my pink life, mi vida rosada

It's back to work I go. I started back on Tuesday. It was rough. The kids have the attention span of a gnat. They talk a lot. They tattle. They whine. They also give hugs all day long, which is pretty sweet. Wednesday was rougher. I was already tired. I wanted to play with my baby girl. I didn't want to fight for the attention of my students. I hate school fundraiser assemblies. I didn't want anyone else to ask me whether I was glad to be back. (No.) Thursday was a little better. My students and I started working on a plan to get them speaking Spanish in the classroom. We moved forward a tiny bit in math. We (finally) went to the computer lab. We still had some rough moments, especially in the afternoon. Friday was a little better still. It was Friday. There was enough Spanish spoken for the kids to earn their reward. They tattled a little less. My team teacher sent one to the office right before he would have been in my room. Lots of students ...

Algunas de mis favoritas....

disappointed that sweet hubby doesn't start his second job today, as originally planned, but next week....that's one more week without the little extra to help get us back into the black...but also pleased that sweet hubby is going to be working more so that i can continue maternity leave for these next four weeks in disbelief that i return to school in less than four weeks. (also: sad about it. but trying not to dwell on it....trying to focus on re-learning how to wake up at 5 a.m. and stay alert for the rest of the day without napping before 4 p.m., and teach a baby to go start a long sleep before 12 p.m....ha!) listening for Peanut to wake up from her nap planning to help mama pack up more of my grandma's things later this afternoon able to button my pants, for the first time since december! expecting a little bit of fabric fun to come in the mail in the next few days -- wet bag for the diaper pail, and maybe (hopefully!) a couple of new diapers for the Peanut...

feeling a little calmer about finances (at the moment, but probably not long term) listening to the birds chirp outside snuggled in my pjs -- flannel and a sweatshirt! Oh, my, fall has arrived! getting SO close to cleaning off the bookcase in the living room also close to pulling the boxes of my pre-pregnancy clothes down to find some warmer clothes that fit me now that the baby is born excited to take Peanut to supper with my hallway team from last year still avoiding thinking about going back to school -- even though more than half of my maternity leave is already over (boooooo) thankful that sweet hubby is trying hard to work with a menu for the week and a small, small grocery budget hearing dinosaur noises coming from the baby's room -- she must be stirring from her nap blessed beyond measure to have my parents close by to keep the baby when sweet hubby and i want to take a trip to target (returns, then groceries...we returned more than we bought yesterday, wh...

totally freaking out about finances (and my poor financial decision making skills which have led to this freaking out) listening to the baby maybe sleep? waiting to move the diapers into the dryer looking forward to seeing some really good friends this weekend (only how many more days to go?) encouraging sweet hubby to take a second job, if he can find another that works with his schedule hoping hoping hoping not to end my maternity leave early just because of a (BIG) miscalculation (and getting weepy at the prospect) addressing baby announcements fixing some lunch (sandwich and fruit, how exciting!) going to enjoy (as much as possible!) staying in my pajamas all day and staring at my beautiful little peanut's face

waiting for the baby to wake up skipping church (at the university...we went to big church this morning, with the peanut, and she slept through most of it, until my mama passed her to my sister...and she got very fussy, since i couldn't feed her in church and it was close to the end and I was sitting on the very inside of the pew, during the sermon, and then she had to wait until we were seated at the restaurant to have a go at her bottle...which she doesn't like...and the whole afternoon has been a little more difficult than normal...) hoping that i can do a better job anticipating Peanut's eating schedule since we stayed home from church and the distractions that being out and about bring with it wearing my third outfit of the day -- church, pjs, and more pjs...being a mom is messy so glad that my family like to spend time with the Peanut observing a subtle shift from us always stopping by my parents' house to them often stopping by ours wondering how long...

(Um, ok....I'm officially totally behind. She's been here for two whole weeks already!) This was the day we came home from the hospital -- my family had put up a welcome home sign for the baby, bought us lunch, and marveled with us over how tiny our little girl (5 lbs 13 oz!) looked in a doll's dress and the bonnet my dad had bought for me to wear home from the hospital so long ago. Baby girl is already growing -- she was up past her birth weight at her two week check up, and her toothpick legs are starting to fill out just a tiny bit. We are SO IN LOVE.

