Glowing

So I got one of those "glowing" comments today. It seemed sincere, but then again I had just walked inside from the 90 degree heat and 100% humidity oven that was South Florida today. :) I can see that humidity is going to be a problem. My fingers and feet are already swollen and the true summer hasn't even begun.

Since I am tired and have little of interest to say, I thought I would post some pics instead.

My friends in junior high used to call me Shamu. It was my anti-nickname since I was so skinny my ribs stuck out more than my boobs. I'm thinking now it would have a different connotation...


Me and my first baby, Rio!

Bliss

I'm not sure if it's due to my pregnancy hormones, my cough/cold, or my handful of challenging students, but I haven't felt much like my usual happy-self lately. I've been doing my best to mask my crankiness for the past month, but I'm not sure I've always been successful. (Sorry to those nearest and dearest to me if I've been a pain in the butt!) You'll be happy to know that I experienced one of those deliciously delightful days today and I'm still enjoying the bliss of it tonight! Here is how it all happened:

- Good music in the am: I am such a music fan. I would love to have a soundtrack for my life playing in the background like it is in the movies. For some reason, I haven't been listening to my MP3 player in the morning. Today it was blasting (much to Jon's annoyance at 5:45 am)!

- Challenging students absent: Anyone who is a teacher knows that your "challenging students" (read: mean, annoying, bratty) are never absent. They are either the healthiest children on the planet or, more likely, their parents don't want to spend the day with them either! So like the postal service they are there day in, day out, rain, snow, sleet, flu, temper tantrum etc. By these standards then, today was a miracle: BOTH of my little stinkers were absent.

- Cough reduction: I think my cough is getting slightly better (at least during daytime hours). I haven't yakked or peed while coughing in 2 days. Added bonus: I have partial breathability in BOTH my nostrils and can taste some strong flavored foods again. This came in perfect time since our Teacher Appreciation luncheon was today and I thoroughly enjoyed gobbling up some Mexican cuisine. Muy deliciouso!

- Baby bump: No not my growing belly (I don't think I can get by calling it a baby bump anymore... maybe a baby mountain), but baby movement! I have finally felt the baby move and it is very exciting. Well, the movement itself isn't very exciting, but the idea of the movement is. It's a pretty small sensation right now. If you've ever farted under water (I haven't, of course, but this is what people tell me), you know how a little bubble of air can escape and plop to the surface. This is what it feels like - a little bubble of air coming to the surface of my tummy and plop! Jon even managed to get his hand in the right spot at the right time and felt it too. I'm just glad to know that with all this coughing, MBP is still strong and kickin.

- Printer bound: I am trapped upstairs printing and binding 20 copies of my annual Mother's Day cookbook parent gift. On the surface this doesn't sound fun, but I have a minute or two between each set and what else am I going to do with this time besides blog and read! I am 55 pages into "The Host" and it is quite intriguing.

Ahhhh, what a blissful day! :)

Finally!

I have been in book limbo for the past month. Besides my book club book, which I finished weeks ago, I had no new reading material. What?! Looking back, I'm not sure how I survived.

(Well technically, I had a couple of new baby books but I wasn't all that enthused to read them. I'm saving them for summer... kind of like a last-minute baby crash course. I am so laid back about becoming a parent - who am I? I've done more research when picking out an MP3 player. It's not that I think I know it all, quite the contrary, I'm just not obsessing about it. I know! Really, what happened to me? Pregnancy must make me calm.)

The two books I have been anxiously awaiting came out today! Thank you Borders! I'm starting with Stephenie Meyer's "The Host" (I have such high hopes for this one that I'm worried I'll be disappointed). The other I would like to save for when my mom is down (maybe I can read it in the car on the drive to MN): Jen Lancaster's "Such a Pretty Fat: Or Why Pie is Not the Answer?" Thanks to Jess for turning me on to her other books - her snarkiness is laugh out loud funny!

So I am super giddy to have these two beautiful books in front of me, but torn because I have Bunko tonight and probably won't even have time to crack the binding. :(

At least I'll have something to do those nights when I'm lying awake coughing!

House Arrest

So rest was the supposed key to finally getting over my yuckiness, so I put myself on house arrest this weekend. I haven't left the house since I came home from work on Friday afternoon. Seriously - I didn't even venture out as far as the mailbox!

Friday night was TV catch up night (Grey's, Earl, Office etc).
Saturday was... I don't remember. I think I moved from the bed to the couch and then at some point back to the bed.
Today, I managed a few hours of productivity (surface cleaned the house, paid bills, did some school work) followed by a nap and now more couch time.

Miraculously, I feel... craptastic! No change whatsoever. I give up.

