Mama... you are beautiful: Emily

Last night Eli was up in the night, sick, again. I was exhausted , and it was one of those mornings when I have no idea how I am going to survive the day. I wasn't feeling good either, but, mom's don't get sick days. So on with our day we went. Plans for today changed five times. I had two very disappointed boys who thought they were going to get to visit with their friends. But we had to cancel. So we went to the park with Aly and her little boy, and the boys played with their new shovels and buckets while I held Eli and commiserated with my equally tired friend. 

Then we were off to celebrate my LP's birthday. 

(LP= lifepartner for those that don't know me well. Emily and I have been best friends forever and in 10th grade we started an inside joke about being lifepartners. It stuck and 15 years later, we continue to refer to each other as LP. When my mom talks about Em she refers to her as "your lifepartner". When her mother writes cards to me, she writes "Dear lifepartner daughter."When I got married her dad told us "ya know, now that Sierra is getting married, you guys can't be lifepartners anymore." My dad would always roll his eyes when I referred to her as LP. She's my bestest bestest friend. "Best friend" just didn't quite explain us. It's nothing weird folks, it's just our thing)

We made a date to meet at Java Train Cafe for ice cream and she let me use her as my next beautiful mama since this October she is having her first baby! And luckily for me IT'S A GIRL!! When she told me I cried happy happy tears. If I didn't have my own daughter, the next best thing is having your LP have one for you. I can't wait for her baby to get here. 

She's six months along already!

So, as I stated before, Emily is one of my closest friends. We go way back. We met in homeroom at Como Park High School. We became friends in 10th grade. Her mom was like a second mom to me. I was at her house all the time. We stayed close all through high school. We listened to 112 and Jagged Edge. We shared Gap perfume and ate lots of Taco Bell. She played sports, I worked at a beauty salon. We got in to a little trouble, but for the most part we were good girls. 

As adults we laugh at how completely opposite we are. She's organized. I'm not.  She plans ahead for everything. I fly by the seat of my pants. Her purse is neat and tidy inside. Mine, not so much. Her gas tank never falls below 1/2 empty. Mine is always skimming the top of the red line. She likes the citrus skittles. I like the berry ones. 

Here she is explaining that someone tried to comfort her by reminding her
 "at least you aren't pregnant for two years like elephants are!"
 To which she replied "yeah well elephants don't have to wear dress pants to work."

Max and Em showing off their bellies

Can her yellow flats be any cuter?

Proud mama-to-be

Okay, So here it is. Thoughts from my Lp.

Will you call your daughter Princess?
You already know I can't call my daughter princess! I think I was treated as the little boy in my family, so it's ingrained in me to give funny nicknames instead of feminine ones. My husband probably will, but that's not really up my alley. i can't imagine myself doing that at all.

Will you ever buy your daughter sparkly Dora the Explorer shoes? 
No. I don't think I will ever buy my daughter anything pink, or sparkly or tiaras or any of that stuff. I'm just not very girly, so that type of thing drives me nuts.
(This is why her daughter will have me, an auntie LP, to braid her hair and buy her sparkly tiaras and pink dresses. In the same way that Emily bought Max his first pair of baseball pants and baseball socks)

What is your biggest fear about being a mom for the first time?
I think it's two fold. Part of it is the logistics of everything. How do you know when to start your kids in sports? How do you get them enrolled in school? Just the day to day stuff that is expected of you as a parent.The other part? The baby's whole world is going to be ME. I am worried about being stretched too thin. I have a husband, a step-son, and a large extended family that depends on me. I never want to have the mentality that I just want my baby to be older or to be independent just so that I feel like I can keep up with it all.

How has your husband been showing you support through your pregnancy?
He let's me figure out that I am acting crazy, without actually telling me that I am acting crazy. There was an instance that the dog pooped in the basement and I was weeping and decided we needed to get rid of her, that THAT was finally IT. He said "Emily, you need to  calm down a little." I told him NOPE we're done. With out him telling me that I was straight up crazy, he lets me figure out by myself that my behavior is not rational. And that is helpful to me. He entertains my crazy ideas, but then let me figure out on my own that they are not feasible.

Do you feel cute as a preggo?
I feel cute... when clothed. I don't feel attractive. When I see myself naked I'm like HOLY HELL what's happening to my body?! But it really does balance out my backside pretty well. I can't really complain, fortunately I haven't gained any weight at this point, and I am six months pregnant. So, baby girl is living off my plentiful reserves I have stored up. I think I am wearing makeup more, to help myself feel better. But, I wouldn't say I feel attractive.

So there ya have it, some perspective from a new mama-to-be.
I'm off to bed. Tomorrow I get to do the hair and makeup for a Bhutanese bride and her wedding party!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Peace.