Anniversary Plans

The first couple of years we were married, we took a little mini-vacation over our anniversary. For example, the first year we went to the Williamsburg area, and the second year we went to Rehoboth Beach (Delaware). Instead of exchanging gifts, we took a little getaway. Last year we obviously didn't go anywhere with an about 6 week old baby especially as we were also gearing up to move about 5 weeks later. Next year I figure we won't go anywhere since I hope to still be nursing our youngest in August 2010. If my parents or Paul's parents are up to watching our kids for an extended period of time, we are thinking of going away for several days for our 10th anniversary in 2011. I was thinking it would be nice to getaway for a day or two this year. I was actually open to the idea a two day trip, but Paul wasn't keen on being away from Nadia that long. Not that I won't miss her A LOT, but I think a day or two with just my hubby sounds fabulous. We bantered around a wide variety of ideas from going to a dinner theatre in the Lancaster area to a riverboat dinner cruise in Williamsport or Harrisburg, etc. The "winner" was to go to NYC for a day.

I went to my first Broadway show in DC (at the Kennedy Center) in 1993. I remember because it was my second date (of my life and I was very embarassed to be that old and only have been on two dates). The last one I went to was Mary Poppins with Paul in London in 2002 (I hope to take Nadia to see that in a few years in NYC; it was excellent!). In between I've seen 3 in NYC - Miss Saigon with a friend and 1776 and Les Miserables with Paul. The last time we saw one in NYC was in 2000. Today I purchased tickets for us to see Wicked (the prequel to the Wizard of Oz) in NYC on August 9th. I can't wait! I was aiming for August 8th, but the cheapest tickets available were twice as expensive on the 8th compared to the 9th. The good part about going on a Sunday is that for years I have wanted to eat at the Tavern on the Green (ever since I noticed it one time when we were in Central Park), and they have a Sunday brunch for $30 which is *cheap* compared to what you would normally spend if you ate there (although certainly more than we usually spend on a meal!). Unfortunately the brunch isn't in the Crystal Room, but I am sure it will still be oh so very lovely! I made reservations to eat at 1:00 and bought tickets for the 3:00 show. Paul's parents have graciously agreed to watch Nadia - ALL day (as it takes over 3 hours to drive to NYC one way). We'll probably leave when she goes down for her morning nap at 8:30am; so I'll still get to spend about 2 1/2 hours with her that day, but it will be the longest I've ever been away from my little sweetheart. I am looking forward though to having that much time in one day with my hubby!

This morning I took Nadia to the toddler story hour at the library. Thankfully the woman in charge today was soooooo much better than the woman in charge the last time we went. I feel greatly encouraged that library hour will be something worth going to every week once Nadia gets a little older. At the start of the story time they have the preschoolers and toddlers together, and I have to say Nadia was again the friendliest kid in the room. As is her usual habit, she circulated around the room several times making sure she went around and waved "hi" to each person in the room. I think she's more of an extrovert than either of her parents are!

This afternoon I had my 2nd prenatal appt. Paul ended up staying home from school to work on his dissertation proposal which is due to his advisor today (he's a perfectionistic procrastinator). This meant that Nadia was able to sleep in her crib at home during my appt. I saw a different midwife this time. I was there about an hour, but my wait wasn't nearly as long as my first appt so I was encouraged about that. I am doubtful any of my OB appts will be as quick as they were at the OB I saw with Nadia, but at least I was only in the waiting room 15 minutes today before being called back. I would have been done in 45 minutes, but then I had to go to the lab to get some bloodwork done. This midwife was trying to talk me into a scheduled c-section. She actually seemed shocked that I was even considering VBAC. I still am leaning towards VBAC, but we shall see. My next appt is in 4 weeks; this one will be with an OB.

She tried to get me to schedule my next u/s at their clinic. They have a Maternal Fetal Medicine group from Harrisburg that sends a doctor up their way on Mondays, but I said that although I don't want to deliver at the hospital where I had Nadia, I did like their MFM clinic. I never had to wait, they did part of the one u/s in 4D at no extra charge, and they are very thorough (one u/s with a pediatric cardiologist for example). She said if I wanted an u/s with a pediatric cardiologist I'd have to drive to Harrisburg. No thank you! Also, I have a friend who lives very close to the other hospital, and I'm hoping she'll be able to watch Nadia while I have my u/s. So I insisted on the referral to that MFM clinic. She said I'll probably have that appt in about 3 weeks. YAY that means only 3 more weeks to wait to find out if baby is a girl or a boy! The baby's heart rate today was 160, which if you believe the heart rate wive's tale, that means this baby is a girl. We shall see... :-)

Tonight I had dinner out with friends. This was the first time I've gone out for lunch or dinner with a friend in the last 10 months. It was heavenly. I had arranged the get together in honor of a colleague's upcoming 40th birthday. The five of us spent 2 hours chatting while we ate delicious meals and desserts. Now it's time for me to get some sleep! Sweet dreams...