)

2. What was your best Halloween costume? (fun to make? most creative?)
My best was when I was about 3 and my mom made me an Orphan Annie costume (the red dress from the end of the movie) - with my red hair, I was a dead ringer for the cute little kid.
My "most creative" was the last year my friends and I dressed up for trick or treating - we bought cheaper versions of high fashion outfits and went as models.

3. Do you like your name? If you weren’t called by your name, what would you want to be called?
I like my name, I like that it's a little different, but still not hard to say (though many people mispronounce it because they read it too fast).
I am sort of name obsessed, so it would take me way too long to figure out what I would name myself if I couldn't have my own name.

4. In the past year, what is the BEST recipe you made. Please share it!
My Snickerdoodles are practically famous amoung my friends and family. Also my pumpkin pie is amazing - it has a cinnamon streusal topping. Yum. Don't have time to share it right now... but I'll try and remember to come back to it...

5. Look around – what is the nearest object or picture hanging on the wall?
My closest pictures are my family wall - it has wedding pictures, lots of Fuss's growing up pictures (6 mos, 9mos, 1 year and a few random ones), Daddy Fuss's and my Sr pictures, and other pictures of our family members.

6. What was the last movie you saw in a theater? Would you recommend it?
It's been awhile. I honestly can't remember what the last one we saw was.

7. Did you go to summer camp? Will you/do you send your kids to camp?
I went a couple of years. It was fun and we aren't sure about sending our kids... it will depend on the offerings when the time comes...

8. What kind of ringtone do you have?
Some random musical ringtone that came with my phone. My old phone let me use my MP3s as ring tones and I LOVED it.

9. Where is the farthest away from home you have ever been?
Prince Edward Island Canada to the North, I'd guess Iowa to the West. I've traveled a good portion of the US, but not nearly as far West as I'd like and I've never been out of North America.

10. Has anyone ever written a song or a poem for or about you?
Yes, my ex-boyfriend wrote a couple for me/about me. I don't remember a lot about them, but he was a musician, so it's no surprise. And my mom always sang me my own version of a lullaby set to the tune of Brahms Lullaby.

Ugh.

I was awakened 3 times during the night by a wailing toddler. Two of those times were a missing Maddie the Monkey, but I've no idea what the other one was. I tucked her back in and she was quiet for an hour or so.

I have a headache that began somewhere around 8am today while I was at work. I drank my soda and took some Tylenol, but it didn't help even a little. Somehow, I managed to finish work (we were busy) and I even feel I did a good job of not ignoring my daughter during that time. But my post-work To Do list is huge, so I began to prioritize.

We're delivering dinner to a friend who just had a baby tonight and I had half the supplies for lasagna and had to stop at the grocery store to buy the cheeses. On our way to the store, Fuss took off 1 shoe and now it seems to be missing. Which meant I had to carry her instead of having her walk.

She nearly fell asleep in the 3 minutes it takes to get home. She cried when I set her on the ground and begged "carry you!" so I went ahead and picked her up again. In the 6 steps it takes to get to the door, she then threw up on me.

It has been a rough day.

We are both going to get medicated and take a nap now.

7 Very Random Quick Takes

1. Tomorrow is Gma's funeral and most of her offspring will be in attendance. She had (and was very proud of this) 3 children (all married, one spouse deceased), 12 grandchildren (most married), and 11 great-grandchildren - with one on the way! Most of them will be at my house tonight for a big family dinner, which is why I've been away from my computer most of the week - I've been cleaning!

2. My MIL and I are puzzled by the food gifts given to us by her co-workers. Much of what was brought is your usual stuff - cakes and pastries, casseroles, etc. Someone, however, saw fit to provide us with 3 dozen eggs and 2 pounds of bacon, uncooked, of course. We're assuming they had breakfast on their mind and are of the opinion that it's the thought that counts. The supplies won't go to waste, of course, but it seemed random to us.

3. My daughter is absolutely adoring having her same-age cousin, J in town. They have become the best of friends over the last week and she is going to be heartbroken when J and her family return to NC on Sunday. I always wanted her to be friends with her cousins and I'm sorry that they live so far away and we don't get together very often, especially after seeing this.

4. My own cousin (age 17) was recently sent to a Christian "fresh start" boarding school in GA after telling a bus load of classmates that she had been sneaking out of the house at night to go see her boyfriend (and a lot of other things, but this was apparently the last straw for my uncle). When my Gramma asked her "what were you thinking?" K answered, "we were having sex." (I'm not sure I would have been so bold in front of Gramma, and I'm nearly 30 and married with a kid and one on the way. My Gramma isn't a prude, but geez.) I'm feeling a little guilty about not keeping in better contact with her when we are apart, since I know she desperately needs a good, positive female roll-model in her life that she can relate to. (My Gramma is a wonderful woman, who is a great roll-model, but K and she don't relate well. At all.)

5. Fuss's sleep schedule has been so crazy this week that I am afraid that when things return to normal this coming week, she is in for a rude awakening. She's been staying up late and sleeping in, and still taking fairly good naps, but the schedule is all out of whack. And my girl is a schedule-oriented kid. So this is going to be fun...

6. I had my April OB appointment this week and they had trouble locating the HB on the dopplar. When they popped me in for a quickie ultrasound, we discovered that the placenta is all out in front (it looks like a large sweet potato on the u/s pic) and confirmed why I'm not feeling a lot of movement in the middle (I feel occasional flutters, but they seem high) and why we had trouble with the dopplar. My BIG u/s (the anatomy u/s) is scheduled for just 2 weeks away, on April 15th! Daddy Fuss will be taking at least a half day off to go with me and I am SO excited I can't stand it.

7. I should really get off the computer and finish the picking up and cleaning that I have yet to do, but both human members of my family are napping (plus one dog) and I don't want to disturb them.

Sleeping in my arms

Fuss fell asleep on my lap/in my arms this morning around 10:30. While one of my first thoughts was "what on earth?" followed by "there goes her afternoon nap..." I also really enjoyed it. It's been a really long time since she fell asleep in my arms and having her warm, soft little body curled onto mine was a nice treat.

It made me think. In another 5 months or so, there will be another warm little body falling asleep in my arms, a much smaller little body. And I wonder if my days with Fuss doing that are numbered because of it. I rarely think in terms of what I'm giving up by having another child, but am I giving up that one-on-one closeness that bond that an only child has with her parents by having another baby? Obviously, it's too late to do anything about it now, but it's something to think about.

I have a very close relationship with my mom. But this week - watching my MIL go through the grieving and decision-making process after losing her mother - I think I'm a little jealous that I will have to go through that alone when my mom's time comes (which, hopefully, will be a long, long time from now). And so, back to my point, aren't I doing my child a favor by giving her a sibling? A life-long companion/friend to play with and go through good and bad times with?

Regardless, I'm enjoying these precious minutes with my only-child-for-now and I'm taking stock of these moments a little more closely. Because even though she barely fits on my lap anymore, it feels so nice to have her that close, even if it's one of the last times it happens.