Reality

So the time has finally come. Jerome's sub is officially out of shipyards and that only means one thing. Actually, it means a couple of things--but the main thing is that he is now going to be gone more often. Now, I've been used to him not being home....sometimes it's for one day, other times it's two days. I'm a fairly independent woman and I can usually keep myself busy. But now the time apart is one week, later on will be a few weeks. Soon enough, it will be months. I really thought I would be able to handle it--afterall, we're used to being apart. (Like when Jerome lived in South Carolina and I was in LA for those 3 years.) But it's different now. There's ZERO communication. He can't call every night and I can't tell him about my day. I can't expect a call from him at a specific time. I just have to hope that he'll call some time during the day. He was gone for 2 days this past week, and when I picked him up, I swear I had diarrhea of the mouth! I had to tell him everything that had happened since he was gone. He was totally overwhelmed.

But there is a bright side! There will no longer be 12 hour work days--Jerome says if anything, their hours will probably be 4-6 hours/day. So when he's here, he'll be HERE. When the sub is here, life will be "normal"....whatever that is. There's always a silver lining, right?

So life here is becoming more hectic. I'll be starting up work again--teachers go back on the 24th, students back on the 29th. I've been in my classroom for a few hours a day, a few days a week. It's finally getting to the point where I'm comfortable enough to say, "this is my classroom." I've worked so hard to get it to where it is now! It's a complete 180 from how I inherited the classroom...it was disgusting...and now it's much better. Jerome helped me move some furniture and now it's starting to make more sense...much better flow....much better learning environment. :) Let's hope the kiddies think so!

We are also planning on moving within the next month. We want to move out of our house now b/c I'm very wary of the carpet. It's what I term "dorm carpet" because whatever you spill on it, it disappears. Who knows what's on the carpet! Nothing I'd want my baby to crawl/roll/play on, that's for sure. That's the main reason why we want to move. We do qualify to move to another military housing community and as a last resort, we definitely will do that. It's a newer housing community and the houses do not have carpet, which can be a pain, but at least it won't have nasty carpet. Our optimal choice would be to move off base, into a house/townhouse that has 3 bedrooms. We really want 3 bedrooms so that there can be a baby room and a seperate guest room/office. We looked at a community where Jerome's buddy lives and I really liked it--so we're looking in that area. It's actually the halfway point between Jerome and my work, so it's perfect. Now if only we can find a place.... (btw, we want to move within the next month b/c after this sea trial, Jerome will be in port for about month, so he and his buddies can move us!)

Pregnancy is going well. I went to see my new doctor and it was a good visit. We heard the heartbeat and everything seems to be going well. They took more blood (quad screening test) and I had to pee in a cup again--same 'ol, same 'ol. I have an 3D ultrasound on August 1, where we find out the sex of the baby. I'm getting so anxious to find out! Too bad we can figure out names...

Alright, off to bed I go. I really need to start adjusting my sleeping schedule, because this sleeping at midnight and waking up at 8 or 9am is not going to be good for me once school starts! I've been making my own lesson plan/grade book (because I'm too cheap to buy one...but don't ask me how long it took me to make this one!) and now I have to make other stuff for my classroom. *sigh* It's good to be busy, right?

Model (pregnant) Student

My pregnancy has been pretty textbook. Everything that's supposed to happen week to week (according to the books and the websites I subscribe to...which all say the same thing) basically happens to me. Maybe it's all psychological and I'm willing it all to happen?? Or maybe it's all been happening and I just notice it once I read that it's "supposed" to happen? Some examples:

- Nausea & fatigue is supposed to subside by your 11th week. This is because your body should be adjusted to the wacky hormones running through your body. My nausea (for the most part...like 90% of the time) went away at 10.5 weeks and fatigue, although I'm still tired at times, has gone away significantly. I'm feeling MUCH better than in weeks 5-10.5.

- Because of the uterus expanding so rapidly at the end of the first trimester & second trimester, you start to pee like no other, every half hour. This has been me for the past month...basically when I started my 2nd trimester, I've been needing to pee. This is quite possibly the most annoying part so far. (I'm sure mentioned this plenty of times! :0)

- At your fourteeth week, you may experience stuffy nose & headaches. Guess what I've been dealing with for the past 2 weeks?? You got it! Blowing my nose like no other, problems breathing through my nose at night, and waking up with wicked headaches. Headaches can get so bad that I have to resort to Tylenol (which is allowed, btw) otherwise I just get nauseaus and have to throw up. It's almost like a migraine. yuck.

