Sam the Six-Year-Old Spy!

 

This is the first year, since Sam was three, that his birthday present hasn't revolved directly around a full costume. We gave him knight costume at age three, a Captain America costume at age four, and an Optimus Prime costume at age five. A few months ago he said that he wanted a Darth Vader costume for his birthday this year, but that request fell into oblivion and hasn't been mentioned for weeks and weeks. Sam is, though, still interested in dressing up, as evidenced by all of the spy gear that he received from us and other family members. He woke up around 5:20 this morning, eager to open his presents - although I made him go back to bed until it was 6:00 am. He's especially excited about the night vision goggles, the spy watch, and the walkie-talkies. I'm excited about the "Encyclopedia Brown" book, which I think Sam and I will enjoy reading together. He already has read several Nate the Great books, and I think he's ready to be introduced to a similar series.

When Sam gets home from school today, I'm going to show him this video clip that my sisters V and L sent to Sam. Does anyone else remember this from the "Square One TV" show? I really loved this show; I distinctly remember this segment and used to sing the song, although I haven't thought about it for years. I've had the song stuck in my head all day, though, ever since I got this email with the clip from my sisters:

Last night I was a little nervous that I wasn't even going to be able to celebrate with Sam this morning. In the evening started to have strongish contractions - they weren't terribly painful, but they definitely were stronger and tighter than the Braxton Hicks contractions I've felt for several weeks. I was nervous enough that I put all of Sam's wrapped presents by the front door, along with several sticky notes about Sam's birthday requests and school schedule, in case we needed to pass those things along to my in-laws in the middle of the night. Luckily, though, the contractions slowed down after a few hours, and I haven't felt too uncomfortable today so far. Wouldn't it have been unusual if Sam and his little sibling ended up with the same birth date?

UPDATE: Here are two more pictures from Sam's birthday itself. I'm glad he had such a happy day. In the first photo, he is opening a present from my dad (which arrived in the mail while he was at school). The second is a photo from Sam's birthday dinner at his favorite restaurant, Panera. We each chose a pastry as a celebratory treat, but I ended up eating Sam's because he decided he wanted my cherry pastry more than the chocolate chip "muffie" that he chose.

Triumph!

I'm feeling triumphant right now, having finished teaching my last class for the school year. Before I got pregnant, I was worried that I might have trouble keeping up with my work if I was sick or had any health problems. But today I can say that I taught for a whole academic year while pregnant, without canceling class once. Yay! I was tempted to cancel class a few times, even when I was driving to work during my first trimester and felt nauseated, but my adrenaline always kicked in and helped me to get through each class session.

And now, I'm done. I don't have to worry about throwing up from morning sickness in front of my class, or being able to stand on my feet for 1.5 hours, or, as of late, worrying that my water might break in the middle of lecture. Phew!

Really, all in all, these past nine months have been really great for me. I've been able to be a little bit more indulgent and do things "for me," since Sam has been in kindergarten. I've had time to work during the day and spent time with J in the evenings - a luxury which has been rare over the past several years, since I usually would watch Sam during the day (if I wasn't in the classroom) and working at night. I've also had time to sing in two university choirs and start a training program to be a docent at a local art museum. And, you know, grow a baby on the side.

It's been rejuvenating for me to do a lot of the extra activities, particularly singing. I realize that I won't be able to be so selfish and indulgent with my time for the next few years, particularly with a new baby in the house. But I hope to look back on this period of free time during the day with fondness. And I know that this indulgent phase will likely happen again one day, once Baby #2 starts kindergarten! And, hopefully, I'll be able to keep up with some of these activities in the meantime. I plan to keep up with the docent program, and I hope to continue with choir (even if I'm not as involved as I was over this past year).

Listening to the Baby

Sam, J and I spent part of yesterday afternoon in the room that will be the nursery for the new baby. Sam helped decide where some of the baby toys should be kept, and then he played in his "rocket ship" while J and I put a few other things together (you can see a sneak peek at a few nursery decorations in the background of this photo.

