2 Days before Christmas

Or is it 2 days before Christmas Eve? I guess it really doesn't matter since the festivities begin on Thursday and last through the weekend. It's almost Nimrod's birthday, can't you feel the excitement in the air?

I'd post the link about the pagan origins of x-mas but I'm too lazy to look for it again and I already posted it on Facebook. Although for those who don't know, Nimrod is an ancient god whose birthday is Dec 25th and it is from him that we get things like the Christmas tree, so my above statement wasn't meant as some sort of dig on Jesus. Jesus wasn't born on Dec 25th. Heck, even the Pope has acknowledged that the date is inaccurate. Most believers I know also acknowledge this, although I do know some who still cling to the mistaken belief that December 25th is the actual birth date of their god (none of whom read this blog). But whatever, people can believe whatever they want or chose to celebrate their deity's birthday on any day they choose. I choose not to believe at all.

That doesn't mean I can't enjoy the cookies though. Christmas cookies are the best.

And that's what we did today (among other things) - Mom & I made two giant batches of cookies and decorated them all. I should have taken pictures of some of my more creative creations... the Santas turned out pretty well, the Liberty Bell was pretty funny, the toy horse was awesome, and the red eyed Teddy Bear was a little creepy. I'm usually the one who makes the "fancier" cookies while my mom & brother slap on some frosting and sprinkles. If it weren't for their production line, however, decorating would take DAYS. So it works out pretty perfectly, I made about a dozen "masterpieces" (I use the term very, very loosely) and mom & Nic turn out 3 dozen or so standard cookies. They all taste the same! (Which, by the way, is delicious).

Penny wasn't quite old enough to help, although she did eat some sprinkles after she saw my brother pick them up and eat them - so thanks Nic. She got bored with the cookie making and spent most of the evening forcing either Bryan or my Dad to either read to her or walk her around the house. She's gotten quite demanding lately, I wonder where she gets that from?

We were going to take her to see Santa, but my sinus infection has only gotten worse and I felt pretty horrible until the new medicine I'm taking started to kick in around 2pm. I'm taking natural remedies and I hope they work b/c my options are pretty limited when it comes to antibiotics. I'm hesitant to take much of anything when I'm pregnant other than an occasional Tylenol, I'm probably being overly cautious... although if I don't feel better by tomorrow afternoon I may go into the clinic and see what they say. Might as well use our health insurance while we still have it!

Which brings me to some good news, Penelope qualifies for Healthy Families! I have to send them some paperwork, but she should be on a new health insurance program in a few weeks so at least this lay-off won't affect her health care coverage. That's a huge relief for both Bryan and I... now we just need to find something we can afford for me. Not as easy, especially since I'm pregnant. But I can't really go without at this point. So we'll see.

I also got an e-mail today that my application for a 30 Day Emergency Teaching Credential has been approved. Hooray! I need to start applying at local districts, but hopefully I'll be able to start substitute teaching once schools are back in session. That's still a week or two away so we'll still have a gap to worry about - but at least sub teaching will be in my field. Jobs are pretty competitive right now so we'll see what I can find, but I'm trying to stay optimistic. I also applied to Kaplan, which is one of those tutoring places, so if I can sub a couple days a week at tutor the other days then that would be wonderful. We'll see what happens, but I'm hopeful.

Oh! Penelope's sleep! It's still suck-tastic but I'm 99% sure it's because I can feel 3 teeth coming in - her two top molars and a top canine tooth. Poor baby :( The top teeth always seem to be worse than the bottom ones. I hope they come in quickly. While her gums aren't swollen (like they were for the bottom teeth) I can feel the bumps and see little white areas on her gums where the teeth are starting to make an appearance. I find the difference between the entrance of her top & bottom molars to be interesting (and frustrating when she's kicking me in the face at 2am). Teething just sucks and I'm not looking forward to doing this all over again this time next year with New Baby.

Speaking of New Baby, I'll be 24 weeks pregnant on Christmas, which is (if I remember correctly) one of the earliest possible ages for viability. This means that if something were to go wrong and I had to deliver, New Baby would have a pretty good chance of survival. Not exactly something I want to dwell on since it would be pretty awful if I did have to deliver this early, but at least I know that should the worst happen then our possible outcomes improve daily. I have no desire to deliver early, however. I'm content to wait for the magic time of "full term" which is between 37 & 40 weeks. And if New Baby is anything like his/her sister, then he/she will come *exactly* on their due date.

Ok, time for bed.