Happy Due Date to me

It's official today. I'm due. Doesn't that sound threatening?
It was funny telling people today when they asked me when I was due that "Today" was the day. But don't worry ya'll, I'm bouncing on my birth ball as we speak and I just finished a pineapple smoothie....all supposed to get things going. Haha. Yeah right. Babies just come when they want to come, I'm certain now. I've tried pretty much everything to get this one out into the world but he is stubborn like his mama.

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Officially, we will be limiting our public excursions from here on out...or eliminating them altogether. It was a wee bit rough on me today trying to take our guy to a simple storytime at the library. I kept on getting looks from the other mothers as every youngster paid attention to the book that was being read while my little joy yelled, jumped up and down like a human pogo stick, dragged furniture around and made the air rather smelly as he tried his darndest to "POOP! MAMA!" Poor child is constipated.
Then he fell and busted his head and screamed for "ICE!!!!!" which the library does not have. Damnit.
I'm sweating, my maternity pants are falling off my hips and exposing lots o'skin and my shirt keeps coming unbuttoned and exposing even more skin. Lawwd. I didn't exactly blend into any background in the 30 minutes I was there. I might as well travel with my very own spotlight.
Luckily we had a friend there for support and later when Carter threw his 4th screaming tantrum (away from the public eye, thank goodness) I was able to shrug it off with a big sigh. Even Carter's little girlfriend told him "Don't cwy Cawter, is otay".

Why does my child sweat so much?

I mean he's like a mechanic in one of those old country gas stations with no air conditioning. Hell, I know it's damn hot outside being the dog days of summer and all but come on.... His two little girlfriends don't look like you've just dunked them in a river when they are playing. It must be something about his genetics. When his daddy sweats you could probably fill up a pint glass just by squeezing out his shirt....ewww, that's kinda TMI, isn't it? Hey, well at least I didn't marry a smelly one...just a sweaty one. Yeah me!

It all started early this morning when we rolled out of bed at 8:30. We had a busy morning planned and daddy was home from work today to GET THE DAMN BATHROOM DONE. Ahem. As I was saying...we had plans, so I chugged some coffee, gave the boy some portable breakfast, swiftly changed our clothes from Night-night to LayAbout wear (we ain't impressing anyone today) and we shot out the door. Today (as I've been telling him for 3 days now) we were headed to go see the Choo Choo's. We had a scheduled thing where we were going to go hang out at the train depot and watch the train come in. For a 2 year old, this is special. We waited and waited in the hot, humid Mippi morning.....sweating. Ugh, how I hate sweating before 10 a.m. There is just something Not Right about it.
Anyway, the Amtrak train came chugging down the line with lights on and a big Chooooo Choooooo. Carter was thrilled. It was just what I'd been telling him it would be. Loud and big and noisy. He clung to me like a baby monkey; arms and legs and head wrapped around me. His eyes were saucers and he was smiling. So sweet. I soak up his excitement and it makes me grin from ear to ear.

So we left and went to play with his friends. He sweat and sweat and sweat some more and finally after a PB & J and some Caillou we came home and took a nap. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Bathroom is nearing completion but I'm not gonna look in there quite yet. I'm just going to trust the home improvement guru that is my husband.

Super Greco Saturday

I love food. I am one of the pickiest eaters in the U. S. of A. but I love me some food. Especially when it is Greek food. Mmmmm. We did Greek / Mediterranean night with friends tonight and I ate so much that it actually hurt. Ugh. Yum. Ugh.
It's funny talking to other parents with all of our kids running around....it's sort of like we are all trying to stay focused on what's being said but there is always one of us who must depart to parts unknown and break up a fight or comfort a fall. Always interesting being a mom, lemme tell ya. At this point I make Kevin chase after our youngster. Carter has become too quick for me. He has also become too quick for the girls....this little stinker stole another kiss from one of his girlfriends tonight. He had already hugged her goodbye and when everyone was looking another direction he snuck right in and layed one on her lips....good grief, soon we will be having "the talk" on appropriate behavior with girls. I think this is how his father stole his first kiss with Mommy. (Hmm, I seem to remember much beer being involved that night, though)

Funny thing. After all the excitement of the evening, clean-up and bath time, Carter got it in his head that he would like to go "potty" (or however he says it...gibberish-like). So we went to the bathroom and I sat him on the big potty cuz he said he needed to go "poop poop". He just looked happy to be sitting there and I was just happy to hold him there but nothing happened. Previously the whole toilet thing scared him out of his wits so this is big improvement. Then he got bored sitting there and wanted to "peepee". So I stood him in front of the toilet and he grabbed his wiener (too descriptive?) and he said "Dada!!". Haha. Yes, I suppose Dada would know better about this part. Well, we did this whole front to back to front to back thing for about 20 minutes with Kevin coming in the relieve my aching back. I told him that if this little Mister actually went that we were busting out one of his birthday presents and "prizing" him with it. Agreed.
However, nothing came out of our little boy. Hey! He tried!