Afterward, I sat in a chair to relax and played "doctor" and "dentist" with Sam. My favorite part of the checkup was when Sam "listened" to the baby's heart beat through his pretend stethoscope. He says that she is healthy, so that's good!

I love this photo of Sam, because I think his facial expression also hints at the expectation and wonder he has about this new baby. We often talk about what the baby will be like and what kind of a personality she might have. We are all anxious to meet her.

Female Authority and Pregnancy

 In my case, the blackboard should say "The art teacher is pregnant, not fat," but I felt like the image was quite fitting with this post nonetheless!

I don't feel like this is the appropriate forum to complain about my occasional problems at work, so I'm not going to delve into specifics here. But I did want to record some recent observations about being a young female professor and the authority that I expect to have in my classroom (whether virtual or physical).

In my experience, the vast majority of students are very respectful of me and my course policies. There have been a few instances in which I have felt undermined, belittled, and had my authority challenged by male students. These male students have varied in their age - some of them have been considerably older than me, and a few have been younger than me. I am inclined to think that these male students feel like they can question my authority based on my gender. I do recognize, though, that one quarter I had my authority consistently challenged by a young female student. In that case, I feel like that student's attitude and approach was partially due to her personality, but also fueled by the fact that I am relatively young in comparison with other faculty members on campus.

It's been interesting to observe how my pregnancy this year seems to affect the way that students perceive my authority as an instructor. I feel like some students are intimidated by the fact that I am pregnant - at least when they interact with me. I rarely have students mention or query about my pregnancy to me, unless I first mention something about the topic myself. I also feel like what I say seems to have a bit more weight and bearing with students at times, I guess because I weigh more and have a physically larger presence in the classroom.

On the other hand, this year I have felt like other students do not take me as seriously because I am pregnant. Perhaps this is because my pregnancy makes me seem more like an individual than a teacher? Or perhaps this is an issue that relates to gender - am I even more female (and thus more susceptible to gender discrimination) due to my inherently-female profile right now? I think both of these are valid possibilities, although I assume that many students don't take me seriously because I don't look "normal." I have become an Other through my pregnancy, and that visual element of difference perhaps waters down my identity and authority to a more superficial or stereotypical level. Sure, I know that I look distorted and disproportionate, and I recognize that I waddle around in front of the classroom. I do look silly. Sometimes I can hardly take myself seriously when I look in the mirror, especially when I can't find clothes that fit. But what I say and what I expect from my students is serious and important to me, regardless of my appearance, gender, or current state of being.

A Few New Flowers

Well, once again, I'm writing an early morning post. Today I woke up at 4:45 am, hungry and wide awake. There was one bird tweeting outside, but I don't think I can blame it for waking me up. It's just getting more difficult to sleep these days, and the slightest discomforts seem to wake me up. I remember a few months ago my cousin-in-law Jess mentioned how she was glad when her pregnancies ended, because then she could finally get some sleep. I couldn't understand what she meant, having only remembered losing sleep after Sam was born, but now I can see her point of view.

Just when I posted about not having the stamina to garden, I did find some time to purchase and plant a few new flowers. I was able to weed one garden bed, and J did a great job of weeding the other one. We've laid down more wood chips, so I think we'll keep the weeds at bay for the next few weeks.

I planted a peach-colored foxglove and a blueish-violet delphinium in the back section of the northwest garden. Both of these are supposed to keep blooming from late spring until mid-summer. I'm especially excited about the delphinium; its colors really pop and look great from a distance. I also had a replace one of our azaleas that died - I put a euryops (bush daisy) perennial, which has been trained to grow like a little tree. I hope this change in height adds some visually-interesting height variation to the garden. We haven't enjoyed too many of the yellow blooms yet, but I'm hopeful.