Still waiting for baby.... I survived the teacher work-week before students return to school, but won't go back on Monday (when students start). I think my long term sub (LTS) will do a great job in my absence, and I'm very blessed that she is an enthusiastic worker with teaching experience, a daughter in the immersion program, and a good relationship with the technology specialist at my school who used to teach immersion and has offered to share her materials and expertise with both the LTS and me. I passed my due date -- so far just by one day, but we'll see how many more. Baby girl is not seeming to make any progress whatsoever in trying to escape my belly. She'll be evicted on Wednesday if she chooses not to appear before then. Sweet hubby helped me clean up and put away the last round of baby gifts from a shower last weekend, clean the kitchen, and in general straighten up the house this morning. I'm so glad he understands that I just can't really ...

Today is technically the last day of vacation before teachers head back to school in my district. I know we still have Saturday and Sunday, but those don't count as days of vacation, in my mind. I met my long term sub yesterday -- she seems very nice, very energetic, and very enthusiastic. Easy to get along with and willing to learn/listen to how I typically do things/get things done. She and my partner teacher moved all the desks around in my classroom, which makes the room look *almost* ready for students. (I think this is pretty amazing, since yesterday was the first time I've returned to my classroom since I left it in June!) Since it is so close to the beginning of school, there were many other teachers at school, too -- it was nice to see friends I haven't seen since June, and some of them were so surprised and excited to see my Peanut belly! I can't believe that my due date is next Friday! (Don't be surprised if Peanut is NOT here on Friday, though! T...

The friends have returned to Chile! There are so many things to do here, now that we have our space back to ourselves....I'm not sure sweet hubby is going to think that they all need to be accomplished as quickly as I'd like for them to be, but this will be rush-nesting at its finest, I'm sure. To do: 1. Pack hospital bags (for both me and Peanut) 2. Wash cloth diapers 3. Hang artwork 4. Move sweet hubby's chest of drawer's into Peanut's room 5. Move chest of drawer's from Grandma's apartment into our room for sweet hubby 6. Move rocking chair from Grandma's to Peanut's room 7. Finish crocheting Peanut's blanket (whoops...I probably should have been working on this for a while now) 8. Meet with long term sub 9. Get classroom ready for long term sub/students 10. Check up with doctor today 11. Hair cut today 12. Celebrate being excused from jury duty!

up early, but not as early as the friends and sweet hubby, who left the house at 6 a.m. to look for google chromecast (? is that right?) in a nearby bigger city hoping the kitty stays on the arm of the chair, rather than on top of the baby bump this morning thinking about finishing up a sewing project (a swaddle wrap with velcro for Peanut) not sure whether the sewing machine is working correctly after the needle got stuck several times yesterday afternoon, not sure i want to fight with it if it isn't enjoying the quiet of having the house to myself this morning and not being along for the long car ride, best buy, and possibly ikea wondering how long Peanut is going to stay in my belly, as we are now in her birth-day-month! eep! making a really long and impractical to-do list of things that ought to be accomplished before Peanut arrives (should packing a hospital bag go on the top of the list? things at the top are more likely to happen, right?) eating sopaipillas wi...

waiting for my hair to dry a little bit on its own before i blast it dry with hot air in this already feels-too-warm-even though the AC is set lower than normal house glad the contractor showed up after i had gotten out of the shower and was almost dressed, rather than while i was in the shower or not nearly dressed....also glad i've known him for a long, long time, so it was less awkward to yell "just a minute" from my closed bedroom door while hurrying to find shorts and t-shirt and not brushing my wet hair thrilled to have new rafters, a new roof, and a new ceiling in the dining room not thrilled to pay for the new rafters, roof, and ceiling in the dining room thrilled that it shouldn't rain inside my house again anytime soon slowly waking up after a morning nap, or moving very slowly this morning not packed or ready to go to the mountains this weekend excited to share sliding rock with sweet hubby and the friends from Chile who are visiting, as the o...

