Have Some Pregnancy Update Stuff

Here, have some pregnancy update stuff. I'll put the pictures first, since that's what people want apparently. This is me at 34 weeks.

This shot does a good job of showing how low he is, but makes me look gigantic overall since it was take from an upward angle. Here's a straight on shot:

Now, some of you may feel that my shirt is too loose to adequately display my state of pregnancy. Such people will be taken into the woods and shot. Are you 34 weeks pregnant? No? Then you get no say and comfort wins.

Speaking of, being pregnant has gotten a lot more uncomfortable, just in the last few days. It sometimes seems impossible to cool off. Church is almost always so over air-conditioned as to be freezing, but today even that wasn't enough for me. I feel the unpleasantness of the first trimester (nausea, fatigue) has combined with the discomfort of the third trimester (big, awkward, constantly being pummeled from within, frequent trips to the bathroom). Sleeping can be rough--eight hours of sleep broken up into two-hr increments=zombie, but falling asleep can just as hard. (There is nothing good to do at 2:30 am.)

I suppose the upside is that the more uncomfortable I am, the more appealing giving birth is. Also, we've started birthing classes and an epidural looks more appealing every time. (Did you know they won't even give you one until you're 5 cm dilated? That's halfway!) Anyway, hopefully I'll be more chipper tomorrow. The juxtaposition of this post and the previous post is almost too much.

Is This What Being an Optimist Feels Like?

So it's been a rough, long month, yet I don't feel bummed. Have I suddenly morphed into an optimist? It's all so very strange. Let's review:

Unexpected car repairs and maintenance: $1000.

Time spent at AAA: 9.5 hrs.

Number of Xboxes broken: 2.

Temperature: 112 degrees and climbing.

Status of pool: dirty.

Status of apartment: unresolved.

Status of baby: Able to kick ribs with ease.

Size of self: whale.

That's a pretty depressing list, right? But this is how I feel:

Unexpected car repairs and maintenance: All new tires, brake pads and rotors, suspension work and alignment, plus a bunch of regular maintenance. The Milky White Stallion is once again in tip-top shape and should be for a while to come. $1000 seems like an okay price for all that.

Time spent at AAA: Spent it reading for comp exams. Forced me through some really boring sections of important books.

Number of Xboxes broken: Was able to snag a (more) reliable 2nd gen console for a discounted price. It lasted less than five days, but was able to exchange it without hassle. Netflix streaming flows again!

Temperature: Okay, it's ridiculously hot. But we have AC and ceiling fans. And our power didn't go out, like much of Mesa this afternoon.

Pool: No longer green and swimmable again. Plus, with the heat, it's comfortable to swim at 7:00 pm.

Status of apartment: Back at the beginning of May, we received a notice that our apartment complex had been foreclosed on and was being auctioned off. After six weeks in limbo, we learned Monday that it didn't sell and the bank signed an agreement to continue management. So everything stays the same until our lease runs out in September.

Status of baby: Holy crap, I have never been so pummeled. They say he'll calm down when he's out of room, but he's running out of time. He's favoring the rib shots these days and sometimes, it's like his foot gets caught on them and that really hurts. The upside is I literally never have to worry or count movements because he is always moving.

Size of self: Yes, I feel like big and heavy and like a whale. But according to the doctor's, I am actually quite small and lightweight for a 32+ week pregnant woman. Paul is convinced that all gain is baby-related, which is a very charitable position to have. At any rate, when you feel gigantic, it's good to know that it is merely how you feel and not how you actually are.

Miscellaneous Update

Here is the picture of Paul and me from my graduation that I promised.

I'll be trying to fill in some stuff that happened in the past few months, but I make no promises. I am forgetful and life can be pretty mundane.

Graduation Day!

So, it's been a while. Sorry about that. Defending and revising my thesis, finishing my last course, and filling out a million pieces of paper in order to graduate kept me pretty busy. Anyway, on May 13, I officially received my master's degree in Asian Languages and Civilizations (Chinese). The ceremony was at 8 am and boring as usual. It did end on time and the talks were mercifully short, which was good because there was another ceremony at noon and there were so many graduates just reading the names took an hour-and-a-half. Sadly, they did not go in alphabetical order and I wound up being at the very, very end. Here are some pictures from my graduation. It was really warm and the gown is a terribly unbreathable, heavy polyester. I thought I was going to die.

Here's a nice picture of my grandparents, my mom, and I. I was really excited they could come down for the event, even if it was only for a few days. It's a really long drive from Kalispell to Tempe!

My mom also took some pictures, including a few nice ones of Paul and I, so hopefully there will be a nice, updated picture of the two of us that I can post soon.

Baby Boy Buss-Muhle

Yeah, that's how it would show up on school rolls. Think of how it will be pronounced. "Bus mule." No potential for mocking there.

We went in for the anatomy scan yesterday. It took FOREVER (~1 hr, or twice as long as scheduled) because someone refused to stop moving. There was waving and kickboxing of my innards and tap dancing on my bladder, even a couple of flips. I wonder if this level of athleticism will continue outside and if so, where it came from. It went so long the doctor later told me she and the nurses were prepared to deal with bad news. Just to be clear: there was none. Everything is A-OK. I still haven't gained any weight, but I've stopped losing and it still early to worry about that, especially since the scan showed the baby was right on target size-wise. It was literally average in every way.

Here are the best pictures:

This was the tech's favorite. "Look at those lips!" she kept saying.

Here's the money shot. No mistake there, that's definitely a boy.

Two more face pictures.

I also received my funding offer, which is good and generous and will allow us to have two incomes after the baby comes. I haven't figured out how my courses are going to shake out, but I hopefully I can only take one class twice a week.

My thesis is finished, revised, expanded, formatted, and approved for defense. Now if I can just pass my thesis defense on the 11th, all will be well.

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

So despite what my acceptance letters said back in JANUARY, it's mid-March and I still haven't heard anything about funding. To be fair, from what I understand, there's no announcement of funding because no one's received a budget yet. And the just-passed Senate budget bill cut ~$500 million from the whole public education system. While I would take student loans if that's what it took, I would like to know if I need to. It would nice if I still had a job, though. :(

I finished my thesis and now I'm waiting for my advisor to return it to me. At first I was really relieved to be done with it--even just temporarily--but now I'm starting to get nervous. What if it needs massive revisions? The final, final, final draft has to be submitted by the 28th. That's getting really close.

Ugh, the waiting really is the hardest part.

Quick Update

I have to make this brief because I'm in the middle of a thesis writing-a-thon (due by the 10th!). Thanks for all of the congratulations, you all make me feel better. I'm due in August, presumably with a human. (Haven't done the 18 wk sonogram yet, so ask in a month.) Paul leans girl, I lean boy, so I figure one of us will get what they want either way. I have no idea how I'm going to get through everything, so I mainly focus on the immediate future. This week, thesis; next week, catch up on classwork and get blood drawn. People assure me this is a good strategy. I'm mostly feeling better except for the random vomiting and terrible thirst. Still, I imagine I've gotten off pretty easy so far. Fingers crossed that it continues!