Monday, April 25, 2011

This is why I was born in December

Well, I now fully understand why my mom had both her children in the winter.

This week in the City of Brotherly Love, we have been experiencing a touch of summer, especially the last two days.  Easter wasn't bad because we were at my aunt and uncle's house and hung out on the patio or in the basement.  However, today, I seem to be plagued by the heat.  I'm wearing a tube dress, have the air on full, drinking water like its my job, and I still seem to be sweating.  Poor Barney is also suffering in the heat.  He hasn't shed enough yet and our apartment is much warmer than our old house ever was.  I took a nap and he woke up next to me and it was like having a little sun laying next to me.  He's so cute, but the warmth is just too much.

It's going to be crazy hot around his due date, so if any one out there has any advice on how to stay cool, I'd appreciate it.

All in all, Easter was wonderful with delicious food and fun family.  My parents spent the weekend, so I took them to church.  I'm trying to find a new church.  I've never had incentive to find a parish before because I just went to La Salle for mass.  However, in order to get Elliott baptized, I have to belong to a church.  So, I test drove a church this weekend, and I really liked it.  I'll go back soon and try a regular mass.

- J & M.

Monday, April 18, 2011

What a Weekend!

J and I are finally set up in our new apartment, which is a fantastic feeling.  Living with the girls was a lot of fun, but I was ready to nest and such.

After my 28 weeks appointment on Thursday, we went to Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast.  It's a little thing we do after every doctor's appointment.  Part of it actually goes back to when my mom was pregnant with Sarah, my little sister, over 22 years ago.  Mom had gestational diabetes with Sarah and so she had to fast, do blood work, and then get breakfast.  Considering that I was about three, I went along, and from what I was told, we used to get donuts.  For some reason, I have craved my favorite donuts throughout the pregnancy.  So, we go to Dunkin.  I also get a toasted bagel with veggie cream cheese.  Yum.  Otherwise, Thursday was the last semi-relaxing day.  I watched Thursday TV with Megan and went to bed early.

Friday was a normal work day for me, but J always has off, so he drove me to work (right up to the doors of Olney...sweet) so he could take a few loads of stuff to the new place.  He picked me up after lunch so I could take him back to the apartment to meet the internet guy.  I did a few things around the apartment (including prepped plants that I bought the other day), then went back to La Salle to teach.  We made another trip, went to Wawa for dinner, and got ready to see Donald Glover.  He was doing free stand-up at La Salle.  It was hilarious.  However, the show wasn't over until midnight, so the early morning wake-up time we had for moving day came far too early.

Moving day went pretty well.  Everyone was where they needed to be when they needed to be there and things went smoothly.  The rain held off until it didn't matter anymore; my mom, Jill, and I made great time at Ikea and Target (which is a miracle), and everyone enjoyed the thank-you lunch and beer.  Around 3:30, J and my dad took the truck back to the rental place, while Mom and I worked on the apartment.  Thanks to my wonderful parents, all of the furniture is put together and filled with whatever it was purchased for.  All of the heavy lifting was taken care of by great friends.  Even Barney had a less-than-stressful day, thanks to his favorite non-family member, Emily.  We had plans to see the Masque's production of Noises Off that night, which would have been a lovely way to cap off the evening.

Mother Nature had other plans....

Dad and J got back around 4, and we were all working like busy little bees in the dry apartment while it rained cats and dogs outside.  Mom and I heard a loud "crack" from outside and saw a branch on the ground.  It turns out that the branch was connected to a tree...that had fallen...on my parent's car.  Suddenly the day was taking a turn.  In addition to that, everyone in our parking lot was trapped because of the tree, so even if the car hadn't been directly involved, it would have changed our plans anyway.  Needless to say, it was a stressful day for all involved, especially my parents.  They were staying over anyway, so in the morning, we made a big breakfast and the car turned out to be drivable.  Hopefully things turn out alright.

The weekend exhausted me, and I definitely think I over did it.  I've had BH contractions the last two days (absolutely not regular, and only about 5 total.)  I think that's my body pleading to slow down and be more careful.  It's difficult when there is so much to be done, but I just have to take advantage of J when he's around.  Sigh.  I also have to get my GD test too, which is scary.  I hate blood work.  Eeee.

Well, that's the update on our crazy lives.  :)

- J & M.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

27 Weeks

Welcome to the third trimester (to some)!  Elliott is now the size of an eggplant, or about 15 inches long.  Crazy!  My friend Jen said someone should write a children's book called "Elliott the Eggplant."

We haven't been great about keeping this blog up to date, but we've been so busy getting ready for the move and for conferences.  I'm presenting this weekend at the Mid-Atlantic American Studies Conference, so not only do I have to prep a paper, but I have to prep myself for solo travel (via Amtrak).  I'm sure things will be fine, but being alone like that for 2 hours makes me a little nervous.

We had a doctor's appointment a week ago.  Elliott's heartbeat is steady and strong at 140 b/m.  He even kicked the doppler.  He's incredibly active.  I have been gaining weight appropriately (4 pounds last month), but I have been having some discomfort with my gall bladder.  It's not pain (I don't have a high pain tolerance, so I'd know if it was pain), but just something that feels off.  I'll talk to the doctor about it next week.  Yes, we are now at that point where I go every 2 weeks.  I also have to get my glucose tolerance test done soon (more blood draws!  Ack!).  The difficulty has been finding a time when Jason and I can both go.  I don't think I want to subject a friend to sitting through that test with me.  Jason hasn't had to miss an appointment yet, but with them coming more frequently, he might have to miss a few coming up.  He enjoys being there for the appointment, hearing Elliott's heartbeat, and providing moral support should it be needed.

Well, the move is next week, so more reports soon, I'm sure.

- J & M.