Reenergized

As many of you know, Chris and I just got back from a ski vacation in Stowe, VT. Originally, the idea of going skiing over New Years was less than appealing, considering the fact that one of us was not going to be allowed anywhere NEAR a hill. For those of you who don't ski, let me explain - not being allowed on a hill puts a MAJOR damper on your skiing fun, i.e. it kills it. Without the hills, no movement. Standing on skis and shuffling for days on end - not only not fun, but also very strange and liable to get you many confused looks. Now, we were getting to go skiing with Suz and Tim, which was a major bonus and made the trip hard to pass up regardless of whether or not I could ski, but still. That meant THREE of us could ski and one of us would have to entertain herself in the hotel's "award winning aqua center" - read: tiny, cold, and not too clean looking pool. Again, kind of an unappealing plan for five days. Luckily though, many weeks before the trip was finally to happen, Suz confessed that she too would be forced to sit out and stay away from the hills (Yay!! On so many levels!!), so the trip now became a boys-go-off-to-ski, girls-go-get-pampered-at-the-spa extravaganza. I didn't have to get in that sad little pool once!


As part of last week's fun, Suz and I took to the woods for some snowshoeing. Neither of us had done it before and let me tell you, it is FABULOUS! You float across the snow and so can take trails deep into the woods, which are beautiful and peaceful and elegant this time of year. And you get to wear these fabulous snowshoes with super tough looking spikes while you do it.

BONUS!!!

We had a fabulous time hiking back through the forest, climbing up seemingly endless hills, scooting down long winding paths, and jumping (okay, long-stepping over) the occasional water feature.


We had so much fun in fact, that we went for 10k - a pretty impressive distance considering the terrain, our lack of snowshoe experience, and the fact that we are both not quite in top form these days. Not to mention the fact that some of us thought we might just be able to wear our normal ski pants with a bellaband over top, rather than buying bigger pants or some other pregnant lady friendly apparel. For anyone thinking of trying this, it does NOT work. My pants slid down every 5th step and though I don't think it ever got to the point of indecent exposure (thank you, long underwear), it wasn't exactly convenient. Anywho...so yes, 10k. Please...applaud...


The result of this 10k hike was two-fold. On the one hand, my body definitely got in some good exercise. My muscles ached wonderfully for the next couple days to let me know that the hike had given them a good workout. On the other hand, I was a little worried that maybe my workout had been too good a workout for poor Orange Seed. Lately, I feel Orange Seed kicking so often that having an alien being booting me in the abs every couple of hours has started to seem entirely normal. She had been super active all through our vacation, even kicking like crazy when her mom was trying to enjoy a supremely relaxing facial (still wondering if facial lady could see my stomach bouncing around like a caged animal). But on Sunday, the day after our long hike, Orange Seed was not to be found. Completely quiet, even after I fed her pannekoek with chocolate chips, powdered sugar, and banana chunks for breakfast (don't judge - it was AWESOME and you know you want some), I was starting to worry that maybe I'd worn her out! The whole ride home (7+ hours) and all that night, barely a move from her. Though I'm a pretty chill pregnant lady overall, even I was starting to get a little concerned. But, all my worrying was for naught. Monday morning - bang! bang! bang! and that sound is not someone knocking at my door, but someone knocking from within my belly and since then, she has just picked up the force and pace. I don't know if I really did wear her out and it's taken her awhile to recover or if she was just resting up to get revenge on me and is now like "Yeah, this is kind of tiring, huh? How do YOU like it? Hmm?" Either way, I'm just glad to have her back in full swing. Feeling minorly nauseous from her crazy antics is way better than wondering if she's okay in there. So, kick away Orange Seed. Your little internal soccer games still make mommy giggle. You have no power to get revenge, yet!