The secret is out?

I think it is becoming apparent to those around me that I am pregnant. A couple of the volunteers the other day were giving me weird looks. I guess it should be obvious, considering it's now five months. It makes me nervous to think about having to talk to all these people about this pregnancy, these people who didn't know me until months after Serenity had died, don't know that I lost a my first daughter, that I had a d&c a week before starting this part-time job. And now, I am afraid, it will be open season on Ya Chun's body, lifestyle, shopping choices etc. I only have a few coworkers, who are mostly kinda in the know, but I have about 20 different voulunteers, many of whom like to over-share. I don't reciprocate the over-sharing tendancies. Let's hope it is a really really busy day with lots of guests coming in asking gardening questions on Thursday!

Yesteday and today my girlie parts are all achy and hurting. I guess my pelvis is rearranging.

Beanie - please stop rearranging mama's furniture please - she kinda needs to be able to walk.

I can't stand up or sit down. I am fine in one place, but not hte transition. Also, now I am walking around like a geisha girl, with tiny little steps trying not to get anything out of place.

I have been feeling Beanie move. Last night she was clunking around int here for a good while. It makes me happy.

The last week I have had a general sense of well-being. It's kinda nice - I forgot what this felt like. I think I was depressed at the onset of the pregnancy - I was like an invalid, between the morning sickness, exhaustion and back pain. The chiropractor is making progress on the back, which helps, and it was actually sunny here for a few days, which really helped. And, Beanie makes me happy, especially now that I can feel her and we had a good ultrasound. And I know that it's a girl. I like knowing, I guess it makes it more real to me.

Well, that was a bit of a ramble - can I blame it on pregnancy brain?

Quotable

"How blessed are some people, whose lives have no fears, no dreads; to whom sleep is a blessing that comes nightly, and brings nothing but sweet dreams." -Bram Stoker (1847-1912)

Thank the light for the WoT

Nope, that not new fan-dangled internet jargon. If you don't speak it, feel free to skip down to the next ***.

I just finished The Gathering Storm. Wow! This is some of the action we should have had in some of those tedious middle books.

I think Brandon Sanderson did an excellent job. I didn't care for the Mat parts in this books as much as I did for some of his other chapters, but then, I can say the same things about Perrin for a couple of books. Perrin was one of my favorite characters until Faile got kidnapped. I couldn't take the moping and lack of leadership. I am not sure that I agree with some of the complaints regarding Sanderson's ability to write Mat. Maybe it was just the time to show Mat as a human, flawed, character, much like Perrin was in Winter's Heart.

I was super scared when Rand seized the 'True' Power'. SUPER SPOILER::: I am glad he cleared his head, heart, and the overcast skies in the end:::.

And Egwene! That girl has got it! This is one of those times that people like to say, 'wow, that lady has some balls' and I like to point out that she has some ovaries. And guts, and backbone, and brains, heart and soul. I think her scenes in this book are among some of the best of the whole series.

That whole 'three shall be one' at the end? Min, Elayne and Avienda????

Now, I have to wait, what, another year?!? Burn Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan!!! Burn them!

***
I told Triple S today that I was grateful for these books. They can really distract me from my worries and anxieties. And a character like Egwene can inspire me to persevere, to stand tall, to try.

Over the years that this series has unfolded (years in real time, since I think it has only been about two years in WoT-time), I have enjoyed each of the main characters in this book. At one point I loved Faile, but I don't trust her much sometimes. I am waiting to see how this one unfolds. On the other hand, Min has always been a strong favorite, from her first introduction right up to the end of this last book. At first it was the tomboy in her. She has since then proven to be caring and loyal. Now she is determined to study old texts in order to help figure out what to do at the last battle.

This, in some round about way, brings me to the pregnancy-related news of this post. If how this relates tot he pregnancy is not entirely clear by the end of this post, it should become clear in the next few posts.

We just had the 18 week anatomy scan. Everything looks fine, the quad screen reduced the risk for Down's to about 1 in 500, and we are expecting yet another girl.

I told Triple S that his dudes are duds. I guess he is now Triple XXX.

So, we have always struggled with girl names. We have a boy's name, have always had a boy's name, and would only ever have a problem if we needed two boy names.

It was difficult to develop a short list when we were expecting our first daughter. I can't see any of the names on that short list coming back to us.

I think the cuffs may get rolled up.

And I may be running some names by ya'll. I know it is frivolous, but it gives me both hope and distraction. Especially now that I have to wait yet again for another volume of the WoT.

In them mean time, I am waiting for the library's copy of book two of the Codex Alera by Jim Butcher. If you like WoT and Mistborn, check this one out too.