For posterity...

This is basically just to remember what this experience was like. Some thoughts on pregnancy: First trimester Sick from week 5 1/2 - 13. Exhaustion from week 5 1/2 - 13. Ravenous hunger, workouts became very difficult, extreme breast tenderness, emotional volatility - all by week 4. Strong aversion to tomatoes and onions. Ice cream and chocolate unappealing. Safe foods: bagels, pears, baked potatoes. Mostly force feeding myself. 13 weeks - sickest I've ever been in my life. Trip to ER with vomiting & diarrhea - got some fluids, went back home and thought I would die. Survived! Appetite didn't return for about five days. Missed my first class of law school. Extreme sensitivity to smells - smoke gives me an instant headache. Sugar makes me feel awful - can't even eat small amounts without feeling like I'll throw up and/or die. Second trimester Felt like a miracle after first trimester. Increased urination and discomfort when trying to sleep - had to get a pregnancy pillow and kick Michael out of bed to get any sleep - and still only slept for about 45 minutes - 1 hour at a time. Felt baby move for the first time around 16-17 weeks. Wasn't sure it was her at first. Was sure it was her on December 28, 2011. First began showing at 16 weeks. Can eat most foods again by 16 weeks. Still no desire for ice cream or chocolate at beginning, but this came back by the end of second trimester. Very weak and tired when walking or standing for long periods of time. We found out we were having a girl on January 5, 2012. Michael felt her move for the first time on January 15. Most active at night. Strangers started to notice I was pregnant at 20 weeks. I saw her move from the outside for the first time on January 29 - almost 22 weeks. The things I want the most are fresh fruits and veggies - oranges, strawberries, pineapple, peaches, and baby carrots and cauliflower. Third trimester Actually sleeping a little better. Where did my ankles go? Heartburn/acid reflux - especially at night. I wake up with acid coming up my throat. That's the worst. Zantac helps. Baby girl moves all the time, this is my favorite thing about pregnancy. Strangers feel free to start conversations with me about pregnancy. It's like an open door into my life. Had to take my wedding rings off at beginning of 3rd trimester. Pregnancy brain is real! I always thought it was just an excuse. I lose the words and forget things a lot. First stretch marks around week 34. You're breech at week 32 - will find out at week 37 if you still are or if you've flipped. I mostly enjoy pregnancy. Even when I'm miserable I try to enjoy the journey. It is an amazing experience to have a life growing inside of me. There are just no words to really describe it.

November synopsis

89% on my Crimes final. I'd be lying if I said I'm not disappointed. But when only 5-6 people got an A, and about 20 people failed, I can't feel too bad about it. I guess.

Thanksgiving was lovely. It was really nice to not have to drive 12 hours on both ends of the break. Getting back into the grind is no fun. At least I got ahead in one class. In Contracts I have my homework done through December 20. Now to study for the mid-term.

I got my Christmas tree before Thanksgiving, first time ever. Haven't decorated it yet though. I love the Christmas tree. It's one of my favorite things. When I saw them for sale for the first time I went and hugged the tallest one I could find.

And a quote for today:
"I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable,
I sound my barbaric YAWP over the roofs of the world."
-Walt Whitman

Recommendation

If you have not already, go right now and buy Jill Phillips and Andy Gullahorn's new Christmas CD. It is awesome. Seriously. Go right now. You'll thank me later.

Monthly Update

*95% on my first quiz of law school. You have to get a 95% to get an "A". What is wrong with these people? Shouldn't a 90% be sufficient?
*Took my first final exam of law school in Criminal Law. Won't know the results for probably another week. Hoping for a "B".
*We start right in on the next class, Constitutional Criminal Law. It just seems wrong to just keep going. No break. Just take a final and start the next class. Ugh.
*Had a great time in Atlanta with Justin and Shelli and enjoyed an Andrew Peterson concert together while we were there. We didn't take any pictures to document the weekend.
*Suddenly there is Christmas stuff everywhere. And I haven't even bought any Christmas presents yet. Studying all the time really puts me behind on my holiday shopping.
*Today I bought my first Christmas wrapping paper. I love wrapping paper. I especially like it if it's metallic or sparkly.
*Had a bunch of dead trees cut down in our yard. There is plenty of free firewood out by the curb, if you're interested.
*So far law school is harder than any other level of school I've been a part of. I know this is probably not shocking to most of you, but I kind of thought I would be able to slack off and get good grades like I used to. So far, I just have to study all the time and hope and pray to get good grades. It would be helpful if more of my classes had more than one or two tests to base the whole grade on. Anyway, it's all much more time-consuming than I had imagined, but I guess that's why not everyone is a lawyer.
*That's all I can think of for now.

