Grumpy Pants

I am tired of always wearing grumpy pants lately. I am actually making a concious effort to be less grumpy and it's just not working. There are lots of things I can blame...gloomy weather, hormones, abyssmal economy, inept professors and school stresses. The list goes on and on. The good news is that I love my clinical setting. Spending 12 hours in the NICU flies by and I am never grumpy.

I also find that this pregnancy is just flying by. With all the madness, if I didn't make a daily effort to acknowledge the little baby kicking around inside me, I would completely forget I was pregnant. I suppose I should be thankful that I don't have the morning sickness or achey joints or fatigue that so many others have to remind me that my body is really busy hosting a long-term house guest. But sometimes those pains force you to focus on yourself and push aside all of your other less important worries. I also find that I am less inclined to daydream with such looming uncertainties. I want to surf for nursery themes and ways to turn Abigail's room into one that is equally geared to herself and Autumn since they will soon be sharing a room. I want to dream up an awesome nursery theme that I will be happy to sit in for hours on end, but one that will grow with the kid.

I know it will all work out, but in the meantime, I've got to trade in my grumpy pants for some happy pants. Here's a pic of what makes me happy and makes all the madness worth it.

Tidbits

- It is sunny right now, makes me happy.

- Abigail's opthalmalogist swears she has green eyes, not blue.

- I've popped. People can actually tell I'm pregnant.

- Abigail gave the baby belly a hug yesterday, Autumn wanted to thump it.

- I am looking forward to the warm summer sun.

- A little less than 5 weeks before the ultrasound.

- I like the new show "Kings". I hope it doesn't get cancelled.

-I choose not to burden you with my negativity today.

A Hug or a Headlock?


Doing the Good-bye Dance

Abigail and Her Kindergarten BFF in Circus Attire

So Much, So Little Time

Well, it's actually been quite busy around here. No time + no motivation = no blogging. I'm still loving the career and the unit, but am hating school. Nothing new, so I won't bore you with the rant.

I had my monthly appointment with my midwife on Monday. Up 8 pounds, which is far more than I've ever gained this early in a pregancy. But, I started out lighter than other pregnancies, so I will likely still top out at the 159 mark come delivery time. Guess my body just wants to hit a certain max, regardless of how much I weigh at the beginning. Definitely feeling little kicks. No one else can yet, but they're there. Almost 17 weeks.

My friends have gone through all the old wives tales to figure out if it's a boy or a girl. I think it's still split down the middle. I like to eat savory and sweet. The heart rate is 140. The chinese gender calendar is ambiguous. Several have had gut feelings that it's a boy. We'll just have to wait the 5.5 weeks to find out. And, my ridiculous baby boy streak has been broken. A nurse at work is having a girl.

Abigail's kindergarten class put on a circus today. Sadly, I had class, but Brian and Autumn attended and took pictures. They rode bikes, did gymnastics, told jokes and did magic tricks. There was even a "strong man" that picked up a very "heavy" styrofoam barbell. Wish I'd been there. The kids charged money; 10 cents for kids/$1 for adults; to help them practice counting money. Then they are going to use the proceeds to adopt a sea turtle to mirror their lesson about the life cycle of the leatherback sea turtle.

Autumn is getting very good at writing her ones and Ts, wowing her teachers with her mad writing skills.

We're gearing the kids up for bunk beds in the next month and a half or so and Brian is still plugging away at the job hunt. I'm confident everything will work out, but until I have confirmation of that I will be wicked stressed. Watch out. My tolerance and patience for anything beyond my immediate family or the NICU babies is absolutely zero.

Spring Break

It's Spring Break for me, but this snow certainly doesn't make it feel very Springy. I have been able to catch up on clinical hours and some papers; if I can just keep up my momentum. A neighbor invited Abigail out to go sledding on Monday and she had a blast. (I was sleeping off night shift and Brian has a cold, so I am very greatful that she got to enjoy the snow).

We are all adjusting to the new routine. We cut Autumn's daycare down by 70%, so she is getting used to spending more time at home. I am trying to relearn how to juggle my time. Brian is on kid duty, but I still feel torn between wanting to help out, yet still having a lot of school work to do that prevents me from helping out.

Despite all the chaos and stress, I know that when I hear my kids giggle and see them playing together the rest just doesn't matter. That is also probably why I'm taking the time blog about the newest edition every week. It guarantees me one moment to forget about the economy and focus on the future...when I will have earning power and Brian will have a job and we will be able to see all five faces in our family smiling.

Look at me, I can suck my thumb already!

I still fit in my prepregnancy jeans, but after wearing them every day for a week, I decided I needed to pull out the maternity clothes to give myself some variety. Seems funny when I don't feel big enough to need them yet, but I guess maybe I do. The bones are all formed and should be hardening up over the next couple of weeks. I still get some flutters, but I'm looking for those big kicks that say, "don't forget about me in here!" We've got seven more weeks until the ultrasound and I won't even begin to guess if it's a boy or a girl. I will say this...my baby boy count is up to 17! I will either perpetuate this trend or break it (very intuitivue of me, right?). Can't wait to find out. Regardless of a boy or a girl, I still want to do a nerdy nursery. Science is fun for a boy or a girl!