16 weeks

We had an awesome Thanksgiving break. Five days of no school is wonderful. We fed eleven at Thanksgiving dinner and learned that it is a little easier to prepare a large meal while totally sober - as opposed to last year when we were slightly lit up and couldn't figure out why the turkey wouldn't cook.... The Friday after Thanksgiving was great. We did nothing but go to the bookstore (which was packed), read, watch movies, and hang out -- peace. Later in the weekend we cut down a xmas tree, decorated the house and the tree, read, and watched more movies.

Today was like going from 0 to 80. School for both of us was totally nuts. The adults, the children, the staff, the parents...all of them...crazy today. I think it is the readjustment to a regular schedule. We both got home and took a long walk with the dog and spewed our days to each other. We are now relaxing, blogging, and writing xmas cards.

Pregnancy: Going quite well at this point. I feel great and I am very pleased the baby is making its own hormones now. I have minor cramping on and off and every once and awhile a big ligament cramp. My clothes are decreasing, but I am making due. I bought a Bella Band this weekend....what a great invention. I wore it all day Saturday and it felt great and kept my pants up. For those who don't know -- a BellaBand is a spandex tube top that is worn around your waist and over your pants. It helps keep the pants up, even if they are unbuttoned.

We still haven't bought anything for the baby or its room. We will find out the week of xmas if it is a boy or a girl, that will help us determine our decorating needs.

We have 19 more school days until our xmas break.....not that we are counting or anything... ;)

E-

just stuff

Not much is new here. E is feeling much better...no more queasiness, not as exhausted (although we did go to bed at 8 p.m. the other night). We are back to eating more normal meals instead of waiting until the last moment to see what would sound good to E.

A funny aside to our food and drink story...when E became pregnant she obviously stopped drinking and so did I. (It's just not as fun without her.) We started going out to eat a lot because E didn't like the smell of food cooking in the house. I assumed we'd be spending over our allotted food budget. However, it turned out we spent a lot less...because we weren't buying beer. Yet another perk of being pregnant. :)

We had a doctor's appointment last week and got to hear the baby's heartbeat again. A strong 165 beats a minute. A couple people have asked me if the gender can be determined from the heartbeat. Everything I've read says it's an old wives tale, so I guess we have to wait for our 20-week ultrasound to be sure.

We have done absolutely nothing to get ready for the baby. I guess I should clarify that...we have neither done anything to the nursery nor have we bought anything. We have prepared by saving our money and taking care of all the lawyer stuff. Our good luck in finding professionals whom we like has held out. Our lawyer is as funny and caring and excellent as our doctor.

This week will fly by for us because tomorrow is our last day of work. Thursday will bring an influx of 11 of my family members. That's down from last Thanksgiving's gathering of 23...the little one will have plenty of cousins to grow up with.

Sometimes it's still hard to believe that we get to have a baby. I love being with E...even on days like this past weekend when we just make a jigsaw puzzle and clean the house. She always gives me crap for not putting it in a blog post........I don't want to take away her fun, so I won't write about how wonderful she is and how much I love her.

m

14 Weeks

I am somewhere in my 14th week of pregnancy. I think things are going well. We see the doctor tomorrow and I am sure hearing the heartbeat will reassure me and remind me that everything is okay. I think I am in the stage of pregnancy where not a lot happens. I am not really showing yet - except our weekly pictures prove that I am getting bigger, but at this point only M can really tell. I have gained about 3 pounds as of this morning.

I feel so much better it is unreal. I actually feel like a real person again. I can pretty much eat what I want and I don't have those crazy craving anymore. I am trying to eat more fruit and not snack between meals anymore. I am hungry in the morning hours, but it passes after lunch. I do not miss the upset belly or constant food struggle at all. However, I still want to go to bed as early as M will let me.

The clothes are still a major issue. I still have three pairs of regular pants that I am wearing and I did break down and buy a few maternity tops, but you can't even tell they are maternity so that is great. They are just much longer which helps a ton. My mother and sister sent me a box of clothes that helped a lot with a few skirts and button up tops. Tomorrow I am trying maternity tights! woohoo!

