Week 32

Another big week in Paducah. Not happy to quit our jobs, move across several states, buy a car, go to Mexico, and change the gender of our baby in about three weeks, we decided we'd just go ahead and buy a house of our very own on top of it all.

We have a contract on a great house with more than two rooms and four-digit square footage. It is about 2 1/2 minutes from both my mother and grandmother in a wonderful neighborhood with a nice private location. We really love the big spacious bedrooms and the big open kitchen and den area. Maggie is super-pumped about the sliding glass door to look out of and the fenced in backyard. Nicholas did agree to the master bath remodel (act surprised), which should be finished before we move in. We close on April 17th, so hopefully we'll be moved in before the baby arrives.

We also had a very exciting weekend filled with LOTS of baby-related events and a little mini-trip to Nashville to see Nicholas's brother Benjamin, his wife Ginger, and his sister Pamela. Before setting out we went by BabyFest at one of the local hospitals and boy was it. We entered about a million drawings and got lots of free stuff. Of course, one of the doctors was passing out formula measuring spoons, which sent me in a tizzy but I tried to keep it in check.

Afterwards, we stopped by Surplus City on our way out of town. Now, I can't believe I haven't posted about Surplus City yet, especially since I go about 3-4 times a week. It is a giant warehouse filled with returns, overflow, or slightly damaged goods from major retailers. Apprently, they have recently begun receiving merchandise from babycenter.com, and we are all the better for it. We bought all manner of baby items from clothes to nursing bras to baby carriers to bottles at 60-70% off. It's amazing. The best deal we've found so far was Happy Heinys cloth diapers which retail for $20 for...wait for it...$1.99!!!

Really, I can't say enough about my love affair with Surplus City. Anyway, we'd made an especially fruitful stop before heading to Nashville to visit. We had a really great time at lunch with everyone visiting and sharing stories. Benjamin loves a deal as much as Nicholas so I was telling him all about Surplus City. He said that he often buys stuff at discounters and sells them for a profit on eBay. Well, that was all the inspiration I needed. We went back to Surplus City on Sunday and I bought a brand new, factory sealed breastpump that I posted on eBay the same night. Not three hours later, I had sold that puppy for $100 profit.

And so my love affair with Surplus City continues...

Two Downs:
1. The tiny area between my ribs and my uterus where all my internal organs are all squished up is extremely sensitive and getting more so by the day.
2. I've been having more trouble sleeping or more accurately getting back to sleep when I wake up in the middle of the night to pee.

Two Ups:
1. I've picked out all the linens and furniture for the baby's room - something I had kept myself from thinking about until we bought a house.
2. I've bought some serious boy clothes over the past week (I felt bad for him!) and I have to say there are some pretty dang cute boy outfits out there. It's more challenging but that also makes it more fun.

Week 31

So, this week was consumed with me stressing/freaking/adjusting to the fact that our baby girl is in fact a baby boy.

I woke up on Monday and made an appointment to see a local OB/GYN to hopefully get one more ultrasound to confirm the gender. They couldn't get me in until first thing Friday morning, so I decided my next line of attack would be finding American ultrasound techs to look at the Mexican ultrasound pictures.

I sent the pictures with my mom to show to a friend who had been a tech for 20 years, but unfortunately she was out of town. Then I discovered a community chat room on babycenter.com where techs will look at your pictures. When Mom finally got home with the pics, I uploaded them immediately. Around the same time, her friend called from her vacation and told us to email the pictures to her.

She ended up responding the same time as all the women on the chat room and the answer was a resounding "Yeah, that is for SURE a boy!"

I might have cried...a lot...for pretty much the next 24 hours.

Everyone knows I wanted to a girl, but I have to be honest I was more upset at the way I found out. I definitely don't think my reaction would have been what it was if I had found at at the first ultrasound. As it was, I was told my baby was one thing and I really bonded with the image of that baby in my mind. Then, all of a sudden, I had that image jerked away and was told I had to start over from scratch. It was quite the emotional roller coaster.

So, the rest of the week creeped by at a glacial pace. Friday finally arrived and my appointment was at 9am. Unfortunately, the ultrasound tech couldn't squeeze me in until 3:30. Again, tick tock. Tick tock. Nicholas went with me and we finally got into the room around 4:30. She took her time (unlike the other two) and then finally proclaimed that she was 300% sure it was a boy. Actually, you didn't need to be a tech because once he opened his leg it was pretty clear.

