Wrapping up 2007

We're back from sunny Florida after a much too short trip. It's incredibly hard to leave 80 degrees and sunny when you know you're heading into snow and freezing coldness. Ah well. I hope you all had a very merry Christmas (if you celebrate)! Now to wrap up 2007 the old fashioned way:

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?
Bought my first house. That was an experience that exhausted and thrilled me all at the same time.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't do resolutions because I have a very hard time sticking to them. But this year I have made one that I intend to keep: to be a good parent.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
A few friends of friends and Tim's cousin, but no one very close to me.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, thank god.

5. What countries did you visit?
None. We traveled in the US this year, and most likely won't be making a trip out of the tri-state area until Miss Sarah decides on a locale for her NYE wedding next year! Hurry up, woman!

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
A healthy baby...but we weren't planning one for 2007 so does that count?

7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
November 19, 2007. That was the day we found out we were having a wee little Smithy.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Again, buying our first home, and starting our family. It's been an exhausting year already :)

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not standing up for myself at work when my integrity was questioned by a person with a cold, dead space where her heart should be. To think she's studying to be a pediatric nurse now...I will throw myself before a speeding bus if she ever so much as lays a hand on my child. Now I must let go of this hate. Thank you.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Only self-inflicted. I had a small cosmetic procedure done just under a year ago, and it was the worst pain I have ever experienced. Beware.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My pup, Lily. She's the best furry thing that has ever graced this earth, and I am eternally grateful that Tim didn't make me take her back when I came home and he realized he was the proud parent of a 4 pound "purse dog".

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Tim's. The joy that he expresses about having this baby makes my heart explode.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
See above psychotic former employee. And Jamie Lynn Spears. Honey, they start talking about sex ed in 5th grade these days. You KNEW exactly what might happen.

14. Where did most of your money go?
The house. And Target. It's an illness, really.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Again, the baby. That news eclipsed anything else going on in the world.

16. What song will always remind you of 2007?
The Way I Am, Ingrid Michaelson (is that right?)

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Happier, but for different reasons. Last year was all about the wedding, which was amazing. And this past year was the beginning of our life together.
b) thinner or fatter? Fatter, but for good reason.
c) richer or poorer? Poorer, see #14.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Traveled. Anywhere.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Worrying about all of it. Selling the condo, my fertility.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
In Florida with some of my family. It was a lovely day...and we took a ride on my Uncle's boat!

21. Did you fall in love in 2007?
Over and over again with my husband and our little blob of a baby.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
Don't make fun: Notes from the Underbelly. That is some great sitcom writing. And it strikes a chord what with the pregnancy story line and all.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Nah. Only the psycho. But that was a 2007 issue.

24. What was the best book you read?
I read a lot but nothing really stayed with me. I'm taking recommendations for 2008.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Ingrid Michaelson. She's just so cool.

26. What did you want and get?
Baby Smithy.

27. What did you want and not get?
More sleep.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
I am terrible at movies. I need to make Tim sign me up for Netflix...I'll get back to you on that one next year.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 26 this year, and we were staying at my parents' while we were waiting to move into the house. It was a nice day, but uneventful.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
This is so materialistic, but finding a damn couch for my living room. Even though I love to decorate, I hate furniture shopping, and I think that stems from my indecisiveness.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
Veering into fashion victim land. And it's only going to get worse. I went into a Motherhood Maternity today to find some jeans, and I thought I was going to die in there. Why in the world would I wear a top that says BABY in bright red with an arrow? Like it's not completely obvious???

32. What kept you sane?
Tim and his patience.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Carter Oosterhouse from Carter Can on HGTV. Ladies, this is one perfect tall, dark, and sexy speciman, and though I rarely watch that show (and only for him if I do) he just makes me melt.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
Oprah campaigning for Obama. I liked him so much more before he and Oprah teamed up. She may do good in the world, but I just can't get behind a candidate that relies so heavily on a richy-rich, media-centric show woman like Oprah. I prefer a candidate that doesn't need flash and cash to get his/her message out. Now if Hillary would stop being so wishy-washy, I might have my mind made up soon.

