When I was just a little girl I asked my mother, What will I be?

I have had several days to digest the latest news of Baby Blargh (yes, there is a reason why Scott and I have named our child this odd nickname, and we say it with the utmost affection.) We are going to have a baby girl.

We were at the radiology section of the hospital on base, early Monday morning, and there was one thing that Baby Blargh made evident: she will definitely be her mother's daughter. The ultrasound tech told us ahead of time that he would spend the first few minutes taking pictures silently and then would turn the monitor around to give us a show and tell. While Scott and I were waiting for him to do his job, we mumbled comments, suppressed the desire to giggle at the silly things we were saying and impatiently waited for the verdict. And waited. And waited.

After what seemed to be forever, and what was actually the healthy side of 10 minutes, the tech finally announced - the baby is flipped in such a way that he could not determine the gender. No matter what angle he was trying to aim for, the little one has stubbornly decided that it wasn't time for the reveal. He suggested that I go walk around for 10 minutes to try to coax Baby to move and flip around. So, Scott and I took a stroll back out to the parking lot to grab my water bottle all the while talking to the bump at my belly to gently ask Baby Blargh to cooperate.

On the second try, though not right away, was when the Baby finally decided it was time. There was what seemed to be a tiny bit of a power trip the tech was having fun with when he asked, "Do you have any idea what you are having?", "What are you hoping for?", "Are you sure you don't have a preference?", as if he had the ability to change our order if we didn't like his findings, but we forgave him of his job's joy and took the news of a baby girl with smiles. And then the thoughts started rushing at me - and I'm fairly certain this is the first 2 seconds, in order:

• changing diapers will be easier than if we had a boy
• we won't have to make a decision about circumcision
• I'll be able to take my sister's offer of her daughters' baby clothes
• I better get my research mode going so that I can find the best ways to raise a confident girl who can handle the mean girls in school.

I know I am a worrier by nature, but that last point is rooted in personal history. Because of a group of mean girls in the later years of elementary school (and some instances here and there in subsequent years) I'm afraid I never quite recovered from their senseless cruelty and have been super-cautious about making female friends. Luckily, I've been able to make and keep some girlfriends from my high school years, but overall, it's been a struggle. I haven't been completely emotionally stunted, but it has been a confidence issue for me and it takes me a while to trust my ability in making female friends. (I keep stressing "female" because I have been largely successful with making male friends.)

There are any number of situations and concerns Scott and I will face as parents before we ever have to broach this point in our daughter's development, and I know that I have to learn to take things in small chunks. We are so very excited and are eagerly anticipating Little Girl's arrival. And in the meanwhile, I'll be slowly clearing out her future room and will be keeping my eyes open for alternative-to-pink clothing so that Baby Girl won't always look like a marshmallow Peep.

That's what you get when you confuse your stomach with your heart

As mentioned in my previous post, I had grand intentions of what I would write about in my first blog back after a long absence. And yet, as a pregnant lady, all I can think about in the wee hours of the morning is food.

I enjoy cooking, but only when I have people to cook for. I'm horribly lazy when it comes to cooking just for myself. Dinner is the biggest meal I put effort into preparing since I have Scott to take into account, and I know I can argue that technically, I am cooking for me plus the Baby, but my brain is somehow missing that connection. Don't get me wrong, I am eating and keeping the Baby and myself well nourished; I'm just not doing it with very much enthusiasm.

So all of this laziness and forced munching is making me very wistful for the food establishments I knew in the towns I lived in before I moved here to Mountain Home. It's a nice little town, but it lacks in most of the prepared food comforts I had taken advantage of in the past.

In Johnson City, I became pretty addicted to Jason's Deli, where I could have the most delicious French Dip (or what they called a Beefeater sandwich.) I used to live within 2 miles of a Five Guys burger joint, whereas now I have to travel the 45 minutes to Boise to track down those fabulous, greasy burgers and fries. And, there was a Chick-Fil-A in easy access for grabbing waffle fries.

And from my old stomping grounds in Jersey, the baked ziti, good chinese food, good pizza and the bagels (though I suppose I have to skip the lox until after the baby is born) is what I miss more than the people I left behind.

I get by with what is around in this area and I have been eating healthier, but when I wake up in the middle of the night, the food is what is in the forefront of my pregnant lady mind.

Please standy by...

Because it's been many months since I last blogged about anything, I was going to dedicate my first entry back to explaining all that has changed. And believe me, there has been A LOT that has altered since the spring.

I was going to give the background needed to explain why my romantic life seems to be like a whirlwind, when if fact, this love story has been a long time coming and everything is just now falling into place.

I was going to write about the excitement and apprehension I feel about becoming a mother. And the fact that my sudden and conscious abstinence from caffeine has left me feeling bizarre and out of sorts.

I was going to get into my thoughts about my new surroundings and the relief I feel about the prospect of being in one place for longer than a year.

However, all of this will have to come at a later time. Right now it's about 5:30 in the morning and I feel I need to be a bit more eloquent to give justice to any of the aforementioned topics.

I hope you have the patience (and the desire) to come back for these stories. They are pretty good ones.