I've reached the point in this pregnancy where I'm sure many of you are wondering what's happening...a few days of silence on the blog could mean I'm at the hospital! So, I will try to keep you posted on what's happening as we enter "baby watch" weeks.
I am at 36.5 weeks and doing pretty well. I am measuring just slightly more rotund than average, my blood sugar levels have been great (no insulin, just diet controlled) and the baby is nice and active. I am tired, slow and feeling huge (this is not really news, now is it?) but other than that am doing just fine. This has been a blessedly uneventful pregnancy.
I have our school's annual fall luncheon on November 11th and, other than Halloween tomorrow, it is the next big thing on my calendar. I figure as soon as it is over this baby is more than welcome to arrive.
We still don't have a name for our little girl (or a seat for her in the car!). We are working on both. I have not yet packed my hospital bag nor have I retrieved the tiniest clothes from their box in the garage. Denial? Not really. Just haven't gotten to it yet. I'll do it this week. Really, I will. At least the crib is ready...probably because I won't use it until she is at least several months old! It's the stuff I will need on day one that I somehow haven't gotten to. Hmmm... Oh, but I HAVE scheduled her baptism, for December 22nd. See, I DO have my priorities straight after all.
I'll do my best to keep you posted on any developments. Thanks for checking in!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
It's What's For Dinner
I have been cooking a lot lately. More than I ever have. We're talking 5 or 6 nights a week of homecooked food where, normally, I only pull off 1 or 2 and fill in the rest with fluff. Now that most of the kids are in school I have learned to use my mornings effectively in preparing dinner so all I have to do is heat or serve at the witching hour. I am feeling quite accomplished!
This week I was doing my now-usual Monday morning meal and grocery planning and asked the kids if they had any requests for dinner. Their response was unanimous and emphatic: nothing home cooked!
Please, they begged pathetically, couldn't we just have some of the things we used to eat, like frozen lasagna from Costco or boxed Macaroni and Cheese? No homemade chili or soup, no kind of saucy chicken dish over rice or pasta and most certainly no more beef stew or pot roast!
These poor, deprived kids. All this time I thought I was doing right by my family by serving them nutritious, home cooked meals. Little did I know I was actually torturing them.
OK, family (Jay excluded, of course). I hear you. This week I will take the week off and you will have your Macaroni and Cheese. You will have your frozen lasagna. And I will enjoy my break. But be warned...I'll be back!
(Perhaps this time, however, I will phase in the home cooking gradually so as not to cause the culture shock I have clearly invoked.)
This week I was doing my now-usual Monday morning meal and grocery planning and asked the kids if they had any requests for dinner. Their response was unanimous and emphatic: nothing home cooked!
Please, they begged pathetically, couldn't we just have some of the things we used to eat, like frozen lasagna from Costco or boxed Macaroni and Cheese? No homemade chili or soup, no kind of saucy chicken dish over rice or pasta and most certainly no more beef stew or pot roast!
These poor, deprived kids. All this time I thought I was doing right by my family by serving them nutritious, home cooked meals. Little did I know I was actually torturing them.
OK, family (Jay excluded, of course). I hear you. This week I will take the week off and you will have your Macaroni and Cheese. You will have your frozen lasagna. And I will enjoy my break. But be warned...I'll be back!
(Perhaps this time, however, I will phase in the home cooking gradually so as not to cause the culture shock I have clearly invoked.)
Monday, October 20, 2008
Thanks...I Guess!
Last Monday was the first day of a new Girl Scout year. Lindsey's Brownie troop had its first meeting of the new school year, and Julia was officially inducted as a Daisy at the same time.
I went to Julia's induction ceremony and got so wrapped up in it that I completely forgot that Lindsey was just down the hall in another classroom having her Brownie meeting. When Julia's meeting ended I began walking to the car, already thinking about the next place I had to be (gymnastics, 30 minutes).
Lindsey's leader saw me heading out of the school grounds and called to me that Lindsey still needed to be checked out. I looked at my watch and realized with a start that I was 20 minutes late to pick her up. Not only was I late, but it was obvious from the direction in which my stroller caravan was heading that I was not, even then, making a mad dash to get her.
Oops.
Now, as you all know from previous "I forgot one of my kids" posts, I always count my kids and account for everyone's whereabouts before I leave any location. I would have caught this error. I just hadn't caught it YET.
