Chicago it is!

Joe has finally decided to go to law school at the University of Chicago! We sent in the seat deposit to them this week. It feels good to have a plan. This week was pretty hectic, but I was still able to get about three real workouts in. I've been doing the Summer Sanders' Prenatal Workout a couple of times a week in the evenings when I get home, along with walking on other days. I basically walk for 6 hours at school each day, so I don't freak out too much if I miss a day or two. This video is pretty amusing, not too annoying, and I actually like the exercises. Starting tomorrow I get to start the Third Trimester workout, so new adventures lie ahead. Speaking of videos, Joe and I watched The Happiest Baby on the Block this week as well. Oh my goodness. The movie is cheesy and bad, but the technique seems sound enough. Also, I've gotten lots of personal recommendations for this book/DVD. But it's hard to take someone seriously when they say "Let's watch some crying babies as I shush them." Honest to goodness, he says that in the movie. I looked at the book this weekend and it's much less ridiculous than the video, so I might just stick with that. 

As of Monday, I will be 6 full months, or 27 weeks, pregnant and officially in the third trimester. Woohoo for being two thirds done! I just now realized that every picture of me is taken in basically the same spot in our kitchen. It's probably because I end up taking pictures in the morning before I leave for school and get dry erase marker all over myself. Next week we have Centering, so that should make for a more interesting post. 

Achoo!

This has felt like a very long week. Last night we went out for dinner and a movie. The movie theater we wanted to go to is in a shopping mall with a few restaurants that we've been meaning to try so we did a Progressive Dinner where we had different things at different restaurants. We had an appetizer of soft pretzels with green chili cheese dipping sauce at Thunder Canyon Brewery. It's a fun little place with lots of rocks in the decor. We liked it. Next, we moved to Cafe Tremolo for our entrees. I had a shrimp and avocado cocktail with a side salad and Joe, of course, ordered the prime rib. It was pretty good but there was a really horrible shade of yellow paint on the walls. Finally, we went to The Melting Pot for dessert fondue. We had the Flaming Turtle which is milk chocolate with carmel and pecans. It was delicious. Finally, we ended the night by seeing the new movie Date Night. It's hilarious and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a good date movie. It's funny, sweet, and has an interesting plot. 

We had a wonderfully cool and wet spring here in Tucson, which means the wildflowers are spectacular right now. This picture is from our front yard. You can't see the ground most days because of all the different blooming flowers. However, so many flowers means wicked allergies. I can't be outside for more than ten minutes without having my eyes start watering and my nose running continuously. Even if I stay inside I'm pretty congested. We even put the A/C on as a means of trying to filter out the pollen from the house, but I'm not sure how well it's working. I've been taking some Benadryl at night, but I can't take it during the day because it makes me extremely sleepy. But the flowers are pretty, and as long as I'm inside it's manageable.  

On Monday I will be 26 weeks. At the end of next week I will officially begin the 3rd trimester. This week we noticed that when the baby kicks you can now see my belly move a little bit in that general area. It's kind of disturbing. My students at school can't stop asking questions about the pregnancy. Two teachers (and unfortunately two students) are pregnant, and the rest of the students just can't seem to get enough information about what it's like. One of my students asked me if I was having sextuplets because all of a sudden I am humongous. How do you respond to that? Technically I've been on the low end of healthy weight gain for the whole pregnancy, so I'm not really that big. They also can't understand why we have decided to not find out the gender. It just blows their minds that anyone would want it to be a surprise. 

Tomorrow is Joe's birthday. I bought him a Wii a couple of weeks ago and gave it to him early so we could register the warranty. (I had accidentally wrapped it before I realized there was a time limit to when it needed to be done.) We've gotten a golf game, a tennis game, a Mario game, Wii Sports Resort, and some sort of shooting/war game. I really like the Sports Resort, particularly the canoeing. This is the only game system that I have even a chance at winning things because it's completely unlike all of the other ones out there. Having grown up without a game system, I apparently didn't develop the synapses necessary to play traditional video games. But the Wii is different, and I can actually play it. We might make an ice cream cake tomorrow to celebrate, but nothing has been decided yet. That's all for now!

And so it begins...

This weekend I bought my very first baby item: a gorgeous used mei tai baby carrier. I made a deal with myself that I won't buy any more baby stuff until after school ends in May. I found it at Lil' Traders, my absolutely favorite place to go to look for maternity clothes. They sell gently used and new baby and maternity clothes as well as a smattering of random baby stuff, hence the mei tai. These pictures do not to it justice. The green panel is a luscious green Chinese silk embroidered with different colored flowers. The tan straps are a nubby sort of silk/linen/I don't know what. Duncan, the cat, loved being in it. I think he would have been content to stay there all day if I would have let him. It's hard to take self-portraits with an iPhone, let alone while wearing a cat, but these are the best of the bunch. 

As for other pregnancy news, on Monday I will be 25 weeks. Only 15 more to go! It feels like July 26th is forever away. So far, I have gained 10 pounds, but it feels like 50. My hips are sore all of the time. Standing, sitting, walking, swimming, lying down, nothing helps. Several people have assured me that this will either go away or get worse as the pregnancy progresses. Great. Other than that, everything is fine. I have lots of energy, I'm hungry all the time, and I look pretty cute in most of my maternity clothing.  

Trying this blogging thing one more time.

I am writing this blog for all of our friends and family near and far who deserve more communication from us than they currently receive. As many of you know, I am constantly apologizing for not writing or emailing for long stretches of time. Part of my trouble is coming up with enough material for interesting emails for everyone. Several people have suggested that I just send out large group emails. Personally, I am not a fan of sending generic mass emails because they require that I assume certain people want to read about our lives and certain people don't. Publishing a blog on the Internet eliminates that pressure and people are free to read or not read as they so choose.  

So, what is this blog about, you ask. This blog is about a twenty-something couple making their way through life together. Right now, we live in Tucson, Arizona where I am a high school teacher and Joe is a legal assistant. We are expecting our first child July 26th, and will be moving across the country (destination TBD) for Joe to start law school in August. All this uncertainty is driving me a little bit insane, and maybe writing about it will help me deal with it. 

You can expect some humorous stories (at least I think they're funny), a fair amount of complaining, lots of photos, and mostly random babble about weekly happenings in our lives. Enjoy!