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Greetings From the 3rd Trimester

Each month I like to have a formal reading of all the possible symptoms that might accompany pregnancy and typically my audience includes Barry, Brian, and Sydney. Last month Brian wasn’t around so I had to give him the cliff notes at Christmas. I think he really appreciated it – who wouldn’t, right?

As I merge into the last stretch of being pregnant I’ve noticed that my belly seems to expand overnight – at an alarming rate. Just the other day I was getting a coat out of the coat closet and opened the door and it abruptly stopped because it had run into my belly. I’ve since adopted a new way to open the closet door.

I’ve also announced to my students that I no longer am accepting their offers to me to bend down and tie their shoes. I spend much of my day crouched by their little desks and bending to get most of the way down to their laces, well, doesn’t sound appealing. Especially since I’ve recently realized how many shoes a day I once tied.

Still, at the start of this third trimester I feel superb.

No longer bending, but  at least I’m not waddling – yet.

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I’ve Joined Up

I’ve joined the Quilt Club at my school, but don’t go thinking that I’m a quilter or anything fancy like that.

I wish.

Instead I’ve joined some other wonderful ladies and bullied my way into this club that has existed for years convincing them to make me HBaby a quilt. I’ve already got the fabric, remember?

This is Pam and Karen. Pam is kind of like a Mob Boss – head of the Quilt Club – most people ask her what she thinks and she decides if something needs to get done.

I’ve been trying to  convince her to give orders with a Tony Soprano-like accent, but she isn’t really into the idea. I’ll keep working on it.

Anyhow here are some of the characters in the Quilt Club besides Mob Boss Pam:

Karen is a steady member of the Quilt Club – except I don’t think she’d be able to pull off the role of Mob Boss. She laughs too much, which I love about her.

She teaches the Kinders and you have to be able to laugh when you teach kindergarten! Always laughing….that is Karen.

This is Cheryl and she doesn’t like getting her picture taken, but I poked my fat camera towards her and caught her in the act. She teaches big kids – 5th and 6th grade – and tends to stop by Quilt Club to see what needs to get done. Apparently Cheryl once made outdoor gear, but has since hung up her sewing needle, now she irons, pins and does stuff that doesn’t involve sewing.

This is Kylene and she teaches Music and knows every single kid in the school by name. Kylene’s classroom is always warm and on days when I’m freezing I want to go hunker down in her room and listen to her teach. Kylene is very industrious: sewing, knitting, quilting, and even making cheese.

I’m not kidding about the cheese part. The woman can make cheese!

This is Kylene and Ruthie. Ruthie calls me Sunshine every time I walk into the office. She is one of our Office Managers and would give you the shirt off her back if you asked for it. She also loves the Yankees more than the Mariners – shocking, I know.

This is Annette and there is a rumor floating around that she is more of a perfectionist when it comes to quilting than anyone else in Quilt Club. I have yet to see that side of Annette.

Annette teaches Kindergarten as well and she also subs in my room sometimes. When Annette is in my room, I know that business will be taken care of an there is no need to worry.

This is part of the quilt waiting to be put together. Pink and Brown. Delightful color combination, right?

This is another part of the quilt waiting for the order from Mob Boss Pam to continue on. Who says you can’t have a cowboy quilt for a girl?

Certainly not me, you know how I feel about cowboys.

Oh, and this is me when I was a wee one with one of my first quilts.

Just think this masterpiece, made by all these wonderful women, will be loved by sweet little HBaby in just a few short months!

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Orca Card

Orca Logo

The PBA was able to get all of the Seattle employees Orca cards for 2010. These cards work with multiple transit agencies in the Puget Sound. Luckily, this list includes Community Transit which has a stop right in front of HBHQ. I’ve been taking advantage of the new card to take trips to the YMCA pool in the morning, and busing back to HBHQ from the train station at night.

Avoiding my car has turned into as much fun as finding excuses to drive was when I turned 16… or 14 ( Some might say where I grew up is off the beaten path). I’ve been studying bus routes, and downloading iPhone apps to help my urban transit assault. It’s amazingly entertaining, and I’m confident this little card is going to be just what I need to come out on top in my car versus bike riding challenge.