Work! (finally)

I finally had my first day of work today! (For those of you who don't know--or if I didn't mention it earlier on my blog, I'm a substitute Educational Assistant, though I haven't had any jobs before today.) It was really quite exciting--I literally had to hit the ground running. The time that I was told that the job started was the time I would be meeting with my first kid--so I was very glad I showed up early. Though a bit intimidating at first, I felt like the day went well, and that the staff liked me. At times it really seemed as though I was in my element, though still a bit nervous and uncertain about the way things usually work. Yay for doing jobs in the field I want to work in! I have a surprising number lined up already for the future, too. Hooray!
So, I was meaning to post weekly pictures of my belly, and have completely forgotten about it most weeks. So this is a picture of me at week 14. Though I feel giant, when I look at the picture, I don't feel like I'm doing too badly. I just don't like the whole weight gain part of pregnancy! When we went in for an appointment last week, we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat. Talk about exciting! There's a part of me that always worries that something's wrong (since I can't feel anything yet), so the confirmation of the heartbeat really set me at ease. It was interesting to see the way both Josh and I think as well--for example, he heard a train (the heartbeat), while I heard a washing machine! Interesting, huh? Considering that Josh loves trains, and I associate sounds of washing machines with comforting feelings (a childhood thing), the sounds we each heard made sense. We also have scheduled the ultrasound for June 1st, and, yes, we are going to find out if it is a boy or a girl!
Still don't have my car yet! Waiting, always waiting. Hopefully I will hear something this week and put pictures up!

Pregnancy in Corvallis

Thanks to a comment by Charlotte the other day (thank you very much! I love hearing from people back in California!), I was thinking about all the things available to pregnant women now, and what it's like to be pregnant in Corvallis (which is, surprisingly, very different from other areas). I have been fortunate enough to find several little "cheats" that are working really well for me (to share my experiences with some of you who can use them in the future). First of all, my mom recommended something called "Preggie Pops". These are suckers (you can get just lozenges, as well) that are naturally flavored--ginger, mint, sour lemon, etc.--and help to ease nausea. Though I had my doubts, I was shocked at how well they work. I would be just on the extreme edge of morning sickness in an inconvenient place (such as riding in the car), and would pop one of these in my mouth and begin to feel better almost immediately. The other fabulous product I have found is the "Tummy Sleeve" by Motherhood Maternity. This is simply a nylon spandex band that fits over your tummy and the top of your pants, so that when your waist no longer fits in your pants, you can still wear them unbuttoned with no one the wiser. In fact, it rather looks like you're simply layering. In the eleven-week picture below, I am wearing one. I have to say, I love the styles right now--they work so well with pregnancy! I've already gotten a couple of non-maternity shirts that are perfect for letting me grow. And my mother-in-law bought me my first maternity shirt the other day, and it's one I can wear from now until much farther along.
And now, for my musings on Corvallis. I never really thought about it, but I'm rather a minority here. There are perhaps a handful of people my age that are pregnant. It's nothing like Roseville, where people almost seem to go there to have kids. Rather, it is often difficult to find things available to pregnant moms around here. I have looked for water aerobic classes and other things, but the only pregnancy resources available are through the hospital. This is actually because it is a small college town. Because there are very few jobs available to those who graduate and want to remain in Corvallis (at least, very few well-paying jobs), most students leave right after college. Those who do return do so only after having children. On the other end of the spectrum, it seems as though the more educated the population, the higher the age of the parents when they have children. Having an enormous number of professors in town means that we have quite old parents. My doctor even made a comment on how people in Corvallis have children abnormally late. But when you have such high education, no one wants to let their schooling stagnate while they have kids, so they go into their field immediately and establish a career before having children. This does mean, however, that there are many activities going on for small children. So my kids will be highly stimulated, but I may have a hard time getting on with 40-year-old mothers of infants (and yes, I am absolutely serious). Oh, well. At least that means that I get more attention at the hospital. Without so much competition, I get great service! And, being the only one in our group of friends to be pregnant, I get lots of attention! (Who, me?) So, maybe this will be a boring post for those of you reading it, but it was an interesting time of musing for me!
P.S. For those of you wondering about my car, it's supposed to be in any day. The dealer called 10 days ago and said a week to 10 days. I'm having a difficult time with patience, though. I feel like praying and saying, "Lord, didn't we do this patience thing already? I'm okay--I don't need more of it!"

So, today was an unexpectedly good day. Not really because the whole day was good, but, rather, a lot of little things. Things like driving across the railroad tracks and being the last car before the gates began to go down. And walking down the street and having a bum (yes, we have a few homeless people in Corvallis, though they're easy to get mixed up with the college students) stop me to tell me I had a beautiful smile. Then, music wise, my turn signal kept time with the radio at one point, they played a Reliant K song I loved (they certainly don't play enough of them), and then a Red song (which they never play)! So, anyway, it's been a fun day in Corvallis, where even the bums are friendly!
We finally started taking pictures of my belly (as you can probably tell from the picture). This is at week 11, and I'm just starting to show. Before, it was just that my waist had thickened, but now there is a small but distinguishable bump (Josh assures me that it doesn't look like I've gained weight, but rather that I am pregnant). The problem is that most of my clothes actually go to my waist, and now they aren't fitting right, as my waist is expanding! If I had longer shirts, I'd be fine with normal clothes for quite a bit longer, but as it is, I'm going to have to buy some long shirts. At least I can still wear those later!
Josh and I are starting a couple of classes this week. I knew I wouldn't last long in a college town without taking some. It's simply strange to be back in Corvallis and not be in school. However, I forgot how expensive it was! We're not in California anymore, Toto! We're taking the classes (a baby sign language one and a Spanish one) through the community college here, and that helps with the price. Not only that, but they are zero-credit classes. If we were to take a three or four credit class at OSU, it would be around $500 each! Even at the community college, it would be around $300 for both of us. There was a reason I never complained about tuition hikes in California! So, we compromised and chose the zero-credit classes, especially since they wouldn't help either of us with future schooling. But we're looking forward to them. The Spanish is great, because there has been mention of sending Josh and I to Barcelona for a few weeks to work with the team there sometime. Sounds great to me! World travel, here I come!