My sister-in-law’s graduation was pretty fun last night, believe it or not. Usually those things are dreadful because you’re there for 2+ hours for .4 seconds of thrill. But - the two students that gave speeches were funny and sweet and towards the end, the class was throwing inflatable dolls around! I mean - how awesome is that!

Anyway - we have the graduation lunch today on top of 19 million other things. Luckily, my mom is in town to help with the kids so I can go - go - go non-stop all day. AWESOME.

I’ll upload some pictures of the blow-up doll frenzy to flickr as soon as I can.

• Wonderland: That’s me! In the corner!
  Take away her current attendance at church and you have ME through and through here. When I try other churches it just feels stupid. But I, unlike Alice, just don’t go at all. Still - a fantastic read.
  (tags: catholicism religion)
• Aesthetically pleasing, child friendly, and most of all practical toy storage advice
  For once, I’m actually ahead of the game. I have a wicker basket of toys in the living room and in my bedroom for NikkiZ.
  (tags: parenting storage toys)
• This Is A Live Report: T minus 2 days
  Man - I hate waiting for people on the internet to hurry and have their babies already. DAMN.
• The Power (and Peril) of Praising Your Kids — New York Magazine
  I just don’t know what I think about some of the points in this article. I need more time to process.
  (tags: parenting)

407. That is WAAAY more than double 123! But, of course, I thought she said 4007 and almost had a heart attack. But 407? ABOVE NORMAL. Which means this embryo is behaving properly so far! Yay! She guesses I’m about 4+ weeks along and they’ll bring me in once my hCG gets above 10,000 for my first date with the ultrasound wand. Oh, how I missed you so.

Everyone now has permission to celebrate. Woo Hoo!

I called for my lab results before lunch hoping that they’d have them back and my nurse could call me on her lunch break. The doctor marked STAT on the lab slip and the lab tech highlighted it ninety million times, so they know we need these results NOW. But - the nurse didn’t call at her normal lunch hour - so I guess I’m stuck waiting until they close the office for the day before she calls. Hopefully she will call then - if not - I’ll venture into Operation Flaming Bag O’ Poop to make myself feel better.

I have found myself reverting back to the old habits when one is either (a) hoping they are pregnancy each cycle or (b) are actually pregnant and looking for any sign that pregnancy is progressing properly. Namely? I’m feeling myself up every 2 seconds.

It’s the only symptom I seem to ever experience during early pregnancy - the sore boobs - and I’m desperately hoping to get a little bit of that sore-boob action to tide me over until the nurse calls. Luckily, there’s no one around right now to catch me copping a feel of my own chest. (Sore? No. Not yet. Now? Nope. Now? Nope.) One of these times someone is going to catch me and the professional image I’ve been trying to establish will be ruined forever.

Who are we kidding? Like anyone would ever see me as anything “professional.” I’d say “delusional” or “psychotic” would be more accurate labels. Or possibly? “Self-Groper.”

My appointment with the vampire is done and my blood is waiting to be processed. I pray to all that is sacred that they give me the results by the end of the day. If they don’t? I’m leaving a flaming bag of poop somewhere.

The lab tech was really chatty. It’s funny, I like my lab techs chatty but I like my OB/GYNs to be reserved and calm. She was all, “So - when’s the due date?” I just stumbled on my words and said something like, “My uterus hates me. We haven’t thought that far ahead yet.”

I’ll post back as soon as I hear anything.