J got this Tiny Skyline Asiatic Lily at the store, when I sent him on a quest to find "something colorful" for the corner of the northwest garden. I think that the orange color is a nice contrast with the blue of the nearby delphinium. This should reach somewhere between a foot tall and a foot wide. We hope that it gets enough sun throughout the day.

 I bought this brightly-colored Kalanchoe plant on a whim, because it was so striking at the nursery. I didn't realize that it is an annual until I got home, so we will only get to enjoy it this year. But perhaps I'll buy more in the future. This is supposed to get to a height of 14-16".

We also finally decided on a hanging plant! I don't know why, but choosing a hanging plant for the porch is always more difficult for me than it should be. I always visit several stores and mull over all of my options for several weeks before making a decision. I feel like hanging plants are such a big commitment, since you'll be looking at the flowers on your porch for a whole season. And I also don't like petunias that much, and hanging plants always seem to have petunias. I don't mind the miniature ones ("Apricot Red Eye") in this pot, though. This pot also has Bright Cascade geraniums (which are more interesting to me than regular geraniums), Blue Velvet verbena, and Colossal Blue bacopa (which looks more like a lavender).

Considering Natural Childbirth

As the time gets closer for our new baby's arrival, I've been thinking more about what I would like the birth experience to be. In retrospect, I think that J and I weren't very well prepared for Sam's birth. I distinctly remember a moment when I was on the hospital bed, looking to J who was seated on my left, and we both looked at each other with wide, deer-in-the-headlights eyes. If J was mirroring the expression on my face, then we both looked scared more than anything else.

J went to a birth class before Sam's arrival, but it was kind of a joke. The most advice that we received (which the nurse repeated every few minutes) was, "Just get an epidural." I remember she went over breathing techniques for about thirty seconds but then just dismissed the information by saying, "But just get an epidural." I remember feeling quite frustrated when we left the class.

With Sam's birth, I wanted to try for a natural birth, but I don't think I did enough to prepare emotionally, psychologically, and in terms of mastering coping techniques. Granted, I didn't know what to expect. When we got to the hospital and I learned that I had to receive antibiotics for Group B Strep for several hours before Sam could be born, I knew that I would need an epidural in order to cope with the pain and preserve my strength. And the pain relief was amazing and welcome.

But, in hindsight, there are things that I didn't like about getting an epidural. I didn't like that I felt incapacitated and sedated - my lower body was reduced to deadweight. I remember being frustrated after Sam was born: he immediately was whisked off to the NICU to have his breathing monitored for two hours, and my bed was wheeled into an empty waiting room. I felt totally helpless at that moment, as I sat in that empty room and cried. I didn't even know where my baby and husband were located, and I couldn't reach them or go to them because I had no feeling or faculty in my legs.

When we left the hospital the next day, I remember complaining to my mom about a dull, but consistent, pain in my lower back. I thought that my back muscles were not used to carrying my body with a new center of gravity (since I had developed into different shapes over the past several months), but in retrospect, I think that the pain was a byproduct of the epidural. My mom was baffled by the back pain and suggested that I try and get some type of girdle to help center my flabby tummy and body weight. J watched Sam while my mom and I shopped for girdles at the mall (a very singular experience!). I think, though, that my mom might not have related to my back pain because she gave birth to all of her children naturally, although with my brother C she asked for an epidural but never felt relief (she thinks the tube might have been kinked, so that the drugs didn't enter her body).

Anyhow, my experience and the side-effects of getting an epidural with Sam have caused me to really want to try for a natural birth this time around. I don't know what will end up happening, of course, and I want to have an open and flexible mindset, but I would like to try and feel more empowered this time around. And, at least at this moment, I feel like I will be more empowered and in control of my body and birth experience without an epidural.

