Currently: December

Well here we are in the final month of the year! Here's what's currently going on in my life as we close out 2017!

Reading: We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter. I've heard great things about this WWII novel that focuses on a Polish family. At the beginning the book, the author shares a shocking statistic:  90% of Poland's 3 million Jews perished during WWII. How awful is that? Think of all the potential future generations that were wiped out by the Holocaust. 

Loving:  feeling the baby move, which was what I was loving last month as well. I felt the baby have hiccups for the first time this past week which was a neat thing to feel! I've gotten to know the baby's movement patterns. He or she is most active in the evening, especially when I am going to bed. We might have a night owl on our hands when he or she is born!

Feeling: pretty tired and still having lots of issues with my RA. Lately I've been getting what I refer to as 'microflares.' Before I would get a flare (which means swelling and pain in a joint) and it would last for 2-3 days and then I'd get another one about a week later. But recently I have been getting flares that last about 1-2 days but come more frequently. For example, last week I got 3 different flares - one in metatarsal joints of my left foot, one in my right hand and one in my right wrist. I saw my doctor last week and she's upping my dose of steroids for awhile to see if we can end this cycle of flares. I'm crossing my fingers and praying that I get a break as I've had weekly flares since early October!

Thinking: about how excited I am to go back on a RA injection medication once the baby is born. I honestly kind of hated giving myself weekly injection before I got pregnant but now I am yearning to get back on a good drug! Luckily there is one that is safe for breastfeeding so I will start that asap after the baby is born. Like maybe at the hospital. Ha. 

Anticipating: my baby shower in mid-January. My mom and sisters are hosting it. This will be my only baby shower so they invited family and friends. I got the invitation last week and it is so darn cute! I can't wait to see all the details they come up with! I love that they asked guests to bring a book instead of a card!

Watching: holiday movies! I watched the 4 Hallmark movies that my friend Erin sent me, which were so cheesy and good! Now I want to watch some of my other holiday favorites such as The Holiday, Love Actually and You've Got Mail. I know You've Got Mail isn't a traditional holiday movie but I love to watch it this time of year. Plus a portion of the movie takes place during Christmas so it's "kind of" Christmasy.

Grateful: that we will see both sides of our families around the holidays. We'll spend Christmas with Phil's mom and then we will head to my parents' lake home for NYE weekend. My dad turns 70 on the 28th of December. My dad does not like attention so we will celebrate this milestone birthday by eating out as a family on NYE. 

Working: on moving things around in the guest room to make room for a few baby items. I got rid of 1 of the 2 bookshelves in that room to make room for the changing table (which we need to assemble soon!). We'll shift things around a bit more to make room for a glider as well. That's about all we plan to put in the guest/baby room, though. The baby and I will share a closet and a hamper (my closet is in the guest room since I have waaaay more clothes than Phil and they wouldn't all fit in the closet in his bedroom). 

Listening: to lots of podcasts as usual. I'm starting to shift towards more pregnancy/parenting podcasts these days in preparation for the baby's arrival. I started to listen to The Mom Hour recently and I am really enjoying it!

Wishing: for a break from flares - even 2 weeks would be great!

What are you loving, watching and grateful for?