Owen will be born via C-Section on Monday. We are SO excited!!!!

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=370

You MUST listen to the middle section on people who didn't vaccinate their children causing others to get sick. Babies can't get immunized for measles until they are a year old, and so unvaccinated children can infect them. Measles is wicked infectious, and can be deadly to babies.

There is no proven connection between vaccines and autism. An original study in the British medical journal The Lancet saying that there was a connection was found to be incorrect and retracted by the journal.

It's called science, people! Read some of it.

My serious lack of updating here has been caused by a combination of Facebook addiction and navel gazing of a non-productive manner (navel gazing in the figurative sense - physically looking at my navel while I am 6 months pregnant weirds me out).

So where to begin? By category I suppose.

TEACHING:
Two more classes and I will have officially completed my first semester as a college professor. Considering I was a complete neophyte when I started, and that most of my students' writing skills have considerably improved, I feel quite satisfied with the semester. I am sad that I will have to fail several students because they never showed up or did their work. In many cases I could tell there were problems that went beyond simple apathy - family problems, mental illness, lack of proficiency in basic English language skills - and these were beyond my ability to help, as much as I tried. I did have one or two students who did have a case of apathy. I'm hoping that we will be able to discuss this in the new adjunct salon that my cool friend and colleague Lis is organizing.

Next semester I am teaching Comp II, as I've mentioned probably about a thousand times. I'm both excited and scared - I want to be sure that I teach the students the skills they need to know. I guess teaching any new course comes with a bit of anxiety. I received my review copy of the Music and Culture book from Pearson, and I'm sad to say I'm not as thrilled about it as I thought I would be. I've definitely ruled out the Counterculture Reader - while it has some fascinating accounts of the sixties, I'm not sure a DSP class is going to connect to or care about this reader. I also got the Little, Brown Reader, which seems okay, but I guess I was hoping to avoid a "traditional" reader. I have to order my books soon - so I'd better hurry up and decide what I am doing.

BABY:
Oh, he makes my belly visibly move around, and he kicks all the time. I've never been so excited and so scared about anything in my life. Andy is thrilled, and already a proud daddy. I couldn't ask for a finer husband and father for my child. Work on the nursery will soon begin in earnest - we're going with a Hawaiian/ocean theme, since that's where we made the little one, and the marine animals there are so colorful and fun. My father-in-law is making the baby a cradle in the shape of a peapod boat! I can't wait to see it when it is finished - the plans looked amazing. Did I mention that I am huge, and that certain activities like shoe tying or getting out of bed involve unintentional physical comedy? It's starting to happen when I try to put on my pants, too.

CATS:
Poor Piper has somehow contracted cytomegalovirus (kitty herpes!)in her right eye. We had to take her to a cat ophthalmologist at a hospital in North Andover. Fortunately, it isn't transmissible to humans. She's on an eye steroid and lysine and is getting better. I'm relieved that we finally know what it is (albeit two months and $300 later), and that she doesn't have kitty eye cancer. Sadly, it's something that will probably recur for the rest of her life, especially under conditions of stress, which Malcolm is certain to provide.

SOCIAL LIFE:
HAHA. We haven't seen anyone or done anything in MONTHS. Thanksgiving when we saw the family has been the extent of our interaction. Tonight we are actually getting out to celebrate our friend Harmony's birthday with drinks (none for me) and board games at her house in Salem. I can't wait! We owe a TON of people invites: Tom & Jill, Joe & Elise, and many, many more. I promise, they are still coming. It would be nice to have some furniture in our apartment so we could actually have people over. I want a sofa & love seat. Is that too much to ask??? :)

HOUSE:
I have to finish painting the bookcase I started - I ran out of paint and need to find the same color again. We have tons of items to put into storage, and we need to organize Andy's work area. I'm still drooling over the dragonfly floor lamp from Home Decorators. But right now, we need curtains, rugs, and furniture. The nesting instinct has really kicked in, and I'm hoping for a productive day tomorrow.

Be well, all! :)

And a changing table. Weird.

Did those of you who have kids go through this unreality stage?

I had what was supposed to be the big ultrasound today - except that we found out in the ER a few weeks ago the gender of Baby Fyfe. Today's U/S confirmed he's a boy! He's ahead of schedule and is now due March 23rd. He weighs a whopping 14 ounces, and is about the size of a cantaloupe.

Mom & Dad Fyfe came to the ultrasound, and then we toured the maternity ward at the hospital. It's perfect, and gorgeous. The private labor rooms have a tub and a birthing ball.

Time for this pregnant lady to nap!

The little man is so active in my belly - I don't know what he is doing in there! MMA? Planning world domination? Dancing the Electric Slide, which I had in my head all day yesterday? Playing the drums? Andy and I, and hopefully mom Fyfe get to see him on the ultrasound tomorrow. I can't wait! Andy felt him kick last night - it was fun to watch his hand move up and down on my belly and feel the baby. I cannot wait to meet this child. Now that he is kicking there is a sense of reality that just wasn't there before. Amy posted some early pictures of her sons on Facebook, and they just made me long to meet our little one even more. I have baby fever!

