Week In Review
Yes, I know it's only Tuesday, but the week I speak of is last week. It was the first week of classes and everyone knows how fun that can be. I did have one new experience, I needed to add a class. Why should that be so hard, one might ask. Well...the answer would be: too many bodies, not enough room. The class I wanted to add was so full that students were sitting on the floor, trying to get in. I sat in the hallway and waited for the end of class to speak with the instructor. She didn't have much hope, but maybe the desperation in my eyes, or my general "I'm a good student and you'll love having me in class" vibe, paid off. I was told to e-mail her and keep showing up. Perhaps she'd find some room for me.
The rest of the scheduled week was great. I'm in a production class for writers. We'll be putting out both a newsletter for the English Department and a compilation of writing for the class. I'm hoping to get some good experience in this class for future freelance work. We'll be covering all kinds of styles from the genre of creative non-fiction. It's exactly what I need. Yeah! My goal for the year that I'm doing "baby life" is to get my feet wet in the freelance world. I'm going to start with trade magazines for the restaurant industry. I've read that trade work is good work, and I would be qualified to write for them. And all you mom's out there...please don't laugh. I know I'm going to be too busy to do anything but baby life, but jeez, I have to have another project on the burner or I don't feel like I'm doing enough. It is just my way.
So...I am excited about this semester. I did get in to the really full class yesterday, so, Yeah! Food and Culture! I am going to the fun class this afternoon to see what project and production assignment I will be concentrating on this semester. Right now I have to finish up a little piece of Beowulf and do some binder organization. Woo-hoo. I love being in school.
Oh! Happy 22 weeks to baby today. Please keep your fingers crossed for a full 40 week pregnancy. I have finals during week 37-38. I know. But I like to live on the edge.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
*Note* My mom sent out an e-mail last week encouraging a laundry list of friends, children, and relatives to share an ordinary day with each other. She sees it an an interesting "slice of life" experiment. So far I've enjoyed reading about other's "normal" days. I wrote up mine and decided to share it on my blog, as well as sending it back with my mom's original e-mail. I figure my blog is pretty much the chronicle of my ordinary days...but it doesn't usually distill down entire days. Here it is, and I hope this encourages others to share their ordinary and normal days with me.
My “Normal” Day
I have to begin this by stating that I don’t really have any “normal” days…right now. I am blissfully between semesters and lucky enough to not be working. That leaves me a lot of time to myself, and I am enjoying it. Right before the holidays, I was busy shopping, cleaning, cooking and the like…right now I wish all of my days were like this:
Monday January 23, 2006
I woke up right before the 8:00 AM alarm and spent some time just dozing. When the radio turned on, I just listened to the morning show…the new one on Live 105. It’s not bad, kind of juvenile, but hey, they do play music. The latest song from Matisyahu, the Hasidic reggae star (for some reason I see Mom getting a kick out of that) came on and I thought about how annoying reggae is in the morning. Then I ruminated on how I just really don’t dig reggae music. Give me some good roots rock and ska or rock steady…I’m there. Whatever. Mind you, this is coming from the girl going to Jamaica next year.
Finally managed to pull myself out of bed at 10:00 AM. Yeah. I spent almost two hours listening to the radio, chatting with Hubby, and being a complete slug-a-bed. I am truly going to miss this when my 9:00 AM class starts up Wednesday. I ate breakfast. It was a big bowl of Kashi Good Friends cereal. I have eaten more cereal in the past few months than I have in the past few years. Something about the crunchy sweet-ish cereal and colds milk…yum. Good food for baby, we both like it. Hubby took off for work and little sis made an appearance. She was planning on running errands and taking a placement test at her new school. I needed to: finish cleaning the kitchen and living room from Mom’s fab-o dinner party the night before, wash the tablecloth and napkins, move the table, run to Good Will, clean out my backpack, get school supplies ready and repair some chair cushions on the chairs we are going to be selling on Craig’s List.
