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Blogger hasn't caught up with the ease of mobile posting, so I am moving the Gravid Herpetologist over to tumblr. I am going to try to maintain both, but I doubt it will happen.

Check it out: The Gravid Herpetologist

The Magic Drawer

So, we have a chest of drawers in the bedroom. Just a normal piece of furniture housing normal items of clothing: socks, underwear, t-shirts for Husband and me. That’s all. Just clothes. But from the way the Lizard Baby obsesses over the bottom drawer of this chest, one would think it had wish granting gnomes in there.

But, I promise. It is only filled with Husband’s socks. I tell the Lizard Baby this, but he doesn’t listen. Any time we’re in the bedroom, he runs straight to this drawer. And proceeds to throw the socks throughout the room with great glee.

This is of course, a problem. I dutifully pick the Lizard Baby up, say “No” firmly, and place him somewhere else on the floor or in the playard while he wails that I am a cruel mother. Then I pick up the damn socks. Again. And so our days have gone by for the last week. Until he realized something. There is another drawer. One that might really have gnomes! Or better yet-light sabers!

So he sneakily sidled up to said drawer. Not drawing any attention to himself. Looking oh so innocent. Somehow he manages to construct a glowing halo over his head to make him look more legit.

He then attacks! Not hindered by the pesky T-shirts in the way, he will find the magic hidden at the bottom of this drawer.

It never fails. He will continue to try to find something interesting in the bottom drawers. And I will walk over to him, ready to be mad. And he looks up at me with those big innocently evil eyes as he sits in the bottom drawer. And I realize....I need some duck tape.

For the dresser of course.

Ultrasound

We had the 20 week anatomy scan yesterday and it went awesome. Little dude was wiggling so crazy, making it difficult to get measurements. His heart rate was in the high 130s and he has an anterior placenta-which is funny because I still feel him kicking. He must be really active!

Mine looked pink and tasted like that nasty big red soda.

They also sprung the 1 hour glucose test on me (tests for gestational diabetes). I passed, but damn, that is the nastiest drink ever. I would rather have been given straight up sugar to drink.

Aengus and Kara's Big Adventure: AKA in Praise of my Ergo

Today, driving to the grocery, I heard a big "pop!" and thought a tire had burst for a second. But then I saw smoke coming out of the hood, then out of the back, and then everywhere around me. But as soon as it came, it was gone. I was freaking out, but there was nowhere to turn around, so I pull into the grocery parking lot and call Will. He says he's pretty sure the radiator hose popped (had some air trouble with it yesterday) and to stay close to home and not drive much. So, I grab my OJ and almond milk, some mangos (2/$1!!), bananas and crackers and head home.

Stupid intersection next to the worst restaurant possible.

I was at this intersection (pic above), in the middle lane, when without so much as a huff or rev, the dear Hyundai turned off. And would not turn back on--wouldn't turn over at all. Of course, the light turns green at this point and I flip on my hazard lights, but I still get many angry honks from the lovely drivers of this city, despite having an empty left lane and space to go around me.

I call Will immediately because I wasn't sure what to do as cars kept going by. He asked his maintenance guy to drive the shuttle over to get me and help get the car out of the road. Unfortunately, I couldn't really wait to move the car since I was holding up traffic. And despite my hopes, no one stopped to help. There may have been crying...

Yes, that is a no parking zone, but there were cars blocking any other spot.

I get myself together and push the car onto this bus stop sidewalk stop. Now, one would think if you saw a small, pregnant woman pushing a crossover SUV by herself, you would help. Not Lafayette drivers. Or at least stop and let her go by. Nope, Lafayette drivers edge around you. But for the love of Darwin, you will not HONK at her?! Well, Lafayette drivers do. And you know what, you can all kiss my ass! (At least, that's what I yelled while using my she-hulk-like pregnant strength to haul that car.

To be fair, once I was pushing it over the hump, one man ran over from the parking lot across the street to help me get it over the curb and make sure I had help and a ride coming. Thank you, mystery person. You restored my faith in humanity.

Then again, 3 police cruisers drove by without so much as a slow down, so I'm a bit raw on the local boys in blue.

I wait until the hotel shuttle and tow truck show up at the same time. (Fast for the tow truck! Like 15 minutes from when Will called!) And the two nice guys loaded up the car for me, helped me with my 2 bags of groceries, and made me relax over all. I was worried about leaving the car by itself.

I wasn't really paying attention, and realized the hotel shuttle took me back to...the hotel. Crap. Well, at least Will could keep the groceries in the tiny fridge. So, I decided to walk home. To be fair, it's only about a mile on wide sidewalks to the house. And, thank science, I thought to grab the ergo out of the car before I got in the shuttle. And since it had rained last night, the weather was very cool.

Snuggled up in the back carry during Festival International last weekend.

So, I strapped Aengus to my back (see above for example) and began the trek home. I was a little worried I'd get tired with my 23lb toddler attached to me, but it really wasn't bad. My feet didn't even hurt by the time I got home though my ballet slippers have no arch support.

Finally, we're on our street. "Oh, I bet the mail came." I thought. And then I realized the tow truck guy had taken my keys to the dealer. Shit. Of course, we have no hide a key. But, we do leave the door to the back patio unlocked. Unfortunately, there is a fence preventing my way. Now, there is 1 loose board, but not enough space for my pregnant ass to pass through. If only Aengus could open and unlock doors I could've passed him in and waited for him to open the front door. Alas, he is an average baby, not a locksmith prodigy.

What happens to your credit card if you try to open a door with it.

