Still no baby. I am "ripe", have had my membranes stripped, and even tried taking evening primrose oil for the first time. Nothing works. My body likes being pregnant so much it wants to stay that way forever. Oh well, J-P and Max are both sick so it's probably not the best time to go into labor. Hopefully it won't be too much longer, I think this baby gained 5 pounds this week from a Halloween candy overdose.
Max is so intrigued by my massive belly. He is slightly confused, however, and thinks everyone has a "baby" in their tummy. When we ask him where the baby is he points to his own tummy, J-P's tummy, a stranger's tummy...whoever is closest. Aside from being sick, he has been running around the house, singing, climbing, making messes, and playing 'peek a boo' with anything he can find.
...So our desktop computer contracted a deadly virus and, well, died. Since J-P has been working around the clock on grad school applications (on the lap-top), I have had minimal access to the internet. No fun for me. He finished and submitted the last one today, so I stole his computer and locked myself in the office to do some much needed blogging and on-line shopping. Oh how a stay-at-home mom needs her connection to the outside world.
Lately, I have been preoccupied with food. One day I will make a batch of pumpkin cookies, and then eat the whole batch. In one day. No joke. The next day I feel fat and guilty and cook up a storm of vegetables. After a couple days of eating vegetables, I crave sweets and make cookies again. After I've polished off a dozen or so, I ask J-P to hide them from me. A few hours later I am ready for another cookie and I throw a royal pregnant tantrum when J-P won't tell me where he hid them. After a series of threats he gives in and let's me have at least one more. The next day I feel guilty and run to the store to buy vegetables. On my vegetable days, I have been making soup. It's an easy way to eat a lot of vegetables at once, and there is something about eating soup in the fall that makes me happy. Even if it is 90 degrees outside. I have been making a lot of different versions of butternut squash soup. Some are good, some are gross...hopefully I'll perfect my recipe soon. My last attempt was a curried butternut squash soup with sauteed mushrooms, kale, and onions. I had to exercise a lot of self-control not to eat all of the curried mushrooms while the squash was roasting. Next time around I'll dump in a handful of cayenne to see if I can kick-start labor.
In other Chez Scoville news, we had a fun Halloween chatting with friends and neighbors on our bishop's driveway. In AZ a lot of people have homemade chili potluck parties on their driveway because the weather is so nice. Everyone brings their candy and passes it out from their camping chair. Much more fun than answering the door every three minutes. I didn't dress up, but fooled a few people. My favorite comment of the night: "Oh, are you supposed to be a pregnant lady or something?" Runner up comment: "Is that a costume? (as they pointed to my belly)" I chose to be practical instead of creative this year, so Max got to wear Halloween pajamas.
Boys are a different species. I know this because I grew up with two brothers. Being the only girl in my family was essential training for my current position: mom to Max. Max is all boy. He prefers to be outdoors at all times, thus enabling him to eat dirt, weeds, rocks, and ruin all of his clothes and shoes with mud. His self-appointed full time job is to rearrange all of the natural elements in our backyard. He takes special care to remove all the dirt from our plant pots and to strategically throw rocks into the pool and onto the lawn so his dad can run them over with the lawnmower. He is quite skilled at this task. When it is time to come inside I strip him down at the door and carry him (kicking and screaming in protest) straight to the tub. He loathes being indoors. He hangs on the door handle, cries, and begs to be released into the wild whenever we are inside. Unfortunately for Max, my medical compression pantyhose and I don't last too long in the 85-90 degree weather. Unfortunately for me, Max has no patience for nylon/pregnancy induced heat stroke. Let's just say we have some long days.
In other family news, my brother Tyler got engaged last night to his girlfriend Kathryn. Congratulations to both of you! I am very excited to have equal numbers of boys and girls in our family, as I have been outnumbered for quite a while.
The weather is cooler and the pool fence is in place. Max can finally play outside! This warranted the purchase of his first outdoor toy-- a sand box. We picked it up yesterday and he has been enthralled with it. Totally absorbed in the mystery of sand. I tried to get a good shot of him playing but I could not get him to look at the camera. I was putting on a one-man circus complete with song, dance, clapping, snapping, and a jiggling over-sized belly. He didn't look up once. I guess I can't compete with sand. Here is a shot of our pool fence...it turned out better than I expected it to.
You can check out more pictures on flickr by clicking on the box to the right...
I am vehemently opposed to wearing nylons. I don't like them. They are synthetic, itchy, scratchy, uncomfortable, and, in my opinion, only appropriate for women over 50. I don't own a pair. Well, I didn't own a pair...until today. I can explain. With the arrival of pregnancy number two came the unwelcome arrival of my first varicose vein. That's right, just one. A small one, at that. Nonetheless, being the paranoid pregnant person that I am, I decided to point it out to my OB at my last appointment. He immediately grabbed his pad and wrote me a prescription for medical grade compression pantyhose. A prescription for pantyhose? While I agree that pantyhose should not be available for purchase by the general public, was a prescription really necessary?
Me: "Um, do I really have to wear them?"
Doc: "Yes, you don't want it to get worse."