- Also at fourteen weeks, your hair and skin should start to change. Some experience hair falling out, some experience thicker hair--I've notice that my hair is a lot less oily (not like the so-oily-have-to-wash-it-everyday-hair in my first trimester) and is thicker. Also, my skin is drier and if I don't apply my lotion every night and morning, I get all itchy. (btw, Crystal, I rub the Mama Bee on my tummy everynight!)

That's about it so far. The good news is that I'm in my 16th week and the uterus is *supposed* to be adjusting and so my frequent need to pee should get back to normal soon. *whew!* I have a Dr. appointment next Wednesday, my 17th week, with my new doctor. Jerome is trying really hard to be there, but we're not sure he'll be able to. :( We're still debating on getting the amnio--I don't want to because we already know that if we find that there is something wrong with the baby, (knock on wood) we'd still keep it, so what's the point? Jerome argues that if we do find something wrong with the baby, then we'd be more prepared for whatever is to come. That makes a lot of sense to me too. I'm leaning towards "no" because I don't want a big needle in my tummy. If Jerome isn't at the appointment, I'm DEFINITELY not doing it. I guess we will see. We also *should* be able to find out the sex of the baby--but since I'm going to a new doctor, I don't know what to expect.

I should start going to sleep now. I have to drive way the heck downtown for a training and I hate driving in that part of town. Just a few more weeks and I'm back to work...it went by so quickly!

Johnny Depp

For some reason, I've been watching movies starring Johnny Depp. They've been on TV, so it seems that it's Johnny Depp season or whatever. Just the other day, "Benny and Joon" was on TV and I had to watch that again. Then I watched, "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" on TV a few nights ago. Last night, "Sweeney Todd" came on Netflix and Jerome and I watched that movie together. Ok, I've decided that I really enjoy Johnny Depp as an actor. He's freakin' amazing! He plays such great roles and he's so convincing.

Anyway, I wanted to talk about Sweeney Todd. Now, that movie is STRANGE. I don't want to give much away if you haven't seen it, but let me preface it by saying it's a musical (so Johnny sings!) and it's really dark. Anyway, apart from the one scene where I almost threw up (seriously, I almost did!) the movie was quite entertaining and sealed my newfound admiration for Mr. Depp. He is, afterall, Capt. Jack Sparrow!

We finally got a Wii! After months and months of trying to find one on the island, (it's almost impossible) we stumbled upon a shipment at Walmart yesterday while trying to buy some cleaning products. It was meant to be! Now, if only the games we want weren't sold out as well.

No new pregnancy news here. Today marks my 15th week. wee!

Cravings

So I had my first real craving today. All I wanted--all I thought about--was a nice, ice cold slice of watermelon. I wanted it so badly that I risked my day by going to the commissary today to get one. (never go to the commissary on or around payday...) Anyway, it wasn't so bad at the store and it was SO worth it. I almost ate half of the watermelon in one sitting. :)

Up until now, I really haven't had any cravings where I NEED IT NOW. Sometimes I want something salty to eat, so I take out a bag of chips...but I only eat a few pieces and I'm good. I don't have food aversions either--unlike my friend, who is due 2 weeks after me, cannot eat poultry or chocolate. However, I've been known to start eating my meal, only to not want to finish it. I get sick of it right in the middle of eating it. Today, I cooked some pasta for dinner and when I finished making it, I just didn't want to eat it. I didn't even want to taste it for seasoning! Good thing Jerome wanted to go out for dinner--so hopefully I'll want to eat it for lunch tomorrow. :)

I changed my insurance plan to the civilians' version of a PPO. I had an HMO previously, (Tricare Prime) but my doctor keeps changing and I was getting worried that I'd never see the same doc twice. (They were getting transferred all the time!) Also, I've heard good and bad (mostly bad, unfortunately) about the military hospital I was supposed to deliver at, so we made the decision to go to a private practice. I just have to pay a copay for my visits and prescription now, whereas it was all free before. Oh, well. It's all a price to pay for piece of mind, you know?

