Reasons why I haven't posted for the past 4 months and 19 days....

1. Work has been crazy. I have seriously had a work trip almost every other week. When I was actually in the office, my little ‘ol blog became the “water cooler talk” for a few days, which made me want to lay low for a while.

2. Weekends have been filled with weddings, birthdays, family vacations, and out-of-town visitors. I couldn’t be more thankful for such a wonderful group of friends and family. I promise to post pictures of these events and celebrations soon!

3. LAST BUT NOT LEAST, Chopsticks and Pearls has a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!

BABY CHOPS IS DUE JULY 4, 2010!!!!
Note: This picture was taken at Thanksgiving after we told our parents. We gave them a frame that said "Reserved for Baby - Coming July 4, 2010".

We are so excited and I am ready to start documenting the stories. I don’t think it’s truly hit us yet that we are about to be parents. I never had much of the “first trimester” side effects, which has been awesome. I DO have to eat more regularly or I get dizzy and get headaches. I have also been more tired after work and on the weekends. It just seems to take longer to recover from a big weekend. This could also contribute to the fact that I’m rapidly approaching 30. Yikes!

I just started showing about two weeks ago. It was pretty subtle until this week. I now officially have to wear my pants unbuttoned. T-shirts are also starting to become tighter and shorter. All I have to say is that my coworkers better start getting used to this one pair of black pants that still fit! I have a feeling I will be wearing them frequently…and by that, I mean every day.

The most stressful part about being pregnant thus far has been letting people know. It was SO hard to keep it from our friends and family for so long. We basically fell off the face of the earth for a few weeks. There are so many people you want to tell in person…but you also want your family to be the first to know….and when you tell one person, you have to tell everyone else pretty quickly or the word will get out….and because we were in the middle of the holiday season, it was just one big headache trying coordinate schedules with people! Anyways, the day that I sent out a mass email with the announcement…I had a huge weight lifted off my shoulders…and everything just got easier!

It still doesn’t feel real that I have an actually human being living inside me…or that I will be responsible for keeping someone else alive… feeding them..dressing them…changing them..etc. I can barely put myself together in the morning, let alone someone else. Surely, changing a diaper comes naturally, right?…because I’ve never really done that before! Chops REALLY has no clue. In fact, I’ll give you an example.

Our conversation last night:

Pearls: “Hey Babe, you know that when Baby Chops comes, we are going to have to secure those bookshelves to the wall” – referring to our tall narrow bookshelves in the living room that teeter a little bit if you touch them.

Chops: “Why would the baby be in this room?”

Pearls: “Are you asking me why the baby would be in the main living room of the house? The room we spend the majority of our time in?”

Chops: “Well, why would the baby be in this room unsupervised?”

WHAT?? CLEARLY, he has no clue as to how quickly babies move and how easy something could happen if you turned your head for one second. This conversation also convinced me that I will be hiring a professional to come “baby proof” the house.

We have a lot to learn in the next 5 months.

Disclaimer: I promise this blog will not strictly become a “baby blog”. I will continue to post recipes, product reviews, and make fun of chops! 