In order to prepare for a natural birth, I have been reading a few books. The one that has given me the most helpful tips for coping techniques and mental preparation is Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, by Ina May Gaskin. These are some of the suggestions and points that I jotted down as I read the book:

• Singing can help relax the body, as well as the horse-lips blowing technique (to help one expel air with a consistent air flow). I like both of these ideas, since I have been singing and using the horse-lips technique for vocal warmups during this whole pregnancy. Part of me thinks that I should bring some very "singable" and comforting soundtracks with me to the hospital - Les Misérables immediately comes to mind, since I've loved that soundtrack since I was about eight years old.
• Massages can also help with relaxing.
• Some ways to open sphincters: slow, deep breathing, a comfortable environment, and laughing
• The body and the mind are connected together: verbal statements (either made by the woman in labor or by others in the room) can sometimes affect the way that one's body reacts.
• Repeating ideas or phrases in your mind can help the labor to progress (going back to the mind-body connection). One woman relayed how she kept thinking "I'm going to get huge!" in her mind over and over, and Gaskin reported that this woman's cervix opened up to an astonishing size.
• Being able to move freely about can help one to cope with contractions
• Hydrotherapy: a warm bath can relax muscles
• Gaskin writes about one woman she worked with who had an attitude of being grateful to be in labor - she was grateful and willing to surrender to the rushes brought on my the contractions. I hope that I can have a similar attitude - I would rather have a grateful attitude of anticipation and excitement than be scared of what my body is doing.

J and I have been talking about some of these coping techniques and ideas together, so that J can be informed and ready to help support me. We have also been looking over the books Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn and The Birth Partner: A Complete Guide to Childbirth for Dads, Doulas, and All Other Labor Companions. We still need to prepare further and refine our birth plan, but I'm glad that we are thinking about things now. I feel like, if things go according to plan, this birth experience will be much more of a collaborative and calm experience for me and J than the first time around. We'll see if I'm right!

Does anyone have any more coping tips or general advice for someone who is seriously considering a natural birth? I'm interested in all kinds of tips, but I'm particularly looking for ways to deal with the "fight or flight" body reactions that I had last time (i.e. uncontrollable shaking in my legs and nausea).

Whidbey Island Trip

About two weeks ago, we traveled up to Whidbey Island for a weekend getaway with our friends JB and M. Really, this trip was partially a birthday trip to celebrate JB and J's birthdays (which are just a day apart). The five of us stayed in a charming beach house that was just across the street from the beach. Although the weather was a little cold, we did see some bursts of sunshine. It was fun to relax, see some new sites at a leisurely pace, and just visit with our friends.

Riding the Mukilteo ferry over to Clinton. For dinner we had great sandwiches at the Pickles Deli in Clinton. I highly recommend going to eat there!

Before JB and M arrived, we briefly visited the beach and got to see the sun set. JB and M arrived just as Sam was getting settled in bed. It was fun to visit with them and catch up.

JB and M brought a kite to fly on the beach. Sam was nervous and kept worrying that the kite would fly away, but I think he secretly enjoyed it. I'm actually surprised that I got a picture of him smiling, since most of the time he was so worried about the kite.

Sam and I collected different shells on the beach.

I think this photo was taken on our second excursion to the beach that same day.

Everyone relaxed in their own way. While J and JB played guitars, Sam read a Garfield book behind the couch.

The lighting isn't great in this picture, but I think it captures our relaxed atmosphere pretty well (even down to the stocking feet on the table!).

We visited Fort Casey. Sam loved seeing all of the cannons and different fortifications. 

 

My cute friend M!

J took this shot inside of the light house at Fort Casey.

We decided to drive through Deception Pass instead of taking the ferry home. We parked the car on one side and walked over the bridge to Pass Island to look around for a bit. This shot was taken on the Deception Pass bridge.

I felt pretty puffy that weekend! I'm about 26 weeks pregnant in this photo. We are standing on Pass Island on the north side of the bridge. The camera is facing east (with Strawberry Island in the background).

