Operation Cream Cheese

We've reached the point where we have to start buying everything we've been meaning to buy before Brazil. We got pictures of our new apartment, which necessitated a trip to Ikea this week, followed by one of several trips to Costco.
Penny has been sick for a week now, and after so many days of being cooped up, I decided to take the girls to Ikea. We had a list of stuff to get, and Penny feels pretty good in the mornings, so we headed up. We shopped a bit, ate some meatballs, played in the play place, then shopped a bit more. Penny started fading during the second shopping spree, and pretty soon she was trying to rest her head on the cart handle while sitting in the little basket seat telling me, "I want to go in the car and go home." We bought everything on our list-- plus some toys for the new baby and some new Christmas ornaments. I couldn't help myself; this WAS restraint.
I got to go to Costco by myself, and while doing grocery shopping, I also stocked up on tons of stuff to bring to Brazil. Now, we don't get a separate "consumables" shipment this time, but even last time we didn't use ours. We just bought some things and put them in with our Household Effects. We'll be doing the same this time. The only difference, though, is that we've never been to Brazil. I have no idea what they have or don't have. I've heard they don't have peanut-butter, so I bought enough to elicit comments from the receipt-checker at Costco AND the random guy in our elevator. What, I like peanut-butter okay?! I bought a whole flat of canned pumpkin and a good dose of all the medicines we regularly use. It's fun to buy a whole bunch of stuff, but it's always a gamble as to whether A) you'll actually use it in Brazil, and B) you'll show up in Brazil only to find these same things being peddled on every corner. I've heard that everything in Brazil is more expensive than what you'll find here, so I've erred on the side of buying too much. But we'll use it.
Speaking of which, I bought a 3-lb tub of cream cheese.
I've seen that tub of cream cheese leering at me from its little shelf there in the fridge every time I pass it to buy string cheese. And I snub it every time. There's no way we could/should eat that much cream cheese before it goes bad. And I'm just not really ready to fork over the dough for something that's just going to waste. But now that we have one month left in Virginia, I realized that I'd been buying the 1" tall tubs of cream cheese for $2.99 each. It kills me that stuff here is so expensive, but that's what it costs. Finally (a month before our departure date, mind you), my mathematical genius turns on the light-bulb and realizes, "Hey, this gallon vat of cream cheese costs about as much as two of those 1" ration tubs. If I buy this and use as much as two of those little guys, I'll have gotten my money's worth-- and then some!"
My mathematical genius loves a good bargain. And not only that, but the more of that cream cheese tub we eat, the better the bargain is! Hence commences Operation Cream Cheese. It lasts from now until we leave Virginia-- or until the mold decides to invade. Let the race begin!

Penny, my sweetie

We went to Ikea today, and I let the girls buy toys for the new baby. Penny picked one out that when you pull the rabbit out of the hat, it plays a lullaby on a music box. Mostly the girls liked playing with their toys, and I'm sure that's how it will be for the next 5 months or so.
When we got home, Penny told me, "I think the baby is sad again."
I really had no idea what she was talking about, so she explained. "The baby in your tummy. Here." And she pulled the rabbit and put it up against my tummy. She's been keeping it playing for the last 5 minutes or so.
She also has decided to name the baby Jack. Or if it's a girl, Olivia.
We'll see about that... but I know she'll be a sweet big sister.

Now she came and told the baby, "Don't be afraid anymore. You're in my mommy's tummy. You'll be okay. You'll just come out, and we got a toy for you that sings songs."

Boise, Beijing, Brasilia

The first time I realized something was going on, it was somewhere near the beginning of August. I read this article about things that happened after the Harry Potter series ended. When I got to number six, I cried. It wasn't just tears coming to my eyes and then quickly receding. No, it was more of a full-on cry, where I mourned the loss of Fred Weasley, the loss George Weasley was dealing with, and the future of the wizarding community without both Weasley twins. I also got to thinking just how long it had been since I'd read any of the Harry Potter books and visited my friends at Hogwarts.
And I also realized I was probably pregnant.
I don't usually cry about Harry Potter-- except for that chapter about Snape's memories in the 7th book. But other than that, it's not something I usually get weepy about.
But it's been fun to be all weepy. I also get DESPERATELY hungry and incredibly exhausted. Otherwise I've felt marvelous-- not sick at all! I'm very grateful for that, since I was pretty queasy with Penny and fine with Naomi, as long as I kept eating Cheez-its.
We noticed that our kids are all born in cities that belong with "B." Kevin says we're probably done after this one, because we don't really plan on getting posted to Bogota, Colombia. But Kevin, our options are WIDE open! Bridgetown, Barbados! Belmopan, Belize! Busan, Korea! Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei! Bangkok, Thailand! And if those don't work out, there's always Bethesda, Maryland.
We'll see what the future brings. Right now, I'm a little overwhelmed at the prospect of having a third child. Naomi's super clingy, needy, whiny, and sometimes a little rotten. My only hope is that she'll be 6 months older by the time the baby comes. Maybe she'll grow out of some of it.
And hopefully I'll write on my blog here and there before April when the baby comes. I plan on it!