The Kenophobic Dog

Kenophobia is really a fear of voids or empty spaces, but it's the closest thing to describe the newest affliction that Trudie has developed. After moving through the house with great gusto and navigating rooms with ease, my sweet, blind dog has developed a paralyzing fear of... hardwood floors. I know that sounds crazy, but trust me - it's even crazier to watch. This is troublesome since our entire house is hardwoods. She doesn't have a fear of hardwood floors so much as she has a fear of not being on a carpeted surface. I'm pretty sure this is my fault because every time she exits the carpet in the living room to go into the dining room, I clap my hands for her to come back. In her dark little world, she has translated me not wanting her to leave one side of one carpet in one room to me not wanting her to leave all carpeted areas. On Saturday night, we were watching Babel when I realized I hadn't seen her for an hour. She had gotten hung up on the hallway runner. Tried exiting all sides but couldn't get off. Short of rubbing down all of the hardwood floors with meat, I don't know how to correct this problem. So now in addition to having a dog that requires shock therapy, we also have one who needs confidence building exercises so she can walk on wood.

We didn't really do a whole lot this weekend. We met our friends Mike and Shanon for dinner on Friday night and I had to go shopping for new spring maternity clothes on Saturday. I had a meltdown on Wednesday morning because all of my clothes are getting tight. I don't like shopping for maternity clothes because the girls in the shops (who are not pregnant) bring you clothes to try on with promises that it'll be "so cute on". And like a sucker, I believe them every time. In my head, I'm thinking that the next outfit will not make me look like I swallowed a watermelon, but alas, it's not true. I was in Ross a few weeks ago and came across some big girl muumuus. I may try to bring those back into style.

Lee did a lot of work outside in our storage area on Saturday because it was so nice. We also had a new fridge/freezer delivered for the storage area. I figure we'll need it as we keep expanding. My latest project is making and freezing as many meals as I can ahead of time. Last night, I made one King Ranch Chicken Casserole and froze the other one. My goal is to get 8 entrees made and in the freezer by the time Ellie gets here. That way for the first couple of weeks she's home, all I'll have to do is pull out a meal and heat it up. It really doesn't take that much work to double casseroles and I know I'll be glad I did come May. I'm also collecting recipes for entrees using "pantry" or frozen ingredients. I hope to have another 8-10 meals on hand there. Everything I'm making is Weight Watchers. Don't think I won't be back at meetings the first week after Ellie gets here because I have some lofty weight loss goals I intend to keep. If you have any good recipes that freeze well, send them my way!

I went back for my 30 Week appointment this afternoon and no dice with the 3D. Ellie's hands are planted to the side of her head and she's added a foot to the mix. The sonographer tried one 3D scan, but it looked like a scary alien (not one for the scrap book or the blog). I also told my doctor about Harry Potter's "25% chance blond" comment and we had a hearty laugh about his Mendelian science. Am I a giant dork? You're damn right I am.

Next Sunday, we have our first of two "childbirth classes" at the hospital where I'm delivering. I'm anxiously awaiting the classes and not because I'll learn a lot, but because if it's anything like our "Engagement Encounter" retreat was, there's going to be some total weirdos there. My favorite couple from the pre-wedding retreat dressed like each other the whole weekend. I am anticipating that there will be the couple that's uber excited so he'll be wearing a "World's #1 Dad" shirt and hat set while she wears a "Bun in the Oven" tee, the couple trying to bridge the racial divide, the couple so young their parents had to drop them off, and the couple fighting so much you wonder how they're not going to get a divorce before the baby arrives. We'll strike pre-natal gold if there's a K.D. Lang "couple" there. Lee isn't good in these situations because he'll reach over and pinch me when he sees something strange like I'm not looking at the exact same thing he is. Actually, I'm usually already staring because I have a problem with that. This has never gotten us into trouble before, but I'm not sure how long our luck will hold with hormonal women. I'll give you a full report next Monday.