The Circle of Life

Today, my family and I are driving to attend my Pop Pop Ted's memorial service. What my mind struggles the most to wrap itself around is the fact that all of my grandparents have now passed away. Granted, he lived to be 93 and full of his wits, so I take comfort in the longevity that projects for my daddy. (I still maintain that he and Mom will live forever because if it can happen in movies, then why not in real life?)

Presumably, this little lady of ours will inherit some of her great-grandparents' wonderful traits, so their memories live on in us. Her kicks, tumbles, and frequent dances remind me that the circle of life continues to rotate. I can only hope she gains the strength of the remarkable people who came before her. Most of my close friends tell me she will be strong like her momma (despite my inability to bench press the bar in high school), and I pray for her sake that she develops a strength of her own. My bladder, sciatica, and round ligament will tell you one thing: her kicks sure are strong. Keep growing strong and healthy, Vincenza. You have a world just waiting to see all of the wonderful qualities you have to share with it.

Oh, by the way, here we are enjoying 6 months pregnant on Wednesday.

 

Cardigan (old): New York & Co. 

Flats: Aerosoles

Top: Gap Maternity

Jeans: Old Navy Maternity

Pregnancy is...

Pregnancy is...

* Mapping out the locations of the nearest bathrooms and realizing that you will eventually stop caring whether or not they're clean.

*Assuring every male who works with you that the grunt that just emanated from your entire being was a reaction to a head in your ribcage, not an S.O.S. requiring immediate medical attention.

* Accepting the fact that you might end up needing someone to wheel you to your destination in a desk chair because a tiny dancer is holding a recital on your sciatica.

* Learning how not to pee when you sneeze...or at least learning how to pack another pair of pants...or how to own the wet spot. (Billy Madison tells us only cool kids pee their pants.)

* Consulting webMD to verify that your strange symptoms are frighteningly common and normal.

*  Engaging in pep talks with your closet full of clothes that now pose creative obstacles.

*  Embracing the ugly cry. On an hourly basis.

* Pregnancy is realizing that those familiar spaces you once navigated with ease are now riddled with obstacles in the form of your increasing klutziness and growing belly. Seatbelt? Torture device. Student bookbags and computer cords? Land mines. Shoe buckles? Pointless inventions. Couch? Quicksand. Bed? HAHAHA, SUCKER.

Dress (recent): Old Navy

Shirt: The Limited

Cardigan (recent): Old Navy

Sandals: Franco Sarto via DSW

Noises

Our neighborhood makes very little noise. Considering most of our neighbors have reached the "it does not matter what the age minimum for a senior discount is, I get one anyway" age, all is eerily quiet on the home front. In fact, one of our adorable elderly neighbors jokingly called out to my husband this weekend, "you know, Jeff, it was quiet around here until you moved in." I think he appreciates the young blood livening up the place. That's what happens when a spry, young guy who likes to climb trees (for the purpose of trimming them, not building forts...yet), crawl under trucks, lean under car hoods, and tackle just about any home improvement project moves in across the street.

This weekend, we also realized that our house, situated a short distance from the major concert venue in our state, allows us to hear concerts. For free. We stood on our porch last night and listened to The Offspring. I might be a total dork, but my house is super cool. We took a walk to the pond in our neighborhood, and we could really hear the music. Who wants to come visit and go fishing while listening to live music for free? 

We started playing a lot of music in the past few weeks because we want Vincenza to appreciate it as much as we do. Since she has turned into quite the tiny dancer recently, I guess our plan is working. We stopped watching TV during dinner and decided to turn on music instead. (We even have her seat at the table all figured out; she'll sit across from the window so that she has a nice view of the outdoors while she munches.) I stopped watching TV while I get ready in the morning and put on iTunes radio instead. Jeff also sings songs to her on a regular basis. Enjoy the tunes, tiny dancer.

Cardigan: Old Navy

Scarf: Target, I think

Top: Gap Maternity

Jeans: Motherhood Maternity (Jeff picked 'em out and brought 'em home.)

Shoes: Sole Society

I also wore the pants this way:

Dearest Vincenza (letter #2)

Blazer: Lauren Conrad

Tank: Liz Lange maternity via Target 

Necklace: Old Navy

Jeans: Gap Maternity

Flats: Audrey Brooke via DSW

Our Dearest Vincenza,

We have hit 23 weeks today, and people now exclaim that I "have a belly!" What they really mean is that "oh, there IS a baby in there!" (That baby is you, by the way.) Since you enjoy dancing on my bladder and high fiving the inside of my belly, I can assure everyone that you have been our tiny little dancer even before my belly grew large enough for strangers to realize you are hanging out on the inside and enjoying all of the watermelon I eat.

Since your daddy and I have stayed the same size since high school, we do not own a scale in our home. (Always remember that the number on the scale is never as important as how you feel, and you will have every reason to feel wonderful about yourself.) To make sure you are growing, I weigh us at the acupuncturist every week and then the midwives (Tammy is our favorite--we hope she helps bring you into the world!) weigh us every four weeks. On Saturday morning, the scale showed me that I gained 7 pounds total since you started your dance party in my belly. Lucky number 7, little lady. Your daddy weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces and measured at 22 inches long when he was born! I weighed one ounce more than your daddy, and I was one inch shorter. We wonder if you will be around 7 pounds like we were.

