Hands On

As I continue to grow, exponentially it seems, I keep catching sideways glances from random people. And maybe its my paranoia talking, but the looks on their faces is not the "Aww isn't she cute" kind, but the "I wonder if she's pregnant or just fat" type. It depends on what I'm wearing, but I can see their dilemma... You can't just assume and you sure as hell can't ask chicks anymore, cause what if you're wrong? You'd feel like an assclown and they would plummet into a downward spiral of self-loathing, eating disorder nastytown.

Like this last weekend. I went into Topsy's for a refreshing icy beverage. FYI- they make a fresh squeezed cherry limeade that kicks a lot of the ass. And in weird 50's soda-pop shop style, there were a few teenage boys lingering. Part emo, part homo, I'm not sure the ratio, but one says to me "I really like your dress". I left home that morning thinking the black baby-doll dress and light pink T underneath was super cute, but this was too much to hope for. Affirmation from the 15 yr old teenage boy sect? I'm not as old as I feel after all. And as I stand waiting for my fresh squeezed awesomeness, I hear very faintly "I'm not asking, YOU ask her!" and with a stealth sideways glance it dawns on me. Looking at my mid-section, they're totally pondering the stomach status. You have to give their moms kudos though for raising their kids right because neither one actually had the nads to ask, or at least knew it was a bad idea.

But my gut reaction, before I even knew what I was doing, was to put both hands lovingly on my bump and give it a few rubs to indicate that I was indeed baking a baby and not just giving homage to my fat Buddha belly. Don't judge. You'd totally do the same.

Constant cravings

"mmm...did somebody say steak?" I have been craving protein lately, most specifically juicy steak. And oranges. Go figure. I've been to the store for meat 3 times this past week. But yesterday I hit the jackpot! Mr. Mott had called from Home Depot needing my assistance with a large lumber purchase/hauling. So back out in the heat I went.

Turns out the wood was too big for my car too, so we had to call for backup. While we waited, a man was circling the parking lot talking to people. If you've ever visited the Midtown Home Depot, then you've probably been harassed by all sorts of different people in need. Ryan mentioned that he thought he heard the guy saying he needed gas money, so I put my downtown savvy big girl panties on and braced myself for the inevitable. Turns out it was the Street Meat Guy. The street meat guy comes through your neighborhood usually going door to door trying to sell you meat out of a freezer in his truck. Kinda sketchy huh? Totally! I would typically send this kind of flesh solicitation packing if both my parents and my sister hadn't had good luck with this very thing. And my need for beef is only getting worse, so I listened to his schpeal. Claims he ran out of gas on his route and had to turn off his freezer. So not only was he stranded in the Home Depot parking lot, but his precious meat was thawing in the 110 degree heat index early evening sun. He needed gas money, I needed meat and a sweet bargain was reached. 8 sirloins and 8 butterflied filets for $15! Can I get a "HELL YEAH!"

Thank you Street Meat Guy! Its steak night at my house for a couple weeks anyway. Hope you made it home

Everybody was Kung Fu fighting!

I was just telling her grandma yesterday that even though I've felt our daughter move and kick from the inside, it couldn't be felt from the outside yet, but shouldn't be long.... Well a few hours later *BLAM*! There it was, her kung fu debut. I only felt it twice last night, but today, she's a karate kid kicking machine!And here I am just sitting here at my work computer with my hands in the waste band of my pants, givin my belly the death grip with a goofy grin on my face and teary eyes. I'm sure it's quite the sight, but no one's said anything yet :D

Mommy Brain

I've heard of this phenomenon and thought it was a joke, but its totally real. You try to yell at your dog, but use your husband's name instead (dirty look) or drop your brand spankin new expensive smart phone 3 times in less than 5 minutes (another dirty look). I swear the thing JUMPED right out of hand. Thrice! Today I have finally accepted that I am living in Crazytown, population 1 1/2.