Good news: 23 days and counting for work. I can hold out for that long. :)

Water, Werewolves & Weight Gain

1) Water
So I knew I needed a third story about water yesterday - I just posted too soon. Last night, after a relaxing evening of reading, I made an unfortunate discovery as I got ready for bed. ("Unfortunate discovery" being the preferable term, rather than "bad news" which made Jon and the boys think more along the lines of death and dismemberment. To me, that would be "sad news" but whatever, back to the unfortunate discovery.) I picked up my pajamas from the floor of my closet and realized they were soaking wet. I was momentarily confused and grossed out thinking that I somehow sweat through them the night before (yes, I know this would have been an impressive amount of sweat, but pregnancy brain makes me not so smart!)... but then I remembered I hadn't worn them. I loathe pajamas and have only recently started wearing them because I goop myself up with stretch mark cream every night. Wednesday night I didn't put any lotion on since I knew there was a good possibility I wouldn't be showering in the freezing cold water the next day. With that thought process out of the way, it didn't take long for my brain to catch up and process the fact that when the water tank leaked, it ran underneath our bathroom and into my closet! One bit of luck, it was stopped from running any further into my closet or my bedroom by the huge pile of jeans I had put on the floor... since I can't squeeze my pregnant self into them anymore (see weight gain below). Who knew denim was such a good sponge? There were six or seven pairs of pants completely soaked through. Disgusting, but I'm trying to look for the tiniest of silver linings here. Jeans were washed, closet is being fan dried, but I am at a loss as to what to do about the bathroom. Obviously, there is or was water underneath our tile as well. How does one dry that??

2) Werewolves
I don't really have much to say about werewolves except that I like things in groups of three (3 is my favorite number) so I was looking for another W. Since I was reading about werewolves in "New Moon" last night, I figured that would suffice. I know there is a huge legion of Jacob Black haters out there (I just had a long discussion about this with a couple of girl scouts at our mystery night last weekend), but I like him and the inevitable vampire-werewolf-human love triangle that resulted. If you haven't read "Twilight, New Moon & Eclipse," you have no idea what I'm talking about and I advise you to run out and buy them right now. NOW! What are you doing still reading this stupid post!

3) Weight Gain
I am feeling particularly ginormous these days. With 20 weeks of pregnancy behind me and 20 weeks left to go, I'm getting a bit panicked about my end weight gain. I've already gained 15 pounds! (Worst yet, I don't even have the Dairy Queen or Cold Stone cups to justify it! I'm really not eating that much. My diet is the same as it was before, if healthier, when I had no trouble maintaining. The only difference is adding in a little cereal and fruit for breakfast - a meal I always skipped.) I know weight gain is normal, yada yada, but I'm trying to not get so big that they have to use a crane to get me into the hospital bed. Plus, two more pounds and I'm at the heaviest weight I've ever been. That's a little daunting! It feels like I may never wear those water-soaked jeans again... :(

Maybe I should go for a walk? Nah, I have too many good shows taped. I guess I'll just watch TV instead. :)

Hot, Hot, Hot

Today was the return of hot water:

1) The new hot water heater was installed and I am so looking forward to a nice shower in the morning (especially since the last day I really washed with soap was Tuesday - ewww!)

2) Talking on the phone while trying to drain boiling water into the sink... not such a wise idea. Boiling hot water splashed on my arm - ouch! - and not just a little drop. Amazingly, it doesn't look like it's going to blister.

If only I could have gotten into "hot water" at work then this would have been a really interesting post, but alas, I am a good employee so that kind of thing doesn't happen to me! :)

Comment catch up:
The hot water heater didn't explode. I guess "sprung a leak" would be a better explanation. Big leak apparently considering the mini river in the garage.

The pink stuff behind the baby fish is actually a feather (like for the fish's tail). I guess it didn't quite show up that way in the picture!

Goodbye:
I must run. I finished rereading "Twilight" yesterday and am in the mood to reread "New Moon" tonight. I think I'm in a Stephanie Meyer mood since I know her new book, "The Host," (unrelated to the Edward and Bella series) comes out on Tuesday!

Sick Day

Yesterday I took a much needed sick day. It went something like this:

- sleep
- soup
- watched "The Parent Trap"
- sleep
- hot water heater burst and flooded the garage

Pretty much what you would expect for a sick day! Poor Jon, that was the last thing he wanted to deal with when he got home.

And let me tell you, that was one COLD shower this morning. I pretty much only washed my hair. I apologize to everyone around me if I smell, but I just couldn't take it.

Here's hoping this is the last of our major appliances to die this year.
Off to work...