ABCs of Me!

Since I'm not doing much by way of running lately, I'm glad to have a meme to fall back on for some blog material. Enjoy. The quiz that follows will be multiple choice.

(A) Age: 32
(B) Bed Size: Queen
(C) Chore You Really Dislike: Unloading the dishwasher
(D) Dogs? 1 Scooter Dog, who has a propensity for barfing in inconvenient places and howling at passersby
(E) Essential Start Your Day Item: Coffee pot, accompanying coffee cup
(F) Favorite Color: Is it weird I don't really favor any color?
(G) Gold or Silver? Platinum, baby!
(H) Height: 5'
(I) Instruments You Play: None
(J) Job Title: Assistant Professor of English
(K) Kids: Norah, 18 months, and Caleb, still gestating
(L) Live: Tamarac, FL -- a suburb of Ft. Lauderdale
(M) Mom's Name: her first name is Glenda, but she hates it, so she's always gone by her middle name: Kim
(N) Nicknames: Jess-Bear, Little Tuna, and often times, Jerry refers to me by my last name only, and one that I've been trying to get to catch on for years now, without success: Jessica the Great!
(O) Overnight Hospital Stays? Norah's birth
(P) Pet Peeve: Smokers who toss their cigarette butts from their car windows
(Q) Quote from a Movie: Badges?! We don't need no stinkin' badges! "Blazing Saddles"
(R) Right or Left Handed? Righty.
(S) Siblings: 4 -- 3 brothers, 1 sister; I'm the oldest
(T) Time You Wake Up? when Norah does
(U) Underwear: Yes.
(V) Vegetable You Dislike: None. I love them all.
(W) What Makes You Run Late: Nada; I am always punctual
(X) X-Rays: Knee
(Y) Yummy Food You Make: Risotto
(Z) Zoo, Favorite Animal: Otters

Palm Beach Zoo

While we've made a few excursions to the Miami Zoo, we've never ventured north to the Palm Beach Zoo, so today we decided to check it out and see what it was like. It was a very different kind of zoo from the Miami Zoo, but it was fun to enjoy some of those differences. And no matter what, a zoo is almost always a good time. Here are some highlights from the visit:

Norah and I in front of the river otters. I love river otters; I think they're one of my favorites. So playful and fun to watch. Here's Norah in front of some flamingoes. This zoo had a lot of birds, many of whom were just roaming about the grounds. It's funny because most of the birds that Norah loved, like cranes and ducks, were birds she can see right out our back door.

While Norah does enjoy seeing the animals and walking around, by far her favorite thing was the zoo's water fountain/kid play area. They have a similar area at the Miami Zoo and it's such a good idea for South Florida: It completely refreshes kids, and what kid doesn't love splashing in water on a hot day? Norah must've played here for a full 30 minutes.

Norah likes being able to review the videos we take of her, so during lunch, she watched some of her water fountain fun with her dad.

And, finally, here she is climbing a small fence rail outside of an exhibit. Jerry was trying to not allow her to climb the railing, and I said, "What's wrong with her climbing the railing? Let her climb."

...And, about 30 seconds after I said that and snapped this pic, she attempted to scale over the top rung, and you guessed, smacked her face on the fence and gave herself a bloody lip. Giant MOM FAIL. To Jerry's credit, he never uttered the phrase "told you so."

Video Friday: Protein Power

Every runner knows that peanut butter is a great source of protein and good fats. And I'm sure that's what Norah was thinking as she dug in before our morning's excursion to the park -- a girl's gotta load up for energy to run around, climb, slide and swing!

26 Weeks, 4 Days

This is me, nearing the end of my 2nd trimester, after our walk this morning.

Yes, I said "walk" not "run." I haven't totally given in on running yet, but we're growing distant: Let's just say I'm not ready to sign the divorce papers, but for the time being, we're separated, and I'm not too upset about that.