All right. So, I began by running the dishwasher. Then sitting down to the Internet to check e-mail. Then I painted my stapler with sparkle nail polish to create a unique sparkly stapler. It’s really cute. I cleaned out the backpack and re-organized my supplies. I have four yellow barrel number two pencils, four back up black ink medium point click-y pens, plus the one Dr. Grip pen that I love to death. I made a note on my school-shopping list to pick up some refills for the Dr. Grip. I have all my multi-colored Sharpies: little keychain ones key chained to the inner backpack pocket and big ones in the hidden zipper pouch in the top of the backpack. I’m not sure exactly why I need Sharpies…I just do. I have my highlighters at the ready; I have my Post-It flag highlighters at the ready…made a note to pick up some plain Post-It flags for noting important pieces of text. One can never have too many flags of various colors. I have my red editing pencils. They might come in handy for my Career Writing class. Then things got really fun. I color-coordinated my notebooks to my pocket folders and labeled them for my classes with the corresponding Sharpie color. Yellow is for Food & Culture, red is Career Writing, green is for English Lit and black for Astronomy. All notebooks and folders have labels with the class name and days of the week I have the class. It makes getting ready and out the door to class in the morning so much eaiser.
And…the morning was burning by now. It was noon…Hubby called to ask me to mail some books off. We have been selling my old textbooks on Half.com. We’ve done really well this semester. In fact, we’ve almost covered the cost of the current semester books by the selling of past semester books. I like it. Back to the computer for me, where I was promptly sidetracked from my mission by blog reading. I have my daily blog check: Confessions of a Restroom Attendant, Soy Mama, Manic Mom, the communal ummmm blog, chronicles of the existence of divine comestibles, the Garden of Insanity…these are the ones I check, if not every day, then on a regular basis. Oh, I also check my own for comments. I know, kind of sad, but sometimes they pop up and I get happy. I don’t often post on other’s blog’s, so I don’t get too down when I don’t get posts on mine. I digress. I also checked on a Due in June message board at iParenting.com. Message boards are really the same. This one was full of It’s a Boy! and It’s A Girl! posts…’cause all the mommies are getting the 18-22 week ultrasound done, and most everyone in the normal universe finds out the baby’s sex before hand. Well, Hubby and I are different…we don’t know and don’t want to know. I like to think of it as a reward for all the hard work of labor…the announcement that Dr. D will make as soon as the little one pops out. I like having surprises to look forward to.
So, another hour down, I decide to eat some lunch before heading to the Post Office. I have leftover salad, artichokes with garlic and lemon, and crackers with olive spread. I read a couple chapters of “Guns, Germs, and Steel” while eating. I am so loving this book. It is really a fascinating way of looking at human development. I just finished agriculture and am well into the domestication of animals for food and labor. Wild stuff. Finish lunch up, package the books and decide to wear slippers to the Post Office, cause I don’t feel like putting on shoes. Right. Mail the books; realize I have forgotten to bring the Good Will donations with me, so oh well, that won’t get done today.
By the time I get back, it’s three o’clock and I have yet to clean or do anything significant. I debate on whether to take a nap or not. I decide not to, and instead do my nails. Hey, that’s important. I clean up nail stuff, clean up the living room and begin to think about cleaning the kitchen. Yeah right. Instead I make a bunch of music play lists on our home stereo set up. The Myth Box takes too long to explain…so I’m going to skip it. I will mention, Hubby taught me how to make play lists the day before and I have been very excited to do so. It’s fun making hours…nay…days of music to play that suit whatever mood I happen to be in. Little sis comes in and goes over her day with me…but this is my day so she’ll have to write her own. I decide that it’s time to nap…sleep past the yoga class I was going to take, get up and need to clean the kitchen. Cheery little sister pitches in and in no time at all, it sparkles. She did the laundry, dried dishes, put the weird serving platters-in their puzzle like configurations-away and generally was a huge help. I’m going to miss her when she’s gone.
By this time, dinner needed to be made. Stir-fry to the rescue! Put on some brown rice, sliced some lean pork and tossed in a bag of Trader Ming’s (Joe’s) Asian veggies and volia! Dinner was ready. Now if only Hubby was home…he got there around 7:45, put on Desperate Housewives and we ate and chuckled and ate and enjoyed the evening. Little sis took off to visit her boyfriend, and Hubby and I finished the evening by watching “Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels”. Neither of us had seen it in some time, and it was so very funny. That’s a movie that can be enjoyed over and over again. 11:00 PM showed up…time to gag down an absolutely awful pre-natal vitamin (yup…I have to refill my chewable prescription…another thing I forgot to do) and brush teeth in preparation for bed. We then snuggled down with the cats, which is a very rare occurrence in our house. The cats are not usually allowed to sleep with us…they get restless, we wake up…they start to jump on our heads…we toss them out. It’s better to just let them have the house to themselves at night. Little Violet was being a snuggle kitty and slept on me all night. I can’t complain, it was pretty nice and kept me from tossing and turning, I didn’t want to wake her up.
