Pop! ...goes the weasle

Of all the toys in all the world, Jack-in-the-Box was by far the most terrifying to me as a child. All the flanks and honks inside a metal box as I cranked the handle of doom, the haunting circus music that came from inside the thing, and let's not forget the half-painted clown that leaps out the top after you just tortured him! No wonder children tend to fear clowns. 

Yet in all my years of knowing about this toy, I could never figure out how the weasle fit into to picture. Today I am still thoroughly stumped.

But the kind of "pop" I mean doesn't have to do with clowns or weasles or even scary music. My tummy finally "popped". It's a word to describe when a baby bump finally makes it's unmistakable appearance, when loose sweatshirts can hide it no more, when doing the laundry means sitting in a chair to reach into the dryer. I've been "showing" for awhile now...at least, that's how it seemed to me. I've been using hair elastic to keep my pants buttoned and slowly phasing out my favorite t-shirts for weeks now, but it wasn't until last week--week 24 to 25, that I woke up one morning and peeked over my belly button to see my toes. 

There are other things that are changing too.cI've gone back to using a grown-up size toothbrush and can eat pretty much whatever I want without feeling sick. The coolest part? The movements. No longer do I feel little muscle spasms at random. Tonight I felt what seemed to be a little foot pressing against my belly button. A foot! Sometimes he moves in little jolts, other times in slow but strong glides of movement. Then there are the times when there is so much pressure from inside it feels like my stomach will burst. For a 13 1/2 inch baby in such a confined space, there really isn't much room to maneuver. 

Still, for being six months pregnant the little guy is still pretty small. Most people in the ward still don't know I'm expecting, but that's kind of the fun. Every week someone new finds out, and whether we really know each other or not, it gives us something to talk about. 

So far I've been pretty spoiled in this pregnancy. I was only sick for the first trimester, I'm not a diabetic or considered high risk, and aside from the skin on my face thinking I'm a teenager again, being pregnant hasn't been bad at all. So far I've really enjoyed it--and hope to keep enjoying it. Compared to the average life span, nine months is so short! I don't dare take any of it for granted.

On a side note, Boxster ate some old raw meat from the garbage yesterday and it made him sick. Since we have all hardwood floors, he decided to be generous. Three rugs later and thoroughly disgusted, I put the vacuum away and cuddled with the poor guy. Moral of the story: take the garbage to the dumpster before you forget. 

The other moral of the story: don't eat hamburger helper for dinner when the dog is throwing up a common ingredient of your meal.

And finally, since someone has to say it, "POP goes the weasle..."