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One of the most beautiful experiences in the world is having a baby fall asleep on you. It's so relaxing and peaceful and specifically, Andrew is too precious. :)
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Here are some random thoughts and notes about life with Andrew:
Andrew was born at 6lbs, 4.85oz which I typically round up to 5oz. He dropped to 5lbs, 12-13oz when he left the hospital and was still there a few days later at his first doctor's appointment with Dr. Aliabadi. By his two week appointment, he was up to 7lbs, 4oz. We'll see where he is in a month.
Over the past three weeks, I have watched his eyebrows grow from nothing to being fairly noticeable. It's amazing.
I've been in awe most of the time, except when I'm overwhelmed with tiredness at certain hours of the night or day when the exhaustion kicks in or when I really don't want to change his poopy diaper for the third time in ten minutes or so. It's so hard to believe I've been blessed with such a beautiful little boy, who I've accidentally let pee in his own face a few times. Overall, there have been way more good experiences and joys than upsetedness or frustration.
I have broken down a few times, specifically twice within the first week. The first time (I don't remember the exact tday) I got really upset one night when I was exhausted and cried myself to a one and a half to three hour slot of sleep. The second time was the 20th, when Chris's mom and Theresa were over and we were getting Andrew ready to go to his first Mass outside of the womb and I got really frustrated with Chris because he was trying to put the 0-3 month size Mass outfit we'd bought (little tan collared shirt with blue overalls) on and it was huge because Andrew still hadn't gained back much weight. It took me a good ten or so minutes to calm down. Nevertheless, both were over such little things.
Granted, I think I was also frustrated one of those times (likely the 20th) because so many people had been over and I had so little time with Andrew that day and I felt very separated from him. I didn't like the feeling that I hadn't seen him or done anything with him for most of the day. I felt very cut off from him and I didn't like it. Since, I have thought about how I will be returning to work in just over a month and entirely back to full-time in about a month and a half, and I haven't liked that feeling either. I'm very torn: I'm both excited to go back but will miss being home with Andrew. However, I keep reminding myself that he is not mine and that I do not have ownership over him. He is a gift from God who I am meant to protect and lead back to Him. Andrew is so blessed to have so many people looking out for him and to have so many people who love him. It kind of reminds me of the idea that a family is more than the immediate family in so many other areas of the world and history. It's kind of cool.
Even though the first week was a little hectic with all of the visitors, I truly enjoy being around others and having others around to hold him and my being able to have the freedom to do something without listening for Andrew to start crying from the other room and then needing to pick him up to calm him down. It's so hard to get stuff done, even putting together a meal or trying to fold laundry or anything is more complicated. Therefore, it's been especially great when taking him to my grandparents' house or to Chris's parents'. I don't have to do any sort of chores or monitoring Andrew except for feeding him and watching other people take care of him. It's a nice break from feeling the need and desire to constantly watch him, which again, I'm more than willing to do, but again, it's a break.
I've been fascinated by Andrew's little feet and hands. I'm especially amazed by the smoothness of his feet and how he will curl his toes towards your finger if you stroke his toes.
Andrew's such an eager and easily frustrated eater. I haven't been able to ween him off the breast shield I've been using since the hospital because he gets so frustrated when he can't get any milk without it. I really want to stop using it, but I'm worried that he won't eat enough without it. I should spend one feeding working with him on it instead of attempting and then giving up as I've been doing since bringing him home from the hospital.
When he's hungry, before he gets to the point of crying, Andrew makes little "eh, eh" noises and if you hold him, he'll go after his fingers or thumb, your arm, your chest, etc. His head kind of bounces on the arm or chest as he kind of pecks, looking for food. It's super cute.
When Andrew sleeps, he makes all these little noises and flails his arms or legs and sometimes even whimpers, but he typically goes back to sleep. He makes soft little "oh" and squeaky sounds as he's beginning to sleep.
This week he has started gripping my shirt or arm as I'm holding him and when I go to put him down in the pram or crib at times, he's holding on and it takes a little effort to pry his little hand off.
