A New Decade

I turned thirty today. THIRTY! That is still crazy to me but, at the same time, I'm very excited to be entering what seems like a new stage of life. My husband took the day off from work today so, we were able to spend a leisurely day together that included the gym, IHOP, and a movie before we had to pick Jayla up from school.

I just returned from my conference in DC yesterday afternoon and apparently, while I was gone, there was some shopping at the party store. It turns out that Jayla wanted to get me a tiara to wear for my birthday but, Daddy wouldn't let her. When I asked him for his side of the story, he told me "That's the oldest trick in the book. She only wanted to get that for you because she wanted to wear it." So, if that little disagreement wasn't enough, there was also some conflict over which banner to get for me. So, I had two banners. One that my husband picked out:


And one that Jayla picked out:


After school, we took Jayla to dance class and then we went out to eat. My sister and aunt joined us at dinner, which was a treat. I just got Jayla into bed about 10 minutes ago. Just after putting on her pajamas, I realized that I had forgotten to take a picture of the two of us together. I have done that for the past 3 birthdays so, I didn't want to break the tradition. So, I had my husband snap a quick picture before putting her into bed.

Can I just say that I love how she completely hides the hugeness that is my 31-week belly?

No place like home...

I'm leaving tomorrow...going to DC for a conference for five days. I don't want to go. I mean, I want to do what I'm going to do there. But, I don't want to leave my family for that long. They will be fine without me. But, I know they will miss me and I will miss them.

Jayla cannot remember a time when I've gone anywhere without her. She's been asking me all weekend if she can come with me. She says she doesn't want to stay with Daddy because "Daddy is not nice" - translation: "he is not a pushover like you, mama!" And while those sorts of comments saddle me with guilt about leaving, I can't help thinking that this will still be a good time for me to get away from the daily grind of all that I am responsible for when I'm at home.

And yet, I know that I will be so, so glad when it's time to come home on Sunday and wipe the crusted snot off Jayla face while trying to cook dinner, fold laundry, read an article for school, and listen to whatever my husband decides that he absolutely has to talk to me about at that exact moment.

Changes and new beginnings

I can certainly never be accused of having much interest in political affairs but, this time is just a little different. Possibly because during the current economic recession, I happen to technically be an adult and for the first time ever, my husband and I are in a situation where his job actually does matter in our ability to pay our mortgage and feed our child(ren!). At all other points in our marriage, I was also contributing enough to the household income that I could've kept us afloat (and obviously, vice versa) if the need arose. But, our current situation is different so, I have to at least halfway care about the economic decisions that will be made under this new administration...so, I watch and wait with anticipation of the change that I've heard so much about.

Speaking of change, today is also technically my first day of classes. Except, I don't have classes on Tuesday this semester so, I spent today much like I've spent the last 6 weeks - sitting on the couch, trying to decide when I should take my nap. But, oh buddy, tomorrow begins the commuting back and forth again. It will be a really, really long day...especially considering the whole third trimester thing. I'll leave the house at 7:00am-ish and return at 10:00pm-ish, having driven about 205 miles and sat in two 3-hour long classes. I will not see Jayla on Wednesdays at all this semester. But, I keep thinking that this is going to be better than driving multiple days a week for classes. I have been wrong before.

Finally, after sleeping on the whole 4-day student of the week issue, I realized that it is only appropriate for Jayla to begin her reign as Student of the Week on the same day that our first Black President begins his first term.

Don't you just get the feeling that she will one day make history with some ground-breaking accomplishment(s)?

Student of the week

I spent an embarassing amount of time on constructing Jayla's poster for Student of the Week. But, I will spare you the details.

Instead, I will focus my energy on not being bitter about the fact that my child's spotlight is occurring during the rare 4-day school week rather than the typical 5 days that each student usually serves as the coveted "student of the week". I am trying to operate under the assumption that I should not take this personally...

I am such a good role model (with a big belly)

We were out to dinner tonight when our (highly incompetent) waiter came over to the table to take our drink orders for the third time (I am so not even kidding!). Out of the blue, Jayla blurted out, "Ummmm...I think your head is too big for your body!" I laughed heartily before explaining to her that it wasn't a nice thing to say. Luckily, I don't think he really understood what she said to him. If he did, that was the ONLY thing that he understood all night. But, it was really the first time that an embarassing truth has escaped her lips in the presence of a perfect stranger. I'm sure there are many more of those times to come. And hopefully, I'll get better at correcting her rather than encouraging the behavior.

Also, the other night when I posted my 25-week update, I was having technical issues with getting my camera to talk to my laptop to upload the necessary pictures. But, alas, I do actually have a 25-week belly shot of me and the no-name kid:


And for the first time on this blog, here's a little comparison. My belly at 25 weeks (+ 5 days) with Jayla:


Tonight is my first time looking back at these old pictures of my first pregnancy. My belly is decidedly more pointy this time. I have no idea what that means.