listening to the roofers bang around above me so tired of not sleeping well at night, but know i am nowhere near as tired as i'll be once Peanut is born debating whether i need to eat another triple chocolate cookie or not (probably "or not", but it's likely i'll eat it anyway) excited to have a mom-car now overwhelmed by the past two weeks of my life...grandma, time at the beach with cousins, the family dog dying, new roof, new car, a wonderful woman from church dying...so many ups and downs thinking about putting away some more baby things, especially those given to us at sweet hubby's work shower on sunday night also considering putting away my target purchases from this morning -- shampoo and lotion and such to get me through the first few months of not wanting to go to the store and not wanting to describe the products i prefer in great detail to sweet hubby waiting for the contractor to tell me how much extra it will cost to have new rafter...

This is a picture, from probably 20 years ago, of my grandma. She passed away one week ago. It was a surprise, but also not a huge surprise. Grandma was a fixture throughout my childhood, teen years, young adulthood, and she was very excited about Peanut. She outlived her husband by 27 years; most of that time she lived alone, in the house they had built together when my dad was a boy. A few years ago, as her health was declining, and her driving skills were becoming more and more questionable, we helped her move into an apartment in a retirement home/assisted living/nursing home facility where seniors move in while independent and then can later be transferred throughout the facility into higher levels of care as needed. Grandma never moved from the apartment, but she did acquire round-the-clock sitters who would help her with meals and dressing and all sorts of things. She began using a walker or a wheelchair to go out. Sitting for long periods of time began to bothe...

beginning of the week: up 1. extra day at the beach 2. yoga with mama, twice 3. normal check up for baby and me 4. lunch with mama and sister 5. plans to return to beach for 4th of july holiday 6. positive meeting with 2nd grade team turning point: about 12:30 p.m. wed. july 3 down 1. grandma (aged 96) passed away 2. rushed overnight trip to beach to clean house and pack up clothes -- less than 24 hours 3. sleepless nights 4. mangled nursing top by trying to use double needle in new sewing machine (hopefully no permanent damage to machine, only to top) 5. downpour inside dining room/leaking chimney (again), 1 hour before visitation for grandma 6. trying to find someone to put tarp on roof during rain, holiday weekend, and visitation 7. long term sub canceled for fall it's turned into a rough week. hopefully it will feel less stressful SOON.

A friend of mine from college has a twin sister. Her twin sister's husband is seriously ill with stage 4 melanoma and is having an averse reaction to his current treatment. PLEASE PRAY FOR THE HILL FAMILY. You can read more about them here .

*warning -- pregnant rambling ahead!* I should be at the beach right now, but I'm not. I was at the beach last week, as planned, but it was a little harder to have adventures than planned. Sweet hubby, late at night, the night before he was supposed to drive to the beach with my sister, had a little accident. He dislocated his shoulder. For the fourth time. My sister drove him around town (discapacitated with one arm immobilized and the remnants of a morphine high from the ER) to take care of some odds and ends, and then drove him to the beach for family beach week. He finally has an appointment with an orthopedist today, where I'm sure there will be discussion of surgery to stabilize his shoulder, before we head back to the beach tomorrow for our annual college friends beach reunion, which would be impossible to reschedule. Canceling (unless there are extreme circumstances) would waylay the vacation plans of two of my college best friends, since they count this...

I survived the last week of school! We had some friends over for a celebration last night -- grilled burgers, corn on the cob, sweet tea, strawberry shortcake...it was a nice night to sit out on the porch and chat and catch up. My brother totally surprised me by inviting his girlfriend to come -- his girlfriend he had NEVER EVER mentioned before (but whom we thought might exist due to his occasional "other plans" with unmentioned and unexplained people and circumstances -- he is a very VERY private person). Sweet hubby and I were happy to meet her -- and glad to see my brother looking so content with her, too. Now comes the real challenge -- not telling my other family members that I've met her, nor acknowledging that she exists, until my brother does first! (He is an EXTREMELY private person -- I'm pretty sure he wanted to introduce the girl to me and my sister before introducing her to my parents, who will probably read a lot into the relationship that may or ...

yet it feels so far away... 3 more school days with students, 1 teacher workday (on a Saturday, no less).... and then summer. I'm looking forward to: sleeping in beach time pool time lazy days sewing time setting up Peanut's nursery wearing shorts reading for pleasure family time sweet hubby having to wake up before me lots of napping friends from Chile visiting PEANUT!

