The Last Few Days

Bubba was right, the cable signal was too weak. But the lady came yesterday and fixed us all up. Yay! I really am impressed with Time Warner's service.

Baby B rolled over Thursday night and caused my stomach to physically lurch. I SAW it move, and it was the freakiest and coolest thing ever! Since then, he's just been hangin', not much movement to speak of other than kicking his Mama in the bladder.

We went out for our delayed anniversary/finding out the sex/Bubba done with deadlines dinner. Tried a famous steak house in East Midtown (the second of such dinners we've tried to have here), and decided we really can make a better steak at home. When you're from TX, and used to excellent beef for cheap, you have a hard time finding anything outside of TX that you'll like better. We still enjoyed it and had a good time, but I can get a better steak at Salt Grass for half the cost.

Handy Woman

Guess WHO fixed the cable last night? That's right, your's truly! Bubba was on the phone, and in a stroke of brilliance, I thought "What if I just mess with the cables back there and see what happens?" We have internet, so we know the line into the house is working, and we know that we're getting SOME sort of signal, because we get all the info and the guide from the cable company. So, I move the speaker out of the way and unscrew one of the cables from our 'splitter' (where it splits to the cable modem and the cable TV box), and voila! We have a picture on our tv! I hoot and holler and jump up and down that I fixed it! But, now the internet is not working. :( We ended up stealing someone else's wireless connection last night (which I ALSO figured out, because our modem was not plugged in, but we were still able to check email and be on the internet, and that's when I figured that out, too!), but for the most part, we are going to have to choose between internet and TV until they can come look on Friday. Bubba called The Evil Cable Company back (side bar....don't think they are really so evil, as THEY actually called US last night about 6:45 to see if they could try remotely fixing it again. How awesome is that?) to explain what happened and see if they could reset the cable modem from afar. No such luck. We think it has something to do with our signal strength not being strong enough to operate both TV and Internet at the same time. We'll see when the guy comes on Friday (yep, that's still on). I don't know how that happened, all I know is I fixed it so we could watch the Gilmore Girls season premier last night! AND the Astros! (Who are now only a game and a half back from 1st place in the NL Central....will wonders never cease?)

All is right in the world now. Except for my damn allergies. But that's for another post.

The Dark Ages

Our cable is out. As I mentioned previously, there was an outage in our neighborhood on Sunday, affecting the TV and internet. The got it back up and running yesterday morning, and our internet works, but still no TV. Bubba called the Evil Cable Company last night to try to remedy the situation, and after a 20-minute phone call where the girl on the phone tried, in vain, to remotely re-boot our system and fix it from her end (will wonders never cease?). Needless to say, it didn't work, and they are sending someone out to take a look. ON FRIDAY. As in 4 days from our original call. As in, we have NO TV for 4 days. Are you kidding me? This is the first time-slot that someone can come to our house and see what the Evil Cable Company has done to mess up BOTH our cable boxes? Because I can safely say, we did NOTHING to warrant this. We were sitting there Sunday evening, watching football and 60 Minutes, when BAM! No TV. The only good thing is that we are getting credited on our bill for our non-service.

This is usually not a problem for us, as we don't watch a lot of TV (other than sports, which should give you an indication as to who controls the remote in my house), but it's nice to know it's there. Now I'm going to miss the premier of the new season of Gilmore Girls tonight, we'll miss the last week of the regular baseball season (in my house, this borders on a travesty), and I'll miss Grey's Anatomy on Thursday night (which I've just now gotten into after 2 seasons, so I didn't want to miss it)! Not to mention the fact that my morning 'routine' is all messed up because I have no idea what time it is if Robin Roberts and Diane Sawyer aren't there to keep me in line! I was 10 minutes later this morning because I got all involved in a magazine article and didn't realize what time it was. And, AND!!! How am I supposed to know the weather outside? Again, I needed a jacket this morning, but had no idea until I was actually down on the street, shivering in the morning coolness. Grrr....

At least we have internet. God help us if we didn't. We'd actually be forced to sit and TALK to each other! ~Gasp!~

D-Day!

Pigs is having a baby today! YAY!!! I'm so excited for her, I can hardly stand it!

We had cable problems yesterday, and still have no TV or internet as of this morning. Time Warner told us they were working on it yesterday when Bubba called. Well, when he called, the automatic message said there was a problem in Manhattan, close to our neighborhood, so we're guessing we were affected. You don't realize how much you rely on tv and internet until it's gone. I didn't even know what the weather would be like today before I left! And, sure enough, I could have used a light sweater this morning, which I didn't bring because I didn't know until I got downstairs. Figures.

So now I'm on the internet at work, instead of working. Oh well, what else is new? :)

Drum-roll Please....