That’s it. That was my normal day…when not in school. When I have a schedule the days become much more…well…structured. I have the feeling though, my days will not be quite as relaxed and opened-ended in the very near future. At least not until the kids are grown and I can “retire” again…
Much love,
Valerie
01.24.06
My “Normal” Day
I have to begin this by stating that I don’t really have any “normal” days…right now. I am blissfully between semesters and lucky enough to not be working. That leaves me a lot of time to myself, and I am enjoying it. Right before the holidays, I was busy shopping, cleaning, cooking and the like…right now I wish all of my days were like this:
Monday January 23, 2006
I woke up right before the 8:00 AM alarm and spent some time just dozing. When the radio turned on, I just listened to the morning show…the new one on Live 105. It’s not bad, kind of juvenile, but hey, they do play music. The latest song from Matisyahu, the Hasidic reggae star (for some reason I see Mom getting a kick out of that) came on and I thought about how annoying reggae is in the morning. Then I ruminated on how I just really don’t dig reggae music. Give me some good roots rock and ska or rock steady…I’m there. Whatever. Mind you, this is coming from the girl going to Jamaica next year.
Finally managed to pull myself out of bed at 10:00 AM. Yeah. I spent almost two hours listening to the radio, chatting with Hubby, and being a complete slug-a-bed. I am truly going to miss this when my 9:00 AM class starts up Wednesday. I ate breakfast. It was a big bowl of Kashi Good Friends cereal. I have eaten more cereal in the past few months than I have in the past few years. Something about the crunchy sweet-ish cereal and colds milk…yum. Good food for baby, we both like it. Hubby took off for work and little sis made an appearance. She was planning on running errands and taking a placement test at her new school. I needed to: finish cleaning the kitchen and living room from Mom’s fab-o dinner party the night before, wash the tablecloth and napkins, move the table, run to Good Will, clean out my backpack, get school supplies ready and repair some chair cushions on the chairs we are going to be selling on Craig’s List.
All right. So, I began by running the dishwasher. Then sitting down to the Internet to check e-mail. Then I painted my stapler with sparkle nail polish to create a unique sparkly stapler. It’s really cute. I cleaned out the backpack and re-organized my supplies. I have four yellow barrel number two pencils, four back up black ink medium point click-y pens, plus the one Dr. Grip pen that I love to death. I made a note on my school-shopping list to pick up some refills for the Dr. Grip. I have all my multi-colored Sharpies: little keychain ones key chained to the inner backpack pocket and big ones in the hidden zipper pouch in the top of the backpack. I’m not sure exactly why I need Sharpies…I just do. I have my highlighters at the ready; I have my Post-It flag highlighters at the ready…made a note to pick up some plain Post-It flags for noting important pieces of text. One can never have too many flags of various colors. I have my red editing pencils. They might come in handy for my Career Writing class. Then things got really fun. I color-coordinated my notebooks to my pocket folders and labeled them for my classes with the corresponding Sharpie color. Yellow is for Food & Culture, red is Career Writing, green is for English Lit and black for Astronomy. All notebooks and folders have labels with the class name and days of the week I have the class. It makes getting ready and out the door to class in the morning so much eaiser.
And…the morning was burning by now. It was noon…Hubby called to ask me to mail some books off. We have been selling my old textbooks on Half.com. We’ve done really well this semester. In fact, we’ve almost covered the cost of the current semester books by the selling of past semester books. I like it. Back to the computer for me, where I was promptly sidetracked from my mission by blog reading. I have my daily blog check: Confessions of a Restroom Attendant, Soy Mama, Manic Mom, the communal ummmm blog, chronicles of the existence of divine comestibles, the Garden of Insanity…these are the ones I check, if not every day, then on a regular basis. Oh, I also check my own for comments. I know, kind of sad, but sometimes they pop up and I get happy. I don’t often post on other’s blog’s, so I don’t get too down when I don’t get posts on mine. I digress. I also checked on a Due in June message board at iParenting.com. Message boards are really the same. This one was full of It’s a Boy! and It’s A Girl! posts…’cause all the mommies are getting the 18-22 week ultrasound done, and most everyone in the normal universe finds out the baby’s sex before hand. Well, Hubby and I are different…we don’t know and don’t want to know. I like to think of it as a reward for all the hard work of labor…the announcement that Dr. D will make as soon as the little one pops out. I like having surprises to look forward to.