However, the best part was that we were able to have an 4D ultrasound and see his little face. It really helped me to realize that this was my baby and that even if I had some vital information wrong I've known him all along. Oh, we also confirmed that he has the sweetest face EVER. ;)

Of course, this did leave the small matter of the baby shower I had the next day. Luckily, I have some sorority sisters who think fast on their feet and were able to completely shift the theme of the baby shower they were throwing me in Louisville. We drove up that day and met everyone for lunch. The shower didn't start until 3 so we were able to go by and see our dear friends Annie Kyle's new little guy Collin. He had a rough start after being a born a month early and had just recently gotten out of the hospital. It was so wonderful to see his sweet face and to see Annie so happy to have her baby home in her arms.

The now baby BOY themed shower went beautifully. Emily's house was picture perfect and we had lots of yummy treats and fun games. I got a ton of great gear and I have to say now that I've had both a baby girl and baby boy shower my thesis holds true. Girl clothes are so fun to buy that's basically the majority of the gifts. However, with a baby boy, you get a lot more of the gear off your registry. Both have their pluses but it was funny to see how different they were.

We drove back that night so we could go look at houses on Sunday. We didn't start until late in the afternoon so Nicholas could have his first official fishing trip as a Kentucky resident. I met my Nanny and cousins Paige and Micah for breakfast while he was out. We met up with Ron and Mom and set out to look at about 7 houses. We liked several but ended up back at one we had seen previously in the week. It has a great location and is really well laid out with lots of space.

The one deal breaker is the master bathroom. It currently has this shower pod thing, which just will not do. I want a bathroom to MYSELF with a BATHTUB. I'm not willing to budge on this. So, we're getting an estimate on a bathroom redo. If the number is reasonable, then we're set to go.

Again, stay tuned!

Two Downs:
1. Feeling guilty that I was so upset about the whole gender debacle.
2. I know everyone wants to be involved but I'm not enjoying going through the whole "do you have any names picked out?" again.

Two Ups:
1. Seeing my beautiful boy's face. BIG up!
2. He's getting so big I can start to identify certain little baby parts when they poke out one side of my stomach, although I still go with "unidentified baby knot" some of the time. :)

My first baby BOY shower! :)

My first baby BOY shower! from hollandnm on Vimeo.

Meet our baby boy

Week 30

And the week started so well...

On Monday, we woke up and went down to Allen Auto Sales and bought a shiny new Prius! We had talked a lot about it and we basically took it for a short test drive to make sure our stroller fit and we were good to go. About an hour later the car was ours!

That afternoon we drove to St. Louis in our new ride to stay with my dear friend's Aunt Debbie since our flight for Cancun left at 6am the next morning. We got to Cancun safely and hung out on the beach, which was lovely. The next morning we woke up early and claimed a nice little cabana and read and napped and just generally enjoyed the waves and the sun.

It was all going to so well until Wednesday night when I woke up not feeling so great. I'm sure we all know the common result of going to Mexico so I won't go into the gory details. I was fine most of the day on Thursday and I talked to my midwife who encouraged me to stay hydrated and just it pass. However, as it got dark, we both got worried that we should call a doctor since we were supposed to fly out first thing in the morning on Friday. So, a doctor came to our room and said I wasn't dehydrated but that it might be a good idea to go to the hospital to get IV fluids to speed my recovery. He said it would take 4-6 hours.

Well, we get to the hospital, which was very nice, and the doctor came in and said he wanted to admit me. He basically said we had to do what he said or we wouldn't get the Free to Fly form that was required to go home. Of course, it didn't matter because we missed our flight had to reschedule for Saturday as there was only one flight to St. Louis a day. They ended up keeping me until late Friday afternoon and finally let me go after I'd flipped out on several staff members and kept making a stink until they let me go. Our discharge papers described me as "muy delicato."

We made it safely home the next day but alas the babymoon that went bust will not go quietly away. Why do you ask? Because the night of admission, the doctor ordered what seemed like an unnecessary ultrasound. At first I was excited to see the baby again, that was until the tech announced it was a boy.

That's right - little penis and scrotum. A boy.

So, that brings the grand total to two ultrasounds saying it's a girl and one saying it's a boy. Isn't that so much fun!?! Oh wait, no it's not fun. It's ridiculous. But don't worry we're going to hopefully add a fourth to the list on Friday that will hopefully settle the matter once and for all.

