Where Has All The Chivalry Gone?

Where are the days when pregnant women received special treatment? Because I can tell you they are not here... I've been looking for them and I simply can't find them anywhere. I thought that there would be a blissful few months during my pregnancy when I would be all aglow and brimming with a big belly that strangers would smile more, ask to rub my belly, make more room in the grocery store aisles, rush to hold doors for me, and offer to carry my packages for me. Well, I have to say this is NOT the case. If anything, I have found people to be more rude than before! I will admit that I do walk around with quite a sense of entitlement due to the special little bundle that is growing in my belly. Every time someone cuts me off or doesn't let me go first down a parking lot row I find myself wanting to jump out of the car and show them my belly. How dare they take the closer spot to the door or drive recklessly around my child? Now, put aside my irrational sense of importance and understand that this rude behavior continues well beyond the confines of my car. There are no adoring strangers asking to rub my belly, hell I can' t even find any of those rude strangers that everyone warned me about that will just throw themselves upon my belly with no warning. I have had more doors NOT held for me, more people cut in front of me, and more people NOT offer me their seat or to cut in front of them in the restroom line than ever before. Even the grocery store clerks have stopped asking me if I need assistance carrying my bags to the car. What is this about? Has pregnancy gone from a sacred miracle to some kind of burden on society? What happened to my dreams about these 9 special months where I would truly be revered and adored? All in all I don't really need all the special treatment, as I am fortunate to be a pretty healthy pregnant woman, but it would be nice to be asked and treated with a little delicacy. Perhaps I am more sensitive to rude people now that I'm pregnant but Chris has picked up on this as well - so at least I know I'm not completely imagining things. Pregnancy hormones have been known to cause small bouts of psychosis every now and then.

A Pirate Name?

So Josh had me peeing my pants today (which really isn't difficult considering the 26 pounds currently residing on my bladder) with his story about strangers regularly calling him a pirate (yeah, I don't know how that happens either) and his subsequent search for his pirate name. It made me want to search for MY pirate name - though I've never actually been mistaken for one. So here it is... I have to say, I kinda like it. You can find your pirate name too - just follow the link below. Argh!

Bloody Ethel Rackham

Every pirate lives for something different. For some, it's the open sea. For others (the masochists), it's the food. For you, it's definitely the fighting. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!

Find your pirate name here: http://www.fidius.org/quiz/

Thank God... I'm not expecting and Amazon

When the nice man at the coffee shop congratulated me, told me what a blessing my baby is, and then asked me how many days until I was due, I almost turned his coffee over on his head and ran away crying! Instead, I composed myself, thanked him, told him I still had 9 weeks to go, and went on my way wondering all the way up the street if was going to give birth to a toddler! The rest of me is still regular size but my belly... oh my belly! I am the same size as all the women in my birth class who are due a month before me and the ones that are due around the same time are way smaller than me. My midwife swears that I am simply just vertically challenged and don't have anywhere else to put this kid since I am so petite. Well, I just wasn't buying it. Chris was a 10lb baby and I was sure that Riley was going to be even bigger. I was anxiously awaiting this morning's ultrasound and was sure they were going to tell me that he was already 5lbs (and since they gain 1/2lb to 3/4lb every week from now until the end, I was very, very afraid). But good news came my way and I walked out of my appointment feeling lighter just from the news that my little bundle is only about 3 1/2 lbs - which puts him on par to weigh around 8lbs at birth. PHEW! You all know I am super duper gung ho about having natural childbirth so I you can only imagine my relief at learning that my child is, so far, a normal size.

The Great Name Debate

As most of you know, the hubby and I have been in a last name quandry since the wedding. Now that we are expecting little Riley, it's crunch time as we can't just leave his birth certificate blank. Though, we have actually considered the option of not giving him a last name and preparing him for rock stardom. He can be just Riley - which at the rate we are going may wind up happening whether we want it to or not! Chris and I have spent endless hours discussing the last name options and we are no further out of our conundrum than we were before. So here it is... Neither one of us can really imagine changing our names but Chris doesn't want me to take his name and I don't want him to take my name. On the other hand we both want to have the same name as our son and we'd like to have the same name as each other. There is just something about being able to purchase address labels or a doormat that says the "_____'s." We also really like the idea of taking a common name as a way of beginning our own history. There is something very spiritual in that for us. The difficulty is that we can't seem to find a name that holds a real connection for both of us. We would love to take a family name from somewhere but that would mean choosing one of our families over the other. We have gone through all the things that we have shared over the years... places, pets, cities, jobs... but none of them really fit either. It's just so overwhelming to think of a whole new last name. I mean a first name is one thing but a last name is going to be in our family for generations and it should mean something. So we have been tossing around the name Rowan which we have taken from the Rowan tree. We love the name and we love the meaning and history behind the Rowan tree. It has been said to have magical properties and to act as protection from evil spirits. In addition it is a tree that can survive in the most difficult of conditions... poor soil, harsh weather, dramatic changes... It's berries are often used for healing and medicinal purposes and it has beautiful white flowers that blossom each year. So this is where we are leaning but it's hard to make the decision as it seems so final. It's hard to let go of who we've been for so long but this is important to us so we're going to have to just make a decision and be done with it... and soon! For now the debate continues... but we'll keep you posted.

