Dude, there's a dude in my belly! I'm still trying to get used to that. As Megan pointed out, I am practically a hermaphrodite for the time being. Pretty crazy.

Of course, this means we have to navigate the hot button (so to speak) of circumcision. I feel that it's a little barbaric-- most of the old reasons for circumcising males have proven unnecessary. One of the common arguments for it is cosmetic. I agree that they look weird to many Americans-- but it's definitely a cultural thang. It's kind of like if, right after birth, newborn elbow skins were removed and replaced with paisley blue corduroy. (Which might be kind of cool... I really like corduroy!) It would seem crazy to outsiders, but it would be the norm once established. Naked elbows would be unsightly, causing small children to cry and parents to shield their children's eyes in horror.

So those are my thoughts. But I'm leaving this one up to Scott. I figure I have to pick my battles, after all.

P.S.

I just wanted to congratulate myself. It's been several days since I've written about either my cat or Sarah Palin on here. Go me!

Inny or Outy?

We had our "big reveal" ultrasound this morning-- our little one is healthy and wriggling around like nobody's business. And my instincts were right...it's a boy!

I have to admit that even though I've felt it was a boy almost from the beginning, that if I could choose which gender we were having, I'd have chosen a girl. I know it's not that cool to say that, that you're supposed to just want a healthy kiddo, and that is the most important thing. We were trying for awhile to have this baby, and we're both so happy about it. But yes, I had a little wash of disappointment at first. I don't get my little MiniMe this time.

Scott was soooo happy though. He's already dreaming about shaping our baby into a little golfer, and though I'm not really sure I can handle more golf in our lives, it makes me happy to see him so excited. And when I think of what he must've been like as a little boy, and that this little boy will have some of those traits, I melt a little.

And I'm so relieved that everything inside this little kid is exactly the way it's supposed to be-- I'm such a worrywart, I was sure that our baby would have Down Syndrome, a cleft palate, spina bifida (sp?) and that really gross awful thing where the baby's born with the intestines on the outside... but none of those appear to be problems. And things I hadn't even thought to worry about, like club feet or lobster hands, were also not issues. We both watched in awe as the technician showed us the chambers of the heart, looked down into the brain, and of course-- the weiner! (The also tech told us a funny story about another tech who works there. Every time people find out they're having a boy, she tells them it has the biggest penis she's ever seen--which never fails to puff up the father with pride.) Yea!

It is still the weirdest thing to believe that Scott and I made a little wiggle worm that shares both of our dna and currently lives inside of my stomach. I keep trying to comprehend it and I can't quite get there.

After the ultrasound I headed to my first prenatal yoga class, which was great. I've never been super flexible, but after being so sedentary the past few months when I was sick, it felt really good to stretch these ole muscles out and to just breathe. There were four other women in the class, and we're all having boy except one woman whose not far along enough to tell, so that was cool.

So all is well here with us, and we're feeling pretty grateful tonight. I keep practicing saying "son." It still feels kind of weird, like referring to Scott as my "husband" when we first got married. It takes time to sink into the word and get cozy in it. I should figure out a way to scan our ultrasound photos so I can post them here...

I'm feeling grateful today, and also a little agitated-- an interesting juxtaposition. Grateful because my work is picking up a bit, which nicely coincides with me feeling more energetic. Grateful that it was so slow during the time I felt the worst-- makes me feel like the universe is taking care of me. Good stuff.

Agitated? Not sure why. I'm taking advantage of blaming all my moods on hormones these days-- why not, right?

We had a good weekend. Scott unexpectedly came home early from golf Saturday morning, so we got to enjoy some precious weekend snuggle time. A visit to see our new niecey passed the early afternoon, and then it was clearly nap time (for us, not niecey).

Sunday, my dad sweetly made us brunch-- my parents actually make us brunch almost every Sunday that they're in town. Not just like scrambled eggs and dry toast, either, but fancy brunches. Eggs benedict is their speciality. My mom was out of town visiting the Aunties, but Dad still put together a delicious spread. Scott and my dad, who usually mystify my mom and I by talking about golf for hours on end, were gracious enough to occasionally turn the conversation to other topics. A good time was had by all.