Stay tuned.

Week 29

Hmmm...what happened this week? Nothing really stands out in my mind. Oh wait! That's right! We moved home to Kentucky!!!!

We packed up the rest of our stuff (Nicholas will debate how much is "ours" and how much is mine but whatever) on Monday and Tuesday. The movers came on Wednesday.  Nicholas out did himself on researching and finding the best company because they hauled all our heavy crap down three flights of stairs and somehow defied the laws of physics to make it fit into a 17 foot Uhaul in a little under 3 hours. Our cleaning lady came one more time so we wouldn't have to worry about the final cleanup, which was great.

Nicholas's good friend Paul took us out to dinner our last night in town, which was very generous, and we spent a lovely last evening on our air mattress. Not surprisingly, it was a little unusual to see the place all empty but it was also all I had been focusing on when there seemed to be a box every place I stepped so it was pretty nice. 

The closing went off without a hitch on Thursday morning. For months, I had been picturing myself with a big ole belly sitting at the closing table signing documents for months and I have to admit it was a pretty emotional moment to see it finally happening before me. We set out in the Uhaul around 1pm and had a completely uneventful drive to Louisville, where we arrived around midnight.

Our dear friends Tim and Emily (and their little guy John Turner) graciously put us up for the next two nights. We basically just hung out on Friday since we were pretty exhausted from the drive and went to dinner that night with my college roommate Erin and her husband Seth.  I woke up early on Saturday to take the MPRE, which went really well, and then we set out for Paducah after lunch. 

The last couple of minutes of the drive were pretty intense. As we hit the Paducah exits (yes there's more than one!), I almost had to hold myself back from feeling the entire depth of my emotions it was so overwhelming. I have been dreaming and planning and focusing so much energy on moving home for over a year now and to be in the moment where all it all comes to fruition was powerful. As we got closer and closer, I could feel everything that lies in front of us, all the promise our lives here hold and I kept thinking of one of my favorite quotes from The Hours:

It had seemed like the beginning of happiness, and Clarissa is still sometimes shocked, more than thirty years later, to realize that it was happiness; that the entire experience lay in a kiss and a walk, the anticipation of dinner and a book...What lives undimmed in Clarissa's mind more than three decades later is a kiss at dusk on a patch of dead grass, and a walk around a pond as mosquitoes droned in the darkening air. There is still that singular perfection, and it's perfect in part because it seemed, at the time, so clearly to promise more. Now she knows: That was the moment, right then. There has been no other.

Week 28

Well, things are wrapping up. Last week was our final full week in D.C. and I spent a lot of time meeting old friends for lunch and doing final goodbyes. It was definitely sad to say goodbye to the little family I've made here. I look back at all the wonderful friendships I've formed in law school and during my time at Hillaryland and on the Hill and I get a little teary thinking those people won't be just a metro ride away anymore.

Luckily, I had a fabulous prenantal massage on Friday to ease some of my sadness. ;) I went to a spa that specializes in pregnant women, where all the therapists are trained and certified in prenatal massage. That's something else I'm going to miss actually is the resources of the big city. Something tells me such a thing doesn't exist in Paducah.

Of course the big highlight of my week was the big baby shower/law school reunion. Another one of my law school classmates Leslie, who now lives in California, is pregnant and we decided to have a joint shower and get everyone together for a bit of a reunion. My nearest and dearest from law school, Laura Sinrod, arrived on Friday evening. (Nicholas says our friendship is actually just vanity because we're so much alike.) We had major catching up to do and stayed up way too late talking.

Laura and Leslie's nearest dearest Laura (yes two Laura's - try to keep up here people) hosted the shower for us on Saturday afternoon. They did such a great job with great food and sweet "little one" decorations everywhere. They outdid themselves on the game though. We had a "Mom-Off" which included baby care trivia, nursery rhyme completion, name-the-celebrity-baby, and (my favorite) daddy questions. They had quizzed our husbands beforehand and we had to guess their answers a la The Newlywed Game. It was such a blast, made all the better by the fact that I won and was declared the Superior Momma! ;)

After the shower, we met up with all our favorite menfolk from law school and had a big dinner. We had such a great time and it was so perfect to spend my last weekend in DC with all the people who had really defined a majority of my time here - even if most of them have moved out of town since then.

