36 Weeks and Counting

See? Growing aren't I? This is me at 36 weeks. This baby is quite low compared to Elle. I feel like half the time she is sitting on my lap, from inside my belly.

Feeling good, except for the occasional shooting pain that sends me to my knees. My Doctor says it's just because she is so low, in position, getting ready for the big day, and bumping up against all those fantastically sensitive nerve endings. Just a little "coming attraction" for the real thing in a few weeks, I guess.

Not long now!!!!

The Best Santa Ever

Elle visited with quite possibly the best Sant aI have ever seen. The guy was the real deal. Real beard. Real Belly. Real twinkle. Real jolly. See?

And this is coming from someone who, as a child, actually pulled the fake beard off of a Santa because, well, I knew it was a fake beard and this guy was trying to pulling one over on us kids. Yah, the parents and kids behind us reeeeaaaalllllyy appreciated my critical-thinking-at-a-young-age skills.

Anyway, we had a blast with Santa.

PS, we strolled through the mall the other night to see the Christmas decorations and "Santa" was there. He was a typical mall Santa...not too jolly, fake belly. You could go up and say hi if you wanted.

As we waited in line to say hello, Elle says "That's a different Santa."

"Oh, you think?" I said nervously.

I just hoped she wouldn't get close enough to give that beard a healthy tug.

Belly shots

Coming soon, I promise. I've progressed quite a bit since the last ones...

Southern B(elle) continued

This is Elle, telling her Dad, quite graciously, where he should start up the landscaping fabric again once he's done with that spot. (This is one of "our" big backyard projects..I say "our" because clearly I have nothing to offer but opinions and snapshots, while my daughter and husband do all the hard work.)

Then, on October 27th at 5:57 pm it happened. Elle crossed the (Mason Dixon?) line. Here's the scene.

We are cooking dinner, Elle is "helping." She loves playing with the kitchen timer. She reaches up to grab it and says:

"I'm going to set this timer for y'all."
Me, incredulous: "What did you say, dear?" thinking maybe I misunderstood the last word.
Elle" "I'm going to set this timer for y'all."
Kyle, laughing at the shock on my face, and basically poking fun at me: "Elle, don't you mean ' for you guys?'"
Elle, ignores us, as usual, and goes on her own way, sashaying into the living room to bask in the fun of beeping the buttons and changing the numbers on the timer.

I'm sure the next thing out of her mouth will be "mac and cheese is a side dish, mom!"

Musings on Veggies and Side Dishes

When Kyle and I first met, we ate out a lot-it was summer, we worked hard, there were lots of good places to eat.



I was so nervous to cook for him the first few times since he had already cooked gourmet meals for me and I knew what I was up against. I remember the first meal I made for him: pan fried rainbow trout. It was pretty good!



As I stuggled to find yummy things to make, I remembered a great recipe for Mac and Cheese, a perrenial favorite, a luscious comfort dish for New Englanders. I told Kyle I was making Mac and Cheese for dinner and he looked at me and said "and what else?"

Me: "Probably a salad?"

Kyle: "And what else?"

Me: "Um, well, what else do you need to have with Mac anc Cheese? It's a meal in itself."



Now, if you know Kyle, you know this was his way of trying to tell me something without actually just coming out and telling me something. Sometimes you have to read between the lines with the man, god love him. Finally, I keep pushing him, and he says:



"Macaroni and Cheese is a side dish. It's like a vegetable. You don't eat it as a meal in itself. It's a side dish."

Me: "What the hell are you talking about? It's not a side dish, and it is certainly not a vegetable."

Kyle: "It's a 'three' as in a 'meat and three'."

Me: speechless. No idea what he is talking about.

Kyle: "In the South, you go into a restaurant and you get a 'meat and three': you choose a meat and three sides..usually you have a choice of mac and cheese, butter beans, rice and gravy, collards, cream style corn or mashed potatoes."

Me: Arteries hardening, I say something like "Oh. Ok. Well, we're not doing a meat and three here and that list of side dishes is a laundry list of carbs, so I'll give you that we should have some protein with our Mac and Cheese but I'm not willing to relegate it to a side dish nor am I able to call it a vegetable. We'll have to agree to disagree. And I think maybe you are kidding anyway"



Then we moved here and I realized that he wasn't kidding about any of it. Not only can you buy a NUMBER 10 CAN (aka restaurant-sized, big ass) of butter beans but also a 25lb bag of SUGAR, too. AT THE REGULAR GROCERY STORE.

sO, What constitutes veggies in Your corner of the world?

Halloween 2008

Elle wanted to be a clown this year. I'm not sure why because like most toddlers, she has always been terrified of clowns. But, it was the only thing she said she wanted to be for the last month, so we went with it. Maybe she's cured?

I made her clown shirt and her auntie made her clown pants. We had a super fun time and hope you all did, too!