My Baby Is An Internet Porn Star

Not even born yet, and here I am, posting HIS genitalia on the internet for all to see: That's right, we are having a boy. BLUE is the color of the year.

Rob hasn't gone out and bought a basketball for the kid yet, but I suspect that will follow shortly. You have to be prepared for babies, or so I'm told.

I did spend the afternoon at Gymboree looking at all the cute dinosaur-adorned blue and green clothing. The little girls' section is bigger, but the boys' section is just as cute. Quoth Rob: "He's going to be the best-dressed member of the family".

But with a face like this, who really needs to worry about what one is wearing?

An Update

So I know that it's been a while since I've posted anything of substance, and sadly, the lack of updates on this blog is about to get worse since we are discontinuing our internet service as of April 15th. I know, I know, how will we survive? A note to the Arkansas crowd: if you have found a way to get internet for LESS than $45/month, PLEASE let us know. We don't have a land line (phone) and don't want to get one just for the internet. Any options out there? We're currently paying almost $70/month, and I just can't justify it any longer.
So first things first. I'll try to organize this by easy subtitles, so you can read only what really interests you:

THE PREGNANCY:
Is going well. I'm almost 17 weeks along, and the morning sickness is (FINALLY!!!) begining to subside. I haven't puked (for pregnancy-related reasons) in over a week. This is real progress. And, even better news, a few weeks ago I had a really positive doctor's appointment: the subchorionic hemorrhage has partially resorbed (put in plain terms: the condition that's been making my pregnancy risky is getting better), and I am able to resume "light to medium" activity. I tried to get the doctor to define "light to medium" in terms of mileage and pace, but to no avail. I am to "listen to my body" and avoid anything that makes me cramp or just feel uncomfortable. So I guess that means there will be no more marathons, half or whole, for the duration of 2008. Shucks. I was hoping to get this kid all tuned up and ready to run before it even left the womb.
GIRL OR BOY?: We find out what we're having the last week of April. We're both excited to know. The doctor's office called to tell me that we can bring a tape and record the ultrasound. Do people usually record their ultrasounds? I'm trying to decide if I think this is normal or not. Did any of you record yours? And did you regret not doing it, or have you liked having it if you did?
And for the question everyone asks: Am I starting to show? Well, it depends on what I'm wearing. It's amazing what one can hide with the proper clothing.

ROBERT:
Took his Boards the first weekend in April. We're glad to have them over with. Especially me, as I get to have my husband back. Those nights and weekends of studying were BORING :I'm tired of having to play quietly in the other room. Now we get to wait for MONTHS to find out the results. What a miserable thing to have hanging over one's head. My poor husband.
ROB'S COOL NEWS: Rob is not one to blow his own horn, so that means I will have to do it for him. Rob has recently had two papers accepted to the European Academey Meeting. This is a pretty big deal. Don't let him be too modest about it, he's a smarty-pants. And it's especially cool, because the hospital sends him to Budapest to present said papers. If I'm really good, he'll let me hide in his suitecase and come along. No, suitcases aside, it looks (tenatively) like we are going to be taking a jaunt to Europe this June. I'll have to fly home alone, as he will stay to present, and we went to Budapest last year. So now we're in a lively debate about where to go. We're for sure going to do something in Western Europe, since we did Eastern Europe last time. We're leaning towards either Spain or Italy. What do ya'll think? Rob has been to Italy, but neither of us have been to Spain, so... Spain may win in the end. It's exciting, regardless. We both love to travel. It's healthy for us to have a trip to contemplate. Rob especially seems to find an outlet for stress in planning a good trip. He makes one heck of a travel agent. Anyone who's ever been on a Rob-trip knows what I mean. I hope my pregnant body can keep up with all the cool ideas he's sure to have.

IDAHO:
While Rob was in Chicago getting tortured by his Boards, I went to Idaho to visit my family for nine days (or seven, really, as it takes a full day of travel to get there, and then back again). For those of you living in the Rexburg-area thinking, "What! She never called!", let me assure you that you didn't WANT to see me. Honest. I arrived home recovering (I thought) from a nasty head cold. Then a day or so latter I woke up with a high fever, and in fear of baking my baby, ran to the Urgent Care to get dosed up on antibiotics. The next few days were spent laying on the couch while they did their job. By sunday, I was feeling pretty good, and began making plans to hit the ski hill on monday. Well, that was BEFORE I woke up in the middle of the night violently puking my guts out. Almost the entire family succumbed to a killer stomach bug that levelled us all, leaving us miserable and very ill. It passed relatively quickly... just in time to get on the plane home. What a miserable run of rotten luck. Or should I say "health". I was so mad. I had been so excited to go home and get in a little bit of skiing and a lot of temple sessions in the new Rexburg temple. Neither one happened. Huge bummer. I guess I'll just have to go back... (But not until I've sufficently recovered from this trip).

CHASQUI:
Has been really good lately. Sorry, no crazy dog-stories. He even behaved himself at our friend's house when they watched him while we were both gone (we were both really worried about what he could have potentially done to their beautiful home).

I think that about sums up the Glade's activities. We're both well and happy. Rob remains very busy with work and getting his papers ready for Europe. He's also presenting a different paper in Boston the week after Europe, so he's really got a full plate. He's a super-star.
And, yes,I'll be sure to jump on the library's internet to let ya'll know whether we're having a boy or girl. You can look for that info after April 29th. Exciting!!!

