Friday, November 30, 2007

The Light

This weekend is our church retreat.

Definition of the word retreat? The act of withdrawing, as into safety or privacy; retirement; seclusion.

Wednesday night the Kidventure leadership team gathered to do prep work for the retreat. Thursday night 2 of the team (with 3 very helpful companions) worked pretty much all evening on prepping for the retreat.

Tonight, once I get home from a very full day of work I will again be doing more prep work for the retreat. And then we will drive out to it. And the weekend will be spent with our church family which will be lovely but there will be three 2 hour sessions where we as a Kidventure leadership team will be in charge of the children.

I think we might (as a team) have to change the name of the weekend. I'm not sure where the "retreat" is for us.

Ah, yes, I DO know. Mmm. Monday night. That's my light. Monday night I get to hang out with 3 of my favorite friends for an evening of... well, I can't say, it's a surprise for one of them: Her birthday outing.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

This will not come as a surprise to those that know me well

The tech during our ultrasound today:

"Wow, your bladder is full. I can't believe you're not screaming to go to the bathroom. You must have an iron bladder."

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

You're in luck! (also known as my attempt to get rid of the whining post)

I asked Abby what she wanted for Christmas last night.

"ummm."

[dramatic pause where she looks towards the sky - her specialty]

"A party!"

My little extrovert.

Monday, November 26, 2007

I may as well admit it...

I'm really tired of feeling this tired.

I'm praying for that extra burst of energy they say often comes with the second trimester.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Abby cuteness

The girl is talking more and more every day. I really need to start recording some of the cuteness or it will be gone forever.

We have this routine just before bathtime. She sits on the toilet to try to pee and I sit on the floor in front of her. We're both undressed, ready for our bath. I have lots of freckles on my shoulders. She points them out every time. She asks me what they are. I tell her (with a teasing smirk) that she knows. To which she usually responds "freckles?" Except last night the conversation went like this:

Abby: What's those? pressing her finger to my shoulder
Mom: Abby, you know.
Abby: Pickles?

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

And there it was.

Since the moment we realized back in September that I hadn't had a period I have been very skeptical about this pregnancy. We hadn't even started trying. It took us 6 months of trying the first time around. This just seemed very unlikely. Maybe there was some other reason I missed my cycle (the stress of moving? just going off the pill?)? And yet, it never came. And October came and still nothing. Perhaps?

But we waited to tell people until Abby's birthday. And even then we only told our close friends and family. There have been so many miscarriages around me. I just didn't want to get my hopes up. I didn't want to start feeling confident.

And then you add to it that I was sick 24/7 with my first pregnancy and not at ALL with this one. Weird. Suspicious (at least to someone like me who's often suspicious).

Plus, there was that fall down the stairs. That fall where I was protecting Abby but then later feared for the unborn child inside me. That has haunted me since the moment it happened.

And yet first the stick confirmed it back on Thanksgiving weekend and then the doctor did several weeks ago. Okay, but I'm still doubtful.

But then came yesterday. The second doctor's appointment. The internal. The blood tests. The weigh-in (sigh). And...

The fetal doppler.

She wasn't sure she'd be able to hear anything. At 12 weeks (our guess) it's not always possible. I said a prayer. I needed to hear it.

And I did. That little tiny heartbeat so different from my own. I didn't think it would be as significant as hearing Abby's but it was.

And I cried. And I have hope and love and I feel very, very blessed.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Just to make SOME of you jealous

This afternoon I am off work.

This afternoon I am going to sit in a van with 2 of my favourite people and visit and laugh and sing and read stories.

This evening I am going to swim in a hotel pool with my baby girl.

Tomorrow I am going to spend more hours in a van and again relax in a hotel pool.

Tomorrow I am going to get started on my Christmas shopping.

Tomorrow night I am going to a Sara Groves concert in Minneapolis with some MORE of my favourite people.

