exit stage left...

...bloated or pregnant? kidddding. had a loverly holiday, ate myself silly and a light snow dusting is ushering in project jalanquera, act 2. am hoping the second half is as uneventful as the first.

all we hear is baby boy ga ga...

....i didn't even make it out of the ultrasound. she asked if I wanted to know and i caved. "it's a boy! and he's not shy." hoooray. it didn't make a difference either way but w/ 6 granddaughters, i knew mom and dad would be extra psyched.

which begs the question of is it easier to raise a boy or a girl? not having had any experience i would say boys. only because i'm sure my sister and i caused my parents more anguish than my brothers. but how much of that came from gender stereotypes linked to their culture and heritage? how much of that will seep into raising our own family? i'm guessing more than my idealistic, independent, feminist side would care to believe.

...i've been consuming mtv while the sun comes up. actual videos. i was sure videos were a relic of the last decade as i've only noticed reality shows on mtv of late. i don't know what i was hoping for but all the songs were crap.

...almost forgot the other milestone, we felt him kick! FINALLY. i was beginning to stress. i'd sit in the early moments of the morning concentrating on my lower abdomen. feeling absolutely nothing. after this week's ultrasound i now realize baby haha was just being polite. if my bladder is full then there it's actually kind of squishing him. back to kicking. we tried a little experiment where we put headphones on my belly and cycled through various musical genres on the ipod. different music prompted ray ray to do somersaults and eventually kick. we started w/ classical then onto motown, classic rock and clutch. i say this now, i think my friends rule of no kiddie music in the car is AWESOME and plan to enstate said rule in the wagon.

enough kvetching. its thanksgiving! time to cook the donuts. oh and be thankful. which i am very much so. so very much that i'll end this post with a happy face. : )

week 18...

too much has happened in the past month or so to catch up on so i'll just take a snapshot. i'm 33, married and pregnant. yahooey hong kong fooey! bit of a rollercoaster as can be imagined. 33's not so bad. marriage is awesome and i'm still easing into pregnant. oh and jala and i hit our one year anniversary of meeting. tee hee. i feel like 5 years has been packed into this last one.

onto some random pregnancy milestones...

babies r us... designed to make new parents to be feel completely inept, or maybe just me. i was completely overwhelmed the MOMENT we stepped into the store. as sister pointed out, baby stores are a completely different retail aesthetic as their primary motivator is fear. it works. there is general underlying attitude if you don't buy this item for your child then you must not love them. i tried about 4 baby car seats before realizing this was just the tipping point. there is no way of avoiding the consumerism associated w/ childrearing. a level indicator? 5 point harness? we needed a test baby but it seemed a little inappropriate to ask of a stranger. maybe we can do that as a little side business, pimp out baby jala as a trial baby at the store. wanna know how that little one is going to scream in the pouring rain when you are incapable of closing up the stroller in one fell swoop? kiiiidding. actually, other parents were quite nice. as we pulled each infant travel set off the rack some parent would come up to us w/ a few kind words on how this piece broke, or how it doesn 't really fold up all that easily. i'm dreading going back but recognize it as a necessary evil. maybe we can register at costco.

maternity clothes...are just hideous. many thanks to nathalie for outfitting me for the later months. its this in between with the barely there but incapable of fitting any of my own pants that sucks. i've gone to almost every maternity clothing store or consignment shop in the greater seattle area and am desperate to find clothing that doesn't look dumpy or isn't ridiculously expensive. so forgive me when you see me in cropped pink pants in the middle of winter. they're incredibly comfortable and don't make me feel huge.

doctor's visits...ultrasounds are like the carrot. please give up 7 vials of blood and we'll reward you w/ a grainy shot of your unborn child. it never fails though. jala and i continue to be amazed when babe comes up on screen. at the last one, it even blessed us w/ a flip. we tried to poke it into more action but alas the show was over.

late breakin news... garden bergers lost tonight. 8-1. jala came bustin in with a rousing version of styx' babe. i don't think there's a correlation.

wives tales....most vocal are the folks who comment on my diet. for the record, i eat a very balanced healthy diet. dessert is a recent discovery and one i'm quite fond of. if i grace my palate w/ the occasional alcoholic beverage or undercooked meat or sushi or caffeine THAT IS OK. my doctor said so. (true, this is the same doctor that said i could still ride rollercoasters)

finding out the sex... next week we may be able to know the babe's sex. (though not foolproof, many a friend has said they found out after all the blue or pink items were bought that they were wrong.) i'm still on the fence for finding out. i'm letting jala find out and then will see how far i can make it without forcing him to tell me. i'm hedging my bets on the elevator.

emotional rollercoaster... the books say this is supposed to be when my nesting instinct kicks in. ironically, when we're supposed to be living it up it much of my day is focused not such much on nesting but on sleeping. can't get enough of it. i am also prone to weepiness for the sappiest of reasons...a glamour magazine article at the gym, the new will smith movie. aye carumba.