Animals definitely should wear clothing

Is it weird that I have a desire to decorate my baby girl's room with these pictures? (from Land of Nod):

Animals dressed in human clothes are great, right?  The $69 price tag is a bit much, but I'm going to keep my eye on these.

Pineapple Upside Down

My sister said she'd heard if you turn a pineapple upside down for a day or two before cutting that the sugars run throughout and it will taste great.  After having done this with 6+ pineapples, I can say it works; the fruit has been extra delicious, so I don't think it's a fluke.

Easter drawing

1st Brother's take on the true meaning of Easter this year:

My New Funeral Dessert?

Have you had Lacey's cookies? They're these flat toffee and chocolate creations that are off-the-hook delicious. We got a container of them at Costco recently, and Trader Joe's also carries a version of them. Kind of like eating an Almond Roca in cookie form.

They might be in as the dessert served at my funeral, and Mrs. Field's cookies might be out. You see, I have this idea to serve the attendees at my funeral services a meal that includes some of my favorite foods. Everyone can eat and tell nice stories about me and/or read some of my favorite quotes while my closed casket or urn looks on, then go home. I guess I could always serve both.

Baby Girl!

On March 16th, we found out that baby #3 is a girl! I scheduled the ultrasound on a day when First Brother was out of school, so the whole family was able to attend:

We let the gender be a surprise for both boys but decided to find out this time. First, because we're 95% sure this is our last baby and wanted to try it out. I adore my kids, but I just don't want any more. Is that a good enough reason? I don't know, but 3 sounds like the right number for us, and the idea of having my body back and going through this for the last time is awesome. Second, we're planning to move before this baby is born, and I wanted to clean out our things with the gender in mind. I already have about 6 bins of stuff to get rid of - yes!!


Here's a side view of me on ultrasound day at 20 weeks (actually 21 since my doctor bumped my due date up from August 6th to July 30th):

I posted that picture on Facebook and said I was excited for and a little scared of having a girl, which is true. First Brother said he wanted a sister, and that was my hope too. I love that the boys can learn from her influence and vice-versa, especially as they start dating. I know it could be easier to be the maternal grandmother than the paternal if my kids marry and have families of their own, so that's good too. And I'm excited for the possibility that she'll be close to my sister's little girl since they'll be about 17 months apart. But I'm also worried about fighting with her, which seems more likely for moms and daughters, and I feel more directly responsible for how she turns out. I don't have a lot of girl skills and attitudes, so I might not prepare her in some ways.

Baby girl, I'd like to apologize in advance if you are into any of the following:

-Crafts
-Chick flick movies
-Party planning/hosting
-Cheerleading
-Gourmet cooking
-Attending plays, the ballet, and/or the opera

I will also not be able to talk for long about make up or fashion, but I'll try my best if necessary.

After the ultrasound, we got donuts to celebrate (the pink box is girly, right?). I love the smirky look on 2nd Brother's face, like he's saying, "Isn't it something that Mom is having a girl?":

We went to the Apple Store on Chestnut Street to pick up the new iPad that came out that day - my husband had pre-ordered one for himself - and then wandered into Baby Gap. I was thrilled to find this dress, which I bought for her blessing (like a christening):

Some notes on the pregnancy:

-I had another miscarriage before this pregnancy worked out. It was different from the previous two miscarriages because they found a heartbeat and everything looked good at 8 weeks, but I miscarried around 11. I suspected something wasn't right early on because I was once again feeling "too good" (a sign for me but not necessarily for others).

-Since we weren't having a baby in March and I thought I wouldn't be pregnant for awhile, we decided to go to Florida without kids at Christmas. But guess who was 9 weeks along and feeling tired, bloated and barf-y on our special trip? Not the best, but I was grateful for the short 2-month turnaround, and we still had a good time. It seems all we have to do for a healthy pregnancy is plan a trip, because I was about 9 weeks with 2nd Brother on our no-kids London trip too!

