Happy Memories for a Happy Friday

I am so happy it's friday! I am so ready for a break! Again!

Went to the midwife yesterday, and they determined that he's still in there, and everything is normal. So sweet. They still think he's big. This midwife guessed about 8 pounds now, which is in line with last week's guess of 7.5 pounds. His heart rate was normal, I was normal, and she said:

"Now, we're just playing the waiting game...."

They didn't check my cervix or anything this time. The midwife I had yesterday, Alisa, thinks it's silly to check it everytime, so she said no, it doesn't even matter if you aren't in labor, and she doesn't want me to have anything else to worry about. That's fine. I don't need anything to worry about more than I already have.

By the way, I am putting my Halloween decorations up this weekend. Might be early, but, I've got a lot of really cute Halloween stuff, and I'm not going to be stupid and wait for a closer time to Halloween. I might not have time after Pants gets here, and, I don't want his first Halloween to be less than wonderfully festive. I don't want him to miss out because I'm being a wuss and can't feed him 8-10 times a day, change his diapers, sleep, take care of myself, and make the house awesomely Halloween-ey.

I scheduled his baptism today, for November 19th, 11 am mass. Father Dale, the guy that was the priest at my parish growing up, is doing the ceremony, and I feel so great about that!

It makes me feel a little sad that he's going to be baptized so soon--my little man is growing up already, and he's not even out of my uterus yet. Oh, he's going to be so precious!

The other day, Kevin and I were leaving the birth center, which isn't in an awesome part of Wilmington. We usually see tons of people walking the streets, and if I am alone, the men usually will approach my car and try talking to me through my windows when I stop at stop signs. So I don't like to go alone. But when Kevin is with me, no one tries to talk to me. A lot of times we see scantily clad girls with huge heels and ass shorts walking down the street, and I try to start up a version of a game I played with my brothers, and I ask "See that girl? What's your guess--is she a hooker, or is she just an oversexed 15 year old?"

Kevin knows this game, and he refuses to play. "That's mean! I'm not playing your stupid game!"

EPP: "Aww, come on! It'll be fun! It's a fun game!"

Kevin: "No, it's not, it's just mean, and I'm not playing. You always take it too far!"

The game dates back to my childhood. My brothers and I used to get really bored during car rides, and it seems we did a lot of car rides since we had a cabin up north and a cottage in the east for vacationing, and we visited them frequently. The game has no name, it's a conversational 'this or that' game, where you take turns asking questions of the other person. When we were younger it went like this:

EPP: "Would you rather eat an ice cream that fell on the ground, or fried liver?"

Big Brother (Big B): "Hmm....an ice cream cone that fell on the ground. Would you rather smell dad's fart, or stick your finger with a pin?"

EPP: "Hmmm, could I stick the pin in my finger really fast?"

Big B: "Ummm, ok, yeah, really fast, and it's a sharp one"

EPP: "*considering options* Well, how long would I be exposed to the fart smell?"

Big B: "Let's say you are locked in a room without windows or doors with it for 5 minutes"

EPP: "The pin. I would rather stick myself with the pin. OK, would you rather...."


Get the gist of the game? As we got older, it evolved into 'older' topics, who would you want to go on a date with, would you rather get caught cheating on a test, etc. As we got even older, well...

The thing about my family, one of the things I love about it, is that there aren't any lines really. My parents are not easily offended, and I guess we all have a somewhat sick sense of humor on some level. At the point where Kevin entered my life, the game had evolved into just plain wrong. Continuous, too--even months or years apart, as one of us thinks of something equally horrifying for the other to answer, we ask the questions. I occasionally get calls like this:

*WARNING--I'm not kidding, the following isn't nice. It's gross.*

Big B: "OK, I have to ask you something"

EPP: "Yeah?"

Big B: " Who would you rather have sex with--"

EPP: "I f-ing hate you. I hate the who would you rather have sex with ones, I don't even want to hear it"

Big B: "Dude! No! You HAVE to hear it! I just thought of it and it's so nasty, you have to hear it! I already started to ask! You know you want to hear it!"

EPP: "OK, fine, who?"

Big B: "OK, who would you rather have sex with, Rosie O'Donnell, or Grandpa?"

EPP: "OH MY GOD! I'm not answering that one!"

Big B: "Ha! Isn't that nasty! It's the nastiest one I've ever thought of! If you pick grandpa, it's gross because he's old, and well, he's grandpa, but you are at least getting to do it with a man. If you pick Rosie, that's gross too, AND you are playing your lesbian card....."

EPP: "Neither. I choose neither"

Big B: "Shut up, you know you have to choose."

EPP: "Fine. Rosie. But only because she's not grandpa."

Big B: "God, you would rather do it with a woman?"

EPP: "Yeah, geez, I guess I would."

Big B: *laughing his butt off* "OK, it's your turn"

EPP: "I am totally getting you back, that's so nasty, I am going to think of one that's going to make you throw up or something"

Big B: "Sweet. Hehe. Call me when you think of one. Later."

So see, this is where we were when Kevin entered the picture, and found out the hard way about the game. But Kevin has gotten really fantastic at thinking of horrifying nasty things for me to suggest my brother has to choose between. Kevin can't believe that my parents occasionally play, too. If they overhear the game, they laugh, and then they offer their choices, and occasionally suggest something ridiculously awful to choose between, too.

Either way, it always leaves everyone laughing. So wrong. Why is that so funny though? It always makes me laugh inside and at least smile when I think of some of the horrible things we have forced each other to choose between. Can't often remember the choices people made....but....the fun part is hearing what nasty things the other one can come up with, anyhow.

I need to call my brother, and see who he would rather see make out (or better yet--have sex! That'll really make him gag!) my mom and dad, or Kevin's mom and dad. Hehe.

I miss my family. A lot.