The Prego Report

I've been to the doctor's office three times this week; here's a little synopsis of the three appointments. 

Monday was the LONGEST appointment I have had.  Little Bean was hyper and wanted to move during the non-stress test.  This is both good and bad.  Good because the doctor wants to see him move -  bad because the monitor lost his heartbeat everytime he shifted.  So I sat reclined in the chair for 1 1/2 hours.  Not surprisingly, since breathing in a reclined chair is not an easy feat these days, my blood pressure was through the roof at the end of this visit. 

Thursday, fortunately, was the quickest non-stress test we've had.  Little Bean was still moving around, but the technology was cooperating this time.  Halleluia!  Doc said things looked great.

Friday we went to see the specialist that is in charge of monitoring my extra thick, sticky blood.  During the ultrasound we got to see Bean's little face complete with a large bottom lip that I am convinced he inherited from his father and some little cheeks that I can't wait to kiss.  At almost 35 weeks he's measuring 6lb 14oz.  Here's where the mixed emotions come into play.  My first thought: thank goodness he's growing despite the abnormalities in my blood.  My second thought:  I would REALLY prefer NOT to deliver a 9lb baby.  The specialist is also a little concerned about his size.  He told me to lay off concentrated sugars like candy, juice, and white grains.  So, of course, what do I now crave?  Orange juice, rice, sugary cereal, and one of my absolute favorites, frostys.  I will have to dig really, really deep for some will power over the next few weeks.

Intel Advertising

Have you noticed Intel's new marketing campaign? Click here and here for two examples. I applaud their efforts in trying to redefine the sciences as the face of "cool".


My only complaint? The lack of diversity in their science "rock stars". All of the advertisements I have seen have depicted white males as the scientists/inventors.

Intel, I give you two thumbs up in your efforts to make math and science more glamorous to the public. Two thumbs down, however, for not challenging (and perhaps promoting) the stereotypical image of scientist/inventor.

 

A Gift

My first delay of the year!


I was secretly hoping for it last night, but I quickly learned earlier in my teaching career that you NEVER make a prediction of delay or closure the night before or it's sure not to materialize.

So when T's phone buzzed at 5:15 with the news of a delay, I was overjoyed. Two more hours of break!

So what did I do with my extra 2 hours? Did I get some extra sleep? Did I grade the papers that didn't get finished over the past two weeks? Or perhaps work on my grad school action research paper? Or fold the laundry that I left in the dryer over night? Or get into school early, so I can check out my new room still covered in boxes?

Nope...here I sit on my couch, mesmerized by all the other school delays, reading blogs, and drinking coffee. It's a perfect morning, and I'm going to enjoy my last few hours of calm before I go back to trying to convince high schoolers that math REALLY IS important to them and their future.

The Prego Report

I have already decided that I do NOT like NSTs (non-stress tests). I understand they give important information about the baby to the doctor, and for that, I am grateful. But I still don't like 'em.


There is one main reason for my lack of enthusiasm - the chair I have to sit in. It is not comfortable. It looks inviting - if I were not preggers, it probably would be the perfect chair. But it sits low enough to the ground that I can not gracefully lower myself into it - instead I have to do more of a backward flop and hope I align correctly.

Second, I can not breathe very well once I am in the chair. I would have never thought that I would ever hate reclining (naps are my favorite pastime), but sure enough, I do. And if the baby is not moving or the monitor is not printing correctly - both of which occurred for a while today - then I have to sit in the chair for upwards of an hour like a beached fish trying to catch my breath.

But enough complaining. I'm sure when I'm actually in labor, I'll be wishing for the relative comfort of the currently dreaded chair.

On to other things...

Baby Bean:
We got to see him last week in an ultrasound. They said he looks great. This was a huge relief because there was initial concern about blood clots - apparently I have extra thick blood despite the amount of water I guzzle - and nutrients getting to him. Bean seems completely unaware of this problem, however, and he's growing like a weed. The doc estimated him at 4 pounds 13 oz. Just for your reference, most books are telling me he should weigh around 3 to 3 1/2 pounds.

Today after the NST the nurse and doc told us his heartbeat was beautiful. As his parents, we totally concur.

Me:
Overall feeling great. Recently this week I have been experiencing some sore muscles and more fatigue than normal, but I am blaming it on the Wii. I think I might have gotten a little zealous with the new technology. This will not, however, keep me from playing our new game, Mario Brothers, sometime today.