I took a walk afterwards-- and was thrilled to see about seven turtles sunning on the turtle log at the cemetery. I may have written about this before on here, but I've kind of become obsessed with turtles this year. Before I knew I was pregnant, when the now orange-sized kiddo was the size of a poppy seed (they always compare the size to food-- yummy baby!), I found a tiny baby turtle not much bigger than my thumbnail. He was ever-so-slowly crossing one of the dirt roads and I worried he'd get stepped on or run over, so I scooped him up with a leaf and delivered him to the turtle pond where I assumed he'd find his parents who must be searching for him. Afterwards, I realized I probably should've either let him be or just moved him into the grass by the road-- what if his parents were in another pond, or in the grass he was inching towards? What if I unwittingly plopped him down by the pond of the rival turtle gang? Hopefully this doesn't say anything about my poor maternal judgement, but we shall see!

In other stunning news, I actually made us dinner tonight for the first time in months... I almost don' t dare say it, but I believe I may have finally landed in that second trimester, honeymoon phase of pregnancy...

Week in Review

I've been neglecting my lil' blog.

Here's what's new (or not so new):

• I'm still obsessed with Sarah Palin. I'm not entirely sure why. I found her to be very well-spoken at the Republican National Convention which disturbed me greatly. I predict that if McCain doesn't win the primary, that Governor Palin will end up hosting some sort of righty talk show and win all sorts of commercial endorsements.
• I've felt really good this last week. Last night and today have not been great nausea-wise, but I'm still grateful for this past week. I left the house many times. Yea!
• Next week we get to find out the gender of our little one. I'm still thinking boy, Scott's still thinking girl. I can barely wait. I admire those who can endure the suspense and not find out until the birth. I am not one of them. 19 weeks seems plenty long to wait!
• Juice is my new favorite food. It's helped me through many weeks of ailing, and though I'm feeling better, I can't seem to put down the juice. Faves of the week: tomato juice, and Odwalla OJ (not together!). Apparently the lil' kiddo is a fan of vitamin C.
• At the recommendation of supportive friends, I'm beginning to scribe a list of all the things that need to be done in the next several months-- the things that thus far have just floated around in my head, jostling me into a sweaty panic at 2 a.m. in the morning. Things like enlisting someone to help rid our floors of stale cat vomit detritus, clean the garage before winter (we're procrastinators and must start early!), and start asking parenty people what their favorite books were on labor (!!%*$^!) and child rearin'.
• I'm still waiting for my pregnancy glow and cleavage to arrive. If I may return once more to my Sarah Palin obsession, did you see her pregnant daughter and her hockey lovin' groom to be on the stage at the RNC? Holy boob fairy. The funniest moment though, was when her youngest daughter licked her hand like a cat and ran it through her baby brother's hair. Priceless.

So that's what's been going on around here. Not terribly exciting, but it keeps me entertained!

So right after I posted my last little ditty, I read that Sarah Palin has now announced that her daughter Bristol is indeed 5 months pregnant now. I am entirely confused. My profusest apologies to the Palin family. ; )

Nevertheless, I will continue to shield my indoor cat from the public eye, and will not pressure her to marry the tomcat that impregnated her.

Here is a picture of her in which I have strategically placed a pillow to hide her blooming midsection.

I grew up in a pretty political family. Both of my grandfathers served in the Alaskan legislature, one for over two decades if I recall correctly. For some shameful reason, however, I have never been very political. I vote, and I care deeply about the very scary current state of the world. But I'm not one to watch debates or know the middle names of the candidates or how they stand on certain issues. Instead, I employ the admittedly dangerous technique of either liking or disliking the "general aura" of the political candidates.

But I have to admit I'm obsessed with Sarah Palin. Partly because she's the governor of my home state, who suddenly and unexpectedly has been chosen to run for the office of vice president alongside John McCain. But mostly I'm obsessed because there's a nasty rumor that's been circulating since her son was born last spring-- a rumor that says she's actually the grandmother of the child, and the real mother is her teenaged daughter, Bristol. I try not to gossip, I really do. But there's something explosive about this rumor, and there's some convincing "evidence" to support it. I first heard the rumor from my mom after the birth last spring-- at that point no one outside of Alaska gave a bear's bum about it. But the drama is starting to circulate on the internet, and I'm predicting a very public investigation in the weeks to come.

I won't go into the specifics here of the reasons people think this rumor may be true-- I'll leave you to google it yourselves. Some people say it's no one's business, and some say that if it's true, it was noble of her to protect her daughter. I agree with neither, but that might just be because she's a right winger and I think it takes enormous balls to try to pull off a soap opera stunt like this off while you're in public office... if it's true.

Either way, it should be an interesting story to follow.

By the way, I'm not really pregnant, I'm just pretending to be to protect my teenaged cat. You can see in the photograph above that I'm trying to conceal her baby bump.