Il Pleut à Paris...

It's raining in Paris.  You might think that this would have little to no impact on my day, but it's totally interrupting coverage of the French Open.  Please feel free to click on the below link to set the tone for this blog entry... a little Aux Champs-Elysee for your listening pleasure (it's best to right click and open in a new window).  This song brings a smile to my face every time!  It's so silly, so French, and it so reminds me of my short little Mr. Magoo look-alike French professor from Ole Miss who used this song as a "warm up" for French class.  We had to stand and sing this song while he danced around the room with his eyes closed.  I wish I had a picture of this.

This time of the year I always think about my favorite summer memories, but I am also doing a lot of thinking about the future right now.  Accordingly, today I want to write about remembering and predicting.  

Remembering past summers... I have been so blessed to take some incredible trips and have wonderful experiences growing up.  My favorites include spending a month in Nice, France studying French, and being on Campus Crusade Summer Project in Fort Lauderdale.  I would give anything to go back to either of those places and relive just a few days!  Obviously I love France.  I love the culture, the language, the busyness of the cities, the long meals, drinking Illy in cafes, the art, walking everywhere, and monuments such as the Arc de Triomph and the Tour d' Eiffel.  The French eat fresh food and walk almost everywhere.  They don't sit in front of the TV at night, but instead they spend their evenings on culinary masterpieces and interesting conversation.  Now I know you can argue that yes, they go on strike a lot, or maybe they're a bit smelly (I don't agree) but I think they have found the key to enjoying life that a lot of Americans can't seem to find.  I have never felt healthier or more alive than when I was in France.  I woke up early in the mornings, ate an amazing breakfast, walked to class, had a jambon-beurre  (ham & butter) sandwich for lunch, then usually spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach, shopping, or in a museum followed by an award winning dinner & glass of wine until 9 or 10 pm.  What a life!  I'm in such a daze from thinking about France that I will have to talk about Fort Lauderdale in a different post...

Jambon et beurre sandwich on a baguette - there's nothing better

Now onto predicting... I have lots of reasons to think we are going to have a really strong little girl.  From the very beginning when I first found out I was expecting, I had this feeling that she was tough.  I never worried about waiting until the 1st trimester was over to tell people because I knew she was fine.  Then the morning sickness hit like a ton of bricks, to which everyone tells you that just means you have a healthy baby!  Now in month six, I am feeling the little bundle moving constantly and I anticipate she will have a strong disposition and character!  My other predictions are that she is going to be tall, love the beach, and play sports.  Call it a mother's intuition ;) 

Our beautiful little girl with her feet up by her head!

Inn case you're wondering what that happy French man is singing about, the chorus translation goes something like this:

                    On the Champs-Elysee, On the Champs-Elysee
                    In the sun or in the rain,
                    At noon or at midnight,
                    It's all that you would want
                    On the Champs-Elysee       

Now sing along!  Aux Champs-Elysee....     
                   
Well, the rain delay is over so I'm going back to watching tennis and daydreaming about Paris... au revoir for now! 

One Week Down

I have made it one week!  That doesn't seem like very much, but I'm closer to seeing this little girl and she's getting bigger all the time, which is my #1 purpose right now. 

So I must say... I have been VERY popular these last few days and I've been much busier than I thought I would be!  I've had some wonderful visitors that have brought yummy food.  I just hope I don't grow more than the baby!  On Sunday Deanna came by followed by Lauren & Tyler.  I totally forgot to take pictures - I'm trying to document all of my visitors so they can get blog credit.  My dear Anna came over Sunday night and what a special visit it was!  Anna, Stephen & Lila (the hippo, I believe?) put on a skit for me.  I'm not too sure what was going on at this point, but here is a picture.

It was hilarious!  Here are some other pictures from the last few days.  As you can see, Lila and Riley are keeping an eye on things. 

They are soooooo lazy. 

My mom brought my grandparents over to visit yesterday.  They brought some amazing food, and my mom showed my grandmother the nursery and my flowers.  Grandaddy and I watched the French Open :)

Speaking of my flowers, it makes me really sad not to get to work in the yard this summer.  At least I'm kind of reaping the benefits of my work last summer, because we have lots of blooming going on right now!  It really makes me so happy, so I go visit my flowers at least once a day (on the way to and from the bathroom, of course).  Yesterday morning I had my coffee on the front porch and it was HOT.  Gosh I love summer.  Bring it, heat.  I can say that because I sit inside all day. 

My coffee perch.

Some of my little pretties.

Well I don't want to give it all away today.... so until next time!  I'll be right here.

