A Long Overdue Update

I haven't blogged in over three months, but I'm going to have to work at fixing that. I think that blogging is a good release for me.

On the medical front, my bloodwork is now mostly normal. I do still have a positive ANA, but I am no longer positive for the specific autoantibodies for which I'd tested positive before, and which could have harmed the new baby. It looks like this pregnancy will be low risk and normal. I'm delivering in the hospital this time, as I am not comfortable with the out-of-hospital options in the area, and am both dreading having to deal with the hospital routines and looking forward to having the peace of mind knowing that there is a competent backup, should something go wrong. My OB, Dr. D, is really fantastic and has a great bedside manner, good sense of humor, and spends lots of time talking to me at each appointment. I hope that he will be as great during delivery, and I think that he will be.

Once I entered the second trimester I began to feel much better physically and mentally. We are back into the swing of things with homeschooling, and have abandoned some things only to pick up others. I feel that we get a good amount done each day, though. With Pauly, we are concentrating on improving his handwriting (through the use of Callirobics) and his spelling (with Spelling Power). I became concerned that he would not be ready for forth grade level work if he didn't show some significant improvement.

Roger is doing fine. We are now using the computer program Funnix for phonics, reading and spelling. Apart from the horrible name, I think it is a pretty good program. I have a few quibbles with it, but Roger likes to do it and even asks to do extra lessons, and I am happy with all the skills it is covering, so we'll probably keep using it until he finishes the program. His reading has really taken off, and he is now spending a lot of his own time reading books like the Magic Treehouse series. Rosie has been doing the beginning to read level of the same program and is doing quite well.  Now I am starting to think about next year, what I'd like to do, and what I'll realistically be able to do, considering that we'll be adding a new baby to our already chaotic mix.

Here's a recent picture of me, at about 21 weeks along. Halfway there!