Multi-book Review

So I've been doing quite a bit of reading lately. I've found it takes my mind off how I've been feeling.

First I finished "The Seeking Heart" by Fenelon. I've previously mentioned working my way through this book. I found some good tidbits of inspiration within the covers.

Then I began working my way through "The House of Night" series. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about these, I mean, I less than loved "Twilight" much to the dismay of the entire female population of the United States. But I was intrigued as I made my way through "Marked," "Betrayed," "Chosen," "Untamed," and "Hunted." Currently about halfway through book 6 "Tempted" and my interest is waning a bit. However, never before have a read an entire series straight through without other novels sprinkled throughout. Maybe I just need a break from Aphrodite's snarky comments, Zoey's boy troubles, and Stevie Rae's inability to share a deep dark secret with her BFF. Too much time immersed in teenage drama is bound to get to anyone...right?

Storms, Cats, Dreams, and Naps

It seems there have been a rash of storms lately. While I don't underestimate the destructive power of these storms, I still find something inherently majestic about them. Oh, I've seen the heartbreaking pictures of the devastation left behind. And I do mean heartbreaking. I think it's similar to how I feel about the ocean. There's nothing I love more than sitting on the beach in the sun, smelling the salty air and watching and hearing the waves crash against the sand. But put me IN the ocean and I get a little nervous if the water's anything but calm. Anyway, another storm was rolling through last night as I was crawling into bed. I listened to the rumbling for a bit and then let the sound of the rain lull me into the best sleep I've had in two weeks. Honestly, I didn't wake up until 4am. I completely skipped my 1am bathroom break.

Unfortunately the storms calming effect only worked on me and not the other creatures in the house. I got the 5:30 "Hey, just wanted to remind you that you need to get up in 1/2 an hour to feed us" wake up call from one of the cats. Like I've ever forgotten to feed them. And after I did feed them, they were tearing around the place like mad men, er mad cats. There's the usual running around and pouncing on one another, but this was extreme! At one point, I heard strange claws-on-drywall noises and yelled at them to quit fighting only to realize Jynx was standing in the hall nowhere near where the noises originated. I stood to go peer into the room, but before I could discover what Fritz was up to, he took off out of the room and down the stairs faster than if he'd been shot out of a canon. And let's not forget the trip down to the laundry room (here's a tip, if you ever do laundry at my place, be sure to turn on the basement light- that way you can see which direction the black ball of fur will be coming from when he launches himself at your legs as you leave the laundry room). Cats running up and down the stairs- crawling through the stairs overhead (remember, and open staircase is the best cat toy ever!).

Maybe their antics contributed to the weirdness of my dream...Now, I admit, I've always had entertaining dreams. It's like a little movie playing in my head while I sleep, complete with color, sound, and occasionally smell. But this one seemed unusual even for me. I got drafted by a high school friend and a college friend (who to my knowledge have never met) to be part of this musical production that was- surprise!- performing that very night! So here I was playing the silent lead female role in this odd show. There was no plot! There were no consistent characters! The songs didn't make sense! The costumes were literally impossible to wear! There was something about a train that looked like it should be in the game Candyland. We opened the production with the National Anthem, of course. And other than the fact that I had to miss a class to be in the performance I couldn't tell you much more about it. But if this is what pregnancy does to my dreams- I'll be able to write a book about my nocturnal visions!

After the manic episodes experienced by my cats and the puzzling over the oddity of my early morning dream, I was ready for a nap.

Mini Muffin

The cat's out of the bag.

There's no way to write this keeping the dramatic moment for the end (not that anyone will be surprised at this point), so I'll just come out and say it- I'm pregnant. (Even though I've had time to get used to the idea it's still weird to say, er, type that!) It's been a long, bumpy road to get here. It started in January of 2009. Well, I guess really it started before then. When we got married, I didn't want to talk about it (I know, I know I always said I'd never get married and I wasn't having kids. Things change. We all knew I was lying anyway). So we made a deal. I'd finish grad school and then we'd discuss it. Well, in January of 2009- my graduation was looming mere months away. It seemed like a good time to casually start trying. Six months later, when my internship was dragging on and the job market not looking promising, we called it quits. Temporarily. I admit, I cried for two days...Meanwhile, it seemed the whole world was having babies.

Fast forward more than a year

. Things are looking up for us. The timing is good. Oh- job change, that's a nice monkey wrench. Well, let's go for it anyway. Months go by and nothing happens. I'm keeping track of everything (and I do mean everything, I think I even recorded every time I sneezed!) on my handy dandy little chart, it's really not as much fun as it sounds like.

I make the call, but I can't bring myself to use the "i" word. Dr. R (not her real name) says "Well, this is no problem, but I don't like what you told me about that. You should come in and have bloodwork done." At least I got the heads up- I really don't do well when they spring the needles on me. Results: "Your progesterone was low and your thyroid was abnormal. Let's repeat the test." Sigh. "Your progesterone was normal this time, no problem there. But your thyroid level was still abnormal. And it could be contributing to infertility." There it was. The "i" word. Next step: schedule an appointment with my primary care physician to discuss said abnormality of the thyroid. Dr. U (not his real name) is, of course, on vacation...

5 weeks: I'm not entirely sure why I felt I needed to take a test that day, but something inside me said, "Why not? Just get the no and move on." Only it wasn't a no. Wait, how did this happen? I wasn't prepared for this! In hushed voices (we had family crashing at our place- but that's another story entirely) the huz and I discussed it briefly before work. Our conversation went something like this:

"Is it for real?"