 We stopped by the Tulip Festival on the way home. The festival had just barely begun, and there weren't enough tulips open for the fields to be as visually striking as I would have liked. But it was still fun to see the tulips, nonetheless. We also enjoyed seeing the fields of daffodils in the area as we drove to and from the Tulip Town grounds; those fields were very striking and completely covered in yellow.

I'm so glad that we were able to take this little trip with JB and M. I don't know when we are going to be able to do such a luxurious and low-key trip with them again, especially with this new baby on the way. But I don't doubt that we will have more relaxing vacations with these friends in the future.

Pregnancy Cravings

I sent this photo to J last month, a day or two after he emailed me a picture of the fancy pancake that he had just eaten in Amsterdam. I sent this as a joke, showing J that he was missing out on a very eclectic meal (a chili cheese dog with roasted Brussels sprouts!) while he dined on Dutch food. I didn't plan for Sam and I to eat such a strange meal, but I was struck with a craving for Brussells sprouts that evening and had to indulge myself.

When I was pregnant with Sam, I felt like I had a few cravings but I also felt very limited to eat things that I felt like I could stomach. I remember one day I felt like the only thing in the world that could keep me alive was grapes. My mom called as I was walking into the produce section of the grocery store, and when I mentioned that I felt like eating grapes she gave me a big lecture about grapes and how much they absorb pesticides. I bought a bag of green grapes anyway (while she was still giving me her well-meant advice on the phone), not because I was being defiant but because I was more interested that moment in staying alive! I needed those grapes to give me sustenance! I feel like my mom didn't understand my situation at that moment, either. My mom's pregnancies were not as difficult as mine with Sam (at least, in terms of morning sickness and nausea); she couldn't understand how difficult it was for me to keep anything in my stomach at all. If I ever felt like I could stomach anything, especially during my first trimester when my nausea was at its worst, I tried to act on that.

I think the lowest point in my first trimester with Sam's pregnancy was once at three in the morning: I woke up in bed and felt like the only thing I could eat was dry, stale Cheerios. As I sat there at the kitchen table, pulling the stale Cheerios out of a box and eating them by the handful, I remember crying and considering how my life had become so restricted and limited. Luckily, things improved and I was able to eat more, especially after I began to take anti-nausea medication. (I never told my mom that I took anti-nausea medication, because I knew that would have concerned her.)

I remember that I also ate a lot of oatmeal and peanut butter sandwiches when I was pregnant with Sam. I also craved grapefruit on several occasions. Above all, though, I probably craved barbecue sauce the most. I remember sending J to Gandolfo's to buy me an Urban Cowboy sandwich at least once, just so I could have the barbecue sauce. 

This pregnancy, I haven't been so restricted in my diet, although I did eat and drink some things to help with mild nausea in the first trimester (like ginger ale, raisins, and bananas). Over the past few months, though, I have craved avocados above anything else. I usually have them in salads with (pasturized!) feta cheese, tomatoes, mixed greens, and a little bit of poppyseed dressing. I also have liked eating guacamole. And every once in a while I will make a Brazilian vitamina (or smoothie) with avocado and banana. One or two of my sisters have noted that I must already have an "avocado baby" in my tummy.

The two other things that I have craved most this pregnancy are Brussells sprouts and grapefruit. I'm glad that I'm craving healthy things to eat! I feel like eating sweets and chocolate sometimes, but I'm really trying to avoid eating very much sugar. (And I don't think that my desire to eat chocolate is related to my pregnancy - I just like chocolate!) I really don't want to gain as much weight as I did with Sam, and I figure that avoiding sugar can't hurt that goal in any way. I try to limit having dessert or some kind of treat to once or twice per week.

What do/did you crave when you are/were pregnant? Or, if you haven't been pregnant, do you know of any interesting stories about pregnancy cravings?

Almost 22 Weeks and Herbal Teas

I took the picture on the right this morning, before I left for work. This week I will be 22 weeks pregnant. The picture on the left is one that I took about a month ago, when I was seventeen weeks pregnant. You can see that I'm starting to show quite a bit more!