At this point, this past week especially, Andrew has about two super alert periods a day, where he's awake for an hour or two before resuming his napping, feeding, more napping, more feeding, etc. schedule. When he's awake, his eyes are wide open and his mouth forms this litlte "o" shape and he stares off towards the light.
He grunts and cries when he's trying to have a bowel movement.
He's started smiling some at random times towards the end of his alert periods and as he's drifting off to sleep. It's so so cute. It'll be so awesome when he starts smiling on purpose.
Also, Chris is amazing with Andrew. Chris loves holding and staring at Andrew, has been more than willing to change diapers, and has been constantly cleaning and keeping up with cooking when he hasn't been at work. He has been wonderful.
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Blog entry on nursing and babies with sensitive stomachs. Apparently I'll have to really cut down on chocolate and possibly, red sauce (I'm guessing the acidity may be too much at times). Cutting back on broccoli won't be a problem really; I haven't eaten too much at all recently and have had absolutely no desire to consume spinach, much to Chris's disappointment (he wants to eat spinach).
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As I was pulling out of the Y section after dropping my brother off so he could return to bed before having to get up for Mass, I saw a turtle on the side of Race Track Road. It was so cool. I hope it doesn't get run over by a car. It's gorgeous outside right now: sunny, some white clouds, and warm but not hot. :)
[Edit: My brother stayed the night because by the time he and Chris finished sealing/connecting the PVC pipe that Jim was using to create a wiffleball backstop, I was asleep and Chris hadn't wanted to drive him home then... sometime between 12:30 and 1am]
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I don't remember what I did during the day Friday after getting out of bed for the final time at 10am. Maybe I finished washing and folding baby clothes. Anyway, Chris came home eventually and we discussed potential cell phone options because his phone really hadn't been working all day. We looked into various phones but then determined that the two years would be up at the end of July so he's going to push through until then. I think I might be lending him my cell phone to take with him throughout the day this week because I'll be home and may need to reach him about going to the hospital. This is all in case his battery dies - which it was doing daily before he got a new battery and before the other day when the phone wouldn't let him call anyone unless it was through voice command. When he switched back to his old battery, he was able to call as usual, but that means his phone might die daily yet again. We'll see. I really don't want to end up not being able to reach him. I know I can rely on my mom if needed, but I'd really rather go to the hospital with Chris. Anyway, once we got motivated to leave, we went to Annapolis (which took an hour or so because of traffic) for Matt's 20th Birthday Party, being hosted by Mary in the Maryland Catholic Conference building. It was my first time breaking apart crabs to eat. I've eaten crab before, but usually in the form of crab cakes or on top of some other seafood like lobster or shrimp. It was hard and kind of gross, but I managed. From 7:40 or so until 11 or so, we hung out, enjoyed the crabs (and I particularly devoured part of the vegetable platter because I'd been slacking on my veggie intake that day) and ice cream cake (peanut butter oreo ice cream on top of oreos and a bottom layer of vanilla ice cream) and the company of many people. I mostly chatted with Chris, Anthony, and Jane, but Mary and Matt as well as Sierra, Michelle, and the others I didn't know at the table had good conversations, too. We headed home and got to bed around midnight.
