A lot to say

Lots to write about (I even made a list!), so I'm going to use bullets to break it up.

• I had my third book club meeting last night. I left reading the book to the last 48 hours because I'd read Catcher in the Rye twice before. I felt I had the more to say this time then the other two meetings. I think part of that might be that I was one of the few people who actually liked the book. But, we meet at a resturant at a long table, so it was hard to get in all the comments I wanted to say because the more active members (and stronger personalities) were all down the other end of the table. Still, I was satisfied with listening. Also brought my needle point because I knew I wouldn't be eating, and that was nice, too. Our new book I'm not excited about. Its called Jitterbug Perfume. What I read of the Goodreads description wasn't impressive. Meanwhile, my on line book club is pretty close to dead. I've asked people who aren't interested to tell me so, then I could drop them from the group, but only one person has spoken up. That's annoying. On our last book, Room, only me and one other person posted. I'll admit that there was some trouble getting the book, so some people might not have been able to post, but still, it was sad. I should go back and post something in every section myself. Our new book is Evening Class. The vote was so close that I decided to make the second choice, Good Omens, our next book. But no one has said a word to me about either of these books.
  
• Book club was more than just a nice scholarly discussion of a book. Its been a nice opportunity to get out and be around other women. I was thinking about this last night quite a bit. I haven't had any really close girlfriends for a long time. I'd say my Junior year of college (after my huge fight with my HS best friend things were never the same and my very close college friend left school). That was ten years ago. I've had friends that I've spent time with, but nothing like it used to be. My teacher friend up here seemed like we might become that kind of friends, but with her working full time (and sometimes another part time job) and already having a lot of friends in family in the area, it just hasn't worked out that way, especially where we don't see each other at work or grad classes anymore. I would even say that for most of these ten years, I haven't really had any friends to really call on. Being up here in Maine for the last seven years has cut most of my MA friendships off, but even before that we were all starting to go different directions. So, its nice building up a group of women I know again.
  
• On a similar topic, I went out clothes shopping with one of my neighbors. (I think I'm going to call them blond neighbor and brunette neighbor since both are moms and live only a couple houses away. Brunette neighbor is the one I meet first and see with her daughter at the library. Blond neighbor I met at play group, but haven't seen much of over the winter since she stopped coming). Blond neighbor is the one I went shopping with, along with one of her friends who is expecting her first baby a week after us. (It was kind of funny hearing a couple things she said not knowing how her life is going to change when she has a baby. Most notably was a quick complaint about getting up at 730 on a non-work day. All three moms in the room tried not to laugh rudely). Blond neighbor had heard about a local woman selling her sons' baby clothes, so we went over there to check it out. I'm pretty sure that BN was let down, but since I didn't have high expectations, I wasn't. I bought about 12 things, and only a couple of them were very boyish, everything else was a solid neutral color. I also got a Plex from Yo Gabba Gabba sweatshirt, but sadly it is 12 size and Natalie won't get to wear it. The best though was a Bobby nursing pillow with slip cover. I need to wash both, but now I don't have to worry about Natalie freaking out over the baby using her pillow. Most of my baby concerns will probably be unfounded, but this one I don't think is. When she saw me walk in with the new one, she was pulling it out of my hands to curl up on it on the kitchen floor. I got everything for $20, which is less than a new Boppy pillow costs at the store. I was satisfied. I would have liked to have gone more if we knew we were having a boy, but it was still nice to go. I got to know my neighbor a bit more. The sad part was that she was running way late (over an hour) so while we might have gone out afterward, we didn't because of the time.
  
• Going on this shopping trip got me thinking more about spending money on Natalie's clothes (and the new baby, too, if its a boy). BN was working really hard to get used clothes at a good price. We don't do anything like that. At all. I'm not sure if it is necessary for her to do this as a requirement of her staying home (she worked up until her son was born, but her daughter used to go to day care), or if she is just thrifty. I'd like to be more thrifty, but I wonder if the time and energy is worth it. BN was talking about Craig's list lots of clothes she got for her son. So, when I got home, I searched for Natalie. Within a few minutes, I found what looked like a really nice lot of clothes size 2T and 3T for $75. It has pants, shorts, shirts, shoes, and dresses. And pictures made it look like cute stuff. Maybe I should try to save us money and give this a try? I worry about most posts not being so nice as the one I saw, but more like the place we visited where it was mostly clothes I thought were just okay. And I worry about clothes fitting her right and being correct for the right season.
  