Bedrest Day 4 and Baby Shower

Today has been pretty uneventful, but at least Stephen has been home with me.  He said the funniest thing to me the other day (day 1, I believe...).  When I was little and got sick, anyone family member that stayed home to take care of me was nicknamed "nurse" for the day.  So anyway, I was in the bed, and Lila & Riley were of course right there with me.  Stephen was evaluating the conditions, and he said "well, you've got two nurses to take care of you."  I told him, "No I have three."  He said, "No, two.  One, two," pointing at the animals.  I said "three" and pointed at him.  He said, "Um, no. I am the doctor."  It was so matter of fact and I have been laughing to myself about it ever since!  Here is a pic of my doctor and one of the nurses busy at work today...

Luckily I was able to attend my baby shower last Sunday before the unexpected chain of events!  It was so much fun and a little bit surreal!  We got some beautiful dresses, precious outfits, a pink polka dotted tutu, some bath time goodies, a Moses basket and a pack and play!  How exciting!  Not to mention, the hostesses gave us a Flip Video!  Another funny Stephen story... he snuck off and registered for the Flip Video when we were in Target, and I had no idea that it was even on our registry!  I told him not to put it on there, so I looked a little silly when I opened it at my shower and exclaimed, "How did y'all know?!  Stephen has been wanting one of these so much!"  I should have kept a closer eye on that boy...  Here are some pictures from the shower and afterwards when we worked on her nursery!

And so it begins!

So, what had happened was.... ok since I've already typed it out once, I am just going to paste the e-mail I sent to friends in this blog (I have been blog-cheating a lot lately, sorry). Here goes...

"I just wanted to send an update on what has been going on with us and our growing family over the last few days...! It has been a little crazy, but I'll start by saying the baby and I are doing fine! She is healthy, weighing in at 2 pounds today :) I'm right at 27 weeks, so starting the 3rd trimester soon. Yay! Now for the details...

Tuesday was a busy but normal day, and I had a JA meeting after work so I got home around 9. Around 9:30 I was changing to get ready for bed and realized that I was bleeding... luckily Stephen was home, we called the doctor and she called us back within a few minutes and said to get to the hospital. PS I am hysterically having a meltdown at this point, but we got in the car and drove to Baptist Women's Hospital in Germantown. I have a thing called placenta previa which they found a few months ago, and that can cause the bleeding. I had never heard about this until they told me I had it, but basically the placenta is partially "blocking the exit" (as Anna put it!). So long story short, we got to the hospital around 10:00, got hooked up to the monitors and heard her heart beating for a long time, had an ultrasound around 1:00 am, then they let us go at 2:00 and told me to reschedule my next dr. appt for as soon as possible and to be on bed rest until then. Thankfully the baby was just fine!

Yesterday I stayed home, and this morning I went to the dr. for the check up, glucose test, ect. I never imagined it, but she said I have to be on bed rest until the baby comes! I just did not realize that would be the answer to this thing... and the craziest part is if I have any more bleeding at all I have to go to the hospital until the baby comes... which could be 3 months! There is a chance she will come early, or have to be delivered early by c-section. They gave me steriod shots to give her a little growth spurt in case she has to be taken early. The goal is to make it at least to 32 weeks, which is only 5 weeks from now. So that's where we are and what's going on! I wanted to let you all know because I would appreciate your prayers so much... and if any of you are in the area feel free to come on by the house - I will certainly be here!"

That is what is going on with the little girl and me right now. I am psyching myself up for the world of free time, reading books, flipping through magazines, surfing the internet, watching as much tv as I want, and chilling on the couch all day - because I must. For the little one :)

Day 3 of bedrest has entailed this:

9:15 am - steriod shot #2 in the behind. Ouch. My sweet mama took me to the doctor so it was fun to hang out with her! The doctor is my new favorite (albeit only) outing.

11:00 am - returned many e-mails to my sweet, sweet friends to let them know we are a-ok. My nurses, Riley & Lila were standing by.

1:00 pm - watched re-run of the Braves 9th inning, 7 run come back to beat the Reds 10-9. I watched it yesterday, but it was so good I didn't mind watching it again. I love the Braves.

2:30 pm - got my first visitor! Casey Coleman came all the way from Birmingham to see me! Ok, not really, she is here for her step-sister's wedding, but still, we had a great visit and it was so fun to see her!

3:30 pm - talked to my aunt on the phone. I have the most wonderful fam!

4:00 pm - returned more e-mails and got to spend some quality time with my first born, Riley.

Now I am catching up on the blog so that about brings us up to speed! And so it begins...

Baby and Butterflies in my Stomach!

