School is in full swing!

Not sure why the exclamation point--it's not really exciting news, but it is news, three days into the school year (171 to go). I really like our new principal so far. She's funnier than heck and sort of sarcastic, too: perfect for SCORE.

The kids, on the other hand, are driving me nuts. They're excited that I'm pregnant, but most of them won't SHUT THE HECK UP! The worst are my all-boy classes (shocking, I know). They're just being immature little punks so far, and I'm having trouble not losing it with them.
Since I'm pregnant, aren't I allowed to be bitchy? :)

I swear, if our kid ever acts anything like some of my students...no, no, what a scary thought! Take it away, quickly!

BTW, randomly, P.S. I Love You is an amazing movie. Watch it, cry, stare at the amazing biceps of the hot Irish men, and wish you could afford some of those amazing shoes!!

My head is pounding!

Mostly it's because I've been reading Baby Bargains for weeks and am completely overwhelmed by the choices, reviews, options, and sticker shock (of course) of everything from cribs to carriers. Tonight George and I talked about furniture, which we'll likely order from JCPenney. Convertible or regular crib? Coffee, caramel or chocolate finish? Basic mattress or one step up? What can we actually afford? Then there's the fun of JCP's ridiculously high shipping charges. I was super excited to have a "free shipping" coupon--until I realized that it doesn't apply to furniture or home-delivery charges. ARGH!

Add to baby madness and pregnancy insanity:
1. teacher days starting Monday,
2. kids coming Friday (I am not ready for this!),
3. preparing for my CTU class that starts the 20th (the English class has been completely overhauled, so I'm spending hours updating my PowerPoints),
4. trying to get George to talk about/help me figure out what to do with stuff in Ivy's room to make way for baby (where will her bed, the world's largest toybox, the stuff in the closet, and my two bookshelves full of books go? None of this will fit in my office, already crowded with three bookshelves, a file cabinet, my desk, chair & computer, and another chair.)

and you have a recipe for the first migraine of my life!!

I think sleep will help, but that just brings me one day closer to the end of my lovely summer holiday. Well, life goes on! And will rapidly speed up once school starts, bringing labor and delivery (which, honestly, I'm quite terrified of--or at least, I'm quite terrified of the potential complications) that much closer, that much faster.

Do all pregnant women feel this overwhelmed? Please say yes!

Jumping bean! and car accident

Lots of news! Monday 21 July we got some great ultrasound pics at the early genetic screening (insurance covers it, and we got pics, so why not?). George had to work, so Mom went with me, which was cool. Regular ultrasound this time (hooray!), and it was hysterical--baby was dancing around like a Mexican jumping bean! We figured he/she was responding to the ultrasound pressure, but as the jumping/hopping/dancing/rolling went on, we decided that hiccups must also be involved. We were cracking up! Wish we had gotten a video, but the photos will have to do.

Photo #1: Baby is already trying to get fingers in his/her mouth. Can you tell? And, no more sea monkey! Baby actually looks like a baby!

Photo #2: Compare with the first photo; this one was taken in mid-jump! Head is raised, back is arched, and butt looks really pointy (yikes).

Photo #3: Close-up profile & a few wee fingers.

There are other photos of the hands, perfectly outlined (all 10 fingers are there!), and the wee, wee feet, but these three are the best.

The checkup with Burk after the tests (ultrasound & finger prick) also went well. I've gained 4 pounds ("perfect," according to the nurse) and all is well. We heard the baby's heartbeat, which was really cool! I did get in trouble with Burk for drinking sweet tea, though. Oh well.

So Mom and I had a great morning, a fun lunch and were on our way to Lowe's when a woman turned left in front of me and I hit her. I was going South on Fremont, just South of Sunset (I think), and saw her in the turn lane. She started to turn, so I slowed down (not going very fast, anyway) and laid on the horn, fully expecting her to stop. Well, she didn't. She kept coming, and I hit her passenger door and front side panel, even after I slammed on the brakes. She, in turn, swiped a truck waiting at the side street stop sign.

It was so scary! Of course, I immediately became hysterical--good thing Mom was there with me. We moved the cars fully onto the side street and got out to inspect the damage. The woman kept saying, "I just didn't see you, hon." Really? So my car is invisible, and apparently the horn isn't loud enough to get your attention, either? I couldn't believe it. We all exchanged info, and Mom wondered if we should call the cops. Since the cars were all drivable, and no one was injured, the truck man said he didn't think it was necessary--so we didn't. We probably should have, but I was so shaken up that I couldn't stop crying, much less help make decisions.

The truck man left, and we started to, when the woman stopped. Her car was making a sound, but it was just the cover over the tire scraping. I got Mom's camera (forgot she had it til then) and took some photos of the woman's car and mine. Check a few out:

Yup, that's the hood.

So the woman's insurance is still "investigating" the incident, but it was clearly her fault (she turned in front of me), and she admitted fault ("I just didn't see you, hon"), so I'm hopeful that everything works out.

My car held up really well; I'm proud of my little Honda. The air bags didn't go off, which was odd. Since I was originally going only 35ish (if that; I'm guessing), guess I had slowed down enough to avoid a worse wreck when we hit.

