A busy week

We had our 5 month check-up yesterday afternoon, and everything seems to be on track. It always makes me feel good to hear the heartbeat and know that everything's chugging along as it should be. The one take-away is that I should be getting more exercise (who shouldn't?). So, we're starting an increased walking regimen after work.

In the meantime, my back is giving me trouble. Last night, I could barely walk up the stairs, but this morning, it seems somewhat better. The doctor says if it's not better Monday, she's going to send me to physical therapy. It's probably a combination of the new weight throwing off my alignment and the somewhat strenuous travel this week. Lifting that laptop case onto the security belt and the overhead cabin a million times probably didn't help. So apparently when they tell you not to lift more than 10 pounds when you're pregnant, it's not all patronizing advice from days of yore. Hard to know because so much of it is.

Tonight, I have my favourite class - prenatal yoga. It's an hour and a half in a room of pregnant women with candlelight, doing "light stretching". At the end, we all lie down on our mats and the teacher comes around and positions pillows under our heads and legs, turns off the lights, and we do "deep relaxation". It's the first exercise class I've ever taken that has naptime. They should all have this. Last time, she asked everyone who wanted a head massage to put their heads in the middle of the circle. It was great.

For people concerned about Nathan's mom, Lucille, unfortunately, the news has not been good. She's very sick. She remains in the hospital and has been having kidney problems, which they're working to resolve. Sherry, Romey and Harold have all been able to be close to her. Nathan stays closely connected by phone, but it's really hard to know what's going on from far away.

On the assumption that Nathan will be here with us this weekend and not in Indiana, we're expecting a visit from Stephen and Noga for the weekend. We'd been trying to find a good weekend since the summer, and we both seem to be booked between now and Christmas, almost, so I'm glad we finally figured something out! We're looking forward to meeting Noga, and spending time with (uncle) Stephen. Maybe we'll be able to belatedly celebrate Nathan's birthday, which I missed during my travel last week. He could use a good dinner out.

Nathan is insanely busy these days, taking care of me, coordinating things with his Mom, and with his work. Tonight he's working late, making sure the schoolboard meeting gets on TV with Spanish translation. When I got home from Florida (was that Monday night?), he had these great marinated chicken breasts ready for the grill, and last night, he fixed a dinner of leftover grilled chicken over penne with pesto and fresh green beans. I know things will get busier when the baby comes, but is that really possible?