Prenatal Yoga

My copy of the following DVD arrived today:



Um, yeah. I just watched the introduction and I'm going to have a really hard time taking this seriously. There will be no photographic evidence of me and the baby gut trying to look serene while doing bizarre stretchy things.

Slide show #3

The last one, I promise! Stupid Photobucket limits the number of pictures in a slide show so I have to do a million of them. This show has most of the shower guests, a shot of the tea room, etc. (If anyone can tell me how to do a slide show without a limited number of slides, I'd be eternally grateful! Right now I just want to get the darn pictures up. ;o)

Slide show #2

Okay, so I'm posting the second one now...I'm already up, it's already late, might as well.

The New Jersey shower was very nice...it was an early afternoon tea held at the Lavender & Lace Tea Room and given by my mother-in-law, Pat. Everything was so beautiful! (Of course, it was slightly humid out and thanks to the bean sprout my body temperature is all out of whack so I was sweating like an animal, but that's okay... ;o) The people who attended are all members of Craig's family and friends of the family he's known since childhood. It always feels a little awkward when it's not the family and friends you yourself grew up with, but it was very nice and by now, I've met many of these people more than once so some of the weirdness was gone. We were given a lot of things off of our registry, plus a TON of clothes (Ava darling, I hope you like pink!) and among other things, Craig's grandparents gave us a beautiful cradle that was handmade by his grandpa. The in-laws are driving all of the gifts down this weekend so I'll take a few close-up pictures and post them. (We actually received a lot of beautiful things people made themselves--some articles of clothing, blankets, a photo album, a stuffed animal--these people could make a killing on Ebay!)

(BTW--the blonde girl next to me in most of the pictures, helping me with the gifts, is Melissa, a family friend of Craig's. I've met her a few times before...she's pretty much awesome, and a lot of fun.)

Slide show #1

Here they are!

These are pictures from visiting the family, going to the pumpkin farm, downtown Geneva with Kathie, and the Museum of Science and Industry with mom. There aren't many because my camera doesn't actually hold that many pictures at one time and I hate taking a million pictures anyhow. Oh, and yes, I am wearing the same shirt in about every picture....I wore it to my baby shower as well...it ended up being really hot up north (gee, thank goodness I ran out and bought cold weather clothes before my trip) and that shirt is the cutest, most comfortable, most versatile, and most resistant to wrinkles in my knocked-up wardrobe.

I will do the baby shower slide show later this week....also, I know I said there was a big story about the Chicago Trip from Hell but I'm just about out of energy regarding that incident. I'll give you all the very short version: Mom and I parked downtown on a side street to go to the museum, came out and our car had been towed even though we were not in a marked tow zone, only found our car at an impound lot thanks to a kind police officer who helped us, were treated absolutely horribly by the impound people and had to pay a FORTUNE to get the car back, went back to the site and photographed evidence that we were not in a tow zone, all of this took nearly three hours so we were unable to meet up with Anna for dinner, and more recently, mom appealed the charges and lost. The moral of this story is that the city of Chicago is run by dishonest, money-hungry slobs who screw you over and make it impossible for you to fight back. I will still love my Bears and Cubs, but I hate Chicago. It's been totally ruined for me.

Home!

Well, after eight nights and nine days split between Chicago and New Jersey, I'm finally back home! I'm going to attempt to run through all that has happened but I think it will probably take a couple of posts, because I'm going to put up a couple of picture slide shows (and I don't know how to do it yet) and I have the Downtown Chicago Day From Hell and the New Jersey Baby Shower stories to run through, and that's quite a bit of material. And yes, a 24-week picture of the baby gut will make an appearance soon as well. :o) So, here it goes....

--Saturday, Sept. 15th--
Arrive in Chicago around 8pm or so. Stop in to see the grandparents, then go to Portillo's (woohoo!) for chili cheese dogs. Home, hang out with the parents for awhile, go to bed.

--Sunday, Sept. 16th--
To church with mom (Elgin Bible Church), then later in the afternoon it's off to a family birthday party for my Uncle Bill and cousin Andy. My great-grandmother died a year ago this week and both of my brothers are in Florida now so family gatherings are REALLY small. Ah well...more cake for those who show up... ;o) It's good to see everyone as usual, since the last family gathering I was present for was last Thanksgiving. (This Thanksgiving will be interesting...I'm going to look like I'm walking around with the turkey stuffed under my shirt.)

