the essence

I will admit I've been soooo tired lately, but all of a sudden I started to get a bit more energy yesterday. Not anything extravagant, but I did my dishes & got a few more Christmas decorations up. I love getting my decorations up but I haven't felt much up to it. I'm sure I won't want to do it after the baby gets here!

Speaking of babies, Jen had her little girl yesterday! Her water broke in the morning, she called me from the hospital around 10:30 & she had the baby around one (she only pushed for three minutes!!!). Talk about fast! Six pounds seven ounces and I think around 20 inches long. Name: Abigail Margaret.

Tomorrow our friend Jamie gets induced & I could go at anytime. Poor Ray seems to be a bit nervous, when I call him he almost always anxiously asks if I'm in labor. He even almost finished reading the birthing book yesterday morning & now says he needs to reread it & take notes - he likes to tell me the little details he's discovered as well, such as how far apart contractions should be before we leave, how I should push, etc. He's so funny.

Unfortunately, I've started battling high blood pressure. It was fine (has always been fine) at my appointment two Thursdays ago. But, I think I felt a little funny two days later & decided to take it at the store & it was on the high side. At my appointment on Tuesday it was still a little high. I also seem to have the problem of it jumping up when I know its going to be taken. I can feel fine but if I start thinking about taking my blood pressure it seems to start to sky rocket (I am my mother's daughter). So, I try to relax & I finally realized that the thoughts that relax me are thinking about being at the birthing center & giving birth, so I guess I'm not nervous about that!

The only reason the high bp really bothers me is because if its high I have to consult with a physician to make sure I'm still allowed to go to the birthing center. So, please pray that this will not be an issue. I'm so silly with the way I do this to myself, its just a vicious cycle!

Anyway, for now I'm still teaching piano & puttering around the house (& sleeping!). I got around to making some really yummy calzones for dinner last night & some chocolate chip cookies. I halved the recipe but forgot to put in only half the eggs AND I forgot to add the handful of oatmeal so they weren't as good as usual. They still hit the spot, though!