Week 26

This week has been a terror at work. I love the kids I work with, but I swear they were on sugar highs all week. They were rude and obnoxious and would not be quiet for anything!! It was rough, but it's done now thankfully. Next week is Thanksgiving break so I don't expect them to be great, but maybe after it's all done and we come back they will be better.

I went to a Mommy Care Basics class at Altru Hospital on Thursday. It was about an hour and a half. It was conducted by a physical therapist there at the rehabilitation center who showed us different ways to deal with all of the fun physical ailments that come with pregnancy and talked about how to deal with all of the fun stuff we'll have to deal with after birth. Then we went downstairs to the gym where we practiced excercizes that will relieve various pains. I talked to her about the sharp pains I've been getting in the past couple of weeks where my legs meet my pelvis. She told me that I should try going to the therapy pool two or three times a week for about a half an hour each to relieve the strain on my abdomen from growing Gabe. She said it might have something to do with how low he is sitting. So, for now, I will be literally rolling out of bed like an old lady and hopefully getting to the warm pool a couple of times a week. We'll see how it goes!

Week 25

Let's see here, I started a new job at Lane Bryant this week. On the one hand, I get a great discount on all kinds of great stuff. On the other, I am pregnant and can't buy clothes. So here I am with access to great stuff at great prices but can't buy any of it. I guess I'm just going to have to deal with the fact that Gabe is making me be financially responsible!! :) He is definitely getting bigger and my tummy is finally starting to show a little bit. I still look like I'm only a few months along, but at least there is something to see now. I started crocheting his layette this week and am excited for it to be finished! It will probably take me awhile since I'm working on it here and there, but it will be great when it's finished. It's going to be a little sweater, cap and booties and if I get time a little afghan. I'll post pictures when I'm finished, though like I said, it will be awhile.

Week 24 Continued

I forgot all about the great show we went to on Sunday last week! We went and saw the Trans Siberian Orchestra!! It was awesome! A little long, especially in the hard stadium seats of the Alerus Center, but still soooo great! I'm sure little Gabe was wondering why the world was vibrating. The light show was great and the music was fabulous! There was a Christmas program and then another separate music set. It was about 2 and 1/2 hours without an intermission. I was mad that Shawn had spent $42 a ticket before we went but after we got there he informed me that $5 of each ticket was an additional donation for the local Humane Society on top of what was being donated from the purchase of the tickets. That made me feel a little better and after the show I definitely felt like we had gotten our money's worth. I highly recommend going to a show if you get a chance!!

Week 24

Wow! What a week! On Monday, we had another ultrasound. What an experience! I drank 27 oz. of water, 5 less than I did for the last one. Before I even left the school I could barely walk (I didn't feel like that until after the last one...). Shawn picked me up and I was seriously uncomfortable by the time we got to the clinic (about 8 blocks away...) By the time I down to the ultrasound wing I felt like I was dying. The tech told me to lay down to try and make it better. It didn't, it just made it worse. The tech left to check our last photos and I spent about 10 minutes trying not to cry and in my crazy state realized that I am going to be really, really bad at labor. I mean, I can't even handle having to pee! When the tech came back I apologized for being whiny and he turned on the machine. He tried to look at Gabe but couldn't see anything because apparently my bladder was too full (a great irony since they tell you that if your bladder isn't full they will reschedule your appointment). So, the tech, my saint, let me pee. Oh goodness if that wasn't just a fantastic relief! Then he got to looking at Gabe and told us that Gabe is really low. That explains why I'm still not really showing and why I am only feeling him move at the very bottom of my tummy and nowhere else.

In other news this week, our candidate won!! Hooray for Obama!! I'm so excited to see what will happen, but apprehensive at the same time that he won't live up to expectations. There is so much riding on his presidency for so many reasons that I hope he is able to handle the pressure. We'll see! Gabe will be born into one of the great historical moments of our country and I am so thankful that not only I, but my children will be alive during this great moment in history!!