Ahh, the guilt

The guilt of letting Caillou babysit while I sit at the computer. The guilt of checking my sitemeter and realizing that people actually check this blog everyday and I've been too lazy to write anything. The guilt of knowing I haven't called some of my friends back in over a month. Sigh. Does it ever end? :)

Well, since my child is sitting here transfixed with his cartoons I might as well update this damnity damn thing.
Let's see.....on Saturday we did a drive-bye birthday party where we rode the zoo choo-choo, I shoved 2 pieces of cake in my mouth and we dropped off a present for one of Carter's former mommy & me friends. We then spent 9 seconds listening to some good blues before the incessant Mississippi heat wore us down....that and the screaming of our overtired child who wanted to go play on the playground. No way. Pregnant mommy, sweat-drenched daddy and cranky child do not make for a chilled out time listening to live music in the park. Hell no. So home we went. Child napped, daddy and mommy showered again (yes, it's that time of year when you must sometimes take 2 showers in the day) and cooked enchiladas and guacamole for Mexican Night.
The 2nd meeting of our supper club went well. I drank a virgin margarita and ate a huge plate of food (+ dessert of course). Carter ran around yelling "Side! Side!" until we let him outside to play on the giant playscape with his friends. It was hot and all the adults lounged around and tried not to move while the kids ran up and slid down and whacked each other and gathered rocks and fought over a princess tea set and so on and so on. Finally we dragged our sweaty (he gets this from his father) child home and went night-night. Phew. What a day. It's so nice to get to socialize though...we will fight any battle with our child so that we may have intelligent conversations with other adults (intelligent, meaning no discussions about your favorite cartoon and no made up words that only our toddlers understand)
Hmmm, we were ultra lazy on Sunday. I think we were all worn out.

Yesterday I began my single mother act again (starting to get on my nerves). I did have plans to go to my pregnancy fitness class (which I haven't made in a month) so I ended up taking Carter with me at the teachers insistence. He did alright for about 45 minutes. He played nicely with a big box of toys on our mat and only annoyed the first time mothers a little bit and then he would stretch with me (super cute) and he would cuddle me when I layed back for pelvic tilts. :)

This morning we had a swim playdate at a friends and he got to "swim like a turtle"; his favorite thing to do these days. I swear this boy is a little water baby! He loves to count to three with mommy and then jump off the side and splash (of course with me catching him). I was only worried once when he climbed into the pool and right into the deep end before I could catch him. Luckily another mom caught him before he swallowed too much pool. I may be slightly more graceful in the pool but not much quicker. I still have quite a bit of girth...I'm not exactly sleek like a seal; more like a walrus.
I only had to yell at him about 15 times. Woohoo! ;)

Where'd ya get those damn fine cupcakes?

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm, is all this fatty foo momma has to say.

Oh Claude! What a morning. We went to a little friends birthday and Carter smeared cupcake frosting all over himself, got soaken wet and then serenaded the adults with a lively rendition of Mozarts Piano Sonata in C Major. I swear....really....it happened. He is a budding pianist. Lessons are right around the corner, I tell ya!
So, as I am saying to a friend "oh no, the heat doesn't seem to bother me like when I was pregnant with Carter....", I'm thinking that maybe I should keep my mouth shut since it is 95 degrees outside, I'm covered in melted sugared icing and I've begun to "wilt" (hey! I'm a lady so therefore I wilt elegantly......no sarcastic comments). After we got home and crabby, sugared child fell asleep I limped around the house groaning like an old crone. I guess it took more out of me than I thought it would. We had a great time but I totally need my sidekick. Now I really miss daddy. He has a duty as husband and father to chase after our little rapscallion while his beautiful, pregnant wife sips iced beverages and socializes with momma friends. *sigh*

Carter's adventurous activities of the a.m. : climbing playscape and yelling "momma!" from the very top and waving frantically, finding a big stick and beating a pine tree trunk for about 10 minutes (yeah, not sure why), eating 3 cupcakes and part of the paper cup they came in, eating everyone else's cupcake crumbs they dropped on the playscape, sliding down the big slide and leaving a smeared frosting sugar trail (kinda like a snail leaves a slime trail), splashing in puddles, playing the piano and .........get this.....kissing girls. Yes, we had our First Kiss with a girl today. Funny. She had just bopped him on the head and was ordered by her daddy to kiss and make-up. Well, Carter puckered up and they smooched lip to lip. How come I never have a camera for stuff like this? It was pretty darn cute. He is a ladies man. Must be those dreamy baby blue eyes of his. :)

