Did I mention the caramel squares here already? Yes I did. Well I’ll mention them again – they are sooo delicious. Lifesavers, really. I can’t/don’t want chocolate. But I do have a sweet craving, plus I find myself wandering around the kitchen sometimes. I’m hungry, but full, and if I eat anything substantial I know I’ll be puking it up in half an hour. So… the caramel squares. I grab one, suck on it for 10 minutes, get my sweet craving out of the way, AND don’t feel any worse.

The chocolate thing, it’s the only food craving/aversion that is seriously WEIRD for me so far. I avoid things like apples because, well, I totally had a bad reaction to an apple and puked it all up and a) it didn’t taste so good coming back up and b) I really don’t want to provoke any more puking. But I LIKE the taste of apples… the aversion is purely due to the morning sickness. The chocolate thing is totally different. I haven’t ever gotten sick from chocolate yet. It simply tastes gross. Just… wrong. When I think of chocolate I get an immediate “Ugh, not THAT” reaction. WTF? I am the chocolate queen extraordinaire. I am a chocolate aficionado. To be totally and utterly turned off of chocolate is… well…. simply crazy. Whatever are people going to put in my stocking this christmas?? Even cashews aren’t making me feel so hot. (Also another major love of mine… usually.)

Well, obviously… caramel squares. LOL!

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Tonight we went over BIL & SIL’s for dinner and to watch the Red Sox game. Den’s idea was to buy a bunch of salad greens, some chicken breasts, boil some eggs, shred some cheese, and make us a big ol’ chicken salad for dinner.

Now honestly my first thought when it comes to chicken breasts is “ugh” – and it has nothing to do with being pregnant. Every time I cook up some chicken breasts they’re tough and bland and just not at all appetizing. However, BIL is an expert cook so I figured it’d be okay to let him handle it.

OMG that chicken was amazing! All he did was coat them in some oil, sprinkle some sea salt on them, and put them on the grill. They were SO tender and juicy, it was fantastic. I hope I can replicate that next time… if I can cook chicken breasts like THAT I’ll actually eat them more often! (And light knows I need a ton more protein in my diet right now.)

So the salad was really good – I especially LOVE chopped up boiled egg on top of my salad, YUM. But I was full all night. And I have to admit, that thing I was worried about with my maternity jeans, was a pretty valid worry. When I bought them they fit well, but I worried that the elastic was very tight. Not tight then, but it felt pretty non-forgiving and I worried about how it would grow with me.

Well the last two nights I’ve worn those jeans, and I tell you I get SUCH a bellyache. I have to pee every five minutes, it feels like. I don’t mind wearing the jeans for a couple of hours for an outing…. but for relaxing on the couch after eating a meal?? Agghhh. Not next time. I’m going for my drawstring sweats. Screw looking good, my belly needs to breathe people.

::

And no really, I feel like my belly got huge the last few days. I was at about “not much change” for the last belly pic at 16 weeks, but then suddenly I felt huge! Not in a bad way, oh no… just that something has popped out a ton more. And maybe it’s only how I *feel* and not how I *look* – although when I lifted up my shirt and showed Den his eyes did bug out a little. I’m really round…. I’ve lost that double-bump pudge and it’s just gotten really rounded.

I find myself continually amazed at how my body just knows what to do… how it’s adapting to this being growing inside me. I’ve had blue veins on my boobs since I got pregnant, and now I have some along the sides of my belly. You’d think that would gross me out right? But I found myself standing in BIL/SIL’s bathroom, with my shirt lifted up, turning side to side to admire my growing, blue-veined belly.