Easter and more

I've been hesitant to post anything new to the blog because I love having Lance's Baby Daddy post be the first thing that pops up, but I decided that if this baby is doing anything, she's moving forward and so should her blog.

She was kicking like a maniac yesterday while I was trying to read (aka sleep) in the school library in between classes. I tried to video my tummy jumping around with my cell phone, but every time I started recording, she would get shy just long enough for me to give up and turn the damn thing off. I'll try again some other time with a camera that has enough memory to just keep rolling- it's so funny watching my tummy go into dancing spasms!

Much more to say, but have to run out the door to teach.

xoxo

oh- but- happy belated easter and we'll tell you about ours (fabulous!) soon...

baby daddy

I see babies everywhere (it's hard not to when you work at a preschool), and whereas before they generated a shock of fear, now they trigger a touch of longing. I'm still a bit terrified, but that bit has become a back seat second fiddle to my almost ache to hold Parker in my arms and dance her around the room. I'm not sure if my students realize it, but I'm much more prone to hoist them into the air and spin them around nowadays. I look at new parents (well, not that new I suppose, my little kid sightings are more of the 1+ year old variety and less of the what has been lovingly referred to as the screaming loaf of bread stage) with a twinge of jealousy, and and an over anxiousness that, though a happy feeling, is still slightly unnerving. So I would say yes, I am ready (ready in my dim perception of parenthood, which is surely fraught with more illusions than the magic castle and the magic kingdom combined) to be a daddy. More than that though, I want to be, and if these feelings can be trusted, I need to be. Be it biological imperative, pregnancy contact high, or simply serendipity, I cannot wait to be a dad.

And with that, I'm finding a whole new side to my personality, the conservative protector. Being a teacher, I know about the side of me that has to be stern when I'd almost want to laugh at some of the kids' behavior, but I'm finding that I'm making a lot of rules in my head about what Parker is NOT allowed to do, and she's not even born yet! I finally am appreciating the comedy of the over-protective dad (as seen in many (every?) teen movie), but I do hope that once she is out and about instead of in utero I'll loosen up. I mean, I used to think of myself as fairly laid back, but if Parker leaves the house in anything less then full kevlar plate armor, with a security detail of less than five people, and without a gps microchip embedded in her scalp (and don't even ask about going out at night!), I might not be able to maintain my nonchalant detachment and cucumber cool demeanor.

Lastly, I felt Parker kick for the first time last night. Not quite the Bruce Lee Jeet Kune Tek I'd expect from a girl with her Kung Fu lineage (I've got some nice kicks, but Connie's (or as I've learned from our students recently, she prefers Constance) legs are like spring steel), but it was SO nice to have a tactile connection to the life inside my wife instead of just watching it from afar.
Here's to June!

Spring Cleaning

The great thing about doing taxes is that we have to tidy the house before clients come over. Every time we do this, we say, "Wow! We should have people over more often! The house looks great!" Today we realized it took a grand total of 45 minutes MAX to make the apartment look like an entirely different world. We're going to shoot for 45 minutes per week no matter what, with the option of inviting people over no matter what, so that we can keep cleaning. Lance thinks that once Parker gets here, every day will be like having someone over so the house will be clean all the time. I'm less optimistic... But at least I'm having fun doing lots of laundry!

It's spring break from school this week and I am trying to fit everything I couldn't do during the first half of the semester into the two days in my schedule that I have off from class. Anyone else see a problem there?

Tomorrow I have to get new health insurance because I finally figured out why the insurance company was denying all our claims: they suck. There is a tiny little sentence with a few choice words that limit their pre-hospital responsibility to something like $750. So, the moral of the story is that the outstanding thousands upon thousands of dollars in doctors bills and anything that comes up between now and delivery is our responsibility. Yahoo. Makes me want to move to Canada. Tomorrow.

Got to see some of my old friends last night, two of which are mommies, full of information just waiting to be pumped. It was nice having my tummy rubbed/blessed by people I love and miss. After that, it was nice to go home to bed at 9:30. This is after a 4 hour afternoon nap. I can't believe how much sleep I still need ALL THE TIME.

I guess that's the big stuff for the moment. Can you tell I don't want to get back to taxes or homework?!

xoxo

*Parker's growing and kicking away...

Lots of little kicks and flutters, coupled with the occasional whallop. Lance still can't feel them, but sometimes I can see my stomach jump in the corner of my eye. I try to catch her again, but it's like lightening: never the same spot twice.

Here are a few more pictures of the ever-expanding tummy.

A moment of calm...



Here's Rozo trying to get in on the tummy picture action:



My shadow as I'm looking down on it- crazy, huh?!



Me thinking that both the shadow and the dog are pretty funny:



xoxo

Spring is in the air

So nice to have delicious breezes and soft rains. And to be well enough to go outside and enjoy it!

Tummy just keeps getting bigger. People are starting to ask me if I'm due soon, but those are all strangers who didn't see my tummy BEFORE the pregnancy. Parker's got a fair share of padding protecting her and quite a bit more growing to do.

I held the subway elevator for a couple with 2 kids and a ton of bags yesterday. They said congratulations and I asked them if they had any tips. It's amazing the stuff you can learn from strangers! Who knew that you need to be sure to wash between the baby's fingers, toes, and armpits to protect the delicate skin that is susceptible to moisture while the baby is still balling herself up like she was in the womb? I would never have though of asking about that...

Chomping away at homework, kind of numb and feeling like I will never catch up. Remind me not to get sick for weeks on end the next time I am taking a full course-load with child.

I'm still tired all the time, so the best that I can do is just keep doing the best that I can do and let go of any hope for something bigger or better than that. I guess that's what this pregnancy is teaching me the most: slow down, take care of myself, and strive for average.

xoxo

Back to the living

Finally kicked that damn infection. Thank goodness. Going back to school tomorrow for the first time in half a month. A wee bit behind on my work.

Tummy's getting bigger and bigger. Lance was giving me a lower back massage and Parker kept jumping around trying to get his attention, or at least some rubbing.

Need to get a new earpiece for the car now that some jerks broke the window and stole it and the ipod. I guess that's just the universe saying that for the first day back on the road for a while, I should spend tomorrow JUST driving, instead of returning the 80 billion phone calls I have slept through over the past couple of weeks.

Bed time.

xoxo