So, another hour down, I decide to eat some lunch before heading to the Post Office. I have leftover salad, artichokes with garlic and lemon, and crackers with olive spread. I read a couple chapters of “Guns, Germs, and Steel” while eating. I am so loving this book. It is really a fascinating way of looking at human development. I just finished agriculture and am well into the domestication of animals for food and labor. Wild stuff. Finish lunch up, package the books and decide to wear slippers to the Post Office, cause I don’t feel like putting on shoes. Right. Mail the books; realize I have forgotten to bring the Good Will donations with me, so oh well, that won’t get done today.
By the time I get back, it’s three o’clock and I have yet to clean or do anything significant. I debate on whether to take a nap or not. I decide not to, and instead do my nails. Hey, that’s important. I clean up nail stuff, clean up the living room and begin to think about cleaning the kitchen. Yeah right. Instead I make a bunch of music play lists on our home stereo set up. The Myth Box takes too long to explain…so I’m going to skip it. I will mention, Hubby taught me how to make play lists the day before and I have been very excited to do so. It’s fun making hours…nay…days of music to play that suit whatever mood I happen to be in. Little sis comes in and goes over her day with me…but this is my day so she’ll have to write her own. I decide that it’s time to nap…sleep past the yoga class I was going to take, get up and need to clean the kitchen. Cheery little sister pitches in and in no time at all, it sparkles. She did the laundry, dried dishes, put the weird serving platters-in their puzzle like configurations-away and generally was a huge help. I’m going to miss her when she’s gone.
By this time, dinner needed to be made. Stir-fry to the rescue! Put on some brown rice, sliced some lean pork and tossed in a bag of Trader Ming’s (Joe’s) Asian veggies and volia! Dinner was ready. Now if only Hubby was home…he got there around 7:45, put on Desperate Housewives and we ate and chuckled and ate and enjoyed the evening. Little sis took off to visit her boyfriend, and Hubby and I finished the evening by watching “Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels”. Neither of us had seen it in some time, and it was so very funny. That’s a movie that can be enjoyed over and over again. 11:00 PM showed up…time to gag down an absolutely awful pre-natal vitamin (yup…I have to refill my chewable prescription…another thing I forgot to do) and brush teeth in preparation for bed. We then snuggled down with the cats, which is a very rare occurrence in our house. The cats are not usually allowed to sleep with us…they get restless, we wake up…they start to jump on our heads…we toss them out. It’s better to just let them have the house to themselves at night. Little Violet was being a snuggle kitty and slept on me all night. I can’t complain, it was pretty nice and kept me from tossing and turning, I didn’t want to wake her up.
That’s it. That was my normal day…when not in school. When I have a schedule the days become much more…well…structured. I have the feeling though, my days will not be quite as relaxed and opened-ended in the very near future. At least not until the kids are grown and I can “retire” again…
Much love,
Valerie
01.24.06
Monday, January 23, 2006
Headache
Last night I dreamed I got drunk. I was drinking very small glasses of scotch and beer and wine, but way too many of them. I kept thinking in my dream: "Oh this glass is so small I can have one more with no problem. The baby won't mind..."
The problem is, I awoke this morning with a massive headache. And the kid has been doing flips all morning, adding to the general feeling of bodily discomfort. Time to drink more water.
Last night I dreamed I got drunk. I was drinking very small glasses of scotch and beer and wine, but way too many of them. I kept thinking in my dream: "Oh this glass is so small I can have one more with no problem. The baby won't mind..."
The problem is, I awoke this morning with a massive headache. And the kid has been doing flips all morning, adding to the general feeling of bodily discomfort. Time to drink more water.
Friday, January 20, 2006
Tired Girl
I have been so lazy this past week. Yup. Too lazy to post even. I've taken to two hour naps and commercial-free hours of TV. Lazy lazy girl. I haven't even finished my stack of reading, and now the semester is just around the corner. Ooh well, this is the other half of vacation, the half I really love, the week of being a total lay-about.
I have seen the doctor, and all is well in baby land. I have maintained a certain level of house cleanliness. I have gone grocery shopping and have cooked dinners. I just haven't done much else. I am currently avoiding cleaning the office, but it is now a desperate situation...as my youngest sister is staying with us for the next couple of months, and she needs a place for her clothes and a place to sleep. Sigh. I hate cleaning the office, but it must be done. Perhaps I will enlist her help in this endeavor...but if I don't even know what to do with it, how can she? That is the question of the hour.