Week 23

Gabriel has been moving around like crazy. Shawn finally got to feel him for the first time yesterday morning! Boy, did I get a big kiss. I think Shawn may finally be coming out of his state of shock and denial that this is actually going to happen. He's been so afraid for me and that the pregnancy wouldn't be finished that he's been afraid to let himself get excited. The water heater broke a couple of days ago so I went without a warm shower for awhile. That was an interesting experience. Shawn and one of his SCA friends fixed it yesterday morning and for that I am so very, very grateful!! I finished my last week of homework for my literature class and now only have my final to take. Thank goodness for that! One less stressor in my life! I am working at a place called Party City through the first week of November and have begun gathering fabric and notions for making the nursery bedding. We are going to start purchasing wood and drywall to build the shelving unit and redo the wall in the nursery so I can start the mural. We have our next appointment and ultrasound a week from Monday.

Weeks 20, 21 and 22

Week 20

We went to our first major ultrasound on October 6th. After lots of fighting and rolling around Gabriel finally stuck his little butt up in the air so we could see all of his stuff. It was a long and painful process that included two sonographers, me rolling around from one side to the other and back and ended with me almost peeing my pants on the elevator ride up to the fourth floor where I immediately begged for a cup and a bathroom. Needless to say, we are going in for another on November 3rd. Now we know that there will be a little Shawn wandering around trying to disarm people while wearing tiny armor.

Week 21

Gabe started kicking his way around every once in awhile this week. I woke up in the middle of the night on Thursday to pee and when I stood up he gave me such a jab that I about passed out and had to hold myself up on the wall. When I climbed back into bed he did it again and I just laid there frozen. I swear, Shawn sent him in with a sword...

Week 22

I've started this week by coming down with some sort of bug. I'm not sure if it's just a head cold or if it is something more. There is some more serious stuff going around the school and I really hope that this isn't that. My belly is growing and getting more uncomfortable to move around. I stood up out of my chair the other day and tipped forward. Thankfully the cat tower was there so I could catch myself. My tummy isn't huge, but apparently I'm front heavy anyway!!

Weeks 17, 18, and 19

So, it's been awhile. It has been crazy the past few weeks. I went to an art festival in Detriot, hung out in Madison, quit my new second job, started sleeping funny, got a little sick again, and have started looking for a new-new second job.

Lets see here...Week 17 was spent being really stressed, working and working and working and painting and painting and painting. I barely got any sleep, was really, really anxious and was insanely busy trying to get ready for the show. We left on Sept. 18th for Madison with Shawn's friend Aaron. It was a long drive in a Nissan Qwest, possibly a worse ride than my crappy Neon. It had no shocks and tipped really easy. But, it held us and all of our crap and we made our merry way to the Wisconsin capital. We slept at Shawn's cousin Jo's and the four of us left in the morning for Detriot (after I had a minor meltdown the night before due to a homework scare). (Note: There are tons of adult shops in Indiana, as advertised on the many billboards througout the state.) When we got to Detroit we checked in at the art fair and headed to the hotel to get settled before we had a night on the town and checked out other people setting up at the fair. However, these plans quickly went down the drain as we lost the car keys and spent the night looking through everything, breaking into the Nissan, not finding the keys, calling the lobby, looking around the room some more, trying to figure out what we should order to eat (I was dying...) and then, around 11 pm, finding the keys in the one pocket of Jo's backpack that hadn't been checked. We drove around until we found this little Indian restaurant that was nice enough to make us some delicious dinner to go. We went back to the hotel and indulged ourselves in curried delights.

Week 18: We spent the weekend at the art fair where I got lots of positive feedback and two galleries requested my work. We had some lovely Thai food at this great little restaurant and on Sunday we left right away for Madison after the show. We got back about 2 a.m. We slept a bit and then wandered around Madison. I have to say the city was awesome. I was expecting another Grand Forks or Fargo and it was like being in a little metropolitan hub. We had ice cream made at the university by one of the lakes. It was fun and then we went back to Jo's and watched movies. On Tuesday we left about 5 a.m. so that I could make it to a training for work in GF by 4 p.m. I went to training, came home and rested. I worked the rest of the week, quitting my second job on Friday. They hadn't paid me on the 19th when they were supposed to, nor did they pay me on Monday when they were supposed to and so I quit. (Note: They still haven't paid me....)

Week 19: I've been a bit sick this week but have managed to work and get caught up on my homework. I haven't been able to sleep for the past few nights as comfort is something the baby is finally keeping me from. I have some pillows I slept with last night that alleviated some of the issues, but then I had some crazy dreams that kept me awake. We have our next ultrasound on Monday and I'm excited to find out if it's a boy or a girl.