Boot & Rally

When I was in college, or the peak of my binge drinking days (or is a phrase that includes "binge drinking" and "college" kind of redundant?), my friend from high school, D, introduced me to the term "Boot & Rally". Basically this is a macho term made up by binge drinkers who drink to the point of vomiting. After they pray to the porcelain gods, call up the dinosaurs, yell cabbage, technicolor yawn . . .do I need to explain further? After said vomiting, they rally by drinking even more like the jacknuts, erm, sexy beasts, that they are. I never had the distinction of being a rallier, I was always kind of a cheap date and passed out if I threw up, which in retrospect is probably a good thing.

Back to the present, where I am a somewhat respectable GROWN UP.

Looking over the last two weeks of holidays, it's kind of been one long boot & rally session, only there is no Natty Light involved, or puking, or hangovers of the alcoholic kind.

It started with Christmas, which was a marathon day of cooking, table setting and present sharing. I was very happy (as a binge drinker is in the early stages of the night) to host for the first time my favorite holiday in my home.

I loved sharing some of my favorite childhood traditions (Spode Christmas plates! Yorkshire Pudding! Santa! Stockings! English Christmas Crackers!!) and making some new ones (Those Spode plates were paper, the advent calendar is in the shape of a penguin, no Christmas goose and NO highly flamable FIGGY PUDDING!!)

Boot (12/26): Boxing Day brought with it the feeling that I'd gone ten rounds with old St. Nick himself. My back and belly ached, and I had visions of premature labor dancing in my head.

Rally (12/27): Despite starting the day with much nausea and tiredness, flaking out on family plans to rest, I rallied Sunday afternoon and found myself and my brother in Ikea, where we bought Jacob's new bed and a dresser for Jacob & Keiki to share. Internet, have you been to Ikea? When I was overdue with Jacob, I went to Ikea for bed linens and i swear it put me into labor. You walk 10,000 miles whether or not you buy a bed or a spoon!

Boot (12/27): Home from Ikea on Sunday night, we had a nice simple dinner and the vow of rest in my head started to sound like, "I'm NEVER drinking again!"

Rally (1/1): Yesterday, I put together an entire dresser, rearranged Jacob's room, went to Ikea to reconcile the $300 dresser that I double-charged myself on Sunday's outing (pregnant Monkey Brains should be banned from self-checkout, especially after walking 10,000 miles), returned items at two other stores and bought linens for Jacob's bed.

MAJOR BOOT (1/2): This morning I woke up nauseated and Braxton Hicksing with a headache reminiscent of bad champagne. I stumbled into the kitchen to make Jacob breakfast and promptly dropped an entire box of cereal on the floor, after which I made Josh make breakfast and I went back to bed for two hours.

Rally: I took Jacob on a date this afternoon to Jamba Juice and Barnes & Noble. Then we went food shopping, but I'm learning, I swear. I got a few items to get us through, came home, made a simple dinner and I'm not doing anything else for the rest of the night.

I'm writing this post to remind myself that this roller coaster is not the best way to ride out my pregnancy, or at least until 37 weeks, when the onset of labor will be much welcomed!