Still alive

Just insanely busy. Work, baby prep, fun things... it's been a whirlwind. Jonathan has been working long hours, I'm trying to cram in more hours before I leave my job (in two weeks), Home Birth Circle meetings, lunches with friends old and new, chiropractic visits to help with the body stresses relating to being nine months pregnant, organizing according to my "nesting instinct," playing with the cats, Jonathan doing research on things like an organic mattress versus a standard one, us buying a new kitchen table and catching up on Sportsnight via Netflix, me no longer seeing my feet, etc. Today is all about food shopping since we're out of everything perishable, and tomorrow we take a road trip to see my cousin Ari who's visiting from Boston.

All in all, I think things should calm down in a couple weeks, when I stop working and can just focus on being at home and all that entails. As for anyone who's thinking of asking how my independent studies at HUC are going... um, don't.

Weekend amusement

1) Jonathan had his big work project this weekend, so was down for the count on Saturday. While he was sleeping in from his all-nighter, I went to Aaron and Lauren's to help them move. Me "helping" was even less helpful than at Jessica and Michael's. I carried one empty drawer up the stairs, and that was it. Literally, one drawer. And as a reward? They gave me a whole pizza to take home that was leftover from lunch. So basically, I did no work, and got like three free meals. Then, Sunday was the temple open house and teacher inservice. What did they serve for lunch? The exact same pizza - same brand, same toppings - that I took home from Aaron and Lauren's. I love life. :)

2) I am so obviously from LA. You know what frustrates me the most about driving in Cincinnati? People here go the speed limit! Always! Even when it's little things like the limit on a freeway off-ramp is 25 mph and could easily be taken at 40 because mph off-ramp signs are always conservative... people will SLOW DOWN to 20 mph. Just in case. I consider myself a pretty cautious driver usually, and especially since I've been pregnant, but this is driving me nuts. Bad pun intended.

3) We had dinner with Dave and Elbie, and Elbie made her special quesadillas. I had previously thought that my stomach was shrinking, because I've been eating much smaller meals than I had been. It is now officially proven that I was wrong.. it is the same size it always was, it just apparently needed to be forced open a bit. Quesadillas and then pie and ice cream for dessert were just the thing to do so. Why, oh why, would one stop eating when there is such yummy food in the world?

4) Sometimes Jonathan and my Netflix movies are beyond gendered. Case in point: I watched "Caramel," a Lebanese movie in Arabic about four women working at a hair salon and their relationships. Jonathan watched "No Country for Old Men,"which may have won an Oscar but was uber-violent. We both saw about 10 minutes of the other's movie and walked out!

5) And one last, really good thing.... we visited Nick and Christie (Nick works with Jonathan) to see their newborn twins. Which was fine. But you should also know that they have a 4 year old plus another set of 2-year old twins. That's five children under the age of five! I was worried about going over to their house, thinking that I would feel overwhelmed and really un-ready for baby things. But guess what happened? Absolutely NOTHING. The infants were adorable and slept like the dead while the three older ones were relatively well-behaved. Apparently someone up there knows I couldn't have handled chaos, and so it all worked out. Thank goodness. Otherwise I might be having serious Wiggle issues. So a question for all you parents: when did you become confident in your parenting abilities (assuming you did at some point)? Right now it's seeming highly scary to be responsible for a little person's life. Instead of a college fund maybe we should start a therapy fund instead...

Almost 35 weeks

Technically I hit 35 weeks on Sunday, but I was dressed up tonight for services so Jonathan took pictures (services were "Rock Shabbat," it was all music and very fun).





Thanks again to Gwen, without whom I wouldn't have the dress. And to Elbie, who went shoe shopping with me this afternoon to get new flats. I went up half a shoe size, it's depressing.

In other news, HUC orientation was this past week, and I met all the new second-year students. Classes start up on Monday and I think I'll pop over from the AJA at lunch to say hi to all the returning people. It feels very odd to not be joining my classmates... I'm glad that my three weeks more of work will at least keep me on campus, so I can stay somewhat connected.

Also, my other, non-Jewish community is forming quite well... I went out to lunch the other day with a woman I met at a Home Birth meeting, and I'm going to another group event on Sunday. Jonathan and I are going to see the play Birth with some of them on Labor Day weekend (think Vagina Monologues for childbirth) and we'll probably all go out after. Yay for new hippie friends!

I can bake!

Kind of. A little bit. Well, not really.

But JONATHAN can bake, and I'm very good at following directions. We made a lemon meringue pie from scratch on Sunday, and oooooohhhh it's so good. I squished the graham crackers to make the crust, zested the lemons like a pro, and took charge of stirring the pot with the corn starch, water, sugar and salt.

So dinner last night? Was mostly pie. Breakfast today? Entirely pie. Dessert when I get home tonight? Will be lemony meringue goodness.

I blame it all on cravings. After all, who wants to deny a growing fetus his needs?

Something funny happened on the way to the forum

Yesterday Jonathan and I went to Steak N Shake. Being the protein-obsessed pest that I am, I kept asking the waitress how many ounces were in the meat of my burger, how big was the shake I was drinking, etc. What follows is our conversation as we were getting our check.

"What college do you go to?" the waitress asked politely.
"Umm..." I said, surprised, "Hebrew Union College for grad school."
"Oh!" she exclaimed. "My friend is getting her degree in nutrition and has to keep a count of what she eats. I thought you were doing something like that for UC or Xavier [University of Cincinnati and Xavier University, the two big schools in the area]."
"No," I replied, "I'm pregnant, and my midwife wants me to get a certain amount of protein per day."
"You're PREGNANT?!" she said, shocked. "You don't LOOK pregnant!!" Then she made me stand up to see my belly.

