Recent and Thrilling Events

First of all, Dog and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary. It's scary how quickly the time has passed! I sure love that man. We went on a picnic to a charming nearby town on the lake, which was chilly but delightful. The following day, my baby brother got married at City Hall in the presence of many of our family members, friends, and his new wife's family visiting from Mexico. I was a little nervous about the whole thing since they're so young (23 and 24), but they are deeply in love and seem very committed to each other, so I'm sure they'll make it work. And yes, I do remember that I was younger than either of them when I married Dog. It was a touching ceremony, and my gorgeous sister brought her adorable baby wearing a bow tie! That was truly the cutest thing I've seen in a long time. A beautiful reception in my brother and sister-in-law's honour was hosted by a family friend, and the next evening our new Mexican family contingent came to our house for dinner and a hilarious round of Wii games. It was very fun, but hosting things really wears me out these days.

Pregnancy stuff seems to be taking over my life, and I have been trying to stay calm in the face of the dozens of well-meaning, yuppie pregnancy alarmists who are constantly shoving advice down my throat. A few weeks ago I ordered a Diet Coke in a restaurant, at which point my friend nearly swallowed her tongue shrieking about the carcinogenic nature of Aspartame, even suggesting that the can of soda could kill the baby. It was ONE can of soda. As far as I know, it wasn't Diet Coke-aine or anything, GOSH. Get a freaking grip. My bump is definitely growing, so I expect the tummy-touchers to start approaching me in the street posthaste. On Monday I'll be 18 weeks along, and yet the nausea and morning sickness has yet to subside, and I've got a deep cough that I can't get rid of. It's been difficult and uncomfortable, and Dog has become so accustomed to my puking and coughing that he barely lifts his eyes from the computer screen to ask if I'm okay, which makes flames leap out of my eyes. He knows better than to ignore that. :-P

We've been half-considering buying a house, though it doesn't seem to be a great time. The impetus is that my grandparents are selling their house in a pretty neighbourhood in Hamilton, and it's a little 1950's bungalow which suits me perfectly. It needs work, but it's very livable in its current state and we could fix it up gradually over time. Probably we'll wait until next year, but it's an idea. I've been trying to formulate a plan for the next couple of years, since I have a few more courses left in this degree and probably will not return for awhile, and I would like to give the baby at least one year of my undivided attention without focussing too much on him/her and going insane, if that makes any sense. Entrepreneurship runs deep in my blood as my dad's had his own business for almost as long as I can remember, and Dog and I have been running the photography company since 2004, and I've been thinking that if we were to move to Hamilton, I'd like to start a little made-to-order, organic, allergen-free cake company once the baby is a bit older. I LOVE baking, and I like working from home, so it seems like a good way to contribute a little to my family's income while doing something fun. I don't have much experience in cake decorating, so I'm thinking of asking the small cupcake bakery down the street if I could intern there a few days a week until the baby comes. I'll happily look after the shop in exchange for some pointers.

Anyway, those are the things running through my head at the moment. We have an appointment tomorrow with the OB/GYN, so maybe there will be some news of the baby's gender? I sure hope so.