Just because I live in Wal-Mart Land, doesn't mean I like the store...

"In its claims for trademark infringement against an online parodist, Wal-Mart claimed that it had trademark rights in the ubiquitous yellow smiley face. Not only did Wal-Mart lose its case, the judge held it had no rights in the smiley face mark. The smiley face has been liberated!"
This ruling shows that even the biggest company in America is subject to parody, and that trademark rights must yield to the right of free speech. This is a resounding victory for First Amendment rights and sends a clear message to big corporations that would try to use their deep pockets to intimidate and silence their critics."
- Cory Doctorow

Tagged!

So since I've been Tagged 10+ times, I finally decided to do the one I find the least obnoxious. Enjoy, for I doubt this will happen again.

5 years ago:
Doing my student rotations at Portnuef Hospital, trying to marry the WRONG guy, and had just landed my first x-ray job at an Urgent Care Center. I bought a new pair of pants from American Eagle and a bottle of perfume to celebrate (the tradition of buying myself a "new job gift" has never died since).

5 Snacks I enjoy (remember I'm pregnant):
1. Nilla Wafers with Swiss Miss Banana Cream Pie pudding
2. Prunes (truly. Love 'em)
3. Rooibus Herbal Tea with lemon
4. Oreos and icecream
5. V8 (the original)

5 things on my "to do today" list (tomorrow, since it's late tonight):
1. Go to work
2. Buy milk, butter and olive oil
3. pick up library books during lunch break
4. Take the dog for a walk
5. Call apartment offices and raise Cain about my missing packages

5 Things I would do if I were suddenly made a billionaire:
1. Pay off ALL DEBT
2. Move out of apartment and into a REAL house!!!
3. Buy Rob a car with A/C
4. Travel travel travel travel travel travel travel travel
5. Quit my job and go back to school

3 bad habits:
1. Neglecting to put the clean dishes away for days at a time
2. Rob says I "drive like a maniac"
3. Hitting the snooze button (since being pregnant, this has gotten worse than ever. I used to hit it once, maybe twice; now it's on the order of four times).

5 places I've lived:
1. Rexburg, ID
2. Henry's Lake, ID
3. Pocatello, ID
4. Arlington, VA
5. Little Rock, AR

5 jobs I've had:
1. Janitorial service, Ricks College
2. Waitress, Frontier Pies
3. Truck driver, United States Postal Service
4. X-Ray tech
5. Mammographer and Stereotactician

Things people don't know about me:
1. I'm crazy about history, especially European history, especially the Tudor period
2. I'm a "health Nazi" (quoth the husband). Yes, I do count calories. Always.
3. Rob proposed to me on top of the tallest pyramid of the Monte Alban ruins, overlooking Oaxaca, and we started dating in Peru on the Inca Trail. I've backpacked through five Latin American countries, and five European countries, and stayed in a $3 hostel where I couldn't find the light switch for all the cockroaches on the wall.
4. Growing up I ALWAYS planned on being an Art major and spending the rest of my life covered in paints and charcoals. I still LOVE art and music, but I decided that if a passion were to become a job, it would shortly cease to be a passion and become a chore, and I love art too much for that.
5. I lived with my grandma off and on all throughout high school, and she taught me how to quilt. I still love to make pieced quilts.

5 people to Tag:
NO ONE!!! Let's break the cycle!

All the Wealth of the Kingdom

I'm reading the biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the greatest heriones of the Middle Ages. She was the wife of two kings--King Louis VII of France, and King Henry II of England--and the mother of three: King Henry, King Richard I, and King John, all of England. There are limited original documents about her that survive (she was born in 1122 AD), but one of the few is a Pipe Roll accounting which lists all of her belongings as she ascended the English throne: "Forty-two gowns of silk, linen, and wool, many richly embroidered: fourteen pairs of shoes, six of them embroidered with gold thread; five mantles of various colours furred with ermine; a great quantity of veils; and ten warm undershirts (spelling modernized)".

What good is it to be the Queen if you can only have fourteen pairs of shoes?

Ultrasound

So these pictures are a week old, but no less cool for that (we have no scanner, and so have to very cleverly find a chance to use the ones at Rob's hospital-- that type of conniving can take time). We got see the baby kicking his/her legs and sucking on his/her thumb. Too cool.

Chasqui and a Snow Day

We woke up this morning to snow. In Arkansas. In March. It was really quite beautiful. Being from Idaho, I thought little to it and went off to work, as usual. The streets were strangely deserted. As was the office building. I had to unlock the doors myself (I have never before needed to use my key), and went to work. No one else showed up. A little strange. Apparently, when the Little Rock School District sees fit to cancel school, local businesses follow suit. I was informed of this about 10AM, and off I went home. I had a great day off, taking the opportunity to make soup with the left over turkey, scrubbing my bathroom from top-to-bottom (I've virtually given up all housecleaning since getting pregnant- if the smells of the cleaner don't make me puke, the motion will-- but the morning sickness finally seems to be receeding, a little), and playing in the snow with Chasqui. He loves the snow, and is so funny in it. He leaps through it, eats it, rolls in it, and attacks it, snorting snow up his nose, and then sneezing and choking on it. We had a fun time. And Rob even got home early! What a day! Hooray for snow!