Graphic Print Critter

I wasn't joking when I said I was wearing a ton of stuff from the Men's department- WHY would I pass up this sweatshirt?! I'd be a crazy person if my new utilitarian-slouchy dressing didn't include a little bit of pizzaz. Can a varmint on a sweatshirt really be considered pizzaz? Whatever, I'mma roll with it. 

What a nice week it's been so far! The calm before the storm of tomorrow's Thanksgiving celebration with our buddies has been a series of puttering to the store for small forgotten food items, hunting for more forks (because nobody wants to eat turkey with chopsticks), and extra tummy time to encourage scooting. Anytime I try to put Violet's little knees tucked under her hips, she stiffens into a plank and I end up wheel-barrow lifting her legs. It cracks me up everytime! I know she'll figure out the physics in her own time, but the fun of doing my best to help her out only to have it hilariously backfire is filling my days with a lot of laughs. 

Flashback: Scarf and Chucks

If you're thinking my foot and neck gear looks familiar, you're right on. Lazy dressing and accessories at its worst. Recycled scarf and Converse pairing, because the casual grey is oh so good. And slouchy maternity jeans and white long sleeved tee. So simple, so easy. I love no fuss looks like this, especially when I was pregnant. Because, really, who was I trying to impress?

Flashback: Maternity Dress

Before we get too far along, I have a few maternity styles to share with you guys that I never got the chance to post. Not many, but a few fun looks that we're nice nods to springtime. 

This dress was a maternity MVP. So comfortable, so stretchy, and so cheap. Thanks, H&M, for being abundant in China and for having good stretchy dress options. One size up, this one was perfect. 

Baseball

A quick hello and welcome back to baseball... Yeah, I know the season started a few short weeks ago, but we spent some good time over the weekend streaming Tigers Baseball Radio broadcasts. Watching games on TV- yeah, it's good fun, but the radio announcers for Detroit are so animated and fun to listen to.

So, hey, baseball. Thanks for making it feel a little like summer over here!

(PS- my hat is for the Toledo Mudhens- the feeder team for Detroit and my hometown. I'll have to wait a little while to wear any of my Tigers' shirts- they're all hilariously short right now.)

Cultural Shifts

Third Trimester. Boom. And it's a bump that's finally a bump, not just a burrito, which makes me really happy. Every few weeks, I get really hungry and kiddo grows like a weed, and next thing you know there's more happening out front. And I'm really grateful so far that family genetics have been good to me and I still feel fine.

I've noticed a cultural difference in attitudes about pregnancy over here. We passed a woman last night who must have been right around the same due date as me. And, while I'm still pretty nimble and limber, thankfully, goooooosh, she was waddling. I've not seen a woman who was visibly pregnant walking like she didn't have a softball balanced between her thighs. It's crazy. I don't know if the Chinese physique really does get very uncomfortable much sooner, but I'm inclined to believe that women are expected to appear faint and helpless and not lift a finger during pregnancy. The wider the waddle, the more effective the baking of a kid? And most of them don't seem to be loving it even a little. Babies must be for grandparents. Because mamas look pretty blah about the whole thing. Weird.