Last night I made The Pioneer Woman’s Chicken Spaghetti and it wasn’t as awesome as I had hoped it would be. It was fine, but I guess my expectations are always super high for her recipes since when they’re good, they’re goooooood. I have been really enjoying the return of my appetite and we’ve been having some pretty delicious dinners now that the morning sickness has (mostly) passed: pad thai, lamb stew, chicken with spicy peanut sauce, and apple pie (a la mode, of course) for dessert. BOOM! Food is good.

My new post is up at urbanmoms.ca and if you take a gander, you’ll read about the worst thing anyone has ever said to me while I was pregnant.

I am finally feeling better and less nauseated all the time. Things started to improve around the 10-week mark, which initially had me concerned that perhaps something was wrong with the baby, but I am still exhausted and my boobs are still sore and gaining a cup size a week, so I’m hoping all is well. I go for an ultrasound tomorrow to confirm my dates, so if you think of me, feel free to say a little prayer and send some good thoughts that this sweet baby is healthy and thriving.

My newest post is up at urbanmoms.ca and I’d love for you to check it out. You guys have been so great about commenting there and making me feel welcome, and I really appreciate that.

Can I just say that I love The Bachelor? I have never really followed it before since we never had cable, but now Steve and I are both hooked. It’s awful. And delicious. And Vienna is a cow.

That’s all.

That may sound cynical, but it’s been the key to my not losing it when things don’t go as planned. Take last night, for instance. Steve’s dad and Sue invited us to join them for dinner at a nice restaurant in town. We accepted and met them there, ready to enjoy the evening. I was mentally prepared for the experience to be a gong show, so when things inevitably fell apart, I just laughed about it, instead of running to the bathroom and trying to flush myself head-first down the toilet.

We arrived and I plopped Karenna in a high chair. She looked around and after 1.2 minutes started squawking, “OUT! OUT!” and trying to dive-bomb out of the chair. Then Avelyn spilled her entirely full glass of ice water all over her dress and tights, soaking her to the bone. We stripped off her clothes and had her put on her little trench coat, thus making her look like a junior flasher, ready to expose herself to passers-by. Karenna ran around the restaurant like a rabid badger and Steve and I took turns chasing her. Avelyn, on three occassions, declared loudly, “I have to go POO!” and each time we took her she wouldn’t actually go. Then the meal came and there were about seven minutes of calm while the girls chomped on their chicken fingers. One child was essentially naked, the other trying to run into the kitchen at the back, our own meals cold while we tended to the crazies.

But it was OK. I knew it was going to be a challenge, I kept my cool, and my Penne Primavera was worth the mayhem.

PS: My newest post is up at urbanmoms.ca and it’s all about pregnancy cravings. Stop on by and say hi!

She is fun, she is quirky, she is sensitive, she is eager to learn, she is gentle, she is quick to laugh (and still sometimes to cry), she is curious and she is wild.

She runs everywhere and goes full-tilt all day long. She is learning how to be a good friend and sister.

She makes me tired and she makes me laugh and she makes me proud.

Love you, turkey.

Angella posted some of the CUTEST photos ever of our two little girls. Your heart will burst from the joy they bring, so head on over.

My new post is up at urbanmoms.ca and it’s about how I still feel like chucking my noodles most of every day. Good times.

And finally, a dear friend of mine has a friend in Haiti named Rebecca who works at an orphanage there. They were hit hard by the earthquake and the devastation has been unreal. Her blog is filled with amazing photos of the tragedy, as well as hopeful prayers for recovery. I highly recommend you take a look, and if you feel led to donate to the work she is doing you can check out the Heart to Heart website for more information.

In other news, Karenna is adding new words to her vocabulary and it’s so fun. The first thing she says when she wakes up in the morning is, “Avi? Avi?” as she asks for her sister. They have been playing together more and more, which is adorable. There is still plenty of hair-pulling and hitting and crying, but I guess that’s what sisters are for.

Oh, and in a new all-time low, I dropped Avelyn off at school today and was unshowered, braless, in stanky yoga pants and with yesterday’s mascara smudged under my eyes. Keep it classy, that’s my motto!

Our life paths have taken very different turns but when it comes right down to it we share a life-long connection and a love of food, and that’s all you really need. So yeah, we’ve just been talking and eating a lot and it is good.

I have been feeling marginally less nauseous lately, which is a relief. I’ve been trying to eat more protein during the day and it does wonders in tiding over the hunger which leads to the barfy feelings. Cheese strings, FTW!

My next post is up at urbanmoms.ca and it’s all about how my doctor thinks I’m fat. Check it out!

The first time, I heard them laughing together and initially thought this was a good sign. Then I got the sinking feeling I should check on what they were up to. Lo and behold, they had dumped out an entire box of Rice Krispies all over the couch and floor and were jumping on them, pulverizing them into a fine dust, while they cackled with laughter.

The next time, Karenna came toddling up to my bed, her face covered in chocolate. Turns out Avelyn had found some old pudding in the fridge and had helped herself and her sister to a cocoa delight, meanwhile smearing it on their clothes, the floor, and the dog.

I think it’s clear these two cannot be left unattended.

(Oh, and here she got into my lipstick when I turned my back for 3.2 seconds.)

(This was on a separate occasion when we were hosting a little play-date and thought the girls were upstairs playing nicely. Turns out they hit the Lotion Jackpot and were covering their entire bodies with Vaseline Intensive Care.)

Most days I wonder how I will possibly cope with one more crazy kid running around, when my hands already feel so full.

And I have been fighting a lot of fear regarding this pregnancy: fear of miscarriage, fear of having a child with special needs, fear of something going wrong with the delivery. I know there’s no use dwelling on those fears, but in my heart I do feel like three healthy kids is just too much to ask for sometimes, you know? Whatever will be, will be, though, and all I can do is be thankful for the moments we’re in, even if they’re exhausting or (literally) nauseating or scary at times.