Let the house-wifery begin!

Thirty-two weeks done! Only eight more to go! This past week has been the first time I experienced any swelling in my feet or hands. The temperature hit 100*F here in Tucson, and it was like my body said, "Ok. That's enough. We tried our best, but 100* is ridiculous. Let the swelling begin." I've pretty much figured out how to cope with it though, and it's gotten much better over the past couple of days. Also, I'm fairly positive that I've started feeling some Braxton-Hicks contractions. Having never been pregnant before, I'm not entirely sure, but from what I've read/heard that's what I'm feeling. Also, the baby has a fondness for kicking me in the ribs. It's possibly the most annoying thing I've experienced yet. 

Today is the first day of being a stay-at-home-mom (to be). Last summer around this time I also quit my job, but I was going to be volunteering full time at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, and I had another job offer for the fall within a week. This time feels a bit more permanent, not to mention daunting. My goal is to figure out how to get all of our stuff back to Chicago, have most of it packed before the baby comes, and do a deep clean of the house we're renting. We'll see how this all pans out. 

In honor of becoming a housewife, I've decided to write about my absolute new favorite kitchen implement, the Chef'n Salad Dressing Emulsifier. I couldn't find a picture of the exact one we bought, but this is extremely close. It's the same brand, but we bought ours at Target, and ours functions a little differently but the same thing is accomplished. I hate regular salad dressing, but love to make my own. The problem is always trying to mix it together enough so it stays mixed by the time you eat it and then what to do with the extra. This magical device solves both of those problems. Ours always has some sort of concoction in it, and I've already given one to someone else as a gift.