Jackson has a lot to say and I have a secret.

He talks. All the time. From the minute he wakes up til we tuck him in at night. Then I can hear him from the living room talking, singing and chanting until he falls asleep. The kind of things he says are largely varied.

He puts random items on his head, like a book, and runs around chanting "I'm the guy with the book on his head!" "I'm the guy with the car on his head" I think this may be a spongebob thing.

He gets very upset if, when driving, he decides I am going the wrong way. If I take a different route than he expects to the Palace or on the way home, he gets so mad and cries from the back seat about how I am not going the right way and how we will never get home. "Home, I miss you," he cries pathetically.

He has invented a game he calls 'potato tickle' which is 'one potato, two potato - the fist game - except you don't say 'seven potato more' you say 'seven potato TICKLE!' and then tickle the hell out of him.

He has started to draw some pretty good stick figures and make some people-like sculptures out of play dough. I took a picture of his latest work to share with you. Good stuff. In the above pic, that is Jackson's self-portrait. The round thing on his torso he says is his tummy. Like a balloon. In the pic below, Jackson says the figure on the left is him, the one on the right is me. I think I have a duck bill. He says it is my smile.


So I have decided to officially out myself. I am expecting again. It is too early to out myself - about 6-7 weeks only. But I am tired of not blogging to avoid talking about how I am doing, which is tired, moody and nauseated most of the time. So I am blogging about it. I figured I blogged intimate details of my cancer treatment, I may as well blog the pregnancy from the get go.

I have known for about three weeks or so. Which is odd, I didn't figure it out with Jackson til about 7 1/2 weeks. This time I knew almost immediately. Experience or earlier symptoms? I dunno. Either way, I was certain before any home test would read positive. And I am happy that this baby got to be on stage in Hay Fever. I was doing a children's play, Hank the Cowdog ,when I found out with Jackson so it is fitting that this time around I was also in a show at the time. Stage beginnings for each is a good thing.

So I am well, but as I said, tired, moody an nauseated. With an impressive bosom. That alone should clue in those close to me. I did not go out and get a wonderbra, my friends. It is all natural. I have decided that these endowments are a gift to the newly expecting mother from the gods of "holy-shit-you're-preggers-better-keep-that-man-of-yours!" Not that my spouse was going anywhere, but these do help offset the crazy-lady mood swings he has been putting up with for a few weeks.

I have also been thinking about this all-day sickness that plague the first three months. I was thinking it was a flawed design. How were early human women supposed to forage and cook and care for other children when they were sick all the time without modern conveniences? But I have decided the tiredness and nausea must be natures way of making you take it easy during a delicate time. The first three months give you a physical indication of pregnancy for you to feel and for your family to witness so you take it easy and those around you facilitate that. Then at about the time you may start visually showing, it eases off. Everyone can see you are pregnant and could use some special care.

Not sure that makes me feel any better when I am losing my lunch, but it is a good thought.

So a month before my 2-year cancerversary I find that I can, in fact,conceive. My innards are not fried and seem to be working ok. Now send good thoughts my way that I carry this to term and have a healthy baby in February.

Brownies

We had dinner at David's parents house tonight for Father's day. Good food and good company as usual. Jackson makes me laugh so much, though. After dinner he asked about dessert and we told him when everyone was done eating we had brownies for dessert. He paused for a second and said "It's really nice of you guys to give me a brownie, but I rather don't want one." He wanted a Popsicle instead. I had to laugh at how politely he declined a brownie, knowing full well that after his Popsicle he would ask for one. He did.

Fountains are for running through

I just spent an enjoyable evening at The Domain with Elaine, Sabrina and a couple of Elaine's friends. And Jackson. He heard I was meeting Aunt Elaine and he really wanted to come too. And the ladies were fine with it, so Jackson joined us on our girls evening.


We met at California Pizza kitchen, and had a good dinner and then we headed to the gelato place a few doors down. Jackson particularly enjoyed the dark chocolate fudge gelato and didn't even make a huge mess. Afterwards we stopped at the water fountain they have there and let him get all wet playing in it with a few other kids. I was just going to let him get his feet wet, but Elaine and the ladies encouraged him to run right in and get all wet. I had his backpack with me with a change of clothes so what-the-hell. You only get to be a little kid once. He had a really good time and I was really proud of how well-behaved he was all evening. He is a good boy most of the time. A handful, but a good boy, I think.



On many Saturdays in the parking lot of the Fry's in North Austin they have a race track set up for remote control cars. These are not your kid's little remote control cars, these things are gas-powered monster cars that are loud, fast and you can smell the burnt rubber. There is a Hobby Town in that shopping center and this is an event the hold there periodically in good weather. A few weeks ago we had to return something to Fry's and got there in time to see some of the races. Jackson was in heaven. He sat there for an hour with his Dad watching the cars racing, mesmerized. I can't imagine a more fun afternoon for him.


And here is an especially cute picture of Jackson and his Omi a couple of weeks ago.

ahh...

I am sitting on my couch listening to the quiet hum of my new washer. As I reported a month or more ago, my washer and dryer were dying. I don't know if I ever reported that I got new ones. I got a nice front-loader and both the washer and dryer have the steam functions that I have been coveting for a few years. Not sure if they are going to make a big difference in my life, the steam function, that is, but I do think my clothes are a little cleaner. They smell a little nicer anyway. And the washer is so quiet. I have to send Jackson in to the pantry to tell me if it is done yet. Or I have to listen for the song. Cause the new machines sing to me when they are finished. Really. They are made by LG, the same people who make lots of cell phones. My washer plays a ring-tone when it is done. The first time it sang to us, Jackson burst into spontaneous applause. It was precious.

So I am listening for the washer to sing to me so I can go in and deal with the clothes. And then I am going to throw the kid in the tub and listen to him splash and play for a while. I plan to get him in bed by 8 since he didn't nap today and he needs his sleep. And because a new episode of The Closer is coming on at 8:00.

Hay Fever closed yesterday. I am sad to not be hanging out with such a great group of people all the time. I felt so lucky to be in a show with such a fine set of actors. Everyone was so skilled and solid. I really felt like I was a part of a kick-ass team, led by Ms. Bernadette Nason.

But I will say I am not sorry to be at home on the couch and not having to drive into Austin 4 days a week. David is off at rehearsal now and he is the one that has to take off a mere 45 minutes after he gets home from work. And I am the one in charge of the boy in the evenings. So now I hope to become a semi-regular blogger again.

...heh, pardon me, my washer is singing to me...