Now A Family of *gulp* Six.

I've been forming a lot of thoughts since July. I've been scolded and comforted for being negative about pregnancy. As the date of ultrasound draws closer and the baby is becoming more "real" in the belly, I thought it time to express more thoughts. The most obvious problem with growing a life is that it's all me. Doug has no idea what's going on, Doug's body isn't changing, and Doug isn't finding it challenging to do normal everyday things. He is a great support, but still - it's me. Many women like this, gives them a feeling of superiority I think - that's what I take out of their discussions. However, adoption was so much better. The ups and downs, the reactions to news, the celebrations and frustrations... experienced together. Equally. I'd still rather get on a plane to Moscow (twice!) than have to give birth. The growth of a baby inside my belly is odd. It's at both times amazing in a miracle-from-God kind of way, and quite d...

It's not often that Doug's high school and my high school interact. Ever. Except for football, and that's only in the playoffs. Occasionally. Well, they met Friday night on the football field in St. Joseph. St. Joe Bears (Amy) won, but GR Christian High Eagles (Doug) put up a heck of a fight. Here's hoping St. Joe gets to play here at Ford Field Thanksgiving weekend.

I'm pregnant. I know this to be true if only because of my hormones. I have zits where a person shouldn't have zits (my neck?! Come on!). I am definitely beginning to have odder cravings (for lunch? Spinach & feta omelet with a side of fries, please. Thank goodness for Coney Island restaurants). And as mentioned before, the fact that I am crying... all the time. If I go a day without having a good 5-10 minute bawl, I mark it as an extraordinary day. Last week, I cried when Doug changed the channel to the Weather Channel. Yesterday, Doug and I were catching up with each other and reading the newspaper while Roman played. I just started crying. No reason, really. Doug asked what was going on, and I just pointed to the clock. Apparently, because it was 5:35pm, and time to cry. Doug is a superstar husband. He's researched all the chemical and hormonal changes my body is going through and is most understanding. He commends me for not being as "crazy" as he expe...

Roman. Roman, Roman, Roman. Stubborn, wants to be in control, doesn't follow directions, Roman. Roman thought he'd have some quiet fun by repeating the word "penis" over and over to his friend Ethan, to make him laugh during Circle Time. He was caught and told it was a word that shouldn't be used at that time, and to stop. He kept doing it. He was told to stop again. He finally did. When I asked him about what happened, he lied. He said he never said that word. When I kept pushing, he finally admitted it. When I then asked him about saying it even though his teacher said to stop, he lied again . I finally did get him to admit the truth. But the damage was done ~ not the first time he hasn't done what a teacher has told him (the third in as many weeks, I believe), but this time he lied to me twice . So a firm consequence was in order. After talking it over with Daddy (who was going to be TOO firm, in my opinion) and my own ideas (too lenient, in Doug's opin...

I am 17-1/2 weeks currently (actually, I'll flip to "18 weeks" on Monday). According to babycenter.com, my current Internet bible, Skippy/ette is the size of a large onion. Like Doug says, "we're not talking red onion, we're talking Spanish onion." Anyway, for the last couple weeks we've read that women at my weekage can feel the baby move if they lay real still on their backs ~ that it would feel like a "flutter" or "bubbles." Well, a couple times I thought I felt it but couldn't be sure, so figured nah, it will come eventually. Well, eventually was this morning. We were riding in the car to Kalamazoo to cheer on the Broncos at Homecoming (unfortunately they lost), and I was just thinking about whether I was hungry or thirsty or just bored, when I had the weirdest sensation - like butterflies in my bladder. I thought about it, and then it happened again, like the chills you get when someone runs their finger up/down your s...

I believe I am secretly a Libertarian. My school has a mix of Republicans, Democrats, and "who cares" so political talk at lunch is always interesting. A liberal coworker sent the following link to a few of us, which if you take the time to answer and adjust your priority scale, will help find the presidential candidate that has beliefs similar to yourself. And here are my results... http://www.selectsmart.com/president/2008.html 100% Theoretical, nonexistent candidate 63% Alan Keyes, African-American Republican 60% John Edwards, Democrat 60% John McCain, very moderate Republican 57% Barack Obama, Democrat 56% Tom Tancredo, Republican 54% Hillary Clinton, Democrat 54% Joseph Biden, Democrat 53% Rudolph Giuliani, Republican 53% Al Gore, Democrat (not announced) I keep telling anyone who listens that if they can find a qualified black candidate of the Republican persuasion, they will take the White House. Apparently Alan Keyes isn't that guy, since I haven't...

Yesterday and today were just one happy "yay" things after another. So I thought I would list them. Friday: Aztek retrieved from shop and rattle is fixed. Issue with rental car has been made to go away with no cost to us. Green bean casserole, which used to be the bane of my dinner-existence as a child, was not only good on Thursday, it was good as leftovers! We went to a football game to see one of my former students play. Roman was awesome. So good, we stayed until the end. Roman couldn't wait to meet his first football player. We got to go out on the field and everything, which thrilled Roman to run into the end zone with his Daddy. Roman remained a sweet boy all night. Saturday: Even though I was "on duty" to get up with Roman (6:30am!) Doug did anyway. I took Rebekka to a meeting at a mall and Roman and I wandered for an hour. He was sweet, again. While gone, the carpet cleaners came and cleaned our entire house. Got home, had lunch. Rebekka and I went...

This morning, Roman was watching "Curious George" on PBS. It was an episode about the meaning of picture-signs, and that the big red circle/slash means "no." George, at the end, made a "no dinosaurs" sign to put on his bedroom door. Roman thought this was a great idea, and wants to make a "no monsters" sign for his bedroom. As we were driving down our street this morning after discussing signs, Roman saw the "no parking" signs - a big P with the red circle/slash. He was very excited. "Look, Mommy, no Ps! I want that sign! So, when a P tries to get in my room, we can stop it and not let it in!" I wanted to laugh so hard, and so loud, but I just chuckled and said I hadn't seen any letter Ps in the neighborhood. Then we went back to discussing other signs. Baby news: I'm officially 16 weeks, so I will write to those who don't check the blog and give them an "I'm fine" update. Nov. 2 is our scheduled ...

Ack! I get this question a lot nowadays. I told my mom the truthful answer the other day and I don't know whether she found it funny or was hoping for a better answer. "Regular," is my answer. As in poop. Personally, I enjoyed my slightly-constipated existence pre-pregnancy, and the fact that I poop 2x a day now is rather irritating. Besides that, I'm very thirsty. Since about last Wednesday I've been struggling with dizziness, light-headedness, and downright vertigo at times. I tried all kinds of things - more sleep, more food, less sugar, and skipping Coke altogether (all that did was make me dizzy with a headache). I finally figured it out - water. I need lots, and lots, and LOTS of water. So I borrowed Roman's "Fun at the Fair" sippy cup that holds about 16 oz. and have drank down 2 of those (including ice) today. Even at church, I was sucking on that thing. Besides not being near as hungry, my vertigo has definitely lessened. So, water it...