O Baby!!

Wow. In two days, Spring Break is here. Until then, I am living at school. On Thursday, the students are turning in this massive project that they have been working on for two weeks. Last year, I had the students work on the whole thing at once. Knowing that my freshmen couldn't handle that this year, I modified the lesson plans to make parts of the project homework. That meant that in order to complete the project, I had to grade and return all the components so that they can revise them. FOURTEEN components. 105 students. Loads of bad grammar. The good news: the students are turning in some incredible work product; the bad news: I have been buried under paper for two weeks. I will have to take most of this work with me when I head to Texas on Saturday but hopefully, since I have read most of it already, it will go quickly.

In other good news, the ACT test prep class I teach ends tonight. The bad news: I have to proctor their last practice exam until about 8:30. I really should just sleep on the couch that I have in my classroom.

Strange pregnancy cravings for sugar this week. I can't stop eating cotton candy, Starburst and drinking Sprite. I guess it's not really sugar as is a craving for high fructose corn syrup. So much for all those healthy cravings for fruit.

I haven't measured my belly in a long time but it sure it getting bigger. I forgot to blog about how I am finally feeling the baby move. It makes this whole thing way too real. I have had conflicted feelings towards pregnancy long before I was ever thinking about getting pregnant. When it finally happened, I was a little spooked, anxious, and grossed out. These feelings melted away in one moment.

I was laying in bed last Thursday not sleeping as usual because there is no such thing as a comfortable position anymore. Plus, Q was in one of her squirmier moods. Rohit was dozing comfortably. He had been trying to feel the baby move for about two weeks with no success. At around 2:30am, I pulled his hand to my belly. He still didn't stir. Then, one swift kick, eyes flew open, a broad grin, and a whisper, "Was that it?" In that moment, it suddenly didn't gross me out to think that there was a parasite sucking the life out of me. That moment, I was superhuman - or rather, exceptionally human - I was creating life. Dramatic, I know. It is obviously the way we all got here so there is very little that is exceptional about it except I have never done it before. Regardless, it changed my feelings towards this experience entirely. I am looking forward to all these other new, wonderful things that pregnancy has in store for me. Especially the big show in the end!

More later. I have to get these kiddos to finish up their Science Reasoning test.