It's a BOY!!!

No doubt about it, got a shot of 'the goods' and everything! I am thrilled, Bubba is too, and is already talking about a 'sports theme' for the nursery (that we don't have, btw) and buying a little tiny baseball glove! Isn't that too cute?!

Gender Bias?

We find out the gender today! Today is my Level II Anatomy Ultrasound, in which we get a peak at 'the goods,' among other things. I don't really care what it is, have no preference whatsoever, I just want a healthy baby that is growing properly!

Bubba just wants it to be a baby and not a turtle or puppy or anything.

Rock Out!

We got this rocker today at a 'block sale' in our neighborhood. As there aren't really garages in Manhattan, neighborhoods will close off a street for the day and have a block sale! Cool, huh? We were just strolling through, not really looking for anything particular (except for cheap baby stuff) on our morning walk, and came across this awesome rocker. We inquired as to price, and decided the $35 she was asking for it was more than reasonable. Score! It's comfortable, not too high or too low to sit in, more or less matches the rest of our furniture, and I can buy seat pads for it if I want. And, if we turn out NOT to like it after Baby B arrives, we can give it away with no guilt! I am stoked!

The Choice

Bubba sent me this blog about the passing of Ann Richards, written by a woman who writes for the NY Times, among other things.

*I am inserting the gist of it here for those that can't access the link above*

Ann Richards, Hillary Clinton – those women of that turbulent, transitional period of the 80’s into the 90’s – had it right. You can’t clean house and make it to “the dome” too. You can’t bake cookies and make it to the Senate. And that’s not just because there isn’t enough time. More profoundly, it’s because it just isn’t human to do all that. With all of our spouting off these days about the glorious variety of women’s Choice, there is one basic choice that we are not humanly able to make: we cannot choose what kind of people we are or what we are driven, drawn, destined to do. The best we can do is be ourselves – and stand up for what it takes to bring our self into being.
I hate to bake cookies. I will never have a neat house. And I am sick and tired of ruining my days – and my family’s for that matter – trying to be someone I am constitutionally incapable of being.
I want to be like Ann Richards, who in the later years of her life freed herself from the need to do things perfectly, relinquished the desire to be all things to all people, and focused, she said in a 2001 interview, on living a life filled with love, fun and work.

Now I don't always agree with the women who write for the Times, but this one really had an affect on me. I have always been of the opinion that women hold all the cards. We can stay home, we can work, we can do a little of both (God bless those women who are able to do that), we can choose NOT to have children, the list goes on and on. (Bubba says men have two choices....work or go to jail, and he's not all wrong.) Anyway, the problem is that The Choice isn't always easy, and you are damn lucky if you are actually in a position to CHOOSE one or the other. A lot of women don't have those choices. The article points out that you should also be true to yourself if you DO have the choice and not kill yourself by trying to be Super Woman. You are who you are, and no amount of Oprah or Martha Stewart day time TV will change that.

Makes me think of Baby Boom. I love that movie. Whenever I see a woman on the street here who is obviously a Career Woman pushing a stroller, I'm reminded of the scene when Diane Keaton is pushing the stroller and trying to keep up with the non-mommy woman who is passing her, dressed to the Nines in heels and a business suit, and she just gives up with complete resignation after less than a block. It is the shifting point in the movie, and one that I think most women can identify with.

I don't know yet which side of the Work/Stay Home line I'm going to fall on. It will likely be a little of both as our family life evolves and kids grow up, etc. At least, that's what I hope and pray. But I thank God I have The Choice in the first place.

And that I can bake a mean batch of cookies one night and talk about highway design the next day.

Super-Human Smeller

There are things about pregnancy that people always tell you, but that you never really appreciate until you are actually going through them. Which leaves you men out altogether, sorry guys.**

For example, your sense of smell is magnified beyond belief. This usually seems to apply to smells you don't care for anyway. Case-in-point, I can smell the cucumber something-or-other that the guy in the cube 2 rows over from me is having for lunch. I don't care for cucumbers. In fact, it's probably safe to say that I avoid them at all costs. It helps that I'm allergic, so I can get away with leaving them on my plate of salad and not having the hostess feel slighted. At any rate, all the books tell you that Smell Sensitivity happens almost immediately. Be it sitting in your office, walking into your own kitchen, or walking down the street, you never know when something offensive is going to float up your nose and cause you to gag. (Luckily, I am not too sensitive with smells in the first place, and never had the experience of smelling something so bad that I threw up. But I'm one of the lucky few.)