8 days away from summer vacation waiting for the appraisal-man to come and appraise the property next door, so that i can discuss finances with the finance man on thursday and hopefully make an offer on the property by the end of next week missing the beach after a wonderful, relaxing, fun weekend with my family watching my alien stomach move like crazy as Peanut dances on the inside sad that the smoothie-blender-cup got stuck in the smoothie-blender-motor-base, so both are stuck in the fridge until sweet hubby gets home from getting some allergy shots (and finishing his work day, too) excited to see sweet hubby's boss during career day at my school tomorrow, talking to my students about her job as an interpreter, and hopefully in spanish hopeful that sweet hubby will remember to buy a new gallon of paint for Peanut's room so that my little sister can paint the room (again) on friday, since the second gallon was originally left untinted and got mixed with the first ...

And every one of them.... will be soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo long. But I can put one more finger down after each one of them, starting tomorrow. This is cause for celebration!

On the progress front. I can't seem to get unstuck from the hurt of the way the whole situation at school with changing grade levels was handled. I don't really want to leave my job for a whole year, or for forever, either. I don't really want to stay at a job where I don't trust my boss, either. I'm zero degrees closer to making a decision. I don't seem any closer to forgiveness, either, although I think that it is probably necessary (and probably, eventually, the better choice). I still have mean thoughts in my heart and my head -- especially a strong desire for the teacher/principal to experience great failure with this "experiment" that they are forcing me to be a part of. Not that I want my part to be a failure -- I just want that teacher to experience failure so great that she doesn't recover from it easily. I don't think it is a good thing for me to want bad things for other people. I don't WANT to want bad things for...

There was a cookout for teachers during our lunch today -- I ate the lunch sweet hubby had packed for me, anyway, since I don't eat hamburgers or hot dogs (I eat turkey burgers, or chicken burgers, or chicken-dogs, but no red meat or pork products). The insurance/retirement guy was there with ice cream sundaes for all of us -- I guess I met with him in either december or january, and he didn't know I am expecting a baby! He was a little bit surprised. I can't remember exactly when I met with him, but I might not have even known I was pregnant yet! It blows my mind how much has changed in the past six months! In a couple of weeks, I'll meet with a financial adviser to talk about the feasibility of taking long-term child care leave after maternity leave in the fall. I'm sure it will depend partly on me learning to stick to a budget, and partly on how many hours sweet hubby works this summer and fall (while I'm out on maternity leave), and partly on a little...

I have options! I feel like there is a light at the end of a dark and stressful tunnel! I met with the HR lady today about maternity leave, and she presented me with an option of which I had previously been unaware. As you know, I've been moved to a different grade level for next year, taking the place of the teacher who requested to move into my current spot, and who is known to not actually use appropriate materials for immersion in her classroom, and also being required to work hand in hand with this teacher to let her "help" me adjust to the new grade level at the same time as I'm more concerned with spending time with my baby girl. I've been very upset about it. Many sleepless nights, some pleas for help and assistance, grudging enlistment of another immersion teacher at my school (and perhaps forthcoming another teacher at a different school), lots of tears, a conference with the director of the immersion program, more tears....and now I finally feel...

And I'm not just talking about my biological parents, or sweet hubby's, or our godparents, either. I'm talking about the parents of my kids at school. (They are mine. I claim them. As much as they drive me crazy, drive each other crazy, drive other teachers crazy....they are mine.) They organized a baby shower at school so that my kids could help me celebrate Peanut. There was pizza and cake and games and candy prizes and picture taking and a generous gift card, too. It was loud and the kids were silly, but I think they were happy, too. Now, if only the printer would print the thank you notes I've been drafting....

still hoping the situation at school will resolve itself soon, although it seems that maybe i need to just get used to the idea of moving grade levels at the same time i have my first baby. watching bad tv since the internet connection was too slow for netflix. feeling the baby kick. not excited about teaching tomorrow after three days of state testing. also hoping i have enough activities planned for our wacky schedule at school tomorrow. thinking the baby shower my students are having for me tomorrow will be cute. covered in cat hair from my furry sweet kitty. constantly checking my email in hopes of good news (i.e. the news that i won't actually be changing grade levels next year) but not really receiving the news i want. enjoying a peanut-butter-fudge milkshake thinking that it is bedtime, but with sweet hubby out for the night, it's hard to get myself in bed on time just about 26 weeks pregnant and totally unable to control my emotions glad sweet hubb...

