R & R is the Priority

I spent the weekend as a party of one, with my immediate family all spread out around the country and Dylan in Oregon to visit his family. But I was so lucky to be invited to Jess's house for a girls' dinner of Mexican food...and red velvet Nothing Bundt Cake! It was the highlight of my weekend and so much fun. This group of girls is a very tight-knit crowd since high school, and while I grew close with Jess and Nora in college and see them regularly, I hadn't seen many of the other girls in a long time. Thanks so much for the fantastic dinner, Jess, and for including me with the girls! Nora thought ahead and brought her camera, so I took the liberty of stealing this photo off her blog. Thanks, N! As with most circles I run in, half of the girls at the dinner party were pregnant.

I kicked off the work week with an intense fatigue brought on by the early start, a poor night's sleep, and probably my current condition. The job involves a lot of get up, get down, go, go go, and I think the others could sense my sluggishness and picked up my slack on some of the things that involved getting up. When I acknowledged this and thanked them, they said that's fine, we don't want this place to send you into early labor because that would really mess up the schedule. I've signed up to work for a few more weeks, and I don't think that will be a problem. However, I will take today to catch up on some rest.

I've always attributed the high-activity job and high-activity days off for my doing relatively well throughout this pregnancy. Yes, my right ankle has a bit of puff and my right carpal tunnel does not appreciate the extra fluid, but in the heat of the summer and with my blood volume having just reached the highest it will be throughout this process, I guess this is to be expected to some extent. I think the regular exercise has made a huge difference, too. But today, I am taking some time to rest and do what I can to preserve my energy. On my other days off, I have vacuumed and steam cleaned everything in this house that is not made of hardwood or stone and done everything I can to remove the dust and grime everywhere else. The sheets are clean, the dogs are clean, we've got lots of meals in the freezer, and everything that will touch this baby has been washed. I've got most everything I need for this guy to come home, and we are in good shape. The blinds and windowsills are still filthy and the nursery needs some attention, but those can wait. Because today I'm taking a load off. And after all, we are surrounded by dirt. It will all need to be wiped down again in the coming weeks anyway.

I might even fire up my Amazon Instant Video and take in an episode or two of The Good Wife, which previously I only indulged in when going to sleep at night. I'll probably fit in a light workout in the afternoon, and I have a dinner on the books with the girls, so all in all it will be a pretty fantastic Tuesday. If I ever have a second go at this pregnancy deal, I won't have the luxury of taking a day to rest. And since a good night's sleep is not in the books for me for a very long time, I need to take advantage of the peace and quiet while I can. The only items on my to-do list that will receive any attention today are those that can be completed from a sitting position (with my feet propped up). I am feeling so grateful right now to have this day of recovery because I know most grown-ups aren't taking the time on a Tuesday to do the same thing, and I might not get another chance at a day like this for a very long time.

Tomorrow will be the first time Dylan and I have shared a day off in two weeks due to conflicting work schedules and because he has hit the road for the past couple weekends. We've got some fun things on the agenda, and I'm sure I'll be ready for the go-go-go by tomorrow!