Friday, April 29, 2011

Belly Touching

At work yesterday, my co-worker Rob informed me that I've reached the stage in my pregnancy where he's tempted to touch my belly.  He also said that he never would... I guess working around all women gives you temptations that you have to resist all the time. :)
This isn't my belly...but it's a cute belly.  So you get to see it.

It got me thinking about belly touching and the various types of people out there.  I'm seeing some distinct categories.

  • Non-acknowledgers-- This group, usually comprised men, see I'm preggo but don't mention or acknowledge.  I could probably be giving birth in front of them and they would still try to talk to me about their latest common assessment.  
  • Talkers, but no move to touch--This group likes to talk about my belly all the time (they usually call me cute, even if I look like arse), but keep their hands firmly in one place.
  • Hover-ers--This group cracks me up, probably because I often fall into it.  Members make a move to touch me, stop short, and wave their hands around.  It's kind of like an aura-massage.  My internal conversation usually went something like this, "It's a belly and it's CUTE.  I want to touch it, but that's probably inappropriate...so this as close as I can get."
  • Grabbers--Full on grabbers.  1 hand, 2 hands, they want a chunk of some baby belly.  I don't really mind this, as long as I know the person.  Well.  Like I have their phone number or a something in common with them.  I think the requirement to ask if you can touch decreases significantly based on your level of closeness to me and if you've touched me before.  If we've hugged, you can touch.  No problem.  If I don't know your name, it would freak me out.
  • "Others"--This group goes rouge.  They make their own rules.  For instance, a lady I work with (as in she works in one of my buildings.  We don't work "together" but see each other when I'm stealing chocolate from someone else's office) came up to me and said, "Look at the belly!  I wanna touch!"  The then proceeded to stick her index finger out and make the "airplane" motion (like she was feeding a baby) and poke me with one finger.   Weird.  She's weird, so I wasn't surprised.  Lesson here: don't do weird things when touching my belly or I will tell everyone I see.
I think I've been lucky so far.  No strangers have attempted to touch me yet.  I really don't want strangers to touch me, pregnant or not, so I'm grateful.  The only male who has touched my belly is David...maybe this is because the men I work with are few and far between AND have been drilled about sexual harassment.  Or maybe men just don't care.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Gallery Wall... someday

I've decided that I want to put a gallery wall in our living room.

I'm pretty much a sucker for everything Young House Love (LINK) does, but my sister-in-law Cher has one in her house too, and I think it looks neat.

Aside: Young House Love's birth story yesterday (LINK) freaked me out.
NOT COMFORTING.  
I think I might have cried.
Hormones, people.

So, I gathered a bunch of frames we had in corners and drew their shapes onto paper.
I then taped the paper to the wall and moved it around for about 2 hours.
David thought I was crazy.  He also thinks that gallery walls look cluttered, but I let him turn the basement into Mizzou-Threw-Up-Here Land, so he knows to be quiet about my decorating choices :)

Anyway, after all this taping, here's the layout I think I'm going with.
So, yeah, I have no idea what that blob is in the photo...
but it was in all of them.  Ghost?
Also, ignore the debris.  
I can't be bothered to clean before photographing, obviously.

Right now, I think it looks smashing.  
This weekend, my plan is to get all the frames hung and slowly start filling them with items. 
Right now, only 4 frames (and the B) have decor on the inside...and I kind of like that.  It gives me room to add photos/memorabilia of The Cactus.

I'll share photos when I get it done!

Someday.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Hiatus

It looks like it might be time for me to either take a hiatus from running or cut WAAAAY back.

It's starting to hurt.  Ok, it's not starting to hurt--it's just plain hurting.  A lot.

On Easter, I woke up early and, because we were going to late church and it wasn't raining yet, decided to go for a run.  I love running--even now.  My body loosens up and I have time to think.  I was feeling good.

So I ran 4 miles...rather than the 3 I was planning to do.  I got home, showered, and got ready for church.

It was after church that I started to really hurt.  I think it must have been sitting for an hour, but I was moving slow on the way out to the car.  We went out to lunch and I could barely walk out to the car after the meal.

I spent the rest of the way whining and aching.

It's my hips.  They hate me.

Yesterday, I was still really sore.

It's frustrating, but my doctor told me I would know when it was time to stop running...and I guess I know.

Booo.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Happy Easter!

 After the storm scare of the weekend, David and I were excited to learn that the only damage was broken glass on our side storm door.  It's actually a door we've been meaning to replace since we moved in, so we're not upset at all...and, as a bonus, Jess cleaned up a lot of the glass when she came by to let Maggie Roo out, so we didn't even have to do that!  
Thanks, Jess, by the way :)

Our church had Easter service at The Pageant, which was awesome.  
They had some of the best snacks, including candy-coated peeps.
I don't normally go for peeps, but if you dip it in candy, I'm there!

I spent a lot of the afternoon lazing around the house, 
but did manage to get the window treatments completed for the nursery! 
Aren't they neat?  I used this link as a tutorial.  
I think, with fabric, the whole project cost less than $10 for both windows.