So apparently,

1) I don't look pregnant sitting down. And
2) I still look like a college kid.

This makes me think that other people seeing me on the street think that I'm just another 21 year old who's gotten knocked up. Sigh.

Various tidbits

- Courtney and Jeffrey are back! And married. Do they look any different? They left their bearded dragon (a lizard) with us for safekeeping while they're on their honeymoon. It's living in Jonathan's office, safely away from the cats. I'm glad he's able to get his reptile fix!


- Work was really interesting yesterday. A whole batch of tapes came across my desk from 1955. Turns out they were all interviews with elderly Jewish people in Wisconsin, telling their life stories. It was fascinating to hear how all these stereotypical Ashkenazi Jews emigrated in the 1880s from their birthplaces in Russia and Poland to tiny towns in Wisconsin like Racine or Appleton (with a few in Milwaukee too). Some were peddlers when they first came, one was a book merchant, another interview was conducted entirely in Yiddish… if I was serious about American Jewish history it would be a treasure trove.

- We got a new kitchen table. We ordered it online and it was delivered three days ago. Unfortunately, we've both been so busy it's still in its box. I hate weeks like that.

- Mosquitoes love me. Jonathan doesn't have one bite on him. So unfair!

- And saving the best for last… Liz, Jonathan's mom, made Wiggle two amazing blankets! Her mother, Jonathan's grandmother, was a professional seamstress and used to make clothing for the governor of California. So Liz knows how to make clothing like a pro. Well, look at what came today for the baby! They're all washable and soft and cuddly.

Noah's ark

Simcha approves

33 weeks

I don't know why I look so much bigger in this one.

Pre-nesting and feel-good pictures

Yay shopping! Anne and I went to Babies R Us and looked at all the possible baby things to buy in the world. My god, the consumerism is amazing. Some of the bedding sets and nursery furniture were a paycheck alone! We didn't actually buy anything, but it was good to wander the aisles and make sure I'm at least familiar with the kind of stuff we'll need. Plus, I learned how to attach a carseat base to the car and other such skills that you can't learn through reading (although yes, we will actually go to the fire department and have them double-check it for us). Yesterday I also stopped by Motherhood Maternity and used Gwen's gift to buy some new clothes - I had no idea it was possible to grow out of maternity clothes! Apparently the belly surpasses all size measurements.

I am pre-nesting in that I'm not so into organizing the baby room (or baby corner of our room), but I am trying to clean out clutter; little things like going through all my CDs and getting rid of most of them, since I only listen to MP3s or pandora.com. Jonathan and I are also finally getting around to the house projects that we've been ignoring since we've moved in. For example, today we had someone give us an estimate on how much it would cost to fix the porch, and to put in insulation in the basement ceiling so all the air and heat doesn't escape down there.

Work is going well, although I am SO tired all the time, I might not make it to my goal of working up til my due date. I've been eating lunch at my desk and then using my lunch hour to nap; it's really invigorating! Who knew that just standing up and making conversation could be so strenuous?

Belly pictures will follow shortly, but in the meantime, here are a few others:

Fruit tart 2.0

Simcha's heart condition hasn't stopped him from enjoying his favorite pasttime, leaping after the string.

Brotherly love (or gay love, we're still not sure).

And on the subject of pets, Jonathan and I send our warmest wishes to Holly and Dan. Giggles will be much missed.

Hooray for overcoming red tape!

My three independent studies for next semester were just formally approved! This means I'm now enrolled for next semester. Without going into detail (HUC students can imagine the process) let's just say that the official stamp of approval deserves a blog post. :)

Poor Simcha-le

Our kitty has a heart condition. :(

We found out when we took him in for a routine teeth cleaning, and the vet found a heart murmur and told us he didn't feel comfortable putting him under anaesthesia. He referred Simcha to a specialty vet, and this past Friday he had an echocardiogram (ultrasound on his heart). And would you believe, our beautiful friendly muscular two-year old cat has a genetic disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy? It's fatal without treatment, and there is no cure, but we can keep it at bay by giving him a pill every day for the rest of his life. Jonathan and I are a little worried, but Simcha seems to be acting the same so far (except for breathing through his mouth when he gets scared, which we know isn't normal for cats). Medication-wise we can crush the pill and put in a little bit of yogurt and have him eat it that way, instead of force-feeding him. Then we give him a baby aspirin every three days to thin out blood clots. But who knows, maybe he'll look forward to the yogurt and think it's a treat. He doesn't act like he's in any pain or anything, so I'm hopeful that he'll be able to live a long, normal life. Is there such a thing as r'fua shleima for cats?

In other medical news, the weight in my front is starting to affect my back, so I've been seeing a chiropractor. The man does a combination of traditional chiro work plus some kind of magic with pressure points - after he cracks my back he'll lay his fingers on my shoulder, my head, wherever, and then BOOM I can feel my hip or pelvis relax. I think I'm in love.

You know you're an adult when...

We are officially homeowners. Technically, we have been since February when we signed the deed and started paying the mortgage. But today, we actually felt like it.

Why, you ask?

Because we went to Lowe's, bought a toilet, then came home and installed it.

(Well really Jonathan installed it, but I acted as gopher during the process.)

Our toilet is nice and new, shiny, and most importantly, flushes well. Something which our last one did not do whatsoever, hence the need for a new one.

On a side note, I realize we've been together five years, but it still amazes me that I have a husband who can take out a old toilet, put in a new one, hook it up, and have it work. He fixed the light installation in the ceiling last weekend too. I grew up in a household where we had an electrician, a plumber, a handyman, and a person who did everything else that remotely involved fixing. This whole concept of DIY? Never even considered it til I met Jonathan. The universe is truly amazing.