The Rebel That Is in Me

It seems that at some point during each of my pregnancies, I do something rebellious.

When I was pregnant with Constance, I went to the mall one day and came back with piercings.
Two piercings to be exact.
In my ears.
The very first I had ever gotten.
Along with some very conservative earrings.

This last week in honor of my second pregnancy, I went and got a haircut.
And I put streaks in my hair, also called lowlights.
I looked through the selection of hair colors, everything from bright pink to dark green, and decided to go with one shade darker than my natural hair color.
The result is so subtle you have to look close to notice. But it does make my hair look a little bit darker, which I like.

Pretty good considering that this is the first time in the history of me doing anything with my hair that I applied artificial coloring.

But this all comes just in time for my mom to learn what Skype is and how it works and where to get a webcam for her computer. Granted I was hoping for a few months to let my hair normalize before, you know, I'd have to figure out a disguise.

I didn't cut my hair at all during high school and by the time I was almost done my with my mission in South Florida, it had reached this epic length.

So I chopped it once.

 And then again.

And that's just what a mission did to me, among many other wonderful things.
Getting married and having kids really did bring out the rebel that is in me.

Why I'm Not Freaking Out

As a first time mom two years ago, I have to admit that I freaked out over lots of things. By which I mean that I took everything about having a baby a bit more seriously than I do now that I'm on the second time around. I think it's a natural occurrence as a first time parent.

It didn't help that around the time when I was due to have Constance I was desperate to get out of my job situation, escape the problems that came with it, leave behind a boss who drove me crazy, and take a long peaceful maternity leave never to return again. I even started my maternity leave a week early because I convinced myself I needed the time to myself. Then Constance didn't come until two and a half weeks later.

With this baby, I'm lucky enough not to be in search of an excuse to leave an annoying job. In fact, it is the exact opposite situation.

Two weeks ago, Tom was contacted by another law firm here in town. They interviewed him and offered him a job a few days later that included a significant pay increase from what he has been getting at his present job--as in, now I will finally be able to get body wash and trash bags from someplace other than the dollar store!

This new job is a huge blessing.

But he doesn't start the job until February 1st and obviously doesn't get his first paycheck for the new job until mid-February. So I don't want the baby to come before then. Also, I've been procrastinating a lot of the new baby preparations because of the hope for a little more money soon.

My to-do list is pretty long:

1. Get oil changes for both cars
2. Stock up on freezer meals
3. Organize the closet in the kids' bedroom
4. Buy a swing/bouncer
5. Clean the house (My "nesting" instinct doesn't come naturally)
6. Sew
7. Get a haircut

I also need to finish editing 3 more research papers on the Channel Islands. So the baby can definitely not come before then or I might never learn the thrilling end to how land managers have been killing weeds and planting plants on the California Islands.

So I'm not freaking out about the baby coming soon enough; rather, I'm freaking out about getting all of my tasks done before baby Ana decides to make an appearance. It's a different though related malady.

Besides the money excuse, another obstacle is making it a little challenging to get my baby preparations done: morning sickness. Yes, it came back hard and strong this last month. The worst part is that I've lost my appetite. I really do miss being hungry for something and being able to eat it.

A lesser known fact about this pregnancy (besides the fact that I sure do complain a lot about being sick) is that I actually did take baby bump pictures; they just aren't publicized.

20 weeks

37 weeks

I feel huge but I guess I'm really not. I don't know whether or not I should find that observation comforting.

Vignettes of a Precocious Toddler

Constance received some Jake and the Neverland Pirate bath toys for Christmas and has been playing with them a lot lately. One night, she lined all of them up on the floor (Jake, Tick Tock the Croc, and Captain Hook), crouched down so she was eye level with them, then said "I'm gonna get you Tick Tock!"

One night she became enamored with fake sneezing and was running around with a "hankie" (cloth wipe) to her nose and yelling "aaaaah chewwww." She'd run into a room, slam the door, then fake sneeze for a while then run out again and go to another room.

Lately (as in the past 8 months), I have to lie down in the evening to try and cope with the nausea and exhaustion of pregnancy. Constance has become pretty used to this and so when we go into her room after dinner, she pulls out a pillow from her bed and brings me a blanket. She will feed me imaginary sips of apple juice and tuck the blanket around my neck so I can go "night, night." Occasionally she will also lie down next to me and give me some cuddles and pats on the face.
On one such occasion, she snuggled next to me, patted my cheek, and said, "I love you too Mommy." It was the first time she said that without being prompted by Daddy. She also tells me that "dollie loves you" and "puppy loves you." It sure is nice to be loved by little two-year-olds and stuffed animals alike.

Now that we have two cars, I don't go into Tom's office very often anymore especially during working hours. But one day we decided to take Tom some Taco Bell lunch (his favorite) and we ended up walking in when the boss, Greg, was in Tom's office talking to him. Greg of course tried to engage Constance in conversation, but she decided to ignore him and instead drop onto all fours so she could look at the floor and inch her hand closer to the spread of legal papers that frequents the floor in Daddy's office. Greg asked her about Santa which is usually a topic that she has quite a bit to say about. But she remained silent and evasive. Then I asked her about Daddy's hair. She immediately stood up, looked at Greg, and informed him, "Daddy's hair blew away in the wind . . . what happened?!" Luckily Tom has become fairly accustomed to his daughter talking about his personal life.

Constance has become very good at enforcing everyone else's routine except for her own. She's begun asserting her independence by fighting the whole leaving the house process (putting on socks, shoes, and coat) and the "night, night" routine (bath, brush teeth, read story, say goodnight to Daddy, sing a song, sleep). In contrast, she has a very strict routine for Daddy every morning: she wakes up, pokes him in random places on the face, grabs his gum and usually runs away with it but will return the prize with some bribery and begging, gives him his keys and wallet and phone, yells "wakey, wakey!!!!" then rolls him out of bed with lots of grunting and pushing. This routine applies to weekdays and weekends alike.

One afternoon when I was lying down in Constance's room trying to convince her to take a nap, I closed my eyes so I could do a nice big yawn (I think nap time is getting to be more for me than for her these days). I opened my eyes only to see a little face one inch away from mine with two curious eyes peering down my esophagus and a single finger poised to do some excavating. Needless to say, I yawned with my eyes open until she was safely asleep too.

And then for some oldies but goodies from Facebook that I don't want to forget:

Constance decided to put me down for a nap this afternoon. She laid down on the bed next to me, put her arms around my neck, and patted my back while kissing my forehead and whispering "Shhhhhh! Shhhhh!" 
That must have been an awfully good sandwich I made her for lunch today to get this type of treatment!

- Nursery singing time today - 
Me (to all the kids): What do we do when we come through the chapel doors?
Kids: Shhhhh!
Constance (while waving her hands in the air): Apple juice!!!!!!

- Our all-day conversation -
Constance: Where Daddy is at?
Me: Daddy is at work.
Constance: Ooooh noooo. Daaaddyyy

Constance has recently discovered how to blow her nose and has been practicing by blowing into her cloth baby wipes/washcloths. Then after a successful blow, she takes the same washcloth and attempts to wipe my face. Ever wonder why you catch EVERYTHING your kid gets? Mystery solved.

Tom to Constance: What's your name?
Constance: Me
Tom: No, your name is Boo.
Constance: Boo 
Tom: Boo Baby 
Constance: Boo Boo Head