It was a rough week. The decision was made on Wednesday. I didn't sleep more than three hours that night. I cried a lot, prayed a little, wrote a little, looked up fun pictures to recreate for Peanut's nursery (to try to distract myself). After I arrived at school on Thursday, I cried some more. Thursday afternoon, I cried some more. After I got home from school, I wrote an email detailing my upset to my principal. I sent it to my partner teacher for her opinion, and she said "Don't send it. Don't burn bridges right now." Good thing I didn't listen to sweet hubby, who thought it was excellent and should be sent right away. Thursday evening, I went out to supper with sweet hubby and the movie night girls -- all of whom had been warned ahead of time not to ask me about school. We had plenty of other things to talk about, and a good time was had by all. I didn't sleep much again on Thursday night, but I did start to find some gems. T...

Not that it will do me much good, because there isn't really anything I can do about it. But I need to vent a little bit, and so I'm going to get started. The principal of my school just screwed me over because the 2nd grade teacher wanted something she shouldn't have been able to have. What did she want? My 3rd grade position. I have many concerns about this teacher's teaching practices, especially as they are related to teaching immersion, and also related to her ability to have students actually learn math and science content. The students who arrive to my 3rd grade classroom from her 2nd grade classroom are often lacking in basic skills, both mathematical and language. I have students in my classroom who arrived in 3rd grade immersion without the capability of asking permission to leave the room to use the restroom and without the capability of adding 1 digit numbers. This teacher, who voluntarily teaches in the immersion program, constantly uses resources...

When I was younger, in middle school, my cousin came to live with us. She had just graduated from college, had found a job, and needed to save up some money for a while to get her life off to a good start. My family lived in town; her family lived an hour or so farther away. Cousin was everything anyone would want for a role model -- pretty, kind, involved in her church, motivated, funny, and on and on. She lived with us for about half of a school year, when she decided that she had saved up enough money and was ready to find a place of her own. This is the cousin I've always felt closest to, simply because she shared the experience, albeit briefly, of living in the same house I did, with my parents worrying about her comings and goings (no matter that she had lived on her own in college!), watching tv with us at night, grading papers, taking us with her to fun events at her church. She waited and waited and waited to meet the right man for her -- an excellent example of ...

watching the boats go by, under the still grey sky, from the comfort of the old flowered couch in my favorite house on the planet feeling Peanut's little kicks inside my belly and hoping everything is going the right way in there uncertain about what the next school year will bring, between a possible grade level change and starting the year either about to pop pregnant or with a long term sub and with a new math curriculum and higher expectations to implement RISC glad that my partner teacher is 100% committed to being my partner teacher again next year, so that at least that part I can count on bewildered by the fact that Peanut has been growing in my belly for 24 weeks, and other than the school drama, it has been just about the happiest 24 weeks of my life that I can ever remember planning to spend almost all day in my pjs, on this couch, with sweet hubby nearby, and maybe do a little housework somewhere in between the lounging (there is so much pollen on the porch of...

First things first: It has been forever since I posted any pictures on here. I've basically stopped playing with the camera, and my little computer has slowed down a whole lot in the 3.5 years that it has been my primary source of internet access, and only recently has sweet hubby consented to truly share his (nicer, newer) laptop with me. So I'll finally start with a couple of pictures! 16 weeks 20 weeks These two pictures don't show a whole lot of difference in the size of Peanut's bump, but I can assure you that the bump is, indeed, getting bigger! It has only been a couple of weeks that people have been telling me they can really tell a difference -- before, I was just kind of getting bigger, and now Peanut is more of a bump than general size increase. Second things second: We did find out Peanut's gender! And in time for an Easter reveal! Here is our (not so lovely from the outside, after all, since the lemon icing kept running and running and r...