Two Downs:
1. I wish I could eat more because I know I'm going to be hungry again in an hour or two. However, there is just no more room.
2. My lower back has started to bother me, especially in the mornings.

Two Ups:
1. Definitely all the precious precious baby girl clothes we got at the shower. Y'all the cuteness was overwhelming.
2. Oh, let me see, hmmmmmm.... the fact that we're moving to Kentucky in a matter of days!!!!

My very first baby shower!

Joint Shower - February 28, 2009 from hollandnm on Vimeo.

Week 27

So, last week was my final week of work.

JJJAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIII HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

(Insert a very pregnant Sarah doing her own celebratory version of the dance in Slumdog Millionaire)

It was a little bittersweet to say goodbye to all my coworkers but I'm so looking forward to this next stage of our life...and you know lots of naps. ;)

Two Downs:
1. I've been having a lot of rib pain. One morning I woke up and swore the baby used my left rib as a pillow all night long.
2. As we're packing and getting organized, I get frustrated with how limited I am. Not that I'm looking to haul stuff up and down the stairs but still.

Two Ups:
1. Several of our friends have sent us children's books off our Amazon Registry and Nicholas has been reading to baby every night. All the books are so sweet and it's so awesome to think about reading to her once she's actually here.
2. I am still feeling really good and am hoping I can stave off the uncomfortable stage for a few more weeks.

The Oscars

Our good friends Alice and Chris came over last night for the Oscars. We had a great time watching the ceremony, although all of us were getting way tired by the end. Overall, I thought the show was fine - not too many surprises, but I really enjoyed some of the changes like all the former winners talking to each nominees.

But now to the fun part!

My best dressed was Anne Hathaway. I just thought she looked pitch perfect from the gorgeous sparkle of the gown to the understated earrings. I just loved it.


















My worst dressed was Jessica Biel. Her hair looked sloppy and the dress was a disaster.

Top 10 Top 10 Lists Everyone Should Make: 6-10

So found this in my work files as I was wrapping up and decided I'd finish them up all at once. :)

Top 10 Presidents
1. Abraham Lincoln – no contest!
2. FDR
3. George Washington
4. Thomas Jefferson
5. Teddy Roosevelt
6. Harry Truman
7. John Kennedy
8. Andrew Jackson (on entertainment factor alone)
9. Bill Clinton
10. Barack Obama (I’m feeling optimistic)


Top 10 Songs That Address The Topic of Love – This was definitely the hardest to make.

1. First Day of My Life – Bright Eyes

This is also the sweetest video EVER. If you watch only one of the ones I've posted, watch this one.



2. The Luckiest – Ben Folds



3. In Your Eyes – Peter Gabriel



4. God Only Knows – The Beach Boys



5. Ring of Fire – Johnny Cash



6. Let’s Stay Together – Al Green



7. Dimming of the Day – Bonnie Raitt



8. Ordinary People – John Legend

Ordinary People ~ John Legend
by Cehcw

9. Open Window (The Wedding Song) – Sarah Harmer



10. Shania Twain – Still the One



Top 10 People You'd Most Want to Meet (no, not him. living people.)
1. The Dixie Chicks
2. Gayle King (I’ve already met Oprah) ;)
3. Tina Fey
4. Julia Roberts
5. Justin Timberlake
6. Kate Gossling
7. Sarah Jessica Parker
8. Barbara Kingsolver
9. Michael Pollan
10. Dolly Parton

Top 10 Band Names
This is impossible because I honestly do not even think about a band’s name. I don’t think I’ve ever said, “I love the band name!” So I’ve decided I’m going to let my friend Leslie, queen of obscure bands, fill this one in in the comment section.

Top 10 Moments of Joy To Experience Before You Die

1. I think I’ve got a major one coming up around May 18 ;)
2. And related to that – first words, first laugh, first steps.
3. A winning election night
4. My 50th Wedding Anniversary
5. Skydiving
6. Standing at the top of Angel Falls
7. Watching my children graduate/get married/ have kids of their own
8. Publishing a book.
9. Speaking in front of a crowd of thousands
10. Being a guest on the Oprah Show.

Week 26

We had a really great week. The highlight of my week was the Lincoln ceremony (see below) but overall we've just been getting ready to go. We started packing this weekend and put a real dent in it I think. We also continued the Lincoln theme and went to see the "With Malice Towards None" exhibit at the Library of Congress, which was fantastic.