Have you ever been on a roller coaster, scared and excited at the same time, and thought, "well, I have no idea how this is going to go, but there's no getting off now!" That is the best way to describe how I feel right now. I have never been more excited in my life about this baby, but I've also never been so nervous! I, of course, have all of the questions and apprehensions that any new parents have, and I'm just trying to sort through those thoughts. Each day as my belly grows a little more I realize I am closer and closer to the upside down loops and twists of the roller coaster and I'm just hanging on for dear life! It's SO much fun though.... Did I mention we're having a Girl! A few weeks ago I started referring to the baby as "she" or "her" by accident. It sure did not take me long to get used to the idea that she was a girl, and I got a little attached. The closer and closer it got to the ultrasound date, I freaked out that I could be wrong (a little worried about my maternal instincts...) and what if she was actually a he?! I was already attached to HER! But yesterday came and sure enough, she is a SHE! Yay!

I'm making my comeback

As sort of a way to ease back into blogging without actually having to write anything myself, I'm borrowing this from a post from babycenter.com because I thought it was pretty funny. Number 6 is my favorite. If one more person tells me how hot I'm going to be this summer, I might scream!

Dear Non-Pregnant Person, I hope you find these guidelines helpful in your interactions with pregnant women as failing to follow them may result in serious physical harm. If you are thinking, surely she doesn't mean me- then you should probably read this twice. 1) The appropriate response to a couple telling you they are having a baby is "Congratulations!" with enthusiasm. Any other response makes you an ass. 2) Through the wonders of science, we now know that babies are made ONLY by the mother and father- not grandparents. Unless the baby is in your uterus or you are the man that helped put it there, you may not ever use the phrase "my baby". 3) On the same note, unless you made the baby as defined in #2, the pregnancy, birth and raising of the child are not about you. You do not have input. No one wants to hear your opinion unless they ask for it. 4) The body of a pregnant women should be treated the same as any other body. You would not randomly touch someone's stomach if they were not pregnant, nor would you inquire into the condition of their uterus, cervix or how they plan to use their breasts. Pregnancy does not remove all traces of privacy from a woman. 5) Likewise, no women wants to hear comments on her weight- ever. A pregnant woman does not find it flattering that you think she is about is pop, must be having twins, looks swollen or has gained weight in her face. Telling her she looks too small only makes her worry that she is somehow starving her baby. Making such comments invite her to critique your physical appearance and you may not act offended. The only acceptable comment on appearance is "You look fabulous!". 6) By the time we are 20-30 years old, most of us have picked up on the fact that the summer is hot. We are hot every summer when we are not pregnant. We don't need you to point out that we will be miserably hot before the baby comes. 7) There is a reason that tickets to L&D are not yet sold on Ticketmaster. Childbirth is actually not a public event. It may sound crazy, but some women really do not relish the idea of their mother, MIL or a host of other family members seeing their delivery. Also, some people simply feel like the birth of their child is a private and emotional moment to be shared only by the parents. 8) Like everything else is life, unless you receive an invitation, you are NOT invited. This includes doctor appointments, ultrasounds, labor, delivery, the hospital and the parents home. You do not decide if you will be there for the birth or if you will move in with the new parents to "help out". If your assistance is desired, rest assured that you will be asked for it. 9) If you are asked to help after the birth, this means you should clean up the house, help with cooking meals, and generally stay out of the way. Holding the baby more than the parents, interfering with breastfeeding and sleeping schedules and making a woman who is still leaking fluid from multiple locations lift a finger in housework is not helping. 10) The only people entitled to time with the baby are the parents. Whether they choose to have you at the hospital for the birth or ask for you to wait three weeks to visit, appreciate that you are are being given the privilege of seeing their child. Complaining or showing disappointment only encourages the parents to include you less. Sincerely, Pregnant woman

Ideating

I am reading some counseling mumbo-jumbo tonight and just thinking about what it all means.... In this particular text, "Characteristics of the Effective Clinician" (which I'm not creating a reference page for because this is my blog and and I don't want to!) it is talking about characteristics of leaders in mental health and basically what makes good role models in the field. I was thinking that I would love to be a role model in the field eventually, maybe speak at conferences, etc. But, to quote Solomon in Ecclesiates, "there is nothing new under the sun". All this is to say that there is nothing I can go out and talk about that hasn't already been discussed. There's nothing new in this field. That is why every counseling text book and journal article is filled with citations of other texts and articles.

People are people and we can develope as many new theories, identity models, and stages as we want, but when you're face to face with a client during a counseling session, it's going to come down to sin and redemption. Now I know that's not the answer that everyone is looking for, but to be an 'effective clinician' the human being is the key.... not the newest theory.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentlness, self control - now those are some "theories". Back to the basics may be the best way to progress yet...

Lastly... I'm posting one of my favorite commercials ever:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziOG_GHNVq0

Have you ever felt like this guy that walks into the room? What a great way to portray the need for action rather than idleness.... anyway, I've always like this so I thought I'd share! Now go and do!