Names under current leading consideration, in no particular order:

Owen
Alex
Ian

In other news I am teaching Comp II next semester. I planning on using music as a theme. I'm waiting for my free copy of a music themed reader from Pearson. Here is the table of contents:

1. The Appeal of Music.

Introduction.

"The Imaginative Mind and the Role of Listener," Aaron Copland.
"Music as a Safe Haven," Melissa Etheridge.
"Music as Energy," Kurt Cobain.
"Life in the 30s," Anna Quindlen.
"Nas and Olu Dara: One Son Learns Lessons from a Father," Touré.

2. "Out of Tune": Youth and Morality.

Introduction.

"Music," Allan Bloom.
"MTV and Morality," John Hamerlinck.
"Punk: The Madness in My Area," Paul Cobley.
"Heavy Metal Under Attack: Suicide and Aggression," Deena Weinstein.
"Children, Violence, and the Media: A Report for Parents and Policy Makers," Senate Committee on the Judiciary September 14, 1999.
"It's Easy, But Wrong, To Blame the Music," Hilary Rosen.

3. Music & Sexuality.

Introduction.

"Madonna I: Animality and Artifice," Camille Paglia.
"Disruptive Divas—Courtney Love," M. LaFrance.
"I Am the King: Phallus Power," Simon Reynolds and Joy Press.
"Glam and Glitter Rock: David Bowie—Sexuality and Gender Typing," Dick Hebdige.
"Dancing Our Way Out of Class Through Funk, Techno or Rave," Beatrice Aaronson.

4. Musicians "Navigating the Racial Terrain."

Introduction.

"The Jazz Impulse: James Brown, Miles Davis and Jimi Hendrix," Craig Werner.
"Gangsters: Real and Unreal" from Hip Hop America, Nelson George.
"The Angry Appeal of Eminem is Cutting Across Racial Lines," Lynette Holloway.
"It's All About Comin Up: Ice Cube as Educator," Adam Krims.
"Bad Sistas: Queen Latifah," Tricia Rose.

5. Con$umeri$m: The Business of Music.

Introduction.

"Did Stones Sell Their Music Short?," Timothy White.
"Madison Avenue Woos Musicians," by Carla Hay.
"Here's Reality: 'Idol' Feeds Hopefuls to a Shaky Music Business," Alessandra Stanley.
"The Heavenly Jukebox," Charles C. Mann.
"Recording Industry Begins Suing P2P File Sharers Who Illegally Offer Copyrighted Music Online," Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
"Music: Are We the World? The Influence of World Music on the American Music Industry and Consumers," Carol Cooper.

6. Creativity, Craft & Culture.

Introduction.

"Pop Music: Authenticity, Creativity and Technology," Gavin Kendall.
"The Delight of Words: The Elizabethan Sonneteers and American Country Lyricists," Jill Tedford Jones.
"Music and Censorship," Victor Lombardi.
"Better Songs Through Censorship," Neil Strauss.
"Where'd You Get That? The Future Evolution of Sampling," Gail Mitchell.
"Hip Hop Divas: Those Who Rap, Those Who Don't," Kelefa Sanneh.

I want to incorporate listening to music in the classroom as well as reading and writing. I'm not sure how the semester will go (I'm teaching right up until the baby comes, and then will conduct the class online/through the writing center until I can return to work once a week). I think it will be fun and engaging for the students (and me!)

Congratulations, President-Elect Obama! May we be back on the road to rebuilding America's reputation and economy. I haven't felt this hopeful in eight years...

Ugh...my full blood work came back from when I was in the hospital Wednesday night. My iron is "the lowest" the OB nurse has ever seen, despite oodles of food and supplements, iron-absorption helpers like vitamin C, and avoiding eating dairy/taking calcium at the same time. I have a lovely pale white pallor and white gums. Charming. I am worried about the baby, as this puts me at a higher risk of premature delivery and low birth weight. I have to go to the lab Tuesday for more blood work (but don't I need every drop?) where they are going to test for some type of genetic iron malabsorption disorder, then see the doc Thursday and the following Tuesday. *sigh*I'm frustrated that I'm doing what I am supposed to be doing and it isn't helping. Plus, I can't get anything done except lie here. I need to meet with a student who is seriously having trouble in my class at 2:30.

I have to take this moment to say, once again, that I have the best husband ever - he took the car in to be repaired and picked up our free loaner vehicle (whilch we always like better than our own car) and right now is taking the cat to the vet while I lie in bed like a fainting Victorian lady.

Copy this sentence into your LiveJournal if you're in a heterosexual marriage, and you don't want it "protected" by those who think that gay marriage hurts it somehow.

Thank you Erik Kripke.

Look at that gorgeous bone structure! Milk, the pregnant woman's fuel!

**I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight...

If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're 'exotic,
different.'

Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, you're a quintessential American
story.

If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

Name your kids Bristol, Willow, Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

Graduate from Harvard Law School and you are unstable.

Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating you're well
grounded.

If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the
first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter
registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as
a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator
representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the
state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the
United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while
sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and
Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real
leadership experience.

