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  • fourteen weeks

    Here I am at fourteen weeks pregnant, officially into the second trimester, and my baby is alive and kicking! I mean, I can’t actually feel it kicking, but it’s doing something of the sort. Squirming, at least.

    Can’t see anything? How about a closer look:

    Still nothing? Yeah, I don’t see much either. But let’s compare to two months ago (when it was hot and I wore a tank top; now I refuse to wear anything that isn’t warm).

    A little bit of difference, right? I mean, you can no longer see my rippling abdominal muscles. Although it could just be bloating. That is very, very possible.

    The first trimester was okay. My relationship with food changed a lot and I dry heaved more than I ever have but at least I never threw up. I gained a grand total of one pound and slept a lot. I discovered I am anemic and am now forced to take iron supplements. I put my vegetarianism on hold (although I still only eat meat part-time) because it was too new to withstand all these changes and I didn’t want to stress about food. We skipped the screening tests for genetic disorders and I found a new OB that I love. We’re starting to make decisions about the future like what kind of birth we want and names.

    Our baby is apparently now the size of a lemon. It is constantly moving around (as I saw on the ultrasound) and has a good, strong heartbeat. We don’t have a nickname for it, and we haven’t decided yet if we’re going to find out the sex. (We probably will.)

    I am feeling mostly great these days. I sleep well, I eat well, I work well. I’m trying to use this time to get things accomplished, because I don’t expect this energy to last. I still go to bed super early, but that also might be because I have to wake up before 5 a.m.

    David is so incredibly cute when he talks about becoming a dad. When my doctor offhandedly mentioned a book about nutrition to me, he brought it home that night. He bought a parenting book for himself. He tells everyone the one name that we both like (for a boy, because it will be a miracle if I produce a girl) even though we haven’t even considered other names and we’re far from decided. He’s making positive changes in his life because he knows that soon he’ll be an example for our child. I can’t wait to see him as a dad.

  • Weekend Haps

    This past weekend didn’t start out so great, but every day got better. Let’s just skip over Friday night when I came home to the evidence of my dog having completely lost any sense of what it means to be house trained, I had a mini breakdown, and spent the rest of the evening cleaning up his mess.

    And we can go ahead and skip over Saturday morning too, where I woke up with a headache, went to a funeral, and came home having lost all motivation to conquer my to do list.

    My remedy for this problem was to take Oliver on a walk in hopes that it would help boost my energy, then to take two Tylenol and park myself on the couch in front of Mad Men. In just a few hours I was feeling much better and went to see the Narnia movie with a friend. Afterward David and I went to his parents’ house to spend time with his grandparents before they returned home to Pennsylvania. They’ve been in town since before Christmas, and it’s been so lovely. All of my grandparents died almost ten years ago and I never got a chance to relate to them as an adult. Nowadays I feel like I have the soul of a grandparent so hanging out with them was just perfect for me.

    Sunday was better. I woke up early and did some yoga – first time I’ve exercised in months – and even cleaned a little bit. After church I did some grocery shopping and then actually (gasp!) cooked dinner! I’m super embarrassed but this is also something I haven’t done in a couple of months. I have to say, it wasn’t too bad and it was extremely satisfying to have a home cooked meal with leftovers to take to lunch. I won’t be cooking every night or anything, but maybe I can handle twice a week?

    While I was cooking I spent some time decluttering the junk drawers (for my happiness project) and then David and I settled down to watch The Social Network after dinner. I love having weekends off, and this one was a good mix of productive and relaxing.

  • Bragging Rights

    I can’t let this week pass without commemorating an achievement that I’ve been striving for for years and which may possibly never happen again.

    I grew up around sports. I played them, my brothers played them, and my dad and my brothers watched them. I always knew that when I got married it would be to a man who likes watching sports, not because I do (I enjoy watching a game occasionally, but not as a routine), but because that’s what I was used to from the men in my life.

    All that to say: the men in my family are serious about sports. They border on obsessed. My aunt is the same way with football, but my mom and I just enjoy it as part of our family culture.

