Monday's Random Thoughts

- I am less than productive today. I blame it on the Thanksgiving mini-vacation.

- Joe and I can't agree on a name for our little one. We agree on our top 5 names, but not on THE name. It's okay, we still have time.

- I was entertaining the thought of applying for grad school (master of social work) in March, but I think I'll pass. I don't think it would be wise for both of us to be studying. UW has a great 3-year, part-time program which allows students to go to classes for 2 full days 4 times a quarter only, but still. I have a few months to think about it, but right now it seems that it's not the best choice for our family.

- I decided not to write anything about politics after the November elections. Needless to say, I was quite disappointed that so many people would vote for Republicans whose only platform was to refuse any social progress in the sectors of health care, child care, and overall solidarity. Still, let me just say this... I hope the Dream Act passes before the new Congress comes in place in January. With a conservative Congress, this immigration reform would never pass, so I hope there is time to pass this into law. The Dream Act would allow adults who immigrated to the US as children to become US citizens if they have been in the US for more than 5 years straight and if they enlist in the military or go to a higher institution (toward their BA) for 2 years. The US is, for most of them, the only home they know and it would be good for this country to show a bit of mercy and grace to these now adults.

- To go back to something entertaining, here is a picture of my mini-bump at 20 weeks (we're halfway there!):

and some pictures of nurseries I like and might try to replicate in all or in parts (needless to say, blue is my favorite color):

Thanksgiving Weekend

It is the end of Thanksgiving weekend. I love this 4-day weekend we have every year during which most of us pause a little and remember the things we are thankful for. On my list: Joseph, my family, my friends, a house, a job that allows flexibility and sometimes travels, my dogs (why yes, I am thankful for them, too), and of course, the baby boy who's growing inside me. This past year -November to November- has been eventful. Joe and I have gone through highs (baby! new place to live! grad school!) and lows (miscarriage at the end of December and some recurrent family issues). Overall it's been a good year and I do give thanks for all that we have.

We spent Thursday afternoon with our downstairs neighbors, who are in Seattle for a year only. It was nice to spend time together as both their family and ours are not from here and therefore don't have other family members to celebrate this day with. On Friday, we went to Macy's but decided not to shop further as the mall was crowded and pretty crazy. This weekend, we pretty much relaxed and watched a lot of football. Because of the snow, Joe didn't have school at all this weekend. It was so nice to spend every evening together. Only one more month and we're on vacation. We can do it -well, HE can do it!

I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving weekend.

It's a BOY!

So obviously I was wrong... Baby Trainer is a boy! We went for our big ultrasound today and I saw the baby's goods before the ultrasound technician said anything. But then she said "oh yeah, no doubt, it's a boy all right." Yeah... I thought I saw that. Holy Molly... I was pretty speechless. It felt like I had to reboot my brain because every image I had of this baby was of a baby girl -all the decor for a nursery, clothes, name, etc, were for a girl. I seriously was SURE that it was a girl. I knew I had my gut feelings were usually bad, but I didn't know it was that bad. Oh man, what a (good) shock!

So it's a boy, and we're really excited. Now we go back to the drawing board as far as names and nursery decor are concerned (any idea for decor?).

Here is Baby Boy Trainer at 19 weeks -measuring 20 weeks and a few days:

To end this surprising day, I spent 3 hours in traffic tonight because of the snow. I love the snow -but really don't quite like this traffic. I'll post pictures of the PNW under the snow soon. It's really pretty.

Snow and BOY. What a day!!

Grad School

Well, my friends, grad school has been a course in "butt kicking 101." Joe has been overwhelmed with an insane amount of work lately, and of course an insane amount of homework (weekly readings and assignments). It's been quite difficult to organize and manage it all. He's trying to give 100% to both school and work and I'm afraid something's going to have to give. Fortunately, Joe knows he's not alone as his accounting prof made a joke yesterday about how "by that time all of you have probably kicked your dogs and gotten into fights with your significant other." Yeah... That's about right. The first quarter is said to be the hardest, and it hasn't disappointed! It's been tough. I also find myself trying to adapt to not seeing him that much -he studies in the guest bedroom- and to having to do a bunch of stuff on my own, like chores, grocery shopping, etc. I thought I'd be fine with grad school because I am a mega school nerd and understand the need to study a lot when you're in grad school. I actually found myself resenting Joe a lot and pretty much acting like a b- to him. So we had a little talk and we're good. I need to be more supportive. it's not all about me anymore. WHAT?!? Yeah, I know, shocking.

We're only in the middle of quarter 1. I can't wait for our Christmas vacation when we'll chill and get to enjoy time with each other knowing that there is no work or assignment to be done. Only 8.5 quarters to go!

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly.

The good: my mini-bump is starting to show!

10 weeks. Normal belly bump.

13 weeks. 1st time I wore maternity jeans. I love the fact that they're bigger at the hips!

16 weeks in the morning (this morning). Looks chubby. Ugh. Superficial, moi? You betcha.

16 weeks in the evening (yesterday night). Can you say "bloating?"

The bad: acne! WTF?

The ugly: um, hair growing everywhere. Seriously, this is ridiculous!

The weird: Braxton Hicks contractions. They started about 2 weeks ago. I thought it was the baby "coming to the surface" but nope, those are just normal contractions. They're weird. And they're regular. I don't feel them during the day because of the way I sit, but at night but I lay down to watch TV/read, I feel them a lot.

So I'm at 16 weeks and a couple of days now. It feels great not to be nauseous or tired. In a future post, I'll rant about politics and will let you know of my latest thoughts about the future in terms of career and where we want to live. Stay tuned :)

Parental Rights

I just finished reading "War on Moms." That book was quite the eye opener. I do complain a lot about my child-focused organization's lack of real parental policy, but compared to other companies or organizations, I realize I am lucky to have any rights at all. I'n not going to compare the US to Europe or Canada -or Kenya, or any other other country with actual parental leave, for that matter- because that would not help at all. Ok, just because it needs to be said, Sweden offers parents 3 years off that parents can split any way they want. THREE years to be with their children, after which school is free. That's when I start crying.

The US has very poor parental policies. Paid time off after delivery is usually not universal, and adopting parents often are discriminated against -because they don't need to physically recover. Bonding time with children is not at all facilitated. New moms pretty much have a choice: go back to work full time or quit altogether. It's so rare to find part-time or shared work with good benefits. To add to that, daycare is super expensive.

So on one hand, I am grateful to work in an organization that gives moms partially paid time off after delivery/adoption, but on the other, I am still very frustrated at the lack of compromise companies are willing to make to accommodate new parents. Look around you. How many parents do you know wish they could work part time but don't have that option? I'm sure that would be quite a few.

Ok, that post doesn't really have a conclusion. It was more of a rant. Now I'm going to read some fiction that is not going to make my blood boil!

I Got a Feeling...

That the baby will be a girl. I would be super happy with either. I just feel it's going to be a girl.
I have about 15 names for girls and hmmm, 3 for boys. I'm going to have to massively brainstorm if we have a boy!

Are you now stuck with the Black Eyed Peas song in mind? You're welcome!