Almost too embarrassing to admit ...

I'm going to admit to something I tell very few people. Don't judge me - we all have secrets.
Here's mine.
I like prunes! (not the stewed kind - that's just gross)
I know. It's embarrassing. I blame it on my mother who gave us prunes as a treat. I do the same with my son. He cannot get enough prunes. In fact, if I buy them I hide them or else he would eat them non-stop. And we all know what would happen.
But here's the problem. The grocery store by my house, the one where we do most of our shopping, is a very popular place. I often bump into friends or family. And I have gotten to know several of the cashiers.
And I know that people cart snoop. I'll admit - I do it. It's fascinating to see what people put in their carts. So, I always make a point of buying non-embarrassing items. Feminine products are purchased at the drug store. Cans of tuna are buried at the bottom of my cart.
And I would never think to purchase prunes.
Luckily today I went to bulk barn while Mike and Matt were in another store.
I looked around the store, noticed no one familiar and seized my opportunity. I went to the gigantic prune bin at the back of the store and started scooping. I was interrupted by a man in his early 50's laughing at me. Seriously. Laughing.
"Ha ha ha. I knew I forgot something," he said, pointing at the prunes. At first I thought he was serious. Then he kept laughing. And added "what does a young on like you need with prunes?"
I had no answer.
He walked away. I almost died. Who says stuff like that? Really. And, then I found it hysterical. And could not stop giggling. I should have worn a disguise.
When we got in the van I told Mike the story. He hates prunes, and he thinks that the fact we buy them is really weird - and gross. I asked him if he would be embarrassed buying prunes at the store. Apparently not. As long as he doesn't have to eat them he has no problem buying them.
I think Mikey just got himself a new job.

My funny Boy and My Pumpkin Picture

Tonight in the van:
Matt: Mommy I have a new name for you
Me: What is it?
Matt: SuperMommy
Me: I love that name. You can always call me that.
Matt: You're my best friend, SuperMommy!

I love this child.

Later in the van we were playing with a glow ball thing from when Matt was a baby. It's about the size of a soccer ball.

Me: That was yours when you were a baby. Now this will be a toy for the new baby.
Matt: This is for the baby?
Me: Yes
Matt (horrified): You want me to stick this in your tummy????

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And this is what I did on Thursday at work (I'm on the far right). Like the boa? I had no complaints. It could be worse; I could have been wearing the costume in the middle.

The Highs and Lows of Pumpkins and Doctors

Today I was standing on the train platform with my brother-in-law (who has been car-less this week) and I told him I had a feeling it was going to be a weird day.
Boy was I right.
My day started with an early morning meeting about our intranet for which I am the webmaster - stop laughing. It's true. So, I basically sat in a meeting where our consultants and one of our IT people tried to explain to me the difference in analytical software while I looked at my manager and occasionally nodded and acted like I understood.
And then the meeting was interrupted by my cell phone ringing. It was security - telling me that the day's entertainment had arrived. Ohhhh boy!
Want to know how I spent my morning? I escorted a strolling pumpkin around my office. Together with one of my colleagues, I donned black clothing, an orange boa, hundreds of pieces of halloween candy and went to every.single.desk in my office handing out candy and Hallowe'en cheer. This involved not only walking up and down floors in our building but walking through the underground path to another building and handing out candy to a much less receptive, yet still eager for chocolate group.
It was quite a day!
The good news is that I put a lot of faces to names.
When you're in a company of about 400 people you often hear people's names or see them on e-mail, but you don't know who they are. So, it was fun. Plus, walking around with candy makes you instantly popular.
But, there were a few things I observed today.
1) When random strangers see a pumpkin strolling in the lobby of a famous Toronto Hotel (the Royal York) they don't look twice. However when they see 2 women wearing orange boas and carrying candy they take a second look.
2) When a pumpkin mascot talks to random strangers in coffee shops, they talk back. We stood in line waiting for coffee for about 5 minutes, and our mascot struck up a conversation with the man behind her in line. He had a completely serious discussion with her about how using compost material to grow pumpkins they get huge. He told a story about a 250 lb pumpkin. The best response ever was when she said "clearly I was not grown in compost." (maybe you had to be there)
3) There are a shocking number of people who do not say thank you when given candy.
4) There are just as many people who are willing to give you money for candy even when you aren't asking.
5) Women dressed as pumpkins can say things to senior staff that most people could never get away with.