35. Who did you miss?
My friend, L, aka Kermit. She just up and moved to Maine yesterday, but I had to say goodbye last week. I'm going to miss her so very much.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
I didn't meet too many new people in 2007.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.
Be kind to people, it gets you so much farther in life. That is the characteristic that Tim possesses that drew me to him in the first place. I am trying to be a kinder, softer person.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Like movie quotes, this is just something I can't do well. I'll leave it to you to add whatever sums up YOUR year.

Thanks for playing! May you have a happy, healthy end to 2007, and a celebratory beginning to 2008. I'll most likely be in bed for the midnight ball drop, so have a glass of champagne for me!

New pants, new attitude

My jeans? They are snug. As you could probably tell from that 8 week picture, my stomach is rounding quickly, and my jeans are leaving tell-tale waistband imprints on my skin. So I caved and bought...MATERNITY JEANS....duh duh duhhhhhhh. I tried to just go up a size but the waistband was still so tight and non-stretchy. And itchy and uncomfortable and just no. I ordered two pairs of jeans from Gap Maternity and one pair of black work type pants for the time being. And let me tell you something: stretchy waistbands are where it's at. Why we have suffered for so long stuffing our behinds into stiff pants is beyond me! Rejoice in the stretchy waistband!

Oh excuse me. I forgot for a minute that I am 26 and not 86. I don't really LIKE stretchy pants...just right now when I am gassy, and bloated, and my shape changes 5 times a day. The pants I bought are all a little big right now, which makes sense since I don't have a big ol' belly hanging around nor has my behind grown that much. But in due time, these pants will be a lifesaver. I'll settle for a little saggy right now if that means I can breathe comfortably and eat and not worry about the waistband of my pants slicing a hole in my hip.

In other news, we leave for Florida on Sunday, and I am just tickled pink. We decided to stuff a week's worth of stuff into two carry-ons...2 plane changes does not make me confident that our things will show up if we check them. I figure that about a tenth of my summer weather wardrobe fits anyhow so I'll be the chick wearing the same two skirts and tanks for the week. Washed and dried of course. At least every other day :) That, some flip flops, a bathing suit (OH GOD KILL ME NOW), and a dress for the country club dinner we'll most likely attend, and bam! We are packed. This is going to be my least fashionable vacation, and I am damn excited.

And when we get back, I go down to part time at work. Tuesdays and Thursdays I will be kicking ass and taking names at the office, and Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays you can find me watching Oprah, yoga-ing prenatal style, and attending various doctor appointments. Oh, and working for Tim. In my spare time. Nap time is from 2pm-3:30pm, just so you know.

Our First Year (a little late)

Our anniversary falls on November 25th, 4 days after Tim's birthday and right arond Thanksgiving. So it's a busy week to begin with. And this year, we found out we were expecting a little pooping and peeing bundle of joy the day before Tim's birthday. In all that excitement, we kind of pushed our anniversary to the background. I don't mean we forgot about it, but we didn't plan for it the way we might have if there was nothing else thrilling going on.

We ended up having a lovely weekend with a fantastic dinner on that Saturday night, and I surprised Tim with tickets to a Bears game on our actual anniversary (Sunday). But the shock of a baby on the way just subdued the whole occasion. We even forgot to eat the top of our wedding cake that my parents just couldn't WAIT to get out of their freezer. But you know what? I wouldn't change a single thing. We had an amazing year full of so many wonderful memories. We got married, we moved, and we started our own little family. Not everyday was blissful, of course, but it was a damn good year. I can't wait for decades more.

I never claimed to be proper

So, I've had a couple readers mention that my belly picture made them a little uncomfortable. Well, I should say that is my interpretation of their comments...the comments were more along the lines of "don't you want to keep that private?" or "that is too much information to share with everyone" or "seems a little improper". I understand where they are coming from as they are very proper ladies themselves, and they do prefer privacy to publicity.

This is not going to be another post from another whiny blogger complaining about how her readers don't underrrstaaaaaaandddddd and wahhhhhhhhh. All I have to say is that I choose what I post and when, and that is the beauty of a personal blog. I love that I have fabulous readers who choose to read and listen to what I have to say. It's gratifying to be complimented about a particular post, and humbling to be told that a post didn't sit so well with a certain person. I want this blog to be a living record of my existence...for my husband, my children, my family, my friends, and whoever else may be following along.

