Duly Noted

I was going to write :"our little nugget's due date came and went," but she isn't a nugget anymore!  Not even close!  She is feeling like a real baby in there!  All knees and elbows.  Regardless, her due date came and went on Wednesday.  This wasn't a surprise for anyone, including me, although I was hoping that maybe she would make an unexpected appearance in the days leading up to May 25th.  The good news is that Mike is done teaching for the year and I decided to make Tuesday my last day, so we have been enjoying some time together with Misha at daycare.  These past couple of days have been rather peaceful as we have finished some projects (our basement guest room is ready!), started some new ones (Mike is replacing all outlets- he is on a total home repair kick), whipped up some desserts (strawberry shortcakes with ricotta filling, one of my favorites), and organized stuff (like an electronics drawer- found an undeveloped one-use camera from 201...

Yesterday, on the stairmaster, an article in Parents magazine directed me to listen to the podcast Pregnancy Confidential ; each episode zooms in on one week of pregnancy.  Naturally, I tuned into week 38.  The hosts captured my attention immediately: "Week 38: You're probably feeling pretty desperate to get that baby out, and really terrified of the possibility that the baby might come out."  They hit the nail on the head.  I described this idea to Mike, and he said, "Well, not terrified ,  right? "  I suppose he is right, "terrified" is not exactly the right word.  It's more like, soon our lives will be forever changed.   It's a big deal. I feel very similar to how I felt as I waited for Misha, varying between: a) I can't WAIT to be NOT PREGNANT! b) Trying to stay in present in the moment- wrapping up the school year and appreciating time with Misha and Mike...the miracle feeling elbows and knees pushing on my rib cage. c) Peaking ov...

Those who've recently experienced pregnancy will know what I mean when I say I have feel like I have been pregnant FOR-EV-AHHH  and, simultaneously, I cannot believe that I beginning to count weeks to the "due date." On one hand, I am anxious to move without restriction, and I can't WAIT to wear something other than my pregnancy clothes (ugh!).  But, on the other hand, it is a little sad to think that I have only eight weeks or so of feeling kicks to the ribcage and waking up to disco parties in my uterus.  When I give myself a chance to pause, I am able to appreciate the miracle of carrying another life inside of my own! This week is our spring break- Mike and I have the same one this year (again! yay!).  Three years ago, I was waiting for Misha to be born.  This waiting is not so different.  It is really difficult to imagine meeting this little one and bringing her home.  Even though there are less unknowns than the first time around (for instanc...

This past weekend was of the toodling variety.  What's toodling, you ask?  Toodling involves doing this and that, following one's whims. Friday was a fairly lazy day.  Mike and I declared Fridays as "M-Cubed Day," a day of adventures with little Misha. We were talking about going to the Landscape Arboretum (our wedding locale) this past Friday, but Misha fell asleep and, consequently, I fell asleep and then motivation drifted along with us to dreamland.  Lucky for us, the day ended on an effortless high note when our dear friends came over and made dinner Nicaraguan style, complete with our favorite tostones (fried plantains!). Saturday morning, I headed out for a longish run with another old friend along river road.  Often, I take Rachel the dog or Misha with me when I run, so running solo feels like a treat.  I love my little home team, but I feel so light with my hands free.  Post run, Misha and I checked out our local farmer's market.  Not...

So here we are- four days on the other side of April 1st.  I have yet to start a conversation without the confirmation, "No baby."  It is understandably challenging to think about anything else. That said, I no longer support the issuing of a "due date."  It is widely reported that first time mothers typically go at least a week over the "due date."  But still, that due date lingers like light at the end of a 40 week tunnel.  When an expectant mom is turned away at the gate (I'm picturing that cranky guard in Wizard of Oz- "Who's knocking on that door?"), a new kind of waiting game begins.  I wholly recommend an institutionalized shift to the term "guess date." It's a little ridiculous to think I am edgy over a few extra days.  Soon our little one will be with us for good, for forever.  Mike reminds me that this "late" arrival is a blessing; this week is our spring break so we have been able to relax and en...