We didn't set an alarm for Saturday, but I think I was officially out of bed around 9. We ended up heading to the Verizon store (to return the newer battery), Kohl's (which was having a sale that we heard about the previous evening on the radio so we made several purchases for Chris for new items to replace many things that were falling apart, wearing out, or full of holes), and then Giant (to shop for miscellaneous items and the cookout for Sunday). Chris made a wonderfully delicious lunch out of random items in the fridge that I would never have thought to put together (whole grain fajita wraps, greek yogurt, a greatly improved garbanzo bean and rice mixture, grilled zucchini and onions, and grilled pork). We then cleaned up a little while waiting for Lindsay to show up. When she arrived, we gave her a tour of the house before she I and went out to Starbucks, where we'd intended on sitting and chatting for a little, but it was stuffy so we came back here to sit in the backyard while Chris worked on more pork-related preparations. It was really good to see and talk with her because it'd been a long time, besides the semi-regular contact via livejournal, her blog, or email (though more so the first two). After she left, I ran out to the grocery store for green peppers, returned home to drop them off, and then Rips for beer. Chris finished preparing dinner not too long after my parents and Jim arrived and we enjoyed a nice dinner of pork wellington and grilled corn with various forms of brownie and rocky road ice cream for dessert. Towards the end of dinner, it was decided that Chris, Jim, and I would go see Up in 3D at 9:30 at Regal (after much protest on my part because of the extra expense and the later time than the non-3D version) . It was worth the splurge to see it in 3D although I'm sure it would have been as good without. It was an amazingly done movie. I absolutely loved it. I also almost cried three times... twice at the very beginning and another time further in. I'm glad that I decided I would see it in the theaters instead of waiting to see it on DVD from Redbox. It was really touching.
After Mass today, Fr. Drew said I should go to the Sacred Heart picnic to have one of their spicy Italian sausages to help baby along. Chris and I had to decline because we were hosting a cookout of our own, which Chris did most of the prep for as always. I did a little cleaning, but Chris also cleaned up the once again almost empty room and organized various parts of baby's room yet again. The crib is finally ready for the little one to sleep in when he arrives. Anyway, it was a wonderful day. Ana, Catherine, Estefania, Anthony, Tim, Mike, Joey, and eventually Naciem all came. During Estefania's tour of the house, we got stuck in baby's room, discussing various baby-related and other things which Ana and Catherine joined in on when they found us eventually because we'd been gone a while. It was so nice. Someone came to tell us eventually that food was ready so we all went outside to enjoy the nice weather, pesto crostini, and gourmet burgers (burgers had garlic, some sort of chili pepper, and another type of onion whose name I can't remember inside of them along with other seasonings inside of them and then on top, we could add a mayo mixture Chris made along with mushrooms and feta cheese - super delicious!). We sat outside for a while before moving inside to clean up, cool down, and enjoy the chocolate and strawberry ice cream cake Estefania brought with her. We never got to her watermelon (whcih I want to eat, but am not movitated to cut up now). Afterwards, we had Chris take a picture of the girls (I don't like how I look in the pictures, but the other girls look beautiful as always) and then Estefania and I headed back to baby's room to talk one on one before she head out to Ellicott City. We had a good talk and I really hope we talk more soon. Oh, also, Estefania gave us a stroller! I am so amazed by her generosity and can't even put it entirely into words. She is such a beautiful person, both inside and out, anyway and this absolutely blew me away. I can't really transition from that, but as she was leaving, Erin called, and it was good to hear from her.
I look forward to the rest of the summer, whenever baby arrives, and spending more time with friends and family than I may have done during the school/work year. It's going to be a summer full of new, amazing, and challenging experiences. The past few days have been really great though, even though I've been slacking on blogging about the baby shower last week (which I will note was really nice as well) and the final week of school including a faculty meeting, complete with 2 baby showers, 2 bridal showers, and a retirement party rolled into one luncheon. People in general are really generous and I am always amazed by that as well. I loved being able to share the past week with everyone who visited. <3
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"Children and Parents" - Fulton Sheen
"The Domestic Church: Room by Room A Mother's Study Guide" - Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle
"Bringing up Geeks; How to Protect Your Kid's Childhood in a Grow-Up-Too-Fast World" - Marybeth Hicks
"A Mother's Rule of Life: How to Bring Order to Your Home and Peace to Your Soul" - Holly Pierlot
"Please Don't Drink the Holy Water" - Susie Llyod
"Bless Me, Father, For I Have Kids" - Susie Lloyd
"Mom to Mom, Day to Day: Advice and Support for Catholic Living" - Danielle Bean
"before i go" - Peter Kreeft
"Understanding the Scriptures: A Complete Course on Bible Study (The Didache Series)" - Scott Hahn
"Chosen and Cherished: Biblical Wisdom for Your Marriage" - Kimberly Hahn
"Grace and Gifted: Biblical Wisdom for the Homemaker's Heart" - Kimberly Hahn
"Grace Cafe: Serving up Recipes for Faithful Mothering" - Donna Marie Cooper O'Boyle
With money and time, I will read all of these. Until then, I will continue reading the useful and motivating blogs.