When I was in college, a car accident left me with a bad back, and it is trying to rain on the parade we are having about meeting you in August.  Your daddy is a kind man, so he is buying me another sleep pillow and a support band today. I think the jungle gym that is our bed (SO MANY CONTRAPTIONS) will prepare us for all of the contraptions that will come with you. Daddy and I picked out a lot of them this past weekend, and we hope you enjoy them. Your grandpa (my daddy) will help install the new windows for your room soon so that your daddy can fix the wiring in your room, and I can paint it!

We love you so much already, and I hope you are enjoying your stay in my belly. Make sure to get nice and healthy. Your momma can handle any discomfort that comes as a result of your good health, just remember that.

Love,
Your Momma

P.S. Daddy wants to write you a letter or two, so that will be coming soon :) He is e-mailing me right now and wants you to know that he can't wait to drive home one day just to look at you. You and I sure are lucky, little lady. 

Other letters: #1

Do not be deceived.

I wore this outfit on a much more spring-like day. Today, despite the sunshine, requires a sweatshirt and a jacket. The poor thermostats must all be suffering right now. I understand now why mercurial means what it means.

I have little with which to amuse you today; however, several things amused me today.

1. A student tried to fix the printer on our mobile computer lab cart. When the "fix" he tried based on a Google search did not work (twice), he grumbled, "This really grinds my gears." Ah, man, I am still chuckling.

2. One of my students wrote a vocabulary story about how she prohibited farting in her car once she got her license yesterday. Her younger brother said he was "going to blow," so she made him stick his butt out the window. I made them write these stories as comic strips, so the accompanying pictures made the tears that streamed down my face from laughter all the more inevitable.

3. When my sixth period was completely silent, my intern decided to pop a mini rice cake into his mouth. What he did not realize was that another rice cake had accidentally adhered itself to it, so he literally bit off more than he could chew...quietly. The look on his face as he realized that the crunching would be deafening in such a quiet room sent me into a fit of laughter, which I had to contain as quietly as possible, a nearly impossible feat for someone with a laugh as boisterous as mine.

 

Dress: Express (found it in clearance section for $20)

Vest: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's

Necklace: Old Navy

Sandals: Franco Sarto via TJ Maxx (honestly, Franco Sarto makes THE best sandals.)

Edgy and Classy?

Who needs an iron when you have a hair straightener? The hair straightener did the trick to smooth out wrinkles at the bottom of this top today, and I did not need to lug the ironing board out of the laundry room. Hooray.

Custodians came in after school to replace a bulb that blew above our desks. I remarked that it smells AWFUL when those things burn out. The cologne of the one custodian lingered in the room after he left, and I swore he smelled like my brother who's worn the same cologne for over 20 years. Naturally, I followed him into the next room and asked him if he wore Eternity. He said no, but it does smell like Eternity. As my intern and I walked out of the building, I complained that the trashcan reeked of fish. I'm both impressed by and disappointed in my nose these days.

This outfit, of course, impresses me.  Most impressive of all? I managed to pick it out this morning instead of last night.

The Look:

Jacket: via thredUP

Pants: Motherhood Maternity

Top: LOFT

Flats: Sole Society

Necklace: J.Crew Factory

Headband: Target

Talking in Your Sleep

When I thought of a title for this post, I started singing this song. Oh, hair bands, your music was as great as your frizzy, voluminous, Marge Simpson hair. Guys, I like this week. I would give it a fist bump if it had hands. 

The other day, Jeff and I had a conversation that went like this:

Jeff: Did you wake up while I was watching Mrs. Doubtfire?

Me: No, you were watching Mrs. Doubtfire!?

Jeff:  Yes, when your favorite part came on and he says "it was a run by fruiting!" you laughed and said, "it never gets old."
One, I did not know I talk in my sleep. Two, my love of Mrs. Doubtfire extends beyond my waking hours. Three, I was telling the truth; that line NEVER gets old. It makes me laugh every time, even in my sleep.

Vincenza has been a somersaulting maniac the past week, and I cannot stop laughing at her antics. She definitely grew over the past week because the kicks are much more forceful and not simply flutters. In fact, she gives an entirely new meaning to "the wave." At this point, people waffle between utter confusion that I am five and a half months along and that I finally "popped." As long as she rocks and rolls on the inside, keeps growing as she should, and comes out happy, I do not care how big or small I look to anyone. Just keep growing and wiggling, little lady. We will have a dance party when you make it to the outside.

The windows for her room finally arrived, so Jeff and my dad can install them when it's nice outside. Maybe this weekend for Jeff's birthday? He will also finish the dogs' den this week, so we can get rid of their crates, move the guest bed to the dogs' current room, and really start working on Vincenza's room.

Yes, I am 22 weeks today, but no bumpdate, just an "I love life and everything about it" post. Also, my dogs are hysterical. See picture one for evidence.

This picture is really about what Roxy is wearing.

The Look:

Dress: Old Navy (not maternity)

Cardigan: Old Navy

Necklace: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's

Boots: Ralph Lauren via DSW