It's finally here! I survived the last four days of school with super crazy kids -- there was a full moon, too! Who planned that? (Definitely NOT me. I think the lunar cycle should be included in the school calendar -- maybe as a long weekend/week off every time there is a full moon. Let parents deal with their crazy, full moon kids -- not teachers. What a week of babysitting!) And now for the over-achieving list of things I'd like to accomplish this spring break...Oh boy. 1. Shopping trip -- target and others -- for some storage bins, a (belated birthday) gift for my partner teacher, and some other essential items (toilet paper, I'm talking to you) that seem necessary to keep purchasing... And maybe some more maternity wear -- pants other than khaki, black, or jeans, please? I can only wear khaki pants to school so many days in a row before my kids think I only own one pair of pants. 2. Sewing time -- I've got the supplies, I've got the table (mostly) c...

Tomorrow, sweet hubby and I will go to a genetic counseling appointment. Even though my doctor (the one I like) said that it wasn't really necessary, we decided that this would be a good opportunity for a couple of reasons.... First of all, we can see whether another practice is run more efficiently than the one the doctor I like works at. Secondly, we can see whether I like a different doctor better than my current doctor. And last of all, I'm scheduled for an ultrasound which *might* let us find out the sex of the baby not on April fool's day. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit nervous about the appointment, but overall, I'm pretty excited to have this opportunity to help me decide whether my current doctor is really the best doctor for me in this pregnancy. And I would LOVE to know whether my peanut is a girl or a boy!

snuggled up with the kitty cat, who is learning to sit on my legs or beside me, instead of on my belly. thinking about ironing my dress before church thinking about whether i should go through the box of spring/summer dresses that i put away in the fall to see if any of them fit me now thinking about whether i'll actually finish pinning the skirt i started hemming yesterday debating whether the laundry needs to be put away before sweet hubby gets home from brazil this afternoon (probably) avoiding the pile of dirty dishes in the sink and putting anything else in the kitchen trash so that i don't have to take it out and can leave it for that man of mine who will be home so soon finished with two whole seasons of "dance academy" after only about a week and a half....all within the time that sweet hubby was away (don't judge....my body is still worn out all the time from growing the baby. and i know i will only be more tired when the baby is actually her...

I had a check-up today, with my normal (and much preferred!) doctor. The wait was long, but I think that is kind of par for the course for scheduling late afternoon appointments -- I know most doctor's offices (of any type) are running behind by the end of the day. The same kind lab lady was there -- she was surprised to see me -- and expressed happiness that I hadn't changed practices yet. And my doctor -- my normal, friendly, honest and reasonable doctor, saw me today, and I was able to feel relaxed and calm and properly attended to throughout the appointment....So I'll stay there for now. As long as I'm able to keep scheduling my appointments with her. And the baby is growing just fine! Heartbeat was 153 today, and the nurse went straight to the right spot with her fancy heartbeat-hearing-wand -- less goop all over my stomach. In general, a very satisfactory appointment.

missing sweet hubby (for another whole week!) while he is in Brazil. snuggled up with the kitty. watching a " Dance Academy " marathon (thank you Netflix). looking at the huge pile of clothes I should be sewing, mocking me from the dining room table happy about warmer weather, finally! hoping the time change doesn't throw me off too much. avoiding folding the clothes in the dryer, and especially putting them away going to miss my favorite yoga teacher when she moves back to Dallas this summer not excited about meeting with the parents of two of my discipline problem students next week glad I got to spend another Saturday running errands with my mama, and have lunch with my siblings, too thrilled that the local ballet company will be doing a special performance at my school this week amazed by the extreme quantity of cat hair all over my house needing a little bit of "get it done" inspiration showing off my 17 week belly at church this m...

listening to the rain snuggled up with the kitty cat and a mug of vanilla chai milk thinking about my dear travel buddy on the day after her birthday, and the hard, hard year she has had , and hoping, hoping, hoping, that this year gets a little bit better for her wishing for smooth travel for roommate, who is going to visit an old friend, if the rain doesn't cancel her plans psyching myself up for yoga planning to purchase notions and get sewing, if the rain doesn't win totally wrapped up in the silly tv series " Make it or Break it " a little bit jealous of sweet hubby's ability to sleep past 7:00 a.m. on any day of the week, but especially a saturday starting week 15 of my pregnancy, and still mostly in disbelief that there is actually a little tiny baby growing in my belly enjoying the pre-Valentine's flowers sweet hubby brought home to me

