Whew!

Okay,

So I know I have pretty much dropped off the face of the earth in the last 5 months, but I can give a nutshell-version of the events that kept me off the blogosphere.

1. I was finishing my last-ever (I hope!) year of teaching middle school.
2. My husband was graduating from law school and moving to Chicago weeks ahead of me to start bar review classes.
3. I was trying to keep the house clean for the people who came to look at (but not buy) it.
4. I was in Chicago but had to keep a VERY big secret for awhile.
5. Pretty much as soon as the secret was allowed out, Bill had finished the Bar Exam and we went to Europe for 2 1/2 weeks. Aside from my bag being missing the entire 2 1/2 weeks, it was a terrific trip! I am rather amazed at my trip-planning savvy.
6. As soon as we got home, we closed on a new house, and while we were moving the last of our stuff out of the old place somebody finally offered on it.
7. Two words: pregnant brain.

Yes, unless you are a random reader, you have probably already known for a few months now that I am pregnant. I'll be 21 weeks on Monday, the day of the so-called "big ultrasound." This is when most people will find out the sex of their child if they choose to, but we decided that there are very few nice surprises left in the world, so we're keeping this one. We're also going with the "short list" method of names, in which we will bring said list to the hospital and see which one the baby looks like (hopefully one of them!).

I have had a rather blissfully uneventful pregnancy so far. The worst symptoms I have had have been occasional heartburn and back pain, extreme fatigue, and strange mood swings. I was never sick, thank goodness.

I just started showing about 3 weeks ago, and now it seems that I am getting a little bigger daily. I hope I can stay in the same set of maternity clothes for most of it, anyway...I am really hoping not to gain too much weight. Of course, the recommended amount is fine, but I want to be able to get back in shape relatively quickly after the baby is born, so the minimum requirement would be ideal. :)

Oh, yes, and I went back to grad school to get my master's in Humanities from the University of Chicago. I was a little bit worried about how they would take my being pregnant, but they were very congratulatory and welcoming and I am much more at ease. Most of the students who have noticed (not all have, somehow!) have been very accepting as well. Of course, I'm married and plenty old enough, but there is a significant portion of our class that is younger than me and single, and I wasn't sure how they would respond. The only weird situation was with one of the guys in my small group, who looked at me and asked how far along I was. I told him 5 months, and he said I looked pretty big for how far along I was. Thanks, idiot. But otherwise everyone has been great, even random strangers who greet the two of us. :)

Lately I've felt a lot more movement even though most of it is still pretty subtle, and the majority of it seems to happen when I'm reclining in a chair or lying down. My first indisputable "kick" occurred at the Minnesota State Fair the day before Labor Day. Bill decided to go into this bar to get a beer, and the bar had a blues band playing loudly inside. I walked in behind him and could feel the vibrations in my breastbone. I hadn't been in there 30 seconds before I felt 5 little kicks very close together. We figure, either this baby doesn't like that much noise, or wanted to add some drumming of his/her own. I like the latter theory since we're so musical.

Anyway, it's far too late for me to be on any longer, so I'll wrap this up for now.

I promise to at least blog once a month from now on. I think I can handle that. :)