Other preggo tidbits at this point:

• I feel like I'm ginormous right now, but in reviewing my preggo pics from my 1st pregnancy, I see that, really, I'm about the same -- and I honestly don't see a difference in how I'm carrying (boy vs. girl).
• I have no clue what I weigh right now. I'm not the sort who religiously weighs herself anyway, and during pregnancy I just let the doctor's scale tell me how much I've gained. I actually kinda, sorta thought of weighing myself this morning, but then, you know, Norah found herself perched precariously atop something and Scooter started barfing*, so I had my hands full.
• He's a movin-machine right now; I assume he's doing somersaults and cartwheels in there based on the variety of movement.
• Despite my growing bulk, I find this to be the best time during pregnancy: No more barfing on a regular basis and my other complaints (headaches, heartburn) are minimal. Plus, I know that while I feel big now, it's nuthin' compared to how huge I'll feel in a few more weeks.
• My belly itches. I remember this from pregnancy #1, but man, itchy skin!

I have my next dr. check-up next week and then I think I begin going every 2 weeks. Plus, I have that nasty glucose test coming up soon. Blech. I could do without that one!

*Scooter didn't actually start puking, but he DID barf all over our comforter on Tuesday. Seriously, the gull of that dog -- he has me schlepping that comforter to the dry cleaners every few months, forking over my hard-earned money, and he still has the audacity to sneak into nearly every picture I take!

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

Recently, Norah figured out that if she wants something off the kitchen counter, she can push a chair over to the counter, climb on the chair, and reach what she wants. Like, if she's hankerin' for a chip before dinner, for example...

On the one hand, I think it's super cute that she's figured out how to do something like this. On the other hand, I thought it was gonna be a LOT longer before she could get at things at this height!

The Rant of a Preggo

Yesterday, as I was on my way to work, I stopped at Dunkin' Donuts to pick up an iced latte. As I'm paying, the cashier asks me, iced latte in hand, "Are you pregnant?"

"Yes," I told her.

"Then you should really be drinking decaf because this has caffeine in it and pregnant women shouldn't have caffeine, you know."

"Caffeine is fine in moderation for a pregnant woman, and I think I can monitor my consumption of it, thank you."

She seemed hesitant to hand me my drink, as if it were morally compromising to give me that cup-of-heroin, but hand it over she did, and I have to confess: I was fuming over her concern for me. Logically, I know that her suggestion came from a place with good intentions, but next to people patting you on the belly, this is one of those things that is so irksome when pregnant: Strangers giving you unsolicited advice or admonishment.

To her credit, she is partially correct: Pregnant woman should not consume large quantities of caffeine, but most doctors and most preggo-literature all says it's fine if you consume caffeine in moderation (most say no more than 300 mg of caffeine a day -- about 3 servings of coffee). What bothers me is not her partial-correctness; it bothers me that a stranger would presume to tell me what I should or shouldn't consume, which they would never do if I were not pregnant.

I had this happen a few times when I was pregnant with Norah: Once, an old man approached me in Target and told me I shouldn't be drinking coffee (I was holding a Starbucks cup), and once, a student of mine saw me eating a snack-size bag of Doritos between classes and she told me she didn't think I should eat junk food while pregnant.

Instances such as these can't be helped when pregnant, and like I said, people tell you these things because they think they're being helpful, but really, it's just annoying and it assumes that I'm ignorant of the content of what I'm consuming.

It's not as though I'm sidling up to the bar and ordering a Jaeger-bomb with a side-car of meth.

My diet is not perfect, but I aim to eat a varied, balance diet and I consume plenty of water. I limit my caffeine, and I avoid everything else on the very lengthy list of "don'ts," but even if I weren't thoughtful of these dietary guidelines, it doesn't give the Dunkin' Donuts cashier the right to be an arbiter of such matters. So, I did my best to answer her politely, albeit a bit sarcastically, and ignore the taste of shame she mixed in with my coffee.

