Saturday This and That

I have had a number of mini-posts floating around in my head lately and just haven't gotten up the energy to sit down and type so I thought I might do a Saturday ramble. My brain is all over the place these days to it seems appropriate.

The Pregnancy

I am almost 20 weeks now and I have to say that I am generally feeling pretty good. Braxton-Hicks have started (it's funny, I now know what they are but during my last pregnancy, I didn't know what was going on). Thank goodness for mothering.com's forums. I have been pretty active in the June 2010 due date club and it is so reassuring to know that other women at the same stage of pregnancy are having some of the same issues. It seems to hit each evening about 5 p.m. It doesn't hurt but it can get pretty uncomfortable. Nothing like having my entire abdomen as hard as a rock. I feel huge and I am definitely bigger than I was at this stage with Pk. I haven't heard from my doctor about the last ultrasound (which was almost two weeks ago so I am assuming nothing is wrong - she assured me that she would phone and leave a very specific message if there was anything I needed to know). I am curious about the baby's size, since Pk was so big.

Knowing that I am almost at the half-way mark has made it all of a sudden feel more real than it did a few days ago. I think part of it is that until I made it far enough along, I just didn't want to get too excited. Now, I am getting into the work mode - it's time to think of what stuff we need, to start making decisions and to start to get the bedrooms in order.

Names are really stumping us right now. We have always liked the name James and had always assumed that is what a boy would be. For many reasons, it has a lot of significance to us and it's a Biblical name, something that is really important to us. On the other hand, there are just so many James around these days - our son would be at daycare with at least one, if not two. That just seems unfair. Another name we have been toying with a bit is Gideon. We really feel like we have seen God at work in our lives in the last few months and the story of Gideon (see Judges 7) really speaks to us right now. It would be wonderful to name this boy something that really means something. On the other hand, I worry that to those who don't know about Gideon, the name will scream of Bibles in cheap hotel rooms. What do you think of Gideon?

Home School

One thing that has been on my mind for a while is what to do about Pk's education. She goes to a fantastic home daycare. We specifically looked for a home daycare because we wanted that nurturing environment with a special relationship with an adult who becomes like family. While there is nothing wrong with institutional daycare and there are some out there that are wonderful, I would not say that is the norm and as a teacher, I can almost always tell who is a "daycare" kid but the kids from the home daycares tend to be much less identifiable. Of course, every choice has its challenges and the one limit of the home daycare is that there isn't the same programming. Yes, J does a lot with them, particularly around crafts, outdoor play and socialization but I realise that in an environment with that diversity in ages, there aren't the same learning opportunities. I have decided that what I feel most comfortable with is keeping Pk in the wonderful place that she is and that I will take on the educational end of things. I am not especially worried in terms of the fact that we are both elementary teachers with a specialization in early childhood and she also participates in library programmes and two different music classes but I wouldn't want her to start school behind. She is a September baby and will be JUST four when she starts school so it will be challenging enough for her. I want to do what I can.

I saw this wonderful book on someone's blog and decided to buy a copy. We are having a blast! Pk has loved the ideas so far (although she really has a thing against playdough!) and I feel like we are really getting some good connecting time. It's also helping me to get a clearer picture of her weaknesses and strengths (this is a kid with one heck of a sense of humour, terrific fine motor skills and a total unwillingness to persevere with things that aren't immediately interesting to her). It's a relief to feel like we are making progress.

Matters of Faith

I love Monica's blog, the homespun heart. Judging by her blog, she has really found a way to simplify life down to its most essential parts - it's obvious that faith and family are central to how she lives and she manages to find beauty in everything. I really admire her approach. She has started a series with a focus on making home a haven - something really close to my heart. Life seems so frenzied and busy and I would like to make home a refuge for all of us and a welcome place for friends and family alike. This week, the discussion was about starting by making time for God.

Scheduling has been something that I have really struggled with since I returned to work. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I am really trying to focus on keeping Sunday as a day of rest. That has been really refreshing and it has already become a day that I look forward to instead of being a day of driving work to get everything done for the week. As an extension, I have been looking at how I manage my time on other days. I had gotten into the routine of getting up before everyone else in the house and doing Bible study and playing around on the computer for a while before starting my day. I felt like I had no time with Pk - home from work, run the dogs, work out, make dinner, do bath and bedtime routine and then, most times, bedtime for me. I have moved the workout to the morning and Bible study to just before bed and the routine seems to be working much better. I won't lie - getting up at 5 to work out is not something that comes easily but it is so nice to come home from work knowing that I have at least a free hour to play with Pk and just "be" at home. It has made so much difference to me. I miss the morning Bible reading (I have started a One Year Bible that I got much of the way through several years ago) but it's also a nice way to end the day. I have to be very disciplined but it pays off.

Burns' Supper

I find January to be such a bleak month (although I am already starting to notice longer daylight!) and so we are always looking for something to brighten things up. Growing up in Presbyterian churches, there was always a Burns' supper around Jan. 25th. In the past, we have hosted gatherings of friends and family. This year, we didn't feel up to that but we decided to get some haggis for ourselves in honour of the day. We went to a wonderful little hole-in-the-wall British shop today to find something for Mon. Even the smallest haggis looked a bit big for the three of us but they have haggis meat pies that looked like just the thing - they look like a Scotch meat pie but they are filled with haggis and the topping is mashed potato with a delicate blob of turnip on top. The shop sells EVERYTHING so dh and I were bad - dh is English and so most of what they sell has childhood memories for him. Pk loves going there because the elderly woman who runs the shop always gives her a treat - this week, a tube of Smarties.

I have totally rambled and I can't believe that anyone will read to the end but that's fine. It's just nice to feel like I have been living life and have something to say, rather than weeks where I feel like I have survived and that's it. Hope all is well for you and Happy Burns' Day!