Thursday, January 21, 2010

Stress



Well, it's that time of year again. The dreaded Spring Semester. When the students begin to implode, my carpal tunnel returns, and I kick my mind into overdrive to get it all done.

Except this year is a wee different!

Hormones and fatigue. That's what's different.

So last night, after an insane day of non-stop students and new presentations cropping up like mushrooms in a damp, smelly place, I kind of lost it.

I was on the verge of losing it, but then my husband was about 90 seconds late to pick me up and that proverbial straw broke this proverbial camel's back. And it was ugly for a nice, cathartic 15 minutes. But my poor husband. Sweet man. That 15 minutes must have been tough. Sorry 'hon!

I'm better today. I got an A+ from the doctor on all fronts. I have to start keeping track of the baby's kicking now and cut back on non-nutritious food to ensure that she keeps on growing those neurons, packing on that cute little chub, and strengthening that skeleton of hers.

One side note: For those of you that have been placing bets on when my belly button will poke out, the time is near. When I laugh hard now, it pokes out and in like my friend Bug Out Bob up there. Kind of creepy, a little gross, and terribly funny when you are already laughing hysterically.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Weekend Analogy: Clown Car


It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

It was a three day weekend.

Included in this very full weekend was:
- The first meeting of a new writing group (super fun)
- A photo shoot with a friend to document the bump (also super fun)
- The arrival of my sister in law from Kenya (way fun)
- Two shopping trips, five sets of visitors, many meals, and 400 sets of dishes to wash (alot of work, but fun none-the-less)
- Ten hours of the only thing on our TV being coverage of the devastation in Haiti (tragic and not in the least bit fun)
- One 17th month old with strep throat, one 20 month old with destructive tendencies, and one very-soon-to-be 5 year old with a strong desire to become Julia Child (anxiety inducing)

I am so exhausted, I can barely function. And I have 5 more days to go.

Sheesh. Too bad you can't take speed while pregnant. I totally would.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Best Baby Book so far...


Last night I came home to a box full of Christmas presents from my totally AMAZING cousin Naiche. Among these fantastic treasures was a book called: If Your Kid Eats This Book, Everything Will Still Be Okay: How to Know if Your Child's Injury or Illness Is Really an Emergency by Lara Zibners

I read about half of it immediately and I LOVE IT!

It is funny and well-written, with just enough humor. The tone is such that you won't feel like a total fool if you end up in the emergency room for something small, but is also quite comprehensive and has enough random info to make it fascinating!

Plus, it answered a bunch of questions I had, things like:

So that whole umbilical stump thing, what do I have to do with that? ANSWER: Nothing. Do nothing. Don't fiddle, don't pull, watch for infection, but then resist the urge to help it do anything at all, just let it be.

Good to know.

Other questions that it answered, that I didn't even know I wanted to know, were things like:

Why are new born baby boys born with huge balls and then they get smaller? Answer: the mom's hormones.

If there is blood in my newborn baby girl's diaper, is she peeing blood? Answer: No, girls are also affected by the massive surge of hormones that their mothers receive just before birth. Sometimes it causes their tiny little baby uterus to thicken and the pink or red tinge in your little girl's diaper is just that thickening resolving itself.

SO baby girl's can have a period! Mind-boggling. They ARE just tiny little fully-formed people, even at birth.

While I look forward to finding books with way to much information to both answer questions and instill fear in me, it has been nice to read this book and NOT feel that way. The tone is such that you feel like you will just be one of the MANY, many parents that worry about their children and sometimes overreact. And that there are many, crazy, and weird things that happen to children. Some of them are serious and some of them are just funny!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

FAME.

Head over to the blog Cute with Chris and meet my friend Emily's dog...

Her name is Sarah and she is a recently adopted, four-year-old shelter dog. I love her because after less than an hour of knowing me, she curled up next to me and put her head in my lap. Maybe it's the "animals love pregnant people thing" or maybe she and I are just destined to be friends. We'll see.

Regardless, I am happy that Emily's generosity of spirit and love of animals has been rewarded. They both deserve this 15 minutes of fame after the somewhat bumpy transition of post-adoption life.

Since I found out about this brush with fame, I've had this song in my head... and now you will too.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Mission Accomplished.

Thanks to the endless pool of energy that my dear, sweet husband possesses... I was able to meet all the goals of my weekend:

I did yoga.

I napped.

I got a quite a number of hugs from quite a wonderful handful of folks.

And... we got a huge space cleared in our bedroom. It was spectacular! It was a lot of work! It takes a huge load off my mind!

Now I am free to nest my little heart away.

Thanks, bwana.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Once upon a time...

... there was a very famous blogger who was fired from her job for talking about work.

I have pledged to learn from her mistake, but some days... that is NOT EASY!

I wish I had a blog that no one read, that could be just my inner most thoughts and anxieties. I know, that blog is what's commonly referred to as a diary. But I'm bad with paper. I'm better with keyboards.

But the good news is that it's FRIDAY!

Woooo... Hoooooo...

So this weekend, I am gonna rest and relax.

My goals are to:
1) Do yoga
2) Get as many hugs as possible
3) Organize the bedroom to make room for a certain someone that has been making herself increasingly harder to ignore.
4) Nap

Although Goal #3 could get abandoned if I don't get enough of the others.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Pregnancy Update: Week 26

Well, I forgot to warn everyone that I had two weeks off - Dec. 18th to Jan. 4th. I really thought I would write, but instead I hung out with friends and family, napped at least once (okay I'll come clean, at least twice) everyday, and ate small meals every few hours. Oh, and I spent alot of quality time with my husband.

It was magical.

So, I know you are all wondering - "How is that baby, Kathryn?"

Well, that baby is doing great. She is kicking much more, but is especially good at kicking my bladder. In fact, just this morning I was thinking that the difference between the blahs of the first trimester and the ooh-ahhs of the second trimester can be summed up in one phrase: In my first trimester, if someone made a joke about puking, I could imagine and would have to resist the urge to puke right there; now at the tail end of my second trimester, if someone makes a joke about peeing their pants, I could imagine and have to resist the urge to pee my pants right there.

Ahhh, fun times.

The jury is still out on whether I am "OMG, SO HUGE!" or "SUCH A CUTE PREGNANT WOMAN!" I get both comments with frequency.

By the way, here are the things I never want to hear again in my life:
"You are definitely having a 9 pound baby!"
"Sheesh! When are you due?" (Accompanied by the obligatory look up and down)
"Get plenty of sleep now, you'll never sleep again for the next 20 years."
... and anything about the potential skin color of my baby.

Now, it's nearly 11am, time for me to pretend to be working while I take a little nap on my keyboard.