7 things you didn't know about me

Whether or not you actually knew these things depends on who you are, I guess...hubby doesn't count. :)

(Thanks to Jenna for tagging me & shoving me out of my blogging slump!)

1. I just joined the 21st century and bought an iPod with my proceeds from turning 30.

2. Speaking of age, being an August baby means that I was usually the youngest kid in my class, and no one remembered my birthday because it was during summer break (back in the days when school started in late August as God intended.)

3. I'm planning an unmedicated birth and training in self-hypnosis to get ready. (More on that in a later post.)

4. I'm also planning to breastfeed, and the more I read about it, the more I want to become a genuine lactivist.

5. Part of me has always wanted to be an artist. Another part of me has always wanted to be a writer.

6. I knew I was going to marry my husband within two months of meeting him, and we were planning the wedding seven months after that.

7. I started running in January 2007 and actually ran a 5K that Memorial Day. My commitment has wavered since then and has been pretty nonexistent in 2008, but I really want to get back into it when I recover from delivery. It's something I never thought I could do, and it's pretty empowering to actually do it.

I'm not even sure if seven people will read this, so if you do, consider yourself tagged!

I'm dying to make some of these with the random assortment of vintage & clearance-sale buttons in my life...damn you, Joann and Michaels, for closing your Antioch locations so I can't buy plastic canvas without committing to a 15-minute drive!

Ladies and gentlemen, we have definite *baby wiggles*!

'Bout time.

The 24-week MegaBUMP

At this rate, I'm getting a little concerned that he's going to be like his Uncle Matthew (i.e., 11 pounds...eep!)

Other stuff on my mind:

• Cloth diapers: We're going with them for a variety of environmental and health reasons. I had no idea how many kinds were out there! I'm thinking about Green Acres Designs...if anyone out there has cloth diapering experience, please share your favorites!
• Holycrapwe'removingin4weeks!: Packing has finally commenced and will hopefully continue at a suitably brisk yet manageable pace. Though we're packing ourselves, thanks be to God, the church is paying for movers. Starting to pay Savannah rent the first of the month and continuing to pay Nashville rent through the end of July, however, sucks.
• Work: I've still got four more weeks, right up until the day before the movers load our stuff (not ideal scheduling, but so be it). My job has been an amazing experience, and I'm going to deeply miss a lot of things about it, but I'm looking forward to the "new" job. As my mom says, the pay isn't good, but the benefits are outstanding.
• Baby names: This has been the major topic of conversation around here lately. We thought we had one just about picked up, but the first name turns out to be really high on the recent popularity rankings. We have a couple more promising options...will keep you posted when something is definite.
• Childbirth options: I find using a midwife and a birthing center appealing. I need to try to get some dirt on the birthing center in (well, just outside) Savannah before I make a choice. Another thing I'm trying to discern about is drugs (and what kind) versus natural...no epidurals at said birthing center, so the two decisions kind of go together.
  

I'm hopeful that once we get moved & I'm an official housewife/SAHM-in-training, I'll blog more regularly. In the meantime, here's where I'll do said blogging from starting June 18:


It's on the highest end of the price range we were shooting for, but I think we're going to really dig it. It's 5 minutes outside the historic district in a quiet, modest but tidy little neighborhood. Best of all, it's a house. There will be multiple walls, fences, and yard between us and other people. You have no idea how happy this makes us. It has 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, an office, decently big living & dining rooms, the biggest kitchen (with the greenest countertops) I've ever had, an attic, and a big screen porch. Plus, we get this view in our backyard:


That's the marsh - we're maybe a quarter mile from the intercoastal waterway. This also happens to be the west, so we get sunsets from our back porch. Fabulous. Y'all come visit.

Unrelated, lately I feel like a stomach with a mouth and feet (how Tori-ish). My baby bump and accompanying appetite are growing quite exponentially.

Here's Junior!

It's a BOY!

Photos forthcoming...

The big U is tomorrow! Woot, woot!

In other news, many prayers were said around my dad's job interview in Savannah this morning because really, how cool would that be?

Protect breastfeeding!

If you want Congress to pass legislation to protect the legal rights of mothers to nurture their babies without shame or discrimination, please tell your representatives.

