Cravings

It is 9:30am and for some reason I am smelling buffalo wings sauce. WTF??? The smell is also very close to the smell of Ketchup chips - a Canadian delicacy (in my book). I now have a huge craving for Ketchup chips.

I haven't talked to Firecracker or Mel in a while. Maybe I should call them up and see if I can convince them to take pity on a pregnant woman and send some to me. I may have to wait until baseball season starts. I know Firecracker can't stay away from the Cubbies for too long and it's been a looong off-season.

If you read this Firecracker, I'm sure you know that the Cubbies are playing the Brewers at their home opener on April 10th. Free place to stay at my house! I'll even provide the ticket (assuming there are still some left) if you bring me chips. Is that a deal or WHAT?!?

4 days until Mexico. :)

Countdown has begun

There are 2 things I'm counting down...15 days until vacation starts and 18 weeks until my due date. The weather has warmed up a bit so I'm not cursing as I pile on the layers every morning. There are no temperature drops or huge snow storms predicted for the near future so I can patiently wait my 15 days.

Same with the 18 weeks. The nausea has pretty much disappeared. I can even eat sugary food without feeling sick which wasn't the case with my last pregnancy. I'm finally starting to enjoy pregnancy. The baby is kicking quite a bit. It started around Christmas and has been gaining strength since then. I don't feel like a blimp (yet). I can still fit into some of my non-maternity clothes although I don't expect that to last much longer.

BOOKED!

Our vacation is officially BOOKED! B and I will soon (but not soon enough) be enjoying the hot weather, beaches and waters of Mexico. I should be extremely happy but now I'm anxious. It's not exactly what either of us wanted...we are both compromising. I also have this sinking feeling that something is going to go wrong. Our flight will get delayed or we will have a nightmare of a trip from the airport to the hotel or our reservation will get lost or one of us will get sick/injured. All of these things have happened on previous vacations. Usually I'm the optimistic one but I can't seem to stop seeing disaster on the horizon. B's pesimistic vibes are rubbing off.

I also feel like I have a lot riding on this trip. I know that sounds ridiculous. In the grand scheme of things, a vacation isn't a big deal. But focusing my anxiety on this vacation keeps my mind off other things I could easily start worrying about (I won't bother to list them all).

I think there is still some residual guilt on my part because the last 3 or 4 vacations we have taken were to destinations of my choice, visiting my friends or family. I did give him a chance to plan a trip last fall but he couldn't decide on a destination so we didn't go anywhere. This adds to the anxiety. If this trip doesn't go well, B won't want to go on a vacation ever again. If B enjoys himself, many other vacation opportunities open up.

It's been many years since I've gone somewhere hot in the middle of winter. Every year I think about it but something comes up or the location we go to isn't as warm as I was hoping it would be. I also know B isn't a huge fan of sitting on a beach or water activities so I haven't really pushed the idea.

This year, the extreme cold weather and snow have changed that. I need to thaw out and soak up some sun. Also, baby #2 will make travel that much harder for many years to come. This may be our last change to escape to a warm climate for a long while. It's hard enough to leave my baby behind and I know it will get even worse when there are 2 of them.

I would have preferred to bring Miss M with us but I know it will be more difficult to travel with a toddler in the middle of her Terrible Twos. She definitely prefers her life to run on a schedule (like most kids) and gets testy when something changes. I also know B prefers to vacation without the limited schedule of a toddler. Leaving her at home is one of my compromises.

I just hope I don't compromise so much that I don't enjoy my vacation too.