Weekend Wrap-Up

Sickness Redux
All last week, I felt as though the cold I'd had was lingering and I just wasn't feeling better, but I think the case was that I was just coming down with virus numero dos. And by Friday, I felt like total ick again: I was super congested, my throat ached, and worst of all, my eyes were really irritated and filling with goo. I went to bed Friday night at the grand hour of 8:30 pm, and at one point, I woke in the night with my eyes literally glued together with goop. At that point, I thought I was gonna have to see a dr. over the weekend because I was thinking I had pink eye. But ignoring it and getting lots of extra sleep over the weekend has seemingly help me improve and my eyes, at least, don't seem to be a threat-level-red anymore. Granted, I have a cough right now that sounds as though I've had a long Marlboro habit, but I'd probably sound pretty good singing "Smelly Cat" right now!

Valentine's Date
A few weeks ago, we had arranged with friends to repeat our babysitting-swap this weekend as they had concert tickets for tonight. So, yesterday, Jerry and I got to enjoy our delayed V-Day celebration. We dropped Norah off at noon, and had an afternoon date: Japanese Hibachi for lunch, and for dessert? Massages! It was glorious. I wish I got massaged every day. Like the hour before bed time. That would be suh-weet!

To Train or not to Train -- It's a Poopy Question

For the longest time, Jerry and I had settled on the idea that we'd hold off on potty training Norah until after Caleb is born. It seemed that everyone had been telling us that if we tried beginning her potty training now that she'd regress once her baby brother was born; however, in the past few weeks, she's been giving us signals that have been hard to ignore. And this morning, as she was pooping in her diaper, she looked at me and said, "Poo-poo!" That seemed like a clear sign that she's beginning to understand these bodily functions and that, perhaps, we should ignore what we've been told and at least been to get her aquainted with the potty. So, we went out and bought her a training toilet and this afternoon, she sat on it and gave it a test-sit.
I have no delusions about her suddenly being potty-trained, but I guess even if she does "regress" once Caleb is born, at least she will have begun her familiarity with the toilet. We'll see. For now, if nothing else, she seems to think it makes for a nice reading chair.

Foto Friday

I think Norah's gonna make a good Big Sister.

Don't you?

Three Things Thursday

1. Early wake-up call.
Norah was up at 5:45 this morning, and oh yay, it was "my" day to get up with her. Typically, she doesn't get up until 6:15-6:30, and it's surprising how being deprived those expected 30-45 minutes of sleep can affect me. In my zombified state, the only conceivable course of action was to get her milk, cereal and for us both to plop down on the couch and watch some Sesame Street. Norah is mad-crazy for Sesame right now, or "Sese" as she calls it and she asks for it all the time. We try to limit her viewing because, you know, every single study out there suggests that if you let your child watch too much TV, their brains will liquify and next thing you know, they're armed atop a bell tower.

2. Under Observation.
The dean of my department came to one of my classes this afternoon to observe my teaching. Every year, I have to get observed, which is fine, but no matter how often I've had a superior sit in on my classes, it's always a bit nerve-racking. Especially because the class he chose to attend is not one of my more lively classes. They're...okay. That's honestly the best way to describe them; nothing particularly bothersome about them, but they are very willing to just sit there, motionless, while I turn cartwheels to try and engage them. But, they were...fine...today; it was clear that only about 50% of them had read the assignment we were discussing (but short of pistol-whipping them for such a transgression, I've never managed to come up with a real way of enforcing the reading of assigned material), but I think, on the whole, the class went well. However, I won't know his thoughts about the observation until he fills out his review of me and submits it to me. Hopefully by next week.

3. Run-Run-Running out of Steam
I feel as though the end of running during pregnancy is in sight for me, despite the fact that I'm only 26 weeks along. It's been sporadic, at best, the past few weeks, and while I do enjoy it those times I do get out there, feeling obliged to run has begun to weigh on me, and it feels like an obligation I'd just like to ignore. Perhaps I feel that way about it this week because the cold I caught last week has lingered and I'm still not feeling great, or maybe, in this go-round, I just won't be able to run for as long as I'd like. We'll see. No ax yet, but I see it ahead on the horizon.

