(say it like Veruca Salt) And by the way...

I woke up today even more gigantic than yesterday. How is that possible? Six more weeks to go and I think that may be a bit too long. Feels like I've got the biggest belly EVER and nowhere to put it. It has dropped low enough to make people think I might have two butts. One in the front and one in the back. Seriously, I saw reflection in the tv this morning and that's the first thing that came to mind.

My next doctor appointment is next Friday and the first thing I'm going to ask is whether they would possibly take me early. No, I won't really ask that, because I already know the answer. But I happened to be reading this Christina Aguilera interview and she scheduled her delivery for 37 weeks. Because she didn't want any surprises. Ok so we normal people have to wait it out, I see how it is. If I had the choice I wouldn't actually schedule earlier than my doctor's required 39 weeks. My logic is that when the baby is ready, she's ready. I'll be shocked if I have to wait that long, though. I think she'll be ready April 10th.

All that aside, I remain huge. And getting huge-er.

Relaaaax... want some nitrous oxide?

hehe. Oh, I forgot to tell you to say that like Steve Martin.

It's another early nap day for Mr. Chin Chin Chin. So here I am, deciding what to do, eating a fortune cookie. Should I clean? Have lunch? I decided to consult the fortune, and it says -- no joke -- 'Relax and enjoy yourself'.

I started repeating the word 'relax' in my head, and I wound up saying it like Steve Martin in "Little Shop of Horrors" where he plays the sadistic nitrous-loving dentist. When I write certain things, and I am not the only one who does this, in emails or IMs, I say them in my head a certain way when I'm thinking, so I like to share instructions for whose voice to use when reading things to oneself. There's one I can think of that you just type and don't have to qualify, which is "D'oh!" Some of my other favorites...

1. (say it like Billy Crystal) Hellooooo...
2. (say it like Jack Black) Chello!
3. (say it like Napoleon Dynamite) Yesss.
4. (say it like Squiggy) Hello, lady.

and the all time classic (Joey Lawrence) Whoa!

Come to think of it, I've written these so many times to certain people that many times I just write the word and assume the other person is saying it correctly. Yes, these are the kinds of things that occupy my mind. Well I think I'll go follow the advice of my fortune cookie. Wait a minute... now I'm singing "Relax, don't do it" and I'm taking that to mean don't relax, do something productive. Honestly I'm torn.

You don't even know how much I did today

Sleeping has become difficult. Back pain, can't roll over, blah blah blah. In the morning Nico wakes up around 6:15 and lies in his crib chatting away. I wake up and listen to him and giggle, then Frank gets up and goes in to pick him up. He gets ready for work and I make breakfast. Nico waves bye bye when Daddy leaves the house. This is our little routine.

After breakfast this morning, Nico was cranky. I thought he was hungry, so when I went to make lunch around 10:30 I was surprised to see him rubbing his eyes. I brought him to his room and sang ABCs to him, and he fell asleep. Hmm. Nap time was two hours early? Oh well. I plopped him in the crib and set to work cleaning out the bathroom closet. Wait, first I made a ceasar salad and had a bowl of cereal. Then closet time. Working top to bottom with a huge trash bag at my side, I tossed out about 75% of what was in there. Anything travel size -- gone! Perfume I haven't worn in two years -- gone! Perfume I haven't worn in four years -- also gone! I was on such a roll that I also threw out most of what was under the bathroom sink. I threw everything in the dumpster, Nico woke up, and we had pasta with sauce for lunch.

After that I was so ready to get out of the house, so I bundled Nico up and took him out for a nice walk. He was so freakin' cute sitting in the stroller, and I could tell he was also happy to be outside. We were out for about a half hour, then we played at the bottom of the stairs for a while when we got back. Then we ate dinner and vacuumed the house, played blocks, and got ready for beddie byes. Once he was in bed, I unscrewed the handle on the sliding glass door and scrubbed it clean. Now you can see it's actually wooden, not crusty gray colored. Then I greased the tracks so the door opens like butta, washed the day's dishes, cleaned the table, dusted a few things and put away some laundry. Then I cleaned the toilet and admired my earlier closet work. All in all, a full day. I'm pretty darn satisfied with myself, and plan to reward me with some Thin Mints.

This is not a dinner invitation

Late this morning, I hit a new high (or possibly a new low) in cleaning mania. There is stuff everywhere on my kitchen counter. If I've inherited one thing from my mother, it's an affinity for covering a kitchen counter with stuff. It's the catch-all for bills, baby lotions, flashlights, toothpaste boxes, and chatch of every variety. Some people have a junk drawer. I like to spread it out a little. My junk needs room to breathe.

With so much to straighten up in this highly visible area, plus a mass of dirty dishes by the sink, my natural choice for today's cleaning frenzy was that spot underneath the oven. There's a drawer for heavy duty cookware, and the other day I pulled that out to get a Tupperware lid the baby shoved under there. I found this spot to be surprisingly filthy, and it has been haunting me ever since. The visible mess ceased to bother me. I can't focus on that until it's clean in the places nobody can see. So this morning I tackled it, and quite well. You could eat off the floor under my oven. Now, finally, tonight, I can clean off that nasty counter.

Singapore rice noodle

When Frank and I first met, he used to take me out to eat almost every night. He lived in this awesome apartment at Broad and Race, in a white building on the corner above a pizza shop. Chinatown was just a couple of blocks away and it was summertime, so after work we'd stroll out for something delicious. Our first official nighttime date was at Penang. It's still one of our favorite places to go, only now Philly seems so far away and getting take-out from there is a hassle.

Luckily there's a new Penang on Route 38 and it's finally open. If you've never been and you like Asian cuisine, you must go! Technically it's Malaysian, and technically it's fabulous. They have a great menu, but we always get the same thing... roti cani, boneless curry chicken, chicken fried rice, and Singapore rice noodles. Sorry, when ordering it's just Singapore rice noodle. No s. I never say the s when I order. Like I just want one noodle. It's goofy but I can't help it. Sometimes we mix it up by adding a wonton soup and satay tofu, but the four core items stand at all times. The wonton soup is amazing. They serve it in a huge bowl with Chinese broccoli, then ladle it out into individual bowls for each person. And forget any other Singapore noodle you've ever had. These are ten times better. Unless you like your Singapore noodles with Szechuan or some not-really-curry type sauce, which I do not. I've ordered this dish at other places and was deeply insulted to find that all noodles are not created equal.

Anyhoo, today we ordered out and it was sooo good. Welcome to the neighborhood, Penang. We love you.

Quote of the day

Tonight I went out to AC Moore. The store was closing and after I checked out, the store manager was standing by the front doors letting people out. As I was leaving he said with a smile, "Have a good night... both of you. Or three of you."