Last week I started to drink some herbal teas that I think will help during this pregnancy. I've never really been a big fan of herbal teas, but I'm giving it a go. Right now I'm alternating between drinking a dandelion tea and a raspberry leaf tea. The dandelion tea is a natural diuretic that I hope will help keep water gain and swelling at bay over the next few months. The raspberry leaf tea is a tea that is commonly drunk by pregnant women; it is supposed to help prepare the uterus for birth. My mom drank raspberry leaf tea during her pregnancies. I remember trying to drink it once or twice when I was pregnant with Sam and I felt extremely nauseated afterward. This pregnancy, since I'm not feeling nauseated, I thought I'd try again, and things have been fine so far. Given the rainy weather lately, it has been nice to sit down with a warm drink during the day.

My mom drank quite a bit of herbal tea when I was growing up, although I think she would go through seasons of being interested and disinterested in herbal tea. When we lived in California, I remember her making huge glass pitchers full of herbal teas (particularly the Red Zinger tea) that she would refrigerate while lots of tea bags steeped in the water. I rarely wanted to drink herbal teas when I was growing up, because it often gave me a headache. I didn't really like the taste of herbal tea, either, but I think I am more accustomed to it now. J doesn't like herbal tea; he says he's not interested in drinking something that tastes like "watery leaves." He says he doesn't like subtle flavors, either.

Are there any other herbal teas that you think are helpful for pregnant women?

Attitudes Toward Pregnancy

I took this picture about a week ago, just an hour or two after I received an email from woman about a post that I recently wrote on my art history blog about depictions of pregnant women in art. This woman, who has three children, thanked me for my post and told me that she feels like pregnancy isn't celebrated enough in our society. She also feels like some cultural attitudes should shift in relation to how women are perceived. In her opinion, she feels like a woman loses her identity while pregnant, because there is so much focus on the growing fetus. In other words, current culture causes the pregnant woman to change from an individual to a mere "vessel."

I can see this woman's point of view. From a cultural standpoint, there is a lot of focus on the unborn baby when a woman is pregnant. When I was pregnant with Sam (and even the mother of a newborn), I think I was overly sensitive to how my socio-cultural identity had somewhat changed, at least in how I felt like I was treated and perceived by others. Really, I was kinda grumpy. But I do understand why people asked me so much about my pregnancy and the like. After all, the baby's somewhat-unseen presence affects the lifestyle, physical appearance, and sometimes health of the pregnant woman. But, at the same time, the pregnant woman, in terms of her character and personality, usually is still very much the same as her pre-pregnant self.

So pregnancy is a period which is tricky in terms of a woman's identity. One of the things that is inherent to a woman's body is the potential for it temporarily to be not one individual, but two. So should individualism (and personal capabilities that are not gender-specific) be celebrated, or should the inherent capabilities of a woman's body be celebrated during this temporary period? It seems like kind of a conundrum from a feminist's perspective, although it doesn't need to be.

I think there needs to be a balance between celebrating the individualism of the pregnant woman, while still recognizing the characteristics of her body which are inherently feminine. And, as a result, I realized that I should spend more time celebrating this second pregnancy and the changes that are taking place in my body. I had a hard time doing that when I was pregnant the first time. But I've been through one pregnancy and now realize that my inherent identity won't really change, so I don't need to feel so defensive and touchy at shifts in cultural attitudes (although I realize that I'm writing this at an optimistic point in the second trimester - I may get grumpy as the weeks roll on!). Nonetheless, I'm going to try and enjoy this time being pregnant and document it more than I did when I was pregnant with Sam. Hence, the selfie picture at seventeen weeks.

advise on advice

When I became noticeably pregnant, my day-to-day interaction with people completely changed. I really didn't change anything in my behavior, but I suddenly became the target of a barrage of advice on baby care, pregnancy, labor, epidurals, maternity clothes, healthy food consumption, etc. At first I took all of this unsolicited advice in good humor and stride, but as the months of my pregnancy began to wear on, my tolerance for listening to advice began to wear thin. Fortunately, by the last month of my pregnancy I became immune to listening to all of the advice and counsel - a lucky thing, or I never would have survived my last baby shower (guests began to talk louder and louder over each other, trying to make sure that their pieces of counsel could be heard over the din of other advice being given. I had to keep from laughing sometimes - have you ever heard anyone practically shout about the "best" way to diaper or bathe a baby?).