Speaking of hours...I must get up and get going. She has to sleep somewhere tonight.
I have been so lazy this past week. Yup. Too lazy to post even. I've taken to two hour naps and commercial-free hours of TV. Lazy lazy girl. I haven't even finished my stack of reading, and now the semester is just around the corner. Ooh well, this is the other half of vacation, the half I really love, the week of being a total lay-about.
I have seen the doctor, and all is well in baby land. I have maintained a certain level of house cleanliness. I have gone grocery shopping and have cooked dinners. I just haven't done much else. I am currently avoiding cleaning the office, but it is now a desperate situation...as my youngest sister is staying with us for the next couple of months, and she needs a place for her clothes and a place to sleep. Sigh. I hate cleaning the office, but it must be done. Perhaps I will enlist her help in this endeavor...but if I don't even know what to do with it, how can she? That is the question of the hour.
Speaking of hours...I must get up and get going. She has to sleep somewhere tonight.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Moon Baby Dreams
Last night I had a series of strange dreams, most of which centered around sushi. At first, I was hosting a party with a bunch of people I haven't seen in ages, and decided that sushi would make the evening complete. So off I and another friend went to pick up some platters. I was checking off my order in the car on the way over...spider rolls, cucumber rolls, California rolls, shrimp tempura rolls...even in my sleep I know I can't eat the raw stuff! Somehow from there my dream morphed into another one...one where I worked in a sushi restaurant and my sole table was an older couple from the mid-west experiencing sushi for the first time. It was my job to make sure they ordered right. They were there for my entire lunch shift, and left me a $24 tip...which I thought was great, but it was the only money I made that day.
I'm blaming both the moon and the baby for those dreams. The moon was so bright it hurt my eyes last night. I felt like a reverse vampire.
On another note...do I have a lunch date set for the near future, and if so, can we eat sushi? Really, I think I must be craving it big time.
Last night I had a series of strange dreams, most of which centered around sushi. At first, I was hosting a party with a bunch of people I haven't seen in ages, and decided that sushi would make the evening complete. So off I and another friend went to pick up some platters. I was checking off my order in the car on the way over...spider rolls, cucumber rolls, California rolls, shrimp tempura rolls...even in my sleep I know I can't eat the raw stuff! Somehow from there my dream morphed into another one...one where I worked in a sushi restaurant and my sole table was an older couple from the mid-west experiencing sushi for the first time. It was my job to make sure they ordered right. They were there for my entire lunch shift, and left me a $24 tip...which I thought was great, but it was the only money I made that day.
I'm blaming both the moon and the baby for those dreams. The moon was so bright it hurt my eyes last night. I felt like a reverse vampire.
On another note...do I have a lunch date set for the near future, and if so, can we eat sushi? Really, I think I must be craving it big time.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
New Toys
Every year I like to add a little something new to my kitchen collection. I have all the basics, nice basics too, but sometimes you just need to add that pot or dish that has only one purpose. It’s a toy. You’ll use it maybe two times a year, but when you do…you love it.
Last year was a cast iron fondue pot. It sat for almost a year until I busted it out for a goat cheese fondue. But, boy was I happy to have it then.
This year the new toy is a tagine oven. Tagine refers to both the cooking vessel and the dish…much like the term “casserole”. Tagines are North African in origin and most folks would have experienced them as being a Moroccan dish. Yum. The food is cooked in a conical lidded clay pot. The clay heats the food at a slow, even rate and keeps it from drying out. The conical lid has a small steam hole and the entire dish can be used on the stovetop or in the oven. Genius I tell you. I love cooking tagines, and usually do them in a standard pot. Well, last night I busted out the official oven and am in love with the real cooking vessel now. I’m going to have to make some type of Moroccan stew at least once a month now, just to use my tagine.
Having the right pot to cook in, I wanted to cook an authentic dish. I chose chicken with preserved lemon and olives. The oven worked very well…and I was a touch skeptical at first. I’m not used to cooking in a clay pot over a hot flame. I kept worrying about it cracking, or not getting hot enough to brown the chicken or the dish taking way to long to cook. Little should I have worried; there is reason clay pots have been in vogue all over the world for a very long time. They work great. The chicken turned out very nice indeed. I can’t wait to make a lamb and prune tagine…I’m sure the lamb will turn out to be as tender as I’ve always dreamed it could be. Yes, I sometimes dream about tender lamb.