--Monday, Sept. 17th--
Hanging out with mom...we just ran around to different places like Trader Joe's and the pumpkin farm. Note to self: pumpkin farms, prior to the last week of September, totally suck. Better luck in October when I go back, I guess.

--Tuesday, Sept. 18th--
Hanging out with Kathie...we explored the little shops in downtown Geneva, and I managed to fight the urge to buy the most beautiful little trunk for Ava's room...it was antique-looking, painted pale green with light and dark pink roses on it. Kind of wish I hadn't fought the urge because it was very reasonably priced. Argh. We came across a number of really cute baby shops--of course totally out of my price range--and we laughed at some of the weird crap they have for babies. Yes, there are pictures. We also went out for Greek food, yay! I've been dying for some good Saganaki....opa!

--Wednesday, Sept. 19th--
The Chicago Trip from Hell. More on this later...the first part was fine, Mom and I went to the Museum of Science and Industry; but the events that transpired thereafter kind of screwed up the day for us, and caused us to not be able to get together with Anna as planned. Luckily I'll be able to see her in October. But still...I'm very bitter about Chicago right now. (I took a picture of myself giving the Chicago Tribune the finger but have since deleted it. The Trib didn't do anything wrong, I was just flipping off the word "Chicago.")

--Thursday, Sept. 20th--
Exhausted from the Chicago ordeal and pretty much out of ideas of stuff to do, I just hang out in the house all day with mom and read a book. Towards the end of the day we left the house so I could pick up a box of Fannie May candy (means nothing to you unless you're from the Chicago area.... ;o) and we stopped by the cemetery to visit the gravesite of my great-grandparents. I felt absolutely nothing while I was there: I didn't feel sad, nor did I feel any closer to them...I know sometimes people visit the grave and talk to the person but that would have felt absurd for me. This is all good though...it's because I know that they are in heaven, and the bodies buried under the ground are not the people they were in life.

--Friday, Sept. 21st--
Relax at the house, lunch at Portillo's, hang out with mom and the grandparents, and then it's off to the airport...time for New Jersey! Pat and Don (Craig's mom and stepdad) pick me up, we get home and have a snack and talk for a bit but it's really late so bedtime follows before long.

--Saturday, Sept. 22nd--
I manage to sleep pretty late (woohoo!) and then wrestle with straightening my hair for about an hour (it was humid out of course...) then off to the baby shower...more on that later. Dinner at Bahama Breeze, then home and bed.

--Sunday, Sept. 23rd--
Brunch with Pat and then I'm on my way home! After Craig picks me up from the airport we grab some food at Cheesecake Factory and then hit the Apple store to have my iPhone checked out, the battery basically sucks. They swap it out for a new one (which takes forever, but the workers at the store are super-nice so it's okay) and all is well. We get home, I unpack and do some laundry and get settled in just in time to turn on the Bears game so that I can watch them lose miserably to the stupid Cowgirls and totally break my heart. Two words: Rex Grossman. Dude...you are KILLING us! Come ON!

And that's about it! While I was visiting my parents, my mom and I tried to use a stethoscope to listen to Ava's heart, but we couldn't seem to find it. Something funny though...every time we pressed down the stethoscope to listen, she'd kick it! It was pretty entertaining because it wasn't once or twice, it was almost every single time. I still love the kicking, and now I can feel other movements too, not just jabs...I can feel if she turns, or if a limb drags against the side of my uterus. Very interesting. Oh, and Craig is still looking at me like I'm a mutant. I really kind of thought that while I was pregnant he'd look at me with some kind of loving expression or something because I'm carrying his child, but not so much. I get the "holy crap, my wife has mutated into some kind of freak" look from the corner of his eye. I've thought about it and maybe it's because he's seen me at mealtimes, and he's afraid I'm going to eat him. ;o) Anything is possible.

Track-Out RULES!

It's that time again...vacation!! WOOHOO! Man, I need this. I had a student in class today who just randomly, out of the blue, for no reason, said, "Hey! Wouldn't it be funny if you were sitting in the teacher's lounge and all of the sudden your water broke?" Okay, first of all, I don't want students thinking about my "water" or it breaking. Ew. Second, the teacher's lounge would be the best place for such a disaster, because not only is it way more private than, say, the classroom...most of the women I work with have been through it and would know what to do. Having said that, I'm definitely rethinking my decision to go back to work after Christmas break, as Ava is set to arrive just days later....I'm just not thinking I want to go into labor in the middle of teaching algebra or something. However, if she arrives on time or late, I'm going to feel like I wasted a week of maternity leave doing nothing but worrying about my classes. I'm kind of a freak about work like that: I joke about getting a nice vacation during 3rd quarter but honestly, stepping back and letting someone else run my class for 8-10 weeks is really going to be hard.