T:
He declined an invitation for a guest appearance today, but I think I'm safe in saying he's very excited. (Today at lunch I called Bean 'Gavin' and T's eyes lit up and he quickly noted that it was the first time I refered to the little one by his potential name in normal conversation.)  He's been working hard to clean out unnecessary clutter from the house and set up the nursery.

That's all to report for now. We are hoping for a calm remaining seven weeks.

Happy Birthday

-to my husband.

There are so many things I have learned from him (keep in mind, dear friends, that I am still working on some of these lessons):

To lighten up
Prompt responses and communication are important
A good Sean Connery imitation takes years of practice
That life is stressful at times, but can normally be managed in a calm way
The value of having projects
The intrinsic reward that comes from helping others
Closing kitchen cabinet doors

Thanks, T, for these lessons and the many others that went unmentioned.

I hope it's a fabulous year! Happy Birthday!

A plethora of technology

Atleast that is how it felt to me as I opened presents from my parents and siblings this Christmas.

I didn't ask for a Wii or an iPod shuffle, but I got them both. And they are amazing. I completely understand that neither represent new technology, but regardless, I can't help feeling like I am on the cutting edge.

On a slightly depressing note, I did my Wii Sports training age...50 years old. My balance is impeccable, but my strength and stamina need work. I feel completely justified blaming this on the pregnancy. The current plan is to work on improving this score during the later part of my maternity leave.

Christmas

Five days ago I was proclaiming the beauty of my state. Now I sit here on Christmas morning listening to the rain tap on my windows - so much for a white Christmas. But no matter. Already I have been blessed to have some fabulous time with friends and family, and I look forward to seeing more loved ones in the next few days.

I wish you a Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones!

Magical in the Midwest

The heartland of the United States is not a place people usually travel to unless they a) already live in the midwest and are taking a weekend trip or b) have family or friends residing there. It does not carry the attraction of the ocean of the east or west coast, and it does not have the mountains like Colorado or Tennessee. And although we have our good days, nobody typically raves about the weather that can literally drop 20 degrees in a day without anyone blinking an eye.

But I wish everyone could have seen my midwestern state yesterday morning in all its glory. It was gorgeous. An inch of snow had fallen and every tree branch, pine cone, fence line, and rooftop was outlined in pure white, and a soft snow continued to fall through out most of the day. Waking up to this scene on a Saturday morning was fabulous, and it seems impossible not to be cheery every time I look outside.

The end of an era

I attended my last grad school class on campus last night. I haven't allowed myself to think about it yet. So I decided to give myself a little time to reflect.

Will I be sad that it is over? A little. I fully enjoyed being a part of a large, research institution. There is energy on campus, and the feeling that exciting things are happening or about to happen is always present.

I also enjoyed the learning aspect. It made me think and question things about my philosophy, my classroom, and how I approach mathematics education. Even if the learning I did wasn't always immediately useful, isn't it the goal of education to make us think about new things or old things in new ways? And that, I certainly did.

But mostly I am relieved to be wrapping up grad school. While it was fun and engaging, it was also stressful. Like any other student, I, at various points of my education, had to sacrifice time with family and friends, set aside my work responsibilities, and sit in front of the computer or pour over books and articles for hours at a time. I will not miss that part AT ALL.

But before I get ahead of myself, I still have one action research project to complete and a four hour written test to take. I have five weeks to get this done. Let the count down begin.

Clutter

Clutter!
It's everywhere.

A 12 by 15 foot room that formerly acted as an office seemed like it would be a snap to clean out and transform into a nursery. But it's deceiving. The clutter grows and multiplies exponentially every day. And things that I wish would have disappeared and taken care of themselves have not. That beautiful SLR camera that I dropped in the beaches of Aruba several years ago...still hidden in the corner of the closet. The outdated, and therefore useless, printer that served me well for many years still lays idle on the bottom shelf of the bookcase. And the random pictures that date from babyhood to current day still remain in a neat stack waiting for me to decide where their permanent home will be. It's clutter, and yet, I have memories and stories for it all. Thank goodness for Fly Lady (never heard of her? Click here if you're a pack rat). Fly Lady brought the 27 fling boogie into my life. If it weren't for her I'd be frozen with indecision and the newest addition to our family would be sleeping inbetween my boxes of memorabilia and office supplies.

