Stock Tip

The just-looking-at-food-gives-me-heartburn phase of my pregnancy has begun.

Invest in Tums.

(You didn't hear this from me.)

Baby Names... Poll Results

The results are in!

For the boys, Henry and Calvin tied for first place with 37% of the vote. Edmund came in a distant 3rd, at 13%, and Edward came in at 10%.

I want to take this opportunity to say that Edward is in the running because of my wonderful grandpa, not because of Edward Cullen.

To recap:

Grandpa, yes.

Vampire, no.

(Although, he doesn't burn my retinas.)

The girls results were as follows: Katherine, with a convincing lead at 39%, with Eliza and Penelope tied for 2nd, at 25% each. Poor Maggie came in last with 10% of the vote.

Thank you all for participating! It really is fun to see everyone's choices. Jay and I have agreed on a frontrunner name for both a boy and a girl, though I'm not going to divulge them here. MuHAHAHA! I will say that the frontrunners are among the names that were in the poll. (Which, for me, is saying something.)

Blog Housekeeping

A few blog related items, just real quick.

I've started categorizing my posts, and you can see those categories to the right. So if you ever get a hankering to learn all about the CHP Academy, or to read all about my homemaking escapades, then you can just click on the relevant link. Ok, so maybe you won't want to do that, but I do sometimes. Really, I'm just being selfish here.

Secondly, I have changed my settings so that you don't need a Blogger account to leave a comment. It'll stay that way unless I start getting weird/mean/stalker-ish anonymous comments.

And that is all. Thank you for listening. You may now go about your normal business.

First Pies, Now This?!

My quest for homemaking perfection adequacy continues! I have been - don’t faint now – sewing. Yes, it’s true. The last time I attempted a sewing project was when I made a telephone-shaped throw pillow in my 7th grade sewing class. I never finished it because I was too lazy to sew the opening shut. What? You had to do it by hand!

Anyway, I decided to start with an easy project – burp cloths! It’s been really fun. Here’s my first attempt:

(This is each side of a finished pair.)

Once I'm tired of making burp cloths, I think I'll attempt a retro style apron. You know, to complete my June Cleaver makeover.

3 Cheers!

Dexter took his first steps today! Whoo hoo!!!

We were sitting in the living room (Jay was working but had come home for dinner), when all of a sudden Dex stood up in the middle of the living room and took four steps toward us. He was laughing the whole time, and I was in shock. As soon as he laughingly threw himself down, the rest of us burst into applause. He really liked that, so he made a few more successful attempts before he decided that was enough for the day.

I am so excited! I mean, I knew it would eventually happen, but he is almost 16 months old after all, and I had kind of stopped looking for it. In fact, Jay and I were just joking the other day that Dexter was going to be a 12 year old Deacon passing the sacrament in church, standing up to hand the tray to someone, then getting down and crawling to the next pew. Now it looks like he might actually be walking before he starts Nursery in October. Way to go, Dex!

Edited to add:

I had to make sure everyone saw this hilarious picture my friend Jeremy created in honor of Dexter's acheivement. :)

Thanks Jer!

Dos and Don’ts

So, a Czech woman touched my belly in line at IKEA yesterday. I have to say, that is not one of my favorite experiences. I don’t like strangers, even casual acquaintances, touching me in any way, shape, or form. That feeling only intensifies when I'm pregnant. I know she wasn’t trying to violate me or anything, but I felt like saying, “Um, this is your dance space, this is my dance space, let's cha-cha,” and then moving on with our conversation.

It wasn't only the belly-touching, though. She also made the “You’re due soon, right?” comment. Uhhhhhhhh... no. Try 4 more months.

She was a nice woman, so it's really nothing against her, but those are two of my biggest pet peeves when I’m pregnant. I really need to have a t-shirt made, so that I can educate the world on what not to say to a pregnant woman. It would prevent a lot of awkwardness, don’t you think?

Here’s what I would like the world to know:

What not to say (or do) to a pregnant woman

1) Don't guess how far along she is. If you must, then follow this rule: Before guessing out loud how far along she is, automatically subtract 2 months. Either you’ll be right on, or you’ll make her day.
2) Strike the words big, chubby, and plump from your vocabulary. Replace them with healthy, happy, and glowing.
3) Never, under any circumstances, ask if someone is having twins. Ever.
4) Unless you’re close friends, don’t ask if she plans on having an epidural / breastfeeding / having any more kids. It’s really none of your business.
5) And lastly, if you don’t want her touching your belly, keep your hands off hers!

Here’s what you should do instead:

1) Tell her she looks great, even if her legs are swollen, she has bags under her eyes, and her protroding belly is covered with drips from her recently-devoured ice cream cone.
2) Open the door for her, or better yet, help unload her grocery cart since her pregnant belly makes it almost impossible to reach into the far corners.
3) Surprise her with some Ben & Jerry’s... almost any flavor will do. And don't judge her when she eats the whole cartoon while sobbing through Pride & Prejudice for the 6,000th time.
4) Tell her congratulations. It will make her day, especially when she’s spent the rest of the morning catching glimpses of strangers giving her the ‘ol stink eye for having yet another baby when she’s already contributed to overpopulating the world with the three she already has.
5) Tell her she looks great... again. It never gets old. :)

Hmmmm.
I don't think all that will fit on a t-shirt. Darn.

Ladies, what do you think? Am I missing any pregnancy dos & don'ts? I know I'm not the only one who thinks about these things... right?

Baby names... Poll time!

Methinks it's time for another fun-filled poll!

The last poll indicated that 66% of you think Baby #4 is a boy, 11% are thinking girl, and 22% of you copped out and chose "one of the above." I don't know why I even gave you that option. I should have known better.

And now it's time to poll baby names. Yee-haw!

My love for names knows no bounds. I don't know where the obsession comes from. Perhaps it comes from having the 2nd most popular name of the entire 1970's. (My sister, Jennifer, beat me by having the #1 most popular name.) Having such a popular name regulated me to being "Amy T." my entire schooling life. I didn't mind too much then, but looking back now I realize there was a reason I secretly wanted to go by my middle name. (Janelle, thank you for asking.)

Anyway... enough about me and my neurosis.

Note that the winning name doesn't automatically get bestowed on Baby. In fact, knowing me, the baby could very possibly be named something else that's not even currently on the list - like Cletus.

Yes, I just watched Hoosiers.
No, I wouldn't seriously chose Cletus.
At least not today.

And with that... check out the polls to the right and cast your votes! Make sure to vote in both polls!

Fun with curtains (and other randomness)

Where's Dexter?

Peek-a-boo!!

This little game entertained us all for about 15 minutes. It really is the simple things in life, isn't it?

Hard to believe there is going to be one more added to this group before the year's end...

I am starting to get really curious about what the baby will be like. Boy or girl? Blond hair like Bea, or brown hair like the rest of us? Blue eyes, or Daddy's brown eyes? Picky eater? Food thrower? Thumb sucker? (strike that - it's a given) Musical genius? Obsessive-complusive sink cleaner? Future Hall-of-Famer? Some guy down in Marketing?

Less than 20 weeks until the mystery is (at least partially) solved!