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Every time I open the bathroom cabinet, I see this and think: My god, that's sexy.

You're Invited....

To my pity party! Please bring food.

To date during this pregnancy, I have had one bout of stomach flu and three colds, thanks to my little resident vector, Soren. Cold number 3 came on last night. I would like to not be sick any more. When I was pregnant with Soren, I was freaking bulletproof. Chris got the flu, and I didn't get it. I didn't get one single cold. Those were the days.

OK, now that we've gotten the first part of the pity party out of the way, I would like to talk about a particular pregnancy side effect known as "cravings". Doesn't sound so bad, right? Like, "Hey, I could really go for some pickles and cream cheese about now -- I wonder if we have either of those things around?" Somehow, the word "craving" lacks a certain.... time-sensitivity. And acuteness. I think a more accurate term would be "Immediate, all-consuming need which cannot be satisfied by anything else". If I find myself wanting a pickle, I don't kind of want it sometime in the future. I require that a pickle be delivered unto me NOW. Except it isn't pickles, it's ravioli at 10 AM, or a cheese and avocado sandwich with mayonnaise in the afternoon, or a bowl of white rice with tomatoes at 10 PM. The other night, I needed nachos at 10 PM. I tried to talk myself into having a bowl of cereal instead, because it seemed so much more wholesome. So I ate the cereal, and it didn't work. The Deuce was not fooled. And so I had to have nachos ALSO. The lesson: don't try to get around the craving, because you'll end up eating twice as much as you really needed to, and you should really be pacing yourself, keeping in mind the 50+ pounds you gained last time you were pregnant.

I also have this problem where I can't drink water, because it's gross. Maybe not gross, exactly, but definitely not quite right. It makes me feel hungrier, if that's possible. It's like my body expects everything it ingests to have calories, and water violates that rule. So I've been drinking Gatorade for a few weeks, but now it just tastes too... red, so I recently switched over to lemonade. Iced tea is also acceptable, as long as there's a tablespoon of sugar in it. Honestly, I'm a big fan of drinking plain water all day, so it pains me to have to drink sugar water instead, but The Deuce has spoken.

So, anyway, the theme of my pity party today is colds and cravings. Also, it is my birthday and Chris had to go to Alaska for business this morning. He had to leave at 4:30 AM, so maybe he's been punished enough, but I thought I'd bring it up. Well, OK, I found two very sweet cards from each of my men this morning when I woke up, so that was a good birthday surprise. Maybe I'll go out and get a sandwich to celebrate. I already had cereal and ravioli this morning, but that was more than an hour ago!

New Title, Same Pay

Since Soren joined the Anderson family, he has risen effortlessly through the ranks from Competent Newborn to his current role as Vice Toddler. As his two-year performance review approaches, we are proud to announce that Soren is being promoted again, this time to the position of Chief Big Brother.

The newest member of his department, so far known as "The Deuce," is still in training, and will be joining us full-time at the end of November.



Hooray for the "big budda"!

The Good Host

Soren showed off his hospitality and conversation skills yesterday! We were just getting home from daycare when our neighbor, Mrs. Moon, came by to give Soren a present -- a copy of The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Soren was understandably pleased to get a present, and decided to reciprocate: "Mrs. Moon come-a Soren's house!" So we invited Mrs. Moon in, and after a quick tour of his toy collection ("That's a truck!") and a request for a snack ("Mama, I need raisins! ....please!"), he patted the couch and said, "Mrs. Moon! Sit-you right here," (I love it when he says "sit-you") and then offered her a blanket. She asked if he would like her to read his new book, to which the answer was "Oh! Okay!" He listened attentively and occasionally held up a raisin: "That's a big raisin!"

For the rest of the evening, he was saying "Trip trap trip trap! Who's crossing over my bridge? That's Mama's bridge!" I hope that doesn't mean he thinks I'm a troll.