BULLDOZER!

Are you ready to read about some fun times? For beginners, I just spent my 17th consecutive night NOT sleeping in my bed. Besides a quick jaunt to Palm Springs last weekend, I’ve been residing in the guest room of my cousin’s home* with my husband and son. Coincidentally, my son recently adopted the habit of sleep-yelling and snoring like a 400 lb. hog with a raging case of sleep apnea…let’s see here…17 nights ago! How hilarious is that? HAAHAAAAAAAAA.

Let me tell you, being jolted awake from a fitful slumber by a three-year-old screaming “BULLDOZER!” at 3am is HILARIOUS.

(Last night it was “bulldozer.” The night before was “MONSTER TRUUUUUUUCK!” At least we are consistent with the vehicular theme.)

Although, I shouldn’t really call it a “fitful” slumber, given my ridiculous stress level has shot me into teeth-grinding stardom, sometimes actually waking myself up from biting a fleshy hunk out of my inner cheek.

So! We are trying our hardest to find a new home in the shortest amount of time possible, which means an abundance of MLS searches and an abundance of realtors showing me rentals that make me want to puke. I don’t understand…I told you that carpet was a deal-breaker, yet here we are, standing in a fully carpeted home that looks like it was last replaced during the Nixon era AND you’re telling me it’s $3200 a month.

Once again, HILARITY ENSUES!

Oh! Also! My late-blooming belly has finally decided to make an appearance at 25 weeks, thus stretching my stomach skin to the point of resembling a pomegranate-colored soccer ball. It’s a tad itchy, folks.

I was pondering all of these lovely tidbits this morning while making my new 30-minute commute to Wito’s preschool, when I remembered that I needed to return a Lands’ End shirt to my local Sears. (Did you know that you could return Lands’ End merchandise bought online to your local Sears? More importantly, did you know that regular-sized Lands’ End shirts make for great maternity wear for those on the petite-bellied side? The things you learn over here at whoorl.com, I tell ya.)

For instance:

Women’s Short Sleeve Shirred Scoopneck Top, $19.50

See! Blousy! Perfect for little baby bellies! Pair this cutie with distressed boyfriend jeans and flats and you’re set for a day of errands! This top was previously available in many colors, one of which I didn’t prefer, hence the return to my local Sears store. DISCLAIMER: I’m not usually a Sears shopper and I don’t want to make assumptions about any other Sears store around the country, but you guys.

This particular store is a Haus o’ Depression. Upon crossing the street to enter the store, the inner lights were so dim, I thought it had gone out of business completely. However, I pulled on the door and LO, it was open. Sad sad sadness. Sad lighting, sad merchandise, sad employees, sad shoppers. Really sad. Why so melancholy, people? Have you been displaced due to excessive levels of mold too? Does your belly really really itch? Let’s hug it out.

I walked out of that store in one of the best moods I’ve experienced in several weeks because you all, things could be worse. I could be itchy-skinned, sleep-deprived, cheek-chewed, homeless AND working at that Sears. Things are looking up already.

*Can you imagine how my cousin feels? I’m sure he’s beyond THRILLED to have the Whoorl family around every evening when he returns from work. Jenga, anyone?

Life in List Form (Brought to you by my iPhone camera.)

1. The Whoorl household is illin’ this week. All three of us are drowning in Trader Joe’s tissues, although Wito seems to prefer using his sleeve/toys/sofa arm/remote control/pillow as a snot receptacle.

2. The fact that we all fell ill during Wito’s week off from preschool makes me want to cry, considering I was truly looking forward to the playdates we had scheduled for the week. For instance, tomorrow’s playdate will be held at my friend’s pizza parlor. Good friends, fun kids and ALL YOU CAN EAT FREE PIZZA. Do you realize how wonderful that 2-3 hours would have been for this here pregnant lady? DO YOU?

3. Speaking of being pregnant, I am 21 weeks as of last weekend. Halfway there, my friends, and about 2 photos to show for it. (The second one sure gets the shaft, don’t they?)  Here I am this morning in my (rapidly becoming too snug) Andrew Bird tee.

Interesting how I choose to take a photo of myself on the day that I feel like death. Revel in my natural beauty, folks! REVEL.

4. Many updates are currently going on at the house, and I promise to post some photos in the near future. It’s just that I’m more of a Before/After Photo kind of girl, opposed to a Check Out The Progress We Are Making Today gal. Although, there may or may not be a lovely man named Carlos painting our downstairs powder room navy as I type this.

5. Hell. While I’m randomly busting out my iPhone camera, here’s a shot of my favorite room in the house. Our upstairs loft, aptly named The Treehouse. I could sit here all day.