Then I think, we only locked the knob, not the dead bolt. Perhaps I can use an old credit card and jimmy the lock open. I find an old Belk's gift card with a grand total of $0.34 left on it and try and shake and beg and yell. Nope. Doesn't work.

I go back around to the back to try to loosen a second board. Kicks, pulls, whatever. The wood is old, wet, and slightly dry-rotted so I know I should be able to get another loose. Meanwhile, Aengus has fallen asleep on my back and I'm standing in a mud puddle.

That's when I see it. The house whose driveway backs up to our patio fence (in which I am standing) has a shovel propped up against it. A large, metal shovel. I figured the nice old couple who live there wouldn't be terribly offended if I borrowed it for a few minutes.

It took 4 good hits at the weak spots, but I knocked that bitch right off the fence. I undo the ergo and get Aengus down so I can put him in the patio first. He is traumatized that I woke him. But, we made it inside! Hoorah!

My handiwork in the backyard. Cute new banana trees, no?

And now we're enjoying a snack of feta cheese and townhouse crackers. Will called and said the dealership had a guy stay late and diagnose the car issue and they'll fix it first in the morning. I'm glad, because we have an appointment tomorrow and an ultrasound Thursday.

Hopefully this is all of the adventure I'll have this week.

A List of Words...

At 14 months, Aengus didn't seem to be saying many words. I mean, he said the obligatory mama and dada, and had lots of "words" for things, but it's not like he said "My milk please, mother." So, I assumed he wasn't talking. So I became concerned when hearing that other children had words. That is until I discovered that 14 month olds are not expected to pronounce things perfectly. It seems a "word" is anything I recognize as a word. So, here is a list of "words" Aengus says with a pronunciation of the word in parentheses. This is in order of appearance, approximately.

Dada (dada)

Daddy (daddy): He says this perfectly and quite well. I am impressed.

Mama (mama)

Hi (hiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!): accompanied by a wave

Baxter (Basher or Dasher): this is the dog. He says it more than mama....

Shoe (shuh)

Cup (kuh)

Boat (bo)

Ball (bob): this may be the word for all toys now?

See (see): this means "can I see?" or "do you want to see?" which we ask him often. Or maybe please...

Thank you (thisshew): anytime he gives us something, accompanied by a proud smile

Baby (babum): this is very hit and miss, however. For his baby doll.

"Uh!!!" seems to serve every other linguistic purpose currently.

12 weeks & the announcement

We had the 12 week appointment with the OB yesterday. Heart rate was 167-170, so maybe a girl this time? We also announced to the families, which has gone well.

I also finally found our camera, just in time for Mardi Gras, so enjoy the cuteness:

The Missing Camera

Many interesting things have happened this week, but sadly, I cannot document them visually. My camera, which I love oh so much, has disappeared. It happened in a 10 minute period in the living room, and my dear son has placed it somewhere magical. We have torn the house apart. I'm sure it will turn up, but I'm going crazy every time a picture-worthy moment passes.

So, a quick run-down:

~We had our ultrasound last week, and saw a tiny heartbeat on the tadpole. (Which, coincidentally, looks very much like a tadpole.)

~Aengus is walking all over the house like a tiny adult.

~The first birthday is quickly approaching, and I MUST FIND MY CAMERA!

Bleh

I'm sick. I don't remember being this nauseous with Aengus, but perhaps I am remembering his pregnancy with rose-colored glasses. I wake up at 3am every night feeling like death warmed over. Eating makes it worse. Not eating makes it worse. I am miserable. And, that is my bitch for the day. I'm off to be more positive now.

Women Deserve Better...

The 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade is tomorrow. As a pro-choice, pro-woman, pro-child mother of one (and one growing) I am thankful for this court case. To best explain my reasoning, please enjoy the below video of Sonya Renee's spoken word "What Women Deserve". It may be the pregnancy hormones talking, but I cried watching this. Then again, I almost always cry when I watch it.

Decisions Made

Well, I made an appointment with an OB for next week. I should be 6.5 weeks-ish at that point. Will and I have pretty much decided on a hospital birth with this pregnancy, and although I was not thrilled at first, I'm coming to peace with the decision. I have a weird feeling about this pregnancy and have dreamed about being in the hospital twice, so I'm just going with it.

Now to get excited about an OB/GYN appointment...hmmm...

Birth Plans for Tadpole?

I gave birth to my son at home with a wonderful midwife last year. Every memory I have of his birth makes me happy-even the more difficult parts. Will and I still speak of certain parts and laugh or smile.

With this pregnancy, I'm unsure of what to do. We were planning on moving in May, with me working a job and Will staying home, but I can't work for 4 months and then take maternity leave. Well, I guess I could, but I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that. So, I guess we'll wait until September or October to move and have the tadpole here. I would love to use our midwife again, but we have to pay out of pocket, and with the move and me not working past May, I'm not sure if we can do it. I mean, we could, but I don't know how financially strapped I want to be.

The other option is to give birth in the hospital (which freaks me out, but I hear one is not bad) with a doula or 2 for support and have the whole thing covered by insurance. I just have to find an OB that I like. I have 2 or so recommendations, so that shouldn't be difficult. I just hate the idea of not remembering tadpole's birth as fondly as Aengus's.

Of course, I have this weird feeling that I'm having twins because I'm still breastfeeding, and if so, I can't give birth at home anyhow.

Cravings

They have begun. And, of course it isn't anything normal. I want vinegar. Apple cider vinegar, to be exact. I want to drink it. I want to get a bowl of apple cider vinegar and dip french bread into it. Just thinking about it is making my mouth water. This is going to be a strange pregnancy.

It's official

I'm gravid again. Looks like we're starting this journey all over again.

Sometime in mid-September, 2011 the tadpole will arrive.