My friend sent these words from Mary Oliver to acknowledge the mystery of birth and humanity. I like that the spirit "would rather plumb rough matter" than float. I picture Misha as a feisty little spirit. Fierce and entering the world "like a stitch of lightening." All poignant imagery to keep in mind during labor. Poem (the spirit likes to dress up) The spirit  likes to dress up like this:   ten fingers,   ten toes, shoulders, and all the rest  at night   in the black branches,     in the morning in the blue branches  of the world.   It could float, of course,     but would rather plumb rough matter.  Airy and shapeless thing,   it needs     the metaphor of the body, lime and appetite,  the oceanic fluids;   it needs the body's world,     instinct and imagi...

Week 37 has not been my best week but my head is above water and there is sunshine on my skin again.  I felt pretty run down thus skipping my power hour (or half hour) of sweaty glory at the gym- a combination that never improves my state- pregnant or not.  On Thursday, the tides changed when I refused to listen to my laundry list of excuses and dragged my sorry pregnant self onto the elliptical.  After "sweeping out the cobwebs" (as my mom likes to say), I felt like a new woman. I am completely aware that my mental/emotional state depends on exercise (especially in the fresh air).  It's certainly an addiction in the sense that when I go without it, I crave it, I behave differently, and I get cranky and downtrodden.  But, is that necessarily a bad thing?  It's nice to know that I can rely on movement for some positive energy.  A little sweat and fresh air is all it takes. IN OTHER NEWS...I have to chuckle at myself.  I am the WORST at IKEA....

So, what's going on at 36 weeks?  Here are a few observations. Baby... Baby is an acrobat.  This doesn't surprise me as the first ultrasound at about 6 weeks revealed the little guy bouncing up and down and throwing bows in his pod (throwing bows= dance move, throwing elbows).  Now, he thinks it is hilarious to kick me in the rib cage and let his foot linger for a while.  He likes to somersault during class discussions  and distract me from my eager 11th graders.  He is clearly displaying early signs of class clown.  This is worrisome.  He also tends to move when I (or he?) is hungry.  Instead of a 5 o'clock cocktail, I get a 5 o'clock kick in the ribs.  :)  I love it. Me... My belly bump is for real at this point.  Although, at parent/teacher conferences, several of my 11th grade parents expressed utter dismay when I said "Yup, so I only have four more weeks left...(eyebrow lift/grimace/anger)...because I am due April 1s...

Mike proudly displays his loot. On the roof. A real baby bump. Christmas cookies. Rachel poses beneath the tree. This is actually from Thanksgiving, but an accurate and timeless display of Vasich game nights.

You know the song, "It's the most wonderful time of the year..."  That's pretty much my mantra starting around Thanksgiving week and wrapping up in mid January. As I write this post, I am listening to the holiday station (programmed on all household and vehicle radios) AND Mike is currently buying out Menard's stock of holiday lights. Here's a glimpse of the weekend's festive and not-really-festive happenings: Today, The Longfellow Lights Committee prepares this year's awards.  A popcorn bucket and Muppet's Christmas Carol will keep us on task as we cut and glitter (yes, I used glitter as a verb). Mike and I attended an 8-hour Childbirth Express Class on Saturday.  I should write an entire post about this, but for now, I will say that we feel confident and excited about the birth process.  We also quizzed each other on childbirth trivia all the way home.   True or false- a newborn should have 3 soiled diapers before it leaves the hospit...

Even though this race report from a few weeks ago, I am posting it anyway as it hallmarks a distinct running moment in my journey as a female runner.  I signed up for the Big Woods Run trail half-marathon with my friend, Rose, before I knew I was pregnant.  I ran this race in 2010 and it remains one of my favorite trail races in Minnesota as the course follows wooded paths up and down hilly ravines.  Come October 2012 and four months pregnant, I wasn't willing to drop out of the race as I ached for the solitude of the tall trees and the sound leaves crunching beneath my running shoes. Rose and I started the race together with the plan that she would run ahead after a couple miles and I would find her husband after running five or six miles.   The problem with this plan is that the race course looks like this: The only place accessible to cars is where highway 29 crosses the course, somewhere around mile three or four.  Now if you know me at all, I am just...