Hip to be Pregnant?

This probably won't surprise you, but I'm not pregnant because "it's hip."

Who ARE these women? And why do they care?

"It's hip now to be pregnant," says Jill Siefert, a fashion stylist in San Francisco who recently added pregnancy styling to her business. "Everybody's doing it."

Of course, everybody's always done it. It's just that we're hearing about it so much more now -- especially RIGHT now. Take the latest cover of People (perhaps they should rename it Parents). Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, new parents of Suri, are flanked by Gwyneth Paltrow and newborn Moses, and Donald and Melania Trump with newborn Barron. Inside, Liv Tyler and Jon Stewart cavort with their respective offspring, Matt Damon awaits his, Brooke Shields talks about hers.

And this is only April. The coming months promise the birth of the Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie baby, still in utero but already presumed unprecedentedly gorgeous. "Not since Jesus has a baby been so eagerly anticipated," New York magazine wrote.

The fascination seems to stem from our generation's desire to see celebrities as people just like us -- almost part of the family, says University of Mississippi magazine analyst Samir Husni: "All of a sudden the whole country has become an aunt and uncle to these babies."

Disgusting! Actually, I think the media are the only ones fascinated. My friendly circles certainly aren't talking about celebrity babies. Not a one's been mentioned in our infant care class, and, I promise, being pregnant has not made my body more fascinating to the point I want to be photographed in this state, clothed or unclothed. I'm just excited random people are clear it's a baby and not food reserves.

My pregnant body has a purpose. But believe you me, as soon as it's not pregnant, it's going to be pushing a jogging stroller and lifting a lot of weights. It's going to become reacquainted with a bike seat (as soon as is humanly possible), and it's going to be unpregnant looking as much as a 33 year-old new mom can be. My only boast is that my wedding ring still fits.

hln

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How to Move Five Cats

There comes a time in every person's life when he or she must change residences. This is always a simpler proposition when one has no pets. Probably simpler when one has no children (and no children on the way). But what fun would that be?

Brian and I have five, count them, five cats. This squeaks by at the St. Louis County limit of legal (though we had to shun one favored municipality, Kirkwood, when looking for a new home; it has a "nuisance law" stating a household can contain only three cats. Pbhllllt!).

At the end of Saturday when our belongings had been transported from house A to house B (about 20 miles apart), Brian and I set off across the prairie (er, Interstate) to retrieve the herd.

We've talked about them in bits and pieces. There's John Galt, the oldest (yes, do follow the link), Tristan, Dominique the Conqueror (Niqi for short - refused to be photographed), Ajax (Ajax Rex according to Brian), and Aurora (Aurora McNaughty).

If you followed the link on Galt, you noted that he has a penchant for losing lots of bodily fluids and solids when put in a car. My vet gave me some kitty drugs in conservative half-pill doses, so we pill gunned Galt and Ajax (who is also fairly high strung) and set off on trip #1 with Dominique, Aurora, and Tristan in my car.

This was uneventful except for the part of herding the cats. Cats aren't stupid. They see carriers; they run. Earlier in the day we had penned them in one room - also not an easy task. But, once corralled and defeated, they were left with only their pathetic "mournful meow chorus," which they performed all the way to the new house. In key. Yes, that's the derivation of the word "caterwauling."

When we returned for trip 2, the medicine had sedated the tabbies indeed. Galt, who weighs more seemed a bit tired. Ajax was totally zonked - "aced" as the vet called it, after the drug. Trip 2 was completely uneventful due to the meds. Not even a chorus, really, for those two; maybe a Bob Dylan song.

All in all, not so bad. Niqi hid under the bed for a couple of days, but everyone else was curious and exploring their new space.

So, the answer of how to move five cats? I must say that it's drugs.

hln

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Alive and Kicking (and being Kicked)

Sorry about lack of posting. Currently no Internet access except at work, though that should be remedied in a few days (that's also why Brian isn't posting).

Kid's coming along - likes to kick me when I'm sitting or resting. I think this is a good sign. I look like I swallowed a watermelon whole; again, probably normal.

I'll decide in the coming month or so whether to actually post or abandon the weblog. Blank screen - bad.

hln

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