Here's the fabric I chose--on sale from Joanne's!  
It's got navy, yellow, and lime green.

Things are coming together for The Cactus!

Thursday, April 21, 2011


Because everyone else in the blog world is doing it…and I'm not really very thrilling... enjoy!

A. Age: 29
B. Bed size: Queen.  Someday, I'll get a King-sized bed.
C. Chore you hate: I don't like putting away dishes from the dishwasher.  Not sure why, but it bugs me.
D. Dogs: Maggie Roo-bearski, Attorney at Paw.  I love my Roo-Bear.  LOVE.
E. Essential start to your day:Checking email and facebook.  I feel caught up.
F. Favorite color: Lavender, Sage Green, lots of things.
G. Gold or silver: Silver.  Or White Gold.  Or Platinum :)
H. Height: 5’7
I. Instruments: I used to play the piano and trumpet, but never very well.
J. Job title: Progress Monitoring Coach at my job, but trained as a Social Worker
K. Kids: Cactus, eta July 2011
L. Live: Saint Louis
M. Mom’s name: Nancy
N. Nicknames: I don't really go by nicknames (except just shortening Darcie to Darc), but David likes to call me Booksy.  It's cute and I think it started when Maggie got called Roosky.
O. Overnight hospital stays: None, yet
P. Pet peeve: People flaking and general rudeness
Q. Quote from a movie: My colors are blush and bashful.
R. Right or left handed: Left
S. Siblings: 3 biological, 4 (almost 5) in-law.
T. Time you wake up: 5:30 or 6, depending on which school I'm at that day
U. Underwear: Usually something comfy from VS, but now nothing's comfy.  I did buy some maternity pairs, which do not make me feel pretty.
V. Vegetables you dislike: beets, lima beans.  I pretty much love everything else, though.
W. What makes you run late: Working out and then having to shower.  If I could forfeit showering, I would be 5 minutes early everywhere.
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Teeth, wrist, ankle, head (from when big brother hit me in the head with a bat)
Y. Yummy food you make: I love to cook, but whether it's yummy or not is debatable.  I like making bread and cake.  Go carbs!
Z. Zoo- favorite animal: Anything with a funny name.  The Somali Wild Ass always gets a chuckle.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Birth Poll

Are we close enough to set up a birth pool?

I'm not sure, but here you go....

http://bebepool.com/darciebrady

I'll have to think of rules if people want to bet money...any help/advice on that?

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The World's Most Perfect Rug

Link
This would look amazing in the nursery.

But it's out of my price range... so I'm going to stalk Ikea and see what I can do.

Also, I have no idea what size rug is appropriate.  I might have to get out that blue tape and try to figure it out.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Facebook

I can't check Facebook at work...which is a blessing, because it would be REALLY hard to be productive if I could stalk friends at work.


However, I do get emails when someone writes on my wall...and this morning I get this one.


Jimmy wrote:
"I would like to take a moment to offer you my sincerest thanks for not constantly posting photos of your stomach on Facebook. In fact, please accept these commendations on behalf of every man, everywhere who finds new pregnant stomach pictures on his wall every morning and remembers longingly the days when his female friends were all more like you."



Which made me laugh out loud.  


I laughed again when I saw this a few hours later.


Erin wrote: 
"I think she should start posting knocker photo updates." 


The sad part is, I got REALLY excited when Jimmy's wife posted pictures of their new puppy online...but not about belly shots.  

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Knockers

If this subject freaks you out, go ahead and close your browser.  
Because we're talking about knockers here.
My knockers.

I had a meeting today where one of the participants was a teacher who has been on maternity leave for the past three months, returning about two weeks ago.  I hadn't seen this teacher since before Christmas.  She sat down next to me, and she asked me if I was pregnant.  

When I said yes, she congratulated me and said 
she thought I might be after our meeting last week.

Which is interesting, because I am always sitting during these meetings and people generally arrive after me and leave before me...never seeing me standing or without a table in front of the gut area.

She explained that she had noticed the increased size of my boobs last week and asked random people if I was pregnant.  Upon receiving confirmation, she felt comfortable enough to congratulate me.

This very well might have been the highlight of my day.  Especially when she got flustered and explained that she didn't normally spend time looking at my chest...
she was just super conscious about that part of her body (with a new baby) and was hyper-alert.

It got me to thinking...how big are the girls?  
Let's take a walk down memory lane, shall we?
January 8th
This was when I first felt really self-conscious about the girls, at Uncle Sam's inauguration...but I still had 6 months to go until The Cactus's ETA.
  
Jan 29
And here I am at Law School Prom, less than a month later.  
Maybe it's the angle, but yikes.

In order to complete this post, I decided to dig out the dress and see how things are progressing....
April 13
Um, hello.
Even if you ignore the lack of makeup, weird facial thing, and bad lighting, this is still scary.

My boobs are getting bigger, but I appear to be getting less attractive.
Yes, for both of the first ones it was an event so I "tried' to look nice, but still.

And, so everyone can enjoy, here's a bit more of the body... 

I'm thinking this dress is less flattering now than it was.