Finally, something to brag about.

I have attempted knitting a few times over the past few years, but this summer I finally gave in, took a class and gave it my all. Since then, I have attended a weekly knitting social, taken another class, completed three full projects, and am currently working on three more. My first two projects were fairly simple... a scarf

and a baby hat

But a couple of months ago I ventured into a world of color and texture and began working on a fabulous Christmas stocking and tonight I am proud to say that it is just about complete! I still need to do the i-cord (which will make the hanger) and maybe add some embellishments. But this stocking is so pretty and so so soft that I couldn't wait to show it off. It is made with a yarn that is made of cotton and angora and it is just the yummiest feeling thing ever. I wish the internet could do it justice. This one is for little Riley and when I have the time I plan to do one for Chris and me as well. I'll keep you updated on the progress but in the meantime enjoy the picture of this one!

All dressed up and nowhere to go

8 months preggers and loving it... well, sometimes :). I was so excited the day this picture was taken because we were off to see the Ellen Degeneres show in person. I had so many fantasies of me and Ellen chatting about my baby and the rollercoaster ride that is pregnancy. I was sure that she would pick me to dance with and sit up on stage because who can resist a tiny girl with a giant belly getting jiggy to 50 cent? I was sure I would be a hit. I should have known better. Chris and Rachel took the day off and Tracy and I dolled ourselves up and we all headed up to LA to hang with Ellen. After a somewhat stressful car ride (made more stressful by Chris's driving misery) we finally arrived at the studio 40 minutes early and filled with verve only to discover that the line was REALLY long. As we were walking over someone asked us if we were there for the 4:30 show and then laughed when we said yes... as her ridiculously long line was for the 6:30 show. Keep in mind this was all at 1:20. Our directions said that no one would be accomodated before 2pm so we had no idea that people with tickets (just like us) had gotten there at 9am! But we were not yet shaken. We walked to the end of the 4:30 line and awaited our number confident that our eagerness and my belly would keep us out of the Riff Raff room. No such luck. It would be Riff Raff for us, but only after waiting in line in the 103 degree heat for another two to three hours. Then once in the Riff Raff room all we would get was a sofa and a plasma screen t.v. on which we'd be able to watch the show (and not be able to get any of the free gifts!). The staff tried to convince us that we'd still be a part of the show but we weren't having it. The consensus of our little group was to beat rush hour traffic and drive back to the O.C. Besides who needs Ellen when we live our own litte soap opera in Ladera Ranch (AKA - Wisteria Lane). Well, I dug in my heels in protest explaining that this is the second time since getting pregnant that I'd actually pulled out my hair straightener and applied makeup with any kind of care and that, dammit, I was going to be seen! Once again, I lost the battle. The gang trumped me with a democratic vote of 3 to 1 and off we were headed to hide behind the Orange Curtain. Chris decided that he was boycotting Ellen from then on while Tracy, Rachel, and I went home to sign up for more tickets (because we can't wait to get in line at the crack of dawn and go through it all again).

Getting Started

I've finally caved and decided to give this blog thing a try. Everyone else is doing it so I figured, why not? I can hear my mother now... "if everyone else were going to jump off the brooklyn bridge would you do it too?" Though, I've never admitted it until now, I'm sorry to say that the answer to that question just might be "yes." If EVERYONE else is doing I don't want to be the sole survivor. Not to mention, I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I am greatly influenced by others. So, in all reality I just might jump off that bridge even if it was just a lot of my friends jumping off of it. So here I sit, overwhelmed by the techicalities of blog keeping, confused by how much or too little to write - I mean what do people really want to know? And unsure of what a blog actually is. So you may all have to bear with me as I learn the ropes, test the waters, create useless ramblings, and post pictures that may have no meaning for anyone but me. Thanks for reading!