Bribes and Threats

Just a moment to both complain and be thankful. I'll start with the bad and end with the good:
I hate being pregnant. This pregnancy is kicking my butt. Before you get your panties in a wad, let me just say that, yes, I am very thankful for this beautiful life growing inside of me and very excited for the baby that will bless our lives in August. That said, I hate the pregnancy part of the whole process. And you better not leave a comment saying, "I LOVE being pregnant . . .bla bla bla . . ." I've heard that too much recently and usually get the urge to punch the person saying it. The nausea is relentless. The fatigue always hits at the wrong times. I have to pee allllll the time. My emotions are COMPLETELY OUT OF CONTROL! Mostly the nausea though . . . grrrrr. Knowing I need to eat or it will get worse, but not being able to find a single thing in my kitchen that I feel like eating. Then if I do find something, there's a good chance that by the time I have it cooked, I don't feel like it anymore. Trying to do the dishes while holding my breath because I know every little whif of old food will send the nausea into a frenzy and possibly start me gagging (opening a sippy cup with day old milk is good at doing that to me . . .). Anyway, I just needed to tell you that I really don't like this one bit. Now to the thankful part . . . I really am willing to go through all this for the end result. I may not do it gracefully, but I AM willing to do it. I am so thankful for this baby. And for my wonderful husband and son that put up with me and support me through the process. I am also thankful for Gatorade. It does wonders. And for Banquet's "Turkey meal" TV dinners. Normal humans may not even consider these food, but I have craved them in both pregnancies. The one meal I can rely on tasting good and not making my nausea worse. Next, I am thankful for BRIBES. What a wonderful concept. Today's have included:

Mom: "Caleb, we need to try these pants on to make sure they fit before we wash them."
Caleb: "NO!!"
Mom: "I'll give you a treat if you try them on."
Caleb: "Okay, Mommy."

twenty minutes later . . .

Mom: "Caleb, we need to cut your nails, they are way too long."
Caleb: "NOOOO!!"
Mom: "I'll give you a poopoo treat AND a treat with handles if you let me cut your nails."
Caleb: "Okay, Mommy."

(For those of you who are curious, the poopoo treat is an airhead, and coined it's name from the potty-training days when they were the reward for going poopoo in the potty. The treat with handles is a dum-dum lollipop.)
I'm also grateful for threats. Maybe it would sound better to call it offering choices. Such as "Caleb you can either get in the bath or go to bed right now." or "Caleb do you want to me to shut the door? Then get back in bed." Anyway, it's just nice that Caleb's old enough now to completely understand these offers. You see, you can't really reason with a 1-2 year old, because they don't understand the concept of choices yet. But now he knows he has a choice, and I can always guarantee he makes the right one by either embellishing it with something he likes, or making the alternative something I know he won't choose. Well, thanks for listening. I know this has been long and random, but it feels good to get it off my chest anyway. Have a grrreat day. (At least one of us will . . . . hehehe, just kidding I'm all done being bitter for the time being anyway!)