Bloggers' Block

I'm not a very good blogger lately. Usually, even if I'm not feeling at all inspired, I find myself compelled to make it a priority because I have lots of friends and family who don't live nearby.

It seems, though, that I have Bloggers' Block.

(AKA anemia, but I promise I won't whine about that... right now anyway.)

Anyway, here's a random update::

:: I keep meaning to put up a picture or two of Gabriel marching in our little town's annual Memorial Day parade. He was so cute, especially during the ceremony at the end of the parade as he held his hat over his heart during the national anthem and prayer time. I was so happy to see him participating in something beyond eating a hot dog and playing backyard games, which can too quickly become the entire sum of Memorial Day if we're not careful, I think. Not to say that hot dogs and backyard games aren't okay-- our afternoon definitely involved those things!-- but I guess I want my kids to understand that there's a reason behind the "day off" and long weekend, and that reason is remembering the real men and women who have died real deaths on their behalf.

:: I've been thinking a lot about childbirth lately, thanks to reading Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. I keep telling myself I should write a few of my thoughts down, but right now they're still such a jumbled, being-sorted-through mess that I'm not sure there's anything worth writing at present.

:: We have out-of-town friends coming to visit for a few days, and we are soooo excited! It's a good thing nobody will be counting the number of words spoken over the weekend, because I'm sure Michelle and I will log quite a few!

:: Aubrey has been eating everything in sight today! Daniel thinks she's going through a growth spurt since she also took a brief morning nap in addition to her regular afternoon nap, but I'd like to think that perhaps we're turning a corner. It sure would be nice! Today she's eaten applesauce, raisins, some of my pear, homemade pizza (you might not think this is huge, but she rejects even the "normal" toddler loves like pizza and hot dogs), 3/4 of a PB&J sandwich (she always likes them, but she usually only eats 1/4 and then plays with the next 1/4 I give her), and all her normal "snacks." And, of course, she's still nursing several times a day.

We turned her car seat forward-facing the other day. The last time she was weighed was in April and she was just under 20lbs. I'm excited because I really do think that at her cardiology appointment next week that we'll find out she's 21lbs at least!

:: Speaking of appointments, Aubrey has her 21-month cardiology appointment in Syracuse on the 4th. Dr. Lyons was also able to schedule me for the level II ultrasound and a perinatal consult at Crouse for that same day. Assuming all goes well with that ultrasound and consult, the only other hurdle to get past this pregnancy is the fetal echocardiogram (ultrasound of the baby's heart) that will need to take place between 22 and 25 weeks.

:: I think tonight is a send-Daniel-out-for-something-yummy-to-eat and then watch-something-on-the-computer-in-bed sort of night for me. I'm tired, despite my very concerted efforts at an iron-rich diet, drinking over 120oz of water daily, and a consistent 30 minutes of exercise, minimum, at least 5x/week (which is like pulling teeth when I'm this exhausted all the time).

Oh wait, I said I wasn't going to whine about this, didn't I?