Spring Pedicures for Pregnant Ladies

My feet are so swollen that on Thursday I couldn't even get the ball of my foot into my dress shoes, and I was due in court. Uh-oh. I found a suitable shoe alternative, but my poor little piggies screamed all day long. That called for a quick trip to SpaZend, a wonderful little day spa located next to the Onondaga School of Therapeutic Massage in downtown Syracuse, for a pedicure. Aahhhhhh.

Mostly I wanted to soak my feet and receive a nice foot massage, but then I realized that some nail polish was in order-- more specifically, nail polish that would celebrate the arrival of Spring next week. So I chose some bright red paint (they didn't have any called, "Pregnant Lady Polish," although I did ask) with the hope that the weather will warm a little bit in the next couple of weeks, allowing me to show off these beautiful toes in shoes that are less-confining and pain-inducing than my winter weather gear.

Then I tried to take a picture of the new toes, but I couldn't figure out a way to get both feet in the picture without falling over. So there you have it: one foot (kind of) in the picture peeking out from this mammoth belly.

A Snowy Morning

This morning we woke up to a dumping of beautiful lake-effect snow, which is soft, fluffy, and clumps to all the tree branches. It was beautiful. I woke up to go to the bathroom, and before I climbed back into the bed I opened our bedroom blinds for Dave to see. You'd have thought it was his birthday- his eyes widened like saucers.

Arlo was curled on his back at the foot of the bed, and Purna was standing on her back feet on our dresser, watching the snowflakes and trying to catch them through the window. Then as I snuggled back into bed, Dave said, "It's baby's first snow day!" At least the first snow day inside the womb. I love snow days like this, especially when I don't have to hurry anywhere. And I can't wait to share them with a little person. Snow = magic.

It's amazing how as the pregnancy progresses and the knowledge grows that soon enough we will add another member to this family, all the things I love about changing seasons and living in a Northern climate are emphasized and seem more celebratory. It's like when you move into a new house and invite important people over, you see everything through their eyes. I'm already seeing all the things I love about this time of year through the baby's eyes, and the baby isn't even here!


Today begins week 17, the last full week of the 4th month. People keep telling us the pregnancy will fly by, and they ain't kidding.

Our last Halloween without a little Yoda

Dave and I are big fans of Halloween, but being an adult without a child to share it with sometimes makes Halloween just an excuse to drink alcohol. And I like Halloween because of the reasons I loved it when I was 10- the time of year, the creative process, the pumpkin-carving, bobbing for apples, etc. I was the type of kid who planned my Halloween costumes in August, and I still take it pretty seriously, because I think it is a quintessential holiday representing America - specifically, I think that it is unbelievable that you can come up with a bizarre conglomeration of clothes (like the year I was a bag lady - not very sensitive) and walk around your neighborhood with a pillowcase, ring stranger's doors, and get FREE candy. Amazing. As my foreign-exchange student friend Anne-Sophie said after experiencing her first Halloween in the States, "America is beautiful."

Dave and I came home from work/school yesterday, carved pumpkins on the front stoop before the trick-or-treaters showed up, and proceeded to hand out gummi candy shaped like severed body parts for a couple of hours. And I felt so excited... because this is our last Halloween without a kid. And the very thought of experiencing this amazing holiday, one of my ultimate favorites, with a little person dressed in a white sheet is great. I can't wait to plan Halloween costumes in August, and carve pumpkins, and walk around the neighborhood greeting our neighbors and shouting Trick or Treat! I really can't wait.

And I am already, one year early, plotting my little one's Halloween costume for 2008. A baby Yoda - the little green character from Star Wars. Last night I read that we should start looking for cribs soon. But Yoda is much more exciting.

PS: That kitty pumpkin is my creation. Just so you know I didn't steal the picture from someone else's blog and pretend it was my own.