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Assuming labor doesn't start within the next 48 hours, I get to see Lindsay tomorrow afternoon and Estefania and Ana (maybe Catherine and Jess) on Sunday! :) I haven't seen Lindsay in over a year and haven't seen Estefania since the wedding. I'm excited <3
I'm also excited because baby's clothes are washed (to be put away in drawers later) and the other room is slowly returning to its semi-normal state of emptiness.
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Brown a package (1.?? something pounds) of 80/20 ground beef seasoned with salt and pepper
Drain grease and water
Add olive oil
Add 1/2 (or more) of an onion and 5 cloves garlic
Add a tablespoon + of dried thyme
Add 1 28oz can tomato sauce
Add 2 cut up plum tomatoes
Add garlic powder
Add some red pepper flakes
Add a cup or so of water
Simmer for 30 or so minutes
Serve on top of spaghetti with shredded mozzerella cheese on top
It ended up being delicious, even if I never make it again.
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I love hearing sequences chanted at Mass. The cantor that did it for Easter Vigil also did it for Pentecost today before the Gospel reading. It was so beautiful.
Secondly, Mass closed with the Regina Coeli and The Strife is O'er. I love both of those. :)
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About Jesus Christ and the Church, I simply know they're just one thing, and we shouldn't complicate the matter. – St. Joan of Arc
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Who needs alarms anymore on days off when the bladder and a moving baby will take care of wake-ups for you?
Yesterday was 1 and 3am; Today was almost 1am, something, and 6am until I woke up again just before 8am.
Mark Shea wrote a really interesting article called "Cooperating with the Creator: The Church and Birth Control" which, for the entire first half of the article, barely addresses the Church and birth control at all, which, I think, helped make the article great.
( Quoted )
Mark Shea also wrote a shorter article called "God Knows Our Hearts" which I found to be quite interesting as well. I do think I tend more toward asking if I trust God more so than is God trustworthy... the former apparently pleases the devil and the latter frustrates him. With the former, we can delve deep into ourselves and continually ask if we do (which I have been quite guilty of in the past) and the latter allows us to turn to God, to come to know Him better, and trust in Him based upon all of the records throughout the Bible and what the Church has taught throughout history. We can turn to Him and ask Him for help, going to His own person rather than to ourselves, which only God can know perfectly.
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Equality is typically predicated on characteristics that do not imply actions, because actions are always choices. Skin color is irrelevant. And unchosen. Sexual orientation is almost certainly unchosen, but the decision to incorporate a sexual desire into one's identity, and then to act on it, is a decision. Maybe most people think it's the right decision, the healthiest decision, but the point is that it's a choice, and subject to moral reflection. A sexual desire is not its own justification. And a further step in moral reasoning is needed to elevate the right to do what one wishes in private into a right to enter a gay marriage. Gay marriage as an equality right thus represents a strange new hybrid -- it's the right to act in a certain way, to have the state and other institutions bless one's actions, and to punish people (the way we punish bigots) for expressing disagreement with those actions. It is a totally novel equality right, an equality right on steroids. - Maggie Gallagher's "Redefining Religious Liberty."
Oh and Doug Kmeic's newest idea is absurd: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16128
The world has weekends, and we have holy days. The world prepares us to be food for worms; the Church invites us to the wedding feast of the Lamb. - Anthony Esolen's "A Way of Beholding the World."
Speaking of coffee, you will find time to pray throughout the day which I refer to as “waiting pockets.” Waiting for the coffee to brew, the shower to get hot, the microwave to beep, the computer to start up, your car engine to heat up, the traffic light to change…there are endless numbers of things you wait for in the day. Most these waits are small, but plenty big to fill with a prayer or a few words directed to heaven. - Patti Maguire Armstrong's "Pockets of Prayer."
