Catching up

So many things to talk about…
A turnip is like a large radish.  It’s pretty non-descript.  But that’s old news.  Since now, at 18 weeks, Spanky Lou is the length of a green pepper, about 5 1/2 inches long.  I think a green pepper is a far more accessible comparison.  Spanky’s growing fast.  And I think I may actually be looking pregnant.  Or really chunky.

Thanks to this recent growth spurt, I am hungry ALL THE TIME.  Like every moment of the day.  And night.  I wake up in the middle of the night ready for 2nd dinner or 1st breakfast or something.  Last weekend, in the middle of the New England’s version of tropical storm Hana, I woke Jason up and informed him that the only thing that could make me go back to sleep was pad thai.  Since it was monsooning and 4am, Jason rolled over and went back to sleep.  I don’t understand why more restaurants don’t deliver in the middle of the night.  They would make a killing on pregnant people.

On account of my new eating habits, I am into the elastic pants full time.  I highly recommend them.  I got 2 more pairs to round out my collection.  I fear, however, that I am not buying them big enough.

Now that all of my students are back at school, I have told them all about Spanky’s existence.  We’ve had lots of offers to babysit and come over and play with the baby.  We will now have around-the-clock coverage for Spanky’s first 5 years.  This could all work out very well for us.

And finally, I leave you with this image…Lena has been very busy researching future Halloween costumes for Spanky.  There are several options, but this one is most applicable.  Thank you, Target!

Redemption

So I had stayed away from hot dogs since the incident at the concert a few weeks ago.  But last night, we took Spanky to see Neil Diamond at Fenway Park.  And in my previous discussion of hot dogs, I may have mentioned my deep love of the Fenway Frank.  So I couldn’t resist, bun and all.  And it was perfection.  I think I ate all of its foot-long glory in just 3 bites.  In fact, I could have eaten another one, but decided not to push my luck.  Not one ounce of hot dog rejection.  We are back on the right track.

Spanky has had a good introduction to concerts this summer.  Bruce Springsteen.  Neil Diamond.  I think we are providing a good balance.  I was thinking that Spanky was a lucky fetus, how many fetuses can say they saw/heard Neil Diamond sing Sweet Caroline live at Fenway?  But then Neil sang Sweet Caroline again.  And then again, a third time.  Spanky (and the rest of us) didn’t feel so lucky and special anymore.

Spanky Lou rejects hot dogs

Hot dogs have been a staple of my diet FOREVER. I can eat like 6 at a time. And in general, I don’t eat hot dogs any place but home. You never know if non-home hot dogs are all beef, without preservatives, or blessed by a higher authority (I will discuss the bacon exception in another post). Except for Costco. I LOVE hot dogs at Costco. And then there is the bun thing (I will discuss my less than disciplined gluten-free diet in yet another post).

Anyway, Jason, Spanky and I went to see Bruce Springsteen last night. It was a grand adventure. Apocalyptic thunder storms, crazy bad traffic and the most ridiculous drunk people I have ever seen. And I thought the perfect dinner might be a football stadium hot dog. I was mistakenly convinced that it would be similar to a Fenway frank (another exception to the at-home only hot dog rule). But no. I should have known…the hot dog sort of tasted like it was cooked a week ago.

And then Spanky or my stomach decided that it didn’t like this hot dog. I will spare you the details. However, we did have to be those lame people that left the concert early. I am willing to chalk it up to one bad dog, rather than swearing off an entire food group. But I worry. What if we have created a child that actually doesn’t like hot dogs?