I can hardly wait.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Lovely

It's not that I WANT my daughter to be sick but I do have to admit, having her actually choose to sit on my lap and cuddle with me for longer than 3.2 seconds is quite pleasant.

Friday, November 09, 2007

Public Service Announcement - Cell Phones

- If you are in a face-to-face conversation with someone do NOT accept a phone call unless you are waiting for news on your heart transplant or your wife may be in labour.
- Ditto to text messaging. It's just rude texting (because to text is now a verb) when you are chatting with someone in person. And don't think it's any better if you're slyly texting while still looking at the person. It's not; they know what you're doing. They still feel slighted.
- Having phone conversations in movies and concerts and the likes is considered unacceptable. Well, I'm going to take it one step further. Using the text message option is just as RUDE. You know that stupid handy little LED screen that helps you read the tm (look at me trying to act like I know the lingo probably only serving to prove that I don't.) in the dark? Well, it glows with the fervor of a thousand watt bulb and is very aggravating to the person sitting beside you or behind you. And the other thing, did you NOT pay money for this concert? Don't you want to watch it?
- Oh, I know, you thought I was done. Oh no, I've barely just begun. This is my soapbox and I'm gonna shout it. Basically, under no circumstances do you need to have a conversation while standing in line at the grocery store or on the bus or in an elevator. You know the people standing 18” from you who are stuck there? They now have to listen to your conversation. And I would place bets that they don't want to. Find a private place to talk. Here's a crazy option: Tell the person you'll call them back. Zany, hey?
- You know that Nelly Furtado ring tone? Or the Looney Tunes one? The one that makes you smile every time you hear it? It doesn't make anyone else smile. Period. Change it. Now. Did you hear me? If you'd like your phone to remain in the current state it’s in MAKE THE RING TONE AN ACTUAL RING.
- Take it off your belt. You're just embarrassing yourself.
- If you should have your hands on the wheel you should NOT have your hands on your cell phone, esPECIALLY not dialing or texting. I don't care if you're Richard Petty, it's just not safe.
- This last one might come as a complete shocker: Your phone actually has an off button. I KNOW! Isn't that crazy? Unless you're George Bush or a heart surgeon (apparently I'm a little obsessed with hearts today) you don't actually need to be reached at all times. We actually went thousands of years without them. We are NOT more important than our grandparents.

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Lesson learned

Sneezing with a hot cup of coffee in your hand? Not so much fun.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

The office

Can someone please explain to me why I needed my space heater on all summer because the air conditioning was so cold I was freezing at my desk and yet now that the weather is getting cooler they have the heat on so high that I nearly die in anything but a t-shirt?

Thursday, November 01, 2007

More cuteness

I'm actually a little embarrassed to put these on here because:
(a) I canNOT for the life of me figure out how to turn the videos on youtube.
(b) the sound is VERY quiet.

So, basically, they are best viewed if either you or your monitor are turned 90 degrees and if your sound is somewhere around 11. Should be fun, hey?

But, enough with excuses on to the videos:

#1: My singing monkey. Explanation: Abby has a book with a lot of nursery rhymes and simple kids' songs. It's one of her favorites. Every day I have to go through it and sing all the ones that I know. Bonus cuteness: Right towards the end of the video you'll hear her say "shh!". That's because she's gotten to the page with The Wheels on the Bus. One of the verses: The mamas on the bus say "shh, shh".

Secondly, my counting monkey. Very hard to hear but yes, she does count to 10. (She can actually do it in French too but that bragging will have to wait for another day.) For some unknown reason though, she is not particularly fond of three in English OR French.

The Oddest Thing

Yesterday was garbage day in our neck of the woods. (No, that's not the oddest thing. That's pretty regular.) When I got home from work yesterday every person on our street had had their garbage removed except for us.

What? I know there are a lot of ways in which one is judged in life. I know there's an unspoken class system out there. I know people look down on other people all the time. Somehow, I would have thought garbage was exempt from that.

For you, Michele

Since you never got any bunnies or kittens here's a little monkey for your morning.
Trick-or-treat!