I don’t have the brain power to compose a cohesive post these days, so here is a random listing of what’s being going on around here.

Pregnancy
I’m now 16 weeks along but it feels like 25 weeks.  Being pregnant with M was so easy that this one is kicking my ass.  I don’t know if it’s because I’m older, or chasing around a 3 year old or what, but I am TIRED all the time.  Food still is unappetizing and so I end up getting so hungry that I get sick…not a fun cycle.

This baby seems to be riding low.  I feel like I’m already doing the 8-months-pregnant waddle.  I have no motivation to take daily walks like I did last time and instead of the fruits I constantly craved with M, I am craving only carbs this time.  A big bowl of ramen noodles or Kraft Mac & Cheese are the only things that consistently sound appealing.

The girl
She won’t go to sleep at night.  When we switched from crib to a toddler bed we used the much lauded and successful “by any means necessary” route to get her to actually stay in the bed at bedtime.  This evolved to one of us staying in her room until she fell asleep.  Nearly one year later and we are still doing this, and these “bedtimes” can last up to two freaking hours.  It’s killing both Mark and I, because on most nights by the time we can sneak out of her room it’s after 9:00 and evening is shot. I know the solution is going to involve lots of screaming and tears (probably for all of us) so we are girding our loins in preparation.

She won’t poop on the toilet.  We started potty training on Memorial Day weekend…it’s been FIVE DAMN MONTHS people!  She will successfully do her business on the throne maybe 3 times a week, and only at school.  At home if we even suggest that she try to go she flips out and sometimes even throws herself off the toilet.  It’s not pretty…and neither is the wreckage to her princess underwear.  We’ve tried everything – reward charts, M&Ms, even the John Rosemond method that worked for Amanda’s daughter.  The kid will not perform, and her newest trick is to hold it all day and fill her nighttime pull-up at 9 PM, thus guaranteeing her a later bedtime.

We took our first trip to the Cleveland Museum of Art this last weekend and she was enthralled.  After her initial slip-up of hugging a marble statue (OMG! I was so happy no one else was in the gallery at the time), she was great.  She loved Frieze of Dancers by Edgar Degas (“Just like Olivia!”) and Armor for Man and Horse with Völs-Colonna Arms (“look! A king on a horse!”) in the Armor Court.  I think we will be making several trips to the CMA this long, cold winter.

Life – pregnancy style
I have had the itch to cook and bake for the last few weeks but have fallen woefully short on time.  I was all set to shop for a and make Pauline’s Bigos on Sunday only to be sidelined by a migraine.  Now it’s on the menu for a hearty pre-trick or treat dinner on Saturday.  Tonight I am going to prep my mom’s lasagna and as usual, I will make 2 since it’s just as much time and effort as making one.  The extra will go to our friends and neighbors who have a 6 week old (whom we haven’t even met yet because of the sick that has plagued at least one of us for weeks).  I am feeling the need to start stocking the freezer so if you have any great recipes that “freeze beautifully” as Annelle says in Steel Magnolias, please send them my way.

M doesn’t have one single photo album.  There are probably over 4000 photos of her on the computer (and obsessively backed up daily) but not one album.  I would really like to get at least her 1st year on paper before the baby is born but can’t decide on a photo-book company.  I don’t want to use Shutterfly and have had some success with MyPublisher in the past – are their other suggestions out there?  I would love to have books of 50+ pages, but quality and price are my two main concerns.

I have a deep desire to clean out all of our closest and do a major purge of stuff.  I just lack the motivation to get off the couch and actually do something about it.  Anyone want to come and do it for me?