• Natalie has already started wearing a lot of her spring clothes because she was getting too big for her 12 month clothes, and I was getting bored with them, too. She has three pairs of jeans, two khakis, and one pink pair of pants (which appear to be ruined with stains after just two wearings). I then bought her 8 shirts and a cheaper pack of 5 undershirts in pastel colors. She's wearing all of this stuff already. On hold for summer we have four pairs of shorts and two sleeveless shirts. I'm worried I'm going to be bored with these new clothes by June. I should go look at TJ Maxx, Marden's, the Good Will and the second had store around the corner we've never been to because I'll find better deals there. I won't mind getting her used or less nice things since we have a base of stuff already. But, I dislike dragging Natalie shopping now that she's bigger and can get bored, and I can't really justify it too much to Mike who rotates the same four work outfits until they fall apart. Maybe we'll go to Marden's on Wednesday as our outing since it sells everything it won't be as boring for her. But since we've been going shopping more recently, I've also been spending more money. I don't like that, but I've been putting a lot of things aside. Like buying a few winter clothes on clearance for next year, including her coat. And buying everything for her Easter basket, and more books and toys to put aside to give her randomly over the summer, when the baby comes, in her nursing basket, or even for her birthday. I just like to get things when I see them if they are an okay price rather than have to go back out for them later.
  
• Mike and I have had a few little disagreements about items to get for the new baby. For example, I want to get a double stroller AND a new stroller to replace the front facing one we have. I managed to talk him into that explaining that the front facing one should last for the second baby to use after Natalie is exclusively walking and will make outings with one child easier. He also didn't know that double strollers are generally said to be a pain. Another disagreement was over getting a second changing pad. I wanted to leave Natalie with her's and use it on the floor after we move the changing table into the baby's room. Mike would probably prefer to just change Natalie in the baby's room or on her new bed. I just feel like its not right to change her in the baby's room, that it sends a mixed message about the purpose of the room and her ownership of the table. And I don't think changing her on the bed will be easy. It will be a toddler bed with rails and a crib mattress, also love to the ground so we'll have to kneel anyway. I thought keeping a changing pad for Natalie on the floor will help her not run away AS quickly as well as containing messes and keeping it a little consistent for her so that she knows its still a diaper change, not time to play. I don't know, maybe its not necessary. I just know that I'm not really looking forward to most of these changes for Natalie in general.
  
• The biggest change on the near horizon for Natalie is getting her toddler bed. That is set to happen in two or three months, sometime in June. About a month before, we plan to make the other changes to her room including moving the adult sized bed out, which is currently where we do bed time routine. Also moving in May will be the changing table. I'm not too worried about her missing the changing table. She's gotten way better about being changed in public and on the floor, but I am worried that the bed being gone will confuse her and that she might just try to run around her room through all of bed time. In fact, she already is trying to do this more the last couple of weeks. That fact also makes me nervous about the toddler bed. I'd say at least 75% of the time we put her down to sleep (bed time and naps included) she goes right to sleep. I'm hoping that this will be the case with the new bed because she is tired and wants to sleep and is used to the routine. But, I'm worried about those nap days when she isn't tired, or her just knowing she can get up and doing so because she'd rather play than sleep even though she is tired. I think she will like her new bed, especailly if we get the Kai-lan sheets I found on line, but I'm still worried if we are making the right choice and how hard it will be to deal with if it isn't any easy transition.
  
• Speaking of bed time, Daddy had his first really good one alone with Natalie. He said the only hitch was the rinsing of her hair when she got a moved away from the face cloth and got a little water up her nose. She calmed down after he got her pouring water in and out of containers. Then for her books, she was struggling to get off the bed, so he let her and she pointed to the book case. So he told her to go get it. And she brought him the book she wanted. (I felt a little guilty at having moved this book off the bed because I don't really like it much). Then, when he offered books for her second book, she said no to them all, and hit them down with her hand. Then, she picked up one of them from the pile for him to read. For her last book, she eventually picked Goodnight Mood out of the big anthology. All three books I wouldn't have thought she'd choose. I'm wondering if this is part of the problem with bed time recently? He said everything else went smoothly, too. Yeah for Daddy! Since Natalie has been older, I haven't had to do bed time alone as many times, but it isn't so much a fairness issue anymore more. Instead, its nice to know that she can go down calmly without me when I need to be away, for say, labor or the rest of my hospital stay.
  
• I am so threw with winter. I jammed on of my fingernails into a cuticle on the other hand today strugglign with the damn straps over her winter coat! I'm so sick of walking with her at a snail's pace with the freezing wind! At least it looks like we will be out of day time 30's this week, but I just can't wait for the 50's to stick around. The rest of the snow melting and a little green tinge to the lawns wouldn't be a bad thing either.
  
• This weekend we got a lot of work done in the new baby's room. Mike moved the big filing cabnet and the second book case downstairs, and then we moved some other boxes from the closet and the pictures from the walls. The room is mostly empty now. There are some things left in the closet (mostly his stuff) and a couple of boxes of baby stuff that need to move into the closet. When you walk by, the room looks empty except for a lamp on a stool. Natalie hasn't cared about these changes so far. Next on the agenda for that room is to get the remaining items out, clean it thoroughly, and replace the closet door, which currently swings since it has no bottom runner.
  