My hump my hump, my lovely baby bump...



We're at personal pronoun T-8 days!

I got back from the TESOL convention in New York last night. Aside from losing my backpack on the subway, it was a fabulous if exhausting time. And look who I got to catch up with after nearly 5 freaking years!


In other news - pretty big news, actually - it's about 95% certain that we're moving not to Albany, but to Savannah. This was a big surprise, but not an unwelcome one. Aside from the lesser proximity to family, I think it's about as good a place as we could ask to move in south GA. Next stop...finding a place to live.

I'm a bad blogger. I know.

Latest headlines in the Tracy household:

• 20-week ultrasound & baby gender knowledge on April 18
• News about Alex's appointment any time
• I'm leaving this morning for the TESOL convention in NYC! And I'm going to hang out with Brooke! w00t!
  

The mother of all baby quilts

I spent Easter weekend with Alex, my parents, & my brother. See below for proof of my mom's wicked mad skillz - it's a work in progress. She started this 3 days after I found out I'm pregnant.

Those aren't pre-printed...she appliqued each one. Wow.

Make Mine Chocolate

If you or anyone you know is considering a gift of a rabbit for a child this Easter, please think very carefully first. Rabbits are wonderful companion animals. They are also a serious responsibility. The baby bunnies in the pet store will get much bigger. They need ample space, a varied diet, daily interaction, and regular veterinary care. Thousands of rabbits are abandoned in the months after Easter, adding to the year-round problem of overpopulation.

If you do feel ready to commit to having one of these wonderful animals in your home, please do some research first and contact your nearest House Rabbit Society chapter about adopting a rabbit who is waiting for a "forever home".

Baby update

I had my second doctor's visit yesterday. We heard the heartbeat & all looks well. My 20-week ultrasound is Friday, April 18 (as indicated by the huge red circle on the calendar.) We will love and treasure whatever God's chosen for us, but just in case it helps...think pink!

I'm feeling pretty good these days. My energy level and my digestive system are back to normal. My only pregnancy symptom these days is nasty acne, but if that's all I have to complain about, I'll count myself blessed.

Speaking of God, we're hopeful that we'll hear something soon about Alex's appointment. At that point I'll start picking the brains of you homeowners out there as that becomes our other all-consuming interest.

Hi, world. Not much going on. Just...hi.

I hooped after I finished working today. Due to lack of space in our apartment and my lack of desire to break stuff, I move a table and hoop in the reading lab after the students leave. Thankfully, I haven't been exhausted by the end of the afternoon for the last few days. There's one move that I struggled with when we learned it in class Saturday, and now when I try it, even super-slowed down, it seems like an impossibility of physics. It also wrenches my shoulder.

A serendipitous discovery: "Enter Sandman" is really excellent to hoop to.

Alex was deferred for ordination.

It's a long story & I don't want to talk about it anymore today. Suffice it to say that there's a lot of anger & disappointment going around.

Fortunately this doesn't affect his ability to be appointed to a church, and two particular churches are very interested in him. Hopefully we'll know where we're going sooner than we thought.

I feel really good after going to hoop class, and I'll feel (and smell) even better after a shower.

Alex is on his way to GA for ordination interviews on Monday, so I'm pondering what to do with myself for the rest of the day. I have a bit of work stuff I brought home to get ready for new classes starting Monday. I should also do a bit of cleaning. But first, maybe I'll go to the museum and wander. Or the mall. Museum's probably cheaper.

OK, here's the plan.

June:
-We move to south GA (maybe Albany?) after four years in Nashville.
-Alex transitions from being a full time student (which he's been basically forever) to a full time associate pastor.
-I transition from being a full time ESL teacher (almost four years is a definite job longevity record for me) to being a housewife/SAHM-in-training.

August:
-I turn 30. wtf?
-Our marriage hits the five year mark. Are we supposed to get the tires rotated?

September:
-The baby transitions from being an abstract concept that makes me tired and gassy to a genuine, out-of-the-womb, in-our-face baby. (Granted, I'm sure it'll become less of an abstract concept when I have a huge belly and it kicks, but I'm going with what it feels like at this moment [12 weeks].)

Yeah, we just thought we'd get all the life changes out of the way at once.