File Under: Peculiar and Unexpected

At 22 weeks, my little peanut has attended and survived her very first bachelorette party. So proud.

 

Though a large amount of planning and preparation was involved prior-to (and was seriously compromised by the presence of wildfires), the main event went down over the weekend in Myrtle Beach. We drove there with 5 people AND all their stuff packed into the Camry (also quite proud of that), and managed to make it in good time despite a slight smoke-induced detour.

I was determined that Jenna have an excellent and traditional bachelorette, so with the help of her friends - several failed sunscreen applications, one lingerie shower, a bucket of margaritas, 4 pizzas, 30 separate calls to limo companies, one questionable Bon Jovi-obsessed party van driver, and numerous lifesavers later - we were out at Broadway basking in the attention of our adorable matching black tanks and coordinating bachelorette party flair. 

Surprisingly, the item that garnered the most investigation by the opposite sex was our blow-up companion Elliott. But after an unfortunate cigarette-burn incident, we had to keep him under close observation and away from the boys. The other item that unexpectedly drew their focus? My covert (and fairly-well-hidden-by-empire-waist) baby bump.

Inevitably, the question of why I was drinking water or had "virgin" flair covering my person would arise, and I would respond by revealing my knocked-up status. I did have one dirty creepy offer to rear my child, but Jenna promptly put him in his place and gave him a warning smack, telling him "she's having my brother's baby get away." He was so scared of her by the end of the night he would run the other direction at the sight of us. Then there was the rest of the bachelor party, who stood for (seriously) a good 20 minutes as we waited outside the restrooms asking me questions about the baby and being pregnant as I thought to myself 'what the deuce? these are GUYS, right?..'

I mean besides the obvious abnormality of a pregnant woman hanging out in a club and stuff, I just didn't think they'd care. But THEN, when one of them asked me if I could feel her kicking and I responded in the affirmative, like four hands immediately went straight for the belly! I was shocked. I could not stop laughing at them long enough to be offended. Of course I had to say, "well she's not kicking now!"

I mean really? Grown men.

(Conversely, Loryn's husband Lee is fearful of even touching a pregnant woman. Apparently we are quite breakable. Or perhaps he's afraid that at some point I may be able to use this belly as a weapon against him. Hmm…  ;)