But back to the knockers...
are they going to get even bigger during breastfeeding?

That thought is horrifying.

I might need to invest in a back brace of some sort.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Paddle Boats

When I arrived home from work on Friday, David informed me that Maggie Roo had planned our evening activity.  
Apparently, she had been surfing on the internet and discovered that DOGS are allowed on the paddle boats in Forest Park!

Yeah, I didn't buy that Maggie found the activity either, but sometimes it's easier not to argue with David :)

So we loaded up the car and headed to Forest Park.
Maggie was happy.  

She actually did very well on the boat...
mostly she leaned over the sides and drank water.

And she stared at ducks.
Luckily, my Roo-Bear was a good girl and didn't jump in.

David was a trooper and did most of the paddling...for several reasons.
1. I wore a dress and it's hard to be lady-like when paddling without pants.  Yipes.
2. My knees kept knocking into my baby bump.  
The Cactus responded by kicking me back.
3.  It was hot and I'm gestating.

What a good sport!

After paddling around for about 90 minutes, we had dinner at the Boat House--and Maggie was allowed to join us!  
There was a Saint Bernard two tables away from us, so people seldom asked if they could pet her, which was fine by her.  
She was busy napping.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Half Marathon: Done!

At 26 weeks preggo, I ran the Go! St. Louis Half Marathon
 with my friend Jess.

It was hot.

Humid and Hot.

Actually, according to this news article (Link) they closed the marathon race at 9:05 am and made everyone run the half marathon.

Every time I passed a medical station, there was someone receiving fluids.  The news last night said that extra EMT staff had to be called in from outside of the city--I saw about 3 ambulances actively taking people to hospitals.

Which makes me thankful for Jess.  Jess and I ran her first half together this past October and she volunteered to run with me (she hadn't really trained for this race) to keep me at her pace and to keep an eye on me.

It was a blessing, because everyone knows how stubborn I am...and that I don't like to be passed.

Jess kept me at a safe pace AND kept asking me about my heart rate.

We finished around 3 hours (I actually paused my Garmin one of the multiple times I peed and didn't restart it), and it was crisis-free.

Then, Jess and I went and got a mani-pedi WITH a massage.

And, to top it all off, Jess made me an oreo cake.

Can you believe this?

It is A-MA-ZING.

I had to take it to work today, because I enjoyed this cake WAAAY too much.

Today, I'm feeling ok, but I did wear my compression socks to work.

It's a good look.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

News

As of today, I have 100 days left until my due date!

Huzzah!

AND, (This is big news!)

David has agreed to cloth diapers!

Yay!

There's a kind he likes a lot for ease of use (Bum Genius Elemental) and a kind I like for cost and ease (Flip System)....so we're going to stick both on our registry at Cotton Babies.   But, mostly, I'm just thrilled that we've reached an agreement on this...with my concession being that David won't have to touch the poop.

I think I'm going to invest in this for him.

Morgan Hill Review 2

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Fur Baby Love

It's no secret that I love my dog.

Love.

I mean, how can you not?
Yes, I realize that you can see a shoe, a receipt, and a pen in the picture.  
I'm gestating! Give me a break!

At any rate, one of Maggie's main attributes is her relative lack of energy.  
She's mostly not interested in toys or walks or fetching...really anything where she would have to be active.
She IS interested in treats, and is willing to do pretty much anything to get one.

However, since I found out I'm preggo, Maggie's temperament has changed a bit...
She wants to play!
It's weird!
She's been carrying around her various toys--a bone, a gorilla, and a raccoon.
None of which she cared about 6 months prior.

All this new-fangled energy is great...except for the stuffed toys. 
They turn the house into a dump.
Stuffing EVERYWHERE. 

If she weren't so darn cute, I would be bitter about it.
Personally, I think Maggie Roo's trying to stock up on love before the baby comes.

Has anyone else seen pet changes in pregnancy?  

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Bump

 Today at work, a lady told me I was the cutest pregnant person she had ever seen.

It made my day, mostly because I feel like I look a bit like a troll doll---all butt and gut.

You decide.
As a disclaimer for the woman who told me I was cute, this picture was taken last night after I got out of the shower--hence the "fresh" face and ratty hair.

Yep, troll doll.  For a while, I thought I was gaining in my thighs, but this picture seems to argue more for the butt pregnancy theory.  It may be the first time in my life when my thighs seem small in comparison to the rest of my body :)

In other news, loosely related to my butt pregnancy, someone please make me this.
Post image for Oreo Cake
Oreo Cake!

Monday, April 4, 2011

Eating my words

On Sunday, I met up with a buddy of mine who's due 2 days after me. She's planning on running the half marathon next Sunday too, so we were going to run 7-10 miles together.

The only problem was that it was in the 80's on Sunday...and windy.

That run sucked, just so everyone knows.  We only did 5 1/2 miles and I had to ask her to stop so I could walk.

Rough, rough, rough.

On a positive note, I listened to my body and didn't do a longer run just to make myself feel tough.

Aren't you proud of me?

Friday, April 1, 2011