One of the worst sources for unsolicited advice was the women's gym where I work out. I sometimes dreaded going there; I would inevitably have at least one or two women I didn't know start talking to me (even if I was in the middle of a conversation with my friend Ixoj) and giving me more advice...

I thought that all of the advice would stop when Sam was born, but it apparently hasn't. Today during sacrament meeting a woman (ahem, a stranger again - we were attending a ward other than our own) tapped me on the shoulder and suggested that Jeremy and I try rocking Sam on our laps instead of in our arms. I was kind of surprised since Sam wasn't crying or being disruptive to the meeting. I replied, "Oh we tried that. He doesn't like it." I have to admit, this comment wasn't completely true. Sometimes Sam doesn't mind when he is rocked on our laps. I just am so tired of receiving advice from a stranger than I didn't want to appear too...receptive.

Sometimes I do like getting advice. While pregnant, I really liked getting advice from my friend Shauna who had a baby a few months before me. For one thing, I would ask Shauna for advice, which automatically made me more open to what she said. Furthermore, Shauna would give advice in a really personal way, prefacing her statements with, "What really worked for me was XYZ," or "I found out that such-and-such doesn't work too well," etc. I appreciated hearing advice this way, instead of definitive statements like, "Don't do this!" and "Do that!"

Is it wrong/rude to give unsolicited advice? When are people more susceptible to accepting advice - does it depend on the situation or one's relationship with the advice-giver? Have I just gotten tired of hearing advice because it's been served to me in such large portions? Do people accept small amounts of advice better? Being so tired of hearing advice has made me wonder about my own tact and advice-giving tactics (ironically, the name "Monica" means "advisor").

What do you think?

addendum: I recognize that people mean well when they give advice. I should keep this more in mind. Sometimes I just have difficulty accepting and receiving advice that I wasn't looking for - perhaps I'm too close-minded?

to snore or not to snore

This Martini painting makes me giggle; it looks like St. Martin is trying to stifle a snore in his sleep. However, over the past few days, I have decided that snoring is no laughing matter. I always knew that pregnancy would leave my body physically changed, but I never imagined how the effects would spread into my sleeping habits. Over the past few months, a snore has been creeping into my sleep by creeping out of my mouth. It started out as a little wheeze, but the other night it (apparently) was so bad that Jeremy got up to sleep on the couch. I was so horrified that a) I was snoring and b) I was snoring loud enough to estrange my husband that I couldn't sleep for the rest of the night.

I don't know what's happened - I never snored before I got pregnant. Perhaps all of the weight gain, swollen face, awkward sleep positions, and five pillows have something to do with it. I really hope that I go back to silent sleeping in the next few weeks. I don't feel incredibly ladylike when I know it sounds like a chainsaw is revving inside my mouth.

some things i learned on the DC trip

J and I just got back from a great weekend trip in DC. We had a lot of fun with the Bowen family - thanks for organizing this get-together, Annette and Scott! On the return flight home, I started to make a mental list of some things that I learned and experienced on this trip; I thought I'd write some things down here. I have to admit, I started making this list when I was a little bit irritated during our return flight (see #1), but I want to stress that the overall vacation was fantastic.