Chipot-Yummy

Excitement came today in the form of a "buy one burrito, get one free" Chipotle coupon.

YUM!

We decided to use it right away.

The burrito was so pakced full with goodness that it took me 45 minutes to eat it. That's heaven.

Observations of a Lunch Monitor

After a month and a half of lunch duty, I have come to a realization. It is IMPOSSIBLE for people to walk up to a trashcan with out literally "throwing" items into it. People either practice their free throw shoot from 4-5 feet away or their underhand pitch from 2-3 feet away. NOBODY (I'm including teenagers and adults alike) walks all the way to the trashcan.

I've also come to the realization that there are typical reactions when a person MISSES their trashcan shot. People either 1) Follow through and pick it up right away, 2) Look around first to see if anyone noticed they missed it before deciding their next move, or 3) Pretend they never threw anything to begin with.

I have heard horror stories about lunch duty. But really, it's not as bad as I thought. So far it's an interesting place to observe human behavior - again, I'm including adults and teenagers. However, having said this, I reserve my right to change my opinion and decide it stinks at any time during the year.

Saturday Circle Game

It's been a year since T and I bought our new TV and decided to join the world of cable. DVR is amazing. So I want to know:

If you had to narrow your TV viewing to TWO shows, which two would you pick?

The Prego Report - It's a...

BOY!

Yep, that's Bean above.

Several days ago we visited a business in the area that specializes in 3D/4D ultrasounds and was recommended by several friends. We were going in to have the normal 2D gender determination but the women at the front desk suckered T into getting the 3D/4D done. I'm so glad they did. I'm fascinated by these pictures. Yes, they are a little surreal...I'm the first to admit, the child needs to gain a few pounds. But, look!  Little feet!

Bean was camera shy at first; he kept rolling over so all we could see was his back side. But he eventually decided to cooperate and show his face and we had a great time watching him do his thing. His biggest form of entertainment - moving his arms - those things were all over the place.

So how sure was the techician about the gender? Very. Could I see what she saw? Um, no. But T says he could. We are aware, however, that the process is not 100% accurate. Our precious neice is living proof of that. Were we excited about Bean being a boy? Absolutely, but we would have been just as excited if Bean were a girl. It's just fun to find out more information about this little person that will join our family in a few months.

And now a note from T:

Hi everyone, it's T - I don't think I got suckered into it... I think I knew it was a special opportunity. It was like we got to spend 20 minutes with Bean, and it was great! I felt my second kick tonight while we were watching TV. Awesome.

And one last picture... Can you see T's bottom lip? It's definitely there.

Saturday Circle Game

Background: T and I are visiting our alma mater for Homecoming weekend and staying with our dear friend, K. We walked into her kitchen and were greeted with the smell of pumpkin cookies! Yum! It got me thinking: most people have traditions surrounding cookies. So...

Question: What cookie traditions (when, where, type) run in your family?

I'm in LOVE!

With Hostess' 100 Calorie Packs.

Chocolate cupcakes are my favorite.

100 calories

5 grams of FIBER!!

(Grams of fat and sugar are so not important.)

So You Think You Can Dance

This was the week T took me to see the live performance of So You Think You Can Dance...dance...dance. I loved it! Here are some thoughts.

1) Jeannine is great, but in my humble opinion Brandon should have won season 5.
2) Phillip is just cool.
3) They performed so many dances that I absolutely loved. My favorite...the addiction dance with Capuno and Kayla. Some more favorites...the Breast Cancer dance with Ade and Melissa and the Pick Dance with Ade and Jeanette.
4) I was disappointed they only performed one new dance.
5) The dancers MCed the performance. I'm trying to figure out how to say this nicely...Loved their dancing, would have been OK with less talking.
6) T was completely outnumbered at this performance. It must have been a ratio that was somewhere along the lines of 20 females to 1 male.

Saturday Circle Game

Sorry, this question is slightly indulgent. It was inspired by a recent inservice presenter that was excellent and the movie "The Freedom Writers". (We watched it last night, and it was excellent.)

Who were the three educators that impacted you the most? Why?

The Prego Report

We will be able to reveal Bean's gender in approximately a week in a half. So, I'm curious....what are your guesses? Is Bean a she-baby or a he-baby? Word on the street with Tim's co-workers: Beans a Boy. Word on the street with my co-worker's: Beans a Girl.

Saturday Circle Game

I want to know...

Have you ever been on TV? If so, for what?