I came to work this morning without any eye make-up on and left my phone at home. BUT I got 2 loads of laundry done and put away, rearranged above the kitchen cabinets, got the flowers watered and the pups fed all before 9 am. So I feel I am faring pretty well in this half-witted OCD nesting world I am stuck in. I might have forgotten my best friend's last name, but at least my closets are organized.

WHEW!

"Party's over said the girl!" If anyone is thinking about planning their own diy wedding reception, I highly recommend doing it in 6 weeks or less like i did. Its stressful and mind consuming and can turn any old wishy washy person completely OCD, but if you only give yourself 6 weeks, then its over in a jiffy. And you don't have too much time to really stress out on it.



Of course, this plan is only contingent on having insanely awesome friends and family that are willing to loan out the perfect decorations, make the sweetest sweets, spend hours and hours in hot summer yard work mode, travel across the country and pitch in and lend a hand, or several. Or even a rib. I am lucky enough to have the kind of crafty friends that will spend the entire 6 weeks leading up to said event making all kinds of decorations fit for a Martha Stewart mag spread.


So, this post is really a shout out to my besties and my parents. Verbal thank yous have been expressed and note cards are in the works, but I just can't say enough about how overwhelmingly thankful I am to have such great people in my life. Could be the hormones talkin, but I gotta lotta love for you people.

It was a mid-summer's nights dream of backyard vintage ice cream social awesomeness. And it went by too fast. These types of things always do. I wish I had a video so I could go back and watch it in slow mo. If I didn't get to talk to you much, its not that I didn't want to. If only I could have stopped time to make it last...

Thank you for the love, support, muscle and sweat!
The Motts

I'm gonna be some little girl's dad!

This was Ryan's revelation on the evening we found out we were having a girl. At 18 weeks along, we were lucky to be able to find out the gender of this bundle of joy during last week's ultrasound. Its a good thing too. Maybe he'll stop referring to our child as the parasite and start calling her our daughter or any other term of endearment that does not make me think of a tick or tapeworm.

Finding out the gender has changed the game somewhat. I was so sure she would be a he. Now instead of gender ambiguous nicknames (parasite, nugget. Not the "nugget" from Chelsea Handler books, but the chicken nugget she resembled at her first sonogram debut) and stammering over pronouns, I can be firm and confident in how I address my baby inutero. I feel the bond has grown, if that's even possible. And knowing the sex has given me free reign to start planning nursery design and colors in my head. I finally have an outlet for the pink and frilly girly things I've been longing to buy since my sister had her first of 2 sons. Don't misunderstand, I love both of my nephews and wouldn't trade them for the world, but if you've ever been surrounded by nothing but boys and family/friend boy babies for the past 10 years, you get my drift...

I'm not the only one, my parents and sister are as ecstatic as I am to have a soft and cudly bundle of cute frilly girlishness. Even my sister's mother-in-law has been inundated with boys for 40 years. So needless to say, this child will be spoiled.

But, it needs to be said that sonographers can be wrong. On our way out from our ultrasound appointment last week, we ran into our OB. She had just had a baby 3 weeks ago and I asked her how it went. She said it went well and that she had a girl, but had a funny look on her face. "It was supposed to be a boy". OOPS! So that still happens. Even to doctors. OBs at that! I feel that she should sue herself for malpractice. Highly embarrassing to say the least. So, of course Ryan is skeptical to fully believe in the tech's skills that we are indeed having a girl. But the "hamburger" (ugh!) is definitely apparent on the ultrasound. The 3 white lines were seen multiple times. BTW, I have to say that I had never heard this term and am utterly disgusted. Whoever in the hell came up with this should be shot in the groin with a hamburger. After they were told their privates resembled ground beef. You know it had to be a man.

So now that we know we're having a girl (I sure hope its a girl, otherwise my kid's gonna have to have a lot of therapy to get over the nickname "Princess" that was typed on the sonogram photo), there's sure to be a lot to chat/rant about as this process unfolds. Stay tuned and hope I have better luck blogging about this subject than my last blog try.