All in all, my day was hysterical. Pictures to come ... tomorrow.

And, once our pumpkin left I checked my messages. I received an urgent message from my OB's receptionist asking if I could possibly come for my appointment today instead of tomorrow due to scheduling issues.
Of course I did.
One of the perks of handing out halloween candy was that I was allowed to eat as much as I wanted. I had weighed myself this morning. I then got weighed at the OB's office (where the scale weighs me about half a pound less than my home scale.) I weighed 2.5 lbs more than I did several hours before.
Holy cow!
Anyway, the appointment went well. I heard the heartbeat. We decided that I was going to have a c-section for sure. I was told I need to eat more red meat. All is good. Well, except that the OB thinks I'm at risk for pre-natal depression so I have to go to a life cycles stages clinic (or something like that - it's a nice way to say psychiatrist) because she feels that my exhasution and anxiety is more depression related than hormone related.
I thought I was pretty upbeat today. But, apparently she's worried. I think it was maybe my obsessive questions about birth and the what ifs and if she could please put on my file no forceps. But, she also said she wants me to meet the staff before I have my baby because I will meet with them for post-partum depression while I'm still in the hospital (probably).
Anyway - this isn't something to be worried about. I think we're being pro-active here. I also think I have a doctor who sees through my "life is great" facade and that's probably good.
But, I'm also not willing to let depression take over.
Too bad I can't run. Because running was the one thing that allowed me to chase any sad feelings away.
But, the good news is that I got my ultrasound requisition.Three weeks till I know the gender. I Can't wait!!!!

Dinner At My House

Anyone curious about dinner tonight?
No? Well you should be.
Mike is eating some sort of spicy Vietnamese Beef stir fry thing and mashed potatoes and rice. All purchased from the takeout counter at the grocery store.
Matthew is eating a candy apple.
At least part of it is healthy. He is very sticky and covered in red candy goo. I doubt he'll eat anything else. It's a huge candy apple. Again, there is some nutritional content.
And me?
Nothing.
I'm trying not to look at the food in front of me. I'm debating making some soup, but I think that may just kill me.
Is there such a thing as "evening sickness". Can I take diclectin at night? I'm asking my ob on Friday.
Thank God tomorrow is crock pot Thursday. If it weren't for my sister I don't think I would eat healthy any night at all.

Transformers

Optimus Prime


We have had a blissful couple of Treehouse free evenings this week because as a family we decided to watch the Transformers movie.
I have to admit, I was a little skeptical when Mike picked it up. I mean, I knew he would love it for himself (since he played with transformers as a kid), but I wasn't sure if it would be too scary for Matthew.
The thing is, Matt is rather obsessed with Transformers these days and sleeps with his Optimus Prime Truck, so I figured we would turn it on and hope for the best. If it got scary we would turn it off.
I was shocked because it was actually a really funny, enjoyable and not too scary movie. I'm not sure I would recommend this to all parents of little kids. In fact this is not a movie I would let my Sound of Music loving nieces watch, but
since Matt knew about Transformers already, to me it was okay.
What I liked about it was that one of the key things about the good guys (the Autobots) is that they do not hurt humans. They say this many, many times. So, Matt knew they were nice to people.
And, throughout the movie you get a sense that things will turn out well. Really, Matt kept saying "I'm not scared. The good guys will save the day."
Not to ruin for anyone, but yes, of course the good guys save the day.
There were some touch and go moments like when Matthew's favourite character, Bumblebee, almost died twice. We kept having to say "Bumblebee is okay" and thank goodness Bumblebee was okay. I'm not sure I could have explained the whole idea of sacrificing himself for the greater cause. Besides, by the end I really liked Bumblebee too.
And, the movie is FUNNY! When the Transformers start talking using the English they learned on the Internet it's pretty funny.
Okay, so maybe this isn't everyone's taste in movies, but I loved it! And so did Matt. And, really, a 2-day reprieve from Max and Ruby, Timothy and Little Bear is sooooo worth it!