Who doesn’t?
Every year I like to add a little something new to my kitchen collection. I have all the basics, nice basics too, but sometimes you just need to add that pot or dish that has only one purpose. It’s a toy. You’ll use it maybe two times a year, but when you do…you love it.
Last year was a cast iron fondue pot. It sat for almost a year until I busted it out for a goat cheese fondue. But, boy was I happy to have it then.
This year the new toy is a tagine oven. Tagine refers to both the cooking vessel and the dish…much like the term “casserole”. Tagines are North African in origin and most folks would have experienced them as being a Moroccan dish. Yum. The food is cooked in a conical lidded clay pot. The clay heats the food at a slow, even rate and keeps it from drying out. The conical lid has a small steam hole and the entire dish can be used on the stovetop or in the oven. Genius I tell you. I love cooking tagines, and usually do them in a standard pot. Well, last night I busted out the official oven and am in love with the real cooking vessel now. I’m going to have to make some type of Moroccan stew at least once a month now, just to use my tagine.
Having the right pot to cook in, I wanted to cook an authentic dish. I chose chicken with preserved lemon and olives. The oven worked very well…and I was a touch skeptical at first. I’m not used to cooking in a clay pot over a hot flame. I kept worrying about it cracking, or not getting hot enough to brown the chicken or the dish taking way to long to cook. Little should I have worried; there is reason clay pots have been in vogue all over the world for a very long time. They work great. The chicken turned out very nice indeed. I can’t wait to make a lamb and prune tagine…I’m sure the lamb will turn out to be as tender as I’ve always dreamed it could be. Yes, I sometimes dream about tender lamb.
Who doesn’t?
Monday, January 9, 2006
Good Baby
I have been tempted to find out the sex of the baby. Yes, deep down in my heart I love surprises, but there is that little nagging feeling that wants to know. You know the feeling...someone tells you that have found the perfect gift for you, you're going to love it, but your birthday is still six months away. You know you don't want to ruin the surprise. Yet, at the same time it's driving you crazy wanting to know.
So, today we went for our first big ultrasound. This is the one where if we were going to find out now would be the time. I have been dithering for the last couple of days, thinking (hoping) that maybe the tech would slip and we'd find out, or that the baby would be positioned in such a way that it would be obvious. Then, hey, we didn't ask to know, it just happened so no harm no foul, we know now and names would be easier to decide upon.
We have a good baby. A good baby and a great tech.
We, meaning hubby and I, went in to the office and at first I was put off. There was a huge line and I had a full bladder, per instructions. Not a good combo. I waited half an hour in line to have my paperwork processed, and was told that darling hubby would only be allowed to join me in the room for the very last part of the exam. That sucks. I think the medical profession needs to reward more dads for coming to appointments. They need to be involved in the whole thing if they choose to take time out and visit the doctor...when they don't have to. I don't like that for the most part they are expected to wait outside during the exams and only get to hear the tail end of everything. Our OB is great in this respect, hubby is allowed for the entire check-up and he is as encouraged as I to ask questions. I digress...
I was shuffled off to the "women's only" waiting room. Before I knew it, our tech had arrived and not only was asking for me, but she called hubby in right away. Cheers! Next, she said that she didn't need to do the exam with a full bladder, so I was instructed to go ahead and let it out. Whew! That made a huge difference. It was so much more fun to watch, without wondering when it would end, so I could pee.
The exam was very, very cool. Warm gel, dark room, and little baby pictures on a screen. We did remain strong, and let the tech know that we didn't want to know the sex. No sweat, she said, she didn't want to know either (not medically relevant). The good baby part comes in with the fact that while swooping around with the sound stick, it was discovered that the baby was lying with legs firmly shut. Modest child. We would have had to have done some real poking about to get the child's sex...baby wants to be a surprise and so mommy is happy with that. I will note that hubby was looking; he was interested in seeing if he could figure it out on his own. He came away thinking "girl"...so that's his guess in the baby poll. I still say it's anybody’s game.
All we really care about is that the little one's heart is still beating strong, organs have developed, there are little tiny legs and feet and arms and hands that wave and wiggle. It is truly an amazing sight, this little tiny life living inside of me right now. The little head was right under my belly button...I am blown away every time I think about that.
