The much awaited event:

It's April!!! Hooray!!! The grass is green, the weather is full of thunderstorms and warm breezes, and Baby has loosened its death grip on my intestines. Could the world get any better?

I know you all have been wanting to see this picture but have been too kind to beg for it, so here it is. This is as attractive as I get when I take my own time-delayed picture at the end of a Monday, btw.

Honestly, I could suck it in a bit more, but I tried to focus on a natural state and this is what came about. Also note the huge boobs. You all know me well enough to know they've never reached past the plane of my huge nose before - look at 'em go!!!!

I am at week 14 - officially second trimester. Baby is the size of a clenched fist now, and pretty much has all the necessary components to be a real person after all its first trimester development. I'm told that the second trimester is all about growth (more so than development) - apparently both for Baby and for me. So, one pound a week, here I come!! (ready or not - eep!)

I had a pregnancy-related event today at work that made me laugh for a good hour, at least. My wonderful sister has lent (lended?) me some pants to wear while I'm getting larger and having a hard time finding things for work. I put on a pair of satiny soft black pants this morning, and I noticed the waist was a little snug but I figured I would be all right for the day. By about 9:00 I was regretting it and went for the rubberband for the top button. "Ahhh, much better." A bit later, as I was sitting at my desk, I looked down to marvel (confused, a bit) at how much that rubber band had helped, to see that the zipper had completely broken - the slide had come up off the top, and the seam then tore apart. "Ohhh!! No wonder they felt so much better!!" My only option (besides one which would render impossible the inevitable 6 trips to the bathroom remaining in the day) was to drive home home to change pants. So I did, and called my sister, laughing. "I'm sorry I ruined your pants!" "I'm sorry I gave you defective pants!" and so on, with much all-around ridiculousness. I suppose, when considering the alternatives, that today's events were possibly the best reason a person would need to go home in the middle of the day to change her pants. Or, the least awful, rather.

I can't say why, but that whole thing sure brightened my day. I also won $20 for making 13 free-throws in a row. It seems my attempts to give to charitable fundraising events at work are a bit futile when I come out at a profit (I think I only chipped in $3), but I did try! And only one other person in the plant made more in a row, although if my brother would've shown up he would've easily kicked my tail.

All in all, April is off to a pretty good start. I hope it is where you are, too!