my husband is outside, putting up christmas lights... Sometimes, I'm still amazed that I can say that. It was nice spending my first holiday as a married woman. On Thursday we went to my mom's to feast. Of course, I forget that my stomach is smooshed up and I can't eat as much as I'm used to, but I managed to eat a few small meals instead of one big one, thus, I was pretty much grazing all day, as most people do. You would think that Friday would find me full, still, but Mike was up at 5:30 a.m. beginning to smoke a turkey for the feast we were preparing for his family and I rose at the ungodly hour of 6:00 and began preparing a new chocolate walnut cookie recipe and other general preparations for company. They came down early in the afternoon to watch the Huskers lose and we filled up again on the traditional thanksgiving victuals. But as wonderful as the past two days were, it was nice waking up this morning with my husband and setting off to the store for more christmas lights. It was a beautiful feeling to know that I was embarking on the Christmas season happy, loved and in love, with still more love growing in my belly. So as I sit here now, Thanksgiving come and gone, I'm thankful for many things. The happiness I feel, the family I have and love and the anticipation of my growing family, but most of all, for making it to this place in my life, considering all of wrong turns I've made along life's road. So I thank God, Fate, the stars, Karma, whatever it is that gave me so much. Personally, I think it may be a bit of all of those.

flipped... Mike and I went to the midwife today and found out that Macy's back in vertex position, the smart little thing. I had been feeling a lot of big movement so I was hopeful that this was the case, but a little nervous going in today. The fun part was we got to have another ultrasound to confirm Joanne's hunch that she switched. The ultrasound wasn't as clear to me as the first one, almost 4 months ago, but after confirming her position (yes!) Missy the ultrasoundist (not really a word, but you know what I mean) showed us around and we got to see that she has lots of hair and is really good at sucking her thumb. We also confirmed that she was a girl when we were shown her cute little labia. I feel better now that I probably won't have to go through the trials and tribulations of an extra version and/or cesaerian section. Although, I am getting a bit nervous because, theoretically, I could go into labor at any time now...

I know I should catch you up on the past week and a half, but for some reason I'm not in the writing mood. But for self-documentation purposes, here is the boring, to-the-point catch-up:

Wednesday, November 20 - Had lunch with my friend, Julie, at Grisanti's.
Friday, November 22 - Went to Hockey game with Mike. It was a great game and I got to see 2 good fights. Mike bought me a John Snowden pin to wear!! He's my favorite little hockey-player-guy.
Saturday, November 23 - My cousin, Sharla, was in town from KC and Mike and I took her to dinner at Lone Star. She is 16 weeks pregnant, but is thinner than ever, still wearing her normal jeans with a belt! She looks great and I'm excited that we'll both be mommies together. If only I could get her to move back to town...
Sunday, November 24 - Mike's sister held another shower for me in Omaha. Mike drove me, mom, grandma, sisters and nieces up and while we showered, he spent QT at the sporting goods store with his dad, brother-in-law and nephews. The shower was nice and I got to meet a few members of Mike's family that I hadn't met before. My mom, grandma and sisters got me the quilt I wanted for the Crib. Yea!
Monday, November 25 - I was crabby
Tuesday, November 26 - I did homework all day at work, had class that evening, and was still a little crabby, but getting over it.

wow... Has it really been 20 days since I last sponged? I realize now it is easier to write when I'm going through turmoil, and thankfully, my life has taken on a new, happy and content quality that makes it so easy to get up and simply live every day. But let's see, what has happened in the last 20 days?

On Saturday, the 9th, Mike and I spent the day cleaning windows, blinds and screens. I didn't work as hard as he, well, I suppose I never do, but on that particular day it was mostly because I began feeling really bad in the afternoon. I had really bad cramps, slight nausea and a general feeling of ickiness. It was as if I was menstruating again! I wandered from room to room, trying each chair and bed for a comfortable place. A hot shower helped momentarily. The next morning however, I awoke wondering if this pregnancy thing was all a dream. I felt great, had no trouble rolling out of bed, and seemed to be walking better. I literally felt as if I was a different shape. Was the baby just settling? We would find out later in the week at our appointment with Joanne that all that activity was in actuality, little Macy turning around. She is now in the breech position, the little stinker. She's been vertex the whole time!!! So now what? We will give her some time to move on her own, but if not, we will be scheduled for an external version (I think that's what it's called). Heard mixed reviews on those. Could be painful, maybe not?

In other news... I made it through my big presentation. It went well except for the fact that it was quite hot in the room and I'm having difficulty breathing anyway. So needless to say, I stood before the class, face red from "all attention on me" (happens every time, no matter how comfortable I am) and from the heat; plus, I was out of breath virtually the whole time. Ted, the man who sits beside told me he was worried about me and did I feel good. I just laughed as I explained to him the downfalls of public speaking while pregnant (at least for me). I'm so proud of myself for not taking that personally or being embarrased or feeling stupid. That same night, we had a statistics test. As I started in on it, I realized I didn't study quite as well or as appropriately as I should have. I was praying for a C, but ended up getting a B+. Happy about that.

Otherwise, an uneventful week. Mike attended "Deer Camp" with my brothers/cousins/uncles this past weekend. I missed him. I went to Marz on Friday night with Trudy, Tammy and Tracey. Saturday, I had lunch with Nicole, christmas shopped for Mike (successfully, i might add) and spent the rest of the day on little projects around the house. I painted a couple pictures for Macy's room, began filling out the baby book and the wedding book, and painted two shelves in the kitchen. It was kinda like old times, being home alone and finding so many things to do. Notice I didn't say the good old times. It made me really appreciate my new life, and feel sorry for the lonely way it used to be.

Preparation... We finally managed to swing a childbirth class into our schedules. We thought we were going to have to settle for Lamaze, but at the last minute, the doula who holds the class we originally wanted called and said she'd meet with us one-on-one Monday nights. I'm happy about that. She seems to know a lot, and comes at it from a totally different angle. We learned exercises and relaxation techniques, as well as some intresting nutritional aspects of pregnancy.

Other than that, I'm also beginning preparation for my presentation next week at class. It is on projection testing in counseling. I'm really excited about it, but am getting anxious because I haven't even started to get materials. Like I said, today I will begin my preparation. Probably should start by reading the chapter, huh?

Quick notes on the weekend... Friday night we went to the hockey game. It was a great, fast-paced game and we ran into Jen and Matt, which was nice. It seems like, well, I actually don't spend any time with friends these days. My days and nights are so busy, plus the holidays are coming up. I told Jen I plan on having a party this winter to re-acquaint myself with all my friends...

Saturday morning we cleaned like crazy. It was just time to do that. The bathrooms, kitchen, closets, you know... That afternoon, Mike went to the Gun show with my brother, then we went out to niece Kensly's birthday party/hayrack ride. I must say it was a little cold, but fun. We headed home and, after a quick grocery shopping trip, we rented a movie and relaxed by the fireplace at home. I even had a glass of wine for relaxation's sake.

Sunday, Mike's parents came down for the afternoon. After showing them the baby's room and all the other work we've done to the house, we took them to the Branched Oak Inn for prime rib.

And I thought I had nothing to do this weekend.