Smells, Good and Bad

Note to self: 7 hours of sleep can feel like 5 to a pregnant woman!

Sunday night, after being wired from everything going on I wasn't paying attention to time and got to bed late. Monday morning went smoothly, but by the afternoon my energy started to dwindle and by evening I was basically propping my head up! I got to bed early and feel a little better today, but still a little tired. I think Little One is growing again.

Finally, we got relief from the heat as a cold front plowed through last night. I happily went to the parks for a walk, but discovered to my dismay it wasn't as pleasant as it used to be. The area close to where I work is being plagued by cicadas, and I noticed during my walk the little buggers are not only annoyingly loud but they also stink! One path had several dead ones just baking in the sun, that smelled like a cross between a kennel and peas that had been left in a pan on the stove all night long. It was not enough to be unbearable, since I really love walking, but it still was not pleasant. I am thankful I'm not afraid of them (though granted I would freak out if one landed on my head or something), and that they aren't in the area I live this year. It was pretty gross noticing tree branches just covered in their shells, and seeing all the little holes in the dirt where they emerged from the depths. I'll be glad when they are gone.

Tonight, Michael and I mustered up enough energy to cook a decent meal. We made Asian-inspired beef with broccoli not using a recipe, and it smelled and tasted delicious! I also cut up and started marinating some chicken for an Indian dish on tomorrow night's menu, chicken tikki marsala. I'm looking forward to trying that.

I'll mention two additional things, just to assure anyone concerned. I was surprised at the reactions I got to mentioning the Baby Wise book, as apparently it gets extremely mixed reviews (some go as far to say its method is cruelty!). I hadn't even had a chance to look into it on my own yet! A lot of people are also recommending books by Dr. Sears instead. I am definitely grateful for the feedback, and will be very careful in my research (I actually don't plan to research too much really!). I didn't follow any marathon training schedules for the two I have run, just reviewed several and used them as a general guide to create one that worked for me. When it comes to raising a child, it is even more important to follow what is practical for our family. I'm curious to check a few things out if I have time, and just gather ideas. Speaking of reading, I am currently reading The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy after I picked it up for free at that baby shower that was mostly for the Chinese students. It is an entertaining and quick read. Most of the things I already heard or figured out on my own, and like all books parts I agree with and parts not so much. Still not too bad, and much less like a manual than What to Expect When You're Expecting can be at times (which I generally cannot just sit down and read).

I'm also being really careful about tomatoes with the salmonella scare going on. At least I had mostly been buying the on-the-vine types to make my homemade salsa that aren't effected. I also realized one of Michael's weird preferences makes our risk a little lower....we usually dunk our tomatoes in boiling water for a couple minutes, then peel the skin right off. The main contamination concern is on the skin. Of course, in some cases the bacteria can contaminate the inside too (especially if the skin was broken or bruised) so we are avoiding any tomatoes we are uncertain about. I hope to run to our local farmers market and see if they have any early season tomatoes yet.