At our next doctor’s appointment, we'll find out what all the pictures mean. Nothing seemed to look weird, but as our tech explained, it's her job to record, not interpret. I'll also get the blood work results...the prenatal screens that can give a clue as to any problems that might develop. I'm gunning for the "all clear". So far, everything seems to be going along just fine...and in a few more months we'll know for sure. We'll also know if we have a Charlotte* or an Isaac* on our hands. Good baby. :)
*Just trying names out...nothing has yet been decided; so don't hold us to any names I might post here.
I have been tempted to find out the sex of the baby. Yes, deep down in my heart I love surprises, but there is that little nagging feeling that wants to know. You know the feeling...someone tells you that have found the perfect gift for you, you're going to love it, but your birthday is still six months away. You know you don't want to ruin the surprise. Yet, at the same time it's driving you crazy wanting to know.
So, today we went for our first big ultrasound. This is the one where if we were going to find out now would be the time. I have been dithering for the last couple of days, thinking (hoping) that maybe the tech would slip and we'd find out, or that the baby would be positioned in such a way that it would be obvious. Then, hey, we didn't ask to know, it just happened so no harm no foul, we know now and names would be easier to decide upon.
We have a good baby. A good baby and a great tech.
We, meaning hubby and I, went in to the office and at first I was put off. There was a huge line and I had a full bladder, per instructions. Not a good combo. I waited half an hour in line to have my paperwork processed, and was told that darling hubby would only be allowed to join me in the room for the very last part of the exam. That sucks. I think the medical profession needs to reward more dads for coming to appointments. They need to be involved in the whole thing if they choose to take time out and visit the doctor...when they don't have to. I don't like that for the most part they are expected to wait outside during the exams and only get to hear the tail end of everything. Our OB is great in this respect, hubby is allowed for the entire check-up and he is as encouraged as I to ask questions. I digress...
I was shuffled off to the "women's only" waiting room. Before I knew it, our tech had arrived and not only was asking for me, but she called hubby in right away. Cheers! Next, she said that she didn't need to do the exam with a full bladder, so I was instructed to go ahead and let it out. Whew! That made a huge difference. It was so much more fun to watch, without wondering when it would end, so I could pee.
The exam was very, very cool. Warm gel, dark room, and little baby pictures on a screen. We did remain strong, and let the tech know that we didn't want to know the sex. No sweat, she said, she didn't want to know either (not medically relevant). The good baby part comes in with the fact that while swooping around with the sound stick, it was discovered that the baby was lying with legs firmly shut. Modest child. We would have had to have done some real poking about to get the child's sex...baby wants to be a surprise and so mommy is happy with that. I will note that hubby was looking; he was interested in seeing if he could figure it out on his own. He came away thinking "girl"...so that's his guess in the baby poll. I still say it's anybody’s game.
All we really care about is that the little one's heart is still beating strong, organs have developed, there are little tiny legs and feet and arms and hands that wave and wiggle. It is truly an amazing sight, this little tiny life living inside of me right now. The little head was right under my belly button...I am blown away every time I think about that.
At our next doctor’s appointment, we'll find out what all the pictures mean. Nothing seemed to look weird, but as our tech explained, it's her job to record, not interpret. I'll also get the blood work results...the prenatal screens that can give a clue as to any problems that might develop. I'm gunning for the "all clear". So far, everything seems to be going along just fine...and in a few more months we'll know for sure. We'll also know if we have a Charlotte* or an Isaac* on our hands. Good baby. :)
*Just trying names out...nothing has yet been decided; so don't hold us to any names I might post here.
Friday, January 6, 2006
Vacation...Does It Have To End?
We are back from the wilds of Louisiana. While we were there I managed to eat (with the help of Darling Hubby):
crawfish: two ways, in an etouffe (super yum creamy sauce over rice) and fried
alligator: two ways, tailpieces battered and fried, and in a wonderful croquette-style ball blended with meat, bread, herbs, and then fried
catfish: in a brown butter wine sauce
soft-shell crab: stuffed with crawfish(!)
gumbo: yum
jambalaya: double yum
dirty rice: good with the creamy crab sauce
beignets and chicory coffee au lait: good, but not as good as I was hoping for...
And one out-of-this-world bread pudding with rum sauce. Oh yeah, it was that good.