Devil's Playground

I think we are dealing with some behavioral issues lately. Hmmm. "No throwing, stop running, share the toys, LISTEN TO MOMMY!". Good grief.
Today we had fun swimming at a friends but I nearly lost my voice reprimanding my darling son. He is so damn sweet natured, honestly. He will give kisses and hugs, whisper "luv-oo" before he rolls over to sleep, help with the chores, pat my belly.... I mean he really is sweet...until he is let lose to explore or get into trouble. This devilish smile suddenly appears and he will look at me sideways like "Hey mom! Watch this! hehehe". This must be a phase where he is testing his limits with me because there are days when he does not listen to one word I say....unless it is icecream, Barney, Clifford or Choo-Choo; then it's "Ah-huh!" (excited toddler affirmative). I think he knows that I am getting rounder and slower and so he can therefore outrun me, the little stinker.
He spent the whole morning in the pool. He loved it! He was pretty daring as long as mommy was holding on to him. He was trying to drink the pool, however. mmmm.

We miss daddy.

Mes ami's et cuisine

Growing up in Michigan and within the shadow of a big city I've had my fill of all sorts of food from around the world; Thai, Indian, Mexican (mmm, I miss Xochi's), Lebanese/Arabic, Greek, Italian, Asian, Ethiopian....to name a few. Even in my travels/studies I've had some interesting and yummy Ecuadorean and Cuban food. However, before moving down here I only knew of Cajun country from movies and just pictured swamps, alligators and unintelligible people named Gascon. So I essentially know nothing about Cajun people, culture or food. Well, I didn't until a couple of years ago when we moved a little closer to the Bayou region. Now I am learning and I must say it is quite an interesting thing...the whole Cajun thing, I mean.

Me and the girls are like "Why not have a Cajun cook night??"
So I think, Sure! Sounds awesome! I love food! ......What the hell do I make? What does a Yankee Vegetarian know about Cajun food?
Not much but desserts are always a safe bet. I went for a traditional bread pudding with a white chocolate cream sauce. You can screw up a bread pudding (I think mine turned out okay though) but you just aren't allowed to mess up a gumbo! Sacre bleu! Especially when the other two "chefs" are from Louisiana and were practically nursed with gumbo. :)
Thank gawd I am married to a man who lived in New Orleans and knows a little about what traditional Cajun food is supposed to taste like. He helped by saying stuff like "Well...it looks right..."


We ended up having an awesome time. All the food was marvelous! We had Mandi's shrimp pasta, Olivia's gumbo, Andy's ribs and my bread pudding. I give everything a big thumb's up! (I even tried a spoonful of gumbo...no ribs though) Mmmmmmm. What a great time to start a supper club thing....when I'm pregnant and can gorge myself on whatever I want and not have to worry about gaining weight. Gotta love the perks of pregnancy!
I don't know what it is about getting together and sharing food but it makes just a regular conversation more fun. The guys got to hang out and talk about guy things and run after the kids (who were everywhere!), the girls got to actually sit and eat food....well, I did at least, because my little baby is still in my belly...theirs sat in there laps and tried attacking the food they weren't allowed to eat yet. :) How dreadfully cliche' but we even had a celebrity gossip session.

The toddlers were hilarious together! Carter gets so hyped up when he plays with his little girlfriends. I love watching his face when he sees his little buddies because it shines with so much innocent joy. I must say that even I felt like I was coming down off of a sort of Mommy High after we got home. Since socializing is so much harder to do with kids it seems more intense when you actually get to do it. I really enjoyed myself and feel lucky to have met such great people since we moved here.
Thanks ladies!
I hope we can keep up with the supper club thing. I think Mexican is the plan for next month. Hmmm, what others can we do? Middle Eastern, Greek, Italian, Chinese.... I even heard the suggestion for a Decadent Dessert night. Can't wait!