If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council
and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20
months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're
qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.

If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2
beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real
Christian.

If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your
disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a
Christian.

If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the
proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.

If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no
other option in sex education in your state's school system while your
unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.

If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a
prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city
community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values
don't represent America's.

If you're husband is nicknamed 'First Dude', with at least one DWI
conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until
age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of
Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

OK, much clearer now. **

First trimester is OVAH!  I made it through!  My nausea has disappeared (and will hopefully remain that way), and I'm less tired.  I now have an official baby bump.  New clothes have been purchased, though they need to be hemmed, and I need to get my hands on a Bella band.  I've been crazy for lemonade for the past two weeks, and drink it every chance I get.  Last night I had a dream that I gave birth to the baby and it wouldn't breastfeed - it would only drink lemonade from a sippy cup.  Weird.  Iwant to know the gender of the baby.  LIKE NOW.  Halloween week is still so far away to wait for the boy/girl answer (if the little one isn't shy about showing parts).

Andy is batiking in the kitchen.  How cool is it that I have a husband who batiks?  Well, he's cool for so many other reasons too.

Being a college professor is not without its challenges and frustrations, but it is still awesome.  I love my job.  I have my first essays in to grade, which I will continue working on tomorrow.  Work and apartment cleanup has made me a bit of a hermit, but to some degree I am enjoying the solitude.  My girls are coming up next weekend while Andy's Steam&Cindering, and we are going apple picking and having a sleepover.

Finished Season 3 of Supernatural on DVD and loved it.  Jealous of those of you with TV who get to see the season 4 premiere in 5 days...

Speaking of television, did I mention that my stepsister's husband won an EMMY?

I should probably go to bed. 

My poor sweetie's ankle is pretty messed up.  He's out of work until at least Friday on doc's orders. Please send him good, healing thoughts.

Hmmm, what else?  Still love my job.  Neighbors next door (in the other building) are super-annoying - currently playing Howard Stern so loud it's blasting in our apartment.  Making me VERY cranky.

Feeling a bit blue, worried about finances and my messy apartment.  I need clothes for work and the car needs to be fixed.  This too shall pass.

Look at that stong chin! (If it is a chin).  Takes after daddy's good looks already!

We saw our baby for the first time on ultrasound!  At only 11 weeks, the noob waved, and danced around like a wiggleworm!  We had no idea there would be this much movement - future breakdancer, or MMA star?  Who knows!  Heart rate was great, there was only on baby in there, and it had 2 arms, two legs, and a head.  So far, so good.

I taught my first college classes today!  I had so much fun, it didn't even seem like work.  In the process of interviewing for Axia online as well.  Not sure if it will be worth it, but we'll see.

Tonight - dinner with my thesis adviser and her partner, and Andy.  Then some relaxation time.  Whee!

I had my new composition instructor workshop yesterday, and new employee orientation today, so I almost feel like a real professor!  Classes start two weeks from today, and I am really looking forward to it.  I still need to get my employee ID and my Navigator ID and password, and finish the second half of my syllabus before I'm good to go.  I talked to the English department secretary, who said I should be able to teach an online class next semester, since the baby's due just after spring break.  I just have to e-mail the department chair to request it.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!  I'm still looking for additional classes to teach, or a supplementary part time gig.  A colleague of mine recommended a tutoring company that pays at least $40 an hour, maybe more because I have so much experience.  The downside is traveling all over the North Shore, although they do reimburse over certain distances.

My OB's office called to say that !surprise! I have anemia.  Okay, this isn't a surprise - my PCP told me to stop taking iron supplements with my prenatal vitamins, but now I can, so hopefully I won't be as wracked with exhaustion as I have been.  So far so good with morning sickness again.  Let's hope that keeps up!

I can't say enough great things about Andy.  Of course, this is no big surprise, I know.  He's been great about getting dinner, buying me craving foods, coming to doctors appointments, scooping the catboxes, comforting me when I'm sick, and just generally being a great pre-dad.  Add to that that he works his ass off, and you really couldn't ask for more.  He's so excited for that first ultrasound, and for my next appointment where we'll be able to hear the baby's heartbeat.  It's so cute.

My cats have been particularly naughty - I'm not sure if it is intentional or just boredom now that I leave them alone for a few hours each day.  Piper broke our huge art nouveau mirror the other day (probably more of an accident than anything else), and Malcom gave me a scare when he caught hold of my prenatal vitamins that I thought I had put away, opened them (I still don't know how), licked and slightly chewed (but fortunately did not eat) the five pills I had left, and has hidden the empty bottle that I need for refills.  He's very (too) curious and energetic, and is becoming good practice for having a toddler around since he literally gets into everything.  He's getting big, too.  I think this cat is going to be a monster.  He's still attacking out fatgirl (she's nearly 13 pounds - I can't get the weight off her!) - the chasing is good for her for exercise, but the biting is not so much fun.  She makes these weird Tauntaun (sp?) noises and howls - our neighbors must think we abuse our cats.  I really hope he settles down.  They both seem to love the new place, especially the wide windowsills.