Adventures with rude sales clerks

Remember this scene from Pretty Woman?


Thursday, March 18, 2010

28 weeks, 4 days pregnant
Scene: A maternity clothing store. I’m wandering around by myself, looking for a dress to wear to my upcoming shower.
Clerk #1: Oh! Wow, you must be due really soon!
Me (horrified): Um … not that soon.
Clerk #1: Well, when?
Me (too embarrassed to say the beginning of June): Uh … the end of May
Clerk #1: Really? Well, you certainly look like you’re much —
Clerk #2 (cutting her off): She’s just going to have a nice, healthy baby.
Me (stunned): ….

10 things mothers should teach their sons

Just saw this lovely list over on Lil’ Sugar, and I had to re-post it. It’s too cute! I especially agree with the first three!

There’s a special bond between mothers and sons. Women raising boys have the power to shape the next generation of men and those to come by teaching their kids important lessons.

  1. To express his emotions, because bottling them up eventually makes a person explode.
  2. To say “ladies first,” hold doors open for women, and give his date the jacket off his back when he or she is cold because the world is moving forward in wonderful ways but that doesn’t mean chivalry has to die.
  3. To put the toilet seat down after he pees, change his sheets frequently, learn to cook, and do laundry.
  4. To channel his energy through sports, art, dance, the written word — whatever his passion may be.
  5. That even the biggest fight should be settled with the mind rather than fists.
  6. That not following the group doesn’t make him a loser, but his own leader.
  7. To stick up for the underdog even if it makes him an outcast.
  8. That he has the power to make an amazing difference in life.
  9. To worry less about whether she’s proud of him and more about having pride in himself.
  10. Smiles are free, so be generous with them.

She’s gonna pop!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

28 weeks, 2 days pregnant
Frightening thought for the day: I feel like I’m already huge, but advice websites are terrifying me, because they keep saying that starting now, I will “really start to gain weight.”
Um … well, then what the hell has been going on up to this point, and how big am I going to get???

Foggy days

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

28 weeks 2 days pregnant
It’s foggy around these parts — and I don’t mean the weather. It’s my brain, folks. Every day, it gets harder and harder to concentrate on anything. My brain feels like mush.
Throughout the first trimester, I was eagerly Googling pregnancy symptoms and morning sickness cures and all of the millions of things that could be going wrong. Oh, and concentrating on not throwing up.
Throughout the second trimester, I was obsessed with Googling nursery decor and handmade baby stuff. I hunted through Flickr and Google Images and every site on the freaking internet, looking at all things adorable and painted and sewn.
Now, in the third trimester, I have basically found everything pregnancy-related that I can find on the internet. I know what to expect, symptoms-wise. I have tons of inspiration photos saved. The nursery is done. The condo is organized.
It’s getting really hard to focus and keep things straight at work. My mind glazes over, and I switch into autopilot. I get all my work done, just as quickly and efficiently as always, but it’s like I’m doing it with half my senses shut off. It’s all I can do to sit at my desk for eight hours and pretend to feel like a real human being.
When I’m not at work, I feel like a different person. At home, I putter around the condo and get things done. I walk Little Dog. I stay on top of the laundry and the dishes. I work on creating finishing touches for the nursery. I clean. I read book after book. I sew. I feel wide-awake, and actually feel like myself.
I’m not sure if my brain is mentally checking out, and preparing itself to go on maternity leave, or what. All I know is that getting through the next seven weeks (or so) is going to be rough.

Not Me Monday: Grocery shopping edition

Monday, March 15, 2010

28 weeks, 1 day pregnant
  • On Saturday, I did not act like a wild animal foraging for food — simply because Darling Husband was at work until mid-afternoon, and we were low on groceries.
  • When he got home, I did not burst into tears and cry, “I’m soooo hunnnngrrryyyyyy!” and “We didn’t have anything to eaaaaaaaat!”
  • I did not make him take me immediately to the grocery store, despite my empty stomach.
  • I did not knaw on (his) candy Nerds rope to tide me over until we reached the store.
  • Once we arrived at the grocery store, I definitely didn’t proceed to grab at anything within reach. I made a list beforehand, and was very orderly about the whole thing.
  • When we reached the checkout line, I did not take one look at the length of the line, and go wait in the car.
  • Before leaving to wait (hungrily) in the car, I did not beg Darling Husband to let me open the bag of blue cornchips so I could take a handful with me. He was definitely not horrified, and I would never argue that we were about to pay for it, and the cashier wouldn’t care if the bag was open or not. I totally won the argument.