Adjustments and Achievements: A List

1. We're having a....surprise!! I had my anatomy scan at almost 23 weeks today, but Shawn and I decided to be surprised this time around. Since the c-section will be scheduled and we have clothing galore, we thought a surprise would be kind of fun! (Okay, not sure how this fits into the list, but I had to share!)

2. Riley can spell and write her name! She just decided she wanted to learn this past weekend. Between that and her tech savvy-ness, calculus may only be a few years off. I kid, I kid.

3. Adrian got his fifth tooth. I may have mentioned that in a previous post...can't remember.

4. My weekly schedule has radically changed. Now, I go to campus Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I work for 2-3 hours in the mornings, teach for two, and then head home on Mon and Fri. Wednesday is Marathon Day. After I teach, I have back to back seminars. It is a long day, for sure, but I love it! Tuesdays and Thursdays are work days. I get to read and write and study all day long! Plus, I can wear shorts or leggings and a t-shirt. Oh, the academic life. How I love you!

5. Since Shawn is not coaching, we get to spend a lot more time with him in the evenings. We usually go pick the kids up together, and now that we are YMCA members, head to the Y for some bball and swimming.

6. With our 60 dollars/week for groceries, our meal selection has actually improved! I love the challenge of planning an exciting menu for less, and still stocking enough snacks and food to keep Riley satiated. Man, can that girl eat! At night, she'll tell us, "My stomach's starving." Cutest thing ever (and also a ploy to stay awake longer).

7. We just signed up for Bountiful Baskets. This concept is new to me, but I am very excited about it. For 15 dollars (which will bring my grocery budget down to 45 next week), we get a basket of fresh veggies and fruits Saturday morning. Can't wait to see the goodies we will get! So exciting!!

8. Adrian might be the next Larry Bird. Put him in a gym, and he lights up (and opens his mouth and lets his tongue hang out...so cute)!

9. As a result of my schedule change, I get more time with the kiddos in the morning. I love it. Today, we made yellow, red, green, and blue pancakes. An extra hour feels like an eternity, and it's enough time for play, breakfast, and getting ready.

10. Teaching college kids. I love this, too. I just introduced my first paper prompt on Monday, and the final draft will be due next Friday. The kids are sweet and fun so far (and hopefully learning). Freshmen are freshmen are freshmen...I miss my high school kids, but I am enjoying the 47 I have now and getting to focus on just writing with them.

New School Year Resolutions...

I feel like this is a better time to set out some goals, especially this year with so much newness.

Here it goes. Feel free to laugh at my idealism. Or scoff at my plans. But hey, goals are goals. Reach for the stars, right?

1. Spend 60 dollars a week on groceries. (So far, so good...four weeks in!)
2. Sunday as laundry day.
3. Pass the Spanish for Reading Knowledge translation exam some time this semester.
4. Write a new story a month.
5. Submit stories like crazy and get at least one of my thesis stories published. (Okay, I'd really like all of them published...but I will start with one!).
6. Read a book a week (Yeah, it's time to start this up again...).
7. Teach and study like crazy (I know goals are supposed to be specific and concrete, but this one works for me.
8. Try something new in Athens with the family every month.
9. Despite the hustle and bustle, enjoy this pregnancy - all of the kicks, the growing belly, even the bumpy topography of my veiny legs. And enjoy Riley and Adrian - their smallness, the cuddles, the stories and games, the mornings and bedtime routines. By December, they will both be infinitely older. It just happens.
10. Make new friends and keep in touch with my old friends and, of course, my family.

It feels good to have a list out there. Time to get to work on it!

Riley @ Her Funniest!

Yesterday @ the park:

(Shawn is pushing Adrian on the swing and pretending to get kicked by Adrian's feet each time the swing swings forward...)

Riley: Daddy, you are so funny. (Giggle.) You are so funny. (More giggling.) You are so freaking funny! (Runs away to play elsewhere.)

Today in the car:

Shawn: "The duck on the bus goes, 'quack,' 'quack,' 'quack.'

Riley: "Daddy, there's no duck on the bus!"

Shawn: "The dog on the bus goes, 'bark,' 'bark,' 'bark.'