Anyhow, it's up to Chicago tomorrow to see family and friends and then over to New Jersey to see Craig's family and have the first baby shower. It's going to be fun, aside from the fact that being the center of attention like that kind of freaks me out. (I'm not kidding...I cried before one of my bridal showers because I didn't want everyone looking at me, and I didn't think I'd make it down the aisle at my wedding for the same reason.) Craig's grandfather made a cradle for the baby and I can't wait to see it! It'll go in our bedroom so that for the first few months she can be near us while we sleep. Or at least, while we try to sleep...

I know I said I'd post a 23-week picture but that may not have been accurate... ;-) If we have time tomorrow before leaving for the airport, I'll do it, otherwise it'll be another week or so. Sorry!

Group B Strep

I have no idea what it is, but I have it. From what I have gathered through the Internet, it seems to be a germ that just kind of hangs out and does nothing in particular, but if you have it and you are pregnant, it can give your baby pneumonia, meningitis, or some kind of septic illness when she's born. Luckily, a round of antibiotics now and another during labor will keep the baby safe.

That's it here...23 week picture will be posted before I leave for Chicago!

iThanks!

And that, folks, is a picture of my brand-new iPhone! (Well, that's not a picture of MINE, it's just a picture of the same phone that I found online....) Have I ever owned anything that computer-geeky before? Nope. Do I need it? Probably not. But it's pretty awesome...if you're not familiar with the iPhone, it's practically a mini-computer...you can use it as a phone, you can surf the internet with it, it plays music and even movies. It means that on my upcoming trip to Chicago/New Jersey, my only carry-on item will be my purse because I don't need to bring a CD player or laptop or anything to entertain myself. I can fit a snack and bottled water in my purse, and maybe I'll pick up a magazine to peruse. Downsizing is good, since I'm already going to be carrying on the baby.

Needless to say, I didn't buy something like that for myself (I'm a teacher, not a magician...I don't magically pull money out of my butt. Although if I could, that would be awesome)....Craig gave it to me as a Thank-You-For-Carrying-My-Child gift. :o) I'm thinking, hmmmm, maybe this should be an actual guideline, kind of like the Anniversary thing, where you get a specific type of gift for each year, only in this case you get a specific type of gift for each child you have. It could go like this:

First Child--cool new electronic device
Second Child--a nice piece of jewelry
Third Child--a Mustang GT convertible
Fourth Child--better birth control and a smack upside the head

:o)

ahhhhh.......

That massage was just what I needed....hopefully tonight I'll be able to sleep! Last night was another bad one, I was asleep by 11:30 but woke up around 5:30 and finally gave up and got out of bed before 8:00am. Now I just need to order the yoga DVD....found one on Amazon so that's good.

If you live in the Raleigh area, I highly recommend Finesse Salon and Spa ....not sure about the salon part but the massage was excellent and they have very reasonable prices. I wouldn't mind one of the spa packages for, say, my birthday or Christmas. Hint. Hint. ;o)

simply awesome.

It must be amusing to have a first name that's also a fairly common surname, because when someone with that name is in the news, it can crop up in interesting ways:



Well, I found it entertaining, at any rate.... ;o)

That's really about all there is, we went to the doctor on Wednesday and everything looks good, except this particular doctor wants us to have an ultrasound at 28 weeks to check out the cysts again, we didn't even request it. There's no more to be worried about right now than there was the last time, he's just going to check things out. He also recommended a few things to help relieve the aches and random numbness that I've been getting as a result of getting bigger (eight pounds in one month!)....prenatal yoga, a full body pillow, pregnancy massages, heating pads on the painful areas (just not on the belly, we don't want to give the baby an amniotic hot tub), etc. If those things don't work then he may recommend physical therapy. I'm going to pick up a yoga DVD this weekend and think about the body pillow, and I actually did go ahead and schedule a massage for tomorrow, yay! I haven't had one of those in about four years. It can get expensive though (especially around here...what the heck???) so this is only going to happen a couple of times, unfortunately. Bleh. This is one time when it would be REALLY nice to be rich. (Oh, who am I kidding....one time? It must be pretty nice to be rich all the time... ;o)

HA HA HA!