I loved the entirety of the "Pockets of Prayer" article. It's something I need to incorporate into my life more often. It's a beautifully well-written article. <3
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Exegesis: a critical interpretation of text.
Hermeneutics: Interpretation of all forms of communication including written, verbal, and nonverbal.
Thank you, Wikipedia, for clarifying.
While waiting for the sonogram yesterday, I started reading the introduction to Pope Benedict XVI's "Jesus of Nazareth" because I thought I should read the introduction before beginning the actual work. Well, his introduction discusses the methodology of his research and writing using words such as exegesis (not explained in the glossary in the back) and hermeneutics (explained in the back). Based upon textual context, I figured exegesis had to do with critical reading of some sort, but it's really easy to get stuck on words. Based upon the introduction which I still have yet to finish, Pope Benedict XVI is truly an academic.
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Baby has a room (with no sheets) and a doctor. I'm pretty happy. I'll be even happier after Chris and I clean the house for Sunday :) I don't have work tomorrow so I can slowly work on dusting, vacuuming, picking up random items, and partial bathroom cleaning (what doesn't involve bending down or over). I may also work on the book my mom bought for baby, start developing wedding pictures, and finalize wedding album changes (the first round of changes went well so it's just deciding that all were actually better than the original).
Chris and I may actually go buy a mirror for the bathroom in a few minutes if Tom's not nearby with folding chairs and little trays for Sunday.
I'm not really motivated to do these things except out of a semi-necessity and knowledge that after baby comes, I won't want to or won't have time to and that I don't want to leave everything to Chris.
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Baby caused me a bit of pain this morning. I'm not entirely sure what he did but there was a little shooting pain and then throughout the day there's been some additional pain on occasion. However, at my appointment this morning, the nurse practitioner wasn't really concerned especially because I wasn't dilated at all. However, he's been really active anyway. Even though I've had low blood pressure, I was told I should still go in for the biophysical profile sonogram tomorrow.
I really need to have someone take pictures of me at this point before I actually go into labor. I also really need someone to take pictures of me and Chris to capture us at this time.
I finished reading the breastfeeding book after Baccalaureate, some grading (only seven projects out of the close to twenty I'd wanted to finish), stopping by Starbucks and CVS for a snack, and then driving to the Shrine's parking lot. It was a good read and a worthwhile purchase. Afterwards, I wandered the Shrine's bookstore before finally going upstairs for Seton's graduation. There are so many good looking Catholic marriage and parenting books. I want some...
Anyway, Chris and Anthony painted the baby room (aka the other bedroom) last night. The green ended up looking nice. :) I'm always worried about how paint colors will turn out once they're on the wall, but for the most part, each choice has worked out. I'm really appreciative of all that Chris has done over the past few days, including the gardening adventures which he spent all of Saturday and part of Monday working on. Our yard looks quite nice now and the baby's room will get there once everything gets moved into place.
I'm done writing for now.
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Amidst laundry and the swollen foot, I finally watched "The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler" which is a true story about a woman who saved 2,500 Jewish children in Poland during the Holocaust. I recorded it after initially passing it by on the guide but then seeing it mentioned in The Catholic Standard or something like that. It was worthwhile and I would recommend it.
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I'm not going to Mass this morning, but I did read the readings. I usually am not that interested in the responsorial psalm, but today's is good, and as most are, is about praising God:
All you peoples, clap your hands;
shout to God with cries of gladness.
For the LORD, the Most High, the awesome,
is the great king over all the earth.
For king of all the earth is God;
sing hymns of praise.
God reigns over the nations,
God sits upon his holy throne.