The surprise meal came from a little hole in the wall cafe in a refinery town on a lake. The town was a disappointment, but the dinner was the best. Andouille sausage stuffed chicken breasts (presented as little chicken breast rolls, beautiful) with a raspberry demi-glace served over mashed sweet potatoes and asparagus. To die for good. The sweet potatoes were worth the trip alone.
We had a very good time. Some parts of the state were very distressing to look at, though. It's very hard to imagine the devastation in some areas, and the relative intact-ness of others. We did cruise down the Gulf Coast, before we were turned around...local traffic only...and that was the worst of it. I could not go back and rebuild, I don't think I would have the strength, but there were folks building and plowing; resetting houses and fields. That was an inspirational sight. Amazing.
The wedding was very nice, and Darling and I danced the night away. I was saving myself for a rare treat...a 1/4 glass of the bubbly for midnight, but when the time came the champagne was not so good for simple sipping and I didn't even finish my 1/4 glass. Oh well...everyone else was so tossed, they simply assumed I was as well...at least, those who didn't know that I am pregnant. Little do they know that it does not take the magic of alcohol to get me to dance like a fool.
Daring is still on vacation from work, so we are still bopping around the house doing nothing. We watched 12 hours of television yesterday. We finished "The Two Towers" went straight into "Return of the King"...then we continued through two disks of "Firefly". We didn't even really eat...we scrounged on what was left in the house. Yeah, lots of chocolate, cookies, crackers, cheese, peanut butter, yogurt and for dinner...microwave green beans with Parmesan cheese. Looking at all my food lists, it's no wonder I've gained 5 pounds in the last week and a half. As long as the baby takes his/her share, I'm fine. And, I'm going grocery shopping today.
Perhaps now is the time to begin acting like a real person again. Do some cleaning, some present putting away, vacuum, and grocery shop. Oh well. Vacation is nice, but if it lasted forever, would it really be as fun?
We are back from the wilds of Louisiana. While we were there I managed to eat (with the help of Darling Hubby):
crawfish: two ways, in an etouffe (super yum creamy sauce over rice) and fried
alligator: two ways, tailpieces battered and fried, and in a wonderful croquette-style ball blended with meat, bread, herbs, and then fried
catfish: in a brown butter wine sauce
soft-shell crab: stuffed with crawfish(!)
gumbo: yum
jambalaya: double yum
dirty rice: good with the creamy crab sauce
beignets and chicory coffee au lait: good, but not as good as I was hoping for...
And one out-of-this-world bread pudding with rum sauce. Oh yeah, it was that good.
The surprise meal came from a little hole in the wall cafe in a refinery town on a lake. The town was a disappointment, but the dinner was the best. Andouille sausage stuffed chicken breasts (presented as little chicken breast rolls, beautiful) with a raspberry demi-glace served over mashed sweet potatoes and asparagus. To die for good. The sweet potatoes were worth the trip alone.
We had a very good time. Some parts of the state were very distressing to look at, though. It's very hard to imagine the devastation in some areas, and the relative intact-ness of others. We did cruise down the Gulf Coast, before we were turned around...local traffic only...and that was the worst of it. I could not go back and rebuild, I don't think I would have the strength, but there were folks building and plowing; resetting houses and fields. That was an inspirational sight. Amazing.
The wedding was very nice, and Darling and I danced the night away. I was saving myself for a rare treat...a 1/4 glass of the bubbly for midnight, but when the time came the champagne was not so good for simple sipping and I didn't even finish my 1/4 glass. Oh well...everyone else was so tossed, they simply assumed I was as well...at least, those who didn't know that I am pregnant. Little do they know that it does not take the magic of alcohol to get me to dance like a fool.
Daring is still on vacation from work, so we are still bopping around the house doing nothing. We watched 12 hours of television yesterday. We finished "The Two Towers" went straight into "Return of the King"...then we continued through two disks of "Firefly". We didn't even really eat...we scrounged on what was left in the house. Yeah, lots of chocolate, cookies, crackers, cheese, peanut butter, yogurt and for dinner...microwave green beans with Parmesan cheese. Looking at all my food lists, it's no wonder I've gained 5 pounds in the last week and a half. As long as the baby takes his/her share, I'm fine. And, I'm going grocery shopping today.
Perhaps now is the time to begin acting like a real person again. Do some cleaning, some present putting away, vacuum, and grocery shop. Oh well. Vacation is nice, but if it lasted forever, would it really be as fun?
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