Happy third trimester to me!

One of our dogs (Louie) bit a kid last week (wasn't the first time he did something like this) and the parents called animal control. They have to hold him in quarantine for ten days to prove he doesn't have rabies... and then they are putting him to sleep. Poor dog, it's a shame he had to go this way. He's only about 2 years old.

And Taz has to get his tail amputated on Monday! He has a little tumor on his tail, and it's non cancerous but it's the kind that spreads pretty fast so they're going to take his tail off before it spreads to a major body part and become cancerous.

Today was a nice day... 90 degrees in the shade with low humidity feels like no big deal. I spent the whole day on the front lawn, reading. We moved the chickens from their indoor coop to their outdoor dog crate... they had so much fun! Bugs flew in and out and they even managed to catch a couple. We gave them an ear of corn to pick on.

I tried the "hand expression" method in the LLL book and a little drop of water came out my left nipple!! I was insanely excited. Probably too excited about a drop of liquid coming out of a nipple. But I think it's the coolest thing in the world that I make food :). Nothing from the right breast... it's funny, it feels like a totally different breast. It's a little smaller, less firm and the nipple is a tiny bit wider/softer. I think I might get less milk out of that one than the left one... but who knows! I don't want to make a self-fulfilling prophecy by dwelling on it too much. I'm reading the LLL book cover to cover and then re-reading the newborn parts before Lucca gets here. What an awesome book.

I bought a whey protein supplement at Whole Foods. Each scoop has 16 grams of protein and some chocolate, so it makes me feel pretty great. I make it with milk so I get about 24 grams of protein with every glass. I don't like the idea of getting my protein in this form (even though there's only 6 grams of sugar, it's technically a processed food), but I really CANNOT eat enough food to get enough protein. SO MUCH FOOD makes up 80-100 grams of protein.

Exercise (gentle walking is all I ever do) pretty much stinks right now. In the mornings it makes me SCARY DIZZY. In the evenings my back hurts too much to do anything but lay down. In the middle of the day it's WAY too hot. Sometimes I can lay down in the evenings for an hour or two and THEN go for a walk. If I don't fall asleep!

Sleeping is also getting harder. My chiropractor said not to worry too much about sleeping on my back, since it's really the only way that feels comfortable. My body seems to MUCH prefer sleeping 6 hours at night and then another 2 during the day. I know it's not technically "natural" for adults to sleep as long as we do at one time, so this change makes me happy... I plan on conforming to my baby's natural biological rhythm which will be sleep/wake/sleep/wake, and this is a good start for that transition. Ash and I already wake up most nights between 2am-4am to talk and get a snack.

We made fried fish with turnips, kale, and green beans for dinner. So much green stuff! And the kale/turnips came from our garden. Ash and I are having fun being in charge of grocery shopping and meal planning.

I'm considering my options for my "career". I think my dream job would be a teaching position with the Eno River Association, or a similar non-profit... maybe even director of education, eventually. But I would also enjoy being a Montessori teacher (possibly not mutually exclusive goals). Either way, I'm going to need some teacher training or some additional schooling. Montessori certification takes about a year and costs between $6,000-$10,000, depending on which programs you enroll in. Certainly cheaper than grad school. Ash and I have pretty much decided that while my parent's property and full time farming is where we want to end up one day... we're not quite ready to settle down just yet, permanently. Ash has this fantasy of raising our kid for a while in Charleston...and of course his music career makes a lot more sense there. I'd really love to live somewhere where I didn't have to own a car, and that's one place to do that. Living here rent free will be perfect for the first few years of raising Lucca, since we can save money and pay for my additional schooling much easier this way. And the great thing about permaculture is that it takes YEARS for fruit and nut trees to grow up and for soil to build... so it can just keep going without us for a year or two if we decide to leave and come back.

The Durham Youth Orchestra had it's last concert ever this week, since Mr. P, the director, is retiring. I took pictures and video, but that will have to wait because I can't find the cable for my camera!

Quinten made an amazing wooden toy box in woodworking class for Lucca. It's gorgeous but once again... no pictures until I find that cable.

27 weeks

I will be 27 weeks tomorrow! Only one week left of my second trimester. So far it's been a good thing that this era is coming to an end... because THE STABBING PAIN IS DECREASING!! Oh yes, that lovely stabbing pain I've had my whole trimester, brought on by mere sips of water in my super-compressed stomach.... I think it's because my belly is coming out more so he is hanging out more, and giving all my organs more room. I'm also discovering that at least one nap a day greatly increases my energy during waking hours... I think because my sleep at night is not so great. Nothing horrible, just not so great. I have a new need every ten minutes... something to eat? a whole bunch of water? stand up? walk around? lay on left side? do some yoga? I have been eating cream of wheat a lot lately... that and fruit is all I really want to eat. And whatever I can put butter on. If I don't drink water CONSTANTLY, I have really strong Braxton Hicks contractions.





It was nice for us to visit Charleston this past weekend... we walked around a lot fantasizing about how fun it would be to raise a kid in the Holy City. You know, if we were millionaires. I think if we ever won the lottery the first thing we would do is buy 27 Coming St. Ash spent the weekend working on the new Run Dan Run album, and I spent it doing whatever I wanted! Which meant mostly eating at my favorite restaurant in the world, taking some really pretty walks, taking some really long naps, reading some interesting books... I bought a really cool 1873 map of Charleston. Every single house and building is drawn on there... and besides the train stations, I'd say 90% of it is still there today.



I also bought a book I have seen recommended by Montessori, "Architecture Colors". It's pictured here with the other books I bought this week... it's hard to find books about native americans that aren't either horribly watered down or racist, so I snagged this one. The book "Ferdinand" is actually propaganda for hippies (it's about a bull who refuses to be a fighter and spends his time smelling flowers instead), and is full of gorgeous hand-drawn illustrations. Then there's a children's book about Duke Ellington (we listen to a lot of Duke!) and in every illustration you can see the music flowing through the air...






My in-laws got me this SWANKY new car seat!! It's a Britax Boulevard 70, and it's the kind that fits your kid from 5 pounds up to... whenever they graduate from car seats. You can also keep them in the rear-facing position for a REALLY long time in this seat, which is another reason I wanted it. You should watch crash tests of front vs. rear facing car seats... there is no contest.



And saving the best for last... LOOK AT THIS ADORABLE POTTY!! I got it at The Red Hen for $24. SCORE!!