Being pregnant in the bitter cold

So...I realize that being pregnant in the middle of summer when temps are 90 F degrees plus is probably worse...but it is also no fun being pregnant when it is -20 F outside (and that's real degrees, not windchill). For one thing, none of my warmest winter clothes fit me right now, so it is a real challenge to bundle up and take the dog out. John did buy me an awesome pair of suspenders at Fleet Farm yesterday so I can wear my warmest lined, windproof, outdoor ski pants unbuttoned. I think it will work for a little while, but even unbuttoned with suspenders, they are a bit tight so I'm not sure how long I'll be able to use them.

Temp at 9:30 this morning

Even Nora, our snow dog, is not exactly loving this weather. Yesterday the windchills were around -35 F and when I took her out in the morning to do her business, her paws iced up almost immediately. Whenever that happens, she gives me the saddest look, limps towards me, favoring her iced up paw. No sooner would I get one paw thawed, then the next would ice up. Making no progress towards actually getting her to go to the bathroom during the five minutes we were standing outside in the wicked cold and wind, I finally called her back inside, dug out her dog booties, and put them on. Of course, she hates her dog booties, and limps around flinging out her back legs trying to get them off. I should really make a video because it is hilarious to watch a dog try to walk without touching any of her paws to the ground.

So back outside we went, only now Nora wouldn't budge because she didn't like the booties. So to encourage her, I started running around through snowbanks (picture an 8 month pregnant woman bundled up in every warm thing that fits her trying to run through snowbanks). This technique did succeed in getting Nora excited, only then she ran down to the lake where inexplicably, the snow near the shore was all mushy. I called her back off the lake and just when she crouched down to do her business (yes! yes!!!) one of her dog booties fell off and her paw iced up. Of course, then she couldn't concentrate (no! no!!!) and I couldn't get her bootie back on because it was frozen from the mushy ice/snow on the lake. Sigh. At this point I gave up and we were both more than happy to go back inside.

Time to plug in the space heater and get to work identifying and counting zooplankton. I have quite the plankton lab set up in the corner of our cabin. That's the awesome stereo-microscope that we purchased from the consulting company where John previously worked. Only six more samples to finish before I can haul them all back to Duluth tomorrow.

The zooplankton lab in the cabin