Some Sadness, and a Shorter-Than-Promised Update

Well I was already to write up a big long post about all this exciting baby stuff (complete with a picture or two), but my evening kind of came crashing down around me.

My husband has had a very tough and disappointing week, and my heart grew heavy for him as he poured out his frustrations.

Then, right after he left to go out with some friends, I went on Facebook and found out that one of my relatives died of a heart attack today. I don't know nearly all of my dad's cousins, but I do know this one. My sister and I grew up with that family. The man who died has a son that is my age, and I was nearly as close to him as I was with any of my first cousins. So my heart is breaking for them.

Then I went to read my favorite funny blog to cheer me up a little, and she posted that she and her husband were thinking about separating. Thankfully they decided to see a counselor, and they're going to try and work it out.

Anyway, I've only been home for two hours, and I gotta say: it's just a lot to deal with all in one short evening.

Just in case any of you were going to tell me that you're going to pray for me, I appreciate it, but just know that I'll be okay. I can handle being sad. It's the people I'm sad for that really need our prayers right now.

But I don't want to bring all you guys down with me, so I'll switch to a happier topic and give you a quick update: I'm 11.5 weeks along, and starting to show (but really only if I've eaten). I'm feeling great; much better than weeks 6-10. The nausea is almost gone completely, and I finally have my appetite back. I actually want food now. (Although, there is still plenty of food that grosses me out, and that probably won't change until after I've given birth.)

I'm a lot less cranky these days (probably because I'm not nauseated anymore. Those two symptoms are definitely linked).

I've had two doctor's appointments, and one midwife appointment, and that all went very well. My test results came back normal. I still don't have a permanent midwife, but I have another appointment with another midwife on the 20th. Hey, you can pray for that! I really want to get this midwife thing figured out, and it's taking longer than I'd like, and I'm slightly discouraged. I don't want all the midwives' schedules to fill up and then nobody can fit me in.

I haven't had to buy any new clothes, or even a belly band. I'm kind of surprised that my pants aren't too tight yet, but I'm thinking that means I'm carrying high.

I'm very very very very very glad to be done house sitting, (I know, I already said that) and even more so that I don't have to deal with that dog anymore. Everything about that dog grossed me out, to the point of wanting to gag. I made Art feed her because I couldn't stand even going near the cupboard where her food was kept.

Also, I'm happy to be settling into our apartment. Not everything is unpacked and put away, but the essentials are in place. We can live quite comfortably with the progress we've made. And we bought curtains! That's the first decorating shopping we've ever done, and I'm glad Art suggested it. I wanted to make it feel like a home, and that's a step in the right direction.

Well, I'm going to sign off now, and go check on my very first angel food cake that I just made. I really hope it turned out, because I love angel food cake, and if I ruined it.....well, that would be the last straw. Here's looking forward to tomorrow, and the knowledge that everything won't seem so bad after a good night's sleep.

BIG (Well, Little) News!

I know this isn't the proper way to do one of these posts, but it's close to bedtime, I won't have time to post tomorrow, and I don't know if the internet is working properly at the apartment (which we'll be in starting tomorrow night - one more day of house sitting left!)

Anyway, this is just a quick post (sans pictures, I'm sorry) to tell ya'll that I'm pregnant!

I'm nearly 11 weeks along, and we didn't mean to wait this long to tell the world, but it just kind of happened that way. I found out I was pregnant when I was almost six weeks along. I don't know if that's late for finding out, but this also wasn't planned. (At least, it wasn't in our immediate plan, but it was clearly in God's plan, and we always said we'd be happy no matter when it happened.)

To answer your next question, I'm due around the beginning of April. I know this might seem silly, but I don't want to tell people my exact due date (I'll explain all of that in a later post).

I'm feeling pretty good these days. Mild nausea was my constant companion, but I think that's starting to go away. I finally feel like I have an actual appetite again, and I'm also starting to have cravings. I haven't really experienced any fatigue, and I'm very grateful for that.

