Large, Luscious and Overdue

Well, the luscious part may not be true, but I'm trying to stay positive. :) On Friday while chatting with my dad, Jason told him that I was "very large with child indeed," which of course prompted him to request pictures. (My dad has never seen me at any stage of pregnancy.) So, here is the latest picture of me, a full 40+ weeks pregnant. I think it is sweet the way that Weston is always trying to "kiss" the baby... It's kind of a weird feeling to be "overdue." The way I see it, the baby really is NOT overdue, though, since due dates are the result of an imperfect guesstimation to begin with... but it's easy to get impatient when you've had a specific date in your head for so many months!

However, I do believe firmly in letting mother nature do her thing. The baby will come when she is ready, which is what matters most to me.

As an aside, Weston ran outside at about the same time I sat down at the computer to write this post. I thought I had better go check on him really quickly, when I found the stinker playing happily... in the buff!

Well, at least I won't get bored while I wait for labor to start!

Naughty Trick #782

Hide under tables or desks where mommy has no hope of maneuvering her humongous, awkward body to pry you out. Oh, and just to make it exciting, take Grandma's iPhone with you...
Fortunately, there are effective tactics for getting a child to do what you want without using physical force. Well, most times anyway!

The Good Times Just Keep On Rollin'

Where do I begin?

I know I had some ideas for a brilliant blog post this morning, but after chasing Weston around the backyard, cleaning him up, and putting him in his room - where he is currently whining for me to let him out - I'm feeling pooped both physically and mentally.

It is amazing how much more energy it takes to do simple tasks when you're lugging around a huge belly, and when your body is working so hard to grow the baby! I tell my husband on a regular basis that although I still seem like wonderwoman (ha ha ha), he shouldn't expect as much from me because with all the work my body is doing, it's pretty much like I'm climbing a mountain for 9 months! Pretty good, huh? I read the comparison in a pregnancy book once, and have to admit that I may possibly be guilty of quoting it just a few too many times. :)

Truth be told, I have not been getting enough rest (which doesn't help) - and this heat is killer!! However, this last week (Wednesday the 3rd) was my birthday, and I must acknowledge the amazing blessing that befell the valley - a blessing that couldn't possibly have been a coincidence... markedly cooler, even delightful weather for a few days!

Now I'm back to roasting again, and thought I had better post some things before I get dangerously behind. While the good times do keep rollin' - as the title of this post suggests - Jason and I have been extremely busy. Here is some of what we (and when I say "we," I mostly mean Weston) have been up to:

Eating raw onion... don't ask me why, but Weston likes raw onion (and frozen asparagus too). We were making an omelette, and when we put the remaining onions in the pan, he started crying! How rude of us to take away his Saturday morning raw onion snack. Seriously, what kind of parents are we?Talking on the phone... nothing new there. He makes quite a variety of facial expressions while chatting it up. It's really pretty amusing!Riding his Harley around the backyard and playing with/torturing grandma's dogs:Speaking of dogs, my mom recently got a new black lab named Leon, who is sweet and very well trained. Weston loves him too...Shae-Leigh came to visit over Memorial Day weekend, and everyone had fun giving Leon a bath - although I think Leon enjoyed it best of all.
When Leon was all clean, Weston gave him a big kiss. Weston loves to give kisses. It kind of grossed me out at first the way he kept kissing the dogs. But then I thought about all the many things kids do to get germy, and realized that this was one battle not worth picking! Choosing his own clothes... Weston has become very insistent about what he wants to wear, and unless we're going to church and he wants to wear shorts, I pretty much let him choose. For some reason, the kid really loves sweaters. For this very reason, I had gathered up all his winter clothes to be stored so that he would stop wanting to wear them! Well, he found the pile of winter clothes, grabbed what is possibly the warmest sweater he has, and pestered grandma until she put it on! (Did I mention he was wearing a long sleeved shirt underneath?) Then he ran and played outside in the 95 degree heat like that!

