Fun with Pillows

Melissa keeps bugging me for some goofy photos of a smiley face drawn on my belly so i'll have to get Paul to draw some up with the washable markers I just bought. But for now here are some weekly updates. As of last week I have gained 20lbs.

I think at this point there are seven pillows that I have been interchanging throughout the night to find comfort. I am not going to purchase any more, though I have to say this Snoogle pillow sure looks comfy. The only reason I haven't bought it yet is because I have no interest in wrassling with an alligator at night when I want to switch sides and have to lug that thing around under the covers. Dealing with the heavy Tempur-Pedic body pillow is already a pain in the ass as it is.

But I have to say so far that is really my only complaint at this point--dealing with the pillow swapping routine during the night so I don't wake up with the middle of my back feeling tight and uncomfortable all day.

Paul and I finally went on a tour of the labor and delivery ward at OHSU this evening and got a chance to see the waterbirth tub we will be using! It is larger than I thought and quite deep. It was a bit strange to see it and be standing in the room where it will all be taking place in a few months. Hopefully no one else will be signed up for a waterbirth the same time we are there or else I'll have to arm wrestle the other woman for it.

22 Weeks

I gave my notice in at work and my last day will be May 4th. Now I just have to break the news to my clients, which for me is always the worst part about leaving a position. It will be that usual guilty feeling that I am once again abandoning others in pursuit of my own needs, despite the great excuse I have this time!

Paul and I started taking Bradley Method birthing classes which we can already tell are going to save our butts on the grand finale that we are gearing up for. We are also scheduled for infant CPR and first aid, newborn care, and waterbirth classes up at OHSU (Oregon Health and Science University). We are still considering hiring a doula for pre-and post-partum care. There is a doula at our Bradley Method class who primarily works with multiples, so she's gotta be pretty competent!

More surprises from 2006

For those of you who don't already know, I am 20 weeks pregnant this week!
I became pregnant roughly 3 weeks after our wedding last October. As my father said, "Well, you sure didn't waste any time!" (Like his daughter, he is not one to mince his words). Who knew it would be so easy? I know several other women who took months, sometimes years to conceive, and I pretty much thought since I am going on 37 this year it might take me a little while as well. We are both really excited and terrified at the same time, and it is becoming more and more real every week. At first it took a while to sink in and I was trying to be as casual as possible about it for the first 3 months in case of a miscarriage. We had an amnio a few weeks ago and luckily everything is normal, and chose to not find out the gender.

It is still up in the air right now as to when I will resign from my job. Fortunately I have had an incredibly easy pregnancy so far, but I'm kind of "done" with my current social work position, to be quite honest. It is not really the job I want to be doing and I really need the time to study for my social work licensing exam this spring.

More pictures to come as things progress!

Michele and Paul Get Hitched!

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. The weather was great, the food was amazing, everyone seemed to have a lot of fun, and no one was carried out on a stretcher or in handcuffs. What more could you ask for?

It feels strange that it is all over with--but in a good way. No more stress related to wedding planning and details!! I've always heard that "your wedding day flies by", which it did, but I made sure to take several moments to look around and take a few mental snapshots of everything.

Links to all of the photos will be posted in the next week or so, but for now here is one of Paul and I signing our marriage certificate.

My how time flies

Jeez, I haven't posted an update since we moved to Portland!

It has been one busy summer. Most of my time has been consumed with wedding planning, and I have to say, if I had been hired at a job, part- or full-time, I would have never gotten so much accomplished. Paul and I managed to plan a wedding in just 4 months--not bad! It has been a lot of fun, to be quite honest. Everything is pretty much squared away and hopefully I will no longer lie awake in bed worrying about details that no one else will notice. NINE MORE DAYS, HOLY CRAP!! I am really excited and of course a bit nervous as well. The only things left to do are take care of the table centerpieces (which we are doing ourselves, with the help of our friend Melissa), take a few more dance lessons (who wants to look like a dork at the high school prom, rocking back and forth like Frankenstein's monster?), and find a tie for Paul.

We are skipping loads of other details which I think is making our lives so much easier: there is no wedding party (no I don't need a ring bearer or bridesmaids); the ceremony and reception is being held in one place; I am not carrying a bouquet or doing other traditional wedding stuff that makes my stomach turn (i.e. bouquet and garter toss, cake cutting ceremony, etc.)--It is a non-traditional wedding in many ways and it is going to be one hell of a good party.

In other news, we went to Burning Man again this year; my 5th time and Paul's 7th. It was an amazing year as always, and we reenacted the first time we met out on the playa and had a Burning Man wedding with several friends in attendence. Phil, our wedding officiant, was able to practice what he is (and isn't) going to say for the ceremony, and I think we all felt good about having a trial run before the big day. Our friend Shawn took some incredible photos of our Burning Man wedding (read: not legal--yes we are still single!) and i'll have to bug her to email them to me so I can post them on this site.

Other than the wedding planning and Burning Man, we have had a really fun summer cycling around Portland and getting to know our way around town. It really is a cool place and I miss certain aspects of NY sometimes, but mainly I miss my friends. I have been into this jewelry store a bunch lately and got to talking with one of the women who work there and she asked me the other day if I "feel like a Portlander yet?"---and the answer was "not really", which is true. I am comfortable here and like it a lot, but I think I am still holding a torch for good 'ol Brooklyn, which I think I might always miss in some way or another.