Today in my office a variety of pregnant women were talking about all the stuff they already have....cribs, strollers, baby carriers, etc. We have 2 bibs, 2 onzies, and a toy (all excellent gifts from M's mom). I don't think we are behind. I think my co-workers are super excited and ready to buy. My mind isn't there yet. I am actually more focused on the rest of the house and not on the nursery. I am obsessing over the best way to dust wood blinds. Crazy, I know. I am also waiting for the women of my world to stand up and buy me a gift. I didn't get to get married. I didn't have a bridal shower. I get a damn nice baby shower. Actually, I think we will get several from some very dear and sweet friends.

M surprised me last night with a gift certificate for a manicure and pedicure at our favorite day spa. She has been great and has been very patient with me. I watched Oprah today about the "loves of a lifetime" and I thought of M often. We worked hard to get where we are -- at one point we actually made of list of things we had to do to end up together -- it was a very long list, but we did it and we had a lot smiles along the way. I am lucky to have her and she is damn lucky to have me!

P.S. I do have a funny left eye twitch. It twitches all day. Driving me nuts.

is it monday yet?

We spent the weekend getting ready for winter. Here's what we did in no particular order:

1. washed windows
2. cleaned the house
3. did a million loads of laundry (duvets, sheets, etc.)
4. mowed the lawn
5. drained the gas out of the mower
6. fired up the snowblower (good thing...snow flew today)
7. ripped out the dead tomato plants and herbs
8. planted about 150 tulip bulbs
9. trimmed back bushes and shrubs
10. spread the winterizing fertilizer
11. took three bags of lawn stuff to yard waste place
12. took a bunch of stuff to goodwill
13. turned off and drained the outdoor faucets
14. put the hose away

I woke up this morning and said to E, "Look at my eyes. I am more tired this morning than I was Friday after work...and we gained an hour of sleep!"

We did have a good time and feel great about having everything ready for winter. E is still feeling queasy on and off. In the middle of the night on Saturday I awoke to her getting sick. She was fine after a little while...probably a bad idea to eat leftover Halloween candy for dessert. hehee We finished the weekend with good food, though....E's turkey lasagna (yum!) and a salad.

So, after all that, I have to ask: Is it Monday yet? I'm sure we'll be in bed by 8 p.m. tonight.

m

Day 1

I wore my first "maternity" shirt today. I have pants that are one size up from my normal size and they still fit great. A co-worker gave me two bins of her old maternity clothes and I weeded through them and found about 15 items that will serve me well. So, today I put on a long comfy, cozy, cute, thin light blue hoodie and felt great. It was wonderful not having to pull at my tighter shirts and constantly re-adjust all day. I am going to look for more shirts like that. I haven't gained much weight, but my waist has changed and my lower abdomen has gotten a little bigger. And, since I usually worn sweaters/tops that were more form fitting my shirt selection has taken a big hit.

I have about 8 co-workers who are all pregnant. The closest are L who is 2 weeks ahead of me, J who is 4 weeks ahead of me. Both of them have very clear bumps and are in maternity pants. J and I worked the most together and have a great time comparing notes. It is both of our firsts. We will email each other things like, "K- I couldn't take it anymore, I rolled my pantyhose down to my hips..." or "why is my bra trying to squeeze me to death...?" About every 3 days we catch up and giggle about our changing bodies.

M and I had a wonderful 4 days break last week and it just reminds me of how much I love to just hanging out with her. We will wander through our days, talking, laughing, planning, working, and just relaxing. There are moments when we are both in this zone of talking and talking and talking. It usually occurs on a weekend morning when we are reading the paper. One of us will ask some random question and the next thing you know it is noon and we have been talking about our past, present, or future experiences/thoughts for hours. You never know when it will happen, but when it does it truly reminds me of how we fell in love and how much I still learn from her. I hope in our future we still find a little time for those conversations.

E-