Bumblebee the Car ...

Bumblebee The Transformer

Best. Diet. Ever!

As anyone whose read my blog very long knows, I worry a lot about weight.
I've tried lots of diets, done weight watchers, you name it. And yet I still struggle with weight. I'm kind of used to it. It's something that's been an issue my entire life.
When I was pregnant with my son I could not stop eating. I was constantly hungry. And, I ate all the time.
This time round things are a little different. I've noticed something very odd about my eating habits - I'm hungry from 10 am -2 pm.
If I don't eat then it's quite possible I will not eat the rest of the day. I didn't plan this. In fact, it's rather inconvenient because 5 out of 7 days I am at work and I either have to bring my lunch and plan ahead or I spend a lot of money on food.
Regardless, my food intake is bizarre. I usually eat a piece of toast when I get up, and then I start eating again at 10. I usually have some cheese or yogurt. Then sometimes a bagel. And, then I have lunch. I try to make it kind of big (like a cobb salad from Lettuce Eatery - YUM!) because I'll be done for the day. If I have soup at night it's a milestone.

Honestly, I've always thought people who say "I'm just not hungry" were lying. My sister is often quite content with a bowl of peas for lunch. Seriously. And then a healthy dinner. She's very thin. And, she'll tell me that she's not hungry. My mom will say "I forgot to eat lunch" and I've always kind of thought that was a little weird. For me forgetting meals has never been something I would do.
It's like following Weight Watchers when they say to stop eating when your stomach is full. I never followed that advice because honestly, in my mind that is a LOT of food.

And now, suddenly, I get it. It's like something has triggered my brain to realize when my stomach is full. I've been trying to get this trigger for the last 29 years. And suddenly it happened.

Part of me thinks this is a pregnancy thing. Part of me hopes it isn't. My mom said that maybe it's a mindset that I've been working on developing. Or, perhaps I'm so worried about gaining 87 lbs in this pregnancy, like my last, that I'm subconsciously monitoring my food intake.

Whatever. It works for me. I haven't gained much yet. And, I'm hoping this sticks. Now - and after.

Not Exactly a Blind Date ...

But, I have to admit that getting ready on Saturday morning I sort of felt that way when I was getting us all ready to meet some people we'd never met in person. You see, on Saturday we had lunch with Sci-Fi Dad, Multi-Tasking Mommy and their adorable daughter.
Okay, so it all started over a mutual love of Lonestar/Cheesecake Factory, and when Sci-fi dad alerted me to the fact that his Lonestar has Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake - I was in. And, besides, how could I turn the opportunity to meet a couple of bloggers who I kind of felt like I already knew.
Here's the thing. I was nervous. I knew Mike would be shy, and I also knew Matthew may or may not behave. But, I shouldn't have been.
It was a LOT of fun. Okay, well, once we actually found each other (after a "you just walked past the restaurant" phone call) it went really well.
I stopped stressing about Matt after a couple minutes, and had a really good time. It was cool to meet people that you feel you would like - and then actually do. And, it was neat to have a conversation about blogging with people who share a similar philosophy.
Anyway, hope you guys had as much fun as we did. And, our art work staircase is even more adorned with artwork :) (except for the pumpkin which we weren't allowed to hang because we have to show everyone.)

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And just a little Matt story because it was HILARIOUS.
Yesterday Rosie was annoying Matt and he decided to push her away by gently kicking her. Even though it was gentle, kicking the cat is a definite no-no and I told him so. And then I said let's think of other ways we can get Rosie to move.
"We can lift her."
Sure.
"We can talk to her."
sure.
"we can dress like ghosts and scare her." And with that he put a red blanket over his head and proceeded to try to scare the cat. She thought it was a game and climbed the ghost. I couldn't stop laughing, and Matt looked at me completely seriously and said "I guess Rosie's pretty brave."

True.