An Unintended Run

I wasn't really feeling up to a run this morning, so I decided to take Norah for a walk instead. When we walk, we typically walk a route that's 2 miles. So, we were walking along just fine, but at about .5 miles, my guts grumbled at me with an early message of "Hey, you need to poop."

Confident I could ignore such conversation until we got home, I continued on. But by the time we reached our turn around, my guts' message was a bit more urgent: "HEY! You need to poop!"

I figured it was good that we were headed home and I would just walk a bit faster. About 10 feet later, my guts were getting very sassy: "HEY! You need to poop NOW. Better run for it!"

And that's when I broke into a run. Thankfully, I always dress for walks as I would for a run, and Norah was in the BOB, so when we had to pick up the pace and make a run for it, we were well equipped for the change in plans. But despite being able to run and being outfitted to run, the urgency did not dissipate by running. In fact, it only got increasingly worse the closer we got to home.

I was running as fast as I could, probably the fastest I've run through the entire duration of this pregnancy, and I was only a few blocks from home when I found myself scanning the nearby shrubbery and trees to see if there was any, ANY, place I could duck behind and relieve myself. But, really, nothing offered the amount of protection that would be necessary to protect my dignity, so I just ran as fast as my preggo legs would carry me and hoped I could make it.

I ran right up to the door of our condo, threw open the door, dashed Norah and the stroller inside -- nearly plowing straight through an awaiting Scooter dog -- quickly unbuckled Norah and lifted her down and then made the final sprint for the bathroom. And...

...I made it! I was practically giddy with relief.

It's been awhile since my last near-poopcident (in fact, I'm pretty sure the last time I had a near-poo-in-the-pants was this time when I was pregnant with Norah*), and on the plus side, I guess I can say that the one symptom I don't suffer from during pregnancy is constipation!

*As a footnote, when I was searching for this particular post to link to, I entered the term "poop" to search my posts, and I had 104 results! Clearly, I have no qualms sharing with you people about my bodily functions!

Revenge of the Valentine's Day Candy

Yesterday morning, I felt good, so I went for a run with Norah in the BOB. I hadn't run in over a week, so I expected it to be pure awful, but it actually turned out to be pure awesome. Don't throw rocks at me for saying this: But we're enjoying some perfect running weather right now, and yesterday morning was no exception. Temps were in the mid-50s and the air just had that crisp, clean feel that makes running so enjoyable.

So, in short, I started the day feeling totally tubular. And I felt fine throughout the day too. But then, somewhere around 4:30 or 5 pm, I began to feel "icky." I'd eaten some leftover risotto I'd brought with me to school and a shitload of Valentine's Day candy. I blame the candy.

I thought that by getting out of my office and getting some fresh air, I'd feel better, so I went for a short walk around campus. It was nice to get outside, but I was still feeling nauseous. So, I closed the blinds in my office and tried laying down. Still nauseous. When I sat up, I knew what was next: Here comes the barf!

I hurried down the hall to the restroom and heaved a lot of pink puke: Damn all those Starburst and Sweethearts!

After puking, I felt better, and I was fine during my night class -- I may have had lingering barf-breath -- and while I didn't feel stellar, I felt good enough. So, I blame the candy because I don't know what else to blame except that apparently, during pregnancy, my stomach is like a very careful chemistry experiment and any slight upset in content or quantity and I lose my business.

Today, I feel fine. But I think I may have ruined pink and red Starbursts for forever. And that is a damn tragedy.

Weekend Wrap-Up

Cured of the Cold
By Friday, I was feeling much better. Unfortunately, Jerry seemed a bit worse for wear so he opted for a day of rest at home. By today, Sunday, I think we're all better. There's still some coughing and blowing of noses around here, but I think the "Week of Boogers" is coming to its conclusion.