What a nut. (In case you are wondering, I did make sure at least that he drank as much water as possible!)Weston's life pretty much revolves around playing in the back yard as much as possible... it makes me wonder how I will survive without it! He is so much more content and occupied than he used to be... which frees me up to get more done. (Although it also provides many more opportunities for mischief!) Sometimes Weston just plays and plays until he is so pooped that he can barely stand up:I look forward to the day when Weston can take piano lessons... he just LOVES the piano! (Like his mommy)And for those of you who didn't feel sorry for me at all the last time I posted a picture of my pregnant self (not to mention any names - Angie :), I will have you know that I have now entered the phase of uncomfortable largeness... even Jason (who usually gets excited with me about new clothes purchases) told me that he just couldn't get thrilled about the new pregnant "frock" I brought home the other day. I think my massive stomach is interfering with his ability to appreciate my excellent fashion sense! Maybe I should throw in the towel and just wear moo moos for the next two months.

Nah. I did manage to find a pretty cute swimsuit. If all else fails, I'll just wear that!!

What is it about cupcakes?

I haven't eaten a cupcake in probably 15 years, and I'm sure I haven't even thought of cupcakes since the last time I ate one... until recently.

Two oddly simultaneous phenomina have occured in the last couple of months:

1) An intense longing for the luscious little treats (perhaps pregnancy induced?)

2) A HIGH frequency of cupcakes offered at social gatherings.

Unfortunately for me (but fortunately for my butt and thighs), I am unable to eat cupcakes due to my wheat allergy... which as you can imagine makes these cravings all the more maddening!

For example, last Saturday I attended a lovely Stake enrichment activity. Afterwards, what do you suppose was served for refreshments? A random sampling of desserts where at least I stand the chance of endulging in a non-wheat creation like rice crispies treats or even (now I'm really dreaming) fudge? Nope.

It was ALL cupcakes...every kind you could imagine. Tables and tables and tables of them!

Then later when I layed my eyes on the irresistably yummy cupcake display that my friend, Shannon, made for her daughter's birthday party, I could no longer bear the temptation alone. It was then that I knew I needed blogotherapy.

And that is why you're reading about it today! (Unless of course you got bored and stopped reading by now.)

I can always cling to the possibility that a wheat-free cupcake mix eventually shows up at the health food store. Or, perhaps the need will simply pass once this baby is born. Until then, I will assuage my longing with blogotherapy and maybe some choco-therapy. (I know there's some see's candy in the freezer somewhere...)

The PERFECT Excuse and more GOOD NEWS!!

Yes, I have the PERFECT excuse for:

* Being a *slight* flake the last couple months - skipping a few church meetings and regularly forgetting stuff I am supposed to do.

* Letting Weston watch way too many cartoons (mostly while I lie listless on the couch)

* Tearing up while watching the swearing in of our new Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton - someone that I strongly dislike! (I was watching the loving, proud gaze of both her mother and daughter. It was momentarily touching. I am ridiculous, I know.)

* Swearing that my bottle of stevia (an herbal sweetener) smelled like cumin, and being disgusted by it even though I normally enjoy cooking with cumin.

* Feeling like all the energy just got shop-vac'd right out of me - moments after waking up from a nice long sleep.

* Not being very amused by Weston's shenanigans (like today when he stuffed toiled paper down the bathroom sink and then filled it up with scorching hot water)

* Living almost exclusively on string cheese, popcorn, fruit, cereal, and other random snacks.

* Not cooking a real dinner for my family in almost 7 weeks... this one has to be the worst to admit.

* Buying like 50 newborn onesies at the Children's Orchard closeout sale last weekend! Okay, so some of them were for 3-6 months, but you get the idea.

Yes, you guessed it, I'M PREGNANT! 13 weeks along, and longing for the morning/all day sickness phase to pass! So feel free to pile on the sympathy. :)

Sweet, wild little Weston will be a big brother in 6 months... the question is, will he have a little brother, or a little sister?

You may be wondering, if I don't yet know the gender of the baby, why did I buy so many clothes? Are they all unisex onesies? That was actually my plan at first. But do you know how few unisex baby clothes are actually in existence? Not many. Since Jason would bet his small intestine that it's a boy, I first went for the boy clothes. But then I thought, what the heck, I'm paying next to nothing for this stuff! So I picked up some girlie items too.

On to the second item of good news. I started a new blog entitled

FOR THE LOVE OF LIBERTY

This is something I have been wanting to do for awhile. I wanted a place to write all of my many political ideas, and to share thoughts on ways to defend our freedom. I also love to read the wise words of scholars both past and present (including our founding fathers) and share tidbits from them. It should be interesting, and I would love you to check it out!

Oh, and if you are Amy, Angie, Julie, Megan, Courtnie, Lynette, or Lisa - you may want to read my last blog entry if you haven't already. :)