Today was a long day.....LOOOOOONG day. school, supper, school open house....LOOOOOOONG day. but I think some updating is in order.... I had an appointment on Monday afternoon, which lasted for about 15 minutes after I had waited for 1.5 hours past my scheduled appointment time. I confronted the doctor about it, and he laughed, and said he was frustrated too, but that he wouldn't show up on time. When I asked him what the check-in ladies would say if I showed up 45 minutes late (like he suggested) for my next appointment, he said, "tell them I told you to". He suggested that his nurse would schedule the referral appointment for genetic counseling (and test result review) that they've been putting off scheduling, and she spoke to me personally to confirm that first thing in the morning she would be making the phone call. There were, however, a couple of really good things about the appointment. Of course, it is always amazing to hear the baby's heartbeat...

I guess it's been a while. I've been....angry. Emotional. I'm blaming the hormones and my doctor's office. They get me so riled up, it is ridiculous. After my appointment tomorrow, sweet hubby and I are going to evaluate whether it is time to find a different practice or not. I have been focused on getting the results back from some prenatal testing, with the problem that the doctor's office doesn't seem to want to schedule a review of the results. It's annoying to have to call them all the time, have them not return my calls, and to give me conflicting information to what the doctors say during my appointments. It has been clouding what should be a joyous and exciting and happy season for me, because we are finally starting to make this pregnancy public and having to worry worry worry at the same time. (Regardless of the testing results, we are keeping the baby -- there is a high chance of Down syndrome -- which is not what we are hoping for, but...

Even though I was still battling a cold, we decided to head out to visit our good friends and their babies in Atlanta this weekend. I'm so glad we decided to go! (And not to postpone the visit!) We arrived late Friday night, and I more or less went straight to bed. Saturday morning, I got the baby up when he was crying, and started off a great day of playing with babies and catching up with college friends. The last time we visited was right before we found out we were expecting our baby, so it was exciting to see each other again! We lounged around in pajamas for a while and then figured it was time to do something. My friend took her 3 year old to a birthday party and I took a nap. A little bit later, we fixed lunch and waited for our other college friend and her family to arrive -- a reunion of the summer beach crowd, in January! The two older kids (3.5 and 4) are old enough to run around together in the backyard, so we let them do that, while the baby took a nap, a...

I just made a couple of splurgy little purchases... This pack of sewing patterns... Some hot pink bamboo jersey knit... And over the coming few days, after that fabric arrives, I'll be out shopping for notions...(elastic, matching thread, ball point needles, maybe even a double needle). And hopefully, I will be able to figure out a few things: - how to sew on my brand new sewing machine that sweet hubby bought me for Christmas (since I broke my old machine almost a year ago and have been missing it!) - how to sew knits! - how to make my own maternity clothes! (really, this seems like my only option at the moment for sewing for myself -- I can't really make tops or dresses with woven fabrics that won't stretch or have extra room and realistically expect to wear them this year!) So...hopefully writing this here will help me be accountable for actually putting together the supplies I've paid for. My goal: to finish a dress before the end of February. That...

getting ready for yoga class glad it's the weekend again making more cinnamon rolls this weekend (thank you for the addiction, pioneer woman.) overwhelmed by the amazing faithfulness of my God looking forward to two short weeks of school (thank you, Dr. King.) super emotional (thank you, pregnancy hormones.) praying for Kristen Sullivan and her family she cares for her 2 year old and newborn while her husband is in the hospital with an inoperable, end-of-life stage brain tumor that was discovered two days ago (thank you for saying a prayer for them, too). hoping my students remember on Monday the behavior lessons that my partner teacher says "clicked" Friday afternoon. browsing maternity clothes online even though the only kind of bump I have so far is lots of bloating. counting down the days until I'm past the first trimester to make public announcements in real life, or at least not try to keep the secret. feeling happy and content this morning.