6. Finally, prepare for utter sweetness. We are big fans of The Sound of Music over here, and my nighttime duties usually consist of a four-song medley of sorts for Wito after D reads his bedtime story. (“Sixteen Going on Seventeen,” “Edelweiss,” “Doe Re Mi” and “My Favorite Things,” in case the suspense is absolutely killing you…)

Yesterday afternoon, Wito was feeling pretty crummy so he decided he wanted to sing “My Favorite Things” in hopes of feeling better. I think it may have helped a tiny bit. (Or maybe it was the ice cream.)

My Favorite Things from whoorl on Vimeo.

I Need Snacking Ideas STAT.

That button is genius, right? Thanks for the nice comments about my belly, by the way. I have to admit my favorite was an incoming link about how good I looked for 19 months pregnant. 19 MONTHS pregnant? Hell, I LOOK FANTASTIC.

The belly is definitely popping, which is perfectly coinciding with my incessant need to graze like a cow all day long. Speaking of…

(SEGUE!)

I love to prep. I love to cook. I love to eat. I HATE TO PLAN MY MEALS.

I’ve talked about this before, and how the Relish System totally saved my ass in the kitchen. Seriously, you guys. I’ve been consistently using their menus and grocery lists on a weekly basis for almost 2 years. 2 years! That right there is true love in my books, for the last time I showed that level and length of commitment was to my Duran Duran poster (MARRY ME, NICK RHODES!!!) from 1982 to 1984.

(Hey! If you also suffer from Can’tPlanDinneritis and want to join Relish, be sure and enter whoorl in the “how you heard of us” section so they know I sent you!)

Back to the planning thing. Although I have my dinners beautifully covered on a weekly basis, I am still falling short on planning/purchasing items for other meals, such as snacks. Seeing as I feel the need to eat a little something, oh, about every 26 minutes, I am at a loss as to what I should buy for healthy snacks in between meals. Right now, I am eating more baby carrots and radishes than you can shake a stick at. I am turning a lovely shade of rosy orange, though!

What are some of your favorite moderately healthy snacks to keep around the house? Help me! DO IT FOR THE BABY.

It’s a Girl!

We’re having a little girl! A LITTLE GIRL! Bring on the dresses, tights, pigtails and teenage hormonal rage! As you can see, I couldn’t help myself and bought this darling Imoga cross stitch dress for the little one on Gilt (they have a children’s section, sohelpmegod), but I PROMISE to keep my little girl clothing expenditures in check.

(HAHAHAAAAAAAAA. Ha.)

We are so incredibly thrilled to be given the chance to raise both a boy and a girl, and when we told Wito the exciting news, he clasped his hands together and exclaimed, “Oh, a girl! I’ve always wanted something soft to sleep with!” Cue heart explosion. He is going to be such a wonderful big brother.

Oh! And! We got the house and will be moving in three weeks. Hooray! There is much to do before we move in, so the remainder of January will be a bit crazy. D is spending his evenings and weekends at the new place, and it is going to be a race against time to get our changes complete before moving day. I’ve been trying to document the renovations with photos, though, so hopefully I can post some of the small improvements we are making to bring this 60s modern back to her original glory.

In the meantime, please feel free to bestow upon me your best baby girl-rearing advice. We’ve been solely about the penis ’round here for the past three years, so any and all advice is welcome!

He’s All Grown Up

This very well could be one of those situations in which only I (The Mother) find a photo to be beyond precious, but WILL YOU LOOK AT MY BABY BOY’S FIRST SCHOOL PHOTO? What’s next? Drivers licenses and bershon? Pass the tissues, please.

(He inherited the flip-under-on-one-side/flip-out-on-the-other hair gene from his mother.)

Speaking of tissues, this pregnancy is sponsored by The House of Hormones. We popped into Disneyland Monday night for a quick dinner and fireworks display (god bless the annual pass), and my heart about bloody well burst from all the holiday sentiment. Shall we count the times I got teary-eyed?

1. Waiting in the Small World line. Check out my TwitPic. Isn’t it beautiful?

2. Watching Wito’s face during the Small World ride.

3. When Wito put his arms around D and I and declared, “we’re a family!” (Oh, COME ON. Your heart is made of stone if that one doesn’t tug a bit.)

4. During the fireworks and slightly cheesy Believe in Holiday Magic song. Okay, I might have experienced tears AND a lip quiver or two. WHAT? HORMONES. See for yourself.

5. When the snow started to fall after the fireworks. (Seriously. Real snow! Well, from snow-making machines, but whatever.)

6. While eating a Mickey Mouse-shaped cookie. (I’m not sure I fully grasp that one either.)

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