i can see between contractions getting bored, not wanting to talk to your husband at that particular moment, doing a little facebooking. >> to each his own. oh, man. good morning, everybody, i'm rob nelson. happy thursday. >> i'm vinita nair. the senate appears headed for a showdown over spending. republican lawmakers propose to block a huge bill loaded down with billions in pet projects. >> the measure also contains a lot of money to keep vital government services running. john hendren is joining us now from washington. good morning, john. >> reporter: good morning, rob and vinita. both parties have spent a lot of time lately criticizing pork barrel spending. but old habits die hard. the president and leading senators say they plan to eliminate those pet projects they call earmarks. critics call it pork. first congress is loading up plenty of christmas gifts for powerful lawmakers. the so-called omnibus appropriations bill, $1.1 trillion, to keep the government running for the next year, includes more than $8 billion in earmarks tacked on by individual members of congress.