"Oops we did it again!"

Okay, so it wasn't really an "oops", we planned it, but we ARE still having another baby. Hooray, baby number 2, Baby E, will be arriving sometime in late March or early April of 2012. And this begins what I hope will be a continuing blog of my pregnancy with Baby E, as well as motherhood with a toddler, a new job for my husband, a move across town, and finishing up my masters program. Yep, I'm a busy girl! Although, many have just said I'm flat out crazy.

So, let's play a little catch-up to my scattered life as I haven't posted in a while. Since I left off my husband had lost his job with one school district and after applying to many other jobs (some in his degree field and some not) he has landed another theatre teaching position in the same town, but farther East and farther North. HOORAY JOB!!! This, however, necessitated a move across town in the middle of the summer. We are now renting a 3 bedroom house with a backyard (HOORAH!!!) and a garage. We have been enjoying living in a bit more space and allowing our daughter (who is now 2, what a scary scary thought) out into the backyard. We're hoping that next year we might actually have grass in the yard, but she seems to be enjoying the mud all the same.

Our daughter, now two, is making us wish quite often that we had t-shirts that said "she's two. get off my back" so that when she starts throwing a tantrum in public we wouldn't have to endure the glares, condescending glances, and unwanted advice. Oh, you didn't think the unwanted advice ended when the baby was born did you?? Oh no! Definitely not! Potty training is moving right along, but it still isn't fast enough for me. Still, she runs over to the potty when she has to go....the problem is sometimes she 'goes' just so she can play in the bathroom. Binky removal is also in the works....we should have gotten rid of it at 9 months, now it is a HUGE comfort item and although she has been sleeping at night without it, we can't get her to calm down for naps without it. Very frustrating.

So, the move happened right about the time we were planning our next little bundle of joy and, just like last time, we got lucky on the first try. This time, however, I am actually having pregnancy symptoms; unlike last time when I felt great, but tired, the whole way through the pregnancy. Nope. This time food is NOT my friend and I have been having a much more 'gaggy' feeling first trimester. My "favorite" moment (so far) was when my daughter came up with her hands covered in Pirate Booty, a yummy cheeto alternative, grabbed my glass of juice and took a sip. When I later took a sip all I could smell was booty and well....the rest follows. So, food isn't my friend this time around. Maybe that means I won't gain so much weight??? We'll see.

So far I am 7-8 weeks in and I haven't gained any weight. I can still wear all of my pre-pregnancy clothes, although some of the 'tighter' ones make my stomach feel a little queasy. My WONDERFUL friend sent me all of her maternity clothes (plus all of mine that I had sent her) and so I do not feel as if I need to do much, if any, maternity wear shopping. Yeah! My daughter has kind of gotten the idea that mommy is having a baby, but she hasn't quite gotten the idea that she needs to stop jumping on me. Anyone have an older brother she can borrow for a while to jump on and tackle??

I think I might post my 10 moving tips for moving (in general) and moving with children. I think we have now moved 6 times in 5 years. Yeah. And I no longer wonder why people think I'm military.

Adventures with a Belly!

No, I'm not pregnant again! I'll just say that upfront right now! I am not pregnant again and we are not trying to get pregnant again for a few more years. So there! However, I have 1,2,3...7? I think 7 friends who are either: pregnant, just had a baby, or are trying to get pregnant. So, this makes me think back to being pregnant and some of my experiences. This is for my friends, who are pregnant, recently became moms, and who are trying to get pregnant.

Pregnancy bellies are so cute, and round, and touchable right? WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! They are cute, and round, and so NOT for everyone to touch! That's something that just happens as soon as you have a cute round belly. Everyone wants to rub it, touch it, pat it...etc. They all want to touch. Some people wait for an invitation or ask. THANK YOU to all those wonderfully polite people who ask or wait for an invitation, implied or spoken, before touching. It's just very rude otherwise! I used to work for an insurance company and all of the people I worked with were very nice and it was never uncomfortable for them to come and say hello to me and say hi to the baby by way of a small rub or a "hello" directed at my stomach. There were some other people who worked in the building who didn't get the 'no touch' memo. I once had a lady come up to me right after she came out of the bathroom, stick her hands on my massively large baby bump, and then say hello to me. I'd never met her before in my life! I still don't know her name.

I now have a way to deal with the uninvited tummy touchers, and I think I'll share. I don't remember what book I got this advice from, but the advice was to stick your hand on their stomach and talk to them as soon as they do it to you. That way they get the same intrusion that you do. I wish I had had the chance to use it! It would have been so gratifying.

I gained a lot of weight while I was pregnant. Mind you, I had an almost 9 lbs baby, but I still gained darn near 70 lbs. I'm 5'3" and wasn't thin as a rail when I got pregnant. So, 70 lbs was pretty awful and I had a huge, massive, pregnant belly. I looked like you could stick me with a pin and the baby would just pop right out. I have the pictures, and the stretch marks, to prove it. However, just because a pregnant woman has a rather large belly does not give anyone the right to come up and say: "Are you SURE you're not having twins?", "Wow! You've gained a ton of weight!", "You've just...um...expanded haven't you?", and my personal favorite "OMG! You're HUGE!" ..... yeah...don't ever say that. Ever. I always wanted to say, "Yeah, I'm pregnant and I've gained weight. What's your excuse?" But I never did.

I want to send a huge, huge, thank you out to one of my coworkers who never failed to say, "Oh, you look So beautiful!" every single time I saw her. She always made me feel beautiful and very proud of my baby belly. So, if you know someone who is pregnant, who just had a baby, or who wants to get pregnant tell them they are beautiful. Because they are, inside and out.