Shit in the Shower
Saturday morning, I was taking a shower with Norah. She showers with me basically everyday -- it's actually easier to bathe her that way, and she likes being in there with me. Anyhoo, we were showering, and I look down and note that she's crouched down with her toys and I just assume she's busy playing so I resume washing my hair, etc. Then, I catch a distinct wiff of...yuck...is that? Yup. I look down to discover a giant Norah turd! Cleaning that up made me appreciate the ease and convenience of diapers!

Of Old Friends and Recent Visits
Saturday afternoon, my friend Michelle and her husband, Dan, came to stay a night with us. They are vacationing here in FL and reserved a day to spend with us, and it was so great to see them and get to visit with them. Michelle and I were assigned roommates our freshman year of college (almost 15 years ago now), and we just hit it off as both roommates and friends, and we've been great friends ever since. But, since moving to FL nearly 7 years ago, I only get to see her once or twice a year, so I always love any time we get. It was awesome to see them!

Chicken Tender in the Eye
During lunch today, Norah looked me in the eye, with a partially chewed mouthful of chicken tenders and then she sneezed in my face. The force of her sneeze projected a tiny, half-chewed piece of chicken right into my iris. Burned like a mother!

Attack of the Giant-Sized Egos
I typically call my mother on Sunday evenings for a weekly chat and catch-up, and this evening, my mom was telling me about how she'd recently watched "Julie and Julia" and her review of the movie was mostly glowing. She especially thought Meryl Streep was awesome, but she said the Julie-character was naricissitic and unlikeable. So, she says to me as an aside, "But, you know those bloggers. They're all so self-absorbed anyway." I did nothing but agree. My blog is no secret. More like an ommission on my part. I didn't want to choose that moment to interject and inform my mother that I am one of those self-absorbed bloggers who's been chatting mercilessly about herself for 5 and 1/2 years now. It didn't feel like the moment.

Speaking of Self-Centered Promotion
An online lit magazine accepted one of my short stories and published it on their site today. If you want to give it a read you can go here and check it out.

Hope everyone had a stellar weekend -- and, brace yourselves for the chocolate and flower avalanche tomorrow! Happy Valentine's Day Eve!

Still Sick

I went to bed at 8 last night and slept until 6:30 this morning, which was needed, but I still don't feel much better today. In fact, this morning, I also added "pukey" to my list of symptoms, which isn't all that uncommon for me with a cold. Maybe I unconsciously swallow my boogers? I don't know. What was extra un-fun about the barfisode this morning is that Norah smashed my head with the toilet lid while I was hanging my head in the toilet. Not cool, kid.

Anyhoo, I decided after puking up breakfast that I was gonna take today off work too. So, after dropping Norah off ay daycare at noon, I came home and slept for a few hours, and now I'm feeling significantly better.

I am feeling guilty, though, about missing work and cancelling my classes. I know, logically, that my students are pleased-as-peas to have class cancelled, and I know that I have sick days, which are meant to be used for sickness, and that the extra rest is helpful in helping me kick this virus, but I can't help myself: When I don't go to work due to illness, I always suffer a bit of guilt. Like, maybe I should have summoned up some inner-strength and suffered through it and just gone to work.

Anybody else ever feel this way? Or do you feel completely guilt-free staying home from work when you're ill?

Sicky Sickerson

Turns out, I was tired yesterday not just because I'd slept poorly on Monday night, but because I was also coming down with a cold. I felt progressively worse last night, and today, it's been nuthin' but mucus mayhem around here.

It's just a cold, but since I can't take a decongestant or anything, I'm feeling pretty miserable. Miserable enough to cancel my afternoon class and spend the afternoon sleeping on the couch with Kleenex shoved up my nose.