I'm not big on clothing that says things (especially those maternity shirts that say "Baby" on them....hi! Annoying! When I'm no longer pregnant, does that mean I should wear one that says, "Leftover Pregnancy Fat" on it? Yeesh.)...but this shirt I like:



There are definitely rules in place regarding me and the baby that's hitching a ride in that giant lump down there....first of all, if I don't know you or you are a student, you are absolutely not touching it, keep your hands off of me--that is ALWAYS the rule regarding strangers and students. (I haven't been approached by strangers but I actually had a student start poking my stomach, and another reached out her hand to touch it, I'm like, NO.) If I do know you, and you are going to touch, I don't mind if you pat it or place your hand on it, please don't start rubbing it....I'm not Buddha, I promise it will not bring you luck. If I thought it would, I'd tell everyone to form a line to the left and I'd start charging for those good luck rubs. ;o)

Building the winter wardrobe

My shopping trip yesterday netted me the following items:






(I couldn't find the actual shirt online, the one I bought is the same style but the blue is pinstriped and the cuffs/collar are white)


(I did not get the pink, I got one in white and one in green)


(This can be used as a jacket, or as a sweater....matches about half of my tops so that's good! Plus, It's not necessarily maternity, I can wear it after the baby, too.)


Sadly, I was stuck in line at the store behind THE MOST OBNOXIOUS PERSON ON THE PLANET. First of all...she was about eight months pregnant, and wearing a cami top with no bra...not a cute cami that was supposed to be worn by itself, but one that supposed to be worn under other tops. That, with tight velvet short-shorts. Hello, tacky! Second, she was purchasing a dress and one of the straps was coming apart at the seams. The lady behind the counter explained to her that company policy states that they don't give discounts, even for damaged merchandise, so she was either going to have to buy it as it was or get a different one. The chick proceeded to pitch a HUGE FIT. Thanks to her big, annoying fit I was stuck in line longer than it had taken me to pick out my items and try them on. UGH!!! I wanted to say, "HEY! MORON! SHUT THE HECK UP! IF YOU DON'T WANT THE DAMAGED DRESS, DON'T BUY IT! ARE YOU THAT STUPID?! FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, WHY ARE YOU EVEN REPRODUCING?!" But, that wouldn't help much...so I kept my mouth shut. ;o)

21 down, 19 to go!

Woohoo, we're more than halfway there! I can't wait until she's on the outside and I can stop freaking out about whether or not she's okay in there...and I can start freaking out about all new things. (I have accepted that there will be freaking out. I'm just ready for a different type.) Lately, I get panicky if she doesn't move around in a timely manner. It seems like she'll have a very, very active day; which is followed by a few days where she hardly moves at all. During those days I poke at my belly, jump up and down, do anything to try to get her to move....it worries me if I don't feel it on a regular basis. Today might actually be an active day, she's been kicking me pretty steadily since I sat down in front of the computer. Yesterday there wasn't much but we DID manage to get Craig's hand on my stomach just in time before she aimed a good kick right at my belly button, and he felt it! Yay!

In other news, my body hurts so badly I have no idea how it's going to cope when she gets any bigger...my back hurts, I have a place on my lower chest/upper abdomen and one on my upper leg that goes numb and tingly for no reason, I'm crampy from all of the stretching my muscles are doing to accommodate the kid, and all of the pillows in the world can't help me get comfortable at night. I got up three times last night just to walk around because laying down hurt my back....really thought I had the rest of the second trimester to be comfortable, but I guess not. Maybe the doctor can refer me to a chiropractor or something, if not, I'm definitely doing what I keep saying I'm going to do, and that's get a massage. Most of the spas around here offer special pregnancy massages and that's sounding great right about now!

Anyhow, the good thing about not being able to sleep is that I got up early and started cleaning and doing laundry, so now I'm almost done and can enjoy the rest of the weekend! Later today I'm going shopping, because I forgot that with my upcoming trip to Chicago/New Jersey, I'm going to need cool weather clothes sooner than I had originally planned. Oh well.





Getting up early also allowed me to spend some "quality time" with the cats....they LOVE attention! We sat out on the porch since it was nice and cool early in the morning, and Toby alternated between snuggling up next to me and and walking in circles around me. Jack just kind of wandered around...he'll want attention when it's totally inconvenient, like at 4:00am.