Getting back to normal and baby watch update

On Tuesday at lunchtime I went to the health department to get a copy of my birth certificate so that I could on Friday morning, get a new driver's license (I also had to show my W-2 form, glad I pay taxes!), so that I could then go straight to the Social Security Administration to get a new SSN card. Being pregnant, I'm becoming an aficionado of chair discomfort. As far as painful chairs go, the Social Security Administration makes sure that you are in writhing pain when your number is finally called. It was miserable, but only about 40 minutes of pain since I arrived at 8:30 when they first opened. And so, the document recovery efforts are over and I am, once again, and American citizen.

Big Philip was in Atlanta today for a college fair and my plans were to have a nice chicken and veggie roast waiting for him when he got home. Unfortunately, I realized that without a check card, and only the small amount of cash for emergencies that Philip left with me before leaving town, a nice dinner was not a possibility. Thank goodness NeeNee was here in town, feeding my men while I was at a BSC admissions function. Still, I really did hope to be suzy-homemaker for my hard working man. Oh well. Maybe later this week.

On the baby watch front, this is week 32 of my pregnancy which means Baby Helen is just under four pounds now. The babycenter site says she is about the size of a jicama. I didn't know what a jicama was but after googling it, it's not pretty enough to make the cut for the blog. Just picture a really ugly bulbous rutabaga or turnip. That's about what a jicama looks like. I could be the complaining pregnant woman who tells you how miserable I am sleeping right now, if you would call it sleep, and the violent acid reflux that plagues me no matter what I eat and how much Pepsid I take. However, I'm really, really, really, trying to stay positive for these last few weeks! The good news is that Little Philip is sleeping much better now, after we "sleep trained" for the last four nights. The training was similar to the sleep plan our friends the Mathews shared with us about two years ago, when Little Philip was six months old. This time, there is no talking once we put him to bed, not even a kiss or a pat on the back. No matter how many times he gets out of bed and bolts through his door, we simply place him back into bed. Eventually he tires of the routine (approximately 6-20 times later), and tuckers out for the night. If he wakes up at 2:30 a.m., we repeat the routine (last night I only had to put him down once), and he simply goes back to sleep on his own, in his own bed. Thank you Dr. Marc Weisbluth (Health Sleeping Habits, Happy Child).

I'm hoping we can post a picture of Big Philip's new "office" but the project is ongoing. Once he finishes, I'll be sure to show his handy work. Little Philip is down for the night, and without so much as one banshee cry. With that, I think both Mommy and Daddy are going to head to bed ourselves. It's going to be a long week!