I kinda knew this was coming my way eventually: Norah has been a Booger Baby the past few days and Jerry too has been feeling crummy. I think that even Scooter may have some sort of doggie-cold since he keeps sneezing; I'm not sure if human colds are transferrable to dogs, or if I'm just imagining things, but it seems our whole family is down for the count.

I'm hoping a good night's sleep tonight will help me feel better and while I'm sure I won't be cured by tomorrow, I hope I feel better. I also wish they made NyQuil for preggos.

Inconsistent

I feel like my running in the past month has been hit-and-miss.

One week, I'll run every other day and fit in a solid 3-4 days of running. Then, in the next week, I'll maybe manage 1-2 days of running -- and, it'll be without pattern or routine.

I would like to be more consistent, but because I'm not training for anything, and because I don't have any defined goals regarding running during pregnancy, that means I essentially go by how I feel each day. And if I feel like running? Great! if I don't? Screw it. Who cares? And I walk or do my prenatal yoga DVD instead.

The disciplined runner in me feels like this inconsistency is unacceptable, but the preggo in me says, "Meh. I do what I can."

Both today and yesterday were "meh-screw-it" kinda days.

Monday's reason for choosing to walk instead of run? Well, does Monday really need a reason? Yeah, that's what I thought too.

Tuesday's reason for making the same choice? I'm tired. Ti-ti-tired.

See, I have night class on both Mondays and Thursdays, so on those evenings, I don't get home until about 9:30 pm. Then, I usually eat something, catch up with Jerry, sneak a peak in at Norah, and hit the sack. So, even though I'm usually in bed by 10:30, nagging Jerry to turn off his reading light and read in the dark, I still don't feel as though I sleep enough, or sleep well enough on these nights.

I have a tough time settling down, mentally, and counting my Zzzz's doesn't come easily, and then I always have restless classroom dreams, and such restless dreaming usually means I wake up throughout the night more frequently, and when I wake up, I gots to pee. You see the cycle, right? I "technically" slept for 8 hours, but really, I feel like I didn't sleep much at all, and thus, on a Tuesday like today, I feel like I belong in "Dawn of the Dead."

So, yeah, that's my reason for not running this morning, and why I currently feel as though I could crash out now and potentially sleep straight through until tomorrow morning. Which means, I probably won't make it much past Norah's bedtime tonight!

Monday Miscellany

• I find sitting down to be an uncomfortable position. In general, I've always felt this way; I'd rather be either standing and moving around or laying down. But, being 6 months pregnant makes sitting a bazillion times worse: Belly is resting uncomfortably on the top of the thighs, regular underwear no longer work (the top of them folds over) and maternity underwear seem to have zero elasticity, my back and my butt kinda hurt when sitting for very long, and I feel as though I draw shorter, less satisfying breaths. Last Friday, I sat in meetings from 9 am to 3:30 pm, and afterward, I thanked my stars I don't have a job where I sit all day.
• We got our student evalauations back from last semester, and on the whole, students said good things about me and my instruction, but there is always one or two whose criticism just sticks in my brain. One person, for instance, criticized me for using the word "certainly" too often. He or she was apparently so bothered by this repetition that they went so far as to count how often I used the word. So, during my classes today I have been uber-conscious of that piece of criticism and have been hyper-aware of my use of "certainly." And, what effect does that have? A desire to use that word! Urgh.
• I need some new clothes. Maternity clothes, to be exact. I especially need some more work-appropriate maternity clothes. What I have now works fine, but I am only 5 weeks into the term, and I already feel tired of my clothes. That, and my 2 pairs of work-appropriate slacks aren't really all that great and they're starting to squeeze me (word to the wise: Old Navy's "maternity" pants pretty much suck. Basically, they're just regular pants with a stretchy waist. Fine for those early months, but I'm at a point now where I need more room, but also more support!). Not good. I have some giftcards for Motherhood that I got for Christmas, and I think soon I'll need to put them to good use.

In the Battle of Laziness vs. Running

Laziness won.