• Tomorrow, I'm getting Natalie's pictures done. We got a sale flyer in the mail, but I was dragging my heels about making an appointment. Then they called me, so I made one. If the lady on the phone wasn't trying to hussle me, then we should get one pose on five sheets (varying picture sizes) and a collage with two poses all for about $13. I'm going to go in there very stern on the fact that I am NOT going to by extra of anything or pay more than I was quoted. I don't care how nice the pictures are, we aren't going to spend anymore than $20. I plan to let them take a few pictures of her in her regular clothes, then change her into her dress, since it is too long for her to wear there in the car. I'm just hoping that the woman can get any good pictures of Natalie since we have a very hard time getting her to look up or stay in one place.
• Things will be picking up for us again after this week. Mostly this week is a normal week. Recently we've been going to the library on Tuesdays, but not tomorrow with the pictures. Wednesday, I think we will go to Marden's to check out what they have for cheap that we can put away, especially kids clothes. Thursday and Friday will be same as always, expecting that I need to do a load of Mike's work clothes so he can pack. This weekend we have a confirmation party on Saturday (we're skipping the actual ceremony in the church because of Natalie. One time having a toddler pays off!) and then brunch with a friend on Sunday morning. Monday Mike leaves for his trip and my sister is supposed to come up. Tuesday, Natalie has her 18 month check up. The rest of the week we will balance regular activities with fun stuff to do with my sister, including going into Portland to buy our new stroller possibly. Friday is when Mike gets back, I think when my sister is leaving, and when I have my monthly doctor's appointment. Then things settle down again for about a week until the 14th when we have to go into Porland for out ultrasound. Pain that its in Portland since they have the technology to do it in Lewiston and we made the appointment extra early, but very exciting to find out the baby's gender (and scary too that we could find out if something was potentially wrong). That night our home visitor is coming again, too. Then that weekend, I am going down to MA so that Patriot's Day I can go to the Aqurium with Natalie and a friend and her son, and Tuesday I can see old college friends. I'll probably come back Wednesday, unless something goes wrong with Natalie's nap on Tuesday. That brings us up to April 20th. That's a lot busier than we've been most of this winter.
  
• Also on the horizon is Rely for Life, and the fund raising yard sale that goes with it. I'm hoping that we have it hear again because its kind of nice to help out by hosting and organizing it, and its also easier for us to attend if its here and not have to worry about getting our stuff somewhere else. In getting the office cleared out, I've already got two boxes of things ready for the yard sale. We also plan to include a few broken appliances someone might pay a few bucks to take home and fix or use for parts, some books, some VHS, and CD and DVD cases. I'm hoping to put out flyers again for the neighbors, as well as telling my larger network of people in the area about it. Hopefully, we will get more donations of good items to sell. I'm also considering putting the luminary order form right on the back of the flyer so that neighbors can order those more easily if they want to. I think those are the easiest way to donate for most people. The actual Rely is in June. We'll have to just stop by like we did last year, but it will be fun to see my former students (which is also the fun part of the yard sale). Natalie will have a lot more fun this year, too, and she stays up a bit later and eats more types of food, so that will enhance the experience for her. Well, unless its bad weather. If its cold and rainy, I can't see bringing Natalie. But she does have rain boots now.
• Last but not least, an up date on the pregnancy. I am definitely feeling the baby move now. Its not all the time. Usually in the evening when we are relaxing. I barely noticed Braxton Hicks contractions last time, but think I might have already felt a few this time now that I know what they are. Nothing painful, just something stronger and tenser than fetal movement. If you knew me before, you can tell that I'm showing now, but its not obviously a baby bump. Mike has definitely noticed, even with it still be cold and me normally wearing sweatshirts or snuggled under blankets. Only one other person has mentioned my showing, which is okay with me. Most of the people I see frequently know I'm pregnant, so I don't feel much need to discuss if I'm showing or not with others. Its still a little uncomfortable this early on. Unlike later, when it was very obvious I was pregnant, right now it mostly just feels like I've gained weight. Not a time when you really want people reminding you that they are scrutinizing your body. I remember this bugging me a bit last time, too, but I didn't care later on when I looked distinctly pregnant, had the baby movements to make it worth it, and was well within the appropriate weight gain. I'm feeling pretty confident that weight gain will be similar this time. I read that usually you gain less the second time. So far, depending on the day I've weighed myself, I've gained between 1 and 3 lbs. That's good for only 17 weeks since the last ten weeks you gain between 1-2 pounds a week, and my goal is about 26 lbs like with Natalie. My other symptoms have pretty much gone. If we do something after dinner, I can stay awake, but if we just hand around, I'll fall asleep. I do feel like most days I have too pee a ton, which was supposed to abate for a bit. Most of the time my mood is pretty stable, but I've had some irritable moments, and more minor disagreements than Mike than before I was pregnant. My only other symptom is a bit person, but I've had what I can only guess is cervix discomfort. Mostly when standing, but the amount of time I've been on my feet doesn't seem to matter. I don't remember this from last time, so I'll have something to ask the doctor this time. Hopefully, it won't mean an internal exam. Caring for Natalie hasn't been affect yet either. Carrying her on my hip is still comfortable, though my waste is less defined. I won't be able to do it the whole pregnancy, that's for sure. I was never one for really playing rough with her, so it hasn't changed that much, but it does make me a bit sad watching Mike twirl her around or put her upside down or let her crawl on him, since I'm not comfortable doing these things.