    Nowadays, we have certain rituals. Every year we create a pool for the college football bowl games and we make our picks. The winner gets this gorgeous, custom-made trophy:

    Then we pick the NCAA basketball tournament, and whoever had the trophy last has to mail it to the new champion. Being the winner also gets you permission to gloat and serious bragging rights.

    Well, friends, my time has come.

    Yeah, I totally won! My brother said something along the lines of it being “shameful” that since I only watched a handful of games the entire season, but he’s just jealous. I don’t want to think about the number of hours he spent all football season researching his picks, only to lose shamefully to a girl. And anyway, I don’t think I watched ANY games. Impressive, don’t you think? :)

  • Ten On Tuesday: No More Coffee

    I decided to jump back into Ten on Tuesday this week. These questions are hosted by Chelsea and written by Molly.

    1. Is there a band/artist that you HATE?
    I can’t stand listening to screamies in general. I have a special hate for Linkin Park because of some bad memories with an ex-boyfriend, and Nickelback or any band that sounds like them fills me with anger.

    2. What do you do when you get a gift that you do not like? How do you react?
    Pretend I like it and try to think of a particular thing about it that makes it a good gift and tell them so. It was most likely a sacrifice for that person to give it to me, and I want them to feel appreciated. I rarely return gifts.

    3. How is your work office/cubicle decorated?
    It’s a communal space and we all just kind of grab whatever computer station is available. So basically, I don’t get to decorate it. Examples of what I look at on the wall behind me at work: Board of Nursing contact info, intravesical chemotherapy powerpoint, intercom list, and what to do in case of bomb threat. Inspired yet?

    4. Do you use all of your vacation every year?
    I absolutely do; vacation is one of my favorite things. Right now I’m saving mine up for maternity leave which is practical but not very fun at the moment.

    5. Did you have a real or fake Christmas tree?
    We cut down a real one from a Christmas tree farm, and although I enjoyed that experience I admit that I really want a fake, pre-lighted tree. I just couldn’t stand all the needles everywhere.

    6. If you could have anything for dinner tonight, what would it be?
    It’s really hard for me to think about what to eat when I’m not particularly hungry, like now. But as of this moment I think I’d choose a cheesy, tomatoey pasta.

    7. Do you bite your fingernails?
    No, but I keep them very short. I couldn’t stand the unevenness of bitten nails.

    8. How many cups of coffee do you drink each day?
    I used to enjoy 2 cups every morning, but it started wreaking havoc on my stomach so I cut back to a once a week indulgence. Sadly, the last time I drank coffee (and a very weak cup at that) I was extremely jittery for hours and had terrible indigestion. So for now, coffee is out.

    9. Do you have a nervous tick?
    I was just talking about this with my family last night! One of my brothers bites his nails and the other one plays with his hair. The only quirk my parents could come up with for me is that I stick my tongue out when I’m concentrating. I don’t think that really counts as a nervous tick though.

    10.  How often do you vacuum?
    Most of our house is wood floors and I rarely vacuum it, but I sweep it several times a week due to dog hair. The bedrooms get vacuumed probably every few weeks. Not often enough, probably.

     

  • My Happiness Project: January

    As I mentioned in my resolutions post, one of the things I’m doing this year is reading Gretchen Rubin’s book The Happiness Project and creating my own based on her method. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, there is a chapter for each month of the year and each month is about a different area of life. Then you  make resolutions for the month based on that area, and it is all supposed to work toward a happier life.

    January’s focus is vitality, or boosting energy. To summarize Gretchen, when you have energy everything is better and easier so it makes sense to start with this. I realize that I should have read the chapter before January 1st so I could start on my resolutions right away, but that didn’t happen. So I’m a little behind this month, but that’s okay. It’s a work in progress.

    My January resolutions:

    1. Walk at least one of our dogs twice a week (more if possible)
    2. Start exercising (yoga or swimming) at least once a week
    3. Seriously purge and declutter
    4. Create a command central binder
    5. Accomplish three nagging tasks

    As you can see, my resolutions relate to physical and mental energy. Everyone’s needs are different; notice that I didn’t include anything about getting more sleep, because I already get a lot and that’s something that I’m really good at. I’m especially excited about the organizing & decluttering, but I better get working!

    I’m so excited about this project. Have any of you read the book or created happiness projects of your own?