Pumpkin Spice

Today the high is 85 degrees, but tomorrow it's going to be 59 according to weather.com. This means that Starbuck's pumpkin spice lattes are even more tempting. I know I'm not supposed to have a lot of caffeine, but I've taken this very specifically to mean keep it to one cup a day, once (or twice) a week, maximum. I am trying to compensate my fall yearnings with the promise of wearing a sweater to work tomorrow and making pumpkin spice baked goods. I've already made pumpkin gingerbread cookies (I got some new cookie cutters from Target on sale, and I already had a few from the thrift store so I've been looking for reasons to use them) and I'm planning on making some pumpkin spice bread next. I ended up getting that bread machine I saw at the thrift store (only $9.99 and it's $60 on amazon!), and I love having one again! Stephen can have delicious home made toast every morning to take with him for breakfast, and I enjoy interesting flavors of bread all the time. My first loaf was a golden raisin and spice loaf. I think it's in my genes- special breads, jams, and teas are always a favorite. I read that the baby is drinking amniotic fluid for practice swallowing and digesting, and can actually taste it at this point, so I should be eating things I want her to eat. I suppose healthy, home made bread is an alright start. I still have 4 (5) months to convince her that she should inherit my love for broccoli.
Speaking of the baby, I'm 99% sure I've been feeling her kick every once in a while for the past week or two. And while sometimes this just feels like little bubbles popping on the inside of my tummy, sometimes this means pain in my ribs. When we saw the ultrasound of her, you could see already that she has long legs, so I'm not surprised. The manager at the other BCBG in my outlet mall is also having a baby, (a little girl as well!) and is due just less than a month after me. It's funny because she'll come over to talk about scheduling or other business-related things, and we always get on the topic of babies. Or finding maternity clothes. Or day care. Or any one of the thousand things that fellow soon-to-be mothers can find to talk about. Honestly, I am really glad she's there, as she's not only more experienced as a manager and can help me with any questions I have, but also is a few years older has a different perspective about the whole mother/family vs work discussion.