-We told the boys early, around 8 weeks because we were joining family for Christmas and I'd already told some of them. Since everything looked healthy at my first appointment and I was feeling icky, I thought it was okay to go ahead. I read the Berenstain Bears And Baby Makes Five book to them to break the news.

-Dum dum lollipops were very helpful with the nausea - how did it take me this long to figure that out? I gave in to drinking soda as needed too, which also let me keep food down when I otherwise wouldn't have. I threw up 3-4 times per week from weeks 6 till 15 or so, and napped almost every day. I'd forgotten how intense that early fatigue can be! And even when I was well-rested, the "I don't want to do anything" malaise was going strong.

-As happened with 2nd Brother, I started showing early, around 10 weeks with this one! I gave in and pulled the maternity pants out around that time. I started getting the achy, creaky, pinchy pains in my pelvic bones, sciatic nerves, and lower back at 12. They let up a bit around 16 but are still there.

Be smarter than a bird

I sometimes pass a hair salon in North Beach when I walk 1st Brother to school that has this sign on the door:

It's hard to see, but it says, "CAUTION Please watch out! Glass door is TRANSPARENT!"

What brought about the need for this, exactly? Have several people walked smack into the glass thinking it was an open store front? Because you know, San Francisco's tropical temperatures make that a great option (being sarcastic here). Maybe it's some liability thing? Hilarious.

First Lost Tooth

First Brother lost his first tooth on 2/10/12, the bottom center on his left side, at almost exactly 6 1/2 years old. I'd noticed it looked a little crooked, then they mentioned it was loose at a dentist appointment, it got looser after he bit into an apple at school, and it was barely hanging on by the evening of the 10th. I convinced him to let me pull it before bed.

I gave him a Twinkle Toof holder to keep the tooth safe. It has a secret compartment and glows in the dark:

He wanted to keep the tooth and get the Tooth Fairy loot, so I recommended he write a note to her. He did, but only after a week or so and several reminders:

Ha! I actually forgot to give him the money that night but was able to stuff it into the Twinkle Toof and save the day (he thought the money would be under his pillow). The Tooth Fairy paid out $2, which I thought was generous, but a friend said she knows of kids who get $20/tooth!! What?!?

2012 Birthday CD

I know, what is this, 2002 and my sister is my girlfriend? I keep thinking I'm going to run out of songs to put on her annual birthday mix CD, but it hasn't happened yet, so I'm keeping the tradition alive. Thanks in part yet again to my husband, who introduced me to about 1/3 of these awesome selections:

1) You Know What - N.E.R.D.

2) Steal Away - Robbie Dupree (I bet this would be her very favorite)

3) Never Gonna Give You Up - Rick Astley

4) Long Time - Cake (it took some restraint for me not to fill half the CD with Cake selections that I don't think she knows. So good).

5) Call It What You Want - Foster the People

6) Love Rollercoaster - Red Hot Chili Peppers

7) Don't Lose My Number - Phil Collins

8) She's Got Me Dancing - Tommy Sparks

9) Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People

10) Love You Madly - Cake

11) Dog Days Are Over - Florence + the Machine (this song always makes me want to cry, and I actually did when I heard it in Florida and was missing my little guys)

12) Baker Street - Gerry Rafferty (the intro music to Dave Ramsey's radio show - 2nd Brother will say, "Mom! Saxophone!" when it comes on)

13) Move Your Feet - Junior Senior

14) Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger - Daft Punk

15) The Final Countdown - Europe (it's impossible not to giggle through this one if you've seen Arrested Development)

16) Jump - kriss kross

17) Summer Samba (So Nice) - Walter Wanderley

18) Weightless - Marconi Union (via my Armstrong & Getty radio show - this is supposedly the world's most relaxing song)

-Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" was going to be included, but it got overplayed for me and didn't make the cut

-I was also going to include Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger" as a song I knew would embarrass her, but then I got too embarrassed to even buy it