Anyway, I returned last week from a month-long visit to Southern California for work. This was the longest trip I've had to do since I started telecommuting but it went well. Not so much fun being away from my husband (and Jack, for part of the time) and I got a taste of what shared custody must feel like for divorced parents. For the first two weeks of the month, Jack stayed home with Jared (thought I did make a weekend appearance between the weeks) and then Jared flew him down and he stayed the last two weeks with me in San Diego. We are blessed with a remarkably adaptable little boy who pretty seamlessly integrated between the two places--no major adjustments to two different childcare situations, houses, etc.
Well, I for one am thrilled that Fall is on its way in. Autumn is my absolute favorite time of year. I love the changing leaves, the cool air, pumpkin patches, Thanksgiving... I bought a fall wreath for my door and have been eagerly waiting for Labor Day to pass so I could start putting out my fall decorations.
However, with Fall approaching, so are a lot of changes for us. Pregnancy-wise, things are plugging along. I can't believe we are only 4 weeks away from the time that Jack was born--and only 3 weeks away from the time my water broke. I feel like we've done pretty much no preparations for this baby--a very different feeling from when Jack was born. Jared and I are taking a little trip this weekend to do some baby shopping. I'm trying not to focus too much on whether this baby will come early or not; I'm prepared for it to happen but I'm also concerned that if he doesn't come early, the last 6 weeks will be torture if I'm expecting it too much. I'm learning that pregnancy is not so easy on my joints. With Jack, I had just horrible back/hip/joint pain. This time, I've been plagued for the past 4 weeks by a bulging disc in my neck, which is causing severe pain in my left shoulder and into my arm. My father assures me that this will go away when the baby is born...that is making the next 10 weeks seem VERY, VERY long and daunting.
I am taking my last trip to Southern California before the baby is born for a few days next week. Then, my mother and I are driving to Washington to see my grandmother who, sadly, suffered a stroke a few months ago. I am eager to see her and I am sad that this may be one of the last times. After that--it's just a waiting game for the baby to be born!
Okay, onto the fun stuff...
Flip! For my birthday, I received a Flip HD video camera. I, despite being married to a man who makes his career in technology, would not call myself particularly technologically advanced. I claim ignorance in how to use our "real" video camera--plus it never seems to be charged and I have no idea how to upload or edit the raw footage. The Flip is cell-phone sized, has great video quality, is easy to use and automatically uploads your content when plugged into a USB port in the computer. Last weekend, I played around with the camera and software and created this little movie. (Please forgive the cutting off of heads, I'm still getting used to where the aim the camera.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brAM-V2qzk4
Baby Charlie! For those who don't know, we have decided on a name for this little one. His full name (and we're sticking to the two middle name concept) will be Charles Matthew Robert. We will call him Charlie. Although we are lucky to get lots and lots of ultrasounds, including lots of 3D ultrasounds (well, depending on how you look at it--we have to have a lot of problems to get all these scans!), I took my nieces and nephews to a 3D ultrasound place to show them the baby. Here are a few pictures of our little guy.
