Haggis

We celebrated Robert Burns’s (the poet) 250th birthday last night with friends from Scotland. My favorite Burns factoid of the evening – he stayed busy, as he had 32 known children at the time of his death at age 32. We ate some traditional Scottish food - neeps, tatties, and haggis = turnips, potatoes, and haggis. Haggis is a Scottish ‘sausage’ traditionally made out of sheep stomach and filled with grains and unpleasant meats (think tripe). The newer version uses ground beef and is in a less-repulsive casing. It gets cooked by being steamed for 3 hours. Since you can’t bring meat into the US from the UK, they had to find a more local source of haggis. Local turned out to be Texas and they got a mail-order haggis. It was actually pretty good, although not the most attractive of foods. Earlier in the first trimester, I don’t think I could be in the same room as a haggis without having to excuse myself.

Cravings

So far they include M&Ms and Campbell’s chicken noodle soup. Although apparently I haven’t been eating enough of either, since I lost 2 pounds during the first trimester. So I got lectured to eat more at my appointment. 3 meals and 3 snacks a day here I come!

What’s different this time

Some things are the same, some are different (so far).

1. Different: Morning sickness. Last time I was sick in the evenings if I didn’t eat dinner soon enough. This time, I’ve had more problems in the morning, which involved throwing up in the ICU when I was seeing a patient. It was the second most mortifying thing that ever happened to me at work. Fortunately it seems to be completely gone, and not to have lasted as long or occurred as frequently as before. I didn’t need to carry crackers with me, so this is in the direction of goodness.
2. Different: Less achy. So far, but I’ve heard this changes. The shower doesn’t hurt my boobs this time around, which is a victory.
3. Different: Less worry. I have a better idea what to expect, so it makes me a touch less paranoid. I am still afraid to eat peanut butter (what if they expand the recall?) and have been avoiding cold cuts after reading about a Listeria outbreak (it was Canadian lunchmeat, but you never know… we’re not that far from Canada, right?). But otherwise, things are more mellow (so far).
4. Same: The sleepiness. Growing a baby from 2.5 cm to 6.5 cm = 2 naps on a Sunday. Or maybe I’m just turning into my father’s daughter, as he is a champion napper.
5. Same: The urge to blog.
6. Same : The urge to nest. We’ve already cleaned the office and cathouse. We got some pictures framed for the walls. Next I need to move the rest of my medical books to work, so the guestroom books can come live in the office.

Introducing D2

Estimated arrival date August 13, 2009!

What Owen's Reading

OK, actually having them read to him. But he’s getting picky, so some books have fallen out of favor (goodbye Brown Bear, Brown Bear)

1. Hand Hand Fingers Thumb, by Al Perkins. Still very popular with Owen. Cool 1970’s monkeys complete with sideburns, playing the drums. Dum ditty dum ditty dum dum dum.
2. Gingerbread Baby, by Jan Brett. A cute story about a gingerbread baby that escapes the oven. It’s set somewhere that looks Scandinavian and the art is fantastic. It’s the longest book he’ll sit through right now.
3. Things that Go. No author, but published by Tucker Slingsby Limited. Full of photos of tractors, trucks, airplanes, balloons, boats, and fire engines. We read this every day, so now Owen will be able to identify a snowblower if he ever sees one.
4. Clarence Goes Out West and Meets a Purple Horse, by Jean Ekman Adams. Clarence the pig goes on vacation to Arizona, to a dude ranch, and makes friends with a purple horse. Very cute book. All part of Angus and Julie’s master plan to convince us to move to Arizona.
5. Busy People, by Joe Kaufman. This was my book, back long ago when I was Owen’s age. Mom and dad read it to me a lot.It has a separate section for Zeke Zookeeper, Peter Policeman, Trudy Teacher, Fred Fireman, and Doris Doctor. That’s right people, an early 70’s childrens book with a female doctor! The book shows what each person does at work and all their gear/clothes (ie Fred fireman’s helmet, ladders, etc). Owen wants to read this book every night.