I love Paris in the springtime... well, anytime, really

We've just returned from four days in Paris with my mom, my aunt Peggy (my stepdad's sister) and my stepcousin, Julie, who is 7 1/2 months pregnant (pictured here, with me). Julie's having a child by herself--the father isn't involved, and she's a little devastated by that, to say the least. But she's forging ahead as a single mom, and has bought a townhouse close to her parents in the suburbs of Paris, and is already decorating the nursery. We brought her a little t-shirt that says BROOKLYN.

It was interesting spending the weekend with Julie--a single mother, with an unexpected pregnancy, and us, a lesbian couple, with a very (obviously) planned pregnancy. One family, extended, with two children, coming in a nontraditional fashion, that I expect and hope the family will all welcome equally and with open arms.

The trip to Paris was a little harrowing. There was a storm in Paris and we couldn't land there, so we had to land in London, and ultimately take SIX TRAINS to get to Paris, where we finally arrived at 7 p.m. (We were due to land there at 11 a.m.) But from there, the weekend went swimmingly. We didn't buy too much, but we did a little shopping at the outlet mall in the suburbs of Paris, La Vallee, where my mom bought Ingrid a Lalique gold ring. I think my mom's secretly happy she has a daughter-in-law, rather than a son-in-law, because it's another girl to shop with. We did spend one day walking around Paris, which was great. We went to a dinner party with some of my mom's high school friends. We left early to go for a walk, and the host, this 60-year-old Vietnamese Frenchman said, "Go to the Bastille neighborhood. That's where the men are. There is no nightlife in this neighborhood, and there are no Tom Cruise lookalikes here." I was like, "What part of Tiny Has Two Mommies do you not understand???" This was after I explained to this guy, when he asked if we were schoolmates, that no, we were "partners, and we live together." Sometimes the power of cluelessness is stronger than anything else.

Of course, now that we are past 13 weeks, my mom and Aunt Peggy are pressuring us to find out the sex of the fetus. Peggy says, "How on EARTH will your mother know what to buy you if you don't?" I'm sure she'll have an opinion on the name too.

Julie said she only has an appetite for pancakes and, a delicacy I never thought of: French bread spread with Nutella, which she eats before going to bed at night. Genius! I had never even thought to crave that. When I said this, my mom said, "Oh no, Elizabeth, you're going to get huge." I said, "Luckily mom, it's MY problem, not yours." When I told her Dr. Dodson said it's normal for a woman my size to gain 25 to 35 lbs, she said, "I think 25 is enough." I said, "I think I'll trust my doctor." See how those body issues are coming to surface during my pregnancy! This should be fun. I wrapped my arm around my mom and said, "Is it your worst nightmare for me to get HUGE??" Her silence was confirmatory.

We made it back in one piece, with a bag full of Parisian butter cookies, pates and meat spreads, mustards, chocolate bars and all sorts of other delicacies. I told my two friends at work about my pregnancy today. One of them brought me a chocolate cake to celebrate. I made some room in my full tummy for a little cake.