We had a lovely Valentine's Day - although I have to say for any of you doubting how seriously takes spending money, I think you'll understand after this story. We had had reservations at the French restaurant up the street from our house for a week or two. Nicholas had scoped out the menu and we were both really looking forward to it. However, when we showed up, we realized there was only a limited Valentine's Day three course menu available for $65. Well, let me tell you, Nicholas balked. He doesn't like feeling like he's being taken advantage of at the best restaurants but this place is French bistro - nothing spectacular. So, we turned our happy butts around and went and had sushi instead! It was a little disappointing at first but I think we did the smart thing in the end. Plus, we still had a really lovely Valentine's night out.

Two Downs:
1. I had a midwife appointment this week and they totally freaked me out because she measured me about 3 weeks ahead according to my fundal height. I made a huge mistake of googling what this could mean before consulting my fellow preggers and freaked myself out even further. Apparently, this is pretty common but I'm going back in two weeks just to see if there has been any change. Also, I have low iron and have to start taking iron pills. Boooo!
2. I've started having Braxton Hicks contractions. While they don't hurt, they are uncomfortable and can make breathing difficult depending on my position.

Two Ups:
1. I passed my glucose screen! Take that gestational diabetes!
2. I still haven't gained too much weight and it's all in my belly. No fat face here!

The 200th Birthday of our Greatest President

Today was the Congressional Ceremony honoring the Lincoln Bicentennial. As a self-professed "Lincolnite," I was honored to attend the ceremony and was particularly excited when I found out our current President would be speaking.

It was a pretty profound experience to be sitting in the Capitol Rotunda with the President of the United States listening to the National Anthem. Not surprisingly, in his remarks, President Obama touched on Lincoln's gift for empathy and desire for reconciliation after the Civil War and the lessons we can take away from that today. I was particularly touched by his remarks because it is not only my favorite aspect of Lincoln's character but also what I find most appealing about our current President - that drive to unite us under a common goal and point us towards our better instincts as a people.

There was a long list of other speakers on the program, but I have to say I was most excited about Doris Kearns Goodwin, the Pulitizer Prize winning author of the famous Lincoln biography Team of Rivals. She only spoke a short time but I was able to introduce myself afterwards and tell her how much I loved her book and how it really sparked a deep affection and curiosity for old Abe. The funniest part was I was clearly not the only fan because a group of 6 or 7 Senators gathered around her aftewards like a bunch of groupies.

All in all, it was a pretty fantastic experience and it made me realize how much I'm going to miss the opportunities D.C. affords me.

Metro Angel

I do believe the pregnancy gods heard my plea about Metro seat rudeness.

This morning Nicholas and I stepped onto a semi-crowded train. I was looking around for a seat and telling Nicholas that I wanted to sit down. I thought one guy saw me but I don't think it registered. Then all of a sudden this older woman is snapping her fingers in his face, "Dude! Get up and let this lady sit down!"

It was amazing. I think the guy was still about half asleep, but he hopped up and offered me his seat. I thanked the woman profusely. Not only had she gotten me a seat, she had made my entire morning.

Week 25

So, remember how over the past couple of weeks I kept reporting that we didn't have too much going on?

Internet, I might have been telling the tiniest of fibs.

Turns out we do have a little bit to report. Mainly that both Nicholas and I have quit our jobs, we sold our condo, and we're moving back to Kentucky! And y'all thought getting pregnant was our big news! ;)

Actually, getting pregnant was really where all this started because Nicholas and I never really had aspirations to raise our children in D.C. If being pregnant is this hard, I can't imagine how hard actually taking care of this little being will be and I have absolutely no desire to do it while working at a demanding job with no support system in place.

So, after much discussion and maybe a little bit of convincing Nicholas (who is notoriously risk adverse), we decided that Nicholas would start looking for a job and we would see how things went. Well, the universe definitely agreed with us that we belonged back home in Kentucky because this fabulous job basically fell in Nicholas's lap. Still we had the major hurdle of selling our condo in a less than great economy. Apparently, we wasted a fair amount of mental energy worrying about that too because we got an offer after about 10 days.

We close on March 5th and then we're loading up the Uhaul and headin' to Kentucky!

Two Downs:
1. I'm starting to really resent people on the Metro who look straight at me and don't offer up their seat. Even if I don't actually need to sit down, it really pisses me off.
2. I am so over my winter maternity clothes. I'm tired of wearing black.