Ended up going to the ER the next day because when I called to let Burk know about the accident--no, I wasn't cramping, bleeding, or feeling any pain other than a sore neck & headache--the nurse couldn't believe I hadn't gone in the day before and told me to get to the ER right away to be checked out. Naturally, I freaked out again, thinking all sorts of horrible things had happened and I hadn't gone in early enough. Thankfully, Mom went with me, and we were in the ER for a total of an hour and a half. That's it! Waited for 20 minutes, called back for vitals, told to go to the acute care waiting room (another freakout moment for me), called back again, head & neck examined, questioned (no, no cramping or bleeding), and then another baby heartbeat check, which was fine--and that was it. THANK GOD everything was OK. I'm not sure I could have taken it if something had happened to the baby.

So that's our news. All is well, just waiting for insurance, although Mom said that's she's still stiff and sore. There may be a doctor visit in her future, too. Will keep you up to date!

Next checkup: August 11. I won't take sweet tea in with me this time!

Back from Philadelphia & Kansas City

I've been gone for two weeks, first to New Jersey for a day to see Ang, Roman and wee Marcus (who is the cutest baby! Cannnot believe I didn't get a single photo of all of us), then on to Philadelphia for the conference on Ben Franklin (which was good, but not as good as others I've been to), and finally to Kansas City for the conference on Harry S. Truman & 1948 (Berlin Airlift, recognition of Israel, desegregation of the military, 1948 election, etc.). The KC conference was fantastic! One of the speakers was Gail Halverson, who was a pilot in the Berlin Airlift. He became known as the "Candy Bomber" because he started dropping candy & gum to the children in Berlin. When the higher-ups found out about it, he was threatened with court-martial, but then it became official policy! It was awesome to meet him & hear him speak. He is 88 years old and still travels a lot speaking--he's been to Germany three times this year already! Here's a (slightly blurry) photo of Gail & me:Good thing it's only from the chest up so you can't see my starting-to-protrude belly!

Pix of me kissing Ben Franklin (ha) and hugging Harry Truman (posing for photos is half the fun of these conferences, really):

On a completely unrelated note, my "little" brother Zack graduated from UMKC law school in May! He takes the bar exam next week, so send him prayers & luck. Here's our family photo after the graduation. Good lookin' lot, huh? :)

Next doctor visit: tomorrow! Check back soon for more ultrasound photos (hopefully).

First doctor visit!

Finally--the first ultrasound pix! 23 June 2008 Baby was less than 2 centimeters & looks very much like a peanut--or a sea monkey. :) Sorry for the blurriness. I tried to make the pix bigger & that's what happened!

We had our first pre-natal visit to the doctor today! I was really nervous about the whole thing (what if something is wrong? etc.), but the entire visit went very well. Dr. Burk is awesome, and his nurse, Kinzi, is super sweet and friendly. We spent about an hour with her going over family medical history, asking questions (I had a ton) and going through our "bag o' goodies"--binder, book, magazines, coupond, wee baby memory book, etc. Hooray!

I learned that Dr. Burk shares a lot of our same ideas about childbirth: he listens to what we want, as natural a birth as possible (I might try to make it without an epidural! I say that now...), inducing/forceps/C-section/etc. only as last resorts, etc. He delivers all his patients' babies himself (no PAs or other doctors in his practice), and plus, he's really laid back and funnier than heck!

The ultrasound was awesome. Well, not at first. It was an invasive (for lack of a better word) ultrasound, and you can use your imagination--it was not the belly kind you see on TV! When we walked into the exam room, I said, "That giant wand had better not be the thing they stick in me!" But, of course, it was. Uncomfortable? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely! As soon as the image came up, George jumped out of his chair (actually leapt) and watched with a huge grin on his face. Burk was pointing out various things ("There's the heart"; "See the fingers"?)--but I couldn't see the screen! A giant wand in my crotch, and everyone gets to see the baby but me. What the heck!

Burk finally tilted the screen so I could see it, and it was the most amazing thing! We could see the head clearly, almost see wee fingers, and see the heart beating rapidly. No word to describe it except amazing (and awesome, I guess. And incredible...). Of course I cried. It's just so amazing to think that this tiny wee baby is living in me, that he/she is growing, that I'm protecting him/her, and that we'll see him/her in January! (how awkward with all those pronouns--but better than "it")

What a miracle!

We got our four photos (looks like twins in one of them--but not) and went to the lab, where the lab tech sucked six vials of blood from me and I peed in yet another cup. And three hours after our arrival, we left!

Waiting 30 minutes to be called back and another 15 to see the nurse: $30 co-pay
Having a giant wand in my crotch and then a bunch of blood drawn: major discomfort
Seeing your wee baby for the first time: PRICELESS!

Welcome to Welchland!

Welcome to Erin & George's blog! Thanks to Ang (who I'm copying) for the blog idea! I'm still trying to figure this whole blog thing out, but figure it will be a great way to keep in touch with baby updates. So bear with me while I experiment!

This is our cat, Llama:

Llama was named after the "Llama Song." You can view the video here: http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/llama

Be prepared to laugh hysterically! (as I do every time I watch it--almost have the words memorized!)