Psalm 47:2-3, 8-9
I'm still trying to think of a name for a website/blog. I'm a little stuck. I really want to start designing one but I cannot think of a good name for it. I tried brainstorming last week or so but didn't come up with anything worthwhile. I should start trying again, but I keep hoping God will plant something in my head. Granted, I haven't really asked Him besides the one or two times so I guess I shouldn't be shocked that nothing's popped up yet. Then again, I should probably try brainstorming a little more consistently. I don't think it helps that I've been reading a lot of blogs by Catholic mothers and fathers and I find such inspiration from their writing. I really want to get back into webdesign, practice using CSS more, start using some of the Adobe programs especially Photoshop and Dreamweaver, and well, start a blog that's not on livejournal. I'd still probably use this for the more random of posts, because I thnk I'd actually try to use the website and blog for better, thought-out writing instead of the stream of consciousness I tend to use here. I don't know though.
I just looked at this to try to see if I could gain inspiration. I should have used it more, because what I did actually write was worthwhile (and I like the design that I set up for it, but didn't actually create). I definitely want to record the joys and sufferings of my first child. I don't think that I have been reflecting or recording thoughts too well at all and I may keep putting it off because I don't like the current venue I have or the option of writing in my almost full journal which I haven't used in months anyway. I really need to have a few more pictures taken of my belly, and a few taken with Chris to capture these last weeks and days before giving birth.
I'm not really motivated to drive up to Gaithersburg tomorrow for Ada's bridal shower. The drive shouldn't be that bad because it'll be a Sunday and therefore, I would hope, little traffic. However, it's further than Rockville. I meant to try to get in touch with Anna, and should have thought about contacting Estefania... because they're both up that way.... then again, I may really want to head home afterwards becasue I may be tired or something. I'm going to try to motivate myself to go anyway. It'll be good and at least Gina should be going. I still need to purchase a gift, though, which I should do today. It would have been nice for there to have been a theme so I could have a better idea of what to get her, so I may just opt for the bamboo cutting board, something else, an Honest Tea, and a card. I like getting somewhat meaningful presents and all of those would relate to my life instead of just being some random purchase off the shelf.
I want to get back into exercising and keep wanting to join a gym again. Gold's Gym is apparently offering really good deals before the middle and end of June, but I don't think I'll be motivated enough to join by then and the reason Chris and I ended our memberships was primarily because we weren't using them and it was expensive (70 dollars a month for the both of us). However, the current deal seems to be 10 dollars a month and if that's actually accurate, really wouldn't be too bad. However, I don't know if I would be motivated enough to go so soon after giving birth and then I'd still have to figure out where baby would go. It makes more sense to use the treadmill at my parents' house and bring baby there instead, where he can be in the company of my family while I walk for not too long, to get started back up again... and then if good deals come around for Gold's or elsewhere, maybe I can ponder joining again later.
This was a really good article about a woman who gave birth to her daughter 8 months ago and being a mother had basically absorbed her life. She started running again, which is something she was passionate about before giving birth. I've pretty much been slacking on my interests other than using my creativity in teaching, especially designing projects and exercises for my students. I truly enjoy my webpages class, which one of my Advanced Office students said she was taking next year. She asked if it would be hard and I said it wasn't as long as she did her work. I did tell her that it was much more enjoyable than the class she was currently taking, which she seemed more interested by. I'm hoping that next year once the classes are split accordingly into Office Productivity and Advanced OP, I learn to enjoy the office class(es) as much as the webpages one. I'm simply more excited about the webpages one, which I might only have two of next year, but I've also been able to build on the class since I've now had it three semesters with a total of seven sections. I've only had Advanced Office for two semesters with a total of five sections, and the class will be mostly different next year, set to follow the actual intro course. Therefore, I thnk there's a greater potential for enjoyment and less frustration from the students. It's unfortunate though how many had to struggle through this year, and there wasn't much I felt I could do about it. I'm not really looking forward to the reviews on that class, but I hope the ones for webpages are useful and show improvement over last year.
Anyway, I'm going to go finish eating now, do dishes, shower, and be ready to go whenever my mom wants to head out.