Two Ups:
1. Eight more days of work! Wooty woo!
2. I ordered a bunch of spring maternity clothes off Old Navy that I'm totally pumped about. :)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

So, it was only a matter of time before the cameras started rolling. Nadya Suleman, the now infamous mother of brand new octuplets, did her first television interview with Ann Curry after being released from the hospital.

It has taken me several days to be able to discuss this woman and her current situation rationally. To be honest, I have a pretty visceral reaction to huge families no matter how the children are conceived. I truly feel that at a certain point (let's say double digits) there are more children than there is time in the day to meet their emotional needs. Childhood is precious and finite. As an only child, I grew up having a large community of adults loving me unconditionally and meeting whatever needs (not wants) I had in pretty short-order. As I quickly approach motherhood myself, I cannot express in words what a blessing it is to feel completely and totally validated as a child. I was never told to take a backseat and I never felt ignored, even for a moment.

Did I feel misunderstood at times? Of course. Did I get everything I ever asked for? No. However, even if I felt like my parents and I were on different planets, I always knew that in that moment they were willing to drop everything and at least listen to me. In a family of 10 - 12 - or God save us - 14, that is simply not a reality. The logistical reality is that raising that many children takes up almost more hours than there are in a day.

Now, most of you know that I am a huge fan of Jon and Kate + 8, which might seem a bit hypocritical. However, the crucial difference to me is that Jon and Kate did not choose their current situation. They had twins and decided to try one more time. Now, they knew that there was a small chance of multiples and they accepted that risk. What I appreciate the most about them is when they got struck by lightning and fell in that tiny percentile, they were VERY honest about how devastating it was. They accept that in some ways their children, particularly the twins, will suffer as a result and they face it honestly. Most importantly, they STOPPED. They don't act like more kids is always better and they realize their own limitations.
Which leads us back to Ms. Suleman. This was her SEVENTH fertility treatment. The fact that she already had six children and decided to take that risk and put all of their fates in the balance seems completely irresponsible to me. In the best of circumstances, one has to know that each treatment increases the chances that this time you will get struck by lightning.

Of course, her specific circumstances are what make Ms. Suleman infamous as opposed to in pre-production for her own TLC show. She claims in the interview that people are reacting so strongly because of discrimination against single mothers. First, I am not completely convinced that the public's reaction wouldn't be just as strong against a couple who had six children and continued to get infertility treatment, because I know mine would be. But the fact that this woman is single, unemployed, and living with her parents and chose to have another round of treatment is the height of irresponsibility. I think a single mother of one child would tell you those circumstances make raising a child incredibly difficult, much less raising fourteen. She also claims in the interview that after she finishes her degree (which I'm not sure she'll have time to do with fourteen kids) she'll be able to provide for them all. But again, she seems to have a warped since of reality. She is pursuing a masters in psychotherapy. In order to become a psychotherapist, who do make good money, she'll need to get her PhD and then take a LOT of clients in order to provide financially for fourteen kids on her own. Not to mention, making enough money to be the sole provider for fourteen kids will leave almost no time to be their primary caregiver.

However, while I feel like a lot of the public outrage is on her lack of resources, I personally would be just as outraged if she was married to Bill Gates. If you want to see how consistent I am, I suggest being in a room with me when a commercial for 17 Kids and Counting comes on. I honestly don't care if you can perfectly provide for all their physical needs. The truth is if you really loved children that much, you would improve the lives of the ones you already have. I think the reason I have such a passionate reaction to Ms. Suleman and others like her who claim that their desire for large families is based on a love of children or some sort of selfless instinct is because I don't believe them. I think the real truth is that they are making these decisions for incredibly selfish reasons and to meet their own personal emotional needs. Unfortunately, long after we've forgotten about Ms. Suleman and the cameras have stopped rolling on others like her, the children are left living with the repercussions of those decisions.

Update: It just keeps getting worse.

Week 24

We had a pretty uneventful week. The baby is cooking away. We took this weekend to go to the Museum of American History to see the new First Ladies exhibit and the temporary Abraham Lincoln exhibition. We also got to see the Star Spangled Banner. The line was crazy long when we went to the unveiling a couple of months ago. However, this time we got through and I have to say they've done a fantastic job. I rounded to corner to see it and burst into tears. I didn't expect it to be that powerful but it truly was. Unfortunately, Nicholas had to skip out to go to work after the First Ladies but I enjoyed Abraham Lincoln immensely. I also got to go to The Butterfly Conservatory, which was overwhelming and gorgeous. The butterflies were everywhere. They even have to check you before you leave for "hitchhikers."

