There's a Baby in my Belly

OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG.

The Jersey Girl is gonna be a Jersey Momma.

Holy bleepity bleepity bleep bleep bleep. Bleep.

Still freaking out and in shock and tearing up when writing/saying/telling these words:

I’m prego.

I’ve been DYING to tell all y’all. But, me and The Husband thought it best to wait ‘til we knew for sure that the bambino was all Kool and the Gang.

Of course, our fam and closest friends have known for a while. My sisters knew five seconds in. But, I’m really thrilled to tell my millions of devoted readers, since my pregnant situation has totally impacted my blogging, or I should say: lack of blogging.

And I do not like keeping secrets from my Internet peeps, all 25 of you. Ha.

It’s been a bit trippy since we found out. I’ve been spending most of my time reading about babies and pregnancy and all that while freaking out that I’m actually prego. I mean let’s be real, I deal with plenty of childrens day-to-day, but they come to me at age 5 and older. And my nieces and nephews, well there are a dozen of them, but when they get all stinky and snotty and whiny, I just hand them off to their respective Mom.

The good news is, my sister Monica and my Dad claim that I have uber patience and that’s a good trait for a Momma.

Yay, me.

Me and The Husband are still in La La Land regarding the bambino. It’s quite shocking, actually.

Because, no joke dear readers. It’s taken forever times forever plus forever. I was pretty much accepting the fact that aunt and piano teacher and godmother and perhaps mother of awesome adopted child were in my cards and that was that.

But I’m wrong. Woo-hoo!

Of course, it hasn’t been all peaches and cream, lilacs and roses.

Oh, no, no, no.

You all know about my asthma situation from a few weeks ago, and it’s still going on strong with the awesome pollen levels that are kicking my soon-to-be exceptionally wide bootie. And being in the first-trimester stage kind of thwarted my treatment options. Which, is probably why I was sick for forever and a day.

Then, of course there’s been the nausea. Oh, the nausea. Nausea is what tipped me off. I was minding my own bizness, getting my Jillian Michaels exercise on, when intense nausea made me bust out an EPT on a whim. It was negative. Of course, of course. Do you know how many negative pregnancy tests this gal has taken? About a million.

But two days later, I was still nauseous and still waiting on the monthly gift that ladies have the joy of getting and thought, “Hmmmmmm. What’s going on here?”

And voila, positive pregnancy test.

The Husband is just crazy ecstatic. And he’s so doting. OMG.

So, being prego is completely impacting my eating habits. First off, I’m always hungry. I mean ALWAYS HUNGRY. It’s crazy. I’m so used to going like hours upon hours without eating. So, this is a total change for moi.

And, I’ve been wanting food that I never want: Cheese steaks. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I love a good cheese steak now and again, but I had two in a like a two-week time span. Good thing I live in South Jersey.

Also on the top of my food list are Fruit Loops (it’s like I’m 8 years old, people) and bagels with cream cheese. Fun fact: This was totally my diet in college, mixed with cheap vodka and Crystal Light.

I also eat strawberries, oranges and cinnamon toast like nobody’s business.

My other cravings include Indian food, which I so love and Mexican food, which I also completely and totally love. Fortunately, we live near two rockin’ restaurants that serve up these good ethnic eats. Coriander, located on Route 561 in Voorhees, has mac daddy Indian food. Love the lamb saagwala. And, Los Amigos on Route 73 in Berlin has fab Mexican food. The night we went there were three other obviously prego ladies in the house. I took that as a sign.

But, one night, I decided to do Mexican myself, and The Husband documented the results. So, I thought I’d share. I feel healthier when I cook the food I eat. My big sis Michele told me cooking would skeeve the bejesus out of me during the first trimester, but honestly, it hasn’t. I was just always tired and icky feeling and cranky pants, and hungry. Oy.

Word on the street is that you feel super awesome in the second trimester, which I’m officially entering, so hopefully I will be cooking and blogging more!

Chicken Soft Tacos
Makes 4 super big soft tacos

1 lb. ground chicken or pork
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
½ onion, chopped
½ large red bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. chili powder
Hot sauce, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken. Brown for about five to six minutes. Season with cumin, chili powder and hot sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Push chicken to one side of the pan, leaving an empty space, add onion, bell pepper and garlic. Saute for a few minutes, then toss with the chicken. Cook for about two to three more minutes. Adjust seasonings.

Serve with warm corn tortillas, shredded lettuce, grated cheese and salsa. Guacamole would rock, too, but the Jersey Girl has a mad allergy to avocado.