*sigh*

I had a rough morning. The greater Lansing area is a big sheet of ice and my car and perfect driving record are now one of the casualties. Driving down Washington listening to the radio, I decided that due to reports of accidents at EVERY exit I was going to pass on my way to work, I would take an alternate route. So I put on my blinker, looked both ways and turned right onto Elm, a side street just a few blocks up from my neighborhood. Well, I turned a little too wide, started sliding immediately and while staring directly at the nice man in the pickup truck in front of me hit him going very slowly. Both of our cars are driveable, very minor damage, and we agreed there was no way the police were going to have time to come out to the scene. So we exchanged information and I went back home to call in my claim. Turns out insurance does come in handy, but UGH! I DON'T want to pay for anymore car repairs and I DON'T want to pay my deductible and I DON'T want my rates to go up. ROAR.

Here is my nine-week update from Baby Center:

Check out the lack of tail!

Your baby is nearly an inch long — barely the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce, but he's poised for rapid weight gain now that his basic physical structure is in place. He's also starting to look more and more human. His embryonic tail is now completely gone, and his development of his body parts — including organs, muscles, and nerves — is kicking into gear. His eyelids completely cover his eyes now and are fused shut. They won't open until 27 weeks. He has earlobes, and by week's end, the inner workings of his ears will be complete. His upper lip is fully formed, too, and his mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The tips of his fingers are slightly enlarged where his touch pads are developing. Your baby is now able to move all his limbs. As for his heart, it's divided into four chambers now, and the valves have started to develop. Your baby's external sex organs are present now but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks.

I would also like to add a small section from the "How your life is changing" section of this email:

You may be feeling extra gassy or bloated now, too. That's primarily because the major doses of progesterone your body produces early in pregnancy relax smooth muscle tissue throughout your body, and that includes your gastrointestinal tract. This relaxation slows your digestive processes, which can cause more gas, bloating, burping, flatulence, and generally miserable sensations in your gut, especially after a big meal.

So I have official permission to be as gassy and bloated and burpy as I wish. That has been my own personal "morning sickness" routine. Just as I feel I'm going to puke, I let out a huge belch. Go figure. Dave finds it amusing, as I was raised by a lovely woman who was not big on public displays of bodily functions. I'm less than thrilled, but again, things could be much worse.

That's all I've got for this morning. Burping, flatulence and a broken headlight.