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My neighbor stopped by to give me (and my son) flowers from his garden and suggested that they were red and white for the pope (they're actually a pinkish purple and white, but still...) Jacob's really sweet. :)
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I volunteered to sub 1st hour because I was in the office when a student came in saying her teacher wasn't there and the door was locked and they couldn't get into their room and no one else was around. I figured since the only thing I really had to do was go to the bathroom and then I was probably going to think about grading or cleaning or reading more about CSS, I might as well help out. The girls behaved fairly well though I'd estimate that about half of them didn't do work or study or anything. With 10 minutes left, the teacher showed up, said she hadn't even heard her alarm this morning, and woke up finding it off. I know the feeling. I haven't done it for work, but I've done it before an exam in college (somehow managing to wake up in enough time to only be 15 minutes late for it) and on weekends when I had plans. The 10 minutes gave me enough time to stop by the faculty loiunge to pick up some of the extra fruit from the baby shower yesterday which was a nice snack to hold me (barely) over for the next two and a half hours.
Classes went well, binders were graded in two of the three, and then I went downstairs to meet with Sharon to sign my contract for next year. We talked a little about how I was planning on not taking any maternity leave if all goes well (it's unpaid) and she said I should find out how many days/hours I did have available from over the past two years so that if I wanted or needed to use them next year, I'd be aware. I'm fairly certain I have at least 10 days (80 hours), because I've only taken off for the March for Life twice and being sick once (maybe twice) and then an hour on occasion for the various appointments this year. I make it a point to try to not use my personal/sick leave. Anyway, I signed the contract then went to the faculty lounge to wait for Chris to pick me up to leave for my doctor's appointment. I chatted with Rebecca in between her study abroad related phone calls, then left when Chris showed up.
Doctor's appointment went well I think and now I'm home sitting on the couch, doing some reading, and thinking about actually folding the clothes I haven't folded since they were done late Saturday. At some point, I'll also consider emptying the dishwasher and do the dishes (after periods of sitting and rest of course).
[edit 21:44] After Chris mowed the lawn and made dinner, he started moving things around in and out of baby's room so that we (more so... he) can actually take the bed apart and paint the walls green (finally!). I managed to at least fold the laundry, empty the dishwasher, wash the dishes, and do a lot of sitting in the same amount of time. He also began to be motivated to hang up pictures so they'll take up less space on the floor of some room and our house will start to look a little more decorated. Even though all the pictures aren't put up yet, I will have to head to sleep really soon [/edit]
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Baby's doing a lot of kicking right now, which is great because he hasn't done a lot of continuous kicking in the past few days. Instead, he's taken to shifting around and poking himself out in random places a lot.
So today was a good day.
I treated myself to a green tea frappuccino at Starbucks again (with the gift card Chris gave me for Mother's Day... that I also used on Friday), because I was feeling tired this morning and not really interested in drinking juice with breakfast. All four classes went well today since they were all working on their final website projects. During first and second hour I graded PowerPoint presentations from one class's projects and finished during third hour. During fifth hour, I graded binders. I'm pretty much on top of grading and hope some girls turn in their projects early so I can start knocking those out.
SADD 's final meeting was after school today. I was in the middle of organizing stuff on my desk, some things were for the meeting and others weren't, when I was asked over the intercom if I could be borrowed for a moment by Mrs. Thompson. When I went down there, she quietly asked me if a robe had been ordered for me for graduation (which I was slightly concerned about because and then she commented that she had been asked to stall me for a moment or few. I ended up checking my mailbox and noticed that another sheet was posted (finally!) for contract signing for next year and I happened to be available so I signed up for that. When I got back up to my room, five of the girls from SADD were there and they were throwing me a baby shower! They'd brought food and had a sign strung up on the side bulletin board. We eventually continued with the meeting, which was supposed to be elections, but since only one other girl showed up, the girls filled the positions, went over what they should think about over the summer, exchanged contact information, and began brainstorming. They're really enthusiastic for next year, which I already knew, but didn't know if there would be others running for office (which I'd been hoping for, but think they're a strong core group). Around four, they cleaned up and before they left, handed me a card from all of them, which I opened on the way home to find a gift card to Babies R Us. It was all really sweet of them and entirely unexpected. :)
I'm about to start folding laundry while I wait for Chris to come home and then probably have dinner.
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