Playdates, painting and popsicles

So we went over to a friends house today for a playdate and Carter was introduced to paint. I know, I'm a bad mommy for not nurturing the little artist in him but we have no where to paint....or draw. Plus he is The Destructor so I can only imagine what the house would look like after a toddler covered in paint ran around in it (although...we do need the den and kitchen painted...).
He took his painting very seriously. I can see now that the artistic gene definitely skipped me.(I am even now staring at a blank tote bag that I am supposed to decorate with fabric paint and stuff so that our little boy will stop carrying my purse and instead carry his own tote bag.)
I think that I will have to get him more art supplies soon. I'd really hate to see him grow up without an outlet of expression.
After michaelangelo was finished with his creation Miss Olivia gave him a juice pop. Obviously we see the early examples of why it's more fun at other kids houses. (note to self: get popsicle maker, paintbrushes and paint) So with stairs to climb on, popsicles to eat and paint to smear all over our chubby little baby legs our little man was in heaven. No wonder he threw a mini tantrum when we left. Luckily he did not cause any physical harm to anyone, especially the little babies.
Well, off to be "artistic". Oh lord, this is why we pay people who are good at this stuff. I will have to post a picture of my finished creation when I'm done....or maybe not.

Our fun filled family weekend

Well, we've had a high-energy weekend. It all started Friday night; we went to see some live music downtown at the train depot. It would have been great had I remembered to bring the cash for drinks and food (Kevin says he specifically reminded me). Hey! My job is to remember the sippy cups, extra clothes/hats/shoes, sun screen and all the various snacks. I can't be relied on to remember a silly thing like cash. Who uses cash these days anyway? Pshh, I say! I martyred myself right away and said I would go back home to get it so that we could still enjoy our evening. It only took me 30 minutes or so...not that big of a deal. I got to drive around by myself and listen to the radio loud. That never happens!

On Saturday we went to a little friends, big-2 year old birthday bash. Man! Carter had a blast and Mommy actually got to talk with friends while Daddy tag-teamed the babysitting. It makes so much of a difference just having Kevin there to help watch the little munchkin at times like this when we are out at someone else's house. Phew, I was pretty worn out by the time we left but it was so worth it. Little Meredith was the happiest little 2 year old and she had the best toys to play on for the kids (and dad's, apparently). There was a big Mickey's Moonwalk jumpy thing and also their gigantic play structure with 3 death defying slides. Carter Kanievel did all three slides of course....I'm assuming he was caught up in the momentum of all the other kids and their excitement, however, once he came shooting out of the tunnel-slide face first and ate some grass I reevaluated Daredevil Daddy's "slide watching duties" :) .
He also bounced himself silly in the jumper. At one point I wiggled my misshapen body in there as well and got a little workout.....hmmm, I was a little dizzy afterwards though, not so sure 'twas the best idea....
I think the funniest moment was looking over to see three dad's and their children (including Kevin and Carter) jumping around in there. Mickey's whole jumping house was shaking so bad it didn't look like it would make it through the day!
Anyway, we both enjoyed talking to adults other than each other and Carter wore himself out hard.
We had a nice afternoon and I had a scheduled meeting with my Doula to discuss the birth (Kevin was on babysitting duty again, this time watching a 4 yr old and Carter....I wore him out on Saturday!). It was so beautiful this weekend we enjoyed a nice dinner outside on the patio and a family walk around the neighborhood.

On Sunday we had a nice laid back day and worked outside in the yard mostly. I actually got to help dig out my garden and till it up, ready to plant. We are waiting until next weekend to plant though since it will probably get down to the 30's at night in the next few days. Another family walk chatting it up with our neighbors made the evening feel very relaxing and so "suburban" and quaint. I hated to see the weekend come to an end but we had Mommy & Me this morning so it is always something to look forward to.
Carter was a maniac in class today...running around and laughing hysterically and helping Ms. Madelene clean up and pass out snack mats....it was too funny watching him. I have seriously never seen him so keyed up, it was almost as if someone slipped him some speed!
Ahhh, in a couple of hours Kevin gets home and I get to have mommy time at my fitness for two prego class. Just a bunch of exercising pregnant women and no kids to watch. Bliss! :)

Next outfit, Please!

Yes, we change 2-3 times a day lately....that's a minimum. It's almost like a Broadway production around here except less feathers. How has Carter become more messy with age? I dunno but today we met some friends for pizza (I even brought a bib) and somehow managed to keep the sauce off of our cute new outfit. Yeah!
Ahhh, but that is before the chocolate chip cookie and after I removed said bib. Oh who cares really. I got some laughs at the happy choco smiles with the goo smeared over his silly grin and teeth. Miss Mandi is now his hero. It was like he saw the Messiah of Cookies as he reverently took the offered treat. I didn't even fuss too much when he dropped some on the floor and then quickly picked it up and shoved it in his mouth....it was too funny just watching him enjoy the sugar.
He is still sleeping off his sugar high now. ahhhhh. (deep sigh) Time alone to feel soft fuddly wuddly movements in my belly in peace. :)