Today was not a good day. It started when I dropped the water pitcher, spilling water everywhere and collapsing in tears.
"It's just water!" Kevin said, bewildered.
"It's the worst thing that could happen!!" I responded, tempting fate to prove otherwise.
To make a long story short, I ended up an hour from New Haven on I-95 stalled on the side of the road. Hugely pregnant, emotionally ill-equipped, and now unable to get to my clinical. Fortunately, Kevin had the day off and arranged everything for me so within 30 min I had a tow truck in front of my car. Minutes later, there was a three car pile up ahead, so the tow truck and I were parked on the interstate as the minutes went by and I lost more clinical time. But luck was on my side again because I ended up with the sweetest tow guy, who distracted me with stories and made me laugh. Really, how could I not cheer up when he says there's no sweeter sight than a pregnant woman smiling?

I took a taxi from the repair shop to my clinical and was able to finish out the day. Kevin spent all day on the phone with the repair shop in Norwalk and the Meineke in Branford, which repaired our car 6 months ago. It turned out the part they replaced was the part that broke - and this time it would cost $800 to fix. Excuse me while I have a stroke! The part was guaranteed by Meineke, however, and they agreed to pay for the new part and the labor - even if it was done by the shop in Norwalk - what a relief! Only bummer for us is paying for the tow truck that hauled me off the highway and the rental car I had to get in order to get back home (and to get to clinical tomorrow and my midwife appointment on Friday). Turns out that since I'm 24 and not 25, I have to pay $85/day for the car in stead of $36. Not so great. It also took almost an hour for me to actually get the car even though Kevin made a reservation for me because they didn't actually have it on the lot yet. Traffic was horrible on the way home, plus I had to pick something up for dinner; I didn't actually make it home until after 8pm.

So today was not a good day. But it wasn't so bad, I guess. My car broke down, which is lousy, but I was able to pull over to the side of the road safely - something of a miracle on I-95 during rush hour. The cost of the towing and rental car is high, but it's pretty good that Meineke is paying for the part and the labor. And finally now here I am, safe and warm, home on the couch with my husband, munching on vanilla wafers and admiring the red gerbera daisies he bought for me. Any day that ends like this, how bad can it really be?

Suddenly, the days are hurtling forward. There is so much to do every day that they seem to end before I realize they were even here. I'm still getting used to the fact that it's almost May. One day soon I'll wake up and realize classes are over for the semester. It will be an odd change, but it will be so nice to get more sleep.

Spring has been lovely so far - there are daffodils and tulips blooming out my window - a very welcome change of scenery. Kevin and I took our first trip in 2008 to the park yesterday and had a perfect afternoon lounging on my big denim blanket in the sun.

Jonah continues to grow and kick and tumble. He's hit a growth spurt the last couple of days and I'll tell you one thing: my belly button is not long for this world. He's getting really strong and he kicks and stretches like he's trying to break free. I keep telling him that it's not going to work - that babies don't just bust out of their mommies' belly button but he is determined to prove me wrong. I remind him that he still has a couple more months before he's allowed to come out anyway so he might as well take it easy, but so far no dice.

This weekend I plan to spend mostly studying for my nursing boards, which I'm set to take next Friday. The nice thing about this plan is that I can do it with my feet up, which is my preferred position these days. I thought all this exhaustion was due to pregnancy and hadn't thought much more about it until I got a call from my doctor yesterday saying I'm anemic and need to start taking some special form of iron. I went to the store yesterday but apparently I bought the wrong kind of iron. I'd been craving a hamburger anyway, so Kevin and I went to Ruby Tuesdays and got their "premium burgers." Maybe that can count as my iron supplement for the day. It tasted pretty amazing - Kevin couldn't believe I'd been craving a hamburger for three days and hadn't had one yet. But honestly, the thought of going out somewhere and then ordering and then waiting and then chewing... it wore me out just thinking about it. When you're so tired that chewing food seems like an overwhelming task, I guess that should be a sign that something may be going on...

I have my 30 week check up on Friday, so hopefully things will be straightened out by then. It's nice that I may have a little more energy soon - I could use it to get through these last few weeks of school.

Weekend in D.C.

Kevin and me (and Jonah!) with the cherry trees.

Mom and me at the Washington momument.

The tulip library (it was beautiful!)

ROAR!!!!

The crowds we fought at the Smithsonian.

The weekend in D.C. was wonderful. It was so good to get away and forget about school for a little while. The drive was a little longer than we anticipated (7 hours instead of the 5 we were expecting), but it was well worth it. The weather was beautiful while we were there and all kinds of trees and flowers were in bloom. It was nice to see Mom and Dad, if only for a short while and it was fun visiting with my mom's friends. We did a lot of walking around the city and I wasn't prepared for how exhausting it would be! The baby takes a lot out of me, and I had to stop a rest more than I would have liked. Still, we saw all the monuments and the best parts of the open Smithsonians, so I feel like we did a pretty good job for one day. I feel like I need a couple more days to rest and recover, but it's back to school tomorrow morning.

It's been a stressful week at school. I've been feeling a little overwhelmed and exhausted. It helps a little to know that everyone around me is going through the same thing - but only a little. Some nights it's all I can do to get home, eat something, and fall into bed. Now that I'm coming up on the third trimester (next week!), fatigue and nocturia are hitting pretty hard. I've never been this tired in my life - physically and emotionally. To help myself make it through this week, instead of writing about all the hard stuff that's going on I am going to make a list of the good things. I hope it will help me avoid giving into my weepy hormones and throwing a little pity party for myself.

1. Even though school sucks right now, I still like what I'm doing. That's pretty amazing.
2. There's a baby bumbling around in my tummy, constantly stretching and turning and kicking. Every day, I feel him get bigger and stronger - it's more bizarre and wonderful than I could ever have imagined.
   
3. I come home every night to a good man who cooks me a hot meal and rubs my shoulders and tells me I am smart and beautiful and loved. It's been almost four years and he's still my best friend. How many people are lucky enough to have someone like that in their life?
   
4. As much as I worry about money, I've never had to worry about money. Living where I do, I see how wealthy I am to always have a safe, warm home and plenty of food.
5. I have a pretty great family. My mom and dad still like each other and are both people I can count on, everyone in the family is usually speaking to each other, and it feels good to come home. I grew up thinking everyone had that, but the older I get the more I realize how blessed I am.
   

That helped even more than I'd hoped. I think I'm ready to go back to studying now...