17 weeks - 119 days

So that's what a turnip looks like :)

This week has been pretty uneventful as far as pregnancy goes.  No new aches, pains, or discoveries.  I will tell you that traveling has been slightly difficult for me since I am not able to take Dramamine for motion sickness.  Not fun.  I don't have the kind of motion sickness that makes me vomit, thank God, but I do have the kind that makes me feel dizzy and nautious long after the car/bus/van ride is over.  Well, I did a lot of traveling in the past week.  Last Tuesday you all know that the 4th grade went on an all day field trip to Jamestown which is an hour and a half ride on the charter bus.  That trip was touch and go a few times especially since I met and was sitting near two very fun, interesting moms who were very easy to talk with.  I found that if I faced my body completely forward the feelings of vomit would lessen.  I was also lucky enough to be able to visit my aunt, uncle, and cousins in Ohio this past weekend.  B and I were originally going to drive up, but a few weeks ago he found out that he'd be in Mississippi for business that week which opened up the door for me to fly instead.  Sadly, it was only about $50 more than it would have cost for food/gas if I had driven myself.  I am very glad that airplanes do not trigger my motion sickness.  I have no idea why, but am thankful that they don't.  We did have to drive to Ohio State from Centerville, which was about 90 minutes in the van.  I took tiny naps to keep the motion sickness down that time.  It worked.  My airplane experience is it's own post, which I will get to once I have gotten over the whole experience.  I actually used up all of my creative juices on the airline experience last night when I wrote a disgruntled passenger report to United Airlines.  I have it saved, maybe I'll share later this week.

Gender Change of Heart
I have also had a change in heart lately on the whole boy/girl situation.  Obviously I cannot choose what this baby is, but throughout I have been slightly partial to having a boy until I realized something this morning.  Girls really can be super sweet.  I should have already had this revelation because afterall, I am a wonderful, caring, considerate girl myself (haha) but after caddy experiences that I've had over the years with girls both young and old I became partial.  The girls that I teach right now are dreams.  They give me hugs, tell me that they're thinking of me, and some have even made up little hand signals that only we do back and forth. These are girls who are raised right.  They have manners, compassion, sugar, spice, and everything nice!  These are elementary school girls of course.  In order to completely accept the fact that this baby may just be a girl... I have to block out the years of "I hate yous!" and teenaged mood swings that I am well aware of.  So, I'm going on record at week 17 as saying 50 girl/50 boy.  God and little girl clothes, dresses in particular, are just so damn cute!!

Me, Myself, and I
I'm wearing a button-up sweater today.  The bottom two buttons keep popping open, fun.  I was really hoping to avoid buying a lot of maternity clothes, but it's becoming harder and harder to dress myself in the morning.  Today I was a few minutes late for work because I turned into a tornado in my closet.  My regular pants are completely out at this point.  It's all dresses and maternity pants from here on out.  I'm also going to revert back to my food Nazi ways for a little while.  I have been feeling very bingy lately and need to put a stop to it.  Memorial Day, parties at school, and my recent travels haven't helped the binginess. 
I am still heavily proactive when it comes to avoiding stretch marks.  Last week, I think it was, I had a friend send me a private message about where to put my Tummy Butter.  Places she figured I wouldn't think about and she was right.  Thighs and lower back in addition to the obvious belly.  Upon inspection I sadly discovered that I ALREADY have stretch marks on BOTH my lower back AND my thighs.  They aren't from my current situation though. Probably got them during a growth spurt back in the day or during my fat phase in college.  Well, damn.  Good news is that they are barely noticable.  I noticed because I was stretching my skin and inspecting.  So, if I do get stretch marks they should be like the ones that I already have and go virtually unnoticable once I'm back to my normal self.  Oh, last thing about me this week. Apparently my boobs are becoming their own seperate life force.  I was told this by a few lady co-workers.  I stand firm in my denial and will keep shoving the lady lumps into my already large bra cups.

Food Musts:
Peanut butter - I cut this out starting today because I believe it's attributing to my binginess.
Imitation crab meat - shut up, it's good.
Bananas - I don't "want" these, I just seem to eat one every day
Popsicles
Meat - everything EXCEPT chicken.  I did eat a chicken parm. flatbread sandwich the other day but I'm not completely sold on whether or not it was "real" chicken.
Pizza - again, not a "craving" but damn it's delicious.  I sure don't pass it up when it's offered or suggested.

Inside the Uterus

Baby T is now 11-12 cm. long and about 3.5 oz.  I would tell you to get a ruler and figure it out, but my book actually informs me that the baby is the size of my hand spread open wide.  I am assuming that means from pinky tip to thumb tip or from wrist to the tip of my middle finger since I highly doubt that it's as wide as it it tall, if you can even call 11-12 cm. 'tall'.  Baby has begun to accumulate a layer of fat, which I am hoping that it sucks away from my stomach, breasts, or underarm area.  Sadly, I think that those are merely hopes and dreams instead of reality.
Interesting factoid: right now the baby is 3 oz. of the baby's body; at birth fat is 5 1/4 of the average 7 3/4 lb. baby.

B is out of town on business so I had to take the
infamous mirror self-portrait.  Oh, how I loathe them.