I went to fill my prescription (not covered by insurance, by-the-way) and the total came to $115 for one pair. Yikes. Luckily they didn't have my size. I came home and found the same thing on-line for $25. I am wearing them right now. The package should have come with a warning label of the possible side effects. The wearing of this product may cause bothersome sensations such as creepy crawly, itchy scratchy, heebie jeebies, and general anxiety and paranoia. Avoid wearing this product in houses with an internal temperature of 80 degrees or more to prevent heat stroke, hysteria, and excessive perspiration. Wearing these things for the next six weeks will be sheer torture. After the baby comes, I will consider donating them to the federal government to be used in the coerced interrogation of convicted terrorists.
In the meantime, I'll be waiting to exhale.
My growing belly has Max obsessed with stomachs. He is always pulling up everyone's shirt (including mine), pointing to their belly and asking "what's that?"
J-P finally took the GMAT and did well considering it has been 10 years since his last formal education. We are trying to decide if it is worth it to uproot our family and move somewhere crazy to go to school, or if it would be more practical to stay here and do the part-time program at ASU. I'm not sure I'm willing to trade my pool and over sized front-loading washer and dryer for apartment living. In the meantime we are working on applications just in case. Who knows if we will get in anywhere.
We took Max to get a blood test yesterday. No fun! J-P and a nurse held Max down while another nurse rubber banded his arm to try and find a vein. Nothing showed up so she dug around with a needle for a couple minutes while he screamed and I watched in helpless horror. After a couple minutes of digging and no blood, she gave up and pulled the needle out. Another nurse gave it a try and struck blood after another minute of digging. Turns out Max HATES to get his blood taken. All it took was a hug from his mom and a couple of gluten-free, dye-free fruit snacks and he was back on his feet. The "I had a blood test sticker" he is wearing in this picture was icing on the cake. What is it about kids and stickers?
Here is Max's report card from our pediatrician appointment this morning. He has gained almost 3 pounds and grown almost 2 inches in the last month! This thing is going straight up on the fridge. He is finally back up to what he weighed when he was 9 months old. It's funny how your life changes after having a baby. I used to find joy in dark chocolate, a good book, a trip to the beach, and having tea at a fancy hotel. Now nothing makes me happier than having a healthy child.
We finally sold J-P's electric guitar (for full asking price!). This allowed me the freedom to buy this fab stroller without the normal guilt or stomach ache that, for me, always accompany a major purchase. Plus, I got a steal of a deal on ebay. I've been researching double strollers for months, and the Phil and Ted's E3 sport is where it's at. This stroller has magic powers. It is very important that I have a good stroller because Max's favorite thing to do is go on a walk. In fact, "walk" was one of his first words. He doesn't appreciate my lectures on heat stroke and the dangers of going for walks in 110 degree weather.
Aside from walks, I have been cooking non-stop. Every time Max is hungry, I have to make him something from scratch. Literally. There is not a packaged, processed food (not even a cracker!) on the market that I can give him. It's so exhausting. On top, I have to cook a separate meal for J-P and me. Sometimes I cook up to three meals a night if Max doesn't like the first one I give him. Tomorrow is his 15 month check-up. I'm afraid to say that after all this hard work, I'll feel very discouraged if he hasn't grown or gained. Fingers are crossed.
I can't believe it's September. There is so much I need (want) to get done before the baby comes, and there is not much time left. Blogging has taken a backseat as so many other things (like keeping Max alive) have become huge priorities. It is, however, high time for an update on the haps at chez scoville. The good news: Max has gained almost three pounds since we put him on a gluten-free, allergy-free diet. Today we were driving and he was giggling, playing with the new fat rolls on his legs, and saying "what's that?" It has been such a relief to have him gaining instead of losing.
Max has been gaining some major skill in the communication and comprehension department. According to the books, his skills are on par for his age, but I still feel like he is majorly gifted. He loves his routine. He is very good about reminding me when it is time for his walk, his lunch, his nap, and his bath. He is so curious. He constantly points to things and asks "what's that?" over, and over, and over. He is very coordinated (which he definitely didn't get from his parents) and can dribble a soccer ball around the house like a pro.
I have been nesting. Not the cleaning and organizing variety...the home decor variety. Part of me realizes that after the baby comes I won't be leaving the house much, and I will have a much more positive mental state if I like the way it looks. We have been slowly selling our old stuff and buying new stuff as our budget allows. I bought a used chair and ottoman and special ordered some fabric to reupholster it. I'm sure I'm in way over my head, I'll let you know how it goes. We are also getting rid of J-P's bachelor big-screen and replacing it with a smaller, less intrusive looking t.v. With the help of my design friend Sarah, I finally made a decision on a t.v. stand. Hopefully it looks ok.
Max and I have been getting out of the house as much as possible so J-P can work and study for the GMAT without distraction. I love going places because of all of the looks I get from the general public. So entertaining. Some people are even brave enough to comment. Here is a sampling from our morning at the market--
Stranger: Oh my gosh, when are you due?
Me: Oh, not until the middle of November...
Stranger: Really? You look like you are going to pop any second.
Stranger: Um, how old is he?
Me: Fourteen months.
Stranger: And when are you due?
Me: In November.
Stranger: Wow, that's close together.I think it scares people that Max looks like a 12 month old and I look like I am 10 months pregnant. I love to watch people's reactions. Anyway, things are good around here. Time is flying.