Nevertheless, I was sufficiently humbled, especially since Lindsey's wonderful leaders (friends of mine, thank goodness) were inconvenienced by my error. There was no smooth cover up possible--I was clearly caught in a totally clueless moment.
Naturally, I engaged in world-class groveling, both to Lindsey and to her leaders, but I soon realized that it was not necessary. Lindsey had already paved that road for me. As it turns out, Lindsey was kind enough to explain to her leaders that I was pregnant, and that they should really give me a break because I, historically, forget all kinds of things when I am pregnant. She even went so far as to list a number of specific events where I had total brain fade in recent months, and to assure them that I would be back to normal soon. But in the meantime, everyone needed to cut me some slack. (Yes, they were totally amused by this).
At first, all I could think about this was that, even pregnant, I get an awful lot right. Trying to account for 6 children and their various school events and sporting activities (snack schedules, picture days, forms due, etc., etc.) is no small task. Most days everyone is where they are supposed to be on time with all the right equipment. But this is expected, is it not? It is only the relatively few times I mess up that get catalogued. I experienced a defensive moment in the face of this failure but then I quickly recovered.
Before long, I realized how nice it was that no one, especially my abandoned daughter, was irritated with my lapse and that, truly, I should hold on to this "pregnant" excuse as long as I can. Because heaven knows, it is a real one!
So, thank you, my amazingly empathetic daughter, and thank you, my friends, her leaders, for understanding that I am not firing on all cylinders currently. Somehow you managed to leave me feeling grateful and supported rather than completely mortified. That's a nice place to be.
I went to Julia's induction ceremony and got so wrapped up in it that I completely forgot that Lindsey was just down the hall in another classroom having her Brownie meeting. When Julia's meeting ended I began walking to the car, already thinking about the next place I had to be (gymnastics, 30 minutes).
Lindsey's leader saw me heading out of the school grounds and called to me that Lindsey still needed to be checked out. I looked at my watch and realized with a start that I was 20 minutes late to pick her up. Not only was I late, but it was obvious from the direction in which my stroller caravan was heading that I was not, even then, making a mad dash to get her.
Oops.
Now, as you all know from previous "I forgot one of my kids" posts, I always count my kids and account for everyone's whereabouts before I leave any location. I would have caught this error. I just hadn't caught it YET.
Nevertheless, I was sufficiently humbled, especially since Lindsey's wonderful leaders (friends of mine, thank goodness) were inconvenienced by my error. There was no smooth cover up possible--I was clearly caught in a totally clueless moment.
Naturally, I engaged in world-class groveling, both to Lindsey and to her leaders, but I soon realized that it was not necessary. Lindsey had already paved that road for me. As it turns out, Lindsey was kind enough to explain to her leaders that I was pregnant, and that they should really give me a break because I, historically, forget all kinds of things when I am pregnant. She even went so far as to list a number of specific events where I had total brain fade in recent months, and to assure them that I would be back to normal soon. But in the meantime, everyone needed to cut me some slack. (Yes, they were totally amused by this).
At first, all I could think about this was that, even pregnant, I get an awful lot right. Trying to account for 6 children and their various school events and sporting activities (snack schedules, picture days, forms due, etc., etc.) is no small task. Most days everyone is where they are supposed to be on time with all the right equipment. But this is expected, is it not? It is only the relatively few times I mess up that get catalogued. I experienced a defensive moment in the face of this failure but then I quickly recovered.
Before long, I realized how nice it was that no one, especially my abandoned daughter, was irritated with my lapse and that, truly, I should hold on to this "pregnant" excuse as long as I can. Because heaven knows, it is a real one!
So, thank you, my amazingly empathetic daughter, and thank you, my friends, her leaders, for understanding that I am not firing on all cylinders currently. Somehow you managed to leave me feeling grateful and supported rather than completely mortified. That's a nice place to be.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Contrary to Popular Belief...
...this blog has not been abandoned.
It's owner is simply very pregnant. Which means that regular daily tasks are taking longer to complete, leaving less free time for blogging.
So bear with me. I'll be back. Hopefully sooner rather than later!
It's owner is simply very pregnant. Which means that regular daily tasks are taking longer to complete, leaving less free time for blogging.
So bear with me. I'll be back. Hopefully sooner rather than later!
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