So, I apologize if I offended anyone, and I hope that those who felt that way understand what I am saying here. However, the belly pictures will still be coming at frequent intervals and will be labled as such. Feel free to skip over any content you may not like...I'm sure I'll be mouthing off about something you agree with soon. Hopefully I can look back on this little experiment and not be totally embarrassed. If I am, you'll be able to recognize the red cheeks from a mile away.

Why husbands don't get it

So I just showed Tim a picture of another blogger who is expecting. Her picture was of her belly at 11.5 weeks. Tim looks at it, looks at mine at 8 weeks, and says "Honey, you're bigger than her." He then follows that with this gem "It might be the McDonald's and Potbelly's shakes...maybe?" And then I killed him. The End.

8 Weeks

Today you get to see a sight. I'm almost totally ashamed to show you this. I have never ever ever been this large before. And by me showing you this, I am letting go of any body image issues I may have had. Here is the belly, at 8 weeks:

Good lord, WHERE did THAT come from? The baby is the size of a lima bean and should not be causing such a protrusion. And, um, back fat? Sheesh. 9 months up, at least 9 months down, so I hear. Bring on the brownies.

Electrical madness

We knew that buying a 122 year old house would pose some interesting problems when doing any renovations, minor or major. For two weeks I pleaded with Tim to take down the hideous dining room chandelier to make a home for Chandy. He then fell ill, on his deathbed, could not even lift a delicate finger, wah. So finally, at the very end of the week, and right before Our First Annual Holiday Party, he took down the old chandelier. Unfortunately, we then discovered that the dining room seems to be the only room in the entire house that was not rewired some time in the last century. I'm not kidding.

The wiring is of the cloth variety, something that Tim has never seen before but knows is not up to code. It poses a very serious electrical fire risk... one that is so serious Tim had to sit me down and explain that it could ignite within the WALL and engulf our house and our UNBORN CHILD in flames within minutes. Ok, you got me, I was convinced we needed a professional to come in and fix the wiring. Tim is supposed to call a referral today, and he's thinking that we're looking at a very expensive project. I suppose this comes with the territory of owning an old home.

Do you all even care about electrical wiring? Nah...me neither. Tim will handle it. In the meantime, I will think about what I want to eat next...

The fat is coming

How does one go from relatively slim with pants that fit to a large blob that is bursting at the seams of every pair of pants she wears? My jeans don't fit...at all. It hurts to button them. My work pants are narrowly passing the stand up and zipper test. My bet is that in three weeks I will be entirely without any pants to wear and looking very ridiculous pants-less on the street. This does not bode well for the rest of this pregnancy.

However, I have decided that I am not going to "do" numbers. By that I mean that when I get weighed at the doctor's office every few weeks, I am going to ask that they only tell me if it's too much or too little rather than the actual number. I've never weighed over a certain point in my life, and I will eclipse that and then some during this pregnancy. I need to be OK with that, and as long as I don't know the number I think I'll feel better about all the weight gain. I know it's what the baby needs for strong growth and development. If the baby wants Twizzlers, then damn it, the baby gets Twizzlers.

This whole experience is completely surreal. I've started reading the books, and staying away from the pregnancy message boards (I cannot even believe how uneducated the majority of America really is...jump on one of those message boards and see for yourself. Ridiculous.). I know I will start to feel "pregnant" and "maternal" once the baby starts making its presence known with a swift jab to my bladder or ribs, but in the meantime I just feel slow, lethargic, and chubby. And irritable. Did I mention that? Ask Tim...I am peach to live with right now.

The pregnancy brings up all manner of questions: Will I be a good parent? Will I be able to teach my son/daughter how to be a good person? Will Tim and I be patient? Will I be able to learn how to "parent" a child? Am I ready?

I suppose those are questions that get answered in time. I am fully prepared to fall madly in love with this child over the next 33 weeks, and when it arrives (after a peaceful labor with a lovely epidural delivered at just the right time...shut up, I can dream) I will fall even deeper into the baby love spell that washes over new parents. That round tummy, soft head, sweet breath infant love spell...it's positively dreamy.

P.S. According to the Chinese gender chart, we are having a BOY. Believe what you will but Tim, myself, and my mother all think boy too. We're taking bets up until we find out.