Two Downs:
1. I think my pregnancy heater kicked on.
2. Getting up is getting difficult.

Two Ups:
1. The baby is moving so much. She seems particularly active for Nicholas...already a Daddy's girl I suppose.
2. Got more awesome stuff off craigslist for the cheap! A My Brest Friend for $15 and a Snugglenest for $30. ALSO, somebody (whoever you are - thanks!) bought the first thing off our registry. It TOTALLY made my week. An unfortunate side effect is now I check it obsessively to see if anyone else has bought anything. :)

Week 23

Not too much going on this week.

Two Downs:
1. Big. Stretchy. Belly.
2. I've had low energy lately, not too bad but enough to affect me.

Two Ups:
1. I love feeling her move and I usually get at least two or three pretty solid kick a day. Nicholas also feels her move almost every day.
2. I'm right on track for weight gain and haven't gain much more than I wanted to.

Inauguration

As you could probably tell from my preview, our Inaugural experience was less than expected to say the very least. We had decided to stay with my generous friend Amy Hille who only lives several blocks from the Capitol so that we could wake up early and get a good place in line. I received two now infamous purple tickets from my office and we had discussed the day before how thankful we were that we wouldn't have to deal with the masses on the Mall...oh how wrong we were.

We both woke up at 6am and Nicholas set out to scope out the situation and get a spot in line. When he arrived, the line was orderly and he was directed to the end of the line which reached down into an underground tunnel near the Capitol. He told me to wait until 8 or 8:30 to join him. When I started walking over there around that time, I thought I would start at the gate and then follow the line back to Nicholas. However, when I arrived at the gate there was no more line to be found and the entire block was filled with people with no movement. The gate should have been open for an hour at this point.

I waited for about 30 minutes to see if anything would happen. During this time, a woman fainted near me and they had to call a doctor from the crowd because there were no police or volunteers or emergency workers to be found. Finally, I decided that I just wanted to find Nicholas and leave and attempted to find the entrance to the tunnel where he was still trapped. When I attempted to walk that way, the street was completely block and people told me no one was getting through. I then turned around and called Nicholas. We decided to meet back at Amy's apartment.

However, when I went back down C St., they had opened a gate and begun to let a very small amount of people through an opening the size of two door ways. Since there was a crowd of literally thousands trying to squeeze through this entry, the crowd would surge everytime someone would get through, packing us all in tighter and tighter. At this point, I had no choice but to stay with the crowd. I could not move my arms much less turn around.

Far from being happy that I was getting closer and closer to an entrance, I started to panic as the pressure from all sides increased. Luckily, the people around me were calm and patient and tried to talk to me and keep me calm. It was just so terrifying to feel the pressure increasing, especially around my stomach, and I couldn't help but feel like I had put myself and my baby in a really risky situation.

I finally got through the gate to a near empy security screening area. I called Nicholas, who had gotten back to Amy's, and basically burst into tears. I didn't want to be there - not by myself - and I hated so much that Nicholas was missing it. I tried really hard to be positive and think that I could tell my daughter she was there. As the ceremony started, I just tried to focus on the moment. I was close enough I could actually see Obama on the podium, which was pretty amazing, and I did enjoy witnessing the event and hearing his speech.

Looking back, I realize now that compared to some other ticketholders Nicholas and I were pretty lucky. We hadn't spent our hard earned money traveling from far away. Plus, we both actually got to hear the speech live unlike so many others who got trapped outside the entry or in the tunnel. Nicholas says that at the end of the day we both saw the ceremony the way we wanted. I wanted to be there and he wanted to be on the couch.

A preview of my Inauguration post

I sent this to the Post:
4:46 p.m.: I had tickets to the purple North Standing section. My husband got in line at 6:30 and shuffled far back into the D street tunnel. I tried to join him at 8:30 a.m. and became stuck in the 1st St./C St./Louisiana corridor by Jones Day. When they opened the gates, I got stuck in the crush of people which got tighter and tighter as the crowd pushed their way towards the entrance. I am five months pregnant and the experience was completely terrifying…

Which is posted on their website here.