Oops.

September slipped away without a post. Not sure how that happened. So to update you a little --
*We went to Justin and Shelli's wedding, which was fabulous and exhausting. It was good to be with old friends. And how did we get so old anyway? More people need to get married so that we can all get together more often.
*School has been somewhat all-consuming. I'm sitting in the classroom right now, waiting for class to get started. I briefed my first case, which was terrifying, and last week I had my first quiz. Hoping to get the (cross my fingers) good results back this week. There is a lot of reading and learning going on. And you can ask me all about intent and causation and I'll have some things to tell you. Along with Torts, Contracts and Crimes. Did you know that the burden of proof of "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt" is only applicable to criminal cases? I did not. Anyway, I'm working on outlining each class (sounds fun, right?) and keeping up with reading and briefs. And it seems never-ending.
*I went to Women's Retreat with my mom and sister, and was totally blessed.
*I came back home to a husband who loves me and shows it to me in a million ways and realized again how blessed I am to have him as my partner and teammate.
*Fall weather is (finally) here. I'm enjoying cooler temperatures and sweaters.
*And of course, there can't be fall weather without me getting nervous about winter, so that's going on too.
*I'm really enjoying being near my family. It's nice that it doesn't have to be a big deal to go over to my mom's house for supper or anything else, for that matter.
*We love our house. And are learning the joys and trials of homeownership. (Cutting down trees, fixing wet basements, decorating, etc.)
*I wrote two grants for work, and am working on a third.
*Patient numbers are steadily going up!

Those are the highlights I guess. I feel very busy, and ready for a homeleave, unfortunately those don't seem to occur outside of boarding academy. I'm feeling a little under the weather today, but it might just be allergies. I don't have time to be sick, so praying that will just go away. And my teacher is here now, so I'm going to go pay attention to class.

Update:

Update... 6lbs 8oz baby has Thai/Anglo/Karen names. Suwan or Suwat / Orion / Ebayat. Sure gonna have fun picking nicknames!

Big news!

This is only for friends of Leslie:

Leslie had a baby this morning around 7 am central time! Mike says that she and the baby are doing fine.

The old house

This is just me saying goodbye to our Pennsylvania home.

For Leslie

Leslie asked me to post pictures of my new house, so this is for her. One of the best motivations for me to get pictures up is for my best friend, who now lives in Thailand, to ask me for it. So, without further ado:

The front of our house, you can see there's a little porch on the side. I like to read there when it's not too blazing hot out. Which is most of the time this summer.


Closer up, you can see Shelby in the door, anxiously waiting for me to come back in so she can follow me around.


Living room, from the front door. We're not done yet. We want to hang a big mirror over the couch and buy a couple of accent chairs, but you get the idea.


Living room from the opposite corner, you can see the pretty front door.


Looking at the kitchen from the dining room.


Looking at the dining room from the kitchen.


This is a closer up of the kitchen. Here you can kind of see my stove top that's set into the counter. This is one of the cool things about the house.


Right now this is the room that holds all the unpacked boxen.


This is the big bathroom.


The extra bedroom.


Two shots of our bedroom.



The tiny master bathroom, hey, I'm just happy to have two bathrooms.


A couple shots of the basement. This was before we added the foosball table. It's the game room, rec room, fun times room.



So that's the basics. I didn't take pictures of the garage. It just has our cars in there and a bunch of empty boxen. We're loving our house, and so happy to be moved in. Also, did I mention that my sister lives seven houses down? It's awesome. After many years of living too far apart, we live five minutes away, walking time. It rawks. So now we're ready for visitors!