Feelin' 22

   On my birthday this year, Justin changed his alarm ringtone to "22" by Taylor Swift. It totally thrilled me when I woke up that morning, and we sang it over and over throughout our day at the zoo.
   I felt so happy and young and even unstoppable that day. I felt 22!
   Justin never did change his ringtone and now, 6 months later we still wake up to it. Only lately I haven't been feeling 22. I feel old!
    The weeks are flying by with my workload and I haven't had time to revel in this pregnancy the way I
always imagined. Plus I am pregnant and married, finished with my degree and far from hitting the clubs looking for "bad news". My 22 just isn't quite the same as the Taylor Swift version--nor is it comparable to the majority of my peers'. Sometimes I wake up to that song and think that I must be doing things wrong...
     But when I really think about it, there's nowhere I would rather be at this age. I am in love and happy. I feel free knowing that I am well educated. I am carrying my child easily (due at least in-part to being young and healthy). I am mature enough to deal with what's thrown at me, but I don't have a problem being silly or having fun. After thinking it through, I have decided that this is 22 for me, and I am feeling it.
   

Confession

On those odd days when I don't have a sub job, I usually have a lot of housework to catch up on. The problem is that I am usually only motivated to do one thing on those days...sleep. I improvise by telling myself that for each chore I cross off my list I can watch one t.v. episode on netflix ( o.k. sometimes 2). It's not good because I feel guilty not doing things that make me a better person-- reading classic literature, crafting, writing--but when I am tired and given this precious breather all those things just feel like chores. T.V. is easy and mind numbing and I don't feel guilty for falling asleep while doing it. So here I am , hastily writing this post, so I can get back to that third season of Everybody Loves Raymond. Maybe someday I will reach my sleep quota, maybe I should just enjoy the chance I have to sleep now before my baby comes to hold me responsible each and every choice.

Ain't Nothin' but a Hound Dog

I have decided that having the day of while pregnant is pretty much the same thing as being part-basset hound for a day. On days when I am not subbing, both Beta and I wake up at 6 a.m. crying and whining with hunger until Justin pours food into our bowls ( mine's cereal and I mostly always use a spoon--be proud of me). Then we both act all hyper and follow Justin around, extremely interested in his morning preparations for school. Once Justin leaves, we sit resolutely at the window as his car pulls out, then we go lay on my bed and take a nap 'til 9 or 10 or 11. Basically until we have to go to the bathroom so bad that laying there is no longer an option. Then we waddle ourselves outdoors so Beta can go potty. This is our big outing for the day as it is blistering hot and neither of our bodies is really meant to handle this temperature. We go back inside and stare at our respective screens for a while ( me the computer , Beta the window). Once that's done we'll play tug of war for about 1 1/2 minutes because that's really all we have energy for. If we are feeling really sparky we do laundry, I rifle through the clothes , separate them , and throw them in the washer according to color; Beta rifles through the clothes, separates one, and gnaws it to pieces according to color. (She really likes white guys, she always does her whites first.) Then we take another nap, do some more waddling, some more staring at screens, and some sniffing around the house. When Justin gets home we are both at that window, waiting for him to pull up on his bike and we are both going crazy with excitement when he opens the door. We demand he plays with us for 15 minutes before laying down on the floor and letting our eyes close gently, as though today were the most physically demanding day of our life.

Goodbye Summer...

         Summer has come and gone and in the last few weeks Justin and I have been adjusting to the new drag. Some summer highlights (watch my bump grow as summer passes ;) ) :

The bump in may...haha I thought there was a bump!

We left Casa Grande in late May and made it to Cali in time for Aimee's graduation and my cousins' bridal shower. I was so happy to get to spend summer with my family but it was really sad leaving this garden behind!

June bump pics

We went camping in June with some family friends.

 The whole crew (sans Justin who didn't go out with us cuz he was sick)

 July bump

In case you are not my fb friend, you should know that Justin made A LOT of furniture this summer. I really proud and will probably dedicate a future post to it.

July 16th ULTRASOUND!

Justin got rejection letters from several PT schools and when June rolled around we kind gave up on the others which hadn't contacted him. So we splurged and bought tickets to Hawaii, figuring we'd both be working this year. No sooner had we bought the tickets then he got the blessed email---He was in!! We've had to do some maneuvering to get everything paid for now, but I am secretly kinda glad his letter came late--because Hawaii was the best baby moon ever!

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Justin got in to PT school!!!!!!! I am so happy for him. It's been two weeks and he has been a little overwhelmed by how demanding the program is, but a little moment the other day reassured me that we are in the right place. Justin was bent over one of his books, head phones securely over his ears when he looked up at me and said, smiling, "Everything I am learning is the stuff I've been wanting to research all these years. I LOVE this!" I am so happy that he likes it, also it's really adorable.

We've moved into our very own apartment ( imagine high pitched squeals of excitement). Justin picked it out while I was coaching, I signed the papers trusting him and I was shocked when we walked in the door--crown molding, a bay dining room...he did good.We love our place and where its located. One drawback is my commute--Justin didn't find out about school until mid-summer, and I didn't feel right about leaving my team with so little notice, so I am braving the 45 miles to Chandler most days. 45 miles isn't that bad, the hour and 20+ minutes it takes in traffic is. But's that's more for another post. I propose a toast to the fun we had this summer, to forgetting the negatives, and to FALL. Only 3 months left of pregnancy!And you know, all that other fall stuff that's fun.