I know my last few posts went on and on about the "joys" of house sitting and dog sitting, but what I couldn't tell you is that everything probably seems so much worse because I'm also going through my first trimester. Everything has the potential to gross me out, or make me upset. Having to navigate all these crazy hormones while also not being in our own home is not ideal.

But we're done house sitting, and I'm feeling better, and over all, life is getting better.

Again, I'm sorry I don't have a belly picture to show you, although there isn't really much to see there anyway. I'm only showing if I eat a lot. But otherwise, my stomach is still fairly flat.

So I just wanted to quickly tell you all the happy news! Have a great long weekend!

I Really Need to Get a New Template That Doesn't Have a Banner in This Space

First, I would like to give a shout out to my friend and fellow blogger, Callie from Through Clouded Glass. She just announced that she's pregnant!! I'm so happy for her and Derek. She went off the pill a little over a year ago, and blogged openly about her struggles with getting her cycle back on track. It took 11 months, but they finally conceived!

She's 10 weeks along, she just posted her first ultrasound picture (just click on the link above to see it!), and she has the tiniest, barely-there bump. It's so cute! I can't wait to "meet" their little one in March. So congratulations Callie!

[For the record, Callie and I have never met in person. I can't even remember how I found her blog, but I started reading and thought, "Wow, we have such parallel lives; we're practically the same person!" Except she's more fashionable than I am. :) But someday, I plan on meeting her. She lives in Colorado, and I've always wanted to go to Colorado. How convenient!]

We've got three weeks left with this house sitting gig. I really shouldn't be complaining at all, because they have a nice house, in a nice area. We're close to the gym, close to our favorite grocery store, and I can still take the same bus to work. But I just want to be in our home, sleeping in our bed at night, using our stuff.

Also? Art's been wanting a dog for the longest time, and I was tempted to finally get one. But after taking care of this dog for a couple of weeks, I'm not sure I'm ready. I think it's just because I'm so used to it just being the two of us. Now I have this animal that I have to feed twice a day, and give medication to (which is supposed to be easy, because she takes it with her food, but sometimes she skips over the pills, and then I have to force them into her mouth). I have take her on walks, and pick up her poop, and pay attention to her.

I sound so spoiled and selfish, don't I?

Okay, let's turn this around. Here is a list of things I'm going to miss when we live in our apartment:

1. The barbecue. It's been a real treat being able to use the one here. It makes cooking so easy; I barely have to do anything! We light it, throw meat and vegetables on there, check it occasionally, and then eat it! We hardly even need to season the food. The bbq does it for us!

2. Grocery stores. There isn't one close to our new place. I've enjoyed living so close to a Haggen, being able to walk there and pick stuff up, or stop there on my way home (there's a bus stop right close to it). I won't be able to do that anymore when we're at the apartment.

3. Speaking of buses: I'm not going to have easy access to public transportation. Right now I take two buses to work: one picks me up near the house, and takes me to the bus station. The other takes me from the bus station and drops me off right in front of where I work. So convenient! Ironically, where we're living is technically closer to where I work, but there is no bus that services those streets that I'm close to. So I'll have to walk to the bus station every morning.

It will take me the same amount of time as riding there, so I won't have to leave the house any earlier. But I'll be walking for half an hour instead of riding. Which will really suck on windy or rainy days.

4. Storage. We have no extra bedrooms, no garage, and small closets. There is really no place to store things that we're not using. I'll have to get really creative, or get rid of more things (or some combination of both).

So we've got it pretty good right now. I just need frequent reminders.

Well, I feel like I had more to say, but I'm kind of tired all of a sudden. And I should probably feed the dog. Oh, one more thing: Art has a mohawk now, because he plays rugby now, and I guess it's a rugby thing. I didn't want him to get one, but it's pretty short, and it actually looks good on him. And yes, I'm okay with him playing rugby. It really isn't more dangerous than football, and it's so much easier to follow.

Okay, I'm all out of words. It's your turn to tell me something (like, what you are all doing this weekend? It's supposed to be a beautiful one!)