"I guess so"

"Can there be false positives?"

"Well, yeah..."

"Do you have any more tests?"

"No, I guess I'll stop on my way home and pick one up."

"Or a couple...Maybe it's an April Fool's joke. You know, it just gets wet and comes back positive."

"Do they make those?"

"I don't know."

Oh, did I forget to mention, it was April Fool's Day? Jynx congratulated us right away- by barfing on the carpet (Fritz was too busy cowering under the bed, hiding from the house guests to even be concerned with what else was happening.)

Good news! Looks like the offer on the house was accepted and we're moving forward. No, this isn't an April Fool's joke!

Wait, what? It's been a month and today of all days is the day we finally hear something?!

Test 2 comes back positive that night. And yet we still don't quite believe it. Five days pass. Ok, test 3. Positive. It must be for real. Guess I should call the doctor...

The huz asks:

"When can we tell people?"

"I'd like to wait, it's really early and I don't know what this whole thyroid thing means."

Two days later:

"So, I might have told my brother..."

"I might have told my supervisor- she wanted to move furniture..."

6 weeks: Dr. U tells me that the results from Dr. R's office indicate borderline hypothyroidism. He'd like to retest before making any decisions about medication. The next day Dr. U calls- "I've got your results back and I'm going to go ahead and get you started on medication. I'll fax the prescription to the pharmacy. I want to see you for a follow up appointment in 6 weeks." That's not what I wanted to hear. The doctor had assured me it was perfectly safe for the baby- I just hate the idea of taking medication. Any medication. Period.

Just ask the huz:

"I have a headache."

"Did you take anything for it?"

"No."

*Huz rolls eyes*

Pop the first pill. Guess I'm a druggie now...Off to Dr. R's office for my first appointment. "Everything looks good. Here is some information for you about what to expect for your upcoming appointments. I'll send the nurse in to draw your blood. And we'll see you back in about four weeks for your first ultrasound." Geez! I really am starting to feel like a pincushion...

"I feel funny."

"Funny how?"

"I don't know. Just funny. I'm sure it's normal."

"So when can we tell people?"

"After the ultrasound?"

"Sigh."

7 weeks: Wow. There it is. I wondered when you'd show up. Morning sickness. Yep. I feel awful. Let's hope this doesn't actually happen every day and this is just a fluke...

Nope. Not a fluke. How many more weeks until I feel better?

9 weeks: Feeling ever so slightly better. Actually managed to eat a whole meal at one sitting.

10 weeks: Mother's Day. The huz surprised me with flowers and a card. Stupid hormones making me cry. I didn't consider this to be my first mother's day, but he thought it counted. Started telling the family today- and news travels fast...

First ultrasound. A little nervous- not sure what to expect/think/feel. The huz keeps me giggling. Doc arrives in the freezing little room. Those papery sheets don't provide much warmth. There it is! Look! It's all wiggly!

Doc says "I only see one." (Sorry huz, maybe next time you'll get your twins.) "Heartbeat is nice and strong. Everything looks good."

*Sigh of relief*

Geez! Word really does travel fast! Is there anyone who doesn't know?

Let the nicknames begin. Peanut. Bean. Blob. Tadpole. Prune. Tory Walker. Tater Tot. Mini Muffin.

This kid is doomed!

Magic Hour

Hmm, I didn't intend for this blog to be primarily a book review...maybe I'm just on a reading roll...

Just finished "Magic Hour" by Kristin Hannah. I've read a book or two of hers before and really enjoyed them. So when I found this one, I picked it up. It started strong, I was intrigued. It was right up my alley with the whole nonverbal child- child therapist thing. But I started to lose interest toward the end. Maybe it was a little too predictable, I'm not sure. It was a nice story, but it lacked pizazz or--something. Maybe it was just me...

Separate Vacations- Gasp!

In two weeks my husband (aka: the huz) will leave for a trip to California. Without me. Yeah, I know it's a guys only fishing trip and I'm not a guy. And I haven't really fished in years- something about becoming vegetarian made fishing seem wrong. But I could visit with the family that's out there...

I'm not sure when it happened, maybe during the process of attempting to go to school out there, but at some point I decided I really like California. It's one of the two places I'd willingly uproot myself to move (Hawaii is still my number one choice. Sorry Ohio, I wouldn't eve

n think twice if I had the opportunity to go). Something about the huz going while I'm stuck here (probably taking a canoe to work instead of my car) just doesn't seem fair. I know, I know, not all of California is sunny with palm trees. In fact, there is a good possibility that there will be snow on the ground when the guys get to the final fishing destination.

But I suppose the huz will have similar feelings of wanting to go a few weeks after his return when I escape with the girls to sunny Myrtle Beach for a few days.

Separate vacations! Gasp!

We consider ourselves lucky to be able to vacation at all this year- together or separately. And we're already tossing around ideas for next year's vacation together...

Oops

Forgot to post on the most recent book I finished. "Sunset Beach" by Trish Perry. Not one I'd normally pick off the shelf, for some reason I don't run to the Christian Lit section of a bookstore. And I rarely approach the romance section. But a coworker plopped this book down on my desk and said I needed to read it. Typically I have enjoyed her suggestions. This time was no exception. Again, a little outside my normal genres, and a little predictable, but an enjoyable story nonetheless. A quick easy read that made me wish I was sitting on the beach while I was reading it...

My completely meaningless rating scale gives it a thumbs up.