I'm on a bloggy blog roll!!! (motivates me to know that other people, besides Crystal who I always talk to, are reading this!) :) Leave me a message, yo!

potty & eggs

seriously--i think the biggest pain in the butt for me about this pregnancy is the insane amount of times i have to pee throughout the day and during the night! i'm only in my 14th week...i can't imagine when the uterus is full with a baby, constantly pushing on my bladder. i can't handle it now!! i LOVE elastic waistband sweats.....allows me to get the job done quicker. it seems like i need to go everytime i get up from laying down or sitting...

i made a mental tally today and i peed 15 times. 15! it's quite annoying.

--oh, and to piggyback on my last post, i hate that i can't eat poached/sunny side up/fried eggs unless it's completely cooked. who eats their eggs completely well done?!?? blah. i miss my fried egg (over medium) & toast. and man! i miss eggs benedict.

"no can..."

So this pregnancy thing comes with a lot of "can'ts". I can't do so many things!! Especially when it comes to food--all I want is what I CAN'T eat. Seriously, even stuff that I usually don't want to eat, it's all I want when I see it on the menu. Case in point: Jerome and I were at Chili's and for the dear life of me, all I wanted is a Presidente Margarita. It looked so good!! Alas, I had to settle for a lemonade.

I want sushi like there's no other. I just want a whole platter of sashimi to myself. Oh, and when I order a salad for my dinner, the only one that I really want is the one with blue cheese or feta on it, but I can't eat soft cheeses. With a margarita. And don't get me started with the junk food--I've actually been really good and have limited myself. But that didn't stop me from eating the entire box of almond biscotti that I brought from home (Trader Joe's)...too bad that box was supposed to be a gift for my office staff. (btw, I didn't eat it all in one sitting...it took me a few days--and even after making Jerome hide them from me)

Don't get me wrong. I think I've been very good with my diet--eating small, healthy meals frequently. I drink plenty of water and take all my vitamins. But MAN, it's hard when all I want to eat is that club sandwich from Subway. (did you know you're not supposed to eat deli meats while pregnant??)

There's a saying here in Hawaii. It's "no can" and it basically means "you can't". I hate it when I want something and it's "no can." :(

Is it really almost July?

Isn't it amazing how quickly time goes by? I cannot believe it's almost July--half of 2008 is over, people! Where has the time gone??

I'm currently on my 6 week summer break and it hasn't come at a better time. If you don't already know, I'm 14 weeks pregnant and man, has it taken a toll on me! I'm not complaining, though. Honestly, I've had it pretty easy compared to other women. My first trimester consisted of nausea, but only when I was hungry (which was often), so I felt like I was constantly eating! I even had to keep saltines in my bedside table so that when I woke up, I could eat a few so keep from being nauseous while getting ready for work. My first trimester also consisted of EXTREME fatigue...I still don't know how I got through my day at work. All I wanted to do everyday was put my head down and nap. When I came home from work, I'd immediately change my clothes and take a nap with Bella on my couch...sometimes for 2 hours! I'd even go to bed as early as 8:30pm or 9pm...sleep for a full 9 hours, and still want to nap.

Now that I'm in my second trimester, the nausea is practically all gone and my energy is back. However, I swear I have to pee about 10+ times a day. I'm not really showing yet, and because the symptoms are gone, it doesn't really feel real. Makes me want to pee on the stick again just to make sure. But the pants are slowly getting tighter and the mood swings are in full force. (poor Jerome) So for now, I'm enjoying sleeping on my back and stomach, still fitting in (most) of my clothes, and eating most of everything...no aversions, yet!

Life is good for us. Jerome is working crazy hours (I swear he's at work more than he's at home!) but he's enjoying it. I am on summer beak, but go into my classroom for a few hours a few times a week to get ready for the new year. I will be teaching 6th grade next year, so I totally need to get ready!

Oh, yesterday, Jerome and I were at the Verizon store and we both got new phones. I *almost* got the Blackberry Curve, but ultimately decided that I'm really not that important enough to need a Blackberry. We had to add another line to our Family Plan so that we have a local number...my work was complaining to me that everytime they had to call me, it's long distance for them. So instead of getting a basic landline that costs $40/month, (I don't know why it's so much here) we added a new line to our account for $9.99/month. So Jerome got the Motorola Razr2 and I got the new LG Decoy. It's a slide phone, so we'll see how much I like it. It comes with an attached bluetooth!! Two for one, baby!

Alright, the baby is hungry, so I have to find something to eat. I'm craving salads, so I'm easy peasy. Until my nexy bloggy blog...