#1 - Bring earplugs whenever flying a red-eye or late-night flight. With my luck, I will have Mr. Chatty McChats ("The World's Loudest Talker") sitting behind me, speaking at the top of his lungs while everyone else in the cabin is trying to sleep. Honestly, who even chats with their neighbor during a red-eye flight? Or, on the return flight, luck will place me behind a 380 pound, 6' 6" man with sleep apnea. This man snored so loudly and horrifically that an apologetic flight attendant was handing out earphones to muffle the noise. This huge man was convulsing so violently with each snore that Jeremy kept wondering if he should wake the man up...

#2 - Go and see "St. John's Passion" performed in the National Cathedral on Palm Sunday. With period instruments. And a counter-tenor.

#3 - It is not worth your time to the National Gallery expressly to see 17th century Italian paintings. You will be sorely disappointed and only spend about 10 minutes in that gallery. However, it is worth your time if you couple that activity with seeing the mid-20th century works in the East Building of the National Gallery. Barnett Newman's "Stations of the Cross" is amazing.

#4 - It is a good idea to learn about the Smoke Monster from LOST before watching episodes from this season. Thank you, Nathan, for filling us in as we dined over Peruvian food...

#5 - George Washington had only one tooth (of his own) when he was sworn into the presidency.

#6 - The Mount Vernon estate has a beautiful view of the Potomac River.

#7 - Our galaxy will one day collide with the Andromeda galaxy. The two galaxies will likely converge in a graceful, dancelike interplay (which will take place over billions of years). We watched a depiction of the whole event on "Cosmic Collisions," a film in the Air and Space Museum. So cool.

#8 - It is not worth my time to shop at H & M while pregnant, even if the store has a maternity section. No matter where I look, the "regular" clothes always look cuter than the maternity clothes (actually, I think maternity clothes often look frightening), and it is depressing to see that none of the cute "regular" clothes fit me right now. So, I should avoid H & M stores until August or so.

#9 - The Marriott Courtyard in DC has some nice pillows.

#10 - The American Indian Museum's cafeteria has a great lamb and rosemary sandwich.

gravidism

I think that most of the people who read this blog probably know (or at least have guessed) that I am pregnant. I actually haven't told too many people that I am expecting, and I've really had a fun time watching the news get publicized for me. Even when you tell someone in confidence that you are pregnant, there is always going to be a leak...somewhere. Tonight one of the grad students said, "So, I heard you're pregnant!" to me after class (he heard from someone at the Springville Museum of Art, where I used to intern before morning sickness took over my life) and basically announced my pregnancy to the whole grad department for me.

I think it's really funny when these announcements get made for me. Afterwards I always get pummeled the same question by everyone who was in earshot of the announcement: "Wait...you're pregnant???" Yep. Yep. Yep. I am. And, it's even funnier because the original person who made the announcement often doesn't realize that he/she has just made an announcement for me. For some reason, the announcer doesn't seem to realize that no one else in the room has been privy to this information. It's very amusing.

A couple of people have also announced my pregnancy for me too. The first time it happened I was a little bit shocked, and I had a hard time dealing with the pummeling of questions which followed. Now, however, I rather enjoy the announcements to be made for me. My cute sister-in-law felt bad when she mentioned my pregnancy in front of previously uninformed family friends, but by the time that happened last week, I didn't mind at all. When other people bring up the pregnancy, then I don't feel like I have to put on a superficial, hyped-up "We're so excited!" face. Don't get me wrong, I am excited for the baby to come, but I don't like putting on an over-excited demeanor and instantly commanding that the next ten minutes of conversation be all about me and my baby.

I'm actually quite interested to see what will happen at church this Sunday. We told Grandma Bowen last week about the news while we were out of town. Grandma Bowen's sister-in-law, Aunt Ellen, lives in the same ward as us, and we're pretty sure that Aunt Ellen sufficiently publicized the news while we were gone last Sunday. Excellent. Now I won't have to announce anything in Relief Society - especially because a pregnancy announcement in our ward immediately calls for the Enrichment leaders to throw you a baby shower. It's inevitable. I'd rather not feel like I'm asking for a baby shower...

P.S. The due date is June 10th.