I've Been Very Very Bad

Mea Culpa. It has been nearly a month since my last post! So sorry, for those of you who were keeping up, but there is a time every year--after I finish grading finals in May and before summer school starts in June--when I go rather brain dead. But worry not! You haven't missed anything exciting in my absence except for the fabulous news that Ian has graduated from college! He walked on May 20, with me and all our family looking on. (I think we were more excited about it than he was.) So now he has his BS in Electrical Engineering. He has been working very hard now for a few months to find a job but has not gotten any nibbles yet. It's been very discouraging, and possibly why he was not overjoyed at his graduation ceremony. Degrees are far less thrilling when they don't have jobs attached. So, if anyone out there knows of any opportunities for hard working, super smart, and devilishly handsome electrical engineers, drop us a line. It is kind of important seeing as I will be unemployed at the end of July and we have this baby thing going on and all. We'd sure like Ian to have moved up from meat cutter to engineer by then!

Speaking of the baby... Everything is well! I had my 24 week appointment last week and all was fine. I found out that so far in the pregnancy I have only gained 7 pounds! Total! (Normal weight gain by this week is 16-20 pounds.) This was not at all what I expected. I felt sure that when I got pregnant I would blow up like the Michelin Man, but in this regard the Gods have smiled on me. Apparently I am burning weight elsewhere on my body and converting it all into baby. I may end up skinnier after I've had the baby than when I got pregnant! Wouldn't that be cool! (I can dream, can't I?) We haven't chosen a name for her yet, but thanks for all the input we've gotten. We're pretty sure right now that it's down to either Rowan or Matilda, although I need to pick something soon because now when I scold her she's just "baby." Why do I scold my child in utero, you might ask? That's because she beats me! Yes, I am a victim of domestic violence. I get at least three beatings a day. So our conversations go something like this:

Baby: Whack!
Me: Ow, baby! Stop it!
Baby: Sucker punch to the bladder.
Me: OW!! Stop it baby, you're hurting me!
Baby: Side kick to the kidney.

And on and on it goes. I'm glad my daughter is ferocious; I just wish she wasn't practicing inside of me! Ian says I have 18 years to exact revenge upon her, so I'll remember this when she asks me for stuff. "Oh, you want to get your ears pierced? Remember all those times in utero when you kept beating the crap out of me...?"

Oh, also during the last month I had a birthday! I turned 33 on May 21. I'm pretty excited about 33. So far, all of the 3 years have been my favorites. My first memory is from when I was 3 (I remember coming home from Disneyland on my third birthday, a memory that sticks in my head because I was so utterly happy.) 13 was a big one, when I finally got to be a teenager and all of the priveleges that accompanied that. Up until now, I always said that my best year was 23...that was the year I traveled Europe and when I first felt like a truly strong and independent person. So 33 should be great as well. And I'm sure it will be, as soon as Ian and I can get settled and over this heinous transitionary hump we're stuck on now.

Well, that's all for now. I have to start teaching summer school soon, so my brain is rebooting and I will post more regularly. I'm sure that there will be lots more to report in the coming weeks now that I am about to enter the third trimester. I'm a bit nervous about that actually...the second trimester has been so great that I am loathe to leave it behind! But everything must move forward as we are all slaves of time...