So, no, I didn't race this weekend. Haven't run at all this weekend.

Instead, yesterday, we went to Butterfly World, which is kinda like a zoo with just butterflies and birds. We have a membership there, so we go pretty frequently, and Norah loves it. Afterward, we played at the park for awhile. There's a pretty rad playground right next to Butterfly World and Norah had a good time.

This morning, while Jerry ran to the store for 10 minutes, I decided to attempt to give her a pedicure. It did not go well. I didn't anticipate that while I'd be painting, she'd grab the bottle of fingernail polish and begin painting her legs with it. The result?

One foot of painted toes, which pretty much instantly got the paint rubbed off -- so, essentially, one foot of painted cuticles. And, yes, on her left foot you'll note the fading print of a tattoo. Norah is cookoo for the wash-off tattoos. So, yesterday, Jerry gave her a "sleeve."

It's been a busy weekend. And we still have our accountant to meet with to file our tax return and a Super Bowl party to attend, which means that currently, Norah is "helping" her dad to make some Little Smokies for the party. Which, for her, simply means taking them all out of the package.
So, what I keep hearing from Jerry in the kitchen is, "No, wait. Stop. Not yet. Can we put that back?"

Run Like a Mother Feature

Many readers are probably already familiar with the blog and book "Run Like a Mother," but if you're not, you should be: They have a great blog and a book -- published for realz and everything! So, yeah, they're kind of a big deal.

Anyhoo, they have a regular feature, "Run Like This Mother," in which they highlight different running moms in the blogosphere, and you can probably guess where this is headed: That's right! They are currently featuring YOURS TRULY!

I was honored to be asked and thrilled to be included. So, if you'd like to head over there and check out my moment of fame, you can click here. Be sure to leave lots of flattering comments about my interview. Especially about how pretty I am.

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

For a child, the world must be so exciting since there are new and exciting things to do and learn everyday. Here's what Norah has recently discovered: First of all, she found out that she's able to climb on top of the coffee table. Then, this evening, while "helping" me in the kitchen after dinner, she discovered a drawer she's never opened before, and viola! Aluminum foil! Grand stuff.

Also, this evening, she figured out how to get a stream of water from the refrigerator, and...

...thereby, create a most fantastic splashing pool!

I'm not sure at what age this curiosity about the world begins to diminsh, but while she's sometimes a trial to keep up with, she does remind me how awesome even the small things can be. Which is one of the cool parts of being a parent: You get to re-experience the world in a new way, and suddenly, coffee tables, and aluminum foil, and the refrigerator do seem a bit more interesting.

Tuesday Tidbits

As far as the race plan dilemma for this weekend, only Marlene seemed to understand that trading days isn't a workable option if Jerry and I are striving to give one another equal "alone/sleep" time when she noted: "I was going to suggest day-trading, but then I realized that doesn't really work - then Jerry would be up early with Norah one day so you can race and one day so you can sleep in. ;)"

Right. Jerry up early two days in a row, and Jess with the "luxury" of racing one day and sleeping in the next. Not a trade he'd make...unless I sweeten the deal with some sort of lurid promise...but I'm too tired for that.

We'll see about my decision regarding racing this weekend. I think it will be a last-minute call.

In other news, I had a doctor check up this morning (baby brewing is humming along just fine) and while we were in the waiting room and Jerry was chasing Norah around, I was ignoring them both (hey, it was HIS idea to give her a sucker to distract her, so HE had to deal with the resultant sugar-induced mania), and I was reading an article in Fit Pregnancy about running and pregnancy. The article was discussing how strenuous exercise, like running (or, as they referred to it: jogging), is perfectly healthy during pregnancy -- even beneficial! It described all the great aspects that a woman can enjoy from strenuous exercise during her pregnancy, and I had a little snicker over the article since it presented its discussion as if this were landmark, groundbreaking news.

Sometimes, I feel so superior to pregnancy literature ;)