update, texas-sized edition

You know, it was one of those things after I got back from vacation where three days back into it, I felt like I'd never been on vacation at all.  Anyway, things have been busy at work (and is it really necessary at this point to say yes, I work BOTH IN AND OUT OF THE HOME--but when I talk about being "busy at work," mainly I mean busy at that place that I go to outside of my house for my job where I take care of people to whom I'm not related and for which I earn a salary; and I think most people, including my children, understand that distinction). But let's jump right back into it, shall we?

I flew into San Antionio Monday morning for one of my not-hectic-at-all-minimization-of-dereliction-from-parenting-duties speaking engagements (usually I fly in and out in 24 hours--sometimes I even avoid staying the night if I can but there were actually no available late evening flights available between San Antonio and ATL).  This time I was speaking at the annual meeting for American Academy of Anesthesiology Assistants in San Antonio, a city I'd never been to in a state I'd never visited, except through the window of "Friday Night Lights" and various cryptic tweets I'd read about SXSW.  Like I said, I was only there for 24 hours, and the only reason I even got a chance to walk around was because my flight wasn't until 12:00pm, but here's one thing I learned--the Alamo is actually really small.

I didn't want to pay to go inside because I am CHEAP, but I am told by reputable sources that Pedro and Inez do not actually live inside, making tortillas and fashioning clay pots in the adobe manner, so what's the point?  (If you don't know what I'm talking about, please watch "Pee Wee's Big Adventure."  Then watch it again.  Once you get up to, oh, say, five viewings, then we will be friends.)

Speaking of which, really, the only reason I wanted to go to the Alamo was to see if there was any Pee Wee themed merchandise for sale (t-shirts with a bike on them, maybe those cowhide chaps Pee Wee wore during the rodeo scene, what have you) and yes, I knew they make a shirt like that at Threadless but they are SOLD OUT at the moment.  And anyway, that's cheating.

So basically, most of my sightseeing entailed walking between my hotel and Alamo Plaza three blocks away, but that was fine.  San Antonio, you are sunny and sell a lot of creepy Dia De Los Muertos stuff.  Thanks to you and to the Quad A for being such good hosts, it was a fun time, if fleeting.

Anyway, when I found out about Thing 3 I stopped taking future speaking engagements, but I'd already committed to a few almost a year in advance and as a result I just have one more at the end of this week.  Saturday I'm flying into Myrtle Beach (for 21 hours) to be the keynote speaker at the annual meeting for the South Carolina Medical Association.  And then I'm done with non-Category 1 CME extracurricular business travel. DONE.  It's been really fun and I've met so many interesting people (also as a classic introvert I see it as a good part of my social conditioning to be forced into these kinds of situations--schmooze fests, speaking in front of large groups and the like) but I'm in my third trimester now and I'm going to have three kids and I've used at least three weeks of my own personal vacation time over the last year in order to be able to do these speaking gigs, not to mention the many, many hours at home on the weekends or post-call to work on the slides and the talks themselves.  So like I said, it's been fun, but one's time and energy resources are finite and I need to start taking time from Pool A and start pouring it into Pool B, you know?  (Pool B = the birthing tub.  No, just kidding, I'm not using a birthing tub.  I think they're fine and all, but having seen a number of deliveries not my own, I just have to think--just how, uh, turbid does the water look like in one of those birthing tubs, and how long do you have to sit marinating in it?  OK, sorry, resume your meals.)

(I'm not a prude, I swear.)

(THERE'S POOPING THOUGH.)

SEGUE AHOY!

One of the ways that I will surely spend all my luxurious free time is playing "Draw Something."  I know, I know, I'm behind on this one, but seriously guys, it's super fun.  And this is coming from me, a person who really doesn't play online games at all.  I don't play "Words With Friends."  I tried it out briefly but then lost interest with "Plants vs. Zombies,"  I don't even play "Angry Birds," you guys.  ANGRY BIRDS, the most merchandised, cross-marketed app in the whole universe!  But "Draw Something" is really fun.  It's just Pictionary, basically, but easier, because they tell you how many letters the word has and gives you a pool of possible letters to choose from.  I didn't think it would be very extremely obsessive-making only yes, it is very extremely obsessive-making, and though I don't really draw well, I like to pretend that I draw marginally better than the average person so it's making me OMG#$%^% SUPER COMPETITIVE in ways that are perhaps ultimately unflattering.  I even got these specifically so that I could play "Draw Something" better.

(They're styluses for drawing on capacitive screens, non-nerds.  Only perhaps I have out-nerded even the nerdiest nerd becuase because I keep accidentally calling them "stylets," like HI, THINK ABOUT ANESTHESIA MUCH?)

Anyway, "Draw Something."  It's fun!  We should play!  (And no, this is not sponsored, no one is making me say this--besides, there's a free version too.)  Now someone please tell me how I can get more colors for drawing because how am I supposed to draw anything without green or brown, I ask you?  (I'm pretty sure the answer is to get 50 squijillion more coins, but I can't even figure out where to find the extra colors in the app.)  OK!  Thanks!

And now for this thing:

27 weeks:

28 weeks:

I had my glucose tolerance test yesterday which hopefully goes well (they don't give you the results immediately but they said they'd call if it came back with glucose crystals in it).  You'll remember I failed the initial screening last time with Mack, but that was because they said that I only had to fast for 4 hours and my test wasn't until the afternoon. And since I was at work I was starving and since, again, they said I could eat something that morning I did. And maybe that "thing" was a bagel with cream cheese.

Anyway, this time I got an early appointment and I didn't eat anything, so hopefully I can avoid the time vortex that was the three-hour extended glucose tolerance test.  (I did pass that one with Mack, by the way, at which point the phlebotomist told me that even though they say that you only have to fast for four hours, everyone who has an afternoon lab draw and eats in the morning fails, so...the more you know.  NBC rainbow shooting star graphic, tinkly music.)  Anyway, on the ultrasound yesterday Thing 3 was measuring exactly average for growth (50th percentile) so my concerns about the Diabeetus are minimized versus my first two monster children.  Although...I can't deny that as an Asian parent my first thought when he told me was, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S JUST 'AVERAGE'?!  99th PERCENTILE OR BUST!"

OK, I gotta go work on my slides for this last talk on Saturday.  Stay out of trouble, kids.