I'm Pregnant, Not Sick!

Okay, let me start by telling the world that pregnancy is a natural and healthy condition. It is NOT a disease. I say this because people have been treating me as if I'm on my last breath and should be home away from the public eye. Here are some of the recent comments:

A conversation I recently had with a student who just moved from a different country:
"Teacher, how old are you?"
"I'm 35!"
"35 and pregnant? Ohhh, very old"

Different student:
"Why are you wearing heels? Pregnant women can't wear heels"

Different Student:
"You look so big. You should be home. My sister is only 2 months pregnant and she's home."

Comedian at a night club:
"You're pregnant? What are you doing out at night?"

Cute guy at a Carnaval party:

"Wanna dance?" asked the enthusiastic dancer followed by "Wow, wow, wow! I'll be back."

The above are my favorite comments but I have heard more. Thus, to combat the comments, I started pushing buttons. This weekend my heels got higher, I stayed way past my bed time, and I did it all in style. Best of all, I now have a new attitude to match my behavior--Yes, I'm 35, in heels, big, and at a club! What?

Here are some of my role models :)

Kourtney Kardashian


Jessica Simpson


Beyonce


Natalie Portman

Camila's Tree--A Project for a 2-Year Old

At some point in my childhood, my brother and I couldn't watch television until a certain time. Consequently, my brother and I would sit around the house waiting for TV time. Since my husband had a similar experience, we decided that for Camila there is no TV during the week (we need to give her some reason to see a therapist later in life!). The rational behind our evil ways is that we hope our daughter, as she gets older, will learn to find fun and alternative forms of entertainment, like crafts, books, or sports. The challenge, though, is that we, as parents, need to help her find things to do. Since she is only 2, it is a challenge at times. But have no fear, grandma came up with a great idea. Camila's own Christmas tree.

This weekend, Camila and I decorated her own Christmas tree with handmade ornaments. It began with salt-starch ornaments (recipe from Paint Cut Paste) I made after decorating our tree. Later in the week, Camila, her cousin, and I used paint, glue, and glitter to decorate the ornaments. I then added pipe cleaners to the ornaments; this made it easier for Camila to hang. On a different day, I spray painted a tree branch from my father's backyard, which would later serve as the tree. Finally, Camila and I decorated the tree. This was a fun and easy project that I broke down over 2 weeks. Best of all, it was a great project to do on a cold Sunday afternoon.

Recipe for the salt-starch ornaments: You can find the recipe on the Paint Cut Paste blog

* Bring 1 cup of water to (barely) a boil

* Add 1 cup of salt, stir and dissolve for about a minute (not all of the salt dissolves).

* Pour salt and water over 1 cup of cornstarch and mix together

* Add 1/4 cup of cold water

* Add 2 tbsp oil (I used canola. you might want to go with 1.5 tbsp instead, in hindsight)

* Role it out to a 1/4 inch

* Cut into desired shape and back at 245 for 2 hours.