It is Murphy's Law that this only occurs on things that you'd rather not be smelling in the first place. Must be your body telling you to avoid that particular object/area/food/person/whatever because it is potentially harmful to you and therefore the fetus you are gestating. But why does it have to be so intense? I have yet to read anything explaining this phenomenon, except that it happens in most women and continues throughout the pregnancy and often times through the first few months of mother-hood. Wonderful. Why can't the smell of fresh-baked cookies be that overwhelming?

Speaking of The Nose, I HAVE found explanations as to why it is constantly stuffy--the pregnancy hormones surging through your body make various membranes in your body swell slightly, including your sinuses among other things. Great. I'm stuck with a stuffy nose and can not safely take any medication for it without consulting my physician, so I just have to suffer through. How in the world do you manage to have a stuffy nose that you can't blow AND still be able to smell BO coming down the hall before you can identify the person? How is this biologically possible?

Add it to my list of things that make you go 'Hmmm....'

**Guys, feel free to skip this post, as it is about pregnancy symptoms and therefore for the ladies. Or read on and enjoy finding out what you are missing and having new sympathy for pregnant women everywhere. And for Bubba, who has to hear about it from me all the time!**

Grey's Anatomy

How come no one told me how good this show is? IT ROCKS!

Progressive Dining

As this pregnancy progresses, it is becoming more and more clear that I am just going to be eating constantly throughout the day. Baby B has gotten much more demanding about being fed, and is growing like a weed. So, being the good gestating woman that I am, I'm more than happy to oblige. However. As the uterus gets bigger, all the internal organs above it get squished upward. Meaning my stomach now competes for space with my lungs (more or less anyway). This means that it really doesn't take much to fill me up, as the whole breathing thing totally takes precedence over digestion and my stomach seems to be smaller.

So, instead of eating regular sized meals at meal-time, with light snacks in between, I have to pretty much eat continously throughout the day. Because the minute I eat too much, Evil Bloat arrives and makes Mama Katie EXTREMELY uncomfortable and irritable and a general pain-in-the-ass to be around. But Baby B isn't going to cut me some slack on the caloric intake required for him/her to grow properly! Ah, the joys of mother-to-be-hood. Now you know why pregnant women are hungry and eating all the time. We really don't need that many more calories per day (they recommend 300-500) than the average Josephine, there's just not enough room in there with a growing baby to digest 'regular' meals properly!

Thus, I'm known around the office now as the girl with food in her mouth.

Birth Control and Blessings

So, time for a more positive post than the last, depressing, self-loathing one. Eddie, bygones.

Yesterday I had a crappy afternoon, so I decided on a little retail therapy. I am not much of a shopper, which gets a gasp from my Mama and little Sis (and Bubba's Mom, who has a black belt in shopping), so this was a new thing, because I don't usually look at shopping as 'therapy.' When I need 'therapy' I usually head for my couch and don't move from there all night (just ask Bubba, he has to do everything these days). I blame the hormones. But, seeing as how I have ZERO to wear these days, thanks to my bulging belly that is definitely broadcasting to the world that I don't just have a beer gut, I need clothes. My closet is empty, and it's not even that big to begin with. So I took my happy self to one of 2 Gap stores in Manhattan that has a maternity section. Unfortunately the store I chose happens to be catty-corner from Macy's, and was a zoo. I forgot that it's back-to-school here on Wednesday, so the place was CRAWLING with kids and their mommies doing their last-minute shopping. Did I mention that the maternity section of this store also shares a dressing room with the kids department? Pigs' Sister commented on her blog about pregnancy symptoms being excellent birth-control. This experience would have been, too, except that everyone using that extremely small dressing room was already knocked-up or had kids, and the BC theory was lost on them.

When I got on the train to go home, laden with my purchases, I was joined one stop later by a woman holding on to the arm of a screaming, writhing toddler who clearly DID NOT want to get on this particular train. He proceeded to throw himself down onto the subway floor (ew, gross!) and kick and scream, making the rest of us who had to SHARE the car with him groan inwardly and wish we'd chosen another car to get into. Mommy did nothing while the child threw the tantrum, not even apologizing to the people her offspring kicked! I hate this kind of parenting, and was sitting there thinking 'My child will never do such things in public because s/he will KNOW better. I'm going to be a better parent than that.' The tantrum continued for 3 more stops, where they (thankfully) got off. Guess he wanted to take a cab. More birth control for Katie Bonk.

The 'Blessings' part of this post is that I felt the baby kick last night for the first time! I was laying there trying to go to sleep and felt what could only be described as a gas bubble that exploded inside. Like an inward fart. Gross, I know, but I don't know how else to describe it. But it was there! Happened several times, and I was so excited that I couldn't fall asleep, and am thus extra sleepy today. I know this will soon turn into me groaning that the kid wakes up when I lie down, but for now, it's just super-cool.