Riley: "Daddy, there's no dog on the bus!"

Shawn: (Tries again with one or two more animals.)

Riley: "Dad. Is this an animal bus? No. This is a people bus."

Shawn: "Oh, sorry, Riley."

Riley: "Did you learn your lesson?"

Okay, seriously, these two moments were laugh-out-loud funny. And I am so proud that my three year old can use rhetorical questions and sarcasm in conversation. I guess I should admit that I have been trying to get her to say 'freaking funny' since she started talking. I say it all the time. Guess it's time to dial it down... I guess I should also admit that I was laughing while typing about these two moments, especially the second one. The bus lines are just. so. funny.

A Low-Key Anniversary...

This year, to celebrate our seventh wedding anniversary, Shawn and I kept it simple:

1. Castle park with the kids.
2. Two bike rides around the driveway with Riley.
3. A stop at UGA to check out my office, print syllabi, and hike from my parking lot to Park Hall. Fun times.
4. LOTS of Settlers of Catan! (4 games!!)
5. Outback for Dinner, take-out style. My fav way to eat out these days. And we paid with a gift card...even better!
6. Ice cream at DQ!

So we spent a grand total of 9 dollars on our anniversary this year, but had a priceless day.

Shawn, thank you for an amazing adventure every day of the past seven years. Love you, Babe!

2+1...Here We Come!

In one sense, this post is long overdue. In another, I think the timing is just right. Actually, I was going to wait a bit longer, but I'm too excited. So here it goes...

We're having another baby!

Yes, on top of moving and starting a PhD program/new jobs - we are soon going to be outnumbered! I can't wait!

And while the timing is crazy, it's actually perfect for us. Right now, it looks like I will be having the baby right after I finish up my first semester. Cool, right? Best early Christmas present ever!

Let's start at the beginning...

1. Late April: Decided to take a pregnancy test. Only had one period after weaning Adrian from breastfeeding. So not expected! Riley and Adrian each took about a year of trying. This time, I had recently accepted UGA's acceptance offer and my weight was a bit on the low side. I didn't even think pregnancy was a possibility. I was wrong. I set out the positive test for Shawn to see when he got his breakfast.

Shawn: What does this mean?
Me: What do you think it means?

Shock. Dumbfounded shock. For both of us. But that soon evaporated - with the help of support from mentors, friends, and mom, and we were left with happiness and excitement.

2. May-early June: Threw up once. Then a few weeks of crazy fatigue and nausea. One night, I had to have a California roll. The next night, seafood salad. My tastes were weird and wild.

3. June: Found out I have two clotting disorders. Went to see a hemotologist. Worst doctor's office I've ever been to. Started taking four extra vitamins per day and Lovenox shots to the love handles. By the way, my sides look polka-dotted with bruises now! Oh, and my veins are gross this time around. Seriously, I have palpable green veins and splotches of purple all over the backs of my legs. Hot, that's what that is!

4. July: Since I was up in Athens for the month, I had to miss my appointment this month. Fortunately, my mom's best friend let me borrow her doppler so I could at least check the baby's heartbeat. Such a lovely, lovely sound! I'm pretty good at finding the little bugger now. First time, I probably scanned for over an hour.

5. August 3: Felt the baby move for the first time. Oh, I love this part of being pregnant. My favorite thing by far. Since then, I've felt little taps and pushes pretty regularly. I hit 19 weeks yesterday, and this is a good two weeks earlier than I've ever felt movement. Very exciting.

6. Other info: I am just starting to pop a bit. I think I have gained 6-7 pounds so far. We have names for a boy and a girl, and we still don't know if we are going to find out the gender or wait to be surprised. I am trying to nail down a new doctor up here. The process has been more complicated than I thought it would. Hopefully, I will get in for my anatomy scan in the next couple of weeks.

So there you have it! We are so thankful and thrilled for this blessing. For now, I am savoring this pregnancy: hearing the baby's heartbeat, feeling little kicks, knowing a baby is growing inside me. At the same time, I am savoring Riley and Adrian: watching them play and interact, seeing them grow and learn, hugging and holding them as much as I can. It all passes too quickly, doesn't it? So for now, I'm savoring.

And warming up my juggling skills.