Week 35- Woah!

Since I'm on partial bed-rest, there isn't much excitement for me lately. Lots of naps, lots of reading and watching stuff, and about four doctors visits a week. However, there were a few things that have left me smiling for the last few days (well, these things, and that our babies are doing great and will be born in a few weeks).

Grocery Shopping Made Fun My younger (but oldest) sister Katie came almost 2 weeks ago, so she has been baby-sitting me. Last week she and I took a quick trip to Costco. Normally, this is an exhausting activity, and especially so when carrying an extra 60 pounds. But.... I'd remembered that a few years ago after my knee surgeries I'd hobbled into a store and was offered a motorized cart. I thought I'd try the cart again. It is AWESOME. It's like go-cart racing while grocery shopping. The only drawback is that if you can't make a turn you have to reverse, which causes the cart to beep- just like a garbage truck. That's dorky. Sometimes even New Yorkers will get out of the way for the beeping, so maybe it's OK. John also likes that the motorized cart has a smaller basket than the normal cart, so I don't fall prey to the "Costco Effect".

The Tub Our tub is one of the many things in our apartment that broke a week after we moved in. It hasn't drained reasonably well in over a year, since neither of us were home during business hours to get it fixed. Now I am. The tub is fixed. Wahoo!

And here are the latest pics. At my last visit, we discovered that there had been a little confusion at the prior ultrasound, and Athena is still the bigger baby. Athena is on the left with her hand to her temple, and Xena is on the right with some membrane over her face.

Week 32.5

Today was the first of my weekly non-stress tests. In this test they monitor each of the babies’ hearts and reactivity to movement, and any contractions I have. The test showed that I have two hyperactive babies (I already knew that), and during the test I had my first contractions.

Afterward I had an ultrasound with my periantologist (a high risk fetal specialist). At 4 lbs. 6 oz. Xena is now bigger than Athena at 4 lbs. 2 oz. Though Athena has slowed quite a bit, both babies are right around average and the doctors are happy with their progress. They also say that I’m looking just fine, other than the crazy stretch marks that Athena was working on through out the appointment. We finally got a good look at Xena and have clearer pictures of both of them. I'll have to post those after John has a chance to scan them.

After all the tests and such, the doctors decided I don’t need medication to prevent labor yet, but because of the contractions I need to rest at home with my feet up until the babies are born. After trying it out for almost a day now, I’ve discovered that it is very hard to stay in one place very long. Luckily, my sister is coming this weekend to help me for a few months, so I'm hoping she can get me to stay down.

Week 32

Week 32

Once again, here is the requested self portrait. I’m huge. Six more weeks is the plan.

Sunday School: Riches

So today in church we had a discussion in Sunday School on the morality of wealth. John and I often discuss this topic as we are both passionate about personal financial planning, and know many wonderful people with different perspectives. Hypothetically, should we always live a middle-class life-style, even if we have excess money someday (John’s yo-yo career could really pick up any day now. Seriously, he has some amazing yo skills.)? What should we do with our excess when we have more than we need? How do we decide what we need? We still haven’t figured out much.

I have gathered a few ideas, and I wanted to make a comment in Sunday School but decided to cut it short when I couldn't breath well enough to talk- I think Xena sits where I once kept my lungs. What I wanted to say was that money is amoral- though lack of or a supply of money can limit or un-limit our ability to act.

Growing up I knew many families where the parent(s) worked long hours to provide for the physical needs of the family. I decided I wanted to increase my possibility of staying at home with my children so I pursued a career that pays well. If I ever needed to work I could work as little as possible and spend more time at home. I also started a savings account that could be my stay-at-home-mom fund. Sure, many women decide that I’ve waited to get married or to have kids so I could have a career, that I’m too concerned with money, or that I work so I can have nice stuff, but why listen to people who don’t understand what they’re talking about?

I also really like the perspective of Bob Gay in his April 2002 speech at the Marriott School Convocation. The phase “all the love in the world and a few hundred thousand dollars are going to build the next chapel” has stuck with me for a few years.