23 Weeks

Wicket's kicks, punches, and general acrobatics have removed any doubt that I am in fact going to have a baby. I am still trying to stay fuzzy on the fact that this little guy is going to have to exit my body somehow. Neither of the options seem appealing, so I'm going to put off thinking about that for as long as possible. 

I don't want to good mouth it, but so far, so good. From what I hear, this second trimester is the real highpoint of pregnancy, so I'm sure things will get less pleasant the further along we go, but for right now, I'm kind of enjoying this pregnancy thing. I'm definitely enjoying never having to suck my stomach in...

Interested in the minutae of my daily life and how I'm feeling right at this moment? You're in luck! I have seen this on other blogs, so I can't claim to have invented this particular variety of navel gazing, but here we go...

Feeling sick, but just with a cold. No pregnancy-related ailments to complain about!
Wanting my husband back. Tom's been gone for over a week for work, and he doesn't come back until Monday... Man, I miss that guy!
Wearing a lot of yoga pants and not a lot of make-up. What with this cold and the aforementioned absence of the husband, I've been letting things slide over here appearance-wise.
Eating Fudgcicles for days. I melt them a little bit, push them off the stick, and stir in some almond butter. What? Is that weird?
Drinking tea and more tea.
Reading reviews of baby gear in an attempt to decide which car seat, crib, and bouncer is most likely to keep Baby Cusi alive and happy.
Listening to Serial. Damn that crew from This American Life, they have created another podcast that I can't get enough of. I am so hooked on this.
Watching a lot of garbage TV. Again - sick and husband-less. Bravo is my constant companion.
Loving feeling the little guy kick, somersault, and generally dance around in there.
Not loving how it's dark at 5pm. Although, it has helped me feel better about getting ready for bed at eight o'clock.

Forcing Fall

I know it's incredibly unoriginal, but - brace yourselves - I love fall. Shocking, right? To me, it feels like even more of a fresh start than the first of the year. I am sure that goes back to school days - freshly covered books, unblemished notebooks, new classes, and all of that.

If not for the appearance of the Pumpkin Spice Latte and the racks of Halloween costumes, it would be easy to miss fall around here because it doesn't look much like those back-to-school autumns that send the leaf-peepers flocking to New England. Still, if you squint (and ignore the thermometer), it's beginning to feel downright autumnal around here.

I've been ready for fall for a while now. Despite the fact that we still needed round-the-clock air conditioning at the time, I bought these as soon as we flipped the calendar to September.

{Fear not, I removed those hideous stickers immediately after taking this picture.}

A couple of weekends ago, the temperature finally dipped below 80, and I convinced my incredibly accommodating husband that spending two hours each way in the car to go to an apple orchard was a great way to spend a Saturday. 

To be honest, the cider donuts are the real draw. These things are well worth the year-long wait...

 

Despite my how much I miss the first fire of the season, the crispness, and the actual legitimate need for boots and sweaters, there is so much that I love about Southern California in the fall. The tourists clear out, the Santa Anas swing through, and citrus returns to the farmers market, but the absolute best thing about fall in Southern California is the beach - the beautifully empty beach.

So, point is, whatever it looks like, fall is the best. Now we begin the wonderful slide into the holidays...hurrah!